A Letter from the Marquis de Caumont to Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. President of the Royal Society, Containing the Description of a Very Extraordinary Stone or Calculus Taken out of the Bladder of a Man after Death; Translated from the French by T. S. M. D. F. R. S.

took out of the Bladder a tough kind of Substance, about as big as a small Fig, in which was a Pin with the Head on, and very black; the urinary Bladder, Pin, and viscid Substance, (though now somewhat wasted) are here preserv'd in Sp. Vin. R. The Case, in my Opinion, being very extraordinary, occasion'd my giving the above Account of it, which I declare to be Truth, having open'd the Child in the Presence of several Spectators. Witness my Hand, Wm. Gregory. IV. A Letter from the Marquis de Cau- mont to Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. President of the Royal Society, containing the De- scription of a very extraordinary Stone or Calculus taken out of the Bladder of a Man after Death; translated from the French by T. S. M. D. F. R. S. Avignon, June 30. 1732. SIR, YOU have an indisputable Right to all the Wonders of Nature: They have, in some manner, recourse to your Tribunal: For where can they be examined with such Judgment? This is my Motive for communicating to you the Figure of an uncommon Stone found lately in the Bladder of a dead Body, which I had engraved in my own Pre- 'Tis exactly conformable to the Original. The most able Physicians, and the best Anatomists, whom I have consulted on this Subject, assure me they never saw any thing like it of the kind. I can vouch, that the Engraving, tho' very exact, does not come up to this singular Work of Nature; the ten Branches of which, that spread from the Centre, have some Resemblance with those of certain Plants. It is a matter of Difficulty to me to think, that the System of Juxt-Apposition, which is employ'd to explain the successive Growth of common Stones or Calculi, can hold good on this Occasion. I dare not however advance, that Vegetation has any Share herein: Though the Shape of the Branches of the Stone, of the Canals, or Papillae, which seem destin'd to convey the nutritious Juices, do in some measure favour this Hypothesis. I hope, Sir, you will be so kind to give me your Thoughts on this Phenomenon of Nature. I shall esteem it as a sure and infallible Oracle, and shall bring to it, as to a fix'd Point, every Conjecture and Idea that such a Novelty can give Rise to. I thought proper to join to the Figure of the Stone, the Account of the Patient's Distemper, in whose Bladder it was found; as Mr. Salien, Surgeon of Lisle in the County of Venaissin, has sent it to me. The Fact, of itself, examin'd with such Philosophical Eyes as yours, Sir, cannot fail of appearing curious. And moreover, skilful Lithotomists may reap some Advantage by it, for perfecting their Operations. For allowing the Possibility of Calculi of a Conformation somewhat like this, which they may judge of by knowing the Bulk of the Stone, they will understand, that in such a Case, no other Method but but that of the high Operation can facilitate the Extraction of an extraneous Body, whose Branches cannot fail causing considerable Lacerations; unless they found some favourable Circumstances, and that the Contexture of it were brittle enough to break it before its being extracted. But I am aware, Sir, that I do but stammer on a Subject quite foreign to me. Curiosity, join'd to the perfect Veneration I have for you, were my Motives in examining it. All Europe does Justice to your Merit. Such a Suffrage as mine can add nothing to your Reputation, and only does Honour to my Discrimination. I have the Honour to be with the greatest Respect, SIR, Your most humble And most obedient Servant, The Marquis of Caumont. V. An Account of the Case above-mentioned, translated from the French by Mr. Zollman, F. R. S. ONE Joseph Vasse, Inhabitant of Le Thor, a small Town at a short League's Distance from Laflè in the County of Venaisin, aged Sixty-six Years, of a robust Constitution, who used to travel about