SAMUEL CHUDLEIGH, aged 68 years, parish of Coleford, near Crediton… has been practising “mesmerism” unconsciously from the day of his birth up to the present time. A popular superstition exists in Devonshire that every seventh son possesses the power of curing disease by the simple application of the hand. So firmly is this believed that persons were waiting anxiously for his birth in order to be touched by the new-born infant, should it be a boy, for the cure of their diseases.
This power he exercises every Sunday only - the day of the week on which he was born. At the time of operating, he mentally repeats what is believed to be a portion of Scripture; but on this point he was not communicative. He commences by making seven passes over the diseased part, precisely in the mode adopted by mesmerists, decreasing the number of passes every Sunday by one until he comes to the last; always, however, taking the same time in making each lesser number of passes that he had previously taken in making the seven, so that the one pass on the seventh Sunday occupies as much time as the seven passes did on the first. Should the cure, however, not have been effected at the termination of the seventh Sunday when the last pass is made, a second course is commenced the Sunday following, seven passes again being made and the number decreased each Sunday as before.
During his stay in Tiverton, whilst under Mr Capern, he was visited every Sunday by persons suffering from scrofula, on whom he operated in his usual manner. Two of these, Mr Upton of Bickleigh and Mr Clarke, declare themselves much benefitted, and I allude to their cases as they came under my own observation.
His father, being also a seventh son, practised the cure of diseases in the same manner; and my patient was believed to possess extraordinary powers of healing because he was the seventh son of a seventh son.
In addition to his operation, a sixpence or other piece of silver is sewn into a small bag, and that again into another, and worn around the operator’s neck during the last of the seven weeks. It is then given to the patient, who wears it for the next seven weeks, and it is afterwards deposited in a box to be carefully preserved from wet or the touch of a needle. Should this not be carefully attended to, the disease will return; and he states that he has known cases where, the above precautions not being properly attended to, the disease has returned.
From The Mighty Curative Health Powers of Mesmerism (Thomas Capern, pub 1851)