ond Relation from a Gentleman of _Martinico_, and one of my
Friends, not capable of a Falsity. He assured me, that in his
Neighbourhood, an Infant of four Months old unfortunately lost his
Nurse, and its Parents not being able to put it to another, resolved
through Necessity to feed it with _Chocolate_; the Success was very
happy, for the Infant came on to a Miracle, and was neither less healthy
nor less vigorous than those who are brought up by the best Nurses.

The Inferences that may be drawn from these two Histories are evident,
and demonstratively prove that Chocolate has neither any intemperate nor
hurtful Quality; I shall therefore say no more upon them, leaving every
one to make his own proper Reflections.

SECT. II.

Chocolate is very nourishing and of easy Digestion.

This Proposition is a necessary Consequence of the foregoing,
established by Facts which I have just related; and we have Experiments
as convincing of its easy Digestion, and the Goodness of the Chyle that
it makes; but it needs no other Proof than the good Condition it puts
those in, who ordinarily make use of it.

A learned _Englishman_ has carried his Commendations so high concerning
this particular Property of Chocolate, that he has not scrupled to
affirm in a Dissertation that he has publish'd upon this Subject, That
one Ounce of Chocolate contains as much Nourishment as a Pound of Beef.
As much out of the way as this Assertion seems to be, one may easily
conceive, that any Aliment is capable of yielding more plentiful
Nourishment, if compar'd with any other, not only in respect to the
Quantity, but also with relation to the Time that the Stomach takes to
digest it.

Physicians are not agreed about the Causes of Digestion, but are divided
into two Opinions, each of which is supported by the Writings of very
eminent Authors; convinced of my own Inability to decide the
Controversy, which also requires a large Field to expatiate in, I shall
not undertake to defend either Fermentation or Trituration: But it will
be sufficient to say, in two Words, that these Opinions are not
absolutely incompatible[1]: it perhaps will not be difficult to make a
sort of an Alliance or Agreement between them, by uniting whatever is
plain and evident in the two Systems, and rejecting what is otherwise;
and from hence form a third, which will be nothing but the Union of the
uncontested Parts of the other two.

These two Causes undoubtedly concur in the Alt