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the extraction. This was in 1844. Wells then, in association with another dentist, named William Thomas Green Morton, started to demonstrate the discovery publicly. The first exhibition was an ignominious failure, and the two pioneers were derided as impostors. Wells suffered so severely from his disappointment on this occasion that he died insane a few years later. Morton, however, continued his investigations, and he and the Dr. Jackson already mentioned worked together on ether, and assured themselves of its anæsthetic powers by experiments on animals. Morton then inhaled it himself on September 30, 1846, and awoke from deep unconsciousness a few minutes later, convinced of the reality of his discovery. Just then a patient rang the bell. It was towards evening, but the visitor was shown into the surgery. He was in agony with the toothache, and begged the doctor to mesmerise him in the hope of getting some relief. The nerve was so sore, he said, that he could not