appointed, and his zealous aide-de-camp, who was his valet for thirty years, never failed to produce his master at any hour of the day and night; which, perhaps, may furnish us with a reason why he was so frequently called in to cases of accidents, and consequently so often figured as a witness in the courts of justice. "Egad," said Jekyl one day, "we never have a homicide, or a suicide, or any other cide, without a Heaviside!"

The principal event in his life arose out of his professional attendance at the fatal duel between Colonel Montgomery and Captain Macnamara, in 1802. For this he was committed to Newgate, and during a whole fortnight subjected to much pain and anxiety. His friends, Messrs. Erskine and Garrow, Mr., afterwards Baron Wood, and others, volunteered their aid; but still, the dread of the capital punishment, and with it the forfeiture of his property, made his situation seriously uncomfortable. In this dilemma, his brokers, Messrs. Johnson and Langden, sold out his stock, which, together with the rest of his possessions, was conveyed to a third party in safety; and to the credit of these gentlemen it should be told, that, though the amount must have been an object to be desired, yet, under the circumstances of the case, they transacted the business without the charge of a single farthing. In the end, the grand jury ignored the bill against Mr. Heaviside.

This surgeon died on the 19th of September, 1828, much regretted by a large circle of admiring friends.

CHAPTER II.

MAD DOCTORS, AND MAD HOUSES.

Importance of the subject-Instruction to Medical Witnesses--Curious cases of Insanity shewing the cunning of Lunatics— Remarkable mental delusions-A visit to a mad house-An affecting case of derangement-Sir W. Ellis on Insanity— Imaginary Queens and Lord Melbourne-Pinel and the four pseudo-French Kings. Pinel's grand experiment at the Bicêtre-Cowper the Poet-Moral treatment of InsanityLatent Lunacy-Conditions of mind bordering on Insanity— The life of the celebrated Dr. Willis, who cured George III. -Drs. Haslam, Sutherland, Munro, Burrows, Morison, Pritchard, Conolly, and Combe.

THE subject upon which we are now entering is one of the highest interest-both to the medical world, and to the whole community; inasmuch as are included within it, not only questions of physiology, pathology, and medical jurisprudence, but likewise those which involve the liberty and happiness of every member of society. When called upon to decide in a case of ordinary disease, the physician may err in judgment, and his error may be productive of great evil to

moves.

the patient: his life may be jeopardized, or at least his health may be irrecoverably damaged; but if he errs in judging a case of suspected insanity, he not only perils the life and health of his patient, but his very liberty. Upon his decision, the man is to be either restored to the rank and privilege of a rational and responsible being, or to be subjected to those moral and physical restraints, which the law has deemed necessary to throw around the lunatic, for the protection of himself, his property, and the society in which he It may be urged that whatever is the primary effect of a physician's opinion, in a case of suspected insanity-the ulterior proceedings and their results are not consequent upon his decision, but upon the verdict of a jury. But let it be remembered that the first step in the inquisition must be taken by the physician: he is called to examine the case, and without his certificate, the patient cannot be consigned to a madhouse;―by his report to the Lord Chancellor, when required to send him an opinion of the case, his lordship is guided in his decision, whether to dismiss the petition or to send the case to a jury;—and, lastly, when the writ De Lunatico Inquirendo is issued, the judgments of the commissioners and jury must be almost entirely governed by the evidence of the medical witnesses. How important then is the investigation of mental disease; and yet it is a melancholy fact, that there are no affections so little understood, or that have received so little attention, as diseases of the intellectual powers. It is astonishing how various have been the theories of insanity, and how much ignorance and quackery have

been, until a very recent period, exhibited in the

treatment of the insane. considered under satanic from the abodes of men.

At one period they were influence, and driven away Afterwards they were sup

posed to be affected by lunar changes, which opinion gave origin to the term lunatic, and prevails to this day to a great extent among the ignorant. Then it was supposed that the malady was not a bodily affection, but one which had seized upon the spiritual part, and therefore placed beyond the reach of physical remedies, so that medical treatment was regarded as altogether useless;-to this opinion is owing the negleet into which these investigations had fallen, and the discreditable ignorance of the great body of practitioners upon the subject of insanity. Of late years however great advances have been made, by improved theories and practice, towards both the comfort and restoration of the insane; and physicians are becoming more and more convinced of the value of medicine as a remedial agent in the cure of insanity. Still, however, it cannot be denied that this disease, in common with most of the class of nervous affections, is involved in great obscurity, of which we have a melancholy proof in almost every case where a judicial investigation is necessary. Lawyers are too apt to regard an enquiry into the state of a lunatic's mind as they would a case at nisi prius; and because of their fee, they deem it necessary to bring all the pettyfogging trickery of their profession, to bear down if possible the opposing testimony; and knowing the obscurity of the subject, and the difficulties which medical men have to con

tend with, in arriving at a correct opinion, they most unfairly in their examination, endeavour to tie them down to definitions, and then, by showing their fallacy, weaken the whole effect of their testimony. An honest lawyer should remember, that he, with the commissioners, jury, and witnesses, have only one object, viz. the interest of the unfortunate lunatic: if he be of unsound mind, and incapable of managing himself and his affairs-doubtless humanity urges the necessity of all legal protection and restraint; but, if he be still, notwithstanding some eccentricity of conduct, a rational and responsible being, no fee, or reward, or party, should induce a man to mystify the subject, or obstruct, by skilful pleading or ingenious quibbling, the progress of truth. As however all lawyers will not be guided by such pure feelings toward the subject of their investigation, it is necessary for medical men to guard themselves well against any admissions which may, by a skilful advocate, be turned against them. As was before remarked, there is nothing so eagerly seized upon, as a definition-therefore the witness should be very cautious in committing himself by attempting to define insanity; and it will be wiser and better at once to acknowledge his incapacity to do so-than by a vain and ostentatious display of metaphysical lore, to peril the interest of a fellow creature.

The medical witness is called upon to say, from his previous examination of the case, and from the facts which have been brought before him, during the investigation in court, whether the supposed lunatic be of unsound mind, and incapable of managing himself and