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devils (in the middle ages and subsequently), and witchcraft." And the author claims to have established as truths, "the od force, the law of sensorial illusions, the laws of trance."

The value of any production of this kind entirely depends upon the care taken in the collection of evidence, on the penetration employed in sifting the details of such as is really genuine upon the whole, and on the philosophical character of the inferences founded upon it. Now we cannot accord to Dr. H. Mayo the credit of success in any one of these particulars. He has brought together a number of stories, old and new, many of which bear pretty obvious marks of having been either invented or improved upon by clever dealers in fiction. In discussing those which have the most claim to be considered as honest records of the impressions of competent witnesses, he has shown but little acquaintance with the mode in which such narrations are affected by the preconceived impressions of the parties, nor has he adverted to many other sources of fallacy which the discriminating reader will easily discover. And in drawing deductions from the evidence he has thus collected, he excludes many considerations which must enter into a really comprehensive and philosophical view of them.

The little book, however, will form a very amusing companion for an hour of leisure, and will afford some interesting suggestions to those who take an interest in following out the various questions discussed in it.

ART. IV.—1. The Hunterian Oration delivered before the Royal College of Surgeons of England, on the 14th of February, 1849. By CÆSAR H. HAWKINS, Surgeon to St. George's Hospital.-London, 1849. 8vo, pp. 35.

2. The Retrospective Address on Diseases of the Chest, delivered at the Fifteenth Anniversary Meeting of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, held at Derby, 1847. By EDWARD JAMES SHEARMAN, M.D. —Worcester, 1848. 8vo, pp. 47. With Four Plates.

IN choosing the principal topic for his Hunterian Oration-a selection which to almost every one now called to discharge that duty must be a matter of some perplexity-Mr. Hawkins followed the example of his predecessor, Mr. Grainger, in bringing before his audience some of the more interesting examples of recent progress, rather than again traversing the ground which has already been so frequently trodden; and he specially directs attention to the improvements in physiology, organic chemistry, and histology, which tend to elucidate the history of diseases, and to suggest means for their cure. Among these, he does not omit to notice in a very appropriate manner the revival of the humoral pathology; the mention of which, in the Theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons, by a distinguished Fellow, is a pleasing indication that the days of those pure surgeons, who thank their Maker that they know nothing of physic, are passed away. Mr. Hawkins holds up the system of cooperation which exists among the cultivators of the physical sciences, and from which such great results are being obtained in regard to terrestrial magnetism, tidal phenomena, and the like, as a useful example to the medical profession. "Would not the stimulus of some such concert and controlling power as I have

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alluded to in others, advance medical science also, more steadily, step by step in the right direction, and at the proper time, through the combined efforts of many now isolated labourers ? Would it not check many crude and ill-digested hypotheses, prevent the revival of disproved facts and exploded theories, and give a higher value to original discoveries ?" (p. 33.)

There can be but one answer to this question; nor can there be a doubt that any such plan ought to originate with the existing corporate bodies, which would vastly increase their claims to the esteem of the profession, did they bring forward any measures calculated to elevate its character, without consideration of their separate interests. Will Mr. Hawkins endeavour to arrange the details of such a plan, and to bring them before his own College?

Dr. Shearman's Retrospective Address' has only just reached us, although it seems to have been some time published; and we can do no more than mention that it gives an admirable digest of the recent additions to our knowledge of the diagnosis, nature, and treatment of diseases of the chest, brought down to the year of its delivery (1847); and that it is illustrated by several beautiful delineations, chiefly from the pencil of Dr. Branson, of Sheffield, of the pulmonary structures in health and disease.

ART. V.-1. The Pathology of the Human Eye. By JOHN DALRYMPLE, F.R.C.S. Fasciculus II. Small folio. Four Plates.

2. Portraits of Diseases of the Skin. By ERASMUS WILSON, F.R.S. Fasciculus V. Large folio. Four Plates.

3. Surgical Anatomy. By JOSEPH MACLISE. folio. Four Plates.

Fasciculus III. Large

Or this unrivalled triad, it is now superfluous to speak in words of commendation; and we might content ourselves with simply announcing the publication of a new Fasciculus of each of the works composing it.

We owe it to Mr. Dalrymple, however, to give a somewhat fuller account of the plan and scope of his undertaking, than we were able to do in our former notice. These are scarcely expressed by his title; for he tells us that "it is not within his meaning to publish a treatise on diseases of the eye, but the rather to exhibit them as they occur in nature, in a series of drawings, with such explanations as shall identify them with symptoms, and with the general treatment of the case." In fact, Mr. Dalrymple's purpose is, in the main, analogous to that of Mr. Erasmus Wilson, in his Portraits of Diseases of the Skin.' It is not intended, however, to exhibit all the diseases of the eye: many offer such inconspicuous appearances (as in the large class of amaurotic affections), that drawings would scarcely convey any useful information, while others are either too familiar to surgeons to require delineation, or too rare to afford useful or practical assistance." The subjects are selected from a series of many hundred drawings, made at the Ophthalmic Hospital by the best artists (chiefly by Mr. W. H. Kearny and Mr. S. Leonard), under the superintendence of the late Mr. John Scott and of the author; and the utmost pains have, in every instance, been taken to verify their correctness by frequent comparison with existing specimens of disease. To each figure are devoted a few lines of explanation, with a very brief history of

the disease it illustrates, and a general outline of the treatment appropriate in such cases. Thus, when complete, it will constitute a sort of "museum of collected cases, showing in various groups not only the active forms of acute diseases, but their terminations or results also;" and will thus form a most valuable accompaniment to any systematic treatise on diseases of the eye.

The second Fasciculus now before us is quite equal to its predecessor in artistic beauty, and in lifelike accuracy of delineation and colouring; and having already said of the first, that "it realizes all that we believe it possible for Art to effect in imitation of Nature," we do not see that we have any higher praise in our power to bestow. The subjects illustrated are Warts and Horns on the Eyelids, Syphilitic and Malignant Ulceration of the Eyelids, Diseases of the Lachrymal Apparatus, Rupia prominens, Phthiriasis (the pediculus ciliorum being identical with that of the pubes, not with that of the scalp), Ecchymosis, Edema of the Eyelids, specimens of the two principal types of Vascularity in Diseases of the Eye, and Scrofulous Ophthalmia. This last, to which a whole plate is devoted, in order to bring in the entire head of the subject, is a most painfully characteristic representation of one of the worst forms of this most intractable disorder. Of Mr. Wilson's Portraits,' the first delineates a case of Kelis, a very remarkable and rare affection, consisting of an excrescence that presents very much the appearance of the cicatrix of a burn; the second is denominated Xeroderma icthyoides, better known as Icthyosis simplex; the third represents Lepra vulgaris, otherwise known as Psoriasis scutulata; and the fourth depicts Psoriasis vulgaris, about whose synonymy there is fortunately no trouble. Of the last three, we can affirm that they are most characteristic and admirably-executed portraits; of the first, as we have never seen a case of the kind, we can only remark that it has every appearance of being the same.

Mr. Maclise gives us, in his first plate, three figures illustrating the Surgical Dissection of the Wrist and Hand; in his second, two figures representing the relative position of the Cranial, Nasal, Oral, and Pharyngeal Cavities; in his third, the relative position of the Superficial Organs of the Thorax and Abdomen (which would have been more truly seen if the shoulders had not been dragged up by the tying of the wrists above the head); and in his fourth, the relative position of the deeper Organs of the Thorax and Abdomen. The plates are all excellent; and we are happy to find that our exhortations have been so well taken by Mr. Maclise, that there is not a single line in their accompanying commentary to which we can object as transcendental.

ART. VI.-Some Thoughts on Natural Theology, suggested by a Work, entitled "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation."-London, 1849. Svo, pp. 246.

THE writer of these "Thoughts" seems anxious to shield the author of the "Vestiges," for whom he appears to have an enthusiastic admirationranking him with Newton, Laplace, and Cuvier, as men who "show what the reason of man is capable of, and exalt our conceptions of the dignity of human nature"-from the odium theologicum which has been so copiously poured upon him. In particular, he desires to show that the

doctrine of "development," as expounded in that work, has no irreligious tendency. Upon this point we are quite in accordance with him; our objection to it being, that it is destitute of an adequate scientific basis. We are disposed to think that all parties will ultimately meet in the belief that every natural phenomenon is the direct and immediate result of the Will of the Deity, acting according to a determinate plan; the original perfection of which was such as to need no subsequent interference, the universe having undergone its grand and harmonious evolution, without any departure from the original scheme, and being still as dependent as ever upon the sustaining power of its Creator.

ART. VII. Questions and Observations in Hygiene: recommended to the consideration of Naval Medical Men; suggested to the mind of the Author by the approach of the Asiatic Cholera. By FRED. JAMES BROWN, M.D. Lond., &c., Assistant-Surgeon R.N.-London, 1849. Post 8vo, pp. 64.

THESE very useful suggestions are grouped together under the following heads:-1. Condition of the sick-berth, and round-houses or necessaries. II. Cleanliness, washing, and airing of clothes, &c. III. General clothing, ventilation. IV. Articles of food, water. v. Use of rum and tobacco; leave. VI. Use of fruit-Diarrhoea and Cholera-Sick-berth attendant. VII. Discipline. VIII. Religious and moral condition of the men. IX. Connexion of disease generally with the condition of the ship. -We earnestly recommend them to the attentive consideration of every medical officer in the navy. Our government marine ought surely to take the lead in the promotion of hygienic improvement; and to afford a model in this respect to the mercantile service.

ART. VIII.-Portraits of Diseases of the Scalp, with the Safest and most Efficient Modes of Treatment. By WALTER COOPER DENDY, Senior Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary for Children, &c. &c. Fasciculus I.— London, 1849. 4to. Four Plates.

WE believe Mr. Dendy to have made good use of the extensive opportunities which his position has afforded him for the study of the diseases of the skin which are most frequent in children; and among these, as every practitioner knows, diseases of the scalp hold a conspicuous place. He has intended to present in this treatise (of which the second and concluding part is announced as nearly ready) "the merely practical view of the maladies, avoiding any minute microscopic delineations, and all formal disquisitions on their pathology;" and so far as his text is concerned, he has succeeded well. But as to his plates, alas! we cannot speak in the same terms of commendation. Had they been issued as caricatures instead of as portraits, we should have strongly recommended them as admirable provocatives of laughter, as we have observed them to be productive of this result in the case of every one who has inspected them. Mr. Dendy would certainly consult his credit by suppressing these delineations, and substituting a set of plates drawn by some professional artist more capable of doing justice to the subject.

ART. IX.-1. Memoirs on the Ganglia and Nerves of the Uterus. By ROBERT LEE, M.D., F.R.S., Lecturer on Midwifery at St. George's Hospital, &c. &c.-London, 1849. Small 4to, pp. 36. With Five Engravings. 2. Practical Observations on the Diseases of the Uterus. By ROBERT LEE, M.D., F.R.S., &c. The Coloured Illustrations from Original Drawings by Mr. PERRY. Parts I and II.-London, 1849. Large 4to, Plates I-VIII; pp. 20.

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THE first of these publications is not precisely what its title imports, for the Memoirs' constitute but a very small part of it, the remainder consisting of a statement, by Dr. Lee, of all the transactions that have occurred in connexion with them between himself and the Royal Society, The medical public has, we suspect, had quite enough of the discussion; and we do not see that any good purpose can be gained by reopening_it. We may state our decided opinion, however, that Dr. Lee, like Dr. Marshall Hall, has fair ground of complaint against the Society on account of some of its proceedings in connexion with his Memoirs; and we trust that the Physiological Committee, as now constituted, will take warning by the errors of that of preceding years, and avoid even the appearance of favoritism or jobbery. At the same time it can scarcely be supposed that Dr. Lee's history gives both sides of the case, and it would be wrong, therefore, to judge from it alone. After a careful perusal of it, we are confirmed in the justice of the statement which we have made in the early part of the present Number (p. 9), respecting the insufficiency of the microscopic evidence supplied by Dr. Lee; for although it is true that he did, in the year 1839, seek the assistance of Mr. Tomes, in 1840 that of Dr. Hake and Dr. Grant, and in 1841 that of Mr. Dalrymple, yet the first of these gentlemen confessed himself unqualified to give a satisfactory opinion respecting the structures in question; the second merely states that the fibres resemble those of other nerves; the third says that "the evidence from the microscope is very flimsy;" the fourth (whose opinion is entitled to every respect) did not examine nerves prepared by Dr. Lee, but specimens dissected out by himself; and not one of them says a word about the ganglia. At that time, moreover, the true characters of the "gelatinous" nerve-fibres were not understood by microscopists; and as we do not find that Dr. Lee shows himself at all aware of the progress of this branch of histological inquiry, we would earnestly counsel him, before he makes any further move in this matter, to seek the assistance of those who can give him an opinion respecting the nervous or non-nervous character of the structures he describes, which shall be satisfactory to the scientific world.

It is refreshing to meet Dr. Lee again in the field of "practical observation," in which he has already laboured to such good purpose; and we have great pleasure in bringing under the notice of our readers the work he has recently commenced, which promises to be of great value as a clinical history of the diseases of which it treats. The first fasciculus, which is devoted to malignant diseases of the uterus, records the principal features of forty-two cases, from which the author draws the following conclusions:

"From these cases it will be seen that the fungoid tumour of the uterus, or cauliflower excrescence, scirrhus, carcinoma, and corroding ulcer, are merely dif

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