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existence of pulmonary cavities in all the cases in whichthe symptoms of epileptoid clonic trembling were observedsuggests the question whether such symptoms were dueto the action on the spinal cord of toxins produced by themicro-organisms in the lungs. M. Levi and M. Follet do notbelieve that the symptoms belong to the class of phenomenaknown as idio-muscular contraction. While admitting that’’ epileptoid trembling " indicates a condition of excitationof the pyramidal tracts which, however, does not result indegeneration of the nerve fibres, they incline to the beliefthat the trembling is due to the action of toxins of tuber-culous or para-tuberculous origin. The symptoms, in short,indicate the presence of the " mixed infection " which super-venes in the progress of pulmonary tuberculosis.

ENDOWMENT OF A LECTURESHIP AT GUY’SHOSPITAL.

IT was announced a few months ago that a generous donorhad presented to the governors of Guy’s Hospital the sum of6000, the interest of which was to be used for the purposeof medical education and research. The question of thebest means of utilising the benefaction was referred to

the staff of the medical school and with the approval ofthe donor it has been decided to endow a lectureship inexperimental pathology. The holder of the appointmentwill be known as the Gordon lecturer, to commemorate thefact that the endowment is due to the generosity of Mr.Robert Gordon. It will be a matter for general satisfac-tion that so important an addition has been made tothe extremely small number of endowed lectureshipsin connexion with medical education in London. It is

particularly appropriate that this addition should have beenmade at the moment when the metropolitan medical schoolshave become affiliated to the University of -London. It is

confidently hoped that the reconstitution of the Universitymay do much to improve medical education in London, butwithout money substantial reforms are with difficulty carriedout. If Mr. Gordon’s example is followed by other wealthymen who appreciate the great benefit to mankind of theincrease and dissemination of medical knowledge, the

Faculty of Medicine of the University of London will

approach its labours in the cause of reform with a lightheart.

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COLORIMETRY IN WATER ANALYSIS.

THERE is little doubt that with greater attention to

colorimetry this convenient method of diagnosing the

quality of water for drinking purposes will become moreaccurate and reliable. The colour of water itself is someindication of its purity and origin while the approximatedetermination of the degree of turbidity is valuable in thesame direction. The value of observations on colour and

turbidity depends largely upon the standards adopted. Thestandards must of course be unvarying and uniform. It maybe noticed that in the monthly reports of the chemists to theLondon water companies the colour of the water is

recorded in degrees of brown and blue based respectivelyupon solutions of standard bichromate of potassium andcopper sulphate. Both these salts are permanent and aretherefore very convenient and accurate for the purpose.Blue, of course, is the normal colour of pure water, the

degree of brown indicating more or less organic matter.It has been shown that the degree of brown varies directlywith the proportion of organic carbon in water. In Americathe determination of the yellowish-brown colour of waterhas been based upon a standard of Nesslerised ammonia.But better than this standard is that obtained by mixingsolutions of a definite strength of potassium platinic chlorideand cobaltous chloride. This standard appears to be perfectlyuniform and practical and accurate for the determination of

the colour in water. It is known as Hazen’s platinum cobaltstandard. As regards turbidity, permanent standards aremade containing a weighed amount of kaolin to distilledwater. Permanent standards may be obtained in the caseof determining the nitrogen in nitrates in water withoutrecourse to artificial colours ; for the production of a yellowcolour by the action of nitric acid upon phenol, as is

depended upon in the analysis of water, is quite permanent.Permanent ammonia standards for both free and albuminoidforms may be prepared with the cobalt platinum solutionalready mentioned. In the case of the estimation of nitrites

depending upon the production of a pink colour with

sulphanilic acid and naphthylamine hydrochlorate, this maybe matched perfectly with a cobalt copper solution. In the

same way the iron in waters, converted into the ferric form

by suitable means, may be exactly measured by means of amixture of standard platinum and cobalt solution. The

permanency of a standard solution is an immense advantageand all contributions to our knowledge relating to thesefactors in analysis will be welcomed. The latest contri-

bution, upon which some of the above statements are

founded, is from the Mount Prospect Laboratory in

Brooklyn, New York, by Mr. Daniel E. Jackson, and hisobservations will be read with interest by all those con-

cerned in the analysis of potable water.

MASQUERADING AS A MAN.

I ON March 2nd a person described on the charge-sheet as" Catherine Coome, aged 66, house decorator, of no fixedhome," appeared in connexion with a case of alleged fraud.She appeared in court dressed as a man and, according toher own story, she was married at 15 years of age. Havingserved as a schoolmistress she went to Birmingham whereshe determined to personate a man, as she thought shewould get on better. She served for two years on boardof a Peninsular and Oriental liner as ship’s cook and

became acquainted with the maid of a lady who lived atHampton Court. This maid she "married" and they livedtogether for 14 years. The "husband" then returned to

London, where, on account of meeting with severe injuries,she had to enter the workhouse, where her sex was dis-

covered. The story is strange enough, but there is nothingparticularly new about it. Besides such heroes of romanceas Billy Taylor, the immortal Rosalind, and the love-sickcrew who (according to Mr. Gilbert) shipped with LieutenantBelay, there are historical instances of women who have

passed their lives as men. Such a one was Christina Davis,who died in July, 1739, after having served many years inthe 2nd Dragoons, afterwards the Scots Greys. She wasborn in 1667, and when quite a young woman marrieda man named Welsh. One day Welsh was forciblyrecruited and sent to serve in Holland in Lord Orrery’sregiment. Christina thereupon dressed herself as a man

and enlisted as a foot soldier so as to find her husband.After many adventures, during which she served in thebattle of Landen, was wounded, taken prisoner, exchanged,and fallen in love with, on account of which last affair shehad to fight a duel, she enlisted in the cavalry and waspresent at the siege of Namur. After the peace of Ryswickshe returned to Ireland without having found her husband,but on war being again declared she took up service again.After the battle of Blenheim she was on prisoners’ guard

and there met her husband, who had long thought her to be. dead. They decided to pass as brothers and continued tor serve. At Ramillies she was severely wounded and her

sex was discovered. Her husband was killed at Malplaquet,. but she was twice married afterwards. At her deathi she was buried in the grounds of Chelsea Hospital, with military honours. Two other remarkable women: were Anne Bonney and Mary Read, who’lived about 200

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years ago and carried on a successful career as pirates,but the classical instance of a woman passing as a man isthat of James Barry, M.D., of the Army Medical Staff, afull account of whose remarkable career was incorporatedinto a novel, "A Modern Sphinx," by Lieutenant-ColonelRogers.1 The sexual problems involved in such cases form acurious chapter in medical psychology.

MEDICAL MEMBERS OF THE LONDON COUNTYCOUNCIL.

THE following medical men are among the members ofthe newly-elected County Council of London: Dr. W. J.

Collins (St. Pancras, W.), Mr. G. J. Cooper (Southwark,Bermondsey), Dr. G. B. Longstaff (Wandsworth), and Dr.J. F. Little (Marylebone, E.). With the exception of Dr.Little, who gained his seat by one vote, all these gentlemenwere members of the last council. Among the members ofthe profession who unfortunately failed to secure a seat onthe council was Dr. E. B. Forman who offered himself forre-election.

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FARQUHAR, NORTH, AND CO. v. LLOYD.

IN commenting upon this case in an annotation in ouiissue of Dec. lst, 1900, we expressed the view that thedamages awarded by the jury were excessive, even assumingthat the article complained of which appeared in the DailyChronicle exceeded the limits of fair comment upon the

proceedings in the county-court. It may be remembered thatthe plaintifEs were manufacturers of tinned provisions andhad sold goods to a tradesman who had refused to

pay for them, contending that they were defectiveand that had he sold them they would have proved dangerousto the public. The defective condition of the goods wasadmitted, but the Daily Chronicle appears to have erred inits criticism by implying, in accordance with the view of thejury, that the stock of the plaintiffs’ beyond those articlessold to the retailer in the case would be found in an

equally defective and dangerous condition. For ourselveswe maintain that the press does the public an eminentservice by its honest criticism and, if need be, censure.

This particular case is one which concerns us as medical

journalists, for we are constantly dealing critically withfoods and proprietary preparations, and if we found poisonousmaterial in a food or a food dangerous to health we shouldnot hesitate to say so. But in thus performing a publicduty it is of course most desirable to restrict all censure tothe real facts of the case and to keep it free from the smallestexternal implication. This the Daily Chronicle did notdo. All the same, the damages awarded were very excessive,but we are glad to find that on contesting the award of.61900 in the Court of Appeal this week the proprietors of

,

the Daily Ohronicle were allowed a new trial. The Masterof the Rolls said that only a very gross libel could commandsuch excessive damages. The verdict, he added, was ascandal, and there must be a new trial unless the partieswould agree that the damages should be reduced to .B500.The ultimate issue will be interesting.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND THE COST OFCONVERTING CONSERVANCY TO WATER-

CARRIAGE SYSTEMS.

DR. MEREDITH YOLTNG, the medical officer of health ofStockport, raises some pertinent points in a paper in theJanuary number of the Sanita’r!f Inspector in regard to theposition of local authorities in embarking on large schemesin connexion with the conversion of conservancy systems towater-carriage systems. As is well known, a number oftowns have within the past few years obtained Parliamentary

1 THE LANCET, Jan. 4th, 1896, p. 82 et seq.

powers to contribute towards the cost of converting privymiddens into water-closets. While from one point of viewthis step, as he points out, is commendatory, it may be, per-haps, scarcely equitable from the standpoint of the generalratepayer. In considering the cases of some large Midlandtowns he shows that the assumption that the results are infavour of local bodies contributing towards the work of con-version in a wholesale manner is hardly justified whencertain points in the information are emphasised.Rather it is evident that care should be exercised

in taking advantage of the clauses of a privateAct or the general body of ratepayers may have to

bear the whole of the cost of transforming foul and

dilapidated privies into efficient water-closets. In the samenumber of the journal referred to Mr. C. W. Laskey, thechief sanitary inspector of Eccles, contributes a paper onthe same question in which he points out that, owing to thelate Lord Chief Justice’s decision, magistrates have now nopower to order the conversion of an existing privy into awater-closet under the Nuisances Clauses of the 1875 Act,and that local authorities must either have recourse to

section 36 or else obtain a private Act of Parliament.

THE annual clinical debate of the Chelsea Clinical Societywill be held at the Jenner Institute of Preventive Medicineon March 12th and 19th. The subject for debate is "TheClinical and Pathological Relations of the ChronicRheumatic and Rheumatoid Affections to Acute InfectiveRheumatism." The debate will be opened by Dr. ArchibaldGarrod, and the following gentlemen will speak, amongstothers, on March 12th, Dr. F. J. Poynton, Dr. AlexanderPaine, Dr. G. A. Bannatyne, Mr. N. C. Macnamara, and Dr.C. O. Hawthorne. The meeting will be held at 8.30 P.M.

THE Brussels Medical Graduates’ Association have unani-

mously resolved to send an address to the King which setsforth that the members of the association humbly desire tooffer their respectful sympathy to His Majesty in his recentbereavement, "caused by the death of our late SovereignLady Queen Victoria." The address further congratulatesthe King on his accession and prays that he may longoccupy that exalted position and may worthily extend thebeneficence of that rule so happily inaugurated by herlate Majesty."

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IT is announced that the honorary degree of LL.D. isabout to be conferred by the University of Edinburgh uponSir John Williams, Bart., M,D., F.R.C.P. Lond. ; upon Dr>James Little, Regius Professor of Physic in the Universityof Dublin ; and upon Sir Robert Bannatyne Finlay, the

Attorney-General. Sir Robert Finlay, who has attained suchgreat distinction in the faculty of law, began his career asa medical man and graduated as M.D. at the University ofEdinburgh. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College ofPhysicians of Edinburgh.

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A TELEGRAM from the Governor of Cape Colony, Sir AlfredMilner, to Mr. Chamberlain, received at the Colonial Officeon Feb. 27th, states that the bubonic plague report for

the week ending Feb. 23rd was as follows : There were 29cases remaining under treatment at the end of the week,seven deaths have occurred since the commencement of the

outbreak, and there are 21 cases remaining under treatmentand 167 " contacts."

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WE regret to hear that the Lord Chief Justice is so unwellas to be obliged to cease work temporarily, though we areglad to learn that he is not likely to be much longer con-fined to his bed. There is no doubt that Lord Alverstone’sillness had its origin in the atmosphere of the CentralCriminal Court where he presided for six days over the trial