243PENALTY FOR ILLEGAL PRACTICE.-MILITARY SURGEONS IN FRANCE.-THE "MIRROR."

is a proceeding which cannot be dismissed with a few cursoryremarks. The offence is of far too grave a nature to be thuslightly treated. If the members of our honourable professionconsisted of a band of robbers, the deceptive manoeuvre whichhas just been perpetrated at the establishment, No. 46, Princes-street, Soho, might not have produced a feeling of indigna-tion. But when such a gross insult is offered to the profes-sion, as well as to the honourable advocates of our periodicalmedical literature, it would not surprise us if the mean anddishonest trick that has been practised were to elicit fromthe professional body a general expression of disgust."We have not been disappointed. The disgust of the pro-

fession has indeed been expressed, in a manner not to be mis-understood, and the honour of our periodical medical litera-ture has been fully sustained and vindicated by the signaland complete FAILURE of the base and dishonest trick thathas been practised.

ON the 9th of August, a trial took place in the County Courtat Wymondham, Norfolk, in which the Apothecaries’ Com-pany prosecuted WILLIAM SKOULDING, a Chemist and Druggist,for practising as an apothecary without having obtained, fromthe Company, a certificate of qualification. No defence was

set up, and, by consent of SKOULDING’S solicitor, judgmentwas immediately given for a penalty of twenty pounds.

MILITARY SURGEONS IN FRANCE.

IN last week’s LANCET we gave some details touching theinauguration of the statue erected in honour of Baron Larrey,in the great entrance court of the Val de Grace, in Paris.We subjoin the speech of M. Dupin, President of the NationalAssembly. The President spoke as follows, in a very impres-sive tone of voice:-

" I have the honour of addressing the military surgeons ofthe French army, and I tell you-if any one were boldenough still to dispute your right to proportionate rank in thearmy, you might proudly answer by pointing to this statue,and by citing the life of the illustrious man whom it represents-the life of the worthy Larrey.

111 have said it elsewhere, and I will repeat it whenever anopportunity offers-the military surgeon, fearless in epidemics,fearless in the field of battle, possesses all kinds of courage.He has military courage, because he faces death offered onall sides by fire and sword; and another courage, far superiorto this, for he preserves his calm coolness and presence of mindwhen his life is in the greatest peril. The blow which is aimedat him, and which he sees threatening, cannot, and even werehe able, would not, be returned by him. He knows hishazardous situation, and does not hesitate to fulfil his dan-gerous duties."Kneeling by the side of the disabled, with as firm a

hand as when he is studying Nature in the anatomical rooms,he dresses their wounds. But with these two kinds of couragehe reaps two kinds of glory; and Larrey, who has shown hiscourage equally in both, now deserves to be honoured withdouble glory. He has proved, when twice wounded, that thedangers which the military surgeon runs are not imaginary.He was wounded once in Egypt, in times of glorious memory,and another time at Waterloo, on that mournful day forFrance.

" You heard, from those who addressed you before me, whatthe life of Larrey has been, and what services he has renderedto science ! It is not for me to enter into the details of thisnoble career. I am, besides, not prepared for it; I speak, car-ried away by momentary impulse, and by the admirablespeeches which have just been uttered. I judge this learnedman,-this defender of mankind,-by considering, as a whole,his useful life, marked by the most enlightened and nobleservices, and I bow before this statue which so worthily repre-sents him. Yes, I greet Larrey! the virtuous, devoted man,whose self-denial and devotion triumphed even over the ele-ments, and who has been among us as an incarnation of geniusand humane feelings. He deserves the thanks of Science, theArmy, France, and the whole civilized world!" -

A MirrorOF THE PRACTICE OF

MEDICINE AND SURGERYIN THE

HOSPITALS OF LONDON.

GUY’S HOSPITAL.Cases of Acute Rheumatism.

(Under the care of Dr. BARLOW.)ANDRAL, in a letter to Dr. Forget, inserted in the GazetteMédicale, says: " Although we doubtless ought to use our bestefforts to ground the treatment of disease upon the data whichwe obtain from anatomy and pathological chemistry, our chiefreliance ought not to rest there; we should likewise be guidedby the observation of the good or bad results obtained byvarious modes of treatment in a given number of cases; thiscourse being a kind of empiricism, the application of whichis confided to prudent and skilful hands." Being convincedthat great utility may be derived from the course advised bythe French physician, we are endeavouring to place beforeour readers the results of treatment in diseases which oftencome before the practitioner. Acute rheumatism is one ofthese: here various methods of treatment have been, and areat the present day, advocated. Bloodletting, diaphoretics,colchicum, calomel and opium, purging, quinine, nitre, andlemon-juice, have by turns had their strenuous supporters,and one and all of these remedies have certainly, in " skilfulhands," yielded favourable results. We have endeavoured toacquaint the profession, from time to time, with the thera.peutical applications which we witness in the London hos-pitals ; and we had the pleasure, with this view, of adducingcases in illustration of Dr. Budd’s practice in rheumatic feverat King’s College Hospital, (THE LANCET, March 9, 1850,p. 307;) we now beg leave to bring forward three cases of thesame affection, treated by Dr. Barlow, where certain salinesubstances were used with great advantage. For the follow-

ing outline we are indebted to Mr. Godfrey, the clinicalclerk.The first case refers to a man, aged twenty-six, who was ad-

mitted into Job ward, under the care of Dr. Barlow, June 14,1850. The patient is a strong, plethoric man, with light hair;he has suffered from acute rheumatism several times withinthe last three or four years, and does not remember that thepresent attack was brought on by any exposure to wet or cold.This circumstance would lend additional weight to the opinion,that when once the rheumatic or any other diathesis is fullyformed, the exciting causes are generally very slight. Onadmission he complained of severe pain and tenderness inthe lumbar region, extending down both legs to the knees,which were swollen and tender, but not very red; bowels con-fined ; pulse 108, full and bounding; tongue furred and soapy.Dr. Barlow ordered an aperient draught, containing fifteenminims of tincture of colchicum; and ten grains of Dover’spowder at night. On the next day perspiration was

abundant, and the rheumatic inflammation extended to theankles and toes, which became tender, swollen, and red. Theheart’s action being now examined was found natural, withthe exception of a slight systolic murmur heard over the in-terval between the fourth and fifth ribs, about an inch belowthe nipple. This patient having so repeatedly suffered fromacute rheumatism, and being still young, it may be lookedupon as probable that the pericardium was partly adherent,and that the murmur observed depended on valvular changesresulting from previous attacks of endocarditis. Still it isworthy of note that these symptoms were very slight, thoughat that age cardiac complications are very common. Dr.Watson says on that head: " The younger the patient is whosuffers from acute rheumatism, the more likely will he be tosuffer from rheumatic carditis."The patient was now ordered six drachms of lemon-juice,

to be taken in sugar-water, three times daily. He was, how-ever, in a couple of days, much worse; the pains were veryacute, and the joints along the arms and hands became in-volved ; the pulse rose to 120, full; the systolic murmur wasmore distinct; the perspiration profuse, rc4ry acid, and the