The Press.
London, England, 1853-10-22 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

lister than he was as a surgeon►. Rut as it
was, he began life under favourable eireuni

stlinees.

When fourteen or fifteen he was ul►l►ren
tired to Sir Charles Blieke. a surgeon in large
practiee Here he remained five years. nutl
Very early began the excellent eustont,—which
we earnestly recommend to young men in every
prolession.—of taking notes of the remarkable
cases which canoe under his observation. He
seems to have had most inclination for elle.
mistry. though we doubt whether appetite had
not quite as much to dl► %% lilt his extensive
I►nrchase of oranges in his boyhood as curio-
sity to observe their ethsets 4411 the kidney :
" I W 24% a boy. sant he, " I half ruined all.t•lf In
taming oranges awl other things to awvittith the ►•tli•rld
thiteretit kinds of slit.t in this iliseisse.••

Wi. Ido Hot know what authority the author
has for saying that,
diligent as be was, we susls•el he found little dining his
amorist iceshilo of those attractions which make labour and
industry !ammo's of pleasure soul enjoyment.

The lectures of Sir William Wizard had, it
is eertain, a powerful influence in forming his
mind, for in the first of those lectures. which
he delivered at the College of Surgeons in 1811.
lie gratefully acknowledged his obligations to
that excellent and distinguished nom :
" ile was my earliest instritetsse iu anatomy sill sm~rry.
Mild I KM greatly iudrhled to haw fair 6 Valli:ll,k infor
nlati . fly warmest thatiks an lilsti Jar to hint for the
interest Inr excited in my • I los arils the suwits
Mill for hi, e‘Vellellt sib bee. ' 1...1 )I.llr SC:11.111 ant r
truth,' he would salt, • Is, eager and constant. lie wary in
Ilrollosititilla 1., hi. filet '4llllllre VI/111111W $llll • IA
them to the strictest exa iii i l lot it'll. If wtier OAK y4llll IN'lle%
them to axle, 111Sreg8111 or forget ut» one of them
however t 11l ill tittortrutt It may at the tints. ttriwitt. `howl(
ott perceive With% to lo• imissrtani. make them , • mu.
fives of action. I A't 1114111 herVe 11$ slllllll4s to ylllll' 14/11.
duet. If we neglect to draw .well inlet...tiers, or to let iu
continuant with them, we fail its essential duties."' Agin's,
in temark.ing how Sir William eteited his wNhtlsut.m Is,
ths. illt•ideill which he drew of the medical elmeisman-, Mr.
Abernethy observed I etnlnot tell you lion splendid
and brilliant he Made it appear : I then Ile mullioned Ils
'term* to taiminit i 4. luSUe by any ilisinge ills .S.llllllll, (11*
by anythillM dint lane even OW Ininblinler of slishoossir."
SirWilliant, venentble with age, was present
on the occasion. The old mid honoured mut-
ter listening to his preeepts eloquently en
forced and illustrated by Isis popular pupil.
and smiling at the plaudits with which they
were received, is a pleasing pieture. His mind
could scarcely have experienced purer delight
than in perceiving how deep 111141 lasting hall
been the effect of his admirable instructions.
To anatomical studies, merely for the sake of
surgical pntetice.Abernethy, we are told, would
scarcely have submitted :
Ile was fiord of illustrating the true relations of anatomy
null physiology ; and at the saute time rontrassting the at•
tractions; of the one with the comparatively itrilsite re•
quisitions of the other, by saying with Ilr. Barclay, of
Edinburgh, that "lie never woodd hats. weshled himself
to so wit a witch ( aimtssisly but forth(' shower site hit:tight
him (pbcsiology )."
In fact, he was always inclined to value tots
lightly mere manual skill, and in this re-
spect he allowed personal sentiment to over-
ride his judgment. In all those cases demand-
ing surgical I Ipelratioll the differenee between
success and failure in a difficult case,—between
the patient suffering little or much,—between
patina and complete cure,—between life and
Bestir,—trust depend on the amount of prate-
tical skill possessed by the oerator ; nor
would the most perfect knowledge of physio-
logy avail anything if his hand wanted dexte-
rity. It is said of Abernethy :
111 fart, la. held operations altsogether as occupying so
low a place in sstir duties, lss hat nog sit link to 1111
- with the sebum., of Mir lanfeSsi 111 l , that there was very little
mostin of them bt set that relowl,ion which both
his science and his humanity suggested.
Yet we read in another place that one of his
claims to a high IMMO in surgical science was
that

Le hail been the first to extend the applientien ofistbit
Bunter's celebrated opertitisin for the mire of oitiviiri.in to
a vessel near the heart I the external iliac artery ), on
which Mr. Abentethy plact.tl u ligatitte is, 17117.
He regarded operations, it seems, as a re-
proach to the profession, and as he advatiued in
life his dislike to them increased :
He was apt to be fidgetty and impatient. if things
went smoothly, it was all vet) sell; but if any tuttoasirsl
occurrence took place he sull'erell a good deal, and it be.
came unpleasant to assist him ; but he was never unkind
to the patient.
Mr. Macilwain says that operations, "with
I the exception of such as become necesbury

591

from accidents, are almost sill s,f them conse-
quent on the imperfection of seienee.'
exception is a huge one : anti wind is to be
done until surgery attains its ilesidersitell per-
feelion ?

Ahern...thy was eleeted assistant surgeon to
Ilartholoinew's Hospital .lisly IA 11'0.41. and
this post he tilled ter twenty-eight years. It
iscertainly suggest ive of something wrong in the
hospital s.steiii of that slay that so eminent
titan should have been retained in a subordinate
station till his energies began to decline, for
at fifty, when he became surgeon to the hospi-
tal, he was ageing. imil was miespost to Ate
physical fatigue of his duties. As no emolu-
ment attached to the post of assistant surgeon,
lie early reeogniseil the necessity for exertion.
Mid began to give leeturem, the first year of
his appointment. in St. Ilartholoascris_elose.
Ile is noticed in the firsibentites .Iloyetzine as
an " ingenious young gentleman." About the
same time, or soon after, he instituted an ex-
tensive series of experiments on the composi-
tion of animal matter, with the view of alms
trating 1111 idea he entertained that the ultimate
particles of matter were the I,llllll` ill essence.
l'hemistry bus made such mighty Mb Aitern
since his day. that his experiments and con•
elusions ean be retorted to toi. little else than
to show the ardour of his ursuit. (hi sate
occasion he appears to have kept his hand im-
mersed in quicksilver for sixteen hours. for
the purpose of detecting the quantity of air
given out through the skin. It is greatly to
his honour that he instinctively shrank from
all those experiments which, torturing 1111 i.
111111 s, seldom yield a t'olllollsllll IN'SUIt. WO
agree with 1111 admirable thought quoted here
from Sir Charles (tell, that physiology is
much 11101.1. a science Or observation than of
experiment :
A.: to the itithienei• I.f y 44.0111.151. oil animals, in hi a
1 ili.esit 'islet., me bat e lu. cis II Mille., It, (111 dam tug
It. 111. Mats." yury ii, MI, the 1401141 Mills Nhirh he Ma. II.•
illlblel.ll 111111.4. .4111 W 1.%1.1.1 Tie)
ill feet, Molting to de it it do. °revs... Tlit• i nns,l,
111 ro•ltividiel v0tir5.,454111 ~i..N1% 1.111441 1,1.1 e11a1"11'1 of
etiletS. ThIS lie 111111 1111101111,16 b 1 st-kI.UNIs-tigl•, and
the 1.1.115.5 411.'1114. 111 lii .lost, lAN 11l ll %hod 'Wile%
"S. "1" "Dill"' %". In"). " II" In "III" /tIIDUY
1111111 eilliet V, or, if t appear hoOliitit.: of
1,1 ith% 11 1111 l that I. mitt 11
Oleg. till I' hi. I 1 i
We give Ale. iilacillcuitt
credit for the giant
sense and right feeling discoverable in this
passage.
The incidents in the life of a successful sur-
geon, apart from his practice, are usually few.
As a lecturer, Abernethy's reputation rapidly
spread, and, es a eionsequenee of his reputa
1111 l , Lis prat-lice became huge 11110 lucrative.
At the latter end of he decided on the
important step of iiiiirriage:--
iss Aline Tlimlfall aas the daughter of a genili•nion
Milo hail retired nom lataisieati, and Mho it all"
IWriiullll. loiu or Is.lKhlNnll IN/1.11 1.1 ihs llti •
Ei hits whin. This July lout been 1.l it) init Nah a.m.,
friensim m itt 1.0804011 (at Putney, t‘i. belly% hum
Abernethy alga lug, mill, set Mu liven invol, iu
his profeasi d enpaeity.
A bertiethytt courtship 5511'i abort, anti Isis
liropositi Charneterisl
Ile wrote a W. 1.. ssr 10%114.4, 111(qtaing the
1101111' and Voricty of his ocentiot ion% in apology for the
inethit.l saf milking theca kilo ti, and te.plrsling the holy
to lake a fortnight to e.iiiatiler her I iply. Wi• are not
stun. that 4asile tiling Might led 1111‘0. 111.1.11,.aistin 41.1.1..
ration, .4

We are not informed whether the laity told:
advantage of the fortnight to, considerately
given her to vonsult her heart, but at itti rate
tproposal was accepted, and Abernethy was
plenr
feetly happy in his eluiiee
:
M r+. Abenietliy is still li‘itig, and well enough we Umt
to look hack with pleasure Oil 01 perkier*
romparatively few Mare been permitted to rsijoy.
As he hall been wedded to leetuting before
he took a wife, he would not suffer his new
love to separate him from his old. Ills usual
lecture at the hospital was giten oft his
marriage slay :
Ninny years sifter 11u, I met him ell • g into thn
hospital oily flay, it little 140 I 111.• I ..... r sit letirsio•
and seeing him lather %Imo sly .1. 0 sill a wlutc want-
cunt, I said : . . .

" Yon ate very gay tu•Jny. sir'
".‘7," rai4 ht,"(me of tler girls wos married this

■

I

I

592

" Tndred, sir!" I said, " you hhoodil haw• given yourself a
holiday on such an oocasion, and not come down to
lecture.,•
" Nay," returned he, " etaid ! I came down to lecture the
day I was married nt3aelf!"
- - - - - .

It was in I F4O 1 that Abernethy published his
principal work, lly Hook,- in which he en-
deavoured to reduce his principles to
system. This production is defended by Mr
Macilwain at great length, lint the contro-
1-my does not belong to oar columns. I,llw
most persons of quick temperament, he was
inclined to try filets lry prueoneeiveil
iwpres-
sisn►s, and to attach more importance to
theories than in actual practice was iliae to
them. In his contempt of quackery lie fell
into something like it, when to bliNt! tine• in
consultation " he referred his patients to his
book, and especially page
His essential kindness of heart, strongly
insisted on here, has never that we recollect
been doubted ; but that tidgettiness or irrita-
bility which it is admitted he possessed is rl
fault which medical 11101 above all others
should endeavour to overcome. Sometimes
his rudeness Hilt with just reproof :

A hilly, the wife of is very
Pinked him, and finding I
heard of your rudeness Itt•fore l 'lune, sir, lint I dill not
citioret this." When Alivrinthy mop hi r the loremeripti. n,
Nile said, " Whet 11111 I no slim %tilt this ?
•

"Anything you like. Pot it in the fire, if pin please."
The hilly took him wt his word, luitl his fee on the
table, threw the preseripti tttt in the tire, and hastily left
the room. Alteenethy followed her into the hall, pressing
her to take bark her fee, or to let him give her another
preseription ; but the holy was inexorable, and left the
MOW.

On the other haunt, he was rangy if ever
known to trentu poor patient roughly :

We had (write* Mr. Maellwain I UN dresser A' II 04 -
%Wend& period the °error many of his patients ; but we
cannot charge our • nirimay with a single instance of
unkindness to a hospital patient, whilst we are deepl
impressed by the constant prevalence of a generally
kind and unaffected sympathy with them. In private
practice, also. any caw that really required skill mid (Hs-
erbninatiou was pretty sure to meet with the attention that
it deserved.

A correspondent of the author supplies a
ease in w•hieh, ))V considentte attention,
Abernethy saved the leg of a poor hospital

patient :
It was on going thrnngh the wards after a visit to Bath
that, looming up between the rime of beds, with an Ma-
nicure .'n,wd of pupils after him, myself among the test,
that the appaiitlon of a poor Irishman, with the scantiest
shirt I ever saw, jumping out of Lad. and literally throwing
himself on his knees at Abernethy's feet, presented itself.
For some moments everybody was bewildered; but the
poor fhllow, with all his country's eloquence, poured out
suds a torrent of thanks, prayers. and blessings, mid made
such pantomimic displays of his leg, that we were not long
hit iu doubt. "'That's the kg, yer homier ! tllury be to
tiled ! ler honuor's the boy to do it ! Ably the heitycle, be
your hell ! Long life to yer homier ! the divide with
the 4441041 m that said yer lemma. would cot it eft!" AT,
Tlw man hail come into the hospital about three ths
before, with diseased ankle, and it had been at owe eon•
dimmed to amputation. Something. however. induced
Abernethy to try what rest and constitutional treatment
would do for it, and with the happiest result.
With some difficulty the patient was got into brit. and
Abernethy took the opportunity of giving us a el'
turn about discos,* and their constitutional treatment.
And now commenced the fun. Fiery sentence Abernethy
uttered, rat eittifirmed. " Thrue, per blitmor, divole a lie
in it! His hit is the grate &visitor entirely 1" While
sit the slightest allusion to his ease, on' went the he&
clothes, anti up %Wilt the leg as it' he were taking aim at
the ceiling with it. "'That's it, by titers! and a blither
leg than the villin's that wanted to cut was
II NM after I went to London, and I was much struck with
Abernethy's manner; in the lst of the laughter, st.top-
big down to the patient. he said, with di earnestness,
I am glad your leg is doing well, but never kneel except
to your Maker."
(living Abernethy all the credit he deserves
for his kindness to poor patients, we really
cannot see why persons of superior refinement
and delicacy should have been most exposed
to his rudeness. It is creditable to his
benevolence that he never would take a fee
from any person whose ability to give it he
haw 11%8011 to dealt.
As a lecturer he was unrivalled. He had
the happy faculty of engaging the attention of
his hearers and of entbreing his principles by
illustrations, and by a look and manner that
were never forgotten :

roe

AILL

etigatittlrife t
% inn iiiii i Tel 11: l% ry case ailmowt was
tale, iunl every tale iuipre.,ett
4111.;1 •-•tatqloimis:,.s.' biltlfikt i.oute relation in the smiettire,
of lb. Ont. if he was telling any-
•
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