The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-19 00:00:00

(From the Times.)

Notwithstanding the apparently favourable language of
the Bulletins, the private accounts from Windsor afford
little hope of the recovery of the Royal patient.

(From the London Medical Gazette of Junel9.)
About eight or ten days ago, a very important change
began to m mifest itself in his MAJESTY'S symptoms; the
diuretics, which had so long been inert, at length came into
full operation, in consequence of which the dropsical effu-
sion rapidly diminished, and the respiration became pro-
portionately improved. This event, which we not unfre-
quently witness in such cases, after the most active remedies
have for weeks seemed altogether inefficient, has excited so
much astonishment in the public mind, that a variety 01
absurd and contradic•ory explanations have been offered to
account for it. - One is, that an abscess hid burst in the chest
and the matter been expectorated; another, that his MA-
JESTY never had dropsy at all; and a third, that the relief had
been produced by a surgical operation, " an incision in the
chest, ha the region of the heart," by which the water was
removed. None of these rumours are founded in fact, and
the circumstance which we have above mentioned renders
the case sufficiently intelligible without them. The opera-
tion of puncturing the chest is one occasionally performed
for the evacuation of fluid within the chest, and which has
recently been practised at several of the London hospital!.
We mention this, because it must serve to convince those
who have suggested this measure to his MAJESTY'S attend-
ants that the idea must have been famidar to their mind.,,
and would, no doubt, have been adopted, had the nature
of the case rendered it advis able. It is very seldom, how-
ever, that in cases of dropsy such an expedient can be ad-
missible. Indeed it is only where there is a circumscribed
collection cf fluid, unattended with organic disease, that
any encouragement is held out for its performance. In a
case of this kind, which we attended a few weeks ago with
Mr. LAWRENCE, a collection of fluid within the chest was
evicietted by puncture, and the gentleman speedily reco-
vered ; but some idea of the general result of this opera-
tion, if adopted at all indiscritninat,ly, may be formed from
the fact, that in the practice of one of the most expe-
rienced physicians in London it has succeeded once only
out of twelve times.
It is curious that it does not strike those who inundate
the Palace with proposals for his MAJESTY'S relief, that
their suggestions proceed upon the improbable supposi-
tion that they who do not know the exact condition of the
Roy,l Patient should be better able to minister to his dis-
ease than the experienced and skilful men who are con-
stantly with him. Nay, some have insinuated that the
nature of the disease itself had been alto:teethe'. mistaken;
funding this imputation on the very extraordinary
grounds of his MAJESTY having obtained so much relief,
when all hope seemed to be nearly at an end ;—bat they
forget that, by how much the more unexpected the fa-
vourable change, by so much the more does it show the
excellence of the treatment ; for a single files step in at:
individual labouring under the symptoms which his MA-
JESTY is acknowledged to have had, could scat cely have
failed to prove fatal.
But it has very naturally been inquired why the Physi-
cians have not given a specific name to his MAJESTY',
complaint—why they have not spoken in language more
familiar to the public ear? Let it be I.lnernbered, how-
ever, that they are not the only parties concerned, and
there may exist obstacles to more explicit communications,
such as they are unable to overcome. The confidence
which, even in priva'e life, professional men are accus-
tomed to hold sacred, may here be strengthened by express
declaration of the Royal will. Nor can those who regard
the circumstance we have just hinted at with an imp trtial
eye, find any"diffieulty is, accounting for the absence of
more detailed information in the Bulletins, without
plating either a disregard of public opinion, or any other
dereliction of their great and most responsible duty, to
those talented and honourable men, to whom, and to
whom alone, by his own special desire, the care of the
SovnatiGN has only on this occasion been confided.

With regard to the prospects of the future, held out by
the change in the symptoms which we have above de-
scribed, we lament to sly, that the mere disappearance
of the effusion does not by any means justify the san-
guine hopes which some have entertained ;—the evacua-
tion of the fluid can only give temporary relief, while the
organic cause which produced it remains behind. We areunderuder the painful necessity, too, of contradicting the state-
ments about his MAJESTY'S returning appetite and im-
proving strength ; though they have been current in the
highest circles, and given on the authority or those who
might be supposed to be well informed, yet are these re-
parts lamentably exaggerated ; and so far from being able
to walk across his room, or to breakfast on 6' broiled
chicken," we know that two days ago his MAJESTY con-
tinued in the most urgent stat.a of debility', and that hi,
susOnance almost exclusively consisted of clove-tea, and
candle with a little brandy. Tilt, thciefore, there be
more decided renovation of the vital powers than has yet
been manifested, we greatly fear that the confident anti-
cipations of the KING'S permanent te,!overy, which are in
circulation, must be looked upon as indicating the ardent
wishes of his 'movie rather than the reasonable hopes of
his attendants.

(From the Lancet.)
When we first noticed these Bulletins in this Journal,
it 'vas St tted that we wual not he so unjust as to decide
upon the medical acquirements of their authors, merely
from the terms in which they were written. We must
say, however, that if ada.,-.ted as guides whereby to de-
termine, either professional or general attainments, they
indicate anything but clearness of intellect. We must
therefore give the liege! Doctors all the benefit they can
derive from " invisible" influence, in order to protect
than froin the charge of gross ignorance. If unhappily,
t my are confused and oppressed I,y a weight of exactiims
and obligations arising flout various quarters, why d,
they not condescend to employ the elm, and discriminating

lmenage of the Noble Premier, who seaks much more
.renly, and, as circumstances tend to prove, with a far
more accurate knowledge of the power of the Kma's
eoustitution, -than it is the good fortune of the Bulletin-
writers to possess. Extraordinary as it may 'appear,
when, on several occasions, the. Physicians have betrayed
,he greatest alarm for the safety of the ROyal Patient, the
Noble Duke has calmed their apprehensions, by assurine:
them, with his characteristic firmness, that there existed
much vitality and strength of system, and that he could per-
ceive no immediate cau.e of danger; hut when, at the be-
ginning of the last week, the Noble Duke was summoned
in such extreme haste to the Palace, about the time when
the attendance of the Royal "Undertakers" was demanded,
his Grace expressed much surprise at the "embarrass-
ment and alarm exhibited by the medical attendants, and
declared that lie eould perceive no serious alteration in his
MAJESTY'S condition. The subsequent amendment of the
Kiew goes strongly to establish the Noble Duke's medical
discrimination. It seems, indeed, to be an universally
conceded point that his filastsTr's physicians have alto-
;ether mistaken the complaint of their Royal Master; or
that, from the beginning, they have been completely
waffled in forming a diagnosis, so that their scientific atet
" invisible" deliberations have not yet given birth to a (I
sided opinion. HIPPOCRATES and other sages have said,
that a disease, when it is known, is half cured, because a
correct diagnosis, with ordinary prattitioners, leads to a
safe and scientific method of treatment: But Royal Physi-
cians are privileged mortals; they reject the common light*
of their brethren, prefer benighted Movements, aad seem to
throw themselves altogether upon the doctrine of chances ;
and, in conformity with the syitem, it was .deemed
expedient, we presume, that the Bulletin should be signed
!,y a physicicn who did not see his patient. By the way,
anxious to keep within the limits of our information, we
stated on a former occasion that Sir 11ATTWIW TIERNEY
had net been consulted by the KIXG during a period of
twelve clip. This intelligence, as might naturally be ex-
pected, excited the utmost astonishment in the minds of
those persons who had been accustomed to look upon the
Bulletins as the only source whence correct information on
the subject of his MAJESTY'S disease was to be obtained.
We now positively assert, upon the best authority, that Sir
MATTHEW signed the Bulletins during a period of at least
seventeen days, without having been consulted by the Royal
Sufferer. It is, indeed, asserted that the presence of the
Worthy Knight appeared to produce so much irritation
end distress in the bosom of his Masityrr, that it was
thought prudent to request him to withdraw, and he thus
signed the Bulletins without examining the subject of them,
tru•ting to chance and " invisible" influence for their ac-
curacy. The three " Sirs" are said to have acted towards
each other with great delicacy and kindness on this mo-
mentous and perilous occasion. Various reasons hare be' n
alleged for his MAJESTY'S displeasure, but the repo' t of its
having been caused by the flippancy of tongue often no-
ticed in a certain lady is not true.