The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-27 00:00:00

THE HEALTH OF GARIBALDI.

PROFESSOR PARTRIDGE'S REPORT.
TO THE EDITOR.
Sir,—l have the honour of forwarding you the
following official report sent to this committee from
Professor Partridge.—Your most obedient servant,
J. MACRAE MOIR.
Garibaldi Committee, 10, Southampton-street,
Strand, Sept. 26, 1862.

MR. PARTRIDGE'S REPORT, SENT TO THE GARI-
BALDI ITALIAN UNITY COMMITTEE.

" Spezzia, Sept. 20, 1862.
" The reports received in England of General
Garibaldi's health and of the state of his wounds
were so various, contradictory, and alarming, that
I was commissioned by some of the general's friends
to visit him professionally, and to ascertain from
actual observation his real condition.

" I arrived at Spezzia on Sept. 16, and I have
since that time daily visited the general at Varig-
nano, in company with Dr. Praudina and his other
medical attendants, and I have been constantly pre-
sent at the moming dressings of the wound: I have
been further permitted, through the courtesy of the
surgeons, to make a personal examination into the
nature and extent of the injury.
" The accident may be described shortly as a
transverse compound fracture of the right internal
malleolus (ankle bone) produced by a rifle shot
which, though it opened the joint by a small aper-
ture, did not enter it, nor lodge itself in any other
part of the limb. The outer ankle bone remains
uninjured; nor does the astragalus (the great pulley-
like bone of the foot which sustains the leg) appear
to have been injured. The most careful examina-
tions, made immediately after the accident and
since, have led to the conclusion that no other
bone except the tibia (or greater bone of the leg)
was implicated in the injury.
" At first, severe inflammation, swelling, and ex-
cessive pain, followed upon the infliction of the
wound ; but these were subdued by cold applica-
tions, cataplasms, leeches, and the rest, so that now
the ankle and surrounding parts present nearly
their natural size and form, the foot being almost
at a right angle with the leg, and otherwise in ex-
cellent position. The wound, the circumference of '
which (on its superficial aspect) is rather larger
than that of half a franc, looks well, and discharges
healthy matter mingled with molecular fragments of
exfoliating bone, which are rarely larger than grains
of sand. The present:unswollen:state of the ankle and
of the parts around it, permits of an examination
which has confirmed the assurance given by other
circumstances, that the bullet did not enter
the joint, nor effect a lodgement elsewhere.
The injared parts are now free from inflamma-
tion, and unless moved are no longer painful. The
wound is simply dressed with charpie, spread with
cerate and covered with a light poultice, the foot
being maintained at rest, and in position, by a suit-
able apparatus of small pads, pillows, and bandages.
The wound of the left thigh, which was slight and
superficial, is now well.
" The general's manner is very patient and tran-
quil ; his health is fairly good, though he is much
emaciated ; his appetite is tolerable, his pulse is
quiet, his tongue is clean and moist, and upon the
whole he sleeps well. He has within the last two
days been removed into a larger, more airy, and
quieter chamber than that which he atfirst occupied .
Every one about the general seems attentive to his
wants and wishes ; and his friends have supplied
him (and I hope will continue to do so) with those
necessaries and comforts which his situation de-
mands. My opinion is that (bearing in mind his
naturally abstemious habits), if mental as well as
bodily repose are steadily enforced; if the injured
limb be kept at perfect rest; if the general health
and strength be sustained by suitable nourishment
(and if need be, by stimulants), by well-aired, well
kert, and quiet rooms, and lastly by a continued
supply of those comforts necessary to his present
condition, the general will, with time (certainly
some months) and care, have a good, useful foot,
though the ankle joint may become stiff, or, at the
best, be only partially moveable. I beg to express
my entire concurrence in the treatment pursued by
the surgeons who attend General Garibaldi, and
who dress his wound with solicitous care and skill.
Upon one occasion I had the good fortune to see
General Garibaldi in company with Professor
Zanetti, of Florence, and I was gratified to find that
my view of the past and of the prospective treat-
ment (under certain contingencies) of this anxious
case coincided with those of that eminent surgeon.
1
T cannot conclude this report without express-
ing my grateful sense of the prompt aid afforded
me by the authorities here in furtherance
of the objects of my visit ; and I would also
especially acknowledge the frank reception
and the kindness of General Garibaldi's
medical attendants, Drs. Ripari, Prandine,
Abanese, Basile and others, with whom, for the
time being, I have had the pleasure of being thrown
into daily association.
" RICUARD PARTRIDGE, F.R.S.,
"Surgeon to King's College Hospital, Pro-
fessor of Anatomy in King's College,
London, and Member of the Council of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England."

The following extract from a private letter from
Mr. P. A. Taylor, M.P., has been sent to us for
publication :
" Looking back now on our visit to Spezzia, I
am satisfied we did well to go, and that it was well
that Mr. Partridge shou d go. The expression of
sympathy from England was true, natural, and
evidently most grateful to Garibaldi. Nor can it
be overlooked, that thi▪ s :wide-spread feeling in
England towards
Garibaldi cannot but have its
influence on the Italian (I had all but written Pied-
montese)
Government, not Only as regards the care
bestowed and indulgencl▪
es (indnlgencies to Gari-
baldi !) vouchsafed to him now, but also to the