The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-06 00:00:00

INCOME.

Customs.—Consolidated Duties
Sugar applicable to the
Consolidated Fund
Total Customs

Excise
Stamps
Taxes
Prope ty Tax
Post Office
Crown Lands
Miscellaneous
lmprest and other Monies
Repayment of Advances

To Cash brought to this Account to
be applied to pay off Deficiency Bills

3,274,000

3,271,000
3,011,198
1,561,751
1,::R,114
257,212
141,000
40,c )9
21,557
1 cao 97
235,247

10,5!-i5,709

Jo•,oro

10,365,7( 9

3,671,424

3,674,421
3,049,843
1,523,6 M
1,868,857
454,415
143,0)
0,009
11,917
50,1.6
332,060

11,138,305

11,138,305

REMEDY

HYDROCYANIC ACID—A
FOR BLINDNESS.
(From Chambers' Edinburgh Journal.
In the summer of last year, while residing for a
month in London, no subject of interest which the
metropolis presents engaged so large a share of my at-
tention as one which now, after considerable delibera-
tion, I propose explaining to the reader of these pages
on the score of public duty. I allude to a series of
personal examinations which I made respecting the
validity of certain alleged cures and meliorations of
blindness, performed by Dr. Turnbull, of Russell-
square, chiefly by means of hydrocyanic acid. It is
proper to say why an unprofessional person should
have considered it at all necessary to devote time to
the investigation of a subject of this nature.
The first time I heard anything of Dr. Turnbull's
operations on the eye, was through an article in the
Literary Gazette of June 12, 1842, from which, cn
the credit of that print, and simply for the sake of
conveying what appeared a piece of curious scientific
information to the public, an extract was made into
the present journal (No. 546). There, in all proba-
bility, the matter might have rested, but for what
seemed an unreasonable attack from a Contemporary,
calling in question the truth of the statements in the
Journal, and protesting against the injury they were
likely to accomplish. Having sinned in ignorance, if
they had sinned at all, the editors of Chambers's Edin-
burgh Journal resolved to embrace the first convenient
opportunity of investigating, personally, what was
evidently a two-sided subject, and of forming their
own opinion. No doubt this was a hazardous reso-
lution, for, unacquainted with the state of ocular sur-
gery, they might possibly be misled by appearances,
and give credence to what was in reality a fallacy.
Nevertheless, with a determination to exercise caution
in a matter so intricate, to sift the evidence presented,
and to judge only from facts, they hoped to satisfy
themselves whether the allegations against them rested
on a basis of truth or prejudice. This opportunity
happily occurred, as has been said, in the summer of
the past year, when one of the editors, the present
writer, was for a few weeks in the metropolis.
To descend to the first person—One of the earliest
of my movements after arriving in town was to wait
upon Dr. Turnbull and explain the object of my
visit. This was no sooner announced, than that gen-
tleman professed his willingness to give me every in -
formation respecting his practice in cases of blindness,
to explain all that seemed puzzling or difficult, and to
submit his patients freely to every sort- of examination
which. I chose to institute. ~-" What time," said I,
"do your gratis patients attend ?" " Thrice a-week,
at nine in the morning." " Then I shall be in at-
tendance at that time during my stay in London." I
did so, and every alternate morning found me on my
way up Tottenham Court-road, towards Russell-
square, where the subjects of my inquiry were con-
gregated.
The cases chiefly brought under my notice wore
those of from thirty to forty poor people, in dif-
ferent states of blindness, and whose condition I could
progressively observe. Some of the cases were among
those which had already been made known in the
Literary Gazette; others were more recent. In either
instance, the parties showed no reluctance to tell me
the story of their maladies, and submitted with pa-
tience to my repeated examinations and cross-
questionings. One by one they were brought from
an adjoining room into the surgery, and operated
upon in my presence. I shall here describe, as clearly
as possible, the principle on which the Doctor pro-
fesses to act. Some years ago, according to his own
account, having remarked that the eyes of persons who
had destroyed themselves by hydrocyanic or prussic
acid remained clear and dilated, he considered that
the acid exerted a specific action upon the eye, which
might be made available as a medical agent for re-
lieving many of the , diseases to which that organ is
subject. After -feW- cautious experiments, he be-
came assured of the- truth of his conjectures, and
began to apply the vapour of this powerful acid to
the eyes of persons afflicted with blindness, and
with surprising effect. As far as I have compre-
hended his explanations, the vapour acts both as a
stimulant and sedative. By exciting the small
blood-vessels to a great degree, the languid circulation
is roused into activity ; and nature, no longer shackled
by the morbid affection, hastens to restore the
organ to its normal condition, and sight is the conse-
quence. Subsequent experiments showed to Dr.
Turnbull that the practice might be advantageously
varied, to suit different cases, were he to employ other
agents, as the vapour of chloracyanic acid, sulphu-
retted chyazic acid, and chloruret of iodine. Each of
these, therefore, he now uses in a small phial with a
glass stopper, and with a mouth shaped to cover the
hollow of the eye. In the bottle containing the hydro-
cyanic acid, in order to prevent any dangerous conse-
quences from accidentally spilling the liquid, he puts
some pieces of asbestos to act as a sponge ; the use of
it is hence quite safe, care only being taken not to
allow the patient to smell it. The same thing is done
with respect to the chloracyanic acid.
Having received these preliminary explanations, it
became important for me to understand upon what
kinds of blindness the vapour of these acids might be
most advantageously directed. The cases submitted
to my inspection were various in their nature—opa-
city of the cornea, rheumatic opthalmia, staphyloma,
or projecting sloughed eye, amaurosis, cataract, and
some others. On some of these the operations with
the hydrocyanic acid and other vapours were, from
what I could observe, more efficacious than others.
The first case of more than ordinary interest
which I shall mention was that of Diana Prim-
rose. A number of years ago, as this woman told
me, her eyes became afflicted with opthalmia;
they were swollen, inflamed, and so blind, that she
could only distinguish light, and she required to
be led by a guide ; to aggravate her complaint, the
eyelashes would grow no other way but inwards.
The pains in her head were very severe. She attended
several hospitals and institutions in the hope of finding
relief, but without the least benefit. On one occasion,
a surgeon cut away a portion of the upper lid of the
left eye, and many of her eyelashes were from time
to time pulled out. From less to more, the poor
creature became a spectacle of horror to all who saw
her; and her existence was a burden which she would
willingly have resigned. At length she visited Dr.
Turnbull, who, by applying his usual medical agents,
suppressed the virulence of the complaint ; the hitherto
refractory eyelashes began to grow as nature designed
them, outwards; and now there seemed little the matter
with her, except a redness of the eyelids, and a dimness
in the organs of vision. She said she could now see
pretty well ; she could read large print, walk about
without a guide, the pains in her head were gone,
and she was able to support herself by her industry ;
in proof of this, she brought forward a basket of
coloured worsted articles, by the knitting of which
she earns a livelihood. She expressed a lively grati-
tude for her restoration to sight, and the last time I
saw her she was advancing towards a perfect recovery.
Of the cases of staphyloma, or projecting eye, with
opacity of the cornea, none interested me more than
that of a little girl, by name Georgina Larkins. This
sweet-tempered child became blind when she was six
days old, in consequence of an attack of inflammation.
Referring to the professional history of her case, already
before the public, it is sufficient for me here to mention,
that all the ordinary means for restoring sight proved,
in her case, unavailing ; and that in April, 1840, she
was brought to Dr. Turnbull, a ghastly object—the
left eye projecting to twice the natural dimensions,
and of a general blue colour, with a white body re-
sembling a mother-of-pearl button in the centre;
while the right eye was white, without any appear-
ance of iris or pupil. The case was as hopeless as
could well be imagined, yet to it the Doctor set with
his applications, beginning by putting a drop of castor
oil into each eye, and occasionally substituting for the