The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-23 00:00:00

PAINLESS SURGICAL OPERATIONS, AND OPE-
RATION ON AN INFANT BORN BLIND.

Saturday being operating day at the Liverpool Eye and
Ear Infirmary, an excellent opportunity was afforded of
witnessing some most extraordinary and interesting ope-
rations upon patients placed under the influence of the
ether vapour. In this hospital this has ceased to be an
experiment—it is a fact, a confirmed and most useful fact
—confirmed from repetition. A few weeks ago we re-
corded the results of the first trials of this curious agent ;
we now again confirm the statement we then made of the
pain-subduing influence of the ether vapour. Painless,
indeed, in every sense of the word, were-the operations
performed ; and the effective manner in which the ether
vapour was administered, and the rapid and workmanlike
style in which the operations were performed, seemed to
afford to the numerous professional gentlemen present
(some of them. from. Manchester and from other distant
places) the greatest gratification. Amongst the visitors
were Doctors Edwards, Hully (Manchester), Turnbull,
Macnaught, Manifold, Is:ay, Borrows, &c., and a number
of non-professionals. Several improvements upon, the
original ether apparatus were exhibited ; one of veryneat
but complicated form was shown by Mr. Yaniewicz,
almost the first dentist who used the vapour in Liverpool.
Mr. Neill, the skilful operating surgeon, used a large and
simple glass globe, with two openings—the upper opening
for the introduction of atmospheric air, with its:tube
carrying that air into the bottom of the globe; the other
opening nearly in the centre of the globe, having an elastic
tube and breathing apparatus, or mouth-piece, attached.
The operations commenced with a most decided case of
squint. The young and really nice-looking female was
servant to. Mr. Kay, the surgeon of Pembroke-place, who
was present to encourage and assist the patient. The
ethensation. was very speedily accomplished, and the ope-
ration was over in less than a minute; we did not see the
young woman once shrink, or make the least quiver or
movement to betoken pain. Then almost immediately
she stood before us and her deformity was gone. The
second case was also a female a little girl of ten or eleven
years old. Her squint was horrid, and from its iodina-
tion it rendered her eye useless. The ether at first pro-
duced a straightening and rigidity of the limbs, which we
found would not interfere with the operation, and a few
whiffs more of the ether, and she was as passive as possi-
ble. Her eye was quite straight in a minute, and -whilst
we were looking on with some trepidation she was indulg-
ing (she tells us) in a delightful dream, made up of " a
game with playfellows, swallowing rum punch which made
her feel funny, until somebody threw dust in her eye, and
then she was afraid that she would be too late to get to
the hospital ;" such was her story to us.
The next was a male case for operation for cataract—
the man said he heard and knew all that was going on,
but did not feel the slightest pain. Next an old woman,
also for cataract—she said she felt not so much pain as if
she had pricked her finger, and accounted for her excla-
mation of " Oh, God !' by saying that she knew an oper-
ation was going on, and she was imploring for its success.
The last was a crowning case. It was a poor little in.
fant which had been born blind—it was now only eighteen
months old. The kindly care of surgeon and matron to
prevent the little one being injured, by tenderly holding
and restraining it in its efforts during the momentary
operation, was manifested by swaddling and pinning it up,
mummy fashion. Both its eyes were operated on, and
we think we heard more than one doctor exclaim, "very
expertly done !"—" dextrously performed !"

LAUNCH OF THE " COUNTESS OF SEFTON."

On Thursday, a fine new ship, called the Countess o f
Sefton, was launched from the building yard of Mr. Thos.
Royden, Baffin-street. She was built by Mr. Royden,
expressly for himself, but he has since been induced to
part with her to Messrs. John Worrall and Co., who in-
tend her for the South American trade, for which, front
her size and build, she is peculiarly well adapted. She is
445 tons burthen, 114 feet long, 26 feet eight inches is
breadth, and 18 feet 6 inches in depth, and is built, from.
an excellent model, of the best English and African oak,
and East Indian teak. The bow of the vessel is orna-
mented by a splendid full length female figure. There
was a numerous company present. The ceremony of
naming the vessel was performed by Miss Preston, and
the vessel glided into the waters amid tremendous cheer-

After the launch, the invited guests repaired to the
mould-room, where a splendid champagne banquet, sup-
plied by Mr. Fisk, of Castle-street, was provided for them
by the owners. Mr. Worrall presided at the principal
table, and Mr. Tyrer and Mr. Royden sat at the head of
the other tables. After the usual loyal toasts, the Chair-
man proposed " The health of the Countess of Sefton."
Mr. Betteley proposed, " Success to the ship." -
The CHAIRMAN, as the principal owner and ships hus-
band, acknowledged the toast. Nothing, he said, could
be more flattering to him than the manner in which he
had been received. He was sure, 'that so far as the lessel
was concerned, she could not be surpassed, and so far as
her name went, that could not be surpassed. He received
permission from the Countess of Sefton to call the vessel
after her, and he was sorry that absence from home pre-
vented her being present. He now begged to propose the
health of Mr. Thomas Royden, the builder of the ship.
His character as a builder was too well known to need
any comment. They would find his vessels standing as
no others stood, and after twenty or thirty years they
were the same as when they were launched. He was
proud he had been able to get this one from him, for he
could assure them that it was not without great difficulty
that he induced him to part with it. Mr. Royden was
now building a government frigate, and when he would be
able to lay on another for him he could not tell, but the
sooner the better.

The health of Mr. Royden was then drunk w'ith three
times three, and that gentleman returned thanks.
Several other toasts having been drunk, Mr. Roydea
proposed the healths of " John Worrall and Co."
The CHAIRMAN responded, and proposed " the town
and trade of Liverpool." In the course of his observa-
tions, he said he did not call that man a Liverpool mer-
chant, who for the mere sake of economy, went out of
the town to get his ships built. He called that man a
Liverpool merchant who supported the town from which
he obtained his living, and from which he hoped, perhaps,
to derive a fortune. lie himself had been only three
years a merchant, and during that time he had lost several
vessels, but he had replaced them with Liverpool-built
ships, this being the fourth that he had purchased, and so
long as they could build such ships as the Countess of
Sefton in Liverpool he would never go elsewhere. It
might be considered an expensive vessel, but only look at
it twelve years hence, and then they would see whether it
was expensive or not. (Loud cheers.) The toast was
drunk with loud cheers, and the company shortly after-
wards separated.

MESSRS. GAMBLE AND NOTT'S ELECTRO-
MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

(Extracted from the Mining Journal.)
had yesterday the high gratification and plea-
sure of witnessing Messrs. Gamble and Nott's electro-
magnetic telegraph at work at the Northampton Station.
Between this terminus and the Blisworth Station, the
telegraph communication in question is established. Its
beautiful simplicity and its unerring precision excited my
admiration. It seems to my apprehension the ne plus
ultra of the electric telegraph—a solitary wire, instead
of several, conveys the intelligence. When the key is
pressed, the hand moves onwards ; and by means of the
dead-beat escapement, its march is firm. I confess that
I infinitely prefer this principle to the trembling magne-
tic needles which vibrate on the clock face of the one in
ordinary use. In Messrs. Gamble and Nott's electro-
magnetic telegraph there is no symbolic notation, as in
the other ; while the shorter terminus of the index points
to numerals, the longer end has a reference to a circle of
alphabets. Its simplicity therefore is such, that a child.
who knows his letters and can spell his words, might
work the elegantly-simple and beautiful contrivance of
Messrs. Gamble and Nott. Mistake and derangement
seem to me to be contingencies scarcely possible ; its very
simplicity is a guaratee against error. On the other
hand, mistake, error, and derangement, appear to be in-
separable from complication of mechanism ; ease and pre-
cision of manipulation, and unerring accuracy of intelli-
gence, seem to he fully warranted by this invention, which
is everything that can be desired or wished for. Add to
this, the expense of establishing this electro-magnetic
telegraph is scarcely a rnoitil of the other; and I must
candidly confess it as my honest opinion, that, had the
injunction applied for by the Electric Telegraph Com-
pany, against Messrs. Gamble and Nott, been sustained,
the community would have suffered a serious misfortune,
and it requires no seer to predict that this electro-magne-
tic telegraph must eventually supplant all others.
J. MURRAY, Ph. D.
Portland place, Hull, Feb. 9, 1847.

FA r. r. or Two Ho trans.—On Thursday morning, short-
ly after four o'clock, an accident of a most alarming nature
occurred in Kent-street, SouthWark,- by which seven per-
sons nearly lost their lives. For some time it was feared
that all the parties htid perished, but the joists and floor-
ing boards having settled upon the top of a bedstead,
they formed a kind of arch, which protected the inmates,
and they thereby escaped a dreadful death. -
EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES !—A Brussels journal
announces that an hotelkeeper and his wife having been
prosecuted for assassinating a traveller, and converting his
dead body into sausages, were found guilty with the ad-
dition of extenuating circumstances. The French journal
the Itlforme copies the above statement, and observes,
that no doubt the "extenuating circumstances" were,
that the convicted parties were induced to commit a
murder in order to feed their fellow-creatures in this
period of universal distress.
COLCHESTER, SATURDAY, FEB. 20.—The week's report
of the markets in this district of the kingdom is rather
more favourable. It is true that, at Ipswich, there was a
further advance of from 3s. to ss. on wheat, which was
sustained at the other markets held in these counties in
the early part of the week ; but it was thought that, as
milder weather had set in, and it was found that the young
wheats are not seriously injured, the upward tendency
would be checked. This has been realised. At Chelms-
ford, yesterday, higher prices were demanded on the
opening of the market ; but a second edition of the
Chelmeord Chronicle says,—" Towards the close a
telegraphic communication from the London market
caused the factors and millers to hold off, and trade to be
very dull." The state of Mark-lane produced a similar
effect upon our market here to-day.
INGENIOUS VERSION.—The question was (proposed)
whether it was possible to give an adequate version of this
seemingly untranslatable couplet .
" Alittitur in disco milli piscis arch,
po non ponetur quiapotus non i
And the solution was this :
" FlFortsee tns:ocenitisthsoleeifiln.ee archbis-
hop nSih
University Magazine.