Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-11-02
TRIALS OF PHYSICIANS.
Famous SoyereignS and the Diseases
Which Caused Their Deaths.
All History TestifieS That the Deaths
of important PerSonages are
Chargeable to the Doctors.

There is probably no position more
difficult than that flied by royal physi- |
cian. Hundreds of eyes are upon him, |
criticising every word AID every act, aud |
often throwing on mis- shoulders the bur |
den of the royal sufferers complaints in
stead of attributing them to hereditary
7sInts or carelsssne>s of the patient him
self.
The most modern instsncs of q famous
royal physician Is of course Dr.. Nacken-
zie, and from his newly published book
We know how much he had to bear at q
foreign court, through jealousy and dis
rust of brother physicians. As TO the
resignation and kin dnsss of his royal pa
rient, Dr.. Mackenzie gives wiling evil
dence 10 his papers.
But thai ali famous patients are as re-
signed and reasonable as the late emperor
IS by no M ans the case. Oar own ruler,
President Garfield, showed these charac
reris'ics 10 marked degree during his
iJng and painful struggle with death,
whIe tbs doctors held consultations au6
arguments over ms condition. The 'ortl-
tuds which bost he and Emperor FREEZER
ck display ed IN those weary days of suit
Cerlng mark them as soldiers had they
never fought on the field.
L ne NlIc Si zlilSs OF kdaCE
Beatrice of Modena, suffered for years
with malignant cancer. She was an exile
~ the French court and friend of Nine.
Nsintelon. Having tried simple RENE
dies withaut relief, she heard of q dos
re.s IN Paris who claimed to cure every
form of cancer. Thus We see that quacks
houTi-hsd then as aow. Nine. de Msin-
lemon advised the queen OF England 10 be
nj ,,s
ser bsing desperate, went TO Paris to see
this woman without beneficial results.
Mary then placed herself under the care
of Surgeon Beulin, VINO gave testimony
to his patients gentleness in suffering.
The skill with which this physician treat
ed the disease-for Mary lived several
years though in continual suffering show
that he must have been very proficient in
his profession.
case in which the doctors disag iced
was that of Mary IL, of England. She
Was a high liver, remained in bed until
late in the day, drinking chocolate once
or twice before rising, and as conse-
quence was extremely feshy and full
Dlooded. She was taken i'll, and one of
her ply sicians, DR.. Radcliff, declared she
had measles, and the other DR.. Milling
ton, pronounced her disease small pox.
Between them the queen had little hope
of recovery. About three days before
her death, violent erysipelas covered her
face. Whom the doctors saw this, they
warned King William that she would not
live. DR.. RadCliff certainly had hard
time. He was Jacobite and the OPP
posite party declared thst he was indit
ferent about the queen. She herself, be-
ing cut of her head, imagined ne had
given her popish nurse, and wa. con-
tinually raving against him.
Qaeen Anne in her last sickness, being
overcome with remorse for her treatment
of her father and brother, continually
cried out: ooh, my brother! Oh, my
| poor brotherl' Lest the queens wild
stuff" should be breathed abroad con-
5ultation of physicians was delayed. The
trouble was violent pain in the head.
Finally DR.. Mead, enc of the royal ply
sicians, was called in. He caused the
| queen to be blooded and declared she
could not live az hour. AS he was whig,
how much the wish was father to the
thought in this decision we may guess.
But the queen lived many hours, and TIE
| attendants tainted the doctor for his
| mistaken representation. However, the
| mistake caused the peaceable accession
| telligenoe of the queens expected death
hours before it really occurred.
We know that Francis, husband of
! Mary, Queen of Scots, suffered for three
| months with an abscess in his ear, for
| which the physicians could afford no re-
| lief. However, they knew how hopeless
| his case was, and told him he could not
| live at most more than two years. But
| he did not live one-fourth OF that time.
The death of Henrietta Maria, wife of
! Charles l., was caused by the obstinate
| ignorance of French doctor. The
| queen had lung trouble, caused by the
| fogs of England. Hoping TO improve by
! living in q milder climate, she went to
| France. Here consultation of the royal
| physicians was he'd. Tbs queen finding
it impossible to sleep, they ordered a
| certain quantity of opium to be admins
| tered at IL O'Clock at night. She declared
| hat her English physician had warned
! her never to take opium, as its results on
| her constitution would be fatal. At this
| all the French physicians but one gave
| way. Bat he insisted that opium should
| be administered. Early in the evening
| the queen slept soundly; but one of her
| maids awaked her at IL to give the drug.
| In the morning the queen was dead from
an overdose of opium
Good Queen Bess held physicians and
physics in contempt, and moreover, WAS
4 coward wherever they were concerned
she osing in great affection from tooth
ache, summoned her doctor. He wished
to extract the tooth, but che could not
summon sufficient courage. To show how
little pain was really experienced in losing
tooth, Lord Burleigh, who had but few
teeth left, had one of his own pulled in
the presence of the queen. Even this
would not induce her to have the offend
ing member taken out.
The death of Richard the lion hearted
was caused by the unskiilful treatment or
slight wound. Presumably court
physician was not with him and some ig
norsnt physician attended him.
The recovery of Prince Edward in the
Holy Land, from the wound caused by
poisoned weapon. was not due to the fact
that his wife Elinor sucked the poison
from the wound, as the romancer. have
it; though her nursing may have done
something toward it, but to the skill with
which his physician treated the poisoned