Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-28

The Statement That 1t DID Made on
the Alleged Authority of DIR. Evans.

The Statement That 1t Did Made on
the Alleged Authority of DR.. Evans.
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The death Of Napoleon Ill, in 1873. was
supposed at the time to have been the result
Of a surgical operation. and the real facts in
the case have been suppressed from the
public as well as from the medical profess
sion. But this fact Is now demonstrated
to me- 1t is well known that DIR. Thomas
w. Evans, the celebrated American dentist
Of Paris, assisted the Empress Eugene to
escape from Paris during the late war with
Germany. DR.. Evans informed the writer
OF this that he intends. after a time. to
publish all the facts incident to the death
of Napoleon III. at Chiselhurst. I have
not only the authority Of DIR. Evans. but
also the statement Of DIR. Gage OF London.
in saying that Napoleon did not die from
the shock of a surgical operation. but from
dose Of choral administered two days
after the operation.
Louis Napoleon began to complain early
in 1870. and was in failing health at the
commencement OF the war with Germany.
but although his French medical advisers
stated that he had some kidney or similar
affection, they never accurately recognized
or made known the exact nature of his
malady. At the time Of the battle of Sc
dan, and when he was captured. he was suf-
fering most intensely. and the cause of his
suffering (Which was then unknown) proved
to be "a INT OF stone" Not until his arrival
in London, and at his residence at Chisel-
hurst, after consulting Sir Henry Thomp-
SON, was the true diagnosis Of his ailment
made known. BY careful examination
of the patient. and sounding, the existence
Of a stone In the bladder was diagnosti-
Gated.
The operation Of lithotomy was advised.
and 1t was made by Sir Henry Thompson
on the 10th OF January, 1873, and, with the
assistance or several physicians, the cal
culus was removed. The emperor endured
the operation well and reacted satisfactorily
and joy reigned within the imperial house.
hold. Everything looked favorable on
the day following the operation his tenn
perature was normal and he took nourish-
ment with a relish and was full of hope
and in the best of spirits. Sir Henry
Thompson regarded him as being In no
danger. Napoleon's son, Prince Louis who
was then a pupil at Woolwich. was ar home
during the operation. but returned to school
the next day after the operation, as the
whole outlook was decidedly hopeful
In England 1t Is the custom, when a sur
gical operation Is necessary, for the sur
geon to make the operation, but for the at
tending physician to make all the pre-
scriptions. Sir William Gull was the EN-
peror's physician, and, on the evening of
January II, the second day after the oper-
dtlOL, a Jose OF CnlOral was ordered.
The emperor objected to taking it and
even absolutely refused to do so, because
dose Of 1t had been given him the even
ing previous. and, although II produced
sleep, II left him with such a feeling of
oppression and malaise. that he remark ed
In common sense way that as he was
doing well and suffering no especial pain
he did not think another dose was REQUIRED
Of the suggestions of the imperial patient
himself had been followed IL might NOT
have been SO we'll politically for the peace
Of Europe) The eminent Sir William GuII
insisted that the medicine should be taken
and the empress was appealed to to ADVISE
the emperor to obey his doctor Through
her persuasions the emperor yielded. and
the dose was swallowed. The action OF the
choral upon Napoleon was to produce great
depression, followed by a profound eutha-
nasia that ended in an eternal sleep-the
sleep OF death.
Sir William Gull. SO well known as the
court physician Of Queen Victoria and the
Prince Of Wales. has passed away, but Sir
Henry Thompson still lives, and the sur
geon who successfully removed the calculus
was not responsible for Napoleon's fatal
Sleep After Napoleon's sudden death there
was, as IL by consensus of agreement
little said in London medical Journals about
It, and no official report Of the autopsy was
ever given. This action was resolved upon
out OF respect to the feelings of the sadly
afflicted and Inflated empress. whose many
disappointments in this life have been truly
overwhelming. '
T. GRISwOLD COMsTocK Mn