New-York tribune., 1909-01-16
Literary .Nesvs and CrfffcfSnE

: ing centuries came to represent all that was
traditional, consecrated and not TO be disputed
in medical science. Yet each Of them history
shows. was an eager experimenter. impatient OF
authority, preaching independence and freedom
Ambrose Pare who began life as humble
barber surgeon. and ended the greatest sur
eical authority OF the sixteenth century and
the best beloved man in France. had no Train
ing. even In the regular schools; but wherever
he wentJ-tbrough the hospitals, on oattiehelos'
in the court-he kept his eyes open. and oroCsh'
10 bear upon his task hard. common sense I'M
patience of vapid tradition and enormous prac-
teal experience" The daily schedule followed
by JC&In Hunter, the greatest OF Enghsh sur
geons. is worth repeating, If only for the edl-
fcation Of those medical men OF our own Gay
who complain OF onerous duties
All great scientists have been workers, but Hunter
worked in fashion unkrown even to our @ 5out
waiting for decent toilet hastened TO his private
dissectlng room. There he worked until = o coCk'
fast time until IL o'clock he received office pa,
aRa 5s ni At p out 09k to- make E9Pt $40 na6fl calls
his hospital visit He returned home at at ocock ,as
WENT Years Of his life drank wine After
Gant 10 e STk again Those evening hours
his most effective hours He kept at IL aS
until after midnight, going 10 bed between anu
o'clock IN the morning
A genius Of Hunters canbre is conceded the
privilege of being eccentric-though one can but
think sympathetically Of the wife. Hunter S
wife. il appears was a pleasant. sociable body
given TO cakes and ale. Dr. Mumford gives US
this anecdote out of an older record
returning s one & eEePHg s's a96Sn 9tsf Fs6 hs5a das e
with musical professors connosseITs ana oneT aT
t9 whom t.4a E aleT a5d waR6e haf straight into The
room addressed the estonished guests IN the 1ohoW
@ % % have I se SaT n0e a0he Of It fhi6 b
as returned home TO study nope the
present company VIII retire
The story Of Lord Lister belongs to our own
times. and no more brilliant pages are to be
| found in the annals Of surgery than those tell
ing Of his indefatigable study of surgical wounds
il the hope Of discovering the cause Of fnfec-
ton. The frightful hospital records Of the
, Crfmean War had'roused all Europe TO the mo-
nervousness OF the problem. Soldiers were
being killed in battle by tens and hundreds, but
they were dying OF surgical diseases by thou
sands" How Lister, keeping pace with the
wonderful meteorological researches Of Pasteur
worked out the theory Of wound infection; how
he introduced 2 new regimen of cleanliness into
the hospital wards ,the picture Of what these
wards had been before his day is almost tncred-
ible,. how he began the use Of antiseptic baths
for wounds and finally instituted the employ
ment in all surgical operations of Gsept{c instT1-
ments and dressing gs-"who may tell cries our
author with justifable enthusiasm. the effect
Of these victories upon surgical progress" He
continues:
No man has reckoned the iTnmsasurabe saving OF
life the uncomputable relief of suffering the open
ing Of new surgical fields. Daring has become con-
servatis1n: rashness has become common sense
His genius srasped at a. breathless possibiI-
ftv. never before conceived by conservative minds:
and SO following those sound inductive methods
known TO science through the ages, he launched US
upon an era which is truly the most brilliant in the
history Of surgery.
Both of these volumes have been written con
dU,orc For the Regius Professor biography has
possessed a lifelong interest, both ''as recre-
alton and for its value in education" Dignity
and judicial reserve characterize his style; one
IS aware that the author IS accustomed 10
certain Difference from his audience; yet under
meath is the true scientific enthusiasm, the pas
sion for facts, for truth, which has been
the inspiration OF all his illustrious predeces-
sors in medicine. DR.. Mumfords volume Ia more
likely, We fancy, TO prove attractive TO the lay
reader for he rather enjoys letting himself
go" now and then. taking full advantage Of the
romantic and picturesque aspects of his theme.
Memoirs of three of Boston's most famous sur
geons-warren, Bigelow and Howe-constitute
an interesting local" feature Of the volume