727TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT THROUGH ANIMAL BODIES.

inasmuch as we, the Nationalists, could not return our

Catholic and Nationalist candidate for the medical

officership of the Enniskillen workhouse, we withdrew

Dr. - and supported Dr. --, the farmers’ candidate,against Dr. -, the candidate of the landlords, gentry,and their agents and hangers-on, on an understanding and anarrangement with Dr. - that he would support and usehis influence with the dispensary committee in recommend-ing to them Dr. -, and to have him returned as medicalofficer for the Barrowstown Dispensary district." This

remarkable manifesto carries its own condemnation with it,and will not have the effect of casting oil upon troubledwaters.

____

FERGUSSON’S PUPILS.

IT is a little remarkable that at the present moment at five of the large general hospitals in London pupils of thelate Sir William Fergusson are the senior surgeons. Theyare William Rose at King’s College Hospital, ChristopherHeath at University College Hospital, George Lawson atMiddlesex Hospital, Charles Macnamara at Westminster

Hospital, and Boyce Barrow at the Royal Free Hospital.

TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT THROUGH ANIMALBODIES.

IT appears that the idea of transmitting light through animal bodies is neither one of to-day nor one of foreigndevelopment, for in 1868 our own countryman, Dr. (nowSir) Benjamin W. Richardson, read a paper on the sub-

ject at a meeting of the British Association for theAdvancement of Science at Norwich. Sir BenjaminW. Richardson did not proceed quite in the same wayas that which is adopted now, but he endeavoured tolook directly through the body, in parts. His idea wasthat the body might be considered as translucent,and that different organs could be observed by the directtransmission of light round them or through them. He

made researches with various kinds of light-the electric,the limelight, the ordinary light, gaslight, oxyhydrogen,magnesium, and other lights, and obtained the best results,as he thought, with the magnesium light. At Norwich in1868 he fitted. up a magnesium light with the necessaryshafts and slots, and rendered visible various parts, send-

ing the rays also through the bodies of fish and other

animal organisms. A hand exhibited in the light showeda good transmission of light, and in a child the

bones, under a somewhat subdued light, could be seenin the hand and wrist. A fracture in the bone could, in

fact, be easily made out, or growth from bone. In

a thin young subject the movement and outline of the

heart could be seen in the chest, but the light he

then used was not sufficiently powerful to render the

demonstration all that he could desire. He held that itwould be possible to see through some diseased structuresso as to ascertain whether within a cavity there was fluidor a solid body, and he concluded by stating that his objecthad been rather to mark the origin of a new progressive stepthan to explain a perfect instrument or record an extendedseries of successful results. In the course of his address healso said that the method promised fruits of the greatestinterest and value. It might be used for a variety of physio-logical purposes, and in animals whose tissues were thin thecondition of the circulation and respiration could be care-fully studied under the action of various agents. A littlelater Sir Benjamin W. Richardson showed the practical useof transmitted lights. In one case he detected by it in thefingers of a woman a little plexus of. blood-vessels from

which drops of blood had exuded. He marked the spot,and afterwards, by dividing the plexus, cauterising, and

applying pressure, he completely relieved the patient of hertrouble. It has been observed as a singular fact that

observations such as these recorded in 1868 were allowed to

drop out of sight for so long a period; but the fact is we

were not then so ready for the development as we are atthis time, and photography had not advanced, as it has now,so as to come to our assistance.

THE LONDON SOCIETY OF COMPOSITORS ANDMEDICAL CHARITIES.

WE have received the report of the London Society ofCompositors for the year 1895. The society commenced tosubscribe to medical charities in 1858 with a donation of14 guineas, and has continued to do so ever since, theamount subscribed increasing with every year until in 1895it reached ;&255 3s., the membership being 10,280 in roundnumbers a subscription of 6d. per head. We have noinformation as to the other trade societies, but we

doubt whether they do as well as the compositors.The amount voted for the current year is £ 262 10s. The

total amount subscribed in the seventeen years 1879-at

which date the subscriptions to medical charities were

entered distinct from trade charities-to 1896 is R3350 2s.,an average of nearly £200 a year. If all the trade societieswould show an equal amount of organised benevolencefinancing of hospitals would not, we fancy, be such hardwork as is at present the case.

PURE BEER.

BEER has been the subject of legislation from a very earlytime, and, contrary to what many believe, was adulteratedin the old days as much as it is now, though in quite adifferent way. "And you, maister brewer, that groweth tobe worth £40,000 by selling of soden water, what subtilityhave you in making your beer to spare the malt, and put inthe more of the hop to make your drink, be barley ever socheap, not a whit the stronger, and yet never sell a whit themore measure for money. You can, when you have takenall the harte of the malt away, then clap on store ofwater (’tis cheap enough) and mash out a turning of smallbeer like rennish wine; in your conscience how manybarrels draw you out of a quart of malt ?" So was itwritten in a curious tract published in 1592. According tothose who are supporting by petition Mr. Cuthbert Quilter’sendeavours to introduce a Pure Beer Bill on the 25th inst.the question, How many barrels draw you out of a quarter ofmalt? would still be an awkward one for some "maisterbrewers" to answer. Not, however, because malt is used

sparingly, but not at all. Sweet wort may consist of the

sugars obtained from certain starches by the hydrolisingaction of weak boiling acid. The weak saccharine solution

may then be fermented and subsequently bittered with any-thing but hops. The resulting product, therefore, is not amalt liquor or such a wholesome bitter as if it contained

hops. In short, it is not beer ; no liquor should be de-scribed as such that is not brewed exclusively from barleymalt and hops. We trust that the petitioners who are nowhumbly praying that such a definition may shortly becomelaw will have their petition granted.

THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO CHILDREN :ITS WAYS AND MEANS

IT is a strange fact that public charities which are ever insearch of revenue do sometimes, in a sense, become em-barrassed by their own funds. We may mention one recentinstance among others. The National Society for the Pre-vention of Cruelty to Children, thanks to the exertions of itssupporters, has during the past year been enriched by theproceeds of a series of bazaars. Notwithstanding the

728 THOMAS WAKLEY, THE FOUNDER OF "THE LANCET": A BIOGRAPHY.

encouraging result, however, there is some ground for dis-appointment in a diminution of the ordinary annual income.The shadow of the bazaar scheme has partially eclipsed theprivate subscription list. The embarrassment thus occa-

sioned will, we trust, be merely temporary, and we feel surethat the financial position of the society has only to be knownin order to stimulate the liberality of its many well-wishers.As regards its work little explanation is called for. Itsinfluence as a reforming agency has been felt-not only bythe suffering child, but by the cruelly-erring parent also.Its main purpose has always been rather to protect than topunish, to educate in self-restraint rather than to avengeoffences. The conduct of its officers has rarely, if ever, beenimpugned by other than prejudiced persons, while on theother hand it has often elicited the warmest commendation.It is difficult indeed to see how, without their exertions theAct, which is virtually a Magna Charta of childhood, couldbe reduced to practice. The large extent of the field coveredby its operations moreover affords a means of generalisationas to the neglect, injury, and disease in their relation toinfant mortality, which must ultimately go far towards thediminution of these prevalent evils. For such and similar

reasons we trust that the appeal recently issued by thesociety to its collectors in every district will result in such areturn as will more than make good the deficit in con-

tributions for the current year.

THE annual general meeting of governors, donors, andsubscribers of University College Hospital will be held inthe board-room of the hospital on Friday, March 20th, atfour o’clock. The business of the meeting will include theelection by ballot of fourteen members of the hospital com-mittee and the consideration of a statement of accounts forthe past year, together with a report on the condition of thehospital.

-

H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES has signified to LordAldenham that he will have much pleasure in presiding atthe dinner which is to be held in May next in aid of there-endowment of Guy’s Hospital.

THE annual festival dinner of the Irish Medical Schools’and Graduates’ Association will take place at 7 P.M. on

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, at the Cafe Monico, when thePresident, Sir Richard Quain, Bart., F.R.S., will preside.

THE spring meeting of the South-Western Division of theMedico-Psychological Association is to be held at Bailbrook

House, Bath, instead of at Barnwood House, Gloucester (aspreviously announced), on Tuesday, April 14th.

H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES has appointed Sir WilliamMacCormac medical officer in chief of the St. John

Ambulance Brigade.

PRESENTATIONS TO MEDICAL MEN.-Dr. HerbertWatthews, of Holmfirth, Huddersfield, has been the recipientfrom the Holmfirth Ambulance Corps of a silver-mounted

riding whip.-Dr. Thomas Carr, of Bocking, Essex, has beenpresented by some of the ladies attending his RayneAmbulance Class with a brass reading stand, "as a slightrecognition of his interesting lectures on first aid."-OnFeb. 24th the friends of Dr. Samuel Tate at Moy, countyTyrone, where he had resided for several years, met athis residence at Richhill, he having been lately appointedmedical officer of Richhill district, and presented himas a token of their regard with an illuminated addressand a microscope.-The friends of Dr. Cautley Dawson ofRawdon, near Leeds (who is about to give up his practicethere), have united to make him a parting present in

testimony of their esteem. The testimonial consists of a

timepiece in a chased brass case and a cabinet and book-casecombined (with artistic draperies.)

THOMAS WAKLEY,THE FOUNDER OF "THE LANCET."

A BIOGRAPHY.1

CHAPTER XI.THE LANCET becomes a Rigorously ltledical Paper.-Wakley

as a Chess-Player.-The Hospital Beports, or " Mirror ofHospital Yraetiee."-Reproof to Students.-The Prefaceto the Second Volume of THE LANCET.—Some Criticismto the Second Volume of THE LANCET.-Some Criticismof Hospital Procedure.-Attack on Nepotism.-Expulsiorcof Wakley from the Borough Hospitals.

xpulsion

AT the date at which this history has now arrived-viz.,the date of the dissolution of the injunction prohibiting theissue by Wakley of Abernethy’s Lectures in THE LANCET,Wakley’s paper was a recognised publication of more thantwo years’ standing, with a regular circulation of upwardsof 4000 and a well-defined policy and range. Wakley kept hispromises of the original preface during the first two years2 well, but as the paper grew in authority and increased incirculation two alterations in its contents became ncticeable.The first was that all attempts to interest the reader inmatters outside the science, practice, and politics of medi-cine and the allied sciences were given up. The second wasthat the position of Wakley and the hospital officials towardseach other had crystallised into unmistakable hostility.The disappearance from the paper of the weekly columns

entitled respectively "The Chess-table," "The DramaticLancet," and " Table Talk," meant more to the Editor than theimportance of the articles would seem to us now to warrant.It was a sacrifice of three of his own hobbies to the pressureof what he conceived to be his wholly absorbing duty.All writers who use their pens to promote certain definiteserious results, political, social, financial, or what not, knowhow pleasant it is to have an opportunity of lightening theimportant labours of the day by a little desultory writingupon some topic in which they take a less absorbing or amore light-hearted interest. Wakley was a great chess-

player, an enthusiastic playgoer, and, as later the House

of Commons and the Reform Club were not slow to discover,an admirable dinner-giver and diner-out. His chess he hadlearned when quite a boy. It formed his chief recreation

during his period of hard study in Gerard’s Hall, and

throughout his life he was an ardent student of the most

absorbing and scientific of domestic games. He was oneof the very few players who contested successfully with thecelebrated automaton player ; and it was his habit, whenengaged in editing his paper, to have a chess-board by hisside, upon which, during the intervals of dictating andproof-reading, he would set himself problems. It is a

curious fact that THE LANCET, which became after its firstfew numbers so rigidly a medical paper, should have beenthe actual journal to inaugurate the practice of publishingchess-problems and accounts of games of chess ; but Wakley,as will be seen from his own words, believed that the studyof chess would form a recreation peculiarly fitted to the mindof the properly trained medical man, and so might almostform a factor in the ideal medical education.

" In a former number," he writes on Nov., 1823, "we gavesome account of the origin of the game of chess. This i"perhaps the only game to which the medical student mayprofitably devote any portion of his time and attention. It isliable to none of the objections which apply to games ofchance, it holds out no encouragement to cupidity, and whileit affords an agreeable relaxation from more serious pursuitsit strengthens the intellectual faculties by the unremitting

1 Chapters I., II., III., IV., V., VI., VII., VIII., IX. and X. were put-lished in THE LANCET, Jan. 4th. 11th. 18th, and 25th, Feb. 1st, 8th,15th. 22nd, and 29th, and March 7th respectively.

2 See chapter viii. of Biography, THE LANCET. Feb. 22nd, 1896.