752

ing stools and urine, -and in females abloody-coloured discharge from the vagina.

I am induced to trouble you with thisletter, from the willingness with which youbecome the medium of communication to

the public and the medical world, of everycircumstance that can excite inquiry into,and elucidate all matters connected with, thevarious branches of physical science ; and,though your ardent zeal both for the healthand lives of your fellow-creatures, and thegeneral welfare of the profession, as well asyour uniform readiness to assist any of itsdistressed members, needs no encomium ofmine. I must beg to be excused, if I availmyself of this opportunity to testify myknowledge of your exertions and humanity,your kindness and liberality in the cause ofunfortunate professional men.

I remain, dear Sir,Your obedient servant,

CHARLES COOKE, Surg.Holloway, Islington, Sept. 1, 1831.

CHARLES COOKE, Surg.

MISQUOTATION OF MR. BENJAMIN BELL.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—Allow me to say, you owe an act of

but common justice to the professional cha-racter of my good old master BenjaminBell, which, I doubt not, from your wontedliberality, you will willingly perform by anearly notice of this communication. In theNumber of your excellent Journal for July30th, 1831, is a very sensible article uponthe nature and treatment of burns, which,seemingly, contains a sort of stigma in thefollowing words--,’ ’Mr. B. Bell has assert-ed that plunging the injured part suddenlyinto boiling water would produce ease," &c.Ilere Mr. Bell, however erroneous his viewsand practice in this part of surgery mayhave been, though the best systematic au.thor of this day, owing to inadvertence onthe part of the quotator, is made to say avery absurd thing, and,to recommend as itwere a barbarous practice which no man inbjs senses would either prescribe or submitto, namely, the application of boiling waterto alleviate the pain of a burn. Mr. Bell’smeaning may, I think, be clearly made outfrom his own words, which, together withthe context, are simply as follows :—" Bydipping the part affected (i.e. when the skinis not destroyed) in very cold water, and

keeping it for some time immersed in it,the pain will often be rendered very sup-portable ;* while, ou the other hand, imxne-diate ease is often experienced from plung- -ing the injured part suddenly into hot water."This pasaage would seem but little liable

Sy3tem of Surgery, vol, 2, page 205. Edit. 1801.

to misconstruction. On reading this, whatconsiderate person, however ignorant ofmedicine, would for a moment suppose boil-ing water, at the intense heat of 212 de-grees, was here meant? Mr. Bell does noteven say very hot water, but simply hotwater, of such a temperature, it may be

fairly presumed, as could be comfortablyborne by a healthy person in a common hot-bath ; that is to say, of from 100 to 103degrees ; or, in other words, more than onehundred degrees below the boiling point,under ordinary atmospheric pressure, whichyour correspondent makes -him in fact tosay. On the whole I am very much pleasedwith the author’s luminous and philosophi-cal view of the subject of burns, a most

important and often alarming class of inju.ries ; and I have myself had ample oppor-tunity to prove the correctness of his doc-trine in my own practice.

Before I conclude, allow me to expressmy regret, that so able a production shouldbe disfigured by any kind of typographicalerror which can render the sense obscure orunintelligible. What, for instance, can bemeant or understood by the words-,, adcordem," vide page 391, col. 2, and " ur-gente situ, at page 392,* col.l1

I remain, Sir,Your constant reader and friend,

ScoTo.BnITANNt:3.Berks, 29th Aug.

CURIOUS PROFESSIONAL (!) CARD.

A NAVAL SURGEON.

To the Editor of TIlE LANCET.SIR,—The enclosed card was put into my

hands a few days ago, by a young lady, thedaughter of a highly respectable practitionerin this neighbourhood, as a curiosity. The

neighbourhood is swarming with them,andif you are not already in possession of oneof them, I take the liberty of enclosingynuthis ; as it appears to be public property, itis at your service to take what notice of ityou think proper.

A NAVAL SURGEON.London, near St. Paul’s, Aug. 29, 1831.

" IIR. COOPER," SURGEON, R.N., APOTHECARY, AND

ACCOUCHEUR,

14, Little Knight Rider Street, Doctors’ Commous." Mr. Cooper’s charge for visiting a

Patient and all Medicines for the day isTwo Shillings; if the Patient attends at

Mr. Cooper’s House, the charge is OneShilling."

Vide THE LANCET for Aug. 6th, 1831, loc, cit.