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neighbourhood; Parkinson lived in a po-pulous part, in a cottage, in front of whichCowed a deep rivulet, so that it may havebeen damp; but Green resided in an ex-

actly opposite direction, in a beautifullyrural situation, high and dry, and at somedistance from other houses: locality, there-fore, it may be supposed, had nothing to dowith the occasion. The early symptomswere not unlike an attack of fever; but astyphoid or eruptive fevers were not thenprevalent, it is not likely that it was a va-riety of that kind of fever. Death in bothcases was produced by cerebral disease;but that state evidently supervened upon,and was occasioned by, an antecedent ma-lady. The mucous membrane of the bowelswas certainly diseased in the first case, andI think there must have been a morbid stateof some of the chylo-poietic organs in thesecond case, from the complaints of painabout the scrobiculus cordis, and the un-healthy-looking motions. This disease is

manifestly very different to that which sue. Iceeds small-pox, and similar malignantfevers, as in instances arising from thesecauses the malady is usually preceded bysymptoms of a more or less aggravated formof ptyalism, and always commences in thegums and membrane pf the cheek and

mouth; it seems, indeed, to be a naturaland inevitable result of the highly morbidstate of the system, induced by these virti.lent diseases. Idiopathic gangrene of themouth may be produced by improper diet ina child, imbued with a taint of scrofula, andperhaps under the influence of some diseaselurking in the chest or abdomen.There is an affection of the mouth in

children, by no means uncommon, which, Icannot doubt, arises from an undue quan-tity, or a bad quality, of food. In this com-

plaint the gums are red and spongy, andbleed when touched. In bad cases, theteeth fall out ; the tongue swells, but not toa great degree ; it is covered with a whitefur, and large superficial ulcers are observedon the upper and under surfaces of the

tongue, and the inside of the cheeks, whichare marked by the teeth. The lips swell,and saliva flows from the mouth; pulse alittle accelerated; skin not much warmerthan natural; sometimes the perspirationsare profuse. In some cases I have seen

vomiting and diarrhoea; but sometimes thebowels are difficult to move. The patientfrequently does not seem to be particularlyill, and, indeed, not uncommonly looksstout and ruddy, although the mouth andgums are very much ulcerated and diseased.You naturally ask, if mercury has been

given ; and the answer frequently is, that nomedicine whatever has been administered.The next inquiry is about his diet, and youare informed that he eats and drinks what-ever he likes best, which may sometimeshappen to be substantial meals of meat and

beer. I have always found two or threecalomel andjalap powders, a saline mixture,and carbonate of potash, and a mild nitricacid wash, succeeded sometimes by a weakinfusion of gentian, speedily re-establishthe health, and remove the affection of themouth.

It does not seem improbable that mer-

curials, when incautiously administered,may sometimes be a cause of gangrene ofthe mouth; and we may imagine that themost favourable condition for its develop-ment will exist in the last stages of malig-nant feve.rs, or when the constitution is en-feebled, or depraved, from any cause : it is,therefore, necessary to be extremely circum-spect. As it has been clearly ascertainedthat the disease, in its worst form, occurs inchildren to whom not a single grain of anymercurial medicine has been administeredtit would be very unfair in any case to assignthat medicine as the cause, unless a consi-derable quantity had been given, or such aquantity as, considering all the circum-

stances, might plainly be sufficient to pro-duce such a disastrous result.* I remain,Sir, your obedient servant,

WM. BAINRRIDGE, M.R.C.S.

Upper Tooting, Dec. 14, 1839.

WESTERN GENERAL DISPENSARY,NEW ROAD.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR:—A new mode of operating for tu-mours in the popliteal space has been dis-covered, which, for simplicity and dispatch,beats every thing hollow. Thrust an ab-scess lancet in ; let it bleed freely until thepatient looks droll, and you become fright-ened ; then send off in a hurry for Sir

Benjamin Brodie to witness your success,which he admires very much, by the elegantmode of putting his tongue in his cheek.Yours truly,

WASP.

* If the above cases of Mr. Bainbridgehave been carefully observed, these are theonly ones, out of several hundred cases ofgangrene of the mouth, in which the diseasecommenced on the cutaneous surface of thecheek.-ED. L.