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:’11 when TftE LANCET has once asserte(untruth, HE never has the honesty te

retrace it, but reiterates his falsehood irt theface W the clearest evidence." Here are a

pretty pair of sentences, Mr. Editor! Whyreally, if * the editor of the Weekly Excres-cence had wished to damn himself, I do

not think he could possibly have hit uponaMrermethod, than that of stringing these,vr.3 sentences together upon this subject ;i.r I will openly appeal to any candid in-qmrfr, whether 1 have not completely over-:h:own every assertion brought forward bythe "Bartholomew Pupil," in favour ofMessrs. Vincent and Earle ; and if I havetot, let the Bartholomew Pupil" openlya1dilOnestly reply to my letter, and let thee?ator of the Weekly Excrescence not feartdinsert that reply, and I will pledge my-M’f to do so ; I shrink not from the ques-tion, but, on the contrary, court inquiry. IMscrted opinions in the first instance re-

specting Messrs. Vincent and Earle, whichthey thought proper to proclaim as false,and I am now ready to stand forth in de-fence of those opinions on any grounds, andcr.on any terms, honest terms, my oppo-nents may think proper. I own that I feelanxious to have tl e truth properly investi-r.ted, because I should esteem it an act of.: greatest possible atrocity, to accuse

Messrs. Vincent and Earle of neglect of duty,did not their conduct fully warrant me inmaking such accusations. However, I haveaffirmed that to be true, which my oppo-tent’n endeavours have failed to prove false ;and should their silence prevent their beingmore involved in the argument than theyalready are, I shall esteem that silence as

on acknowledgment of the truth of the as-sertions which I have made. In order, bythe by, still further to prove the superiormanagement of Mr. Lawrence, I would re-

quest any gentleman to go into his wards,ari look over the boards of the new patients*!.!cii have been admitted during his late !.’"srace, and to compare those boards withto others in the wards. Mr. Lloyd has hadthe care of the patients during Mr. Law-rence’s absence, and there are not more thanthree or four boards, at most, with the dis-cases named on them.Allow me to say, Mr. Editor, that I can-

:t’.e)p feeling highly flattered by my se-’;’...; letter being attributed to yourself;however, I can assure the editor of the’’--’Uy Excrescence, and his friends, thatI ;:.,,’1 not be particularly anxious to keep- ;.a.ne backward, should I see the small-’: -.-ctss;tv for its coming forward.

- ’is to the comparing of Mr. Earle and theto a bitch and her litter of blind pup-; -,:[ is untrue ; the editor of the W’eekly seems really to have a difficultycomprehending the meaning of our Eng-

lish language, should it not be written inhis own hum-drum, monotonous style; he

’’makes some strange blunders : I said, ineffect, what I will now repeat in substance,

, ’ t6at the terms " so kind and so attentive,"I were more appropriate to a bitch and herlitter of blind puppies, than to a hospitalsurgeon and his pupils. Let the " Bartho-lomew Pupil" rather look for an opportu-nity of using the terms honest and able, whenspeaking of the surgeons of St. Bartholo-mew’s, than the expressions above.

1 am, Sir,Your obedient servant,

A PUPIL OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S.

4th Aug. 1828.

NON-MEDICAL CORONERS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Every one who has perused yourobservations on the subject of " Coroners’Inquests," must own their truth, and agreethat some reform is necessary in this valu-able branch of medical jurisprudence. Itis necessary that the evidence of a medicalman should be taken and appreciated at

every inquest. I believe that both theseessentials are too often neglected-thatmedical men are frequently passed over,and that, when their evidence is taken, it isoften little understood, and consequentlynot thought of. This points out the neces-sity of an alteration in this branch of thelaws ; and, certainly, coroners should bemedical men, or should be directed to ap-point a medical man to examine into thedepartment of the evidence which belongsto medicine. A very superficial knowledgeof the laws is necessary for the office ofcoroner. This is sufficiently evidentfrom thefact, that very few coroners are men muchversed or practised in general law. But acoroner should be fully acquainted withseveral branches of medicine which canonly be acquired by a study of the profes-sion. How often do we see the most absurd

questions put to medical witnesses at in-

quests-questions, often, which cannot beanswered, and which, consequently, depre-ciate the witness in the eyes of the public.But there is one point to which I would

call your attention, hoping that, by its beingmade known, coroners will, in future, notomit calling in medical men. I was latelycalled to see a man who was very ill:his symptoms were violent counh, difficultyof respiration, and vomiting, or expectora-tion, of blood ; I could not ascertain which.I found liim dead. Notice was given to thecoroner, and I expected to be called upon

632

to examine the body, for the cause of his Isudden death was unknown. Judge, Sir, ofmy surprise, on hearing, on the second dayfollowing his death, that the inquest hadbeen held, a verdict given, and the man ’,buried, or about to be buried. It was a caseof great interest, and I was, as you mayexpect, surprised at not having been sum.moned, disappointed of an interesting dis-section, and disgusted with the haste withwhich the affair was hurried over. Butfor this there is no remedy by law. If co-roners are still to be chosen from the hordesof small attorneys, I trust they will show alittle more respect to medical men than washere exemplified ; but I sincerely trust thewhole subject will soon undergo a parlia-mentary investigation, with a view to a tho-rough reform.

I am, Sir, yours obediently,X. Y.Z.

London, August 5, 1823.

DR. FOX’S GLASS-LEECH.

GEORGE FREDERICK KNOX,Surgeon-Dentist and Cupper to the

Central Infirmary, &c.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—As it appears to be Dr. Fox’sobject to give every publicity to his newly-invented glass-leeclies for cupping, and asthe inventor may be thought to be somewhatpartial to his own invention, perhaps youwill allow me to bear testimony to their

efficiency.I have been in the habit of using the

glass-leeches occasionally for the last ten

months, and have never failed in procuringthe requisite quantity of blood ; and on thetemple, and behind the mastoid processes,I have found them to be peculiarlvadvan-tageous, being enabled to take the full quan-tity at once, and in less time than it can

possibly be accomplished by the commonglasses, the repeated applications of which,by pressing on the arterial branches, fre-quently occasion considerable delay and

difficulty.In answer to a letter which I wrote to

Dr. Fox, soon af’ter the appearance of hisfirst letter in THE LANCET, he very politelysent me a drawing and description of hisglasses, by which mine were made. 1 havesince lent patterns (some having smallmouths, adapted for the temple, &c.) to

Messrs. Millikin and Co., surgeons’ instru-ment makers, 301, Strand, who now keepthem on sale.

I am, Sir, ,

Yeur obedient servant,GEORGE FuEDEiMCE KNOX,

Surgeon-Dentist and Cupper to theCentral Infirmary, &c.

14, George Street, Adelphi,Aug. 2, 1828.

CASE OF EXTRA-UTERINE FœTATION, is

WHICH THE FŒTUS REMAINED IN THE

ABDOMEN FORTY YEARS.

Communicated by HENRY LEE HEISKELL, MI,of Winchester, Va.

THE following case occurred in the;":.house of the parish of Frederick, in Ve-ginia.

Venus Collins, a coloured woman, !ate ofthe city of Philadelphia, became pregnantwith her seventh child, which she boreuntIl her death, which occurred in thesummer of 1825. As near as could be ascertained by a reference to the records of theclerk’s office, and the statements oi he:fellow servants (one of whom was her

daughter-in-law,) she was from seventy to

seventy-five years of age, and carried tb*foetus forty years. During this penod, andin particular the latter part of it, she en-

joyed remarkably good health for one iaher situation, being only occasionally in-

commoded by a sense of weight and hear-ing down in her right side, which was some-times accompanied with slight pain. In.the early part of her pregnancy, she 1,jhydropic effusions, for which she under-went the operation of paraeentesis abdo-minis. She had no show of the mens.safter this period, cor did afterwards con-ceive again. For several years before herdeath, the infirmities attendant on old age,and the difficulties of providing fur hersefl,rendered her removal to the Poor house

necessary, where she remained until her

death, which happened in consequence ofan attack of dysentery.

A post-mortem examination of her bodywas conducted by Drs. A. S. BALDIVIN andHOLLIDAY, in presence of several medicalI students. On making a crucial incision

through the parietes of the abdomen, MJturning back the flaps, a large bony turnourwas found in the lower part of the epigas-tric region, inclining rather to the right

side, and firmly agglutinated in front to theparietes of the abdomen, and behind to:; esmall intestines. The only morbid appear-ances of the viscera presenting, were i -

minished size of the uterus, and an ob.i:’.-ration of the fallopian tubes: the crcfs

were not to be found.The tumour itself was of an oblong form,

which, when remaved from its attac ments,weighed four pounds and six ounces, Theenvelope formed a perfect bony hermet-caliy sealed sac, on all sides, but rather rlat the part corresponding to the anus : .-,when considerable pressure was made :r. thedirection of its short diameter, a fe ::.-::of dark fluid made their way through ._:covering.