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respect the hospital is a large confessional, in which you Iare invited to observe, for the benefit of the patient, thepromptings of conduct and the deepest recesses of theheart. You here also learn something of the lot and con-dition of the poor, who, as a rule, will command your re-spect. It is in our Lying-in Charity that we see the poorin their worst attire, but their truest aspect; and there intimes past I have often witnessed the greatest sufferingwith the least complaint-the purest affections in the com-monest hovels - the deepest gratitude for the smallestbenefits, and abject poverty with the generosity which givesthe most of what it least can spare.A strong motive for professional culture ought to arise in

your anxiety to repay the expectations of those who sendyou here, and another to enable you to meet those momentousincidents of practice where death and life are trembling inthe balance; and, lastly, you are urged, as a supreme duty,to adore and magnify the Giver in the cultivation of hishighest gifts. -

KING’S COLLEGE.

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR RUTHERFORD.

AFTER stating that the chief objects sought for by thosewho profess medicine are to preserve health and to curedisease, Dr. Rutherford pointed out that a knowledge of thehealthy state and of the conditions necessary for its pre-servation, must necessarily precede a knowledge of the dis-eased state and the means required to rescue an individualfrom it. After referring to some of the attractive featuresof biological science, he stated that, although medicalstudies deal to some extent with metaphysics, they never-theless chiefly concern the two great factors of the physicalworld-to wit, matter and energy. "The first great ideawhich those who enter upon the study of living beingsshould lay hold of is, that the matter and energy which arefound in them are derived from the dead world aroundthem. Things that live, although they can transform mat-ter and energy in the most marvellous ways, can neithercreate nor destroy them. A continual stream of matter andenergy flows from the dead into the living world, serves itstime there, and returns to the dead world again.......Seeingthat the matter and energy found in the organic come fromthe inorganic world, it might be anticipated that thechanges through which they pass in the world of life aresubject to the same laws which govern them in the worldthat is lifeless. Such appears to be the case. The law thatrules the chemical changes taking place in a muscle does notdiffer from that which regulates the chemical changes thatgo on in a steam-engine. The laws that preside over themovements of the blood are just those which control themovement of any other liquid. The metamorphoses whichmatter and energy undergo in the living world are many ofthem infinitely more complex and difficult to follow thanthose through which they pass in the inorganic world. Itis therefore necessary that one should be acquainted withthe character of the phenomena found in the inorganic erewe attempt to follow or comprehend the more intricatenature of those found in the organic kingdom. In short,the chemistry and physics which immediately concern life-less things must be studied before the chemistry andphysics which immediately apply to things that live can becomprehended. In other words, a knowledge of inorganicchemistry and physics must be acquired before organic che-mistry and physics can be understood.’"

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He then, with the aid of some familiar illustrations, ex-plained the methods of observation and experimentationby which facts in natural science are ascertained, andpointed out the disastrous results that follow hasty observa-tion, careless experimentation, too rapid digestion of facts,and the substitution of fiction for truth. The truly scien-tific method of investigating the events of life was begunthree-and-twenty centuries ago by Hippocrates, and fortu-nate would it have been had the path which he opened upbeen pursued; but the dark ages enveloped it in obscurity,and it was not fairly reopened until our immortal country-man Harvey found his way into it, and Bacon shed the lightof his genius upon it.In indicating the present position of medicine, the lec-

turer stated that in inquiries regarding living things in a

state of health or disease students should particularly at-tend to-1. Their physical or structural composition. 2.Their chemical composition. 3. The functions or actionswhich they perform. He stated that the four great essen-tial subjects in medicine are physiology, pathology, hygiene,and therapeutics, and proceeded to explain what was meantby these subjects, and to give an account of their presentposition. " The most advanced part of physiology and pa.tho-logy is that which refers to the structural composition ofthe body. Our knowledge of the chemical composition ofthe body is not so advanced, because of the excessively diffi-cult nature of the inquiry. Very much has been learnedregarding the actions of the body in health and disease;but although we know a great deal regarding these actions,we are far from having ascertained all about them. Nostone, however, is being left unturned. The secrets are

being sought out with the aid of the most refined physico-chemical instruments and processes.

" The causes that give rise to the phenomena of life have,ever since the first glimmerings of science, formed a deeplyengrossing subject for inquiry; and assuredly, as time runson, the interest and importance that attach to such a ques-tion, so far from diminishing, continue if possible to increase.For centuries there has been a keen controversy betweenthe vitalists and physicists. The vitalists first took up the

ground, and ascribed the operations of the body to spirits-good during health, and evil during disease. Hippocrates,some three-and-twenty centuries ago, started the hypothesisthat the actions of the body are presided over and directedby a spirit termed Nature. Aristotle called this spiritVegetative Soul; and said that it is common to all plantsand animals. In modern times this spirit, or principle, hasreceived various names, and its existence is still believed inby some physiologists. By them it is looked upon as direct-ing the various operations necessary for the life of plantsand animals. In opposition to this idea, many physiologistshave come to the conclusion that the existence of such aspirit is a myth; and they believe that the ordinary vitaloperations of plants and animals are due to the ordinaryattributes of matter and energy. There has been some

extravagance on both sides. Some vitalists have called theholders of the physical view materialists, even if they refuseto believe that a cabbage is possessed of a vegetative soul;alleging that if we deny the existence of such a soul in a.

cabbage, we must deny the existence of man’s rational soul,! and even the existence of a God. On the other hand, somei upholders of the physico-chemical views have absurdlymaintained that the properties of matter and energy may; be regarded as sufficient to explain all mental phenomena.3The controversy is still unsettled."

In alluding to the spiritualists of the present day, thelecturer said : " We have been informed by a noble lord thata certain Mr. Home is able to defy the law of gravitation toan extent which is, to say the least, very remarkable; wehave been seriously told that he can fly through the air bya mere effort of his will. The number of those who possessthis marvellous power would seem to be very limited; andit is fortunate for cab proprietors and railway shareholdersthat the number is likely to remain a small one. As yetMr. Home and his disciples do not seem disposed to make apublic exhibition of their marvellous powers. Probablythey still continue to ride in omnibuses, cabs, and railwaycarriages, and find it safer to trust themselves to suchmodes of conveyance rather than to their newly discoveredmethod of aerial flight. Spiritualism of the sort nowfashionable is not so very novel as the spiritualistic mediawould fain have us believe. Within the memory of mostpeople mira,cle-workers have been ever and again startingup. The tricks of the mesmerists, spirit-rappers, and table-turners made dupes of a great many simple-minded persons.Possibly the media have now become so dexterous that theycan make dupes of persons whose minds cannot be exactlycharged with simplicity ; but, nevertheless, it is probablethat ere long their tricks will be exposed, just as all similartricks have been."

Hygiene, the lecturer said, is in a state of considerableadvancement. We know well the ordinary conditions neces-sary for preserving health ; but we have yet much to learnregarding measures sufficient to protect man from the

malignant agencies that produce disease. Nevertheless,the great success of vaccination leads us to expect greatachievements in this direction.

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He explained many of the reasons why therapeutics arcin a state which, though rapidly improving, is still far fronbeing satisfactory. 11 The mechanical appliances adoptefby the surgeon are, on the whole, eminently satisfactoryNothing can snrpass the cunning and dexterity with wlii(,,lhe uses his knife to remove a diseased member. Still, irthe majority of cases, the use of the knife in disease im.plies the confession that the surgeon has failed to arresithe diseased condition of the part. Both surgeons anc

physicians experience extreme difficulty in exercising freally curative influence over disease. Pai,ronius Arbete]was wrong, however, when he said that "a physician is

nothing but a satisfaction to the mind." Happily there artmany diseases which can be completely cured, and a grealmany more that can be influenced for good, by the use ojremedial measures ; but still the achievements of medicalmen are circumscribed by a circle which, though evei

widening, is yet a narrow one. The chief reasons for thislimited success are, that we are still unacquainted withmany of the healthy actions that take place in the body.The causes of many diseases are as yet unknown. It is not

yet possible to ascertain precisely what parts of the bodyare affected by some diseases. Obscurity still hangs overthe significance of many of the altered bodily actions thatare observed in disease. Some of these actions have a fatal,others have a beneficial, tendency, and the difficulty is toknow which to favour and which to repress. The actionsof many drugs, and other remedial agents, are only par-tially known, and even where these actions have been ascer-tained there remains the difficulty that the precise influence,of the drug differs in different individuals, and even in thesame individual at different periods of his life. But weare not possessed of the power of ascertaining beforehandwhat are all the respects in which one man differs fromanother, and therefore we are not by any means alwaysable to predict what will be the precise influence of the re-medial measures which we adopt. Hence it is that medi-,cine does not present the characters of an exact science.We cannot, in many instances, say what is or what will be,nor can we always with precision wield those powers whichwe already possess for influencing the constitution of thebody and its actions. We have, for the present, to weighprobabilities, and to hit the mark as nearly as we can. Thisfact need not, however, dismay those who are entering uponthe study of medicine. She is daily becoming more exact,and the pleasure and satisfaction which result from anhonest and earnest attempt to render her more scientificquite outweigh any disappointment one may be inclined tofeel at finding that she lacks much of that precision whichgives such charm to physics, chemistry, and mathematics.The great fact to be remembered is, that medicine must bepursued in a scientific spirit. Only by cautiously comparingand weighing all the facts of anv case, and coming to justconclusions from these, can we hope to advance medicine.We have to bear in mind that whenever we give a man adose of medicine we really perform an experiment-an ex-periment which is important to the person and importantto the science of medicine." The lecturer said: (C Observeall the conditions of the experiment, and write them in abook, so that they may never be forgotten by your memo-ries, which are treacherous at the best. Old Hippocratesshowed us a splendid example. He wisely saw that to getat accurate facts is the backbone of all science. He didnot content himself with remembering his facts ; he wrotethem on tablets, so that they might never be forgotten oraltered. If you will adopt the Hippocratic plan, if youwill be careful in ascertaining the facts of a case, andcautious in the inferences you draw from them, you will indue time add many a stone-perhaps many a precious stone-to the as yet unfinished temple whose portal you are nowentering. The temple is, indeed, far from being complete.Many niches are still empty; many stones lie strewn about;many foundations have yet to be laid; yet all is activity. iThe stones are getting into their places, the walls are surelyrising, here and there indeed a gilded pinnacle crowns awing. Your ears may be at first somewhat dinned by thenoise, your eyes a little distracted by the hurryings to andfro of the workmen and their machinery; but you will soonforget the noise and the hubbub when you earnestly join inhelping to rear an edifice so truly noble as that ofMedicine.6 A great and attractive feature connected with the pro-

secution of medicine is the open-handedness that every-where prevails with regard to discoveries. The moment amedical man makes a discovery, however valuable, he tellsit to all the world, so that everyone may have the advan-tage of any good contained in it. In consequence of thisabsence of secrecy, it is in the power of everyone to ac-quaint himself with and to adopt any measure that is pro-posed for the treatment of disease. Nevertheless, althoughthere is free intercourse between medical men in every partof the world, medical science presents somewhat differentaspects in different countries. Diseases which are rare inthis are sometimes common in other lands. The type of adisease which may be rare here may prevail elsewhere.The mode of treating some diseases differs in differentschools. The methods adopted in the tuition of medicineare not everywhere the same. It often happens that cer-tain schools are famed for the facilities with which certainsubjects can be studied; for example, although the sur-gery of England is in many respects decidedly superior tothe surgery of France, nevertheless students have greaterfacilities for the practice of operative surgery in Francethan they have in England. Although physiology andpathology are in many respects just as advanced in Eng-land as they are in Germany, nevertheless many inquiriesconnected with these subjects can be prosecuted in Ger-many with less expense and greater facility than in thiscountry; for in Germany the Imperial powers liberally sup-port physiological and pathological laboratories, and hap-pily in that country physiologists and pathologists are notpursued by a herd of anonymous scribblers, who, whilethey wink at all manner of sports, however cruel and mean-ingless, are ready to thrust their waspish stings into any-one who dares to decapitate a frog in the interests of thehealing art. Seeing that the aspects of medicine are noteverywhere alike, it is very important that you should visitdifferent schools of medicine in order to get an educationas comprehensive as possible. It is well to visit the chiefschools of France and Germany. The Germans and theFrench have much to learn from us, but at the same timewe have not a little to learn from them."The lecturer concluded with some practical remarks con-

cerning the mode of study which should be adopted by thestudents.

LONDON HOSPITAL.

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS BY DR. W. J. LITTLE.

DR. LITTLE referred specially to eminent men formerlyconnected with that hospital, and made a retrospect of theprogress of medicine in modern times. He took occasion,in passing to reflect on the slight offered to the memoryof Jenner by our Government, which first set up Jenner’sstatue in Trafalgar-square, and then carried it away to

Kensington, where it is now hidden in an obscure spot.Dr. Little looks hopefully on the prospects of medicine,quoting from Cabanis that 11 Good practitioners in medicineare all men full of confidence in their art. This confidenceis perhaps, in some respects, as much the cause as the re-sult of their success." Ho himself expressed the hopethat, before forty years shall be over, medicine may havemade some impression on such diseases as cancer, hydro-phobia, and cholera.

Referring to preventive medicine and sanitary science,the lecturer said : "It will rest with the rising generationof physicians, by their continued ZG’1,1 in the elucidation ofobscure points in the avoidable causation of disease, to takecare that the seed of future honours, sown broadcast by themedical man, unrequited except by his own conscience andthe admiration of his professional brethren, shall not beappropriated by other professions which have not borne theheat and burden of the day. May not our profession justlyclaim that the future Health Minister of the three king-doms shall be selected from the ranks of medicine, as a tri-bute to its past labours in the cause, and anacknowledg-ment that the education of the physician can alone insurethorough comprehension of the evils sanitary science under-takes to combat."

Dr. Little concluded with good advice to the students inthe following terms :-" Never be content with superficial observation; whatever

you undertake to inquire into, look below the surface of