1569

and Suakin, is now the centre of some interest. It appearsfrom the official reports that the ss. Mehallah left Suezwith mails and passengers in the ordinary way on

April 19th, left Tor on April 20th, and arrived atthe outer harbour of Jeddah on April 23rd, whereehe stayed for two and three-quarter hours to dischargemails, but did not receive anyone or anything on boardfrom Jeddah and never entered the inner port. Thesame day, April 23rd, she stopped at Ras el Aswed,the temporary port for Mecca, south of Jeddah and itsmeighbouring islands, and of course on the west coast ofArabia in Turkish territory. Here she stayed two and ahalf hours to disembark 67 Egyptian pilgrims from Suez.Their baggage was landed by means of a winch and crane ;no person from the shore or boats came on board and no

person on board went into the boats or ashore. In fact, itia stated, both here and at Jeddah, that there was no personalcommunication. I give merely the official story, but I maystate here that the captain, doctor, and crew of thevessel are Egyptians. Later the Mehallah called atSuakin and returned to Saz z on April 30th, wherethe quarantine officer, Dr. Hodgson, gave her free pratiquebecause there was no illness on board and because shehad come from ports which were officially clean. That is to say, the quarantine officials in Alexandria, in

spite of plague at Jeddah, had not decreed that the outerharbour of Jeddah and Ras el Aswed were officially7 infected.For the same reason the crew and passengers of theMehallah were not specially examined for possible plagueand they were naturally allowed to land at Suez and dis-perse to their homes. On May 1st the Egyptian stoker ofthe steamer suddenly became ill with rigors, fever, head-ache, vomiting, and swelling and pain in the right groin.The following day the native doctor from the steamer visitedhim at his house to see why he did not come on board andreported that he was too ill to do so ; and this visit wasTepeated on the 3rd. Fortunately, on the 4th, about noon,the patient invited Dr. Creswell of Suez to see him. Dr.Creswell at once recognised that it was a case of plague,removed the man to the Infectious Hospital in the desert out-side the town, disinfected the house, destroyed or sterilisedthe enectp, and placed the patient’s household under observa-tion. The whole incident has been the cause of trouble andanxiety, but this has been minimised to a great extent byDr. Creswell’s ready diagnosis and prompt action. TheSanitary Department in Cairo at once despatched Dr. Bitterto Suez to examine the matter bacteriologically and Surgeon-Captain Garner to carry out all necessary hygiene. Thecrew of the vessel were all reclaimed from their homes inSuez and, though all healthy, were put on board the Mehallahin the dry dock and eventually despatched to Moses’ Wells,where they remain under the charge of the quarantineofficials. The families of the crew are also being kept underobservation. The 17 passengers landed at Suez were nexttraced by the police, some having already reached UpperEgypt. 16 are all healthy and are being kept underpolice inspection. As they all came from Suakin and notfrom Jeddah there cannot be any risk of primary plagueamong them. The remaining passenger died at Suez in theFrench hospital soon after landing and this naturally excitedsome comment, but it is now known that he died fromphthisis, that he had been ill for four months, and that hemade this voyage in order to consult Dr. Zachariades at Tor,who knew him as a former patient in the last stage of tuber-culosis, Dr. Creswell on examining the stoker found thathe had a small wound outside the right ankle, which mayhave been the site of the entry of the bacilli; his femoraland inguinal glands were enlarged and he had severe head-ache, weak and rapid pulse, albuminuria, and fever (102-6’F.,rising to 104° that night). On May 5th, when seen with Dr.Bitter, he had a characteristic tongue ; his temperature was102.2°, his pulse was 110, and one of the right femoral glandswas red and as large as a pigeon’s egg but without fluctuation.Dr. Bitter decided it was a simple bubonic case and at oncepricked the gland. Many staphylococci and some degene-rated plague bacilli were at once seen under the microscopeand later cultures were developed in the ordinary way.Since then Dr. Bitter has kindly shown me in Cairo theplague cultures from this case. The last news of the stokeris that his bubo has discharged a few drops of pus and thathe himself is convalescing satisfactorily. Suspicion hasnow fallen upon a sailor on the Mehallah, reported by Dr.Hodgson to have a temperature of 1004°, a pulse of 100, anda gland in the left axilla as large as a turkey’s egg. The

diagnosis in this case is not yet made. The health of Suezis now very good, the town is fairly clean, and there is anenergetic governor who under English pressure will make itcleaner still. Dr. Ardonin, Dr. Legrand, and Dr. Morrisonhave also visited Suez, being respectively the Inspector-General, the French doctor, and the Britieh delegate on theQaarantine Board of Alexandria.

Mysterious Importation,How did this patient get plague ? ? We know that there is

no plague at Suez, Tor, or Suakin ; we are told there is noneat Ras el Aswed ; and we know it exists at Jeddah. If weare impolite enough to discredit the official story and assumeinstead that either at Jeddah or Ras el Aswed, presumablythe former, the stoker imported rags, clothes, carpets, orsomething which contained plague bacilli the case becomesless mysterious. The premonitory symptoms of the illnessappeared seven or eight days after the steamer left Jeddah.Now, observers at Hong-Kong and in Bombay have told usthat the incubation period is from three to five or even tendays. In cases of direct contagion, such as a nurse

catching the disease from a patient, we know (in Bombay)the incubation period may be as short as three days. Butit is fair to assume that weakened bacilli lying dormant inclothing may take longer than five days to develop; also wecannot tell whether the unfortunate stoker infected his anklethe same day on which he visited the coast of the Hedjazor later.

Cairo, May llth. _______________

NEW YORK.

i (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

JL National Society for the Study of Epilepsy and the Careand Treatment of Epileptics.

IT is proposed to establish a national society for the studyof epilepsy. It has been roughly estimated that there are140,000 epileptics in the United States. There is not at thepresent time any organised body-scientific, professional,lay, or philanthropic-for the study of epilepsy and the careand treatment of the epileptic. It would seem that a

national society or association for the study of epilepsyand the care and treatment of epileptics might serve

a useful purpose and do the greatest good, but itshould be organised along broad and comprehensivelinea. A summary of its proposed work may be statedas follows: 1. The scientific study of epilepsy. 2. Therational treatment of the disease. 3. The best methodsof caring for dependent epileptics, including (a) the con-struction of proper homes based upon a study of the

epileptic’s need as to classification and environment; (b) thestudy of the utilisation of the epileptic’s labour for economic,scientific, and ethical reasons; and (c) the study of the besteducational methods to be employed, including manual,industrial, intellectual, and moral forms and forces. Insuch a society, science, philanthropy, and practical charitymay well combine for a common purpose.

Eucaine.The latest anæsthetic preparation is eucaine, prepared

from a South American plant, and in its local action similarto cocaine, but without any of the poisonous effects of thelatter, even though employed in much larger doses. Theseverest test as yet reported was the amputation at the lowerthird of the leg of a man, sixty-eight years, old, without theuse of chloroform or ether, followed by rapid and painlesshealing of the stump. As much of the eucaine was putinto two or three tablespoonfuls of water as the waterwould dissolve and with a hypodermic syringe a fewdrops of the solution were injected under the skin ;about 1 in. from the centre of the injection anotherwas made, then another, until the limb was girdledby them at the place where amputation was intended.After waiting five minutes to allow the supuficial tissues tobecome insensible the needle was thrust deeply into themuscles and injection made ; ia a few minutes all thatportion of the leg, including 3 in. or 4 in. abcve and belowthe ring of injections, was found to be destitute of feeling,and the operation of cutting off the limb was proceeded withexactly as with chloroform. When the deeper tissues werecut into a slight smarting sensation was experienced a fewtimes, but immediately relieved by the application of a littlemore of the solution to the seat of the discomfoxt.

1570

The National Conference of Charities and Correetion. ’

This conference celebrated its twenty-fifth birthday inNew York on Wednesday, May 18th. The conference wasorganised in 1874 and has met annually since that time. It

is composed not only of the representatives of charitable andcorrectional institutions and societies, but also of men andwomen who are interested in the broad field of charityin the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and has atthe present time nearly 1200 members. The meetings ofthe conference bring together a large body of peoplewho are earnestly interested in good works and who consti-tute a congenial fellowship. The conference continues for aweek. General meetings are held daily and section meetingsare held for the discussion of social subjects, such as charityorganisation, dependent children, insanity, juvenile reforma-tion, prison reforms, municipal and county charities andcollege settlements. The conference has no tests of member-ship. It offers a free forum to all-who are interested in thesebranches of sociology.

Conditions favouring Tuberculosis.The Massachusetts Board of Health, in its conclusions

relating to the prevalence of tuberculosis in the State,emphasises as one of the chief conditions favouring theproduction of that disease the continuous and habitualbreathing of unrenewed air; consequently in workshops,factories, schoolrooms, public buildings, halls, churches, iand the inhabited apartments of dwellings and tenement-houses the absence of adequate means of ventilation mustconduce to augment the danger. Of course, dampnessof soil on which a house stands and dampness of theimmediate neighbourhood tend to the same result, as does,naturally, the occupancy of living- or sleeping-rooms or

apartments which are constantly damp or are partly or

wholly underground. Another factor inducing the spreadof this disease was found to be the presence of dust in theair of apartments, factories, mills and workshops ; hence,necessarily, occupations or trades in which men, women andchildren are exposed to the inhalation of irritating dust mustincrease the liability to contract phthisical ailments.May 19th.

_______________

ObituaryJOHN BARRITT MELSON, M.D. CANTAB.

AT the advanced age of eighty-seven years Dr. Melsonpassed quietly to his rest on May 30th at his country houseat Lapworth, near Birmingham. For many years Dr. Melsonwas widely known in the Midland counties, not only as a phy-sician of high scientific and cultured knowledge, but also asan eminent and powerful preacher in the Wesleyan cause. Inthis direction he attained a celebrity which overshadowedhis professional duties and led him to the pursuit of

theology more than that of medicine. The son of a Wesleyanminister, Dr. Melson was born in Forfarshire in 1811. At the

age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to a Mr. Harris, asurgeon in Birmingham, where for several years he learnedthe practical part of his profession. Proceeding thence toTrinity College, Cambridge, he took, after five years’ resi-dence, the degrees of Bachelor in Arts and Doctor inMedicine ; here, too, he was on account of special meritelected a Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.At the age of twenty-four years he returned to Birminghamand at once began practice as a physician, and on the found-ing of the Queen’s Hospital he was appointed on the staff.About the same time he became Professor of Natural andExperimental Philosophy and Clinical Medicine at Queen’sCollege. At this period, too, he lectured upon physics andelectrodynamics at the Philosophical Institution, havingamong his pupils the late Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr.Benson) and the present Bishop of Durham (Dr. Westcott).At the first meeting of the British Association in Birming-ham Dr. Melson and Dr. Golding Bird were joint secretariesof the chemical section. Faraday was also a friend of hisand entrusted him with complicated problems to solve inthe way of his scientific knowledge. At an early age hewas appointed a justice of the peace for the borough andhe discharged these duties with painstaking care for many

years, long remaining the senior magistrate on the locaDbench. A man of conspicuous abilities, of high scientificattainments, and of wide and profound classical and generallearning, he devoted his energies to the promotion of goodworks and to the advancement more particularly of the

Wesleyan cause. Tall and commanding in person, dignifiedin bearing, of genial and kindly manners, his presence willbe greatly missed, his death causing the breaking of a linkin the long chain of the past. He leaves three sons andthree daughters, having married in 1836 Miss Waller, ofLuton, Beds, who died in 1879.

HENRY HAYMAN, F.R.C.S.ENG.

BY the death of Mr. Henry Hayman, which occurred onMarch 21st last, at the age of eighty-six years, there has

passed away one of the few remaining representatives ofwhat in its best sense is understood as the old school of

general practitioners. Descended from good old Devonshirefamilies through both parents, Henry Hayman was born atAxminster in 1812, where his father conducted an extensivepractice for many years. Educated at Blundell’s School,Tiverton, he became a student at St. Bartholomew’sHospital, where he was contemporaneous with such men asPaget and Holden. He passed his M.R.C.S. and L.S.A.examinations in 1834 and had the Fellowship of the RoyalCollege of Surgeons of England conferred upon him in1858. Commencing practice at Chelsea and afterwardsat Margaret-street, Cavendish-square, he was for some

years consulting-surgeon to Queen Adelaide’s Royal Lying-in-Hospital. In 1848 he returned to Ottery St. Mary.where under the strain of a large general practice hishealth broke down ; but after a period of rest he againentered upon active practice in 1868 at Stokenchurch,Oxfordshire, from which he retired and finally relinquishedpractice in the year 1884. Whilst at Stokenchurch he wonthe gratitude of the people by securing for them a publicwater-supply in the face of bitter opposition from some ofthe owners of property. Here he also founded a lodge ofthe Oddfellows Society known now as " Court Hayman,"the members of which have testified their lasting gratitudeto him in a recent letter to the family. A staunch Church-man, he was a man of high culture and genial disposition,of fine physique with a handsome face, rich voice, andpossessing a keen sense of humour and an almost inexhaus-tible store of anecdotes gleaned through a long life of activeand varied intercourse with his fellow-men.

THOMAS GIORDANI WRIGHT, M.D.LEYD.,M.R.C.P. LOND.

Dit. THOMAS GIORDANI WRIGHT, who died in Wakefieldon May 27th, had been in practice in that city for the longperiod of sixty-five years. He was born in February, 1808,at Stockton-on-Tees, where his father and grandfather wereorganists at the parish church. Dr. Wright received hismedical education at University College, London, and alsoin Edinburgh. He became qualified as L.S.A. in 1830 ; inthe following year he was admitted M.R.C.S.Eng. andgraduated as M.D. at the University of Leyden. In 1841 hebecame a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians ofLondon and a Member in 1859. He was present at theopening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.and was one of the original members of the British Associa-tion for the Advancement of Science.

DEATHS OF EMINENT FOREIGN MEDICAL MEN.-Thedeaths of the following eminent foreign medical men areannounced:-Dr. Johannes Alexander Garten, privat-doaentof Surgery in Leipsic, and formerly for many years assistantin the Surgical Clinic of the University.-Professor Friede-rich Jacob Trier, a well-known Copenhagen physician andauthor. He was one of the editors of two importantScandinavian medical journals. His father, Dr. SeligmanMeyer Trier, took an important share in the work of intro-ducing a knowledge of auscultation and percussion intoDenmark.-Dr. Dezanneau, Professor in the Medical Schoolof Angers.-Dr. Neudorfer, privat.docent of Surgery inVienna.