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SKETCHES OF THE SURGICAL

PROFESSION IN IRELAND.

No. VII.

MR. MACARTNEY.

(Continued from Vol. VII. p. 85.)WHEN one has tI)e charity (which isnot always the case) to form a fa-vonrable opinion at first sight, he does3not wish that his discrimination shouldbe refitted by subsequent experience,or that the little philanthropy whichlie may happen to possess should bethrown away upon an unworthy oh-ject. It may be owing to this secretjaw of our nature that we still continueto cherish, with a sort of selfish pride,cur original sentiments of the subjectof this Memoir. We certainly werenot niggardly in the estimate whichwe drew of his merits, nor had weany reason since to repent of’ a wasteof benevolence, or of a want of judg-ment. The occasion from whence wedate our recollections of him was toointeresting to be soon forgotten. Itwas at an introductory Lecture, thebest we ever heard, in the theatre otthe University of Dublin. The im-

pressiou which the person of thespeaker and the excellence of hisaddress then made upon onr mindhas not been since obliterated. Thatspectator, indeed, might not pridehimself much on his penetration whocould not discover desert, or, at least,the nsnal concomitants of it, in aheadso finely formed, and a cultivated in-tellect manifested in language so de-scriptive and energetic.The gentleman of whom we are

speaking is a very singular, if not anextraordinary personage; one uponwhom the panegyrist might safelylavish a portion of his art, withoutany rbk of’ satirising hy a misappli-cation of praise ; or the libeller, onthe other hand, might exercise hisvocation with almost equal snccess.

His virtues and his foibles, his ac-

qoiiements and deficiencies, are so

obvious, that it would require littletact to place either in strong relief.They lie thick npon the surface, andare accessible to every hand. It

would be no easy matter to decidewhether his life or his lectures aboundwith most useful precepts; or whe-ther his physiology is more valuableto the student, excellent as that maybe, than the practical les,on of wis-dom furnished by his nnsuccessful ca-reer. A sort of biographical paradox,his history unites the extremes of sc!entific prudence and worldly neglect;of exalted merits, with the most in.congruous accompaniments; of perse.vering industry, unrequired by its

ptoper reward. Successful in everything, except the great end for whichmost men submit to the labotir of

study, his conduct is correct, thoughdaily censured by fanatical charity;with every qualification to be mefulto mankind, his powers are neglected;abroad he is adinired for those quali-ties which have rendered him an ob-ject of hatred at lome; he is now anold man, professor to an University,recommended by a combination ofcircumstauces to public notice, and,strange to say, the private practiceof his profession does not produce himone hundred a-year.The explanation of such an ano-

maly may appear difficult ; but it isno such thing, and we shall give our

reasons for thinking so. Mr. MACART-NEY was not formed by nature, or ra-ther he did not fit himself, for the

piosperous office of a liar, a pimp, apander, or a sycophant. He could uotrise into notice on the strength of aquadrille, or let his surgical dexteritybe inferred from fingering a flageolet,or thrumbing on a goitar; he did notattach himself to a religious or a poli-tical faction, that he might physic thebody by caiessing the prejudices ofthe mind ; he did not make the Bible(that book of woes to Ireland) a step-ping stone to gain a Protestant Atcli.bishop’s ear, or reduce the influence

of Catholic priests through the low-I rious austerity of turbot and lobstersance "on days of abstinence;" hedid not act the hatlequin in the draw-ing-room, the "Saint" in the church,the apostle of liberty at an aggregatemeeting, and the minion of a despotat court ; he was not a true believer

before man, and an infidel wth God ;nothing of all this could he do; theywere accomplishments far beyond the

reach cf an upright man, In an evil

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bor, however, he became connectedwith the College of Surgeons in Lon-don ; worse yet, his talents made himformidable in office; more unfortunatestill, he was appointed to a Profes-snrsbip, though but a member of a

despised school; and for all thesecrimes he has paid the penalty of be-ing buried alive in the oblivious graveof defamation. The Royal College ofSurgeons in Ireland were the under-takers on the occasion, and it becomesour painful duty to bear monrnflll at-

testation to the fidelity with whichthey executed the ignominious task.Long may they enjoy the infamy oftheir vietorions di,,gi-ace. Neither onrtime nor our inclination permits us topresent onr compliments on their suc-cess in a more elaborate shape.The snbject of this essay is now

"stricken with years," having passedthe grand climacteric of life, but with-out any of those infirmities which ze-nerally accompany old age. He pos-sesses, seemingly to the fullest extentall that the author of the oft-quotedsana mens in corpore sano could havedesired in his most poetic aspirations,sanity of mind and sonndness of body.Were we to attempt a description ofhis person, we should commence bytracing the oU1lines of a man of mid-dle stature, his figure considerably in-cliningfrom the perpendicular, an ef-fect arising from long habits of anato-mical observation, rather thin from

any defect of natnre, or the influenceofyears upon his frame. His head is

decidedly one of the best we haveseen, but loses much of its effect bybeing displaced from its proper posi.tion. It only wants altitude to com-piete its appearance. Without thattowering altitude of forehead, whereepic poems and other such mattersare said to be nurtured by the phreno-logists, his brows advance on the viewwith a majestic boldness that wouldseem to set all difficulty at defiance.His features, which are extremely re-gular in detail, are peculiarly expres-sive in the aggregate of intellectualelieigy, mingled too with a good dealef the severity of thought. Perhapsthere is too much of the latter appa-rent not to suspect that other agentsmore powerful even than the love ofstudy, or a passion for physiologicaldiscovery, had been working there ;

for there is an emanation of intensefeeling which excites other sen-ationsin the spectator than those of plea-sure, particnlarip when subjected tothe all-pervading glance of his eyes,which are full of fire, scrutiny, andanimation, and as deeply set as thosewhich we usually see in the ancientcameos of Greece. Ther e is about hiswhole bust a classic elegance, a cer-

tain air of dignity, or marmoreau re-pose, in the contemplation of whichyou are insensibly led to considerspirit in conjunction with its frail te-nement of earth. It is this whichwarms the coldness of mere matter;animates the dtill monotony of form ;humanizes the physiognomy of man ;elevates it above the passive indiffe-rence of the brute; that wins the af-fections, commands our respect, ex-cites admiration, and converse,; throughthe silent language of sympathy.We have rarely seen these remarks

better exemplified than in the instancebefore us. His mind, though not suf-ficiently original or creative to be call-ed by the name of genius, is, notwith-standing, of a very superior cast, andas well marked, but not so regular asthe portion of his person just de-scribed. We have no means of ascer.

taining whether he had any early pre-dilection for his present pursuits, butthat they must have been entwinedwith his strongest affections for a longtime, the very food of his meditations,there can be no doubt, from his accu-mulated knowledge, and the ardourwith which he cultivates them even atthis day. There are men who have

practised and taught their professionfor many years, and are then just as

little of the pathologist and thfJ pro-fessor as the dav the commencedtheir business. With such men, the

practice of their art degenerates into

routine ; the didactic portion of it

might be defined a mere mechanicalenunciation of words, and a demon-stration of certain parts, in the exe-cution of which they feel not the

slightest interest. Like so many ma-

chines, they go through the same re-volutions to-day as they did yester-day, or if there be any difference, it isproduced by external circumstances.

In such men, or rather in suchthings, there is no internal impulse ;no stimulus to force them out of the

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old and beaten track. The communi-cation of knowledge to their pupils,.,land the enlarging of the boundaries ofscience, which one would think oughtto be the great end of their life, by acurious inversion of right and wrong,seems to be the least object of theirlabours. These remarks cannot be

applied to the person of whom we are ;,speaking ; he possesses at least themerit of being in earnest ia all he saysand does. It is impossible you cansit down to hear him and fall asleep,or that you should wish that the handsof. the timepiece moved somewhat

quicker, or that you should becometidgetty, and relieve yourself by talk-ing over the occurrences of the day toyour companion ; all which ternble- visitations we have been compelled toendure under the infliction of Mr.TODD’S eloquence. Mercurial himself,lie is an antidote to ennui in others.A perfect exorcist of blue devils, theycannot tenant even the most conge-nial abode within the magic circle ofhis voice. His discoiarse is not a tissueof extracts selected, seemingly, forthe purpose of rendering incongruityagreeable by the charms of the mostpowerful contrasts. He takes up anygreat question, places it in the properpoints of view ; argues and decides onits merits, like a man of general in-formation and conscious of-his powers.History, anecdote, and personal ex-perience, are scattered in profusion,and artfully connected in a narrativewhich can never tire. His own strongconvictions and earnestness of man-ner ; his vast information and promp-titude of application, gain him the con-fidence of his audience, and showthem that he is not guessing at whatis right or what is wrong. There isno pause, no indecision, no phrase-hunting, or lapses of the memory ;his tongue enunciates as rapidly as hishead conceives, and his manipulationsof instruments and anatomical ma.te-rials are equally correct and expedi-tious. He has a knack of discriminat-

ing between what is really importantand what is not so. He does not talk

.gravely over a trifle, or make seriousmatters a jest. In a word, he is a

perfect master of whatever subject hediscusses ; not a lecturer from books,or a Cooper’s Dictionary professor,he furnishes the materials from his

own mind ; or if he borrows the taleten thousand times told, it assumes anovel form under his plastic hands,

and repetition becomes agreeable.There is art air of freshness, of di,co-very, or at least of renovation, aboutall he says, that makes the old almostas palatable as the new. These are

very high recommendations to a p):b-He teacher, whose manner, if possi.ble, should render the learning of hismatter a pleasure to the student. Wemay live, perhaps, to afford rpeci-mens. The cont! ast between him andhis cotemporaries in Dublin is strik-

ing. We know not one who wouldbear comparison with him in physiolo-gy, or in general science. In compa.rative anatomy he stands a’.cne. -The present would appear a proper

place to consider his pnblished com-positions, but that they have alreadypassed the ordeal of criticism inother journals. He has not writtenvoluminously, but the few productionswhich have emanated from his penbear testimony to his abilities in that

line, and corroborate the opinionspreviously delivered. His principalessays are to be-found in Rees’s Ency-clopedia, under the head oi compara-tive anatomy,’ in which vast reposi-tory of heterogenous knowledge, hegoes down to posterity, in conjunctionwith his congenial companion and tel-low labotirer Mr. LAWRENCE. Thesearticles are composed in a plain, per-spicuous, unambitious style; abcnudwith judicious, opinions, and manifestmost extensive research. They givein a condensed form all the iuforms-tion known upon the respective sub-jects ; and, as essays of reference, arewell worthy of the perusal of studentswho have not leisure or means to con-sult more elaborate works. We shouldbe better pleased, however, had hedipped deeper and ofteser in ink, asthe specimens which he has furnishedrather excite than satisfy pnblie cu-riosity. So seldom does one fiud thatdusky element of good and evil em-ployed to advantage, thathe is doublydisappointed when sparingly used bya master-hand. We have heard himadvance opinions and suggestions inhis lectures, which, with a littie trou-ble, might be more snccessrnilv re-duced to the shape of a periodicalessay, or even a book, than half the

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one-idea’d cantos that daily is;sue fromthe Press.Bnt we have no right to dictate in

matters purely personal, and shouldrather be grateful for benefits con-ferred.He has his share of eccentricities,

and this may be one of the number.Were we to rescue one half of themfrom oblivion, we might gratify thecuriosity of the idle, enhance thevalue of our page, no doubt to

some, but without making that

portion of character, with whichwe have to do, better understood.Bnt old age is, at bpst, a bad subjectfor the exercise of wit ; it is its ownshield against even the harmless formsof ridiclile, and wherever we find thebalance on the side of virtue, we shallever be satisfied with the account.The principal features in his life

being much the same that must everoccur in that of a man of mind, andslender means, struggling to rise abovethe level of his cotemporaries and thetide of circumstances, we may welldispense with descending to particu-lars ; not hot they would be found to

raise him still higher in public esti-mation if brought to light. After alife of various incident and great sci-entific exertion, it must be no smallconsolation to him to finish his careerin that place from whence, iu the

spring-tide of yontli and hope, hestarted into the turbulent scenes ofthe world—to rule in that place whereonce he served—to succeed to thatchair which his master and predeces-sor in office ilad occupied. For howfew is even this reserved?

His professorship must be to himthemote grateful, in as much as be waselevated to it on the sole recommen-dation of his character as a man of

science, in opposition to the efforts ofa number of candidates, seconded bystrong interest and connexion. Thecontest at the time was a theme of

lively discussion, and would be wortha period or two, had we space to re-cord our recollections of the event atproper length. The diplomatic qna-lifications of his opponents w ere

scarcely less objectionable than theirintettectual incompetency, for hadsome of them succeeded, we presumethe duties or professor should he per-furmed by proxy, as. the want of

doctorial initials were immediately re-moved, and brass plates hlushed un-der the infamy of a St. Andrew’s de=gree. State surgery, how art thoufallen Operations, like charity,may, for a while, cover a multitudeof sins, but, unlike that ever-duringattribute, their reputation, withoutother merit to support it, soon fadesaway.

But to return—the punctuality withwhich Mr. MACARTNEY insists nponthe attendance of his pupils doesmuch honour to his moral feeling. Infact, a certificate from any of theother Dublin Schools is rather a testof having paid a certain sum of moneythan of having received value for it,as attendance to the course forms nonart of the stipulation.His

_

reputation has secured him aplace in all the learned societies ofhis own, and of some in other coun-tries. It was mooted, too, by somemembers of the Irish College of Sur-geons, to confer on him an honorarydegree, but the proposition was re-sisted by some influential members,on the grounds of his not having en-larged the boundaries of the art.When a man’s feelings incline in a waywhich shall, for the present, be name-less, he is very apt to substitute aptetext for an objection, which, we

i fear, was the case in the present in-stance. It is more probabte that theconseqnent admissibility of his pupilsto an examination at York-street,nnder such circumstances, (arprivilegewhich is denied at present, but webelieve on illegal grounds), was thereal cause of denying him a worthlesstitle. The breach, we fear, between.the parties is too wide to admit of afriendly approximation; we, at least,shall not prevent it, by dwelling onthe injustice of the cause.To him, the school of physic is in.

debted for whatever celebrity it pos-sesses, for before his connexion withthat establishment, it was compara-tively unknown. Since that period,however, it has risen into consider-able matmity, and the classes haveconsiderably enlarged.He attempted to establish a medi-

cal society for the discussion of pro-fessional subjects, but from the wantof a corresponding feeling on the partof the members and the pupils, it has

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fallen into total neglect. Sitch is theapathy with which every attempt tokindle the torch of inquiry, and to in-crease the facility of acquiring infor-mation, is received in Ireland.

It is little to be wondered at, thattheir " high mightinesses" of the

Royal Dublin Society are, at the pre.sent moment, going-a begging in En- Iglish and Scotch newspapers for achemist to succeed the late Mr. HIG-GINS. What! not a URE, a THOMP-soN, a HOPE, or any body at all toamuse the ladies in the theatre of thatlearned association? We hope thescientific poverty of the island andthe society may not be typified in theelection of Dr. APJOHN.The preceding observations may

help to give some idea of a man giftedby nature with a superior mind, ofrare industry, great disinterestedness,but singalarly iinsuccessitil, when con-sidered in relation to his merits. His

temper, moral feelings, and profes-sional knowledge, have been thethemes of unjustifiable calumniation.That disappointment may sour the

disposition is easily believed ; but weshould prefer the honest irritability ofsuch a man to the pliant sycophancyof a selfish speculator. The momen-

tary animosity of the one seldom out-lives the occasion which gives it birth- -the malignity of the other neverceases but with the inability to ac-complish its ends. Like other expe-j’imentalists, his name has been linkedwith the crime of cruelty, but the ac-cusation is in itself so ridiculous thatit requires no refutation. Of a si-milar nature is a charge circulated

against him by certain fanatics, whoseem, by a process of religious alche-my, to have converted charity into

hatred, and Christian tolerance intopersecution. Well may he reply inthe words of Pope, " All that dis-graced my betters met in me." Of thelast item in the indictment, our ownexperience could furnish an ample re-jfutation ; but we should be doing himan act of injustice to notice seriouslythe scandal of an interested junto.That he did not devote that attentionto the mere practice of surgery, to ac-quire great celebrity in that part ofthe art, is more to be regretted thancensured. It was a fatal error, andshould be a warning to all young men;

for what avail the highest qualifica-tions to the possessor, if only knownto a few like himself’? It is not theapprobation of learned men or &cien-tific bodies that will serve the yownxpractitioner; he must make his meritknown to the public, and that can

only be done by snccessful cures andoperations. He must make his worthobvions to their senses, and whatevermedical man neglects to do so willive to repent it.

ERINENSIS.

HOSPITAL REPORTS.

GUY’S HOSPITAL.

Case of Tic douloureux, with fungoidi Tumour of the Antrum.

Robert Durham, aged 75, a sailor,was admitted into the Hospital on the26th of July, under the care of Mr.B. COOPER, with a very painful affec-tion of the left side of the face. Hewas a patient in this Hospital (underSir A. COOPER’.S care) in Novemberlast, and the pain was then princi-

pally situated in the trunk and dis-tributions of the infra orbitary nerve;the paroxysms occurred several timesin the day, but were always aggra.vated at the approach of evening.The carbonate of iron was given tohim for several weeks, and by thismedicine he was decidedly benefited,and was dismissed from the Hospitalcured. He says that he remainedfree from pain upwards of three

months, when lie perceised a swell.ing immediately below the left orbir,and near to the nose; the swellingincreased, and the paroxysms of painreturned with their accustomed vio.lence. The tumour is about the s;zeof a pigeon’s egg, and appears toarise from the superior maxillarybone; this tumour has a hard unevenfeel, and the integuments covering itare tense and inflamed. By its size,the lower eye-lid is pushed tip, andthus vision is impeded.He constantly feels a burning. Iin-

cinating pain in this tumour; but theneuralgic paroxysm usually comes onabout eight o’ciock in the evening.

and continues more or less severe