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thing as entering it, thereby showing that the ether producedno effect upon the uterus in diminishing its contractile powers.At half-past four, forty drops of sedative solution of opiumwere given her; in less than two minutes, she was fast asleepand snoring, which we attributed to the ether, and not to theopium. Examination was again made at a quarter to five,five, six, and seven o’clock; the uterus still continuing as firmas before, it was agreed that rest should be given her for afew hours. The pulse was now 120. At ten we met, andfound the rigidity of the uterus had in some measure givenway; so that, by steady perseverance, the second foot wasbrought down, and the delivery completed at a quarter toeleven. I wished, at this latter time, to have used the etheragain, to have prevented her from suffering during the turn-ing ; but the gentleman whose case it was feared some dangermight ensue, as lie had been called in to see her about threeyears before for some affection of the heart. During the secondexhibition of the ether, she was not conscious of anything; shehad previously been and was then grasping her friend’s handwith great force during the attempt to bring down the foot;but as the ether took effect, she gradually withdrew her fingers,and laid back her head in a perfectly quiescent state.April 15th, I visited her, and found her quite as well as she

would have been at the same period after a natural labour.To-day, the gentleman attending her told me she had not hada bad symptom: her own expression was, that she was betternow than upon former occasions, and that, should she ever beso circumstanced again, she should beg to have the ethergiven to her.The apparatus used was a bladder without any valve, the

patient consequently respiring into the bladder, and again in-haling the same. I have now performed thirty-eight differentoperations with the bladder, and have twice used ltobinsou’sapparatus. Not in one instance have I seen anything approachingto asphyxia; neither has there been any cerebral congestion.From what I saw in the above case, I shall not hesitate to

give the ether in any natural labour during the latter pains, I,when the head is commencing to bear upon the perinæum,that being the point at which I consider the ether to be ofbenefit: to give it at an early stage would be perfectly useless,as it would not act upon the uterus; and it is only when thehead is approaching the outlet that there is any occasion forrelaxing the muscles for the egress of the child. Certainly, ifused in the early part of the labour, the pains would not befelt; but as its duration is always uncertain, it would be im-prudent to be following up the ether for several hours, shouldit be so long required.

It is probable I might not have troubled you with this, butas I am written to by practitioners in the country for myopinion with regard to the ether, I think a few accounts of itspractical use and consequent effects far more beneficial forthem than all the theoretical surmises which may be putfm-th 11non the subject—Believe me. Sir. yours obliged.

J. G. LANSDOWN.Bristol, April, 1847.

ON THE DISCOVERY OF THE USE OF NARCOTICVAPOURS IN MITIGATING PAIN.

yo the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-When a new discovery of wide importance is broughtbefore the public, the individual by whose agency it is moreimmediatelv introduced is seldom suffered long to enjoy, un-disturbed, the applause which is the meed of the discoverer.

" Coming events cast their shadows before."The establishment of every great discovery has been pre-

ceded by the accumulation of isolated facts and glimmeringsof the truth brought together by various labourers. Whenthe fulness of time is come, these facts and glimmerings supplythe materials out of which the truth itself is deduced, and adiscovery results. The early pioneers of a discovery oftendeserve a larger portion of honour than those who bring ittangibly before the world. These remarks particularly applyto the new method of rendering patients insensible to pain bythe inhalation of vapours.The discovery of this method has been boldly claimed by

Drs. Jackson and Morton: and to them must certainly beaccorded the chief merit of bringing it into use. No soonerwas the discovery announced, than Dr. Collyer claimed priorityof invention, without, however, adducing those proofs whichcould alone substantiate his pretensions. Still another

aspirant, Mr. Horace Wells, appears in the field, with appa-rently better-founded claims. History will, in due course,assign to each his just award. In the meantime, while leavingthe living competitors to assert their own rights, I venture toput in a claim on behalf of the "illust.rious dead."

When the new method was first noised abroad, I recollectedthat an institution called the Medical Pneumatic Hospitalhad been founded by Dr. Beddoes at Clifton; and that, in theyear 1798, Humphry Davy had been called from his seclusionin Cornwall to take charge of this establishment. In it, thegreat chemist laid the foundation of his future fame, bymaking an extensive series of observations and experimentsto determine the value of gases in the treatment of disease.An indistinct presentiment assured me that the powerfulminds of Beddoes and Davy could not, in the course of theircomprehensive researches, have overlooked the special appli-cation of the inhalation of gases to the mitigation of pain. Onreperusing the beautiful work of Sir Humphry Davy, entitledRes(-arelies chiefly concerning Nitrous Oxide and its Respira-tion," 8vo, 1800, I found my expectations realized. And Iwould earnestly recommend those who are engaged in theinteresting inquiry as to the effects of the inhalation ofvapours, carefully to study this work, which may be said toform a model for all future observations, and patiently tofollow in the footsteps of the great father of pneumatic che-mistry as applied to medicine.

I will now submit two extracts from Sir H. Davy’s writings,which will satisfactorily prove that he at least anticipatedthis important discovery. These extracts will probably beacceptable to those who have not an opportunity of consultinghis works. It would be superfluous to quote the many ob-servations he made as to the effects of nitrous oxide uponman. Similar experiments have since become familiar to

every one. For these and many other interesting pointsrelating to the subject-his comprehensive mind left nothinguntouched-reference must be made to his work.I " In one instance, when I had headach from indigestion,it was immediately removed by the effects of a large dose ofgas, though it afterwards returned, but with much lessviolence. In a second instance, a slighter degree of headachwas wholly removed by two doses of gas."The power of the immediate operation of the gas, in

removing intense physical pain, I had a very good opportunityof ascertaining.

" In cutting one of the unlucky teeth, called dentessapientiae, I experienced an extensive inflammation of thegum, accompanied with great pain, which equally destroyedthe power of repose and of consistent action.

" On the day when the inflammation was most troublesome,I breathed three large doses of nitrous oxide. The painalways diminished after the first four or five inspirations; thethrilling came on as usual, and uneasiness was for a fewminutes swallowed up in pleasure."*

" As nitrous oxide, in its extensive operation, appearscapable of destroying physical pain, it may probably be usedwith advantage during surgical operations, in which no greateffusion of blood takes place."t .

The foregoing extracts I leave to speak for themselves. Ifeel, that by recalling attention to the admirable work fromwhich they are taken, and which has been unaccountablyoverlooked, I have discharged a duty to departed worth.

I deem it right, however, before concluding, now that ex-periments upon the human frame are being so enthusiasticallymade, to adduce the caution recommended by Dr. Beddoesand Davy, against employing the nitrous oxide in the cases ofhysterical females. They cite cases showing the danger ofthe practice.The most appropriate termination to this letter will be

found in the concluding words of the great discoverer, whoseclaims I have asserted :-" An immense mass of pneumatological, chemical, and

medical information must be collected, before we shall beable to operate with certainty on the human constitution." Pneumatic chemistry, in its application to medicine, is an

art in infancy, weak, almost useless, but apparently possessedof capabilities of improvement. To be rendered strong andmature, she must be nourished by facts, strengthened byexercise, and cautiously directed in the application of hernowers. bv external scepticism."

ROBERT BARNES, M.B. Lond.Notting-hill, March, 18!7.

THE POISONED MIND.2’o the Editor of THE LANCET.

Sir,—The mind may be poisoned as well as the body. I amconsulted by young men who, after sexual intemperance,perhaps after an attack of gonorrhcea, have been to consultsome of the advertising quacks of the day. By these persons,* Sir Humphry’s Collected Works. By John Davy, M.D., 1839, p. 2ï(i ,

vol. ii. t Op. cit. p. 329.

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the mind of the patient is poisoned, and if mercury has beenadministered, it is in the bones; if there be a remaininggleet, the case is one of impotency. In either case, the youthbecomes a prey to the worst form of hypochondriasis.

Is it not melancholy to think that the legislature has affordedno remedy for such an evil as this ? If "grievous harm" bedone to the body, the law inflicts its just pnnishment; butpoisoning of the mind, like every species of quackery, is per-mitted. Nay, the pages our first journals are polluted withthe advertisements of the perpetrators of this heinous wrong.From that day, the poor patient is a prey to every hypo-

chondriac terror; he becomes pale, and wan, and thin, thepicture of weakness and misery; he is unfitted for business,for study, for recreation; one horrid dread, in short, pervades iand corrodes his wretched being.

A LOOKER-ON.A LOOKER-ON. !

MEDICAL REFORM.To the Editor of THE LANCET. ,

Sir,-In THE LANCET of last week I observe a spirited letter,signed R. 0., which deserves the particular notice of all thosegentlemen possessing diplomas and degrees in medicine of theUnited Kingdom, who practise in England and Wales, with-out the leave of the usurped authority of the London Apothe-caries’ Hall. I think all those so situated should adopt theplan which was proposed lately when there was a talk of themilitia bill being enforced-viz., to form an association formutual protection on the principles of assurance companies,and whoever is attacked ought to be defended out of the com-mon fund. A respectable solicitor could be easily found, andalso a respectable treasurer, with other officers, without muchtrouble. I would also propose that the same fund be appliedto the prosecution of cases wherein two or more persons join ina conspiracy to prosecute a rival practitioner. I believe thelaw is pretty strong on this subject.

I suppose the fraternity of Apothecaries will not be satisfieduntil, like the College of Physicians, they make a hero of sucha gentleman as Doctor Harrison, who immortalized himself byhis resistance of the prosecutions, or rather persecutions, ofrival physicians, whom the judges and juries found on the trialto be his inferiors in both general and medical education. Thequestion was not then, nor is it yet decided, whether thesolemn Act of Union between England and Scotland in thetime of James I., or the still more recent Union of Ireland andEngland in 1800, have been repealed by the Apothecaries’ Actof 1815: to my simple apprehension the House of Lords wouldsay that physicians and surgeons have the same right now toprescribe, attend, and apply remedies in England and ’Valesas they have in other parts of the United Kingdom, and as theyhad previous to 1815. The House would not fail to recollect thatthe avowed object of that Bill was for the safety and protectionof the lives of her Majesty’s subjects in England and Wales,and not for the petty gratification of malicious spite towards gen-tlemen of undoubted respectability and high qualifications. Iwould also suggest to your correspondent and others that it isvery probable the universities and colleges whose membershave been injured these last 32 years by the false constructionput on the aforesaid act, would contribute morally and pecu-niarily towards their support, so as to have the cause fairlybrought before the public, and thence to the legislature;and it ought to be purely a question of sixteen corporatebodies against one. As the greatest test posterity willhave to judge of your honesty will be the uniform consistencyof your writings and actions throughout (we may hope) half acentury; so we may expect that in case of malicious andspiteful proceedings of one class of medical men against ano-ther, the injured party will find a pillar of defence and supportin your columns and advice from your wisdom, which willserve them as a rallying point throughout any struggle thatmay take place, either in the law courts or in the houses ofParliament. The cause of Universities and Colleges of Sur-geons and all their members throughout the world, is identi-fied with your Medical Registration Bill, and now is the timefor them to rally round you, Mr. Warburton, and, I may say,every member of the House of Commons who either sat onthe committee of 1835, or who have since directed their at-tention to the subject. As far as I can learn, Lord Grey inthe House of Lords, and Sir George Grey in the House ofCommons, as also Sir James Graham and Mr. Macauley, willgive you their support; and the same English sense of justicewhich sought for and obtained parliamentary and municipalreform, will support you in your honest and manly efforts toobtain a reform inferior to neither in a social point of view;and the man who was mainly instrumental in striking down

the upas tree of quackery in all its forms may rest satisfiedthat future historians will do him that justice which a presentgeneration cannot foresee, or they, like me, would anticipatefor the living that which they often reserve for the dead.

. C. P.

PROGRESS OF DENTAL SCIENCE.—ADMIRABLERESULTS OF THE NEW COLLEGIATE SYSTEM.

To the Editor of The LANCET.

SIR,—The following interesting case may not be unaccept-able to you, or uninstructive to others, more particularly as itvery aptly illustrates the fact, that a metastasis of a function,from occult’causes, may be produced, as well as those pheno-mena occurring in that of disease, and, per consequence, anunthinking or too hasty conclusive physician may be led intovery ludicrous mistakes, if not placed in a very humiliatingposition.I CASE.-August, 1846. Mary H-, aged twenty-four;married; of robust make; hitherto in the enjoyment of generalgood health, until within the last two months, in which periodshe has occasionally suffered from giddiness and nervousheadach, and pains in her shoulders, attributed to a cold, andslight rheumatism, and also an occasional nausea, with muscævolitantes. Being minus two front teeth, she applied to Mr.Jones, to have them replaced by artificial substitutes, whichoperation was completed with his usual mechanical tact.After having worn them two or three days, in addition to herheadach, the superior maxillary apparatus became swollen andtumefied; the natural teeth loosened, however, with but littlepain, but accompanied with fever, thirst,-and (as her physicianobserved) a quick, jerking pulse, attended with nausea and ametallic taste in the fauces. On the fourth day from the com-mencement of the swelling, a profuse haemorrhage from thegums and the roof of the mouth supervened, causing a remis-sion of the headach, and lessening the fever. Her medicaladviser, in addition to cathartic and diaphoretic medicines,had given her an astringent wash and gargle for the mouthand fauces: it stayed the haemorrhage, but increased the dis-tress of the liead as well as the fever. He carefully examinedthe mouth and the general apparent characteristics of theaffection, and without hesitation came to the conclusion,and attributed all her difficulties to the artificial teeth beingset and inserted on bad gold, at the same time advising her toapply to and consult some dentists more familiar with thesefacts. She did so; she applied to two; and these professionalgentlemen, with that intuitive generosity so much expectedfrom, and which is such an amiable feature and peculiar cha-racteristic of, this highly-respectable and learned profession,two D.D.S.’s, doctors of dental stupidity, big with the fateof dentition, dentistry, and its concomitants, at once made adisplay of their knowledge from the " dental lecture-room,"" dental museum," " dental mechanical workshop and dissect-ing room;" of their knowledge of "practical dentistry," dentalpathology and physiology," " special dental pathology and the-rapeutics," nosology and pneumatics, and at once gave her anelaborate disquisition upon ‘‘ dental pathology" and bad gold,and hydrostatically proved, to her entire satisfaction and dread,that her heart was actually a pump, and her mouth a cavity,(we add, with considerable suction,) and all were influenced bynervous ganglia, consequently there could be no doubt thatthe gold was of the most injurious quality, and the cause of allher troubles.

I should here state that the bleeding from the mouth’ re-commenced a few hours after it had been stopped by theastringent application, and did not again cease, causing muchdebility. She applied, in accordance with the advice she hadreceived, to Mr. Jones for reparation for the injuries he hadcaused upon her, as well as to " get her money back." He,being satisfied that lie had done her justice in the quality andapplication of the materials used, suggested the justice, asshe had consulted physicians and dentists, that he also mighthave the same privilege, to which she readily assented. Mr.Jones selected me for my opinion upon the case, and broughthis patient to my offices.

I found that the patient had been married two years, hadnever been pregnant, was somewhat irregular " at times" inher menstrual periods, but which had never given her anyuneasiness " to speak of;" she had not menstruated for theprevious two months; never before was more than five or tendays after her time; did not suspect her suppression to bethe cause of her illness; " the doctor and dentists had toldher it was the bad gold was the cause."

I prescribed the emmenagogues and appliances suited toher case, hip-bath, &c. On the fourth day the matrix as-