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it, in some sense, bespeak the goodness and praise of thecommon Author of us all."

ST. THOMAS’S HOSPITAL.INTRODUCTORY LECTURE BY MR. SOLLY, F.R.S.

" ABOUT forty years ago, my young friends, I commenced thestudy of my profession in this time-honoured school of St.Thomas’s Hospital; and though so many years have rolled overmy head since I commenced my professional journey, time hasnot effaced the feelings of that day. I began that journey withhigh hopes and lofty aspirations. Some have been crushed, somecrumbled into dust, some faded away, some realised; but withall this I would if I could relive this portion of my life, and startagain with hopefulness in the same career. As travellers intothis new country, you will not, I am sure, despise the advice ofan old guide. I walked this path with joy, but now look backwith regret that my time had not been better spent, and thatmany golden opportunities of reaping sound fruit have been lostfor ever. I have likened you to travellers, but this is too tamea simile. Are you not, rather, warriors buckling on your armourto fight a noble fight for professional existence? Do not deceive

yourselves : he who enters the medical profession must be pre-pared for a firm and uninterrupted struggle for existence.Having once enlisted, you are no longer your own master. Youhave undertaken duties far higher than any accepted by mortalman, excepting perhaps those of the minister of religion. In all

truth, then, may I say-" ’ A sacre burthen is the life ye bear.

Look on it, lif’t it, bear it solemnly;Stand up, walk beneath it steadfastly;Fail not for surrow, falter not for sin,But onward, upward, till the goal ye win!God guide ye, God guard ye on your way,Young pilgrim warriors, who set forth this day !Oh ! what a solemn truth is this-A sacred burthen is the life ye bear !’

Life is not a toy given to amuse us. It is not a treasure to be

spent in self gratification-it is a burden to be borne solemnlyand steadfastly. If this is a truth applicable to all humanity,how fearfully true it is when applied to the young pilgrimin the land of medicine ! It. insists, and insists truly, thatas human beings we are responsible to our Creator for the

way in which we utilize the privilege. ’Our life is as a shadow,and it soon passeth away.’ To prolong this short life is the

object of the science which you have come here this day to study.The Creatur has to a certain extent permitted us to hold in ourhands the cords of life and death, to loose or bind. We cannotrestore life as the first and great Physician did ; but we are on -dowed, under divine Providence, with the God-like power of pre-serving it. Well might the greatest of modern poets say- ,

" ° Oh God, it is a fearful thingTo see the human soul take wingIn any shape, in any mood:I have seen it rushing forth in blood-I have seen it on the breaking oceanStrive with a swollen, convulsive motion-I have seen it on the ghastly headOf sin, delirious with its dread.’

No one who has witnessed death will not acknowledge the truthof this vivid picture, and no medical man can deny that the painof such a scene is fearfully heightened if he is conscious that thatBight has been caused by his ignorance or neglect, and if he iscompelled to exclaim inwardly in the agony of his soul, Oh, if Ihad only done my duty when I was a student, this death mighthave been averted.’ Do not think, my young friends, that this

, picture is overdrawn or too highly coloured. Every conscien-tious medical man who has arrived at my time of life willallow the truth of it, and happy is he who can say, when hecloses the eye of his patient, I have done my duty, and usedall those means which the science of our profession, to thebest of my belief, has accorded to us.’ We are all fallible, andthe best of us are poor erring mortals ; but some do theirwork as students-and we are all students, or ought to be-earnestly, zealously, and truthfully. Let us then consider this

responsibili-.y, and the way we are most likely to be able toperform these duties in accordance with our high aspirations.Again, I must repeat that the man who practises the profes-sion of medicine and surgery honestly and skilfully is a noblebeing. The object of our meeting to-day is to encourage the

young student to devote himself heart and soul to this God-like profession. When we first commence our studies we are,I fear, most of us thoughtless, giddy, self-indulgent creatures.When we conclude our studies at the hospital, and launch ourbark upon the troubled sea of actual professional life, we ought

to be serious, thoughtful, and instructed men. A few shortyears ought to see this change in you. In these few shortyears, how is it to be accomplished ?"Mr. Solly then proceeded to point out that a careful study

of anatomy and physiology was the foundation of a successfulpractice, and eulogised in the highest terms the labour and scien-tific attainments of Mr. Rainey. He especially drew attentionto the fact that, in the study of physiology, the amplest proofwas afforded of design and contrivance emanating from omni-science. That it should go hand-in-hand wit.li the cultivation ofa habit of reasoning on facts that present themselves, withoutwhich the widest field of observation, rich in medical pheno-mena, will be utter useless. Mr. Solly then referred to thesubjects of chemistry, pathology, materia medica (observing enpassant that the man who ridiculed the power of medicines didso because he was ignorant how to use them), pointing out howbest they might be studied. The light in which operations wereto be regarded - as noble acts when carefully considered,judiciously contrived, and skilfully performed. Then he passedto the knowledge to be acquired, and the time to be spent inthe dissecting-room."I cannot conclude this imperfect introductory address with-

out saying a few words regarding the future of St. Thomas’s.Behind me you see a drawing of the building of St. Thomas’sHospital as it is to be. You cannot fail to observe itsnoble elevation ; its internal arrangements are as perfectas the ingenuity of collective wisdom can make it. Thecontract for the superstructure has been let, and it is pro-vided in the contract that the two pavilions next the centrewith the necessary offices and out-patients’ departments, thecentre block, containing chapel and resident medical officers’ apart-ments, and the school buildings are to be completed by Michael-mas, 1869, and the remainder by Lady-day, 1870. I feel thereforeconfident, considering the energy of our excellent treasurer, thezeal and ability of our architect, and the good faith of our con-tractor, that the Introductory Lecture for the Session of 1869will be delivered in our new Hospital at Stanate."

.

Mr. Solly concluded by praising the system of nursing inoperation at St. Thomas’s, and by remarking tha.t if the studentswished " to attain that excellence which I will give you all thecredit of wishing to attain, you must attend the dissecting-room,the lecturing theatre, the ohenrca.1 laboratory, and make thewards of the hospital your dwelling-place. Works 2n anatomy,physiology, chemistry, medicine, and surgery should be yourbosom friends, and the noble profession of medicine in its mostextended meaning the only goddess of your idolatry."

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.

DR. GRAILY HEWITT’S INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

AFTER a cordial welcome to those then entering upon theirmedical studies, and congratulating them upon their choice ofmedicine as a profession, Dr. Hewitt proceeded to give ageneral outline of the course and objects of the study to bepursued. The chief part of the address was, however, devotedto a consideration of the subject of " Treatment of Disease."Was there, it might be asked, any great law, any simple ex-pression or proposition, which so far embodied the end and aimof medical treatment as to form a safe basis for practice ? Was" 4 rational" treatment possible, or must they rely upon em-pirical treatment ? The study of the phenomena and laws of £life could alone give the basis they required. However, allwe know of the nature and essence of life itself, and physiologyunceasingly told us that the continuance of life was dependenton the fulfilment of certain well-defined conditions-food,light, air,-these were indispensables. Failing these, diseaseand death took possession. Chemistry relentlessly stepped inand distributed to their pristine elements those beautifullyoriginal fabrics which peopled the world. Chemistry, for atime the slave of the body, finally became the master. Theycould not imitate the wonderful process of growth in the body,they could not manufacture a single drop of blood ; but thisincessant growth created incessant demand for new material:to sustain the vital actions food was required. Here, then,began the work of the physician. Disease might be producedin many ways, and was often tlle result of injuries, but in thegreat majority of cases it was distinctly connected withderangement of those processes by which the new material wasappropriated by the body to its own uses, or to deficient sup-plies of the material itself. The whole body was in a constantstate of change ; the individual of to-day had not the same

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body he possessed some years since. The body must indeedbe guarded from deleterious influences, from injury, fromnoxious miasmata, and from the thousand and one enemies towhose attacks it is exposed; but unless the aliment with whichit is supplied be good, and fit, and sufficient, disease mustsóoner or later result. The necessity for food, of course, alladmit. The proposition that many diseases owe their originto defective supply of food is not novel; but do we adequatelyrecognise it as a fundamental principle in the treatment ofdisease that food is the most powerful of remedies ? Is notthis the principle of which we are in search ? We wish toavert death. To expel the disease from the body is a laudableobject indeed, but still not the first. We must save the body,at all costs, from death. Let us not imitate the medical en-thusiast who in curing the disease destroyed the patient, andcould only exclaim, "11 est mort gueri."In our battle with disease it is mainly a question of supply.

The best prescription will be useless if the life be not sup-ported by food.To give the nutrition-treatment, as it may be termed, its

proper place, is not to depreciate our other resources. Howmuch does humanity owe to surgery ! But the dexterity ofthe surgeon will not avail if the strength and vitality of hispatient be not preserved. The cordage of the ship must bekept in order ; but the sunken rock towards which the vesselis rapidly drifting, and which threatens the whole fabric withdestruction, we must at all costs keep clear of that. Again,in the obstetric department, where manipulative skill is ofteneminently serviceable, diseases are encountered whose rapidlyfatal tendency is only to be averted by free and liberal ad-ministration of nourishment. Nor is it intended, for onemoment to undervalue the assistance we derive from drugs.They enable us to relieve pain, to alleviate suffering, sometimesabsolutely to cure disease. The scepticism which has of lateyears replaced the old implicit faith in drugs is, thanks to thefurther progress of medical inquiry, now in its turn givingplace to a more accurate and precise estimation of the powerand effect of drugs on the economy, from which the bestresults may be anticipated.

Other remedial measures-climate, exercise, baths, &c.-have an unquestionably powerful effect, but they are stillsubsidiary; and let it be remarked that their influence is sobeneficial because they promote healthy nutrition.. They facili-_ tate the changes in the tissues, increase the demand for food,and promote its assimilation.The tendency to death is, with some few exceptions, by way

of exhaustion. The natural forces are greatly weakened ;another step downwards, and life is gone. The mechanism ofthe body being intact, the restorative power of food is greatto an almost incredible extent. When, as often happens, naturecalls for food, the indication is plain enough ; but when appe-tite is gone, consciousness well-nigh extinct, a knowledge ofthe extraordinary remedial action of food is of vast importance.To place within the alimentary tube something which it mayreadily take up, and which the body may, with what littlepower is left to it, convert into new force, —to do this at theright moment, and in the right way, is often an exercise of thehighest skill. The body is thus enabled to retain, though itmay be only for a time, its hold on life. These considerations,in fact, lead us to attach so much importance to skillednursing. The greater success of medical treatment of lateyears is a good deal owing to increased attention in this par-ticular. The importance attached to good nursing by thosewho lead professional opinion is to be regarded, indeed, as in-dicative of the growing trust in the curative power of food ;for the regular and skilful administration of food is one of thechief duties with which the nurse is entrusted.

Prevention is better than cure. A vast number of deathsare due to diseases which owe their origin to defective nutri-tion. Consumption in its many forms and disguises appearsto be connected in the main with want of food. What hasbeen observed as to the marvellous power of the nutritivetreatment in arresting its progress enables us confidently toexpect that, applied earlier, the disease might be preventedaltogether. It is in childhood and youth that the changes inthe tissues are most rapid, that growth is most evident, and itis at that time that material is required in greatest quantity.Disastrous results must sooner or later follow if, during thisperiod of rapid growth, food is insufficient. Parents havetheir own ideas on the bringing-up of children, but doubtless,in the future, one great function of our profession will be moresystematically called into exercise,-that which consists inregulating the supplies of nutritive material during these morecritical periods of human life. Further, the great and evident

curative power of the nutritive treatment where the changesare rapid, gives us an indication as to what may be effected,though more slowly, in producing curative changes in the dis-eased organs of the body later on in life. So long as life lastswe may hope to effect something. Physical diagnosis, whichhas of late years attained so great a degree of perfection, willin future aid us materially in observing and appreciating theprogress of these remedial changes.

Sanitary science, occupied chiefly in shielding the bodyfrom assaults from without, has of late years done much, andthere is yet much for it to do. But a yet wider field forwork appears to lie open to medical art in the regulation andadaptation of food, with the object of effecting radical andcurative changes in the diseased tissues of the body. Medicinedoes not end here ; this is but the basis and foundation of theedifice.An earnest exhortation to a single-minded performance of

duty, to the maintenance of self-respect, self-reliance, andself-control, as essential to success in life, concluded theaddress.

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WESTMINSTER HOSPITAL.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE BY MR. TEEVAN.

THE lecturer commenced by welcoming back the old studentsand giving them some advice. He then addressed himself tothe young students, and said he trusted they had entered theprofession from that best of all motives-because it seemed tothem to be the one in which they would be best able to do theirduty, and earn an honourable competence in that position inwhich it had pleased God to place them. He then referred tothe disadvantages under which the medical profession labouredwhen contrasted with the sister professions. "But there is no

profession in which a man of ordinary intellect and industry isso sure of gaining a moderate competency. Instances of failure,apart from unavoidable causes, are almost unknown. It has,however, infinitely greater recommendations. There is scarcelyany path in life in which a man may render greater services tohis fellow-creatures; and he carries with him through life thegreatest possible consolation-the fact that his work has not asingle misgiving to cloud it; its good is unalloyed. Happilyfor us, our profession looks upon the great human race as oneand indivisible. We know of no difference of race or religion,and hence, in whatever clime our lot may be cast, we canminister equally to all men."And now, gentlemen, having entered the path you have

; chosen, what is the motive which is to induce you to exert! your powers to the utmost, and what principle will regulate. you in your dealings with those who, like you, are running theE same race, and who happen to be your immediate companions

in your voyage through life ? There are two motives whichwill generally urge men onwards in the race, and eventuallycarry them into the foremost rank. Some men become greatthrough the ambition to be so; others, perhaps, who are humble-minded, but whose actions are all regulated by a deep sense ofduty, find themselves unexpectedly on the pinnacle of fame.Gentlemen, if you would study your own happiness and thatof your fellow-creatures, duty, and not ambition, must be thewatchword of your policy through life. It is better for everyman to be happy rather than fortunate. You well know thatwhen Crcesus was at the zenith of his power he thought him-self the happiest man on earth, and interrogating Solon to thateffect, was disconcerted at his reply: ’Till the closing scene oflife, 0 Crcesus, call no man happy, but only fortunate; for uponmany the gods have cast a passing gleam of sunshine, and thenthrown them uprooted on the earth and you remember how,when Crcesus was captured by Cyrus, and cast on the burningpyre, he realised the words of Solon. If we take Solon’s mea-sure, and apply it to the ambitious men who have figured inthe world’s history, we cannot call them happy. Alexanderthe Great cried when he had no more worlds to conquer. Thegreat Caesar was slain because his ambition had come to thatpass, as Seneca said, that either Csesar or the State mustperish ; and the great Napoleon ended his days caged up on alonely rock. All history is but the record of the exaltationand abasement of ambitious men. We cannot say that the in-

, fluence of the ambitious man is calculated to improve thestandard of the human race ; but we know for a surety thatthe man of duty ennobles and purifies his kind."

L The lecturer then told them that they must for ever remainstudents, for not only must they work to keep up the know-

t ledge they had acquired, but they must make themselves ac-