to compete with the corresponding courses in the medical schools. Such competition would have been injurious and undesirable. The school is not designed for medical students, but for students in Pharmacy, and the Council have endeavoured to adapt the course of study to the requirements of their own body without reference to any plan or regulations adopted in other establishments previously existing in this country.

In the appointment of professors, it has been their desire to select the highest authorities in the several departments, and we can scarcely hope at any period to be more fortunate in this respect. than we are at the present time. In Materia Medica and Botany, Dr. Pereira and Dr. Thomson not only enjoy a distinguished reputation, but are indefatigable in the performance of their duties, and to their zeal and talents the School of Pharmacy is greatly indebted. Mr. Fownes, as a teacher of Chemistry, has given very general satisfaction, and enjoys a high rank in public estimation, especially in reference to his experience in organic chemistry and analytical research. Mr. Redwood, having been originally educated as a retail Chemist, and having embraced the profession in the capacity of a teacher of Pharmacy at the time of the formation of the Society, possesses the advantage of an intimate acquaintance with the requirements of his pupils, together with that scientific knowledge and aptitude for imparting information which have already made him popular as a teacher.

We have ventured thus to allude to the present position of the School and its professors, in order to make known to those Associates and Apprentices who reside within reach of the establishment, the advantage which they may derive from attending the lectures-an advantage which cannot with any degree of certainty be promised beyond the present session, however sanguine we may be in our hopes and expectations.

If it should happen that we should next year be unfortunately deprived of the assistance of any of our present teachers, it would be a source of regret to those young men who had by procrastination lost an opportunity not to be regained.

If it were needful to point out the benefit which has already been derived from attendance at the School of Pharmacy, we need only advert to the reports of the lectures at the examinations for prizes, published in our number for July (page 20). We may also notice the very creditable manner in which several of our Students have lately passed the Major Examination.

We cannot too strongly urge upon our brethren the importance of the School of Pharmacy to the general interests of our body at the present time. During the next session of parliament the question must be decided, whether the management of the education of Students in Pharmacy is to be intrusted to our body or not. A Bill is before the public, by which it is proposed to create a College of General Practitioners, who would educate and examine in Pharmacy as well as Medical Practice. No other Pharmaceutical institution is alluded to in the Bill, but clauses exist in it which would place Chemists and Druggists entirely under the power of the above-mentioned Pharmaceutical body. If our brethren should consider this a desirable and creditable position to be placed in, they need only remain inactive, and they will be quietly and effectually "put down." But if there be among us any spirit-any desire to maintain our ground and uphold the credit of our profession, we must unite firmly in self-defence, and assert our right to be considered the representatives of Pharmacy, and to regulate the education and examination of our future members. In so doing we must support our words by actions, and appeal to our School of Pharmacy to substantiate the justice of our demand.

ITINERANT QUACK DOCTORS.

THERE is in the Louvre, in Paris, a celebrated picture, by Teniers, representing a mountebank, or quack doctor, vociferat ing to a crowd of spectators, who are pressing forward to buy his wonderful pills, while an attendant is beating a drum to attract attention. These mountebanks were numerous on the continent a century ago, and are not yet extinct, although the changes in the continental medical laws have very much curtailed their number. It was their practice to travel from place to place with a mule and a moveable platform. When they stopped at any town, they erected the platform, and, by means of a drum or discordant trumpet played by an attendant, they attracted an audience, and puffed off their nostrums with great success.

Some of our readers are probably not aware, that a considerable number of a similar race of practitioners flourish at the present time in many of the market-towns in the north of England.

On market-days they are to be found at their stalls with a profusion of pills and infallible drops, worm-cakes, &c., creating no little sensation by the eloquence with which they address the multitude, and describe the wonderful cures they have made. Most of them are assisted by their wives, who dispense the medicines.

In Bradford, Preston, Leeds, York, Halifax, Huddersfield, and several other towns, as many as six or eight of these doctors frequent the markets, and carry on a very extensive traffic. Their chief practice is in the expulsion of worms, of which they have a variety of specimens in bottles on tables before them; but they also cure corns, and have universal medicines and pills of various kinds, and undertake to cure "all disorders both inward and outward."

As a specimen of the class, we may mention Mr. Wallace, of Bradford, who styles himself "the most celebrated WormDoctor," and addresses his audience in the following manner:

"Now, then, don't forget that here is the celebrated Dr. Wallace, of Bradford, with his infallible worm-cakes. Now, then, all ages, from six weeks to 100 years (after 110 I don't undertake to cure). What do you think of that for a child of three years? (pointing to a tape-worm in a bottle)that was a fourpenny cure. You must all of you have heard of the extraordinary worm that was expelled from Bartholomew Dodson, of George Street, Leeds. It was 120 measured yards long, and one inch in circumference. It was expelled by taking three doses of my worm-powders. I had it in a bottle on this table, and all the town came running in crowds to see it and this made the other doctors very jealous; so that a boy, no doubt instigated by one of them, threw a stone at it and broke the bottle. However, I cared very little about that, for on the same day I sold seven pounds' worth of the worm-powders in consequence. For young children the worm-cakes is better, for you have only to say, Now, my little dear, here's a piece of gingerbread,' and down it goes in no time. But recollect it is not

only worms that I cure; my universal medicine is good for indigestion, the wind, bilious complaints, bruises, sores, eruptions, bad legs, headache, and all kinds of inward complaints as well as outward. There's only two things it won't cure, and that's a black eye and a broken leg, and them I don't deal in. Here are pills for a woman's bad temper, four-and-sixpence a box; if it's of long standing, she may require two boxes; and if she ain't worth that, you'd better let her alone. (Have you any boxes for less than four-andsixpence ?) No! that's cheap, for you get all the humbug into the bargain. (What is the price of the humbug without the pills ?) I don't sell it separate the pills and the humbug go together. The worm-cakes are twopence each, and the powders the same. There they are, those figures tell you the age-give one night and morning."

Another of these doctors has taken a leaf out of Abernethy's book, he says

"I'm not like those quack doctors all about the market. Whatever ails you, it don't matter, they always tell you it's the worms, and dose you with worm-cakes and worm-powders, just as if everybody's inside was cramfull of worms. It's ridiculous. I go deeper than that-I look at the cause; and what is the cause of nine disorders out of ten? Does any one feel uneasy in the body and limbs, pain in the head, heartburn, lowness of spirits, pain after eating, and suchlike, why the cause of it is the stomach, and if the stomach is foul, the humours is all locked up, and the blood is stagnated, and nothing is wanted but a few doses of these pills; here they are, threepence a box, containing upwards of fifty. Here are penny boxes,. at leastways there's only one left-will you take it, marm? Thank you -Sold again-now, I have no more penny boxes, but I'll give you your choice, you shall either have a pen'orth of pills in a screw of paper, or a threepenny box for twopence. Will you take a box, sir? thank you-sold again-here's your change. (This is a penny short.) Oh! was you by when I said you should have a threepenny box for twopence. I beg your pardon, I didn't know you heard me say so; by all means, here is the other penny. Take two at night, or if your body is bound up, take two night and morning until they work you. I can expel worms as well as those quack doctors, but I can't expel them unless you have got 'em in your body. If you once try my pills I'm sure you'll recommend me. (Will you favour me with your card)? I've got no card. Those chaps that are not known give their cards. You may always find me here on market-days, and that's card enough for anybody."

There is another doctor who is famous for curing disorders of the eyes: his instructions are rather original.

"Now, my good woman, wet the little girl's eyes with this lotion, and then stand her in a draught, and let the cold wind blow upon 'em for a few minutes. Do this three times a day, and come to me again on Tuesday. I'm sorry I can't give you one of my printed bills, but they're all gone, I'm not one of those fellows that's ashamed of his name."

At another stall we are astonished with the virtues of an ointment:

"It's a certain cure for hair that falls off, or to make it grow again after it has fallen off, or for ringworm, scald-head, or the piles, or for sore legs, wounds, burns, bruises, and proud flesh. It will make the proud flesh come all right after one application, so that you may cure it with any simple ointment afterwards,'

The inventor of this ointment is a young man apparently about

two-and-twenty, but by his own account he must have had great experience. He tells a story about a dilapidated tape-worm which he has in a bottle: he says

"It was expelled from a gentleman who came to me one day and said, "Now, doctor, I want some uncommon strong medicine;' and so, says I, "You want it strong, do you?' 'Yes,' says he, it must be precious strong, or it won't do me no good, for all the doctors has had a try at me.' 'Well.' says I, you shall have it strong;' and I gave him some of the strongest I could mix up. Well, in the morning he comes to me and says, says be, That medicine what you gave me was something like medicine; it raked my inside I can tell you-but in the morning, when it operated, there was this here worm.' Now, ladies and gentlemen, you see the worm, it's broken all to pieces, for it was almost destroyed by the violence of the medicine; and these pieces what you see in the bottle was all that could be collected in a state of decency."

One of the doctors is rather severe against Chemists and Druggists. He wears a shabby dress like a labouring man, but we are informed that this is thrown aside when he leaves his stall, and that he drives about with his wife in a very respectable one-horse carriage. His wife attends him at his stall, and assists in compounding the medicine, or bottling the drops and mixtures. His leading argument is, that he is better acquainted with drugs and medical practice than the Doctors or Druggists, and that he can of course afford to sell his medicines for less than half the price, because he has no fine shop, heavy rent, and other useless expenses. Towards the close of the day, when he is anxious to sell off the remains of his stock, he is very energetic in his eloquence.

"Has any one got wind on their stomach? let them take some of these drops, they will soon bring it off. Does any one feel pains in the body and limbs, and uneasiness after eating? let them take two of these pills every night. Does a child cry day and night? does it rub its nose? draw up its limbs and twist its little body about? depend upon it, the child has worms. Here are powders, a certain cure, only twopence each. For grown persons, there is nothing like terebinthine for worms; only you must mind how you take it, a small dose only acts on the kidneys: you must take one of these here doses to expel the worms. There's no quackery in this practice-I knows what I'm about. Them chaps what keep shops can't tell you what it is they sell. Ask any of 'em what is terebinthine and hydragrum rhei, and not one in ten on 'em can tell you. Why, any fool ought to know that terebinthine means turpentine, and in course hydragrum rhei means calomel-but them chaps don't know. I say, every one who keeps a shop ought to know something of the Pharmacopoeia, and he should know what it is that he is a sellin'. There's no quackery about my practice, it won't do. I can explain the action of everything, and what it is.”

Dr. Frith, "Medical Botanist, Water Caster, and Worm Destroyer," informs the public in a similar strain, that he " may be consulted with the greatest safety on every disease incident to the human frame.”

T. Geldard," Medical Botanist and Worm Destroyer," gives