Though we have no extravagant liking for the dainty phrases, piquant remarks, and holiday terms of modern authorship, we would be well pleased to see a judicious practitioner sufficiently master of composition, to place his observation in the best light; and we recommend to Mr. Okes, with a sincere regard for his useful talents, that attention to style and arrangement proper to give force and character to his future productions.

Letters on Professional Character and Manners: on the Education of a Surgeon and the Duties and Qualifications of a Physician: addressed to James Gregory, M. D. Professor of the Practice of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh. By JOHN BELL, Surgeon. Edin. 1810. pp. 636.

Ir must give pain to every true lover of the medical profession to observe the violent disputes which have for so long a period subsisted and disgraced the first school in Europe. These disputes do not arise from the discussion of any scientific question, nor tend to the perfection or amelioration of the healing art, but are mere personal contentions for posts and places, for employment and emoluments. It is well known

to our readers that the waters of strife were first let out a few years ago, on the new system of electing surgeons to the Royal Infirmary in that city being first adopted, and much rancorous altercation then took place, in which the celebrated Professor to whom these letters are addressed, took no inconsiderable share. Whatever might have been thought at the time, of the motives which induced him thus keenly to espouse one particular side of the question, the purity of them must now be much suspected, if Mr. Bell has in the present publication detailed the circumstances fairly and candidly. The calm which succeeded this storm was of short duration, and but portended a renewal of the tempest with increased violence. An occasion soon arose, a proposition submitted to the college of Physicians by the junior members of it, for allowing them to engage to a limited degree in the practice of Pharmacy, called forth a bitter opposition to it from those who foresaw and dreaded the deep dis grace in which the whole college would be involved; among these our Professor maintained a conspicuous station, and with his accustomed im petuosity thundered out his denunciations, and poured forth a torrent of abuse which reached every individual opposed to him. Into the merits of the question we do not propose to enter, but to leave the considera tion of it to those who are more immediately concerned in its determination; it is vain, however, to look for any cool and temperate discussion of it, in the present inflamed and irritable state of the parties, and we fear that every future step taken in the business will only be the means of add

ing fuel to the flame.

That the conduct of the Professor in this affair has not been free from blame, we cannot but believe, and Mr. Bell has, with no little asperity, and apparently with some reason, undertaken to reprehend him.

"That Dr. James Gregory has traduced my professional and moral reputation, is most true: it is the most trivial perhaps of his offence, that which the public will most easily pardon, and which I was inclined, from

pride and conscious rectitude, to pass in silence. Seven years have elapsed, and more, since he sought to ruin my good name, and concluded a defamatory quarto of five hundred and thirteen pages with this memorable warning to the inhabitants of this my native city. Any man, if himself and his family were sick, should as soon think of calling in a mad dog, as Mr. John Bell, or any who held the principles he professes.' My principles, my feelings, my professional talents, and my integrity, may easily find more partial judges than Dr. Gregory. If I have made any uncharitable conclusion concerning his, it is one which conveys a compliment to his prudence. He wrote, published, distributed, this memorable and calumnious essay on my poor talents, not merely for the gratification of his own malicious propensities, but for behoof of those who could reward them. By the patience with which I endured calumnies, which I never wanted spirit or talent to repress, I showed how wil. ling I was that contention should cease, and the profession in this city be restored to a share of public esteem. But this foul attempt against individual reputation, was only the prelude to universal aggression, and my silence an immunity for past, and an invitation to greater offences. Volume after volume has issued from the press, fraught with defamation, ribaldry, and obscenity; and tales and jests, portentous to our much ho noured profession and to the fame of the medical school."

These letters are written with no inconsiderable humour, but they are extended to too great a length; and while reading them we cannot escape the painful recollection of the disgrace which attaches to the profession from the circumstances they disclose. On the relation of an operation performed some time since in the Infirmary, we forbear to make any observation whatever.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

The following Lectures, given in the Theatre of Anatomy, Great Windmill-street, commence this month, and terminate in May: the hours of delivering them are so arranged as not to interfere with each other, or with the time of attendance at the Hospital.

Chemistry, every morning, from eight until nine o'clock: by WILLIAM T. BRANDE, F. R. S; to commence on Monday, the 8th of October.

Materia Medica, twice in the week, from nine until ten o'clock in the morning; by WILLIAM T. BRANDE, F. R. S.; to commence on Monday, the 16th of October.

Theory and Practice of Physic, by JOHN COOKE, M. D. F. A. S. and late Physician to the London Hospital; from nine until ten o'clock, four mornings in the week; to commence on Monday, the 8th of October.

Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Surgery, by JAMES WIL SON, F. R. S; and B. C. BRODIE, F. R. S; from two until four o'clock in the afternoon as usual; to commence on Monday, the 1st of October.

Surgery,

Surgery, by B. C. BRODIE, F. R. S; Assistant-Surgeon to St. George's Hospital, from seven until eight o'clock, three evenings in the week; to commence on Monday, the 8th of October.

A room for Practical Anatomy is open every morning, from eight o'clock until two in the afternoon, under the direction of Mr. WILSON, and Mr. BRODIE; where a regular demonstration of the dissected parts is given daily, from one until two o'clock. Twelve Gratuitous Lectures, on the principal operations of Surgery, are given to the pupils of St. George's Hospital, during the season, by Everard Home, Esq. F. R. S. Serjeant Surgeon to His Majesty, and Surgeon to St. George's Hospital.

MR. CHEVALIER will commence his next Course of Lectures on the Principles and Operations of Surgery, on Monday, the 15th of October, at eight o'clock in the evening, at his house in South Audleystreet, Grosvenor-square.

DR. SQUIRE will commence a Course of Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women and Children, on Saturday, the 6th of this Month.

Medical and Chemical Lectures at St. George's Hospital, and George-street, Hanover-square, will recommence on Saturday, October 6th at No. 9, George-street, Hanover-square, viz. the Medical Lectures, at eight and the Chemical at nine o'clock in the morning, by GEORGE PEARSON, M. D. F. R. S. sen. Physician to St. George's Hospital, of the College of Physicians, &c.

The Practice of the London Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye will be opened to Students on the first of January, 1811.

DR. FARRE and MR. BENJAMIN TRAVERS will commence in January next at the London Infirmary, in Charterhouse-square, a Course of Lectures, exhibiting the Changes induced by Disease in the several Organs of the Human Body. The Medical department of the Course will be conducted by DR. FARRE,-the Surgical by MR. TRAVERS. The whole will be illustrated by Preparations and original Cases.

The conclusions drawn by Mr. Davey in his late publication on the Muriatic Acid, will serve to extend and enlig ten the theory of chemistry to a greater extent than any of the brilliant discoveries formerly made by this illustrious chemist. The following are his conclusions:

1st. That the oxymuriatic acid is (as far as our knowledge extends) a simple substance, which may be classed in the same order of natural bodies as oxygen gas; being determined, like oxygen, to the positive (No. 140)

G g

surface

surface in voltaic combinations, and like oxygen, combining with inflammable substances, producing heat and light.

2dly That its combinations with inflammable bodies are analogous to oxides and acids in their properties and powers of combination, but they differ from them in being, for the most part, decomposable by water.

3dly. That hydrogen is the basis of the muriatic acid, and oxymuriatic acid its acidifying principle.

4thly. That the compounds of phosphorus, arsenic, tin, &c. with oxymuriatic acid, approach in their nature to acids, and neutralize ammonia and other salifiable bases.

5thly. That the combination of ammonia with phosphorus, acidified by oxymuriatic acid, is a peculiar compound, having properties like those of an earth, and is not decomposable at an intense red heat.

6thly. That oxymuriatic acid has a stronger attraction for most inflam, rable bodies than oxygen; and that on the hypothesis of the connection of electrical powers with chemical attractions, it must be highest in the scale of negative power; and that the oxygen, which is supposed to exist in oxymuriatic acid, has always been expelled by it from water or oxides.

The French chemists questioned the accuracy of the inferences draw by Mr. Davy from his electro-chemical researches, respecting the nature of the alkalies and the earths; maintaining that the metallic bodies ob tained from these substances, in place of being simple, as asserted by Mr. Davy, were compounds of the alkalies and earths with hydrogen; or, in other words, that the new bodies were hydrurets. Of this opinion were Gay, Lussac, Thenard, and most of the French chemists. Ber. thollet among the rest warmly contested the correctness of Mr. Davy's inferences, and maintained the accuracy of the French conclusions. At a meeting however of the French National Institute' in the end of June, Messrs. Gay, Lussac and Thenard, read a notice containing the results of a great variety of experiments on the new metals; from all of which they concluded, after a most rigid investigation, that professor Davy was perfectly correct in his inferences; and with a degree of frankness honourable to themselves, renounced their former opinion that these new metals are hydrurets.

Dr. Adams's next course of lectures on the institutes and practice of medicine, will be given at Dr. Anderson's lecture-rooms, No. 47, Frithstreet, Soho, commencing on Monday, October 8, at eight o'clock in the morning. On the same morning at nine o'clock, Dr. Anderson will begin his course of scientific and practical chemistry.

Mr. Stevenson, of Great Russel-street, Bloomsbury, who as pupil, is intimately acquainted with the practice of the late Mr. Saunders, is preparing a practical work on a frequent Disease of the Eye.

Professor

Professor Leslie, of Edinburgh, has discovered a new mode of producing artificial cold. Without any expenditure of materials, he can, by means of a simple apparatus, in which the action of certain chemical powers is combined, freeze a mass of water, and keep it for an indefinite length of time in a state of ice. In an hour, he has thus formed a cake of six inches in diameter and three quarters of an inch thick; with very little trouble, he can produce a permanent cold of 90 degrees of Fahrenheit, below the temperature of the air, and might easily push it to more than 100 degrees.

M. de Saussure, of Paris, lately made a series of experiments on the combustion of several sorts of charcoal. He found that Cornish plumbago, burned in oxygen gas, yields nothing but carbonic acid gas, and oxide of iron, without any mixture of water, or of hydrogen gas. The purest charcoal next to plumbago, is that produced by decomposing the essential oil of rosemary in a red hot tube. In its combustion, it did not form any notable quantity of water; but it gave out some oxicarburetted hydrogen, though in too small a quantity, for the composition of the acid gas to be sensibly modified by it. From this experiment it appeared, that 100 parts of carbonic acid contain 27.11 of carbon, and 72-89 of oxigen. The combustion of anthracite, previously exposed to a red heat, furnished too perceptible a quantity of water and of hydrogen for the results of this process to be calculated with accuracy, and compared with the preceding. The combustion of box charcoal too, dried by long incandescence, furnished an appreciable quantity of water and oxicarburetted hydrogen.

An Acconnt of Diseases in an Eastern District of London, from Aug. 20 to Sept. 20, 1810.