277, HUMBUG.

those already named ? Mrs. Lytham, themother of the deceased, who makes nothingin the shape of an accusation against anyone! THEREFORE the Jury returned a ver-dict of manslaughter against Mr. BARNARDSCANTON, upon the evidence of three of the

medical gentlemen who had attended the

patient, two of whom had attended her ex-clusively, from the day after delivery up tothe period of her death, and the other badbeen consulted between nine and ten o’clock

on the day of delivery. Strange to say,

although this was the verdict, there was notin the published report of the proceedingsof the Coroner’s Inquest, a word to provethat Mr. Scanton had given the patient evena single dose of physic, or that he had oncetouched her with any instrument whatever!

It was proved, indeed, that the forceps wereapplied by Mr. Kelly, which was sufficientto induce this Liverpool jury to bring in averdict of manslaughter against Mr. BAR-1VARD SCANTON, who, on the Coroner’s war-

rant, was confined six weeks in Lancaster

Castle ! In our opinion, he ought to haveindicted some of the parties for a conspiracy.Here is a nton-medical coroner for you !Here an illtelligel1t jury ! The sun oughtnot to shine on a place in which such

fools exist. Mr. Bold’s charge to the jurymust have been a curious performance.A verdict of manslaughter against Mr. Bar-nard Scanton ! As well might the boobieshave brought in such a verdict against theman in the moon.

How did it happen that Alr. Davies, oneof the three persons accused in the anony-mous letter, was selected by this very cleverand iogenious Coroner, to appoint the

" competent persons" to examine the body ?Again, how did it happen that Mr. Da-vies required the attendance of Mr. Jeffreyand Dr. Henwick, and yet altogether neg-lected to request the presence of Messrs.

Kelly, Wood, and Scanton ? There is some-

thing very odd, not to say suspicious, con-nected with this part of the business. At

all events, such conduct was neither liberalnor just. But in what terms can we ade-

quately convey a correct opinion of the

manner in which the Coroner dischargedhis duty. Was the man a supple tool in thehands of some designing knave or knaves,or is he a mere imbecile ? Mark : he re-

ceived a letter containing an accusation

against three persons; he thought the sub-ject demanded investigation, and accordinglyselected one of the accused persons to ap-

point the examiners. An inquest was held ;and, at that inquest, one of the accused in-dividuals was permitted to give evidence

against the other two. If the Coroner

thought it right to consult Mr. Davies, whydid lie not also think it right to consult Mr.Kelly and Mr. Scanton ? Let him answer

this question. In the mean time we must

tell him, that such conduct is not consistentwith the due administration of justice. Had

the Coroner, in this instance, been educatedto the MFDICAL profession, and had he con-sulted, as he ought to have done, the wholeof the practitioners who attended the pa-tient, instead of confining his inquiries to oneof the accused parties, we are persuadedthat no disinterment of the body would havetaken place, that the relatives of Mrs. Readwould have been spared much unnecessarysuffering, and the profession the scandal ofsuch a proceeding. There is not the sliyltt-est ground for believing that the patientwas improperly treated by either prac-

titioner, and we earnestly recommend Mr.

Jeffrey and Mr. Kelly to shake each otherheartily by the hand, and henceforth to

avoid, as they would Beelzebub, every NON-MEDICAL COBOXER.

HUMBUG.

JoE Bunxs presents his compliments tothe Editor of THE LANCET, and bfgsto callhis attention to the enclosed paragraphs.No. I, he extracted from the "puff column

"

in the Chronicle of Monday last, and the

278 MILLS ON THE LUNGS. &c.

other lias been penned by a friend, and for-warded to the Post; but. as they have asmack of the medical, and are a tolerablematch, J. B. would like much to see them ina page of his favourite Journal.

No. I.

From the Morning Chronicle.The Duke of DEVONSHIRE’S grand party

on Friday evening, at Devonshire House,and Mr. PET1’IGREW’S Conversazioni inSaville-street, on Wednesday evening, werethe most celebrated and numerous assem-

blages during the week. At the former,were all the distinguished persons of rankand fashion in the metropolis; and at thelatter, most of the eminent philosophers andliterary men. Many rare articles were

shown at Mr. PETTIGREW’S, which we havenot room to specify.

No. II.

Intended for the Post.His MAJESTY’S grand party on Monday

evening at Windsor Castle, and Mr. PIMP’SStarve out, in Boot-lane, were the only as-semblages worthy of notice during theweek. At the former were all the mostancient of the nobility, and at the latter,most of the eminent philosophers ofHounsditch and the Minories. Many rarespecimens were exhibited by Mr. P.,among which were the bones of a shoulder,showing the effects of an unreduced disloca-tion of that joint—a MS. copy of an honebtand impartial speech on " unprofessionalconduct"-a patient, (very rare,) &c. &c.

REVIEW OF MILLS ON MORBID APPEAR-

ANCES, &c.

(Concluded from p. 250.)

WE mnst,however,extrieate ourselves fromthis metaphysical episode, forced upon us bya silly application of analogy, by which any,or every thing, might be satisfactorily provedto those unacquainted with its fallacy, andfind a temporary relief from the labyrinthsof logic, in a case of recovery from phthisis,for Dr. Mills has his cases of recovery, aswell as of death, from this fatal malady.

" ° Case of Recovery from Phthisis Pulmo.nalis, in consequence of a change from alow to a generous Diet, and from Seda-tive Medicines to Wine and Cordials.-Feb. 20, 1822. Mrs. --, stat. 49, ispale, weak, and emaciated; sight imper-

fect; speech inarticulate; pulse feeble, fre.quent, and irregular; skin cool and constrict.ed; tongue white; breathing oppressed.This lady has been living on a low diet, andhas been using the tincture of digitalis forthe cure of pulmonary consumption, underwhich she has been labouring for manymonths. Omit the digitalis, and give spicedwine. Haust aromat. Feb. 21st. Was re.vived by the wine ; cough not quite so trou.blesome; expectoration of a greenish yel.low; breathing less oppressed ; no pain inthe side or chest; pulse 120; some rest;body constipated ; complexion sallow. Pil.hyd. cum. ex. col. C. ; mist. acacise c. tinct.opii pro tussi ; chicken broth and mulledwine. Feb. 26th. Thinks herself stronger,and says her cough and breathing are re.lieved ; pulse 116, more regular; dejec.tions yellow and greenish ; urine turbid.Takes chicken, and three or four glasses ofclaret daily. Contr. med. Feb. 30th. Re.freshed and strengthened by the meat andwine; better rest; faeces saffron.coloured;urine lateritious. Is able, with a little as-

sistance, to walk about her room. The

temperature of her chamber is 60° to 61°Fahrenheit. Contr. omnia. March 12th.Gradual amendment; cough abated; ex-

pectoration cream-coloured, and sinks in

water; hectic fever diminishing. Contr.March 30th. Takes wine, flesh meat, andanimal broths or jellies daily. Says she isstronger : to relieve languor or oppression,takes occasionally the hartshorn or camphormixture. April 20th. The recovery of fleshand strength is slow, but gradual ; hecticfever abated. May 10th. Gradual improve.ment ; seldom requires any aperient ; coughnot troublesome. June 16th. Has taken an

airing in a carriage; an irregular low feveris still present, which, she says, is dimi-nished by the use of wine and water, or bya drive into the country. July 10th. Wasable to undertake ajourney of seventy miles:is now in the west of Ireland, where she isrecovering flesh and strength." Commentary.— When first called on to

visit this patient, her pulse was preternatu-rally slow, her countenance pale, her eyefixed, and her speech inarticulate. The ex-tremities were cold, the emaciation wasconsiderable, and there was every appear-ance of approaching dissolution. 17nder thesecircumstances, I recommended wine anda cordial draught; on the day following, thepulse was improved, and the energies of theheart and nervous system were, in some de-gree, restored. The emaciation and faintishoness were ascribed to a low diet and theuse of digitalis; a diet more nutritious wastherefore allowed, and the digitalis discon.tinued ; and as the wine already takenseemed to agree with the constitution, andto promote appetite and spirits, and as it