1003INTERNATIONAL MONUMENT TO SEMMELWEIS.

dered them, and accompanied his accusations with threatsto extort money as the price of secrecy. To add to his

villainy he went so far as to induce his fiancée to write

some of the letters. In no instance, however, does he seem

to have intentionally disclosed his identity, or taken furthermeasures to have his demands satisfied. In his possessionwere found the names and addresses of the girls MARSH andSHRIVELL in MARSH’S handwriting. This was written on

paper having a foreign watermark similar to that on which hehad penned his letter to Mr. HARPER. He had also shown to

HAYNES the same address in a book ; but this, as well as abox of capsules, disappeared. There was ample evidencethat he had strychnia in his possession, for pills containingthis drug were found in his rooms. Moreover, on severaloccasions he had purchased nnx vomica in quantity beyondhis individual need. Analyses in the cases of DONWORTH,MARSH and SHRIVELL showed that fatal doses of strychniahad been administered.

Having stated the salient facts proved at the trial,several points of forensic interest may now bea considered.In the first place, it is a painful duty to subscribe to the

remarks made by the judge and the Attorney-General in

regard to the giving of a death certificate by Mr. GRAHAM.No doubt he believed on ample evidence that CLOVER was

suffering from alcoholism, but this surely did not warranthim in ascribing the death to ’’ delirium tremens and

syncope. A close inquiry into the final sufferings of thedeceased should have suggested at least that the symptomswere consistent with a theory other than death from

natural causes "-it alcoholism may be so termed. The

girl was about as usual on the. night preceding her

cteath, She had shown no signs ot delirium. Duringher agony she was not only sensitive but sensible.

Delirium tremens does not usually end fatally within

a tew hours. Mr. GRAHAM certified, as we gatherthat he last saw deceased on Oct. 21st ; but it was only herdead body mat he viewed. The above is a regrettableinstance at the shortcomings of the legal requirements as totne certification of death in this country.Fortunately for the cause of justice strychnia, though a

vegetable poison, has great resistance to decomposing forces.MATILDA CLOVER had been buried between six and seven

months before the analysis of her remains was conducted, and

yet Dr. STEVNNSON was able to show the presence of the

alkaloid in the various tissues and that, too, in quantity repre-senting the administration of a fatal dose. Mr. GEOGHEGAN

for the defence argued consistently with the fas of advocacywhen he attempted to discredit Dr. STEVENSON’S testimony,but he was strong in a lost cause, for in skilled hands

proof of the existence of strychnia is not diflicult. His con-

tention that the physiological test with the frog was inappli-cable to the question of poisoning in the human being, thoughingenious, was certainly at variance with accepted scientificteaching.MATILDA CLOVER lived longer than do most persons

who have taken. a lethal dose of strychnia ; but then there

are no absolute lilnits within which death must occur. The

quantity ejected in the vomit (if any), the presence or absenceuf iuud in the stomach, the simultaneous action of antidotalor antagonistic drugs and the power of absorption by themocous membrane at a giv en time are important factors indetermining the duration of life.

The jury had before them evidence more than enough to sub-stantiate their verdict without being called upon to fix a motiveto the crime of which they convicted .NEILL. To the psycho-logist, however, his case is one of absorbing interest. That

he willed to do the murderous deed, or, in other words,acted under conscious motive there appears to be no shadow

of doubt, leaving aside the absurd legal proof of criminal

responsibility—"the knowledge of right and wrong, or of

the nature and quality of the act." Nor can we argue in

NEILL’S favour impulsive homicidal insanity as usuallyunderstood. At the same time it is difficult to believe that

the convict perpetrated these unutterable crimes with a mindconstituted to realise their enormity and with a power ofwill equal to inhibit their commission. As to what motive

may have impelled him to the commission of these singularlycold-blooded murders we are at a loss to conceive.

Perhaps after all there is some reason in the lines :—

How oft the sight of means to do ill deedsMakes ill deeds done.

Annotations.

INTERNATIONAL MONUMENT TO SEMMELWEIS.

"‘ Ne quid nimis."

A MEETING was held in the library of the Royal College ofPhysicians of London on Monday, under the presidency of SirAndrew Clark, the object of which was to combine with all ad-mirers of Semmelweis--"the father of antiseptic midwifery"-to raise in his native city of Budapest a monument to thisgreat pioneer of antisepticism. It is nearly fifty years sinceSemmelweis demonstrated the septicaemia nature of puer-peral fever, and tor many years his work was appreciated byonly a few followers and his name was almost forgotten.We rejoice to think that his professional brethren in Hun-gary have determined to raise by international subscriptiona memorial to their distinguished countryman, who, like

many a martyr, was not appreciated while he lived. Dr.

Routh was the first to bring before the profession in thiscountry the important work of Semmelweis in an article pub-lished in the Transactions of the Royal Medical and ChirurgicalSociety for 1849, and his name and work were revived someseven years ago by his countryman, Dr. Duka, now residentin London, and formerly Surgeon-Major in the Bengal Army.In sympathy with this movement we think a few detailsof the life of him whose work it is intended to commemo-rate may be of interest at the present time. IgnatiusPhilippus Semmelweis was born on July 17th, 1818, and atthe age of nineteen he entered the University of Viennaand graduated in 1844. About two year afterwards he

became temporary assistant professor in the maternitydepartment of the great General Hospital at Vienna

under Professor Klein. The records of the puerperalmortality had been at times very alarming, sometimes 16por cent., or even higher. There were two cliniques, one

attended by students and the other by midwives, and theaverage mortality of 9 ’29 per cent. in the clinique attended bythe students, who also attended the dissecting-room, com-pared with the lower mortality of 3’38 in the midwives’

clinique attracted his attention. All kinds of theories wereadvanced to explain this difference. So bad was it in the

clinique of Dr. Klein when Semmelweis became the assistantthat I patients, on finding themselves inmates of the dreadedclinique, fell on their knees and with clasped hands beggedto be allowed to return to their homes." Semmelweis was ofa highly sensitive nature and he mo.t graphically describes

1004

the scenes : "I myself was terror-stricken when I heard thesound of the bells [rung in the wards when the priest wasadministering the last sacrament to the dying]. A deep sighrose in my breast for the unfortunate mother, who was thevictim to a cause hitherto unknown. This worked on me asa fresh incentive that 1 should to the best of my abilityendeavour to discover the mysterious agent, and a convictiongrew day by day that the prevailing fatality in the CliniqueNo. 1 could in no wise be accounted for by the hithertoadopted etiology of puerperal fevers. " The view then taughtwas that these epidemics were due to atmospheric, cosmic ortelluric infiuences. He, following the truly scientific method,showed that tlils theory was unable to explain the facts, fortne latltl fever did not exist in other parts of Vienna.

overcrowding was suggested, but the climque oi the mid-wives contained more patients than the students. Then

the theory ot tear was advanced as a cause ot the unfavour-able result. Protracted labour was fatal in all cases in the

one clinique, whereas in the other this circumstance had butlittle effect. The whole story of rejection of theory after

theory is a most interesting example of the exercise of thattrue scientific spirit called by dlr Andrew Clarkthe scientihcinstinct." ;5eLumelweis’s friend professor hollatachka diedof a dissection wound. "Then the revelation came to me, hesaid: "Kollatschka’s fatal symptoms unveiled to my mind an

identity with tnose 1 had so onen noticed on the deathbedof puerperal cases.

" At last he felt able to explain the

etiology and at once enunciated the doctrine of septi-casmio poisoning and ordered the use 01 antiseptics-namely, the washing of the hands with chlorine water or

chlormated lime-water betore proceeding to examine

patients. The mortality immediately before this was 12.24per cent., and in the course ol six months it fell to b’04 andafterwards to 1’27 per cent. Atter caretul observation he

further discovered tnat "not particles from dead bodies

alone, but any material in a state ot decomposition proceed-ing from a living organism, even air contaminated trom suchsources, may generate symptoms ot puerperal lever. ’ Verysoon his term of office expired, ana, by a coinbinatioii ot

jealous confreres, his reappointment was resisted and he had

to quit the field of his scientihc observations and Detake him-

selt to his native city in 1850. He tnere wrote iiis great work" die Ætiologie, in which he also propouxxued the doctrineof auto-genetic infection. tie was appointed proiessor ofmidwifery in Budapest. Though he was conscious ot havingdiscovered and set forth a great truth, yet 111S teacnings metwith considerable opposition, and his sensitive nature gaveway. He was removed to an asylum in Vienna in July,1865, and on Aug. 17th he passed away, the actual cause ofdeath being pyæmia : a strange coincidence tnat he shoulddie of a disease to the elucidation of winch ne had devotedthe best years of his life. Such is the story of this most

remarkable man, and we trust that the proiession in this

cou itry will join with all admirers of true heroism in

establishing this memorial. By the limitation oi the maxi-mum subscription to one guinea, suggested by the com-mittee at the meeting on Monday, tne rank and file of

the profession, who have benefited most of all by Semmel-weis’s discovery, will, we trust, unite to send a contributionworthy of our country, feeling assured that in assisting inhonouring him we are doing honour to our profession.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF FELLOWS ANDMEMBERS AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF

SURGEONS OF ENGLAND.

THE Fellows and Members of the College who are interestedin the reform movement are reminded that the annual generalmeeting of Fellows and Members of the College will takeplace at 3 P.M. in the theatre of the College on Thursday,Nov. 3rd. We understand that the Associations of Fellows

and Members are now engaged in considering whatresolutions shall be moved at this meeting, and the

Association of Members is prepared to follow the guidanceof the Fellows’ Association instead of taking the. in-

dependent action which has proved in the past to be

disadvantageous to the common cause. We would stronglyurge all Fellows and Members who have the good govern-ment of the College at heart to attend the meeting onthe 3rd and support the resolutions which will then be sub-mitted. The prospects of progress were never brighter, butit is necessary to remember the ancient maxim festina lente.Too great eagerness to advance is apt to engender oppositionand to lead to disappointments, which delay the attainmentof the objects in view. Those who intend to be present arereferred to our special articles on the work of the past col.

legiate year, the calendar of the College, and the report ofthe Council of the College to be presented at the meeting.

WORRY, DRINK AND LUNACY.IT is no new thing to hear of the close connexion between

indulgence in alcohol and the development of insanity.Accordingly we teel no surprise at a statement ’ by Dr.Augustine Planus that a large proportion of the cases of

lunacy registered in Yarxs ot late years are attributable to

this form of excess. Far more significant is his observationthat drunkenness has increased very markedly in the Frenchcapital. This effect is, of course, clue to a variety of causes.

Among these one is of particular interest from its bearingupon the neurotic aspect of the alcoholic dyscrasia. It is the

pressure and worry ot overwork, probably combined as usual inthe like circumstances with irregular feeding and want of sleep.l’hough felt by all classes of workers, an important charac-teristic of its action as a cause of alcoholism is its increasingintluence among those who labour with their brains. Artists,authors and especially journalists—a group of persons by nomeans usually given to excess-are enumerated as havingsuccumbed to the subtle poison ; and this result has, doubtlesswith trutn, been attributed to the craving depression ot

mental fatigue. It is not difficult, indeed, to trace a con-nexion here, and we may accept it as a warning that forcedlabour is ever prone to become the natural parent of otherand worse excesses. The best work, however hard, is alwaysmethodical enough to permit of timely rest and of regularnutrition, and the full recognition of this fact is a mere

question of public utility which we hope to see more andmore widely admitted in practice.

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL AND GLANDERS,

WE recently alluded to a new Order which had been issuedby the Board of Agriculture for the better controlling ofglanders, and we commented with approval on the recogni-tion by the Board of the identity of glanders and farcy andsome other features in the management of the disease. Wehad to condemn, however, the continuation of the localauthorities as the instruments through which the regulationswere to be carried out, as the experience of years had amplydemonstrated that they are incompetent to undertake such afunction. The Public Control Committee of the London

County Council has taken the same view, for at the meetingof the Council held on the 18th inst. it reported that the lawin force in England with regard to the disease was muchbehind that of other countries ; and, after showing how thedisorder had increased in London and, that the Council hadurged the Board of Agriculture to provide more effectualmeans for dealing with it and so putting an end to thefallacious measures already in force, it afterwards offered

suggestions for the improvement of the new Order,a draft of which had been placed before it by the

Board. These suggestions were: (1) the insertion of a