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MEMOIRS
OF
JOHN ABERNETHY.

Sir Thos. Lawrence P.R.A.      Cook.
Yrs. most sincerely
John Abernethy

MEMOIRS
OF
JOHN ABERNETHY,
WITH A VIEW OF
HIS LECTURES, HIS WRITINGS, AND CHARACTER;
WITH ADDITIONAL
EXTRACTS FROM ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS,
NOW FIRST PUBLISHED;

BY GEORGE MACILWAIN, F.R.C.S.
AUTHOR OF "MEDICINE AND SURGERY ONE INDUCTIVE SCIENCE,"
&c. &c. &c.
"The evil that men do, lives after them:
The good is oft interred with their bones."
Shakspeare.

Third Edition.
LONDON:
HATCHARD AND CO. PICCADILLY.
1856.

The Author reserves the right of publishing a Translation of this Work in France.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY J. MALLETT, WARDOUR STREET.

TO THE MEMORY
OF
JOHN ABERNETHY,
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED
BY
ONE OF HIS NUMEROUS
AND
GRATEFUL PUPILS,
THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE
TO
THE FIRST EDITION.

In submitting to the Public a Memoir of a great man, it may naturally be expected that an author should endeavour to convey to them some idea of the associations, or other circumstances, which have prompted the undertaking.

My father practised on the borders of a forest; and when he was called at night to visit a distant patient, it was the greatest treat to me, then a little boy, to be allowed to saddle my pony and accompany him. My father knew the forest nearly as well as his own garden; but still, in passing bogs in impenetrable darkness, the more refined topography of a forester would be necessary; and it was on one of these occasions that I first heard two words, "Me-ward" and "Abernethy:" the one from our forester guide, which I have never heard since, and the other which I have heard more frequently perhaps than any. The idea I then had of Abernethy was, that he was a great man who lived in London. The next distinct impression I have of him was derived from hearing my father say that a lady, who had gone up to London to have an operation performed, had been sent by him to Mr. Abernethy, because my father did not think the operation necessary or proper; that Mr. Abernethy entirely agreed with him, and that the operation was not performed; that the lady had returned home, and was getting well. I then found that my father had studied under him, and his name became a sort of household word in our family. Circumstances now occurred which occupied my mind in a different direction, and for some years I thought no more of Abernethy.

As long as Surgery meant riding across a forest with my father, I thought it a very agreeable occupation; but when I found that it included many other things, I soon discovered there was a profession I liked much better. Some years had rolled away, when, one afternoon in October, about the year 1816, somewhat to my own surprise, I found myself, about two o'clock, walking down Holborn Hill, on my way to Mr. Abernethy's opening lecture at St. Bartholomew's. Disappointed of being able to follow the profession I had chosen, looking on the one I was about to adopt with something very much allied to repulsion, considering everything in this world "flat and unprofitable," and painfully depressed in spirits, I took my seat at the lecture.

When Mr. Abernethy entered, I was pleased with the expression of his countenance. I almost fancied that he could have sympathized with the melancholy with which I felt oppressed. When he commenced, I listened with some attention; as he went on, I began even to feel some pleasure; as he proceeded, I found myself entertained; and before he concluded, I was delighted. What an agreeable, happy man he seems! thought I. What a fine profession! What would I give now to know as much as he does! In short, I was converted.

Years again rolled on. I found myself in practice. Now, I had an opportunity of proving the truth and excellence of the beautiful principles I had been taught. I found how truthful had been his representations of them. I was, however, grieved to find that his opinions and views were very much misunderstood and misrepresented; and I had very frequent opportunities of seeing how much this restricted their application, and abridged their utility.

Some few years after his death, I tried to induce some one to endeavour to correct the erroneous impressions which prevailed in regard to him; but to do Abernethy full justice, would require a republication of his works, with an elaborate commentary. This was a task involving too much time, labour, and expense, for any individual to undertake; whilst anything less, however useful or instructive to the public, must necessarily subject the author to a criticism which few are disposed to encounter.

But as it appeared to me that scruples like these stood in the way of that which was alike just to the memory of Abernethy and useful to the public, I was resolved at all hazards to undertake at least a Memoir myself. I shall say little of the difficulties of the task. I feel them to have been onerous, and I believe them to have been, in some respects, unexampled.

Apologies for imperfections in works which we are not obliged to write, are seldom valued: the public very sensibly take a work for what it is worth, and are ultimately seldom wrong in their decision. I have only said thus much, not in deprecation of criticism, so much as to show that I have not shrunk from what I deemed just and useful, on account of the somewhat oppressive sense I entertain of the risk or difficulty which it involves.

The scientific reader may, I fear, think that, in endeavouring to avoid too tedious a gravity, I may sometimes have been forgetful of the dignity of biographical memoir; but, in the difficulty of having to treat of subjects which, however important, are not always of the most popular kind, I have been obliged sometimes to think of the "quid vetat ridentem." In the very delicate task of discussing subjects relating to some of my contemporaries, I have endeavoured simply to do Abernethy justice; and, beyond what is necessary for that purpose, have avoided any quotations or other matter calculated unnecessarily to revive or rekindle impressions which may as well be dismissed or forgotten. It may appear to some, that, in my remarks on the present state of professional affairs, I have been too free. I can only say, that I have stated exactly what I feel. I am earnestly desirous of seeing a better state of things; but I have no idea that we can materially improve that which we are afraid to examine.

I have to express my warmest thanks to several gentlemen for the readiness with which they have contributed their assistance; my most grateful acknowledgments to my respected friend, Mr. Fowler of Datchet, and his son, Mr. Alfred Fowler, Mr. Thacker and Mr. Tummins of Wolverhampton—three of them being old schoolfellows of Abernethy; to Mr. White, the distinguished head master of Wolverhampton School, whose acceptable services have been further enhanced by the ready kindness with which they were contributed; to Mr. Belfour, the Secretary of the Royal College of Surgeons, and Mr. Stone, the Librarian, I have to express my best thanks for their kind assistance; and to the latter especially, for many very acceptable contributions.

I have also to acknowledge the kind interest taken in the work by Mr. Wood of Rochdale, Mr. Stowe of Buckingham—old and distinguished pupils of Abernethy. My best thanks are also due to Dr. Nixon of Antrim, not only for his own contributions, but still more for the personal trouble he was so kind as to take in relation to some particulars concerning the ancestors of Mr. Abernethy; to Mr. Chevasse of Sutton Coldfield, for very acceptable communications; and to Mr. Preston of Norwich. Nor must I omit to express my obligation to several gentlemen whom I have consulted at various times. My thanks are specially due to Professor Owen. My old friends and fellow-pupils, Mr. Kingdon, Mr. E. A. Lloyd, Dr. Barnett, Mr. Skey, and Mr. Welbank, have shown as much interest in the work as their opportunities allowed them, and will please to accept my best acknowledgments.

G. M.

London, September 20, 1853.

PREFACE
TO
THE SECOND EDITION.

The indulgent reception which the Public and the Profession have been pleased to accord to these Memoirs having already rendered a second edition necessary, the volumes have been carefully revised. This has enabled me to correct some typographical errors, and so to modify certain passages, that, whilst the narrative remains essentially the same, it may be in some points presented in an improved dress. I have also availed myself of the opportunity of making some additions and corrections, which, though few, are not unimportant.

Although not unacquainted with the fact that Mr. Abernethy had declined the honour of a Baronetcy, no allusion was made to it in the first edition; because I was not then in possession of such evidence as appeared to me necessary in relation to a circumstance that had not fallen within my own knowledge.

By the kindness of the family, I have been enabled to correct an error in regard to those who were present in his last moments; which, if in an historical point of view immaterial, is by no means so with regard to the feelings of those whom it more immediately concerns.

G. M.

The Court Yard, Albany,
Nov. 14, 1853.

PREFACE
TO
THE THIRD EDITION.

In publishing a third edition of these Memoirs, I have to express the grateful sense I entertain of the indulgence with which they continue to be received.

Since the appearance of the second edition, Miss Abernethy has kindly placed at my disposal the few papers which Mr. Abernethy had preserved; and I trust that the additions they have enabled me to make, may not prove unacceptable. Besides circumstances of minor interest, interspersed through the volume, there are some of great importance. The facts relating to the marriage of Mr. Abernethy not only disprove a number of idle reports, but offer another contribution to the general kindness and sincerity of his character. In selecting a few extracts from his thoughts on Religion and Morals, I have been desirous of placing on record some of Mr. Abernethy's sentiments on these all-important questions, without forgetting that I am writing the Memoirs, not of a Divine, but of a Philosophical Physiologist and Surgeon. In like manner, in the accompanying observations which I have submitted on the relations of Science and Religion, I have restricted myself to little more than a Layman's repudiation of a vulgar error. Some little anxiety to impress this may be excused, lest it should be supposed that an argument has been stated in a few pages, which, even in an abridged form, would require a volume; besides being inconsistent with the more measured objects of a Biographical Memoir. I have carefully avoided quoting any papers which, either by opinion or otherwise, reflected on the conduct of any party; and I have taken some pains to render this unnecessary. No man could be more sensitive than Abernethy with regard to any imputation on his honour; but that once satisfied, I am persuaded that nothing would have been more unwelcome to him than that his Memoirs should have contained, unnecessarily, one word that should offend any one; nor anything more acceptable than its avoidance under circumstances of provocation. I have had to contend with difficulties which I need not particularize; it is far more agreeable to express the gratitude I feel for that sympathy and assistance which have placed papers and documents at my disposal, with a generous confidence which, though scarcely easy sufficiently to appreciate, I trust it is impossible knowingly to abuse.

Should it appear that, in my anxiety to avoid disagreeable discussions, I have left any subject imperfectly handled, as regards the high character of Mr. Abernethy, I should of course avail myself of the documents now in my possession. I trust, however, nothing of the kind may be necessary. Having long thought it would be interesting to many persons, old pupils and others, to record his manner in his later days, when delivering his Surgical or Evening Lectures, as well as the position he was so accustomed to assume when enunciating the fundamental axiom of that improved Surgery of which he was the author, I have added the lithograph at page 219. For this artistic sketch I am indebted scarcely less to the painstaking than to the genius of the late Mr. Charles Blair Leighton, who, as stated in the text, did not live to realize those expectations of future excellence to which his talents had given rise. Mr. Leighton, after a short illness, died in May, 1855.

G. M.

The Court Yard, Albany,
November, 1856.

MEMOIRS.

My dear Sir
I return you my best Thanks for your Book which you did me the favor of sending. I have read the new Matter with which I am well pleased. I feel also obliged to you for your kind Wishes, & asure you that they are on my part reciprocal I am a cripple with Rheumatism & good for nothing but still remain

My dear Sir
Yrs. most sincerely
John Abernethy

Enfield
26 April
To George Macilwain Esqre