We are not lawyers, and therefore have no claim to an opinion, we suppose, on the "right;" but, as regards the general effect of this custom as now practised, we are afraid (however advantageous it may be to the trade to obtain gratuitously these bulky contributions to their columns) that doubts may not be unreasonably entertained whether it is of advantage to science, to the character of our periodical literature, or the profession.
The publicity which it gives to a man's name, induces men to contribute matter which it would often have been, perhaps, more advantageous to them to have suppressed; and the proprietors, so long as a periodical "pays," are not likely to quarrel with that which they get for nothing but the expense of publication.
Mr. Abernethy was very much opposed to the publication of his lectures; but, though not insensible by any means to the occasionally caustic remarks of the press, he does not seem to have been much annoyed by them.
The following is an extract from a letter, in which he expresses himself as opposed to the conduct of those who publish lectures without the permission of the authors. We suppress that part, because it involves his opinion of the conduct of individuals. As regards his personal feelings, he says:
"Though I have been so long in replying to your letter, I have felt very grateful for the kindness which induced you to take up the cudgels in my behalf. At the same time, I must say that, had I been at your elbow, I should have hinted to you that the object was not worth the trouble you have been so good as to bestow upon it. No one can expect to escape slander and misrepresentation; and these are so commonly bestowed upon all, that they have little or no influence on the minds of persons of character and judgment.
"With many thanks and best wishes,
"I remain, my dear sir,
"Yours very sincerely,
"John Abernethy."
SECTION.
When Mr. Abernethy was appointed surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in 1815, he had already been twenty-eight years assistant surgeon, and was therefore fifty years of age before he had an opportunity of taking an active share in the practical administration of the Hospital. This is one of the many effects of a System of which we shall presently give a sketch. He was thus invested with the additional duties of Surgeon of the Hospital, and Professor to the College of Surgeons, at a time of life when most people, who have commenced young and laboured hard with their intellects, as distinguished from their hands, begin to feel their work. This was the case with Abernethy. We do not think that his original physical organization was to be complained of; he had been active and energetic, he was of moderate stature and well-proportioned; a magnificently poised brain, judging phrenologically; and, in short (under favourable circumstances), he appeared to have had the elements of long life; but we think that his organization—and especially the presiding power, the nervous system—was ill-adapted either for the air, the anxieties, or the habits of a crowded city; or the somewhat pestilential atmosphere of a dissecting-room.
We saw him, therefore, ageing at fifty very sensibly, and rather more than is in general observable at that period. He complained, in 1817, of the fatigue of the College lectures, coming, as they did, on the completion of a season of the "mill-round" of hospital tuition and practice. So that, when we mentioned the period of his lectures at the College as on so many accounts the zenith of his career, there was the serious drawback arising from a certain diminution of strength which had never been, at best, equal to the physical fatigue of his multiform avocations. All this arose partly out of a System, which, although, like all evils, not allowed to proceed without being charged with elements of remotely prospective correction, has been the parent of much mischief. This is what we have called the "Hospital System," some of the more important features of which we will now present to our readers.