Now, we happen to know a good deal of this story; and that the incredulity and doubt with which the opinion was received were too great, for a time, even for the authority of Professor Owen to dispel. But mark the truthfulness of a real science; contemplate the exquisite beauty and accuracy of relation in nature! By and by, a whole skeleton was brought over to this country, when the opinion of the Professor was converted into an established fact. Nor was this all; there was this appropriate symbol to perpetuate the triumph: that which had appeared as the most startling feature of what had been scarcely better received than as a wild conjecture, was so accurate in fact, as to form the most appropriate name to the animal thus discovered[76].
It would be unjust to others to attribute Professor Owen's appointment exclusively to Abernethy: that, the state of things did not place within his single power; but his penetration was the first to suggest, and his weight most potential in securing, an appointment which various circumstances, besides the merits of the individual, bring up in high relief, as the best ever made by the London College of Surgeons.
To return to the Hospital System, as affecting Abernethy. He continued to lecture, and the emoluments arising thence he of course enjoyed. Until 1815, the whole of the hospital fees had been taken by the surgeons in chief. These fees, in twenty-eight years (allowing a reasonable deduction for those pupils who went to the school independently of the inducement offered by the most attractive lecturer ever known), must have amounted to an enormous sum. Having founded the school, he became surgeon at about fifty years of age; and then retired at sixty-two. On retiring, unpleasant discussions arose, which, with others long antecedent, rendered his concluding associations with the hospital scarcely more agreeable than they had been at the College of Surgeons.
The whole of Abernethy's closing career gave him no reason to rejoice at the Hospital System. The circumstances, though they convey a lesson in the History of the Lives of Men of Genius, were, abstractedly, extremely unimportant. They show that Abernethy, in his retiring hours, whilst his reputation had become European, and Transatlantic[77]—whilst hundreds were benefiting their fellow creatures, more or less, according to their talents and opportunities, in every part of the world—seems to have been surrounded by men who, so far as we can see, were little disposed to grace his retirement either with much sympathy, or even with reasonably generous appreciation of all that he had done, either for Science in general, or the Hospital in particular.
Instead of considering how they could best do honour to the waning powers of one who had not only raised the reputation of St. Bartholomew's Hospital to a point it had never before attained, who had founded a school there, constituting the largest single Hospital Class in London, and who was leaving the inheritance of a rich annual harvest to his successors,—the time was occupied in discussing whether he could resign the surgeoncy without resigning the lectureship; whether, on paying a hundred guineas, which there seemed no difficulty in receiving, he could become a Governor whilst still an officer; and then, whether his being a Lecturer without retaining the surgeoncy did not so constitute him. These, and similar questions scarcely more important, were the source of considerable annoyance.
In former editions, we were obliged to discuss some of these matters more at large than is now necessary; because, amongst the individuals associated in the transactions of the period, there was one to whom Mr. Abernethy had been of especial service; but in regard to whom he had been much misrepresented. Further, this had taken place in our own hearing, in whose recollection all the facts were perfectly fresh, but who were, at that time, without the documents which are now in our possession. We accordingly sought to obtain whatever documents there were from the source most likely to test the correctness of our recollection; when a note was written which, as we now learn, quite unintentionally conveyed the idea, or at least was susceptible of the construction, that a disinclination to make any communication on the subject proceeded from a desire to withhold something unfavourable to Mr. Abernethy. This determined us on discussing the matter, so far as was necessary to rebut such interpretation. And it was fortunate we did so; for it very soon appeared, not only that such an impression had been produced, but that "gossip," with its usual aptitude for invention, had soon supplied the myth thus supposed to have been charitably withheld.
It was not very long after the publication of these Memoirs, that we learned, in a conversation with a highly distinguished member of the profession, that he had been led to entertain the impression to which we have alluded. Here we had, of course, an opportunity of correcting the error; but it obviously became a subject of very serious consideration, what must be done in dealing with this matter, and other matters arising out of it, in a subsequent edition. To treat the affair seriously, would have involved a reference to documents in our possession which, though highly honorable to Mr. Abernethy, would have been of no general interest, whilst they would have involved details disagreeable to several persons. We therefore, after much consideration, resolved on endeavouring to see whether it was not possible to quash a tedious and painful discussion, and at the same time to obtain, of course, all that was necessary to the memory of Mr. Abernethy.
The following letter, and the reply, will, we think, sufficiently develop the very difficult and disagreeable position in which we were placed; our sole object being, so far as it was possible, to avoid repeating or enlarging a discussion which we had learned would have given pain to certain parties. The concluding paragraph has been omitted, as being unnecessary to the point more immediately under discussion.
"3, The Court Yard, Albany,
"July 17th, 1856."Sir,
"For reasons which may be gathered from this note, I think it proper to inform you that I am preparing another edition of the Memoirs of Abernethy. Impressions have been conveyed to certain persons, that the reasons on which you grounded your disinclination to make any communication in relation to your differences with Abernethy, were the desire you professed to withhold something which involved imputations unfavourable to him. Further, a sort of Body has been given to these vague impressions by inferences which the documentary and other evidence at my disposal enable me to disprove. In one quarter, the circumstances are so strongly suggestive as to the sources whence the erroneous impressions were derived, that it is impossible to leave that portion of the Memoirs which treats of your differences with Abernethy as it at present stands, without the risk of injustice. It is regarded as necessary that you should either recognize or ignore the inferences which (whether correctly or not I will not presume in this place to determine) have certainly been formed on your supposed authority. The justice of such a course is sufficiently obvious. I need scarcely say, it is immaterial to me what course is taken. If I am obliged to enter into the discussion of the subject, I shall take the opportunity of defending myself from the remarks that have been made upon me, and of showing what I did say, as well as what I might have said. These remarks are less excusable from it being known to me that a letter of mine to a third party was by my express permission read to you, in which was stated my willingness to alter or modify any passage which might have offended your feelings, provided only that such alteration involved no injustice to Mr. Abernethy. The (as I think) ill-advised rejection of the offer, coupled with the intimation, long after, which was given to Mr. Longman by a friend of yours, that certain papers would be forthcoming, provided only that certain passages relating to Mr. Stanley were suppressed, will involve a discussion in which I shall now be very unreserved; but which, I fear, will be scarcely less disagreeable to you than painful to myself. If you ignore the imputations to which I have referred, it seems to me that the whole discussion may be quashed by your simply writing me a note, in which you state as the reason for your not making any communication to me your dislike to revive the recollection of differences with one whose memory you will always regard with respect, gratitude, and affection, or whatever other terms your feelings may justify, or the claims of Mr. Abernethy require.
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"I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"G. Macilwain."