When Abernethy retired from the College of Surgeons, Sir William was requested to draw up the memorial in which his services were to be recorded.

These circumstances invest even formal documents with an unusual interest; and we therefore trust that Sir William's encomium may not be thought an inappropriate conclusion to our humble story.

This almost ancient friend and early instructor observed, of Abernethy, "that his life has been devoted to the improvement of the healing art. His luminous writings breathe simplicity, humanity, reverence of truth, and disdain of worldly art; and have placed the art and science of surgery on the permanent basis of anatomy and physiology; whilst the contemplation of his character excites emulative ideas of public virtue in the cultivation of useful knowledge."

[88] An old and respected pupil of Abernethy's, whose merits, as an excellent man and kind-hearted professional brother, we are happy thus publicly to acknowledge.

[89] Mrs. James Abernethy.

INDEX.

 
CHAPTER I.
 PAGE.
Retrospect[1]
Progress of Discovery—Missions of individuals—Galileo, Bacon, Kepler[2]
Berzelius, Davy, &c.—Combined effect[3]
Difficulty of estimating individual efforts—Physiological laws[4]
Meaning of events seldom seen at the time[5]
Propose to point out the position occupied by Abernethy[ib.]
Necessity of clearly seeing what is required[6]
Medical science—False ideas on[7]
Birth of Abernethy[8]
Goes to School[9]
 
CHAP. II.
Predictions often erroneous—Dryden, Swift, Sheridan, Niebuhr, Galileo, Newton, Wren[11]
Individuality of Abernethy[12]
Schoolfellows of Abernethy[13]
School reminiscences[14]
Mr. Thacker's letter[15]
Leaves school for London[16]
 
CHAP. III.
Of the choice of a profession[17]
Of steadiness and industry[18]
Abernethy's ready memory[19]
Becomes a pupil in surgery[20]
Apprenticed to Sir C. Blicke[22]
Early indications[23]
 
CHAP. IV.
Sir W. Blizard—His influence[25]
Abernethy's view of anatomy[26]
His gratitude to Sir William[27]
How expressed—Quotation[28]
Demonstrates for Sir W. Blizard[28]
Mode of teaching anatomy described—Mr. Pott[30]
 
CHAP. V.
A large London hospital[21]
Elected Assistant Surgeon—Important epoch in his life[33]
His position—Lectures in St. Bartholomew Close[34]
Dr. Maclaurin, Dr. Marshall, Mr. Pott[ib.]
His education as a lecturer[35]
Of teaching too early[ib.]
Its disadvantages—His lectures soon attractive—His arrangement[36]
Impresses the importance of comparative anatomy[37]
His labours—Zeal and industry—Early rising[38]
Shyness of Abernethy[39]
Theatre built in the hospital—His winter courses given in it, 1791—Thus the founder of the school in St. Bartholomew's[ib.]
 
CHAP. VI.
Of change in all created things[41]
Experiments[42]
Grows vegetables in distilled water—Boyle, Fordyce—Tadpoles, observations on[43]
Experiments on eggs, curious[44]
On the ultimate particles of matter[44]
Dissection of a whale[46]
Of the absorbent vessels[47]
Of glands or kernels[48]
Curious cases[49]
 
Combination of natural laws[50]
Dissection—How formerly supplied[51]
Curious position of heart and liver[52]
Of the public aversion to the inspection of the dead[53]
 
CHAP. VII.
Of painless diseases[56]
Of insidious maladies[ib.]
Of his essay on lumbar abscess, &c.—Of his plan[57]
How misunderstood[58]
Misinterpreted by Sir A. Cooper[59]
Real objects of his plan[60]
Suggested by an accident[ib.]
 
CHAP. VIII.
His paper on the skin and lungs[61]
Of the progress of chemistry[62]
Objects of his inquiry[64]
Of the uses of the lungs[65]
Consequences, if mistaken[ib.]
Of the coverings of animals[66]
Of the clothing of birds[67]
Of breathing by the skin[68]
Leaves, the lungs of vegetables[ib.]
Great importance of the skin[ib.]
Sanctorius, Cruikshank, Edwards[ib.]
Experiments of Abernethy[69]
—— in quicksilver, in water[70]
Carbonic acid—How formed[71]
Errors on this point[ib.]
Experiments on his own lungs[73]
Immense surface of the skin[74]
Importance of relations of lungs and other organs[75]
His remarks on consumption[76]
Investigation required—What?[77]
 
CHAP. IX.
Tic douloureux—What?[78]
His remarks on[ib.]
Use of the nerves[79]
Case[80]
 
Of his paper on the consequences of bleeding[82]
Comparative infrequency of[83]
Abernethy's rising reputation[85]
Moves to St. Mildred's Court[ib.]
Publishes first part of "Physiological Essays"[ib.]
 
CHAP. X.
Of his paper on injuries of the head[86]
His powers of analysis[ib.]
Pierre Joseph Desault[87]
Of Bichat's eulogium on Desault[ib.]
Parallel of Desault and Abernethy[88]
Their solution of a difficulty[89]
Abernethy's improvement[91]
 
CHAP. XI.
His experiments on muscles, &c.[93]
Of their contraction after death[ib.]
Of Galvanism—Its importance in aid of discovery[94]
Of Fontana—His experiments[ib.]
Experiments of Abernethy[95]
Of the respiration of fish[97]
Of the temperature of animals[ib.]
 
CHAP. XII.
Expts. on animals, involving cruelty, questioned[99]
Claims of physiology[100–1]
Orfila, Charles Bell[101]
Cruel experiments useless[ib.]
Spalanzani[100–3]
Cruelty as opposed to the interests of science as to moral feeling[104–5]
 
CHAP. XIII.
Abernethy on tumours[106]
Simplicity of his plan[107]
Importance of names—His arrangement—Defects of plan[108–9]
Popular illustration[110]
Analogies in vegetables[111]
His paper on certain curious results of wounds in the lungs[112]
His paper on mothers' marks, or nævi[114]
Hunter's celebrated operation—First extension of it by Abernethy[115–6]
His paper on the Heart[116]
His increasing reputation—Removes to Bedford Row[117]
 
CHAP. XIV.
His marriage[118]
False reports concerning[119]
His difficulty[121]
His letter[122]
Marriage at Edmonton[123]
Lectures the same day[125]
 
CHAP. XV.
His book on the Constitutional Origin of Local Diseases, otherwise called "My Book"[126]
Slow progress of truth[127]
Importance of simple facts[128]
Mr. Hunter[129]
Sir C. Bell—Physiology a science of observation[ib.]
Popular illustrations[130]
Remarks on John Hunter's audience[131]
Mr. Cline—His remarks on J. Hunter[ib.]
A great Evil[132]
Mr. Boodle[ib.]
Important inferences and cautions—Lord Bacon[133]
Names of diseases—Their importance[134]
Defective nomenclature—Result of partial views which it tends to perpetuate[135]
Misconceptions of his views[136–7]
Popular illustrations[137–8]
Subtle nature of odours[140]
Vigilance of the stomach[140–1]
Abernethy's illustrations of his views[141]
 
CHAP. XVI.
Influence of digestive organs[146]
Of specific poisons[147]
A suggestive case[148]
Mr. Boodle—Recapitulatory—Causes of failure examined[150–3]
How nature deals with injurious influences[154–7]
Impressions produced by "My Book"—Abernethy's increasing practice—Sir James Earle—Anecdote—Retrospect[159–63]
 
CHAP. XVII.
Abernethy's position—His high reputation[164-]
Pupils present plate—Subscribe for his portrait[167–8]
Offered a Baronetcy, which he declines[169]
Note from Sir B. C. Brodie[170]
Anecdote—Painful impressions in prospect[171]
 
CHAP. XVIII.
Lincoln's-Inn Fields[173]
Hunterian Museum[174]
Mr. Clift[175]
Abernethy lectures at the College[176]
His faithful representation of Hunter—His additional illustrations—Illustrations not opinions[173–80]
 
CHAP. XIX.
Effects of anatomy[181]
Bacon, Pope, Addison[182]
Abernethy—Lawrence[ib.]
Mr. Lawrence's exordium[183]
Its comprehensive fidelity[ib.]
Mr. Lawrence's first lectures[184]
Mr. Abernethy in relation to the opinions advocated[185]
Personal application by Lawrence of Abernethy's observations[186]
Others engage in the discussion[187]
 
CHAP. XX.
Review of the controversy[188]
Difficulty of Abernethy's position[189]
Discussion of the pupils[ib.]
Difficulty of Abernethy's position[190]
Of "tendency" as an argument[191]
Abernethy's moderation[ib.]
Of the poverty of language[192]
Of the conduct of the College[ib.]
Of imputed scepticism[193]
Alleged neglect of the Sabbath[194]
Conduct of the College[195]
Apathy of the College[ib.]
Abernethy's moderation[196]
 
CHAP. XXI.
Abernethy's style of lecturing[167]
Extracts from lectures[197–216]
 
CHAP. XXII.
Abernethy as a teacher[217]
Communication of ideas[218]
Of simplicity[ib.]
Of unnecessary technicalities[219]
Some lecturers very technical[ib.]
An example[220]
A sentence from Abernethy[ib.]
Of tricks—Good breeding[221]
Vulgarity—Abernethy's freedom from[ib.]
Of quantity—Expression[222]
Of Metaphorical language—Mode of impressing facts—Anecdote of Dr. T. Rees—Of his stories[222–4]
His dramatic power—Anecdote—Of the pathetic—Anecdote—Tone of voice never declamatory[225–7]
Inconveniences of declamation—Of sympathy with the student—Of order—Favourite passages—His liveliness[228–9]
His successful manner—In referring to adaptation[230–1]
Inconvenience of marvellousness[232]
Of the passions or feelings—Of illustrations addressed to the external senses[233]
 
CHAP. XXIII.
Abernethy's humour—Anecdote—His self-possession—Of his excellent moral tone[234–7]
Salutary impressions—Gentleness—Its importance—An important improvement—General effects of his lectures—His negative excellences very great[238–9]
 
CHAP. XXIV.
Of immoralities of trades and professions, &c.[240]
Of habit and fashion—Of conventional morality—Influence of fashion—Honesty the best policy—Of public credulity—Of legal practice[241–3]
Mischief of conventional morality, Examples of—Illustrations of conduct—Decisions of doubtful operations—Moral influence of Abernethy[244–6]
 
CHAP. XXV.
Of consultation[247]
Of differences of opinion[249]
Consultation—Examples of[250–2]
 
CHAP. XXVI.
Abernethy in consultation[253]
Anecdote[260]
Abernethy's extension of John Hunter's operation for Aneurism[262]
Abernethy in consultation[263–4]
 
CHAP. XXVII.
Of manner[266]
Of Abernethy's manner—His roughness and benevolence[268–9]
Anecdotes[270–4]
His liberality[275]
His humanity[276]
Anecdote[277]
Of operative dexterity[ib.]
Of operating[ib.]
A hoax[278]
Of anecdotes generally[ib.]
His manner considered[279]
Self-government[280]
Of publishing lectures[281]
Extract from a letter[282]
 
SECTION.
Appointed Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's in 1815[282]
Ageing at fifty[283]
 
CHAP. XXVIII.
The hospital system[284–7]
Of operations—Of chloroform[289]
John Hunter on operations[290]
Hospital system resumed[221]
Of apprentice qualification[292]
Of imperfect records of cases[293]
Of division of labour[294]
Hospital system a failure—Its Various evils[295]
 
CHAP. XXIX.
Hospital system continued[296]
Abernethy and The System[296]
Professor Owen—Cuvier[297–300]
Discussions at the hospital[301–4]
Sir A. Cooper in illustration of The System[305]
Sir Charles Bell—Abernethy's disinterestedness[307]
Failure and unsatisfactory result of the Hospital System—Concluding remarks[308–10]
 
CHAP. XXX.
Influence of research in science—Its first impulses—Its higher aspirations—Its Religion[311–12]
The idea of some that scientific men have a tendency to scepticism in Religion opposed to evidences of experience[313]
Of the analogies of Religion and Science[314]
No more avowed believers in religious truth than scientific men—Boyle, Bacon, Kepler, Newton, Locke—Many, too, of the medical profession, as Locke, Böerhaave, Linnæus, Sloane, Haller, &c.[315]
Divines, on the other hand, recognize the importance of the study of the laws of nature—Cudworth, Butler, Sturm, Derham, Paley, Crombie, &c.[ib.]
Of Paschal, St. Pierre, Gilpin, White[316]
Extracts from MSS. &c.[317]
 
CHAP. XXXI.
Obligations to Abernethy[327–8]
John Hunter[329]
Hunter and Abernethy[330–1]
Obligations to Abernethy[332–9]
 
CHAP. XXXII.
Of evils and their correction[340–1]
Signs of public distrust[342]
Thoughts of the public[343]
Homœopathy—Hydropathy[344–52]
Lord Bacon—Of perceptions[353]
Hopes and predictions[354]
 
CHAP. XXXIII.
His favourite mare—House at Enfield[355–6]
Wounded in dissection—His irritable Heart[357]
Anecdote[358]
Receives thanks of the Council—His reply[359]
Letter to Sir W. Blizard[360]
Of illness in medical men[361]
Resigns the hospital[362]
His resignation[363]
Letter to Mr. Belfour[364]
Memorial addressed to him[365]
An interview[366]
His death—Tablet to his memory[367–8]
 
CHAP. XXXIV.
Of his character[369–70]
Impressions of his character[372]
Too many Gnathos[373]
Abernethy's dislike of this kind of assentation[ib.]
Anecdote[374]
Kindness to hospital patients[375]
His benevolence[376]
Letters, how far to be relied on as expositions of character—To Mr. Kingdon, to Mrs. Warburton, to Mrs. Abernethy[376–82]
His pleasures at home with the children[383]
Battledore and shuttlecock—Theatricals—Magic lantern—At Enfield—Gardening, &c.[384]
Impressions of his character[385–9]
Conclusion[389]

FINIS