The life of Sir Astley Cooper, bart. : interspersed with sketches from his note-books of distinguished contemporary characters

Contents

OF

THE SECOND VOLUME.

Paga

Chapter I

Papers of Mr. Cooper read before the Royal Society. Brief account of their historj- and objects. The Copleian medal awarded to Mr. Cooper. Account of this honorary distinction. Is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Mr. Saunders, the Demonstrator of St. Thomas's

Hospital. Mr. D . Letters from Mr. Cooper.

Mr. Saunders resigns his oflSce imder Mr. Cooper. !Mr. Coopers anxiety for his return. Mr. Battley. History of his acquaintanceship with Mr. Cooper. Letter from Mr. Cooper to Mr. Saunders. Concluding history of Mr. Saunders. The Eye Infirmary. Dr. Farre's communication. Death of Mr. Saunders. Mr. Cooper undertakes for a time the operating department of the Ophthalmic Institution . . . . ]

Chapter II

Origin of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society. Its objects. Dr. YeUoly. His remarks on Mr. Cooper's character as a member of several professional Societies. Dr. Yelloly's History of the ]\Iedico-Chirurgical Society, and of Mr. Cooper's connexion with its formation. Mr. Cooper's contributions to its published Transactions. His great work on Hernia. Origin of his attention to this disorder. His treatment of the subject. His strong objection to hypothesis in all professional matters. Assistance afforded him by his professional friends in his inquiries. ISIr. "Weston. Interview with Mr. Hey, of Leeds. His dedication of the work . . 3.'^

ft 2

]V CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III. Page

My early recollections of Mr. Cooper. His \nsits to Shottesham. His interest in the choice of my profession. His visit to Norwich Hospital. Anecdote. His conduct on my first visit to London, to pursue the study of ray profession. Account of Mr. Cooper's daily occupations in Broad Street. His domestic habits. His private patients. Mr. Cooper at Guy's Hospital. His Lectures. Anecdotes. His conduct towards my brothers. His rules of diet for patients. Anecdote in illustration of his feeling . . . .61

Chapter IV

Mr. Cooper employs assistants in his professional pursuits. His conduct towards them. JMr. Cooper's first private museum. Mr. Lewis. Mr. Cooper's private dissecting-rooms in Broad Street. His occupations in them. His patholooical preparations. His opposition to the prejudice concerning post-mortem inspections. His fearlessness of contagion in dissecting. Rapid increase of his collection. His draAvings. His casts. Anecdote. Mr. Lewis acts as Mr. Cooper's amanuensis. Mr, Cooper s retentive memory. Uses of his museum . 94

Chapter V

Mr. Cooper meets with an accident. His conduct on this this occasion. His parties in Broad Street. His social qualities. His })Owers of conversation. Anecdote. The Societies of which Mr. Cooper was a member. The Athletae. Mr. Smith's poetical invitations to Dr. Lettsom. His verses on another occasion. The Meetings at Tottenham. Anecdotes. The dinners of the Athlete. Anecdotes. The Kent Medical Society. Joke practised on Sir Astley Cooper . . .118

Chapter VI

Some incidents in I\Ir. Cooper's practice while he resided in Broad Street. The murder of Mr. Blight of Deptford.

CONTENTS.

rase

My uncle's instant conviction that his partner Patch was the assassin. Letter from Patch. Murder of Mr. Cooper's neighbour, Mr. Bonar. Nicholson's conduct on coming for Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper concludes him to be the murderer. His attempts at committing suicide, and execution. City practice in the time of Mr. Cooper. Letter from Mr. Steer. Mr. Cooper performs an operation on Mr. Hyatt. His large fee. Character of my uncle as a Surgeon. His remarks on Hunter. His few medicines. His estimation among surgeons. Surreptitious use of Mr. Cooper's name. The Ashley Cooper Board. Strange employment of my uncle's name by a young medical aspirant. Other uses to which it was applied. Anecdote. He purchases Gadesbridge. ..... 142

Chapter VII

Mr. Cooper is appointed Professor of Comparative Anatomy to the Royal College of Surgeons. His plan of preparing for his Lectures. Their reception. Abrupt termination of the first course. Mr. Cooper moves to the West End of the Town. The motives which induced him to take this step. My return to England. !My imcle's articled puj^ils sent by him to attend the wounded soldiers at Brussels. Mr. Cooper appointed Honorary Fellow of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. His celebrated operation of tpng the Aorta. Its history. His own remarks on it . . 180

CHAPTER VIIL

I come to live with my uncle in New Street. He publishes two volumes of Surgical Essays in conjunction with Mr. Travers. Death of Dr. Marcet. His history. Extent of Mr. Cooper's practice at the West End, before be left Broad Street. His early attendance on Lord Liverpool. Extracts from his Memoranda. Lord liiverpours domestic character. Observation of George IV. regarding him. Circumstances connected with

VI CONTENTS.

Pu«e

Lord Liverpool's successive attacks of illness. His general character. Anecdotes. My visit to Lord Liverpool when seized by his apoplectic fit, a.d. 1827- Punctilious observance of ceremony by one of the Court Physicians. Lord Liverpool's last letter to Sir Astley Cooper . ... 208

Chapter IX

Mr. Cooper called into attendance upon George the Fourth. His account of the operation performed by him on the King. Anecdotes. Mr. Cooper is created a Baronet. The King sends him a present. Reasons for j\i •. Cooper's reluctance to undertake the operation. Anec dote from Dr. Badeley. The King's grateful feelings towards Sir Astley Cooper. Anecdote. Marriage of the present Baronet. Sir Astley gives a dinner to the Pow-Wow Club. History of this club. Its dissolution 226

Chapter X

Sir Astley Cooper elected an Examiner at the Royal College of Surgeons. His conduct in this office. Publishes his great work on Fractures and Dislocations. History of the treatise. The dedication. Sir Astley's retirement from the Lectures at St. Tliomas's Hospital. Circumstances connected with this event. Separation of the St. Thomas's and Guy's Schools, and establishment of a distinct School at the latter Hospital. Dr. Cholmondeley. The Museum of Guy's Hospital. Anecdote. Sir Astley chosen President of the College of Surgeons. His address upon awarding the diploma to the new members . . . . 244

Chapter XI

Sir Astley Cooper at Gadesbridge. His shooting parties. Description of one of these meetings. Dr. Babington's stories. Anecdotes of Dr. Babington, Mr. Coleman, and Sir Astley Cooper, in the field. The Sunday at Gadesbridge. Sir Astley Cooper's fearlessness in travelling. Anecdotes. . . .. . 262

CONTENTS. Vll

CHAPTER XII. Page

Sir Astley Cooper's farming occupations. His occasional irascibility of temper. Ingenious and novel method of turning his pastures to account. His veterinary occupations. His carriage horses. Attends to the preservation of his game. Anecdote. His professional occupations at Gadesbridge. His industry. . .281

Chapter XIII

Incidents during the period of Sir Astley's residence in New Street. Visit of Mr. Read to him. History of this person. His inventions. Sir Astley's interest in his discovery of the stomach-pump. Determines its practical utility, and patronizes the invention. The velocipedes. Anecdote. Charles and the patients in New Street. Sir Astley's home practice. His professional income in New Street ... . 300

Chapter XIV

Sir Astley's Cooper's operation on the Vice-Chancellor. The self-possession of the latter. His natural irritability of temper. Lord Chatham. Sir Astley's attendance on the Duke of York. Extract from his Note-books. The fortitude displayed by his Royal Highness throughout his illness. Death of Mr. Cline. Sir Astley's remarks on his character. Death of Lady Cooper. Sir Astley's retirement from Practice, and subsequent return to it. . . . . 322

Chapter XV

Sir Astley Cooper's second Marriage. He is appointed Sergeant- Surgeon to George the Fourth. Letter from Sir "William Knighton. Death of the King. Selections from Sir Astley's account of the King's character. Anecdotes. His Majesty's interest in the science of Medicine. Sir Astley elected Vice-President of the Royal Society. Extracts from a Diary kept by him during a tour on the Continent, a.d, 1830 . . 345

Vlll CONTEXTS.

CHAPTER XVI. Page

Sir Astley Cooper appointed Sergeant -Surgeon to King William the Fourth. Letter from the late Earl Munster. Extracts from Sir Astley's Notes respecting William the Foiirth. Sir Astley publishes another ■work. Dedication to Dr. Babington, and his reply. Dr. Babington's death. Foreign Honours conferred on Sir Astley. Is elected a member of the French Institute, Receives from Louis Philippe the insignia of the Legion of Honour. Correspondence . . 381

CHAPTER XYII.

Sir Astley created D.C.L. at Oxford, a.d. 1834. His tour

on the Continent, during the same year. Visit to Paris, A.D. 1802. Remark- on the Buonaparte family. Visit to Paris. A.D. 1834 . . . ." .394

Chapter XVIII

Sir Astley Cooper again elected President of the Royal College of Surgeons. Receives from the Kincr the Grand Cross of the Guelphic Order. His tour in 1836. His hatred of gaming. His respect for his Profession and its established institutions. His reception at Edinburgh, a.d. 1837. 1= proposed as a candidate for the Lord Rectorship of Glasgow . . .415

Chapter XIX

Sir Astley Cooper's last publication. History of this work. His expectation of living to a very advanced age. The failure of his health. His last illness and death. Concluding remarks on his character. Dr. Forbes's eulogy of Sir Astley Cooper. His own remarks on his professional character and success . . . .441

THE LIFE

OF

SIR ASTLEY COOPER, BART.

Chapter I

Papers of Mr. Cooper read before the Roval Socikty. Brief Account of their History axd Objects. The CopLEiAN Medal awarded to Mr. Cooper. Account of this Honorary Distinction. Is elected a Fellow OF the Royal Society. Mr. Saunders, the Demonstrator op St. Thomas's Hospital. Mr. D . Letters FROM j\[r. Cooper. Mr. Saunders resigns his Office under Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper's Anxiety for his Return. Mr. Battley. History of his Acquaintanceship WITH Mr. Cooper. Letter from Mr. Cooper to Mr. Saunders. Concluding History of Mr. Saunders. The Eye Infirmary. Dr. Farre's Communication. Death of Mr. Saunders. Mu. Cooper undertakes for a time the Operating Department op the Ophthalmic Institution.

My readers may charge me with almost having lost sight of ]Mr. Cooper liimself and his history, in tlie lengthened account which I have given of the class of persons \vlio, as I have sho^vn, were so essentially important to him in his scientific and professional avocations. I was led to that description in relating the peculiar employments of my uncle's time while residing in St. ^Mary Axe; and now, VOL. ir. B

^ LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.

Laving explained the means by vrliicli lie was furnished with the opportunities of prosecuting his anatomical studies, I proceed to show some of the results of his investigations, as manifested in the publications which at various periods emanated from his pen, tending alike to the benefit of the jiublic, and to the increase of the reputation which he had already attained.

In 1800, the year of his election as fSurgeon to Guy's Hospital, JMr. Cooper distinguished liimself by a communication to the Royal Society, on a subject connected with the Ear, which promised at the time to lead to most important results in the cure of persons affected with a certain kind of deafness. His friend. Sir (then Mv.) Everard Home, had been appointed by the Croonian Institution to investigate the structure and use of the memhrcma tympmii, or drum of the ear, and on the 7th of November of the preceding year, had read a j^aper on the sul)ject before the Royal Society. This essay, and some conversation ^^ith ]\Ir. Home, directed the attention of JMr. Cooper to the subject, and eventually led him to invent an ojieration which he performed on certain patients who applied to him for advice. His observations, and the immediate results of this new treatment, appeared so extraordinary, that he was induced to lay an account of them before the Royal Society in tv,o communications, which followed each other in rapid succession. Not being himself at that time a Fellow of the Socictv, he renuestcd his friend JMr. Home

PAPERS READ BEFORE THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 3 to present them. The follo\vii]g is a copy of tlie letter addressed to Mr. Home on the occasion of tlie first communication.

" Dear Sir,

" At the time you were engaged in the investigation of the structure and uses of the memhrana tympani, you mentioned a wish to ascertain the effect a rupture of that membrane woukl have upon hearing. I now send you some observations on that subject, which, if you think them of sufficient importance, you will do me the honour of presenting to the Royal Society.

" AsTLEY' Cooper."

The paper itself was a brief one. The question alluded to in the above letter had years before been made the subject of experiment upon the lower animals, but without success, from the difficulty of ascertaining, with any correctness, the results produced on their faculty of hearing. iMr. Cooper, therefore, now pursued his investigations on the human subject. It is a curious circumstance, that Cheselden, one of the most distinguished surgeous of the last century, about fifty years before, wishing to investigate the same point, had proposed to try the experiment on a criminal condemned for death, but the opposition which was manifested on this occasion prevented his desire being carried into effect.

Mw Cooper, in proceeding to follow out his

B 2 views, was at the commeiiceinent encouraged by the circumstance of one of his pupils labouring under the rupture, in both ears, of the memhrana fi/mjxmi, a defect, which previous to IVIr. Cooper's inquiries had not only never been recognised, but was, indeed, su})posed to be of such a nature as necessarily, if it did exist, to destroy all possibility of hearing. Notwithstanding the existence of this condition, however, his pupil heard well tinder ordinary circumstances; and, indeed, what was more remarkable, "his ear was nicely susceptible of musical tones; for he played well on the flute, and had frequently borne a part in a concert.'' From his examination of the case of this gentleman, as well as of another patient who applied to him for relief, and Avhoni he found to be labouring under a somewhat similar defect, ]Mr. Cooper seemed to think that the destruction of this membrane was not calculated to produce entire loss, but only a modification, of the powers of hearing; and upon mature consideration, he concluded that the knowledge of this fact might be made of great use in the treatment of some of those persons labouring under total deafness. His first paper on the subject contained only an accurate account of the investigation which he instituted as to the condition of the two individuals already mentioned ; and he concluded his j^aper by appending a few observations by Mr. Everard Home on the same subject. In the following year, however, in a second communication, entitled, Further Observations on the Effects

I

PAPERS READ BEFORE THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 5

ivliicli taJi'e place from the Destruction of the Memhrana Tymfani; with an account of an Oiieration for the Removal of a ixirticular species of Deafness, Mr. Coojier continued the subject, detailing an account of further examinations made upon more than twenty jiersons, whom in the pursuit of his inquiries lie had detected to be labouring under defects of the same kind.

Among the patients who applied to him to be relieved from deafness, were many in whom he found the drum of the ear perfect. On closely examining this structure in these patients, he discovered that in very many of them its external surface had, contrary to its natural plane, become concave; and on subsequent inquiry, he usually found that these persons had been the subject of some severe aifection of the throat. He also observed that the same condition of this membrane existed in persons in whom deafness was produced by a slight cold, where it was evident that it could not depend upon any disorganization of the intricate jiarts of the ear. On reasoning upon these circumstances, the fact happily came to his recollection, that for the full performance of the function of the membrane of the ear, — as in the ordinary martial instrument, the drum, — it must necessarily be placed between two columns of air, and hence he came to the conclusion, that in the cases alluded to, the concavity of the membrane was occasioned by the pressure of the atmospheric air on its external surface only, its internal supply having been by some means

G LIFE or SIR ASTLEY COOTEll.

destroyed. This, he saw, could only result from closure of the Eustachian tube^ which, it may be necessary to explain, is a canal, the opening- of which is at the back of the throat, and admits air to the inner surfiice of the mcmbrana Ujmpcuii; an arrangement which ensures the membrane being placed, as it were, as a partition, between two columns of air, and leads to its free power of vibration under concussion. The closure of this tube was readily ex])laiiied, by the circumstance of the previously diseased condition of the throat of those persons in whom the deafness was permanent, and the temporary existence of inflammation in those labouring under cold. He thought, therefore, that by making an opening through the membrane of the tympanum, a circumstance ^^•llich he now knew Avas not productive of any very serious disturbance to the organ, and thus letting air into the cavity of the car, the membrane would be again placed, as nearly as possible, in its former condition. The very first operation proved to him the correctness of his views, to a degree which, to him even, seemed almost miraculous.

An account of this operation and the mode of performing it, constituted the greater i)ortion of j\Ir. Cooper's second connnunication to the Royal Society. This paper was read on June 25th, 1801.

Unfortunately, the relief thus obtained was, in many instances, evanescent; for either the aperture became closed, or ulceration went on to the destruction of the whole membrane of the ear,

PAPERS HEAD BEFORE THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 7

leaving- the j^atient in no better condition than he had been before the operation. It is singular that the first gentleman on Mliom he operated, a person from Gloucester, retained his perfect hearing from the time of the operation until his death; but it proved to be the only case occurring to ]Mr. Cooper, ■which could be described as permanently successful, althouoh manv were Velieved.

It is but right to say, however, that the operation has been frequently repeated since that period, both at home and on the Continent, and frequently, according to the reports of these cases, with success.

Soon after the operation became knovrn at Paris, it was performed on two patients by IMr. JNIaunoir and Dr. Celliez, and reports of these cases v.ere subsequently published, and the result of each stated to be perfectly successful. There was something peculiar in the effect produced on puncturing the membrane of the ear in these instances, for in both there appeared to be an immediate change from total deafness to an acute perception of sound, scarcely less tolerable than the sudden admission into broad day-light, of a person who has been for some time confined in darkness. One of these patients, a man aged forty, immediately after the opening had been made, assumed a vacant expression of countenance, and having remained for some time in a state seemingly of utter astonishment, suddenly exclaimed, " Au nom de Dieu, Messieurs, ne criez pas, vous me faites mal;" although at the time the bystanders were speaking in a low tone of voice.

The other case M'as that of a lady wlio had been totally deaf for twenty-two years, but on the performance of the operation in her instance, the sudden effect alluded to was not so strono-lv marked, her exclamation after the puncture simply being, " J'entends," accompanied Avith a request to the surgeon that he would speak in a lower tone. In both these instances this excessive sensibility disapjieared in a few days, and a perfect cure is stated to liave succeeded.

For these two j^apers the President and Council of the Royal Society awarded to jNIr. Cooper the Copleian JMedal, the following being the terms entered in the Council Minutes: —

« To :Mr. Astley Paston Cooper,

" For his Papers, on the effects which take place from the destruction of the Mcmbrana Tympani of the Ear; Avith an account of an operation for the removal of a particular species of Deafness." — (PJiif. Trans. 1802.)

This medal is always considered the highest honour which the Royal Society have it in their power to bestow. It is a prize open, not only to those wlio furnish papers to the Transactions of the Royal Society, but to any persons, of whatever country they may be, who prominently distinguish themselves in any of the various dej^artments of science. It was originally founded by Sir Godfrey Copley, Bart., a Fellow of tlie Society, who bequeathed, about the year 170.9, the ^m of one

THE COPLEIAN MEDAL AWARDED TO IIIM. 9

liundred pounds, " in trust for the Royal Society of London for improYing* Natural Knowledge, to be laid out in experiments or otherwise for the benefit thereof, as they shall direct and appoint." At first the interest of this legacy was devoted to defray the outlay incurred in the performance of one or more experiments on matters of scientific interest, the nature and object of which were arranged by the President and Council. These experiments were conducted in the presence of the Fellows, shortly after each anniversary meeting, and accounts of them have been registered in the records of the Society.

In the year 1726, in consequence of there being a failure in the supply of subjects for such practical inquiry from the Council of the Society, Sir Hans Sloane, then the Vice-President, suggested that the experiments should not be determined solely by the Council, but that it should be open to strangers, or others, to offer and propose any new and useful experiments: — the interest of this bequest to be adjudicated by the Council to the person whose experiment was thought most worthy of such a mark of distinction. In the year 173G, in compliance with " a thought" proposed by Mr. Folkes by which Sir Godfrey Copley's annual donation of five pounds might be rendered more beneficial, the President and Council resolved, that " a gold medal should be struck of the same value, with the arms of the Society impressed on it, and that the same should be given as a voluntary reward, or honorary favour, tor the best experiment produced Avithin the year, and besto-\ved in such a manner as to avoid any envy or disgust in rivalship."

For many years this medal was av.arded to persons nominated by ^,Ir. Hill and Sir Hans Sloane, who were appointed by Sir Godfrey Copley as the trustees of his donation; but in 17-53, these gentlemen being both deceased, the adjudication devolved on the President and Council of that time; and the President, in making the first award under these circumstances, — which was to the celebrated Dr. Franklin, — stated, tliat the benefaction was devoted to the advancement of science and useful knowledge, and was not confined " to the narrow limits of any particular country, much less of the Society itself."

It was a circumstance of no little credit to ]\Ir. Cooper, that so early in his professional career he should obtain this honourable testimony to his superior abilities and enterprise- His great |jreceptor, John Hunter, to whom the Copleian medal was awarded for certain researches in comparative anatomy, had received it only fifteen years previously, at a i)eriod when his professional career Avas drawing to a close, while that of his pupil may be said only to have been at its commencement, when he obtained this mark of distinction.

In the month of Fe])ruary, 1802, ]\Ir. Cooper was elected a FelloM- of the Royal Society. The balloting paper, which was suspended according to the regulation at that time, on ten tsuccessivc

ELECTED FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 11

evenings of meeting, is still preserved among the records of the Society at Somerset House. After the ordinary preamble, stating the qualifications of the candidate, occurs the following list of signatures, being the names of his friends, Fellows of the Society, who thus expressed a desire for his admission into their body.

Wm. Blizard. Robt. Smith.

Everard Home. Edwd. Forster.

Benj. Way. G. Shaw.

Will. Chas. Wells. George Pearson.

I have already mentioned the circumstances connected with the appointment of J>Ir. Saunders to the office of Demonstrator at St. Thomas's Hospital. This gentleman, from the time he honourably obtained this mark of jSlr. Cooper's preference, had continued discharging the duties of the office with the utmost satisfaction, no less to the anatomical teachers, than to the pupils. «0f late, however, jNlr. Saunders had naturally become anxious as to his future prospects and position at the hospital, and had several times expressed his anxiety on the subject to jSIr. Cooper. His thoughts were the

more directed to this incpiiry, because JNIr. D. ,

one of the articled pupils, appeared as likely to supplant him in obtaining some of the higher appointments which he himself was ambitious to fill.

This gentleman had been articled to one of the Surgeons of St. Thomas's Hospital, and according to the regulations, was entitled to take precedence of any who were not thus attached to the institution.

It was at that time, as it is at the present period, the system, at the old-established hospitals, that before a pupil or other jirofessional aspirant could become eligible to hold any responsible situation in the establishment, he must have been bound as an articled pujiil to one of its Surgeons, at the Royal College of Surgeons, for six years, from which i^eriod, he was always considered as an attache of the institution, and •would in his turn, if he had properly conducted himself during his pupilage, and afterwards evinced fitness to fill the situation, be elected to any vacancy that might occur. If a surgical school were connected "with the hospital, the inferior departments were given to these hospital pupils, and through these they gradually ascended, until, having undergone this kind of l^robationary discipline, they were held competent to take the office of full Surgeon. The advantage arising from this ])lan Mas the greater length of time a student so articled was obliged to remain in the pupilage, while also, instead of being a dresser for six months, which is the usual arrangement, or at the furthest for twelve months, he would have the care of the patients of the Surgeon with whom he was connected, at least for three or four years; thus becoming so useful to his Surgeon, that implicit confidence was placed in him, and his situation rendered

JIR. D . 13

t

highly responsible. All the other pupils, more or less, looked up to him ; the six-months' dressers sought his assistance, ^vhenever difficult cases occurred, and various minor operations in surgery were performed by him, as Avell for the patients under his own care, as for those of the junior dressers who were incompetent to undertake such responsibility themselves. From these and other sources of information, at the expiration of his pupilage, a student, if he only possessed common sense and common industry, was rendered an efficient practical Surgeon, fitted either for a hosi)ital, for the army or navy, or to fill the situation of Surgeon to any institution, the object of which might be to alleviate the suffi^rings arising either from injury or disease.

Mr. D , to whom reference has been already

made, had been articled as pupil to JNIr. Clijie, and would therefore, as soon as he had officiated in some of the inferior grades of the anatomical department of the school, be eligible for any of the hospital surgical appointments which might become vacant, while JNIr. Saunders, who had received from !Mr. Cooper the situation of Demonstrator on account of his knowledge of anatomy and peculiar aptitude of illustration by the pencil, not from any i

connexion with the hospital, wai? not admissible into the surgical department. Still, however, he appears to have thought that, in his instance, on I

account of his services in the dissectino-room, tlie ordinary rule might be overlooked. While staying at Barnstaple lie determined to become definitely acquainted with the probable chances of his obtaining" any sui)erior situation in the school, and accordingly urote to My. Cooper, requesting the information he desired. To this apjjlication ]\Ir. Cooper wrote to JMr. Saunders the following letter.

"Dear Sir, ''August \, 1800.

" I have already hinted at the impossibility of your situation at St. Thomas's leading to anything more than the trifling emolument you have heretofore derived from it ; as the regulations of the hospital are such as to preclude from succession to any important office those who have not passed through a certain train of education. It was therefore my advice that you should seek some other means of support, that you might not sacrifice your time, fortune, and health. I have taken every opportunity of inquiring, and have solicited jNIr. Cline to recollect you, if he heard of anything which he thought desirable.

" It is mv intention to make Mr. D Demon-

strator, who, from having had an hospital education, and being likely to succeed to a surgeoncy, may derive advantage from filling that office which few others would reap. But in bringing him into this situation, it is by no means my intention to exclude yon, as ImIsIi you to remain until you have obtained some advantageous partnership. It is, however, right to state that it will be impossible for me to

LETTER TO MR. SAUNDERS. 15

lodge and board you during- the ensuing printer in my own lionse, as it is my intention to have two apprentices besides i\Ir. Holt, and I am aware that you would find yourself uncomfortable in living witli these lads, and you must be sensible of the impossibility of my making distinctions.

" Do not think that this alteration in my plan has arisen from dissatisfaction at any part of your conduct. Mr. Cline, as well as myself, were well content, and the gentlemen Avere highly satisfied at the clearness and correctness of your demonstrations; but the change has arisen from a conviction of the propriety of having a person in the dissecting-room who is and who must he closely connected Mith the