powerful steed! Once more he passes-a lucky shot-slippety-phlunk! and the breathless horseman is at our feet. What news, what news? Great news! On the previous evening, a panther has slain a tethered goat the prey is gone!! the bait is taken!!!

Reluctant

In an instant all is bustle, noise, confusion and dust. bullocks are hastily backed into, what appears in the darkness, to be a bullock-cart. A second suffices to show the mistake, and fresh but still more reluctant bullocks are procured to replace those swallowed up by the insatiable maw of the village well. Distracted bearers run hither and thither with lanterns, sodawater bottles, cartridge-bags, biscuits and rifles. Shouts are heard on every side. The screeching noise of sharpening knives mingles with the report of firearms, as nerveless fingers toy with triggers. Yes, they were loaded! All is ready at last, and amid the joyous farewells of the happy villagers the party sets forth in the direction indicated by the intrepid but now senseless rider who brought the glad news.

Soon their destination is reached. Another goat has replaced the one killed. Assuredly will the panther return that night to the same spot. Commanding the clear space in the tangled forest is a tree whose boughs support and conceal a native bedstead. Up into the narrow platform thus enclosed climb eight burly and desperate men, their ashen faces tempered by the silvern rays of the young moon The bullock cart and coolies are hidden in a neighbouring nulla, and when the tree has ceased swaying, silence reigns as deeply as before. 'Neath the tree is tethered the goat, its hideous bleatings finding echo in the throbbing brains and aching limbs of the cramped but resolute watchers above.

The hours glide by. A bead of agonised perspiration forms on each stern brow, and knotted fingers grip numbly the stocks of eight antique muskets.

Will the panther come? The goat thinks not, and falls into a deep ruminating slumber, from which even the vicious prod of a sharpened bamboo fails to rouse it.

Suddenly a twig snaps in the distance-a leaf rustles near by. Two green and glittering eyes are seen gazing out of the dark thicket at the slumbering prey. 'Tis the panther! The ferocious beast springs, the goat bleats: the tree sways ominously and sixteen iron barrels belch forth their leaden messages of death— slugs, buckshot, nails, lucky sixpences, explosive soft nosed and solid bullets. The smoke drifts away and there on the earth writhes the mortally injured body of the goat whilst from afar off in the jungle comes the mocking laugh of the panther.

The goat is full of lead.

Books for Review.

PATENT FOODS AND PATENT MEDICINES.

F.R.C.P. Price 18. 2nd Edition.
Ltd., London.)

By Robert Hutchison, M.D., (John Bale, Sons, & Danielson,

This little book has been brought up to date by an account of some of the more recent proprietary foods. In the first part of the book the author deals with the various conditions in which it is claimed that artificial foods may be suitably employed. His general conclusion is that the field for their employment is distinctly limited. The part which deals with the various types of patent foods is interesting reading, and so, too, is the table which gives the approximate composition of many of the well-known foods. In the second part the ingredients of various patent medicines are given, and Dr. Hutchison is of opinion that the orthodox practitioner has still something to learn from a study of the composition of the more successful cough mixtures.

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES AND PUERPERAL FEVER. By Charles J. Cullingworth, M.D. London: Henry J. Glaisher. (2s. 6d. net.)

This little book is a reprint of an address to the Trowbridge division of the Bath and Bristol branch of the British Medical Association. It deals in Dr. Cullingworth's clear and attractive style, which requires no recommendation to St. Thomas's men, with a very interesting and important incident in the life of Oliver Wendell Holmes. It is safe to say that even among medical men knowledge is rare of the part that Holmes took in his early days in forcing on the attention of the profession and the public the contagiousness of puerperal fever, and this when all the evidence that could be brought forward was clinical, or as Holmes puts it himself, "before the little army of microbes was marched up to support my position." This quotation is taken from a letter written by the great author only a year before he died, and included by Dr. Cullingworth in the pages of this pamphlet. Another letter of great interest was addressed by Holmes to Professor Osler, who had asked him whether he had derived greater satisfaction from having been the author of that exquisite little poem, "The Chambered Nautilus," or from having published the essay on "Puerperal Fever." The reply (dated 21st January, 1889) "walks round the question instead of answering it," but we may quote the last sentence, "There is more selfish pleasure to be had out of the poem; perhaps a nobler satisfaction from the life-saving labour."

The record of this incident of Holmes' life is full of fascination from the first page to the last. At the end Dr. Cullingworth points to the moral of the tale, and deals in a few words with the far too high mortality still existing in England from Sepsis in child-birth.

The book contains a reproduction of an early portrait of Oliver Wendell Holmes, and, a point of interest to St. Thomas's men, is inscribed in words characteristic of Dr. Cullingworth, "to Thomas H. Haydon, my pupil and my friend,"

BIOGRAPHIC CLINICS. George M. Gould, M.D. Price 5s. net. Rebman, Ltd., 129, Shaftesbury Avenue, W.C.

We regret that it is impossible to accord this interesting volume more than a brief notice in our columns. The "New Opthalmology" has yet to stand the test of time and examination. Dr. Gould believes that migraine is always associated with some error of refraction and that astigmatism is a powerful factor in the faulty positions assumed by patients who develop scoliosis. It is hard, however, to restrain a smile when we are solemnly assured that the correct glasses" will banish hooliganism from our midst.

66

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The London Hospital Gazette contains much that is excellent light reading and several excellent articles of a more instructive nature. We requote a gem that the editor has extracted from The Evening Standard: "The medical student of to-day has lost some of his flamboyancy and sparkle. He is in the main only a good, honest, serious, hard-working and highly respectable young gentleman." A short paper by Dr. Percy Kidd on the "Forms of Phthisis is well worth reading.

The Guy's Hospital Gazette con ains a clinical lecture by Mr. F. J. Steward on chronic laryngitis, and a paper on suppurative pylephebitis by Mr. C. L. Leipoldt.

The St. George's Hospital Gazette.-A series of patent medicine advertisements extracted from The Observer of 1805 makes very amusing reading. From "School Notes" we extract the following:

Physician (stopping at a case of ? phthisis) to Clinical Clerk, whose case it is: "Have you examined the sputum, Mr. X. ?"

Clerk flying humbly): "Yes, sir."

Physician: "And did you find any tubercle bacilli ?"
Clerk (attempting to give a non-committal answer):

"Two little

This match was played at Richmond on Thursday, January 25th. The ground was in good condition with a fairly strong breeze blowing across the field.

There was a good muster of spectators-including several members of our Staff, the Surgical element as usual predominating-the one discordant note was carried by a member of the opposition, a wag who found a rattle necessary to express his feelings,

The game, an interesting one to watch and intensely exciting towards the finish, is easier to criticise than to describe.

In the first half the game was evenly contested, the outstanding feature being the brilliant play of Louwrens for St. Mary's-he is a first class player and continually checked the rushes of our forwards and nursed his own by finding touch with short punts. Our forwards seemed unable to work together at all, and the three-quarters were much too prone to leave their men unmarked.

Twice in ten minutes the St. Mary's backs got going, with the result that Batchelor, their left wing three-quarter, ran round and scored-in neither instance were the place-kicks easy or successful.

At half time we crossed over 6 points to the bad.

The first quarter of the second half went by with St. Mary's still holding the advantage, and fifteen minutes from the end our chances of success looked black, but the forwards, well led by Bingham, rallied magnificently and quite hemmed their opponents in their 25. At last f om a forward rush the ball was kicked over their line, and Bingham rushing up scored between the posts-the kick an easy one, failed.

From the drop-off the ball was returned to our opponents line, and a series of scrums resulted in no advantage to either side. Five minutes from the end amid great excitement the ball came tɔ our three-quarters, and one of their few efforts at combination ended in Wheeler (who had hitherto been been inconspicuous) scoring a pretty try, the kick at goal again failed.

The game thus ended in a draw, each side having scored 2 tries (6 points).

The result was a disappointing one to St. Thomas's men, but the re-play on February 5th will, we hope, end more satisfactorily.

The forwards all played well individually, though their combination till towards the end was crude. Bingham and Meek played their usual forcible game, the former being particularly good. Abraham (who was taken from the scrum in the second half) and Neild tackled well.

Petch was as useful and plucky as ever, Rae was the best of the threequarters, and Fox, though his tackling is weak, is a useful full-back.

The re-play is fixed for Monday, February 5th.

DRAW FOR INTER-HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION CUP-1ST XI.

1ST XI. v. CLAPHAM ROVERS, at Chiswick, December 16th.

After a fast and interesting game we were still unable to boast a victory, the result being a draw 1--1 goals. The result was disappointing, as Thomas's had much the best of the game and should have scored several times in the second half. The forwards refused to shoot straight when within a few yards of goal, and when the halves tried to show them how to do it, the result was even more disastrous. In spite of this little defect the team as a whole played better, and it seems possible that better luck may come to us after Christmas. Our opponents were the first to score from a shot which was going wide, but glanced in off Gleed. Thomas's soon equalised, and no further score resulted.

Clark, Dalgleish and Page made a sound defence, but we were unfortunate in turning out short and in having only one of our regular forwards.

Team: S. R. Gleed, F. B. Dalgleish, J. A. Clark, W. G. H. Verdon, C. M. Page, W. B. Johnson, Walker, A. N. Ot! er, W. F. Sutcliffe, H. O. Blandford.

1ST XI. v. NEW CRUSADERS "A" at Chiswick, Saturday, January 27th.

Resulted in a win for the Hospital by 3-1 goals. The Crusaders were the first to score from a penalty given against Clark, and continued to press until just before half-time, when our forwards woke up and kept the ball in our opponents half. Sutcliffe put in some good shots, which hit the crossbar and posts, and in fact did everything but score. Consequently we crossed over with 1-0 against us.

With the wind in our favour we started to press, and kept it up energetically to the end. Mann and Svensson kept the Crusaders defence very busy, and Sutcliffe soon equalized with a hard shot. A few minutes later Johnson scored from a corner kick, and shortly before time Mann put in a shot which gave the goal-keeper no chance.

Team: S. R. Gleed, J. A. Clark, Bridges, B. G. Gutteridge, F. H. Hoil, W. B. Johnson, R. Svensson, C. M. Page, W. F. Sutcliffe, R. Lupton, H. L. Mann,