Part 10

Since the publication of my Prospectus, and of the observations delivered in the previous note, the persons to whom that note alludes, have become ashamed of their conduct, and have, both in their lectures and through the press, asserted that I was not the object of their public attack; but that, although it was quite unconnected with the object of the pamphlet in which it appeared, yet they had taken the trouble to direct the attack against a gentleman at almost a thousand miles distance from them, and only two copies of whose book had ever reached the country; because, I suppose, they were alarmed lest, at that short distance, that gentleman should influence attendance upon their lectures, and lest a work so widely diffused over the country should “encourage the rash and the ignorant to sport, by means of accurate measurements, with the lives of their fellow creatures, and entail disgrace and misery on themselves....” Humanity is certainly deeply indebted to their generous, disinterested and philanthropic exertions! How much to be regretted that it has not ever had such guardians! Monuments doubtless, rivalling that of the hero of Trafalgar, will be erected to their memory—monuments of a nobler kind, because destined to record, not the triumphs of war, but the triumphs of lectureship in anatomy, physiology and surgery, which certainly involve, not the destruction, but the preservation of lives.

What! M. Richerand, only at a thousand miles distance, influencing the newly organized courses of lectures in Edinburgh, and two copies of his dangerous book, proposing precise measurements in surgery, actually in the British empire.—Some gentlemen, perhaps, may be sufficiently ill-informed to imagine that the attack was really directed against so weak a creature as myself. How improbable! It is self-evident that I, in Edinburgh, could not have a thousandth part of the influence upon their lectures, that M. Richerand could at the distance of a thousand miles, and that my lectures, inculcating the principle every day, could not have a millionth part of the tendency to “encourage the rash and ignorant to sport, by means of accurate measurements, with the lives of their fellow creatures and entail disgrace and misery on themselves,” that two copies of M. Richerand’s book, actually in the country, must infallibly have.... He would be almost mad who could suppose the allusion was to me, because I was at hand and therefore could have no influence upon their lectures; I was delivering these opinions every day, and they therefore could not be disseminated: hence these gentlemen had no earthly interest in alluding to me. He, on the contrary, is wise who supposes that the allusion is to M. Richerand, because he is in Paris and therefore must have great influence upon their lectures; of his book even two copies are in the British empire and its sentiments consequently must be most widely disseminated; and it was well contrived and inexpressibly humane to introduce and firmly to oppose such a desperate character, even in a work upon a different subject. In short, these gentlemen had the nearest interest in opposing him.... Well, it must certainly be highly satisfactory to have thus opposed the progress of error and rescued the human race from disgrace and misery. Generous, disinterested, philanthropic defenders of humanity, you have your reward in your own breasts.

But their apology will not bear the test of ridicule. Let us therefore examine, in another way, the foundation upon which it rests.

After denying the truth of the principle they ascribe it to another. And who is ignorant that this has been the fate of every original proposition? M. Richerand, they say, discovered it in 1805. Now granting, for a moment, the truth of this, I preceded him by a year or two at least, and James Macartney, Esq. lecturer on comparative anatomy, even constructed, twelve months before the time they mention, a work upon the principle, for which he was favoured with drawings by Charles Bell, Esq. at the time the discovery is ascribed to M. Richerand. I mention these facts because, even granting the truth of what these gentlemen state, it refutes the assertions they found upon it.—I shall make a point of laying the further details on this subject (to me very important) before the medical world, which will show that, even since I first enunciated the principle, neither M. Richerand, nor any other person, has even repeated the proposition, and I defy these gentlemen to produce an instance of it. This, however, I must remark, even these gentlemen most inconsistently grant; for they say that the proposal, which they assert was made by M. Richerand, has been tried and has failed; whereas the proposition enunciated by me has been tried, has uniformly succeeded, and, such is its correctness, that it constitutes the basis of that part of my course which involves the operations of surgery. Therefore, even according to themselves, the propositions cannot be the same.

I may now conclude by observing, that, notwithstanding the conduct of these gentlemen, I am far from bearing them any personal dislike,—but shall, on the contrary, be happy to labour with them in the same vineyard, and wish them the utmost success.

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Mr WALKER’S Course of ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY recommences on Tuesday the 8th of November, at ELEVEN O’CLOCK, a. m. and his Course of PATHOLOGY and the PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, at TWO O’CLOCK, p. m. and will be continued daily at these hours, at No. 63, SOUTH BRIDGE-STREET.