to the rack, and makes him as miserable as he can do the meanest, the worst, and most criminal of his subjects." Dr. Johnson not only points out the cause of the "Wear and Tear of Modern Life," but he distinctly states the means of counteracting these effects; and all who delight in the union of literary taste with scientific inquiry will peruse Dr. J.'s work with great satisfaction. In 1833, he published an amusing tour to the Hebrides, entitled The Recess, or Autumnal Relaxation in the Highlands and Lowlands. In 1836, he published The Economy of Health, or Stream of Human Life, which has gone through three editions, and is a very popular production. Butler says, "There is a kind of physiognomy in the titles of books, no less than in the faces of men, by which a skilful observer will as well know what to expect from the one as the other." Here is matter for the metaphysician and the moralist, as well as the physician. The stream of life from the cradle to the grave! so gliding on It glimmers like a meteor, and is gone!" ROGERS. And 'tis what Shakspeare said of love "The uncertain glory of an April day, Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, For, as Felltham has written, "The life of man is the incessant walk of time, wherein every moment is a step towards death. Even our growing to perfection is a progress to decay. Every thought we have is a sand running out of the glass of life. Every letter which I now write is something cut off from the measure of my existence here." Dr. Johnson divides it into ten septenniads, and treats of all its various conditions-the evolution and progress of functions-the changes peculiar to the different periods the diseases of most common occurrence, under varieties and vicissitudes of climate and seasons and the gradual decay of the mortal fabric. All these important matters are the subjects of Dr. J.'s philosophical observation and speculation, and the manner in which they are treated illustrates the advantages arising from a comprehensive knowledge of the whole science. During all this time his literary labours in the Medico-Chirurgical Review have been indefatigable, though assisted by his son, and by various writers now employed in that work. For the first ten or twelve years, almost every article in that Journal was written by himself, for which I have his own testimony, affording a sufficient proof of the assiduity of his studies, and the remarkable facility of his compositions. He states himself to have been almost entirely self-taught, both literary and professional; and from the expiration of his short apprenticeship, he supported himself without ever receiving a shilling from his relations. Through a long and chequered life, he seems to have offered an exception to the dictum of the poet :— VOL. XV. NO. 44. 2 Y "Haud facile emergunt, quorum virtutibus obstat for he overcame all obstacles apparently without difficulty, and rose to comparative affluence and reputation, by easy but regular exertion of his intellect. Considering the difficulty and danger of the office of reviewer, I believe that he has made exceedingly few personal enemies and most of these few have become his friends in the sequel. In private practice he is one of the most popular physicians of this metropolis. His manners are mild and kind to his patients, and he has the art of inspiring great confidence in those whom he attends -an art, which like that of poetry, "Nascitur non fit." In his domestic affairs he has been fortunate and happy. His eldest son, Mr. H. J. Johnson, is united with his father as editor of the review, and is very much liked as a teacher of anatomy in the Kinnerton-street School, and bids fair to arrive at lucrative and honourable distinction in his profession. His second son Mr. W Johnson, took honours at Cambridge, obtained a fellowship, and is called to the bar. His third son is a solicitor: and his youngest son is studying under his eldest brother for the profession, at St. George's Hospital. His only daughter is married to a gentleman in the legal profession. Dr. Johnson may, therefore, now be considered as practising for the love of his profession, rather than for the support of a family, who are almost all provided for. He has always been a sedulous attendant on the various medical societies, and an active promoter of medical discussions in these institutions, where, indeed, he seems to be a general favourite. Though remarkably cheerful in society, I have reason to believe that the subject of this memoir is pensive and rather melancholic in private. This is probably the case with a majority of those whose literary productions and convivial conversations would lead us to think them the gayest of the gay. In religion, general politics, and medical politics, Dr. J. is known to be liberal, though free from scepticism, or ultra-radicalism. relations of private and domestic life, nothing is known but what is most honourable to his character.-Pettigrew's Medical Portrait Gallery. In the Postscript to Mr. Smith's Paper on the original or congenital Luxations of the Upper Extremity of the Humerus, p. 249.-CASE V. Congenital Subcoracoid Luxation.-Upon the 16th of last month, a boy, aged nine years, was sent to me by Dr. Croker. The aunt of the child stated that his right arm was paralysed, but as soon as I looked at the limb I recognised, even through his clothes, a congenital luxation of the head of the humerus; the flattened appearance of the shoulder, and the peculiar and characteristic manner in which the arm hung by his side at once led me to form this opinion, which subsequent examination proved to be correct; his aunt stated that he had nearly attained the age of one year before the condition of he limb attracted attention, which was then excited, not by the defor mity of the shoulder, but by the atrophied state of the muscles of the arm, when compared with those of the opposite side; the child had not met with any accident, nor did he ever complain of pain or any other symptom indicative of disease of the articulation. Surgical assistance was at once procured, and an opinion was given that the case was one of simple paralysis: blistering and other severe measures were had recourse to for upwards of two years, but without being productive of any beneficial effect. Various mechanical contrivances were subsequently employed, with a view to retain the head of the humerus in its proper position, but they all failed in accomplishing this object. I particularly inquired whether the deformity of the shoulder had increased since it was first noticed, and was told by the child's aunt, that several years elapsed before the full devolopment of the appearance which the joint now presented. These appearances it is quite unnecessary to enumerate, as it would be merely a repetition of what has been already described in the cases of Steele and Howe; there is the same prominence of the acromion and wasting of the muscles; the same mobility of the scapula, and the glenoid cavity, incompletely developed, can be felt with equal facility and distinctness; in this case, also, the atrophy has not extended to the trapezius muscle, on the contrary, it is as well developed as that of the opposite side. ROBERT W. SMITH. On the Effects which result from the Introduction of Pins into the Digestive Organs. By M. OLLIVIER d'Angers. (Annales d'Hygiene Publique, Jan. 1839.)-Numerous cases are on record where needles and pins have been swallowed, from which it appears that, in many instances, they cause no appreciable inconvenience or injury, but, in other instances, give rise to symptoms more or lessalarming, depending on whether the pin has penetrated the coats of the pharynx or oesophagus, or transfixed the cartilages of the larynx or trachea, or the coats of the stomach. A pin may remain fixed in the coats of the stomach, without its presence causing much uneasiness. M. Ollivier saw a pin bent on itself, traversing a fold of the mucous membrane of the stomach, in the body of a patient who had fallen a victim to the operation of lithotomy. In this case there was only slight thickening, with induration of the coats where they were pierced by the pin. Another case is related where a brass pin, about fifteen or sixteen lines in length, merely caused slight uneasiness in the part supposed to be occupied by that body, so long as it remained in the intestines; but all unpleasant symptoms disappeared when the pin was expelled. In certain cases the needles and pins which have been swallowed make their appearance under the skin, in different regions of the body, giving rise to the formation of small abscesses, on opening which the pins or needles may be extracted. Cases of this kind are on record, where hundreds of pins have been swallowed, and yet have not caused death, the patients having died of other diseases. Dr. Silvy, (Mem. de la Soc. Med. d'Emulation, vol. v. p. 181,) in a mania cal case which he attended, made out the existence of 1400 pins in various parts of the muscles of the body and limbs, many of which he extracted during life. This person died of phthisis pulmonalis. A very singular circumstance was, that none were found in the lungs. -A case is also mentioned, which occurred under the care of Dr. Villars, (Dict. des Sciences Medicales, Tom. vii. p. 66,) where more than 800 needles and pins were extracted from the various parts of the body. The patient was a young girl, who for twelve days was in a state of delirium, during which time she had swallowed these needles and pins. They appeared over the whole surface of the trunk and of the limbs, and were successively extracted. She recovered. These bodies are not, however, always thus harmless when introduced into the body; for cases are recorded where serious diseases, and even death have been produced by them. Arnaud and Saviard (Journal de Savans, Nov. 1791,) found large pins in the testicle; they had found their way into this organ, and caused in it the development of carcinomatous degeneration. Schenck (Obs. Med. Chir. lib. 3. Obs. 10) relates a case where a needle which was swallowed pierced the coats of the stomach and liver, and caused death. Bayle (Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres, Jan. 1795, Art. 5,) relates the case of a man who complained, for a long period, of an acute pain in the hy pogastric region, where a collection of purulent matter formed. On the abscess being opened, a very large quantity of fetid purulent matter escaped, and the discharge continued for months. At last the patient died, worn out by the excessive discharge; and it was found, on dissection, that the abscess extended to the ureter; the coats of this tube were ulcerated, and a pin was found transfixing the thickness of all the coats. Dupuytren (Traité des Blessures par armes de guerre, Tom. i. p. 82) gives the case of a maniacal woman, who fell a victim to the numerous abscesses which formed over the surface of all the body, and in all of which needles or pins which she had swallowed, were found. M. Guersaut has also related to the author a case, where a fatal result followed the swallowing of a needle. A child was seized with vomiting, which continued obstinately for several weeks, and, from the symptoms which accompanied it, it was feared that softening of the stomach had taken place. The child died after two months of constant suffering; and, on dissection, a needle was found at a little distance from the pylorus, traversing the coats of the stomach, and fixed pretty deeply in the substance of the liver. No inflammation existed round this foreign body, which had evidently been the cause of the sufferings and death of the child. From the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, April, 1839. ART. IX. Observations in reply to a Paper by Mr. H. Carmi- chael, on the Position of the Placenta, in which an Attempt is made to determine the Situation of its Attachment, and to ac- ART. X.-Researches in Operative Midwifery. No. 2. Ver- ART. XII.-Cases of Varus and Pes Equinus successfully treated, by the Method of Stromeyer. By MICHAEL H. ART. XIII.-Medical Report of the Dundalk Destitute Sick ART. XIV.-Propositions relating to Diseases of the Stomach. a |