ALCOHOL 337 



A case in point occurred in the spring of 1881, when the 

 writer was A.D.C. to the Major-General commanding 

 the Dubhn District. The stable accommodation being 

 limited in the Royal Barracks, the late Mr. William 

 McGrane, the famous horse-dealer who lived close by, kindly 

 took in some of the horses. One day a well-bred mare, 

 Lurline (which had been bred by the late Mr. Joseph 

 Studholme, of Ballyeighan, in King's County), got a gorse- 

 epine into her leg whilst hunting, and as the sap was just 

 beginning to run it affected the wound and blood-poisoning 

 ensued. It was some weeks before the mare was approach- 

 ing convalescence, and as she had a particularly long dock, 

 which moreover was crooked, it was thought an excellent 

 opportunity to shorten it sufficiently to give a handsome 

 appearance. Mr. McGrane kindly offered to perform the 

 operation, which he was in the habit of performing 

 on his own purchases when needed — for this was before 

 the present craze came in for disfiguring all hunters with 

 short docks — so the docking-knife was hunted up, and the 

 operation performed. It is notable, in view of the after- 

 consequences, that the stump was seared with a red- 

 hot iron to stop the bleeding. Some ten days afterwards, 

 on going to visit the stable one morning, the groom in 

 charge said he did not like the look of the mare, and the 

 moment the door of her box was opened it was only too 

 plain that lock-jaw had supervened. This took place before 

 the dangers of microbes and bacteria had been made known 

 to the world, and at that time tetanus was presumed to be 

 produced by an injury to a nerve. Consequently this 

 attack was erroneously supposed to have arisen from the 

 mare having been subjected to an operation when in a weak 

 state of health, whereas there is no doubt it originated from 

 the knife having become somewhat rusted when lying about, 

 and so attracted the bacillus of tetanus, for no one in those 

 days thought it necessary to be particular about sterilising 

 an instrument before using it. 



There was a sharp frost at the time, and as I had to pass 

 the door each day when going to and returning from skating 

 on the ice at the Viceregal Lodge, I never failed to call in 



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