416 



yionihly Review o/' Literature, 



[APHri. 



" Vou have signed," she replied, in a low but 

 Arm tone, " you liave signed my death-warrant and 

 your otvn. William Slierbume, farewell— farewell 

 for ever!" She then backed several paces, and 

 putting her right hand under her cloak, she 

 drew forth a dagger, and in one moment plunged it 

 In her side. — Sir William darted forward, and caught 

 her in his arms. 



•'My dear Helen!" he exclaimed in a voice of 

 horror, " what have you done ?" 



" .Spilt my heart's blood !" replied Helen in a 

 trembling, dying voice. " Lay me on the floor," she 

 continued, whilst the line of death crept over her fine 

 countenance; " lay me on tlie floor and leave me! 

 leave me to make my peace with my God, eve my 

 life's blood is spent— ere the gates of mercy are 

 closed !" 



" Oh Helen! my dear Helen ;" said the Baronet, 

 tearing at the same moment the fatal instrument 

 from the wound, " oh Helen, what an accursed deed 

 you have done !" 



Sir William immediately threw aside Helen's 

 cloak, and was proceeding to undo the dimity bed- 

 gown in wlijch she was dressed, when she gently 

 pushed away his hand. 



" No ! no ! in God's name leave me ! Death is 

 before my sight !" Sir William seized one of his 

 towels and applied it to the wound to staunch the 

 blood, and tlien gently laid her on his Ijed. Helen 

 cast on him a look of deep, though chaste affection ; 

 then turning liur head from liim, and raising lier beau- 

 tiful and expressive eyes to heaven, she exclaimed, 

 "Almighty Father! thou Gol of mercy! pardon 

 thy erring, sinful, but repentant servant! and oh 

 defend," — she could say no more — the cold hand of 

 death was upon her. Sir William flew to the bell 

 and rung it violently, and returning instantly to 

 Helen, he jiassed his hand under her waist, in order 

 to place her, if possible, in an easier position; she 

 moved her lips as though she wished to speak, gave 

 him a look of unutterable thankfulness, and closed 

 her eyes for ever. 



An Account of the Circinnstances at.tcnd- 

 inq the Imprisonment and Deatli of llic late 

 William Millard, tjc — Abuses of Public 

 Charities —Plunder of Dead Bodies, &;c. 

 ^c. — If we were to r|uote the whole title- 

 page of this pam])hlct, it would occupy 

 one-half the .space allotted to our notice of 

 it. If one-tenth part of the contents of this 

 pamphlet is true, it calls for immediate puh- 

 lie attention, and at least magisterial inter- 

 ference. How far it may he necessary for 

 students in anatomy to have hundreds of 

 bodies diu'ing tlie year to dissect, is more 

 than we can tell. We have heard that it 

 is necessary for them to 0])erate on the hu- 

 man frame, and to examine tlie condition of 

 certain diseases after death ; we have also 

 heard that the beautiful models in wax su- 

 persede the use of the body in attaining the 

 first outlines of the science : if so, much of 

 the disgusting plunder of our public ceme- 

 teries may be avoided. None are exempt ; 

 not even the iron portals of the vaults be- 

 neath chapels at the western side of Lon- 

 don can preserve the dead from the des- 

 peradoes who purvey for the schools of ana- 

 tomy. One of the greatest ciimes that can 

 be committed is the plunder of the funds of 

 a public chirity, we therefore quote the fol- 

 lowing statement, which, if true, should sub- 

 ject the guilty to judicial inquiry : — 



In the first place, then, it will be our duty to call 

 the reader's attention to the arrangements made in 

 St. Thomas's Hospital for the convenience of tike 

 professors and students of medicine. Of tliat part 

 of the hospital appropriated exclusively to the use 

 of these gentlemen, the theatre for anatomical and 

 surgical lectures is tlie most considerable. This 

 edifice, we are informed by the author of the His- 

 torical Account of St. Thomas's Hospital before 

 referred to, " was erected during the year 1814, at a 

 reciprocal e.ipense between the Funds of the Hospital 

 and thecostn of thonc ivhose interests rvere mork im- 

 MKDIATKLV Concerned in its completion." — " The 

 entrance hall, which is ascended by a flight of steps, 

 is spacious, and leads to a circular and commodious 

 room, having a gallery, numerous seats ranged above 

 each other, a handsome sky-light, several ventilators, 

 a table with a revolvmg axis for anatomical demon- 

 strations, and a chair for the lecturer. This room 

 will contain with ease/oro* hundred pirsons. On the 

 left side of the hall is a museum, containing a variety 

 of preparations and specimens of physiological and 

 pathological phenomena. On the right side of the 

 hall is a commodious dissecting room, which for 

 size, convenience, and comfort is said to be un- 

 equalled. This room has several sky-lights and ven- 

 tilators, and is sufficiently capacious to admit of 

 from one to two-buudred stud nts dissectin^at a t me* 

 without any inconvenience to each other." From this 

 account we learn, among other things, that this 

 , theatre, museum, and dissecting room, so remark- 

 able for its comfort, were erected " at a reciprocal 

 expense between the funds of the hospital and the 

 costs of those whose interests were more immediately 

 concerned in its completion." 



The details of the thefts, cold-blooded 

 exactions, and ruffian-like conduct to the 

 unprotected, and those about to perish, are 

 enough to rouse the anger and indignation 

 of a stoic, and should, for the sake of justice 

 and mercy, be put an end to by the strong 

 hand of the law. 



Sir Astley Cooper, Sir William Blizard, 

 Mr. Green, Jlr. Webbe, surgeon to the 

 Middlesex county jail, Mr. Waklej', and 

 others, are all called on to refute, if they 

 can, the charges ))rufened against them in 

 this pamphlet. We have no means of con- 

 futing one word ; and, indeed, the details 

 are so minute and circumstantial, and the 

 cliarges corroborated by so many letters and 

 documents, that the effect on our minds is 

 very strongly in favour of their veracity. 



The treatment which the unfortunate 

 Millard met with from almost all con- 

 cerned, particularly from Mr. Webbe, fills 

 us with horror — he was traduced, way-laid, 

 seized, falsely accused, committed to pri- 

 son under the influence of his persecutors, 

 harassed by the iniquity of the law, brought 

 down to his death-bed, neglected in his last 

 extremity, prevented from receiving the 

 attentions of his wife, or of seeing liis 

 child ! ! After his death, the blood-hounds 

 of the law fastened on his helpless widow, 

 and continued to persecute her, until the 

 sheriff's officer was softened at her misery, 

 and refused her fees. The treatment she 

 endured from the persecutors of her hus- 

 band, if true — and the internal evidence very 

 strongly supports it — places these men on a 

 lower footing than any savages now dwell- 



