752 Obituary. 



ment, after his demise, until within a few hours of his death." {Belfast 

 Chronicle, Sept. 7.) 



About a week after we had prepared the above account, we saw in the 

 Scotsman an account of Mr. Harvey's case, which enters much more into 

 detail than that in the newspaper which was sent us. A more fearful 

 relation we never read, and we should not harrow up the feelings of 

 our readers by the following concluding paragraph, were it not for the pur- 

 pose of appending some remarks. " He struggled dreadfully, and appeared 

 to wish to get himself out of the bed. He screamed with the most appalling 

 agony, and called for Dr. O'Neill to cut his jugular vein. He besought his 

 friends about him to put an end to his horrible torment, if they had the 

 smallest spark of pity remaining in them. Some of his labourers came in, 

 and assisted in holding him down. So intolerable was the dreadful agony 

 of the sufferer, that he threatened to bite those who held him, if they did 

 not kill him or let him up. Fearing that the courage of the men might fail, 

 Mr. Miller called on them to remain firm, if they valued their existence. 

 Hearing this, the tortured sufferer exclaimed, ' Miller, you savage, I will 

 never forgive you.' He continued beseeching those about him, alternately, 

 to put an end to his pain ; when, finding all ineffectual, he cried out, ' If 

 ever the soul be allowed to haunt those who have done them wrong, I will 

 return and torment you all.' He then ceased shouting, but three or four 

 times he was heard to say, in an under tone, 'severe, terrible,' in a manner 

 that showed he was perfectly sensible, though the agony in the height of the 

 paroxysm was too great for even a man in his senses to bear. At 20 

 luinutes to 4, squeezing the hand of one of his friends, and breathing his 

 name, he expired. The self-possession, the firmness, the disinterestedness, 

 and the amiable kindness evinced 'by Mr. Hervey, during his unparalleled 

 sufferings, though only indicative of his general character, are sufficient to 

 excite our astonishment at the fortitude and magnanimity which a noble 

 spirit can display." {Scotsman, Oct. 10. 1829.) 



As a general principle, it can never be laid down as a part of the duty 

 of a physician to do any thing with a view to shorten life ; but, in such a 

 case as that of Mr. Hervey, we certainly think his friends would have been 

 justified in administering hydrocyanic acid. We think we should have done 

 so, had we been in the place of Mr. Miller. On mentioning this dreadful 

 case to Professor Thomson of the London University, he informed us that, 

 from past experience, he had little doubt of being able to cure hydrophobia, 

 if ever a case should again come before him. He referred us to the Medico- 

 Chirurgical Transactions^ vol. vii. p. 299. in which is given by him a case of 

 hydrophobia, with the appearance of the body on dissection, and remarks 

 on the nature and treatment of the disease. On dissection, the spine was 

 found to be the part chiefly diseased, there being great turgidity of the 

 blood-vessels, and depositions on the coats of the spinal marrow. The fol- 

 lowing is the proposed method of cure : repeated cuppings all along the 

 course of the spine; early administration of large (15 grs.) doses of calomel, 

 then prussic acid ; and, when the excitement is abated, powerful tonics. It 

 is higlily consolatory to think that there is even a prospect of curing this 

 dreadful malady; and we have no doubt but it, and several others at present 

 considered incurable, will, with the progress of medical science, be ulti- 

 mately subdued. The first step towards the curing of any disease is to ascer- 

 tain on what part of the system it operates, and if every one who dies of this 

 malady were dissected by such men as Dr. Thomson, it could not fail to be 

 discovered. A correspondent of the JMorning Chronicle, speaking of Mr. 

 Hervey's case, suggests the idea of neutralising the canine poison by ad- 

 ministering to the dog or man "under its influence the Wourali poison, 

 which, he says, acts as a sedative. — Cond. 



