72 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FRANCIS ARAGO. 
cuts, had contrived to cover up his head with his princi- 
pal flag. I re-assured his wife ; but my chief care was 
especially devoted to a passenger whom I saw with one 
arm amputated. 
“ Where is the surgeon,” I said to him, “ who operated 
on you?” 
“Tt was not our surgeon,” he answered. “ He basely 
fled with a part of the crew, and saved himself on land.” 
“ Who, then, cut off your arm?” 
“ Tt was the hussar whom you see here.” 
“Unhappy man!” I exclaimed; “what could lead 
you, when it was not your profession, to perform this 
operation ?” 
“The pressing request of the wounded man. His arm 
had already swollen to an enormous size. He wanted 
some one to cut it off for him with a blow of a hatchet. 
I told him that in Egypt, when I was in hospital, I had 
seen several amputations made; that I would imitate 
what I had seen, and might perhaps succeed. That at 
any rate it would be better than the blow of a hatchet. 
All was agreed; I armed myself with the carpenter’s 
saw; and the operation was done.” 
I went off immediately to the American consul, to claim 
the assistance of the only surgeon worthy of confidence 
who was then in Algiers. M. Triplet—I think I recol- 
lect that that was the name of the man of the distin- 
guished art whose aid I invoked—came at once on board 
the vessel, examined the dressing of the wound, and de- 
clared, to my very lively satisfaction, that all was going 
on well, and that the Englishman would survive his hor- 
rible injury. 
The same day we had the wounded men carried on 
litters to Mr. Blankley’s house ; this operation, executed 
