164 BAILLY. 
All the trepanned die in that hospital; whilst this opera- 
tion is tolerably successful in Paris, and still more so at 
Versailles.” 
The maladies continue double the time! The mortal- 
ity there is double! All those who are trepanned die! 
The lying-in women die in a frightful proportion, &e. 
These are the sinister words that strike the eye periodi- 
cally in the statements of the H6tel Dieu; and yet, let 
us repeat it, years passed away, and nothing was altered 
in the organization of the great hospital! Why persist 
in remaining in a condition that so openly wounds hu- 
manity? Must we, together with Cabanis, who also 
abused the old Hotel Dieu severely, “ must we exclaim, 
that abuses known by all the world, against which every 
voice is raised, have secret supporters who know how to 
defend them, in a manner to tire out well-meaning peo- 
ple? Must we speak of false characters, perverse hearts, 
that seemed to regard errors and abuses as their patri- 
mony?” Let us dare to acknowledge it, Gentlemen, 
evil is generally perpetrated in a less wicked manner: 
it is done without the intervention of any strong passion ; 
by vulgar, yet all-powerful routine, and ignorance. I 
observe the same thought, though couched in the calm 
and cleverly circumspect language of Bailly: “The 
H6tel Dieu has existed perhaps since the seventh cen- 
tury, and if this hospital is the most imperfect of all, it 
is because it is the oldest. From the earliest date of 
this establishment, good has been sought, the desire has 
been to adhere to it, and constancy has appeared a duty. 
From this cause, all useful novelties have with difficulty 
found admission ; any reform is difficult; there is a nu- 
merous administration to convince ; there is an immense 
mass to move.” a 
