VOL. LII.] nilLOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 57& 



Saturday, October 25th, a noise was somewhere heard, as if a large billet had 

 tumbled down ; and, on enquiry, his Mnjesty was found fallen on the ground, 

 speechless and motionless, with a slight contused wound on his right temple. He 

 appeared to have just come from his necessary-stool, and as if going to open his 

 escritoir. Mr. Andrews (at that time surgeon to the household) attempted to 

 take away some blood ; but in vain, as no signs of sense or motion were observed 

 from the time of his fall. 



The next day, (Sunday, October the 26th) by order of the Lord Chamberlain, 

 I attended, with the 1 seijeant-surgeons, who were directed to open and embalm 

 the Royal Body. 



On opening tlie abdomen, all the parts therein contained were found in a na- 

 tural and healthy state, except that some hydatides (or watery bladders) were 

 found between the substance of each kidney, and its internal coat. These hyda- 

 tides might, in time, have proved fatal, either by compressing and destroying the 

 kidnies, so as to bring on an incurable suppression of urine ; or, by discharging 

 a lymph into the cavity of the abdomen, might have formed a dropsy, not to be 

 removed by any medicines : but, in the present case, these hydatides were of no 

 consequence, as none of them exceeded the bulk of a common walnut. 



On opening the head, the brain was found in a healthy state, no-ways loaded 

 with blood, either in its proper vessels, or in the contiguous sinuses of the dura 

 mater. 



On opening the chest, the lungs were in a natural state, free from every ap- 

 pearance of inflammation, or tubercle : but on examining the heart, its pericar- 

 dium was found distended, with a quantity of coagulated blood, nearly suflicient 

 to fill a pint cup ; and, on removing this blood, a round orifice appeared in the 

 middle of the upper side of the right ventricle of the heart, large enough to admit 

 the extremity of the little finger. Through this orifice, all the blood brought to 

 the right ventricle had been discharged into the cavity of the pericardium ; and, 

 by that extravasated blood, confined between the heart and pericardium, the 

 whole heart was very soon necessarily so compressed, as to prevent any blood 

 contained in the veins from being forced into the auricles ; which therefore, 

 with the ventricles, were found absolutely void of blood, either in a fluid or co- 

 agulated state. 



As therefore no blood could be transmitted through the heart, from the instant 

 that the extravasation was completed, so the heart could deliver none to the brain, 

 and in consequence all the animal and vital motions, as they depend on the cir- 

 culation of the blood through the brain, must necessarily have been stopped, 

 from the same instant ; and his Majesty must therefore have dropped down, and 

 died instantaneously : And as the heart is insensible of acute and circumscribed 

 pain, his death must have been attended with as little of that distress, which 



