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 ? " 



" It 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 ? " 



" It 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 



