ADDITIONAL NOTES OS CONTAGION. 253 



Another instance of the same intrepiJ, but benevolent effort to diminish the sufferings 

 of humanity, is recorded by Sunnini, (Travels into Greece and Turkey, London ej. p. 

 497.) " Every physician," says that writer, "has not the courage, or, to speak more correct- 

 ly, the madness of that Russian surgeon, prisoner at Constantinople with a number of his 

 countrymen, who took it into his head to inoculate these unfortunate beings with the plague, 

 in order to render the contagion less destructive: by this means he killed two hundred of 

 these prisoners ; and, fortunately for the rest, the inoculator, after having performed the 

 operation on himself, died of his own treatment." 



M. Assalini has stated, in corroboration of his own opinion of the non-contagiousness of 

 the plague, that M. Desgenettes, the chief physician to the army of the East, while in 

 Syria, inoculated himself with the matter of the plague, without taking the disease, and 

 that he made this inoculation under the persuasion that the plague was not contagious. 

 The following observations, taken from the work of M. Desgenettes himself, will clearly 

 show the incorrect statement of M. Assalini on this subject, and that Dr. Desgenettes con- 

 sidered the contagiousness of the plague as absolutely demonstrated. 



" Ce fnt pour rassurer les imaginations et le courage ebranle de l'armee, qu'au milieu 

 de 1'hopital je trempai une lancettedans le pus d'un bubon, appartenant a un convalescent 

 de la maladie au premier degre, et que je me fis une legere piquure dans Paine et au 

 voisinage de Paisselle, sans prendre d'autres precautions quenelles de me laver avec de Peau 

 et du savon qui me furent offerts. J'eus pendant plus de trois semaines deux petits points 

 d'inflammalion correspondants aux deux piquures, et ils etoient encore tres sensibles 

 rorsqu'au retour d'Acre je me baignai en presence d'une partie de l'armee dans la baie de 

 Cesaree. Cette experience incomplete, et sur laquelle je me suis vu oblige de donner quel- 

 ques details a cause du bruit qu'elle a fait, prouve peu de chose pour Part ; elle n'infirme 

 point la transmission de la contagion, demontree par mille exemples ; elle fait seulement 

 voir que les conditions necessaires pour qu'elle ait lieu ne sont pas bien determinees : And, 

 as a further evidence that this experiment, if it deserves the name of an experiment, was 

 made for the purpose, as Dr. Desgenettes declares, of inspiring the troops with confidence, 

 he adds, " Je crois avoir couru plus de danger avec un but d'utilite moins grand, lorsqu'invite 

 par le quartier-maitre de la soixante-quinzieme demi-brigade, une heure avant sa mort, 

 a boire dans son verre une portion de son breuvage, je n'hesitai pas a lui donner cet encour- 

 agement." (Histoire MSdicale de VArmee d'Orient, par le Medecin en Chef, R. Desge- 

 nettes, a Paris, an x. 1 802.) 



In addition to the testimony of Dr. Desgenettes, I subjoin the following interesting let- 

 ter from Alire R. Delile, M. D., who accompanied the French army in their expedition to 



