ago 
Account of William Dempster 
first, with the fingers alone, then with a pair of short curved 
forceps, and afterwards by a pair of very long forceps, made 
for the occasion, but without success. The knife, indeed, could 
not be reached by any of these means ; and nothing resembling 
it could be felt externally on the region of the stomach. His 
mind continued much depressed, though he had very little pain 
or uneasiness. He was encouraged by the medical attendants, 
and directed to be removed as quietly as possible to his lodgings, 
and to take nothing that night except a little cold water. He had 
some sleep, and next morning said, he felt occasionally pain in 
his stomach ; ijxii. of blood were taken from his arm, and an 
enema was ordered him. He afterwards complained of pain in 
the left shoulder, shooting across the chest to the stomach ; and 
the blood-letting was repeated. A hard substance, which was 
believed to be the handle of the knife, could now be felt very 
distinctly, by pressing the fingers very gently on the umbilicus ; 
slight pressure gave him considerable pain. Although his suf- 
fering was much less than could have been expected, his health 
became gradually impaired, and his stiength reduced. He was 
able to walk about a little in the day, and could sleep in the 
night on his back, but could not lie on either side. He took 
some diluted sulphuric acid for two or three weeks, which was 
discontinued, as he thought it increased the pain in his stomach. 
His bowels were kept open by castor-oil and injections; the al- 
vine evacuations were of a dark ferruginous colour, which pro' 
bably arose from the decomposition of the knife ; the pulse was 
very little affected, being generally between 70 and 80 in a mi- 
nute. His diet consisted of soup, gruel„and tea, taken in small 
quantities. When the stomach was empty of food, the handle 
of the knife could be distinctly felt, extending from above 
downwards, by placing the hand very lightly on the abdomen, 
a little above the umbilicus ; but a single cup of tea, or a little 
food of any kind, distended the stomach so much, that it entirely 
disappeared. He was frequently squeamish and sick at his 
stomach, and sometimes felt a severe twisting pain in that organ. 
The case being a remarkable one, and of very rare occurrence, 
the patient was visited by a great number of medical men. All 
the professional men in Carlisle were consulted respecting him ; 
and that nothing might be omitted that could benefit this unfortu- 
