PATHOLOGY. 51 
The following account of the funeral of the celebrated 
Corvifart, well known to the Englifli faculty by his wri¬ 
tings, which we extradt from the Journal des Debats of 
the 22(1 September, 1821, may be thought curious by the 
mere Englilh reader. “The obfequies of M. le Baron de 
Corvifart, phyfician, took place to-day. In purfuance 
of the directions contained in his will, his body was not 
taken to the church of St. Elizabeth, his parifli, but was 
conveyed to his eftate at Atys, where he defired that the 
religious ceremonies Ihould be performed. A deputation 
from the Faculty of Medicine, in their do&or’s robes, 
(en habit doSioral,) and nearly all the phyficians of Paris, 
repaired this morning to his late refidence, Rue de Ven- 
dome, for the purpofe of attending his funeral. Mr. 
Leroux, dean of the phyficians of Paris, pronounced a 
difcourfe over his body. The coffin, covered with the 
mantle of a dodtor, and with the different orders which 
had been conferred upon the deceafed, was afterw'ards 
placed in a hearfe, to be taken to its deftination, whither 
the deputation of the faculty, and a great number of 
other perfons, accompanied it.” 
As we have fpoken largely of the management of the 
hofpitals, we ftiall conclude with a few words upon the 
fubjedt of the lunatic afylums. 
The Salpetriere, under Dr. EfquiroPs management, af¬ 
fords as fair a fpecimen of the refult of benevolent confi- 
deration and exertion as any inftitution to be found in 
France, or on the continent. Here the claffilication of 
patients is attempted, and to a confiderable degree carried 
into eftedt; though, without doubt, there is Hill much 
to be defired. The ufe of chains, and all that apparatus 
of feverity which formerly obtained, are entirely done 
away; and the refult has pretty clearlydemonftrated that 
in an inftitution of this kind, properly condudted,they are 
ufelefs. Confinement and the ftrait-vvaiftcoat, we are 
told, are the only reftraints now had recourfe to at La 
Salpetriere. The latter of thefe, for very good reafons, 
is very much abandoned in this country: it is never 
ufed at Rethlem, and very feldom at St. Luke’s: its in¬ 
expediency is very apparent. The patient is quite in¬ 
capable of aflifting himfelf in a thoufand little neceffary 
offices; and, when locked up by himfelf, this becomes 
unufually irkfon-.e. When the wrifts are manacled to¬ 
gether, even the mod furious are helplefs: or a leathern 
girdle may be put round the waift, and the arms may be 
pinned down to this in a way to prevent any injury. 
The treatment purfued here is no longer the decided 
and adtive one, in the way of bleeding, purging, &c. 
which ufed to be pradtifed. M. Efquirol confiders men¬ 
tal alienation as an acute difeafe, having its fuccelfive pe¬ 
riods of intenfity, decline, and convalefcence, the order 
of which is not to be difturbed by officious interference, 
though the fymptoms are to be moderated by gentle 
means, viz. tepid baths, diluents, occafional foothing 
medicines, and very flight douches. Speaking to Dr. 
Clark of relapfes, he faid that he had known many 
cafes where aparoxyfm had occurred after bleeding; in fome 
cafes after a fmall, in others after a large, bleeding. The 
treatment is made as much moral as poffible. An effort 
is made to gain the confidence of the patient; and this 
is generally obtained by appearing to take an intereft in 
his affairs, and by fcrupuloufly preferving good faith. 
As much work is given them as can be procured. The 
convalefcents have a large room where they are em¬ 
ployed at their needle; and, by way of encouragement, 
they receive a trifling remuneration for their work. M. 
Pinel, as is well known, removed the regular fervants 
from the inftitution, and fet the convalefcents, with 
much profit to themfelves and their unhappy compa¬ 
nions, to attend upon the patients, and do the little me¬ 
nial offices. 
Dr. Efquirol, from 800 diffedtions which he has made, 
has come to the conclufion that “ he has never found any 
conftant alteration in the ftrudture of the brain, or of any 
other part. The hardnefs of the brain, infifted upon by 
many, he had not generally remarked.” 
The excellent regulations we have juft noticed belong 
to Paris, not to the provinces. But the Report of the 
Committee appointed by the Britifh parliament produced 
a fenfation on the public mind which was ftrong and per¬ 
manent ; and, we rejoice to fay, that its good effects 
have not been confined to England alone. The govern¬ 
ments on the continent have taken alarm, and invefti- 
gation has every-where commenced. The French go¬ 
vernment appointed Dr. Efquirol to vilit all the recepta¬ 
cles for lunatics in France; and the refult of a tour which 
he undertook for that purpofe, is ftated in a “ Memoire 
prefenteau Miniftre de lTnterieur.” It is but juftice to 
Dr. Efquirol to ftate, that this Memoir is drawn up with 
much ability and feeling; and, as far as we are able to 
judge, with ftridt juftice and candour. It, in fadt, does 
equal credit to the head and heart of the writer. 
“Thofe for whom I plead,” fays Dr. Efquirol, “ are the 
moft interefting members of fociety; for they are almoft 
always thevidtims of the prejudice, injuftice, and ingra¬ 
titude, of their fellow-creatures. Among them are to be 
found fathers of families, faithful wives, Ikilful artifans, 
brave warriors, and diftinguifhed literary characters, 
ardent, proud, and acutely fenfible minds ; and yet thefe 
individuals, who ought to attradl a peculiar degree of 
fympathy and intereft; thefe unfortunate beings, fuffer- 
ing under the moft fearful of human miferies, are treated 
worfe than criminals, and reduced to a condition below 
that of the inferior animals. I have feen them naked, 
or half covered with rags, with only ftraw to protect 
them from the cold, and wet pavement upon which 
they lay. I have feen them badly fed, without air to 
breathe, water to quench their thirft, without, in faff, 
the firft necefiaries of life. I have feen them in narrow, 
dirty, infedtious, cells, without air, without light, 
chained in dens, where we fliould hefitate to confine the 
wild animals which the luxury of our governments keeps 
up at fuch expenfe in our capitals. This is a faithful 
pidture of what I have feen all over France; and this is 
the manner in which the infane are treated in almoft every 
country of Europe.” 
The infane, in France, are almoft all placed in public 
eftablifinnents; either in inftitutions fpecially devoted to 
them, in hofpitals, in the depdts de mendicitS, or in boufes 
of correction and prifons. They amount to 5153 in 
number, and occupy 59 houfes; out of this number, 
more than 2000 belong to the three great eftabliflimentsof 
Paris. It is rather Angular, that in the fouthern pro¬ 
vinces of France, the proportion of men confiderably ex¬ 
ceeds that of women; while, in the north, the reverfe is 
obferved. In Spain, the proportion of men is greater 
than that of women. 
There are only eight eftablifhments peculiarly dedi¬ 
cated to the reception of lunatics in France. Thefe are 
at Armentieres (for men only), Avignon, Bourdeaux, 
Charenton, Lille (for women only), Marfeilles, Marville, 
Rennes. There are feveral glaring defeats in thefe infti- 
• tutions. At Charenton, for inftance, part of the infti¬ 
tution is ufed as a workhoufe for the poor of the neigh¬ 
bourhood. Epileptic patients are mixed with the luna¬ 
tics, and prifoners are occafionally confined in the fame 
houfe. Incurable cafes are dlfo received, and are kept 
there for life. So it may be faid, that there is in France 
no inftitution fpecially devoted to the treatment of infi¬ 
nity. In thirty-three towns of France, which M. Efqui¬ 
rol fpecifies, the infane are received into the general hof¬ 
pitals, which are alfo appropriated to the old, the infirm, 
and the difeafed; to venereal patients, and to thofe af¬ 
fected with cutaneous diforders, and which even admit 
women of diforderly lives, and criminals. In the cities 
where dep'ots de mendicity have been eftabliflied, a portion 
of the building is devoted to lunatics, but only to thofe 
who are furious; thefe are kept conftantly chained in 
their 
