Luna minores."

"velut inter ignes

As the election for Guy's Hospital approached-or rather before that period-both Cooper and Coleman began to regret the part they had taken in politics, and, in fine, recanted their democratical sentiments. This cleared the way for Cooper's appointment to the hospital, which took place in October 1800. His contemporaries at Guy's were now Foster and Lucas, surgeons-Saunders, Ralph, and Babington, physicians. At St. Thomas's Hospital, the surgeons were, Chandler, Birch, and Clinethe physicians, Fordyce, Blane, and Crawford. Cline and Cooper appear to have gained more reputation by helping their colleagues out of scrapes, than by their own operations. Sir Astley has left some characteristic sketches of his colleagues in the Borough, and his biographer has added several of his own; but these we must pass over, in order that we may carry out a connected narrative of the life of Sir Astley.

In 1800, Mr. Travers was articled to Mr. Cooper-resided some years in his house-and became a favourite pupil. It was in the same year (1800) that a celebrated character made his debut on the stage in St. Mary Axe-no less than CHARLES, whose name was Osbaldeston-softened down, by way of euphony, to BALDERSON. To the great majority of Sir Astley's patients CHARLES was as well known as himself, and never had physician or surgeon a more expert servant at opening the door of the SANCTUM SANCTORUM, with a look that could not be mistaken, signifying "Madam or Sir, you have been in long enough: please turn out, and make room for others." Many a rough, or rather tough customer had Charles to deal with daily in St. Mary Axe and Spring Gardens! But he managed them cleverly, and his place was neither sinecure nor sine argento. Charles had more than two strings to his bow. He had a house in the neighbourhood of the Strand, where operations were performed by Sir Astley, and the patients carefully attended to by himself. He was a prime hand at catching dogs and other animals, per fas aut nefas-in securing rare specimens of fish at the markets-in short, of doing every thing which was conducive to the scientific pursuits of his master. Even MICHAEL, the Jew-coachman, entered into the philosophic spirit of Sir Astley, and, on one occasion, lost a seven-shilling handkerchief in trying to secure a pretty little dog that he met in Camomile Street. He charged the item in his next week's bill; but Sir Astley did not allow it.*

The biographer enters into a long and a very curious, as well as amusing detail of the connexion which, in those days, subsisted between the anatomists and the resurrection-men. The subject has now, happily, lost much, if not all its interest with anatomical lecturers, and professional men; but it will be perused with various feelings, by the public at large. We cannot therefore join in the condemnation which has been raised against this part of the work. It ought to excite very general feelings of

* Michael was more successful with the writer of this article, for he sold him one of Sir Astley's horses for £30., though he was not worth thirty shillings!

gratulation that the necessity for such resurrectionary movements has been done away by judicious legislative enactments.

In 1800, Mr. Cooper communicated to the Royal Society a paper on the operation of puncturing the membrana tympani, which then excited great attention and promised to be of great importance; but has not since answered the expectations either of the proposer or the profession.

"Unfortunately, the relief thus obtained was, in many instances, evanescent; for either the aperture became closed, or ulceration went on to the destruction of the whole membrane of the ear, leaving the patient in no better condition than he had been before the operation. It is singular that the first gentleman on whom he operated, a person from Gloucester, retained his perfect hearing from the time of the operation until his death; but it proved to be the only case occurring to Mr. Cooper, which could be described as permanently successful, although many were relieved." Vol. ii, 7.

The Royal Society, however, awarded Mr. Cooper the Copleian medal for his communications-the highest honour they could bestow. Two years afterwards Mr. Cooper was elected a Fellow of this Society.

Mr. Cooper was a good deal instrumental in the formation of the Royal Medico-chirurgical Society, which was instituted in 1805, and is now one of the most flourishing societies of the kind in Europe. In the first volume of its Transactions (1809), Mr. Cooper published his celebrated case of operation for aneurism of the carotid artery-which, though unsuccessful, has led to many similar operations since that period, which have had the most happy results. Mr. Cooper furnished the Society with several other interesting papers. Mean time he was privately engaged on his great work-the "TREATISE ON HERNIA"-which, alone would have immortalized him. He devoted immense labour and long time to this undertaking, in order that the subject which it involved might be fully and perfectly considered. Although every copy was sold, Mr. Cooper was more than a thousand pounds out of pocket, on account of the expense of the plates, which were magnificent. Mr. Hey, of Leeds, who had written on the same subject, but differed from Mr. Cooper on some anatomical details, came to London, in order that he and Cooper should dissect the parts together. He went home convinced that Mr. Cooper was right.

In 1806, Mr. Cooper removed from St. Mary Axe, to New Broad-street, in the city, where his house afforded excellent accommodation to the numerous patients who now attended his morning levees.

He

Mr. B. Cooper here makes a digression as to his own early career. took a fancy to the sea; but a three months' cruise off the Texel, watching the Dutch fleet, in the Winter season, so sickened the young midshipman, that he quitted the wooden walls on the first opportunity, after returning to Yarmouth. He was destined for a more useful though not more honourable profession. After some farther academic studies, he entered the medical department under the auspices of his uncle, and after a campaign or two in the Peninsular war, settled down in the path—and even in the house-of his great patron and relation.

Mr. Cooper's description of a day's routine of the indefatigable Astley is very amusing as well as interesting. He started from his couch at six o'clock, Summer and Winter-worked in his dissecting-room till half-past seven-began to see his gratuitous patients at half-past eight-occupied a

few minutes afterwards at breakfast, consisting of two well-buttered hot rolls, and a large draught of nearly cold tea-then entered his consulting room, where he saw patients till one o'clock.

The following is a scene from real life-and would make an excellent one in a drama.

"The arrangement of the rooms in Broad Street, was excellently adapted for the purposes to which they were applied. A large hall, an ante-room, and the consulting-room, were in a direct line from the street-door; to the right of the hall were two large rooms, which were occupied by gentlemen patients; while two drawing-rooms immediately above, were appropriated to the reception of ladies. The hall had generally servants waiting for answers to notes for professional appointments; the ante-room was intended for the one or two patients who were next in succession to the patient then with Mr. Cooper.

"The further room, on the right of the hall, which was the family dining-room, was generally full, from ten till twelve, of gentlemen waiting for their turn. These were anxious, perhaps, but still in a much less pitiable state than the occupants of the first room to the right. All who were admitted into this room had undergone some kind of operation, which had unfitted them for the present to leave the house. It was certainly an object of interest, at times partaking no little of the ludicrous, to me, as an inconsiderate youngster, on going into that room, to see six or eight persons, who had never set eyes upon one another before, contorting their features into expressions of all the kinds of suffering, from the dullest torment to the most acute pain; others moving in anxious restlessness to different parts of the room; while some one, more inquisitive than the rest, would be asking his neighbour with eager curiosity what was the nature of the infliction he had undergone, still writhing, perhaps, under the effects of his own. These patients used to remain in this room until either their pain had ceased, or Mr. Cooper himself dismissed them, after completing the operation to which they had been subjected.

"The patience of the ladies, perhaps, was somewhat more severely tried than even that of the gentlemen, for as, in Charles's judgment, their occupation was not likely to be so important, nor their time so precious, he was accustomed rather to expedite the admission of the gentlemen than theirs. He most ungallantly used to observe, there was more difficulty in drawing one lady than two gentlemen' meaning to imply by his term drawing, the succeeding in withdrawing the lady from Mr. Cooper's presence. The manner by which the ladies exhibited their impatience was by frequently opening the drawing-room door, peeping over the banisters, or sometimes coming down into the hall and supplicating Charles to get them a speedy audience; requests which he knew well enough how to answer appropriately to the peculiar temperament of each applicant.

"The ante-room was sometimes applied to another purpose than the legitimate one of merely facilitating the regular succession of patients, for Charles had some few chosen friends, who knew how to pay their way into this room at once, without going through the more tedious ordeal of the usual waiting-room." 74. "Thus the patients were introduced in quick succession: I say quick, because the rap at the door of Charles-ever watchful of his master's interest, and not altogether, perhaps, forgetful of his own-and his exclamation, a gentleman, Sir, were generally signals to depart, which Mr. Cooper's Janus invariably made, as soon as he thought his master's time had been sufficiently occupied by the patient then with him." Vol. ii, 75.

At one o'clock, or very soon after, he jumped into his carriage-galloped to the hospital-rushed through a hundred students-traversed the wards, making clinical remarks, which were greedily swallowed by a host

of pupils-and then to lecture at 2 o'clock. The lecture lasted one hour, and at half-past three he left the hospital to commence his out-door rounds till dinner-time.

At dinner he was cheerful, but "did not eat with epicurean elegance." He bolted his food with "remarkable rapidity," drinking two or three tumblers of cold water in quick succession, and seldom taking wine during the repast. Directly the cloth was removed, he would swallow hastily a couple glasses of port wine-and the next instant he would be fast asleep in his arm-chair. In ten minutes he would awake-get into his carriage, and visit patients till twelve o'clock at night!

It was, we think, in 1807 (for Mr. Cooper is not very clear in his dates) that the uncle procured for his nephew an assistant-surgeoncy in the Royal Artillery, where he remained eight months, before he went to the Peninsula, attending lectures in the mean time in London.

Mr. A. Cooper had the art of detecting abilities in a remarkable manner, and he had many employés, literary, pictorial, and scientific, who worked hard in his private dissecting-room, or SANCTUM SANCTORUM, under the master-mind of the great man. No person had access here, except the victims and the victimisers-and many a strange scene, no doubt, took place in the room over the stables. They were all, however, in pursuit of science; and though not always strictly legal, in as far as the brute creation was concerned, they all tended to the benefit of the human race. Among these employés, Mr. Lewis appears to have been "a man of all work,' literary, professional, and scientific. He was Sir Astley's carriage companion, and could write there as fast as Sir A. dictated-took notes of all cases, public and private,—and, in short, was a most valuable assistant.

His practice went on regularly increasing, as his fame extended. In the year 1808 or 9, he met with an accident as he was walking along Cannon Street, he slipped from the curb-stone and fell, one of his feet getting jammed in some ice. The fibula was broken and he went home in a coach. Mr. Travers was sent for; but Mr. Cooper would not permit him to handle the limb, merely keeping it quiet and wet. Notwithstanding his abstemiousness, he had occasional parties in Broad Street, and went out sometimes to the parties of others--but never took more than his usual couple of glasses of wine. His natural hilarity and flow of spirits rendered all exciting drink entirely unnecessary. His visitors were almost entirely medical or surgical-often his pupils. The following remarks on John Hunter were found among his notes.

666

His theories were generally excellent: his practice not very good; for all his treatment of disease was much his own, and not confirmed by experience. It was founded upon theory, instead of his theories upon his practice.

He was singular in his manners and opinions, and often exhibited the simplicity of a child, in the remedies he prescribed.

"I

A person had a swelling in his legs, and consulted him, and he said:know nothing better than cabbage-leaves, which I have heard produce great perspiration, and they will sweat your legs down."

'Mr. Howden had a patient with an obstinate running sore, and he said, "We will consult Mr. Hunter about your case." As they walked from the city to Mr. Hunter's, the patient said to his medical attendant, "What must I give Mr. Hunter?" and he answered, "Two guineas to such a man."

They went into Mr. Hunter's room, and the case was explained. Mr. Hunter

folded his arms, and said :-" And so, sir, you have an obstinate running sore?" "Yes, sir." "Why then, sir," said Mr. Hunter, "if I had your running sore, I should say,-Mr. Sore, run and be

"Mr. Cooper concludes his remarks by the following observation :- A surgeon in London was paid by one of the first practical surgeons of the day, to write down Mr. Hunter. It was a rat assailing a lion,-or a pigmy attacking a giant.'" Vol. ii, 164.

Mr. Cooper's prescriptions were very simple. He had five or six formulæ, which constituted the whole of his Pharmacopoeia. These he kept ready made to distribute among his morning gratuitous patients. "Give me (says he) opium, tartarized antimony, sulphate of magnesia, calomel, and bark, and I would ask for little else." Sir Astley, however, was a much better surgeon than physician, otherwise he would not have been contented with such a scanty catalogue of medicaments.

In the month of May, 1813, Mr. Cooper was appointed to deliver lectures on comparative anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons. Notwithstanding his immense practice, public and private, he prepared himself for his task, by almost superhuman labours-often limiting himself to three or four hours sleep at night-and performed the duties with great eclat. In the year 1815, his professional income amounted to the enormous sum of TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND POUNDS!! He had now, however, begun to shew symptoms of obesity, and, one day, while the Duke of Manchester was consulting him, he fell down unconscious on the floor. He soon recovered, and the secret of the attack was religiously preserved. He had returns of the complaint, more or less marked, together with irregularity of the heart's action, during the remainder of his life.

About this time Mr. B. Cooper returned from his Peninsular campaigns, and found that Mr. Cooper had despatched some of his favourite pupils, viz. Mr. Callaway, Mr. Tyrrell, Mr. Henry Cooper, and Mr. Key, to Brussels, to assist in attending our wounded soldiers from the field of Waterloo, and in which humane office they distinguished themselves. Mr. Bransby's brother (Henry) being now in great favour with the great patron, Mr. B. was advised to graduate at Edinburgh as a physician, and had completed his studies for that purpose, when his brother died, and Mr. B. returned to the study and practice of surgery under the auspices of his uncle.

It was in the year 1815 that Mr. Cooper removed from the City to New Street, Spring Gardens; not for the purpose of increasing, but of restricting his practice, and improving his health. In the Spring of the following year (1816) he performed his celebrated operation at the hospital, of tying the aorta. The operation did not succeed; but it was performed with the most perfect adroitness, without injuring any important part, and with the effect of prolonging the life of a man, who was in articulo mortis, from hæmorrhage, for 46 hours. The merits and demerits of the procedure were canvassed all over Europe, at the time, and we are of opinion that the surgeon was perfectly justifiable, under the then existing circum

stances.

In 1817, Mr. Cooper became domiciliated with his uncle in Spring Gardens, and he was appointed dissector for lectures, in conjunction with Mr. South. Mrs. Cooper now resided permanently at their estate in