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and former medical attendant of the deceased, by Mr. Boyd,his secretary, and by Mr. Bird, clerk of St. James’s

Cemetery. It was fairly well preserved, the face

particularly so. The post-mortem examination thentook place, the abdominal and other viscera beingplaced in glass jars, sealed, and removed by Dr. Stevensonfor analysis. The orders from the Home Secretary andTreasury enjoined the strictest secrecy upon all those towhom was entrusted the exhumation. How well this wasobserved may be judged from the circumstance that nothingwas known until the 30th ult., ten days after, when sensa-tional paragraphs appeared in the London and provincialpapers containing statements as incorrect as sensational

paragraphs generally are. It was hoped that nothingwould have been divulged until after the completion ofDr., Stevenson’s analysis, which cannot be for some timeyet. Till then it would be well to refrain from furthercomment.

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CANITIES UNGUIUM.

UNDER this title Professor Giovannini has recently com-municated to the Reale Accademia di Medicina of Turin a

singular case of altered colouring of the finger- and toe-nails.His patient, a young man of twenty-nine years of age,presented the unique spectacle of having all the nails ofhis body, throughout their whole extent, deprived of theirnatural tint, which was replaced by a "white opacity"(&M6KCO oscM). They began to lose their colour about thetwelfth year, during convalescence from an ileo-typhoidillness, and the alteration was maintained with progressivelyincreasing intensity till they had assumed the aspect theynow present. Under the microscope they were found tocontain, enclosed in their tissue, an abnormal proportion ofair, and this Dr. Giovannini gives as the explanation oftheir" white opaque" " colouring. This cannot, he thinks,be a case of common leucopathia, as "the affection pervadesthe entire lamina of the nail, and, besides, is persistent."That the phenomenon should be restricted to the nail, with-out extension to the hair and skin, is certainly curious.

INSTRUCTION IN MENTAL PHYSIOLOGY.

A FEW years ago the University of London decided tosubstitute the subject of "Mental Physiology, especiallyin its relation to Mental Disorder," for that of Logic andMoral Philosophy hitherto required of candidates for theM.D. and M.S. degrees. But so far as we know therehave been few attempts to organise instruction in this

subject, and we are glad to note that by permission of thegovernors of Bethlem Royal Hospital Dr. Savage will

give a course of demonstrations at that institution, andone lecture (to be given at Guy’s Hospital) a week duringthe months of October, November, and a part of December,for the express purpose of meeting the requirements ofcandidates for this examination.

TACHYCARDIA AT THE MENOPAUSE.

AMONGST the many symptoms which are complained ofby women at about the time of the menopause, thosereferred to the circulatory system have a prominent place.Kisch (Wiener Medicinische Presse) has made some obser-vations on this subject, and has recorded twenty-eight casesof tachycardia. At the time of the menopause, but

generally before menstruation has entirely ceased, womenthus affected suffer from frequent attacks of palpitation,the cause of which is frequently not to be discovered.Other symptoms often accompany the excited action of theheart. Thus there may be a sense of anxiety and oppres-sion, fulness of the head, flushing, arterial pulsation, head-

ache, ringing in the ears, dimness of vision, vertigo, and,even in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. The pulsebecomes strong, regular, and of full volume, and may reach120, 150, or more per minute. Sphygmographic tracingsshow a large wave with a sudden rapid line of ascent, andan equally sudden and abrupt descent which almosbreaches the base line before the occurrence of the secondaryelevation, which is also well marked. The cardiac soundsare clear and accentuated. There is sometimes transitoryredness of the face, neck, and upper part of the chest,accompanied with a sense of burning. These attacks mayoccur several times daily, or may be completely absent forawhile. Their duration varies from a few minutes to a

quarter of an hour. There is marked bodily and mentalrestlessness, sometimes approaching hysterical violence.Kisch observed that in most of his cases there wereevidences of plethora; the blood was found to contain ahigh percentage of haemoglobin. Shortness of breath wasnot noticed. Any manifestions of stasis were rare ; thusoedema of the extremities only occurred in exceptionalcases. No albumen could be detected in the urine. Theattacks were very alarming to the patient, but were at notime dangerous. They lasted over periods varying from afew weeks to over two years. No injurious sequelaefollowed. The treatment consisted of systematic and

gentle purgation, together with careful regulation of thediet and general hygiene. Change of air, especially to amountainous district, often produced great amelioration ofthe symptoms. If the patients became sleepless or ex-tremely nervous, bromides in small doses were of service.Kisch ascribed the symptoms to changes in the ovaries atthe climacteric period. -

THE BACTERIOLOGICAL SECTION OF THEINTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HYGIENE.

WE have received the programme of the 6ection of

Bacteriology at the forthcoming Seventh International

Congress of Hygiene and Dermography. It is remarkablyfull, and the names of intending speakers are very numerous.The first meeting on Tuesday, Aug. llth, will open withan address by the President of the Section, Sir JosephLister, and the subjects set down for this day include theEtiology of Malaria, the Bacteriology of Asiatic Cholera,the Bacteriology of Vaccine Lymph, Bacterial Necrosis ofthe Liver, the Morphology of Actinomyces, and Hsemor-rhagic Infection. On the 12th discussions will take placeon Immunity, its Natural Occurrence and Artificial Pro-duction ; on the 13th, one on Tuberculosis in Man andAnimals. These debates, which will be shared in by manyeminent authorities, are likely to prove of the greatest interest.On the 14th papers will be read on Disinfection ; on theBacteriological Examination of Air, Soil, and Water; onthe Food and Air Passages in relation to Infection ; besidespapers on Psorospermosis, Cancer as an Infective Disease,and Fermentation. The secretaries of the Section are Dr.W. Hunter, Dr. Armand Ruffer, and Dr. C. S. Sherrington.

THE Italian Board of Health announces a peculiarlyvirulent outbreak of scarlatina maligna at Ferrara. It hasassumed epidemic proportions, and the mortality-chieflyamong the young, and due mainly to throat and lungcomplications-has caused the infant schools and othereducational institutions to be closed.

WE regret to have to announce the sudden death, whichtook place on Tuesday last, of Charles Edward Sheppard,M.D. Lond., F.R.C.S. Eng., second chloroforrnist to Middle-sex Hospital, anaesthetist to the National OrthopaedicHospital, and to the Dental School at Guy’s Hospital.