It has several times happened to me during the earlier years of my asylum experience, to observe the occurrence of what appeared to be extensive bruises in the persons of feeble and helpless patients, who were in the hands of skilful and attentive nurses, and in whom such occurrences perplexed not less than they shocked me; as I am now distinctly convinced that these appearances were not owing to external injuries, as I can find them nowhere alluded to in books, and as their repetition is calculated to lead to unfounded suspicions, I think a few observations respecting them appropriate for the pages of this Journal

RECEPTION OF PATIENTS.

Orders.—In the case of a private patient, the order may be dated before or after the medical certificates, or either of them.

Gentlemen, It is my intention to give you in this our introductory lecture, an exposition of the classifition of insanity. I shall endeavour to make it as practical as possible, and so to furnish you with a method which may serve to guide you in your relations with your patients ; and in order to be the more certain of its application, we will endeavour to prove it, by examination of patients after the lecture.

The personal of some interesting remarks in the last number of the Asylum Journal, by Dr. Manley, on prolonged fasting and the refusal of food by insane patients, in which he advocates the introduction of food through the fauces “by means of any ordinary funnel,” rather than by the stomach pomp, leads me to offer the following observations upon this subject, as well for the purpose of describing the instrument I have for many years been in the habit of using in this asylum, as of urging upon those engaged in the treatment of the insane the great importance in certain cases of introducing into the stomach larger quantities of nutriment and stimulants than are usually taken when this is left to the voluntary efforts of the patient, or administered by any of the usual processes of feeding.

The witty Brillat Savarin wrote: “Quand j'écris et parle de moi an singulier, cela suppose une confabulation avec la lecteur; il pent examiner, discuter, douter et même rire; mais quand je m'arme du redoutable nouz je professe, il faut se soumettre.” Physiologie du Gout.

Our readers will learn with deep grief the melancholy end of this promising physician. The following brief summary we condense from the Worcester Herald.

Instructions.—Every medical certificate most be according to the subjoined form,∗ prescribed by the “Lunatics Care and Treatment,” and “Lunatic Asylums” Acts, 1853.

In the October number of the Asylum Journal, an account was given of an inquest that had been held at the Asylum for the county of Norwich, on a patient who had died, having at the time of hit decease, an ununited and undetected fracture of the ribs. For many reasons it was a case of great interest. First, the liability of such injuries to be inflicted before the patient is sent to the asylum, of which no information is given. Secondly, the probability of the injury remaining undetected at the time of admission or for a lengthened period afterwards. Thirdly, the probability of the injury being laid to the charge of ill-treatment in the asylum. Fourthly, the crimination and recrimination produced amongst the officers of the asylum by such imputations on imperfect evidence. Fifthly, the great difficulty that will always exist in fixing the time at which an injury wag inflicted by appearances observed at a long subsequent period.

It has afforded us great pleasure to receive a Report of the Asylum of Meerenberg (North Holland) for 1852–3; and, as we believe but few of our readers are acquainted with this excellent establishment, we propose to lay before them the most important information contained in it. To those who already know something of this asylum, a few extracts from the Report before us will also be interesting.