701ST. GEORGE’S HOSPITAL.-SIR H. DAVY.

are some members who linger in the Councilof the College of Surgeons, and lend to it thesanction of their character, in the hope, per-haps, to see its constitution placed upon an

equitable footing. They would not willinglysacrifice the respect of their brethren, nor

tamper with their fame. This is the time

to declare themselves. The eyes of the

profession are upon them ; they are not ofthe herd, and the error will be their own if

they continue to be confounded with those

evil doers that cling selfishly to abuses, andare not placed at the head of the most illus.trious, because the most efficient, and dis-interested reformers.

MEDICAL REFORM.

NORTH OF ENGLAND MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

THE first meeting of this important Asso-ciation, which now includes nearly one hun-dred and fifty members, was held on Tues

day,the 21st of January, atNewcastle-upon-Tyne. The Report of the Committee wasread, and a petition agreed upon to be pre-sented to both Houses of Parliament. We

shall publish next week some account of theproceedings of the meeting.

AT ST. GEORGE’S HOSPITAL,

Memoirs of the Life of Sir Humphry Davy,Bart. By his Brother, JOHN DAVY, M.D.Vol. I. Smith and Co., London. 1839.8vo. pp. 475.

THE retirement of Sir BENJAMIN BRODIE has Ibeen followed by the election of Mr. WALKER,late Assistant Surgeon, to the office of Sur-geon of the Hospital, and the promotion-not to say the election-of Mr. TATUM, anear relative of Sir BENJAMIN, to the Assist-ant Surgeonship. The latter circumstancehas elicited a letter to the Governors fromMr. LANE, who states that although he ° edu·cated himself principally with the view " ofone day " becoming attached to the surgicaldepartment of their valuable Institution,"and has "throughout his professional life"been particularly ambitious of this object,yet that, after a long series of " harassingproceedings to which he has been subjected "

by Sir BENJ. BRODIE and a clique of themedical officers, he has discovered the follyof seeking his own advancement on thescore of competency, seniority, and priorclaims, in opposition to those of "youngmen who are induced to trust for their ad-vancement rather to the favour of individualswho are in power, than to their own talent and

industry." Mr. LANE has, therefore, de-

clined a contest in which the chief featureof his own failure and the success of SirBENJAMIN’S relation, would be, he intimates,a great deal of " unnecessary trouble andexpense."

" Trouble and Expense " are strange ele-ments in elections, where talent and industryalune should contest the prize, because it isscience that has to be served by the victor,and that with the noble, not the ignoblemeans. Mr. LANE would have had a yetstronger case to lay before the Governors-or, rather, the public—for of the Governors,as judges in such a matter, a very queer ac-count is given by a well-informed corre-

spondent in another page of our Journal thisweek-had he boldly demanded the ntENTnt,TRIAL for the vacant office ! The CONCOURSwould infallibly have laid the least qualifiedman on his back.

THIS work furnishes an interesting ac-

count of the life and labours of one of our

most distinguished natural philosophers.Sir Hnmphry Davy was a man of genius inthe truest acceptation of the term, and thereare few philosophers who have labouredwith such zeal, industry, and success, forthe advancement of science. With regardto celebrated men, everything connectedwith them, as Dr. Davy remarks, acquiresinterest ; we, therefore, present to our readersthe following particulars of Sir H. Davy’spersonal appearance and character :-He was of middle stature, about five feet

seven inches high, but appeared shorter,perhaps, from the just proportions and sym-metry of his make. His hands and feet weresmall, and his bones in general small ; but-his muscles were comparatively large, espe-cially of the lower extremities, in conse-

quence of which he was well adapted forthose exercises and sports of the field andriver in which he delighted. He couldwalk well, and bear fatigue for a long time;his arms and shoulders were, he used to say,less able than his legs ; yet their strengthwas perfectly adequate to the managementof the salmon rod, and the laborious amuse-ment of salmon fishing ; and there were fewanglers who could throw the fly further onthe water, or with greater steadiness anddelicate precision ; and he was quick in theuse of his gun, and amongst good shuts avery tolerable one, especially in that kind ofshooting which requires an active hand andeye, as snipe shooting. His chest was wellformed and rather ample, and his breathing