perishability of all earthly glory. The day has been that Dacca was a place of note, a capital of mighty importance in a political and mercantile point of view. That day is gone, it may be for ever; unless some unforeseen contingency should perchance under the vivifying power of advancement and regeneration, dependent upon the magic energy of steam, develope agricultural and commercial facilities and potentialities now dormant. Till then-it may be said of the once rich, stately, prosperous, and splendid Venice of Bengal, that -the glory is departed!

The execution of this panoramic view, in all its parts, is excellent. The observer is looking, as it were, across that beautiful river, at the Strand face of the long and picturesque line of palaces and gardens, reminding one of Garden Reach. Indeed Dacca has been considered as bearing in some respects a strong resemblance to Calcutta. Both cities are on the bank of a noble river, and both abound in magnificent palace-like mansions. To us, however, by far the most interesting portion of the pictured capital, is that which testifies with mute eloquence of its decline and fall. We turn away with comparative indifference from the spruce, garish, or more gorgeous residences, of bustling clerks, merchants, Session Judges and Commissioners of Revenue, to the native part of the town now in ruins.

Apparet domus intus et atria longa patescunt.
Apparent Priami et veterum penetralia regum.

Fate sits indeed on those dark battlements and frowns-but time beautifies death and ruin. Such will it ever be, and decay follows prosperity as wave comes after wave. To the meditative, THE PAST is even more interesting than the present-and its voice seems in hollow tones to repeat the awful legend, and to point its moral to circle succeeding circle, of mutation in dynasty. "Babylon the great is fallen—is fallen!" Bloody are the tales, and startling the revelations that could be made by the desolate chambers and choked-up passages of the Lall Bague-could it but find a miraculous organ of utterance. Lowly hovels and mud huts now shelter themselves beneath the aristocratic walls of the Fort and Palace of the haughty Nawabs of Dacca. Where now are the men

"Pride in their port, defiance in their eye,"

that ruffled it here-and whose names were once so famous? Where are the rulers equally unscrupulous in squeezing the revenues of a province, or directing adroitly the assassin's dagger, or poisoner's potion? They seem to rise in 'dim procession led,' Naibs and Courtiers, Cazis and Dewans, Patan adventurers unscrupulous as brave, and wily Hindu financiers smooth and impassive, while secretly wielding perhaps the detinies of Bengal, by means of their hoarded lakhs. All, all are gone-and like the shades of Banquo's glass, history evokes her dead, and a glance at these ruins of the once flourishing haunts of the mighty in their day-give a momently glance to the mind's eye, of the astute, remorseless Murshíd Kúli

Khan, the kindly but debauched Sujah-the rash intruding fool' his son-the unfortunate Surferaz-the able, unscrupulous soldierly, yet generous Aliverdy, fostering in his dotage the Cockatrice Surajah Dowlah; and the stately vacilating but useful (to us!) Mir Jaffier Khan! With the advent of British power the glories of Dacca may be said to terminate.

The India Register of Medical Science. Edited by Edward Edlin, M. D. Part 1. W. Ridsdale.

It is not long ago that Calcutta could boast of two organs for recording and disseminating medical knowledge, but they are both defunct. The one was the Medical and Physical Society of Ben-gal, and the other the Medical Journal, established in 1834, by Messrs. Grant and Pearson of Calcutta. The circumstances of the decline of the first of these, would form a not uninstructive commentary on the wisdom of that homely old saying-" let well alone." For years that excellent association had prospered, while adhering to the principles on which it had been founded, and guided by which, its endeavours were crowned with signal success. Whenever they accumulated to a sufficient amount, as respected quality no less than quantity-the usual course was to bring out a volume of Transactions. As time wore on, however, a change came over the shadow of the practical dreamer. An occasional volume of Transactions suited not the notions of certain "fast men." A more rapid system of publication succeeded to the original plan. There was a craving to shine at more frequent intervals-clicquery, disunion, exhaustion of the finances, and eventual extinction followed.

In regard to the other vehicle of medical intelligence-the Jour nal commenced upon in 1834 (being the first Medical Periodical ever established in India) was the adventure of two individuals of the profession, hazarding thereupon their own comfort, and what pecuniary means were required; for patronage (save from the subscribers) the work we learn, never found. The Medical Board of the day did for it literally-nothing. They did not patronise it in any way. Considering the importance of maintaining such an organ in the profession, recollecting also that it was the first attempt here at getting up such a periodical; this gross neglect on the part of those, who officially at least, may be deemed the heads of the profession, reflects very little credit on the Board of that day. It is to be hoped that more generous and liberal ideas in respect to the claims of medical literature have found their way to the Board since, and from what has already reached us, we believe this to be the case, and that Dr. Edlin has good reason in regard to his official superiors to congratulate himself. Tempora mutantur!

It is undeniable, however, that attempts of this kind, must be less or more affected by the state of the Medical Corps; whose sayings

and doings it endeavours to rescue in some measure, from stagnation and oblivion. By no effort of the most honied flattery, can the state of the Medical Service of Bengal, be said to be either very flourishing or promising. It catches few or no rays of encouragement or panegyric from the high places of the land. It is not necessary to enter into details, regarding a subject which would seem to possess but a minimum of interest for the public at large. The public at large hates grievances, and especially those affecting so insignificant a fraction of the community as the Doctor-Logue. It is enough for our purpose, as faithful chroniclers of what passes within the compass of our ken, to observe, that the fact is sufficiently well known, that the Medical Corps is not an united one, and it assuredly does not seem to be a favourite, or favoured one. We are not, all things considered, much surprised at this-for no corps can command external respect, that is not known to be united and firmly guided by enlightened and liberal principles within itself. It may be too, that its members are too opiniative, and too ready to take up any proposition on the part of a colleague contentiously, rather than calmly, and impartially, and philosophically. Science has many sides-and requires many sided intellectuality of research. Nevertheless, it is a besetting sin of the age, that conclusions are jumped to, rather than travelled to inductively. A medical man, too often, is dogmatical in opinion and argument. How rare it is in the commerce of life to find a professional man offering an opinion suggestively or hesitatingly. It is always excathedra, unflinchingly (affirmatively or negatively,) and as it were infallibly. The younger the man in the ranks of the profession, the more remarkbly prominent is this trait. Each is as it were a little Pope of Medicine and Therapeutics-with a six hundred horse power of dogmatism-and ready to hurl the most trenchant remarks at all and every, beyond the immediate horizon of his own still crude and very recently acquired knowledge-the ventriloquism of his teachers, rather than the distilled product of his own faculties of reflection, judgment, observation and comparison. The conservative instinct is neither very strong in the corps itself, nor ever counted on from without. It may be dealt with by a side wind, or affected obliquely in a variety of ways, as by letting an appointment fall in abeyance here and there, or quietly dropping altogether till they merge in abolishment, some odds and ends of advantage. We are not aware that on those occasions, the Board constituting the supposed head of the Corps, is either consulted, or interferes protectively. At any rate it possesses no power, nor is the sphere of its cogitations, and legislation, such as to inspire any very extraordinary sentiments of respect for it, as a deliberative or administrative body. Justly, or unjustly, it has occasionally been blamed for not merely abstaining from protective appeals to the supreme powers, but for even suggesting how the skirts of emolument might be shortened and appointments sheared or lopped off altogether. It is to be hoped some day or other

for the benefit of the service at large, that the measures, and minutes, of that body from its first establishment, may find their way into print. It would be a curious thing when this promulgation does take place, to compare the origin, scope, results and motives (so far as they can be ascertained) of proposals, and measures, and comments, with the known history of their authors. From facts not unfamiliar to ourselves, we fear that the exposé would be more startling than gratifying to esprit de corps. Some of these worthies of the past were very hard bargains indeed, and yet upon their secret reports, or more open suggestions, did much of the welfare or the reverse, the prosperity or retrogradation of the Corps depend. This of itself were sufficient to explain in some degree why the medical service cannot be considered to be in a high or paliny state. The rigid principle of seniority in the progress of science, sounds very absurd. It is notorious that provided a medical officer was not committed irretrievably by some extreme misconduct, that he might rise to the highest appointments the service has to offer. No matter what his disqualifications were, if he possessed the admirable one of seniority, he was sure to rise as far as he could in that service. The facility of misconstruction or offence arising perhaps from some unintentional or unavoidable contingency is often a source of more than vexation in the corps. A medical officer's character may thus be whispered away, and his actions brought within the verge of grinding official interference when least expected-for he has more masters than any other public servant whatever. It matters little to other officers whether their appearance or manner please or displease, but woe to the medical officer when the I do not like thee Dr. Fell' instinct operates against him, especially with the dispensers of patronage or the wielders of powerand who has not power over him? Whatever else a smattering even of Greek and Latin might do for a man, it is unquestionable that the flavour of them, as it were, is in harmony with our notions of gentlemanly education. Many, nevertheless, up to a date which we purposely omit specifying, have grown grey priding in their ignorance of either—and even prescriptions are remembered, the piebald composition of which, was disgraceful to the writers as scholars, however meritorious they might be in a practical point of view. The tone of education, however of late years, has greatly improved-but it is to be hoped, that in an ultra utilitarian spirit, an acquaintance, to some extent at least, with the ancient classic languages, will not be foregone in the medical schools at home. Manners to a certain extent make the man, and those of the medical corps, as a corps are not so stamped with excellence, as not to require consideration and perhaps supervision. It was, and is, a quality and effect of the branch of knowledge alluded to, to serve as a sort of vis medicatrix morum. It has been generally allowed that it refined and polished- emollit mores.' It is not a good sign when organs like those mentioned in the opening of these remarks, wither and die. Wherein then lies the cause that the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta, and the

Journal of Medical Science died? When Anaxagoras was at the point of death, Pericles who had inexcusably neglected him, paid him a visit-and on expressing an affectionate interest for him the apparently dying man said-"Ah! Pericles-those who rejoice in the light of a lamp take care to feed it with oil!" Institutions also require some little sprinkling of oil from the state—and it is a reproach to it when useful organs for dissemination of knowedge, perish for lack of a little patronage, which it might so easily and gracefully bestow. The Asiatic Society contains among its members, men of rank, station and influence. It is not unreasonble to suppose, that partly to that circumstance, has it been owing, that government has extended very substantial patronage to that institution. The medical service on the other hand, cannot have in its array men of rank or influence (medical rank being a mere sham). It is one of the defects of the corps that the means of fostering either do not exist. We do not mean to assert, that medical men have not some legitimate amount of influence among their patients; but it is not much after all, nor does a man of delicacy care to exert it much. Beyond the sick chamber, Medical influence is almost a non-entity. Individual talent and individual worth, are to be found in the corps-but it possesses comparatively little collective weight or estimation; if we may judge from the contemptuous neglect with which its memorials year after year have been treated-and the anomalies which affect medical service, even in a military point of view, up to the present hour. One of the obvious causes why the corps halts in regard to social condition, or marks of respect, or approving recognition on the part of the state, is.-that it is a profession which is never recruited from the aristocracy. The consequence is obvious-it has never been smiled upon by aristocracy-which can have no sympathy with its joys or its sorrows. Though not avowed, it is not to be denied, whatever the cause or causes may be; that the medical service does not appear to be one deemed sufficiently worthy of being marked with honor or distinction by the Heads of Departments. It is neither civil nor military. It is a corps disowned alike by the civil or military services, though legislated for by both, yet sympathised with by neither. It is worthy of remark too that men in the prime of life now quit it, at a period when their services are most valuable to the state; being in the maturity of strength, activity and experience. None but elderly men remain, or those who came out with somewhat different views from those of the present day. Clearly then, it would appear, that there are not sufficient inducements for the persons alluded to to remain. Promotion in the Bengal medical service is so slow, that it now takes sixteen or seventeen years to get the step of Surgeon. On being attained, the step is sometimes a positive disadvantage to the party concerned. It is never sufficiently borne in mind that the medical officer now usually comes out in his twenty-fourth year. The Medical