UNIVERSITY COLLEGE MEDICAL SOCIETY.

571 from known attain a narne. It was UNIVERSITY COLLEGE MEDICAL writers that any inferencesonly could be drawn SOCIETY. with respect to the influence of their pursuits on their longevity. Friday, January 6th, 1837. Mr. HOBSON made some remarks on the Mr. MORTON, President. habits of literary men, which he thought were too often over indulgent, and creative INFLUENCE OF OCCUPATIONS ON LONGEVITY. of disease. Excitement of the brain, withMr. DARVILL commenced a paper on this out exercise of other organs, must be injusubject, with some remarks on the generally rious. Mr. TOYNBEE observed, that the existence admitted influence of occupations on health, eatolling those which are followed in the aa high degree of excitement in the brain open air, and require muscular exercise. during mental exertion, was confirmed by The inhalation of powder, or dust, of any the fact, that precocious children possessed kind, excited pulmonary disease, and inju- skulls which were remarkably ossified. rious effects were ascribed to various vapours After a few observations from other mem. and changes of temperature. The author bers the meeting was adjourned. then drew attention to the supposition that literary or mental pursuits, were unfavourable to health and longevity. This, he thought, was erroneous. Blumenbach used LETTERS RESPECTING THE DECISION UNDER THE to assert that he never knew any one die MEDICAL WITNESSES ACT from hard study. The great labour and age AT THE of many German writers, confirmed the assertion. Dr. Madden’s work on the " In- LAMBETH-STREET POLICE-OFFICE. firmities of Genius" was then referred to, and Mr. Darvill said he considered that the To the Editor of THE LANCET. Doctor’s mode of arriving at his conclusions was not correct; the tables on which he SIR:—Having been a subscriber to your founded those conclusions, were drawn up valuable Journal for many years, I trust you from observations made on only twenty indi- will not consider me unnecessarily troubleviduals in each class. Thus he had given a some in begging you to correct a statement list of twenty medical authors, to prove which certainly, in some of its points, is not them longer lived than twenty imaginative strictly true. The article to which I allude writers; he had omitted to note, in the former is contained in THE LANCET of last week, class, some celebrated men who had died at andheaded" Lambeth-street." Yonrremaaks’ anearlyage, as Bichat, Beclard, Georget, and I presume, would lead us to conceive that, Godman, neither of whom reached the age in addition to Dr. Ramsbotham and myself, of 41, whilst amongst the latter the names of a third person was employed. You state "the Goethe, Chaucer, Wieland, and Klopstock, jury selected a witness whom the coroner who all died very old, were omitted. summoned, in addition to Mr. Pater, and Mr. D, therefore disputed the conclusions that witness was paid his fee of two guineas : ’ of Dr. Madden, and thought that it might be This was not the case. The jury summoned established as a general axiom, that literary no one; but Mr. Baker, at my request, gave pursuits were directly favourable to long his order both to the doctor and myself, belife, whether requiring exercise of the fore a jury was empannelled, and the reason memory, the judgment, or the imagination, for my requiring the services of Dr. Ramsand that when the health was apparently botham is best explained by the following injured, the evil was dependent rather on statement :collateral circumstances, as irregularities in Some weeks ago I was called upon to ateating, drinking, sleeping, &c., acting upon tend a servant of Captain Burton. The unusually susceptible frames. He substan- mistress had a suspicion that the girl was tiated this view by referring to the lives of pregnant, and had spoken to her seriously on poets and imaginative writers who had lived the subject. She, however, from time to for but a short time, tracing their early time, denied the fact, until the morning on deaths to their injudicious conduct. The which I saw her. The preceding night Mrs. author concluded with some remarks on the Burton became more convinced her susdue regulation of the functions of the body, picions were well-founded, from her pacing in order to ensure the continuance of health the room under which she slept, apparently during literary exertions, particularly ad- in great pain. She went to her and again verting to the advantage of adopting unex- accused her of her state, which she again citing diet, using a certain degree of muscu- denied. In the morning, her mistress finding lar exercise, and taking a full quantum ofher size reduced, was persuaded something had taken place, and immediately sent for sleep. Mrs. Burton having related the obMr. GEORGE thought that studious habits me. were injurious to health ; hundreds ofstinate denial of the girl, and naming her studentsprobablyperlshed before they could reasons for thinking she had been delivered