ed 10. s chambers in Park Lane, where could be seen day by day the carriages of the quality,' and in 1904 he was joined by his cousin, Mr H. A. Barker, who succeeded him. In the year 1905, Mr (now Sir Herbert) Barker issued an invitation to medical men to attend and witness his operations. Amongst others Dr F. W. Axham availed himself of the privilege, and was so impressed by the manipulative method of Mr Barker that he asked his consent to attend further demonstrations. Permission was readily granted, and on each occasion that he was present his interest deepened. In all he devoted forty-five afternoons to the matter. He became entirely convinced of the soundness of Mr Barker's system and realised that here was a man who was daily effecting cures which even the greatest surgeons could only have attempted, and with doubtful prospects of success, by the use of the knife; but Mr Barker employed no anesthetic, and it was clear that his capacity for relieving the public was greatly restricted in consequence. Dr Axham suggested the use of an anaesthetic, and became permanently associated with Mr Barker in this respect. What happened? On May 25, 1911, an announcement appeared in the columns of the 'Times' to the effect that the General Medical Council at its sitting of the previous day had 'directed the name of Frederick William Axham to be erased from the Medical Register,' as he had been 'adjudged guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect,' for having assisted Herbert Atkinson Barker, an unregistered person, practising in a department of surgery, in carrying on such practice by administering anæsthetics on his behalf.' The name of Dr Axham appeared in conjunction with those of two other medical men, who had both been convicted at Assizes of felony, and sentenced to five years' penal servitude, and fifteen months' hard labour, respectively. This aggravation of the severity of the sentence passed upon him by his brethren failed to break the spirit of Dr Axham, and he was convinced, to the end, that he had acted legitimately in the cause of humanity by supporting a system, which was proved, by overwhelming evidence, to be sound, scientific, and effective. At the age of 86 he preferred a final request to the General Medical Council that his name might be restored to the Register his request was met by postponements on trivial details, and finally by refusal. The pathetic picture of this aged hero, who had sacrificed income and reputation in defence of what he believed to be the truth, making on his death-bed a last appeal to his fellows for justice, touched the hearts of the entire Press, not merely of Great Britain, but of the Empire. The attitude of the General Medical Council was aptly described as 'childish cruelty,' seeing that the unregistered person' whose work he had assisted to develop had been honoured by His Majesty with a Knighthood, on the suggestion of over 300 politicians and leading members of the 'profession' itself. He was allowed to pass away with the stigma of the General Medical Council still resting upon him. The Press hailed him as a martyr to science in the truest sense, and voiced the indignant demand of the public that something should be done, at once, to correct the shortcomings of the General Medical Council both as to its constitution and its methods of work. The almost instant appointment by the Government of a distinguished Member of Parliament as a lay member of the Council, was a first step in this direction; and is proof, if proof were needed, that Dr Axham did not suffer in vain. Has not the time arrived when the profession should realise that development and discovery may arise in the most unexpected quarters, and welcome gladly the plea of any man, recognised or unrecognised, who is satisfied that he has evolved a system or a method, a drug or an appliance, that is calculated safely to reduce the abnormalities or diseases with which humanity is so widely afflicted? The present method by which a discovery may be recognised and adopted is too uncertain, slow, and cumbersome, and there is every probability that much of value is continually being lost because of the impecuniosity, the humble position, or the retiring disposition of the discoverer. The liability to rebuff to which a pioneer may be exposed undoubtedly tends to check enthusiasm; and the inability of the majority of men to write a lucid and intelligent article compels many practitioners to keep locked up information gained in their practices, which would be of undoubted value in the hands of a literary expert. If the profession persists in working on the reactionary lines indicated in the still-born measure brought forward by Dr Addison, formerly Minister of Health, it is clear that the tendency will be to limit the facilities for development, and to restrict access to the fields of discovery. The history of invention adduced in this article would seem to suggest that there should exist a medical council for the special purpose of examining claims, sifting evidence, and expressing authoritative opinion, and that there should be a recognised way of submitting such claims with a full assurance of an impartial and careful examination. However much we may admire a profession which has exhibited in the past, and continues to exhibit all that is best and noblest in human character, there can be no doubt that progress has been hindered, and is being hindered to-day, by an inexplicable jealousy that ought to be entirely foreign to such a glorious work as the amelioration of human misery. The immunity under which we are living has been brought about after long years of anguish and discouragement. With the ravages of consumption, syphilis, and cancer ever dreadfully evident, the public have a right to an assurance that no avenue of discovery is being closed, and that the authorities of the profession will welcome from every quarter any information or assistance that evidences the slightest probability of easing that burden under which the whole creation groaneth and travaileth until now.' Art. 8.-BROTHER FRANCIS. 1. The Little Flowers of St Francis of Assisi. Translated from the Italian by T. W. Arnold. Chatto & Windus, 1908. 2. Saint Francis of Assisi. A Biography. By Johannes Jörgensen. Translated from the Danish by T. O'Conor Sloane, M.D. Longmans, 1912. 3. Franciscan Days. Being Selections for Every Day of the Year from Ancient Franciscan Writings. Translated and arranged by A. G. Ferrers Howell. Methuen, 1906. And other works. ON Oct. 3 of the year 1226, in the Church of the Portiuncula at Assisi, there died a man, poor of aspect, wasted and broken of body through the trials of deprivation and service to which he had subjected himself during the nineteen years of his ministry; but who yet, through the chanting joy and devotion of his spirit, and his universal influence already well begun, had established himself as a star of great magnitude, a very Sirius of personalities, in the human firmament. During the last few months, the Church of Rome, very naturally, with its incense, processions, and lauds, has been proclaiming the immortality of Francis; but sacerdotal splendour and all the ceremonial magnificence of which the Papal establishment is capable are less than the due of the little, poor man'; for he was more than a Churchman, more than a saint; he belonged to that spiritual aristocracy, the noblest under the sun, which recognising the infinite brotherhood of mankind gives itself selflessly to human good. He was a unique champion of the weak, the despised, and the lost; the artless lover and singer of the simplicities and delights of Nature. He applied to all conditions the test of true religion. With him the outcast and the wastrel were as one; they were accepted as his equal, his superior, because of his absolute humility and sympathy and power of self-surrender, which proved him more truly Christian, being nearer to the ideal of Christ, than all the Churches. It is well at this celebration of the seventh centenary of the death of Francis to pay tribute to the wonderful spirit of humanity that Br J was his, and to recognise something of what the man of Assisi did for the re-creation of the world. II During the forty-four years of his life, Europe, and to especially Italy, was in a state of discordance and chaos. The long-sustained duel between Pope and Emperor was proceeding with all its bitterness; while the political condition of the world-the kingdoms, the dukedoms, the republics-was like so many jewelled and gilded palaces set upon quicksands-yes, and set upon the fears and hopeless sufferings of the very poor. Undoubtedly, there was ample splendour during those glittering times. It was the supreme age of pageantry and chivalry; when courts and princes spent lavishly on their passing magnificence. Shining armour and rich clothing, graceful in many colours, decorated sparkling scenes; and yet, behind that triumphant worldliness, lurked horrors; grinding want, deep discontent, the cruelties of serfdom, crime, and selfishness of the worst, rapacity, hunger, squalor, hideous diseases, plagues, leprosy. Neither before nor since have social contrasts appeared so violent or been brought so closely together. The shadow of the palace fell upon the lazar-den; the murderer prepared his poisons within, sound of the monks at their Hours. Often the wildest orgies of extravagance were witnessed by the many whose life without the gate, through weakening want, was an assured, gradual process of decay and death. And just beyond the borders of that crowded, quarrelsome, divided Christendom, and threatening it, was Heathenism rampant, with its Soldan confident and immoveable. The rottenness of the social world, affecting the religious life, naturally also affected the Crusaders, who then were battling with little faith in their cause, and without fortune, against the Saracens. Francis himself, during his rapid quixotic visit to the Holy Land, was to see the fighting at the siege of Damietta, and to foretell the defeat of the Christians there; for he, who had been a soldier, with his quick judgment realised that the hearts of the Crusaders were not in their enterprise; he knew that a greater thoroughness and earnestness must be felt by them and the rulers at home before the Sepulchre of the Lord they vaunted could be recovered from the strength of Islam. And his prevision was true |