Surgical experience of chloroform / By James Miller.

  • James Miller
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Surgical experience of chloroform / By James Miller. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    himself. His second was, to note that he was prostrate on the floor, and that among the friends about him there was both con¬ fusion and alarm. Hearing a noise, he turned round and saw Dr. Duncan beneath a chair; his jaw dropped, his eyes star¬ ing, his head bent half under him; quite unconscious, and snoring in a most determined and alarming manner. More noise still, and much motion. And then his eyes overtook Dr. Keith’s feet and legs, making valorous efforts to overturn the supper-table, or more probably to annihilate everything that was on it; I say, more probably ; for frequent repetitions of inhalation have confirmed, in the case of my esteemed friend, a character for maniacal and unrestrainable destructiveness— always, under chloroform, in the transition stage. By and bye. Dr. Simpson having regained his seat. Dr. Duncan having finished his uncomfortable and unrefreshing slumber, and Dr. Keith having come to an arrangement with the table and its contents, the sederunt was resumed. Each expressed himself delighted with this new agent; and its in¬ halation was repeated many times that night—one of the ladies gallantly taking her place and turn at the table—until the supply of chloroform was fairly exhausted. In none of these subsequent inhalations, however, was the experiment pushed to unconsciousness. The first event had quite satisfied them of the agent’s full power in that way. Afterwards, they held their wits entire, and noted the minor effects on them¬ selves and each other. Though the specimen of chloroform was by no means pure, yet they found it much more agreeable and satisfactory in every way, than anything else which they had formerly tried; and it required no vote of the party to determine, that at length something had been found better than ether.” The festivities of the evening did not ter¬ minate till a late hour”—3 a.m. The latter part of the time, however, had not been devoted to inhalation. The small stock of chloroform having been speedily exhausted, research was busy, among chemical authorities, to find the best for¬ mula for making more. The formula was found ; the same morning, Mr. Hunter, of Duncan, Flockhart, and Co., was pressed into the service of restoring the supply: and from
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