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was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." Now, what say the Psalms? Psalm xxii. 15 to 18, says, My tongue cleaveth to my jaws. They pierced my hands and my feet. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." Psalm 1xix. 21, says, In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." All these are held (see Luke xxiv. 44) to be distinct and literal prophecies of what is related in John xix. 23, 24, 28, 29. "Therefore," argues Dr Stroud, "why should we not consider verse 14 of Psalm xxii. and verse 20 of Psalm, lxix. also as literal prophecies ?" My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." And "Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness." Dr Stroud then gives some well-authenticated cases of rupture of the heart from excessive emotion both of joy and grief, and applies the analogy to our Lord. "Our Saviour was not only a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,' but He was prostrated by recent exhausting physical exertion. From the cases quoted, this combination appears quite enough to cause death by rupture of the heart. This supposition is supported by prophecy, and confirmed by the soldier's rude post-mortem examination. the spear-thrust forthwith came there out blood and water. heart had ruptured from emotion, blood was effused into the pericardium or sheath of the heart, and separated as usual into the crassamentum, or clotted corpuscles, and the serum, or watery constituents, the blood and water of the evangelist, which flowed when the spear pierced the pericardium." The Rev. Dr Hanna, in his book on 'The Last Days of our Lord's Passion,' mentions that many eminent medical men have adopted Dr Stroud's view, and cites the names of Sir James Simpson of Edinburgh, Professor Struthers of Aberdeen, Drs James Begbie, Russell, Edwards, Rainbach, and others.

At

The

CHAPTER X.

MEDICAL STUDENTS' LEISURE HOURS.

Our Medical Society-Amusements-Clergymen's sons-Visits to the learned societies - Our "ancestors"- The Darwinian theory-Warning to male flirts-Out-door amusements-The value of Sunday-Students' politics-London and Cambridge life contrasted-Resident medical officers in hospital-Egyptian students-"Putting his foot in it " -Nox Utopiana-A student's song.

IF you want to know what good hospital practice does for us students, you cannot do better than come one evening to see what enthusiastic professional ardour we exhibit at the meeting of our Medical Society, which is conducted in the same way as the great medical societies, of which the Royal Medico-Chirurgical is the chief. We meet in the library or the board-room once a-week to hear a paper read of which notice has been given beforehand; and some men make the most of their half-guinea subscription by consuming an amount of coffee and cake which seems likely to produce nightmare, especially as at some places it comes after the meeting instead of before it.

The president is in some societies one of the students, at others a man who has passed; and we think the latter the better plan, for a passed man has naturally more weight as chairman.

Once a-month, before the meeting of the society, the executive committee holds a meeting to transact any private business there may be, which is thus soon despatched without trouble. Well, at 8 P.M. the president takes the chair, supported on one side by a vicepresident and one honorary secretary, and on the other by the paper-reader and the other honorary secretary. The secretary whose turn it was to take notes last time reads the minutes of the last meeting; the president then blandly inquires, "Gentlemen, is it your pleasure that these minutes be confirmed?" We signify our assent by tapping with our fingers gently and gravely on the table, and he affixes his signature; the paperreader then begins, while the attendance -book is handed round for all present to insert their names.

Once a-month there is a "clinical meeting," that is to say, there is no formal paper appointed to be read, but any member who chooses may exhibit pathological specimens, and read interesting cases which have occurred in the hospital. This is an excellent plan, for we have observed that men who do not speak well or do not speak at all at ordinary meetings, often come out very well at clinical meetings; it likewise prevents the former from being protracted too long by a "communication" of this sort coming before the paper, and as it reduces the number of formal papers to be read in the session, it becomes easier for the secretaries to select men who are likely to read good papers.

The paper is over in about half-an-hour, and the reader sits down amid loud applause; the president then compliments him on his essay, and yet insidiously lets fall hints for members to catch up and throw in

his teeth, when they try to pull him to pieces in the discussion which ensues.

Lord Bacon tells us "6 reading maketh a full man, writing an exact man, and speaking a ready man," but really you would be inclined to doubt it sometimes, or at all events you would think no one but the president had ever been at a meeting before; the members at first seem anything but "ready" at speaking. Now and then, if the men have been lazy and have not read up the subject, we have known several minutes elapse after the president has ceased to speak before any one has said a word. Such an embarrassing silence is very mysterious, and if you are a stranger or a tyro you cannot understand it. Stay a moment; it will not last much longer. See that man with an amused expression on his face; he evidently thinks he has given his betters-the vice-president, the secretaries, the strangers, and the passed men-quite time enough to find their tongues. He seems quite tired of drawing their caricatures on the paper before him, so presently he stands up and attracts all eyes to himself by blurting out, "Mr President and Gentlemen!" Here he pauses; he has certainly forgotten Lord Brougham's advice, "Always have some well-rounded sentence to begin with." Ah! so we thought-after a little more blushing and humming and hawing, out he comes with one of the most angular words you ever heard. Never mind, he has relieved his feelings now, so he rattles away with a long list of objections that brings down the poor paper-reader several degrees in your estimation, as, of course, you never for a moment suspect they may both be right,— -or both be wrong! Right or wrong, he has gained his point. He has started the debate, which continues for about

an hour, and then the meeting terminates, satisfied that it has not "lost a day."

Many men declare they have found the value of reading for these societies when they have been up for examination, and our weekly gatherings are far more interesting than the meetings of pathological societies in the country. If you go to them in the vacations you are disgusted at their dulness, and you shudder at the thought, "Good heavens! when I am a country doctor, shall I become a slow-coach like these old fogies? If so, Dr Jenner (vaccination Jenner) speaks truly when he says―

The medical societies of the various hospitals are associated into a "union," called the "Junior Medical Society of London."* It meets every third Tuesday at each medical school in turn, and its proceedings are precisely similar to those which we have just described, the chair being taken by the president of the society in whose rooms the meeting is held.

On evenings when there is no medical meeting, and yet he does not feel inclined to work, the student in London has plenty of resources, except the best of all -society.

Of course he is as fond of amusement as any other ordinary mortal, and like most people of small means, he enjoys it as cheaply as he can. The theatres have a

*The Union includes the societies of Charing Cross, Guy's, King's College, St George's, St Thomas's, University College, and Westminster Hospitals. Why the others have not joined better known to themselves than to the author.

H