BY JOHN T. TEMPLE, M.D., ST. LOUIS MO.

To the Physician, who has for thirty five years, listened to the teachings of Nature in her normal as well as morbid conditions, there are many lessons which at the same time make deep impressions, and excite an earnest desire to look into her secret and mysterious workings. Apparent deviations from her own laws, occasionally arrest our attention, and draw us from the contemplation of her generally uniform harmony of action, to the consideration of these deviations. And thus too often the mind is led from the martial into the fanciful and fascinating domain of Theory.

Even morbid action sometimes becomes erratic and inexplicable. To the speculative, the case which follows, may afford a theme for some interesting articles in this REVIEW.

On the first of April last I was summoned in great haste to Mrs. Herbert, who had been in labor two days, attended by a midwife. She was flooding fearfully. The midwife had become alarmed and fled. On examination I found a soft mass filling the uterus, but no foetus. I immediately extracted the mass which proved to be Hydatids, which filled a half gallon jar. The hemorrhage was soon arrested by the contraction of the uterus. The breasts were filled with milk which had been the case for one week previous to her confinement, and so abundant was the secretion, that the milk flowed from both breasts in such quantity as to make it necessary that cloths should be kept over them, to absorb the waste.

Mrs. H. gave the following history of her case. “I was married ten months ago; was unwell (menstruated) but once after my marriage; suffered for several months with nausea, every forenoon; was told by my mother and friends that I was in the family way; commenced growing larger until fifth month when I felt something moving in me, which I was told was the child. This motion continued at times up to last week when I felt pain in the back and slight bearing down pains, which gradually increased until two days ago, when mother sent me for the midwife-for these two days I have felt great pains and lost a great deal of blood,” She was much disappointed, and seemed greatly mortified but very humorously remarked that she knew “the fault was her husband's and that if next time she had no better turn out she would dismiss him.”

She is about twenty years old; fine figure; and a very “picture” of health. The secretion of milk continued unabated, until I gave her Bryonia for several days when it gradually subsided.

She is now enciente, and I shall watch her case with interest to its development.

The Hydatids hang from a substance slightly resembling a placenta, but much more solid, resembling liver, and this substance contains Hydatids imbedded all through it. The size of these sacks varies from a large grape to that of the smallest pea. I have the whole preserved in a glass jar, the Placenta above, and the large bunch of Hydatids hanging beautifully to the bottom.

Eighteen years ago I had a similar case, and they are the only cases I have ever seen.

Cannot some of our brethren who have leisure and intellect, investigate Dame Nature at to her lusus, and find out the secret of such a result.

I should have stated that the first case occurred in the mother of several children.

---