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A DEFEN-CE

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM,

(HARGKD AND CONVICTED

OF THE

of Ifetiixfclei*,

hi: I NO

A MEDICO-LEGAL IirQUIHY

INTO THE ('AUHE OF THE DEATJI OF

yVliss Sophia Elizabeth Burnham,

me 8ui»i»oHEi> vicrriM:.

BROCK VILLE :'

LEAVITT & MOUTUWOKTH, I'KINTEHS, BUELL STREET.

1876.

fWW

I^lj Nation,)! litif.iiy Hit)liotfiC(|ue nHlmrMlf

au Cinadii

* '■///, ^^a^^*^

aiuu

A DEFENCE

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM,

CHARGED AND CONVICTED

OP THE

Crinxe of 3J[xxi!»dLe:r.

BEma

A MEDICO-LEGAL HTqUIRY

INTO THE CAUSE OF THE DEATH OF

yVliSS ^OPHIA ^LIZABETH BuRNHAM,

ine SUPPOSED vicrriM:.

ERRATA.

For "puerpural" read "puerperal." Page 65, thirteenth line
troiii bottom.

For " abortions of a stimulating character" read " medicines
of a Htiraiilating character."

BKUCK V ILLE :
tEAVITT (fe SOUTHWORTH, PUINTEHS, BUELL STREET.

1876

\ k

ol Cin.i'i.-i du Canada

'\K

A DEFENCE

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM,

CHARGED AND CONVICTED

OP THE

Ci?i

nxe of Iktxtrder.

BEma

A MEDICO-LEGAL IlTQTnilY

INTO THE CAUSE OP THE DEATH OP

^ISS ^OPHIA ^LIZABETH 'PuRNHAM,

HIS 8iJi»i»o8Er> vicrruM.

=e=c=e3e=- ; j

BROCKVILLE :

LEAVITT «k 80UTHW0RTH, PRINTERS, BUELL STREET.
1876

LBAVITT AND SOUTHWORTH, rRINTESR,
RKCOBDBR OFFICK, BUELL STREBT, BROCK VILLB.

A. I^EFEIVCE

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM,
mmpA Mil (^anvUm of m €vmt of puite;

Being a Medico-Leoal Inquiry into the Cause of the Death
01' Miss Sophia Elizabeth Buknham, uih Suitused

V ICTIM.

Ou the 22nd day of December, A.D. 1874, the town of Brock-
nlle, Ontario, was startled by the report that a vouno- won,a„, a
resident of the place, and of respectable connections, was'hin- at the
jwint of ,h,ath, in consequence of a criminal attempt at aborli.ni on
hoi- person l>y a well known physician, Dr. Eric P.cnzc! S;.,- ',,,11.

This gentleman was one of the oldest in^actitioiuMs in t'r> (.wn •
a man of unobtrnsive habits and skill in his profes.iou, an.l a member
of a highly respected family at Kingston, which h.s .-ontiibnlod four
iJrothers to the medical profession of Canada.

Although it was almost incredible, that a ])hvslcian of repute
would descend to such vile i,ractices, as were indic/it.Ml by the above
report, and although it was even less credible that a sui" ..., of un-
doubted skill, with his life and reputation depeu.laut ..p<.,t t„. I..„e
could so bungle an operation as ) .ause death, wh.M, uoihhv^ b„fc the
grossest Ignorance and bungling cml.l have le.l to su.-h a re^uli • yet
thereweremany well-meaning people who acceirtedthe r.-pnrt i,s la.',-il!
ly true, because it came to them with that minute circun.st.mr <,lM.[ail
which always bears the impress of credibility. When upon ,;,r,.m-
stantial evidence of a specific character the j.ublic has had ih svmn,-
thies so worked upon, as to pronounce judgement, in adsau.-;. „f a
duly authorized investigation, it is .scarcelv possible, even with very
clear jn-oofs /;er co7Ura, to secure that impartiality of feeling so desir-
able to the successful administration of justice. It cannot!,.- .Vnied
that -^ very strong feeling of prejudice w,,k ..utertained towards the
accused in Brockville, and the country generally, which «'as the chief
means of preventing a triumphant refutation of the charge, in conse-

A DEFENCE OF

quence of which they now suffer. The rumor, generally credited at
the time, and accepted as true by the prosecution, but in some im-
portant particulars denied by the defence, was, that Miss Sophia
Elizabeth Burnham,.at the instigation of her seducer, William
Greaves, Grand Trunk Ticket Agent, applied to Dr. Sparham to be
relieved of the "fi-uit of her shame," and that he, after having ad-
ministered to her, without success, certain drugs to procure an abor-
tion> did, furthermore, use an instrument upon her, with a like in-
tent, but with a fatal result. In the above brief statement of th«
case, we have giren the conflicting rumors afloat at the time, som»
sort of tangible consistence, so that without unnecessary circumlocu-
tion the public may be seized of the substance of what further oppor-
tunity, and a progressive development of events, established as facts
worthy of general credence. It would be impossible now to convey a
tithe of the exaggerations current at the time, or express in feeble
words the intensity of excitement which pervaded the public mind
as the successive incidents comprising the history of the case for the
prosecution were gradually brought to light. Indeed, there is no
crime in the Decalogue so abhorrent to a civilized an ' Christian com-
inumty as that of abortion, when its perpetration involves the death
of the woman. And it unfortunately happens, for that impartiality
so characteristic of British justice, that the simple accusation of com-
plicity m It, IS, with many, under such circumstances, convincing
proof of actual guilt. The " Brockville Abortion Case " was no ex
ception to the rule. Throughout the whole agitation consequent upon
the imprisonment, trial, and judicial conviction of the prisoners it
was apparent that the public could see but one side to the question.
From Its very inception to its culmination, when the unfortunate
prisoners retired to their cells with the Judge's charge stUl ringing in
their ears, the popular clamor was constantly for conviction The
univei-sal sympathy extended to the ill-starred victim of seduction
and the general detestation of the crime, believed to have been com-
mitted as a cloak to its results, reacted disastrously upon the prisoners
and their mute appeal for forbearance and a dispassionate consideration
of their case, was disregarded in the apparent determination to estab-
lish against them conclusive proofs of criminality. But scarcely had
the sound of the Judge's voice ceased to be heard, before a due sense
of the severity and injustice of the penalty was felt by the public.
Everybody was now willing to sign a petition for reprifivA and i* is
confidently assei-ted viiat some of the jury who sat upon the case re-

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM. 5

gretted, when too late, bringing in a verdict the result of which lack-
ing justification in clear proof, seemed to awaken strange misgivings
that possibly there had been a miscarriage of justice. Without
doubt a remarkable change in public feeling had taken place, when
men were forced to reflect over all the circumstances in connection
with the case. People were all along led to believe that there were
no exculpatory circumstances in favor of the prisoners. The proceed-
ings, preliminary to the trial, were so managed to favour the views of
the prosecution, that nothing could be said or done to throw the
shadow of a doubt upon the certainty of their guUt; and the counsel
for the defence so conducted his case that not the slightest suspicion
was entertained, untU almost the last hour of the la.st day that
rebuttal testimony of an important scientific character would be
given, completely subversive of the theory advanced by the prosecu.
tion as to the cause of death in the woman. Although the Judge
jury, and general public were not competent, at first blush, to com-
prehend the peculiar value of the scientific truths elicited from the
medical witnesses for the defence, in favor of the theory that the
woman came to her death from natural causes, yet sufficient waa
understood to throw grave doubts upon the question of the actual
guilt of the prisoner Sparham, both as to act and intention, and he
certainly must have received the benefit of the doubt from the jury
If theJudge in his wisdom had not seen fit to comment a<lversely upon
a i,ortion of the medical evidence which, he admitted, he failed to
understand but which might have been satisfactorily explained at the
time if he had intimated a desire for a clearer auH more intelli-^ible
exposition. It is a little singular that in important trials invofvinir
the issue of life or death. Judges will constantly permit, under a sy^
tem of harassing and most insolent cross-examination, material evi-
dence to be so limpingly enunciated that the right frequently appeam
to be the wrong. Opposing counsel, stirred by a spirit of rivaliy
strive frequently not how to elicit truth, but how best to conceal it!
and by an artful system of tortuous and torturing cross-questioning
seek to convey impressions, and actually do convey them, the reverb
oi what is intended by the witness himself. The evidence of a
witness m the witness box is to a very great extent under the control
ot the examining counsel, who extracts jusi as much or as little of the
truth as suits his purpose. Under the system of our courts, durin..
h.s e^miaation by counsel, a witness has no right to volunteer in!
formation. His business is to answer questions, and often no oppor-

A DEFENCE OF :

tunity is given to explain more fully and comprehensively that winch

r :.s:r " ^"^ ^""'^"^"^' '''''' ■'^^^- ^-^^'' -^ -

TlH, object of the present pamphlet is to shov. wherein a miscar-
nage of ustice ensued at the " Brockville Abortion Trial," and to lav
before the pubhc such facts, bearing upon the innoc^.ce of 'he
pnsoner Sparham, as will lead to a reversal of his gr " ou^ .t
tence and a tnumphant vindication of the supreme logic of Tien"
l^unng the initiatory proceedings at Brockville, j.ublic foelin..
was so aroused against the prisoners, that a truthful, impar in';
careftd mvestigation into all tlxe circumstances of tie c. e^^; "
pra^ieable. This feeling, although tor the ends of ^u^^^^Z
gretted. was. under the circumstances, natural enough when eon
sicler by what artificial stimuli the sensibilities of the publilw re
^ .nto such extraordin.^ activity. Dr. Moore, the^llLJ^

h . biothe,- n-law and ^vlthout reflection assumed the truth of the
an^t^ns chained against the prisoners. Indeed, he fairly lost co. !
mand of 1.S head and went about declar„.g the woman to be dvin.
for nearly a week before .leath en.led the tragedy. Of course' the
PU.C listened to his lugubrious prognosis lik; jLious dr .^i ^

by the length of time it re.,uired for death to stru-^de with and
Strang e its victim. The general excitement was fW.h;. e .UtJ d

Z:::^z^t '?\ ^°'"'"^"*^.^'^ '^^ ""••"« i--- -^^^^M>y ::;::;

language, u-t.ndly juvjuclge.! the ease, tlms remlering all ertbrts sus

llie few frien.ls who remained constant to then, in the hour of trial
we e powerless in the face of such adverse circumstance for nor^
6od and confused by the general tone of condemnation, ami HsW
on by the persistent objections raised to whatth.y considered fUr

without proper cliecks in evidence upon the case, who, from „reviou«
J-onn^ urn. could not possibly be f).vourably disposal to:: Z
Sparharu. ndeed, scant Justice was meted out to the «n-
fo innate men from the beginning. A.ssuming their guilt, every ef-
fort was made to establish proofs of it, whilst a morbid .,nd Z tu !
reasoniililn t'"?-!.!! was ->-.i=i i! ... > ■ mhjnu: uii-

cstc.flbrf in ., '" .''^' ^""'*'^"*'>-"^'^""«'^t«^l that to permit the slight-
est cfloit m the direction of exculpation, in the only wny that innocl.

DR. ERIC BENZELSPARHAM.

tlie

of the crime could be established, would be to insure the escape of men
who deserved the extremo penalty of the law. The innocence or guilt
of the accused could only be made plain by a post mortem examination
of di^ceased ; yet this examination was entrusted to men who for years
had l)een the rivals in business and professional distinction of the
prisoner Sparham. We do not charge the gentlemen who conducted
the post mortem examination with collusion, or intimate a suspicion
that their, evidence was not characterized by the .strictest adherence
to truth ; but we do declare that where a few additional strokes of
the scalpel were, perhaps, life or death to the prisoners -where a
well-knoAm friendliness, or at least absence of any disposition to un-
friendhness towards the prisoners, would still further ten.l to sharpen
the precoptions of the morbid anatomist, and lead to the most careful
and searching i.uiuiry into the cause of death, it was a fatal mistake
that in connection with those gentler others of equal profc-ssionaJ
attainments were not permitted to assist, and watch the .lissoctions
m favor of the prisoners. The law has provided that the prisoner at
the bar may challenge a certain number of jurymen, whom he con-
siders to be ill-disposed towards him, in order tlmt no un.luo advan-
tage shall be taken of him, but that ho himself shall be satisfied witU
that God-hke impartiality which aims e.p.ally to protect the honest
citizen ,11 his rights, and punish the transgressor for his violation of
th(.m. If this be an inalienable i.riviloge, and reasonably regarded as
one of our most cherished constitutional safeguards, hoxv much more
important that where evidence is being secvrcul which must either
convict or clear the accused, men shall Ix, selected to perform that
<luty who may liave the contidence equally of tin, law and of the
prisoner m charge. A vi„hvtion of this principle is justlv regar.led as
an encroachment upoii the d.-arest j.rivileg.M.f the subject, who claimB
the right of being con.sid..red innocent until he is' proven guilty.
Nevertheless, this unjust and cowanlly abnegation of tlu, principle of
common fair-play was unblusl.ingly, if not openly, announced to all
whom it might concern in l5ro,.k^ ille, by no less a pcrs.m than the
County Attorney, E.J.Senkler, who. like an ordinarv policc.man, stood
Hcntry at the door of the dissecting room to warn of}' all interlopers,
and prevent all being present, buttho.se in whom the prisoner Spar-
ham ha.l no confi.lence. It mattered e^ orything to the prisoners that
the pest mortem examination should be lu'ld bv men. not. only .,.ni
patent to unravel the hidden n>ysferies veiled within the inanimate
mnains, but also by men who could possibly have no motive, directly

A DEFENCE OP

or indirectly, Of seeing through, glass darklv T«n«ft .u

^-u iiii^nt witness the examination of the bociv Tint «,l.,u

fact andt o 1 '"" "''" ""^'^"'''^ ^* ^^riance with the

acts .nd If other medical men ha<I been permitted to have been d^

^^a there pi.babl, would not have been'Ihat unanim^ oftpinirn

wh ch lH,re so heavily .^ainst the prisoner Bj>arliam. We do not ay

petent medical men. after having carei ally read the record of thenoTt

arrived at by Doctors Morden and Brouse, that we feel perfects

S not avoi "; T" •™'*' " ''^^'' ''^^""""' "^^^ "f --« they
phatiu,! ly blame them for not explaining to the coroner's jury, and to
^e court during trial, that while they held the view that the woman
Burnham came to her death through blood-,«,isoning, or pyl"?"

a thonties of the day, not.ibly Karl Schroeder, contended that such
an c«o.nrence was extraordinarily infr«,uent; that where pyaemia or

withou exception by some epidemic influence, rather than by injuries

< emu, inHuence, the existence of such au.es wr-e scarcely ever notical

tClh ? "' '^^ ^^""""'•'« J""-^ '^^ -""^ f'-t .11 o,.ning

u y"'Pt""«of blood i)oi8on,ng, wna not infremientiv ,.r<Hl„ns,i

^j a«unu ouu«««. we would liave been perfectly BatiHliod,7o7then

> I

t
c

t
u

y
li
}]
n
h

I. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM. Q

there would have been scope for profitable investigation. But w*
have never been able to understand why these gentlemen were so un-
accountably reticent in the witness box with regard to certain well
established^medical facts, the bare mention of which, at an earlier
stage of the proceedings, would have raised the doubt (a most im-
portant consideration) whether the deceased came to her deatli by
violence, or from natural causes. By withholding all exjiressions of
doubt .us to the guilt of the prisoner Sparham, at the coroner's in-
quest, and by the failure of the medical witnesses to mention that a
pregnant woman, living in a small-pox infected house, was exposed to
abortion, i)uerpural fever, and death ; the general impression of the
actual guilt of the prisoner wa.s so decided, that medical men of re-
pute were reluctant to testify for the defence when no reasonable
theory ha<l been adduced to show that there was even a in-osiMJct of
establishing a doubt of guilt. It thus happened that when the trial
took place, the medical witnesses called by the defence were insignifi-
cant in point of rnimbers, only two being foimd, Doctors Grant and
Church, who had taken sufficient interest in the case to inquire into
its merits, and satisfy themselves that death resulted rather from
natural causes than by violence. But such was the universal feeling
of detestation against the* prisoners at the day of trial, that these
gentlemen incuned no slight degree of odium for presuming to lift a
voice so out of consoiuince with the general temper. Newspaper cor-
respondents, catching the spirit of pei-sonal defamation, strongly hint-
ed a suspici(m of perjury as the only satisfactory means of accounting
for testimony that did not point to the sweeping conclusion of guilt,
without a mitigating feature to (pialify its enoiinity. We mention
this circumstance to show how diflicidt it is, even in a country so
constitutionally hcdgtnl iti by safeguards as our own, to always secure
the ends of justice in that dispa.ssionate and fearless manner which ia
at once the pride and ])rotection of the citizen. But while there were
only two medical witnesses examined for the defence, and five for the
prosecution, all the other medical men at the trial were in accord
with the witnes.ses who testifipd for the defence. We have the cei-ti-
licates of throe of them, Doctoi-s Lander, Hall, and Elkington, em-
bodied in this pamphlet, so that the public may be a.sstired we speak
not without warmnt. Besides these, wo can produce some of the
highest nu'dical authorities of the day in Toronto, Kingston. Montreal
and (ittawa, who,aft(n- having carefully read all the evidence a<lduec(l
by the prosecution, would be now willing to step into the witness box

A DKKFONCK OF

and te,Kv ■„ behalf of U„. prisoner S|,a,.|.a,„. \v„ ,,,,„ „„„ „,„„,„
»m„ of the ,>.o„Ma,- ,liffi™lti» that constantly waitcl np J M, ,
fortnnato s..„tl„„a„ „t eve,,v eftbtt to ,hako hL„, ' c , r " Z

m of p„„„| f eha. h„.-|,.„ „,,„„t hi, h„„„ „„„ ,„„,t .,,;,am«
n. .t. transcendent ao,.«„e»,a,„, „,„„,,„(,.. ,,,,,^^, ^ '» .

™„„, to v,n,l,ca.e the t„,t „,| ,fc,,, „„. ,„„,,," ,,,„^.X

«ave of popular ,„,l,,,„ation overwhel,,,,.,! l,!,,,. paraJvzin. „,n.
exerhon to prove hi, i„„„cc,„:e of ,l,„<.rin,ein,pn„„l to 1, „ "d.) .r
rod the soccty of fricudK, and tho.e nohle pn.Lil., that .,-,.,„ h^.

.t,onlypl„a.,,re,.he,tillhop,,,thon,h,hesli,,,,c„„.i,,,,,,;;,,,drt
pnson ■„,,» ro-od,o« .- ,„.v,.r ,„„re,. ,I„ „,„,„„ ,„ „,„ ^^ ;

«..d .ntol,,,™tl,riti.l, pal.lio to c,l,„ly „-ei«h and ,li,pa„1o„a ly
oon»!-. .1- overwhol.;,,, ,.,,,„,„., ;„ ,,;» favor. „hioh'„ow for the
h.st t,me he presents n, all „„,■,. ,„„,„(„„,, ,,„, ,,,^,i,„,,,,^

. 1 the _ facts thut co,ni,ns« n his^.-y of this most o.trnorMn.:-v
ease It ,s our duty to rnontiou hero, that th. m-ouuu, Unruh-.un fur

o mal pox. 1 or b.-other was .low. sick with it, .u-l wo ,vr. iu-

ti.igic death This nnportant fact di.l ,iot tran.spi,.. at (I.o n*,'.,!

IhTil' T" -H ' ' ^r^"^"'''"''''^''- 'Tl.o hroth.r, who was a conductor ou
transit in H ' ' "'^'^ '^'^'^ ^^"■'^^ '^""^''it th. infchion whiln iu
^.ans.t m tho p.rforu.auco of his duties. A sisU-r i,n',il,.d ,1...
< soaso innu thjs brother, whih> livin, i„ thn sarn. ho.s. and bn^.h-
ng the ..mo tufi-cted atn.osphoro ; an,l it i.s not unro .sonabU- t , a,, -
B^thaMeceased wouM havo bo.u Just as Hable to b,vo,no i .. .

^ ^: ;: 7'T ^""'''''^ '■•■'"'"■-'' "•"■ ^•--"'^- -^^^^^

.ufeot.on. A o Jmv,. assuu.cd that the won.au Huruham was ,„,..
.nt, H.causo„ll the nodical witnesses .xan.ined at th. hi.d o .?,
tlnnr behef of ,t. Kvon Dr. Chtu-eh, who wouhl not adn.it th t n
™conch,s.ve .nodical proofs of it, concurred in the .on,! •

that .UMa,ort.on had taken place AVe base our defend upon a'
. abi,shoa at the tn.l, and a. it i. not our intention to i,n r f t^
—ccpt the pregnancy of Ma .oa. .n as . f ...^one conclu^on. No

DR. KKIC BEXZKI. SPAHHAM.

thus shown
'on this uii-

of the net
shos. The
t aintalh'iii'-
10 li.qlit.s of
)nfls whicJi

letti riling-
:ing evciv
1. Del)ar-
livn to life
afthfidark
^ frcnpi'on.s
ssiouiitoly
Tw for tlif
[() force of
li'vel with
lorJiiury

lllJUl), fill-

iiifoci ion

!ift(n- Irt
ihn I till
>(if iroif/J
Inctof nil
M"hih) ill
l)d the
I l>r(';ith-
• t) .•■ii|)-
iiifootod
paiT'd to
disposal
. eeding
•ns pi-og-
hchu'od
it thoi'c
il lu'lifC
:)n iiicts
■e fuotH,
Now

^ve intend to establish, that the con.litiou of pregnancy incnrs a predis-
positiou to b..conie infected by small pox ; that when infected urder
such arc.uustances. aborfon is most apt to take place, and finally
that deatl. ,s the nsual tonuination of such cases. In the article on
sma ] pox in Zien.ssen's Cychn>cedia of Medicine, vol. 2, pa<re ;57-^
thelafstand highest authority, we read :-" Weak, sickly persons,'
=ui.l convalescents, as well as pregnant women and these in childbed
api'ea.. also tu be particularly predisposed to this form " (hemorrhagic
•sninJl pox.) The accepted doctrine of the day upon this ,>oint appears
to bo, that the pr,.g„ant woman is somewhat less su.sceptible to con-
tagion than the puerpural or th(! woman in cliil,l-bed. But that both
aiv particuhirly j.redisposed to one of the most fatal forms of small
pox, we have shown above ; hence, in view of this, wo find Dr
'auner, m Ins " Diseases of Pregnancy," page ;3G2, advising, that " A
l.rcgnant woman residing in a district where small pox is prevalent
shouhl be vaccinated or re-vaccinated." As we have e.stablished the
predisposition, we shall proceed to show tiie conse.piences of infection
Keynohls m his -System of Medicine," vol. 1, page 449, the best
iMigiish work on the practice of medicine, savs :_" Pre-nancy is a.
most unfortunate and dangerous complication in small pox. Abortio,',
i^ very apt to take place." Lelshman in his - System of Midwifery "
page ;J.^!), tlie httest and besL English work on the subject, remarks'-
" Any serums disease, whether acute or chronic, may be the .lirect
cause, (of abortion) and the general symptoms which accompany the
ongmal .Usease may be greatly aggravated by the occurrence in ques-
tion. Many febrih, diseases are extremely liable to lead to abortion
more especially small pox and scarlatina, and in too many of these
cases there is a fatal issue." Dr. Tanner, in spe.king of the effect of
the eruptive fevers on the pregnant woman savs ;-" Probably small
pox IS the most to be dreaded of this class of .lisorders ; the confluent
form appearing to be uniformly fatal to the foetus, and not unfre-
'I'Kmtl.v to the parent." It has been thus clearly shown from the
very highest medical authorities of the day, that th.' woman Hurnham
rom her special condition of pregnancy, was constantly exposed, while
.VH,g ,n that small pox infected house, to abortion and death : yet
o suspieion does not seem to have been entertaine.l by hor attendant
l'l'}Hician, Dr. M„ore, or by the gentlemen, who performed the post
uiui.eie. pv.,„„jij,tion, that any other danger threat.med her except the
"..l.ullowed arts of the abortionist. In a medico-legal im.uiry into
tl.o cause ol .leath. where it can be shown that two can J were

"-^

A DEFENCE OF

operative, is xt not of the last importance to make diligent investi^
tjon, as to which of the two actually produced ic ? Neverthel It
the case under cons.deration, a ™o.,t subtile and effective cause of

bvT r T f *'' " *'" "°""" ''""^''^"^' -- --P'«*^Jy ignored
by the medical witnesses for the prosecution. Not I whiLr of U

not possibly have had small pox, because there w.s no character s"ic
eruption to indicate its existence. This sage remark may sound ke

l^t::^'' r^"^' ^•"''^' ^^« -« accustomc/tH: i at
wi h the Idea of small pox a hi.leous and most unsightly eruption •

mtwith he medical profession, who probe beneath%he « H to

trhT t"fr^ t- 7- ''^^ "^" ''-'--' '' -^^' '-« ^^^

Zr T ''"'^ '" '"' " J^i^tion^'T of Mediciae," vol 3 na^re

epidemic, that that malady sometimes presented a most dan-erous
form, m which there was no eruption, and sometimes even nfsore
throat; so it has l«,en observed tliat an analogous form of small ,,ox
7e::2:r-r'' epi<iemics, especially in places wher: a, the

?h rit ''tT u T"*' '''"""' *° P''^'^"^^ ^-* malignancy.
Thu It IS recorded by Mr. Crosse in his " History of the Norwich.
Epidemic of 1819," that a number of cases of fever with lutein
but without any variolous eruption, appeared in May, June, and July,'
when th« epidemic was at the worst, and all terminated fatally '^

Petech,al sma 1 pox paita.es very much of the same character a,
malignant smallpox.. Numerous little dark spots, resembling a"
bites especialy about the arm-pit, and groins! are observable' at
the skin m these parts has a greenish yellow hue, very like what we

manrx''"""''"r '"'" * * * -li«-"-nd petechial
small pox are very nearly akin." Ziemsson in his " Cyclopoedia of
Medicine." .ol. 2, page 352. remarks :-<< It («mall pox^ "not
always progress to the characteristic eruption, but the disease may
terminate with the initial stage, even before distinct effloresence
become., apparent. And herein the two extremes of small pox meet •
the /ebnsvanolom suw. exanthemata, the most benignant form, and
the so-ca led^,«r;;,.m variolosa, tke most malignant form, leading to

ortain death." In confirmation of the fact that zymotic diseL.
like Bmall pox when attacking the puerpural female sometimes go on
" a fawi i«H«c without manifesting any of their peculiar characteris-
tics, we refer to the remarks of Dr. Barnes, admittedly the first

OR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

authority in England on the subject. This gentleman during a de.
bate (about which more anon) before the Obstetrical Society of Lou-
don, this year (1875) says :— •' I have seen cases traced to scarlatina
poison in which the usual symptoms of scarlet fever were absent ; no
particular sore throat, no swelling of the glands, no rash, and yet the
ciises have gout on to a fatal issue." The render will readily under
stand the object we have in view in making the above quotations
from the writings of the beat authorities of the day. It is to induct
the public to an appreciative understanding of all the merits of the
case. Hitherto it has seen but one side of the " Brockville Abortion
Case," because that one side was so simple that any one might under-
stand. It was the old story repeating itself : First, seduction ;
.second, pregnancy; third, the attempt at abortion; fourth, destruction
of the foetus, and death of the mother, to wind up the sad tragedy.
Perhaps we too readily believe what we have been familiar with. A
smash-up on the railroad, or a shipwreck where many lives are lost,
will, to many, impart a sort of expectancy that the same kind of ac-
cident may occur to them, until familiarity with safety again breads
a feeling of security. The public of late have heard and read so much
about criminal attempts at abortion, that when the accusation is made
with a certain amount of circumstantial evidence to support it, it is
already more than half convinced of its truth, and will turn a deaf
ear to rebuttal testimony of an unusual character, requiring somewhat
of an intellectual effort to grasp and thoroughly master. This is just
the position of the " Brockville Abortion Case." It was perhaps new
to the public that a [iregnant woman exposed to the infection of
small pox was liable to abortion and death, and that she might have
a most malignant and fatal form of the disease without the usual
characteristic eruption ; yet that such is unquestionably the case we
liave given abundant proof The case now stands thus : The prose-
cution says, Sophia Elizabeth Burnham was pregnant ; the defence
admits it. The prosi'cutiou says, that an abortion was induced on
hor by Dr. Spurham, in consequpnce of which she died ; the defence
says, no ! you are mistaken, but an abortion was induced in her by
small pox, by whicli she died. The prosecution says, we have proofs
that Sparham actually attempted an abortion on the woman — that the
symptoms of her last illness, and the facts elicited from a post mortem
Hcrutiny nf her remains, clearly show that she died from the effect of
injuries received from Sparham in the attempt. The defence says,
your proofs will not boar the light of in vestifation ; they are only ap-

A HKKKNCI.; OK

«y-, jealous ,.!• (1.,. invL • V- '"'" """■^' ''"^ '^ ''— "'

'-'^ iu u,.. olKd / ; :''"r^ ^'^•!''^"^''' -^" <^'*'^ 'y t..st .n..a.v

■ p'-f^. au.i .1.. la.tio,. ;.„ ,, ., :, V" r"'"r'>' ^-"^'- ^ -" fH,

Hynu.t..,„.san.l..,i;,etsor.s,nall no- ^ '',■' '^^^^ ''"''" >" -n- of th.

*-^--y'^-'u>pn....,io S :r^^^ -i-'

app-priato oxU-a... ,Vu„. ,1. w i ,, f i: "'T'T^ '^* '''"'" '^ ''^'^

""^'' '"■ *''-'"y- Win.,.,),. :. V "'''"'

take caro no,, ,o oouk „,;I ..; , ^ \ ^" '"■'-'"■'"' ^^■'""-' -^' '""^t
variola (s.nall ,Kn w '"""•^ '^"'';"«^"- ^'* ^'"^ ""^-'' "^'K^- o^'

variola.'- , Mo " m "' rT^'''^' '"'^^ ''•'"'"-^ --^'^ "*'

«'--lly no,!, a.,. ,,~ ,/ 7;'r '"•■-'■'"'^^" ^-' -.0, ooea-

• ,. , "<■>' ly .III, ot tlio uiiicoa.s sarficiN * =v. ■.¥ .i

teimilesnietroi-ili.i..i.w,.v. • .• , '' "• P''o" •>' a, «a,vrt : -" [u

.••«.'. ;»::::::;:; :2::'s^::;,";r:""^- ^

ijaoi,'> : — '• (

I'oa

po"^ iMiouuioiiia is aut iufn

I'^tges 380, ;58

<% iiad ;iS,s.

(|iiout

plciirisv

a
«<

si
a
111

ITt. K.'tlC ItK.VZK,'. SPAIUIAM.

JT)

'm.li.Mir;u.l,,i.,uotnI,.,al,lyfV,.,,n,.nt(.-,,m,.l,V,,tioMx * * * ,o,m
J>I'".''"ons fron, ol.anges in th. al„In,ui„,.,| visc-on, ,.,<. not fVr.m.nt ■ I
iavo nov,.,- s,.,.n p.n-itonitis ex.,.,,t fVon, a l,„.,.l .,.,h„." '- I,, U,,.
h^mon.l,:,.i.. ion„ of v.riol.. l„.si,K.s tl.o Lsions n.^nMoncI, w. fin.i
a.-oo..s,n.lll.,.n,o,TlKigosinMlI,i,ovis,.rn." " Wo may lin.l InMnon-
Imyo., n, almost all tho nuu-oas nM.:nl„an,.s." W,. I.^v. f., t|,. p,.o,„„,,

om.nH.at.d a sulliciont n.nnl... of n.M. t-, .s.al.li -h iK.von.l ' .stiou
tlM. v.n^ y,vat haLiliry of a p.v.nant .-on.an, wIhm, .xposH o sn,ali
.ox, ., l>e..,n.., u.iW.to.l 1.V it. an.i afto,- i„i;.,,i.n ],,..■ L:m. pPon '
.-st,al.o,,,o„,aft.ulc.„ „.„„,,„, ,,,,,„, j^^,,^ 'J,

-n.ov<.,sI..n as.il,,.,,.,,. ,^^

''•':-' -•'•<•-<'' --all ,...,., a. sin,„!a,.iysinnla,. to thos...^

: i- I- -'--.■.1 won,an r.nrnl.an.. iiut w. ,lo, for .ho pn-.-n,

- Ml.. na.,hc.a h.v.i.an. fWMlH. p.,.,..„Hon, a ,...oni of th. post
"'-'•;". -nnnnatum, a Anv .a.ti(i..at..s of p,...,,,i,.,,,, ,,,,,;,,, ,,,,,

n,,Hnn:plK..pn.s,,on ati.su... and tIu.doposition of tl...,^
.-11. Urns far wo l:a^r snnpl v . n.I.avon,,! to »ivo tl.,- pui.li,. a ...no,a|

'|- tli.;Ha.<.tso.'tl,. smallpox p.ison on Ha. p^nant and p

. .n.p nMa.d..M,a. in.,avjn.l.otl,ona.,la.alevi.Woli!.it.d

. t tho tnal ,n a n.oro mtolH.il.lo and satisfactory n.ann,.,-. Hnt (ho
class <^^zynu,t,o dis.aH.s to .hi-.b sa,all pox ..olon,,K does n f nsnally
• ■• -^ I- l>.T.,n.ant o.- pnnpnral won.an in tho san.o wav, tl.at it .lo.s
'— tnnd,T;jo,n.,lH- vilal p.o.oss.s peonliar to tI,o pf..;,nant and
-v,an.al eondU-on. ^ h w. lauo ...n, it indn.vs aWti^n in the
H;^|ant and tl.n in oo.un.on with .-avl-t fovo,-, typhu, typhoid,
— I'N ^■;., ',.;. n.o to a fov..,-. ......o^nlzcd hy ,1,. a.oo,.d.on,. a.

.'• |l-va . y,.,. t .nI,o proof of u-hi.], ..r.iW a^ain to thn .vn.arkH

I M...,nstly ...,., n.,M D, llamas l.tWro tho OLtoh-icd Soeioty of

I-ondon .n May, 875. I lis ol>s..,.va.ions a.o too extonsivo to o oi.

m hdl. InU .. w,ll ciuoto as nuH. as rHWs dirootly to tho ,p.o ti< ;
boiore ns. lo sa,d :_.> Tho.-o is tho fonn of foyoi- in the lyin.,-in-
-..mn ^yi,K.h .s tho direct result of inf .tion or c.onta-non prodn..d
by sonu. .ynu,t.o poison, as scarlot foyor, (perhaps tho nu.st oonnnou
ot . I ) or ory.s,,H.las, or nieash-s, or typhoid. All thosn thing.s ^yo nro
mul Icnovy, and ^yo cannot for a mon.cnt dispute tlu-n. " * ^- *
1 we look at ^yhat a lying-in won.an is, wo there see a pecnliar con-
stitmion r.ady to voceive poiHons, and r.-ady ibr those poisons to IW-
ment and go on to a .lisastrous issno, while in another case the poi.,,,
has no snch ,.n;.ct. Then there is a peculiar condition fol'owing

A DEFENCE OF

labor, whore tlie system has been loaded with matter. There is the
involution of the uterus, the discharge of superfluous blootl, the milk
process coming on -a state just treading on the verge of fever; at
any moment the slightest excitement or the sliglitest noxious matter
carried into the blood is ready to ferment and set up fever. It does
not matter what the poison is. I think that one observer in his in-
vestigations showed that even a case of cancer in a ward was the
starting point of a series of puerpural cases. It may be said that a
cancer germ will produce nothing but cancer. It will produce fever
in a lying-in-woman. * * ♦ This peculiar constitution is one which
we may recognize in the range of surgery and medicine as well as
obstetrics. * * * We know there are pei-sons wlio cannot scratch
themselves without a foster, all going wrong in a moment. Well, all
that condition exists, in an exaggerated degree, in the lying-in-woman
- -no matter what the i)oison is, whether you call it scarlet fever, or
measles, or anything else. This is more especially observed in cases
where the symptoms are manifested earlier than they are in the otlier
class of cases, where the poison arises in the patient's own system. The
fever breaks out in twenty-four hours, or in two or three days ;
whereas, in the other cases, it comes on later. * * * There was
a case referred to by Dr. Willson, a gentleman in the country, who
believed that infection was due to the skin. I believe it may be
propagated by the breath of a medical attendant or nurse ; we must
all be conscious sometimes of taking in poisons by coming in contact
with poisonous patients. * # * a man may walk about charged
with infectious disease, and those who are susceptible, with whom he
comes in contact, may catch it ; those who are not, may, perhaps,
have a little dose, which they can throw off, the system being in good
working order, and there is an end of it ; but if a patient be in the
lying-in state, with the blood ready to ferment, such a person would
be ready to be attacked. There is the secret of the difference."
The above extract from a most eminent authority adds another link to
our chain of evidence. It shows how peculiarly susceptible the
puerpural woman is to become affected by any of the diseases belong-
ing to the zymotic class, and that, by any of them, a particular form
of fever is originated, called puerpural fever. To make these extracts
applicable to the case in point, we shall now quote from the remarks
of Mr. Coulson, Surgeon to St. Mary's hospital, London, England, in
the "Epitome of Braithwaite," vol. 2, page 431 :— " The disesise,
(puerpural fever) with its local effects and constitutional symptoms,

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

may occur aftor abortion in the early months." Our position, war-
ranted hy the facts and deductions of science, is, that tlie deceased
was infected by small pox, causing abortion and giving rise to puer-
pural fever, sj'mptoms of blood-poisoning or iclmrrhoeniia, and death;
that the lesions found post mortem were such as we ought to expect
in a case of fatal pueri)ural fever, caused by smimH pox. On the other
hand, the ca.se for the jiroseciition was, that the d(>ceased woman had
received a penetrating wound of the wonili, which, causing inHain-
mation of that organ, led to pyaemia, .symptoms of blood-poisoning
and death. We shall, at the proper time, prove that tiusse deduc-
tions are not compatible with the .syniptorriH and secoudarv lesions,
noticed by the attendant physician and post mortem exaniini'i-s Wo
shall, we trust, so estahlLsh ouv position, .-.nd fortify it by undenialile
HcinntiHc facts, that tio candid and impartial per.son can refuse to be-
lieve' that Dr. Eric K Spiirhrtm* has been more sinned against than
sinning. To the fiuperficial readei-, the (h^position of deceisod might
appear to be strong jmma facie evidence against the doctor- as to
evil intent, but a closer and more careful ex.-imination of that docu-
ment, rsjiecially by the trained medical mind, will lead to a very dif-
ferent conclusion. The points in it that .seem to b(;ar strongest against
the i)risoner Sparham are conjectural and ])i-esuii)ptivH. With shese
ItrehmiuiU'v reinarlcs, necessary to put the reader on his guard, lest he
form hasty and unwarrantable inferences, we proceed to the statement
of the case for the prosecution.

I'he Evidence of Br. Moore.
This deponent, Vincent Howar.l Mooiv, upon his oath, saith as
follows :— Knew the late Sophia Elizabeth I^uinham. Attended de-
ceased on one occa.sion about nine mouths ago. Gave her some
physic. She was generally well. Was called to see her on the even-
ing ot^the L'2nd of December, 1874. Saw her then about V or
7::iO pfm. Found her pale. Aske I her what was the matter. She
said she was suilering pain over the lower part of the abdomen or
womb ; she naid she had had an abortion produced. Wkamined her
person and found ihe vagina moist and containing blood; blood was
also on her clothing, covering the genital 'organs.' The month of the
womb was open, sullicicnt to admit the tip of my dngor, of an irre-
regulur shape, ajid veiy sensitive to the touch. I found & substance
m the OS, which I removed, and, upon examination, believed it to bo
a portion of an after-birth. I rolled it up in a piece of paper, and

■|»i'i

A DEFESCr. OF

kept It until evening, and showed a U, Dr. Vaux. He did not iro
np«tanvs on account of Fred. Burnham's having small pox 1
proc..,.led to tre:itdece.H.d from that time until lier death, in con
Junction with Dv W^ir, a j.ut of ^,e.time. Gave half a drachm of
Umturc^ of er«ot, aud in about half .u hour the same quantity of the
tincturo .f opnun. I treated her for an abortion and for what might
. follow, Dr. Weir, from Menickville, saw her on Thursday p^
He wivs chosen because he was attending a ca.se of small pox in liis
own village, and the dcx^tors of this town would not like to attend
her on account of their practice ; they would not like to go to a house
where small pox waa I believe deceased died from inflammation of
a part of the contents of the abdomen. My opinion of the cause of
•leath IS, that it was puerpural pyaemia or puerpural peritonitis The
cause of the pyaemia w,is absorption of pus, but the inflammation
was ca,^ed by the abortion. Was pi^sent when the declaration was
made, Thursday afternoon. Saw her that morning at 5 a.m. and
- m. She appeared to be dying. She said, before she made vhe
declaration, that she w,is going to die. She asked me if I thought so
and I told her tho,t I did think so. I gave Dr. Vaux a detailed and
correct statement of my treatment. I ]iassed a catJieter on Tuesday
and drew off about 1 3 ounces of urine mixed with blood. I used my
eyes to pass the instrument. I passed it on several occasions, and
every morning. J. K. Read, Mr. Richards the lawyer, and myself,
were the only parties present when the declaration was made'
Several other magistrates refused to go on iiccount of the small pox
i'.i the house ; therefore, I got Mr. Read, of Burritfs Rapids The
statement was vohmtary. After it was read over to her she made
some corrections and then signed it. She knew i^^rfectly well what
she -.-as doing. Hav'nt the slightest doubt but what she w^ in her
right mind, and had no hopes of living. She became uncon8r.-ous on
Saturday evening. Was not delirious imtil Saturday eveiui>- T
could not understand her. She spoke low and mutteringl '-^ .,
attending her brother for small pox. My treatment of deceased was,
at fii-st, one *-ac]un of tincture of opium, and again, during the night
a dose of the same. Wednesday, did not give any medicine. On
V\ edi - :, .y evening left a powder of two grains of opium, to be taken
It sillier), .«.,n Thursday, did not know wlietlier she took the
mediciuo c: .,. W.,-- u,ld she had. Ordered wine in the morning
and used . at., -.r, .t noon ^^ve wine more freely; more wine at
uight. .a 'Lc >..ning she v .« seen by Dr. Weir. Left this night,

DH. ERIC BENZEI. SPARHAM. l^'

two powdei-s of oi)iuin, of tw,, irrains each. SJic vomititl them.
Friday morning she was better. On Tliurschiy, ordered ice and
brandy, and in the evening, ice-water and '.landy. Fiiday noon, co.i-
tinned brandy and ice. Fri(hiy evening left a powder of opium, to
be given if required. Saturday, 2 o'clock a.ni., found Iier Indly dis-
tended, tender on pressure, features pinched, drawn up, pidse 130 to
110. A^as suffering pain over abdominal region. Found local dis-
<!harge. Her expression very anxious. Ordered flannid wrung out
of hot water, and tincture of opium, 15 drops, to be put on each
flannel every 15 minutes. Take 20 drops of tincture of opium by
mouth. Kept up applications imtil 8:30 a.m. Then aj>pli(!d linseed
poultice and tincture of opium, but she com-plaiiied of the weight.
Kq)t up these until she became comatose. At 6 or 7 a.m., gave an
injection to relieve flatulency. Used for this, laudanum and oi' of
turpentijie; then got easier. Tender on pre.ssure until 4 oi- 5 o'clock p.m.
Saturday. Tender on severe pressure. She became spotted. I'reviou.s
Wednesday morning she became very much jaundiced. Pulse from
Tuesday until Thursday not over 100. Thursday morning, pul.se 110
ir evening, 112; Saturday morning, pulse 134; Saturday at 4 oi
5 p.m. offensive perspiration broke out, also hiccough and laborious
breathing. Thought on Wednesday, that pyaemia was going on. Did
say she died from inflammation of portion of contents of abdomt^n. Now
think, there was pyaemia on Wednesday. Made no treatment for
lungs. Did not look for lu-ea. Found blood in urine which was
more or less diminished. She said she was about two months preg-
nant. Examined clothing and vessel, did not And a)iything of foetus.
She thought it had come away, but could not find it. 1 found the
placenta. Difterence between mendiranous dysnienorrhoe a and
abortion, is as to the membranes; the former is rare and different from
what I found. The membrane in dysmenorrhoea is a cast of tlu;
uterus. This was one inch and a half long, and half an inch in
thickness. Tincture of iron aloes and myrrh, are useil to bring on oi-
restore the menses. I was not present at the post mortem. Acute
peritonitis, on Saturday morning If the uterus was punctured, there
would not be much bleeding from the part. If blood escaped it would
coagulate. Did not know how much of uterus was invohed. Ex-
amined several times. Feared first on Thursday morning for her
life, as pulse -wius rising; breath had characteristic sweet smell. I
thought then she was rapidly sinking. On Fridn- the perspiration
became offensive, a sign of danger. The lochia hm jieculiar smell.

A DEFENCE OF

,.;,'■ "'"", '"■"' '• I I" «H"".l tl,„ w„„m„ 11,,,., |„ „

,,":;;;;;■"'"«• ' '>■ »'- »- '"><™ .i"« - -iok. i,e ,■. , „

;■ ' ■ '"""'■" T '"■'"""' '"'""' "' "'■• "'■' •" ""■ -I"!'

,'; ' ■ "" "■' " I' I'" ll'""Slit .• a |„„.li„„ „r„f,,.,.|,i,.,l

::::,:;;::;;■;: :,::r";r,:';;: -' r ' '""''^''-'

::;:: ;'v« :""-'n.;;::r::::;r;::!;r :::::::,;-

iHiMi ol 8u.-li ,lim,M..si,.i,.s. ItivMiis,. •.( fl,„( .. .; i .• . '"■'""

. .« (" l";„.v,, ,.l„,t i„ ,i,„, „, „„ „,„ ^.,,^ ^^^ .

.«.,■,. „l„„t ,„..,,» ,,, „. „„„„^,„,,^ „,„ ,,„ ^,„_,^,^, ■ - ■ .;

'"' ''"■ '"" '" """"I"-" " ■'• I.' .an,,..,.,, ,.K.,.|,l ,„„|,.,., .;,..„„

•i,.. «„:„: : :; ,:,:\:r i: ;■':, "■" ■""'"■ :'■'■ ^ «■'*

I .-'""'", '"i"! Iiail tli.-n mviitlv h1.oH,..1 Wc ■uv
This last )■■„.. is , V ""'•^' "•'"'" ■'^'•""ItanaMiHly.

.;.;^.;;r;;:::::r::;::i;:,,;::::;:;::-;r-

t.'Z' :;;,':;;':;;':; r' ""'■ ■ »w;i:, t,„, „;;,:^;^;i

n«..,i t,.,„.„ ",;;':'■■'"•";.' r' "''«'- ■•-

I-' ». M .V ; :,,„.„ ',::;':::: >■ '■""■' '

l,(,Tii„. !,.,„ , „,'l..„,;„. '" l'"'«»'"". ""'I

™...;,,,,,-,::r^

"^^" tiMiMls .u.nn.l ,M.s„uM, i„ ,1... ,,..|vi,s. * # » ,, •, :
Ht'Ko. ..,■„(,. (.n.l.mi. (riris o.n.si.s.s i, ,.,,,„„ ,,. , ,. , " "' '"r^

-'^-'-~ "^--.:::i:::'i.:;::,.::r:;

Dn. v.nu; iiKNZKr, spaiuiam.

loMciiifT p„H, whioli rnny bn more or Iohh minpl.-d with l.looii. U ihr.
cnivix 1,0 involvo.l in (Imr i„(lan.matory <.n«,.r^ro,„oi,t,, tiu- unioo.m
inon.l.rano „t M.o vn-iiml ,M,rt,ion ..f (,!„> oorvix pMrtiripalos inH.lcclly
as an ..xi,i„„u(ion by tlm H|MM'.ni,nn will ,.,„v,.." At tbi« „a.ly s(».ro
ot tUv. cas.. It lines not appear that tho .milon.HTitis wm,s .:o.Mpli..Mto.J
with any obHorvabh' n.ntiiti.s or ijifhuninution of tho bo.ly „f tha
won.b. To assist tho .mprofcHsional vvmU'v, w.. ,nnv .xplain thu
" ""•'"•"•"■'•'ti^" »...iMs. an inllaMmmtion of tl... innor oimtin-r,,,. |i„in.
tnenibrano of tho wo.nb. It w.s not nnlil Snh.r.lav, tho foMrM, .lav''
that Dr. Mo„r,. obsorv..! "distonsion of tho bHIy," nud " t..n.lnr...SH
on prrssHr..." Sho " was snlhM in.i. p.i„ „vor ab.h.Munal ro^ion • "
"f.."M.I loral .lisrharg..." jjy n.fnrin- to f)r. Thomas' .h'scription'of
u.M.t.; ,m.lon>H,ritis, it will I.,- „,v„, (,|,,,f i,, f, „„,^, „„„,. ^,„.,.„ ,,_. j.^,^^.
.hiyH. that th.-r. is a •'.•rn.n.y pwrnln.t .lisdu.r.., with tvinpanitin
(.IiHt.M.s.on of holly). ,s..„sitrvonoss o.i proHs.n-o, an.l ntorino'tonosn.uH
or boannir ,louM paioK." It, wonM bo .li(li,„|, („ (i,„i two .loKorip-

tions ot th,. sa.no oon,li(ion n.oro oxac^lly aliko. |r.,, t|,„ „,-

>'"•'•« oas.ly coM.parin,,. tho,,,, wo p.^osont a tabniar slat.„,ont of
syiiipton,s : —

Or. }f(>nrr'>i cnsf -funrlh (fm/.

Holly ili.stoixlod.

Tondor 0,1 p,oHHiir<".

Was siilIiMin^^r pain over ab-
dn,iic'ii.

I'\iimd hioal iliwoiiurgo.

A'.'utfi Ktnlonii'lritiH ■f„„rlli ,},uj.

'ry'iipoiiitis.

SoiisitiveiioHH on picsHiiio

J'tornio tonoHiiinM or boaiing
• lown pHii,.s.

Dischur^'o visoid, inpidly bo-
ooniinir ,.,.,.a,„y, pmi,|,.,it. and
porhiijiH bloodv.

, '"."'■• ^'"'••■"'^ ••"^" ' - •"•"■'■ «">^ K.>1>M.« and H.M,Hltivo to

t.MH.l, ; ,n aonio ondo t.itis it is tho sa.no. |!ut i„ I,, Monro's

n.so .ho vagina was n.d... wla.oas in , a.^ly nta^o of ondo.notritin

II IS .i,T. Ih.s .Idlo.vnoo onn bo ,satisfarto,.ilv aoo ainlvd for by (ho

oo-ox,stonoo. ,„ ,1,0 fo,„,o,, nf abn.tion. whioh w. .ondor .ho va-nna

••M..st. I ho abM.noo of any positivo syn.pto.ns of aonto n.otritis .mtil
th.. Innr, , dav, al.hon^d. acnto nndnn,.trit,s oortainly dhl oxist, is a
hu-to. tho^ vo,.y^„,.a.ost in,pn,.ta„o,, i„ aidin« ns tnj„d«,.. «l,oth.,r
modmnu-al Vinu-no.. ..r .-oniaxion was prodaotivo of d. ath. A ponc-
m..n,,wou,nlof ,lo. n.on.s, loading to abn.lion and aonto ...domo-
tnl,H, ,Mmt havo si.nnltanoonsly .{vou riso to aouto nn ..itiH. ]Jnt in

A DEFENCE OF

the case under consideration, we have abortion, acute endometrrtis
and no po.t.ve symptoms of acute metritis until the fl dav'
Now by rete.-nng again to Dr. Thomas' work, from win" w to'
v^ously quoted, page 20G, we read :-.<Tho peculiar blood stl a "
ending upon and forming an element of meisles, scarlatina vaHoIa'

1 o. '^: T'*""" '"'"'' ^" ^«"---'^' endometritis" Let ^

I fleet Ti.e peculiar blool state, attending upon and fonninr u

el, will son»e ,mes result in a general endometritis, from which wl
have shown she was suaering. We have seen tbu ■' t is ,,W

blood state ' exerts an influence on all the mucous lini I of h

Medicni , vol 1, page m, that the peculiar blood state of sm-ill
pox pr^luces '< hemorrhage from some, occasionally from 1 or n"; "
a 1, o the mucous surfaces * * ♦ the urine is high color df^
Uood nuxed w.th it. In the female there is invariutly llmorrW
from the uterus, an.l abortion in cases of pregnancy." The cl now

when ..„.., , _„^,^ ,,^ ^ i^j^ sm:r; :::

duces heniorrhage from the uterus, and Dr. Moore fonnd blood in tl^e
vagma and on the clothing of the woman. Small po.x, while p 1
ing iHMnorrhage from the uterus, will, in cases of jLg^ancy it e«
abor u>n, an.l Dr. Moore found, notwithstan.ling uslxag/erl^r
onptum, an afler binh in the os-uteri. Smalf po.v, by'i; gl eril
nflnence upon all the nn.cous surfaces of the body, will .fo "
hen.orrh«ge trom the bladder, or bloody urine, and D . Moo "h
h.s catheter, drew off 13 ounces of bloody u ine. Sn.all p ^ Lui

touch, and D,. M«ore has given us a description of this dise.ise in a
jy neat, ut unpreme.litated, sort of way. Leaving sma I .t
of the ,p,est.on, how are we t, account for that bloody urine It s^h
- .>arly penod. before even acute n.etritis had been Iw . Ji '

Irf "r'"' ""'"'' "•"•• -•'■ ♦'"' """"^^^^ *« -it-ally ex m no
these facts, and pass an opinion upon the uKU-its of the I. D

Moore beheved at the time, what afterwards in his evide Z ho d "
^ l.> .tdl beli.,ved. that on Wednesday the wonu.n "^^^^^

;?;f:':;::\ \r'7'^'''' *« -^ l'^-'--^. -• «» analogous condition

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

violence-18 supposed to have induced both the pyaemia and the
peritonitis. The natural sequence of events, as they would occur in
such a case, would be : First, a wound leading to inflammation i
second, the formation of j.us ; third, degeneration of the pro.lucts of
inflammaticn, originating septic matter ; fourth, absorption of septic
materials, succeeded hy the symptoms and lesions charactpiistic of
pyaemia. Now, although Dr. Moore believes the pyaemia to have
been caused by the absorption of jmis, he <loes not inform us how it
(the pus) could possibly exist on Wednesday morning, when abor-
tion only took place the night before. In fact, he does not appear to
have even suspected that, at that early period, there was any pus in
the womb. It did not occur to him that the woman was peculiarly
exposed to an attack of puerpural fever from the contagion of small
pox, and that puerpural fever and pyaemia are analogous conditiona.
He shudderingly listens to the woman's tale of horror, instinctively
associates the blood exuded, with a wound received, and in a loose sort
of a way takes in the general symptoms, marks the jaundiced visage
of Wednesday morning, and calls it a case of i)vaemia from violence
applied to the womb. Of course, to him, in his then state of mind,
the conclusion was irresistible. He did not possess the necessary
coolness and calm judgement to make a can'ful diagnosis of the case.
But upon a proj.er diagnosis of the case hung the lives of two human
V'eings. Having once, called it pyaemia, ho sticks to the text. Not-
withstanding he elaborately de-scribes to the court the origin of
pyaemiu, (hat it was not exactly due to the absorption of pus but to
the ichor arising fnmi unhealthy pus; yet he assumes, that as the
woman had pyaemia on Wednesday morning, and as tlmre coul.l have
been no pyaemia without j.us, theie must have been pus prescmt then.
But that is the material point to be established. If pus could not be
I)resent, by any possibility, at that early date, and pyaemia from
violence couKl only exist aft«>r the formation of i)uh, then the woman
could m)t have had pyaemia on Wednesday moining. It will not do
to infer, as the Judge evidently did, that because pus was found post
mortem, in the cavity of the womb, it must have been present on
We.lnesday morning or Tuesday night, to give rise to pyaemia.
We have shown in our quotation from Dr Thomas, that pus is found
in the cavity of the wotnb in the second stage of acute endometritis.
We have likewise shown, that t.h« woman sutfered fmm acuto en-
dometritis ; but th« purulent .lischarge of endomj tritis does not t.ik«
place for tin-eo or four days. While this accounts for the presence of

A DEFENCE OF

pu8;,o.^ mortem, it will not account, nor does any other intelligible
h,pou,.s account, fo. the presence of pus in theJo.b, at sotrl, a
peuod as to gne nse to pyaemia on Wednesday mornin. There

day. D Moore called jt pyaonua fronx absorption of unhealthy

pus, Di. Uuuch cayed it puerpural fever from conta^don of

.null pox. Now, we intend to prove, that there could not ;Z4

ave boon pus present on Wednesday, and consociuently thele could

not h V been pyaemia then, so that by the argument of exclusion

. usible, the oi er is accepted as true. Upon the supposition
that the woman die<l of j.yaemia, wo must first have a local suppur-

tZZ^r "'"'• ''"'''"''^ ^" '^^^ " ^•>^«^«- «^ ^f-l--." vol 1,
vldci: ■ 7^^ -"^«^^' i» ^-^--wing the abpve series of cases in

wh,ch spocal ly pyaemia is apt to occur, several facts conu, into
promment rehef. It would seem, that in the first place in such ca .

s«:,; "^tVt::^^''^' '' -^^ ^'^'^^«' ^--^^'^^ ^^ -- ^-J

8 ppu.at.on, and that th.s suppuration is erysipelntous, gan-n-enous or

page 48, n, speaking of the first appearance of suppuration in h.-aftL
wounds, remarks:-.- In amputation through ledthy tis f «

suppuration does not take place for three or Lir dav .'' de o

es^abbsh Ui. point ft-om independent source, we'now . i: Lm
Reynold 8 " System of Medicine," vol. 1 pacve m- '< T,. . "^

eases, pyaemia comes on usual,; ..etwe:.! X^l -i^o/Zr::'

V ou^Iy cjuoted fron, lum, when speaking of the time of seizure in
case ansMig frou. contagion of zymotic .liseases. navs :-•' 'H. feve"
•eaks out „i twenty.four hours, or in two or three davs, wh. e. s ir^
be her cases (from self-infection) it comes on latJr." T b..

OKsonrng on the secon.l day, the origin of the infection givin. .-iso to

U.U ex,Ht wuhout. and not within, the .von.an. AnotJ.er^ut „

t .« connection worthy of comment, is the conduct of ) , Mo"

o.'.' t:;^ ;,: 7.":r' "^''t """ '° '*^^'« ^^«" -"-•^'^'^^v sensitive

fo. he detected the peouhar smell of the lochia, and the offensive

mn. the .vomb on Wednesday. OUbnsive discharijos ,„ust have
taken place .f pyaemia existed. But in liia detailed accountof hi!

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

treatment of his patient, no mention is made of vaginal injections.
This would have beea a most dLscreditable omission on his pait, had
there been unhealthy and offensive discharges from the womb at an
early date. And as Dr. Moore in his evidence does not speak of any
vaginal discharges until Saturday, whicli we might infer to have been
different from the ordinary lochia, we have a right to assume, that
none ex^^stt;d until then. On Saturday, Dr. Moore says, " She became
spotted." In the absence of any specific description of those spots,
we very strongly suspect, that they point to that most dangerous of
all forma of small pox, viz., "purpura variolosa"— the spots being
cutaneous hemorrhages, by which form of tho disease, Ziemssen suya,
page 354 :— " Drunkards, pregnant women, or lying-in-women, suo-
cumb most readily among those previously healthy." Before closing
our remarks upon Dr. Moore's evidence, we would again refer to the
condition of the woman on Saturday, when Dr. xMoore considers
" acute peritonitis" set in, but which we diagnose as " acute metritis."
We have shown in our tabular statement, that tho symptoms were
similar to those of a case of acute endometritis of the fourth day-
But, for obvious reasons, we did not then take into account the graver
constitutional symptoms, viz., " pinched features," " drawn u]>"
" pulse 130 to 140," which enter into Dr. Moore's description of the
caso. To differentiate an attack of acute endometritis alone, from an
attack of acute endometritis progressively involving the whole paren-
chyma or substance of the womb, would be to find, in the lattcsr, a
gi-oater amount of tenderness on pressure, a greater enlargement of the
womb, with just such additional symptoms as "pinched features, rapid
pulse, &c.," which Dr. Moore has portrayed to us, and which he attributes
to the suixirvention of acute peritonitis. But why Dr. Moore should,
subsequent to the post mortem examination, i)er8i8t in allirming that bin
patient suffered at all, from an attack of peritonitis, is a mystery to
us. Wo are osi)ecially anxious, that the reader would bear in mind
the progressive nature of tin* attack ; how, ujjon Dr. Moore's first
examination we have the evidence of hemorrhages from mucous sur-
faces, viz., the bladder and vagina, associated with a miscarriage and
acute endometriti.i, ami that on the fourth day we have the symptoajs
Still of endometritis, together with the more alarming constitutional
disturbance, indicating involvment of the parenchynui of the womb.
A recollection of the above Hequonc* of events, will maicrialiy issist
the reader in comprehending the mysterious workings ot tho disease,
by which the woman came to her death. For the present, we pais

A DEFENCE OF

on to the evidence of Dr. Morden, who, assisted by Dr. Brouse
performed the post mortem examination on the body.

Dr. Mnnlen's Evidence.
This deponent, John Howell Morden, upon his oath saith a»
follows:-! am a Physician and Surgron. On the 30th of
December, 18.4, in conjunction with Dr. Jacob E. Brouse I
made a post mortem examination of the body of the Late
Soplna vhzabeth Burnhan. Tl,e body, from external appear-
ance., see„.ed to have been well nonrished, and free from

nost 1 s. The hps and teeth covered with dark sordes. The ab.lomen
was blue and d.tonded. The hair abot.t the external genitals was
matted, and a purulent discharge was oozing f.-om the lips of the
vagma I exanuned the brain, and found it healthy. I then opened
the body, and no gas escaped from the abdomen. The front portion
of the lung, looked healthy, The lower and left portion of L left
ung was largely c.nsolid.te.l or h.patlzed. A sn.aller portion of the
. lower and back portjon of the right lung was in the same condition.
(^ cut mg ihto the lungs, there was an oo.ing of bloody fluid on the
cut surface o the consolidated portion, and small, dark spots appeared
tliroughout the othor portions of tl,e lungs. The pleura was not
adherent, and the cavity of the pleura contained about a pint of
bloody fluid. The heart appeared healthy, and about the usual size
The cavities of the heart were all empty, except the right auricle,
which contained a small clot of dark blood. The covering, or peri^
cardium of the heart di.l not contain more fluid than is usu.l I
. hen tied both oririces of the stomach, and removed it. I found the
W healthy, the lower part of it was discolored, where in contact
with the intestines. The gall-bladder was full, and free from stones
The spleen was healthy, though of a dark and congested appearance.
The pancreas was also healthy. The diaphragm was pushe.l up The
peritoneum was dark in color, and smooth. The intestines were dark
in color, and distended with gas. The intestines contained some
ingesta. A portion of the small intestines showed evidences of
recent inflammation. The ki.lneys were large, and had a congested
appearance, particularly the cortical portion. In looking into the
pelvis. It appeared unusually dark in color. The bladder was flattnnpd
ou itaoif. The womb was larger than usual, and on the base, or fundus,
of the womb there was an ulcer of about half an inch in diameter. I

Dll. ERIC BENZEL St'AUHAM.

then removed tlie contents of the i)olvis, and opened tlie bladder and
foun<l a few small clots of blood in the bladder, and tlio li'nin-
membrane of tl» bladder presented a number of ecchynio.sed sj)otb"
The va-ina was dark and moist. Tlio os of the womb was an
irregular transverse opening. The body of the womb was thicker
than usual, and the cut surface presented some yellow points. The
womb contained about two drachms of i)us, and the inner surface was
not smooth. There was a small opening from the cavity of the
womb to the ulcer on the outside of the fundus, pa.ssing throu-di the
wall of the womb. I aftai-wards examined the stomach and it'l con-
ttnts. The stomach itself was dark in coloi-, bub otherwise appeared
healthy. The stomach only contained a snuill j)ortion of fluid of a
peculiar character. The opening through the wall of the womb was
not a natural one, but an artificial one. The opening in the womb
was caused by something being introduced through the vagina into
the won.!.. The substanc. which made this ope^iing must live been
hard. There must have been force used to impel any .substance
. through the walls of the womb. iMy oj.inion is, that decea.sod ,li..,l
of pyaenna or blood poisoning. The exciting cause of this pyaemia
111 my opniion, was the condition of the womb as described. The
womb, under certai.i circums.tunces, will generate pus, but a natural
healthy womb will not. Made no objections to other .loctors bein-)
present at the post mortem. I^Al luiig more consolidat..d than the
right. The consolidation was not continuous. Where the ulcer wag
on the fundus, looked like a white spot with a small opening throu-h
the centre. Thecam.1 hauling through was lined by a white material. '
iSo fluid around ulcer of the outer part of the womb. The. apeiture
must have been made by a small instrument, used witli considerable
force. 'J he inner surface of th(^ womb was uneven. No natural
cau.se could have proiluce.l t!,e opening. Am aware that a wond. h,is
been removed and the patient lived. A woun.l through th<. walls of
the womb, us stated, wouhl not necessarily cause .leath. There Ava8
no trace of blood on the outside of the womb. Would not sav
positively that death was caused by the wound of the womb. Could
not say positivcdy that the i.yaemia M-as caus.hl bv tjie wnun,l. Made
up my mind that abortion had been produced by the introduction of
an ii.strument. The womb had been in a high state of inflammation
previouM to <U-ath. The wound indicated aii nvnm of the healing
process. The oiaming was the size of a small straw. 1 thought the
womb might have been impregnated. Ergot would b<> p.-oper, if

A DEFENCE OF

there was much hemorrhage. I did not discover anything else to
cause death, except the wound as if produced by an instrument.

We have now given the evidence of the two most important
witnesses for the prosecution, both of whom concur in the opinion,
that the woman died from blood poisoning due to pyaemia. As we
have carefully examined the evidence of Dr. Moore, the attendant
physician, we shall proceed now to review that of Dr. Morden, the
post mortem examiner-in-chief. A careful scrutiny of the post
ttJortem appearances, as detailed by that gentleman, must convince
any medical man, that the, woman Burnham died of blood poisoning.
Two theories have been advanced as to the nature of this blood"
poison. The one, that it was generated within the body of the
woman, and by absorption, gave rise to what is known as surgical
fever or pyaemia. The necessary factors, which constitute this
disease, are a wound that has passed into the suppurative stage ; pus,
which has become unhealthy from some tinknown cause ; absorption
of septic materials originating from such unhealthy pus, and conse-
quently the existence of the disease called pyaemia. Tlie other
theory is, that the woman Burnham, while in the pregnant condition,
became exposed to a specific poison called small pox, which, being
absorbed into the system, produced abortion. The generative organs
then became a nidus, or hot bed, for the further development and
extension of this specific poison, which gave rise to a disease known
as puerpural fever. In this connection then, pyaemia may be
considered as arising from self-infection through sources exclusively
originating and existing within the body, while puerpural fever is
produced from contagion from without. The one is autogonetic, the
other is heterogenotic. The one necessarily pre-su[)pnses an injury
or wound to exist, with an unhealthy suppurating surface, the cause
of which unhealthy suppuration may be unknown. The other does
not require an injury or wound to have been received, or any suppur-
ation at all, but it requires the pregnant or puerpural condition, and
exposure to some specific poison, as scarlet fever, erysipelas, typhus,
of small pox. We are aware that same of our most eminent mo lical men
affirm that puerpural fever may arise from decomposing coagula?, or a
putrid placenta, but with such cases we have now nothing to do.
Our duty is simply to distinguish between a nnre case of aur^ica!
fever or pyaemia from a wound, and a pure case of puerpural fever
from contagion. It is well known to scientific men that puerpural

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

fever and pyaemia are analogous conditions. Schroeder in his article
on puerpnral fever, page 331, says :— " Puerpural fever is quite the
.same state which is frequently observed in surgical wards, and
designated as erysipelas, pyaemia, ichorrhoamia, and septicismia."
Prof. J. Y, Simpson in his essay on surgical fever, or pyaemia, page
155, remarks :— "Surgical and puerpnral fever are identical in nature
and intercommunicable." Althou'^h a specific difference does not
actually exist, yet their modes of inception are differ.mt, there is a
certain recognizable difference in their initiatory symptoms and period
of attack, which for diagnostic purposes are sufficiently characteristic.
The question remains for us to decide, and an important question it is,
whether a given case of pyaemia, or puerpnral fever, originated from
self-infection in consequence of a wound being received, by which a
life was lost ; or whether it arose from contagion from exposure to a
specific poison, as small pox. Science ought to be competent to decide
this question, and wo have no doubt she will do so, in the present
case, in a most satisfactory manner. In a woman presumably he ilthy
as Miss Burnham evidently was, for Dr. Moore testified to it, and
Dr. Morden declared the body to be " well nourished," pyaoraia from
injury to the generative organs, in the absence of any epidemic, as
small pox, is extraordinarily rare. To establish this point we must
again quote from Karl Schroeder, the greatest living authority on
gynaecological subjects. In his article on puerpnral fever, page 352,
he says :— " It cannot be denied, that at times, when lying-in insti-
tutions are free from epidemic diseases, even very considerable
injuries, as well as the retention of the membranes nnd of thn
placenta, are not attended by unfavorable roswlts. In the absence of
an epidemic, there is harUi/ a pronounced case of ichorrhoemia or
septicaemia, which we could easily attribute to self-infection."
Dr. Barnes, while holding to the opinion that puerpnral fever is
sometimes autogenetic. yet affirms a view, which, as far as the present
case is concerned, concurs with the Gorman writer. Dr. Barnes
says :— " I will now only sura up my conclusions in raferencn to the
questions submitted by Mr. Spencer WcMs. Did you over see a caso
of puerpnral fever which is not really a case of scarlatina, or rubeola,
or erysipelas, or traumatic fever, caused by the bruizing or tearing of
parts? I do not think there is any fever caused by bruizing tliP
parts. If there bo a littlo scratch, no matter how small, and thn
poison is conveyed in that way, that is a different oaso. That is tho
way wounds act so bndly, no doubt." Tho above quotation'! nponk

A DEFENCE OP

for themselves, and demand very little comment. If the opinion of
the... gentlemen be worth any thin,., and wo think it i« sniuvme on
tins question, th« very great probabilitios aro in favor of L view
tha the woman oamo to her death fron. .ontagion. Our position is,'
that It IS .pnte possible to decide, svhother a given ease of pvaemia oi-
puerpnral lever was caused by au injury alone, in the absea'ce of coa-
t:^gu,n; or whether it was due to c>nta,non :u -ne, in the absance of
an injury; or whether the injury anl contagion were associated
Fuerpura tever caused by a contagions disease, as small pax, will be
recognized by certain pathognomonic syuipto.ns and elieots, peculiar
to the acute specific disease, pro.luciug it. This position is fortified
by an authority.no less thau Dr. Leislnnan, who in Lis article on
puerpnral fever, page G69, thus writes :_" We may here advert
however in a single word, to tho.se cases in which the symptou.s ,>f '
some other specific disease precede or accompany puerpnr.Jl fever
The most iniportant of these are scarlet fever and sa.all pox • and
when a patient in the puerpnral state is uufortnnate enough to become
the subject ot one of these disorders, the usual course observcl is, that
the characteristic symptoms-eruptive and otherwise-of either
disease assume a n.ore malignant type, and are gener.liv merged in

lal state. Now, we have previously shown in a quotation from
Ziemssen, that frequently the most malignant and fatal form of sn>all
pox purpura variolosa," is combined with the benignant form called
febns vario osa sine exanthemata," and marked by no eruption, but
attended with great fatality; so that the fact of no characte.'istic
pustular eruption having been observed, would not militate against
the assumption, that the woman had small po. of the most malignant
type, and hence, ,n accordance with Dr. Leishman's idea as expressed
above, provided always certain other symptoms and effects sulKciently
diagnostic of the disease were noticed, to leave the question without
a reasonable doubt. From the evidence of the medical men, who saw
the woman during her last illness, and of those who made the post
mortem examination, it is quite evident, that the idea never occurred
to them, hat small pox could possibly produce those symptou>s and
ksions, which, grouped together, they unite in asserting to be pyaemi.
±lence, how . asdy might ,uch men overlook the eruption of " petechial
smallpox, dxstmgnished by " numerous little dark spots resemW g
flea bites, es.3ocial!y .bout the arm pits and groins ;" or tlunk, if il
were noticed at all, that the "greenish yellow hue" of the skhi in

on. ERIC BENZEL SI'ARHAM.

thcKO aituiifions was duo to post mortrm olinngos? And it is only
inaclvorlantly, as it wcro, that Ur. IMooio informs us tliat on S.tinday
"sli.^ became spotted," wind,, taken in connection with the other
symptoms, point cleatly to the purpuric variety of tlio disease. }5ut,
to fortify onr iiosition still further, that small pox in the pueri:ural
female will f^ive rise to jauirpural fever, we a-ain quote from Dr.
Leishman, pa-e 050 :—« A series of facts of surpassing interest seem
to show that the puevpm-al poison may be developed from other
poisons of a similar kind, which has led some to conclude, that the
cause is less sp-ciHc m its nature than a septic influence operating
upon the peculiar con.litions of the pucrpural f^tate. Oi.e or two
exami)les illustrative of this proposition m. v be adduced. A patient
* was admitted by some oversin;ht into the wards of the Dublin Lying-
in TTospital, while lalmring under typhus fever; but the error having
been <liscovei(Ml, she* was removed in a few hours. In the beds on
the liirht hand and on the left of this wonum, were two lying-in
women ; both were attacked with puerimral fev^r, and both died.
Nothing, perhaps, is moi-e clearly recognized in regard to
the etiology of (he disease than the great danger which a woman
incurs, wlio, during the puerpural period, is exposed to the contagion
of scarlet fever. Although, during the continnanc(, of preirnancy,
nature seems to throw a nutntle of protection around a woman in so
far as imlimrry contagious influences are concerned, she is no sooner
delivered than she becomes remarkal)]y susceptible; and when
attacked, whether the disease be typhus, scarlet fever, or even
measles, tho symptoms often assume the fearful characteristics of
puerpural fever. Small pox, contracted under similar circnn)stances,
IS well known to be almost invariably fatal." This o[)inion of
Dr. L(>ishman that pregnant women ai'o protected from ordmanj con-
tagions influences does not conflict with the statement alreaciy ad-
vanced and supported by quotations from the writings of other
eminent men, that women frequently abort from the effects of acute
8i)ecific diseases, and that they are specially predisposed to the
hemorrhagic form of small pox. Neither will it afiect the particular
case under consideration, as the woman Burnham was exposed to the
infection of small pox in no ordinary manner. Residing in the same
house with a small pox patient, she was constantly breathing the
tainted, atmosphere, or, a. Dr. Barnes puts it :-" Many women will
succumb at once, or rapidly, to a single dose, no natter how small it
may be, but others can resist to a certain extent ; their excretory

A nEFENCR or

orKiu.H may ho in goinl wo.kiug onlor, an.< tl.oy nmy throw oiT u
nu..l.-m(<. ,loHo, or two nuHln-Kto .Iohoh ; tl.oy mm.ot go on mirvivintf
ropoatcl doMOH." Again, nnmll pox Ir not an ordinary oouUinUmn
diHoaHo. for all oI.i«h.>8 of poplo, an.i ovt>ry aj<n, arc pocnliaily Ni.N,M<pt.
Jblo to It. Doubtlo88 Dr. l^«iHlnnun in conlra,stin« tlio HUMwptlhiliti.Hof
proynant with thoso of pnorpnral won.o.i. i'rognant womon roHint tho
ordinary oontafiioua inflniMioos, hnt pun<p„,.„l xvonion aro peculiarly
mmcoptil.io to ovcry ooiitagiouH influonoo. That tluH in his meaning
is certain, when wo find hin. jtntinu;, ,.ago (108 :--"t!a«..H (ot puorpural
fevor) havo Wn rooonlod in which it has con.o on l.oforo .h-livory."
To ron.ior tho position asMunicl l>y the .lefonce bh iniprcgnal)!o .»
poBHiblo, wo would ivforthoroadortoadiscusHion, which rocontiy took
placo Ht tho OhHtotrioal Society in Knglan.l, on thonaturoof pucrpural
fovcr, ui which tho principal loading niodical mcMi of tho country woi«*
engHj{cd. Tho diHcussi^ai was puhliHhcd in tho London Ltmcet
and th(njco copiod into tho <'ava,fa LancH of Juno. 1875. Aftor
Mr. Sponoor Alilln had d,.ci,lod to chws ptiorpu.al \ov,n- with pyaon.iH
and Nopticaon.ia, tho r,>port Hays :_•' In ho far an tho diHcuHsion h.ia
taken j.Iaco, tliOHo wlio have taken part in it Juivo aljured, ratluM' (luin
niaintrtined, tho view, once fp norHlly hold, that puerpural fovor is
pi-oduced by a specific morbid poison." Tin. .)hj,H>tion raiscMl against
the ct)utftgiouH theory, that many imerpuial women havo boon oxposod
to the poison of scarlet fever, measles, ifec, without contracting
pnerpmal fovei-, was met, says tho editor of tho Lon.lon Lamct,
•ffootively by Dr. Newman, who " pointed out tliat there are certain
conditions which favor infection with tho poison in puerpural. just an
the!t« are conditions which predisposo to infectious or maiariouB
diseases in tho non-puerpural state ; and tho causes of this predis-
iwsition in tho puerpural state indicalwl by Dr. Newnuni are the very
■amo conditions which act in a similar manner in the non-pu(«rpural,
Tiz., oxiHwure to sewer gas in badly drained houses, and d<«prossing
emotious. One other predisi)osing condition ho named which is
peculiar to the lying-in woman— the activity of the vital prooessos
ill the pregnant and puerpural state." Hefore procooiiing with our
extract from the Lamvt, we would i-evevt to the evidence of one of
the mediciU witnesses for tho defence at tho trial, who (h-olarod
the seduction of the woman, by its dojirossing mental effects, to b«
the predisiKwing cause of tho disoiuse of which she died. This idea is
carried out by Dr. Ixsishman iu his i-ecent work on Midwifery, page
«58:— "It has been i-epeatedly noticed that depressing mental

DR. VMW BENKSIi SI'AnHAM.

etno'.intiH Gxercino n Tory markod nfTrcfc in tlu- maiiifpHtutioii of punipu-
ral f'ovor, bo tliut worntui who liav«i Itm n HmlucMd arn morn prone to
tlio (liKOMHo tliiiii (itliors. H(!Vflral of tliB worst (msPH I 1ihv<i hhti,
olwivna Or. Ohuroliill, wrrcf inniiily (ittiibutod to lliifi ohiiho " It
will Ik tliUHHoiM) that, tho woimiii iSunilMiii wiiH osp'-oinlly proiliHpoHod
to pnoipural fpvor fiom oontuj^ii)!!, in ooiimvpioricfj of hor HodiKition
giving rinu to doprcHHinjjnifMitnl omotioiiH, and lior const luitly inhaling
a Riniill jiox inlVntdd alMKHplioro. 'I'lu-Htj fix^lM aio of ptMioliar iinixnt-
amio in (ionHidnrin;^ thn Ht,i'on<^ |irolml»ility of h<>r lioDoniinj^ infcictod,
boouuHo two powcrliilly prodiHpoHingcansca wpro unilod to nMidor lior
roHidcnoo, in that nniall pox hoiiHo, onn of extreiiio hazard. Hot to
proceed with our (pioliition from tlio Lancet; — "Tho w«!ll worked out
BtatiHticf) of Dr. Uraxton IlickH lieiir Htrongly nn thn etiology of thr,
adodtion, for in Hpite of tlie dillicnlty of tracing conttigion in nik'Ii a
populouM city an London, and eH|iee,iully amongst tliB poor, yet lit
pointed <Mit tliat eighty-nino or ninety per <uMit. of casoH of puerpnral
fovBr could he tra(!ed to contatflim from aprvlju', fovrrs, or to decotn-
poaing materials in thn iitnruH, thus leuving only H) or 1 1 percent.
in which the oansn was dillicult to tiaoe." Now, Dr. Weir, an will
bo Boon, tfBtitied jumitively, that acnto Hpooilic diseases would oidy
originate their kind, and not puorpnral fever. That small pox could
only i)roduoe Hmail pox, and nothing else ; scarlot fovor only scarlot
fover. Of comH(\ if Hiniill |iox could not originate piierpural fever, t,he
whole diseaHod condition o!" tii(^ wouil* would bo unaiicoiinted fur,
oxc.pt upon tlm snjifiosition that an injury had been received, leading
to indamination, absorption of pus, and death by pyaemia. How
uiislakeu Di*. Weir was, the aliove extracts show. Ifis evidence was
fatal to the priscwera, but it was incorrect and unsci(;ntiflc. The
Judge laid great sire.ssnpon Dr'. Weir's evid'Muic, and charged the jurj
ill aocordanoo thorowith. Of course the evidence lookoil plausible
enough to an miprofessioua, medical nnin, that like begets liko, and
therefore tin* Judgi!, who could not b(> pxpect(!d to know bctt(U-, felt
justified in turning a deaf ear to t(!stim(>ny, that asserted that small
pox would produce Hoinothiug else bcsidtis small pox. Truly, a*
l)r. llarnes romarkod :— " Wo aro governed by the ignorat)co of th»
law and the ignorance! of the .1 udges." The nub of the whole questioB
resolves itself into this:— Will exposure to small pox produce abortion
in the pregnant woman, followed by a disease which, (luting life and
alter death, might be easily mistaken for pynemia'J If that (piestion
bo answered in the afliruiativo, and surely it will not now be aiiswerod

A I»KF"Km'IO OF"

I,;

i.i tI,o nogative, onr <,H\,rfcs U, ...slnl.lisl, tl,„ cnm,.Iot« innoomuK. of tl.o
pnaonor S,.arl.am of tl.n ori,„o „f „n,r,l,M- will ha oasy oi.ou«i, Wo
Nlmll LOW ,,uo(o fro,,, M,„ .|,„l.„', „|.a,-..o in ,-ol„(,io„ to tl.., l.iw ni«
ivn.iirks at tl.is ,mrti.M,iaf sta,.^.. of tl.o ii,v,.sl,ij^Mti.m will ho fo„n.l
mtemstin,!,. an.l su-nstivo, Ho s,.i,| :-" D.-atl,. thuo^^l. fro,., nynnoi:,
miKht ho fn,n. .su.all pox. Tl.o law sus, if a vvo..„,l h. i,.llict,.l. an.l
doath nvsnits, no ,n,.ttn,. .ihont, M.o t.-.mtM.,nU,. Hnt if. lM.Hi,h.H tho
wo.n„i, th.Mv is a,notl„M- nu.so. ,as iVon, ,,„. gono.-atod, wl.id. n.i^ht
b.. ).•..,., sn, ,11 pox. If that i.s mo, ao.l .l-atl, wan .vally ..h„s,-.1 hy
Hinall |.ox, thon wo cooM not ,s.y that, tl.o w.a.nd was'J,,, oaus,- of
•loath, as tho (lisoaso .ni^rl.t o,T,.r ..at.u'ally. Tl.orof,,,.,,, | was anxious
to «,vo «,-oat ti.no. an.l would not, linisl, tho caso last .,.>!.<, Now
tho ovul«n.v of tho d.„.to,-.s Co,- tho n.nvn s„ys tho,-,, was .,o sn.ail
pox. Mat, oo.ild small |.<,x pioihio.i snol, olloots ? !>,• Woi,- says i(
eould not. I)... (Jnuit sayn it oouhl. I),-. Ch,,,.,!, savs it could. ' H,.'
Hays bo h.is it f,-o,n high aotho.-ity, .ind Worn 1,ooI<h whioh say that it
coold. I),-. U,ant, who has had a lon,« oxporionoo. says l.n han novor
kumvnaoasowl,o.os,nall pox pn, l.,ood tho nlfoot, f.-ou, which it is
«a,d tl.o docoasod ,liod, yot ho holiovod s.nall pox was oo,...n..„ioato,I
to hor by ho,- n,odio,il .Kton.hmt. Tl.o wbulo of I),.. , J,a.,fs .>vidonc«
«l>d n..t t<,..ch tho cause. Koga.d„.„ t,-oa.,nont, lu, «poko of .idv.tncod
praot.oo; that o(J.«,- thin«.s ou,d,t to havo 1h,,m, douo, acco,-di,i« to
cause ot <ioath. Il„ u.ay ho ri:,d,t .,.• w.on.r, hut it has n„ hoa.ini,
"pou tho caso. If tl.o inju.y had hoo,\ .|o,.o. „o .nattor what .ho
tro.itmo,it is. whothor skillful or not. tl.o .....It is t'.o n.ain tl.i..g.
Dr. (hu,vl.s midonoo is tho only ono which positivoly savH the
«b.coas..d ,l,od f,.on. ..onta.iou of s.nall pox. My own i.n'pro.ssion is,
that th.T.. ,s K,-oat .lilhoulty to ..ndo,s(,and thoi.- ovido.,00. Tl.oy are
called o., to cntici.0 in ovi.lonco upon otl.o.s oyido...-,.. so that tl.oy
Hpoak trom ovidonco Kivon. „n,l not f.-on, „„«i„g the uwn. ||ayi..K
hm.d the ov.d.uico, tl.oy givo thoi.- opinio,, as to what thoy hoai- The
most ,n,po.-tant olloct thry loft out, whothor tho injury waH duno hy
an ,nHtru,no,it. Tl.oy did not ol.an,-o that. Tl.o witnossos for tho
crown HtHt., fmn, what thoy saw. Hut I cannot ....do.st.u.d what
Dr Church s viowH were. Wo .H.gl.t t<. ho careful how wo .-oooive
ov.donco of that natun,, for it was a criticism, and not ,« a result of
Ins knowlo<lKe. Dr. C'h.nvh IumI not hoa.d any conclusivo n.-vlicil
pnM>t that theio w.v.s a chihl. |),-. Moon, says tho.-o w,..s a .-hiM hut
having m>uh a Hoarch.di.I not tlnd it; yet he thinks tl....o must havo
l.e«n ono from tl.o sfito of tho cvso. Thon, ,vrc two imporUnt |H,intH

DH. KltlC! ItKNZKT, HI'AIMIAM.

to bo notiml. |mH in Mi.^ woinh, iuu\ pyaiMnia. Alxnit Uid piiH in the
\v(»ml», Clmi'dh HayH t.linro in no evidomM) |.i hIiow wlicn it cjmik^ (lioro.
< H" foiM'.sc ni)fc ; l.ut hh tlm disonluc aiosc^ from that,, it n»!(Ml not l»o
fixed when it oaino. I{cuardinj,r tlm wound, ho.say.s !,o in not HatiHlitid
it waH [trodnrod hy an inHtrunioiit. All tin- witm^HHcs for t,hi- crown
Htat(> that death resuUf^d from pyaemia. !)/•. Clnircli Miys, not so!
lint it came from small pox. A reason tiivrn hy him for thoro I.einK
no pyuemia was, that thero wi^r.^ noehillsaml piMSpirations, whieh ho
mvys, almost invarialily, if not always, attend that disi'iise. As t,() 'Jio
hole in the womli, Ik^ helievo 1 it mi!j;lit ('(.me from an aUsfftss ; tlnit
al)siMws((s Honietimes prodnco porforation of the w.mdi. His opinion
is that death was not from the wonnd, hot from <'onta(;ion, and that
«real,,oare was rnrpnsit.e to prevent it,. IJnt all ear.i had \mon taken
liy Dr. Moore."

It is plain, the .hid^^e did not iindfirHtand tlio views of the
witnesces for the (hifon.M-, for in m(>etin;,' tlio ohjfM^tion raisMl hy
Dr. <!'uM'('h, "that tlienj was no evidence on Wednesday inornin;,',
wIkmi symptoms of Idood p.iisonin;,' wen- tir.Ht noticed, that tliero wan
any pun in tlm woml), as a startiiifr point for pyaemia," he says, " of
conrsn th"re is no evidence to show when it (pns) (Nime there, but UH
tlie disorder anme from that, it need not ho fixed wlatn it camcf." lint
tliat was the very point at Lsswe, atid almolutely necessiiry to \m
proven, 'i'hi.s wan a most vital point, hecau.fo it involved the poH-
Bihilify of tlin o.xiHteiiee of pyaemia at that oarly date.' The witnessoa

ft>r the defence testified that the disordei old not possiMy arise

from that, althoin^h the .Indire lakes it for granted that the disonler
dlfl arise froni that, it has been shown, tfnit pus from a wonnd
throui(h healthy tiHsiies could not he formed in less time than thr<,>()r
four days ; that then it must heconie uidiea'thy, after which ah.sor|).
tion must take place of the septic niaf,«uials, hofore certain constitu-
tional sympt,oms siifnilicaiit of hlood poisonin;,' could lie manifested.
It was ihudanMl hy |)r. Moore, that the constituthunil symptiauH
oharacteriHtie of blood poisoning were nolicied by him on tint morning
afttu- the abortion, or about forty hourg after the inlJic^tioii of the
8U|)|>oscd w(uiml. That, wliich coidd only take place in tliieo or four
days, coidd not possibly take place in h-is tlniii two days. And thiit,
which did itppear in lesH than two days, could not p<msibly bo
that, wliioh niakes Ita iipptiaranoe only after thr<!e cu- lour (hiyw. If
puH ordy foriuH iit three or four days fnmia priuuirily healthy wouuii,
and pus l)e n mKiesHary factor in the oriKin of pyaemia, then th«

▲ DEFENCE OF

ayraptoms of blood poisoning, which were manifested in less than two
days, could not have originated from that (pus) which had no existence;
hence, the symptoms of blood poisoning noticed on Wednesday morn-
ing were not due to the absorption of pus from a wound. If not due
to that, then to what might it be attributed ■? The witnesses for the
defence said, as we now say, that it arose from the contagion of small
pox. We are aware, that in am [Citation of the thigh, for instance, for
disease of the knee joint, the patient, if placed in unfavorable condi-
tions as to epidemic influence, may have an abundant discharge of
unhealthf pus in less than two days, leading to pyaemia, but in such
•ases there is actual disease of the affected member, and such chances
had, previous to thd operation, taken place in the limb, that led to
the rapid formation of unhealthy pus. But the woman was healthy,
*nd the womb was healthily performing its vital functions, so that
the only grounds the objector can possibly have now are that the
wound received on Monday afternoon, by absorbing the small j)ox
poison, resulted in her death. If this be admitted, then our labor, so
far, will not have been in vain, for death actually resulted from the
contagion of small pox. But was there a wound for the absorption
of small pox poison ? Such was not proven, it was only assumed by the
post mortem examiners. Did these gentlemen ever see a perforation
of the womb from natural causes 1 and how would they distinguish
between such an opening and ono produced artificially while the
womb was sound, and observing it only after the womb had become
•oftened and gangrenous ? They saw the opcsning through the womb
eight days after its supposed arti6oial production, and without assign-
ing a reason, they say dogmatically, "the opening through the wall of
the womb was not a natural one, but an artificial oho." Whyl give
ns a reason, gentlemen, for your opinion. Wo intend to give a reason
why there was no wound inflicted, and that the opening must have
been a natural one. Dr. Morden noticed a "purulent discharge
oozing from the lips of the vagina." Whence did that discharge
come? Can any one believe it came from a penetrating wound of
the womb, " the size of a Hmall straw." Besides it must not bo for^
gotton that the opening through the womb, and the ulcer on the
fundus, through which it passed, were lined by a white material, and
could not have been recently discharging pus; novortholesa, a punilent

dlScliarcrn MTIUI nnvinrr fmnt *-l»«, i..>r>;>... I ..U_..i. i J 1 fl

„ _ ., ._ — .^ _.... -.j-j;;.^ Ltru iir-iicura:? oi piia

were found in the cavity of tho womb, while tho "inner surface of the
womb waa uneven." All thU would indicate, that there had beta

DB. ERIC ^NZEL 8PABHAM.

inflammation, softening, and partial destruction of the endometrium
or lining membrane of the womb. And as it is the province of
mucous membranes to generate pus when inflamed, the oozing of a
purulent discharge from the vagina is accounted for, as well aa the
presence of pus in the cavity of the womb after death. It is simplj
»bsurd to suppose that all the pus and oozing observed by Dr. Morden
came from a small opening lined by a white material. "The body of
the womb was thicker than usual, and the cut surface presented some
yellow spots." This would indicate an advanced stage of metritis or
inflammation of the body of the womb. Dr. Gross in his " System
of Surgery," vol. 2, page 842, says :— "Inflammation of the body and
aerous covering of the uterus is most common in females during ths
first eight or ten days after parturition. It sometimes betrays an
epidemic tendency, and rapidly pas.ses into suppuration, softoning, or
•ven gangrene. The pus that is poured out in such cases may be
situated in the parenchymatous structure, in the uterine cavity, the
aub.serous c(-Ilular substance, between the folds of the broad ligaments,
or finally in the venous and absorbent trunks, or simultaneously in ail
these parts. In most of these localities in occurs in the form of yellow-
ish looking globules ; but cases are observed in which it is collected
into distinct absce«8es, which are, however, never very largo, and
which manifest a di3[)()3ition, sooner or later, to burst into the vagiuA
rectum, }»elvis, or urinary blauder. The pus in generally blended with
a good deal of lymph, and is sometimes highly oflensive," Wo may
mention here, that Dr. Hrou.se declared the pus in the womb to have
been very oflensive, and that ho and Dr. Morden declared the womb
to have been in a state of gangrene. In th(^ arwvo quotation from
Dr. Gross we learn that inflammation of the womb sometimea oomwi
on o,udomically, or from contagion, that it then rapidly passee
into suppuration, .softening and gangrene; that the pus m«y l>e
situated in the parenchymatous Htructuro or liodv of the womli ; that
it appeal's in the form of small yellowish looking globules (correiipond-
ing to Dr. Morden's " cut surface presenting sojno yellowish points") ;
that the pus sometimes collects into distinct abscesses, never laigo,
and that these abHoo.s.s(w may burst into the |H)lvis. The reader who
has patiently read the previous portions of this pamphlet will
r«collect, that in our review ot Dr. Moore's evidence, we showed that
the wuman iiurnham only iiad acute endometritis at his tirst examin-
ation, while acute metritis combined with acute endometritis did not
occur until the fourth day. We inferred from tliis, that the camp

A DHPENCK OP

«a8 progressive in its operation, und must have taken effect first, on the
cndonietriinn, au.l tl.en ,i,na.lually inv,Klo,l ti.e l.o.lv of tl.o won.b;
whereas, if tI.e cause iiml been a penetratiui. wound of tlie womb,'
acute m.^trilis would l.ave set in simultaneouslv, and gou. hand in
hand wwli acute endometritis. Wc likewise shewed from Dr. TJiomas
that the peculiar blood stat-s attending upon au<l forming an element
of small pox, will sometimes result, in general oiulometritis. To
complete our argument, and render our position impregnable, we
quote again (Voin Karl Scli.oeder in his "Essay on Pucrpural Fever,"
page :VM :— " If the endonu-tritis is more intense there are usually
also changes in the uterine parenchyma which constitute metritis.
They consist of an a>dematous eomlition, and cloudy swellia? of the.
whole organ. The uterus is then badly contracted, find is' so soft
that the pre.ssure of the intestinal coils resting on it leave their
impre.ssi<m. " * # If the ichorous endometritis extends deeper, a
portion of the uterus also mottifies (putresceutia ut.u-i), and this may
lead to p.-rforation ir^to the abdominal cavity." But it may b.^ asked
why .shoul.l the opening be in the fundus of the womb. Dr. Copeland
inj.is "Article on Puerpural Fever.s, vol. 4, pa-.^ f)?;, says :—
" Changes in the uterus were most ivmarkablo in the part where tho:
placmtrt was attached, whether those were seatcwl in the sub,stance of
the organ or in the veins and sinu-ses." Dr. Churchill in his "Article
on Puerpural Metritis," pngo 0.36, remarks :-" This softening (jener-.
ally commences at the inner meu.bran.- ami penetrates more or less
through the ute.'us, Accor.ling to Dr. Ferguson's experience, tlio
point of insertion of the placenta is the most ordinary .seat of all
uterine lesion, whether of abscess, softening or plebitis." Hoivin and
Duges, as .p.ote.l by Dr. Churchill, says :-" Pus is son.etimos found
in th.> s.ibstancf. nearer to the exterior than the interior ; thus pus
collects into distinct ab,sc.,sses from one to five inches in diameter "
This last fact acoouutH for the ulcer on the fundus, which wa.s half ,n
inch in diameter, tho diminished size of which being in correspondenco
with the early perio.I „f pregnancy. Let the rea<l,.r turn now to
Dr. Pa,gef8 "Surgical Pathology," page 2!);}, an<l r.md:-"ThuH also,
8oinetim<>H a.s an ab«ce.sH approaclies tho surface the thinne.l skin dies
and, not like an ii.Humed part, hut as one deprived of nutriment it
Hhnvels and is ,lrie<l. Such sloughing is more common in perforating

lllci'i'M of the stomach nm' iiif..i:fitw>c ;.. i\.„ „.., f . . , ,

, . • ••' '■'" t:tjui.-ic ui which, wmn

u oemtion has destroyed a jK.rtion of tho 8nb|K.ritoneal tissue an.l its
blood vessels, the lieritoneum, hitherto fed by them, perishes, and i.

DR. ERIC BENZEL «"AUI1AM.

Bppamtpd as a p'avish or yellowisli wliito sloujifli." What makes tlie
abovR quutntion e.sjR'cially viiliiahhi is tlin fact lliat the uterus, like
the stomacli and intestines, is covered hy tlie iieriioueuin, and a per-
forating ulcer of the former would hdiavo similar to one ii\ either of
the latter, with the diflennie*.^ that being less olironic the pe'foration
would 1)0 uniform in size, and not hui^'er at the liaNe thuti at tlie ajHix.
The white matcMial lining or coveiin<5 tiie ulcer on tiie fundus was the
perished peritoneum and sul)})ei itnneal tissue, separated as J'agot
says as a " grayish or yellowish white slough." Dr. Morden says
a white material lined the canal, but does not say whether it was
similar to that lining the ulcer. J>ut l>r. Jirouse, his associate in the
I)OHt mortem examination, explains what Wiis in the c«inal, for he
says: — " jmis was from the outside to the inner of the canal." We
contend that there was a perforating ulcer of the womb from natural
causes, because its very appearance indicated ih;it there was gradual
death or necrosis of the part. Now, the facts - li<>ited by our ijuo-
tatioiis are of peculiar significance, and point to but. one conclusion.
By them we learn, that thd contayion <>f small pex will produce
aboi'tion in the pn^gnant woman, aiid hemorrhage frotn the uterus
vagina bladder and otluT mucous surfaces; that it pi o luces endometritis
and progressively metritis, passing into suppuration, soft.nimr, ami
gungrene; that the suppuration is ordinarily obseivel in the form of
little yellowish spots, but that it sometimes colleclH into distinct
abscesses foinid more to the external th:in the internal surface of the
wond) ; that the softening leading to perforation commences at the
inner membrane and penetrates more or less through the sidwtance of
the womb ; that the poitit of insertion of the placenta is the ordinary
Beat of tohse .adi anced changeH characteriz d by soltewini:, abscess, and
perforation ; and that this was the very spot where tlie suppoKe*
wound in the woman liurnham was found ; andlinally. thea])pearanc«
of the ulcer on the fundus indicated most cleirly a slotigh from
gradual death of the part, as is most iiappily described by Dr. Paget,
in pi-rforating uh^ej-sof the stoniBch. Hut we have not yet complettxl
our case, and will jirove, l)eyond the shadow of a doubt, that no
IM'iietrating wound of the uterus could have been received ; that the
woman actually died from the effects of small pox, and that conse-
quently Dr. HjMiriiani is innocent of the crimo iinjmted to him. Dr.
iTJunien says in his ovidenee tlmt '■ the poritoneuni was dark in color
and smooth." It will be mr^n by tin* dtjposition of the woman Burn-
ham, that Dr. 8parham made his last examination on Monday, and

A DEFENCE OF

after that examination she walked home all right, felt no uneasinesB
that night, but on the following day she wiis ii, great pain. Never-
theless, we are asked to believe, that during that last examination on
Monday, he forced an instrument through the fundus uteri, rupturing
in its passage the visceral peritoneum and enlarged uterine blood
vessels, with no history of pain until the following day, no immediate
large loss of blood, no prompt inflammation of the body of the womb,
and no history at all of acute peritonitis with its absolutely necessary
effusion of plastic lymph or serum. The idea, to us, is simply pre-
posterous. Dr. Holmes in his "System of Surgery," vol 2, page 405,
says, if rupture of the peritoneum " occur in a portion attached to a
pregnant uterus, the probability is that hemorrhage will be excessive,
and it may prove fatal." Dr. Gross in his "System of Surgery,"
vol. 2, page 841, says :— " The great sources of danger in wounds of
the uterus are hemorrhage and peritonitis." He again says, "wounds
of tbe uterus during pregnancy may in general be e; ily detected by
the escape of the amniotic fluid and the profuseness of the hemor-
rhage." Dr. Leishman in his " System of Midwifery," page G60, re-
marks : — " In ordinary peritonitis, adhesive lymph is poured out, as
an attempt on the part of nature, barring the further progress of the
malady, by gluing the jxirts together." Now, hemorrhage, if it
occuried at all, must have been primary, and would have taken place
immediately after the infliction of the wound, but there was none
until the following day, and then only as a necessary consequence of
the abortion. Besides, Dr. Morden did not find the slightest trace of
hemorrhage in the vicinity of the supposed wound. But the peri-
toneum was smooth, and there was no gluing of the parts together,
^either was there any serum found in the pelvis. These facts are
clearly demonstrative, that no peritonitis existed, which mu.st have
occurued, if a penetrating wound of the fundus uteri had been inflicted,
more especially, m it is contended, it lighted up the most intense in-
flammation of the body of the womb. A wound, that was sufficiently
serious to produce metritis, would be much more likely to produce
peritonitis, because the peritoneum is far more sensitive and ready to
take on Jnflammatory action from injury, than the ])arenchyma of the
womb. Thus it stands, as i)laiu as the noon-day sun, that a wound of
the uterus and visceral peritoneum, sufficiently severe to i)roduoe
acute metritis, would necessarily produce at the same tinio, and niu.oh
more readily, acute peritonitis. Yet, while the post mortem oxmnm-
ation disclosed every evidence of metritis of the moat aggravated

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPAUIIAM.

cliaracter. tliee was not fx- slif,'litest imlication of peritonitis. The
pi'oofs of i.revloiis inH.uumt.tioii in a part, as observed post niorlem,
vvoiil.. be fo discover tln^ pro luc ive < He ;ts. The products of inflam-
mttioii in a .serous meinbr.m" likn tiie pcitonouii), would be c6agnhd>le
lymph or serum, or h .tlj of th '.ii Not th« least trace of eith.T the
O!io or the otli- r was I'ouud. Now, wh it is mo-t remarkable in this
connection is, that while s nail |>ox will fi^eely attack the pleura and
prodnce plnurisy with cllusion. it lias an abliorrcnca of the pi ritoneum,
and |.MS.ses it by wiiKont aUccting it. Ziemsseu, iis we previously
quoted, declares that he lias never known a case of peritonitis pro-
duced by small pox, excpt fi oui a local ( aii.se Th- re could r ally be
n.) more c nviming pro .f of the absenc-of a wound and the prese.-ce
ofa spc-fic morbid ooisoit, wlthiis elective atiioities and antipatiiies,
than theabove in 'cresting fact. Another point of pspecial significance
in this connection, a.-* s'owiu,' that the abdominal lesions were dir-cdy
produce I by epidem c influenc ■ alon-, and not hy violence alone, or
by violence and an epidemi.; inflnence tog. ther, lias been most happily
b. ought out by Dr. Leisbman. It wid not be fbr!.ott.n by tha
medical man, that in a cas • of ordinary p rtoniiis plastic lymph and
B-.um are ne e soy piodn.Ms. And, in a cae of onlinary puerpnial
ievGv. secondary to ^o ne lo 'al nt-iine trouble, there is usually a voiy
Jar^e elTu^io i of sonun. But in th^ cas. un ler review there was
v.eitl.er lymph nor serum found. The explanation of this pec.diarity
will be satisfactory f.om the followiu-r remaiks by Dr. Leivhman in

Lis "Hyste f Midwifery, ).age 671 :— -'Admitting the peifect

accuray of Dr. Murphy's d scription, as above quoted, we recognize
in it no rea-ou for rnodd\ing the o|.inion, which has Iteen expr. s^od,
that the fever may either, as is usual when it is directly propagated
by e|.ideniic influence— in which case the virulence .n- concei.ti'ation
of the |K)ison re.ches its point of greatest intensity— be priniaiy ; or
it nujy appear stib.sequent to tho occurrence of true peritoneal inllim-
niation. whei. if, may be s condary." Then, on jiage G7(), he says :—
" In pnerpural fev-r the gieater the intensity of the seinire, the 1. u
the chance of meeting anything like lymph. In the most intent
forms no cllusion at all may take place " Now, Dr. Mordon'g
pyaemia was really pu-rpural pvaemia, or secondary puerpural fover,
8 ttingin upon a previous supposed inflammation, and would mo«t
unquestionably have, at least, an effusion of serum. But in the case
befoie U'^, where the puerpi.rul fever was lighted up by direct
e])ideuiic influence, as small pox, (in which case the virulence or con-

iki

A DEFENCE OF

centration of the poison readies its grtatesfc intensity) there was no
trace of effusion, because tlie puer[)ural lever was priiiuviy and most
intense. This fact, together with the a<Mitional fact to' whi.-h we
have already referred, that the small pox poison shuns theperiton. urn,
would irresistibly force the conclusion, that no injury or wound of
the womb had been received, 1-ading to inflam nation, suppuration,
absorption of septic materi^ds and pyaemia. We ask the can.licl
medical man who reads and reflects upon this, whether there could be
a more complete vindication than the above facts. Dr. iMorden said
"the vagina was dark and moist." Dr. Leishman in his "Aiticle on
Puerpural Fever," says :— "A much more serious affection than this,
and one which has probably a more direct connection wiih tlio influ-
ence of the puerpural poison, is inflammation of the vagina, of an as-
thenic type, similar to what occaoionaliy occurs in tlie coui se of typhug
and other fevers. In this cas3, the wliol.> vagina, without any obvious
local causR, is quickly involved in inflammation of the type allude I to,
which defies all treatment, local or general, and rapi.ily parses into
gangrene." Dr. Morden said, " the intestines and perijoneum were
dark in color." Dr. Murphy, as quoted by Dr. Le;shm:in, says :_
"In peritonids all the arterial c.pilhirie.s are highly in)\. ttid, hence
the intestines 'are streaked witli bright red lines of capillaries, that
encircle them; in puerpural fever the venous capillaries predominate,
hence the livid hue of the intestines, and the diisky red color of the
patches and streaks on their surface." Schroeder says :— " In
puerpural fever the intestinal coils Jiave a dark brownish led
appearance the same as in incarc rated hernia." Dr. Morden found
the brain healthy. Schroeder says that infliramation of the cerebral
membranes is qomparatively r.re in imerpural fever. He likewise
says, page 341 :— "Bcsi.les emliolism thoio is often lobar and lobular
pneumonia of ichorrhoemic origin." Dr. Moiden found lobar and

lobular pneumonia with embolism. Schroeder says : " The liver is

seldom perfectly unaltered," and "in the kidneys also embolic centres
are met with, as well as other circumscribed and diffuse inflam-
mations ;" •' in the cortical poition iteg< nemtive processes;" "i)leurisy
is uncommonly frequent." We ne.d scarcely direct the attentii.n of
the reader to the points of resi mblance betw. en tl e above trnnscr pts
of the effects of puerpural fever and the post mortem nppenrances of

1 I j._..,( ,,iM. rrur tn-' ncit quut;itiun irom bcnroe<ier

would almost seem as if it we- e expressly written to suit the case. He
Bays, page 351 :— " Icterus (jaundice) and profuse hemorrhage from

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

the genitals not unfrequcntly occur. These are soon followed by
symptom'-', showing that various oi-gans ar.'- atlectea ; cough and pain
la the ciiest show th(. afroctlon of the lung and j.^nira." Xow, the
woman w.,s jaundiced, had profuse hemoirh.ge from the genitals,' and
cougl). with inflamaiatim of lungs, and pleurisy. 'Reynolds in his
"System of Medicine." vol. 2, page 21;}, in speaking of pvaemia
says:— "But whatever the previous condition of the patient may
have Iv^en, whether it has been onr; of perfect healtli or not, tlio first
symptom to attract attention, is, rdmost without exc ption, a sudden,
sevew, and prolonged rigor, f iliowed by profuse perspiration." The'
woman Buinhatn hal no rigors, nor any profuse |»erspiration,s.
Schroeder says of pue.-puial fever : -" Chilliness or rigor is by no
means a symptom of great importance. They are often absent in
tht most fatal forms of puerpural fever." Indeed, the symptoms anS
post mortem ai)pearanoes point distiiictly to puerpural fever from
smdl pox. and just as plainly serve to exclude pyaemia from injury.
Why the initial symptoms of chills and perspirations" are dwelt u[)ou
as important in tlr's casa, are the indications which they affor.l of the
presence of pus giving rise ichorrho -mia. Every surgeon is well
aware that in a doubtful case of pus formation in a v;scus,tlie setting
in of chills and perspirations would settle the puint. Tlieir compileto
absence in any given casd would be strong presumi)tive evidence, that
certain constitutional symptoms denotin;.' blood poisoning could not
be due to the absor[)tion of septic materials from unhealthy i)us.
Again, puerpural pyaemia, or i)y,iemia setting in from injuries in a
puerpural woman, would have a history of acute peritoneal inflam-
mation piioi' to symp:oms of blood poisoning; in this case, according
to Dr. Mooro, the acute peritoneal iiiflamnuition came subsequently.
Then, by the shortest calculation, symptoms of pyaemia would not
supervene for three or fo;ir days after the infliction of the wouHd
which was the primary cause of it, ho that at the wor-st wci could only
expect symptoms of blood poisoning tj set in on Thursday aftca-noon;
but in MissBuinham they wore first noticed on Wednesday morning.
Now, according to Dr. Barnes, Leishman. Schroeder, Churchill, H al-
symptoms of puerpural fever may set in before labor, during the pro-
gress of labor, the first day, or at any time up to the eighth or tenlh day,
the time of attack depending altogether upon the period of , infection.
Ivo Tuatter how we look at it, the prubabililics an^ in favor of
puerpural fever from contagion, an.1 oi)posiMl to pyaemia frou. injury.'
We now pass on to the remaining cvi<]encc for tho prosecution.

..:i..

A DEFENCK OF

Dr. Vaux's Evidence.
Am a physician in Brockvill... Knew, but could not reco-nize,
deceased. On the evening of the 22.ul of December, about 9 p.m , I
went to the resid.uice of deceased. Dr. M.,ore showed m • some
membi-anons sh.ed.s, wliidi he said had j.assed from deceased. I
merely looked at tliem. Thouglit they were part of placenta. Went
to the house on tlie following Monday to give my o, anion as t<i the
probable duration of life. She was then past medical treatment,
being comatose. Eyes a little .sensitive; abdomen distended very
mucli ; face pinched, pale and sallow ;■ sor.Ies on teeth ; respiration
slow ; pulse hardly perceptible. Moore gav<3 a general statement of
his treatment. I thought it proper. Felt tU danger of attending
^all pox and attending her case. She died of pyaemia. It wa«
dangerous to attend such a cnse, as it might originate disease. Can
not tell whether it was an after birtii, or not, that I saw. Syringe
should be used according to circumstances. Jaundice due to bile Im
the blood.

Br. Brouse's Evidence.
Was associated with Dr. Morden la making a post . mortem
examiuKtion of the body of the late Miss EurnLam. I concur with
Dr. Morden in his opinion ag to the state of ^he body. I saw th«
wound in the womb; the white patch on the outer part of the womb
was half an inch in diameter. I believe the opening in the womb
was caused by an instrument ; the opening was one-sixteenth of an
inch in diameter, as if made by a sound. The womb contained rbout
a drachm of pus I thought death was caused by absorption of put
materials into the blood from the womb. Gangrene had almost set
vS: I believe the opening to have been caused by mechanical meafta.
This opening I believe to have been the cause of the disease of tli«
womb. I know of no way in which the opening could be caused
except by an instrument introduced through the vagina into th«
cavity of the womb. Had made uj) my mind that the womb had
contained a foetus, but would not swear to it positively. If the
abortion had occurred from natural causes there might have been th«
same appearances. The wound of itself might not cause death. No
^ pus on the outside of the womb, but there was in the inner n.irt •
pus from the outside to the inner of the canal Could not state that
pyaemia was from the wound alone.

DR. ERIC BENZEIi SPARHAM.

With regard to positive proofs of pregnancy on purely scientific
grounii.s, and positive convictions of piegnanoy from all tlio circum-
stances of the case, about which such a hue and cry was raised after
Dr. Church's evidence, we huve simpiy to remark that in tlie more
essential j)articulars Dis. Vaux and Brouse agreed with him. Dr.
Vaux believed the membranous shreds " to liave been part of a
placenta," but says afterwards tliat he "could not tell whethe.- it wiw
an after-birth or not." Why? Because those membranous shred*
might have been portions of a dysmeuorrhieal instead of a decidual
membrane, and the pains, that preceded their expulsion, might have
been the dysuienorrlueal effort, instead of those of abortion. Dr.
Drou^.e said :— '• Had made up my mind that the v/omb Iiad contained
a foptus. Believe she had been pregnant, but would not swear to it
positively." Why would he not swear positively] Because the only
positive proofs of pregnancy would be to find a foetus, or to dis-
tinguish the after-birth. There wero no proofs of either. Dr. Church,
as a medics I witness, declared there were no conclusive medical proofs
of pregnancy, afterwards he declared, he believed there was an
abortion. So far Drs. Church, Vaux and Brouse's testimony agreed.
Tiie de[)arture consisted in tlio statement, on the part of Dr. Church
that the woman had puerpural fever, which, it was said, assumed that
she must have been pregnant. Of course, this would have been an
objection to his testimony, if he had stated he did not believ*
she had been pregnant, and if it were absolutely necessary, th;it a
woman should be pregnant before having puerpural fever. Schroeder
in his "Essay ou Puerpural Fever," page 331, says :—" Puerpural
fever, therefore, is nothing else but poisoning with septic matter from
the genittil organs * * * infection with septic materials arising
fror.i the female genital organs occur, as a rule, only in the puerpural
state. Exceptionally it is seen also after gynaecological operations.
It is then followed by the same changes as in the puerpural state, us
is shown in the very interesting oases communicated by Buhl.
Changes were found in every respect like those following puerpural
fever in the post mortem examination of two girls upon whom
episioraphy was performed, and in two others in whom the vaginal
portion of the uterus was amputated on account of caicinoma."
Medical men are not always governed by positive medical proofs, but
by positivo convictions, which do not always depend upon positive
medical proofs. Expulsive uterine pains, followed by hemorrhage,
with membranous shreds in the os-uteri, are not couclusi\c medical

A DEFENCE OP

iiii

pi-oofs of pregnancy. These might occur, and da occur, in an attack
of membranous dy.smenonhoe.. But combine with that the confession
of the woman tluat sJxb had been sechiee J, .n.l that snbsecmeutly she
had pnerpural fever, which, in the very .reat nny-rity of Los
require the puerpural Bt.te for its development, the ooi^viction o^
previous pregnancy would be nlmost positive. But even und.r all •
these circumstances, there wouhl be no positive proofs of pregnancy,
because all that is necess ay for an attack of puerpural fi^ver would
be an abrasion of the mucous n.embrane of the female genital oi-ans
wh.ch obtains after an attack of men.branous .]vsmenorrl.o;u
Schroeder says, page 330 :-" Infection from without takes place
when septic materials are brought to the recent wound, of the Jnital
organs by means of a sponge or of linen used f ,r cleaning the^>arts
or by instruments, and very frequently also by the examining fin-^er'
It_ IS possible also that septic substances floating in the air of 'the
lying-m room may come in contact wich the recent wounds " But a
woman may have been seduced, and positively believe she waa
pregnant, and not ba in that condition. Now, after an attack of
membranous dysmenorrhoea, the inner uterine surface, abraded of its
Imiiig membrane, would be in a fit condition to absorb septic mate, ials

womb at l^ie menstrual period would then favor the development of
puerpural fever, as in the cases mentioned by Buhl and Schroeder
Ihat an abrasion of the mucous membrane would be sufKeient to
develop an attack of puerpural fever is furthermore confirmed by the
testimony of Dr Barnes, who says . ■< If Uiere be a little scratdi, no
matter how small, and the poison is conveyed in th .t way. that s a
differen case That is the way wounds act so badly, no doubt."
ndeed the only positive medical proofs of pregn ,ncy would be to es-
tablish the existence of a foetus, or an after-birth, neither of which
was done at the trial. We have made the above remarks in confir
mation of the position assumed by Dr. Church at the trial, whoso
tesumony was called in question, and also out of respect to such men
as Dr. Lander, who, having heard all the evidence, declares :-"I hive
grave doubts in my mind as to an abortion having been had,nopoint
m the evidence making the idea. " As a medical witness giving medical
testimony, Dr. Church was forced to say there were lo c nclusiT
mediea proofs of pregnancv; at the same time he stated his conviction!
. . Y^..., ::xisrcnce of pregnancy, and based his testimony unon
those convictions ; if he had done otherwise he would have testified

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

47.

to wlat he believe I to be false. His coiivioiions were not biiseil on
mol^c:il I'irti; iiloiie, but upon these assisted by extraneous evidence,
BUL'li, for iiist.uier, as ihe dojtosition of the woman, which had nothing
to do with me lical proofs ; thefiut also that no mention was made of
any l>i-e\i mis attack of dysmenoiihoea to make it probable, that it was
fro. II tliat, instead of from an abortion, slie suffered on the raemoiable
Tuesdiy when Dr. Moore fiist .saw his patient; also the additional
fitct, that in tlii! va^t majority of insiances |)iierpuial fever attacks
woimn ouly in t' e pregnant oi pueipnral comlitiqn, produced a con-
viction ill his mi id iliat w.is inesistible. Nevertheless, then- wtre
actuilly " no cnnc/nsioe medical proofs of pregnancy." We shall now
proceed wiih tho remaining evidence for the prosecurioii.

Dr. Weir's J'.'viilence.
I reside at Meirickvilie. VV^as calie I on the 24tli Decf-mber to
attend ileceiisi.'d. Saw her at live o'clock Thursday afternoon. Found
her xery low an I jn'osi rated ; puls« 112. M^idoan examination, and
found the os dis ended. B. li. v.-d that an acute iidlam.naaon of the
womb exist vl. At, 7:30 p. n. I saw h.-r again. Think Dv. M.>ore's
treatment >vas suitable. Visited h. r i ext morning, and found she
had a JMUiidicid appearance; juls" ]().•', and mt so compressible.
Vn-us of sn^li jio.\ wi ' rudnc- small pox and sm-dl pox alone;
pviieinia only paemia. It would not be generated by erysipelas.
Acute infectious disia-es only beg. t tlieir kind.

Tliis genlleinau's evidence was most damaging to the prisoners.
It found favor wnli theJu lge,a'id, no doubt, assistei mat riallv in turn-
ing tlie s ale Mgainst t'lein. How tmo it, is, tliat acute infectious dis-
eases will nor, produce a di-ease nlmost identical with the one by which
it w.is claimed that the woman died, we can now Siifely leave with the
reader of this pimpldet. If' pyaemia and pueipnral fever are
anah.gous conditions, and exposure to small i ox wi 1 produce puerpuriJ
fever in the puerpural woman, now is scare ly tiie time to see it
established. It should have been reiterated again and again by every
mediial witness at the trial. If the Jiidg- and jury had thoroughly
comiireh-nde I this fact, the result would ha^e been diilerent. Will
Dr. Weir stund up to-day with Barnes and ].eis' man and Schroeder
staring iiim in the I'ace, and declare that, small pox c.unot produce a
disease similar to the one of which the woman Burnham di. d 1 Will
any of the medical witness for the crown assut that it will not

*§

A DEFENCE OF

produce abortion, followed by puorp.ral fever, and that p„erp,.ral
fev(M- IS not quite the same state as pyaemia? If it will produce
.boi-tion, and puerpural fever with post mortem appearances si.nilar
to those observed in dee...se 1, why was it not so st.te<l at .he
coroners ,n,p,est and at .he trial? Th , witnesses for the .lefenc9
were almost accused of perjury because they stated their belief that
ho woman died fro.n the elFects of small p.x. The extracfs'fro.n
the wnt,n.s of some of «ho most eminent nu-n in tl.o medicU
profession which we have furnished, show „p„, what ,no.,nds the
opmion of the med.cal witnessrs f,rthe def-nce whs based To sh.w
that then- viows with regard to this particular case were shared in bj
others oi at leastequal pro'essional attainments with any who testified
»t tlie trial, wo subjoin the followin<T:_

Dr. Horatio Yale's opinion.
I have read Dr. M.r.hm's evid -nee as to the post mortem
•xanHnanon held on the body of the la'e 8ophi. E. Burnham at
Krockv. le, ( n.ano, and e .n see nothing iucousisteut in that with the
theory that .leceased came t) h -r do.tl. from n.dign.nt small pox
—small pox being at that time in the same hous..

(Signed) IIoiiATio Fates, M.D.,

i'>-of>'^^orofMedicin.e,li.(J.P.d;]s.,(L'c.
Kingston, May IDth, 1875.

Dr. Odaviun Yale's opinion.
Having read Dr. Morden's evi.lence rorerred to above. T co.icur
in the same opinion.

(Signed) Octavius Yates, M D.

Kingston. ^''•«/^'*^«'' Clinical MeJiciiu, li. C. P. <i- S.

W, F. Colfiinan's opinion.
I have read Dr. J. H. Mord.n's deposition of post mortem
•xaimnatiou of Sophia E. Burnhan., and believe the appearancje.
nmntmned resulted either fron. lunnorrhagio. sn.all p,.x or pva.n.ia.
If the latter, I think it more likely «o have luKm eause.l by the
•yBtemio mfeotioii of small pox than by (he supposed wound .hr.v.gh
the woud,, as there is no evidence to «h .w .hat there whs ,tdh sire
pontonit.8. which usually results from wound,, into the abdomiuol
cavity.

.'Signed) W. F. Coleman, M.D.,

*''*^ 2^'^' ^^^•'- M.Ii.C.S.,^n,lun4.

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPABHAM.

49.

J. Fulton^ s opinion.
I have read the evidence given in the trial cf Dr. Eric B
Sparliam and Wm. Greaves, als.^ the dying statement of the girl
Soplua E. Burnham, and the report of the post mortem examination,
and 1 fail to see anything inconsistent with the theory that the girl
Sophia E. Burnhrm died from the poison of small pox. She was
exposed to the poison of small pox for about three weeks preceding
her death, and it is well known to the profession that the poison of
small pox is almost certain to produce abortion, followed by death.
The post mortem appearances were also such as are frequently noticed
after death from hemorrhagic small pox. The opening in the womb
(fundus) m the vicinity of an ulcer might be accounted for from
natural causes, an.l the presence of pus in the womb is no uncommon
circumstanoe after death from accidental abortion. The use of a
tubular instrument (speculum) could not cause abortion, and may
have been used in the treatment of ulcer of the womb. The matter
aeoms shrouded in <loubt, an.l, as the prisoner is entitled to th.
benefit of the doubt, it would simply be an act of justice to grant him
either a new trial or at least a commutation of the sentence to
imprisonment.

(Signed) J. Fulton, M.D., M.R.Cf.S.,

J'ro/'eswr of PhyHiology
Trinity College Medical ScImoL Torwito.
Toronto, May 26th, 1875.

Lr. FnmciH KIkitiifton'a opinion.
To Dr. T. Si.akiiam.-I have carefully read over the evidence in
the cise of Spa, ham ami Greaves, also the extracts from the different
authors which you gave me. There were some points which I hope
may induce the Judges to entertain favorably any application that
may be made for a new trial. Ist-The deceased, in her dying
statement, declares that the prisoner Sparham ma.le use of an
instrument like a long tuln,. It scarcely seems probable ho would
have used a tubular instrument for any other punK>He, than that of
exanyning the state of the womb, as to its healthy or unhealthy
condition. At any rate, such an instrument conhl not be used in
.uoh a way^as to perforate the uterus, and that too at the fun.lus or
very upiwr part. iud-Dr. Moore simks of having r«,moved a i.ieoe
or portion of pla.. utn. Tl.is could not have beeif at snch an early
period of pregnancy. At two months, it would be rudimentary only

A DEFENCE OF

and possibly might be mistaken for a dysmenorrhoeal membrane.
3rd-I think Dr. Morden stated, he could not be sure an abortion
had taken place. 4th— It is possible she might be under the influence
of small pox, which gave rise to the pyaemic inflammation, and
subsequently to the deposition of pus. Pyaemia has certainly been
caused by small pox poi«ou. Putting aside the charge of mechanical
perforation of the uteius, I should say, viewing the appearances
described as found at the post mortem examination, that the
cause of death might be owing to undeveloped small pox— the worst
form of the disease, and, when it takes on the hemorrhagic form, .
generally fatal. It is probable, the deceased was sufiering from the
poisQji of small pox, in the first instiince, followed by pyaemia, and
ultimately by uraemic poison.

I am, my dear sir.

Yours truly,
(Signed) Francis Elkinqton, M.D.

Formerly Phyddan Accoucheur to the Lyhig-in Hospital, and Lecturer
on Obstetric Medicine, Sydenham College, Birmingham, England.

Dr. A. Lander's opinion.
Having heard the whole of the evidence in the case of Dr. Eri«
B. Sparham, I am of the opinion that the evidence given by the
medical men who performed the jiost mortem, did not warrant the
verdict givon against him, and I have grave doubts in my mind as f
»n abortion having been had, no iK)int in the evidence making the
idea.

(Signed) A. Lander, M.D.

Brockville, May 4st, 1876.

J)r. J. D. llalVa opinion.'
Dr. T. Sparham— I was present during the whole of the late
trial of Dr. Eric B. Sparham and Greaves, and heard all the evidence
adduced. How they could be convictecJ by it as they were, ban
always been a mystery to me. In the first place, if the dying depo-
■ition is to be received as evidence, let us look at it and see whnt it
does say. In regard to the instrument us.h1 by which perforation of
the utenis might have wcurrwl, she says:— "He insf ' iod a long tul»
into me and moved it about in lua" It must occur to every medical
man that the tubfl here spoken of must have been a speculum. The
Doctor telling her to comt .igain, when he would have better light,

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

Strengthens tbis belief. Such applications would be a, innocent of
producing perforation or abortion as the medicines produced at trial
were pmved to be. No ! we must look to another cause for death
and abortion. The fact of her, or any other pregnant woman,
occupying the same floor of a house at the same time in which there
wa, a small pox patient in close proximity, is lyrinm fade evidence
(taking all the symi-toms and post mortem appearances into con.sider-
ation) that she died from the small pox poison-the most virulent
and contagious of all blood poisons known to pregnant women. The
post mortem appeai-ances, "yellow spots in the cut surfaces of the
womb," was evidently softening, which a few hours longer lease of
life would have developed into perforating ulcers innumerable. All
authorities who treat on this subject confirm this belief I am
clearly of the same opinion with Dr. Church that the cause of death
was: the cont. ion of small pox, (the initial stage hemorrhagic) and
that the . facts as to the cause of death were not clearly and
fully bi out, dwelt upon, an<l sot forth as they ought to havB

been, when the lives of two human beings hung in the balance
Justice ,l(unands a new trial whereby the on.ls of justice may be
secured without undue severity to the individual. A sense of duty
compels me to give you this expression of opinion. If it will in any
way aid you in procuring a new trial, no one will rejoice mor«
sincerely then.

(Signed) J. D. HAi,r., M.D.

Brockville, May 2l8t, 1875.

Dr. J. K. lirouan'it opinion.
Dr. T. Sparham— I have to express to you my belief that no
educated medical .nan, such as your brother, Dr. R. B. Hparham in
would use such an amount of force in passing a uterine sound intci
the uterus as to cause the instrument to pass through the utorin.
walls.

^ (Signed) J. K. Brohsb, M.D

• Dr. M. K. Chvrrh's opinion.

.„. P\'^' ^'•*'*"^" - Waving read the deposition of the Ia(e Sophia
Mizabeth Burnham, as well as the evidence of Dr. Morden nt th«
Coroii«r 8 mquest in relation to thepost mort,>m appearances of the body
of the dec«.«sed; and having, n.oreov,,,-. patiently listened to the examin-
ation of Drs. Moore, Brouse. Morden. Weir, and Vaux .t the trial ol"

A DEFENCE OF

li '

Sparham and Greaves for the wilful murder of the said Sophia E.
Burnham, I have come to the conclusion, that there are insufficient
grounds for believing, that an abortion was induced on her by noxious
drugs, or th jugh mechanical means; but that, on the contraiy, death
directly resulted from the systemic operation of a mnteriea morhi,
introduced from without— the said vmteries morhi being the virus of
small pox, developing malignant jnierpural fever, and manifesting its
peculiar septic 'influence by hemorrhages from various mucous sur-
faces, and hemorrhagic infarctions within several of the viscera. No
truth is more pMtent to the "scientific medical man than the fact, th;it
acute infectious diseases contracttid by the pregnant or puer'pural
woman, will assume a hybrid character of special malignancy, display-
ing the worst cluiraoteristics of the original contagion with symi)toms
of more grave significance, arising exclusively from the puerpural
^ condition. It is also a fact beyond the ivach of scientific questioning,
that the puerpural female is peculiarly susceptible to the contagion of
small pox, and that continued exposure to its influence would
scarcely fail to induce al)ortion in the pregnant, followed, in both
instances, by puerpural fever, terminating with great certainty in
death, and furnisiiing i)ost mortem appearances exactly similar to
those found within the body of deceased. The spots observed by
Dr. Moore on the body of the woman, the early hemorrhages from
the bladder and genitals, the peculiar state of the kidneys and
parenchyma of the lungs, the pleurisy with eftiision, and the entire
absonce of any truce of peiitonitis, (a charactei-istic of small pox)
point unmistakably to variola hemorrhagic ; while the very absence
of peritonitis recagnized post mortem by effusions of lymph or serum,
when taken in connection with evidcsnces of most severe and rapid
asthenic inflammation of tho uterus and vagina, just as unmistakably
excludes the possibility of a perforating wouncl of the fundus uteri
being the cause of death. Then, the absence of primary hemorrhage
which we might expect from a pi'iforating wound of the pregnant
utenis, and the absence of jjeritoneal inflammation, which we wotild
expect, from ruj)tui-o of the visceral peritoneum, servo to^oxclude any
such injury m wa« claimed to be inflicted. Again, tho low tyjm of
the inflammation, tho rapid appearance of softening and gangi-ene, is
Jioi compatible with the results ordinarily obsorv(-d fi-om wounds in a
presumnbly healthy jwrson, m Miss Hurnham was said to have been.
Finally, the early supervention of aymptouis of blood poisoning, and
the ttbs.-nce of the initial rigoi-s and perspirations wliich " almost

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

invariably, if not always," usher in an attack of pyaemia from
injuries, would in my opinion, especially when taken in connection
with other differential indications, exclude it, and compel the view
that puerpural fever from contagion produced death. The opening
through the fundus uteri was, in my opinion, a perforation into the
abdominal cavity from natural causes, due to softening and mortifica-
tion of a portion of the womb — wLich softening, mortification, and
perforation of the womb always obtain in malignant puerpural fever,
lasting beyond a certain period. The pus in the cavity of the womb
was a product of inflimniAtion of the lining membrane of the womb
And tlie ulcer on the outside of the womb was due to a slougli — the
changes imp'iod by this condition being always more advanced in the
extornal ))nrtion of the womb, and at tluit particular part of it
occu])ied Ijy tlie placenta.

(Signed) M, K. Church, M.D., CM.

May 30, 187r>.

It will be obsei-ved. that Drs. Coleman and Elltington botli speak
of the woman dying of jtyaemia from the systemic infection of small
pox, which is the idea advanced by the author. In order to
distinguisli between pyamiia produced from unhealthy pm arising
from wounds, and the same condition (•ngender:'d by contagion in the
imerpural woman, it was found necessary to call the one " jtticrpural
pyaemia," and the other " puerjmral fever." It is the possi])i]ity of
clearly distinguishing between a case of pyaamia from injury, and
puerpural fever from* contagion, u]ion whicli th(> defence of the accused
is ])rincipally based. We earnestly solicit the attention of tlie medical
profession to the import,ant distinction we have endeavored to enfoi-ce
as it is one involving tlie innocence or guilt of Dr. S])arham, iis well
as a question of vital interest in a medico-legal poii)t of view.

We now pass, witliout any preliminary remarks, to the deposi-
tion of th( woman Buruham.

Deposition of Misa Sophia K. Jinruliam.
The information of Soj)!iia i':]i/,ab(>th Jitiridiam, of the Town of
Brockville in t])o County of Leeiis, s)»instor, taken upon oath ktfore
me, the undersigned, one of Her l^Iajesty'B Justices of the I'eaco in
and for the said XJnitod Cwmtie.i, at I'rockvilit) aforehuid, tliis 2^th
day of December, in the year of our liOrd 1874, wlio saith as
follows :— I am very ill. I have no liope whatever of recovery. I

A DEFENCE OF

expect to die. I was in the family-way two months by William
Greaves, sometimes called William Hunter Greaves. I mem that I
was pre^ant by William Greaves His occupation is a ticket seller
for the Grand Trunk Railway. I know no other William Greaves.
He seduced mo, and when I asked him to marry me, he said no ; he
would get me some stuff that would make me all right; that is, that
It would bring on my monthly courses. He got me Sir James Clark's
Female Pills. I took them, but they did not do me any good This
was four weeks after my seduction. He then said, he would see
young I^.. Sparham, and get me something that would surely do me
good. He got me something black and very strong, and bitter to the
taste, and said there was iron in it, that Sparham had told him so I
noticed It smelt like tincture of myrrh. I asked Greaves if ffaere
was any myrrh in it ; he said there was, that Sparham had told him
so^ I took this three times a day for four weeks. The dose was a
tablespoonful in half a wineglassful of water. The only effects I felt
was, that it physicked me and griped me very much. 1 told Greaves
at the end of four weeks that this was doing me no good He
brought me a beer bottle, which he said he got from Sparham He
said I waa to take one-quarter of the contents of the bottle, in a pint
of warm water, and use it as an injection, about every three hours.
Ihe injection was to go into the womb. Greaves said. I used all the
contents of the bottle in this way, on the same day on which I
received the bottle. I got the bottle at eight o'clock in the evening
and used it once that ,ught. The next day I continued to use it.'
«ntU I had finished it. Last Friday when Greaves brought me the
bottle, he said that, if that did not succeed, I was to go to Doctor
Sparham s, and he would use an ins. , ument. He referred to Doctor
Sparham s using the instrument, and then he. Greaves, said, that it
would not hurt me, or do me any harm. Greaves told me when he
gave me the bottle, that it ought to affect me right away after usin«
It. He brought mo with the bottle, the rubber syringe now shown to
me I used the injection with this syringe, as directed by Greaves.
When I found the contents of the bottle did not affect me, I wrote
Greaves a note, which my little nephew, Willie Burnham, took to
Greaves house, telling him, that the injection had had no effect, and
that ho had bettor see Sparham, and get him to make an appointment
tor^pe to go to Sparham's house that night at s«v«n «'<,i^u a^u:.
was ia.t Friday night I refer to. He came to me a few minu^
before seven in the evening. He was not allowed to come to our

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

house, and so I watched for him, and whon he came I went out on
the sidewalk, and he crossed over the road to me, and joined me.
Then, he and I went to Doctor Sparham's house. This Doctor
Sparham is commonly called young Doctor Sparham. He lives
directly opposite the Koman Catholic Church, in a white house, with
a short verandah across the front, with an office built into the side of
the house. This Doctor Sparham is a slight built man, I tliink, about
medium height, with a loug black beard, I think, sprinkled with
grey. He has black hair, with a dark complexion ; he has no color
m his face. He is a quiet, mild man, with a low voice. He always
wore black in the streets, when I have seen him. He wears a black
astrachan fur overcoat in the streets. There is another Doctor
Spaj-ham, who lives in the rectory. They call him old Doctor
Sparham. I understand he is the brother of the man to whose house
I went. The pills and medicines, given me by Greaves, were given
me for the j)urpose of procuring my own miscarriage. When I went
with Greaves to Doctor Sparham's house on Friday, the Doctor asked
me to walk up stairs, and took me into a bed room. Greaves waited
down stairs in the office. I went up to the bed room. The Doctor
asked me if I would like to have Mrs. Sparham to come up, saying, it
would be just as secret, as she would no more tell it than he would.
I said I did not care ; that if he wanted hef, she might come. Mrs.
Sparham did not come. The Doctor said he would like to put a
handkerchief over my eyes, so that I could not tell what he did for
me, as it wa.s a very serious business, for a lawyer in Montreal had
been sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary for even proposing
such a thing to a doctor. He said it was very serious somcitimes,
but in my case it would not be, for I was not long enough gone. He
tied the handkerchief over my eyes, and I laid down on the lounge.
He seemed to insert a long tube into me, and move it about. I
think he did that for ten minutes. He .said that would do for that
night, and if I had to come back he would rather I would come in
the day time, as he would have better light. The instrument or tube
was introduced by him into my womb. The instrument was so
introduced to bring on my miscarriage. It hurt me, but not very
severely. He said in twenty-four hours I would feel the effects of this
operation. He said the effect would be pains in the womb and back.

TTr. +!■..« o,..M i■^.„^■ ,..„., 1.1 ,1., ^ — iU_ _:_i_j. tt- ii j

.... ,.,...,, -!•,!•!, viiav rrOttiu xixj lui LIIC IlIgllL. ixc IIJCII ItruIUVOU

the bandage from my eyes. Ho said it might be necessary
for me to come back again, after twenty-four hours, and if I did,

A DEFENCE OF

to come zn the day tune, as he would have better light. Then
I went down stairs, and went out of the fron. door, and Greaves
came out of the office door and met me on the verlndah ird I

iz w-r ^irr '-'' *'^ ^^"-' ^p-^--' -^o came doj:

stairs with me, told me to use injections of warm water On th«
way home Greaves asked me what Sparham had donlt me and I
told lum what had occurred, and that it hurt me very mu!h The

the twen y-four hours. On Sunday, coming home from church in
he mormng, I told Greaves it had not had the desired effect an"

Ti\T:::::x''''^'^'r'' ^ ^^p°^*--* thatati i

tor me to go there, I mean to Sparham's house. I was to go there at
half-past three on Sunday afternoon. I went alone LT^^ !

llien he maerled the instrument, and went tl,m?,„v, .1
operation aifain as on VyiA,,, ■ T tlirough tlie same

took longer HltL" ' T""*^' °°''' " ''"* ■"" """^ »"<•

told nTtotate t . ir "" "" '^°"''' ''°'* ""^ *''"" ""o. and

labor tJ ?* "^ "nderatood this to mean the pains of

MdaV to J" " ™ '"'"*'"'"' ""' '"«■' °° Sunday, as „„

seeded toX th pain' X" 1 "f "'"V"; ''" ^"'" ''°*' ""' ''
now in the ZtiT T ff "" ^ ''"'' '''"'" '" •"" 'h"' »

no. agr tag w-th me t ""'. "" """' " ' *°"«'" " '»
o'clock in L^ ^'^^^ '''°"'»--»° Monday last, about two

Bootor.s."Jretirrha7'j:rriz n L":rd*'
zr Ltrenthit^'r x':^ r- - v- - - A^^^^^

I would w"t ?• . """' "° ^'"''' '^'^^ ^« «*id fa« ^"»ld rather

DR. ERIC BENZEIi SPARHAM.

Sparham said I would not be fit to travel. 1 said I must go, as I was
afraid my sister would suspect me if I did not go. He said he must
go to the druggist to get me something to use, and to give me to
take. I went upstairs and waited until !)« came back. Then he
bandaged my eyes again, and peift)rmed the operation again of
introducing an instrtinient into my womb, for the purpose of bringing
on a miscarriage. He then took the ii..strument away, and told me
it would come for sure this time, and gav<. me live powders, and told
me to take one every two hours, to b. iiig on Mie pains. I came home
and took three of the powders before I weni to bed that night. They
were black powders, and looked like slate pencil dust. The two
powders sliown me are the ones I di<l not tnkf. Last night I told my
sister ,to get them in my dress wh,>re they were secreted, and give
them to Dr. Moore. She did so in my presence. I thought it would
be good evidence. Dr. Moore did not suggest this to me. I woke
tip on Tuesday morning in great pain, and suffered fearfully all day.
Sparham had told me not to fear about the pain, as there would be no
harm from it. I bore the pain as loi.g as I could, and then got my
sister LiUie to go for Doctor Moore. The Doctor came, and I told
him everything, as I tell it now. Mrs. Sp.rham was present at the
second and third operation, and said not to fear the pains, and if it
were possible to go up there, wl.en the j.ains come, and it would be
over in a few hours. She assisted the Doctor by holding my feet.
When Doctor Moore treated me, he spenud to relieve me, and eased
the the pain a great deal. Doctor Moore stayed all Tuesday night,
and was very attentive, and seemed to do all he could to save me. I
have hardly any pain since Doctor Moore began to treat roe. I have
been very sick since Tuesday morning. I had a miscarriage on
Tuesday. It was the result of the mpdicii.es given me, and the
operations performed on me, by Doctor Sparliam. My present illness
«s the result of the operations and medicines. If I die in this sickness
I believe it will be caused l>y the operations performed on me by
Doctor Sjiarham, at the instigation of William Greaves. The
operations were performed, and the medicines were given, by Doctor
Sparham, with the intent to procure ny miscarriage. I make these
statements in all truth, with the fear of God before my eyes, for I
firmly believe that I am dying.

(Signed)

(Signed)
J. K. Read, J. P.

Sophia E. Burnham.

;

A DEFENCE Ot'

A more remarkable document never before issued from tlie pe/i
of a scribe, taking down the last testimony of a human being, about
to be launched into eternity. H<n-e was a womm, whom one ex-
perienced physician thought to be dying in tho morning, and whom
another experienced physician found " very low and prostrated " in
the evening, tolling the story of her wrongs with that perspicuity of
description tliat, under the circumstances, borders on the marvelous.
She was evidently a woman of strong convictions, invincible deter-
mination, and powerful antii)athie;<. Quarreling with her brother-in-
law, Dr. Moore, she does not spaak to him f.n- months, and the man,
who, by her owu story, sought to save her from a life of shame and
disgrace, she describes for purposes of detection, with that thorough
finish in detail, that would serve to identify him in the remotest
hamlet of the Dnninion. His stature, his voice, his hair, his beard,
with the grey sprinkled through it, his complexion, with its shading
of paleness, his ordinary clothing and its outer covering, his de-
meanour, his distinctive name, and the house he lived in, have all
been described with that faithfuhiess of portraiture that, under the
circumstances, and in her situation, excites our astonishment. Then
how apparently eager to establish the^'lt of the accusf.'d, for she
says, she thought the powders in her dress pocket " would be good
evidence." Once embarked in the project of destroying -.lie liting
ijerm within her, she pursues it with a relentle.ssness of purpose that
knew of no hesitancy. She " could not wait until the next day,"
because she wanted to go to Brautford on Wednesday, and her sister
might suspect her. Four week.s after her seduction she was so tirmly
convinced of her pregnancy, that she began to take pills to set matters
all riglit. From that time forward, she never once looked behind her.
Medicines or instruments, it mattered not which, a.-, long as the end
was reached. Whatever she thought she knew, she knew it most
positively, and there could be no mistake about it. She knew sh«
was pregnant at four weeks; she knew j^e had a miscarriage on
Tuesday; and she knew that Dr. Sparham gave her medicine", and
used an instrument, to bring on a miscarriage. We venture to say
that not another woman in the Dominion, pregnant with her first
child, cou^d more than barely suspect her condition at the end of four
weeks. How did she know she had a miscarriage on Tuesday, for
not a physician at the trial would damage his reputation by positively
testifying to it •( In the same way that she knew she was pregnant
at the end of four weeks, and had a miscarriage on Tuesday, she knew

nu. ERIC KENZEI, SrAUHAM.

that Dr. Sparliam gavo medicines, and useii an instrument, to produce
a niiscan-iage. Now, wliilo she described eveiy incident of her
trouble with surprising minuteness of detail, giving the words used,
thi hour of the day, and in one instance the few ?nintitos after the
hour, the localities, the goings to and comings from, yet in no instance
does she say, that, Dr. Sparham said he gave medicines, or used an
iustruiufnt, witli the intent spocitied in hei deposition. Tlie idea of
)v miscarriage existed .simply in her own brain, because she believed
Hhe wa,s pregnant, and that certain actions on the part of Greaves and
Spvrltain, whioli wer' to make her, as she says, '■ all right," would
necessarily result in an aboi-tion. It by no mnans follows, that because
she had positive convictions of her own j)r;;gnancy, tliat Sparham
shared in them. It is ce-tain that he could not h.ive been convinced
because, as a mo Heal man, he coiild not pos^bly know. The whole
secret of her mistake, with-regard to Sparliani's and Greave's inten-
tions, she involuntarily lets drop, in the beginning of her narrative,
when she says. Greaves told her, "he would get me some stntf that
would make me all right, that is, that it would bring on my monthly
courses." A young woman, startled by the horrible suspicion that
she is in a condition to bring disgrace upon herself, and dishonor upon
her family, importunes her seducer, who in tvirn importunes his con-
fidential medical attendant, and tlie result is that medicines are given
to " bring on the courses." These are the words she used, and who
<loubta, after reading her deposition, that those were the W(^rds she
was told. It matters not what interpretation she put upon that
language, in her own mind. P>ut it matters everything,- as to inten-
tion on the part of the accused, that she shouhl have been told, that
the object of giving niodicines was to bring on her courses. All the
rest was inferential on her part. While she does not scruple to tell
everything that was said, bearing on the case, even varying the
phraseology to make her meaning clearer, yet she speaks of her mis-
carriage, and the means used to effect it, not as !i thing she was told
about, in- so many words, but as a foregone conclusion, just as her
pregnancy was. Maddened by the thought of future consequences,
she was acting on the offensive, giving no rest until she could be as-
sured she was safe. On the other hand. Greaves and Sparham were
acting on the defensive, impelled by the force of circumstances to do
fiomething to quiet, to procrastinate, to aveit a great calamity perhaps,
for who knows what such a woman might do under circumstances of
great inental distress? Shall a physician refuse to give his female

A DKFENCE OF

patient medicine, whose menstruation has ceased for one, or oven
two periods, because he knows she has been seduced? If he |)ositively
knew, or could by any possibility know at that early period, that the
woman was pregnant, th m for him to give medicines to bring on her
courses, would justify the suspicion of an intent to produce an
abortion. But in the absence of any certainty of diagnosing
pregnancy, it is held by many conscientious physicians, legitimate and
proper to prescribe for the amenorrhoea (cessation of menses), when
the careful and judicious treatment of that derangement could
not possibly cause the products of conception to be (..vpelled.
Were he to act otherwise, would be to stand with his arms folded, and
permit his unfortunate patient oftentimes to continue sick and des-
pondent, for three or four months, until he is able satis. actorily to
diagnose her condition, when, to his mortification, he finds perhaps
no pregnancy, but tubercles in the lun^s, in consequence of his
dignihed inactivity. We know we tread on dangerous gi-ouud, hut
when so much is necessarily left to the judgment and .liscretion of a
physician in matters pertaining to derangements of health will
society mako a cast iron law for him in this particular, which shall
say : give no medicine to the married woman, or the unmarried
seduced woman, who has amenorrhoea, for fear she may be pregnant
There are cases of incipient pregnancy, where ill health from anxiety
IS so great, that it wonld be almost a sin to withhold medicines, because
the won!an frankly confesses she has been seduced, and fears she is in
the " family way" In such a case, all the ordinary symptoms of
pregnancy may be absent, and it is a matter of doubt whether the case
IS one of amenorrhoea or pregnancy, shall the physician refuse to treat
the former, although he is confident his treatment will not disturb
the due course of the latter, when treatment means the removal of
anxiety, the restoration of color to the cheek, and the regulation of
the functions of assimilation and nutrition ? The antipathy of the
woman Burnham to Dr. Sparham, is one of the marked features of
the deposition. Terms of doubtful import, by which his identity
might fail to be established, or the guilt of her final undoing fully
brought home to him, were re-arranged, to impress the dullest com-
prehension. To say that she was in the " family way" was to her not
sufficiently explanatory, and she hastens to declare that she meant
she was pregnant. Then with what relentlass signiticai-e of vf-potition
she declares :-"The pills and medicines given me by Greaves, were
given me to procure my own miscarriage ; " " the instrument was so

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

introduced to bring on my miscarriage ;" " the instrument was intro-
duced and used on Sunday, as on Fiiday, to bring on a miscarriage ;"
"and performed the operatioa again of introducing an instrument
into my womb, for the purpose of bringing on a miscarriage;" "I had
a miscarriage on Tuesday, it was the resuU of the medicines given mo,
and tlie operations performed oh me by Dr. Sparham ;" " My present
illness is the result of the operations and medicines ;" " If I die in
this sickness, I believe it will have been caused by the operations
performed on me by Dr. Sparham, at the instigation of William
Greaves ;" " the operations wer? ^..^f jv ,^ied, and the medicines given,
by Dr. Spirham, with the inte it to proc ue my miscarriage." Surely
no one could be mistaken as t. ■ li<-i mean ag, yet she absolutely could
know nothing about the truth of ^vhat < e so positively asserts her
conviction. She was just as ceriiv t that she was pregnant, and that
an instrument was introduced into her womb, or that the injections
she used entered the womb, which would be an impossibility.
No doubt she was convinced of the truth of what she deposed.
But was it true? To arrive at the truth contaiued in her deposition,
we must disentangle the facts from the iufei-ences. It was cer-
tainly a fact, that she got medicine from Gr(>aves to bring on her
courses ; that she states positively. It is evident, however, that she
thought to " bring on her courses," and " to produce a miscarriage,"
were one and the same thing. To her, this mistake made no difference,
but the same mistake in Dr. Sparham would make every difference
because he could not possibly bring on her "courses" by inducing
an abortion, and a judicious attempt to restore tlie menses, would be
most unlikely to produce a miscarriage. Besides, the treatment of
amenorrhoea is legitimate, but the induction of abortion i.s rarely a
necessary procedure. We feel a.ssnred there is sufficient evidence
in the deposition itself to dis|»rove any attempt at abortion on
the part of Dr. Sp.oa-ham. It was an inference, however, that an in-
strument was introduced into her womb, just as clearly as it was that
the injections were to enter the womb. If the instrument was to be
introduced into the womb, for what purpose did Sparham want the
better light 1 A physicicn never requires light to guide an instrument
into the womb. Better light would not avail him at all, without he
used a speculum, because if he had a thousand eyes, and the effulgence
of a thousand suns, he could not see anything without a speculum.
Sparham's demand for a better light, clearly establishes the fact, that
he used a speculum, which could only be used, in her case, for pur-

A DEFENCE OF

poses of diagnosis. Now, if an instrument were inh-odnnerl into I.er
womb, she would be unable to locaJize any sensation from it It
might be m the back, or in the abdomen, or thiglis ; so Ihat for iier
to say that an instrument was introduced into her womb, would be
to declare what she could possibly have no knowledge of, from her
own sensations. That si.e was not tol.l so by Sparhan. is certain for
, she has taken good care to tell everything that could establish the
guilt of the prisoners.- That injections were to be syringed into the
womb, that an instrument was actually intro.luced into the womb or
that medicines w.'re given, and operations performed on her f.,r the
purpose of bringing on a miscarriage, are n.erelv ti,e inferences of a
woman thoroughly impressed with a certain fixed idea. We wmt
the facts, and the facts only. By them we are prepared to stand or
tail. It may be objected tiiat Greaves tol.l her, 8parham would use
an instmment. Ofcour.se, and Greav.-s likewise told her, the injec-
tions would go into the womb, when Sparham could not possil)Iy have
told him so, unless he lied, for ho kiu-w better. The fact w'as, the
woman was pertinacious in her inquiries, for she was bound to be
satisfied that these men were acting in goo<l faith. To he told, that
injections could not bo made to enter the womb, by her own unaided
efforts, would have been to her an incomprehensible means of accom-
plishing the end in view. Hence, Greaves told her the injectins were
to go into the womb, for she could understand, how water im-
pregnated with medicine, by entering the womb, might dislod.re the
products of conception. She was evidently ivstless an.l .suspicious of
the uselessne.ss of all medicines, for had she not been taking pills and
drenches for. a whole month, without effect, and to be told that when
all else failed, instruments might be efHci(>ntly employed, would be to
satisfy and cpiiet her. (Jreavos was certainly at his wit's end to
prevent an outburst of fury and a s-ne, and unfortunately Hparhara
m his weakness must have lent himself to the deception. But tiiat
he did any more than this, is an nsult to common sense, and a con-
travention of facta. Let it not be forgotten, that Hparham only gave
medicines to bring on her cour.nes, wiiich, as a physician, he luul a
perfect right to do • but that he give them for an illegitimate purpose,
has not the slightest shadow of proof, only the vague deductions of a
mind ill at ease. That ho also u.sed a speculum, we do not discredit,

the presunintivo o . leucn beimr i.. f,)v,^,' «.r u i...^ .. .... ,i .ij

not effect, and would not be used for purposes of abortion. We take
the position, supported l^ facts and warrantable probabilities, that

DR. ERIO BENZEL SPARIIAM.

Dr. Spailiam tieutitl his patient for idiopatliic suppression of the
menses, which, in the event of pregnancy, woukl not tend to disturb
it. That the nature of the medicines he prescribed, whether hy
mouth or by injection, would bear out that conchision; that not Vieing
able to diagnose pregnancy, lie honestly treated her for amenorrhoea,
which might be the diilii ulty ; tliat neither Sparham nor Greaves told
tlio woman that a misuariiage was to be elfocted, but that h<n- courses
were to be brought on ; that although Sparham miist have known th«
meaning attached by (lie woman to the phrase*" would bring on my
monthly courses," yet, for (jbvious reasons, he did not se^k to instruct
her as to the true .stile of the case, because she would not, in her
frenzied condition of mind, submit to any treatment, except that
having for its object the expulsion of the products of conci'i)ti )n.
Thit some kind of tnatni'-nt was neces.sary to net the morbid
anxiety of the woman iis tc ln-r comiition, may be inferred from the
history of the case as given by herself. Now, the true state of the
case may be sununed up as follows: — After her seduction, Mias
Burnham wish(>d (Jreaves to marry her, which ho refused. When
her "cour.ses" did not come on at the next pcu-iod, she stated her condi-
tion to (ireaves, who promised to get something to bring them on.
For that purpo.se, he piocuie 1 Sir James Clarke's |)ills. These failing,
he applied to Si>:irham. Sparham knowing the impossibility ot
diagnosing piegnancy at that early period, and hoping tlrnt her
" courses " had ceas(Hl from natural causes, concluded to trout her for
idiopathic su|)|iressiou of the menses, expecting that when the next
monthly period came arcnind she would be all right ; that in order to
persuade her to submit to suoii a len'.;thened treatmtuitj Greaves told
her that all failing, instruments might, be etrectiv(^ly used; that she
finally insisieil upon the fu'tilment of liia promise to u.se instrnmetits ;
that iier importunities were ho great, and her morl)id anxiety border-
ing on frotjzy so evident, that Sparliam did use a Bpeculum, partly as
a placebo, and paitly for the purpose of examining the mouth of tho
womb ; that observing a congested oomlition of tho womb, probably
arising from the action of the small pox poison on the mucous
membrane of the genitals, he felt certain that menstruation wn« just
about to take place, and hence ho told her "it would come for aire
this time ;" that at this very time she was already infectttd by small
pox, whieh-. prodn.eiiitt abortio'l, yavn riso to puernural fever iind
death. As corrobeiativo evidence that theio was no understanding
between Greavea and Sparham to procure an abortion, and that oiir

A DEFENCE OF

Deposition of Wm. H. Greaves.
Province of Ontario, ) I WilUnm tt n

person on his part, either directly or incZe dv it ' "'

Bo„ Jl sit" ' "■"""'• '"'^'•"^ "■■ '"'"'■«'"J'. 8-» the „id Dr. Eric

con-icd t,,e^J;;;, ' ■ "■"' "'"■"°'"' °^ "-^ f'"'-" - «ny way

3. That I never, diiwtly ,,r i„,lirectly, by myself „r bv «„»

other per»„,. ,.„ „,y behalf, „,pp„ed the .aid So,.ld 1 a'iC

en ble her o have .„ abortio,, ,K.rf„r,„„d, or .t.,„„|,tM ,. b pe^
for,„ed, o„J,er by any ,«,„„, „,. fo,, „„y .„„,, J, P"^"

S«.,„ before me at the Kingston FVnitontiary, at .he Oif, of
Kn,g.to„^.„ «,. connty of Frontenao, thi. U.X. ,Uy „f dI™!:'

• E. H. D,CK,o», <"*"'"'* ^- "■ «""V>8.

^ Co/tmiiaaioner, d-c.

th. ^[^^'.'r''^'^'''', "'■ '^•^^". t»"' Toronto ahcrti.ni.st, be taken by
the authontu.. and be conniderod HufHoin.tly relial-N; to ca " .1
acUon to ha aga,nBt Alderu.an Cl„nn,„t«, «urel, tho evid.,I
CJroaveH who was acce.Hory before the f«.,t. J.l could not Iv.
I'X '" ;""• ''"''^' *'"' •'•^'^^'' '"• ^'"" — '. «"«ht to e more
^t. < od..nt, of the two w.tne.seH. His t.Htin.,ny, together with thn
^...^-.aavo evu,ou.« we have alrea.ly adduced, sh.mid clear up all
romuuung doubts, which the most sceptical may entert^un, with r.4

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

to the innocence of the accused. For fear, however, that some
vestiges ot incredulity may exist with regard to Dr. Sparhara's treat-
ment of bis patient, we shall now consider it, in as biief a manner,
as is consistent with clearness and comprehensibility.

No one knew better than Dr. Sparham, a skilfuP and experienced
physician of twenty years standing, the eflFect of meiicines in produc-
ing an abortion, and the danger arising from the use of instruments
for the same purpose; and we would naturally expect that his pro-
cedure, if he had any reason to suspt ct i> probability of pregnancy,
would be characterized by extreme catitiua, having, \yith instinctive
professional guardedness. the safety of his patient in view. Upon
reading the woman's deposition, three fucta of peculiar significance
stand prominently forth : 1st — The numns of certain drugs used, itia
said, to produce a miscarriage; 2nd -The employment of vafrinal
injections in aid thereof; 3rd— The use of a tubular instalment,
which was a reserved force t'^ effect the coup de grace. The medicinea
mentioned in the deposition as given to his paiient by Dr. Sparham
were iron, myrrh and aloes. We will first speak of the general efiecst
of medicines in producing abortion, and of these medicines in
paitioular. Dr. Taylor in his standard work on Medical Juris-
prudence, page 415, says:— " Medical substances are perhaps more
frequently resorted to, for inducing criminal abortion, than other
means, but thev rarely answer the iutended purpose, and when thin
result is obtained, it is generally at the expense of the life of tho
mother." There is no drug, pays Mole, " w^uch will produce miscafr
riage in women, who are not predisposed to it, without acting
violently on their system, and jjrobably endangering their lives."
Copeland says :— " Where abortions of a stimulatmg character suo-
ceed in causing a miscarriage, they can only do so at the risk of de-
stroying the woman's life," De La Motte also states :— " That he has
seen the most energetic evacuants produce gastritis, enteritis, peritoor
itis, and death itself, without al)ortion following as a consequence."
We have produce J tho above extracts to show the oxtromo hazard of
using medicinal substances toeffect abortion.and tho very great improb-
■ftbility, that an educated medical m^n would employ them for that
purpose. Now, it is oha''g«l in the deposition agxinst Dr. Spai ham,
that he did give certain drugs to bring on a miscHrriage. The fact
was established, that he administered certain drugs, tlie names of
.which were specified, with the exception of a powder, that looked
like a phosphate of iron ; but hit. intent has been, as we have soeo,

W> A DEFENCE OF

only inferred. The woman's evidence, as to facts, is good, bu: her
deductions are quite a different thing. If she had deimed that
Spai-ham gave her medicines, telling her that they were inien.iel to
cause her miscarriage, then that would be a fact, and the conclusion
would be irresistible, in the absence of positive rebutting testimony,
th^tt his intent ^as crinunal. But if, on the other han'I,'^he g^ve her
medicines, and told her those medicines were to bring on her
♦'courses," then, -^o matter what her convictions were, ve must
accept the statement as literally true, without it can be shown, that
the medicines would not have the effect of bringing on a woman's
"courses," or that an additional piobable effect would be to piwure a
miscarriage, in the event of pregnancy being the cause of the "coui-sea"
having ceased. This is an honest and reasonable statement ot the
case, and by it Sparham's intent must be judged. From the de| .osition
we learn that Sparham caused to be administered to her a mixture of
iron, myrrh, and aloes. We shall examine these medicines separately
•nd in combination, and judge of their physiological etf.cts and
therapeutical indications. But. firat of all, we would direct tiie
attention of +be reader to the fact, that medicines sometirnep act upon
pregnant women harmfully at an advanced stage of utero ges(ation,
when at an early period they are remedial and beneficial. Without
this fact is constantly borne in mind, our deductions m. • nc.t b©
entirely in accord with the experience of some medical r. .. And
in S|H iiking of those medicines m particular, we would have it undet^
•tood, that our remarks hS-e intended to apj>ly to cases of pregnancy in
the earhj month, as the one utider consideration, without it°is otiiei^
wise stated. What about iron t Did any medical man ever know
of iron pi-oducing an abortion? Cazeau, the celebrated French
•ccoucheur, after maintaining the view, that the system during
preamancy is in a state of anaemlo^hlorosis, says ;— "An .-inimul diet
•nd the administration of chalybeates (iron) have for mnny years
•eomed to me to be as useful against the functiouHl disoideis of
pregnancy as against those of chlorosis." Dr. I^i.-hman, while
admitting that iron sometimes deranges the digestion of a piegnant
woman, and that she is frnpiently in a chlorotie condition, renarka:
•' The only class of medicines which stand prominently in a<i ,., /
others in the ti-eatment of chlorosis, (of pregnancy) are, ofcc r-^ .„«
various preparations of iron, which should, therefor... in every casa be
tried." Here we have the highest French and English Mithr.iity m
to the theraiKJutical indications of iron in pregnancy. jSTow, Copland,

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

in his " Dictionary of Medicine," vol. 1, page 10, says :— " When
from our knowledge of the state of the ovum in previous abortion, wo
suspect a repetition of it, we may endeavor to prevent it by using
those means which are most successful in imparting energy to the
constitution, and through it to the generative functions, so that the
process of foetation may proceed to a successful issue. This is perhaps
best accomplished by change of air, the use of the tonic mineral
waters, both internally and in the form of baths, by the mineral acids
given in the infusions of the bitter tonics, or with the solutions of tha
salts of iron, as the Tr. Fen isesquichloridi * * and by attention to
the state of the bowels, to diet, and gentle, "out regular, exercise." It
it not a little remarkable in this connection, that while Dr. Sparham
has been specially charged with an attempt at abortion by the use of
drugs, the very first one on the list is shown to be not only a desirable
remedial agent for a very common derangement of pregnancy, but
actually recommended by very high authority in cases of anticipated
or threatened abortion. Next we have myrrh coming up in review.
This medicine has been unaccountably claimed by the ignorant as
having abortive tendencies. We never yet heard of an instance of
its i)roducing abortion, and believe it to be no more abortive than
castor oil. It is a tonic and stimulant, and says Stille, vol. 2, page
602 :— " It has been found very useful in atonic dyspepsia character-
ized by flatulence, mucous evacuatious, constipation, and associated
nervous disorders of a hysterical or hypochondriacal nature. In this
affection it is advantageously associated with vegetable bitters and
ferruginous (iron) preparations." Who doubts, after reading Miss
Burnham's deposition, that she was hysterical, and even hypTchon-
dria<^al ; yet here is myrrh in combination with iron recommended for
that ve»7 condition, by a man who evidently understood his bi' .,.jo»
Turn again to Copland's " Dictimary of Medicine," vol. 1, \)ugB 6,
and find :— "Hysterical states of the nervous system" as predisposing
to abortion. As far then as iron and myrrh are concerned,
while they are shown not to be abortives, they are among our raos*
effective agents for removing pecviliarities of condition, that tend to
produce abortion. We now fall back ujwn aloes, which t «nu8 to be tha
bug-boar. What do the best authorities of the day say of it and ita
class 1 Taylor, in his Medical Jurifipnidenco, says :— " Purgativea
l;.i. 1 ~.....i. »»....:.,:>.» nrill rouililv rti-nrliinA Abortion in tha

advanced stages of jregnanoy, but those violent modicines/oi/ in tbeif
•ff«ct in tha earlier stages. The subBtancos just mentioned oxort aa

A DEFENCE OF

xnd^ achon on the uterus by producing shock to the ^...ral
sr tem. Here are two facts vorthy of comment : Ist-Pur-a^.v.,
&.1 (no quahfication) to produce abortion in the earlier mo^th. .f
pregnancy; 2nd-They .-un only produce such effects h. shock t<. th.
gene.^1 system, and hence must bo given in .normous doses, sufficient

IrTnt rr K ; 1' " ^""""^^ ^"^^^^^ '^^^ Tayl.-, still n.ore
^nng, U.a abor .on by medicine, is «genn-a ;. at the expense of
the hfe of the mother." But if Dr, ^^parham h.i really intended :v
p^xiuce abortion by aloes, why did he give it in cou junci Ion w:. i, iron
^ myrrh, which, as we have seen, .e, under eortan c.ndit.on.,
actvnl preventives ol sucU an untoward event] The v>ason in
OuMous, a, will be aoon-made apparent. What we a^. at ^re,ent
more concerneu a.out is the pz-oof that aloes, equally with iron and

abor^^jon. No mec. v mau. who knows anything about tu history
of this unfortunate . .e, vo.,ld hesitate to say, that th. woman
Burnham .va« m an hysterical and hypochondriacal conditi .. Her ■
^l^^u . ^^ther-in-law, Dr. Moore, and studied .oldness"

^^u"^ T^^T.'' "'^''^ ^'•^^ ""'™^^« ^"°"- -' *he trial,uad her
imtabxhty and morkd anxiety to get rid of the source of her .! ame.

Wonder f ^ ""I' ™"' ^'^'^ ^"^P"'* ^^ «-«*--' -d>-,o i .
Wond the shadow of a doubt. Now, in hypochondriasis obstinate,
constipation is the most constant symptom, and in hysteria it is a
-..nmonone. (see Reynolds, Copland, «. pa««zm.) It would, then, be a.
na..«ral urferenoe, that such was the case in this instance. Copland
-ays chat "oonstipation" is one of the ''exciting" causes of abortion ;
and Dr. Lee who edits Copland's "Dictionary of Medicine." in the
article on abortion, i-emarks : "pressure exercised on the uterus by
the bladder and rectum, when these organs are distended," r re ex6itini;
causes. No purgative would probably be equail , effective with aloe.
in obviating constipation, and by some medical men it is habitually
used m the constipation of pregnancy. But where used in conjunction
with iron and myrrh, a three-told object would be secured, namely,
removmg debility, correcting the hysterical and hyi,ochoniriacaI^
tendency, and regulating the intestinal discharges. We look t fh«.
connection in which medicines are given by a judicious and ec d

practitioner, te judge of hi» intent, and we venture to assr - ,huf
wnen Dr. Spaiham prosci ' iron, mvrrh un,i ^i^- ^.^ ■ ^ ^
had no intention of produ. an abortion: It wkTjo • ' v . Li,
ment as a well-informed medical man would most likely a(Sv. '.njuni

DR. ERIC BEKZEL 8PARHAM.

69"

such a woman, in a similar condition, who was morbidly anxious to
retain the products of conception. Then it must not be forgotten, that
she was taking the above mixture for a whole month, which clearly
indicates, that the Doctor was striving to strengthen her and .improve
her blood, so that when the time came for her menses to appear, her ;
system would be in a suitable condition for its spontaneous evolution. .
To prove that this is the legitimate. eflTect of the medicines adminis.
tered to the woman by Dr. Sparham, we are obliged to quote again
from Dr. Stillef, who, in his " Therapeutics," vol. 2, page 602, says : —
"Amenorrhoea (suppression of the menses) and scanty menstruation*
when they depend on a cold, relaxed, and torpid state of the system, ;
are benefitted by myrrh, especially when in combination with iron, as
in GriflSth's Mixture." Again he says : — " There are cases on the
other hand of simple ansemia with scanty or suppressed menstruation,
accompanied, in the former case, with some degree of uterine pain,
and, in the latter, replaced by an ineffectual and painful effort, recur-
ring with more or less regularity at monthly periods. Such cases are
usually cited as indicating torpor of the uterine system, and it is
certain, that in their treatment an almost essential adjunct to iron
consists in the use of almtic laxatives, and such general hygienic
measures as tend to p'^imulate and strengthen all the functions of the
economy," (Stille, vol. 1, page 468). We have now said sufficient
concerning the medicines administered by Dr. Sparham, to establish
beyond a reasonable doubt, that he did not intend to produce abortion
by them, but that his object was, in every sense, a legitimate one in
treating his patient for idiopathic suppression of the menses ; more
especially, a« such treatment could not possibly interfere with the
natural course of pregnancy, if such existed. We next turn our
attention to the use of vaginal injections, which have been supposed
to be another link in the chain of circ-mstantial evidence, tending to
criminate the prisoner Sparham. We admit, that vaginal injections
have been used to bring on premature labor when the child is viable,
and might, if there was a strong predisposition to abortion, effect it
in the earlier months; but they are attended with so many risks, while
much safer and more effective methods of producing the same result
are known, that they have fallen into deserved disuse. But vaginal
injections are likewise employed to assist in restoring the menses,
whoQ they havG boon doiayea or supprcssou. An esserxtial aujuaet to
the'T success in causing the foetus to be expelled, would be a foreible,
impinging of a steady stream of warm water against the loweri

A DEFENCE OF

segment of the uterus for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, and such
injections used frequently in the day ; so thnt ap^irt from the d^^nger,
it is rather a clumsy method of effecting what might be accomi.lished
much moj-e readily and saf.ly. In readii.g the depcsiiion, we find no
Buoh directions given as the above. A pint .of water was used at a
sitting, whereas it would require quarts to make it anyti.ing like a
success in producing a niiscai riage. To act as an abortive, it must be
used with such force, and for such a lengthened period, tis to produce
a. shock, and thus, by reflex action, induce labor pains. Whereas,
when used to restore the menses, it acts like a shower bath upon the
Skin, by attracting the blood to the part, which object is attained by
a minimum quantity of fluid ; for as in the shower bath, so in this
case, a shock is in every sense to be avoided. Then, it will be
remembered, thatSparham had been for a whole month preparing her
system for the natural restoration of the menses, by medicines, wlose
effect would be antagonistic to any such attempt at abortion, because
the better her general condition, the loss likelihood of his being able
to produce an amount of shock, necessary to bring on labor pains. It
will not be forgotten, by those who read the evidence of the Toronto
abortionist, Davis, that after using the metallic catheter and syringe
Lis victim felt a shock and a chill. No doubt he introduced a male
catheter into the womb and syringed water by that means into it. It
will be thus plain, that VHginal injections to bring on abortion must
produce shock, and to produce shock the fluid must be impinged
against the lower uterine segment with continued force. In eve /
way, however, it looks unreasonable that Sparham'a left hand should
strive to undo what his right hand had labored to build up. But we
find him directing medicine from a bottle, to be used with a pint of
water. Accoixling to Stille, vol. 1, page 328, Lavagna used injections
of liquor ammonia diluted, for suppression of menses ; and on page
367, he records the fact that Retzius, of Stockholm, used vaginll
injections of lunar caustic for the same purpose. Now, we never
heard of medicated vaginal injections being used to induce a miscar-
riage, and would consider that giving them with that intent, and in
sutticient strength and with such force as to effect it, would be incuiTing
a risk too great to be thought of for a moment. From these facts it
will be apparent that Dr. Spaiham, by recommending medicated

yaginal iniections -wast oimtilv />uT...'.ri'nr. r>.,«- j-i i _ i^ •

- - 1--,- j---=, ••'!!,• vuc raiuc genera,! plan oi

endeavoring to restore the menses : Ist— By a course of strengthening
medioinw, calculated to impart vigor to the system, improve th«

DR. EKIC BENZEL 8PARHAM.

condition of the blood, and regulate the secretions; and 2nd -By
stimulating vagina! injections to aid the nienstrvial nisus, just as we
ordinarily use stimulating hip-baths ; for it will not be forgotten that
the injections were used at the close of the second month, when the
menses ought to appear, if there were simple suppressiou. If
Dr Fparham were an igno.ant quack, we would not pretend to
fathom his motives or account for his actions, because then, we might
exprct from him any . gregious act of folly. But that a man of skill
and experience should do that, winch we can o.dy attribute to grosa
ignoi-ance, or blind infatuation, is asking too much to believe, until
we obtain more reliable proofs that knowledge is but an igneuB fatuns,
and tl.at one, held responsible by the laws of his country, is a fit
subject for a lunatic asylum. We have already referred to the
instrument, which the woman s.ys, was introduced into her womb,
although she does not tell how she knew that important fact. The
only proof, she could have, of the instrument having entered the
womb, apart f.om what Spu-l.am might have told her. would be
certain vague sensations, which it would be imposs.ble for her to
distinctly localize in that organ. She evidently thought the mject.ons
entered the womb, but that would be impossible, without she c.used
the nozzle of the svringe to enter the os-uteri, which would be
impracticable. Doubtless she thought, that everything passing into
the vaginal canal found its way, as a matter of course, into the
womb. But it will n-^ver do to permit her baseless deductions to
Bwear away the life and liberty of a man. In the absence of any
direct r)roof of the kind of instrument- used, we have a right to infer,
for reisons self-evident, that Dr. Sparham used a speculum, which he
could 80 manipulate that she .night say with perf^'ct truth, " he
moved it about in me." The inferential proof that the instrument
was a speculum.consists in the fact, that he must have "b»tter light."
To introduce a uterine sound, as Dr. Brouse suggested, does not
require light, becau e light will not avail anything, for the obvious
reason, that as the lips of the v«gina are closed, no liiiht can pene-
trate. Such an instrument would be introduced hy feeling for th«
OS-uteri witli the finger, and gui lin? the instrument along it into the
womb. But did he not use a speculum for the purpose of introducing
a uterine bom' into the womb? It is impossible to enter a uterine
gnund thrc 1 > X speculum up to the fundus of a womb in the second
month of pregnancy. Consider the axis of the womb in relation to
the wgina, which would be in the direction of a line dra^n from

!72

A DEfENCE OF

the fundus through the oe-rttori, nx, impinging upon the centre of
the Sacrum, or ahnost i)6rj*jadioular to the plane of the bed.
Then consider the anuve of the sound, and the nan-ow openings
at the extremities ol the speculum, which would prevent the advance
of the sound further than the neck of the womb. It is a physical
impossibility to introduce a uterine sound throus'h a si)eculum up to
the fundus of such a womb, and by that, lueaui am sufficient force
to cause i, penetrating wound of the upper part of it Because,
to produce such a wound by an instrument necessarily curved and
•tiflP, the (iandle of the instrument would have to be depressed towards
the periiiLJim, or couch upon which the woman reclined, as any one
who has i'pplied the forceps with the head high up in the pelvis must
be avi ;• r J. Ti'or it is notorious that in the second month of p»egnancy
there is invariably anteversion of the womb. Then, again, the
fact of his requiring the speculum to introduce the sound*
shows that amount of timidity as to its introduction, incora"
patible with the amount of foi*ce nec^sarily required to pene-
trate an organ which Dr. Gray, in his " Anatomy," says, " ' :
about as dense as cartilage." In a document so important as the
declaration of a person upon tho eve of death, we are apt, out of
respectful reverence to the departed, and perhaps influenced by a
feeling akin to superstition, that to criticise it in the same sharp, bluff
way we might any other document, would amount to a species of
sacrilege. It may be, too, that we instinctively feel, that such a
document, given under such circumstanoes, is more apt to contain
statements more truth" ' than ve shoul expect un.ler the ordinary
circumstances of vigoro ..■ healUi, and a long prospect of life before
the narrator. We are personally conscious of this feeling, and
nothing but a stern sense r" I stice to the living, a11oye<'. with no kind
of disiespect to the dead, forces us to sift cat of the dejwsition, the
reliable facts from the unreliable deductions, Ihe facts weio, that
, the woman got medicines from Sparham to Li ,:g onber "courses"; tliiit
these medicines were iron, myrrh, a' aloes , that she had given to
her vaginal injections to aid the mi iit and that an irnsi nuuent
was 'j.sed bj being introduced into va^ la, ostensibly to aid the

Tiipdicines and injections. The groundless inferences wc that
inedicines were used to bring on a miscan-iage ; that injectione
entered her womb ; that an instrument was introduced into th^
womb; that operations were performed to bring on a miscarriage;
and that her present illness was due to the medicines and operations.

DR. ERIC BENZEL SPARHAM.

We have shown that the medicines are ordinarily and legitimately
used to bring on menstruation; that they are not used by men know-
ing their physiological effects to produce abortion, because they cannot
produce it, especially in the early months, without involving coinci-
dently the death of the mother ; that, on the contrary, they are em-
ployed to remove peculiarities of condition, lending to abortion ; that
a woman with an ordinary rubber syringe cannot cause an injection
to enter her womb; that a woman cannot sufficit'ntly Iqcalize her
sensations so as to be confident that an instrument has entered her
womb; that the strong probability is in ftivor of a speculum being used
by Sparham, but that a speculum could not produce abortion ; that if
a speculum were used, a uterine sound or similar instrument could
not be used simultaneously so as to ■ made to perforate the fundus
uteri ; that there are no facts, elicited from evidence, leading to the
belief tbat any other iixstrument, but one requiting "better light," was
used ; that a uterine sound does not requiie better light to use
properly, but that a speculum does. We have likewise shown, that
the long time, during which medicines were taken by Miss Burnham,
•vould indicate, that they could not have been prescribed by an
icated medical man for abortive purposes, but rather to strengthen
&L . build up. And that if those medicines were strengthening and
regui "^ing, as they 'undoubtedly were, abortion would not naturally
result from their use. We consider, that the deposition itself, by the
internal ev' nee it affords, contrary to popular opinion, ought to be
sufficient ti prove the charge of attempted abortion on the part of
Dr. Spatham. There is no evidence in it? to show that any such
attempt was made, nothing but assertions and inferences. But that
the inferences, when properly drawn, point in an oi)posite direction,
there can certainly be no reasonable question. Taking for granted
that the whole charge against Dr. Sparham is true, th; he did
attempt the abortion with instruments, what is the position he f>cca"
pied t Why this : that an educated medical man accepts as tru' the
ipse dixit of a half crazed woman, that she is in the 'family way " at
such an early period, that it is impossible for him to verify its cor-
rectness, and that he proceeds forthwith, upon such slim evidences, to
stab away at that which, at the very best, could only be a projection from
the inner surface of the womb, but which, on the other band, might
be nothing at all. If the woir. u had been pregnant four or five

-'\/nivi Ttr*

5" know ^^at a ft«->up.

thf

attempt would not appear so absurd. But as he could not know

A DEFENCE OF DB. ERIC BENZEL SPAKHAM.

positively, it is incredible on the face of it. Now, we know for
certain that he did not accept her ipse dixit as true, for, aa we have
clearly shown, ho treated her for idiopathic suppression ol the menses
which would have been all waste powder in case of pregnancy. He
only used an instrument when, by her importunity, he was obliged to
do something to pacify her, and one use of it of course demanded
another. Doubtless he was anxious likewise to observe the condition
of the OS-uteri, to observe whether any glairy discharge was issuing
from it, besides arriving at some approximate idea of the existence of
affections of the womb which notoriously simulates pregnancy. Of
coui-se we can only conjee uire as to his reasons for using a speculum, but
if he doubted the existence of pregnancy, there are very good reasons
why he used it for purposes of diagnosis. That he did use one ig
quite evident, and that be did not use it to assist in procuring an
abortion is just as evident. We have now examined the proofs jwro
et con, and hope that the public generally, and the medical profession
in particular, will give them that careful consideration which the
importance of the case demands. We trust we have established from
incontrovertible scientific facts and deductions, that the woman
Burnham could not have possibly had a penetrating wound of the
fundus uteri, but that the opening observed post mortem was due to
natural causes. We are convinced we have pi-oven that the symp-
toms during life, and the morbid appearances after death, were due to
the action of a specific poison called small pox. We now claim from
the public a sentence logically demanded from the following portion
of Judge Patterson's charge:— "But if besides the wound there is
another cause, as from pus generated, it might be from small pox. If
that is so, and death was really caused by amall pox, then we could
not say that the wound was the cause of death, as the disease might
occur naturally." Gruided by ihe above judicious and equitable con-
siderations, WE DEMAND JUSTICE, AND CONFIDENTLY AWAIT THE DECI-
SION OF AN INTELLIGENT AND CONSCIENTIOUS BRITISH PUBLIC,