of it. They adopt, however, a remedy which the Tonga people have borrowed of them, and consists in the operation of tocolósi, or passing a reed, first wetted with saliva, into the urethra, so as to occasion a considerable irritation and discharge of blood; and if the general spasm is very violent, they make a seton of this passage, by passing down a double thread, looped over the end of the reed; and when it is felt in the perinæum, they cut down upon it, seize hold of the thread, and withdraw the reed, so that the two ends of the thread hang from the orifice of the urethra, and the doubled part from the artificial opening in the perinæum. The thread is occasionally drawn backwards and forwards, which excites very great pain and abundant discharges of blood. The latter operation Mr. Mariner has seen performed several times, but only twice for tetanus, arising in both instances from wounds in the foot. In these cases the spasms, but particularly the convulsive paroxysms, were exceedingly violent, extending to the whole body, neck, face, trunk, and extremities but in neither case was the jaw permanently locked, though on every accession it was violently closed for a few moments. native of the Feejee Islands performed one operation, and Hala Api Api the other: they both happened at Vavaoo at different times. In either

A

case the disease came on suddenly, three or four days after the wound was received, which was from an arrow not barbed. The moment the symptoms became evident tocolosi was performed. In the short space of two hours one of them was greatly relieved, and the other in about six or eight hours. The following day the one on whom Hala Api Api operated was quite well, and afterwards had no other attack, consequently the thread was withdrawn. The effect of this operation was a considerable pain and tumefaction of the penis, but which gradually subsided in about five or six days. The artificial openings in both cases healed spontaneously without any difficulty.

The natives of these islands are very subject to enlarged testicles, and for this they sometimes perform the operation of boca (castration). Mr. Mariner's limited observation on this subject does not authorize him to speak with any degree of certainty in regard to the precise nature of these tumefactions. Their mode of performing this operation is summary enough. A bandage being tied with some degree of firmness round the upper part of the scrotum, so as to steady the diseased mass, at the same time that the scrotum is closely expanded over it, an incision is made with bamboo, just large enough to allow the testicle to pass, which being sepa

rated from its cellular connexions, the cord is divided, and thus ends the operation. They neither tie the cord nor take any pains to stop the bleeding; but if the testicle be not very large, and the epidydimis not apparently diseased, they perform the operation by dissecting it from that body with the same instru

ment.

One of these cases was that of a man who performed the operation on himself. His left testicle was greatly enlarged, being about five or six inches in diameter, and gave him at times severe lancinating pains. Two or three times he was about to have the operation performed by a native of Feejee, but his courage failed him when he came to the trial. One day when with Mr. Mariner, he suddenly determined to have the operation performed upon himself; and it was not much sooner said than done. He tied on the bandage, opened the scrotum with a very steady hand, in a fit of desperation divided the cord and cellular substance together, and fell senseless on the ground. The hoemorrhage was very profuse.

The amputation of a limb is an operation very seldom performed; nevertheless it has been done on at least a dozen individuals.

There was also a man living at the island of Vavaoo who had lost a leg in consequence of

the bite of a shark, which is not a very uncommon accident. But there was something unusual in this man's particular case: his leg was not bitten off, but the flesh was almost completely torn away from about five inches below the knee down to the foot, leaving the tibia and fibula greatly exposed, and the foot much mangled. He was one of those who chose to perform his own operation. With persevering industry, therefore, he sawed nearly through the two bones with a shell, renewing his tedious and painful task every day till he had nearly accomplished it, and then completed the separation by a sudden blow with a stone! The stump never healed. Mr. Mariner had this account from the man himself and many others.

Téfe, or the operation of circumcision, is thus performed: A narrow slip of wood of a convenient size, being wrapped round with gnatoo, is introduced under the præputium, along the back of which a longitudinal incision is then made to the extent of about half an inch, either with bamboo or shell (the latter is preferred). This incision is carried through the outer fold and the beginning of the inner fold, the remainder of the latter being afterwards torn open with the fingers. The end of the penis is then wrapped up in the leaf of a

tree called gnatái, and is secured with a bandage. The boy is not allowed to bathe for three days; the leaf is renewed once or twice a day. At the Feejee Islands this operation is performed by amputating a portion of the præputium, according to the Jewish rite.

The operation of the ta tattow, or puncturing the skin and marking it with certain configurations, though it is not properly surgical, yet we mention it here, as it is very apt to produce enlargements of the inguinal and axillary glands. The instrument used for the purpose of this operation somewhat resembles a small-toothed comb. They have several kinds of different degrees of breadth, from six up to fifty or sixty teeth they are made of bone of the wild duck. Being dipped in a mixture of soot and water, the outline of the tattow is first marked off, before the operator begins to puncture, which he afterwards does by striking in the points of the instrument with a short stick made of the green branch of the cocoa-nut tree. When the skin begins to bleed, which it quickly does, the operator occasionally washes off the blood with cold water, and repeatedly goes over the same places. As this is a very painful process, but a small portion of it is done at once, giving the patient (who may justly be so called) intervals of three or four days' rest, so that it is frequently