EXTRA-LIMITES, BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR AND PORTRAIT OF DR. JAMES JOHNSON, Senior Editor of the Medico-Chirurgical Review.* "Nec medici, nec imperatores, nec oratores, quamvis artis præcepta perceperint, quidquam magnæ laudis dignum sine usu, et exercitatione consequi possunt."-CICERO. A justly celebrated physiologist and physiciant has well observed, that "that man is a scientific physician, who is well acquainted with, and has appropriated to, his own use, the results of all the inquiries which have been made at different times by eminent observers upon the symptoms, course, and causes of diseases, and with the precepts of treatment which they have recommended and employed." And that, “to become a skilful practitioner, he must understand how to bring this knowledge into operation, and be ready to apply all its rules and deductions to each particular case." This is a talent only to be acquired by the most patient observation, the most diligent study, and the most extensive practice; and if any one member of the medical profession is to be regarded as having most zealously laboured to attain this summit of medical knowledge, it is the subject of the present memoir, who has now for many years given to us the fullest evidence of his erudition and practical knowledge by the judicious and able manner in which he has conducted the " Medico-Chirurgical Review, and Journal of Practical Medicine," a work which must be admitted to hold the very first rank and importance in medical periodical literature. The opinion thus directly given of the merits and qualifications of Dr. James Johnson is not simply a result derived from the perusal of the pages of his review; but has been formed from an acquaintance with his practice, and an association with him in professional matters at various times, and during several years. It is not to be regarded as the language of panegyric-it is truly the payment of a debt of gratitude to one who has so ably led the minds of the medical public to a consideration of what is due to themselves as practitioners, and to those individuals whose happiness and lives have been committed to their care. The importance of an able and just periodical literature of medical science must be admitted by all-it is too generally entrusted to inexperienced hands, and crude theory has but too often usurped the place of practical observation. The press of the present day teems with the productions of authors on medical subjects, and literary discrimination is more necessary than ever, to point out not only to the student, but also to the practitioner, the works of real value and necessary to be perused. This is a task of no little labour or difficulty-great information is necessary on the part of the guide, to accomplish this object in a satisfactory manner. Pope observed, that "the greater part of critics form a general character from the observation of particular errors, taken in their own oblique or imperfect views; which is as unjust, as to make a judgment of the beauty of a man's body from the shadow it happens to cast in such or such a position." As a critic, Dr. Johnson is not open to this censure he stands indubitably one of the least prejudiced, and the manly way in which he has at By the kindness of Mr. Pettigrew and Messrs. Fisher and Son, we have been favoured with 2500 impressions of the Portrait herewith presented to the subscribers of this Journal, and the Memoir is copied from the 12th part of the Medical Portrait Gallery. No. LX. Tiedemann-Physiologie des Menschen. all times stated his objections to the opinions expressed by others, shows that he does not belong to the class so forcibly described by the poet just quoted. Dr. JAMES JOHNSON was born in the year 1778, in the parish of Ballinderry, county of Derry, Ireland, on the banks of Lough Neagh. His parents were Protestants; his father, a respectable yeoman, cultivating a small farm of thirty or forty acres. James Johnson was the youngest son of a large family, none of whom, I believe, except himself, are now living. At the age of six years he was put to a grammar-school, kept by a Catholic, the brother of the parish priest. Here he made rapid progress, and, as I learn, was generally at the head of his class. When not so, he was very unhappy, and would sit up till midnight in study. At the early age of fifteen he passed an examination in Dublin, in the classics, and was apprenticed to a surgeon-apothecary (Mr. Young) in Port-glenone, in the county of Antrim. He remained there only two years, when he was transferred to Mr. Bankhead of Belfast, where he continued two years more, and then came to London, without cither money or friends. He became assistant to an apothecary in the metropolis, and, by hard study and irregular attendance on lectures in anatomy and surgery, he passed a creditable examination at Surgeons' Hall in 1798, and was appointed surgeon's mate in the navy, in the month of May of the same year. In the Mercury frigate, he sailed to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, always studying very hard, and, when the ship was in harbour, taking every opportunity of visiting the naval hospitals, abroad and at home. Captain Rogers, of the Mercury, who had a great antipathy to the Irish, made an exception in the case of his youthful surgeon's mate, and winked at his absence from the ship for some months in the Winter of 1799, when he studied night and day in London; and in January, 1800, he passed a triumphant examination, for the second time, at Surgeons' Hall. Through the interest of his patron, Captain Rogers, he was appointed full surgeon in the navy, and appointed to the Cynthia, sloop-of-war, on the 27th of February, 1800, as appears by Steel's Navy List. He was then in the twentysecond year of his age. In this ship he accompanied the famous expedition to Egypt, was at the siege of Belleisle, (not the American Belleisle,) and all the various descents which the troops made on the coasts of France, Spain, &c. till they reached Egypt. In the Mediterranean he was taken ill, and was sent back to Gibraltar Hospital, where he did duty for some time, under Mr. Vaughan, surgeon of the Naval Hospital there. From thence he returned to London in the Winter of 1800, and studied in Great Windmill Street, under Mr. Wilson and Mr. Thomas. In the Winter of that year, he distinguished himself as a dissector, and very generally prepared the subjects for Mr. Wilson's and Mr. Thomas's lectures and demonstrations, as the latter gentleman still states with pleasure. It was in this Winter that the present Master of the Rolls, (then Mr. Bickersteth,) and Mr. Johnson formed a society of six individuals, who gave demonstrations daily, in their turn, to a large class of medical students, in the anatomical theatre of Windmill Street. In May, 1801, Mr. Johnson's slender finances were entirely exhausted, having expended his last farthing on lectures and studies. In the Spring of that year, being anxious to attend a course of midwifery lectures, but not having the means of paying the fee, he stated his circumstances to the late Dr. John Clarke, then a distinguished lecturer in Burlington Street, who instantly gave him a free ticket of admission, and invited him to his table. Mr. Johnson never forgot this act of generosity, and has frequently related the anecdote. In June, 1801, Mr. Johnson applied to the Navy Medical Board for a ship, and tendered a certificate from Mr. Wilson, couched in the following remarkable terse language to Dr. Harness :-" The bearer of this, Mr. James Johnson, has actually lived in the dissecting-room of Great Windmill Street during the last six months. Examine him, and see whether he has studied in vain." Dr. Harness instantly appointed him to the "Driver" sloop-of-war, in which ship he served in the North Sea, visiting the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and going with a convoy to the vicinity of Greenland and Hudson's Bay. At the peace of 1802, he was again out of employ, and passed a few months, and spent the remainder of his scanty finances in study in the metropolis. It then required great interest to get employment on the peace-establishment, and Mr. Johnson had none. He applied to the Sick and Hurt Board, and the late Sir Gilbert Blane having entered into conversation with Mr. Johnson, gave him a help, and he was immediately appointed to a fine frigate, (the "Caroline,") fitting for the East Indies. In May, 1803, he sailed for the East; and during the next three years, in India and China, he laid the foundation for his first medical work, The Influence of Tropical Climates on European Constitutions. In 1806 he returned from the East Indies, and having been successful in prize-money, he now entered as a student at Guy's and St. Thomas's, and became acquainted with Sir Astley Cooper, Dr. Curry, and other distinguished characters of the period. In the Autumn of the same year he married Miss Charlotte Wolfenden, of Lambeg, in the county of Antrim; and after a year or two of attendance on prisoners-of-war at Plymouth and Portsmouth, he was appointed to the "Valiant," of seventy-four guns, in which ship he remained nearly five years, and saw a great deal of active service. This was one of the two line-of-battle ships that forced their way into Basque Roads, between strong batteries, and burnt the French fleet there. Afterwards, in 1809, he was present at the Walcheren expedition, and narrowly watched the havoc of disease on those pestiferous islands. In 1812, he published the first edition of his work on Tropical Climates, chiefly at his own risk and expense, and immediately on its appearance, he was appointed flag-surgeon, with the late Sir William Young, then in command of the North Sea fleet. Here he did the duty of physician to the fleet, and acquired the friendship and patronage of Admiral Young, which continued till the death of the latter in 1820. At the peace of 1814, the late King, then Duke of Clarence, hoisted his flag in the "Impregnable," when Sir William Young retired, and Mr. Johnson was so strongly recommended to the Duke, that he was retained, and served with His Royal Highness while conveying the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, &c. &c., to this country. The Duke had an attack of his hay-asthma at Boulogne, while waiting for the crowned heads, and Mr. Johnson attended His Royal Highness, and the attack was very soon overcome. The Duke was so much pleased with Mr. Johnson, that he exerted all his influence to obtain for him the rank of physician to the fleet, but was baffled by Lord Melville, then at the head of the Admiralty. The Duke appointed him surgeon-in-ordinary, and always afterwards treated him with great kindness. At the conclusion of the war in 1814, Mr. Johnson settled at Portsmouth as a general practitioner, and in less than two years got into extensive practice. But his health was not good; and perhaps his ambition was strong, for in July, 1818, he removed to London. This was a bold step. With the exception of Sir William Young, he had no friends whatever in the metropolis: he had a family of five children; and, as he has told me, was not worth five hundred pounds in the world. Since that period-now twenty years or more-his life, in a professional point of view, has become well known. He had taken out a Scotch degree in 1813; and he became a licentiate of the College of Physicians in 1820. Dr. Johnson's first publication was not a medical one. It was entitled The Oriental Voyager, published in 1808, and presented an amusing account of his voyages and observations in the East. His next was the work On Tropical Climates, published in 1812, and which has gone through five editions. The most experienced practitioners in the diseases of hot climates have uniformly expressed the high opinion they entertain of this work. The application of physiological knowledge to the treatment of disease is beautifully illustrated by the author. The fifth edition contains the substance of his treatise on Indigestion. While serving with Sir William Young in the North Sea, he published some papers in the New Medical and Physical Journal; and when he settled at Portsmouth, he appeared as one of the editors of that work. The Journal, however, had but little success; and in July, 1818, when Dr. J. came to the metropolis, he took the bold and dangerous step of starting a Quarterly Review, entirely at his own risk and expense, and conducted by himself alone! To his astonishment, the first edition of the first number was exhausted in the first week, and the work rapidly rose to a circulation of 1250, 1500, 2000, and ultimately 2500 copies. This journal is the only medical one that has ever been reprinted in a foreign country. It has been republished regularly in New York for many years past, and circulates widely in the United States. His private practice increased with the Journal, and the mental and corporeal labour required for his public and professional avocations was enormous, and such as would have destroyed the health of any one who had not an excellent original constitution, and great facility of composition, verifying what the best prose writer perhaps of the present day has observed, that "he who thinks least about it when engaged in composition will be most likely to attain it, for no man ever attained it by labouring for it."* I know, on the best authority, that for years and years Dr. Johnson never even read over the copy of his reviews before it went to press; and so few were the corrections afterwards made, that the cost of these seldom exceeded a few shillings on each quarterly number of his journal. Dr. J. has often declared, that the only secret of his being able to go through such extensive literary labour was his punctuality. Whatever might be his professional avocations of the day, he seldom or never went to bed till the number of pages necessary for the Journal were completed. When private practice was not pressing, he took care to have the Journal far in advance, so that it was always ready long before quarter day. Excepting when on his tours of health, he never relaxed an hour, or hardly a minute, during the day, from work of some kind or other. Indeed, his excursions at home and abroad were not even exceptions to this law; for incessant activity of mind and body has been the characteristic of his life. Such uninterrupted labour, however, could not be carried on for years with entire impunity. In 1823, after suffering severely from a surgical operation, he recruited his health by a three months' tour in Switzerland, &c.; but in 1826 his dyspeptic complaints assumed an aggravated form, and threatened his life. At this period he was obliged to relinquish, for a time, his professional avocations, and in that retirement wrote his Essay on Indigestion, drawn from personal as well as general observations on that afflicting and Proteian malady, the scourge of those who overwork the brain as well as the body. This work, which has gone through nine editions, and has been translated and reprinted in different countries, brought his private practice to the highest point compatible with his health, which of late years has been remarkably good. The first three editions of this work were demanded in the short space of nine months. Few books upon a subject which has been so generally treated of, and upon diseases with which so many are afflicted, have been so popular, yet so entirely devoid of quackery. Beaumont and Fletcher have truly said, "What an excellent thing did God bestow on man Dr. Johnson felt the want of this blessing, and applied his mind to the relief of * The Doctor, Vol. II. p. 201. his sufferings-this has contributed to the happiness of others, for the treatment he proposes is at once energetic, and founded upon a due observation of the phenomena of disease, and the operations of the animal economy. The last edition of the work has a description of the Baths of Pfeffers in the country of the Grisons. In 1831 he published his first edition of Change of Air, or the Pursuit of Health, which has gone through four editions, and is considered by himself as the best of his literary labours, though apparently written currente calamo. This volume was the result of an autumnal excursion through France, Switzerland, and Italy, in the year 1829, and contains many judicious observations on the moral, physical, and medicinal influence of travelling, exercise, change of scene, foreign skies, and voluntary expatriation. The work opens with reflections on education and avocation, and most truly depicts the "wear and tear" of human life. This applies equally to the body and the mind, the connexion between which and their sympathies, in all the modifications of pleasure and of pain, and the relation which obtains between the condition of the intellectual faculties and those functions which constitute the animal economy, are well known to be subjects of great intricacy and difficulty. They belong properly, perhaps, more to the natural philosopher than to the moralist, but the researches of either have hitherto not been productive of any positive information upon the subject. The alliance, however, must be admitted-the connexion is apparent, though the cause be obscure. All the great writers of antiquity have remarked upon the effects of excess on the operations of the intellect. Horace devotes a satire to the advantages of temperance, and he remarks, with that energy which so particularly distinguishes all his writings, that the body overcharged with the excess of yesterday, weighs down the mind together with itself, and fixes to the earth that particle of the divine spirit. Vides ut pallidus omnis Cœnâ desurgat dubiâ; quin corpus onustum Hesternis vitiis, animum quoque prægravat unâ, Atque affigit humo divinæ particulam auræ."-HOR. Sat. ii. 1. 2. No one has, in my opinion, more tersely or more truly expressed the value of health than Sir William Temple : "Health (he says) is the soul that animates all enjoyments of life, which fade and are tasteless, if not dead, without it: a man starves at the best and the greatest tables, makes faces at the noblest and most delicate wines, is old and impotent in seraglios of the most sparkling beauties, poor and wretched in the midst of the greatest treasures and fortunes: with common diseases strength grows decrepit, youth loses all vigour, and beauty all charms; music grows harsh, and conversation disagreeable; palaces are prisons, or of equal confinement; riches are useless, honour and attendance are cumbersome, and crowns themselves are a burden; but, if diseases are painful and violent, they equal all conditions of life, make no difference between a prince and a beggar; and a fit of the stone or the colic puts a king to the rack, and makes him as miserable as he can do the meanest, the worst, and most criminal of his subjects." Dr. Johnson not only points out the cause of the "Wear and Tear of Modern Life," ," but he distinctly states the means of counteracting these effects; and all who delight in the union of literary taste with scientific inquiry will peruse Dr. J.'s work with great satisfaction. In 1833, he published an amusing tour to the Hebrides, entitled The Recess, or Autumnal Relaxation in the Highlands and Lowlands. In 1836, he published The Economy of Health, or Stream of Human Life, which has gone through three editions, and is a very popular production. But ler says, |