Sufferings of the Emperor Frederick.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2934, 26 June 1888, Page 2

Sufferings of the Emperor Frederick.

Alleged Bungling of tMrerman Doctors. The following is from the issue of Truth of April 2G: It appears that the recent sufferings of the Emperor Frederick have been largely, if not wholly, due to causes which may (with some stretch of charily) be called " preventable," The following are the facts received on unimpeachable authority; On the niglrt of Wednesday, April 11, Sir Morell Mackenzie noticed that liia Majesty's breathing was accompanied liy a slight noise, which to his expsrienccd ear at once betokened that obstruction was commencing ok.the lower end of the artificial braß 'ng tube. This, therefore, he determliiad to exchange for a longer one on the following day, In anticipation of such a contingency, Sir Morell had, three days before, ordered several new tubes of a suitable curve, As these had not arrived on Thursday morning, he went into Berlin and procured' tvtop three temporary tubes, On rej*mrir,g to Charlottenburg, he sent a messenger to Professor von Bergmann, asking liirn to come to the Schlossas soon as possible,

Sir Morell Mackenzie had intended to insert one of the tubes he had brought back with him, but when Dr von Bergmann came on the scene, ho evidently thought that the little operation was his prerogative. Sir Morell, accordingly, not wishing to make any difficulty, effaced himself, surgically speaking, and von Bergmann tried with various tubes (his own as well as those procured by Sir Morell Mackenzie) but could not get any of them in. F9 then asked to be allowed to send for his assistant, Dr Braniand, who was in his caniage outside. The latter camo up, and von Bergmann asked to introduce a tube, which he A nth great gentleness and skill. iJSortu uately, the Professor's attempts had been conducted fortiter in mdo as well as in n, He had not rally poked about with the tubes, but had put hia linger into the wound, A great deal of bleeding ensued, as a matter of course, and continued steadily for two hours, during which the Emperor, almost choked by the blood running down into his lungs, coughed violently and incessantly. The bleeding did not stop till late in the evening, and the patient was naturally very much exhausted. It is not wonderful that fever, inflainwjtion, and blood poisoning should havo 'followed,

For the credit of the Fatherland, it was, of course, necessary to throw the blame on the English doctors, who were, therefore, assailed in the most disgraceful manner in the Kolnische Zeitung and other papers. In this way the truce, which was patched up among the medicos at San Hemo, waa torn to shreds, and all the cJd "envy, hatred, malice, and all. unwritableness" have once more found tongues. Truth adds:—What with political and domestic worries, the suiferinqsj-ansed by his dreadful disease, the cmisiness of the native surgeons whomine national sentiment of Germany imposes on him, and the general wrangling and squabbling all round him, Frederick 111 might well wish 'for" reloase,"