From whatever cause it may have happened (which is matter of dispute), in all the continental provinces of the Roman empire which were conquered and occupied by the Germanic nations, many lands were from the first held, not as fiefs, that is, with the ownership in one party and the usufruct in another, but as allodia, that is, in full and entire ownership. [ALLODIUM.] The holder of such an estate, having no lord, was of course free from all the exactions and burdens which were incidental to the vassalage of the holder of a fief. He was also, however, without the powerful protection which the latter enjoyed; and so important was this protection in the turbulent state of society which existed in Europe for some ages after the dissolution of the empire of Charlemagne, that in fact most of the allodialists in course of time exchanged their originally independent condition for the security and subjection of that of the feudatory. "During the 10th and 11th centuries," says Mr. Hallam, "it appears that allodial lands in France had chiefly become feudal; that is, they had been surrendered by their proprietors, and received back again upon the feudal conditions; or, more frequently perhaps, the owner had been compelled to acknowledge himself the man or vassal of a suzerain, and thus to confess an original grant which had never existed. Changes of the same nature, though not perhaps so extensive or so distinctly to be traced, took place in Italy and Germany. Yet it would be inaccurate to assert that the prevalence of the feudal system has been unlimited; in a great part of France allodial tenures always subsisted, and many estates in the empire were of the same description."

After the conquest of England by the Normans, the dominium directum, or property of all the land in the kingdom, was considered as vested in the crown. "All the lands and tenements in England in the hands of subjects," says Coke, "are holden mediately or immediately of the king; for in the law of England we have not properly allodium." This universality of its application therefore may be regarded as the first respect in which the system of feudalism established in England differed from that established in France and other continental countries. There were also various other differences. The Conqueror, for instance, introduced here the practice unknown on the continent of compelling the arrere vassals, as well as the immediate tenants of the crown, to take the oath of fealty to himself. In other countries a vassal only swore fealty to his immediate lord; in England, if he held of a mesne lord, he took two oaths, one to his lord and another to his lord's lord. It may be observed, however, that in those times in which the feudal principle was in its greatest vigour the fealty of a vassal to his immediate lord was usually considered as the higher obligation; when that and his fealty to the crown came into collision, the former was the oath to which he adhered. Some feudists indeed held that his allegiance to the crown was always to be understood as reserved in the fealty which a vassal swore to his lord; and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa decreed that in every oath of fealty taken to an inferior lord there should be an express reservation of the vassal's duty to the emperor. But the double oath exacted by the Norman conqueror did not go so far as this. It only gave him at the most a concurrent power with the mesne lord over the vassals of the latter, who in France were nearly removed altogether from the control of the royal authority. A more important difference between the English and French feudalism consisted in the greater extension given by the former to the rights of lords generally over their vassals by what were called the incidents of wardship and marriage. The wardship or guardianship of the tenant during minority, which implied both the custody of his person and the appropriation of the profits of the estate, appears to have been enjoyed by the lord in some parts of Germany, but no where else except in England and Normandy. The right of marriage (maritagium) originally implied only the power possessed by the lord of tendering a husband to his female ward while under age: if she rejected the match, she forfeited the value of the marriage; that is, as much as any one would give to the lord for permission to marry her. But the right was afterwards extended so as to include male as well as female heirs; and it also appears that although the practice might not be sanctioned by the law, some of the Anglo-Norman kings were accustomed to exact penalties from their female vassals of all ages, and even from widows, for either marrying without their consent, or refusing such marriages as they proposed. The seignorial prerogative of marriage, like that of wardship, was peculiar to England and Normandy, and to some parts of Germany.

It has been very usual to represent military service as the essential peculiarity of a feudal tenure. But the constituent and distinguishing element of that form of tenure was its being a tenancy merely, and not an ownership; the enjoyment of land for certain services to be performed. In the state of society however in which the feudal system grew up, it was impossible that military service should not become the chief duty to which the vassal was bound. It was in such a state of society the most important service which he could render to his lord. It was the species of service which the persons to whom fiefs were first granted seem to have been previously accustomed to render, and the continuance of which accordingly the grant of the fief was chiefly intended to secure. Yet military service, or knight service, as it was called in this country, though the usual, was by no means the necessary or uniform condition on which fiefs were granted. Any other honourable condition might be imposed which distinctly recognised the dominium directum of the lord. [KNIGHT-SERVICE.]

Another common characteristic of fiefs, which in like manner arose incidentally out of the circumstances of the times in which they originated, was that they usually consisted of land. Land was in those times nearly the only species of wealth that existed; certainly the only form of wealth that had any considerable security or permanency. Yet there are not wanting instances of other things, such as pensions and offices, being granted as fiefs. It was a great question nevertheless among the feudists whether a fief could consist of money, or of any thing else than land; and the most eminent authorities have maintained that it could not. The preference thus shown for land by the spirit of the feudal customs has perhaps left deeper traces both upon the law, the political constitution, and the social habits and feelings of our own and other feudal countries than any other part of the system. We have thence derived not only the marked distinction by which our law still discriminates certain amounts of interest in lands and tenements under the name of real property from property of every other kind, but also the ascendency retained by the former in nearly every respect in which such ascendency can be upheld either by institutions or by opinion.

The grant of land as a fief, especially when it was a grant from the suzerain, or supreme lord, whether called king or duke, or any other name, was, sometimes at least, accompanied with an express grant of jurisdiction. Thus every great tenant exercised a jurisdiction civil and criminal over his immediate tenants: he held courts and administered the laws within his lordship like a sovereign prince. It appears that the same jurisdiction was often granted by the crown to the abbeys with their lands. The formation of MANORS in this country appears to have been consequent upon the establishment of feudalism. The existence of manor-courts, and so many small jurisdictions within the kingdom, is one of the most permanent features of that polity which the Normans stamped upon this country.

In the infancy of the feudal system it is probable that the vassal was considered bound to attend his lord in war for any length of time during which his services might be required. Afterwards, when the situation of the vassal became more independent, the amount of this kind of service was fixed either by law or by usage. In England the whole country was divided into about 60,000 knights' fees; and the tenant of each of these appears to have been obliged to keep the field at his own expense for forty days on every occasion on which his lord chose to call upon him. For smaller quantities of land proportionately shorter terms of service were due at least such is the common statement; although it seems improbable that the individuals composing a feudal army could thus have the privilege of returning home some at one time, some at another. Women were obliged to send their substitutes; and so were the clergy, certain persons holding public offices, and men past the age of sixty, all of whom were exempted from personal service. The rule or custom however both as to the duration of the service, and its extent in other respects, varied greatly in different ages and countries.

The other duties of the vassal were rather expressive of the relation of honourable subordination in which he stood to his lord than services of any real or calculable value. They are thus summed up by Mr. Hallam :--" It was a breach of faith to divulge the lord's counsel, to conceal from him the machinations of others, to injure his person or fortune, or to violate the sanctity of his roof and the honour of his family. In battle he was bound to lend his horse to his lord when dismounted; to adhere to his side while fighting, and to go into captivity as a hostage for him when taken. His attendance was due to the lord's courts, sometimes to witness and sometimes to bear a part in the administration of justice."

There were however various other substantial advantages derived by the lord. We have already mentioned the rights of wardship and of marriage, which were nearly peculiar to the dominions of the English crown. Besides these, there were the payment, called a relief, made by every new entrant upon the possession of the fief, the escheat of the land to the lord when the tenant left no heir, and its forfeiture to him when the tenant was found guilty either of a breach of his oath of fealty, or of felony. There was besides a fine payable to the lord upon the alienation by the tenant of any part of the estate, if that was at all permitted. Finally, there were the various aids, as they were called, payable by the tenant. "These," observes Mr. Hallam, "depended a great deal upon local custom, and were often extorted unreasonably. Du Cange mentions several as having existed in France; such as an aid for the lord's expedition to the Holy Land, for marrying his sister or eldest son, and for paying a relief to his suzerain on taking possession of his land. Of these the last appears to have been the most usual in England. But this and other aids occasionally exacted by the lords were felt as a severe grievance; and by Magna Charta three only are retained-to make the lord's eldest son a knight, to marry his eldest daughter, and to redeem his person from prison. They were restricted to nearly the same description by a law of William I. of Sicily, and by the customs of France. These feudal aids are deserving of our attention as the beginnings of taxation, of which for a long time they in a great measure answered the purpose, till the craving necessities and covetous policy of kings substituted for them more durable and onerous burthens."

The principal ceremonies used in conferring a fief were homage, fealty, and investiture. The two first of these cannot be more dis

tinctly or more shortly described than in the words of Littleton: "Homage is the most honourable service, and most humble service of reverence, that a frank tenant may do to his lord: for when the tenant shall make homage to his lord, he shall be ungirt and his head uncovered, and his lord shall sit and the tenant shall kneel before him on both his knees, and hold his hand jointly together between the hands of his lord, and shall say thus: I become your man, from this day forward, of life and limb, and of earthly worship, and unto you shall be true and faithful, and bear you faith for the tenements that I claim to hold of you, saving the faith that I owe to our sovereign lord the king; and then the lord, so sitting, shall kiss him." Religious persons and women instead of "I become your man," said, "I do homage unto you." Here it is to be observed there was no oath taken; the doing of fealty consisted wholly in taking an oath, without any obeisance. "When a freeholder (frank tenant)," says Littleton, "doth fealty to his lord, he shall hold his right hand upon a book, and shall say thus: Know ye this, my lord, that I shall be faithful and true unto you, and faith to you shall bear for the lands which I claim to hold of you, and that I shall lawfully do to you the customs and services which I ought to do at the terms assigned, so help me God and his saints; and he shall kiss the book. But he shall not kneel when he maketh his fealty, nor shall make such (that is, any such, tiel,) humble reverence as is aforesaid in homage." "Investiture or the actual conveyance of feudal lands," says Mr. Hallam," was of two kinds; proper and improper. The first was an actual putting in possession upon the ground, either by the lord or his deputy; which is now called in our law livery of seisin. The second was symbolical, and consisted in the delivery of a turf, a stone, a wand, a branch, or whatever else might have been made usual by the caprice of local custoin. Du Cange enumerates not less than 98 varieties of investitures." The mode of conveying lands in England by feoffment is derived from the feudal investiture. [FEOFFMENT.] The practice of giving infeftment in Scotland, is neither more nor less than symbolical investiture.

The feudal system may be regarded as having nearly reached its maturity and full development at the time of the Norman conquest. It appears accordingly to have been established here immediately or very soon after that event in as pure, strict, and comprehensive a form as it ever attained in any other country. The whole land of the kingdom, as we have already mentioned, was without any exception either in the hands of the crown, or held in fief by the vassals of the crown, or of them by sub-infeudation. Those lands which the king kept were called his demesne (the Terræ Regis of the Domesday Survey), and thus the crown had a number of immediate tenants, like any other lord, in the various lands reserved in nearly every part of the kingdom. No where else, also, before the restrictions established by the charters, were the rights of the lord over the vassal stretched in practice nearer to their extreme theoretical limits. On the other hand, the vassal had arrived at what we may call his ultimate position in the natural progress of the system; the hereditary quality of feuds was fully established; his ancient absolute dependence and subjection had passed away; under whatever disadvantages his inferiority of station might place him, he met his lord on the common ground of their mutual rights and obligations; there might be considerable contention about what these rights and obligations on either side were, but it was admitted that on both sides they had the same character of real, legally binding obligations, and legally maintainable rights.

This settlement of the system however was anything rather than an assurance of its stability and permanency. It was now held together by a principle altogether of a different kind from that which had originally created and cemented it. That which had been in the beginning the very life of the relation between the lord and the vassal had now in great part perished. The feeling of gratitude could no more survive than the feeling of dependence on the part of the latter after feuds became hereditary. A species of superstition, indeed, and a sense of honour, which in some degree supplied the place of what was lost, were preserved by oaths and ceremonies, and the influence of habit and old opinion; but these were at the best only extraneous props; the self-sustaining strength of the edifice was gone. Thus it was the tendency of feudalism to decay and fall to pieces under the necessary development of its own principle.

Other causes called into action by the progress of events conspired to bring about the same result. The very military spirit which was fostered by the feudal institutions, and the wars, defensive and aggressive, which they were intended to supply the means of carrying on, led in course of time to the release of the vassal from the chief and most distinguishing of his original obligations, and thereby, it may be said, to the rupture of the strongest bond that had attached him to his lord. The feudal military army was at length found so inconvenient a force that soon after the accession of Henry II. the personal service of vassals was dispensed with, and a pecuniary payment, under the name of escuage, accepted in its stead. From this time the vassal was no longer really the defender of his lord; he was no longer what he professed to be in his homage and his oath of fealty; and one effect of the change must have been still farther to wear down what remained of the old impressiveness of these solemnities, and to reduce them nearer to mere dead forms. The acquisition by the crown of an army of subservient mercenaries, in exchange for its former inefficient and

withal turbulent and unmanageable army of vassals, was in fact the discovery of a substitute for the main purpose of the feudal polity. Whatever nourished a new power in the commonwealth, also, took sustenance and strength from this ancient power. Such must in an especial degree have been the effect of the growth of towns, and of the new species of wealth, and, it may be added, the new manners and modes of thinking, created by trade and commerce.

The progress of sub-infeudation has sometimes been represented as having upon the whole tended to weaken and loosen the fabric of feudalism. It" demolished," observes Blackstone (ii. 4)," the ancient simplicity of feuds; and an inroad being once made upon their constitution, it subjected them in a course of time to great varieties and innovations. Feuds began to be bought and sold, and deviations were made from the old fundamental rules of tenure and succession, which were held no longer sacred when the feuds themselves no longer continued to be purely military." But the practice of sub-infeudation would rather seem to have been calculated to carry out the feudal principle, and to place the whole system on a broader and firmer basis, and this has been found to be the effect in Scotland. It would be more correct to ascribe the demolition of the fabric of feudalism, to which we have now nearly arrived, to the prohibition against subinfeudation. The effect of this practice was to deprive the lord of his forfeitures and escheats and the other advantages of his seigniory, and various attempts therefore were made to check or altogether prevent it, in which the crown and the tenants in chief, whose interests were most affected, seem to have joined. One of the clauses of the great charter of Henry III. (the thirty-second) appears to be intended to restrict sub-infeudation (although the meaning is not quite clear), and it is expressly forbidden by the statute of Quia Emptores (18 Edw. I., c. 1). This however was originally the only way in which the holder of a fief could alienate any part of his estate without the consent of his lord; and it therefore became necessary to provide some other mode of effecting that object, for it seems to have been felt that after alienation had been allowed so long to go on under the guise of subinfeudation, to restrain it altogether would be no longer possible. The consequence was, that, as a compensation for the prohibition of sub-infeudation, the old prohibition against alienation was removed; lands were allowed to be alienated, but the purchaser or grantee did not hold them of the vendor or grantor, but held them exactly as the grantor did; and such is still the legal effect in England when a man parts with his entire interest in his lands. This change was effected by the statute of Quia Emptores with regard to all persons except the immediate tenants of the crown, who were permitted to alienate on paying a fine to the king by the statute 1 Edw. III. c. 12. Thus at the same time that a practice strictly accordant to the spirit of feudalism, and eminently favourable to its conservation and extension, was stopped, another practice, altogether adverse to its fundamental principles, was introduced and established, that of allowing voluntary alienation by persons during their lifetime.

It was a consequence of feudal principles, that a man's lands could not be subjected to the claims of his creditors. This restraint upon what may be called involuntary alienation has been removed by the successive enactments which have had for their object to make a man's lands liable for his debts: although, it is only after a lapse of nearly six hundred years since the statute of Acton Burnell, that the lands of a debtor have been subjected to the just demands of his creditors. This statute of Acton Burnell, passed 11 Ed. I. (1283), made the devisable burgages, or burgh tenements, of a debtor saleable in discharge of his debts. By the Statute of Merchants (13 Ed. I., st. 13), a debtor's lands might be delivered to his merchant creditor till his debt was wholly paid out of the profits. By the 18th chapter of the Statute of Westminster the Second, passed the same year, a moiety of a debtor's land was subjected to execution for debts recovered by judgment (ELEGIT]; and finally, by several modern statutes, the whole of a bankrupt debtor's lands have become absolutely saleable for the payment of his debts. Further, by 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 104, all a deceased person's estate in lands, of whatever kind, is liable to the payment of his debts, both those on specialty and those on simple contract.

An attempt had early been made to restore in part the old restraints upon voluntary alienation by the statute 13 Ed. I. c. 1, entitled 'De Donis Conditionalibus,' which had for its object to enable any owner of an estate, by his own disposition, to secure its descent in perpetuity in a particular line. So far as the statute went, it was an effort to strengthen the declining power of feudalism. The effect was to create what were called estates tail, and to free the tenant in tail from many liabilities of his ancestor to which he would be subject if he were seised of the same lands in fee-simple. [ESTATE.] The power which was thus conferred upon landholders of preventing the alienation of their lands remained in full force for nearly two centuries, till at last, in the reign of Edward IV., by the decision of the courts (A.D. 1472) the practice of barring estates tail by a common recovery was completely established. [RECOVERY, COMMON.]

The practice of conveying estates by fine, which was of great antiquity in England, and the origin of which is referred to the time of Stephen or Henry II., was regulated by various statutes (among others, by 4 Henry VII.) and contributed materially to facilitate the transfer of lands in general, but more particularly to bar estates tail,

and excretion become deranged. The mouth is now dry and parched; the tongue begins to be covered with fur; thirst comes on; the secretion of the liver, probably also of the pancreas, and certainly of the mucous membrane lining the whole alimentary canal, is vitiated, as is proved by the unnatural quantity, colour, and fetor of the evacuations; the urine likewise is altered in appearance, and the skin is not more remarkable for the sense of heat than for that of dryness and harshness which it communicates to the touch. With the excitement of the pulse and the increase of the heat, the pain in the back and limbs, and the general febrile uneasiness are much augmented.

At this period, then, the fever is fully formed; the series of morbid phenomena is complete: anything more that happens is referrible to degree and to duration, and must be the result of one or other of these circumstances, or of their combined operation. As soon as the preternatural heat comes on, pain begins to be felt in the head. The pain of the head is often slight at first, and occasionally it remains slight throughout the disease; at other times it is pretty severe. Cases sometimes occur, in which, instead of pain there is only a sense of giddiness, and now and then the uneasy feeling is described as that of lightness; or on the contrary, as that of heaviness or weight. But whether the feeling be pain, and that pain be slight or severe, or whether it be giddiness or lightness, or heaviness, it indicates a similar condition of the organ and requires a similar treatment.

With the accession of pain of the head there is a manifest increase in the disturbance of the sensorial functions. The inability to think, to compare, to reason, to judge, great as it was at the commencement, is now much greater. Instead of being more dull, there are certain states of the mind which now become more acute and vigilant even than in health. Sensation itself, at this period, is invariably acuter than natural, as is indicated in all the organs of sense. The eye cannot well bear the light: there are few cases in which the full glare of day does not excite uneasiness, while in many the ordinary light of a room cannot be borne: in these cases the opening between the eyelids is frequently observed to be contracted, as if from an involuntary effort to exclude a portion of that stimulus which in health excites no inconvenience, and this state of the eyelids assists in giving to the eye its dull and heavy expression so characteristic of fever. The increase of sensibility in the organ of hearing is equally striking. Sounds which were not noticed during health become acutely and even distressingly sensible, while accustomed noises, such as that of a crowded street, are always painful and often intolerable. The skin, considered as an organ of touch, is in a like morbid state. An impression barely sufficient in the state of health to produce sensation excites the feeling of tenderness, and alternations of temperature which in ordinary states are scarcely perceptible are painful. The senses of taste and smell, on the contrary, are nearly obliterated, owing to the altered condition of the membranes upon which the sensitive nerves are distributed.

From the earliest attack of the disease the sleep is disturbed and unrefreshing; now scarcely any is obtained; the febrile uneasiness will not allow of repose, the patient cannot remain in any position long, incessantly shifting his place, never eluding his pain. At this stage the sense of uneasiness in the limbs, oftentimes the severity of the pain over the whole body, is peculiarly distressing. With this progressive increase in the affection of the spinal cord and the brain, the derangement in the circulating system is proportionately augmented. The pulse is invariably altered, both in frequency and character. Generally it rises to 90, sometimes to 100; but in this form of fever it seldom exceeds this number; and occasionally it never rises above 80. The stroke of the pulse is usually stronger and fuller than natural, though it commonly retains its softness, and does not impress the finger with that sensation of sharpness which is characteristic of ordinary inflammation. Occasionally, however, a degree of sharpness may be perceived in it, and it is not easily compressed. The thin white fur which already had begun to appear on the tongue progressively increases in extent and thickness. The colour of the fur usually changes as the disease advances, from a dirty white to an ash colour; but in this form of the disease the tongue always remains moist and never becomes brown. This state of the tongue is almost always accompanied with thirst, but it is never urgent. There is always a loss of appetite. The bowels are generally constipated, and the secretions of the whole alimentary canal are vitiated.

Thus we perceive that the progress of the disease consists in increasing mental and corporeal weakness; increasing pain in the back, loins, and limbs; increasing heat of skin, acceleration of pulse, and general febrile uneasiness, together with the occurrence of pain in the head, and progressive derangement in the functions of secretion and excretion.

The fever in this mild form is now at its height. It remains stationary, or at least with very little change, for an indefinite period, generally for some days. The cerebral affection does not increase beyond what has been described: there are no greater indications of disease in the respiratory organs, and the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines does not denote any progressive advancement in disease.

In the great majority of patients in whom the symptoms continue thus moderate, the disease disappears about the end of the second

week, that is, they are convalescent at that period; but it usually requires eight or ten days longer before they have regained sufficient strength to leave the sick chamber. Sometimes, although there is no greater severity in the symptoms, the disease is more protracted, and the recovery is not complete until the fourth or even the fifth week. Beyond this period it is very rare for this form of the disease to be protracted.

Almost all who are attacked with the malady in this its mildest form, recover: but now and then it happens that the symptoms go on with this degree of moderation until about the end of the second week. Then at the period when it is usual for convalescence to take place there is no perceptible improvement; the patients seem even to grow weaker; they lie more prostrate in the bed, and they are soon incapable of moving; still they complain of no pain or uneasiness, and it is not easy to detect any trace of disease in any organ; yet it is but too evident that they grow worse, and ultimately they sink exhausted. In these cases, on examination after death, it is commonly found that disease has been preying on some vital organ, although its presence could not be detected during life; and this termination of the milder type of fever rarely happens except in aged persons whose constitutions have been enfeebled by previous diseases, or worn out by the various causes which depress and exhaust the powers of life.

With an occasional exception of this kind, the disease in this form always terminates favourably; and the first indication of returning health is remarkably uniform: it is almost always marked by longer and more tranquil sleep. Instead of that restlessness which is so characteristic of fever, and which forms the most distressing part of it, the patient is observed to lie more still, and on waking for the first time from an undisturbed slumber, he often spontaneously says that he feels better. Better he may feel, for his febrile uneasiness is gone; the load that oppressed him is shaken off; he is a new being. The pain of the head and of the limbs is so much diminished, that often he cannot help expressing his thankfulness at the change. The countenance becomes more animated; its natural expression returns; the tongue begins to clean, and after this state of the system has continued for two or three days the appetite returns. While these favourable changes are going on the pulse usually sinks about ten beats below its highest point at the height of the fever; it is not uncommon, however, for it to remain quick during the entire period of convalescence; and for some considerable time it is easily excited on any movement of the body, or any emotion of mind. In some cases, on the contrary, when the attack has been very mild, it sinks considerably below the natural standard, and is intermittent, a sign which has been observed to be attended with a sure and steady convalescence. In the mean time the appetite becomes keener than natural; the strength gradually improves; and in a short time the patient is restored to his usual health and vigour.

The transition of a mild case of fever into a severe one, or the progress of a case severe from the commencement, is accompanied with or depends upon certain changes that take place in certain organs. These changes occur with great regularity; the organs in which they take place are always the same; and the symptoms by which they are denoted are uniform. The organs affected are the spinal cord, the brain, the membranes of both, the mucous membrane of the lungs, and the mucous membranes of the intestines. Other organs become affected in the progress of the malady, but these are the organs which in a greater or less degree are invariably diseased, and which therefore must be considered as the true seats of the structural changes that take place in the regular course of fever. Accordingly in all the severer cases, the symptoms, which are only the external indications and expressions of the successive changes that take place in the internal organs, have their seat either in the head, in the thorax, or in the abdomen. Mixed and blended as these symptoms appear in the different cases which the practitioner is actually called upon to treat, they seem so complex and variable as to bid defiance to any arrangement: when analysed, nothing is more remarkable than their simplicity and their uniformity.

Previous to the changes of structure that take place in the internal organs, it is probable that the different fluids undergo changes no less important. There is indeed a controversy whether the very first change that takes place does not take place in the fluids, and more especially in the blood. There cannot be a question that a morbid change takes place in the blood at a very early period of fever; that that change is different at different stages of the disease; that it is essentially different according to the particular type of fever, and that it is always great in proportion to the severity of the attack. Without entering here into the controversy whether the very first event in the series be a morbid change in the blood, it is manifest that this fluid cannot but become diseased in the progress of fever, because all the processes by which the depuration of the blood is effected are disturbed, and consequently matters which it is the office of these depurating organs to remove from the circulating mass accumulate in it. Moreover there is evidence that the constitution of the blood itself becomes deranged, and that the natural proportions of its essential constituents are subverted. Of course, in a state of the system in which the most important secreting organs are diseased, and in which the fluid that affords the common materials from which the secretions are elaborated