Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/807

NAME METCALFE 785 METTAUER tion he filled until June, 1877, when he was transferred to a similar post in the London Asylum. In April, ''.878, he was placed in temporary charge of Kingston Asylum during the illness of Dr. Dickson, and when the latter retired from service, was appointed medical super- intendent, a position he continued to occupy until he fell at his post of duty. On the morning of the 13th of August, 1885, while making his usual round in com- pany with his assistant, he was fatally stabbed in the abdomen by a criminal lunatic; he never rallied from the shock, and passed away in peace on August 16. 1885. As a practical administrator ne had few equals and no superior. His creed was taught him by his well-loved preceptor. Dr. Work- man, and its prominent characteristic was "my patients first." He was an enthusiastic worker and a believer in details, sparing no pains to master every point in connection with any labor he undertook, and his genius for mechanics icndered him particularly efficient as a practical manager of the asylum affairs. His prominent mental characteristics were earnestness, sincerity, and love of justice. At the time of his death he was a firm believer in non-restraint, although when he adopted this system on trial three years before he was convinced that non-restraint could not be car- ried out. He never forgot that insane patients arc human beings and at all times had a pleasant smile and kind word for those under his care. As he lived, so he died, thoughtful of all but himself; as he felt the near approach of death, he summoned his officers to his bed- side and bade each one an affectionate fare- well, with almost his last breath saying, "Wish the attendants good-bye for me and tell them my hope is that they will all continue their work patiently and perseveringly." No mur- mur of reproach for his sad fate escaped his lips — the painful injury was borne with heroic fortitude and he died as most brave men wish to die, at the post of duty. Institutional Cave of the Insane in the U. S. and Canada. Henry M. Hurd, 1917. Metcalfe, Samuel L. (1798-1856) Samuel L. Metcalfe was born in Winches- ter, Virginia, September 21, 1798, and died in Cape May, New Jersey, July 17, 1856. He removed with his parents to Shelby County, Kentucky, in early life, and in 1819 entered Transylvania University, Lexington, where, in 1823, he received the degree of M. D. He practised in New Albany, Indiana, and later in Mississippi, but in 1831 went to England. On his return he made a geological tour through eastern Tennessee and North Carolina and Virginia, and for several years thereafter he resided in New York City and devoted him- self to writing scientific books, also contribut- ing to the Knickerbocker Magazine under the initial "M." In 1835 he again visited England in order to give his attention to scientific research and during this visit he was solicited to become a candidate for the Gregorian chair in the University of Edinburgh, but declined. He then returned to the United States and devoted his energies to publishing his books. Dr. Metcalfe was the author of "Narratives of Indian Warfare in the West," Lexington, 1821 ; "New Theory of Terrestrial Magnetism, New York, 1833 ; and "Caloric ; its Agencies in the Phenomena of Nature," 2 vols., London. 1843; 2d ed., Philadelphia, 1853. Appleton's Cyclop, of Amer. Biog., N. Y., 1887, Mettauer, John Peter (1787-1875) A surgeon, he was the son of Francis Joseph Mettauer, one of two brothers, who came to this country with Lafayette, as regi- mental surgeons, their regiment being quar- tered after the battle of Yorktown in Prince Edward County, and when it returned to France the elder Mettauer was persuaded by prominent citizens to remain. He later mar- ried Elizabeth Gaulding, a resident of the county, and John Peter was born in 1787. He was educated at Hampden-Sidney College and graduated A. B. in 1806, later in life receiving his A. M. and LL. D. After study at the LTniversity of Pennsylvania he received his M. D. in 1809, the subject of his thesis being "Disease." As a student, he was remark- able for his diligence and for being a great reader, ever availing himself of every oppor- tunity of practice and of gaining experience. He, therefore, was a .favorite with his teach- ers, among whom were such men as Rush, Shippen, Wistar and Physick. After graduation he returned home and built up a practice, the largest and most ardu- ous, probably, ever had by a Virginia phy- sician before. "Though doomed to labor in the country as a practitioner," he said, "I resolved to continue my studious habits and, if possible, not to fall behind the daily im- provements of my profession." He was a member of the old (antebellum) Medical Society of Virginia, and also of the present society. From 1848 to its discontin- uance (about 1860), he was professor of medi- cine and surgery, clinical medicine and