This young man, whose name was “B.  FRANK.  PALMER,” (the abbreviations probably implying the name of a distinguished Boston philosopher of the last century, whose visit to Philadelphia is still remembered in that city,) set himself at work to contrive a limb which should take the place of the one he had lost, fulfilling its functions and counterfeiting its aspect so far as possible.  The result was the “Palmer leg,” one of the most unquestionable triumphs of American ingenuity.  Its victorious march has been unimpeded by any serious obstacle since it first stepped into public notice.  The inventor was introduced by the late Dr. John C. Warren, in 1846, to the Massachusetts General Hospital, which institution he has for many years supplied with his artificial limbs.  He received medals from the American Institute, the Massachusetts Charitable Association, and the Great Exhibition in New York, and obtained an honorary mention from the Royal Commissioners of the World’s Exhibition in London,—­being the only maker of legs so distinguished.  These are only a few of fifty honorary awards he has received at various times.  The famous surgeons of London, the Societe de Chirurgie of Paris, and the most celebrated practitioners of the United States have given him their hearty recommendations.  So lately as last August, that shrewd and skilful surgeon, Dr. Henry J. Bigelow, who is as cautious in handling his epithets as he is bold in using the implements of his art, strongly advised Surgeon-General Hammond to adopt the Palmer leg, which, after a dozen years’ experience, he had found none to equal.  We see it announced that the Board of Surgeons appointed by the Surgeon-General to select the best arm and leg to be procured by the Government for its crippled soldiers chose that of Mr. Palmer, and that Dr. Hammond approved their selection.

We have thought it proper to show that Mr. Palmer’s invention did not stand in need of our commendation.  Its merits, as we have seen, are conceded by the tribunals best fitted to judge, and we are therefore justified in selecting it as an illustration of American mechanical skill.

We give three views of the Palmer leg:  an inside view when extended, a second when flexed, a third as it appears externally.

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[Illustration]

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The Committee on Science and the Arts of the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania thus stated the peculiarities of Mr. Palmer’s invention:—­

“First, An ingenious arrangement of springs and cords in the inside of the limb, by which, when the wearer is in the erect position, the limb is extended, and the foot flexed so as to present a natural appearance.

“Second.  By a second arrangement of cords and springs in the inside of the limb, the foot and toes are gradually and easily extended, when the heel is placed in contact with the ground.  In consequence of this arrangement, the limping gait, and the unpleasant noise made by the sudden stroke of the ball of the foot upon the ground in walking, which are so obvious in the ordinary leg, are avoided.