I. The first is a series of cases which took place during the last spring in a town at some distance from this neighborhood.  A physician of that town, Dr. C., had the following consecutive cases.

No. 1, delivered March 20, died March 24.
" 2,  "    April 9,  " April 14.
" 3,  "     "  10,  "  "  14.
" 4,  "     "  11,  "  "  18.
" 5,  "     "  27,  "  May  3.
" 6,  "     "  28, had some symptoms,(recovered.)
" 7,  "    May  8, had some symptoms,(also recovered.)

These were the only cases attended by this physician during the period referred to.  “They were all attended by him until their termination, with the exception of the patient No. 6, who fell into the hands of another physician on the 2d of May. (Dr. C. left town for a few days at this time.) Dr. C. attended cases immediately before and after the above-named periods, none of which, however, presented any peculiar symptoms of the disease.”

About the 1st of July he attended another patient in a neighboring village, who died two or three days after delivery.

The first patient, it is stated, was delivered on the 20th of March.  “On the 19th, Dr. C. made the autopsy of a man who died suddenly, sick only forty-eight hours; had oedema of the thigh, and gangrene extending from a little above the ankle into the cavity of the abdomen.”  Dr. C. wounded himself, very slightly, in the right hand during the autopsy.  The hand was quite painful the night following, during his attendance on the patient No. 1.  He did not see this patient after the 20th, being confined to the house, and very sick from the wound just mentioned, from this time until the 3d of April.

Several cases of erysipelas occurred in the house where the autopsy mentioned above took place, soon after the examination.  There were also many cases of erysipelas in town at the time of the fatal puerperal cases which have been mentioned.

The nurse who laid out the body of the patient No. 3 was taken on the evening of the same day with sore throat and erysipelas, and died in ten days from the first attack.

The nurse who laid out the body of the patient No. 4 was taken on the day following with symptoms like those of this patient, and died in a week, without any external marks of erysipelas.

“No other cases of similar character with those of Dr. C. occurred in the practice of any of the physicians in the town or vicinity at the time.  Deaths following confinement have occurred in the practice of other physicians during the past year, but they were not cases of puerperal fever.  No post-mortem examinations were held in any of these puerperal cases.”

Some additional statements in this letter are deserving of insertion.