At the beginning of the present century the French appeared to lead in matters surgical, and were distinguished by dexterity in operating, fertility of invention, accuracy of observation, and clearness of clinical teaching. The foundation of this reputation was laid by Desault, and upon it his successors continued to build. From his school descended the barber-surgeon Boyer (1757-1833), who became the first surgeon and trusted adviser of Napoleon, and was by him created a baron. He was the author of a work, in eleven volumes, which has survived many editions and translations, and therein he laid especial stress upon after-treatment. Richerand (1779-1840), like Boyer, was made a baron, and was a professor in Paris; but his character suffered from his overweening ambition and vanity; he was wont to exhibit most unpleasant personal traits; nevertheless his surgical ability entitles him to front rank among his contemporaries. The third surgeon honored with the rank of baron was Larrey (1766-1842), surgeonin-chief{268} to the Grand Army, and whom Napoleon I called the most virtuous of men. In 1792 he joined the Army of the Rhine, and was the physician of the so-called "flying ambulance" for twenty-two years. He was present in sixty great battles (including that of Waterloo) and four hundred engagements, and was three times wounded. His memoirs and monographs on subjects connected with military surgery cause him to be often quoted even at the present day. It is recorded that he performed two hundred amputations in a single dav; during the march through Russia he had at one time in Smolensk ten thousand men to care for in one hospital. A wonderful organizer, he was idolized by the soldiers, and seems to have been held in nearly the same esteem as his great prototype. Ambroise Paré. The most famous French surgeon of this century,--equally celebrated as a diagnostician, as an operator, and as a teacher,--was Baron Dupuytren (1777-1835). As a child he had been stolen, on account of his eminent beauty. His early life was one of poverty and want. He zealously devoted himself to anatomy and physiology as foundations for successful work in surgery and ultimately secured a private practice that embraced all France, and, when visiting other countries, was received like a prince. For years he devoted three hours daily to didactic lectures. He died, leaving a fortune of several millions of francs; he even offered to the exiled Charles of England a million francs as a trifling recompense for his misfortune. He was known as "The Xapoleon of Surgery,"--a title well earned, yet one which drew upon him the enmity of many of his contemporaries, particularly as he seemed inclined to persecute all who dared to tread in his path. His death resulted from empyema, for which he declined operation, preferring, as he said, "to die at the hands of God, rather than man."