It would appear, from stray allusions in various old ordinances, that some sort of medical office had been established in the eighteenth century by the government, for the purpose of affording gratuitous advice to prostitutes, and denouncing those who were diseased; but there exists no positive evidence of any such establishment or office. It was not till 1803 that a regulation was made by the prefect of police, requiring all public women to submit to be visited by a physician appointed by him. The plan was a bad one, as the physician was paid by fees which he was authorized to exact; and it was rendered worse in practice by the dishonesty of the man chosen for the office, one Coulon. This individual made money and neglected his duties. The system was altered in 1810, and a dispensary established, with a strong medical staff, who were directed to visit all the prostitutes in Paris. This institution is still in existence; it will be further noticed in the next chapter. When the dispensary was established, its medical officers were directed to offer to prostitutes the choice of being treated at home or going to the hospital. Almost all chose the former. The physicians then undertook to decide themselves which should go to the hospital and which remain in their houses. The results of their experience, and the policy it compelled them to adopt, are shown in the following table, which was compiled by Parent-Duchatelet: Year. Treated at home. 1812 276 1813 300 1814 296 1815 No report. 1816 " 1817 123 1818 No report. 1819 25 1820 19 1821 27 1824 27 1825 7 1826 4 The system of treating prostitutes at home was, in fact, given up. It was found they could not be compelled to take the medicines given them; and that, though laboring under the most severe disease, they would not abstain from the exercise of their calling. The tables prepared by the sanitary office, or dispensary, at Paris, afford a clear view of the extent and progress of disease in that city. Of those which are furnished by M. Parent-Duchatelet, we shall take a few of the most striking. The following gives the aggregate disease for a period of twenty years: