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** This is an archived, static copy of the Casebook messages boards dating from 1998 to 2003. These threads cannot be replied to here. If you want to participate in our current forums please go to https://forum.casebook.org **
Archive through March 29, 2001
Casebook Message Boards: Ripper Suspects: Specific Suspects:
Later Suspects [ 1910 - Present ]:
D'Onston Stephenson, Robert:
Archive through March 29, 2001
Author: Rotter
Saturday, 16 December 2000 - 04:23 am |        | | I think we would all benefit by having Melvin Harris discuss his suspect here rather than having him waste his energies on more about the diaries or various feuds. |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Monday, 18 December 2000 - 06:23 am | | Hi Rotter,
I agree that Melvin's input on the dreaded Diary boards is a total waste of his energies, and I would be more than happy to see him defend D'Onston as a suspect here for a change.
But Melvin does claim to have proof of the identities and roles of those involved in the diary forgery. If only he would share this information privately with Shirley Harrison, we might finally see an end to the time-wasting, space-consuming diary debate, along with the destructive feuds, ill-feeling, and arguments about cashing in on at least one more daft JtR suspect, etc, which have plagued Ripperology in recent years.
Love,
Caz |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Thursday, 15 February 2001 - 02:52 pm | | Dear Sweeney,
The story about the confession of a car thief interviewed by you had me in real fits. One minor point omitted from the story was: At what point after his arrest (if he was in fact arrested) did he confess? Was it before he had the crap beaten out of him and after he was verballed up or vice versa? I know that the Home Office have introduced new methods to stop miscarriages of justice. One was a bit drastic, they were going to do away with the police force altogether. Another suggested that the term suspect be abolished and replaced with the word victim.Instead they introduced a new MK1 police computer in the UK, code named Derek Bentley. The victim's criminal record is fed into the computer and a full confession is printed out. If the victim has no criminal record they fall back on a second line of defense with another program code named Timothy Evans. A blank piece of paper is fed into the computer and a criminal record is supplied. The US version of MK2, soon to be exported from the UK, is code named O J Simpson. The US MK2 version works a bit differently than its UK counterpart. Anyone guilty of a crime has their background fed into this computer and a read out shows that they are completely innocent. |
Author: James Harper
Tuesday, 20 February 2001 - 03:25 pm | | Harsh. Relevant? Hmmm... |
Author: Christopher T George
Saturday, 24 March 2001 - 08:48 pm | | Hi, all:
As agreed with Ivor Edwards, todat I put on another board, "Can we end the hunt for the 'profile' of the Ripper?" under "General Discussion" a correction to an article I wrote about D'Onston's health in 1888 but it had better go here too, on his own board.
In brief, in my article, "Letter from the Sickbed: D'Onston Writes to the Police," in Ripperologist, number 24, August 1999, pp. 22-23, I mislabeled the disease from which this suspect was said to have been suffering while he was a patient in London Hospital, Whitechapel, during 134 days in 1888, from the end of July to December, i.e., covering the entire timespan of the canonical murders. Neurasthenia, the disease I wrongly named in my article, is lassitude or lack of energy, while neurosthenia, the condition the suspect is said to have had, is nervous energy and a condition involving anxiety which can cause sleeplessness.
Chris George |
Author: Martin Fido
Sunday, 25 March 2001 - 06:12 am | | Hi Chris and Ivor,
I ask from real ignorance and a genuine wish for information: not some snide attempt to undermine the Donston case. Could 'neurosthenia' be a polite medical cover for delirium tremens?
Martin |
Author: Paul Begg
Sunday, 25 March 2001 - 10:21 am | | Chris/Martin/Ivor
Neurasthenia is defined as a "condition characterized by general lassitude, irritability, lack of concentration, worry, and hypochondria." The term was introduced into psychiatry in 1869 by an American neurologist George Miller Beard (1839-1883). It was, again according to the definition I have found, "Used by Freud to describe a fundamental disorder in mental functioning, the term was incorrectly applied to almost any psychoneurosis and has been largely abandoned." It was, however, extremely "popular" in the late Victorian and early Edwardian period as there was no stigma attached to it.
I've looked up Neurosthenia, spelled with an "o" instead of an "a" and which is what Donston was diagnosed with, and the only references I can find is one by a patient who applied it to uncontrolable limb movement and which may be a misspelling. The other comes from a quote attribted to G.M. Beard who 'discovered' neurasthenia: "'Neurosthenia is the direct result of the five great changes of modernity: steam power, the periodic press, the telegraph, the sciences, and the mental activity of women'." This quote comes from the early 1880s and unless the spellings were interchangeable I can only assume this to be a transcription error. Otherwise, I have come across neuroasthenia, which employs both the "o" and the "a", in an article about mercury poisoning in dentistry, but this seems to be a reference to neurasthenia.
A tad confused by all of this, but bitten by the bug of curiosity, I wonder if anyone can offer enlightenment in the form of a definition with source for these ailments? |
Author: Jon
Sunday, 25 March 2001 - 11:30 am | | This is rather strange...
My trusty Websters Medical Dictionary lists Neurasthenia as a condition following depressed states from prolonged emotional tension marked by weakness, exhaustion, headache, sweating, polyuria, ringing (in the ) ears, vertigo, double vision, fear, irritability, poor concentration, insomnia....and lots more (good job someone came up with a singular term for that lot, eh?)
But does NOT list Neurosthenia at all, neither does the on-line Websters General Dictionary at http://www.m-w.com/
Are you sure this 'o' term is a genuine condition? and not a misspelling of the 'a' term?
Regards, Jon |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Monday, 26 March 2001 - 04:17 am | | Hi All,
Neurasthenia means nervous debility.
neur or neuro is the nervous bit, then astheneia is the Greek for weakness. The only spelling allowed for in my Chambers is neurasthenia. But I would imagine if the word has also understandably been spelled neuroasthenia, the misspelling neurosthenia would be a common one.
But it would appear that all three are variants of the same word and the same condition, except that it seems (from Paul's post above) that the term was misapplied as often as it was misspelled, and ended up covering a multitude of psychoneurotic conditions. So it was presumably possible for one person to display symptoms such as nervous excitement and sleeplessness, while another was being all lethargic and weak, yet both be diagnosed under the misused and generic banner of neurasthenia. Which would make it rather difficult to ascertain what really ailed D'Onston, wouldn't it?
Love,
Caz
PS Rather an unfortunate way for G.M.Beard to describe the last of those five great changes of modernity: the mental activity of women, as if a light bulb suddenly came on! |
Author: Paul Begg
Monday, 26 March 2001 - 04:47 am | | Hi Caz
That women could conceive of anything meritable was not thought possible or desireable - and from some comments one hears in pubs, it still isn't - so I guess the growth of womens outspokenness during the second half of the 19th c. may for many have been as shocking as a light bulb suddenly going on and caused them considerable stress - and from comments one hears in pubs, womens' outspokenness still does! |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Monday, 26 March 2001 - 12:12 pm | | I must stress here that I could not possibly be the cause of any such stress to the males I hear talking in pubs. Besides, a man's consideration of female talents often travels far too slowly upwards to have any hope of reaching what's between her ears, before the call for "last orders" reaches his own... hic! 
Love,
Caz |
Author: Christopher T George
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 01:24 am | | MELVIN OR IVOR:
Can we get definitive word from you that there is proof that there is a disease known as neurosthenia with which Roslyn D'Onston was diagnosed as suffering from in 1888 and which formed the basis for his admission to the London Hospital, Whitechapel?
As you know, in response to messages from both of you that I had got D'Onston's disease wrong in my article, "Letter from the Sickbed: D'Onston Writes to the Police," in Ripperologist, number 24, August 1999, pp. 22-23, in calling it neurasthenia, I issued an acknowledgement on these boards that the disease should have been neurosthenia.
Even though I work in the medical field and look up medical terms on a constant basis, I did not check the term "neurosthenia" when Melvin stated that was what the suspect suffered from, and I likewise did not check when Ivor most recently made the same point. As might be expected, I assumed you were both correct and I was wrong. Rather, I felt that a correction was overdue since I had received word from Melvin of my error a year ago.
Paul Begg, in getting ready to publish the erratum in Ripperologist, legitimately questions whether "neurosthenia" is in fact a correct medical term. The Barnes & Noble Concise Medical Dictionary, in which I checked that "neurasthenia" is a known medical term, and referenced it so in my article, fails to list "neurosthenia."
I recognize that in The True Face of Jack of the Ripper (paperback, Michael O'Mara Books, London, 1994), p. 110, Melvin explicity states:
It is July 1888. D'Onston is living. . . in Brighton, just minutes from the sea-front, when he suddenly puts on an act that he is suffering from neurosthenia. Now this describes a state of excitability and should not be confused with neurasthenia, its very opposite. The treatment for neurosthenia was simple: a light diet, plenty of rest, no stimulants, and fresh air. . . .
Unless I missed it, Melvin does not appear to cite a medical reference to document his statement about D'Onston having "neurosthenia" versus "neurasthenia." Presumably though he has excellent reasons for telling us that "neurasthenia" and "neurosthenia" are quite different and opposite diseases. Perhaps you also have a reference, Ivor?
Is there then a separate disease called "neurosthenia" or could it be that the entry of "neurosthenia" in the records of the London Hospital may actually be meant to read "neurasthenia" which was a relatively new disease in psychiatry of the day, having only been first described in 1869, less than 20 years earlier, by American neurologist George Miller Beard (1839-1883)?
Gentlemen, I am as concerned about clearing this question up as you are. Thanks for your attention.
Best regards
Chris George |
Author: Paul Begg
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 02:50 am | | Hi Chris
While we await a definition and source for neurosthenia, I was intrigued to discover that some people associate neurasthenia with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and similar syndromes. Beard wrote a book about neurasthenia called Ameican Nervousness and listed some seventy symptoms from migraine to skin rash, asthma to insomnia, epilepsy to digestive disorders. So many in fact that I wonder whether neurosthenia really is its opposite. Fascinatingly, neurasthenia was epidemic at the turn-of-the-century in America, especially among the cultural and political elite. It was ‘trendy’ to be diagnosed with neurasthenia and the treatment seems to have been exactly the same as Melvin gives for neurosthenia, namely relaxation, good food, ect. The ‘epidemic’ was quite extraordinary and there is a book about it: American Nervousness 1903 - An Anecdotal History by Tom Lutz (Cornell University Press, 1991). It may repay a reading in that it could shed light further light on Donston's personality.
Cheers
Paul |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 06:44 am | | Hi All,
Have I got this right? We first need to confirm that a person could have been described as neurosthenic, and would then be suffering from the opposite symptoms as one who was said to be neurasthenic. The former term would derive from neuro - pertaining to the nervous system, and sthenic - morbidly active, while the latter would derive from neur, and asthenic - lacking strength.
If both terms were in use, we would need to see if it's possible to come to any definite conclusion about D'Onston and his alleged symptoms, given how easily cockups could have occurred over the o and the a, either in the spelling of the appropriate condition, or in the interpretation of a doctor’s handwriting. (Sorry, Chris, but your post above originally contained a couple of examples of how easy it is to put o instead of a by mistake. I thought you may have been deliberately illustrating that very point, except that I notice you have now edited the post and corrected the examples! ).
Love,
Caz
PS o for a nice hot cuppa! |
Author: Paul Begg
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 07:39 am | | Hi Caz
Chris, Jon and myself have been unable to find a reference to neurosthenia, other than the examples I cited (one a possible misapplication and the other a possible mistranscription); neuroasthenia, however, appears to have been a catch-all term for a veritable shopping list of symptoms, which on the face of it seems to suggest that such precise definitions as lethargy (neurasthenia) and exciteability (neurosthenia) unlikely, especially as the cure seems to have been the same (perhaps not unlikely in itself). But no doubt there are sources references to the distinction. Chris, Jon and I just can't find one.
{} (which if I am lucky should be a smiley!) |
Author: Warwick Parminter
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 09:14 am | | To all,
There is a program on British T/V tonight at 9:00 pm, channel 4, called "Victorians Uncovered". One of three, the first is called Virgin Trade,-- Newspaper editor William Stead's inquiry into child prostitution in London.
Rick |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 09:46 am | | Thanks for the clarification Paul, and thanks Rick, for giving details of tonight's prog, which I was meaning to give out, except that I forgot all about it until I saw your message!
Congrats on the smiley Paul - the resemblance to real life is uncanny.
Looks like we'll have to wait for Ivor the [search] engine or the Melvinator to give us a source for all the exciteability over neurosthenia.
Love,
Caz |
Author: Paul Begg
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 10:13 am | | | Thanks Caz. I hadn't realised I had a bright yellow face! |
Author: Jim Leen
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 02:18 pm | | Hello Everybody,
I thought this little snippet of verse, written by Drayson Maile in 1940, seemed quite apt for this discussion.
...You will hear plenty of symptoms but very few signs
and neurosthenia will be your worst foe
but if in doubt don’t say there is nowt
take care you new OPO...
An OPO was an Out Patients Officer which may seem to imply that neurosthania was not considered a severe disease but was more akin to malingering.
As for RDO himself, I am starting to conclude that he was the person responsible for the more believable letters, and indeed, the name Jack the Ripper itself.
Whatever his condition does anybody know if RDO had a habit of "issuing stentorian ha ha ha's" in his speech?
Thanking you
Jim Leen |
Author: Christopher T George
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 03:54 pm | | Hi, Jim:
Nice to see you back here. We have missed you. I am not certain that RDO was apt to break out in "stentorian ha ha ha's" but he was certainly an odd bird who no doubt enjoyed chuckling up his sleeve. In my opinion, his involvement in this case could well have been more than is presently perceived, but whether he was Jack is another question.
All the best
Chris George |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Tuesday, 27 March 2001 - 06:24 pm | | | Have only just seen these messages concerning neurosthenia ( not to be confused with neurasthenia ) neurosthenia was treated with a rest cure and a mixture of bromide and chloral.The latter could be taken at any time the patient wished to take it. I will post more information tomorrow on this matter when I have more time. |
Author: Paul Begg
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 03:41 am | | Hi Jim
I don't know the rhyme, but it does fit what seems to be known about neurasthena, suggesting that maybe neurasthena and neurosthena are one and the same. Could could confirm that the spelling is with an "o"? Many thanks. |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 04:54 am | | Hi Ivor,
When you return with more neurosthenia info, could you please include a source for neurosthenia being a diagnosed and documented condition, distinct from neurasthenia. No one here has yet been able to find a clear and unambiguous reference to the former in their various medical dictionaries.
If the term did exist separately from neurasthenia, I wonder if it was possibly the invention of quack doctors, and never used intentionally - and therefore not recognised and listed - by the medical profession itself.
Love,
Caz |
Author: John Omlor
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 07:09 am | | Paul,
The spelling in the poem does appear to be with an "o."
You can find the verse at
http://www.gktgazette.com/nov2000/letters.htm
Also, a quick Google search on "neurosthenia," with the "o," does indeed reveal a number of mentions of a condition linked to depression and sometimes treated with natural herbs. It's listed as one of the conditions treatable by Pollixin, on the Pollixin home page, and as a form of depression at the course notes page:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~leekeck/Depression.html
It does seem to be regularly confused with the hyperactivity and nervousness of the one with the "a" on several pages. For instance on a page about Warburg, where the quote posted earlier appears, the two terms seemed to be used interchangably:
http://home.primus.com.au/jbandbr/warburg%20madness.htm
It (with the "o") is linked to depression in an article in the Journal of Social Psychiatry by an A. Kleinman in 1981 (to which I did not have access and could not read in its entirety, but I have the volume and issue number if anyone has the access to the journal).
However, in a page of medical records on WWI soldier Phillip Pilon, the terms are again used interchangably, with the "a" appearing as his current condition in 1918, later listed as the one with the "o" in a summary of his earlier ones in 1917 (unless he had suffered from both).
In all, it seems to me there does appear to be a use of the term linking it to a form of depression, but it also appears, historically, that the terms have been used with some confusion in the past.
Just a quick set of results from your friends at Google.
--John |
Author: Paul Begg
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 08:02 am | | Hi John
Yes, assuming that the Warburg quote is not a mistrascription then we have the discoverer using the 'o'spelling when referring to the 'a' illness, from which the term does look to have been interchangeable before the spelling seeming to standardise on the 'a'. It's odd that none of the medical dictionaries on-line have an 'o' spelling if it was indeed a distinct illness. |
Author: Alegria
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 08:35 am | | I agree that a quick search did bring up references to neurO- but none provided a definition. It also brought up Neurosthenia in relation to some rather kinky sex toys so maybe the O can be found on one of those sites.  |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 09:44 am | | Martin, Chris, Paul, and Jon,
Jonathan Evans, archivist,Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, confirmed to me in writing on 26 Feb 1997 that Stephenson was diagnosed with NEUROSTHENIA. His condition on discharge was “relieved.” I was also given exstensive information about Dr Sutton ( Stephenson’s Physician ) and Dr. Morgan Davies. Sutton and Stephenson both came from Yorkshire and both had shipowners in their families. I made several visits to the archives at the London Hospital and obtained information which confirmed that
Stephenson was in Davis ward with a complaint known as NEUROSTHENIA. I employed a private photographer to record this archive information on film. Try looking in the London Hospital Pharmacopoeia 1892 which may hold information on treatment for Neurosthenia. Today I contacted Mr Evans and he told me he will check the hospital
records on my behalf in relation to Neurosthenia and Neurasthenia. I have spoken to
Melvin today on your behalf and informed him of the situation. He asked if I could place a message for him on the board to clarify his position in this matter. Melvin’s post is
as follows:
Check Harder
By Melvin Harris.
Perhaps Chris George would put on screen the documentary evidence I sent him relating
to Neurosthenia. I did my original research at the Wellcome Institute Medical Collection,
London. There are more references there including the information that the treatment was rest and a standard mixture of bromide and chloral. Other people please note. |
Author: Alegria
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 10:00 am | | | So basically it is a load of hooey. Lots of info on treatment, no information on what it is. |
Author: Paul Begg
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 10:26 am | | Hi Chris
In view of the above and as Ripperologist goes to press today, I think it would be premature and possibly misleading as things stand to give your errata wider publicity at this time. Is that okay with you?
Hi Ivor
Many thanks for your efforts. |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 10:54 am | | Hi All,
Just to clarify once again: if they are separate medical terms, the make-up of each word suggests that the literal meaning of neurosthenia should in theory refer to the excitable and restless symptoms, while neurasthenia should in theory refer to the weak and depressed ones.
But I predict that it will be the devil's own job to prove exactly what the doctor had in mind when he wrote the word neurosthenia down as his diagnosis of D'Onston's condition.
Love,
Caz |
Author: Christopher T George
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 11:23 am | | Hi Paul:
Yes, indeed, go ahead with the issue until this matter is sorted out. I have, through Stewart, made sure that Melvin is aware of the question, so hopefully we should be hearing about his sources for the condition known as "neurosthenia." The big question though is that if the information saying that D'Onston had "neurosthenia" is a handwritten entry in the records of the London Hospital, which it probably is, whether the medical staff meant "neurasthenia" even if they were two different conditions. If it is a handwritten entry, indeed, we are in the same situation ironically as the police were in Goulston Street, trying to decipher if the graffito writer said "Jewes", "Juwes", etc. The other thing that might make all this a bit immaterial is that, according to Melvin, D'Onston was "faking it" so that his real health condition is not reflected in the diagnosis anyway.
Best regards
Chris George |
Author: Jim Leen
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 11:36 am | | Hello Everybody,
Chris,it's nice, nise even, to be back posting again. The worst thing, I suppose, about being a part-time sleuth means that other commitments ultimately take precedence.
Like yourself I feel that D’onston was highly involved in the Ripper case and is, on reflection, an extremely viable suspect. Although generally attributed to Tom Bullen I think that RDO was the writer of the more persuasive letters. The following, tantalising description by R. Thurston Hopkins points directly towards to RDO.
…It was perhaps a fortunate thing that the handwriting of the famous letter was perhaps not identified, for it would have led to the arrest of a harmless Fleet Street journalist. This poor fellow had a breakdown and became a whimsical figure in Fleet Street, only befriended by the staff of newspapers and printing works. He would creep about the dark courts waving his hands furiously in the air, would utter stentorian “Ha, ha, ha’s,” and then, meeting some pal, would button-hole him and pour into his ear all the “inner-story” of the East End murders…
This seems to have obvious parallels with Marsh’s statement after all he was “button-holed” and subsequently employed by Stephenson. Indeed RDO’s statement, a miasma of confused thoughts, attesting to the guilt of a Dr. D demonstrably highlights the “inner-story”, c/f “per ano.”
A further extract, from the East Anglia Times of 31/12/88, would seem to confirm the notion.
A gentleman who has for some time been engaged in philanthropic work in the East End recently received a letter, the handwriting of which had previously attracted the attention of the Post Office authorities on account of its similarity to that of the writer of some of the letters signed Jack the Ripper. The police made enquiries, and ascertained that the writer was known to his correspondent as a person intimately acquainted with East End life, and that he was then a patient in a metropolitan hospital.
Even The Littlechild Letter may implicate RDO. “…I never heard of a Dr. D in connection with the Whitechapel murders…” I thought at first that this “Dr. D” may refer to Druitt as McNaghten erroneously referred to the barrister as a doctor. However, Sims was writing about Druitt in 1899. The only other “Dr. D” I can think of is one Roslyn D’Onston or his own suspect Dr. Davies.
I’m glad I got that off my chest!
Thanking you
Jim Leen |
Author: Paul Begg
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 11:41 am | | Hi Chris
As far as Melvin's argument is concerned, neurasthenia seems to have been a fashionable ailment that reached epidemic proportions in the late 19th century, from which one imagine that Donston was faking it, as many people must have been. If he was faking it though, that he fancied being diagnosed with the ailment may suggest that he had a penchant for jumping on 'trendy' bandwagons. If so, I'll leave it to others to decide how Donston's character should be assessed.
I did a quick search at the Wellcome Institute Medical Collection web site. Nothing on neurosthenia. |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 12:44 pm | | | Now for the good news, Merrick, the Elephant Man, was diagnosed on admittance to the London Hospital with having elephantitis.This complaint can only be contracted in the tropics.Merrick had not been to the tropics so therefore, his diagnosis was wrong. So,following this example, Mr. Evans, the archivist of the London Hospital, informed me that if Stephenson was diagnosed with neurosthenia he may have been incorrectly diagnosed. It short it was all a hit and miss affair ! |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 01:06 pm | | Chris,
Did Melvin give you documentary evidence relating to neurosthenia? If so can you place it on this board. Many thanks |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 01:27 pm | | | Paul,Judging a man by what you may think is prejudice. Also Stephenson may not have picked that ailment because it was trendy. None of us can state why he picked it.Only he knew the answer to that. He knew more about medicine than many others. |
Author: Paul Begg
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 06:01 pm | | Mr. Evans, the archivist of the London Hospital, informed me that if Stephenson was diagnosed with neurosthenia he may have been incorrectly diagnosed.
Hi Ivor
Yes, but what was neurosthenia?
I wasn't presuming to judge the man. I was merely observing on the basis of what others had said. But this isn't an issue, I just can't find a proper reference to neurosthenia and I'd like a source. |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Wednesday, 28 March 2001 - 09:08 pm | | Hi Paul,
Neorosthenia is a nervous condition which descibes excitability. Melvin has stated that his source for this was the Wellcome medical collection.From the previous posts I believe that Stewart Evans is going to try and obtain more specific information on this point. I am awaiting to hear from Mr Evans of the London Hospital who told me that I can expect more information in a week.Whatever D'Onston had the chances are he was
incorrectly diagnosed. Some things never change.I went to see a Dr. some weeks ago. I informed him that I thought I had a trapped nerve in my hand.This idiot then informed me that this was impossible because I dont have any nerves in my hand!!!! If we have men like this in medicine today then God only knows what it was like in 1888! |
Author: Tom Wescott
Thursday, 29 March 2001 - 12:08 am | | Ivor,
Relax, buddy. No need to be defensive or take this D'Onston stuff so personal. Whether he was the Ripper or not, he was a big time loser. No question about that. Since you are a supporter of D'Onston as the Ripper, here's a little food for thought...Mary Kelly had been married to a man named Davies and had been the lover of a man named 'Morganstone' or Morgan Stone'. D'Onston brings forth as a suspect Morgan Davies. Was he trying to tell us something? Probably not. But it's one of those fun little coincidences that tend to pop up here and there and I felt compelled to mention it. By the way, I'd love to hear more about your book and research if you'd like to email me off the boards about it.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Thursday, 29 March 2001 - 07:31 am | | So let's see - there are a growing number of speculative permutations arising from the basic fact that D'Onston presented with some symptoms and the doc wrote down a diagnosis of neurosthenia.
D'Onston may have been faking - he may not. The doc may have misdiagnosed his condition - he may not. The doc may have misspelled a correct diagnosis - he may even have misspelled an incorrect one.
A further possibility is that D'Onston informed the doc, in an authoritative manner, that he had a certain chronic condition, for which he had been treated previously, and that the doc accepted this self-diagnosis and recorded it - correctly or otherwise.
Whether or not any firm conclusions can be drawn from this little lot (and I seriously doubt it), there should be absolutely no need for it to descend into another ripping blame-fest. I agree with Tom. Time to relax - everyone. Please?
Love,
Caz |
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