Echoes of the Month

The Paris Morgue is no more. It is to be replaced by an entirely new type of institution. The original Morgue, which overhangs the riverside close by Notre Dame, was founded in 1864. It was devoted to the reception of the bodies of those to whom death had come by other than natural means, and the bodies of people who had met with violent ends were in manjr cases preserved there for many years until the mystery of their deaths could be solved. Little by little, however, the Morgue was transformed into something more, and from 1877 it had been the headquarters of the School of Legal Medicine. For this purpose, in view of the rapid progress of scientific research, it soon became seriously inadequate, and, in 1908 a project for the establishment of a definite medico-legal institute, of which the old Morgue should form part, was definitely put forward. This project has now been carried out. The new institution includes laboratories for the study of legal medicine, toxicology and judicial identification, as well as three commodious rooms for performing post-mortem examinations. The premises also include a criminological museum.