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*rar - 12* 186^1 THE LEAB1B. *&
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THE BRITISH HOSPITAL IN SMYRNA. Ismeer, ...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Salab For The Social. Salad For Tho. Soc...
assign to his character any literary eminence , his career was marked by singular ercentricity ; his spacious establishment in Emsbory-square , around which , it is said , thath ? actually drove a coach-and-four , contained an immense collection of books . Amontr his many expedients to excite notoriety was the publication of an advertisem ^ nt ftaJing that his coach-house in OW - ^ reet "bad W robbed of 10 , 000 volumes ¦ consistioff chiefly of Dr . Watts' " Psalms and Hymas , " a manoeuvre that answered the twofold puroose of letting the world know that he kept a coach , and that even so large a . quantity of books eould scarce be missed from his collection . He also had the vanity ~ to hoiat , a . & ag at the tap of 4 is house as m BignaS , whenever he araiwea £ rom iiB ceunfary aeat at Merton . His vanity was certainly very amusing , ana excusable , whm we consider the disadvantages of Mb tumble origin . At * en years aid he comnienoad crying apple-pies in the streets , so that , as he himself mtimatea , He JoU began to maksi uoiae ik the wortd . Hi * suoceBS ia this , hisfirst essay , mduced apeedil / Aeexchaage-af iarts for books ; thus hB commenced busmess as a bookseller , winch one yaar yielded him a profit of JiQQQl . Tie author oranaerates tihe literary publishers of London—William Longman , who has written on Entomology * , John Murray , William Wood , a zoographwt , and the editor of Buffbn ; William Moxon , a poet ; A . J . ValpyTa classical -writer ; M'Cray , a translator of German lyrics ; Talboys , John Russell Smith , Charles Knight , and II . G . Bohn . Thence diverging to Ion" names and words , he quotes the classical " Wusku-Wuttesthementuni YuMiOrdumun Jesus Christ Nuppoqhwussuaenenmun" of Stephen Day , with the weil-JuioHrn " Aldeborontiphoscophornio I Where left you Chrononhatonthologos ?" And Robert iLovelTa "Ikcmmlogioomdwsra togia- a complete History rf Animals and Minerals , contain * the snmme of all Authors , Galenical and Chymicall , with the Anatomie of Man . Most of tie anecdotes in the volume are of as recent reference and little rarity as the following : — Scott is known to have profited much by Constable ' s bibliographical knowledge , which was very extensive . The latter christened Keailworth , which Scott named Cumnur Hall John Ballantyne objected to the former title , and told Constable the result would be " something worthy of the kennel ; " but the result proved the reverse . Mr . Cadell relates that Constable ' s vanity boiled over so much at this time , on having his suggestions adopted , that , in Ms high moods , he used to stalk up and < lown his room , and exclaim , " By Jove , I am all but the author of the Waverley Novels , ' " TVe shall string together a few paragraphs of gossip : — A printer's -wife in Germany lost her life by feloniously meddling with , the types . . She went into the office by night , and took out the word " lord , " in Genesis iiL 16 , where Eve is made subject to her husband , and made the verse read , " he shall be thy fool , " instead of " he shall be thy lord . " * It is said fliat she was put to death for her wickedness . It is well known that printers of an early edition of the Scriptures were so heavily fined as to "be utterly ruined , for leaving out the word " not" from one of the Ten Commandments . We have seen -this before , yet all readers may not have seen it : — At a subscription of the French Academy for some charitable object , each contributor putting in a fouis d ' or , the collector , by mistake , made a second application to a member noted for his penuriousness— " I have already paid , " exclaimed the latter , with some asperity . " I beg your pardon , " said the applicant , " 1 have no doubt < but you paid ; I believe it though I did not see it . " " And I saw it , and do not belimve it , ™ whispered Voltaire . Daniel Dancer , when he had 3000 / . a year , used to beg a pinch of snuff from all his friends , and when his box was full , bartered its contents for a tallow candle . But his parsimonious ingenuity appears contemptible in comparison with tiiat of the Russian miser , who learned to hark that he anight avoid the expense of keeping a dog-That Mary of Scotland , who had exquisite hair of her own , wore red fronts , that Cleopatra was red-haired , that the Venetian ladies to this day counterfeit yellow hair , that the Roman virgins powdered their hair with gold , are fragments of traditionary chit-chat . From the same repertory ¦ comes the observation that Chatham , when be intended to speak , crowned irimself with his best wig , that Erskine , before fee rose to plead , drew on his bright yellow gloves , that Horace Waipole wore " a cravat of Gibbon's carvings , " that Raleigh crusted his shoes -with jewels , that Petrarch pinched his feet , that Aristotle wore a profusion of rings , that Byron was proud of Siis handsome neck , that Rousseau affected the Armenian style of dress , that Voltaire deligluted in his gold and scarlet coat , aud that Cwsur scratched Iris head carefully , so as not to disarrange the locks arranged over the bald plaice . Tradition insists that corsets were first invented by a brutal butcher of the thirteenth century , * s a punishment , for his wife . She was very loquacious , and finding nothing- -would « ure her , he put a pair of stays on her , in order to take away her t > reatih , and * o prevent her , as he "thought , from talking . This cruel punishment was inflicted fey other heartless husbands , till at last there was scarcely a wife in all Ijondon wfc © was not -condemned to the like infliction . The punishment became so universal at last that the ladies in their defence . made a fashion of it , and so it has ¦ continued 1 >© ifae present day . Among the legal anecdotes in the Salad is one on the trite subject of the law ' s delay : — About a hundred years ago , a Scotch gentleman bequeathed to his " poor relations , of whatever degree , " tite sum of 20 , 000 J . In effect , ho loft tluein a Chancery suit , which has remained in the family over since . In the firat place , tho next of kin disputed the validity of the bequest , but it was established by Lord Chancellor Canulen , and 4 G < $ persons inudo out their relationship . Thereupon , in tho year 176 G , a bill was filed for tho distribution of tho money amongst thorn , which has not been cflbctod to this day . A mad young nonconformist said in tho pulpit , not long ago , that tho difference between the devil and a deacon was this : —that if you resist the devil he will fly from you , while if you resist a deacon ho will fly at you . This boing ^ a style of Christian ministry , admired by large and evangelical ¦ congregations , it ia « ot to be wondered at that a diopter may easily be filled with citations < of pulpit-eccentricity . IXere is the newest in the Salad ; — A minuter of the ** Kirk * ' « f SooOhuid eaoe diuooverod hia wife atrieep in the midut ef his homily oa ike Sabfcatk . So , pausing in th « etoady , and possibly seunewiiat monotonous flow of bis oratory , he broke forth with thus personal address , © harp and dew , tout very deliberate : Susan 1 "
Snsan opened fcer eyea and ears in a , twinkling , j » did « H other dxeamexs in < £ he < housQ , whether 4 » le ^ p « r awake . ,.,, „ . „ " . Susan , I didna marry . ye ifor jronr wealth , sin'ye iaednon *! And 1 diona amacry ye for your beauty ; that the hail . congregation can see . And if _ ye have n » ^ yrace , I have made but a sair bargain ]" Salad Jar the Social is by no means a , good book—not half so good as Salad for the Solitary . All we can . say in ite iavour ia , that same of the ^ chapters ace amusing .
*Rar - 12* 186^1 The Leab1b. *&
* rar - 12 * 186 ^ 1 THE LEAB 1 B . *&
The British Hospital In Smyrna. Ismeer, ...
THE BRITISH HOSPITAL IN SMYRNA . Ismeer , or Smt / rna , and Us British Hospital in 1855 . By a Lady-London : James Madden , Lea * ;» Ju & ll-streeI ; . This book is decidedly interesting though ill-constructed . There is a smartness at > oti * it , a gossiping epistolary style-whicih gives lightness and vivaeity to * he anecdotes narrated and -freshness to the pictures described . But there is occasionally—and this -we do not praise—a -flippancy of remark and a dash of Scottish vanity , which may tell on the north side of the Tweed , but not on the south . How is it that Scotch people , go where they will , must compare everything they see ty something " dear Scotland" possesses . ^ Let it be ever so rare and indigenous , there is something analagous exi st ing amongst their thistles and oat-fields .. You cannot read a book written by a Scotchman without finding out his nationality by the allusions he constantly makes to the land of his nativity . The writer of the volume before us is one of those ladies who undertook the charitable mission to lhe T ^ ak * , to render what assistance they could to the sick and the wounded of our neglected army . Her destination was Smyrna . On their way out , considerable attention and respect was manifested towards these sisters of mercy , who kft their homes—and this was the marvel of tne continental ladies—without having any vow to accomplish . On board the Sinai , the steamer that took them £ -om Marseilles to Smyrna , were a number of French soldiers , who sang song after song ; some ia allusion to the alliaace , Vine la Fraruie et VjLngleterre ; some to past times , Five la Jtepublique ; sometimes—in spite of the . supreme Sfc . Arnaud—the Marseillaise was commenced , but at once put down by one or other of the officers . On their arrival at Smyrna , it was found that no preparations had been made for their reception , and that the two hotels of the place were crowded . It is not our intention to accompany them through their troubles . They at last found a house , within a few minutes' walk of the hospital , fit to be inhabited . They then commenced their official duties . The reader must not suppose that because we find narrated the experiences of a lady-nurse , her narrative savours continually of medicines and ointments . She is neither prophylactic nor clinieal . We have a description of the hospital , the wards into w ' hich it is divided , the number of physicians or surgeons , sisters , mirses , orderlies , & c , appointed to each , the rules and regulations by which they nad to . act , and many other interesting details . But this is not all . We ha » ve anecdotes of tie patients themselves , of the influence the ladies possessed over them , and of the nature of their occupations when convalescent . Though hard-worked , that is , from nine , Just-, to half-past five , p . m ., our authoress had opportunities of peeping about under a veil outside of the gates of the hospital and the dwelling-house—of visiting the different quarters of the town—of going to the bazaars—of entering the mosques—of talking to the men and women—and of observing manners and characters . Sometimes business wae slack . She then retired to a friend ' s house , a few miles from " Ismeer , the Beautiful , " enjoyed a pic-nic got up by the medical officers , and sees something of the country . But a trip into the country was rathfir dangerous . The brigands of the hills—true Greeks—infested the highways , and even entered the villages in search of prey . Their prey was man . They sought him , not to kill him , but for the sake of the ransom-money . The English , of course , were looked on as good prizes , and a sleek , comely medical man was estimated at 3 O 00 A The price of our authoress is not stated , bat the bishop of Moray and Ross kindly guaranteed her rescue by the following document , addressed to the English Consul at Smyrna : — September 12 th , 1655 . " I hereby undertake to repay a . ny amount that may be necessary to recover Miss out . of ik « hands of the robbers . " Robert Edkn , Bishop of Moray and Boas . " Headers who would understand the consternation caused by the capture of a prize amongst the quiet denizens of the towns may consult this volume from page 140 to 150 . Sometimes such a courteous message as the following was sent by the chief of the band to the officers of the staff and the other English residents : — " That he would take any of them he could catch , man , woman , or child ; and if their ransom was not forthcoming in four-and-twonty faours , he would flay his victims alive . " Of course such a chivalrous intimation made all -circumspect . The men ouly ventured forth with revolvera in their hands , and the women never without the protection of the men . Sometimes am onslaught was made on this troop of marauders , and many fell either by foroe or treachery . But no sooner was one chief decapitated than another sprang up ; and if a band were dispersed , it was quickly reformed by the unquiet spirits which always abound in ill-governed countries . The account of tfee internal discipline of the hospital , the conduct of tho men , the nature o f their occupations , we have before alluded to as interesting . We cannot help feeling amused at some of the difficulties which th © ladies had to put up with . Native servants wore proved to bo bores , and somethin" - 43 lse . " The Greeks couldoievcr be depended upon ; they ooiurtantry brought things into the hospital , secreted in their full Bort-of-petticoat trousers , and they as frequently earned things out , with utter dkregwrd to the rules of mmm and tuum . Everything was tried to prevent there * rre-« ularities , but without efibct . Wo could not do without the Greeks , and tte lireek * could not do without steaJity . U was more tfcan wwpected that the Greek merchants of Smyrna wore in communication with the Klephta , < oar brigands of tho hills . We cannot too highly praise tho great cprder and regularity that prevailed in tlxe hospital arrangements , and the kindness and attention of the superintendents and nurses . That those were fully appreciated is testified toymany an anecdote of tho poor pationts told with , much considorjrtiaa « n «
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 12, 1856, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12071856/page/19/
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