| <!-- This page is divided into two columns and both columns are fully justified. --><head>THE EXAMINER. 139</head>-----<lb/>for example, a lady of noble birth, who marries a man not of that caste, at<lb/>once loses all title and distinction, and becomes simple Madam Schmidt or<lb/>Madam Schneider; but in England, where foreign nobility is not legally<lb/>recognized, a Captain Smith or a Rev. Mr. Tomlinson, who has married<lb/>a countess or baroness abroad, announces his wife by the title she had <hi rend="underline">lost</hi><lb/>in her <hi rend="underline">own</hi> country! Englishwomen of late years have been frequently<lb/>guilty of (and almost as frequently punished for) a worse practice, to<lb/>gratify the passion for title—I mean sinfully giving away of their<lb/>pretty faces and handsome fortunes in marriage, in order to become<lb/><hi rend="underline">marchesas, comtesses,</hi> &c. An old Irish gentleman, in allusion to this<lb/>anti-national propensity, assured me, with tears in his eyes, that he had<lb/>witnessed twenty-six instances of it, and that the united fortunes of the<lb/>brides (£10,000 being the minimum in any case) might be computed at<lb/>half a million sterling—all lost to the country and gone or going for the<lb/>most part to the gaming table, old debts, and opera dancers. S.<lb/>-----<p><head>NOTABILIA.</head>-----<lb/>The Duke of Wellington's Last Fall.—The Duke of Wellington<lb/>has a great talent for falling. We question whether any man, more<lb/>accustomed to riding than John Gilpin, has had so many equestrian reverses.<lb/>On Saturday, the 19th, the newspapers announced his Grace's last tumble.<lb/>The Duke varies these casualties; sometimes he falls, and sometimes the<lb/>horse comes down under him, which last mishap occurs surprisingly often<lb/>to a person who rides good horses, and implies marvelous lack of skill.</p><p>Burning in Surrey.—A short time since, a barn upon the farm in the<lb/>occupation of Mr. Maynard, at Reigate, was totally destroyed by fire. Mr.<lb/>Maynard filled some parochial office, and had been applied to by a pauper<lb/>for money on the evening of the conflagration. This had been refused;<lb/>and in little more than an hour afterwards the barn was discovered to be in<lb/>flames, which consumed the building, as well as the stock of grain which it<lb/>contained. The latter only was insured. The pauper was taken up and<lb/>examined, but no proof was obtained that he had bee the destroyer of the<lb/>property. If, as there is every reason to believe, the mischief was<lb/>produced designedly from a feeling of disappointment, it affords a most striking<lb/>example of the operation of the blind spirit of vengeance by which the<lb/>ignorant peasantry have of late been guided. The property destroyed<lb/>does not belong to the farmer, who, as it is supposed, was the individual<lb/>marked out to be the sufferer, but to Dr. Fellowes, who will thus be<lb/>subjected to an outlay of several hundred pounds for the rebuilding of the<lb/>barn.—[The highly respectable Country Paper from which we have copied<lb/>this account proceeds in a strain of praise of Dr. Fellowes, which gives the<lb/>finishing stroke to the vexatious circumstance it recounts. The destruction<lb/>of the property is a trifle compared to the annoyance of the incense<lb/>that has smoked upon the occasion of it. To one of the character of the<lb/>party concerned, the burning of the barn was hardly felt to be a misfortune<lb/>till the paragraphing of his virtues followed upon it.]</p><p>Suspension of Animal Life while Organic Life remains.—<lb/>In the second of his present course of lectures on physiology, given at the<lb/>London University, Dr. Southwood Smith, after having explained the<lb/>interesting distinction between animal and organic life, observed that<lb/>animal life may be wholly suspended, or may absolutely die, while the<lb/>organic life may continue to exist in almost unimpaired vigour. Apoplexy,<lb/>said he, may suddenly reduce to the most driveling fatuity the most<lb/>exalted intellect, and render powerless muscles of the most gigantic strength.<lb/>And catalepsy, that extraordinary disease, in which the senses are<lb/>abolished, the intellectual faculties suspended, the power of voluntary<lb/>motion destroyed, while the body remains immoveably fixed in whatever<lb/>attitude it may happen to be at the moment of attack, illustrates in a still<lb/>more striking manner the utter abolition of animal life while the heart<lb/>beats, and the blood circulated, and the respiration goes on, and secretion,<lb/>and excretion, and the entire circle of the organic functions continue with their<lb/>usual regularity, though not, indeed, with their usual vigour. My patient, says<lb/>Dr. Jebb, in giving an account of a young lady who was the subject of this<lb/>singular disorder, was seized with an attack just as I was announced. At<lb/>that moment she was employed in netting: she was in the act of passing<lb/>the needle through the mesh: in that position she became immoveably rigid,<lb/>exhibiting, in a very pleasing form, a figure of death-like sleep, beyond the<lb/>power of art to imitate, or the <sic>imigination</sic> to conceive. The paleness of her colour,<lb/>and her breathing, which at a distance was scarcely perceptible, operated in<lb/>rendering the similitude to marble more exact and striking. The position<lb/>of her fingers, hands, and arms, was altered with difficulty, but preserved<lb/>every form of flexure they acquired; nor were the muscles of the neck<lb/>exempted from this law, her head maintaining every situation in which the<lb/>hand could place it, as firmly as her limbs. In this case, all the senses<lb/>were locked in a death-like sleep, and the patient was as insensible as she<lb/>was motionless. But sometimes the abolition of the animal life is only partial,<lb/>sensibility being destroyed while contractility remains, in the power of motion<lb/>being lost while sensation is unaffected. An example of this kind is on<lb/>record in which a female lay in complete possession of her intellectual<lb/>faculties, but deprived of the power of moving a muscle of the body. She<lb/>was in the distressing condition of finding herself given up by her attendants<lb/>as dead: she was laid out; her toes were bound together; her chin<lb/>was tied up' she heard the arrangements for her funeral discussed—<lb/>and yet she was unable to make the slightest sign that she was still in the<lb/>possession of sense, feeling, and life.</p><p>Tithes.—The Rev. Mr. Beresford has instituted twenty-four actions,<lb/>in the Court of Exchequer, against the parishioners of At. Andrew's,<lb/>Holborn, from whom he claims tithe on inhabited houses. The parishioners, at<lb/>a meeting, resolved to persist in defending the actions.—<hi rend="underline">Moral Reformer.</hi></p><p>Turkish Musical Gusto.—A modern traveler informs us, that the<lb/>band of an English Ambassador at Constantinople once performed a<lb/>concert for the entertainment of the Sultan and his Court. At the conclusion<lb/>it was asked which of the pieces he preferred? He replied, the first, which<lb/>was accordingly recommenced, but stopped as not being the right one.<lb/>Others were tried with as little success, until at length the band, almost<lb/>in despair of discovering the favourite air, began <hi rend="underline">tuning</hi> their instruments,<lb/>when his Highness instantly exclaimed, "<hi rend="underline">Inshallah</hi>, Heaven be praised,<lb/>that is it!" The Turkish Prince may be excused, when it is known that<lb/>at the commemoration of Handel, in 1784, Dr. Burney thought the mere<lb/>tuning of that host of instruments more gratifying than the ordinary<lb/>performances to which he had been accustomed.—<hi rend="underline">Harmonicon for Feb. 1.</hi></p><p>Protection against Marsh Effluvia and Gaseous Poisons.—<lb/>However medical men may differ in opinion as to the origin and nature of<lb/><hi rend="underline">malaria,</hi> all agree that it always travels in combination with moisture.<lb/>This opinion has lately been confirmed by Professor Chapman, of the<lb/>United States, in his valuable Practical Treatise on Epidemics; and our<lb/>countryman, Dr. Ferguson, asserts, that, however distinct the poison and<lb/>the vapour may be, they are always found in company. Wherever vapour<lb/>is most copiously produced, miasmata are generated. Vapour, it seems,<lb/>does not dilute the poison: for when it is most abundant, as in the morning<lb/>and evening, in the form of dew and fog, malaria is most active. They</p><pb/>are both dissipated by solar heat; and both are wafted by the winds,<lb/>absorbed by water, and rendered inert by frost. Malaria is known to be<lb/>intercepted by groves and walls, the moisture in the air being condensed.<lb/>From these facts it occurred to Dr. Robert Cannon Bond, that wire-<lb/>gauze, similar to that of which Sir Humphrey Davy's safety-lamp is<lb/>constructed, or that of which window-blinds are now made in this country,<lb/>placed at the windows at night, may, by condensing the moisture, prevent<lb/>or neutralize the source of many epidemic diseases, as intermittent,<lb/>remittent, typhus, and yellow fevers, if not plague. It is established in<lb/>meteorology, that vapour is most rapidly and copiously condensed on<lb/>substances which are good conductors—more abundantly on glass, metals,<lb/>cloth, and the surface of the earth. Dr. Bond is of the opinion that windows<lb/>of fine gauze-wire, by having at all times a free circulation of air, may be<lb/>very beneficially adopted in hospitals and crowded rooms for the sick, and<lb/>for gaols and manufactories, and afford a safeguard from epidemic<lb/>diseases. To keep the rooms of the sick well ventilated, and at the same<lb/>time exclude dampness, without exposing them to a current of air, is<lb/>unquestionably a great desideratum. Even persons in health, during<lb/>hot and sultry nights, are much incommoded by the necessity of keeping<lb/>the windows shut. It may be also very conveniently applied to stage<lb/>coaches travelling at night, particularly in marshy countries. To give<lb/>additional security, the sash may be so constructed as to consist of a<lb/>double sheet of wire-gauze, about half an inch apart, or made in such<lb/>a manner as to admit of being removed during the daytime. These<lb/>suggestions merit the attention of physicians and surgeons of hospitals,<lb/>workhouses, &c., &c., particularly when an epidemic malady prevails.—<lb/><hi rend="underline">Dr. Reese's Gazette of Medicine.</hi><p>Plunderage of the Chancery Suitors.—Mr. Jeremy Bentham is<lb/>the son of an eminent legal practitioner, whose most fond expectation was<lb/>that his son would follow in his footsteps in the paths where he had acquired<lb/>a fortune. The intellectual powers early manifested by the young philosopher<lb/>were such as to promise the most signal success, had not his superior<lb/>morality <sic>rovolted</sic> at the means, and made him renounce the profession, and its<lb/>honors and emoluments. In his indications respecting Lord Eldon (a complete<lb/>exposure of the fee-gathering and corruption now so virtuously attacked<lb/>by Lord Brougham), Mr. Bentham thus adverts to the circumstance of his<lb/>rejection of the profession:—"By the command of a father, I entered into<lb/>the profession; and, in the year 1772, or thereabouts, was called to the<lb/>bar. Not long after, having drawn a bill in equity, I had to defend it<lb/>against exceptions before a Master in Chancery. 'We shall have to<lb/>attend on such a day,' said the solicitor to me, (naming a day a week or<lb/>more distant) 'warrants for our attendance will be taken out for two<lb/>intervening days, but it is not customary to attend before the third.'<lb/>What I learnt afterward was—that though no attendance more than <hi rend="underline">one</hi><lb/>was ever bestowed, <hi rend="underline">three</hi> were on every occasion regularly charged for;<lb/>for each of the two falsely-pretended attendances, the client being, by the<lb/>solicitor, charged with a fee for himself, as also with a fee of 6s. 8d. paid<lb/>by him to the Master; the consequence was—that for every actual<lb/>attendance, the Master, instead of 6s. 8d., received 1<hi rend="underline">l</hi>.: and that, even if<lb/>inclined, no solicitor durst omit taking out the three warrants instead of one,<lb/>for fear of the not-to-be-hazarded displeasure of that subordinate judge<lb/>and his superiors. True it is, the solicitor is not under any <hi rend="underline">obligation</hi><lb/>thus to charge his client for work not done. He is, however, sure of<lb/><hi rend="underline">indemnity</hi> in doing so: it is accordingly done of course. Thus exquisitely<lb/>cemented is the union of sinister interests. So far as regards attendances<lb/>of the functionaries here mentioned, thus is the expense tripled: so, for<lb/>the sake of profit on the expense, the delay likewise. And I have been<lb/>assured by professional men now in practice, that on no occasion, for no<lb/>purpose, is any Master's attendance ever obtained without taking out three<lb/>warrants at the least. These things, and others of the same complexion,<lb/>in such immense abundance, determined me to quit the profession: and<lb/>as soon as I could obtain my father's permission I did so: I found it more<lb/>to my taste to endeavor, as I have been doing ever since, to put an end<lb/>to them, than to profit by them."</p><p>Court Ceremony.—(From a Correspondent of the <hi rend="underline">Examiner</hi>.)—One<lb/>should have expected, from the profession and character of the present<lb/>Sovereign, that some at least of the more absurd court ceremonies would<lb/>by this time have been discountenanced by him; but it seems that they are<lb/>still in constant practice. We are informed that, even at Brighton, when<lb/>his Majesty has company, on every occasion of his rising from his seat,<lb/>each person rises also; and as the King is, like most sailors, rather restless,<lb/>the up-and-down exhibition is at times not a little ludicrous. His Majesty,<lb/>we are also told, generally takes a nap in his chair after dinner. His page,<lb/>who brings him in a cup of coffee, at a stated time, after this meal,<lb/>frequently finds his royal master asleep; and such is the etiquette, that if the<lb/>illustrious dozer prolongs his nap for an hour even, the page must stand<lb/>before him with the coffee! Upon these courtly absurdities, an eminent<lb/>French writer has commented with much force: "This kind of ceremony<lb/>(he observes) is for the most part no better than a set form of vanity; but<lb/>yet, through littleness of soul and the depravation of mind and manners so<lb/>very general among men, it has usurped such a power, that a great many<lb/>people are possessed with an opinion that wisdom consists in a nice<lb/>observance of it. Under this notion, they tamely come to the yoke and list<lb/>themselves its most willing slaves, insomuch that their health and<lb/>convenience shall suffer and be lost, business be disappointed, liberty be sold<lb/>or given up, conscience violated, God and religion be neglected, rather<lb/>than they will suffer themselves to offend against one of the least and nicest<lb/>punctilios. This is manifestly the case with formal courtiers and others:<lb/>this mint, and annise, and cummin, are punctually paid, when the weightier<lb/>matters of the land are <sic>past</sic> over, and the idol CEREMONY set up in the<lb/>place, to the infinite <sic>prejuduce</sic> of downright honesty and sincere friendship."<lb/>People talk of the necessity of maintaining the respect due to<lb/>authority; but to be really respected, authority must first show that it<lb/>merits respect. Pomp, and extravagance, and idle ceremony, will not<lb/>produce it. Cincinnatus and Cato, Jefferson and Washington, without any of<lb/>these superficial helps, were, we suspect, quite as respectable, and as much<lb/>respected, as George the Fourth, or William the Third. The age for<lb/>courtly ceremony, both in France and England, has happily passed away;<lb/>and that monarch who first sets an example of common-sense in this respect<lb/>will win the general applause.</p><p>Marriage on Conditions.—I am to eat and sleep whenever I please,<lb/>without any questions being asked. No private orders are to be given to<lb/>the barber or tailor about the decorations of my person. I am not to be<lb/>forced to sit up and receive male or female visitors; neither the superintendance<lb/>of the kettle nor teacups is to be considered a part of my duty.<lb/>I am not to be obliged to deliver my opinion on patterns for caps or petticoats<lb/>for any lady. I am not to go out to tea or supper, unless I choose.<lb/>I am not to be ordered on any duties of danger: such as escorting young<lb/>ladies home in a windy, or old ladies in a frosty, night. I am to have<lb/>liberty of conscience; and to attend church as often as I think proper.<lb/>And, lastly, when I am tired of home, I may return to India <hi rend="underline">alone</hi>.—N.B.<lb/>Should any doubt hereafter arise about the meaning of any of these clauses,<lb/>my interpretation is to be received as infallible; and should I explain the<lb/>same article different ways at different times, I am not to give a reason</p> | |
