The Press. — London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

, another part of the book it may be useful extract some " remedial measures " pretty well known and understood in fashionable or .to-do life, why the glass of soda•water is taken so early is morning. The practice is absurd, however; for if system is able to indulge in the luxuries of the table, annot be in an inflammatory condition, but rather in o pposite or congestive stage. Instead, therefore, of free carbonic acid gas (that gas being already in in the system ), a few grains of carbonate of soda few drops of sal volatile in half a tumbler of water disengage a proportionate quantity of carbonic acid the stomach and lungs, and the effect would be neutral salt, which would beneficially influence .. alimentary canal. Among the chapters well worthy of attention mentioned the two on Poisons, which Mr. classifies as direct and indirect. Under the `lead come the bites of venemous animals, actual administration of deleterious sub , whether mineral, alkaline, or vegetable ; the latter are reckoned such influences as tagion of disease, and the self-generated secretions of the body. A full list is all the poisons referable to the former such as arsenic, oxalic acid, strychnia, &c. ; a description of the symptoms they occasion, plain and intelligible directions for their treat- We extract the paragraph relating to acid ; the test subjoined cannot be too ly known : ,TMENT the stomach with thick cold gruel, an emetic quickly. That prescribed for arsenic but a full dose of ipecacuanha—say fifty or sixty dissolved in water—will prove more beneficial. As •9miting has taken place, large doses of chalk or should be administered. if not at hand, some plaster of the apartment should be resorted to, which .eel be stirred in water and drunk. These very simple substances neutralise the corrosive power of the poison render it insoluble, thus preventing it from entering A. Death supervenes so quickly on the taking of . acid, that there is seldom time to do anything more relieve the sufferings of the patient; and death often • this, before the physician can arrive. i.lt.—Oxalic acid, to the uninitiated eye, resembles Epsom salts, for which it has been frequently t is necessary to know a simple fact; which is, ?hen boiling water is poured upon oxalic acid, it or makes a crackling noise, and gives out a pun while salts do not, and do not crackle when poured on them. 'nder the head of metallic poisons is con ' the curious subject of inorganic substances, coins or other articles swallowed by or design, and the way in which such are to be dealt with. Dr. Ridge states that )wn practice many such cases have occurred. , halfpence, and small pieces of lead, and instance a small two-drachm glass bottle ith powdered hartshorn and corked, he %wn to be passed through the alimentary _ without the slightest injury. A sailor who witnessed a juggler's tricks, instead of pretending swallow the objects actually did swallow them, clasp-knives and other articles which he of in this way may still be seen in the of Guy's Hospital. A case in point—not forgotten, we trust, by our readers—is the 'gale story related to Mr. Pickwick by Mr. A Sawyer, respecting a child who produced :fling sound as he played about the room, and on being shaken to make him leave off, ' still more; when it became evident that use was "in the child," and that it pro . from his sister's necklace, which he had itially consumed, a bead at a time. We don't -hat was the treatment adopted in this re markable case by the able surgeons employed, but Ridges directions seem extremely sensible : it is necessary to mention the vulgar error often in such cases, evidently without thought, by or those having the care of children, when any has been swallowed ; and this is the plan of flying to the use of castor oil, or other aperients, with ition of thereby quickly expelling the said article system. Now, nothing is so injurious ;—it is, in I have had occasion to mention elsewhere, one of Popular acts and prejudices so prevalent, that lead as to do the very , opposite of what they ought to have When the accident occurs, give the child a piece of and butter, and be cautious, moreover, so long as article continues in the body, to give the patient very drink. reason is simply this,—that the article thus gets be ridded in the substance so produced, and is disposed due course, and without injury to the patient. the bowels were purged, nothing would be left to' article, which might then stick in one of the les convolutions of the intestines, and inflict the cries which it was the parents' wish to prevent,— !li may thus be caused by their sheer want of at. Ridge writes with strong disapproval of may be called specialized' surg&y, The From am to extract It is yet Ireg.tu-do 1: in the man the system it cannot 1 t he oppos il taking free excess in Id with a few would diset gas from tl to form a r the whole a Among may be m Ridge cla former he or the act stances, "I under tht the contal morbific given of a class, sucl with a dee and plain men!. 1 oxalic act generally TREATME and give an will do ; bu grains din( soon as TOO MIMEOS al of the pleat should be substances and render the blood. oxalic acid, than relievt does this, 1 common t mistaken. tint when crackles or gent fame ; water is poi Under sidered th such as accident cases are in his owr Buttons, in one int filled wit has know canal wit] witnessed to sway and the disposed museum forgotten raemorab Robert S n rattling who, on rattled at the Hoist ceeded fr graduall3 know wh inarkahl( Dr. Ridg Now, i t Pursued ii parents or article has at once to the intenti from the 81 ttet, 88111 thole papa persons to done. WI bread and the article little to dri The u s imbedded of in due Now, if th bed the al n umerous very injur lint *bid judgment. Dr. Rii what nu THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 13, 1858. body is one, and every part is affected by every other part, so that an exclusive study of any particular organ is a self-contradictory and mis leading practice. When our eyes or ears are out of order, we ought not—except where actual operations are required—to have recourse to the oculist or aurist, but to the man who has studied the whole frame. On the management of the eyes we find some advice as to the utility of which we can speak from experience, but which is hardly ever enough attended to. After observing that the prevalence of weak sight at the present day is probably attributable to the excess of light admitted to the eyes of very young infants, he gives some cautions which affect all ages : Too strong a light in a sleeping-room is bad, especially if persons have their beds opposite the window ; for to wake suddenly out of sleep, with a strong glaring light on the eyes, cann3t but eventually injure the strongest and most healthy sight ; and, where it is naturally weak, or there be any hereditary disposition towards a debility iu the organs, this custom must of course exercise very perni cious effects. Persons waking from sleep should have the eye prepared by a subdued light first ; and if the sight be good, the time occupied in partially dressing will be quite sufficient to prepare the organs for meeting a stronger body of light. This is especially to be remembered in summer time, where the chamber has an eastern aspect. . . . . Whatever work you be engaged in, let the light fall on it, and always keep yourself in the shade. Placo your back, then, to the window, if reading by daylight—when the light sill, of course, fall upon the object. When writing, get a sidelight, if possible; but if you have a frontlight, as under a window, shade it a little, bringing only its rays on the paper, or let the top of the head form the shade. In the same way, with a candle or lamp, throw the light upon the paper, and do not let the glare of light go direct to your eyes. If the light be above you, as from a chande lier, so much the better. If in the habit of using the telescope, try, if passible, to keep both eyes open ; for by shutting the opposite one to that used with the glom; the sight is strained and ultimately weakened. Other very useful chapters are those - relating to " sudden accidents and seizures ; " to " high and low seats, and positions of rest ;" and to " warm ing and ventilation." On all these points, embracing a large proportion of what is now the custom to call the "science of common things," a vast number of hints are given, attention to which would, we are persuaded, have great effect on both domestic comfort and individual health. To hydropathy, homoeopathy, electro-magnetism, and the like, it is scarcely necessary to say that Dr. Ridge is an energetic foe. The "pill drivers," as he calls them, are spoken of in the terms in which we believe most honest people are accustomed to mention them; and the remark able fact is pointed out, that it is through adver tising in " religious" newspapers that they obtain the widest circulation for their pernicious compounds. He attributes this result to the circumstance that "such publications are read "by a simple-minded unsophisticated class of " persons, less intimate with the villanies of the " world, and consequently less open to suspicion." The remedy, he asserts, for such a state of things,—maintained as it is to a great degree by the enormous profits which the Exchequer derives from the sale of licences to such persons,—must be found in the dissemination of sound knowledge among the classes from which the quack derives his chief harvest ; and as regards the qualified members of the profession, in their own abjura tion of the foolish mystery in which for the most part their practice is enshrouded. In many of these observations we, of course, agree with him, but we have grave doubts whether his recom mendation to forsake the use of Latin in pre scriptions is one which it would be advisable to follow. He seems to have forgotten—what many people do forget at the present day—that Latin is a sort of universal language, and that if you take the " unintelligible jargon," which a London physician has scrawled for you, to any obscure druggist in almost any part of Europe, he will he able to compound your draught or bolus; while if it were written in English you would have to go without, unless you could translate it for him. Though Dr. Ridge is laudably cautious as regards his medical directions, he is often wild and rash in what he says on things in general. There is no doubt that he is an able man, but we would hardly take his opinion on any matter out of his profession. It would, in truth, have been an easy task to turn his book into ridicule, by exhibiting some of his extraordinary remarks on matters entirely out of his province: on the effects of " the short clay pipe mania," as he calla it, on the ;esthetics of attire (I) ; on the chit- 1113 racteristics of the military, naval, legal, and cle rical minds (a passage which reads like a burlesque of Mr. Buckle) ; on our future policy in India; on the disasters in the Crimea; and on the misdeeds of the East India Company, whom he with unconscious humour asks, " How can you ac " cuse the sepoy of being untrue to his salt,' when, " by taxing that article, you prevented his having " any salt to be true to ?" On all these matters, Dr. Ridge delivers himself with more energy than discretion. But as his remarks on such ex traneous topics form but a small proportion of the book, we have forborne to enlarge upon them, feeling that, where so much is useful and valuable, it would be an invidious task to show up the mistakes of a well-meaning, and, on his own subjects, well-informed writer. For the same reason we do not particularize errors of style and carelessness in composition, of which instances may be found here and there. Dr. Ridge is probably satisfied with conveying his meaning clearly, and, as he has great vivacity and abundant illustration, he is never dull. A thorough revision, and, in some cases, amputa tion or actual cautery, would indefinitely improve the book; but, even as it is, we are satisfied to recommend it as a popular and safe manual, con veying much information which cannot be too widely known, and, in other respects, as a va luable contribution to the philosophic treatment of medical pathology. 1. The Chancellor's Chaplain; or, Self-Sacrifice. By the Rev. E. Neale, M.A. London : Simpkin and Marshall. 2. True to the Last; or, Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea. By A. S. Roe. London : Simpkin and Marshall. 3. Emma de Lissau. By the Author of " Sophia de Lissau." London : Simpkin and Mar- shall. 4. The English Governess. By Rachel M'Crin dell. London: Simpkin and Marshall. 5. The Runaways and the Gipsies. London : Routledge. 1. "The Chancellor's Chaplain "—a misnomer, by the way, as he declines the rectory in the gift of the Lord Chancellor—relates the various in conveniences and embarrassments that may befall a poor curate of the Church of England. It is highly improbable, indeed, that any individual clergyman ever experienced in his own person the many contretemps here described, though every one may be liable to encounter such un pleasantnesses in a greater or less degree. The stories, as such, are agreeably and even artistically told, and may serve to while away the tedium of travel by railway, road, or river. Occasionally, perhaps, there is too much straining after effect, and sketches, correct in idea, are too often exag gerated into caricatures. But, taken as a whole, the Curate's career is sufficiently true to the life, and in its principal features will be recognized by only too many. Some of the anecdotes with wh►ch the narrative is interspersed are not the less amusing for being founded on fact. Take for example the Wiltshire funeral : A heartless, miserly old man died at an advanced age, possessed of considerable property, no portion of which could he be prevailed on, during life, to part with to the pressing necessities of those around him. His steward ship closed. At once niggardly and ostentatious—the two qualities are far more frequently united than people are willing to imagine—he lett in his will an instruction to his executors, that "one thousand pounds should be expended upon his funeral." To a benevolent lady in the neighbourhood, whose earliest and latest thought hail reference to the welfare of the necessitona, this happy suggestion occurred—" Why not benefit the poor by this strange injunction ? Why not invite all the needy, infirm, and aged of the neighbourhood, to • this rich man's funeral ; and give them clothing suited to the ceremony ?" The idea was adopted and carried out. It was a delight ful funeral. The most cheerful scene that had been wit nessed there for years. No tears! No groans ! No sighs I Not a mourner visible 1 Everybody smiling and in tip: n top spirits. The old women came trotting up to tit house, house, each in a warm, comfortable cloak, new gown a '• bonnet ; the old men in a fall suit of decent blaok. Non' thought it necessary to look lugubrious and lachrymose or other than they really were—beartglad. Hight joyous was the spectacle ; and pleasant to many was thp thought, that the old miser, who had taken special care to aid no poor creatures when alive, should have made so niany aged hearts light and happy when he was removed. Yes ! yes! that was a funeral worth attending. The burial scene of the infidel who perished by his own bind might, however, have been omitted