The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 15, 1862.

PUBLICATIONS.

sensitive but mistaken young minds to that subtle monster
—pride. In my subsequent travels round the world I be-
held soma of its effects. In the streets of Melbourne I have
seen the well educated son of a bankrupt merchant carrying,
in a baker's basket, the daily bread of others in order
to obtain his own. In tracing the sad spectacle to its
origin, I diSoovered that the bearer of the basket,
rather than carry a small parcel in his native land,
had abandoned a lucrative position, as the representa-
tive of an old and eminent mercantile house, in order to
improve his position at the Antipodes. On the gold fields
of Victoria, I have seen the son of a poor baronet working,
like an English "navvy," mid -deep in water—because in
the mother country the pride of the aristocratic labourer
prevented hint from accepting a subordinate Government
appointment which had, with difficulty, been obtained
through the influence Of his father. Farther in the interior
of Australia, a picture of a still more depressing tendency
arrested my at, ention. Riding one day over a part of the
country in which kangaroos and oppossums were more
plentiful than the human race, I overtook a team of bullocks
on their way to the remote station of a well-known squatter.
On asking the coarsely clad, unshaved, but youthful bul-
lock driver the nearest way to the point whither I was
bound, the young man, after having signalled his cattle to
stop, looked intently at his inquisitor, raised both arms in
a manner that indicated great surprise, and in a tone of
voice that betrayed something between joy and madness,
exclaimed :
" I—can't be mistaken; no, I—"
Here he drew nearer the horse on which I was mounted,
and after an earnest svrvey of the rider, sealed by a slight
but expressive motion of the head right and left, he re-
peated with increased emphasis,
"No ; I can't be mistaken—l'm sure I can't. But you
don't know me—no ?"
" Indeed, I do not," I replied.
At this moment there confronted my vision a look I have
never forgotten and can never forget. A fiery glance from
the eye of the most .eminent actor that ever lived never
made a deeper impression on a spectator than was suddenly
produced on the writer by the mute yet eloquent expres-
sion on the eountenan,ee the bullock driver. It seemed
to-open -dutea.xtlume—rteit in Veld; b'4 In a look.—That-
look conveyed to my mind twenty questions at a blush:
Who, or what is he ? To whom does he belong ? From
what part of the world did be come? As these and other
queries were crossing the imagination they were inter.
rupted by :
" Yes ; I know you well ; but you don't wish to know me.
You and I are not now—that is lam not what 1 was. I
am the—the same person, bui, —"
His speech faltered, and as he turned his head to conceal
the tears that damped his cheek, I could'nt, for the life of
me, avoid following suit, although satisfied the thing was
altogether a mistake. Recovering his self-possession, the
young man evidently wished to pass off, unnoticed, the
symptoms of a sensitive heart, and in a volume of sound
somewhat more bold than clear, he continued,
" When you have passed the next creek turn your horse
to the right, and the rider will soon find the spot he en-
quired for. Good morning, sir. In time past I might have
said, Frank."

The familiar sound of my own name, coupled with a style
of speech superior to that of most bullock drivers, com-
pletely electrified me; and as the young man withdrew to
proceed with his team of cattle, I muttered a sort of half
stifled, "aye," or " ho-i" as a signal for him to return.
This was answered by a clear and emphatic
"No, sir. I have no wish to intrude my conversation or
my company on anyone. Time was when Charles
the present bullock driver, would have received a different
sort of greeting from his old school-fellow."
he name of Charles —, the disfigured student, threw
instant light on the subject. A moment, and I was dis-
mounted ; another, and the hands and arms of two old
schoolfellows were like so many Pump-handles in rapid
motion, while the liquid drops that bore testimony to the
sincerity of the operation were as warm, if not so con-
tinuous, as any stream that ever flowed from a natural
course.
What took place after the somewhat difficult task of per-
sonal recognition, or subsequently at the house of the
squatter in whose service my friend filled an unenviable
situation, may be passed without comment. Although the
early history of one who had fallea from a good position to
that of bullock driver was soon revealed, the details of that
revelation will not be required here. It is enough for the
reader to know that the primary cause of the young man's
fall was—pride.

abandoned, returns toManchester, steals home in the
evening, o'erhears her father's malediction, and then
is lost to view. Frank now, having given a friend
instruction to search her out, takes a trip to the
Rhine, returns, enters the mill as manager, marries
Margaret Hail; Mary is found, her character is
cleared, and all ends well. The story is very agree-
ably told, and contains some clever character paint-
ing—especially good is the vulgar but plausible
Benjamin Wills, picture dealer, wine merchant, and
general humbur, by profession. The keen but good-
natured manufacturer also is well drawn, and the
hero, if at first weak and unstable, settles down
creditably at last. The minor characters, too, are
real, and the story is moderate in length.

The Gospel in the Miracles of Christ. By the Rev.
Richard Travers Smith, M.A. Smith, Elder,
and Co., Curnhilt

A series of essays, rat her than sermons, the view
taken by the writer will be best understood by the
following passage from the introduction • The
New Testament is a book of fact; for it is
altogether occupied either with events or the
explanation and application of them. But
the life and death of Jesus Christ are the
conspicuous and important fact of the whole
volume. And just so, within the life of Christ it-
self, the most striking and characteristic facts are
the miracles; and thus the miracles, also, may have
different uses to different minds. They afford a
firm basis of evidence on which faith may be built,
and a call to even faithless minds. The varieties
of their power and their love lead us on toward the
full knowledge of that which the miracle worker
is employed in teaching, that is toward the full
knowledge of himself. Bat, still more, we find in
them His salvation itself. They are instances of His
saving work, as well as proofs of it, and helps to
learn it." The discourses are fourteen in number,
including an introduction and conclusion. They
seem perfectly orthodox, and to a large section of
the religious community they will doubtless be
welcome. .

The Curability of Coxsumption. By Francis H
Ramadge, M.D., Oxon, &c. Thirteenth Thou-
sand. Longman and Co.

The papers which compose the bulk of this little
work were published in the Medical Times many
years ago. The attention they excited caused the
author to collect them, a proceeding amply justified
by the extent of the sale. An idea of the nature of
the contents will best be given in his own words.
In the preface to the first edition he says, " After
an experience of upwards of thirty years, during
which no less than 30,000 cases of consumption,
in all its various stages, have come before me,
I have no hesitation in saying—notwithstanding a
different opinion is entertained by some medical
practitioners—that- this disease, when judiciously
and skilfully treated, is as curable as any other I
disease, the curability. of which is not disputed."
The effects of the disease are thus explained:—
"In consumption the lungs are not fully inflated,
and the walls of the chest undergo gradual contrac-
tion. The normal relation between the powers of
inspiration and expiration is lost. The great air
passage becomes, as it were, too wide for the dimi-
nished volume of the lungs. Whatever, therefore,
restores the normal relation between the lungs and
the windpipe contributes to arrest the progress of
tubercular disease." And he thus describes his
mode of treatment :

THE INHALING TUBE.
This being the true pathology of phthisis, the object of
treatment should obviously be to imitate the curative pro-
cess which Nature herself adopts • and for this purpose we
may have recourse to various expedients. That which I
have indeed found convenient, and very successful, has been
the inhalation of common atmospheric air through a tube,
which, while it admits the air freely, presents a slight ob-
struction to its egress. The full inflation of the lungs is
hereby secured. The chest becomes by degrees expanded,
and the healthy relation between. the lungs and the wind-
pipe apparently simple, is not well understood ; hence,
many persons, take it up, and deriving no benefit, lay it
aside as useless. The manner in which inhalation operates
is similar to that effected by catarrh or bronchitis. It pos-
sesses, however, this important advantage, that what Na-
ture merely attempts, or imperfectly accomplishes, is hereby
effected more surely, and without superinducing any new
disease. I have never known an instance of bad effects, or
even inconvenience, resulting from the use of the inhaling
tube. Medicated vapours, though formerly not much
esteemed by me, I have found from experience to have a
soothing and antispasmodic power. The Inhaler for Ferbs
combines both the mechanical as well as the proper medi-
cinal action.

The use of the inhaling tube I consider to be essential in
the treatment of phthisis; indeed, all other treatment is
comparatively secondary and ancillary. It possesses the
negative recommendation of simplicity and safety; and it
may be advantageously resorted to in cases of asthma as
well as phthisis. In asthma the windpipe is too small for
the volume of the lungs, and, though it may seem contra-
dictory, the mechanical respiration by the tube has the effect
of restoring this disturbed relation to its healthy standard.
The objection to it, on the score that asthma is liable to be
superinduced by its use, arises from mere prejudice. Could
I but present one-tenth part of the cases which have been
rescued from premature graves, chiefly by means of using
this instrument, it would force irresistible conviction on the
most incredulous, or at least induce them to institute a
number of experiments, patiently and judiciously, so as to
satisfy themselves of the truth.

Consumption among musicians is thus accounted
for :

It may be asked, why is consumption so prevalent among
musicians who perform on wind instruments ? Tht answer
obviously is, because they make several successive expira-
tions to one inspiration. This is in direct opposition to the
natural function of r&piration, and also to the mechanical
process as regulated by the respiratory tube, and therefore
producing effects directly the reverse, contracting the chest
and diminishing the size of the lungs. On one occasion I
was consulted by the leader of a band, on behalf of himself
and fellow .musicians, as to the best method of counteract-
ing the effects of this irregular breathing, and I recom-
mended that they should all take a long and quick run
im-
mediately after the close of their performances, or provide
themselves with a tubular walking-stick, constructed on
the principle of the respiratory tube, and respire through it
at proper intervals. This was followed by the best effects.
Thus upon examining an objection which apparently mili-
tated against my views, we find in reality it constitutes an
indubitable confirmation of their truth.
Many instances of consumption are supposed to occur
among females who habituate themselves to the use of very
tight stays or corsets, a practice against which many medi-
cal men of high repute have long declaimed. The confine-
ment and stooping attitudes of young persons in counting-
houses, manufactories, and various kinds of mechanical
occupations, send thousands prematurely to the grave, and
sow the seeds of disease, the fruits of which are sure to be
reaped by future generations. All these preceding effects
may be accounted for upon the simple principle 1 have laid
down—contraction of the chest, and want of due pulmonary
exercise.

The North American Indian, in the humid atmosphere of
his boundless forests, exposed with very imperfect coverings
to the rigours of variable and inclement winters, almost
uniformly exhibits symnßetry of the chest and a sound state
of the lungs. It is only by coming in contact with the
habits of civilised nations that he suffers from the invasion
of the malady, which desolates the regions we inhabit.
In the appendix are numerous testimonials to the
efficacy of the author's treatment.

Flowers, and How to Arrange Them. By Miss

Maling. Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornbill.

This is a very pleasant and useful little manual
upon a subject upon which the public have long
needed information. Indeed, the proper arrange.
ment of flowers, involving as it does a knowledge of
the harmonies of form and colour, is really a branch
of the fine arts—lower, of course, than those which
depend upon less perishable materials, but still akin
to them in nature. Upon the beauty of flowers we
need not dilate. It has been always admitted. The
polished Greek and the swarthy Indian have alike
delight in them. Poets have grown eloquent in
their praises. They form at once the cheapest, the
most innocent, and the most universal source of en-
joyment. From the poor seamstress with her single
pot of musk to the Duchess with her gorgeous con-
servatory, all cultivate or admire them. Still there
is a difference between mere sensuous or instinctive
feeling for their beaaty and that artistic apprecia-
tion of it which a cultivated taste alone can give.
The latter is far higher in kind. It is more inde-
pendent of fashion. It sees the connection between
various forms of beauty more distinctly. It ac-
quires a clearer insight into the harmonious con-
struction of the universe, and it brightens the brain
as well as purifies the heart. All works, then, that
tend to this end are worthy encouragement, and we
are glad to class Miss Maling's little volume among
the number.