The Sun.
London, England, 1823-11-20 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

MR. EDlTOR—Returning from Paris last week,
I was tempted to sojourn fora few days at Rams-
gate, and last Saturday, being on the Pier, with
all the principal inhabitants, was present at the
departure of Sir WILLIAM CURTIS in his yacht
for Naples. He was greeted by loud cheers,
and the most unequivoc,al expressions of attach-
ment and gratitude (even to tears) by those
whose town and property had been so much bene-
fitted in the costly and magnificent works of the
Pier and Harbour, owing, as all agreed, to the
personal influence and exertions of the Honour-
able Baronet.

To the credit of the Admiralty Board, the
Weaiel sloop of war was lying in the Downs, to
convoy the yatch to her destination,and a gallant
Officer of the Navy, Vice-Admiral FERRIER,
permitted to accompany the party flattering
testimonials these of the sense of Government of
the eminent services of Sir WILLIAM, of which
we trust the whole country is equally impressed.
he Trustees of the Harbour, not to be oto-done
in attention to the venerable Baronet on so inte-
resting an occasion, and who has laboured " more
than they all" in the glorious works of the Pier,
directed that Lieutenant Wooovann, of the
Royal Navy, Harbour-Master of the Port, should
go down Channel in the yatch, and that Mr.
MARTEN, the active Deputy Harbour-Master,
should proceed the whole voyage to the Mediter-
ranean ; and they both departed accordingly.
The wind hat been fair ever since; and doubtless
the Weasel and its interesting little charge are
clear of the Channel.

I am Sir, yours, &C.
Kensington, Nov. 18,1823. CMS.

I3OW-LEGS.

The following account bf a method for straight-
ening bow-legs was given by Sir AsirLuy COOPER,
in his lecture on Wednesday last :

" A person in this metropolis happened to have bow shins.
A part of his duties was to teach ladies to draw and paint, and
in prosecution of this branch of his profession he found his bow
shins, tulle himself declared to me, a very great evil.— (A laugh. )
Ile felt that his merits were less fairly appreciated, and his in-
structions less kindly received, by reason of the convexity of his
shins ; he was persuaded, in short, that his bow shins stood be-
tween hinsandhis preferment. Under this impression,he went to a
very noted person in this town, and showing him his bone, (a
laugh) said to him, ' Pray, Sir, do you think you can 'slake my legs
straight ?'—' Sir,' said the Doctor, I think 1 can : if you *ill
take a lodging in my neighbourhood, I think I can scrape down
your shins, and snake them as straight as any man's. A
lodging was taken ; the father of the patient assisted in the
operation, and all three of them, the father, the son, and the
Doctor, took a turn in scraping down the convex shins. A very
great deal of rasping was required ; an incision of very consider-
able extent was made in the shin, the integument was turned
aside, and an instrument which was at that time contained in the
surgeon's case, called a rougee, was employed to scrape the shin-
bone. When the Doctor was tired of rasping, the father took a
spell, and the patient, in his turn, relievedhis father. At last the
shell of the bone became so thin that the doctor said they must
proceed no farther with that leg„ , The other leg was then rasped
an a'similar manner, and thus large wounds were produced in
both of the shin-bones. The surfaces granulated very kindly,
and very little exfoliation of the bones took place ; but unlucki-
ly the granulations would form bone, so that up jumped the
bones of the skin again.—(Much laughter.)—The doctor, how-
ever, was resolved not to be defeated, and accordingly put a
layer of arsenic over the whole surface. It was in consequence
of the effects of this application, that I saw the patient. The
arsenic was absorbed into the system, and he became paralytic in
his arms and lower extremities. A great number of exfoliation*
took place in his legs ; and he showed me a large box, in which
the exfoliated portions of bone were contained. I recommended
him to go into the country, and he went to Bath, were he stayed
for some time, and got rid of his paralysis. This case made a
good deal of noise in town ; and there were some surgeons
who expressed a strong wish to prosecute the doctor. I re-
commended them, however, not to take any steps until I had
seen the patient himself ; and when lie next came tome, I asked
him whether he thought his legs improved, and whether he
would again undergo the same operation, at a similar hazard of
his life, to have his legs made a little straighter. He replied
that he would, (a laugh) ; and under these circumstances, I
of was opinion, that, as the young man was content, it was a
folly to think of prosecuting the Doctor. The patient, in this
case, appeared to be as great a fool as the Doctor whom he con-
sulted, and deserved to be punished for his folly. I have no
wish to injure individuals; and I shall not, therefore, mention
the name of the operator. Some time has elapsed since the
case occurred, and the transaction is now almost buried in obli-
, vion.. One of the parties is since dead; not the person, how-
ever, who underwent the. operation, for he still lives, and is
proud of his improved legs."—( The Lancet.)