The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-12 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sm,—The Sun ever strenuously maintains the
rights of deserted Poland. But there is much rea-
son to fear that the sun of heaven will not ever
again shine on her as an independent nation. The
land of the brave, the noble, the intelligent, there
is much,reason to fear, will still remain under the
tyrannic sway of Russia. And why Plainly foi
the reason that you have so often and so forcibly
given, that Germanism holds its sway over (what
she was wont to be) independent, MIGHTY England
LA us refer to that enchanting work, Miss Porter's
" Thaddeus of Warsaw," and particularly to its
'motto--

" 0 ! bloodiest picture in the book of time,
Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime ! "

Also to a more recent period, when, in defiance of
one of the articles of the Treaty of Vienna, guaran-
teed by both France and England, Russia was
allowed again to subjugate Poland, without an
attempt made by either to assist her. The two fol-
lowing lines written at the time were very appro-
priate to that infamy—
nU ! shame to thee, Albion ! 0 ! shame to thee, Gail/
That Russia should triumph, that Warsaw should fall !"

Yours obediently,
AN OLD SOLDIER,.

llth March, 1856.

HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND THE

MEDICAL PROFESSION.

We see that Mr. Hopley, to whose earnest ad-
vocacy of the' cause of Health and Education we
have frequently endeavoured to draw the attention
of our metropolitan sanitary societies, has been de-
livering at Brighton a course of eight lectures, than
which, as we gather from a Brighton contemporary,
" a more intellectual, a more valuable, and a more
eloquent course has never been delivered in the
Brighton Town Hall ;" and which the Sussex Re-
press characterises as " a brilliant course, listened
to with the deepest attention by brilliant and
fashionable audiences." In an after-lecture speech
Mr. Hopley closed the proceedings with a well-
merited compliment to the medical profession. He
said :

" He would mention one other circumstance which had
gratified him not a little. He thought his audience would
agree with him, that if any one class of the community had
a better excuse than any other for not attending these
lectures, it was the medical faculty. The faculty could not
expect to gain any physiological knowledge from him, they
being more capable of instructing him in physiological facts
than he of instructing them ; nor did these gentlemen want
to be informed of the distressful condition of the labouring
population, since their avocations naturally led them a here
sickness most abounded—namely, among the miserable, un-
drained, nnwatered dwellings of the fever-stricken poor ; nor
did medical gentlemen require to be informed of the large
amount of preventable disease and preventable death under
which the world is suffering, since few are better acctuainted
than themselves with these sad facts. When the audience con-
sidered all this, and considered further that after a hard day's
toil these gentlemen are liable to be summoned, at any time of
the night, to attend at the couch of the sick and dying, his
audience would, he was sure, agree with him that the medical
profession might have made for themselves a very tolerable ex-
, rase for resting quietly at home instead of spending their even-
sat these lectures. But what had been the case In three
or fol.= instances there had been members of the prof&sion
on the platform ; in three distinct instances a member of the
medical.profession bhd taken the chair; to-night he felt proud
to see himself supported by the profession on his right hand
and the profession on his left; and he thought that he might
venture to say that not a lecture of the series had been delivered
without some of the most eminent of the medical faculty of
Brighton taking their seats amo • g the and ience. Why had these
gentlemen been present here? They had come forward—utter
strangers to him—to set their seal, as it were, on the truths
which it had been his duty to utter. With liberal minds
and large hearts—hearts that felt for the misery on which
they were obliged day by day to look—(hear)—they had come
forward to help him, a non-professional man, to expound
those physiological laws the observance of which they (the
faculty) knew would be of immense benefit to the human
family. (Applause.) None were more fully aware than these
gentlemen that if these laws were more generally understood
and observed there would be less need of medical attendance
—("Hear" from the platform) —less need to consult the physi-
cian, less need of medicines of every kind, and consequently
there would 'be a considerable diminution iu the incomes of
the medical faculty; yet he had always found—whether in
London or in country towns, whether in places whore he
was known or places where ho was a stranger—these
gentlemen were ready to come forward and support the
truth of the adage that "prevention was better than cure."
(Much applause.) He did not think it right to omit this
opportunity of saying these few words. He would rattle ,
have said them in the absence of these members of the
faculty, whose kind courtesy he could not but say was the
more gratifying to him, - inasmuch as, before his visit to
Brighton, they were—the majority of them—perfect strangers
to him ; he had not possessed any introductions to them,
nor did he know them even by name until they came volun-
tarily forward to aid him in his humble endeavours to benefit
his fellows. (Hear and applause.) He would detain the
audience no longer than to express his very sincere thanks
for the kind and earnest attention which they had been so
good as to bestow upon him during the whole of these dis-
courses.—The lecturer sat down amid loudly-expressed ap- •
probation, and the meeting separated."

We regret to anneunee*.the •demiqe, at Nice, on Sa•
turday last, of the Hon. Thomas Liddell, snood son of
the late Lord Raverawortb.