The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1853-02-25
l.. c. MITCHELL.
BEtMoNT Co. Frh oIst 1877

81,
MR. HowARD-Sir-As my letter of last
week was crowded out of your paper Of last
week. now ask your indulgence to add
1t is merely to refer to remark
aoie coincidence. In reading DR.. Estep's
last letter noticed that he frequently an.
propriated the thoughts and language of we'll
KIN own authors without any Acknowledgement.
AT that time confess | was not aware that
even his scurrlllty was secondhand. In an
intelligent community l thought the other
would be easily detected and so left il. But
as all may not read the Medical Journals 7
will explain, for, as the Dr. says, our readers
may wish to know" how much of his slastba
OF slang was his own and how much was sto-
lem The awkardness of the Joining, even
of itself, betrays the patchwork. But where
should the DIR. find anything to suit his pur-
pose! Has the subject at issue been written
upon! What if 1t has not? Behold genius
tramprg over difficulties and pressing into
its service foreign allies!
In the "Ohio Medical and Sgroical .Jour7a,n
Tor last month there is, copied from Ken
lucky Medical Journal, a "Reuieo' of pub
llcation entitled "Translations of the Ma
uonal Eclectic Medical Association" The
reviewer is wroth at the pretentions of these
innovators and assails the authors of the work
in strain wonderfully similar to that in
winch Or. Estep assails his intended victim.
But great minds often think alike. This is
tne age OF Mesmerism, Spirit Rappers and
Claiivoyance. As an evidence of their in
hueoce' compare the following parallel pas
sages written by these two individuals resid-
ing hundreds OF miles apart. As the review
was written some time prior to the Dr.'s
"compound," we will place the extracts from
it first in order:
Review, page 1853: "Novel and erudite DR..
Brown. Trul y, knowledge is power and book
learning as Dogberry discovered long since
about reading and writing, comes by nature.n
DIR. Estep: ale is marvellous and erudite
man. Truly, knowledge is power, and book
learning, as Dogberry says abou, reading and
writing comes by nature"
Rev., page 1854: "If heaven would onlv
lend you to the world for month"; you would
surely carry back comedy, which
would set the higher world in an up-
roar" ~
DR.. E.: eff we could only lend him the
world for week or two, he would surely
write comedy sufficient to set the world in
an uproar."
Rev, page 264: "Next in order is n letter
from DIR. C, written as if the verv act of
composition made him feel good all over"
DIR. E.: "The style of his writing would
indicate that the very act of composing made
him feel good all over"
Rev., p,o264: "There is an odd mixture of
associations in the letter which puzzles con-
lecture in the formation of a psycho-physiol.
oglcal estimate of the writer's character. He
is alternately pathetic in his praises of eclec.
ticism, and his denunciations of the old bodv
of physicians, swindle of political slano.
whangery, from well.f,r-
niShed vocabulary of vulgarity, a phizzing
sqnib of critic who carps at all systems of
medicine. His vivacity and eagerness are
like those of an unfortunate poodle, &C."
DIR. E.: "There is an odd mixture in his
communications that would puzzle conjecture
TO know how to apply them. 1t enables us
however, to form an estimate of the writer,
character. He is alternately pathetic in his
denunclanons of me and praises of himself:
making quite display of scurrlous language
from his wel-furnished vocabulary of yuI.
garity. He is marvellous phizzing squib of
critic, who carps at every thing said.
* His snappsh eagerness re-
minds me of the unfortunate poodle, &c."
Wonder what the Dr.'s present position
reminds him of. Certainly he used some of
his beautiful comparisons prematurey. But
to proceed. Rev. p. 26o: "The fishy animal
climbed the pole was happily uncon-
'cious of the truth thus conveyed:
The higher the monkey climbs the pole
The more he shows his TAIL"
DIR. E.. "Joel is very severe on his co.com.
nlttee-men, seeming unconscious of the truth
that
The higher the monkey climbs the pole
The more he shows his tail
Rev., p. 262: "Dr. Brown tells the ecIec-
les to stick to their principles. Stick n
'our principles as the pickpocket said when
he took the gentlemen's purse and if Won
lave no principles, stick to them all the clio.
er."
DIR. E.: SHE and Leander seem both di,-
osed to stick to their principles. Well.
""1 'iSht, StiSh 10 tnein, as the plCkDOcket
aid when he took the gentleman's purse
nd if they have no principles, let them stick
he closer"
Rev., p. 262: "Guard thy high interests.
Iliopathy, they are here assailed by the law.
one OF an ass, which, if its owner were 1.
sampson, would bear more terror g. desolat;on
ITO thy ranks, than did the arm ofthe lono hair
Hebrew boy through the army of the Phil.
tines." .r..
DR.. e.; 81 would call on Smith and Malo-
ee to guard their interests, as thev are os.
lIled by the jaw-bone of an ass, and If the
l;hor were Sampson, would bear more ter
n and desolaton among their friends, than
d the arm OF the Hebrew boy into the ar.
y Of the Philstines."
But enough of this. These extracts oro
ficient to show how very singular is the
incidence. In most cases, the change ia
st enough, as in the last quoted, to make
e sentence ungrammatical. Is the DIR.
writing medium that he thus pens down
II unconsciously, the words of othe-sa Ia
clalrvoyant! Does this kind of "wri,inr
me by naturen Possibly IN con,as r