Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-03-13
WAROgI IW.
A Live "snhiect.n

There are opochs in every medical Imam $
history, each of which comprises a lifetime
of horror. Only three short weeks ago /
was one of the gaycst students of medicine
and surgery in the United States To-day
well, let me not anticipate.
Two years have elapsed since [ was sent
from Mobile by my father, to study mcdi-
cine ut the North | listened to my first
course of lectures in Philadelphia, and there
made the acquaintance of Professor -,
who is, probably, the best dcmonstrator in
physiology that ever taught the young idea
how to shoot alphabetically, on this side of
the Atlantic. / was fortunate enough to
become particular flvorite of his, and was
introduced by him, with an especial flour
ish, to one of the olevcrest surgeons in-I
thiuk-tho world His name is ---, |
will call him the Professor, however. He
is one of those individuals for whom yolr at
fIl partiality, and it was the latter, /, at
the first time we met, felt for him
He was Il strange being; at least he
seemed so to me upon our first meeting, and
forever afterwards Oftentimes he drank
deeply, and, while under the influence of
drink, he would let fall curious hints COR
corning "bighted hopes" the rascality of
kindred, and ''thc folly of supposng any
affection sprang from the ties of consanguin-
ity." On one of those communicative oc-
casons, he told me heart-rcnding history
of family experiences. / gathered, by
piccc-mcal from his conversations, the fact
that one of his own blood had treated lli.,
most hcartlcssly, aud dripen him, by fraud
Of tho SrvescSt character, FROM his native
place to this country, pcnniless and friend
less.
oughtto say, en- pnssant, that his drink
ing bouts were conducted strictly upon the
gcntemanly plan, and were seldom or new
crmadc known to the public, or even to the
mIjority Of those who ranked among his
immediate friends and furthermore, /
should remark that he is well advanced in
years, although no doubt you know that al
ready.
"My evil spirit is upon me-" he would
sometimes say to me, and then he would IL
Mstrate, in his conduct and manner, the
most singularp phases of hypochondra ever
witnessed.
1t appears that he was born in the town
Of O., England, CT must be guarded,
for am now violating confidence, } and was
unfortunate enough, considering the laws,
which give the elder brother everything, to
be ushered into the world after his brother
John. For this ti'ere he felt the intcnscst
affection. TO him he confded a history of
his hopes to him he looked, more than to
his infrm father for advice; to him he
communicated narrative of his love, and
of his successful wooing. The maiden of
his choice was beneath him in wealth and
station; but his brother approved of that
choice, and he was content. 1t is neccssa-
ry to my object, in penning this narrative
only to state that the elder brother seduced
the girl; robbed by fraud of the bascst
character, her honorable lover of all his
means, (also reducing his old father to pen
ury, by forgcries, and then decamped tax
ing the girl along, to Italy.
'Did You never take vengeance upon the
seducer?" / inquired, when he related
these facts to me.
"I did not regard either of them as being
worthy of my anger" he replied, sand /
never followed them an inch"
"Did you ever hear from them ?" quer-
led.
"Ycs--sevefai times. The last news /
got was to the effect that she had become
shameless and bcsotted, and was living in
condition of public infamy in Paris. OF
course he had left her"
"And he 2"
clad become agamblcr; some wrote to
me, a thief. Here he shuddered1 Ger
tain it was that he had squandered ali his
ill-gotten means"
This was all could gather of his early
and domestic history. But to the point of
my communication. II
Three weeks ago the Professor was to
explain to us all ca class Of students) Ger
tain condition of the human stomach, and
he was to do this practically in the dssect-
ing room. There was dispute as to the
propriety of some of the late Dir. Halls
teachings, with reference to the division OF
the nervous system, and the Professor was
to settle the dispute, scalpel in hand. The
division of DIR. Hall, permit me to say, ar
ranges the nervous system into three sec
tlons--the cerebral or sentieut voluntary;
the true spinal, excitemotor, and the gang
ionic or nutrient, or sccretory
The Professor is one of the most skillful
Of lecturers, and a precise and handsome
demonstrator. His devotion to tho anatom-
ical branches of medical science amounts
to almosta moronania TIgpatiepce with