Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-10-15

THE ARTIFICIAL MAN.

atomtctI meCUuulCIhn OF Leicester square, whom
the Queen delighted to honor with commissions for
cunningly devised limbs for wounded soldiers dur
ing the Crimeau war, but never realized to my.
self the at with which man can exc out the de-
fects Of nature until / glanced over this little vol.
ume tho contents Of which so struck me, that
was determined to see for myself how far that cun.
ming bi2ed mao can simulate the handiwork Of our
great mother. | was received courteously, and on
explaining the nature of my GRAND, an assistant
was sent through the different workshops to salts
~ my curiosity.
A very few minutes conversation with my con.
ductor left the impression upon my mind that,
instead ofhaving any profound respect for Nature,
he looked upon her as sometimes rather in the
way than otherwise for, happening to ask hin,
p%layfdlly. as a kind of starting question. with
how email a modicum of humanity lie could man.
nge to work, "Sir. +" said he, very seriously, 1--WE
only want the vital principle give us nervous
cea.ers and sound yiscora, and we find all the
rest"
"But." said !, not prepared for this liberal Of
Ter. suppose o man had only three inches o.
stump"
three inches Of stump p he replied, contempt.
%uously, with that Allowance we could do any.
thing. There is" said he, somewhere in Ireland,
= gentleman born without limbs, who goes out
hunting in a clothes-basket strapped on his hors-
ss back. If we could only get hold of him, his
friends, in six weeks, would not know him."
An inspection OF my friends ~dteliers, certainly,
went far to justify the confident spirit in which
his assistant spoke. l soon found out that there
are first, second, and third class limb., however.
- Of everything else.
What ~ said ] "do you make bauistcrs as
we'll as legs" pointing to a %shelf-full neatly turn
ed and painted.
"Banisters my dear sir" he replied, a little
hurt, "these are our Chelsea pensioners I"
And on a closer examination such they. proved
to be. Here was the hard third-class fact simple
and unadorned.
And :hese buckets 2" rejoined, pointing to
some scores of hollow wooden cones placed one
within another. r. ,rr.u
Buckets the word - said he, reaching one
down, and screwing a 5anister into it's lower end.
These are our Chelsea pensioners com plete.
But this is nothing to what they have in store at
Chelsea Hospital. During the war we could not
make them fast enough. and they were obliged to
apply to the mop-makers. Fact, " said be, seeing
the surprise in our eyes-"arms, too! You should
see the rows and rows stored on the shelves-ibeir
hooks hanging out like 80 many hundred dozen Of
umbrellas. Government can only afford hooks
for soldiers and sailors, but officers who are not
able to pay con get new legs and arms of the very
best construction at the expense Of O grateful ma
tion, BY simply applying at the Horse Guards"
q All the while this serio-comic conversation was
going on, a workman in the coolest possible man
ner was working away at a most delicate little leg
that would not have come off second-best in the
Judgment Of Pars-a faultless Balmoral boot and
the d~aintiest silk stocking covered proportions
shat Madame Vestris might have envied.
"These," said my companion, are some of our
frst-class goods. Would you like to see The
mechanism /? Goodge, pull down the stocking
With that the workman barred the limb, while my
companion put it through its PAGES. This, you
see, is our patent knee cap and patel!a, and this
the new vulcaEized india-rubber tendon Achilles
here, in the instep you will observe a spiral spring
eleyatipg the toes, and if you will just observe
~(opening a little trap door in the back Of the calf
here is an ingenious contrivance by which the
bending Of the knee elevates the front part of the
clear Of the ground"
SeTtdluly IL was III duWITdUle COntTlVuuCe. ~
And cana man or wonan progress easily with
that arrangement l said.
"Do you know Lady" said he.
yes"
Nothing the matter there - he rejoiued inter
negatively.
was. obliged to confess, not to my knowledge.
That's her spare leg. nevertheless" he replied
triumphantly.
Spare leg what do you mean ?"
"Lord bless you look into that cupboard.
have the spare member of half the town there
duly labeled. Things will go wrong with the bes
conducted limbs and to save difficulties we KEEP
duplicates here which can be applied at the short
est notice. A gentlemen, whom We will call Mr.
Smith, cnce lost the pin out Of his knee joint, and
sent hero for his of-leg. A young lad up from
the country sent him another, Nj .:.Smith's box con
5tainiug an srm-vsry awkward" .J t. f.
.wii! you allow me :" said I, trying to read
the names on the boxes.
Certainly not" said be, shutting the door ant
turning the key "this is our Blue Boards cup
board, and I wouldn'teveu allow my wife to peep
But come and look at our hands,"
There they were-some clinched, some spreat
out, some in the act of holding, some gloved, AM
displayed like yandykes, as if to challenge atten
tion.
Now. What will they do Z" said /, almos
doubtful whether the elinched fst wouldn'
strike. T5
"Do anything" said he: ''by means Of tn,
hook inserted in the palm, it can lift, or hold tn,
rsips, almos, as we'll az the natural member. OBJ
serve the beautiful operation Of the spring thumb
initiating the grand privilege ofman and monkey
by means of which it can grasp q fork, or lightly
finger . toothpick. r.rts..t
4. .Do you supply fingers and such mall deer
! inquired.
"fingsrs too. nose. lips-we take them as they
come. A gentleman with but one finger on biz
left hand came to us the other day. aud asked t.