The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-03-04

exhibition wou have been. Still,
this aiTectation of municipal dignity
was of value in the eyes of the Blau-
combitcs, aud a general sort Of MOTTO
prevailed that the mayor was not ain
together very contemplate creature.
Certainly he did all he could to fos-
ter beliefin his Importance, the re.
suit outside Blancombe not being of
a very sppreciahle or calculable
kind. Furthermore, the place had Of
course its churches, its bank, its
pound, its police office, its pump, aud
It's town .hall-occupied generally by
spectators in concerts and entertain.
ments, who, as they always failed to
attract remunor1tive audiences, never
thought it necessary TO pay reut for
the accommodation Afforded thcm,
But what made Blanoo valuable
in the eyes Of its medical attendants
was the fact that, although its inhab-
itants did not seem to be aware of it,
it was about tue very worst. t.drained
town in the United Kingdom. The fac
ulty in Blancombc derived very tidy
income from the sale of fever. powders
alone. Considered in regard to its
sewerage from a medical point of
view, Blancombo was simply delic-
ious place.
Living as I did for some time in
Blancombe, | became in great de-
gree a Blancombite-movcG by Blan>
oombite sympathiCs aud interests, oc.
cupied with Blancombito concerns,
stirred by Blancombitc aspirations
and appreheusious. Still, | never
altogether disestablished within my
self the notion that | was only tem-
porary soiourner in Blancombe after
all ,.abd that sooner or later the time
must arrive WHEN Blancombe would
be nothing to me, and | should turn
my back upon it, its mayor aud cor
poration, pump, pound, town-hall,
and open sewers for good and all.
One thing | never did share with
the Blaucombitcs, or approach their
feelings in regard to it in any degree.
just outside the town, huge ediiice
} had been erected. A hideous, clum-
sy, castcllatcd, architectural night
mare, known as the county Jail, 1t
was like n scene in King John, in a
theatre where the very worst taste
prevailed, its sOlidity was so sham, its
security was so delusive, its proper
tious were SO prepostcrous. 1t pre-.
tended to be medieval, as an Irish
bricklayer might don a helmet and
affect to be a knight templar. Yet
the Blaucombites were wonderfully
proud Of the county jail, although its
presence in their ncighborhood was
in no way due to any action of theirs.
Yet they had notion that it was an
ornament, valuable property, and
that it benefited the town, bestowed
value and importance upon it, an some
most inexplicable way. They were
proud of il, even fond of it. The
idea of people being proud and fond
of a prisonl Upon this question l
certainly could not side or sympa>
thize with my Blancombito friends.
1t was, of course, often necessary
for me to be out late at night. / did
not much object to this. The home
of the bachelor is not quite as other
homes are. lie never feels inclined
to sing the popular song ABOUT there
being no place like home, with the
enthusiasm aud conviction of mar
ricd vocalsts. l found it quite as
entertaining to sit up watching a
complicated case of typhoid fever
and had constantly on hand in
stances of that kind Of thing that
would have been JOY TO the heart of
any we'll regulated medical man--as
to retreat to my confined little surg
cry and smoke pipe among my gai
lipots and bottles. | took pride and
interest in my profession, in those
days. My patients never knew what
good company found them, the
comfort their maladies were to me-
The trite old proverb, about one
mans meat being another mans poi.
son, is assuredly true. l dare say
some of my patients thought that the
medicines [ dosed them with were
poison: but they were meat and also
drink to me.
So never hurried home, although
public opinion in Blancombe was de-
cidedly in favor Of people going to
bed early. With that view, and also
doubtless for economical reasons, the
gas lights in Bancombe High street
were all put out at ten o'clock every
night, If you chose to be from home
after that hour, you might Gnd your
way in the dark, as best you could;
that was the Blancombite notion of
the situation. II did not much mat
ter to me, however. A doctor soon
knows his rounds by heart, and can
find his way to and from his patients
} blindfold is acquainted with every
step Of the path, even to the fact that
here there is sharp turning, there a
steep decline, further on, puddle in
the road, aud still beyond, c loose
stone in the pavement. Certainly |
: did not want, is they were bent upon
thrift, to put the Blancombitos tc any
expense in the matter of gas on my
account.
1t was dark night, not so very
dark, however but what the moon
showed her light every now aud then,
flashing it oddly as from a lantern
for the wind was high, and broken
clouds were swiftly driven across the
heavens, tumbling and tossing clum-
silly along with a rapidity that seemed
to contrast drolly with their unwieldy
form aud apparent bulk aud density,
had turned into the High street in
which the house and surgery 1 tenn
pOrarily occupied were situated. AS