The Worthington advance., 1879-01-30
A MEDIEVAL MISTAKE.

-ttNu lletuU.
A MEDIEVAL MISTAKE.
BY JAMES pAYN.
But few of my readers can, conclude,
enember the Young England days,
when there was an attempt made to re-
vive in this country some fine old medim-
val customs. Certain high-souled in
dividuals who shall be namelcss-- though
some of them have made great names for
themselves in the interim under very un
expected and different circumstances
conceived that they had actually put
their fingers upon that iilusory date "the
good old tlmes," and would fain have
galvanized them back to life.
"They revived all usages thoroughly worn out
The souls Of them famed forth! the hearts Of
Of them torn out"
and even got up tournament. A few
old fellows still remember it, with poor
Theodore Hooks joke upon Sir Cambell
of Saddel, who, more by good luck than
good guidance of his adversary's lance,
was somehow "thrown out CT his family
seat 1t was the renaissance period,'
of yule logs and happy tenantries whose
bread, however, was not cheap-and 1t
was hoped by certain noble enthusiasts
that condescension and patronage would
lose all unpleasantness, and indeed fail to
be recognized. under the guise of a pa
ternal feudalism.
1t was failure, of course; no one can
"revive the mastodon"-a circumstance
for which those who, like myself, find
mere bulls sufficiently alarming, have
reason to he grateful But though the
scheme fairly glittered with tinsel and
was much too gorgeously adve, tised, il
was not all pinchbeck; or at all events
some Of those who believed in it had
about them the ring of the true metal
albeit little cracked.
Among the nobility, and in certain
great houses in the country, hospitality
was revived upon the most extensive scale
and in some cases SO splendidly that il
made Almost as great hole in the estates
Of the family as though 1t had taken to
mining. Oxen were roasted whole where
= formerly the guest only got his NUT:
ton outlet, and instead Of kitchen range
there was bonfire.
Frank Selwyn, a young medical friend
of mine at that time, used to speak
in high terms Of this Medieval Revival,
because he forsesaw that one Of its conse-
'quences, if generally carried out, would
be universal indigestion.
With plenty, however, it was held
necessary for historical consistency to
mix discomfort.
1t was said that the Marquis Of Mile
heuvs (who had the best Norman blood
in Yorkshire) had discarded gas and even
COLA, and had his dinlng-room lit by
men IN steel with 1lambeaux; and that
Lord De B9uf slept on an ivory couch
between the blankets and without
night gear, because that was the mode in
the Middle ages.
Frank Selwyn, however, knew nothing
OF the doings of the great people, excep,
py report. He was Of good family, but
they were not good enough to indulge
in these eccentricities without the risk
of being shut up as lunatics; and even il
he had had g taste that way himself, he
wanted his money for very modern use
indeed-namely, to buy practice with
in London. At six twenty he pur.
chased a partnership with old DR.. Dal
rymple, of Brown-street, Parklane, who
attended scme of the first folks in the
land, and never took fee from an unit
tied person without being fully persuad
ed that he could afford it. His notion:
were of the old school; he dosed and
bled his noble patients till they were like
''the ruined shells OF hollow towers" ant
then he built them up again and fillec
them out with beefsteak and port wine
He had indeed, no fancy for this new
fashion Of old fashions-no doctor is
fanatic, it may De observed, in any thing
but medicine or surgery-but a
some of his clients were addicted to it
he looked upon the weakness with YER,
charitable eye.
ut IL not enough nowadays to taxi
things rs we find them, nv ear Selwy
he would say good-humoredly, "but a
we used to find them. Ifa patient think
fumigation of boiled holly-hock ant
fennel will do him good, because his IN
cester in King Johns tune used it, lie
him be fumigated. Never cross pa
tient IN small things. Lord Vavasou
thinks there is nothing like gold for hi
system, because Galen speaks of it ass
fine old remedy. In general way-tba
is, to the general rractitioner-this NIGH
be dangerous, because, once in the S
TEN, gold remaines there, and one m
wait for the post mortem to get it on
again; but with our patients we alway
see our money back. There fore Civ
them gold"
Whatever Selwyn may have thought O
DR.: Dalrymple professionally, ho had Il
doubt OF his wisdom as man of tn
world, and was quite ready to profit b
l.. Moreover. his own conscience va
not burdened by adopting these abnor
NAL modes of treatment, since his prac
tice lay among the middle class Of pa
tlents-who were rarely bitten by thi
mania-while his principal kept the big
wigs for himself. But on one occasion Dr.
Dalrymple fell victim to the very NAL
ady which it was his chief office to cur
IN others-the gout. It was his owl
impression that he had caught it Of som
OF his patients. He felt certain, livin,
so moderately as he did, with only
glass Or two of Madeira at luncheon. an,
one bottle of wholesome port-"withou
headache in a hogshead of it''-afte
dinner, that he couldn't have got it il
any other way. Claret, indeed, be too
with his meals in considerable quantie.
and his feeding was rather extensiy,
considering that he never set foot on th
ground save from his brougham to hi
clients door; but he never touched bee,
(because he didn't like,) and what bust
ness has man to get the gout who doe
OF touch beer2
His reasoning was sound enough, n
doubt; but still he got the gout, and i
both feet, And while in that abiect con
dition an express arrived from Lord D
Bracy, of Donjon Towers, to request hi
immediste attendance. twas. of cours,
impossible that he could move 40 he ser
for selwyD.
my dear friend" he said. "vou mn,