452 Voyage of the Novara. 



idea of ministering to tlie physical necessities of the poor and 

 sick Chinese, and of helping them in their need. While able, 

 eloquent Dr. Muirhead presides over the missionary schools, 

 and the not less zealous Mr. Wylie superintends the printing 

 of the books, our highly educated friend Dr. Hobson takes 

 charge of the hospital, the cost of which is defrayed partly 

 by the Missionary Society, partly by the European com- 

 munity. 



The building itself is rather small and unpretending, and 

 can at most accommodate only thirty patients. But it was 

 erected chiefly for those cases which in England it is cus- 

 tomary to classify in the general category of " accidents," 

 injuries, that is, sustained unexpectedly, or in a riot, &c. 

 &c. Every day between twelve and one o'clock a consulta- 

 tion is held, and treatment provided gratuitously. Hither 

 flock hundreds of invalids, to avail themselves of this benevo- 

 lent arrangement, and while Dr. Hobson is busy giving 

 orders and dispensing drugs in his small apartment, a native 

 convert in the waiting-room is preaching the Living Word 

 to those who come for advice. 



We passed an entire hour in the dispensary, not merely 

 for the purpose of witnessing the various descriptions of 

 cases, mostly of a surgical nature, but also to catch many an 

 instructive remark from the lips of Dr. Hobson. Thus he 

 remarked, as the result of a medical practice of more than 

 sixteen years, that the Chinese are uncommonly soon aflected 

 by the use of mercury and quinine. A very small dose of 



