44 



flammation at the slightest chang-e of weather ; some- 

 times this inflammation flies to the lungs and its 

 neighbourhood^ and then conies pleuro-pneurnonia in 

 its various forms j other seasons it will take typhus 

 forms. Once in a hundred years the unhealthiness 

 of the season is excessive, then we have cattle plague 

 in its present malignant form ; and here is the whole 

 matter in a nutshell. By the bye, I do wish people 

 would make a little more use of these nutshells than 

 they do. Sir Cornwall Lewis said, a life would be 

 very enjoyable if it were not for its pleasures.' 7 The 

 old port wine drinking Scotch Laird who hated 

 ever}4hing that interrupted his potations said, life 

 would be very enjoyable if it were not for that bane 

 of society, u conversation." I say, life would be 

 very enjoyable if we were not deluged with words as 

 we all are j and when the pomposity of pedantry is 

 added, the burden of them becomes intolerable, unless 

 one can treat the case after the manner of Arch- 

 bishop Whafely. One day a medical gentleman was 

 indulging in rather longer words than the Arch- 

 bishop thought quite becoming ; so he all at once 



said, " By the bye, Mr. , what causes death in 



"hanging?" "The explanation, your Grace, is 

 i( this : in hanging, inspiration is checked, the 

 u circulation is stopped, and blood suffuses and con- 

 " gests the brain." " Bosh !" said the Archbishop ; 

 " the reason is because the rope is not long enough 

 " for the man's feet to touch the ground." 

 Mr. Gamgee's book has 859 pages. 



