1 14 LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. 



surgery in all its ramifications, I venture to reserve to myself (without 

 any disparagement to the learned body of gentlemen who profess it), 

 sincere esteem for the old practitioners who do so much for the public 

 good amongst the lower orders, under the denomination of British bone- 

 setters. Many people have complained to me of the rude treatment 

 they have experienced at the hands of the bone-setter but, let these 

 complainants bear in mind that, what has been undone by force, 

 must absolutely be replaced by force ; and that, gentle and emollient 

 applications, although essentially necessary in the commencement, 

 and also in the continuation of the treatment, would ultimately be 

 of no avail, without the final application of actual force to the injured 

 parts. Hence the intolerable and excruciating pain on these occa- 

 sions. The actual state of the accident is to blame not the operator. 

 "Towards the close of the year 1850, I had reared a ladder, full 

 seven yards long, against a standard pear-tree, and I mounted nearly 

 to the top of this ladder with a pruning-knife in hand, in order that 

 I might correct an over-grown luxuriance in the tree. Suddenly the 

 ladder swerved in a lateral direction. I adhered to it manfully, my- 

 self and the ladder coming simultaneously to the ground with astound- 

 ing velocity. In our fall I had just time to move my head in a direction 

 that it did not come in contact with the ground, still, as it after- 

 wards turned out, there was a partial concussion of the brain ; and 

 add to this, my whole side, from foot to shoulder, felt as though it 

 had been pounded in a mill. In the course of the afternoon, I took 

 blood from my arm to the amount of thirty ounces, and followed 

 the affair up the next day with a strong aperient I believe that, 

 with these necessary precautions, all would have gone right again 

 (saving the arm), had not a second misadventure followed shortly on 

 the heels of the first ; and it was of so alarming a nature, as to in- 

 duce me to take thirty ounces more of blood by the lancet. In 

 order to accommodate the position of my disabled arm, I had put 

 on a Scotch plaid in lieu of my coat, and in it I came to dinner. 

 One day the plaid having gone wrong on the shoulders, I arose from 

 the chair to rectify it, and the servant, supposing that I was about to 

 retire, unluckily withdrew the chair. Unaware of this act on his 

 part, I came backwards to the ground with an awful shock, and this 

 no doubt caused concussion of the brain to a considerable amount 



