PRACTICE OF SURGERY. 107 



the young man was in a bad way ; he would lay 

 down his life, give up smoking, part with his dog, or 

 commit any other extravagance. The case was 

 touching. The doctor was really interested ; and, 

 after all, what harm could it do 1 The doctor and 

 I went to look at the dog, but it turned out to be a 

 mere pup, entirely unbroken, and what the result 

 might have been I do not know, but all farther ne- 

 gotiations were broken off by the result of our out- 

 of-door practice and disgust for the business. 



There is no immediate connexion between ta- 

 king Daguerreotype portraits and the practice of 

 surgery, but circumstances bring close together things 

 entirely dissimilar in themselves, and we went from 

 one to the other. Secluded as Merida is, and sel- 

 dom visited by strangers, the fame of new discover- 

 ies in science is slow in reaching it, and the new 

 operation of Mons. Guerin for the cure of strabismus 

 had not been heard of. In private intercourse we 

 had spoken of this operation, and, in order to make 

 it known, and extend its benefits, Doctor Cabot had 

 offered to perform it in Merida. The Merida peo- 

 ple have generally fine eyes, but, either because our 

 attention was particularly directed to it, or that it 

 is really the case, there seemed to be more squint- 

 ing eyes, or biscos, as they are called, than are usu- 

 ally seen in any one town, and in Merida, as in some 

 other places, this is not esteemed a beauty ; but, ei- 

 ther from want of confidence in a stranger, or a 

 cheap estimation of the qualifications of a medico 



