Punch (64.1873)

43

IERSONAL EXPERIENCE BETTER TKAH BOOK-LEARNING

Governess. "Well, and so they export Wheat and Cotton. Now, you've seen
Wheat in the Ear, but not Cotton /"

Pupil. " 0, yes, I have ! Grand'pa, you know ! "

A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

{A Ditty for Dn. Manning.)

Says Ultramontanism,

" Of Progress I'm no enemy,

I5ut the friend ; that's clear as a prism 1
And so say all true men o' me.

" Galileo declared Earth moved.

His system uf solar economy
I cordially approved ;

Endorsed his views of Astronomy.

" In Chemistry nought I see
That, makes against my theology.

Quite orthodox to me

Are the teachings,of Geology.

" I allow belief to be free
In the facts of Palaeontology ;

Should like you to trace the tree
To the root of Anthropology.

" I forbid no soul to teach
My faithful flocks Phrenology;

Don't care if my clergy preach,
To a certain extent Neology.

" I encourage and urge research,
Into all the truth of history.

There's nought so good for the Church,
As the explanation of mystery.

" Biblical Criticism

I laud with all sincerity :
To Ultramontanism

'Tis the very test of verity.

"Of Progress, why, my pace

Is that of extreme rapidity.
I have always led the race—

With a rum ti um ti iddity ! "

Words and Meaning.

The National Education League are re-
spectfully invited to consider whether they
have any objection to allow the Bible to be
read in district Schools in its original lan-
guages. With equal respect, the friends of
religious education are requested to bethink
them whether it might not as well be read in
Hebrew and Greek, as in English without
explanation.

PHYSIC FOR THE PEOPLE.

A leading article in the Times on " Hospital Relief," written by'
comebody who understands his subject, contains the following note-
worthy passage relative to an important truth in connection with it,
pointed out by Dk. Chandler :—

" The worthy Doctor says that what the people really want is, not drugs,
but good advice ; that is, rules of health, warning against foolish neglects,
and common precaution. It is most true. But it is unhappily also true that
there is nothing the poor like so little as good advice. They consider
medicine a mystery of a very preternatural character ; the drug a charm,
which is to work a miracle. The plainer a thing is to the unassisted reason,
the less they will believe it. They want to be told how they may be cured
in a day. They would rather take the most nauseous medicine than obey the
simplest and easiest advice."

The irrational notions of medicine above indicated are, indeed,
very generally characteristic of the poor, that is to say, the indigent
classes. But they characterise also a great many other poor of a
certain sort, of whom many are rolling in rents and dividends, and
all are in easy circumstances, but who, respecting medical knowledge
and medical reasoning, labour under poverty of ideas and poverty
of intellect. With regard to this kind of poor a Doctor of Medicine
may say, in the words of a Doctor of Divinity and a Poet:—

" "Whene'er I take my walks abroad
How many poor I see ! "

The affluent, for the most part, equally with the destitute, believe
in drugs, and do not believe in the natural laws, and the necessity
of the observance of physiological conditions, notably those of diet
and exercise, to the cure of any serious disease. Is not this mental

poverty lamentable? Quite the reverse to a very considerable
number of persons; all the Chemists and Druggists, whom it profits,
and all the Medical Practitioners who live by relieving mere sym-
ptoms, and keeping their patients, radically uncured, as long as
possible on their hands.

In the article above-quoted occurs also this pertinent and season-
able question:—

" Why cannot the Working Classes of the Metropolis, and all who will claim
the privileges of that title, form themselves into Sick Friendly Clubs, under
any medical staff they may have their own reason to prefer ?"

The Working-Men, not only in London, but throughout the king-
dom, find no difficulty whatsoever in forming themselves into Trades'
Unions. It would be not at all more difficult for them to form
themselves likewise into Sick or Invalids' Unions. Possibly circum-
stances will ere long force them into this desirable kind of co-opera-
tion. It was all very well, in accordance with the tradition of other
days, for the Clergy to preach up munificence to medical charities,
upon " Hospital Sunday." But the classes whom sermons on behalf
of those institutions are calculated to benefit will soon perhaps find
themselves left to maintain them by their own efforts ; by combina-
tion, such as the Trades' Unionists practise in their continual Strikes,
whereby they keep on raising the prices of meat and almost every-
thing else. Consumers, daily more and more impoverished by the
general dearth they owe to the combinations of workmen, cannot
but feel inclined to leave them to combine, and do what they can
for themselves altogether. People whom strikes oblige to economise
their expenditure will naturally begin retrenchment by withdrawing
all the subscriptions which they have been accustomed to contribute
to the assistance of the Striking Classes.