A MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 45, 4 February 1911, Page 2 (Supplement)

A MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.

A somewhat vexatious law in China compels every doctor, after dark, to hang up in front of his house as many lighted lamps as he has had patients die.

One evening a European who was staying ir. Pekin on business set out in warch of a doctor for. his son, who had been taken suddenly ill. He called at the houses of a good many, but was deterred by the large number of lamps exhibited before each. At length, after tramping about for several hours, he came to the house of a doctor where only three lamps shed a melancholy light over the entrance. The happy European dashed into the house of this excellent man, wakened him, and took him off to his lodgings. <f t presume you are the best practitioner in this city?” he said to his companion as they went along. “What makes vou think so?”

"Bccausa .von have only three lan terns hung over your door, while youi colleagues' have dozens displayed on their house-fronts.” "Ah! is that the reason?” calmly replied the medico. "The fact is, I only lately sot up in practice, and have had but three patients.” NOT A FAIR GAME. "Sir.” began a middle-aged man who entered the police station the other afternoon, ‘T wish to file a protest with you.” "Protests are always in order,” replied the sergeant, after taking a look at the man. and making up his mind that he was from Indiana. "I was coming over the bridge, sir. about an hour ago, when I encountered a man who was intoxicated and weeping. Notwithstanding that I am in the ice business at home, my heart was touche-1.” “Well?” "I. found out that the man was weeping because he had broken his promise to his wife. That touched my heart again.” "That was two touches,” observed the sergeant. "Aes, sir. As the man was hardly able to walk I offered him my assistance to roach this side, and then put him on a car to go home.” "A gcod action is always rewarded.” “Aes, sir;, and I got my reward. Half-an-hour after I had got through playing the Good Samaritan, I discovered that while the weeping drunkard was leaning on my shoulder he picked my pocket of 25 dollars.” “Ami th it was the third touch?” smiled the sergeant. ‘lt wa.s, sir • and I am here to say that it was not a fair game. Sentiment was appealed to. Aly tender heart v?as taken advantage of. I am no squealer, sir; but I do think, and I do declare, that never again, sir—never, though I live to be 1,000 years old, will I set foot in Brooklyn again. No, sir; and good-day to you!” THE SENTENCE OF THE COURT. A story is told of the late Mr. Justice Maule. He never passed sentence on a prisoner when lie felt strongly moved, lest his impulse or temper should lead him astray. He had, on one occasion, a particularly atrocious case t-> try. and, when a verdict of guilty was returned, he exclaimed—“l can’t pass sentence now. I might be too severe. I feel as if I could give this man twenty-five years’ penal sery>ttide. Bring him up to-morrow, when I feel calmer.” ‘Thank vou. my lord,” said the prisorer. “I think you’ll think better of it in the morning.” . Next dav the man was placed again in the dock "Prisoner.” said the judge, "I was nnery yesterday, btrt I am calm now. I have spent a night thinking of your awful deeds, and I find on inquiry that I can sentence you to penal servitude for life. It seems to me that this is the most proper punishment for your crime, and I, therefore, pass upon you that sentence ” GRADES OF MENTALITY. GENIUSES TWO DEGREES RELOW ABSTRACT THINKERS. Mr. John Gray, the treasurer of the Royal Anthrojiolcgical Institute, has invented a machine which is said to give a very good idea of mental character. The chief part of the mechanism is a revolving mirror, and it is explained that "the persistence of colour sensation is closely related to a quality of mind called ‘perseveration,’ and a scale has been drawn up showing the kind of character likely to be associated with different, degrees of persistence.” At the centre comes the average cmount corresponding with the practical common sense of the average man; a degree below are those who are ordinarily called geniuses, and witty, brilliant and suggestive minds; a degree above are persons fond of abstract thinking and who “have an infinite capacity for taking pains.” Two degrees 1 elow the merely frivolous people com? jn. and two above are those with fixed ideas founded apparently on sentiment rather than reason. _ Outside these categories the mind is unstable, and persons with exceedingly low “pers»*rvation” are liable to acute mania; while thus? with excessively high “perseveration” usually suffer from melancholia. GIANT BIRDS OF MADAGASCAR. Tn the British Museum ami in several Continental institutions for the advancement of science, there wav be seen specimens of birds’ eggs which are almost as large as a iwo-gnTlon jug. These «'ggs are laid by the epiornis, an extinct and gigantic bird of Madagascar. The cubic bulk of these egg? is eight times that of the eg.g of the ostrich, which means that each of them is equal m noint oi capacity to 150 rens’ eggs The first discovery of these interesting relics of past times was made by the captain of a merchant ?<’'><•! which h:id stopped at a port on the north-eastern roast of Madagascar to trade wi*h th? natives. During the stay at the- poiut mentioned, the curious vessels used hv the natives for watervases attracted the attention of the captain. Upon investigation it was found that th .e odd utcn-i's were in reality gizantie eg<r-shells cut in halves. Upon questioning the water-carriers in regard to the bird that laid the eggs, and the place where they were procured. the caprain was <dv'cr. to understand that the bird itself was unknown, but that tii” e»rrs were di-covered in n m»ge sand-bank some distance away in the njwountrv. and could not be found els/wh -pr ,to the knowledge of 4Wx n:,f 'V’i S . . *^ n °ff <r purchase all that could bo procured soon resulted m the discovery of several fine specimens, all of which fell into the hands r ? G ™ Sc Hilaire, the French naturalist. These curiosities were afterwards distributed among the largest museums. s