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    assign to his character any literary eminence , his career was marked by singular eccentricity ; his spacious establishment in Einsbary-square , around which , it « said , that he actually drove a coach-and-four , contained an immense collection of books . Among his many expedients to excite notoriety was the publication of an advertisement ftaJing that his coaoh-himsemOia ^ tee et Tiad Twen robbed of 10 , 000 volumes ¦ consisting chiefly of Dr . Witts' " Psalms and Hymns , " a manoeuvre that answered the twofold pumose of letting the world know that he kept a coach , and that even bo large a ouaatity of books e < mld scarce be missed from his collection . He also fcad the vtmUy-to aow * a flag at the tap of 4 is houae as m BignaS , whenever he arawed te ife ceunfary -seat at Merton . His vanity wan certainly very amusing , and excusable , wJbm we insider the disadvantages of to tumble . © ragm . At ten years aid he coHMaenoad crying apple-pies in the streets , so that , as he himself mtimatea , He s ^ bS ^ TSi Se ik the wortd . His success in this , hisfirst essay , mduced ^ eedil / Aeexchaage -af torts for books ; thus hB commenced busmess as a bookseller , winch one year yielded him a profit of -500 QZ . illiam

    Tie author « namerates tihe literary publishers of London— W legman , who has written on Entomology ~ , John Murray , William Wood , a zoographwt , and the editor of Buffbn ; William Moxon , a poet ; A . J . ValpyTa classical -writer ; M'Cray , a translator of German lyrics ; Talboys , John Russell Smith , Charles Knight , and II . G . Bohn . Thence diverging to lon < r names and words , he quotes the classical " Wusku-Wuttesthementum Yul-Iiorduinun Jesus Christ Nuppoq hwussuaenenmun' of Stephen Day , with the weil-juiourn " Aldebor-ontiphoscophornio I Where left you Chrononhotonthologos ?" . And Robert iLovelTs " JknuwloQiootndneralogia ; a complete History rf Animals and Minerals , contain * the snmine of * H Authors , Galenical and Chymicall , with the Anatomie of Man . Most of tie anecdotes in the volume are of as recent reference and little rarity as the following : —

    Scott is known to have profited much by Constable ' s bibliographical knowledge , which was very extensive . The latter christened Xentlwarth , which Scott named Cunaior Rail John Ballantyne objected to the former title , and told Constable the result would be " something worthy of the kennel ; " but the result proved the reverse . Mr . Cadell relates that Constable ' s vanity boiled over so much at this time , on having his suggestions adopted , that , in Ms high moods , he used to stalk up and < lown his room , and exclaim , " By Jove , I am all but the author of the Waverley Novels , " * We stall string together a few paragraphs of gossip : — A printer ' s -wife in Germany lost her life by feloniously meddling with , the types . - She went into the oflice by night , and took out the word " lord , " in Genesis iiL 16 , where Eve is made subject to her husband , and made the verse read , " he shall be thy fooV instead of " he shall be thy lord . " * It is said fliat she was put to death for her wickedness . It is well known that printers of an early edition of the Scriptures were so heavily fined as to "be utterly ruined , for leaving out the word " not" from one -of the Ten Commandments .

    We have seen thi 6 before , yet all readers may not have seen it : — At a subscription of the French Academy for some charitable object , each contributor putting in a iouis d ' or , the collector , by mistake , made a second application to a member noted for his penuriousness— " I have already paid , " exclaimed the latter , with some asperity . " I beg your pardon , " said the applicant , " 1 have no doubt < but you paid ; I believe it though I did not see it . " " And I saw it , and do not belimve it , ™ -whispered Voltaire . Daniel Dancer , when he had 3000 / . a year , used to beg a pinch of snuff from all his friends , and when his box was full , bartered its contents for a tallow candle . But his parsimonious ingenuity appears contemptible in comparison with tihat of the Russian miser , who learned to hark that he anight avoid the expense of keeping a dog- red

    That Mary of Scotland , who had exquisite hair of her own , wore fronts , that Cleopatra was red-haired , that the Venetian ladies to this day counterfeit yellow hair , that the Roman virgins powdered their hair with gold , are fragments of traditionary chit-chat . From the same repertory ¦ comes the observation that Chatham , when be intended to speak , crowned fcimself with his best wig , that Erskine , before fee rose to plead , drew on his bright yellow gloves , that Horace Waipole wore " a cravat of Gibbon ' s carvings , " that Raleigh crusted his shoes -with jewels , that Petrarch pinched his feet , that Aristotle wore a profusion of rings , that Byron was proud of Siis handsome neck , that Rousseau affected the Armenian style of dress , that Voltaire delig luted in his gold and scarlet coat , and that Caesar scratched his head carefully , so as not to disarrange the locks arranged over the bald plaice .

    Tradition insists that corsets were first invented by a brutal butcher of the thirteenth oentury , * s a punishment , for his wife . She was very loquacious , and finding nothing- -would « ure her , he put a pair of stays on her , in order to take away her l > rea « i , and * o prevent her , as he "thought , from talking . This cruel punishment was inflicted fey other heartless husbands , till at last there was scarcely a wife in all ^ London wfco was not -condemned to the like infliction . The punishment became so universal at last that the ladies in their defence -made a fashion of it , and so it has ¦ continued 1 >© ifae present day . Among the legal anecdotes in the Salad is one on the trite subject of the law ' s delay : —

    About « hundred years ago , a Scotch gentleman bequeathed to liia " poor relations , of whatever degree , " the sum of 20 , 000 J . In effect , ho loft tiuein a Chancery suit , which has remained in the family over since . In the firat place , the next of kin disputed tho validity of the bequest , but it was established by Lord Chancellor Canulen , and 4 G < $ persons inudo out their relationship . Thereupon , in tho year 176 G , a bill was filed for tho distribution of tho money amongst thorn , which haa not been oflbotod to this day . A inad young nonconformist said in tho pulpit , not long ago , that tho difference between tho devil and a deacon was this : —that if you resist the devil he will fly from you , while if you resist a deacon ho will fly at you . This being ^ a style of Christian ministry , admired by large and evangelical ¦ congregations , it im * ot to be wondered at that a chapter may easily be filled with citations < of pulpit-eccentricity . Here is the newest in the Salad - •—A minuter of the " Kirk * ' « f SooOhuid enoe diaoovorod hia wife atrieep in the midst ef his homily oa the Sabfcatk . So , pausing in th « atoady , and possibly seunewiiat monotonous flow of bis oratory , he broke forth with thus personal address , shurp and dear , "but very deliberate : " Su »« nl "

    Susan opened fcer eyea and ears in a twinkling , j » Aid all other daeameis in < £ he ¦ house . ' whether . < tsleep > or awake . " . Susan , I didna . marry . ye ifor jronr wealth , sin ' j ^ iaeianone ! And I didna xaMcry ye for your beauty ; that the hail . congregation can see . And if _ ye have n » ^ yrace , I have made bui a sair bargain ]" Salad Jar the Social is by no means a , good book—not half so good as Salad for the Solitary . All we can . say in its iavour is , that some of the . chapters ar-e amusing .

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    THE BRITISH HOSPITAL IN SMYRNA . Ismeer , or Smt / rna , and Us British Hospital in 1855 . By a Lady-London : James Madden , Lea * ;» Ju&ll-streeI ; . This book is decidedly interesting though ill-constructed . There is a smartness aixra * it , a gossiping epistolary style-wbiet gives lightness and vivaeity to * he anecdotes narrated and -freshness to the pictures described . Btrt there is occasionally—and this we do not praise—a -flippancy of remark and a dash of Scottish vanity , which may tell on the north side of the Tweed , but not on the south . How is it that Scotch people , go where they will , must compare everything they see lay something " dear Scotland" possesses . ^ Let it be ever so rare and indigenous , there is something analogous exi st ing amongst their thistles and oat-fields . . You cannot read a book wzitten by a ° Scotchman without finding out his nationality by the allusions he constantly makes to the land of his nativity .

    The writer of the volume before us is one of those ladies who undertook the charitable mission to lhe T ^ ak * , to render what assistance they could to the sick and the wounded of our neglected army . Her destination was Smyrna . On their way out , considerable attention and respect was manifested towards these sisters of mercy , who kft their Tiomes—and this was the marvel of tlie continental ladies—without having any vow to accomplish . On board the Sinai , the steamer that took them £ -om Marseilles to Smyrna , were a number of French soldiers , who sang song after song ; some ia allusion to the alliance , Vine la Fraruie et VjLngleterre ; some to past times , Five la Jtepublique ; sometimes—in spite of the . supreme Sfc . Arnaud—the Marseillaise was commenced , but at once put down by one or other of the officers .

    On their arrival at Smyrna , it was found that no preparations had been made for their reception , and that the two hotels of the place were crowded . It is not our intention to accompany them through their troubles . They afc last found a house , within a few minutes' walk of the hospital , fit to be inhabited . They then commenced their official duties . The reader must not suppose that because we find narrated the experiences of a lady-nurse , her narrative savours continually of medicines and ointments . She is neither p rophylactic nor clinieal . We have a description of the hospital , the wards into which it is divided , the number of physicians or surgeons , sisters , mirses , orderlies , &c , appointed to each , the rules and regulations by which they had to . act , and many other interesting details . But this is not all . Weluwe anecdotes of the patients themselves , of the influence the ladies possessed over them , and of the nature of their occupations when convalescent . Though hard-worked , that is , from nine , i . n ., to half-past five , p . m ., our authoress had opportunities of peeping about under a veil outside of the gates of

    the hospital and the dwelling-house—of visiting the different quarters of the town—of going to the bazaars—of entering the mosques—of talking to the men and women—and of observing manners and characters . Sometimes business wae slack . She then retired to a friend ' s house , a few miles from " Ismeer , the Beautiful , " enjoyed a pic-nic got up by the medical officers , and sees something of the country . But a trip into the country was rather dangerous . The brigands of the hills—true Greeks—infested the highways , and even entered the villages in search of prey . Their prey was man . They sought him , not to killliiin , but for the sake of the ransom-money . The English , of course , were looked on as good prizes , and a sleek , comely medical man was estimated at 3 O 00 A The price of our authoress is not stated , bat the bishop of Moray and Ross kindly guaranteed her rescue by the following document , addressed to the English Consul at Smyrna : —

    September 12 th , 1655 . " I hereby undertake to repay a . ny amount that may be necessary to recover Miss out . of tin * hands of the robbers . " Robert Edkn , Bishop of Moray and Boas . " Headers who would understand the consternation caused by the capture of a prize amongst the quiet denizens of the towns may consult this volume from page 140 to 150 . Sometimes such a courteous message as the following was sent by the chief of the band to the officers of the staff and the other English residents : — " That he would take any of them he could catch , man , woman , or child ; and if their ransom was not forthcoming in four-and-twonty faours , he would flay his victims alive . " Of course such a chivalrous intimation made all -circumspect . The men ouly ventured forth with revolvers in their hands , and the women never without the protection of the men . Sometimes am onslaught was made on this troop of marauders , and many fell either by another

    force or treachery . But no sooner was one chief decapitated than sprang up ; and if a band were dispersed , it was quickly re-formed by the unquiet spirits which always abound in ill-governed countries . The account of ti » e internal discip line of the hospital , the conduct of tho men , the nature of their occupations , we have before alluded to as interesting . We cannot help feeling amused at some of the difficulties which th © ladies hud to put up with . Native servants wore proved to bo bores , and somethin" -else . " The Greeks couldoiever be depended upon ; they constantly brought things into the hospital , accreted in their full sort-of-petticoat trousers , and they as frequently carried things out , with utter akregwrd to the rules of mmm and tuum . Everything was tried to prevent these * rxe-« ularities , but without efibct . Wo could not do without the Greeks , and tte Ilreek * could not do without stealing . It was more tfcan wwpeoted that the Greek merchants of Smyrna wore in communication with the Klephta , < or 1

    brigands of tho hills . , . , _ a , We cannot too highly praise tho great cprder and regularity that prevailed in tlxe hosp ital arrangements , and the kindness and Attention of the superintendents and nurses . That those were fully appreciated is testified toy many an anecdote of tho poor pationts told with , much considorjrtiaa « n «

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    i m 12 , 18 S 6 . ' ] THE XEAPEB . *» 6 T

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 12, 1856, page 667, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2149/page/19/