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sional occurrence of auricles in the neck of man and other mammals has been often described, and need not be further referred to here. The presence of cervical and other supernumerary ribs in man must be placed in the same category as these, affording additional evidence of man's amphibian and reptilian relationship.

There can be little doubt that radiography may soon make known more examples of supernumerary ribs than would be brought to light under former conditions. The case of the lady we have already referred to, who suffered from a broken rib in the neck unsuspected by her first medical attendant, suggests the advisability of every one being provided with a radiograph of his or her anatomy, so that, in the event of an accident, the surgeon, on being sent for, would first ask for the radiograph of his patient, and having examined it for the presence of any abnormalities, would then proceed to operate with confidence, being certain that he would not mistake a supernumerary rib for a collar bone.

That surgical science has been recently making rapid strides is well known. An anonymous Bard in the New York Public Health Journal for October, 1898, has indicated—perhaps it would be

more correct to say, anticipated-some of these in

the following lines :

They sawed off his arms and his legs,

They took out his jugular vein;

They put fancy frills on his lungs,
And they deftly extracted his brain.

'Twas a triumph of surgical skill

Such as never was heard of till then : 'Twas the subject of lectures before Conventions of medical men.

The news of this wonderful thing

Was heralded far and wide;

But as for the patient-there's nothing to say –

Excepting, of course-that he died."

66

CHAPTER VIII.

FOLKLORE AND SUPERSTITION.

"O for the good old times when all was new,
And every hour brought prodigies to view,
Our sires in unaffected language told

Of streams of amber and of rocks of gold.
Full of their theme, they spurned all idle art,
And the plain tale was trusted to the heart."
-William Gifford.

"Q. WHEN is this proverb applicable: 'Tenderton steeple is the cause of Goodwin Sands'?

"A. Tho' the question may seem a little comical to those who have not heard the proverb, yet we shall go near to make a tragi-comedy of the answer. It is applicable when we would advise a person to forbear injustice and oppression of his neighbours, and for this opinion we'll produce you our authority. Earl Goodwin, in the reign of William Rufus, was a great abuser of the privileges he enjoyed by the unbounded favour of that Prince, and growing odious to the people of those parts wherein he lived, by his continual violences,

those who suffered by his power used to pray for a deliverance from it; and in short the Earl himself was choaked at the King's table, by a bone at dinner, and his whole estate was shortly after overflowed by a surprizing inundation of the sea, and from that time became a quicksand (now the Goodwin from his name). This unexpected accident the inhabitants of Tenderton, a neighbouring town, attributed to the repeated prayers they had sent up to heaven on his account, and looked upon it as a judgment on his wickedness. Or for a variety it may be thus appli'd: It is used when an absurd and ridiculous reason is given of anything in question; an account of the origin whereof may be found in one of Bishop Latimer's sermons to the following purpose. Mr. Moore was sent with commission into Kent to find out, if possible, what was the cause of Goodwin sands, and the shelves which stop'd up Sandwich haven; and being there arrived, summons all the country before him, but especially such as were thought to be men of experience and such as were most likely to give some account of this affair relating to Sandwich haven. Amongst the rest came in an old grayhaired man, supposed little less than a hundred years old.

When Mr. Moore saw this man he

thought him the most promising of any in the company to satisfy him; so calling to him immediately, asks of him, as being the oldest man there assembled, the cause of those sands or shelves about the haven. ''Tis true,' says the old man, 'my age is near 100 years, and far exceeds any others in company; and as I am an old man, I think that Tenderton steeple is the cause of Goodwin sands; for I can remember the building of Tenderton steeple, and I remember when there was no talk of sands stopping the haven; and therefore Tenderton steeple was the cause of the destruction of Sandwich haven.'

"Q. I have a long while desired to know the original of this proverb, viz., 'Like Hunt's dog, neither go to church nor stay at home,' and could think of none fitter to resolve this question than the British Apollo?

“A. One Hunt, a labouring man at a small town in Shropshire, kept a mastiff who was very fond of following his master up and down. Now Hunt was a religious man, and every Sunday in the afternoon went to church with all his family, and locked his mastiff in the house till he came back again. The dog, it seems, unwilling to be left alone, complained in melancholy notes of such

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