On chloroform and other anæsthetics: their action and administrationSnow, John
History
On chloroform and other anæsthetics: their action and administration
Snow, John
Anesthetics; Chloroform; Snow, John, 1813-1858
annotated by himself, 1833. It is an useful book, full of curious
arguments, facts and suggestions, many of which, as his own after
writings indicate, he had carefully studied and applied.
At or about the same time that he adopted his vegetarian views, he also
took the extremity of view and of action, in reference to the temperance
cause. He not only joined the ranks of the total abstinence reformers,
but became a powerful advocate of their principles for many succeeding
years. In the latter part of his life, he occasionally and by necessity
took a little wine, but his views on the subject remained to the end
unchanged; he had strong faith in the temperance cause, and a belief
that it must ultimately become an universal system.
In 1831–32, cholera visited Newcastle and its neighbourhood, and proved
terribly fatal. In the emergency, Mr. Snow was sent by Mr. Hardcastle to
the Killingworth Colliery, to attend the sufferers from the disease
there. In this labour he was indefatigable, and his exertions were
crowned with great success. He made also on this occasion many
observations relating to this disease, which proved to him of immense
account in after years.
He left Newcastle in 1833, and engaged himself as assistant to Mr.
Watson of Burnop Field, near Newcastle. Here he resided for twelve
months, fulfilling the assistant duties; regarding which it can only be
said, and that from analogy, that they were neither without their
anxiety nor their reward. Leaving Burnop Field in 1834–5, he revisited
his native place, York; made a short stay, and thence, to a certain
half-inaccessible village called Pately Bridge, in Yorkshire, to
assistant it with Mr. Warburton, surgeon there. Some few years ago a
friend of mine went to the same village, by the recommendation of Dr.
Snow, as assistant to the present Mr. Warburton of that place, a son of
Dr. Snow’s “old master”. The circumstance of this recommendation often
led Dr. Snow to refer to his life at Pately Bridge in our conversations.
He invariably, on such occasions, spoke of Mr. Warburton, his “old
master”, in terms of sincere respect, and depicted his own life there
with great liveliness. He was a vegetarian then, and his habits puzzled
the housewives, shocked the cooks, and astonished the children. His
culinary peculiarities were, however, attended to with great kindliness.
Eighteen months at Pately Bridge, with many rough rides, a fair share of
night work, a good gleaning of experience, and this sojourn was over.
Now back again went our student to York, to stay this time a few months,
and—not to be idle—to take an active share in the formation of
temperance societies. In leisure days during this period it was his
grand amusement to make long walking explorations into the country. In
these peregrinations he collected all kinds of information, geological,
social, sanitary, and architectural.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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