The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837Various
History
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837
Various
Periodicals
'Now, mother, sing the tune
You sang last night; I'm weary, and must sleep:
_Who was it called my name?_ Nay, do not weep--
You'll all come soon!'
Morning spreads over earth her rosy wings,
And that meek sufferer, cold and ivory pale,
Lay on his couch asleep. The morning air
Came through the open window, freighted with
The fragrant odors of the lovely spring.
He breathed it not. The laugh of passer-by
Jarred like a discord in some mournful note,
But worried not his slumber. He was dead!
A FEW THOUGHTS ON PHRENOLOGY.
IN TWO PARTS.--PART ONE.
'Hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear.'
--'JULIUS CÆSAR.'
WHATEVER conflicts with the opinions or prejudices of mankind, must
commend itself to public favor by something more than its simple
truth, or according to the world's estimate of its danger or folly,
persecution or ridicule will ever wait upon its progress to general
belief.
The phrenologist has not been compelled to ascend the scaffold,
nor has he been tortured with 'a slow fire of green wood,' for
his heretical opinions; and for this mercy, he is indebted to
the enlightenment of the age in which he first proclaimed his
discoveries: but he has been preserved, in order to be 'roasted'
by the burning satire of his contemporaries, and to be 'served up'
for the gratification of those epicures in wit, who, with the aid
of a good tailor, can do more for the cause of truth by a look and
a laugh, than a Gall or a Spurzheim, by the labors of a life. To
these laughing philosophers, your phrenologist is a very eccentric
man indeed--very; to their humble apprehensions, his science appears
quite stupid--quite; and all he converses about, appears to them to
be nothing more nor less than 'bumpology,' positively. Moreover, they
have heard some amusing anecdotes upon the subject. A travelling
disciple of this wonderful science, who wrote out characters for
eighteen pence per head, once departed from the scene of his labors
without paying his bill, and his landlord was represented as so far
becoming a convert to his guest's theory, as to believe in the organ
of '_unpayativeness_!'
These philosophers ill conceal their mirth at the frequent occurrence
of mistakes made by those gentlemen termed practical phrenologists,
and have been known to violate every rule for the suppression of
ungentlemanly laughter, when the fact has been related, that a
manipulator of heads, supposing himself (being blindfolded,) to be
in a prison, pronounced the wealthy mayor of a city to be a thief;
a retired butcher to be a murderer; and a minister of the gospel to
have been convicted of rape!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account