The Recreations of a Country ParsonBoyd, Andrew Kennedy Hutchison
General
The Recreations of a Country Parson
Boyd, Andrew Kennedy Hutchison
Clergy -- Anecdotes; Country life -- England; Rural clergy -- England
Of the Malvern dinners, Mr. Lane writes as follows:--
At the head of the table, where the doctor presides, was the leg of
mutton, which, I believe, is even' day's head dish. I forget what
Mr. Wilson dispensed, but it was something savoury of fish. I
saw veal cutlets with bacon, and a companion dish; maccaroni with
gravy, potatoes plain boiled, or mashed and browned, spinach, and
other green vegetables. Then followed rich pudding, tapioca, and
some other farinaceous ditto, rhubarb tarts, &c. So much for what
I have heard of the miserable diet of water patients.
Dinner being dispatched, there came the same listless sauntering
about till four o'clock, when the pack and plunge of the morning were
repeated. At half-past six we had another head-bath. Immediately
after it there was supper, which was a fac simile of breakfast.
Then, more sauntering in the fading twilight, and at half-past Bine
we paced the long corridor leading to our chamber, and speedily
were sound asleep. No midnight tossings, no troubled dreams; one
long deep slumber till William appeared next morning at five, to
begin the round again.
Such was our life at the Water Cure: a contrast as complete as
might be to the life which preceded and followed it. Speaking for
ourselves, we should say that there is a great deal of exaggeration
in the accounts we have sometimes read of the restorative influence of
the system. It wrought no miracle in our case. A couple of months
at the sea-side would probably have produced much the same effect.
We did not experience that extreme exhilaration of spirits which
Mr. Lane speaks of. Perhaps the soft summer climate of Surrey,
in a district rather over-wooded, wanted something of the bracing
quality which dwells in the keener air of the Malvern hills. Yet
the system strung us up wonderfully, and sent us home with much
improved strength and heart. And since that time, few mornings have
dawned on which we have not tumbled into the cold bath on first
rising, and, following the process by a vigorous rubbing with
towels of extreme roughness, experienced the bracing influence of
cold water alike on the body and the mind.
We must give some account of certain other baths, which have
not come within our course latterly, though we have at different
times tried them all. We have mentioned the sitz-bath; here is its
nature:--
It is not disagreeable, but very odd: and exhibits the patient in
by no means an elegant or dignified attitude. For this bath it is
not necessary to undress, the coat only being taken off, and the
shirt gathered under the waistcoat, which is buttoned upon it; and
when seated in the water, which rises to the waist, a blanket is
drawn round and over the shoulders. Having remained ten minutes in
this condition, we dried and rubbed ourselves with coarse towels, and
after tea minutes' walk, proceeded to supper with a good appetite.
The soothing and tranquillizing effect of the sitz is described as
extraordinary:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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