there at this season."

"Ay--ahem!--do you? And no doubt you are now come from--?"

"Right again, sir; I _live_ there."

"Oh, ay; I see: you do! But I perceive it is a London shay. Is there any
thing stirring in London?"

"Oh, yes; plenty of other chaises and carriages of all sorts."

"Ay, ay, of course. But what do folks say?"

"They say their prayers every Sunday."

"That isn't what I mean. I want to know whether there is any thing new and
fresh."

"Yes; bread and herrings."

"Ah, you are a queer fellow. Pray, mister, may I ask your name?"

"Fools and clowns," said the gentleman, "call me 'Mister;' but I am in
reality one of the clowns of Aristophanes; and my real name is _Brekekekex
Koax!_ Drive on, postillion!"

Now this is what _we_ call a "pursuit of knowledge under difficulties" of
the most _obstinate_ kind.

-------------------------------------

In these "leaking" days of wintry-spring, when that classical compound
called "_splosh_," a conglomerate of dirty snow and unmistakable mud,
pervades the streets of the city, perhaps these "_Street Thoughts by a
Surgeon_" may not be without some degree of wholesome effect upon the
community:

"In perambulating the streets at this period, what a number of little
ragamuffins I observe trundling their hoops! With what interest I
contemplate their youthful sport; particularly when I regard its probable
consequences! A hoop runs between a gentleman's legs. He falls. When I
reflect on the wonderful construction of the skeleton, and consider to how
many fractures and dislocations it is liable in such a case, my bosom
expands to a considerate police, to whose 'non-interference' we are
indebted for such chances of practice!

"The numerous bits of orange-peel which diversify the pavement, oftentimes
attract my attention. Never do I kick one of them out of the way. The
blessings of a whole profession on the hands that scatter them! Each
single bit may supply a new and instructive page to the 'Chapter of
Accidents.'

"Considering the damp, muddy state of the streets at this time of the
year, I am equally amazed and delighted to see the ladies, almost
universally, going about in the thinnest of thin shoes. This elegant
fashion beautifully displays the conformation of the ankle-joint; but to
the practitioner it has another and a stronger recommendation. I behold
the delicate foot separated scarcely by the thickness of thin paper from
the mire.