Disease in Childhood, its common causes, and directions for its practical management.

ELLIS, Robert (1823-1885).

Edité par G. Cox, 1852., London:, 1852

17 cm. Small 8vo. viii, 288 pp. Index. Original full blind and gilt-stamped dark green publisher's cloth; small section showing wear at head of top corner, but a really nice copy. Very scarce. First edition, and apparently little known. Ellis was deeply concerned with the infant mortality rate, and his system was intended to bring good health for children. The book is dedicated 'To the Rev. Sir H.R. Dukinfield, Bart., Chairman of the Committee of the Hospital for Sick Children in admiration of his long-continued and successful labours in the cause of neglected and suffering humanity [. . . ] by his obliged friend, The Author.' Contents: Actual Mortality among Young Persons under 15 - Common causes leading to Death among Children - Causes disposing to Disease in early Life - On the healthy Management of the Infant - Physical Training during the period of Childhood - Minor Ailments of Children - The More serious Illnesses of Children - The Child's Sick-chamber - Diet of Children when sick. 'The loss of a single little child to the community of which it formed one, is an event regarded as but of minor importance in comparison with that of an adult; and this is a natural result of that disposition of the mind which leads us to regard the present rather than the future, and also of the comparatively narrow social circle in which the presence of this little being was felt to be precious. 'Ellis could draw on mortality statistics from 'the records of a Dispensary [the Chelsea, Brompton, and Belgrave Dispensary, Sloane Square] in the vicinity of the spot where I reside.' It's possible to infer something of how he must have regarded his own offspring: 'Was ever an 'extraordinarily clever child' seen, except in a delicate little body' Children need at first to be gifted with vigour of body; that of mind comes after. All infant prodigies are short-lived. [. . . ] 'A child can never be too early, nor too diligently, instructed in that fear of the Lord which has been so beautifully described as 'the beginning of wisdom,' or in all the moral duties it enforces. [. . . ] However great may be our power of opening up a child's mind, and filling it at a very early age with premature wisdom, we are powerless as regards its heart, save as instruments in His hands who alone can open that wild and wayward casket of the soul. '. . . It is difficult to understand the precise motives which have prescribed woollen trousers for boys of ten, and cotton drawers for the more delicate child of five years old. [. . . ] So much has been said against stays for girls, that I feel almost in despair at finding any allusion to such destructive contrivances being still as much needed as ever. When it is known that stays shorten life, interfere with and injure the most important functions of the body, and are wholly unnecessary and artificial things, it might be thought that no parent would permit their use to her children; such, however, is not the case.' - see: 'Faithful, All Too Faithful,' by David Cormack, The Wagner Journal. [Offers a great deal about Robert Ellis, who was the father of William Ashton Ellis, a poet and great admirer of Wagner]. Robert Ellis (1823-1885), was born in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales, studied at the newly founded London University. He Mary Ann Eliza Uther (b. 1821) in 1845. He became Surgeon to the National Society's Training Institutions for Schoolmistresses, to the Hans Town Industrial School, etc. He was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 'In 1848 Robert Ellis had approached the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge with a proposal to contribute a 'Chemical History of Vegetation'. The Society recorded that it 'Read a letter from Mr. Robt. Ellis offering to write a book or a series of books upon subjects connected with Natural History and Philosophy. Mr. Ellis forwarded a prospectus of a work 'The Life of a Tree,' together with Specimens of Articles written by him and published in Chambers' Edinburgh Magazine. N° de réf. du vendeur M13463

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Disease in Childhood, its common causes, and...
Éditeur : G. Cox, 1852., London:
Date d'édition : 1852
Reliure : Couverture souple
Edition : Edition originale