1 object, which I extracted with a forceps, and found it to be a
2 nest of insects. Almost distracted with joy, the boy fell on his
3 knees, and expressed his gratitude, for having been restored to
4 his sense of hearing. The nest was two-thirds of an inch in
5 length, and half-an-inch in diameter. I put it into a vial filled
6 with spirits, and went with it, accompanied by the boy, to the
7 minister, Masraf Effendi, who introduced us to the Pasha.
8 He examined the nest in the vial, and asked the boy whether
9 he was really cured ? “ Yes, my Pasha,” was his answer, where-
10 upon he said to me, 66 Afferim,” (well done) ; and I received
11 1000 piastres, besides a Tshokha (cloak of honour).
12 Many readers will ask, how did these insects come into the
13 ear ? I questioned the boy, and was told that he slept in a stable
14 where cows were kept. I therefore considered the insects to be
15 cow-lice, which had crept into his ear and bred there.
16 At the suggestion of the minister, the Pasha requested me to
17 attend an Arab, who was lame, in consequence of a gun-shot
18 wound which he had received a few years before in his hip.
19 Although the man felt no pain, and no foreign body was per-
20 ceptible in any part of his limb, he nevertheless persisted in
21 stating that the ball was sticking somewhere in his hip. The
22 surgeons endeavoured to convince him, that if such had been the
23 case, they could never have succeeded in healing the wound.
24 The question with me was, whether or not I ought to re-open
25 the cicatrix, and search for the extraneous substance in the hip.
26 I thought this operation was needless, and yet I felt compelled
27 to do something, in consequence of the order of the Pasha.
28 It occurred to me that exercise was necessary, so I ordered
29 him to walk a great deal, to beat the ground firmly, and
30 caused the hip to be tapped on that part where I presumed
31 the ball to be, rubbing it frequently with the hand down-
32 wards, and I gave him also an emollient ointment, &c. After
33 three weeks the man felt a pain in the hollow of his knee,
34 caused by the presence of an extraneous substance. I examined
35 the part and felt a protruding body, which was easily moved
36 from one part to another. It was, in fact, the ball, which I
37 immediately cut out, and the patient was very soon cured