Page:Leaves from my Chinese Scrapbook - Balfour, 1887.djvu/94

 of emergency; but the prophylactics found in Chinese medical works are, as may be imagined, not always suitable for transcription. In the majority of cases the remedy must be far worse than the disease, as any one may discover for himself by examining the ordinary Customs returns. Our readers may remember a story told of the late Earl of Derby which has no slight bearing upon this point. It appears that at one time his lordship was suffering from one of his severe attacks of gout. An obscure admirer—whose name is of importance chiefly to himself—sent the illustrious sufferer a case of sherry of some very particular brand, which, he said, was of priceless value as an antidote to that complaint. After a few days, however, the wine came back upon his hands, with a polite letter from Lord Derby thanking him most sincerely for his kind intentions, but saying that he had tasted the sherry, and very much preferred the gout.