Volume 1

Some personal recollections and private correspondence of Dr. Crawford Williamson Long : discoverer of anaesthesia with sulphuric ether together with documentary proofs of his priority in this wonderful discovery / by Jos. Jacobs.

  • Jacobs, Joseph, 1859-1929.
Date:
1919
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Some personal recollections and private correspondence of Dr. Crawford Williamson Long : discoverer of anaesthesia with sulphuric ether together with documentary proofs of his priority in this wonderful discovery / by Jos. Jacobs. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Personal Characteristics “He was six feet in height, rather slender, when a young man, but in middle life weighed from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and seventy pounds. He was finely proportioned, with broad shoulders, but with small feet and hands, with very thin and tender skin. His forehead was high, broad and full; eyes very blue, well developed nose, somewhat aquiline. Very dignified in manner, his whole appearance betokened the gentleman. He maintained a slight reserve, except among intimates and congenial people, or with the sick, absolutely free from all duplicity, never thrusting his opinions upon people, but when expressing them, was frank and fearless. He scorned boastfulness, pretension or any manner of deceit. Cheerful in the sick room, he always inspired his patients with confidence. His perfect self control, kindliness and fine judgment gave him great influence and he was appealed to in many cases to arbitrate. “Dr. Long dressed well; he generally wore what was called a frock coat. A very dark dahlia was his favorite color; also black and dark gray. His suits, generally, were made to order by the best tailors, gen¬ erally of broadcloth. He was particular in all his personal habits. I never knew him to go to a meal without first washing his hands. “He was a very fine whist player, playing, generally, at home with a few friends or his family. He often engaged in a game of draughts with his wife. He was fond of hunting and fishing, and was a wonderful shot with the rifle and pistol. He was fond of good horses and enjoyed, with¬ out betting, the races at the county fairs. His wife’s carriage horses were from Kentucky. His children were given ponies as soon as they were old enough to ride. He was a good business man, but his heavy practice forced him to leave his drug store in the hands of others much of the time; likewise his two plantations. He had for that day, very ad¬ vanced ideas in agriculture. “As a young man he was fond of dancing, and all of his life, of the theatre and opera, demanding the best acting and music, although he en¬ joyed a good minstrel show. He had a correct eye for form and taste in colors. Whenever he made a business trip to New York he returned with handsome gifts and expensive silks for his wife and sisters, and was a very close observer of ladies’ dress. His children were trained never to wear imitation jewels or laces. He hated shams of every kind. “Dr. Long and Alexander H. Stephens were lifelong friends. In the last public speech ever delivered by Mr. Stephens, made in Savannah, Ga., a few weeks before his death, he insisted that Georgia should place the statues of Crawford W. Long and James Oglethorpe in Statuary Hall, Washington. Since then the Georgia legislature passed a bill that Mr. Stephen’s name should be substituted for that of Oglethorpe. “Dr. Long often visited Henry Clay when a student at Lexington, Ky. “His was the old-fashioned Southern hospitality. Guests would fre¬ quently spend days, weeks, even months with the family, making a gay household. Sometimes there were formal entertainments. Nothing gave him so much pleasure as the happiness of his family. “I know of no eccentricities he possessed. He was a singularly well rounded character. He was sensitive, refined, and considerate of others; free from envy, malice and all uncharitableness, with quick, high temper, but under control.” A Wife’s Loving Tribute I have been permitted to read some of the descriptive and reminiscent writings of Dr. Long’s wife; notably a sketch of their home and married life in Jefferson, Ga., during the period before the War Between the States, and an account of a summer outing spent in the mountains of North Carolina, the “Land of the Sky,” and they display, besides a most charming native sensibility, a literary finish doubtless acquired at the family gatherings. Perhaps no more touching tribute to the virtues of