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Reade, Charles, 1814-1884

"A Woman-Hater"

But fathers naturally object to this being done at their
sons' expense."
"Infamous!" cried Vizard. "One comfort, no man ever penned that. That is
some old woman writing down young ones."
"I don't know," said Rhoda. "I have met so many womanish men in this
business. All I know is, that my cheeks burned, and, for once in the
fight, scalding tears ran down them. It was as if a friend had spat upon
me.
"What a chimera! What a monstrous misinterpretation of pure minds by
minds impure! To _us_ the dissecting-room was a temple, and the dead an
awe, revolting to all our senses, until the knife revealed to our minds
the Creator's hand in structural beauties that the trained can
appreciate, if wicked dunces can't.
"And as to the infirmary, we should have done just what we did at Zurich.
We held a little aloof from the male patients, unless some good-natured
lecturer, or pupil, gave us a signal, and then we came forward. If we
came uninvited, we always stood behind the male students: but we did
crowd round the beds of the female patients, and claimed the inner row:
AND, SIR, THEY THANKED GOD FOR US OPENLY.
"A few awkward revelations were made during this discussion.


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