Texas Surgeon: an Autobiography Page: 10
xii, 180 p. ; 21 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Colorado for use by sculptors in modeling. It did not take me
long, in any case, to discover its plastic properties.
While living with Grandma Grant I was forever trying to
shape chunks of this clay into a living likeness, and in the process
often took on the look of Thomas Hardy's reddleman, and for it
was properly scolded. This passion for modeling, which in much
later years found fruitful application in my pathological studies,
got me into trouble with Professor Lambkin, the schoolteacher
of North Shore.
I remember little of this unfortunate man, except that he was
tall and gaunt and that at the tip of his Roman nose he had a
nodular and brightly congested swelling. Since it was a teacher's
thankless lot to board around from house to house, his brilliant
nose became an object of intense interest and mirthful comment
throughout the village. At a later date I could quite easily have
relieved him of his difficulty, which was rhinophyma, a form of
acne. But at the time the teacher's nose had only a dramatic
fascination for me.
One day, from his low schoolroom podium, Professor Lamb-
kin announced that he would be gone an hour or so. In the mean-
time we were to apply ourselves to our lessons. Needless to say,
no sooner was his back turned than disorder erupted. Carried
away by mob spirit, I dashed to Grandma Grant's ocher pit,
dug myself a bucket of clay, and extemporized an image of
Professor Lambkin, which I stuck up on the gatepost. It was an
astonishing success. I was the cynosure of all eyes.
Through the windows we all watched Professor Lambkin
pause at the gatepost and regard his bust, complete with nasal
excrescence. Mournfully he looked into the sky, as if adjuring
heavenly aid. Then into the schoolroom he stalked, hung up his
hat, and amid a gale of giggling laughter, took his usual stance
before us. The laughter died away.
"Will the pupil responsible for that thing out there," he said
thinly, "step forward?" and pointed a long finger at me. For I,
IO
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Atkinson, Donald Taylor. Texas Surgeon: an Autobiography, book, 1958; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143566/m1/22/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas Health Science Center Libraries.