A Bachelor's Life in Antebellum Mississippi: The Diary of Dr. Elijah Millington Walker, 1849-1852.

A Bachelor's Life in Antebellum Mississippi: The Diary of Dr. Elijah Millington Walker, 1849-1852. Edited by Lynette Boney Wrenn. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2004. Pp. xxxviii, 343. $34.00 ISBN 1-57233-283-2.)

This volume is welcome as a revealing slice of ordinary life in the peacetime between the Mexican War and the Civil War. It is not a reflection of planter life. It does not focus on slavery. It is not the vaporing of brilliance. It does not offer any new insights into the sectional crisis. Yet it has value.

It is an account begun at age twenty-four by a young man, Elijah Millington "Min" Walker, who expected to make his way in the world as a physician. Alter false starts toward law and teaching he decided to follow medicine as the way out of yeoman farming. By nature he was intellectually curious and spent much time over the years reading for self-education and advancement. He chose to learn French for his own enrichment. He read fiction and poetry for pleasure. Simultaneously, he was outdoorsy. Of course, he rode, and he offered some colorful opinions on horseflesh. He liked to hunt, enjoying some small game while dreaming of deer and wild turkeys. Sport appealed to him. Being a convivial fellow, he enjoyed activity and camaraderie, frequently lubricating the sociability with the contents of the bowl.

Walker's was a life both ordinary and special, typical of a small proportion of antebellum residents of a semirural world. He sought to liberate himself from need by practicing medicine even before he received a medical degree. It was legal. (For students of medical history this volume is fascinating.) He was ardent to marry, but only when sufficiently established. He loved to flirt and enjoyed a variety of relationships, which he described with unusual candor. For instance, when he found his one true love his emotions soared, yet he still noted his interest in other impressive young women. And, when angered by a woman whose husband was at odds with him, Walker referred to her as "undoubtedly the damnedest bitch I ever saw and I have had sum' at to do with the forked tailed set in my time" (p. 186). He admired Henry Clay, liked "Yankee Doodle," and believed in the Union. He also accepted slavery uncritically, supported southern interests, and contemplated secession. His observations are well worth perusing.

The editor of this diary fits Dr. Walker into his time quite skillfully. There are explanatory notes and a medical glossary. This is a valuable addition to a richer understanding of the variability of the Old South.

Jacksonville University

WALKER BLANTON JR.