The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1841-05-13


the cause lies very much With themselves
In this, our own city, the American me
tropolis Of medicine, We are satisfied tina
the profession can by proper concert o
action, greatly advance the general standing
and individual prosperity of IFS members.
Might we venture 10 offer Suggestions /,
those who occupy the foremost ranks, w
would say--conccniratc your business, anc
exact (~hat VIII be cheeriully conceded
higher rates Of compensation. Thus, witt
greater comfort 10 yourselves, with les
expenditure oil vital energy, Of which ma
ny Of YOU arc recklessIy lavish, your pa
tlcnis viii receive more attention, you
own incomes be improved, and your ju
niors be spared the long years Of hope de
lerred. We could poiat TO more than one
eminent among Us, whose desire 10 enlarge
!, their business is not measured by their a
bllity to attend to il with justice, if not Il
their patients, certainly 10 themselves; Il
more than one who, from mistaken libe.
ralliy to patlenls, commit great unialrness
10 their brethren. 1t is this very careless.
ness Of compensation, too, that often swell,
the business Of popular practitioner Il
the inordsnate amount which places him II
the position Of the dog 10 the fable. We
repeat, tina; such would increase their own
comfort, their own and the general prospc.
rily by working less at higher rates.
Most Of the profession here will feel the
justice Of these remarks.
lii lndisputably the duty Of ecery prac-
tiiioner strictly to adhere, not so much to
fixed tariff Of fees, as to a scale Of com
pcnsation due to the dignity Of his profess
sion, and proper estimate Of bis own use.
fitness. In cases appropriate for char.
iy, let him remit according to his dlscre-
ton; but let him IN no instance Gnderya.
ue, even nominally, services Of the high
est grade which man can render to man.
Doubtless, the same remuneration cannot
be asked from the poor as from the opu-
lent, but every physician owes to his pro-
lession, If not to himself, to maintain pro
per standard Of remuneration, which he
can always at least assert.
The gratuitous services rendered to pub
lie charities form a proper topic OF remark,
while discussing the general subject. This
point is, however, Of such peculiar delca.
cy, tina: we prefer detcrring il for special
notice. We advert to the whole matter,
It IS perhaps hardly necessary to add from
a sense of editorial duty, choosing, even
al the risk of being misunderstood, to up
he'd what we think the interests and dig
nifty Of the profession. These objects, as
well as the advancement Of medical SCI
ence, come within the scope Of journal.
E1~Thc following beautiful reflections
upon death by fire we copy fran the New
Orleans Picayune.
Dean BY IIre.-How every pulse thrills
and what Undesirable conceptions Of ter
ror enter the soul when reflection is suffer
ed to linger moment upon the agonIz-
inc calamity Of death BY fire Springing
from asleep to be locked up in walls Of
fre-enclosed IN a prison of flame, from
whence your shrieks may not be heard,
while the bells without are ringing your
death knell, and the scorching element of
destruction is kissing in your ear the inc.
utablo sentence Of doom. To grasp and
choke pen, up in the black vapor-to feel
the biting touch of the fame, and shrek
aloud in inpotcnt and hopeless phrcnzy
40 horror horror horror tongue nor heart
Cannot conceive nor name thee :"
Who may know how men die who are
lost in the mduigh; flame The wild
scream of paralized fright--the mad and
desperate effort at escape-the shout, the
gasp, the struggle, the CONFUSION and the
groan-the helpless and despairing groan
o, how short aud sudden is such transit
to the grave The jewel of life is lost in
a wild aud strange nightmare, and the Pro,
methcan spark is eclpsed and eytinguish.
ed by a grosser flame Of the earth. There
shall be no tombstone, no grave for the
victim "Ashns to ashes," Literally as
solemnlv is his doom, and not crumbling
bone win be laid away beneath the green
sod to moulder and be wept over by the
eyes that have loved and lost him. To
lay down and sleep, and plunge through
aames into slernityl o, how ineslna-
BIZ must seem the blessing Of life we still
ENJOY, when Providence, in its inscrutab,e
wisdom, holds in its hand such heart-ap-
pa!ling calamitics as death by fire