The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-11-03
Makino an Annearance.

Making an Appearance.
:" What do you intend to bring your son Charles
up TO- my dear madam % said DR.. Turner to Mrs.
Watkins, whose husband, an old friend OF the doc
tors, died recently. o
does not appear TO have preference for any thing
in particular. and | should rather prefer profess
sion for him; but as that will be attended with
considerable expense | fear, quite beyond my
means, must be content that ne follow some gen
tee occupation
Writing in lawyers office, or serving behind
a druggists counter for instance, interrupted the
doctor, impadently. " Genteel occupation! non
sense give him trade, my dear madam; give him
an occupation at his fingers ends, and then he will
be independent of that spirit-destroylng misery,
keeping up an appearance ~
. But surely, doctor" exclaimed Mrs. Watkins,
g you do not dsapprove of people making genteel
appearance in the world Trade is so tOlD-and
must saw, as his dear father was a respectable
chemist should not like to see Charles descend
below that
g Descend. indeedn' returned the doctor; ''now,
Jane for, in his anxiety to set the good lady right
he threw off his ordinary Formally, and addressed
her in style that his long friendship for her nus
band might warrant; " now Jane, how can you
talk such nonsense! Does tailor OF shoemaker
descend by practising his handicraft to earn has
bread, any more than / descend by visiting my pa
tents to earn mine
You have known me many years, it is true, but
YOU never n6Ufu, I6fHdkcs tue Aloo
10 make before was enabled TO rise in my profess
sion. Ii is not ability alone which ensures success
to the professional aspirant without patronage,
talent is almost dead letter. 1t takes little TOR
tune to educate youth for any OF the professions,
and another fairly to start him IN the world. WIN
oat money and influential connexions, one had bet
ter be a common laborer than a professional man
when left college and entered on my worldly
career had all the ardor of a youthful and san
gaine mind added TO a real love of the healing art.
NJ haaufif,1l oiFI she GOOD
also-but she had not penny, and my own Tor
tune was SMALL As felt my inability, with the
limited means possessed, to compete with doctors
long established in the metropolis, decided on try
ing my fortune in one of the provincial towns. L
took good house, and furnished it in handsome
style; put brass-plate on the door, engraved with
Doctor Turner in large letters engaged pew
at church hired tall boy, whom | put in drab
livery, and was only withheld from setting up my
pillbo1 by the conviction that my finances would
| not stand it,
"Well during the excitement of making these
prepaFations our spirits kept pace with our eXer-
tions but when all was completed, and the clrcu-
lars distributed, we found abundant time to calcu-
late the deep inroad we had made on our slender
means.
Eve kept up good heart, however. and every
morning left the house regularly at 10 O'Clock, no
to visit my patients, though would fam have the
! neighbors think so. Week after week passed
away: these at length grew into months, and still
! could obtain no practice. had made grand
mistake in commencing where l was an utter
| stranger, and in provincial place, too. should
/ have had far better chance in London; ana
! could now easily foresee that should have 70 wait
until some lucky event might bring my capaoAltles
| into notice.
"Wearily and drearily passed the time. My
poor wife Il should have sunk without herr soothed
/ my disappointment with unabating tenderness ;
she was never tired Of prognosticatng ultimate
ssAs Cor mo 1uas sornatimes well nigh frantic.
Oh the wearisomeness of having nothing to DO !!
| / envied the day-laborer as he went to ms daily
| toll, and felt that | would willingly have changed
places with the baker or the butcher, as they went
their morning rounds. was worse off than the
apothecary over the way, because, being physl-
clan, my fee was obstacle to my being consulted
| by any but gratis patients, TO whom l gave audi
ence every morning from eight till ten
| ''And then the imperative necessity OF malntaLh-
| ing servants of whom we had little need, and OF
| mourning the thousand expenses Of keeping up an
appearance, and which we could Ill afford, drove
me nearly to despair. Our means were fast dlmln-
ishing, and we began to contemplate making some
reduction in our establishment, which would nave
been infalliby the death blow to all our hopes anu
wishes.
g Six months had elapsed since we had launched
our little bark ON the stormy ocean OF the world
and never yet had my hand tingled at the touch o.
a fee, when, one evening, the waiter from the mead
hotel came hastily to my door. and inquired iol
the doctor You may be sure did not keep him
waiting and he begged me TO come as quickly as
possible TO a lady, who had been taken suddenly
ILL., as in company with her husband, she was
passing through the town.
g / accompanied the man on the instant, and OF
being ushered into the bedroom, perceived that my
patient was suffering under an attack OF influenza
Her husband, who was in state OF extreme eX
element, besought me to exert my utmost endeaV'
ors to restore his wife to health quickly, as then
journey was one on which much depended, anC
great evil might arise from their delay. ! assured
him that would do my best, but that this disease
was one which required good management ans
patience as, if it were improperly treated 1t mlgh
terminate fatally.
among our towns people, and their doctors ha'
reaped golden harvests from their method OF treat
ing it-in some instances, contrivlng to keep thel
patients for weeks and even months, on their isl
while many invalids exchanged the sick bed for tn
g The means adopted with my patient were al
together different from those pursued in slmlla
cases. so that the next day the lady was much re
lieved, while her husband shook my hand wit
grateful warmth, and protested that the effects
my skill were absolutely magical.
In n few DAYS the travellers were able TO con
tinue their journey, leaving me welghty proofs
their satisfaction.
q But these were light, compared to the benefit
derived from this successful cure. The story sprea
abroad with Inconceivable rapidity, my reputatlo
was established at once, and patients innumerabl
hoeked to my consultation room.
sour troubles were at an end one lucky chanc
. had rent the cloud that had hitherto obscured OF
horizon, and the tide of fame sat in with rapl
current But It was a mere chance had Il not OF
Cured. vain had been all our ehors-frutless oil
struggles we must shortly have sunk INTO poVerl
Y and Obscurty
81 am now independent but declare, that wei
/ my time to come over again, would choose SON
handicraft by which to obtain livelihood, rath'
than again encounter the horrors OF being eompeiie
}, to keep up an appearance on insufficient means