The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1876-12-08
REMARKS UPON THE DEATH
REMARKS UPON THE DEATH OF
DR.. Thomas =. Hopkins.
DELIVERED BEFORE THE
Medical Society Of Hartford County. Md.
November IA, 1915.
BY W. STUMP FoRwoop, NJ. D.

soon are we again called upon to pause in thu
| daily labors that make up our round of life
| and drop tear upon the grave of friend and
brother, whose coming, in this life, we shall
know no more. How swiftly fly the arrows Of
| the "insatiate archer"
At our last meeting we were saddened and
made heavy OF heart In the announcement of the
death of our fellow member, DIR. George Fl.
Roberts. On the present occasion the fountains
OF our grief and sympathy are reopened by the
loss OF our esteemed and honored co-laborer,
DIR. Thomas c. Hopkins.
If our Society did not greater service to itself
or to the public in general than to give expires
sion to our own sad feeling for our loss, and to
preserve in memorianl in our records, for the
emulation and guidance of those who come
after us, the virtues and good works of our de.
ceased brothers, this accomplishment alone
| should be q sufficient incentive for the organi-
cation and perpetuation of our brotherhood.
Death Is the greatest and the most inconsol-
able sorrow that appertains to life. 1t is an
| unmitigated evil in the sense of calamity or
| loss; and has no real consultations except those
wrought by Times effacing fingers"
| A seed falls upon the earth, terminates in q
| kindly soil, and under the fructifying influences
OF the warm sunlight, takes root and grows into
| a robust plant, which blossoms beautifully in
| the summer days, bears it's fruit in multiplied
numbers in the autumn, and withers and dies
| in the winter. Vegetable life and animal life
are Identical The us pitae, life force, or life
principle, as we may term it, are the same; and
yet 1t is impossible in the present state of our
| knowledge, to explain in either case, in wat
| consists this life essence, or lie force.
| Our religious teachers tell us that we will
meet again. But the painful query will ever
! rccur: "Shall We know each other there ?"
| To our minds the change from physical to spir
| itual life is utterly incomprehensible. We may
think of it, talk of it, and have our theories re-
| garding the existence of the spirit Independently
| of the body, but, from the very nature of the
subject it is clearly impossible for us to acquire
any positive knowledge regarding it. We have
| no demonstrate data to guide us, SINCE " from
that bourne no traveller returns.
1t is recorded of the poet Shelley, that upon
one occasion, while strolling along highway,
| in deep meditation, rejecting upon the subject
of the Immortality of the soul, he met woman
with young child in her arms and in his anx-
| iety for knowledge, forgetful of the child's ina
| bility to communicate with him, he rushed up
to 1t and earnestly Intercepted it as to its state
| of pre-existence !-imagining at the moment
| that the child, owing to it's recent introduction
into this life still retained vivid impressions and
recolections of its previous state of existence !
very intelligent and, may add, truly re
ligious lady, once remarked to the speaker that,
| in an interview which she had then recently had
with very old and feeble lady, who was remark
able for her pety and good works in this life, that
| she was greatly surprised in being unable to
discover in one SO good, and one so near the
boundary of another life, an utter absence of
any evidence of the approaching spirituality
which we are taught to believe eyentuates upon
| the close of this life.
Thus it appears that our inability to detect
glimmer of the rays of the future life from those
whose steps are upon lts connnes, Is equally
iinposslpie Us !. Is 10 iearn from inc lmlaht any
frn,, & VI 40 pre- eA,s.ehce Inc lesson
walk by his own light. The lights of Others
| avail us not; and are often the lights of the
| WI " tne misp, Mnieh lure sure US as'Iuy. nut
,h may nii .ahe eoniio'V from INC beautiful
thought Vi iei"
90 yet we trust that somehow good
viii be the final goal of III, -,
10 pangs 0, nature, sins Oh Will,
De'ee'' VI u'uO'' anu 'a'n'S 0' ''ooui
THAT nothing walks with aimless feet
That not one life shall ue destroyed,
Or cast as rubbish to the void,
""en oOu main made the pie complete;
That not a worm is cloven in vain:
| That not moth with vain desire
Is shriveird In a frntless fire.
| or Dut suoserHeS anothers gain.
| "Behold we know not anything;
| can put trust mat good shall TALL
| AZ ias.-hr onmat last, 10 All,
| WY "''' '""'e' ~ 'p'"s'
"but what am /?
An infant crying in the night
| An INFANT crying Ior the nght:
Anu Win no language pu. cry
| DR.. HOPKINS was born near the VILLAGE of
Darlington in this county Hartford on the
2Sth Of October, in the year 1908, and died in
| the town OF Havre de Grace, October 18th, 1875
| having attained within two wears of the period
| of life allotted to man by the Psalmist.
In early life he took fancy to the medical
profession and studied under the ureceptorship
| of DIR. Robert Allen of Cecil Co.. gentlemen
| who enjoyed ouite a reputation in his dav for
| his skill as a physician. He received his de-
| gree as Doctor of Medicine ut the University of
| MARYLAND, in the class of lS29-3O.
| He first practiced his profession for a wear or
more in Cecil county, and afterward located in
1
| and successfully, TO labor in The profession
| until disabled by his last illness. The Doctor
was married in 1884 and raised n humber of
| children, several of whom survive him.-one
representing him in our profession, and in our
| Society
| IL has been represented to me nv n member of
his family that the Doctor uniformly declined
| to receive compensation for professional SER
vices from ministers of the Gospel, and never
used the law for the purpose of collecting med.
ual views may be with regard to the propriety
of the course in either case, it certainly speaks
| volumes for his kindness Of heart. IL ia to bc
regretted that in our day, at least, there are so
many persons among those we come in profes.
| siopal contact with who, while cpioyiup annie
competency themselves, are at tie same time
| willing to take advantage of our lepiencv md
goodness of heart in this regard.
DR.. Hopkins, though not q politician in the
| offensive sense of that term. gave considerabIc
| attention 10 politics, ana always manifested
lively interest in the welfare of his country and
its government. He was twice elected to the
State Legislature; and in the capacity of legis.
lator gave great satisfaction to his constituents
| When the Organization of our Medical Societv
was first suggested to him, he at once warmth
endorsed the proposition and took an active in.
| terest in its Organization and subsequent suc-
cess. He was Unanimously elected yice-Presi-
dent at The first meeting and in the sncceedinc
| wear WINS elected President of the SocioIv liz
Regularity in attending the meetings ofibc 90.
ciety was remarkable for one living ot snch n
distance from the place of meeting,whe was