The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1878-08-06
THE DOCTORS STORY.


the Hippocratic Medical Society, whose
members were accustomed to assemble
once year for purposes of mutual edlh-
. cation and improvement. DR.. Gallen
Cupps was In the chair. He was our
Nestor, our old man eloquent, living
professional legendary budget. On his
face you could read Entertainment"
as plainly as you ever saw IL painted on
an old fashioned tavern sign and to it,
after day of weary rambling over the
dusty paths of therapeutic lore, we turn
ed as naturally for refreshment as the
tired wayfarer halts before the invita-
ton sign-board waving hospitable well
come to the cheer within.
Genial DIR. Cuppsl Like Father
Grimes, that other good old man, well
never see him more" No monument
marks his last resting-place. The guild
of undertakers, possessed they q spark
of gratitude, would not suffer this to be.
As for his surviving professional breth-
ern, few of us, fear have money to
spare that way.
" How do young doctors, as rule,
get their first startp" queried u cynical
looking M. ID. at the foot of the table,
with nose as sharp as the tip of his
own lancet" leaving out, of course,
exceptional cases, like that of u man
swallowing n fish-bone, or dropping
suddenly in fit, where there's no
choice but to seek the nearest acid.
What ask is, how do people come to
trust their lives deliberately in inexper-
fenced hands What's the philosophy
of it 2"
Popular ignorance, probably" sug-
gested one.
cor cheek in the youngster," another
hinted,
cts mostly luck, think" remark
ed the chair, whereon had converged n
number of inquiring looks.
"Come, doctor, give us your expert
ence on the point" was moved and
seconded
Mine was n case of pure luck" he
said.
"Won't you tell us about tp" we
entreated. DIR. Cupps was not the man
to refuse.
Young men nova days." he began,
"enter the profession with other advan-
tages than we old fellows had. The
public hospitals, now accessible to
students, afford the opportunities to
learn much by observation, which we
were left to find out through experiments
on our own patients.
"Though took my degree after a
creditable examination, l doubt if I
could then have distinguished, by in
spection, between the incipient stages of
chicken-pox and measles. Had 1 been
called to treat simple case of rheuma-
tism, ten to one should have found a
verdict of white-swelling, and passed a
sentence of amputation without stop
ping to ask the victim what he had to
say against it. My first patient was
Percy Topham, a young man who had
inherited splendid constitution as well
as fortune, but was fast making way
with both. The case, no doubt, would
have fallen into Dingo's hands, for he
monopolized the practice thereabout,
but for his absence on a distant CALL"
"Come quick, sir p urged the mes
senger; Z" Mr.. Percy's taking on at an
awful rate"
Without staying to inquire further,
l snatched my hat and sailed forth,
quite forgetting, in the excitement, the
new pill-bags wherein was stored my
stock of samples.
'I arrived to find my patient taking
on at an awful rate sure enough.
"Poker in hand, he was laying about
him in manner highly detrimental to
the furniture. He was killing snakes
he said. Had it been dogs, hydrophobia
might have been my diagnosis; but
snakes, L knew meant delirium tremens.
And such was the dicision of Mr.. Top
hams own more practical judgement,
for, turning toward me, in lucid mo-
ment:
"I've got 'em, Doc" he said.
&c 1 did my best TO calm him, assured
him should bring him round, placed
my fingers on his pulse, and began to
count the beats, but darting from me,
he exclaimed:
"There goes the biggest snake yet
the old serpent of all ~ making slash
with the poker that caused me to dodge
into the corner.
St T aavinor two IN watch him and az