The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-10-23
DocAor NJ M. Goldman.
For the CLARroN.l

THIS gentleman died at my house on wed
! nesday, the 18th of Septemb Der, at o'clOrk
in the evening. Some of the circumstances
attending this melancholy event, were of
such extraordinary character as to make
it proper To mention them for the informa-
tiOn of his distant friends.
| About the middle of August a colored
servant who bad just come from Canton
was taken with what appeared to be, and
| was proved by the attending physician,
a mild type of bilious remittent fever.
From Wednesday when she was taken, un
til Saturday about the same hour, no one
| thought her seriously ILL., and manifestly she
did nos think so herself; suddenly, and
without premonition, she became insensible
and so continued for about twelve hours,
when she died. The idea was at once spread
abroad that she had died OF yellow fever. aud
| there was consequently "A general panic.
One week later was IN self taken with
fever having the same general symptoms
This Increased the pdnir. 4 friend living
| several miles away came to NV assistance,
| and in a few days he fell sick; another
| friend came to assist both q u, and in
| short time he was taken "A co. ID man EN-
| ploycd to nurse the two, retired sick at the
end of three days; meantime. the mother
| of the woman who had died, and who had
| been her chief nurse, sickened much as her
/ daughter had done; she protested constant
! ly for about a week that she was doing very
! we'll aud would be up in day or two. On
| the sixth day she became insensible without
any outward sign Of having grown worse,
| and in few hours she was a corpse. Other
| cases were constantly occurring on NV place.
No wonder the panic became general and
| intense, 1t was under these circumstances
| that Doctor Goldman, breaking through all
| restraints and setting danger at defiance
| came to me-not as physician but as a
| friend. Some of his neghbors remonstrat-
| ed. He replied: 1T is occasions like this
| that test men friendship" Then they APP
pealed TO his wife Suppose" they said,
'the Doctor should catch the disease and
/ 1iad el,a L. .aaa
| heroic woman that she is, she will die in the
/ discharge of his duty"
DIR. Goldman, after paving me a brief
visit week before, came back to me on
| Sunday morning Sept. Sth, and announced
| his intention to stay. His attention to
the sick indefaticable until the next
Friday night. At the usual hour he r, turn
ed, cOngrstuIating himself that mis- patients
| were all doing well, aud that he was going
! to have good nights rest. l heard moth
| ing from him during the night though we
| slept in the same room. At early dawn he
| informed me that he had had a severe chill
of several hours duration during the night,
! and soon after commenced discharging
quantities of vicious looking bile from his
stOm ach, After some persuasion, and being
reminded that no physician, no odds how
skillful, ever doctored himself, he consented
| that Doctor R1wles should be sum noned.
The Doctor came promptly, and both he
and his patient seemed to agree that 1t was
| a sharp attack of bilious fever.
| Sunday, Dr.. Goodman thought himself
| doing well, and aside from irritability of
| the stom ach seemed so to those around him.
| SO wei indeed did he feel that he talked OF
| going home, six miles. the next day. Mon
! day he appeared to be still i'm proving except
| that the stomach irritation continued,
though considerably modified, ard he had
! little or no appetite. Tuesday morning at
| early dawn, being myself convalescent, l
| went into his room, and inquired: How
are you this morning Doctor?" "Oh
/ III hut
before He then ordered light Breakfast,
| of which he partook very sparingly. Dur
ing the early day his general condition
| seemed to be so entirely free from every
| possible danger, THAI beyond keeping some
| Que near To attend to his little wants, all
! care was dismissed, / think it not possible
that he did not himself participate to the
| tulless extent in this feeling OF perfect Sc
| curity. AT about half alter two in the
| evening" Mr.. Edward DabneV, one of my
friends before mentioned whom he had
attended while sick at my house, and who
had been waiting on him in return was
| about to leave for his home thinking the
| Doctor perfectly safe. after a little bit OF
| what l took to be reseutful pleasantly indi-
| eating his regret at his friends going away,
he turned his head as Mr.. Dabney left the
room, and said in full, round, cheerful
voice: Good bye Ed" At that moment
did nos Il i've the shadow of a dream that he
was in any danger, and supposed it was only
| question of day or two when he could
return to his home. Almost Immediately
he became singul4rly restless, constant
ly changing his position from one be /
to another. At first | chided him gently.
| Finding that did not avail, determined on
| little very gentle force. AS he was get
ting ent of bed put my hands on his
shoulders and said mildly, NOW you must
get back" Ills look will go with me to the
grave. The man who but an hour before
seemed in the full possession of all his
faculties and no nearer the grave than any
ltNa
by the sands of time, looked up with
vacant stare that showed total lack of in
tellectual power. The attending MUSICIAN
was Immediately summoned. But my dear
friend was already within the gates OF
death. Without consciousness, and to hui
man eyes without pain, he passed gently
into eternity on Wednesday, Sept. 18th,
1873, after an illness of five days.
IL ,may console his absent son aud distant
relatives to know that his devoted vile was
with him in his last moments, though on ac-
4 count of the sudden and rapid change in his
condition, she arrived at his bedside too
late tor recognition. i'
Besides DR.. Goldman and the two colored
persons already mentioned, one other
colored woman died on my place, and all of
them alike, that is to say, without admitting
or seeming to understand that they were
seriously sick. a.t His .s...a.
1t may not be amiss to say that of the
four physicians, including DR.. Goldman,
who attended the different patients on my
place not one pronounced the disease TO be
yellow fever. They called it pernicious
lever or malignant billions fever.
HARRY ROBINSON GOODMAN deserved
higher niche IN the temple of fame than
fortune has decreed him. Those who
thought they knew INN best, in fact knew
the least about him. Be mine the gratefully
melancholy task OF doing only a little OF
justice to his memory.
4 He was bornin Philadelphia August 30th
1926, and was married in Edgefeld District,
South Carolina, January 9th, 1893, to
Emeia Ward, daughter of Capt. Richard
Ward, soldier and gentleman of tie old
school. His lineage was high.
! The grandfather of DIR. Goldman on his
mothers side was RsmbTapdt Peele, the
great American painter OF fifty years ago
! who was himself lineali defendant OF
Rambrandt, the illustEiOus English painter.
1t was doubtless from this house my friend
inherited an uncultivated but singulaIly
brilliant taleati for sketehing, drawing,
4 On'hfs fathers side the love of medicine
and surgery seemed to predominate. And
these too he Inherited in a large degree.
His father was a physician OF great emil
nence in Philadelphia some fifty years ago,
and at the early age of thirtytwo he had
\ reached professional eminence which the
most ambitious might well have envled
when they bad reached twice that number
OF years He had been Professor of Surgery
cOnsecuIvelv. in the Medical Colleges of
Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York,
from the last o. which he withdrew to die
OF pulmonary consumption before he had
quite reached the meridian of his profess
siOnal renown-
A memorial paper by his professional
brothers published at the time, setting forth
the high personal qualities and wonderful
professional achievements OF DIR. John ID.
Goldman, the father Of DIR. Fl. r. Goodman,
concludes: -"TaHs fell from the armament
u of the sAmeElcan profess ION before he had
reac he'd his meridian splendOr, one of the
brightest stars AZ hich have yet risen above
. iTs horizon -