The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1884-01-11
dANKAro FREE Press.
FRIDAY, JANUARY, II, 1884.
Our Duty to Our Doctor.

A thinking man IeciS oiIon pain
fnlly what serious thing 1t Is to he
a doctor, to have the charge Of the
lives of his fellow.mortals, to stand.
as it were, between them and death
and eternity and the judgment seat,
and to fight hand.tO hand with death.
Now l want you to consider how im.
portant the doctor IS to you. Nobody
needs HIM so much as the poor and
labOring man. He il often i'll; he Ia
exposed to hunger and wet and cold.
and co fever, and to all the diseases Of
hard labor and poverty. His work is
heavy, and his heart Is often heavy,
too, with misery OF all kinds; his
back weary with its burden, his
lands and limbs often meeting with
accidents; and you know, If the poor
man, If one Of you, falls i'll and takes
fever, or breaks his leg, 1T Is a far
more serious thing than with rich
er man. Your health and strength
are all you have to depend on; they
are your stock in trade, your capital.
Therefore, i shall ask you to remem.
Der four things about your duty to
the doctor, 50 AS to get the most good
out of him, and do the most good to
him, too.
/. 1t is your duty to trust the doc
tor.
2. 1t is your duty to obey the doc
ter.
3. 1t is your duty to speak the
truth to the doctOr-the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth; and
4. 1t is your duty to reward the
doctor.
And 80 now for the first. 1t is
your duty to trust the dOctOr-that is,
to believe in him. If you were in a
ship, IN wild storm, and among
dangerous rocks, and II You took u
pilot on board, who knew all the
coast and all the breakers and had a
clear eye, a firm heat, and practiced
hand, would you not let him have his
own way! Would you think Of Civ.
ing him poor advice, or keep his
hand from its work at the helm?
You would not be such 4 fool, or 50
uncivil or so mad. And yet many
people do this very same sort of
thing, just becuse they don't really
trust their doctor; and a doctor is a
pilot for your bodies when they ale
in storm and in distress. He takes
the helm, and does his best to guide
you through fever; but he must
have fair play; he must be trusted,
even i'm the dark. 1t is wonderful
what cures the very sight of doctor
will work, if the patent believes in
him. II is half the battle. His very
face IS as good as a medicine, and
sometimes better; and much pleasant
ter, too.
One day a labOring man came to
me with indigestion. He had sour
and sore stomach, and wild, and
collie. and wonderful misery of body
and mind. l found he was eating
had food. and too much of it; and
then. when its digestion gave him
pain, he took glass Of raw whisky.
l made him promise to give up his
bad food and his worse whisky, and
live on pease brose and sweet milk,
and l wrote him a prescription. as
We call it. for some medicine, and
said, Take that, and come back in a
fortnight and you will be WE'LL" He
did come back, hearty and hale; no
collie, no sinking at the heart, a clean
tongue, and cool hand and firm
step, and clear eye and a happy
face. / was very proud of the won.
ders my prescription had done, and
having forgotten what it was. said,
Let me see what l gave you" 20"
says he, II took it," YES" said |.
"but the prescription" 81 took 1t,
us you babe me. l swallowed it,"
He had actually eaten the bit of
paper. and been all the better for it.;
but it would be better and attended
to my rules. So take my word for it,
and trust your doctor. 1t is his due,
and it is for your own advantage.
Now, our next duty is to obey the
doctor. This you will think IS sim
pie enough. What use is there in
calling him in if we won't do what
he bids us! And yet nothing is more
common, partly from laziness and
sheer stupidity, partly from conceit
and suspiciOusness, and partly, in the
case of children, from false kindness
and indulgence. than to disObey the
doctors orders. Many a child have
! seen die from nothing but the
mothers not liking to make her
swallow powder or put on Il blister
And let me say. by and by, teach
your children at once to uDey you
and take the medicine. Many "a life
! is lost from this, and remember You
may make even Willie Wrinkle take
his castor oil III spite Of his cries and
teeth, 10y holding his nose, 50 that he
must swallow.
Thirdly. y0u should ten the truth. tie
phole truth, and nothing bm tie truth,
to your doctor. He may he never so
! clever and never 50 ANXIOUS, but he
can no more know how to treat a
case of illness without knowing all
about it than miller can make meal
without corn; and many Il life have
seen lost from the patient or his
friends cOncealing. something that
Was true, or telling something that
was false. The Stiffness of this is
only equal to its sinfulness and it's
| per4l.
Lastly. IL is your duty to REGARD your
doctor. There are four ways of re.
warding your doctor. The first is by
giving him your money; the second
is by giving him your gratitude; the
third is by your doing his bidding;
and the fourth is by speaking well of
him, giving him a good name, recon
mending him to others. Let me tell
you'll don't think i need tell you try
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