The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1895-07-26
]1oftry,
TUE COUNTRY DOCTOR.

i"E IA WI " 1 III Dut lVh.
The country doctor. Let the bard
Whose Tyre is tuned to idle praise
His locks unshorn, his face unmarried
BY sweat and CRIME, his hands unscarred
BY daily toil-in duceu lays,
In empty word ami hollow phrase
Recount the annals of the great:
Let him record and celebrate
Their noble deeds; their pomp and state,
Their wisdom all perpetuate,
\ humber theme 10 you bring
The smell of tIow'rs, the breath of spring,
The utter of bluebr,l's wing
And with it all | bring to you
The country doctor good and true.
The country doctor Him whose life
From sun to sun is daily rife
With bootleSs toll and ceaselesS strife:
Whose sturdy frame is made to feel
Tile summers flame. the winters steel
come TO sing in praise Of him.
His soul is fat: his purse is slim:
His eyesight keen; his foresight, dim
For caring naught for pow'r or pelf,
While there's a crust upon the shelf,
He wor Ks for fun and boards himself.
Ay. We, who traverse city streets,
ON Swaying springs and cushioned seats,
The difficulties that he meets
The bumps and io.ts-ye little know,
Through seas of mud, DER wastes of snow,
Where icy tempests howl and blow,
In pOurup rain where torrents flow
And sheen and shadow come and 60
Astride the Sorriest OF nags
And armed with spur and saddlebagS.
He onward works his weary way:
And be it night or be it day,
He never falters ror looks back
Adown the steep and rugged track.
But sets his teeth and onward plods-
Himself clog among the clogs.
I've said-'A clog among the clogs"
'Twere better-''God among the gods.'
For sacrificing hours of ease
And striving hard to do and please,
And winning but the dregs and lees
OF liie's sweet wine, he fights disease
With clenched hands and bated breath
And knows no conqueror but death.
1t Shames me not to tell the truth
An unkempt, muddy god, torsooth.
BeSmeared- beSpattered- legsings, suit
From crown of hat to sole of boot,
Aud uffimes tumbled in the wave
Tnat seems to yawn watery grave,
lie bobs Serenely on the flood
And swim> about the sea Of mud,
For 10, his pockets are 50 Ii ,ht
He cannot disappear from sight.
No scientific friend has he
Who ends his name ~ NJ, VI. D.
or tacks thereto "Ph. c.
70 help him in perplexity,
And earn them both handsome fee;
But when he finds a knotty case,
\ problem that he dares not face,
He sends his patient of to town
TO some physician of renown.
God save the mark, All, all are great
Who dwell with i'll the city'> gateD
Aud this great man dilates his eyes
And rubS his hands, looks wondrouS wise
And nimhly gohb'eS up the prize.
The city doctor counts his gold,
Makes fresh deposits i'll the banks,
Ahu >tllbS lllt country upCtpi, btl
\ neatly wortled note of Thanks!
To church the city doctor goes,
(Ye need not wink and smile at me
And strive his spotless name to smircli:
I'm told on good authority
The city doctor goes 10 church.)
To take an hours profound repoSe,
TO hear the uiided organ ring
TO say his pray'rs and nod and doze
And see the sweet soprano sing;
The organ paalS the tenor squeals-
Great Scott, how good that doctor feels.
The seltSame hour. the Seltsame date,
The country doctor-sport OF fate
Moves up some gulIy's rocky course,
A~tride his rhubarb-coorei horse.
The only anthem that he hears,
The only tune that greetS his ears
Is mu. INJURED by the evening breeze
Which means .Old Hundred thro' the tre
The city doctor Spen mis- his days
In crowded marts and Travelled ways:
Al night he sees the latest plays,
And rests his halt-enchanted gaze
ON some new star that lights the sta ge-
\ star of most uncertain age,
OF whom the critics Iant and rage.
The country doctor, poor, desp pissed
His purse halt starved and underSize'l-
Contents himself to stay at home:
The only stats he ever knows
Are those that rest in heavens dome
And light the waste on winter SHOWS.
The country doctor! Blessed be he
Who sets The weary sun 'rer free
From burning fever, rackIng pain
And countless ils-and does it, too.
Without hope or thought of gain;
Without IA single cent III view.
come 10 sing i'll praise of him
Whose soul Is fat, whose purse is slim:
Who.e eyc>ight keen, whose foresight dim,
For caring ndught for fame or pelf,
While there's Il crust upon the shelf
He wulk FIR fun and boards himself,
OHIO State J0urI