The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-01-26
WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.

WRITTEN FOR Ii SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
Yes, happiness is a duty unused Doctor
Elisha Il. G~resory, the other night beside
an olel h~sepl.ce in his home, as he looked
hack coniemplatively over fifty years ex-
r~er!once as u member of the faculty of one
medical college.
His visitor at the other side OF the fire
had called TO cher congratulations on the
completion Ct the half-century of service.
moralizing mood, had received the younger
man senially. He had referred to some in
cident OF his earlier manhood. when he
Futtered his epigram about happiness.
''One hears much about the happiness Of
duty" he went on. "But there is a more
important thing. One has no more right to
interfere with another's happiness, by word
o. deed han he has to interfere with an
others property OF his person.
After all. when you think it over. there
Is 10 dark side to things that are beyond
ones OWN control. No man has cause to
ltdl iNdt HdALil OHi any OU6 DuI niLQSeiI.
Think it over. There have been times when
it may have seemed as il your heart would
break over something which you could not
control. But the time came when you saw
tI1t you were really better and stronger for
the grief you had to bear.
Everything external to yourself is for
the best for you. Whatever is is right. To
sfSr,rra chic ;S - ILL -. o,.-.s-. -
of things, and that means to question the
wisdom of God. And to accept this view
one cannot avoid seeing the duty of hap
piness, for gloom aud darkness and sor-
row are not in accord with order. the
order of Providence"
Doctor Gregory paused for a moment and
then reverted to the subject of his con-
nection with the st. Louis Medical College,
and then to the reason for taking up the
study of medicine.
Il intended 10 be a lawyer" he said. "and
1 studied Blackstone for awhile. Then my
mother one day expressed a wish that /
should become a physician. That changed
the course ef my life. / think Il she
could have been present at the college last
Friday she would have been filed with Joy.
l had no expectation of anything out of
/. the ordinary, but went down there to finish
= lecture that 1 had not quite completed. 1
looked for no one but my class. but there
was a great crowd. made UP of eminent
physicians, who have been graduated from
the college in the course of the last fifty
years. Why, they filed the galleries. I
talked 10 them. but not in very connected
style. 1 am afraid. And then they came
and shook hands with me. Some of those
fellows we're nearly as old as myself. yet
they had been my pupils.
Ny mothers father was a physician. He
ATTENDED a college at Philadelphia in I7T2.
! was named for him. and 1 guess that is
the reason she wanted me to be a doctor.
l left my home at BoonviIle, Mo-, in 1913.
to go to Louisville to attend lectures.
remember that I told my preceptor that 1
ought to have letters of Introduction to
somebody over there. Never mind he told
me. You so to the house OF each of the
professors. pay him your fees. tell him
who you are and you will not be forgot
ten 1 did SO, and 1 found that my pre-
ceptor was right.
1T taught me a lesson-that an incllna-
ton TO stick TO business and pay ones own