ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT OF THE #IM i'ijiiiliiiiil OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, BY PROFESSOR RALPH WALSH, M. D j. LLEWELLIN ELIOT, M. D., WM. H. ROSS, M. D AND 10, 1874- J. S. TOMLINSON, PRINTER, BOOKSELLER, AND STATIONER, WASHINGTON, D. C. 1142 Seventh Street, 1874. ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE TV ENTV-FIFTH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT OF THE A j 0 nj p ft V t IITC It I OP GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, BY PROFESSOR RALPH WALSH, M. D., J. LLEWELLIN ELIOT, M. D., AND WM. H. ROSS, M. D HVT jn.o, 1874. J. S. TOMLINSON, PRINTER, BOOKSELLER, AND STATIONER. D. C. 1142 Seventh - treet, 1 874. CORRESPONDENCE. Washington, D. C., March 11, 1874. Deae Sie : In behalf of our fellow-students, and at their earnest solicitation, we respectfully request for publication, a copy of your excellent Address delivered at the Twenty-fifth Annual Commencement of the Medical Department, University of Georgetown. We have the honor to be, Very respectfully, Your obedient servants, MYRON BOARDMAN, DOUGLAS BINNS, MAURICE J. STACK, J. S. ROWLAND. Committee. Ralph Walsh, M. D.; Profesor of Physiology, and Diseases of the Eye and Ear. Washington, D. 0., March 11, 1874. Gentlemen : With thanks for your complimentary request, I place my Address at your disposal. Hoping it merits your favorable opinion, I am, very truly, Yours. &c., RALPH WALSH, M. D. Myeon Boaedman, Douglas Binns, Maueice J. Stack, J. S. Rowland. Committee, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. Dean Sir r Washington, D. C., March 11, 1874. It becomes our pleasing duty, as deputed by our class-mates, to request for publication, a copy of your able and highly-appreciated Ad- dress, delivered at the Twenty-fifth Annual Commencement, Medical Department, University of Georgetown. With sincere respect, Your obedient servants, MYRON BOARDMAN, DOUGLAS BINNS, MAURICE J. STACK, J. S. ROWLAND. Committee. J. LLew. Eliot, M. D., Valedictorian, Class of' 74. Washington, D. C., March! 1, 1874. Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of this A. M., requesting a copy of my Address for publication. It affords me great pleasure to herewith transmit the desired manu- script. I am, gentlemen, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Myeon Boardman, Douglas Bines, Maueice J. Stack, J. S. Rowland. Committee. J. LLEW. ELIOT. M. D. CORRESPONDENCE. 5 Washington, 1). C., March 11, 1874. Dear Sir: In behalf of the “Medical Society of the Alumni,” 1 have the honor to request, for publication, a copy of the Address delivered by you at the Twenty-fifth Annual Commencement of the Medical Department, University of Georgetown. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, A. E. BROWN, M. D., Corresponding Secretary. Dr. Wm. H. Ross. Washington, D. C., 11th March, 1874. Dear Sir ; I have had the pleasure to receive your communication of the 11th instant, requesting a copy of my Address delivered at the Twenty- fifth Annual Commencement of the Medical Department of Georgetown University. In response, I forward the manuscript, together with my thanks for the courteous attention. I am, with respect, &c. W. 11. ROSS, M. D. A. R. Brown, M. D., Corresponding Secretary Medical Society of the Alumni. ADDRESS RALPH WALSH, M. D., OF (Professor of (Physiology and (Diseases of the (Eye and Ear. Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Graduating Class, Ladies and Gentlemen : This is the season of medical commencements, and from colleges throughout the land recruits are hastening to join the army in the field. To-day our Alma Mater opens her doors, and sends forth her squad armed and equipped; to- day the Medical Department of Georgetown University sends greeting to the world, and exhibits her offspring with pride; to-day, young gentlemen of the graduating class, you join a noble profession, and accept a life of trials and great respon- sibilities. You are about to step from the study of disease to the fight with death; you are about to place your skill between frail mortality and the great conqueror. May you often baffle his attacks! It is needless for me to refer to your past studies; your examinations have proven your thorough training, and the seal upon your diplomas stamps your capability. But the future is before you; in that future exists a professional career for each, to be shaped and moulded by your own exertions. Of that future I would speak. Let honorable ambition be your motto, industry and application your com- panions, and then push forward to win. Your path will not be a wide, easily-traversed thoroughfare, but many cruel disappointments and the checks of ungrateful human nature will obstruct your way. Then may come moments of faint- “ness and despondency, but then also arrives the time to look J ADDRESS OF ahead, and see some fortunate predecessor ascending the hill. Will it do for you to lie at the base, crying out against your ill luck, while he is nearing the summit? No! Industry and application will lead you into the hidden path he found. There is no such thing as luck; it is a gambler’s phantom. Man is the architect of his fortune. Then, knowing that the avenues of knowledge are open to all, nail at the start to the flag-staff of your banner, the motto “ Excelsior.” During your struggles to reach the van do not attempt to jostle a professional brother from the path. Remember, honorable ambition is your watchword, and gentlemanly courtesy should adorn your acts. The good will of your brother practitioners is a thing of far more value than the “all hail” of the multitude. Glittering mediocrity, associ- ated with tact and cunning, may, for a time, gleam in the beams of popular approbation; but the profession views no such member with favor, and in time the foundation of sand will surely crumble, and the pretensions of ignorance and impudence be burned to dross in the crucible of trial. You belong to a liberal body, quick to discern the merits of its members, and allow them all praise for worthy deeds. See the reverence in which the great minds preceding us are held! There are still vacant niches in the temple of fame; there are still discoveries of vital moment to be made. The foundation of our present knowledge has been laid through centuries of experience and experiment. Progress is the watchword of the age, and active brains are seeking for hid- den truths. Great will be the reward of the fortunate dis- coverer. Why should not you enter the list? Why should not you gain the praise of your fellow-physicians and the blessings of mankind? You belong to a powerful body, whose influence extends throughout the world, acting upon its own members and communities at large. A body extremely jealous of its pre- rogatives, and with power to punish those who stray from RALPH WALSH, M. D. 9 the proper paths. Let your best efforts tend toward the preservation of this great influence. You belong to a useful body, not simply in the art of healing and relieving physical pain, but throughout all the avenues of life. Science, art, and literature have found many of their most honored chil- dren members of your profession, and great discoverers have laid the foundation -of their work in the medical college. Fail not to add your mite of usefulness to the general good that is being done. You belong to a respected body; re- spected for its culture, its honor, and its public and private virtues. It is your duty to aid in the increase of this respect by frowning down all acts, of individual members, calculated to injure the standing of the profession at large. There are black sheep in each fold, and I am sorry to say medicine is no exception; I am sorry to say there are creatures who disgrace the name of Doctor, by prostituting their profession for personal gain. Men who make use of their dangerous knowledge for the violation of the laws of God and man; men who trade with death and shame; human vampires, who exist by destroying life. What punishment is too great for such creatures as these? Rather, what punishment is suffi- cient? The murderer who brutally, yet openly, slays his victim on the highway, is a hero beside this secret destroyer ; and yet for the open murderer the gallows swings its strang- gling cord, while this greater fiend, who may produce a double death, looks forward to imprisonment as an excess of punishment. And yet the press, that great lever of public opinion, and self-proclaimed guardian of public morals, aids and abets him in his criminal career; carries his black flag; carries his words of death to the passive partner of his crime, at so much per line. Young gentlemen, Ido not speak to you of this in words of warning. I have no fear that your fair fame will ever be tarnished. But I mention it as a ques- tion of the day; a question of vital importance, not only to .individuals, but to the entire country. When carefully pre-c 10 ADDRESS OF pared tables of a single State show that the number of chil- dren of a certain age falls short, by thousands, of its proper proportions, is not the fact appalling ? I speak to you of this matter because it will meet you hereafter. The evil is on the increase, and more efficient measures than those now used to suppress it must be employed, and you, as medical men, may be called upon to assist in the good work. There is another question staring us in the face, one that is as yet but half solved. I refer to the medical education of women, or, in plainer terms, women-doctors. To associate delicate woman with the drudgery of our profession, breaks down all of that romantic reverence generated through years of chivalric devotion. Who would desire to write sonnets to the eye-brows of Doctress Thompson, Smith, or Brown? Who would wish to measure swords with an adversary, that the bright lancet of the Doctress might remain untarnished? But we are not living in a chivalric age. Men ceased to write sonnets when they commenced to build railroads and dig canals, and the sword of the cavalier has been turned into the pick and the miner’s chisel. Man has walked hand- clasped with time. He has grasped the lightning and bound it to his will. With the touch of his finger he directs tre- mendous power on land and sea, and now he is seeking a higher law, which shall enable him to ride in safety above the gale. Is it reasonable to suppose that woman, his help- mate, will lag behind him ? When brave knight throws aside his sword, shall fair lady retain her lute ? Is it reasonable to suppose that the women of the present day have no desire to take passage in the great car of progress that goes rolling down the track of time, crushing, like the fatal jugurnaut, the fossils who live only in the traditions of the past? Is it rea- sonable to suppose that the majority of women desire but a butterfly existence of beauty and sunshine? By such sup- positions we insult the sex. Women are human. They have ‘brains and bodies to feed, and many must toil. The widow EALPH WASLH, M. D. and orphan must too often look to themselves for protection and support, and there are great minds among them thirsting for useful knowledge. When they come to us saying “we have brains and hands, and will to work, tell us what to do,” what shall be our answer? Should we turn our backs upon them ? thrusting them thereby into the hands of quacks and charlatans, who, by bad precepts and insufficient teaching, make them dangerous elements of society, or should we try to create them valuable assistants as nurses, and teach them a proper application of their knowledge ? This, gentlemen, is a question I have raised, but leave it for your future con- sideration. But be it understood that no act calculated to destroy that great protecting armor of woman, her modesty, can be for a moment sanctioned. There is another question agitating the profession that will force itself upon your attention. I refer to the intro- duction of Physiology and Hygiene into our schools. The people are wofully ignorant of the simplest laws govern- ing health and life. Daily is the existence of the most prudent endangered by a want of knowledge of protective measures. We are no longer in the dark ages; the reign of mummery and mystery is over. The people want knowledge and protection of life. This knowledge is particularly neces- sary to women. Mothers have the immediate care of their children during their tenderest years. Then should they not know why they must look for roses upon their cheeks instead of words of precocious wisdom from their lips? Should they not know why the badly-ventilated, over-heated room, saps the growing lives of their babes? Would not a knowledge of the laws of digestion prevent those gross errors in diet which are the cause of one-half of the diseases of childhood ? Would not a knowledge of the laws of respira- tion change the atmosphere of many apartments ? And would not a knowledge of the cutaneous secretion, and the effect jof changes of temperature upon it, aid them m selecting the^ jo. " * cd 12 ADDRESS OF proper kinds of dress ? To the females of the family natu- rally falls the care of the sick. Then should they not know enough to bridge over that period of agony which intervenes between the sudden attack and the appearance of the physi- cian, and to be able assistants when he arrives? How many mothers would permit their little girls to be loaded down by tasks they must learn by rote without comprehend- ing the sense, their hours of recreation being spent upon the* piano-stool, if they knew that such a process of mental cram- ming and physical starvation was surely laying the founda- tion for the most distressing nervous disorders in later life? If the people but knew what they should of Physiology and Hygiene, our school system, so far as little girls are con- cerned, would be materially changed. The child’s head would no longer be filled with the higher mathematics, stu- dies of no value to her in after years, but the time would be consumed in teaching her valuable truths regarding herself and life, and how to live. I think I hear the prude cry out in horror against this idea, one of that class who, while starv- ing, would not acknowledge the existence of a stomach. To her I would simply say that in the dim distance, I really do not know how long back, woman was granted a will of her own. Some time later it was acknowledged she had a mind, and now, in this nineteenth century, we must admit she has a body of which she should know. The physician is frequently offered a larger sphere of use- : fulness than that attached to his private practice. The law, by creating boards of health and other sanitary forces, places him in the position of a public benefactor. The physician so placed should fully appreciate the importance of his office, and bring to it a thorough knowledge of its duties. The physical welfare of communities should be intrusted to no ordinary minds, and the appointing power which selects in- ) competency to fill positions so directly affecting human life, a great crime. The health officer should be fittedc RALPH WALSH, M. D. for his position by close and special study of sanitary and hygienic measures. Unfortunately the scientific student too often waits for the position to seek him, while that hungry specimen of the profession, a political doctor—l know of no better term—stands with outstretched hands, begging for the drippings from the party tub. He knows and cares but little about sanitary measures, but he has been a good wire- puller at primary meetings, and an effective worker in the lobby. He may be ignored, for good reasons, by all respect- able members of the profession, but this does not affect the appointing power. He has done a great deal of dirty work, is ready to do more if called upon, and must be kept in the family. So this mongrel watch-dog, made up of politics and medicine, stands guard over cholera, small-pox, and other epidemics, consuming two-thirds of his time in slumber at his post, and the other third in baying at shadows. Young gentlemen, some of you may be honorably called to fill such posts. Do not let the summons find you unprepared, but in your hours of leisure inform yourselves upon sanitary laws, so that you can administer them with benefit to others and credit to yourselves. A few words upon the practice of your profession, and I will cease to trespass upon your time. You are entering upon a life that will demand great sacrifice of personal comfort, and great self-control. You will be able to obey no fixed rules. You can designate no definite time for recrea- tion or study. You will be subject to the calls of suffering at all hours. The irregularity of the life you must lead will doubtless shorten it. Many times it will be embittered by ingratitude and unreasonable complaints. At such times you will be sorely tempted to lose faith in man, but remember the self-control your profession demands, and let no impulse prompt an act that afterthought might condemn. You must not think that your written prescription completes the duty Uyou owe your patient. The cheering; word, the assuring^ ADDRESS, &0. demeanor, often send abroad a beam of hope that drives from the dark corners of the sick-room the demon of despair. Con- fidential matters, which you must jealously guard, will be entrusted to you. Let no breach of faith violate this point of your professional honor. The voice of charity will call to you from the haunts of poverty, misery, and pain. Do not turn a deaf ear, but render what aid you can, freely and cheerfully. At the same time, in justice to yourselves and brother practitioners, demand of those able to give the proper compensation for your work. And now, in the name of the Faculty, I bid you farewell. The relationship of teacher and student is a thing of the past, but the memory of our pleasant association will ever keep alive a warm interest in your future. May the brilliancy of this hour illumine your life-paths through the years to come. Beauty has brought its tribute of flowers, and fragrant odors from buds and blooms float up as petitioning incense for your success. Bright eyes are beaming kindest interest upon you; friendly tongues are longing to utter words of cheer, and hands to offer the congratulating clasp. To those we relin- quish you, trusting your days of usefulness may be many, and each opportunity for good deeds so faithfully embraced, that when the moment of death arrives, when the past is the present, nothing neglected will cause you to remember that— “ Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, it might have been.” OF J. LLEWELLIIT ELIOT, M. D., Valedictorian, Class of 787Z- Ladies and Gentlemen: Delegated to represent the Class of 1874, it is with great pleasure an attempt is now made to perform the duty. To extend you another welcome would be superfluous, since the many bright and smiling faces I see assure me all feel wel- come after what has been said by the Orator of the Faculty. Judging the health of the world by the happy and contented looks of this audience, the Medical Profession would soon be numbered as one of the things that were. Unfortunately such is not the case, for while you, joyous in the possession of good health, are here, how many are there who, worn by care and disease, are hidden from proper attention by inexorable poverty! Day after day fervent prayers go up from their heart of hearts to the Almighty, hoping to receive some alleviation of their sufferings; hoping, ah! hoping too often in vain. It is in these haunts of squalidness and poverty we first exercise our noble profession. Perhaps it will not be without interest to you to follow me for a few moments in the history of our profession. In searching the early records of medicine we find much to admire, much to condemn. We find it considered too insignificant to be known as a science, and therefore ranked among the arts. We also find no nation or tribe which has not some species of medicine, although much associated with the superstitious, which aimed at the promotion of health and the alleviation of human suffering, however different from ’our own may have been the means adopted. Temples were ADDRESS OF transformed into dispensaries, to which flocked the sick of the most distant portions of the nation or tribe to receive treatment and advice. This was an age of ignorance, cred- ulity, and superstition. Diseases were regarded as a visita- tion of the Divine wrath, rather than as from natural causes, and pestilences, which frequently ravaged nations, were readily referred to the machinations of the devil. As a remedy, the afflicted resorted to prayers, expiations, sacrifices, and exorcisms, rather than to medicine. We find the Egypt- ians were in advance of all other nations; the Greeks drew from them, and the Romans drew from the Greeks. Chiron, the Centaur, who was the teacher of iEsculapius, had his office or den in a cave. All the celebrities of the age flocked to him for instruction. The conclusions of Hippo- crates were thought to be infallible, and no one dared dispute them. The reign of the Ptolemies was marked by the rapid advances medicine made. They encouraged it, established libraries, and favored dissections by giving over to the scalpel all criminals, as well as those who were supported at the public expense. After the destruction of Alexandria, where was established the largest library in the world, medicine came to a standstill. Wars, pestilence, and famine, were the order of the day. Law, religion, humanity, and common sense hid their faces; innocent blood flowed in a stream, and terror reigned. Demonology swallowed everything. Such, to a greater or less extent, was the state of things until about the sixteenth century, when we are surprised at the progress made in every art and science. This progress seems to have kept pace with those struggles of the intel- lectual faculties, and which shook off the shackles of prejudice and error that had ignobly bound them for so many ages. Man, groping in the dark, sought the light, but unfortunately the refulgence, at times, dazzled rather than guided his steps in the pursuit of truth, and led him into errors as perilous as “those that had surrounded him in his former mental obscurity.c Lan . , cq J. LLEWELLIN ELIOT, M. D. His gigantic powers were aroused; but too frequently they shook the edifice to its very foundation. The daring hand of innovation destroyed without contemplating what better fabric could be raised on the ruins. Ambition degenerated into ferocity, scepticism led to impiety, and even apparent virtue sought to propagate the doctrines of good, by assuming the “ goodly outside” of vice. Because ministers of the vari- ous denominations had deceived, religion was overthrown, and high rank held up to detestation, as princes and nobles had become corrupt. In a few short years these mighty revolutions in the intellect of man took place. We beheld a host of the non-believers beaming like rising meteors in the dark firmament, and shedding a fearful gleam on the past, the present, and the future. Ho longer trusting, with blind confidence, in the scholastic rules of those dignitaries of sci- ence whose conclusions were considered sufficient to command our faith, man became sceptical and positive; doubt and dis- belief were carried into every investigation; the reign of ;prestiges was over; the former monopolists of power and science were thrown from their antiquated stand, and found themselves brought face to face, in explanatory contact, with their once all-believing and obedient pupils. When the faculty of reasoning was not able to prevail, the shafts of ridicule were drawn from the quiver of philosophic wit, and inflicted rankling wounds where they could not destroy. Ancient systems were exploded with ancient prejudices; thrones were overthrown with dynasties, and doctrines with governments; one might have imagined that the formidable power of steam had been communicated to the mind, illus- trating the words of Milton— The mind in its own place, and in itself, Can make a heaven a hell, and a hell a heaven. The study of medicine was stigmatized because it was a (science founded on the study of nature, and the IO . * CFH 18 ADDRESS OF laws of philosophy, and not a dogmatic profession, exercised with scholastic pedantry. Within the past quarter of a century, through the researches into the vast field of physiology and pathology by our trans- Atlantic brethren, and, I can say with just pride, our own countrymen, much has been done for the advancement of the science of medicine. The ardent labors of brilliant minds have taught us the nature of heretofore mysterious affections, to recognise disease wherever it may be met, and, with the assistance of an intelligent and appreciative public, we are prepared to alleviate human suffering. The honest and edu- cated physician fully knows how much he owes, in the success of his treatment, to the gentle, patient, and watchful nurse, and who can or will deny that the angelic smile of the fair and pure sex often exercises a more soothing influence over our patient than all the palliatives in the materia medica? Let us, therefore, continue to appreciate each other, and unite in that noble mission of alleviating the sufferings of mankind. Respected President : We congratulate ourselves at having received so great an honor at your hands. If lam allowed to judge by the past, permit me to assure you there will never be any occasion for you to regret the action of to-day. Gentlemen of the Faculty : Five-and-twenty years ago, through a commendable inter- est in the young men desirous of acquiring a knowledge of the healing art, as well as to further the aims of the profes- sion, you founded the institution of which we are the young- est graduates. You have experienced a reasonable pride in the results of past years; may you so continue and yet be spared to instill into more deserving minds than our own, .doctrines of such vital importance, and to witness with undis- J. LLEWELLIN ELIOT, M. D. guised pleasure the course and conduct of your pupils! Our intercourse has always been attended with great pleasure and instruction on our part. Your time and experience have been freely given, and, in parting, let us hope time will show that your labor has not been in vain, and that we were will- ing students. Gentlemen of the Junior Class: Regarding the responsibility we now transfer to you I can say nothing. Your past conduct is sufficient guarantee that you will labor so as to be a credit to your Alma Mater. In the name of the Class, allow me to thank you for your kind attention to our many friends here to-day, and, hoping you will receive like courtesy from succeeding Classes, must say adieu. Fellow Class-mates : At last the time of our parting has arrived, and we view it with mingled joy and sorrow. Often will this occasion recur to us, when professional cares will cause much anxiety, and assist in making the heart light once more. To-day, gentlemen, we start to fight an army of diseases; let us not be timid. To-day we are welcomed by the Medical Profession as men—men who, by earnest study, have mas- tered that which many have tried, but fallen short of their mark. To-day, even before leaving this hall, by the fair ladies who have donned their brightest colors and sweetest smiles; by the many floral offerings now lying at our feet. Let us not think that the great structure we have begun is finished; if we entertain such thoughts, how mistaken will be the course pursued. In order to fulfill our mission, the work must go on: the years we have passed in study, as well as the many nights spent in the lecture-room, must be super- seded by a still more thorough research into the vast domain i medicine. Gentlemen, it was not my intention to occupy^ 20 ADDRESS, &C. so much of your time; so, with a heavy heart, I bid you adieu, with the hope to meet soon again on the great road to distinction and usefulness. The ambition, which is part of the existence of each and every one, will spur you on to the highest honor, where in company with, or soon following, the members of our Faculty, you shall go down to future generations beloved by all. ADDRESS WILLIAM H. ROSS, M. XD OF Orator, J£edical Society of the fLlunvni. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : He whose especial province it is to think and act, finds speech in public no easily-handled faculty, and I am wishing, as I stand here, that I might borrow of some “ silver-tongue,” and so gain laurels where, at this late moment, I can only hope for tolerance. He must be poor indeed, however, whether Doctor or not, who, thinking of such a scene,' and beholding it, could be without words; and I, the voice of our Alumni, am here to give speech—not forgetting to promise that I will deal tenderly with your already taxed patience. And first, we give you most hearty thanks, kind ladies, who lend your sparkling eyes and glowing cheeks to grace our Natal Day; and we are not indifferent to the presence of these sterner faces, whose good will is not less ours, if less generously displayed. Our University gives birth to-day to eleven medical chil- dren ; not without pain and strong crying come forth these little ones, and not without joy is our mother as she looks, tender-eyed, upon her offspring; see, around her the glad family, from the newest fledgling to the grey-bearded senior, all gather, all rally, with enthusiastic gratulations, to witness and hail the new Genesis. Well may we, with unfeigned happiness, close ranks around sour noble Alma Mater; not many mothers live so long, not, 22 ADDRESS OF many mothers bring forth such valiant offspring; not many live to see their children flourish, through long and useful life, and then grandly die; neither is it the blessed privilege of many children to belong to a mother so queenly, nor to a family so large; further, it belongs not to many mothers to know that the life-work of her offspring is to be a noble, lofty one. Our mother bears her children for a purpose, and in those who fulfil it she has a fountain of joy; if there be some who wander, and are weaned from or forget their high calling, she loses not the consciousness that even they are the better, the nobler, the more useful, for having been born of her. Gentlemen of the Alumni; Highly privileged in being your Orator, it would ill be- come me to consume the brief space I have in what, for lack I of time, must be inadequate expression of thanks. Let me | act my gratitude. j Our Society has, of late, assumed such proportions, and given evidence of life so vigorous, as to thrill us, who have watched i its feeble youth, with a rare joy. As, with tribute from the ; stores of daily experience, accurate observations, carefully i registered facts, and wise deductions therefrom, we make it 1 the more worthy, the fuller will be its recognition, and its | existence will be the more valuable to each of us, as each i lends the hand of thoughtful study to making rich and fruit- ful its meetings through the year. The present Society is exclusively Medical. We should have an association of more comprehensive character. One which should receive and retain knowledge of each Alumnus, from the first Commencement Day until now. Steps have already been taken to ascertain* the feasibility of a plan for : gathering from the distant corners of our own and other ,i lands the long missing ones. My own most hearty approval /"would be given to such a scheme, and I believe such re- WILLIAM H. ROSS, M. D. 23 unions and festive gatherings as would likely follow on Class Days, Commencement Days, &c., to hear Class Editors, Ora- tors, and Histories, to eat and drink together, would tend to encourage the affectionate regard with which we remember old class-mates; would cement us more firmly together as disciples of truth, and would throw around our Alma Mater, in her queenly age, the strong arms of love—united, potent love. The subject is worthy of extended consideration—not here, however, for time fails. Gentlemen of the Faculty : One who remembers well his debt to yourselves, and con- templates the princely gift which, by your labor, is bestowed to-day upon humanity, comes easily and quickly to the truth that praise can have little value, in their eyes, who see their work crystallized around them, into high usefulness and strength. Indebted, personally, to you for many kind words, for rays of strange light thrown cheerfully into dark corners of re- search, and for the strong hand of help in needy moments, I must be ever grateful, as looking up the ascent, I strain my. vision and see you, dimly, toiling on and beckoning still. Representing the Alumni, and honored in the trust, I may not forget to express our appreciation, most hearty and pro- found, in that you have deemed it wise to call our late Presi- dent, (who speaks for the Faculty to-day,) to the place of high dignity which he fills with so much grace and strength; this evidence of your regard and esteem has had most potent influence among us, and has received, as it deserved, general professional approval. We are further happy in the suspi- cion that another valued member of our Society, (whose modest, quiet worth, like the gold of the mine, has long been hidden, and fain yet would hide,) is to be bidden to a higher qfiace. We have other evidences of your confidence—the, ADDRESS OF organization of the Summer School, and the entrusting of the enterprise to the care and talents of a corps of teachers from our numbers, while it is a subject which, for obvious reasons, I must handle with delicacy—is a source of pleasure and encouragement upon which we speak with one, and that an approving, voice. Gentlemen of the Graduating Class Let me offer, gentlemen, in the name of the Alumni So- ciety—the heart’s warm welcome to our brotherhood—the hand of fraternal sympathy, too, and, as we linger under these portals, let me say, cordially, come—come soon, to its foster- ing and sheltering influence. Right fitting is it, that on this, your Natal Day, your path should be strewn with roses; well it is that this day, which memory will keep bright for years, should be marked with general and hearty cheer, and such strong courage as woman can always give to man. Let the sun beam in his golden splendor, and the clouds be hidden for this one day; let music fill the air with sweet, soft harmony; earth’s beau- teous eyes, the flowers! let them ope and be strewn bounti- fully over your way; let all the joyous, merry, gladsome things—which life has in it—hold revel here, for to-morrow the fray begins. You are now licensed to study, to learn; no college learn- ing can compare with that which now awaits your emprise; and the learning which begins to-day may be, must be inter- rupted only by death, our common foe. Our science is not exact; perhaps, in this iconoclastic pe- riod, ’twere better to call it an art. .Let us be encouraged by remembering, as one has said, that between all knowl- edge (more or less exact) of facts, or even of the laws which regulate them, and an intelligent appreciation of the reason of things, there is a wide difference, most apparent to, and ‘keenly felt‘by, the most cultured and enlightened minds. ( WILLIAM H. BOSS, M. D. 25 This consideration contracts your field in no sense; it never seems more widely-extended than from this stand-point, and for earnest workers, there was never more loud and constant call. The avenues of science are filled with travellers and sight- see-ers, but only here and there is a true workman to be found. Your mistress is a jealous one; of rare dignity, beauty, and worth, she is no trifling damsel, to be satisfied with your idle moments; she demands your hearts’ allegi- ance, and with less than this she will not be content. The hours of waiting are now to come; let these be filled with work, not only, but abiding hope. Let into your minds the conviction, (which is generally justified,) that if you re- main long enough in one place, you will succeed. Are you to follow general practice? the stern realities will yield some- times, and the way be beguiled with pleasant romance, and you will find the name of “Doctor” an “open sesame” to homes, and hearts, too; hold high and sacred this privilege, which attaches not to you yet, but to your name. A score of pathways, all honorable, spread themselves, divergent, before you; inviting, if you have appetite for spe- cial study. The microscope, no longer to be neglected by the medical man, offers a life s employ; the laryngoscope— is an “Aladdin’s Lamp,” commanding entrance into a “cave’’ filled with more wonders than the Arabian’s fancy could sug- gest ; we may safely press the figure further, and say, that precious gems are there, too, waiting to be seized. From this “coign of vantage’’ look over the whole field; seek out and confess to yourselves your weak points, and fortify speedily. A certain kind of information vou will, at the outset, find important and valuable—l mean accurate knowledge of the place in which you live; its health statistics, mortality rate, topograpic and climatic conditions. On the general subjects, hygiene, dietetics, ventilation, clothing, &c., you cannot be ‘ ADDRESS OF too thoroughly informed, and will find carefully digested knowledge of this character of wide import and daily use. Into the glorious service which now claims your heart and hand, impress each faculty and talent; seize each weapon with which science arms her votaries, and be not satisfied as camp-followers, when you may be in the van, or lead ♦ * * Cultivate the broadest charity, and bestow upon the poor such kindly attention as will persuade them of your deep in- terest and sympathy. One of the most prominent medical men of New York city, deliberately makes half his practice gratuitous, among the poor. “He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord,” is a reason from Holy Writ, for be- stowing liberally of your time among the poor; there are other reasons, of which you have heard; they are not more practical than this, even if they seem so. Gentlemen, while the general estimate of our profession is deservedly high, there is a vague impression that physicians deal so largely in moral influence, that much of their treat- ment deserves the name of humbug. I suppose such a sentiment is encouraged by the idea, that bread pills are largely dealt in; that it is impossible, or even ridiculous, for the physician to say about anything profes- sional—l do not know; again, and with better reason, that physicians are sometimes ignorant, professionally and other- wise, and that the most wise among them err sometimes. There is, or has been, reason for this; and I am impelled by the firmest convictions, to urge that, when you find medi- cine not needed, you be strong enough to say so, and refuse to give pilular lies; that when necessity comes, you preserve the ability fearlessly to say—I do not know; that in study- ing the face of disease, you keep able, until you recognize it, to refuse to give it a name. * There may have been, there may he. in the eye of the faciH WILLIAM H. ROSS, M. D. utilitarian, need for such and kindred pandering to prejudice and ignorance; but if we would hold sacred our high calling, we shall not encourage, by word or deed, an empty prejudice, held by those who, while ever ready to listen to the hint of detraction, are first to call for aid from the arm which they would deprive of strength. I scruple not to say, the true physician will not deceive: First, because his exemplar is the Great Physician, and in imitation of Him, the very thought of falsehood will shrink away; second, because it is rarely, even apparently helpful; third, because it will react upon him who uses weapons so weak; and, finally, the seeming necessity for it, in the past, has been much exaggerated, and belief in it, assent to it, has brought upon our noble employ no light discredit. The physician lays no claim to—borrows nought from— magic. From the juggleries and • mysteries of a Cagliostro, we have come to know a Galvani, a Volta, and later a Paget, a Verchow, Billroth, and Bindfleisch. We can have no need for the false, when these are unearthing, exhibiting, advo- cating, the true. The poverty, disease, the pain and suffering of humanity! these hideous progeny of ignorance speak, in clarion tones, in behalf of universal knowledge; these demand that man, everywhere, be called and considered man; that the clouds of ignorance be dispelled; that educators everywhere cling only to truth. Physicians! conservators of health! are edu- cators ; recognizing in all men the tendency to death! know- ing something about health, and its obverse, disease—.Na- ture’s laws—the sins against, or transgressions of, them; having the keys of Nature’s storehouses, in their daily em- i ploy, they teach, they must teach; with almost every pre- ! scription there might—there should go—a lesson. * * * Let us teach, then, while healing, and teach truth; glori- j ous, emancipating truth; not troubled about results, not stooping through fear to deception, nor, for any reason, fob % 28 ADDRESS, &C. lowing the blind leader, falsehood; and not forgetting, in our labor for the perishable body, the undying part—the soul— which has also disease, for which he is a happy and a good physician, who knows the cure. GRADUATING CLASS OF 1874. BELL, HENRY New York. Epilepsy. COOPER. MOSES England. Inflammation. DAILEY, B. E Pennsylvania. Cholera Asiatica. ELIOT, J. LLEWELLIN Washington. Urethritis. FLOOD, P. H New York. HELLER, P. H., Ph. B Washington. Acute Mania. Antagonism of Opium and Belladonna. HODGES, E. F., A B Massachusetts. Conservative Snidery. OFFUTT. GEORGE W Georgetown. Pleuritis. REYNOLDS. WALTER B North Carolina. Typhoid Fever. STREET, DANIEL B Maryland. Pneumonitis. TRAUTMAN, B Washington. Hereditary Diseases. UNDERGRADUATES. ADAMS, EDWARD H U. S. Naval Hospital. ADAMS, W i Maryland. BECKETT, FRANK 0 "...Williamstown,Vt. BINNS, DOUGLAS Chillicothe, Ohio. BOARDMAN, MYRON Trumansbnrgh, N. Y. BOYCE, WALTER J Washington, D. C. BRASSLER, CHAS. A Maryland. BRIDGETT. JOS. F Washington, D. C. BROOKS, WM. H Washington, D. C. BUSHNELL, J. HOWARD Washington, D. C. BUTTS, EDWARD A Washington, D. C. CARROLL, PHILIP Savannah, Ga. DOBSON, L Cherokee Nation, I. T. EATON, J. S. J Elkhorn, Wis. EICHELBERGER, FRANK T Baltimore, Md. ELLIS. C. C New York. EVANS, THOS. H Great Britain. FRANZ, C. F. L Philadelphia, Pa. GREEN, J. M Washington, D. C. GRIEBEL, GEORGE H Prussia/ HARVEY, T. A Ohio. HOWARD, EDWIN , Washington, D. C. JACOBSEN, C Denmark. JEWELL, JOHN A Washington, D. C. KELLY, DANIEL JAS., M. A Lancashire, England. LATHAM, JAS. T Missouri. LAVENDER, JOHN A Oswego, N. Y. LEACH, E. W Weymouth, Mass. MAJOR, T. ELWOOD « Hilsboro’, Ohio. MARTIN, J. LEWIS Philadelphia, Pa. McLEOD, WILFORD Georgetown, D. C. MILLER, NORMAN B Virginia. MORGAN, CARROLL Washington, D. C. NEWMAN, H. M Washington, D. C. PATTERSON, JAMES B Pennsylvania. PATTERSON, J. FRED Middletown, N. Y, PROCTER, WALTER Washington, D. C. UNDERGRADUATES. ROSS, F. W Washington, D. C. LAND, J. S Washington, D. C SEYMOUR. B.S Pittsburg, Pa. SPEAR, ADRIAN Virginia City, Nevada, STACK, MAURICE J Washington, D. C. STEPHENSON, JOS. G Washington, D. C STERNE, WM. H Pittsburg, Pa. STOKES, GEO. W Moorestown, N. J. IABER, ALVA S Washington, D. C. THOMPSON, J. PTARRY Washington D C VEERHOFF, WILHELM H Germany WESTCOTT, J. B New York. WHITE, WILLIAM Pennsylvania. WILLIAMS, C. E New Orleans, La. MSDIOAL Ilf 411 MIST OF mu TWENTY-FOURTH MEDICAL SESSION, 1873-74. College (Building, Corner 10th &• E Streets, WASHUSTGTOU, ID. O. NOBLE YOUNG, M. U., President. FLOUOAKDO HOWARD, M. D., Treasurer. JOHNSON ELIOT, M. D., Dean. FACULTY. Professor of Principles and Practice of Medicine, General Pathology, and Medical Ethics. NOBLE YOUNG, M. D., FLODOARDO HOWARD, M. D.. Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children. JOHNSON ELIOT, M. D., Professor of Principles and Practice of Surgery. Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, and Medical Jurisprudence. JAMES E. MORGAN, M. D„ WARWICK EVANS, M. D,. Professor of Anatomy. BENJ. S. HEDRICK, M. A., Ph. D.. Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology. Professor of Physiology, and Diseases of the Eye and Ear. RALPH WALSH, M. D., HOWARD H. BARKER, M. D., CHARLES V. BOARDMAN, M. D.. Demonstrators of Anatomy. PARKE G. YOUNG, M. t)„ Prosector to the Chair of Anatomy. PROSPECTUS. The Regular Course will begin October sth, and end in the following March. The Lectures are delivered daily at o’clock P. M. This arrangement has been found most convenient for the students, especially for those who are employed in the various Government Departments. Clinical Instruction.—During the course ample opportunity will be afforded the students for Clinical Instruction, which is free to the Matriculants of the Institution. Dissections.—Abundant accommodations and materials are afforded for the pros- ecution of this branch of medical science, in a large, convenient, and well-ventilated apartment, furnished with gas and water. The College Buildings contain spacious Lecture Rooms, and all other conve- niences requisite for the prosecution of the study of Medicine and Surgery. Medical Museum.—The Army Medical Museum, adjacent to the College Build- ings, containing a valuable collection of specimens in Anatomy and Natural History, and the finest collection of Pathological Specimens in the world, affords unequakd advantages to Medical Students. General Rules for the Candidates for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. 1. The Candidate must be of good moral character. 2. He must have studied medicine not less than three years, during which he shall have attended two full courses of instruction, delivered in some regular Medical School, one of which shall have been in this Institution. 3. He must have attended at least one course of Practical Anatomy, and one course of Clinical Instruction. 4. He must have submitted to the Faculty an acceptable thesis, in his own hand- writing, on some medical subject, and must have subsequently passed a satisfactory examination. FEES FOR THE WINTER SESSION. For the Full Course of Lectures $135 00 Matriculation 5 OO Demonstrator lO OO Graduation 30 00 Single Ticket 20 OO Payment of Fees is required at the commencement of the session. JOHNSON ELIOT, M. D., Dean, No. 510 B Street N. W., Washington, D. C. SUMMER SESSION. FACULTY. Lecturer upon Principles and Clinical Practice of Medicine. JOS. TABER JOHNSON, M. D., Lecturer upon Obstetrics and Clinical Diseases of Women. THEODORE MEAD, M. D., Lecturer upon Principles and Practice of Surgery. WM. H. ROSS, M. D., CHAS. M. TEEE, M. D., Lecturer upon Materia Medica and Therapeutics. WARWICK EVANS, M. D., Professor of General and Descriptive Anatomy Professor of Physiology and Diseases of Eye and Ear. J. EDWIN CHENEY, M. D, RALPH WALSH, M. D., Lecturer upon Histology The Sumheii Session of 1874 will commence on Wednesday, April Ist, and will continue until July Ist. Two Lectures will be given each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 6toBP. M, During the Course Clinical Instruction will be afforded. Matriculation Fee $5; valid for the year.