v®j£&§ ifei$$i jffiepititnttttt GEORGETOWN COLLEGE. 1867-'68. J *KT* ()CMv!//^ ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THK Nineteenth ^nnual Pommencement THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT GEORGETOWN COLLEGE, By ROBERT REYBURN. M. I). ASSOCIATE PROFIiS-iOR OF ANATOMV AND PROt'l^sOR OP PL! NIC AL SL'KHKKV, AND [/ (I E 0 R G K M . W E L L M A X, Al . I)., MARCH 11, 1868* WITH A CATALOGUE OF THE FACULTY AND STUDENTS. ■7ZZIC 1 \V A S HI N <; TO N : (TN'MNUHAM, I.ANE i .u'lNTOSM, PKINTKUH 18 0 8. Washington, D. C, March 12tft, lS(is. Dear Str : In bchalf of onr fellow-students we have the honor to request for publi- cation a copy of your address at the Nineteenth Annual Commencement of George- town Medical College. Most respectfully, your obedient servants, D. J. GIBBON, THEO. MEAD, J. S. BE ALE, Committer. IIOBERT REYBUKN. M. 1)., Associate Professor of Anatomy and Professor of Clinical Surgery. ■2-.'!» I Street, Washington, D. C, March IZth, 18(!8. Gentlemen : I have the honor respectfully to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated March 1-ith, 1SIW, requesting a copy of my address for publication, and herewith enclose it, with kind regards and wishes for your future success in your professsion. I remain your obedient servant ROBERT REYBURN, M. D., Associate Professor of Anatomy and Professor of Clinical Svrgery. To Messrs. 1). J. Gibbon, Thro. Mead, J. S. Beale, Committee. Washington, D. C, March 12th, 1868, Dear Sir : Representing our classmates, we have the honor to request for publica- tion a copy of your Valedictory Address at the Nineteenth Annual Commencement of the Medical Department of Georgetown College. Most respectfully, I). J. GIBBON, THEO. MEAD, J. S. BEALE, Committee. Geo. M. Wellman, M. D. Washington, D. C, March \Wi, 1SUS. Gentlemen: In reply^o your letter of the bit h instant, and with many thanks for the compliment which your request conveys, I havethepleasureto transmit herewith a copy of my address, Respectfully, your obedient servant, GKORGE M. WEEEMAN. Messrs. Gibbon, Mead, and P.eale, Committee ADDEESS. Ladies and Gentlemen : The occasion that has called us together this evening is one of those pleas- ing interruptions that so happily serve to vary th ■ daily routine of our cares and duties ; it is a pleasant thing for us to break away, even if it be but_ for a time, from the old beaten track of life, and, as at times like the present, to live our lives over again, iu those of others, and to welcome the advent into the narrow and rugged path of professional life, of those who have been found worthy to walk therein. The assembling of this large and brilliant audience to witness the confer- ring of the degree of Doctor of Medicine upon these gentlemen of the gradua- ting class, Medical Department of Georgetown College, sufficiently attests to us that your sympathies and good wishes are extended towards them; and in their name we thank you for your presence to-night. Gentlemen of the Graduating Glass : The duty has devolved upon me of complying with that time-honored custom which demands an address on the part of the faculty, at each Annual Commencement of our College. The time would fail us were we to attempt, on an occasion like this, to dwell, at any length, upon the history of the science of Medicine, and yet it seems appropriate here to say a few words concerning the past and present condition of this science, in which we, and the whole com- munity, are so deeply interested. The age we live in is pre-eminently one of mental and physical activity ; with vigorous and enquiring intellects, men are everywhere engaged in examin- ing the accuracy of what their fathers believed to be the truth, and are employed in discovering the most hidden secrets of nature, and in applying these discov- eries to the use, and for the benefit of their race. 4 It is unfortunately true, however, that men are sometimes apt to carry this spirit of investigation and inquiry to an excessive extent, and too hastily, and upon insufficient grounds, to reject as fables even the accumulated wisdom of their ancestors, forgetting that though we have in our day succeeded in rearing the temple of Medicine to a grandeur and completeness unknown to them, yet we are indebted to their labors for the foundation upon which we built the edi- fice ; but thisis an evil which will always correct itself. Dr. O. Wendell Holmes says that some people appear to think that truth is so great an invalid that she cannot bejtrusted to walk alone, but must always be wrapped in swaddling clothes, and muffled up, so that she can scarcely breathe the air of Heaven. This is not so; for truth has everything to gain aud nothing to fear from exposure to the sunlight of inquiry. The advantages of the spirit of free thought and intelligent investigation \ have no where been exemplified more strongly than in the past history of our science. To carry out the illustration heretofore used, the temple of Medicine has been erected by the united labors of men of all countries, and in all ages. Many men of learning and mighly intellect have ambitiously thought themselves capable of building an entirely new structure by their own labors, when perhaps they were only engaged in contributing an insignificant portion to the old edi- fice. Others have thought that their vocation was that of destroying that por- tion of the building which their fathers in medicine had reared at such an infi- nite expense of time and labor, but they have only succeeded in perpetuating the remembrance of their own folly, and in burying their names and reputations in the rubbish that they themselves had made. Their numbers are countless, their names are legion, of the isms or forms of irregular practice which are recorded in the annals of medicine : these have arisen, flourished for a time, and then passed into deserved oblivion. The multitude have said "lo, here, and lo, there," whilst the true lovers of medicine and of mankind have possessed their souls in patience, and have bided their time, knowing that their science could not be moved because it was founded upon the eternal rock of Truth. The old latin writer said that time was the destroyer; anil yet in one sense lie is the preserver of all that is true in science, by separating it from the errors which men are so apt to mingle with it. During the early ages of medicine its practice was chiefly empirical, that is, based upon experiment; remedies were given without any reference to theo- ries of disease, simply because they were found to remove certain morbid con- ditions; and, indeed, it has been said in our day by great men of our profession, and amongst others by the illustrious Trousseau, that the practice of medicine is nothing more than scientific empiricism. But, gentlemen, Ave do most em- phatically deny that this correctly describes the practice of medicine as it exists at, the present day; empiricism is the characteristic which belongs to the infancy of every science, and so long as a science remains empirical it can never make any great progress, for the simple reason that no matter how extended and ingenuous are the experiments we may make, we cannot be certain that our conclusions will not be overthrown by the investigations of others. \Vhat is the reason, we would ask, that we are so much more successful in treating diseases than our forefathers were ? Is it because we experiment more scientifically than they V Or is it, not rather to be accounted for by the fact that we understand better than they did the structure and laws governing the human frame in a state of health, and hence are better qualified to administer the appro- priate remedies, to remove the morbid conditions which constitute diseases. As Virchow truly remarks, every real advance in the treatment of disease has invariably been preceded by some discovery in physiology, and it must be apparent that as our knowledge concerning the growth and development of the healthy organism is extended, so just in that proportion will our knowledge of pathology, which, as Dr. Hartshorne expresses it, is nothing more than an erring physiology, be increased. But let us now take a hasty glance at medicine as it exists at the present day. In no department of human knowledge, probably, is there more activity and research being displayed than in the collateral branches connected with the 0 science of medicine. In chemistry, for instance, the number of new compounds discovered, and which are or may be applied to medical uses, is so great as almost to defy enumeration. There is one group, however, the " Anaesthetics,'1 or those substances which produce insensibility to pain, the importance of which can hardly be over estimated, and which are deserving of especial mention. New bodies possessing the same or similar properties are constantly being added to their number, and their use and action are now so familiar that they arc cvery-day employment and application. The new method of Analysis, by means of the prism, or as it is commonly called Spectrum Analysis, is a truly wonderful discovery. "Not only has it enabled us to analyze and say with confidence that the sun. planets and fixed stars con- tain substances similar to those found upon our earth, but it has enabled us to discover in the fluids of the human body quantities of poisons, and also of medi- cines, so minute as to be entirely inappreciable by the usual methods of inves- tigation. On turning to Materia Medica and Therapeutics we find that the list of new remedies is constantly increasing, and that new and more advantageous combinations of the old are constantly being made ; the tendency, in fact, of the pharmacy of the present day is, to substitute concentrated remedies, in which the nauseous taste of many of our medicines is disguised, by the addition of aromatics and other ingredients, instead of the disagreeable doses formerly in vogue. Whilst dwelling upon Therapeutics, it seems impossible to avoid mention- ing the name of Headland, whose book upon the action of medicines is un- questionably the most scientific and philosophical treatise that has yet been pro- duced on this difficult subject, and is worthy of careful study by every medical man. The advance that has been made in the art of Surgery during the past few years, is truly remarkable; by the aid of anaesthetics, surgical operations are every day performed which would have been exceedingly difficult, and, in manv cases, impossible to accomplish Avithout their assistance. Not only are operations now performed painlessly, but the mortality has remarkably diminished in all the great operations of Surgery. The use of acu-pressure, instead of the ligature in the arresting of hemor- rhage, is a great improvement, as is also the quick pressure treatment, recently so successfully used in Europe for the radical cure of " Aneurism." The after treatment of amputations and wounds has also been greatly improved and sim- plified of late years, and Ave find that there are only three essential properties required in eArery substance, which is used as a surgical dressing, and these are : 1st, " that it shall be cleanly ;" 2d, ''that it shall be antiseptic;" and 3d, " that it shall exclude all atmospheric air from the wounded or injured parts." Many neAV and improved instruments are noAV being employed in investi- gating obscure cases of disease, located in the internal portions of the body; but the space to which Ave are compelled to limit ourselves, will prevent us from mentioning any but a few of the most prominent. By the use of the Laryngoscope we can see clearly the condition of the larynx, Epiglottis and vocal cords. The Rhinoscope enables us to examine the posterior nares, and these instruments are valuable adjuncts in the treatment of diseases located in these organs. fi The Ophthalmoscope has also opened a wide field of investigation and re- search; and we know just as certainly by the use of this instrument the con- dition of the interior of the eye, as Ave do its external shape and appearance. Other instruments have been invented, Avhich have made it possible for us to examine the condition and the processes that are going on in the stomach and other cavities of the body. There is one important and incontestible fact which sIioavs, in a very strik- ing light, the advantages the community are now enjoying from the labors of men of science, and this is the marked and progressive increase that has taken place in the last one hundred and fifty years in the average duration of the hu- man life. This subject has been very thoroughly investigated for the purposes of life insurance. Mr Finlaison, of England, compiled a very elaborate set of tables, showing the expectation of life, which were adopted by the British Government in the year 1829. His inquiries developed the fact that the average length of life in this century Avas one-fourth longer than during the previous one. The experience of Life Insurance Companies in this country, since 182!), has also been the same as in England, and we find that the average length of life is still increasing. This result, it is generally admitted, has been brought about by the influ- ence of two causes, first, the greater attention which is noAV paid to the laws of Hygiene, and secondly, to the discoveries in medical science and improvements Avhich have been and are now being made in the treatment of disease. Certain diseases, such as the " Plague," which, in London, in the year 1605, destroyed 100,000 lives, have entirely disappeared. Others, as for instance " Small Pox," which two hundred years ago Avasa scourge even more dreaded than the plague, have been mitigated in their severity, and robbed, almost, of all their terrors. But, gentlemen, I feel that I must close this brief and imperfect sketch of the present condition of our profession, and with a few words of counsel to you I shall have done. You are about to receive to-night the authorization that will enroll you among the members of a noble and honorable profession. I ask you earnestly and sincerely to reflect upon the motives that have induced you to choose for your pathway in life, the calling of the physician. * The world worships what they call success. How often do men point out to their sons, as examples for imitation, men who have attained Avealth or high position without ever inquiring or caring to know what sacrifices of principle and of true happiness they have made to obtain these things, in themselves so desirable. Do not misunderstand me : " riches and honor are desirable;" and for a man who feels that he possesses powers and faculties within him, which lift him about his fellow-men, to desire, as a means of doing good and provide for the comfort and happiness of those who are dependent upon him, to elevate himself in position, or to attain wealth, is noble, just and honorable ; it is an ambition that men and angels might sympathise Avith and rejoice at. But on the other hand for a man, independently of his fitness for the performance of the duties and responsibilities that accompany these things, to desire position and wealth merely for their own sake, and for his personal aggrandizement, is mean, paltry, I and despicable, and umvorthyof a reasonable, intelligent, and immortal being. But avc believe better things of you, and trust you have chosen our profession chiefly as a means of doing good in your day and generation, and only second- ary as a means of advancing your own interests. It may be, that some men will attempt to mock at you for acting upon such principles as these, but in their hearts they Avill respect and admire in you the virtue they cannot imitate. The first and most essential requisite to success is, that you must devote your- selves entirely to your profession. Truly it has been said in old time, "that no man can serve two masters," and Medicine is too exacting a mistress to bestow her smiles upon those who worship at other shrines than hers; and it is vain and idle folly to expect to attain eminence in our laborious profession without devoting close and unwearied attention to the study and investigation of disease. If then we cannot afford to spend our time in superficial investigations, still less can we expect to succeed if we waste it in the dissipations and follies of life. What can be so melancholy an object as a wasted life ; and yet how common it is to see a man in the pride of his youth, with mighty poAvers which should be devoted to the service of his God, and Avith glorious capacities for usefulness to his fellow-men, forging the chains of evil habits that will ere long destroy him and send him to perdition, an unwilling and yet an unresisting victim. Some years ago 1 stood by the bank of one of our noble rivers andAvitnessed the launching of a ship : the appointed signal Avas given, and grandly and swiftly, amid the plaudits of admiring thousands, the vessel descended into the Avaiting water. As I gazed at this beautiful specimen of man's handiAvork, the thought came over me—how will this vessel end her career : Will it be in the night when crew and passengers are quietly sleeping, dreaming perchance of the home and loved ones they shall never see again, that the fearful cry of fire shall he heard, and the hapless inmates of the ship be left only a choice of deaths; or will it be amid the hoAvling of the tempest, that she shall strike suddenly upon a rock and go down swift to destruction, the friends at home knowing nothing except that she returned no more. Gentlemen of the graduating class—Brother Physicians : To-night you begin your career in life : How will it end ? Shall it be that your usefulness and hap- piness Avill be destroyed by the flames of some secret sin, or Avrecked by your striking upon the rock of some great temptation. God forbid, and grant that like the trusty vessel, which has safely, and through many j^ears, carried crew and passengers over the waves of the restless ocean, you too having faithfully, honestly and devoutly performed your part, may rest in the haven of a good old age; and after this life is ended, receive the blessed salutatipn, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter ye into the ]oy of your Lord." VALEDICTORY. Ladies and Gentlemen : In accordance with a custom that is time-honored in other institutions sim- ilar to our own, and which was so happily inaugurated here at our last Annual Commencement, I have the honor of addressing you this evening in behalf of the graduating class. One of our modern philosophers says that " the best thought, like the most perfect digestion, is done uneonsciously'." However true this may be in its ' application to men of genius, in purely literary pursuits, yet in science the best results are those which have folloAved from sIoav, careful and persistent labor—and in none is this more true than in the science of medicine. More than two thous- and years ago, Hippocrates of Cos, the greatest of ancient physicians, declared that "nothing should be affirmed concerning the nature of man until after having acquired a certainty of it by the aid of the senses ;" and noAV all that is known of the Avonderful organization of the human frame, and the mysterious influences and phases that affect its Avell-being, has been gradually and slowly acquired in accordance with this maxim, just as the startling predictions and revelations of astronomy have been reached by the slow and careful observation, sleepless vigils'and patient calculations of the philosophers of many centuries. The science of medicine, then, has been one of slow growth. Many theo- ries have been promulgated, tested and exploded, leaving to history their depo- sits of known facts ; little by little these facts have accumulated, until we have the science as it to-day exists. Among the great minds of past generations that have been devoted to this profession, there are not many names that now stand out upon the pages of history, preeminent for the importance and originality of their theories. When Ave have glanced at the Naturalism of Hippocrates and Galen, the Eclecticism of Celsus, the Empiricism of Aretauis, the discovery of the circula- tion of the blood by Harvey, the brilliant but wild and reckless theory of Stim- ulation of John BroAvn of Edinburgh, and the Rationalism of Cullen and Rush, we have included about all the grand original ideas of the science of medicine, and have come down to the modern Cellular Pathology of Virchow, and the Correlation and Conservation of vital forces as taught by Carpenter. An all important lesson is to be learned from the grand struggles of brilliant intellects in the past, hedged about by darkness, ignorance and prejudice, but groping Avith mighty energy for the truth; and Avhile a mingled feeling of regret and sadness is aAvakened Avhen avc think of the high talent and the long years expended upon mistaken theories, and the earnest search for truth in wrong di- rections, yet it is not for us to say that their talents and energies and genius Avere lavished in vain, for the errors of the past are to us pregnant with instruc- tion and Avarning. The two modern theories—first, of cell life and cell growth, the idea that every 10 organ and tissue, both animal and vegetable, is produced and developed by the existence and growth of minute cells—and second, of the existence in the body of the vital force, its connection with other physical forces, and its regulation by peculiar laws which govern it, as heat, force and light govern inanimate bodies; these I say are grand steps in the onward march of science, and promise to be- come to medicine what the great discovery of the attraction of Gravitation by Sir Isaac Newton, is to Natural Philosophy. But these Avonderful discoveries have still to be developed by much investi- gation and long reflection, before we can hope to understand them even as well as we comprehend the laws that regulate the unerring revolutions of the most distant planet, many millions of miles aAvay. We cannot be too grateful to the noble men who have devoted years of study to these and other vast problems. Our own thoughts are enlarged and elevated by contact and sympathy with theirs. But though science has given us so much that is of inestimable value, much more remains to be learned. We know that often when the brain has been put to its utmost powers of action, it cannot be made to cease suddenly, as if it were a steam engine or gal- vanic battery ; the sleepless nights and haggard face of many a hard Avorking student will bear witness to this fact. And Ave know, on the contrary, that the mind cannot be instantaneously thrown from a state of inactivity into its full speed of thought, as is seen in the bewildered gaze of one who is suddenly roused from sleep by the signal of alarm and danger. Physiologists easily explain these phenomena, by stating that the healthy action of the brain depends upon its regular and abundant supply of pure arte- rial blood, and the proper adjustment of this Avith the cerebro-spinal fluid, and that these functions, though perfected with amazing rapidity, yet require some appreciable duration of time, and cannot be brought about instantaneously. But the connection between body and soul is a problem still unsolved. Ponder as Ave may upon the wonderful construction of the human frame, and the complicated and manifold variety of human actions, Ave get but a faint and unsatisfactory glimpse at the mysterious soul beyond. It still remains to be explained how the soul of man grows Avith the growth of his body, and what is the exact process that is undergone when the spirit quits its earthly tenement, leaving the latter to decay, while it enters upon a new and more glorious existence, of Avhich mere physical life can give us no true concep- tion ; to explain Avhy it is that dark and strange moods flash across the mind at times, coming and going like the winds of heaven, when no physical condi- tion can satisfactorily account for them ; to tell Avhat has become of the soul Avhen insanity has touched the busy brain with its fatal wand, and left it an in- strument, of strange wild fancies, a sad and ruined relic of its former noble self. The rapid onAvard progress of medical science in the present century gives us a bright promise that these and other mysterious phenomena, will one day be as clear to us as many a law in Natural Philosophy and Mechanics, once beyond the wildest fancy of man to solve. But Physiology is still imperfect and incomplete; and Avhile we give all honor to the great minds that have led the Avay in theory, would it not be well for us to keep in view the fact of what we owe to empiricism ? I do not mean the blind empiricism of the past—a Paracelsus in this age avouRI be a disgrace 11 to the intelligence and humanity of the nineteenth century—hut an enlightened and scientific empiricism. No science can be perfect without it, and least of all, medical science. Astronomy has been based upon it, and Chemistry, without it, would still be the mysterious alchemy of the dark ages. Practical business men sometimes, in the pursuit of their calling, go beyond the discoveries of science, destroying some favorite a priori theory, and science is compelled to bridge over the discrepancy with new theories. We still need more facts before our theories can be perfect. Observation" and experiment must still be the foundation stones of the struc- ture of medical science, and not till they have been carefully laid and tho- roughly tested can Ave presume, with any hope of success, to raise above them beautiful and symmetrical forms of theory. I would not, with Trousseau, say that "nationalism in medicine leads only to absurdities,'1'' nor Avith Lsennec, that "Physiology and Pathology are vain amusements of the human mind;'''' but, while avc strive earnestly to pierce the great secrets of the conservation and cor- relation of physical and vital forces, and to learn the modus operandi of all the hidden processes of nature, let us not forget, that we are deeply indebted to educated empiricism, to intelligent and scientific observation and experiment; and that it is the vocation of the true physician to elevate and substantiate these, and to profit not only by his own experience, but by that of the Avhole profession, from the time of Hippocrates down to the present. Society, too, has its obligations in regard to the medical profession, and OAves it a kindly sympathy as Avell as a friendly criticism. As it values health and the intelligent and scientific treatment of disease, so it should give the hon- est, capable and industrious physician, its Avarmest approval in his hard and often thankless task of investigation, reflection and application. It is quite true that in order to win success and eminence, the medical prac- titioner must love his vocation, as the artist loves the beautiful creations of his brain; but it is equally true that in this age there are tew professional men who are not keenly sensitive to public opinion. It is for you to decide whether honest, hard-working talent, or brazen-faced ignorance, shall make up the qualifications of your physicians. Yours is the mighty vox populi that encourages the professional brother with its golden opinions, or disheartens him with its censure. Your presence here, and your deep interest in the exercises of this occasion, are bright omens of the future, and grateful tokens that your kind approval and aid will be freely given to honest, intelligent and faithful toil. Thanking you, in behalf of my fellow-graduates for the kindness and patience manifested this evening, I bid you, for them, a respectful adieu. Gentlemen of the Faculty : It is one of the saddest reflections of the human mind, that the most delight- ful journey, the most agreeable entertainment, or the happiest association of friends on earth, must, sooner or later, come to an end. We meet you to-night for the last time in our old and familiar relations of teachers and pupils; and while we would not conceal the joy and pride Ave experi- ence at the accomplishment of the object for which we have so long and patiently striven, and the arrival of the moment to Avhich we have looked forAvard with no little hope and anxiety, yet the happiness of this hour is marred by the 12 thought that our pleasant relations with you must be sundered—that we must part. We fully appreciate the earnest efforts that you have made in our behalf, and we would be ungrateful, indeed, were we to part from you without express- ing, in some manner, our deep sense of obligation. You have steadily, patiently and faithfully toiled with us, giving us the richest results of your own wide experience, and rejecting for us all that your own mature reflections have seen to be prejudicial. Your encouraging words have given us faith in the power of a strong will to accomplish brilliant results, and have taught us that contentment is at best but a doubtful virtue, unworthy of an active earnest mind, and that, ambition, guided by virtue and wisdom, may be and is, one of the. noblest attributes of humanity. You have shown us how great, in the accomplishment of objects that seem at first difficult or impossible, is the poAver of habitual and close ap- plication, which moAres on to success, as steadily and'surely, as the sculptor's chisel wears away the marble and brings to view the symmetrical and beautiful form that wakes the admiration of all who behold it. You have striven to teach us to be gentle, but firm, to look well before we act, to investigate tho- roughly, and to make up our diagnoses with care and deliberation ; but Avhen we are once well satisfied, to act promptly and fearlessly, not. with the black- smith's muscles of iron, but with the surgeon's delicate nerves of steel. You have taught us to think and act for ourselves ; you have told us to pin our faith to no man's ipse dixit, but to weigh, examine, and test accurately, whatever subject may come under our notice ; and if, in after years, we become mere routine practitioners, we cannot lay the fault at your door. You have not only impressed upon our minds the vital importance of becom- ing thorough and scientific students, but you have shown us the high and sacred responsibility, in the sight of God and man, that devolves upon the physician in the performance of his duties, and the necessity that his honor and integrity should be above reproach. For all these, and much more that our hearts recognize, but which language can poorly portray, accept our sincere gratitude. As class after class, having received the benefits of your valuable instruc- tion, passes out into the Avorld, each member to act for himself, Ave can fancy the pride or the disappointment witi: Avhich you watch each man's success or failure; and in parting from our Alma Mater Ave cannot help feeling that we carry with us your most earnest AAnshes for our success and prosperity. Our regrets at the loss of your instructions and kind words of Avarning, are more sincere and deep than these poor words can express; and noAv, as we bid you farewell, accept our assurances that though we have perhaps listened to your voices for the last time, yet your influence and example will go with us through life, and a grateful memory will hold you in high esteem to the latest moment of our existence. Classmates and Friends: A deep sense of the honor which you have conferred in appointing me to speak the parting Avords to-night, impels me to ask that you will accept this earnest assurance that I shall always appreciate and value it as a testimonial of 13 the highest character from you Avhom I have met day after day, and known so intimately for two years past. v It has always seemed to me that there can be feAv things in this world more satisfactory, or better worth the winning, than the confidence and esteem of young men of high talent and noble aims, about to take their part in the busy scenes of active life. You know better than I can tell, how absorbing have been our studies and Iioav occupied our time. Let these then be my apology for the imperfect man- ner in which I have here fulfilled the responsible duty Avhich you entrusted to my hands. We have met to-night for the last time as a class, to receive the honors for Avhich Ave have so long and ardently hoped, and to bid each other and our A Ima Mater a kind farewell. The joy that goes hand-in-hand with this crown- ing event of our student life, is saddened at the thought of separation from friends whom we have learned to love and esteem. When future years shall have weighed down your minds with harrassing cares, and time shall have touched the brilliant hues of youth with a more sober tint, the bright memories of these happy days will sometimes come back lo you, as refreshing, as savccI to the recollection, as the" green and living oasis to the Aveary traveler of the des- ert. Then you will realize as never before— " How mournfully sweet are the erhoes tJuit start, When memory plays an old tune to the heart.'''' Fancy gives me a bright picture of the future that lies before you. You are fortunate, indeed, in the time of your advent upon the arena of aciive life. Never before Avas a more tempting field of action offered to reso- lute and determined young men. Our country has at last emerged from her bloody civil Avar, and the busy hands of Peace and Industry are .recovering from their long paralysis ; immigration is steadily pouring its tide of working men upon our shores from foreign lands, and civilization is surely marching westward, peopling the fertile wilderness with thrifty energetic pioneers ; our mines are almost inexhaustible; the gold of Montana and Colorado is building up our depreciated currency, and the time is not many centuries in the future Avhen proud England Avill come to her former colonies for the coal and iron which her own impoverished soil can no longer yield ; electrcity has already placed us in daily communication with the old world ; our morning journals contain the latest items of news from London and Paris, and the last erratic movement of Louis Napoleon is discussed at our evening meal ; the Pacific railroads, latest and grandest enterprise of the nineteenth century, are rapidly reaching across the broad plains, lovely valleys, and lofty Sierras of the West, opening up to civilization the hitherto almost unknown regions, beyond the Mississippi, Avhere the savage's Avar-cry has till now been the only human sound to break the solemn stillness of ages, girding our.land Avith iron roads that shall unite the Occident and the Orient, and which are destined, at no very distant day, to form the grand pathway for the Avealth of India, and the culture and intellect of Europe. A new spirit is dawning upon our land. As in all young and energetic nations, the desire for wealth has been, in this country, the most prominent mainspring of action ; but now a mighty, though silent, revolution is progressing step by step. A love of knowledge, of art, and of science is supplanting the love o! money ; thought has grown more equable, expression more delicate, execu 14 tion more strong and brilliant, and an ardent but generous rivalry of the,intel- lect and culture of the old Avorld, is taking the place of a desire to imitate her effeminate luxury and splendor. The idle man of fashion no longer takes pre- cedence of the man of letters. The romantic era of America is passing away ; she is entering upon her maturity—is building up her fame for solid worth and power, and taking her place among the mighty nations of the earth. In the bright future that is dawning upon our land, with all her advance- ment in science and culture, her free schools, freedom of press, thought and speech, and her boundless undeveloped resources, there cannot but be ample and honorable work for willing hands and minds. With steady persevering labor, a courageous will, and an abiding faith in the future, you cannot fail of success. Upon a marble tablet in the old churchyard of Saint Gilgen, in Germany, is this inscription: "Look not mournfully upon the Past: it comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present: it is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future without fear, and with a manly heart.'''1 I would that these hopeful, cheering words, might be engraved upon the inmost tablet of your memory. Do you wish to be remembered Avith gratitude when the present generation has passed away ? Would you have your name breathed with a blessing Avhen the brave hearts and active minds that now animate and adorn society, are sleeping the last long sleep ? Then use the high talents and superior advantages which have been given to you, for the greatest good of all over whom you may have any influence; Avork honestly, faithfully, and steadily, not for mere riches, power, or influence on earth, but for something better and nobler than these—for the benefit of man- kind, the satisfying approval of your own conscience, and the undying, unde- caying record of eternity ! The profession which you have chosen is one of the most laborious. Both physical and mental powers will often be taxed to their utmost, and all the courage and endurance at your command will sometimes be needed. It will be your difficult task to conceal your OAArn troubles and cares, and prove yourself a comforter in others' sorrows. It will be your hard but blessed lot to stand beside the dying in the last solemn hours of life, Avhen "the silver cord is loosed" and "the golden bowl broken" forever, to speak kind words of honest sympathy to grief-stricken friends, and to kindle in others a smile of hope and faith, when your own hopes are ashes, your own faith is faltering, and your own smiles, could they have their course, would be turned to bitter tears. Your peculiar relations to society Avill often make you the recipients of the most sacred confidence and trust, but I feel Avell assured that the precepts of our instructors, and your OAvn high sense of honor, will never fail you in the hour of trial. There is no real happiness that has not its root in some noble purpose, and there can be no nobler purpose than that with which you have solemnly prom- ised to enter upon your professional life—the relief of suffering humanity ; and if at the close of a long and busy life, you can look back upon no duty which you have failed to perform, no neans of advancing science which you 15 have neglected to employ, and no opportunity of doing good which you have failed to improve, Avil* not life have been well spent, and the golden hopes of this hour more than realized ? An earnest soul despises cheap success! Whatever we obtain in this Avorld, of honor, fame, or gratitude, we value in the ratio of our efforts to Win it. God grant, that when your work is done, and you approach the solemn hour in which there can be nothing more on earth that is of value in your sight, you may feel that you have gained something better than fame, better than power, better than good fortune—that you have won true success. With these feeble but sincere expressions, I bid you an affectionate fare- well. / CATALOGUE (IK THE FACULTY AND STUDENTS OF % l\j- M t b i t a I U t [i a r t m t it I OK GEORGETOWN COLLEGE. 183*7-38. NOBLE YOUNG, M. D., Pisksipk^t, Professor of Principles and Practice of Medicine. KLODOARDO HOWARD, M. D., Treasurer, Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children. JOHNSON ELIOT, 31. I)., Dean, Professor of Prineiyles and Practice of Surgery. JAMES E. ALU ROAN, M. D., Professor of Materia. Medico and Therapeutics. THOMAS ANTISELL, M. 1)., Professor of Mililary Surgery, Physiology, and Pliysiologie/il Chrtnistry. MONTGOMERY JOHNS, M. 1)., I'rofessor of tfeneral, Microscoj/ic and Descriptive Anatomy. SILAS L. LOO MIS, M. D., Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology. [). R. 11AGNLR, M. L>., Professor of Clinical Medicine. J. II. THOMPSON, M. I)., Professor of Surgical Diseases of Women. R, REV BURN, M. I)., Associate Professor of Anatomy and Professor of Clinical Surgery. W. EVANS, M. I)., Demonstrator of Anatomy. UU VOUVTEH. Name. Residence. Thesis. ADA MS, J. LE E.............Washington, D. C......Digestion. APPEEP.Y, J. V. R..........Georgetown, D. C......The Mutual Relations between Heart and Lungs. IJROWN, A. BOTH WELL...Washington, I) C......Scarlatina. (: A LLA N, (J. V. N..................do.................Hysteria. (II EN EY,.I1>PYR EDWIN.Cheney's Grove, 111___Observations on the Animal Cell. < I'LL, AliN KB II............Washington, D.'C......Ovulation. Cl'I.VER, IRA J.............Carlisle, Pa.............Acute Pleuritis. DAVIS, JOHN (J.............Lexington, Ky.........Comptression of the Brain. DEAN, JULIAN W._........Washington, D. C......Parturition. DEAIEIMTT, J. HENRY___Manchester, X. II......Pulmonary Haemorrhage. DIXON, WILLIAM S........Washington, D. C......Acute Nephritis. EDWAIM>s, KOBE\\Til___Chauncey, Ohio........Pleuritis. ELDRIDGE, STUART......Waukesha, Wis........The Physiological Effects of Exee Tobacco Smoking. FITCH, GEORGE A.........Mordant own, West \a.Resectio?ts. E<)STEIt, DANTEL S........Mainesburg, Pa........Diphtheria. FRENCH, GEORGE N ......Sandwich, X. U........Pulmonary Tuberculosis. GREEN, WILLIAM G.......Newfane, N. Y.........Typhus Fever. G RIO EN, JOEL C.............Leavenworth, Kan___Pulmonary Tuberculosis. 11 A RTIG A X, J. J. FRENCII.New York City.........Procidentia Uteri. 11 AIIVE Y, WILLI A M F.....Royalton, At............Diphtheria. 11OUSTON, SAMUEL........Si rasburg, Pa..........Erysipelas. JO 11 NSON, DA LLAS........Washington, D. C......Pulmonary Tuberculosis. JONES, B EN J A MI N C......Pittsburg, Pa...........The Tri-facial Nerve. LkCOMPTE, s. B.............XTe\v York City.........Parturition. LITTLEWOOD, JAMES B.. Yorkville, 111...........Serous Inflammation. MARBLE, JO LI NO..........AVaterville, ALiine.....The Circulation. MASON, JOHN EDWIN.....Manchester, N. H......Cercbro-Spinal Meningitis. Me< '< )\NELL, JAM ES <;___McConnellsville, Ohio.Etiology of Typhoid Fever. MrlNTYRE, I1U(;H HEN ..Randolph, Vt...........Carcinoma. \ A LLP. V, CI I A h* L ES E.....Washington, D. C......Rubeola. N EWTON, LEWIS E..............n V X DER GR A J) U ATE >'. Name. Residence. MILLER, W. W.....................................................Racine, Wis. XOURSE, Jr., C. II.................................................Montgomery Co., ,Mi. O'BRIEN, JOHN....................................................Iowa. P A RKLNSON, CLIN TON...........................................Oquwak a, III. PARSONS,.!...........................■..............................Washington, I). C. PATTERSON, JAS. B..............................................Marietta, Pa. PATTERSON, J. SCOTT........................................... Do. I' E N X I AIA N, I. L....................................................X o R w i c H, C o n n . POUTER, II. C.......................................................Xew York. PORTER, HORAC EL..............................................AVashington, D. C. R A MSI) EI >L, (; EO. P...............................................N e wton, M ass . RICH, THOMAS C..................................................Xewcastle, I«i>. ROSS, WILLIAM II.................................................New York City. RUSSELL, E. LE....................................................AVashington, 1). ( , SCHORX, REYNOLD...............................................Prussia. s I, ADEN, J. A.......................................................U.S. Army. SLOAN, J. G..........................................................Washington Co, Pa. SMITH, NATHAN A. C............................................La Crosse, Wis. STANTON, IRVING W..............................................Central dry, Col. st. CLAIR, E. o....................................................Albion, N. Y. TINDALL, W. M...................................................AVashington, D. C. TOWXTSHEND, SMITH.............................................Vandalia, Illinois. WALLACE:, M. C-...................................................Brooklyn, X. Y. W ARD, WILLIAAI..................................................AVashington, D. C. W I LL, JOS EPH B..................................................Z alkski, Ohio. WI NTER, J. T......................................................Petersville, M d.