k'*Ji>.«4«cW Amsak & $^$l llSS^: *•• ft »'< m VALEDICTORY ADDKESS DELIVERED.BEFORE THE AT TH«" FIRST ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT OF THB FEMALE MEDICAL COLLEGE, OF PENNSYLVANIA, HELD AT THK ^ MUSICAL FUND HALL, DECEMBER 30, 1851. BY JOSEPH S. LONGSHORE, M. D.„ Professor *f Obslrctrics nud Disease* ofWoiucn and Ckildrea. . 25 w W4 *<& if* PUBLISHED BY THE GRADUATES. J PHILADELPHIA- printed S. E. CORNER OF FOURTU AND VINB STS.: SSSIgaglBiggj VALEDICTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE AT THE FIRST ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT OF THE FEMALE MEDICAL COLLEGE, OF PENNSYLVANIA, HELD AT THE MUSICAL FUND HALL, DECEMBER 30, 1851. BY JOSEPH S. LONGSHORE, M. D., Professor of Obstretrics and Diseases of Women and Children, s • * i: FUBLISHEfetfY THE GRADUATES. PHILADELPHIA. * * ' * PRINTED S^E. CORNER OF FOURTH AND VINE STS. 1852. CORRESPONDENCE. Female Medical College, Philadelphia, Jan- 1, 1852 To Professor Jos. S. Longshoee : We, the undersigned, graduates of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, respectfully request, that you will furnish us with a copy of your excellent valedic- tory address, delivered at the public commencement, in the Musical Fund Hall, on the 30th of December, 1851, for publication. Yours in the cause of Female Medical Education : Phebe m. Way, Hannah E. Longshore, Anna M Longshore, Martha A. Sawin, Anna Preston, AnginetTe A. Hunt, r Frances G. Mitchell, , Spsanna M. Ellis, To Phebe M. Way, M. D., and others, graduates of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania: Ladies:— The Address, a copy of which yon desire, was not written wrih a view of publi- cation, and my time has been so much occupied since the commencement, I have not had an opportunity to transcribe it. But as yon have flattered me with the re- quest, if in your judgment its publication will tend to promote the great cause of Female Med cal Education, 1 submit the original copy to you, for your disposal, though not without its imperfections. Yours Respectfully, JOS. S. LONGSHORE ,M. D 95 north Fifth St., Philadelphia. Jan. 3,1852. ADDRESS. LADIES OP THE GRADUATING CLASS : The word farewell implies the parting of friends, the dissolu- tion of agreeable associations, the severing of silken cords. The duty of uttering that often dreaded word, has to-day been assigned to me, by my colleagues. It is one both painful and pleasant. The rela- tions that have existed between you as pupils, and us as your teachers, for months, have been the mo3t harmonious and delightful; you have sympathised with us in our trials, and participated with us in our en- joyments. We have all been engaged in a new, but momentous en- terprize. We have met alike the frowns and prejudices of the com- munity, and labored hand in hand to sustain our institution against powerful opposing influences. These relations have bound us to- gether in ties of friendship, only to be broken by death. These circumstances render the utterance of the parting word painful.— But the thought that you are about to return to the kindly greetings of the loved ones, from whom you have been so long separated, and the revival of early affections and associations in the society of pa- rents, relations and friends, imparts pleasure to the otherwise painful duty assigned me. In returning to your homes, and to all the ten- der endearments that cluster around the domestic hearth, you bear with you the highest honors of the institution in which you have been educated, as the trophies of your toils and privations. And may these honors ever be as links, connecting you in friendship with your Alma Mater, and those who have labored with you, for the high distinction they confer. Ladies, the circumstances under which we meet to-day differ es- sentially from those hitherto characterizing our coming together.— We have been accustomed, heretofore, to assemble in the capacity of instructors and learners. But this relation, delightful to your teach- ers, and they flatter themselves, not unpleasant to you, has been dissolved. By a perseverance and industry characteristic of your 4 sex, and worthy of the great enterprise in which you have enlisted, you have, with signal ability, completed your collegiate studies, and to-day, by virtue of your acquirements and the diploma of the Fe- male Medical college of Pennsylvania, a reward of merit, and a pass- port to the honors and emoluments of the profession of your choice, we place you on the platform of equal professional and literary rela- tions, with those who are your seniors in the healing art, as well as those who are cotemporary with you, in assuming its duties and re- sponsibilities. By an act of incorporation, by the legislature of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, your Alma Mater has been placed on an equality, in chartered immunities, with that colossal Institution of our city, around which the names of Kuhne, Wistar, Rush, God- man, Physic, James and Dewees cast a halo of unfading glory; or her proud and successful rival, with the history of whieh are identi- fied the imperishable names of Eberle, McClellan and Revere. Ladies, you and your sex everywhere, owe a debt of deep and lasting gratitude to Pennsylvania, fox the high and noble stand she has taken in behalf of woman's elevation and woman's interests. Nowhere else can there be found such a glorious stand-point for the aspiring genius of wo- man. Nowhere else has the hand of legislation been thus kindly extend- ed, to lead her side by side with her most gifted brother', along the weari- some paths of science, and to aid her in ascending with him, to an equal height of intellectual and professional distinction. The names of James Flowers and Jesse R. Burden, at that time members of the lower house, who were particularly interested in the passage of the bill, should be held in grateful remembrance by every woman. They watched with more than paternal solicitude, every step of its progress, from its introduction to its final passage. And when it was opposed in !the upper house, by a Senator from this city, they used their private personal influence to have the objection withdrawn, which was done. It passed through its subsequent readings without further interruption, received the Executive approval, and became a law of the land. And it is your proud privilege to be the first recipients of the high distinction it is destined to confer on thousands of your sex—not on- ly in Pennsylvania, but everywhere. Ladies, this day forms an eventful epoch in the history of your lives, in the history of woman, in the history of the race. This day society assigns to woman an exalted position, one never before con- ferred upon her by general legislative sanction. And it now remains for you to settle the great question of woman's adaptation to all the varied duties of the Medical profession. This, once done, a field 5 world-wide, for her honorable employment and usefulness, is thrown open before her—This done, the first great step has been taken to- wards raising her from a state of comparative imbecility and helpless- ness, to one of personal identity and independence—from subservi- ency to equality. So far as capacity for acquiring the profession is concerned, your present position abundantly settles that point. You have not only demonstrated satisfactorily, that woman's intellect is fully capable of grasping and comprehending, in a pre-eminent degree, all the various "branches comprised in a thorough medical education, but that she al- so possesses a peculiar capability to reason upon, deduce from, ana- lyse and combine the various subjects as presented, and thus fami- liarise herself with principles, as well as facts. With the theory of Medicine, you have given conclusive evidence that you are familiar— it is at the bed-side of the sick and suffering, by a skilful application of the principles in which you have been instructed, that you are to benefit the patient, and fortify your own reputations. This will be- come your next duty. It is for this you have been educated.— Community will expect as much, nay, more of you, than of your pro- fessional brethren. And the question now to be settled, to put the opposers of female medical education forever at rest, is, whether wo- man can here sustain herself or not. And a great responsibility, one that involves your highest interests, and those of your sex and race, de- volves upon you. Are you prepared to make the effort? In the is- sue is involved the realization of the ardent anticipations, not only of yourselves and those kind friends whose sympathies have been with you throughout the period of your pupilage, to cheer you onward in your efforts and privations, but also those of the corporators, your teachers, and the representatives of the people of this great common- wealth, who so magnanimously extended to you the high privilege you this day enjoy. They are all, all looking to you, and to your future conduct and success, with feelings of the most intense interest. So far as your medical acquirements are concerned, your instructors fear not the result. The zeal, industry and perseverance with which you have prosecuted your studies, give an earnest of what they may ex- pect. The remarkable manner in which your health and constitutions have borne up, under the most intense and persistent mental labor, leaves them no cause of apprehension that your physical organization will not sustain you in any emergency. And the judgment you have displayed in arranging, classifying and adapting your studies to the 6 best advantage, cannot but be equally successful, when brought into requisition at the bed-side of the patient. Your teachers, who have watched every step of your advancement, since first you enrolled your names as medical students, with deep interest and anxiety, entertain for your future career high expectations, unmingled with the least ap- prehension. But those whose relations have been less intimate, may be less confident of your entire success. With them, we bespeak for you a favorable reception; for your full competency in every particu- lar we freely pledge our word and reputation, feeling assured that, in making such a pledge, it will be faithfully redeemed. The position assigned you to-day, you must regard, only as the Al- pha and not the Omega of your exertions This is but the starting point of your career of usefulness ; you have hitherto only been pre- paring to begin your professional labors, and this day is in name and in fact, your commencement. A life of mental and physical toil is be- fore you, and honors and emoluments, proportionate to your industry and success, will be your earthly reward ; besides the happy reflec- tions and sweet peace of mind invariably flowing from the conscien- tious performance of beneficent duties ;—these will afford you a higher and richer remuneration, than glittering gold or worldly plaudits. Let not your anticipations be raised too high. Your pathway to fame and competence will not always lie through green fields and flow- ery gardens ; but the cruel thorns of disappointment, jealousy, envy and selfishness will every where beset you. Every occupation in life is represented by those of selfish and contracted views, as well as those moved by higher and nobler impulses; and you must not be surprised to find the former among some of your brethren, who have selected the same honorable calling as yourselves. In entering the profession, you cannot expect to receive from these any more kindness and cour- tesy than is consistent with their nature. But from the honorable por- tion of those engaged in the practice of medicine, (and it is with pleasure I here aver that they constitute a very large pro- portion of the profession) you will invariably receive the sympathy and assistance to which your abilities, zeal and perseverance, in acquiring your medical education, so justly entitle you. The true physi- cian labors not for himself alone; benevolence constitutes the most prominent trait in his character. It is this that prompts him to toil on, and ever, in the cause of suffering humanity; it is this that leads him with cheerfulness, complaisance and smiles into the low ho- vels of the poor, with as mnch alacrity as the hope of rewards entices / him into the statlier mansions of the wealthy. Forgetful of self, he " bides the peltings of the pitiless storm," he shrinks not from the wintry blasts; the poisoned malaria, the scorching rays, the chilling dews, the haunts of contagion, he disregards, and flies to the abode of misery, to relieve the suffering and to soothe the pangs of death. He labors for his fellow man, and angels applaud the act. Ladies, from such men you have nothing to fear—at their hands you may hope for much. Instead of rebuffs, contempt and derision, which you may ex" pect from some, these will welcome you to the profession, and hail you as co-laborers in the great cause of benevolence and humanity. Your progress you will find to be impeded by obstacles, interposed by those from whom, rightfully, might be expected the greatest amount of en- couragement and patronage. Woman having so long been regarded, and having so long regarded herself, alike intellectually and physically inferior to man, it will require time before she can justly realize the great fact, that her own sex can be rendered equally qualified to as- sume all the responsibilities of a profession hitherto wholly monopo- lized by him. Some of your own sex you will find your most earnest and determined opposers. Many there are who will make it a matter of conscience, believing that woman is sadly wander- ing from her legitimate sphere, when she attempts, scientifically, to ad- minister to the necessities of the sick and suffering—though to do it ignorantly and empyrically, would seem to be within her appropriate province, and entitle her to the beautiful appellation of " minister- ing Angel." Next, perhaps, to her spiritual adviser, does her medi- cal attendant exert the greatest influence over the mind of woman ; and among your professional brethren, (with deep humility I acknow- ledge the fact,) may not be wanting those, who, actuated by motives of selfishness, and feelings of jealousy, will not hesitate to make use of .this means to prejudice against you those who should be your truest, firmest, fastest friends and supporters ; for it is for their health, their comfort, their happiness, that you have, mainly, eschewed the plea- sures of life, the charms of the social circle, and the delights of do- mestic enjoyment, and encloistered yourselves, for months and years, in the study and the lecture room, engaged in intense mental labor, and enduring severe physical privations. Ay ! while hundreds, who would, I am pained to say, at this moment crush within you the faint- est ray of rising hope, were reposing on their beds of down, or gaily whirling in the merry dance ; for them—for the relief of their 8 sufferings—for the amelioration of their woes—were you plodding by the midnight lamp, the rugged paths of science. Such is the ingrati- tude of the human heart! But I would bid you take cheer ; be not dismayed ! Thousands of sympathizing hearts now palpitate in unision with your every struggle —thousands of willing hands are now extended to receive you ; be then encouraged;—as the gloom of night recedes before the rising splendor of the morning sun, so will the dark clouds of ignorance and prejudice, that now envelope the mind of woman, vanish before the superior brightness of your many virtues and high professional attain- ments. In entering upon the duties of your profession, an arduous and re- sponsible one, let the stand you shall take be high. Entertain a due appreciation of yourselves and your abilities. Be generous and mag- nanimous ;—recognize none as your superiors, treat none as your infe- riors ;—to those who regard you unfavorably, be kind, affable and cor- teous, yet dignified and self-respecting. You may be required, at times, to assume inferior positions, and expected to take upon your- selves inferior duties—but never consent to this, except in cases of extreme necessity. Have nothing to do with the duties of the nurse, or assistant in the sick room^.further than to exercise a supervision, give directions and require obedience. Your time, means and energies have been directed towards a higher and more responsible position than a performer of the mere drudgery of the invalid's chamber ; and that position it is yours to maintain. But when stern necessity requires of you a helping hand, be ever ready, ever willing; then what, at oth- er times would be a menial office, becomes one of the most exalted.— Never allow interference with your prescriptions, either by the pa- tient, nurse or friends. The responsibility of the case rests upon you alone, and if you permit your judgment to be arrested, and your prescriptions interdicted, you have no guarantee for the safety of the patient, or the preservation of your reputation. I would desire here, earnestly to impress on your minds, the importance of avoiding, in your prescriptions, the use of alcoholic liquors. Cases, the most melancholy and distressing, are not wanting, where habits of confirmed intemperance have been established, by the injudicious, nay, unnecessary use of these insidious compounds. Long abandoned habits of this scathing vice have been revived—domestic happiness and prosperity made to vanish before the terrible conse- quences of hopeless inebriety, as the result of thoughtlessness, if not 0 absolute recklessness on the part of medical advisor*. How often if it that the most potent of these poisons, as gin, brandy, &c, arc re sorted to by physicians, even in cases of fretfulness in early infancy, and the cries of the little sufferers quieted in the stupefaction of in toxication. And the potations are often continued upon every trivial occasion, throughout the period of infancy and childhood, and the sys tern becomes accustomed to undue stimulation, an appetite for strong drink is formed, and the youth becomes imperceptibly swallowed up in that terrible vortex which has engulphcd its millions, and on the margin of which, " millions more are tottering to their fall." You should regard it as a part of your moral, nay, religious duty, to eschew the use even of Tinctures requiring to be administered in any considerable quantities, as well as all other alcoholic com- pounds, where the same medicines, in other forms, may be safely relied upon. The physician should unite with the moralist and divine in discouraging the use of these alcoholic poisons. The moral good of the patient should never be lost sight of, in our solicitude to ad- minister to his physical ills. While the profession of medicine contains much to arouse the best feelings of our nature, and to call into action the warmest sympathies of the human heart, as well as to create emotions of pleasure and de- light, it is not without its adverse tendencies. It will not unfrequent- ly occur to you, as it does to all engaged in its active duties, that your kindest endeavors and most earnest efforts will be rewarded with cold ingratitude and heartless rebukes. Death is allotted to all living—and " the king of terrors," will often baffle your wisest purposes, and render nugatory your most unremitting attentions. For the fulfilment of his immutable mission, you will, most unjustly be held responsible, and because of jour inabiliiy to arrest his dart, even when no mortal skill or effort were adequate to the end, you will sometimes meet with cruel censure and unfeeling expression of disap- probation. The thousand tongues of calumny will be ever busy to blast your reputations, and crush your souls. But be not dismayed ; amid the threatenings of the gathering storm, be calm and self-pos sessed; while all without appears gloomy and unauspicious, your reflections on having done your duty will bring from within a soothing consolation, a sweet peace of mind, which will fully compensate for all the sufferings that heartless ingratitude and unrelenting injustice can inflict. When persecution besets you, and seems about to fall upon you with crushing weight, be not disturbed, but remember that the brightness of sunshine, never appears half so lovely as when im- 10 mediately succeeding a dark and furious storm, that every bitter has its accompanying sweet, and every woe its neutralizing antidote. Let it be the object of your lives, to accumulate such a store of knowledge, that those under your professional charge may have the benefit of all that science can bestow; be not content to " lay the flattering unction to your souls," " that you have done the best you could," but rather draw your consolation from a knowledge, that you have " done all that could be done''''—be not satisfied short of this conviction, and then as the philosophic mind of a Franklin looked with calmness and pleasure on lowering clouds and flashing lightnings, so will you, from behind the impenetrable fortress of scientific attain- ment and well founded confidence, look complacently on the puerile, yet tumultuous efforts of ignorance and envy, to crush your aspira- tions, or impede your onward course. In your practice, avoid routine ; this is an error into which the medical practitioner is too apt to fall; let it be your part to shun it. Think consecutively, deduce logically, then act. Never prescribe without a reason for your prescription, combat symptoms as they arise, meet morbid phenomena as they pre- sent themselves, remember that Pathology is of more consequence than Nosology—remove causes, rather than treat names ; aim to assist nature rather lead her. You are now about to go into the world, to enter upon the arduous duties of professional life, to grapple with its ills and enjoy its delights ; amid all the active and varied scenes that will surround you, and engross your attention, be careful and not allow your minds to escape that wholesome discipline in which they have been trained — because upon this depends, in a great measure, your prospects of success; if you let go thought and reflection, and depend upon chance or even analogy in the treatment of disease, you will find that you have placed your reliance on a " broken reed," and disappointment and mortification will be your sad reward. God has endowed his creatures with reason, a high and noble attribute, through which they may look, up to the fountain of all knowledge ; if they fail to do this, they are but vessels upon a tempestuous sea with- out a iudder or compass, left to the mercy of the winds and waves, to be driven to and fro, and finally wrecked upon the shoals of disappoint- ment and defeat. We then say to you, continue to study, to think, to reason, and not, because you have graduated and emerged from the condition of pupilage, suppose you have no more to learn. The book of Nature is wide open before you, page after page teeming with infinite wisdom. This is to be the volume of your future studies, this the source from whence you are to derive practical knowledge ; ponder it well. 11 While we regard the system of medicine, in which you have been instructed, technically called Allopathy, as embracing within its ex- pansive range, more of truth and philosophy than is possessed by any other claiming the attention of the Medical Student, we are very far from viewing it as the embodiment of perfection ; on the contrary we are free to admit, that it is not all we would desire it to be, notwith- standing it is the acumen of the concentrated wisdom of the world. Most if not all the other systems contain much, and none are so sparse of truth as to be unworthy of your investigation. Reject nothing as worthless, until you have proved it to be so. Perhaps, when the intricate but harmonious relations existing between mind and mat- ter, and the laws governing them, come to be better comprehended, and the adaptation of remedial agents to the abnormal conditions of both better understood, there may be a harmonizing of the truth prin- ciple pervading the whole, and a more perfect and beautiful system erected ; one calculated to meet with a much greater degree of cer- tainty the conditions of our suffering nature. Hence it becomes the true philosopher to condemn nothing in science because it is new ;— but investigate all in a truth-seeking spirit. And as he would gather the richest, choicest flowers, from the various beds of a well-arranged and cultivated garden, so he should be willing to gather truth wherever it may be attained. "Go search for truth wherever found On Christian or on Heathen ground, Anion? our friends—among our foes, The plant's Divine, wher'er it grows.7 Most of the occupations assigned to woman, are those of a subser- vient character, where the scale of remuneration is graded by the interests or parsimony of others. Where men and women are en- gaged in the same vocations, and the labors are equal, and the pro- ducts of their toil the same, the compensation of the latter seldom exceeds one half that of the former. Thus the profits of the em- ployer are doubly enhanced by woman's incessant exertions for an honest and virtuous livelihood. There are, at this moment, in this city, hundreds, nay thousands who are toiling from earliest dawn to midnight's hour, enriching their employers, while they are scarcely gleaning for themselves a comfortable subsistence. Tdany a true, noble heart, that would sooner cease its pulsations than consent to vice ; many a brilliant intellect, that might adorn a palace, lie crush- ed and mangled beneath this oppressive system of outrage and wrong. See the taper glimmering at the window of yonder low attic at mid- night, visit the apartment, and you will behold the pale, emaciated, careworn seamstress—there you will find intelligence—there an un- dying devotion to virtue. Thousands in the pursuit of pleasure, luxu- riating in ease and competence, pass her abode, unmindful of her toils, her privations and her sorrows. Hundreds, from their close confine- ment in illy ventilated apartments, ruin their health irreparably. Time that should be devoted to exercise and recreation, would be so much los«, out of the means of a meagre subsistence. And in early life, VI while health should yet be glowing itpoh the eheek, and sprightliness beaming from the eye, they will be found presenting to you, ladies, shattered constitutions and diminished vital energies, craving your counsels and your sympathies. Let them be freely given—for those who ask are your suffering sisters; Treat them kindly, and whisper gently in their ears, words of encouragement and sympathy. Pre- scribe for their sufferings, and let it be a gratuitous act. Refuse to accept any pecuniary consideration for such services. Soil not your hands with the pittance wrung from their toil and suffering, but be content with the clear perception1 of the emotions of grateful hearts; Be attentive and charitable to the poor everywhere, and at all times; Refuse them not your services, b'ecduse of their inability to compen- sate you. Remember their indigence adds additional pangs to their woes, and they stand the more in need of your consoling attentions; But when the competent and wealthy require your services, let a full and fair compensation be demanded. You are independent of and be- yond the control of oppressing influences. You are as justly entitled to full fees as are your brethren of the profession. You will render equal services, and justice will award you an equal compensation.—'■ Do not condescend to fall into the common error of your sex, and consent to receive less for the same duties than is demanded by the profession generally. In this particular forget that you are womenj but remember that you are physicians—and as such, you expect to be rewarded for your labors—and the profession and the community will respect you the more. You must not expect the public to place* a higher estimate upon you than you place upon yourselves. Respect yourselves and you will be the more respected. In your business transactions, let justice characterize all your dealings. Be strictly punctual in regard to your promises. Let your accounts be prepared and presented for settlement, at least twice a year. There is truth as well as policy in the adage, " Short settlements make long friends." After health has been restored, and prosperity has succeeded adversity, parties are apt to forget the amount of attendance bestowed, and after many months delay, show dissatis- faction, at what would have been perfectly satisfactory, and cheer- fully liquidated, had it been timely presented. In your intercourse with your patients, be frank, candid and truth- ful. Avoid all deception and prevarication. " Let your yea be yea, and nay, nay, for whatsoever more than this cometh of evil." Let it be among your first objects to establish a reputatiou for truth and can- dor, in your intercourse with the sick. You are not required to be unnecessarily communicative ; but when your candid opinion is asked, let it be promptly given. Be careful, though, that your prognosis be well established, lest you deceive unintentionally, in honestly endea- voring to satisfy an earnest enquiry. Should you not be clear, as to the probable result of a case, better at once state the fact, and candidly acknowledge your inability to de- cide—than to base a positive opinion on the mere hope of its subse- quent realization. (Juard against flattery—promise nothing for your 13 patients, more than you can conscientiously and truthfully anticipate may be realized. By adopting such a course, you may, at first, meet with repulses and apparent rejections ; but be firm in placing your re- liance upon the immutable principles of right, and you will soon dis- cover, that you will the more effectually gain public confidence, and place those of your cotemporaries, who pursue a different course, in their proper position before the public. You will find many who as- sume much more knowledge than they really possess. Let no boast- ing propensity be yours. Rather demonstrate your knowledge by your works. Prove, by indubitable evidence, to the world, that you are all you profess to be. Assume nothing that you do not possess. Any Other position is a fraud on the community, worthy only of universal disapprobation, and must sooner or later envelope the mere pretender in disappointment and mortification. Be your honest selves ; follow the dictates of your best judgment; increase your store of knowledge, and practice your profession for the good of your fel- low beings, as well as yourselves ; and Heaven will bless your efforts. Those who are most interested in you and the great enterprise in which you have enlisted, look to you, to elevate the standard of the profession. You have it in your power thus to do ; let not their high hopes be disappointed ; never let it, in your hands, descend to a mere speculating trade. Always regard it as a God-like calling, too high and holy to be degraded by mere mercenary considerations. A part of ydur mission will be, to stand at the bed-side of the dy- ing—with all the earthly hopes of weeping and distressed relatives centred in you. It is then you will feel all the responsibilities of your position. But be calm nnd firm ; let your words be those of kindness ; and let all your actions be marked by gentleness, and warmed by sym- pathy ; but even at this trying hour, after you have exhausted your skill and rendered all the assistance art can bestow, still act well your part, and not abandon your patient tb the gloom and horrors of de- spair ; but abide at your post atid smooth the path that lies through the dark valley of the shadow of* death, by commending the dying to the care of the great Physician above, he who " Ha- a balm for every woe, a smile for (very tear." Your duties will frequently bring you in contact with your profes- sional brethren. You will necessarily be obliged to meet them in con- sultations. Upon these occasions, let courtesy mark your conduct.— Pay due deference to age and superior experience. You will not be required to yield your opinions, because they may be opposed.— Magnanimity on your part, and justice to the patient, will require you to succumb, as soon as you are convinced you are in error. Do not, because you are women, regard yourselves inferior, or your judgment of less value on that account. Conduct your discussions with firm- ness—not forwardness; with coolness and deliberation, not with warmth and perturbation—and yield only to conviction. Should you ever be met with insolence, return not insolence, but with be- coming dignity withdraw and abandon the case, rather than your own self-respect. Always be ready and free to make rcpni-Mtion for iiny 14 W.ong inflicted, and never swbmit to a wrong offered. Always treat your professional bretlurjm with that respect and courtesy that profes- sional etiquette demands, and require the same from them Use no undue influence to acquire patronage. Never publish, or consent to have published, any of your professional acts, however me- ritorious or laudable they may be Resort to no flaming or pretend- ing advertisements. Never speak self-approvingly of your deeds.— These means of gaining notoriety, are beneath the dignity of your po- sition. The publication of a simple card, giving your name, residence and occupation, is a legitimate means of notifying the public of your business, and cannot be objected to. This, together with cards for private circulation, and your name upon your door or window, are suf- ficient for all professional purposes, and more than these are regarded as evidence of empericism, and will bring upon you the odium and op- position of the profession. Never allow yourselves to interfere with the patients of a neigh- boring practitioner. If called to a patient of another, during his or her absence, in a case of emergency, your duty will require you to' visit the patient, and prescribe for that occasion ; but give up the case immediately on the return of the attending physician. You will fre- quently be importuned to visit the patients of others, merely, as will be alleged, to give an opinion. But always refuse thus to interfere!; If you desire to maintain friendly relations with those around you* let the policy of strict non-interference be yours. In conclusion, allow me to say, when surrounded by the busy scenes of professional life, and you come to be the recipients of its cares and perplexities—its joys and its sorrows, " be calm and self-possessed," and let your noble bearing impress all around you with the cool se- renity of your feelings." And when you draw to the close of your earthly pilprimage, " as the sun placidly sinks to rest, reflecting in its wake, its radiant beams, tinging the varied clouds which cluster mourningly around its departing glory, so let your lives ebb away, reflecting on every side deeds of benevolence and looks of love, to cheer and warm into happy sunshine, beings around you. And when your lives are spent in the shadowy world, to awaken into one of substance and unfading glory, may you be remembered for the ra- diance of your existence." During our sojourn here, we should re- flect, that " a kind word fitly spoken may lighten human woe, may awaken tender emotions, may give new impulses to generous feelings, and thus strengthen the resolves of some weak brother or sister, to renewed diligence in the cultivation of correct sentiments and exalt ed truth. We do not properly estimate our smiles and frowns ; how the one may bless and the other shade in gloom some observant mor- tal, who, from either, may catch an impression, that may give tone to the future life." In uttering the final parting word, allow me to commend you to the blessings of that God, whose guardian eye rests upon all his creatures, and whose love is manifest in all his works. And may these blessings attend you through long lives of peace, happiness and prosperity.— Farewell! 1 C. W. VAN HORN * CO. 91 OTAHUFACTPBERS OF 1 SURGICAL BANDAGES, fB And Appliances of all Descriptions, jf No. 32 SOUTH THIRD STREET, LIS PHILADELPHIA. *9l Instruments for curvature of the Spine, Wrv Neck,-Dislocated or Weak 1^8 Joints, Contracted Limbs Bow-Legs, Knock-Knees, Fractured Limbs, Dis- «tf torted Limbs in Children,Paralyzed Limbs, or inability to walk ; Hydrocele and Jb8 Varicocele Lace Stockings, for Varicose or Enlarged Veins in the legs ; Ban- SgjJ d >ges for Weak and Debilitated Females; Bandages for Females after Ac- i|5 couchmeni; also.VanHorn & Co's Improved Elastic Shoulder Brace.for Ladies, pll Gentlpmen and Children; and the only Brace manulactured that does not bind S^fi or chafe under the arms, and can be worn with ea?-e a'nd comfort. It prevents 2=*J hibitual stoopins: or round shoulders, and relieves all compression on the chest, Lfa ."Mowing a full, free and healihy action and expan>ion of the lungs, and pre- jp^t venine the pulmonary orsans from becoming weak and diseased. Jt^ Trusses of the most approved form and warranted to tetain and cure the 5?fi m jsi difficult ca-es of Hernia. IMPROVED ELASTIC UTERINE SUPPORTER (For Prolapsus Uteri, or falling of the Womb.) This instrument is light and elastic, and is made without the Steel Spungs, which are objec- tionable on account of their cha- fing the* hips, &c, making them very unpleasant to wear. The above Supporter has the perineal pad attached, which can be worn or removed at pleasure. They are constructed on sound iurgical prin* ciples, supporting the incumbent weight ot the abdominal viscera, and preventing the sinking down or comprtsMun ol tbe uterus into li?e P^«Kroni tlle 'elaxation of the abJomfhal muscles. They are warranted Inhareno superior in point of finish, or applicability to the relief and cure of the above displacement. . J l*et «»« Our Bandages and Instruments has met the approval anV recommendation* of a number of the most eminent Professors and Physician* of this c?tv and natti, Ohio; Prof. W. P. Johnson, Washington, D. C • Prof J H VVa V, &c.G&cP'°f' H' Mil,er' L°UiSViMe' Ky'PW<- A H Lena's,^0^ •» w.3SS!BSiaa5SBRs