Page:A History of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania.djvu/151

 during the session of 1792-3 at the University of Edinburgh, to which, however, he did not apply for a diploma. In the summer of 1793 he returned to Philadelphia, and witnessed, as an active participant, the scourge which that season devastated the city. Dr. James was not prevented by his religious scruples from taking part in the patriotic movements of the day, or from serving the cause of his country in upholding its government and laws. When the young men of Philadelphia were called upon by General Washington, in 1794, to lend their aid in the suppression of the rebellion which first threatened the stability of the newly-formed Republic, Dr. James proffered his services, and joined the army, which marched from Philadelphia to suppress the disturbance in the western counties of Pennsylvania, which is known as the “Whiskey Insurrection.” He joined the expedition in the capacity of Surgeon of “McPherson’s Blues,” a corps d’élite of young gentlemen, who had promptly tendered their services at the request of their President.

The expedition was a bloodless one, from the force employed, which overawed the insurgents; but it tried the spirits and endurance of these delicately educated youths, and sometimes subjected them to depression. To dispel this, in a measure, fell to the lot of Dr. James, who, upon a drum-head, wrote an inspiring song, which was set to music, and sounded through the camp with renovating accents.

Upon settling himself, again, a candidate for practice, Dr. James chose the branch of Obstetrics as the vocation of his life; and, from that time to the termination of his career, gave