Page:Biographical Memoir of John C Otto MD.djvu/19

 open, never concealing, from them or their friends, his real views of the nature of their diseases, where such information was important to be known. Towards his professional brethren, his conduct was frank, liberal, and cordial, giving him a just claim to the affectionate regard in which he was held by the medical profession generally. My venerated father used frequently to remark, that Dr. Otto and himself presented a strong illustration of the falsity of the popular idea, that physicians, as a class, were quarrelsome. He and the Doctor lived within one square of each other for a period of thirty years, each busily engaged in kindred pursuits, and liable, had they been so disposed, to come into frequent collision; and yet, by the observance of those amiable and just principles which should regulate our intercourse with each other, they maintained, during the whole period, a warm and constant friendship, vieingvying [sic] with each other in acts of kindness and good neighborhood, rather than in efforts to promote their individual interests at the expense of each other.

Dr. Otto's private practice was less extensive and lucrative than that of some of his contemporaries of equal standing. He confined himself wholly to the practice of medicine, avoiding surgery and obstetrics; and though he enjoyed the patronage and confidence of some of the most substantial and respectable families of the City, yet his retiring and unassuming manners prevented him from aspiring to a place amongst the fashionable circles. Those who knew him best, valued him most, and some of those families who originally employed him had such confidence in his skill, and became so attached to him, that he continued to be their physician during his whole medical career; a period of nearly half a century.

In the social relations of life, our deceased friend was remarkable for the simplicity and ease of his manners, and for the