Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/383

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 317 ciation of no applauding multitude; his renown from the pen of no fulsome historian. For him the victor's crown comes from the hand of the immortal God. He that has done the greatest good for his fellow man, has, in the doing of it, won the greatest reward in earth's possession, even though no mortal man know of the deed but him !" The true physician is he who has a proper conception and estimation of the real character of his profession; whose intel- lectual and moral fitness give weight, standing and character in the consideration and estimation of society and the public at large. His privileges and powers for good or for evil are great; in fact no other profession, calling or vocation in this life occupies such a delicate relation to the human family. There is a tremendous developing and educating power in medical work. The medical man is almost the only member of the community who does not make money out of his important discoveries. It is a point of honor with him to allow the whole world to profit by his researches when he finds a new remedy for disease. The greatest and best medical and surgical discoveries and inventions have been free gifts to suffering humanity the moment their value was demonstrated. The reward of the physi- cian is in the benefit which the sick and helpless receive, and in the gratitude, which should not be stinted, of the community at large. Medical men are not angels ; they are in fact very human creatures with hard work to do, and often many mouths to feed ; but there is a strain of benevolence in all their work. From the beginning they are taught a doctrine of helpfulness to others, and are made to think that their lifework should not be one in which every service must receive its pecuniary reward. The physician is a host in himself, a natural leader among his fellowmen, a cen- ter of influence for the most practical good, an efficient helper in times of direst need, a trusted and honest citizen. What more can any prophet ask than honor in his own country and a daily welcome among his own friends ! It does not take long for the waves of oblivion to close over those who have taken a most prominent and active part in the affairs of the day. The life of the pioneer doctor is no exception to this law, for, as Dr. John Browne tells us, "It is the lot of the successful medical practitioner to be invaluable when alive, and to be forgotten soon after he is dead, and this is not altogether or chiefly from any special ingratitude or injustice on the part of mankind, but from the very nature of the case." However, the pioneer physician still lives in the memory of many of us, though he is now more rare as an individual than in the years gone by, and is gradually passing out of existence. The history, written and unwritten, of the pioneer physician of Goodhue county, as