Page:Memoirs of John Abernethy, F. R. S., with a view of his lectures, writings, and character (IA 39002086429751.med.yale.edu).pdf/18

x PREFACE. be necessary; and it was on one of these occa- sions that 1 first heard two words, “Me-ward” and “ Abernethy,” the one from our forester guide, which I have never heard since, and the other which I have heard more frequently perhaps than any. The idea I then had of Abernethy was, that he was a great man who lived in London. The next distinct impression I have of him was deriyed from hearing my father say that a lady, who had gone up to London to haye an operation performed, had becn sent by him to Mr, Abernethy, because my father did not think the operation neces- sary or proper; that Mr, Abernethy en- tirely agreed with him, and that the opera- tion was not performed; that the lady had returned home, and was getting well. I then found that my father had studied under him, and his name became a sort of household word in our family. Circumstanecs now oc- curred which occupied my mind in a different direction, and for some years I thought no more of Abernethy.

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