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262 despair. His ultimate success may be measured by the degree of favor which this board of conservators bestow upon him. He may pass the most rigid examination at Boston, New York, Philadelphia or London, yet if he cannot gain the approbation of this last board, every other testimonial must pass for nothing. If he gives full satisfaction here, nothing more is required—all other diplomas are useless, for no one is allowed to go behind a judgment thus rendered by a court of matrons.

This is the avenue through which most kinds of quackery make their entrance into society. The public cannot always judge correctly of the truth or falsehood of the numerous schemes and plans set up by pretenders. The husband rarely meddles with medical matters in his own family—he takes good care of all his money matters, and seldom trusts his notes or accounts with his wife; but the business of selecting a medical adviser in case one is required, is too small business for him, and indeed the wife holds that to belong to her own exclusive province. Therefore the wife and daughters, with the rest of the females in the neighborhood, manage that matter