Page:Restorative medicine - an Harveian annual oration delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on June 21, 1871 (the 210th anniversary) (IA restorativemedic00cham).pdf/64

RESTORATIVE MEDICINE. 50 not find in it much of the violent treatment which it is the fashion to denounce allopathists as having employed. There are more pills and draughts ordered, it is true, but they are not so alarmingly poisonous as some of the drugs in the prescriptions my patients bring me down from the London physicians.

VAIN POMPS. I am glad you have mentioned that. It is really awful to think that a young assistant who has never made up ten doses in his life, should be sending me drugs which one reads of in the papers as poisoning whole families. He is tempted to do it by a sense of power and a wish to be dashing.

CHIRURGUS. The young fellows of the present day are really dangerous, as much for what they do not, as for what they do. To my thinking, it is a great pity that the old plan of apprentice- ship has been given up. A hospital pupil nowadays gets so drenched with lectures on theories and views, that there is no room in his brains for common sense. He can tell you all about extraordinary and rare cases and wonderful new drugs, but he has no notion of treatment. I dare say with his 'scopes and his test-tubes he can make out a better diagnosis than I can; and then,