Page:Transactions of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (ser 03 vol 05).djvu/43

Rh for "use." A few benches, one or two chairs for strangers, and a table raised on a platform, comprised the whole; the anatomical theatre being on the floor above. And here the chief—fresh from his professional engagements—arriving with great punctuality on the instant, would, when warmed by his subject, frequently lay aside his notes—as he had previously done his whip —and pour forth his thoughts in a strain of rare, unstudied, and impressive eloquence. The location was afterwards changed, when larger accommodations became necessary, to a building on Zane Street, above Seventh; the temporary site of the College of Pharmacy.

The Philadelphia Medical Society was the principal debating arena in those days, and had a large membership of the more advanced students, who resorted thither for instruction. Drs. Parrish and Chapman, widely differing as they did on many points of pathology and therapeusis, would often come into collision, and each found in his opponent "a foeman worthy of his steel." The greater dialectical skill of the one—if, indeed, such superiority really existed—was more than counterbalanced by the good sense and practical disposition of the other. These intellectual encounters—the doctrines of Broussais were at that time a favorite topic of debate—had great interest for the younger members, who generally assembled in considerable force when they were expected. Drs. Physick and Gibson, with more official dignity, never attended the meetings. I do not recall the participation or even the presence of Dr. Wood, though he was, no doubt, occasionally there. He would have found