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 YALEDICTORY ADDRESS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ON THEttJi EECEIVING THE DEGREET OF DOCTOR 
 ^« Oi^ MEDICINE & SURGERY, _^- 
 
 C«iferrei If €4if^atiti| 4tfc May, 18Mk 
 
 
 BY A. FvHOLMESi M.D., 
 
 Fkofeawr of Medicine^ afld Dean of the Medical Faculty. 
 
 •V 
 
 ^ 
 
 GsMTLEMBir, — At t^^ close of our mutual labon, and befor^ we Vf^if^ 
 the relation so leitg subsisting between iul let me address 4o you It few^ 
 words. I have/said " sever relation ;** I do not mean sever our con-. 
 nexidn7for that, 14iope, may become still closer by the new relationship 
 in which we how are about to stand. 
 
 When you first placed yourselves under our direction, ^ou had two 
 objects in view — instruction ancl graduation — th% former as the means of 
 attaining to the latter ; the latter as a testimonial of successful/pursuit of 
 the former. One of tliese objects, viz., graduation, it was iu our/ own 
 power to bestow ; the other required your active co-opention; for no 
 matter what amount of instruction we had ^n our power to give, it would 
 have been of little avail had not your minds been prepared aiid ready to 
 receive it. Pursuing, then, the same object, whethe^ as inktruetors or 
 instructed, we might naturally be expected to, and I trust fatve, become 
 mutually interested in «ich other ; so that Vhile rov in after lifoi may 
 look back with satbfiMtion on the period of study spent with us, and 
 with kindly wishes fof*the prosperity of your alma mater, Wi may here- 
 after, in Hearing of your eminence in your profession, rejcjice that yoa 
 « Hail from McGill College.** 
 
 I'he codise of stuciy which you have pursued is an arduous one. Four 
 years, when looked forward to, seem a long period, but yojur own e'xpe-^ 
 rience has taught you that it is by no means too long to conquer, the 
 various topics comprised in a good medical education. A.nd yet, after 
 all ybiir labor, whereunto have you attained 1 You hive only, as it 
 
/ 
 
 I A 
 
 l'^/ 
 
 ana repetition shall har^^S^^^ 
 
 you «ce in the hancfebf yowTnk,« ' ^^ ^ ^ *'^ »a»ipulati«, which ■ 
 
 -t teach ycm,but wiich^!;:^i\t^:.^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 ver^^rofth^e tool, with whichr^^^.^^ ^^^ ^' 
 
 r^dly decide upon the remSrell7t*\^'^^ «°^W «, 
 
 4d a glance or two seemed to elZ Sm 1 " ^^r**' * ^^^ ^»»^ 
 it looked like intuition. The who^^JiTe^t ""'' i*'^^ ^^°^'' -"^J^^*- 
 mind without the labored o,^mtS S "'^.*° ^""^ "I*» ^» 
 complicated question, and S^UTf ^?^""^ "^ '^^ »"t a 
 experience has long ^go ta^hTmo h^uT T''''' """^ ««»««»«», I 
 edlyinduetimet^chyoo. ^ """^'^^^ 
 
 esUmt^ir^eri^'^Sii^r^ 
 
 often conflicting opimons^Xrcl'; """"' T ""^ ' *^^ ^"^^ «««J 
 
 ft has even been called dillC^^^ '^""*^"' P'°^^ «f ^hat. 
 
 doubt^it sometimes is, andrdlTl^,t il^^Iff"™ "^^^^^^^^ 
 
 feet. There are, however Jew b^n?., 'rL" ^°^^«dge becomes per- 
 
 apply the appellation of « e^cT" it'' ""^^T^'^Se'o which weL 
 
 af other sciences dependent on th J f^ T ^^^"''"^ "°^ *^« Portiolis 
 serving of the n^^T^^^^^t^' «*" ^^^"^ '^^ "y*i»g de- 
 in none other/ What bmnch of kl^^^ '"*°'" «ourded«ctions%nt 
 
 Kit be a complaint that medict^^^^^^^ 
 twoandthree\housandy"aS^^^^^ forbetLeen 
 
 norsayth.sameofother\rLhes "Srt """it '"'^''^' ' "'^ ^« 
 to the other Faculties of our ColleJe anS « t TV"'" ^^''^ ^»*««e 
 wet Areyourfoundationsmo^rmorvo^r ^^"^''^"^'°«^^^ 
 took at education in geneml, a ^u ™t' vh,' h ^^f ' "°" '*+''« ^ 
 inmds ofmen ever sfn^e men wL„u ted „J?1 i^^** °«?»Piedthe 
 we find it at the present day pu«ued of „ IT' 't*'°°»' "d yel do 
 
 tl.c contrary, havi not the "n^ewllts" di^ "^?^^'^*'* ^^' «« 
 - Jy of old established institu^ols, bt evel^^f the incapacity not 
 
 V 
 
 'n^u 
 
f ■■'. 
 
 ■w 
 
 ^.3■ 
 
 y^ 
 
 * . ' 
 ' J>ftfy readied 
 rurnished with 
 t proved them, 
 ment, till time 
 ulatioD which - 
 
 our profession 
 hich ttv'caii'* ■ 
 nt and pefse- 
 
 t the study of 
 ttor could so 
 
 « few hints 
 lole suhje<;t. 
 ^h upon his ^ 
 'eason but a I 
 
 gentlemen, j 
 ill undoubt- 
 
 i yoik^iiould 
 ' variM and 
 09f of ihat. 
 ," which no 
 comes per- 
 iich we can 
 he portions 
 lything de- 
 itctions,but 
 ehaneing ? 
 w between 
 J may we 
 M>nfi(|ence 
 f off than 
 ►re stable ? 
 ?upied the 
 fid yel do 
 *asis. On 
 pacity not 
 1 rules, 
 m than a 
 relations ; 
 er its dic- 
 
 i 
 
 '^* 
 
 talion, mi^xims rooted in the pr^juditoes and apparent interests of commu- 
 nities are rapidly givibg way. Lgpk\ again, at" the gloriousnncertamty 
 <rf" the kw/' and a»k its expounders if\ the medical profession deservie to 
 W^ twitted with being the followers of\a conjectural science. 
 " In fact, medicine i^ only on a par v^th khowledge in general. All 
 knowledge i$ imperfect, and this imperffection must be i^eived a» an 
 elemetat in our proceedings. We can only act according to the know- 
 ledge we possess. We cannot foresee th0 future, nor act beforehand 
 upon knowledge M*ich our posterity shrfll possess. In one, sense, at 
 leasl» the children shall be wiser than Ihe^r fothers. How much savmg 
 would there have been, could this impossibility have been otherwise! 
 Where would have been those splendid aqueducts which the old Ro- 
 mans raised, and whose ruins remain as monuments at once of their pub- 
 lie spirit and,of their ignorance! How many of the canals which 16- 
 texsect our mother country (and I may almost say onr own,) wojild 
 have been left unmade could their projectors have foreseen the period of 
 
 rdilrondsl 
 
 But with all this acknowledgment of the imperfection of knowledge ; 
 the liability of that which we suppose we have done well being in future 
 exploded and destroyed, we cannot stand still. It is not by folding ouf 
 arras and waiting, that we shall acquire what |we desire,1)ut by strongly 
 willing, and putting forth our power to explore evefcr corner of the vast 
 field of knowledge, and to exhaust all means at our ^^posal. 
 
 I think I have proved that Medical Science is aya^t not lower than 
 the level of other Sciences, but I think I may go ffrther and assert that 
 there is an apology for medicine which does not exist in regard to seve- 
 ral other of our pursuits. What are the subjects with which medicine 
 has to dealt ^hose confessedly which are least understood. They are 
 Life and Death; or, ks I should more properly say, life, for death is only 
 the negation of life. But what is Ufe t Who, of all this assembly or 
 of any assembly in the world, can teU me what Ufe is I It is true I can 
 tell where life is 5 I can judg^of its presence by its manifestions, by Us 
 effects ; but this does not givB me its nature or its essence. Now when 
 it is the business of medicine to counteract the tendency to death, t.. 
 strive to preserve life, how can medicine be otherwise than nnperlect, 
 seeing the very subject of its operations is not comprehended 1 Th»J 
 nature of life itselfbeing unknown, we are unable to discover in what 
 way iti influence pervades our various organs,80 as to bestow ujion iluiii_. 
 their endowments of sensibUity, irritability, and sometimes almost ut ;n 
 telligence ; and in this want of data, is it at all strange that we sh.MiKl 
 
 ' often be unable to predica^ a just decisionns to the present or the li.f «iro 
 condition of our patients, or of the effects of our remedies upon them. 
 
 
 ^a&M^i. 
 
/ 
 
 f 
 
 -»»» e«eoi™.|ly to ««f»l ™,?p^ w!! ^r'""*? *« l"". much 
 
 OToneou. theory ttat it was omLo^' """'""' '"■ei^ndic. of an 
 
 I».judic. that th. «u» of wouud, C»„lT^^'"''"'"''»""»»«» 
 luit, .4e tMatn„M of .11 oth^ J!^«f, '^ """"■""»«"■•«■ with . 
 
 *at oiten, p,ob.Wjr, be .Lei to S™ ^T"""' " *"»• ^»» 
 wr wiU this inquiry ,!„,„ t, . " f'J' "" ««*» of occurrences j ~ 
 i.«ore «W to «kth.nrWhjtZ '**'";!"''»"»'')••' No.hing 
 "Othingis more difficult Ihan toJ^ Z^" »' """ig/y.. ofte* 
 l»»leaphilos,pher,.nditisofte«rt,!' '^"""'f'- •* oWld mar 
 «io«. in requiring a'n an^t^, ta? tl «""' """■ "" '^ '»'«'^- 
 contonted wi.hthen,„rt •"f^tZtZ^ZTT'^ ""^ ""en 
 are ,u.te sitisfcctoryi The HindJ^t!?^ "°'' ""«""»"»« Amsy 
 tortoise, without .da„VWhar.„p»,r,fc'!''T '"" ""'' ««• •« I 
 w. find that a m.,e iLmei Z^^ul^' ,"■ '» °°' P""'**. 
 »,„me., and this i. hoth /.itunato »d untou"",!? 7" """X ""fficult 
 t often suves the htbor of cogitation .nd thf^SJ *"'°°»"' •»""« 
 
 •b«t yon do not know.._„„fSrt; ?o, » » " ""l^^""' «»»fts.ion 
 
 one or other of these errors, a great d^T7' ^j" °"' «PP««ches to 
 l>oth of then,, however, lUd^l'r^ f^'^ °» temperament , ' 
 one asserting the Aipremacy of its kL2ri ' "r"**™ ^^ 'o«tine-the 
 alter J the other, feirful of „nt fed Ton^^^^ " «ot condescend t^ 
 track. Routine i»not the part o a «3^r'?^P^^^^^ '"^^^^n 
 
 and directions should always have Tb^f f ^ "' ^^°~ ^^^^'°»» 
 
 unfitted for emergenci^, Zf^LntW^T ''^ ^ ^'' ^ ""^"•^''"y 
 ends to the treatment o/mere Z;^!^?^"^ ^1^1!^ ^^^ ' »' 
 
 J have oAcn endeavoured to imwZ Z« ' 'l^'^^^Y mere naines. 
 
 physician over the quack ex sZThXir^^' t^e inferiority of the 
 
 
/ 
 
 J. 
 
 h6w little we 
 acknowledged ( 
 ^e have inuch 
 igaoiance, we 
 «loffi, and fas. 
 improvement. 
 >m this caiise t 
 'rti'udice of an 
 ' ()f small pox 
 ilarerroueoua 
 ig them with . 
 
 them. Yon 
 occurrences; 
 ids." Nothing , 
 J; yet, often, 
 ^ child may 
 nost pertina- 
 nakes them 
 
 most flimsy 
 
 rests on a 
 w practice, 
 loy difficult 
 »te, because 
 t confession 
 
 from being 
 Q declaring 
 interpreted^ 
 rknow. ^^ 
 
 epossessfon 
 ''y; and a 
 iroachesto 
 perament j 
 utine— the 
 lescend to 
 he beaten 
 3 decisions 
 manifestly 
 'cases; it 
 re names, 
 rityofthe 
 with the . 
 »titution;*% 
 
 state of body, and circnmstances in which it^ was P!?ced^H»aTe also ^ 
 
 often warned you not to suffer yourselves to be led away by the mere 
 name of disease, so as to treat all cases coming under that name in the 
 same manner ; but always to regard disease not only ns modified by the 
 circumstances which attend it, but often requiring a treatment opposite 
 to that which at another time might be most advantageous. 
 
 Medicine- should be as far as our knowledge will allow a scientific 
 study. I have alluded in some former remarks to the rapidity with 
 which an old practitioner will understand the nature of a case an^ pre- 
 scribe its appropriate remedies ; but it is not always so. Manythnea 
 with most earnest attention are we obliged to scan the aspects of a case. 
 Many timet do we cautiously balance the plans of treatment most ap- 
 propriate. Qilen do we wait in anxious solicitude the effects of the me- • 
 dicines we have thought necessary to prescribe. Wearesometimes un- 
 able fo decypher the indkjations of disease. Often we are unable to 
 fbresee the results of our treatment. The investigations required to 
 treat a case ar« often extremely extensive. We must seek the n^edical 
 history of the patient for years hock, even to his progenitors; also, his ha- 
 bits and the circumstances in which he has been placed; all present 
 symptoms must be examined and their importance analysed. Having 
 thus obtained a knowledge of the disease, we have next to investigate 
 in what way we shall be best able to remove it Here we have to weigh 
 all the circumstances which make one plan preferable Jlo another, and 
 here we are often led to treat the same disease at different times in dif- 
 tehnt modes, «.«i»nfla«»«»a*io"» which sometimes requires severe deple- 
 tion, while at others we uphold the strength with stimulants and wine. 
 
 Gentlemen,— In the course which you have gone through, you have 
 necessarily learned many things which wdfB elementary ; and many 
 that seemed more directly practical ; and you were^led, perhaps, to look 
 upon the former as meire steps for the attainment of the latter, and there- 
 . fore to be disregarded when the purpose was fulfilled. Your conclu- 
 ' sion, though in some respects conect, would, on the whole, be errone- 
 ous and the examinations you have gone through will have shewn you 
 that your professora required quite as much ekboiaUon in your elemen- 
 tary as in your practical studies. I desire now to impress upon you that 
 much of this elementary knowledge is of direct practical bearing, and 
 must not be laid aside, as if its end was wholly attahied ; but must con- 
 tinue to be cultivated and refireshed from time to time. 
 
 Let us take, ex. grat., the department ef Chemistry. You are perfitctr 
 ly aware that wit^iout a certain knowledjie of cheinical lawa apd com- 
 binations, it is imi^ssible to get accurate notions ef many of thf (tuK- 
 
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 The H "1 ' "^ • ^^ noi^- , 
 
 blood ««^ . ^ "«*"» removed thm..»i, «i. '*"''*«>» and have- 
 wood, and consigned to their annmJ . ^'^ the same channel of ti,« 
 process of wast^ o«vi . "I'P«>P'«»te emunctori*. rnT "® 
 
 he^tt-ni ""V «>'<'• of there nortk-m °" .•""»"' lK"t,and enob. 
 
 -*™e* as the change that ta W «il - ^ °*»**«t«>n quite the. 
 and common fir<> ..i H»*es jnace m the «•«! * 'i""e me* 
 
 ««m, which i, aftHM to d2l^ "" "*""»»■■ •"■de«tanjC rf ZJ 
 
at 0|)eratioiig of 
 canhot be uii- 
 » which, under 
 ofthcseopera- 
 Jhce to health. 
 » that our food, 
 is identical in 
 igh necessary 
 niMf and that 
 (•at is Usually 
 he toNo zealona 
 ««e of noi^- V 
 
 o/ our bodies 
 nowledge to 
 Wy, becomes 
 the strength 
 «» are aware 
 through the 
 d to nourish" 
 »>andhave-^ 
 »nnel of the 
 » wonderful^ 
 >newing us 
 et not the 
 ome being ^ 
 ally. 
 
 'autiful il- 
 'mical ap- 
 and enab- 
 to enjoy 
 dowzero, 
 je. This 
 !r certain 
 fh every 
 of union 
 [uite the ^ 
 r stoves 
 itaneous 
 : of that 
 lat may i 
 lich na- 
 
 ture keeps up her fitcs in the body, the flues ofVhich are pcrln|is Uabl« 
 to become over-heated by undue accumulatbn\of fuel, as weU asth* 
 more visible ones which we run through our dwetiings. 
 
 But you may say these examples, though striking prooft of the need 
 ofchemistry to enable us to understand the fhnotionsof the healthy 
 body, are not practical, inasmuch as they do not refer to the diseased 
 body. They are highly important as physiological truths, but they aro ' 
 not pathological. This is true, but if you understand not the physiolo- 
 gicalj how'can you understand the pathological 1 Could you venture to 
 undertake a nice operation^ of* surgery without knowing the parts 
 amongst which you are to cut 1 So how could you venture to meddle 
 with diseased organs, the elements of whose functions you are unac- 
 quainted with? 
 
 But I need not rest my argument on this ground. I can show you 
 that changes which are strictly pathological can only be recognized by 
 chemical manipulations, and being recognized, can only be remedied by 
 chemical appliances. You have ail heard of the Humoral pathology, «r 
 of what, in the not very grammatical though very expressive phraseology. ■ 
 of the day, are palled blood-diseases. This humoral pathology, by the 
 bye, furnishes a not' uhinstructive episode in the history of medicine. 
 Received'as manifest truth folr many ages, it fell at last into disrepute, 
 became the butt of ridicule to the moderns, and was referred to chiefly 
 as shewing the absurdities of the ancient schools of medicine. | 
 
 This once supposed " exploded dogma** has, however, again begun to 
 raise its head, and counts among its abettors many of the best and safest 
 of our practitioners ; and this change is comparatively recent, for it was 
 several yean after I had completed my medical studies before this old 
 doctrine began to reappear. My mind is apt to dwell4]pon this change 
 as one evidence, among many others, of thAMBterfection of our boasted, 
 reason, and of the propriety of using modc^imd cau^on in asserting 
 e^ven the tiiosi generally received of its conclusions. 
 
 It is true t|iat in the olden time the humoral pathology was but a 
 speculation, though certainly a happy one ; it was not based upon expe- 
 riment, the proper ground of philosophical deduction, and therefore fell, 
 ^e humoral pathology of the present day may be expected to becomiS 
 an ascertained fact, inasmuch as it is biased ^ot on hypothesis, but on 
 multiplied experiment and observation. ,^ 
 
 But to return. Blood diseases are so named because fhey consist ill 
 an alteration in the materials of which the blood is mfide up. That flu^ 
 consists, as youjinow, of certain constituents in certain proportions van* 
 able within certain limits, without affecting health; but beyond these 
 becoming less fitted for the performance of its normal duties; aBd,,bc- 
 
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 gists are taking. 1 might niso call yuii to survey the now views taken 
 of the {lathulugy of gout ahd rhcumutisni, as well as the whole tribe o( 
 xymutic diMflses,as a'rcason for not neglecting chemical pathology, but 
 I shall con^ne myself in this connexion to asking your attention to the 
 glimmer of light which hus been thrown upoi) the nutureand prevention 
 of Tubercle, that scourge ot' humanity under the form oT consumption, and 
 dther allied maladies. This is conceded to he a blood disease, and seems 
 t^ arise from deficient eloboration of the hutriCnt articles poured into 
 the blood, and intended to be there ^developed into the nourishing mate- 
 rial of the botly, but in some hitherto unkhown way perverted into the 
 tubercular de|Mni't. Recently observed lUcts, aideU by minute •chemical 
 and microscopical research seem to point to over, abundance in the supply 
 of oxygen to the blood as a cause uf the developmeni of tubercle, while 
 its ][)revention, if not cure, would seera to have some relation to the dim- 
 inished arteriulization of the blood. ' 
 
 But I must not omit to ppint out what may seem plainer evidence of 
 the practical importance of chemical knowledge,.viz., the direct adminis- 
 tration of medicines td produce certain chemical changes. You are, of 
 course fumiUar with the class Of remedies which act entirely on, chemi- 
 cal principles. They bear u part, indeed, in the classifications of materia 
 medica — the antacids, the lithontriptics, the antidotesiiave always been 
 known to act, not as vital but as chemical- agents, uni! they have long 
 been, and still continue, in use to remedy what ^ may call the grosser 
 chemioil diseases of the body. But the recognition of the blood-<£>rigin 
 of diseases^and the itivestigution into the precise changes >vhich.consti- 
 tute them, or, in other words^JSami their " proximate, causes," will lead, 
 and has already led to the seurCh ufler remedies which have the pC'Wer 
 of altering these, conditions. Many remedies which now we ejiiploy 
 empirically, or which arer culled specifics^ we shall probably come to u^ 
 in order to fulfil precise indicatious, and to induce particular chatiges. 
 You all know how useful the tartrate of antimony is in' inflammation of 
 the pulmonary tissue. It is generally used, but its mode of action is.aljtb 
 generally unknown. But when yoit hear that it has been ascertained by-^ 
 
 ' chemical experiment that antimony is potent in diminishing the quaii^ 
 tity of fibrin in the blood, you will feel more satisfied in prescribing it, 
 
 ^ tlian if you gave it empirically as du agent which you had found to bd 
 useful. So, again, in regard to nitrate of^tash, which has been^ given 
 in large doses as a ren^edy for rheumatism : it is a ppwerful .solvent of 
 £brin, and'We know that in rheuioatism that element of the' blood' is 
 larg^y increased. (The eflects of iron in ahgmenting the red corpuscles 
 become evident by the pallor of disease giving way to the roseate hue 
 •f hiealth. 
 
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 I have^welt ao long on chemistry, that I can bntilanco at another 
 eUHnentary study, viz., Physiology, which you should not neglect^n the 
 plea that It is not practical j for, as the chemistry of the body is liable to 
 
 ' ^T ^®'*ff ®^' «> w i' of the physiology. The knowledge of healthy 
 ■huctnre and function is indispensable to a knowledge of their disordered 
 states, find furnishes assistance in our most practical researches. Let us 
 ielect for an illustration the cell-theory of growth. I^ is well-establish- 
 
 ^ttat, commencing in a cell of the simplest kind,. oar subsequent 
 growth and fjill development is by multiplicatioh oCsuch cells and their 
 varied modes of union and expansion. Now this #opld seem at first to 
 be a fact curious and interesting in itself, but ha^g little bearing on 
 medical practice j but when we look into the*nature of abnormal gro^hs, 
 ««raally called tumors, we find their progress a copy of that of the 
 
 wT^u""J'*'*"**.^°"*^^"^"^y°" physiological knowledge applica- 
 
 ble to he diagnosis of such tumors. As the natural tissue possesses pe. 
 
 ^harities m its cell structures, so do abnormal growths distinguish 
 
 ttemselves by varieties in the appearance of their cells. Nothing can 
 
 tterefore be of more practical benefit than to acquire facility in the use 
 
 rfthe instrument by which alone such researches can be carried on~I 
 
 meaiv the microscope. That instrument is no longer to be regarded by 
 
 the physician as simply furnishing curious and important information as 
 
 totheminutias of creation, bu< as a^valuable as^stant in obAinmg a 
 
 practical knowledge of many of our common diseases. Indeed the re- 
 
 salts of the iise of that.instrumentin giving precision to the diagno&is of 
 
 several diseases are of the highest importance. But I shall aUude but to 
 
 one of its discoveries, a very curioiw though not a pleasant one, the exis- 
 
 tence of minute parasites, both vegetable and animal, both on and with- 
 in our very textures; The existence of the larger parasites, such as the 
 various worms and others that may be nameless, has been of course known 
 in all ages, but the fact that vegetable growths occur upon our skins and 
 withm our bodies, or that mibuteanimab in large numbers occupy at 
 tomes our very flesh and blood, has been revealed only recently and 
 trough the aid of the microscope. It is now known that one of the 
 Houblesome diseases of the scalp known as scald head (favus) is a veg©. 
 table itang^ growing on the spot j that another (porrigo decalvans) is 
 produced lif a similar growth within the tubuli of the hair. Intractable 
 «ses of disorder pf the stomach have been found owing to a minute 
 lungiu (sarcinA ventriouli/Vowing within that organ. Cases have oc 
 curred wheje the blood^on examinaUon was found loaded with animals 
 dda. and others where microscopic woraos (trichina spiralis) occupied a 
 MfffS portion of the muscular structure. 
 
 I ^ve thus endeavored, and I trust sncoessfbUy, to impcen npoa your 
 
 mm 
 lose 
 
 thai 
 thro 
 led( 
 I 
 ^r< 
 /ou 
 
 uies 
 sun 
 led{ 
 hon 
 the 
 nee 
 
 
 i 
 
J 
 
 11 
 
 nainda tlittt thd knowledge reeeived in the elementary classes cann«t 
 kae its yalae even when 70a have acquired perfect acquaintance with 
 that taught in the more advanced or practical departments ; but that 
 through your future clinical career you will need the aid of (hat know- 
 ledge which formed the first steps of your professional improvement. 
 
 I had inteaded to have addressed to you some ethical remarks in re<- 
 ^rd to your feelings and deportment towards your patients and towards 
 /our brethren of the profession, as Well as to point oufaa a duty'to your- 
 ^Ives that you should cultivate your talents, and use the opportuni- 
 Aea you will enjoy for your own improvement, which will then be 
 sure to result in the desire and efibrt to add to the general stock of know- 
 ledge, but I forbear and shall conclude by congratubting you on the 
 honorable position to which you have now attained, fl|| by lioping that* 
 the avenue this day opened to you may lead to a long course of naefhk 
 I to others, and of satis&ction and enq^nce to yourselves. . 
 
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 MoosB, OwiBB k BtMfEmom, Pnattn, MontiMl. 
 
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