g　in　my　own　nature；　for　I　was　not　aware　of　it；　and　yet　was　doing　it　without　any　plan；　when　one　day；　sixty　years　ago；　a　friend　whom　I　loved　and　respected　said　this　to　me；　'Ah；　James；　I　see　that　you　are　destined　to　succeed　in　the　world；　and　to　make　friends；　because　you　are　so　ready　to　see　the　good　point　in　the　characters　of　those　you　meet。'〃
  I　close　this　imperfect　notice　of　some　features　in　the　character　of　this　most　honored　and　beloved　of　physicians　by　applying　to　him　the　words　which　were　written　of　William　Heberden；　whose　career　was　not　unlike　his　own；　and　who　lived　to　the　same　patriarchal　age。
  〃From　his　early　youth　he　had　always　entertained　a　deep　sense　of　religion；　a　consummate　love　of　virtue；　an　ardent　thirst　after　knowledge；　and　an　earnest　desire　to　promote　the　welfare　and　happiness　of　all　mankind。　　By　these　qualities；　accompanied　with　great　sweetness　of　manners；　he　acquired　the　love　and　esteem　of　all　good　men；　in　a　degree　which　perhaps　very　few　have　experienced；　and　after　passing　an　active　life　with　the　uniform　testimony　of　a　good　conscience；　he　became　an　eminent　example　of　its　influence；　in　the　cheerfulness　and　serenity　of　his　latest　age。〃
  Such　was　the　man　whom　I　offer　to　you　as　a　model；　young　gentlemen；　at　the　outset　of　your　medical　career。　　I　hope　that　many　of　you　will　recognize　some　traits　of　your　own　special　teachers　scattered　through　various　parts　of　the　land　in　the　picture　I　have　drawn。　　Let　me　assure　you　that　whatever　you　may　learn　in　this　or　any　other　course　of　public　lectures；and　I　trust　you　will　learn　a　great　deal；the　daily　guidance；　counsel；　example；　of　your　medical　father；　for　such　the　Oath　of　Hippocrates　tells　you　to　consider　your　preceptor；　will；　if　he　is　in　any　degree　like　him　of　whom　I　have　spoken；　be　the　foundation　on　which　all　that　we　teach　is　reared；　and　perhaps　outlive　most　of　our　teachings；　as　in　Dr。　Jackson's　memory　the　last　lessons　that　remained　with　him　were　those　of　his　Old　Master。
  THE　MEDICAL　PROFESSION　IN　MASSACHUSETTS。
  A　Lecture　of　a　Course　by　members　of　the　Massachusetts　Historical　Society；　delivered　before　the　Lowell　Institute；　January　29；　1869。
  The　medical　history　of　eight　generations；　told　in　an　hour；　must　be　in　many　parts　a　mere　outline。　　The　details　I　shall　give　will　relate　chiefly　to　the　first　century。　　I　shall　only　indicate　the　leading　occurrences；　with　the　more　prominent　names　of　the　two　centuries　which　follow；　and　add　some　considerations　suggested　by　the　facts　which　have　been　passed　in　review。
  A　geographer　who　was　asked　to　describe　the　tides　of　Massachusetts　Bay；　would　have　to　recognize　the　circumstance　that　they　are　a　limited　manifestation　of　a　great　oceanic　movement。　　To　consider　them　apart　from　this；　would　be　to　localize　a　planetary　phenomenon；　and　to　provincialize　a　law　of　the　universe。　　The　art　of　healing　in　Massachusetts　has　shared　more　or　less　fully　and　readily　the　movement　which；　with　its　periods　of　ebb　and　flow；　has　been　raising　its　level　from　age　to　age　throughout　the　better　part　of　Christendom。　　Its　practitioners　brought　with　them　much　of　the　knowledge　and　many　of　the　errors　of　the　Old　World；　they　have　always　been　in　communication　with　its　wisdom　and　its　folly；　it　is　not　without　interest　to　see　how　far　the　new　conditions　in　which　they　found　themselves　have　been　favorable　or　unfavorable　to　the　growth　of　sound　medical　knowledge　and　practice。
  The　state　of　medicine　is　an　index　of　the　civilization　of　an　age　and　country；one　of　the　best；　perhaps；　by　which　it　can　be　judged。　Surgery　invokes　the　aid　of　all　the　mechanical　arts。　　From　the　rude　violences　of　the　age　of　stone；a　relic　of　which　we　may　find　in　the　practice　of　Zipporah；　the　wife　of　Moses；to　the　delicate　operations　of　to…day　upon　patients　lulled　into　temporary　insensibility；　is　a　progress　which　presupposes　a　skill　in　metallurgy　and　in　the　labors　of　the　workshop　and　the　laboratory　it　has　taken　uncounted　generations　to　accumulate。　　Before　the　morphia　which　deadens　the　pain　of　neuralgia；　or　the　quinine　which　arrests　the　fit　of　an　ague；　can　find　their　place　in　our　pharmacies；　commerce　must　have　perfected　its　machinery；　and　science　must　have　refined　its　processes；　through　periods　only　to　be　counted　by　the　life　of　nations。　　Before　the　means　which　nature　and　art　have　put　in　the　hands　of　the　medical　practitioner　can　be　fairly　brought　into　use；　the　prejudices　of　the　vulgar　must　be　overcome；　the　intrusions　of　false　philosophy　must　be　fenced　out；　and　the　partnership　with　the　priesthood　dissolved。　　All　this　implies　that　freedom　and　activity　of　thought　which　belong　only　to　the　most　advanced　conditions　of　society；　and　the　progress　towards　this　is　by　gradations　as　significant　of　wide…spread　changes；　as　are　the　varying　states　of　the　barometer　of　far…extended　conditions　of　the　atmosphere。
  Apart；　then；　from　its　special　and　technical　interest；　my　subject　has　a　meaning　which　gives　a　certain　importance；　and　even　dignity；　to　details　in　themselves　trivial　and　almost　unworthy　of　record。　　A　medical　entry　in　Governor　Winthrop's　journal　may　seem　at　first　sight　a　mere　curiosity；　but；　rightly　interpreted；　it　is　a　key　to　his　whole　system　of　belief　as　to　the　order　of　the　universe　and　the　relations　between　man　and　his　Maker。　　Nothing　sheds　such　light　on　the　superstitions　of　an　age　as　the　prevailing　interpretation　and　treatment　of　disease。　　When　the　touch　of　a　profligate　monarch　was　a　cure　for　one　of　the　most　inveterate　of　maladies；　when　the　common　symptoms　of　hysteria　were　prayed　over　as　marks　of　demoniacal　possession；　we　might　well　expect　the　spiritual　realms　of　thought　to　be　peopled　with　still　stranger　delusions。
  Let　us　go　before　the　Pilgrims　of　the　Mayflower；　and　look　at　the　shores　on　which　they　were　soon　to　land。　　A　wasting　pestilence　had　so　thinned　the　savage　tribes　that　it　was　sometimes　piously　interpreted　as　having　providentially　prepared　the　way　for　the　feeble　band　of　exiles。　　Cotton　Mather；　who；　next　to　the　witches；　hated　the　〃tawnies；〃　〃　wild　beasts；〃　〃blood…hounds；〃　〃rattlesnakes；〃　〃infidels；〃　as　in　different　places　he　calls　the　unhappy　Aborigines；　describes　the　condition　of　things　in　his　lively　way；　thus：　〃The　Indians　in　these　Parts　had　newly；　even　about　a　Year　or　Two　before；　been　visited　with　such　a　prodigious　Pestilence；　as　carried　away　not　a　Tenth；　but　Nine　Parts　of　Ten　（yea't　is　said　Nineteen　of　Twenty）　among　them　so　that　the　Woods　were　almost　cleared　of　those　pernicious　Creatures　to　make　Room　for　a　better　Growth。〃
  What　this　pestilence　was　has　been　much　discussed。　　It　is　variously　mentioned　by　different　early　writers　as　〃the　plague；〃　〃a　great　and　grievous　plague；〃　〃a　sore　consumption；〃　as　attended　with　spots　which　left　unhealed　places　on　those　who　recovered；　as　making　the　〃whole　surface　yellow　as　with　a　garment。〃　　Perhaps　no　disease　answers　all　these　conditions　so　well　as　smallpox。　　We　know　from　different　sources　what　frightful　havoc　it　made　among　the　Indians　in　after　years；in　1631；　for　instance；　when　it　swept　away　the　aboriginal　inhabitants　of　whole　towns；〃　and　in　1633。　　We　have　seen　a　whole　tribe；　the　Mandans；　extirpated　by　it　in　our　own　day。　　The　word　〃plague〃　was　used　very　vaguely；　as　in　the　description　of　the　〃great　sickness〃　found　among　the　Indians　by　the　expedition　of　1622。　　This　same　great　sickness　could　hardly　have　been　yellow　fever；　as　it　occurred　in　the　month　of　November。　　I　cannot　think；　therefore；　that　either　the　scourge　of　the　East　or　our　Southern　malarial　pestilence　was　the　disease　that　wasted　the　Indians。　　As　for　the　yellowness　like　a　garment；　that　is　too　familiar　to　the　eyes　of　all　who　have　ever　looked　on　the　hideous　mask　of　confluent　variola。
  Without　the　presence　or　the　fear　of　these　exotic　maladies；　the　forlorn　voyagers　of　the　Mayflower　had　sickness　enough　to　contend　with。　　At　their　first　landing　at　Cape　Cod；　gaunt　and　hungry　and　longing　for　fresh　food；　they　found　upon　the　sandy　shore　〃great　mussel's；　and　very　fat　and　full　of　sea…pearl。〃　　Sailors　and　passengers　indulged　in　the　treacherous　delicacy；　which　seems　to　have　been　the　sea…clam；　and　found　that　these　mollusks；　like　the　shell　the　poet　tells　of；　remembered　their　august　abode；　and　treated　the　way…　worn　adventurers　to　a　gastric　reminiscence　of　the　heaving　billows。　In　the　mean　time　it　blew　and　snowed　and　froze。　　The　water　turned　to　ice　on　their　clothes；　and　made　them　many　times　like　coats　of　iron。　Edward　Tilley　had　like　to　have　〃sounded〃　with　cold。　　The　gunner；　too；　was　sick　unto　death；　but　〃hope　of　trucking〃　kept　him　on　his　feet；a　Yankee；　it　should　seem；　when　he　first　touched　the　shore　of　New　England。　　Most；　if　not　all；　got　colds　and　coughs；　which　afterwards　turned　to　scurvy；　whereof　many　died。
  How　can　we　wonder　that　the　crowded　and　tempest…tossed　voyagers；　many　of　them　already　suffering；　should　have　fallen　before　the　trials　of　the　first　winter　in　Plymouth？　　Their　imperfect　shelter；　their　insufficient　supply　of　bread；　their　salted　food；　now　in　unwholesome　condition；　account　too　well　for　the　diseases　and　the　mortality　that　marked　this　first　dreadful　season；　weakness；　swelling　of　the　limbs；　and　other　signs　of　scurvy；　betrayed　the　want　of　proper　nourishment　and　protection　from　the　elements。　　In　December　six　of　their　number　died；　in　January　eight；　in　February；　seventeen；　in　March　thirteen。　With　the　advance　of　spring　the　mortality　diminis