ed
so much among his medicaments that he had at last become himself a drug,
and to have him pass through a sick-chamber was a stronger dose than a
conscientious disciple of Hahnemann would think it safe to administer.

Need I remind you of the importance of punctuality in your engagements,
and of the worry and distress to patients and their friends which the
want of it occasions? One of my old teachers always carried two watches,
to make quite sure of being exact, and not only kept his appointments
with the regularity of a chronometer, but took great pains to be at his
patient's house at the time when he had reason to believe he was
expected, even if no express appointment was made. It is a good rule; if
you call too early, my lady's hair may not be so smooth as could be
wished, and, if you keep her waiting too long, her hair may be smooth,
but her temper otherwise.

You will remember, of course, always to get the weather-gage of your
patient. I mean, to place him so that the light falls on his face and
not on yours. It is a kind of, ocular duel that is about to take place
between you; you are going to look through his features into his
pulmonary and hepatic and other internal machinery, and he is going to
look into yours quite as sharply to see what you think about his
probabilities for time or eternity.

No matter how hard he stares at your countenance, he should never be able
to read his fate in it. It should be cheerful as long as there is hope,
and serene in its gravity when nothing is left but resignation. The face
of a physician, like that of a diplomatist, should be impenetrable.
Nature is a benevolent old hypocrite; she cheats the sick and the dying
with illusions better than any anodynes. If there are cogent reasons why
a patient should be undeceived, do it deliberately and advisedly, but do
not betray your apprehensions through your tell-tale features.

We had a physician in our city whose smile was commonly reckoned as being
worth five thousand dollars a year to him, in the days, too, of moderate
incomes. You cannot put on such a smile as that any more than you can
get sunshine without sun; there was a tranquil and kindly nature under it
that irradiated the pleasant face it made one happier to meet on his
daily rounds. But you can cultivate the disposition, and it will work
its way through to the surface, nay, more,--you can try to wear a quiet
and encouraging look, and it will react on your disposition a