-in brief, every thing that
distinguishes it as an individual nation,--to the few men belonging to
it who have the courage to step beyond the boundaries prescribed by
partisanship, professional tradition, or social customs. In professional
no less than in political life there occasionally arise men who burst
the fetters of conventionalism, indignantly rejecting the arbitrary
limits imposed upon their activity, and step boldly forward into new
fields of enterprise. We call these men _self-made._ The nation claims
them as her proudest ornaments--the men upon whom she can rely, in peace
for her glory, in war for her succor. Of this class of men the medical
profession has furnished a distinguished example in the successful and
justly-celebrated physician, Dr. R.V. PIERCE, of Buffalo, N.Y., and any
history treating of the industries of the Empire State would be
incomplete without a sketch of his useful and earnest work. * * *
Specially educated for the profession which he so eminently adorns, he
early supplemented his studies by extensive and original research in its
several departments. He brought to his chosen work acute perceptive and
reflective powers, and that indomitable energy that neither shrinks at
obstacles nor yields to circumstances. In physique, Dr. PIERCE is an
ideal type of American manhood. Of medium stature, robust, his
appearance is characterized by a healthful, vigorous vitality, while the
full, lofty brow and handsomely cut features are indicative of that
comprehensive mental power and remarkable business sagacity which have
combined to place him among the distinguished men of the age. * * * As
an earnest worker for the welfare of his fellow-men, Dr. PIERCE has won
their warmest sympathy and esteem. While seeking to be their servant
only, he has become a prince among them. Yet the immense fortune
lavished upon him by a generous people he hoards not, but invests in the
erection and establishment of institutions directly contributive to the
public good, the people thus realizing, in their liberal patronage, a
new meaning of the beautiful Oriental custom of casting bread upon the
waters. Noted in both public and private life for his unswerving
integrity and all those sterling virtues that ennoble manhood, Dr.
PIERCE ranks high among those few men whose names the Empire State is
justly proud to inscribe upon her roll of honor." Dr. PIERCE has lately
erected a palatial Invalids' Hotel for the reception of his pa