The fish called the Flounder, perhaps you may know,
Has one side for use, and another for show;
One side for the public, a delicate brown,
And one that is white, which he always keeps down.
* * * * *
Then said an old Sculpin--"My freedom excuse,
But you're playing the cobbler with holes in your shoes;
Your brown side is up,--but just wait till you're _fried_,
And you'll find that all flounders are white on one side."
DR. O. W. HOLMES. 1844.
GOSSIP IS INTERESTING.--COMPARATIVE SIGNS OF GREATNESS.--THE GREAT
SURGEONS OF THE WORLD.--ADDRESS NECESSARY.--"THIS IS A BONE."--DRESS
_not_ NECESSARY.--COUNTRY DOCTORS' DRESS.--HOW THE DEACON SWEARS.--A
GOOD MANY SHIRTS.--ONLY WASHED WHEN FOUND DRUNK.--LITTLE TOMMY
MISTAKEN FOR A GREEN CABBAGE BY THE COW.--AN INSULTED LADY.--DOCTORS'
WIGS.--"AIN'T SHE LOVELY?"--HARVEY AND HIS HABITS.--THE DOCTOR AND THE
VALET.--A BIG WIG.--BEN FRANKLIN.--JENNER'S DRESS.--AN ANIMATED WIG; A
LAUGHABLE STORY.--A CHARACTER.--"DASH, DASH."
"All personal gossip is interesting, and all of us like to know something
of the men whom we hear talked of day by day, and whose works have
delighted or instructed us; how they dressed, talked, or walked, and
amused themselves; what they loved to eat and drink, and how they looked
when their bows were unbent."
Most famous men have had some peculiarity of dress or address, or both.
Our first impression of Goliah--by what we heard of his size--was that he
was as high as a church steeple; and of Napoleon, that he was as short as
Tom Thumb. But when we read for ourselves, we found that Goliah was much
less in stature than Xerxes and some modern giants, and Napoleon was of
medium size.
No man can become truly great in any capacity unless he has the innate
qualities of greatness within his composition. These qualities, if
possessed, will appear in his face,--for face, as well as acts, indicate
the character.
There seem to be elements of character in all great men--almost the
identical basis of character in the one as in the other, the different
vocations explaining any minor differences that are to be found in them.
Thus we find precisely the same features in the character of Michael
Angelo and the Duke of Wellington--two men living three centuries apart,
in different countries--one a great artist, and the other a great warrior.
Compare Washington and Julius Cæsar; you will find them surprisingly alike
in many particulars. In them, as in every instance I have yet studied, the
distinguishing feature is an intense love of work--work of the kind that
fell to the lot of each to do. Another feature is indomitable courage; and
the last is a never-dying perseverance. Though I have carefully studied
the histories of many of the greatest men, in order, if I could, to
discover the source of their greatness, I have never yet come upon one
great life that has lacked these three features--love of work, unfailing
courage, and perseverance.
"To be a good surgeon one should be a complete man. He should have a
strong intellect to give him judgment and enable him to understand the
case to be operated on in all its bearings. He needs strong perceptive
faculties especially, through which to render him practical, to enable him
not only to know and remember all parts, but to use instruments and tools
successfully; also large constructiveness, to give him a mechanical cast
of mind. More than this, he must have inventive power to discover and
apply the necessary mechanical means for the performance of the duties of
his profession. He must have large Firmness, Destructiveness, and
Benevolence, to give stability, fortitude, and kindness. He must have
enough of Cautiousness to make him careful where he cuts, but not so much
as to make him timid, irresolute, and hesitating; Self-esteem, to give
assurance; Hope, to inspire in his patients confidence, and genial
good-nature, to make him liked at the bedside.
[Illustration: THE GREAT SURGEONS OF THE WORLD.]
"In the group of eminent men whose likenesses are herewith presented, we
find strongly marked physiognomies in each. There is nothing weak or
wanting about them. All seem full and complete. Take their features
separately--eyes, nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, lips--analyze closely as you
can, and you will discover strength in every lineament and in every line.
In Harvey we have the large perceptives of the observer and discoverer. He
was pre-eminently practical in all things. In Abernethy there is naturally
more of the author and physician than of the surgeon, and you feel that he
would be more likely to give you advice than to apply the knife. In
Hunter, strong, practical common sense, with great Constructiveness,
predominates. See how broad the head between the ears. His expression
indicates 'business.' Sir Astley Cooper looks the scholar, the operator,
and the very dignified gentleman which he was. (He was the handsomest man
of his day.) Carnochan, the resolute, the prompt, the expert, is large in
intellect, high in the crown, and broad at the base; he has perhaps the
best natural endowment, and by education is the one best fitted for his
profession, among ten thousand. He is, in all respects, 'the right man in
the right place.'
"Dr. Mott, the Quaker surgeon, has a large and well-formed brain, and
strong body, with the vital-motive temperament, good mechanical skill, and
great self-control, resolution, courage, and sound common sense. Jenner,
the thoughtful, the kindly, the sympathetical, and scholarly, has less of
the qualities of a surgeon than any of the others."
For the above interesting facts we are indebted to the "Phrenological
Journal."
Professor Bigelow, of Harvard, has all the requisites in his "make up" of
a great surgeon. As a lecturer, Dr. Bigelow is easy and off-handed. He
comes into the room without any fuss or airs. He takes up a bone, a femur,
perhaps, and after looking at it and turning it round and upside down as
though he never saw it before, he finally says, "This is a bone--yes, a
bone." You want to laugh outright at the quaintness of the whole prelude.
Then he goes on to tell all about "the bone." We have not space for more
than a mere line sketch of even great men like the above, and but few of
those.