How about the doctors?--I said.
--Theirs is the least learned of the professions, in this country at
least. They have not half the general culture of the lawyers, nor a
quarter of that of the ministers. I rather think, though, they are more
agreeable to the common run of people than the men with black coats or
the men with green bags. People can swear before 'em if they want to,
and they can't very well before ministers. I don't care whether they
want to swear or not, they don't want to be on their good behavior.
Besides, the minister has a little smack of the sexton about him; he
comes when people are in extremis, but they don't send for him every time
they make a slight moral slip, tell a lie for instance, or smuggle a silk
dress through the customhouse; but they call in the doctor when a child
is cutting a tooth or gets a splinter in its finger. So it does n't mean
much to send for him, only a pleasant chat about the news of the day; for
putting the baby to rights does n't take long. Besides, everybody does
n't like to talk about the next world; people are modest in their
desires, and find this world as good as they deserve; but everybody loves
to talk physic. Everybody loves to hear of strange cases; people are
eager to tell the doctor of the wonderful cures they have heard of; they
want to know what is the matter with somebody or other who is said to be
suffering from "a complication of diseases," and above all to get a hard
name, Greek or Latin, for some complaint which sounds altogether too
commonplace in plain English.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160