an unmarried man, had given him to understand that the change of his state would make a corresponding change in their conduct. He found that this event made no addition to his practice, and that the hopes held out to him were fallacious. At a later period, he observed that the patients who came to him on professional grounds alone, neither inquired nor cared about the matter. Some even professed surprise on discovering accidentally that he was married, thereby proving that he had been consulted as an unmarried

man.

There is another measure very frequently recommended to young physicians, and scarcely less frequently adopted by them-that of giving dinners to apothecaries and other members of the profession, in hopes of securing their professional assistance. This was a low device, from which Dr. Hope's good taste, no less than his pride, revolted. From the first, he set his face against it, and he believed it to be an equal loss of time, trouble, and money. The persons thus invited, at once see through the motive; they make a favour of accepting the invitation, praise the dinner, laugh at the host, and go away determined on following their own interest or inclination, uninfluenced by any recollection of the interested hospitality. Once a medical gentleman, who had been a patient of Dr. Hope's, told him, that he regretted he could not assist him in his canvass, because he had occasionally dined with Dr. Hope's opponent. Dr. Hope contrived to

convince this gentleman that he was so sure of success, that the assistance of one individual was not of moment, and this consideration soon banished the remembrance of the dinners. Acting on the principle that he had laid down, Dr. Hope never gave a medical dinner until after his election to be physician to St. George's Hospital; he then invited, in succession, all practitioners, as well as students, who had assisted him in the canvass, with a few who had opposed him. He thus found that he associated with them on much more agreeable terms when he had nothing to ask or to hope from them, and when they could only regard his hospitality as an earnest of his friendly feeling for the future, or of his gratitude for the past.

Finally, Dr. Hope often spoke of the imprudence of a man commencing his career in style, or setting up his carriage at too early a period. Of course, a certain respectability of appearance must be maintained from the first, and after some time the removal to a handsome house and the setting up of a handsome carriage may be beneficial, as giving an impression of professional success. But if these are assumed at an early period, when it must be evident to all, that they are supported from private, not professional resources, the owner loses all benefit from them at the time, and the power of resorting to them, when he is legitimately entitled to do so. In his own case there were special reasons for avoiding all such advertisements of success. He had often been warned that his unusually pros

perous career would awaken much jealousy, and he was advised to allay such feelings as much as possible. He acted invariably on this principle, and we believe, that, however fortunate he was supposed to have been, the reality of his success exceeded the opinion generally entertained of it. Thus, prudence, as well as taste, would have prevented Dr. Hope from resorting to an expedient which, in common with all similar ones, he despised, as being worthy alone of those who have no other means of introducing themselves to the notice of the public.

CHAPTER II.

IMMEDIATELY after settling in Seymour Street, Dr. Hope became a pupil and a governor of St. George's Hospital-the former, in order to be entitled to gain knowledge and experience, by following the physicians in their visits to the wards; and the latter, with a view to his future election by the governors to the situation of physician to the hospital. In commencing his professional career, Dr. Hope felt so strongly the necessity of concentrating all his powers, all his thoughts, to the attainment of his great end, that he sacrificed to it every other taste and gratification. He discarded his flute, and restricted his pencil to professional objects alone, and even imposed on himself the restraint of not looking at a newspaper, or reading any work of general interest, until he should have completed the task of publishing his works on Diseases of the Heart and Morbid Anatomy.

As a senior pupil at St. George's, Dr. Hope soon became conspicuous for his regular attendance and unvarying application. He was always to be seen with his stethoscope, his book for taking notes of cases, and a small ink-bottle attached to his button. At that time the physicians of St. George's had no clinical clerks, and the taking of notes was much neglected. Dr. Hope induced Dr. Chambers to introduce this arrangement, so productive of advantage both to the

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student and the physician, and he was himself the first medical clinical clerk in St. George's Hospital, holding that office to Dr. Chambers. On the intermediate days, when Dr. Chambers did not make the round, Dr. Hope went to the Marylebone Infirmary, and for a year he was a regular attendant of Dr. Hooper's in that institution. At this time the prejudice against auscultation was very strong in England, and especially at St. George's, in consequence, chiefly, of several persons having brought it from Paris, and having undertaken, without paying any attention to the general signs of the various cases, to form the diagnosis by the physical signs alone. They were constantly in error, and thus their undue pretensions brought discredit on the whole system. Dr. Hope determined to remove these prejudices, and he adopted a most judicious course. He never spoke nor argued in favour of auscultation, but allowed facts to speak for themselves. He was always to be seen, stethoscope and journal in hand, at the bedside of every chest case: he took the most minute notes of them all, wrote the diagnosis in as great detail as possible, and, before proceeding to a postmortem examination, publicly placed his book on the table, in order that it might be read by all: his diagnosis was invariably correct. Attention was soon drawn to him; his diagnosis was generally asked for, and read aloud; its accuracy silenced every objection, and all intelligent and candid men became convinced of the utility of the stethoscope.