BOOK III. CHAP. VI. 5% 



flinty was his breaft become by inveterate habit, that the dying groans 

 of a patient never cod him a fingle pang ; and he grew more hardened 

 in proportion as he fuffered no lofs, either in bufinefs or charafter, 

 from fuch misfortunes ; fo fertile was his invention, in fhifting the 

 blame from his own hands. Thus, Hke a fkiiful archer, he dealt his* 

 arrows from behind a bufli, whilft, 



" Ssvit atrox Volfcens, nee teli confpicit ufquam 



** Au(itorem." 



" Volfcens ftorm'd, nor found 



** The daring author of the diftant wound." 

 He never voted the calling in a phyfician, till his patient Jay at the 

 very laft gafp, drenched with his deadly potions beyond the falvation 

 of medicine; and hence always drew the advantage of proclaiming, 

 •« that death and the phyfician generally came into a fick room toge- 

 *' ther." His rule for vifiting, is not the leaft curious part of his oeco- 

 nomy : whenever he was fent for, his maxim was, to meafure the de- 

 lay of fetting out, and the length of the vifit, " according to the 

 " flrength and length of the patient's purfe." If he faw reafon to ex- 

 peft a handfome gratuity, or a long bill, he ufed to flud upon the 

 wings of the wind, and was at the patient's wrifl; in a trice. He held 

 that " putting any interrogatories to iick perfons, was only perplexino- 

 " thfir minds, already too much difcompofed with illnefs; and im^ 

 " peached the dignity of thofe who are born do6tors, and fo compre- 

 *< hend every branch of the art, by natural intuition." Anv enquiry 

 therefore, into the paft habits of living, diet, exercife, irregularities^ 

 and the general ftate of health and conftitutlon, " were utterly fuper- 

 " fluous to a man of true penetration." Apozem was fatisficd to fay^ 

 no more, than " I'll fend you fomething directly ;" and he never was 

 Known to break his promife ; phials, boxes, and gallipots, followed by 

 dozens, whilft, repofing In his elbow chair, he fiit down to enter j^". s. d. 

 His vifits were repeated three or four times de die in diem, more orlefs,- 

 according to the patient's rank and fortune. If h'ls applications were.- 

 unable to interrupt the laborious efforts of nature, and the difcafc be- 

 gan to lofe ground, it-was very well; there was, however, no want of' 

 regular fupplles, of peftorals, emenagogues, febrifuges, and vermi- 

 fliges ; paregorics, and fudorifics ; laxatives, and alteratives';, fomentar 

 tions, and embrocations ; draftlcs, and epifpafticsj to be fwallowed, or 



applied,^ 



