100 THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 



afterward, required in order to practice medicine in Pennsyl- 

 vania. The first to receive such a degree, wlio settled in 

 Chester County, was Dr. Darlington, in 1804. But it was 

 customary after serving two or more years as an apprentice 

 in a doctor's office to attend one or two courses of lectures 

 at the University of Pennsylvania. Accordingly, we find 

 that the advice of Dr. Thomas Parke was asked relative to 

 Moses Marshall spending the winter in Philadelphia for 

 this purpose. Dr. Parke w^as a native of Chester County, 

 had taken his medical degree at Edinburgh, had an exten- 

 sive practice in Philadelphia, and was one of the physicians 

 to the Pennsylvania Hospital. He advised him to attend 

 the lectures, especially those on anatomy, by Dr. William 

 Shippen, and those on chemistry, by Dr. Rush. The winter 

 of 1779 and 1780 was spent in this manner, and his diary 

 covering the period has been preserved. The entries are 

 short and relate mostly to his own doings, though he 

 occasionally gives us some comment on the times. There 

 is nothing to indicate that he realized that in sitting under 

 the teaching of Dr. Rush he was brought into almost daily 

 contact with the most dignified and exalted character that 

 has graced the annals of American medicine. 



It must be admitted that some entries in Moses Mar- 

 shall's diary at this time indicate that his time was not 

 exclusively devoted to medical studies and scientific work, 

 for a certain Polly Howell receives more frequent mention 

 than does the immortal Rush, and Sally Samson, who 

 " behaved for three evenings, especially the last, in a most 

 engaging manner," evidently occupies his thoughts more 

 than hospital clinics or work in Parke's shop. 



He then returned to Marshallton, and after staying at 



