442 [Feb, 15, 
Ruschenberger, } 
preciation of his long services, his annual dues be hereafter re- 
mitted.” And at its stated meeting, January 26, 1881, the 
library committee presented to Dr. Bridges “the expression 
of their sincere regret that the care of his health obliges him to 
retire from the office of librarian, which he has held for so 
many years, and in which they have learned to appreciate his 
industry, fidelity and courtesy. They sincerely hope that he 
may find in repose and recreation the means of improving his 
health, and the opportunity of observing the growth of the 
library with whose early history he has been identified.” 
Cultivation and teaching of the medical sciences have ever 
been among the pursuits which contributed to the good name 
of Philadelphia. The'excellence of the medical colleges in the 
city is generally acknowledged. This high character is ascrib- 
able, in some degree at least, to aspiring young physicians who 
joined together in little bands to lecture and teach the several 
branches of medicine while the incorporated colleges were 
closed. In past times this recess continued during six or seven 
months of the year. ‘Those engaged in the summer schools, as 
they were called, soon became trained teachers, well qualified 
to fill professorships. Several of the most distinguished pro- 
fessors in our medical colleges were partly indebted for their 
appointment to the preliminary training, and reputation 
acquired in a summer school.* 
In the spring of 1842, the Philadelphia Association for Medi- 
cal Instruction was formed. The constituent members or 
founders of it were Dr. John F. Meigs, who taught obstetrics 
till 1845, and afterwards lectured on the diseases of children ; 
Dr. Joshua M. Wallace, who taught surgery; Dr. Robert Bridges, 
chemistry; Dr. Francis Gurney Smith, Jr., physiology; and 
Joshua M. Allen, anatomy. Dr. Bridges, was the only con- 
stituent member of the Association who remained in it until it 
was dissolved at the close of 1860, a period of eighteen years. 
*The History of the Philadelphia School of Anatomy and its relations to 
medical teaching. A lecture delivered March 1, 1475, at its dissolution, By Wil- 
iliam W. Keen, M.D. (published by J. B. Lippincott & Co.). 
Many of the associations for medical teaching in Philadelphia are sketched or 
referred to in this very interesting paper. 
