668 THE INTRODUCTORY LECTURE OF MR. FIELD. 
lieve still exists in that establishment : — I allude to the facility 
with which pupils are admitted in the first instance. If any young 
man presents himself for admission, no matter how ignorant he 
may be ; if he has never looked into a Latin grammar, and if he 
is a perfect stranger to the French tongue ; if his acquaintance 
with mathematics and with English literature in general is on an 
exact par with his knowledge of languages ; in fact, if his educa- 
tion has been altogether neglected, and he is in all respects as 
unfit a candidate for a liberal profession as can be well imagined, — 
the doors of the College are, notwithstanding, opened wide to re- 
ceive him ; and he is, without a question asked, at once admitted 
as a pupil. Now this I must regard as a sad oversight. It is a 
practice that does not hold in the medical profession, and it is pro- 
vided against by the laws of the Pharmaceutical Society just esta- 
blished. Why should it be maintained in curs'? more especially 
as we pride ourselves in being considered on a level with our 
brother professors and practitioners in human medicine — a position 
we cannot expect to preserve, in these enlightened times, if we 
disregard the immense importance and advantages of general edu- 
cation, as a means of enhancing the character of the veterinarian, 
and of upholding him in his acknowledged sphere of society. In 
the army his rank is well known. In London, the enlightened ve- 
terinary surgeon is on an equality with the professors of other libe- 
ral arts. In country towns and large villages you find him the 
companion of the clergyman, the surgeon, the lawyer, and not un- 
frequently the guest of the gentry in his own immediate neighbour- 
hood. Such was not the case in those dark ages to which I have 
already alluded, during the interregnum — so to speak — of the vete- 
rinary art, when the patient was handed over to the tender mercies 
of the ignorant empiric, who possessed, as a matter of course, im- 
pudence and presumption in abundance, but not one-half the intel- 
ligence of the animal for which he was called upon to prescribe ; 
and which was thus left to the chapter of accidents to recover or 
otherwise, as chance might direct. Now, I would ask, what was 
this man’s station in society — what his pursuits — who his confede- 
rates and companions? The question is of easy solution. His 
locum tenens was the tavern. There he might be seen, enveloped 
in fumes of tobacco, the associate of jockies, of grooms, and of the 
lowest grade of mechanics. His name was a by- word for every 
thing low and contemptible. He lived unrespected ; he died un- 
regretted. But let us cast a veil over this part of the picture. We 
may rejoice at our escape from the state of bondage of our ancestors, 
and we may congratulate ourselves upon the mighty change that 
has come over the spirit of our times, giving to our profession 
something like a “ local habitation and a name.” We may refer 
