AMERICAN  PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION.  493 
I  hold  it  true  in  all  trading  at  retail,  that  the  confidence  of  the  commu- 
nity is  fully  equal  to  the  capital  invested  ;  but  in  our  business,  of  the  trans- 
actions on  which  we  are  judged,  the  unknown  is  as  tenfold  to  the  known, 
and  the  penalties  and  emoluments  are  in  like  proportion,  either  in  the  breach 
or  observance.    The  number  of  business  hours  required  of  us,  our  broken 
Sabbaths,  our  enervating  summer  toils,  and  nights  of  broken  rest,  warn  us 
that  no  one  man  by  personal  application  can  be  responsible  for  all  that  is 
done  in  a  drug  store,  of  even  very  moderate  business;  it  must  therefore  be 
the  store,  as  well  as  the  proprietor,  that  is  to  merit  and  sustain  a  reputation, 
and  the  assistants  come  in  for  a  far  greater  share  of  it  than  is  generally 
supposed.    Now  let  a  young  man  on  entering  this  business  sit  down  and 
carefully  calculate  prospects  and  chances,  lay  out  his  plans  for  life,  where 
he  is  to  get  his  amusements,  who  are  to  be  his  friends,  how  manage  for  re- 
creations, how  perform  his  duties  to  society  socially,  how  cultivate  tastes 
for  all  that  is  true  and  beautiful ;  in  short,  how  reconcile  his  duties  as  an 
apothecary,  with  his  necessities  as  a  man.  The  way  in  which  these  questions 
are  answered,  and  the  path  he  strikes  out  to  pursue,  are  what  is  to  fix  his 
destiny.   If  he  looks  upon  his  business  as  merely  mechanical  toil,  seeking 
to  do  the  least  for  the  mast  money,  and  hourly  longing  for  the  next  moment 
he  can  get  to  spend  in  amusement  outside  the  business,  dreading  a  return 
to  it,  avoiding  and  postponing  those  things  which  must  be  done,  and  ought 
never  to  be  left  undone,  cultivating  disgust  for  the  daily  routine  of  duty,  and 
despising  all  non-sympathizers,  sad  must  be  his  life  to  himself,  and  profit- 
less to  the  community  ;  but  should  his  heart  be  bent  on  a  life  of  usefulness, 
a  determination  to  explore  and  master  the  mystery  and  detail  of  the 
business,  and  acquire  confidence  to  stand  before  his  customers  as  one  that 
can  answer  their  wants  equal  to  any  competitor,  and  secure  a  list  of 
personal  friends  from  among  them  ;  should  he  explore  the  sciences  and  in- 
vestigate theories  connected  with  his  business,  as  amusements  or  pleasures, 
storing  up  knowledge  for  truth's  sake,  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  those 
in  similar  pursuits,  and  make  friends  from  among  the  stars  of  his  own  pro- 
fession, and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  records  of  those  denied  a 
personal  acquaintance  ;  society  would  seek  him  for  his  worth,  the  mortar 
would  yield  him  pleasure,  the  graduate  would  be  to  him  a  cup  of  happiness, 
and  the  outside  world  would  form  to  him  a  concentrated  variety  of  the  same 
happiness  which  other  people  enjoy.    This  view  to  many  may  seem  all 
poetry;  but  let  any  one  look  around  and  from  the  past  judge  of  the  future, 
who  of  those  now  in  business,  or  retired,  are  the  successful  ones  ;  let  him 
inquire  of  their  past  history,  and  compare  it  with  their  present  standing  in 
all  respects  in  the  community,  and  he  will  find  that  virtue  brings  its  own 
sure  reward  ;  that  to  plough  deep,  to  sow  good  seed  early,  to  weed  out  and 
prune  well,  are  some  of  the  best  means  to  ensure  a  good  harvest;  that  to 
cultivate  a  taste  for  our  profession  for  pleasure  as  well  as  profit,  to  make 
all  acquaintances,  amusements,  recreations  and  associations,  harmonize 
with  our  routine  of  business,  to  give  proper  attention  iD  just  proportion  to 
our  religious  and  moral  wants,  our  civil  and  political  duties,  all  things 
