Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
Sept.  1875.  ; 
Legitimate  Pharmacy. 
401 
control  of  others,  not  even  professing  to  offer  my  own  practice  as  a  basis 
for  my  theories,  I  desire  to  meet  the  question  with  perfect  candor  on 
its  own  merits  ;  and  in  this  spirit  are  we  not  compelled  to  admit  that 
the  pursuit  of  pharmacy  is  incompatible  with  the  sale  of  fancy  goods, 
except  as  to  that  class  produced  by  processes  that  can  only  or  best  be 
carried  on  by  pharmacists,  such,  for  instance,  as  dentifrices,  colognes, 
hair  dressings  and  sundry  toilet  merchandise,  for  the  purveying  of 
which,  as  yet,  the  American  public  must  look  to  us  ;  and  with  the  fur- 
ther exception  of  many  household  goods  and  devices,  which,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  used  for  the  alleviation  of  suffering,  properly  come  within 
the  scope  of  our  definition  ;  that  it  is  further  incompatible  with  the 
sale  of  liquors,  except  so  far  as  they  are  to  be  used  for  medicinal,  me- 
chanical or  chemical  purposes  ;  and  as  for  the  sale  of  cigars,  that  it  is 
indefensible  on  any  known  grounds  save  those  of  supposed  business 
necessities. 
It  would  perhaps  be  interesting  to  inquire  how  the  drug  business  in 
this  country  became  the  miscellaneous  medley  which  we  know  it  to  be, 
finding,  as  it  too  often  does,  accurate  descriptions  upon  the  covers  of  the 
annuals  and  almanacs  of  the  patent-medicine  men,  of  whose  interesting 
family  literature  we  yearly  become  colporteurs.  One  reads,  for  in 
stance,  "  Quackem's  Celebrated  Dyspepsia  Destroyer  is  sold  by  Jones 
&  Smith,  dealers  in  Drugs  and  Medicines,  Books,  Stationery  and  Fancy 
Goods.  Prescriptions  carefully  dispensed  "  ;  or,  again,  "  Seller's  Ori- 
ental Oceanic  Optical  Drops  ;  sold  by  Jinks  &  Johnston,  dealers  in 
Fine  Drugs  and  Chemicals,  Paints,  Oils,  Varnishes,  Fertilizers,  Coal 
Oil,  Lamps  and  Lamp  Chimneys,  Pure  Wines  and  Liquors,  he.  Pre- 
scriptions compounded  with  care."  No  matter  if  the  latter  so  seldom 
occurs  as  to  excite  the  whole  force,  from  proprietors  to  bottle  washers, 
it  is  well  to  have  the  name  of  the  thing. 
Nor  can  the  city  pharmacist,  with  propriety,  divide  the  hodge-podge 
of  his  rustic  brother.  Look  for  a  moment  how  absurd  a  business  can 
be  carried  on  behind  the  plate-glass  windows  and  revolving  illuminated 
mortar  of  the  Broadway  corner  pharmacy.  In  such  a  place,  one  of 
these  winter  nights,  say,  let  us  follow  A,  B  and  C,  young  men  strolling 
home  to  their  lodgings.  They  step  up  to  a  magnificent  marble  pile, 
costing  more  than  the  humble  home  of  many  a  modest  citizen,  which 
might  serve  as  the  mausoleum  of  a  monarch,  daubbed  the  "  Spa,"  and 
call  for  hot  soda,  which  is  served  them  by  a  white-aproned  boy  like  the 
gargon  of  a  restaurant — for  A,  coffee  ;  for  B,  chocolate,  while  C  takes 
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