304 
Editorial. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1901. 
British  Government,  he  came,  through  the  influence  of  an  uncle,  to 
America,  in  1 862.  During  the  war  he  served  in  the  navy  as  hospital 
steward,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting  various  foreign  coun- 
tries. After  his  discharge  from  service  he  had  a  spell  of  illness  and 
was  taken  to  Bellevue  Hospital.  Meanwhile  he  was  made  assistant 
to  John  Frey,  the  apothecary  of  this  institution,  and  prosecuted  his 
chemical  studies  so  that  upon  the  death  of  the  latter  he  was  made 
superintendent  of  and  chemist  to  the  general  drug  department  of 
Bellevue  Hospital,  and  subsequently  chemist  to  the  Department  of 
Public  Charities  and  Corrections  of  New  York  City,  which  positions 
he  held  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
His  later  life  has  been  so  rich  in  accomplishments  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  details  of  his  early  life  are  not  essential  to  an  under- 
standing of  his  character.  His  whole  life  was  devoted  to  high  pur- 
poses and  was  so  filled,  in  not  only  doing  his  own  work,  but  also  in  giv- 
ing aid  and  counsel  to  others,  that  when  one  approached  him  there  was 
no  time  for  gossip  or  idle  chat.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  saying  too 
much  that  these  things  were  foreign  to  his  nature,  and  that  life  had 
a  greater  meaning  for  him  than  this.  It  seems  almost  as  though 
Emerson  must  have  been  writing  of  some  such  personality  as  his 
when  he  portrays  what  a  friend  should  be,  and  says: 
' '  Why  should  we  desecrate  noble  and  beautiful  souls  by  intruding  ou  them  ? 
Why  insist  ou  rash  personal  relations  with  your  friend?  Why  go  to  his  house 
or  know  his  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters  ?  Why  be  visited  by  him  at  your 
own?  Are  these  things  material  to  our  covenant?  Leave  this  touching  and 
clawing.  Let  him  be  to  me  a  spirit — a  message,  a  thought,  a  sincerity.  A 
glance  from  him  I  want,  but  not  news  nor  pottage.  I  can  get  politics  and  chat 
and  neighborly  conveniences  from  cheaper  companions.  Should  not  the  society 
of  my  friend  be  to  me  poetic,  pure,  universal  and  great  as  nature  itself?  Ought 
I  to  feel  that  our  tie  is  profane  in  comparison  with  yonder  bar  of  cloud  that 
sleeps  on  the  horizon,  or  that  clump  of  waning  grass  that  divides  the  brook  ? 
Let  us  not  vilify,  but  raise  it  to  that  standard.  *  *  *  *  Worship  his  supe- 
riorities." 
Dr.  Rice  was  one  whom  it  will  require  years  to  appreciate  and 
understand.  He  will  undoubtedly  rank  as  the  superior  of  all  who 
have  labored  before  him  in  the  profession  of  pharmacy.  "  He 
taught,  as  the  artist  must,  without  intention,  and  his  lesson  was 
how  a  man  may  be  modest  and  self-reliant."  In  reply  to  a 
request  for  a  biographical  sketch,  he  sent  the  following  on  March 
11,  1900 : 
