Athothis : a satire on modern medicine / by Thomas C. Minor.

fogs abound, and where even the sunlight is obscure and uncheering ? Hospitals should always be located in the highlands of the country. There the air is pure, the sun- shine bright, and the eyes of the sufferer may be cheered by the many verdured charms of nature, and the ear be delighted by the music of warbling birds.'' " Carping again !" exclaimed Paulus Androcydes, in- dignantly, "' T is a hard matter to please you, my Egyptian friend, but know there are many good reasons for locating a hospital in the city; for instance, it is more convenient for the doctors and students who at- tend lectures at the institution." "Is this a hospital devoted to clinical instruction?" asked Athothis; and, even as he spoke, a loud bellowing voice echoed and re-echoed through the resounding cor- ridors, and Paulus Androcydes whispered in an awed tone, " Hark ! I hear the eloquent notes of the erudite Professor Borborygmus. Come! Let us hearken to the wisdom evolved by this sage." And the spirits entered a large hall. On seats arranged in circles, tier above tier, were sev- eral hundred medical students, eagerly listening to the remarks of an orator, who discoursed from the amphi- theater below. This individual was declaiming and widely gesticulating over a couch on which lay a pale young woman, whose deep sunken eyes, pinched features, and emaciated frame indicated the presence of some wasting malady. " I tell you, no ! " shouted the lecturer. " When you are called to a case of this kind, never give ergot before making a careful examination. Sit up, Madam !" Here, Professor Borborygmus, with the as- sistance of a nurse and house physician, raised the trembling woman in bed, and proceeded to thump her