who do not require to exercise it daily in the trivial little affairs of everyday life. One may have to exercise self-control in speech or temper, another in fault-finding, another in curbing a contentious nature, another in sarcasm, etc. Real true education has for its object the development of the power of self-control, of inhibiting the desires for self-indulgence, of strengthening the will-not-to-do. In so far as one falls short of these ideals, then one's education has been a failure.

Silence is golden, if speech is silver; therefore exercise moderation in all you say. Be careful not to exaggerate or boast. Especially if your temper be hasty, think well before you speak; a hasty word may lose you a valuable patient, an unkind remark may cause a grievous wound. By speaking too quickly before thinking, a doctor may convey an entirely false impression as to the state of a patient's health, and it is very difficult afterwards to dissipate such an effect. How often in the house of mourning does the idle word hurt the feelings and wound the spirit, while the eloquent silence consoles and comforts. "And he speaks best that hath the skill, when for to hold his peace."

Thought requires controlling also. There may be rashness of thought as well as speech. This may lead to hasty and often erroneous conclusions. Deliberate well within yourself. "Give thy thoughts no tongue, nor any unproportion'd thought his act. The first are not always the best thoughts. Let your judgment depend on your reasoning-only then is it safe to speak or act.

Kindness. I think that, as a body of men, doctors

have deserved the opinion that they are men of kindly nature. It could hardly be otherwise, however, as they are so often called in to participate in the joys as well as in the sorrows of their fellow mortals. Kindliness of nature is, however, an attribute which not only affords pleasure to its possessor, but sheds happiness around. It is such an attractive quality that all young men ought to practise and cultivate it fully. It is surely all to the good that the doctor should be remembered not alone for his skill, but also for

"His little nameless, unremembered acts

Of kindness and of love.”

Robert Louis Stevenson says that it is the history of kindness that alone makes this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . he should be tempted to think our life a practical jest. Let it be your endeavour wherever you go to scatter the seeds of beautiful flowers in the shape of kindly words and deeds.

Such commonplace faults as the above have an immense influence on the practice of a young man, an influence out of all proportion to his abilities, and so require careful shepherding. An adequate education helps greatly to lessen these failings, if indeed it does not entirely eliminate them, but to have a mind equally balanced and self-restrained is the ethical conception.

The pessimistic mind is not the happy state, either for oneself or for one's patients. Cultivate rather the optimistic aspect, even though it may not always be the true one. Who cares to see the solemn

doctor? The medical attendant should invariably bring into each home rays of sunshine. The outlook may be gloomy enough, but the doctor can always help to lighten it by the sympathetic look and the cheery word. It was the wise man who said that a merry heart does good like a medicine.

Companions.-"It is certain that either wise bearing or ignorant carriage is caught, as men take diseases, one of another: therefore let men take heed of their company."—" King Henry IV.”

Nothing will tend to mould your character more than those with whom you choose to associate. The old proverbs tell us that men are known by their companions and that association with the wicked corrupts good manners. Unhappily, bad companions are much more easily made than good ones, and consequently you must be careful to make choice of the best. The company need not necessarily be vicious, but if it hinders you in your work or prevents you from doing your best, then it is bad company for you. These companions may come in the guise of sportsmen, and may entice you to spend far more time than you ought to give to golf, cricket, tennis, billiards or cards. Some relaxation, such as these amusements afford, is good and helpful, but it must be kept within strict limits and ought never to be allowed to encroach on your business hours. What you do in your leisure time is your own affair, but the public has a right to your services during the working hours of the day.

So much money is lost in betting and gambling and so few enrich themselves, that it is well to avoid the practice altogether. The desire to make money

by chance is easily acquired, and the habit may soon become most absorbing. One has but to scan the newspapers to notice almost every day cases of bankruptcy where the debtor lays the whole blame for his losses on gambling or speculation. It is much the wisest plan never to begin playing card games for money, and thus you can easily excuse yourself in future by stating that you do not play when money is at stake. No doubt this denial may lose you some patients, but as a rule they belong to a class you are better without. When one considers the waste of time occupied in playing such games, you are by far the gainer in refusing to play, as you have this time for mental improvement.

Gambling, betting and drinking usually go together. They are but the agents which develop an evil character, and if cultivated will inevitably lead to loss of reputation, and by consequence, loss of practice. Then too late you may exclaim with Falstaff, "Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me." Let it be your endeavour to select as companions only those who will improve your character and intellect.

Truthfulness." Think you Truth a farthing rushlight, to be pinched out when you will ?"

It is unnecessary to mention truthfulness in speech, because this is so elementary a virtue that one naturally believes the word of a gentleman. One's whole life should be truthful; it is the mainspring of character. One ought never to act a lie. It is by no means always easy to speak and act truthfully, and it may take all your courage to do so, but “ dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie."

Your patients will rely on what you tell them, so be careful of what you say. Do not allow them to build on false hopes of cure or recovery. How cruel it is for you to promise what you are very likely unable to fulfil! A false promise to cure is the province of the quack or charlatan who sells a drug or vaunts a method to cure diseases. An undue faith in certain drugs is found amongst some practitioners, and is especially to be met with in those who pin their faith to vaccines. Some go the length of asserting that they will cure a patient after a certain number of injections; now, such a statement ought never to be made. We know not the power of the drug nor its reaction on the patient, hence a qualified statement is the most we can make. It is your duty to do the best therapeutically for your patient, but you ought never to hold out the certainty of cure unless you are absolutely certain, and, unfortunately, both in medicine and surgery, it is but rarely that we can make such definitely positive statements.

In treating a case of alcoholism, we are acting an untruth and not doing our duty if we fail to tell the patient what we know to be the cause of his illness. These patients seem to imagine that their medical attendant has no idea that they are over-indulging, but that he thinks they are suffering from some real illness. No doubt, when you tell them the truth, they are very incensed, and may even dispense with your further services, but at least you have kept your own self-respect and have got rid of a patient who is never anything else than a source of worry and disappointment.

In talking to different members of a family you