Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: What we pay for : a plea for the doctors. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![camera the two and a half inches, after taking- the first, and before proceeding* with the second. Beau- | tiful pictures are taken by both these methods. The relief—that is, the degree in which the images of solid bodies are made to come forward in the stereoscope—is dependent on the distance between the two lenses used in producing the pic- tures. If the lenses be too near each other, the picture will be too flat, because the dissimilarity will be too little; and if there be no dissimilarity, but the two picUires be precisely alike, there will be no relief or appearance of solidity at all. If, on the other hand, the lenses be too far apart, the relief will be too great, and absurd and unnatural effects will be produced. We are sorry to observe, in looking over the stereoscopic slides now offered for sale in such abundance everywhere, that there seems to prevail a general tendency to exaggera- tion and the love of startling effects, among pho- tographers. Numbers of the landscapes now sold are taken at too wide an angle. It is true, relief is gained, but truth is sacrificed, and we have a false representation of nature, instead of a faithful one—such as an avenue of trees represented dou- ble its actual length, and so on. When human figures are the subjects, this defect is more easily detected, and therefore does not so often occur. It is fortunate for the public that stereoscopes may be and are manufactured at a price which places them within general reach. We can con- scientiously commend the proper use of them to the domestic circle. With a good selection of slides, they may be made the medium not only of cheerful and innocently-exciting amusement, but of sound, solid instruction as well. Their value in this respect is becoming recognised more and more c'very day, as was indeed foretold by Dr. Brewster long ago. It is likely that even now, though the stereoscope is not more than seven years old, the binocular views adapted for its use outnumber the whole of the steel and copper plates engraved during this century, and hundreds of new pictures are taken daily. All the capitals of Europe, the passes of the Alps and Pyrenees, the classic relics of Kome, the antiquities of Pompeii and of Egypt, the wonders of the Holy Land— these, in addition to^thousands upon thousands of samples of home scenery and domestic portrai- tures, are open to the selection of the purchaser. Hitherto the fireside traveller has circumnavi- gated the globe in books. He may now repeat the process, and see wi^liis own eyes, by means of the stereoscope^f*^^ ■ The above at the subject; bu^^^tofe li4^8»f^‘ing those of our read^SvIm are^C^ous of the mat- ter scientitK^^handl^^^t^Dr. Brev^steir^ “ Trea- tise on th^ SM’eoscopeJi.’jWhi^i may l^^^’hid at any booksellerSir;;'t ' I^H^T AV^AY FOR. A p'ffoEA DOCTOKS. Doctoes’ bills ]f)retty generally excite a grumble. People often entertain the idea that, in return for their hard cash, they receive certain drugs of in- finitely small value, but for which they pay most enormously. In fact, the charges of medical men form one of John Bulls favourite sources of grumbling. He often appears to labour under the impression that he is taken an unfair advantage of, forgetting, honest man, what he is really paying for. Who has not seen an old crone remove the cork from a medicine bottle, sniff the odour of its contents, and put it down with a curl of the lip and the remark, “ It’s only a pen’north of so and so”—naming some familiar drug—“ with a little colouring.” “ Yes,” says the doctor, “ that may be; but it is my knowledge, good lady, which makes the pennyworth rise to the value of a pound. Had it depended on you, it would be still on the chemist’s shelf, instead of soothing the pains you could only witness, not alleviate, just because you were not alchemist enough to transmute it into something more precious than gold to the sufferer who heard you sneer at its simplicity a minute ago.’^ No one will deny that medical men do wisely in disguising, as far as possible, the nature of the remedies they use from the mass of their patients. Frequently, did these know of what the medicines are composed, they would not believe their com- plaints could be subdued by such simple materials as the skill of the doctor transforms into most powerful curative agents. Moreover, it is admitted that the influence of the mind over the body is such, that the knowledge of the matter employed would perhaps so far weaken the patient’s faith in its efficacy, that he would receive much less- benefit than if he remained in ignorance. Every person who sneers at the medicine, or the doctor, in the invalid’s presence, actually helps to retard' his recovery. Paterfamilias tardily draws out his purse to pay the doctor’s long bill. If he were called upon for his cash at the moment when the life of some one dear to him is in danger, the strings would fly open rapidly enough; but at a distance of several' months, the case is widely altered. He only feels that, in return for the gold he is about to lay down, he can show nothing tangible, save perhaps a few empty phials with soiled labels, on which the num- ber of tablespoonfuls is set forth. He is apt to think, now the mistress looks rosy and handsome again, and little Jack has forgotten what measles and scarlatina mean, that perhaps there was not so much danger after all, and that his alarm was premature. So he puts down the money with the impression that he is paying rather dear, and con- siders doctors in general as a necessary evil. Now, in order to induce you, dear madam, to be less sceptical with regard to the value of his medi- cines, and you, worthy sir, to part with the amount of his bill less reluctantly, let me tell you what has to be done before a medical man possesses the knowledge to mix the dose, and what you really pay for beside physic. The expense, as well as the study required for the thorough education of a general practitioner in a country town—for I write principally from provincial experience—is very considerable. It begins with the schoolboy ; for everybody knows that a much more costly educa- tion is needed by one intended for a liberal pro- fession, than by another who is meant for a trades- man. Not that I would insinuate that any amount of education is too great for a man, whatever may be his station in lifej but a greater share is](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2246542x_0003.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
