Life of Dr. John Reid : late Chandos professor of Anatomy and Medicine in the University of St. Andrews / by George Wilson.
- Date:
- 1852
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Life of Dr. John Reid : late Chandos professor of Anatomy and Medicine in the University of St. Andrews / by George Wilson. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![I writing an answer to Mr. Smith’s letter, but I have thought it more befitting that I should address my- self directly to yourself. You seem to have a great horror of my going abroad, and upon this point I faithfully promise to you, that whatever may be my inclinations, I shall never do so without your per- mission. For I would surely be acting a most un- grateful part to those parents who have been so kind to me were I not even to subject my wishes to please them upon subjects, the propriety of which was doubtful. You may therefore calculate upon my returning home, health permitting, about the end of April at farthest. But what am I to do when I return home ? However I may dislike private prac- tice, to that I suppose it will be necessary that I betake myself. The next question is, w’here am I to commence? To that 1 would answer, not at Bathgate, if possibly it can be avoided. There are several reasons which give mean utter repugnance at commencing practice at home. One of these is, that Dr. Weir enjoys the complete confidence of the greater part of the people there, and consequently the field is occupied. Another is, that in country practice, such as Bathgate, your patients are so widely sepa- rated from each other, that the whole of your time is taken up in travelling from one place to the other, and, as a consequence of this, your visits are gene- rally cursory and unimproving to yourself, and, along with this, the repugnance to inspecting the body after death, [is] so prevalent in country places. So that you must content yourself with little more than your present knowledge, and must bid farewell to the thought of making any considerable improve- ment. If the desire of making money was my only object, this of course would be but a trifling objcc- %](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21929889_0036.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
