A DOCTOR OF THE OLD SCHOOL by Ian Maclaren A GENERAL PRACTITIONER Book I. PREFACE It is with great good will that I write this short preface to theedition of "A Doctor of the Old School" (which has been illustrated byMr. Gordon after an admirable and understanding fashion) because thereare two things that I should like to say to my readers, being also myfriends. One, is to answer a question that has been often and fairly asked. Wasthere ever any doctor so self-forgetful and so utterly Christian asWilliam MacLure? To which I am proud to reply, on my conscience: Not oneman, but many in Scotland and in the South country. I will dare prophecyalso across the sea. It has been one man's good fortune to know four country doctors, not oneof whom was without his faults--Weelum was not perfect--but who, eachone, might have sat for my hero. Three are now resting from theirlabors, and the fourth, if he ever should see these lines, would neveridentify himself. Then I desire to thank my readers, and chiefly the medical professionfor the reception given to the Doctor of Drumtochty. For many years I have desired to pay some tribute to a class whoseservice to the community was known to every countryman, but after thetale had gone forth my heart failed. For it might have been despisedfor the little grace of letters in the style and because of the outwardroughness of the man. But neither his biographer nor his circumstanceshave been able to obscure MacLure who has himself won all honest hearts, and received afresh the recognition of his more distinguished brethren. From all parts of the English-speaking world letters have come incommendation of Weelum MacLure, and many were from doctors who hadreceived new courage. It is surely more honor than a new writer couldever have deserved to receive the approbation of a profession whosecharity puts us all to shame. May I take this first opportunity to declare how deeply my heart hasbeen touched by the favor shown to a simple book by the American people, and to express my hope that one day it may be given me to see you faceto face. IAN MACLAREN. Liverpool, Oct. 4, 1895. A GENERAL PRACTITIONER I A GENERAL PRACTITIONER Drumtochty was accustomed to break every law of health, except wholesomefood and fresh air, and yet had reduced the Psalmist's farthest limit toan average life-rate. Our men made no difference in their clothes forsummer or winter, Drumsheugh and one or two of the larger farmerscondescending to a topcoat on Sabbath, as a penalty of their position, and without regard to temperature. They wore their blacks at a funeral, refusing to cover them with anything, out of respect to the deceased, and standing longest in the kirkyard when the north wind was blowingacross a hundred miles of snow. If the rain was pouring at the Junction, then Drumtochty stood two minutes longer through sheer native dournesstill each man had a cascade from the tail of his coat, and hazarded thesuggestion, halfway to Kildrummie, that it had been "a bit scrowie, "a "scrowie" being as far short of a "shoor" as a "shoor" fell below"weet. " [Illustration: SANDY STEWART "NAPPED" STONES] This sustained defiance of the elements provoked occasional judgments inthe shape of a "hoast" (cough), and the head of the house was thenexhorted by his women folk to "change his feet" if he had happened towalk through a burn on his way home, and was pestered generally withsanitary precautions. It is right to add that the gudeman treated suchadvice with contempt, regarding it as suitable for the effeminacy oftowns, but not seriously intended for Drumtochty. Sandy Stewart "napped"stones on the road in his shirt sleeves, wet or fair, summer and winter, till he was persuaded to retire from active duty at eighty-five, and hespent ten years more in regretting his hastiness and criticising hissuccessor. The ordinary course of life, with fine air and contentedminds, was to do a full share of work till seventy, and then to lookafter "orra" jobs well into the eighties, and to "slip awa" within sightof ninety. Persons above ninety were understood to be acquittingthemselves with credit, and assumed airs of authority, brushing asidethe opinions of seventy as immature, and confirming their conclusionswith illustrations drawn from the end of last century. When Hillocks' brother so far forgot himself as to "slip awa"at sixty, that worthy man was scandalized, and offered labouredexplanations at the "beerial. " "It's an awfu' business ony wy ye look at it, an' a sair trial tae usa'. A' never heard tell o' sic a thing in oor family afore, an' it's noeasy accoontin' for't. "The gudewife was sayin' he wes never the same sin' a weet nicht he losthimsel on the muir and slept below a bush; but that's neither here northere. A'm thinkin' he sappit his constitution thae twa years he wesgrieve aboot England. That wes thirty years syne, but ye're never thesame aifter thae foreign climates. " Drumtochty listened patiently to Hillocks' apology, but was notsatisfied. "It's clean havers about the muir. Losh keep's, we've a' sleepit oot andnever been a hair the waur. "A' admit that England micht hae dune the job; it's no cannie stravagin'yon wy frae place tae place, but Drums never complained tae me if he hedbeen nippit in the Sooth. " The parish had, in fact, lost confidence in Drums after his waywardexperiment with a potato-digging machine, which turned out a lamentablefailure, and his premature departure confirmed our vague impression ofhis character. "He's awa noo, " Drumsheugh summed up, after opinion had time to form;"an' there were waur fouk than Drums, but there's nae doot he was a weeflichty. " When illness had the audacity to attack a Drumtochty man, it wasdescribed as a "whup, " and was treated by the men with a finenegligence. Hillocks was sitting in the post-office one afternoon whenI looked in for my letters, and the right side of his face was blazingred. His subject of discourse was the prospects of the turnip "breer, "but he casually explained that he was waiting for medical advice. "The gudewife is keepin' up a ding-dong frae mornin' till nicht aboot maface, and a'm fair deaved (deafened), so a'm watchin' for MacLure taeget a bottle as he comes wast; yon's him noo. " The doctor made his diagnosis from horseback on sight, and stated theresult with that admirable clearness which endeared him to Drumtochty. "Confoond ye, Hillocks, what are ye ploiterin' aboot here for in theweet wi' a face like a boiled beet? Div ye no ken that ye've a titch o'the rose (erysipelas), and ocht tae be in the hoose? Gae hame wi' yeafore a' leave the bit, and send a haflin for some medicine. Ye donnerdidiot, are ye ettlin tae follow Drums afore yir time?" And the medicalattendant of Drumtochty continued his invective till Hillocks started, and still pursued his retreating figure with medical directions of asimple and practical character. [Illustration: "THE GUDEWIFE IS KEEPIN' UP A DING-DONG"] "A'm watchin', an' peety ye if ye pit aff time. Keep yir bed themornin', and dinna show yir face in the fields till a' see ye. A'll gieye a cry on Monday--sic an auld fule--but there's no are o' them taemind anither in the hale pairish. " Hillocks' wife informed the kirkyaird that the doctor "gied the gudemanan awfu' clear-in', " and that Hillocks "wes keepin' the hoose, " whichmeant that the patient had tea breakfast, and at that time was wanderingabout the farm buildings in an easy undress with his head in a plaid. It was impossible for a doctor to earn even the most modest competencefrom a people of such scandalous health, and so MacLure had annexedneighbouring parishes. His house--little more than a cottage--stood onthe roadside among the pines towards the head of our Glen, and from thisbase of operations he dominated the wild glen that broke the wall of theGrampians above Drumtochty--where the snow drifts were twelve feet deepin winter, and the only way of passage at times was the channel of theriver--and the moorland district westwards till he came to the Dunleithsphere of influence, where there were four doctors and a hydropathic. Drumtochty in its length, which was eight miles, and its breadth, whichwas four, lay in his hand; besides a glen behind, unknown to the world, which in the night time he visited at the risk of life, for the waythereto was across the big moor with its peat holes and treacherousbogs. And he held the land eastwards towards Muirtown so far as Geordie, the Drumtochty post, travelled every day, and could carry word that thedoctor was wanted. He did his best for the need of every man, woman andchild in this wild, straggling district, year in, year out, in the snowand in the heat, in the dark and in the light, without rest, and withoutholiday for forty years. One horse could not do the work of this man, but we liked best to seehim on his old white mare, who died the week after her master, and thepassing of the two did our hearts good. It was not that he rodebeautifully, for he broke every canon of art, flying with his arms, stooping till he seemed to be speaking into Jess's ears, and rising inthe saddle beyond all necessity. But he could rise faster, stay longerin the saddle, and had a firmer grip with his knees than any one I evermet, and it was all for mercy's sake. When the reapers in harvest timesaw a figure whirling past in a cloud of dust, or the family at the footof Glen Urtach, gathered round the fire on a winter's night, heard therattle of a horse's hoofs on the road, or the shepherds, out after thesheep, traced a black speck moving across the snow to the upper glen, they knew it was the doctor, and, without being conscious of it, wishedhim God speed. [Illustration] Before and behind his saddle were strapped the instruments and medicinesthe doctor might want, for he never knew what was before him. There wereno specialists in Drumtochty, so this man had to do everything as besthe could, and as quickly. He was chest doctor and doctor for every otherorgan as well; he was accoucheur and surgeon; he was oculist and aurist;he was dentist and chloroformist, besides being chemist and druggist. It was often told how he was far up Glen Urtach when the feeders of thethreshing mill caught young Burnbrae, and how he only stopped to changehorses at his house, and galloped all the way to Burnbrae, and flunghimself off his horse and amputated the arm, and saved the lad's life. "You wud hae thocht that every meenut was an hour, " said Jamie Soutar, who had been at the threshing, "an' a'll never forget the puir lad lyingas white as deith on the floor o' the loft, wi' his head on a sheaf, an'Burnbrae haudin' the bandage ticht an' prayin' a' the while, and themither greetin' in the corner. "'Will he never come?' she cries, an' a' heard the soond o' the horse'sfeet on the road a mile awa in the frosty air. "'The Lord be praised!' said Burnbrae, and a' slippit doon the ladderas the doctor came skelpin' intae the close, the foam fleein' frae hishorse's mooth. "Whar is he?' wes a' that passed his lips, an' in five meenuts he hedhim on the feedin' board, and wes at his wark--sic wark, neeburs--but hedid it weel. An' ae thing a' thocht rael thochtfu' o' him: he first sentaff the laddie's mither tae get a bed ready. "Noo that's feenished, and his constitution 'ill dae the rest, " and hecarried the lad doon the ladder in his airms like a bairn, and laid himin his bed, and waits aside him till he wes sleepin', and then says he:'Burnbrae, yir gey lad never tae say 'Collie, will yelick?' for a' hevnatasted meat for saxteen hoors. ' "It was michty tae see him come intae the yaird that day, neeburs; theverra look o' him wes victory. " [Illustration: "THE VERRA LOOK O' HIM WES VICTORY"] Jamie's cynicism slipped off in the enthusiasm of this reminiscence, andhe expressed the feeling of Drumtochty. No one sent for MacLure save ingreat straits, and the sight of him put courage in sinking hearts. Butthis was not by the grace of his appearance, or the advantage of a goodbedside manner. A tall, gaunt, loosely made man, without an ounce ofsuperfluous flesh on his body, his face burned a dark brick color byconstant exposure to the weather, red hair and beard turning grey, honest blue eyes that look you ever in the face, huge hands with wristbones like the shank of a ham, and a voice that hurled his salutationsacross two fields, he suggested the moor rather than the drawing-room. But what a clever hand it was in an operation, as delicate as a woman's, and what a kindly voice it was in the humble room where the shepherd'swife was weeping by her man's bedside. He was "ill pitten the gither" tobegin with, but many of his physical defects were the penalties of hiswork, and endeared him to the Glen. That ugly scar that cut into hisright eyebrow and gave him such a sinister expression, was got one nightJess slipped on the ice and laid him insensible eight miles from home. His limp marked the big snowstorm in the fifties, when his horse missedthe road in Glen Urtach, and they rolled together in a drift. MacLureescaped with a broken leg and the fracture of three ribs, but he neverwalked like other men again. He could not swing himself into the saddlewithout making two attempts and holding Jess's mane. Neither can you"warstle" through the peat bogs and snow drifts for forty winterswithout a touch of rheumatism. But they were honorable scars, and forsuch risks of life men get the Victoria Cross in other fields. [Illustration: "FOR SUCH RISKS OF LIFE MEN GET THE VICTORIA CROSS INOTHER FIELDS"] MacLure got nothing but the secret affection of the Glen, which knewthat none had ever done one-tenth as much for it as this ungainly, twisted, battered figure, and I have seen a Drumtochty facesoften at the sight of MacLure limping to his horse. Mr. Hopps earned the ill-will of the Glen for ever by criticisingthe doctor's dress, but indeed it would have filled any townsman withamazement. Black he wore once a year, on Sacrament Sunday, and, ifpossible, at a funeral; topcoat or waterproof never. His jacket andwaistcoat were rough homespun of Glen Urtach wool, which threw off thewet like a duck's back, and below he was clad in shepherd's tartantrousers, which disappeared into unpolished riding boots. His shirt wasgrey flannel, and he was uncertain about a collar, but certain as to atie which he never had, his beard doing instead, and his hat was softfelt of four colors and seven different shapes. His point of distinctionin dress was the trousers, and they were the subject of unendingspeculation. "Some threep that he's worn thae eedentical pair the last twenty year, an' a' mind masel him gettin' a tear ahint, when he was crossin' oorpalin', and the mend's still veesible. "Ithers declare 'at he's got a wab o' claith, and hes a new pair made inMuirtown aince in the twa year maybe, and keeps them in the garden tillthe new look wears aff. "For ma ain pairt, " Soutar used to declare, "a' canna mak up my mind, but there's ae thing sure, the Glen wud not like tae see him withootthem: it wud be a shock tae confidence. There's no muckle o' the checkleft, but ye can aye tell it, and when ye see thae breeks comin' in yeken that if human pooer can save yir bairn's life it 'ill be dune. " The confidence of the Glen--and tributary states--was unbounded, andrested partly on long experience of the doctor's resources, and partlyon his hereditary connection. "His father was here afore him, " Mrs. Macfadyen used to explain; "atweenthem they've hed the countyside for weel on tae a century; if MacLuredisna understand oor constitution, wha dis, a' wud like tae ask?" For Drumtochty had its own constitution and a special throat disease, asbecame a parish which was quite self-contained between the woods and thehills, and not dependent on the lowlands either for its diseases or itsdoctors. "He's a skilly man, Doctor MacLure, " continued my friend Mrs. Macfayden, whose judgment on sermons or anything else was seldom at fault; "an'a kind-hearted, though o' coorse he hes his faults like us a', an' hedisna tribble the Kirk often. "He aye can tell what's wrang wi' a body, an' maistly he can put yericht, and there's nae new-fangled wys wi' him: a blister for theootside an' Epsom salts for the inside dis his wark, an' they saythere's no an herb on the hills he disna ken. "If we're tae dee, we're tae dee; an' if we're tae live, we're tae live, "concluded Elspeth, with sound Calvinistic logic; "but a'll say thisfor the doctor, that whether yir tae live or dee, he can aye keep up asharp meisture on the skin. " "But he's no veera ceevil gin ye bring him when there's naethin' wrang, "and Mrs. Macfayden's face reflected another of Mr. Hopps' misadventuresof which Hillocks held the copyright. "Hopps' laddie ate grosarts (gooseberries) till they hed to sit up a'nicht wi' him, an' naethin' wud do but they maun hae the doctor, an' hewrites 'immediately' on a slip o' paper. "Weel, MacLure had been awa a' nicht wi' a shepherd's wife Dunleith wy, and he comes here withoot drawin' bridle, mud up tae the cen. "'What's a dae here, Hillocks?" he cries; 'it's no an accident, is't?'and when he got aff his horse he cud hardly stand wi' stiffness andtire. "'It's nane o' us, doctor; it's Hopps' laddie; he's been eatin' owermony berries. ' [Illustration: "HOPPS' LADDIE ATE GROSARTS"] "If he didna turn on me like a tiger. "Div ye mean tae say----' "'Weesht, weesht, ' an' I tried tae quiet him, for Hopps wes comin' oot. "'Well, doctor, ' begins he, as brisk as a magpie, 'you're here at last;there's no hurry with you Scotchmen. My boy has been sick all night, andI've never had one wink of sleep. You might have come a little quicker, that's all I've got to say. ' "We've mair tae dae in Drumtochty than attend tae every bairn that hes asair stomach, ' and a' saw MacLure wes roosed. "'I'm astonished to hear you speak. Our doctor at home always says toMrs. 'Opps "Look on me as a family friend, Mrs. 'Opps, and send for methough it be only a headache. "' "'He'd be mair sparin' o' his offers if he hed four and twenty mile taelook aifter. There's naethin' wrang wi' yir laddie but greed. Gie him agude dose o' castor oil and stop his meat for a day, an' he 'ill be a'richt the morn. ' "'He 'ill not take castor oil, doctor. We have given up those barbarousmedicines. ' "'Whatna kind o' medicines hae ye noo in the Sooth?' "'Well, you see, Dr. MacLure, we're homoeopathists, and I've my littlechest here, ' and oot Hopps comes wi' his boxy. "'Let's see't, ' an' MacLure sits doon and taks oot the bit bottles, andhe reads the names wi' a lauch every time. "'Belladonna; did ye ever hear the like? Aconite; it cowes a'. NuxVomica. What next? Weel, ma mannie, ' he says tae Hopps, 'it's a fineploy, and ye 'ill better gang on wi' the Nux till it's dune, and gie himony ither o' the sweeties he fancies. "'Noo, Hillocks, a' maun be aff tae see Drumsheugh's grieve, for he'sdoon wi' the fever, and it's tae be a teuch fecht. A' hinna time taewait for dinner; gie me some cheese an' cake in ma haund, and Jess 'illtak a pail o' meal an' water. "'Fee; a'm no wantin' yir fees, man; wi' that boxy ye dinna need adoctor; na, na, gie yir siller tae some puir body, Maister Hopps, ' an'he was doon the road as hard as he cud lick. " His fees were pretty much what the folk chose to give him, and hecollected them once a year at Kildrummie fair. "Well, doctor, what am a' awin' ye for the wife and bairn? Ye 'ill needthree notes for that nicht ye stayed in the hoose an' a' the veesits. " "Havers, " MacLure would answer, "prices are low, a'm hearing; gie'sthirty shillings. " "No, a'll no, or the wife 'ill tak ma ears off, " and it was settled fortwo pounds. Lord Kilspindie gave him a free house and fields, and oneway or other, Drumsheugh told me, the doctor might get in about L150. A year, out of which he had to pay his old housekeeper's wages and aboy's, and keep two horses, besides the cost of instruments and books, which he bought through a friend in Edinburgh with much judgment. There was only one man who ever complained of the doctor's charges, andthat was the new farmer of Milton, who was so good that he was aboveboth churches, and held a meeting in his barn. (It was Milton the Glensupposed at first to be a Mormon, but I can't go into that now. ) Heoffered MacLure a pound less than he asked, and two tracts, whereuponMacLure expressed his opinion of Milton, both from a theological andsocial standpoint, with such vigor and frankness that an attentiveaudience of Drumtochty men could hardly contain themselves. Jamie Soutarwas selling his pig at the time, and missed the meeting, but he hastenedto condole with Milton, who was complaining everywhere of the doctor'slanguage. [Illustration] "Ye did richt tae resist him; it 'ill maybe roose the Glen tae mak astand; he fair hands them in bondage. "Thirty shillings for twal veesits, and him no mair than seeven mileawa, an' a'm telt there werena mair than four at nicht. "Ye 'ill hae the sympathy o' the Glen, for a' body kens yir as free wi'yir siller as yir tracts. "Wes't 'Beware o' gude warks' ye offered him? Man, ye choose it weel, for he's been colleckin' sae mony thae forty years, a'm feared for him. "A've often thocht oor doctor's little better than the Gude Samaritan, an' the Pharisees didna think muckle o' his chance aither in this warldor that which is tae come. "