One more point of resemblance, and one which I deem of no small importance, I will barely notice. As the sick man, in all the way through the mountain-pass, was encouraged by his friend, so should the physician cheer his patient with his hopeful voice and manner, amid all the gloom and peril of the journey of sickness; and should hold out to him, in all seasons of despondency, so far as truth will allow him to do so, the hope that he will at length reach the end of that journey in safety. CHAPTER III. POPULAR ERRORS. My intention in this chapter is to notice some of the popular errors, which have resulted from the uncertainty of medicine. One of the most common of these errors is a false estimate of the importance of _positive_ medication. This error appears in a great variety of forms. I will notice a few of them. A patient once avowed to me the opinion, that in all cases of recovery from sickness, the recovery is to be attributed to medicine, and that nature never cured anybody of anything that could properly be called disease. Though this error is seldom carried to such a point of ultraism as this, it does exist, to a great extent, even in the medical profession, and it is exceedingly prevalent in the community at large. It therefore exerts a great influence upon the popular modes of the treatment of disease. One of the most common examples of this false reference of a curative result to the agency of medicine, is to be seen in the prevalent popular notion in regard to the healing of wounds. The cure in this case, is usually attributed to some healing property in the applications made to the wounds. But the truth is, that the union of the divided parts is effected entirely by a natural process; and the only use of any applications, is to put the lips of the wound in apposition, so that this process may be effectual in securing this union. The popular error on this subject, is not as prevalent now, as it once was, and the array of salves and ointments for the healing of wounds, is fast passing away. At a time when this error was in full favor with the people, some one broached the idea, that the medicaments ought to be applied to the instrument that inflicted the wound, instead of being applied to the wound itself. This new mode of practice proved successful in comparison with the old, for the plain reason, that the wounds thus treated were not subjected to applications, which would irritate them, and thus interfere with nature’s process of healing. It acquired a great reputation all over England, and I believe, in other countries also; and the results of the practice were triumphantly referred to as proofs of its success, that were not to be gainsayed. It is related that in one case, in which the wound became very painful, it was suggested that something might have happened to the axe with which the wound was made, and which had therefore been duly anointed with a healing salve; and as