The Funny Side of Physic: Or, The Mysteries of Medicine, Presenting the Humorous and Serious Sides of Medical Practice. An Exposé of Medical Humbugs, Quacks, and Charlatans in All Ages and All Countries.Crabtre, Addison Darre
History
The Funny Side of Physic: Or, The Mysteries of Medicine, Presenting the Humorous and Serious Sides of Medical Practice. An Exposé of Medical Humbugs, Quacks, and Charlatans in All Ages and All Countries.
Crabtre, Addison Darre
Medicine -- Anecdotes; Quacks and quackery
Broughton at once communicated this important treaty, as it was, to the
English governor at Surat, and, by the advice of the latter, the company
sent from England, in 1640, the first ship to trade at Bengal. Such was
the origin of the great Indian commerce, which has been continued to the
present day,--the longest continued doctor's fee ever given.
Another long fee was that given to Dr. Th. Dinsdale, who travelled from
England to St. Petersburg by order of Catharine of Russia, to inoculate
her son, the baron of the empire. The empress presented him with a fee of
twelve thousand pounds, and a life pension of five hundred pounds. This is
the largest sum ever paid to any physician since the world began, for a
single operation, and I know of no physician who ever made a longer
journey to attend a patient.
A SHORT FEE.
This is how a physician fell short of his fee. Charles II. was taken
suddenly and dangerously ill with apoplexy. The court physician being out
of town, Dr. King, who only being present, with one attendant, instantly
bled his majesty, to which "breach of court etiquette" John Evelyn
attributes his salvation for the time; for he would certainly have died,
had Dr. King staid the coming of the regular physician--for which act he
must have a regular pardon!
The privy council ordered a handsome fee to be paid Dr. King for his great
presence of mind and prompt action, but it never was paid. Charles died
soon afterwards, and poor King fell short of a fat fee.
ODD FEES.
Amongst the many funny things told about Sir Astley Cooper, the eminent
English surgeon, none is better authenticated than that respecting the
"night-cap fee."
In his earlier practice, he had to pass through all the trials and
tribulations, "anxious and ill-rewarded waitings," that lesser stars have
before and since, and ever will, before he became "established." In his
first year's practice in London, his profits were but five guineas; his
second reached the encouraging sum of twenty-five pounds, and increased in
this ratio till the ninth year, when it was one thousand pounds. In one
year he made twenty-one thousand guineas. It is said that one merchant of
London paid him annually six hundred pounds. It wouldn't require but a few
such lucrative patients to keep a doctor in pocket money even at this
day.
A West India millionnaire, named Hyatt, had been to London, and undergone
a severe and dangerous surgical operation at the hands of Sir Astley,
assisted by Drs. Lettsom and Nelson. The operation proved a success, and
the grateful patient only waited till he could sit up in bed a little
while at a time before expressing in some measure his gratitude to the
physicians. All three being present one day, Hyatt arose in bed and
presented the two physicians with a fee of three hundred gold guineas,
and, turning to Sir Astley, who seemed for a moment to have been slighted,
the millionnaire said,--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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