"His constant association with his father, and with his father's friends, made the boy perfectly at home in the office and in the society of professional men; and almost from his cradle he was accustomed to assist in minor operations and in the general detail of a student's service. Being a discreet lad, he often accompanied the elder Crosby in professional visits; and thus the face of the 'parvus Iülus,' became, early, as _familiar_ as that of the 'pater Æneas,' and grew, later, to be as welcome. "When chloroform in Surgery was first introduced, Dr. Dixi Crosby went to Boston to study its effects, and was one of the first surgeons in New Hampshire to employ it in his practice. Young Ben was then a school-boy of fifteen. His father, with full confidence in the coolness and self possession of his son, at once commenced training him as an assistant for the administration of the anæsthetic; teaching him to watch the pulse and respiration, and to note all the necessary conditions for its safe employment. And from this time, even long before our friend commenced the systematic study of his profession, he assisted his father, and administered the chloroform in many important operations, sometimes even making long journeys for the purpose. It is interesting to add, also, that in all the years of their practice together, and in all their operations, performed under the use of chloroform, there never occurred a single accident from its administration. "On graduating at Dartmouth, in 1853, our young friend pursued his medical studies in the office of his father. He attended lectures both at Dartmouth and at the College of Physicians in New York City, and served for one year as interne in the U. S. Marine Hospital at Chelsea, Massachusetts. With the exception of these necessary absences from home, he gave every day of these preparatory years to the assistance of his father in his wide and laborious practice. To this course he was stimulated no less by filial ardor than by his growing professional zeal. "His medical degree was taken at Dartmouth, in 1856, and instead of _beginning_ to practice, we may say that he _continued_ to practice with his father in Hanover, going in and out as a favorite, both with patients and in society. "Immediately on receiving his medical degree, Dr. Crosby was appointed demonstrator of Pathological Anatomy in the Dartmouth Medical College, an office which he ably filled for five years.