Carolina; Geddings, Bellinger, Toland, and Sam. H. Dickson, of South Carolina; Meigs, Arnold, Bedford and Anthony, of Georgia; Eve, of Tennessee; Nott and Baldwin, of Alabama; Stone and Jones, of Louisiana; Dudley, McDowell and Yandell, of Kentucky, to recall to your minds the great instructors in medicine in this country?
How well they performed their part is prominently shown in the lasting impressions they have left behind them. Historic they are, and historic they will continue to be; untold generations will arise to bless them, and they will not fade into obscurity through the lapse of time.
How can I speak except in terms of reverence and praise of the practitioner who remained with his country clientele, and yet established national reputation; struggling under disadvantages which can only be appreciated by those similarly situated—with paucity of material, and the absence of professional association—with the requisite elements of success arrayed against him—he must be a man of genius who advances an idea, demonstrates a fact, constructs a principle, or invents an operation of sufficient importance to arrest the attention of the medical world; truly he must be a man of profound genius.
Of such men were Crawford Long, of Georgia; Mettauer, of Virginia; McDowell, of Kentucky; Sims, of Alabama—Sims, the greatest and grandest of all the men who have recently passed away. Satisfying the requirements of a continent, he traversed the ocean in order to give to Europe the benefit of his learning and experience. He claimed among his patients one or more members of the crowned heads of Europe. The relief that he afforded suffering humanity from diseases that before his day were classed as incurable, can only be estimated by those who have examined the subject in detail. He was the pioneer of gynæecological and abdominal surgery. The fundamental truths established by him will be remembered, their utility recognized, and their principles applied, so long as surgery is a science.
He passed away in the full zenith of his glory, renowned, beloved and respected. The bronze statue, that is to be erected by his professional friends over his mortal remains, will bear but feeble attestation to the reverence with which he is regarded by the civilized world.
Would that good taste and the proprieties of this occasion permitted me to mention the names of men in the profession, living now in the South, who have achieved for themselves great renown.
