A DOCTOR'S DEGRADATION.

Evening Star, Issue 3863, 12 July 1875, Page 3

A DOCTOR'S DEGRADATION.

The following peculiar letter, under the signaturo " George Wilkin*," arpears in a recent issue of tfce ' Wanganui Herald.' The epistle conveys its own tale, which ia calculated to excite pity rather than opprobrium. The wonder is that one «f the medical profession sbculd be driven to such dire extremity in New Zealand, where in many places their location is eagerly sought—and that in districts where an ample competence would be assured :—" As it is still my intention to establish myself as a medical practitioner in Wanganui, 1 feel it my bounden duty to lay before the inhabitants of the town and district a plain statement of the cause that brought me into the hands of the police, subjected mo t-3 aTemand of a few days, and gave me over, for the time being, to that most frightful and .pitiable diseaso "the horrors," or delirium] tremens. Ever since I arrived in the Colony, T have been drifted hither and thither, by the advice of others, in Beach of a suitable locality wherein to practise, walking daily long distances, living most irregularly, sleeping nightly in strange beds, and resting wh rz rest and refreshment only could be had, in, oft-times, badly conducted inns and indifferent hotels. All. or auy, who have passed through the like ordeal, will have experienced much of what I have undergone, though their anxieties and surroundings may have been wid» ly different; for these too enter largely into the cup that overflows at last, and reduces you to a slate of bodily weakness and mental exhaustion, accompanied wi hj heart-failing and spi i> drooping. No wonder the appetite, in

some cases at least, for wholesome and nutritious diet, by slow and sure degrees gives place to something like a craving for Bonl-arousing or spirit stirrinp stimulants, he it wine, beer, or soiriJs, and which, when once indulged in. and the cau3t still operative, cannot easily laid aside resisted, or overcome. 'Tis well, and as r matter of self-gratulation for thoao who have a quiet and comfortable home to go to, to cast blame upon an erring brother if such a case; but is it either merciful or just ? As, however, it is far from my intention to justify myself altogether in this matter, 1 need not say it has been the cause of much selfsorrow and deep self-regret, and howsoever the weight of remorse, it must now of necessity be patiently borne, at least for a time, or until my after life and conduct lighten my burden and all but blot out its remtmbrdiico. Of this I can givo utterance— lijw lone; soever my term of residence in Wanganui the like occurrence will, under God's grac; and blessing, never again happen ; and that I Shall hopefully always be lound, whether by day or night, ready ab call, and fit fo' duty—knowing well as I do the deep and solemn responsibility that ever attaches itself to ore, who, like myself, claims the title of physician and surgeon.