CONTRASTS, OR 'THE CLOSING SCENES.' DR. JAMES HOPE, THE MAN OF SCIENCE.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 364, 27 January 1849, Page 4

CONTRASTS, OR 'THE CLOSING SCENES.' DR. JAMES HOPE, THE MAN OF SCIENCE.

Dr. Hope took up his permanent residence in London as physician, in December, 1828, with only one private friend, Mr. ./Eneas Mackintosh, of Montague-square, and one medical acquaintance, Dr. Henry Holland. His professional maxims, suggested by his venerable father, adopted, and steadily acted upon by himself, were simply these : — 1. Never keep a patient ill longer than you can possibly help. 2. Never accept a fee to which you do not feel yourself justly entitled ; and 3. Always pray for your patients. His fame rose rapidly. In 1831 he was appointed Physician to the Marylebone Infirmary; in 1834 Assistant Physician to St. George's Hospital ; and in 1839 Physician to that trulj* noble institution. Previous to this last triumph he had given to the world his two elaborate and enduring works on Morbid Anatomy and on Diseases of the Heart. The amount of mental toil he underwent .as a medical writer may be gleaned from the following facts :—: — It had long been his custom to work with little intermission from seven in the morning till twelve at night ; but when once engaged in any work of interest he seemed not to feel fatigue, and to know not where to stop. While writing a book on Diseases of the Heart he frequently sat up half through the night. When completing it he often rose at three in the morning / On one occasion he rose at three ; wrote, aithout cessation, till five the following morning ; then went to bed j and at nine o'clock Mrs. Hope (for he had been married a few months before) was at his bed side, writing to his dictation while he breakfasted ! The highest medical honor now appeared within his reach. His professional opinion was eagerly sought by patients from every ! part of the kingdom. His income rose to four thousand per annum. But mortal disease — to be subdued by no skill and alleviated by no expedients — assailed him ; and, in March, 1841, at the age of forty, he retired deliberately to Hampstead- — to die ! " But so completely had he gained the confidence of his patients, that even after he had retired from practice, they insisted on consulting him. During the first three weeks after his retiring, he made £1(30 ; that is, rather more than £1,700 per annum, in fees received from those who would not be refused. Even after his removal to Hampstead he might have been fully occupied with seeing those who, having come from the country, did not hesitate to go a few additional miles for his advice. So late as the day before his death, he declined a visit from one of his former patients." Three prominent features in his character challenge attention and remark : — 1. His habitual disinterestedness. " In the earlier years of his residence in London it was his delight, and indeed his

frequent custom, to spend the night at the house 6t a patient who was dangerously ill; and though the increase of his practice rendered this' impossible a? £ lttei 1 $t'M, yet he occasionally thus indulged .himself even* till within two years of his .death. These attentions were not confined to the rich. There was a gentleman of large fortune whose dying 'bed 'he had tbu's soothed', and whose family avowed their deep obligation to him. Grateful as they were for that kindness to which the rich are so accustomed, that they almost deem it their prerogative, they were much surprised some time after, to find almost similar attentions lavished on a groom, who was seized with a dangerous complaint, requiring almost constant watching. After the most assiduous attendance on the part of Dr. Hope, accompanied by the Divine blessing, the groom recovered ; and the family afterwards mentioned the circumstance as illustrative of Dr. Hope's genuine benevolence, uninfluenced by considerations of wealth and station. 2. His sleepless jealousy of God's honour. " He maintained that no calling in life should be prosecuted without distinct reference to the Great First Cause, and Lord ' of all. In his conversation with medical students ha frequently combated the infidelity and materialism too often embraced by them, on the false notion that such opinions indicate superior intellect. As a medical lecturer he never opened or closed a session without introducing religious allusions and motives to action, and animadverting on the irrationality of infidelity. 3. His practical and unhesitating reliunbe on the Most High. " On one occasion (the contest for the office of Assistant Physician to St. George's Hospital) Dr. Hope gave a very decided proof of the strength of his religious principles. After be had been for some days engaged in the canvass, with little apparent prospect of success, a party of very influential medical governors sent to offer him their support. This communication was made at ten o'clock on Saturday night, and, as persons naturally feel their own honour interested in the success of their candidate, these gentlemen stipulated that he should canvass most actively and under their guidance. To this Dr. Hope made no objection, and they proceeded to point out his work for the following day, Sunday. To observe the Sabbath was, however, a principle from which he could not swerve. He preferred risking the offered support to offending his God. He urged that, without the Divine blessing, his election could not prosper ; and that he could not expect that blessing while acting in opposition to the Divine commands. It was in vain that his new friends argued, entreated, and even threatened to withdraw their support. Dr. Hoj,e teas inflexible, and they finally yielded the point, thinking him, no doubt, an odd fellow, who could prefer religion to self-interest, and who would rather trust to the promises of God than to his own exertions." After removing to Hampstead, Dr. Hope never went out in his carnage but once, and that was to Highgate Cemetry, where he in- ! tended to be buried. Without indulging unmeaning fancies on the subject of his interment, he gave directions for it as for any other ordinary affair. Mrs.- Hope having I hinted the possibility of her attending the funeral, be seized the idea with joy, and eagerly entreated that, provided it did no violence to her feelings, she would be present. Dr. Latham, the last time he saw him, in* quired if he t _" felt quite happy V -S"Perfectly so," was Dr. Hope's reply. " I have always been a sober-thinking man, and I could not have imagined the joy I now feel. My only wish is to convey it to the minds of others ; but that is impossible. It is such as I- could not have conceived possible." He was particularly anxious to convey a cheerful idea of death, and his own happiness in the prospect of it to the mind of bis son, who was at Chat age when all impressions sink deep into the mind. He oftett talked to him of his great gain-,, and used sometimes to say,— „ • " You see, Theodore, what a lucky fellow I am. You have your fortune to make, but mine is ready-made for me. lam going to my heavenly inheritance. You know how hard I used to work formerly to get fees for you and mamma, but all tbat\is..over-now ; my toil is at an ens," * " ,„ „, _- The last connected words he spoke were, "I thank God."