re reaching its fulfillment. The
powerful, nobly-formed he ad was rather bent, as if it bore some heavy
burden. His light hair, not very thick, and slightly gray on the
temples, grew together in a tuft over the high forehead. The
closely-cropped beard left his chin free, and the fine mustache showed
a mouth with a rather satirical curve and closely compressed lips A
strong aquiline nose and narrow bright blue eyes completed a
physiognomy indicating great reserve and a remarkable degree of
melancholy. It is no advantage to a man to possess a Sphinx-like head.
The pretty faces apparently full of secrets offer easy deceptions, and
one expects that the mouth when open will reveal all that the eyes seem
to mean. One is half-angry and half-inclined to laugh when one
discovers that the face of the Sphinx has quite an everyday meaning,
and utters only commonplaces. But with Dr. Schrotter one had no such
deception. He spoke quite simply, and when he closed his lips he left
in the minds of his listeners a hundred thoughts which his words had
conveyed, He was born in Breslau, had studied in Berlin, and had
started a practice there when his student day's were over. The
Revolution of '48 came, and he at once threw himself head over ears
into it. He fought at the barricades, took part in the storming of the
Arsenal, became a celebrated platform orator, and relieved a great deal
of distress during the reactionary policy which followed, leaving soon
afterward, however, to travel abroad. He went to London almost
penniless, and at first, through his ignorance of the language, he was
barely able to maintain himself, but he soon had the good fortune to
obtain an appointment in the East India Company. In the spring of 1850
he went to Calcutta, where he helped to manage the School of Medicine,
and some years later was sent to Lahore, where he also established a
medical school. After twenty years' service he was discharged with a
considerable pension. His return to Europe falling in with the outbreak
of the war, he hastened to offer his voluntary services to the army as
surgeon. Owing to temperate habits and a strong physique, he had kept
in good health, and no one would have dreamed that this strong,
fifty-year-old man had passed so many years in an enervating tropical
climate. The only signs it had left on his face were the dark,
yellowish color of his skin, and the habit of keeping the eyes
half-closed. The long years in India had also made