ter; in short, he says in plain terms that those who
plead an inconstant stomach in favor of wine, publish a libel on their
own viscera, and make their constitution a pretense for their
sensuality."

As it would have been ungenteel in me to run riot on my entrance into
the career of practise, I affected thorough conviction; indeed, I
thought there was something in it. I therefore went on drinking water
on the authority of Celsus, or to speak in scientific terms, I began
to drown the bile in copious drenches of that unadulterated liquor;
and tho I felt myself more out of order from day to day, prejudice won
the cause against experience. It is evident therefore that I was in
the right road to the practise of physic. Yet I could not always be
insensible to the qualms which increased in my frame, to that degree
as to determine me on quitting Doctor Sangrado. But he invested me
with a new office which changed my tone. "Hark you, my child," said he
to me one day: "I am not one of those hard and ungrateful masters who
leave their household to grow gray in service without a suitable
reward. I am well pleased with you, I have a regard for you; and
without waiting till you have served your time, I will make your
fortune. Without more ado, I will initiate you in the healing art, of
which I have for so many years been at the head. Other physicians make
the science to consist of various unintelligible branches; but I will
shorten the road for you, and dispense with the drudgery of studying
natural philosophy, pharmacy, botany, and anatomy. Remember, my
friend, that bleeding and drinking warm water are the two grand
principles--the true secret of curing all the distempers incident to
humanity. Yes, this marvelous secret which I reveal to you, and which
Nature, beyond the reach of my colleagues, has failed in rescuing from
my pen, is comprehended in these two articles; namely, bleeding and
drenching. Here you have the sum total of my philosophy; you are
thoroughly bottomed in medicine, and may raise yourself to the summit
of fame on the shoulders of my long experience. You may enter into
partnership at once, by keeping the books in the morning and going out
to visit patients in the afternoon. While I dose the nobility and
clergy, you shall labor in your vocation among the lower orders; and
when you have felt your ground a little, I will get you admitted into
our body. You are a philosopher, Gil Blas, tho you have never
graduated; the