THE PASSIONS.

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It is hurtful in many other cases. When low fevers, inwhich it is difficult to support the patient's spirits, prevail,what must be the effect of a funeral peal sounding five or sixtimes a day in his ears ? No doubt his imagination will sug-gest that others died of the same disease under which helabors. This apprehension will have a greater tendency todepress his spirits than all the cordials of which medicine canboast will have to raise them.

If this useless piece of ceremony cannot be abolished, weought to keep the sick as much from hearing it as possible,and from every thing else that may tend to alarm them. Sofar however is this from being generally attended to, thatmany make it their business to* visit the sick on purpose towhisper dismal stories in their ears. Such may pass forsympathizing friends, hut they ought rather to be consideredas enemies. All who wish well to the sick ought to keepsuch persons at the greatest distance from them.

A custom has long prevailed among physicians of prognos-ticating, as they call it, the patient's fate, or foretelling theissue of the disease. Vanity no doubt introduced this practice,and still supports it, in spite of common sense and the safetyof the sick. I have known a physician barbarous enough toboast that he pronounced more sentences than all his majes-ty's judges. Would to God that such sentences were notoften equally fatal ! It may indeed be alleged that thedoctor does not declare his opinion before the patient. Somuch the worse. A sensible patient had better hear whatthe doctor says than learn it from the disconsolate looks, thewatery eyes, and the broken whispers of those about him.It seldom happens, when the doctor gives an unfavorableopinion, that it can be concealed from the patient. The veryembarrassment which the friends and attendants show in dis-guising what he has said is generally sufficient to discoverthe truth.

We do not see what right any man has to announce thedeath of another, especially if such a declaration has achance to kill him. Mankind are indeed very fond of pry-ing into future events, and seldom fail to importune the phy-sician for his opinion. A doubtful answer, however, or onethat may tend rather to encourage the hopes of the sick, issurely the most safe. This conduct could neither hurt thepatient nor the physician. Nothing tends more to destroythe credit of physic than those bold prognosticators, who, by