The Most Arduous Posts In The Country Are Those Of The Medical Men
And Clergymen.
Their sphere of action is very enlarged,
particularly that of the medical man, whose practice sometimes
extends over a distance of eighty to a hundred miles.
When we add
to this the severity of the winter, which lasts for seven or eight
months, it seems marvellous that any one can be found to fill such a
situation.
In winter the peasants often come with shovels, pickaxes, and horses
to fetch the doctor. They then go before him, and hastily repair
the worst part of the road; while the doctor rides sometimes on one
horse, sometimes on another, that they may not sink under the
fatigue. And thus the procession travels for many, many miles,
through night and fog, through storm and snow, for on the doctor's
promptitude life and death often hang. When he then returns, quite
benumbed, and half dead with cold, to the bosom of his family, in
the expectation of rest and refreshment, and to rejoice with his
friends over the dangers and hardships he has escaped, the poor
doctor is frequently compelled to set off at once on a new and
important journey, before he has even had time to greet the dear
ones at home.
Sometimes he is sent for by sea, where the danger is still greater
on the storm-tost element.
Though the salary of the medical men is not at all proportionate to
the hardships they are called upon to undergo, it is still far
better than that of the priests.
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