Elisha Bartlett, M.D.
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book in this collection by Dr. Bartlett
 Doctor or Professor
Bartlett (for he was equally
known by either title) was the son of Otis and Wait
Bartlett, of Smithfield, Rhode
Island, where he was born October 6th, 1804. He early betrayed a
fondness for scholastic pursuits, books were the companions of
his boyhood, his solace and his delight.
His parents were members of
the Society of Friends, and while desirous of giving their son
the best advantages of education, they yet did not find in the
universities of their time such results as they desired him to
reach; so that, although it must be said he did not receive a
university education, he did yet obtain, by means of excellent
schools and close application, as fine a classical education as
any American university of his time could have given him.
His inclination was towards
the medical profession, a path which he afterwards described in
these fine sentences : " It is the path which was trodden by the
Sydenhams, the Hallers and the Hunters. It is the path which led
Harvey to the most brilliant achievement in the annals of
physiological science. It is the path which led the more
fortunate Jenner to that discovery which has embalmed his name
in the gratitude and the love of all peoples and of all
tongues. It is the path which led Newton up to the loftiest
pinnacle ever reached by uninspired humanity.
He pursued his studies in
this department under several masters in New England, all of
them men of distinction. Among these men mention may bo made of
Dr. Levi Wheaton, of Providence, (1761— 1852). He attended
medical lectures at Boston and in Providence, where, at Brown
University, he took his degree of M.
D. in 1828, one of the last graduates of that school,
which was abandoned at the close of that academic year, although
the chairs of several of the professors seem to have been
occupied for a year or two after. Solomon Drowne held the
position of Professor of Materia Medica and Botany, Levi Wheaton
that of Theory and Practice of Physic, Usher Parsons that of
Anatomy and Surgery,— names long and well known in Rhode Island.
After his graduation at Brown
University, Dr. Bartlett visited
Paris, France, where he still further pursued his medical
studies, under the distinguished teachers for which the French
capital was then and has always since been so celebrated. On his
return from France he took up his residence in the town of
Lowell, Massachusetts. On its becoming a city, in 1836, Dr.
Bartlett became its first Mayor.
He was afterwards honored by a seat in the Legislature of
Massachusetts. But these positions were uncongenial to his
delicate nature, and he soon abandoned them for a more congenial
pursuit, that of a medical teacher. He had held a professorship
at Pittsfield since 1832. In 1841 he abandoned the practice of
medicine and accepted a professorship at Transylvania
University, Lexington, Kentucky, at which place he remained six
years, and afterwards a year at Louisville. During these years
he had also delivered lectures at Woodstock, Vermont, and at
other places.
Professor Bartlett's
influence over his students during these years must have been of
the happiest nature. In a recent conversation with one of them,
who was a student at the Berkshire School at Pitts- field, we
gather some insight into it. Here were gathered sixty young men
so rude, so wild, so rough, that no professor could in quiet
order deliver his lecture ; but no sooner did Professor
Bartlett enter his lecture-room
than perfect order immediately obtained, and a profound silence
was maintained until he had finished. Every student loved him.
We will not call it the influence of mind over matter; it was
the natural force of a pure, simple, earnest and strong
intellect.
Sketches Op The Character And
Writings Of Eminent Living Surgeons And Physicians Of Paris :
Translated by Elisha Bartlett, M. D.
12mo. Portraits, pp.131. Boston. 1831.
Obedience To The Laws Of
Health A Moral Duty : A Lecture delivered before the American
Physiological Society, January 30, 1838, by
Elisha Bartlett, M. D. 12mo. pp. 24. Boston.
An Address Delivered At The
Anniversary Celebration Of The Birth Of Spurzheim And The
Organization Of The Boston Phrenological Society, January
1st, 1838, by Elisha Bartlett, M D.
8vo. pp. 28. Boston. 1838.
The Head And The Heart, Or
The Relative Importance Of Intellectual And Mokal Education :
A Lecture delivered before the American Institute of Instruction, in
Lowell, August, 1838, by Elisha Bartlett.
8vo. pp. 20. Boston. 1838.
Objects And Nature Of Medical
Science : An Introductory Lecture, delivered at Transylvania
University, November 3rd, 1841, by Elisha
Bartlett, M. D. 8vo. pp. 18. Lexington, Ky. 1841.
History, Diagnosis And
Treatment Of The Fevers Ok The United States. By
Elisha Bartlett, M. D. 8vo. 1st ed.
1841. 2nd ed. 1847. 3rd ed. 1852. Philadelphia.
Address At The Annual Meeting
Of The Orphan Society, at the Court House, Lexington,
November 1st, 1842, by Prof. E. Bartlett.
Valedictory Address To The
Graduating Class Of TranSylvania University, by Dr.
Bartlett. 8vo. pp. 8. 1843.
The Sense Of The Beautiful
: A Lecture delivered before the Lexington Lyceum, January
20th, 1843, by Elisha Bartlett,
M. D. 8vo. pp. 16. Lexington. 1843.
An Essay On The Philosophy Of
Medical Science. By Elisha Bartlett,
M. D. 8vo. pp. 312. Philadelphia. 1844.
An Oration Delivered Before
The Municipal Authorities And The Citizens Of Lowell, July
4th, 1848, by Elisha Bartlett, M. D.
8vo. pp. 38. Lowell. 1848.
An Inquiry Into The Degree Of
Certainty In Medicine And Into The Nature And Extent Of Its Power
Over Disease. By Elisha Bartlett, M.
D. 8vo. pp. 84. Philadelphia. 1848.
Brief Sketch Of The Life,
Character And Writings Of William Charles Wells,
M. D., F. R. S.: An Address delivered
before the Louisville Medical Society, December 7th, 1849, by
Elisha Bartlett, M. D. 8vo. pp. 32.
Philadelphia. 1849.
Discourse On The Times,
Character, And Writings Of Hippocrates : Read before the
Trustees, Faculty and Medical Class of the College of Physicians and
Surgeons, at the opening of the Term of 1852-3, by
Elisha Bartlett, M. D. 8vo. pp. 72.
New York. 1852.
Simple Settings In Vekse, For
Six Portraits And
PicTures. From Mr. Dickens's Gallery. 12mo. pp. 80. Boston.
1855.
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