PDF (Whole thesis) - UTas ePrints - University of Tasmania

3
Possibly his intense emotional distress was responsible for his 1ife- lng
devotion and loyalty to the Catholic Church .
stimulatng.
Hall probab ly found the time in London more rewardi_ng and
St. Bartholomew 's, the oldest hospital in London, founded in
1123 A. D. by Rahere, had achieved great reputation in the early part of the
nineteenth century for the superiority of its medical colege, due mainly to
the work of Dr John Abernethy, who was egarded as its founder.
As Ab ernethy
did not retire from lecturng duties unti l July 9, 1830, it is possible that
Hall came under his influence.
Sir Norman Moore wrote:
John Ab ernethy deserves a foremost place in the history of
St. Bartholomew 's as the greatest teacher, the most lucid expos itor,
the most eloquent lecturer of his time and who was the chief founder
in London of the teaching of anatomy in relation to surgery and of
srgery in relation t " general pathoogy. 4 ·
gain, Sir Benj amin Brodie wrote :
He kept our attention so that it never flagged and what he told us
could never be forgotten . He did not teil us so much as some
other lecturers, but what he did, he told us well . His lectures
were full of original thought, of luminous and almost poetical
illustrations, ·the tedious details of descriptive anatomy being
occasionally relieved by appropriate and amus ing anecdote . "Like
most of his pupils, I was led to look up to h1m as being of a
superior order and I could conceive nothing better than to fol low
in his footsteps . 5 ·
With such a master the serious yong doctor surely would have left
St. Bartholomew's in 1827 well equipped for his future career.
professional qualifications were "Licentiate of the Worshipful Society of
Apothecaries and Member of the Royal Colle
practice.
Hall returned to Liverpoo l where he set up a private medical
Generous ad well intentioned, he presented the first
professional fee he earned, golden one, to an orphaage .
His
His experiences
left such an indelib le impression on his mind that in later years he often
referred to this period in his life .
Here, in the back streets of
Liverpool, he first came into contact with the poverty , the fi lth and
unhealthiness of slum life in a lrge industrial city, and was introduced
to those zymotic diseases , especially smallpox and typhoid fever , against
which he fught all his life .
At the same time he acted as Honorary Doctor
to a lrge children's institution, as a result of which he became aware of
4
Quoted J.L. Thornton, John Abernethy, (London, 1953), p. 41