Texas Surgeon: an Autobiography Page: 47
xii, 180 p. ; 21 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Never before had I seen a naked woman of twenty-five. The
shock to my sensibilities would be considered laughable in these
only too-casual days. I remember the woman's soft, dark hair,
and her pale face. For a moment I thought she must be dead,
but the rise and fall of the white breasts belied this possibility.
Fearfully closing the door, I hastened downstairs and in pertur-
bation notified the first-floor tenants that something had gone
wrong above. I was taken aback when they found nothing ex-
traordinary in it.
For a long time I was puzzled by the whole affair. The woman
was beautiful, gentle, and had been utterly kind to me. Yet she
was a drunkard, and neglected her children. How was such a
contradiction possible? It deeply troubled me. Many years were
to pass before I accommodated myself to the ambivalences of
human nature.
It so happened that my deliveries sometimes brought me to
Tufts College in Medford, and to the homes of professors
teaching there. I had traveled countless times through Harvard
Square, and past the tall black iron fence enclosing the famous
Yard. But the student flow at Harvard seemed hopelessly
beyond access to a boy driving a dray. I longed to know what the
Yard was like, but never could quite bring myself to find out,
though it meant only tethering my horses and strolling in.
Fierce pride and a stoic acceptance of my lesser lot forbade
experiment of this nature.
Tufts, however, was quite different. It consisted of a little
cluster of brick buildings on a bare slope surmounted by a
reservoir, and with a small railroad station below. Here I felt
much more at ease, and often stopped to pass the time of day
with the professors. One of them told me of a night school in
Boston financed by a philanthropist of Quaker persuasion. This
school was housed in a faded brick building somewhere, I think,
along Cambridge Street. It was approached through a sagging
iron gate, by a little walk, and the dingy classrooms were heated
47
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Atkinson, Donald Taylor. Texas Surgeon: an Autobiography, book, 1958; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143566/m1/59/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas Health Science Center Libraries.