The physicians knew so little, that the apothecaries soon were enabled to cope with them; "and before a generation had passed away the apothecaries had gained so much, socially and pecuniarily, that the more prosperous of them could afford to laugh in the face of the faculty, and by the commencement of the next century they were fawned upon by the younger physicians, and were in a position to quarrel with the old, which they soon improved."
As it was a common occurrence for patients to apply at the apothecary's for a physician, the former either recommended the applicant to one who favored him, _or else prescribed for the patient himself_. The promulgation of this fact was the declaration of war with the old physicians, who heretofore had done their best to keep down the apothecaries. The former threatened punishment, as provided by law; the latter retaliated, by refusing to call them in to consult on difficult cases. "Starving graduates of Oxford and Cambridge, with the certificate of the college in their pockets, were imbittered by having to trudge along on foot and see the mean 'medicine mixers,' who had scarce scholarship enough to construe a prescription, dashing by in their carriages."
The war progressed,--Physician _vs._ Apothecary,--and the rabble joined. Education sided with the physicians, interest sided with the apothecaries.
"So modern 'pothecaries taught the art, By doctors' bills, to play the doctors' part; Bold in the practice of mistaken rules, Prescribe, apply, and call their masters fools."
To circumvent the apothecaries, a dispensary was established in the College of Physicians, where prescriptions were dispensed at cost. While this proceeding served to lessen the apothecary's income for a time, it could not greatly benefit the prescribing physician. The former might parallel his case with Iago, and say of the physician, he
"Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed."
Physicians were divided into two classes,--Dispensarians and Anti-dispensarians. Charges of ignorance, extortion, and of double-dealing were preferred on both sides. The dispensary doctors charged their opponents with playing into the hands of the apothecaries by prescribing enormous doses, often changing their prescriptions uselessly to increase the druggists' revenues and _their own percentage_! On the other hand, the dispensarians were accused of charging a double profit on prescriptions whenever the ignorance of the patient, respecting the value of drugs, would admit of the extortion.