144 PAST AND PRESENT OF of the human body was prohibited. In 1315 Mondini dissected two human bodies and shortly afterward published his epitome of anatomy, illustrated with wood cuts. At this time and for a long time afterwards it was customary to demonstrate anatomy upon the hog and other animals. The act of Mon¬ dini was considered heresy. His persecution, together with the prejudice existing at that time, prevented any other dissection upon the human subject for more than a century. It was not until the commencement of the sixteenth century that dissections for an¬ atomical purposes were made, and then they were made and performed by the authority of the Pope, and not at.the instigation of the medical profession. The natives of Bra¬ zil first taught the use and medicinal quali¬ ties of ipecacuanha, but owing to the oppo¬ sition of the profession it was more than a quarter of a century before its virtues were appreciated. This state of affairs must show that the pioneers of medicine in Prince Ed ¬ ward Island had many prejudices and lo¬ cal jealousies to contend with. The history of medicine in the past disclosed a lament¬ able state of things, but the science of medi¬ cine has made rapid strides of progress, and operations are now performed upon the body that were at one time considered im¬ possible. The advent of listerism and anti¬ septic surgery has done much to reduce the mortality. There is no portion of the body that can not be explored. The early pio¬ neers of medicine and surgery had to draw upon their own inventive genius for opera¬ tion and surgical appliances. Today the practice is so changed that it is luxury com¬ pared with the days of our forefathers. It also reveals that the marked progress of the science of medicine and surgery is second to none other, but has advanced in leaps and bounds. The first of the medical profession that landed on this Island was Dr. Roderick Macdonald , after it was ceded to Britain in 1759. He and his family were passengers on board the ship "Alexander" that brought here the first Scotch immigrants in 1772. He was a native of Morar, Invernesshire, Scotland , and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. It appears that he settled first after landing somewhere near Scotch Fort, probably about the head of the Hills¬ borough river. From there he removed later with his family to Vernon River , where he took up lands and engaged in farming. Here he died after some years, leaving a family of several children. Two of his daughters were married to Allan and Angus Macdon ¬ ald, of Allisary , at the head of Hills¬ borough. One of them, Penelope, was the mother of Right Rev. Bernard Donald Macdonald, the second bishop of Charlotte - town, and the grandmother of the Revs. Ronald B. Macdonald , of Souris , and Allan Macdonald , of Fort Augustus . Alexander Macdonald , of the Prince Edward Island Railway , is a descendant of Doctor Mac ¬ donald, who was either his grandfather or great-grandfather. The Doctor was a cadet of the great and noble family of Clan Ron¬ ald, who owned at one time a great part of the Highlands of Scotland . There was an¬ other Doctor Macdonald who arrived in Charlottetown from Scotland . He belonged to the Borodale branch of the Clan Ronald family and was, I think, a maternal uncle of Hon . Senator Andrew A . Macdonald, of Charlottetown ; A. C. Macdonald , of Mon¬ tague; and A. J. Macdonald , of George¬ town. After practicing some years in Char¬ lottetown, he returned to Scotland and died there, comparatively young. I must ac¬ knowledge my indebtedness to the Rev. Dougal M . Macdonald, of Tignish , for the