ESCULAPIUS ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE.

Esculapius on the field of battle! What an inspiring sentiment at this time and on this occasion! Esculapius, the fabled deity of medicine, engaged on the battlefield in directing his faithful disciples in bringing comfort to the dying and timely and efficient aid to the wounded, is indeed an idea conveying the loftiest, noblest, soul-inspiring subject. The disciples of Esculapius have followed and served every army since man has resorted to contest by force of arms to secure the real or imaginary rights of tribes and nations. Every battlefield bears testimony of their life-saving, humanitarian work. When battles were fought hand-to-hand, and by the use of the most primitive weapons of war, the Esculapians were there with their pots of boiling oil with which to stanch bleeding, with their crude instruments with which to extract arrows buried in the flesh of the wounded warriors, and with their bottles of wine