As for the personnel of the class, less than half were newly graduated from the main body of the State University only a mile distant. The rest of them had recently received their degrees—Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science—in colleges of various rating, scattered all the way from the Alleghenies to the Coast. A few of the more gregarious imports had nodded and exchanged casual civilities in the Registrar’s quarters, earlier in the day; but everyone felt himself a stranger in this unfamiliar setting; even the men who had been living for a quadrennium within a ten minutes’ walk of the Medical College campus.

But no matter from how near or far they had come, there wasn’t a person present this afternoon, in Tubby Forrester’s amphitheater, who had not heard the dismaying legends of his impatience, his arrogance, his bad temper, his noisy tantrums. And yet it was largely on account of Tubby that most of them had decided to study medicine here. Tubby was mean as the devil, but he knew his stuff. Not only was he an anatomist of high distinction but a recognized authority on neurological surgery. His office walls were covered with impressive certificates of kudos bestowed by medical schools and renowned scientific societies, tributes embossed on vellum in four languages.

Lloyd C. Douglas was an American minister and author born in Indiana in 1877. He was married and had two children. He did not write his first novel until the age of 50 but was considered to be one of the most popular writers of his time. His works usually had a moral and religious tone. Two of his best known works were The Robe and The Big Fisherman, which were made into major motion pictures. The Robe, written in 1942, sold over two million copies in hardcover alone. It held the number one position on the New York Times Best Seller list for over a year and remained on the list for an additional two years. The film version of The Robe hit the screen in 1953 and starred Richard Burton.