He observed that it was not one of the homely flys from the under-hill town, but apparently from the popular resort across the bay.

[…] convinced (with no scientific evidence) that they would contract the dread disease by breathing the same air in which the patient was roomed, by touching the patient or even by changing the sheets of a patient's bed.

medicine should seek the complete truth but it also has an abligation to make due with the information that is currently available and that means often making guesses based on imperfect facts.

Well I'm near the end and I just ain't got the time / And I'm wasted and I can't find my way home