1838-39- ."' THESIS COMMENDED. 85 



be the more pleasing to you, as it is likely to contain more 

 that will interest you than the former did. Yesterday, the 

 second of August, I, and a hundred and eighteen more young 

 graduates, were created doctors of medicine. I send you a 

 list of our names, which you will find to contain the cog- 

 nomens of several of your friends and acquaintances. You 

 will see that Samuel Brown has got one of the medals ; he 

 is the most deserving of the whole four who have been thus 

 crowned. The others were all of them above thirty. 



" You will see that my Thesis and John Niven's were 

 among the seven given in (by the professors) as worthy of 

 the prize; from these Samuel Brown's and Carpenter's 

 were chosen, and we must be content with the two stars 

 which flourish at our names. I never expected a prize, 

 because I was soon aware that S. B.'s was a more valuable 

 chemical essay than mine, and I knew they would not give 

 two chemical prizes. It is some reward for our three days' 

 work, that I was chosen among the few severed from the 

 hundred and nineteen as worthy of special regard. 

 Christison said of my Thesis, that it was ' very ingenious ; ' 

 this he said to some friend, for he never expressed an 

 opinion to me, and I have no thought of asking him for 

 praise. Hope criticised it in public the day before, very 

 cautiously, without committing himself as to its value, but 

 seasoned it with a wholesome advice about the delicacy of 

 the experiments, and the propriety of their frequent repe- 

 tition ; but I have no thought of taking his advice, as I am 

 quite satisfied with my experiments and my conclusions. I 

 have to thank him, however, for making a groundless objec- 

 tion to one portion, which will induce me to add another 

 portion to my Thesis, so as to take away the last prop of 

 the false theory. It will be published soon, i.e. in a month 

 or two, in the volume to be issued by the University Club, 



