1840-42. BRAVE ENDURANCE. 12 9 



through side channels have communicated their great satis- 

 faction. I knew the subject, had a sufficiency of well-con- 

 trived experiments, which, as they say of fireworks, went 

 off well, plenty of specimens from the surgical museums, 

 diagrams, and other appliances. I was very stupid, bad 

 headache, and no appetite, took no dinner for three days, 

 and had to lecture at the unpleasant hour of 4 P.M. ; but 

 that nature which has given horns to bulls, has given me a 

 tongue which nothing but death will keep from wagging ; 

 and as I was alive, or semi-alive, wag it did to some purpose. 

 The great object of this seemingly conceited prologue is to 

 let you (whose interest in my welfare I do heartily acknow- 

 ledge) see that there is the best hope for the proposed 

 summer class, for which John Goodsir and I will now with 

 undivided attention work. 



" Mary is neither worse nor better, still a complete invalid, 

 and requiring the utmost care. We are all otherwise well. 

 The first blink of sunshine that reaches my hazy soul shall 

 give rise to an epistle to Maggie ; meanwhile excuse this 

 scrawl ; my eyes oblige me to write little." 



"May 4, 1842. 



" I could not answer your kind note sooner, having been 

 engaged for the last week in preparing lectures for a course 

 I began to-day on animal chemistry. I delivered my intro- 

 ductory lecture to a good audience, who were pleased to 

 think highly of it ; and being freed from the burden of it, I 

 can peacefully write you a few lines. 



" Mary is better than she was when I last wrote, and able 

 to be out of bed some hours daily. She cannot write, or she 

 would tell you how much she was refreshed by your letter ; 

 it is a most difficult thing, as you say, to write to invalids, 

 whose moods are ever changing, without the nature of their 



