314 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. X. 



at Dublin, or on the journey to and fro. I knew the risk I 

 ran, but the consciousness of duty, and the forgetfulness of 

 that risk which I made a point of fostering, lest hypochon- 

 driasis should get the upper hand, set me at ease, and would 

 again in similar circumstances. Break the news gently 

 to A., and if she takes it too much to heart, remind her that 

 I subscribe to the Widows' Fund." A. was one of his little 

 wives, then about three years of age. . 



To another friend he speaks of the great risk of fatal 

 'hemorrhage from sea-sickness, as a source of anxiety to 

 him while travelling ; while he adds, " I am very glad that 

 I was compelled to travel, and I will go anywhere on duty, 

 but mere travelling is to me a burdensome effort. My cup 

 is full of blessings, and the tonic bitter-sweet infused into 

 it is all needed to temper the pleasant draught." 



Amidst the varieties simmering in his brain, we have 

 remarked a lecture on Industrial Museums. It was under- 

 taken by request of the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, 

 and delivered to its members and a large circle of guests in 

 December; the special subject being, "The Industrial 

 Museum of Scotland in its relation to Commercial Enter- 

 prise." Through the liberality of Mr. James Richardson, 

 Master of the Company, it was printed and distributed 

 widely throughout the country, and was the means of 

 securing valuable specimens. The birth of the Museum' 

 he attributes to a conviction, slowly reached, and lying deep 

 in the hearts of meit, that industrial museums were a want 

 of the age. The idea embodied in it he represents as 

 fourfold, including the conception of i. An ample Exhi- 

 bitional Gallery ; 2. Laboratory and Workshop ; 3. A 

 Library; and 4. Systematic Lectures. 1 In regard to the 



1 Arrangements on a different footing have been made since Dr. 

 Wilson's death regarding the Museum ; and the Chair of Technology, 



