360 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. XI. 



lung, came on on Friday ; and, as you may suppose, lays 

 me aside from lecturing, much to my distress, at the very 

 beginning of the session. 



" It would be a very great favour if you could lecture for 

 me this week, beginning on Tuesday. My present topic is 

 the Amylaceous group, including starch, gum, sugar, and 

 cellulose, and falls quite in your way. My assistant will 

 see that the carriage goes down every day to bring you up, 

 with diagrams and specimens, and four assistants will be at 

 your service every day. I trust you will be able to render 

 me this service ; but if you cannot, please inform the bearer 

 that I may make other arrangements." 



Dr. Balfour kindly consented, and no further allusion was 

 made to temporal affairs. Towards mid-day, on Monday, 

 he requested a note to be addressed to Dr. Duncan, saying, 

 that as there was no improvement, he thought it would be 

 prudent to have another medical friend associated with him, 

 naming Dr. Bennett as the one he should prefer. . This done, 

 he asked his sister to read to him, from the " Athenaeum " 

 of the week, Captain M'Clintock's Narrative of his Voyage 

 to the Arctic Seas. Towards evening there seemed tokens 

 of Death's approach, and the medical men could only 

 cherish fond hopes from the marvellous recoveries he had 

 made before. His voice also was clear and strong, and 

 this was a hopeful symptom. Stimulants were ordered to 

 be given at short intervals during the night. On the first 

 being brought, he looked at it with reluctance ; but learning 

 the doctors' wishes, he made an effort to take it, saying 

 afterwards, "I did not think I could have swallowed it." 

 The good effect of the draught soon appeared in the dis- 

 tressing cough being soothed to quietness. " The doctor 

 was right," he remarked ; and the next restorative was taken 



