138 Obituary Notices of Fellows deceased. 



Chirurgieal Society. At the age of 73 such was his youthful energy 

 and zeal that he did not consider himself too old to accept the post of 

 President of the Pathological Society. 



. It would be tedious to attempt to enumerate in further detail the 

 honourable appointments which from year to year he undertook, or 

 the honours which were conferred upon him. He was a member in 

 succession of several Royal Commissions, and Vice-Chancellor of the 

 London University. 



Our estimate of the influence which Paget exercised on the destinies 

 of his profession must not be restricted to any work which bears his 

 name. In countless committees, not a few councils, and several 

 important commissions his was a guiding voice ; innumerable were the 

 resolutions, recommendations, and reports which he originated. His 

 calm, clear judgment was always recognised; and whatever he said 

 was sure to be received with the utmost attention by all, and by the 

 majority with acquiescence. Seldom, indeed, was his vote given in 

 the minority, but more often than not it was his speech which had 

 decided the conclusion. The writer sat with him many years in the 

 Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, in the meetings of the Com- 

 mittee on Leprosy originated by the Prince of Wales, and through 

 two long Royal Commissions, and had abundant opportunities for 

 appreciating his almost unerring skill in the mastery of facts and his 

 unequalled facility in expressing the opinions at which he had 

 arrived. 



There is yet another department of silent influence which should 

 be mentioned. Few men had exercised a wider power than he in the 

 nomination of younger men to posts of importance. He was consulted 

 by public bodies on all hands, his appreciation of character was 

 excellent, and his suggestions were always judicious. Not a few of 

 those who in various places now hold high positions in the profession 

 were in their early career his nominees. 



As a practical surgeon the qualities which Paget brought to his 

 patients' help were cool nerves, keen observation, clear judgment, and 

 wide experience. At the hospital his diagnosis was highly valued by 

 all his colleagues. At a later period in his career, during the quarter 

 of a century of his most active practice, his verdicts were regarded as 

 well-nigh conclusive by the whole British profession. 



As an operator he was at no time showy, but at all times safe. He 

 always did what he had set himself to do with unflinching regard to 

 his patients' interests. 



Perhaps it might be said that sobriety of mind was the dis- 

 tinguishing feature in Paget's character. He was never excited and 

 never below par, but always in full possession of the same clear intel- 

 ligence and capacity for open-eyed observation. Never for a moment 



