COLLEGE OF SURGEONS CURATOR. 79 



of natural history in Aberdeen caused a vacancy in the 

 conservatorship of the museum of the Royal College 

 of Surgeons. Edinburgh. Goodsir felt anxious for the 

 post, and in setting forth his fitness for it stated that 

 he had practised every department of preparation and 

 conservation ; that he had considerable experience in 

 modelling in clay, plaster, and wax, and in the use of 

 microscope and pencil ; moreover, his own collection 

 of preparations in human, comparative, and morbid 

 anatomy exceeded 400 in number. The character of 

 his testimonials and the weightier credentials of work 

 done and exhibited rendered all competition useless, 

 with the exception of a local candidate of good claims, 

 who, finding the prohibition of surgical practice a sine 

 qua non in the conditions binding the curator, also 

 withdrew his name before the day of election. Good- 

 sir therefore succeeded Macgillivray on the 21st April 

 1841. In the matter of pay the situation was wretch- 

 edly poor, but the opportunities it afforded for study 

 and investigation made it rich and valuable in Good- 

 sir's eyes. His letters on his appointment sounded 

 of the Io triumphe strain, not without a prospective 

 Alexandrian spirit of more worlds to conquer. Those 

 who knew but the outside of the man in his reserved 

 attitudes would never have dreamt of such a feeling of 

 exultation piTvuding Goodsir, much less of the joy he 

 exhibited <»n obtaining a curatorship of £150, minus 



a note to Lord Normanby, the Eome Secretary, who, throwing aside parry 

 , .,,,, ,;,|, ration , promoted this true lover of the natural ciencea to the chair— 

 .■in acknowledgmenl of meril on the pari of a minister of the crown as honour- 

 able as il was judiciously and hand ly done, 



