38 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. II. 



ward. Off the two set, to enjoy the meeting, and George used 

 to tell with mirth of the shock he received, when his protege, 

 almost before three words had passed between the invalids, 

 exclaimed, scornfully hissing it through his teeth, ' Un Juif T 

 and, turning on his heel, no persuasion would induce him to 

 hold further intercourse with the despised Polish Jew. The 

 old soldier recovered, and occasionally smoked a cigar with us 

 in our room. He learned a little English, and we improved 

 somewhat our French, and greatly enjoyed setting him to fight 

 his battles o'er again, or detail to us in his cool, soldier- like 

 fashion, the horrors of the Eussian retreat of 1812." 



Shortly after entering on his duties in the Infirmary, George 

 began the student-life which his long hours of work made so 

 burdensome, for not till nine each evening was he free to study, 

 and we can imagine how weary and jaded the labours of the 

 day often left the boy. During the Session of 1832-33, he 

 attended the lectures, on Natural Philosophy, of Mr. John Scott 

 Eussell, then one of the lecturers of the Extra- Academical 

 Medical School j 1 and a class for Mathematics in the University 

 under Professor Wallace. 



In the following summer, attendance on Mr. Lizars' Anato- 

 mical Demonstrations introduced George more specially to 

 medical study. Notwithstanding these new objects of pursuit, 

 former projects were not abandoned. 



" The Juvenile Society," says his brother, " had fulfilled its 

 functions, and was being superseded by others suited to the 

 change of tastes and requirements of advancing years. By the 

 minute-book of the Edinburgh Zetalethic Society, which has 

 remained in my possession by right of my fulfilment of the 

 duties of Secretary during the two years that it lasted, I find 

 George engaged with our cousin John, and a few other asso- 

 ciates, on the 4th of April 1833, in organizing this Society for 

 the reading of essays and discussion. It differed in no very 

 special degree from the ordinary run of students' debating clubs. 

 The subjects of discussion were sufficiently miscellaneous ; but 

 their main use was in exercising the reasoning faculties, and 

 developing such facility of speaking in public, as was suffi- 



1 See ' Life of Edward Forbes,' eh;ip. iv. 



