1 40 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. III. 



tically useful to a riper age ; and Samuel Brown and I, waiving 

 the application to ourselves, justified our perusal, by declaring 

 we both proposed to be educators, meaning public teachers of 

 science, but I suspect Samuel might have an inward reserva- 

 tion of a looking forward to have a charge of Home Education 

 in its most natural and most simple sense ; I have none, but 

 you may. 



" I descend to no particulars on the system till you have 

 read it, but I should enjoy very, very much a long talk with 

 you over it, its benefits and the like, as we used to have in our 

 evening walks. And this leads me to remark, that I grieve to 

 say I cannot encourage the hope of seeing you in London this 

 summer or autumn, and that I trust you will not either form 

 high hopes, or, above all, deny yourself the visitation of inter- 

 esting things about London with the affectionate intention of 

 waiting for me, for really, Daniel, I know not when I shall get 

 up. As soon as I pass my examination, which will be some 

 time in May, I shall have to begin German, to re- study French, 

 to attend the Infirmary, to attend (most horrible) the Dispen- 

 sary, as necessary studies and duties. Further, I shall have 

 to write my Thesis, 1 which I cannot put off till winter, seeing I 

 shall have abundance then to do in preparing for my second 

 examination, with all its delights of midwifery, surgery, practice 

 of physic, pathology, etc., etc., so that I fear, even could I other- 

 wise reach London, I should commit an error in going, which you 

 would be the first to mourn. I shall likely go out to Haddington 

 as soon as I pass, but that will be a thoroughly practical journey, 

 to have the benefit of Sam Brown's laboratory and assistance in 

 carrying on my series of experiments in bromine, on which, if my 

 researches are successful, I shall early publish a paper ; and I 

 shall have a very extended series of experiments to perform 

 there, at home, and at Dr. Christison's on the subject of my 

 Thesis ; for my only hope, and it is a feeble one, of getting on 

 as a chemist is to succeed in some projects which shall convince 

 unwilling friends that I have some chance of success in such a pro- 

 fession, and this I must do before I pass as physician, for that 

 consummated, I must at once begin for myself in some capacity. 



1 The inaugural dissertation required from graduates of medicine. 



