1838-30. EXAMINATION FOR M.D. 201 



out abstracts for Samuel Brown, and procrastinating in the ex- 

 pectation of getting John Niven's assistance. Now I can offer 

 assistance to him, and help him in his difficulties. It was a 

 much more simple thing than I expected, and it had need to 

 have been, for I only studied a week for it, but that was a very 

 hard week's work. I began Thursday before last in the after- 

 noon, and worked on that day and every succeeding one up to 

 yesterday, thirteen hours a day, beginning at nine o'clock, and 

 getting to bed at one o'clock A.M. I contrived to go twice 

 through a huge octavo of 600 pages, of 'Practice of Physic,' 

 another of 700, besides smaller books innumerable. On the 

 Sunday, I went through the morning service of the Prayer Book 

 at home, and then took to the Surgery, which I nearly finished 

 that night. 



" The only one of the examinators who bothered me much 

 was Hamilton ; but he smiled, told stories, and answered his 

 own questions, and declared himself quite satisfied, the which 

 I did not contradict, although, when the examination was over, 

 I apologized for having answered so ill, as I had been working 

 at chemistry all winter. He would not, however, hear me ; said 

 I had answered quite well ; so that I must fain lay that unction 

 to my wounded pride, which does not, however, suffer much on 

 this subject. I was more fortunate with Home, who took me 

 on the very subject I had made a particular revision of on the 

 morning of the examination, viz., measles, smallpox, scarlet 

 fever, and the like, in which I perfectly succeeded in satisfying 

 the gentleman, as far as his deafness would allow him ; there 

 are worse faults than that last in an examinator ; and when he 

 asked me some inconvenient questions about skin diseases, I 

 led him away to a more familiar subject. Dr. Traill ques- 

 tioned me regarding the differences between the appearances 

 when men are hanged by the neck till dead, and when they 

 are strangled on the ground by a rope twisted round their 

 throats in short, on the philosophy of burking ; I amply satis- 

 fied him on all these pleasing topics, and was sent from him 

 with high commendations. Dr. Christison let me veiy easily 

 off, with a few words about creosote and prussic acid. Sir 

 Charles Bell, a most gentlemanly, kind examinator, gave me a 



