432 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. X. 



tal practice. It grapples with the existence of evil, and appa- 

 rent frustrations of design, pronouncing the solution of all that 

 is inexplicable in the morphology and teleology of the mortal 

 state, to be attainable only when design at last triumphs in the 

 heavenly life. The strain pervading the lecture is to be found 

 in others of his writings, especially the article on Chemistry 

 and Natural Theology, 1 and an address on the Eesurrection, to 

 medical students, as yet unpublished. 



Along with a copy of the lecture forwarded to Mr. D. Mac- 

 millan, is a note saying, " I send a sermon, which, when you have 

 nothing better to do, read. . . . Some bits of it you will read, as 

 I wrote them, with thoughts of ourselves ; but you will see, that 

 like yourself, I try to be ready either for life or death." To Dr. 

 Cairns, the lecture so painfully brought the impression that he 

 did speak unconsciously of himself in its pages, that he im- 

 mediately wrote to ask if he felt worse in health. In reply 

 George says, " Your very kind letter took me by surprise. I 

 did not intend either in the lecture or letter to give expression 

 to feelings so sad as you have inferred me to be actuated by. 

 The lecture was delivered last February, not to provide an outlet 

 for grief, but to press some matters home to the minds of students 

 of medicine. Eead as a whole, I entertain the hope that the lec- 

 ture will not be found unbecomingly or morbidly sombre and 

 grave. 



" As for the letter, it was written on Sabbath, and I there- 

 fore avoided lighter matters ; it was written also to you, recently 

 sorely tried by a mournful affliction, and therefore it was grave. 

 I do not at all disavow having been myself grave in writing it 

 for personal reasons, but I cannot allow you to expend an un- 

 deserved amount of sympathy on me, who really am not making 

 special complaint. 



" If I were to sit in medical judgment on my own case, I 

 should find it quite impossible to pronounce upon my own 

 viability. To be well enough to work is all a man needs to be, 

 and is all I expect. Latterly my working power has certainly 

 been less than before, but it may quite well come back. I can 

 honestly assure you, that regarding my prospect of life as a 



1 ' British Quarterly Review.' 



