XXIV PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



his pupils in other ways were so deeply and generally felt, that 

 on the eve of his too early withdrawal from the lectureship, they 

 in one day raised a large subscription to present a testimonial 

 " to their friend and teacher," a tribute which, with characteristic 

 modesty and consideration, was declined as soon as heard of; he 

 was, however, afterwards persuaded to accept a collection of books 

 instead, in remembrance of their grateful feelings and goodwill. 



The death of his friend Dr. Armstrong soon followed, at whose 

 dying request he undertook to publish his life, which appeared 

 in 2 vols. 8vo, in 1833-4, and was entitled ' Memoir of the Life 

 and Medical Opinions of John Armstrong, M.D. ; to which is 

 added an Inquiry into the Facts connected with those forms of 

 Fever attributed to Malaria and Marsh Effluvium.' In this work 

 Dr. Boott entered largely into the subject of the plague in Egypt, 

 Syria, Holland, France, and London ; holding that the plague 

 obeys the same laws which govern other forms of malignant 

 fever, and does not whoUy lose its periodical type in the more 

 northern latitudes. He also stated his belief that mean tem- 

 perature influences type, which he founded on a careful study of 

 the disease in its march from Italy and the Mediterranean 

 through Paris to G-reat Britain. He also published in 1837 two 

 lectures on Materia Medica. 



About this period University College was founded, an insti- 

 tution in which Dr. Boott took the warmest interest, holding 

 for upwards of a quarter of a century the posts of member of its 

 Senate and Council, and being chosen latterly President of the 

 Committee of Council. During this time, and indeed up to the 

 last, he maintained an active correspondence with America, while 

 his house became a place of resort for many of his countrymen, 

 who were not only introduced by him to the men best worth 

 knowing in England, but were also provided with letters of 

 introduction to his continental friends. 



For some years Dr. Boott carried on a very successful practice 

 in London, and was especially noted for his treatment of fevers, 

 he being one of the first physicians who, abandoning the old 

 system of confining the patient in hot close rooms, gave abun- 

 dance of free air in carefully ventilated apartments. For the 

 arduous duties of a full London practice he was, however, consti- 

 tutionally unfitted ; and inheriting a competency at a com- 

 paratively early age, he devoted most of his time to the study of 

 literature, both ancient and modern, and to the analysis of an 

 extensive aad very difficult genus of plants, that of the Carices. 



