11 



Obituary Notices of Fellows deceased. 



position, so that in a surprisingly short space of time he was presiding over 

 classes of systematic and practical study in which his able and inspiring 

 teaching was illustrated by a wealth of material, amongst which his models 

 of pathological conditions, moulded and coloured to perfection, were marvellous 

 counterfeits of reality. Practically all these accessories were prepared 

 either by his own hands or under his direct supervision. Though his most 

 pressing needs were satisfied for the moment, others speedily presented 

 themselves. With the active development in bacteriology then proceeding, 

 the requirements of pathological departments demanded an accelerated 

 expansion ; more experimental and teaching accommodation had to be found, 

 apparatus to satisfy the needs of an elaborate technique to be procured, but 

 by unfaltering effort Hamilton seldom failed in obtaining that which he 

 deemed essential in order to keep his laboratories fully abreast of the 

 requirements of the time. It would, in fact, have been almost impossible 

 for those who presided over the University's coffer to have rejected the 

 vigorous and conclusive appeals which he made to their liberality. 



Hamilton's exceptional qualifications as a teacher were speedily recognised. 

 They were endowments rather than acquirements. Some scientists with 

 high versatility in observation and investigation possess a less conspicuous 

 qualification for imparting their enthusiasm and information to others, but 

 he was a born teacher whose clear incisive style, carefully ordered facts, and 

 closely argued theories compelled the attention and conviction of his hearers. 

 By some he has been styled dogmatic, but if he sometimes pronounced a 

 decided judgment on a contested point, it was always preceded by a fair 

 statement of the observations and theories of others. That his own views 

 were decidedly and vigorously instilled, was no doubt a factor in the success 

 of his method of instruction, in so far that the student was left with a 

 perfectly clear conception of the standpoint adopted by his master. 



Whilst his duties at Marischal College and at the Royal Aberdeen 

 Infirmary (in which institution in his capacity as pathologist he had entirely 

 remodelled the post-mortem department) occupied his time very fully, 

 Hamilton was devoting much of his evenings to preparing his ' Text Book 

 of Pathology ' for publication. On its appearance in 1889, the book was 

 received in most quarters with unqualified approval. It was recognised as 

 being a thorough and comprehensive work of reference in the various aspects 

 of pathological study, based on the teachings of physiology to ensure a due 

 comprehension of morbid function, minute, clear, and practical in its details 

 of conditions and methods, illustrated with an exactitude and skill 

 unattainable except by those possessing not merely the requisite scientific 

 knowledge, but an artistic temperament to perfect the delineation. 



That all critics should be entirely satisfied with the work was naturally 

 impossible : too little attention paid to the vital manifestations of morbidity, 

 too much to structural abnormality, the experimental aspect of study unduly 

 subordinated, these were amongst the strictures ; but when the critic had 

 sufficiently vindicated his own standpoint, he usually showed himself 



