xxvii 



" One can never forget the kindly courtesy, the simplicity o£ 

 address, the indescribable charm of his manner, the warmth of his 

 friendship." Loyalty to his friends was a typical characteristic of his 

 affectionate nature. 



Inheriting the best characteristics of his father, with himself as 

 with his father " he was a discerning and attached patron of youth- 

 ful and friendless merit; so that there are many who owe their rise 

 in life to him, and who bless his memory all over the world."* In 

 evidence of this we have the testimony of the Treasurer of the Royal 

 Society, in his eloquent address on December 1st, 1884, when he said, 

 in his notice of Dr. Allen Thomson's death, that " for acts of kiud- 

 ness there must be many besides myself who owe him a deep debt of 

 gratitude. "f The writer of this paper fully endorses this statement, 

 and with gratitude acknowledges the many acts of kindness he 

 received from Allen Thomson throughout a brotherly, or rather 

 father-like friendship of more than thirty-six years. So also Dr. 

 George Johnson, in his address as President of the Medico-Chirurgical 

 Society, on March 'And, 1885, thus spoke of him : — " Dr. Allen 

 Thomson will long be held in affectionate remembrance, not only for 

 the extent and variety of his scientific attainments, but for his wisdom 

 in council, the genuine kindly courtesy which gave an indescribable 

 charm to his manner, and the enduring warmth of his friendship.^ 



On his retirement from the University of Glasgow, in 1877, his 

 portrait, painted by the President of the Royal Scottish Academy 

 of Arts, the late Sir Daniel Macnee, was presented by his friends 

 and admirers to the University, and it now hangs in the Hunterian 

 Museum, to hand down to future generations the cherished features 

 of so beloved a man. A replica of this portrait was presented to 

 Mrs. Thomson. 



Dr. Thomson has left a widow and an only son, Mr. John Millar 

 Thomson, Demonstrator on Chemistry in King's College, London, and 

 Secretary to the Chemical Society of London. Up to within four 

 months of his death Dr. Thomson appeared to be in excellent health, 

 and looked forward to the pleasure of being in Edinburgh at the 

 approaching tercentenary. In 1883 he went with his wife to Cannes, 

 on January 3rd, and spent the cold months and spring there, and the 

 summer was once more passed with his son, daughter-in-law, and 

 grandchildren in the West Highlands of Scotland, with much 

 pleasure in revisiting scenes with which he had been so familiar in 

 earlier days. Suddenly, on December 14th, from his house in 

 London, he wrote to say that his left eye had not been quite 

 so well of late, and that Mr. John Couper and Sir William Bowman 



* < Memoir of H. Cockburn,' p. 163, vol. ii, 1816. 



f ' Proceedings.' p. 430, vol. 37. 



£ 1 Med. Chirurg. Soc. Trans.,' vol. 68, p 7. 



