vi 



that a love of botany should be innate in every one of his 

 audience. Alison, brother of the distinguished historian, was 

 Professor of Medicine, a fine, rather stout and imposing gentleman, 

 kindness itself to all the students, and painstaking in hospital 

 work. It was reserved, however, to Hughes Bennett to introduce 

 into clinical teaching the admirable method of examining patients 

 which came into general use in the infirmary, and found its way 

 by degrees into private practice. The chair of pathology was held 

 by Dr. Henderson, while Dr. "W. Gairdner, of Glasgow, perhaps 

 the last of the survivors of the Edinburgh lecturers towards the end 

 of the forties, held an extra-academical class of pathology, and 

 delivered a set of well prepared and interesting lectures. In surgery 

 Professor Symes and Professor Miller occupied the highest positions, 

 Symes as an admirable operator, and Miller as an excellent lecturer, 

 while Dr. James Simpson (afterwards Sir James) addressed several 

 times a week a crowded audience on midwifery and gynaecology, 

 subjects which particularly attracted George Harley's attention, as 

 we find him acting as house surgeon to the Maternity Hospital ; and 

 it was through Sir James Simpson that Harley obtained his first 

 appointment in London. 



Such were the eminent professors under whose tuition George 

 Harley acquired his earliest professional knowledge. But this was 

 not all : the society at Edinburgh into which Harley and other 

 students of medicine were admitted with true Scotch hospitality, 

 contributed in no little degree to the development of his social 

 and intellectual powers. Lord Jeffrey, the distinguished author 

 of " Essays and Reviews," and other Judges, such as Lord Murray, 

 Lord Ivory, and Lord Fullerton extended a friendly hand to many 

 of the medical students, and asked them to dinner and evening 

 parties. 



While at Edinburgh, Harley became acquainted and made friends 

 with many students, who were destined to become distinguished 

 in after-life. Most of them have now departed from this world, 

 amongst whom I might recall the names of Dr. Charles Murchison, 

 who died at an early age— had he lived, he would undoubtedly have 

 ranked amongst the most distinguished physicians of the time — and 

 Dr. Spencer Cobbold, E.B.S., well known for his labours on Entozoa. 



George Harley graduated at Edinburgh in 1850, at the same time 

 as the writer of this notice, and was duly capped before a large 

 audience. There were that year about 80 students who obtained 

 their doctor's degree, while at the present time more than twice that 

 number are yearly added to the roll of the Edinburgh graduates. 



Before dismissing George Harley's career as a student, an indica- 

 tion of his promptitude and determination of character may be 

 gathered from the circumstance that while acting as House Surgeon 



