258 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
notices, published and unpublished. In the few words of preface to 
the first volume, written to express his gratitude to Dr Priestley 
and Dr Storer who edited the work, Professor Simpson states that 
most of the communications, which appeared in it, “ were written 
hurriedly, and amid the incessant distractions of practice.” He 
adds, “If I had attempted to remodel, extend, and correct them, 
they would never have been published in a collected form.” Why 
not, he explains in his preface to volume second, in these words, 
“ The life of a busy accoucheur, is not a life fitted for literary 
work. Besides, I am quite deficient in some of the principal quali- 
fications generally laid down as requisite for success in medical 
authorship ; having no heart or habit for the daily written annota- 
tion and collection of individual cases and observations — no suffi- 
cient industry and endurance for the pursuit of any tedious and 
protracted investigation, and no great love of lifting my pen, but 
the very reverse.” 
The reasons thus assigned by Professor Simpson why he would 
never have published these two volumes, must, of course, be 
accepted. But there was probably another and a stronger reason, 
which it might have been thought ostentatious for him to mention, 
—and that was his insatiable love of discovery — his constant desire 
to be ever searching for new truths, and to occupy as much of 
his time as possible on fields where these truths were likely to be 
found. He would have considered it a waste of time to have gone 
back on his own previous researches, in order to present them 
again before the world in the form of a published work. That 
was a mechanical labour which he willingly and wisely handed 
over to the kind friends who voluntarily undertook it, and thus he 
was left free to apply his time and talents to the nobler business 
of advancing human knowledge by fresh discoveries. 
His active and buojmnt mind, not finding enough to occupy it 
within the circle of medicine, sought more work in other fields, 
and hence he was led to become a member of various societies of 
a scientific character. The first that he joined after becoming 
Professor of Midwifery, was our own Society. He joined it in the 
year 1841, and contributed the following papers, which were read 
at our evening meetings, and afterwards printed in our Proceed- 
ings:— 
