211 
of Edinburgh , Session 1 875 - 7 6 . 
which he entered into the exposition of his subject, both in its 
theoretical aspects and in its practical details; and the same features 
are discernible in the published productions of his pen. When the 
British Medical Association met in Edinburgh in the autumn of 
1875 Dr Begbie was selected to act as orator of a section of that 
body, and on that occasion he delivered an address on the practice 
of medicine in ancient and modern times, which displayed all the 
excellent qualities of his manner as a lecturer and a writer, and 
was not only well received by his professional brethren, but wel- 
comed with hearty applause by the general public. 
The incessant demands made upon him in the exercise of his 
profession, and his unsparing devotion to the case of all who sought 
his aid, his innumerable and often exhausting journeys, and the 
toil, physical and mental, which he endured, began to tell upon a 
constitution originally sound and healthy but not remarkably robust. 
For some years before his death he had, at intervals, suffered from 
weakness in the action of the heart; and these attacks had come to 
be so frequent that he found it necessary, in the beginning of the 
present year, to seek relief by retiring for a season from the active 
duties of his profession. With this view he left Edinburgh in 
the beginning of February last, intending to proceed by easy stages 
to the south of England and ultimately to Italy. He had not, 
however, reached farther than to Carlisle, when the symptoms of 
his illness showed themselves in so aggravated a form that he saw 
his case had become one of imminent danger. He accordingly 
returned home. Here, at first, he seemed to rally, but after a few 
days his strength gradually sank, and though several of the most 
eminent of the medical practitioners in the city were in constant 
attendance upon him, it soon became evident that a fatal issue could 
not be averted. He died on Friday the 26th of February 1876. 
His funeral took place on the following Thursday, and was attended 
by some of the most distinguished members of the legal and medical 
professions, and by a large company of the citizens. 
Dr Warburton Begbie had all the qualifications of a great phy- 
sician. To natural abilities and excellent general culture he added 
profound knowledge of his profession, extensive experience in the 
practice of it, great skill in the discernment of disease, and a happy 
facility in suggesting fitting methods of treatment. His high moral 
VOL. ix. 2 F 
