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Proceedings of the It o gal Society 
character also, and the known conscientiousness with which he 
devoted himself to the case of those who consulted him, tended to 
inspire confidence in him on the part of the public, as well as to 
encourage his professional brethren to appeal to his advice incases 
of emergency; nor were there wanting that “ hilaris vultusf that 
kindly demeanour, and that gentle manner, which Celsus tells us 
are such excellent qualities in the “ peritus medicus.”* Pleasant 
looks and cheerful words will not of themselves, it is true, effect a 
cure; but every experienced physician knows how materially they 
are helpful to the end he seeks to gain with his patient : — 
11 Sunt verba et voces quibus hunc lenire dolorum 
Possis, et magnam morbi depellere partem ” + 
Few men have passed away more sincerely lamented than was 
Dr Warburton Begbie, as well by his professional brethren as by 
the general public. As a skilled physician, as a man of varied 
culture, high moral character and amiable manners, as a sincere 
Christian and a generous benefactor to the poor, he has left behind 
him a reputation which will not soon be obliterated. 
Dr Begbie became a Fellow of this Society in 1870. 
Lewis D. B. Gordon, J son of Joseph Gordon, writer to the Signet, 
was born at Edinburgh in 1815, and received his early education 
at the High School and University of Edinburgh. 
Having determined to follow the profession of engineering, young 
Gordon was first sent to Dundee, where he had the benefit of work- 
ing at the bench and studying engine-fitting at the Dundee Foundry. 
His next introduction to practical work was at the Thames Tunnel, 
where, by the kindness of Mr Brunei, he had an opportunity of 
seeing all the details of that unique work. Finally, he completed 
his studies at the Royal Mining Academy, Fribourg, and the Ecole 
Polytechnique at Paris. 
* Periti medici est non protinns ut venit apprehendere manu brachium, 
sed primum residere hilari vultu, percunctarique quemadmodum se habeat, 
et si quis ejus metus est eum probabili sermone lenire. — Cels. De Re Medica, 
b. iii. c. 6. 
t Hor. Epist. I. 1. 35. 
X This sketch has been contributed by D. Stevenson, Esq., C.E. 
