ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGR. 295 
in giving satisfaction is amply proved by the recurrence this evening of 
one of those events in my life to be marked with a golden number. 
It is an old adage that “like begets like,” and thus kindnesses received 
awaken a desire to return them. I early thought that I saw no little dis¬ 
advantage the pupil laboured under, in being obliged to occupy so large a 
portion of his time in going from place to place to acquire knowledge, and 
this, when obtained, was not always such as he needed. 
Happily you know nothing of this, since a wiser and more advantageous 
system is now adopted. But it was not uncommon at the time I refer to 
for a student to have to walk to St. George’s Hospital, Hyde Park Corner, 
early in the morning, to attend a lecture on chemistry or materia medica ; 
thence he returned to the College, to Professor Coleman’s lectures, which 
were given three times a week ; after that he went to Bartholomew’s Hos¬ 
pital, to hear a lecture ou physiology, and in the evening to one of the 
Borough schools, for his surgical instruction. Now, what was this but a 
large occupancy of time without a corresponding benefit resulting ? I will 
say nothing of the temptations to which the student was necessarily ex¬ 
posed, and how little the mind was likely to retain the impressions it had 
received, from having so far to go, both to and from the lectures. I am 
quite ready to grant that it was exceedingly kind on the part of those me¬ 
dical men, who thus threw open their schools to the students of vete¬ 
rinary medicine, especially in that the infant age of the art. It was not, 
however, to continue very long, for to some of these means of instruction 
a few pupils only were admitted, hence dissatisfaction arose among others, 
and the complaint was often made to me by them of their inability to ac¬ 
quire the necessary information, and the hint was thrown out that perhaps 
1 could assist them. 
Pondering over the subject, and disliking the system I have adverted to, 
I was induced to read in the year 1828, at the weekly meetings of the old 
Veterinary Medical Society, a series of papers on the medicinal substances 
used in the College. These were favorably received by the class, and I 
was presented with this inkstand, expressive of their obligation; so that 
my first and my last presents are before you. I now stood in a measure 
pledged to do something for the pupils. I therefore attempted a course of 
lectures, by prefacing my remarks on medicinal substances with an outline 
of elementary chemistry. It was perhaps an act of temerity on my part, 
for at that time I had received no instructions in the science, nor heard any 
lectures on it, except an occasional one or two. But the principles had 
been my early study, and at the close of the labours of the day I had been 
accustomed to perform, in a rude way it may have been, experiments, so as 
to impress the facts upon my memory, little thinking at the time that I 
should ever be called upon to apply them. The truth is, that the facilities 
for the acquirement of scientific knowledge were not so great then as they 
are now. But as it respected medicinal substances, it was quite .another 
thing. With these I had been familiar from my boyhood, and took a de¬ 
light in their investigation, both naturally and chemically considered. Still, 
in their therapeutic application to the lower animals, there was opened up 
to me altogether a new field of inquiry, and the labourers in it having 
been but few, I could not consequently gain from them much assistance, 
while I failed, most unexpectedly failed, in obtaining encouragement and 
support where I had most expected both; for I was told by those then 
in authority that the expenses connected witli the experiments which I 
thought necessary to be instituted were to be borne by myself, unless they 
were carried out under their direction. This I could not submit to, as I 
did not entertain the same views they did as to the plan to be adopted. 
This was a heavy blow to my hopes and a great disappointment; never- 
