Fergusson never tired of work. His fine energies kept him ever fresh. He could sing, or dance a Highland reel, with energy long after middle age, and when just returned from a prolonged and tiring journey. He was a munificent patron of literature and the drama; attended many an author without fee, and would not unfrequently pay for their lodging near him in cases where that was desirable. His spirit of hospitality was lavish, whether in London or at his seat at Spittlehaugh in Peeblesshire. He was ever ready to show kindly feeling towards even those who censured him most severely, and his forgiving nature was many times most conspicuously evident. Whenever he had any consciousness of having done or said anything calculated to wound another’s feelings, old or young, he never rested until he had made reparation in some way. He held a truly modest estimate of himself, was unspoiled by popularity, and never became at all overbearing. He was a staunch friend, to old pupils especially, and a liberal helper of members of the profession generally. Many a surgeon who has risen has owed to him essential help. Indeed, he displayed the best Christian characteristics, and was, in Mr. Henry Smith’s words, “the true type of a Christian gentleman.” He died in London, after an exhausting illness, of Bright’s disease, on February 10th, 1877, and was buried at West Linton, Peeblesshire, where his wife had already, in 1860, been buried. A portrait of him by Lehmann was presented by subscription to the London College of Surgeons in 1874, and a replica is in the Edinburgh College of Surgeons. His best monument is in the life and work of the multitude of his pupils, whom he influenced and stimulated as few have ever done. FOOTNOTES: [3] Surgery, Past, Present and Future, 1877. [4] Henry Smith, Biographical Sketch of Sir W. Fergusson. CHAPTER XV. _SIR JAMES SIMPSON AND ANÆSTHETICS._ Future ages will perceive in the history of medicine and surgery in the nineteenth century no more remarkable event than the discovery and the introduction of means for relieving and temporarily abolishing pain. And although the name of Simpson is by no means the only one honourably associated with this discovery, his achievement in the introduction of chloroform places him on an enviable pinnacle of greatness.