r to distinguish himself. He had been at
University College for two years before he gained his first medal; but
by 1850 he had made his name as the best man of his year, capable of
upholding the credit of his College against any rival in the
metropolis. Among his fellow students the best known in later years was
Sir Henry Thompson, whose portrait by Millais hangs in our National
Gallery. Among his professors one stands out pre-eminent, alike for his
character and for his influence on Lister's life. This was William
Sharpey, Professor of Physiology, an original man with a keen eye for
originality in others. In days when most English professors were content
with a narrow empirical training, he had trudged with his knapsack over
half Europe in quest of knowledge, had studied in France, Switzerland,
Italy, and Austria, and had made himself acquainted at first hand with
the best that was taught in their schools. He was a first-rate lecturer,
clear and simple, and took much pains to get to know his pupils. When
Lister had held for a short time the post of Acting House Surgeon at
University College Hospital, and needed to make definite plans for his
career, it was Sharpey who advised him to go north for a while and
attend some classes in Edinburgh before deciding on his course. Thus it
was Sharpey who introduced him to Scotland and to Syme.

Before we speak of the latter, a few words must be given to the year
1851, when Lister completed his studentship and became for a time an
active member of the hospital staff. This year was important as
introducing him to the practice of his art under the direction of
Erichsen, an Anglo-Dane and one of the foremost surgeons in London. It
also led to a change in his way of living, to his being thrown into
closer relations with men of his own age, and to his taking a more
lively part in social gatherings. What we hear of the essays that he
wrote at school, what we can read of his early letters, all harmonizes
with our conception of a Quaker upbringing. There is a staid primness
about him, which contrasts strangely with the pictures of medical
students presented to us in the pages of Dickens. Capable though he was
of enjoying a holiday, or of expanding among congenial associates,
Lister was not quick to make friends. He was apt to keep too much to
himself; and he seems to have inspired respect and even a certain awe
among men of his own age. In his youth men noticed the same grave mien,
steadf