the Prince of Wales, supported by
the Duke of Teck, Earl Granville, as President of the College, and a
large number of the leading men of the profession. The usual loyal and
patriotic toasts having been given, the Royal Chairman gave the toast of
the evening, saying:--

"My Lords and Gentlemen,--I feel both some difficulty and some
diffidence in proposing the toast of 'Success to the Royal
Medical College,' because, in the first place, I wish the task
had fallen into abler hands than mine, and, in the second place,
many of you must in any event know more upon the subject than I
do. It may not be out of place, however, on this occasion for me
to give you a few statistics connected with the Royal Medical
College. No doubt many of you will be well up in the subject,
but others will be reminded or informed. This College was
founded by Mr. Propert, a medical gentleman of high eminence;
and its object is, in the first place, to assist aged medical
men and the widows of qualified practitioners, and, in the next
place, to educate the children of such persons. In 1853 the
first stone was laid at Epsom; in 1855 the institution was
opened by my lamented father, who took the deepest interest in
its welfare; and I had the opportunity, as a boy, of
accompanying him on that occasion. I have therefore been
acquainted with the institution, which we have come here to do
honour to, for nineteen years. There were then five pensioners'
houses and a school for 150 boys. There are now, including the
three about to be elected, fifty pensioners, each of whom
receives L21 a year, and twenty-four of whom are also resident
in the College. The school contains 200 resident pupils, the
sons of medical men, fifty of whom, being foundation scholars,
are educated, boarded, clothed, and maintained at the expense of
the institution, while the remainder are charged from L48 to L51
a year.

"A gentleman who is present (Sir Erasmus Wilson) has just built
a house to hold forty more boys. I offer him our sincere thanks
for the great benefit he has conferred upon the institution. The
school has always been full, but we are anxious to increase its
funds, and, as each foundationer costs L60 a year, you will see
that we want money.

"It will not be out of place for me to remind you what a
difficult profession is that of m