, brother of the preceding, was also born at Riez, and became a surgeon and medical writer of considerable eminence. His publications
, brother of the preceding, was also
born at Riez, and became a surgeon and medical writer of
considerable eminence. His publications are: 1. “Htstoire des Os,
” Paris, Traité des plaies
d'Arquebusades,
” Paris, Le parfait
Chirurgien d'armée,
”
, a very eminent Swedish surgeon and physician, was born near Stockholm in the beginning of the
, a very eminent Swedish surgeon and
physician, was born near Stockholm in the beginning of
the eighteenth century. He studied first at Upsal, and
afterwards at Stockholm, under the ablest practitioners in
physic and surgery. In 1741 he travelled to Germany
and France, and served as surgeon in the French army
for two years. In 1745 he took up his residence in Stockholm, where for half a century he was considered as the
first man in his profession. He introduced many valuable
improvements in the army-hospitals, and his general talents and usefulness procured him the most flattering
marks of public esteem. He was appointed director general of all the hospitals in the kingdom, had titles of
nobility conferred upon him, was created a knight of
Vasa, and became commander of that order. In 1764,
the university of Upsal made him doctor in medicine by
diploma, and he was enrolled a member of various learned
societies. He died in 1807, at an advanced age. He
published various works in the Swedish language, the
principal of which are: 1. “A treatise on Fresh Wounds,
”
Stockholm, Observations on Surgery,
” Dissertation on the operation for the Cataract,
” A Discourse on reforms in Surgical Operations,
”
, a celebrated Arabian surgeon; called also Albucasa, Albuchasius, Buchasis, Bulcaris-Ga-Laf,
, a celebrated Arabian surgeon; called
also Albucasa, Albuchasius, Buchasis, Bulcaris-Ga-Laf, Alsaharavius, and Azaravius, but whose proper
name was Aboul-Casem-Khalaf-Ben-Abbas, was a native of Alzahrah, a city of Spain. He is supposed to have
lived about the year 1085; but Dr. Freind thinks he is
not so ancient, as in treating of wounds, he describes the
arrows of the Turks, a nation which scarcely made any
figure until the middle at least of the twelfth century.
From what he says of surgery being in a manner extinct in
his time, the same historian supposes that he lived long
after Avicenna; as in the time of the latter, surgery was
in good repute. Albucasis, however, revived it, and is
the only one among the ancients who has described the
instruments in each operation, and explained the use of
them; and the figures of these instruments are in both the
Arabic manuscripts now in the Bodleian library (Marsh, N 54, and Huntington, N 156.) The use of the cautery
was very common with him, and he appears to have ventured upon incisions of the most hazardous kind. In Dr.
Freind’s history is a very elaborate analysis of his works
and practice. His works, collected under the title of
“Al-Tacrif,
” or the method of practice, have been translated and often printed in Latin, Venice, 1500, and 1520,
folio; Augsburgh, 1519; Strasburgh, 1532; and Basil,
1541.
oor man who had died of a sickness which might have been cured had he communicated his secret to the surgeon who took care of him, he was touched with such a remorse of
, a Piedmontese, the reputed author of a book
of “Secrets,
” which was printed at Basil
on account of his learning, and some portion of the spirit of literary research. He was the son of a surgeon, but became a great favourite in the courts of Charles IX. of
lived in the latter end of the
sixteenth, and beginning of the seventeenth centuries, and
acquired in his own time considerable fame upon account
of his learning, and some portion of the spirit of literary
research. He was the son of a surgeon, but became a
great favourite in the courts of Charles IX. of France, and
his brother Henry III. and was gradually advanced to offices of high trust in the state. From his childhood, he
said, he had been always fond of looking into old libraries,
and turning over dusty manuscripts. In some of these researches he laid his hands on the letters of Abelard and
Heloise, which he read with much pleasure, and was induced to pursue his inquiries. He found other works of
the same author; but they were ill-written, and not to be
unravelled without great labour, yet nothing can withstand
the indefatigable toil of a true antiquary. Amboise procured other manuscripts; collated them together, and
finally produced one fair copy, which made ample compensation, he says, for all the labour he had endured.
Even posterity, he thinks, will be grateful to him, and
know how to value the pleasure and the profit, they will
derive from his researches. Not satisfied, however, with
the copy he possessed, he still wished to enlarge it. He
applied to different monasteries, and he again searched the
libraries in Paris, and not without success. His friends
applauded his zeal, and gave him their assistance. His
manuscripts swelled to a large bulk, and he read, arranged,
and selected what pleased him best. The rising sun, he
says, often found him at his task. So far fortune had
smiled upon his labours, but somewhat was wanting to give
them the last finish. He went over to the Paraclet, where the
abbess, Madame de Rochefoucauld, received him with the
greatest politeness. He declared the motive of his journey;
she took him by the hand, and led him to the tomb of
Abelard and Heloise. Together they examined the library
of the abbey, and she shewed him many hymns, and
prayers, and homilies, written by their founder, which were
still used in their church. Amboise then returned to Paris,
and prepared his work for the press. As the reputation of
his author, he knew, had been much aspersed by some
contemporary writers, he wished to remove the undeserved
stigma, and to present him as immaculate as might be, before the eyes of a more discerning age. With this view
he wrote a long “Apologetic preface,
” which he meant
should be prefixed to the work. In this preface, an inelegant and affected composition, he labours much to shew
that Abelard was the greatest and best man, and Heloise
the greatest and best woman, whom the annals of human
kind had recorded. He first, very fairly, brings the testimony of those, who had spoken evil of them, whom he endeavours to combat and refute. To these succeeds a list
of their admirers. He dwells on their every word, and
gives more weight to their expressions, and the result is
what we might expect from the pen of Amboise. The compilation, however, although unsuccessful in its main design, contains. some curious matter, and may be read with,
pleasure. But he did not live to see it published, for it was
not printed till the year 1616. He died before this, but
the exact time is not known. The editor of the Dictiounaire Historique places his death in 1620, which must be a
mistake. His works are, 1. “Notable Discours, en forme
de dialogue, touchant la vraie et parfaicte amitie,
” translated from the Italian of Piccolomini, Lyons, 1577, 16mo.
2. “Dialogue et Devis des Damoiselles, pour les rendre
vertueuses et bienheureuses en la vraye et parfaicte amitie.
”
Paris, Regrets facetieux et
plaisantes Harangues funebres sur la mort de divers animaulx,
” from the Italian of Ortensio Lando, Paris, Les Neapolitaines,
” a French comedy,
Paris, Desesperades, ou Eglogues amourouses,
” Paris, Holophernes,
” printed at Paris,
t right of inspecting the practice of surgery, which they had always enjoyed, and made a law that no surgeon should perform the operation of lithotomy, unless in the presence
, surnamed Bois-Regard,a French
physician and medical writer, was born at Lyons in 1658,
and came to Paris without any provision, but defrayed the
expences of his philosophical studies in the college of
the Grassins by teaching a few pupils. He was at length
a professor in that college; and, in 1687, became first
known to the literary world by a translation of Pacatus’
panegyric on Theodosius the Great. Quitting theology,
however, to which he had hitherto applied, he turned to
the study of medicine, received his doctor’s degree at
Rheims, and in 1697 was admitted of the faculty at Paris.
Some share of merit, and a turn for intrigue, contributed
greatly to his success, and he became professor of the
Royal College, censor, and a contributor to the Journal
des Savants; and, although there were strong prejudices
against him on account of the manner in which he contrived
to rise; and his satirical humour, which spared neither
friend or foe, he was in 1724, chosen dean of the faculty.
His first measures in this office were entitled to praise;
convinced of the superiority of talent which the practice of
physic requires, he reserved to the faculty that right of
inspecting the practice of surgery, which they had always
enjoyed, and made a law that no surgeon should perform
the operation of lithotomy, unless in the presence of a
physician. After this he wished to domineer over the faculty itself, and endeavoured to appoint his friend Helvetius to be first physician to the king, and protector of
the faculty. But these and other ambitious attempts were
defeated in 1726, when it was decided, that all the decrees
of the faculty should be signed by a majority, and not be
liable to any alteration by the dean. After this he was
perpetually engaged in disputes with some of the members,
particularly Hecquet, Lemery, and Petit, and many abusive
pamphlets arose from these contests. Andry, however,
was not re-elected dean, and had only to comfort himself
Vy some libels against his successor Geoffroy, for which,
and his general turbulent character, cardinal* Fleury
would no longer listen to him, but took the part of the
university and the faculty. Andry died May 13, 1742,
aged eighty-four. His works were very numerous, and
many of them valuable: 1. “Traite de la generation des
Vers dans le corps de I'homme,
” Traite des Aliments;
” and by
Valisnieri, who fixed on him the nickname of Homo venniculosus, as he pretended to find worms at the bottom of
every disorder. Andry answered these attacks in a publication entitled “Eclaircissements sur le livre de generation, &c.
” 2. “Remarques de medicine sur differents
sujets, principalement sur ce qui regard e la Saignee et la
Purgation,
” Paris, Le Regime du
Careme,
” Paris, 1710, 12mo, reprinted 1713, 2 vols. and
afterwards in three, in answer to the opinions of Hecqnet.
4. “Thé de l'Europe, ou les proprietes de la veronique,
”
Paris, Examen de difFerents points
d' Anatomic, &c,
” Paris, Remarques de chemie touchant la preparation de certains remedes,
” Paris, Chimie medicale.
”
7. “Cleon a Eudoxe, touchant la pre-eminence de la
Medicine sur la Chirurgie.
” Paris, Orthopedic; ou l'art de prevenir et de corriger, dans les
enfants, les Difformites du corps,
” Paris,
er of the English nation, whose works come within the notice of Dr. Freind. It appears that he was a surgeon of great experience, and the first who is recorded as having
, an early medical writer of the English nation, whose works come within the notice of Dr.
Freind. It appears that he was a surgeon of great experience, and the first who is recorded as having become
eminent in that branch in this nation. He was many years
settled in the town of Newark, from 1348 to 1370, when
he removed to London; but the exact time of his death is
not known. Although much empiricism and superstition
appear in his practice, yet many useful observations are
to be found in his writings, and he may be classed among
those who have really improved their profession. A treatise of his on the “Fistula in Ano
” was translated and
published by John Read in De re Herbaria, Physica, et Chirurgica.
”
, a surgeon of some eminence in London, was originally a native of France,
, a surgeon of some
eminence in London, was originally a native of France,
and a member of the Academy of surgery at Paris, which
city he left about the year forty-six or seven, and came to
reside in London. Here he published several works, particujarly on Ruptures; the first was entitled “Dissertations on Ruptures,
” Plain and familiar instructions to persons afflicted
with Ruptures,
” 12mo; “Observations on Aneurism,
” Familiar instructions on the diseases of the Urethra and
Bladder,
” Dissertations on Hermaphrodites,
” A discourse on the importance of Anatomy,
” delivered
at Surgeons’ hall, Jan. 21, 1767, 4to. His principal work
appeared in 1768, entitled “Memoires de Chirurgie, avec
des remarques sur l'etat de la Medicine et de la Chirurgie
en France et en Angleterre,
” 2 vols. 4to. This is the only
work he published in French, after his coming to England
It consists of eleven memoirs, two of which are translated
from the English of Dr. Hunter’s Medical Commentaries,
on the Hernia Congenita, and a particular species of
Aneurism. He appears, as a practitioner, to have possessed
much skill, and as a writer to have been industrious in collecting information on the topics which employed his pen,
but was somewhat deficient in judgment, and not a little
credulous. So much was he attached to the ancient prejudices of his church, that he employs one of the memoirs
in these volumes on the question, whether a rupture should
incapacitate a man from performing the functions of the
Romish priesthood, which he, however, is disposed to
decide in the negative. Ie informs us in this work, that
he had studied rupture cases for the space of fifty years,
and that the same study had been cultivated in his family
for the space of 200 years. The only notice we have of
his reputation in his own country is to be found in the dis
course on Anatomy which he delivered in Surgeons’ hall.
In this he informs us that he had the honour to instruct
Adelaide of Orleans, princess of the blood, and a very
accomplished lady, in the operations of surgery.
operation. It was immediately followed by “Some observations on Dr. Baker’s Essay, by Francis Geach, surgeon at Plymouth,” 8vo, in which he endeavours to invalidate Dr.
Sir George Baker, as an author, is to be estimated rather
from the value than the'bulk of his works. His very extensive practice, while it enriched his own treasures of experience, left him little leisure for writing, and he never
went beyond the extent of a tract or dissertation. Those
he published were, 1. “De affectibus animi et morbis hide oriundis, dissertatio habita Cantabrigiae in scholis publicis, 5 kalend. Feb. 1755,
” London, Oratio ex Harveii institute, habita in theatro coll. reg. Medicorum Lond. Oct. 19, 1761. Calci orationis accedit Commentarius quidam de Joanne Caio Anatomise conditore
apud nostrates,
” 4to, ib. De Catarrho, et de Dysenteria Londinensi,
epidemicis utrisque anno 1762, libellus,
” 4to, ib. An Inquiry into the merits of a method of inoculating
the Small Pox, which is now practised in several counties
in England,
” 8vo, ib. An essay concerning the cause of the Endemial
Colic of Devonshire, which was read in the theatre of the
College of Physicians, June 29, 1767,
” printed at first for
private distribution, but afterwards inserted in the Medical
Transactions, vol. I. In this he derives the Devonshire
colic from an impregnation of lead in the making of cyder,
lead being very much used in the vessels employed in that
operation. It was immediately followed by “Some observations on Dr. Baker’s Essay, by Francis Geach, surgeon at Plymouth,
” 8vo, in which he endeavours to invalidate Dr. Baker’s theory, by proving that lead is not used
in the preparation of cyder but this pamphlet was also
immediately answered by Dr. Saunders, 8vo, and in 1769
Mr. Geach published “A Reply to Dr. Saunders’s pamphlet,
” 8vo, and was supported by the Rev. Thomas Alcock in
a pamphlet entitled, “The Endemical Colic of Devon not
caused by a solution of lead in the cyder,
” A
candid examination of what has been advanced on the Colic
of Poitouand Devonshire, by James Hardy, M.D. of Barnstaple, Devonshire,
” Opuscula.
” His
other treatises were published in the Medical Transactions,
vol. I. II. and III.
nce against him were the woman, the two men, the constable, a patient in Middlesex hospital, and the surgeon. When called upon for his defence, he read a paper which contained
After Mr. Baretti’s return to England he made several
excursions abroad. He particularly attended Dr. Johnson
and the Thrale family to Paris; and in February 1769 he
made a second tour through part of Spain, from whence
he had but just returned, when an accident happened
which hazarded his life at the time, and probably diminished, in the event, some of the estimation in which,
until then, he had been held amongst his friends. On the
6th of October, returning from the Orange coffee-house
between six and seven o'clock, and going hastily up the
Haymarket, he was accosted by a woman, who behaving
with great indecency, he was provoked to give her a blow
on the hand (as he declared) accompanied with some angry words. This occasioned a retort from her, in which
several opprobrious terms were used towards him and
three men, who appeared to be connected with the woman,
mimed lately interfering, and endeavouring to push him
from the pavement, with a view to throw him into a paddle, in order to trample on him, he was alarmed for his
safety, and rashly struck one of them with a knife. He
was then pursued by them all, and another of them collaring him, he again struck the assailant, Evan Morgan, with
his knife several times, and gave him some wounds, of
which he died in the Middlesex hospital the next day. Mr.
Baretti was immediately taken into custody, and at the
ensuing sessions tried at the Old Bailey. He refused to
accept the privilege of having a jury of half foreigners.
The, evidence against him were the woman, the two men,
the constable, a patient in Middlesex hospital, and the
surgeon. When called upon for his defence, he read a
paper which contained a narrative of the unfortunate transaction, with the reasons which obliged him to act with so
much violence. “This, my lord, and gentlemen of the
jury,
” he concluded, “is the best account I can give of
my unfortunate accident for what is done in two or three
minutes, in fear and terror, is not to be minutely described, and the court and jury are to judge. I hope
your lordship, and every person present, will think that a
man of my age, character, and way of life, would not
spontaneously quit my pen to engage in an outrageous tumult. I hope it will easily be conceived, that a man almost blind could not but be seized with terror on such a
sudden attack as this. I hope it will be seen, that my
knife was neither a weapon of offence or defence I wear
it to carve fruit and sweet-meats, and not to kill my fellowcreatures. It is a general custom in France not to put
knives upon the table, so that even ladies wear them in
their pockets for general use. I have continued to wear it
after my return, because I have found it occasionally convenient. Little did I think such an event would ever have
happened let this trial turn out as favourable as my innocence may deserve, still my regret will endure as long
as life shall last. A man who has lived full fifty years, and
spent most of that time in a studious manner, I hope, will
not be supposed to have voluntarily engaged in so desperate an affair. I beg leave, my lord and gentlemen, ta
add one thing more. Equally confident of my own innocence, and English discernment to trace out truth, I resolved to wave the privilege granted to foreigners by the
laws of this kingdom nor was my motive a compliment to
this nation my motive was my life and honour that it
should not be thought I received undeserved favour from a
jury, part my own countrymen. I chose to be tried by
a jury of this country; for, if my honour is not saved, I
cannot much wish for the preservation of my life. I will
wait for the determination of this awful court with that
confidence, I hope, which innocence has a right to obtain.
So God bless you all.
”
e, war also dean of the faculty at Paris, where he died in 1787, at the age of eighty. He was long a surgeon in the armies of Italy and Germany, and published some medical
, ancient professor and
dean of the faculty of medicine at Paris, the place of his
birth, died July 29, 1758, at about the age of 72. He had
a great share in the Pharmacopoeia of Paris, for 1732, 4to;
and in 1739, gave an academical dissertation in Latin on
chocolate, “An senibus Chocolate potas?
” which has
been often reprinted. His son, of the same name, war
also dean of the faculty at Paris, where he died in 1787, at
the age of eighty. He was long a surgeon in the armies of
Italy and Germany, and published some medical works.
There was a Theodore Baron before these, probably their
ancestor, who, in 1609, published a curious work entitled
“De operationis meiendi triplici lacsione et curatione,
” of
which Haller gives a brief analysis.
, a surgeon and anatomist of considerable reputation, was born at Bremen
, a surgeon and anatomist of considerable reputation, was born at Bremen in 1690, whence,
in 1713, he went to Halle, and studied medicine under
the ablest professors. In 1715 he removed to Strasburgh,
and afterwards to Basle, where he confined his researches
entirely to anatomy and surgery. In 1718 he took his
doctor’s degree at Halle, and some time after was appointed professor extraordinary of anatomy and surgery,
which office he held until his death, in 1754, He published: 1. “Disputatio de Fistula ani feliciter curanda,
”
Halle, Theses,
” and Macquart translated it into
French, Paris, Grundlicher Beritcht oon bandagen,
” Leipsic,
Observationes anatomico-chirurgico-medicoe,
” Halle, 1731, 8vo,
In this there are many judicious reflections and cases, accompanied by figures descriptive of some instruments of
his invention. 4. “Tractatus de morbis venereis,
” Leipsic, Notes on the Surgery of Nuck,
” Halle,
agonies. It is said that at first, and for some time, he refused to submit to the operations of the surgeon, declaring in his tortures, that there was no marrow in the
, a distinguished wit, and Latin
poet, was descended of an ancient family, and was born at
Howthorpe, a small hamlet in Northamptonshire, in the parish of Thedingworth, near Market-Harborough in Leicestershire, in 1620. He received the first part of his education at the free-school in Coventry, where his father
seems to have resided in the latter part of his life. His
mother was Elizabeth Villiers, daughter and coheir of Edward Villiers, esq. of the same place. They had issue
thirteen sons, and four daughters. Six of the sons lost
their lives in the service of king Charles I. during the grand
rebellion: the rest, besides one who died young, were
Ralph (of whom we now treat), Villiers, Edward, Moses,
Henry, and Benjamin, father of the late earl Bathurst, the
subject of the preceding article. At Coventry school our
author made so quick a progress in the classics, that at the
age of fourteen he was sent to Oxford, and entered October 10, 1634, in Gloucester hall, now Worcester college;
but was removed in a few days to Trinity college, and probably placed under the immediate tuition of his grandfather Dr. Kettel, then president, in whose lodging he
resided (still known by the name of Kettel-hall), and at
whose table he had his diet, for two years. He was elected
scholar of the house, June 5., 1637, and having taken the
degree of A. B. January 27th following, he was appointed
fellow June 4, 1640. He commenced A. M.April 17, 1641,
and on March 2, 1644, conformably to the statutes of his
college, he was ordained priest by Robert Skinner, bishop
of Oxford, and read some theological lectures in the college hall in 1649. These, which he called “Diatribae
theologicEc, philosophies, et philological,
” are said to discover a spirit of theological research, and an extensive
knowledge of the writings of the most learned divines. He
likewise kept his exercise for the degree of B. D. but did
not take it. The confusion of the times promising little
support or encouragement to the ministerial function, like
his friend, the famous Dr. Willis, he applied himself to
the study of physic, and accumulated the degrees in that
faculty, June 21, 1654. Before this time he had sufficiently recommended himself in his new profession, and
had not been long engaged in it, when he was employed
as physician to the sick and wounded of the navy, which
office he executed with equal diligence and dexterity, to
the full satisfaction of the sea-commanders, and the commissioners of the admiralty. We find him soon after settled at Oxford, and practising physic in concert with his
friend Dr. Willis, with whom he regularly attended Abingdon market every Monday. He likewise cultivated every
branch of philosophical knowledge: he attended the lectures of Peter Sthael, a chymist and rosicrucian, who had
been invited to Oxford by Mr. R. Boyle, and was afterwards operator to the royal society about 1662. About the
same time he had also a share in the foundation of that society; and when it was established, he was elected fellow,
and admitted August 19, 1663. While this society was at
Gresham college in London, a branch of it was continued
at Oxford, and the original society books of this Oxford
department are still preserved there in the Ashmolean Museum, where their assemblies were held. Their latter Oxford meetings were subject to regulations made among
themselves; according to which Dr. Bathurst was elected
president April 23, 1688, having been before nominated
one of the members for drawing up articles, February
29, 1683-4. Nor was he less admired as a classical scholar;
at the university a.cts, in the collections of Oxford verses,
and on every public occasion, when the ingenious were
invited to a rival display of their abilities, he appears to
have been one of the principal and most popular performers. Upon the publication of Hobbes’s treatise of “Human Nature,
” &c. Splendid Shilling
” was a piece of solemn ridicule suited to his
taste. Among his harmless whims, he delighted to surprize the scholars, when walking in the grove at unseasonable hours; on which occasions he frequently carried a
whip in his hand, an instrument of academical correction,
then not entirely laid aside. But this he practised, on account of the pleasure he took in giving so odd an alarm,
rather than from any principle of reproving, or intention
of applying an illiberal punishment. In Latin poetry, Ovid
was his favourite classic. One of his pupils having asked
him what book among all others he chose to recommend
he answered, “Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
” The pupil, in
consequence of this advice, having carefully perused the
Metamorphoses, desired to be informed what other proper
book it wouldbe necessary to read after Ovid, and Dr.
Bathurst advised him to read “Ovid’s Metamorphoses
” a
second time. He had so mean an opinion of his performances in divinity, that in his will he enjoins his executors
entirely to suppress all his papers relating to that subject,
and not to permit them to be perused by any, excepting
a very few such friends as were likely to read them with
candour. We are told, however, that on Sunday, March
20, 1680, he preached before the house of commons at St.
Mary’s, the university church, and gave much satisfaction.
His manner was nearly that of Dr. South, but with more
elegance and felicity of allusion. His Life, written by
Mr. Thomas Warton, is perhaps one of the most correct
of that author’s performances, and contains Dr. Bathurst’s
miscellaneous works, which, though they have great merit
in their particular way, and may be read with much pleasure, are not written in such a taste as entitles them to
imitation. This is acknowledged by Mr. Warton. “His
Latin orations,
” says that ingenious Biographer, “are wonderful specimens of wit and antithesis, which were the delight of his age. They want upon the whole the purity
and simplicity of Tully’s eloquence, but even exceed the
sententious smartness of Seneca, and the surprising turns
of Pliny. They are perpetually spirited, and discover an
uncommon quickness of thought. His manner is concise
and abrupt, but yet perspicuous and easy. His allusions
are delicate, and his observations sensible and animated.
His sentiments of congratulation or indignation are equally
forcible: his compliments are most elegantly turned, and
his satire is most ingeniously severe. These compositions
are extremely agreeable to read, but in the present improwriiient of classical taste, not so proper to be imitated.
They are moreover entertaining, as a picture of the times,
and a history of the state of academical literature. This
smartness does not desert our author even on philosophical
subjects.
” Among Dr. Bathurst’s Oratiuncuhe, his address to the convocation, about forming the barbers of Oxford into a company, is a most admirable specimen of his
humour, and of that facetious invention, with which few
vice-chancellors would have ventured to enforce and
eiiliven such a subject. We doubt, indeed, whether a parallel to this exquisite piece of humour can be found. With
regard to the doctor’s Latin poetry, though his hexameters
have an admirable facility, an harmonious versification,
much terseness and happiness of expression, and a certain
original air, they will be thought, nevertheless, too pointed
and ingenious by the lovers of Virgil’s simple beauties.
The two poems which he hath left in iambics make it to
be wished tiiat he had written more in that measure. “That
pregnant brevity,
” says Mr. Warton, “/which constitutes
the dignity and energy of the iambic, seems to have been
his talent.
” Dr. Bathurst’s English poetry has that roughness of versification which was, in a great degree, the fault
of the times.
lady sold her father’s house and estate at Marlow, called Court garden, to Mr. Davenport, an eminent surgeon of London. The second was married to Jonathan Rashleigh, esq.
In April 1764, he resigned the office of physician to
St. Luke’s hospital. In 1767, when disputesran very high
between the college of physicians and the licentiates,
Dr. Battie wrote several letters in the public papers, in
vindication of the college. In 1776, he was seized with a
paralytic stroke, which proved fatal, June 13, in his 72d
year. The night he expired, conversing with his servant, a
lad who attended on him as a nurse, he said to him, “Young
man, you have heard, no doubt, how great are the terrors
of death. This night will probably afford you some experience; but may you learn, and may you profit by the
example, that a conscientious endeavour to perform his
duty through life, will ever close a Christian’s eyes with
comfort and tranquillity.
” He soon after departed, without a struggle or a groan, and was buried by his own direction, at Kingston-upon-Thames, “as near as possible
to his wife, without any monument or memorial whatever.
”
He left three daughters, Anne, Catherine, and Philadelphia,
of whom the eldest was married to sir George Young (a gallant English admiral who died in 1810.) This lady sold her
father’s house and estate at Marlow, called Court garden,
to Mr. Davenport, an eminent surgeon of London. The
second was married to Jonathan Rashleigh, esq. and the
third to John, afterwards sir John Call, bart. in the hon.
East India company’s service. Dr. Battie gave by his will
100l. to St. Luke’s hospital; 100l. to the corporation for
the relief of widows and children of clergymen, and twenty
guineas to earl Camden, as a token of regard for his many
public and private virtues. His books and papers, whether published or not, he gave to his daughter Anne.
Among these was a tract on the meaning of 1 Cor. xv. 22,
and some others which were printed before his death, but
not published, nor have we seen a copy.
nd educated in the profession of medicine and surgery. In his eighteenth year he began practice as a surgeon, and acquired such reputation as to be frequently consulted
, the first of a family of men of learning and fame, was born at Amiens, Aug. 24, 1511, and educated in the profession of medicine and surgery. In his eighteenth year he began practice as a surgeon, and acquired such reputation as to be frequently consulted by persons of the first rank; and queen Catherine of Navarre bestowed on him the title of her physician. His connections with the ct new heretics," as Moreri calls the Protestants, induced him to adopt their opinions. In 1532 he went to England, we are not told why, and practised there, for three years, after which he returned to Paris, and married; but having avowed his principles with boldness, and afforded assistance and protection to those of the reformed religion, he was thrown into prison in the reign of Francis I. and condemned to be burnt; but queen Margaret, who was sister to that prince, obtained his pardon and release, and appointed him her physician and surgeon in ordinary. Some time after, not thinking himself secure, even under her protection, he went to Antwerp and practised medicine, but even here the dread of the Spanish inquisition obliged him to retire to Germany, and at length he obtained an asylum at Basil, and for some time was corrector of the Froben press. He then resumed his profession, and was made assessor, and afterwards dean of the faculty. He died in 1582, leaving two sons, the subjects of the following articles.
ent of horse, in which he served some years, and made an acquaintance with one Pauloni, an empirical surgeon, who had acquired a name for lithotomy. After having taken lessons
, a celebrated lithotomist, was born in 1651, in a village of the bailiwick of
Lons-le-Saunier in Tranche Cornte, of very poor parents.
He quitted them early in life, in order to enter into a regiment of horse, in which he served some years, and made
an acquaintance with one Pauloni, an empirical surgeon,
who had acquired a name for lithotomy. After having
taken lessons under this person for five or six years, he repaired to Provence. There he put on a kind of monastic
habit, but unlike any worn by the several orders of monks,
and was ever afterwards known only by the name of friar
James. In this garb he went to Languedoc, then to Roussiilon, and from thence through the different provinces of
France. He at length appeared at Paris, but soon quitted
it for his more extensive perambulations. He was seen at
Geneva, at Aix-la-Chapelle, at Amsterdam, and practised
everywhere. His success was various, but his method was
not uniform, and anatomy was utterly unknown to this bold
operator. He refused to take any care of his patients after the operation, saying, “I have extracted the stone;
God will heal the wound.
” Being afterwards taught by
experience that dressings and regimen were necessary, his
treatments were constantly more successful. He was indisputably the inventor of the lateral operation. His method was to introduce a sound through the urethra into the
bladder with a straight history, cut upon the staff, and then
he carried his incision along the staff into the bladder.
He then introduced the forefinger of the left hand into the
bladder, searched for the stone, which, having withdrawn
the sound, he extracted by means of forceps. Professor
Rau of Holland improved upon this method, which afterwards suggested to our countryman, Cheselden, the lateral
operation, as now, with a few alterations, very generally
practised. In gratitude for the numerous cures this operator had performed in Amsterdam, the magistracy of that
city caused his portrait to be engraved, and a medal to be
struck, bearing for impress his bust. After having appeared
at the court of Vienna and at that of Rome, he made
choice of a retreat near Besan^on, where he died in 1720,
at the age of sixty -nine. The history of this hermit was
written by M. Vacher, surgeon-major of the king’s armies,
and printed at Besan^on, in 1757, 12mo.
his practice soon became extensive; and in 1736 he succeeded his fellow-apprentice Mr. Craddock, as surgeon to Guy’s hospital. In this situation, which afforded such ample
, was born in the year 1706, at
Kingston in Surrey. He received his education at Eton;
and discovering an inclination for surgery, was bound apprentice to Mr. Cheselden, by far the most eminent man
of his profession. Under this great master, who used to
say, that of all the apprentices he ever had Mr. Belchier
was the most industrious and assiduous, he soon became an
accurate anatomist. His preparations were esteemed next
to' Dr. NichohVs, and allowed to exceed all others of that
time. Thus qualified, his practice soon became extensive;
and in 1736 he succeeded his fellow-apprentice Mr. Craddock, as surgeon to Guy’s hospital. In this situation, which
afforded such ample opportunity of displaying his abilities,
he, by his remarkably tender and kind attention to his
pauper patients, became as eminent for his humanity as
his superior skill in his profession. Like his master Cheselden, he was very reluctant before an operation, yet quite
as successful as that great operator. He was particularly expert in the reduction of the humerus; which, though a very
simple operation, is frequently productive of great trouble
to the surgeon, as well as excruciating pain to the patient.
Being elected fellow of the royal society, he communicated to that learned body several curious cases that
fell within his cognizance; particularly a remarkable case
of an hydrops ovarii, published in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 423; an account of the miller whose arm was
torn off by a mill, August 15, 1737, No. 449; and a remarkable instance of the bones of animals being turned red by aliment only, No. 442. The greatest discoveries frequently
are owing to trifling and accidental causes. Such was the
ease in the last-mentioned circumstance, Mr. Belchier
being led to make his inquiries on that subject, by the bone
of a boiled leg of pork being discovered to be perfectly red,
though the meat was well-flavoured, and of the usual colour.
On his resignation as surgeon of Guy’s, he was made governor both of that and St. Thomas’s hospital, to which he
was particularly serviceable, having recommended not less
than 140 governors. Mr. Belchier in private life was a
man of strict integrity, warm and zealous in his attachments, sparing neither labour nor time to serve those for
whom he professed a friendship. Of this he gave a strong
proof, in becoming himself a governor of the London hospital, purposely to serve a gentleman who had been his
pupil. Indeed, he on every occasion was particularly desirous of serving those who had been under his care. A
man of such a disposition could not fail of being caressed
and beloved by all that really knew him. In convervation
he was entertaining, and remarkable for bons mots, which
he uttered with a dry laconic bluntness peculiar to himself;
yet under this rough exterior he was possessed of a feeling
and compassionate heart. Of the latter, his constantly
sending a plate of victuals every day, during his confinement, to a man, who, having gained admittance to him, presented a pistol with an intent to rob him, and whom he
seized and secured, is an unquestionable proof, as well as
of his personal courage. Such were his gratitude and
friendship too for those of his acquaintance, that on several sheets he has mentioned their names with some legacy as a token of remembrance, as medals, pictures,
books, &c. trinkets and preparations, and on another paper
says he could not do more, having a family of children.
Whenever he spoke of Mr. Guy, the founder of the hospital, it was in a strain of enthusiasm, which he even carried
so far as to saint him. A gentleman having on one of those
occasions begged leave to relnark, that he had never before
heard of St. Guy, Mr. Belchier, in his sentimental way, replied, “No, sir: perhaps you may not find his name in
'the calendar, but give me leave to tell you, that he has a
better title to canonization than nine-tenths of those whose
names are there; some of them may, perhaps, have given
sight to the blind, or enabled the lame to walk; but can you
quote me an instance of one of them bestowing one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling for the purpose of
relieving his fellow creatures?
” Mr. Belchier was a great
admirer of the fine arts, and lived in habits of intimacy
with the principal artists of his time. He enjoyed a great
share of health, though far advanced in years. A friend
of his being some time since attacked with epileptic fits, he
exclaimed, “I am extremely sorry for him, but when I
fall I hope it will be to rise no more;
” and he succeeded
in a great measure in his wish, for being taken with a shivering fit at Batson’s coffee-house, he returned home and
went to bed. The next day he thought himself better,
got up, and attempted to come down stairs, but complained
to those who were assisting him, that they hurried him, and
immediately alter exclaiming, “It is all over!
” fell back
and expired. His body was interred in the chapel at Guy’s
hospiial. He died in 1785.
, a French surgeon, was born at Paris in 1654, and after studying medicine and
, a French surgeon, was born at Paris in 1654, and after studying medicine and surgery, became surgeon-major to the French
army in Italy, and afterwards first surgeon to the duchess
dowager of Savoy. His practice was extensive and successful, and he had also cultivated polite literature with
considerable enthusiasm. He is now, however, principally
known by a work, which was long very popular, under the
title of“Le Chirurgien de l'hospital,
” Paris, Hospital Surgeon.
”
broken to pieces by a chain-shot. In this condition he was carried down to be dressed, and while the surgeon was at work, one of his lieutenants expressed great sorrow for
Rear-admiral Benbow sailed in the month of November
1698, and did not arrive in the West Indies till the Feb.
following, where he found that most of our colonies were
in a bad condition, many of them engaged in warm disputes
with their governors, the forces that should have been kept
up in them for their defence so reduced by sickness, desertion, and other accidents, that little or nothing was to
be expected from them; but the admiral carried with him
colonel Collingwood’s regiment, which he disposed of to
the best advantage in the Leeward Islands. This part of
his charge being executed, he began to think of performing the other part of his commission, and of looking into
the state of the Spanish affairs, as it had been recommended to him by the king; and a proper occasion of doing this
very speedily offered, for, being informed that the Spaniards at Carthagena had seized two of our ships, with an
intent to employ them in an expedition they were then
meditating against the Scots at Darien, he resolved to restore those ships to their right owners. With this view he
stood over to the Spanish coast, and coming before Boccacbica castle, he sent his men ashore for wood and water,
which, though he asked with great civility of the Spanish
governor, he would scarcely permit him to take. This
highly incensed the admiral, who sent his own lieutenant
to the governor, with a message, importing that he not
only wanted those necessaries, but that he came likewise
for the English ships that lay in the harbour, and had been
detained there for some time, which, if not sent to him immediately, he would come and take by force. The governor answered him in very respectful terms, that if he would
leave his present station, in which he seemed to block up
their port, the ships would be sent out to him. With this
request the admiral complied, but finding the governor
trifled with him, and that his men were in danger of falling
into the country distemper, he sent him another message,
that if in twenty-four hours the ships were not sent him, he
would have an opportunity of seeing the regard an English
officer had to his word. The Spaniards immediately sent
out the ships, with which the admiral returned to Jamaica.
There he received an account, that the Spaniards at PortoBello had seized several of our ships employed in the slavetrade, on the old pretence, that the settlement at Darien
was a breach of peace. At the desire of the parties concerned, the admiral sailed thither also, and demanded these
ships, but received a rude answer from the admiral of the
Barlovento fleet, who happened to be then at Porto-Bello.
Rear-admiral Benbow expostulated with him, insisting, that
as the subjects of the crown of England had never injured
those of his Catholic majesty, he ought not to make prize
of their ships for injuries done by another nation. The
Spaniards replied shrewdly, that since both crowns stood on
the same head, it wa; no wonder that he took the subjects
of the one crown for the other. After many altercations,
however, and when the Spaniards saw the colony at Darien
received no assistance from Jamaica, the ships were restored. On his return to Jamaica, towards the latter end
of the year, he received a supply of provisions from England, and, soon after, orders to return home, which he did
with six men of war, taking New England in his way, and
arrived safe, bringing with him from the Plantations sufficient testimonies of his having discharged his duty, which
secured him from all danger of censure; for, though the
house of commons expressed very high resentment at some
circumstances that attended the sending this fleet, the
greatest compliments were paid to his courage, capacity,
and integrity, by all parties; and the king, as a signal mark
of his kind acceptance of his services, granted him an
augmentation of arms, which consisted in adding to the
three bent bows he already bore, as many arrows. His majesty also consulted him as much or more than any man of
his rank, and yet without making the admiral himself vain,
or exposing him in any degree to the dislike of the ministers.
When the new war broke out, his majesty’s first care was to
put his fleet into the best order possible, and to distribute
the commands therein to officers that he could depend
upon, and to this it was that Mr. Benbow owed his being
promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue. He was
at that time cruising off Dunkirk, in order to prevent an
invasion; but admiral Benbow having satisfied the ministry
that there was no danger on this side, it was resolved to
send immediately a strong squadron to the West Indies,
consisting of two third-rates and eight fourths, under the
command of au officer, whose courage and conduct might
be relied on. Mr. Benbow was thought on by the ministry,
as soon as the expedition was determined, but the king
would not hear of it. He said that Benbow was in a manner just come home from thence, where he had met with
nothing but difficulties, and therefore it was but fit some
other officer should take his turn. One or two were named
and consulted; but either their health or their affairs were
in such disorder, that they mo^t earnestly desired to be
excused. Upon which the king said merrily to some of
his ministers, alluding to the dress and appearance of these
gentlemen, “Well then, I find we must spare our Beans,
and send honest Benbow
” His Majesty accordingly sent
for him upon this occasion, and asked him whether he was
willing to go to the West Indies, assuring him, that if he
was not, he would not take it at all amiss if he desired to be
excused. Mr. Benbow answered bluntly, that he did not understand such compliments, that bethought he had no right
to druse his station, and that if his majesty thought fit to send
him to the East or West Indies, or any where else, he would
cheerfully execute his orders as became him. To conceal,
however, the design of this squadron, and its force, sir
George Rooke, then admiral of the fleet, had orders to
convoy it as far as the Isles of Scilly, and to send a strong
squadron with it thence, to see it well into the sea, aH which
he punctually performed. It is certain that king William
formed great hopes of this expedition, knowing well that
Mr. Benbow would execute, with the greatest spirit and
punctuality, the instructions he had received, which were,
to engage the Spanish governors, if possible, to disown
ling Philip, or in case that could not be brought about, to
make himself master of the galleons. In this design it is
plain that the admiral would have succeeded, notwithstanding the smallness of his force; and it is no less certain, that the anxiety the vice-admiral was under about
the execution oi his orders, was the principal reason for
his maintaining so strict a discipline, which proved unluckily the occasion of his coming to an untimely end.
The French, who had the same reasons that we had to be
very attentive to what passed in the West Indies, prosecuted their designs with great wisdom and circumspection,
sending a force much superior to ours, which, however,
would have availed them little, if admiral Benbow’s officers hatl done their duty. Bis squadron, consisting of
two third and eight fourth rates, arrived at Barbadoes on
the 3d of November, 1701, from whence he sailed to
the Leeward Islands, in order to examine the state of the
French colonies and our own. He found the former in
some confusion, and the latter in so good a situation, that
he thought he ran no hazard in leaving them to go to Jamaica, where, when he arrived, his fleet was in so good a
condition, the admiral, officers, and seamen being most of
them used to the climate, that he had not occasion to send
above ten men to the hospital, which was looked upon as a
very extraordinary thing. There he received advice of two
French squadrons being arrived in the West Indies, which
alarmed the inhabitants of that island and of Barbadoes very
much. After taking 'care, as far as his strength would permit, of both places, he formed a design of attacking Petit
Guavas; but before he could execute it, he had intelligence that Monsieur du Casse was in the neighbourhood of
Hispaniola, with a squadron of French ships, in order to
settle the Assiento in favour of the French, and to destroy
the English and Dutch trade for negroes. Upon this he
detached rear-admiral Whetstone in pursuit of him, and on
the 11 th of July, 1702, he sailed from Jamaica, in order to
have joined the rear-admiral; but having intelligence that
du Casse was expected at Leogane, on the north side of Hispaniola, he plied for that port, before which he arrived on
the 27th. Not far from the town he perceived several
ships at anchor, and one under sail, who sent out her boat
to discover his strength, which coming too near was taken;
from the crew of which they learned that there were six
merchant ships in the port, and that the ship they belonged
to was a man of war of fifty guns, which the admiral pressed
so hard, that the captain seeing no probability of escaping,
ran the ship on shore and blew her up. On the 28th the
admiral came before the town, where he found a ship of
about eighteen gnns hauled under the fortifications, which,
however, did not hinder his burning her. The rest of the
ships had sailed before day, in order to get into a better
harbour, viz. Cui de Sac. But some of our ships between
them and that port, took three of them, and sunk a fourth.
The admiral, after alarming Petit Guavas, which he found
it impossible to attack, sailed for Donna Maria Bay, where
he continued till the 10th of August, when, having received
advice that Monsieur du Casse was sailed for Carthagena,
and from thence was to sail to Porto Bello, he resolved to
follow him, and accordingly sailed that day for the Spanish
coast of Santa Martha. On the 19th of August, in the afternoon, he discovered ten sail near that place, steering
westward along the shore, under their topsails, four of them
from sixty to seventy guns, one a great Dutch-built ship of
about thirty or forty, another full of soldiers, three small
vessels, and a sloop. The vice-admiral coming up with
them, about four the engagement began. He had disposed
his line of battle in the following manner: viz. th^ Defiance, Pendennis, Windsor, Breda, Greenwich, Ruby, and
Falmouth. But two of these ships, the Defiance and
Windsor, did not stand above two or three broadsides before they loofed out of gun-shot, so that the two ster.imost
ships of the enemy lay on the admiral, and galled him very
much; nor did the ships in the rear come up to his assistance with the diligence they ought to have done. The
fight, however, lasted till dark, and though the firing then
ceased, the vice-admiral kept them company all night.
The next morning, at break of day, he was near the French
ships, but none of his squadron except the Ruby was with
him, the rest being three, four, or five miles a-stern. Notwithstanding this, the French did not fire a gun at the
vice-admiral, though he was within their reach. At two in
the afternoon the French drew into a line, though at the
same time they made what sail they could without fighting.
However, the vice-admiral and the Ruby kept them company all night, plying their chase-guns. Thus the viceadmiral continued pursuing, and at some times skirmishing
with the enemy, for four days more, but was never duly
seconded by several of the ships of his squadron. The
23d, about noon, the admiral took from them a small English ship, called the Anne Galley, which they had taken off
Lisbon, and the Ruby being disabled, he ordered her to
Port Royal. About eight at night the whole squadron was
up with the vice-admiral, and the enemy not two miles off.
There was now a prospect of doing something, and the
vice-admiral made the best of his way after them, but his
whole squadron, except the Falmouth, fell astern again.
At two in the morning, the 24th, the vice-admiral came up
with the enemy’s stern most ship, and fired his broadside,
which was returned by the French ship very briskly, and
about three the vice-admiral’s right leg was broken to
pieces by a chain-shot. In this condition he was carried
down to be dressed, and while the surgeon was at work, one
of his lieutenants expressed great sorrow for the loss of
his leg, upon which the admiral said to him, “I am sorry
for it too, but I had rather have lost them both, than have
seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation.
But, do ye hear, if another shot should take me off, behave
like brave men, and fight it out.
” As soon as it was practicable, he caused himself to be carried up, and placed,
with his cradle, upon the quarter-deck, and continued the
fight till day. They then discovered the ruins of one of
the enemy’s ships, that carried seventy guns, her main-yard
down and shot to pieces, her fore top-sail yard shot away,
her mizen-mast shot by the board, all her rigging gone,
and her sides tore to pieces. The admiral, soon after, discovered the enemy standing towards him with a strong gale
of wind. The Windsor, Pendennis, and Greenwich, ahead of the enemy, came to the leeward of the disabled
ship, fired their broadsides, passed her, and stood to the
southward. Then came the Defiance, fired part of her
broadside, when the disabled ship returning about twenty
guns, the Defiance put her helm a-weather, and run away
right before the wind, lowered both her top-sails, and ran.
in to the leeward of the Fahnouth, without any regard to
the signal of battle. The enemy seeing the other two
ships stand to the southward, expected they would have
tacked and stood towards them, and therefore they brought
their heads to the northward; but when they saw those
ships did not tack, they immediately bore down upon the
admiral, and ran between their disabled ship and him, and
poured in all their shot, by which they brought down his
main top-sail yard, and shattered his rigging very much,
none of the other ships being near him or taking the least
notice of his signals, though captain Fogg ordered two
guns to be fired at the ship’s head, in order to put them in
mind of their duty. The French, seeing things in this
condition, brought to, and lay by their own disabled ship,
remanned, and took her into tow. The Breda’s rigging
being much shattered, she was forced to lie by till ten
o'clock, and being then refitted, the admiral ordered the
captain to pursue the enemy, then about three miles to the
leeward, his line of battle signal out all the while; and
captain Fogg, by the admiral’s orders, sent to the other
captains, to order them to keep the line and behave like
men. Upon this captain Kirkby came on board the admiral, and told him, “He had better desist, that the French
were very strong, and that from what had passed he might
guess he could make nothing of it.
” The brave admiral
Benbow, more surprised at this language than at all that
had hitherto happened, said very calmly, that this was but
one man’s opinion, and therefore made a signal for the rest
of the captains to come on board, which they did in obedience to his orders; but when they came, they fell too
easily into captain Kirkby’s sentiments, and, in conjunction
with him, signed a paper, importing, that, as he had before
told the admiral, there was nothing more to be done; though
at this very time they had the fairest opportunity imaginable of taking or destroying the enemy’s whole squadron;
for ours consisted then of one ship of seventy guns, one of
sixty-four, one of sixty, and three of fifty, their yards,
masts, and in general all their tackle, in as good condition
as could be expected, the admiral’s own ship excep-ted, in
which their loss was considerable; but in the rest they had
eight only killed and wounded, nor were they in any want
of ammunition necessary to continue the fight. The enemy, on the other hand, had but four ships of between sixty
and seventy guns, one of which was entirely disabled and in
low, and all the rest very roughly handled; so that even
now, if these officers had done their duty, it is morally certain they might have taken them all. But vice-admiral
Benbow, seeing himself absolutely without support (his own captain having signed the paper before mentioned)
determined to give over the fight, and to return to Jamaica,
though he could not help declaring openly, that it was
against his own sentiments, in prejudice to the public service, and the greatest dishonour that had ever befallen the
English navy. The French, glad of their escape, continued
their course towards the Spanish coasts, and the English
squadron soon arrived safe in Port-Royal harbour, where,
as soon as the vice-admiral came on shore, he ordered the
officers who had so scandalously misbehaved, to be brought
out of their ships and confined, and immediately after directed a commission to rear-admiral Whetstone to hold a
court-martial for their trial, which was accordingly done,
and upon the fullest and clearest evidence that could be
desired, some of the most guilty were condemned, and suffered death according to their deserts. Although now so
far recovered from the fever induced by his broken leg,
as to be able to attend the trials of the captains who deserted him, and thereby vindicate his own honour, and that of
the nation, yet he still continued in si declining way,
occasioned partly by the heat of the climate, but chiefly from
that grief which this miscarriage occasioned, as appeared
by his letters to his lady, in which he expressed much more
concern for the condition in which he was like to leave the
public affairs in the West Indies, than for his own. During all the time of his illness, he behaved with great calmness and presence of mind, having never flattered himself,
from the time his leg was cut off, with any hopes of recovery? but shewed an earnest desire to be as useful as he
could while he was yet living, giving the necessary directions for stationing the ships of his squadron, for protecting commerce, and incommoding the enemy. He continued
thus doing his duty to the last moment of his life. His
spirits did not fail him until very near his end, and he preserved his senses to the day he expired, Nov. 4, 1702. He
left several sons and daughters; but his sons dying without
issue, his two surviving daughters became coheiresses, and
the eldest married Paul Calton, esq. of Milton near Abington in Berkshire, who contributed much of the admiral’s
memoirs to the Biographia Britannica. One of his sons,
John, was brought up to the sea, but in the year his father
died was shipwrecked on the coast of Madagascar, where,
after many dangerous adventures, he was reduced to live
with, and in manner of the natives, for many years, and at
last, when he least expected it, he was taken on board by a
Dutch captain, out of respect to the memory of his father,
and brought safe to England, when his relations thought
him long since dead. He was a young gentleman naturally
of a very brisk and lively temper, but by a long series of
untoward events, his disposition was so far altered that he
appeared very serious or melancholy, and did not much affect speaking, except amongst a few intimate friends. But
the noise of his remaining so long, and in such a condition,
upon the island of Madagascar, induced many to visit him;
for though naturally taciturn, he was very communicative
on that subject, although very few particulars relating to it
can now be recovered. It was supposed by Dr. Campbell,
jn his life of the admiral, that some information might have
been derived from a large work which Mr. John Benbow
composed on the history of Madagascar, but it appears from
a letter in the Gent. Mag. vol. XXXIX. p. 172, that this
was little more than a seaman’s journal, the loss of which
may perhaps be supplied by Drury’s description of Madagascar, one of the fellow-sufferers with Mr. Benbow, of
which work a new edition was published a few years ago,
Mr. Benbow’s ms. was accidentally burnt by a fire which
took place in the house, or lodgings, of his brother William,
a clerk in the Navy office, who died in 1729. The whole
family is now believed to be extinct, and a great part of the
admiral’s fortune is said to remain in the bank of England,
in the name of trustees, among the unclaimed dividends.
One William Briscoe, a hatter, and a member of the corporation of Shrewsbury, who was living in 1748, was supposed
to be his representative, but was unable to substantiate his
pretensions.
itory of Verona. When he had completed his studies, he went to Greece and the isle of Candy, as army surgeon, and on his return, he was made professor of medicine at Padua,
, or Benedetti, a very
eminent physician and medical writer of the fifteenth century, was born at Legnano in the territory of Verona.
When he had completed his studies, he went to Greece
and the isle of Candy, as army surgeon, and on his return,
he was made professor of medicine at Padua, where he remained until 1495, when he settled at Venice. The time
of his death is not ascertained, but it appears that he was
alive in 1511. Haller mentions him as at the head of the
original medical writers, and says his style was far preferable to that of his predecessors. His works are, 1. “De
observatione in Pestilentia,
” Venice, 1493, 4to, Bonon,
1516, fol. Basil, 1538, 8vo, &c. 2. “Collectiones medicinæ, sive, aphorismi de medici et ægri officio,
” Leyden,
Anatomiae, sive de historia corporis humani,
lib. v.
” Venice, De omnium
a capite ad calcem morborum causis, signis, differentiis,
indicationibus, et remediis, lib. triginta,
” Venice, Opera omnia in unum collecta,
” Venice,
, an Italian surgeon, was born in 1685 in the dutchy of Spoletta, and at the age
, an Italian surgeon, was born
in 1685 in the dutchy of Spoletta, and at the age of nine,
was sent to Florence, where after going through a classical
course, he studied philosophy, anatomy, and surgery, and
acquired great reputation for his skill in disorders of the eyes
and in ruptures. In 1755, he was appointed principal surgeon of the hospital of St. Mary in Florence, and died in that
city, May 7, 1756. He wrote, 1. “Lettera sopra cataratta
gleucomatosa,
” Florence, Nuova propozitione intorno alia caruncula dell' uretra della carnosita,
&c.
” ibid. Manifesto sopra alcune accuse contenute in uno certo parere del signor P. P. Lupi,
”
ibid. Giustificatione delle replicati accuse
del signor P.P. Lupi,
” ibid. Dissertazioni sopra l‘origine deli’ ernia intestinale, &c.
” ibid.
olved to submit to the operation of cutting. But his constancy was not put to this last proof, for a surgeon letting him blood by way of precaution, pricked an artery, and,
Mr. Voltaire is of opinion that these inscriptions were the best of his productions, and he regrets that they have not been collected. Benserade suffered at last so much from the stone, that, notwithstanding his great age, he resolved to submit to the operation of cutting. But his constancy was not put to this last proof, for a surgeon letting him blood by way of precaution, pricked an artery, and, instead of endeavouring to stop the effusion of blood, Fan away Commire, his friend and confessor, was called in, who arrived in time to witness his death, Oct. 19, 1691. He had been a member of the French academy from 1674. Pascal says he was the repeater of many bad bons-mots, and those which his biographers have recorded are certainly of that description. His theatrical pieces, Cleopatra, the death of Achilles, &c. were printed singly from 1636 to 1641, 4to; but his whole works, including a selection from his rondeaus taken from Ovid, were printed at Paris, 1697, 2 vols. 12mo.
, an Italian surgeon, or rather physician, was born in the territory of Lucca, about
, an Italian surgeon, or rather
physician, was born in the territory of Lucca, about the
year 1728. He received the degree of doctor, began
practice at Sarzano in 1755, as a member of the faculty; in
1756 was chosen member of the German imperial society;
and in 1758 of the royal society of Gottingen, while he
was practising at the baths of Lucca. In 1753, he happened to be at a place in that republic, called Brandeglio,
where an epidemic fever of a particular kind prevailed,
which he treated with great success by means of mercury.
This formed the subject of his treatise, entitled “Dissertatio historico-epistolaris, &c.
” Lucca, De Lucensium Thermarum sale tractatus,
” Lucca, Riflessioni sopra gli effetti del moto a cavallo,
” Lucca, Dissertatio physica de
Lumine,
” Vienne, De rubiginis frumentum
corrumpentis causa et medela,
” Lucca, Observationum medicarum quse anatomise superstructae sunt,
collectio prima,
” Lucca, Dissertationes
et Quaestiones medicae magis celebres,
” Lucca,
moderate than now. He died Feb. 9, 1697, aged 69 years. Mr Charles Bernard, brother to Francis, and surgeon to the princess Anne, daughter of king James, had also a curious
, was chief physician to king
James II. He was a man of learning, and what is now termed
an able bibliographer. His private collection of books,
which were scarce and curious, sold for upwards of 1600l.
in 1698; a large sum at that time, when the passion for
rare books was much more moderate than now. He died
Feb. 9, 1697, aged 69 years. Mr Charles Bernard, brother to Francis, and surgeon to the princess Anne, daughter of king James, had also a curious library, which was
sold by auction in 1711. The “Spaccio della Bestia triomfante,
” by Jordano Bruno, an Italian atheist, which is
said in number 389 of the Spectator to have sold for 30l.
was in this sale. Mr. Ames informs us that this book was
printed in England by Thomas Vautrollier in 1584. An
English edition of it was printed in 1713.
, an eminent anatomist and surgeon, was born at Turin, Oct. 18, 1723. His father, who was only
, an eminent anatomist and surgeon, was born at Turin, Oct. 18, 1723. His
father, who was only a poor phlebotomist and barber, contrived to give him an education, and intended to bring him
up to the church, which was thought most likely to afford
him a maintenance, but one of their friends Sebastian
Klingher, then professor of surgery, induced him to study
that branch, in which he soon evinced great talents. He
was only twenty- two when he read a dissertation on Ophthalmography, on which Haller and Portal bestowed the
highest praise. The celebrated Bianchi connected himself with him, but after a few years their friendship was
interrupted by the literary disputes which took place between Bianchi and Morgagni, and Bertrandi preferring“what he thought truth to a friendship which was of great
importance to him, was obliged to leave Bianchi. In 1747
he was elected an associate of the college of surgery, and
the same year published his
” Dissertation on the Liver,“which, Haller says, contains many useful observations. In,
1752, the king, Charles Emmanuel, offered to bear his expenses to Paris and London. He accordingly went to Paris,
where he increased his knowledge and practice of the art
of surgery, and in consequence of his two papers read in
the academy,
” De Hydrocele,“and
” De hepatis abscessibus qui vulneribus capitis superveniunt,“was admitted
as a foreign member. In 1754 he went to London, and
lodged for a year with sir William Bromfield, our late
eminent surgeon, during which time, as at Paris, he studied hospital practice, and cultivated the acquaintance of
men of science. On his return to Turin, the king founded
for his sake a new professorship of practical surgery and
anatomy, and at Bertrandi’s request, built a handsome
amphitheatre in the hospital of St. John. He was afterwards appointed first surgeon to the king, and professor
of chemistry in the university. Surgery now, which had
been practised in Piedmont only by regimental surgeons,
began to wear a new face and a literary society, which
was afterwards completely established under the title of
the
” Royal Academy of Sciences,“began now to hold its
meetings, and Bertrandi contributed some valuable papers
to the first volume of their Memoirs. His principal publication was his
” Trattato delle operazioni di Chirurgia,"
Nice, 1763, 2 vols. 8vo, which was afterwards translated
into French and German. He was employed on a treatise
on anatomy and a comparative history of ancient and modern surgery, when death deprived science and humanity
of his valuable labours, in 1765, in his forty-second year.
His works already published, and his posthumous works,
edited by Penchienati and Brugnone form 13 vols. 8vo.
n, and had probably initiated him in medical knowledge, which he studied at Lyons, where Petit, then surgeon of the Hotel-Dieu in that city, under whom he was taught anatomy
, a very celebrated
French physician, and whose labours have greatly promoted
the study of physiology, was born Nov. 11, 1771, at Thoirette. His father was also a physician, and had probably initiated him in medical knowledge, which he studied
at Lyons, where Petit, then surgeon of the Hotel-Dieu in
that city, under whom he was taught anatomy and surgery,
had such an opinion of his talents, that he made him his
assistant, although then only in his twentieth year. When
Lyons was besieged in 1793, he made his escape, and arrived at Paris about the end of that year. There, without
any recommendations from friends, he resumed his studies
and became one of the pupils of the celebrated Dussault,
who discovering his uncommon talents, invited him to his
house, treated him as his son, and found in him a most
able assistant. Of this generous protector, however, he
was deprived by death in 1795, and became in his turn the
support of Dussault’s widow and children. He first completed the fourth volume of Dussault’s “Journal de
Chirurgie.
” In 1797 he published his “CEuvres chirurgicales,
”
2 vols. 8vo. In the same year he hegan to give lectures
on anatomy and operative surgery, to which, in 1798, he
added a course of physiology, v.hich produced his “Traite
des Membranes,
” Recherches physiologiques sur la vie et sur la mort,
” Anatomic generale appliquee a la physiologic et a la
medicine,
” Paris,
iae,” Leyden, 1700, 4to, pagg. 4. This piece contains a very severe accusation against Mr. Cowper, a surgeon of London, and fellow of the royal society. Dr. Bidloo being
, a famous anatomical writer, was
born at Amsterdam March 12, 1649. After he had passed
through his academical studies, he applied himself to
physic and anatomy, and took his degree of M. D. He
soon acquired considerable practice; in 1688 was made
professor of anatomy at the Hague, which he quitted in
1694 for the professorship of anatomy and chirurgery at
Leyden; and afterwards William III. of England appointed
him his physician, which he accepted on condition of
holding his professorship. The king died in 1702, and
Bidloo returned to his former employments, in which he
had been interrupted by his constant attendance upon that
prince. He died at Ley den, April 1713, being 64 years
of age. His chief work was his “Anatomia humani corporis,
” in Vindiciae quorundam Delineationum Anatomicarum contra ineptasAnimadversionesF. Ruyschii, &c.
” A letter to Anthony Leeuvvenhoek concerning the animals which are sometimes found in the liver of
sheep or some other animals.
” This was published in Low
Dutch, Delft, Gulielmus Cowper criminis
Literarii citatus coram tribunali nobiliss. ampliss. Societatis
Britanno-Regiae,
” Leyden, Exercitationum Anatomico-Chirurgicarum Decades
dua
”,“Leyden, 1708, 4to. 4. He published likewise a small
piece upon the disease of which king William III. of England died. 5.
” Letters of the Apostles who were martyred,“Amsterdam, 1698, 4to, in Low Dutch verse, of
which, as well as of Latin, he was very fond, and was
thought to have succeeded. He supposes jn this book,
that the apostles wrote these letters before they suffered,
martyrdom, and addressed them to their disciples, in order
to inform them of their last desires, and to instruct them in
what manner they ought to act after themselves were removed from this world. There was published at Leyden,
1719, a miscellaneous collection of our author’s poems in
Low Dutch. His brother, Lambert Bidloo, an apothecary
at Amsterdam, was the author of some Dutch poetry, and
of a work
” De re herbaria,“printed at the end of the
” Catalogue of the Garden of Amsterdam," by Commelin,
Leyden, 1709, 12mo. Lambert’s son, Nicholas, became
first physician to the Czar Peter I., and inspector of the
hospital of St. Petersburgh.
, a surgeon, born at Coire in Swisserland, in 1720, studied at Strasburgh
, a surgeon, born at Coire
in Swisserland, in 1720, studied at Strasburgh and Paris,
and afterwards served in the Prussian army, and became
surgeon-general. He received a doctor’s degree at Halle
in 1761, and was admitted a member of various learned
societies and to these honours the emperor of Germany
added titles of nobility, of which, however, Bilguer never
made any use. His fame abroad, as well as in this country, principally rests on his famous inaugural thesis, entitled, “Dissertatio inauguralis medico-chirurgica de membrorum Amputatione rarissime administranda aut quasi abroganda,
” Berlin, Dissertation sur
l‘inutilite de l’Amputation,
” Paris, Thoughts on Amputation.
”
Bilguer published also, in German, “Instructions for the
practice of Surgery in army-hospitals,
” Leipsic, Advice to Hypochondriacs,
” &c. He died in
Scotland, in 1717. After a course of medical studies at Edinburgh, he was appointed in 1740, second surgeon to the military hospital in Jamaica, and spent several years
, an ingenious physician, was born
at Glenalbert, near Dunkeld in Perthshire, Scotland, in
1717. After a course of medical studies at Edinburgh, he
was appointed in 1740, second surgeon to the military hospital in Jamaica, and spent several years in the West India
islands, and in admiral Yemen’s fleet, where he acquired
a knowledge of the diseases of the torrid zone. Having
in 1745, contracted a bad state of health at New Greenwich in Jamaica, he was under the necessity of resigning
his place of second surgeon to the hospital, and returning
to England. In May 1746, he purchased an ensigncy in
the forty-second regiment, commanded by lord John Murray; and by this transition, his attention being turned from
medical pursuits to military affairs, fortification became his
favourite study. After a fruitless descent on the coast of
Brittany in France in September 1746, and passing a winter at Limerick in Ireland, they were, in the beginning of
the next campaign, brought into action at Sandberg, near
Hulst in Dutch Flanders, where one Dutch regiment and
two English suffered very much. Here, having drawn a
sketch of the enemy’s approaches, with the environs, and
some time after, a pretty correct one of Bergen-op-Zoom,
with the permanent lines, the environs, and the enemy’s
first parallel, which were presented by lord John Murray
to his royal highness the late duke of Cumberland, his
highness ordered Mr. Bisset to attend the siege of that
fortress, and give due attention daily to the progress of
the attack, and to the defence, in order to take accurate
journals of them. These journals, illustrated with plans,
were delivered daily to lord John Murray, who forwarded
them to the duke, by whose application to the duke of
Montague, then master of the ordnance, Mr. Bisset received a warrant as engineer extraordinary in the brigade
of engineers which was established to serve in the Low
Countries during the war and he was also promoted to a
lieutenancy in the army. The brigade of engineers being
re-formed at the end of the war, and he being at the same
time put upon the half-pay list as lieutenant, he continued
to employ great part of his time in the study of fortification and in 1751, after visiting France, published his
work “On the Theory and Construction of Fortifications,
”
8vo, and some time after, being unemployed, he resumed
the medical profession to which he had been originally
destined, and retired to the village of Skelton, in Cleveland, Yorkshire, where, or in the vicinity, he ever after
continued,
In 1762, he married miss Sarah Johnston, daughter of Mr. Joseph Johnston, surgeon in Dumfries, a connexion which formed the great solace of his
In 1762, he married miss Sarah Johnston, daughter of Mr. Joseph Johnston, surgeon in Dumfries, a connexion which formed the great solace of his future life. About the same time he was ordained minister of the town and parish of Kircudbright, in consequence of a presentation from the crown, obtained for him by the earl of Selkirk; but the parishioners having objected to the appointment, after a legal dispute of nearly two years, his friends advised him to resign his right, and accept of a moderate annuity in its stead. If their principal objection was to his want of sight, it was certainly not unreasonable. He would probably in the course of a few years have found it very in* Mr. Jameson was probably igno- cannot recollect. The manuscript was
f his education and fortune was kindly undertaken by his maternal uncle, Mr. Thomas Bigg, an eminent surgeon in London, and afterwards, on the death of his eldest brothers,
, knight, and LL. D. an illustrious English lawyer, was born July 10, 1723, in Cheapside, in the parish of St. Michael-le-Querne, at the house of his father, Mr. Charles Blackstone, a silkman, and citizen and bowyer of London, who was the third son of Mr. John Blackstone, an eminent apothecary, in Newgate-street, descended from a family of that name in the west of England, at or near Salisbury. His mother was Mary, eldest daughter of Lovelace Bigg, esq. of Chilton Foliot, in Wiltshire. He was the youngest of four children, of whom, John died an infant, Charles, the eldest, and Henry, the third, were educated at Winchester-school, under the care of their uncle Dr. Bigg, warden of that society, and were afterwards both fellows of New college, Oxford. Charles became a fellow of Winchester, and rector of Wimering, in Hampshire; and Henry, after having practised physic for some years, went into holy orders, and died in 1778, rector of Adderbury, in Oxfordshire, a living in the gift of New-college. Their father died some months before the birth of the subject of this article, and their mother died before he was twelve years old. from his birth, the care both of his education and fortune was kindly undertaken by his maternal uncle, Mr. Thomas Bigg, an eminent surgeon in London, and afterwards, on the death of his eldest brothers, owner of the Chilton estate, which, if we mistake not, is still enjoyed by that family. The affectionate care of this uncle, in giving all his nephews a liberal education, supplied the great loss they had so early sustained, and compensated, in a great degree, for their want of more ample fortunes, and it was always remembered by them with the sincerest gratitude. In 1730, being about seven years of age, he was put to school at the Charter-house, and in 1735 was, by the nomination of sir Robert Walpole, on the recommendation of Charles Wither, of Hall, in Hampshire, esq, his cousin by the mother’s side, admitted upon the foundation.
, a French surgeon, or physician, of the seventeenth century, by uniting the quack
, a French surgeon, or physician,
of the seventeenth century, by uniting the quack and the
regular, acquired a considerable degree of reputation, and
belongs to a class, we fear, pretty numerous in other countries as well as France. He began his career as a
trussmaker, and then placed himself at the head of an academy
of his own creation for medical discoveries, the memoirs of
which were published monthly, and we presume there
must have been some papers of consequence among them,
as the celebrated Bonnet translated those of the first three
years into Latin, and published them under the title of
“Zodiacus Medico-Gallicus,
” Mercure savant.
” In the mean time Blegny endeavoured
to make himself famous, and that nothing might be wanting to shew his variety of talents he added to surgery and
pharmacy a course of lectures on wig-making. For some
time he appears to have imposed on the court itself, as
we find that in 1678 he was appointed surgeon in ordinary to the queen; in 1633 surgeon in ordinary to the
duke of Orleans; and in 1687, physician in ordinary
to the king: but in 1693, his real character becoming
more apparent, he was stripped of these honours for having
attempted to establish an order of knighthood, and sent to
prison at the castle of Angers, where he was confined for
eight years. After his release, he retired to Avignon,
where he died in 1722, aged about seventy. He published
various works, now in little estimation.
the writings of the Rabbis, notwithstanding which, he was employed as a tutor in the family of a Jew surgeon at Hamburgh. There he himself was taught German, and a poor
, an eminent naturalist, and
a Jew hy birth, was born at Anspech, in 1723, of very
poor parents. He began to study very late at the age of
nineteen, he knew neither German or Latin, and had read
only some of the writings of the Rabbis, notwithstanding
which, he was employed as a tutor in the family of a Jew
surgeon at Hamburgh. There he himself was taught
German, and a poor Bohemian Catholic gave him some
instructions in Latin; he picked up also some knowledge
of anatomy. Afterwards he made rapid progress in regaining lost time, and having removed to live with some
relations he had at Berlin, he applied himself with eagerness and success to the study of anatomy and natural history, and received a doctor’s degree at Francfort on the
Oder, with which he returned to practise as a physician
at Berlin. Here the celebrated naturalist Martini procured
him to be elected a member of the society of the “Curious
in nature,
” and he soon became highly distinguished
among the scientific men of his time. He died Aug. 6,
1799, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His principal
work was his “Natural history of Fishes, particularly those
of the Prussian states,
” four parts, Berlin, Natural history of
foreign Fishes,
” Berlin, The natural history
of German Fishes,
” Ichthyology, or the natural history of
Fishes,
” Berlin, Treatise on the generation of worms in the
intestines, and on the method of destroying them,
” which
gained the prize offered by the royal society of Denmark,
and was printed at Berlin, 1782, 4to, and a “Treatise on
the waters of Pyrmont,
” both in German, Hamburgh,
er of the imperial academy of Florence, was born at Paris April 10, 1728. His father, who was also a surgeon, destined him for the same profession, which had long been followed
, regius professor and director of the academy of surgery, veteran associate of the
academy of sciences of Paris, and member of the imperial
academy of Florence, was born at Paris April 10, 1728.
His father, who was also a surgeon, destined him for the
same profession, which had long been followed by the
branches of his family, but began with giving him the ordinary course of a learned education that he might acquire
the languages in which the most celebrated anatomists of
former ages wrote, and some of those principles of philosophy which are the foundation of all sciences and arts.
Young Bordenave’s proficiency fully answered his father’s
expectations, and he soon fdled the distinguished situations
already mentioned, and contributed many valuable papers
to the Memoirs of the academy of surgery, on extraordinary
cases which occurred in his practice: the treatment of gunshot wounds, and anatomical subjects. He also in 1757
made some experiments to illustrate Haller’s opinion on the
difference between sensible or irritable parts, and wrote a
work in defence of that celebrated anatomist’s opinion on
the formation of the bones, against that of Duhamel. He
also, in 1768, translated Haller’s Elements of Physiology
for the use of his students, but he had previously, in 1756,
published a new work on the same subject, admired for
precision of method. Bordenave had long wished for a
place in the academy of sciences, and in 1774 was elected
a veteran associate. This title, it seems, indicates that the
party has been chosen contrary to the statutes, and that the
academy did not choose him of their own will; but for this he
was not to blame, as such an election was totally contrary to
his wish. In a short time, however, the academicians were
reconciled, and Bordenave enriched their memoirs with
some important papers. Bordenave also became echevin,
or sheriff, of Paris, an office never before conferred on a
surgeon, but. which he filled in a manner highly creditable,
and directed his attention, as a magistrate, chiefly to the
health of the city. On the birth of Louis XVII. he was honoured with the ribbon of the order of St. Michael, in consideration of his talents and services, but did not long enjoy
this honour, being seized with an apoplexy, which after
eight days proved fatal, March 12, 1782. Besides the
works already noticed, he published, “Dissertations sur
les Antiseptiques,
” Memoires sur le
danger des Caustiques pour la cure radicale des Hernies,
”
, alter de aegvoti, munere,” Lion. 1565, 8vo; containing rules for the conduct of the physician, the surgeon, and the apothecary, in their attendance upon the sick. But
, an eminent physician of Piedmont, who flourished about the middle of the 16th century, was a disciple of Fallopius, and took his degree of
doctor in medicine at Padua. It appears by his writings,
that he was a diligent observer, and enjoyed a considerable share of practice. He was in succession physician and
aulic counsellor to Charles IX. Henry II. of France, and
to William prince of Orange. He was also skilled in the
practice of surgery, and published, “De curandis vulneribus sclopetorum,
” Venet. Commentarioli duo, alter
de medici, alter de aegvoti, munere,
” Lion. De curatione per sanguinis missione, de
incidendae venae, cutis scarificandae, et hirudinum arrigendarum modo,
” Antw. Opera Omnia,
” in
, veterinary surgeon, was a native of Lyons, and in his youth a soldier, after which
, veterinary surgeon, was a
native of Lyons, and in his youth a soldier, after which he
studied law, but quitted that pursuit on being appointed
chief of the riding-school of Lyons, where he seems to
have discovered the employment for which he was best
fitted. From this time he applied himself to the principles
of horsemanship, which he detailed in his “Nouveau
Newcastle, ou Traite de Cavalerie,
” Lausanne, Elemens d'hippiatrique,
ou Nouveaux principes sur la connoissance des chevaux,
”
Lyons, 3 vols. 8vo. The knowledge he displayed in this
work probably rendered it easy for him to obtain the leave
of government to establish a veterinary school at Lyons, of
the great utility of which the public soon became sensible,
and many able scholars educated under Bourgelat extended
this new branch of the medical art to every part of the
kingdom. In 1765, he published his “Matiere medicale
raisonnee a Tusage de l'ecole veterinaire,
” Lyons, 8vo.
His success at Lyons induced the government to invite him
to Paris, and he founded a second school at Alford, near
Charenton, and published several elementary treatises for
the use of his scholars, such as “Cours theorique et pratique des bandages
” “Traite de la ferrure,
” L'Anatomie compared de tous les animaux,
” and “Memoire sur les maladies contagieuses du betail,
”
, esq. F. A. and L. S. S. was born at Deal in Kent, Sept. 7, 1735; and was for many years an eminent surgeon at Sandwich, in the same county. He was the eldest of two sons
, esq. F. A. and L. S. S. was born at Deal in Kent, Sept. 7, 1735; and was for many years an eminent surgeon at Sandwich, in the same county. He was the eldest of two sons of the late William Boys, esq. commodore by commission in the royal navy, and lieutenant-governor of Greenwich hospital, by his wife Elizabeth Pearson of Deal; and was descended, paternally, from an ancient and knightly family, who were seated at Bonnington, in the parish of Goodnestone, in Kent, at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
has given his name to a new species of Fern communicated by Mr. Boys. In 1787 Mr. Boys was appointed surgeon to the sick and wounded seamen at Deal; but this appointment,
In 1792, Mr. Boys communicated to the society of antiquaries “Observations on Kits-Goity house in Kent,
” which
have been inserted in the Archaeologia, vol. XL; and Mr.
Pennant, Dr. Latham, and many other antiquaries and naturalists in their respective works acknowledge their obligations for assistance contributed by him. Dr. Latham, in
his Index Ornithologicus, has given his name to a new species of Fern communicated by Mr. Boys. In 1787 Mr.
Boys was appointed surgeon to the sick and wounded seamen at Deal; but this appointment, during the progress of
the late war, was found to require so much of his time
and attention that in 1796 he was induced to relinquish entirely his medical practice at Sandwich, and to
reside near the naval hospital at Walmer till 1799, when
the commissioners of the sick and hurt office accepted his
resignation of the office of surgeon of the hospital, and appointed to it his fourth son, Edward Boys, M. D. who now
holds it. At this period he returned to Sandwich, but with
very impaired health. In the month of February of that
year, he had a slight attack of apoplexy, and in December
following, another and more alarming paroxysm occurred,
from the effects of which he did not recover for nine or ten.
months. On the 2d of March 1803, his servant, on coming
into the parlour where he was sitting after breakfast, found
him fallen back in his chair in a state of apoplexy. He
remained in this state, but with symptoms which, for some
days, at intervals, encouraged his friends to hope that he
might still recover, till the 15th of the same month in the
afternoon, when he placidly breathed his last.
same year he read a learned paper on respiration. He joined afterwards with M. Morand, a celebrated surgeon, in collecting and translating all the English publications
, a member of the French academy of sciences, was born at Paris, Sept. 14, 1713, of a good family, and after having studied humanities in the Mazarin college, and a course of philosophy in the college of Beauvais, applied himself more particularly to medicine and law, and the oriental languages in the royal college. The great progress which he made in the latter, occasioned his being invited to Rheims to teach these languages, and to fill a professor’s chair; but this he declined out of respect to his father, who wished him to appear at the bar. Neither this, however, nor languages, were to his own liking, and his parents, after some consideration, allowed him to pursue his inclination for medicine, and natural history, to which he added a taste for general literature and criticism. In 1737, he began to give extracts from the London Philosophical Transactions, and this with so much judgment and ability as to excite the attention of the literati of France, who after revolving the plan, conceived that a translation of the Transactions with notes would be more useful than these extracts, and agreed that M. de Bremond should be requested to undertake it. He accordingly began the work, and published four vols. 4to. including the years 1731—1736, withacomplete index, and notes pointing out where the subjects are treated in the memoirs of other learned bodies, or in separate publications: some of these notes are complete dissertations. The royal society, on this, honoured him with the title of secretary; and on March 18, 1739, he was admitted into the French royal academy of sciences. The same year he read a learned paper on respiration. He joined afterwards with M. Morand, a celebrated surgeon, in collecting and translating all the English publications respecting Mrs. Stephens’s remedy for the stone, which once was thought infallible. He translated likewise Dr. Halley’s experiments on sea water, and Hauksbee’s experiments, 2 vols. 12mo; and Murdoch’s new loxodromic tables, for the construction of marine charts. This industrious writer died March 21, 1742, aged only twenty-nine. His eloge was composed by M. cle Mairan, then secretary to the academy.
, an eminent English surgeon, was born in London, in 1712, and studied surgery under the
, an eminent English surgeon, was born in London, in 1712, and studied surgery
under the celebrated Ranby, by whose instructions he was
soon enabled to practise on his own account. In 1741, he
began to give lectures on anatomy and surgery, and soon
found his theatre crowded with pupils. Some years after,
in conjunction with the rev. Mr. Madan, he formed the
plan of the Lock hospital, into which patients were first
received Jan. 3, 1747, and was made first surgeon to that
establishment, an office he filled with advantage to the
patients and credit to himself for many years. With a
view of contributing to its success, he altered an old
comedy, “The City Match,
” written in A Narrative of a Physical Transaction with Mr. Aylet, surgeon, at
Windsor.
” This is a controversial piece of no consequence now, but the author clears himself from the imputation of having treated his antagonist improperly. Ira
1767, he published “Thoughts concerning the present
peculiar method of treating persons ^inoculated for the
Small-pox.
” This relates to the Suttons, who were now
in the zenith of their reputation. He thinks their practice of exposing their patients to the open air in the midst
of winter, of repelling the eruption, and checking or preventing the suppurative process, too bold, and hazardous,
On the whole, however, he acknowledges, they were deserving of commendation, for the improvements they had
introduced, in the treatment, both of the inoculated and
natural small-pox. His next work, the most considerable
one written by him, was “Chirurgical Cases and Observations,
” published in Notes
on Chirurgical Cases and Observations, by a Professor of
Surgery.
” The strictures contained in these notes are
keen and ingenious, and, though evidently the produce of
ill-humour, yet seem to have had the effect of preventing
so general a diffusion of the cases, as the character of the
author would otherwise have procured them. They have
never been reprinted. About this time the author took a
spacious mansion in Chelsea park, which he enlarged,
altered, and furnished in an elegant style. Hither he retired, after doing his business, which he began gradually
to contract into a narrower circle. With that view, a few
years after, he gave up his situation as surgeon to the Lock
hospital. His other appointments he kept to the time of
his death, which happened on the 24th of November, 1792,
in the 80th year of his age.
f his blood fie prove del sangue) transmitted him from home.” I have already performed the part of a surgeon,“returned the king,” and have found that thy blood is good;"
Besides the choice and arrangement of the royal amusements, Farinello was employed in various other matters that
required a delicate taste. Queen Barbara having resolved
on an institution for the education of young ladies, our
singer was pitched upon not only to plan and direct the
erection of the convent, and the proper retirade for the
queen adjoining, but he gave orders for the making of the
furniture suitable to the structure; and the church vessels,
which he caused to be executed with incredible alacrity,
at Naples, Bologna, and Milan. He himself made a donation to this establishment of a picture, by the hand of the
celebrated Moriglio, of St. John de Dio, founder of the
brethren of mercy, carrying a sick man on his back. He
was likewise inspector of the music of the royal chapel;
which he provided with the most noted spiritual compositions, by which the chapel of his holiness at Rome is distinguished above all others.
King Ferdinand had purposed all along to reward the
ingenuity and attachment of Farinello by splendid promotions. He had already offered him several posts of honour,
and at length pressed him to accent of a place in the royal
council of finance. But, on his refusing them all, the
king privately found means to get from Naples the attestations of his nobility, that he might honour him with the
order of Calatrava. One day, holding up to him the cross
of the order, he said to him, “Let us see then whether
thou wilt persevere in refusing every thing that comes
from our hand. 7 ' Farinello fell on his knee before the
king, and begged him graciously to withhold this honour,
at least till he could have the proofs of the genuine nobility of his blood fie prove del sangue) transmitted him
from home.
” I have already performed the part of a surgeon,“returned the king,
” and have found that thy blood
is good;" and then with his own hand fixed the cross upon
his breast. He afterwards received the order with all due
formality from the grand master, in the convent of the
ladies of Comthury of Calatrava, among the archives
whereof the originals of it are preserved.
, born at Paris in 1665, was the son of a surgeon, who, not being very prosperous in his practice, had recourse
, born at Paris in 1665, was
the son of a surgeon, who, not being very prosperous in
his practice, had recourse for his support to music; and
first performed, professionally, at Lyons; and afterwards
went to Paris and played on the harp to Louis XIV. who
was much pleased with his performance. His son, Peter
John, was so sickly and feeble during infancy, that he
passed almost his whole youth in amusing himself on the
spinet, and in the study of music; but he had so strong a
passion for this instrument, that he had scarcely arrived
at his ninth year when he was heard at court, accompanied by his father on the harp. Two years after, the
king heard him again, when he performed a duet with
his father on the harp, and at eleven years of age he
assisted him in giving lessons to his scholars. His taste
for music, however, did not extinguish his passion for
other sciences. He taught himself Latin and Greek with
little assistance from others; and the study of these languages inclined him to medical inquiries. At eighteen
years old he attended, for the first time, the public schools,
went through a course of philosophy, and took lessons in
the schools of medicine. And even during this time he
learned Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, German, and English, sufficiently to understand them in
books. He was at length admitted of the faculty at Paris,
and practised with reputation during thirty-three years.
In 1705, he was received into the academy of belleslettres, and in 1706 he had a considerable share in the
publication of the “Journal des Scavans,
” at which he
laboured more than thirty years. In
, an eminent physician and surgeon, the son of Florence Camper, a minister of the reformed church,
, an eminent physician and surgeon, the son of Florence Camper, a minister of the reformed church, was born at Leyden May 11, 1722, and was first taught design and painting, which enabled him in his future studies to draw his anatomical preparations. He afterwards studied medicine under Boerhaave, and the other eminent professors of Leyden, and in 1746 took his degree of M. D. In 1748, he attended the hospitals and anatomical lectures in London, and afterwards at Paris. In 1749, he was appointed professor of philosophy, medicine, and surgery at Franeker; and in 1755 taught these sciences at Amsterdam, which he quitted in 1761. After two years’ residence at his country-house in Friesland, he was appointed professor of medicine, surgery, anatomy, and botany at Groningen, where he resided until June 1773, when he settled at Franeker, in order to superintend the education of his sons* In 1762, he had been appointed a representative in the assembly of the province of Friesland; but in 1787, he was nominated one of the council of state, and was therefore obliged to reside at the Hague, where he died in April 1789, in the sixty- seventh year of his age. The immediate cause of his death was a pleurisy, but his eulogist seems to attribute it remotely to his patriotic exertions, and the grief which oppressed him when he saw the independence of his country attacked. Whichever account be true, he was lamented as a learned and ingenious promoter of science, and an ornament to his country. He was at the time of his death a member of the royal society of London, and of the academies of Petersburg!), Berlin, Edinburgh (the college of physicians), Gottingen, Manchester, Haerlem, Rotterdam, &c. and other learned societies in various parts of Europe.
s,” published in a Dutch journal. The operation is performed at twice, that is, on the first day the surgeon makes the incision into the bladder; the patient is then to
His works, if not numerous, are highly valuable, and
contain many important facts, and successful experiments
and improvements. He published, l. “Demonstrationum
Anatomico-Pathologicarum liber primus, continens brachii
humani fabricam et morbos, in folio maximo, cum quatuor
figuris,
” Amst. Liber secundus, continens pelvis human se fabricam et morbos,
” An account
of a method of performing the operation of Lithotomy at
two different times,
” published in a Dutch journal. The
operation is performed at twice, that is, on the first day
the surgeon makes the incision into the bladder; the patient is then to be put to bed, and the extraction of the
stone deferred until the second, third, or fourth day; but
this method has not been attended with the advantages expected from it. Camper’s other works were published by
his son: 3. “A Dissertation on the fracture of the patella
and olecranon,
” A Treatise on the natural
difference of features, &c.
” which was translated by Dr.
Cogan, and published at London in 1794, under the title
“The Works of the late professor Camper, on the connection between the science of anatomy and the arts of
drawing, painting, statuary, &c. &c. in 2 books containing a treatise on the natural difference of features in
persons of different countries and periods of life; and on
beauty, as exhibited in ancient sculpture, &c.
” This is
unquestionably a work of great curiosity and importance
to artists, and is one of the best translated scientific books
in our language. In 1803, a collection of Camper’s works
was published at Paris, in 3 vols. 8vo. with a folio atlas
of plates, containing his various dissertations on natural
history, physiology, and comparative anatomy. To these
is prefixed an account of his life by his son. Camper was!
not less amiable in private life, than celebrated in his public character.
lars. He had several children, but none made any figure in the learned world; one, named John, was a surgeon at Canterbury .
, son of the preceding, was born
at Geneva, August 14, 1599, and had the name of Meric
from Meric de Vicq, a great friend and benefactor to his
father. His first education he received at Sedan, but
coming to England with his father, in the year 1610, he
was instructed by a private master till 1614, when he was
sent to Christ Church, Oxford; and being put there under
a most careful tutor, Dr. Edward Meetkirk (afterwards Regius Hebrew professor), was soon after elected a student
of that house. He took the degree of bachelor of arts,
May 8, 1618, and that of master, June 14, 1621, being
even then eminent for his extensive learning; and the
same year, though he was but two and twenty, he published a book in defence of his father, against the calumnies of certain Roman catholics, entitled “Pietas contra
maledicos, &c.
” Loud. Vindicatio Patris, &c.
” Exercitations against Baronius’s Annals,
” but was diverted
by some accident. At length, when he came to maturity
of years for such a work, and had acquainted archbishop
Laud, his great friend and patron, with his design, who
was very ready to place him conveniently in Oxford or
London, according to his desire, that he might be furnished
with books necessary for such a purpose, the rebellion
broke out in England. Having now no fixed habitation, he
was forced to sell a good part of his books; and, after
about twenty years’ sufferings, became so infirm, that he
could not expect to live many years, and was obliged to
relinquish his design. Before this, however, in June
1628, he was made prebendary of Canterbury, through
the interest of bishop Laud; and when that prelate was
promoted to the archbishopric of Canterbury, he collated
him, in Oct. 1634, to the vicarage of Minster, in the Isle
of Thanet; and in the same month, he was inducted into
the vicarage of Monckton, in that island. In August 1636,
he was created doctor in divinity, by order of king
Charles I. who was entertained at the same time, with his
queen, by the university of Oxford. About the year 1644,
during the heat of the civil wars, he was deprived of his
preferments, abused, fined, and imprisoned. In 1649,
one Mr. Greaves, of Gray’s inn, an intimate acquaintance
of his, brought him a message from Oliver Cromwell, then
lieutenant-general of the parliament forces, desiring him to
come to Whitehall, on purpose to confer with him about
matters of moment; but his wife being lately dead, and
not, as he said, buried, he desired to be excused. Greaves
came again afterwards, and Dr. Casaubon being somewhat
alarmed, desired him to tell him the meaning of the matter; but Greaves refusing, went away the second time.
At length he returned again, and told him, that the lieutenant-general intended his good and advancement; and
his particular errand was, that he would make use of his
pen to write the history of the late war; desiring withal,
that nothing but matters of fact should be impartially set
down. The doctor answered, that he desired his humble
service and hearty thanks should be returned for the great
honour done unto him; but that he was uncapable in several respects for such an employment, and could not so
impartially engage in it, as to avoid such reflections as
would be ungrateful, if not injurious, to his lordship.
Notwithstanding this answer, Cromwell seemed so sensible
of his worth, that he acknowledged a great respect for him;
and, as a testimony of it, ordered, that upon the first demand there should be delivered to him three or four hundred pounds, by a bookseller in London, whose name was
Cromwell, whenever his occasions should require, without
acknowledging, at the receipt of it, who was his benefactor.
But this ofter he rejected, although almost in want. At
the same time, it was proposed by Mr. Greaves, who belonged to the library at St. James’s, that if our author
would gratify him in the foregoing request, Cromwell
would restore to him all his father’s books, which were then
in the royal library, having been purchased by king James;
and withal give him a patent for three hundred pounds a
year, to be paid to the family as long as the youngest sou
of Dr. Casaubon should live, but this also was refused.
Not long after, it was intimated to him, by the ambassador
of Christiana, queen of Sweden, that the queen wished
him to come over, and take upon him the government of
one, or inspection of all her universities; and, as an encouragement, she proposed not only an honourable salary
for himself, but offered to settle three hundred pounds a
year upon his eldest son during life: but this also he
waved, being fully determined to spend the remainder of
his days in England. At the restoration of king Charles II.
he recovered his preferments; namely, his prebend of
Canterbury in July 1660, and his vicarages of Monckton
and Minster the same year: but, two years after, he exchanged this last for the rectory of Ickham, near Canterbury, to which he was admitted Oct. 4, 1662. He had a
design, in the latter part of his days, of writing his own
life; and would often confess, that he thought himself
obliged to do it, out of gratitude to the Divine Providence,
which had preserved and delivered him from more hazardous occurrences than ever any man (as he thought) besides
himself had encountered with; particularly in his escape
from a fire in the night-time, which happened in the house
where he lived, at Geneva, while he was a boy: in his recovery from a sickness at Christ Church, in Oxford, when
he was given over for dead, by a chemical preparation administered to him by a young physician: in his wonderful
preservation from drowning, when overset in a boat on the
Thames near London, the two watermen being drowned,
and himself buoyed up by his priest’s coat: and in his
bearing several abuses, fines, imprisonments, &c. laid
upon him by the republicans in the time of his sequestration: but this he did not execute. He died July 14, 1671,
in the seventy-second year of his age, and was buried in the
south part of the first south cross aile of Canterbury cathedral. Over his grave was soon after erected a handsome
monument with an inscription. He left by will a great
number of manuscripts to the university of Oxford. His
character is thus represented. He was a general scholar,
but not of particular excellence, unless in criticism, in
which probably he was assisted by his father’s notes and
papers. According to the custom of the times he lived in,
he displays his extensive reading by an extraordinary mixture of Greek and Latin quotations and phrases. He was
wont to ascribe to Descartes’s philosophy, the little inclination people had in his time for polite learning. Sir William Temple very highly praises his work, hereafter mentioned, on “Enthusiasm;
” and unquestionably it contains
in any curious and learned remarks; buthisbeingamaintainer
of the reality of witches and apparitions, shews that he was
not more free from one species of enthusiasm than most of
his contemporaries. In his private character he was eminent for his piety, charity to the poor, and his courteous
and affable disposition towards scholars. He had several
children, but none made any figure in the learned world;
one, named John, was a surgeon at Canterbury .
, an eminent French physician and surgeon, was born at Blerancourt, between Noyon and Coucy, Sept. 6,
, an eminent French physician and surgeon, was born at Blerancourt, between Noyon and Coucy, Sept. 6, 1700. If chirurgical skill be hereditary, his claims were considerable, as he was descended both by the father’s and mother’s side from eminent practitioners. His parents, however, first intended him for the church; but after completing his philosophy course, he applied himself to the study of medicine, not altogether with his inclination. From his infancy he had amused himself with making geometrical figures, and without the aid of a master, used to make drawings of military architecture with considerable accuracy, and at one time seems to have had an inclination for the bar, but at last he had no alternative but the church, or the profession of his ancestors, and having determined in favour of the latter, he went to Paris for education in the different branches of the healing art. The first publication by which he was known, was a curious dissertation, which he printed in his twenty-fourth year, on the mechanism of the buttresses of the church of St. Nicaise at Rheuns: these buttresses have always been an object of curiosity, as a motion is perceptible in them, which has never affected their solidity. la 1729, he was appointed surgeon and physician to M. de Tressan, archbishop of Rouen. He did not take his degree, however, until 1732, when he took it at Rheims, to avoid the heavy expence of 6000 livres, which it would have cost at Paris. In 1733, he settled at Rouen, and began to give a course of anatomical lectures, and there first he established a high reputation for his dextrous method of operation for the stone. In 1731 he obtained the reversion of the place of surgeon-major to the hospital at Rouen; and when the royal academy of surgery was established, he gained the first prize, and continued to gain all the prizes of that academy to the year 17:58 inclusive, when they paid him the high compliment of requesting that he would no longer become a candidate, but leave to others a chance of obtaining these rewards. Flattering as this seemed, M. Le Cat was aware that the academicians had it in their power to prevent his contending for prizes in a more effectual way, by electing him one of their body, and accordingly stood for the prize of 1739 with his usual success: about the end of the year, however, he was elected into the academy, and pursued his career of fame by those numerous publications on which it was so justly founded.
he had learned to bleed, which operation he performed with all the dexterity of the most experienced surgeon. His disposition to do good appeared so early that when he was
, was
born at Paris in 1717, and destined to supply his father’s
place in the parliament of that city as a judge, as well as
that of his uncle in the same situation. He made choice
of the one of them that would give him the least trouble, and
afford him the most leisure for his benevolent projects.
Medicine was his favourite study. This he practised on
the poor only, with such an ardour and activity of mind,
that the hours which many persons give to sleep, he bestowed upon the assistance of the sick. To make himself
more useful to them, he had learned to bleed, which operation he performed with all the dexterity of the most experienced surgeon. His disposition to do good appeared so
early that when he was a boy, he used to give to the poor
the money which other boys spent in general in an idle and
unprofitable manner. He was once very much in love with a
young lady of great beauty and accomplishment; but
imagining that she would not make him a suitable assistant
in his attendance upon the poor, he gave over all thoughts
of marriage; not very wisely, perhaps, sacrificing to the
extreme delicacy of one woman only his attachment to
that sex, in whose tenderness of disposition, and in whose
instinctive quickness of feeling, he would have found tluufc
reciprocation of benevolence he was anxious to procure.
He was so forcibly struck with the wretched situation of
the great hospital of Paris (the Hotel Dieu, as it is called),
where the dead, the dying, and the living, are very often
crowded together in the same bed (five persons at a time occasionally occupying the same bed), that he wrote a
plan of reform for that hospital, which he shewed in manuscript to the famous John James Rousseau, requesting
him to correct it for him. “What correction,
” replied
Rousseau, “can a work want, that one cannot read without shuddering at the horrid pictures it represents? What
is the end of writing if it be not to touch and interest the
passions?
” M. de Chamousset was occasionally the author
of many benevolent and useful schemes; such as the establishment of the penny post at Paris; the bringing good
water to that city; a plan for a house of association, by
which any man, for a small sum of money deposited, may
be taken care of when he is sick; and many others; not
forgetting one for the abolition of begging, which is to
be found in “Lesvues d'uncitoyen.
” M. de Chamousset
was now so well known as a man of active and useful benevolence, that M. de Choiseul (when he was in the war department) made him, in 1761, intendant-general of the
military hospitals of France, the king, Louis XV. telling
him, “that he had never, since he came to the throne,
made out an appointment so agreeable to himself;
” and
added, “I am sure I can never make any one that will be
of such service to my troops.
” The pains he took in this
employment were incredible. His attention to his situation was so great, and conducted with such good sense
and understanding, that the marshal de Soubise, on visiting
one of the great military hospitals at Dusseldorf, under
the care of M. de Chamousset, said, “This is the first time
I have been so happy as to go round an hospital without
hearing any complaints.
” Another marshal of France told
his wife: “Were I sick,
” said he, “I would be taken to
the hospital of which M. de Chamousset has the management.
” M. de Chamousset was one day saying to the
minister, that he would bring into a court of justice the
peculation and rapine of a particular person. “God forbid you should!
” answered the minister, “you run a risk
of not dying in your bed.
” “I had rather,
” replied he,
“die in any manner you please, than live to see my country devoured by scoundrels.
”
s epitaph on Canynge’s ancestor, and some smaller pieces. These Catcot communicated to Mr. Barret, a surgeon, who was writing a History of Bristol, and would naturally be
Such is the story of the discovery of the poems attributed to Rowley, which Chatterton evidently made up
from the credulity of his mother and other friends, who
could not read the parchments on which he affected to set
so high a value, and which he afterwards endeavoured to
render of public importance by producing these wonderful
treasures of Canynge’s cofre. In his attempt already related, respecting the old bridge, he had not been eminently
successful, owing to his prevarication. He now imparted
some of these manuscripts to George Catcot, a pewterer of
Bristol, who had heard of the discovery, and desired to be
introduced to Chatterton. The latter very readily gave
him the “Bristow Tragedy,
” Rowley’s epitaph on Canynge’s ancestor, and some smaller pieces. These Catcot
communicated to Mr. Barret, a surgeon, who was writing
a History of Bristol, and would naturally be glad to add to
its honours that of having produced such a poet as Rowley,
In his conversations with Barret and Catcot, he appears to
have been driven to many prevarications, sometimes owning that he had destroyed several of these valuable manuscripts, and at other times asserting that he was in possession of others which he could not produce. These contradictions must have entirely destroyed his evidence in any
other case, in the opinion of thinking and impartial judges;
but the historian of Bristol could not forego the hopes of
enriching his book by originals of so great importance; and
having obtained from Chatterton several fragments, some
of considerable length, actually introduced them as authentic in his history, long after the controversy ceased,
which had convinced the learned world that he had been
egregiously duped.
e poor and unhappy, abandoning his literary pursuits, and projecting to go out to Africa, as a naval surgeon’s mate. He had picked up some knowledge of surgery from Mr.
Of what nature this was, remains yet a secret. About the time mentioned, he removed from a house in Shoreditch, where he had hitherto lived, to the house of a Mrs. Angel, a sack- maker in Brook-street, Holborn, where he became poor and unhappy, abandoning his literary pursuits, and projecting to go out to Africa, as a naval surgeon’s mate. He had picked up some knowledge of surgery from Mr. Barret, and now requested that gentleman’s recommendation, which Mr. Barret, who knew his versatile turn, and how unfit in other respects he was for the situation, thought proper to refuse. If this was the immediate cause of his catastrophe, what are we to think of his lofty spirit? It is certain, however, that he no longer employed his pen, and that the short remainder of his days were spent in a conflict between pride and poverty. On the day preceding his death, he refused with indignation, a kind offer from Mrs. Angel to partake of her dinner, assuring her that he was not hungry, although he had not eaten any thing for two or three days. On the 25th of August, 1770, he was found dead, in consequence, as is supposed, of having swallowed arsenic in water, or some preparation of opium. He was buried in a shell in the burying-ground belonging to Shoe-lane workhouse. Previous to this rash act he appears to have destroyed all his manuscripts, as the room when broken open was found covered with little scraps of paper.
, an eminent surgeon and anatomist, and a celebrated writer, was born Oct. 19, 1688,
, an eminent surgeon and
anatomist, and a celebrated writer, was born Oct. 19, 1688,
at Burrow-on-the-Hill, near Somerby in Leicestershire.
After having received a classical education, and been
instructed in the rudiments of his profession at Leicester, he was placed about 1703, under the immediate
tuition of the celebrated anatomist Cowper, and resided
in his house, and at the same time studied surgery under
Mr. Feme, the head surgeon of St. Thomas’s hospital.
Such was the proficiency he made under these able masters, that he himself began, at the age of twenty-two, to
read lectures in anatomy, a syllabus of which, in 4to, was
first printed in 1711. Lectures of this kind were then,
somewhat new in this country, having been introduced,
not many years before, by M. Bussiere, a French refugee,
and a surgeon of high note in the reign of queen Anne. Till
then, the popular prejudices had run so high against the
practice of dissection, that the civil power found it difficult
to accommodate the lecturers with proper subjects; and
pupils were obliged to attend the universities, or other public
seminaries, where, likewise, the procuring of bodies was no
easy task. It is an extraordinary proof of Mr. Cheselden’s
early reputation, that he had the honour of being chosen a
member of the royal society in 1711, when he could be little
more than twenty- three years of age but he soon justified
their choice, by a variety of curious and useful communications. Nor were his contributions limited to the royal society,
but are to be found in the memoirs of the royal academy of
surgeons at Paris, and in other valuable repositories. In
1713 Mr. Cheselden published in 8vo, his “Anatomy of
the Human Body,
” reprinted in
nd retirement; and in 1737 he obtained an honourable situation of this kind, by being appointed head surgeon to Chelsea hospital; which place he held, with the highest reputation,
In 1723 he published in 8vo, his “Treatise on the high
operation for the Stone.
” This work was soon attacked
in an anonymous pamphlet, called “Lithotomus castratus,
or an Examination of the Treatise of Mr. Cheselden,” and
in which he was charged with plagiarism. How unjust this
accusation was, appears from his preface, in which he had
acknowledged his obligations to Dr. James Douglas and
Mr. John Douglas, from one of whom the attack is supposed to have come. Mr. Cheselden’s solicitude to do
justice to other eminent practitioners is farther manifest,
from his having annexed to his book a translation of what
had been written on the subject by Franco, who published
“Traite des Hernies,
” &c. at Lyons, in Cæsarei Partus Assertio Historiologica,
”
Paris, Methode de la Tailie
au haut appareile recuillie des ouvrages du fameux Triumvirat.
” This triumvirate consisted of Rosset, to whom
the honour of the invention was due; Douglas, who had
revived it after long disuse; and Cheselden, who had
practised the operation with the most eminent skill and
success. Indeed Mr. Cheselden was so celebrated on this
account, that, as a lithotomist, he monopolized the principal business of the kingdom. The author of his eloge,
in the “Memoires de L' Academic Royale de Chirurgerie.,
”
who was present at many of his operations, testifies, that
one of them was performed in so small a time as fifty-four
seconds. In 1728, Mr. Cheselden added greatly to his
reputation in another view, by couching a lad of nearly
fourteen years of age, who was either born blind, or had
lost his sight so early, that he had no remembrance of his
having ever seen. The observations made by the young
gentleman, after obtaining the blessing of sight, are singularly curious, and have been much attended to, and
reasoned upon by several writers on vision. They may be
found in the later editions of the “Anatomy.
” In Osteography, or Anatomy of the Bones,
” inscribed to queen
Caroline, and published by subscription, came out in 1733,
a splendid folio, in the figures of which all the bones are
represented in their natural size. Our author lost a great
sum of money by this publication, which in 1735 was attacked with much severity by Dr. Douglas, whose criticism
appeared under the title of “Remarks on that pompous
book, the Osteography of Mr. Cheselden.
” The work
received a more judicious censure from the celebrated
Haller, who, whilst he candidly pointed out its errors, paid
the writer that tribute of applause which he so justly de“served. Heister, likewise, in his
” Compendium of
Anatomy,“did justice to his merit. Mr. Cheselden having
long laboured for the benefit of the public, and accomplished his desires with respect to fame and fortune, began
at length to wish for a life of greater tranquillity and retirement; and in 1737 he obtained an honourable situation of this kind, by being appointed head surgeon to
Chelsea hospital; which place he held, with the highest
reputation, till his death. He did not, however, wholly
remit his endeavours to advance the knowledge of his profession; for, upon the publication of Mr. Gataker’s translation of Mons. le Dran’s
” Operations of Surgery," he
contributed twenty-one useful plates towards it, and a
variety of valuable remarks, some of which he had made
so early as while he was a pupil to Mr. Feme. This was
the last literary work in which he engaged. In 1751, Mr.
Cheselden, as a governor of the Foundling hospital, sent a
benefaction of fifty pounds to that charity, enclosed in a
paper with the following lines, from Pope:
natomy, but we apprehend that it was still greater, and more justly founded, in surgery. The eminent surgeon Mr. Sharp, in a dedication to our author, celebrates him as
In the latter end of the same year, he was seized with a paralytic stroke, from which in appearance he soon perfectly recovered. The flattering prospect, however, of his continuanc6 in life, soon vanished; for, on the 1 Oth of April, 1752, he was suddenly carried off by a fit of an apoplexy, at Bath, in the sixty -fourth year of his age. He married Deborah Knight, a citizen’s daughter, and, if we mistake not, sister of the famous Robert Knight, cashier to the South-sea company in 1720. By this lady Mr. Cheselden had only one daughter, Wilhelmina Deborah, who was married to Charles Cotes, M. D. of Woodcote, in Shropshire, and member of parliament for Tamworth, in Staffordshire. Dr. Cotes died without issue, on the 2 1st of March, 1748; and Mrs. Cotes, who survived him, died some years since at Greenhithe, in the parish of Swanscombe, in the county of Kent. Mrs. Cheselden died in 1764. Mr. Cheselden’s reputation was great in anatomy, but we apprehend that it was still greater, and more justly founded, in surgery. The eminent surgeon Mr. Sharp, in a dedication to our author, celebrates him as the ornament of his profession; acknowledges his own skill in surgery to have been chiefly derived from him; and represents, that posterity will be ever indebted for the signal services he has done to this branch of the medical art. In surgery he was undoubtedly a great improver, having introduced simplicity into the practice of it, and laid aside the operose and hurtful French instruments which had been formerly in use. Guided by consummate skill, perfectly master of his hand, fruitful in resources, he was prepared for all events, and performed every operation with remarkable dexterity and coolness. Being fully competent to each possible case, he was successful in all. He was at the same time eminently distinguished by his tenderness to his patients. Whenever he entered the hospital on his morning visits, the reflection of what he was unavoidably to perform, impressed him with uneasy sensations; and it is even said that he was generally sick with anxiety before he began an operation, though during the performance of it he was, as hath already been observed, remarkably cool and self-collected. Our author’s eulogist relates a striking contrast between him and a French surgeon of eminence. The latter gentleman, having had his feelings rendered callous by a course of surgical practice, was astonished at the sensibility shewn by Mr. Cheselden previously to his operations, and considered it as a great mark of weakness in his behaviour. Yet the same gentleman, being persuaded to accompany Mr. Cheselden to the fencing-school, who frequently amused himself with it as a spectator, could not bear the sight, and was taken ill. The adventure was the subject of conversation at court, and both were equally praised for goodness of heart; but the principle of humanity appears to have been stronger in Mr. Cheselden, because the feeling of it was not weakened by his long practice.
The connections of our eminent surgeon and anatomist were not confined to persons whose studies and
The connections of our eminent surgeon and anatomist were not confined to persons whose studies and pursuits were congenial to those of his own profession. He was fond of the polite arts, and cultivated an acquaintance with men of genius and taste. He was honoured, in particular, with the friendship of Pope, who frequently speaks of dining with him, but once had an interview rather of an unpleasing kind. In 1742, Mr. Cheselden, in a conversation with Mr. Pope at Mr. Dodsley’s, expressed his surprize at the folly of those who could imagine that the fourth book of the Dunciad had the least resemblance in stylo, wit, humour, or fancy, to the three preceding books. Though he was not, perhaps, altogether singular in this opinion, which is indeed a very just one, it was no small mortification to him to be informed by Pope, tbat he himself was the author of it, and was sorry that Mr. Cheselden did not like the poem. Mr. Cheseklen is understood to have too highly valued himself upon his taste in poetry and architecture, considering the different nature of his real accomplishments and pursuits. His skill in the latter art is said not to have been displayed to the best advantage in Surgeons’ -hall, in the Old Bailey, which was principally built under his direction. These, however, are trifling shades in eminent characters.
s “Bellum Sacrum Gallicum, Poema,” 1562, 4to. He died at Paris Jan. 30, 1606, under the hands of the surgeon, who was cutting him for the stone.
, an eminent lawyer, born 1537, at
Bailleul in Anjou, was counsellor to the parliament of
Paris, in which situation he pleaded with great reputation
a long time, and afterwards, confining himself to his study,
composed a considerable number of works, printed in 1663,
5 vols. folio; and there is a Latin edition of them in 4 vols.
He was consulted from all parts, and was ennobled by Henry
III. in 1578, for his treatise “De Domanio.
” What he
wrote on the custom of Anjou, is esteemed his best work,
and gained him the title and honours of sheriff of the city
of Angers. His books “De sacra Politia Monastica,
” and
“De Privilegiis Rusticorum,
” are also much valued. Chopin’s attachment to the league drew upon him a macaronic
satire, entitled “Anti-Chopinus,
” Oratio de Pontificio Gregorii XIV. ad Gallos Diplomate
a criticis notis vindicate,
” Paris, 1591, 4to, which is not
among Chopin’s works. On the day that the king entered
Paris, Chopin’s wife lost her senses, and he received orders
to leave the city; but remained there through the interest
of his friends, upon which he wrote the eulogy of Henry IV.
in Latin, 1594, 8vo, which is also omitted in his works, as
well as “Bellum Sacrum Gallicum, Poema,
”
, an eminent surgeon, of whom little is known, except what can be collected from
, an eminent surgeon, of whom little is known, except what can be collected from his works, flourished in the time of queen Elizabeth, and was for some time a navy surgeon, serving on board one of the queen’s ships, called the Aid, when the emperor’s daughter married Philip II. king of Spain, in 1570. He returned home, and resided several years at London, where he acquired great reputation, as may be inferred from his having been several years surgeon of St. Bartholomew’s and Christ’s hospitals, before he was sent for by letters from the earl of Leicester, general of the English forces in the Low Countries, to take upon him the care of the sick and wounded in 1586. He was surgeon to her majesty, and mentions his having served with Banister under the earl of Warwick; and also speaks in another place of having been a retainer to lord Abergavenny. He seems to have been in full practice about 1596, the date of his last publication, a treatise on the venereal disease, reprinted in 1637; and he laments the frequency of this disorder in England; of which he gives this proof, that in the space of five years he had cured upwards of a thousand venereal patients in vSt. Bartholomew’s hospital. His most capital performance is his approved Practice for all young chirurgeons, 1591, re-printed in 1596 and 1637. He is a strong advocate for writing medical chirurgical books in the vernacular language, and his practice was always ingenious, and often successful.
. His death happened in the following manner; which we shall give in the words of Mr. David Samwell, surgeon of the Discovery.
It will give pain to every sensible mind to reflect, that this honourable testimony to the merit of our gallant commander never came to his knowledge. While his friends were waiting with the most earnest solicitude for tidings concerning him, and the whole nation expressed an anxious impatience to be informed of his success, advice was received from captain Clerke*, in a letter dated at Kamtshatca, the 8th day of June 177.9; from which and from other accounts, we learnt, that captain Cook was killed oil the 14th of February 1779. His death happened in the following manner; which we shall give in the words of Mr. David Samwell, surgeon of the Discovery.
, a celebrated surgeon and anatomist, the youngest son of Richard Cowper of Hampshire,
, a celebrated surgeon and anatomist, the youngest son of Richard Cowper of Hampshire,
esq. was born in 1666, probably at Bishop’s Sutton, near
Alresford in that county, where he lies interred. After a
medical education, he practised in London, where his first
work, “Myotomia reformata, or a new administration of
all the Muscles of the Human Body,
” was published in
The Anatomy of Human
Bodies,
” many of the plates of which were purchased by
some London booksellers in Holland, and belonged to
Bidloo’s anatomy. The dispute which this occasioned, we
have already noticed (see Bidloo), and may now add that
it terminated very little to Cowper’s credit. Bidloo complained of the theft to the royal society, and wrote a very
severe pamphlet, entitled “Gul. Cowperus citatus coram
tribunali.
” Cowper, instead of acknowledging the impropriety of his conduct, published a virulent pamphlet, entitled “Vindiciae;
” in which he endeavours to shew that
they were not really Bidloo’s figures, but hacl been engraved by Swammerdam, and purchased by Bidloo from
Swammerdam’s widow, a malicious charge which some
subsequent writers have been malevolent enough to propagate and defend. Cowper has the merit of giving a description of some glands, seated near the neck of the bladder,
which have obtained the name of Cowper’s mucous glands.
He was also author of several communications to the royal
society, on the subjects of anatomy and surgery, which
are printed in their Transactions, and of some observations
inserted in the “Anthropologia
” of Drake. He is said to
have ruined his constitution by severe labour and watchings, and was seized at first with an asthmatic complaint,
and afterwards with the dropsy, of which he died March 8,
1709.
house of Beckesburn in Kent. He formed it indeed into a complete hospital; appointing a physician, a surgeon, nurses, and every thing proper, as well for food as physic.
Among other instances of the archbishop’s charity, we have one recorded which was truly noble. After the destruction of monasteries, and before hospitals were erected, the nation saw no species of greater misery, than that of wounded and disbanded soldiers. For the use of such miserable objects, as were landed on the southern coasts of the island, the archbishop fitted up his manor-house of Beckesburn in Kent. He formed it indeed into a complete hospital; appointing a physician, a surgeon, nurses, and every thing proper, as well for food as physic. Nor did his charity stop here. Each man, on his recovery, was furnished with money to carry him home, in proportion to the distance of his abode.
, an eminent surgeon and anatomist, was born in 1745 at Edinburgh, where his father
, an eminent surgeon and
anatomist, was born in 1745 at Edinburgh, where his father was examiner in the Excise-office, and had him christened William Cumberland in compliment to the hero of
Culloden, but the latter name our anatomist seldom used.
The earlier part of his life was spent in Scotland, and at
the age of fourteen he went to the university of Edinburgh,
with a view of studying divinity. Feeling, however, a
strong propensity for anatomy and physic, he studied those
sciences, with great assiduity, for eight years at the university of Glasgow. In 1771 he came to London, and by
the recommendation of Dr. D. Pitcairn he became librarian
to the late Dr. Hunter, who had applied to the professors
of Glasgow for a young man of talents to succeed Mr.
Hewson; and this connection was the principal means of
raising Mr. Cruikshank to that conspicuous situation which he
afterwards so well merited. During the life of Dr. Hunter,
Mr. Cruikshank became successively his pupil, anatomical
assistant, and partner in anatomy; and on the death of
that celebrated man, Mr. Cruikshank and Dr. Baillie received an address from a large proportion of Dr. Hunter’s
students, full of affection and esteem; which induced them
to continue in Windmill-street the superintendance of that
anatomical school which has produced so many excellent
scholars. Mr. Cruikshank, besides supporting with great
reputation his share in this undertaking, made himself
known to the world by some excellent publications, which
have insured to him a high character as a perfect anatomist,
and a very acute and ingenious physiologist. In 1780 he
published his principal work, the “Anatomy of the Absorbent Vessels in the Human Body,
” in which he not
only demonstrated, in the clearest manner, the structure
and situation of these vessels, but collected, under one
point of view, and enriched with many valuable observations, all that was known concerning this important system
in the human body. Besides this work, the merit of which
has been fully acknowledged by translations into foreign
languages, he wrote a paper, which was presented to the
royal society several years ago, entitled, “Experiments
on the Nerves of Living Animals,
” in which is shewn the
important fact of the regeneration of nerves, after portions
of them have been cut out; illustrated by actual experiments on animals. This paper was read before the society,
but not then printed, owing, as was said, to the interference of the late sir John Pringle, who conceived that it
controverted some of the opinions of Haller, his intimate
friend. It appeared, however, in the Society’s Transactions for 1794. In 1779 he made several experiments on
the subject of “Insensible Perspiration,
” which were added
to the first editions of his work on the “Absorbent Vessels;
” and were collected and published in a separate pamphlet in 1795. In 1797, the year in which he was elected
F. R. S. he published an account of appearances in the
ovaria of rabbits, in different stages of pregnancy; but
his fame rests upon, and is best supported by, his “Anatomy of the Absorbents,
” which continues to be considered
as the most correct and valuable work on the subject now
extant.
, of respectable though indigent parents in Lanarkshire. Hav^ ing served a short apprenticeship to a surgeon and apothecary in Glasgow, he obtained the place of a surgeon
, one of the most eminent physicians of the last century, was born Dec, 11, 1712, of respectable though indigent parents in Lanarkshire. Hav^ ing served a short apprenticeship to a surgeon and apothecary in Glasgow, he obtained the place of a surgeon in one of the merchant’s vessels from London to the West Indies. Not liking his employment, he returned to his own county, where he practised a short time in the parish of Shotts, among the farmers and country people, and then removed to Hamilton, intending to practise there as a physician. While he resided near Shotts, Archibald duke of Argyle made a visit to a gentleman in that neighbourhood. His grace was engaged in some chemical researches which required elucidation by experiments, for which he then wanted the proper apparatus. The gentleman, recollecting young Cullen, mentioned him as the person who could most probably supply his wants. He was consequently invited to dinner, and presented to the duke, with whom he commenced an acquaintance, to which he was probably indebted for all his future fortune. The name of Cullen having thus become known, his reputation as a practitioner was soon established in the neighbourhood. The duke of Hamilton likewise happened then to be for a short time in that part of the country, and having been suddenly taken ill, was induced by the character which he had heard of Cullen to send for his assistance, and was not only benefited by his skill, but amply gratified xvith his conversation. He accordingly obtained for him a place in the university of Glasgow, where his talents soon became more conspicuous. It was not, however, solely to the favour of these two great men that Cullen owed his literary fame. He was recommended to the notice of men of science in a way still more honourable to himself. The disease of the duke of Hamilton having resisted the effect of the first applications, Dr. Clarke was sent for from Edinburgh; and he was so much pleased with every thing that Cullen had done, that he became his eulogist upon every occasion. Cullen never forgot this; and when Clarke died, gave a public oration in his praise in the university of Edinburgh; which, it is believed, was the first of the kind in that kingdom.
During the time that Cuilen practised as a country surgeon and apothecary, he formed another connexion of a more permanent
During the time that Cuilen practised as a country surgeon and apothecary, he formed another connexion of a more permanent kind, which, happily for him, was not dissolved till a very late period of his life. Very early in life he took a strong attachment to an amiable woman, a Miss Johnston, daughter to a clergyman in that neighbourhood, nearly of his own age, who was prevailed on to marry him, at a time when he had nothing else to recommend him, except his person and dispositions. She was beautiful, had great good sense, equanimity of temper, an amiable disposition, and elegance of manners, and brought with her a little money, which, however small in modern calculation, was important in those days to one in his situation in life. After giving to him a numerous family, and participating with him the changes of fortune which he experienced, she peacefully departed this life in summer 1786.
, a French military surgeon, who acquired much celebrity for his skill in treating disorders
, a French military surgeon, who acquired much celebrity for his skill in treating disorders in
the urethra, particularly for his improved method of
making bougies, was born at St. Frajon in Gascony March
6, 1701, and after studying the art, became surgeon-major
of the imperial troops, and afterwards practised at Milan,
and at Turin, where the king Victor Amadeus promised
him great encouragement if tie would remain; but at that
time he wished to travel for improvement, and after visiting Rome and Vienna, continued some time at Messina,
where he exerted his skill and humanity with great success.
Having devoted much of his attention to the disorders of
the bladder, he published in 1745, “Recueil d‘Observations Chirurgicales sur les Maladies de l’Urethra,
” which
has been several times reprinted, and in Journeaux de Medicine,
” there is a communication by
Daran, in which he makes mention of a tube he had invented for drawing off the urine. This he describes more
particularly in his “Treatise on the Gonorrhoea Virulenta,
”
first published in Composition
du remede de Daran, &c.
” 12mo, when he could derive
no benefit except from the sale of his book. His other
publications were, 1. “Reponse a la Brochure de Bayet
sur la defense et la conservation des parties les plus essentielles de l'homme,
” Lettre sur ua
article des Tumeurs.
”
, a voluminous writer on almost every branch of medicine, was the son of a surgeon of Montpellier. In 1691 he was made M. D. and in 1697, professor
, a voluminous writer on almost
every branch of medicine, was the son of a surgeon of
Montpellier. In 1691 he was made M. D. and in 1697,
professor of chemistry. He was also honoured with the
ribbon of the order of St. Michael, and was admitted one
of the foreign members of the royal society of London.
In 1732, being appointed physician to the galleys, he
quitted Montpellier, and went to Marseilles, where he died
on the 3d of April, 1746. Of his works, the following
have been most noticed: “Experiences sur la Bile, et les
cadavres des pestiferes, faites par M. D.; accompagnees
des Lettres, &c.
” Zurich, Chymie raisonnee, ou Ton tache de decouvrir
la nature et la maniere d'agir des remedes chymiques les
plus en usage en medicine et en chirurgie,
” Lyon,
who spent most of his life in England, was born at Vitri in Champagne May 26, 1667. His father was a surgeon, and spared no pains in his education, and sent him early to
, a celebrated mathematician,
of French original, but who spent most of his life in England, was born at Vitri in Champagne May 26, 1667.
His father was a surgeon, and spared no pains in his education, and sent him early to school, where he wrote a
letter to his parents in 1673, a circumstance which filial
affection made him often mention with great pleasure.
For some time he was educated under a popish priest, but
was afterwards sent to a protestant academy at Sedan,
where his predilection for arithmetical calculations so
frequently took the place of classical studies, that his master one day pettishly asked, what the “little rogue meant
to do with those cyphers?
” He afterwards studied at
Saumur and Paris, at which last place he began his mathematics under Ozanam. At length the revocation of the
edict of Nantz, in 1685, determined him, with many others,
to take shelter in England; where he perfected his naathematical studies. A mediocrity of fortune obliged him
to employ his talent in this way in giving lessons, and
reading public lectures, for his better support: in the latter part of his life too, he chiefly subsisted by giving answers to questions in chances, play, annuities, &c. and it
is said many of these responses were delivered at a coffee-,
house in St. Martin’s-lane, where he spent much of his
time. The “Principia Mathematica
” of Newton, which
chance is said to have thrown in his way, soon convinced
Demoivre how little he had advanced in the science he
professed. This induced him to redouble his application;
which was attended by a considerable degree of success;
and he soon became connected with, and celebrated among,
the first-rate mathematicians. His eminence and abilities
in this science opened him an entrance into the royal society of London, and into the academies of Berlin and
Paris. By the former his merit was so well known and
esteemed, that they judged him a fit person to decide the
famous contest between Newton and Leibnitz, concerning
the invention of Fluxions.
ly 1777, an action was brought on one of these before lord Mansfield. The plaintiff was one Hayes, a surgeon, and the defendant Jaques a broker, for the recovery of 700l.;
About the year 1771, certain doubts respecting his sex, which had previously been started at Petersburgh, became the topic of conversation, and, as usual in this country, the subject of betting; and gambling policies ef assurance to a large amount were effected on his sex; and in 1775, more policies on the same question were effected. In July 1777, an action was brought on one of these before lord Mansfield. The plaintiff was one Hayes, a surgeon, and the defendant Jaques a broker, for the recovery of 700l.; Jacques having some time before received premiums of fifteen guineas per cent, for every one of which he stood engaged to return an hundred, whenever it should be proved that the chevalier was a woman. Two persons, Louis Le Goux, a surgeon, and de Morande, the editor of a French newspaper, positively swore that D'Eon was a woman. The defendant’s counsel pleaded that the plaintiff, at the time of laying the wager, was privy to the fact, and thence inferred that the wager was unfair. Lord Mansfield, however, held that the wager was fair, but expressed his abhorrence of the whole transaction. No attempt having been made to contradict the evidence of the chevalier’s being a woman, which is now known to be false, Hayes obtained a verdict with costs. But the matter was afterwards solemnly argued before lord Mansfield in the court of King’s-bench, and the defendant pleading a late act of parliament for non-payment, it was admitted to be binding, by which decision all the insurers in this shameful transaction were deprived of their expected gains. In the mean time, the chevalier, who was now universally regarded as a woman, was accused by his enemies as having been an accomplice in these gambling transactions, and a partaker of the plunder. In consequence of repeated attacks of this nature he left England in August 1777, having previously asserted in a newspaper his innocence of the fraud, and referred to a former notice, inserted by him in the papers in 1775, in which he had cautioned all persons concerned not to pay any sums due on the policies which had been effected on the subject of his sex, and declared that he would controvert the evidence exhibited on the above trial, if his master should give him leave to return to England. It is in vain now to inquire why he should delay for a moment disproving what a moment would have been sufficient to disprove.
, principal surgeon to the Hotel-Diet) in Paris, and a great improver of the art,
, principal surgeon to the
Hotel-Diet) in Paris, and a great improver of the art, was
born Feb. 6, 1744, at Magny Vernois, a village in the
province of Franche Cointc. He was educated among the
Jesuits, and intended by his father for the church; but
evincing a stronger inclination for the medical profession,
he was sent to Befort, where he spent three years in the
military hospital there. To his medical studies he added
that of the mathematics, in which he made great progress;
but fell into one of the many errors so common among
the physicians of that day, namely, a false application of
the rules of geometry to the laws of the animal œconomy.
He not only perused with avidity the treatise of Boreili,
“De IMotu Animaliuin,
” but translated the whole of it,
and added a commentary more abundant in calculation
than that of his author. In 1764, at the age of nineteen,
he came to Paris, where surgery at that time flourished
under Lafaye, Morand, AndouiHet, and Louis. Animated
by the fame they had acquired, and desirous to emulate
them, Desault pursued his anatomical studies with the
greatest ardour, and was continually employed in dissections, or in witnessing the operations performed in the
hospitals. In the winter of 1766, he commenced a course
of lectures on anatomy, and soon reckoned 300 pupils,
most of them older than himself, who were attracted by
the clearness of his demonstrations, the methodical arrangement of his descriptions, and, above all, by his indefatigable zeal as a teacher. After some opposition from
the jealousy of the other lecturers, whose schools became
deserted, he was admitted* in 1776 into the corporation of
surgeons, and allowed to pay the usual fees when convenient; a circumstance which, however honourable to their
liberality, shews that his celebrity had not yet been attended with much pecuniary advantage. After becoming
a simple member, and then a counsellor of the perpetual
committee of the academy of surgery, he was appointed
chief surgeon to the hospital of the college, and consulting
surgeon to that of St. Sulpice, neither of which added any
thing to his fortune, but increased his experience. In
1779 he invented the bandage now in use for fractures, by
means of which, the fragments being kept in a state of
perpetual contact, become consolidated, without the least
appearance of deformity; an almost inevitable consequence
of the former mode.
On his appointment to the place of surgeon-major to the hospital de la Charite, in 1782, he introduced
On his appointment to the place of surgeon-major to the
hospital de la Charite, in 1782, he introduced a new method of treatment in oblique fractures of the thigh-bone,
and substituted new bandages in fractures of the humerus
and clavicle, never recurring to amputation but in extreme
cases. On the death of Ferrand, chief-surgeon of the
Hotel-Dieu, and of Moreau, the whole charge of the hospital devolved on him; and in 1788, he succeeded, although
against some opposition, in establishing a clinical school,
for which a spacious amphitheatre was erected; and more
than 600 auditors, composed of all nations, constantly attended to learn a new system, consisting of a simple mode
of treatment, disengaged from ancient prejudices, and a
complex incoherent practice. In 1791 he published his
“Journal de Chirurgerie,
” which described the most interesting occurrences in his school, and detailed the improvements he was introducing. In the multiplicity of
these labours, and although obliged to attend four hundred
sick persons twice a day, he nevertheless employed more
than four hours in visiting private patients. In 1792, when
he had been appointed a member of the council of health,
he was denounced in the revolutionary societies, as an
egotist, an indifferent, &c. cant phrases introduced at that
time, and was imprisoned in the Luxemburgh; but, the
tyrants of the day finding that the business of the HotelDieu, and of the clinical school, now in its highest reputation, could not be conducted without him, he was released. The subsequent atrocities, of which he was a painful witness, affected his mind, and are said to have brought
on a malignant fever and delirium, which ended in his
death, June 1, 1795. Other accounts state that he was
appointed to visit Louis XVII. then in the prison of the
Temple, and that he was poisoned, either to conceal the
brutal conduct which he had witnessed respecting that
young prince, or because he refused to yield to the views
entertained against his life. The French republic, however, eag'er to pay homage to his memory, presented his
widow with a pension of 2000 livres per annum. His
eloge was written by Bichat, one of his pupils, and his
coadjutor in the “Journal de Chirurgie;
” and by Petit,
chief surgeon of the hospital of Lyons. Desault left but
one work behind him, in which the name of his friend
Chopart is joined with his own; it is entitled “Maladies
Chirurgicales et des Operations qui leur conviennent,
”
, an eminent surgeon of Paris, in which city he was born January 27, 1649, was the
, an eminent surgeon of Paris, in
which city he was born January 27, 1649, was the son of
John Devaux, a man of eminence in the same profession.
He became provost and warden of the surgeons’ company,
and was universally esteemed for his skill and his writings.
He died May 2, 1729, at Paris. His works are, “Le
Medecin de soi meme,
” 12mo.; “L'art de faire des rapports en Chirurgie,
” 12mo; “Index funereus Chirurgorum Parisiensium, ab anno 1315 ad annum 1714,
” 12mo,
with several others; and translations of many excellent
works on physic and surgery, particularly Allen’s “Synopsis Medicinae practices,
” Harris’s “De morbis infantum,
”
Cockburne “De Gonorrhasa;
” Freind’s “Emmenologia,
”
&c. &c.
noculator for the small pox, was the son of John Dimsdale of Theydon Gernon, near Epping in Essex, a surgeon and apothecary, by Susan, daughter of Thomas Bowyer of Alburyhall,
, a celebrated inoculator for the small pox, was the son of John Dimsdale of Theydon Gernon, near Epping in Essex, a surgeon and apothecary, by Susan, daughter of Thomas Bowyer of Alburyhall, in the parish of Albury, near Hertford. He was born in 1712, and received his first medical knowledge from his father, and at St. Thomas’s hospital. He commenced practice at Hertford about 1734, where he married the only daughter of Nathaniel Brassey, esq. of Roxford, an eminent banker in London. This lady died in 1744, leaving no children and to relieve his mind under this loss, Mr. Dimsdale joined the medical staff of the duke of Cumberland’s army, then on its way to suppress the rebellion in Scotland. In this situation he remained until the surrender of Carlisle to the king’s forces, when he received the duke’s thanks, and returned to Hertford. In 1746 he married Anne lies, a relation of his first wife, and by her fortune, and that which he acquired by the death of the widow of sir John Dimsdale of Hertford, he was enabled to retire from practice; but his family becoming numerous, he resumed it, and took the degree of M. D. in 1761.
was very properly repaid for his ingenuity. Having had the misfortune to dislocate his shoulder, the surgeon whom he sent for to replace it, kept him for some time in torture,
, of Caria, a philosopher of the Megaric
school, flourished about 2SO years B. C. and was a famous
adept in the verbal quibbles so common at that time, and
which Aristotle called Kristic syllogisms. A dialectic
question was proposed to him in the presence of Ptolemy
Soter, at whose court he was, by Stilpo, another quibbler
like himself; and Diodorus acknowledging himself incapable of giving an immediate answer, requested time for
the solution; on which the king himself, we presume a
wit, ridiculed his want of ingenuity, and gave him the
surname of Chronus. Mortified at this defeat, he retired
from the court, wrote a book upon the question, and at
last, foolishly enough, died of vexation. He is said to
have invented the famous argument against motion: “if any
body be moved, it is either moved in the place where it is,
or in a place where it is not; but it is not moved in the
place where it is, for where it is, it remains; nor is it moved
in a place where it is not, for nothing can either act or suffer
where it is not; therefore there is no such thing as motion.
”
Diodorus, after the invention of this wonderful argument,
was very properly repaid for his ingenuity. Having had
the misfortune to dislocate his shoulder, the surgeon whom
he sent for to replace it, kept him for some time in torture,
whilst he proved to him, from his own method of reasoning,
that the bone could not have moved out of its place. Diodorus has been ranked among the atomic philosophers,
because he held the doctrine of small indivisible bodies,
infinite in number, but finite in magnitude; but it does
not appear that he conceived the idea which distinguishes
the atomic doctrine, as it was taught by Democritus and
others, that the first atoms are destitute of all properties
except extension and figures.
, an eminent French surgeon and writer, was born at Paris, and became surgeon in ordinary
, an eminent French surgeon and writer, was born at Paris, and became surgeon in ordinary to
Maria Teresa of Austria, queen of France, and to the
dauphinesses and the royal family. These honours were
bestowed in consequence of the fame which he acquired as
lecturer in surgery and anatomy in the royal gardens at
Paris, an office founded by Louis XIV. He retained this
and his other offices with increasing reputation, until his
death, Dec. 11, 1718. His first publication was “Histoire
anatomique d'une matrice extraordinaire,
” Anatomic de l'homme suivant la circulation
du sang, et les nouvelles decouvertes,
” 8vo, an useful epitome, containing all that was then known on the subject.
It was well received, frequently reprinted, and was translated in 1718, into the Tartar language, by order of
Cam-hi, the emperor of China, for the benefit of his subjects. His next work, which first appeared in 1707, was
“Cours d'Operations de Chirurgie demontree, au Jardin
Royal de Paris,
” 8vo. This has been reprinted still more
frequently than the former work, and has been translated
into nearly all the modern languages. Heister gave an
edition of it in Latin, with notes, and it still retains a certain degree of credit. In 1709, he gave “Dissertation sur
la mort subite, avec l‘histoire d’une fille cataleptique,
”
12mo; and in Traite general des Accouchmens,
”
8vo. This also has been translated into most modern languages, though it contains little more than an abridgment
of the practice of Mauriceau, and is now almost entirely
unnoticed.
His brother, John Douglas, who was surgeon to the Westminster infirmary, wrote several controversial pieces;
His brother, John Douglas, who was surgeon to the
Westminster infirmary, wrote several controversial pieces;
in one of them, entitled “Remarks on a late pompous
work,
” London, An account of Mortifications, and
of the surprizing effects of the bark in putting a stop to
their progress,
” London,
apestry, on which is placed a gilt lamp, and some pieces of still life. In the second apartment is a surgeon’s shop, with a countryman undergoing an operation, and a woman
Douw appears, incontestably, to be the most wonderful in his finishing of all the Flemish masters. Every thing that came from his pencil is precious, and his colouring hath exactly the true and the lovely tints of nature; nor do his colours appear tortured, nor is their vigour lessened by his patient pencil; for, whatever pains he may have taken, there is no look of labour or stiffness; and his pictures are remarkable, not only for retaining their original lustre, but for having the same beautiful effect at a proper distance, as they have when brought to the nearest view. The most capital picture of this master in Holland was, not very long since, in the possession of the widow Van Hoek, at Amsterdam; it was of a size larger than usual, being three feet high, by two feet six inches broad, within the frame. In it two rooms are represented; in the first (where there appears a curious piece of tapestry, as a separation of the apartments) there is a pretty figure of a woman giving suck to a child; at her side is a cradle, and a table covered with tapestry, on which is placed a gilt lamp, and some pieces of still life. In the second apartment is a surgeon’s shop, with a countryman undergoing an operation, and a woman standing by him with several utensils. The folding-doors show on one side a study, and a man making a pen by candle-light, and on the other side, a school with boys writing and sitting at different tables. At Turin are several pictures by Gerhard Douw, wonderfully beautiful; especially one, of a doctor attending a sick woman, and surveying an urinal. The execution of that painting is astonishingly fine; and although the shadows appear a little too dark, the whole has an inexpressible effect. In the gallery at Florence, there is a nightpiece by candle-light, which is exquisitely finished; and in the same apartment, a mountebank attended by a number of figures, which, says Pilkington, it seems impossible either sufficiently to commend, or to describe. Sir Joshua Reynolds, however, has contrived to describe it without much commendation, as a picture that is very highly finished, but has nothing interesting in it. The heads have no character, nor are any circumstances of humour introduced. The only incident is a very dirty one, which every observer must wish had been omitted; that of a woman clouting a child. The rest of the figures are standing round, without invention or novelty of any kind. After other objections to this picture, sir Joshua observes that the single figure of the woman holding a hare, in Mr. Hope’s collection, is worth more than this large picture, in which perhaps there is ten times the quantity of work. Gerhard Douw died very opulent in 1674.
, a surgeon at York, and an eminent antiquary, was much esteemed by Dr.
, a surgeon at York, and an eminent
antiquary, was much esteemed by Dr. Mead, Mr. Folkes,
the two Mr. Gales, and all the principal members of the
Royal and Antiquarian Societies. He published, in 1736,
“Eboracum or the History and Antiquities of the City of
York,
” a splendid folio. A copy of it with large manuscript additions was in the hands of his son, the late rev.
William Drake, vicar of Isleworth, who died in 1801, and
was himself an able antiquary, as appears by his articles in
the Archseologia, and would have republisbed his father’s
work, if the plates could have been recovered. Mr. Drake
was elected F. S. A. in 1735, and F. R. S. in 1736. From
this latter society, for whatever reason, he withdrew in
1769, and died the following year. Mr. Cole, who has
a few memorandums concerning him, informs us that when
the oaths to government were tendered to him in 1745, he
refused to take them. He describes him as a middle-aged
man (in 1749) tall and thin, a surgeon of good skill, but
whose pursuits as an antiquary had made him negligent of
his profession. Mr. Cole also says, that Mr. Drake and
Csesar Ward, the printer at York, were the authors of the
“Parliamentary or Constitutional History of England,
”
printed in twenty-four volumes,
His leg having become mortified, his surgeon recommended an amputation of the limb, with a view to stop the
His leg having become mortified, his surgeon recommended an amputation of the limb, with a view to stop the
further progress of the disorder; but he would not undergo
the operation, saying, that as by the course of nature he
had not many years to live, he would not attempt to prolong an uncomfortable existence by a painful and uncertain
experiment, but patiently submit to death. This account,
which was given by a contemporary writer, not long afterwards, is strongly corroborated by the unquestionable testimony of Mrs. Elizabeth Creed, his kinswoman; who informs us, that he received the notice of his approaching
dissolution with perfect resignation and submission to the
Divine Will; and that in his last illness he took the most
tender and affectionate farewell of his afflicted friends, “of
which sorrowful number she herself was one.
” Twentytwo years afterwards this very respectable lady, who was
then in her eightieth year, erected a monument at Tichmarsh, in honour of our poet and his parents, on which
these circumstances so much to his honour are recorded.
(See Creed, vol. X.)
He was suddenly taken ill in the night, June 2!, 1785. A suffocation was rapidly coming on; but a surgeon being called, he was almost instantly relieved by bleeding a
He was suddenly taken ill in the night, June 2!, 1785. A suffocation was rapidly coming on; but a surgeon being called, he was almost instantly relieved by bleeding a good sleep ensued, but he waked in the morning almost speechless; a paralytic stroke on the organs of articulation only, seemed to have taken place; medical assistance was applied; he partly recovered articulation; but great debility was perceivable, and he could no longer write as usual: however, by slow degrees he regained strength, beyond the expectation of iiis distressed friends; and appeared after the summer passed at Herne, to be quite restored to health and spirits, and pursued every avocation as before the stroke, and with the same power of mind; but those who were most constantly with him, and watched with the tender eye of affection, never lost the alarm, never rested without apprehension, and perceived, by some suaden starts, and nervous complaints, that all was not sound within. In January following he coughed much, two or three days, but without any dangerous symptom, till, on the night of the 18th, a suffocation as before came on; assistance was immediately procured, but not with the former success; the disorder increased, and loss of life ensued. His gentle spirit, as he had lived, departed, easy to himself in his exit; distressful alone to all that knew him, to those most who knew him best. His family, his friends, the servants, and the poor, all by their affliction spoke his real worth. He left one daughter. His temper never changed by any deprivation of the world’s enjoyments, nor by any bodily suffering; no peevishness, no complaints escaped; though it is observed that a great alteration often attends such disorders, and warps the temper naturally good. But he silently used his piety to the laudable purpose of regulating not only his actions, but his words; yet this was discovered rather from observation than from his own profession, as he was remarkably modest and humble on religious topics; and, for fear of ostentation on that subject, might rather err on the opposite side, from an awful timidity, which might not always give a just idea of his unaffected zeal and real faith. His friendship, where professed, was ardent; and he had a spirit in a friend’s cause that rarely appeared on other occasions. He was amiable, affectionate, and tender, as a husband and father; kind and indulgent as a master; and a protector and advocate of the poor; benevolent to all, as far as his fortune could afford.
exquisite scribe of her age. A curious piece of her performance was in the possession of Mr. Cripps, surgeon in Budge- row, London, entitled “Octonaries upon the vanitie
, a French woman by extraction,
was eminent for her fine writing in the time of queen Elizabeth and James I. Many of her performances are still
extant both in our libraries and private hands; particularly
one in the Harcourt family, entitled “Histories memorabiles Genesis per Esteram Inglis Gallam,
” Edenburgi, ann.
Octonaries upon the vanitie and inconstancie of the world. Writin by Ester Inglis.
The firste of Januarie, 1600.
” It is done, on an oblong
8vo, in French and English verse; the French is all in
print hand, and the English mostly Italian or secretary,
and is curiously ornamented with flowers and fruits painted
in water-colours, and on the first leaf is her own picture,
in a small form, with this motto,
, -an Italian physician, was born at Ferrara in 1655. His father was a surgeon of much reputation, and recommended the medical profession to
, -an Italian physician, was born at Ferrara in 1655. His father was a
surgeon of much reputation, and recommended the medical profession to this son, who after the usual course of
studies, took his degree of doctor at Ferrara, where he
became afterwards first professor of medicine. He died
May 5, 1723, after having published various dissertations
on medical subjects and cases, which were collected in a
quarto volume, and published at Ferrara in 1712 under the
title “Dissertationes Physico-medicae.
” Haller speaks
rather slightingly of this author’s works.
luminous French writer, or rather compiler, was born April 25, 1668, at Paris, the son of an eminent surgeon. He was subdeacon, and bachelor of the Sorbonne, and had been
, a voluminous French writer,
or rather compiler, was born April 25, 1668, at Paris, the
son of an eminent surgeon. He was subdeacon, and bachelor of the Sorbonne, and had been second teacher at
St. Quintin, when he entered the congregation of the oratory at Paris. He rose to be successively professor of philosophy at Itumilly in Savoy, at Toulon, Riom, Mans, and
Nantes; afterwards taught theology three years at Riom,
and during three more at the seminary of the congregation at Lyons. While he lived in the last named city, he
published a small dictionary, Latin and French, 8vo, compiled from the best classical authors, which has passed
through several editions; and he also published at Lyons,
in 1709, a new edition of Richelet’s dictionary, 2 vols. folio,
under the title of Amsterdam, which edition was suppressed
on account of several theological articles respecting the
affairs of the times; and because in his list of authors, he
bestowed great encomiums on Messrs, of Port Royal, but
none on their adversaries. This obliged him to quit the
oratory, and retire to Clermont in Auvergne, where, being
destitute of a maintenance, he undertook the education of
some children, and had recourse to father Tellier, a Jesuit,
the king’s confessor, who twice supplied him with money.
In the latter end of 171 Fabre again entered the congregation of the oratory, and was sent to Douay, where he
wrote a small pamphlet, entitled “Entretigns de Christine^
et de Pelagie, sur la lecture de PEcriture-Sainte
” which
is still in request. Having afterwards preached the Sunday sermons of the oratory of Tragany with great credit (for he had also talents for preaching), he went to reside at
Montmorency, towards the end of 1723, and there began
his “Continuation de l'Histoire Ecclesiastique, de feu M.
TAbbe Fleury;
” and published 16 vols. 4to or 12mb, which
induced his superiors to invite him again to their houses,
Rue St. Honore*, at Paris, where he died, October 22, 1755,
aged eighty-five, much lamented by his brethren and
friends, for his mildness, candour, modesty, and virtue.
The discourse “Sur le renouvellement des etudes ecclesiastiques,
” &c. at the beginning of the thirteenth volume
of the Continuation, is by the abbe Goujet. This Continuation discovers great learning, and facility in writing,
but has neither the wit, penetration, character, style, nor
accuracy of judgment possessed by the abbe Fleury. Fabre
would have carried it on much farther, but was forbidden
to print any new volumes. He made the index to M, de
Thou’s history translated into French, 4to, and had begun
one to the “Journal des Sgavans,
” but soon gave up his
undertaking to the abbe* de Claustre, to whom the public
owes that useful work, 10 vols. 4to. Fabre also left a moderate translation of Virgil, 4 vols. 12mo, and a translation
of the Fables of Phaedrus, Paris, 1728, 12mo, with notes.
, an eminent surgeon and physician, was known also by his surname of Hildanus, from
, an eminent surgeon and physician, was known also by his surname of Hildanus, from
Hilden, a village of Switzerland, where he was born, July
25 t 1560. Like his predecessor of the same name, Fabricius of Aquapendunte, he became one of the most
eminent surgeons of his age, and contributed not a. little
to the improvement of the art. He repaired to Lausanne
in 1586, where he completed himself in the art of surgery,
under the instruction of Griffon, an intelligent teacher in
that city. Here he pursued his researches with indefatigable industry, and undertook the cure of many difficult
cases, in which he was singularly successful. He combined aknowledge of medicine with that of his own art,
and began to practise both at Payerne in 1605, where he
remained ten years, and in 1615 settled himself at Berne,
in consequence of an invitation from the senate, who
granted him a pension. Here he enjoyed the universal
esteem of the inhabitants. But in the latter period of his
life he was prevented by severe and frequent attacks of
the gout from rendering his services to his fellow-citizens
with his accustomed assiduity. At length, liowever, this
malady left him, and he was seized with an asthma, of
which he died on the 14th of February, 1634, at the age
of seventy-four. His works were written in the German
language, but most of them have been translated into the
Latin. He published five “Centuries of Observations,
”
which were collected after his death, and printed at Lyons
in 1641, and at Strasburgh in 1713 and 1716. These
“Observations
” present a considerable number of curious
facts, as well as descriptions of a great number of instruments of his invention. His collected treatises were published in Latin, at Francfort in 1646, and again in 1682,
in folio, under the title of “Opera Omnia.
” And a German edition appeared at Stutgard in
ory frigate of 32 guns. Soon after he married a young lady of the name of Hicks, the daughter of the surgeon of Sheerness Yard. With this lady, who had considerable taste,
As Falconer wanted much of that complementary time of
service, which might enable him to arrive at the commission of Lieutenant, his friends advised him to exchange the
military for the civil department of the royal navy; and
accordingly, in the course of 1763, he was appointed purser
of the Glory frigate of 32 guns. Soon after he married a
young lady of the name of Hicks, the daughter of the surgeon of Sheerness Yard. With this lady, who had considerable taste, he appears to have lived happily, although
his circumstances were reduced for want of employment.
That this was the case appears from a whimsical incident
related by his biographer. “When the Glory was laid up
in ordinary at Chatham, commissioner Hanway, brother to
the benevolent Jonas Hanway, became delighted with the
genius of its purser. The captain’s cabin was ordered to
be fitted up with a stove, and with every addition of comfort that could be procured; in order that Falconer might
thus be enabled to enjoy his favourite propensity, without
either molestation or expence.
”
his excuse not being admitted, he pretended, in the next place, to be sick, and sent to the prince a surgeon, who was accustomed to speak familiarly to him, and who told
While he was thus employed, he was sent for to court, in order to try whether he could cure a lady, whose recovery was despaired of; and having succeeded, this was the first cause of that esteem which Henry II. who was then, dauphin, and was in love with that lady, conceived for him. This prince offered him even then the place of first physician to him; but Fernel, who infinitely preferred his studies to the hurry of a court, would not accept the employment, and had even recourse to artifice, in order to, obtain the liberty of returning to Paris. He represented first, that he was not learned enough to deserve to be entrusted with the health of the princes; but that, if he were permitted to return to Paris, he would zealously employ all means to become more learned, and more capable of serving the dauphin. This excuse not being admitted, he pretended, in the next place, to be sick, and sent to the prince a surgeon, who was accustomed to speak familiarly to him, and who told him, that Fernel had a pleurisy, which grief would certainly render mortal; and that his grief was occasioned by being absent from his books and from his family, and by being obliged to discontinue his lectures, and lead a tumultuous life. The prince, giving credit to this story, permitted Fernel to retire. A man, Bayle observes, must be excessively in love with his studies, and a philosophical life, when he employs such tricks to avoid what all others are desirous to obtain.
to the next in succession. There was also the same care and regularity required with respect to the surgeon’s chest, and the due provision of medicines, and all things
Four of Mr. Collet’s eldest daughters being grown up to woman’s estate, to perfect them in the practice of good housewifery, Mr. Ferrar appointed them, in rotation, to take the whole charge of the domestic ceconomy. Each had this care for a month, when her accounts were regularly passed, allowed, and delivered over to the next in succession. There was also the same care and regularity required with respect to the surgeon’s chest, and the due provision of medicines, and all things necessary for those who were sick, or hurt by any misfortune. A convenient apartment was provided for those of the family who chanced to be indisposed, called the infirmary, where they might be attended, and properly taken care of, without disturbance from any part of the numerous family. A large room was also set apart for the reception of the medicines, and of those who were brought in sick or hurt, and wanted immediate assistance. The young ladies were required to dress the wounds of those who were hurt, in order to give them readiness and skill in this employment, and to habituate them to the virtues of humility and tenderness of heart. The office relative to pharmacy, the weekly inspection, the prescription, and administration of medicines, Mr. Ferrar reserved to himself, being an excellent physician; as he had for many years attentively studied the theory and practice of medicine, both when physic fellow at Clare Hall, and under the celebrated professors at Padua. In this way was a considerable part of their income disposed of.
, an eminent French anatomist and surgeon, was born Oct. 27, 1693, at Frepech in Agenois. He practised
, an eminent French anatomist
and surgeon, was born Oct. 27, 1693, at Frepech in Agenois. He practised at Montpellier, and was a member of
the faculty of that city and of Paris, member of the academy of sciences, and professor of physic in the royal colllege. He was the author of two works; one entitled
“Lectures on Medicine,
” the other, “Lectures on the
Materia Medica
” each in three volumes, 12ino, which
were published in 1783, and proved the soundness of his
knowledge. He held, however, some peculiar notions as
to the formation of the voice, which he was not able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of his contemporaries. He
died at Paris Feb. 28, 1769.
urgery under an able practitioner, and then joined the army as a volunteer, and afterwards served as surgeon to the brigade of guards on the coast of France, and in all
, another brother of the preceding, was born in 1724, and educated in the Marischal
college, Aberdeen, of which he died rector magnijicus, or
lord rector, an office of great dignity in the Scotch universities, and to which he bequeathed a legacy of \000l. At
the age of eighteen, he had completed the usual course of
academical studies, and had distinguished himself for his
proficiency in Greek and mathematics. He had also studied
physic and surgery under an able practitioner, and then
joined the army as a volunteer, and afterwards served as
surgeon to the brigade of guards on the coast of France,
and in all the wars of Germany, and some part of that
time, if we mistake not, under sir John Pringle. The
warm support of his military friends, and of some persons
of high rank to whom he had been serviceable, concurred
with his own merit and address in recommending him to very
extensive practice in London. His publications, likewise,
added considerably to his fame: and he was sent for to
greater distances, and received larger sums, than almost
any physician of his time. By these means he might have
acquired an immense fortune, had he not been a very great
sufterer by the bankruptcy of his brother Alexander, and
had he not proved himself a man of most unbounded
liberality to his family and friends, and a generous patron
to many of his young countrymen, who were, from time
to time, recommended to his good offices. His address
had much of the courtly manner of past times, and his
conversation, while unassuming, was replete with elegant
anecdote and solid information. His practice lay much
among persons of rank, whose manners became familiar to
him. Few men died more generally lamented by a very
extensive circle of friends. Although originally of a delicate constitution, by temperance and exercise he preserved
his health for many years, but suffered at last a long and
severe illness, which ended in his death, Dec. 4, 1792, at
his house in Brook-street, Grosvenor-square. His first
publication was “A Treatise on the Venereal Disease,
”
which was followed, some years after, by another on
“Fevers,
” and a third on “The ulcerated Sore Throat.
”
In all these, except perhaps the first, he gave the result
of long practice and judicious observation. Just before
his death he published "The great importance and proper
method of cultivating and curing Rhubarb in Britain, for
medicinal uses/* 1792, 8vo. For his successful attempts to
cultivate this valuable medicine, the importation of which
at that time cost the nation annually 200,000l. the society
for the encouragement of arts unanimously voted him a
gold medal. Sir William was a fellow of the royal society,
and received the honour of knighthood from his majesty
about 1787.
M. D. F. R. S. many years a physician in South Carolina, and in this city, but then apprentice to a surgeon and apothecary in Aberdeen, he used to attribute the resolution
, another eminent physician, nephew to the preceding, was born in Aberdeen, November
18, 1736, and was the only and posthumous child of Mr.
George Fordyce, the proprietor of a small landed estate,
called Broadford, in the neighbourhood of that city. His
mother, not long after, marrying again, he was taken from
her when about two years old, and sent to Fovran, at which
place he received his school-education. He was removed
thence to the university of Aberdeen, where, it is said, he
was made M. A. when only fourteen years of age, but this
we much doubt. In his childhood he had taken great
delight in looking at phials of coloured liquors, which were
placed at the windows of an apothecary’s shop. To this
circumstance, and to his acquaintance with the late learned
Alexander Garden, M. D. F. R. S. many years a physician
in South Carolina, and in this city, but then apprentice to
a surgeon and apothecary in Aberdeen, he used to attribute the resolution he very early formed to study medicine.
He was in consequence sent, when about fifteen years old,
to his uncle, Dr. John Fordyce, who at that time practised
medicine at Uppingham, in Northamptonshire. With him
he remained several years, and then went to the university of Edinburgh, where, after a residence of about
three years, he received the degree of M. D. in October
1758. His inaugural dissertation was upon catarrh. While
at Edinburgh, Dr. Cullen was so much pleased with his
diligence and ingenuity, that, besides shewing him manyother marks of regard, he used frequently to give him private assistance in his studies. The pupil was ever after
grateful for this kindness, and was accustomed to speak
of his preceptor in terms of the highest respect, calling
him often “his learned and revered master.
” About the
end of 1758 he came to London, but went shortly after to
Leyden, for the purpose, chiefly, of studying anatomy
under Albinus. He returned in 1759 to London, where
he soou determined to fix himself as a teacher and practitioner of medicine. When he made known this intention to his relations, they highly disapproved of it, as
the whole of his patrimony had been expended upon his
education. Inspired, however, with that confidence which
frequently attends the conscious possession of great talents,
he persisted in his purpose, and, before the end of 1759,
commenced a course of lectures upon chemistry. This
was attended by nine pupils. In 1764 he began to lecture also upon materia medica and the practice of physic.
These three subjects he continued to teach nearly thirty
years, giving, for the most part, three courses of lectures
on each of them every year. A course lasted nearly four
months; and, during it, a lecture of nearly an hour was
delivered six times in the week. His time of teaching
commenced about 7 o'clock in the morning, and ended at
10; his lectures upon the three above-mentioned subjects
being given one immediately after the other. In 1765 he
was admitted a licentiate of the college of physicians. In
1770 he was chosen physician to St. Thomas’s hospital,
after a considerable contest; the number of votes in his
favour being 109, in that of his antagonist, Dr. Watson,
106. In 1774 he became a member of Dr. Johnson’s, or
the literary club and in 1776 was elected a fellow of the
royal society. In 1787 he was admitted a fellow of the
college of physicians. No circumstance can demonstrate
more strongly the high opinion entertained of his abilities
by the rest of his profession in London, than his reception
into that body. He had been particularly active in the
dispute, which had existed about twenty years before,
between the fellows and licentiates, and had, for this reason, it was thought, forfeited all title to be admitted into
the fellowship through favour. But the college, in 1787,
were preparing a new edition of their Pharmacopoeia; and
Knowing his talents in the branch of pharmaceutical chemistry, suppressed their resentment of his former conduct,
and, by admitting him into their body, secured his assistance in the work. In 1793 he assisted in forming a small
society of physicians and surgeons, which has since published two volumes, under the title of “Medical and Chirurgical Transactions;
” and continued to attend its meetings most punctually till within a month or two of his death.
Having thus mentioned some of the principal events of
his literary life, we shall next give a list of his various
medical and philosophical works; and first of those which
were published by himself, 1. “Elements of Agriculture
and Vegetation.
” He had given a course of lectures on
these subjects to some young men of rank; soon after, the
close of which, one of his hearers, the late Mr. Stuart
Mackenzie, presented him with a copy of them, from
uotes he had taken while they were delivered. Dr. Fordyce corrected the copy, and afterwards published it under
the above-mentioned title. 2. “Elements of the Practice
of Physick.
” This was used by him as a text-book for a
part of his course of lectures on that subject. 3. “A Treatise on the Digestion of Food.
” It was originally read
before the college of physicians, as the Gulstonian lecture. 4. “Four Dissertations on Fever.
” A fifth, which
completes the subject, was left by him in manuscript, and
has since been published. His other works appeared in
the Philosophical Transactions, and the Medical and Chirurgical Transactions. In the former are eight papers by
him, with the following titles: 1. Of the light produced
by inflammation. 2. Examination of various ores in the
museum of Dr. W. Hunter. 3. A new method of assaying
copper ores. 4. An account of some experiments on the
loss of weight in bodies on being melted or heated. 5. An
account of an experiment on heat. 6. The Cronian lecture on muscular motion. 7. On the cause of the additional weight which metals acquire on being calcined, &c.
Account of a new pendulum, being the Bakerian lecture.
His papers in the Medical and Chirurgical Transactions
are, 1. Observations on the small-pox, and causes of fever.
2. An attempt to improve the evidence of medicine. 3.
Some observations upon the composition of medicines.
He was, besides, the inventor of the experiments in heated
rooms, an account of which was given to the royal society
by the present sir Charles Blagden; and was the author
of many improvements in various arts connected with chemistry, on which he used frequently to be consulted by
manufacturers. Though he had projected various literary
works in addition to those which have been mentioned,
nothing has been left by him in manuscript, except the
dissertation on fever already spoken of; and two introductory lectures, one to his course of materia medica, the
other to that of the practice of physic. This will not apear extraordinary to those who knew what confidence he
ad in the accuracy of his memory. He gave all his lectures without notes, and perhaps never possessed any; he
took no memorandum in writing of the engagements he
formed, whether of business or pleasure, and was always
most punctual in observing them; and when he composed
his works for the publick, even such as describe successions of events found together, as far as we can perceive,
by no necessary tie, his materials, such at least as were
his own, were altogether drawn from stores in his memory,
which had often been laid up there many years before. In
consequence of this retentiveness of memory, and of great
reading and a most inventive mind, he was, perhaps, more
generally skilled in the sciences, which are either directly
subservient to medicine, or remotely connected with it,
than any other person of his time. One fault, however,
in his character as an author, probably arose, either wholly
or in part, from the very excellence which has been mentioned. This was his deficiency in the art of literary composition; the knowledge of which he might have insensibly acquired to a much greater degree than was possessed by him, had he felt the necessity in his youth of
frequently committing his thoughts to writing, for the
purpose of preserving them. But, whether this be just or
not, it must be confessed, that notwithstanding his great
learning, which embraced many subjects no way allied
to medicine, he seldom wrote elegantly, often obscurely
and inaccurately; and that he frequently erred with respect
even to orthography. His language, however, in conversation, which confirms the preceding conjecture, was not
less correct than that of most other persons of good education. As a lecturer, his delivery was slow and hesitating,
and frequently interrupted by pauses not required by his
subject. Sometimes, indeed, these continued so long,
that persons unaccustomed to his manner, were apt to fear
that he was embarrassed. But these disadvantages did not
prevent his having a considerable number of pupils, actuated by the expectation of receiving from him more full
and accurate instruction than they could elsewhere obtain. His person is said to have been handsome in his
youth; but his countenance, from its fulness, must have
been always inexpressive of the great powers of his mind.
His manners too, were less refined, and his dress in general less studied, than is usually regarded as becoming
the physician in this country. From these causes, and
from his spending a short time with his patients, although
sufficient to enable him to form a just opinion of their disorders, he had for many years but little private employment in his profession; and never, even in the latter part
of his life, when his reputation was at its height, enjoyed
nearly so much as many of his contemporaries. This may
have partly resulted too, from his fondness for the pleasures
of society, to which he often sacrificed the hours that
should have been dedicated to sleep; he has frequently
indeed, been known in his younger days, to lecture for
three hours in a morning, without having undressed himself the preceding night. The vigour of his constitution
enabled him to sustain for a considerable time, without
apparent injury, this debilitating mode of life; but at length
he was attacked with the gout, which afterwards became
irregular, and for many years frequently affected him with
excruciating pains in his stomach and bowels; in the latter
part of his life, also, his feet and ankles were almost constantly swollen, and a little time before his death he had
symptoms of water in the chest. To the first mentioned
disease (gout), he uniformly attributed his situation, which,
for several weeks previous to his dissolution, he knew to
be hopeless. This event took place at his house in Essex-street, May 25, 1802.
, professor of the Arabic and Chinese languages at Paris, was the son of a surgeon, and born at Herbelai, near Paris, in 1683. He learned the elements
, professor of the Arabic and Chinese languages at Paris, was the son of a surgeon, and born at Herbelai, near Paris, in 1683. He learned the elements of Latin from the curate of the place; but losing his father when very young, he came under the care of an uncle, who removed him to his house at Paris, and superintended his studies. He went through the courses of logic, rhetoric, and philosophy, in different colleges; and happening to meet with the abbé Sevin, who loved study as well as himself, they formed a scheme of reading all the Greek and Latin poets together. But as the exercises of the society employed most of their hours by day, they found means to continue this task secretly by night; and this being considered as a breach of discipline, the superior thought tit to exclude them from the community. Fourmont retired to the college of Montaigu, and had the very chambers which formerly belonged to Erasmus; and here the abbé Sevin continued to visit him, when they went on with their work without interruption. Fourmont joined to this pursuit the study of the oriental languages, in which he made a very uncommon progress.
his infancy; one, that his lips adhered so closely to each other when he came into the world, that a surgeon was obliged to divide them with his knife; the other, that his
an eminent Italian poet and physician, was born at Verona in 1483. Two singularities are related of him in his infancy; one, that his lips adhered so closely to each other when he came into the world, that a surgeon was obliged to divide them with his knife; the other, that his mother, Camilla Mascarellia, was killed by lightning, while he, though in her arms at the very moment, escaped unhurt. Fracastorio was of parts so exquisite, and made so wonderful a progress in every thing he undertook, that he became eminently skilled, not only in the belles lettres, but in all arts and sciences. He was a poet, a philosopher, a physician, an astronomer, and a mathematician. He was a man also of great political consequence, as appears from pope Paul Ill.'s making use of his authority to remove the council of Trent to Bologna, under the pretext of a contagious distemper, which, as Fracastorio deposed, made it no longer safe for him to continue at Trent. He was intimately acquainted with cardinal Bembo, Julius Scaliger, and all the great men of his time. He died of an apoplexy, at Casi near Verona, in 1553; and in 1559 the town of Verona erected a statue in honour of him.
town. Stow tells us, the wound was not mortal in itself, but became so through the negligence of his surgeon, who only extracted the bullet, without duly searching the wound
It does not appear how captain Frobisher employed himself from this time to 1585, when he commanded the Aid, in sir Francis Drake’s expedition to the West Indies. In 1588, he bravely exerted himself against the Spanish Armada, commanding the Triumph, one of the three largest ships in that service, and which had on board the greatest number pf men of any in the whole English fleet. July 26th, he received the honour of knighthood, from the hand of the lord high admiral, at sea, on board his own ship and when afterwards the queen thought it necessary to keep a fleet on the- Spanish coast, he was employed in that service, particularly in 1590, when he commanded one squadron, as sir John Hawkins did another. In 1594, he was sent with four men of war, to assist Henry the Fourth of France, against a body of leaguers and Spaniards then in possession of part of Bretagne, who had fortified themselves very strongly at Croyzon near Brest. But in an assault upon that fort, Nov. 7, he was wounded with a ball in the hip, of which he died Soob after he had brought the fleet safely back to Plymouth; and was buried in that town. Stow tells us, the wound was not mortal in itself, but became so through the negligence of his surgeon, who only extracted the bullet, without duly searching the wound and taking out the wadding, which caused it to fester.
, an English surgeon, was born in 1507; and educated under Richard Ferris, afterwards
, an English surgeon, was born in 1507;
and educated under Richard Ferris, afterwards serjeantsurgeon to queen Elizabeth. He was surgeon in the army
of king Henry VIII. at Montruil, in 1544; and in that of
king Philip at St. Quintin, in 1557, but afterwards settled
in London, and became very eminent in the practice of
surgery. He was living in 1586. Tanner gives the following list of his writings: “The Institution of a Chirurgeon.
” “An Enchiridion of Surgery,
” in four books.
“On Gun-shot wounds.
” “Antidotarie,
” in two books.
All these were printed together, London, 1563, 8vo. “A
compendious method of curing praeternatural Tumours.
”
“On the several kinds of Ulcers, and their cure.
” “A
Commentary on Guido de Cauliaco.
” “An Herbal, for
the use of surgeons.
” “A brief declaration of the worthy Art of Medicine, and the office of a Chirurgeon.
”
“An epitome of Galen de Natural. Facultat.
” The two
last were printed with a translation of " Galen de Methodo
MedenoV' It cannot be supposed that any of these are
now of much value, but some of them contain curious
information respecting the state of the profession at that
time.
njunction with his physiological inquiries, the duties of his professorship, and his employment as a surgeon and accoucheur, in which practice he was very eminent, gave
In conjunction with his physiological inquiries, the duties of his professorship, and his employment as a surgeon and accoucheur, in which practice he was very eminent, gave full occupation to the industry of Galvani. Besides a number of curious observations on the urinary organs, and on the organ of hearing in birds, which were published in the Memoirs of the Institute of Bologna, he drew up various memoirs on professional topics, which have remained inedited. He regularly held learned conversations with a few literary friends, in which new works were read and commented upon. He was a man of most amiable character in private life, and possessed of great sensibility, insomuch that the death of his wife, in 1790, threw him into a profound melancholy* His early impressions on the subject of religion remained unimpaired, and he was always punctual in practising its minutest rites. During the troubles in Italy he had espoused the side of the old established government, and was stript of all his offices, because he refused to take the oaths of allegiance to the new Cisalpine republic; and most of his relations perished by sudden or violent deaths, many of them in defence of their country. In a state of melancholy and poverty he retired to the house of his brother James, a man of very respectable character, and fell into an extreme debility. The republican governors, probably ashamed of their conduct towards such a man, passed a decree for his restoration to his professional chair and its emoluments: but it was now too late. He expired Dec. 5, 1798.
, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Vitre, a small town in Brittany, on the 13th of
, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Vitre, a small town in
Brittany, on the 13th of July, 1683, where his father practised surgery. In order to improve himself, he spent five
years in the hospital of Angers, and in the great naval hospitals of Brittany; and afterwards made two voyages in the
navy. In 1711 he went to Paris, and studied under Winslow, Thibaut, Meri, &c. and afterwards gave a course of
lectures on anatomy in the medical schools; and henceforth his reputation extended even to foreign countries;
for he was elected a member of the royal society of London. He was also appointed demonstrator royal in the
schools of medicine. On the establishment of the society
of academicians, under the patronage of the king, in 1731,
Garengeot was chosen “Commissaire pour les extraits,
”'
which office he retained until
tuition of Mr. Dawson, at Sedbergh, in Yorkshire, a celebrated mathematician, who was at that time a surgeon and apothecary, Here he laid the foundation of his medical and
, an ingenious English physician, was
born at Caste rton, near Kivkby Lonsda'le, Westmoreland,
April 21, 1766. About the age of fourteen, after having received the first rudiments of education at his native village,
he was placed as an apprentice under the tuition of Mr.
Dawson, at Sedbergh, in Yorkshire, a celebrated mathematician, who was at that time a surgeon and apothecary,
Here he laid the foundation of his medical and philosophical knowledge. After this he proceeded to Edinburgh,
and took his degree about 1758. During his residence
there, he became the pupil of Dr. Brown, whose new system of medicine Dr. Garnet, from this time, held in the
highest estimation. Soon after he visited London, and attended the practice of the hospitals. He had now arrived
at an age which made it necessary for him to think of some
permanent establishment. With this view he left London,
and settled at Bradford in Yorkshire, where he gave private lectures on philosophy and chemistry, and wrote a
treatise on the Horley Green Spa. In 179J he removed to
Knaresborough, and in summer to Harrogate, and was
soon engaged in an extensive practice. As this, however,
was necessarily limited to the length of the season, which
lasted only three or four months, Dr. G. soon after his
marriage, which took place in 1795, formed the design of
emigrating to America. At Liverpool, where he was waiting to embark, he was strongly solicited to give a chemical
course of lectures, which met with a most welcome reception, as did also another course on experimental philosophy. He then received a pressing invitation from Manchester, where he delivered the same lectures with equal
success. These circumstances happily operated to prevent his departure to America, and he became a successful candidate for the vacant professorship of Anderson’s
institution at Glasgow, in 1796. In Scotland, his leisure
hours were employed in collecting materials for his “Tour
through the Highlands;
” which work was in some degree
impeded by the sudden death of his wife in child-birth; an
event which so strongly affected his feelings, that he never
thought of it but with agony. Dr. G. was induced to relinquish the institution at Glasgow, by favourable offers
from the new Royal Institution in London, where, for one
season, he was professor of natural philosophy and che-p
mistry, and delivered the whole of the lectures. On
retiring from this situation, which was far too laborious
for the state of his health, at the close of 1801, he devoted
himself to his professional practice, and took a house in
Great Marlborough-street, where he built a new and convenient apartment, completed an expensive apparatus, and
during the winter of 1801 and 1802, he gave regular
courses on experimental philosophy and chemistry, and
a new course on “Zoonomia,
” or, “the Laws of
Animal Life, arranged according to the Brunonian theory.
”
These were interrupted in February, for some weeks, by
a dangerous illness, which left him in a languid state;
though he not only resumed and finished the lectures he
had begun, but also commenced two courses on botany,
one at his own house, and the other at Brompton. In the
midst of these, he received, by infection, from a patient
whom he had attended, the fever which terminated his life,
June 28, 1802. His “Zoonomia
” was afterwards published for the benefit of his family. “Thus,
” says his biographer, “was lost to society a man, the ornament of his
country, and the general friend of humanity. In his personal attachments, he was warm and zealous. In his religion he was sincere, yet liberal to the professors of contrary doctrines. In his political principles he saw no end,
but the general good of mankind; and, conscious of the
infirmity of human judgment, he never failed to make allowances for error. As a philosopher and a man of science,
he was candid, ingenuous, and open to conviction; he
never dealt in mystery, or pretended to any secret in art;
he was always ready in explanation, and desirous of assisting every person willing to acquire knowledge.
” Besides
his “Tour in Scotland,
” and the other works mentioned
before. Dr. Garnet contributed many papers to the Memoirs of the Medical Society of London, the Royal Irish
Academy, and other scientific societies.
increased gradually to the time of his death. This happened Jan. 20, without a groan. The celebrated surgeon Mr. Pott pronounced his disease to be a palsy of the kidneys.
In 1769 he projected and conducted the memorable Jubilee at Stratford, in honour of Shakspeare; so much admired by some, and so much and so justly ridiculed by others. The account of it, by his biographer, is curious, under more points of view than one. On the death of Mr. Lacy, in 1773, the whole management of the theatre devolved on him. He was now advanced in years; he had been much afflicted with chronical disorders; sometimes with the gout, oftener with the stone: for relief from the latter of which, he had used lixiviums and other soap medicines, which in reality hurt him. Yet his friends thought that a retirement from the stage, while he preserved a moderate share of health and spirits, would be more unfriendly to him, than the prosecution of a business, which he could make rather a matter of amusement, than a toilsome imposition. Accordingly, he continued upon the stage some time after; but finally left it in June 1776, and disposed of his moiety of the patent to messieurs Sheridan, Linley, and Ford, for 35,000l. In Christmas, 1778, when upon a visit at eai?l Spencer’s in the country, he was seized with a fit of his old disorder; but recovered so far, as to Venture upon his journey home, where he arrived, at his house in the Adelphi, Jan. 15, 1779. The next day, he sent for his apothecary, who found him dressing himself, and seemingly in good health; but somewhat alarmed, that he had not for many hours discharged any urine, contrary to his usual habit. The disorder was incessantly gaining ground, and brought on a stupor, which increased gradually to the time of his death. This happened Jan. 20, without a groan. The celebrated surgeon Mr. Pott pronounced his disease to be a palsy of the kidneys. His body was interred with great magnificence in Westminsterabbey, and in 1797 a monument was erected to his memory, at the expence of a private friend. Garrick is supposed to have died worth 140.000l.
Kircudbright, and received his early education at home. At the age of fourteen he was placed with a surgeon-apothecary in Edinburgh, where he attended the medical classes
, an eminent physician, and very amiable man, was born at Kircudbright, the principal town of the county of that name in Scotland, Oct 28, 1732. He was the son of the rev. George Garthshore, the minister of Kircudbright, and received his early education at home. At the age of fourteen he was placed with a surgeon-apothecary in Edinburgh, where he attended the medical classes of the university, and the infirmary. In his twenty-second year, when he had finished his medical studies, he entered the army, as mate to surgeon Huck (afterwards Dr. Huck Sauntiers) in lord Charles Hay’s regiment. In 1756 he had an opportunity of relinquishing this service for the more advantageous situation of succeeding to the practice of Dr. John Fordyce, a physician at Uppingham, in Rutlandshire, who was about to remove to London. In this place, Dr. Garthshore resided until 1763, giving much satisfaction by his activity, assiduity, and successful practice in physic and midwifery, in a very extensive range of country. Here also he formed some valuable connections, and in 1759 married a young lady heiress to a small estate. This last advantage encouraged him to remove to London in 1763, and after a short residence in Bed ford -street, Coventgarden, he settled in a house in St. Martin’s lane, where he continued nearly fifty years. His professional views in coming to London were amply gratified; but here he was soon assailed by a heavy domestic affliction, the loss of his wife, which took place the 8th of March, 1765. From this calamity Dr. G. sought relief in the practice of his public duties. His natural susceptibility, the instruction of his father, the correspondence of Mr. Maitland, an early friend and patron, had deeply impressed him with devotion to his Maker, and taught him to consider it as inseparable from good-will and beneficence to men. Volumes of his Diary, kept for the whole of his life in London, and amounting to many thousands of close-written pages, in contractions very difficult to decypher, consist of medical, miscellaneous, and eminently pious remarks, meditations, and daily ejaculations of praise and thanksgiving, with fervent prayers to be kept steady in that course of well-doing essential to happiness in the present life and in that which is to come. The tone and temper, elevation and energy, acquired by this sublime heavenly intercourse, appeared indispensable to this good man, not only as the consolation of sorrow, and the disposer to patience and resignation under the ills of life, but as the spring and principle of unwearied perseverance in active virtue; the diligent, liberal, charitable exercise of the profession to which he was devoted. From this time forward he continued for nearly half a century cultivating medicine in all its branches, most attentive to every new improvement in themf, physician to the British lying-in hospital, fellow of the royal and antiquarian societies, rendering his house an asylum for the poor, as well as a centre of communication for the learned; for his connection with the higher orders of men never prevented his habitual attentions and services to the less fortunate: in general, to stand in need of his assistance was the surest recommendation to his partiality.
, a surgeon and famous herbalist of the time of queen Elizabeth, was born
, a surgeon and famous herbalist of
the time of queen Elizabeth, was born at Namptwich,
Cheshire, in 1545. He practised surgery in London, and
rose to eminence in that profession. Mr. Granger says,
“he was many years retained as chief gardener to lord
Burleigh, who was himself a great lover of plants, and had
the best collection of any nobleman in the kingdom; among
these were many exotics, introduced by Gerarde.
” This
is conh'rmed by the dedication of the first edition of his
Herbal, in 1597, to that illustrious nobleman, in which he
says he had “that way employed his principal study, and
almost all his time,
” then for twenty years. It appears
therefore that he had given up his original profession.
Johnson, the editor of his second edition, says, “he lived
some ten years after the publishing of this work, and died
about 1607;
” so that he survived his noble patron nine
years.
, a German physician, was born in 1595, at Cologne, where his father was a surgeon. His first application to letters was at Bremen; whence he returned
, a German physician, was
born in 1595, at Cologne, where his father was a surgeon.
His first application to letters was at Bremen; whence he
returned to Cologne, and devoted himself to philosophy,
physic, and chirurgery. He studied four years under
Peter Holtzem, who was the elector’s physician, and professor in this city; and he learned the practical part of
surgery from his father. To perfect himself in these
sciences, he went afterwards into Italy, and made some
stay at Padua; where he greatly benefited himself by attending the lectures of Jerome Fabricius ab Aquapendente,
Adrian Spigelius, and Sanctorins. He was here made
M. D. After having visited the principal towns of Italy,
he returned to his country in 1618, and settled at Bremen;
where he practised physic and surgery with so much success, that the archbishop of this place made him his physician in 1628. He was also made physician of the republic of Bremen. The time of his death is not precisely
known; some say 1640, but the dedication of his last work
is dated Oct. 8, 1652. He published at Bremen, “
Speculum Chirurgorum,
” in 1619, 8vo; reprinted in 1628, 4to;
“Methodus Medendse Paronychia?,
” in Tractatus
de Polypo Narium affectu gravissimo,
” in Gazophylacium Polypusium Fonticulorum & Setonum
Reseratum,
” in
, son of the above, was born at Dundee, in 1725, and brought up a surgeon, in which capacity he went several voyages to the West Indies,
, son of the above, was born at Dundee,
in 1725, and brought up a surgeon, in which capacity he
went several voyages to the West Indies, but not liking
his profession, he accepted the command of a merchant’s
ship belonging to London, and engaged in the trade to
the Brazils. Being a man of considerable abilities, he
published in 1 vtol. 4to, “A Decription of Teneriffe, with
the Manners and Customs of the Portuguese who are
settled there.
” In
, a Gascon poet, was born at Toulouse in 1579, where his father was a surgeon. He was educated for the law, but the muses charmed him from,
, a Gascon poet, was born at Toulouse in 1579, where his father was a surgeon. He was educated for the law, but the muses charmed him from, that profession, and he devoted himself to their service. His verses and the wit of his conversation procured him easy access to the tables of the great, but he profited so little by their patronage, that he would have been left to starve in his old age, had not his fellow citizens bestowed a pension on him from the public funds, which he enjoyed until his death, Sept. 10, 1649. Such was his reputation, that they also placed his bust in the gallery of the townhall, among those of other illustrious men whom Toulouse had produced; and his works were long cited with delight and admiration. They were published in a single volume, and often printed at Toulouse; and at Amsterdam in 170O. His poem on the death of Henry IV. is one of his best, and one of the few that has borne a translation from the Gascon language.
education as his native place afforded, went to Edinburgh, where he was apprenticed to Mr. Lawder, a surgeon, and had an opportunity of studying the various branches of
, an English poet and physician, was born at Dunse, a small town in the southern part of Scotland, about 1723. His father, a native of Cumberland, and once a man of considerable property, had removed to Dunse, on the failure of some speculations in mining, and there filled a post in the excise. His son, after receiving such education as his native place afforded, went to Edinburgh, where he was apprenticed to Mr. Lawder, a surgeon, and had an opportunity of studying the various branches of medical science, which were then begun to be taught by the justly celebrated founders of the school of medicine in that city. Having qualified himself for such situations as are attainable by young men whose circumstances do not permit them to wait the slow returns of medical practice at home, he first served as surgeon to lieut.-general Pulteney’s regiment of foot, during the rebellion (of 1745) in Scotland, and afterwards went in the same capacity to Germany, where that regiment composed part of the army under the earl of Stair. With the reputation and interest which his skill and learning procured abroad, he came over to England at the peace of Aix-laChapelle, sold his commission, and entered upon practice as a physician in London.
was shot through the body. He was now taken to the cabin, and while in the act of being dressed, the surgeon was killed by his side. The admiral still determined to hold
, a gallant naval officer, was the son of sir Roger, of an ancient family, in the west of England, and was born about 1540. At the age of sixteen, by the permission of queen Elizabeth, he served in the imperial army in Hungary, against the Turks. Upon his return, he engaged with the troops employed for the reduction of Ireland, and obtained so much reputation as to be appointed sheriff of the city of Cork, and in 1571, he represented the county of Cornwall in parliament. He was afterwards high sheriff of the county, and received the honour of knighthood; but the bias of his mind was chiefly fixed upon plans of foreign discovery and settlement, proposed by his relation sir Walter Raleigh, and when the patents were made out, he obtained the command of a squadron fitted out for the purpose, consisting of seven small vessels. With these he sailed in the spring of 1585, and reaching the coast of Florida in June, he left there a colony of one hundred men, and then sailed homewards. He made other voyages, and on occasion of the Spanish invasion, was appointed one of a council of war, to concert means of defence, and received the queen’s commands not to quit the county of Cornwall. In 1591 he was appointed vice-admiral of a squadron, fitted out for the purpose of intercepting a rich Spanish fleet from the West Indies. This fleet, when it appeared, was convoyed by a very superior force, and Greenville was urged to tack about; but he preferred, and no doubt his sailors agreed with him, taking chance of breaking through the enemy’s fleet, which almost immediately surrounded him. The Spanish admiral, with four other ships, began a clos? attack at three in the afternoon the engagement lasted till break of day next morning, during which the Spaniards, notwithstanding their vast superiority, were driven off fifteen times. At length the greater part of the English crew being either killed or wounded, and the ship reduced to a wreck, no hope of escape remained. The brave commander had been wounded at the beginning of the action, but he caused his wounds to be dressed on deck, and refused to go down into the hold, and in that state he was shot through the body. He was now taken to the cabin, and while in the act of being dressed, the surgeon was killed by his side. The admiral still determined to hold out, wishing rather to sink the ship than surrender, but the offers of quarter from the Spaniards induced the men to yield. Sir Richard was taken on board the Spanish ship, and honourably treated, but died of his wounds in about three days. He has sometimes been blamed for rashness, but of this his censurers appear to be very imperfect judges.
gh professional reputation in the army as well as at home. He received the honourable appointment of surgeon to the sovereigns Charles IX. and Henry IV. by both of whom
, one of the most celebrated
surgeons of the sixteenth century, was a native of Orleans,
and the pupil of the famous Ambrose Paré, and attained
very high professional reputation in the army as well as at
home. He received the honourable appointment of surgeon to the sovereigns Charles IX. and Henry IV. by both
of whom he was highly esteemed. He died at Paris March
13, 1609. His first publication was a translation of Ambrose Paré's Treatise on Surgery into Latin, printed at
Paris in 1582, folio. His next work was a small treatise,
entitled “Apologie pour les Chirurgiens,
” Œuvres de Chirurgie,
” printed at Paris in Tables Anutomiques,
” with
figures from Vesalius; “Histoire de tous les Muscles du
corps humain,
” &c.; “Traité de la Generation de l'homme;
” “L'heureux Accouchement des femmes;
” “Traité
sur les abus qui se commettent sur les procédures de l'Impuissance des hommes et des femmes;
” “La Chirurgie
Françoise, recueillies des anciens Médecins et Chirurgiens,
&c.;
” “Traité des plaies recueillies des Leçons de M.
Courtin;
” “Operations de Chirurgie recueillies ides anciens
Medecins et Chirurgiens;
” “Traité des maladies de l'iŒil;
”
and lastly, “Traité de la parfaite methode d'Embaumer les
corps;
” which contains a report of that operation, as performed upon the bodies of Charles IX. and Henry III.
and IV.
21, and educated at the high school there. He was afterwards apprenticed to Mr. William Edmonston, a surgeon and apothecary at Leith, and after continuing in that station
, “a skilful physician, was born
at Edinburgh, Dec. 6, 1721, and educated at the high
school there. He was afterwards apprenticed to Mr. William Edmonston, a surgeon and apothecary at Leith, and
after continuing in that station three years, studied* medicine at the university of Edinburgh. In 1741, he went as
surgeon’s mate on board the Somerset, and for some time
had the care of the military hospital at Port Mahon. In
1744, he was appointed surgeon to the Wolf sloop of war.
The four following years were divided between his occupations at sea, and his attendance upon the lectures of
Drs. Hunter and Smellie in London. In 1748, he went
to Lynn in Norfolk, invited thither by his brother, a merchant in that town. He afterwards accepted an offer of
settling at Lynn; and in 1766, having received the degree
of M. D. from the university of St. Andrew’s, he succeeded
to the practice of Dr. Lidderdale, who died about that time.
In this situation he continued to the time of his death,
which happened Nov. 9, 1793. As he was of an inquisitive and industrious turn of mind, the time that could be
spared from his practice he employed in endeavouring to
make improvements in his profession, and of his success
several valuable monuments remain. He was a frequent,
correspondent of the royal societies of London and Edinburgh. In 1791, he published a
” Treatise on the Scrofula,“which has been well received. He invented a machine for reducing dislocated shoulders, and an apparatus
for keepiug the ends of fractured bones together, to prevent lameness and deformity from those accidents. In
1801, was published a posthumous work, entitled
” Observations on the marsh remittent fever; also on the water
canker, or cancer aquaticus of Van Swieten, with some remarks on the leprosy," 8vo. Prefixed to this volume is an
account of the author, from which we have extracted the
preceding sketch.
hy of Magdeburgh, February 4, 1684, by a second wife of his father, who was an eminent physician and surgeon of the same place, and then above sixty years of age. From his
, the greatest musical composer of his time, or perhaps of any time or country, was born at Halle, in the duchy of Magdeburgh, February 4, 1684, by a second wife of his father, who was an eminent physician and surgeon of the same place, and then above sixty years of age. From his very childhood he discovered such a propensity to music, that his father, who always intended him for the civil law, took every method to oppose this inclination, by keeping him out of the way of, and strictly forbidding him to meddle with, musical instruments of any kind. The son, however, found means to get a little clavicord privately conveyed to a room at the top of the house; and with this he used to amuse himself when the family was asleep. While he was yet under seven years of age, he went with his father to the duke of Saxe Weisenfels, where it was impossible to keep him from harpsichords, and other musical instruments. One morning, while he was playing on the organ, after the service was over, the duke was in the church; and something in his manner of playing affected his highness so strongly, that he asked his valet-de-chambre (who was Handel’s brother-in-law) who it was that he heard at the organ? The valet replied, that it was his brother. The duke demanded to see him; and after making proper inquiries about him, expostulated very seriously with his father, who still retained his prepossessions in favour of the civil law. He allowed that every father had certainly a right to dispose of his children as he should think most expedient; but that in the present instance he could not but consider it as a sort of crime against the public and posterity to rob the world of such a rising genius. The issue of this conversation was, not only a toleration for music, but consent also that a master should be called in to forward and assist him.
, a celebrated physician, surgeon, anatomist, and botanist, was born at Frankfort on the Maine,
, a celebrated physician, surgeon, anatomist, and botanist, was born at Frankfort on the Maine, in 1683. He was educated in several German universities, and in 1706 spent some time in the study of anatomy and surgery at Amsterdam under Ruysch, then so famous for his dissections and anatomical preparations. In the following year he went to serve as a surgeon in the Dutch camp in Brabant; devoting the subsequent winter to further improvement, under Boerhaave and his eminent colleagues, who at that time attracted students from all parts to the university of Leyden, where Heister took his degree. Returning afterwards to the camp, he was, in 1709, appointed physician -general to the Dutch military hospital. The experience he thus acquired, raised him to a distinguished rank in the theory and practice of surgery, especially as he had a genius for mechanics, and was by that means enabled to bring about great improvements in the instrumental branch of his art. In 1710 he became professor of anatomy and surgery at Altorf, in the little canton of Uri, and rendered himself celebrated by his lectures and writings. Ten years afterwards a more advantageous situation offered itself to him at Helmstad, where he became physician, with the title of Aulic counsellor, as usual, to the duke of Brunswick, as well as professor of medicine, and afterwards of surgery and botany, in that university. Here he continued till his death, which happened in 1758, at the age of seventy-five. The czar Peter invited him to Russia, but he was too comfortably situated in Germany, where the favour of several sovereigns already shone upon him at an early period, to accept the invitation.
of a congregation in Berwick upon Tweed. Here, in 1763, he married the daughter of Mr. Balderston, a surgeon, and though he had no children, enjoyed to the end of his life
, author of a History of England on a new plan, which has been generally and highly approved, was the son of James Henry, a farmer, at Muirtown in the parish of St. Ninian’s, Scotland, and of Jean Galloway his wife, of Stirlingshire. He was born on Feb. 18, 1718; and, having early resolved to devote himself to a literary profession, was educated first under a Mr. John Nicholson, at the parish school of St. Ninian’s, and for some time at the grammar-school at Stirling. He completed his academical studies at the university of Edinburgh, and afterwards became master of the grammar-school of Annan. He was licensed to preach on the 27th of March, 1746, and was the first licentiate of the presbytery of Annan, after its erection into a separate presbytery. Soon after he received a call from a congregation oi presbyterian dissenters at Carlisle, where he was ordained in November 1748. In this station he remained twelve years, and, on the 13th of August, 1760, became pastor of a congregation in Berwick upon Tweed. Here, in 1763, he married the daughter of Mr. Balderston, a surgeon, and though he had no children, enjoyed to the end of his life a large share of domestic happiness. In 1768, he was removed from Berwick, to be one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and was minister of the church of the New Grey Friars, from that time till November 1776. He then became colleague-minister in the old church, and in that station remained till his death, which happened in November, 1790. The degree of doctor in divinity was conferred on him by the university of Edinburgh, in 1770; and in 1774, he was unanimously chosen moderator of the general assembly of the church of Scotland, and is the only person on record who obtained that distinction the first time he was a member of the assembly.
l, was born in 1741, in a small town of Prussia, and was originally intended for the profession of a surgeon, but afterwards studied divinity, and was invited to Buckeburg,
, a German philosopher of
the new school, was born in 1741, in a small town of Prussia, and was originally intended for the profession of a surgeon, but afterwards studied divinity, and was invited to
Buckeburg, to officiate as minister, and to be a member
of the consistory of the ecclesiastical council, In 1774 he
was promoted by the duke of Saxe Weimar, to be first
preacher to the court, and ecclesiastical counsellor, to
which was afterwards added the dignity of vice-president
cjf the consistory of Weimar, which he held until his death,
Pec. 18, 1803. Some of his ficst works gained him great^
praise, both as a critic antj philosopher; such as his, 1.
“Three fragments on the new German Literature,
” Riga,
On the Writings of Thomas Abbt,
” Berlin,
On the origin of Language,
” ibid. Oldest Notices of the Origin of Mankind,
”
Riga, Outlines of a philosophy
of the history of Man,
” of which an English translation
was published in
mber 14, 1739. He attended the grammar school of that town until he was apprenticed to his father, a surgeon and apothecary of reputation; after which he resided some time
, an eminent anatomist, was born
at Hexham, in Northumberland, November 14, 1739. He
attended the grammar school of that town until he was apprenticed to his father, a surgeon and apothecary of reputation; after which he resided some time with Mr. Lambert,
surgeon, at Newcastle. In 1759 he was sent to London,
and resided with that distinguished anatomist, Mr. John
Hunter, attending the lectures of his no less celebrated
brother, Dr. Wm. Hunter. Young Hewson’s assiduity and
skill having attracted the attention of the teachers, he was
appointed to superintend the dissecting room, while Mr.
Hunter went abroad with the army in 1760; and in 1762,
after studying a year at Edinburgh, he became associated
with Dr. Hunter, and occasionally delivered the anatomical
lectures; and when Dr. Hunter’s spacious establishment
was completed in Windmill-street, Mr. Hewson was allotted
an apartment in the house. Here he pursued his anatomical
investigations, and “his experimental inquiries into the
properties of the blood;
” an account of which he published
in 1771, and he communicated to the royal society several
papers containing an account of his discoveries of the lymphatic system in birds and fishes, for which he received
the Copleyan medal, and was soon after elected a fellow
of that body. In 1770, his connection with Dr. Hunter
was dissolved, and he began a course of anatomical lectures alone in September 1772, in Craven-street; and
published a second edition of his “Experimental Inquiry,
”
which he dedicated to sir John Pringle, as a testimony of
gratitude for the undeviating friendship of that illustrious
physician. In the spring of 1774, he published his work
On the “Lymphatic system.
” At this time his anatomical
theatre was crowded with pupils, his practice was daily increasing, and his ardour for experimental research undiminished, when he was seized with a fever, occasioned by
a wound received in dissecting a morbid body, which terminated fatally on the 1st of May 1774, in the thirty-fifth
year of his age. His papers, which were afterwards collected together, were originally published in the 23d, 24th,
25th, and 28th volumes of the Philosophical Transactions,
annis 1768 73.
ortraits, contains that of St. Andre, then anatomist to the royal household, and in high credit as a surgeon.
In the year 1726, when the affair of Mary Tofts, the rabbit-breeder of Godalming, engaged the public attention, a few of the principal surgeons subscribed their guinea a-piece to Hogarth, for an engraving from a ludicrous sketch he had made on that very popular subject. This plate, amongst other portraits, contains that of St. Andre, then anatomist to the royal household, and in high credit as a surgeon.
eing at dinner with the celebrated Cheselden, and some other company, was told that Mr>. John Freke, surgeon of St. Bartholomew’s hospital, a few evenings before at Dick’s
The following well-authenticated story will also serve to
shew how much more easy it is to detect ill-placed or hyperbolical adulation respecting others, than when applied
to ourselves. Hogarth being at dinner with the celebrated
Cheselden, and some other company, was told that Mr>.
John Freke, surgeon of St. Bartholomew’s hospital, a few
evenings before at Dick’s coffee-house, had asserted that
Greene was as eminent in composition as Handel. “That
fellow Freke,
” replied Hogarth, “is always shooting his
bolt absurdly one way or another! Handel is a giant in
music; Greene only a light Florimel kind of a composer.
”
—“Ay,
” said, the informant, “but at the same time Mr.
Freke declared you were as good a portrait-painter as
Vandyck.
”—“There he was in the right,
” adds Hogarth:
“and so I am, give me my time, and let one choose my
subject!
”
to England, his father, finding him inflexible on this point, bound him apprentice to Mr. Forbes, a surgeon in the Park, Southwark, and upon the death of that gentleman
John Zephaniah Holwell was born at Dublin, Sept. 17, 1711, and at the age of eight was brought over to England, and placed at Mr. M'Kenzie’s grammar-school at Richmond in Surrey, where he distinguished himself in classical learning. After this, his father having determined to breed him up to mercantile life in Holland, sent him to an academy at Iselmond on the Meuse, where he learned the French and Dutch languages, and was instructed in bookkeeping. He was then placed in the counting-house of Lantwoord, a banker and ship’s-husband at Rotterdam, with a stipulation that he was to be admitted as a partner at the expiration of five years. The unceasing toil, however, of his new situation soon affected his health to a very alarming degree; and although he recovered by consulting the celebrated Boerhaave at Leyden, his inclination for trade was gone, and on his return to England, his father, finding him inflexible on this point, bound him apprentice to Mr. Forbes, a surgeon in the Park, Southwark, and upon the death of that gentleman he was placed under the care of Mr. Andrew Cooper, senior surgeon of Guy’s hospital.
eft a very slender provision for his widow and: son, he quitted the hospital, and engaged himself as surgeon’s mate on board the Duke of Cumberland Indiaman, which sailed
Being now duly qualified, and having lost his father in 1729, who left a very slender provision for his widow and: son, he quitted the hospital, and engaged himself as surgeon’s mate on board the Duke of Cumberland Indiaman, which sailed from Gravesend Feb. 2, 1732, and proceeded to Bengal, where he was appointed surgeon of a frigate belonging to the company, bound for the gulph of Persia. In the course of this voyage he acquired some knowledge of the Arabic tongue, and on his return to Calcutta employed his leisure hours in studying the Moorish and common Hinduee languages, and the Lingua Franca of the Portuguese. In January 1734 he made another voyage, as aurgeon of the ship Prince of Wales, to Surat, &c. and soon after his return to Bengal, he was appointed surgeonmajor to the Patna party, usually consisting of about 400 European infantry, which annually left the presidency in the latter end of September, with the company’s trade for their factory at Patna. His next voyage was in the ship Prince of Orange, to Mocha and Judda in the Arabian gulph. During nis stay there he added to his knowledge of the Arabic tongue, and on his return to Calcutta was able to speak it with tolerable fluency. After another visit, however, to Patna, as surgeon -major, he was anxious to quit this rambling life, and by the interest of his friends was appointed surgeon to the company’s factory at Decca; and here, besides farther improving himself in the Moorish and Hinduee tongues, he commenced his researches into the Hindu theology.
d to Calcutta, and was elected an alderman in the mayor’s court; and in 1740 was appointed assistant surgeon to the hospital, which first gave him a solid establishment
At the close of the year 1736 he returned to Calcutta,
and was elected an alderman in the mayor’s court; and in
1740 was appointed assistant surgeon to the hospital, which
first gave him a solid establishment in the company’s service. In 1746 he succeeded to the place of principal
physician and surgeon to the presidency; and in the years
1747 and 1748 was successively elected mayor of the corporation. In Sept. 1749 his bad state of health rendered
it necessary for him to return to England, where he arrived
in the March following. During this voyage he had leisure
to arrange his materials on the theology and doctrines of
the ancient and modern Brahmans, and to digest a plan
which he had formed for correcting abuses in the Zemindar’s court at Calcutta. This scheme of reform he submitted to the court of directors, who, in consequence of
the advantages it promised to produce, appointed him perpetual Zemindar, and twelfth, or youngest, in the council
at the bpard of Calcutta; but with an exception to any
further advancement in it. On his arrival in Calcutta, in
August 1751, he immediately began his system of reform,
which gave so much satisfaction to the directors, that the
exception against his rising in the council was removed,
and 4000 rupees added to his salary. The nature and
object of this reform is fully delineated in his “India Tracts,
”
a 4to volume, which he published at London in
, an eminent professor of botany in the university of Edinburgh, was the son of Mr. Robert Hope, surgeon, and grandson of lord Rankeilar, one of the sena tors of the
, an eminent professor of botany in the university of Edinburgh, was the son of Mr. Robert Hope, surgeon, and grandson of lord Rankeilar, one of the sena tors of the college of justice in Scotland. He was bori May 10, 1725, and educated at the university of Edinburgh, where his attention was first directed to the medical art. He afterwards visited other medical schools, particularly Paris, where he studied his favourite science, botany, under the celebrated Bernard Jussien. On hi; return to Scotland, he obtained the degree of M. D. from the university of Glasgow in 1750, and being a few monthi after admitted a member of the royal college of physicians Edinburgh, entered upon the practice of medicine in that city. On the death of Dr. Alston, in 1761, he was appointed king’s botanist in Scotland, superintendant of the royal garden, and professor of botany and materia medic. The latter, the professorship of materia medica, he resignd in 1768, and by a new commission from his majesty, was nominated regius professor of medicine and botany in the university, and had the offices of king’s botanist and supeintendant of the royal gardens conferred upon him for lit;, which till that time had been always granted during pleasnre only. While he thus enjoyed his honours at horn;, he received the most flattering marks of esteem from t/e learned of other countries, having been elected a member not only of the royal society of London, but also of several celebrated foreign societies, and having been enrolledin the first class of botanists even by Linnæus, who denoiiinated a beautiful shrub by the name of Hopea and a time when he might be justly considered as at the very head of his profession in Edinburgh, holding the distingnished office of president of the royal college of pysicians, he was seized with an alarming illness, which in the space of a few days, put a period to his life, Nov. 10, 1786. This gentleman richly deserves to be remembred as one of the earliest lecturers on the vegetable physiology, as well as an experienced practical botanist. Edinbrgli is indebted to his spirit and perseverance, in establihing and providing suitable funds for its botanic garden, one of the first in the kingdom. Besides some useful manuals for facilitating the acquisition of botany by his students, Dr. Hope was long engaged in the composition of an extensive work, on which he bestowed much study and reflection; the object of which was, to increase the advantages which result from the highly ingenious artificial system of Linnæus, by conjoining with it a system of vegetables distributed according to their great natural orders. He had made very considerable progress in this valuable work; and it is much to be regretted by every lover of botany, that it was left imperfect at his death. Two valuable dissertations were published by him in the Philosophical Transactions, one on the Rheum palmatum, and the other on the Femla Assafoetida, in which he demonstrates the practicability of cultivating these two officinal plants in our own country. The true rhubarb has been since extensively and successfully cultivated; but that of the assafaetida plant has not been equally attended to.
, an able promoter of exotic botany in England, went first to the West Indies, in the character of a surgeon, and upon his return, after two years’ residence at Leyden,
, an able promoter of exotic
botany in England, went first to the West Indies, in the
character of a surgeon, and upon his return, after two
years’ residence at Leyden, took his degrees in physic
under Boerhaave, in 1728 and 1729. At Leyden he instituted a set of experiments on brutes; some of which were
made in concert with the celebrated Van Swieten. They
were afterwards published in the Philosophical Transactions
under the title of “Experimenta de perforatione thoracis,
ejusque in respiratione affectibus,
” the result of which
proved, contrary to the common opinion, that animals
could live and breathe for some time, although air was
freely admitted into both cavities of the thorax. Soon
after his return from Holland, he was in 1732 elected a
fellow of the royal society, and went immediately to the
West Indies, where he fell a sacrifice to the heat of the
climate, July 14, 1733. He had previously sent over a
description and figure of the dorsteria contrayerva, which
were published in the Philosophical Transactions, vol.
XXXVII. This was the first authentic account received
of that drug, although known in England from the time of
sir Francis Drake, or earlier. He also sent to his friend
Mr. Miller, of Chelsea, the seeds of many rare and new
plants collected by him in the islands. His ms Catalogue
of plants also came into the hands of Mr. Miller, and after
his death into the possession of sir Joseph Banks, who,
out of respect to the memory of so deserving a man, gratified the botanists with the publication of them, under the
title of " Reliquiae Houstonianae, 1781, 4to.
cian at Halifax, and afterwards was a pupil at Guy’s hospital. In 1755, he served in the capacity of surgeon in the navy, and being stationed at Leith after the peace of
, an English physician, was born
at Holme Torp in Yorkshire, June 17, 1732, and was
taught the rudiments of medical science by his brother,
Dr. Joseph Hulme, an eminent physician at Halifax, and
afterwards was a pupil at Guy’s hospital. In 1755, he
served in the capacity of surgeon in the navy, and being
stationed at Leith after the peace of 1763, he embraced the
favourable opportunity of prosecuting his medical studies
at Edinburgh, where he took his degree of doctor in 1765.
His inaugural thesis was entitled “Dissertatio Medica
Inauguralis de Scorbuto.
” Soon after his graduation, he
settled in London as a physician, intending to devote his
attention particularly to the practice of midwifery. This,
however, he soon relinquished: and, on the establishment
of the general dispensary (the first institution of the kind in London), he was appointed its first physician. He was
also some time physician to the City of London Lying-in
hospital. About 1774, he was, through the influence of
lord Sandwich, then first lord of the admiralty, elected
physician to the Charter-house His other official situations he resigned many years before his death, and withdrew himself at the same time in a great measure from the
active exercise of his profession; but continued in the
Charter-house during the remainder of his life. In March
1807, he was bruised by a fall, of which he died on the
28th of that month, and was buried at his own desire in
the pensioners’ burial ground, followed by twenty-four
physicians and surgeons, who highly respected his character.
ving accepted Dr. Douglas’s invitation, was by his friendly assistance enabled to enter himself as a surgeon’s pupil at St. George’s hospital under Mr. James Wilkie, and
Mr. Hunter, having accepted Dr. Douglas’s invitation,
was by his friendly assistance enabled to enter himself as a
surgeon’s pupil at St. George’s hospital under Mr. James
Wilkie, and as a dissecting pupil under Dr. Frank Nichols,
who at that time taught anatomy with considerable reputation. He likewise attended a course of lectures on experimental philosophy by Dr. Desaguliers. Of these means
of improvement he did not fail to make a proper use. He
soon became expert in dissection, and Dr. Douglas was at
the expence of having several of his preparations engraved.
But before many months had elapsed, he had the misfortune to lose this excellent friend. Dr. Douglas died April
1, 1742, in his 67th year, leaving a widow and two children. The death of Dr. Douglas, however, made no
change in his situation. He continued to reside with the
doctor’s family, and to pursue his studies with the same
diligence as before. In 1743 he communicated to the
royal society “An Essay on the Structure and Diseases of
articulating Cartilages.
” This ingenious paper, on a subject which till then had not been sufficiently investigated,
affords a striking testimony of the rapid progress he had
made in his anatomical inquiries. As he had it in contemplation to teach anatomy, his attention was directed principally to this object; and it deserves to be mentioned as
an additional mark of his prudence, that he did not precipitately engage in this attempt,but passed several years
in acquiring such a degree of knowledge, and such a collection of preparations, as might insure him success. After
waiting some time for a favourable opening, he succeeded
Mr. Samuel Sharpe as lecturer to a private society of surgeons in Covent-garden, began his lectures in their rooms,
and soon extended his plan from surgery to anatomy. This
undertaking commenced in the winter of 1746. He is said
to have experienced much solicitude when he began to
speak in public, but applause soon inspired him with courage; and by degrees he became so fond of teaching, that
for many years before his death he was never happier than
when employed in delivering a lecture.
actised both surgery and midwifery, but the former he always disliked; and, being elected one of the surgeon-men-midwives first to the Middlesex, and soon afterwards to
The profits of his two first courses were considerable,
but by contributing to the wants of different friends, he
found himself, at the return of the next season, obliged to
defer his lectures for a fortnight, merely because he had
not money to defray the necessary expeiice of advertisements. This circumstance taught him to be more reserved
in this respect. In 1747 he was admitted a member of
the corporation of surgeons, and in the spring of the following year, soon after the close of his lectures, he set
out in company with his pupil, Mr. James Douglas, on a
tour through Holland to Paris. His lectures suffered no
interruption by this journey, as he returned to England
soon enough to prepare for his winter course, which began
about the usual time. At first he practised both surgery
and midwifery, but the former he always disliked; and,
being elected one of the surgeon-men-midwives first to the
Middlesex, and soon afterwards to the British lying-in
hospital, and recommended by several of the most eminent surgeons of that time, his line was thus determined.
Over his countryman, Dr. Smellie, notwithstanding his
great experience, and the reputation he had justly acquired, he had a great advantage in person and address.
The most lucrative part of the practice of midwifery was
at that time in the hands of sir Richard Manningham and
Dr. Sandys. The former of these died, and the latter retired into the country a few years after Mr. Hunter began
to be known in midwifery. Although by these incidents
he was established in the practice of midwifery, it is well
known that in proportion as his reputation increased, his
opinion was eagerly sought in all cases where any light
concerning the seat or nature of any disease, could be expected from an intimate knowledge of anatomy. In 1750
he obtained the degree of M. D. from the university of
Glasgow, and began to practise as a physician. About
this time he quitted the family of Mrs. Douglas, and went
to reside in Jermyn-skreet. In the summer of 1751 he
revisited his native country, for which he always retained
a cordial affection. His mother was still living at Long
Calderwood, which was now become his property by the
death of his brother James. Dr. Cullen, for whom he always
entertained asincere regard, was then established at Glasgow.
During this visit, he shewed his attachment to his little
paternal inheritance, by giving many instructions for repairing and improving it, and for purchasing any adjoining
lands that might be offered for sale. As he and Dr. Cullen
were riding one day in a low part of the country, the latter pointing out to him Long Calderwood at a considerable
distance, remarked how conspicuous it appeared. “Well,
”
said he, with some degree of energy, “if I live, I shall
make it still more conspicuous.
” After his journey to
Scotland, to which he devoted only a few weeks, he was
never absent from London, unless his professional engagements, as sometimes happened, required his attendance at a distance from the capital.
rupted, for in 1754 he became a pupil at St. George’s hospital, where in 1756 he was appointed house- surgeon. In the winter of 1755, Dr. Hunter admitted him to a partnership
, younger brother of Dr. Hunter, one of the most profound anatomists, sagacious and expert surgeons, and acute observers of nature, that any age has produced, was born at Long Calderwood, before-mentioned, July 14, 1728. At the age of ten years he lost his father, and being the youngest of ten children, was suffered to employ himself in amusement rather than study, though sent occasionally to a grammar-school. He had reached the age of twenty before he felt a wish for more active employment; and hearing of the reputation his brother William had acquired in London as a teacher of anatomy, made a proposal to go up to him as an assistant. His proposal was kindly accepted, and in September 1748 he arrived in London. It was not long before his disposition to excel in anatomical pursuits was fully evinced, and his determination to proceed in that line confirmed and approved. In the summer of 1749 he attended Mr. Cheselden at Chelsea-hospital, and there acquired the rudiments of surgery. In the subsequent winter he was so far advanced in the knowledge of anatomy, as to instruct his brother’s pupils in dissection; and from the constant occupation of the doctor in business, this task in future devolved almost totally upon him. In the summer of 1756 he again attended at Chelsea, and in 1751 became a pupil at St. Bartholomew’s, where he constantly attended when any extraordinary operation was to be performed. After having paid a visit to Scotland, he entered as a gentleman commoner in Oxford, at St. Mary-hall, though with what particular view does not appear. His professional studies, however, were not interrupted, for in 1754 he became a pupil at St. George’s hospital, where in 1756 he was appointed house-surgeon. In the winter of 1755, Dr. Hunter admitted him to a partnership in his lectures.
threatened with consumptive symptoms, and being advised to go abroad, obtained the appointment of a surgeon on the staff, and went with the army to Belleisle, leaving Mr.
By excessive attention to these pursuits, his health was so much impaired, that he was threatened with consumptive symptoms, and being advised to go abroad, obtained the appointment of a surgeon on the staff, and went with the army to Belleisle, leaving Mr. Hewson to assist his brother. He continued in this service till the close of the war in 1763, and thus acquired his knowledge of the nature and treatment of gun-shot wounds. On his return to London, to his emoluments from private practice, and his half-pay, he added those which arose from teaching practical anatomy and operative surgery; and that he might be more enabled to carry on his inquiries in comparative anatomy, he purchased some land at Earl’s-court, near Brompton, where he built a house. Here also he kept such animals alive as he purchased, or were presented to him; studied their habits and instincts, and cultivated an intimacy with them, which with the fiercer kinds was not always supported without personal risk. It is recorded by his biographer, that, on finding two leopards loose, and likely to escape or be killed, he went out, and seizing them with his own hands, carried them back to their den. The horror he felt afterwards at the danger he had run, would not, probably, have prevented him from making a similar effort, had a like occasion arisen.
he surgeons to St. George’s hospital. In 1771 he married Miss Home, the eldest daughter of Mr. Home, surgeon to Burgoyne’s regiment of light-horse, by whom he had two sons
On the 5th of February, 1767, Mr. Hunter was elected a fellow of the royal society; and in order to make that situation as productive of knowledge as possible, he prevailed on Dr. George Fordyce, and Mr. Gumming (the celebrated watch-maker) to form a kind of subsequent meeting at a coffee-house, for the purpose of philosophical discussion, and inquiry into discoveries and improvements. To this meeting some of the first philosophers of the age very speedily acceded, among whom none can be more conspicuous than sir Joseph Banks, Dr. Solander, Dr. Maskelyne, sir Geo. Shuckburgh, sir Harry Englefieid, sir Charles Blagden, Dr. Noothe, Mr. Ramsden, and Mr. Watt of Birmingham. About the same time, the accident of breaking his tendo Achillis, led him to some very successful researches into the mode in which tendons are reunited so completely does a true philosopher turn every accident to the advantage of science. In 176M, Dr. Hunter having finished his house in Windmill-street, gave up to his brother that which he had occupied in Jermyn-street; and in the same year, by the interest of the doctor, Mr. Hunter was elected one of the surgeons to St. George’s hospital. In 1771 he married Miss Home, the eldest daughter of Mr. Home, surgeon to Burgoyne’s regiment of light-horse, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. In 1772 he undertook the professional education of his brother-in-law Mr. Everard Home, then leaving Westminster-school, who has assiduously pursued his steps, ably recorded his merits, and successfully emulates his reputation.
rs he even kept one in his family expressly for this purpose. In Jan. 1776, Mr. Hunter was appointed surgeon -extraordinary to his majesty. In the autumn of the same year,
As the family of Mr. Hunter increased, his practice and character also advanced; but the expence of his collection absorbed a very considerable part of his profits. The best % rooms in his house were filled with his preparations; and his mornings, from sun-rise to eight o'clock, were constantly employed in anatomical and philosophical pursuits. The knowledge which he thus obtained, he applied most successfully to the improvement of the art of surgery; was particularly studious to examine morbid bodies, and to investigate the cause of failure when operations had not been productive of their due effect. It was thus that he perfected the mode of operation for the hydrocele, and made several other improvements of different kinds. At the same time the volumes of the Philosophical Transactions bear testimony to his success in comparative anatomy, which was his favourite, and may be called almost his principal pursuit. When he met with natural appearances which could not be preserved in actual preparations, he employed able draughtsmen to represent them on paper; and for several years he even kept one in his family expressly for this purpose. In Jan. 1776, Mr. Hunter was appointed surgeon -extraordinary to his majesty. In the autumn of the same year, he had an illness of so severe a nature, as to turn his mind to the care of a provision for his family in case of his decease; when, considering that the chief part of his property was vested in his collection, he determined immediately to put it into such a state of arrangement as might make it capable of being disposed of to advantage at his death. In this he happily lived to succeed in a great measure, and finally left his museum so classed as to be fit for a public situation.
in buildings adapted to the objects of his pursuits. He was in 1785 at the height of his career as a surgeon, and performec 1 some operations with complete success, which
Mr. Hunter in 1781 was elected into the royal society of
sciences and belles lettres at Gottenburg; and in 1783,
into the royal society of medicine, and the royal academy
of surgery at Paris. In the same year he removed from
Jermyn-street to a larger house in Leicester-square, and,
with more spirit than consideration, expended a very great
sum in buildings adapted to the objects of his pursuits.
He was in 1785 at the height of his career as a surgeon,
and performec 1 some operations with complete success,
which were thought by the profession to be beyond the
reach of any skill. His faculties were now in their fullest
vigour, and his body sufficiently so to keep pace with
the activity of his mind. He was engaged in a very
extensive practice, he was surgeon to St. George’s hospital, he gave a very long course of lectures in the
winter, had a school of practical anatomy in his house,
was continually engaged in experiments concerning the
animal osconomy, and was from time to time producing
very important publications. At the same time he instituted a medical society called “Lyceum Medicum
Londinense,
” which met at his lecture-rooms, and soon
rose to considerable reputation. On the death of Mr.
Middleton, surgeon-general, in 1786, Mr. Hunter obtained
the appointment of deputy surgeon-general to the army;
but in the spring of the year he had a violent attack of illness, which left him for the rest of his life subject to peculiar and violent spasmodic affections of the heart. In
July 1787, he was chosen a member of the American philosophical society. In 1790, finding that his lectures occupied too much of his time, he relinquished them to his
brother-in-law Mr. Home; and in this year, on the death
of Mr. Adair, he was appointed inspector-general of hospitals, and surgeon-general of the army. He was also
elected a member of the royal college of surgeons in
Ireland.
it, his resolution also to oppose the measures of the court; insomuch that, before he was out of the surgeon’s hands, he reprinted 3000 copies of his “Comparison between
A Popish priest made an offer for 200L to get the
whipping part of the sentence remitted: the money was
accordingly lodged, by one of Johnson’s friends, in a third
hand, for the priest, if he performed what he undertook
but to no purpose; the king was deaf to all in treaties the
answer was, “That since Mr. Johnson had the spirit of
martyrdom, it was fit he should suffer.
” Accordingly, Dec.
1, 1686, the sentence was rigorously put in execution;
which yet he bore with great firmness, and went through
even with alacrity. He observed afterwards to an intimate
friend, that this text of Scripture which came suddenly
into his mind, “He endured the cross, despising the
shame,
” so much animated and supported him in his bitter
journey, that, had he not thought it would have looked
like vain-glory, he could have sung a psalm while the
executioner was doing his office, with as much composure
and cheerfulness as ever he had done in the church; though
at the same time he had a quick sense of every stripe
which was given him, to the number of 317, with a whip
of nine cords knotted. This was the more remarkable in
him, because he had not the least tincture of enthusiasm .
The truth is, he was endued with a natural hardiness of
temper to a great degree; and being inspirited by an
eager desire to suffer for the cause he had espoused, he
was enabled to support himself with the firmness of a
martyr. After the execution of this sentence, the king
gave away his living; and the clergyman who had the
grant of it, made application to the three bishops abovementioned for institution; but they, being sensible of his
imperfect degradation, would not grant it without a bond
of indemnity; after which, when he went to Corringham
for induction, the parishioners opposed him, so that he
could never obtain entrance, but was obliged to return re
iiifectd. Mr. Johnson thus kept his living, and with it, his
resolution also to oppose the measures of the court; insomuch that, before he was out of the surgeon’s hands, he
reprinted 3000 copies of his “Comparison between Popery
and Paganism.
” These, however, were not then published;
but not long after, about the time of the general toleration, he published “The Trial and Examination of a late
Libel,
” &c. which was followed by others every year till
the Revolution. The parliament afterwards, taking his
case into consideration, resolved, June 11, 1689, that the
judgement against him in the King’s-bench, upon an information for a misdemeanor, was cruel and illegal;
and a committee was at the same time appointed to
bring in a bill for reversing that judgement. Being also
ordered to inquire how Mr. Johnson came to be degraded,
and by what authority it was done, Mr. Christy, the chairman, some days after reported his case, by which it
appears, that a libel was then exhibited against him, charging
him with great misdemeanors, though none were specified
or proved that he demanded a copy of the libel, and an
advocate, both which were denied that he protested against
the proceedings, as contrary to law and the 132d canon,
not being done by his own diocesan but his protestation
was refused, as was also his appeal to the king in chancery
and that Mrs. Johnson had also an information exhibited
against her, for the like matter as that against her husband. The committee came to the following resolutions,
which were all agreed to by the house “That the judgement against Mr. Johnson was illegal and cruel: that the
ecclesiastical commission was illegal, and consequently, the
suspension of the bishop of London, and the authority
committed to three bishops, null and illegal: that Mr.
Johnson’s not being degraded by his own diocesan, if he had
deserved it, was illegal: that a bill be brought in to reverse
the judgement, and to declare all the proceedings before
the three bishops null and illegal: and that an address be
made to his majesty, to recommend Mr. Johnson to some
ecclesiastical preferment, suitable to his services and sufferings.
” The house presented two addresses to the king,
in behalf of Mr. Johnson: and, accordingly, the deanery
of Durham was offered him, which however he refused, as
an unequal reward for his services,
n’s passionate intreaties, they went off without doing him further mischief, or rifling the house. A surgeon wa immediately sent for, who found two wounds in his head, and
Violence produces violence; and his enemies were so
much exasperated against him, that his life was frequently
endangered. After publishing his famous tract, entitled
“An Argument proving that the Abrogation of King
James,
” &c. which was levelled against all those who complied with the Revolution upon any other principles than
his own, in 1692, a remarkable attempt was actually made
upon him. Seven assassins broke into his house in Bondstreet, Nov. 27, very early in the morning; and five of
them, with a lantern, got into his chamber, where he, with
his wife and young son, were in bed. Mr. Johnson was
fast asleep but his wife, being awaked by their opening
the door, cried out, Thieves and endeavoured to awaken
her husband the villains in the mean time threw open the
curtains, three of them placed themselves on that side of
the bed where he lay, with drawn swords and clubs, and
two stood at the bed’s feet with pistols. Mr. Johnson
started up; and, endeavouring to defend himself from
their assaults, received a blow on the head, which knocked
him backwards. His wife cried out with great earnestness,
and begged them not to treat a sick man with such barbarity; upon which they paused a little, and one of the
miscreants called to Mr. Johnson to hold up his face, which
his wife begged him to do, thinking they only designed
to gag him, and that they would rifle the house and be
gone. Upon this he sat upright; when one of the rogues
cried, “Pistol him for the book he wrote
” which discovered their design for it was just after the publishing of
the book last mentioned. Whilst he sat upright in his bed,
one of them cut him with a sword over the eye-brow, and
the rest presented their pistols at him; but, upon Mrs.
Johnson’s passionate intreaties, they went off without doing
him further mischief, or rifling the house. A surgeon wa
immediately sent for, who found two wounds in his head,
and his body much bruised. With due care, however, he
recovered; and though his health was much impaired and
broken by this and other troubles, yet he handled his pen
with the same unbroken spirit as before. He died in May
1703.
In 1710 all his treatises were collected, and published
in one folio volume; to which were prefixed some memorials of his life. The second edition came out in 1713,
folio.
of his history. For six months after he resided at Birmingham as the guest of Mr. Hector, an eminent surgeon, and is supposed during that time to have furnished some periodical
He now (1731) returned to Lichfield, with very gloomy prospects. His father died a few months after his return, and the little he left behind him was barely sufficient for the temporary support of his widow. In the following year he accepted the place of usher of the school of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, an employment which the pride of Sir Wolstan Dixie, the patron, soon rendered irksome, and he threw it up in a disgust which recurred whenever he recollected this part of his history. For six months after he resided at Birmingham as the guest of Mr. Hector, an eminent surgeon, and is supposed during that time to have furnished some periodical essays for a newspaper printed by Warren, a bookseller in Birmingham. Here, too, he abridged and translated Father Lobo’s Voyage to Abyssinia, which was published in 1735 by Bettesworth and Hitch in Paternoster-row, London. For this, his first literary performance, he received the small sum of five guineas. In the translation there is little that marks the hand of Johnson; but in the preface and dedication are a few passages in the same energetic and manly style which he may be said to have invented, and to have taught to his countrymen.
r, he tried to obtain a temporary relief by puncturing his legs, as had been before performed by the surgeon, but no discharge followed the operation, and about seven o'clock
But these offers were not accepted. The scheme of a continental tour, which he once thought necessary, was never much encouraged by his physicians, and had it promised greater effects, was now beyond his strength. The dropsy and asthma were making hasty approaches, and although he longed for life, and was anxiously desirous that every means might be used to gain another day, he soon became convinced that no hopes were left. During this period, he was alternately resigned to die, and tenacious of life, tranquil in the views of eternity, and disturbed by gloomy apprehensions; but at last his mind was soothed with the consolatory hopes of religion, and although the love of life occasionally recurred, he adjusted his worldly concerns with composure and exactness, as one who was conscious that he was soon to give an account. On Monday the 13th of December, he tried to obtain a temporary relief by puncturing his legs, as had been before performed by the surgeon, but no discharge followed the operation, and about seven o'clock in the evening, he breathed his last, so gently that some time elapsed before his death was perceived.
untry in the vegetable kingdom, He also translated the works of Ambrose Parey, the celebrated French surgeon, published at London in 1643, and reprinted in 1678. Miller
, an English botanist, of the
seventeenth century, was born at Selby, in Yorkshire, and
bred an apothecary in London. He afterwards kept a shop
on Snow- hill, where, says Wood, by his unwearied pains
and good natural parts, he attained to be the best herbalist
of his age in England. He was first known to the public
by a small piece under the title of “Iter in agrum Cantianum,
” Ericetum Hamstedianum,
” 16&2;
which were the first local catalogues of plants published in
England. He soon after acquired great credit by his new
edition and emendation of Gerard’s “Herbal.
” In the
rebellion, “his zeal for the royal cause led him into the
army, in which he greatly distinguished himself;- and the
university of Oxford, in consideration of his merit, learning,
and loyalty, conferred upon him the degree of M. D. May
9, 1643. In the army he had the rank of lieutenantcolonel to sir Marmaduke Rawdon, governor of Basinghouse. Near this place, in a skirmish with the enemy, in
Sept. 1644, he received a shot in the shoulder, of which
he died in a fortnight after, and, as there is reason to
think, in the meridian of life. Besides the works abovementioned, and his improved edition of Gerard’s
” Herbal,“which was twice printed in his life-time, in 1633 and in
1636, fol. he published in 1634,
” Mercurius Botanicus,
sive plantarum gratia suscepti Itineris, anno 1634, descriptio,“Lond. 8vo. This was the result of a journey,
with some associates of the company of apothecaries,
through Oxford, to Bath and Bristol, and back by Southampton, the Isle of Wight, and Guiklford, with the professed design to investigate rare plants. To this was
added his small tract,
” De Thermis Bathonicis,“with
plans of the baths, and one of the city, which, to antiquaries, are now interesting. This was followed by a second
part of his excursion,
” Pars altera," which extends to
Wales. He was among the earliest botanists who visited
Wales and Snowdon, with the sole intention of
discovering the rarities of that country in the vegetable kingdom,
He also translated the works of Ambrose Parey, the celebrated French surgeon, published at London in 1643, and
reprinted in 1678. Miller consecrated the name of Johnson by assigning it to a berry-bearing shrub of Carolina,
belonging to the tetrandrous class, but it has not been retained in the LinnaDan system, where the plant is called
callicarpa.
With this view he entered into the service of the Dutch East-India company, in the quality of chief surgeon to the fleet, which was then cruising in the Persian Gulph,
, an eminent traveller, was
born Sept. 16, 1651, at Lemgow in Westphalia, where
his father was a minister. After studying in several towns,
and making a quick progress, not only in the learned languages, but also in history, geography, and music, vocal
and instrumental, he went to Dantzick, where he made some
stay, and gave the first public specimen of his proficiency
by a dissertation “De Divisione Majestatis,
” in Amrenitates Exoticae,
” published at Lemgow, in
, an eminent French surgeon and accouc-heur, was of Valogne, in Normandy. He studied his
, an eminent French surgeon
and accouc-heur, was of Valogne, in Normandy. He studied his profession at Paris, where he attended the practice of the celebrated hospital, l'Hotel-Dieu, during five
years. He was distinguished particularly by his skill and
success as an accoucheur, not only at his native town, but
throughout the neighbouring country, during a long period. No dates are given of his birth or death, but he is
said to have left three sons, two of whom were physicians,
and the third succeeded him in his own department. His
first publication, entitled “Traite des accouchemens naturels, non naturels, et contre nature,
” was first published
in Dissertation sur la Generation, et sur la Superfetation;
”
containing also an answer to a book entitled “De l‘lndecence aux Homines d’accoucher les Femines, et sur l'Obligations aux Meres de nourrir leurs Enfans,
” Paris, Trait complet de Chirurgie, conteiiant des Observations sur toutes Jes Maladies
chirurgicales, et sur la maniere de les traiter,
” which has
been several times reprinted. The last edition was published in 1771, with notes by professor Sabatier. This
was a valuable practical work, but disfigured by the
egotism of the author, and his contempt for his professional
brethren.
advocate of the parliament of Paris, was born July 31, 1659, and was the son of James de Lauriere, a surgeon. He attended but little to the bar, his life being almost wholly
, a celebrated lawyer,
and learned advocate of the parliament of Paris, was born
July 31, 1659, and was the son of James de Lauriere, a
surgeon. He attended but little to the bar, his life being
almost wholly spent in study, in the course of which he explored, with indefatigable pains, every part of the French
law, both ancient and modern, formed friendships with
men of learning, and was esteemed by all the most able
magistrates. He died at Paris, January 9, 1728, aged 69,
leaving many valuable works, some of which he wrote ill
conjunction with Claude Berroyer, another eminent advocate of Paris. The principal are, 1. “De l‘origine du Droit
d’Amortissement,
” Texte des Coutumes de la Prévôté et Vicomté de Paris, avec des Notes,
”
12mo; 3. “Bibltotheque des Coutumes,
” 4to 4. M.
Loisel’s “Instituts Coutumiers,
” with notes, Paris, Traite* des Institutions et des Substitutions contractuelles,
” 2 vols. 12mo.
6. The first and second volumes of the collection of “Ordinances
” of the French kings, which valuable and very
interesting work has been continued by M. Secousse, a
member of the academy of inscriptions and belles-lettres,
and M. de Villeraut, to 11 vols. fol. 7. “Le Glossaire
du Droit François,
”
ls; he embarked for Lisbon, and afterwards visited Italy. On his return, he established himself as a surgeon and accoucheur in the neighbourhood of Piccadilly; and about
, an English physician and writer, was
the son of a clergyman who was curate of Ainstable in
Cumberland. He was educated partly at Croglin, and
partly at the grammar-school at Bishop Auckland. He
then went to London, intending to engage in the military
profession: but finding some promises, with which he had
been flattered, were not likely soon to be realized, he
turned his attention to medicine. After attending the hospitals, and being admitted a member of the corporation of
surgeons, an opportunity presented itself of improving
himself in foreign schools; he embarked for Lisbon, and
afterwards visited Italy. On his return, he established
himself as a surgeon and accoucheur in the neighbourhood
of Piccadilly; and about that time published “A Dissertation on the Properties and Efficacy of the Lisbon Dietdrink,
” which he professed to administer with success in
many desperate cases of scrophula, scurvy, &c. Where
he obtained his doctor’s diploma is not known; but he became ere long a licentiate of the College of Physicians,
and removed to Craven-street, where he began to lecture
on the obstetric art, and invited the faculty to attend. ID
1765 he purchased a piece of ground on a building lease,
and afterwards published the plan for the institution of the
Westminster Lying-in- Hospital and as soon as the building was raised, he voluntarily, and without any consideration, assigned over to the governors all his right in the
premises, in favour of the hospital. He enjoyed a considerable share of reputation and practice as an accoucheur,
anJ as a lecturer; and was esteemed a polite and accomplished man. He added nothing, however, in the way of
improvement, to his profession, and his writings are not
characterized by any extraordinary acuteness, or depth of
research; but are plain, correct, and practical. He was
attacked, in the summer of 1792, with a disorder of the
chest, with which he had been previously affected, and was
found dead in his bed on the 8th of August of that year.
He published, in 1773, a volume of “Practical Observations on Child-bed Fever;
” and, in A Lecture
introductory to the Theory and Practice of Midwifery, including the history, nature, and tendency of that science,
”
&c. This was afterwards considerably altered and enlarged, and published in two volumes, under the title of
“Medical Instructions towards the prevention and cure of
various Diseases incident to Women,
” &c. The work
passed through seven or eight editions, and was translated
into the French and German languages. In the beginning
of 1792, ^a short time before his death, he published “A
practical Essay on the Diseases of the Viscera, particularly
those of the Stomach and Bowels.
”
, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Paris in 1685, and received his education under
, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Paris in 1685, and received his education under his father, Henry Le Dran, who had acquired
considerable reputation as an operator, particularly in cancers of the breast. Under his auspices our young surgeon
turned his thoughts principally to the operation of lithotomy, which he performed in the lateral method, as practised by Cheselden, and was enabled to make some valuable
improvements in the art. These he communicated to the
public in his “Paralele des differentes manieres de tirer la
Pierre hors de la Vessie,
” printed in Observations de
Chirurgie, auxquelles on a joint plusieurs reflections en faveur des Etudiens,
” Paris, Traite
”
ou reflections tiroes de la pratique sur les playes d'Armes a
feu,“Paris, 1737, 12mo. 4.
” Traite“des Operations de
Chirurgie,
” Paris, 1743, 12mo. To the translation of this
work into English, by Gataker, Cheselden made some valuable additions. 5. “Consultations sur la plupart des
Maladies qui sont du report de la Chirurgie,
”
, an eminent French surgeon and accoucheur, was born in 1703, and was admitted a member
, an eminent French surgeon and
accoucheur, was born in 1703, and was admitted a member
of the royal academy of surgery at Paris in February 1742.
He obtained a hiu;h and extensive reputation in his department of the art by the improvements which he made in
some of the instruments necessary to be employed in certain difficult cases (especially the forceps), and by the prodigious number of pupils whom he instructed. He was
employed and honoured with official appointments by all
the female branches of the royal family. He published
several works, which underwent various editions and translations. 1 “Observations sur les causes et les accidens
deplusieurs accouchemens laborieux,
” Paris, Observations on the
lever of Roonhuysen.
” 2. “Observations sur la cure radicale de plusieurs polypes de la matrice, de la gorge, et du
nez, operée par de nouveaux nioyens,
” ibid. Suite des observations sur les causes et les accidens
de plusieurs accouchemens laborieux,
” ibid. Explication de plusieurs figures sur le mechanisme de la
grossesse, et de Paccouchement,
” ibid. L'Art
des accouchemens démontré par des principes de physique
et de mechanique,
” ibid. Essai sur Tabus
des regies generales, et centre les prejuges qui s’opposent
aux progres de Tart des accouchemens,
” ibid.
, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Metz, February 13, 1723. He attained to great reputation
, an eminent French surgeon, was
born at Metz, February 13, 1723. He attained to great
reputation in his profession, and was honoured with the numerous appointments of secretary of the royal academy of
surgery at Paris, consulting surgeon to the king’s forces,
surgeon-major to the hospital La Charité, doctor in surgery
of the faculty of Halle, in Saxony, honorary member of the
royal college of physicians of Nancy, and member of many
of the learned societies, not only in France, but in foreign
countries. He died, May 20, 1792, and desired to be interred among the poor in the burial-ground of the hospital
de la Salpetriere. In addition to the surgical part of the
“Encyclopédie,
” which M. Louis wrote, and to several
interesting papers presented to the academy of surgery, he
was author pf a great number of works on medical, chirnrgical, and anatomical subjects, the principal of which we
shall mention 1. “Observations sur l'Electrical,
” &c.
Paris, Essai sur la Nature de PAme, oft
l‘on tache d’expliquer son union avec le corps,
” ibid. Cours de Chirurgie pratique sur les plaies
d'armes a feu,
” ibid. Observations et llemarques sur les eHets du virus cancereux,
” &c. ibid. Posiiiones Anatomico-chirurgicae de capite ejusque
vulneribus,
” ibid. Lettre sur la certitude des
signes de la mort, avec des observations et des experiences
sur les noyes,
” ibid. Experiences sur la
Lithotomie,
” Memoire sur une question anatomique, relatif a la jurisprudence,
” &.c. Memoire sur la lgitimite des naissances
pr^tendues tardives,
” Recueil d‘Observations d’Anatomie et de Chirurgie, pour servir de base
a la Theorie des lesions de la t^te par contrecoup,
” Histoire de PAcademie Royale de Chirurgie depuis
son dtablissement jusqu'en 1743,
” printed in the fourth
volume of the memoirs. His last publication was a translation of M. Astruc’s work “De Morbis Venereis,
” into
French. In addition to these works, M. Louis also translated Boerhaave’s Aphorisms of Surgery, with Van Swieten’s Commentary; and wrote several eulogies on deceased
members of the academy of surgery, and various controversial tracts, especially concerning the disputes between
the physicians and surgeons of Paris, in 1748, &.C.
, a surgeon of the sixteenth century, was born in Scotland. In a work entitled
, a surgeon of the sixteenth century,
was born in Scotland. In a work entitled “A Discourse
on the whole Art of Chirurgery,
” published at Glasgow in
The Poor Man’s Guide,
” and speaks of an intended publication concerning the diseases of women. He died in
1612. The “Discourse on Chirurgery
” appears to have
been in esteem, as it reached a fourth edition in 1654,
but it is founded more on authority than observation.
Ames mentions another work of his with the title “An
easy, certain, and perfect method to cure and prevent the
Spanish Sickness; by Peter Lowe, doctor in the Facultie of
Chirurgerie at Paris, chirurgeon to Henry IV
” London,
1596, 4to.
rst elements of his education at the public school of this place, and served his apprenticeship to a surgeon, he went into the navy, first in the capacity of mate to an
, a distinguished physician, was
born at Ballymony, co. Antrim, on the 26th of April,
1726. He was descended from an ancient family of his
name in the shire of Galloway, in Scotland; but his grandfather, who was bred to the church, was called to officiate
at Belfast to a congregation of Presbyterians, and his
father became the minister of Ballymony, where David
was born. Having received the first elements of his education at the public school of this place, and served his
apprenticeship to a surgeon, he went into the navy, first
in the capacity of mate to an hospital-ship, and subsequently in the rank of surgeon, in which station he remained for some years preceding the peace of Aix-laChapelle. At this period he was led from the frequent
opportunities of witnessing the attacks of scurvy which a
sea-faring life afforded him, to investigate the best method
of cure for that disease, upon which he afterwards published a treatise. After the peace of Aix, Mr. Macbride
went to Edinburgh and London, where he studied anatomy
under those celebrated teachers doctors Monro and Hunter,
and midwifery under Smellie. About the end of 1749, he
settled in Dublin as a surgeon and accoucheur; but his
youth and remarkable bashfulness occasioned him to remain a number of years in obscurity, little employed; although he was endeared to a small circle of friends by his
great abilities, amiable dispositions, and his general knowledge in all the branches of polite literature and the arts.
In 1764, he published his “Experimental Essays,
” which
were received with great applause, and were soon translated into different languages; and the singular merit of
this performance induced the university of Glasgow to
confer the degree of doctor of physic on its author. The
improvement introduced by Dr. Macbride in the art of
tanning, by substituting lime-water for common water in
preparing ooze, procured him the honour of a silver medal
from the Dublin Society, in 1768, and of a gold medal of
considerable value from the society of arts and commerce
in London.
. W. Hunter, and surgery under Mr. J, Hunter. After he had been here a twelvemonth, he was appointed surgeon to the S3rd, or Glasgow regiment, through the interest of the
, a late eminent anatomist and
physician, was born in Fifeshire, in 1742, at Park-hill, a
large farm on the side of the Tay, near Newburgh, held
by his father, Mr. John Marshal, of the earl of Rothes.
His lather had received a classical education himself; and
being desirous that his son should enjoy a similar advantage, sent him first to the grammar-school at Newburgh,
and afterwards tothat of Abernethy, then the most celebrated place of education among the Seceders, of which
religious sect he was a most zealous member. Here he
was regarded as a quick and apt scholar. From his childhood he had taken great delight in rural scenery. One
day, while under the influence of feelings of this kind,
being then about fourteen years old, he told his father that
he wished to leave school, and be a farmer, but he soon
shewed that it had not arisen from any fondness for ordinary country labours. In the following harvest-time, for
instance, having been appointed to follow the reapers, and
bind up the cut corn into sheaves, he would frequently lay
himself down in some shady part of the field, and taking
a book from his pocket, begin to read, -utterly forgetful of
his task. About two years after, however, he resumed his
studies, with the intention of becoming a minister: and
soon after, he was admitted a student of philosophy at
Abernethy; and next became a student of divinity. In
his nineteenth year he went to Glasgow, and divided his time between teaching a school, and attending lectures in
the university. The branches of learning which he chiefly
cultivated were Greek and morals. At the end of two
years passed in this way, he became (through the interest of the celebrated Dr. Reid, to whom his talents and diligence had recommended him), tutor in a gentleman’s family, of the name of Campbell, in the Island of Islay.
He remained here four years, and removed to the university of Edinburgh, with Mr. -Campbell’s son, whom the
following year he carried back to his father. Having
surrendered his charge, he returned to Edinburgh, where
he subsisted himself by reading Greek and Latin privately
with students of the university; in the mean time taking
no recreation, but giving up all his leisure to the acquisition of knowledge. He still considered himself a student
of divinity, in which capacity he delivered two discourses
in the divinity-hall; and from motives of curiosity began in
1769 to attend lectures on medicine. While thus employed, he was chosen1 member of the Speculative society,
where, in the beginning of 1772, he became acquainted
with lord Balgonie, who was so much pleased with the
display which he made of genius and learning in that society,
that he requested they“should read together; and in the
autumn of the following year made a proposal for their
going to the Continent, which was readily accepted.
They travelled slowly through Flanders to Paris, where
they stayed a month, and then proceeded to Tours, where
they resided eight months, in the house of a man of letters,
under whose tuition they strove to acquire a correct knowledge of the French language and government. They became acquainted here with several persons of rank, among
whom were a prince of Rohan, and the dukes of Clioiseul
and Aguilon, at whose seats in the neighbourhood they
were sometimes received as gnests. An acquaintance with
such people would make Marshal feel pain on account of
his want of external accomplishments; and this, probably,
was the reason of his labouring
” to learn to dance and to
fence while he was at Tours, though he was then more
than thirty years old. He returned to England in the
summer of 1774; and proceeded soon after to Edinburgh,
where he resumed the employment of reading Latin and
Greek with young men. Hitherto he seems to have formed
no settled plan of life, but to have bounded his views
almost entirely to the acquisition of knowledge, and a present subsistence. His friends, however, had been induced
to hope that he would at some time be advanced to a professor’s cl; ir and it is possible that he entertained the same
hope himself. In the spring of 1775, this hope appeared
to be strengthened by his being requested by Mr. Stewart,
the professor of humanity at Edinburgh, to officiate for
him, as he was then unwell: Marshal complied, but soon
after appears to have given up all hopes of a professorship,
and studied medicine with a determination to practise it.
In the spring of 1777, he was enabled by the assistance of
a friend, Mr. John Campbell of Edinburgh, to come to
London for professional improvement; and studied anatomy under Dr. W. Hunter, and surgery under Mr. J,
Hunter. After he had been here a twelvemonth, he was
appointed surgeon to the S3rd, or Glasgow regiment,
through the interest of the earl of Leverv, the father of his
late pupil, lord Balgonie. The first year after was passed
with his regiment, in Scotland. In the following he accompanied it to Jersey, where he remained with it almost
constantly till the conclusion of the war in the beginning
of 1783, when it was disbanded. In this situation he
enjoyed, almost for the first time, the pleasures best suited
to a man of independent mind. His income was more than
sufficient for his support; his industry and knowledge rendered him useful; and his character for integrity and honour procured him general esteem. From Jersey he came
to London, seeking for a settlement, and was advised by
Dr. D. Pitcairn (with whom he had formed a friendship while a student at Glasgow) to practise surgery here,
though he had taken the degree of doctor of physic the
preceding year at Edinburgh; and to teach anatomy at St.
Bartholomew’s hospital, it being at the same time proposed, that the physicians to that hospital (of whom Dr. Pitcairn was one) should lecture on other branches of medical learning. He took a house, in consequence, in the
neighbourhood of the hospital; and proceeded to prepare
for the execution of his part of the scheme. This proving
abortive, he began to teach anatomy, the following year,
at his own house; and at length succeeded in procuring
annually a considerable number of pupils, attracted to him
solely by the reputation of his being a most diligent and
able teacher. In 1788 he quitted the practice of surgery,
and commenced that of medicine, having previously become a member of the London college oF physicians. In
the ensuing year a dispute arose between John Hunter
and him, which it is proper to relate, as it had influence
on his after-life. When Marshal returned to London, he
renewed his acquaintance with Mr. Hunter, who thought
so well of him, that he requested his attendance at a committee of his friends, to whose correction he submitted his
work on the venereal disease, before it was published. He
became also a member of a small society, instituted by Dr.
Fordyce and Mr. Hunter, for the improvement of medical
and surgical knowledge. Having mentioned at a meeting
of this society, that, in the dissection of those who had
died insane, he had always found marks of disease in the
head, Mr. Hunter denied the truth of this in very coarse
language. The other members interfering, Mr. Hunter
agreed to say, that his expressions did not refer to Dr.
Marshal’s veracity, but to the accuracy of his observation.
Marshal, not being satisfied with this declaration, at the
next meeting of the society demanded a.i ample apology;
but Mr. Hunter, instead of making one, repeated the offensive expressions; on which Marshal poured some water
over his head out of a bottle which had stood near them.
A scuffle ensued, which was immediately stopped by the
other members, and no father personal contention between
them ever occurred. But Marshal, conceiving that their
common friends in the society had, from the superior rank
of Mr. Hunter, favoured him more in this matter than justice permitted, soon after estranged himself from them.
He continued the teaching of anatomy till 1800, in which
year, during a tedious illness, the favourable termination
of which appeared doubtful to him, he resolved, rather
suddenly, to give it up. While he taught anatomy, almost
the whole of the fore-part of the day, during eight months
in the year, was spent by him in his dissecting and lecture
rooms. He had, therefore, but little time for seeing sick
persons, except at hours frequently inconvenient to them;
and was by this means prevented from enjoying much medical practice; but as soon as he had recovered his health,
after ceasing to lecture, his practice began to increase.
The following year it was so far increased as to render it
proper that he should keep a carriage. From this time to
within a few months of his death, an interval of twelve
years, his life flowed on in nearly an equable stream. He
had business enough in the way he conducted it to give
him employment during the greater part of the day; and
his professional profits were sufficient to enable him to live
in the manner he chose, and provide for the wants of sickness and old age. After having appeared somewhat feeble
for two or three years, he made known, for the first time,
in the beginning of last November, that he laboured under
a disease of his bladder, though he must then have been
several years affected with it. His ailment was incurable,
and scarcely admitted of palliation. For several months he
was almost constantly in great pain, which he bore manfully. At length, exhausted by his sufferings, he died on
the 2nd of April, 1813, at his house in Bartlett’s buildings,
Holborn, being then in the seventy-first year of his age.
Agreeably to his own desire, his body was interred in the
church-yard of the parish of St. Pancras. His fortune,
amounting to about bOOO/. was, for the most part, bequeathed to sisters and nephews.
r, without aid, conducted a patient through an acute and dangerous disorder, before he was appointed surgeon to the Glasgow regiment, at which time he was nearly thirty-six
He had probably never, without aid, conducted a patient through an acute and dangerous disorder, before he was appointed surgeon to the Glasgow regiment, at which time he was nearly thirty-six years of age. He must, therefore, have less readily acquired, the faculty of distinguishing diseases as they occur in nature, than if he had entered upon the exercise of medicine at an earlier period of life; and it was probably, in part, owing to this circumstance, that, even in his later years, he was slower in the examination of the sick, and more distrustful of his opinion respecting their ailments, than many physicians of much less talent and experience. A strong conscientiousness, however, contributed greatly to the production of these effects. That he might be the less liable to err, he look upon the spot short notes of the states of his patients; these formed the bases of entries which he afterwards made in his Case Book, an employment which for many years occupied nearly three hours every evening. His practice in the army is said to have been bold; that it was successful, is evident from a fact related in his inaugural dissertation, but modestly ascribed by him to the excellent regulations established by his colonel, that, in the regiment in which he served, consisting of about 1000 men, and, from being hastily formed, containing more than the usual proportion of persons unfit for a military life, only sixteen died of disease in the course of nearly four years, and of these, four were not under the management of their own officers at the time of their decease. In London, from having patients to operate upon for the most part originally less strong than soldiers, and afterwards rendered still weaker by long residence in impure air, his mode of treating diseases was necessarily different, and during the last eight years of his life, it was somewhat too inert.
, a French surgeon under Henry IV. in whose service he was employed about 1590,
, a French surgeon under Henry
IV. in whose service he was employed about 1590, attended
that prince in the wars of Dauphiny, Savoy, Languedoc,
and Normandy; and at Mothe-Frelon saved his life by
bleeding him judiciously, in a fever brought on by fatigue.
In consequence of this, he gained the full confidence of
the king, and was made his chief surgeon. He was the
author of a work entitled “L‘Apologie pour les Chirurgiens, centre ceux qui publient qu’ils ne doivent se meler
de remettre les os rompus et demis.
” He wrote also,
“Paradoxes on the practice of Surgery,
” in which some
modern improvements are anticipated. His works are
printed, with the surgery of Philip de Flesselle, at Paris,
in 1635, 12mo.
loes in 1709. He studied physic under Boerhaave, after which he removed to Paris, and became an army- surgeon in the French guards. The duke of Grammont, who was his protector,
, a very eccentric
French author and physician, was born at St. Maloes in
1709. He studied physic under Boerhaave, after which
he removed to Paris, and became an army-surgeon in the
French guards. The duke of Grammont, who was his protector, being taken very ill at the siege of Fribourg, he
began, in his attendance upon him, to speculate upon the
nature of the soul, and to perceive, as he fancied, that it
is mortal. He wrote “The Natural History of the Soul,
”
which being highly impious in its doctrines, raised a storm
against him from which his patron with difficulty could
defend him. He then turned his pen against his brethren,
and wrote “Penelope, or the Machiavel in medicine,
” in
3 vols. 12mo. The rage of the faculty, in consequence of
this satire, drove him out of France; and he retired to
Leyden, where he published “L'Homme Machine,
” a
treatise of materialism, in which the philosophy is as incorrect and ill argued as it is pernicious. But he declaims
with an ardour too likely to captivate weak minds, and
draw them over to his opinions. This book could not obtain toleration even in Holland; it was publicly burnt, and
the author obliged, in 1748, to fly for refuge to Berlin,
and at this court he was protected, made a member of the
academy, and honoured with places under the king. Here
he lived in tranquillity, till his violent system of bleeding,
very like that of Dr. Sangrado, put an early period to his
life, as it had to those of several patients; and he died in
1.751, being then only 48. His works were published collectively at Berlin the same year, in one vol. 4to, and two
12mo. The same kind of false philosophy pervades them
all. The king of Prussia, however, conferred on him a
very singular honour, even after his death; for he wrote
his funeral oration, which he caused to be pronounced in
the academy by one of his secretaries. Voltaire said of
him, that he was a madman who wrote in a state of intoxication.
amilies in the north of Scotland. He was born in London, in September 1697, where his father, then a surgeon in the army of king William in Flanders, resided upon leave
, an eminent anatomist, and the father of the medical school of Edinburgh, was descended both by his paternal and maternal parents from distinguished families in the north of Scotland. He was born in London, in September 1697, where his father, then a surgeon in the army of king William in Flanders, resided upon leave of absence in the winter. On quitting the army, Mr. Monro settled in Edinburgh; and perceiving early indications of talent in Alexander, he gave him the best instruction which Edinburgh then afforded, and afterwards sent him to London, where he attended the anatomical courses of Cheselden, and while here, laid the foundation of his most important work on the bones. He then pursued his studies at Paris and Leyden, where his industry and promising talents recommended him to the particular notice of Boerhaave. On iiis return to Edinburgh, in the autumn of 1719, he was appointed professor and demonstrator of anatomy to the company of surgeons, the joint demonstrators having spontaneously resigned in his favour, and soon after began also to give public lectures on anatomy, aided by the preparations which he had made when abroad; and at the same time Dr. Alston, then a young man, united with him in the plan, and began a course of lectures on the materia medica and botany. These courses may be regarded as the opening of that medical school, which has since extended its fame, not only throughout Europe, but over the new world. Mr. Monro suggested this plan; and by the following circumstance, probably, contributed to lead his son into a mode of lecturing, which subsequently carried him to excellence. Without the young teacher’s knowledge, he invited the president and fellows of the College of Physicians, and the whole company of surgeons, to honour the first day’s lecture with their presence. This unexpected company threw the doctor into such confusion, that he forgot the words of the discourse, which he had written and committed to memory. Having left his papers at home, he was at a loss for a little time what to do: but, with much presence of mind, he immediately began to shew some of the anatomical preparations, in order to gain time for recollection; and very soon resolved not to attempt to repeat the discourse which he had prepared, but to express himself in such language as should occur to him from the subject, which he was confident that he understood. The experiment succeeded: he delivered himself well, and gained great applause as a good and ready speaker. Thus discovering his own strength, he resolved henceforth never to recite any written discourse in teaching, and acquired a free and elegant style of delivering lectures.
at Maestricht, in Brabant, and afterwards at Flushing. Hence he was promoted to be assistant to the surgeon of the Coldstream regiment of foot guards, comman-ded by general
, a medical and miscellaneous writer,
was the son of the rev. Charles Moore, a minister of the
English church at Stirling, in Scotland, where this, his only
surviving son, was born in 1730. His lather dying in
1735, his mother, who was a native of Glasgow, and had
some property there, removed to that city, and carefully
superintended the early years of her son while at school
and college. Being destined for the profession of medicine, he was placed under Mr. Gordon, a practitioner of
pharmacy and surgery, and at the same time attended such
medical lectures as the college of Glasgow at that time
afforded, which were principally the anatomical lectures of
Dr. Hamilton, and those on the practice of physic by Dr.
Cullen, afterwards the great ornament of the medical
school of Edinburgh. Mr. Moore’s application to his studies must have been more than ordinarily successful, as we
find that in 1747, when only in his seventeenth year, he
went to the continent, under the protection of the duke of
Argyle, and was employed as a mate in one of the military
hospitals at Maestricht, in Brabant, and afterwards at
Flushing. Hence he was promoted to be assistant to the
surgeon of the Coldstream regiment of foot guards,
comman-ded by general Braddock, and after remaining during
the winter of 1748 with this regiment at Breda, came to
England at the conclusion of the peace. At London he
resumed his medical studies under Dr. Hunter, and soon
after set out for Paris, where he obtained the patronage of
the earl of Albemarle, whom he had known in Flanders,
and who was now English ambassador at the court of
France, and immediately appointed Mr. Moore surgeon to
his household. In this situation, although he had an opportunity of being with the ambassador, he preferred to
lodge nearer the hospitals, and other sources of instruction, xvith which a more distant part of the capital abounded,
and visited lord Albemarle’s family only when his assistance
was required. After residing two years in Paris, it was
proposed by Mr. Gordon, who was not insensible to the
assiduity and improvements of his former pupil, that he
should return to Glasgow, and enter into partnership with
him. Mr. Moore, by the advice of his friends, accepted
the invitation, but deemed it proper to take London in his
way, and while there, went through a course under Dr.
Smellie, then a celebrated accoucheur. On his return to
Glasgow, he practised there during the space of two years,
but when a diploma was granted by the university of that
city to his partner, now Dr. Gordon, who chose to prescribe as a physician alone, Mr. Moore still continued to act
as a surgeon; and, as a partner appeared to be necessary,
he chose Mr. Hamilton, professor of anatomy, as his associate. Mr. Moore remained for a considerable period at
Glasgow; but when he had attained his fortieth year, an
incident occurred that gave a new turn to his ideas, and
opeqed new pursuits and situations to a mind naturally
active and inquisitive. James George, duke of Hamilton,
a young nobleman of great promise, being affected with a
consumptive disorder, in 1769, he was attended by Mr.
Moore, who has always spoken of this youth in terms of
the highest admiration; but, as his malady baffled all the
efforts of medicine, he yielded to its pressure, after a lingering illness, in the fifteenth year of his age. This event,
which Mr. Moore recorded, together with the extraordinary
endowments of his patient, on his tomb in the buryingplace at Hamilton, led to a more intimate connection with
this noble family. The late duke of Hamilton, being, like
his brother, of a sickly constitution, his mother, the duchess
f Argyle, determined that he should travel in company
with some gentleman, who to a knowledge of medicine
added an acquaintance with the continent. Both these
qualities were united in the person of Dr. Moore, who by
this time had obtained the degree of M. D. from the university of Glasgow. They accordingly set out together,
and spent a period of no less than five years abroad,
during which they visited France, Italy, Switzerland, and
Germany. On their return, in 1778, Dr. Moore brought
his family from Glasgow to London; and in the course of
the next year appeared the fruits of his travels, in “A View
of Society and Manners in France', Switzerland, and Germany,
” in 2 vols. 8vo. Two years after, in 1781, he published a continuation of the same work, in two additional
volumes, entitled “A View of Society and Manners in
Italy.
” Having spent s6 large a portion of his time either
in Scotland or on the continent, he could not expect suddenly to attain an extensive practice in the capital; nor
indeed was he much consulted, unless by his particular
friends. With a view, however, to practice, he published
in 1785, his “Medical Sketches,
” a work which was favourably received, but made no great alteration in his engagements; and the next work he published was “Zeluco,
”
a novel, which abounds with many interesting events,
arising from uncontrouled passion on the part of a darling
son, and unconditional compliance on that of a fond mother. While enjoying the success of this novel, which was
very considerable, the French revolution began to occupy
the minds and writings of the literary world. Dr. Moore
happened to reside in France in 1792, and witnessed many
of the important scenes of that eventful year, but the massacres of September tending to render a residence in Paris
highly disagreeable, he returned to England; and soon
after his arrival, began to arrange his materials, and in
1795, published “A View of the Causes and Progress of
the French Revolution,
” in 2 vols. 8vo, dedicated to the
Duke of Devonshire. He begins with the reign of Henry
IV. and ends with the execution of the royal family. In
1796 appeared another novel, “Edward: various Views of
Human Nature, taken from Life and Manners chiefly in
England.
” In Mordaunt,
” being “Sketches of Life, Characters, and Manners
in various Countries including the Memoirs of a French
Lady of Quality,
” in 2 vols. 8vo. This chiefly consists of
a series of letters, written by “the honourable John
Mordaunt,
” while confined to his couch at Vevay, in Switzerland, giving an account of what he had seen in Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, &c. The work itself comes under no precise head, being neither a romance, nor a novel,
nor travels: the most proper title would perhaps be that
of “Recollections.
” Dr. Moore was one of the first to
notice the talents of his countryman the unfortunate Robert Burns, who, at his request, drew up an account of
his life, and submitted it to his inspection.
r-general Moore was, but they both continued to head the reserve until the battle was over. When the surgeon had dressed their wounds, finding that they must be some time
General Hutchinson had a considerable circuit to make to get to the ground where he was to make his attack, and the attack of the reserve was to be regulated by his. When he got to his ground, the position of the French was found to be so strongly defended by a numerous artillery, and covered besides by the guns on the fortified heights near Alexandria, that the attempt was given up, and as the army were in their present position exposed to the enemy’s cannon without being able to retaliate, a position on the height in the rear was marked out, to which the army fell back as the evening advanced. This severe action cost the British army 1300 in killed and wounded. The situation of the British army at this period was certainly a very critical one, as it was quite evident that government had been deceived in their estimate of the French forces. Sir Raiph, therefore, was well aware of the difficult task he had to perform. The camp of the British was about four or five miles from Alexandria. In front of the reserve, which, formed the right of the army, was a very extensive ancient ruin, which the French called Caesar’s camp; it was twenty or thirty yards retired from the right flank of the redoubt, and commanded the space between the redoubt and the sea. In this redoubt and ruin major-general Moore had posted the 28th and 58th regiments. On the 21st the attack was made by the French, who were driven back by his troops, but he received a shot in the leg. The result, however, was, that every attack the French made was repulsed with great slaughter. In the early part of the action, and in the dark, some confusion was unavoidable, but wherever the French appeared, the British went boldly up to them, even the cavalry breaking in had not in the least dismayed them. As the day broke, the foreign brU gaJe, under brigadier-general, afterwards sir John Stuart, who fought the battle of Maida, came to the second line to the support of the reserve, shared in the action, and behaved with great spirit. Day-light enabled major-general Moore to get the reserve into order, but there was a great want of ammunition. The guns could not be fired for a very considerable time, otherwise the French must have suffered much more severely, while retreating from their different unsuccessful attacks, than they did. The enemy’s artillery continued to gall the British severely with shot and shells, after the infantry and cavalry had been repulsed. The British could not return a shot. Had the French attacked again, the British had nothing but their bayonets, which they unquestionably would have used, as never was an army more determined to do their duty. But the enemy laad suffered so severely, that the men could not be got to make another attempt. They continued in front at a distant musket-shot, until the ammunition for the English guns was brought up to enable them to fire, when theyvery soon retreated. While the attacks were made on the British right, a column attacked the guards on the left of the reserve, but were repulsed with loss. The French general, Menou, had concentrated the greatest part of the force in Egypt for this attack; the prisoners stated his force in the field at about 13,000 men, of whom between three and four thousand were killed or wounded. The British army lost about 1300 men, of which upwards of 500 belonged to the reserve. This battle commenced at half past four in the morning, and terminated about nine. The French made three different attacks, with superior numbers, the advantage of cavalry, and a numerous and well-served artillery. The British infantry here gave a decided proof of their superior firmness and hardihood. Sir Ralph, who always exposed his person very much, in this last battle carried the practice perhaps farther than he bad e?er done before. Major-general Moore met hjnv early in the anion, close in the rear of the 42d, without any of the officeFS of his family; and afterwards, when the French cavalry charged the second time, and penetrated the 42d, major-general Moore saw him again and waved to him to retire, but he was instantly surrounded by the hussars; he received a cut from a sabre ou the breast, which penetrated his clothes and just grazed the flesh. He received a shot in the thigh, but remained in the field until the battle was over, when he was conveyed on board the Foudroyant. Major-general Moore, at the close of the action, had the horse killed under him that major Honeyroan had lent him. Wnen the battle was over, the wound in his leg became so stiff and painful, that as soon as he could get a hurse, he gave the command of the reserve to coloi ei Spencer, and retired with brigadier-general Oakes, who commanded the reserve under him, and who was wounded in the leg also, to their tents in the rear. Brigadier-general Oakes was wounded nearly at the same time, and in the same part of the leg that major-general Moore was, but they both continued to head the reserve until the battle was over. When the surgeon had dressed their wounds, finding that they must be some time incapable of action, they returned to the Diadem troop-ship. Sir Ralph Abercrombie died of his wound on board the Foudroyant on the 28th day of March, and the command devolved on major-general Hutchinson. It is unnecessary here to detail the operations in Egypt that followed the battle of the 2 1st, as major-general Moore was confined on hoard the Diadem with his wound until the I Oth of May, when he was removed to Rosetta for the benefit of a change of air. He suffered very severely the ball had passed between the two bones of his leg he endured a long confinement and much torment, from inflammation and surgical operations. When at length he could move on crutches, and was removed to Rosetta, where he got a house on the banks of the Nile, agreeably situated, he began to recover rapidly, and afterwards continued to serve in the army of Egypt until after the surrender of Alexandria, when he returned to England, where he received the honour of knighthood, and the order of the bath. On the renewal of the war, the talents and services of sir John Moore pointed him out as deserving of the most important command. It was not, however, until 1808 that he was appointed to the chief command of an army to be employed in Spain, and Gallicia or the borders of Leon were fixed upon as the place for assembling the troops. Sir John was ordered to send the cavalry by land, but it was left to his own discretion to transport the infantry and artillery either by sea or land. He was also assured, that 15,000 men were ordered to Corunna, and he was directed to give such orders to sir David Baird, their commander, as would most readily effect a junction of the whole force. Both, however, soon discovered that little reliance could be placed on the Spaniards; and they had not got far into the country before their hopes were completely disappointed. Sir John Moore soon began to anticipate the result which followed. In the mean time the French army had advanced, and taken possession of the city of Valladolid, which is but twenty leagues from Salamanca. Sir John had been positively informed that his entry into Spain would be covered by 60 or 70,000 men; and that Burgos was the city intended for the point of union for the different divisions of the British army. But already not only Burgos, but Valladolid, was in possession of the enemy; and he found himself with an advanced corps in an open town, at three marches distance only from the French army, without even a Spanish piquet to cover his front He had at this time only three brigades of infantry, without a gun, in Salamanca. The remainder, it is true, vyere moving up in succession, but the whole could not arrive in less than ten days. At this critical time the Spanish main armies, instead of being united either among themselves, or with the British, were divided from each other almost by the whole breadth of the peninsula. The fatal consequences of this want of union were but too soon made apparent; Blake was defeated, and a report reached sir David Baird that the French were advancing upon his division in two different directions, so as to threaten to surround him. He, consequently, prepared to retreat upon Corunna; but sir John Moore, having ascertained that the report was unfounded, ordered sir David to advance, in order, if possible, to form a junction with him. On the 28th of November he received information that there was now no army remaining, against which the whole French force might be directed, except the British; and it was in vain to expect that they, even if they had been united, could have resisted or checked the enemy. Sir John Moore, therefore, determined to fall back on Portugal, to hasten the junction of general Hope, who had gone towards Madrid, and he ordered sir David Baird to regain Corunna as expeditiously as possible; and when he had thus determined upon a retreat, he communicated his design to the general officers, who, with the exception of general Hope, seemed to doubt the wisdom of his decision; he would, however, have carried it into execution, if he had not been induced, by pressing solicitations, and representations of encouragement, to advance to Madrid, which he was told not only held out, but was capable of opposing the French for a considerable length of time. Sir John, therefore, anxious to meet the wishes of his troops, by leading them against the enemy, determined to attack Soult, the French general, who was posted at Saldanha, by which he thought he should draw off the French armies to the north of Spain, and thus afford an opportunity for the Spanish armies to rally and re-unite. Soult was probably posted in that spot with so small a body of men for the purpose of enticing the British army farther into Spain, while Bonaparte, in person, with his whole disposable force, endeavoured to place himself between the British army and the sea. At length the two armies met; and the superiority of the British cavalry was eminently displayed in a most brilliant and successful skirmish, in which 600 of the imperial guards of Bonaparte were driven off the field by half the number of British, Reaving 55 killed and wounded, and 70 prisoners, among whom was general Le Febre, the commander of the imperial guard.
ord about this time came up, and, perceiving the state of sir John’s wound, instantly rode off for a surgeon. The blood flowed fast, but the attempt to stop it with my sash
The fall of general Moore is thus described by captain
Hardinge: “1 had been ordered by the commander-inchief to desire a battalion* of the guards to advance; which
battalion was at one time intended to have dislodged a
corps of the enemy from a large house and garden on the
opposite side of the valley; and I was pointing out to the
general the situation of the battalion, and our horses were
touching, at the moment that a cannon-shot from the
enemy’s battery carried away his left shoulder, and part
of the collar-bone, leaving the arm hanging by the flesh.
The violence of the stroke threw him off his horse on his
back. Not a muscle of his face altered, nor did a sigh
betray the least sensation of pain. I dismounted, and,
taking his hand, he pressed mine forcibly, casting his eyes
very anxiously towards the 42d regiment, which was hotly
engaged; and his countenance expressed satisfaction when
I informed him that the regiment was advancing. Assisted
by a soldier of the 42d, he was removed a few yards behind
the shelter of a wall. Colonel Graham Balgowan and captain Wood lord about this time came up, and, perceiving
the state of sir John’s wound, instantly rode off for a surgeon. The blood flowed fast, but the attempt to stop it
with my sash was useless, from the size of the wound.
Sir John assented to being removed in a blanket to the
rear. In raising him for that purpose, his sword, hanging
on the wounded side, touched his arm, and became entangled between his legs. I perceived the inconvenience,
and was in the act of unbuckling it from his waist, when
he said in his usual tone and manner, and in a very distinct voice,
” It is as well as it is; I. had rather it should go
out of the field with me."
, a French surgeon, was born in Paris in 1697, where his father was surgeon-major
, a French surgeon, was
born in Paris in 1697, where his father was surgeon-major
to the invalids. Sauveur received his literary education at
the college Mazarin, and was instructed in his profession
by his father at the hospital of the Invalids. He rose to
the mastership of the company of St. Come (which was afterwards erected into the Royal Academy of Surgery),
and was appointed demonstrator of surgical operations to
that body in 1725. In 1728 he appeared as an author on
the subject of lithotomy, and published his “Traite de la
Taille au haut appareil, &c.
” the high operation being
then universally practised by the surgeons of Paris. But,
in the following year he was commissioned by the Academy of Sciences to visit London, with a view of witnessing the lateral operation, as performed by Cheselden with
so much success; and on his return to Paris, he introduced
that mode of cutting for the stone, at the hospital of La
Charite, which brought a crowd of pupils to his hospital,
and multiplied his professional honours. He was admitted
a member of many foreign societies, especially the Royal
Society of London, into which he was admitted in 1728,
and the academies of Stockholm, Petersburg!!, Florence,
Bologna, and Rouen; and was nominated pensioner and
professor of anatomy to the Royal Academy of Sciences at
home. He held likewise several medical appointments in
the army; and in 1751, was honoured with knighthood, of
the order of St. Michael. He died in 1773, at the age of
seventy-six.
hrough the body. This last circumstance Mr. Mountfort declared, as a dying man, to Mr. Bancroft, the surgeon who attended him. Hill immediately made his escape; but lord
, an English dramatic writer,
but in much greater eminence as an actor, was born in
1659, in Staffordshire. It is probable, that he went early
upon the stage, as it is certain that he died young; and
Jacob informs us, that, after his attaining a degree of excellence in his profession, he was entertained for some
time in the family of the lord-chancellor JerTeries, “who,
”
says sir John Reresby, “at an entertainment of the lordmayor and court of aldermen, in the year 1685, called for
Mr. Mountfort to divert the company (as his lordship was pleased to term it): he being an excellent mimic, my lord
made him plead before him in a feigned cause, in which he
aped all the great lawyers of the age in their tone of voice,
and in their action and gesture of body, to the very great
ridicule not only of the lawyers, but of the law itself;
which, to me (says the historian) did not seem altogether
prudent in a man of his lofty station in the law: diverting
it certainly was; but prudent in the lord high-chancellor
I shall never think it. 7 ' After the fall of Jefferies, our
author again returned to the stage, in which profession he
continued till his death, in 1,692. Gibber, in his
” Apology,“says that he was tall, well made, fair, and of an
agreeable aspect; his voice clear, full, and melodious; a
most affecting lover in tragedy, and in comedy gave the
truest life to the real character of a fine gentleman. In
scenes of gaiety, he never broke into that respect that was
due to the presence of equal or superior characters, though
inferior actors played them, nor sought to acquire any advantage over other performers by finesse, or stage-tricks,
but only by surpassing them in true and masterly touches
of nature. He might perhaps have attained a higher degree of excellence and fame, had he not been untimely
cut off, by the hands of an assassin, in the thirty-third
year of his age. His death is tlius related. Lord Mohun,
a man of loose morals, and of a turbulent and rancorous
spirit, had, from a kind of sympathy of disposition, contracted the closest, intimacy with one captain Hill, a still
more worthless character, who had long entertained a
passion for that celebrated actress Mrs. Bracegirdle. This
lady, however, had rejected him, with the contemptuous
disdain which his character justly deserved; and this treatment, Hill’s vanity would not suffer him to attribute to
any other cause than a pre-engagement in favour of some
other lover. Mountfort’s agreeable person, his frequently
performing the counter-parts in love scenes with Mrs.
Bracegirdle, and the respect which he used always to pay
her, induced captain Hill to fix on him, though a married
man, as the supposed bar to his own success. Grown
desperate then of succeeding by fair means, he determined to attempt force: and, communicating his design
to lord Mohun, whose attachment to him was so great as
to render him the accomplice in all his schemes, and the
promoter even of his most criminal pleasures, they determined on a plan for carrying her away from the play-house;
but, not finding her there, they got intelligence where
she was to sup, and, having hired a number of soldiers and
a coach for the purpose, waited near the door for her
coming out; and, on her so doing, the ruffians actually
seized her, and were going to force her into the coach;
but her mother, and the gentleman whose house she came
out of, interposing till farther assistance could come up,
she was rescued from them, and safely escorted to her own
house. Lord Mohun and captain Hill, however, enraged
at their disappointment in this attempt, immediately resolved on one of another kind, and, with violent imprecations, openly vowed revenge on Mr. Mountfort. Mrs.
Bracegirdle’s mother, and a gentleman, who were earwitnesses to their threats, immediately sent to inform Mrs.
Mountfort of her husband’s danger, with their opinion that
she should warn him of it, and advise him not to come
home that night; but, unfortunately, no messenger Mrs.
Mountfort sent was able to find him. In the mean time,
his lordship and the captain paraded the streets with their
swords drawn, till about midnight, when Mr. Mountfort,
on his return home, was met and saluted in a friendly
manner by lord Mohun; but, while that scandal to the
rank and title which he bore was treacherously holding
him in a conversation, the assassin Hill, being at his back,
first gave him a desperate blow on the head with his left
hand, and immediately afterwards, before Mr Mountfort
had time to draw and stand on his defence, he, with the
sword he held ready in his right, ran him through the body.
This last circumstance Mr. Mountfort declared, as a dying
man, to Mr. Bancroft, the surgeon who attended him.
Hill immediately made his escape; but lord Mohun was
seized, and stood his trial: but as it did not appear that
he immediately assisted Hill in the perpetrating this
assassination, and that, although lord Mohun had joined
with the captain in his threats of revenge, yet the actual
mention of murder could not be proved, his lordship was
acquitted by his peers. He afterwards, however, himself
lost his life in a duel with duke Hamilton, in which it has
been hinted that some of the same kind of treachery,
which he had been an abettor of in the above-mentioned
affair, was put in practice against himself. Mr. Mountfort’s death happened in Norfolk-street in the Strand, in
the winter of 1692. His body was interred in the churchyard of St. Clement Danes. He left behind him six dramatic pieces, which are enumerated in the
” Biographia
Dramatica."
Mr. Z. Mudge had three other sons besides the subject of this article. The eldest, Zachariah, was a surgeon and apothecary at Taunton, and afterwards surgeon on board an
, an eminent mechanist, was born
at Exeter, September 1715. He was the second son of
the rev. Zachariah Mudge, prebendary of Exeter, and
vicar of St. Andrew’s, Plymouth, who died April 3, 1769,
and was honoured by Dr. Johnson with a very elegant
testimony of respect, which was inserted in the London
Chronicle at that time, and may be seen in Mr. Boswell’s
Life of the doctor. Mr. Z. Mudge had three other sons
besides the subject of this article. The eldest, Zachariah,
was a surgeon and apothecary at Taunton, and afterwards
surgeon on board an East Indiaman; he died in 1753 on
ship-board, in the river Canton in China. The third, the
rev. Richard Mudge, was officiating minister of a chapel
of ease at Birmingham, and had a small living presented
to him by the earl of Aylesford. He was not only greatly
distinguished by his learning, but by his genius for music.
He excelled as a composer for the harpsichord; and as a
performer on that instrument is said to have been highly
complimented by Handel himself. The fourth son, John,
was originally a surgeon and apothecary at Plymouth, but
during the latter part of his life practised as a physician
with great success. Like his brother Thomas, he had great
mechanical talents; and, until prevented by the enlargement of his practice, he found time to prosecute improvements in rectifying telescopes. In 1777 the Royal Society
adjudged to him Sir Godfrey Copley’s gold medal, for a
paper which he presented to that learned body on the best
methods of grinding the specula of reflecting telescopes.
He also considerably improved the inhaler, an ingenious
contrivance for the curing of coughs, by inhaling steam.
In 1777 he published “A Dissertation on the inoculated
Small-pox;
” which was followed, some years after, by
“A Treatise on the Catarrhous Cough and Vis Vitae.
” He
died in
In 1770, Mr. Mylne married miss Mary Home, sister of Mr. Home, the surgeon, by whom he had nine children. Of these one son, his successor
In 1770, Mr. Mylne married miss Mary Home, sister of Mr. Home, the surgeon, by whom he had nine children. Of these one son, his successor as engineer of the New River Company, and four daughters, now survive him.
ut with it at right angles, hung down over his face. A great effusion of blood followed; but, as the surgeon pronounced there was no immediate danger, Nelson, who had retired
The position of the enemy presented the most formidable obstacles, but the admiral viewed these with the eye of
a seaman determined on an attack; and it instantly struck
him, that where there was room for an enemy’s ship to
swing, there was room for one of ours to anchor. No
further signal was necessary than those which had already
been made. The admiral’s designs were as fully known to
his whole squadron, as was his determination to conquer
or perish in the attempt. The action commenced at sunset, at half past 6 o'clock, with an ardour that cannot be
described. The Goliath, captain Foley, and the Zealous,
captain Hood, received the first fire from the enemy. It
was received with silence. On board every one of the
British ships, the crew were employed aloft in furling sails,
and below in tending the braces, and making ready for
anchoring; a wretched sight for the French, who, with all
their advantages, were on that element upon which escape was impossible. Their admiral, Brueys, was a brate
and able man, yet he had, in a private letter, boasted that
the English had* missed him, “because, not rinding themselves superior in numbers, they did not think it prudent
to try their strength with him.
” The moment was now
come in which he was to be fatally undeceived. The
shores of the bay of Aboukir were soon lined with spectators, who beheld the approach of the English, and the
awful conflict of the hostile fleets, in silent astonishment.
The two first ships of the French line were dismasted within
a quarter of an hour after the action, and the others suffered so severely, that victory was even now regarded as
certain. The third, the fourth, and the fifth, were taken
possession^ of at half past eight. In the mean time, Nelson had received a severe wound on the head from a piece
of iron, called a langridge shot; the skin of his forehead,
being cut with it at right angles, hung down over his face.
A great effusion of blood followed; but, as the surgeon pronounced there was no immediate danger, Nelson, who had
retired to the cabin and was beginning to write his dispatches, appeared again on the quarter-deck, and the French
ship the Orient being on fire, gave orders that boats should
be sent to the relief of her men. Her commander Brueys
was dead of his wounds, and the ship soon after blew up.
The firing recommenced with the ships to the lee-ward of
the centre, and continued until three in the morning. At
day-break, the two rear-ships of the enemy were the only
ships of the line that had their colours flying, and immediately stood out to sea, with two frigates The Zealous
pursued, but as there was no other ship in a condition to
support her, she was recalled. These, however, were all
that escaped; and the victory was the most complete and
glorious in the annals of naval history, uniting indeed, as
was said in the House of Commons, all those qualities by
which other victories had been most distinguished.
by his men. Being placed on a pallet in the midshipman’s birth on the larboard side, Mr. Beatty, the surgeon, was called, and his lordship’s cloaths were taken off, that
Some of the crew immediately bore the admiral to the
cock-pit, and on his observing that the tiller ropes, which
were shot away early in the action, had not been replaced,
he calmly desired a midshipman to remind capt. Hardy of
it, and to request that new ones might be immediately
rove. He then covered his face and stars with his handkerchief, that he might be less observed by his men.
Being placed on a pallet in the midshipman’s birth on the
larboard side, Mr. Beatty, the surgeon, was called, and
his lordship’s cloaths were taken off, that the direction of
the ball might be the better ascertained. “You can be of
no use to me, Beatty,
” said lord Nelson, “go and attend
those whose lives can be preserved.
” When the surgeon
had executed his melancholy office, had expressed the
general feeling that prevailed on the occasion, and had
again been urged by the admiral to go and attend to his
duty, he reluctantly obeyed, but continued to return at
intervals. As the blood flowed internally from the wound,
the lower cavity of the body gradually filled: lord Nelson
therefore constantly desired Mr. Burke to raise him, and
complaining of an excessive thirst, was supplied by Mr.
Scott (the chaplain) with lemonade. In this state of suffering, with nothing but havoc and death and misery
around him, his mind continued intent on the great object
that was always before him, his duty to his country: he
therefore anxiously inquired for capt. Hardy, to know
whether the annihilation of the enemy might be depended
on; and it being upwards of an hour before that officer
could leave the deck, lord Nelson suspected he was dead,
and could not easily be persuaded that it was otherwise.
The crew of the Victory were now heard to cheer, when
lieutenant Pasco, who lay wounded near him, said that one
of their opponents had struck. A gleam of joy lighted up
the countenance of Nelson; and as the crew repeated their
cheers, and marked the progress of his victory, his satisfaction visibly increased. Mr. Bulkley, the captain’s aid
de camp, then came below, and in a low voice communicated to the surgeon the particular circumstances which
had detained capt. Hardy. The excessive heat of the
cockpit, from the numbers of the dead and wounded, increased the faintness of the dying admiral, and his sight
became dim “Who brought the message?
” said he feebly.
“Bulkley, my lord.
” “It is his voice,
” said Nelson,
“remember me, Bulkley, to your father.
” Capt. Hardy
soon afterwards came down from the deck, and anxiously
strove to conceal the feelings with which he had been
struggling. “How goes the day with us, Hardy?
” “Ten
ships, my lord, have struck.
” “But none of ours, I hope.
”
“There is no fear, my dear lord, of that. Five of their
van have tacked, and shewn an intention of bearing down
upon us; but I have called some of our fresh ships round
the Victory, and have no doubt of your complete success.
”
Captain Hardy then found himself unable any longer to
suppress the yearnings of a brave and affectionate heart,
and hurried away for a time to conceal the bitterness of
his sorrow.
ty reprimanded the man for not having more humanity. Sometime afterwards he was again visited by the surgeon; “I find,” said he, “something rising in my breast, which tells
The firing continued, and the cheers of the men were
occasionally heard amidst its repeated peals. With a wish
to support his spirits, that were in some degree shaken
by having seen the friend he so sincerely regarded, and
from the increased pain under which he had to endure the
agonies of excessive thirst, and the great difficulty of respiration, Mr. Burke said, “I still hope, my lord, you
will carry this glorious news home.
” “Don't talk nonsense,
” replied the admiral, “one would, indeed, like to
live a little longer, but I know it to be impossible: God’s
will be done, I have performed my duty, and I devoutly
thank him for it.
” A wounded seaman was lying near him
on a pallet, waiting for amputation, and in the bustle that
prevailed was hurt by some person passing by: Nelson,
weak as he was, indignantly turned his head, and with his
usual authority reprimanded the man for not having more
humanity. Sometime afterwards he was again visited by
the surgeon; “I find,
” said he, “something rising in my
breast, which tells me I shall soon be gone. God be praised
that I have done my duty. My pain is so severe that I
devoutly wish to be released.
”
st skilful were superseded to make way for one who, his biographer says, was not long before an army surgeon of the lowest order. On this occasion an offer of a pension
On the death of sir Hans Sloane, in 1753, Dr. Nichols
was appointed his successor as one of the king’s physicians
an office which he held till the death of his majesty in 1760,
when the most skilful were superseded to make way for
one who, his biographer says, was not long before an
army surgeon of the lowest order. On this occasion an
offer of a pension was made to Dr. Nichols, which it was
suggested he might have if he would ask for it, but he
rejected it with disdain. In 1772 he published a second
edition of his treatise “De Anima Medica,
” to which was
subjoined a dissertation “De Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in
Homine nato et non nato,
” inscribed to his learned friend
and coadjutor the late Dr. Lawrence.
, an eminent historian, the son of Dr. Alexander Orme, a physician and surgeon in the service of the East India company, was born at Anjengo,
, an eminent historian, the son of Dr.
Alexander Orme, a physician and surgeon in the service of
the East India company, was born at Anjengo, in the Travancore country, in 1728. He was sent to England for hi
education, and was entered at Harrow-school when he
was only six years of age. After he left school, he was
a year in the office of the accomptant-general of the African company, to be initiated in commercial transactions,
and then embarked for Calcutta, where he arrived in 1742.
As soon as he engaged in the company’s service, he acquired the highest reputation for the zeal with which he
entered into their interests, and at the same time acquired such knowledge of the institutions, manners, and
customs of the natives of India, that, in 1752, when some
regulations were thought necessary in the police of Calcutta, he was desired to give his opinion on the subject.
He accordingly drew up the greater part of “A general
idea of the Government and People of Indostan.
” In The History' of the Military Transactions
of the British nation in Itidostan, from the year 1745,
” the
first volume of which, bringing down the history to 1756,
was published in 1763, and extremely well received by
the public. The East India company, duly sensible of his
merits, and of the importance of his historical researches,
not only gave him free access to all their records, but appointed him to be their historiographer, with a salary of
400l. per annum. To obtain the most accurate information respecting the war which was to be the subject of
the second volume, he went over to France in 1773, where
he was furnished liberally with various authentic documents, but it was not till 1778 that the work was brought
to its completion. This contained all the events which
took place in the English settlements in India from 1756
to 1763, with an investigation of the rise and progress of
the English commerce in Bengal, and an account of the
Mahommedan government from its establishment in 1200.
In 1782 Mr. Orme published a work entitled “Historical
Fragments of the Mogul empire of the Marattoes, and of
the English concerns in Indostau from the year 1659.
”
This, which was an octavo volume, was his last publication, for though his literary pursuits were unremitted, yet
his health was unequal to the exertions required for the
composition. In 1792 he left the metropolis to enjoy in
retirement the society of. his friends, and the recreation
afforded by a well- assorted library. The place of his retirement was Ealing, where he was often visited by his
friends, who appear to have loved him with great affection.
Amongst these may be mentioned general Richard Smith,
Mr. Robarts, one of the court of directors, Mr. Dairy mple,
sir George Baker, and the late Mr. Owen Cambridge.
But his books were his chief companions; and such was
the active curiosity of his mind, that at the age of seventy
he found in them a constant source of amusement. He
continued his studies to the last month of his life, and a
great many of his books bear interesting evidence of the
strict attention with which he perused them; for their
margins are filled with observations in his own hand writing. In the beginning of January 1801, he fell into a
state of weakness and languor that prognosticated his
speedy dissolution; and he expired on the 14th of that
month, in the seventy-third year of his age.
, a surgeon of eminence, was born at Ghent in Flanders in 1649; and, being
, a surgeon of eminence, was born at
Ghent in Flanders in 1649; and, being made anatomist
and reader in surgery in that city, was much distinguished
by his lectures as well as practice, and wrote upon several
subjects with learning and judgment. He died at Ghent,
about eighty years old, in 1730. He paid various visits
to London, Paris, and Leyden, where he formed an acquaintance with the most eminent surgeons of his time,
profited by their discoveries, and was himself the inventor
of some instruments. His first publication was a “System
of Osteology,
” in Flemish, which he afterwards translated
into French, and which was often reprinted. In 1708, he
published his “Description Anatomique des Parties de la
Femme qui servent a la Generation,
” together with Licetus’ treatise on monsters, and a description of one born
at Ghent in 1703. In 1710, he printed his “Anatomic
Chirurgicale, ou description exacte des Parties du Corps
humain, avec des remarques miles aux Chirurgiens dans
la pratique de leur art,
” in French; and in 1718, reprinted it in Flemish. It was regarded as a valuable work,
and was republished after his death, in France, Italy, and
Germany. Palfin also translated the treatise of Anthony
Petit on “Diseases of the Eyes,
” into Flemish, adding
several other tracts on the same subject.
to his commencing practice, his father sent him to Hanover for the purpose of procuring the post of surgeon in the allied army; but as, upon his arrival in that city, in
Previously to his commencing practice, his father sent
him to Hanover for the purpose of procuring the post of
surgeon in the allied army; but as, upon his arrival in that
city, in the month of July, peace was on the point of being
concluded, he returned to Berlin, where he passed a year,
chiefly in preparing materials for a “Fauna Insectorum
Marchica,
” or a description of the insects in the march of
Brandenburg. Having at length prevailed upon his father
to let him settle in Holland, he took up his residence at the
Hague, and his reputation as a man of science was, by
this time, so well established, that he was, the same year,
elected fellow of the Royal Society of London; and in the
following year member of the Academic des Curieux de la
Nature; to both of which societies he had previously sent
very interesting and ingenious papers.
, a French surgeon of eminence, was born at Laval, in the district of the Maine,
, a French surgeon of eminence, was
born at Laval, in the district of the Maine, in 1509. He
commenced the study of his profession early in life, and
practised it with great zeal both in hospitals and in the army;
and when his reputation was at its height, he was appointed
surgeon in ordinary to king Henry II. in 1552; and he
held the same office under the succeeding kings, Francis II.
Charles IX. and Henry III. To Charles IX. especially
he is said to have on one occasion conferred great professional benefits, when some formidable symptoms had been
produced by the accidental wound of a tendon in venesection, which he speedily removed. His services appear to
have been amply acknowledged by the king; who spared
him in the horrible massacre of St. Bartholomew’s, although
a protestant. “Of all those,
”' says the duke of Sully,
<c who were about the person of this prince (Charles IX.)
none possessed so great a share of his confidence as Ambrose Pare“, his surgeon. This man, though a Huguenot,
lived with him in so great a degree of familiarity, that, on
the day of the massacre, Charles telling him, the time was
now come when the whole kingdom would be catholics;
he replied, without being alarmed, * By the light of God,
sire, I cannot believe that you have forgot your promise
never to command me to do four things namely, to enter
into my mother’s womb, to be present in the day of
battie, to quit your service, or to go to mass.‘ The king
soon after took him aside, and disclosed to him freely the
trouble of his soul: * Ambrose,’ said he, * I know not what
has happened to me these two or three days past, but I
feel my mind and body as much at enmity with each other,
as if I was seized with a fever; sleeping or waking, the
murdered Huguenots seem ever present to my eyes, with
ghastly faces, and weltering in blood. I wish the innocent
and helpless had been spared!' The order which was published the following day, forbidding the continuance of the
massacre, was in consequence of this conversation.
” Pare",
after having been long esteemed as the first surgeon of his
time, and beloved for his private virtues, died Dec. 20,
1590, at the age of eighty-one; and as he was buried in
the church of St. Andrew, Eloy would from that circumstance infer that he died a Roman catholic, of which we
have no proof.
works were afterwards printed io German, Dutch, and French; and his pupil, Guillemeau, who was also surgeon to Charles IX. and Henry IV. translated them into Latin. This
Pare was not a man of learning, although we meet with
learned references and numerous quotations from the
ancients, in his writings; but he must be considered as a
bold and successful operator, and a real improver of his
art; particularly in the practice of tying divided arteries,
which he effected by drawing them out naked, and passing
a ligature over them; and in the treatment of gun-shot
wounds. Even in anatomy, in which he did not excel, he
was, by frequent dissections, enabled to add some observations of his own to what he had borrowed from Vesalius.
As an author he had high fame, and his works were universally read and translated into most of the languages of
Europe. His first treatise, “Maniere de trailer les playes
faites par harquebuses, fleches, &c.
” was published at Paris in Ambrosii Paraei, Opera,
novis iconibus elegantissimis illustrata, et Latinitate donata.
” This volume contains twenty -six treatises, and
there is no branch of surgery which is not touched upon in
the collection.
, a French wit, the son of a surgeon of Toulouse, where he was born in 1638, wrote several Latin
, a French wit, the son of
a surgeon of Toulouse, where he was born in 1638, wrote
several Latin poems, which were reckoned good, but applied himself chiefly to the poetry of his native country.
Having been three times honoured with the laurel at the
academy of the Floral games, he wrote a tragedy called
Gela, which was acted, in 1687, with applause, in consequence of which he published it, with a dedication to the
first prince of the blood. He wrote also “Le sacrifice
d' Abraham;
” and ^ Joseph vendu par ses Freres,“two singular subjects for tragedies; but received with favour. He
produced besides a tragedy called
” La Mort de Neron,“concerning which an anecdote is related, which nearly
coincides with one which is current here, as having happened to our dramatic poet Fletcher. He wrote usually
at public-houses, and one day left behind him a paper,
containing his plan for that tragedy; in which, after various marks and abbreviations, he had written at large,
” Ici le roi sera tu6“Here the king is to be killed.
The tavern-keeper, conceiving that he had found the seeds
of a plot, gave information to the magistrate. The poet
was accordingly taken up; but on seeing his paper, which
he had missed, in the hands of the person who had seized
him, exclaimed eagerly,
” Ah! there it is; the very scene
which I had planned for the death of Nero." With this clue,
his innocence was easily made out, and he was discharged.
Pechantre died at Paris in 1709, being then seventy-one;
he had exercised the profession of physic for some time,
till he quitted it for the more arduous task of cultivating
the drama.
, a celebrated surgeon, was born at Paris, March 13, 1674. From his childhood he displayed
, a celebrated surgeon, was born
at Paris, March 13, 1674. From his childhood he displayed uncommon acuteness, and received his first instructions in anatomy from M. de Littre, a celebrated anatomist,
who resided in his father’s house. Under this master he
made such rapid progress, that he had scarcely attained the
age of twelve, when M. de Littre found that he might be
intrusted with the care of his anatomical theatre. He afterwards studied surgery under Castel and Mareschal, and
was admitted master in 1700. In the course of no long
time he became the first practitioner in Paris, and was “consulted in all cases of importance; and there were few operations of difficulty and delicacy which he did not superintend, or actually perform; and his hand and his counsels
were alike successful. Such a reputation soon extended
throughout Europe. In 1726 he was sent for by the king
of Poland, and again in 1734 by Don Ferdinand, afterwards king of Spain: he re-established the health of both
these princes, who endeavoured to retain him near their
persons with the offer of great rewards, but could not overcome his attachment to his native place. Among his professional honours was that of member of the academy of
^ciences, director of the academy of surgery, censor and
royal professor at the schools, and fellow of the royal society of London. He died at Paris, April 20, 1750, aged 76,
regretted as much for his private virtues as his public services. He communicated many memoirs to the academy of
sciences, and several to the academy of surgery, which
were printed in their first volume. His only separate publication was his
” Traite des Maladies des Os,“printed at
Paris in 1705, in 12mo, and frequently reprinted, with
additions. An edition in 1758, in two volumes, 12mo, was
published by M. Ant. Louis, with an historical and critical
essay respecting it subjoined; and his pupil, M. Leslie,
published his posthumous works in 1774, with the title of
” Traite des Maladies Chirurgicales et des Operations qui
leur conviennent," in three vols. 8vo, with many plates
of chirurgical instruments. His treatise on the bones involved him in several controversies; but the only chagrin
which he felt arose from finding Winslow, who, as censor
royal, had approved the work, retract his approbation, in
a letter inserted in the Journal des Savans for May 1725.
, first surgeon to the king, was distinguished above all the eminent surgeons
, first surgeon to the king,
was distinguished above all the eminent surgeons who have
appeared in France, by his ardent zeal for the progress
and improvement of surgery, and the sums he expended
for that purpose. He was born in 1678, and died April 24,
1747. Among the important services he rendered his
country, we find that he procured the establishment of
the “Royal Academy of Surgery
” at Paris in 17.51; and
left his library, and estate of Marigny, to the company of
surgeons in that city, who sold them to his majesty for
200,000 livres; he also appointing the same company universal legatees to two-thirds of his property, M. de la
Peyronie bequeathed to the surgeon’s company of Montpeilier, two houses situated there, with 100,000 livres, for
the erection of an amphitheatre for surgery; and also left
the said company universal legatees to the third part of
his property. Every clause in his will tended to the public
good, and the encouragement and improvement of surgery,
by which, as well as by his talents, this celebrated surgeon
rendered his name immortal in France.
on this enlargement of his fortune, he fell into a fever by his free way of living; and, employing a surgeon to let him blood, the man unluckily pricked an artery, which
His invention was fruitful, and his drawing bold and
free. He understood landscape-painting, and performed
it to perfection. He was particularly a great master in.
perspective. In designing his landscapes, he had a manner peculiar to himself. He always carried a long book
about with him, like a music-book, which, when he had a
mind to draw, he opened; and, looking through it, made
the lower corner of the middle of the book his point of
sight: by which, when he had formed his view, he directed his perspective, and finished his picture. His hand
was ready, his strokes bold; and, in his etching, short.
He etched several things himself, generally on oval silver
plates for his friends; who, being most of them as hearty
lovers of the bottle as himself, put glasses over them, and
made lids of them for their tobacco-boxes. He drew several of the grand seignors’ heads for sir Paul Rycaut’s
“History of the Turks,
” which were engraved by Mr. Elder.
In the latter part of his life, he applied himself to modelling in wax in basso-relievo; in which manner he did
abundance of things with good success. He often said, he
wished he had thought of it sooner, for that sort of work
suited better with his genius than any; and had he lived
longer, he would have arrived to great perfection in it.
Some time before his death another estate fell to him, by
the decease of his mother; when, giving himself new
liberty on this enlargement of his fortune, he fell into a
fever by his free way of living; and, employing a surgeon
to let him blood, the man unluckily pricked an artery,
which accident proved mortal. Piper was very fat, which
might contribute to this misfortune. He died in Aldermanbury, about 1740.
, an English surgeon of the highest eminence, was born in Thread needle-street, London,
, an English surgeon of the highest
eminence, was born in Thread needle-street, London, in
December 1713. His father dying before he was quite
four years old, he was left, in some degree, to the protection and patronage of Wilcox, bishop of Rochester, who
was a distant relation of his mother. The profession of
surgery was his own decided choice, though the connection
above mentioned might naturally have led him to the
church; and, in 1729, he was bound apprentice to Mr.
Nourse, one of the surgeons of St. Bartholomew’s hospital,
under whom he was profoundly instructed, in what, at that
time, was taught only by a few, the science of anatomy.
His situation brought with it an abundance of practical
knowledge, to which his own industry led him to add all
that can be gained from a sagacious and careful perusal of
the early writers on surgery. Thus qualified, he was admirably calculated to reform the superfluous and awkward
modes of practice which had hitherto disgraced the art.
In 1736, having finished his apprenticeship, he took a
house in Fencburch-street, and quickly was distinguished
as a young man of the most brilliant and promising talents.
In 1745, he was elected an assistant surgeon; and, in
1749, one of the principal surgeons of St. Bartholomew’s
hospital. It was one of the honours of Mr. Pott’s life, that
he divested surgery of its principal horrors, by substituting
a mild and rational mode of practice (notwithstanding the opposition of the older surgeons), instead of the actual
cautery, and other barbarous expedients which had hitherto
been employed and he lived to enjoy the satisfaction of
seeing his improved plan universally adopted. Though he
possessed the most distinguished talents for communicating
his thoughts in writing, it seems to have been by accident
that he was led to become an author. Immersed in practice, it does not appear that hitherto he had written any
thing, except a paper “on tumours attended with a softening of the bones,
” in the forty-first volume of the Philosophical Transactions; but, in 1756, a compound fracture
of the leg, occasioned by a fall of his horse in the streets,
gave him leisure to plan, and in part to write, his Treatise
on Ruptures. The flattering reception of his publications
attached him afterwards to this mode of employing his talents, so that he was seldom long without being engaged
in some work. His leg was with difficulty preserved, and
he returned to the labours of his profession. In 1764, he
had the honour of being elected a fellow of the Royal
Society; and in the ensuing year he began to give lectures
at his house, which was then in Watling-street; but finding it necessary, from the increase of his business, to
choose a more central situation, he removed, in 1769, to
Lincoln’s-rnn-fields, and in 1777 to Hanover-square. His
reputation had now risen nearly to the greatest height, bj
means of his various publications, and the great success of
his practice. He was universally consulted, and employed
by persons of the first rank and situation; and received
honorary tributes to his merit from the royal college of
surgeons at Edinburgh and in Ireland. In 1787, he resigned the office of surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s hospital,
“after having served it,
” as he expressed himself, “man
and boy, for half a century
” and in December 1788, in
consequence of a cold caught by going out of town to a
patient in very severe weather, he died, at the age of
seventy-five. He was buried near his mother, in the church
of St. Mary Aldermary, Bow-lane, where a tablet was affixed
to his memory, inscribed by his son, the rev. J. H. Pott, the
present archdeacon of London, and vicar of St. Martin’s-in-the-fields.
apoplectic fit, in the forest of Chantilly. A magistrate was called in, who unfortunately ordered a surgeon immediately to open the body, which was apparently dead. A loud
Whether the accusations of his enemies were true or
not, there were reasons which obliged him to pass over
into England at the end of 1733, and the lady followed
him. There, according to Palissot, he wrote the first volumes of “Cleveland.
” The first part of his “Pour &
Contre,
” was published this year, a journal which brought
down upon him the resentment of many authors whose
works he had censured. His faults were canvassed, and
perhaps exaggerated; all his adventures were brought
to the public view, and related, probably, not without much
misrepresentation. His works, however, having established
his reputation, procured him protectors in France. He
solicited and obtained permission to return. Returning to
Paris in the autumn of 1734, he assumed the habit of an
abbé. Palissot dates this period as the epoch in which his
literary fame commenced but it is certain, that three of
his most popular romances had been published before that
time. He now lived in tranquillity under the protection
of the prince of Conti, who gave him the title of his
almoner and secretary, with an establishment that enabled
him to pursue his studies. By the desire of chancellor
d'Aguesseau, he undertook a general history of voyages,
of which the first volume appeared in 1745. The success
of his works, the favour of the great, the subsiding of the
passions, a calm retreat, and literary leisure, seemed to
promise a serene and peaceful old age. But a dreadful
accident put an end to this tranquillity, and the fair prospect which had opened before him was closed by the hand
of death. To pass the evening of his days in peace, and
to finish in retirement three great works which he had undertaken, he had chosen and prepared an agreeable recess
at Firmin near Chantilly. On the 23d of Nov. 1763, he
was discovered by some peasants in an apoplectic fit, in
the forest of Chantilly. A magistrate was called in, who
unfortunately ordered a surgeon immediately to open the
body, which was apparently dead. A loud shriek from the
victim of this culpable precipitation, convinced the spectators of their error. The instrument was withdrawn, but
not before it had touched the vital parts. The unfortunate
abbé opened his eyes, and expired.
suggested the operation of lithotomy, which was successfully performed by Mr. Salter, an enii* nent surgeon of London, who went to Norwich for the purpose but the subsequent
On the translation of the bishop of Norwich to Ely, Dr.
Prideaux was advised to make interest for the bishopric
but being now sixty years of age, too late to enter on a
course of public life and parliamentary attendance, and for
other reasons, he declined interfering, and Dr. Trimnell
became bishop, whom he thought every way deserving of
the preferment. In the mean time Dr. Prideaux continued
his labours for the general interests of the church, and in
1709, published his tract on “The original right of
Tythes.
” In this, his first intention was to give the History
of Appropriations and this was to have been only an introduction but it enlarging under his hand, he resolved
to publish it by itself as the first part of the work. He had
for many years made collections of the common law and
ecclesiastical history; but wanted much information which
he could not have without going to London, and consulting
the public records there and he was about this time
seized with the calamitous distemper of the stone; so that
he was forced to lay aside that design. Upon this last account also he resigned the vicarage of Trowse, when no
longer able to go up into the pulpit. The seventy of
his disorder now suggested the operation of lithotomy,
which was successfully performed by Mr. Salter, an enii*
nent surgeon of London, who went to Norwich for the purpose but the subsequent cure, having been entrusted to a
young man at Norwich, was so badlyareated, that the patient had almost lost his life, and was indeed ever after a
great sufferer by this misconduct.
appeared. The discourse took its rise from, the prize medaPs being adjudged to Mr. Mudge an eminent surgeon at Plymouth, upon account of his valu* able paper, containing
Sir John Pringle, in his next annual dissertation, had an
opportunity of displaying his knowledge in a way in which
it had not hitherto appeared. The discourse took its rise
from, the prize medaPs being adjudged to Mr. Mudge an
eminent surgeon at Plymouth, upon account of his valu*
able paper, containing “Directions for making the best
composition for the metals of Reflecting Telescopes, together with a description of the process for grinding, polishing, and giving the great speculum the true parabolic
form.
” Sir John has accurately related a variety of parti*
culars, concerning the invention of reflecting telescopes,
the subsequent improvements of these instruments, and the
state in which Mr. Mudge found them, when he first set
about working them to a greater perfection, till he had
truly realized the expectation of sir Isaac Newton, who,
above an hundred years ago, presaged that the public
would one day possess a parabolic speculum, not accomplished by mathematical rules, but by mechanical devices.
Sir John Pnngle’s sixth discourse, to which he was led by
the assignment of the gold medal to Mr. (now Dr.) Hutton,
on account of his curious paper, entitled “The Force of
fired Gunpowder, and the initial Velocity of Cannon-balls,
determined by experiments,
” was the theory of gunnery.
Though sir John had so long attended the army, this was
probably a subject to which he had heretofore paid very
little attention. We cannot, however, help admiring with
what perspicuity and judgment he has stated the progress
that was made, from time to time, in the knowledge of
projectiles, and the scientific perfection to which his friend
Mr. Hutton had carried this knowledge. Sir John Pringle
was not one of those who delighted in war, and in the
shedding of human blood; he was happy in being able to
shew that even the study of artillery might be useful to
mankind; and, therefore, this is a topic which he has not
forgotten to mention. Here ended his discourses upon the
delivery of sir Godfrey Copley’s medal. If he had continued to preside in the chair of the Royal Society, he
would, no doubt, have found other occasions of displaying
his acquaintance with the history of philosophy. But the
opportunities which he had of signalizing himself in this
respect were important in themselves, happily varied, and
sufficient to gain him a solid and lasting reputation.
Several marks of literary distinction, as we have already
seen, had been conferred upon sir John Pringle, before he
was raised to the president’s chair; but after that event, they
were bestowed upon him with great abundance and, not
again to resume the subject, we shall here collect them together. Previously, however, to these honours (excepting his having been chosen a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London), he received the last promotion that
was given him in his medical capacity, which was, his
being appointed, Nov. 4, 1774, physician extraordinary
to his majesty. In the year 1776 he was enrolled in the
list of the members of no less than four learned bodies.
These were, the Royal Academy of Sciences at Madrid
the Society of Amsterdam, for the promotion of Agriculture the Royal Academy of Medical Correspondence at
Paris and the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. In July 1777, sir John Pringle was nominated,
by his serene highness the landgrave of Hesse, an honorary
member of the Society of Antiquaries at Cassel. In 1778
he succeeded the celebrated Linnæus, as one of the foreign
members of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. This
honour was then extended, by that illustrious body, only
to eight persons, on which account it was justly esteemed
a most eminent mark of distinction; and we believe there
have been few or no instances wherein it has been conferred on any other than men of gceat and acknowledge/1
abilities and reputation. In October in the same year,
our author was chosen a member of the Medical Society at
Hanau. In the succeeding year, March 29, he was
elected a foreign member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Belles Lettres at Naples. The last testimony
of respect which was, in this way, bestowed upon sir John
Pringle, was his being admitted, in 1781, into the number of the fellows of the newly-erected Society of Antiquaries at Edinburgh, the particular design of which is to
investigate the history and antiquities of Scotland.
nguished botanist and able physician, was born at Loughborough, Feb. 17, 1730. He first settled as a surgeon and apothecary at Leicester but having been educated as a Calvinistic
, a distinguished botanist and
able physician, was born at Loughborough, Feb. 17, 1730.
He first settled as a surgeon and apothecary at Leicester but having been educated as a Calvinistic dissenter,
the people of that town, who chanced to have different prejudices, of course gave him but little support. He struggled against pecuniary difficulties with economy, and
shielded his peace of mind against bigotry, in himself or
others, by looking “through nature, up to nature’s God.
”
His remarks and discoveries were communicated first to
the Gentleman’s Magazine, in 1750, as well as several subsequent years and he intermixed antiquarian studies with
his other pursuits. His botanical papers printed by the
royal society, on the Sleep of Plants, and the Rare Plants
of Leicestershire, procured him the honour of election into
that learned body in 1762. In 1764 he obtained a diploma of doctor of physic from Edinburgh, even without accomplishing that period of residence, then usually required,
and now indispensable and his thesis on the cinchona officinalis amply justified the indulgence of the university.
od above-mentioned, when one of the books in which he first delighted was the “Maison Rustique.” The surgeon of the village gave him a slight knowledge of Greek and Latin,
, a celebrated French physician,
was born at Merey, near Mont fort- Lamaury, a small town
of the isle of France, in the year 1694. He was the son of
a labourer, and worked in the fields till he was sixteen
years of age; though he afterwards became first physician
in ordinary to the king of France, a member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and of the Royal Society of
London. He did not even learn to read till the period
above-mentioned, when one of the books in which he first
delighted was the “Maison Rustique.
” The surgeon of
the village gave him a slight knowledge of Greek and Latin, with some of the first principles of his art after which
he repaired to the capital, where he completed his knowledge of it. Having obtained the requisite qualifications,
he first practised his profession at Mantes but M. de la
Peyronie, having discovered his talents, and thinking them
lost in a small town, invited him to Paris, to be secretary to
an academy of surgery, which he was desirous to establish.
To the first collection of memoirs published by this society
Quesnay prefixed a preface, which is considered as one of
the compietest performances of the kind. The gout at
length disqualified him for the practice of surgery, and he
applied himself to medicine, wherein he became no less
eminent. Towards the latter end of life his early taste for
agricultural studies revived, and he became a leading man
in the sect of ceconomists, who afterwards made so bad a
use of their influence, by circulating democratical principles. Quesnay had many good qualities, among which
were humanity and charity, with a strong mind and philosophical equality of temper, under the pains of the gout.
He lived to the age of eighty, and in his very last years
involved himself so deeply in mathematical studies that he
fancied he had discovered at once the two great problems,
of the trisection of an angle, and the quadrature of the
circle. He died in December 1774. Louis XV“. was
much attached to Quesnay, called him
” son penseur,“his thinker; and, in allusion to that name, gave him three
pansies, or
” pensees," for his arms.
thousand pounds, in particular, for the relief of sick seamen set ashore. Mr. Bernard, the serjeant- surgeon, took from him 100 ounces of blood and on the 31st he took a
In 1703, Radcliffe was himself taken ill (on Wednesday, March 24), with something like a pleurisy neglected it;
drank a bottle of wine at sir Justinian Isham’s on Thursday,
took to his bed on Friday and on the 30th was so ill, tiiat
it was thought he could not live till the next day. Dr.
Stanhope, dean of Canterbury and Mr. Whitfield (then queen’s chaplain, and rector of St. Martin, Ludgate, afterwards vicar of St. Giles, Cripplegate), were sent for by
him, and he desired them to assist him. By a will, made
the28th, he disposed of the greatest part of his estate to
charity; and several thousand pounds, in particular, for
the relief of sick seamen set ashore. Mr. Bernard, the
serjeant-surgeon, took from him 100 ounces of blood
and on the 31st he took a strange resolution of being removed to Kensington, notwithstanding his weakness, from
which the most pressing entreaties of his friends could not
divert him. In the warmest time of the day he rose, and
was carried by four men in a chair to Kensington, whither
he got with difficulty, having fainted away in his chair.
“Being put to bed,
” says Dr. Atterbury, on whose authority
we relate these particulars, “he fell asleep immediately, and
it is concluded now (April 1) that he may do well so that
the town- physicians, who expected to share his practice,
begin now to think themselves disappointed.
” Two days
after, the same writer adds, “Dr. Radclitfe is past all
danger: his escape is next to miraculous. It hath made
him not only very serious, but very devout. The person
who faath read prayers to him often (and particularly this day) tells me, he never saw a man more in earnest. The
queen asked Mr. Bernard how he did and when he told
her that he was ungovernable, and would observe no rules,
she answered, that then nobody had reason to take any
thing ill from, him, since it was plain he used other people
no worse than he used himself.
”
ed by Guiscard, Swift complains, that, by the caprice of Radcliffe, who would admit none but his own surgeon, he had “not been well looked after;” and adds in another place,
When Mr. Harley was stabbed by Guiscard, Swift complains, that, by the caprice of Radcliffe, who would admit
none but his own surgeon, he had “not been well looked
after;
” and adds in another place, “Mr. Harley has had an
ill surgeon, by the caprice of that puppy Dr. Radcliffe;
which has kept him back so long.
”
f his humanity there is indeed one memorable instance, which must not be omitted. Whilst he acted as surgeon of the Arundel, then commanded by captain (afterwards vice-admiral
In 1755, he went to London, and studied surgery and pharmacy under the auspices of Dr. Macauley; in whose family he lived for two years, much esteemed both by him and his celebrated lady. Afterwards he served in his medical capacity for several years in the royal navy, and by the humane and diligent discharge of his duties, endeared himself to the seamen, and acquired the esteem of his officers. Of his humanity there is indeed one memorable instance, which must not be omitted. Whilst he acted as surgeon of the Arundel, then commanded by captain (afterwards vice-admiral sir Charles) Middleton, a slaveship, on her passage from Africa to the West Indies, fell in with the fleet to which the Arundel belonged. An epidemical distemper, too common in such vessels, had swept away not only a great number of the unfortunate negroes, but also many of the ship’s crew, and among others the surgeon. In this distressed situation the commander of the Guinea ship applied to the English commodore for medical assistance; but not a surgeon or surgeon’s mate in the whole fleet, except Mr. Ramsay, would expose himself to the contagion of so dangerous a distemper. Prompted, however, by his own innate benevolence, and fully authorized by his no less benevolent commander, the surgeon of the Arundel, regardless of personal danger, went on board the infected ship, visited all the patients, and remained long enough to leave behind him written directions for their future treatment. In this enterprise he escaped the contagion, but in his return to his own ship, just as he had got on the deck, he fell, and broke his thigh bone, by which he was confined to his apartment for ten months, and rendered in a small degree lame through the remainder of his life.
young; but four of the daughters survived him; viz. Mary, married in 1757 to Mr. Ditcher, an eminent surgeon of Bath; Martha, married in 1762 to Edward Bridgen, esq. F.
His first wife was Martha Wilde, daughter of Mr. Ailington Wilde, printer, in Clerkenwell, by whom he had five sons and a daughter, who all died young. His second wife (who survived him many years) was Elizabeth sister of Mr. Leake, bookseller, of Bath. By her he had a son and five daughters. The son died young; but four of the daughters survived him; viz. Mary, married in 1757 to Mr. Ditcher, an eminent surgeon of Bath; Martha, married in 1762 to Edward Bridgen, esq. F. R. and A. Ss.; Anne, unmarried; and Sarah, married to Mr. Crowther, surgeon of Boswell-court. All these, are now dead.
ed, and took an active part in her defence. On this occasion, he published a letter to Mr. Sanxay, a surgeon, on whose testimony Miss Butterfield had been committed to prison;
In 1775 a remarkable incident happened, which excited
the public attention. A Miss Butterfield was accused of
poisoning Mr. Wm. Scawen, of Wooclcote lodge in Surrey.
Mr. Robertson thought her very cruelly treated, and took
an active part in her defence. On this occasion, he published a letter to Mr. Sanxay, a surgeon, on whose testimony Miss Butterfield had been committed to prison; in
which he very severely animadverts on the conduct and
evidence of that gentleman. After she had been honourably acquitted at the assizes at Croydon, he published a
second pamphlet, containing “Observations on the case
of Miss Butterfield,
” shewing the hardships she had sustained, and the necessity of prosecuting her right in a
court of justice: that is, her claim to a considerable
legacy, which Mr. Scawen had bequeathed her by a will,
executed with great formality, two or three years before
his death. The cause was accordingly tried in Doctors 1
Commons. But, though it was universally agreed, that this
unfortunate young woman had been unjustly accused, and
that Mr. Scawen had been induced, by false suggestions,
to sign another testamentary paper, in which her name
was not mentioned, yet no redress could be obtained, as
the judge observed, “that it was the business of the court
to determine the cause, according to what the testator had
done; not according to what he ought to have done.
”
rried thither, in which he had concealed his manner; and shewing it, told them that it was done by a surgeon to whom hey had judged very ill in refusing a place in their
After his return from Florence he fixed at Rome, where
for a long time he would sell none of his paintings but at an
extravagant price. He did not, however, like to be called
a landscape painter, his ambition being for the character of
an able history painter. He paiuted several pieces for the
churches, which are indisputable proofs of his capacity for
history: but his business was frequently interrupted by his
turn for poetic satire, which he often interspersed with songs,
and took a pleasure in reciting them. The philosopher appeared in his manner of living; and he endeavoured to shew
it also in his paintings, always conveying in them some
moral. Such was his iove of liberty, that he declined entering into the service of any prince, though often invited.
He was much of an humourist, and loved a practical joke.
When the painters of Rome had refused to receive him into
the academy of St. Luke, on a holiday, when he knew they
were to meet, and several paintings were exposed in the
diurch of that saint, he caused one of his own to be carried
thither, in which he had concealed his manner; and shewing it, told them that it was done by a surgeon to whom
hey had judged very ill in refusing a place in their academy, having the greatest need of one to set the limbs which
they daily dislocated or distorted. Another time, finding
a harpsichord on which he had sat down to play, good for
nothing, “I'll make,
” says he, “this harpsichord worth
at least 100 crowns.
” He painted on the lid a piece which
immediately fetched that money. A gentleman desirous
of having the pictures of his friends in his gallery, desired
Salvator to draw them. He did it, but made all the portraits caricatures, in which he excelled: but as he drew
himself, among the rest, in the same manner, none could
be offended.
ens of the fine arts. Having now encouragement to settle in London, he first commenced practice as a surgeon and accoucheur, during which he resided in Holborn, Harley-street,
, a physician of some note in his day, was of a family of Irish extraction, but born in London, Nov. 18, 1743. After a liberal education, he determined to the profession of surgery, and became a pupil at St. Thomas’s Hospital, under Mr. Thomas Baker. Being duly qualified, he went into the king’s service, in which he continued from 1760 to 1763, and was present at the siege of Belleisle, and the taking of the Havannah. By the patronage of admiral Keppel he obtained a confidential situation under the administration, and in obedience to their instructions made a voyage, in the course of which he visited Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba, and all the Leewardislands. On his return to England he was liberally rewarded for this service, which he had performed to the entire satisfaction of his employers. In the course of those voyages, as well as during his visits to the continent, he became an excellent French and Italian scholar, and collected many valuable specimens of the fine arts. Having now encouragement to settle in London, he first commenced practice as a surgeon and accoucheur, during which he resided in Holborn, Harley-street, Castle-street, Leicester-fields, and lastly in Savile~row. At what time he digressed so far from practice as to go to Oxford, we know not, but he was entered of St. Alban hall, where he took his degree of M. A. in May 1787, and that of bachelor of medicine in June 1788. He was desirous also of obtaining his doctor’s degree in that faculty, but this was refused, owing probably to his not keeping his regular terms. He obtained, however, a doctor’s diploma from the university of St. Andrew, in Scotland, and was admitted a licentiate of the college of physicians, and from this time his practice as a physician was considerably extensive and lucrative. He was chosen physician to the St. Mary-le-bone infirmary, and consulting physician to the queen’s Lying-in hospital, in both which stations he was distinguished for his humane attention to the poor patients, and his judicious treatment. He died of a cold, caught at a funeral, March 17, 1806.
in 1776 was chosen a member of the congress for the state of Pennsylvania; and in 1777 was appointed surgeon-general of the military hospital in the middle department, but
About the period of Dr. Rush’s return to his native country, the first attempt was made in Philadelphia for the organization of a medical school. Lectures on anatomy and surgery had indeed been delivered, in that city, in 1763 and 1764-, to a small class of pupils, by the late Dr. William Shippen, who, two years previous, had returned from Europe, where he had completed his education under the direction of the celebrated Dr. William Hunter; and, in 1765, Dr. John Morgan, also, gave instruction on the institutes of medicine and the practice of physic. Three years after this, the venerable Dr. Kuhn, who had been a pupil of the illustrious Linnseus, and had preceded Dr. Rush in his medical honours only one year, was made professor of botany and the materia medica, and Dr. Rush became professor of chemistry immediately upon his arrival from England in 1769, a situation which he filled in such a manner as did great credit to his talents, and contributed much to the prosperity of the new school. When the dispute between the mother-country and the colonies took place, Dr. Rush sided with his countrymen; in 1776 was chosen a member of the congress for the state of Pennsylvania; and in 1777 was appointed surgeon-general of the military hospital in the middle department, but in the same year he exchanged this for the office of physiciangeneral, which, owing to some misunderstanding among the managers of the hospital stores, he resigned in February following. He still, however, continued to take an active part in the politics of the state to which he belonged, and contributed to the formation of a new government, that which prevailed before in Pennsylvania appearing to him and others very defective.
d natural philosophy, engaged himself as apprentice to Mr. Alexander Nesbit, at that time an eminent surgeon, with whom he remained until 1716, when he went to London. There
, a learned physician, and one of the founders of the medical school of Edinburgh, was the son of the rev. Rutherford, minister of Yarrow, in the county of Selkirk, Scotland, and was born Aug. 1, 1695. He received his school-education at Selkirk, where there is every reason to believe he made a rapid progress in the knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages. In 1708, or 1710, he went to the university of Edinburgh, and after the regular course of classical studies, mathe^ matics, and natural philosophy, engaged himself as apprentice to Mr. Alexander Nesbit, at that time an eminent surgeon, with whom he remained until 1716, when he went to London. There he attended some of the hospitals, and the lectures read on anatomy by Dr. Douglas, on surgery by Andre, and on materia medica by Strother. He next proceeded to Leyden, which, from the lectures of Boerhaave, was then the most celebrated medical school in Europe. In 1719, he went to France, and about the end of July of that year was admitted to the degree of M. D. in the university of Rheims. He passed the following winter in Paris, chiefly for the sake of Window’s private demonstrations in anatomy, and in 1720 returned to Britain.
, a very eminent French surgeon, was born at Paris in October 1732, and after studying there,
, a very eminent
French surgeon, was born at Paris in October 1732, and
after studying there, acquired the first rank in his profession, and in every situation which he filled, his knowledge, skill, and success, were equally conspicuous. He
became censor-royal of the academy of sciences, professor and demonstrator of the surgical schools, secretary of
correspondence, surgeon-major of the hospital of invalids,
and a member of the institute. His education had been
more liberal and comprehensive than usual. He not only
was an excellent Greek and Latin scholar, but was well
acquainted with the English, Italian, and German languages. Besides his public courses of lectures on anatomy and surgery, he instructed many private pupils, not
only of his own country, but those of foreign nations who
were attracted to Paris by his fame as a teacher, and were
delighted with his unaffected politeness and candour. In
his latter days Bonaparte appointed him one of his consulting surgeons, and he was one of the first on whom he
bestowed the cross of the legion of honour. Sabatier died
at Paris July 21, 1811. He retained his faculties to the
last, but we are told became ashamed of his bodily weakness. “Hide me,
” he said to his wife and son, “from
the world, that you may be the only witnesses of this decay to which I must submit.
” A little before his death he
said to his son, “Contemplate the state into which I am
fallen, and learn to die.
” His humane attention to his
patients was a distinguished feature in his character. During
any painful operation he used to say, “Weep! weep!
the more you express a sense of your sufferings, the more
anxious I shall be to shorten them.
”
uct, was a native of Switzerland, but, on coming over to England, was placed by some friends under a surgeon of eminence, in which profession he became skilful. He, for
, an anatomist, well
known in this country on account of the imposture of the
Rabbit-woman, and for various eccentricities of conduct,
was a native of Switzerland, but, on coming over to England, was placed by some friends under a surgeon of eminence, in which profession he became skilful. He, for a
time, read public lectures on anatomy, and obtained considerable reputation; which was ruined by the part he took
in the affair of Mary Tofts, as well as by many other irregularities of character. He died in 1776, after having
been for many years the subject of more curiosity and conversation than any of his contemporaries, though without
any extraordinary talents, or claims to distinction. They
who are curious to know more of his character may have
their curiosity gratified in the “Anecdotes of Hogarth
” by
Nichols.
e addressed, and who is since lected from the various friends 10 whom married to John Phillips, esq. surgeon they were addressed.” Her reasons of the household to the Prince
* The first edition was patronized originally written with a view to pubiiby a subscription not known since the cation. She declared, therefore, “that
days of the Spectator. The work was no such idea was ever expressed by
published for the benefit of the author’s Mr. Sancho; and that not a single letfamily, by Miss Crewe, an amiable ter was printed from any duplicate
young lady, to whom many of the let- preserved by himself, but all were co!ter< are addressed, and who is since lected from the various friends 10 whom
married to John Phillips, esq. surgeon they were addressed.
” Her reasons
of the household to the Prince of Wales, for publishing them were “the desire
From the profits of the first edition, and of shewing that an untutored African
a sum paid by the booksellers for li- may possess abilities equal to an Euberty to print a second edition, Mrs. ropean and the still superior motive
Sancho, we are well assured, received of wishing to serve his worthy family,
more than 500l. The editor did not And she was happy,
” she declared,
venture to give them to the public till “in publicly acknowledging phe had
she had obviated an objection which not found the world inattentive to the
had been suggested, that they were voice of obscure merit.
”
and of great reputation for diligence and faithfulness. He
is said to have collected out of the most authentic records
he could procure, the “Antiquities of Phoenicia,
” with the
help of some memoirs which came from Hierombaal, [Hierobaal, or Gideon,] a priest of the God Jeuo or Jao. He
wrote several things also relating to the Jews. These
“Antiquities of the Phoenicians,
” Philo-Byblius, in the
same Phoenicia, in the days of Adrian, translated into
Greek; and Athenseus soon afterward reckoned him among
the Phoenician writers. A large and noble fragment of
this workj Eusebius has given us, verbatim, in his first
book of “Evangelical Preparation,
” cap. ix. x. and has
produced the strong attestation of Porphyry, the most
learned heathen of that age, to its authenticity. Upon
these authorities, many learned men have concluded that
the genuine writings of Sanchoniathon were translated by
Philo-Byblius, and that Sanchoniathon derived a great
part of his information from the books of Moses, nay, some
have supposed that Thoth, called by the Greeks, Hermes,
and by the Romans, Mercury, was only another name for
Moses; but the inconsistencies, chiefly chronological* which
the learned have detected in these accounts, and especially
the silence of the ancients concerning this historian, who,
if he had deserved the character given him by Porphyry >
could not have been entirely over-looked, create a just
ground of suspicion, either against Porphyry or PhiloByblius. It seems most probable, that Philo-Byblius fabricated the work from the ancient cosmogonies, pretending to have translated it from the Phoenician, in order to
provide the Gentiles with an account of the origin of the
world, which might be set in opposition to that of Moses.
Eusebius and Theodoret, indeed, who, like the rest of the
fathers, were too credulous in matters of this kind, and
after them some eminent modern writers, have imagined, that they have discovered a resemblance between
Sanchoniathon’s account of the formation of the world and
that of Moses. But an accurate examination of the doctrine of Sanchoniathon, as it appears in the fragment preserved by Eusebius, will convince the unprejudiced reader,
that the Phoenician philosophy, if indeed it be Phoenician,
is directly opposite to the Mosaic. Sanchoniathon teaches,
that, from the necessary energy of an eternal principle,
active but without intelligence, upon an eternal passive
chsiptic mass, or Mot, arose the visible world; a doctrine,
of which there are some appearances in the ancient cosmogonies, and which was not without its patrons among
the Greeks. It is therefore not unreasonable to conjecture, that the work was forged in opposition to the Jewish
cosmogony, and that this was the circumstance which rendered it so acceptable to Porphyry. Such is the opinion
of Brucker on this history; and Dodwell and Dupin, the
former in an express treatise, have also endeavoured to
invalidate its authenticity.
, a distinguished surgeon, was born in 1595, at Ulm, and studied medicine at Padua, where
, a distinguished
surgeon, was born in 1595, at Ulm, and studied medicine
at Padua, where he took his degrees in that faculty in 1621.
On his return to his native city, he practised with great
reputation for twenty years, until being called to Stutgard
to a patient, he was there attacked with a fit of apoplexy,
which terminated his life December 1, 1645. He appears
to have practised surgery extensively, and with great boldness in the operations of bronchotomy, of the trephine, and
forempyema. His principal work is entitled “Armamentarium Chirurgicum, 43 tabulis acre incisis ornatum;
” and
was published after his death, at Ulm, in
ound, I know not, having never seen the book myself. Mr. Charles Bernard, a very learned and eminent surgeon of London, who did *ne the favour to communicate this passage
Servetus was a man of great acuteness and learning. He was not only deeply versed in what we usually call sacred and prophane literature, but also an adept in the arts and sciences. He observed upon hjs trial, that he had professed mathematics at Paris; although we do not find when, nor under what circumstances. He was so admirably skilled in his own profession, that he appears to have had some knowledge of the circulation of the blood; although very short of the clear and full discovery made by Harvey. Our learned Wotton says, " The first that I could ever find, who had a distinct idea of this matter, was Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician, who was bornt for Arianism at Geneva, near 140 years ago. Well had it been for the church of Christ, if he had wholly confined himself to his own profession His sagacity in this particular, before so much in the dark, gives us great reason to believe, that the world might then have just cause to have blessed his memory. In a book of his, entitled l Christianismi Restitutio, 7 printed in 1553, he clearly asserts, that the blood passes through the lungs, from the left to the right ventricle of the heart, and not through the partition which divides the two ventricles, as was at that time commonly believed. How he introduces it, or in which of the six discourses, into which Servetus divides his book, it is to be found, I know not, having never seen the book myself. Mr. Charles Bernard, a very learned and eminent surgeon of London, who did *ne the favour to communicate this passage to me, set down at length in the margin, which was transcribed out of Servetus, could inform me no farther, only that he had it from a learned friend of his, who had himself copied it from Servetus.' 7 The original editions of Servetus’s works are very scarce, and they have not been often reprinted, but his doctrines may be traced in various Socinian systems.
the historian of the Quakers, was the son of Jacob Williamson Sewell, a citizen of Amsterdam, and a surgeon, and appears to have been born therein 1650. His grandfather,
, the historian of the Quakers,
was the son of Jacob Williamson Sewell, a citizen of Amsterdam, and a surgeon, and appears to have been born
therein 1650. His grandfather, William Sewell, was an
Englishman, and had resided at Kidderminster; but being
one of the sect of the Brownists, left his native country for
the more free enjoyment of his principles in Holland,
married a Dutch woman of Utrecht, and settled there. The
parents of the subject of this article both died when he was
young, but had instructed him in the principles of the
Quakers, to which he steadily adhered during life. His
education in other respects appears to have been the fruit
of his own application; and the time he could spare from
the business to which he was apprenticed (that of a weaver)
he employed with good success in attaining a knowledge of
the Greek, Latin, English, French, and High Dutch,
languages. His natural abilities being good, his application unwearied, and his habits strictly temperate, he soon
became noticed by some of the most respectable booksellers in Holland; and the translation of works of credit,
chiefly from the Latin and English tongues, into Low Dutch,
seems to have been one of the principal sources from which
his moderate income was derived, in addition to the part
he took, at different times, in several approved periodical publications. His modest, unassuming manners gained
him the esteem of several literary men, whose productions,
there is reason to believe, were not unfrequently revised
and prepared for the press by him. His knowledge of his
native tongue was profound: his “Dictionary,
” “Grammar,
” and other treatises on it, having left very little room
for succeeding improvement: and he assisted materially in
the compilation of Halma’s French and Dutch Dictionary.
His “History of the people called Quakers,
” written first
in Low Dutch, and afterwards, by himself, in English
(dedicated to George I.) was a very laborious
undertaking, as he was scrupulously nice in the selection of his
materials, which he had been during many years engaged
in collecting. Of the English edition, for it cannot properly be called a translation, it may be truly said, that as
the production of a foreigner, who had spent only about
ten months in England, and that above forty years before,
the style is far superior to what could have been reasonably
expected. One principal object with the author was, a
desire to correct what he conceived to be gross misrepresentations in Gerard Croese’s “History of Quakerism.
”
The exact time of SewelPs death does not appear; but in,
a note of the editor’s to the third edition of his “Dictionary,
” in History of the Quakers
” appears to have
been first published in
tion with the greatest care and humanity. Dr. Sharp’s other sons were William, many years an eminent surgeon in London, who died in Is 10, aged eightyone, and Granville,
Dr. Thomas Sharp left three sons, John, who after various promotions became also archdeacon of Northumberland, and a prebendary of Durham, and died in 1792. He had the merit of arranging and establishing lord Crew’s noble charity for sick and lame seamen at Bamborough, and conducted the institution with the greatest care and humanity. Dr. Sharp’s other sons were William, many years an eminent surgeon in London, who died in Is 10, aged eightyone, and Granville, the subject of the next article.
, not related, as we have been told, to the preceding family, was an able and distinguished surgeon in the middle of the last century. He was a pupil of the celebrated
, not related, as we have been told,
to the preceding family, was an able and distinguished
surgeon in the middle of the last century. He was a pupil
of the celebrated Cheselden, and afterwards studied his
profession with great zeal at the hospitals of Paris. He is
said to have commenced his profession rather late in lire;
yet after settling in London, and obtaining an appointment as surgeon of Guy’s hospital, his genius and assiduity
soon obtained for him a high degree of celebrity, and extensive practice. He speaks of having known Voltaire
early in life, and of being sometimes his conductor when
that extraordinary genius was in London. He saw him
likewise at Paris in 1749, and visited him for the last
time during his travels in 1765. In the beginning of 1749
he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and a foreign
member of the Academy of Surgery at Paris; and he contributed to the improvement of his art by two valuable
publications, which passed through many editions, and
were translated into several foreign languages. The first
of these was “A Treatise on the Operations of Surgery,
with a Description and Representation of the Instruments;
and an Introduction on the Nature and Treatment of
Wounds, Abscesses, and Ulcers;
” first printed in A critical Inquiry into the present
State of Surgery;
” first printed, we believe, in Letters from Italy,
describing the Manners and Customs of that Country,
” an
8vo volume, written in a lively pleasant style, but giving
such an account of Italy as roused the indignation of Baretti
(See Baretti, vol. III. p. 465.) and produced his “Account of the Manners and Customs of Italy;
” and a reply
afterwards from each of the parties. Some time before his
death Mr. Sharp retired from business, and died March
24, 1778.
elsome, dissatisfied, and irritable. In his fifteenth or sixteenth year he was bound apprentice to a surgeon in his native town, and acquired a considerable share of medical
, a notorious political writer, was born at Biddeford in Devonshire in 1709. His father was an attorney, but having small practice and little fortune, he carried on also the business of a corn-factor. Of his children, John was the eldest, and was educated at the free-school of Exeter, then conducted by the learned Mr. Zachary Mudge. Of his progress at school, it is recorded that he had a tenacious memory, much application, some wit, and a temper quarrelsome, dissatisfied, and irritable. In his fifteenth or sixteenth year he was bound apprentice to a surgeon in his native town, and acquired a considerable share of medical knowledge. To this situation he brought the unamiable disposition of his earlier years; no one could give him the slightest offence with impunity, and almost every person avoided his acquaintance. When out of his time he set up in trade for himself, and then shewed a taste for chemistry; but having little business, removed in 1736 to Bristol.
y of medicine, and, according to the usual practice, was bound apprentice to Mr. John Gordon, then a surgeon, and afterwards a physician of considerable eminence, whom he
The scenery amidst which he passed his early years, and cultivated the muses, he has described, in Humphrey Clinker, with picturesque enthusiasm. He was first instructed in classical learning at the school of Dumbarton, by Mr. John Love, one of the ablest schoolmasters of that country, and to whom Mr. Chalmers has done ample justice in his life of lluddiman. While at this school, Smollett exhibited symptoms of what more or less predominated through life, a disposition to prove his superiority of understanding at the expence of those whose weaknesses and failings he thought he could turn'into ridicule with impunity. The verses which he wrote at this early age were principally satires on such of his schoolfellows as happened to displease him. He wrote also a poem to the memory of the celebrated Wallace, whose praises he found in the story-books and ballads of every cottage. From Dumbarton he was removed to Glasgow, where, after some hesitation, he determined in favour of the study of medicine, and, according to the usual practice, was bound apprentice to Mr. John Gordon, then a surgeon, and afterwards a physician of considerable eminence, whom he was unjustly accused of ridiculing under the name of Potion, in his novel of Roderic Random.
In the mean time, in 1741, he procured the situation of surgeon’s-mate on board a ship of the line, and sailed on the unfortunate
In the mean time, in 1741, he procured the situation of
surgeon’s-mate on board a ship of the line, and sailed on
the unfortunate expedition to Carthagena, which he described in his “Roderic Random,
” and afterwards more
historically in a “Compendium of Voyages,
” published in
The Tears of Scotland.
” The
subject was doubtless attractive as a poet, but as he had
been bred a Whig, he was rather inconsistent in his principles, and certainly very unfortunate in his predictions.
His friends wished him to suppress this piece, as having a
tendency to offend the Whigs, on whose patronage he had
some reliance; and although his enthusiasm was at present
rather too warm for advice, and he had from this time declared war against the whig-ministers under George II. yet
it does not appear that it was published with his name for
many years after.
where the vapour-bath is requisite. He enters also into a vindication of the plan of Mr. Cleland, a surgeon at Bath, for remedying the inconveniencies relating to the baths
Smollett had hitherto derived his chief support from his
pen; but after the publication of “Peregrine Pickle,
” he
appears to have had a design of resuming his medical profession, and announced himself as having obtained the degree of doctor, but from what university has not been discovered. In this character, however, he endeavoured to
establish himself at Bath, and published a tract on “The
External Use of Water.
” In this, his object was to prove,
that pure water, both for warm and cold bathing, may be
preferred to waters impregnated with minerals, except in
certain cases where the vapour-bath is requisite. He enters
also into a vindication of the plan of Mr. Cleland, a surgeon
at Bath, for remedying the inconveniencies relating to the
baths at that place. Whatever was thought of this pamphlet, he failed in his principal object. He had, indeed,
obtained considerable fame, as his own complaints, and
the contemporary journals plainly evince; but it was not of
that kind which usually leads to medical practice.
ho at first concealed his name, but afterwards consented to its being made public, was Mr. Dawson, a surgeon at Suclbury in Yorkshire, and one of the most ingenious mathematicians
The author of the pamphlet, referred to above, was the first who remarked the dangerous nature of these simplifications, and who attempted to estimate the error to which they had given rise. This author remarked what produced the compensation above mentioned, viz. the immense variation of the sun’s distance, which corresponds to a very small variation of the motion of the moon’s apogee. And it is but justice to acknowledge that, besides being just in. the points already mentioned, they are very ingenious, and written with much modesty and good temper. The author, who at first concealed his name, but afterwards consented to its being made public, was Mr. Dawson, a surgeon at Suclbury in Yorkshire, and one of the most ingenious mathematicians and philosophers which this country at that time possessed.
be cut; which the king hearing, and having a great kindness for him, sent on purpose to France for a surgeon, who came and performed the operation; which, however, Streater
He was also excellent in landscape and still-life; and there is some fruit of his painting yet to be seen, which is of the highest Italian style, for penciling, judgment, and composition. Upon the restoration of Charles II. he was made his majesty’s serjeant-painter. He became violently afflicted with the stone, and resolved to be cut; which the king hearing, and having a great kindness for him, sent on purpose to France for a surgeon, who came and performed the operation; which, however, Streater did not survive. He died in 1680, having spent his life in great esteem and reputation. His principal works were, the theatre at Oxford the chapel at Ah Souls college; some ceilings at Whitehall, now burnt the battle of the giants with the gods, at sir Robert Clayton’s; the pictures of Moses and Aaron, at St. Michael’s church in Cornhill, &c. &c.
wen, in his forehead, had grown to an inconvenient size; and, one day, being in conversation with a surgeon, he asked him how it could be removed. The surgeon acquainted
As his years increased, knowledge attended their progress: he acquired a great proficiency in the Greek language; and his unparalleled strength of mind carried him
into a familiar association with most of the sciences, and
principally that of architecture. His stature was of the
middle size, but athletic. He possessed a robust constitution, invincible courage, and inflexible perseverance.
Of this the following fact is a proof: a wen, in his forehead, had grown to an inconvenient size; and, one day,
being in conversation with a surgeon, he asked him how it
could be removed. The surgeon acquainted him with the
length of the process; to which Mr. Stuart objected, on
account of the interruption of his pursuits, and asked
whether he could not cut it out, and then it would be only
necessary to heal the part. The surgeon replied in the
affirmative, but mentioned the very excruciating pain and
danger of such an operation. Mr. Stuart, after a minute’s
reflection, threw himself back in his chair, and said, “I
will sit stil! do it now.
” The operation was performed
with success. With such qualifications, although yet
almost in penury, he conceived the design of visiting Rome
and Athens; but the ties of filial and fraternal affection
induced him to postpone his journey, till he could insure
a certain provision for his mother, and his brother and second sister. His mother died: he was soon after enabled
to place his brother and sister in a situation that was likely
to produce them a comfortable support; and then, with a
very scanty pittance in his pocket, he set out on foot for
Rome; and thus he performed the greatest part of his
journey travelling through Holland, France, &c. and
stopping through necessity at Paris, and several other
places in his way, where, by his ingenuity as an artist, he
procured some moderate supplies, towards prosecuting the
rest of his journey. When arrived at Rome, he soon
formed an intimate acquaintance with Mr. Nicholas Revett,
an eminent painter and architect. From this gentleman
Mr. Stuart first caught his ideas of that science, in which
(quitting the profession of a painter) he afterward made
such a conspicuous figure. During his residence at Rome,
he studied architecture and fortification; and in 1748 they
jointly circulated “Proposals for publishing an authentic
description of Athens, &c.
” For that purpose, they quitted
Rome in March The Antiquities of Athens measured and delineated, by James Stuart, F. R. S. and S.A. and Nicholas
Revett, painters and architects.
” This work is a very valuable acquisition to the lovers of antiquities and the fine
arts, and is a proper companion to the noble descriptions
of Palmyra and Balhec, by Mr. Dawkins and Mr. Wood,
by whom the two artists were early encouraged in the prosecution of a design so worthy of the most distinguished
patronage. To this work, and the long walk which the
author performed to compose it, he has been indebted for
the name of the Athenian Stuart, universally decreed to
him by the learned of this country.
ather’s death, and various domestic avocations, prevented it. He studied anatomy under Mr. Rolfe the surgeon attended the chemical lectures of signor Vigani and taking the
, an antiquary of much celebrity,
descended from an antient family in Lincolnshire, was born
at Holbech in that county, November 7, 1687. After having had the first part of his education at the free-school of
that place, under the care of Mr. Edward Kelsal, he was
admitted into Bene't-college in Cambridge, Nov. 7, 1703,
under the tuition of Mr. Thomas Favvcett, and chosen a
scholar there in April following. While an under-graduate,
he often indulged a strong propensity for drawing and designing; and began to form a collection of antiquarian
books. He made physic, however, his principal study, and
with that view took frequent perambulations through the
neighbouring country, with the famous Dr. Hales, Dr. John
Gray of Canterbury, and others, in search of plants; and
made great additions to Ray’s “Catalogus Plantarum circa
Cantabrigiam;
” which, with a map of the county, he was
solicited to print; but his father’s death, and various domestic avocations, prevented it. He studied anatomy under
Mr. Rolfe the surgeon attended the chemical lectures of
signor Vigani and taking the degree of M. B. in 1709,
made himself acquainted with the practical part of medicine
under the great Dr. Mead at St. Thomas’s hospital. He
first began to practise at Boston in his native county, where
he strongly recommended the chalybeate waters of Stanfield
near Folkingham. In 1717 he removed to London, where,
on the recommendation of his friend Dr. Mead, he was soon
after elected F. R. S. and was one of the first who revived
that of the Antiquaries in 1718, to which last he was secretary for many years during his residence in town. He was
also one of the earliest members of the Spalding society.
He took the degree of M. D. at Cambridge in 1719, and
was admitted a fellow of the College of Physicians in the
year following, about which time (1720) he published an
account of “Arthur’s Oon
” in Scotland, and of “Graham’s
dyke,
” with plates, 4to. In the year Itinerarium Curiosum; or, an Account of the Antiquities and Curiosities in his Travels
through Great Britain, Centuria I.
” adorned with one hundred copper-plates, and published in folio, London, 1724.
This was reprinted after his death, in 1776, with two additional plates; as was also published the second volume,
(consisting of his description of the Brill, or Caesar’s camp at Pancras,“IterBoreale,
” A Treatise on the Cause
and Cure of the Gout, from a new Rationale;
” which, with
an abstract of it, has passed through several editions. He
collected some remarkable particulars at Stamford in relation
to his predecessor bishop Cumberland; and, in 1736, printed
an explanation, with an engraving, of a curious silver plate
of Roman workmanship in basso relievo, found underground
at Risley Park in Derbyshire; wherein he traces its journey thither, from the church of Bourges, to which it had
been given by Exsuperius, called St. Swithin, bishop of
Toulouse, about the year 205. He published also the
same yea.- his “Palæographia Sacra, No. I. or, Discourses
on the Monuments of Antiquity that relate to Sacred History,
” in 4to, which he dedicated to sir Richard Kllys, bart.
“from whom he had received many favours.
” In this
work (uhich was to have been continued in succeeding numbers) he undertakes to shew, how Heathen Mythology
is derived from Sacred History, and that the Bacchus in the
Poets is no other than the Jehovah in the Scripture, the
conductor of the Israelites through the wilderness. In his
country retirement he disposed his collection of Greek and
Roman coins according to the order of the Scripture History; and cut out a machine in wood (on the plan of an Orrery), which shews the motion of the heavenly bodies,
the course of the tide, &c. In 1737 he lost his wife and
in 1738, married Elizabeth, the only daughter of Dr. Gale,
dean of York, and sister to his intimate friends Roger
and Samuel Gale, esquires; and from this time he often
spent his winters in London. In 1740, he published an
account of Stonehenge, dedicated to the duke of Ancaster,
who had made him one of his chaplains, and given him the
living of Somerby near Grantham the year before. In
1741, he preached the Thirtieth of January Sermon before
the House of Commons; and in that year became one of
the founders of the Egyptian society, composed of gentlemen who had visited Egypt. In 1743 he printed an account
of lady Roisia’s sepulchral cell, lately discovered at Royston, in a tract, entitled “Palseographia Britannica, No. I.
”
to which an answer was published by Mr. Charles Parkin,
in 1744. The doctor replied in “Palasographia Britannica,
No. II.
” 1746, giving an account of the origin of the universities of Cambridge and Stamford, both from Croylandabbey; of the Roman city Granta, on the north-side of
the river, of the beginning of Cardike near Waterbeach,
&c. To this Mr. Parkin again replied in 1748; but it
does not appear that the doctor took any further notice of
him. In 1747, the benevolent duke of Montagu (with whom he had become acquainted at the Egyptian society)
prevailed on him to vacate his preferments in the country,
by giving him the rectory of St. George, Queen-square,
whence he frequently retired to Kentish-town, where the
following inscription was placed over his door:
nedictus and Vesalius had given some account of the same art before him, and Ambrose Pare mentions a surgeon who practised it much and successfully. Charles Bernard, se
, professor of medicine and anatomy in the university of Bologna, was born in that city in 1546, and died there Nov.
7, 1599, in the fifty-third year of his age. There is little
recorded of his life; his fame depends on his having practised the art of restoring lost parts of the body by insition,
particularly the nose, which has been a topic of ridicule
ever since it was mentioned by Butler in his Hudibras^
“So learned Taliacotius from, &c.
” Addison has also a
humorous paper on the same subject in the Tatler (No. 260), and Dr. Grey some remarks in his notes on Hudibras. Taliacotius, however, was not the inventor of this
art, for he allows that Alexander Benedictus and Vesalius
had given some account of the same art before him, and
Ambrose Pare mentions a surgeon who practised it much
and successfully. Charles Bernard, serjeant-surgeon to
queen Anne, asserts, that though those who have not examined the history may be sceptics, there are incontestable
proofs that this art was actually practised with dexterity
and success. Other writers have doubted whether Taliacotius did more than write on the theory, but there seems
no foundation for depriving him of the honours of success
in practice also. Our readers may, indeed, satisfy themselves as to the practicability of the art, as far as the nose
is concerned, by perusing a very recent treatise, “An
account of two successful operations for restoring a lost
Nose, from the integuments of the forehead, in the cases
of two officers of his majesty’s army,
” by J. C. Carpue,
surgeon, 1815, 4to. The lips and ears were the other
parts which Taiiacotius professed to restore; and his writings on the subject are, 1. “Epistola ad Hieronymum Merculiarem de naribus, multo ante abscissis> reficiendis,
”
Francf. De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem libri duo/ 7 Venice, 1597, fol. and reprinted at
Francfort, 1598, 8vo, under the title
” Chirurgia nova de
narium, aurium, labiorumque defectu, per insitionem cutis ex humero, arte hactenus omnibus ignota, sarciendo."
The magistrates of Bologna had such a high opinion of
Taliacotius’s success, that they erected a statue of him,
holding a nose in his hand.
g stopped the bleeding in the night when it broke out afresh, without help, It is said that when his surgeon, Mr. Charles Bernard, related his behaviour to queen Anne, she
, a learned Saxonist, and the
descendant of some learned Oxonians, was born in 1667,
but where, or where educated, has not been discovered.
That he was well grounded in classical learning is evident.
He was admitted battler of Queen’s college, Oxford, on
Sept. 14, 1689, took his degree of B. A. jn Jan. 1694, and
that of M.A. in 1697, and either then or in the following
year, was admitted fellow of the college. Queen’s was at
this time remarkable for the number of its Saxon scholars,
one of the principal of whom was Mr. Thwaites, who so
early as 1698 became a preceptor in the Saxon tongue
there. The industry of his pupils was great, but they had
few helps. In a letter to Wanley, dated March 24,
1698-9, he says, “We want Saxon Lexicons. I have
fifteen young students in that language, and but one Somner for them all.
” This was undoubtedly a sufficient reason for the patronage he bestowed on Mr. Thomas Benson’s
Vocabulary, an epitome of Somner, begun to be printed
in small quarto, but which was afterwards printed in 8vo,
under the title of“Vocabularium Anglo-Saxonicum Lexico
Gul. Somneri magna parte auctius,
” Oxon. Dionysii Orbis Descriptio, cum veterum scholiis et Eustathii commentariis. Accedit Periegesis Prisciani, cum notis Andrea Papii,
” Oxon. 8vo. This was followed in Heptateuchus, Liber Job, et Evangelium Nicodemi,
Anglo-Saxonice. Historic Judith fragmentum, Dano-Saxonice*. Edidit nunc primum ex Mss. codicibus Edwardus
Thwaites, e collegio Reginse,
” Oxon. which being dedicated to Dr. Hickes, the celebrated non-juror, gave some
offence in those days of party-spirit. The same year Mr.
Thwaites had some concern in the edition of king Alfred’s
Saxon version of “Boethius cle Consolatione Philosophize,
”
the professed editor of which was Mr. Christopher Rawlinson. Mr. Thvvaites also rendered much assistance to Dr.
Hickes in his “Thesaurus,
” which is amply acknowledged
in the epistolary preface. In 17 Os, he was elected by the
university, reader in moral philosophy, and the next year
appointed regius professor of Greek. His last work,
“Grammatica Anglo-Saxonica ex Hickesiano linguarum
Septentrionalium Thesauro excerpta,
” appeared at Oxford
in the best Septentrionalist,
” next to Dr. Hickes, a man, too, “beautiful in
his personage, pleasant in conversation, of great vivacity,
and of a most agreeable natural behaviour. 7 '
” Besides
these excellencies, he wrote,“says Mr. Browne,
” the
finest hand I ever saw."
, a learned surgeon, and senior surgeon of the county-infirmary, Gloucester, was
, a learned surgeon, and
senior surgeon of the county-infirmary, Gloucester, was
descended from the ancient family of Trye, of Hardwick,
co. Gloucester, and was born Aug. 21, 1757. He married
Mary, elder daughter of the rev. Samuel Lysons, rector of
Rodmarton, by whom he left three sons and five daughters; and was consequently related to the two celebrated
antiquaries. In 1797, he succeeded to a considerable
estate; consisting of the manor, advowson, and chief landed
property in the parish of Leckhampton, near Cheltenham,
under the will of his cousin, Henry Norwood, esq whose
family had possessed them for many generations. This
gentleman will be long regretted, not only as a surgeon,
but as a man extremely useful in various undertakings of
national concern, such as rail-roads, canals, &c. in the
planning of which he evinced great genius. As a surgeon,
his practice was extensive, and his success great. Many
arduous and difficult operations he performed, which ended
in perfect cures, after others of eminence had shrunk from
the undertakings. His operations were conceived and executed from a perfect knowledge of the structure of the human body, attained by a well-grounded education, and
constant intense study through life. He was educated under the eminent surgeon, Mr. Russell, of Worcester; then
studied under John Hunter; was house-surgeon“to the
Westminster Infirmary, and afterwards assistant to the very
ingenious and scientific Sheldon. He was for some time
house-surgeon and apothecary to the infirmary in Gloucester. Shortly after he quitted that situation, he was
elected surgeon to that charity, an office which he filled for
near thirty years, discharging its duties with great credit
to himself; while those placed under his care were sensible
of the advantages they possessed from his assiduous attention to their sufferings. He trained up several surgeons,
many of whom are exercising the medical profession in
various parts of the kingdom, with credit to their preceptor, honour to themselves, and utility to mankind. As an
author he was well known to the literary part of the medical world, and published: 1.
” Remarks on Morbid Retentions of Urine,“1784. 2.
” Review of Jesse Foot’s
Observations on the Venereal Disease,“(being an answer to his attack on John Hunter,) 1787. 3.
” An Essay on
the swelling of the lower Extremities incident to Lying-in
Women,“1792. 4.
” Illustrations of some of the Injuries
to which the lower Limbs are exposed,“(with plates),
1802. 5.
” Essay on some of the Stages of the Operation
of Cutting for the Stone,“1811. 6.
” An Essay on Aneurisms," in Latin, was far advanced in the press several
years ago, but was laid aside, and not quite completed at
the author’s death. He has left several interesting cases,
and other observations, in manuscript; and many of his
papers of a miscellaneous nature, connected with the profession, are to be found in various periodical publications.
He was a steady friend and promoter of the Vaccine inoculation.
he name, or probably the sign of a house in which he lived on the emperor’s canal. He was at first a surgeon’s apprentice, but having a perfect acquaintance with the Latin
, an eminent physician, was the son of Peter Dirx, a rich merchant of Amsterdam, where he was born Oct. 11, 1593. He rarely went by his father’s name, having rather whimsically changed it to de Tulp, the name, or probably the sign of a house in which he lived on the emperor’s canal. He was at first a surgeon’s apprentice, but having a perfect acquaintance with the Latin language, and a turn for science, he determined to extend his studies to every thing connected with medicine, to which he accordingly applied at the university of Leyden. After taking his doctor’s degree he returned to Amsterdam, and carried on practice for fifty-two years with the greatest reputation. But his fame was not confined to his profession only. Possessing an accurate knowledge and much judgment in the political history of his country, he was raised to civic honours; in 1622 he was elected of the council of Amsterdam, and six times served the office of sheriff. In 1652 he was made burgomaster, an office which he filled also in 1656, 1660, and 1671. In 1672, when Louis XIV. attacked Holland, Tulp had a principal hand in exciting that spirit of resistance among his fellow-citizens by which Amsterdam was saved. Nor were they unmindful of his services, for when he died in 1674, aged eighty, a medal was struck to his memory.
near Pontoise. His first pursuits were various, having attained reputation as an organist, then as a surgeon, and afterwards as secretary to M. Fagon, chief physician to
, a distinguished botanist, was
born May 26, 1669, at Vigny, near Pontoise. His first
pursuits were various, having attained reputation as an organist, then as a surgeon, and afterwards as secretary to M.
Fagon, chief physician to Louis XIV. Fagon appears to
have given his talents the right direction, by placing him in
the office of director of the royal garden, which he enriched
with curious plants. Vaillant became afterwards professor
and sub-demonstrator of plants in the abovementioned garden, keeper of the king’s cabinet of drugs, and a member
of the academy of sciences. He died of an asthma, May
26, 1722, leaving a widow, but no children. His works
are some excellent remarks on M. de Tournefort’s “Institutiones Rei herbariae
” an essay on the structure of
flowers, and the use of their various parts, Leyden, 1728,
4to, but rather too florid for philosophical narration “Botanicon Parisiense,
” with plates, published by Boerhaave,
Leyden, Botanicon Parisiense,
” to which is prefixed a
Latin letter by Dr. Sherard, giving an account of this transaction.
notice, as the first anatomical writer in the English language. He was a citizen of Londdn, serjeant- surgeon to Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary I. and Elizabeth and chief surgeon
, of whose personal history we have
no account, deserves some notice, as the first anatomical
writer in the English language. He was a citizen of Londdn, serjeant-surgeon to Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary I.
and Elizabeth and chief surgeon of St. Bartholomew’s
Hospital, His book is entitled “A Treasure for Englishmen; containing the Anatomic of Man’s Bodie, 1548;
”
or, as given by Ames, “A profitable Treatise of the Anatomy of Man’s Body; compiled by T. Vicary, and published by the Surgeons of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital,
”
ter her death, he formed a second eligible union with the daughter of Charles Bernard, esq. sergeant- surgeon to queen Anne. Not long after this marriage, he completed his
, a physician, whose writings,
as well as his indolent habits of life, seem to have very
strongly resembled those of the facetious Dr. William King
of the Commons, was related to the preceding Wagstaffes,
and descended from a very ancient family, who were lords
of the manor of Knightcote in Warwickshire. He was born
in 1685, and being the only son of his father the rector of
Cublington in Buckinghamshire, he was educated with
great care, and sent early to school at Northampton. In
his sixteenth year he was removed to Lincoln college, Oxford, where he was soon distinguished, not only for talents
and learning, but for a facetious humour which made his
conversation very acceptable to persons of superior rank
and standing in the university. After taking his degree of
B. A. in 1703, he had some, thoughts of entering into the
church, from no better motive, however, than the hopes
of being preferred by a relation; but after taking his degree of A. M. in 1707, he left the university, and coming
up to London, visited another relation, the rev. Thomas
Wagstaffe, who then was a physician; and marrying this
gentleman’s daughter some time afterwards, resolved on
medicine as a profession, in which his wife’s relations did
their utmost to assist him. After her death, he formed a
second eligible union with the daughter of Charles Bernard,
esq. sergeant-surgeon to queen Anne. Not long after this
marriage, he completed his degrees in physic, in 1714, and
returning to town was admitted fellow both of the college
of physicians, and in 1717 of the Royal Society. Business
gradually increasing, he was chosen one of the physicians
of St. Bartholomew’s hospital, which trust he discharged
with great reputation, as to skill and humanity. He appears, however, to have been a man of indolence, and of
some irregular habits, which brought on lowness of spirits,
and decay of health. In hopes of recovery he went to Bath
in March 1724-5, but died there May 5, in the fortieth
year of his age. His works were the same year collected
under the title of “The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. William Wagstaffe, physician to St. Bartholomew’s hospital,
” &c. 8vo. Their contents are characteristic of the author’s
peculiar humour, and his opinions of his contemporaries.
1. “A comment upon the History of Tom Thumb,
” in
ridicule of Addison’s papers on “Chevy Chase.
” 2.
“Crispin the Cobler’s confutation of Ben H(oadly), in an.
epistle 10 him.
” 3. “The Story of the St. A(lba)n’s ghost,
”
&c. 4. “The testimonies of the citizens of Fickleborough,
concerning the life and character of Robert Huish, commonly called Bob, &c.
” 5. “The representation of the
loyal subjects of Albinia.
” 6. “The character of Richard
St(ee)le, esq.:
” not a very just one. 7. “The state and
condition of our Taxes considered.
” 8. “The Plain
Dealer,
” 16 numbers. 9. “Preface to the complete history of the treaty of Utrecht.
” 10. “A Letter from the
facetious Dr. Andrew Tripe, at Bath, to his loving brother
the profound Greshamite, &c.
” Most of these tracts were
written in his early years, and without his name. He was
also the author of two scarce little volumes, called “Annotations on the Tatler,
” frequently quoted in the variorum
editions of that periodical paper.