THIS celebrated physician, the son of a member of the Society of Friends, was born at Little Vandyke, nearTortola, a small island in the Atlantic, on the 22nd of November, 1744; and, about the year 1750, was sent to a school, at Sankey, near Warrington, where he remained until 1758; when he proceeded to Liverpool, where he passed a year at a seminary, in learning accounts, and preparing himself to follow the business of a merchant. At the suggestion, however, of Mr. Samuel Fothergill, an eloquent Quaker preacher, and brother of the eminent physician, whose affection he is said to have gained by his performance of a negro dance, and who offered to become his guardian, he consented to be bound apprentice to Mr. Sutcliff, an apothecary, at Settle, in Yorkshire, with whom he was placed in April, 1761. During the period of his apprenticeship, besides acquiring a tolerable knowledge of pharmacy, he enabled himself both to write and speak fluently the French and Latin languages; and, with the help of Gerard's Herbal, made such progress in his favorite study of botany, that he was enabled to form a respectable

Hortus Siccus.

In 1766, he became a surgeon's dresser at St. Thomas's Hospital, and attended several lectures; but, in the next year, he was compelled, by the death of his father, to return to his native island. The property left by his deceased parent, consisted of a small portion of land and fifty slaves; all of whom, young Lettsom immediately emancipated, and thus became, it is said, a voluntary beggar at the age of twenty-three. He shortly afterwards commenced practice at Tortola, and, before the expiration of six months, amassed nearly £2,000; half of which he gave to his mother, and, with the remainder, returned to England.

After having attended the lectures of Drs. Cullen and Home, at Edinburgh, he proceeded to Paris, and thence to Leyden, where he took his degree of M.D. on the 20th of June, 1769. On his

return to London, he commenced practice under the auspices of Dr. Fothergill, and, soon afterwards, became a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, as well as an honorary member of the Physico-Medical Society of Edinburgh. In 1770, his increasing reputation and practice enabled him to form an advantageous matrimonial connexion with the daughter of a rich tin-plate worker, named Miers; and, in the use of the fortune which he received with his wife, he rendered himself as estimable for his beneficence and liberality as he was already popular for his medical skill. "Science," says one of his biographers, "was fostered by him, genius cherished, and the useful arts encouraged; while the wants of his fellow-creatures were frequently relieved by means of food as well as of physic." In 1772, he published The Naturalist and Traveller's Companion, which has been translated into French and German; Reflections on the General Treatment and Cure of Fevers; and the Natural History of the Tea Tree, in which he corrected an error respecting that plant, made by Sir John Hill, and adopted by Linnæus, who, subsequently, wrote a letter of thanks to Lettsom, acknowledging the mistake into which he had fallen.

In 1773, he was elected a physician of the General Dispensary, to the establishment and prosperity of which he greatly contributed, by his pecuniary and professional assistance, particularly by the publication of a pamphlet, entitled, Improvement of Medicine in London, on the Basis of Public Good. In the same year he assisted in the formation of the Medical Society of London, to the library of which he presented several hundred books. He was also the proposer of the gold Fothergillian medals, given annually by that institution, the first of which he had struck at his own expense. He also became physician extraordinary of the City of London Lying-in Hospital; and, in 1774, co-operated with Dr. Hawes and Dr. Cogan, in the establishment of the Royal Humane Society, the reports of

which he composed, from the death of the former up to the year 1813; and, whilst one of its vice-presidents, received the gold medal for his successful exertions in a case of suspended animation.

In 1776, he published a pamphlet, entitled, Observations on the Use of Dr. Mayersbach's Medicines, which went through two editions in the same year, and completely put an end to the reputation and practice of that celebrated quack. In 1778, he printed a letter on the advantages of small-pox inoculation, which exposed him to a violent attack from Baron Dimsdale, of whose life, however, he subsequently published an anonymous laudatory memoir in the European Magazine. In 1782, he composed, at the request of the Medical Society, A Biographical Account of Dr. John Fothergill; which, from his having been the occasional amanuensis, as well as the intimate acquaintance, of that celebrated physician, he was enabled to do in a manner that rendered it superior to all previous attempts on the same subject. In 1784, he also published, in three volumes, a complete collection of the works of Dr. Fothergill, and added to it a catalogue of the doctor's botanical collection at Upton, under the title of Hortus Uptoniensis, together with directions for importing seeds and plants from distant countries.

About 1788, Dr. Lettsom distinguished himself by the introduction to this country of mangel wurzel, the culture of which he confidently predicted, in a pamphlet written on the subject, would prove a national benefit. In 1790, he received a diploma of L. L. D. from the University of Massachusetts, which had previously conferred on him that of M. D. In 1791, he obtained the Fothergillian medal; and, in 1795, opposed The Dead Body Bill, in a pamphlet, entitled, Hints respecting Human Dissections; of which, he says, in a letter to Pettigrew, "I have reason to think produced some influence upon the judgment of the house." Among a number of pertinent remarks in this production, he ridiculed the idea that it was inhuman to acquire a certain power which would enable one man to remove or mitigate the miseries of another; and observed that, to prevent the acquisition of a knowledge of

anatomy, was to commit a felo de se of individual felicity.

In 1796, he published a tract, entitled, Hints for promoting a Bee Society, in consequence of which, one was established shortly afterwards, at Exeter, and another in Scotland. On the discovery of vaccination, he contributed all his talent and influence to its promotion, and was the first to send the vaccine virus to America. In 1801, he printed a small work, entitled, Observations on the Cow-Pock, for which he received the following compliment from Jenner: Nothing hitherto written on the subject, appears to have made so sensible an impression on the minds of those who have perused it, as your elegant and excellent treatise." He printed several other papers and letters on the subject, and, in consequence of the small amount at first granted by parliament to Jenner, for his splendid discovery, proposed that a public purse should be opened to receive the contributions of those who appreciated the benefit conferred by that eminent man on the human race; and he would, it is said, have carried the scheme into effect, but for the additional grant which Jenner subsequently obtained.

In 1801, Dr. Lettsom published a collection of his tracts, in three volumes, entitled, Hints designed to promote Beneficence, Temperance, and Medical Science. For this work, although generally commended, he was attacked by the editor of the Critical Review, with whom he entered into a controversy, which terminated to his advantage. In 1803, he persuaded Mr. Nield to insert, in the Gentleman's Magazine, an account of the different prisons visited by that gentleman, which he introduced by some prefatory essays from his own pen: these considerably increased the circulation of the Magazine, and gave great influence to the details of Mr. Nield, who observed of them, in a letter, dated in 1805, that they had produced more advantages in twelve months than he had been able to effect in thirty years.

Early in 1812, Dr. Lettsom became a member, and soon after president, of the Philosophical Society of London, which, says his talented biographer, Pettigrew, was his greatest favourite, his darling child, and nurtured by him

with truly parental affection. He frequently delivered lectures to the society, took an active part in all its discussions, delivered its anniversary oration in 1813, and, two years after, felt so exceedingly anxious to be present at its general meeting, that he said, "provided he was only able to sit, and not even to speak on that occasion, he would attend it." He died, however, before it took place, on the 2d of November, 1815; and it was, consequently, postponed until the 21st of that month, when an eulogy on his character was pronounced by Mr. T. I. Pettigrew, in the presence of three hundred persons, all of whom were in mourning; and a letter was read from the Duke of Sussex, in which his royal highness stated, that, "no one was better acquainted with the merits and exertions of the late Dr. Lettsom, in every branch tending to the advantage and relief of the metropolis than himself; he, therefore, felt greatly disappointed at being unfortunately deprived of paying the last tribute of respect to the memory of so excellent a character."

Few members of his profession attained such high repute as Dr. Lettsom: when only forty years of age, his practice and emoluments exceeded that of most of his medical contemporaries, and, for many years before he died, his professional income is stated to have been not less than £12,000 per annum. He was, however, in the decline of life, compelled to dispose of his beautiful villa, at Grove Hill, Camberwell, celebrated by the poems of Scot and Maurice, together with a great part of his valuable library and museum, on account, as Mr. Pettigrew states, of a train of adverse circumstances, originating in the prodigality of his benevolence. From among numberless instances of his generosity, a great part of which have never been revealed, the following are selected: he assisted the widow and family of Captain Carver with money, and published, at his own expense, an account of the life and travels of that gentleman, for their benefit. To Mr. Curtis, he not only lent £500, to assist him in the publication of the Flora Londinensis, but allowed £50 per month, to ensure the regularity of its appearance, and paid the expenses of his journey into York

shire, in search of plants. To a patient, whom he found in great distress, on account of the injury done to his property by the Americans, he left a checque, on his departure, for the purpose of relieving his immediate necessities, and afterwards purchased his house, which was a freehold, for £500, and gave it him for life. He presented a splendid collection of minerals to the University of Cambridge, where they are distinguished by the name of the Lettsomian Cabinet; to the monument of Howard, he was one of the earliest subscribers; the Sea-bathing Infirmary at Margate, was planned and founded by himself; and he purchased a freehold piece of ground, in Bolt Court, for the use of the Medical Society. He subscribed to a great number of public charities; and not only represented the necessities of the lower classes in his works, but personally relieved their wants, and attended them at their dwellings, for the purpose of mitigating both their bodily and mental distresses.

A poor person, it is said of him, could always command his assistance, whilst many an opulent one was often under the necessity of repeatedly and unsuc cessfully urging his attendance.

He once met with an adventure, similar, in some respects, to one that befel the Rev. Rowland Hill. "It was my lot," he relates, " a few years ago, to be attacked on the highway, by a genteel-looking person, well mounted, who demanded my money, at the same time placing a pistol to my breast. I requested him to remove the pistol, which he instantly did. I saw his agitation, from whence I could perceive he had not been habituated to this hazardous practice; and I added that I had both gold and silver about me, which I freely gave him, but that I was sorry to see a young gentleman risk his life in so unbecoming a manner, which would probably soon terminate at the gallows; that, at the best, the casual pittance gained on the highway would afford but a precarious and temporary subsistence; but that if I could serve him by a private assistance more becoming his appearance, he might farther command my purse; and, at the same time, I desired him to accept a card containing my address, and to call upon me, as he might trust to my

word for his liberty and life. He accepted my address, but I observed his voice faltered; it was late at night; there was, however, sufficient star-light to enable me to perceive, as I leaned towards him on the window of the carriage, that his bosom was overwhelmed with conflicting passions: at length, bending forward on his horse, and recovering the power of speech, he affectingly said, 'I thank you for your offer;-American affairs have ruined me:-I will, dear sir, wait upon you.'' The man kept his word, and Lettsom, finding, on inquiry, the account he gave of himself to be correct, after making an unsuccessful application, in his behalf, to the commissioners for relieving the American sufferers, presented a memorial on the subject to the queen, who, it is said, procured the man a commission in the army; and his name subsequently appeared, on two occasions, in the Gazette, for promotion, on account of his meritorious conduct.

No doubt exists but that his liberal and unsuspicious character betrayed him into various acts of eccentric benevolence, and that he frequently became a dupe to the artful and undeserving. With more prudence he might have conferred more real benefits on society, to which, however, on the whole, he must be considered one of the greatest benefactors of his age. Nichols speaks of him as having been an Israelite without guile, who might be said to have carried his heart in his hand; as the liberal friend of merit; and an example of beneficence to every avenue of human distress.

His extraordinary eminence as a medical man appears the more remarkable, from his confession that he never had any genius nor any predilection for the practice of physic; and from his avowed want of memory. "This defect," said he, in a letter to Sir Mordaunt Martin, " is my lot. I believe I possess industry. I made artificial tables of my own; and by arrangement and art, appear, to those who know no better, to possess memory. I suppose I have forty thousand notes which I can refer to. Some years since, I was desired to deliver an oration at a short notice. This I effected by my notes, and my auditors thought I possessed memory in a high degree, but, alas! it was

fictitious." The gentleman to whom these remarks were addressed, wrote an answer, which, however, is not worth repeating, to the following wellknown squib, on his distinguished correspondent:

When any sick to me apply,

I physicks, bleeds, and sweats 'em ;
If after that, they choose to die,
What's that to me?-
I. LETTSOM.

The following anecdote, related by himself, is a forcible example of the respect and consideration in which he was held by his medical brethren:"In Askew's sale, there was sold a short inedited letter of Hippocrates, which Dr. Wright bought for four guineas and a half. The last physician being dead, I gave Dr. Sims a commission to bid ten guineas, or any money, for it. It was sold for ten shillings and sixpence! Dr. Garthshore, Dr. Simmons, and several literati were present; but Sims whispering he wanted it for me, he was not opposed." With many of the most eminent American physicians, he maintained a friendly correspondence. Dr. Rush, in a letter, dated in 1788, said to him, "No object lies so near my heart as the extirpation of spirituous liquors: to you, after I am gone, I bequeath a continuance of the war you have begun against them." Dr. Waterhouse addressed him as the father of the science of mineralogy in the United States; and, in 1790, on his death having been reported in the Boston Gazette, Dr. Warren, of that place, wrote to him in the following terms:-"The friends of science and of humanity here, felt themselves extremely interested in the event; and though far distant from the land which gave you birth, and personally unknown to you, unfettered by the narrow prejudices of place or country, they liberally shed tears to the memory of a man whom they had considered as a friend and a brother."

In addition to the works already mentioned, he was the author of Medical Memoirs of the General Dispensary; Memoirs of Dr. Rush, and others of his personal friends; History of some of the Effects of Hard Drinking; and some minor pieces, besides various contributions to the papers of different medical and scientific societies, of which

he was a fellow or member: among these were the Royal and Linnæan Societies; the Society of Arts; The Academy of Sciences, at Montpelier; the New York Historical Society; the Medical Linnæan Society; the Linnæan Society of New England; the Bath Agricultural Society; and the Literary and Philosophical Societies of Manchester and Philadelphia. Soon after his decease, a collection of his works, with a memoir of his life prefixed, was published by Mr. Pettigrew. worthy of remark, that, in a letter to Dr. Plumptre, he observed, "My professional duties incessantly occupy me, and compel me to write all my essays in my carriage, which is a material cause of their incorrect state."

It is

In person, he was tall and meagre; his face was long, and deeply furrowed; his complexion of a dark yellow tint; his dress remarkably neat, though not always precise enough to satisfy his

Quaker brethren. He appears to have been much attached to society, particularly to that of women; so much so, indeed, that suspicions were entertained as to the strict propriety of his conduct; which, however, although not free from levity, seems to have been entirely above any more serious imputation. He used to immerse himself regularly, night and morning, in a cold bath; and his habits are said to have been temperate; a statement, however, which is rendered doubtful, by the following passage in a letter which he received from Dr. Cumins:-" Let me seriously advise you, my friend, for the sake of your health, to relinquish your nocturnal lucubrations and your convivialities; to go to bed with your wife and family at eleven o'clock, and rise every morning as early as you please." The fruits of his marriage were twelve children, three only of whom survived him.

JOHN MACKIE was born at Dunfermline Abbey, in the county of Fife, in 1748. In 1763, he commenced the study of medicine, under the tuition of Dr. Stedman, at Edinburgh, where he attended the lectures of Cullen, Monro, Gregory, and Black, and became, as Sir Henry Wellwood, one of his fellowstudents, states, "the most remarkably popular youth he had ever known." On leaving the university, he commenced practice at Huntingdon, whence he removed to Southampton, where he practised, with great reputation and success, for twenty years. In 1814, he retired from business, and embarked for the continent; when, such was the estimation in which he was held in the neighbourhood of Southampton, that "he was detained," says a writer in the Annual Biography, "more than three hours, receiving, as he went along to the vessel, the affectionate farewells of his patients, and of many inhabitants and visitors to whom he was before unknown." On this occasion, Mr. Jekyll is said to have observed to him, "Oh! doctor, you are only going to pay

a visit to the Cyclades (sick ladies); we shall soon have you back amongst us."

At Paris, he attended Mrs. Fitzherbert; and, some time afterwards, when nearly seventy years of age, came by night, from Florence to Bologna, to visit Lord Hitchinbroke, and, on another occasion, from Rome to Naples,

to

prescribe for Lady Glenbervie. Whilst at Rome, where he was called "il celebre medico Inglese," he attended the Queen of Spain, Louis Buonaparte, and Prince Poniatowski; and, at Geneva, Etienne Dumont, and Mons. de Rocca, the second husband of Madame de Stael. After passing about ten years abroad, and publishing, while at Vevay, an essay, entitled A Sketch of a New Theory of Man, which, though intended only for private distribution, was translated into French shortly after its appearance, he took up his abode at Bath, and, subsequently, at Chichester, where he died, on the 29th of January, 1831, leaving two children, by his wife, the daughter of a French clergyman, highly distinguished