"Sir John Pringle's eminent character as a practical phyfician, as well as a medical author, is fo well known, and fo univerfally acknowledged, that an enlargement up on it cannot be neceffary. He was diftinguished, in this refpect, by his attention and fagacity. For the recovery of his patients he was anxiously concerned; and his anxiety might, perhaps, be increafed from his conviction, that the art of phyfic, though eminently ufeful, muft ever, from unavoidable caufes, be attended with a great degree of uncertainty. His care was rewarded with much fuccefs in the courfe of his practice. In the exercife of his profeffion, he was not rapacious; being ready, on various occafions, to give his advice without pecuniary views. This he never denied to the poor; and, from many of his friends in better circumftances, and who were well able to afford the cuftomary gratifications, he refufed to accept of fees.

"The turn of fir John Pringle's mind led him chiefly to the love of fcience, which he built on the firm bafis of fact. With regard to philofophy in general, he was as averfe to theory, unfupported by experi ments, as he was with refpect to medicine in particular. Lord Bacon was his favourite author; and to the method of investigation, recommended by that great man, he ftea dily adhered. Such being his intellectual character, it will not be thought furprifing, that he had a diflike to Plato. The fpeculations of that fublime and ingenious, that elegant and beautiful, but at the fame time fanciful writer, were by

of enquiry cultivated by fir John Pringle. Indeed, whatever attention he might have paid, in his earlier days, and when he was profeffor of ethics at Edinburgh, to me. taphyfical difquifitions, he loft all regard for them in the latter part of his life; and, though fome of his moft valued friends had engaged in difcuffions of this kind, with very different views of things, he did not choose to revert to the studies of his youth, but contented himself with the opinions he had then formed.—

"Befides a clofe application to medical and philofophical fcience, fir John Pringle, during the latter part of his life, devoted much time to the study of divinity. This was with him a very favourite and interefting object. He read many commentators on fcripture, and efpecially on the New Testament, of which he was anxious to obtain an exact and critical knowledge. In this purfuit, the learned and judicious bifhop Pearce's Commentary and Notes gave him particular pleasure, and were greatly fuited to his taste. He correlponded frequently with Michaelis on theological fubjects; and that celebrated profeffor addreffed to him fome letters on Danicl's prophecy of the ferenty weeks, which fir John thought worthy of being published in this country.—

If, from the intellectual, we pafs on to the moral character of fir John Pringle, we fhall find that the ruling feature. of it was integrity. By this principle he was uniformly actuated in the whole of his behaviour. All his acquaintance will with one voice agree, that there never was an honefter man. He was equally diftinguished by his fobriety. He told Mr. James Bofwell, that he had never in his life been intoxicated with liquor; which must be allowed

το

to have been a very laudable proof of the circumfpection maintained by him, in the variety of company that he had kept, both at home and abroad.

"On the religious character of fir John Pringle it will be neceffary more particularly to enlarge; becaufe fuch is the temper of the prefent age, that what is the greatest glory of any man, is often imputed to him as a weakness. The principles of piety and virtue, which were early inftilled into our author by a ftrict education, do not appear ever to have loft their influence upon the general conduct of his life. Neverthelefs, when he travelled abroad in the world, his belief of the chriftian revelation was fo far unfettled, that he became a fceptic with regard to it, if not a profeffed deift. One cause of this, was the wrong notions he had formed concerning the genuine doctrines of the New Teftament; and it will eafily be fuppofed, that he was encouraged in his fcruples by the company he met with both in England and in foreign parts. But it was not in the difpofition of fir John Pringle, to reft fatisfied in his doubts and difficulties, with respect to a matter of fuch high importance. He was too great a lover of truth, not to make religion the object of his ferious enquiry. As he fcorned to be an implicit believer, he was equally averfe to the being an implicit unbeliever; which is the cafe of large numbers, who reject chriftianity with as little examination, as the most determined bigots embrace the abfurdest system that ever was invented. The refult of his inveftigation was, a full conviction of the divine original and authority of the gofpel. The evidence of revelation appeared to him to be folid and invincible; and the nature of it to

be fuch, as demanded his warmest acceptance. What contributed entirely to remove the objections which had formerly lain upon his mind, was, his being perfectly fatisfied, that our holy religion did not contain fome doctrines which have commonly been thought to be long to it. There were three points, that, in this view, appeared to him of great importance; and the removal of his difficulties, with regard to them, effaced every impreffion he might have received to the dif advantage of christianity. He became fully convinced, by his study of the fcriptures, that the Athanafian doctrine of the trinity made no part of them; but that they uniformly concurred in afferting the unity and fupremacy of the God and Father of Mankind. He was equally convinced, that they did not confine the mercy of the fupreme being to a few, exclufively of others; and that they did not hold out any thing, with refpect to the extent and duration of the future punishment of the wicked, which could in the leaft be confidered as an impeachment of the divine juftice, rectitude, and goodness. In these fentiments, he agreed with fome of the wifeft and beft men the world hath ever produced, fome who have reflected the greatest honour on human nature. He was another inftance of thofe illuftrious philofophers who have not been aflamed of religion; and added another name to the catalogue of the excellent and judicious perfons, who have gloried in being Rational Christians

"Such having been the character and eminence of fir John Pringle, it was highly proper that his name fhould be recorded among the worthies of Westminster Abbey. Accordingly, under the direction, and at the expence, of his nephew and

WILLI

VILLIAM Hunter was born on the 23d of May, 1718, at Kilbride, in the county of Lanerk. He was the feventh of ten children of John and Agnes Hunter, who refided on a fmall eftate in that parish, called Long Calderwood, which had long been in the poffeffion of his family. His great grandfather, by his father's fide, was a younger fon of Hunter of Hunterston, chief of the family of that name.

"At the age of fourteen his father fent him to the college of Glasgow. In this feminary he paffed five years, and by his prudent behaviour and diligence acquired the efteem of the profeffors, and the reputation of being a good fcholar.

"His father had defigned him for the church; but the idea of sub. fcribing to articles of faith, was fo repugnant to the liberal mode of thinking he had already adopted, that he felt an infuperable avertion to his theological purfuits. In this ftate of mind he happened to become acquainted with Dr. Cullen, the prefent celebrated profeffor at Edinburgh, who was then just eftablished in practice at Hamilton, under the patronage of the duke of Hamilton. Dr. Cullen's converfation foon determined him to lay afide all thoughts of the church, and to devote himself to the profeffion of phyfic.

"His father's confent having been previously obtained, Mr. Hunter, in 1737, went to refide with Dr. Cullen. In the family of this ex1783.

cellent friend and preceptor he paffed nearly three years, and thefe, as he has been often heard to acknowlege, were the happiest years, of his life. It was then agreed, that he fhould go and profecute his mcdical ftudies at Edinburgh and London, and afterwards return to fettle at Hamilton, in partnership with Dr. Cullen.

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Speaking to me of the manners and difpofition of his friend at this period Dr. Cullen obferved, that his converfation was remarkably lively and agreeable, and his whole conduct at the fame time more strictly and fteadily correct than that of any other young perfon he had ever

known. The fame chearfulness and the fame regard for prudence accompanied him through life.

"He fet out for Edinburgh in November, 1740, and continued there till the following fpring, attending the lectures of the medical profeifors, and amongst others thofe of the late Dr. Alexander Monro, who many years afterwards, in allufion to this circumftance, ftyled himself his "old master."

"Mr. Hunter arrived in London in the fummer of 1741, and took up his refidence at Mr. afterwards Dr. Smellie's, who was at that time an apothecary in Pall Mall. He brought with him a letter of recommendation to his countryman Dr. James Douglas, from Mr. Foulis, printer at Glafgow, who had been useful to the doctor in collecting for him different edi tions of Horace. Dr. Douglas was

hen

then intent on a great anatomical work on the bones, which he did not live to complete, and was looking out for a young man of abilities and industry whom he might employ as a diffector. This induced him to pay particular attention to Mr. Hunter, and finding him acute and fentible, he defired him to make him another visit. A fecond converfation confirmed the doctor in the good opinion he had formed of Mr. Hunter, and without any farther hesitation he invited him into his family to affift in his diffections, and to fuperintend the education of his fon.

"Mr. Hunter having accepted Dr. Douglas's invitation, was by his friendly affittance enabled to enter himfelf as a furgeon's pupil at Saint George's Hofpital, under Mr. James Wilkie, and as a diffecting pupil under Dr. Frank Nichols, who at that time taught anatomy with confiderable reputation. He likewife attended a courfe of lectures on experimental philofophy by Dr. Defaguliers.

"Of thefe means of improve ment he did not fail to make a proper ufe. He foon became expert in diffection, and Dr. Douglas was at the expence of having feveral of his preparations engraved. But be fore many months had elapfed, he had the misfortune to lofe this excellent friend.

"The death of Dr. Douglas made no change of his fituation. He continued to refide with the doctor's family, and to purfue his ftudies with the fame diligence as

before.

a ftriking teftimony of the rapid progrefs 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 deferves to be mentioned as an additional mark of his prudence, that he did not precipitately engage in this attempt, but paffed feveral years in acquiring fuch a degree of knowlege and fuch a collection of preparations as might infure him fuccefs.

"Dr. Nichols, to whom he communicated his fcheme, and who declined giving lectures about that time in favour of the late Dr. Lawrence, did not give him much encouragement to profecute it. But at length an opportunity prefented it felt for the difplay of his abilities as a teacher.

"A fociety of navy furgeons had an apartment in Covent Garden, where they engaged the late Mr. Samuel Sharp to deliver a courfe of lectures on the operations of furgery. Mr. Sharp continued to repeat this courfe, till finding that it interfered too much with his other engagements, he declined the talk in favour of Mr. Hunter, who gave the fociety fo much fatisfaction, that they requested him to extend his plan to anatomy, and at firft he had the use of their room for his lectures. This happened in the winter of 1746.

"He is faid to have experienced much folicitude when he began to fpeak in public, but the applaufe he met with foon infpired him with courage; and by degrees he became fo fond of teaching, that for many years before his death he was never happier than when employed in delivering a lecture.

"The profits of his two first courfes were confiderable; but by contributing