206 WILLIAM HENRY HARVEY 



contains so quaint a description of himself that I am tempted 

 to quote from it : 



" In person I am tall, and in a good degree awkward. I am 

 silent, and when I do speak say little, particularly to people of 

 whom I am afraid, or with whom I am not intimate. I care 

 not for city sports, or for the diversions of the country. I am 

 equally unknown to any healthful amusement of boys. I cannot 

 swim nor skate. I know nothing of the delight of these, and 

 yet I can amuse myself and be quite happy, seemingly without 

 any one to share my happiness. My botanical knowledge 

 extends to about thirty of the commonest plants. I am very 

 fond of botany, but I have not much opportunity of learning 

 anything, because I have only to show the plant to James 

 White, who tells me all about it, which I forget the next 

 minute. My mineralogy embraces about twelve minerals, of 

 which I know only the names. I am totally unacquainted with 

 foreign shells, and know only about two hundred and fifty 

 native ones. As to ornithology, I have stuffed about thirteen 

 birds. In chemistry I read a few books, and tried some ex- 

 periments. In lithography I broke a stone and a printing press. 

 These are my pretensions to science." 



The reference to lithography is interesting, in view of the 

 fact that he became later on one of the most exquisite de- 

 lineators of plants, and with his own hand drew on stone the 

 greater part of the splendid plates which enrich his works on 

 Phanerogams and Algae. In his confession of ignorance of 

 sports and pastimes, we already see the result of the want of 

 robust health which followed him through life, and brought 

 about his premature death ; and in spite of which he performed 

 such monumental work. 



Already Harvey's mind was quite made up as to what line 

 in life he would prefer. He cannot 'hope, he says, to achieve 

 success in commerce, by " buying cheap and selling dear." As 

 regards professions, he is " neither fit to be a doctor nor a 

 lawyer, lacking courage for the one, and face for the other, and 

 application for both.... All I have a taste for is natural history, 

 and that might possibly lead in days to come to a genus called 

 Harvey a, and the letters F.L.S. after my name, and with that 



