164 Biographical Account of 



and sympathize with him amid the agonies of his disease. 

 Yet, destitute of these comforts — nay, necessaries, as we 

 might term them in his weakly state, his mind was sup- 

 ported by a constant attention to the scenery around, and 

 the noble pursuits of science. 



From Ravenna he proceeded to Laybach in Illyria, where 

 he arrived on the 19th of April. During this journey, and 

 his stay in this part of the country, he took much exercise 

 in fishing and shooting. Amid these scenes he delighted 

 to study the habits and nature of the various fishes which 

 he killed. His journal, of which extracts are now pub- 

 lished, is full of such references. But the fatigue which 

 lie underwent appears to have acted otherwise than as a 

 restorative, and his frequently registered expressions of 

 sufiering exhibit too plainly what the philosopher was 

 enduring. We find him incapable of enjoying the finest 

 mountain scenery, such as he used formerly to delight in, 

 and his expressions refer more frequently to the past than 

 to the present. "Ah! could I recover," he exclaims, 

 " any thing like that freshness of mind which I possessed 

 at twenty- five, and which, like the dawning morning 

 covered all objects, and nourished all things that grew, 

 and in which they were more beautiful than in mid sun- 

 shine, what could I not give ? All that I have gained in 

 an active and not unprofitable life. How well I remember 

 that delightful season, when full of power, I sought for 

 power in others ; and power was sympathy, and sympathy 

 was power; when the dead and the unknown, the great 

 of other ages and of distant places were made, by the force 

 of the imagination, my companions and friends ; when 

 every voice seemed one of praise and love; when every 

 flower had the bloom and odour of the rose ; and every 

 spray or plant seemed either the poet's laurel or the civic 

 oak, which appeared to offer themselves as wreaths to 

 adorn my throbbing brow. But, alas, this cannot be!" 

 Such are the sentiments expressed by Physicus in his 

 " Last days of a Philosopher," but which are obviously the 

 result of his own feelings. 



Towards the end of September his symptoms were aggra- 

 vated. At Baden, he says, " The scenery is very beauti- 

 ful, and for a person well, or becoming convalescent, it 



