4 MEMOIR OF SIR HANS SLOANE, BART. 



favourite maxim, " That sobriety, temperance, and moderation, are 

 the best preservatives, and the most powerful that Nature has 

 vouchsafed to mankind.'' 



He had scarcely recovered from his first attack when his desire to 

 pursue his medical studies (the profession he had selected) induced 

 him to visit London, for the purpose of obtaining advantages in this 

 way which he could not hope to find in Ireland. Soon after his 

 arrival he placed himself with StafForth, the first chemist of the 

 day, who was brought up under the illustrious Stahl ; and by his 

 instructions he became perfectly acquainted with the nature and 

 preparation of the various articles which formed the materia medica 

 of that period. He also studied botany at the Apothecaries' Gar- 

 den, Chelsea, which had been opened in 1673, for the benefit of 

 young students. He attended all the public lectures on anatomy 

 and medicine then given in the metropolis, and neglected nothing 

 which had any reference, however remotely, to the profession in 

 which he had embarked. 



But he was no less distinguished as a naturalist than as a physi- 

 cian. His enthusiasm for this interesting study introduced him to 

 the acquaintance of Mr. Boyle and Mr. Ray, and to them he com- 

 municated every striking fact or object of curiosity that came under 

 his observation. His intimacy with these two great men continued 

 till their death, and his remarks often excited their wonder, and 

 obtained their unqualified approbation. After four years intense 

 study in London, Mr. Sloane resolved to visit foreign countries, for 

 further improvement. With this view he set out for France, ac- 

 companied by two other students. Having been at Paris, where he 

 attended the lectures of the celebrated Tournefort, and other emi- 

 nent professors, and visited the literati and the scientific, he directed 

 his steps to Montpellier, where he spent a whole year in collecting 

 plants, and in pursuing his botanical studies. He returned to 

 England in 1684, with the intention of pursuing the medical pro- 

 fession, at the early age of twenty-four. Immediately on his arri- 

 val he visited his illustrious friends Mr. Boyle and Mr. Ray, and 

 to the latter he transmitted a variety of plants and seeds, which this 

 author has described in his Hisloria Plantarum, with proper ac- 

 knowledgements. 



Soon after his return from abroad, Mr. Sloane was elected a Fel- 

 low of the Royal Society, and, in the year 1 687, of the College of 

 Physicians. This last election happened on a very extraordinary 

 occasion, of which we think it worth while to give a short notice. 

 At a meeting of the Society on the 19th of October, 1685, the pre- 



