MEMOIR. jjjjj 



and all of wliicli soon devoh^ed upon him by the 

 death of his father. In these operations he was 

 eminently successful, and rapidly accumulated a 

 fortune. 



In the midst of his extensive business he was 

 never unmindful of science. This was his pas- 

 sion ; and all his leisure moments were devoted 

 to it, in preference to mingling in general society, 

 for which he had very little taste ; and he always 

 looked forward to the time when he should retire 

 from business, become a patron of science and art, 

 and make science his occupation. In the winter 

 of 1836-7, having accumulated what he re- 

 garded as a competence, and having invested it 

 profitably as he supposed, he counted that the 

 anticipated era had thus early arrived. But the 

 well-remembered business disasters of 1837 came; 

 and so far from being able to retire from business, 

 he was obliged to give himself exclusively to it, 

 and with redoubled zeal, for the next five years, 

 in order to meet the crisis and save his estates 

 from the general ruin. Having successfully ac- 

 complished this and much more, he again felt 

 that, with a competence before him, he could with- 

 draw from business cares, and devote himself 

 more especially to science and art; and, next 



