114 EULOGY ON THOMAS YOUNG. 



a rich i)crsoii, intrnstins>- Lir, son to tlie care of a private iustnictor, does 

 not seek for liiin a fellow-pnpil of the same ac^e amon,i];- those who have 

 been remarkable for their success. It was in this capacity that Young 

 became, in 1787, the fello\v-])ui)il of the grandson of Mr. Davi<l Barclay, 

 of Youngsbury, in Hertfordshire. On the day of his first appearance 

 there Mr. Barclay, who doubtless felt the right of showing himself some- 

 Avhat exacting with a scholar of fourteen years of age, gave him several 

 ])hrases to copy, with the view of ascertaining his skill in penmanship. 

 Y'oung, perhaps somewhat humiliated by this kind of trial, demanded, 

 in order to satisfy hiui, permission to retire to another room; this ab- 

 sence beii]g prolonged beyond the time which the transcription Avould 

 have recpiired, Mr. Barclay began to joke on the want of dexterity he 

 must evince, when at length he reentered the room. The copy was 

 remarkably beautiful; no writing-master could have executed it better. 

 As to the delay, there was no longer any need to speak of it, for ''the 

 little Quaker,"* as Mr. Barclay called hiai, had not been content to tran- 

 scribe the English phrases set him; he had also translated them into 

 nine ditferent languages. 



The preceptor, or, as they call him on the other side of the Channel, 

 the tutor ^ who had to direct the two scholars at Youngsbury, was a young 

 man of much distinction, at that time entirely occupied in perfecting 

 himself in tlie knowledge of the ancient languages. He was the future 

 author t of Calligmplua Gncca. He was not long, however, in perceiv- 

 ing the immense superiority of one of his pupils, and he recognized, 

 with praiseworthy modesty, that in their common studies the true tutor 

 was not always he who bore that title. At this period Young drew up, 

 continually referring to the original sources, a detailed analysis of the 

 uuuierous systems of philosophy which were professed in the diiferent 

 schools of Greece.l llis friends spoke of this work with the most lively 

 admiration. I know not whether the i)ublic is destined ever to see it. 

 At all events, it was not without influence on the life of its author; for, 

 in giving himself up to an attentive and minute examination of the sin- 

 gularities (to use a mild term) with which tlie conceptions of the Greek 

 philosophers teemed. Young perceived that the attachment which he re- 

 tained to the principles of the sect in which hew*asborn became weakened. 

 However, he did not separate entirely from it till some years afterward, 

 during his sojourn in Edinburgh. 



The little studious colony at Youngsbury quitted the country during 

 some months in the winter, to reside in London. During one of these 

 excursions Y'oung met with a teacher worthy of him. He was initiated 

 into chemistry by Dr. Higgins,§ whose name I can the less dispense with 

 mentioning, since, in spite of his earnest and frequent remonstrances, 

 there was an obstinate disinclination to acknowledge the share which 

 legitimately belonged to him in the establishment of the theory of defi- 

 nite proportions, one of the most valuable discoveries of modern chem- 

 istry. 



Dr. Brocklesby, the maternal uncle of Young, one of the most popu- 

 lar physicians in London at the time, justly confident of the distinguished 

 success of the young scholar, communicated occasionally his productions 

 to men of science and literature, and to men of the world, whose appro- 



* This seems iniin'obaWe, as Mr. Barclay's fomily were of the same sect. — Tkanslator. 



t Mr. Hodgkiii. 



t This work is not mentioned by Dr. Peacock. — TitAXSLAXOR. 



§ The share horue by Dr. Higgiiis in the snggestiou or discovery of the atomic theory 

 has been variously estimated. For an apparently perfectly fair view of the case, the 

 reader is referred to Dr. Daubeuy's Atomic Theory, p. 33. — Translator. 



