MEMOIR OF THE LATE DB, THOMAS CHARLES HOPE. 421 



In his way to the French capital, he made a short stay in London, where he 

 Avas very kindly received by Sir Joseph Bankes ; and he had the high gratifica- 

 tion of being introduced to Cavendish, Blagdex, Herschel, and several 

 other English philosophers. 



At Paris he experienced marked attention from Lavoisier and Berthollet ; 

 which he ascribed partly to his having been a pupil of Dr Black ; but was princi- 

 pally, I believe, owing to his having been the fii'st chemist who had publicly 

 taught the new French doctrines in Great Britain. 



Dr Hope considered this an important era in his life, as introducing him to 

 men whose names were then becoming celebrated over Europe for their skill in 

 a science to Avhich he was ardently devoted. The amiable manners and great 

 abilities of Lavoisier made a deep and lasting impression on the Scottish profes- 

 sor ; and few persons more sincerely deplored the sad fate of that accomplished 

 man, from whom he had received the most flattering attentions. 



During his connection with the University of Glasgow, Dr Hope enumerated 

 as his colleagues and hisfi-iends, Dr Thomas Reid, the celebrated Professor of Moral 

 Philosophy ; the eminent Mr John Miller, Professor of I^aw ; and Mr George 

 Jaedine, Professor of Logic. 



Dr Hope, for some years, entertained the wish to join the practice of 

 medicine with his chemical labours; and in 1789, sought aud obtained the 

 appointment of assistant Professor of Medicine, and successor to his uncle Dr 

 Stevenson in the University of Glasgow. For two years he taught the Theory 

 and Practice of Medicine, at the same time with Chemistry. On the death of his 

 uncle, in 1791, Dr Hope became the sole Professor of Practical Medicine, and 

 then resigned the office of Lecturer on Chemistry ; but he continued his private 

 researches in his favourite study, the first result of which was his masterly 

 paper " On anew mineral from Strontian.'''' 



This was communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh on the 4th Nov. 

 1793; and it proved, what indeed had been previously conjectured by others, 

 that this mineral contained a new earth, differing decidedly in its qualities from 

 Barytes, to which it bears the gi-eatest affinity. To this earth Dr Hope gave the 

 name of Strontites, from the place at which it had then only been found. From 

 the appearance of this mineral, which had been, I believe, first noticed, about six 

 years before, by Dr Walker, Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh, it was 

 generally supposed to be a variety of heavy-spar, or perhaps might contain a new 

 ingredient. Yet Kirwan, in the Second Edition of his Mineralogy, published 

 late in 1794, takes no notice of Strontites; except we may consider such, his 

 statement, " that he had heard of the discovery of BaroUte, or aerated Barytes in 

 Argyleshire ;" and Schmeisser, whose " Mineralcgy" appeared in London two 

 years after the reading of Dr Hope's paper, disingenuously passing over his ex- 

 periments, states, "by analysis I found it yielded 68 of Strontian earth, 30 of 



