the late Mr. Henry. 9 



of the life and acquirements of that extraordinary man might 

 have been collected, at a subsequent period, from other publica- 

 tions of the same kind, which were addressed to different learned 

 societies on the continent. In one respect, Mr. Henry appears 

 to have taken too favourable a view of the character of Haller, 

 in ascribing to him gentleness of disposition ; for that illustrious, 

 and, in the main, excellent person, seems to have been a man of 

 quick passions, and not sufficiently reserved in the expression of 

 them ; as may be gathered from his controversy with Dr. Whytt of 

 Edinburgh. Haller is represented, also, by his biographer, as 

 afflicted with the personal defect of weak eyes ; which, from a 

 passage in his Physiology *, appears not to have been correct. 

 " Aquae purae," he says, " qua ab anno aetatis 18 sola utor, tri- 

 buo, quod post tot in fulgido sole susceptos microscopicos la- 

 bores, omnibus sensibus, et oculis potissirmim, non minus valeam, 

 quam puer valui." 



During the long season of Mr. Henry's activity as a member 

 of this Institution, his communications to it were very frequent. 

 Many of these were intended only to excite an evening's discus- 

 sion, and having served that purpose were withdrawn by their 

 author, but the number is still considerable, which are preserved 

 in the Society's published volumes. As might be expected, 

 they are of various degrees of merit, but there are among them 

 two papers, which have contributed greatly to his reputation as a 

 chemical philosopher f. 



* Totn.vi. p. 240. Edit. 2. Lausannae. 



f The following is a list of Mr. Henry's Papers, that are dispersed 



through the printed Memoirs of this Society : 



hi Vol. I. (1.) An Essay on the Advantages of Literature and Philosophy 

 in general, and especially on the Consistency of Literary and Philoso- 

 phical with Commercial Pursuits. 



(2.) On the Preservation of Sea Water from Putrefaction, by means of 

 Quicklime. 



(3.) On the Natural History and Origin of Magnesian Earth, particularly 

 as connected with those of Sea Salt and Nitrej with Observations on 

 some Chemical Properties of that Earth, which have l)een liilherto un- 

 known or unduterniiiied. 



Jn Vol. 11.(1.) Experiments on rcrments and Fcrmentalion, by which a 



