1823.] Mrs. Radcliffe 



Romance nf the Forest, and her third the 

 Sicilian Romance, which established her 

 fame as an elegant and original writer. 

 Her next production, published in 1793, 

 was the famous Mysteries of UHolpho, for 

 which the Robinsons gave her lOOOl., and 

 were well repaid for their speculation, the 

 work being universally sought for, and 

 many large editions rapidly sold. Having 

 been incorporated by Mrs. Barbaiild. into 

 her edition of the British Novelists, and 

 being, in that or other forms, in every 

 library, it would be superfluous, in this 

 place, to enlarge on its transcendent 

 merits. Hyper-criticism alone can detect 

 its faults. The denonement is not consi- 

 dered by many persons as a justification of 

 the high colouring of the previous narra- 

 tive; but it was Mrs. RadciifFe's object 

 to show how superstitious feelings could 

 feed on circumstances easily explained by 

 the ordinary course of nature. This ob- 

 ject she attained, though it disappoints the 

 votaries of snpeistition, and, in some de- 

 gree, irritates the expectations of philoso- 

 phy. Be this as it may, taken as a whole, 

 it is one of the most extraordinary compo- 

 sitions in the circle of literature. In 

 1794, Mrs. Radclitfe gave to the world a 

 Narrative of her Travels in France, Ger- 

 many, and Italy ; but, in describing mat- 

 ters-of-fact, her writings were not equally 

 favoured. Some years after, Cadell and 

 Davies gave her 15001. for her Italians, 

 which, though generally read, did not in- 

 crease her reputation. The anonymous 

 criticisms which appeared upon this work, 

 the imitations of iier style and manner by 

 various literary adventurers, the publica- 

 tion of some other novels binder a name 

 »li:;litly varied for the purpose of imposing 

 on tlie public, and the flippant use of the 

 term •' Radclitfe school,'' by scribblers of 

 all classes, tended altogether to disgust 

 her with the world, and create a depres- 

 sion of spirits, whichled her for many years, 

 in a considerable degree, to seclude her- 

 self from society. It is understood that 

 she iiad written other works, which, on 

 these accounts, she withheld from publi- 

 cation, in spite of the solicitude of her 

 friends, and of tempting offers made her 

 by various publishers. Her loss of spirits 

 was followed by ill health, and the only 

 solace of her latter years was the un- 

 wearied attentions of an affectionate hus- 

 band, whose good intelligence enabled 

 him to appreciate her extraordinary 

 worth. The sitiiatiou in which they re- 

 sided, during the last ten years, is one of 

 the most cheerful ronnd the metropolis ; 

 and here, nnder a gradual decay of her 

 mental and bodily powers, this intellec- 

 tual ornament of her sex expired on the 

 7th day of February, in the 62d year of 

 her aac In person, Mrs. Radcliffe was 

 of diminutive size; and, during the prime 

 of her life, when she mixed in company, 



— Dr. Jenner. 



183 



her conversation was vivacious, and unal- 

 loyed by the pedantic formality which too 

 often characterizes the manners of literary 

 ladies. 



At Berkeley, 74, Dr. Jenner, discoverer 

 and first promulgator of ilic system of 

 vaccine inoculation; and, in other re- 

 spects, one of the most able philosophical 

 physicians of his age and country. He 

 was a native of Berkeley, and son of the 

 Rev. S. Jenner. He was educated at 

 Cirencester, apprenticed to Mr. Ludlow, 

 a surgeon, and afterwards became a pupil 

 of John Hunter. His scientific character 

 led to his being recommended to attend 

 Capt. Cooke in his first voyage, which, as 

 well as an offer to go to India, he declined, 

 preferring to settle with his brother at 

 Berkeley. His first work was on the 

 Natural History of the Cuckoo, and it pro- 

 cured him a high reputation as a natura- 

 list. But his fame rests on his promul- 

 gating, in 1798, his observations on the 

 efficacy of vaccine inoculation, as a pre- 

 ventive of the small-pox. The fact was 

 well known to the vulvar in the dairy-coun- 

 ties ; but it required a mind like that of 

 Jenner to seize upon it, act upon it, and 

 promulgate it with success. The practice 

 soon became general ; and, although some 

 malignant and envious persons exerted 

 themselves to strip the author of his lau- 

 rels, the medical bodies and authorities in all 

 countries adopted it; and Dr. J. received 

 two grants from parliament, amounting to 

 30,0001. and honours from the whole civi- 

 lized world. The plague of the small-pox, 

 wliicli lie essayed to stay, had been univer- 

 sal in its ravages. Theie is reason to 

 believe, that smallpox existed in the East, 

 especially in China and Hindostan, for se- 

 veral thousand years ; but it did not visit 

 the Western nations till towards the mid- 

 dle of the sixth century : it then broke out 

 near Mecca, and was afterwards gra- 

 dually diffused over the whole of the Old 

 Continent, and was finally transported to 

 America, shortly after the death of Colum- 

 bus. In the British islands alone, it has 

 been computed that forty thousand indi- 

 viduals perisiied annually by this disease ! 

 It killed o»e in fourteen of all that were 

 born, and one in six of all that were 

 attacked by it in the natural way. The 

 introduction of inoculation for small-pox, 

 was productive of great benefit to all who 

 submitted to the operation; but, though it 

 augmented the individual security, it 

 added to the general mortality, by multi- 

 plying the sources of contagion, and 

 thereby increasing the number of those 

 who became affected with the natural 

 distemper. All who have not yet duly 

 appreciated the benefits which vaccination 

 lias conferred on mankind, may look on the 

 loathsomeness and dangers of small'pox in 

 its most mitigated form ; may consider, 

 that this disease has been banished from 



some 



