616 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



after they were men; tbeyoungest, a 

 counsellor at law, survives him.— 

 Ho had four sisters, all of whom 

 have been married, and are alive. 

 His mother also still lives, and is in 

 her 79th year. In 1781, he mar- 

 ried Elizabeth the only daughter of 

 William Almack, esq. of London, 

 and a niece of his preceptor, Dr. 

 Cullen, but had no issue. She like- 

 wise survives him. His person was 

 tall and erect, but of late years ra- 

 ther thin; his countenance during 

 youth was a model of manly beauty, 

 and even in advanced life was re- 

 markably handsome. While a boy, 

 he was noted for possessing a grave 

 and manly manner, connected with 

 much sweetness of disposition. — 

 These qualities, added to consider- 

 able bodily strength and courage, 

 gave him great influence over his 

 play-fellows. But, though of a stu- 

 dious turn, he did not acquire know- 

 ledge at school as quickly as some 

 of his companions. His memory, 

 however, was strong, and his judg- 

 ment sound ; whatever, therefore, 

 he learned was retained, and well 

 assorted ; so that in time he excelled 

 most of those who had once been 

 regarded his superiors. His know- 

 ledge of history and geography, 

 from the strength of his memory, 

 was particularly accurate. Few per- 

 sons ever gained, without any direct 

 effort to this end, so extensive an 

 acquaintance with the various or- 

 ders of society. His education be- 

 gan at the largest school in Great 

 Britain. Heafterwards studied for 

 several years at each of the great 

 universitiesof Glasgow, Edinburgh, 

 and Cambridge, and attended the 

 principal lectures upon medicine in 

 London. While a young man in 

 London, he lived with his uncle, 

 who had manyfriends, and frequent- 



ly entertained them at his house.>v 

 He resided many years in Lincoln's 

 Inn Fields ; and, while there, asso- 

 ciated daily with gentlemen of the 

 law. He was early admitted a Fel- 

 low of the Royal and Antiquarian 

 Societies; and hence knew many 

 learned men in addition to those of 

 his own profession. He was fond 

 of country sports, and athletic 

 games, particularly the Scotish one 

 named Golf, which carried hira 

 among other sets of men. He had 

 a taste also for the Fine Arts ; in 

 consequence of which, he became 

 acquainted with many of the pro- 

 fessors of them ; and his employ- 

 ment as a physician in the largest 

 hospital in the kingdom, and in 

 private, made known to him a very 

 great number of persons of every 

 rank and description in life. From 

 such opportunities, and an original 

 turn for the observation of charac- 

 ter, he obtained a most extensive 

 knowledge of human nature, and an 

 infinite fund of storiesand anecdotes 

 which, when at ease among his 

 friends, he used to relate in the 

 happiest way. None of his stories, 

 however, related to himself; indeed, 

 he scarcely ever spoke of himself to 

 his most intimate friends; no doubt, 

 from a wish to avoid a fault he saw 

 80 frequently committed by others. 

 In conversation he shunned dispute. 

 When he dissented from others, he 

 either declared his opinion in a few 

 words, or remained altogether si- 

 lent. With literary men his value 

 as a companion was considerably 

 increased by his judgment in se- 

 lecting, andlively mode of repeating 

 passages from new works of taste, 

 most of which he read immediately 

 after they were published. But, 

 though he had lived so much in so- 

 ciety, he never entirely lost a natu- 

 ral 



