^oo Biographical Account of 



difcouraging difficulties, and the happy fuccefs, fo common 

 and fo interefting in the narratives and hiftories of the bo- 

 lanift who engages in travels of difcovery. 



He read the modern Latin books of medicine and natural 

 liidory with great facility; and was particularly converfant 

 w ith the works of Hofiman, Van Swieten, Ray, Rumphius, 

 Van Royen, Linnreus, and of fonie other eminent medical 

 and botanical writers : but had little ftudied, and read with 

 difficulty, the claflical Roman writers of antiquity ; and thofe 

 of Greece not at all. In the French language he was com- 

 pletely verfed, and read a good deal. 



The acquifilion of a new book of merit gave him the moft 

 fenfible pleafure. The joy which he expreffed on the firft; 

 arrival of the fecond volume of the fo greatly enlarged tenth 

 edition of Linnseus's Sjjlcma Natwcr, which was publiflied 

 at Stockholm in 1759, of which I was a witnefs, 1 (liall never 

 forget. He fcized upon it 'svith eagernefs, ran over it with 

 avidity, and could fcarcely quit it till he had drawn up an 

 analyiis of the whole, which, I think, he fent to the Gen- 

 tleman's Magazine, as he had before fent an analyfis of the 

 firll volume to the fame valuable repofitory. 



His confi:itution was from his birth fo delicate that his 

 parents found difficulty in rearing him ; and experienced 

 great anxiety abcut him, as he was an only child. At the 

 time when 1 was in his family he had frequent illnefles, very 

 commonly from fatigue, efpecially from riding on horfeback, 

 which always, even after fliort journeys of perhaps ten or 

 twelve miles, veiy much difcompofed him, and after long 

 rides brought on a confiderable degree of fever. He had 

 frequent ulcerous fore throats of a very uncommon kind ; 

 being accompanied with great debility, but very little fever; 

 fcarcely any fwellinc, and no great inflammation of the 

 throat, tonfils, or uvula ; but large floughs, commencing and 

 running from thefe parts, which were very rapid in their pro- 

 grefs, but foon yielded to the ufe of the Peruvian bark and 

 proper gargles, without producing any alarming fymptoms 

 or great fuffering. I was then very young in the knowledge 

 ofphyfic; but thefe ulcerous, fpreading floughs appeared to 

 me, as they djd to him, very lingular ; and I have never 

 met with any thuig like them fince. 



Great as was his attention to medicine and natural hiftory, 

 his reading was not confined to books in thefe branches of 

 kno\vledE^e only. He was well read in hiftory, morals, and 

 the phiiofophy of the human mind; to the latter of which 

 hf paid particular application ; and, while he lludied with 

 4ili;^:cucc the appearances of external nature, and the ftrufture 



and 



