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XLVII. Biographical Sketch of the late Maxwell Garth- 

 shore, M.D. F.R.S. es* S.A. M.RJ., &c. 



Impartial records of the principles and manners of di- 

 stinguished characters have long been considered as the 

 writings most beneficial to society. They often unfold 

 those original traits, and even eccentricities, which contri- 

 bute to modulate or give a bias to the characters of suc- 

 ceedino; sons of genius. It has also been laid down as a 

 general proposition, that the literary portraits of such per- 

 sons should rather be drawn by their friends than their 

 enemies, because good men are much better than even their 

 friends believe them to be, and bad men much worse than 

 even their enemies suppose them. The position will appear 

 more defensiiiie, if we insist on the portrait being sketched 

 from nature, as indispensable to the fidelity of the likeness, 

 and admit that all human judgement is biassed ana partial. 

 Hence, in one case the credible portion of good will be re- 

 lated, in another the incredible quantity of evil concealed, 

 and society be equally benefited by the details. The cha- 

 racter of the preeminently good, however, still suffers ia 

 public estimation; the mass of mankind reluctantly admit 

 the existence of any thing better than themselves, and the 

 general disposition to reduce every thing to our own stand- 

 ard acts as a counterpoise to the ascendency of mere moral 

 goodness. Without, therefore, either attempting or ex- 

 pecting to raise the popular criterion of human character, 

 we shall only endeavour to relate facts, or state opinions, 

 with that simplicity and respect for truth which become 

 the subject. 



Dr. Garthshore was born near Kirkcudbright on Novem- 

 ber y, 1731 (new style), and died in St. Martin's Lane, 

 London, March 1, 1812. His father was a clergyman of 

 tfie church of Scotland; he published some detached ser- 

 mons, which, although perhaps inferior in literary merit to 

 those preached in Scotland at the end of the 18lh, are cer- 

 tainly much superior to any contemporary one delivered at 

 the close of the 17th century. That he was a man of 

 learning, talents, and profound piety, cannot be doubted ; 

 and the excellent moral principles which he early inculcated 

 in his son were remembered by him with filial gratitude to 

 his last moments. The salutary effects indeed of an en- 

 lightened piety, in both father and mother, were happily 

 dis-playcd in the whole life of their son. But these are 

 topics foreign to the nature of this work, which aims at 

 recording only what has reference to human science or art. 



Vol. 39. No. 1G9. May 1812. Y" The 



