22 1 Phrenological Socieiy, Edbilurgfi. " . 



ihe anxious pursuit of novelty, and to the still more anxious cu- 

 riosity, an itching to know what the rest of their fellow citizens 

 are doing, mav, in a great measure, he attributed the extensive 

 canvass of the doctrines of phrenology, and their consequent ra- 

 pid and wide-spread diffusion in the capital of Scotland. 



" When it is recollected that the Edinburgh press gave birth 

 to that production, which, had it been in the power of invective 

 and abuse — of assertions without proof — would have bnried alike 

 the founders and their system in infamy and oblivion, — it must 

 excite surprise to see the hvdra rearing its head from the hot-bed 

 of opposition — from the very place where the whole system was 

 proclaimed to tlie world as a deliberate fabrication, and Dr. 

 Spurzheim himself held up as a liar, a quack, an impostor, and 

 a vagabond. Whoever it was that wrote that paragon of illibe- 

 rality which graced the Edinburgh Review some years ago, it is 

 not necessary we should know; but whilst the work shall be read, 

 it nmst remain an indelible stain on the candour and justice of 

 that publication, which for so many years has swayed the literary 

 sceptre; and, when it shall be viewed in its true colours, will show 

 the public the broken reed on v/hich they have so long depended 

 for a true and faithful account of the merits and demerits of the 

 different works brought under consideration. Against all the laws 

 of hospitality, against all the rules of equity, we have traduced, 

 most wantonly and unjustly, a foreigner but partially acquainted 

 with our language, and still less with our manners and customs ; 

 who in a great measure threw himself on our indulgence, and 

 only appealed to our justice I Alone and unfriended he stood on 

 the conscious rectitude of his intentions, asked but a patient hear- 

 ing, a candid impiirv : and we refused to grant so small a boon. 



" Can this be that country so long celebrated for the hospitality 

 of its people, for its impartial administration of justice? or has 

 the veil which blinded the rest of the world been suddenly torn 

 off? has the mask of hypocrisy at last fallen? has the wolf in 

 sheep's clothing fieen no longer able to disguise the natural fero- 

 city of his disposition ? Be this as it may, all men are not callous 

 to the claims of justice : some few individuals were found to ex- 

 tend their coui.tenance tothestranger,and, if they did not blindly 

 assent to his doctrines, at Ica.^t did not condemn them unheard. 

 Many, from the generous motive which first tempted them to ex- 

 tend their hand to an abused and learned individual, have found 

 their acquaintance ripen into a frieudsliip ccmented'hy the strong- 

 est esteem and respect, and have never ceased to regard the mo- 

 ment that brought them into contact, as one of the most happy of 

 their lives. To remove every unfavourable impression which the 

 article we allude to may have Left en the minds of any in regard 

 to the personal character of Dr. Sjiiirzh ini, some jiains have 



been 



