Phrenological Society, Edinburgh. 225 



been taken to probe to the bottom all the circumstances attend- 

 ing his visit to this country ; and it is but justice to sav, that 

 amongst the great number of persons who have been applied to 

 on the subject, and who were ])ersonaIIv aciiuainted with hi in, 

 not a single individual has been found who does not speak in 

 terms of the highest respect of his character as a gentleman, of 

 the easy elegance of his manners, of tiie unassuming simplicity of 

 his whole deportment, of the suavitv and amenity of his disposi- 

 tion. As to his being a fortune-hunter, a character always look- 

 ed upon with distaste in this country, till the accuser shall offer 

 evidence of the fact the charge will be held as neither more nor 

 less than a deliberate falsehood, raised by his enemies for the 

 purpose of depreciating him in the eyes of the public. On the 

 contrary, fron) every inquiry, it appears that money was one of 

 the articles about which he was perhaps too litlle solicitous; and 

 we may relate an anecdote of one of our friends, who, when the 

 Doctor came to England first, called for him under the mostini- 

 favourable impressions, and, on requesting a decipherment of his 

 own head, begged leave, as he conceived usual on such occasions, 

 to present him with a fee. Instead of the German Doctor pock- 

 eting the cash, as my friend had anticipated, to his surprise the 

 money was pushed back by Dr. Spurzheim, while a flush of ge- 

 nerous indignation, at seeing his professions and his character so 

 much misrepresented, crossed his cheek ; and further, on my 

 friend finding he had been misinformed, and saying he would at- 

 tend the lectures then about to commence, and again tendering 

 the money, * No, no,' said the Doctor, ' come and hear first : 

 if you like the subject then, and are anxious to learn, I shall 

 teach you.' This extraordinary interview was the commencement 

 of an acquaintance which time ripened into friendship, which is 

 now 80 strongly tied by the bands of mutual affection and esteem, 

 that nothing on this side the grave can divide them. In Edin- 

 burgh, too, I have heard Dr. Barclay publicly declare, that, s(» 

 far as he had been able to discover, Dr. Spurzheim did not care 

 for money ; he had declined Dr. B.'s offer of a loan, having no 

 occasion for it ; and he gave free admission to his lectures to 

 above 200 students who attended Dr. B.'s anatomical course. 



" Dr. Spurzheim was in Wales when the wanton attack on 

 him in the Edinburgh Review was published, and bent on a very 

 different route ; but his almost direct course was to Scotland, 

 there openly to meet the charges and calumnies of his detractor. 

 Does any thing in all this savour of the ()uack or the fortune- 

 hunter ? Who has ever found that a (juack doctor was known 

 to refuse a fee? Such a prodigy must Inive found its way into 

 some record or another, but they arc all equally silent. In one 

 word, the whole charge is monstrous, absurd, and totally without 



Vol. 57. No. 275. Marc/i 1821. Ff founda- 



