328 Biographical Account of [Nov. 



deal of the value of his papers would depend. John Afzelius, 

 his nephew, who afterwards succeeded him, was for some years 

 his assistant, and must of course have performed most of his 

 experiments during that time. Afzelius was considered as an 

 accurate experimentalist, his reputation was high, and he 

 succeeded his uncle without opposition. But I am not ac- 

 quainted with any thing which he has published since Berg- 

 man's death, except a single paper on the analysis of sulphate 

 of barytes. 



Bergman's health for some years previous to his death had 

 become delicate. He was afflicted with the haemorrhoids, and 

 threatened with an haemoptysis. His immediate death seems to 

 have been occasioned by violent hemorrhoidal discharge which 

 brought on general convulsions, accompanied with the total loss 

 of understanding. This continued for ten days, at the end of 

 which he sunk altogether. He died on July 8, 1784, at the 

 mineral wells of Medevi on the Lake Wetter, to which he had 

 repaired in consequence of the badness of his health. 



His death was followed by the most unfeigned sorrow, not 

 only of those who were at that time at Medevi, but of the 

 whole inhabitants of Sweden. He was buried at Westra 

 Nykyrke, not far from Medevi ; and his funeral was attended 

 by almost the whole population of Medevi, and by a prodigious 

 concourse of people from every part of Sweden. Never was a 

 man of science more respected, nor a professor more lamented, 

 than Bergman. Scheele followed his friend in two years; and 

 Sweden, from being one of the first chemical countries in 

 Europe, sunk at once, as far as that science is concerned, into 

 comparative insignificance and absolute torpor. At present, 

 indeed, in consequence of the unequalled activity, and zeal, and 

 skill of Professor Berzelius, that kingdom has resumed her rank 

 among chemical nations ; but a listlessness of nearly 20 years 

 elapsed before this activity began. 



Bergman's papers amount altogether to 106. They were 

 published between the year 1755, in which his inaugural disser- 

 tation " De Crepusculis " appeared, and the year 1784 ; for his 

 little paper entitled " Mineral Observations " was published 

 only a few weeks before his death. The greater number of 

 them were collected in six octavo volumes entitled " Torberni 

 Beroman Opuscula Physica et Chemica." The first three 

 volumes of this collection were published by Bergman himself in 

 the years 1779, 1780, and 1783. The fourth volume was 

 published at Leipsic in 1787, and was edited by Dr. Ernest 

 Benjamin Gottl. Hebenstreit. The fifth volume was published 

 bv the same editor in 1788 ; and the sixth and last volume, 

 which contains some of the most early papers of our author, did 

 not make its appearance till the year 1790. In the observations 

 which I mean to make on these productions of Bergman, I shall 

 pass over his essays on natural history and physics, and confine 



