IC»4 Biographical Account of [Sept. 



sequence was a violent attack of rheumatism, which continued pro- 

 gressively to increase till it gradually undermined his constitution ; 

 so that, though he was afterwards enabled to transfer his labours to 

 a more comfortable room, he never recovered his health completely. 



About half a year before his death his disorder increased so much 

 that he became sensible that he could not live much longer. This 

 determined him to execute a resolution that he had formed some 

 time before, out of gratitude ; namely, to marry the widow of his 

 predecessor, from whom he had purchased the shop, and with 

 whom he lived. He married her accordingly on the 19th of May, 

 1786, when he lay on his death-bed. On the 21st he left her by 

 will the whole of bis property ; and the same day on which he had 

 so tenderly provided for her he died. 



Scheele died in the 44th year of his age, leaving behind him a 

 reputation for genius, industry, and sagacity, which no chemist 

 before him ever acquired, and which probably no successor will 

 ever surpass. The whole bent of his mind was turned towards his 

 favourite science ; his conversation was entirely confined to it ; so 

 that he spoke little, or not at all, in mixed companies. His letters 

 were all upon the same subject ; and his principal correspondent 

 was Assessor Gahn, at Fablun. 1 have seen a volume of his letters, 

 which Mr. Gahn lias bound up, all devoted to chemical details. 

 He ne\er had the advantage of a liberal education, and was there- 

 fore unacquainted with all the modern languages except German, 

 his native tongue. Even of Swedish, though he had lived nearly 

 all his life in the country, he was so imperfect a master, that he 

 never ventured to write in it. His letters, all of them that 

 I have seen, are written in German. His dissertations were 

 written in the same language, and previous to their insertion into 

 the Stockholm Memoirs were translated into Swedish. Hence he 

 laboured under every disadvantage that could retard the progress of 

 a practical chemist. But he was so fortunate in the era in which 

 he made his appearance, his department was so peculiarly his own, 

 he had so few competitors in some of the most brilliant parts of it, 

 that these disadvantages did not prove so injurious to his reputation 

 as they would have done had he lived twenty or thirty years later. 

 Some of his most curious discoveries, indeed, were anticipated by 

 Dr. Priestley ; but a sufficient number were his own, without a 

 competitor, to raise and secure a most brilliant reputation. 



I shall now endeavour to lay before the reader a short sketch of 

 all his discoveries, as far as 1 am acquainted with them, arranged as 

 nearly as possible in the order in which he made them : — 



i. The first of his discoveries, published by ixetzius, without 

 noticing the original author of it, was the method of procuring 

 tartaric acid — an acid before that time unknown, except as a con- 

 stituent of cream of tartar. 



2. The first dissertation published with his name appeared in the 

 Stockholm Memoirs for 177l> and was upon fiuor spar. The 

 nature of this substance was at that time unknown, and had even 



