338 THOMAS YOUNG. 



ercised for hours on the privileges of a rotten borough, 

 did not pronounce a single word in favour of genius. 

 The Board of Longitude was suppressed without oppo 

 sition. The next day, it is true, the wants of an innu 

 merable marine service made their imperative voice 

 heard, and one of the men of science who had been dis 

 placed, the former Secretary of the Board, Dr. Young, 

 found himself recalled to his old labours. Paltry repar 

 ation ! Would the man of science feel less the separa 

 tion from his illustrious colleagues, would the man of 

 feeling less perceive that the noble fruits of human intel 

 lect were subjected to tariff by the representatives of the 

 country, in pounds, shillings, and pence, like sugar, pep 

 per, or cinnamon ? 



The health of our colleague, which had already become 

 somewhat precarious, declined from this sad epoch with 

 fearful rapidity. Skilful physicians by whom he was 

 attended soon lost hope. Young himself had a con 

 sciousness that his end was approaching, and saw it 

 come with an admirable calmness. Until his last hour 

 he occupied himself without intermission on an Egyptian 

 dictionary then in the press, and which was not published 

 till after his death. When his powers did not permit 

 him any longer to sit up, or to employ a pen, he cor 

 rected the proofs with a pencil. One of the last acts of 

 his life was to exact the suppression of a small publi 

 cation written with talent, by a friendly hand, and 

 directed against all those who had contributed to the 

 destruction of the Board of Longitude.* Young died 



* The whole account of the transactions connected with the abo 

 lition of the Board of Longitude must be received with some qualifi 

 cation. Arago writes on the subject in his usual vehement tone, and 

 in the feeling in which the whole affair would naturally be viewed by 

 a foreigner, perhaps not intimately acquainted with the minute points 



