330 



in -K TON. 



time was a lecturer on anatomy and surgery in 

 Glasgow. From the excellent opportunities he 

 here enjoyed for cultivating the study of anatomy. 

 anil from the enthusiasm with which he pursued 

 Ins inquiries lie toon became distinguished as a 

 practical anatomist. In INM, having resolved to 

 filter the medical service of the army, he went to 

 London for tin- purpose of obtaining u ooinmiv-ion ; 

 but previous to his making application for one, lie 

 n-ivived the offer of a situation in St Petersburg, 

 of which he accepted, and accordingly he left Lon- 

 don for Russia. The empress Catherine, having 

 -lu il iii St Peterburg an hospital on the 

 English pl.ui, was desirous of procuring for its di- 

 rector an able British surgeon. For this office Mr 

 Burns was named to her majesty by his excellency 

 Dr Creighton, as a gentleman in every way quali- 

 fied ; and the appointment was accordingly imme- 

 diately offered for his acceptance, he at the same 

 time being allowed six months of probation before 

 any definite arrangement took place. Ere that 

 time, however, elapsed, his love of country and 

 home prevailed over the temptation of a lucrative 

 engagement, and he left St Petersburg for Scot- 

 land in January, 1805, receiving from the empress, 

 in token of good will, a very valuable diamond 

 ring. On bis return home, his brother having dis- 

 continued his lectures, he resolved to fill his place, 

 and in the ensuing winter he commenced his career 

 as a public lecturer on anatomy and surgery. As 

 a teacher, he was zealous and eloquent. Possess- 

 ing the most perfect knowledge of his profession, 

 he was never at a loss in his descriptions, nor in 

 want of materials for the illustration or elucidation 

 of his subject. He had a happy talent for arrest- 

 ing the attention, and throwing around the dryest 

 demonstrations a charm of which they could hardly 

 be supposed susceptible. His perspicuity of man- 

 ner could scarcely be surpassed. In his hands, the 

 most intricate subject became clear and simple. 

 But his career was not destined to be of long dura- 

 tion. Early in 1810, his health began to decline, 

 and although he continued for two years longer to 

 deliver lectures, it was often at the expense of 

 great personal suffering. He died on the 22d of 

 June, 1813. 



Mr Burns's first publication was entitled " Ob- 

 servations on some of the most frequent and im- 

 portant Diseases of the Heart ; or aneurism of the 

 thoracic aorta ; or preternatural pulsation in the 

 epigastric region ; and on the unusual origin and 

 distribution of some of the large arteries of the 

 human body: illustrated by cases." This appeared 

 in 1809, 8vo. His second publication was entitled, 

 " Observations on the Surgical Anatomy of the 

 Head and Neck : illustrated by cases." This ap- 

 peared in 1812, 8vo. Both these works, which 

 embrace all Mr Burns's separate publications, are 

 held in the very highest estimation by the profes- 

 sion. An edition of the latter was published in 

 America, with a life of the author, and additional 

 cases and observations, by Gran ville Sharp Pattison, 

 professor of anatomy in the university of Mary- 

 land. From that life we have drawn the present 

 brief notice. Mr Burns, it may be added, contri- 

 buted two Essays to the Edinburgh Medical and 

 Surgical Journal, one on the anatomy of the parts 

 concerned in the operation for Crural Hernia, and 

 the other on the operation of Lithotomy. 



BURTON, EDWARD, D. D., regius professor of 

 divinity in the university of Oxford ; canon of 

 Christ church; and rector of Ewelme, in Oxford- 



shire, was horn 1-Ybniury 13, 1794, at Shrewsbury, 

 in which city his father, major Edward Burton, was 

 then resident, lie wax educated at Westminster, 

 but was never on the foundation ; and, as a com- 

 moner, went to Christ church, of which IIOUM- lie was 

 matriculated, May 15, 1812. Here, Ins remarka- 

 ble application, his high talent, and exemplary con- 

 duct were soon noticed, and in the following year, 

 a studentship was given him by one of the canons, 

 on the express recommendation of the dean and 

 chapter. In Easter, 1815, lie wa.< examined for 

 his degree, and his name appears in the li>t of that 

 term in the first class, both in claries and in ma- 

 thematics. He took his degree of bachelor ot arts 

 Oct. 29, 1815 ; and soon after was ordained to the 

 curacy of Tetenhall in Staffordshiie, where he re- 

 sided for some time in the zealous discharge of 

 every duty connected with his profession. On the 

 28th of May 1818, he proceeded master of arts, 

 and passed the greater part of that and the follow- 

 ing year on the continent, visiting every place 

 worthy of observation in France and Italy, inspect- 

 ing the public libraries, collating MSS., and ob- 

 taining accurate information on all subjects con- 

 nected with his favourite pursuits. Some idea of 

 his research, as well as the extent of his inquiries, 

 and the accuracy of his observation, may be formed 

 from a perusal of his work on the Antiquities of 

 Rome, which is perhaps the most useful, and at 

 the same time the least pretending, publication 

 concerning that interesting city. In 1824, Mr 

 Burton accepted the office of select preacher in the 

 university. His sermons were distinguished not 

 more by their theological learning, acute criticism, 

 and sound and at the same time candid argument, 

 than by their unaffected piety, and that genuine 

 Christian feeling which robs even religious pole- 

 mics of all their bitterness. On the 12th of May, 



1825, he married Helen, daughter of archdeacon 

 Corbett, of Langor Hall, Shropshire; and imme- 

 diately after went to reside in Oxford, where he 

 began to take a prominent part in academical mat- 

 ters. He was nominated a public examiner in 



1826. In 1827, on the promotion of Dr Lloyd to 

 the bishopric of Oxford, he became his examining 

 chaplain, and the following year was chosen to 

 preach the Bampton Lectures. It will be seen, 

 too, from the list of his works, that during the 

 whole of this period his active mind was fully em- 

 ployed. A pamphlet on the absolving power of 

 the Romish Church, his Testimonies of the Ante- 

 Nicene Fathers, and the publication of his friend 

 Dr Elmsley's notes on some of the plays of Eu- 

 ripides, prove that his life was anything rather 

 than an idle one. On the 27th of November, 1828, 

 he proceeded to the degree of bachelor in divinity, 

 as a grand compounder. 



In the summer of 1829, the university was de- 

 prived of the able services of her professor of di- 

 vinity, by the premature death of Dr Lloyd, then 

 also bishop of Oxford ; and Mr Burton was imme- 

 diately nominated to succeed him. Sir Robert 

 Peel could not have recommended, nor the minis- 

 ter have made, a more judicious selection, nor one 

 that gave greater satisfaction to the university at 

 large, and to Christ church in particular, for all 

 persons were agreed on the peculiar fitness of Mr 

 Burton for the divinity chair. To the bishop of 

 Oxford, the students in divinity were first indebted 

 for an admirable and most effective addition to the 

 usual mode of obtaining theological information 

 the establishment of private classes, in addition to 





