54 MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER. 



the paper he had read before the Royal Society, led 

 to his heing brought as a witness, and with respect 

 to his appearance, it may be enough to quote the 

 words of the learned Judge in his able charge to the 

 Jury: " For the prisoner you have had one gentle- 

 man called, who is likewise of the faculty, and a 

 very able man. I can hardly say what his opinion 

 is, for he does not appear to have formed any opi- 

 nion at all in the matter. He, at first, said he could 

 not form an opinion whether ihe death was, or was 

 not, occasioned by the poison, because he conceived 

 it might be ascribed to other causes. I wished very 

 much to have got a direct answer from Mr Hunter, 

 if I could, as to what, upon the whole, was now the 

 result of his attention and application to the subject, 

 and what was his present opinion ; but he says he 

 can say nothing decisive." 



This brief notice, however, gives in fact but a 

 most imperfect idea of Mr Hunter's embarrassment, 

 and, as he was himself aware, apparent equivocation 

 on this important trial. The nature of his evidence 

 was not only remarked by the Jury and the Court, 

 but became matter of genera! observation. It would 

 almost appear that there was a difficulty of express- 

 ing himself, arising not merely from a defect of lan- 

 guage, but from a certain degree of inaccuracy and 

 confusion of thought. As a man of genius, he un- 

 questionably thought much and deeply, and that 

 too, on very abstruse subjects; but still there wera 

 not wanting some who maintained that the same 



