74 A PEEP AT 



education, and adopted the profession of medicine, 

 but finally devoted his studies and time to subjects 

 more congenial to his tastes — geology, mineralogy, 

 philosophy and the arts. In 1823, or '24, he trav- 

 elled in England and Scotland, in company with Pro- 

 fessor Boue, of Paris ; then visited the gay metrop- 

 olis of France, and afterwards went to the Azores. 

 At the latter place he resided for some considerable 

 time, and on his return home published an interest- 

 ing and valuable work on the geology of the Azore 

 Islands. A valuable collection of minerals, which 

 he had procured in his travels, he sold to Harvard 

 College for eight thousand dollars. He edited, for 

 a time, the Boston Journal of Philosophy and Arts. 

 "In 1837 he was elected Erving Professor of 

 Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Mineralogy and Geol- 

 ogy, in the University at Cambridge. This honor- 

 able post he obtained, it is said, through some peculiar 

 partiality shown him ; and he was indebted much to 

 the friendship and assistance of Dr. George Park- 

 man. The same year he delivered his first course 

 of lectures before the Medical Class of the Univer- 

 sity, at the institution in Mason street, in this city, 

 at which time he succeeded the late celebrated Pro- 

 fessor Gerham. Professor Webster's salary was 



