JENNER. 71 



founded. The publication of his 'Inquiry' excited the greatest 

 interest, for the evidence in it seemed conclusive ; yet the practice 

 of vaccination met with opposition, as severe as it was unfair, and 

 its success seemed uncertain until a year had passed, when upwards 

 of seventy of the principal physicians and surgeons in London 

 signed a declaration of their entire confidence in it. An attempt 

 was then made to deprive Jenner of the merit of his discovery, but 

 it signally failed, and scientific honours began to be bestowed on 

 him from all quarters. Nothing could, however, induce Jenner to 

 leave his native village, and all his correspondence shows that the 

 purest benevolence, rather than ambition, had been the motive 

 which actuated his labours. In a letter to Mr. Clive, who instituted 

 the first successful case of vaccination in London, he says : " Shall 

 I, who, even in the morning of my life, sought the lowly and se- 

 questered paths of life, the valley and not the mountain ; shall I, 

 now my evening is fast approaching, hold myself up as an object 

 for fortune and for fame ? Admitting it as a certainty that I obtain 

 both, what stock should I add to my little fund of happiness ? And 

 as for fame, what is it ? a gilded butt for ever pierced with the 

 arrows of malignancy." On the Continent Jenner's claims on the 

 gratitude of mankind were quickly recognised, and the influence of 

 his name and character was very great. On one occasion during 

 the war he addressed a letter to Napoleon, requesting permission 

 for two men of science and literature to return to England ; and it 

 is related that Napoleon, being about to reject the petition, heard 

 Josephine utter the name of Jenner ; on which the Emperor paused 

 for an instant, and exclaimed, " Jenner ! ah, we can refuse nothing 

 to that man." He subsequently made other applications both to 

 the French and other governments, which were uniformly attended 

 .with similar success. In fact his name became at length so potent, 

 and his influence so well known, that persons left England with 

 certificates signed by him, which had all the force and value of real 

 passports. England, however, was more tardy in recognizing the 

 claims of this great man. He once or twice applied to the British 

 government on behalf of some French prisoners, but unhappily 

 without success. Nor was he permitted to share in the least degree 

 in the vast patronage at the disposal of the government, and all his 

 attempts to obtain a living for one of his nephews failed, although 

 he applied where he was quite justified in thinking he would meet 

 with attention and success. On the occasion of the first parlia- 

 mentary grant to Jenner in the year 1802, the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer stated that he thought the " approbation " of the House 

 was the highest reward that could be given him, inasmuch as it 

 would lead to an extended and very lucrative practice ; and although 

 it was proved in evidence that 40,000 men were annually preserved 

 to the State, even at that time, by Dr. Jenner's discovery, the pro- 

 position of a grant for 10,000. was carried only by a majority of 



