DODD 129 



in a^well j^stopt bottle ; the dose of this is from 

 4 to lO^drops whenever a high volatile cordial is 

 necessary." 



Dodd was, as may be guessed, something of 

 a character. Born in 1721, he spent six years 

 as a surgeon's mate on board a man-of-war, and 

 having set up for himself in London in 1751, 

 next year began as an author with his '* Essay 

 towards a Natural History of the Herring," a 

 work written to promote the success of the 

 industry on the lines of the Society for the Free 

 British Fishery. He took a part in the case of 

 Elizabeth Canning, who " whipt three female 

 'prentices to death and hid them in the coal- 

 hole," turned lecturer, play right and historian, 

 and at the age of sixty actually embarked for 

 Russia on the strength of an adventurer's 

 promise to make him Ambassador to the 

 Czarina, and returned almost destitute, only 

 to set up as lecturer and actor in Edinburgh. 

 He died in 1804, having left behind him an 

 MS. autobiography from which these particulars 

 are drawn, and the reputation of being " a 

 gentleman of amiable and entertaining man- 

 ners," and a great frequenter of " disputing 

 societies." 



In 1747, according to Vernon, the Dutch still 

 had 3,000 herring boats and 40,000 fishermen 

 employed in the industry, a great falling off, 



I it is true, from the 4,000 vessels and 200,000 

 men of 1679, but still bringing in £5,000,000 

 sterling per annum. Eight years later they 



