26 Life and Character of Nathaniel Bovjditch. 



actions of the Royal Society of London, which he treated pretty 

 much in the same summary way, making a very full and minute 

 abstract of all the mathematical papers contained in it ; and this 

 course he pursued with the whole of that voluminous work. He 

 was too poor at this time to purchase books, and this was the only 

 mode of getting at their results,^ and having them constantly at 

 hand for consultation. These manuscripts, written in his small, 

 close, neat hand, and filling several folio volumes, are now in his 

 library, and, in my opinion, are the most curious and precious 

 part of that large and valuable collection. 



I have more than once heard him speak in the most grateful 

 manner, — and he repeated it the last time that I saw him, — of 

 the kindness of those friends in Salem who aided him in his early 

 studies by the loan of their books. He named particularly the 

 late eminent Dr. Prince,* the pastor of the First Church, who gave 

 him free access to his library ; and he likewise mentioned a soci- 

 ety of gentlemen who had a private collection of their own. The 

 manner in which these latter books came into the country, is so 

 remarkable, that I am happy to be able to relate it in Dr. Bow- 

 ditch-s own words, as contained in his last Will. The extract is 

 as follows : — 



'' Ite7n. It is well known, that the valuable scientific library 

 of the celebrated Dr. Richard Kirwanf was, durmg the revolu- 

 tionary war, captured in the British Channel, on its way to Ireland, 

 by a Beverly privateer ,• and that, by the liberal and enlightened 

 views of the owners of the vessel, the library thus tjaptured was 

 sold at a very low rate ; and in this manner was laid the founda- 

 tion upon which have since been successively established. The 

 Philosophical Library, so called, and the present Salem Athe- 

 nasum. Thus, in early life, I found near me a better collection 

 of philosophical and scientific works than could be found in any 

 other part of the United States nearer than Philadelpliia. And 

 by the kindness of its proprietors I was permitted freely to take 



* It is gratifying to find the clergy, the scientific Dr. PrincSj and the learned Dr. 

 Bentley, the earliest encouragers of the precocious powers of the American math- 

 ematician. It has always been so. The Christian clergy have, from the begin- 

 ning down to this day, not only been themselves among the most learned men of 

 their times, but have always been the fosterers of earlj^ talent, and the patrons of 

 unfriended genius. 



t The Rev. Richard Kirwan was a native of Ireland, and was distinguished for 

 his attainments in mineralogy and chemistry. His principal work was his Ele- 

 ments of Mineralogy^ published in 1784. He died in 1812. 



