24 
MEMOIR OP BARON HAXLEB. 
in 1735 ; for being then appointed superintendent 
of the Public Library at Berne, he prepared a 
systematic catalogue of all the books in the col- 
lection ; and, moreover, examined and arranged 
more than five thousand ancient coins and medals, 
of -which he drew up a chronological list and ac- 
count. During the summers of this period, he used, 
by way of relaxation, to prosecute his botanical 
pursuits in expeditions amongst the mountains and 
valleys of Switzerland ; in the course of which, he 
at the same time applied himself assiduously to the 
cultivation of mineralogy and zoology. 
In consequence of his ardent devotion to such 
objects, the reputation of Haller became widely ex- 
tended ; and in 1736, the Regency of Hanover 
offered him the Chair of Botany, Anatomy, and 
Surgery, in the newly established school at Got- 
tingen. No inducement was withheld, which could 
make the situation attractive and agTeeable to him • 
and large funds were placed at his disposal for the 
prosecution of those schemes which formed the 
favourite objects of his life. He therefore gladly 
availed himself of the offer, and for seventeen years 
devoted his utmost energies to promote the celebrity 
of the school, with what success is universally 
known. Poetry was now entirely laid aside, and the 
graver subjects of pursuit henceforward engrossed 
his zealous exertions. Through his influence, the 
university was speedily enriched -with a botanic 
garden and an anatomical theatre. 
His application to botany may be styled enthu- 
