28 
MEMOIR OF 
collector of taxes for the county of Down, and 
after the restoration of Charles II. commissioner 
of Array ; he died at Killileigh, in that county, in 
1666, where, on the 16th of April, 1660, his 
seventh and youngest son, Hans, was born.* 
Being naturally of a delicate constitution, which 
excluded him from the usual boisterous pursuits 
of youth, he appears to have had recourse to the 
study of nature at a very early age ; and having 
determined on following the medical profession, 
entered on the necessary studies with diligence 
and ardour. But at the age of sixteen, these 
were unfortunately interrupted by a spitting of 
blood, with which he then became afflicted. This 
confined him to his chamber for three years. By 
a rigid course of temperance, abstaining entirely 
from wine and other fermented liquors, he suc- 
ceeded in conquering the disease, and his own 
prudence induced him to continue ever after in 
a great degree to adhere to the same strict 
regimen. It was his favourite maxim, “ that 
sobriety, temperance, and moderation, are the 
best preservatives that nature has vouchsafed to 
mankind and he himself was certainly a proof 
of its efficacy, as by attention to this maxim, his 
own life far exceeded theallotted period of man’s 
ordinary existence. 
* His mother was Sarah, daughter of Dr Hickes, pre- 
bendary of Westminster, and chaplain to Archbishop Laud. 
