200 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December Ifa. 
I and, wliat was then a novelty in country practice, become a 
I licentiate of Apothecaries’ Hall, he was taken into partner- 
I ship with his former master, and commenced a practice, in 
‘ his native, town, which he carried on until the year 1835. 
1 In the course of that practice lie was eminently successful, 
' especially in ca.ses of midwifery, on which branch, and 
especially on the use of the ergot of rye, he. contributed 
several articles to The Lancet, in addition to many articles 
on other branches of medicine. His professional rival was 
Hr. Thomas Hodson, who was the great friend of Sir Astley 
Cooper and ,Mr. Abernethy, whose skill as an operating 
I surgi'on was eipialled by few, even among the London ])rac- 
j titionei's, and whose, practice in midwifery was as successful 
j as tli.at of 1 )r. Mantell. Indeed, so great was the skill of 
I both, that it is recorded in Smith’s I’hilosophy of Health 
! (p. Ll'l), that in fifteen years, out of 2,410 cases of par¬ 
turition- in the Lewes district at this time, there were only 
two deaths; and so flxi'd upon the attention of the poor 
was this success, that when Dr. Mantell was elected a 
member of the Linnaian Society, the. po|mlar belief w.as 
that b'.L.S. meant that he had been elected a fellow of the 
lying-in society, and, as an old lady emphatically added, 
‘ the society nev<;r had a better fellow.’ It was in the exer¬ 
cise of his profession, also, and with the assistance of his 
accomplished brother, the late .Toshua Mantell, then in his 
dispensary, tluit Mr. .Mantell saved the life of a woman 
condemned to death for the murder of her husband by 
arsenic; Dr. .Mantell having distinctly proved that the tests 
used, and which were said to have shown the presence of 
this mineral poison, h.ad entirely and chemically failed. 
This led to his publication, in 1(S2/, of his ‘ Observations on 
the Medical I'lvidence necessary to prove the presence of 
Arsenic in the Human Body in cases of supposed poisoning 
by that mineral. Illustrated with cases.’ By the exertion 
of great interest, and solicitation, in addition to these scien¬ 
tific efforts, the woman’s pardon was procured, and she still 
lives in Burwash. 
“ At Mr. Button’s school Dr. Mantell evinced a strong ; 
love for the study of natural history, and, upon commencing 
his practice at Lewes, he stole—for it could be called nothing 
else—some hours from the very arduous labours of a country 
! ]irofession to the investigation of the ‘ Organic remains of 
a Bonner World,’ firstly in the chalk, and ne.xt in the Til- 
gate formations, which were comparatively new ground. He 
was greatly encouraged in this work by Mr. Davies (iilbert, 
and he was largely assisted by the zeal and knowledge of 
Mr. Ste-wart Warren Lee, who was Ids most intimate friend 
and companion in all his early discoveries. He was also a 
keen follower of antiquity, and he opened many of the 
tumuli near the town. In this pursuit he was encouraged 
by tbe Rev. Mr. Itouglas, the author of Nrenia Britimnica, 
who was Vicar of Preston, near Brighton. 'Their results 
were puldished in the first volume of Horstield’s History of 
Sussex. 
“ For nine yo.ars he devoted himself to the jirosecution 
\ of his researches into the chalk formation, and in the 
foundation of the collection now in the British Museitm. 
j In May, 1S22, he published, by subscription, the result of 
; bis labours in tbe quarto volume, ‘ The Fossils of the South 
Downs, or illustrations of the (ieology of Sussex,’the en¬ 
gravings being executed by bis wife, to whom he had been 
; married after an attachment formed during bis unremitting 
professional attention to her father, and whose artistic skill 
[ would have done credit to a professional engraver. 'The 
' work was dedicated to a Mr. Davies Gilbert, through whose 
I recommendation Mr. Mantell was elected a F.Il.S. in the 
' year 1825. 
“ In 1824 he contributed to Horsfield’s History of Lewes 
‘'J'he Natural History of the District; ’ and in December, 
1820, be published his ‘ Illustrations of the Geology of 
Sussex,’ with figures and descriptions of the fossils of 
Tilgate Forest, among which he had found the iguanodon, 
the megalosaurus, the plesiosaurus, Ac., and had made 
discoveries which will never be dissociated from his name. 
Inileed it is as a working geologist, as a discoverer, and as 
a collector, as a man who, in the infancy of tbe science of 
geology, placed before the world the means by which others 
could write a thesis or found a system, that Dr. Mantell’s 
merits were best displayed, and will be honestly acknow- 
] ledged. 
“He received from the Geological Society in 183,5 the 
Wollaston medal and fund, in consideration of his dis¬ 
coveries in fossil comparative anatomy; and in 18411 the 
Royal Society conferred upon him the royal medal for his 
memoir on the Iguanodon which was printed in the Philo¬ 
sophical Transactions. 
“ Dr. Mantell quitted Lewes in 1835. Among the jiatrons 
of merit which Sussex then possessed was the F.arl of 
Fgremont. He was a frequent visitor at Dr. MunteU's 
museum at Lewes, and mainly by his advice, and with a 
handsome don.ation of .TIOOO, the residence of Dr. Mantell, 
together with his museum, was removed in 1835 to Brighton. 
'I’he same amount of professional success, however, did not 
follow him from his native town, and, the Earl having died 
in 1S:18, and an attempt to keep the treasures in Sussex 
having Ruled, Dr. M.sntell disposed of his collection to the 
British Museum for the sum of ,T5(IOf), .and himself removed 
in 1839 to practise at Clapham ; whence he came to Cbestcr- 
square. 
“ His professional practice was not increased by these 
removals, and latterly be bad devoted himself more than 
ever to literature. We append the titles of some of bis 
]>rincipal works, referrimg for others to the Bibliograydiia i 
/oologia; et Geologia' of the Ray Society, where the names 
of sixty-seven books and essays are given. 
“Tbe Wonders of Geology. 18.38. In two volumes 8vo. 
This work consists of a series of lectures on the principles 
and facts of the science. It ims gone through six editions, ; 
and lias been translated into German. j 
“ The Geology of the South-east of England. 1838, 8vo. 
“ 'Tlie IMedals of Creation; or, Irirst Lessons in the Study 
of Organic Remains. 1844. Two volumes 8vo. 'Phis also 
has been translated into German. 
“'riioughts on a Pebble ; or, a First Le.sson in Geology. 
Seven editions. 
“Thoughts on Animalcules; or, a Glimpse of the Invi¬ 
sible IVorld revealed by a Microscoyie. 184(i. 
“ -V Day’s Ramble in and about the ancient Town of 
Lewes. 1840. 12mo. 
“A Geological Excursion round the Isle of Wight, and 
along tile adjacent Coast of Dorsetshire. 8vo. 
“Petinfactions and their Teaching. 8vo. 'This was one 
of the last of tbe author’s works, .and was intended as an 
introduction to the organic remains in tlie British Museum. 
“ Dr. Mantell received a pension from the Crown during 
the last year, and h.ad scarcely lived to derive any benefit 
from it. His doctor’s degree was acquired i'rom an American 
university. For the last few years he had sufi'ered from a 
spinal affection, caused by .accident, wliich prevented him 
from following his yiursuits with his former activity. 
“ As a lecturer, as well as author. Dr. Mantell was emi¬ 
nently successful. His style was fluent, and he possessed | 
the art of attracting his audience by .an exhaustless catalogue : 
of wonders. It has even been said that he yielded with ! 
reluctance to the revelation of a truth when it dispossessed i 
him of a pretty illustration. It is certain that ho depended [ 
much upon the arts of popularity, and he usually obtained 
all the applause for which he aimed. 
“ 'I'lie Council of the Clapham Athen.'V'um have publicly 
recorded their testimony of Dr. iMantell's last scientific, 
efforts in that locality. 'I'hey remark that ‘ For a long 
series of years the lectures delivered by Dr. Mantell in this 
place have formed one of the chief ornaments and attractions 
of successive sessions. Njo one who has enjoyed the ad¬ 
vantage of hearing him can over forget the singul.ar ability, 
the felicitous illustrations, and the energetic eloquence which 
characterised all his discourses. He was one of the earliest 
and most zealous members of this Institution, and the 
originator of that series of gratuitous lectures on scientific 
subjects which have been so advantageous .and creditable to 
the parish of Clapham. 'The members of the Clapham 
Athenaaum will not be unmindful that Dr. Mantell’s services 
were alway.s prompted by an earnest desire to promote 
intellectual enjoyment and good-will throughout the neigh¬ 
bourhood; nor will they forget that these admirable lectures 
were generally delivered by liim at the cost of much self- 
denial, under the jiressure of severe bodily pain, and that 
the last public efl'ort of this gifted man was made in the 
presence of the Society only a few hours before his lamented 
decease.’ ”— (Joilhman's Magazine. 
