THE LATE PROFESSOR DON. 
17 
his observations of nature with fresh ardour, and in the course of 
his studies passed many nights on the Grampians, sometimes with 
the shelter of his cloak, and at other times with no shelter at all. 
After residing for some time in Forfar, cultivating his ground, 
and studying the natural sciences, he went to Edinburgh, where 
he thoroughly studied in the medical classes, until he became an 
adept both in the theory and the practice of the healing art. He 
showed, indeed, that his powers were equal to the accomplish¬ 
ment to which he paid even a small degree of attention ; for amid 
all this study and practice he evinced much knowledge and dex¬ 
terity in the mechanical arts ; and had his main studies not led 
him to different subjects, he would have been a first-rate artist in 
the construction of time-keepers, and the finer parts of spinning 
and other machinery ; and, circumstanced as he was, he gave 
practical proofs of the skill of his head, and the dexterity of his 
hand, in such matters. 
Some time after, having taken up his residence in Edinburgh, 
he was appointed Curator of the Botanical Garden there, and gave 
sufficient proofs of his fitness for the situation. This appointment 
brought him in contact with the ablest men in Edinburgh, of pur¬ 
suits similar to his own ; and, among others, Mr. Patrick Neill, 
Secretary to the Wernerian Society, and author of some admirable 
memoirs on scientific subjects. This friendship, begun in conge¬ 
niality of feeling, went on increasing, till it was closed by the death 
of Mr. Don in January 1814, or the same month in 1816. Seve¬ 
ral years before this he had returned to Forfar, to resume the cul¬ 
tivation of his nursery, and the study of nature ; and it was here 
that he resided when the world was deprived of him. Altogether, 
Mr. George Don was an extraordinary man, both for the vigour and 
the versatility of his talent; and had the vicissitudes of his life 
been recorded and prepared for the press by a competent biogra¬ 
pher, they would have afforded one of the most curious and enter¬ 
taining books, as well as one of the most useful ones' that ever 
appeared. 
Mr. Don was married, and had a family of fifteen children, of 
whom four sons still remain, who are eminent as botanists, as cul¬ 
tivators, or as both. 
Professor David Don was born in his father’s cottage of Doo 
Hillock, in the year 1800 ; and he may be said to have been a 
.botanist and cultivator from his very infancy, having acquired a 
VOL. III. no. I. D 
