560 j^ccount of the late Mr, William Martin, F. L. S, [Jan. 1, 
been made in England, ot giving co- 
loured figures of petrifactions. Abroad 
it bad been done with considerable suc¬ 
cess; and, of late, beautifu ly coloured 
plates l^ave been published by iftir. Sow. 
erby, in his “ Bruisb Mineraiogy,’’ and 
by Mr. Pa"kinson, in his volumes on 
Organic Remains. 
In the year 179(3, Mr, M. sent a pa¬ 
per, entitled “ An Account of some 
Soecies of Fossil Anomite, found in 
Derbyahire,” to the Linnaan Society, 
of n nich lie had the honour to be elected 
a fellow. This paper was published in 
the fourth voiume of tiie Transactions 
of the Society, and is illustrated by two 
plates from his drawings. 
In the succeeding year he married 
Mrs, Adams, an unfortunate but inter¬ 
esting young widow', who had com¬ 
menced actress, and joined the Buxton 
company, when performing at Prescot, 
about three years before. Her former 
husband died when she was only 19 years 
of age, aud left her totally unprovided 
for. Her father was then in indigent 
circumstances, and incapable of sup¬ 
porting her. In this distressed situation, 
having been well educated, possessing a 
good voice, and being tolerably versed 
in music, she was persuaded to try her 
fortune on the stage. Her father, par¬ 
ticularly solicitous for her welfare, pre- 
Tailed upon Mrs. Martin to rece ve his 
daughter under her immediate care and 
protection. From that time she remain¬ 
ed constantly with Mrs. Martin, and the 
consequence was a mutual attachment 
betwixt her and Mr. Martin. 
With the prospect of a young family, 
he was prevajloi upon, in a short time 
after his marriage, to quit tlie stage, and 
establish himself as a drawing-master, 
in Burton-upon-Trent, where the com¬ 
pany was.then performing. In this line 
he met witii encouraitemeut beyond his 
expectation, being immediately engaged 
to teach in several of the principal fami¬ 
lies of that town and its vicinity. This, 
it must be observed, was not a new oc¬ 
cupation to Mr. M. He had, tor seve¬ 
ral years, given instructions in drawing 
in the different towns, wliich he visited 
as an actor, and had given great satisfac¬ 
tion to !jia pupils and their Iriends. 
About eight years before^ he had com¬ 
municated to Mr. Bolton his desire to 
leave the stage; and stated, tliat he was 
only restrained by a fear of i euig under 
the necessity of returning to it again, 
lie was encouraged bv his friend, with 
the hope of being able to support hiiru. 
selt without acting, provided he should 
determine to give up his original profes¬ 
sion. But, much as he wished to have 
‘he command of that time, which he had 
so long de\oted to the entertainment of 
tiie pubhc, he had not sufficient resolu¬ 
tion to relinquish the income he and his 
mother were deriving from the theatre. 
In no instance did Mr. M. take a rash 
or imprudent step; the stage, at this 
time, constituted the principal source of 
profit CO iiim, and he was thence in- 
ttuced tu remain upon it for several years 
longer, though he would have been 
much more gratified by employing the 
hours spent in the business of the thea¬ 
tre, in using his pen and pencil on sub¬ 
jects of natural history, if tliere had 
been the same certainty of a remunera¬ 
tion. It is greatly to be regretted, that 
hi5 straightened circumstances did not 
allow him, at that period, to pursue his 
o'.vn inclinations, as the world has there¬ 
by been deprived of some valuable 
works, which his want of leisure prevent¬ 
ed him from completing. 
Not only did his original profession 
interfere with his scientific pursuits, but 
his love of science, and his attachment 
to that county and station, where extra¬ 
neous fossils are particularly abundant 
and various, and may be constantly ex¬ 
amined under their most interesting re¬ 
lations, prevented bis advancement as an 
actor. 
Mr. M. did not possess any great- 
versatility of talents as an actor; an(l 4 
from the state of the company in w hich 
lie performed, was frequently under the 
necessity of representing characters to 
w'hich he was by no means adequate. 
Tins must be the case in provincial com¬ 
panies, more especially in those which 
travel to the smaller towms. Bat he 
studied his parts well, had always the 
merit of being correct, and liad attained 
a considerable degree of excellence as 
a comedian, particularly in performing 
foppish characters. When the farce of 
tjie Farmer came out, he was so great 
in tiie part of Jemmy Jumps, that the 
piece had a run for ten nigiits at Buxtoiij 
and v/as played once or twice a-vveek 
during th.e reiqainder of the season. The 
late 7vir. Tate ^Vilkin5on, manager of the 
York theatre, having had an opportunity 
of witnessing his pert’unnance at Bux¬ 
ton, was very anxious to engage him, 
and offered him a very good snlary,- 
which his fondness for- mineraiogy and 
attacl.iqent 
