4799-] 
verfed of man’s expettations hereafter, and 
of our fublime profpeéts into a better world, 
where all that is diflonant here below, will 
be refotved into eternal harmonies. Never, 
never did I hear a man, who was not very 
punétual in the obfervance of public worship, 
exprefs his religious fentiments with fo much 
fincerity, and fuch unfeigned ardour. He 
made no parade of thefe fentiments ; neither 
was he afhamed of them. Such as favoured 
different opinions in this refpeét, he re- 
proached for their inconfeyuence, with a 
warmth peculiar to himfelf. He held in 
utter contempt all thofe who, to gratify their 
paflions, or imitate the prevailing fashion, 
made a jeft of the moft facred and refpeétable 
feelings of mankind. His moral feelings 
were as animated. He was attraéted with 
irrefitible force by whatever was true, good, 
or excellent. Great chara¢ters infpired him 
with an efteem, that was fometimes expreffed 
Ww ith an incredible ardour. He would often 
relate to me his converfation with the great 
king, whom he worfhipped as his idol.» I 
ever heard him with delight ; for'I gueffed, 
by the fparkling of his eyes, the force of 
thofe fenfations which the greatnefs of 
Frederic excited in him. I clearly recolle&, 
that one day, as he was pi€turing to me the 
fublime qualifications of that great man, he 
“was prevented by his tears from proceeding. 
Frederic had an uncommon value for Fortter ;' 
and had my friend- not ftood in his own 
light, that monarch would have rendered his 
fituation {till more defirable. Our prefent 
excellent fovereign, too, teftifies his efteem 
for Forfter’s merits by affording hopes of a 
penfion to his truly refpeQlable widow. In 
Forfter’s “moral ‘Character, his uncommon 
complaifance and obligingnefs were the moft’ 
brilliant’ features. For thofe, whom he 
eiteemed and loved, he willingly facrificed , 
himfelf ; and how often has his kindnefs 
Geen requited with ingratitude? To mention 
only one inftance, the Swedifh Archiator Back 
applied to Forfter, after the latter’s return” 
from the South Seas, for thofe rare plants of 
which he poffefied fevera] fpecimens. Thefe 
being readily communicated, were inferted in 
the Supplement publifhed sou Wier by Lin- 
nus the younger, .as having been furnifhed 
by Back, without the leaft mention being 
made of Fortter. This retura the recolle¢tion 
of which ufually reminded him of the line 
los ego verficulos fect, tulit alter bancres, 
deterred im from fhewing his valuable col- 
lection of plants to travellers, or other na- 
turalifts. I have, almoit exclufively, had the 
. good fortune, fo late as two years ago, to exa- 
mine in his sna that excellent collection, 
and to receive a fpecimen of every plant of 
which he fad more than one. “With the 
mott chearful cordiality, with an ever equal 
readinefs, he prefented me, by degrees, with 
feven or eight hundred of the fcarceft plants 
. from the Cape, the Friendly Iflands, New 
Account of Reinhold Forfter. 
‘eighteen. 
834 
Caledonla, New Zeal nd, and Patagonia. 
Thefe plants enhance the value of my own col- 
le&tion, not only by the circumftance of their 
exifting, perhaps, only twice orthree times, 
as complete in Europe, but ftill more by their 
having been feleéted for me by my deceafed 
friend, with the utmoft care, at atime when 
luis bodily ftrength had already been much 
impaired. Whenever I caft my eyes on thefe 
prefents, JI call to my remembrance the 
chearfulnefs with which he gave them to 
me; and I fhall never forget the diffidence 
with which he liftened to fome of my ob- 
jections in regard to the character affixed by 
him to feveral plants. One of Forfter’s 
greateft merits was the education of his 
children, which indeed produced the choiceft 
fruit in his eldeft fon. In his firft great 
journey, through the weft of Afia, George 
accompanied him as a boy 3 and in his diftant 
voyage round the world, as a youth of 
George alfo induced the father, 
when yet minifter in a village near Dantzick, 
to take up the ftudy of Natural Hiftory. The 
infatiable curiofity of the boy compelled the 
father to acquire the information which his 
fon wifhed to obtain from him. George was 
never fent either to {chal or college ; forthe 
whole of his education he was indebted to his 
father; and, from this very reafon, what an 
extraordinary man did he become! In the 
education of the other children, the worthy 
mother bore an equal fhare. She, who toa 
truly angelic goodnefs and meeknefs joins fo 
many other domeftic virtues, was treated by 
her deceafed hufband with an affeétion and 
refpect, that fhe certainly deferved. He 
condoled with her in the tendereft manner for. 
every bodily pain, of which fhe had but toe 
often occafion to complain. Dr. Forfter was, 
befides, a pattern of candour and fincere re- 
gard for foreigd merit. From the bottom of 
his heart he refpe€ted his colleagues, among 
whom he would, with an amiable opennefs, 
recommend to ftrangers, particularly the pro- 
feflors Meckel, Niemeyer and Wolf. It is well 
known here with what eagernefs. he perufed 
Wolf's Homer and Kappes New Teftament, 
and how careful he was, that thefe mafter- 
pieces of his colleagues fhould appear in his 
library arrayed in the moft elegant bindings. 
I ftill remember how his enthufiafm over- 
came me when he embraced me after he had 
read the fecond volume of my Hiffory of 
Medicine. 1alfo preferve many a dear tettimony 
of the approbation beftowed upon my per= 
formances, interlarded with beautiful paflages 
from the claffics.—Is not this efteem for the 
literary efforts of others, a very rare virtue in 
our days ? J will add no more. I have; 
placed both the literary and moral character 
of my deceafed friend in a very advantageous 
light. To draw forth his foibles, I will leave 
to others, 
before him who is the fountainhead of juftice 
and mercy. 
502 
Kurt SPRENGEL. 
His virtues and his failings are, 

