but to show the power of that master-passion, which soon swallowed up every other desire, and suspended every other occupation. It must be confessed, that evil desires were not so much extirpated by a sense of moral obligation, as superseded by a higher appetite, by the intense craving' of a mind, insatiable in its thirst for knowledge and for fame. It was this love of knowledge which chiefly supported him through his life of continued toil. His labour was its own reward. The wonders of nature, which daily unfolded themselves to his enquiries, afforded a never-ceasing gratification; while the view of still greater wonders which presented themselves beyond, constantly kindled his duties to additional ardour. In the vast field of creation, as there was no want of food for his appetite, so there was no danger of satiety. His appetite grew with indulgence; and his increasing cravings were always answered by fresh discoveries, and a larger conception of the inexhaustible riches of nature.. never seems to have been dismayed at the difficulty of the path. Minds of lower stamp, as they advance into the regions of science, and obtain a more distinct view of its rugged heights, sometimes tremble at "the growing labours of the lengthening way." With him, the approximation to his object served but to increase its magnitude, and enhance its value; and, in the contemplation of the greatness of the prize, the intermediate labours were forgotten. Hence, age could not cool his ardour, He themselves to medical pursuits, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to find one whose biography establishes so fully the different truths which have been adduced. Other instances may be quoted, which more strongly elucidate particular points, but none which so fully combines the whole. The facts of John Hunter's life are well known. They present the very personification of a character of invincible energy and restless activity. Up to the age of twenty, his life was passed in idleness or amusement, with no definite object, no settled employment; his highest occupation that of a cabinet maker, and his education utterly neglected. At that age he joined his brother, Dr. W. Hunter, in London, and thenceforward devoted himself to anatomical and physiological researches, with a zeal which disregarded every sacrifice, and an industry which experienced no intermission, during the remaining forty-five years of his life. A change so sudden and so complete, bespeaks a mind of no common force. What could have been expected from such an education, but that his powers would have withered from inaction, and that dissipation and indulgence would have destroyed all stability of character, and all capacity for sustained exertion ? Yet, from the day of his arrival in London, there appears to have been no hesitation as to his course; no struggle between inclination and duty, between the love of pleasure and the obligation to labour. If, as is said, former habits of life tainted in some degree the earlier years of his career, they served but to show the power of that master-passion, which soon swallowed up every other desire, and suspended every other occupation. It must be confessed, that evil desires were not so much extirpated by a sense of moral obligation, as superseded by a higher appetite, by the intense craving' of a mind, insatiable in its thirst for knowledge and for fame. It was this love of knowledge which chiefly supported him through his life of continued toil. His labour was its own reward. The wonders of nature, which daily unfolded themselves to his enquiries, afforded a never-ceasing gratification; while the view of still greater wonders which presented themselves beyond, constantly kindled his duties to additional ardour. In the vast field of creation, as there was no want of food for his appetite, so there was no danger of satiety. His appetite grew with indulgence; and his increasing cravings were always answered by fresh discoveries, and a larger conception of the inexhaustible riches of nature.. never seems to have been dismayed at the difficulty of the path. Minds of lower stamp, as they advance into the regions of science, and obtain a more distinct view of its rugged heights, sometimes tremble at "the growing labours of the lengthening way." With him, the approximation to his object served but to increase its magnitude, and enhance its value; and, in the contemplation of the greatness of the prize, the intermediate labours were forgotten. Hence, age could not cool his ardour, He nor disease or weakness relax his exertions: they seemed, year by year, only to grow in vigour and activity, till they were suddenly arrested by death. It is worthy of remark, that the circumstances of John Hunter's life do not seem, at first sight, to have been particularly favorable to the pursuits in which he obtained such eminence. The difficulties by which others have been obstructed, the temptations by which others have been seduced, beset him likewise; but his zeal and energy found in them only inducements to redoubled efforts, and additional means of success. The income of John Hunter was extremely limited. Until he reached the age of forty-six, as Sir E. Home, his biographer and executor, tells us, it was barely sufficient to supply the most ordinary expenses of his station. Yet he must have been aware from the first, that comparative anatomy and physiology are expensive pursuits; that a museum cannot be formed but at an immense cost, nor preserved but by a large annual outlay. He had before his eyes the example of his brother Dr. W. Hunter, whose collection is said to have cost not less than £100,000. His own views were more vast and comprehensive than those of his brother, and had they been fully carried out, the ultimate expenditure on his museum must have been still larger. Against such difficulties very few would have attempted to struggle. Thousands similarly cir cumstanced have abandoned their dearest pursuits, renounced their anticipated fame, and in despair turned their labours into other and more lucrative directions. Not so John Hunter. With him the difficulties which poverty interposed served only to cut off more absolutely every other indulgence, to alienate him more completely from every other object of attraction, and thus to concentrate all his powers on the one object which remained, the study of animated nature. If we take into consideration his early disadvantages, it may be doubted, whether his victory over the habits of his childhood is not in part to be ascribed to his pecuniary difficulties themselves. Constrained, partly by the state of his finances, partly by the state of his health, John Hunter accepted an appointment in the army. He was attached to the expedition which was sent against Belleisle in the year 1761, and afterwards accompanied the troops which were despatched to the aid of Portugal. The situation of surgeon in the army would appear to be in general not particularly favorable to scientific researches. When in the field, the laborious duties of his office engross every moment of his time; and when in garrison or in quarters, it is perhaps difficult for him to resist the influence of a certain atmosphere of torpor and inactivity which pervades everything around him. Nevertheless, it is to this period of John Hunter's life, that many of his most important discoveries |