BUSCHING (Antony FREDERICK). This very eminent Geographer was born at Stadthagen, a vil lage of Westphalia, on the 27th September 1744. In his youth he laboured under peculiar disadvag• tages, arising from the disorderly life led by his fa. they, and from the narrow means of education which his native town afforded. Fortunately, a clergyman of the name of Hauber, pleased with the promising talents of the young man, undertook to give him gratuitous instruction. He laid a solid foundation of learning, and also of a piety which, though fee'. vent, was always accompanied with moderation and mildness. At the age of eighteen, young Busching was driven from his father's house, on account of the zeal with which he espoused the cause of his patron, on occasion of a controversy in which he was in volved. Hauber, however, procured for him the means of continuing his studies ,at Halle. There, by his application to learning, and his irreproachable conduct, he acquired numerous friends. They pro. cured him the appointment of tutor in the family of the Count de Lynars, who was then going as ambas sador to Petersburgh. The observations made by Bunching on this journey decided the pursuits of he future life. In travelling through Poland and Russia, he compared the actual features of thew regions with the descriptions given of them. He thus became 'sensible of the miserably defective state of geographical science, and resolved to devote his life to its improvement. He withdrew as soon as possible from the Count's family, and went to reside at Copenhagen, devoting himself entirely to this new pursuit. In 1752, he presented the first specimen of his powers in a Description of the Counties of Sleswig and Holstein, a work which produced a fa vourable idea of his accuracy and ability. He soon after removed to Gottingen, and married Christiana Dilthey, a young lady of great accomplishments, authoress of a volume of poems, and to whom he had been engaged from the time of his departure to Russia. Here, on account of a work which ap peared to dissent from some of the Lutheran te nets, he was excluded from the theological chair, for which he had become a candidate. The cha grin occasioned by this disappointment, induced him to accept an invitation to the German congre gation at Petersburgh. He was employed there, also, in organizing a school, which, under his au spices, soon became one of the most flourishing in the north. This school was superintended by NIar
she! Munich, who, at first, showed great favour to Busching ; but being accustomed to entire obsequi ousness from alt connected with him, he did not ac commodate himself to the hardy independence of the German sage. A collision arose, in consequence of which Busching announced to his congregation, that he was under the necessity of returning to Ger many. The Empress expressed much dissatisfac tion at the conduct of Munich, and made very high offers to Busching if he would consent to remain ; but he deemed it unworthy of him, after having resisted the intreaties of his congregation, to yield to the favours of the Court. He returned to Ger many without any fixed object or establishment in life, and went, at first, to reside at Altona. Next year, however, he was called to superintend an ex tensive establishment for education, which had been formed at Berlin, under the auspices of the great Frederick. His appointments here vivre liberal, and his exertions proved of signal benefit to the institu tion, of which he became the head. His writings and example gave a new impulse to education throughout Prussia. He spent a number of hours every day in the Institte,—superintended the pro gress of every pupil,--and inspected the minutest details connected with its prosperity. He gave also courses of Lectures on the History of the Arts and Sciences. This labour did not interrupt the compo sition of his numerous works. The Queen loved his society, and, at first, often invited him to dine with her ; but, finding that such engagements occupied too much of his time, he intreated her Majesty to allow him to devote himself, as much as possible, to his numerous labours. Though seized with dropsy, which occasioned a series of the most cruel sufferings, he did not remit his academical labours, till the dis ease, coming to a crisis, terminated his life on the 28th May 1793, in the 69th year of his age. His wife had died in 1777, and he had contracted a second marriage with Medic. Reinbeck, the dough ter of a clergyman at Berlin. By the first mar riage, he had two children, who survived him • by the second, he had six, who, except one, all died infancy.