. The acquaiatasee be had formed at college with seven' (moires of meek, had long inspired his with a desire of travelling, mod of gnofyieg bib thirst for knowledge, by visiting different meateks, and conversing with men distinguiehed for their se. guitarists in the several branches of science. But the declining health of his parents, who were ow advanced in yeas, and sequined the continal pie. mince and kindest Windom of their sou, long pn. vented him from accompliehing his wishes. The death, however, which happened in 174e, relined him from duties, which he had the consdatios d re flecting had been so piously discharged ; and be ruin after, at the age of twenty-six, embarked for England. in Lando* he net with the adebeated Li= Mold, Piing* and Pitcairn, with wham acqueiated. He pursued his medical studies node Hunter, Sharp, &nage, seed Winchester, sad is. &Aged his taste tor natural hissony, by extrinig diligently the cabinets of Hans Sloane ead Canna) and the modesties* of Hid and Cawley. He embed Homey ender Bidet, and Astronomy under 8kit; and was interested is the NW of the microecope by Baker, who wag at drat time applying this batmen with so mush SUMO to objects of natural Homy. He seemed determined to safer no epponesity of seaming hitoto it awful knowledge to mope kin; and althougle his views embeaced a wide magi of sehjects, he was ewer melded with a repealed glance, nee amused to the reports of other, wha there wee a pcesibitity of seeing with his owe eye of his eadoeley. His ilittellikel MB par. directed to the mechanical arts; he rioted the piineipti menoincteties, and wasiedatlitiphie fart ructions from artiste of minims in every department; and hie sager cariosity ens tended to the details of naval orehitemere, to do study of width he devoted a eensideselde perdu of time. He wee is the hod*, during. all his tomb of melting trines* of foamy Nag he SSW and term ed ; and his happy Agility in the employment of the pencil, enabled Mm to take sketches on she spot of every object of •whitio a delbreetion could be sedid. Knowles thee derived from personal ebservadoe it the more valuable, as it is lair.* ed on the memory, and as it is less liable to ins• curacy, and lees likely to be tin/muted with preju dice, or distorted by the medium through which it in received. He still _cultivated his tame for ph* lag, and eculub'ed. moth Prettied shill in the tet of engraving: After remaining about a Per is London, and visiting the universities of Oxfted and Cambridge, ha proceeded to Paris, and de. voted two months to the inspection of the pried'. pal pablet-establiehineats in that capital. He then travelled onwards to Lyons and Geneva: but the prosecution of his journey in the direction of Italy was stopped by the intelligence he received of his being appointed Professor in Philosophy, Medicine, and Surgery, at Praneker, in Friseland ; and he re. turned to Holland by Switseriand, and the banks of the Rhine, visiting, as he passed through Basle, she great Berneuilli, and examining, in the library of that city, the writings of Erasmus and the paintings of Holbein. The itinerary *blob he kept of his journey contains a great number of valuable remarks on Agri. culture and geology, and showed how well he was gifted with the for observation.
In consequence of a severe illness with which be was attacked in 1749, he was obliged to defer eater. lag•upon the duties of his new Professorship ti ii the autumn of the following year, when, in conformity with •the oust= on these or-cakes, he pronounced a public inaugural discourse, choosing as his subject De Mende •Opiinie. About the same period he was sleeted • Fellow of the Royal Society of London.
had reaped so much minnows by his nisi. donee in England, and was so much attached to its inhabitants, tied tell of admiration for the great pub. Be establiehments of that. country, that he returned thew daring the vacation of 1751, and resumed his various parfait., both medical and scientific, with un. abased eidetic. Among ether objects, his attention WO much divested to the method of inoculating for the•small-pex, the practice of which was u yet coo. filed so England. On his return to Preacher be re sumed his lectures, which were every year morons. nierously attended, and gained him such harassing celebrity, thee be was• seen ranked as one of the' ablest men of science ia Holland. In 1755, he was
° Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at the of Amsterdam, and came, in conse. quence, to settle in that city, which was then the seat of opulence and learning. According to cum• tom, he pronounced two inaugural discourses, the first, De Amnion's is omnibus iciest& can ; and the second, De serge in Medicine. In 1756, he married the widow of the Burgomaster of Harlingen.
After continuing six years in Amsterdam, his avo cations were so multiplied and fatiguing, that he yielded to the strong Emirs which Mrs Camper had long entertained of retiring to Frisehind ; and once more took up his abode at his country house near *seeker. He, of course, resigned his Releaser. ship at Amsterdam; but was allowed to retain the title of Honorary Professor of that Academy. His principal work, during the time be bad held that ebar, wee the firm volume of his Deinosstridients Anacetnioo•Pethoiegitia. But the leisure be now enjoyed in his retirement in Priseland, allowed him to devote his whole time to science ; and she second volume of the •same work made he appearance in 176s, together with several other publications, of which notice•ill be taken in the sequel; Taro yams thus glided by rapidly in the country, when he was again called to the active duties of an academical life, by the appointment which was con. forted upon him of Professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Anatomy, in the University of Groningen. The proximity of this city to his present habitation, the natural activity of his mind, and a conscientious de sire of being useful to the community, concurred with the love of fame, which retirement had not cal tieguished, in inducing him to undertake the office which he was now so honourably called upon to dia. charge. He accordingly established himself and his family at Groningen, and, at his hauguration• as pro. fewer, delivered a diseourse, De assalegie inter **pas et anima& The great interest which he took in the improvement of agriculture, led to the establishment, miler his auspices, of a society for the purpose of conducting experiments in this important art. To this moiety Camper was nomina ted Secretary. He bestowed much pains in investi gaing the nature of an epidemic disorder, which prevailed extensively among the cattle of Holland, and in devising the best meant of diminishing its ravages. He made these the subject of several lectures, which he read, its 1769, to the Academy of Groningen ; and his prepared method of inoculating the disorder, with a view of disarming it of its viru lence, appears to have effectually succeeded in those districts where it was adopted. He was also much occupied, at this period, with researches in Natural History ; and mode a variety of important discoveries in Comparative Anatomy, of which we shall after wards give a brief aecouat. .
The ten years that he spent at Groningen were esteemed by Camper the happiest, it the same time that they were the most laborious, of his life ; and he probably wadi never hive quitted a situation in every respect se congenial to his taste, or the circle of friends be had formed there, by whom his talents were well appreciated, and in whose approbation he found the reward of his exertions, if the wishes of his wife, and his owe anxiety to superintend the education of his family, had not induced him to make the sacrifice of all them enjoyments, and once more remove to Freaeler Amiens'', at which his sons were to be placed. He coatinued, nevertheless, steadily to prosecute his various philosophical and medical researches until the year 1776, when he sustained a heavy stroke of nineties in the death of his wife, in whom his affections had been centered during a union of twenty years, sod wham domestic virtues, and exemplary attention to her children, had neared her the esteem and respect of all who knew her. As the most efficacious mode of soothing his grief, he determined upon varying the scene, and making occasional excursions to the neighbouring parts of the Continent. He aceordiegly visited aU the cities that offered objects of attraction in the sciences or the fine arts; and after gratifying his taste for painting by the eight of the masterpieces of Rubens, Vandyke, and of other Painters of the Flemish School, proceeded, in search of amusement and instruction, to pay another visit to Paris. Here he enjoyed the secnety of Franklin, Marwontel, Di.