"Sir John Pringle had reason to be peculiarly satisfied with the subject of his fourth discourse ; that subject being perfectly congenial to his disposition and studies. His own life had been much employed in pointing out the means which tended not only to cure, but to prevent the diseases of mankind ; and it is probable, from his intimate friend ship with Captain Cook, that he might suggest to that sa gacious commander some of the rules which he followed, in order to preserve the health of the crew of his ship, dur ing his voyage round the world. Whether this was the case, or whether the method pursued by the captain to at tain so salutary an end, was the result alone of his own re flections, the success of it was astonishing; and this cele brated voyager seemed well entitled to every honour which could be bestowed. To him the Society assigned their gold medal ; but he was not present to receive the honour. He was gone out upon the voyage from which he never returned. In this last voyage he continued equally suc cessful in maintaining the health of his men.
" The learned president, in his fifth annual dissertation, had an opportunity of displaying his knowledge in a way in which it had not hitherto appeared. The discourse took its rise from the adjudication of the prize medal to Mr. Mudge, then an eminent surgeon at Plymouth, on ac count of his valuable paper, containing Directions for making the best Composition for the of Reflecting Telescopes, together with a Description of the Process for Grinding, Polishing., and giving the Great Speculum the true Parabolic form. Sir John bath accurately related a variety of particulars, concerning the invention of reflect ing telescopes, the subsequent improvements of these in struments, and the state in which Mr. Mudge found them, when he first set about working them to a greater perfec tion, till he had truly realized the expectation of Newton, \rho, above an hundred years ago, presaged that the public would one day possess a parabolic speculum, not accom plished by mathematical rules but by mechanical devices.
" Sir John Pringle's sixth and last discourse, to which he was led by the assignment of the gold medal to myself, on account of my paper, entitled, The Farce offired Gun powder, and the Initial Velocity of Cannon Balls, deter mined by Experiments, was on the theory of gunnery. Though Sir John had so long attended the army, this was probably a subject to which he had heretofore paid very little attention. We cannot, however, help admiring with what perspicuity and judgment he bath stated the progress that was made, from time to time, in the knowledge of projectiles, and the scientific perfection to which it has bent said to be carried in my paper. As Sir John Pringle was not one of those who delighted in war, and in the shed ding of human blood, he was happy in being able to show that even the study of artillery might he useful to mankind ; and, therefore, this is a topic which he bath not forgotten to mention. Here ended our author's discourse upon the delivery of Sir Godfrey Copley's medal, and his presidency over the Royal Society at the same time ; the delivering that medal into my hand being the last office he ever per formed in that capacity ; a ceremony which was attended by a greater number of the members than had ever met together before upon any other occasion. Had he been permitted to preside longer in that chair, he would doubt less have found other occasions of displaying his acquaint ance with the history of philosophy. But the opportunities which he had of signalizing himself in this respect were important in themselves, happily varied, and sufficient to gain him a solid and lasting reputation.
" Several marks of literary distinction, as we have already seen, had been conferred upon Sir John Pringle before he was raised to the president's chair. But after that event
they were bestowed upon him in great abundance, having been elected a member of almost all the literary societies and institutions in Europe. Ile was also, in 1774, ap pointed physician extraordinary to the king.
" It was at rather a late period of life when Sir John Pringle was chosen to be president of the Royal Society, being then 65 years of age. Considering therefore the great attention that was paid by him to the various and important duties of his office, and the great pains he took in the preparation of his discourses, it was natural to ex pect that the burthen of his honourable station should grow heavy upon him in a course of time. This burthen, though not increased by any great addition to his life, for he was only six years president, was somewhat augmented by the accident of a fall in the area in the back part of his house, from which he received some hurt. From these circum stances some persons have affected to account for his re signing the chair at the time when he did. But Sir John Pringle was naturally of a strong and robust frame and constitution, and had a fair prospect of being well able to discharge the duties of his situation for many years to come, had his spirits not been broken by the most cruel harassings and baitings in his office. His resolution to quit the chair arose from the disputes introduced into the Society, concerning the question, whether pointed or blunted electrical conductors are the most efficacious in preserving buildings from the pernicious effects of light ning, and front the cruel circumstances attending those disputes. These drove him from the chair. Such of those circumstances as were open and manifest to every one, were even of themselves perhaps quite sufficient to drive him to that resolution. But there were yet others of a more private nature, which operated still more power fully and directly to produce that event ; which may pro bably hereafter be laid before the public, when I shall give to them the history of the most material transactions of the Royal Socicty, especially those of the last twenty-two years, which I have from time to time composed and prepared with that view.
intention of resigning, however, was disagreeable to his friends, and the most distinguished members of the Society, who were many of them perhaps ignorant of the true motive for it. Accordingly, they earnestly solicited him to continue in the chair ; but, his resolution being fixed, he resigned it at the anniversary meeting in 1778, immediately on delivering the medal, at the conclusion of his speech, as mentioned above." The late Sir Joseph Banks succeeded Sir John Pringle in this high office, and continued during his long and active life to discharge its important duties.
In consequence of the declining state of his health, Sir John undertook a journey to Scotland, and he spent the summer of 1780 and 1781 in Edinburgh. During this visit he presented to the Royal College of Physicians of that city TEN Folio volumes of Medical and Physical Obser vations, in MS. on the condition that they should neither be published nor lent out of the library of the college.
On his return to London he continued in a weak state of health till the 18th of January, 1782, when he died in the 75th vear of his age. He was interred in St. James's church, and a monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey, by his nephew and heir Sir James Pringle, Bart. of Stitchel. For farther particulars respect ing this eminent individual, see Dr. Kippis's Life of Sir John Pringle, prefixed to his six discourses; and Dr. Mut ton's elaborate memoir of his life, in the Mathematical Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 279.