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THE LIFE
SIR ASTLEY COOPER, Bart.
VOLUME THE FIRST.
by loUn W IVUcr Weal Sxrasui
THi!; LIFE
SIR ASTLEY COOPEH, Bart.,
INTERSPERSED WITH
SKETCHES FROM HIS NOTE-BOOKS
DISTINGUISHED CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERS.
BY
BRANSBY BLAKE COOPER, Esq., F.R.S.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.
M.DCCC.XLIII.
London:
Harrison and Co., Printers,
St. Martin's Lane.
PREFACE.
Few works, perhaps, excite the pubhc interest so
much as those which attempt to develop the history
of an individual who, during a long period of his life,
has occupied one of the highest places in public
notice and esteem. To observe such an one, not
owing his distinction to exalted rank, or the privileges
attached to high birth, but rising by the honourable
exertion of his native energies, and ultimately
attaining the most exalted pre-eminence, cannot but
minister to the indulgence of a very laudable
curiosity, and at the same time be productive of
much intellectual gratification and moral benefit.
The relation of his success, and the means by which
he achieved it, invite strongly our interest and
attention: our sympathies respond to such a call,
and incorporate us with the object which arouses
them. Those who are in the spring of their
existence become embued with feelings similar to
those which actuated him, and, emulous of his
success, resolve to follow in his path; those who
are in the meridian of their career, endeavour to
discover a gratifying parallel in themselves; whilst
Vi PREFACE.
the aged may still ])e reconciled to the result of
their ]»ilgriraage, if less successful, by adopting the
comfortable self-assurance that, the frowns of for-
tune, or some unlooked-for fatality, have alone pre-
vented them from enjoying a similar distinction, or
coming equally useful members of society.
The biography, therefore, of men of eminence
and merit is especially calculated to please a large
class of readers, and j)articularly those who, destined
to be the architects of their own fortunes, study
with assiduity the paths which their successful pre-
decessors have trodden, in the flattering hope that
the same stepping-stones may in like manner serve
them in reaching the eminence which they are
ambitious to attain. To them it will, at least, be
an useful lesson to observe, that such distinction is
only the reward of assiduous application, determined
self-denial, unwearied industry, and high principle,
without which, talents, however brilliant, will be of
slight avail, or only prove to be the ignesfatui which
betray to danger and destruction.
To the relatives, the friends, and even the
acquaintances of the person whose life is delineated,
the Memoir must ever prove a source of melancholy
satisfaction. It brings back him whom the grasp
of death has wrested from us; it places him once
again in the social position which he has filled
PREFACE. vii
among us; and carves indelibly that form on the
tablet of our memory, which time's rude hand,
perhaps, had otherwise erased. Convinced of the
benefits to be derived from the biography of distin-
guished men, I am led to indulge the hope that
the Life of Sir Astley Cooper may be thought of
public service; for so far removed was he from
among the number of those
Dim lights of life, that burn a length of years,
Useless, unseen, as lamps in sepulchres ;
SO extensive was the sphere of his acquaintance, so
revered was he in his professional, and so beloved in
his social capacity, that I feel no time can be mis-
applied, no labour misdirected, when devoted to the
promulgation of his merits, or the perpetuation of
his memory.
If in this undertaking 'my expressions may be
thought occasionally to savour somewhat of extrava-
gance, the respect I have entertained for Sir Astley
Cooper from the period of my boyhood; the grati-
tude which I owe him for the instruction I derived
at his hands ; and the affection which I have always
borne towards him as my relative ; may surely be
admitted, if not in justification of the fault, at
least in extenuation of its degree. Partiality can
scarcely be considered culpable, where its absence
would be almost criminal ; but those who knew Sir
Astley best, will be the most ready to admit, that
Viu PREFACE.
language must far exceed its usual power which
shall overrate his usefulness, industry, or talents; or
which shall paint too vividly his many virtues.
While investigating his history, I may most truly
assert, that I have not discovered one act, which
detracted from the integrity of his private or profes-
sional character; and there is, therefore, no feature in
his history, which, as a relative, I could have wished
to withhold from the knowledge of my readers, even
if I could have been unfaithful enough, as a bio-
grapJific tor have done so. To give to the reader a
full and impartial knowlege of the life and personal
character of Sir Astley Cooper has been my aim;
and, if I have sjacceeded in doing this, I have de-
picted one of the most illustrious surgeons that ever
adorned the science he professed, and one of the'
kin^dest-heaa-tcd meji that ever drew and yielde4 >up
the breath of life. ^.
INTRODUCTION.
It is necGBsary to make some preliminary comments
on various matters connected with the contents of
this work. It was undertaken by me in accordance
with the expressed wish of Sir Astley Cooper, and
among his papers were found many proofs that he
had long contemplated the publication of such a
work, having at various periods briefly made memo-
randa of the leading events, and many interesting
particulars of his life. Some little account of these
documents themselves cannot fail to be interesting.
Although not bearing any date, various circumstances
lead to the conclusion that one of them was written
about the time he left the city, but it is simply a
bare catalogue of the chief events relating to his
professional writings and career. In the year 183(?,
while on a visit to the county of Norfolk, he was
led by circumstances which are noticed in the body
of the work, to write a more detailed account of his
history, and from this chiefly have been taken the
extracts which occur in this work.
I have thought that it would prove more agree
able to the reader to place before him the original
remarks of Sir Astley Cooper, and tlierefore, wherever
X INTRODUCTION.
circumstances permitted it, I have made him relate
the current events of his history, in his own lan-
guage, as extracted from his diary. These will not
be the less interesting, because they are published
in the brief, unpolished form in which they were
originally noted down, for although they were
scarcely intended for the public eye, but only to
serve as signs, and places of reference for the bio-
grapher, yet they bear so forcibly the stamp of truth,
and are often so graphic, that I have not dared to
alter or suppress them.
There is no doubt that Sir Astley Cooper intended
that whatever biographical memoirs of him might be
published, should comprise an analysis of his profes-
sional writings, an account of the circumstances under
which they were jiroduced, their peculiar merits,
and a comparison of them with the existing state
of knowledge at the time of their appearance ; that,
in short, they should afford a complete view of him,
both as the surgeon and author. To have accom-
plished such a task in the present instance, would
have almost closed the work to all but the profes-
sional reader, and my object has been to afford to
the public in general an insight into the habits
and pursuits of a man, who for many years
served them extensively in his professional capacity,
and in whom they always exhibited the greatest
interest. 1 therefore, soon after commencing the
undertaking, determined, not without thought, so to
arrange these volumes that they should contain only
INTEODUCTION. XI
such information as was calculated for the perusal
of every one who might retain an interest in Sir
Astley Cooper, and to defer to a future opportunity
what may be strictly called his professional life. I
found, however, as I proceeded, that this restriction
involved many more difficulties than I had antici-
pated. It imposed the necessity of avoiding all
technical terms, or, where they could not be dis-
pensed with, of giving such explanation as might
seem superfluous to the initiated, and of omitting
many important subjects, connected more or less
directly with his professional pursuits, together
with anecdotes, the recital of which might oifend
the delicacy of some of my readers. Such difficul-
ties, I have no doubt, have been experienced by
other writers, and serve to account for the fact, that
no one has hitherto attempted to render the history
of any surgeon a matter of interest or amusement
to the general public. On the other hand, perhaps
it may be said that no author has had so favourable
an opportunity ; for few medical men in this country
have ever held so remarkable a position in the eyes
of their countrymen for so long a period, or endeared
themselves by so many acts of conduct, independent
of their profession, as Sir Astley Cooper.
In attempting to furnish my readers with some
insight into the professional pursuits of Sir Astley
(.'ooper, my good taste may ])erhaps be called in
question for raising the veil so completely from the
set of men, denominated Resurrectionists, concerning
Xii INTRODUCTION.
whom for so long a time many vague ideas have
floated in the minds of the public. Tt, however
has been a matter of such general rejoicing, that
the abhorrent labours of this class of men have been
wholly discontinued, the enactments of Government
having rendered them, now for some years, no longer
indispensable for the attainment of medical know-
ledge, that the subject of their occupation, their
crimes, and their fortunes, may be fairly consi-
dered the property of history. The same arguments
which might be urged against the mention of these
strange adventurers and their lives, might, with
equal fairness, be urged against the recital of almost
all the revolting details which are to be found
recorded in the annals of every country. My chief
object in dwelling upon such a subject was to prove
the necessity which at one time existed for the
employment of these men by members of the pro-
fession, and the repugnance with which they ever
had recourse to their assistance; and thus to remove
a stigma which has not unfrequently been cast upon
them by the public, on account of their connexion
with such persons. The zeal with which Sir Astley
Cooper prosecuted his studies throughout his long
career, rendered his connexion with these desperate
characters at one time almost necessary to the fur-
therance of his pursuits; his position and influence
BO frequently enabled him to be of service to them
in the difficulties in which they were often in-
volved, that he was looked up to by them as
their head ; and his name became inextricably
INTRODUCTION. XIU
entangled with their calling. This fact first led
me, not, however, until after I had consulted high
authorities on the propriety of such a course, to
give a description of the Resurrectionists and their
occupations ; and although some may shrink at the
account which I have given, to others, perhaps, the
pages in life which their histories unfold, may be
fraught with interesting and curious reflections.
I feel that no apology is required for introducing
the sketches, which occur in this work, of the cha-
racters and histories of persons variously connected
with Sir Astley Cooper; whether those of his
nearest relatives, of his fellow-pupils, or of his
friends and companions in after life. Of the first, it
cannot be otherwise than important to portray the
characters of those individuals, who made the
strongest impressions on his early mind, and whose
precepts and examples gave the bias to his future
career. The memoirs of the second are curious
from the contrast they in some cases formed with
Sir Astley's progress, and of the third class the
account cannot fail to be interesting, inasmuch
as they comprehend the most distinguished men
of his day in their several pursuits ; and, moreover,
we know how much of the real character of the
chief subject is brought out, and, indeed, depends
upon his associates in his public situation and in
his hours of relaxation, just as subordinate charac-
ters in a well-written play assist and strengthen the
development of the hero of the drama. But a
y^
XIV INTRODUCTION.
more powerful reason, and without whicli much of
this deviation from the direct narrative would not
have been entered into, has originated in the con-
cise, pithy, and graphic sketches of these persons,
left by Sir Astley himself. The interest which
must attach to remarks, however brief, coming from
so experienced an observer of human nature, will
form the apology, if one should be required, for the
notices which have been introduced of persons even
indirectly connected with him.
I cannot neglect the opportunity which this
Introduction affords, of expressing my deep sense
of the kindness of those friends who have furnished
me with various communications relatino; to the
subject of this history. The readiness with which
replies have been sent to every inquiry I have had
to make of the early friends of Sir Astley Cooper,
cannot be considered otherwise than as a testimony
of the respect and esteem with which they regard
the memory of their distinguished associate. Some
of these correspondents will, perhaps, be surprised
that portions, only, of their communications have
appeared in these volumes, but the suppressed parts
related almost exclusively to professional subjects,
and I have already mentioned the reasons which
appeared to me to render this omission necessary.
Those communications which have been consonant
with the plan of this work, I have invariably, where
circumstances would allow, inserted in the writer's
own words, which I cannot but hope will be, for
INTRODUCTION. XV
obvious reasons, more acceptable to the reader,
than had they been related in the regular lan-
guage of this narrative. As the names of these
gentlemen invariably accompany the information
which they had the kindness to communicate, I
may be allowed briefly to return to them my thanks
for the readiness with which they have invariably
responded to my enquiries.
In addition to those whose names occur in the
course of the work, my obligations are due to my
friend Dr. Badely, of Chelmsford ; to Dr. Roots, of
Kingston ; to Mr. Roberton, Librarian of the Royal
Society, for his friendly assistance with respect to
all information regarding Sir Astley's connexion
with the Royal Society ; and to Mr. Belfour, the
Secretary of the Royal College of Surgeons. I
cannot, also, help expressing my regret that an
interesting communication from Dr. Blundell did
not arrive until after the matters to which it re-
lated had gone through the press; it would have
otherwise enabled me to mention one or two anec-
dotes respecting Dr. Haighton, that it would have
afforded me much pleasure to have inserted in the
course of this history.
The difficulty of collecting and arranging de-
tached memoranda, and scattered reminiscences, my
professional duties and engagements, together with
other circumstances of a more private nature, must
XVI INTRODUCTION.
be accepted as my apology for the many defects to
be found in tliesc volumes. But, I shall feel satis-
fied if, to those who were intimate with Sir Astley
Cooper, my work shall recall recollections of him in
the several scenes it attempts to describe; and if, to
those who only knew him by name, it shall be the
means of enabling them to form a just conception
of his character and worth.
New Street,
June, 1842.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage of Sir Astley Cooper. His family. Brief history
of its members . . . . .1
CHAPTER II.
Birth of Sir Astley Cooper. Is nursed by a foster-mother.
Parental education. His character while under the
tuition of Mr. Larke, of Brooke. His boyish enter-
prise and contempt of danger. Anecdotes. Accident
on "Welbeck Common. Mr. Sherrington's recollections
of Sir Astley Cooper at school. Boyish adventures.
Fatal injury to Astley Cooper's foster-brother. Astley
Cooper's singular presence of mind. The influence of
this occurrence on Sir Astley Cooper. He leaves
Brooke . .41
CHAPTER III.
The village of Brooke, in Norfolk. The manor-house in
which Sir Astley Cooper was born. Sir Astley
Cooper's attachment to it in after-life. His recollec-
tions of his native village, and reflections on -its present
altered condition. My late visit to Norfolk. » Appear-
ance of Brooke at the present time. Remains of the
old Brooke hall. The Brooke oak. The church and
its associations. Monument to one of Sir Astley
Cooper's sisters . , . . .59
VOL. I. b
XVlll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Page
Astley Cooper's arrival at Yarmouth. His propensity for
adventure continues. His narrow escape in Yarmouth
church; in Yarmouth river. He soon becomes an
object of general observation in the town. Devotes
himself to amusement. Anecdotes. Mr. Sherrington's
account of Astley Cooper at this period. Astley
Cooper's interruption of the marriage ceremony. De-
scription of Bacon, the sexton of Yarmouth at that
time, and his wife. Astley confined to a room by his
father. Dr. Cooper's prediction concerning him. Ast-
ley Cooper's sensibility of disposition. Miss Words-
worth. Astley Cooper's ride to Howe. His recollec-
tion in after-life of this visit. Mr. William Cooper's
visits to Yarmouth. Astley Cooper's attention directed
to the medical profession. Witnesses an operation by
Dr. Donnee, of Norwich- Influence of this upon him.
Anxiety to visit the metropolis . . .69
CHAPTER V.
Astley Cooper is articled as pupil to his uncle, Mr. William
Cooper, of London. Arrangements made for his en-
tering Mr. Cline's family. Peculiar advantages of this
arrangement. Astley Cooper leaves home. The
anxiety of his friends concerning him. Description of
his personal appearance at this period. Amount of his
information. His disposition. Remarks on his pre-
vious education. Mr. Cline's admiration of John
Hunter. His intimacy with Home Tooke, Thelwall,
and others of the democratic party. Influence of the
example of these persons, in religious matters, on
Astley Cooper. Brief professional history of Mr.
Cline. Sir Astley's account of Mr. Cline's character . 87
CONTENTS. XIX
CHAPTER VI.
Page
Astley Cooper's arrival in London. Resides with Mr.
Cline. Mr. Francis Turner, of Yarmouth. Astley
Cooper in the metropolis. Comparison of events in
the personal histories of John Hunter and Astley
Cooper. Anecdote of Astley Cooper. Astley Cooper
attends lectures. Is elected a Member of the Physical
Society. The principal speakers in the Society at this
time. Astley Cooper's first professional essay. He
becomes desirous of being transferred as articled pupil
to Mr. Cline. Dr. Roots' allusions to this circum-
stance. Extracts from Sir Astley Cooper's memoranda
in reference to this period. Is transferred to Mr. Cline.
Astley's instant change of conduct. Termination of the
session, and the professional advancement made by
Astley Cooper . . . . .101
CHAPTER VII.
Astley Cooper visits Yarmouth. Anecdote. His second
session at the Hospital. Devotes himself to the study
of anatomy. Advantages derived from this pursuit.
Mr. Haighton, Mr. Cline's Demonstrator at this period.
Nature of this office. History of Mr. Haighton. Dr.
William Roots' connection with Mr. Haighton. Astley
Cooper is applied to for assistance by the students.
Becomes a great favourite among them. Influence of
this upon his conduct and prospects. Reputation
fully established at the Hospital. The Physical
Society. The news of his success reaches home. He
departs for the summer to Yarmouth . . . . J 15
CHAPTER VIII.
Astley Cooper's occupations at Yarmouth d urine the
summer of 1786. Impression made on his parents
by his conduct. Mr. Holland's communication. Astley
b2
XX CONTENTS.
Tage
Cooper's visits to Mr. Francis Turner. The history of
this gentleman. Returns to London with Mr. Holland.
Astley Cooper's superior anatomical knowledge.
Occupations in the private dissecting-room at Mr.
Cline's. Remarks on operating upon living animals
Sir Astley Cooper's account of his fellow-pupils, and
their characters. Attends John Hunter's Lectures.
Astley Cooper is attacked with the gaol-fever. Benjamin
Gregson. Visits Yarmouth ..... 133
CHAPTER IX.
Astley Cooper visits Edinburgh under favourable auspices.
Sketches of the leading professional characters in
Edinburgh at that time. Dr. Gregory. Dr. Black.
Dr. Hamilton. Mr. Fyfe, Dr. Rutherford. Industry
of Astley Cooper. Royal Medical Society. Elected
president of a society of students. Sir Astley Cooper's
recollections of this period. Professional advantages
of this visit. Astley Cooper's tour through the
Highlands. Peculiar difficulties on his return home.
Anecdote ...... 158
CHAPTER X.
Extracts from Sir Astley Cooper's Memoranda. Dr. Ash.
Mr. Shrapncll. Dr. Newell. Professor Coleman's
intimacy with Sir Astley Cooper. Memoir of him,
found in Sir Astley Cooper's hand- writing. Mr. Cole-
man's estimation of Sir Astley Cooper. His official
usefulness. Mr. Coleman's peculiar opinions. His
death . . . . . .181
CHAPTER XI.
Astley Cooper is appointed Demonstrator at St. Thomas's
Hospital. Is made co-lecturer with Mr. Cline, a.d.
1791. Establishes a distinct course of Lectures on
Surgery. Dr. Ilaighton appointed to the obstetrical
chair. Professional rivalry of Sir Astley Cooper and
CONTENTS. XXI
rage
Dr. Haighton. Anecdote, Mr, Astley Cooper en-
gaged to Miss Cock, of Tottenham. History of his
introduction to this lady, and subsequent intimacy.
Death of Mr. Cock. Mr. Cooper's marriage. Mrs.
Keeling's description of Mrs. Astley Cooper . . 197
CHAPTER XII.
Mr. and Mrs. Cooper visit Paris, a.d. 1792. Mr. Coopers
democratical bias. His parents' anxiety on this ac-
count. He attends the meetings of the National
Assembly at Paris. Studies under Desault and
Chopart. Anecdotes of these surgeons. The Tenth
of August. Sir Astley's description of his flight from
the Hospital to his hotel. Scenes which he witnessed
at Paris. Difficulty in obtaining his passport. "Wears
the democratic badge, and attends the Hospital.
Returns to London. Visits Yarmouth . . 21 1
CHAPTER XIII.
Mr. Cooper encourages persons to come to his house for
gratuitous advice. Continued industry at the Hospital.
His first course of Surgical Lectures. Changes the plan
of his Lectures. Effect of the alteration. Importance
of this period in Mr. Cooper's professional history. His
attention to the cases in the Hospital. The birth of
his child. Mr. Cooper at the Physical Society. Mr.
Thelwall's position and conduct in this society. Anec-
dotes of Sir Astley Cooper, from Life of Thelwall,
published by his widow. Mr. Thelwall's Lectures.
Anecdotes. Anecdote of Thelwall at the Physical
Society. Mr. Cooper's republican feeling still continues.
His position in 1793. His anxiety concerning the
health of his child. Is appointed Professor of Ana-
tomy at Surgeons' Hall .... 226
CHAPTER XIV.
Mr. Cooper is appointed Professor of Anatomy to Surgeons'
Hall, A. D. 1793. Thelwall at the Physical Society.
xxii CONTENTS.
Pag«
His Essay on Mental Action. Discontinuance of his
intimacy with Mr. Cooper. Extracts from a letter by
Mr. Thelwall to Sir Astley Cooper in latter life. Death
of Mr. Cooper's daughter. Mr. Cooper is reappointed
Professor of Anatomy to Surgeons' Hall, A. D. 1794 and
1795. Mrs. Cooper's adopted daughter. Mr. Cooper
goes to Hamburg. Duel between Lord Valentia and
Mr. Gawler. Mr. Cooper's conduct on this occasion.
His illness at sea. Extracts from Sir Astley's Journals 247
CHAPTER XV.
Mr. Cooper removes from Jeffries Square to St. Mary Axe,
A.D. 1797. Mr. John Saunders. Letter from Mr. Cooper
to this gentleman. Extracts from Sir Astley Cooper's
Memoranda. Mr. Cooper meets with a serious acci-
dent. Quotations from Mrs. Cooper's letters in refer-
ence to this occurrence. Medical records and researches.
Mr. Cooper's debut as an author. Character of Mr.
Cooper's Essays. The Edinburgh Club. Internal eco-
nomy of this association. History of the club . 267
CHAPTER XVI.
Review of Mr. Cooper's professional career prior to the year
1800. His position in public estimation. His profes-
sional income. Resignation of Mr. "William Cooper.
The candidates for his situation. Curious document.
Mr. Harrison's explanation of it, and account of the
change in Mr. Cooper's political feelings. ISli. Cooper
appointed Surgeon of Guy's Hospital. Anecdotes of
Mr. William Cooper. Characters and anecdotes of his
Colleagues in Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospitals. Dr.
Curry. Dr. Roots' communication in reference to Mr.
Cooper's succession to the Surgeoncy of Guy's Hos-
pital ....... 287
CHAPTER XVIL
Mr. Travers is articled as pupil to Mr. Cooper, a.d. 1800,
and resides with liiin for soiut" years. Mr. Travers'
CONTENTS. xxiii
Page
reminiscences of the time of his pupilage with my
uncle. An adventure. Mr. Cooper's personal appear-
ance. His attendance at Guy's Hospital. Mr. Cooper's
temper and disposition. His habits and mode of
living. Mr. Cooper's business in 1800. His profes-
sional pursuits. Mr. Cooper's sympathy with mental
suffering. An epigram by Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper's
attention to dress. Searle, the hair -dresser. Anec-
dotes. Mr. Cooper's adoption of his godson. His
servant Charles. The zeal of this person in his master's
service ...... 31G
CHAPTER XVIII.
Employments of Mr. Cooper's servant Charles. Procures
animals for experiments. Various sources from which
they were obtained. Mr. Cooper dissects an elephant
in St. Mary Axe. Mr. Cooper's early connection with
men who procured Subjects for dissection. An adven-
ture. Origin of the Resurrectionists. Conduct of these
persons. The watchmen of the same period. Activity
of the Resurrectionists. Method of carrying on their
operations. Means by which the bodies were trans-
ferred from the burial-places to the dissecting-rooms.
An incident. Occasional nocturnal visits of the Resur-
rectionists to Sir Astley Cooper's . . . 334
CHAPTER XIX.
Arrangements for the winter supply of Subjects for dissec-
tion. Deposit fees. Murphy's stratagems. Painful
position of the Teachers of Anatomy. Independence of
the Resurrectionists. Their rivalry. Disturbance at
Holywell Mount. Increased vigilance of the public.
Dangers to which the men became exposed. Other
means resorted to. Anecdotes. Communication from
Mr. Brookes to Sir Astley Cooper. Anecdote. Ex-
penses of Surgeons. Fortunes of the Exhumators.
Offers of persons to Sir Astley Cooper to dispose of
their own bodies. Collateral occupations of the Exhu-
XXiv CONTENTS.
I'age
mators. Messenger from my uncle to me when in
Spain. His business, and its success. Occasional uses
made of the Exhumators by Sir Astley Cooper. Govern-
ment acquainted with their proceedings. Influence of
Sir Astley Cooper. The Anatomy Act . . 360
CHAPTER XX.
Concluding history of the Resurrectionists. Butler. His
robbery of the Edinburgh mail. Sentence of death
passed upon him. Crouch, the leader of the old party.
His character. His occupations abroad. His death.
Jack Harnett. Bill Harnett. Description of this
person. His death at St. Thomas's Hospital, and
horror of dissection. N . Holliss. His origin.
His treacherous conduct and ruin. Vaughan. Anec-
dote, Is sentenced to transportation. Accessions to
the party of Resurrectionists. Murphy, their new
leader. His tact and cunning. His accumulation of
property. L . His artifices, and present occupa-
tion. Patrick. His character. Anecdote. Millard.
His early employment at St. Thomas's Hospital. Im-
prisonment. His enmity towards Sir Astley Cooper.
His death. Concluding remarks . . . 409
THE LIFE
OF
SIR ASTLEY COOPER, BART.
CHAPTER I.
Pahentaoe of Sik Astley Cooper. His Family. Buihf
History of its Members*.
Sir Astley Paston Cooper was descended on his
father's side from a family which had long been
settled at Hingham, in Norfolk. His great-grand-
father, Mr. Samnel Cooper, married Henrietta
Maria, the daughter of Thomas Newton, Esq., of
Norwich, and Cassandra, his wife, whose maiden
name was Jermyn.
Cassandra Jermyn was daughter of Sir Thomas
Jermyn, Bart., of Rushbrook, in Suffolk. She
became the wife of Mr. Thomas Newton, a relation
of Sir Isaac Newton, — his nephew, it is believed,
— A.D. 1676; and, outliving her husband, she is
described as patroness of the living of Edgefield,
and lady of Ellingham JNIanor, in the county of
Norfolk. By this marriage INIr. Newton had twenty-
one children, of whom Henrietta Maria, the wife of
* The historical account of the family has been chiefly fur-
nished to me by Mr. Bransby Cooper, the eldest brother of Sir
Astley Cooper, and oldest surviving member of the family.
VOL. L * B
2 LIFE OF Sill ASTLEY COOPER.
Mr. Samuel Cooper, was the survivor. She received
her christian names from Henrietta Maria, the Queen
of Charles the First, of whom it has always been
presumed she was a god-daughter. There is now
little doubt that the Queen, after the King's death,
married Sir Henry Jermyn, of Rushbrook, who had
previously been created Baron Dover, and subse-
quently, in the reign of Charles the Second, became
Earl of St. Albans.
It is likewise a family tradition tliat Sir Isaac
Newton, who died a bachelor, was very fond of
Henrietta Maria Newton, and had her frequently to
stay with him.
The paternal grandfather of Sir Astley Cooper
was Samuel, a surgeon at Norwich, and a man of
considerable literary attainments. He lived on terms
of close intimacy with the county families of the
neighbourhood, and though this entailed on him
considerable expense, he yet contrived to amass a
handsome fortune. He had a peculiar facility in
acquiring languages, but devoted himself especially
to French literature, as the large collection of books
in that language which he left behind him abundantly
prove. I have heard Sir Astley mention little
characteristic tracts of his grandfather, whom he
described as being not over-scrupulous in his lan-
guage, and, in accordance with the habit of the
times, often prefacing his remarks with an oath.
It seemed that compunction of conscience now and
then smote him. One Sunday morning, to his
coachman's surprise, he desired him to get ready,
HIS FAMILY. d
and go to church with him. On their return home,
after the service, he addressed his man upon the
beauty of the sermon, adding that it was his inten-
tion to go again in the afternoon, upon which the
servant, who appears to have acquired his master's
failing, no longer able to contain himself, burst
out, with an oath, that this was too hot to last.
Mr. Cooper took the reproof in good part, and post-
poned his intended afternoon devotion to another
Sunday.
Mr. Cooper married Miss Lovick, the eldest
daughter of William Lovick, an Alderman of
Norwich, who was much respected by his fellow-
citizens for his integrity and attainments. By this
marriage, Mr. Cooper had three children : — Samuel,
the father of Sir Astley; William, who became
a surgeon in London ; and a daughter Mary, who
died unmarried.
Samuel Cooper, the grandfather of Sir Astley,
some years before his death, retired from practice,
and left Norwich, to reside with his elder son. Dr.
Cooper, then perpetual curate of Oreat Yarmouth.
He died, however, at Dunstan, in Norfolk, in 1785,
leaving a handsome fortune to each of his two
sons; and was buried in St. Stephen's church, Nor-
wich*.
* The following epitaph may be seen in that church : —
Hie jacct
Samuel Cooper,
IIujus luhis ct Parochiae
Per miiltos annos
Civis ct Incola. QScientiae
B 2
4 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Dr. Cooper, wliom we have just mentioned, also
named Samuel, was the father of the subject of these
memoirs, and maintained the intellectual character
of his family, besides enjoying a high reputation as
a divine. He Mas born in his father's house at
Norwich, in the year 1740, and was educated in
the free-school of his native city, until he was seven-
teen years old, when he was entered a pensioner
at IMagdalen College, Cambridge. On taking his
Bachelor's degree, about three years afterwards, he
went in for honours, with no misplaced confidence,
it seems, in his own abilities, for he was one of the
wranglers of his year. A very short period elapsed
before his ordination; and in 1761, while yet a
curate, he married INIiss Bransby, the daughter of
James Bransby, Esq., of Shotisham.
Soon after his marriage, JNIr. Cooper was pre-
sented with the rectory of Yelverton, in Norfolk,
which he obtained in the following manner: — The
Rev. Mr. Castell, the father of the present respected
incumbent, and JNIr. Cooper, were contemporaries at
college; and on the vicarage of Brooke becoming
vacant, both tried for the next presentation, but
Scitntiie Mcdica; Peritus,
Vixit tain aliis quam sibi,
Obiit 16'° Die Aiigusti, a.d. 178.5,
jEtatis sua- 74.
Rcsurgat ad vitam ccclcstem.
Maria uxor ejus
GuLiELMi LovicK ariir
Filia
Obiit l"-" Die Augti a.d 1784.
HIS FAMILY. 5
the superior interest of Mr. Castell prevailing, Mr.
Cooper for a time acted as curate to his more suc-
cessful rival. To soften, however, the disaj)point-
ment of Mr. Cooper, he was promised, chiefly
through the instrumentality of Lord Suffield, that
he should receive the next Crown living which
should become vacant in Norfolk. Within a twelve-
month afterwards, Yelverton, a benefice worth three
times that of Brooke, did become vacant, and Mr.
Cooper was accordingly inducted as the incumbent
of that rectory.
Mr. and Mrs. Cooper resided for six years after
their marriage with Mr. Bransby, at Shotisham; and
during this period were born three sons : — Robert
Bransby, Samuel Lovick, William Houman ; and
two daughters: — Charlotte Maria, and Marianne.
This rapid increase of family now induced them to
remove to the manor-house of Brooke Hall, about
three miles from Sliotisham ; and after the change
of residence were born two sons : — Astley Paston,
and Beauchamp Newton; and three daughters: —
Anna Maria, Margaret Bransby, both of whom died
in infancy, and Anna Maria Inyon, — making in all
a family of ten children.
While IVIr. and Mrs. Cooper were settled at
Brooke Hall, Mr. Bransby purchased the living of
Morley, and presented it to his son-in-law, from
whom it has i)assed to his grandson, Charles Beau-
champ Cooper, the ju-esent rector. The corporation
of Norwich also bestowed upon him the curacies of
6 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Mundham and Seething. AVhen ]Mr. Samuel
Cooper was of sufficient standing to take his
Doctor's degree in Divinity, he went to Cambridge
for that purjiose, and we are told that he was
then considered to be an eminent divine, not only
in his own county, but by his professional bre-
thren generally. In the year 1781, through the
intervention of Dr. Lloyd, Dean of Norwich, Dr.
Cooper was appointed to the perpetual curacy of
Great Yarmouth, a large cure of souls, then amount-
ing to 16,000 people, and supported by Easter-Dues,
Fisherman's Doles or Gifts, and voluntary contribu-
tions Upon obtaining this preferment, Dr. Cooper
left Brooke, where he had now lived thirteen years*.
The rest of his life, a period of twenty years, he
dwelt at the Parsonage-house of Great Yarmouth ;
and it is mentioned as a proof of the estimation in
which he was held by his parishioners, that the
income he derived from the spontaneous contribu-
tions above alluded to, considerably exceeded that
which any of his predecessors had obtained from
the same sources.
From the hospitality maintained by Dr. Cooper,
as well as the station of his visitors, among whom
some of the most celebrated political and literary
* His farewell sermon, preaclicd on this occasion, still dwells
in tlic memories of the few now alive who were present at its
delivery, and has heen descrihed to me as particularly impressive,
the prreatcr part of his audience being affected to tears. He
chose for his text, very appropriately, the parting words of St.
Paul to the Corinthians, " Finally, brethren, Farewell."
Ills FAMILY. 7
characters of the day not unfrequently occurred, he
was looked up to by all classes of people with con-
siderable respect. His house became an object of
great local interest; and set, as it were, a pattern of
graceful, as well as decorous behaviour, to the rest
of the town. Althouorh with his aoe he continued
increasing in the regard and esteem of his parish-
ioners, as well as in worldly substance, his prosperity
was by no means unalloyed by domestic suffering.
While at Yarmouth all his daughters — two only of
whom reached the age of womanhood — fell a sacri-
fice to consumption. Dr. Cooper survived these
severe trials in his christian pilgrimage till the 7th
of January, 1800, when he died, in the sixtieth year
of his age. A twelvemonth previously he was ren-
dered unable to preach or leave his house ; but the
illness which proved immediately fatal was not of
long duration.
Dr. Cooper possessed in an eminent degree
the feelings and habits of a gentleman, as was
evinced by the strict attention which he paid to all
the rules of good breeding. The fastidious, perhaps,
might charge him with exacting attention to his own
side of an argument for a longer time than he would
allow an opponent, but that is a blemish which one
so courted as he was. in provincial society can hardly
avoid. It has been said by those who knew him
best, that his usual manner was rather calculated
to gain respect than to insure acquiescence, and
that even the brightest tints of his disposition were
8 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
clouded by an austerity which tended to diminish
the favourable influence which his character would
otherwise have secured. We have already mentioned
the high esteem in which he was held while incum-
bent of Yarmouth, and which was so substantially
evinced by his parishioners: we may add, that the
honourably acquired fortune which this reputation
procured for him, was in no respect ill bestowed.
His donations to the poor were ample and liberal,
and every parochial duty was rigidly performed.
Dr. Cooper visited the sick most assiduously; not
waiting for an application from the patient or his
family; but on the slightest intimation from the
parish clerk that any of his flock wanted assistance,
he hastened at once to visit and pray with the
penitent ; and whether afflicted in body or in mind,
contributed by every means in his power to alleviate
his distress, and to cheer his last moments with the
bright prospect of a blessed immortality.
Dr. Cooper not only had divine service per-
formed twice every Sunday regularly throughout
the year, at that time by no means usual, but also
gave evening lectures in the summer, which were
numerously attended : — nor did he seem satisfied at
any period of his professional career, with merely
performing the duties of his calling within his own
immediate circle, but anxiously promulgated his
views in pamphlets and sermons tending to promote
Christian doctrine and practice. As a magistrate
he actively and beneficially discharged another class
HIS FAMILY. 9
of duties, and as a member of the community he was
equally ready to suggest schemes of public utility and
beneficence. He took much interest in the success
of the " hundred houses," or houses of industry,
considering them as calculated to afford a better
plan of relief than that supplied by the parochial
workhouses of the period, and devoted much time
and attention to that of Heckingham, in Norfolk, the
foundation of which, indeed, was chiefly owing to
his exertions. One of his publications is entitled.
Definitions and Aa^ioms relative to Charity, Charitable
Institutions, and the Poor Laws; and in this, houses
of industry were first recommended to the attention
of the public, a subject still frequently engaging the
attention of the Legislature.
His ])ublications were numerous, and in the
Gentkmaii s Magazine^ of the period are charac-
terized " as eminently distinguished, whether on
religious or political matters, by an ardent zeal
for the increase of Christian faith and practice,
and by an animated attachment to the civil and
ecclesiastical establishments of his country. In the
former he laboured to explain a]iparent diflUculties
in the sacred text, and to confirm or defend the
doctrines of the Church, while, at the same time, he
contrasted the mild yet invigorating influences of
genuine Christianity, with the delusive tenets of
* In Vol. 70, Part I., pp. 80 and 177, whore also a complete
liht of the works of Dr. Cooper is })nblisl)ed.
10 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
infidelity on the one hand, and the narrow sjjirit of
sour sectarianism on the other. In the latter he
exposed with success the nonsensical declaration of
the natural rights of man, and by a deep disquisition
into the origin of all government, led his reader to
survey with gratitude the excellence of the limited
monarchy of Great Britain, and to despise as well
the reveries of mock philosophy, as the less disguised
attacks of disaffection."
INIrs. Cooper, the wife of Dr. Cooper, whose
talents and reputation as a writer entitle her to
notice, must be here more particularly com-
memorated, from the influence which her mind
and character naturally exerted over the future
destinies of her son, Sir Astley Cooper. She
was born in the year 1737, at Shotisham. Her
father, James Bransby, Esq., was descended from
Geoffrey de Brandesbee, the head of an ancient York-
shire family, of which a scion subsequently settled
at Harleston, in Norfolk. Her grandfather, Thomas
Bransby, Esq., was a barrister at law, residing at
Needham, near Harleston, and his father was Robert
Bransby, Esq., of Harleston, also a lawyer, and stew-
ard of the Duke of Norfolk. The eldest paternal
uncle of Mrs. Cooper, who came in succession to
the family estate, settled at Bungay, in Suffolk,
where he kept hounds, lived extravagantly, and
diminished his patrimony. He had married into
the Nelson family, which afterwards became so illus-
trious in the annals of English history from the
HIS FAMILY. 11
deeds of our great naval hero. The father of Mrs.
Cooper was very different in character from his
brother Thomas, and by his frugality and talents, as
well as by his popular demeanour, elevated himself
to a position equal to at least, if not beyond, that
in which his father had stood before him. He
married Anna Maria Paston, daughter of James
Paston, Esq., of Harleston, a first-cousin of the
Earl of Yarmouth, and by her had issue several
daughters, and one son, who died at college, a.d.
1760. Maria Susanna, who became Mrs. Cooper,
was the eldest daughter; and being regarded by her
father as the representative of her family, at his
death came into possession of the bulk of his real
and personal property.
She was one of the most exemplary of human
beings, and as remarkable for the feminine sweet-
ness of her character in her early life, as she was
afterwards distinguished for her cultivated talents,
piety, and christian-like forbearance. In every stage
of her existence, she adapted herself with wonderful
versatility to the peculiar duties she was called upon
to perform, and excited universal admiration, love,
and respect. She was elegant in her form, with a
cast of countenance that at once bespoke the sweet-
ness of her disposition. So little did self occupy
her thoughts, that she seemed as if she lived solely
for the benefit of others. Religion formed the
basis of her actions, however trivial ; and in her
person was remarkably exhibited the close affinity
12 LIFT, OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
between cultivated talents and virtuous affections.
Latterly there was a shade of melancholy thrown
over both the expression of her countenance and
the general tenor of her conversation. This re-
sulted, probably, from her family bereavements,
which were numerous, and sometimes aggravated
by peculiarly distressing circumstances.
As a wife she was never excelled. Devising
means of increasing her husband's happiness was
her constant aim ; and she sought no other reward
than the silent conviction of success. Perhaps she
submitted rather too obsequiously to his will, either
for his, or her ovvn, happiness; for as my grand-
father was naturally a little wayward, the pliancy
of his wife's disposition encouraged a spirit of self-
imjjortance rather more than was quite consistent
with that mutual deference to the wishes of each
other, so necessary to conjugal happiness.
It would thus aj)pear that Mrs. Cooper was
eminently fitted for domestic life ; but she did not
confine her virtuous affections exclusively within
the limited compass of her own family, but diffused
them over the whole circle of her acquaintance.
She was ever ready to participate in the joys of
others, but equally so, to share their sorrows ; and
perhaps never did the loveliness of her character
beam out with greater effect than when, bending
over the couch of sorrow, she disj)layed to the
sufferer the consolations of religion, with the elo-
quence inspired by her own convictions. I shall
HIS FAMILY. 13
have occasion hereafter to quote from letters, pas-
sages which will go far to justify this eulogium,
which the severe eye of criticism may deem over-
coloured by the partialities of kindred.
The death of her daughters, more especially that
of her eldest, Charlotte Maria, produced a strong
effect upon her mind ; and on each succeeding loss,
in proportion to the increase of her grief, arose an
increase in her piety. The state of Mrs. Cooper's
mind upon this sad event may be best learned from a
letter dated February, 1786, addressed to her son
Astley, soon after his sister's death.
"I thank you, my dearest Astley, for the motive
which retarded your writing, and I love you more
than ever for the sensibility of your heart on the
loss of your angel sister. Never was there so
blessed a departure ; not a single circumstance
could we wish to have been otherwise in respect
to herself: but to your dear father and me the
deprivation is irreparable, and to me particularly,
to whom she had been for some months a con-
stant companion, always a guide, a second con-
science. I feel her loss more sensibly every succeed-
ing day than the foregoing, and yet I hope I am
not ungrateful for our remaining blessings, for still
we possess seven inestimable children ; and then
what an husband am I blessed with ! with what
tenderness, what Christian fortitude did he exert
himself to calm my mind ! and yet it is to him a
most severe trial, for never did father so affection-
14 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
ately love a daughter, and never was child so
deservedly beloved. Mslj we ail, my dearest Astley,
endeavour to live in exact conformity with this
truly Christian model ; then may we hope to die her
most exemplary death, and, if heaven sees best, by
as gentle a transition. Never was there I believe
before so happy a being as she was. About a week
before her decease, she told us she thought she must
have some severe trial in the future part of her
life, for that all her days hitherto had been inexpres-
sibly, uninterruptedly happy; but such a heavenly
disposition improved every circumstance. Never
did any one so strongly recommend the practice of
religious duties ; the observance of them diffused
not only a constant serenity, but a perpetual cheer-
fulness over her mind. Oh ! she Mas the most
perfect of human beings. Your dear father has
preached two heart-piercing, yet heart-consoling
sermons on this subject ; I hope you will read them
when you come down," &c. These two discourses,
together with an elegy written by her eldest brother,
were published in Yarmouth in 1786, under the title
of Consolation to tJie Mourner ^ and Instruction both
to Youth and Old Ac/e, from the Early Death of the
Righteous.
Soon after Dr. Cooper's death, Mrs. Cooper was
induced to leave Yarmouth for Shotisham. Her
removal from objects which could but constantly
recall to her mind the heavy losses she had there
sustained, would be the best means it was thought
HIS FAMILY. 15
of quickly restoring her to composure ; more espe-
cially as she was about to return to the spot
endeared by her earliest and happiest impressions.
Here she was born ; — here from infancy she had
passed through the period of her childhood and
advanced into womanhood. It was here, under the
watchful eye of her father, she first listened to the
persuasive voice of him who became her husband ;
here entered on the grateful duties of a wife, and
became the mother of her four elder children. To
return to this abode must have afforded her an ample
source of mental employment, well adapted to assuage
her present grief: for if I have not mistaken her
character, the retrospect of her life must have been
replete with mental satisfaction, from the conscious-
ness of having, so far as human frailty would permit,
perfectly fulfilled all the social and domestic duties
of her station. Here she would probably have
finally settled, had not her eldest son, Mr. Bransby
Cooper, then living at Dursley, in Gloucestershire,
urged his mother to pass her remaining days with
him. Her great affection for her first-born child led
her to sacrifice her strong local attachment to
Norfolk, to comply with this request, and thus, not
without many a pang, she quitted her native place
for ever.
Her feelings upon this occasion will be best
expressed by herself:
"I have, at last, my dear Astley, determined
to accept the often repeated invitation of my
IG LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Bransby, tlic distance from whom lias always ex-
cited in me great anxiety whenever I was ill ; —
may the Almighty sanction and bless the arduous
undertaking ! But still, sometimes, the thoughts of
bidding a last adieu to Norfolk, to those scenes of
early and wedded life, of quitting the places which
contain the mortal remains of conjugal, filial, frater-
nal, parental, and friendly attachments, agitate my
mind, and, indeed, sometimes threaten to shake my
determination — but I think I am resolved," &c.
This letter is dated September, 1806, and the
following month she accordingly bade adieu to
Shotisham. In the interim she seemed so far to
have recovered her spirits, as to have resumed a
favourite, although only occasional, occupation, of
amusing and light reading ; for in the latter end of
Se])tember she returns a book which she had bor-
rowed, with the following critique on it : — "I own,
after your opinion, I am disappointed in the Thad-
deiis of Warsaw ; I began it yesterday with a dispo-
sition to be pleased, but it seems to me to be an
odd medley, — so many battles, and, alas ! too real, —
so many private distresses, — so many characters and
incidents, — that my spirits were agitated, and I
could not continue the perusal. I return it, there-
fore, with many thanks for your kind indulgence,
though 1 have not availed myself of it. In Miss
More I have a delighful resource; she is always
equal to whatever she undertakes, and I thank you
for the loan." She left Norfolk with bitter feelings,
I
HIS FAMILY. 17
and travelled slowly up to the house of her son
Astley, in London, under the care of her companion
Miss Clark, who had resided with her for the last
three or four years. She remained a week in Broad
Street, during which period I have been informed,
my uncle passed as much of his time with his mother
as his professional avocations would permit, there
not being one evening that he did not sit with her
until her usual hour for retiring. The vivacity of
her son's disposition, softened by his reverential
affection for her, constituted that kind of agreeable
relaxation which was best adapted to the condition
of her mind; and my dear grandmother acknow-
ledged that she had not considered herself sus-
ceptible of such early consolation as he afforded
her. The natural pride of the mother was also
gratified in witnessing the perfect success of her.
son in his professional career, for at this time he was
in larger practice than any other surgeon in Lon-
don. At the end of the week she proceeded into
Gloucestershire, to Furney Hill, the residence of
her son Bransby. Almost from the moment of
her arrival here, there was an evident declining of
her strength, though she still was in the full posses-
sion of her mental faculties, and possessed that
tranquillity of mind and temper, the almost insepa-
rable attendants of resigned piety. The last letter
she ever wrote, if not to any one else, certainly the
last to Mrs. Astley Cooper, well illustrates the still
remaining sweetness of her disposition.
" I must write a few lines to thank my ever
VOL. I. c
18 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
dear daiigiiter for her last most affectionate letter,
and to assure, her of. tlie gi-eat pleasure she has im-
parted to her sister Lovick- by her and my Astley's
delightful attentions to her suffering child, and the
hopes Ayith which he inspires her of restoration to
health and cure'; may. these be perfected, and the
dear child prove a real and permanent blessing ! I
know how you enjoyed the kindness you admi-
nistered to the poor child and tender mother. JSIay
you ever be rewarded, as well as my kind Astley."
• This letter was written on June 27th, 1807, ancl
on July the 3rcl she died ; her departul-e resembling
the composure of an infant falling into slumber.
IVIrs. Cooper was the authoress of many works,
and at the period at which she wrote, enjoyed a
considerable literary .reputation. After her death,
her eldest son, INIr. Bransby Cooper, republished all
•her -works, and I have been informed by him, that
,. they met" with sa ready a sale, that a few years
aftei'wards lie himself could not obtain a single
copy to preserve" as a memorial of his mother. I
Jiave lately made every effort to procure these
works, biit without, success ; and 1 therefore asked
INIr. Bransl)y Cooper, my uncle, to furnish me with
•an account of them, which he did, in the following
-commjinrcatio'n :■: —
.'.%'•'■•■.♦■■■
" My DEAR B'ransby,
. -'*'* I tliought in my former letters I had given
you as llfXUcJi information as- tVoul'd on the subject
of my rev.ered mothw-'s compositions. As long as I'
I
■ HIS FAMILY. 19
can recollect, in my progress from infancy to man-
hood, she was employed, and generally on an
evening, in writing, on her hand*, and, preparing
some composition for the press, either for the infor-
mation of her children, or for the entertainment and
instruction of the public. •
" Her first productions were story books for
children, published, as they usually were at that day,
by JNIr. Newberry, St. Paul's Churchyard, Some of
them tended to show the advantages of Christian
education, as exemplified in dialogues between 'a
parent and /ler children, and" had reference-to her
own mode of teaching. They have been succeeded,
however, by more- popular story books, w'hich have
likewise had their day.
" Of her novels, which were all written in letters
supposed to have passed between the different cha-
racters of the story, the first, was Letters between
Emilia and Harriet, M'hich she after wards. called The
DaiigJiter, and was distinguished by incidents .and'
sentiments exhibiting filial affectLpn ^nd-duty.. '.Tli'e
• second, I believe, ys'CLS Fa?i?ii/ Meadows, an rnterestin'g
work, which first rendered li'er poplilar as a writc^i*,
The next was The Wife, contaii'iing a portraiture'of
the duties displayed in*a happy .conjugal union; -The' .
last, aiid much the most valuable • of her ^Composi-
tions, was The Eire?}iplarj/ Mother.; a'i^s'OYkgj^hei'ViUy
read at the time, and universally approved. • It was
* Mrs. Cooi:)er Avas in the habit .of supportiiTg. the paper on
■which she wrote by her'haiid, instead of usintg either a desk or
table. . . ■ ■ ;•- . ' - - " ' .
■ • . ^' •■ . ■ c 2- ■ ' •
20 LIFE OF SIR ASILF.Y COOPER.
mentioned, with high commendation, in one of her
prefaces, by Mrs. Brooke, an author well known in
lier time for some interesting novels, particularly
Emily Monta/jue. The great object of this last work
was the conversion of a beloved son from infidelity,
and to convince him of the great truths and inesti-
mable blessings of Christianity. By this work was
my beloved mother most knoM'n to the world, and it
had a very extensive sale. It was published by
Becket, of Pall JNIall.
" You will observe, that the tendency of all my
dear mother's publications was to exemplify the
female character in tlie several stations of life, the
duties of which, whether as daughter, wife, or mo-
ther, she faithfully fulfilled in her progress through
time to eternity.
" On her death, she left in my hands corrected
copies of her compositions, Mdiich she earnestly
requested me to publish after her decease. This
dying request I promised to execute, and fulfilled
that promise by publishing them in a short time
after her departure from the world. The Wife, or
Caroline Herbert, had been much altered and added
to after its first publication, and / made additional
•alterations in it jjefore it was republished. The
other works, particularly The Exemplary Mother,
were given to the world with very slight corrections,
and had all a ready sale. She likewise published
in verse a Letter supposed to have been addressed by
Jane Shore to her Friend, which Mr. Edward Jer-
ningham, brother of Sir William, of Costessy Hall,
HIS FAMILY. 21
Norfolk, and uncle of the present Lord Stafford,
himself a poet, advised her to give to the public. I
know not that I can add anything to the list of her
literary compositions, or to their several merits.
Her character shone through them all as illumi-
nated by the Spirit from above, &c."
It will not be out of place, perhaps, to mention
here a very flattering eulogium I heard passed upon
the mother of Sir Astley Cooper, by one of the most
eminently learned as well as upright men of the pre-
ceding century, the celebrated Dr. Parr. I was one
day dining in his company at the house of Mr. ,
together with his royal highness the Duke of ,
Dr. , ?vlr. , and Sir , when in
the course of the evening, Dr. Parr, speaking of his
intimacy with my grandfather, mentioned that he
liad read a poem written by Dr. Cooper, in imitation
of Cowper's Task, not very remarkable in his esti-
mation for its poetical merits ; and he proceeded in
his peculiar, pompous manner, to say, " And, Sir, X
wrote an epigram upon it, Avhich was this :
To Cowper's Task see Cooper's Task succeed,
That was a task to write, Lut this, to read.
" And, Sir," he continued with considerable ani-
m ation, " I knew your grandmother, and in the
retrospection of that intimacy, I have more satisfac-
tion than has been afforded me by my acquaintance
with any of the sex since."
I have already said so much regarding the vir-
22 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
tues of this excellent lady, -svlio, among her own
associates, appears to have been so pre-eminent in
lustre, and who now sliines with a double bright-
ness, that reflected from her distinguished son being
added to her own, that if I say more I fear I shall be
thouofht <2:uiltv of exao'oreration in the account. I
will add, therefore, but one other remark concerning
her, extracted from ISIr, Crompton's edition of the
liotters of the late Lord Chedworth, and that, rather
to substantiate what has been already said, than
because it throws any further light on her character.
His lordship in one of his letters says, " Of jNIrs.
Cooper, I shall always think with respect as a truly
good woman, &c ," and to this the following note is
appended : —
" From the terms in which I am ever inclined to
speak of the Coopers, it may be thought by some
that I have conceived the existence of a family of
' faultless monsters.' But, however this may be, I
am quite sure that no one who knew Mrs. Coojjer
will withhold belief to my assertion, that she was
one of the best of women ; assuredly the very best
that I have ever known."
We shall now proceed to give a slight sketch of
the brothers and sisters of Sir Astley Cooper.
The first and noAV only surviving child of Dr. and
Mrs. Cooper, is Robert Bransby, avIio Mas born at
Shotisham, in 17G2, on the 21st of February; during
the period at MJiich Dr. and JNIrs. Cooper were
residing with JNIr. Bransby, the father of Mrs.
HIS FAMILY. 23
Cooiier. He was educated at home, and seemed to
have imbibed very much of the character of his
mother; always evincing a great attention to his
religious duties, and now, after a long life, is still re-
markable for his highly moral and religious character.
He ever acknowledges with deep gratitude, that the
principles which have formed the rule of his con-
duct through life, as well as the education of his
early years, were wholly obtained from his excellent
and pious mother. On leaving home, he went to
Trinity College, Cambridge, and became a pupil of
Dr. Vince, mathematical professor, a very estimable
man, who owed his collegiate education to the
bounty of Dr. Cooper. The period for his stay at
the university being completed, he was entered at
Lincoln's Inn, where, for some time, he studied the
elements of jurisprudence, and qualified himself for
the bar. He did not, however, proceed to join the
circuit. He subsequently married JNIiss Purnell, the
only daughter of William Purnell, Esq., of Ferney
Hill, in Gloucestershire, and by this union had a
family of six children, the eldest of whom has
assumed the maternal name, and now resides on the
family estate at Stancombe Park, near Dursley.
Mr. Bransby Cooper is in the commission of the
peace and lieutenancy for the county of Norfolk as
well as Gloucestershire, and in the latter county is
now the oldest surviving magistrate.
In the year 181 G, Mr. Cooper was selected as a
candidate for the representation of the city of
Gloucester ; l:)ut, after a severe and unequal contest,
24 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPKR.
■was defeated. His antagonist at tliat time Avas
Colonel Webb, brotlier-in-law to Sir ^Allliam Green,
Bart., M. P. for the county.
In the year 1818, he was again canvassed to
offer himself for Gloucester, to which requisition he
somewhat reluctantly acceded, and, after a very severe
contest, was triumphantly returned. To the honour
of the party who supported him on this occasion, he
was placed at the head of the poll without incurring
any jiersonal electioneering expense; and what is
not a little remarkable, so great was the enthusiasm
and energy of the supporters of JNIr. Cooper, that,
of 1703 voters who polled, more than 800 plumped
for the successful candidate. His opponents on
this occasion were Colonel Webb, and Captain
Berkeley, brother to Lord Segrave.
By this election, IMr. Cooper's seat in Parlia-
ment was cstablislicd for some years, and he became
one of its most active members.
In 1 829, though a personal friend of Sir Robert
Pee], he made a very decided stand against the
Emancipation l^ill, and delivered, on that occasion,
a speech memorable for its Protestant tone and
constitutional si:)irit; which was so much approved
by the friends of the party, that it was jn-inted
and circulated, in various shapes, without the direc-
tion or knowledge of iMr. Cooper or his connexions.
Ill 1830, at the time of the excitement on the
question of Parliamentary Reform, Mr. Cooper's
principles not permitting him to yield to the popular
feeling, he was obliged, after a violent contest
HIS FAMILY. 25
although nobly supported by his friends, to retire
from Parliament.
Mr. Cooper represented the city of Gloucester
for a period of twelve years, and during that time,
even among his political opponents, he was respected
for the conscientious discharge of his public duties,
and his steady adherence to that line of conduct
which he deemed most conducive to the welfare of
his country.
Since that period, Mr. Cooper has been usefully
engaged at Cheltenham, in his capacity as magi-
strate, where he filled the judicial chair for eight
years. He now resides at Gloucester, and though
much advanced in age, still jiarticipates in the
fatigues of public business with all the energy of a
much more youthful time of life.
JNIr. Cooper has written several works, some of
which have been given to the 2)ublic.
Political Essays, though i)ublislied anonymously
in 1800, passed through three editions.
A Dispassionate Discussion on the Objects of the
Bihlc Society, and the Society for Promoting Christian
KviOidedge, appeared in 1814.
A Letter to a Clergyman on the jjarticidar Tenets
of the jiresent Day, (\\\ 1824.) This publication was
well received, and has passed through three editions.
Subsequently was published a Vindication of the
above Letter, in answer to objectors.
Next, a Translation of Mede 071 the ApocalyjJse I
and, lastly.
An Interpretation of the Revelation of St. John.
26 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
These several treatises, which are chiefly in-
tended to inculcate and enforce the necessity of
social order, the duty of religious unity, and the
principles of an uniform system of national faith,
have been generally well received and estimated by
the public.
tSamuel Lovick Cooper, the second son of Dr.
and Mrs. Cooper, was born on the 4tli of February,
1763, at Shotisham, in which village he lived for
the first four years of his life, and then with his
parents went to reside at Brooke Hall. One of the
first circumstances recorded of his early years is
rendered important, from the great danger to which
it exposed the life of his brother Astley, the subject
of these Memoirs. They were playing together in
the Hall, at Brook, when Astley accidentally ran
against Lovick, Avho at the time was holding in his
hand an open knife. The blade entered the lower
part of Astley's cheek, passed ujiwards, and was
stopped only by the socket of the eye. The wound
bled profusely, and INIr. Fulcher, the surgeon of
Shotisham, was instantly sent for, and remained in
attendance upon him, so severe was the injury, for
some weeks. The wound, however, at last healed;
but 8ir Astley carried Avith him to the grave a scar
which it left. This accident did not occur from
any violence of temper on the part of my father,
who was always remarkable for his sweetness of
disposition and mild conduct, not only as a boy, but
up to the period of his death.
Lovick was educated at home, and, although he
HIS FAMILY. 27
was not very studious, acquired knowledge readily,
and not only retained it, but had also the happy gift
of a])plying it with facility. He was always a great
favourite at home, and equally in requisition to assist
in the occupations of his sisters, or to enter into the
more boisterous amusements of his brothers. He
differed in disposition, both from his elder brother,
Bransby, and his younger brother, Astley, being less
sedate than the former, less riotous than the latter :
his brother Bransby was, however, his more frequent
companion. Lovick studied under the superintend-
ence of his father for classics, and under IMr. Larke
of Brook, for mathematics, with both of whom he
made very fair progress; but I have heard my father
frequently regret that he had not been educated at
school, maintaining that it was impossible for a boy
at home to make equal progress with one at school,
in consequence of the many interruptions to which
he is necessarily exposed.
Lovick was considered to be the handsomest of the
family. Although not possessing the animation and
fire of Astley, he was not at all inferior to him in
regularity of feature and proportion of frame, and
even surpassed him in that soft sweetness of expres-
sion which never fails to captivate the heart, although
by a more slow and stealthy progress than the
bolder and more instantly prepossessing appearance,
which distinguished his brother Astley. Their elder
brother Bransby was not c(pial to either of his
brothers in expression of countenance, although in
figure and manly deportment he was inferior to
28 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
neither. At seventeen, Lovick was entered at
Magdalen College, Cambridge, Avhere, I believe, he
^vas not very studious for academical honours: —
always wanting the industry necessary for their
attainment. Even those who loved him best must
acknowledge that indolence was his great failing,
and must regret that through life " he kept on the
even tenor of his way," without ever endeavouring
to raise himself to that eminence to which his
talents would otherwise have elevated him.
Kind, friendly, and benevolent, he was doated on
by his family, and beloved by all his acquaintance.
The excellence of his judgment was universally ad-
mitted; and this, together with his perfect integrity,
caused him to be frequently chosen, as Avell by his
jiarishioners as his own family, the arl)itrator and
adviser in all matters which required judgment and
consideration. As a i)arent he was, perhaps, too
indulgent, and although he closely watched any
deviation from right in the conduct of his children,
he could never bear to punish, but always attempted
by kindness alone to bring the delinquent back to
l)ropriety. Asa clergyman, my father was respected
and beloved, and although he was never so zealous
as to 1)0 what would now be considered an active
divine, yet his general conduct Mas peculiarly
adapted to excite and cherish a spirit of real devo-
tion, whilst the simplicity yet elegance of his diction
invariably secured to him a large congregation, in the
chapel of ease to the church at Yarmouth, in which
he did duty for many years. His voice was beau-
HIS FAMILY. 29
tifully harmonious, and naturally very powerful; and
he acquired so high a reputation as a preacher, that
he was frequently applied to by the bishop to preach
in the cathedral at Norwich, and by neighbouring
clergymen to do duty in their churches on charitable
occasions.
In later years, the affection which existed
between my father and uncle Astley was of the
strongest character, and at a stated period, which was
always looked forward to with much interest by both,
every year until his decease, my father spent five or
six weeks in his brother's house in town. This visit
was a source of great gratification to both; for while
my father felt a pride in his brother's distinction,
and a deep regard for his worth. Sir Astley equally
enjoyed the society of his brother, and the quiet,
dry humour which characterized his conversation.
Often have I seen my dear uncle convulsed with
laughter at some anecdote or story of my poor
father's, whose countenance at the same time was
unruffled even by a smile. A source of much of
my father's comfort on the occasion of these visits
was the perfect liberty he enjoyed, of jmssing his
time as pleased him best: — the consideration of his
brother allowing him to be as perfectly master of his
own arrangements, as if he were in his own house
at Yarmouth. It was during one of these visits,
that my poor father was seized with water in the
chest, which disease terminated fatally, on June
3rd, 1817, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. The
death of my uncle, which I so lately witnessed,
30 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
very forcibly recalled to my memory the last
moments of my poor father, who died in my arms
in New Street.
I cannot let this opportunity pass, without men-
tioning a subject of regret which has long dwelt and
still remains heavy on my mind — tliat one name of
our family only should appear upon the monument
in memory of my beloved father in the chapel in
Yarmouth. ]\Iy second brother inconsiderately, and
without consulting his brothers and sisters, erected
this tribute to his memory, and, by attaching only
his own name, may have thus led the world to
believe that he alone duly appreciated the merits of
our beloved father.
]\Iy father was married at Yarmouth on the
29th of November, 1787, to Sarah Leman Rede,
the second daughter of Thomas Rede, Esq., whose
family for some centuries had resided in the neigh-
bourhood of Beccles. The estate and manors of
Ashmans are now the property of my brother
Robert, who has adopted the family name of Rede*.
My mother, at the jieriod of her marriage, has been
described as being, — and my recollection warrants
such a description — one of the beauties of the county,
and, from the vivacity of her countenance, together
with the brilliancy of her wit, as the life and soul
of the society in which she moved ; thus exhibiting
a turn of mind singularly opposite to the retiring,
'* For a more detailed account of the family and estates,
see Neale'.s Vicks of the Scats of Noblemen and Gcntlemeti in
Great Britain.
HIS FAMILY. 31
quiet, and somewhat sedate disposition of my father.
But notwithstanding- this difference of character,
she was in no way second to him as a fond and
tender parent ; indeed, with much more activity of
mind, and having no thought but for the benefit
of her chiklren, on her did the whole arrange-
ment of the family devolve. There was not a single
duty towards her children that she ever avoided ;
and, notwithstanding her vivacity and love of society,
she would never allow pleasure to interfere with her
domestic duties. Her generosity and liberality to
her children amounted almost to lavish extra-
vagance ; for she would not hesitate to expend a
large sum for a child for the purpose of satisfying
some perhaps fanciful desire, while at the same time
she was denying to herself such gratifications as by
the world are usually considered necessary for a
lady in her station of life. Indeed, her affection was
so enthusiastic, so romantic, that it sufficiently indi-
cated the absence of that prudence which it is
for the benefit of all should alwavs resfulate our
feelings. Still, her children can never cease to
regard the love which often screened them from
the punishment due to their failings with any
other feelings than those of the wannest affection
and gratitude.
Her mental faculties were of a high order ; but
judgment had scarcely a sufficient control over her
powers of wit and sarcasm to render her always
agreeable to those against whom she was directing
her raillery. She was therefore frequently rendered
32 LIFE. OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
an object of fear to any who made themselves
obnoxious to her (lisi)leasure, as well as to those
who, on account of any failings or peculiarities,
formed good marks for the arrows of her wit. The
sharpness of her repartees, and the eccentricity of
her expressions and similes, were a source of con-
siderable amusement to Sir Astley ; and when she
was visiting him, he would frequently invite to his
house for an evening some one distinguished for
similar qualities, and having contrived to excite a
spirit of rivalry between them, would exhibit the
most marked delight in watching the effects of the
contest which would ensue, but which generally
terminated in favour of my mother. After my
father's death, and all their children were settled in
life, my mother felt herself deprived in Yarmouth of
every solace, and therefore came to London to be
near her children. Here my poor mother did not
long live to enjoy the comfort she had anticipated,
but died, after a short illness, on the 13th of
INIarch, 1823.
The next son was William Houman, who was
born on the 4th of September, 17G4, at Shotisham.
There are but few circumstances connected with
tlie life of my uncle William of sufficient interest
to be recorded. He was always of a weak consti-
tution, and his mind rendered proportionably inac-
tive, so that he long remained in early life under
the especial care and protection of his mother, and
was allowed but little either to think or act for
himself. It seemed early to be determined that he
HIS FAMILY. 33
should not be broug-ht up to any profession, and he
therefore had no other i)ursuit beyond that of his
own amusement. In about 1800 he entered the
volunteer corps at Yarmouth, and I can now
remember his rather grotesque appearance in regi-
mentals ; for he was remarkably thin, and yet fully
equalled his brothers in height. He had a ]>ecul!ai-
facility as a caricaturist, and would sometimes ex-
cite the chagrin of his brothers Lovick and A>:;tley,
by a successful but ludicrous sketch of some pecu-
liarity in their gait or dress, for which Astley
generally paid him oif by a retort not always quite
courteous. He lived to be seventy years of age,
and died in Gloucestershire, at his brother Bransby's
residence.
We have already, in speaking of ^Irs. Cooper,
alluded to the untimely decease of her daughter
Charlotte Maria. This young lady was born on the
18th of September, 1765, and was the eldest of the
female portion of JMrs. Cooper's family. Whether
from the particular attention and care which, from
the earliest period, was devoted to her education, or
that she silently imbibed that spirit of gentleness
which so eminently characterized the excellent
example constantly before her, or whether from the
sweetness of her own natural disposition, — certain
it is, tliat in the daughter all the pious principle 5
and amiable qualities of the parent re-appeared i i
undiminished vigour. Under the guidance an I
tuition of Mrs. Cooper, she grew u}) no less distin-
guished in all the minor ornaments which give a
VOL. I. D
34 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
lustre to the female character — the graceful ease
and elegant proportions of her form, the sweet
expression of her countenance, and the feminine
gentleness of her address — than in the higher cha-
racteristics of a benevolent heart and an exalted
understanding. By one of her friends, who anony-
mously published after her decease a sketch of her
character, Miss Cooper has been described as being
endowed with the softest sensibility, yet without
any tincture of weakness ; with an uncommon
quickness of penetration and solidity of judgment,
joined with the most engaging candour ; with a most
lively imagination, but combined with unusual force
of understanding, and a disposition ever ready cha-
ritably to throw a veil over those weaknesses in
others which, on account of her acute discernment,
she could not but perceive. But, with the existence
of these qualities which so eminently fitted her for
the discharge of all the varied offices of life, there
had been for a long time anxiously suspected by
her friends the presence of that destroyer — con-
sumption, a disease which was destined to commit
such havoc in the family of JNIrs. Cooper, These
suspicions were fearfully confirmed at the period
when she was about to have bestowed her hand on
a clergyman who had some time won her affection,
and who appears to have been in every respect
worthy of so inestimable a prize. A few months
after that she had entered her twenty-first year, on
the 31st of January, 1786, in spite of the united
efforts of her tenderly attached relations and affec-
HIS FAMILY. 35
tionate companions, she sank — a victim to the
influence of the disease.
I cannot better conclude this brief notice of the
above estimable lady, than by a stanza from an
elegy written soon after her decease, by her eldest
brother, Mr. Bransby Cooper : —
Her soul was spotless as the snow untrod,
Her form the purest transcript of her mind :
She lived, she died, devoted to her God,
In life obedient, and in death rcsign'd.
On the death of her beloved Charlotte, Mrs.
Cooper naturally turned from her bereavement with
increased affection towards her who had now become
her eldest daughter, Marianne; but the same irresis-
tible disease that had destroyed the sister, had
already fixed its hold on her, and she thus became,
instead of consolation, a source of fresh disappoint-
ment to the already severely afflicted parent. This
daughter was the last of the children born while
Dr. and Mrs. Cooper resided at Shotisham. In the
year 1787, about eighteen months after her sister's
decease, JNlarianne was married to a gentleman
of most amiable disposition and refined manners,
the Rev. Christopher Spurgeon, rector of Ilarpley
and Bircham, in Norfolk. With him she passed
nearly two years of happiness, as complete as the
society of two beings, each devoted to the other's
interest and welfare, can produce; when all their
l)lans of future life and prospects of continued
enjoyment were blighted by the visible presence
of the disease, which had long been, canker-like,
I) 2
36 LIKE OF l<m ASTLEV COOPER.
consuming' lier tender frame. She fell a victim
to consumption, in the year 1789.
I hardly think it necessary to apologize on pre-
senting my readers with another of Mrs. Cooper's
letters, written to her son Astley shortly before this
trying event. Independent of the interest which
must always belong to letters in which such touching
simplicity of expression and exquisitely tender feel-
ing are found as in these, they give the reader the
most perfect view which he can have of the domestic
habits of Sir Astley Cooper's family at this period,
and in the best manner supply the deficiency of
letters from Sir Astley himself, who from earliest
years had a singular antipathy, which he maintained
to the latest periods of his life, to corresponding
on any matters, unless professional. But to the
philosopher, to him mIio would watch not merely
the full-formed character of Sir Astley Cooper, but
also its developement, I think they must have a still
higher importance even than this; for when we
reflect on the situation of Astley Cooper at the
period when these events occurred — free from
restraint, living in a house where but little regard
was shown even to the formalities of religion, — his
time fully occupied in the pursuit of science — we
cannot l)ut conclude that these letters from his
mother, so feelingly descriptive of their mutual
losses and bereavements, must have formed at least
an essential portion, if not the whole of his moral
culture at that time. That they were not alto-
gether neglected or lightly esteemed by him is
HIS FAMILY. 37
proved by the care with which they have been pre-
served.
The reader will readily perceive that the letter
is written but a few days previous to the death,
which it anticijmtes, of her beloved daughter. It is
addressed to " Mr. Astley Cooper, No. 12, St. Mary
Axe, London."
"I should have written to my dearest
Astley immediately after his beloved sister's arrival,
but that I wished to see how she was after a few
days had passed, and she was settled in the house
Mr. Spurgeon took for her, which has bay-windows
opening on the sea. Our house and family were
too noisy and bustling for her. Dear creature! she
bore the journey astonishingly well. She came as
far as Dereham the first night, and w^as in good
spirits. The next day she got to Norwich, which
she found so noisy that she set off the following-
morning for Yarmouth, w ith hired horses part of the
way, and their own from Acle, and w^as on the road
only two hours and twelve minutes. Her fatigue
was less than we could expect, and she was quite
delighted on finding herself among us. The second
day, however, after her arrival, whether somewhat in
consequence of the journey, and somewhat Mr.
Smith the surgeon's unfavourable opinion of the
state of her feet, and his prognosticks too unguard-
edly imparted, and which surely had better have
been suppressed, her spirits became exceedingly low,
and she had not recovered them when she went into
38 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
her lodgings, on JNIonday. Yesterday and this day
she was in better spirits, and has had more ajipetite
than since she came to Yarmouth; but, alas! my
dear son, I fear there is little reason to expect her
long continuance with us. Let me hear from you,
and when it suits your convenience we shall rejoice
to see you. Tell me when you think you shall be
able to come.
^'Saturday evening.
" Your dear sister is so extremely weak that
she herself thinks that she shall not continue long-
in this life. Sweet soul! we had such a conference
this evening as has left my mind in a state of
blessed thankfulness for such a child, but with appre-
hension of her loss. She blessed God for the happy
serenity of mind she enjoyed. She said, she found
herself grown so extremely weak that it was not
possible she should live long, that she was perfectly
resigned to death, and only jirayed, and wished all
her friends to pray, that she might not suffer much
more pain. She blessed God, and said, she consi-
dered her illness as a merciful dispensation; for
though she hoped she had never committed any
great offences, yet perhaps she had been inattentive
to the duties of religion. If it pleased God to spare
her life, no one, she said, had a happier prospect;
for she had the best of husbands, and a comfortable
share of temporal enjoyments; but .she was resigned
to the \\\\\ of heaven. She felt for Mr. Spurgeon:
her loss would sit heavy on him, and, indeed, she did
not think he would ever recover his spirits: she-
HIS FAMILY. 39
dared not mention to him her opinion of her own
state. O, niy dearest Astley, what a iliost excellent
young creature! JVIy heart is agitated with fears
of losing her, and yet rejoices in the anticipated
heaven she now enjoys. She wishes very much to
see you soon, and if you can come, you will gratify
us all. Your brother and sister Bransby are this
evening arrived, and very w^ll, but very much
shocked at the state of their dear, dear sister. They
join us in most affectionate regards to you — mine
to my beloved Miss Cock. She will feel for me,
and for us all. May you be able to be with us
soon!
"God bless you! Believe me to be
" Your ever tenderly affectionate Mother,
" M. S. Cooper."
Of the other three daughters of Mrs. Cooper,
of whom Ave have not as yet made mention, the
first two, Anna Maria and Margaret Bransby, were
born in succession after their brother Astley, but
both died very young, and but little is recorded
of them. The remaining daughter, and last child,
Anna Maria Inyon, like her sisters, sunk in con-
sumjjtion, and thus completed the list of its vic-
tims in the female portion of Mrs. Cooper's family.
Mrs. Cooper lived to sec one more of her chil-
dren fall a sacrifice to the disease which had now
taken from her all her daughters. This was the
last born of her sons, Beauchamp Newton. He was
a captain in militia, and, in 1798, married Miss
40 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrEK.
Adams, by ^vllom lie had two children — ISIatilda, and
a posthumous son, Charles Beauchamp, born soon
after the decease of his father. The allusions to this
son and his affectionate wife, in jNIrs. Cooper's
letters, are written in terms expressive of the same
maternal attachment, as that which she has exhi-
bited towards her other children in the letters
already quoted. He appears in character to have
very closely resembled the mild and retiring Lovick.
In one of her letters, having just spoken of his
brother Astley, Mrs. Cooper thus writes : — " Beau-
champ has a very similar sweetness of temper, a
feeling heart, a docile mind, and a desire of improve-
ment." He had been for some time slowly wasting
under the influence of consumption, when one day,
while taking some exercise in the open air, he burst
a blood-vessel, the effect of which soon put a ter-
mination to his life. This event occurred a.d.
1802. ]\Iy cousin Beauchamp is the present in-
cumbent of the living of INIorley, which he inherited
from his father, mIio had received the advowson
from Dr. Cooper.
HIS BIRTH. 41
CHAPTER II.
Birth of Sir Astley Cooper. Is nursed by a Foster-
MoTHER. Parental Education. His Character while
UNDER THE TUITION OF Mr. LaRKE, OF BrOOKE. HiS
Boyish Enterprise and Contempt of Danger. Anec-
dotes. Accident on Welbeck Common. Mr. Sher-
rington's Recollections of Sir Astley Cooper at
School. Boyish Adventures. Fatal Injury to Astley
Cooper's Foster-Brother. Astley Cooper's singular
Presence op Mind. The Influence of this Occur-
rence ON Sir Astley Cooper. He leaves Brooke.
Having thus given a brief account of the
members of the family more immediately interest-
ing in their relationshiji to the subject of these
Memoirs, mo now jiroceed to the consideration of
his own eventful history. It has been already stated
that Astley Paston Cooper was the fourth son of
Dr. and INIrs. Cooper, and that he was the first of
their children born at Brooke. His birthday was
the 23rd of August, 1768, and he was baptized, as
appears by the parish register, on the 9th day of the
following month. His godfather was Sir Edward
Astley, at that time member for the county, the
grandfather of Sir Jacob Astley, now Lord Has-
tings. Mrs. Cooper, whilst pregnant with him, ex-
perienced more suffering than with any other of her
previous children, or than she did with any of those
born after him.
After a few days, in accordance with the custom
42 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
M'hich at this time prevailed among- the more
respectable Norfolk families, of sending their chil-
dren to be nursed away from home, (a practice which
Sir Astley Cooper afterwards reprobated in a most
marked manner*,) the infant Astley was placed
under the care of Mrs. Love, the wife of a sub-
stantial farmer, one of Dr. Cooper's parishioners.
* The following remarks, extracted from the latest of Sir
Astley Cooper's publications, will exemplify his opinions on this
subject; and as they are of so excellent a tendency, and not
otherwise likely to meet the eye of my unprofessional readers,
I have thought it proper to insert them here. After some pro-
fessional observations, he says: — "If a woman be healthy, and
she has milk in her breast, there can be no question of the pro-
priety of her giving suck. If such a question be put, the answer
should be, that all animals, even those of the most ferocious cha-
racter, show affection for their young, — do not forsake them, but
yield them their milk, — do not neglect, but nurse and watch over
them; and shall woman, the loveliest of Nature's creatures, pos-
sessed of reason as well as instinct, refuse that nourishment to
her offspring which no other animal withholds, and hesitate to
perform that duty which all of the Mammalia class invariably
discharge? Besides, it may be truly said, that nursing the infant
is most beneficial both to the mother and the child, and that
women who have been previously delicate, often become strong
and healthy while they suckle.
" A female of luxury and refinement is often in this respect
a worse mother than the inhabitant of the meanest hovel, who
nurses her children, and brings them up healthy under priva-
tions and bodily exertions to obtain subsistence, which mi^ht
almost excuse lier refusal.
" The frequent sight of the child, watching it at the breast,
the repeated calls for attention, the dawn of each attack of
disease, and the cause of its little cries are constantly begettinor
EARLY EDUCATION. 43
It is not improbable that JNIrs. Cooper's state of
health, in some measure, influenced her in this cir-
cumstance, as she does not appear to have allowed
this fashion to divert her from the natural course
in respect to the nurture of her other children.
The fact, however, of his being placed with Mrs.
Love is interesting, from an important circumstance
which subsequently occurred to Astley Cooper, in
connexion with a son of this person, and which
will be hereafter noticed.
The precise period at which he left his foster-
mother is not known, but it is probable that he
returned to his father's house, Brooke Hall, when
he no longer required the constant attendance of
a nurse. As soon as he was of an age to receive
instruction, Mrs. Cooper, according to the plan
which she voluntarily adopted with all her children,
began sedulously to implant in her son the rudiments
of education, and principles of religion, — a task
which the qualities we have already described as
distinguishing her character — her own religious
habits, her excellent disposition and superior talents
— rendered her so eminently fitted to undertake.
Notwithstanding her literary pursuits (all her works
feelings of aflfection, which a mother who docs not suckle sehloin
feels in an equal degree, when she allows the care of her child
to devolve upon another, and suffers her maternal feelings to give
place to indolence or caprice, on the empty calls of a fashionable
and luxurious life."
Sir Astley having thus stated the advantages of nursing to
the mother, proceeds to describe the multitude of advantages
accruing to the child from the same source.
44 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
having been produced at periods subsequent to her
marriage,) and numerous domestic engagements,
Mrs. Cooper contrived to devote a considerable
period of licr time to her son Astley, in common
^^•itll his brothers and sisters, and from her he
derived all his knoAvledge of English grammar and
history, for the latter of which studies he ever
retained a fondness; while from the tuition of his
father he obtained an ordinary acquaintance with the
Latin and Greek classics. The information which
he acquired, under his father's superintendence,
seems to have been sufficient to enable him to read
Horace in the one and the New Testament in the
other; but at no after period of his life was the amount
of his classical knowledge such as to induce him to
peruse the works generally read by the more ad-
vanced in such pursuits: the gratification which
they are capable of affording to the polished scholar,
being to him more than counterbalanced by the
drudgery he had to encounter in arriving at the
interpretation. It is probable, however, that he
obtained a good insight into the construction of
these languages, so far as his reading permitted, for
Dr. Cooper was a strict disciplinarian, directed
much of his pupil's attention to the rules of grammar
and diction, and was himself, as exhibited in the
honours which he gained at Cambridge, a scholar of
no ordinary attainments.
Astley's only other preceptor at this period was
Mr.Larke, the master of the village school, and father
of ^Ir, C. Larke, who is now residing at Brooke, and
MR. LARKE. 45
actively engaged in the duties of medical practice.
Mr. Larke was in the habit of attending at the
Hall to instruct Dr. Cooper's family in writing,
ciphering, and mathematics, and among all his \
pupils, there does not appear to have been one, .
who, by progress in these studies, did him less J
credit than the young Astley. Indeed, he does notT
seem to have made any advancement whatever in
the science of mathematics, a tolerable knowledge
of which his brothers, prior to their leaving home
for college, obtained from Mr. Larke; but it must
be remembered, that this gentleman's preceptorship
ceased when Dr. Cooper left Brooke, at which period
Astley was not yet thirteen years of age. Mr.
Larke, too, although otherwise well qualified for the
duties of his situation, appears to have failed in im-
pressing his young pupil with a proper degree of
reverence for himself; and Sir Astley, in after life,
has not unfrequently mentioned that Mr. Larke was
the subject of an infirmity which rendered him
easily manageable by those who were aware of the
circumstance. This was such an unusual degree of
nervous susceptibility, that when he received a
slight blow, or was merely touched suddenly, on
the pit of his stomach, he was for a time de})rived
of the power of respiration — a circumstance, of
which it would appear his refractory scholar did not
omit to avail himself on certain occasions*. In
addition to these circumstances, Astley Cooper was
* It is, perhaps, worthy of remark, that ^Fr. Laike died of
disease in the stomach.
46 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
at this time remarkable for displaying anytliing but
assiduity and attention to study of any sort, although
he occasionally exhibited traces of an unusually
quick perception and superior intellectual powers.
But the volatility of his disposition, the constant
buoyancy of his spirits, seconded by a constitution
teeming with health and strength, rendered the con-
finement necessarily attendant on study peculiarly
irksome to him, and induced him, whenever an op-
portunity occurred of escaping from the vigilance
of his teachers, to join in whatever sports were
going forward in the neighbourhood, and, indeed,
led him into a variety of pranks, which were conti-
nually creating alarm in the minds of his parents,
and occasionally, though not often, brought upon
him their displeasure. For any of his friends to be
angry with Astley Cooper was a thing of rare occur-
rence, and seldom of any other than of temporary
duration: for he possessed qualities, which, while
they gave him a hajipy facility of disarming ill will,
procured him the regard and affection of all his
associates, and of every visitor at the Hall, more
particularly of the female portion, with whom he
was always an especial favourite, and who were ever
ready to be advocates on his behalf. This influence
was attributable to a peculiarly animated and ever
cheerful countenance, to a frank and open temper,
generous disposition, and an easy deportment: but,
perhaps, more than on any other account, to his bold
and si)irited courage, which rendered him conspi-
cuous not only above the members of his own
I
ADVENTURES. 47
family, but far above all his young companions in
the neighbourhood.
The hazardous adventures in which he was
engaged, and the daring freaks which he pdayed,
while living under the domestic roof at Brooke,
were many of them so remarkable as never to
have been effaced from the memory of those who
were engaged in them as colleagues or merely as
sjiectators; and he himself, to the latest period of
his life, like the old soldier "fighting his early
battles o'er again," would often revert to, and de-
scribe the droll and mischievous feats of his child-
hood, the strongest impressions of which he retained
through life, ajiparently with no less amusement to
himself at the recollection, than to his hearers from
the description. It is to the preservation of these
anecdotes, that we are indebted for an acquaintance
with the early days of Sir Astley Cooper very much
more full than is usually obtained of eminent men:
— to an extent, indeed, which is not a little remark-
able, when WG remember that he was one of a
numerous family, and without any extraordinary de-
velopment of any peculiar talent. And although by
some they may be looked upon as merely the acts
of a careless headstrong child, and unworthy of
notice in a life so signalized as that of Sir Astley
Cooper, they, nevertheless, to those who delight to
trace the character of the man in the doi/, jjossess an
abundant share of interest.
Who can say that the admiration and a])plause
the young Astley Cooper obtained from his fellows
48 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
for the intrepidity displayed by him in these youth-
ful exploits, were not in truth the elements of that
love of superiority and thirst for fame, which pre-
vented him ever afterwards being contented with
any but the highest rank in every undertaking with
which he associated himself? Certain it is, that
even at this early period, in every boyish enterprise
of danger, Astley Cooper was nnanimously fixed
upon to hold that position, which he afterwards
maintained when his colleagues and competitors
Avere mon — not unlike the account given by Xeno-
phon of Cyrus, whom, when a boy in an obscure
village, he represents as rendering himself so distin-
guished among his rustic companions as to be by
common consent elected king in their juvenile
diversions. If orchards were to be robbed, or gar-
dens plundered, Cooper was the general to anIioui
Mas entrusted the arrangement of the attack and
the division of the spoil: if horses were to be
tamed, he was the Diomed who took in hand the
management of their subjection. So fearless was
he in undertakings of this sort, that he has been
known to ride without a bridle, guiding them only
with a stick, horses which others, though properly
equipped, dared scarcely to mount. Not unfre-
quently he might be seen driving out of a field the
neighbouring farmer's cows, mounted upon the back
of the bull ; sometimes running along the eaves of
barns of great height*; and, in short, in any under-
* A lofty barn, with a (.louble-iiicliucHl roof, still staiuls near
the church at Bruukc, from the top of whicli, I was hitely
I
ACCIDENT AT BROOKE. 49
taking that occurred to him offering unusual risk in
its accomplishment, he appears to have at once
engaged, with apparently the most utter reckless-
ness of consequences. This adventurous disposition
brought on him not only the inconvenience of
having to bear the brunt of the accusation of every
mischievous transaction that occurred in the village,
of which the author was unknown — and of course
now and then undeservedly; but occasionally led to
results of a much more serious character, very
often, indeed, to circumstances involving his very
existence in imminent hazard.
The following anecdotes have been communicated
to me by his elder brother, Mr. Bransby Cooper.
" Having climbed one day to the roof of one of the
aisles of Brooke church, he lost his hold, and was pre-
cipitated to the ground, but, providentially, escaped
with only a few bruises. He was always fond of
playing with donkeys, or dickeys, as they are called
in Norfolk, and provoking them till they kicked
him; and he bore many marks for some time of their
violence. One day when he was riding a horse,
which he had caught on Welbeck Common, near the
house, he directed the animal with his whip to leap
over a cow which was lying on the ground; but the
informed by the vicar, Mr. Castell, Astley Cooper fell one day,
when they were boys together, fortunately for himself, among
some hay in the stable-yard below. The height of the barn is
so great, that had he fallen into the church-yard, which bounds
it on the opposite side, he would in all probability have been
severely injured. ^^'^"^^ "^ s
VOL. I. -Bk f ) ,. ' r-
50 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
COW rose at the instant, and overthrew both the
horse and its rider, who liad his collar-bone broken
in the falL"
"Astley and I were one day together on the
top of a hayrick, assisting the men in trampling
down the hay, when we amused ourselves by a
game which is very common in Norfolk, but, I
believe, i:>eculiar to that county. The manner of
jilaying at the game is the following: one of the
party lies down on his back, generally on a stack of
hay, with his hands open and stretched behind his
head, his feet and legs at the same time being bent
at right angles to his body, and directed upwards.
The other then takes his stand upon the hands
of the former, while he balances his body upon
the feet of his recumbent comimnion. The object
is, for the boy lying beneath, by a simultaneous
extension of his arms and legs, to project his poised
plapnate to a certain spot, which, when the boy
below is strong, and the feat well performed, may
be to a distance at first hardly credible. In the
instance now alluded to, I, who was lying on the stack,
in projecting Astley, overshot my mark, and he fell
over the edge of the stack on to the stone yard
below, and sustained some severe bruises, from
which however he soon recovered." ]Mr. Cooper
thus concludes his account of his brother Astley at
this period: "He was a great plague to his elder
brothers, particularly William, whose articles of
clothing, &c., he was per])etually appropriating to
himself."
ANECDOTES. 51
Fortunately, however, the diversions of Astley
Cooper at tliis period were not all attended with
similar serious results; they are, however, suffi-
ciently eccentric and interesting to warrant their
appearance in these Memoirs. The following, which
have been kindly communicated to me by an old
Brooke companion of Astley Cooper, Mr. Samuel
Sherrington, are so curious, and so graphically
described, that it would be an injustice to my
readers to give them in any other than that gentle-
man's own words.
"In the year 1782, I was a boarder in a school
at the village of Brooke, in Norfolk, conducted by
a Mr. Brigham. The Rev. Doctor Cooper, Sir
Astley's father, was at that time living in the
manor-house of Brooke, and the late Sir Astley,
then Master Astley Cooper, lived at his father's
house. The commencement of my knowledge with
IVIaster Astley Cooper was as follows: one after-
noon the bell to summon the scholars to their
duties had rung, and T, together with the rest,
was hastening to the school-room, when some boy
snatched one of the scholar's hats from off his
head, and threw it into one of the 'meres,' or
ponds of water, which are situate in the village, and
by which we were passing. The boy, lamenting the
loss of his hat, and fearing he should be punished
for his absence from the school, M'as crying very
bitterly, when there came to the spot a young-
gentleman, dressed, as Mas then the fashion of the
E 2
52 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
day, in a scarlet coat, a three-cocked hat, a glazed
black collar or stock, naukeeii small clothes, and
white silk stockings — his hair hanging in ringlets
down his back. He seeing the boy crying, and
being informed of the cause of his sorrow, delibe-
rately marched into the water, obtained the hat,
and returned it to the unlucky owner. You may
imagine his appearance when he came from the
pond, he having been immersed in mud and water
much above his knees. This young gentleman Svas
no other than jNIaster Astley Cooper, who had just
returned from a dancing school, held at the King's
Head (an inn in the village) by some teacher from
the neighbouring city of Norwich. I had some
conversation with him at the time, and from that
period he seemed to have taken a fancy to me, and
selected me as a companion. We were both of us
frolicksome, mischievous boys, and played many
pranks together in the village. I was a great
favourite with the usher of my school, and Master
Astley frequently prevailed on him to let me accom-
pany him for an evening's ramble."
Mr. Sherrington next relates an adventure in
which they were engaged against a tailor in the
village, to whom Astley owed a slight grudge. In
the detail, however, of the principal event, — an
attack upon the poor man's windows, — there is
nothing worthy of publication, nor characteristic of
my uncle, excepting another proof of the natural
kindness of his disposition, from his having subse-
AXECDOTES. 53
quently, of liis own accord, called on the tailor, and
remunerated him for the fright and injury to which
he had been subjected.
JNIr. Sherrington thus proceeds in his narration:
' — " A very laughable occurrence afterwards took
place betwixt Master Astley and a Mr. , who
had an imbecile wife, and was, consequently,
obliged to manage his domestic affairs himself. It
came to the ears of Master Astley that this gen-
tleman was much inclined to take unbecomins-
liberties with his maid servants, and resolving to
ascertain the tnith of this report, on hearing that
Mr. had a vacancy in his establishment for
a maid servant, Master Astley took the resolution
of disguising himself as one, and applying for
the situation. For this purpose he borrowed a
dress of one of the servants in the doctor's house,
and, accoutred in her habiliments, jDroceeded, in the
dusk of the evening, to ISIr. 's house. Ar-
rived, he was introduced to Mr. , who, j^leased
with the appearance of the supposed maid servant,
engaged her for the vacant situation, and, indeed,
was apparently so pleased with her, that he accom-
panied her part of the way home, holding a conver-
sation till they arrived at a stile where they were to
part. Previously to this taking place, however,
Mr. endeavoured to impress a kiss on the lips
of his supposed fair companion, when Master Astley
suddenly discovered himself, and said, 'Now, Mr,
— — , I have often heard you were fond of the
maids, but I am Astley Cooper;' and then bidding
54 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
him good night, said, ' I shall say nothing about it
to the doctor.'"
This is the latest of the adventures of Astley
Cooper, at his native village, recorded by INIr. Sher-
rington, and appears to have occurred about the
time Avhen Dr. Cooper was presented with the living
of Great Yarmouth, and therefore not long previous
to the departure of Astley, together with the rest
of his father's family, from Brooke. Before, how-
ever, this event took place, though the particular
2)eriod is not kno^^^i, an incident occurred, no less
remarkable in itself, than important in its result to
the princii^al agent in the transaction — Astley
Coo]ier. It is one of those unaccountable occur-
rences in which an individual, by a single action,
seems to display an intuitive knowledge of a prin-
ciple which it has taken others, in the progress of
science, years to arrive at ; and, in this instance,
seems to justify the application to the surgeon —
of the observation usually applied only to the poet
— " Nascitur, non fit." The circumstance we are
about to mention is,' at first sight, but little remark-
able; but assumes considerable interest, when we
reflect on the train of reasoning which must have,
although perhajjs insensibly, passed through the mind
of Astley Cooper, before he could possibly have
arrived at the conclusion on which he acted. The
occasion to which these remarks relate was the fol-
lowing: —
AVe have already mentioned the circumstance
of Astley Cooper's being nursed by a foster-mother.
ACCIDENT TO HIS FOSTER-BROTHER. 55
Mrs. Love. A sou of this person, somewhat older
than Astley Cooj^er, had been ordered by his father
to convey some coals to the house of Mr. Castell,
the vicar, and while on the road, by some accident
the poor lad fell down in front of the cart, one
wheel of which, before he could recover himself,
passed over his thigh, and, among other injuries,
caused the laceration of its principal artery. The
unfortunate boy, paralyzed by the shock of the
accident, and sinking under the loss of blood, — the
flow of which was attempted to be stopped by the
pressure of handkerchiefs applied to the part only,
— was carried, almost exhausted, to his home, where,
Astley Cooper having heard of the accident which
had befallen his foster-brother, almost immediately
afterwards arrived. The bleeding was continuing,
or, probably having for a time ceased, had broken
out afresh. All was alarm and confusion, — when
the young Astley, in the midst of the distressing
scene, alone capable of deliberating, and perceiving
the necessity of instantly preventing further loss of
blood, had the presence of mind to encircle the limb
with his pocket handkerchief above the wound, and
afterwards to bind it round so tightly, that it acted
as a ligature upon the wounded vessel, and stopped
the bleeding. To these means his foster-brother
owed a prolongation of life until the arrival of the
surgeon who had been sent for from Loddon.
The courage which this transaction exhibits is
altogether different from that displayed by Astley
5G LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Cooper in the adventures already related; for, ban-
ishing the disgust which so generally, and almost,
it would seem, naturally fills the mind at the sight
of blood flowing from a large wound, — unterrified by
the attendant circumstances of horror or the dis-
tress of those who surrounded his dying foster-
brother, — he did at once precisely that which science
would have taught the most expert surgeon to have
done, had he been jiresent. It might be supposed
that he had at some time overheard, or had had
explained to him, the proper method of acting in case
of a calamity such as that above described. But
this is on every account highly imjDrobable, and
indeed, if by chance the suggestion were proved to
be correct, the decision of character which the
prompt application of the remedy exhibited, Avould
be rarely met with among boys of his age, and the
fact, therefore, indicates as high a quality of mind as
that of the inventive power which could first project
the fit mechanical means employed.
It is strange that the first application of Astley's
intrepidity to a surgical purpose should have been
directed towards an individual to whom he must
naturally have felt himself bound by ties, little less
endearing, than those of consanguinity. The blood
which he stanched had received its early sustenance
from the same breast which had nourished his own.
If only on this account the event would have created
a strong feeling in his mind: but it must have been
rendered far more impressive, from the relief
INCLINATION TO SURGERY. 57
afforded by his beneyolent exertions to the dis-
tressed mother, in whose affections he himself stood
second only to the sufferer.
Sir Astley Cooper, in after life, used to relate \
that this accident, which he always regarded as a i
remarkable event in his own history, first bent his
thoughts towards the profession of surgery; and it i
not difficult to imagine, that such an influence would
be exerted on his mind, both by the gratitude of
the friends of the poor boy, who witnessed his con-
duct on the occasion, and the flattering applauses of
his own friends, to whom the circumstance might
be related. In addition, the gratification of his
own warm heart at having thus been made the
means of prolonging the life of a fellow-creature,
and his anticipations of similar delight in a profession
where such sources of pleasure would be probably
of frequent occurrence, would tend to make its
pursuit an object of his ambition. The success of
his uncle, Mr. William Cooper, of London, toge-
ther with his own previous inattention to study,
and, perhaps, positive dislike to a college life and
literary pursuits, without doubt had also considerable
weight with him in this consideration. Although
the taste for surgical pursuits was thus excited, he
had as yet by no means fixed upon his future course
in life, nor was it until other circumstances, which
we shall have to mention in the following chapter,
had occurred, that he determined to devote his
future life and enegies to that science, in following
58
LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
^vllicll lie afterwards acquired so much renowu, aud
over which he shed so bright a kistre.
We have already mentioned that, in the year
1781, Dr. Cooper was presented with the vicarage
of Great Yarmouth, to which town he and his
family, leaving the manor-house at Brooke, imme-
diately repaired. The sketches which we have
already given of Astley Cooper's habits and dis-
position, during his residence at his native village,
and the incidents Ave have recounted, sufficiently
offer to the reader an insight into his character at
that period; and we noAv, therefore, take leave of
*' Master Astley," until he has become settled in
his father's new domicile, the parsonage-house at
Yarmouth.
VILLAGE OF BROOKE. 59
CHAPTER III.
The Village of Brooke in Norfolk, The Manor- House
IN AVHiCH Sir Astley Cooper avas born. Sir Astley
Cooper's attachment to it in after life. His Recol-
lections OP ins Native Village, and Reflections on
ITS PRESENT ALTERED CONDITION. My LATE ViSIT TO
Norfolk. Appearance of Brooke at the present
TIME. Remains of the old Brooke Hall. The Brooke
Oak. The Church and its Associations. Monument
TO one op Sir Astley Cooper's Sisters.
I CANNOT leave the village of Brooke, of whicli
I have already had so frequently to speak, and
around which, to the friends and admirers of Astley
Cooper, in future will exist so many interesting
associations, without giving some slight description
of it, as well as of its old manor-house. The latter,
although no longer in existence as the witness
of the early days of Astley Cooper, lives in my
recollections witli a feeling akin to reverence; and,
I am assured, that this feeling will be found, in
some degree, to exist in all those who regard the
memory of the illustrious sul^ject of these Memoirs
with the admiration due to his eminent services and
estimable character.
The village of Brooke, distant about three miles
from Shotisham and seven from Norwich, is one of
the prettiest and most retired villages in the county
60 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
of Norfolk, but is noM' very different in character
from -what it was in the early days of Astley Cooper.
The manor-house, in M'hich he was born, was an old
building with a spacious hall, and with its outhouses,
gardens, and orchards occupied a considerable plot
of ground. When Dr. Cooper first went to it in the
year 1767, the house and the estate on which it was
situated belonged to ]\Ir. Warde, whose heiress
married Lord Roseberry ; and this nobleman it was
who afterwards sold it to the family of the
Holmes's, its present possessors. They liaA'e since
pulled down the old mansion, and in its stead
erected the present modern edifice. This circum-
stance, when it occurred, caused no little concern
to Sir Astley Cooper, who had conceived for the
old house an almost romantic affection, — so that,
on hearing of its impending fate, he took pains
to procure a sketch of it. Indeed, there was no
trait of the character of Sir Astley Cooper more
prominently conspicuous, perhaps, than his strong
attachment to places, whether remarkable on ac-
count of their association with himself, or with those
others whom he loved, or mIioso memory he
honoured. With this feeling ever predominant, —
even when arrived at the zenith of his jirofessional
fame, — he always contemplated and sj^oke of the
place of his birth, and the scenes of his childhood,
with a sort of filial regard, and delighted to indulge
the hope of once more revisiting them. But the
cares and numerous engagements Mhich his eminent
position and extensive practice brought upon him,
I
ATTACHMENT TO HIS NATIVE VILLAGE. Gi
and the attention which he bestowed on his own
contiguous estate at Hemel Hempstead, prevented
the fulfilment of this desire until a few years before
his decease: when, with a realization of delight
perhaps far within the amount which he had antici-
pated, the object of his longing was at last attained,
and he again stood amidst those scenes, the memory
of which he had so fondly cherished. The notes
which he made on this occasion, — rough and hur-
riedly written down as they are, — are full of tender
recollection and the warmest feeling, and we do not
hesitate to insert them here ; for while they serve
to illustrate the feature in Sir Astley Cooper's
character, to which we have just alluded, they at the
same time present to the reader a more graphic
description, perhaps, of the village of Brooke as it
appeared some sixty years since, than any ampler
account which we could obtain from other sources.
Having given his orders at the village inn, the
landlord of which still shows with pride the humble
room in which he dined, Sir Astley writes, " I walked
down the village, along an enclosed road, dull and
shadowed by plantations on either side; instead of
those commons and open spaces, ornamented here
and there by clean cottages. The little mere* was
so much smaller than in my imagination, that I
could hardly believe my eyes: — the great mere
was half empty, and dwindled also to a paltry pond.
On my right were the plantations of Mr. Ketts,
overshading the road, and for which numerous
* A common term in Norfolk for an isolated piece of water.
62 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
cottages had been sacrificed ; on my left, — cottages
enclosed in gardens. Still proceeding to the scenes
of my early years, on the right \vas a lodge leading
to j\Ir. Holmes's new house, and water with a boat
on it ; — a fine mansion, but overlooking the lands of
Mr. Ketts. I then walked on to the vicar's, Mr.
Castell, but he was out. I looked for the church
mere, and it was filled up, planted, and converted
into a garden. I looked for the old Brooke Hall,
the place of my nativity and the seat of the happi-
ness of my early years — for the road which led to it
and its forecourt — its flower gardens and kitchen
gardens — its stable-yard and coach-houses — and all
were gone. The very place where they once were
is forgotten. Here we had our boat, our swimming,
our shooting — excellent partridge- shooting — in
Brooke-wood toleraljle pheasant-shooting — wood-
cocks — in Seething Fen abundance of snipes — a
good neighbourhood, seven miles from Norwich,
almost another London, where my grandfather lived;
we knew everybody, kept a carriage and chaise, saw
much company, and were almost allowed to do as
we liked ; but the blank of all these gratifications
now oidy remains.
" The once beautiful village is swallowed up by
two parks — cottages cut down to make land for
them — commons enclosed, &c.*"
■■• On the page of his note-book opposite to that on which the
above is written. Sir Astley Cooper has penned a rude but inte-
resting diagram of the village as it was at the period of hig
childhood, and parallel with this, another of the village as he
then found it, in a.d. 1830.
REFLECTIONS. 63
These reminiscences, called forth when standing
before the place of his birth — the spot where all
his earliest recollections centered — present a truly
touching picture, and forcibly recall the similar
reflections, familiar to every reader, of Dr. Gold-
smith on his own -once smiling Auburn. If Sir
Astley did not repeat the following lines, which are
but slightly altered from the original, it is suffi-
ciently evident that his feelings Avere to the full in
keeping with those of which they are expressive :— r-
Sweet village ! parent of tlie blissful hour ;
* * * -u- * * * * It *
Here, as with solitary step I stray,
Along thy cheerless, once familiar way,
And, many years elapsed, return to view
Where once the cottage stood, the hawthorn grew ;
Here, as with doubtful, pensive step I range,
Trace every scene, and wonder at the change.
Remembrance wakes with all her busy train,
Swells at my breast, and turns the past to pain.
Indeed, it seems not a little probable that these
very lines did pass through the mind of Sir Astley
CoojDer, when he made the remarks above quoted ;
for subsequently, when reflecting on the probable
cause of these changes, " the immense capital pro-
duced by commerce, enabling individuals to purchase
land, &c.," he quotes from the same poem a portion
of the paragraph commencing with the well-known
lines, —
111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey.
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay, — &c.
This feeling of regret at the altered state of
Brooke is not confined to Sir Astley Cooper, for I
64 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
have heard similar feelings expressed by those of its
inhabitants who were acquainted with it in their
childhood, and previously to its present altered con-
dition. Thus, Mr. Castell the vicar has related to
me that it had lost to him its original and most
attractive features — the unenclosed green, the walnut
trees, the school-room, &c. But to the visitor,
unimpressed by any early associations, the changes
which this still pleasing village has undergone, will
probably apj^ear highly beneficial. It is true, the
open green is gone, and with it the advantages
which a common usually affords to the poorer inha-
bitants ; but instead, the cottages, all of the neatest
description and in excellent repair, stand in the
midst of well enclosed and cultivated gardens : the
two meres, abundantly stocked with fish, are sur-
rounded by trees of luxuriant growth, spreading
chesnuts, willows dipping into the water beneath,
and tall poplars ; and these again are separated from
the high road, which, dividing, runs on either side,
by neatly painted wooden palings ; while an air of
quiet cheerfulness and order reigns over the whole
place and gives it a charm which cannot fail to
inspire a stranger with ideas of the comfort of its
inhabitants. The j)resent Brooke Hall is a hand-
some stone structure, built by Wilkins in the
modern style, surrounded by a good park and beau-
tifully arranged gardens, and, from the spot where
it is now placed, which is considerably higher than
the site of the former manor-house, commands a
pleasing and exteasive view of gently undulating
PRESENT APPEARANCE OF BROOKE. (jO
and well-cultivated land, agreeably interspersed witli
wood and water. It has, however, the disadvantage
noticed by Sir Astley, of overlooking the neighbour-
ing estates of Mr. Kett, its own estates stretching
out towards the village of Howe. In a late visit
which I made to this village, in company with my
friend JNIr. Longmore, many vestiges of the old
manor-house were pointed out to us by JNIr. Castell
the vicar, which will be long fondly cherished in
the recollections of those who honour the memory
of my beloved uncle. The site both of the house
and the grounds which immediately surrounded
it, is now chiefly occupied by the hot-houses,
kitchen gardens, and orchards of the present
Hall ; but a part of the outer wall and large gate-
wav, which oj^ened into ' the fore court,' remain
but little altered. Within may be traced the double
road leading up to the house, along which, the
Doctor on a Sunday morning used to ride in his
stately coach drawn by four black horses, the starting
of which, as it rattled over the loose stones, Mr.
Castell assured me, could be heard at Yelverton,
where he used to preach, and was the signal for the
bells to commence ringing to call the parishioners
to service. The old pigeon-house remains unaltered,
and near it a portion of the stables. At the back,
on the way to the present mansion, stands an oak
remarkable for its beauty and vigour, called, par
e^vcellence, the Brooke Oak*, and reported to be
''^ In the Eastern Arhoretum, by James Grigok, No. X.,
p. 241, may be seen an etching of this tree. In the description
VOL. I. P
66 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
upwards of two centuries old. This tree, when Astley
Cooper was a boy at Brooke, stood at the head of a
large moat, and beneath the shade of its branches
he was accustomed to undress, and thence to leap
into the water at its foot. Here he learned to
swim. The moat no longer remains; it is filled up
and planted. The church, which closely adjoins the
gardens, is small and ancient, without aisles or
transept; but having a tower and peal of bells.
The interior is plain : its roof, which is composed of
wood, is said to have been erected upwards of seven
centuries since. Near to the old-fashioned porch,
an ancient font, covered with rudely-chiselled figures,
long since mutilated by fanatic zeal, stands as it did
when the unconscious subject of these Memoirs first
received the name which he has since rendered so
illustrious. Not one of the least interesting fea-
tures of the place is the large family pew of my
grandfather, placed immediately behind the screen,
which formerly divided the chancel and nave, on
one side of the pulpit, and between it and the altar;
the corresponding pew on the opposite side having
been appropriated to the servants. Here Astley
first listened to the public teaching of the word of
occur the following remarks : — " Are we, as lovers of trees, in
quest of fine oaks, where shall we find one more happily placed
or of finer character than that which rises on the left hand side
of the drive as we approach the mansion ? (Brooke Hall.) It
is an exceedingly fine tree, and, as our etching proves, a true
oak. Its circumference of trunk, at one foot from the surface of
the ground, is seventeen feet nine inches; its hole fifteen feet;
and its extreme height sixty-five feet."
I
BROOKE CHURCH AND ITS AS£OCIATIONS. G7
God, — the object of many a fervent prayer breathed
by the doating mother at whose side he knelt, of
sisterly and fraternal love, and of general admira-
tion. From this pew each Sunday, at the appointed
time, he used to walk down the church with his
elder brothers, and entering a little door, which still
remains, ascended to the gallery above, and joining
in the simj^le village choir, poured forth his youthful
voice in j^raise. These tokens of the past remain
unchanged; but of those who then met together
among them, two only survive — one, the elder bro-
ther of him who has given these relics so much
interest; the other, my reverend friend, the present
pastor, who still dwells among the scenes of his
boyhood.
As Mr. Castell drew my attention to these
things, the jdcw, the very jnilpit from which my
grandfather had so often preached to his congrega-
tion and large family beneath, a thousand pictures
flitted before my fancy, while as many feelings
crowded in my breast, and painfully excited me;
and at one time, under the influence of these emo-
tions, I went into the pulpit. There, abstracting
my thoughts, I endeavoured to take a retrospective
vision of the family, as when they formerly assem-
bled in the pew beneath, and such is the power of
imagination, that I brought to my view Mrs. Cooper
and her children all before me. Her mild counte-
nance, which had hardly presented itself to my
imagination for years, seemed now suddenly recalled
to my memory, its image being retraced with an
F 2
68 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
intensity of expression proportionate to that of my
feelings. ISIy knowledge of the character of my
micles gave me a rapid judgment of what I suppose
must have been their youthful expression. The
dignified Bransby, the meek Lovick, the vivacious
Astley, were all, as boys, before me; and the
feeling became so strong from the pleasurable
excitement of the delusion, that when I closed my
eyes, I could hardly doubt the reality of their j^re-
sence. The impression, however, was evanescent,
and in the next minute the phantom had fled, and
reality brought me back to think of the truth, of
how repeatedly the grave had opened, and that
those on whom my mind just now so j^owerfully
dwelt, were all, save one, numbered with the dead.
There is only one monument in the church,
to the memory of any of Dr. Cooper's family: it is
to Sir Astley's infant sister, IMaria, who died when
he himself was only four years old. The inscription
is the following: —
Sacred to the Memory
of
Anna Mari^\,
The infant daughter of
The late Rev, Dr. Cooper, Minister of Yarmouth,
And of Maria Susanna, his Wife,
Who resided at Brooke Hall from a.d. 17(57 to a.d. 1782.
She died on the 7th of June, 1770,
And was buried
Under the North Wall of this Church.
To Innocence
No death can be untimely.
C9
CHAPTER lY.
ASTLEY CoOPEu's ARRIVAL AT YARMOUTH. IIlS PROPENSITY
FOR Adventure continues. His narrow escape in
Yarmouth Church ; in Yarmouth River. He soon
BECOMES AN ObJECT OF GENERAL OBSERVATION IN THE
Town. Devotes himself to Amusement. Anecdotes.
BIr. Sherrington's account of Astley Cooper at this
PERIOD. Astley Cooper's interruption of the Mar-
riage Ceremony. Description of Bacon the Sexton
OP Yarmouth at that time, and his Wife. Astley
confined to a room by his Father. Dr. Cooper's
Prediction concerning him. Astley Cooper's Sensi-
15ILITY OF Disposition. Miss "Wordsavorth. Astley
Cooper's Ride to Howe. His recollection in after
LIFE OF this Visit. ]\Ir. "William Cooper's Visits
to Yarmouth. Astley Cooper's attention directed
to the jMedical Profession. Witnesses an Operation
by Dr. Donnee of Norwich. Influence of this upon
HIM. Anxiety to visit the Metropolis.
Astley Cooper was between twelve and thirteen
years of age when he arrived at Yarmouth,
in which town he remained for a period of
about two years and a half, prior to his de-
parture for London. lie brought with him from
Brooke all his propensity for mischief, and for
some time, indeed, seems to have made use
of the increased extent in size and jiopulation
of his new place of residence, merely as a means
of indulging more easily and on a larger scale
in those levities — the offspring of a buoyant heart
70 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
and thoughtless youth — which had ah-eady distin-
guished him in the more limited sjihere he had just
relinquished. It is to be observed, however, that
these irregularities were never strictly opposed to
the interests of virtue and honesty, nor, indeed,
ever exhibited anything but rejuignance to those
mean, though less serious faults which often in-
trude into schoolboy sports and occupations: on
the contrary, they are characterized by cheerfulness
of temper, oj)enness of character, sensibility of dis-
position, and eve r quality of an ingenuous mind.
It is a matter therefore of no surprise that he should
at once have gained in Yarmouth, the same degree
of esteem among his youthful comi)anions as he had
before enjoyed at Brooke, or that conjoined with
the traces of superior intellect, which he constantly
exhibited, these qualities should have obtained for
him an equally favourable reception among the
elder visitants at his father's house.
The spirit of daring which had always distin-
guished him, seems to have increased to such an
extent, that scarcely anything was able to divert
him, which was not more or less accompanied with
personal risk. This recklessness in regard to danger
often led him into imminent peril. Soon after Dr.
Coojier's arrival in Yarmouth, the church underwent
certain repairs, and Astley having constant access
to the building from his influence with the sexton,
used frequently to amuse himself by watching the
progress of the improvements. Upon one occasion
he ascended by a ladder to the ceiling of the chancel,
NARROW ESCAPE IN YARMOUTH CHURCH. 71
(a height of seventy feet,) and with foolish temerity-
walked along one of the joists ; a position of danger,
to which few, but the workmen who Avere accus-
tomed to walk at such an elevation, would have
dared voluntarily to expose themselves. While
thus employed, his foot suddenly slipped, and he
fell between the rafters of the ceiling. One of his
legs, however, fortunately remained bent over the
joist on which he had been walking, while the foot
was caught beneath the next adjoining rafter, and by
this entanglement alone he was preserved from instant
destruction. He remained for some time suspended
with his head downwards, and it was not until after
repeated and violent efforts, that he succeeded in
jerking his body upwards, when by catching hold of
the rafter he was enabled to recover his footing". I
believe from the manner in which Sir Astley used to
refer to this adventure, that he always re-experienced
to a great degree the horror which filled his mind
at seeing the distance between him and the floor
of the chancel, when he was thus suspended from
its ceiling.
So narrow an escape would be likely to have
made most boys less adventurous in future, but it
seems that its influence on Astley was at any
rate but evanescent, for in a very short time after-
wards he exposed himself in a position scarcely
less perilous. This, however, according to his usual
good fortune, proved equally harmless. Being one
day bent upon a nautical excursion he determined
to put to sea in one of the frail barks peculiar to
72 LlrE OF SIR ASTLEY COOl'ER.
tlic river Yare, kiioAvn by the name of gun-boats.
These little vessels are very lightly put together,
being constructed solely for the purpose of carrying
a man, his gun and dog, over the shallows of Bray-
don, in pursuit of the flights of wild fowl which at
certain seasons haunt these shoals. AVhen the
boat is thus loaded, it only draws two or three
inches of vratcr: thus altogether, one would sup-
j)ose, so evidently unfitted to encounter roughness
of weather, as to preclude the probability of any
reasonable person attempting to jnit to sea in one
of them. Astley, however, seems to have con-
sidered the pleasure enhanced by the novelty
and risk of his excursion, and with a sail set,
a large stone placed in the centre of the boat as
ballast, and favoured by a strong ebb tide, he com-
menced his voyage down the river. All w^ent on
very prosperously till he reached the bar, or that
jmrt where the meeting of the salt and fresh water
occurs. A considerable agitation is thus produced ;
the boat's head was immediately thrown up by the
first wave, the stone came rolling down upon the
adventurer's legs, for he was sitting at the bottom of
his boat, there being no bench or seat in it ; it became
half filled with water, and with the greatest diffi-
culty Astley reached the shore. There he left his
boat under the care of some beachmen, and then
walked quietly home, convinced at last that a gun-
boat was not a vessel fitted for such an expedition.
From incidents of this nature and his generally
fearless and enterprising disposition, he soon acquired
AN OBJECT OF GENERAL OBSERVATION. 73
the greatest influence over his new companions at
Yarmouth, and at their head, he for a time appears
to have devoted himself to every kind of amuse-
ment within his reach, riding, boating, fishing, and
not unfrequently, to sports of a less harmless
character, such as breaking lamps and windows,
rino^inof the church bells at all hours, disturbinir
the people by frequent alterations of the town
clock, &c., so that if any mischief was committed,
the whole population would at once attribute it to
" IMaster Astley Cooper." Some of his pranks were
of the most eccentric and amusing description, while
others must have required a degree of cleverness
and ingenuity in their execution, and a command
over the expression of his features, such as boys at
his period of life are not often found to possess.
The following is one which he often related at his
table, and which, as he described it, never failed
to set his listeners into a roar of laughter, in which
he himself always heartily joined. It has lately
been corroborated to me by persons still living at
Yarmouth.
Having taken two pillows from his mother's bed,
he carried them up to the spire of Yarmouth church,
at a time when the wind was blowing from the
north-east, and as soon as he had ascended as liiirh
as he could, he ripped them open, and shaking out
their contents, dispersed them in the air. The
feathers were carried away by the wind, and fell far
and wide over the surface of the market-place, to
the great astonishment of a large number of persons
74 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY" COOPER.
assembled there. The timid looked upon it as a
phenomenon predictive of some calamity — the inqui-
sitive formed a thousand conjectures — while some,
curious in natural history, actually accounted for it,
by a gale of wind in the north blowing wild fowl
feathers from the island of St. Paul's. It was not
long, however, before the difficulty was cleared up
in the doctor's house, where it at first gave rise to
anything but those expressions of amusement which
the explanation, when circulated through the town,
is reported to have excited. I think my uncle
used to say that some extraordinary account of the
affair, before the secret was discovered, found its
way into the Norwich papers.
The following anecdote was first related to me
by a carj)enter at Yarmouth, of the name of Howe,
who was long employed by Dr. Cooper; and being
struck with its singularity, I afterwards mentioned
it to Sir Astley, who confirmed the account.
Upon one occasion, while Astley was at Yar-
mouth, it was determined to get rid of a large
chest, M'hich from its size was an inconvenience in
the house, and jNIr. Howe the carpenter received
orders to remove it. This appeared to Astley an
excellent opportunity for one of his j^ractical jokes.
It was accordingly agreed between him and the ser-
vants who were to show the men the chest, that he
should get into it, and so be carried to the car-
penter's, who lived on the other side of the market-
place. This was no sooner settled, than it was
necessary for him to get into his hiding-place, and
ANECDOTE. 75
the next instant he was descending the stair-case,
borne on the shouklers of two men, who at every
stej) alkided, not without complaint, to the unex-
pected weiglit of tlie old box. They, however, per-
severed in their errand, and at last deposited their
load at Mr. Howe's workshop, without having dis-
covered the nature of its contents. Presently, its
inhabitant, tired of his close position, but yet begin-
ning to dread the penalty he would have to pay for
his ride, having remained for some minutes in
rather a disagreeable state of suspense, plucked up
resolution, and began somewhat slowly to raise the
lid of the box. The amazement of the workmen
at this movement, and the exclamation of surprise
which followed it, caused him as rapidly to close it
again, 1)ut immediately afterwards growing des-
perate, he again pushed it up and stepped out. At
first he tried to cover the trick he had j^layed on
the men by laughter, and showed a disposition
to make his retreat ; this, however, was at once cut
off, by one of his own fatigued bearers, who was not
in the best humour now that he comjirehended the
affair, and Master Astley was not allowed to escape
from the workshop until he had made a liberal
compensation for his frolic.
]Mr. Sherrington, whose kindness I made use of
in a former chapter, when describing certain adven-
tures in wdiich he was associated with Astley Cooper
at Brooke, has also furnished me with the particu-
lars of some in connection with this period. Having
been speaking in reference to the departure of Sir
76 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
Astley from his native village, ^Mr. Sherrington
proceeds: "I also left Brooke and was apprenticed
to my father at Great Yarmouth, and though differ-
ently situated in life Mv, Astley did not forget his
school companion. The doctor also took a fancy
to me, lent me books, and frequently in the presence
of his family asked me questions on various subjects,
and when pleased with the answer I gave him, used
to pat me on the head, smile, and say, 'This is a
Brooke boy.' ]\Iaster Astley and I frequently
went out as comj^anions together, and he still con-
tinued to amuse himself by various eccentric freaks.
I remember one day, while the worthy doctor was
marrying a couple in the chancel, JNIaster Astley
secreted himself in a turret close by the altar, and
imitating his father's voice, repeated in a subdued
tone the words of the marriage service as the cere-
mony proceeded. Tlie doctor's attention was several
times attracted by this, and he remarked that lie
had never observed an echo in that place before.
lie went on, but was evidently much puzzled;
while the clerk, who shrewdly guessed the cause
but dared not inform the doctor of his suspicions,
continued during the Mhole of the service in a state
of the most disagreeable suspense, at one moment
with difficulty suppressing his laughter, at the next,
filled with alarm at the discovery Avhich seemed
every instant more and more inevitable."
The following anecdotes were also furnished to me
by the same gentleman: — The gravedigger and sexton
of Yarmouth in the time of Dr. Cooper, familiarly
NAT BACON, THE YARMOUTH SEXTON. 77
called Nat Bacon, was an odd eccentric man, as
"well in his appearance as character, and from his
simplicity and love of drinking, became a frequent
butt for the amusement of Astley and his compa-
nions. Nat Bacon was short in stature, and dis-
proportionably broad, his countenance, ridiculous
enough from its set of small features pimpled and
Yermilioned by his frequent devotions to the bottle,
was made still more ridiculous by a cast in one eye;
while the irresistible drollery of his aspect was
completed by his decorations derived from the
doctors liberality, who always used to bestow on
him his old hats and wigs and other cast-off apparel,
without much regard for their aptitude to his
person. The better half of this individual was as
much an oddity as himself, and was well known to
take at least equal delight with her husband in
ridding herself of care by indulging in that pleasing-
forge tfuln ess, which is usually consequent on liberal
potations. Their tete-a-tete indulgences of this
nature were not always, however, crowned with
the hajipiest termination; but, on the other hand,
too frequently led to little domestic altercations, in
which, as his M'ife's temper when excited was not
remarkable for its mildness, poor Nat seldom played
other than an inferior part. Circumstances, how-
ever, kindly provided him with a retreat from these
afflictions, no less secure than strange; for, when-
ever Mrs. Bacon became extremely unconscion-
able, Nat would retire into the clock-case of the
church, (willing to exchange the clatter of the
78 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPEK.
machinery and the occasional striking of the hours,
for the more harsh infliction of the one, and the
more personal application of the other inconvenience
at home,) and in this j^lace, secure from interruption,
contrived to enjoy that quiet which he in vain sought
in the society of his spouse. Occasionally after
a severe storm, having provided himself Avitli certain
means of enjoyment, he would remain in his retreat
for several hours; a protracted absence, which at
first caused alarm, but on subsequent occasions
merely excited the displeasure of the doctor for the
neglect of his duty which was the consequence;
and this, Nat's piteous recital of his domestic afflic-
tions, his description of the temper and inebriety of
his spouse, would without much diflSculty soften
or remove. Upon one occasion, Avhen his wife had
indulged with her usual freedom, Nat on his way
to the clock-case met young Astley, and despond-
ingly related to him a sad story of his spouse, and
the disgraceful state in which he had just left her.
While Nat was relating this, a thought struck
Astley, which he determined, as soon as it grew
dark, to put into execution. Accordingly, having
dressed himself in an old cassock of his father's, and
otherwise disguised himself as well as he could
to represent the form of his satanic majesty, he
entered her cottage, and presented himself before
her; when to his surprise the old lady, instead
of being dreadfully alarmed, in a few moments
seemed to lose all fear, and nothing daunted, her
potation having been somewhat stronger than " tip-
NAT BACON, THE YARMOUTH SEXTON. 79
peny," perhaps not much weaker than " usquebae*,"
freely entered into conversation with him. He
therefore tokl her that as she woukl he his
property after death, in this life she should never
again know want nor care of any kind, hut that
everything she could desire he would provide for
her. He then presented her with some money
in token of his good will, and leaving her to her
cogitations, suddenly disappeared. It seems that
after this interview she fell into a profound slumber,
in which she remained until the bright sun falling
on her through the casement roused and w^oke her.
At first she thought only of headache, thirst, and
other inconveniences with which she was too familiar,
not to be able easily to account for: then came a
confused recollection of what she in the first place
thought a dream, but which by degrees assumed
the aj^pearance of reality, until at last the evidence
of the money in her possession, and the recollection
of the remarks which accomftanied it when presented
to her, converted the whole affair into a serious
matter of certainty, and she became very wretched.
On her husband's return she related to him the
whole occurrence, and he, fully convinced of her
lost condition, fell into a state of misery and doubt,
in which they would probably have remained for
some time, had no further notice been taken of it.
But their alarm and sorrow was too deep and sincere
to be allowed to be maintained for any length of
'^' Wi' tippcny wc fear nac evil;
Wi' usquebac we'll face the Devil !
80 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
time, and Astley felt as much pleasure in relieving
the poor folks from their wretchedness as he had
previously in the trick by which it had been caused.
At this period, too, he played a trick, ■which,
although in itself sufficiently harmless, nearly led to
serious consequences from the effect it produced on
the sensitive mind of his mother. Whilst out
shooting near Yarmouth, he one day killed an owl —
a bird familiarly known in Norfolk by the soubriquet
of "Brother Billy." Having arrived at home, he
went up into his mother's room, with the bird con-
cealed beneath his coat, and assuming a countenance
full of fear and sorrow, called out, "Mother! mother!
I've shot my brother Billy!" but the alarm and dis-
tress instantly depicted on the distracted counten-
ance of his j)arent, induced him as quickly as possible
to pull the owl from under his coat. This at once
exposed the truth and allayed the apprehension of
his mother's mind, but the effects of the shock it
had caused did not so immediately pass away. So
thoughtless a joke his father determined should not
go unpunished, and he therefore confined him,
according to his usual mode of correction, in his
own room. Astley, however, was but little disposed
to remain passive in his imprisonment, and in the
wantonness of his ever active disposition, amused
himself by climbing up the chimney, and having at
last reached the summit, endeavoured, by imitating
the well-known tone of voice of a chimney-SMeeper,
and calling out as lustily as he could, "Sweep!
sweep!" to attract the attention of the people below.
DR. cooper's prediction. 81
The doctor haijpened to be walking witli a friend
in his favourite walk, "the Church Trees," (which
he used to regard as appertaining to the church
and i)arsonage, as the Close does to a Cathedral,)
when he heard this noise from the top of his house ;
and looking upward there recognised his son. Turn-
ing to his companion, Mr. Sherrington relates that
the doctor said, "There is my boy Astley again; he \
is a sad rogue, but in spite of his roguery I have no '
doubt he will yet be a shining character:" a prophecy
which, however highly he may have appreciated his
son's natural talents, he perhaps little thought would
ever be fulfilled to the extent that it has been.
Such were some of the strange adventures, in
which Astley Cooper at this time employed his idle
hours. They often exhibit a spirit of enterprise
and a fearlessness of consequences, seldom found,
excepting among those, the duties of whose course
of life naturally introduce and inure them to scenes
of danger ; but whatever may have led to this
hardihood in Astley's character, it was neither
want nor callousness of feeling, for never was a
heart more susceptible of the tenderest emotions
than his. His dread of giving pain to others, and
his distress when inadvertently he had done so,
together with the general amiability of his con-
duct and temper, were so well known, that every
one was anxious to assist him out of any difficulty
in which he might be involved, and would en-
deavour to screen him, if possible, from threatened
punishment. The sensibility of his disposition,
vol. I. G
82- LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOl^ER.
■Nvliicli throughout life continued to form one of the
most distinguishing and loveable traits of his charac-
ter, led him in liis earliest years, even when delight-
ing in the rough and hazardous sjDorts we have
described, to appreciate the charms of female cha-
racter and to court friendship in its society. The
evident pleasure he took in contributing to the
amusement of his sisters and their friends, the re-
spect and attention he always paid to them, together
with his elegant form and handsome features, — not
omitting the other qualities which had exercised so
much influence over the companions of his own
sex, — all combined to render him an especial
favourite with the softer sex; and in their society
he spent a considerable portion of his time at this
period, frequently in the morning accompanying
them in their walks, or driving them out in the
vehicles common at that period, called " Yarmouth
carts," and seldom being without some engagement
for their parties in the evening.
Before leaving Brooke, although then so young,
he had displayed the same fondness for the softer
attractions of female fricndshij), and had formed
an attachment to a young lady of his own age, a
Miss Wordsworth, the daughter of a clergyman,
whose residence was in the adjoining village of
Howe. When at Yarmouth, notwithstanding the
general attractions to which we have alluded,
he still continued to feel a particular degree of
■Bftection towards this young lady. In order to
see her, he once rode on horseback to Howe, and
MISS WORDSWORTH. 83
returned to Yarmouth on the evening of the same
day, altogether a distance of forty-eight miles.
Frequently when I have been travelling with my
uncle, some circumstance would suddenly recall to
him the memory of this visit, and at the recollec-
tion he never failed to exhibit such an interest and
warmth of feeling as plainly showed tlie powerful
impression left upon his mind by the interview.
With a smile of amusement at the deception, he
would describe to me how, with the full intention
of taking this lengthened ride, he had borrowed the
horse from his father, on pretence of visiting the
camp then assembled at Hopton, a village about
eight miles from Yarmouth : how his unexpected
arrival at the parsonage, evidently agreeable to the
young lady, had seemed to produce no less uneasi-
ness than surprise on the part of the parent; so
great, indeed, as to make him fear that he would
not receive an invitation to remain. Then this
difficulty overcome, he would dwell on a walk in
the garden which they took together, with the
tenderest recollection ; indeed, there was no scene
or incident in his life I ever heard him speak of
which appeared to interest him to the same extent.
What it was that prevented this evidently mutual
attachment from leading to their future union,
their ages and position in life being so similar, I
never heard ; their youth, and the fact of their
being at so early a period separated from each
other, were probably the only circumstances which
presented an obstacle to their apparently mutual
G2
84 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
wislies. During my late visit to Norfolk, I went to
this parsonage and there saw the very room, the
only one which has not undergone alterations since
that period, in which Miss Wordsworth and her
father were sitting when young Astley made his
appearance after his long ride. It was then used
as the dining-room, and small as it is, the present
incumbent, a relative of the late Mr. Wordsworth,
informed me, that persons of the highest rank in
the county, at that time, frequently met there and
partook of his relation's hospitality ; for Mr. Words-
worth was distinguished for his powers of conver-
sation, and held a high reputation for profound
classical attainments, as well as solid worth of
character. The garden is altered, but so graphic
had been my uncle's account of the walk in which
he had loitered with ]\fiss Wordsworth on that
day, that I fancied I could trace its position by
the direction of a hedge which he used to speak
of, and that I saw the very gate where he had
taken his farewell, and mounted his horse to ride
the twenty-four miles back to Yarmouth after this
happy and romantic visit.
But amid these youthful pleasures and frolics,
there had been stirred up, and was now strong
■within him, a dissatisfaction with his present con-
dition of life, accompanied by an ambitious thirst
for useful employment and independence. I have
already mentioned the accident to his foster-brother,
his behaviour on that occasion, and tlie powerful
influence exercised on his mind by the circum-
HIS UNCLE, WILLIAM COOPER. 86
stances of the event. These impressions, although
allowed to remain dormant while he was actively
engaged in the careless gaieties, arising from want
of proper employment, were now awakened to in-
creased vigour, by the conversation of his uncle,
Mr. William Cooper, who occasionally paid a visit
to his brother, Dr. Cooper, at the parsonage.
This gentleman was at this time the Senior Sur-
geon of Guy's Hospital, and in addition to being
well versed in professional knowledge, was a
lively, well-informed, and talented man, and in
every respect calculated to captivate a lad of
such buoyant spirits and active mind, as his young
nephew possessed. Astley, indeed, was delighted
with the conversation of his uncle ; who, in turn,
appears to have been equally pleased with him,
to have looked beyond the levities of his conduct,
and to have detected an honourable disposition
in his vigorous and active mind. The animated
descriptions of London and its scenes, and the
numerous anecdotes which his uncle, who mixed
much in society, would narrate, in the presence of
his young nephew, led him earnestly to bend his
thoughts towards the metropolis, and determined
his selection of that i)rofession, which, from his
uncle's position and influence, offered him above all
others an advantageous opening.
Still, however, there can be but little doubt,
that much of this anxiety to visit London Avas attri-
butable rather to his taste for pleasure and excite-
ment, than to any wish for industrious emi)lo}ment.
86 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
For ^vhell lie had finally determined on becoming
his uncle's pupil, (which Avas not, Sir Astley used
to say, until after witnessing an operation for the
extraction of stone, by Dr. Donnee, of Norwich,)
there was no evidence of his making any special
resolution of devotion to his adopted science, or
exhibiting any unusual desire for achieving great-
ness of name in its pursuit.
I
ARTICLED AS PUPIL TO HIS UNCLE. 87
CHAPTER V.
AsTLEY Cooper is articled as Pupil to his Uncle, Mr.
William Cooper, of London. Arrangements made for
HIS entering Mr. Cline's Family. Peculiar Advan-
tages OF THIS Arrangement. Astley Cooper leaves
Home. The anxiety of his Friends concerning him.
Description op his Personal Appearance at this
PERIOD. Amount op his Information. His Disposition.
Remarks on his previous Education. Mr. Cline's
admiration of John Hunter. His intimacy with
Horne Tooke, Thelwall, and others op the Demo-
cratic Party. Influence of the example of these
Persons, in religious matters, on Astley Cooper.
Brief Professional History of Mr. Cline. Sir
Astley's account of Mr. Cline's Character.
Astley appears to have succeeded without any
difficulty in obtaining his father's approbation of
his views towards the medical profession, and it
was shortly afterwards arranged that Mr. William
Cooper, his uncle, should receive him as an articled
pupil. It being, however, inconvenient to Mr.
Cooper to admit his nephew into his own house,
it was determined that he should j^rocure for him, if
possible, a residence in that of the eminent Mr.
Cline, one of the surgeons of St. "Jliomas's Hospital,
who was in the habit of taking a few pupils to board
with him. The friendship which existed between
Mr. William Cooper and Mr. Cline readily removed
all difficulties as to the reception of Astley into the
88 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER,
family of the latter, and the aiTangemeiit was
carried into effect.
This plan in every respect was most j)ropitious to
the future professional prospects of the young aspi-
rant, for although Mv. William Cooper was warmly
attached to the interests of his nephew, and had a
high opinion of his abilities and good qualities, yet
he possessed a certain roughness of demeanour, and
unusually strict notions of discipline, which would
have ill accorded with the fiery and ungovernable
spirit of young Astley. Subsequent events proved
that their residing under the same roof would have
been a source of annoyance and irritation to both
parties. On the other hand, the society of JSIr.
Cline, a most interesting and instructive companion,
as well as one of the best, if not the best, operative
surgeon of the day, was calculated to be no less
agreeable than useful to Astley Cooper. There can
be no doubt that the greatest benefit accrued to
Astley from the connection with Mr. Cline, and that
much of the eminence which he afterwards attained
in his profession, is to be attributed to this circum-
stance: for, judging from his character at this period,
it is not improbable, that had his early professional
life been consigned to the sujDervising influence of
any one less gifted, or of a less winning and forbear-
ing temper, he would never have been induced to
prosecute his studies Mith that assiduity and zeal
for which he was so conspicuous during the greater
part of his pupilage.
The arrangements we have described, were
HE LEAVES HOME. 89
scarcely completed, when it became necessary for
Astley to i)repare for bis journey, for his uncle, Mr.
William Cooper, who had been paying his annual
visit to the parsonage, being about to leave Yarmouth
for London, it was determined that Astley should
accompany him. His departure from home, which
occurred in the latter part of August, 1784, as his
character and disposition might lead us to expect,
was attended by every demonstration of affectionate
anxiety on the part of his relations and friends.
His own feelings on the occasion were of the most
bitter description, for the kindly characters of those
who had formed his father's household, their deep
interest in him, and his own loving disposition,
joined with, perhaps, a somewhat regretful recollec-
tion of his previous career, all contributed to afflict
him with a sorrow, jn-obably more poignant than is
usual on such occasions. But yet, a short time
after he had left his home, the excess of his grief
was diminished, lost at intervals in the excitement
of his sanguine anticipations, or forgotten in the
novel attractions by which he was surrounded. Not
so readily, however, was the anxiety of those he left
behind dispelled, for they, well acquainted with his
proneness to excitement, and the many dangers
to Mhich he must necessarily be exposed, magnified
as they no doubt were by their fears, looked forward
to his future career with hopeful but trembling
anticipation. The character of Astley was peculiarly
calculated to excite these feelings, for while his
mind exhibited all the requisites for achieving great-
90 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
ness, and by its energy and perseverance sufficiently
proved tliat in whatever pursuit engaged, whether
beneficial or injurious to himself, he would not
willingly be left behind by any competitor : yet
from his j^revious unsettled habits, and want of
attention to the more important duties of life, the
bias which might be given to it by his first in-
structors and associates was altogether indeterminate
and doubtful.
His manners and appearance at this period were
winning and agreeable. Although only sixteen
years of age, his figure, which had advanced to
nearly its full stature, was no less distinguished
for the elegance of its proportions, than its healthy
manliness of character; his handsome and expres-
sive countenance was illumined by the generous
disposition and active mind, equally characteristic of
him then as in after life ; his conversation was brisk
and animated, his voice and manner of address in
the highest degree j^leasing and gentlemanly: while
a soft and graceful ease, attendant on every action,
rendered his society no less agreeable than his
appearance prepossessing.
Though his intellectual faculties were by nature
unusually vigorous, the amount of knowledge which
he had acquired could not be said to be propor-
tionate, either to the more obvious and engaging
accomplishments of his exterior, or the peculiar
o]>portunities afforded him under his father's roof.
The deficiency, however, in his general acquirements,
was by no means so great aa a. review, pf his former
AMOUNT OF His INFORMATION. 01
life might lead us to anticipate ; for although he
had not directed much attention to grave and
serious studies, nor exhibited any early habits of
thought and reflection, yet there is no doubt that,
from the lighter literature of the day in which his
love of amusement led him to seek for gratification,
his judgment had enabled him insensibly to extract
much instruction. The conversation of his father,
and unusually accomplished mother, with that of
their friends*, must have furnished him with a store
of information on various subjects, which, although
at the time, perhaps, he did not duly value, his
retentive memory would nevertheless enable him
afterwards to convert to a useful purpose. Still it
must be admitted, that whatever was the extent
* Among these were Lord Roseberry, Lord Chedworth, who
visited him annually, Dr. Aikin, Dr. Parr, Mr. Canning, and
many other well-known literary and political characters. Mr.
Canning, froni the following remark by the Rev. Thomas
Crompton, (Op. Lit., p. 280,) appears to have been, at an early
period of his career, a visitor at the house of Dr. Cooper. " It
was once my good fortune to meet this truly great man at a
large dinner party at Dr. Cooper's, where he was present with
his uncle, Mr. Leigh. Lord Chedworth was also there. Mr.
Canning had not then commenced his political career ; but had
already achieved so high a literary fame, that we were all
greedy ' to swallow his discourse :' when unfortunately the
discipline of a Hundred-house of Industry was a subject casually
started, and from this attractive scent it was found impossible
to call off some of our company. Enough, however, was heard
from Mr. Canning to induce Lord Chedworth to declare, when
the party broke up, with more than his ordinary enthusiasm,
.that ' Caiming was a wonderful young man.' "
92 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
of information ho had derived from these sources, it
\vas Avithout order, a mass of materials undigested
and confused, and acquired in such a manner, as
had but little tended to prepare his mind for that
close application and those severer studies to which
it was soon to be subjected. Some, perhai)S, may be
inclined to think that his prospects at this period
would have been more bright, had a greater degree
of restraint been laid on his actions, or more strict-
ness exercised towards him in earlier youth; but I am
disposed to believe, from a reconsideration of his dis-
position, that the course pursued was the most favour-
able for his advancement, as he was one on whom
kindness was more likely to prove beneficial than the
exercise of severity. His temperament, which, unlike
the meekness and docility of some of his brothers, was
passionate and daring, naturally led him to the jDursuit
of pleasure, or to exploits involving personal risk and
hazard. Had this disposition been curbed, had his
thoughtlessness and repugnance to study, not met
with forbearance, or his foibles with indulgence,
there can be but little doubt that he would have
been urged, either into oj)en defiance of all control,
or into habits of sulky discontent : and thus those
energies, Mhicli when once directed into a jiroper
channel became so eminently and eflSciently service-
able, might have been cramped at the first onset.
Sir Astley Cooper, in one of his books of memoranda
reverting to this period, regrets the liberty he was
permitted to enjoy, and the loss of the advantages
that would have been opened to him had he been
HIS DISPOSITION. 93
sent to one of the great public grammar-schools.
But no one can study his early character, who is at
the same time aware of the constitution of these
schools, and in them how much depends on the
industry of the boy himself, and not feel assured
that a very similar if not a worse result would have
followed, had such a system of education been
adopted with him. Who can suppose, that, in the
" scramble for the amount of knowledge thrown
among the boys by their preceptors," the peculiar
genius of Astley Cooper would have led him to
seek for distinction, in being the most zealous and
indefatigable gatherer ? Though all who knew him
might at first sight regret that he was not more
versed in literature, they must still be convinced,
on calling to recollection the peculiarity of his mind,
that it was ill fitted to be limited by the common
routine of scholastic discipline, but required to be
left to its own mode of seeking that information
to which his capacity was best adapted.
Thus, then, in possession of all the external
means of exciting admiration in society, with a dis-
position whose aversion to labour had not been
changed by the new prospects opening before him,
but whose fondness for excitement remained un-
diminished, it is not a matter of wonder that in this
his first visit to the metropolis, forebodings of evil,
and fears of an uni)rosperous career, should have
intruded into the thoughts, and disturbed the quiet
of those most interested in his M'elfare.
In speaking of the circumstances which attended
94 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
the commencement of Astley Cooper's professional
career, I have already mentioned some of the ad-
vantages peculiar to his residence "with Mr. Cline.
But I did not then allude to one important feature
in this connexion — the high admiration entertained
by JNIr. Cline for John Hunter, and his strong and
oj^enly expressed conviction of the truth of his
doctrines. INIr. Cline was one of the few who at
the earliest period appreciated the views of that
philosopher, and in the Hunterian oration which
he delivered in 1824, sufficiently exhibited the
estimation in which he then held them. When
only twenty-four years of age, Mr. Cline attended
a course of Hunter's lectures on surgery, and thus,
in his oration, alludes to this circumstance: —
" I had the haiDpiness of hearing the first course
of lectures which John Hunter delivered. I had
been at that time for some years in the profession,
and was tolerably well acquainted with the opinions
held by the surgeons most distinguished for their
talents, then residing in the metropolis: but having
heard My. Hunter's lectures on the subject of
disease, I found them so far superior to everything
I had conceived or heard before, that there seemed
no comparison between the great mind of the
man who delivered them, and all the individuals,
whether ancient or modern, mIio had gone before
him."
Had Mr. Cline not regarded John Hunter's jihi-
losophy with these favourable impressions, the in-
fluence which from their relative positions he neces-
MR. CLINE's admiration OF JOHN HUNTER. 95
sarily exerted on the mind of Astley Cooper, iu
the younger days of his pupilage, might have been
a source of the most serious professional disad-
vantage to him.
It is to be lamented, however, that the benefits
arising from Astley's intimacy with JVIr. Cline were
altogether limited to his professional jDrospects, for
there was, unfortunately, one danger, to which this
otherwise most desirable connection exposed him,
and which exerted so baneful an influence on his
mind, that it at one time threatened not only to
counterbalance the advantages which I have de-
scribed, but even to blast all his future success in
life. This was the prevalence of principles in the
mind of Mr. Cline, which brought him, not only into
constant communication, but into the closest inti-
macy with such men as Home Tooke, Thelwall,
and, indeed, with all the chief of those who, glory-
ing in the rise of the democratic spirit which at
that time was spreading itself over Europe, were
not only watching with interest the progress of
the French Revolution, but were anticipating
similar events with unconcealed anxiety of expect-
ation in our own country. Nothing could have
been more probal)le than that a young man of
ardent and sanguine temper, like Astley Cooi)er,
should be captivated by a set of opinions at
variance with those of the stricter aristocratic
school in which he had been educated; possessing
to him, all the charms of novelty, freedom from
restraint, and ostensibly having for their object a
96 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
state of social perfection which he had not then
experience enough to determine to be altogether
Utopian.
But far more to be lamented even than the
above, was the influence of such men with respect
to the sacred subject of religion, the principles
and practice of w^hich, it is notorious, were, if
not ridiculed, at least disregarded by all the demo-
crats of that period. From certain passages in his
mother's letters, as well as from other sources, I have
reason to believe that the effect of this influence
was for a time no less conspicuous in his conversa-
tion, than the change in his political sentiments
which we have already described. " Remember, my
dear child," says IVIrs. Cooper to him, after one of
his visits to Yarmouth, " wherever you go, and what-
ever you do, that the happiness of your parents
depends on the j^ni^ciples and conduct of their chil-
dren. Remember, also, I entreat, and may your
conversation be influenced by the remembrance, that
there are subjects which ought always to be con-
sidered as sacred, and on no account to be treated
with levity."
The friendship of ]\Ir. Cline for IMr. IIorneTooke,
and his estimation of his character and opinions, led
him not only constantly to give him his professional
services during life, which he did both when ISfr.
Tooke was confined in the Tower, and durinsf his
last illness, but even after jNIr. Tooke's decease,
induced him publicly to testify the feelings he had
held towards him. For many years, an anniversary
i
MR. CLINE's political FEELINGS. 97
dinner, a custom which is still maintained, was
given by Mr. Cline to the friends and supporters of
Mr. Tooke, at his house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, to
commemorate the celebrated acquittal of that in-
dividual.
It cannot fail to be interesting to our readers to
have some more minute account of the history of
the distinguished surgeon with whom Sir Astley was
about to reside, at that period one of the most
scientific men of his day, and whose memory, living
in the recollection of a few surviving friends and
pupils, has for some time been all that has remained
of him; for, like some other eminent surgeons
A\hose names only are now remembered, he has not
attempted to raise for himself a monument, which
had he chosen he might readily have done, by leaving
behind him a record of his opinions or the results of
his long experience.
INIr. Cline Avas born a.d. 1750, and after having
completed his school education at Merchant Tay-
lors', he became an articled pupil to jNIr. Smith,
one of the surgeons of St. Thomas's hospital, in
the year 17G7. Mr. Else, then likewise a surgeon
at the hospital, and also lecturer on anatomy, took
early notice of INIr. Cline; saw a promise of that
ability which secured to him the fame he afterwards
so deservedly acquired, and appointed him to give
part of the lectures with him. On the death of Mr.
Else, Mr. Cline purchased his collection of prepara-
tions from the executors, and became sole lecturer
on anatomy.
VOL. I. H
98 LIFE OF SIR ASTLF.Y COOPER.
The folloM'ing concise summary will perhaps
afford to the reader a better idea of the character of
JMr. Cline than any more elaborate account. It \vill
not be the less acceptable, because it is the compo-
sition of one well skilled in the study of human
nature, and of all others, in the present instance, the
most capable of the taslc, his distinguished pupil
whose history Ave are now attempting to elucidate.
It occurs among some slight sketches of his con-
temporaries: —
" Mr. Cline was a man of excellent judgment, of
great caution, of accurate knowledge; particularly
taciturn abroad, yet open, friendly, and very conver-
sationable at home.
"In surgery, cool, safe, judicious, and cautious'
in anatomy, sufficiently informed for teaching and
practice. He wanted industry and professional zeal,
liking other things better than the study or practice
of his profession.
"In politics a democrat, living in friendship with
Home Tooke*.
* Mr. Cline'.s name is mentioned in the followinc^ flattering
manner, in tlio second part of tlic Diversions of Parley: — •
" li' — What can you set up, in matter of language, against
tlie decisive authority of such a writer as Horace?
" Usus,"
" Quern penes arbitrium est et jus ct norma loquondi."
'•'•Ilovne Tooke. — I do not think him any authority whatever
tipon this occasion. He wrote divinel}- : and so Vcstris danced.
But do you think our dear and excellent friend, Mr. Cline, would
not give us a more satisfactory account of the influence and action,
the ])owcr and properties of the nerves and muscles by which he
HIS ACCOUNT OF MR. CLINE's CHARACTER. 99
"In morals, tlioroiiglily honest; in religion, a
Deist.
" A good husband, son, and father.
"As a friend, sincere, but not active; as an
enemy, most inveterate.
" He Avas mild in his manners, gentle in his con-
duct, humane in his disposition, but Avitlial brave as
a lion.
" His temper was scarcely ever ruffled.
'■ Towards the close of life he caught an ague,
which lessened his powers of mind and body."
In another place mentioning Mr. Cline, Sir
Astley speaks of him "as a man of great judgment,
a slow and cautious operator, a moderate anato-
mist: politics and agriculture drew him from the
contemplation of his profession, and thus afforded
me afterwards great opportunities for writing and
practice."
Such was the character of the preceptor in whose
house Astley Cooper was for some time resident;
and it is evident that in every respect as regarded his
professional pursuits, no selection could have been
more fortunate. But the absence of religious prin-
cijDles, and the tenor of his political creed, were so
opposed to the habits of thought and conduct of
Dr. and Mrs. Cooper, that they Avould have been
sufficient, however large the amount of professional
pciforuiccl such wonders, than Vcstris could? who, v>hilsfc he
used them with such excellence, did not, pcrhapp, know ho liad
them. In this our inquiry, my dear Sir, wc arc not' poets nor
dancers, but anatomists."
n 2
100 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
advantage attending the connexion, to Lave pre-
vented their consent to such a residence for their
son. We can therefore only conclude that they
were in ignorance of these circumstances, or at least,
as to jNIr. Cline's feelings on religious matters.
I
HIS ARRIVAL IN LONDON. 101
CHAPTER YI.
AsTLEY Cooper's Arrival in London. Resides with j\[r,
Cline. Mr. Francis Turner, op Yarmouth. Astley
Cooper in the Metropolis. Comparison of Events in
the Personal Histories of John Hunter and Astley
Cooper. Anecdote of Astley Cooper. Astley Cooper
attends Lectures. Is Elected a Member op the
Physical Society. The Principal Speakers in the
Society at this time. Astley Cooper's First Profes-
sional Essay. He becomes desirous of being trans-
ferred as Articled Pupil to Mr. Cline. Dr. Roots'
Allusions to this Circumstance. Extracts from Sir
Astley Cooper's Memoranda in reference to this
Period. Is Transferred to Mr. Cline. Astley's In-
stant Change of Conduct. Termination op the Session,
ANif THE Professional Advancement made by Astley
Cooper.
Immediately on Astley Cooper's arrival in London,
he took up his residence with Mr. Cline in Jefferies'
Square, St. Mary Axe, in the same house in which
he himself, some few years afterwards, began to
practise. The delivery of lectures on Medicine and
Surgery commenced then, as now, in the month of
October. His coming to town some weeks prior to
the opening of the session, was evidently arranged
in order that he might have time to make himself
acquainted with the routine of conduct at the hos-
l)itiils before the business commenced, of the nature
of \\hich he was, in all probability, at this time
entirely ignorant. It has been erroneously stated,
102 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
that prior to Lis departure from Yarmoiitli, lie was
initiated into the practice of pliarmacy and general
medicine at the house of Mv. Francis Tm'ner, an
apothecary of that town. The mistake has in all
probability arisen from the circumstance of his
having- subsequently, when visiting his father during
the vacations at the hospital, sometimes engaged in
pharmaceutical pursuits in the surgery of INIr.
Turner, in order that he might not altogether lose
sight of professional employment.
Having become domesticated in the house of
INIr. Cline, notwithstanding the excellent example
of that disting-uished surgeon, he docs not appear to
have devoted himself to the acquisition of profes-
sional knowledge with any greater degree of zeal
than he had previously bestowed on his literary
studies, and, indeed, for a short time the fears
of his friends which had accompanied him to Lon-
don, appeared as if about to be realized. The
same social qualities which had rendered his society
so agTecable in Yarmouth, at once opened the Avay
to an intimacy with young men of his own
standing in London; and in their company he suf-
fered himself to be led into those dissipations which
the metropolis so readily afforded, and into A\hich
young men of his age and inexperience are too apt
to be ensnared.
Here then, to every one acquainted with the
personal history of John Hunter, — the man who of
all men has adorne«l the science of suroerv, — must
occur the singularly curious resemblance betwixt
JOHN HUNTER. 103
tliG leading incidents in the lives of these two
great Inminaries of our profession. Hunter's early
dislike and neglect, so rarely exhibited in his
country, of literary knowledge*; his early ambition
showing itself, in the lead which he struggled for
and gained, as "Jack Hunter," among his young
companions in their pastimes and pursuits; and
lastly, his dissipation on his first arrival in Lon-
don ; — form features in his history strikingly similar
to that of Astley Cooper; not to speak yet, of
the subsequent indefatigable zeal displayed by each
in anatomical and other pursuits; their similarity
in relying on themselves, neither of them studying
the works of other surgical or medical writers ;
their temperate habits; and many other minor
l)oints, all of which tend to maintain the corre-
spondence of their two characters. But at this early
jjeriod of their lives, notwithstanding the similarity
in outline which was exhibited in the career of
each, the difference of disposition and feelings which
characterized them was sufficiently manifest even
in their dissipation : — for the more refined taste
of Astley Cooper ever prevented him from finding
pleasure in that coarse species of enjoyment, in
which, in company with the lowborn and illiterate,
John Hunter occasionally found delight.
He still preserved his fondness for adventure,
and led on by this disposition, would occasionally
■" It is recorded of Jolin Hunter that, iip to his scventccntl
year, he passed his life Avithout any improvement from educa
tion.
104 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
launch out into extravagances similar to those
Avhich had formerly rendered him notorious in
Yarmouth, although never to such an extent as
to bring them into any public notice in London.
Occasionally those within his own immediate sphere
became the subjects of these tricks, and an account
of some of them has been preserved. Among
them, the following is one which I have heard Sir
Astley mention : — One day, he had obtained the
uniform of an officer, and in this disguise was
Avalking about town, when, on going along Bond
Street, he suddenly observed his uncle, jNIr. William
Cooper, advancing towards him. Not having time
to avoid meeting, he, with the utmost i)re-
sence of mind, determined to brave out the affair,
should his uncle recognise him. ]\Ir. Cooper,
divided between the familiar countenance and
strange dress, for a few moments could not decide
in his mind whether it was his nejihew or not ; but
soon convinced that it was he, and this one of his
pranks, he went up to him, and in an authoritative
tone, commenced a somewhat angry address about
his idleness and waste of time. Astley, regarding
him with feigned astonishment, and changing his
voice, replied, that he must be making some mistake,
for he did not understand to whom or what he was
alluding. "Why," said JNIr. Cooper, "you don't
mean to say that you are not my nephew, Astley
Cooper?" "Really, sir, T have not the pleasure of
knowing any such person. My name is of
the — th," replied the young scapegrace, naming,
J,
ATTENDS LECTURES. 105
with unflinching bokhiess, the regiment of whicli he
wore the uniform. INIr. Wilham Cooper apologized,
althoudi still unable to feel assured he was not
being duped, and bowing, passed on.
Although, previous to the commencement of
the lectures, Astley Cooper lost in the pursuit
of pleasure those golden opportunities which his
situation and the leisure time afforded him pro-
fitably to prepare for the approaching season of
study, yet, when once those lectures began, he had
too much good sense, although still occasionally
indulging in frivolity, wholly to neglect the advan-
tages they presented to him. But, his attention
being thus distracted, he engaged in the study of
his profession without any of that ardour and devo-
tion, the absence of which, had it long continued,
would have effectually prevented him achieving the
celebrity which now honourably attaches to his
name.
At the commencement of the session, he was
proposed by his uncle, and elected a member of the
Physical Society, the oldest and one of the most
valuable and instructive institutions of its kind at
that time in the metropolis. The object of this
society was, to promote the interests and 2)rogress
of science, more especially in the departments of
medicine and surgery, by papers on scientific subjects,
which were written in turn by the members, and
read at weekly meetings, and by subsequent dis-
cussion upon them, as well as by communications
and questions regarding cases then under treatment
106 LIFE OF Sin ASTLEY COOPEK.
ill the hospital and elsewhere. At this period,
A.D. 1784, the more frequent speakers in the dis-
cussions were Drs. Lettsom, Lister, Saunders, &e.;
ISIessrs. Babington, Walshman, Cline, Ilaighton,
Brooks, Foster, Stocker, and many others, nearly
all of whom had taken, or subsequently took, a
prominent position in the practice of their pro-
fession.
The entries in the books of the society, regard-
ing the election of Astley Cooper, are the fol-
lowing : —
October 2nd, 1784. Dr. Sauiulcrs in tlic cliair. Proposed
as ordinary member, Mr. A. P. Cooper, at Mr. Clinc't?, by Mr.
Cooper.
October lOtb, 1784. Mr. Vv^ilsbman in the chair. Mr. A.
Cooper introduced as ordinary member.
At this period the rules of the society, which
were very numerous, and extended over every part of
its economy, were enforced m ith the utmost rigour,
and any deviation on the part of a member was
visited by the imposition of a fine, the amount of
^^hich varied according to the transgression. The
trivial nature of some of these final )le ofTences
will be exhibited in the following amusing entry,
which occurs in the minutes of tlio i)rocccdings, on
the Saturday following that on which Astley was
admitted as a member.
October 2.'lrd, 1784, Mr. Walshman in the cbair. Messrs.
Astley Cooper . . . . , 6<c., fined (5^/. each for leaving tlic
room witliout j^ermission of the prc.'>ident.
One of the most important regulations of the
HIS FIRST PROFESSIONAL ESSAY. 107
society, was tliat wliicli bound cacli new meml)cr
to read an essay in tlie course of the session. The
title of the paper, the subject of which was left
to the author's choice, had to be handed in to the
society on the evening of meeting following his
introduction to the society as a member, under
penalty of a fine. It is not a little curious that
the subject which Astley Cooper fixed upon for his
first professional essay, was malignant disease in the
breast, or cancer, a subject which throughout his
life continued especially to engage his attention,
which the last work he presented to the public was
intended to elucidate, and in the study and investi-
gation of which he was earnestly occupied, when
death put a termination to his labours.
It is not improbable that the imperfect and
unsatisfactory manner in which Astley ' Cooper
found this subject treated, in the course of his
study preparatory for his essay, as well as the fre-
quent occurrence of the disease itself and its fixtal
character, led him to perceive the want of further
information respecting it. Thus, even at this early
])eriod, perhaps, was created in his mind the interest
regarding this subject vrhich subsequently urged
him on to make those inquiries, which have already
been attended with most beneficial consequences, —
but which, had his life been spared, and his designs
been permitted to be accomplished, would have fur-
nished the Avorld with results, such as fcAV have had
the opportunities he enjoyed of arriving at. I5e this
as it may, it is a sutticiently curious circumstance,
108 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
that, whether taken casually, or at the advice of
Mr. Cline, or his uncle, Mr. Cooper, among the vast
number of subjects open to him, he should have
selected this, with which, perhaps more than any
other, his name ever since has been most intimately
associated. I had much curiosity to find this inter-
esting document, luit although a search was made
for it, no trace of it could be found ; the papers
which were read at that time not having l.^een, as
they are now, preserved by the society.
Whether from not perceiving the value of the
meetings of this society as he afterwards did, or that
the discussions were deprived of their interest from
the quantity of matter which would of necessity
be unintelligible to him at this early period of his
pupilage, Astley Cooper, does not appear to have
taken, during this his first session, much inte-
rest in their proceedings. He very frequently,
throughout the whole of the season, incurred the
fine for non-attendance — a fact forming a remark-
able contrast with the diligence which we shall have
to show he exhibited during the following and suc-
ceeding sessions.
A few months after he had commenced his duties
at the hospital, Astley Cooper became anxious to be
transferred from his uncle to Mr. Cline, i)robably in
consequence of the strict discipline of Mr. Cooper,
who was not usually very lenient in matters of pro-
fessional digression, and who perhaps, on the strength
of consanguinity, as well as of j)rofessional relation-
ship, exercised a more than usual authority over his
DESIRE TO BE TRANSFERRED TO MR. CLINE. 109
nephew and pupil. The talented conversation of
Mr. Cline, his superior excellence as an operative
surgeon, and more extensive practice, may also have
been an inducement for him to desire this change.
The following extract from a letter addressed
to me by my intimate friend Dr. William Roots,
while it confirms the account given of the character
of Mr. William Cooper, under whom Mr. Roots
acted as dresser, explains the circumstances which
led to the transfer alluded to.
"It was in the year 1799 that I dressed at
Guy's Hospital for Sir Astley's uncle, Mr. William
Cooper, the then much respected senior surgeon of
that institution. And I think it right to offer my
warm and grateful feelings to the memory of that
excellent man, for the many instances of kindness
and paternal attention I experienced at his hands.
" At that period Mr. William Cooper had in a
great measure retired from the fag of private prac-
tice, and his greatest gl-atification and amusement
consisted in his daily visits to the hospital, and the
superintendence of his dressers, whose conduct and
practice he most rigidly watched over and advised.
Much advantage was derived to the discipline of
the hospital itself, from its being the hobby and
pleasure of this experienced man to be so continu-
ally within its walls; for although JNIr. Coo])er
was never esteemed as a first-rate ojjerator, there
were very few surgeons of that day, who were
thought to possess a more critical knowledge of
their profession.
110 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" Mr. Cooper was always very strict as to profes-
sional discipline, and invariably exhibited severe dis-
pleasure at any absence or neglect of duty on the part
of the piii)i]s: but yet, notwithstanding his rough
and rather abrupt demeanour, he possessed a kind
and generous disposition. He was an excellent
classical scholar, and ever retained and cherished a
fondness for polite literature. Well can I remem-
ber the pleasure he evinced one day, uhen, upon
some accidental circumstance, it was my good for-
tune to make an appropriate classical quotation,
and the gratification I experienced when, the next
morning on meeting me in the ward of the hospital,
in the presence of all the students, he presented me
with a handsome edition of the author I had used :
a book, M'hich to this moment I set the highest
value upon.
" It is imjiossible to reflect on the early period
of Sir Astley's life, without thus calling to mind his
uncle AVilliam; for, although they did not exactly
set their horses well together, and although the
greater part of his pupilage had been made over to
]\Ir. Ciine at the other hospital, yet Mr. Cooper
never failed to speak highly of the abilities and
good qualities of his nephew. It is well known that
Astley was always a great favourite in society; his
countenance and manner carrying with him univer-
sally a letter of strong recommendation; and it is true,
that in the early period of his professional studies
he in some degree gave way to the freaks and indis-
HIS MEMORANDA. Ill
cretions of a fine young man: and some of these
indulgences called forth the animadversions of his
sedate uncle, and were indeed the principal cause
of his being made over to INIr. Cline. Yet on a
sudden, and as if when he first found the superior
footing his abilities had given him, he applied most
rigidly to study, &:c."
We need not look for any very marked failings
on the one hand, or extremely rigorous treatment
on the other, to account for this separation; for, in
addition to the influence which the superior fame
of Mr. Cline undoubtedly exerted on the mind of
Astley Cooper in this determination, we know how
rare it is to find family arrangements of this nature
succeed in the objects intended: each party from his
consanguinity expecting more of the other — the
one more kindness and attention, the other more
submission — than would be looked for had they
been nmtually strangers prior to their professional
connexion.
The reader may feel curious to know what Sir
Astley Cooper himself says of this period of his life
in the memoranda, with the history of which he is
already familiar. His notice, however, is so very
brief, that were it not for certain interesting descrip-
tions of those with whom he was associated at this
early period of his residence with Mr. Cline, we
should think it hardly worth alluding to. These
are, however, too important to be passed over.
" But now a new scene opened. I was sent to
112 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPEK.
London to my uncle jNIr. William Cooper, surgeon
of Guy's hosjiital, and to live with ]\Ir. Cline, being
an articled pupil of the former. For six months
I was very idle, but I lived with a ]\Ir. Johnson,
from Derby, who was a gentleman, a scholar, and
addicted to botany, but of no great talent. How-
ever he gave me a turn for instructive pursuits. I
was also with a ISIr. C n, from Burford, who was
a house pupil of IMr. Cline, a coxcomb, indolent and
ignorant, whom I soon learned to despise; and as
Johnson was dull and C n indifferent to know-
ledge, jNIr. Cline generally addressed himself to me.
A ]\Ir. C r, of Rochester, also lived with us, who
was fond of his profession, but a presuming man,
and who j^unctured the brachial artery in bleeding.
The conversation of these men improved me: the
indolence of C n and his gold-laced waistcoats,
made him our laughing-stock, — C r promised
too much to be always right, — Johnson was always
a gentleman. I who was quick and lively, was a
favourite with the family, especially with Mr,
Clinc's mother, a highly informed and reading
woman, and with her I spent many hours. After
six months I was articled as pupil to Mr. Cline, and
now I began to go into the disisecting room and to
acquire knowledge, although in a desultory way, &c."
Astley Cooper was transferred to ]Mr. Cline at
Christmas, 1784, and it must at once appear, from
what has already been stated, that this change
in his position, according as it did with his own
CHANGE OF CONDUCT. 113
wishes, was in every way beneficial to his future
prospects. Indeed, he seems at once to have thrown
aside his idleness, and all those trifling pursuits
which had seduced him from his studies; and, at
the same time appears earnestly to have devoted
himself to the acquirement of professional know-
ledge, as well by diligent labour in the dissecting-
room, as by serious attention to the lectures on
anatomy and other subjects then going forward in
the hospital.
My. Bransby Cooper, in writing to me, says, that
he was informed by his brother, Sir Astley, that Mr.
Cline one day, about this time, brought home an
arm, and throwing it on a table in his private
dissecting-room, desired Astley to dissect it; and
that, having devoted all his powers, bodily and
mental, to the task, he succeeded in performing it,
no less to Mr. Cline's than to his own satisfaction;
he further states, that hence first began that devoted
attachment to his profession, and that ardent love
of anatomy which ever afterwards characterized him.
But this is a circumstance so curious, that Sir
Astley, brief as his account of himself is, would
most probably have left some slight record of it,
had it occurred ; it is, indeed, so precisely similar
to what is said to have happened between Dr. Wil-
liam Hunter and his brother John, soon after the
arrival of the latter in London, that we must con-
clude Sir Astley related the story to his brother
Bransby, of John Hunter and not of himself. But
VOL. I. I
114
LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
whether anything of this sort occurred or not, cer-
tain it is that in the spring of the following year,
1785, such had been his diligence, that he grew
to be as distinguished for his industry as he had
formerly been notorious for wasting his time, and,
moreover, attained a degree of proficiency in ana-
tomical knowledge, far beyond that possessed by
any other of the pupils of his own standing in the
hospital.
VISITS YARMOUTH. 115
CHAPTER Vir.
AsTLEY Cooper visits Yarmouth. Anecdote, His
Second Session at the Hospital. Dev^otes himself
to the study of Anatomy. Advantages deuived
FROM THIS Pursuit. Mr. Haighton, Mr. Clink's De-
monstrator AT THIS period. NaTURE OF THIS OFFICE.
History of Mr. Haighton. Dr. William Roots'
CONNECTION WITH Mr. HaIGHTON. AsTLEY CoOPER IS
applied to for assistance by THE Students. Be-
comes a great Favourite among them. Influence of
this upon his Conduct and Prospects. Reputation
FULLY ESTARLISHED AT THE HoSPITAL. The PHYSICAL
Society'. The news of nis Success reaches Home.
He departs for the Summer to Yarmouth.
There is not sufficient evidence to prove, at the
conclusion of this his first winter session, which
had thus successfully terminated for a time the
hospital duties of Astley Cooper, whether he re-
mained in London with JMr. Cline, or paid a visit
to his family at Yarmouth. But as it seems to
have been his constant practice during the other
years of his pupilage, we can scarcely doubt that he
went home this summer, if only for the purpose of
receiving the most genuine of all rewards, — the ex-
pression of his parents' satisfaction at the favourable
change in his conduct. A further reason to believe
that he paid this visit, arises from our knowledge,
that in the summer season there was, at this perio 1
I2
116 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
of Astley Cooj)er's pupilage, but little to induce him
to remain in London ; no summer lectures, as now,
being then delivered at the hospitals, and the prac-
tice of the hospital being only useful to one more
advanced in the science of his profession than he
could at that time have been. And moreover, as
we have no letters from his mother, expressive of
regret at his being prevented visiting his family, we
have further right to conclude that he spent this
summer at Yarmouth.
I have often heard Sir Astley relate the follow-
ing anecdote, but do not remember hearing him
mention the date of its occurrence; as, however, his
indulgence in practical jocularities yielded about
this i^eriod to more serious pursuits, it most pro-
bably occurred about this time. It Mell exemplifies
his readiness of invention, and that tact A\hich he
was well known as a boy eminently to possess, in
escaping out of any difficult position in which cir-
cumstances might suddenly place him.
One day, when jNIr. Turner the apothecary was in
the surgery, giving orders to one of the apprentices,
Astley Cooper, who Avas standing behind him, attempt-
ed to excite laughter in the ajiprentice, by twisting his
face into various grimaces, and practising other antics.
The disturbance which soon followed in the ap])ren-
t ice's features caught the notice of j\lr. Turner, who
quickly turning roiuul in the apparent direction of
its cause, discovered Astley Cooi)er in the midst of
the employment abovementioned ; and seeJjiingly in
extreme astonishment at his strange bj|haviour, at
I
I
ANECDOTE. 117
once, with eagerness, inquired its cause. Astley, with-
out exhibiting any signs of discomposure, or ceasing
to make the contortions in which he was detected,
returned no answer to the inquiry but an exclama-
tion, in a tone of much distress, of "Oh! my tooth!
my tooth!" " God bless me! let me see," said Mr.
Turner; and on the instant removing young Cooper's
hand from his cheek, and forcibly ©i^ening his
mouth, with a hasty remark, he whipped in a pair of
forceps, and to the amusement of the astonished
apprentice, before Astley had time to recover him-
self or explain the deception, had wrenched out one
of his double teeth. The tooth which Mr. Turner
thus extracted was decayed, and so, not thinking
it worth while making any explanation. Cooper
merely expressed himself much relieved, and thanked
his benefactor. Sir Astley used to say, however,
that he never could determine in his own mind
whether it was not intended as a punishment for
the interruption he had made, or whether, believing
him really in earnest, Mr. Turner had, in jiity for
his supposed sufferings, displayed such activity in
applying the remedy.
In October, 1785, Astley Cooper was again at
his post, and at once entered into the more active
duties of his studies, with a diligence which must
lead to the belief, that whether his summer had
been passed in London or in Yarmouth, he had
deeply considered the road which he meant to pursue
for his future advancement.
We now find him devoting himsejf with the most
118 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
earnest activity to the acquisition of a knowledge
of anatomy, — one of the most valuable departments
of study to -svliich the younger student can devote
himself, and without a thorough knowledge ofM-hich,
professional practice, whether in the hands of the
surgeon or physician, can be little better than meie
empiricism. The intense application which Astley
Cooper devoted to this pursuit, in the early years of
his pupilage, was not only useful, inasmuch as it fur-
nished him with a correct knowledge of the struc-
ture of the human frame, — the form and situation
of its various parts, — and the varieties in position
to which they are occasionally liable; — but it paved
the way for those numerous discoveries made by
him in " pathological anatomy,'* M-hich have already
been, and must continue to be, the sources of
so many advantages in the practice of our pro-
fession.
There can be but little doubt, that, either from
the instruction or example of Mr. Cline, or from his
own sagacity, Astley Cooper even at this early period
foresaw the importance of the professional advantages
with which this course of study was likely to be
attended ; at the same time, he may also have per-
ceived that distinction in this i)ursuit, more than in
any other branch of his profession, offered oppor-
tunities for obtaining a fixed position in the liospital
to which he was now attached by his connexion
with Mr. Cline. Various circumstances contributed
to press this idea ujxm his oljservation at this time,
but none, perha]».s, more than tlie vrant of courtesy
DUTIES OF A DEMONSTRATOR. 110
of Mr. Haiglitoii, who then hekl the office of de-
monstrator in the dissecting-room, and the fact that
there was no one, shoukl he resign his situation, or
change it for any other in the institution, so com-
petent to fulfil its duties, or possessed of so much
influence to obtain it as himself. Sir Astley, in
allusion to his position at this period, with regard to
Dr. Ilaighton, then INIr. Ilaighton, observes: "I was
a great favourite with the students, because I was
aftablc, and showed that I was desirous of communi-
cating what information I coukl, while Dr. Haighton
was the reverse of this."
It may, perhaps, for the sake of those not ac-
quainted with the economy of institutions of this
nature, be desirable to say a few words regarding
the imjjortant duties of the Demonstrator, the first
public professional capacity in which anatomical
teachers of this country are engaged. There is
scarcely any science, in the early study of which
constant advice is so much required as in that of
anatomy. The textures which it is the business of
the young anatomist to unravel, are so delicate and
complicated,— the filaments composing them so
fine, and yet so important, that in following them
from their sources to their places of destination, and
tracing their various connexions, he is constantly
in danger of overlooking or destroying some, and
becoming bewildered in the investigation and pur-
suit of others. To direct and render assistance to
the inexperienced student under these difiiculties,
it is the custom for one or more accomplished ana-
120 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
tomists, Demonstrators as tliey are styled, to be con-
stantly at hand.
In one of Sir Astley Cooper's diaries, written
during a tour through France, occurs the following
note, which sufficiently shows his opinion of the
necessity of this arrangement : —
''Sunday, October 12tk, 1834.
" Went with ISIr. Fisher to , and saw
there the places for dissection, four salles of great
magnitude, two of which had numerous bodies
in them. The price is from 3^ to 8 francs, accord-
ing as they have been opened or not. A large
garden is attached, in which the students can walk,
when they are fatigued. Yet it is badly managed,
for the young men have no one to stand over
them, and constantly instruct them in the best
mode of dissection, or to demonstrate what they
lay bare. In short, the young men form themselves
into parties of three, one dissecting, one reading, and
the other tracing."
It is quite true that great benefit arises from the
presence of an experienced anatomist in a dissecting
room, to assist in unravelling the various intricacies
which must involve the tyro in almost inextricable
difficulty ; but yet, on the other hand, 1 have known
nearly an equal objection arise from the constant
presence of one who has it in his power so much to
facilitate the progress of the idle, they being too apt
to adopt this shorter path to their object, and
MR. HAIGHTON, DEMONSTRATOR. 121
thereby avoid the necessity of manipulating for
themselves. It requires, therefore, that the person
so employed should be judicious in the assistance
which he affords, taking care that he does no more
than merely assist, when a real difficulty occurs,
without himself performing the task which belongs
jjroperly to the pupil.
At this period, Mr. Haighton held this office
under Mr. Cline, who was giving the lectures on
anatomy, and in consequence of the comparatively
few number of students, and the less amount of
study then devoted to the science, was the only
demonstrator in the room.
Mr. Haighton, who was considerably Astley
Cooper's senior, had been a pupil of Mr. Else, one
of the surgeons of the hospital in conjunction
with Mr. Cline. I cannot furnish the reader with
a more just, and, at the same time, more vivid
account of Haighton 's character and position,
than by again quoting from the communication
of my excellent friend Dr. Roots, who was for
four years a resident pupil in the house of Dr.
Haighton.
Dr. Roots says, " I recollect most perfectly
many anecdotes and details of Dr. Haighton's early
troubles and difficulties, which he would relate
with all the fire of his natural impetuosity. He
not only described to me, but showed me all the
correspondence that had taken place between him-
self and John Hunter, wherein the latter having
found out the very excellent anatomical as well as
122 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
physiological qualities that Ilaighton possessed,
wished to engage him in a sort of co-partnership in
his lectures and anatomical arrangements; and this
communication arose, as I learned from Ilaighton, in
consequence of some jealous feeling at that time
beginning to manifest itself in Home* quarters.
However, it was only after a long series of discus-
sions and protocols had existed that all further
communication between these two eminent men
was broken off, and from what I can recollect,
it chiefly arose from a feeling of mortification
in Dr. Haighton's mind that he must, in conse-
quence of such junction or co-partnership, be con-
sidered as only the assistant or second-best of John
Hunter.
''Nobody knew the doctor more intimately or
accurately than myself, and I sometimes feel a grati-
fication in remembering that, during the Avhole
period of my being under his roof, I never incurred
* In explanation of this alhislon, Dr. Roots afterwards scut
to mc the following remarks : — " Yoii mistake mc about my
allusions, in a former letter, to the mention of 'Home' sus-
]ncions (as regards Sir Eveiard) : I meant that Ilaighton had
originally the full intention, as well as wish, of being ultimately
taken in as joint lecturer with Clinc in his anatomical class; and
from what I have hoard him say, I think he foreboded, if not
subsequently found, that the prospects of Astley Cooper would
prove the chief obstacle to these his expectant wishes. Whether
he was in negotiation with John Hunter prior or subsequent to
this disappointment, I cannot take upon myself to say for a cer-
tainty, though the impression on my mind is, that on finding tlio
door shut to succeeding as a subordinate to Cline, he was niuat
anxious to enter with force ipto a rival suliool."
CHARACTER OF DR. IIAIGIITON. 123
his displeasure ; antl, at the termination of my resi-
dence Avith him, he declared, in strong terms,
'he was sorry to part with me,' which I always
esteem as a feather in my cap. Dr. Haighton was
of a suspicious, irritable, and unbending nature, but
possessed of integrity to the greatest degree ; most
susceptible of any imaginary slight or neglect, tlie
very shadow of which would rouse him to a pitch of
the greatest acrimony hardly ever to be forgotten,
and this feeling would be brought forth from very
trifling causes.
" 1 remember a strong instance of this nature,
when, from his having been called upon and re-
quested by Dr. William Saunders to aid him in
his well-known Treatise on the Liver, by some ac-
curate dissections and experiments, Saunders either
forgot, or did not think it necessary to acknowledge
in the body of his work how much he was indebted
to Dr. Haighton for his elaborate assistance, but
merely mentioned his name in rather an abrujit way
in a marginal note. The very sight of this book in
after times would call forth as much irritation and
annoyance, as if the oftence had been of a much
more serious moment and recent period of occur-
rence.
" Dr. Haighton was a very good lecturer, and
particularly so in his physiology; and in the operative
department of his obstetrical practice, he was ' hand
ulli seoimdun' I think he never ceased to regret
tliat he failed in his negociations with Hunter, and
oTten, when mentioning the subject to me, I got rid
124 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
of it by saying, 'Two luminaries could not have
shone in the same sphere.'
" Haighton always thought he was ill used by
Hunter, and I now think that it was only the turn
of a straw that prevented their alliance, as the
amount of pecuniary advances had been almost com-
plied with, but were suddenly broken off, and he
generally expressed a feeling of regret that this cir-
cumstance had been the cause of his taking up the
walk in Avhich he subsequently trod so ably. Ana-
tomy and operative surgery were his natural forte,
and the point to which his inclination led him. But
there were young and growing reasons for him to
seek a path less congenial perhaps to his mind, but
where least obstruction Avould be offered to his
aspiring wishes.
"The young, the handsome, the then assiduous
Astley Cooper, with every advantage attending his
excellent abilities, as also his strong position at the
united hospitals, rose up in bright array against any
intended project of Dr. Haighton, and although,
from the difference of their ages, it might not have
been supposed that the doctor Mould have shrunk
from tlie conflict, yet ho knew too well, and saw
too clearly that the evident chances were against
him."
The following curious account by the same gen-
tleman, of the means by which he gained the friend-
ship and confidence of his talented preceptor, will
serve to throw a further light on the cbaracter of
Dr. Haighton, a knowledge of which is necessary, in
CHARACTER OF DR. HAIGHTON. 125
order to understand many of the circumstances in
which he and Sir Astley Cooper were mutually con-
cerned at this period.
" I was in perfect intimacy and confidence with
Haighton; indeed, I had gained, perhaps by a
natural air of hilarity and nonchalance, an ascen-
dancy over him, that sometimes astonished those
who had been much longer acquainted with him.
Now it so happened that just before my entry into
Dr. Haighton's house, I had heard that he had
been much disgusted with my predecessor, arising
from his quiet, tame, and acquiescing nature ; and
his never having offered the slightest contradiction
to his opinions, and that he had vowed he would
never subject himself again to the society of an
inanimate being. In fact, Dr. Haighton's life and
soul depended upon argument and the gratification
he enjoyed in confuting his opponent. Amongst
many other anecdotes that met my ear, just prior to
becoming his house pupil, I heard and listened with
attention to the fact, — that sitting one day at dinner
with his former pupil, and not meeting in the
course of conversation with any sort of opjiosing re-
mark from him, which I rather think he had been
courting, he jumped up from his seat, and in the
most vehement manner cried out, ' For once in your
life, sir, do for God's sake contradict nie, and support
an opinion of your oivn.'
" Now, having been put into possession of tiiis
failure in his former pu})il, (though I am at the
present moment most ready to yield to him the supe-
126 LIFE OF SIT? ASTLEY COOPER.
riority in his amiable deportment,) from that very
moment I made up my mind not to fall into a similar
error, and from the period I entered Dr. Haighton's
house, until the last hour when I left it, I was in the
constant and studious habit of contradicting every-
thing he said; and I am convinced that the high
opinion, and I may say regard I established in his
mind, arose chiefly from the regular system of con-
tradiction, and the frequent opportunities I gave
him thereby, of showing his superior powers in
argument. Frequently was I put to my last trump,
to come out of the battle with anything like flying
colours. One of these vain attempts I well recollect.
He was speaking on some particular subject, when he
described its appearance as of a dead white colour,
and T, begging his pardon, asserted that it was
evidently rose-coloured! He got very warm in
proportion to my assertion, and in the heat of the
moment, he told me, ' T must know that my opinion
could not l)e borne out by truth, or by any ocular
demonstration;' and when in a quiet way, I replied
that it was the white rose I meant, and that I
Avould get a specimen directly from Chelsea, to
compare the difference with his dead white, I
thought he would have gone into a state of frenzy;
for he saw too clearly that it was not from ignorance
that I thwarted his statement, and he could not
bear even this poor shadow of an adverse view,
founded as it was upon a shallow quibble.
" I generally had to bear the brunt of Plaighton's
angry replies; but with it all 1 must confess that I
CHARACTER OP DR. IIAIGIITON. 127
derived considerable advantage by this general system
of opposition, I mean particularly in a professional
point of view, for it always drew forth from him
such clear and earnest endeavours to prove and
support his own excellent judgment, that the more
I thwarted him, the more clearly did he show me
the fallacy of my pretended contradiction. Some
time after I had been an inmate of his house, the
same friend who had warned me of his dislike to
a tame companion, asked him how he liked his new
pupil, meaning myself; his answer was, ' Why, com-
pared with the last he is very far better, but the
fellow is just as much in the opposite extreme;
if you were to put the two into a bag and shake
them well together, they would both come out
excellent.' Nevertheless, I am confident that my
system of contradiction, though in a great measure
put on, was a constant source of gratification to
him, and furnished a means of drawing off his irri-
tability in a gradual way, and thus acted as a safety-
valve to his impetuous temper."
The peculiar temper of J\Ir. Haighton and the
circumstances so Avell described in Dr. Roots' letter,
appear to have induced a degree of repulsiveness in
his manner, which frequently prevented the students
applying to him for assistance. Astley Cooper, in
consequence of this circumstance, and from the
character which he was gaining among them, as well
by his constant attendance in the dissecting-room,
as by his diligent application while there, came to
be referred to now and then, as well for manual
128 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
assistance as advice, instead of Dr. Haiglitou. The
extent of knowledge which he displayed on these
occasions and the facility with which he commu-
nicated it to others, the affability of his manners
and his readiness in tendering assistance, together
with the superior position which he held among
the students, from his connexion with ISIr. Cline,
by degrees led to these appeals for his aid becom-
ing more and more frequent, and to his being con-
sidered as it were a second demonstrator in the
room: while at the same time, from this and his other
kindly qualities, he became the established favourite
of all the pupils. He continued, during this and
part of the following winter sessions, to make him-
self similarly useful, until at last, from the amount
of time which it occupied, the disturbance caused
to his own more advanced pursuits by the crowded
state of the room, and the influx of new students
attracted by the fanie of JNIr. Cline, he was com-
pelled to pursue his own dissections in private
But even then he still visited the dissecting-room
during the day, and assisted those who might be
anxious for his aid.
The time thus spent was by no means un-
profitably employed, but on the contrary was a
source of much improvement to him ; for in dis-
entangling the difiiculties of others brought on
by careless manipulation or heedless dissection,
he was brought constantly to think more closely
than his fellow-students, who merely took ordinary
notice of what came under their observation in the
A GREAT FAVOURITE OF THE PUPILS. 129
course of dissection. At the same time, he became
acquainted with many occasional varieties in the
natural distribution of parts, and acquired a degree
of manual dexterity in the use of the scalpel, which
proved not merely of advantage to him in the dis-
section of the dead, but a source of essential service
afterwards in operations on the living. In his ear-
liest published essay, to which we shall hereafter
refer, one of the most interesting facts he describes
is stated to have come before his notice in conse-
quence of a pupil seeking his assistance in the
formation of an anatomical preparation. But these
appeals had also a more important influence upon
him, — one affecting his general conduct, and ma-
terially promoting the rapid progress which he
made at this time, — for he has frequently observed
that, being thus applied to by his fellow-students,
was so gratifying to his feelings of ambition, from
the superiority which the application acknowledged,
that he was constantly excited to increased exertion
as well to maintain, as to enlarge the influence which
he had obtained.
Being thus called upon spontaneously by the
pupils to assist them in their dissections, and proving
by his ready concession to their wishes, that he had
both the knowledge and industry requisite to faci-
litate their labours, he at once, at so early a period
as his second winter session, established a reputation,
which, conjoined with the other circumstances to
which we have alluded, made him sought after by
VOL. I. K
130 LTFR OF SIR ASTLEY COOPFR.
his fellow pupils as their demonstrator, and afterwards
procured him, immediately on the office becoming
vacant, the offer of this desirable position.
Having by these pursuits in the dissecting-room
rendered himself an efficient anatomist, he now began
to feel the advantage of attending My. Cline on
his visits to the wards in the hospital. Pie seems to
have examined the cases, and watched their pro-
gress with a scrutinizing curiosity, closely following-
up those which were unsuccessful to their post
mortem examination, that he might ascertain whe-
ther or not he had been correct in the opinions he
had previously formed. He now also began to make
notes of ]Mr. Cline's cases, and soon became remark-
able for quickly detecting their leading points, and
the analogies Avhich existed between them.
Notwithstanding the neglect which he had exhi-
bited during his first winter at the hospital to the
Physical Society, still he had established at the
conclusion of the session such a character for indus-
try and general acquirements, that, at the first
meeting of the Society this year, he was chosen one
of the managing committee, and the records of
this period sufficiently testify how earnestly he
devoted himself to its interest and Avelfare. In the
preceding winter, between October 16th, the day on
which he was introduced as a member, and January
28th, when the Society separated for the summer,
although its meetings were only held once in each
week, we find him suffering the penalty for absence
NEWS OP HIS SUCCESS REACHES HOME. 131
no less than fifteen times; while this session, during
the same period, there was only one evening in
which he was not present at their meeting.
Indeed, there does not seem to have been a
duty left un-performed in this his second session,
occupation in his profession being now the evident
result, not merely of impulse from motives of duty,
but of choice and inclination. Instead of his posi-
tion and conduct excitino- alarm lest he should fail
to acquire sufficient knowledge to fit him for the
practice of his profession, the only feelings now
called forth were those of pride and satisfaction from
his friends at home, and of congratulation from his
teachers and acquaintance at the hospital. In the
month of April, his mother, with feelings of delight,
thus expresses her anticipation of his return to Yar-
mouth : — " I look forward to the time of our meeting
with tlie utmost pleasure. When do you think you
shall be able to come down, and how long to stay with
us? Your dear father and I were much delighted
at the return of your uncle's kindness to you, and
hope it will continue uninterrupted ; we are happy
in finding that you are so much disposed to cultivate
it, and so deserving his and every one's regard."
This meeting took place in the month of May,
immediately after the conclusion of the session, and
must have been attended with mutual gratification
to both parties — Astley, on the one hand, returning
with the full consciousness of having prosecuted
his studies in a manner no less satisfactory to
his preceptors than advantageous to himself; — his
K 2
132 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
parents, on the other hand, receiving him with a
welcome, not merely jDroportionate to his acquire-
ments and established industry of character, but
rendered still more hearty from the circumstance
that at a period, comparatively little remote, they
had entertained suspicions of a Aery different result.
I reserve some incidents, which occurred during this
visit, for consideration in the following chapter.
HIS OCCUPATIONS AT YARMOUTH. 133
CHAPTER VIII.
AsTLEY Cooper's Occupations at Yarjiouth during the
Summer of 1786. Impression made on his Parents by
HIS Conduct. Mr. Holland's Communication. Astley
Cooper's Visits to Mr. Francis Turner. The History
of this Gentleman. Returns to London with Mr.
Holland. Astley Cooper's superior Anatomical Know-
ledge. Occupations in the Private Dissecting-Room
at Mr. Cline's. Remarks on Operating upon Living
Animals. Sir Astley Cooper's Account of his Felloav-
PUPILS, AND their CHARACTERS. ATTENDS JoHN HuN-
ter's Lectures. Astley Cooper is attacked "with the
Gaol-Fever. Benjamin Gregson. Visits Yarmouth.
One of the chief objects of this chapter is to give
to our readers an account of the manner in which
Astley Cooper employed his time during his sum-
mer visit to Yarmouth in 1786; and I believe that
design will be best accomplished by selecting pas-
sages from a letter written to him by his mother
immediately upon his return to London.
As refers to the personal history of my uncle,
there perhaps will be no point in the whole
Memoir of greater biographical interest, than the
indications here presented of the altered condition
of his mind since his previous visit to Yarmouth; a
change so evident to his parents and friends, that
his mother dwells affectionately on the pleasing
impressions he had left upon their minds at their late
meeting. It appears that, during his absence from
134 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
town, lie did not pass his time in mere recreation,
since from his attendance at jNIr. Turner's ; his occa-
sionally seeing patients ; his intimacy with the
scientific Dr. Aikin ; and professional conversations
with his friend ]Mr. Holland ; a great portion of this
visit must have been most usefully employed, in a
manner, not only to be valued from the real quantity
of information he acquired, but also from the evi-
dence it offered of his desire for the society of lite-
rary and scientific men.
Mrs. Cooper writes : — " I cannot express the
delight you gave your father and me, my dearest
Astley, by the tenderness of your attentions, and
the variety of your attainments. You seem to have
improved every moment of your time, and to have
soared not only beyond our expectations, but to the
utmost height of our wishes. How much did it
gratify me to observe the very great resemblance in
person and mind you bear to your angelic sister!
The same sweet smile of complacency and affection,
the same ever wakeful attention to alleviate pain
and to communicate pleasure! Heaven grant that
you may as much resemble her in every Christian
grace, as you do in eveiy moral virtne. * * *
" You left Celsus behind you, but I will send
it Mith your purse next week. Mr. Crompton
particuhirly desired his most friendly regards. AVe
liave a quack doctor, an oculist, just arrived in his
coach, with two servants, — his name Utrecht : it
seems your electrical patient was under his care at
Norwich, antl that he attempted to force a piece of
LETTEli lllOM HIS MOTHEli. 135
iron under her fingers, to oppose the contraction ; as
soon as he arrived here, however, she sent him word
she was entirely cured, by Mr. Astlet/ Cooper.
Howlet's ancle is, I hope, as much better as can be
expected. Dear Nancy gains strength daily, I thank
God. She has walked two or three afternoons in
' the trees,' and drank tea with us in the parlour.
She hopes very soon to be aljle to get on horse-
back.
" Friday. We have been made happy by the
assurance your letter conveys of your safe arrival.
You say nothing of your ancle : I hope it is better,
and that it will soon be healed. In your hurry of
writing you omitted any mention of Mr. Crompton.
I therefore did not show him your letter, as I knew
the omission would have hurt him. We were much
diverted by your account of the pusillanimous
boaster; yet could not help pitying him whilst under
the influence of fears which were very natural, though
derogatory from the courage he assumed. * * *
"Your dear father incloses a 10/. note, and joins
me and the whole family in the kindest love to you,
and compliments to Mr. Cline's family. I feel
attached to them for their regard to you. I have
written a long letter; you will not expect me to be
a frequent correspondent, but may depend on my
ever being,
" Your tenderly affectionate Mother,
" M. S. Cooper."
" ]\fr. («regson has broken from prison, and not
been retaken. ]May lie niake a proper u-:C of his
136 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER,
liberty! Should you be able to get a 4tli volume
of Johnsoit's Shakcspear, would you send it as soon
as possible ?
"Once more adieu! my dearest Astley."
As the INIr, Gregson mentioned in the postscrijit
to Mrs. Cooper's letter will again come before the
notice of the reader, I shall not dwell upon his his-
tory at present.
I am enabled, however, to give a more detailed
account than tlie above, of his occupations during
this summer, from an interesting communication
w^hicli I have received from Mr. Holland, of Knuts-
ford, a gentleman who, both during this visit to
Yarmouth, and afterwards at INIr. Cline's, was an
intimate associate and friend of Sir Astley Cooper.
The reader will perceive that this letter removes
all doubt concerning the nature of the connexion of
Sir Astley Cooper with Mr. Turner, of Yarmouth.
u* * * * jj^ the summer of 1786, I was on a
visit to my excellent friend the late Dr. Aikin, who
vras at that time resident in Great Yarmouth, and
was practising as a physician there. He spoke to
me in high terms of your uncle, who had then not
completed his eighteenth year, and predicted that
he w^ould become eminent in his profession. He
introduced us to each other, and we soon became
intimate friends. Two years before — if I rightly
recollect — your uncle had been articled to jNIr.
Cline for seven years, Mith a condition attached to
this, that he should, if he Avished it, be allowed to
pass one winter of the time in Edinburgh.
HISTORY OF MR. TURNER. 137
*• When I first knew liim at Yarmouth, he was
staying at his father's, the Rev. Dr. Cooper, the
vicar of Great Yarmouth, where he was permitted
to remain till the recommencement of the lectures
in London in the beginning of October. During
the first months of his visit he was very much at
Mr. Francis Turner's, an apothecary, with a view of
gaining a knowledge of pharmacy: but this was
solely by the permission of Mr. Turner, who wished
to show kindness to your uncle, for he was in no
way engaged to him."
The history of this gentleman is sufficiently
curious to Avarrant a place in these Memoirs.
Mr. Turner was in some measure connected
with Sir Astley Cooper; his brother, INIr. Richard
Turner, having married Miss Rede, a sister of my
mother. JNlr. Francis Turner was by inheritance
independent of his profession, and also married a
lady of considerable fortune. He was endowed
with excellent abilities, acquired great fame as a
surgeon and apothecary, and indeed Mas the only
person of his profession in Yarmouth competent to
perform operations in surgery, which he always
undertook with much avidity. He was consequently
called upon to act in all cases in his neighbourhood
which required surgical assistance, and indeed, his
practice extended to Lowestoff, Beccles, and other
towns in the vicinity.
When Sir Edmund Lacon, the grandfather of
the present baronet, was mayor of the town of
Yarmouth, some disturbances took i)lace, and certain
138 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
rioters were imprisoned in the gaol. A mob col-
lected with the determination of setting these per-
sons at liberty, ii})on which JNIr. Turner took a very
active part in attempting to maintain the authority
of the law. During his exertions he received a
severe blow on the head, inflicted by one of the
ruffians with one of the wooden palings which had
been placed so as more securely to defend the door-
way of the prison. Mr. Turner having been assisted
home, it was found, upon examination, that the bone
of the skull was laid bare, but was ai)parently un-
broken. He was, however, much alarmed ; declared
that he could not survive the accident, and sank into
a state of despondency, which was soon attended by
indigestion, and all the aggravated symj^toms of
dyspepsia. He remained in this state for two years,
continually insisting that his illness was the effect
of a portion of bone having been depressed at the
time of the accident, and that his weakened powers
of assimilation were attributable to the irritation of
the brain, consequent on the same cause. Astley's
uncle, INIr. William Cooper, at this period paid a
visit to Yarmouth, and at the earnest solicitation of
Mr. Turner, removed with a trephine a small j)ortion
of bone from that part of the head on which the
blow had been received. The bone was found to be
perfectly healthy, nor did the coverings of the brain
show any indications of injury.
As might be supposed, JNIr. Turner derived no
benefit from the operation, and he continued to
become more and more emaciated, unable to retain
HISTORY OF MR. TURNER. 139
any food on his stomach, until at hist he sank,
comjDletelj exhausted. Daring the last twelve
months of his life, Mr. Borrett, of Yarmouth,
Avho Avas then his apprentice, informs me that he
lived almost entirely upon nuts, Mr. Turner stating
that he was unable to digest any other solid food.
He was examined after death, and his liver was
found so much diseased as readily to account for
all his symptoms. Indeed, none of the medical
men of his acquaintance at any time believed that
he was suffering from injury of the brain, but
nothing could divert him from the conviction with
which he had been impressed. Dr. Girdlestone was
at this time an eminent jdiysician at Yarmouth, and,
as is well known, was much addicted to the employ-
ment of calomel in his practice. Against this drug, as
well as against Dr. Girdlestone himself, JNIr. Turner
had always considerable prejudice, and he therefore
on this occasion did not consult the doctor, whose
remedy might have been of most essential service to
the sufferer. The portion of bone which Mr. Wil-
liam Cooper removed, was worn by Mrs. Turner
about her neck until the period of her death, which
did not take place until nearly forty years after the
loss of her husband.
]Mr. Holland having described the circumstances
un<ler which Astley Cooper was connected with
jMr. Turner, thus proceeds with his narrative: —
" Our intimacy increased, scarcely a day passing with-
out our being much together. In our walks, which
we took either on the jetty or on the shore, we dis-
140
LIFE OF SIR AbTLEY COOrER.
cussed together, as youths of our age were likely to
do, the immediate objects of our studies: anatomy,
physiology, and surgery were his favourite subjects;
and I always gained much information in my various
conversations with him. I occasionally dined with
him at the Rectory; and in the person of your
grandmother have the recollection of one of the
most agreeable persons with whom I have ever had
the jileasure of being acquainted.
" As I was to pass the next winter in London,
he expressed a wish that I should, if possible,
become an inmate with him in the house of Mr.
Cline. He wrote to Mr. Cline on the subject, and
through his influence, and that of Dr. Aikin, this
was arranged. ToAvards the close of September, we
travelled together to London, staying one day at
Norwich, that we might see Brooke, a village, if I
remember rightly, five or six miles from that city,
and the place of his ancestors. AYe then proceeded
to town, in one of the old heavy coaches, through
Diss and Essex, without anything occurring to give
interest to our journey, and took up our abode at
JNlr. Cline's, No. 12, St. Mary Axe.
"The various lectures at St. Thomas' and Guy's
Avere to commence in a few days afterwards, and
Astley and I took tickets for several of them; but
those to which his attention was almost exclusively
directed were the lectures on anatomy and surgery.
These were at that time given together as one sub-
ject by Mr. Cline, whose perspicuity rendered them
particularly interesting.
HIS SUPERIOR ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE. 141
" We passed much of the remainder of the day
in the common dissecting-room, and I, though I had
attended several anatomical courses before, and was
more than two years Astley's senior, derived the
greatest advantage from his sui3erior anatomical
knowledge, and that assistance which he was always
most ready to give. Mr. Cline's class now became
so large as to crowd and make the dissecting-room
uncomfortable from the numbers frequenting it.
Astley disliked this: and as he was now anxious not
merely to examine and study M-hat was already
known, but also to explore more deej^ly for himself,
he suggested that we should have our subjects
brought to Mr. Cline's house, which was not in a
parallel line with the street, but stood several yards
back, having a court leading up to it. The room
Astley and I occupied was in the front of the
house, with only one window in it, and this not
overlooked from any windows opposite. Here we
carried on our dissections without interruption, and
all went on smoothly, till one day Mhen wo were
busily engaged with a subject on the talkie, we saw,
on accidentally looking up, several men on the roof
of the house before us, who were there to repair the
slates, and having seen us, were eagerly watchino-
our operations. At the time I am speaking of, a
mob was readily collected in the streets of the me-
tropolis, there not being, as now, an efHcient police;
and, therefore, having been so closely watched in
our proceedings by the men on tlie roof, we tliought
it prudent to convey our subject into a more i)rivate
142 LIFE OF SIR A&TLEY COOPER.
part of the honee. Here m e let it remain till the
men were gone away. This circumstance made us
a little more guarded, and therefore we converted
our sitting-room into a dissecting-room through the
remainder of the winter.
" During this time, Astley, who was always
eager to add to our anatomical and physiological
knowledge, made a variety of experiments on living
animals. I recollect one day walking out with him,
when a dog followed us, and accompanied us home,
little foreseeing the fate that awaited him. He
was confined for a few days, till we had ascertained
that no ovrner would come to claim him, and then
brought up to be the subject of various operations.
The first of these was the tying one of the femoral
arteries. ^Mien poor Chance, for so Ave appropriately
named the dog, was sufiiciently recovered from this,
one of the humeral arteries was subjected to a similar
process. After the lapse of a few weeks, the ill-
fated animal was killed, the vessels injected, and
preparations were made from each of the limbs.
"During the winter months, Astley pretty regu-
larly attended the meetings of the Physical Society
at Guy's, occasionally furnishing a paper, and joining
in the discussions: sometimes, too, he attended the
meetings of the society at John Hunter's, in AVind-
mill Street. In the discussion Avhich followed the
reading of a paper, or in the debates Mliich occurred
in the course of the evening, Astley often took an
active part; whilst the pertinence of his remarks,
aided by his striking figure and fine voice, joined
ACCIDENT TO ]\[R. CLINE's HOUSE. 143
to the eao-eriiess Avith Avliicli he entered into the
subject, procured him marked attention.
" In the course of the Avinter, an accident oc-
curred to Mr. Cline's house, which might have been
attended with serious consequences. The wind one
night became very high: it continued to increase in
violence: mortar and bricks began to tumble down
the chimney of the room in the lower attic, in which
Astley and I had our beds; and at length, at two
or three o'clock in the morning, a large stack of
chimneys was blown down, fell upon the roof, and,
together with it, broke into the upper attics, com-
pletely filling our room Avitli loose bricks and mor-
tar, and seriously hurting some of the servants
above. The noise and crash led each person to leave
his room, and we were all soon assembled on one
of the landings of the stairs. Here we met Mr.
Cline in his dressing-gown, who having, as far as the
bricks and dust allowed, surveyed the premises,
quietly said, ' Well, we can do nothing till morning,
so we may as well go to bed again;' and accordingly
went. Astley and T, our room being filled with
dirt and rubbish, were glad to sit up the remainder
of the night in our little apartment below."
Some of my readers may be unacquainted with
the necessity, under which surgeons labour, of making
experiments on the lower classes of animals, in
order to improve themselves as much as possible in
that particular species of knowledge, requisite for
the successful exercise of their profession, when
called upon to alleviate or remove the suflerings of
144 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
their fellow-creatures. I fear that the allusions to this
subject ill the above letter, may lead those, who are
unconscious of this necessity, to attribute a dispo-
sition devoid of feeling to my uncle and his friend.
In order to remove such an impression, it be-
comes incumbent on me to say a few words on the
advantages which this source of knowledge alone
offers, and tlie consequently necessary sacrifice of
our feelings in embracing them — a sacrifice to which,
as far as I am able to trace the history of the most
eminent men of our profession, all have more or less
submitted, and Avhich seems almost essential to the
acquirement of the higher orders of surgical and phy-
siological knowledge. By this means only are theories
proved erroneous or correct, new facts brought to
light, important discoveries made in physiology, and
sounder doctrines and more scientific modes of
treatment arrived at. Nor is this all ; for the sur-
geon's hand becomes tutored to act with steadiness,
while he is under the influence of the natural abhor-
rence of giving pain to the subject of experiment,
and he himself is thus schooled for the severer ordeal
of operating on the human frame. I may mention
another peculiar advantage in proof of the necessity
of such apparent cruelty ; that no practising on the
dead body can accustom the mind of the surgeon to
the physical phenomena presented to his notice in
operations on the living. The detail of the various
differences which exist under the two circumstances
need hardly be explained, as there are few minds to
wliich tlioy will not readily i)resent themselves.
ON OPERATING UPON LIVING ANIMALS, 145
My friend Dr. Blundell has eloquently discussed
this question : — " They," says he, " who object to the
putting of animals to death for a scientific purpose,
do not reflect that the death of an animal is a very
different thing from that of man. To an animal,
death is an eternal sleep ; to man, it is the com-
mencement of a new and untried state of existence.
****** gliall it be said that the ob-
jects of jDhysiological science are not worth the
sacrifice of a few animals? Men are constantly
formincf the most erroneous estimates of the com-
parative importance of objects in this world. Of
what importance is it now to mankind whether
Antony or Augustus filled the Imperial chair ? And
what will it matter, a few centuries hence, whether
England or France swept the ocean with her fleets ?
But mankind will always be equally interested in
the great truths deduciblo from science, and in the
inferences derived from physiological experiments.
I will ask, then, whether the infliction of pain on
the lower animals in experiments is not justified by
the object for which those experiments are insti-
tuted, namely, the advancement of physiological
knowledge ? Is not the infliction of pain, or even
of death, on man, often justified by the end for
which it is inflicted? Does not the general lead
his troops to slaughter, to preserve the liberties of
his country? It is not the infliction of pain or
death for justifiable objects, but it is the taking a
savage pleasure in the infliction of pain or death,
which is reprehensible. ****** Here,
VOL. I. L
146
LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
then, we take our stand ; we defend the sacrifice of
animals, in so far as it is calculated to contribute to
the improvement of science ; and in those parts of
physiological science immediately applicable to me-
dical practice, we maintain that such a sacrifice is
not only justifiable, but a sacred duty."
The interesting nature of the subjects contained
in the extracts from jNIr. Holland's letter will be
an ample apology for their length, and I am happy
in having it in my power to subjoin a portion of Sir
Astley's memoranda relating to the same period ;
bearing testimony, as it does, alike to the unassum-
ing modesty of Mr. Holland when speaking of
himself, as to the honesty of Sir Astley Cooper, who
never forgot to acknowledge his obligations to those
to Avhom he felt himself indebted for professional
information or other advantages : —
" Two years after I was at JNIr. CHne's, Mr. Hol-
land, surgeon at Knutsford, was one of his house
pupils, who was a highly informed, sensible man, and
father of Dr. Holland. He gaA-e me a turn for
study ; his conversation improved me, and the con-
versation between JMr. Cline and him still more."
The histories of his other associates at this time
are no less instructive than curious : they form a
remarkable contrast with the subsequent career of
their fellow-pupil, who relates them : —
"A INlr. Clarke, afterwards Dr. Clarke, lived at
Mr. Cline's, being articled as pupil to him ; and JVIr.
S of li . Clarke was a singular charac-
ter ; he was an admirable scholar ; he had been at a
HIS ACCOUJST OF HIS FELLOW-PUriLS. 147
school I think in Settle, in Yorkshire ; but was a
very idle fellow, and never studied his profession.
His father lived in Gracechurch Street, and died
during- his pupilage, and left him a thousand pounds,
and he bought a commission in the Royals 1st regi-
ment of Foot. He drank hard. When in the West
Indies he fell in love with Miss Duncan, the colo-
nel's daughter ; and to ingratiate himself with her,
he became the soberest man in the regiment, and
the colonel used to jioint him out as a pattern of
excellence : so he succeeded in marrying Miss
Duncan, and in imposing himself upon her father
as a man of fortune.
" He brought his wife to Dublin, and was drunk
nearly the whole of the passage. He left her in a
lodging at Dublin, and came to England and hired a
lodoino" in the Rules of the Kino-'s Bench. She
O O o
came over to him, and they were almost starved
Avhen he published his Consjiectus MediciiKC Theo-
reticoi*^ a very pretty view of the practice of medi-
cine in excellent Latin. I afterwards requested
Mr. Cline, Dr. Saunders, and others to obtain a
* The title given above is evidently erroneous, and the mis-
take no doubt is attributable to the hurried manner in which
these memoranda were penned. The work named was written
by Dr. Gregory, and not by Dr. Edward Goodman Clarke,
Physician to the Forces, to whom the above history evidently
alludes. Sir Astley Cooper was at the moment most probably
confoundlnof it with the Mcdxclnce Praxeos Compendium^ S^-c,
written by Dr. Clarke, and first published by liiiu a.d, 1799.
Dr. C. was the author of other small medical works, some of
which went through several editions.
L 2
148 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
commission for him as an army physician. He was
sent home for being drunk in an hospital in the
Netherlands, but he retained his pay. However,
whenever he got any money, he was always drunk,
and his wife and children were starving. At length
he died of diseased liver and dropsy; and would
have been starved to death but for myself and Lady
Cooper, and Mrs. Baillie, Avife of Dr. Baillie the
celebrated physician.
" I afterwards got Mrs. Clarke into Guy's Hos-
jiital as a Sister*, through the kindness of Mr.
Harrison, where she remained nearly until her
death ; but she also acquired her husband's vice of
drinking, although she had been a most excellent
woman, and really a genteel person. All her chil-
dren did very ill — in short, perished from following
their parent's misconduct. Such was the history of
my fellow-apj^rentice.
" S was a fool, but succeeded to his father's
business, drank a pipe of Avine for himself and
friends per annum, and died of apoplexy in his
garden at R .
'• Another man lived with me at IMr. Cline's of
the name of F ; he was more nearly an idiot
than any one I ever saAV. * * He Avas sent to
sea in the Guardian frigate as assistant-surgeon, and
was in her Avhen she struck ujion an island off the
Cape of Good Hope. He Avas too lazy to pump,
and they put him under the pump and pumped upon
* The chief nurse in cacli ward, at Guy's Hospital, is called
TJie Sister of the Ward.
HIS ACCOUNT OF HIS FELLOW-PUPILS. 149
liini, and he slunk* away among the casks. A fever
ensued, and he died at the Cape, where he was
buried, being put into a coffin which opened at the
bottom, in order that, having let him into his grave,
it might be brought back for others.
" Mr. S , the brother of the former, from
R , also lived at JNIr.Cline's. He was desperately
in love with JNIiss C , who refused him, and he
went into Essex disconsolate ; there meeting with a
INIrs. B , a widow, he offered to her, a fortnight
after her husband's death, but she said she had been
engaged three weeks. However, she jilted the man
she had promised, and married S , to whose
house, near R , I frequently afterwards went to
shoot, and to visit his sister, a lovely woman, who
married Mr. B ."
* Slunk : an expression in very common use in Norfolk.
The mention of this brings to my recollection a story which I
have heard Sir Astlcy tell, connected with the history of his
father, and which, at the time it occurred, wounded the doctor's
dignity excessively. A clergyman with whom he became, on
some occasion, acquainted at Brooke, offered to assist him in his
Sunday's duties. To this my grandfather readily acceded,
although he did not require his aid, as was evinced by his ac-
companying him to church to hear the sermon. The doctor, at
the very commencement of the discourse, was a little distressed
at some of the expressions which his locum tenens introduced ;
but, at last, was so shocked at a sentence which, in the warmth
of his argument, escaped him, as almost to be driven out of
church. It vvas this. The preacher had been speaking of the
disgust of one of the disciples at the incredulity of a multitude
to whom he had been addressing himself, and thus described his
indignant departure from them : " And he went awa : ho slunk
awa : and he never came back to say nothing no more."
150 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
The extract we Lave given from the letter of
INIr. Holland sufficiently shows that it was no tem-
porary thirst for knowledge and distinction which
had arisen in the mind of Astley Cooper, but that
once excited, it had continued ever since increasing
in vehemence, while the clearer view exjioscd to
him, by each addition to his stock of knowledge, of
other stores still unexplored, seemed only as a
stimulus to fresh exertions in the pursuit. He
seems, at the time when he first turned his mind
seriously to professional pursuits, to have deter-
mined if i^ossible to excel ; and this resolution once
formed, to have ever afterwards devoted himself to
its accomplishment with a disregard to danger and
fatigue, which only extraordinary natural courage
and jiowers of constitution could have enabled him
to exhibit. During the winter, to which the pre-
ceding extracts allude, notwithstanding his many
engagements at the Borough hospitals, and his pri-
vate studies, he contrived to attend a course of
lectures, delivered by John Hunter, near Leicester
Square.
It is not surprising that Astley Cooper should
have taken great interest in the comprehensive lec-
tures of that highly-gifted man. From the very
commencement of his professional studies, he had
devoted himself, like John Hunter, to the perusal
of the Book of Nature; and althouofh vet but a
young disciple, he had used so much industrious
zeal in his inquiries, as to be fully capable of appre-
ciating his preceptor's faithful description and expo-
ATTENDS JOHN HUNTER's LECTURES. 151
sition of its contents. The amount of knowledire
which he had thus obtained, and his earnest desire
for fresh information, enabled him, with a facihty
possessed by few, to examine and comprehend the
doctrines which that illustrious philosopher main-
tained and promulgated. Nor was this an easy
task ; for, in addition to the novelty of Hunter's
opinions, and their oi)position to many of those
generally received, they were delivered with so
little method, and in language so obscure, that the
task of listening to them Avas rendered irksome to
the unwilling pupil, while at the same time they
were scarcely intelligible to the older students, who
had previously adopted the doctrines of the leading
writers of the day, and were familiar with their
terms and expressions. These latter, indeed, occa-
sionally affected to doubt whether the lecturer even
understood them himself. The fact is well known,
that, in the trial regarding the alleged murder
of Sir Theodosius Broughton, the evidence of John
Hunter, although it afterwards proved to be correct,
was stated by the judge to be obscure and unintel-
ligible, while that of the other leading professional
witness, who was opposed to him in opinion, was
received as perfectly satisfactory.
This obscurity of expression is easily accounted
for on the part of John Hunter from the nature of
his education. Gifted with a vigorous understand-
ing, and powers of intense application, circumstances
had deprived him of the opportunity of availing
himself of these qualities in early life; and when
152 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
afterwards this opportunity offered itself, refusing
to submit to studies, for which no early taste had
been cultivated in him, he at once applied himself
to that pursuit which required least previous prepa-
ration, and which, once commenced, ever afterwards
occupied his time and attention. Thus, then, not
having derived his knowledge from others, but
from quiet secluded observation and mental labour,
his ideas, at once original and simple, were deli-
vered in a language which might be almost said to
be peculiar to himself.
Astley Cooper, however, neither biassed by pre-
existing opinions, nor idly listening to him as a
matter of duty ; but, on the contrary, full of noble
enthusiasm, eagerly seeking knowledge, and willing
to take any trouble to acquire it, soon, by his strict
attention, penetrated beyond the obscurity of John
Hunter s language ; and by discussing the tojuc of
each day's lecture on his way home with his friend,
]Mr. Holland, as well as by experimental inquiry
in private, succeeded in fixing Hunter's principles
on his mind, and became fully convinced of their
truth and importance. It was not long before
he felt the superiority which the attention he had
devoted to these lectures gave him.
A circumstance occurred about tliis period,
Avhich threatened the most serious consequences to
Astley Cooper. Notwithstanding his long-conti-
nued labours in the dissecting-room, (the source of
serious illness or untimely destruction to not a few,)
and his incessant pursuit of knowledge at the bed-
BENJAMIN GREGSON. 153
side of the sick and elsewhere, he had hitherto
neither suffered injury, nor had his health become
impaired. But in the spring of this year, 1787, he
experienced a severe attack of illness, in consequence
of a visit which he jiaid, according to his father's
wishes, to a prisoner in Newgate, of the name of
Benjamin Gregson. The history of this person was
not a little remarkable, and from the circumstance
alluded to, may be worth recording.
In December, 1785, while engaged with a book-
seller in London, Gregson had given a forged bill
of acceptance, in part payment of a debt for
jewellery, to a watch-maker. Being accused of the
forgery, he suddenly quitted his engagements, and
innnediately afterwards appeared in Yarmouth in
the character of an indef)endent gentleman, where
he soon, by means of his prepossessing exterior and
easy address, as well as his expensive style of living,
contrived to be admitted to the best society of the
town. Among other houses, he became a frequent
visitor at the parsonage, not only at the public
entertainments, given every week by Dr. Cooper,
but also at his private parties, which, from the
social habits of the doctor, were of frequent occur-
rence.
One evening, however, Gregson, while engaged
in dancing with a lady, at one of the select assem-
blies, to the astonishment of all present, was sud-
denly apprehended, and committed to Yarmoutli
gaol. Here he displayed a singularly wanton
indifference to the degradation of his situation.
154 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
by various extravagances of conduct, such as put-
ting himself to considerable pains to get his iron
fetters polished, which at last he succeeded in
having done for him. This conduct might have
been for the purpose of diverting the attention of
his keepers; for after a short time, having succeeded
in making a favourable impression on the daughter
of the gaoler, who occasionally assisted her father in
his duties, he obtained certain keys, through her
means, and one night effected his escajje*. Going
into one of the fishermen's huts, he obtained a com-
plete suit of their attire, and in this disguise, with a
pipe in his mouth, walked in the market-place, in
the midst of a large crowd, with whom he was at
the very time one of the chief subjects of conver-
sation.
From Yarmouth he easily got over to Holland;
thence he sailed to Russia, and from Russia he went
to France, where he formed an illicit intimacy with
a married lady residing at Paris. This affair being
discovered, the lady was removed to London, and
the reckless Gregson following, was arrested, in
consequence of information given by the husband,
who had found means of becoming acquainted with
his history before quitting Paris. Gregson received
sentence of death at the Old I3ailey, on the 18th of
April, 1787. However, on the 15tli of ]\Iay follow-
ing, he found means again to make his escape, his
""■ The letter of ]\Irs. Cooper to her son Astlcy, at the com-
mencement of this chapter, alludes to the circumstance of this
escape.
IS ATTACKED WITH THE GAOL-FEVER. 155
irons, wliicli he had sawed off in the night, being
found in his cell, and his prison dress in a private
part of the building*, where he had, in all probability,
been furnished with a change of apparel. He was
subsequently again taken, and then underwent the
sentence of the law.
It was prior to Gregson's escape from Newgate,
and while under sentence of death, that Astlcy
Cooper visited him. The prisoner was at the time
labouring under an attack of an infectious fever,
which, owing to the regulations of that period, was
much more prevalent in places of confinement than
at the present day. One evening after visiting him,
Astley made complaints of feeling unwell, and in
a short time afterwards, all the distressing symptoms
of the disorder manifested themselves. The attack
proved to be very dangerous, owing perhajDS to
his constitution having been weakened by his
close application during the past winter: it is well
known also that hosjiital students are much less
able to withstand or sustain disease towards the
conclusion of a session than at its commencement.
Had it not been for the unremitting kindness and
attention of Mr. Cline and his family, there is every
reason to believe that this attack would have been
fatal. lie became convalescent, however, but it was
not until he had for some time breathed the pure
and bracing air of his native county, and enjoyed
the society of his family, that he was finally restored
to health.
Having paid a visit for this purpose to Yar-
156 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
mouth, ill the autumn of the year, he returned to
London, preparatory to passing the following Tvinter
in Edinburgh, which his agreement M'ith Mr. Cline
permitted him to do. A letter from his mother,
sent shortly after his return to London, exhibits
the kindly feelings which his amiable disposition
and industry had excited among his friends and
relations.
« * * * « J ^^^ quite happy to find that
you feel more attached to your family after being in
a more intimate intercourse with every part of it,
and I can most truly affirm that a similar effect has
been in us toward you — may we be ever united in
the firmest and in an increasing affection for each
other! JNIay the tenderness of the friend be ever
blended with the attentions of the i:)arent, and may
every wish of our children's hearts be communicated
that they may, if within parental power, be grati-
fied.
" Heaven bless you, my dearest Astley, with
health, every enjoyment, and every improvement, in
the excursion you are about to undertake. Let us
have a letter, as soon as you can find leisure, after
your arrival. We ^vill not tax your most obliging
disposition with too frequent expectations of letters.
When opportunity and inclination concur, we shall
be happy in receiving assurances of your health and
information of your proceedings. *****
But let me not be continually fatiguing you Avith
advice. jMy heart prompts every tender expression.
LETTER FROM HIS MOTHER. 157
and anxiously prays for your happiness. I admire,
I loA^e your exquisite tenderness of disposition. May
it ever be regulated by duty! God Almighty bless
and preserve you, my dear dear Astley, is the fer-
vent supplication of
" Your ever tenderly affectionate Mother,
" October IQtK 1787. " JVI. S. Cooper.
" Your dear father will write : I will therefore
only beg you to remember the books he wished you
to return, especially Watson's Horace. I inclose
your bills, and four notes of ten pounds each ; three
of them on the Norwich Bank, the other on the
Bank of England."
158 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
CHAPTER IX.
AsTLEY Cooper visits Edinburgh under favourable
Auspices. Sketches op the Leading Professional
Characters in Edinburgh at that Time. Dr. Gre-
gory. Dr. Black. Dr. Hamilton. Mr. Fyfe. Dr.
Rutherford. Industry op Astley Cooper. Royal
Medical Society. Elected President of a Society of
Students. Sir Astley Cooper's Recollections of this
Period. Professional Advantages of this Visit.
Astley Cooper's Tour through the Highlands. Pe-
cuniary Difficulties on his return Home. Anecdote.
Allusion has already been made, in a previous
chapter, to a clause in the indentures of Astley
Cooper, entitling him to spend one session in Edin-
burgh. Of this permission he determined to avail
himself during the winter of the year 1787, and
accordingly, towards the latter end of the month of
October, he took his departure from London for the
North.
As he was little more than nineteen years of
age, in the enjoyment of full strength and health,
eager for instruction, provided with the means of
gratifying the desire, and already possessing a greater
amount of information than probably could be found
in any other person of the same age ; scarcely any
circumstances could have enhanced the gratifica-
tions he anticipated from this visit. He carried with
him letters of introduction to the most eminent
men in Edinburgh, not only in his own profession,
HE VISITS EDINBURGH. 159
but also in the sister sciences; including, among-
others, Adam Smith, who had been lately elected
Lord Rector of the University, Dr. Gregory, Mac-
kenzie the INIan of Feeling, Mr. Machonochee after-
wards Lord Meadowbank, Charles Hope, and Dr.
Black ; to all of whom he was mentioned with much
kindness by Mr. Beaufoy, at that time M.P. for
Yarmouth. Some brief but pithy remarks on some
of these persons, which occur among his memoranda,
I shall notice hereafter.
In the course of his journey to Edinburgh, he
made a stay in StaiFordshire for the purpose of
examining the potteries, which he visited under
very advantageous circumstances, having an intro-
duction to Mr. Wedgwood, from his niece, Mrs.
Holland, the wife of the gentleman whose name has
already appeared in these Memoirs. Thence he
proceeded into Cheshire, and stayed several days at
the house of his friend Mr. Holland, at Knutsford,
in whose company he afterwards went to Man-
chester, and examined various factories. Mr. Hol-
land relates that Sir Astley at this period took
much interest in everything relating to the arts and
manufactures.
From this time until his arrival in Edinburgh
we can trace nothing worthy of relation. Having
presented his letters of introduction, he without loss
of time engaged himself in the object of his journey,
and in order to carry it out in the most effective
manner, hired a lodging close to the principal
scene of his studies; not, however, of the most
160 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
expensive character, as appears by the following
extract. This remark occurs among some notes made
by Sir Astley, during an excursion into the North,
in company Avith Lady Cooper, in the year 1837.
It is, unfortunately, the only one which alludes to
this jjeriod.
"August 30th. Walked out to the college, and
to Bristow Street, and saw the infirmary. Saw my
lodging, No. 5, in Bristow Street ; walked up into
my room, where I spent six shillings and sixpence
per week in lodging; dining in Buccleugh Place
with Mrs. JMackintosh at one shilling -per diem."
The diligence and zeal with which he sought
information, and the intelligence he manifested on
various occasions, soon attracted the notice of the
professors, and gained for him as distinguished a
place in their esteem and favour, as he had already
acquired among the preceptors whom he had lately
left. It may be interesting to the reader to have
some brief sketches of these gentlemen, — with most
of whom, in 1815 and 1816,1 myself was personally
acquainted, — more especially as Sir Astley used to
attach much importance to the information he de-
rived both from their private and public instruction.
Dr. Gregory, to whom Sir Astley Cooper ever
afterwards expressed himself indebted for much
information and kindness, was a large uncouth man,
and appeared to me to bear a greater resem-
blance, both in manner and appearance, to the
description given of Dr. Johnson than any one
I ever saw. As a lecturer, he was powerful and
DR. GREGORY. 161
eloquent, and always commanded respect; but he
was often very diffuse, entering into the history of
diseases with a prolixity which rendered him tedious
to his audience. Thus, when upon the subject of
fever, he would commence from the earliest account
of the disease, — giving the ojiinions of the ancients
upon it, with their treatment, — and so descend gra-
dually to his own times. His concluding remarks,
however, always contained most valuable practical
information.
Although of a forgiving disposition, he was
occasionally very violent, and once gave a brother
professor a severe thrashing with a stick which he
always carried with him. This transaction afterwards
became the subject of a legal action.
Notwithstanding his rough exterior and appa-
rent harshness, Dr. Gregory possessed a heart which
was at once kindled into the tenderest emotions
at the recital of a tale of Avoe, and his hand was
ever ready to alleviate the distresses he commi-
serated. I had the opportunity of becoming
acquainted with several circumstances, which for-
cibly tended to illustrate these points in his cha-
racter. I remember tlie following: — It was the
custom, some years since, for each professor to
receive at his own house the fees from the new
pupils for their attendance on the lectures. One
day Dr. Gregory, thus engaged, had used all his
blank tickets, and was obliged to go into an adjoining
apartment, to procure another for a student whom
he left sitting in his consulting-room. The accumu-
VOL. I. M
162 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
lated money Avhich he had received was lying on the
table, and from this sum, as he was re-entering the
room, he saw the young man, with one hand sweep
a portion into the other, and then deposit it in
his pocket. Dr. Gregory took his seat at the table,
and, as if nothing had occurred, filled up the ticket,
and gave it to the delinquent. He then accompa-
nied him to the door, and when at the threshhold,
with much emotion, said to him, " I saw what you
did just now; keep the money, I know what must
be your distress ; but for God's sake never do it
again, it can never succeed." The pupil in vain
offered him back the money ; and the doctor had
the satisfaction of knowing that this moral lesson
produced the desired impression on his mind, and
rooted out from it that tendency to iniquity, which
but for this timely and Christian-like conduct on his
part might have increased and proved the young-
man's ruin.
At another time, having seen a poor pupil and
fellow-countrpiian, who was sinking in the last
stage of typhus fever, he said to him among other
things, — " You must have generous diet — jellies,
good soup, and wine — your life depends upon it."
The young man, turning his glazed eye upon him,
faintly replied, — " Sir, I have not five shillings a
Meek to spend in food ; how do you think I am to
get such things ?" 13 r. Gregory's eyes were instantly
suffused with tears, and, shaking the young man's
hand, without making any further remark, he left
the room. I need hardly say, that from that time
DR. GREGORY. 163
the patient was fully sujiplied with all he needed.
He ultimately recovered, and became a liighly suc-
cessful practitioner in his native country.
In professional matters Dr. Gregory always
exhibited a degree of liberality highly creditable to
his character. He once gave a professional col-
league, not famous for this quality, a severe lesson.
He had called to see a young man, a student at the
college, who had been for some time under the care
of the professor alluded to, but was not receiving
much benefit from liis attendance. Dr. Gregory,
having concluded the object of his visit, was about
to depart, when the pupil presented him with a fee.
Much offended at the indignity thus offered him,
although unintentionally, Dr. Gregory asked the stu-
dent to explain himself, for lie didn't understand
him. The young man at once perceiving his error,
begged his pardon, and in extenuation mentioned
that Dr. had always taken his fee. " Oh! he has,
has he ?" — replied Dr. Gregory — " ask him to meet
ihe in consultation to-morrow ; and then offer him a
fee : or stay — offer me the fee first." The consul-
tation was accordingly arranged ; and, being con-
cluded, the patient, as desired, offered Dr. Gregory
his fee : who, as if swelling with indignation, imme-
diately called out — *' Do you mean to insult me,
sir ? Are we cannibals that we should live upon one
another ? Is there a professor, do you think, in this
university who would so far degrade himself as to
take payment from one of his own brotherhood, and
a junior too ?" Then, his anger apparently relaxing,
M 2
164 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
he shook him by the hand, and, begging him not to
do it again, left the room with his colleague.
Before he went out, however, the student offered
Dr. his fee, as usual ; but he, evidently con-
fused, in a hurried manner stammered out an awk-
ward refusal. AYithin a few hours after this meeting
the pupil received back the full amount of the
fees which he had paid during his illness ; nor would
the professor ever afterwards accept another from
him.
Sir Astley occasionally attended Dr. Black's lec-
tures. He was professor of chemistry ; had long
since rendered himself famous for his discoveries in
that science ; and was then one of the first of those
upon whom the celebrity of the Edinburgh school
rested. Dugald Stewart Sir Astley apjjears to have
known ; but it is uncertain whether he attended
him in the lecture-room. He was professor of moral
philosophy. The histories of these gentlemen are
sufficiently well kno^^^l.
Dr. Hamilton was one of the physicians to the
infirmary ; but in my time he had retired from the
active duties of this office, and was acting as con-
sulting physician. He was a short little man, very
popular as a teacher, and eccentric in his habits.
His antipathy to breathing confined air was remark-
able. In the coldest weather he never sat in his
carriage with the windows closed ; and when very
cold, for he never wore an upper coat, he would get
out and walk before it until his circulation was
sufficiently restored. In visiting a patient with a
DR. HAjMILTON. 165
professional frieiitl, if the latter objected to the
windows being open, he invariably left his carriage,
and, while his friend remained inside, would himself
proceed on foot to the patient's house. He Avas
accustomed to dress in knee-breeches; and, with
his large buckles, his powdered hair, pigtail, and
cocked hat — a style of dress which he never changed
— presented a tout ensemble not a little curious, and
which gave rise to various soubriquets by which he
was familiarly known among his friends and ac-
quaintance. Accoutred as above described, he used
to enter the infirmary, and, walking deliberately up
to a certain part of the room, hang his hat upon
a peg wliich he had been known to use for the
last fifty years : any one else, indeed, would have
■ji
as soon thought of entering the Doctor's house and
using his library, uninvited, as appropriating this
peg to himself. Thence, if the weather were cold,
he would proceed to the fire-place, and, holding his
hands (which had never knoAvn the use of gloves)
over, not before, the fire, used to say, with all the
earnestness and satisfaction, as if he were saying it
for the first time, " Heat always ascends, gentlemen;
it's no use showing your fingers to the bars, as some
people do. It's the fault of their not remembering
that heat always ascends, gentlemen." In a short
time the appearance of his hands would sufficiently
prove that smoke, as well as heat, ascends; but a
little rubbing on his black breeches very easily and
(Satisfactorily removed this, and he would then pro-.^-— -»^
ceed to business. /^^' " 'C"
166
LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
jNIr. Fyfe was a tall thin man, and one of the
most ungainly lecturers I ever knew. He had been
assistant to Dr. jMunro, and by hard study, and dis-
secting for the doctor's lectures, became an excellent
anatomist. Sir Astley used to mimic very admi-
rably the awkward style of delivery and primitive
habits which distinguished Mr. Fyfe in the lecture-
room, even when he was in Edinburgh, and inva-
riably excited much laughter. ]\Ir. Fyfe published
a work on anatomy in four volumes, and, rather
oddly, imposed the task of colouring the plates,
which were numerous, on his wife and daughters.
His son was very fond of chemistry, and assisted
Dr. Hope in the laboratory ; but he died young :
an event which so afflicted his father, as materially
to hasten his decease.
Dr. Rutherford was the professor of botany, but
was always esteemed a better morbid anatomist than
botanist. His diagnosis of disease was excellent.
He carried his abhorrence to the practice of bleed-
ing to an extraordinary extent, and whenever I,
who was for some time his clinical clerk, had during
his absence used the lancet, on telling him of the
circumstance, it appeared to cause him the most
painful distress imaginable. He used to think that
the same effect might always be ensured by the
use of medicines. He was well versed in literature,
both ancient and modern; and notwithstanding a
certain imbecility of manner and countenance, pos-
sessed an abundant share of good common sense.
Such were the principal persons connected with
HIS INDUSTRY. 167
the medical profession, with wliom Astley Cooper was
associated in Edinburgh, and under whose superinten-
dence, for seven months, he prosecuted his studies
with unabated ardour. Their views and practice
could but be highly beneficial to him ; for when
compared with the practice and doctrines to which
he had been accustomed in London, the differ-
ence between them must have enabled a mind,
so acute and penetrating as his, to collect a
variety of new ideas and valuable information ;
while the treatment he witnessed at the bedside, and
the operations in the theatre, must also have fur-
nished him with a store of facts which his ingenuity
and ready powers of application would not omit to
call to his assistance afterwards, in the course of his
professional career.
He himself appreciated the advantages thus
opened to him, and did not omit to seize every
opportunity which occurred of making use of them.
Not only did he, with the most exemj^lary perseve-
rance and industry, listen to the instructions of his
teachers in the lecture-room, and compare them
with their practice in the Mards; but at hours, which
were hours of leisure or amusement to others, still
employed his thoughts in the same pursuits, and
equally in private as in public devoted himself to
the acquisition of knowledge and professional infor-
mation. The introductions he brought A\ith him
from home, at once opened to him the notice of his
superiors; but it Avas his diligence and attention, his
superior abilities and information, which gained and
1G8 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
secured to liim the honour of their continued appro-
bation and friendshiji.
He was a constant attendant at the debates of
the Royal ^ledical Society, and so much distin-
guished himself in the discussions, that he, at his
departure from Edinburgh, was offered the presi-
dency if he would return, — an event, however, which
never took place. Here it was that his excellent
knowledge of anatomy, acquired under INIr. Cline,
and the instruction he had derived from the lec-
tures of Mr. John Hunter, proved themselves of
such advantage to him, — the confidence derived
from the one source, and the novelty and justice of
his ideas from the other, always securing to him
the respect and attention of the members whenever
he addressed them. To these circumstances he him-
self invariably attributed the favourable hearing his
remarks obtained among them*.
I have heard my uncle, in adverting to his
attendance at this Society, mention a witty retort
* In reply to an inquiry whether my uncle read any treatise
before this Society, Dr. Newbigging has favoured me -with the
following notes : —
" Sir A. P. Cooper was elected an ordinary member of the
Royal Medical Society on the 1st Dec, 17^7' He does not
appear to have read any Essay before the Society, as no record
is kept of such a paper among the other essays and dissertations
of the Society, although the records have been carefully searched
for the years immediately succeeding the date of his first
election, as well as the index of author's names up to 1820, and
also Stroud's History of the Society. It is therefore probable
that he did not read a paper before the Society, his attendance
not having been sufficiently long for his turn to have arrived."
4
PRESIDENT OF A SOCIETY OF STUDENTS. 169
which occurred in a discussion at one of its meet-
ings between two young surgeons, one an Irishman,
the other a Scotchman. The former maintained
that cancer never occurred in women who had borne
children. The young Scotchman vehemently op-
posed this doctrine, and mentioned the case of a
lady who had twice had twins, and yet had cancer
afterwards. To this apparently conclusive evidence,
the Irishman immediately replied, "Ah, by my
soul, but don't you know that's an exception to the
general rule, — where's the wonder in Cancer follow-
ing Gemini? — it always does."
Nor was it with his sujieriors only he was thus
a favourite in Edinburgh : the same popularity and
reputation which, among his cotemporaries, had dis-
tinguished him in London equally and at once dis-
tinguished him among his fellow-students here.
In proportion as he became familiar with them they
became delighted with his frank generosity of dis-
position ; and thus it was not long before he held a
place in their affections, similar to that which
his superior attainments, upright character, and
conduct, at once gained for him in their esteem.
The confidence which was placed in him in nothing
appears more, than in his being chosen President of
a Society, which was formed among them to protect
their rights against certain imagined usurpations on
the part of the professors. This Society met at
Archer's Hall.
He was also a member of the Speculative Society,
to which he was introduced by Charles Hope (since
170 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Lord President of the University), and a paper
which he read on the Berkelian Theory of the non-
existence of matter, maintaining its doctrines, has
been remembered, chiefly from a neat and witty
compliment which it called forth, partly perhaps as
a reproof, from a Mr. Wyld, the President of the
Society, who, on summing up the debate, said ; —
" But Mr. Cooper has himself proved the falsehood
of his doctrine, for there was much good matter in
his own paper."
Through the kindness of Professor Alison I have
been enabled to jDrocure the following entries from
the books of this Society: —
" Astley P. Cooper was admitted a member of the Speculative
Society on 4tk December, 1787.— 12th February, 1788, 'Mr.
Cooper read an Essay denying the existence of matter.'
" 18th March, 1788, took part in the debate, ' Has Great
Britain derived any benefit from her territorial possessions in the
East Indies?' which was carried in the affirmative.
"25th March, 1788, opened debate, ' Is man a free agent?
and was teller for the noes; carried in affirmative by casting vote.
"15th April, 1788, absent after this date, having left Edin-
burgh."
It is much to be reo-retted that Sir Astlev did
not make any notes during this j^eriod; the brief
memoranda which he has since written, and to which
we have already alluded, are the following: —
" Adam Smith was good-natured, simple-minded,
unaffected, and fond of young people.
" INIackenzie I saw little of.
" Greoorv's lectures on clinical medicine were
admirable, yet he thought most highly of his physi-
HIS RECOLLECTIONS. I7l
ology, on which he enlarged in his evening lecture
on therapeutics. Having on one occasion been con-
fined to my room by illness, I expressed my regret
to Dr. Gregory at losing his clinical reports, but
he said, ' Sir, that does not signify, but you have
lost my therapeutics.'
" Black said, ' Sir, you will speak to me after
lecture if you do not understand anything. Have
you fixed upon a tailor or a shoemaker? I can
recommend you to one and the other;' but seeing
he might carry his furnaces in his shoes, and that
his coat was probably like that worn by Noah in
the ark, I thankfully declined. He was a kind easy
man. He used to lecture from his notes made on
little scraps of paper, in a most unaffected style.
" Lord Meadowbank was a sharp man, some-
thing like Wollaston.
" Charles Hope was a man of reading, a gentle-
man, and dignified, and very eloquent.
" Old JNI grunted like a pig. He was a
tolerable lecturer, possessed a full knowledge of his
subject, had much sagacity in practice, was laudably
zealous, but was much given to self and to the abuse
of others. I gave him two instruments, Cline's
gorget, and an instrument for scratching the capsule
of the lens, and the next day he said, ' Gentlemen,
Mr. Cooper has given me two instruments, one for
scratching the capsule of the lens, which may he
useful: the other, a cutting gorget, and it is curious
I myself invented this very instrument twenty years
ago.'
172' LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" Fyfe I attended, and learned much fi-om him-
He was a horrid lecturer, but an industrious worthy
man, and good practical anatomist. His lecture
was, ' I say — eh, eh, eh, gentlemen; eh, eh, eh, gen-
tlemen — I say, &c.;" whilst the tallow from a naked
candle he held in his hand ran over the back of it
and over his clothes : — but his drawings and dei^ic-
tions were well made and very useful.
" I was glad I went to Edinburgh, because I learned
that distance enhances the character of men beyond
their deserts. Cullen and Black and Dugald Stewart,
however, were great men, and being near them did
not diminish the importance I had been led to
attach to them from their public character. Dug'ald
Stewart was beyond my power of aj^preciation, —
metaphysics were foreign to my mind, which was
never captivated by speculation; — but Dr. Black's,
lectures were clear, and I knew enough of the
subjects he treated upon to understand them. Never
shall I forget the veneration with which I viewed
Cullen ; he was then an old man ; physic may have
much improved since his time, but if Hippocrates
was its father, Cullen was its favoured son."
I have always heard my uncle, Sir Astlcy, refer
in conversation to the seven months he spent in
Edinburgh, as one of the most agreeable periods in
his life ; not only on account of the facilities which
were afforded to him in his studies by the various
professors, but also from the many happy hours
which he spent in the social parties of those among
them whom he visited. He ahvays spoke of theEdin-
1
ADVANTAGES OF HIS VISIT TO EDINBURGH. .173
burgh ladies with the highest encomiums; and used
to maintain that they possessed an affability and
simplicity of manners which he had not often found
elsewhere, in conjunction with the superior intellec-
tual attainments which at the same time generally
distinguished them.
It seemed that in Edinburgh Sir Astley, for the
first time, discovered the real extent of his profes-
sional knowledge, and became satisfied of the sub-
stantial progress he had made in the science of sur-
gery. In this city he first became aware of the pecu-
liar tact he had acquired from the superior diagnostic
powers of his master, Cline, by means of which he
was enabled to understand the nature of the cases
as they were brought into the infirmary, with a
facility which distinguished him from all the other
students of the same age. He at the same time
became acquainted with the points of superiority
which distinguished the metropolitan hospitals from
the smaller surgical school of Edinburgh. Indeed, at
that time, as at the present moment it may perhaps
be allowed, surgery was not considered in the
North as by any means so important a part of me-
dical science as it is now ; and thus Astley Cooper
had his ambition fed by being frequently applied to
by the house-surgeon and pupils for his ojiinion,
when difficult cases were brought into the institu-
tion : for the practical remarks which his previous
studies and experience enabled him to make, were
sought after, as more instructive and useful than
the theoretical views which were wont to be given
174 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
by the professors. The superiority of which this
rendered him conscious, excited him to take so
much interest, and to pay such attention to the
cases, that he constantly Avatched them from their
commencement to their termination, and thus was
enabled, either to verify the accuracy of his judg-
ment, or, if in error, to discover the source of his
misconception.
Here it was, I have heard him say, that he first
planned a mode of examining cases of disease,
which led to the surest and safest mode of forming
a just diagnosis, — a power which he ever afterwards
retained, and which, from the extensive and benefi-
cial use he made of it, became a most conspicuous
feature in his professional greatness. The medical
department of the University of Edinburgh was
always remarkable for the order of its scholastic
arrangements, so that a student, who might be in
diflftculty respecting his proper course of study, could
here acquire the system best adapted to the ful-
filment of his object. This order was of the greatest
importance to Sir Astley Cooper, and gave him not
only a facility for acquiring fresh knowledge, but also
stamped a value on the information he already pos-
sessed, but which, from its previous Avant of arrange-
ment, was scarcely ever in a state to be apjdied to
its full and appropriate use. Tlie correction of
this fault, which gave him afterwards his well-
known facility of using for each particular case that
came before him, all his knowledge and experience
that in any way could be brought to bear upon it,
TOUR THROUGH THE HIGHLANDS. 175
Sir Astley always attributed to tlie scliool of Edin-
burgh. If this advantage only had been gained, the
seven months spent in that city were, indeed, well
bestowed.
After he had finished his course of study, and
the session had ended, he determined to pay a visit
to the Highlands ; and business being discharged
from his mind, he seemed resolved to enjoy fully his
projected tour. He purchased two horses, hired a
servant, and then commenced his journey not only
propitiously, from the gratification of having per-
formed his duties in Edinburgh so diligently, but
also with a degree of comfort and style consonant
with the condition in which he had been brought up
as a boy, but which we found him so willing to
forego when employed in the study of his profession.
I have heard him describe the unalloyed delight
with which he left the confinement of the capital,
to enter into the wild beauties of the mountain
scenery. It seemed as if the whole world were
before him, and that there were no limits to the
extent of his range.
Astley Cooper made this tour without a com-
panion; an objectionable plan, for continued soli-
tude leads the mind rather to reflections on itself
than upon the surrounding objects, however beauti-
ful they may be. He has left scarcely a single
remark concerning it, and none of those observa-
tions, or little sketches of striking objects which, at
subsequent periods when travelling, he was always
accustomed to make in his note-book, and whichji
176 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER
althoiigli roughly drawn by an untaught hand, are
occasionally singularly descriptive. His notice of
this journey comprehends nothing more than the
mere names of the places through which he passed :
but from this we learn that it was a lengthened
tour, as he extended his visit to the Western Isles.
As, however, they have since been visited by all
travellers to the North, and their beauties and pecu-
liarities fully described, we lose nothing as far as
regards the country through which he passed; but
it would have been undoubtedly interesting to have
had some record of the impressions made on his
mind by the various and novel scenes he witnessed,
and which at that time had been but little visited
by tourists.
In his notes of later tours, he has not only
entered largely into the beauties of the scenery, but
has also noticed the nature of the soil, the peculiar
agricultural uses to which it could be suitably
applied, the kind of agricultural implements in use: —
in short, scarcely a single subject seems to escape
his observation. Not unfrequently he would sketch
Avith his pen any peculiarity of architecture, or even
dress, that attracted his attention.
But perhaps more than any other object, always
excepting those which in any way related to pro-
fessional jjursuits, the various modes of farming
attracted his i^ttention while travellinof- I have
myself, while on professional journeys with Sir
Astley, after perhai3s half an hour's silence, or quiet
conversation on some topic of professional interest,
HIS HABITS OF OBSERVATION. 177
started at liis loud and velieinciit expression of con-
tempt on seeing' perhajis a man ])loughing with
three horses in a length. "Now look there!" he
would passionately say; "see tliat fool; — why, he
could do twice the work in a soil like that with two
horses abreast;" and if the ploughman were near
enough to hear him from the road, he would inquire
of him his reason for such a mode of proceeding, and
point out to him its inutility. " Don't you see that
one man," he would say to him, " is sufficient with a
pair of horses, while with three you must have a
boy as well as the man; besides your loss, both of
time and ground, in turning?" And then he Avould
probably receive the answer so often given to sug-
gestions of this sort, " Why, sir, we always have
done it so;" the expression of the man's countenance,
at the same time, pourtraying about as much sense
and argument as his answer. But this would not
l^revent Sir Astley from again following the same
course, when some other similar occasion arose.
The apparent incongruity in the circumstances
of his living in a room at a rent of six shillings and
sixpence per week in Edinburgh, and afterwards
travelling through the Highlands on horseback, with
a servant, will not appear remarkable to those who
are familiar with the habits of medical students,
while attending lectures. Although their accus-
tomed mode of living at home be of 'fever so superior
an order, and their means competent, yet we know
nothing is of more frequent occurrence tlian for
them, while engaged in study, to be residing in
VOL. I. N
178 LIFE OF SIR ASTLKY COOPKR.
small, obscnroly-])lacc(l a})artmcnts: the ooiitigiiity
of these to the hosj)ital or colleoe being considered
to ontweigh better accommodation, the advantages
of which their constant occnpation from home Avouhl
seldom permit them to nse. To their convenient
situation M'itli regard to tlie Infirmarv, and to a
desire for sechision, we must attribute the selection
of these lodgings by Astley Cooper, more than to
motives of economy ; a quality, for the possession
of which Sir Astley as a young man was never
very remarkable. His liberality, indeed, appears to
have l>een not merely great, but to have often
bordered on extravagance ; while his neglect of
proper arrangement l)etween his means and expen-
diture, occasionally led him into situations of no
little temporary inconvenience. A difficulty of this
nature hapjiened to him towards the conclusion
of this tour ; for, when in the north of England, on
his way home, he suddenly found himself without
the pecuniary means of proceeding, and in order to
sufficiently recruit his exhausted treasury, he was
obliged not only to sell one of his horses and dis-
charge his servant, ])ut even to pawn his watch,
before he arrived at home. I have often heard him
mention this fact ; and he relates the circumstance
among the memoranda whichwe have so often quoted,
but M ithout any comment.
Mrs. Keeling, my wife's mother, informs me,
that Sir Astley was one day speaking to her of
this embarrassment, when he remarked, that it was
in a great measure attributable to an entertainment,
1
Ills RETURN TO LONDON. 179
— inconsiderately expensive, — wliich ho bad given
before leaving Edinburgh, to his friends and ac-
quaintance in that city. He also stated to her,
that the impression made on his mind by all the
circumstances of the affair, had been such, as pre-
vented him ever again getting into similar difH-
culties.
Mr. Holland has related to me an occurrence,
which took place in the winter previous to Astley
Cooper's visit to Edinburgh, which farther exemplifies
the perhaps injudicious generosity of his disposition,
and his want of economical ideas at that time. " He
and I," said iSJr. Holland, " once made an equestrian
excursion together to Richmond, Hampton Court,
Twickenham, &c., returning on the north side of the
river to town. When the owner of the horses called
for payment, he charged us each half a guinea. Your
uncle insisted that this was too low a charge, and
that he ought to have much more. I argued that
as the man who let us the horses knew the extent
of our ride, and we had brought them back with
every evidence of good usage, and as he ought to be
the best judge of what was a fair remuneration,
there could be no reason for our giving him more
than he demanded. This did not satisfy my friend,
who persisted in making an addition to the sum
charged." But many similar instances of generosity
of feeling will have to be noticed in the course of
this history.
Having at length become somewhat surfeited,
even with the interest inseparable from visiting
N 2
180 LIIE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
stiango and \vil(l scenery; beginning also to be
tired of the leisure, and even idleness, compared
M ith the severe application to which his mind had
been lately subjected ; and perhaps also, somewhat
depressed, from the expenditure, not only of all
his ready money, but also of that, to obtain which
he had been obliged to make personal sacrifices ; —
Astley bent his steps homewards, with an anxious
desire to resume his studies in London, and to prove
to his kind preceptor, Mr. Cline, that he had not
lost in idleness the time which he had spent away
from him.
I
EXTRACTS FROM HIS .MEMORANDA. 181
CHAPTER X.
ExinACTS KHOM Sm Astlev Cooper's I^Iemokanda, Du.
Asir. ]\rK. SiiuAPiNELL. I)h. Newell. Puoeessou Cole-
man's INTIMACY ■WITH Silt AsTLEY CoOPEK. MlCMOIIl OF
HIiM, FOUND IN SiR AsTLEY CoOPEr's U AND-WRITIN(i. M».
Coleman's estimation of Sir Astley Cooper. His offi-
CTAL Usefulness. Mr. Coleman's peculiar Opinions,
lIis Death.
Astley , Cooper arrived in London from liis
Northern tour towards tlie conclusion of the autumn
of 1788, prior to tlie commencement of the winter
session. He was in every respect improved by his
journey; in health, professional knowledge, and ge-
neral information. We find the following allusions
to this period in his memoranda: —
" When I returned to London I found that I
had learned much during my absence, and in seek-
ing the sources, from which I had derived most
information, Dr. Ash, Gregory, and Fyfe, seemed
specially to claim my gratitude. Big witli my own
importance, I became presumptuous; but was soon
taken doMU by Newell, afterwards of Cheltenham;
Shrapnell of Berkeley ; and others in the Physical
Society.
" About this time Coleman and Taylor were
added to Mr. Cline's party, and now I acquired
knowledge really. I was a better anatomist than
182 LIFE Ui" alH ASTLKY CUOl'EK.
Coleiiiaii, — lie ^vas a bettor tlieoiif^t than I ; and
we made the experiments together, mIhcIi were
publii^hed in his Mork on Respiration. This was
becun in the idea, that meclianical obstruction in
the lungs \vas the cause of death in drowning, and
hanging; but as he went on, he Mas obh'ged to add
the want of change in the blood. A multitude of
experiments were made, some of which proved
curious. * - * *
" Taylor was a clever fellow, but entirely a man
of pleasure, and hated our dirty experiments, as
he was a neat methodical man, and much sought by
the ladies of the west-end of the town, who used to
fetch him in their carriages.
" Coleman and I attended Mr. Hunter together,
and this was exceedingly improving, as we day })y
day debated all the way home on his doctrines."
Of Dr. Gregory and jNIr. Fyfe, I have already
spoken in a preceding chapter.
Dr. Ash was a man of eminent abilities as a
philosopher and metaphysician, an accomplished
classic, and among his professional acquaintance, held
in high reputation as a physician. Sir Astley
had become acquainted Avitli him in the autumn of
1787, during his stay in Edinburgh, when Ash,
although elected only the winter before, was already
a conspicuous member of the Royal ISIedical Society,
and indeed, before Sir Astley left that city, was
acting as one of its Presidents.
Dr. Ash graduated at Oxford, where he after-
wards held the Radclifte Professorship for some years.
1
Mil. SllRAl'NKLL. 183
He subsequently removed to London and took up his
residence in Argyle-street, but his talents and pro-
fessional abilities were never justly appreciated by the
l)ublic, and he died in somewhat indigent circum-
stances, it has been said, broken-hearted. His
name is now chiefly known from certain improve-
ments which he effected in the science of voltaic
electricity*. He had married his cousin, the daugh-
ter of his uncle. Dr. Ash, a physician of considerable
eminence in Birmingham, and a cotemporary and
friend of Dr. Withering.
Shrapnell and Newell, Astley Cooper's oppo-
nents at the Physical Society of Guy's Hospital,
each afterwards became conspicuous ; the latter, as
an eminent physician at Cheltenham, the former, in
circumstances of a more private character.
I was i)ersonally acquainted with JSIr. Shrapnell,
having lived m ith him a month in barracks at Brigh-
ton, about the year 1807. He was a shrewd, clever
man, and possessed of as many and varied attain-
ments as any one with whom I have been acquainted.
He was a protege of the late Lord Berkeley, M'ith
A\hom he lived on terms of the closest intimacy.
The various scientific pursuits in which he was
continually engaged, ministered in no small degree
to the pleasure and entertainment of that nobleman;
while his knowledge of chemistry and power of
applying it to agricultural j)urposes, became a means
of essential service in the improvement of his Lord-
■■■ Sec Life of Sir Ilumphri/ Dar>/, by Dr. Pauis, 4to. edit,
p. Ml.
184 LIFE Ul' h-lK A8TLEV COUrEU.
ship's estate and farms. He ^^•as brought into })iiblic
notice by being connected Mitli the ci^cll^l^tllnce.?
of the marriage of liord Berkeley.
Mr. Shrapnell was surgeon to the South (ilou-
cester JVIilitia, "which Lord Berkeley commanded: but
he did not allow his military life to interfere with his
scientific and literary pursuits. His barrack room
always presented the appearance of a museum, rather
than that usual to the apartment of a military snr-
geon, being strewed with black-letter books, draw-
ings, old ]SIS., medals, fossils, and other articles of
vertti. The collecting of these kept him in a continual
state of poverty, and I have not unfrequently known
him give all the money in his pocket, at the same
time perhaps all he had in the world, for a coin or
a fossil. His son Henry was in every respect the
counterpart of his father, clever, thoughtless, and
always in difficulties. He was a most excellent
draughtsman, and for some few years was engaged
in making anatomical drawings for me, a selection
from which he published in illustration of the
section on osteology, in my work on Anatomy.
Of Dr. Newell, Sir Astley lost sight soon after
the period to which the iiiention of his name in the
passage we have quoted alludes; for on leaving the
hospital, he went two or three voyages to India.
He afterwards settled as a i)hysician at Chelten-
liam, where, from his gentlemanly deportment and
independent character, he maintained not only the
dignified jiosition of a well-accredited physici.m,
but lived on terms of friendshi]) with persons of the
HIS MKMOlli OF MK. COLEMAV. 185
highest rank, Mho Mere in the habit of visiting that
1)1 ace of resort.
8ir Astley Cooper's intimacy with Mv. Coleman,
the coniniencement of which is alhuled to in the
paragraph from his memoranda last qnoted, ripened
into the closest friendsliip, and remained uninter-
rnpted nntil the period of j\rr. Coleman's death.
Their early acqnaintance, and the mutual assistance
rendered by each to the other in their studies, com-
bined with the gradual ascent, which they may be
said to have made pari passu in public and profes-
sional distinction, no doubt contributed to the long-
continuance of their connexion. ]Mr. Coleman be-
came as distinguished in the particular department
of professional study to which he devoted himself, as
did Sir Astley in his, and may, indeed, be ranked
as the man who first raised veterinary surgery to the
character of a science in this country.
My uncle has left among his papers a brief
history of Mr. Coleman, a tribute expressive of
sentiments, alike honourable to his friend, and to
himself, as its author. From this T shall subjoin
some extracts, as I have no doubt they will be
interesting, inasmuch as they tliroM- a light uiion
the progress and character of a most eminent an<l
much-respected public man, of whom at present, I
believe, no biograjdiical record exists. There can
be but little doubt also that the enterprising dispo-
sition of Mr. Coleman exerted an important iiitiu-
ence on the mind of his friend. 'J'he numl)crl( ss
experiments undeitakcn by liiin at ^> I r. ('line's, in
186 LIFE or 81 U ASTLEY COOPER.
conjunction with his fellow-pupil, probably served iu
a great measure to confirm the early taste of Astley
Cooper for physiological research, and perhaps i)aved
the way for those subsequent exi)eriments which not
only proved of such great advantage to him iu his
professional practice, but have contributed to throw
a lustre around the name of Sir Astley Cooper which
can never be separated from it.
" JNIr. Coleman was born in the month of June,
A.D. 1765, in the county of Kent. His father was
a respectable yeoman in Romney JNlarsh, and A\as
what is there called, one of the Lords of the
iSIarsh, there being a peculiar court and laws in that
district.
" His son Edward was placed as an ai)prentice
to jSlr. Kite, a surgeon, of Gravesend, and with him
remained a period of seven years. JVIr. Kite was an
intelligent man, and had devoted much attention to
the subject of asphyxia, both by reading and expe-
riment ; and ]\Ir. Coleman thus imbibed an inclina-
tion to pursue this study, and make it the subject of
further experiments.
" In the year 1789, Mr. Coleman came to London,
W'as placed under the guidance of ]Mr. Cline, and
lived in his family with iNIr. Astley Cooper ; with jNIr.
Taylor, who married Lady Lucy Stanhope, and Mas
made Comptroller of the Customs by Mr. Pitt; and
with Dr. Clarke, who, afterwards imbibing habits of
intemperance, died almost destitute.
" Mr. Coleman had no sooner come to Mr
Ills .MEiMOllt Oi' MR. COLEMAN. 187
Cline's, than lie again engaged himself in studying
the subject of asphyxia, and he made so many experi-
ments upon cats and dogs, and killed such numbers
of these animals, that a friend of his once declared,
he had blocked up Houndsditch. These investiga-
tions led to the composition of an essay on Sus-
pended Animation, which gained for him the medal
of the Humane Society. He also subsequently i)ub-
lished a book u])on the same subject, which procured
for him a high reputation.
" Mr. Coleman and Mr. Astley Cooper attended
John Hunter's lectures, walking together up to
Leicester Square every evening of their delivery, and
relieving the tediousness of so long a walk, by dis-
cussing Mr. Hunter's opinions. JNIr. Coleman had
at this time a curious sympathy between the stomach
and skin, which manifested itself by his throwing up
the contents of his stomach, whenever he exposed
himself to cold air after diimer. No other effect
followed.
"In the year 1791, Mr. Coleman quitted Mr.
Ciine's house, but he ahvays kept up a social inter-
course with him and his family, for all of whom he
never failed to express his respect and affectionate
regard.
" He noM' removed to Fenn Court, Fenchurch
Street, and began to practice as a surgeon, still
attending St. Thomas's and Guy's Hospitals, and
dissecting there.
"About 1792 he became acquainted with Sir
Watlien Waller, Bart., then Mr. Phipps, one of the
1<S8 Lll-'E OF SIR ASILKY COUl'Kll.
best oculists this metropolis lias produced, and mIio
attended the lectures of Mr. Cline. This acquaint-
ance led him to study carefully the structure of the
eye, and to make preparations of that organ, both
human and comparative, and thus he ^vas l^rought
to knoAV particularly the peculiarities of the organi-
zation of the eye of the horse.
"M. St. Bel dying in the year 1793, Mr. Cole-
man and Mr. INIoorcroft, by the recommendation of
]Mr. Hunter and Mr. Cline, were appointed to the
professorship at the Veterinary College, Avhich ^I.
St. Bel had held ; Mv. Moorcroft going soon after
to the East Indies, ]Mr. Coleman became sole ])ro-
fessor. His acute and active mind was immediately
devoted to the formation of a good course of lec-
tures on the Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology of
the Horse.
" jVIr. Coleman published a treatise on Shoeing.
His preceptor, Mr. Cline, who was nuicli attached to
the study of tly? horse, and had perused Clarke's work
on Shoeing, instilled his princijdes into Mr. Cole-
man. These, ]Mr. Coleman expanded, and advocated
exposing the frog to pressure, leaving the foot in
other respects much to itself, and therefore he
advised shoeing with short shoes, and leaving the
heels exposed. These speculative opinions, how-
ever, he improved upon, as he proceeded in life, and
he afterwards saw the necessitv of thinnino- the sole
and the crust, to allow of the elastic spring of the
foot.
'• In 170.'', ho publislied his great work upon the
HIS MEMOIU OF MR. COLEMAN. 189
Anatomy of the Foot of the lloise, illustrated by
numerous and excellent plates. This Avork was com-
pleted in 1802. It did him great credit, and was of
much use to the veterinary profession.
"But his chief excellence was in his general
physiological views. The effects of a confined atmo-
sphere in close stables ; the influence of heat and
cold upon the horse ; the effects of different kinds
and quantities of food ; the form of the animal best
constituted for action ; and the uses of the different
organizations; were the subjects upon which he chiefly
distinguished himself.
" In teaching, as well as in the practice of his
profession, he had the great advantage of being able
to apply the principles of Mr. Hunter to veterinary
science, and to give to the veterinary student those
physiological views, which, even now, are but little
knoM'ii out of our own country.
" His reading was not extensive, and therefore
his knowledge was in a great degree his own, ex-
cepting that he had learned human anatomy from
JNIr. Cline, and the princij^les of physiology and
surgery from ]\Ir. Hunter, which he always pos-
sessed a remarkable facility in understanding and
applying to use.
" By his scientific researches and mental energies,
the Veterinary College attained a degree of useful-
ness and celebrity, which exceeded his most sanguine
expectations.
" Under his fostering auspices the progress of
the veterinary art was such, as to qualify its prac-
190 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
titioners to hold commissions in the Army : and he
had himself the honour to bo appointed Veterinary
8m*geon-General to the British C'avah-y, the duties
of which post he performed with the most laudable
fidelity, and with such advantaofe to his country,
that the number of lives of horses saved by his
means was immense.
"His scientific views and high character, made
him thought worthy of being elected a Fellow of
the Royal Society, and of several other scientific
associations.
" In society he was a cheerful and delightful com-
panion, and was on terms of intimacy with .Tenner,
Woodviile, Dr. Cooke, Dr. Wells, Dr. Babington, Mr.
Abernethy, Dr. Clarke and his brother. Sir Charles
Clarke, Sir F. Chantrey, Sir C. Bell, Sir B. Brodie,
Mr. J. II. Green, Dr. Bright, Dr. Paris, Dr. CraM'-
ford (the author of the work on Animal Ileat),
and many other choice spirits and intellectual
persons. Whatever is a man's pursuit in life, it is
knowledge and moral character which srive to him
his real rank and position ; and in proportion as he
jiossesses these, so will he be Melcomcd in society,
respected, and beloved.
" In old age, INIr. Coleman became afflicted Mitli
the gout ; his liver became diseased ; his stomacli
weakened ; and he died at the Veterinary College,
on July the 14th, 1830, in the seventy-third year of
his age, after a life of great gratification and exten-
sive usefulness, respected by all, and most regretted
by those who knew him most intimatelv.
MR. COLEMAN. 191
"He left behind him three daughters, all mar-
ried; ill whose hearts the fondest and most grateful
recollection of his parental affection and undeYiating
kindness will be for ever cherished."
To the possession of similar dispositions and
tastes alone can we attribute the extreme and
remarkable degree of friendshij), Avliich for so many
years existed uninterruptedly between these two
eminent men. The attachment on the part of Mr.
Coleman, towards his friend Sir Astley Cooper, was
no less marked than that, which has been already
stated to have been felt by Sir Astley for JNIr. Cole-
man. A letter written by ]Mr. Coleman, at the time
of the death of his wife, to Sir Astley, tlius com-
mences : —
^'' Royal Veterinary Collecje,
" My dear Sir Astley, ^tli March, IS 33.
" I have to acknowledge the receipt of your very,
very kind letter, with many, many thanks: I shall
leave it to my children, and grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren, as a rich legacy. What arc
the honours of F.R.S., professor of the Royal Vete-
rinary College, and principal veterinary surgeon to
the Army for thirty-seven years, when compared with
the honour, the proud distinction, of being consi-
dered by Sir Astley Cooper, after more than forty
years' intimacy, liis best male friend ? No honours
have I ever received, or ever can receive, in my esti-
mation, of equal value, &c."
192 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Sir Astley's reply to the Cominitteo of JSIaiiage-
ment, appointed by the pupils, who, out of esteem
for their preceptor, had subscribed together for the
purpose of obtaining a bust of IVIr. Coleman, though
couched in official language, expresses the same
feelings: — •
" Sir Astley Cooper begs to express his warmest
acknowledgements to your Committee, for their
kindness in presenting him with a bust of Pro-
fessor Coleman, who has been his friend nearly fifty
years.
" Sir Astley's respect for his talent, the goodness
of his heart, and his usefulness as Veterinary Pro-
fessor, has increased in proportion to the duration
of his friendship.
" 80, Conduit Street r
Perhajis in no circumstance was the scientific
mind of IVIr. Coleman rendered of more importance
to his country, than in the views which he took,
respecting the necessity of strict attention to the
ventilation of stables. Thousands a year were saved
to government, in consequence of Mr. Coleman's
annual visits to the stables of the cavalry depots
throughout Britain ; and farcy, aa hicli previously to
his interference had conmiitted annually most
extensive ravages, became nearly erased from the
government returns of the diseases, with which the
military horses in this country are usually affected.
I have heard a cavalry officer mention a circum-
stance most illustrative of tlie beneficial effects of
MR. COLEMAN'S PRINCIPLE OF SHOEING. 193
Mr. Coleman's views respecting ventilation. A
stable in which many horses had died in rapid suc-
cession, although it had undergone the usual disci-
l^line of cleansing and whitewashing, was reported
to Mr. Coleman as having some undiscoverable
evil, probably arising from its situation. Mr.
Coleman accordingly examined it, and having as-
certained that its defects arose from a malconstruc-
tion, by which all jiroj^er ventilation was pre-
vented, recommended Government immediately to
make certain alterations, by means of which this
would be remedied. This recommendation at first
met with considerable opposition, on account of the
expense involved in the proposed improvements.
His plan, however, was afterwards adojited, and it is
a curious fact, that in the first year the expenses of
Government Avere repaid, by the saving, in conse-
quence of the entire absence of disease among the
horses.
I had the gratification of knowing Mr. Cole-
man intimately for many years. It was impos-
sible not to love one so agreeable, kind-hearted,
and replete with all those amiable qualities, which
endear man to man, and which stamped him at
once as a most fitting and congenial associate for my
uncle, who was himself no less distinguished than his
friend, for the possession of similar traits of character.
Mr. Coleman's principle of shoeing, for the
purpose of preventing contracted heels, alluded to
in the above history, consisted in paring down the
quarters, and bringing the frog upon the ground, so
VOL. T. o
194 LIFK OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
as to subject it to pressure. To secure this, h^
invented a shoe -which was little else than a ' tip,' and
a central longitudinal bar upon which the frog was
to rest. The theory of all this was excellent, as it
ensured expansion of the heels, but as to its prac-
tical applicability to common use, it had the objection
of preyenting a horse going sound for ten yards.
I remember about fifteen years ago, having
purchased a fine black horse, I rode him up imme-
diately to my friend Coleman, and asked him his
opinion of my purchase. He examined him care-
fully, extolled his points, flattered me on my
judgment, but said, " Pie has a slight tendency to
contraction of his heels. Go to our forge directly,
have my shoes put on him, and you will prevent
the mischief to which he seems obnoxious." Having
done as he recommended, I mounted the horse imme-
diately afterwards, and no cat in pattens could go
more lame. I dared not, however, ride him back to
the college to have his shoes taken off, but took
him to Turner's, in Regent Street, where common
shoes were again put on, and I never knew him go
a yard unsound afterwards. Still there can be no
doubt of the efficacy of these shoes for a horse, if
turned out to grass, or standing in the stable while
midergoing treatment for contracted feet.
Mr. Coleman maintained some rather original
ideas with respect to the causes of the phenomena i
usually attending catarrh, or what is commonly
called A COLD. He believed that it much more fre-
quently originated from residing in heated and
MR. Coleman's peculiar opinions. 195
crowded rooms, and therefore inhaling an impure
atmosphere, than from exposure to cold, draughts
of air, or the other causes to which the symptoms
are ordinarily attributed. He used to illustrate this
opinion by referring to the examjjle of the horse,
when labouring under the same comj^laint. " Why,"
he used to say, " who ever heard of a horse taking-
cold when turned out? but, on the contrary, every
one knows that if you jmt him into a close stable,
you will give him a cough directly. The fact is
also well known, that after this has occurred,
there is no remedy so certain as turning him out
to grass, for his cough will leave him in six hours."
Half the young horses that die in London are sacri-
ficed to the pernicious practice adopted by London
stable-keei^ers, of excluding every breath of air from
the interior of their stables; merely because they
know that by this means, the coats of the horses are
much more easily kept in fine order, and that a great
deal of trouble in grooming is consequently spared.
It was carrying out this principle to its fullest
extent that induced him to pay such strict attention
to the ventilation of stables, the great public advan-
tages derived from which I have already alluded to.
I must acknowledge, however, that I have some-
times suffered from the Professor's extreme love of
cold air, for if he ever could manage at his parties
to have a window left open unperceived, he was
delighted; and many a time when I have dined
with him, I have said, "Pray, Mr. Coleman, have
your ventilators shut, or I shall be blown out of
2
lOG
LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
the room," at wliicli he has laughed, and had the
direction of the current changed by stealth, so as to
play perhaps upon some other visitor less sensitive
than myself.
I was with my dear old friend twenty-four hours
before his death. Pallid, and with every mark of
approaching dissolution, excepting loss of spirits, he
was lying on a bed placed between two open Avindows,
his head being Avithout any cap or covering of any
sort, while his grey locks were literally floating in
the wind; for although in July, it was cold and
blowing weather. Acquainted as I was with his
peculiar notions on this subject, I could not help
saying, " My dear sir, you must be cold, thus
exposed;" and he said, " No — I have plenty of
clothes on my bed, a large fire in my room, and with
this pure air passing freely to my lungs, I shall live
a few hours longer; but to-day, I think, is my last.
The scene of life, Bransby," continued he, " is draw-
ing to a close, and although my career has been a
most happy one, I feel much less regret than I ex-
pected in leaving it, for I have full confidence in the
mercy of God." His enunciation proved prophetic,
or in less than twenty-four hours he was no more.
APPOINTED DEMONSTRATOR. 197
CHAPTER XI.
AsTLEY Cooper is appointed Demonstrator, at St. Thomas's
Hospital. Is made Co-Lecturer avitii Mr. Cline, a.d.
179]. Establishes a distinct Course op Lectures on
Surgery. Dr. Haighton appointed to the Obstetrical
Chair. Professional Kivalry of Sir Astley Cooper
AND Dr. Haighton. Anecdote. Mr. Astley Cooper
engaged to miss cock, of tottenham. iilstory of his
Introduction to this Lady, and subsequent Intimacy.
Death op Mr. Cock. Mr. Cooper's Marriage. Mrs.
Reeling's Description of Mrs. Astley Cooper.
From the session of 1788 until the year 1791, no
record has been jDreserved of any particular events
in the life of Sir Astley Cooper, nor does he himself
make any allusion to this interval.
At some time during this period, most probably
about tlie commencement of the year 1789, he
received the appointment of Demonstrator at St.
Thomas's Hospital, in the place of Mr. Haighton,
Avho resigning, shortly afterwards obtained the
degree of Doctor of JNIedicine. I have already
noticed the train of circumstances which mainly
contributed to this situation being at once oftered
to Astley Cooper, as soon as the vacancy occurred.
His time seems to have been fully occupied in the
discharge of the duties incident to this new position,
and his diligent studies in the higher branches of
his profession until the year 1791, when, to a stiJl
198 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
further extent lie began to reap the fruit of his
persevering industry.
The degree of professional knowledge which
Astlev had then attained: the connexions which he
had formed with men of eminence: the great popu-
larity Avhicli he had acquired among the students at
the hospital : together with his long established
character for industry and enterprise; all led Mr.
Cline to perceive the advantages that were likely to
accrue no less to the school, than to his pupil, by
associating him with himself in the anatomical lee-
tures. He therefore made an offer to this effect
to him, although the time of his pupilage had not
yet expired. As might be expected, this proposal
was at once accepted, and soon afterMards an
arrangement was entered into, that Astley Cooper
should give a part of the lectures and demonstra-
tions, Mr. Cline promising him a sum of 120/. per
annum, to be increased 20/. annually, until he gave
one half of the lectures, when the proceeds should
be equally divided.
It had been customary in tliese lectures to con-
sider the sciences of anatomy and surgery together.
But Astley Cooper had for some time seen that each
of these subjects possessed sufHcient intrinsic im-
portance to demand a distinct and separate course,
and he accordingly took the present opportunity
of attempting to effect their disjunction, by begging
that he might be allowed to deliver the lectures
on surgery separately. This proposal at first met
with opposition, even from his friend and precep-
ESTABLISHES A DISTINCT COURSE OF LECTURES. 199
tor, Mr. Cline; he at last, however, succeeded in
his object; and it was arranged that he should
take the consideration of the surgical })art of
the course to himself, and that his lectures should
be delivered in the evening at 8t. Thomas's Hos-
l)ital. There cannot be a stronger proof of the
excellent opinion which was entertained of Astley
Cooper at this period, than the circumstance of his
being able, young and comparatively inexperienced
as he was, to bring about this important cliange in
the long established usage of the hospital. The
system he thus commenced in the year 1791, has
been continued, and with decided advantage, to the
present hour.
To one jDerson only, perhaps, were the arrange-
ments we have just described unsatisfactory: this
was Dr. Haighton. The superior age and standing
of this gentleman, and the keen susceptibility of
his temper at the slightest disrespect to his abilities,
(which he believed to be peculiarly fitted for the
advancement of anatomical and surgical science,)
could not fail to make him regard this sudden ele-
vation of the young pupil to the lectureships, with
jealous feelings; and these he was of a nature too
unbending and abrupt to conceal. The high talents,
however, which distinguished Dr. Haighton, were
not overlooked by the authorities of the hospital,
and on the obstetrical chair becoming vacant, it was
offered to him, together with the lectureship on phy-
siology. These Dr. Haighton accepted, and perhaps
from the great eminence which he afterwards ob-
200 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
tained in these departments of science, the abilities
■which he possessed, were, contrary to his own con-
viction, directed by the very circumstances which
had offended him, into the channel best adapted for
their exercise and display.
The feelings which this affair excited, were pro-
bably never wholly eradicated from his mind, and
although in after life he always spoke of Sir Astley
with considerable admiration and respect, both as to
his anatomical proficiency and his operative pre-emi-
nence, he still liked to take every opportunity that
offered of taunting and disj)uting with him on pro-
fessional matters; nor did he find his competitor in
any way backward in joining in the conflict. This
was particularly obvious in the discussions in which
they were both accustomed to join in the Physical
Society, and which were rendered more amusing and
instructive from the struggles of these eminent men.
■ Dr. Roots, of Kingston, has recounted to me an
anecdote, Mhicli well illustrates this feature in the
character of Dr. Ilaighton. On the occasion of an
interview between him and Sir Astley, a dispute
arose ujjon a point of some professional importance,
which even to this day remains unsettled. The
discussion having been carried on for some time with
considerable waraith, Sir Astley at last made a
remark, the tendency of which was to controvert
certain experiments made by the Doctor on the
very subject in dispute, and to prove that he had
been deceived by several sources of fallacy which
had existed in the experiments themselves. To
ANECDOTE OF DR. HAIGHTON. 201
tliis the " ]\Ierciless Doctor*" (as lie was after-
wards styled by the author of the Ptirsidts of
Literature,) made no reply; but, roused by the
remark, he called loudly to his servant, and ordered
a pet and favourite spaniel to be immediately
brought into the room. He asked Sir Astley to
notice his bulk, his healthy aspect, and his good
keeping, and this done, \)\xt a period to his existence
in a moment. He then at once demonstrated the
results of a most careful and rigid operation to
which the unfortunate animal had been subjected
some three or four years preceding this denoue-
mcntr
" I mention this anecdote," continues Dr. Roots,
" which was one of many, to show the fervour which
could be suddenly called forth in the Doctor's mind,
to the support of an asserted doctrine, for if ever he
had a favourite in animal life, this poor dog was
one: his Tendo AchiUis had been cut asunder; his
Femoral artery had been left to nature's curative
process, having been subjected to operation; and his
Recurrent nervef had been divided, — I rather think,
to prevent his making kno\Mi his subsequent suffer-
ings; and it may be truly said the faithful animal
had fairly won his honours; but to confute a rival
in a question of science and physiology, my much-
"•* This appellation is applied to Dr. Haigliton in the course
of an intemperate critique upon a paper whicli he read before the
Royal Society in the winter of ] 797- Sec Purstdts of Litera-
ture, p. 419.
t A nerve connected with the power of voice.
202 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
valued old friend and master made not the slightest
scruple to sacrifice the only animal I ever knew
him to be in the least degree attached to. This
transaction, I cannot however omit to say, was a
source of great annoyance to me, and was the occa-
sion of the only difference that ever existed between
us durino- the whole time I had the advantage of
o O
living under his roof. I must again wind up my
brief history with stating, that with all his foibles,
and they were all of a little and trifling nature, Dr.
Haighton was a most superior man in his perfect
knowledw-e of the machinery of the human struc-
ture."
ISIr. Cline, in addition to his high estimate
of the abilities of Astley Cooper, had another
motive Avhich induced him thus strenuously to
advance his young friend witli such rapid strides to
a position, which promised eventually to procure
for him the highest eminence in his 2:)rofe.ssion.
JVIy uncle at this time was engaged to IVIiss Cock,
the daughter of a sincere friend and fjimily con-
nexion of ]\Ir. Cline. For this lady he had long-
felt a most warm attachment, and she in every
respect seemed worthy of his choice, and calculated
to promote his domestic happiness.
Her father had acquired a considerable fortune
as a Hamburgh merchant, and having retired for
some years from business, had taken up his resi-
dence in West Green Lane, Tottenham, in a large
house, having attached to it a considerable estate.
To this gentleman Astley Cooper was introduced by
BECOMES ACQUAINTED WITH MISS COCK. 203
Mr. Cline almost immediately after his arrival in
London, and he at once became a favourite and fre-
quent visitor at his house, especially on the Sunday,
^vhen he \yas usually accompanied by Mr. Cline him-
self, ^yho on this day generally contrived to obtain that
recreation and repose, ^vhich his numerous engage-
ments in London prevented during the remainder
of the ^veek.
The sweetness of manner, amiable disposition,
and natural feminine modesty of Mr. Cock's daugh-
ter at once produced a great impression on Astley's
mind; nor was it surprising that his many manly
qualities and beauties of person should have led to
a reciprocal attachment on her part. Although at
that time the circumstances of Mr. Cooper were
not those which a wealthy father might desire
in the husband of an only daughter, still he pos-
sessed so many compensating good qualities, such
an evidently fixed resolution actively to pursue an
honourable and distinguished career in life, that it
seems Mr. Cock never could make up his mind to
oppose the event, which he saw would be the natural
result of their intimacy.
The constant care and kindly attention Avith
which Astley at this time attended Mr. Cock during
a severe attack of gout, no doubt greatly con-
tributed to secure his favour and aft'ection. His
conduct on this occasion was the more creditable,
inasmuch as the irritability and peevishness insepa-
rable from the disorder, added to a temper at no
time the most placid, must have rendered fre-
204 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
qiient attendance liiglily iini)leasant to most persons,
and to him peculiarly irksome and disagreeable.
Notwithstanding the inequality and capriciousness
of Mr. Cock's temper, Astley appears to have enter-
tained a sincere regard for him: during the last
year or two of his courtship, indeed, my uncle while
at Tottenham seems to have divided his attention
pretty equally between INIiss Cock and her father.
This gentleman had noM' become very infirm, and
was unable to take exercise in the open air, except
within the limits of his own garden.
Thus originated and was continued that inti-
macy between my uncle and jSIiss Cock, which
gradually strengthened into the warmest affection
and ultimately led to an engagement sanctioned by
their parents, with the single restriction of the
marriage being postponed until the termination of
his pupilage.
JNIrs. Keeling informs me that their wedding-
day had been fixed for the 21st of November, 1791,
but that it was postponed in consequence of the
death of INIr. Cock, which occurred on the very
day the marriage was to have been solemnized.
AVe have a letter from JNIrs. Dr. Cooper to her son
Astley, sympathizing with him on the loss of his
betrothed's father, and the unavoidable delay in his
wedding, from which the following is an extract: —
<t # * # * Though you had somewhat
prepared me, my dearest Astley, for a melancholy
event, yet I was much shocked on finding our fears
DEATH OF MR. COCK. 205
realized; but how very exemplary a death, how col-
lected, how resigned! Never did I read a more
heart-affecting description. Mr. Cock must have
been a very good, religious, as well as moral mau.
Your father was equally concerned with me at the
sad deprivation, and equally consoled by the edify-
ing conduct of the exalted sufferer. To what scenes
of instruction have you, my love, been admitted, and
how gratifying must it have been at the time, and
on recollection, to think that your tender attentions
alleviated in some degree the pangs of expiring
nature, and smoothed the bed of death. Tell my
dear Miss Ann we truly sympathize in her feelings,
but hope she will not indulge melancholy for a loss
to her, which is so happy an exchange for the
departed. Assure her she shall ever find a tender
father and mother in the Doctor and me, and I hope
it will not be long before she really becomes one of
the family. I felt a melancholy gratification in Mr.
Cock's remembrance of us. Ever shall we venerate
and love his memory!"
The above is dated November 25, 1791.
I am enabled to corroborate this account of Mr.
Cock's death, by Sir Astley's own description of the
trying event, in a letter written to his parents at
Yarmouth. From the tone of feeling it displays,
and its expressive style, I can but regret that it is
the only specimen of his early writing which I pos-
sess. The following extract from a letter written
by Mrs. Cooper to her intimate friend Mrs. Bon-
20(i LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
bote, the celebrated novelist, explains the means by
which this interesting fragment was preserved. The
letter was transmitted to me by ^Mrs. Dryer, the
daughter of Mrs. Bonhote.
t< * * # * IJJ^^ ygj.y ^^y Qy^y. jjeJOVed
Astley was to have been married, his father elect
died. I must transcribe from my son's letter the
affecting and edifying inforaiation. Astley says,
' J\lr. Cock has long been in a state which rendered
death rather a desirable than terrifying event, and
he bore the prospect of it with much composure and
fortitude. I watched him constantly for some days
preceding his death, and saw him in every circum-
stance show a most perfect resignation to the will of
heaven. On Saturday afternoon (the 19th), Miss
Ann and myself being in the room, and being per-
fectly assured of his ai)proaching dissolution, he took
an affectionate leave of us both, shaked our hands,
and kissed us. He begged me to take care of her,
and to be a father to his boys. He then desired all
his family might be admitted into his room, took a
most tender and affectionate adieu, and gave them
all separately his blessing; then sinking on his pil-
low, he calmly resigned himself to his fate. After
resting an hour, he called me to request pen and
pajDcr: he then wrote a draft on his banker for
twenty guineas for Miss Ann, as he said he had
intended to give her a gold watch; and lastly asked
for his cash-book, placed the sum there, and balanced
the account, to prevent trouble to his executor.
HIS MARRIAGE. 1*()7
He desired to be affectionately remembered to you
and my father. From that time till the Monday,
the day of his death, he continued sensible, but
spoke little. Mr. Cock showed in his last moments,
as he had done in every act of his life, that he was a
tender husband and father, an affectionate brother,
a sincere friend, and a honest man: his life had been
so perfectly moral that he looked back with pleasure,
and forward without the smallest fear.'
" Thus far Astley. I must add that I think Mr.
Cock must have been not only a moral but religious
man, to have sustained so exemplarily the several
duties of life, and the last awful scene of it. At
least he must have acted up to his idea of duty.
How usefvil are such scenes! May my dear Astley
ever remember those in which he has been engaged,
and derive religious improvement from them! Miss
Ann, he says, was wonderfully affected. I know not
how long it will now be before the marriage takes
place."
A short time subsequent to this bereavement,
the friends of the young people considered it advan-
tageous, all the arrangements having been pre-
viously made, as well as on account of several
domestic circumstances, that their marriage should
be no longer deferred; and the ceremony, chiefly
through the influence of Mr. Cline, was performed
before the year was completed. For the sake of
privacy, the following plan was adopted. In the
month of December, a christening was to take place
208 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
from the house of ISIr. Cline, and he thought that
this would afford an excellent opportunity for his
young friends to be united, "without attracting much
i Dservation, as they might join with the christening
party on its way to church. Astley and Miss Cock
accordingly accompanied the friends of the infant.
The marriage Avas solemnized, and they afterwards
retired, as if they had been merely witnesses of the
christening.
By means of this arrangement the marriage was
rendered so private, that the news of it did not reach
even the bridegroom's professional friends or acquaint-
ance at the hospital. On the evening of the same day
on which the ceremony was performed, he met the class
in the theatre as usual, and delivered his surgical
lecture, and Avitli all the ease and freedom of
manner which characterized him on ordinary occa-
sions. Nothing happened, to betray the important
change which had taken place in their preceptor's
condition of life, since their last meeting, and the
pupils dispersed M'ithout even a suspicion of the
occurrence.
After lecture, INIr. Cooper went to the house in
Jefferies Square, which INIr. Cock, promising to him-
self the ha])piness of seeing his daughter surrounded
with every comfort, had but a short time before
his decease purchased and furnished for them.
Here Mr. Cooper and his wife resided for several
years. After her marriage Mrs. Astley Cooper fre-
quently visited her surviving parent, who, on giving
up the large house at Tottenham to her son John,
CHARACTER OF MRS. COOPER. 209
had gone to a smaller house near that in which
Mrs. Keeling resided.
Mrs. Keeling describes JVIrs. Cooper as being at
this time one of the most interesting young women
she had ever seen; and as possessing a pleasing-
expression of countenance, with a regularity of fea-
ture and a modest meekness of demeanour, which
prepossessed every one in her favour. On a first
acquaintance it was scarcely possible to appreciate
the extent of her mental faculties ; for the retiring
nature of her disposition, almost amounting to
timidity, induced in her such a habit of tacitur-
nity as to prevent these qualities being observed.
As intimacy increased, the correctness of her judg-
ment became more and more conspicuous, and
natural good sense, strength of feeling, excellent
taste, and elegance of mind, forcibly exhibited them-
selves as constituents of her nature. Her prudence
and domestic economy appear to have soon made
a favourable impression on the young husband.
Shortly after their marriage, when walking liome
one evening with INIrs. Keeling, he detailed with
animated delight some evidence of her excellent
arrangements, and having eulogized her abilities,
and general information, concluded the conversation
with a remark which Mrs. Keeling well remem-
bers : " Ah, madam, I never could have married any
lady, who, whatever other accom})lishments she
possessed, had not the power of relaxing my mind
after the professional avocations of the day by
pleasing conversation."
VOL. I. p
210 LIFE OF SIR ASTLKY COOPER.
As ueitLer ]Mr. nor Mis. Cooiter Lad ever been
on the Continent, they determined to visit Paris at
the earliest opportnnity Avhich presented itself. But
this circumstance is of so much importance, on
account of the events which occurred during their
stay in France, that I must reserve the description
of it to the following chapter.
VISIT TO PARIS. 211
CHAPTER XII.
Mr. and ]\rRS. Cooper visit Pakis, a.d, 1702. ]Mr. Cooper's
Democratical Bias. His Parents' Anxiety on this
ACCOUNT. He attends tub jMeetings op the National
Assembly at Paris. Studies under Desault and
Chopart. Anecdotes of these Surgeons. The Tenth
OP August. Sir Astley's description op his Flight
from the Hospital to his Hotel. Scenes which he
"WITNESSED at PaRIS. DIFFICULTY IN ODTAINTNG IIIS PASS-
PORT. "Wears the Democratic Badge and attends the
Hospital. Returns to London. Yisits Yarmouth.
Soon after the winter campaign liad concluded at
the hospitals, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper crossed over to
the Continent and paid a visit to Paris. The grati-
fication they might naturally expect to derive, as
well from the journey itself, as the numberless
interesting objects of the French metropolis, would
sufficiently account for their making this city
their place of destination. On the part of Mr.
Cooper, however, this agreeable anticipation was
enhanced by the opportunity which the visit pro-
mised him, of comparing the practice of the French
surgeons with that of the surgeons of his own
country, and thus of insuring, in the investiga-
tion of their several distinctions and peculiarities, a
great increase of professional knowledge.
But from what I have already said of the poli-
tical feelings imbibed by JNIr. Cooper in tlie course
P 2
212 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEV COOPER.
of his association with ISIr. Clino, and that gentle-
man's acquaintance, the reader will anticipate
another source of expected })leasure in this visit.
I allude to the opportunity it ofl^ered him of wit-
nessing the great political struggle which was then
rife in Paris; a struggle, which was not only induc-
ing the most intense interest in the French metro-
polis, but, from the rapid strides with which demo-
cracy was hourly advancing, threatened to shake
the government of France itself to its very foun-
dation.
Mr. Cooper's friends w^ere well aware, to how
great an extent the attraction of this journey was
increased by the tendency of his political feelings.
His parents, while expressing their wishes that the
■visit might prove to him not only agreeable, but
also of professional advantage, could not forbear
at the same time indulging the hope, that it might
be attended with the ulterior benefit of remov-
ing the loose sentiments, which had usurped the
place of those originally inculcated in him. it
cannot be a matter of surprise that the democra-
tical tendency of his mind should have been a
subject of extreme anxiety and regret to his parents:
not only on account of the repugnance with Avhich
they themselves had always regarded such views,
but from the notorious characters of some of those
W'hose doctrines he quoted in conversation, and
whose influence seemed all-powerful over him.
Knowing the earnest and independent disposition of
their son, they naturally feared that he might
HIS DEMOCRATICAL BIAS. 213
become involved in the ruin, to wliicli some of his
companions seemed recklessly hurrying themselves,
and thus at once destroy all his prosjiects of future
advancement in life; for he did not Ijy any means
attempt to conceal the tenor of his political feel-
ings, but, on the contrary, appeared to take every
oj)portunity which occurred to him of avowing
them.
There can be but little doubt that his connexion
with the Speculative Society at Edinburgh to a
great extent manifested his jiolitical bias, although,
according to the following letter from Professor
Alison, political subjects were only occasionally
mooted in the Society at that time. The opinions
which he exjiressed in the discussions and the
doctrines he advocated*, sufficiently exhibited that
loose unsettled state of mind, which was so fre-
quently found to exist in those, who admitted the
revolutionary tenets of that day.
"He appears to have been in the Speculative
Society, before the time when the political subjects,
brought on the tapis by the French revolution,
were much discussed there; and to have taken an
interest in the metaphysical questions, which jire-
viously to that time occupied much of the attention
of the students at Edinburgh. The side he took on
these sul)jects was that, which was then most poijular
among the aspiring youths of the university. I
suppose they occupied very little of his attention
■^ Sec page ] 'jO.
214 LIFE oi' am asti.ev cuorEii.
in after life. If tliey had done so, be -would proba-
bly, like several of his contemporaries, have modified
somewhat the opinions ■which he seems to have
held in 1788, &c."
In the tov>ii of Yarmouth, there was about this
time a further temptation, which excited him publicly
to manifest his views on these matters. A Society
existed there, oj^en to persons of all parties, which
had originally been intended for purposes of recrea-
tion and scientific discussion, but gradually became
devoted to the consideration chiefly of the political
events of the period. As it might be expected, the
discussions on these subjects, when men everywhere
Avere holding such extreme and violent opinions,
Avere not confined to sober reasoning and argument.
Mr. Astley Cooper, when at Yarmouth, seems to
have been very frequently present at these meetings,
and it appears that there was scarcely any one of
the members who exceeded him in the boldness and
energy of his remarks. In the summer before his visit
to Paris, I am informed that he not only espoused
with much warmth the cause of the democratic party
and their tenets, but was also most active in oppos-
ing all those mIio differed from them in oi^inion.
To the discussions at this Society, the Rev. jMr.
Crompton attributes, to a considerable extent, the
cessation of friendshij) between himself and Lord
Cliedworth, the circumstances of which are already
before the public. It is singular that he points
to Astley Coojier as one of the members who, by
Ills DE.V'OCKATICAL BIAS. 215
the political warmth to which his remarks hurried
]\Ir. Cromptoii, chiefly led to this estrangement.
jNlr. Crompton, however, is in error in attribut-
ing the violent remarks of ]\Ir. Cooper to a mere
love of sport and mischief; but this mistake is
readily accounted for, as he wrote from memory,
nearly forty years after the circumstances M'liich he
related had occurred, and at a time when the senti-
ments of Sir Astley Cooper were very different
from those which he had formerly held. I extract
from the Introduction to Mr. Crompton's publica-
tion of Lord Chedwortli's Letters the portion
alluded to.
" In Yarmouth, where I lived at this time, and
Avhere Lord Chedworth was accustomed to pay an
annual visit, there was then a Society of gentle-
men who met once a fortnight for the purpose of
amicable discussion. Our members, (alas! how few
remain,) "were of all ]>arties and persuasions, and
some of them of very distinguished attainments.
A Society thus constituted was, in those days, as
pleasant as it was instructive. The most eager
disputation was never found to endanger the most
perfect good will; nor did any bitter fruits arise
from this entire freedom of opinion, till the prolific
period of the French Revolution. On this subject
our controversies became truly impassioned. The
present Sir Astley Cooper, iXxQW. 2i very younci man,
was accustomed to pass his vacations with his most
excellent father, Dr. Cooper, a name ever to be by
21G
LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
me beloved and revered. It was the amusement
of our young friend to say things of the most
irritating nature, I believe, like Lady Honoria Pem-
berton, in the novel, ' merely to sec who would
make the ugliest face.' Thus circumstanced, it
M'as not in my philosojihy to be the coolest of the
party; nor can T doubt but T, &c. * *
^ "
The folloMing is taken from the last letter
written by Mrs. Cooper to her son Astley, prior to
his departure from England. After wishing him
and her daughter-in-law a safe and pleasant tour,
jNIrs. Cooper proceeds: —
"JNIrs. and Miss Edwards will, I am certain,
lament your absence from town, for Mrs. Edwards
in her letter last week says, ' Every time we see
your amiable daughter, we feel ourselves more
attached to her. She is a charming woman! Your
son has indeed shoM'n his discernment in his choice.
They seem to be formed to render each other happy
in the married state.' She mentions meeting JNIrs.
at your house, and adds, ' she apjiears to be a
perfect contrast to INIrs. A. Cooper.'
" God bless ye, dear, dear children, and grant
us a ha])i)y meeting at Yarmouth in September.
AVrite to us as often as you can find leisure, for Me
shall be anxious to know you are arrived in safety,
and that you both continue well, and are happy.
" AN'ith the united tenderest regards of every
VISIT TO TARIS. 217
individual of this family to both our beloved children,
believe us to be,
" Your ever most affectionate parents,
" S. Cooper. ^I. S. Cooper.
'^MaijVltK 1792."
"Dr. Girdlestone desires to be remembered to
you in kind regards and best wishes. Your dear
father says, he makes no doubt though you leave
England a Democrat, you will be so far enlightened
as to return an Aristocrat.''''
Mr. Astley Cooper would have been saved from
much care and anxiety, and Avoukl have avoided an
innninent risk to which he was a few years after-
wards exposed of losing the oi)portunity of profes-
sional elevation, had his father's hopes in this matter
been realized.
He arrived in Paris, without any occurrence
of note, about the month of June, ] 792, and at
once wrote to his mother, in compliance with her
wishes. A few days after the receipt of this letter,
Mrs. Cooper, in writing to her friend, Mrs. Bon-
hote, remarks, " Our dear Astley and his wife w^ere
safe last week in Paris, but from the state of poli-
tical affairs in that place, I wish tliey were removed
from it. How shocking must be tlie scene! — but
our young man has imbibed democratic princii)les
at Mr. Cline's, and does not feel as he ought
for the royal sufferers, and for the aristocratic
party."
It is certainly remarkable, ^^llcn we reflect on
218 LIFE OF SJR ASTLEY C00l=EK.
the persons mIio at this period were assuming to
themselves the leading places among the democrats
of France, that Astley Cooper should not at once
have been led to give up opinions which were advo-
cated by such miscreants. There is no doubt that
he must have been thoroughly aware of their charac-
ters, for in his notes referring to this period, he men-
tions that he attended the meetings of the National
Assembly, and several times heard Brissot, Vergni-
aud, Dantoii, ]Marat, Robespierre, and other leaders
of the party, address the Assembly. The tenor of
their remarks was to exasperate the mob still fur-
ther to revenge the death of what they termed the
victims of the 10th of August: nothing seemed
likely to satisfy them but the destruction of the last
life hostile to the revolution. The violent contor-
tions of their features, and the gestures with which
their harangues were accompanied, gave to them a
fiendish expression, which I have heard Sir Astley
describe, as having produced in his mind a horror
hardly less than that which was excited by the
bloody scenes perpetrated at their instigation, many
of Mliich he witnessed. Nothing but an earnest
conviction of the truth of the views which he had
imbibed from INlr. Cline, and the talented, though
misguided men with whom he had associated, could
have induced him to continue to hold these opinions
under such circumstances. I'.xtraordinary as the
fact is, however, the reader will hereafter perceive,
tl at a short time ouly had elapsed after liis return to
England, before he manifested the same political bias
I
STUDIES UiNDKR DEr^AULT AND CTIOrART. 210
which possessed him previously to his excursion to
Paris.
But however much he may have sought to gra-
tify his curiosity and ])olitical feelings, by witnessing
the great changes which were being wrought upon
society in France, we yet find that Astley Cooj)er
did not allow these heart-stirring events to disturb
the prime object of his ambition, the acquirement of
professional knowledge. Immediately on his arrival
in Paris, he at once commenced attending the lec-
tures of Desault and Chopart, men whose names
remain as eminent in posthumous fame as they were
great during their lives.
Of Desault, who in less than three years after this
period met with a sudden death, Sir Astley says in his
memoranda, that he " was a good anatomist and an
excellent manipulating surgeon; but, as far as I
could judge, not possessing the higher scientific prin-
ciples, which are necessary to constitute a surgeon
of the first order.
" I once saw him dissect out a diseased absorb-
ent gland from the neck of a boy, and having suc-
ceeded in its removal, he began to extirpate
another; but his assistant suddenly looked up in
the face of M. Desault, and said, ' Monsieur, le
garcon est mort.' Tlic boy was removed from the
operating table, but the cadavre M'as brought in the
next day, in order to show us that no great vessel
had been wounded.
"This was a most unscientific oi)eration; for to
remove important structures, subjected only to a
220 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEy COOPER.
disease, Avliicli in itself is really but a sign of a pecu-
liar deranged state of tlie constitution, cannot effect
any useful result. But Desault was quick-sighted."
In illustration of this last feature in the charac-
ter of Desault, Sir Astley relates the following
anecdote, which will scarcely fail to recall the cir-
cumstances of the Duke of Gloucester's well-known
detection of the impostor Simpcox, in the reign of
Henry VI.
" A boy came before Desault, and said to him,
' Sir, my right arm is paralytic' Desault directly
suspected him to be an impostor, and said suddenly,
' Otez Yotre chapeau.' The boy, taken by surprise,
at once raised his right arm from his side, by which
it had been lying as if it were powerless, and took
off his hat. Desault said to one of his pupils,
' Donnez-moi votre baton,' and he beat the boy
severely. ' D'ou venez-vous, garcon?' ' Du Fau-
bourg de St. Antoine, JMonsieur,' replied the urchin,
crying. ' Oui, je le croyais,' said Desault, ' tous les
coquins yiennent de ce quartier-la;' for he was a
great aristocrat."
" Chojiart was a good kind of old Avonian, of
little firmness of character, lost his fortune by the
Revolution, and became poor in old age. lie was
surgeon to the liosi)ital of the Academy.
" He was operating when the first cannon was
fired on the 10th of August, 1792. I ^^•as present,
but at once rushed out of the hospital. I ran to
the Pont Neuf, to see what was going on, and saw
tlie Swiss guards at the windows of the Chateau
THE TENTH OF AUGUST. 221
firing upon the mob on the bridge and along the
quay of the Louvre. The streets were all confusion,
from persons running, and others coming out of
their houses to shut up their shops, and falling over
each other. I ran back to the hospital, but the
surgeons had all fled.
"I therefore was obliged to pass over one of
the bridges, but higher up than the scene of conflict.
On my way, a woman called out, ' Voila un aristo-
crate!' pointing to me. I said, 'Je suis Anglais.'
She said, 'Ah! mon Dieu! done vous etes en
surete.'
" I saw a hackney coach, and called for it; but
the coachman said, ' Je ne veux point d'aristocrate
dans mon fiacre,' which I was supposed to be from
being dressed in black, and the court was in mourn-
ing.
" After crossing the bridge, the scene was terri-
fic, — cannon firing constantly, — volleys of musketry
in every direction, — the tocsin sounding from every
turret, — women crying, — litters conveyed along the
streets, bearing the wounded and the dying; but at
last I reached my hotel, in the Passage des Petits
Peres, in safety.
" I found my dear wife much alarmed, and she
was at the time enceinte. We sat down together at
the window of the hotel, and presently a mob passed,
carrying the heads of some of the Swiss guards they
had killed, twenty-two in number. Each person had
some trophy; some had cut oft' a finger, some a
hand; and soon afterwards we saw a Swiss soldier
222 LIFE OF SIK ASTLEY COOPER.
cliasetl, like a hare, along the street, and the people
following him, trying to kill him; he escaped, how-
ever, to a corps de garde, being more lucky than
many others, whom we saw butchered by the mob.
" We were particularly alarmed at our hotel, as
General IMoney, of Norwich, had been at the Cha-
teau all night with the king, and we expected on his
return to us that he would be followed by a mob;
but he prudently remained concealed, and so escaped
notice.
" In the evening the gardens of the Tuilleries
Avere full of dead men, close to the Chateau, and there
they lay naked, having been stripped of all their
clothes by the mob.
"On the next day Ann and I went to the Hotel
d'Espagne, and passed through the mob, which
were escorting Louis XVI. and his queen to the
Temple.
" The cruelties connnitted now became more
frequent ; but the reign of terror was never more
full of horror than on the morning of the 2nd of
September, when the prisoners of the Abbaye were
murdered by the infuriated populace, led on to the
bloodthirsty act by Robespierre and his associates.
The doors of the prison were thrown open, and as
the poor wretches rushed out, some of the least sus-
picious, in the hopes of freedom, were butchered by
the people, many of whom comjdained to their
reckless leaders that they had not been placed jn-o-
niinently enough to stain their swords, and to claim
the reward which the Committee of the ^lunici-
DIFFICULTY IN OBTAINING HIS PASSPORT. 223
pality had offered tlieni in proportion to the Inivoc
they committed."
This event, above all others, seems to have
horrified and disgusted Mr. Coo})er ; and tlie con-
tinued state of alarm in his wife's mind, together
Avitli the peril and uncertainty naturally resulting
from the destruction of all proper restraint and
order, and the consequent dominion of capricious
ferocity and passion, produced such a depression of
spirits and degree of anxiety, as to bo no longer
supportable, and he at once determined to return to
England.
A difficulty, however, arose as to his obtaining
passports ; and his stay in Paris was prolonged to a
still later period than he intended, from this cause.
Many foreigners were tlnis detained, ^vho were
anxious to leave the city, from a reasonable doubt
of their security against the violence of the infu-
riated mob. JNIost of the English were in a state of
great alarm, and they remained sluit up in their
rooms, or hid in cellars, days together. Mr. Cooper
frequently, when the city was disturbed either by
more dreadful outrages than ordinary, or by some of
the fearful reports which were then prevalent, Avould
remain at the hotel with his wife, in company with
other English friends ; but he more frequently went
to the hospital, wearing some democratic badge, and
occupied his time in services, useful no less to him-
self than to the poor wTetches with which the
beds were filled, — either democrats Avouiidcd bv
224 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
musketry, or some few of the aristocratic party, wlio,
altlioiigli mutilated by sabre wounds, had escaped
with their lives from the murderous hands of the
assassins.
About the middle of September, however, Mr.
Cooper succeeded in obtaining his passport, and,
together with his wife, left Paris to return to Eng-
land. They came over in company with ]\Ir. Twiss,
the traveller, who published a Triji to Paris.
Soon after his arrival in London, leaving Mrs.
Cooper in town, he paid a visit to his father's
at Yarmouth, as we ascertain by the following
extract from one of jNIrs. Cooper's letters to Mrs.
Bonhote : —
" Our Astley is unexpectedly with us. He
returned from that horrid country last week, and
came down to us on Sunday. IMy daughter Astley
was too big, and too much fatigued with her journey
and voyage, to accompany him here. She expects
to be confined in October. I fancy they are a very
happy couple. I pray God to increase their com-
forts in their offspring."
There is no well authenticated account of the
immediate influence produced upon the mind of
INIr. Cooper by the stirring events whicli had come
under his notice in Paris. If they had in any
degree diminished his democratic zeal, he has not
acknowledged on paper any change of political
feeling; in accordance, I think, M'ith a dislike which
he always manifested to making any mention of his
Ills OPINION OF A REVOLUTION. 225
views at this period. The following sentence is all
that occurs : —
" A revolution may sometimes be a good thing
for posterity, l3ut never for the existing generation,
for the change is always too sudden and violent."
This sentence, which was written in 183G, under
A'ery different circumstances, both with relation to
France and to his own condition, to the period at
which the events just described occurred, cannot be
supposed to have any particular reference, but must
be taken for what it is in itself — a general obser-
vation, equally applicable to all revolutions of what-
ever tendency or nature.
VOL. I. Q
220 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
CHAPTER XIII.
Mn. Cooper encourages Persons to come to his House
FOR Gratuitous Advice. Continued Industry at
THE Hospital. His First Course of Surgical Lec-
tures. Changes the Plan op nis Lectures. Effect
OP the Alteration. Importance of this Period
IN Mr. Cooper's Professional History. His Atten-
tion to the Cases in the Hospital, The Birth
OP HIS Child. JMr. Cooper at the Phy'sical Society.
Mr. Thelwall's Position and Conduct in this Society.
Anecdotes op Sir Astley' Cooper, from " Life op
Thelwall," published dy his Widow. Mr. Thel-
wall's Lectures. Anecdotes. Anecdote op Thelwall
at the Physical Society. Mr. Cooper's Republican
Feeling still continues. His Position in 1793. His
Anxiety concerning the Health op his Child, Is
appointed Professor of Anatomy to Surgeons' Hall.
Upon ]\Ir. Cooj^er's return to London, he again dili-
gently devoted himself to the acquirement of every
branch of jDrofessional knowledge. He offered en-
couragement to the poorer residents in his neigh-
bourhood to come to him early on a morning, and
receive gratuitous advice. His object apjoears to
have been purely to acquire by these means a
greater familiarity •with disease in all its forms,
and to study the best means for its treatment and
cure.
It might at first be supposed that JMr. Cooper
adopted this plan as a means of procuring private
practice ; but he himself says this was not his
HIS CONTINUED INDUSTRY. 227
object, and bis wliole conduct at tbis period prove?
tliat be bad a bigber purpose iu view. To j^erfect
biniself as mucb as possible in bis profession, before
be sougbt after tbe more serious duties of practice,
was bis fixed determination; and tbis plan be was
fortunately enabled to accomplisb tbe more readily,
from tbe absence of all anxiety on j)ecuniary matters.
In addition to tbe income be was deriving from his
lectures at tbe bospital, Mr. Cooper bad come into
l^ossession, on bis marriage, of a fortune of fourteen
thousand pounds, and was tbus rendered compara-
tively independent of practice. Indeed bis attend-
ance at tbe bosj)ital occupied so much of his time'
that bis consequent absence from home would have
been in itself a sufficient bar to obtaining professional
occupation elsewhere, even bad be sought it.
Tbe following memorandum substantiates the
above account, and exhibits, in detail, the proofs of
his unwearied ardour, not only in tbe furtherance of
bis own knowledge, but also in the advancement of
the students committed to bis care at tbe hospital : —
" For three years after my apprenticeship ex-
piicd, I did not seek business, but devoted myself to
the study of my jirofession, and to teaching the
students entirely. JNly industry at this time may
be gathered from the following circumstances.
" I went to the hospital before breakfast to
dissect for lecture. I demonstrated to the students
before lecture. I injected their subjects. I lec-
tured from two o'clock till half-past three. In the
Q 2
228 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
evening, three times per week, I lectured on sur-
gery. I attended to tlie interesting cases in tlie
liosintal, making notes of them, and iu this latter
practice I always persevered."
His lectures at the hospital continued to engage
his most earnest attention. His perfect knowledge
of anatomy had at once secured the success of his
lectures on this subject. The surgical course, how-
ever, which he had established, seemed more un-
settled, and these lectures, therefore, occupied much
of his thoughts. I have heard him often say how
much he was disappointed in regard to the fresh
entries, at the beginning of this, his second course,
in 1792, the number of pupils being less by twenty-
five, than it had been at the former course. At first
he found it difficult to account for this falling off of
his class, as he had not only taken great pains in the
construction of his lectures, but had ado])tcd the
recently-divulged doctrines of John Hunter as his
model. lie had been led to follow this plan, from
the belief that the manner in Mhich surgery "was
before treated, in connexion with anatomy and ]>hy-
hiology, tended rather to increase the interest of
those sciences, than to place surgery itself in the
position it deserved.
Upon further consideration, however, he dis-
covered the cause of the unpopularity of his pre-
vious course, and of the consequent falling off in
the commencement of his second, and he then
began to contcm])late the moans necessary to be
CHANGES THE TLAN OF HIS LECTURES. 229
employed to ensure his success in future. It struck
him at once, that however just his first \icws
had been in teaching surgery to his pupils upon
the sound principles of John Hunter, still it was
necessary, not only that his auditors should have
a previous understanding of the meaning of John
Hunter, but that they should have advanced to a
considerable extent in the general knowledge of
surgery, in order for them to comprehend the
application of his theory to their practice. He
therefore determined to change his plan ; nor had
lie to go far a-field, to discover another which
promised to be not only popular in itself, but more
readily to secure the ultimate object he had in view
— of so combining the doctrines of Hunter with the
science of surgery, that they alone should regulate
its practice. For this purpose, he selected the cases
of disease, and the casualties admitted into the two
hospitals, and bringing such of them before the
notice of the pupils, as would illustrate the subject
on which he was treating, he first pointed out to
them the nature of the disease or accident, described
the appropriate treatment, and afterwards inculcated
the theoretical views which indicated it. The efltct
at once was evident ; his class, — of which even the
industrious members had listened to him with
strained attention, and the idle and ignorant, vritli
negligence, — was at once changed into a collection
of pupils interested in the subject, and attentive to
the teacher.
Nor was it difticult to account for this change ;
230 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
the order in which practice and principles were thus
combined, and the famiHar manner in which the
instruction was delivered, rendering the simplest
understanding competent to receive and appreciate
his views. From this moment his class increased,
and a fresh interest was excited even in his own
mind, with respect to every patient admitted into
the hospital. Each case, indeed, assumed a two-fold
importance, — trn the one hand, as a source of im-
provement to the pupils, by affording an illustration
of the doctrines taught them in the lecture-room;
and, on the other hand, to himself, inasmuch as
they furnished him with an opportunity of discover-
ing the best modes of treatment, and also of testing
tfie correctness of those principles which he had.
imbibed from John Hunter, and was in the habit of
delivering to his class.
From this plan he acquired a facility which
never afterwards left him, of bringing rapidly to his
recollection a series of cases or circumstances, in
illustration of any particular case which might be
occupying his attention. He would say, for in-
stance, " Ay, I remember ^Ir. so-and-so had a
patient under him with precisely similar symptoms :
it was treated so-and-so, and did well." A second
and a third would, with equal rapidity, occur to him,
and his summing up, upon such retrospection, would
not only direct the proper steps to be taken for
the case under consideration, but also furnish a rule
of conduct for any similar exigency. To this happy
power of calling to mind parallel and appropriate
IMPORTANCE OF THIS PERIOD. 231
examples, he attributed miicli of the success which
attended him in practice in after life ; for he used
to say, " It is not the number of cases which a
surgeon has seen, but it is his ready application of
them, which renders his knowledge of practical
utility, and constitutes him an efficient surgeon."
Upon reflecting on his early failure as a surgical
teacher, the consequent alterations of his plans, and
his subsequent unparalleled success, we cannot but
notice, that here, as so frequently occurs, the very
circumstances Avhich, in our first short-sighted im-
pressions, seem full of misfortune, turn out to be
after all the sources of essential benefit.
It nnist he evident to those who knew the \
constitution of Astley Cooper's mind, tliat the power \
of deep philosophical research was not one of its \
attributes. Had he, therefore, devoted himself
either to extending the system of John Hunter, or
to founding one more generally acceptable, his
labours would, in all i3robability, have been even-
tually attended with failure. Close and accurate
observation, correct and forcible description, and an
unwearied industry in the pursuit of discovery, were
his peculiar characteristics, and all these, from the
new channel into which his labours were now
directed, were called into requisition.
This period, young as Mr. Cooper was as a
surgeon, I think will be found to be the most
important in his professional career. He was in
the full vigour of life, occupied wholly in profes-
sional study, gratified and stimulated by rising popur
232 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
laritv, and not engaged in any j)nrsnit ont of his
profession, or if any, not of a kind to interfere with
the grand object of his ambition.
However much some persons may be inclined to
attribute his success wholly to good fortune, a review
of this jieriod offers a sufficient proof that the zeal,
talent, judgment, and industry which he exhibited,
were, in themselves, sufficient to have led to the
position he afterwards so justly attained. It may,hoAV-
ever, certainly be considered a circumstance of good
fortune, that John Hunter should, at this eventful
period of Astley Cooper's life, have promulgated his
l)eculiar doctrines, and thus have offered an oppor-
tunity to INIr. Cooper of taking an untrodden path
in the teaching of surgery.
At this time none of the surgeons eminent for
extensive practice })laced any confidence in the sur-
gical knowledge of John Hunter, who was chiefly
known as a philosopher by means of his lectures
and writings ; they even contended against his
views, as mystifying, if not inapplicable to the
treatment of disease. INIr. Cooper, however, seems
better to have understood the gist and value of the
doctrines of this great man, and to have embraced at
once tlie opportunity offered him of striking into a
path no less novel than correct. But even in attri-
buting these important events in Astley Cooper's
life to good " luck," it must be admitted, tliat it
required a capacious mind, and mucli attention and
industry, to estimate the intrinsic value of those
doctrines, which so few others at that time could
HIS NOTES ON JOHN HUNTER. 233
even compreliend, but Avliicli have since justly risen
into the highest reputation in England, and are
gradually extending their influence over the surgical
practice of the whole of Europe.
It is notoriously the case, that those who have
promulgated any new and important doctrines, are
rarely honoured, during the period of their life, with
the estimation due to their merits ; but that when
death has removed all sources of jealousy and envy,
the validity of their principles becomes acknow-
ledged, and that praise, which was withheld during
their lives, is lavished on them, when no longer
sensible of its influence. Such a train of thouirht
seems to have occupied the mind of Sir Astley
Cooper, some thirty years after the grave had closed
on John Hunter, when he made the following rough
notes, which I have found among his papers : —
"Although Mr. Hunter and his opinions were
so much esteemed after his death, yet I remember
that the surgeons and physicians of his day thought
him a mere imaginative speculator, and, any one
Avho believed in him, a blockhead, and a black sheep
in the profession. I have heard surgeons say, ' What
do you mean by action, and all such nonsense?' and
men, too, who now extol him to the skies. I once
heard a learned person pronounce, that the solution
of the stomach after death was one of his vagaries, /
and that his theory of adhesion was enough to stick
in any man's throat ; while, at this day, there arc
234 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
but few of his principles, wliicli men of real science
do not swallow with avidity."
Such a jocose mode of expression was probably
not intended for the public eye ; but while, at the
same time, it forcibly exemplifies the high opinion,
which, at this late period of his life, Sir Astley Cooper
maintained of the character of John Hunter ; it
also furnishes an example of his habit of mingling
a train of pleasantry with the most scientific and
serious subjects.
jMr. Coo]ier's lectures on surgery, from the
nature of the system on which they were remodelled,
demanded his constant attendance in the wards ;
he therefore made it a rule to accompany Mr. Cline
and the other surgeons in their rounds, and while
making his own observations, pointed out to such of
his suro-ical class as were with liini the cases most
worthy of remark, occasionally enlarging upon their
peculiarities, or eliciting opinions concerning them
from the older surgeons. He thus contrived to
tlirow a degree of interest around the hospital
])ractice, which previously had been almost unknown.
He formed, as it were, a continued and regular
course of clinical instruction, which was not the less
acceptable, perhaps, because it was freed from the
technicality of a regular lecture.
Another source of advantage to Mr. Cooper as
a surgical teacher, Mas, M'liat we have already
noticed, the permission he gave to the poor pa-
i
BIRTH OF HIS CHILD. 235
tients to come to him at his house, early in the
mornino', for advice. Not only did he derive
from this plan the benefit of seeing and studying-
the diseases, with wliicli they M^ere afflicted ; but,
by sending those avIio were the most fit objects for
relief to the hospital, he secured a constant supply ^
of interesting cases: and was thus also enabled to \
keep in the wards examples of any particular dis-
order in which he was taking an interest, or which j
he might bo at the time explaining in his lectures/
To induce the poor to come to him, he purchased
and constantly kept at hand a stock of those com-
mon remedies, which he Avas most frequently in
the habit of using, and liberally bestowed them
on those whose means would not allow them to
take his prescriptions to the chemist's shop in the
usual manner. This was a great boon to this class
of peojile, for tliere were very few dispensaries in
those days.
While thus actively employed in his professional
pursuits, his chief source of relaxation and enjoyment
appears to have been the visits which he used to
make, in company witli his wife, to Mrs. Cock and
her family at Tottenham. lie seems now to have
felt himself settled in the world, equally established
in professional as domestic life, and with scarcely
any source of anxiety but that which is insejDarable
from the expectation of a first-born chikl — a circum-
stance, however, which, to judge from some j^rivate
memoranda of Sir Astley's, as the period of Mrs.
Cooper's accouchement ai)proached, caused him no
236 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
little care and uneasiness. This was easily accounted
for by the delicate state of INIrs. Cooper's frame.
She was by no means a person of robust health, and
the fatigues, as well as uneasiness of mind, to which
she had been subjected during her recent visit to
Paris, had rather tended to weaken than to strengthen
her constitution. In November, however, she was
safely delivered of a female infant, and under cir-
cumstances which were as favourable as the most
anxious husband could have desired. The child in
a few days received the name of Anna JNIaria. JNIr.
Cooper's previous anxiety on his wife's account
Avas fully repaid by her rapid recovery, and the
progressive development of the faculties of the little
infant became another source of relaxation to him,
from the continued exercise of his arduous profes-
sional labours.
I find from the records of this period of the
Physical Society at Guy's, that my uncle was a
regular attendant at its meetings; and what is
curious, too, that his old associate Thelwall was one
of the most conspicuous of its members. A short
time previously, INIr. Thelwall, without entering
regularly on the study of the medical profession,
liad received tickets of admission to the lectures on
anatomy by INIr. Cline; on jihysiology by Dr.
Haighton ; and chemistry by Dr. Babington. His
letter to Mr. Cline, in his principal work on
Impediments of Speeeh, &c., sufiicicntly shows that
he never intended to follow medicine as a pro-
fession ; his object, therefore, in attending these
I
MR. TIIELWALL. 237
lectures, was probably merely to accumulate in-
formation to substantiate his peculiar tenets of
materialism, to wliich, by an ill-directed mind,
the study of physiology and anatomy might easily
be rendered subservient. Another motive might
however induce him to attend these lectures, as
at any rate it gave him an opportunity of useful
employment, and offered means of his attaching
himself to what might afterwards prove a legitimate
object in life. To such an use indeed, some years
afterwards, he did turn the knowledge thus ac-
quired, for he devoted himself in after life to the
teaching of elocution, and the correction of defective
articulation in those who laboured under the habit
of stammering.
The part Mr. Thelwall took in the proceedings
of the Physical Society, so long as he remained
a member, was of the most active descrij^tion. He
had been elected an ordinary member during the
preceding session, and from the interest he then
exhibited in its affairs, as well as from his connexion
with INIr. Cline, and intimacy with Astley Cooper,
Coleman, and other leading members, he was, at the
beginning of this session (1792), chosen one of the
committee of management. He appears, in this
capacity, to have most actively performed the duties
it devolved on him ; for in the early part of the
month of January, on account of a falling off in the
attendance at the meetings, he, with the assistance
of another member of the Committee, Dr. Maclaurin,
propo-jcd a series of resolutions, one of which was
'2oS LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
to institute a committee of inquiry into the cause of
this lukewarmness on the part of its members. This
proposition was a(loi)te(l by a large majority. The
committee met a few days afterwards, on the 17th of
the month, Mr. Thelvvall being chosen its president,
and in consequence, on the 19th, a general meeting
of all the members was convened to hear the sugges-
tions wliich tliey had to lay before the Society. On
this evening I find Thelwall by letter regretting that
he was obliged to send the account of the proceedings
of the Committee of Inquiry, he being prevented
personally appearing with them, in consequence of
an engagement " at a meeting of the Society of the
Friends of the Liberty of the Press, of which he was
a member."
Nor did he confine himself to assisting in regu-
lating the economy 'of the Society only, for at a
meetino- on the 26th of the same month he read a
o
paper; which, from the length of the period the
discussion upon it occupied, as well as the language
of the letter of thanks which was afterwards voted
to him, appears to have attracted much attention.
I subjoin the extracts from the Society's books
which allude to this paper. It is to be regretted
that no record is preserved, either of the docu-
ment itself, or of those who took part in the subse-
quent discussion. The custom of the Society then
was only to keep minutes of i)rivate business, and of
the communications, which, under the title of " Me-
dical News," preceded the reading of the papers.
The entries relating to this essay are the following : —
MR, THELWALL. 239
"January 26th, 1703. Mr, Haighton in the chair. Mr,
Thclwall read his essay on Vitality, which was in part discussed.
"February 2nd, 9th, 15th, 23rd. The discussion on Mr.
Tliehvall's paper on Vitality was continued,
"March 2nd, 1793. Mr. Ilaii/hton in the chair. (Sixth
evening.) Dr. Maclaurin moved that a letter of thanks, signed
by the presidents and secretary, be transmitted to Mr. Thelwall
for his excellent and very valuable dissertation on Animal
Vitality — the abilities he displayed during the discussion — and
the instruction which this institution has received from his
assistance in the debates thereon. This motion was seconded by
Mr. Coleman, and unanimously carried.
'• Confirmed. John Turner Merritt.
Geo. Johnson, Secretary/."
The nature of this paper, contrasted with the
usual topics of discussion, shows that the author did
not omit to select a subject in itself so meta-
physically obscure, as to give him an opportunity of
mingling mateiialism with it, and warrants the sug-
gestion before given of the reason for his attendance
at these hospitals. He does not ajipear, indeed,
during the time he was connected with the schools
of medicine, in a single instance, to have directed
his attention to a purely professional object.
It is curious that we should find Astley Cooper
thus again thrown into frequent communication
-with My. Thclwall, to whose influence the best
friends of the former had already attributed the
taint in his political and religious principles. In
Tliehvall's Life, written by his widoM^ allusion is
made to the intimacy which at this period existed
between him, JMr. Coleman, and Sir Astley Cooper,
and the following facts are mentioned: —
240 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
jMr.TliL'lwall was the subject of violent palpitation
of his heart, which sometimes beat so loudly as to be
heard at an amazing distance : so much so, indeed,
that, on one occasion, some person passing him in
the street was attracted by the sound, and stopped
to ask him if what he heard really proceeded from
the beatino' of ^Ir. Thelwall's heart, as he could
hardly believe the circumstance. This disease, for
some years, seemed to have entirely left him, but,
in the year 1829, it returned with increased vehe-
mence, and INIrs. Thelwall states, that at night she
has been awakened from her sleep by the violence
of the palpitations of her husband's heart, and that
she has at first imagined the sound to proceed, so
distinctly loud was it, from some one knocking at
the door.
INIr. Thelwall must have, at an early period of
his attack, talked to Sir Astley about his disease, for
it is stated that he promised Sir Astley his heart,
should he die first, an intention which, says Mrs.
Thelwall, he meant to have fulfilled. She does not,
however, mention the circumstances which prevented
hi,s promise being carried into effect. Sir Astley
used jocularly to say, IMr. Thelwall had informed
her, in allusion to his disease, " That Thelwall had
an exceedingly good head, but an excessively bad
heart."
Even at this early period of his life, Mr. Thel-
wall appeared frequently before the public, and he
would often leave the lecture-room at the hospital
for the purpose of delivering a lecture himself at
ANECDOTE OF MR. THELWALL. 241
Coachmakers' Hall, or some similar institution. Mr.
Harrison, the Treasurer of the hospital, informs me
that, on one of these occasions, he went to listen to
him. The lecture which Thehvall then delivered
was upon the evils of the slave trade; a topic
calculated no less to call forth his own powers of
eloquence than the interest and symj)athies of his
audience, and therefore a favourite subject with
him. After vividly painting the horrible sufferings
to which the slaves were subjected, he proceeded to
describe a mask which he said they were forced to
wear, and which was so constructed that, whilst it
permitted them to breathe, and perform the duties
of their occupation without difficulty, it at the same
time prevented the possibility of any indulgence
being afforded to the cravings of their appetite.
Having, with some minuteness, given an account of
this instrument, he suddenly drew one forth from a
place near him, and fitted it to his face. The effect
of this theatrical experiment was not such as he had
anticipated : for instead of exciting expressions of
horror and pity at the sufferings of those to whom
he stated such an apparatus was applied, a conviction
of the absurdity of his account seemed at once to
rush into the minds of his audience. His stratagem
was accordingly received Mith shouts of laughter,
and he himself, on removing the mask, was greeted
with a shower of hisses. He had overshot his mark.
Disconcerted, for a minute or two he remained
absorbed in thought, when, as if doubting that he
had mistaken the object of these expressions of dis-
VOL. I. R
242 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
approbation, he again covered his face with the
mask, and turned to the audience. This only-
served to renew the laughter in an increased
degree, and this time, when he removed it, the vehe-
mence of the hisses rendered quite clear to his mind
the cause which had provoked them. Different
feelings at once took possession of him ; — his face
flushed with anger, and with a quivering lip he
remarked, " You are perhaps aware that the only
quadruped which makes the noise you are now
making, is — the goose." This unfortunately-worded
rebuke, JNIr. Harrison informed me, literally con-
vulsed the people present with laughter, amid the
peals of Avliich the meeting broke uj^, and the lec-
turer himself, abashed by his own laj)sus, hurried
from the scene of his disgrace*.
Thelwall was, how^ever, always violent in his
expressions, and frequently, from passion and excite-
ment, carried his arguments to the most absurd
extravagances. About this time, a man was con-
victed of a murder, which he had committed a period
■"' The character and style of these lectures may perhaps bo
further elucidated by the following quotation from the Pursuits of
Literature. " John Thefwall read, during the Lent season, what
he termed Classical lectures; and most kindly and affectionately
pointed out the defects of all the ancient governments of Greece,
Rome, Old France, &c.; and the causes of rebellion, insurrection,
regeneration of governments, terrorism, massacres, and revolu-
tionary murder; without the least hint or application to England
and its constitution. Showing koio the Gracchi were great men,
and so, by implication, the Bedfords, the Lauderdales, Sec. I
must own I fear nothing from such lectures." (13th edit., p. 132.)
MR. THELWALL AT THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY. 243
of ten years before his detection, and was sentenced
to be execnted for the crime. Thehvall publicly
maintained one evening, at the Physical Society, that
this punishment was not only criminal, in a religious
point of view, as opposed to the will of the Almighty,
who had given him so long an opportunity for
repentance, of which the unfortunate man had taken
advantage, but that it was also an act of great
injustice; for, as he was ready to prove, there was
not a particle of the being who had committed the
crime, still existing in the man who Avas to be exe-
cuted for it. This will not appear, however, so
absurd an argument, when we reflect that it was
used by a materialist.
The above anecdote sufficiently shows how far
at this period of his career he suffered himself to be
carried away by the current of his misguided feel-
ings, a fault which he afterwards admitted to be a
source of regret to him. In a letter to Mr. Cline,
he remarks, when speaking of certain scientific pur-
suits to which he had comparatively late in life
devoted himself, " The eccentric fire of youth hurried
me away to other topics with an impetuosity which
maturer judgment may regret, though integrity
cannot repent of the principle."
It might be expected by any one contemplating
the preceding six months of the life of jNIr.
Cooper, that the scenes he had witnessed in Paris,
his success on his return to London, and the birth
of his child, would all have tended to soften, if not
to remove, the republican bias which he had ac-
R2
244 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
quired; but there is sufficient evidence of his still
retaining the same jirinciples and political views,
though not perhaps to the same extent. iSIy friend
Mr. Travers, in writing to me of Mr. Cooper at this
period, says: — " He went a step beyond the whiggism
of those days, being a member of the Revolution
Society, founded in commemoration of ours in 1688.
He was an active steward of its anniversary, held at
the CroAMi and Anchor Tavern in the year 1793."
Perhaps to the fact of his renewed intimacy with
Mr. Thelwall, more than to any other cause, may be
attributed this delay in the hoped-for change, which
to a certain extent seemed to have been promised,
by his expressions of horror at the savage cruelties
committed by the democratic leaders at Paris. In
a letter from Mr. George Johnson, wlio was secre-
tary of the Physical Society at Guy's Hospital for
nearly thirty-five years, is the following remark: —
" The situation which I held at Guy's necessarily
brought me in contact with him, as he was one of
the six presidents, at least every Saturday night;
which, after the Society was over, we frequently
finished together with citizen Thelwall, John Walker,
and a few other free-thinkers, by whom we were
tolerably republicanized."
In Miij, 1703, jNIr. Cooper concluded the labours
of this session, with his character as a surgeon
and as a lecturer, both on anatomy and surgery,
greatly enhanced in estimation. The popularity
of his surgical lectures, the regular as well as
increased attendance on the part of the pupils.
I
HIS rosiTiON IN 1793. 245
fully convinced him of the propriety of the new plan,
■which he had adopted at the commencement of
the course, and gave him not only a proof of the
good impression he had made on his audience, but
also an earnest of the permanency of his success,
if this important department of his professional pur-
suits were only prosecuted for the future with the
same ardour and industry.
But the satisfaction he must have derived from
his professional jiursuits, Avas doomed to be allayed
by no little anxiety at home; for at this time lurking-
symptoms of disease began to appear in his child-
He immediately thought of a plan to re-establish its
health, and for this purpose sought a house sur-
rounded by pure air, which he appears then to have
considered, as he did ever afterwards hold it to be, a
remedy for almost all the diseases to which children
are liable. Having met with such a cottage as he
desired at Pentonville, he hired it, and made use of it
as a nursery for his child; and here, every morning
after breakfast, throughout the summer of this year,
Mrs. Cooper and her young charge repaired to jDass
the day. Nor was the attention to her infant, and
the hopes of benefit to it, the only gratification
afforded to Mrs. Cooper by this plan, for her friend
Mrs. Green, the sister of Mr. Cline, who still survives,
had just then given birth to a son, and added to
Mrs. Cooper's pleasure by joining with her in this
domestic arrangement. This son was the present
Mr. Joseph Henry Green, M'hose character as a sur-
geon, i)liilosopher, and man of general science, is too
246 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
well known to need any panegyric from me. I may
be allowed, lioAvever, to take this opportunity of
publicly expressing feelings of friendsliip towards
that gentleman, which, I trust, I have given him
reason to know have been warmly felt by me during
a period of thirty years' frequent communication.
Mrs. CoojDer's child, notwithstanding the arrange-
ment I have described, never regained fully its
former health; but from this period seems always
more or less to have involved a care in its parent's
mind. The unremitting attention which Mr. Cooper
paid to this infant, was not one of the least pleasing
traits in his character; for it proved him to be eager
to discharge his duties as a parent, "with a devoted-
ness and fidelity equal to that which we have already
seen him bestow on his professional pursuits.
I
PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY TO SURGEONS' HALL 247
CHAPTER XIV.
Mr. Cooper is appointed Professor op Anatomy to Sur-
geons' Hall, a. d, 1793. Thelwall at the Physical
Society. His Essay on Mental Action. Discontinu-
ance of his Intimacy avith Mr. Cooper. Extracts
FROM A Letter by ]\Ir. Tiielavall to Sir Astley Cooper
IN latter LIFE. DeATII OF Mr. CoOPER's DAUGHTER.
Mr. Cooper is reappointed Professor of Anatomy to
Surgeons' Hall, a. d. 1794 and 1795. Mrs. Cooper's
adopted Daughter. Mr. Cooper goes to Hamburgh.
Duel between Lord Valentia and Mr. Gawler. Mr.
Cooper's Conduct on this Occasion. His Illness at Sea.
Extracts from Sir Astley's Journals.
The commencement of October, in the year 1793,
again found Mr. Cooper at his post at the hospital,
ready to enter upon the duties of the ensuing session.
He delivered the introduction to his course on sur-
gery, with more than his accustomed spirit and
enthusiasm; for he was, animated by the delight of
perceiving his growing reputation evidenced by the
large increase in the number of his pupils. The
fresh entries to his lectures on surgery Avere twice
as numerous as those of the preceding winter.
Perhaps, also, he particularly felt at this time the
gratifying distinction paid to him, by his being
chosen for the appointment, awarded to him in the
course of the previous summer, of lecturer on ana-
tomy to Surgeons' Hall.
248 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
This Professorship he acquired upon the resigna-
tion of INIr. Orange, wlio, avc believe, although he
had accepted the office only in the preceding month
of July, never officiated, in consequence of having
married a lady of large fortune, of the name of
Jackson. Mr. Orange afterwards adopted the name
of this lady, and immediately retired from profes-
sional life. Through this circumstance, assisted
perhaps by the influence of Mr. Cline and Mr.
Cooper, who were at this time prominent members
of the council of the College of Surgeons, JNIr.
Astley Cooper early in life gained this consjiicuous
position among the members of his profession. The
duty of the Professor of anatomy was publicly to
dissect the bodies of criminals executed at the Old
Bailey, in the yard of which the Surgeons' Hall was
at that time placed. The manner in which he per-
formed the duties of this office gave general satis-
faction, and his uncle, Mr. William Cooper, judging
from Sir Astley 's allusions to this point, seems
more on this, than j^erhaps any other occasion, to
have expressed his satisfaction at the professional
elevation of his nephew.
The Physical Society of Guy's still continued to
occupy a great share of jNIr. Cooper's attention, and
in the course of this session a circumstance of consi-
derable interest occurred, bearing on his history —
the unpopularity and consequent retirement from the
Society of JNIr. Thelwall, to whose influence over Mr.
Cooper we have had to make so many allusions. It is a
matter, indeed, of no little wonder how Mr. Thelwall,
THELWALL AT THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY. 249
with his violent feelings and views, could so long
have remained a member of a Society, the object of
which was purely to advance the progress of physi-
cal science. Towards the middle of the winter,
grown bold by the respect which had been paid him
during the last session, and by the success of the
essay he had then read to the Society, Thelwall
brought before the members a paper, entitled " The
origin of Mental Action exi3lained on the system of
Materialism." The effect of this on the minds of
the members, and the result which it jiroduced, will
be given explicitly enough, and with most fairness,
by simply quoting the brief entries which exist in
the Society's books: —
"Dec. 14th, 1793. Mr. A. P. Cooper in the chair. Mr.
Thelwall delivered in his paper ' On the origin of Mental Action
explained on the system of Materialism.' Mr. Thelwall read liis
paper. Geo. Johnson, Secretary.
"Jan. 4th, 1794. Dr. Maclaurin in the chair. :Mr. Tliel-
wall's paper in part discussed.
"Jan. 11th, 1794. Dr. Maclaurin in the chair. Mr. Thel-
wall's paper was continued.
" Jan. 18th, 1794. Dr. Maclaurin in the chair. Mr. Thel-
wall's paper was continued.
"Jan. 2yth, 1794. Dr. Ralph made the following motion:
' That as a paper, now before the Society, which has already
been under discussion for three successive evenings, appears to
have no application to the science of medicine or surgery, there-
fore in no degree interesting to a Society which has only for its
object the improvement of these arts: Moved, That the discus-
sion of the aforesaid paper be discontinued, and not resumed,
and that the paper next in succession be substituted in its
place.'
" This motion was seconded by Dr. Saunders, and, after a
250 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
very long and tumultuous debate, determined by ballot, when
there appeared — Ayes, 39; Noes, 19.
" In consequence of this decision, Messrs. Clarke and Wilson,
honorary members, and ^Messrs. Thehvall and Burtenshaw, ordi-
nary members, withdrew their names from the Society.
"The Society afterwards, by vote, adjourned.
" Confirmed. John Haighton, Pres.
George Johnson, Sec."
The bond of connexion between Mr. Thelwall
and Mr. Cooper seems to have been loosened from
this time, if not altogether severed. JNIany years
afterwards, however, at a time, when their relative
positions were widely different, circnmstances led to
communication between them, being in some mea-
sure renewed. ]\Iany facts contribute to prove
that Thelwall exercised a serious influence over the
mind of Astley Cooper during the early period of
his professional life; an influence, too, of such a
nature, that its removal, however honest may have
been the conviction in Thelwall's mind of the just-
ness of his sentiments and doctrines, cannot be
considered but as one of the fortunate events of
Sir Astley's career. There can lie no doubt that
Thelwall was endowed by nature with an energetic
mind, which, perhaps, had it been properly directed
to any one useful purpose, might have been rendered
a benefit, as well as an honour to society. On the
contraiy, from never allowing his impulses to be sub-
jected to any wholesome control, he was ever flighty
and unstable, actuated by chimerical views, and
readily suffered himself to be led aAvay by the dic-
tates of false feehng and sophistry.
LETTER FROM MR. THELWALL. 251
The following is one of Tlielwall's letters to Sir
Astley Cooper, written many years after the occur-
rences we have related. It offers a good example of
the style and talent of the writer, and at the same
time serves to illustrate an interesting feature in
the character of Sir Astley Cooper, who, although
he now held opinions altogether at variance with
those which he had formerly advocated in common
with Thelwall, yet would allow neither his altered
political feelings, nor the exalted jjosition to which
by his own exertions he had raised himself, to be an
excuse for withholding that assistance which his
former acquaintanceship justly authorized Thelwall
to seek.
" Ovmg, near Aylesbury^ Bucks,
" My dear Sir, 27th Jan., 1832.
" Your letter of the 23rd gave me the most
sincere satisfaction. Though the busy occupations of
both our lives, and the vicissitudes of mine, have
long interrupted our intercourse, it is gratifying to
find that they have not superseded or supplanted
your sentiments of esteem and friendship towards me,
and that I still live in your remembrance in the same
hues of partiality in which heretofore I used occasion-
ally to appear in personal intercourse before you. It
is one of the best consolations of the evening of life
to find that among those of the cheerers of the
morning or the noontide hour, whom the scythe of
fate has yet spared, there are some who would still
delay the fading twilight, or brighten it by their
friendly remembrances.
252 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" The cordial manner in \vliicli you have so
promptly answered my former note (more gratifying
even than the acce^itable aceomiiaiiiment), encou-
rages me to speak "with more explicitness of the
views and objects of my present undertaking. As
far as literature and the science are concerned, these
are sufficiently explained in the printed prospectus;
but in what is more immediately personal, the plan
has originated in the advice of my friends Dr.
and IVIr. , as a means (and the only one that
could have been acceptable to me) of rendering my
remaining years independent of those vicissitudes to
which my life has hitherto been exposed, and with
which (though the elasticity of my spirit is yet un-
broken) I am not now as competent to struggle as
heretofore.
« * # ^ * -» ]3y^ j^ jg j-,Q^ ^]^g influence
of rank alone that I aspire to nor to that of party
politics. I shall be still more proud of the counte-
nance of men of science, and am therefore particu-
larly gratified that I have your name to grace my
list. And from the tenor of your very friendly
letter, I feel myself satisfied that you will not the
less willingly exert your influence in the promotion
of my undertaking from the avowal I have made of
the ultimate personal object of the plan proposed.
" Believe me, my dear Sir,
" Your's very sincerely,
"aS'?V Astley Cooper, BarC "John Thelwall.
During the remainder of this Avinter, until JNIay,
DEATH OF HIS CHILD. 253
1794, I have found no record of any circumstance
worthy of remark. All the duties of the session
appear to have been fully performed by INIr. Coojier,
and his increasing prosperity offers the best proof of
the efficacy of the means he employed, not only to
preserve, but also to increase his reputation. The
session closed with success equal to, if not beyond,
his most sanguine expectations.
Ever since the commencement of the year Mr.
Cooper had been more or less in anxiety from the ill
state of health of his daughter, disturbed by the
alternations of hope for its recovery and fear of its
loss. He felt it to be too heavy a burden u23on his
mind to take upon himself the whole responsibility
of attending the child, and he therefore consulted
his friend Dr. Lister, one of the physicians of St.
Thomas' Hospital. The attention of this gentleman
to the little patient was ever gratefully remembered
by its i^arents, and so estimated A\'as his treatment by
Sir Astley, that he ever after, during the life of Dr.
Lister, sought his professional aid, whenever he
wanted the additional advice of a physician. Dr.
Lister seemed to agree completely with Mr. Cooper
in his general view respecting the beneficial effects
of air, as well as in this particular case. In accord-
ance with these sentiments, the child was constantly
submitted to its influence; for ]\Irs. Keeling informs
me, that during the previous summer, almost every
meal, when the weather permitted, was taken in
the open air in the garden. But the tenderest
care was of no avail, for the infixnt gradually wasted,
254 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
until at last an acute attack of water in the head
coming on, it died, in the month of March, 1794, at
the early age of twenty months. The grief and disap-
pointment of the mother at her bereavement, did
not in appearance exceed, what we might naturally
expect to be excited, in one of her tender feelings,
but, it is to be lamented, was of so deep and lasting
a nature, that even time was tardy in alleviating the
bitterness of her distress.
It is matter of more surprise that the father
should not have earlier expended his grief at the
loss of a child of so young an age, employed as
he was in such a diversity of occupation, and having
for so long a period anticipated the calamity. His
feelings, however, had been most acutely wounded,
and although he would not allow his distress to deter
him from fulfilling those duties which he felt him-
self bound to perform, yet, for a length of time, it
was evident that regret for the loss he had endured,
was still uppermost in his mind: nor was it until
some months had elajised, that the reciprocal
attention of the parents, and their mutual attempt to
alleviate each other's distress, as well as a change
of scene, obtained during a short visit to Yarmouth
in September, succeeded in reducing their minds to
a state of serenity and submission. The infant was
buried in jNIr. Cock's family vault, at Tottenham
Church, but was subsequently removed to Hemel
Hempstead Church, where Sir Astley Cooper in
after life built a family vault.
We have already mentioned the foet of JNIr.
AGAIN PROFESSOR TO SURGEONS' HALL. 255
Cooper having been selected as Professor of anatomy
to the Hall of Surgeons, in the year 1793. The
election for this office took place annually, and Mr-
Cooper, on the 3rd day of July, 1794, was again
chosen to hold the same office for the ensuing
twelvemonth. At the same time he received the
gold medal which then seems to have been the only
remuneration for the services of the Professor.
This appointment he maintained until the year
179G, when he resigned it, and was succeeded by
IVIr. Thomas Blizard, of the London Hospital, a sur-
geon who at that time had already promised to rise
to the distinction which he ultimately acquired.
I feel a difficulty as to a desire to transcribe
Mr. Cooper's own words descriptive of the manner in
which he considered he had performed his duties
during the three years he held this professorship. I
hesitate because I fear I may bring upon him the
imputation of vanity; but surely a man who writes
honestly is justified in stating his own opinions
regarding himself. Neither am I one to believe
that a man, when alone, and committing to paper a
retrospective view of his own actions, and an esti-
mate of his powers, is likely to misrepresent what
he believes really to be their legitimate value; but
on the contrary, I believe he is more likely to with-
hold that just measure of praise which an observer
would m'ost readily award to him. With this con-
viction, I submit the following quotation:—
" I was appointed Professor of anatomy to the
256 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Company of Surgeons, and gave lectures on executed
persons, which Avere received with great eclat, and I
became very popular as a lecturer. The theatre
was constantly crowded, and the applause excessive.
My uncle was quite delighted, and jNlr. Cline com-
plimentary, which he seldom was."
An interesting event in the economy of my
uncle's house took place about this time, arising out
of circumstances, Avhich tended much to disturb the
degree of happiness that would have been assuredly
his share, had his wife been in a state of mind to
participate with him in the gratification inseparable
from his rapidly rising reputation. The source of j\Ir.
Cooper's domestic anxiety was the continued distress
of IVIrs. Coojier, who aj^pears not to have been able
by any effort, nor even by the warmth of feeling
with which she watched the groMing prosperity of
her husband, to avert the melancholy inijiressions in-
duced by the recollection of her lost child. Anxiously
as Mr. Cooper tried with his cheerful tone and
manner to assuage her sorrow, it was evidently too
painful an effort for her to assume a responsive
gaiety. She seemed ever to be missing something,
and all her natural serenity of mind in consequence
was lost to her.
Mrs. Cooper at this time made frequent visits
to a small cottage which she had taken at Ilornsey,
for the purpose ostensibly of attempting to fill up the
void in her thoughts occasioned by the death of her
infant, l:)y occupying herself in the simple amusements
I
MRS. COOPER. 257
which were thus offered to her; but perhaps, in truth,
in accordance with the peculiar bent of her mind, to
indulge undisturbed in her grief and disappointment.
While thus situated, she met with a source of com-
fort she had little anticipated, for circumstances
made her acquainted with a young woman in the
neighbourhood, of humble but respectable condition,
who was nursing a little girl of the precise age of
that which had so recently been removed from her
own maternal care. The ill health of this person
offered Mrs. Cooper an opportunity, under colour
of relieving the young mother of her charge, of
gratifying her own feelings in the society of this
child, whom she would nurse for hours together with
little less than maternal solicitude.
The susceptibility of Mrs. Cooper's disposition,
led her on gradually to imbibe so strong an attach-
ment for the child, as to render its absence day by
day more painful, while the occupation it afforded
her tended in a great measure to restore her to her
natural cheerfulness.
]Mr. Cooper, who used frequently to jiass the
evening at this cottage, when his engagements per-
mitted, quickly perceived the beneficial effect the
presence of this child had upon his wife's happiness,
and did all he could to encourage its visits, even
before Mrs. Cooper was aware of the extent of
influence which the simple playful manners of the
infant had exerted upon her. The illness of the
mother, and M'itli it, the ostensible reason for the
child's presence with Mrs. Cooper, continuing, they
VOL. L s
258 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
at length Mcre scarcely ever separate: until the feel-
ings, which were at first simply those of strong interest
arising out of the circumstances we have described,
became ripened into a strength of aftection little infe-
rior to that which she had felt for her own offspring.
Thus a new source of anxiety was threatened to
Mrs. Cooper, unless some project could be devised,
by which the continuance of this source of enjoy-
ment could, for some time at least, be secured to
her. It was proposed by jNIrs. Cooper, therefore,
that during the illness of the mother, the child
should be allowed to remain entirely in her
care, nor was there any difhculty anticipated in
inducing the father, a man of dissolute habits, to
accede to the proposal. JNlr. Cooper himself was
too anxious to do all in his power to gratify the
wishes of his wife, to refuse her request; and
indeed had already, unknown to her, paved the way
for this com])letion of her wishes. The mother in a
short time died, and the father, soon after this
event, readily consented to resign his child to an
adoption which, in every respect, promised advan-
tages to the adopted, such as his own position in life
could never have aflbrded.
From this period, the infant became domesti-
cated in the house of Mr. Coo])er, and was treated
lu every respect as if it had been his own daughter.
She grew up healthy and interesting, and by her
aflfection and attention to ]\Irs. Cooper, and her
general conduct, evinced the strongest desire to fulfil
every duty of a child towards its parents, and the
MRS. cooper's adopted DAUGHTER. 259
tenderest mother could but have watched with grati-
fication the virtues an hich embellished her character.
The iiitiiuacy which I have already mentioned
to have existed between Mrs. Keeling* and Mrs.
Cooper, naturally led to frequent visiting between
the two families, and thus Miss Keeling, now my
wife, became the constant associate of this adopted
daughter. The intimacy of the young people
was in a great degree confirmed by the fre-
quent visits which JNliss Keeling, from her child-
hood, was in the habit of making at my uncle's
house, and which, from the affectionate esteem
with which she was regarded both by my uncle
and aunt, were frequently protracted to periods
of long duration. ISIrs. Cooper seldom went on
any of her excursions to the various watering-
])lacos, to whicli she occasionally resortetl in the
summer, with Sarah, her adopted daughter, with^
out making JMiss Keeling a companion to her
little charge. I am thus enabled to recount many
circumstances in the life of my uncle, which would
otherwise have long since passed into oblivion, and
to maintain uninterrupted the thread of his history.
As the adopted daughter grew up towards
womanhood, she disi)layed considerable talent and
facility in acquiring the usual accomplishments
essential to a young lady's education. Her voice
was very pleasing, and her great proficiency in music
enabled her frequently to be a source of gratification
to the domestic circle of my uncle, as well as of
admiration to the occasional visitors at his house.
S2
260 LIFE OF SIR ASTLFA' COOPER.
In the year 1814 this lady was married, in conso-
nance with the Avishes of JNIr. and Mrs. Cooper, to
my friend ISIr. Parmenter ; but their happiness was
of short duration, for within a twelvemonth after
the event, Mrs. Parmenter died in giving birth to a
still-born child.
This second trial overwhelmed Mrs. Cooper with
the severest grief, and long was it before she could
bring her mind to dwell upon anything unconnected
with the disappointment she had now again received.
She almost immediately retired to Gadesbridge, an
estate which my uncle had then not long purchased,
and there she remained, with scarcely any interrup-
tion, to the period of her death.
JNIy uncle felt the necessity of a companion for
Lady Cooper during this period, as he himself was
necessarily absent the greater part of the time in
London, and he accordingly induced JNIr. Parmenter,
whom Lady Cooper regarded as her son-in-law, to
take up his residence with her at Gadesbridge. At
the same time, that JNIr. Parmenter might not con-
sider himself wholly dependent on my uncle's
bounty, or be at a loss how to employ his time, he
proposed to him to undertake the management of
his farm, an office for which he was w^ell adapted.
Here Mr. Parmenter lived until the death of Lady
Cooper : he then came to London, and occupied
himself in assisting my uncle in his anatomical and
physiological pursuits, and thus became a great
source of comfort to his patron. Of Mr. Parmenter
I shall have to speak again in the course of this
GOES TO HAMBURGH. 261
biography, when describing that period of Sir
Astley's life in which the farming of his estate
formed an important part of his occupation, as well
as towards the conclusion of his career, at which
time Mr. Parmenter saw more of him than any
of his friends and connexions.
The next circumstance worthy of note in the
history of Sir Astley Cooper was in the year 1796,
when he was called upon to act in an affair such as
he had never yet been engaged in ; indeed the
natural bent of his mind was little likely to lead
him to seek notoriety in connexion with such a trans-
action. A quarrel occurred between Lord Valentia
and Colonel Gawler, in reference to Lady Valentia.
I believe that the dispute had been nearly settled
to the satisfaction of his Lordship; but his Irish
friends considered that he could not ^\e\\ get out
of the affair without a hostile meeting. There was,
however, an objection to calling out Colonel Gawler,
as an action had already been commenced against
him by his Lordship. The Colonel's brother, Mr.
Gawler, was considered by these gentlemen as a
very fit person to become his substitute. A quarrel
was accordingly soon got up with him ; and a
meeting being determined upon, it was agreed that
it should take place at Hamburgh.
Application was made by Mr. Gawler to my
uncle to act as his surgeon on the occasion, and he
readily acceded to the proposal, being the more
inclined to do so as he had connxtions, relations of
his wife, at Hamburgh. Mr. Gawler and his party
262 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
proceeded to Hamburgh l\y the packet, and remained
two or three days waiting the arrival of Lord Valen-
tia and his friends wlio came by tlie next packet.
During this interval, INIr. Gawler accidentally
met his friend Colonel R of the Guards, who
had often been engaged in transactions of this nature.
They had some conversation upon duelling and
the use of pistols, when the Colonel significantly
asked INIr. Gawler Avhether he intended to kill
Lord Valentia. To this ]Mr. Gawler rejilied, " Cer-
tainly, it is not my intention, but I should wish to
hit him, so as make him cry out. Hold — enough;"
upon which the Colonel said, "Then desire your
second only to put in half the usual charge of
powder." This order was accordingly given.
The meeting took place at a short distance from
the city. The opponents were placed at the distance
of twelve paces, and they fired together. Lord
^''alentia immediately exclaimed, but without falling,
"I am hit." IVIr. Gawler's second asked where,
upon which Lord Valentia threw l)ack his coat, and
showed his neck and shirt covered with blood.
]Mr. Cooper of course rendered his assistance in
co-operation with Lord Valentia's medical attendant,
and by his tact and presence of mind, at once so
completely gained his Lordship's confidence, that he
was requested by him to remain and continue his
services professionally. On examination, JVIr. Cooper
found that the ball had struck just below the collar
bone, and having taken a glancing direction, had
cut its way out after running round in the course of
SUFFERS FROM SEA SICKNESS. 263
the second rib. Had the pistol been charged as
usual, the ball in all probability would have passed
directly onward, and the result must have been
almost inevitably fatal. JMr. Gawler, when he
saw my uncle's finger passed up to the knuckle
in the wound in searching for the ball, supposed,
from the apparent depth, that Lord Valentia's
danger must be imminent ; and he and his secondj
therefore, thought it necessary immediately to make
their escape into the Danish territory This,
after a tedious walk of several hours, not knowing
their direct road, they at length reached. The
wound did not prove to be dangerous; and Mr.
Cooper accordingly in a short time had the oppor-
tunity of rejoining his friends, and he returned
with them to England. ]\Iy uncle's conduct on this
occasion has been described to me, as being remark-
ably conspicuous for its kindness and feeling, united
with the most perfect self-possession and decision in
the field.
During the voyage homeward, their small vessel
encountered a severe gale, and Mr. Cooper became
extremely ill. A circumstance here occurred which
remarkably confirms the well-known truth, that the
boldest occasionally have their moments of fear.
He, who had been from his boyhood distinguished
for his courage and daring, and had only within a few
days before presented an example of firmness of
character; now, on meeting with the common dan-
ger of a stormy passage, became singularly alarmed
and almost panic-stricken. His terror, acting on a
264 LIFE or SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
frame weakened by the depressing influence of
sea-sickness, actually produced delirium, and the
expressions of extreme alarm and apprehension
Mhich then escaped from him, long- d^elt in the
memories of those who accompanied him. Such a
dread had my uncle ever after of a sea voyage, that
I have frequently heard him say, " not the riches of
the Indies should ever again induce me to make a
longer voyage than from Dover to Calais;" and in all
his subsequent visits to the Continent, he invariably
proceeded by that route.
The notes in his journal of a tour to Switzer-
land, up the Rhine, as late as 1834, still evince his
timidity and abhorrence of the sea. On this occasion
he stopped at Dover five days waiting for what he
considered to be favourable weather, and during that
time he examined with much care the different
qualities of the boats, and at length made choice of
a Government vessel as the best fitted to encounter
the passage.
His feelings on this subject led him minutely to
note the conduct of others on these, to him, fearful
occasions. In this Journal he remarks:
" Monday, IQfh. — I did not like the appearance
of the Royal George steam-boat, for it was less and
not so well formed as the others. She went out with-
out us and soon returned, having broken her main
axle. Mrs. Marcet was on board, but so soon as
she returned, she went on board the Britannia steam-
boat, and crossed with her usual magyianimity and
courage, although she suffered from sea-sickness."
EXTRACT FROM HIS JOURNAL. 265
Many other siicli instances of his attention
to this subject exist in his journals. In the note-
book from wliich the above extract Avas made, he
has written the following dialogue. It occurs upon
his return from Calais to Dover.
" We had a miserable passage over, the wind
blew excessively hard, and almost all were sick.
The cabin looked as if strewed with dead bodies, &c.
" Lady Cooper was ill. The behaviour of the
steward was attentive and kind, in the greatest
degree. He told fifty white lies to inspire Lady
Cooper and the other passengers with confidence. —
" Ladi/ C. I am afraid we shall have a rough
passage.
" liandal. A beautiful passage, my lady.
" Lady C. How soon shall we be over?
" R. In three hours, my lady.
" Lady C. Are we almost arrived?
" R. Why, we have been out only half an hour,
my lady.
" Lady C. It is very rough.
" R. She pitches a little now we are in mid-
channel, my lady.
" Lady C. But it is really very rough.
" R. It is a beautiful passage, my lady.
" R. Sir Astley sends you Avord, my lady, that
we are now half way over.
" Lady C I knew that half an hour ago.
" Lady C. We have been out two hours, how
soon shall we be at Dover?
266 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" R. Not quite yet, my lady.
" Ladi/ C. Is there no danger ?
" R. Not the least, my lady.
" At length, after four hours and a half, we
arrived safely in port."
The aboA'e dialogue offers a good example, no
less of his ability in giving a graphic description by
a few words, than of the tone of feeling to which
we have alluded.
Ills REMOVAL FROM JEFFRIES SQUARE. 2G7
CHAPTER XY.
Mr. Cooper removes from Jeffries Square to St. Mary
Axe, A.D. 1797- Mr. John Saunders. Letter from JMr.
Cooper to this Gentleman. Extracts from Sir Astley
Cooper's I\Iemoranda. Mr. Cooper meets with a Se-
rious Accident. Quotations from Mrs. Cooper's Letters
IN reference to this Occurrence. Medical Records
AND Researches. Mr. Cooper's Dkbut as an Author.
Character of Mr. Cooper's Essays. The Edinburgh
Club. Internal Economy of this Association. History
of the Club.
Towards the latter end of the year 1797, IMr.
Cooper left Jeffries Square, and took np his resi-
dence at No. 12, St. Mary Axe. jNlr. Cline had
occupied this house for a long time, but, having
determined to move westward, he left it in the
autumn of this year, and took a house in Lincoln's
Inn Fields. Before leaving St. INIary Axe, JMr.
Cline strongly advised his young colleague to become
the new occupant of his late residence.
I have fortunately, through the kindness of my
friend Dr. Farre, the means of publishing, in JMr.
Cooper's own words, the considerations which weighed
with him in his determination to remove to this situ-
ation. The account occurs in the course of a long
letter from JMr. Cooper to JMr. Saunders, without
written date, but bearing the Barnstaple post mark,
September IG, 1797.
2G8 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Mr. Cooper writes : —
" Mr. Cline is going to the other end of the
town, and has left me his house in the city, which I
feel myself strongly disposed to take. It is well
calculated for private practice, and has also a large
warehouse attached to it, which will make a most
admirable dissecting room. I already, prompted by
fancy, figure to myself the effect of our united
labours in this most convenient place."
JNIr. John Cunningham Saunders, well known as
the founder of the Infirmary in Moorfields for curing
Diseases of the Eye, at the time when Mr. Cooper
addressed to him the letter containing this passage,
was a student at the Hospital, Avliose diligence and
attention had particularly attracted his notice.
Having served an apprenticeship of five years in the
country, he came to London, entered upon his
studies at Guy's and St. Thomas's Ilosjiitals, and at
once devoted himself, with the greatest assiduity, to
the science of anatomy. That his labours were not
unattended with distinguished notice and reward
will be best shewn by other extracts from the same
letter. At the time this was written (1797) Mr.
Saunders had been a hospital student only the short
period of two years.
" Dear Sir,
" I ought long since to have informed you of
my plan for the winter, so far as it concerns you, and
as I have been able to decide.
" It is my wish that you should lodge and board
LETTER TO MR. SAUNDERS. 269
in my house. I have already informed you that I
live in a plain and economical style, and that you
are only to expect a joint of meat and a pudding ;
if this will satisfy you, a bed will be ready whenever
you return to London.
" I can say nothing about the salary you are to
receive, for I have not been able to form any idea of
what will be proper, or how much you would expect ;
all I can say is, that the sum shall be annually in-
creased, which, at the same time as it may act as a
stimulus to you, and make it an object to proceed in
your career, will be more convenient to myself,
because, if no stroke of adverse fortune prevents it,
my income must be yearly improving.
" It is my wish that you should dissect for lecture-
work in Comparative Anatomy, and assist me in
making preparations. With respect to the first of
these, the labour is certain, and all other occupations
and objects must yield to it ; with regard to the
latter, the quantum of employ shall be guided by
your feelings. It is a duty I have myself performed,
without injury to my health, with much amusement,
and great advantage.
" I am in hopes that you will have no objection
to giving me three months' information if any other
pursuit should lead you to quit the situation, as
otherwise, I may be unable to procure a substitute,
and sufter great inconvenience from the want of one.
******
" I never write a very legible hand, and am now
writing, or rather blurring, with a pen split to the
270 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
feathers : I fear it may require more tliaii the time
which remains to you iu the country to (leci])her
this letter.
" You may rest assured that I am, dear sir,
" Your very sincere friend,
" AsTLEY Cooper."
Mr. Saunders, immediately after his return to
town, undertook the duties mentioned in this letter,
and was shortly afterwards appointed Demonstrator
of Anatomy at St. Thomas's Hospital*. He con-
tinued thus occupied, without any interruption, until
his resignation in the year 1801.
Mr. Cooper was induced to appoint ]\fr. Saun-
ders his Demonstrator, not only on account of the
great attention which he had jmid to the subject of
anatomy, but also on account of a jieculiar ability
which he j^ossessed of illustrating whatever he wished
to express, by means of sketches of a most effective
character.
Mr. Battley informs me, that on the days on
which Mr. Cline lectured, Mr. Cooper was in the
habit of going into the dissecting-room, where he
could undisturbed, as all the pupils were at JMr.
Cline's lecture, look over the subjects which were
in progress of dissection ; and frequently in this
manner did he discover some important facts which
miffht otherwise have been overlooked. ]\lr. Saun-
ders was generally his chosen companion upon these
* Sec a Treatise on Diseases of the Eye by John Saunders,
&c. Edited by J. R. Farrc, M.D., page 7-
ANECDOTE. 271
occasions, and Mr. Battley, and Mr. Dease, (a
gentleman who became afterwards an eminent sur-
geon in Dublin,) well knowing the value of these
undisturbed conferences, usually remained in the
dissecting-room, and partook of the advantages they
offered. Their discussion mostly commenced upon
some part exposed by dissection, and as it continued,
Saunders would generally contrive to get to the
fire-place, and then witl? the jjoker, a piece of burnt
stick, or some such rude substitute for a better im-
plement, he would make a rough sketch of the rela-
tive position of the organs in explanation of his
views as to their function, with such mathematical
accuracy as quite to astonish Mr. CoojDer; who,
although he might not yield his point of dispute,
still envied this accomplishment of his adversary.
Thus it was, that INlr. Cooper was led to determine,
if possible, to secure Mr. Saunders as Demonstrator
to the school, a situation which he himself was
at that time anxious to resign. Mr. Saunders had
acquired his facility and precision of delineation,
not merely from being by nature a young man of
accurate observation, but also from long-continued
emjiloyment of diagrams in his mathematical stu-
dies, — in which branch of science he had made a
considerable proficiency.
The expectations of Mr. Cooper were not disap-
pointed ; for his selection of Mr. Saunders for this
office proved no less agreeable to himself personally,
than advantageous to the pupils. On several occa-
sions, when Mr. Cooper went into Norfolk, Mr.
272 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Saunders took the charge of his patients during his
absence. This gentleman afterwards occupied a very
prominent position in his profession, and acquired
considerable reputation in practice ; and his name
will again occur in the course of these memoirs.
In referring, in his memoranda, to the change in
his residence which I have already described, Sir
Astley mentions a curious anecdote. " When I
went into St. Mary Axe,"' he says, " I was sent for
by a JNIr. Woodyer, wlio succeeded me in Jeffries
Square, on account of a viper making its appearance
before the fire at breakfast time, for I had kept many
snakes, vipers, and frogs, to watch them through the
winter ; and one of them, which had escaped, roused
by the warmth, had crawled out and excited great
terror. I quieted his fears by thus accounting for
its appearance ; and he no longer retained his suspi-
cions of the probability of the frequent occurrence of
such visits."
Upon establishing himself in his new house, IVIr.
Cooper indulged the hope of deriving some benefit
from such patients as were in the habit of coming
to jNIr. Cline's, and who would now consult the
new occupier rather than be obliged to take the
lengthened walk to his new residence. One of the
first patients, however, who sought his advice under
these circumstances, gave him a hint that lie was not
to fancy, that with Mr. Cline's house, he was at once
to gain Mr. Cline's fees.
" Soon after I got into my new residence," Sir
Astley relates, " a patient gave me a half-guinea,
I
MEETS WITH A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. 273
saying, ' I gave Mr. Cline a guinea, but, as you were
his apprentice, I suppose half-a-guinea will do for
you.' INIr. Cline made it a rule to take whatever
was offered him ; so I did not refuse the proffered
fee."
In the year 1798, Mr. Cooper met with a severe
injury, which indeed threatened to be attended with
the most serious consequences. He, himself, for
some time, possessed a firm conviction that it would
prove fatal.
The accident occurred in consequence of a fall
from his horse. He was, at this time, in the habit
of taking horse exercise early in the morning, which
he always esteemed as the most valuable preventive
of disease to persons, whose occupations necessarily
deprived them of the benefits of other bodily exer-
tion. \J\)on such an occasion, when riding one
of his carriage horses, the animal proving not
very sure-footed, fell, and threw Mr. Cooper on
his head. He was taken home, and JNIr. Cline was
immediately in attendance upon him, and to his care
and attention jMr. Cooper, in all probability, owed
his recovery. INIr. Battley, whose abilities as a
chemist have long been publicly known, and to
whom I have previously alluded, acted under Mr.
Cline's directions in preparing and carrying into
effect his prescriptions throughout this illness, and
he informs me, that the affection was a severe con-
cussion of the brain, attended with a high degree of
constitutional irritation. jNIr. Cooper was confined
to liis room for five or six weeks.
VOL. I. T
274 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
The letters from Yarmouth to Mrs. Astley
Cooper, dmiiig the progress of this illness, exhibit
the greatest anxiety on the part of Mr. Cooper's
friends and relations. I select some extracts
from two of his mother's letters, — one, written to
liimself, just prior to his recovery, the other, to
her daughter-in-law. They abound with the most
expressive feeling and maternal solicitude, and are
highly characteristic of the tenderness of disposition
which her letters so constantly exemplify.
" My dearest, my inestimable Daughter,
" How does your each successive letter relieve
my heart and increase my aftection ! O may each
day bring with it a portion of renovated health and
strength to your loved patient, to whom your tender,
ever-anxious solicitude must have inexpressibly
endeared you, as his sufferings must have augmented
your affection. IMay you enjoy many, many happy
years together, blessed, and making blest !
" I have at last imj)arted our dear Astley's illness
to your excellent father, who received the intelli-
gence of his danger, and of his convalescence, with
tears of blended sorrow and joy. I did not mention
the accident, but i\\Q fever. We both join in fervent
prayers for our dear son's perfect recovery, and in
assurances, that if the journey be not too long, and
the season not too far advanced, we shall be haj^py
in receiving both you and him, and in contributing,
by every attention in our power, to his re-established
health.
EXTRACTS FROM MRS. COOPER's LETTERS. 275
" Family parties, and a few intimates, comprise
our circle of visitors. I think and hope your dear
father's health is rather increased than diminished,
and his spirits are charmingly serene. We rejoice
in your astonishingly siqyported health, and supplicate
for its continuance.
*****
" Heaven bless ye both, restore you to health,
my dearest Astley, and preserve to you, my best
beloved daughter, this and every other blessing,
pray,
" Your ever most tenderly affectionate parents,
" S. Cooper. INI. S. Cooper.
''Oct.21sf, 1798.
" Your dear father most affectionately thanked
me for not disclosing our Astley's alarming state
sooner."
The letter, from which the following is selected,
is directed to ^Ir. Cooper, and dated Oct. 29tli : —
"I cannot express the exquisite pleasure your
good father and I felt, my ever dearest Astley, at
the sight of your well known characters, and on
perusing the contents of- your letter. How do our
hearts overflow with thankfulness for your preserva-
tion ! May you ever, my dear son, retain a grateful
sense of the mercies you have received, and prove
your gratitude by an ever-actuating piety !
" Your father now knows of your accident; the
hair-dresser, who did not know it was intended to
bo a secret, mentioned it to him, but in the happy
T 2
27G LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
state of convalescence in which you now are, it only
tended to increase his thankfulness. You have
indeed a treasure in your inestimable Anna : never,
I believe, did any one ever possess such a fund of
exquisite tenderness. Self was banished from her
thoughts, she lived only in you. Heaven be praised
that you are restored to her prayers. ]\Iay you live
many, many happy years together ! Mr. Cline's
parental attentions to you excite our warmest grati-
tude. We send, &c. * # * Your brothers
and sisters were all with us when we received your
letter, and it was a subject of universal joy. Must
we not hope to see you till next year ?
" Our kindest regards ever attend you, my dear-
est Astley, with the most fervent wishes and jn-ayers
for your perfectly restored health and strength.
Assure my beloved daughter she is dearer to me
than ever, and believe me to be hers and yours,
" Ever most tenderly affectionate mother,
" M. S. Cooper.
''Oct. 2m, 1798."
" You apologize for bad writing. We all agreed
your letter was U7UisuaIl^ well written."
My friend Dr. Farre tells me that Sir Astley,
in conversation with him one day, alluded to this
illness for the purpose of exemjjlifying the remark-
able san^ froid of JMr. Cline. Mr. Cooper was one
morning after the accident, when in the full belief
that he was about to die, lamenting to Mr. Cline
the event, not so much on his own account as
EXTRACT FROM DR. FARRE's LETTER. 277
because it arrested a train of professional inquiry
in which he was then engaged, and which he thought
would prove of the highest public benefit. " Make
yourself quite easy, my friend," replied Mr. Cline,
" the result of your disorder, whether fatal or other-
wise, will not be thought of the least consequence
by mankind." The eager aspiring ambition of the
young patient, and the calm i)hiIosophic coolness of
his j)receptor, form a curious contrast, — but at the
same time the anecdote exhibits feelings highly
characteristic of each of the two parties.
The letter of Dr. Farre to me concluded with
the following remark: —
' ' Perhaps some interesting discussions between
INIr. Abernethy and your uncle, which are reported
to have excited great interest about the time of
your uncle's accident, and to have been continued
with great animation for three successive nights, I
think at the Physical Society of Guy's Hospital, may
throw further light on the subject."
The books of this Society about this period have
been accordingly examined, but no report of such
a discussion was met with, nor indeed did it
appear, that Mr. Abeniethy was ever an attendant
at its meetings.
Upon subsequent inquiry however, I have found
Dr. Farre to be correct in his suggestions as to
these discussions having taken place at the Physical
Society of Guy's Hospital. A gentleman who was
l)resent on each of the three nights on which tlie
278 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
subject was debated, and who took part in the dis-
cussion, informs me, that JNIr. Cooper, maintaining
opinions very dilferent from those hekl by INIr. Aber-
nethy as to the treatment of injuries of the head,
invited him, by a sort of challenge, to come to Guy's
and publicly discuss the question. An evening was
accordingly fixed, and it being generally known that
such an encounter was about to take place, the
theatre was crowded to the ceiling with the pupils
of the rival professors. The discussion was carried
on with the greatest spirit by the adherents of the
two parties, and having been adjourned on two suc-
cessive Saturday evenings, terminated on the third
Saturday, as preconcerted public contests of this
nature generally do, by each party being more
strongly convinced than ever of the truth of his
own previous views.
INIr. Cooper does not apjiear to have visited
Yarmouth this autumn, but, as soon as his health
permitted, seems to have at once resumed his duties
at the hospital, and to have devoted himself to pri-
vate practice, and the scientific occupations in M'hich
he was engaged at home, which were chiefly anato-
mical investigations.
In addition to the various means of increasing
his professional knowledge to which we have already
adverted, JVIr. Cooper had adopted another plan,
which not only in the furtherance of medical, but
almost of all other sciences, has been found of essen-
tial benefit, — private discussion.
Mr. Cooper at an early period had seen the
HIS DEBUT AS AN AUTIIOK. 279
advantages which were likely to accrue from this
source; and indeed, soon after he had commenced
the lectures at 8t. Thomas's Hospital, had been
mainly instrumental in promoting the formation of a
private Society of persons connected with the insti-
tution, for the purpose of detailing to each other,
accounts of any remarkable cases that might come
before their notice. Brief reports of these cases,
fitted either for reference or statistical inquiry,
were entered in a book kept for the purpose by a
secretary.
The papers of this Society having at last accu-
mulated to a considerable extent, and many of them
being of an interesting nature, it was determined to
submit a portion of them to the public. For this
purpose Mr. Astley Cooper, Dr. Haighton, and Dr.
Babington, were selected as joint editors in the
undertaking, and this event was soon followed by
the publication of a very interesting volume under
the title of " Medical Records and Researches," com-
prehending papers on thirteen different medical and
surgical subjects, and accompanied by several elabo-
rate engravings. This work appeared in the year
1798. Of the articles contained in this volume,
two were original Essays hj Mr. Cooper, and three
other papers were the productions of professional
men practising in the country, and communicated
by him to the Society. The remainder consisted of
papers by Dr. Haighton and Dr. Babington, or com-
munications through them from their professional
friends. The value of the papers which were written
280 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
by Mr. Cooper Avill be more appropriately discussed
elsewhere, but even to the unprofessional reader it
cannot fail to be an object of interest, to learn the
circumstances which led to his debut as an author,
and the tenor of mind which he exhibits in the
pursuit of his subject.
It is the characteristic of an acute intelligent
observer to perceive the importance of phenomena,
which, to the ordinary man, appear of a trifling;
nature, or at most call forth but a passing remark
or exclamation of surprise; but it imjjlies a mind
possessed of still higher qualities, when, by dili-
gently pursuing and carefully investigating such
circumstances, the observer elicits, or strives to do
so, conclusions which may be converted to a general
and beneficial application.
Such a constitution of mind, such diligence and
perseverance in pursuit, such care and research,
do these papers show ISIr. Cooper to have possessed,
as is jiroved by the circumstance which originated
his first Essay.
A subject is brought for dissection to St.Thomas's
Hospital, and is examined by Mr. Cooper; he dis-
covers an unusual and diseased condition of certain
parts of the body, the integrity of which are essen-
tial to health; a careful and minute inspection of
them is instituted by him, and the facts observed
are accurately noted down. In order to learn the
origin and developement of the disease, an inquiry as
to the neighbourhood from which the subject was pro-
cured is made, and after much diflficulty discovered.
CHARACTER OP^ HIS ESSAYS. 281
At length he obtains with as much accuracy as
possible the history of the symptoms which attended
the patient during life, and those Mhicli were exhi-
bited during the illness immediately preceding her
death. These being com})ared with the appearances
first noticed, he thus establishes a guide for the sur-
geon, in future to detect and recognise the exist-
ence of a similar disease, should it be presented to
his notice, and the indications of its treatment are
by these means deduced and determined.
Such was Mr. Cooper's course of scientific pursuit
in investigating this case, which, had it come before
the notice of the majority of jiersons young as he
Avas in medical science, would probably have been
regarded only as a simple fact, and not have led
to any scrupulous investigation of the manner in
which important organs were capable of performing
their functions under such peculiarities of mal-
formation.
The second Essay exhibits this disposition for
thorough investigation, more fully than that to
which we have already alluded. His attention was
first called to the subject on which it treats as early
as the year 1789, while making some anatomical
examinations. From this time he continued looking
for and watching cases bearing on the same subject,
and ultimately succeeded in demonstrating a beau-
tiful provision of nature in case of a diseased
condition in a certain jiart of her economy. To
determine more fully the circumstances in connection
with this fact, he pursued his investigation, and insti-
282 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
tilted a series of experiments on the lower animals,
by which he was led to physiological conclusions of
considerable importance.
Even his method of performing these experi-
ments exhibits the attention which he bestowed on
every point, and shows how little he cared to spare
either time or trouble, if only by such means he
expected to attain the sought-for object. In the
case in point, before attempting experiments on the
living animal which others before him had tried, but
in vain, he first by dissection and careful examina-
tion of the dead, studied accurately the relative situ-
ation of the i)arts he was about to experiment upon,
and was thus enabled eventually to succeed in his
endeavours. It was always by means of such a
careful mode of proceeding, and such patient and
persevering application, that Astley Cooper achieved
the imi)ortant discoveries, by which he has built for
himself so high a reputation.
These Essays being entirely scientific, have no
pretensions to literary style; it is sufficient to say that
the descriptions are accurate, the language simple
but expressive, and the arrangement orderly and
clear. Whether the mode in which the work was
published was found to be too expensive, or that it
did not at the time meet with due encouragement
from the i)rofession, is uncertain ; but the publica-
tion o these papers commenced and ended with this
volume.
Another Society, and one of a somewhat more
extensive character than the former, was instituted
I
THE EDINBURGH CLUB. 283
in the early part of the year 1800, and perhaps had
a share in taking away the interest of JNIr. Cooper
from the association just mentioned. This was
the Edinburgh Club, so termed because its mem-
bers consisted only of gentlemen who had, at some
period of their professional education, studied at
Edinburgh. They Avere at first very limited in
number, there being only ten or twelve friends in
the association. Their object in thus uniting, was
not only to maintain the friendly feelings Avhicli
their profession and common place of education
induced among them, but also to add to their
general stock of knowledge by reading papers, com-
paring notes, by the formation and examination of
anatomical preparations, and friendly discussion.
They also sought, by mutual co-operation and assist-
ance, to i^romote any professional undertakings in
which a fellow-member might be at the time
eno-Rofed.
Their meetings were held at monthly intervals,
at each other's houses in succession, and their usual
plan of proceeding was the following. After tea,
which repast was always at half-past seven o'clock*
minor points of business, such as balloting for a new
member, &c., were first disposed of. These having been
concluded, each in turn exhibited some anatomical
or other preparation, which he had brought with him,
and gave an account of its histoiy, or what it was
supposed to exemplify. If any difference of opinion
arose from the consideration of these specimens, the
matter was argued generally by the meeting. Occa-
284 LIIE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
sionally set papers "svere read, and the subjects on
which tliey treated were also discussed. JVIinutes
of the transactions and discussions were regularly-
made by the secretary, and this business being
concluded, they adjourned at ten o'clock to sup-
per ; always, by their regulations, a cold one. The
only stimulating beverage permitted to be drank on
these occasions was, strangely enough for a society
of medical men, the not very wholesome one of
cold punch.
Although the members often remained at the
meetings until a very late hour, the time was
wholly, with the exception of that spent at the meals
described, devoted to business; no cards or other
kind of amusement being permitted to be intro-
duced. The disputation Avas carried on in a free
familiar manner, without even the formality of elect-
ing a chairman or president. Sometimes subjects
of general science were mooted, but the discussion
was usually confined to medical topics. Visitors
were admitted to the meetings.
Through the kindness of my friend Dr. Yelloly,
one of its founders, I am enabled to give a detailed
account of the history of this club.
Dr. Yelloly writes : " Dr. Thos. Arch. Murray,
the son of Dr. Murray of Norwich, may be consi-
dered as the founder of the Edinburgh Club. Tn
the year 1800 poor INIurray, after being three or
four years settled in Norwich, came to London, and
was colleague to Dr. AMllan in the Public Dispen-
THE EDINBURGH CLUB. 285
sary. He suggested to myself and Dr. INIarcet,
(that being the order in which he spoke to us,) to
unite in forming a little monthly club of good fel-
lowship, in which we cordially joined. AVe spoke
to your uncle, who was always much attached to
Edinburgh, and although it was some years previ-
ously to any of us being at Edinburgh that he was
a student there, he at once became a member.
Then, if I mistake not, followed Charles Aikin, Dr.
Frampton, Dr. Young, and Dr. Webbe.
" Dr. Murray's brother, a solicitor, had removed
with him to London, and lived in Greville Street,
and our first meeting was there ; Mr. Charles Mur-
ray being an honorary member when the club met
at his brother's house. Dr. ^Murray was Secretary.
In matters of election one black ball excluded.
Cards were printed with a blank for date, &c., and
Murray sent them out a week or ten days before
the time of meeting. The hours of attendance were
convenient, for if any member had a dinner engage-
ment he could come late, so that our attendance was
usually very good. Murray died of typhus fever at
the Fever Institution, in about two years, and I
succeeded him as Secretary. About this time we
were joined by Dr. Farre, JNIr. Travers, Dr. Pell,
Dr. Bateman, and Dr. Curry.
" Dr. Young soon went abroad, and did not join
us again. Dr. AYebbe settled in the country, having
been physician to the Finsbury Dispensary. Dr.
Roget and Dr. Birkbeck joined us when they came
to live in town ; and also Dr. Wenthrip, who went
286 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
to Tuiibiidge Wells. Dr. Richard Bright and Dr.
Gooch Avere also members of the club ; but at pre-
sent I do not recollect the names of any others.
Some years after the formation of the ISIedical and
Chirurgical Society we became acquainted Mith
some very valual^le members of that Society, whom
it Mas important to have as members of our Club;
particularly Lawrence, and I think George Young
and others. They, however, had not studied in
Edinburgh, and in order to obtain their admission
among us, we changed our name to the JSIedical
and Chirurgical Club.
" Every medical foreigner of distinction used
regularly to visit us. Dr. Franck makes honourable
mention of us ; and I wish I had kept a list of our
visitors: Professor Berzelius, Professor Pictet, Pro-
fessor Franck, Dr. Wyllie, Dr. Hamel, were amongst
the number. The last-named I saw only two or
three years since in London."
REVIEW OF HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER. 287
CHAPTER XVI.
Review of Mr. Cooper's Professional Career prior to
THE year 1800. His Position in Public Estimation.
His Professional Income. Resignation op Mr. Wil-
liam Cooper. The Candidates for his Situation.
Curious Document. Mr. Harrison's Explanation op
IT, AND Account of the Change in Mr. Cooper's
Political Feelings. Mr. Cooper appointed Surgeon
op Guy's Hospital. Anecdotes of Mr. William Cooper.
Characters and Anecdotes of his Colleagues in Guy's
AND St. Thomas's Hospitals. Dr. Curry. Dr. Roots'
Communication in reference to Mr. Cooper's Succes-
sion TO THE Surgeoncy of Guy's Hospital.
The important period when Mr. Cooper was elected
surgeon to Guy's Hospital now draws nigh, but before
describing this event and the interesting circum-
stances with which it was attended, it will be well
perhaps to take a general review of his previous
professional career, and his position at this period.
In doing so we cannot but note, how steadily and
progressively he had been advancing towards the
great object of his ambition — professional reputation.
We observe from the very moment of his crossing
the threshold of professional practice in 1791, a
fixed resolution to achieve advancement by his
own exertions ; and that he might effect this, he
would not suffer himself to be interrupted either
by the political sentiments which he had imbibed,
and which hurried many others of less steady princi-
288 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEV COOPER.
pies to ruin or disgrace: or by domestic events, though
many of them had been of the most serious charac-
ter: or even by the calls of pleasure or indulgence,
however inviting, prone as he was by nature to yield
to such temptations; but we see throughout one
undeviating system of industrious application of his
time.
There were no qualities, not omitting even the
high gifts of genius, which Sir Astley Cooper seemed
to regard as more desirable or commendable in pro-
fessional men, than industry and personal investiga-
tion. The words in which he describes, in one of
his notes, the existence of these qualities in John
Hunter, will exhibit his opinions on this subject with
the greatest clearness.
" JNIr. Hunter was, as Lavater said, a man ivho
tlwiiglit for Jiimself, but he was more ; lie was the
most industrious man that ever lived. He worked
from six in the morning till twelve o'clock at night,
and sometimes later.
" He would stand over the most minute object
for three or four hours before breakfast, dissecting
and exploring it. His vast museum is a proof of
what industry can accomplish, for it contains matter
for seven years' investigation.
" He worked at each thing for himself, although
he might have lieard about it by his brother's lec-
tures, or by men who read for him.
" I went with him to the dissection of a whale,
and lie examined every part for himself, caring
HIS POSITION IN PUBLIC ESTIMATION. 289
nothing about dirt or trouble, and taking out parts
of the animal for minute subsequent examination."
Among those who were best able to estimate
Mr. Cooper's worth, his indefatigable perseverance
had long since rendered him conspicuous; and he
was regarded not only with the interest which
attends those who have confessedly done well, but
M'ith the expectation of his achieving still greater
things, and soon taking a high rank among the
eminent of his profession. He was already esteemed
one of the most excellent anatomists of his day, as
well as one of the best instructors in the science.
The attendance on his surgical lectures had been
gradually increasing, and the study of surgery, as
now conducted, formed the most important subject
treated in the school. He had already appeared as
an Author, and the abilities he had displayed, the
scientific manner in which he had pursued his in-
quiries, together Avith his well-knoAvn zeal, industry,
and fondness for anatomical and physiological re-
search, all gave a promise of future contributions
from his pen, calculated to advance the science of
his profession, and to afford proportionate advantages
to the public who sought its aid.
Still it is a singular fact, that, although among
his professional brethren he had by this time taken
so high a standing, neither this circumstance, nor
the many favourable qualities which he possessed for
ingratiating himself with others, — his commanding
figure and deportment, and agreeable manners, — had
VOL. I. TJ
290 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
yet brought him into the confidence of the public as a
professional adviser. The income which he derived
from private practice, even at the period ^vhen he
was elected Surgeon of Guy's Hospital, was very
inconsiderable; by no means such as his position at
the hospital and Surgeon's Hall, and the numerous
attendance at his house of the poorer classes of
patients, would have led us to expect. His receipts
during these early years of his practice, of which he
has left an account, exhibit a steady and, compara-
tively sjDeaking, a considerable increase in his pro-
fessional income, but at the same time form a
remarkable contrast with the large sums which
he afterwards annually derived in the same pursuits.
"My receipt," says he, "for the first year was 5/. 5^.;
the second, 26/.; the third, 04/.; the fourth, 96/.;
the fifth, 100/.; the sixth, 200/.; the seventh, 400/.;
the eighth, 610/.; the ninth," (the year he was
appointed surgeon to the hospital,) "1100/." He
himself appends a remark, which sufiiciently shows
his feeling on this subject: — "although I was a
lecturer all the time on anatomy and surgery."
For the last year or two he had been paying
marked attention, not only to his more important
duties as a lecturer, but to all the minor concerns
which his position at the hospital devolved on him.
He was, in all probability, aware of his uncle's inten-
tion of retiring in a short time from his situation as
Surgeon; and was at once prompted by his ambition
for professional distinction to seek the succcssorship.
And indeed the strength of his position in the hos-
MR. WILLI A]\r COOPER. 291
pital, as well from the situations he held in it, as
from his general reputation, might very naturally
give rise to such a desire.
He does not appear, however, to have received any
encouragement or assistance towards the attainment
of his object from his uncle, Mr. William Cooper:
on the contrary, indeed, it was generally supposed
by the friends of IMr. Astley Cooper of that period,
that this gentleman favoured the views of one of
the other candidates in opposition to those of his
nephew. Mr. William Cooper had not been able
to control a certain degree of feeling at the invi-
dious distinction which was occasionally raised
between himself and his nephew, from the high cha-
racter and fame of the latter in the profession gene-
rally, but especially from his extreme popularity
among the hospital students. He felt piqued also
at the superior respect "which liis nephew invariably
exhibited for the professional attainments of Mr.
Cline, and the preference which, ever since the
transference of his articles from his uncle to that
gentleman, he had manifested towards St. Thomas's
Hospital ; for although the two hospitals were at
this time united, there was always a certain degree
of rivaliy existing between the professional staff
attached to each. To the influence of these feelings
upon the mind of Mr. William Cooper, was gene-
rally attributed his indifference, if not opposition,
to the succession of his nephew Astley to the office
which he himself was about to vacate.
Many of Mr. Astley Cooper's friends, how-
U 2
292 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
ever, had already fixed upon him as the future
Surgeon, and even the Treasurer appears to liave
regarded hmi as the most fitted professionally for
the situation; for, during the years 1798 and 1799,
he had several interviews vidth him, and expressed
the gratification it would afford him to witness a
change in his political associations and opinions.
Such then was the position of Astley Cooper when
the anticipated resignation of his uncle, IVIr. William
Cooper, actually occurred, and caused the vacancy
in the situation, which he had so long creditably
filled, as Surgeon to Guy's Hospital. In addition to
Mr. Astley Cooper, three other candidates for the
office simultaneously arose. Two only of these had
been regularly educated and attached to the hos-
pital: ]\Ir. Buckle, avIio had for some years been
serving in the army; Mr. Whitfield, a brother of
Mr. Whitfield, then the apothecary to St. Thomas's
Hospital; the third candidate being ]Mr. Norris, who
had never been an articled pupil to any of the sur-
geons of either Institution.
The last-mentioned gentleman, however, not-
withstanding his want of the support which their
connexion with the hospital afforded to the others,
seems to have been the most formidable of Astley
Cooper's opponents, owing to the strenuous ex-
ertions which jMr. Warner, who was closely attached
to his interest, made in his favour. JMr. AVarner
had for some time been paving the way for his
occupying the vacancy as soon as it occurred, by
taking every means of introducing and putting him
CANDIDATE FOR THE SURGEONCY AT GUY's. 293
forward at tlie hospital, and even by not unfre-
quently deputing liim, when he himself was absent,
to visit and attend his jiatients.
While, however, these gentlemen were relying
on their age, — for they Avere all considerably Mr.
Cooper's seniors, — their connexion with the institu-
tion, or on their private interest, INIr. Cooper put
forth his claims on the ground, not merely of the
regular and hard-earned gradations by which he had
ascended to his present position in the hospital, but
moreover on account of the important duties of
assistant lecturer on Anatomy, and lecturer on Sur-
gery, Avhich he had now been performing for nearly
ten years ; not only with the greatest assiduity,
but also with a degree of success few, if any, had ever
arrived at before himself. These facts, together with
the character he had acquired for the possession of
distinguished industry and knowledge, would, in all
probability, at once have secured him the possession
of the vacant office, notwithstanding the opposition
of ]Mr. Norris, but for one circumstance, upon which
it is probable his opponents in a great measure
rested their hopes of success, and which tended to
counteract the favourable influence his other qualities
had gained for him: I mean the notoriety he had
acquired as a political partisan.
Among the papers which came into my posses-
sion at the decease of my uncle, was a most singular
document. As it was without date, signature, or
mention of the office to which it referred, and also
being in my uncle's own handwriting, it did not for
2D-1: LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
an instant occur to me that lie was the principal
object alkided to in its contents. Tlie following
is a cojiy of the letter: —
" To the Trcamrcr of Gm/s Hospital.
" Sir,
" The candidates proposed for your choice at
Guy's Hospital on Wednesday, are three gentlemen
of tried abilities, who have served their king and
country during the present war, and one who is a
Jacobin, friend of Ilorne Tooke, and an associate of
the celebrated Thclwall.
" By the nomination you may judge the sense of
the present committees.
" Caution."
Being altogether at a loss to comprehend its appli-
cation, I took the letter to JVIr. Harrison, the present
excellent Treasurer of the Hospital, and found him
capable of at once solving the mystery.
" Yes," said he, " I. remember receiving the letter
of which this is a copy, as well as if it were but
yesterday: it was in 1800, when your great uncle,
]\Ir. William Cooper, resigned his office of surgeon.
The particular position in which his nephew Astley
stood at that moment, from the part he had been
taking in the politics of the day, was a matter of the
deepest concern to me. As the time approached
for the selection of one of the candidates to fill
the vacant office, I could not help feeling much
hesitation and difficulty in recommending him to
the Governors'as a proper person to fill so responsible
Ills POLITICAL OPINIONS AN OBSTACLE. 295
ca situation, altliougli, at the same time, from his pro-
fessional character and talent, I felt assured he was
most competent for the performance of its duties.
At the very time when I was meditating upon this
painful difficulty, I received that anonymous letter,
nor did it, as you may suppose, relieve my mind in
any measure from the anxiety I had before expe-
rienced in determining my choice.
" I thought it right, however, directly to send
for your uncle, and to explain to him the awkward
l)osition in which he had placed not only himself,
but me, by his political associations, and the hesita-
tion I naturally felt in making an ai)iiointment
which Mould be oi)en to so much vituperation and
reproach, more especially in the face of a warning,
stating facts with the truth of which I was but too
Avell acquainted. I explained to him, moreover, that
had the document not been conveyed to me anony-
mously, it must of necessity have been laid before
the consideration of the Board of Governors."
Mr. Harrison's countenance pourtrayed, during
this description, an evidence of the importance which
he had attached to this part of my uncle's history,
although at so distant a period. A smile, however,
soon appeared on his countenance, and he gave to
me the following account of what my uncle had
related to him at this interview, in evidence of his
having already determined to give up the cause of
]\Ir. Harrison's anxiety, — his strong political views,
as well as the old associates through Avhose influence
they had been acquired and maintained.
296 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" Your uncle," said Mr. Harrison, " told me the
story so graphically, and at the same time with so
much feeling, that he at once convinced me of his
sincerity. The substance of what he said was this:
* If you think me. Sir, professionally competent to
perform the duties of Surgeon to your Institution,
you may rest assured that my politics, whether in
thought or action, shall never interfere with my
discharge of them ; in fact, a regret has sponta-
neously arisen in my mind, not only that I have ever
been 2:)rominent in political excitement at all, but
more especially that I should have espoused the
opinions of those with whom I have been connected.
INIy friend Coleman, whom you know, Sir, was under
the same democratical influence as myself, and I
took a walk some time ago in Epping Forest, and
instead of either of us feeling that exuberance of
spirits AAhicli naturally was so common to us both,
we Avalked alone* for half an hour without exchans-
ing scarcely a word, when Coleman at last said to
nie, " Cooper, what is the matter with you? you have
not uttered a syllable since we commenced our
walk: you are unhappy about something." I retali-
ated, and remarked, that he had not been i)articularly
loquacious, but at the same time soon confessed the
truth of his observation, and told him that for some
time an indescribable depression of spirits had taken
possession of my mind, and I said, "■ Do you know,
Coleman, that at this moment I feel a nasty disa-
greeable sensation about my throat," and at the same
time grasping my neck, I continued, " and 1 should
CPIANGE IN HIS POLITICAL OPINIONS. 207
not be much surprised if that is what we come to, if
we persist in our intercourse with our present pohtical
set of associates. What good has it ever done us,
Coleman? I am certain these unsettled discon-
tented A iews are exciting no less harm on our minds,
than on our success in life. They can ncA^er ini-
j^rove us in our profession, nor advance us in its
practice ; we had better have done with them, and
think more of paying obedience to the laws of our
country than of disputing their justice and propri-
ety." Coleman, Sir, readily assented to this, and
admitted that he had not been very happy of late,
from the same cause.
" ' Having thus opened our hearts to each other,
we felt relieved from a burden, the weight of which
we had never jjerhaps fully felt until we were
now rendered conscious of it by its absence, and
Avalking on together we mutually discussed our
position and prospects, the characters of those Avitli
whom from political sympathy Ave had been associ-
ating, canvassed honestly and calmly the merits of
their doctrines, and before our walk was ended, had
each determined to relinquish the companionship
and intimacy of our late democratical friends, and
abandon for the future all participation in the strife
of politics and party.' "
Mr. Harrison proceeded to tell me, that having
heard this account, and perceiving its truth by ]Mr.
Cooper's earnest manner of narration, he at once
informed my uncle that the greatest obstacle in the
way of his appointment was now happily removed,
298 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
and that he could now conscientiously recommend
him to the notice of the Board of Governors. Sir
Astley then begg-ed that he might make a copy of
the anonymous letter, which in fact was the iden-
tical one I had just shown to the Treasurer. Tlie
author of the original Mr. Harrison never knew.
The firmness with which Sir Astley Cooper
adhered to this resolution is no little proof of the
powerful control he could at pleasure exert over
himself, for he at once and ever afterwards avoided
meeting those political friends in Mhose society he
had delighted, absented himself from all ISIr. Cline's
political parties, and gave himself wholly and
entirely to professional considerations and pur-
suits. His maxim became, and this he never
failed to inculcate in the younger portion of his
acquaintance, " that as the duties of a surgeon
extend alike to men of all parties and views, it
must be most un^vise for him to attach himself to
any one particular set, and thus render adverse to
him all maintaining contrary oi)inions." This im-
portant change in his feelings and his prospects,
Avhicli, had it occurred but a few years before, would
have afforded so much pleasure to both his parents,
could now only give satisfaction to one, and she,
worn by distress at the loss of her husband, and the
infirmities of age and bodily affliction, was but little
able to participate in that joy, which under happier
circumstances she would so fully have experienced.
As soon as this change in his political feelings
was made known, and he had obtained the sanction
APPOINTED SURGEON OF CIUY's HOSPITAL. 299
of the Treasurer, there appears to have been no
furtlier impediment in the way of his appointment.
Aware of the powerful interest whicli his oi)ponents
had among the medical staff of Guy's Hospital,
he gave up all other business, and devoted himself
for a time to the obtaining this important post. He
personally waited on each of the Governors, then
seventy-two in number, and from the reputation
whicli he had acquired in the city, and the favour-
able recommendation of INIr. Harrison, soon found
himself possessed of so many ])romises of votes in
his favour, as to feel perfectly secure of his election.
Nor were his anticipations in any degree fallacious:
for, on the Board of Governors meeting to accept
the resignation of Mr. William Cooper, and appoint
another surgeon in his stead, Mr. Astley Cooper was
at once chosen as the successor to his uncle. This
event occurred in October, a.d. 1800.
From the above history it is clear that the election
of ISIr. Cooper to this important ])ost, de])ended in
a great measure upon the high estimation in which
Mr. Harrison held his professional character. Upon
this appreciation the subsequent success of 8ir
Astley must be said then principally to have de-
pended; for, however high the character he had
before attained among his professional friends and
in the estimation of the public, had another been
appointed in his stead, the preference could but
have proved most prejudicial to his future prospects.
The advantages thus derived from the disinterested
selection of Mr. Harrison, were ever most gratefully
300 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
acknowledged by my uncle, and to the last moment
of his life, Mlien speaking- of the sources to which
he attributed his elevated i)osition, he never failed
to express the deepest gratitude for this mark of
Mr. Harrison's esteem.
Tlie other surgeons of Guy's Hospital, at this
period, were Mr. Forster and jNIr. Lucas ; while at
8t. Thomas's Hospital were INIr. Chandler, INIr. Birch,
and INIr. Cline. The physicians, at the same time,
were, in the first mentioned hospital. Dr. Saunders,
Dr. Ralph, and Dr. Babington ; at the latter, Dr.
Fordyce, Sir Gilbert Blane, and Dr. Crawford.
Sir Astley has left, among his notes, some brief
remarks on the characters of his colleagues, who,
Avith the exception of INIr. Cline, from their not
having devoted the same amount of attention to the
science of anatomy as Astley Cooper had, appear
to have opened advantages to him which he would
not otherwise have obtained. " I was always of
opinion," says he, in one portion of his memoranda,
" that ]Mr. Cline and I gained more reputation at
the hospitals by assisting our colleagues than by our
own operations, for they were always in scrapes, and
we were obliged to help them out of them."
The characters of jNIr. Cline and ISIr. William
Cooper have been already noticed in the previous
part of this volume. The following anecdotes, by
Sir Astley, of his uncle, Mr. AA'illiam Cooper, how-
ever, have not been hitherto given : —
" My uncle was a man of great feeling, too nmch
ANECDOTES OF MR. WILLIAM COOPER. 301
SO to be a surgeon. He was going to amputate a
man's leg in the theatre of the hospital, when the
poor fellow, terrified at the disjilay of instruments
and apparatus, suddenly jumped off the table, and
hobbled off, upon which the operator, instead of
following the man, and attempting to persuade him
to submit to the evil which circumstances rendered
necessary, turned round, and said, apparently much
relieved by his departure, ' By G — d, I am glad he 's
gone.'
" INIy uncle was fond of anatomy, and was very
much in the dissecting room ; and one day, ob-
serving a young military surgeon, whom he knew
to be an idle fellow, lolling over the fire, he said to
him aloud, ' Sir, you have learnt one duty of a soldier,
which is, to stand fire, I perceive.' The gentleman
never felt easy again in that position."
Of Mr. Forster, he says, in another place, " Mr.
Forster was a gentlemanlike man in his appearance,
but not so in reality, for, at dinner, he would swear
at waiters and abuse them.
" He was only a quarter of an anatomist, but
neat and dexterous. The first operation I did, after
I was appointed Surgeon at Guy's Hospital, was to
assist him in an operation for , in which he had
got into a difficulty."
I myself remember Mr. Forster as one of the
surgeons of Guy's Hospital. He had a gentle-
manly appearance, tinged with a military bearing,
which he acquired from having, early in life, been
802 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
in tlie urmy. lie ever maintained higli constitu-
tional principles, and always expressed the greatest
respect for the JNIonarch; and I am told by a
friend of his, that upon once hearing Mr. Cline
declare, " that the French Revolution Avas a glorious
cause for a man to shed his blood in," he indig-
nantly turned away, and would never meet in
friendly association with him afterwards.
Sir Astley proceeds: —
" ]VIr. Lucas was a clever manipulator and a
neat surgeon, but not an anatomist, and ho hence,
&c. He got 300/. per annum by bleeding, visited
a hundred fiimilies, but, he told me, never got more
than 500/. per annum.
" jNIr. Lucas, juu''., succeeded his father. He had
ill health, and could not study anatomy. He was
neat handed, but rash in the extreme, cutting
amongst most important parts as if it was only skin,
and making us always shudder from apprehension of
his opening arteries, or committing some other errors.
" Chandler was a good tempered man, but wanted
firmness and knowledge. He was so quick, that
even before the dressings were removed from an old
woman's back, I have heard him say, ' Nothing on
God's earth, my good woman, can be looking better,'
and at once pass on to another i)atient. He was
remarkably rapid in common operations. He was
always the same, and if he had lived five hundred
years, would have always remained so.
" Birch was a sensual man ; clever, but a bad
surgeon. He had neglected anatomy, and was there-
I
CHARACTERS OF HIS COTEMPORARIES. 803
fore afraid in all operations which required a know-
ledge of it. I have seen him, kc. He devoted
himself much to electricity, and thought he could do
wonders with it. Mr. Cline and Birch were always
opposed to each other."
No remarks, however laboured, would have the
power of demonstrating so clearly as the above
careless notes, the estimation in Sir Astley's mind
of the science of anatomy, and its essential impor-
tance in the formation and success of the Surgeon ;
for while, on the one hand, he attributes the infe-
riority of his colleagues entirely to want of this
knowledge, he, on the other, equally traces the supe-
riority of Mr. Cline and himself to its possession.
Sir Astley thus characterizes some of the physi-
cians who were cotemporary with him : —
" Dr. Babington was the most disinterested of
creatures, and the most delightful of men.
" A good father, a good husband, a sincere friend,
a loveable companion.
" Very humble, very respectful to others. I
never knew so good or so cheerful a man.
" He had learned Physic as Apothecary to Guy's
Hospital.
" Birch said, that they had si)oiled a good Apothe-
cary in trying to make him a Physician. Babington
waited on him, and asked him if he had said so,
saying that he must answer for his impertinence.
Birch, however, assured him it was only said in
hadinnge, and slunk out of it.
304 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEV COOPER.
" Babino'ton lost a ijrcat number of children.
"He was subject to frequent headaches, which
deprived him of the power of pursuing his profession
for a day or two at a time ; and he told me the
disease was incurable, as far as he could learn from
his own experience, and that of others.
" Dr. Saunders was a most entertaining lecturer,
but superficial person, Avith a considerable share of
genius.
" He would give out that he should lecture, next
day, on Absorption, and ask some one to get him
Cruickshank, that he might not come down entirely
ignorant."
Sir Astley makes no allusions to Dr. Ralph.
His remarks on the i)hysicians cotemporary with
him at St. Thomas's Hospital are the following : —
" Dr. Fordyce Avas a coarse man, a l)ad lecturer,
got drunk every evening, and ISIr. Cline said, was not
over careful about truth.
" He himself said he was the only Scotchman he
ever knew that had entirely lost his native dialect,
and this he Avould assert in the broadest Scotch it
could be si:)oken in.
" He was a remarkable instance of the force of
habit, maintaining to the last that Fermentation "sva*^
the cause of Digestion and Secretion.
" His best paper was on ' Purgatives.' "
My. Whitfield, the late Apothecary of St.
Thomas's Hosi)itab once related to me an anecdote
ANECDOTE OF DR. FORDYCE. 305
of Dr. Fordyce, with whom he was on terms of the
closest intimacy, which will illustrate one of the
habits to which Sir Astley has alluded. Dr. For-
dyce was one evening, at a late hour, called to
see a lady of title who was supposed to have been
taken suddenly ill. The Doctor, as was not unfre-
quently the case at that hour, had become " ebri-
olus,'' if not " ebiiiisr but nevertheless immediately
obeyed the summons. Arrived in the apartment
of his patient, he seated himself by her side, and
having listened to the recital of a train of symptoms
which appeared rather anomalous, next proceeded
to examine the state of her pulse. He tried to
reckon the number of its strokes, but in vain : the
more he endeavoured to effect his object, the more
his brain whirled, and the less self-control could he
exert. Conscious of the cause of his difficulty, in
a moment of irritation, he inadvertently muttered
out an exclamation : — " Drunk, by ! " The
lady heard the remark, but remained silent ; and,
having prescribed a mild remedy, one Avhich he in-
variably used on such occasions, the Doctor shortly
afterwards took his departure.
Early the next morning he was roused by a
somewhat imperative message from his patient of
the previous evening, to attend her immediately;
and he at once concluded that the object of this
summons was either to inveigh against him for the
state in which he had visited her on the former
occasion, or, perhaps, for having administered too
potent a medicine. Ill at ease from these reflections,
VOL. I. X
80G LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
he entered the lady's presence, fully prepared to
listen to a severe reprimand. The patient, how-
ever, began by thanking him for his immediate
attention to her wishes, and then proceeded to
say how ninch she had been strnck by liis dis-
cernment on the previous evening ; confessed that
unfortunately she was occasionally addicted to the
error which he had detected, and concluded by
observing that the object of her sending for him at
so early an hour was to obtain from him a promise
that he would hold inviolably secret the condition in
which he had found her. " You may depend upon
me, madam," replied Dr. Fordyce, instantly, and
with a countenance which had not altered its ex-
pression since the commencement of the patient's
story; "I shall be as silent as the grave,"
The above anecdote offers an example of the
strange events which sometimes are the means by
which professional men hi ay be brought into practice.
Dr. Fordyce's patient on this occasion Avas a lady of
fortune and influence, and proved of essential service
to him, by introducing him into the circle of her
acquaintance.
Sir Astley proceeds: —
" Sir Gilbert Blane was a pains-taking physician,
but he was so cold in his temperament, that we
called him ' Chilblaine.'
" Dr. Crawford was an ingenious man, who, with
small means, made the most delicate experiments.
" I was surprised at the closet in which he worked,
and the manufacture of his instruments, Avliich were
DR. WELLS AND DR. LISTER. 307
all his own making, even to the most delicate thermo-
meters. With these slender means he developed a
theory on the source of animal heat, which raised his
reputation high in the estimation of philosophers."
Shortly after Mr. Cooper's appointment to Guy's
Hospital, two of the physicians of St. Thomas's
resigned, and were succeeded by Dr. Wells and Dr.
Lister.
Sir Astley Cooper says of these gentlemen : —
" Dr. Wells was an ingenious, but most irritable
man.
" He once said, before Dr. Cooke, physician of
the London Hospital : ' I am going to die, Cooke,
and am very low spirited ; but I should not mind
dying, if 1 was sure of going to heaven.' ' Oh,' said
Dr. Cooke, ' be assured you will never be admitted
there ; for St. Peter, as soon as he sees you, will shut
the door, and say: — We w'^l have no such quarrel-
some fellows here !'
" His paper on Dew was excellent.
" Dr. Lister was a good, kind, and friendly man ;
he for a short time assisted Dr. Saunders in his
lectures, but their styles were so different that they
soon separated.
" Dr. Lister was an excellent and safe physician.
He attended Mrs. Parmenter, my daughter, and
my wife."
Sir Astley Cooper does not appear to have held
many of the physicians of his day in high estimation,
as the following rough but interesting comparison
between the professional characters of some of those
X 2
308 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
above described, and the celebrated Dr. Matthew
Baillie, will serve to show.
"Matthew Baillie," says Sir Astley, "was re-
markable for his kindness to the whole profession,
but especially so to the junior members of it, — he
knew his frown could chill their aspiring hopes, or
a contemptuous word crush and destroy them.
They had no fear of his seeing their patients
without them, as they knew no word of censure
would escape his lips. He was not an assassin, who
would proffer one hand in friendship, and stab in the
back with the other.
" His integrity was as remarkable as his consi-
deration and kindness.
"The candour of Baillie was another striking-
feature in his character.
"He laid the foundation of the practice of
medicine as it at present stands, for before his time
it was chiefly empirical. It was his cultivation and
knowledge of morbid anatomy, and numerous oppor-
tunities in practice, which gave to medicine the
scientific character it now holds.
" I recollect many of the physicians of my early
time, — Dr. Fordyce, Dr. , Dr. Curry, — and they
were all empirics.
" Dr. Fordyce, in going round St. Thomas's Hos-
pital, uniformly practised as follows : —
"' Put out your tongue, — there; now let me feel
your pulse, — that will do,' and then he prescribed.
" Dr. said of himself, that the longer he
CHARACTERS OF COTEMPORARY PHYSICIANS. 309
practised, the more empirical he found he became,
and the more he prescribed to symptoms. Althongli,
however, not alive to the science, he was disposed
to the trade of the profession. It happened that a
large quantity of red bark was brought to London,
and was bought by certain persons. The Doctor
puffed off this red bark, and it had a great sale.
Soon after this the yellow bark was brought into
the market, and bought up. The Doctor now wished
to puff off this, 'but,' said he, 'I have exhausted the
language of panegyric uj^on the red bark, so we will
admit Dr. — ■ — into partnership, and he shall pub-
lish the fame of the yellow bark.' It still, however,
remained a drug.
" Dr. Curry was also, in my view, a great em-
piric, for with him there was only one organ dis-
eased, the Liver, and only one medicine to be pre-
scribed. Calomel. He could not be corrected, for if
one of his patients died, and was examined, and Dr.
Curry was told that there was no disease of the
Liver, he replied that he had cured it.
"Such was medicine until Baillie brought out
liis work; but since his tiriie every physician has felt
it necessary to be conversant with anatomy, morbid
anatomy, and medicine."
However fallacious the views of Dr. Curry
might have been with respect to the liver being
almost invariably the seat of disease, there can be
no doubt, but that he was quite honest in his con-
viction, and that he practised under its influence;
810 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
without any sinister motive. With respect to him-
self, he always believed he was labouring under a
disease of the liver, and one of a peculiar nature ;
for he tliought that there was a worm in the gall
bladder. The supposed attempts which this worm
every now and then made to eftect its escape through
tlie duct, created considerable irritation, and con-
stituted one of the Doctor's hepatic attacks. For
these he immediately flew to his favourite remedy,
calomel. Tlic reason which he gave for always
failing in getting rid of the worm was amusing, for
he said, " that directly the creature felt the influence
of the mercury, it ran back again to his gall bladder."
I remember when I was a pupil at Guy's, that a
report jirevailed, that Dr. Curry sprinkled calomel
on the meat in the sandwiches which he ate for
luncheon. This story of the " calomel sandwiches"'
arose from the essential imj)ortance which the Doc-
tor always attributed to this medicine in the pre-
servation of health, his frequent recommendation of
its use to the pupils, and his employment of it in his
own person.
Dr. Curry was a most eloquent lecturer and pub^
lie speaker; indeed, his diction was always elegant
and powerful. He resented vehemently any thing
like disturbance during a lecture, and upon one
occasion, when a pupil who had dropped an um-
brella was stooping to pick it up. Dr. Currj', in a
tone of tlie severest sarcasm, told him to "let it
remain where it was, and it would prevent the pos-
sibility even of his folly making any further noise
DR. CURRY. 31 1
with it." The class was very indignant at this want
of courtesy in their lecturer, and we had a meeting
to determine on the best means of sliowins: our
disi)leasure, and resenting his conduct. The result
was, that it was agreed that two of us during
the next lecture should arise, and first one, and
then the other, express the feeling his conduct
had created in the minds of his class. The next
morning the Doctor entered, and began his lecture,
but his quick eye soon discovered that something
more than usual was engaging the attention of the
class, and the impression had hardly reached his
mind before one of the deputed pupils commenced
his preconcerted address. Dr. Curry listened Avith
the greatest attention, as if he wished to lead the
class to suppose that his silence admitted the pro-
priety of the step they were taking. No sooner,
hoM'ever, had the first orator finished, than the
Doctor, in a short, eloquent, and sarcastic speech,
gave such a reproof, not only to the person who had
spoken, but to every individual of the class, as to
quell them at once and restore them to perfect sub-
ordination, leaving in the mind of each a convic-
tion of the folly of which they had been guilty.
I was to have been the second speaker, but, by
good fortune. Dr. Curry's first few words were quite
sufficient to prevent any attempt from me at draw-
npon myself more than my share of the general
operation.
In the early part of his professional career, Dr.
Curry resided for several years with Dr, Babington,
ol'2 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
and through his interest became connected with
Guy's Hospital, and owed indeed all his after success
in life to the kindness of this friendly patron. Dr.
Curry was an Irishman, and I believe had been
known to Dr. Babington's family before his arrival
in London : not that any previous acquaintanceship
was necessary to secure to any professional brother
from the Emerald Isle a passport to Dr. Babington's
house and friendship. Although thus intimately
connected, there never were two persons less alike
in every point of view than Dr. Babington and Dr.
Curry : the one all meekness, simplicity, and bene-
volence of disposition: the other, irascible, peevish,
and overbearing, but yet possessing an honesty of
purpose, and a strictness of integrity in conduct, which
could not but create esteem towards him. He was
a most eccentric person in some of his habits, one of
the most peculiar of which Mas an almost mono-
maniacal tendency to visit auctions. Although
jienurious in some respects, he would purchase at
these places quantities of books which he would
never unpack, electrical apparatus, microscopes,
globes, folios of prints, &c., and these, crowded to-
gether, occupied parts of every room in his house.
His form was diminutive, his frame attenuated, and
his countenance indicating a temper soured by ill-
health and habitual dissatisfaction. He was fre-
quently consulting Dr. Babington about the state of
his health, and about his worldly affairs. On one
occasion, towards the latter period of his life, Dr.
Curry, to my knowledge, sent for Dr. Babington to
DK. CURRY. 313
inform him that he had left to him the bulk of his
property; upon which the Doctor said, " My dear sir,
you have a brother, and other near relatives; I con-
sider you have no right to dispose of your fortune
in the way you mention, and so strongly am I
impressed with this conviction, that nothing could
induce me to retain it if left to me, and I will
not go from you until you faithfully promise me
that you will reconsider this subject, and justly
bequeath what you may have to leave, to those whose
consanguinity gives them a right to expect, if not to
claim it." Some few years afterwards Dr. Curry
died, and (leaving small legacies to Dr. Babington,
and to several of his children,) he bequeathed the
larger portion of his property to his brother, who
immediately after Dr. Curry's death, came over from
Ireland to arrange his affairs, and take 23ossession of
the legacy.
The following extract from Dr. William Roots*
letter to me, other portions of which have been
already inserted in some previous chapters, has
reference to this period, and will be interesting to
the reader, not only from the additional light it
throws on my uncle's position and character but
also from the zeal and good feeling which charac-
terizes the writer. I have already mentioned that
Dr. Roots was a dresser under Mr. William Cooper,
at Guy's Hospital.
" In 1800 Mr. William Cooper resigned his post
as Surgeon to Guy's Hospital, and his nephew Mr.
314 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Astley Cooper was unanimously elected in liis
room; and an important era was it to the fame of
this school of surgery, for JNIr. Cline's presence at
the sister hospital had given a predominant cha-
racter and sway to St. Thomas's. Although the
two institutions were considered as in unison, and
concurrent in their advantages, yet to have been a
pupil of Cline, and to have carried a box* under his
superintendence, always gave a man a character and
lift in his after life.
" Guy's Hospital now began to share this great
pre-eminence, and one of the proudest of my pro-
fessional recollections is, that upon the election of
Sir Astley to this post at Guy's, he in the kindest
way imaginable requested me to continue to dress
for him during his first year, without jiaying the
usual fee, saying at the same time, by way of
lessening the obligation, ' that it was not only
to serve himself, by having one he could depend
upon, but that he wished it as a compliment to his
uncle, whose favourite he knew I had the hajipiness
to be.'
" Hence it was that I enjoyed the proud office
of tying the artery at his first amputation after his
appointment to Guy's. Perhaps it may be called
vanity, when I cannot let slip the opportunity of
■^ The dressers of tlic Hospital at this period, wlicu they
attended tlic surgeons in their visits to the wards, were in the
habit of carrying a box, containing the instruments, plaisters,
bandages, &c., which wore likely to be required in dressing the
patients.
LETTER FROM DR. ROOTS. 315
expressing the pride I feel, on reflecting how few at
this moment are remaining, that can boast of ever
having assisted two such men as John Hunter and
Astley Cooper in the performance of their profes-
sional deeds. It so happened, that a very short
time before the sudden death of Hunter, and Avhilst
in my apprenticeship, he in the kindest way lent his
aid in the adjustment of a compound fracture, and
on its being completed to his satisfaction, he clapped
me on the back in the jiresence of the family, and
said, ' Well done, my boy, hereafter you will have
to say, " John Hunter ivas your assistant^ '
" From the period of Astley's appointment to
Guy's until the moment of his latest breatli, he
was everything and all to the suffering and afilicted ;
his name was a host, but his j^rcsence brought con-
fidence and comfort; and I have often observed that
on an operating day, should anything occur of an
untoward character in the theatre, the moment
Astley Cooper entered, and the instrument was in
his hand, every difficulty was overcome, and safety
generally ensued."
316 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
CHAPTER XVII.
Mr. Travers is articled as Pupil to Mr. Cooper, a.d. 1800,
AND RESIDES WITH HIM FOR SOME YeARS. Mr. TrAVERS'
Reminiscences of the time of his Pupilage with my
Uncle. An Adventure. Mr. Cooper's Personal Ap-
pearance. His Attendance at Guy's Hospital. Mr.
Cooper's Temper and Disposition. His Habits and
Mode of Living. Mr. Cooper's Business in 1800. His
Professional Pursuits. Mr. Cooper's Sympathy with
Mental Suffering. An Epigram by Mr. Cooper. Mr.
Cooper's Attention to Dress. Searle, the Hair-
dresser. Anecdotes. Mr. Cooper's Adoption of his
Godson. His Servant Charles. The Zeal of this
Person in his Master's Service.
As the character of my friend JNIr. Travers is so well
known to the public at large, and to the profession,
any portion of the history of Sir Astley Coojier sub-
stantiated by his cognizance, must necessarily carry
Avith it the greatest importance and authenticity.
IMr. Travers commenced his professional career
under Mr. Cooj^er's auspices, a short time previous
to his election to the surgeoncy of Guy's Hospital,
and resided with him for some years. I had always
been accustomed to hear my uncle, when referring
to this period, speak of ]\Ir. Travers, not only as a
favourite pupil, but as one whom he found to be an
additional source of comfort to his family, rather
than, as is too often the case with house-pupils, a
check to domestic happiness. Knowing this, I
MR. TR avers' reminiscences. 317
thought it probable that he would be enabled to
give me some characteristic anecdotes of my uncle,
during the time of his residence with him, of a
more intimate nature than I could gain from any
other individual; and I think my readers will find,
that my exi^ectations have not been disappointed.
Mr. Travers writes : —
"Something of an adventure occurred to im-
press my mind, a young man of seventeen, with a
lively recollection of my debut as Mr. Cooper's
articled student in the summer of 1800. I accom-
panied him in his gig to Newington Green, a village
three miles from London, on the evening of the
second day of my residence with him. It was to
examine the body of an elderly lady who had died
of cancer of the stomach. The operation was con-
ducted by candlelight, and though I had never
before seen a corpse, I was chief assistant on this
occasion. I made a strong effort to assume a
part, appear cm fait, and give all the aid in my
power, undressing, and, in part, sewing up the body,
and bringing away a precious, though not over
fragrant, relic of the old lady's interior upon my
person.
*' The second part of this adventure was a narrow
escape from footpads in driving home through a bye
lane. The night being pitch dark, and the neigh-
bourhood not being over built or patrolled, as now,
a low, significant whistle from behind the hedge,
and the glimpse of a man in a white coat, caused
318 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
my master to turn liis horse abruptly, and gallop
back to the first public house. There the landlord
confirmed our belief, that we had escaped a noto-
rious gang then infesting those parts, and arming
himself with a blunderbuss, accompanied by two pot-
valiant customers with other destructive weapons,
he marched in front of our horse till we reached
the high road. JNIr. Cooper's pocket would have
afforded booty, no doubt : the valued spoils in my
possession, we thought would have been less appre-
ciated.
"Astley Cooper, when I first knew him, had
decidedly the handsomest, that is, the most intelli-
gent and finely-formed countenance and person of
any man I remember to have seen. He wore his
hair powdered, with a queue, then the custom, and
having dark hair, and always a fine healthy glow
of colour in his cheeks, this fashion became him
well. His frequent costume, during the summer,
when taking horse exercise, (for at this season he
rode daily on horseback,) was a blue coat and the
yellow buckskin breeches and top-boots, then much
in vogue. There was a fine and quickly-responsive
animation in his eye, and though he Avas of full
height, the outline of his frame was muscular and
flowing, without an approach to corpulency. He
was remarkably ui)right, and moved with grace,
vigour, and elasticity ; nor was he altogether uncon-
scious of the fine proportions of his frame, for he
would not unfrequently throw his well-shaped leg
upon the table at lecture, v>hen describing an
MR. TRAVERS' REMINISCENCES. 319
injury or operation of the lower limb, that he might
more graphically demonstrate the subject of his
discourse. ■*
" Guy's Hospital, to which he was newly elected
Surgeon, on the retirement of his uncle, Mr. Wil-
liam Cooper, shared a large portion of his time. He
was in the habit of visiting it at any unoccu2:)ied
interval, in addition to his regular days of attend-
ance. He would look at particular or urgent cases,
before and after lecture, and he generally went
round, a loisir, as a florist would visit his parterre,
with two or three elder students, on a Sunday
morning. His interest in his profession was genuine,
independent of the additional incitement of the
love of reputation or of gain. This was equally
evinced in the dissecting-room, and in the wards of
the Hosjiital : of the two, I should say, his passion
Avas for minute anatomy.
" I do not speak in detail of his peculiar pro-
fessional merits, because they are your province,
and would necessarily require a survey of his life ;
but I may observe that he was distinguished, at the
time of which I am speaking, by an untiring energy
of character, and the faculty of communicating his
oi)inions, and his ardour, by conversation with the
young men around him. He tried to elicit remarks
from them with remarkable earnestness, nor did he
often fail to excite a disposition on their part to
meet his wishes. ^'
" I often dined and spent the evening alone with
him, and we used to discuss points of pliysiology
320 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
together. He Avoiikl suggest experiments, or direct
my attention to cases in the nos})ital, bearing upon
mnvorked subjects in pathology ; always with the
intention, if not always Mitli the effect, of animating
my zeal and industry. I but do him justice in
expressing my lively gratitude for such opportu-
nities of advancement which he thus afforded me.
"^ " Cheerfulness of temper amounting to vivacity,
and a relish for the ludicrous, never deserted him,
and his chuckling laugh, scarce smothered while he
told his story, will never be forgotten by any
who were accustomed to it. Of a piece with this
was an habitual air of honJioimnie, and a good-
natured mirthfulness of look and manner, in listening
to the narration even of a stranger. He had also
an irresistible temptation to perpetrate a pun, if
opportunity offered, not always so original as
obvious.
"The simplicity of his habits and mode of living
were in perfect keeping with the activity of a mind
which was intently bent upon great objects. He
rose and generally retired early, nor did he allow his
toilet to occupy much of his time. His meals were
quickly dispatched, and though he ate heartily, he
never drank anything but water at dinner, and rarely
exceeded two glasses of port wine after. He had a
Spartan contemi)t for self-indulgence at table, and
used to say ' he could digest anything but sawdust.'
"He was as little enslaved by habits as any
man. Though not appreciating the pleasures of
domestic life, as commonlv understood, he never
MR. TRAVEKS' REMINISCENCES. 821
tired of the monotony of occupation, nor did he
seek relief from his kxbours by company, amuse-
ments, or other variety than that which his in-
creasing occupation afforded him of acquiring insight
into character. From this philosophical source he
derived much amusement, and often made us merry
with the details.
"The organ of order was imperfectly developed
in him, if not wanting, and he was essentially insus-
ceptible of its comforts ; careless, if not slovenly.
This was evident enoufjli in his consultino-room,
which presented a perfect chaos of confusion when
he quitted it for the day.
" His business, though respectable, was not large
when first I knew him. Very shortly before, he
had attended a merchant, a friend of my father,
with a broken leg, whom he afterwards assured that
his fee formed the half of that year's income.
" Like other shrewd observers of human nature,
he made the prudent resolution not to form too close
an intimacy with those who sought his professional
advice. In illustration of this caution, he used to
tell a story of having fallen into a sudden admira-
tion of an historical i)icture during a protracted
attendance ; at the conclusion of which he became
the reluctant possessor of the treasure, in lieu of a
fee.
" For the crosses and painful events incident to
professional life, he would say that the only and
sufficient consolation was the reflection ' of having
done your best.'
VOL. I. Y
322 LIFE OP SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" He had, as you know, but little respect for me-
dical literature, always preferring, in his own terms,
the ' Book of Nature,' and estimating the talent of
original observation, and the cultivation of it, as the
_4. great end and object of professional pursuit.
" He instigated me to the formation of a Clinical
Society, M'liich flourished for many years at Guy's
Hospital under my auspices. It was confined to
the pupils : the Demonstrators and Seniors being
chosen Presidents. I officiated as Secretary. We
used to read interesting cases occurring in the Hos-
pital, and discuss them freely, and the treatment
adopted. JNlembers yet survive who can attest the
fact of its having been an interesting and profitable
association, productive of much cordiality and use-
fulness.
"Neither his temperament nor his education
had endowed him with a sensitiveness which in any
degree disqualified him for the performance of his
professional duties on the most trying occasions.
In other words, he possessed an insusceptibility,
equal to his powers of physical endurance. I men-
tion this to meet the imimtation of want of sensi-
tiveness, with which I have heard him reproached.
He was not deficient in feeling, although it flowed
in a deejier current, out of the reach of ordinary
circumstances.
" I shall never forget his emotion, of which I
alone was a witness, upon perusing the posthumous
letter of a favourite puj^il, who had raised his hand
against his own life ; his utterance was choked with
MR. TRAVERS' REMINISCENCES. 3*23
soLs, and he wept as for the loss of an only child.
He once remarked to me, that he knew people gave
him no credit for feeling, and with bodily pain he
confessed he had little sympathy; but that the
appeal from the evidence of mental suffering was
irresistible.
" Another pupil, whose father had been reduced
to bankruptcy, he accosted, upon hearing of his mis-
fortunes, in these remarkable terms : * I condole
with your family, but I congratulate you ; this will
be the making of you. It was all that was wanting
to your professional success.' He thus evinced the
warmth of his personal regard, as well as his accu-
rate knowledge of human nature.
"Perhaps you will be surprised to hear that,
though not a poet, he could occasionally hit off an
epigram. The following impromptu escaped him on
seeing the picture of the Medical Society of Lon-
don, including a variety of portraits, painted by an
artist of the name of Medley.
" Subject and artist arc the same,
Analogy can scarce be stricter,
For Medley is the limner's name,
A medley truly is the picture."
The above communication, valuable from the
comparatively remote period at which the connexion
of Mr. Travers with my uncle commenced, embraces
many interesting jDoints of Mr. Cooper's character,
most of which I shall have an opportunity of illus-
trating still further, in the course of this history.
Y 2
324 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Mr. Travers lias alluded to the style of my
uncle's dress, at the period when he first knew him.
It may perhaps be an unexpected fact to those who
knew Mr. Cooper only in his latter days, that, in
early life, he devoted particular attention to the
character and style of his attire, and had indeed the
reputation of being one of the best-dressed men in
the city of London ; a reputation to which his
noble form and bearing no doubt greatly contri-
buted. A person whom I shall have presently
to mention, has described to me i\Ir. Cooper's ordi-
nary dress, about the year 1800, as consisting of
white silk stockings, M'hite, or slightly-coloured silk
knee-breeches, a light waistcoat, and blue coat, his
hair being much powdered, and arranged with par-
ticular taste and attention. It is worthy of mention,
however, that ]\Ir. Cooper never allowed the busi-
ness of the toilet to interfere with his more im-
portant avocations ; for, although paying the atten-
tion to dress which I have noticed, his toilet was
invariably concluded, at the latest hour, by half-past
seven, and, each morning, by eight o'clock or shortly
after, he had finished his breakfast, and was fully
engaged in the first portion of his day's business : the
attending to pauper patients, who at that early hour
flocked to him for advice.
The duty of dressing IMr. Cooper's hair devolved
upon a very amusing character, a hairdresser of the
name of Searle, a man of whom I have heard many
anecdotes related by my uncle, Mr. Coleman, and
others. He had dressed Mr. Cooper's hair ever
SEARLE, THE HAIRDRESSER. 325
since he had come to London, for, being Mr. Cline's
attendant in the same capacity, he nsed to come
every morning, not only to officiate for him, but also
for all the pupils living in his house.
As at this period powder was worn and their
queues tied, the time occupied in this business was
considerable, and as Searle was an odd, eccentric
fellow, INIr. Coleman and my uncle especially, when
they resided together, used to amuse themselves by
practising innumerable tricks upon him. I have
seen these two, in after life, burst into fits of immo-
derate laughter, as they talked over the folloM'ing
scenes.
They had been dissecting a Monkey, which had
been sent them from the menagerie at that time
existing in the Tower, and while the attention of
Searle was deeply occupied in cutting and curling
Taylor's hair, Coleman, unobserved, removed the
j3ufF from his box, and in its stead inserted all the
entrails of the Monkey. The curling being finished,
and the powder having next to be deposited upon
the hair, Searle, as usual, plunged his hand into his
box to seize the puff. The poor fellow's mingled
confusion, horror, and disgust, when he brought out
the unexpected contents which Mr. Coleman had
placed there instead of what he sought, formed a
scene which could only be imagined from witnessing
the immoderate effect the recollection of it pro-
duced on the risibility of my uncle and Coleman, —
not from the words in which they attempted to
describe it,
326 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Towards the latter part of ISIr. Cooper's resi-
dence with INIr. Cline, Searle was rendered blessed
by a pledge of affection from his amiable partner,
and ]Mr. Cooper kindly called to see this object of
his paternal jn-ide. The kind feelings which had
induced him to make this visit could not restrain
him from practising the following joke upon the
feelings of the doating father. On the next morn-
ing after his visit, JNIr. Cooper, when expressing his
congratulations to Searle, upon this addition to his
domestic happiness, at the same time inquired of
him, with a most serious countenance and marked
emphasis : — " But, Searle, how does it haj^pen that
your child is so extremely like JNIr. Coleman ?" To
which, colouring to the ears, Searle indignantly re-
plied, — " None of your nonsense, Mr. Cooper ; Mr.
Coleman never drank tea at my house but once in
his whole life." There must have been something
inexpressibly ludicrous in Searle's manner and ex-
pression of countenance, to have called u]i, as these
stories always did in after times, the boisterous
merriment which they invariably excited.
A thousand such tricks was poor Searle con-
stantly subjected to, but although a simple-minded,
he was an honest, worthy fellow. He continued to
dress INIr. Cooper's hair, nearly up to the period of
his death, which occurred soon after the time when
Mr. Cooper left the city. Such a respect did my
uncle feel for old Searle, that he sent one of his
sons to the hospital, and educated him for the
medical profession. This person afterwards rose to
f
ADOPTION OF HIS GODSON. 327
a highly respectable position as a general prac-
titioner.
Several interesting events occurred in tlie do-
mestic affairs of my uncle about this period. Just
prior to his appointment as Surgeon to Guy's Hos-
pital, in the month of September, Mr. Cooper had
paid a visit to my father's house at Yarmouth.
Here he for the first time saw my brother Astley, the
present Baronet, who was then a child of little more
than two years of age. The reader is already in
possession of the circumstances of the illness, which
prevented Mr. Cooper attending in person the
christening of his godson. Having, however, once
become acquainted with his little namesake, he
determined not very readily to part with him
again ; for, during his visit, he offered to take his
nephew back with him to London, and educate and
foster him as if he were his own child. The impro-
bability of his ever having any family of his own ;
a desire to sujiply a playmate for Mrs. Cooper's
adoj)ted daughter Sarah ; and, perhaps, also, a wish
in some degree to relieve my father from the heavy
charge of so large a family, seem to have been the
chief inducements with him to make this propo-
sition. My father, who had, on a previous occasion,
refused a similar request, could not refrain from
acceding to it, now that his family had so much
increased; perceiving, too, the numerous advantages,
of Avhich he would in all probability deprive his
child by his denial.
The proposal was, therefore, accepted, and JNIr.
o'2S LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Coo})cr, at bis own request, \vas permitted to take
cliarge of the child to London. He returned by
tlie night coach, and arrived in toAvn Avithont any
occurrence of note. It would have afforded a not
unamusing sjiectacle to some of his professional
friends, to have seen the manly Astley Cooper,
within a month of his being created a Hos])itaI
Surgeon, thus seated in a corner of the Old Blue
Yarmouth coach, Avith his young profcfje on his lap,
soothing it to sleep, or otherwise ministering to
wants which, in after life, although more artificial,
were ever as anxiously relieved by the fostering care
of his uncle. Nor is it more than due to the
nephew to record, that, probably, only dui-ing the
twenty hours passed in this journey, did he ever cause
his uncle to regret this spontaneous adoption ; his
conduct always having been calculated, by affection-
ate respect and implicit confidence, to repay, as far
as possible, the deep obligation he owed to his
benefactor.
When INIr. Cooper reached his house, I am
informed, he ran up stairs to his wife with the child
in his arms, saying, as he entered the room, " Here,
Ann, as you have a daughter, I thought we might
as well have a son, as a companion for her; so I
have brought you my little godson from Yarmouth.
The little boy was soon comfortably nestled in the
arms of an aunt, whose care from that moment was
never short of what the fondest mother could have
bestowed.
An occurrence of importance to Mr. Cooper took
HIS SERVANT CHARLES. 329
place in the year 1800: tlie arrival of his celebrated
servant Osbakleston, or as he was commonly called,
" Charles," — a person v ho, by his zeal, activity, and
cleverness, soon gained the confidence of his master,
and succeeded not only in contributing to his inte-
rest, but eventually in raising himself into a sub-
stantial and respectable position in society. The
length of Charles's surname was at once found
to be extremely inconvenient, and in a short time
settled down to Balderson, a cognomen which
offered a greater facility of pronunciation, and has
been retained by him ever since.
Charles came to St. Mary Axe in October,
shortly after Mr. Cooper s appointment at the Hos-
pital. He seems to have been, in every respect, a
person well calculated to perform the duties required
of him. Young, robust, and active, seeing in his
master's interest, his own, and therefore not only
keenly alive to every means of promoting it, but
willing and anxious to devote all liis energies to
the purpose ; possessed of much more tact, dispo-
sition for manoeuvre, and a certain knowledge of
the world, than his master, he could not only turn
Mr. Cooper's jiractice to the best advantage, but
in many ways add to its amount. I have heard
him boast that, as far as he knew, in the twenty-six
years in which he was my uncle's professional ser-
vant, he never lost but one case in which it was
possible for him to procure his master's attendance.
Mr. Cooper being at Tottenham, or at the dis-
tance of six or seven miles from the spot, where hQ
830 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
might be required, offered no difficulties to Charles,
as to procuring him ; but either requesting the
patient, if he had called at INIr. Cooper's house, to
sit down while he fetched his master, or promising
to send him in a short time, if he were wanted
elsewhere, he would jump into a postchaise, and
travelling as fast as the horses 'could convey him, he
would bring his master usually in so short a time,
that few i^atients were lost by not being able to wait
for his arrival. Not unfrequently the expenses of
these raj^id expeditions were much greater than the
fee received could liquidate, but that was a circum-
stance of which jNIr. Cooj^er never complained, for
he was almost reckless of expenditure, when his
l)rofessional advancement or pursuits were concerned
in the outlay. He used to remark, " It is worth
spending any money merely to convince the jjublic
that your opinion is at all times to be obtained."
The two following anecdotes, which were men-
tioned to me by Charles, sufficiently exemplify his
own vigilance in the matters of which I have been
speaking ; and at the same time are of some little
interest in reference to the progress of ISIr. Cooper
himself, in his jDrofessional advancement.
Aldennan Bridges once sent in the greatest
haste for IVIr. Cooper, in consequence of a severe
injury to his leg, Mhich he had met M'ith near
Hampstead Heath. The pomposity and authorita-
tive manners of the messenger, which were derived,
perhaps, as much from his conviction of the great-
ness of the city functionary to whom the accident
ZEAL OF HIS SERVANT CHARLES. 831
bad hai^pened, as from the serious nature of tlie
injury itself, made a great impression on Charles,
and induced him, with more than usual energy, to
seek his master, who was at the time absent from
home, but he did not know precisely where.
Getting into a coach, he drove from place to
place, endeavouring to find JNIr. Cooper, but in
vain; and he was about to give up the search in
despair, from hearing INIr. Cline had been sent for
in consequence of the delay, when he learned
that he had left London for Tottenham. Upon
hearing this, as quickly as possible he got into a
post-chaise, and, urging the post-boys, by promises
of extra pay, to make the utmost exertions, in a
short time he found his master, and at once
despatched him to the house where the Alderman
was lying. This being effected, Charles himself
drove off" to Lincoln's Inn Fields, and arrived there
just in time to stop INIr. Cline, who was then leaving
his house to see the patient, and to inform him
that Mr. Cooper was already there. This circum-
stance afterwards proved of essential benefit to Mr.
Cooper; for Alderman Bridges, Avho was a most
influential man, from this time became one of his
most active friends, and was of much use in intro-
ducing him to city practice.
In the second instance, Charles's efforts were not
attended with similar successful results. A patient
who wished to undergo the performance of some slight
operation, called one Sunday afternoon to see Mr.
Cooper, who, however, was at Tottenham. Neverthe-
332 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
less, Charles, Avitliout informing the patient of this
circumstance, promised to bring his master speedily to
him, and, as usual, got into a post-chaise, and, after as
short a time as possible, returned with INIr. Cooper to
toM n. In the mean time, the patient, who had become
tired of waiting, had despatched his own servant to
y^iv William Blizard, who, although at the time on
an unfriendly footing with Mv. Cooper, without
scruple came to his house and saw the patient.
On their arrival. Sir William was in consultation
w itli the patient in his library : but JVIr. Cooper,
notwithstanding the indignation of Charles at this
fruitless termination of his labours, quietly allowed
the consultation to be concluded, and in the mean
time went himself into an upper room.
After INIr. Cooper's practice had greatly increased,
Charles more lightly estimated the importance
sometimes assumed by the messengers of those who
sought his master's professional assistance. His
conduct to a servant who spoke to him merely Avith
the common demeanour of a domestic, was in no
other way remarkable, than from the impatient
manner in which he would urge him to deliver his
message as quickly as possible; but if there were
any greatness or pomposity evinced, as would occa-
sionally occur, Charles's manner became at once
altered ; and he very soon made the messenger
understand, that the obligation to be conferred, was
upon his master, and not upon Mr. Cooper. He
would say, " I am not at all sure that WE shall be
able to attend to-day tr» your master s wishes, for A'S'E
HIS SERVANT CHARLES. 333
are excessively busy, and our list perfectly full for
the day; but if you'll wait, I will see what can be
done for you." By this manner, Charles would at
once show, that he must be courted to be won, and
that nothing like command on the part of the mes-
senger would be likely to effect his object. There
were few servants who did not, upon such con-
ferences, soon oegin to estimate the importance of
Charles, and to urge their cause, rather from the
serious character of the case requiring INIr. Cooper's
attendance, than from their master's right to de-
mand it.
834 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Employments of Mr. Cooper's Servant Charles. Pro-
cures Animals for Experiments. Various Sources
from which they were obtained. Mr. Cooper Dis-
sects AN Elephant in St. Mary Axe. Mr. Cooper's
EARLY Connexion with Men who procured Subjects
for Dissection. An Adventure. Origin of the
Resurrectionists. Conduct of these Persons. The
Watchmen of the same Period. Activity of the
Resurrectionists. Method of carrying on their
Operations. Means by which the Bodies were
transferred from the Burial-Places to the Dis-
SECTING-ROOMS. An INCIDENT. OCCASIONAL NOCTUR-
NAL Visits of the Resurrectionists to Sir Astley
Cooper's.
It was not only in respect to the objects which I
have mentioned in the preceding chapter, that
Charles was rendered highly nseful to Mr. Cooper ;
he also became a most efficient assistant to him in
his more private avocations. When animals were
wanted for some physiological illustration or inves-
tigation, Charles was never at a loss to invent
means of procuring them ; and he tells me that he
has known as many as thirty dogs, besides other
animals, at one time in the hay-loft, — the subjects,
or about to become so, of experiments connected
with the pursuits of his master.
To obtain these, Charles used to employ the ser-
vants, or any person indirectly connected with my
ANECDOTE. 335
uncle's establishment, and to induce tliem to procure
them, used to allow half-a-crown for each dog, as
soon as it was safely housed in the premises. This
temptation, I have reason to believe, led to a fre-
quent breach of the laws relating to dog-stealing,
for my uncle's old coachman has lately given me
some idea of the system by which these animals
were kidnapped into this scientific receptacle, by
the following anecdote. He told me, that one
evening, on passing down Wormwood Street, a dog
looked up into his face with a friendly expression,
and seemed inclined to follow him. Michael imme-
diately felt, but from more interested motives, a
reciprocal prepossession in his favour ; but fearful of
the dog's constancy, thought it advisable to secure
him by tying around his neck a new silk handker-
chief, for which he had just given seven shillings.
No sooner, however, had he tied the knot, as he
thought tightly enough to secure his prize, than the
dog seemed to have become suspicious of the mo-
tives of his new acquaintance : for he suddenly, and
not very gently, seized him by the hand. Michael,
stnng by the pain, immediately let go his hold, and
the next moment was mortified beyond measure by
his expectation of realizing half-a-crown being con-
verted into the positive loss, not only of the dog, but
also of his seven-shilling purchase.
Michael yet hoped that he could move the com-
passion of Mr. Cooper, so as to induce him to restore
the amount of his loss, and he accordingly placed
it among the items of his weekly bill. To his
330 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
disappointment, however, he informs me, that his
master only laughed at liim for his pains, said
that he was buying money too dearly, by risking
seven shillings for half-a-crown, and, instead of pay-
ing him, hoped that he would learn prudence from his
experience. I could not forbear smiling at jNIichael's
description of his chasing the dog into Bishopsgate
Street, and then tracing him, as far as his eye could
follow him, with the handkerchief flying about his
neck, to the amusement of all the passers by.
It appears that the dogs sacrificed in my uncle's
scientific researches, were not unfrequently procured
in this manner. Nothing but the objects which
led to these delinquencies, could offer an excuse for
such proceedings.
Mr. Cooper was not always compelled to have
recourse to such uncertain and irregular steps for
the prosecution of his investigations ; for he had
entered into terms with the i)ersons connected with
the jNIenagerie at the Tower, to send to his house
all the animals which died in that Institution. It
would seem that the keepers acted fully up to the
letter of my uncle's wishes, so that this Menagerie
became one great source of his supply in this
department.
In the course of the year 1801, an Elephant,
which had been one of the principal features of the
exhibition, died. Immediate notice of the circum-
stance was, as usual, sent to Mr. Cooper, and, not-
withstanding the unwieldy bulk and enormous
weight of the animal, he determined- to have it
DISSECTS AN ELEPHANT. 337
brought to his house in St. Mary Axe, where he was
still living, and to dissect it. He accordingly hired
a cart, in which, after a considerable degree of
exertion, the Elephant was deposited, being after-
wards covered with a large cloth, in order that it
might attract as little notice as jjossible on its way.
In this manner it arrived at St. Mary Axe, and the
cart having been driven into the court-yard before
Mr. Cooper's house, the outer iron gates were closed,
and they set about attempting to get it into an
outhouse, devoted to purj^oses of dissection. All
their efforts, however, to effect this proved unavail-
ing, and after a vast deal of trouble, they found
themselves obliged to leave it lying exposed in front
of the building.
During their attemjjts to remove the carcase
into the dissecting-room, a large mass of persons
collected outside the gates, and continued to watch
their proceedings through the iron railing. The
obstruction this crowd caused in the thoroughfare of
St. Mary Axe was so great, that it was found neces-
sary to cover up the apertures between the railings
by throwing a carpet over them, and to move the
body of the Elephant as far as possible out of the
view of those who were passing in the street. They
were enabled to do this the more effectively, inas-
much as the stabling projected before the dissecting-
room, and the body being placed in the recess, was,
by these means, to a great degree concealed from
public view.
Mr. Cooper was thus compelled to dissect this
VOL. I. z
838 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
animal in the open air, and finding himself, from
its enormous size, unable to perform the task alone,
he. invited several students from the Hospital to
assist him. Here for some time they worked
together, being barricaded from the observation of
the public ; nor did they cease their operations
until they had examined every structure to the very
bones. These latter were carefully prepared, and
being articulated under Mr. Cooper's directions,
formed the skeleton which, even up to the present
day, may be seen in the Museum at St. Thomas's
Hospital, — an existing memorial of my uncle's scien-
tific enthusiasm.
Prolific as the Tower Menagerie was, as a source
of means for occupation in his study of comparative
anatomy, it does not appear to have sufficiently sup-
plied Mr. Coojier's wants. He made an acquaint-
ance with a Mr. Halls, a Stuffer of birds and other
animals, at that time residing in the City Road,
and to this person he became a source of profit, by
buying all his carcases ; INIr. Halls retaining the skin
and other portions necessary for his peculiar pur-
poses. Through this opportunity, the distinguishing-
organs of almost every Order of animals were added
to Mr. Cooper's collection.
Mr. Cooper's sources of supply did not end here;
he pressed all the fish and jjoultry markets in the
district into his service. There was not an aristo-
cratic west-end fishmonger better known at Bil-
lingsgate than his servant Charles : whom he con-
stantly sent for the purpose of discovering and
HIS CONNEXION WITH THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 339
purchasing any varieties of marine productions at this
market, which appeared to him more fitted for the
investigation of the Pli} siologist than for the grati-
fication of the palate of the Epicure. Such choice
specimens were soon put aside by the fishmongers
for Mr. Cooper, and would be not unfrequently
sent to his house, if Charles happened not to
make his appearance at the fish stalls for a day or
two.
The early part of Mr. Cooper's day was occupied
in examining the various specimens which were
brought to him from these sources, and in placing
preparations of them in his museum. Independent of
this employment, as well as of his professional duties
connected with his practice and hospital avocations,
my uncle had also to mix himself with a set of persons,
who were at that time essential to him, as to all other
teachers of Anatomy and Surgery, to enable them
to perform the duties which they had undertaken.
I allude to the men whose occupation was to procure
Subjects for dissection, since known by the name of
Resurrectionists. He found Charles of great im-
portance as a medium of communication between
these persons and himself.
These men were, at a very early period of the pro-
fessional career of Mr. Cooper, brought into intimate
communication with him, not only in consequence of
his connexion with the Anatomical lectures at St.
Thomas's Hospital, but also from the singular zeal in
the study of human anatomy, which distinguished him,
and induced him from the earliest periods to carry
z 2
340 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
on dissection at his own house, as well as in the
public rooms allotted for the purpose in the
Hospital.
The reader may remember the anecdote Avhich
was mentioned of jNIr. Cooper, even while residing as a
pupil in INIr. Cline's house in St. Mary Axe, dissecting
in one of the upper rooms, Avith the detection which
his position gave rise to. When my uncle took
possession of this residence, in 1796, he at once set
about converting one of the lower rooms into an
apartment especially for dissection, according to the
intimation which he expressed to his friend INIr.
Saunders, in a letter already before the reader. The
central part of the house fell back from the street,
but it was flanked on either side by two Avings, one
of which consisted of the stables, and, slightly
receding between them and the house, a large apart-
ment, which had been originally intended as a ware-
house. This latter part, which had been used as a
place for lumber during IMr. Cline's period of resi-
dence, INIr. Cooper converted into the room for the
reception of Subjects, and for his anatomical avo-
cations.
JNIr. Cooper was altogether unconscious that, as
the enactments relating to dissection at that time
stood, he was not only benefitting by an infringe-
ment of the laws on the part of the body-snatcher,
but was himself, as the receiver after the disinter-
ment, actually liable to be tried for misdemeanor,
with a risk of incurring severe penalties. He
therefore, ignorant of the hazard to which he Mas
AN ADVENTURE. 341
thus exposing himself, made no secret of the nature
of his occupations in this apartment; contenting him-
self merely by painting the windows so that persons
outside might not observe him while engaged in his
investigations. The purpose to which this room was
devoted ^vvas accordingly Avell known in the neigh-
bourhood ; but a moderate degree of circumspection
being used by the Resurrectionists who brought the
Subjects to him, — for bodies for dissection, at that
time, could only be obtained by means of such per-
sons, — and a proper caution being exerted on his
own part, to prevent any offence to i)ublic feeling,
no notice of the circumstance was taken by the
inhabitants.
On one occasion, however, an interruption to
these proceedings had nearly occurred, and the
jiresence of mind and activity of Mr. Cooper alone
I^revented, in all probability, a disturbance ensuing.
In the winter session of the year 1801, in con-
sequence of certain disagreements between the
Hospital porters and the Resurrectionists, who were
in the habit of supplying the Anatomical School, —
an institution altogether distinct from the Hospital
establishment, — the body-snatchers were prevented
from themselves taking the Subjects into the dissect-
ing-room. They therefore adopted the plan, of course
with Mr. Cooper's sanction, of depositing them at
night in the court-yard before his house in St,
Mary Axe, from whence they were removed to the
Hospital in a coach, under the superintendence of
a man of the name of Butler, who at that time
842 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
had the dissecting-rooms at St. Thomas's under
his care.
One night, a resurrectionist of the name of
Harnett had deposited three hampers within the gates
of Mr. Cooper s house, and Butler, having received
information of the fact, as usual came with a coach
to remove them. The hampers being safely packed
in the vehicle, Butler got inside with them, and
ordered the man to drive to St. Thomas's Hosjiital.
All went on very well till they got into Gracechurch
Street, opposite to an inn called the Coach and
Gate, when the coach suddenly stoj^ped. Butler,
at once susj^ecting discovery, without showing him-
self, listened ; and heard the coachman calling out
to some one, that " he had got a load inside, that he
didn't much like the looks of, and he didn't know
whether he wasn't getting himself into trouble."
This was enough for Butler, who, opening one of
the doors, slipped out unseen by either of the parties,
and, leaving his charge in the coach, ran back to
St. JNIary Axe to give an account of what had
occurred.
Two hours after Butler had made Charles ac-
quainted with this adventure, the latter was roused
by the arrival of the coachman, accompanied by the
night "Watchman of the ward, who related to him
the discovery of the bodies, told him they were
then lying at the watchhouse at the foot of London
Bridge, and requested to see his master. Charles,
having all along feigned astonishment at the narra-
tion, replied that Mr. Cooper was in bed, and said
AN ADVENTURE. 343
that it could not be of any use disturbing him, as it
was impossible he could know anything about the
matter, having been out at the time when it was
stated to have occurred. The Watchman, however,
insisted on seeing him, and after some parleying,
was sho^ra into INIr. Cooper's bedroom. Here, how-
ever, he obtained no more satisfactory explanation
than he had received from Charles ; for JNIr. Cooper
gaid, that the gates being open until eleven o'clock,
he was plainly not answerable for every parcel that
persons might choose to deposit within them, or that
others might choose to remove before that hour.
The Watchman accordingly left, expressing his de-
termination of giving in an account of the whole
matter to the Lord Mayor, the next morning at the
earliest opportunity.
The first person, however, who had an interview
with the Lord Mayor, on the following day, was
]\Ir. Cooper himself, who being admitted to the
magistrate while at breakfast, at once related to him
the facts of the whole transaction ; and the con-
versation which ensued ended by an assurance from
his Lordship, who entered fully into the question,
that IMr. Cooper should not be molested any further
about the matter. Curiously enough, on descending
the steps of the INIansion-House, my uncle met the
watchman about to give in his report of the occur-
rence. The constable, having seen him only when
in bed, did not recognise him: Mr. Cooper, however,
remembered him at once, but passed on without
notice.
:<''v
344 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
There "was nothing singular in the conduct of the
Lord Mayor on this occasion. At the period when
the event occurred, magistrates, fearful of obstructing
tlie progress of medical education, and of unneces-
sarily exciting and exasperating popular feeling and
prejudice, always avoided taking cognizance of the
reception of Subjects by surgeons for puri:>oses of
dissection, unless attended with some flagrant breach
of propriety ; and hence arose the prevailing opinion
among the members of the profession, that they
were legally justified in such proceedings.
When JMr. Cooper commenced lecturing at St.
Thomas's, the persons who provided the Subjects
had no distinct denomination, nor indeed was their
existence known to the public generally. There
r- were comparatively very few students in anatomy,
and not more than tliree or four lecturers on
the science in London ; so that the limited demand
for Subjects was easily supplied. The persons who
employed themselves in obtaining the bodies were
proportionably few, and being careful to transact
their business only at night, were not brought into
notoriety.
Some years afterwards, when the entries to
the Lectures at St. Thomas's had increased sixfold,
and both anatomical teachers and students gene-
rally had become much more numerous in the
Metropoh's, there arose the necessity for a greater
supply of Subjects, antl the number of Resurrec-
tionists became proportionably enlarged. Several
circumstances contributed, at various times, to bring
THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 345
the practice of disinterment before the notice of the
pubHc, who now began to exercise a greatly-increased
degree of vigilance over the places of sepulture, and
in cases of detection, caused the offenders oftentimes
to be severely punished. The prices demanded
for Subjects became exorbitantly increased ; and
the procurers, from the obloquy and disgust which
was attached to their proceedings, and the cer-
tainty of their being treated as criminals, if caught
while engaged in them, sank down to men of the
loAvest, and most degraded character; men, who
for the sake of gain, if they could not obtain their
objects by the ordinary method of disinterment,
would not hesitate to resort to the most unwar-
rantable contrivances, or even criminal acts, to effect
their purpose. Thus sprang up the set of Resurrec-
tionists, whose acts of outrage, some few years ago,
so much attracted public attention and indignation.
The anecdotes which my uncle used to relate of
the characters and adventures of these men, and the
circumstance of his having been already more than
once brought before the notice of the public in
association with their transactions, would instigate
me to take especial notice of them in this work.
But a higher motive actuates me to furnish some
record of these notorious characters ; for their race
having ceased, thank Heaven! with the necessity for
their occupation, their era now forms an important
page in the history of surgical science, and of the
abuses to which society in this country has been at
various times exposed: a page, not merely calculated
346 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
to gratify the curiosity wliicli the extraordinary
nature of their occupation, and the mysteries en-
veloi)ing its practice, have at all times excited in
the public mind ; but worthy of study and inves-
tigation on the part, no less of the man of science,
than of the moral and political philosopher.
I will, therefore, furnish a brief sketch of the
methods by which these men contrived so secretly
and for so long a time, to carry on their revolting
occupation, and afterwards give some account of
their characters and j^ersonal adventures. Their
history will, at the same time, show the important
power which, from the nature of the laws and other
circumstances connected with dissection, they pos-
sessed of affecting the advancement, if not the very
existence, of the schools established in this country,
for the cultivation of medical science.
At the period we have now come to in this his-
tory, about the year 1800, and until within a few
years since, the Resurrectionists, (or as they were as
frequently called, the body-snatchers,) were almost
the only source on which the English teachers of
anatomy could depend for their supply of Subjects.
They were persons, generally speaking, of the worst
description of character, perhaps second to none, if
we except the Watchmen of that time, who were set
to guard the various burial-grounds in the metroj^olis
and its vicinity, — all of whom were in the regular
habit of receiving a certain alloMance or per centage
out of the sums obtained by the Resurrectionists.
The public were, for many years, aM'are of
ACTIVITY OF THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 347
cliurchyards being robbed ; and it was, at the time
I allude to, very commonly the custom for the
friends of deceased persons, suspicious of the regular
Watchmen, themselves to agree to sit up by their
graves, until the period was past in which the body
was likely to be removed. The feelings, however,
excited by the nature of the occupation, their
situation, and the time of night when it was chiefly
required, seldom allowed these private Watchers to
remain all the requisite period ; but even in cases
where the utmost vigilance was exerted, it was
generally insufficient to prevent the Resurrectionists
from carrying their purpose into effect: for so skilful
were they in their mode of working, and so much
assisted by all the underlings of the parish burial-
ground, that half an hour's absence or slumber
on the part of the perhaps worn-out mourner, was
often sufficient for the defeat of his object.
Occasionally the Resurrection-men themselves
were employed by persons somewhat acquainted
with their proceedings, to protect the bodies from
disturbance, — their employers expecting, that as
poachers notoriously make the best game-keepers,
these men would of course make the best body-
guards : but although they were often influenced, by
the remuneration they received, to undertake to
thwart the schemes of their companions, they were
generally outwitted by some among them more
active or cunning than themselves.
An instance of this which occurred within my
own knowledge, offers an example of how little
348 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
trust was to be placed even in these men, when
it was an especial object for any other Resur-
rectionists to elude their vigilance. The Governors
of a larg-e Hospital in London, very anxiously
wished that the burial-ground connected with the
institution should be maintained strictly inviolate,
in order that such hospital patients as were con-
scious of approaching dissolution, might know that
in that ground their bodies would remain undis-
turbed; a conviction which, strange to say, often
produced on their minds a state of resigned
feeling, which could hardly have been anticipated
as the effect of such a circumstance. It M'as Avell
known at the time, that from the influence produced
by this regulation, many patients requested that
their bodies might be examined after death, because
they thus secured a right of being buried at the
expense of the hospital, a confidence which was
never permitted to be abused.
For the especial protection of this ground a
well known and confidential Resurrectionist was
handsomely paid to take up his nightly station in a
watch-box on the premises during the dissecting
season. For some months, his presence effected
the desired object; for he resisted every attempt
made to bribe him or elude his observation. At
last, however, upon the occasion of a body being
buried there, of peculiar i)rofessional interest, one
of the Surgeons of the very Institution, extremely
anxious to possess this treasure, sent some men to
obtain it, having offered an unusually large reward.
OPERATIONS OF THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 349
as an inducement for them to exert all their inoe-
nuity on the occasion. They accordingly tried all
the ordinary methods for acquiring possession of the
prize, but were invariably baffled, — until one evening,
when they diverted the attention of the Watchman
as to their object, by associating him Avith them-
selves in some other undertaking connected Mith
exhumation. While thus occupied, they succeeded
in making hhn so drunk, that the very same night,
while he M'as on his post at the burial-ground
alluded to, and close to the object of his especial
"vigilance, they worked so successfully as to carry off
the prize, he being totally unconscious of the aflair
until the following morning.
The fact of this rapidity in their operations was
well known, but the means by which it was accom-
plished was one of the mysteries of their occupation.
This was never fathomed by the public, and curiously
enough, no accidental circumstance occurred to
furnish the solution. The value of this secret,
M"hich, had it been discovered, must have led to
serious impediments in the exercise of their busi-
ness, was fully appreciated by the Resurrectionists,
and so closely was the knowledge of it kej^t among
themselves, so careful were they to remove all traces
of their mode of working after the comi)letion of
their task, that not only the public, but even the
members of the medical profession, with very few
exceptions, were kept in ignorance regarding it.
It was generally supposed, that the body-snatcher, in
exhuming a body, first proceeded, as a novice would
350 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
liave clone, to remove all the earth with which the
grave had been recently filled, and having at length
arrived at the coffin, that he then with i)roper imple-
ments forced olF the lid, and so removed the body:
such a description of this proceeding has already been
given to the jDublic by one of the most popular and
talented, but, in this case at least, fictitious authors
of the day*.
This mode of procedure would have necessarily
occupied a considerable space of time, and rendered
the body-snatchers proi^ortionably more liable to de-
tection. Usually, therefore, to avoid this, they only
cleared away the earth above the head of the coffin,
taking care to leave that which covered the other
jiortions as far as possible undisturbed. As soon as
about one-third of the coffin was thus exposed, they
forced a very strong crow-bar, made of a peculiar
form for the purpose, into the crevice between the
extreme body of the coffin and the lid, which latter,
by using the lever as one of the first order, they
generally pressed up, without much difficulty. It
usually happened, at this stage of the jiroceedings,
that the superincumbent weight of the earth on
the other jiortion of the coffin-lid caused it to be
snapped across at a distance of about one third of
its length from the fulcrum of the lever. As soon
as this had taken place, the body was drawn out,
the death gear removed from it, and replaced in
the coffin, and finally, the body tied up and placed
* Sec the Diary of a late Phi/skian, vol. i., chap, xvi., on
" Grave Doinss."
OPERATIONS OF THE RESUKRECTIONISTS. 851
in its receptacle to be conveyed to its destination.
There was seldom any difficnlty in extricating a
body by these means, unless the lid happened to be
sufficiently strong to resist the force of the lever;
this, however, scarcely ever occurred in the coffins
of the poorer classes, to which the operations of the
Resurrectionists were usually directed.
It sometimes happened, more especially when
any epidemic had been committing extensive ravages
in the population, that three or four coffins would be
placed one upon another in the same grave, and at
the same time. Under these circumstances, if the
Resurrectionist wished to extract all the bodies, it
was absolutely necessary that the whole of the newly
piled earth should be thrown out from the grave, the
body removed, and the coffin taken up. Each coffin
was thus raised in succession, and afterwards again
deposited in the same order in which it had pre-
viously lain, and finally, the earth was carefully
restored with every possible exactitude, to accord
with the form it had presented before its disturbance.
The extent to which this jirecaution was car-
ried, and the manner of accomplishing it, formed
the chief point of distinction between what was
termed a good or slovenly workman, and, indeed,
was one of the circumstances on which they prin-
cipally depended for security against detection, and
the consequent means of continuing their avocation.
So much attention was devoted to this circumstance,
that the practised eye of an accomplished Resurrec-
tionist could, at a glance, detect signs about a grave,
352 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
indicating that means had been adopted to discover
any attempt at exhumation. A bit of stick, an
oyster shell, a stone, or a planted flower, were marks
which were recognised at once, and noted by the
practised body-snatchers; and, after their operations,
these were so perfectly restored to their former posi-
tion, as to deceive the most anxious visitor to the
grave, and, at the first glance, to assure him that all
had remained quiet and undisturbed. The necessity
for all this extreme caution, superadded to the
immense physical force and hardihood required in
exhuming a body, made the rapidity with which their
work was effected, even when they could adoj^t the
ordinary method of proceeding just described, still
more surprising. I was once told by a Resurrectionist,
that he had taken two bodies from separate graves
of considerable depth, and had restored the coffins,
and the earth itself, to their former position, in the
short space of an hour and a half, — a statement
which many circumstances led me to credit. Another
man proved to me that he had completed the exhu-
mation of a body in a quarter of an hour ; but in this
instance the grave was extremely shallow, and the
earth loose and without stones. This latter circum-
stance was ahvays important, not merely as it affected
the facility of excavating the grave, but also as con-
tributing to the safety of the Resurrectionists, who
were enabled to work in perfect silence in such
ground. In gravelly soils they had a peculiar mode
of flinging out the earth, in order to prevent the
rattling of the stones along the iron spade. Although
OPERATIONS OF THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 353
this rapidity of execution depended more upon
method than on force, yet the exhumator first
alluded to told me that, accustomed as he had been
to hard labour all his life, he had no idea of any
exertion comj^arable with that which was required
in these " jobs," as he called them.
Another motive for their strict secresy as to
their method of working, was, that their band, which
consisted of considerably fewer persons than was
generally supposed, might not be disturbed by the
intrusive entry of fresh men, who, in the hope of
obtaining their share of the great profit derived from
such occupation, were not unfrequently attempting
to invade Mdiat the Resurrectionists almost thought
to be their exclusive right of trade. As, on the one
hand, it was the object of the party seeking admis-
sion into this business, to discover the peculiar
method by which the initiated accomplished their
objects so rapidly, and, in proportion, with diminished
risk ; so, on the other hand, it was the object of the
monopolizers, by throwing a mystery around their
mode of working, to prevent this discovery taking
place; and further to secure themselves against such
an event, they would endeavour to set the new
comers on a wrong scent, and so lead to their
detection.
Their plan of working was once described to me
by a person, not a Resurrectionist, but one who was
in constant communication with these men, in the
following manner. He fancied he had found out
their secret, but had, no doubt, been deceived by
VOL. I. 2 A
854 LIFE OF SIR ASiTLEY COOPER.
some of them purposely. He began by saying,
plausibly enough, that it was evident the body could
not be removed in the direct manner, by shovelling
off the M'hole of the mould above it ; for if the coffin
Avere any considerable depth in the ground, or were
overlaid by one or two others, or if the grave were
covered by a heavy stone, or carefully turfed in, the
expense of time and labour, in getting out the body
and restoring the grave to its former appearance and
condition, would be so great, as well as the risk of
detection, that it could not be recompensed by the
amount of payment, large as it was, which the Resur-
rectionist subsequently received for his exertions.
The plan which, I was then informed, they pursued,
was the following, which, indeed, at first sight,
appears a much more efficacious and ready method
of obtaining their object.
Commencing their operations towards the head
of the coffin, in a portion of the earth below the
level of the mound, or raised portion of the grave,
they rapidly made an excavation of such a diameter
as only just to admit of the throwing out of the
mould. As soon as the head of the coffin was
arrived at, and exposed, it was at once prized out ;
and that there was not much difficulty in doing this
was shown to me, from the circumstance that the
dependence for the security of the body was chiefly
placed in the coffni-lid, to the fastenings of which
the attention of the undertaker was usually in par-
ticular directed. At this stage of the proceeding,
however, a difficulty at once suggested itself, which
OPERATIONS OP THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 355
evidently an uninitiated person would, in all proba-
bility, have failed to surmount ; for, as is well known,
the head of a coffin, as ordinarily constructed, is one
of its narrowest portions, and never of such a width
as to admit, in a direct manner, of the exit of the
chest and shoulders of the corpse within. My in-
formant, however, overcame this impediment at
once, by describing the Resurrectionist as rounding
the shoulders well over the chest, and then, in draw-
ing out the body, giving to it such a general turn as
to be enabled at once to extract it in the diagonal
of the opening already described. By these means,
I was informed, two or more Subjects could be
extracted, without much increase of time or labour,
out of one and the same grave.
Without giving myself much trouble in conside-
ration of this account, I for a long time believed it
to be the method pursued by them; but some time
afterwards, when there was no necessity any longer
for keeping the true plan a secret, I described it to
a person who bad been one of the most active among
these people. He at once showed me its incor-
rectness: "Oh!" said he, "that would never do;
why, don't you see, sir, we should be working in
old instead of the new soft ground? Besides, it
w^ould be detected at once, for we could not do it
without lengthening the grave." He mentioned to
me other obstacles, and afterwards related to me
the usual way of proceeding, which I have already
described.
When once the body was removed from the
2 A 2
356 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
burial-place, there Mas ordinarily no clanger of
detection, for the gravedigger and watchmen were
not likely to speak of a delinquency which they
themselves had been accessory to; and thus at this
period many a tear Avas dropped upon a grave bereft
of the ol)ject whom the mourner supposed to be
mouldering beneath the sod at his feet, and the
memory of whom still pained his recollection.
As soon as the body was raised, it was deposited
in an ordinary sized sack, (another part of the work
which required a specific rule of management, on
account of the difference in length which generally
existed between the Subject and its receptacle,) and
then carried to a hackney-coach, or spring- cart,
the latter in the JNIetropolis being the more usual
vehicle which was hired to receive it.
When the bodies were raised in the neighbour-
hood of provincial towns, they were invariably trans-
mitted to the ]\Ietropolis in such cases or packages,
as the staple manufactures or commodities of the
])lace were usually conveyed in; thus, occasionally,
they arrived in hat-crates, in the casks in which
hardwares are usually sent, &c.
The means described for removing bodies from
the London burial-places Mere not invariably called
into requisition ; for some of the men used to boast
of "M'orking more independent." On such occa-
sions, the Subject having been raised in the usual
way, instead of being deposited in the sack, M-as laid
on a large square green-baize cloth, the four corners
of M'hich M'ere tied together, so as to inclose the
1
MODE OF CONVEYING SUBJECTS. 357
body. Tlie prize was not conveyed to any dissecting
room that night, but was generally deposited in
some half-built house, or other convenient hiding-
place, until the following day. The independent
body-snatcher would then, habited as a j^orter,
swing the load over his shoulders, and often, even
in broad daylight, carry it to its place of destination
through the most croAvded streets of the Metropolis.
At other times, if any discovery had lately been
made, and the public newsjiapers Avere rife with
the description of some scene resulting from detec-
tion, these depredators were afraid to carry on their
work in their ordinary way, and then some of the
students used to receive the bodies at their own
houses, and ultimately themselves convey them in a
hackney-coach to the dissecting-rooms. Though
every precaution was usually adopted, the coachmen
on these occasions generally became fully aware of
the nature of their load, and would often avail
themselves of tliis knowledge to exact a larger re-
muneration for their service than they otherwise
could have claimed.
Some aAvkward predicaments occasionally re-
sulted from the means adopted by the coachmen to
insure the ])ayment of their exorbitant demands
under these circumstances. I knew a pupil, who
was conveying a body by coach to his Hospital from
another and bctter-su])plicd School, astonished by
suddenly finding himself in front of the Bow Street
police-office, when the coachman, tai:)ping at the
front window, said to his affrighted employed
358 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
within, " Sir, my fare to So-and-So is a guinea,
unless you wish to be jnit clown here." The reply,
without any hesitation, was, " Quite right, my man,
drive on."
No hour of the night seemed to be considered by
the Resurrectionists as sacred from disturbance to
those from whom they believed they could by any
means obtain assistance in their vocation. It now
and then happened, while I was living with my uncle
in New Street, that we were disturbed at three or
four o'clock in the morning by some of these men
rapping at the door, and telling the servant they
must see Mr. Cooper directly. On these occasions
I had to obey the summons, and their usual story
was, that they knew of three or four bodies, which
they could " work" immediately if they had but
such a sum, naming sometimes ten or sometimes
even twenty pounds, to bribe the gravedigger and
watchman; they at the same time swearing and
calling down imprecations on themselves if they did
not faithfully appropriate the bodies to the promised
School.
When this scheme was first put into practice,
they sometimes succeeded in obtaining their de-
mands: but it was soon found that either the supply
was taken to some other School, or, if to the one
promised, that they Avould take care so to manage,
as to receive the full price from the superintendent
of the dissecting-room — especially omitting all allu-
sion to the money which had been advanced.
These circumstances, to which Surgeons were
THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 859
unavoidably rendered victims, perhaps may be consi-
dered as some of the principal causes which have
prevented the members of the Medical profession
maintaining that rank in society of which the use-
fulness of their purpose rendered them justly worthy.
The very Government itself, as is well known, had
to sustain some degree of odium, from the necessity
which induced its members to shut their eyes to
the transactions of the Resurrectionists, for, without
their j^assive permission of these transgressions, Eng-
land in a short time would have stood lowest among
European nations as to the condition of her Medical
science.
360 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
CHAPTER XIX.
Arrangements for the Winter Supply of Subjects
FOR Dissection. Deposit Fees. IMurphy's Strata-
gems. Painful Position of the Teachers of
Anatomy. Independence of the Resurrectionists.
Their Rivalry. Disturbance at Holywell Mount.
Increased Vigilance of the Public. Dangers to
which the Men became exposed. Other Means
resorted to. Anecdotes. Communication from
Mr. Brookes to Sir Astley Cooper. Anecdote.
Expenses of Surgeons. Fortunes of the Exhu-
MATORS. Offers of Persons to Sir Astley Cooper
TO dispose of their own Bodies. Collateral
Occupations of the Exhumators. Messenger from
MY Uncle to me when in Spain. His Business, and
its Success. Occasional Uses made of the Exhu-
mators BY Sir Astley Cooper. Government
acquainted with their Proceedings. Influence
OF Sir Astley Cooper. The Anatomy Act.
At the commencement of a new session at tlie
Hospitals, -when each Professor was fully engaged
about the particular department in which he was a
teacher, and everything augiired favourably for a
successful campaign, Crouch or INIurphy, who were
at the head of the Resurrectionists of their re-
spective periods, would be seen flitting about the dis-
secting-room, l)owing comjilacently to the lecturers,
and either by a proffered smile inviting confidence, or
perhaps merely by silence leading the anatomical
ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUPPLY OF SUBJECTS. 861
teacher to believe that his School was to be the
chosen scene of his traffic durinof the comino:
winter. Each of these parties was shy in commenc-
ing conversation on the matters which brought them
together; and, indeed, it generally happened that
the topic Avas broached between the Resurrectionist
and the superintendent of the dissecting-room.
At these meetings, some such kind of dialogue
as the following usually occurred: — " Well, Mr.
what does Sir mean to stand this season?"
" Oh ! I don't know. Murphy — whatever's fair. What
will you take this morning?" " Nothing, I thank
you, Mr. , but I don't mean to work this sea-
son without I get ten guineas a Subject." " Oh,
indeed! well, we don't mean to give more than
eight!" "Then you may go and tell Sir ,"
would be the rejoinder, " that he may raise his own
Subjects; for not one will he get from us:" — and so
for three weeks or a month, frequently, would all
conference with JNIurphy end. In the interim, per-
haps, some new men would be employed, but it
generally happened that their efforts were crushed
in the commencement, they being either detected by
police through means of information from the old
Resurrectionists, bribed off, or in some other manner
hindered from the prosecution of their endeavours.
So this having failed, jNlurphy would come back
again, and say, " Come, you can't get on M'ithout us
— give us fifty pounds down, and nine guineas a
body, and we will work for your School, and no
other." This arrangement was often acceded to,
362 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
though usually without the slightest expectation of
the promise of excliisiveness in the supply being
attended to a week after it was made.
The plan of demanding an opening fee at the
commencement of a session, was almost invariably
adopted by the Resurrectionists before entering
into an agreement to suj^ply a jiarticular School
throughout the season. Murphy, when he had
become distinguished in the " profession," always
insisted on receiving this douceur, ostensibly for the
purpose of making the watchmen, whose assistance
he required in his undertakings, what he termed
"all right." This, however, was a mere pretence,
for these people were never paid in this manner, but
received a certain sum for each Subject as it was
raised: the advantages of this arrangement to the
Resurrectionists are sufficiently obvious. I have
been informed by several of the body-snatchers who
were dependent in some measure on Murphy, that he
made a considerable profit by these entrance fees;
for he obtained four or five such sums, as he had no
scruples about the number of Schools he would pro-
mise to supply exclusively, and considering them as
perquisites peculiarly his own, very seldom gave any
share of them to his companions.
These exactions were usually opposed by the
Surgeons, knowing as they did how little dependence
could be placed on the promises which were made
by the Resurrectionists of future supplies in consi-
deration for the sum to be advanced. Sometimes in
the attempt to overcome this opposition of the
murphy's stratagems. 363
teachers, and at the same time to gain the price for
which they were contending, the Resurrectionists,
but especially INIurphy, adopted manoeuvres of a
most ingenious and amusing description. I know
of several instances of this nature; but perhaps
the trick I am about to mention, will furnish a
sufficient example of the devices occasionally re-
sorted to for these purposes.
Just prior to the opening of the session of the
year , INIurphy had an interview with Mr. ^
now one of the Surgeons, but at that time a Lecturer
on anatomy at a large hospital in London, relative
to the supply of Subjects for the School, during the
ensuing winter; and in the course of liis conversa-
tion said, that he must have twenty guineas before
he could send in a single body. The usual excuse
for his need of such a sum was given, and, as usual,
disputed. At last, Mr. , thinking to test the
correctness of his plea, asked if he himself could
not make the arrangements with some of these
watchmen. " Certainly, if you please," instantly
returned Murphy: "it does not matter to me who
does it, as long as they are made right." " Well,
now, who do you think is the most likely man to do
it for you?" asked Mr. . " I had intended
going to ," said Murphy, naming a church-yard
not far from Holborn ; " there is only one watchman
there, and the place is convenient enough; but I
doubt you will find it not so easy a matter as you
think." Notwithstanding this suspicion, it was
settled that Murphy and JNIr. H , one of the
364 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Demonstrators at the Hospital, should the same
day call on the grave-digger mentioned by Murphy,
and together attempt to v,m him over to accede to
tlieir wishes. At JNIurphy's suggestion, the visit
was deferred until the dusk of the evening, as in
the day-time, he said, it would attract the observa-
tion of the man's neighbours, and might lead to
mischief.
The true motive, however, for this delay, was
INIurphy's wish for an opportunity of seeing the
grave-digger, — who in reality was one of his friends,
and already in his employ, — in order to prepare him
for the visit, and to make the arrangements which
he purposed for carrying out his scheme.
Singularly enough, no suspicion of this crossed
the minds of JNIurjihy's employers; and, accordingly,
JNIr. S met Murphy at the appointed time, and
getting into a coach with him soon arrived near the
place of destination. Turning into a narrow court,
they stopped at the door of a small house, which
JNIurphy whispered was the end of their Journey.
He had previously informed iSIr. S that the
man was living alone Mith his wife, and rented but
a single apartment, and had not increased INIr.
S 's predilection for the business, by giving him
a series of precautions as to how he was to act, and
by informing him that the grave-digger Mas a des-
perate fellow to deal with, and had in several
instances fired at men whom he had caught in the
act of robbing his ground.
On knocking, they were answered T)y a woman
murphy's stratagems. 365
from within, who, learning that they wished to speak
to her husband, replied, without opening" the door,
that he was in bed, and could not see any one.
This difficulty was soon got over, for the man himself
shortly afterwards called out that it was his time to
get up, and desired the persons to be admitted.
They accordingly entered, and the man, who was
sitting on the side of his bed, from which it appeared
he had just risen, beckoned INIr. S to a seat by
the fire, immediately facing himself. Murphy took
a chair near the foot of the bed. It was some time
before, to all appearance, either of them could sum-
mon up resolution to commence their story; but at
length, with the utmost hesitation and diffidence.
Murphy, at the request of his companion, broke the
ice, and then gradually explained tlie object of their
visit.
The grave-digger listened to it all with scarcely
a single interruption, and seemingly with the most
profound consideration. At last, he sternly though
quietly said, " And this is really what you have come
to me about?" Mr. S assented. " You are sure
of it?" he continued, in the same measured tone of
cool surprise, while at the same time, stooping down,
he deliberately drew from under the bed a huge
horse-pistol, the muzzle of Avhicli he caused to stare
directly in Mr. S 's face. Mr. 8 instinct-
ively drew back; but before he could make any
remark, was assailed with a volley of oaths and
abuse, so fearfully violent, and such threatenings of
vengeance if he dared to approach the ground under
3 GO LIFE OF Sm ASTLEY COOPER.
his care, — tlie pistol all the time, which the fellow
swore was loaded, shaking in his hand, exactly
opposite to the trembling visitor's head, — that
perhaps Mr. S had never before experienced a
degree of relief from terror and alarm to be com-
pared with that which he felt when he again found
himself with Murphy among the crowd of people on
Ilolborn Hill.
The following morning, Murphy was again at
the Hospital with Mr. , who told him he had
had a full account of their visit. He said he was
certain such extreme violence must be peculiar to
that individual, and asked Murphy if he knew of
no other man more likely to suit their purpose.
ISIurphy was prepared, and mentioned another
of his allies, the superintendent of a chapel in
St. George's in the East, whose residence was
attached to, and, indeed, opened into the burial-
ground. Some little persuasion was necessary to
induce Mr. S to enter upon such an undertaking
again; but his objections having been removed, they
repaired to the place as before in the evening. IMr.
S this time declined to go into the house, but
remained walking on the opposite side of the road,
while INIurjjhy went over to tell the sexton that
a gentleman wished to speak with him.
]\fr. S was soon joined by a demure, respect-
able looking person, and ]\Iur])hy having introduced
them to each other, fell back behind. They had
not been many minutes together, when a repe-
tition of the scene of the preceding evening occurred,
murphy's stratagems. 367
modified only by the different positions of the
parties. ISIurphy permitted poor IMr. S to be
subjected to the virulent objurgations of his friend
the sexton for a short time, and then sidling up to
him, as if in a state of alarm, hurried him away:
followed, however, for some distance by the sexton,
expressing the greatest anxiety to meet with a
watchman, and regretting only that he had not got
the " rascals safe in his own premises."
This second adventure comi)letely satisfied Mr.
S of the folly of his attempting to form any alli-
ance with sextons and gi*ave-diggers, and Mr.
supi:)osing it sufficiently evident from the results of
these trials, that nothing but the low cunning of
the resurrectionists was able to cope with such
obstinacy, paid INIurphy the sum he demanded, and
left him to settle the matter as he found most
-convenient.
Sometimes the exhumators, to induce the
teachers of a particular School to accede to their
exorbitant terms, would threaten to supply a rival
School entirely, and thus render dissatisfied the
pupils of the institution which resisted their de-
mands. It was from this cause principally, that the
well known establishment of JNIr. Grainger at one
time flourished in ojiposition to the older institu-
tions with such unparalleled success. The result
of this, however, was to render the expenses so
considerable, as to leave but little remuneration for
the arduous duties of the teachers; for, although
they were well supplied, it was at a charge but
368 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
little less than the sum Avliich was refused by the
lecturers of the other Schools.
The public, even with this narration, can form
but an inadequate idea of the harassing- situation in
which the teachers were placed, in consequence of
the deficiency in the supply of Subjects; on the one
hand, from witnessing the want of occupation of their
class in the most essential branch of their studies,
and their consequent liability to fall into habits of
idleness and dissipation: on the other hand, from
the discontent which existed among the pupils them-
selves on these occasions. Meetings were held by
the students, deputations sent up to the heads of the
institution to complain of the inefficient state of the
School, anonymous letters written, sometimes expres-
sing threats from the pupils, to leave en masse for the
Continent, sometimes asserting that their teacher was
not equally active with the head of some other ana-
tomical class, or sometimes even insinuating that the
deficiency originated from motives of parsimony, or
from obstinacy in withstanding the offers of their
supjiliers, rather than from any exorbitance in the
prices asked by the Resurrectionists. That such
accusations were unfounded, will appear from the well
known fact that the teachers Avere continually in the
habit of giving out of tlieir own i)ockets a much
larger sum for each body, than the pupils paid for
them, to whom they were afterwards distributed for
dissection.
Latterly, one source of the independent conduct
of these men towards the teachers of anatomv in
INDEPENDENCE OF THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 369
London, was the circumstance of their being able
to dispose of any Subjects which they might raise,
to the schools of medicine attached to the provin-
cial Hospitals, Thus, at various periods Subjects
were sent to JNIanchester, Birmingham, Bristol,
Exeter, &c., by the London Resurrectionists. This
demand usually arose out of some increased vigi-
lance on the part of the inhabitants of the city or
the neighbouring villages, in consequence of some
discovery and public exposure of the practice of
exhumation. At one time, in consequence of the
difficulties and obstructions met with in the neigh-
bourhood of London, Liverpool became one of the
chief sources of its supply of bodies for dissection,
and soon, from the comparative facility with which
the Resurrectionists found they could carry out their
objects, this town became the centre of a most
extensive traffic in Subjects, not only with the
Metropolis, but also with Glasgow and Edinburgh.
These transactions were not discovered for some
time, but when at last they were detected, the inha-
bitants became extremely excited, and so vigilant,
that not only was the traffic with the above-men-
tioned places arrested, but a supply could not be
obtained for the pupils connected with the anato-
mical establishments of the city itself. Then in
turn London, conjointly with Dublin, became the
means of supply to Liverpool.
At another period, the exhumators connected
with the London Schools had suddenly the oppor-
tunity of disposing of a numl)er of Subjects to the
VOL. I. 2 D
370 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
teachers of anatomy at Edinburgh. This circum-
stance, and the eftect it produced on the supply to
the lecturers of the Metropolis, is thus alluded to in
the Re])ort of a Committee a]>pointcd by the Royal
College of Surgeons at Edinburgh in the year 1828,
to inquire into the state and opportunities of educa-
tion with regard to Practical Anatomy in that city.
" When the study of Practical Anatomy was
followed by students here only to a limited extent,
the small number of Subjects required was pro-
cured in Edinburgh and its vicinity, and the price
was three or four guineas. As the school of ana-
tomy extended, and a greater supply was required,
the violation of churchyards was more frequently
detected, and the feelings of tlie populace were often
irritated by the audacity, carelessness, and reckless-
ness of the degraded and ungovernable class of men
who are necessarily employed in the occu])ation of
procuring bodies, and whose numbers were con-
siderably increased. These circumstances roused
the feelings of the people, and increased their vigi-
lance to prevent these outrages, by which the
supply here was rendered much more difficult and
deficient.
"Afterwards for some time a large supply was
obtained from London, though at a considerable
expense. The Committee have reason to believe,
that this new demand for bodies had the eftect of
diminishing, in some degree, the supply of the ana-
tomical teachers in London; it diminished, to a
certain extent, the dependence of the body-snatchers
SUPPLY OF SUBJECTS. 371
on these teachers, and dissensions arose between
them and among tlie body-snatchers themselves.
The difficnlties of procnring Snbjects in London,
were by this time much increased ; a stop was pnt
almost entirely to this source of supply to Edin-
burgh, and obstacles were produced to the supply
of the London School, the effects of which your
Committee believe have not yet ceased to operate.
" Lately, the supply of Subjects in Edinburgh
has been procured chiefly from a distance, and a
considerable part of it from Ireland, where, it seems,
bodies can be procured more easily, and with less
outrage to the public feeling, than in other parts of
the empire. It has been stated, that this new
demand for bodies has had the effect of raising the
price of them in the Dublin Schools, but your
Committee believe, from all they have ever heard,
that if no illiberal interference be interposed, the
supply required from Dublin by other Schools might
go on without any real injury being inflicted on the
anatomical school there. If attempts be made to
interrupt it, considerable temporary inconvenience,
it is probable, will necessarily be produced in Edin-
burgh; and your Committee are convinced that the
facilities of obtaining bodies in Dublin itself will
also be most materially diminished and impeded.
" It is obvious, that in the present state of the
law, and of popular feeling, it would be diflicult, if
not impossible, to obtain the supply required in
Edinburgh from the town or the vicinity. The
obstacles do not now arise from a prejudice against
2 B 2
372 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
opening dead bodies; for this has rapidly declined,
and permission can in general be obtained by me-
dical men, without difficulty, to inspect bodies
for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of disease-
It seems to arise from those feelings of family and
domestic attachment which exist in a remarkable
deo-ree in this country, beins: continued to the
objects of them even after death. Hence those
feelings of respect and care for the remains of
relations and connections, and of horror at their
being disturbed or treated with indignity, which so
universally prevail, and are evinced in many of the
customs and habits, and even, it is believed, in some
of the laws of the country. They have led to the
most jealous jirecautions against the practices of
disinterment, which are often taken with much
trouble, and at a considerable expense, and without
much reoard to the leofalitv of the means which are
emi)loyed for the purpose."
It was usual for two or three of the men who
were at the head of this strange but jirofitable avoca-
tion, to work for certain particular schools of ana-
tomy, and systematically to avoid all interference
with each other. Occasionally, however, this ami-
cable arrangement was interfered with, and cs])ccially
at times when a great scarcity of Subjects arose,
which not unfrequently occurred, either from the
difficulty in procuring them, — from a sudden increase
of vigilance on the part of the public, — from the
healthy state of the ^Ictropolis, or, in certain
seasons, from the inimcnso number in demand.
RIVALRY OF THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 373
Upon such occasions, the most greedy of the party
Mould ask exorbitant sums; and t^venty pounds I
have known tlie price demanded, and in some few
instances given, for a single Subject.
Usually such sums were resisted by the teachers
of anatomy, until at last one of the other leaders
would secretly supply the School at a smaller price.
This circumstance Mould soon be discovered by his
rival, as these men, by a kind of freemasonry. Mere
readily admitted into every dissecting-room in the
Metropolis. In revenge, he Mould bribe one of the
underlings of the opposite party to tell him M'here
the bodies Mere raised ; and then inform against
every one connected M'ith that particular theft, so
preventing any further supply from the same source,
and most probal^ly, at the same time, get his
rival some months' imprisonment.
A jealousy also occasionally arose betM'een these
opposite sets of Resurrectionists, in consequence of one
party being in possession of a prolific source of supply,
Mhich they kept Avholly to themselves, refusing any
participation in the profits to tlie other men mIio
Mere at the time unsuccessful in their attempts to
obtain Subjects. I have lately, through the medium
of an old Resurrectionist, become acquainted with
the history of an occurrence, Mhich caused a consi-
derable sensation at the time it happened, and mMII
exemplify their conduct toM'ards each other under
such circumstances.
Two M'ell-knoMii Resurrectionists, ISJurphy, and
another, to Mlioni, as lie i:s still alive, and l)earing a
374 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
respectable character, I give the assumed name of
Patrick, had been fortunate enough to get a plentiful
supply from a private burial-place near Holywell
INlount, the property of two old women, whose pre-
mises indeed formed the entrance to it. The exhu-
mators had gained access by forming an acquaintance
with a man of the name of Whackett,\vho had the sole
su2)erintendence of the ground, and officiated more-
over as gravedigger. This man was in the habit of
remaining on duty until sunset ; and used, upon his
departure, to leave the bolt of the gate undrawn,
which, although still locked, offered no impediment
to the entrance of his friends, as he had supplied
them with a key. Here INIurphy and Patrick used to
pay their nocturnal visits, and going over the ground
looked for certain signs which their accomplice
always left to point out the situation, of the parti-
cular bodies which he considered might be removed
with the least fear of detection. There was an
especial necessity, in this case, for such marks to
direct their operations, as the graves were not here
elevated into mounds as ordinarily. With these
facilities, they for some time carried on a most
successful trade, and frequently brought away as
many as six bodies in one night. This prosperity
excited the astonishment and envy of their rivals in
business as to the source from whence they obtained
their supply ; and some of tliem determined to
adopt means either to particii)ate in their harvest, or
to discover and destroy the source from whence they
reaped such benefits.
DISTURBANX^E AT HOLYWELL MOUNT. 875
Two of the exhumators, named Holliss and
Vaughan, at last got scent of the scene of action,
and as soon as they had discovered it, determined to
make Whackett admit them " to a share of the job,"
or threaten to ex]:)ose the whole transaction. The
next day, accordingly, they had an interview with
Whackett, for the purpose of effecting their object,
and tried to deceive him by saying, that although he
was not aware of it, they were sharers ^vith ]Murphy
in the profits derived from his ground. Whackett
stood aloof, and obstinately resisted every attempt
at explanation. Notwithstanding this opposition,
they persisted in their importunity, and at last
enraged Whackett so much, that he ran across the
street to a public-house which was full of labourers,
and pointing through the windows to the two men,
called out, " Those fellows are body-snatchers, and
are come here for the purpose of bribing me to
let them raise from my ground." This was enough :
the whole party rushed out of the house, im-
pressed with a common determination to inflict
instant punishment upon these objects of their abhor-
rence. Vaughan and Holliss saw them approach,
and guessing their intention, ran off, and outstrip-
ping them by their speed, altogether escaped.
The sjiirit of retaliation urged the enraged and
disappointed Vaughan and Holliss to seek revenge,
and they went directly to a police-office where
a magistrate was at the moment sitting, and, in the
midst of a crowded court, informed him, in a loud
tone, that if he sent officers to Holywell Mount
376 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
burial-gi'ouiul, they would find every grave despoiled
of its dead ; the grave-digger, Whackett, having sold
them to the body-snatchers. The people present
simultaneously caught an impulsive feeling of indig-
nation, and hastened towards the spot. As they
went along, their numbers increased, and having
arrived at the burial-ground, they broke open the
gates, and commenced digging up the graves.
Whackett's escape was prevented, and he was made
to Avitness the extent of his own depredations,
until the mob, becoming more and more enraged
as the empty coffins were severally exposed, sud-
denly seized him, threw him into one of the deepest
excavations, and began shovelling the earth over
him. My informant told me he would certaiidy
have been buried alive, had it not been for the
activity of some of the constables, who had fol-
lowed the people from the office. The excitement
was so great that the mob went to Whackett's house,
where they destroyed every article of his furniture,
seized his wife and children, Avhoni thev drasfffed
through a stagnant pool in the neighl)ourhood, and
then proceeded to break the windoMs in the house
of the two old women who were the owners of the
property, although they were perfectly innocent,
even of any connivance with the ])arties implicated
in the transaction.
Thus Muq)hy was entirely dci)rived of this
source of abundant supply, and he determined to
take the earliest opportunity of wreaking Jiis revenge
on the informants. It was iiearh- a twelvemonth
INCREASED VIGIT.ANCE OF THE PUBLIC. 377
before an opportunity oftered itself; but lie had
not even then forgotten the aftair at Holywell
JNIount, or lost his desire for revenoino- it. Vaudian
Avas at this time secreting himself, having com-
mitted some offence, and the police were in search
of him. Murphy knew of this affair, and having
discovered Vaughan's hiding-place, immediately
MTote a letter mentionino- it to one of the sittino:
magistrates. In consequence of this information,
Vaughan was taken, and he was soon afterwards
committed to Maidstone Gaol, where he remained
confined for a period of two years.
Each discovery of such outrages as we have
described led, as may naturally be supposed, to an
increased degree of watchfulness on the part of the
public; so that many of the burial-grounds to which
free access could once be obtained, at length be-
came accessible only with considerable danger. On
account of such public excitement, the resurrection-
men were obliged to act with infinitely greater cau-
tion than they had hitherto done; and the sums of
money necessary to bribe the greater force employed
as watchmen, prevented any persons being engaged
in the business, who were not well furnished with
means of buying over the additional guard. Almost
all the new men were thus thrown out of employ.
The more experienced, however, or tiie " regu-
lars," continued their occupation, but they were
exposed to a great increase of danger, and Avere
freipiently so roughly handled, that they became
more and more fearful, the supi)ly of bodies in
378 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
proportion to the demand less efficient, and the
price required for them more and more exorbi-
tant. It was no luifrcquent occurrence for them
to be severely beaten, or perhaps fired at or cap-
tured by the guards, who were greatly increased
in numbers, and in many cases both honest and
vigilant, and thus every man employed in the busi-
ness became liable to be shot, or at any rate to
suffer a loss of liberty, often for a lengthened period
of time. They were not so often wounded, how-
ever, as might have been expected, the alarm of the
jDersons using the fire-arms seldom allowing them to
take a very cool aim. A man, in whose veracity I
had much confidence, told me he had been fired at
five several times, on cacli occasion without any injury
whatever. Murphy, in scaling the wall at Bethnal
Green church-yard, had once a very narrow escape, for
a heavy charge from a blunderbuss fired by one of
the watchmen, entered and shattered a brick scarcely
an inch from his loin; he was wounded by two or
three of the shot.
When even the exhumators did succeed in "work-
ing a grave," they now frequently found means had
been employed to render their attempts at raising
the body futile. Sometimes they found the coffin
filled with quick lime, or buried so deeply as in
certain soils to admit a foot of water above it. - Occa-
sionally, too, they met with cast-iron coffins in place
of the usunl wooden recoi)tacles. Tlio latter con-
trivance was considered as an insuperable obstacle
to the Resurrectionists effecting their object, and
DANGERS IN EXHUMING BODIES. 879
indeed had they come generally into use, would have
proved so, for although the lids could be readily
broken into pieces by a sledge hammer, the noise
which necessarily attended the operation was a suffi-
cient preventive to its being carried into effect. The
imj^erishable nature, however, of the material of
which they were made, itself offered the objection to
their employment, for in a few years every church-
yard in London would have been thus rendered use-
less as a further receptacle for the dead.
As a further security the walls around the burial-
places were now sometimes raised six or eight feet
above their usual height, and several tiers of bricks
left loose upon the summit, and broken glass or
iron spikes placed there, in order to offer further
obstacle to their being scaled. Added to these means
of defence, parties of men were now and then set to
watch the Resurrectionists into the inclosures, and
while they were busily employed, Mould suddenly
rush ujion them, and attacking them, while unpre-
pared, either capture them or beat them unmercifully
Spring-guns were often set in various directions
in the church-yards, but these never answered the
purpose intended by them. If a Resurrectionist
proposed to work where these instruments of danger
were used, and when he was not intimate with the
grave-digger or watchman, he sent women in the
course of the day into the ground, generally at a
time when there was a funeral, to note the i)osition
of the pegs to which the wires were to be attached.
Having obtained this information, the first object of
380 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOrER.
tlie party at niglit would be to fool for one of these,
and having found it, they carefully followed the
wire, till they came up to the gun, which was then
raised from the surface of the grave mound, (its
usual position,) and deposited safely at its foot.
I have been told that as many as seven bodies have
been taken out of one grave in the course of a
night, under these circumstances. The grave being-
filled up and restored to order, the gun was replaced
precisely in the spot it had previously occupied.
It generally happens whenever danger enters into
any occupation, that there are persons to be found
who are anxious to mingle in the excitement, so even
the frightful avocation of the Resurrectionist had
its amateurs. The Hospital students Avould occa-
sionally join the depredators in their nightly ex-
ploits, though not unfrequently obliged to pay for
the danger Avhich they thus incurred. They were,
however, most frequently kept apart from the more
important operations, being employed either in
looking out or some such subordinate occupation:
never, as far as I know, being allowed to engage
themselves actively in the j)roceedings at the grave.
In Dublin, the violence exercised by the popu-
lace against the Resurrectionists, appears to have
been carried to a further extent than in London.
Dr. JMacartney, the Professor of Anatomy in Tri-
nity College, Dublin, gave the following account
before a Committee of the House of Commons, in
evidence of the danger to Mliicli the exhumators
Avere exposed in that city.
I
I
THE RESURRECTIONISrS IN DUBLIN. 381
"A report was propagated in Dublin, which
originally had been circulated in Scotland, that
children were kidnapped for the purpose of dissec-
tion, and this became so currently believed by the
populace, that it was necessary to protect one of
the anatomical schools, for nearly a week, by means
of the police. This strong feeling in the public
mind arose chiefly from the supposition, that these
children were to be sent over either to Scotland or
England by the steam vessels. The difficulty has
indeed been so very great within the last few
months, that most of the schools in Dublin have
been unable to finish their winter dissections at the
usual period. The common people frequently of
late have assaulted the Resurrection-men; one of
these men died in consequence of a severe beating,
and another in consequence of being whipped with
a sort of cat-o'-nine tails made with wire, and others
were thrown into the water. In the first of these
cases I paid the expenses of a prosecution for murder
against the parties; they were not convicted, but
the prosecution had a very good effect on the
state of public feeling. I may add, that lately also,
even medical men and medical students were assailed
by the people, and that at present the Resurrection-
men go to a great number of grave-yards, some
distance from Dublin, provided Avith fire-arms, and
are accompanied frequently by several students
armed in the same manner."
Such accumulated difficulties were not readily
to be overcome, and in consequence, the dissecting-
382 LIFE OP SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
rooms became very thinly supplied, and tlie men
were frequently out of employ. Necessity then
led them to seek other means for obtaining bodies,
besides that of exhumation, -which resource, indeed,
from the state of public excitement, seemed at one
time to be totally destroyed. Among otlier contri-
vances, they adoped one of forming an intimacy
■with the lower classes of undertakers, to whose
establishments the bodies of the poor were frequently
taken, to remain several days before interment. The
Resurrectionists hoped, by connecting themselves
with these people, to secure many bodies; nor would
it api^ear that they were far wrong in their expecta-
tion, that a new soui'ce of supply would thus be
opened to their craft. I have reason to believe, that
about the years 1825 and 1826, a time, when there
was an extraordinary flow of students into London,
many Subjects were procured by such means, and
that often, during this period, a clergyman has read
the funeral service over a coffin filled with brick-
bats, or some like substitute for the stolen body.
This trade would i)robably have been carried on for a
greater length of time, had not the Resurrection-men
themselves, in their quarrels, exposed the mode of
proceeding, and so, consequently, put a stoj) to it.
More serious depredations than these were some-
times had recourse to; for the bodies of those wlio
had met with violent deaths, were occasionally
stolen, either before or after the coroner's inquest
had taken place upon them. The following was the
plan pursued on one occasion of this sort.
ANECDOTE. 383
Patrick was strolling in the neighbourhood
of Sydenham, when he heard that the body of
a female had been found in the canal, and taken
to the public-house on the preceding even-
ing. Ever alive to business, he at once went
to the inn, ordered some beer, and soon con-
trived to enter into conversation with the pot-boy.
From him he learned that the body in the stable
was suspected to be that of a pauper, wdio had
escaped from the Woolwich Avorkhouse, and seemed
to be without friends to claim it for burial. He
also discovered that his informant, on some pre-
vious occasion, had been employed for two nights
in watching a body placed there under similar cir-
cumstances, but had been subsequently so ill repaid
by the parish-officer for his trouble, that he had deter-
mined not to sit up with any other again. This was
sufficient for Patricls:: carefully examining, as well
as his position would allow, the size and form of
the key-hole of the stable-door, he soon left, and
went on his way to London.
At a late hour on the same evening, Patrick
returned to Sydenham with a companion, and after
prowling about for an hour and a half, reconnoi-
tring, proceeded to try if any of the keys he had
brought with him, would unlock the door of the
stable, which was so placed as to be easily got at
from the road. To their delight, the first key
used opened it at once, and the rest of their ope-
rations within the stable were soon concluded.
Having obtained the prize, they turned down a nar-
384 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
row lane, and were soon far away from Sydenham,
so that they succeeded in depositing the Subject at
its destination in London before day-break. The
next afternoon, Patrick was sitting in a room at the
Elephant and Castle inn, when a coachman, with
whom he was slightly acquainted, came in, and
commenced giving him an account of a tremendous
disturbance which had occurred that morning at
Sydenham; telling him that a jury had met to sit on
a body, but on going into the stable to inspect it,
they found that the body had disappeared in the
course of the night. He little thought how readily
the man he was addressing could have exjilained
the matter, had he chosen, or that he had at that very
time, in his waistcoat pocket, half the money the
missing body had produced.
Another plan to which they resorted, was to
ascertain in the various poor-houses, infirmaries,
and hospitals, within the JNIetropolis, the names and
connexions of those who had lately died in such
institutions. On these occasions, if they found the
bodies of any who seemed destitute of relations or
friends, or at any rate, whose connexions had exhibited
very little concern about them, they would call on
the proj^er officers, and, assunn'ng an appearance of
distress, assert some close relationshii) with the
deceased, and claim the body for the purpose of
burial. The demand was not very unfrequently
com])lied with, esj)ecially at the Avorkhouses, — the
officers at these establishments being neither anxious
to investigate the rights insisted on by the ai)pli-
MEANS EMPLOYED IN 0BTAININC4 BODIES. 385
cant, nor unwilling to relieve themselves of the
expense of the funeral.
This device originated with the Resurrectionist
Patrick, and was for some time exclusively carried on
by him. He succeeded in obtaining a considerable
number of Subjects by these means, chiefly from St.
Giles's Workhouse. At first, his wife was employed,
under various disguises, to own the bodies; but after
she had become known, he was compelled to avail
himself of other assistance. The Subjects were
removed in a shell towards the evening, by a strong
fellow of the name of Couchman who acted as the
porter, seemingly as if employed by an undertaker.
The manner in which Patrick's system was
detected and exposed is illustrative of the feelings
and conduct of these men towards each other.
Murphy, who had observed the supply with which
Patrick was furnishing the Schools, was anxious to
destroy this exclusive benefit, but was unable to dis-
cover the source from whence the bodies were
obtained. One day he saw Couchman, whom he
knew to be Patrick's assistant, passing his house ;
he ran out to him, and finding that he had not dined,
invited him to come in and take the meal with
him. This, Couchman, a hearty hungry fellow, readily
assented to, and Murphy took care to supj^ly him to
his heart's content. He afterwards furnished him
liberally with rum and water, until, having brought
the man into the best possible humour, he com-
menced putting his scheme into action.
He told him that he was in want of a strong and
VOL. I. 2 c
386 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPEK.
confidential person to act as partner with him in pro-
curing Subjects, — that he was just the man, for M'lth
his strength, and his own knowledge, if they only
kept true to themselves, they could always ensure a
sujjply, and get as much money as they wished.
Couchman was in too happy a condition at that
moment, to take the trouble either of sifting JMur-
phy's motives, or of weighing the merits of so appa-
rently tempting an offer: so the compact was settled
amid assurances of mutual regard and fidelity.
" Well," said JNIurphy, " it is always a rule Avith
me, not to have any secrets with such friends as
we are now, and I suppose it is so with you; you
have been working with Patrick lately, — now where
has he been raising of late?" Couchman then
explained to him the whole matter. ]\Iurphy was
delighted at the successful event of his plot. " Why
you may make your fortune," he said, " you are safe
for getting a place for life, if you only tell this
to the Board. Lose no time about it, let us go
at once." Couchman, half drunk, caught JMurphy's
excitement, and at once assented. A coach was
accordingly sent for on the instant, and the man
ordered to drive to St. Giles's. When they had ar-
rived near the workhouse, JMurphy recollected that
he had better not go in: "For," said he to Couchmau,
" many of them know me, and may have some scru-
ples about believing the story if it come from me."
Couchman, therefore, went in alone; saw the master,
to whom he related the whole account; and concluded
by informing him, that Patrick's wife was to take
ANECDOTE. $87
away one of the bodies which were then in the dead-
house, on the following day. He then joined Mur-
phy, who had gone into a neighbouring public-house,
where they finished the evening together.
The next day, Patrick's wife, unconscious of
the discovery, went to the workhouse to claim the
body, and there, singularly enough, met some real
relations of the deceased, who had come on the
same errand as herself. ISIrs. Patrick was taken
before a police magistrate, but was discharged, as
there was not sufficient evidence to prove her guilty
of anything more than a mistake as to the identity
of the individual she had been claiming.
The same evening, however, Patrick and his wife
were committed for trial, on account of charges
against them, sworn to by Couchman, " for owning
and obtaining bodies under false pretences." The
event of the trial was curious ; for Couchman and
his wife, mIio gave a minute and laughable account
of one particular occasion on which, acting under
Patrick's directions, they had together claimed and
obtained jiossession of a body as that of a relative,
established their own guilt in the transaction, while,
at the same time hy their own evidence, Patrick
was cleared from the charges upon which he had
been brought to trial. One of the most amusing
points in the aftair, was the description, by Couch-
man's wife, of the dress which Patrick had pro-
vided for her, not omitting to mention a clean
white pocket handkerchief, with "directions for
use."
2 C 2
388 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPEK.
This investigation led the parish officers to be-
come more careful as to the parties to whom they
gave lip their dead, and of course caused a great im-
pediment towards the further prosecution of this
system.
Sometimes circumstances would occur, offering
to a Resurrectionist a sudden opportunity of earning
money in some unusual way : and of these chances
they were always most ready to take advantage,
even although they might be attended with consi-
derable risk of detection.
One of these men, in walking in the vicinity of
Ilosjiital, saw a person stagger and fall heavily
on the ground. He impulsively ran to him with a
view of offering assistance, but he had hardly
reached him when the man ceased to live. The
body-snatcher no sooner perceived this, than a
new train of thoughts entered his mind, and he
immediately adapted his features to the part he
meant to play. No one could have bewailed the
loss of an attached relative with more sincerity than
he affected to do, while soliciting the passers-by to
assist him in conveying his cousin to the hospital,
though he feared it was too late to offer any reason-
able hope of his recovery. Having deposited him in
the care of the house surgeon, to whom the body-
snatcher was not known, he was told in as gentle a
manner as kindly feeling could dictate, that the
person was quite dead ; upon which information the
afflicted relative soon afterwards left the hospital.
The following day, a coroner's inquest having sat
MEANS EMPLOYED IN OBTAINING BODIES. 389
upon the body, he took it a^ay in a shell, and con-
veyed it to another hospital. The sum which he
received for it, as may be supposed, succeeded in
considerably assuaging his grief on the occasion.
The following case is but a specimen of the
extraordinary methods now and then adopted by
the Resurrectionists to compass their object.
An intimate friend of Patrick's was employed
in the service of a gentleman, whose residence Avas
at a short distance from London. One day this
man called, in company with a fellow-servant, on
Patrick, and informed him that his master was
dead, and that he thought something in the way of
business might be done with the body, as it Mas
lying in a back parlour, the windoMS of which
opened on to a large lawn. Patrick made several
inquiries ; and having ascertained that the funeral
was to take place on the following Sunday, said, in
conclusion, "The coffin then will most j^robably be
screwed down on Saturday ; if it is, let me know, — I
will have nothing to do with it until that part of
the work is done."
Things fell out as Patrick anticipated, and ac-
cordingly on the night of Saturday, he entered at
the back of the premises, and, being admitted to the
parlour by the servant, commenced his operations.
Unassisted by any light, he drew out all the screws,
took off the lid, and, having formed an estimate,
as accurate as the circumstances would allo^-, of
the weight of the body, removed it into a box
which he had brought with him for the purpose of
390 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
containing' it. lie next i)lac'e(l in the coffin a quan-
tity of earth, which the servant had procured from the
garden, corresponding to tlie weight of the corpse.
The lid was then replaced, carefully screwed down,
the pall thrown over it, and the box containing the
body passed out of the window to Patrick, who hid
it in a tool-house at some distance from the dwel-
ling-place. In this shed he allowed it to remain
until the morning of the following jNIonday, when it
was removed to one of the private anatomical
schools, now no longer in existence. For this Sub-
ject Patrick received fifteen guineas. I had this
account from the man himself, and he said further,
that being anxious to observe that all went off with-
out interruption, he attended the funeral, which
took place in a church adjoining the house. He
could not help smiling as he spoke to me of the allu-
sions from the jiulpit, to which he had listened for
upwards of an hour, to his departed brother beneath.
A man of the name of Israel Chapman, a Jew,
residing in Field Lane, obtained many bodies by
stealing them from private dwelling-places in this
manner. He generally obtained them from among
the poor in his own neighbourhood, from houses
which contained several tenements. He was at last
detected by an active officer, who found means of
tracing a body which he had stolen from a respect-
able house, and for the recovery of which a consi-
derable reward was offered by the friends.
The uncertainty of the success of such artifices,
conjoined with the lessened opportunities of cxhu-
COM^IUNICATION FROM MR. BROOKES. 391
Illation, rendered the supply to the Schools, crowded
with 25upils, very defective, and in consequence the
outrages committed to obtain the Subjects necessarv
for dissection Avere occasionally of a more aggravated
character. The nature of some of these is suffi-
ciently exhibited in a communication from Mr.
Brookes, Lecturer on anatomy in Blenheim Street,
to my uncle.
" Theatre of Anatomy, Blenheim Street,
10th November, 1823.
" JMy dear Sir Astley,
" In ansM'er to your application, relative
to the best means of procuring Subjects for the
anatomical schools, I beg leave to notice, that, from
the very disorganized state of the system at present
pursued by the resurrection-men, little is to be
expected from their services. Indeed, if from either
of the modes (hereafter mentioned) an ample supply
could be obtained, it Avould be more adA^antageous
to desist from employing them altogether.
" To enumerate some of their practices :
" First. A most infamous plan, has lately been
practised by several resurrection-men, of breaking
open the doors of out-houses and dead-houses, where
the bodies of suicides are deposited, previous to a
coroner's inquest being held, and thus committing a
felony to procure them.
" Secondly. They are in the habit of destroying
the tombs, vaults, and expensive coflins of the more
wealthy part of the community, to obtain their prey.
392 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" Thirdly. Violent quarrels almost always ensue,
when two opposing parties meet in a cemetery,
which, by rendering all liable to detection, tends
much to increase the alarm that the public expe-
rience from their depredations ; and, lastly, from the
number of searches by warrants, &c., that almost
daily take place in our premises, (for, to speak indi-
vidually, I have had several Subjects seized by police
officers, three within the last month, for Avliich I had
paid large sums,) it is to be presumed, that after
receiving the money from an anatomist for a body,
an information is subsequently laid against him by
one of the party ; whilst another, pretending to be
a relative, claims the Subject, or restealing it, after-
wards sells the same again at a different anatomical
theatre.
" The exactions, villainy, and insolence of many
of the long-established resurrection-men are such,
that I have for some time past ceased to employ
them; in consequence, my school has a very i)re-
carious and scanty supply ; and that only from
strangers and novices not able to cope with those
desperadoes, who have had an entree by means of
grave-diggers, into the various burial-grounds in
and near the metropolis, for a very considerable
period.
" Here allow me to call to your recollection the
following fact, of ]\Jr. Smith, one of your jnipils,
who subsequently attended a summer course of my
lectures. This gentleman being engaged alone in dis-
secting in the Borough, a resurrection-nian entered
ANECDOTE. 393
the apartment, and immediately proceeded to cut
lip the Subject, with which he was then occupied,
threatening at the same time to assassinate JNIr. S.
should he offer the least resistance. I might further
remark, that I almost OAve my existence to the
proximity of a police-office ; for on more than one
occasion, in consequence of commotions raised by
these ruffians, my whole premises would have been
laid waste, were it not for the prompt and friendly
interference of the magistrates in the vicinity, parti-
cularly of Sir Robert Baker."
The allusion in IMr. Brookes' communication to
the impositions practised on the surgeons by these
men, reminds me of a circumstance which he him-
self told me had occurred to him. One night he
w^as knocked up by a man, who informed him he had
got a Subject for him. Mr. Brookes himself rose to
receive it, according to his custom upon such occasions,
and, without first inspecting the Subject to see if it
were perfect, as was usually done, desired the man to
bring it in, paid him a portion of the money, for which
he was particularly anxious, and desired him to call
the next day for the remainder. He then with a
kick rolled the parcel down six or seven steps which
led to his dissecting-room, and turned away.
As he was ascending the stairs to his bed-
room, Mr. Brookes was surprised to hear what
seemed to him to be com})laints issuing from the
package, which he had just so unceremoniously dis-
missed into the passage leading to the dissecting-
304 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
room. lie listened attentively, and was soon
perfectly satisfied that his suspicion, as to the
source of the noises he had heard, was correct. On
the instant, the thought crossed his mind that the
sack contained the body of some one who had been
attempted to be murdered for the sake of his body,
and in whom life was not yet quite extinct. He
turned to resolve these doubts, and on coming Avithin
view, was not a little astonished to see, in place of the
l^arcel, a man standing erect, with the sack lying-
empty by his side. Mr. Brookes was one who knew
not fear, and immediately advanced towards him.
The man, alarmed, did not wait any question from
Mr. Brookes, but at once, in a tone of supplication,
begged him to let him go, saying he had been put
into the sack when he was drunk, and that it was
a trick which had been played upon him. ]\Ir.
Brookes, who did not believe one word of the fellow's
story, but felt convinced that it was a preconcerted
scheme of the Resurrectionist to rob him of as much
money as he could get from him, opened the door,
and at once kicked the Subject into the street. He
afterwards considered the Resurrectionist to be
altogether an assumed character, and that the men
were housebreakers, their design in this affair being
to obtain admittance into the premises.
I have already mentioned some of the personal
dangers to which these men were exposed in conse-
quence of the great degree of vigilance exerted by
the public; yet when the demand lor bodies, in
consequence of the crowded state of the London
EXPENSES THROUGH THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 395
Anatomical Schools, became much increased, a
number of fresh individuals were induced to practise
exhumation, in consequence of the tempting amount
of money obtained by the Resurrectionists, ^lany
of these, from Avant of experience in their mode of
proceeding", Avere detected, and subsequently pu-
nished. When in such scrapes, their relations used
to go round to the houses of the teachers, and beg'
of them to bail them; but being interlopers, and
generally persons whose characters were extremely
suspicious, if not notoriously infamous, they seldom
succeeded in obtaining anything beyond a temporary
assistance.
When, however, the regular Resurrectionists
had " got into trouble," especially if they were
active and useful men, and there was nothing very
flagrant in the case, the Surgeons invariably made
great exertions in their favour, and often advanced
large sums of money to keep them out of gaol,
or to supply their necessities during imprison-
ment. Sir Astley Cooper has expended hundreds of
pounds for this purpose; nor did the expense rest
here, for during the confinement of the husbands,
the support of their wives and families was a further
tax upon him. The first three items in the following
bill, which is copied from an account in my pos-
session, will give some idea of the nsual rate of
these payments: —
oOG LIFE OF SIR ASTLFY COOPER.
1828. £. s. d.
Jan. 29. raid Mr. , to pay Mr. , lialf
tlie expenses for bailing Vaughan from
Yarmouth, and going down . . 14 7
May 6. Paid Vaughau's wife . . . 6
29. Ditto Vaughan, for 26 weeks' confinement,
at \Qs. per week . . . . 13
Four subjects, two male and two female
(Murphy), at twelve guineas each . 50 8
June 18. Paid ^Murphy, "Wildes, and Naples, finishing
money •■ . . . . .660
Occasionally, the sums expended by Surgeons on
behalf of these men Avere much larger than the
amount mentioned in the above bill. AVhen I was
first ajipointed to the Anatomical chair at Guy's
Hosjiital, INIurphy had been placed in confinement
on account of some disturbances he had been com-
mitting in the church-yard at. Yarmouth; a profes-
sional friend of mine went down to liberate him,
and the amount of his expenditure on this occasion
was 160/. Another friend of mine, an Anatomical
teacher, incurred an expense of 50/., being the
amount of a weekly allo^A•ance, continued for two
years, to one of the Resurrectionists who was con-
fined in jn-ison.
Some of the leaders of the Resurrectionists,
notwithstanding the many expenses to which they
were ex2)osed, amassed considerable property by
this revolting traffic. Nor is it surprising that
■"■ The term, "finishing money," alludes to a sum of money
which was usually given at the end of a session : the amount
was generally regulated by the services which had been per-
formed by the Kcsurrectionitt during the time.
FORTUNES OP THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 397
fortunes should be acquired in this way, when we
remember the immense profits which any one of tlie
heads of these gangs, if he were only as prudent as
he must necessarily be clever, had it in his power
to extract from the sums paid for the Subjects sup-
plied under his superintendence. A j^erson who was
connected with Sir Astley Cooper at this period,
and who has given me some assistance in these
details, informs me that he once paid JNIurphy, at
one School, 72/. for six Subjects, and then saw him
on the same evening, at another School, afterwards
receive 72/. more, for six other Subjects. Out of
this sum, JNIurphy would have to pay four or five
underlings in his employ, but not at a higher rate
than 5/. each, — thus clearing in one evening upwards
of a hundred jiounds. I shall again allude to the
amount of property acquired by a few of these jier-
sons, when speaking in detail of their habits and
private history.
The high jirices which were notoriously given
to the Resurrectionists for Subjects not unfrequently
led persons, while alive, to offer to dispose of their
bodies on certain pecuniary conditions, for dissection
after death. It was very rarely, however, that any
Surgeon acceded to such a proposal ; for it was
well known that if the agreement were entered
into, it could not 1>e enforced, the law not recog-
nising any right of projierty in a dead body. Sir
Astley M'ould never listen to such offers. Among
his papers is the following elegant epistle, contain-
ing a request of this nature : —
398 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
" Sir,
" I have been informed you are in the habit
of purchasing bodys, and allowing the person a sum
weekly : knowing a poor woman that is desirous of
doing so, I have taken the liberty of calling to know
the truth.
" I remain your humble servant,
« -^ * * "
The answer to it was brief*: —
" The truth is that you deserve to be hanged
for making such an unfeeling ofter. " A. C."
There is also a lengthy document, M'ritten in a
fair legible hand, and signed " William Williams,"
containing a bequest of his body. It is couched
in terms of legal preciseness. The preamble is
curious : —
♦' Sir,
" Being fully sensible of the uncertainty of
this life, and of the mortality of my animated
frame, — the tabernacle of my soul and of the
living spirit that pervades it, — and my mind being
impressed Avith the subject of the public benefit
to be derived from anatomy, I beg, Sir, to com-
municate to you in writing, what in substance lias
already been submitted by personal communication
to your notice, in regard to my body, graciously
bestowed on me by my ISIaker, when the hereafter
"•• Sir Astlcy Cooper -was in the habit of jn-cserving hitters,
and frequently copied on them his replies to their contents.
The above answer >Yas thus preserved.
BEQUEST OF A BODY. 399
desertion of that body by its animated tenants of
spirit and soul shall take place.
"If, Sir, in your lifetime, I die a bachelor or
unmarried, within the JNIetropolis of Great Britain,
called London, or within a convenient distance of
the same, or whatever you may consider a conve-
nient distance, I beg, with a view to the furtherance
of useful knowledge in the science of anatomy, &c."
The substance of the remainder of this eccentric
epistle, is simply, that if Mr. Williams dies under
the above circumstances, his body is to be dissected
by, or under the suijervision of Sir Astley ; but that
if he should leave a wife, this bequest should be
subject to her pleasure and discretion.
The graves were not always disturbed to obtain
possession of the entire body, for the teeth alone, at
this time, offered sufficient remuneration for the
trouble and risk incurred in such undertakings.
Every dentist in London would at that time jiurchase
teeth from these men, and the public can have but
little idea of the immense sums of money which per-
sons tlms occupied could earn. The following cir-
cumstance will best give an idea of the amount of
money which occasionally could be acquired in such
transactions.
jNIurphy, an active man, no less in mind than in
body, and mIio never moved but in his occupation,
in taking a walk, observed a neat meeting-house,
attached to which was a paved burial-ground.
Looking around, he observed a trap-door, leading,
400 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
he had no doubt, to vaults of hidden treasures, and
these he determined at once to explore. A short
time after coming to this conclusion, dressed in a
suit of black, and with a demure demeanour, his eyes
reddened as if from tears, he called upon the super-
intendent of the meeting-house burial-ground, and
described to him, in much apparent distress, the
recent bereavement which he had met with of his
wife, and his anxious wish that her bones should
repose in his neat and quiet sanctuary. Slipping a
half-crown into his hand, JMurphy readily induced
the man to permit him to descend into the vault,
under the idea that he wished to select the spot for
the deposit of the remains of his beloved. 1 plNIurphy,
who, while outside, had studied the bearings of the
trap-door, after much pretended inspection of the
vault, took an opportunity, while his companion's
back was turned to him, of suddenly raising his hand
to the cieling and slipping back two bolts which
secured the door. On that very night, JMurphy let
liimself down into the vault, and then by a few hours'
active exertion, secured possession to himself of the
front teeth of all its inmates. By this night's adven-
ture, ISIurphy made a clear profit of sixty pounds.
While I was in Spain, in 1814, just as we were
entering France, at the village of Sarre, one evening
my servant came into my tent, — for we were at
bivouac, — and told me that there was a man outside
who wislied particularly to see me, having brought a
letter from my uncle in London, with especial orders
to deliver it into my own hands. I M'cnt out of the
^MESSENGER SENT TO SPAIN. 401
tent door, when I was accosted by a sliort thick-set
man in rough ai)parel, whose gait and dress ill
accorded with the appearance which I had expected
to see j)resented by a messenger from my uncle,
sent on so special a mission. The letter was un-
sealed, and equally singular for its object as, (con-
sidering the distance I was from my uncle, and the
length of time which had passed since I had seen or
heard from him,) for its laconic style: —
" My dear Bransby,
" Butler will tell you the purport of his visit.
I hope you are well and happy.
" Your affectionate uncle,
"AsTLEY Cooper."
Upon asking this Butler, who appeared to be in
a state of great destitution, what might be his object,
he said it was to get teeth, and jDerhaps when he
obtained the letter from my uncle, that was all the
information he had given him ; but when I came to
question him upon the means by which he was to
obtain these teeth, he said, " Oh, Sir, only let there
be a battle, and there'll be no want of teeth. I'll
draw them as fast as the men are knocked down."
As may be supposed, I could not harbour such
a person ; but he was at the time without a farthing,
and had contracted a complaint from the labour
and fatigue he had undergone, having travelled
from Lisbon to the frontier of Spain on foot, or in
commissariat bullock wains, as ojqiortunity offered,
so that compassion for his situation prevented my
VOL. I. 2D
402 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
discarding- him at once as he deserved. His disease
required the i)erformance of a surgical operation for
its cure, and I therefore took him into the hospital,
and when he was M'ell, gave him some money, and
desired him to let me hear no more of him : not
omitting to say, at the same time, that his project was
no less unjustifiable than, as I trusted, it would prove
impracticable. On my return to England two years
afterwards, however, he wrote to thank me for having
saved his life in Spain, and could not at the same
time deny himself the gratification of announcing to
me, that he had earned a clear profit of three hun-
dred pounds by this adventure.
Butler was not the first, as I have since ascer-
tained, to make the Peninsula the scene, or the
Duke's achievements the means, of such lucre ; for
Crouch and Harnett, two well-knoAAui Resurrection-
ists, had, some time prior to his visit, supplied the
wealthier classes of London with teeth from simihir
sources.
The resurrection-men were occasionally em-
ployed on expeditions into the country to obtain
possession of the bodies of those who had been
subjected to some important operation, and of whicli
a post mortem examination was of the greatest
interest to science. Scarcely any distance from
London was considered as an insuperable difficulty
in the attaining of this object, and as certainly
as the Resurrectionist undertook the task, so certain
was he of completing it. This -was usually an
expensive undertaking, but still it did not restrain
USES MADE OF THE EXHUMATORS. 403
the most zealous in their profession from occasionally
engaging these men in this employment. Sir Astley
Cooper, as may be surmised from a consideration of
his character, was not backward in availing himself
of these opportunities. Nor had he by these means
the satisfaction only of deriving information from
the examination of these cases, but he was thus
enabled to add to his museum many rare records of
the triumphs of surgery, and examples of the compen-
sating powers of nature after removal of some
important parts of her constitution.
1 have known him send one of these men con-
siderably more than a hundred miles to obtain a
Subject for the jiurpose of examining the effect of
an operation performed years previously, actuated by
the desire of acquiring a knowledge of any new facts
which the inspection might afford, and of thus being
enabled to improve any future operations of the
same kind which he might be required to perform.
The following is a bill on account of one of
these expeditions.
" 1820, June 1st. — Paid Hollis and Vaughan for
getting a Subject from , in the county of ,
a man that Sir Astley Cooper performed an opera-
tion upon twenty-four years ago.
Coach for two there and back
Guards and Coachmen
Expenses for two days
Carriage of Subject, and porter
Subject ......
£3 12
6
1 14
6
]2
(>
7 7
£13 12
2 D 2
404 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
A surgeon residing at or near tlie neighbourhood
from which this Subject was obtained, had watched
the case there for years, and, on the death taking
place, immediately wrote to Sir Astley. Sir Astley,
on learning this event, sent for the person from
whom I obtained the above account, and desired
him to make an arrangement with the above-named
men to obtain the Subject, his concluding remark
being, "cost what it may."
Such were these people and their transactions ;
and being such, it must strike any tliinking man
with wonder, that there was not a spontaneous
determination originating from the most indignant
feelings of every surgeon to crush at once both the
traflic and the persons who were engaged in it.
But, on the other hand, it is to be remembered that
tlie possession of the means for studying anatomy,
as the very ground-work of all medical science, was
essentially necessary, if only an equality of rank
and rejiutation were desirable to be maintained,
by the professors of medicine in this country, with
their more fortunate continental neighbours of the
same profession.
Government felt this as forcibly as the members
of the medical profession, and while on one hand
they were trying to enact laws to legalize dissection,
on the other they were shutting their eyes to the
acts of illegality we have described, with the exist-
ence of which thev were all alono" familiar. Durino-
the war, while thousands were submitted to the
care of the medical officers then bearing his Ma-
jesty's commission in the two services, the Govern-
THE GOVERNMENT. 405
meiit perceived how impracticable it was to direct
measures for stopping these proceedings, as they
would at once have necessarily precluded the pos-
sibility of any military or naval medical officer being
competent to perform the duties which were ex-
pected from him. No blame, therefore, can be laid
ujion a ministry for shunning the responsibility of
doing aAvay Mitli an admitted evil by substituting a
greater, however plausible and popular any change
of this sort would have been. Such were the difh-
culties which prevented any attempt to institute a
law, which must have required a long time for its
beneficial working, while in the interim the army
and navy in active employment would have been
supplied with inefficient medical officers. Nor, if
we take a political view of that j^eriod, can it be
believed that the public could have been induced to
consent to any arrangement, by which either the
poor-house or the hospital, even under the sanction
of Government, would be required to give up its
dead for dissection, a proposal which was depre-
cated at tlie time by every person who had the
power of giving utterance to the horror inseparable
from the notion, that the bodies of the poor were to
be given up to treatment, such as those of executed
felons were subjected to. These circumstances, and
these alone, alloAved this traffic to be in force at a
period Avhen refinement and civilization were as cul-
tivated as at the present moment. The facts were
known, but they were allowed to pass, because at the
same time the necessity out of ^^]lich tliey arose was
forcibly, though reluctantlv, admitted.
406 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
In proportion, then, as a Surgeon of that day
■was prominently distinguished in the education of
jirofessional aspirants, so did he become mixed up
with tliese reckless characters, and no man knew so
much of their habits, their crimes, and even of the
few good qualities which some of them possessed, as
Sir Astley Cooper. He knew how to turn the pecu-
liar merits of each to the advantage of his school*
and although he was ever most guarded, in taking
Subjects for dissection, not to do so without know-
ing something of the source from whence they
were derived, yet he so managed, as to secure a
better supply than most of the other teachers of
London; and, indeed, such was his power over
these men at one time, that there was not a burial-
place in London from which he could not, if he
thought jDroper, obtain any one particular Subject
he might wish to be exhumed.
I once heard Sir Astley, when wishing to expose
to a certain j)erson the power of these men, and his
influence over them, offer to procure, within three
days, the body of a dignified official personage, who
had been buried in a jilace apparently of impene-
trable security. I have every reason to believe, that
had he chosen, he could have effected this object.
Sir Astley Cooper, indeed, stated as much before a
Committee of the House of Commons, in reply to
the following rpiestion: —
" Does the state of the law actually prevent the
teachers of anatomy from obtaining the body of any
person, which, in consequence of some peculiarity of
HIS INFLUENCE OVER THE EXHtJMATORS. 407
structure, they may be particularly desirous of pro-
curing?"
Sir Astley Cooper. — " The law does not prevent
our obtaining the body of an individual if we think
proper; for there is no person, let his situation in
life be what it may, whom, if I were disposed to
dissect, I could not obtain."
In reply to another question, Sir Astley Cooper^,
said, "The law only enhances the price, and does
not jirevent the exhumation: nobody is secured by
the law; it only adds to the price of the subject*." •
It had been, however, the object of the profes-
sion, years and years past, to do all in their power
to prevent the exhumation of bodies, and many
interviews, in my recollection, took place between
Lord Liverpool, (who, from the friendship and strict
confidence which existed between himself and Sir
Astley Cooper, took a lively interest in the subject,)
and members of the Council of the Royal College of
Surgeons, to devise some plan to effect this object
without offending the feelings of the community.
It was always thought too hazardous a risk to
attempt the enactment of laws on the subject, for
the necessary publicity of the discussions upon them,
it was feared, would render such a proceeding liable
to defeat the very object for which it was instituted.
The horrible crimes committed at Edinburgh f,
■" See Rejiort from the Select Committee on Anatomy, p. 18.
f Several members of the profession had anticipated these
dreadful effects of the la\v3 ref^ardiiig dissection, as they then
existed, and had openly expressed their f(\irs on the snhject, in
the conrse of the communications which took place regarding the
proposed alterations in them. I much doubt whether all the
408 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
and exposed in the year 1829, at last brouglit the
question fully before the notice of the public, and
rendered it peremptorily necessary for the Govern-
ment to establish some means of legalizing dis-
section, under proper restrictions regulated by the
ministers of the Crown. To secure the strict ad-
herence to these laws, an inspector was appointed,
to whom the certificate of the death of the indivi-
dual, and the circumstances under which he died,
■were to be submitted, before the body could be
dissected, and then only in the Schools in which
anatomizing Avas licensed by Government. Various
consultations on the subject took place between Sir
Astley Cooper, Sir Benjamin Brodie, and other mem-
bers of the Council of the College of Surgeons, and
theSecretary of the Home Department. A committee
of members of the House of Commons was also
appointed to consider the best means of jDutting this
desirable plan into effect, and much important infor-
mation was elicited; and although, it is true, there
is still a difficulty in obtaining a sufficient supply of
Subjects, it is equally certain that the modern system
has much raised the characters of those who are
studying anatomy, as well as the science itself, in
the estimation of the public.
murders committed under the system of " hurklnf/,'' came to
light. I liave lioard one of the Resurrectionists, the chief oppo-
nent of Crouch and his ganpf, in their attempts of extortion, assert,
that if liis body could have been taken to any dissccting-rooni
■where it wouUl not have been rccof^nised, lie had no doubt he
should have been " made mcay icith long before the Natomy
Bill /lad passed. '
HISTORY OF THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 409
CHAPTER XX.
Concluding History of the Resurrixtionists. Butler.
His Robbery of the Edinbukgh Mail. Sentence of
Deatu passed upon Him. Crouch, the Leader of the
Old Party. His Character. His Occupations abboad.
PIis Death. Jack Harnett. Bill Harnett. De-
scription of this Person. His Death at St. Thomas's
Hospital, and Horror of Dissection. N . Holliss.
His Origin. His Treacherous Conduct and Ruin.
Vaughan. Anecdote. Is Sentenced to Transporta-
tion. Accessions to the Party of Resurrectionists.
Murphy, their New Leader. His Tact and Cunning,
His Accumulation op Property. L , His Arti-
fices, and present Occupation. Patrick. His Charac-
ter. Anecdote. Millard. His early Employment at
St. Thomas's Hospital. L'\rpRisoNMENT. His Enmity
towards Sir Astley Cooper. His Death. Concluding
Remarks.
It will be interesting- to observe, both as a mat-
ter of curiosity, and as a moral lesson, the sequel of
the lives of the men whose occupations I have been
led to describe in tliis Memoir. Of tlie necessity
of their employment by Surgeons, in former years,
sufficient evidence has, I trust, been afforded to the
reader; but at the same time it is impossible for
any well-regulated mind Hot to regret that means
were not earlier devised to prevent the frequent
outrages which their pursuits inflicted upon tlic best
feelings of the public.
Tlie high prices which the exhuniators leceived,
410 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
secured to them larger sums of money than one
would suppose people in their situation could pos-
sibly have expended or required ; hut riot and dissi-
jiation were the constant attendants of their lives.
The wages of a week were often sufficient to supply a
month's reckless idleness, and not until they had
squandered every farthing in their haunts, would they
return, with the exception of some of the leaders,
to their employment. Some few of them, however,
more cunning and provident, husbanded their means,
so as to enable them not only to appear respecta-
able in personal exterior, but even in domestic
life, when separated from their business. The pos-
session of such resources gave them double means of
accumulating wealth, for they had in their hands
the means of bribing the parochial hirelings, so that
they could receive every information necessary to
facilitate their objects, and could work unmolested ;
and they could always obtain manual assistance
from their less prudent companions, driving some
hard bargain with them, and thus readily procure a
supply when wanted at the schools.
Of the more influential and notorious of the
Resurrectionists, when I first heard of their jn-o-
ceedings, the names of Butler, Crouch, Harnett,
N , Holliss, and Vaughan, chiefly occur to my
recollection. These, indeed, were the only regular
Resurrectionists ; the others of the body being com-
posed of Spitalfields weavers, or thieves, who found
the disguise of this occupation convenient for carry-
ing on their own peculiar avocations.
BUTLER, 411
Butler, whose employment by Mr. Cooper, so
early as the time when he lived in St. Mary Axe,
has been noticed in a preceding chapter, is the
oldest in my memory. He was a short, stout, good-
tempered man, with a laughing eye, and Sanclio
Panza sort of expression. He was much addicted
to gin. When drunk, he was a great boaster, and
inclined to be violent ; but was easily cooled down
by good-humoured treatment.
He was originally a porter in the dissecting-room
at St. Thomas's; afterwards followed his father's
business of an articulator, and dealer in bones ; and
subsequently dealt much in teeth. I have already
spoken of his interview with me in Spain. On his
return to England he went to Liverpool, and under
an assumed name practised for some time with con-
siderable prosperity as a dentist. His dissolute
habits, however, soon prevailed, and prevented the
continued success of a business which might other-
wise have secured his independence. He became
involved in debt, and was obliged to flee from his
creditors ; he then w^ent away, and lived for some
time upon means, the source of which w^as only
known to himself. Some years previous to this
period, the Edinburgh mail had been stopped and
robbed by persons, none of whom, I believe, were at
the time apprehended. Butler had not left Liver-
pool very long, after his failure in that city, before
he was taken up, for trying to pass a five-pound
note, the number of which, by j^roving it to be one
of those stolen on that occasionj and a train of other
412 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER,
circumstances, led to the detection of his connexion
with the robbery of the mail. He was tried, and
received sentence of death.
From some circumstance, his execution Mas
delayed considerably beyond the usual period, and
Butler, who had accumulated a great quantity of
information on various matters, and was in other re-
si)ects an entertaining comjianion, contrived to attract
the favourable attention of the governor of the gaol.
Having complained to him of the want of occupation
his position entailed upon him, the governor, who
had learned that he had l^een in business as an
articulator*, procured for him the carcase of a horse.
The bones of this animal were prepared in the usual
way, and Butler, to whose cell they were afterwards
removed, proceeded to articulate them so as to form
the skeleton.
The Austrian Archdukes, John and Lewis, were
at the time in this kingdom, and, among other
places, paid a visit to Edinburgh. Here they in-
spected the various public institutions : and on
visiting the gaol, found Butler hard at work in his
cell, articulating the bones of this horse. Their
Imj^erial Highnesses were much struck by the cir-
cumstance, and having learned from the governor
that he was under sentence of death in conse-
quence of robbing the mail coach, interested them-
selves in his favour, and sued to the Prince Regent
for his pardon. This was, after much difficulty,
■"■ This was the man who prepavnl tho bkckton of the Ele-
phant, which I\Ir. Cooper dissected in k>t. ]\Iaiy Axe.
CROUCH. 413
granted, on condition that he left the country
immediately, and did not attempt on any account to
return. He accordingly took his departure, and has
never been heard of since.
Crouch, or Ben Crouch, as he was called, was
the son of a carpenter who worked at Guy's Hospital.
He was a tall, powerful, athletic man, with coarse
features, marked with the small-pox ; and was
well known as a prize-fighter. He used to dress in
very good clothes, and wore a profusion of large
gold rings, and a heap of seals dangling from his fob.
A friend of mine, a surgeon holding a distinguished
position in the profession, to whom I am indebted
for this and many other particulars, recollects hear-
ing him boast that the cloth of a certain coat which
he had on at tlie time, was part of a large quantity
stolen from a house in Watling Street, and there was
no doubt of the truth of his assertion. He was
tried for the robbery, but acquitted by 2:)roving
an alibi.
Crouch was always rude and offensive in his
manners, exceedingly artful, very rarely drunk, but,
when so, most abusive and domineering. In his
prosperous days, he was the councillor, director,
comptroller, and treasurer of the whole party, and in
dividing the spoils, took especial care to cheat every
one. This was very easily effected, for usually
he himself was the only one who had any clear-
headedness by the time, when the general accounts
were gone through. He continued actively engaged
in the business till about 1817, when he gradually
414 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Avitlidrew from it, and occupied himself princiiially
in obtaining and disposing of teeth. He went
abroad several times, and followed this occupation
both in the Peninsula and France, in conjunction
with another Resurrectionist, with whom he was
always on the most intimate terms, of the name of
.Tack Harnett.
Upon these occasions, they used to obtain
licenses as suttlers, in order that they might l)c con-
sidered legitimate camp-followers. In addition to
their object of procuring teeth, they had other
designs, of even a more revolting nature, and fraught
with the utmost danger, as well from exposure in
action, as from their liability to detection by the
soldiers, in which case destruction would have been
the inevitable consequence. The purpose to which
I allude, was to follow closely the troops into the
field of action, and to rob the killed as soon as pru-
dence would allow them to employ themselves in
their diabolical transactions. The epaulettes from
the shoulders of the officers, and the bullion from
their regimentals, offered a considerable source of
gain on these occasions, and I have been informed
by those who were made acquainted by the very men
with the facts, that they not unfrequently found
trinkets of value, and even considerable sums of
money in the pockets of the slain. AVe will hope
that their love of lucre never led them to dispatch
the wounded, whose cries might otherwise have led
to their detection.
They generally obtained the teeth on the night
CROUCH AND JACK HARNETT. 415
succeeding the battle, only drawing tliem from those
soldiers whose youth and health rendered them
peculiarly fitted for the purposes to which they were
to be employed. Nothing but the large sums of
money derived from these depredations could have
prom])ted them to encounter the risk inseparal)le from
such proceedings; for I do not believe a soldier in the
whole army would have hesitated one moment to
blow out the brains of a person whom he found
robbing the corpse of a comrade in this manner ;
in such disgust did they hold the habits and atro-
cious acts of the miscreants who followed the camp
for the purpose of plunder.
At one time during their Peninsular expedition,
these companions became separated by accident,
and entirely lost sight of one another for three
weeks; each considering that the otlier had fallen
a victim to his occupation, either by the chance of
war, or by the hand of some detector of his criminal
pursuits. The circumstances under which they
again met, are worthy of relation. As the army
advanced, it frequently happened that the more
opulent inhabitants of the district in the seat of
war left their houses, and frequently, when the
advance was very rapid, without any protection.
Crouch heard of a chateau which had been thus
deserted, and immediately made up his mind to
plunder it of its valuables, and accordingly hastened
to the place where it was situated. No sooner
was it dark, than he entered the deserted house,
into which he found ready access. While groping
4\6 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
his way, — for ho had not struck a light, not in-
tendino- to do so until he considered himself secure
from interruption, — he suddenly stopped to listen to
what he believed to be an approaching footstep.
For some time he attentively noticed every devia-
tion from stillness, and at last became fully con-
vinced that he was not alone in the habitation.
Presently he heard some one approaching towards
him, with a caution which evinced an equal know-
ledge on the part of the other of the presence of a
second person. The deadly silence was only inter-
rupted by the suppressed breathing of the two guilty
depredators; but, remarkable as the fact may appear,
this was sound enough to inform one of them who was
his companion, for Crouch recognised the peculiar
breathing of his lost friend Harnett, and in total
darkness challenged him by name. The recog-
nition was mutual, a light was quickly struck,
they related briefly their adventures since their
separation, regaled themselves upon the ample
supplies the house afforded, packed up portable
valuables for which they afterwards obtained 400/.,
and on the following morning left the pillaged
mansion to prosecute their usual occupations.
From the produce of these adventures, Crouch
was enabled to build a large hotel at IMargate,
and this speculation at first seemed likely to an-
swer his expectations. By some chance, how-
ever, the nature of his i)revious occupation in life
was discovered, and such was the effect of this
disclosure, that his house was avoided, and he
JACK HARNETT. 41 7
was obliged to part with it, at a very heavy loss.
During the time he kept this establishment, he paid
occasional visits to the Continent to collect teeth, in
company with his friend Harnett, they having made
arrangements to obtain these articles from persons
connected with various burial-places in France and
Belgium. However, from the number of Jews and
others who gradually entered into this traffic, the
jjrofits were much diminislied, and Crouch became
very poor; and on one occasion being in emergency,
he surreptitiously obtained possession of jn-operty
belonging to Harnett, who was at that time in
France, and ai^plied it to his own purposes. Har-
nett immediately came over to England, followed
Crouch, who had gone into Scotland, and having
found him, gave him into custody. He was
brought to trial for obtaining money under false
pretences, and was sentenced to imj)risonment for
a twelvemonth. He afterwards came to London,
where he lived awhile in great povert}^ and was one
morning found dead in the tajj-room of a public-
house near Tower-hill. He was in a sitting posture,
his face leaning upon his arms, which were on the
table, and he appeared to have expired suddenly.
Jack Harnett above alluded to, was a rather
stout, red-haired, ill-looking fellow; uncouth in his
address and manner of speaking, fond of watch
garniture, and always the firm and steady friend of
Crouch, until the incident I just now related.
Whether he was better treated by Crouch than the
others, or on what other account he managed to l)e
VOL. I. 2 E
418 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
Oil such close terms with him, was not known, but
those two always held together whenever disputes
occurred in the party. In the latter part of his
career he accumulated a considerable sum of money
in the manner already described, and not being a
speculator like his companion, died comparatively
rich, leaving nearly 6000/. to his family.
An uncle of this last-mentioned Resurrectionist
was also engaged in the business, and was a great
favourite with ]\Ir. Cooper and JNIr. Henry Cline,
he was called Bill Harnett. He was a thoroughly
good-tempered, and generally well-behaved man;
and his language scarcely ever rude or offensive to
any one. He was slim but muscular, had a cheer-
ful expression of countenance, and in his intonation
and manner of speaking very much resembled an
Irishman, which, however, I believe he was not.
He was the only man of the whole set at this time
"whose word could in the slightest degree be trusted,
and was very faithful to the interests of the Schools.
He was a determined opponent to Crouch, whom
he cordially hated : he would seldom work with him,
but generally chose N as his comjianion. He
used to supply bodies at the ordinary prices, whilst
Crouch and the greater part of the men under him
were standing out, either for a douceur, or an increase
of price on each Subject, or for both. Through this
man's assistance, the price of four guineas each Sub-
ject was long continued, and it was only as his health
broke up, and ho became unfit for work, that the
price was materially raised.
BILL HARNETT — N . 419
Bill was a very brave and courageous man, and a
good boxer; lie fought with Crouch, who was nearly
twice his size and weight, in a pitched battle at Wim-
bledon. He had previously received an injury of the
jaw, and Crouch hit him a severe blow on the part,
and so appeared to turn the event of the battle,
which otherwise promised to be in Harnett's favour.
Bill was unfortunately very fond of gin, and as he
grew older, his affection for it increased, and at last
he was rarely sober: a tendency which he had
always evinced to pulmonary disease was thus
increased; he became consumptive, and died in St.
Thomas's Hospital. He was cheerful and good-
tempered to the last, and thankful for the kindness
shown to him. This man during his illness exhibited
a singular horror of being dissected. A few days
before his death, he sent an especial message to Mr.
Green to come to him, and with the greatest anxiety
extorted from him a solemn promise that his body
should not even be opened for examination.
N was also a civil, and well-conducted man,
slight in person, with a pleasing expression of coun-
tenance and of respectful manners. He was always
ready to promise fairly, and often worked against
Crouch, of ^^'hom, however, he was much afraid; but
he never could be relied on, as he was very timid,
and was easily forced to act directly contrary to his
eno-ao'ements. He continued in the business until
its termination, and was afterwards taken as a servant
into the dissecting-room of St. Thomas's Hospital.
Here he conducted himself well and faithfully,
2 E 2
420 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
but having become disposed to drink ardent spirits,
gradually weakened and destroyed his constitution.
This man was the son of a respectable stationer
and bookbinder, and in early life went as a sailor into
the king's service, lie was for some time on board
the " Excellent," and served in that vessel in the
engagement off Cape St. Vincent. lie returned to
England after this battle, and having soon disposed
of his prize-money, went on board a vessel cruizing
about the Channel. Becoming tired of this emplo}'-
ment, he ran away, and came to London, where he
soon afterwards obtained the situation of a grave-
digger to the Spa-fields burial-ground. Here he
was entrapped into connexion with the Resurrec-
tionists by a Scotchman of the name of White, who»
although never personally engaged in the business
of exhumation, made a considerable profit by dis-
posing of the bodies raised by grave-diggers and
other inferior functionaries attached to the various
burial-places in London. He first induced N — ^ —
to procure teeth for him, then bodies of a small
size, and subsequently any Subject that might be
required.
The method by which N contrived to sup-
ply this man, without being detected in his proceed-
ings, was curious. He was obliged to be extremely
cautious, for at one end of the ground was a house,
in which resided two of the projirietors, while his
own residence was immediately opposite. His })lan
was this: after a funeral had taken place, and the
mourners left the ground, before commencing to fill
'S MODE OF OBTAINING BODIES. 421
up the grave, N used to remove the body out
of the coffin, and place it in a sack, Avhich he had
ready for the purpose. He then threw in sufficient
mould to cover this, and afterwards gradually filled
up the grave, taking care to draw the sack nearer
and nearer to the surface as he proceeded, until it
was covered only by a thin layer of loose earth,
which formed the surface of the mound. At nioht
o
he dragged it up out of this hiding-place, by means
of the mouth of the sack, which he always left in
such a position that it could be readily reached by
him; and then, carrying it to his tool-shed, lashed it
up in a nut-basket, and took it to the receiver, who
was waiting at an appointed meeting-place.
This system Mas continued for two or three
years, Avhen one evening as White was carrying a
Subject along the streets, packed up as usual in a
nut-basket, he was stopped by some Bow- Street
patrols, who insisted on examining his parcel. The
Subject was exposed, but White contrived to make
his escape: an examination, however, was made of
the various burial-places, to ascertain, if jjossible,
the parties concerned in the transaction, and, among
others, that of Spa-fields. After several graves had
been opened, the vacant coffin was discovered, and
N Avas sentenced to two years' imprisonment
in the House of Correction, or the " Bastile," as it
was familiarly called by the Exhumators. From this
place N contrived to escape, in company with
a fellow-prisoner, by making an opening througli
a skylight in the roof, and afterwards scaling
422 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
the outer walls of the prison, by means of a rope
which they had formed out of the oakum, the pick-
ing of whicli was their ordinary day's employment.
N was afterwards retaken, in consequence of
information given against him by his enemy Crouch;
and it was only through the mediation of Sir Astley
Cooper with the Secretary of State, that he escaped
the punishment due to this aggravation of his
original offence.
N was more frequently imprisoned, i)er-
liaps, than any other Resurrectionist, and on each
occasion in consequence of information given by
Crouch, or some of his party. lie does not appear
to have been much depressed by these repeated
punishments, but was in the habit of amusing
himself by writing down remarks upon his felloM'-
prisoners. I have lately seen a list, in his own
hand-writing, of the men who were Avith him on
one occasion, when he was confined in Maidstone
Gaol for robbing a churchyard at Woolwich.
It commences with the following remarks on the
authorities of the prison: —
" Maidstone Gaol, Oct. 21st, 1813.
" Thos. Cutbusli, Governor, a d d old file, chained my
hands to my waist, from Maidstone unto Newgate.
" Thos. Stephens, head turnkey, very good man.
" Stephen Page, imder . . ditto."
He then mentions eight men, sentenced to two
years' imprisonment for " conveying to the coast
French prisoners," and proceeds with his list: —
N 's DIARY. 423
" Josh. N ," (liimself,) " Resurgam Hommo, for trial.
" Joe Lester, second at a fight, the man was killed \
. at Woolwich I f^^ ^^j^j
" Mich. Oram killed the man . . . .1
"T.Salmon, smuggler,) ,
"Rich. Shilling, ditto, jl^^"g« pleasure.
" D. Rochester, swindling, one year.
" n. Cook, ditto, ditto.
"J. Perrott, defraud, two years.
" Jn. Horam, housebreaking, suflfered death.
" Jn. Caid, , seven years.
"J. Hawthorn,! , .
, T> „. > smashers, six months.
'• K. bmimons, >
N used at one time to keep a regular diary
of his proceedings. The early part only of this
"log-book," as he called it, now remains; from this,
however, I will extract, verbatim, a few of the
entries, which, although not containing any new
facts as to the proceedings of the Resurrectionists,
will serve to exhibit them to the reader from a new
point of view.
"Tuesday, Dec. 24th, 1811. At 12 at midnight, party
went to Wygate, got 3 small, came back and got 2 largo at
Newington. Came home, then settled at Bon's. Each man's
share 8^. 16^. Sd. At home all night.
" AVcdnesday, 25th. At home all day and night.
"Thursday, 26th. At home all day and night.
" Friday, 27th. "Went to look out. Came home, met Ben
and Dan' at 5 o'clock. Went to Harps, got 1 large, and took it
to Jack's house. Jack, Bill, and Tom not Avith us, getting drunk.
"Saturday, 28th. At 4 o'clock in the morning, got up with
the whole party to Guy's and St. Thomas's Crib, got 6, took
them to St. Thomas's, and met at Thomas's again, packed up 3
for Edlnbro, took one over to Guy's.
"Sunday 2l)th. At home all day and night.
424 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
"Wednesday, Jan. 8th, 1812. Received 41. 4s. for adult.
At home all night.
" Thursday, 9th. Went down to St. Thomas's. Got paid
8/. 8s., 2 adult. At home all night.
"Friday, 10th. Met at St. Thomas's. Settled. Each man's
share 12/. 12a\ 3 things" on hand.
"Saturday, 1 1th. At 4 a.m. got up and went to the Hos-
pital Crib, got 2 adults, met at Barth"'. Packed np 2 for the
country. Sold one at St. Thomas's. At home all night.
"Sunday, 12th. At home all day. At 11 p.m. met, and
the whole party to Wygate. Got 2 adult and 2 small.
Afterwards went to the Green. Got 2 large and 1 large small.
Took them to Barth™.
* ■> it * "! -X *
" Tuesday, 14th. At 1 a.m. got np, Ben, Bill, and me
went to St Luke's, 2 adults, Jack, Dan to Big Gates, 1 large and
1 small, took them to Barth'". Came home and went to St.
Thomas's, afterwards went to the other end of the town for
orders, at home all night.
"Wednesday, 15th. Went to St. Thomas's. Came back,
packed iip 2 large and 1 small for Edinbro. At home all night.
" Thursday, IGth. The party met at the Ilartichoak, settled
the above. Each man's share 8/. 4s. 'J^d. At home all night.
" Friday, 17th. AVent and look out, came home and met
at 11, party excejit Dan' went to the Hospital Crib and got 4,
was stopt by the patrols, Butler's horse and cart were taken.
" Saturday, 18th. Went to the White-horse, Butler bailed,
at home all night.
"Sunday, 19th. Went and looked out, at home all night,
could not get the horse out of the stable.
" Monday, 20th. At home all day and night. Butler. Jack
got drunk.
" Tuesday, 21st. Looked out. Jack and Butler drunk as
before, hindered us of going out, at home."
* This was the cant denomination for Subjects among the
Resurrectionists.
iiOLLiss. 425
These extracts will furnish the reader with a
sufficient insight into the " strange eventful history"
of this man's daily occupations.
Holliss was brought into the business l)y Har-
nett, and in tlie course of his career became one of
the greatest villains, perhaps, ever connected with
this or any other calling. He was a sexton, who
had long connived at the proceedings of the Resur-
rectionists, and had forwarded them in their opera-
tions in the ground over which he was guardian, — of
course receiving an ample comj^ensation for his
assistance. Naturally avaricious, he became more
and more exorbitant in his demands upon the Ijody-
snatchers, and they in consequence exposed him to
his employers : he was then obliged, in self-defence,
to become a Resurrectionist. He was not much
esteemed by his companions, as they considered him
an additional load, without being of much worth in
their undertakings. He contrived to save money,
and at the termination of the necessity for the avo-
cations in which he had been engaged, ke]3t a
hackney-coach, Avhicli he himself drove.
The train of circumstances, which ultimately led
to his ruin, is curious. Harnett the younger had
gone on one of his expeditions to France, to jiro-
cure teeth, and had taken his daughter, a young
woman, with him. On returning, he landed at
Tower Stairs, and, meeting an acqiiaintance, sent
his daughter home to a place near Deptford in a
hackney-coach, the fare of which he paid. The girl
had with her her own packages, and also a box,
426 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
containing the produce of her father's expedition,
which he valued at 700/. There was a turnpike-
gate near Harnett's residence, and, at the driver's
suggestion, to avoid payment of the toll, the girl was
set down a short distance within reach of it. In
her anxiety to see her friends, and with the natural
thoughtlessness of youth, she took with her only her
own boxes, forgetting altogether her father's package
of teeth. The coachman, from some remarks he had
heard made by Harnett to his daughter, when he
placed the box in her charge, had been led to con-
sider that it contained something valuable; and,
although the girl remembered her loss before he was
out of hearing, and tried to stop him by her calls, he
determined to keep possession of the treasure, and
drove away with redoubled speed.
Harnett soon after reached home; and when the
news of his loss was communicated to him, fell into a
state little short of madness. In the course of the
afternoon, he went to Holliss as the person, in his
capacity as hackney-coachman, most likely to assist
him out of his difficulty. He told him that he had
just deposited fifty pounds at a certain public-house,
to obtain restoration of the stolen property, and
moreover promised Holliss, as a friend, a sum of fifty
pounds, in addition to the other reward, if he would
find out the thief, or by any means manage to pro-
cure the lost package for him. Harnett at one time
had brought an action against Holliss, to recover
eio-hty-three pounds, and, although he obtained a
verdict in his favour, after all paid the expenses
TREACHERY OF HOLLISS. 427
himself, rather than Ilolliss shoukl bo thrown into
g-aol, the latter promising to pay him the deht as
soon as he had the means of doing so in his power.
This, which was still owing, Harnett, as a further
inducement to Holliss to exert himself, promised to
forgive him in case of the box of teeth being reco-
vered through his means.
The name of the coachman who had stolen the
box was Ilaydon, and, singularly enough, was an
acquaintance of Holliss. He had never been a
Resurrectionist, and consequently, on discovering the
nature of his acquisition, was utterly at a loss how
to dispose of it. His friend Holliss, of whose pre-
vious occupation he had some indistinct knowledge,
came to his recollection as a person likely to be able
to make use of the teeth, and he accordingly drove
to his house, on the evening of the same day, to
offer to make some arrangement with him respect-
ing them. After much bargaining, Holliss offered
him five pounds for the box, M'itli a promise of more
money if he obtained a certain price for them: and
Hay don, ignorant of their value, and of other means
of disposing of them, accepted the offer, and brought
them out of the boot of his coach into the house.
Having thus obtained possession of the treasure,
Holliss thought he could make a better bargain with
it than by accepting the offers of his friend Har-
nett, and accordingly took some of the teeth to the
dentists in various parts of the Metropolis. In this
manner he continued for some time deriving consi-
derable gain from this ill-acquired property — the
428 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
source of his wealth being a matter of surprise to
all his comiianions.
It at last occurred to Harnett to call on some
of his old employers, to see if any of his property
had been disposed of to them. Among others, he
called on a highly respectable dentist in Burlington
Street, who at once showed him a quantity of the
very teeth for which he was searching, and informed
him that he had purchased them from Holliss.
There was no difficulty in recognising them, for
they were arranged in complete sets, and were
strung on a peculiar wire made in France, more of
Avhich Harnett had in his possession. Having pro-
cured some officers, he immediately went to the
Elephant and Castle, found Holliss close at hand,
and gave him into custody. He was at once com-
mitted for trial, and failing in procuring bail, was
imprisoned. He was afterwards tried at Croydon,
and merely by a flaw in the evidence, was saved
from transportation. In the mean time, however,
Harnett had seized on his horses and household fur-
niture, to recover the debt of eighty-three pounds
which was owing to him; and on his liberation
from confinement, Holliss found himself almost
destitute.
He subsequently became connected with horse-
stealers, and on one occasion jnirchased a stolen
horse from a man of the name of Page, not a prin-
ci])al, though imjilicated in the robbery, and after-
wards sold it at a large i)rofit. A reward of twenty
pounds was offered for the recovery of the animal.
VAUGIIAN. 429
and to obtain this, HoUiss seduced Page into a
snare, and then gave him into the custody of officers,
whom he had procured to arrest him. This man
was tried at Kingston, and from the evidence of
Holliss, found guilty, and was one of the last of those
who were condemned to death for this offence. He
was hanged at the gaol at Horsemonger Lane.
The success of Holliss in this adventure com-
pleted his ruin: for his share of the reward was
small, and soon spent; he was scouted by every one
of his acquaintance; and soon afterwards died in a
state of great wretchedness and poverty.
Vaughan, originally a stone-mason's labourer,
was a fellow of bad character, without common pru-
dence, and of dissolute and drunken habits. He
caused the disturbance at Holywell Mount from
feelings of envy and mischief towards INIurphy. On
the following session he took up his residence, un-
known to the rest of the party, at JNIanchester, from
which town, as well as from Liverpool, he sent a
large supply of Subjects to the Metro2)olis. He
came to London at Christmas, and was then, through
the agency of Murphy, as already mentioned, deli-
vered into the hands of officers from JNlaidstone,
from the gaol of which place he had in the course
of the previous summer effected his escape, under
circumstances of great aggravation. Here he was
confined for two years. He subsequently went to
Yarmouth, and, in consequence of some imprudent
intimacy with a young woman there, to whom he
represented himself as an unmarried person, his
430 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
occui^ations were detected, and he was committed to
prison. He was at last sent out of the country by
]\Ir. Justice Gazelee, under the following circum-
stances: —
In consequence of the ill-feeling which existed
against Vaughan among his companions in London,
and his detection at JNIanchester, he determined to
carry on his trade in some new part of the country,
and accordingly went down to Plymouth to recon-
noitre, and determine whether or not it was a likely
place to suit his purpose. The result of his visit was
a belief that business might be done there, and he
therefore took a house in the vicinity of the town, at
a village called Stoke, close to a church-yard. He
then sent for his wife, and when they were established
in their new abode, procured two men from London,
to assist him in his avocations. One of these, also,
brought his wife with him, so that there were then
five persons in the house. Here they lived together
for some months, unsuspected of any illegal practices.
Vaughan's vicious habits at last led to their detection;
for after a time he began to pay court to a female
servant of a family living nearly opposite to his
house. The girl, however, not only turned a deaf
ear to his entreaties, but began to suspect some ill
intention in the whole party. She dctci-mined
closely to watch their proceedings, and, having dis-
covered fresh reasons to doubt their respectability,
informed her master of her susjMcions. This gentle-
man, his curiosity being roused, himself now observed
their movements, and soon felt convinced that love
VAUGHAN. 431
of retirement, which they had stated as their reason
for coming to this sequestered spot, was not the only
motive for their residence, and even thought that
there was sufficient ground to place them under
the surveillance of the police. He accordingly re-
vealed his suspicions to the authorities at Plymouth,
stating his belief that the party had come down
there for the purpose of smuggling.
A person, by the name of Ellis, an active London
Bow Street officer, had just about that time been
placed at tlie head of the Plymouth police, and at
once took the matter in hand. Disguising himself,
he went on the following day to the dwelling of the
suspected individuals, and, after sauntering about
some time, recognised Vaughan as a London body-
snatcher, without being himself observed by any of
the party. lie prosecuted his further proceedings
accordingly. Ascertaining that two funerals were to
take place the next day, he resolved to watch their
movements on the occasion; and accordingly, habited
as a countryman, in a smock-frock, with other appro-
priate disguise, he attended at the burial as a mourner
for one of the deceased. He was not surprised to
see the whole of the suspected set, women as well
as men, joining in the crowd which followed at the
heels of the procession. No sooner were the bodies
committed to the grave, than Ellis went back to
Plymouth; but, being now fully convinced of the in-
tentions of the party, he returned to the church-yard
at night-fall, bringing with him three men, to insure
a sufficient force to carry his plans into effect. So
482 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
determined was he to get every proof of the guilt of
Vaughan and his party, that he apprised the relatives
of the deceased of his suspicions, and kept them at
hand, ready to identify the bodies, if he succeeded
in finding them on their premises. Thus prepared,
Ellis and his party secreted themselves in the church-
yard, and at about ten o'clock saw the exhumators
commence their work, and soon afterwards deposit
the bodies in their place of dwelling.
In about an hour, Avatching the house in the
mean time, that the objects of their search might
not be removed, Ellis rajjped at the door: Vaughan
himself obeyed the summons, and immediately re-
cognising Ellis, who had thrown aside his disguise,
hurriedly asked him what had brought him there so
late at night. On learning his errand, being but
little aware of the extent of knowledge Avhich his
visitor had of his proceedings, he begged of him,
with apparent indifference, to search the house that
he might convince himself of the fallacy of his sus-
picions. A signal was immediately given by Ellis,
his assistants came up, entered the house with him,
and the bodies were soon found secreted in a
back kitchen. The relatives of the exhumed bodies
were sent for, and at once identified them, and the
whole party of Resurrectionists, before daylight,
were safely lodged in the gaol at Plymouth.
This outrage was rendered felonious, instead of
being a mere misdemeanour, by the circumstance of
their havinor taken some of the clothes in which
the bodies had been buried. AVhen their trial came
VAUGHAN — MURPHY. 433
on, they were first charged with the misdemeanour,
convicted, and sentenced to a month's imprisonment.
They were then put upon their trial for the felony,
and some stockings and a shift, which were found on
their premises, being proved to be part of the
clothes in which one of the deceased had been
buried, they were sentenced to seven years' trans-
portation. Vaughan and his wife have never
returned to this country, although the period of
their banishment has long expired.
During the disjjute about the price of Subjects,
the original party of Resurrectionists was broken
uj), and others were introduced into the business.
Among these were a number of Spitalfield weavers:
but they only occasionally supplied the Schools,
and always with the greatest secresy; for if the
regular men caught them with bodies, the usual
fortune of the weavers was to be well threshed and
despoiled of the Subjects they had raised, which
were then carried to the nearest market, and dis-
posed of for the advantage of the victors. Those
who were regularly admitted into the set, were
Murphy, Crouch, a younger brother of the former of
the same name, Patrick, L , and some others,
to whom allusion has already been made in the fore-
going history.
Murphy was brought into the business either
by Crouch or Harnett, and, for an uneducated man,
was one of the cleverest I have ever known. He
was tall, stout, and strong, with a broad, flat, open
countenance, and had a touch of Irish humour and
VOL. I. 2 F
434 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
shrewdness. He was never baffled in carrying his
point, however long delayed, or whatever change of
tactics might be required. He was in general very
civil, and very rarely drunk ; was very earnest and
argumentative, and always ])lausible in his discus-
sions on the arrangement of the business of an
approaching session.
He was of a stern, unforgiving disposition. He
had a son who robbed him of a five-pound bank-
note ; circumstances having led to his detection, the
father brought him before a magistrate, and he was
committed for trial. He was sentenced to imprison-
ment in Horsemonger-Lane Gaol. In this place the
son became mad, and on his removal from prison,
he was admitted as a patient into Guy's Hospital.
He was in some measure restored to his senses, but
was ever afterwards imbecile.
INIurphy had none of the open and bold daring
of Crouch, — cunning and artifice were his predomi-
nant qualities, and he therefore much less frequently
exposed himself to personal danger and inconve-
nience than the former leader. He amassed as
much money, however, as Crouch, and built many
houses; but had disposed of the greater part of them
before his death. House property, indeed, seemed
to be the great object to be attained by these men.
Some of them, wishing to follow the example of
their more successful leaders, and seeming to believe
that such a possession was the certain road to a per-
manent sufficiency, entered into speculations of this
sort, and had scarcely completed the settlement of
MURPHY. 435
their bargain, when they were obliged either to mort-
gage the purchase, or sell it for half its value. The
inconsiderate expenditure of money which distin-
guished these people is easily accounted for, when
we consider the comparatively large sums of money
which they often suddenly received ; never before,
perhaps, having had more than a few shillings at a
time in their possession. A man has lately told
me that nearly one of his first acts in the business
brought him into possession of thirty-eight j^ounds,
when he believed he never before had had five
pounds in his hands.
JNIurphy was never idle in his business ; at the
time of the year when Subjects were no longer
required for dissection, he was selling skeletons,
collecting teeth, or planning for his winter's cam-
paign. He followed these last-mentioned occu-
pations until the time of his death, which event
occurred about a year ago. He left a wife and
one child well provided for, and, I am informed,
bearing a most respectable character. They have
since changed their name; as, indeed, have the
connexions of almost all the Resurrectionists whose
histories I have been relating.
L was a gentleman's servant, who, as far as
I know, bore a decent character until he was detected
in taking the plate-glass from the windows of car-
riages. For this offence he was sentenced to be
transported for seven years, and passed the period in
one of the hulks at Portsmouth. Upon his libera-
tion, he became a Resurrectionist, in which occupa-
2F2
436 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
tion, however, he never coukl be trusted either by
the teachers or by his associates, whom he cheated
on every occasion that offered itself.
After a time he became so notorious for knavery,
that none of the men woukl work with him, so that he
had given up his occupation before the passing of the
Anatomy Bill, and gained his living as a horsekeej:)er,
on several of the principal roads. He was obliged, as
he himself told me, to change his quarters whenever
he became recognised, on account of the odium to
which it subjected him. I was one day on a coach,
M'hen, on changing horses, I observed this man,
but by no means that I could devise, could I get
him to acknowledge any acquaintanceship with me.
I threw him a shilling, and so strong was his objec-
tion to meet my eye, lest the recognition should be
ol:)served, that he even did not look at me as he
thanked me. When we drove off, I asked the coach-
man his character as a horsekeeper ; to which he
replied, "The best between here and York: no
horsekeeper, that I know, can turn out his cattle and
harness like him."
L , however, gave up this business, from
the annoyances to which he was subjected by the
repeated allusions to his previous occupation, and
thus he became driven off the road. He then came
to town, and settled in a neighbourhood where he
had some connexions who were JNIethodists. One of
these persons interested himself very much in the
conversion of L , who thinking he might turn
this attention to his future welfare to some profitable
L . 437
temporary account, gradually accommodated himself
to the circumstances of this novel j)osition. He
went about with a staid and demure aspect, carry-
ing a Bible under his arm ; became one of the most
regular attendants at the chaj^el meetings, and was
soon conspicuous for the apparent earnestness of his
doA^otions. His artifice succeeded so well, that the
dissenters, among whom he now appeared one of the
most scrujiulous, were actually induced to subscribe
together and purchase a horse and cab, to establish
him in business. As soon as he had effected
this object, he immediately threw off his disguise,
and now drives about London, with as little of the
appearance as he has of the character of a religious
enthusiast.
The younger Crouch had been brought up to his
father's business, as a carpenter, and acted in that
capacity at Guy's Hospital, until he joined the
Resurrectionists. He was of small size, good-tem-
pered, but a great liar, and of no A'alue to any one.
AVlien the party was broken up, he, in company
with another brother, who had never been an
exhumator, joined the British Legion, and went to
Spain, where he was killed while in action.
Patrick was originally a sailor employed in the
transport service. He subsequently became a corn
porter, and from his activity and conduct in this
occupation, attracted the notice of Murphy at a
time when he was in want of an assistant. After
some persuasion he was induced to enter into Mur-
phy's service, and he continued to work with him at
438 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
HoljAvell jNIount until the occurrence of the distur-
bance caused by Ilolliss and Vaughan, which has
been previously related.
Patrick was a short, broad-chested man; very
active, yet powerful ; always in good humour; not a
drunkard, and apparently honest. He always acted
with jMurphy, whom he appeared to look up to as
one of the greatest men living, and seldom, at any
time, appeared as a principal in the business. I
have heard him say that it was always his anxious
wish to remain as long as possible unknown by the
public and his friends as a Resurrectionist.
He displayed considerable courage on several
occasions. An instance of this occurred one morn-
ing when he was taking to the School in Webb
Street . some bones which he had obtained from
the convict burial-place at Woolwich. On passing
a coal shed near the place of his destination, he
was noticed by two men, who being aware of the
nature of his employment, and suspecting the con-
tents of the parcel which he was carrying, followed
and determined to expose him. He, however,
observed their intention, and, to deceive them as
to his object, avoided walking in his usual direc-
tion, but went by a circuitous route. Although
partly thrown off their guard by this trick, they still
followed him, but at a greater distance, so tliat
Patrick, on arriving opposite to a small wicket door,
which opened into the yard of the School, thinking-
himself able to effect his passage before they could
reach him, suddenly dashed across the road in its
PATRICK. 439
direction. Upon tliis, the two men behind hastened
towards him with all possible speed, calling " Stop
tliief," on their way, but did not reach him until
just as Patrick had sprung Avithin the gate. Unfor-
tunately for the latter, from the force which he em-
ployed in trying to close the gate, in his anxiety to
exclude his pursuers, he caused a rope which, with
a weight, was connected to the door, to insure its
constant closure, to fall between it and the door-
frame : this impediment prevented his bolting it.
The two men continued to try forcibly to effect
their entrance, while by their exclamations they
attracted many others to the spot.
There was only one man in the place to assist
Patrick, and as soon as he arrived, Patrick placed
him against the door, whilst he himself ran up the
stairs to the dissecting-room to deposit his parcel.
At last the crowd forced down the gate and effected
an entrance. Patrick, fearing for the man whom
he had left to protect the door, ran down towards
the stable, which Avas at one end of the yard, and
seizing a large pitchfork, for some time kept his
enraged assailants at bay.
In the mean time some one had gone to Mr.
Grainger, who was breakfasting at the time with seve-
ral pupils, and informed him, that if some measures
were not instantly adopted, his school would be in
ruins. He at once went to the Town Hall, and
procured a body of constables to assist him, and
arriving in Webb Street, succeeded after a time,
amid hisses and execrations, in dispersing the crowd,
440 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
and rescuing the unfortunate Resurrectionist, Avho,
overpowered, had retreated into the stable. Patrick
was obliged, however, to remain concealed at the
School until night. A long and highly-coloured
account of the disturbance appeared in the papers
on the following day. Mr. Grainger afterAvards
brought the two persons, who had commenced the
riot, before a magistrate, and they were imprisoned.
Patrick was at one time in Cold Bath Fields'
prison, for robbing a burial-ground in conjunction
with a man of the name of Millard. He afterwards
entered into a business in London, in which he is
still engaged, and bears an excellent character for
integrity and propriety of conduct.
INIillard was originally in the service of a gen-
tleman who was a relation of jNIr. Cline. He was
afterwards employed as a superintendent to the dis-
secting-room at St. Thomas's Hospital, and a more
trustworthy man for some time could scarcely exist.
By his cleverness and industry, both the professors
and the pupils were placed under personal obliga-
tion to him, and the business of the dissecting-room
department of the School owed much of its regu-
larity to his conduct. He was, however, particularly
fond of money, nor was there at any time an oppor-
tunity of turning, I believe I may say, an honest
penny, that he ever allowed to slip through his
fingers. The dresses worn by the students during
dissection, the ])oxes in which they were kept,
second-hand works on anatomy, and instruments
of every kind, were sold to the pupils by JMillard;
MILLARD. 441
and by tliese means, superadded to his salary, lie
made a tolerably large income for a person in liis
station of life. Notwithstanding his mercenary
disposition, he never allowed it to interfere with
his self-gratification, for he w'as always most lavish
in his expenditure for dress and good living; and
used to boast that no one connected with the
hospital kept a better table, or wore better apparel
than himself. He was sober and industrious in his
habits, and by his uncompromising courage, not only
prevented the Resurrectionists from committing
irregularities in the School, but kept them in con-
stant awe of him. He was- a great boxer, and when
quarrels ensued, would offer to settle the dispute by
fighting any one of the number; but all shrunk
from such a conflict.
Subsequently, howcA-er, his expensive habits
induced him to lose all consideration for the School
to which he w^as attached, and led him to acts of
dishonesty; so that ultimately he was discharged
from St. Thomas's, for, perhaps, the greatest breach
of confidence and want of grateful feeling he could
have exhibited towards his cnq)loyers. JNIr.
went down to the School one afternoon, at a time
W'hen the dissecting-rooms had been for some months
very ill supplied, and was crossing one of the quad-
rangles to the anatomical theatre, depressed in spirits
from the stand-still of the most imi)ortant department
of the School for the want of Subjects, when he met
"the King of the Resurrectionists," as Murphy
was sometimes called. INIurphy, with a smile, said
442 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
to ]\Ir. as lie came u]) to liim, " Well, sir, things
are looking up a little; I suppose I have pleased you
rather these three or four last days." " Pray, for
Mliat?" said JNIr. , " for doing all you can to
j)revent Subjects being brought in, I suppose, while
other Schools, I am told, are well supplied by you."
" Why, sir, at any rate I brought you three the
night before last, and two this very morning."
"You are sure of that?" said :Mr. . "That I
most certainly am, for I have got the money for
them," rej^lied the Resurrectionist. INIr. desired
INIurphy to follow him, for a susj^icion of some
underhand conduct on the part of JNIillard flashed
across his mind, and he was determined to confront
JSIurjihy with him. Wishing, however, at first to
see jNIillard alone, and finding that he was in the
Lecturer's private room, he requested his informer
to remain in the passage until he called him.
As soon as Mr. opened the door, he said,
"Well, Millard, any Subjects in?" "No, sir,"
rej^lied the man; "and it is very extraordinary; I
wonder how the men can hold out so long, when
such prices are offered." " Have you not had one
this week?" " No, sir, not a single thing;" upon
which the Lecturer o^iened the door and called in
INIurpliy. JNIillard declared IVIurphy's account to be
all a fabrication; upon which the latter, feeling cer-
tain that the Subjects brought to the hosjiital in the
morning were still on the jiremises, obtained leave
to search for them. He at hast succeeded in finding
them lying in a corner of an outhouse, covered over
I
MILLARD. 443
with shavings, — on Mhicli again was a wheelbarrow,
appearing as if overturned by accident. It was then
ascertained that ]\lillard had been for some time in
the habit of receiving and jiaying for bodies, which,
instead of appropriating to the uses of his own
employers, he had packed np, and regularly des-
patched by sea, at an advanced price, to Edinburgh.
This was too bad to be endured, and although he
had for some years borne an excellent character as
a trustworthy servant, he was immediately dismissed
from the establishment; and so conscious did he
seem of his guilt, that he did not even supplicate
forgiveness, but asked only for time to remove his
property from the premises.
Millard having been a great favourite with the
pupils, was recommended to establish an eating-
house in the Borough for their use, which he accord-
ingly opened soon after his dismissal from the
hospital. From the patronage at first extended
towards him, his undertaking appeared to be about
to be attended with success, but after a time, it
being discovered by the public that he was still in
league with the Resurrectionists, and at work with
them, his business gradually declined, and he was
ultimately obliged to give it up altogether, having
sustained a heavy loss.
He now devoted himself wholly to the occupa-
tion of a Resurrectionist. One night he went with
Patrick to obtain a body which had been buried in
a ground attached to the London Hospital. A
week before, the dead-house had been forcibly
444 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOFER.
broken oj^en by Vauglian, and two Subjects removed;
and in consequence of this outrage, the Governors
had offered a reward for the apprehension of any one
attemi>ting to rob the graves in this ground. There
were many persons, therefore, on the watch, and
some patients, who were looking out from one of
the upper windows, saw IMillard and Patrick come
across the field at the back of the hospital, and get
over the wall. An alarm was immediately given,
and the offenders were shortly afterwards taken into
custody by officers, who had the greatest difficulty in
protecting them from the violence of the enraged
patients. They were subsequently sentenced to
three moitths' confinement in Cold Bath Fields'
jirison for this offence.
Through the mediation of JMr. Webbe, the sur-
geon, they were here treated by the governor with
STcat consideration and kindness, and were allowed
to pass the time in the infirmary. JNIillard, in a
short time, through the assistance of a solicitor,
found bail, and procured his liberty. He had no
sooner obtained this object, than he brought an
action against the magistrate at Lambeth Street for
false imprisonment, on the score that he had not
been detected as a Resurrectionist, no grave having
been opened or disturbed by him. This, however,
was at once set aside, and moreover, to Millard's
mortification, he was sent back to prison to complete
the term of his sentence.
Extraordinary to relate, this failure had so
powerful an effect upon his mind, as to produce a
MILLARD. 445
depression of spirits quite inexplicable in such a
daring character. He refused his food, was con-
stantly shedding tears, and gradually sank under
the affliction. This extreme state of despondency
was said in some measure to be caused by the
refusal of Sir Astley Cooper to solicit a pardon for
him from the Secretary for the Home Department,
according to a request which Millard made to him
for the purpose. JMillard became greatly enraged
at Sir Astley's refusal of his petition, and was heard
to swear that he would revenge himself by inflicting
some bodily harm upon him. His threats were
made known to my friend JMr. Wakefield, then
acting as assistant surgeon to the institution, under
Mr. Webbe, and he called upon Sir Astley and
advised him not to visit Millard, which he had
otherwise intended to have done. I afterwards
went to the prison, and, in comj^any with JMr. Wake-
field, saw Millard about a week or ten days before
he died: he was then in the lowest state of despon-
dency. The immediate cause of his death Avas a fever
which he caught in the infirmary, where in spite of
the remonstrances of his friends, the disorder being
then prevalent in that part of the prison, he had
remained rather than go to his cell. From his
depressed condition of mind and body, he soon sank
under the malady, and died in a state of raving
madness.
The wife of this person subsequently published
a work, entitled an Account of the Circumstances
attendiiig the Impriso?iment and Death of the late
446 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
William Millard, S)C. Its chief object appears to
have been to viUfy Sir Astley Cooper, for refusing
to intercede for her husband's discharge from prison,
or afterwards to settle a pension upon herself; but
it was loaded with statements, so evidently absurd,
respecting the various metropolitan hospitals, and
such violent abuse of the officers severally connected
with them, that it defeated its own object, and
failed to attract any attention.
I have thus briefly detailed the private histories
and the sequel of the lives, of a class of men whose
occupation separated them almost wholly from
familiar intercourse with every grade in society.
The absence of all decent feeling, which, as far as
has come to our knowledge in the investigation,
seems to have been more or less necessary to their
condition, — naturally enough excites the inquiry,
whether their deficiency in this resj^ect arose from
the illegal nature of their avocations and the popu-
lar odium with which they were regarded, or whether
it formed a feature of that previous depraved con-
dition of mind which led them to seek this extra-
ordinary mode of gaining a subsistence ; but this is
a question far more easily asked than answered:
probably all the causes mentioned tended to this
result.
Tt is held as a common maxim, that those
Mho make use, in any way, of persons employed
in illicit transactions, are as criminal as the de-
linquents themselves; but in this case, the urgent
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 447
necessity, for the sake of the public good, of such
apparent dereliction from duty, removes such a
charge of guilt from the surgeons. If the study of
the healing art he, as has been acknowledged from
the earliest period, one of the most beneficial pur-
poses to which the human mind can apply itself, —
if it be true that its highest object is the alleviation
of human suffering, — it seems evident enough that
but a small degree of opprobrium can attach to
any means, not morally wrong, of acquiring the
knowledge necessary to this desirable end. When
the dead can be rendered subservient to the most
important interests of the living, — however much
humanity may shudder at the idea of a beloved rela-
tive being disturbed from the stillness of the tomb, —
who is there that would not sacrifice those feelings
of repugnance, which, though so common, in truth
can after all be traced only to selfish motives?
AVho is there, I would ask, that would not at once
yield them in a particular case, •where the result
might be the saving of the offspring from a fate
similar to that which had destroyed the parent? If
the justness of this view as to individuals be ad-
mitted, it is an admission at once, in my opinion, of
the same question as regards the whole community.
Besides, it must be considered, that it is per-
fectly impossible that any man, in any branch of our
profession, can become a safe practitioner, unless
he be fully conversant with the healthy structure
of the human body; and there cannot be, there-
fore, a better instance of good si)riiiging from evil,
448 LIFE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER.
than the benefits which have arisen out of the various
circumstances I have been describing ; namely, the
legalization of anatomy, and the facilities now
afforded for the pursuit of this important science.
In taking a retrospective view of the many
eminent men who grace the annals of our country,
it is a matter of pride to every medical man, to
observe the numbers of his own profession who are
found in the list; and in examining the comparative
rank of each of these distinguished men, it will be
found generally to have depended upon the extent
of the anatomical knowledge of the individual. This
acquirement could only have been obtained by fre-
quent dissection. John Hunter, the greatest philo-
sopher, and Sir Astley Coojier, the most scien-
tific and enterprising surgeon, the medical pro-
fession of this country has ever had to boast of, —
both derived their fame from one and the same
origin ; and it is equally certain, even at the present
time, that whoever Avould wish to emulate their
eminence, must base his claims to distinction upon
knowledge emanating from the same source: —
Dissection of the Dead.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
LONDON: HARHISON AND CO., PRINTERS, ST. MARTIN S LANE.
i
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
MAR 1 4 1966
APR 21 1%7
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