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the wants of others, and recollecting the difficulties that he himself had had to struggle with in his younger days, he was at all times fingularly attentive to their pecuniary concerns. From his general acquaintance among the ftudents, and the friendly habits he was on with many of them, he found no difficulty in discovering thofe among them who were rather in hampered circumstances, without being obliged to hurt their delicacy in any degree. To fuch perfons, when their habits of study admitted of it, he was peculiarly attentive. They were more frequently invited to his house than others; they were treated with more than usual kindness and familiarity; they were conducted to his library, and encouraged by the most delicate addrefs to borrow from it freely whatever books he thought they had occafion for and as perfons in these circumstances were usually more shy in this respect than others, books were fometimes preffed upon them as a fort of constraint, by the Doctor infifting to have their opinion of such or fuch paffages as they had not read, and defiring them to carry the book home for that purpose. He in fhort behaved to them rather as if he courted their company, and stood in need of their acquaintance, than they of his. He thus raised them in the opinion of their acquaintance to a much higher degree of estimation than they could otherwise have obtained, which, to people whose minds were depreffed by penury, and whose sense of honour was sharpened by the confcioufness of an inferiority of a certain kind, was fingularly engaging. Thus were they inspired with a secret fenfe of dignity which elevated their minds, and excited an uncommon ardour of purfuit, instead of that melancholy inactivity which is fo natural in fuch circumftances, and which too often leads to defpair. Nor was he less delicate in the manner of supplying their wants than attentive to discover them. He often found out fome polite excufe for refufing to take payment for a first courfe, and never was at a lofs for one to an after

course. Before they could have an opportunity of ap plying for a ticket, he would fometimes lead the converfation to fome subject that occurred in the courfe of his lectures; and as his lectures were never put in writing by himself, he would fometimes beg the favour to fee their notes, if he knew they had been taken with attention under a pretext of affifting his memory: Some times he would exprefs a wish to have their opinion of a particular part of his courfe, and prefented them with a ticket for that purpose: and fometimes he refufed to take payment, under the pretext that they had not received his full courfe the preceding year, fome part of it having been neceffarily omitted for want of time, which he meant to include in this courfe*. By fuch delicate address, in which he greatly excelled, he took care to forerun their wants. Thus, he not only gave them the benefit of his own lectures, but by refufing to take their money, he alfo enabled them to attend thofe of others that were neceffary to complete their course of studies. These were particular devices he adopted to individuals to whom economy was neceffary; but it was a general rule with him, never to take money from any ftudent for more than two courses of the fame fet of lectures, permitting him to attend these lectures as many years longer as he pleased, gratis.

He introduced another general rule into the Univerfity that was dictated by the fame principle of difinterefted beneficence, that ought not to be here paffed over in filence. Before he came to Edinburgh, it was the custom for medical profeffors to accept of fees for their medical affistance when wanted, even from medical students themselves, who were perhaps attending the pro

* Doctor Cullen was fo full in his course of lectures, that he never had time to overtake the whole in one feflion, even although he ufually gave double lectures for a month or fix weeks before the end of the fef fion. His practice was to omit one branch of his fubject one season, and taking that in next season, omit another part that had been given the former year; so that those who attended two feasons might be shure of the whole,

feffor's own lectures at the time. But Cullen never would take fees as a phyficiàn from any ftudent at the University, though he attended them when called in as a physician, with the fame affiduity and care as if they had been perfons of the first rank, who paid him most liberally. This gradually induced others to adopt a fimilar practice; fo that it is now become a general rule at this University, for medical profeffors to decline taking any fees when their affiftance is neceffary to a ftudent. For this useful reform, with many others, the ftudents of the Univerfity of Edinburgh are folely indebted to the liberality of Doctor Cullen.

The following little anecdote relative to this subject, fell under the obfervation of the writer of this article, and may be depended on. The gentleman to whom it relates is ftill alive, as is believed, and in good practife as a physician in England, and will no doubt readily recollect it, if ever these sheets fhould fall in his way.

A medical student who lodged in the fame house with the writer, in the year 1760, and who attended at that time a courfe of lectures given by one of the medical profeffors, but who never had attended Cullen's clafst, happened to take the fmall-pox, which neceffarily detained him from the class, and prevented him for the time from receiving any benefit from thefe lectures. At the beginning of the diforder, the young man, who was bulky, and in a full habit of body, was fick, and very uneafy. He naturally called in his own profeffor as a physician; but in a fhort time the fickness abated, and the fmall-pox, of the most favourable kind, made their appearance, after which no idea of danger could be apprehended. In this ftate of things, the whole family were very much furprised to find

+ For the information of strangers, it may be neceffary here to ob'ferve, that at the University of Edinburgh, no course of study is prefcribed, but every student is at liberty to attend the lectures of such profeffors as he inclines.

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that the patient called in the affiftance of Doctor Cullen; but he faid he had reafons for this conduct, that he knew they would approve of when he should state them, though he declined to do it then. By and by, he became quite well; fo that there could be no pretext for the phyficians vifiting him any longer. In this fituation, he watched his opportunity; and when the phyficians were both prefent, he thanked Doctor Cullen for the affiftance he had given, and offered him money : but this, as the fly chap had foreseen, he positively declined. After gently intreating him to take it, and not being able to prevail, he turned to his own profeffor, and in like manner offered him money. But this, for fhame, he could not poffibly accept, though it was not known that this gentleman had ever before refused a fee when offered to him. Thus did the arch rogue fave a fee by calling in Doctor Cullen, which he well knew he must have paid.

The general benevolence of Doctor Cullen's difpofition cannot be exemplified in a stronger manner than by his conduct to the writer of this article, which was fo generous, fo difinterefted, and fo kind, as to require the most grateful commemoration. In other particulars in this narrative, it may be alleged that mistakes may poffibly have happened; but with regard to his own particular cafe, it is impoffible the writer can be any miftake. Gratitude demands that justice to the of the deceafed fhould not be withheld on this

in

memory

occafion.

It was my misfortune to lose both parents before I was of an age capable of knowing either of them; and the charge of my education fell to the care of a near relation, who had no fondness for literary pursuits. Being deftined to follow the profeffion of agriculture, my guardian did every thing in his power to discourage, in regard to myfelf, an inclination for ftudies that he thought were incompatible with the business he had chofen for me. But having, chanced to read at that

time Home's Effay on Agriculture, and finding it was impoffible to judge of the juftness of his reafoning on many occafions, because of my total want of chemical knowledge, and thinking, at that time, it would be difgraceful not to know every thing that could be known in the profeffion I meant to follow, I refolved to attend Doctor Cullen's lectures, to obtain that kind of knowledge I fo much felt the want of. It happened, however, that I had not then a fingle friend or acquaintance, by whom I could be properly introduced to Doctor Cullen, and was under the neceflity of waiting upon him by myself, without one fo much as even to tell him my name. Being then young, and of exceeding small stature for my age, on prefenting myfelf, the Doctor very naturally took me for a child; and when he understood that agriculture was the profeffion intended, he conceived that it must have been some childish whim that had haftily laid hold of the imagination, and thought it his duty to difcourage it. He therefore began to diffuade me from thinking of pursuing that idea any farther: but finding I had reflected on the subject, and had finally adopted a line of conduct from which I would not depart, for reasons then affigned, he at laft was brought to acknowledge, that if I had fteadiness and affiduity to apply properly to the study, it might in the end prove conducive in promoting the knowledge of the principles of agriculture; and faid, if I was determined to exert myself, he should do all in his power to forward my views. As his public lectures had then been for some time begun, he ordered me to attend a private class, with fome others in the fame predicament, to be inftructed in those parts of his course already paft, till we should overtake those in his public clafs, which was a common practice with him at that time.

In these private lectures, as well as in his public class, Doctor Cullen was always at pains to examine his tudents from time to time on thofe parts of his course

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