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death, and as being, in all probability, the last sentence which he ever wrote upon the subject; "My opinion of vaccination is precisely as it was when I first promulgated the discovery. It is not in the least strengthened by any event that has happened, for it could gain no strength; it is not in the least weakened, for if the failures you speak of had not happened, the truth of my assertions respecting those coincidences which occasioned them would not have been made out."

A statue was erected to his memory in his native county; but it is matter of surprise and regret, that neither in Westminster Abbey nor in any other public building, has any national monument been raised to him.

JOHN MASON GOOD, M.D.

JOHN MASON GOOD was the son of the rev. Peter Good, and on his mother's side, was nearly related to John Mason, author of the wellknown "Treatise on Self-Knowledge" - a grandson of the rev. John Mason, rector of Water Stratford, in Buckinghamshire, whose "Select Remains" have likewise had a deservedly wide circulation. He received the rudiments of education in a seminary conducted by his father, and early evinced those mental feelings and capabilities which contributed to the ultimate development of a no ordinary

character. Delighting in intellectual pursuits of every kind-blessed throughout life with corporeal vigour, and the highest degree of mental elasticity-endowed with a memory extraordinarily retentive, from the ample stores of which he could draw at any time with the greatest promptness, he excelled alike in acquiring, retaining, and imparting knowledge. Combining the opposite attributes of contemplation and activity, he attained unusual eminence, not only in his profession, but as a man of general science-not in one department of literature merely, but in many at the same time. Benevolent, communicative, and habitually cheerful, there was a charm in his society which delighted all who were privileged to enjoy it, and in every relation of life he was esteemed and beloved in no ordinary degree.

At the age of fifteen, young Good was apprenticed to a general practitioner at Gosport, in whose employ his time was necessarily much occupied, but he still found leisure to increase his already ample literary and scientific store of knowledge, as well as to exercise his powers in original composition. At this early age, he wrote many poems, and his taste as well as diligence were exemplified by a volume of extracts, in which he laid nearly one hundred authors-Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and English-under contribution. The winter of 1783-4 was spent in London. He was now in his twentieth year, and, meeting with a few associates of kindred minds, we may readily

imagine how ardently he would pursue his professional and scientific inquiries. No sooner was the session finished, than we find him, with strong recommendation from his hospital friends, entering at once into partnership with Mr. Deeks, a respectable surgeon at Sudbury, in Suffolk; and, within the short space of a few months, that gentleman left the entire business in his hands.

At this juncture, Mr. Good appeared to have reached the very summit of earthly happiness. Engaged in pursuits congenial to his taste, and possessing cheerful and engaging manners, combined with a disposition ready to evince the liveliest sympathy in cases where it was most needed, many proofs of his surgical skill soon were given, which imparted a solidity and extent to his reputation, beyond what could have been anticipated. He was, moreover, united to a highly accomplished and amiable young lady, to whom he was affectionately attached. But alas! there was a worm at the root of this felicity. In little more than six months after their marriage, his youthful bride died of consumption, and it was his bitter lot to experience that

"Cords which vibrate sweetest pleasure,
Thrill the deepest notes of woe."

After Mr. Good had remained for four years a widower, endeavouring, by professional avocations, scientific pursuits, and the soothing influence of society, to recover his native

cheerfulness, he again married, and the object of his choice was a daughter of Thomas Fenn, esq., a highly respectable banker at Sudbury.

In the year 1792, either by becoming legally bound for some friends, or by advancing them a large sum of money, as to the expected repayment of which he was disappointed, Mr. Good was brought into circumstances of considerable pecuniary embarrassment. Mr. Fenn cheerfully stepped forward to remove his difficulties, and would have rendered him more effectual aid, had not Mr. Good resolved that perplexities, resulting from his own want of caution, should be removed principally by his own exertions; and he forthwith entered upon a course of literary activity, which, though interrupted by repeated disappointments, did ultimately issue in the desired end. He forwarded numerous contributions to periodical publications; he wrote plays; he composed poems; he prepared a series of philosophical essays; and at length determined on removing to London, where, in the early part of the following year, he accepted a proposal to go into partnership with a Mr. W-——, a surgeon and apothecary in extensive practice, and who had likewise an official connexion with one of the prisons. But in this connexion he met with nothing but perplexity and trial. Mr. W. became jealous of his talents and rising popularity, and had recourse to the basest means to injure his reputation; the business

failed; the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. W. died in the Fleet prison. All these circumstances, however,--the defeat of projects on which his hopes had been fondly fixed, and an increasing family,-did but supply Mr. Good with fresh incentives to professional activity and extended literary research. Again he shrank from a full reception of the aid once more offered to him by his kind relative at Sudbury, and, concealing his anxieties from those he most loved, still continued to rely upon his own exertions for success, till he was at length placed by them, under God's blessing, in reputable and easy circumstances.

It was not long before he was enabled to obtain that distinction amongst medical men which he eagerly sought. In February, 1795, he gained a prize-a premium of twenty guineas-from the "Medical Society," for the best dissertation upon the question, "What are the diseases most frequent in workhouses, poorhouses, and similar institutions; and what are the best means of cure and of prevention ?" which he was requested to publish immediately. And he also became an active member of a society, formed in the year 1794, under the title of the "General Pharmaceutic Association," the object of which was to preserve the distinction between the apothecary and the druggist, which it was feared, unless some special efforts were adopted, would soon be altogether lost. Not only in London, but throughout Great Britain, men of the most

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