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which he had anticipated, took place on the 18th of June, 1816, when he had nearly completed his 82d year.

In estimating the intellectual character and attainments of the subject of this memoir, it is proper to revert to a period, several years remote from the present, but still within the perfect recollection of many to whom these pages are addressed. At that time, the quality of Mr. Henry's mind which was, perhaps, most conspicuous, was a readiness of apprehension, that enabled him to acquire knowledge with remarkable facility. To this was joined a quickness in his habits of association, that peculiarly fitted him to perceive those analogies which, in chemical investigations, were chiefly relied upon as leading to the discovery of truth, before it was sought to be established on the firmer basis of an accurate determination of quantities and proportions. Without claiming for Mr. Henry the praise of great original genius, we may safely assert for him a very considerable share of that inventive talent, which is commonly distinguished by the term ingenuity. This was especially displayed in the neatness and success with which he adapted to the purposes of experiment, the simple implements that chance threw in his way; for it may be proper to observe that, at no period of his life, was he in possession of a well-furnished laboratory, or of nice and delicate instruments of analysis or research. With these qualifications, he united a degree of ardour in his pursuits, which enabled him to triumph over obstacles of no trivial amount. And when it is considered that his investigations were carried on, not with the advantages of leisure, ease, and retirement, but amidst constant interruptions, and with a mind harassed by frequent and painful anxieties, it will be granted, that he accomplished much more than might have been expected, from one so little favoured by external circumstances.

The acquirements of Mr. Henry were not limited to that science in which he obtained distinction. It was the habit of his mind, when wearied by one occupation, to seek relief, not in indolent repose, but in a change of objects. In medical know

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ledge, he kept pace with the improvements of his time, and he occasionally by original publications, contributed to its advancement. He had a share of general information, and a flow of animal spirits, that rendered him an instructive and agreeable companion. To the rich sources of enjoyment, which are opened by the productions of the fine arts, he was extremely sensible, not so much from an acquaintance with critical rules, as from a natural and lively susceptibility of those emotions, which it is the object of the poet and the artist to excite. By the native strength of his memory, unassisted by any artificial arrangement, he had acquired a knowledge of history, remarkable for its extent and precision; he was always eager to discuss those questions of general policy, which are to be decided, partly by an appeal to historical evidence, and partly by a consideration of the nature of man, and of his claims and duties as a member of society. No representation of him would, indeed, be complete, that failed to notice the animation with which he entered into arguments of this kind, or the zeal and constancy with which he defended his political opinions,-opinions which, in him, were perfectly disinterested and sincere, but which perhaps disposed him to allow more than its due weight to the aristocratical part of our mixed government. It would be unjust to him, however, not to state, that no man could more cordially disapprove, or more unreservedly condemn, every undue exertion of power; or could more fervently desire the extension of the blessings of temperate freedom to all mankind. It was this feeling that led him to use his strenuous exertions as a member of one of the earliest Societies for procuring the abolition of the African Slave Trade; and when that great object was at length accomplished, he was affected with the most lively joy and gratitude on the downfall of a traffic, which had long been a disgraceful stain on our national character.

Of his moral excellencies, there can be no inducement to offer an overcharged picture to a Society, by many of whose surviving

*Chiefly in the periodical Journals, and in the Transactions of some Medical Societies to which he belonged.

members he was intimately known and justly appreciated. Foremost among the qualities of his heart, was a warmth of generous emotion, which evinced itself in an enthusiastic admiration of virtue; in an indignant disdain and unqualified reprobation of vice, oppression, or meanness; and in the prompt and unrestrained exercise of the social affections. In temper, he was frank, confiding, and capable of strong and lasting attachments; quick, it must be acknowledged, in his resentments; but remarkably placable, and anxious, whenever he thought he had inflicted a wound, to heal it by redoubled kindness. No man could be more free from all stain of selfishness; more moderate in his desire of worldly success; or more under the influence of habitual contentment. This was in a great measure the result of his having early weighed the comparative value of the different objects of life, and of his steady and consistent pursuit of knowledge and virtue, as the primary ends of an intelligent being.

In very advanced age, though his body was enfeebled, his mind retained much of that wholesome elasticity and vigour, which always belonged to it. He was still enabled, by the almost perfect preservation of his sight, to spend a great portion of every day in reading; but, at this period, he derived greater pleasure from works of literature, than from those of science, and especially from his favourite study of history. During the winter immediately preceding his death, beside several standard historical works, he read with avidity one which had been recently published; and entered into a critical examination of its merits, with a strength of memory and judgment, that would not have discredited the meridian of his faculties. In his moral character, no change was observable, except that a too great quickness of feeling, of which he had himself been fully conscious, was softened into a serene and complacent temper of mind, varied only by the occasional glow of those benevolent feelings, which continued to exist in him, with unabated ardour, almost to his latest hour. He still continued to receive great pleasure from the society of the young; and to them he

Dr. Stanier Clark's Life of James the Second,

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was peculiarly acceptable, from the kindness and success with which he studied to promote their rational enjoyments. It was his constant habit to take a cheerful view of the condition of the world; and on all occasions, when the contrary opinion was advanced, to assert the superiority of the times in which he had grown old, over the season of his youth, not only on the unquestionable ground of an increased diffusion of knowledge; but on that of the wider spread of virtuous principles, and the more general prevalence of virtuous habits.

Without encroaching on topics, which are wisely forbidden by the rules of this Society, it may be permitted to me to state, that Mr. Henry was from inquiry and conviction, a zealous advocate of Christianity.-About the middle period of life, a change of opinion led him to separate from the established Church, to whose service he had early been destined; and to join a congregation of Protestant Dissenters. But in discussing differences of religious belief, he was always ready to concede to others that free right of judgment, which he had claimed and exercised for himself; convinced, as he was, that no conclusion to which the understanding may be led, in the honest and zealous search after religious truth, can, without the highest injustice, be made the ground of moral crimination or reproach.

Such is the view of the character of our late President, that has been taken by one, who, in forming it, may be supposed to have been influenced by feelings and recollections, not altogether favourable to an unbiassed exercise of the judgment. That it is coincident, however, with the estimate of others, from whom impartiality may be more reasonably expected, will appear from the following document, which, at the time when it was presented to the Society, declared the sentiments of all those members, who were in the habit of attending its meetings, or of taking an interest in its proceedings.

"To the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. "We, the subscribed, beg leave to present, to the Philosophical Society, a portrait of our President, painted by Mr. Allen, which having been in a public exhibition, has been declared by competent judges, to be not only a correct resemblance, but likewise an excellent production of art. Our wish is, that a suitable place may be assigned to it, in the room where our meetings are held: and that, if approved by the Society at large, it may be inscribed by them as an affectionate tribute of respect and gratitude to a man, universally beloved for his conciliating qualities and private worth, and peculiarly endeared to us, by the relation in which he stands, as one of the very few founders of the Society, whom an indulgent Providence has still spared to us; a Philosopher, to whose talents we owe much of the approbation which the Public has bestowed on our labours; and a Member, whose zeal has, for a period of nearly thirty years, been uniformly exerted, in every station, to promote the peace and prosperity of the Institution over which he presides."

ART. II. Investigation of the Corrections of the Places of the Stars for Aberration and Nutation.

A. If the earth moved uniformly in a circle, the apparent place of a star would also describe a circle in a plane parallel to that of the ecliptic, its diameter being 40",51.

This proposition follows immediately from a consideration of the cause of aberration, and is too well known to require further demonstration. The magnitude of the circle is the most accurately determined from the phenomena of Jupiter's satellites; Professor Bessel has indeed remarked, that the observations of Bradley seem to indicate a diameter about a second greater, and that those of the Baron von Lindenau have a similar tendency; Professor Brinkley is also inclined to draw the same conclusion from his own observations; but it is avowedly inconsistent with Mr. Pond's very accurate series of observations on annual parallax, as well as with Professor

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