could reasonably be expected by a young man.

But medical practice by no means occupied his whole time or attention. Soon after settling in Edinburgh he was elected a member of the Philosophical Society, as it was then denominated, but which has been since incorporated by a charter from the crown, under the name of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

In the Philosophical Society, which was then presided over by the venerable Lord Kaimes, and which consisted of but a small select number, it was the practice for each of us to furnish papers in rotation. When it came to Dr. Rutherford's turn, probably from his predilection to chemistry, he presented us with a dissertation on a saline body, which had at that time obtained particular notice- Nitre, as it was then denominated, or, as it is now styled, Nitrate of Potass. The experiments of Dr. Priestley had pointed out this saline body to philosophers, as furnishing a large portion of what, at that time, was termed vital air, from its being thought essential to the support of life, but which is now denominated oxygene gas, from its containing, in a gaseous form, what is perhaps an essential constituent of every acid. In that paper, which was read before the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, in the winter of 1778, long prior to any proper account of the discoveries of the illustrious Lavoisier having reached the country, Dr. Rutherford at least suggested to his fellow-members what the great French philosopher afterwards demonstrated. In the paper, on Nitre and Nitrous Acid, Dr. Rutherford's conclusions (as appears from a note subjoined to the Lectures on the Elements of Chemistry, by Dr. Black, which were, after his death, published in 1803, by his friend and colleague Dr. Robison) in several particulars approximated at least to those which have since given such great celebrity to the French philosopher, and which have produced so great a revolution in the science of chemistry. For, to use Dr. Robison's own words, Dr. Rutherford "even more than hinted at" that doctrine respecting acids, which the French chemists afterwards demon

for I was then an active and attentive member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and I was present at the meeting in which Dr. Rutherford's paper, and also at the meeting in which a report on that paper, were read and considered by the society.

In that curious document which, from different reasons, particularly from his own intentions of repeating and extending his experiments, was never published, Dr. Rutherford coincided very much with the present prevailing opinions respecting the constitution of acids. For under the name of vital air, a term at that time employed by every philosopher, he described the same element which has been denominated oxygene gas. He considered its basis as a necessary constituent of every acid. Nay, he even expressed an opinion that it was not unlikely that by this element they were acid. Thus it appears that, at an early period, he at least conjectured what to the philosophical world was afterwards demonstrated by the justly celebrated Lavoisier; whose death will ever mark with eternal infamy the tyranny of the French revolution.

After Dr. Rutherford had continued to practise medicine, and to cultivate philosophy, in Edinburgh, for about ten years, he was, on the 1st of December, 1786, on the death of Dr. John Hope, admitted into the university, as professor of botany, by commissioners both from the crown and from the town-council. He was, at the same time, appointed King's Botanist for Scotland; and, in consequence of that appointment, was entrusted with the charge of the Royal Botanical Garden at Edinburgh.

By his commission from the town-council he was nominated as his predecessors had been, a member of the Faculty of Medicine in the university. By that nomination, he became connected with the Royal Infirmary, as one of the clinical physicians; and besides his botanical lectures, he took regularly a share in the lectures on the cases of patients in the clinical wards, selected from the whole that are admitted into the hospital, as being most instructive to the attentive observer. These clinical lectures, as they have been styled, are, in my

opinion, the most admirable branch of medical education at Edinburgh for an attentive student; and, in the hands of Dr. Rutherford, could not fail to be highly improved. A few years after Dr. Rutherford's admission into the university, he became still more intimately connected with the Royal Infirmary; for, on the death of Dr. Henry Cullen, in 1791, he was elected one of the physicians in ordinary to that extensive establishment. By this appointment, he had constantly under his care nearly one half of the medical patients in that hospital, to whom the duties of his office required a daily visit.

To these important offices, a large portion of his time was necessarily dedicated. It is not, therefore, wonderful that, at this period, he was under the necessity of, in some degree, deserting his favourite study, chemical philosophy. But a regular and due attention, to every duty both public and private, did not prevent him from continuing to be an active member and regular attendant, not only on the Royal Society and on the Royal College of Physicians, but also on societies of a more private nature, which have been accompanied with the most happy effects at Edinburgh, both in promoting social intercourse among medical practitioners, and in improving their knowledge of the profession.

The societies to which I allude, are the Esculapian, Harveian, and Gymnastic clubs, as they have been denominated. Of all these three associations he was a regular attendant. In the Gymnastic club, which, as well as the Harveian, meets only one day in the year, and which, in imitation of the Ludi Apollinares of the ancients, is intended to conjoin rural exercise with social mirth, he held at the time of his death, the distinguished rank of Gymnasiarchus Magnificus, an office in which I have had the honour of being elected his successor. At all these meetings, as well as in all his transactions in common life, he uniformly supported the character of a respectable, an honourable, and an amiable man.

Soon after Dr. Rutherford's admission into the university of Edinburgh, a change took place in his domestic life, which

ber, 1786, he was married to Miss Harriet Mitchelson, youngest daughter of John Mitchelson, Esq., of Middleton. By that marriage he had several children, three of whom, as well as his widow, still survive him. His only surviving son, having taken to the profession of the law, is now a respectable writer to the signet in Edinburgh.

Dr. Rutherford, during the course of a pretty long life, enjoyed tolerable, but by no means uninterrupted good health. For, as early as the 10th year of his age, when it is not reasonable to suppose that luxurious living could have any influence in inducing disease, he was attacked with distinctly-marked symptoms of gout, a disease which he probably derived from inheritance. For both his father and grandfather had been subjected to it at very early periods of life.

Although he had but little reason to complain of other diseases, yet this can never be said to have left him, and he afterwards suffered from it severely. With the view of combating this distressing complaint, he gave a fair trial, for the space of about two years, to the most abstemious diet, and to a total abstinence from every species of drink, stronger than pure water. But during that period, his gout became more severe than it had ever been before. And, as he found that this mode of living impaired his strength, both of mind and body, he prudently deserted it, deriving his principal relief from patience, flannel, and the attention of friends.

He thought, however, that he in general passed the winter more easily, when he could conveniently dedicate a few weeks in the autumn, to relaxation from business and to the warm baths at Buxton. But, notwithstanding this, the gout still continued frequently to visit, and in all probability at last proved fatal to him; for he died suddenly, on the 15th November, 1819, in the 71st year of his age. On the day of his death, he took his breakfast, in apparently good health. He was preparing to step into his carriage, which stood at the door to carry him in his usual visits to patients, when he was attacked suddenly with pain in his stomach, to which he had often before been subjected. All he said was, O, my bowels! He fainted, without a

groan, into the arms of his eldest daughter, and from that he never recovered.

Thus was his useful life happily terminated, by a sudden but not an unprepared death. For although the exit of his immortal soul, from this earth, was not preceded by the ceremonials of religion; yet the whole course and tenour of his existence was a preparation for another and a better world.