That she was a good woman, and may have engraven on her monument a character of virtue. Shortly after her death, the King was seized with a dangerous illness, which brought him almost to the brink of the grave. In

deed, had he died at this time, his reputation would not have suffered by it; for the rest of his reign, which lasted six years longer, was not greatly to his honour.

[To be continued.]

The celebrated BOERHAAVE'S Description of a Physician.

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Translated from his Oratio de Usu Ratiocinii Mechanici in Medicina.

OR avoiding all misrepresentations, which are but too frequent, I thall give you a description of a Physician, according to the idea I have formed of him in my own mind. I imagine him, first, laying the foundations of his art, in the contemplation of geometrical figures, bodies, weights, velocity, the fabric of machines, and the power of acting on other bodies thence arifing. While he employs his thoughts about these matters, he is taught by plain precepts, as well as examples, to diftinguish truth from falsehood, evidence from obscurity, and acquires prudence of mind, from a flowness to pass a judgment upon things. When he knows how to estimate the bare actions of simple bodies, and to deduce them from true and manifeft causes, I think him qualified for learning the properties of fluidity, elasticity, tenuity, weight, and tenacity of liquids from hydrostatics. His reason being by this time much improved, he proceeds to study the forces of fluids upon machines, and of these upon fluids, and to demonstrate them by mathematics, confirm them by hydraulics and mechanics, and illustrate them by chemical experiments; and entertains himself with speculations on the nature and action of fire, water, air, salts, and other homogeneous bodies. I now look upon him as sufficiently qualified for entering on the study of medicine; and here he employs his eyes, illumined with geometry, in viewing dissections of human carcafes, and the opened bodies of living brutes, and contemplates the structure, figure, firmness, original, bounds, connexion,

curvature, flexility, and elasticity of the vessels. Being excited by so wonderful a spectacle, he applies what he fees to the rules of mechanics, in which he was before instructed, and discovers the hidden uses of those parts. What a variety of fine and useful discoveries, with which later ages have enriched anatomy, employs his attention! While he accommodates the inventions of others, acquired with the utmost labour and industry, to his own use, he forms to himself a clear idea of the human fabric. To this he joins the knowledge of the vital fluids, and examines them with the assistance of anatomy, chemistry, hydrostatics, and even of the microscope; and foon after he runs over a most accurate history, artfully collected from all parts, of all the sensible effects produced in a healthy body; and now you see him finished with data for writing a theory of health. From these data, being each of them well understood, examined, and pared with one another, by the affiftance of mechanics, and with the strictness, method, and prudence of a geometrician, he deliberately draws such conclufions as the subject naturally furnishes, and which, tho' hidden from the external senses, are evident to reason. By this method the proximate causes of every effect are investigated, the nature of them being evidently known, as it is in an aggregate of the phænomena, collected, understood, and compared together. Now, what must we not expect from one who directs his studies by this method? A knowledge thus acquired would be immutable, and coæval with human

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human nature, from whence it is derived, and on which it is founded. It muft have certainty, as it proceeds with the utmost caution in giving af fent, and depends on what is alike, evident to all. It must be fufficiently determinate and useful, as it investigates the proximate caufe, by confidering the certain and sensible properties of the body, and that in a way not capable of leading into error. It increases slowly and insensibly, I confess; but then the least progress is al ways a fure step to higher attainments, and an infallible cause of new improvements. Thus you see him af pire to perfection, and now qualified for reading Hippocrates and the Greeks. Now, behold him bufied in furnishing himself with medicinal col

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lections from all quarters; here again he is taken up with the curious infpection of dead carcases, whose diseases he had observed; there he marks the symptoms of sickness procured by art in brutes, and now at length, collecting together all the effects of diseases, with their remedies, which he had either learnt from his own experience, or found in the best authors, he digests, confiders, and compares them with those which are demonftrated by theory, from whence he may at last compose a folid history of diseases, and their cures. This is the idea which I have of a confummate Physician; to this I have always endeavoured to conform myself, and to render those, who commit themselves to my care, conformable.

An Account of the FOUNDLING-HOSPITAL.

Illustrated with a curious View of that Structure.

N the reign of her late Majesty Queen Anne, several eminent and worthy Merchants, confidering the benefits which would arife from putting the education of the poor under better regulation; and moved with compaffion for the many innocent children who were daily exposed to mifery and destruction; proposed to erect an hofpital in or near London, for the reception of fuch infants, as either the misfortunes or inhumanity of their parents should leave destitute of other fupport, and to employ them in fuch a manner, as to make them fit for the most, Iaborious offices and lowest stations.

And, from the fuccefs which had attended institutions of this nature in other countries, hoped not only that a proper relief might be provided for their meintenance, but that the public would be abundantly repaid by their labour and industry for whatever should be contributed to their fupport.

They therefore proposed a subscription, and sollicited a charter for the erecting of fuch an hofpital. Nevertheless, it was at that time fufpended by means of fome ill-grounded prejudices, which weak people had conceived, that such an undertaking might feem to encourage perfons in vice, by making too eafy provifion for their illegitimate children; dren; and this fufpenfion might have totally defeated

this most ufeful and laudable defign, had not fome of those worthy perfons thought proper, in their wills, to give large benefactions to be paid to such an hofpital, fo foon as it should be erected; which coming to the notice of Mr. Thomas Coram, a Commander of a ship in the Merchants fervice, he left the fea fervice to follicit a charter for the establishment of

this charity, being induced thereto, by his well-known zeal for the public, and the shocking spectacles he had seen of innocent children who had been murdered and thrown upon dunghils.

Accordingly he procured a memorial, figned by several Ladies, eminent for their charity, and a true love of their country; and another, figned by a great number of Noblemen and Gentlemen; both which he annexed to his petition to the King, who was thereupon gracioufly pleased to grant his royal charter for eftablishing this hospital, bearing date the 17th of October, 1739. In consequence of which charter, the Governors named therein, being fummoned by the Duke of Bedford, their President, had their first meeting at Somerset-house, on the 20th of November, 1739, and proceeded to chuse a Committee, confifting of fifty Noblemen and Gentleinen, to manage the eftate and effects of the hofpital; which Committee had their first meeting the

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