positions of Drs. Gall and Spurzheim, I rather looked for, and expected to find, some hasty conclusions or unsupported assumptions; and my surprise was extreme, to discover that, in the whole extent of their inquiry, they had proceeded with so much caution and accuracy as, in all their essential facts and inferences, to have rendered themselves apparently invulnerable." At the early age of twenty-one he thus became a firm believer in phrenology, and, unlike many others of his cotemporaries, he continued to believe in its principles and apply its rules to the last.
After a course of diligent study at Paris continued for nearly two years, and a tour through Switzerland, he returned to Edinburgh at the close of 1819. he was now ready, as far as professional knowledge and the encouragement of friends went, for the commencement of business as a medical practitioner; but, unfortunately, he needed for himself the aid which he should have imparted to others. In his rambles in Switzerland he had over-tasked his strength, and on returning to Edinburgh, a cold room and damp bed confirmed the evil. A voyage to Italy was judged necessary for his recovery, and he embarked at Greenock for Leghorn at the end of the following year. The cure was effectual, for he returned to Edinburgh in May, 1822, and soon after commenced practice as a surgeon, while his extensive family connection, and the reputation he had already acquired, soon procured him an extensive circle of occupation. At this time, also, he first appeared before the world as an author, in an essay "On the Effects of Injuries of the Brain upon the Manifestations of the Mind," which was first read before the Phrenological Society, and afterwards published in its "Transactions." In this way, he brought his beloved science into full play at the commencement of his public life, not only in a literary but also a professional capacity, notwithstanding the obloquy and derision with which it was generally treated at this period. And this integrity was not without its reward. "My advocacy of phrenology," he stated, in a lecture before the Andersonian Institution of Glasgow, "did not prove any impediment in my professional career; on the contrary, it in many respects extended my field of usefulness, and greatly contributed to my happiness, by giving a more definite and consistent direction to the faculties which I possess. No doubt, some who might otherwise have employed me, were at first deterred by their prejudices from doing so; but their place was more than supplied by others, who, in their turn, would not have sought my advice except for phrenology; and ere long many even of the prejudiced ventured to return, and ultimately took place among my warmest friends. . . . . In the private relations of life, also, I have derived the utmost advantage from the lights of phrenology, and have gained a firmer hold on the confidence of my patients, by pointing out to them its great practical value in conducting the intellectual and moral training of the young, in promoting mutual forbearance and general kindness of intercourse, and thereby adding to their general means of happiness." In 1823, while the phrenological controversy was at its height, Mr. Combe again entered the field in its defence, by an essay entitled, "Observations on Dr. Barclay's Objections to Phrenology," which was also published in the "Transactions" of the Society. In the same year he, in conjunction with four others, established the "Phrenological Journal," to which he was an active contributor till his death. In 1836, he collected the most important of these articles, and published them in a separate volume. Eager to extend the knowledge of a science to which he was so devoted, and justify its claims to universal attention, he also hazarded their
