from scarcity of teachers to introduce the system of mutual tuition by the pupils, found the scheme answer so well that he became convinced of its universal applicability. In 1797, after his return to London, he published a small pamphlet explaining his views. No public attention was drawn towards the plan till the following year, when Mr Joseph Lancaster, a dissenter, opened a school in South- wark, conducting it in strict accordance with Bell s prin ciples. The success of the method, and the strong support given to Lancaster by the whole body of dissenters, gave immense impetus to the movement. Similar schools were established in great numbers ; and the members of the Church of England, becoming alarmed at the patronage of these schools resting entirely in the hands of dissenters, resolved to set up similar institutions in which church principles should be inculcated. In 1807 Dr Bell was called upon to organize a system of schools in accordance with these views. For his valuable services he was in some degree recompensed by his perferment to a prebend of Westminster, and to the mastership of Sherborn Hospital, Durham. He died in 1832 at Cheltenham, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His great fortune was bequeathed almost entirely for educational purposes. Of the 120,000 given in trust to the provost of St Andrews, two city ministers, and the professor of Greek in the university, half was devoted to the founding of the important school, called the Madras College, at St Andrews; 10,000 was left to each of the large cities, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leith, Inverness, and Aberdeen, for school purposes ; and 10,000 was also given to the Royal Naval School. (See Southey s
Life of Dr Bell.)BELL, Sir Charles, K.H., the youngest son of the Rev. William Bell, a clergyman of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, was born at Edinburgh, November 1774. His mother . Margaret Morice, the elder daughter of an Epis copal clergyman, was remarkable for her piety and general accomplishments, and she exercised a powerful influence over her gifted sons. The father, William Bell, after a life of contending with difficulties, died on 20th of Sep tember 1779, aged seventy-five, leaving his wife and six children very slenderly provided for. Of these six children, three became distinguished men, namely, John Bell, the anatomist and surgeon ; George Joseph Bell, professor of the law of Scotland in the University of Edinburgh ; and Charles Bell, the subject of this notice. After having studied two years at the High School and two years more at the University of Edinburgh, Charles embraced the pro fession of medicine and devoted himself chiefly to the study of anatomy, under the direction of his brother John, who was twelve years older, and who had already earned a reputation as an anatomist and surgeon. Regarding his early education, he wrote, in 1839, on a copy of Petti- grew s Medical Portrait Gallery, opposite a remark that he had been educated at the High School, " Nonsense ! I received no education but from my mother, neither read ing, writing, ciphering, nor anything else." At school and college he does not appear to have distinguished himself, except by his facility in drawing, a hereditary gift acquired from his mother. It was not until he entered on the study of anatomy that he gave evidence of possessing those talents which soon made him a worthy rival of his brother John.
His first work, entitled A System of Dissections, explaining the Anatomy of the Human Body, the manner of displaying fhe Parts, and their Varieties in Disease, was published in Edinburgh in 1798, while the author was still a pupil. The " Introduction " to this work shows much originality of thought, and an aptitude for devising new methods of preparing animal structures for dissection and demonstra tion. The volume is illustrated by numerous engravings from original drawings, and the text is clear and precise in language. For many years this work was considered to bs a valuable guide to the student of practical anatomy.
On the 1st of August 1799 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. At that time the fellows of the college were in rotation surgeons to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. In this position Bell soon gave evidence of great ability. He dissected, drew, described, mounted preparations of anatomical, physio logical, or pathological value, improved on the modes of operating in surgery known at that time, and invented a method of making models of morbid parts, of which specimens may still be seen in the museum of the college.
In 1802 he published a series of engravings of original drawings, showing the anatomy of the brain and nervous system. These drawings are remarkable for artistic skill and finish. They were taken from dissections made by Bell for the lectures or demonstrations he gave on the nerv ous system as part of the course of anatomical instruction of his brother. In 1804 he wrote volume ili. of The Anatomy of the Human Body, by John and Charles Bell. This volume contains the anatomy of the nervous system, and of the organs of special sense.
In 1804 a new arrangement was made regarding the attendance of surgeons at the Edinburgh Infirmary ; and Bell, probably as being junior in the profession, was excluded from the hospital. He proposed to the managers to pay 100 a year, and to transfer to them, for the use of the students, the museum he had collected, on condition that he should be " allowed to stand by the bodies when dissected in the theatre of the infirmary, and to make notes and drawings of the diseased appearances." This enthusiastic proposal was rejected, and the consequence was that Bell went to London in November 1804.
From that date, for nearly forty years, he kept up a regular correspondence with his brother George, much of which has recently been published (Letters of Sir Charles Bell, &c., 1870). The earlier letters of this correspondence show how rapidly he rose to distinction in a field where success was difficult, as it was already occupied by such men as Abernethy, Sir Astley Cooper, and Cline. He quickly made acquaintance with most of the scientific men of the day, and apparently won friends in the highest social, professional, and artistic circles. After having lodged in Fludyer Street for some months, he settled in Leicester Street, Leicester Square, and immediately commenced a course of lectures on anatomy and surgery. Here he also located his museum, which was sent to him from Edinburgh ; and his letters indicate that this was the subject of much interest to scientific and professional men. He lectured to painters, directed private dissections, gave demonstrations to surgeons, and gradually acquired a surgical practice.
work on the Anatomy of Expression. It was published in London soon after his arrival, and at once attracted attention. His practical knowledge of anatomy and his skill as an artist qualified him in an exceptional manner for such a work. The object of this treatise was to describe the arrangements by which the influence of the mind was propagated to the muscular frame, and to give a rational explanation of the muscular movements which usually accompany the various emotions and passions. One special feature of the author s system was the importance attributed to the respiratory arrangements as a source of expression. He also showed how the physician and surgeon might derive information regarding the nature and extent of important diseases by observing the expression of bodily suffering. This work, apart from its value to artists and psychologists, is of interest historically, as there is no doubt the investigations of the author into the nervous supply of the muscles of
expression induced him to prosecute inquiries which led to
