164 BRITISH PHYSICIANS. example of that character which biography has celebrated ; but when to his exertions in that diffi- cult and often thankless career are added the most eminent medical practice of his time, consummate acquirements, and literary labours important to the healing art, — we shall find it difficult to select his equal among the annals of any period. Those excellent traits do not, however, complete his por- trait ; a noble frankness, suavity of manners, mo- deration in the estiiTiate of his own merit, and a cordial acknovv^ledgment of the deserts of his cotemporaries ; liberality, not merely of purse, but also of sentiment, must be drawn in order to finish the likeness. In some respects his position in society resem- bled that which Sir Joseph Banks so long occu- pied to the honour of his country ; but circum- stances and natural genius had conspired to endow Mead with a more delicate and refined taste and a more comprehensive range of perception and of knowledge. Justly is it to be regretted that so few among the many opulent and gifted indi- viduals who adorn our times, have been disposed or enabled to imitate the example which these two illustrious persons have bequeathed to posterity. Mead possessed in an extreme degree the taste for collecting ; but his books, his statues, his medals were not at all confined to ornament a secluded apartment, or to amuse only his own leisure ; the humble student, the unrecommended foreigner, the poor inquirer derived almost as much enjoyment from these unburied treasures as their ingenious owner*. In his spacious mansion, in Great Or-
- Sir Hans Sloane we may digress to enumerate as another of
