E-text prepared by Sonya Schermann, Larry B. Harrison, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 56400-h.htm or 56400-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/56400/56400-h/56400-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/56400/56400-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/memoirsofjohnabe00maciuoft Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). A carat character is used to denote superscription. A single character following the carat is superscripted (example: Sir Tho^s). Multiple superscripted characters are enclosed by curly brackets (example: Y^{rs}). MEMOIRS OF JOHN ABERNETHY. [Illustration: Sir Tho^s. Lawrence P.R.A. Cook. Y^{rs}. most sincerely John Abernethy] MEMOIRS OF JOHN ABERNETHY, With a View of His Lectures, His Writings, and Character; with Additional Extracts from Original Documents, Now First Published; by GEORGE MACILWAIN, F.R.C.S. Author of "Medicine and Surgery One Inductive Science," &c. &c. &c. "The evil that men do, lives after them: The good is oft interred with their bones." SHAKSPEARE. Third Edition. London: Hatchard and Co. Piccadilly. 1856. The Author reserves the right of publishing a Translation of this Work in France. London: Printed by J. Mallett, Wardour Street. TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN ABERNETHY, THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED BY ONE OF HIS NUMEROUS AND GRATEFUL PUPILS, THE AUTHOR. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. In submitting to the Public a Memoir of a great man, it may naturally be expected that an author should endeavour to convey to them some idea of the associations, or other circumstances, which have prompted the undertaking.