influence upon the constitution as to render the individual safe from further contagion. This was the basis upon which the fundamental rules for the practice of vaccination were founded. The publication of his 'Inquiry' excited the greatest interest, for the evidence in it seemed conclusive; yet the practice of vaccination met with opposition, as severe as it was unfair, and its success seemed uncertain until a year had passed, when upwards of seventy of the principal physicians and surgeons in London signed a declaration of their entire confidence in it. An attempt was then made to deprive Jenner of the merit of his discovery, but it signally failed, and scientific honours began to be bestowed on him from all quarters. Nothing could, however, induce Jenner to leave his native village, and all his correspondence shows that the purest benevolence, rather than ambition, had been the motive which actuated his labours. In a letter to Mr. Clive, who instituted the first successful case of vaccination in London, he says: "Shall I, who, even in the morning of my life, sought the lowly and sequestered paths of life, the valley and not the mountain; shall I, now my evening is fast approaching, hold myself up as an object for fortune and for fame? Admitting it as a certainty that I obtain both, what stock should I add to my little fund of happiness? And as for fame, what is it?--a gilded butt for ever pierced with the arrows of malignancy." On the Continent Jenner's claims on the gratitude of mankind were quickly recognised, and the influence of his name and character was very great. On one occasion during the war he addressed a letter to Napoleon, requesting permission for two men of science and literature to return to England; and it is related that Napoleon, being about to reject the petition, heard Josephine utter the name of Jenner; on which the Emperor paused for an instant, and exclaimed, "Jenner! ah, we can refuse nothing to that man." He subsequently made other applications both to the French and other governments, which were uniformly attended with similar success. In fact his name became at length so potent, and his influence so well known, that persons left England with certificates signed by him, which had all the force and value of real passports. England, however, was more tardy in recognizing the claims of this great man. He once or twice applied to the British government on behalf of some French prisoners, but unhappily without success. Nor was he permitted to share in the least degree in the vast patronage at the disposal of the government, and all his attempts to obtain a living for one of his nephews failed, although he applied where he was quite justified in thinking he would meet with attention and success. On the occasion of the first parliamentary grant to Jenner in the year 1802, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that he thought the "approbation" of the House was the highest reward that could be