tion and rigid accuracy of diction, which characterize his productions.
His school appears to have been unsatisfactory to him,
for he never had a fondness for the mathematics, the main topic of
. study. He was nevertheless of a studious turn, reading industriously,
.and with special interest, all the works on History to which he had
access. It is probable that in these readings was laid the foundation
of a taste for those anthropological studies which have since rendered
him famous, and in the prosecution of which his extensive historical
knowledge gave him eminent facilities.
At the same time probably he imbibed his first fondness for Natural
Science. From his stepfather, (for his mother married again when he
was thirteen years old,) he derived a taste for and kndfwledge of
mineralogy and geology, the first branches to which he turned his
attention.
Destined originally for mercantile pursuits, young Morton soon
found the atmosphere of the counting-house uncongenial to him.
He resolved to adopt the medical profession, which was indeed the
only course open, to one of his tastes,, and in his circumstances. The
Society of Friends, by closing the Pulpit and the Bar against the able
and aspiring among its youth, has given to Medicine many of its
brightest ornaments, both in Great Britain and in this country. This
fact will serve to explain the great success of so many physicians of
that persuasion, as well as the preponderating influence of the medical
profession in all Quaker neighborhoods. May not the eminence of
Philadelphia in medicine he accounted for, in part at least, in the
same way ? Carlyle has said that to the ambitious fancy of the Scottish
schoolboy “ the highest style of man is the Christian, and the
highest Christian the teacher of such.” Hence his ultimate aspiration
is for the clerical position. But to the aspiring youth among
Friends there is hut the one road to intellectual distinction,—
that is through medicine and its cognate sciences. The medical
preceptor of Morton was the late Dr. Joseph Parrish, then in the
height of his popularity. Elevated to his prominent position against
early obstacles, and solely by force of character, industry, and probity,
he was extensively engaged in practice; and, although unconnected
with any institution, his office overflowed with pupils. His
mind was practical and thoroughly medical, and so entirely did his profession
occupy it, that he seemed to me never to allow himself to think
upon other topics, except religious ones, in which also he was deeply
interested. A strict and conscientious Friend, he illustrated all the
best points in that character. As the remarkable, graces of his person
proverbially gave a beauty to the otherwise ungainly garb of his sect,
and rendered it attractive upon him, so the graces of his spirit, obliterating
all that might otherwise have been harsh or angular, eontributed
to form a character gentle, kindly, lovely, that made him the
light of the sick chamber, and a comforting presence at many a dying
bed. To no member of our profession could the proud title of Opifer
be more truly applied, for his very smile brought aid to thé suffering,
and courage to the despondent. The reader will pardon me this
digression.; but as the Highland clansman could not pass by without
adding another stone to the monumental cairn where reposed his
departed chief, so can I never pass by the mention of his name without
offering some tribute, however humble, of reverence and respect,
to the memory of my excellent old master. Such was the teacher
from whom mainly Morton also received the knowledge of his profession;
though, had the influence of Dr. Parrish alone controlled
his mind, it would have been confined rigorously to the channels of
purely medical study and investigation. But, in order to provide
adequate tuition for his numerous pupils, Dr. Parrish had associated
with himself several young physicians as instructors in the various
branches, Among them was Dr. Richard Harlan, then enthusiastically
devoted to the study of Natural History, between whom and
the young student there was soon established a bond of sympathy in
congeniality of pursuits. That the friendship thus originated was
subsequently interrupted, was in no manner the fault of Morton, to
whom it was always a subject of regret. Harlan has now been dead
some years, and although by no means forgotten in the world of
science, he has not been accorded the full measure of his merited
distinction among American naturalists. An unfortunate infirmity
of temper, which was not at all calculated to conciliate attachments,
but rather the reverse, deprived him of the band of friends
who should have watched over his fame, and so his memory has suffered
by default. Yet at one period he was the leading authority on
this side the Atlantic in certain departments of Zoology. By him
Morton appears to have been introduced to the Academy of Natural
Sciences, in whose proceedings he was afterwards to take such an
important part. He attained his majority in January 1820, received
his Diploma of Doctor of Medicine in March, and was elected a
member of the Academy in April of the same. year. He had probably
taken an active interest in its affairs before this time, although
not eligible to membership by reason of age ; for in one of his later
letters now before me, he speaks of it as an institution for which he
had labored, “ boy and man,” now some thirty years.
Soon after this last event he, sailed for Europe, on a visit to his
uncle, James Morton, Esq., of Clonmel, Ireland, a gentleman for
whom He always preserved a high regard and grateful affection. His
transatlantic friends seem to have attached but little value to an
D