Still it

from him, and he had but very few illustrations. took a firm hold of my mind, and I determined to observe for myself, and to note down my observations.

He

Dr. Crook was himself a subject well worth study. had a large head, and, consequently, great power of brain ; but his organisation has appeared to me, since I first commenced the study of phrenology, by no means a happy one. His temperament was bilious-nervous, his activity great, but he appeared to me to lack the power of concentration. Of his intellectual faculties, the perceptives were very freely drawn out, and his eye was large and sparkling. The reflecting faculties were not so good as the observing, but the upper and lateral parts of the forehead were prominent. Benevolence was fully developed, and Imitation, Marvellousness, and Ideality, essentially large. His Veneration was also very good, and Firmness very striking; but, from the anterior part of the vertex, the head sloped towards the centre of ossification (parietal bones), and then swelled out, giving great prominence over the opening of the upper part of the ear, and increasing in size towards the temples. His Self-Esteem was large, and his Love of Approbation preternaturally so; and, at the posterior-inferior angle of the parietal bones, the cranium presented a striking eminence. These peculiarities rendered him very irritable, while intense Self-Esteem and Love of Approbation rendered him exacting, and, at the same time, gave him a high opinion of his own abilities, which he expected every one to acknowledge and speak well of. He was also sarcastic, and sneered at the abilities of such persons as he deemed his inferiors, while he covered with applause those who flattered him.

I have known the doctor for many years, and have observed him most carefully, and his organisation was one of the most perfect illustrations of the truth of phrenology I have ever seen. His leading powers were Language, Individuality, Wit, Imitation, Marvellousness, Firmness, Self-Esteem, Love of Approbation, Secretiveness, Combativeness, and Destructiveness. He was a brilliant and

showy, but rather rambling lecturer; but people were generally disappointed at the conclusion of his lectures. His subjects were Mnemonics and Phrenology. He was very skilful in the selection of his pupils, whom he invariably chose according to their organisation. He has passed from this natural state of being, and the conclusion of his existence was, I believe, embittered by poverty and neglect.

But, to return to myself. It was from Dr. Crook that I received my first phrenological impressions, and so firm did his instructions take hold of me, that from the time of his visit to Bristol, I noted the peculiarities of all I came in contact with, and then turned to their organisation to see if those peculiarities harmonised therewith. I was often at fault, mistaking prominent bones for eminences of brain; and as I had no one to consult, I made many mistakes.

With a very superficial knowledge of osteology, and great dread of ridicule, I kept my opinions to myself; but, from the time of my first hearing Dr. Crook, I became a portrait collector. I never found a person with a low and contracted forehead possessed of high intellectual ability; and eminence of intellect I ever found associated with depth and breadth of forehead. My portrait collecting has continued; and, at the present time, a period of thirtysix years from my first impression of phrenology, I think I possess the best collection of portraits of any phrenologist in Great Britain.

I continued to take notice of the formation of the head of the different persons I came in contact with. In other words, I began to reduce to practice my small amount of phrenological knowledge. I did this both with regard to children as well as adults, and my situation afforded me abundant opportunities for the study of character. I had a deaf and dumb pupil, who was largely endowed with the qualities of imitation and music. I wondered whether music could be considered as a primitive and independent

* I fell in with two volumes of portraits, magnificently executed, and dedicated to his Majesty Geo. IV., and I studied them attentively.

power. Here was a child who could neither hear nor speak, and yet, according to phrenology, had the organ of Tune freely and prominently developed. I determined to try whether or no I could by imitation teach him to sing. I therefore always had him near me during the exercise, made him imitate the motion of my mouth, and utter sounds, and at last succeeded perfectly in teaching him several tunes. He became quite a prodigy among us, and many were the persons who came to hear the dumb boy hum a tune. Still, as he could not hear, I was at a loss whether even then I could set this organ down as a primitive power, although it is certain Tune was in this child very largely developed.

But from this child I turned my attention to others, and I drew my monitors from the ranks of my pupils for different duties according to their organisation, and was always successful. I had a music master, an arithmetician, a writing master, a reading master, a teacher of geography, all from my pupils, and all turned out good teachers. Phrenology, therefore, I thought must be true. But I kept all this to myself, for, as I have said, I was exceedingly sensitive and susceptible, and dreaded ridicule above all things; but no one came near me without being noticed, and if he had peculiarities, they were stored in my memory. As before stated, I had no books but Dr. Crook's Compendium, a little book of about twenty-four pages (which the doctor had presented me), so I could learn but little from that.

In the beginning of the year 1822, the school began to excite so much interest in the public mind, that persons from distant parts of the country came to visit it, with the view of establishing similar schools, and I was now frequently called upon to give explanatory lectures in different parts of Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, and Shropshire, so that, after five days' arduous labor, I often had to travel on the outside of the mail all night, give a lecture, organise a school, and return in the space of a fortnight, the whole duties of my own school devolving upon my wife in my

absence. I still had a very juvenile appearance, though twenty-six years of age, and people wondered to see a mere lad stand up before a large audience and address them in favor of Pestalozzi's plan, explaining his system at night before parties of ladies and gentlemen, and illustrating it by day upon children who were totally ignorant of every kind of knowledge.

As long as I can remember, I have ever been a little deaf, and my repeated exposure and travelling by night, assisted, I have no doubt, by the harsh treatment I had received from my cruel master, at length began to affect my hearing seriously, but it seemed always to leave me in school. I found no difficulty among my pupils. People with the most acute hearing could not detect an error in the children so readily as I could; but when the labors of the day were concluded, and conversation in private was entered upon, I sensibly perceived the difference. But my committee did not seem to notice the defect, and my popularity as a teacher continued to increase.

Meantime, I continued to officiate for the Society of Swedenborgians at Bristol, and entirely, so far as I could learn, to their satisfaction. I began to notice the peculiarities of the members from their organisation; and though I never gave an opinion, I still saw many striking proofs of the truth of phrenological science.

About this time I became personally acquainted with a gentleman named Sanders, of Clifton, near Bristol. He was a regular attendant every week upon the morning worship at the place of meeting where I officiated, and I visited him at his residence in Hot Well Square, Clifton, every week. He was an eminent artist; a member, I believe, of the Academy of Arts, and a highly scientific gentleman. He frequently operated upon me for my hearing, and by electricity I think I was much benefited. Among his visitors was a Mr. John Fitchew Fitzhugh, who was also an occasional attendant at my chapel, but he was exceedingly eccentric. He would have delighted some of our would-be ancients of this day, for he wore