Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 5.djvu/85

Rh sidered as one of the most respectable appointments in the Scottish church. He had here ingratiated himself in an uncommon degree with his congregation, when a visit to London, in 1769, opened up to his ambition a still wider field of usefulness. The sermons which he happened to deliver on this occasion in several of the Scottish meeting-houses, drew much attention, and the result was an invitation, which reached him soon after his return, to become minister of the chapel in Swallow Street. This he declined; but in 1771, a call from the London Wall congregation tempted him away from his Scottish flock, who manifested the sincerest sorrow at his departure. This translation not only was an advancement in his profession, but it paved the way for a series of literary exertions, upon which his fame was ultimately to rest. Several single sermons first introduced him to the world as an author. These were on the ordination of O. Nicholson, M. A., 1775, 2 Cor. ir 7, 8; On the study of the Sacred Scriptures, Acts xviii. 11, in the work called the Scottish Preacher, vol. iv.; at the funeral of the Rev. George Turnbull, 1783 ; On the opening of a meeting-house at Walthamstow, in 1787, Rev. xxi. 3, 4; On the Revolution, 1788; The Believer's Joy, Acts viii. 39; also in the fourth volume of the Scottish Preacher. These sermons, with some miscellaneous pieces, were collected and published, in two volumes, after the author's death. Dr Hunter first appeared as a general writer in 1783, when he published the first volumes of his "Sacred Biography, or the history of the Patriarchs and of Jesus Christ," which was ultimately extended to seven volumes, and has become a standard work, the seventh edition having appeared in 1814. Before this work was completed, the notice attracted by the system of Lavater throughout civilized Europe, tempted him to engage in an English version of the "Physiognomy" of that philosopher, whom he previously visited at his residence in Switzerland, in order to obtain from the conversation of the learned man himself, as perfect an idea as possible of his particular doctrines. It is said that Lavater at first displayed an unexpected coolness on the subject of Dr Hunter's visit, being afraid that an English translation might injure the sale of the French edition, in which he had a pecuniary interest. This, however, seems to have been got over; for Lavater eventually treated his English visitor in a manner highly agreeable. "As their professions were alike," says an anonymous writer, "so their sentiments, their feelings, and their opinions, are altogether alike. A complete acquaintance with the French language enabled Dr Hunter to enjoy Lavater's conversation freely; and he ever afterwards talked with enthusiasm of the simplicity of manners, the unaffected piety, the unbounded benevolence, and the penetrating genius, of this valued friend. The bare mention of that barbarous cruelty which massacred the virtuous Lavater, was sufficient to make him shrink back with horror." The first number of this work was published in 1789, and it was not completed till nine years after, when it ultimately formed five volumes, in quarto, bearing the title of " Essays on Physiognomy, designed to promote the knowledge and love of mankind, by John Caspar Lavater." Dr Hunter's abilities as a translator were of the first order, and, in this instance, drew forth the entire approbation of the original author. The work was, moreover, embellished in a style, which, at that time, might be considered as unrivaled. It contained above eight hundred engravings, executed by and under the direction of Mr Holloway, and such was altogether the elaborate elegance of the publication, that it could not be sold to the public under thirty pounds per copy. We are only left to regret that so much talent, so much taste, and such a large sum of money as this price would indicate, should have been spent upon an inquiry which the acute and precise sense of the immediately succeeding generation has pronounced to be in a great measure a delusion.