An account of the last illness of Richard Porson, A.M / [James Savage].

  • Savage, James, 1767-1845.
Date:
1808
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the last illness of Richard Porson, A.M / [James Savage]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the library, where meeting with the Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke* they entered into a conversation respecting a Greek inscrip¬ tion in the possession of the latter gentleman, which had been brought from the city of Eleusis in Greece. It was now that it appeared he had suffered a paralysis of the organs of speech, and his memory had evidently begun to fail, so that it became painful to converse with him ; but what deserves to be particularly mentioned, is, that when he could nolonger articulate his mother tongue without con¬ siderable difficulty, and when he appeared to have from the deficiency of his memory nearly lost the power of trans¬ lating the quotations he made from the Greek into Eng¬ lish (which was his usual custom in conversation, when he referred to any of the Greek or Latin Classics), he could quote and speak Greek with all the fluency of his best days. On Dr. Clarke taking leave of him, the Professor soon afterwards went up stairs into his own room, and stopping a short time, came down again apparently going out, when Mrs. Savage observed to him, that she thought from his in¬ disposition he would consult his own ease and quiet by re¬ maining at home, and that she would provide him for din¬ ner any thingwhich he should prefer. With this he seem¬ ingly acquiesced, but as I am led to believe, the Professor fancied himself to be under some restraint, and to convince himself of the contrary walked out, and soon after went in¬ to the African or Cole’s Coffee House, in St. Michael’s Alley, Cornhill, from which place he was brought home in a coach about half past five o’clock, considerably worse* and unable to speak otherwise than in short, broken sentences. On observing the state which the Professor was now in, I stepped out for Mr. Norris, the Surgeon, one of his par¬ ticular and intimate friends, who only lives a few doors from us. On his returning with me, Mr. N. and myself prevailed on him, with some difficulty, to allow us to assist him into bed. Mr. Norris then describing to me the dan-