communication. Adam Smith commended them. Bell died at Newington House, Edinburgh, 5 April 1806.
His son, George Bell (1777-1832), succeeded to his father's appointments, and was known as a first-rate operator. His grandson, Benjamin Bell (d. 1883), son of Joseph Bell, surgeon, followed the same profession, and published a memoir of his grandfather in 1868. He also edited memoirs of Robert Paul, banker (Edinburgh, 1872), and Lieutenant John Irving, of H.M.S. Terror (Edinburgh, 1881).
[Life, Character, and Writings of Benjamin Bell, by his grandson, Benjamin Bell, Edin. 1868.]
BELL, Sir CHARLES (1774–1842), discoverer of the distinct functions of the nerves, was the youngest of six children of William Bell, a clergyman of the episcopal church of Scotland. His mother was daughter of another episcopal clergyman. The family had produced many useful and prominent men for three centuries, and had been seated during that time in and near Glasgow. Charles was born at Edinburgh in November 1774, and received his chief literary education from his mother. Two others of her children became known in the world—John as an anatomist and surgeon, George Joseph as professor of Scots law in Edinburgh University. Charles had a passion for drawing; and when he went to the university of Edinburgh as a student, he soon became known for his artistic power. He had inherited it from his mother, and she from her grandfather, White, primus of Scotland. While still a student, in 1798, Bell published 'A System of Dissections,' illustrated by his own drawings. In 1799 he was elected a fellow of the College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and as a fellow became one of the surgical attendants of the Edinburgh Infirmary. In 1802 he published a series of engravings of the brain and nervous system, in connection with John Bell's course of lectures. In 1804 he wrote the account of the nervous system and special senses in the 'Anatomy of the Human Body' by John and Charles Bell. Edinburgh did not then offer to him sufficient prospect of professional advancement, and after consultation with his brother George he left Scotland for London, where he arrived 28 Nov. 1804. He was already known by his published works, and he had written, but not published, his 'Anatomy of Expression.' He called upon Dr. Matthew Baillie, the morbid anatomist, on Wilson the anatomist, on Abernethy and Astley Cooper, the principal surgeons of the time, and on other prominent members of his profession. Sir Joseph Banks received him kindly, and the chief physicians and surgeons asked him to dinner; but for a time he was uncertain whether he could find a place in the world of London, and longed to return to Edinburgh, and to the society of his beloved brother George, to whom at this time and throughout his life he wrote often and at length. West, then president of the Royal Academy, advised the publishers to accept Bell's 'Anatomy of Expression,' and it appeared in 1806. It was widely read, and has since passed through several editions. The book is interesting, because it explains the mechanism of familiar movements of expression, and criticises well-known works of art, and it is written in a pleasant intelligible style, and illustrated by striking drawings, but the scientific treatment of the subject is not very deep. It received all the attention which the first book on a subject deserves: Flaxman and Fuseli both enjoyed it; the queen read it for two hours; and the Nabob of Arcot had a copy in red morocco and satin. Bell now lectured to artists, and took medical pupils into his house, and, amid hard professional work and great anxiety about money, found time to make full use of all the intellectual advantages of London: heard Fox speak, saw Mrs. Siddons act, witnessed Melville's impeachment, went to Vauxhall with Mr. and Mrs. Abernethy, enjoyed operas, and read much good literature–Dryden, Spenser, Virgil, Madame de Sévigné. The first step in Bell's discoveries in the nervous system was made in 1807, and is recorded in a letter to his brother George, dated 26 Nov. 1807. He says: 'I have done a more interesting nova anatomia cerebri humani than it is possible to conceive. I lectured it yesterday. I prosecuted it last night till one o'clock, and I am sure it will be well received.' In 1811 he published 'A New Idea of the Anatomy of the Brain, submitted for the observations of his Friends, by Charles Bell, F.R.S.E.' This essay is not dated, but if the letters of Bell did not establish its exact date, this could be fixed by a copy in the British Museum, bearing Bell's known address in 1811, and presented by him, with a written inscription, to Sir Joseph Banks. The work contains an exact statement of the prevailing doctrine as to nerves, of Bell's discovery, and of the experiment which established that discovery. Bell says (p. 4): 'The prevailing doctrine of the anatomical schools is that the whole brain is a common sensorium: that the extremities of the nerves are organised, so that each is fitted to receive a peculiar impression, or that they are distinguished from each
