reference to writing. King James, when at Holyrood House, appears to have seen and approved of his wonderful exercises, illustrated by certain 'rare practices of a disciple,' a child only nine years old. His book gives spaces here and there to be filled up by his clerks for the various pupils or purchasers, but existing copies are without these necessary illustrations of the art. His second work, entitled 'The Introduction to the true understanding of the whole arte of expedition in teaching to write . . . Anno Dom. 1638,' 8vo, is more extraordinary than the other, as on the title-page he claims to teach his art in six hours, parades his own excellence beyond all others, and asserts that 'a Scotishman is more ingenious than one of another nation;' yet the book itself has little to do with calligraphy, and teaches nothing. There is one plate at the end of the book, a specimen of 'The new, swift, current, or speedy Italian writting,' very inferior in style and execution to the handiwork of other penmen of the century. At the time this book was published the author taught his art. at 'the Cat and Fiddle in Fleet Street,' where 'Mary Stewart and her daughters also instructed young, noble, and gentlewomen in good manners, languages,' &c., by his direction. He afterwards removed to a country-house at Kemmington (sic), near the Newington Butts. The dates of his birth and death are not known.
[Browne's Works; Massey's Origin of Letters.]
BROWNE, EDWARD (1644–1708), physician, was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Browne of Norwich [q. v.], and was born in that city in 1644. He was educated at the Norwich grammar school and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated M.B. at Cambridge 1663, and then returned to Norwich. A journal of this period of his life is extant, and gives an amusing picture of his diversions and occupations, and of life in Norwich. Browne often went to dances at the duke's palace, admired the gems preserved there, and learnt to play ombre from the duke's brother. He dissected nearly every day, sometimes a dog, sometimes a monkey, a calf's leg, a turkey's heart. He studied botany, read medicine and literature and theology in his father's library, and saw at least one patient. '16 Feb. Mrs. Anne Ward gave me my first fee, ten shillings.' A week after this important event Browne went to London. He attended the lectures of Dr. Teme, physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, whose daughter Henrietta he married in 1672. His notes of Dr. Teme's lectures exist in manuscript in the British Museum. When the lectures were ended, Browne returned to Norwich, and soon after started on his travels. He went to Italy and came home through France, and it is by his description of this and of several subsequent journeys that he is best known. In 1668 he sailed to Rotterdam from Yarmouth and went to Leyden, Amsterdam, and Utrecht, visiting museums, libraries, and churches, attending lectures, and conversing with the learned. He went on to Antwerp, and ended his journey at Cologne on 10 Oct. 1668. His next journey was to Vienna, where he made friends with the imperial librarian Lambecius, and enjoyed many excursions and much learned conversation. He seems to have studied Greek colloquially, and brought back letters from a learned Greek in his own tongue to Dr. Pearson, the bishop of Chester, and to Dr. Barrow, the master of Trinity. From Vienna Browne made three long journeys, one to the mines of Hungary, one into Thessaly, and one into Styria and Carinthia. Wherever he went he observed all objects natural and historical, as well as everything bearing on his profession. He sketched in a stiff manner, and some of his drawings are preserved (British Museum). At Buda he came into the oriental world, and at Larissa he saw the Grand Seigneur. Here he studied Greek remains, and followed in imagination the practice of Hippocrates. He returned to England in 1669, out made one more tour in 1673 in company with Sir Joseph Williamson, Sir Leoline Jenkins, and Lord Peterborough. He visited Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle, Liège, Louvain, Ghent, Bruges, and other towns of the Low Countries, and saw all that was to be seen. He published in London in 1673 a small quarto volume called 'A Brief Account of some Travels in Hungaria, Styria, Bulgaria, Thessaly, Austria, Serbia, Carynthia, Carniola, and Friuli;' another volume appeared in 1677, and in 1685 a collection of all his travels in one volume folio. It contains some small alterations and some additions. In 1672 he published in 12mo a translation of a 'History' of the Cossacks,' and he wrote the lives of Themistocles and Sertorius in Dryden's 'Plutarch,' published in 1700.
In 1667 Browne had been elected F.R.S., and in 1675 was admitted a fellow of the College of Physicians. He lived in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street (College of Physicians Lists), and became physician to the king. He was elected physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital 7 Sept. 1682 (MS. Journal, St Barth. Hosp.); was treasurer of the College of Physicians 1694–1704, and president 1704–1708. He had a large practice, and enjoyed the friendship of many men in power. A Grub Street writer attributes part of his good
