ple, which they most valued, were secured by their charter, and if the Government should devolve upon the King, their charter might be abrogated, or at least such restraints would be imposed upon it, which would abridge, if not annihilate, the freedom they enjoyed under it.

In May, 1764, the Assembly determined to petition the King for the change of government, and they resolved that the petition, which was prepared by Franklin, should be transcribed and signed by the Speaker and forwarded to the King. Against this petition Dickinson made his famous speech, and after its passage, offered a protest to be entered on their minutes, which the House refused to receive. The Speaker, who was exceedingly indisposed at this sitting, and who, from the nature of his office as the presiding officer, could not join in the protest or take any part in the debate, finding matters pushed to this extremity, informed the House, "That for thirty years past he had had the honor of serving as a representative of the people of this Province, and for more than half that time as Speaker. That in these offices he had uniformly endeavored, according to the best of his judgment, to promote the public good. That the subject of the present debate was a matter of the utmost importance to the Province. That, as his sentiments on the occasion were very different from those of the majority, and his seat in the chair prevented him from entering into the debate, he therefore prayed the House that if, in consequence of their order, his duty should oblige him to sign the petition as Speaker, he might be permitted to offer his sentiments on the subject before he signed it, and that they might be entered on the minutes."

This request was granted, and the House adjourned to the following morning; but the long sitting of the previous day, and the excitement of the debate which had occurred, proved too much for the feeble health of this aged and faithful servant of the House, and rendered it impossible for him, from indisposition, to attend. He then resigned his seat as Speaker. The House unanimously thanked him for the long and faithful services he had rendered the Province as their Speaker, in which station, they say, "he has given a constant and equal attention to the rights and service of the Crown and the privileges of the people." They also expressed their "sincere and ardent wishes for the speedy recovery of his

health and his return to public business, and at the same time expressed their extreme concern, that at so important a juncture they were deprived by sickness of that assistance his great experience, judgment, and abilities might have afforded them."

The increasing weakness of his constitution obliged him to relinquish public life, and he died shortly after, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

The Speaker was a man who had high natural endowments. He had received an excellent education; for in addition to a good knowledge of the Hebrew, he wrote in Latin and French with ease and facility, and his reading was very extensive. He possessed a fine library, containing many of the best editions of the classics, and was a liberal patron of literature and science. He was respected by all parties for his integrity, patriotism, abilities, and public spirit. With the history of the Province for the thirty years that he was in the Legislature, his name is indissolubly connected, and his character will be best seen by an examination of the public documents and authentic records of the times, as contained in their "Votes," published in three volumes folio. His motives were ever pure and patriotic. A cotemporary, speaking of him, says, that "in all his long public career he never asked a vote to get into the House, or solicited any member for employments or posts of private advantage." By his constituents he was ever esteemed and confided in as a disinterested, zealous, and able advocate, and in private life maintained the character of a kind relative, firm friend, and highbred gentleman.

The portion of his fine library that was removed from Fair Hill, before its destruction by the British, became the property of Governor Dickinson, his son-in-law, who subsequently presented it to Dickinson College, in honor of that institution being called after him, where it now remains.

Charles Norris, the brother of the Speaker, and the father of the late Joseph Parker Norris, built the Norris House in Chestnut Street, which was pulled down, in 1819, to make room for the Bank of the United States, now the Custom-House. He married the daughter and only child of Joseph Parker, of Chester, by whom he left four children. He had been brought up a merchant, visited Europe, and upon his return entered into business. Afterwards,

he became one of the Trustees of the General Loan Office of the Province, and took an active part in the foundation of the Pennsylvania Hospital, of which he was the first treasurer, and devoted much of his leisure time to agriculture and gardening. He died of dropsy, in January, 1766, in the fifty-fourth year of his age.

Joseph Parker Norris, the subject of this memoir, was placed, at an early age, at the school of Robert Proud, the historian, where he continued till his education was completed; and leaving it, he entered the counting-house of John Ross, one of the most considerable merchants of his day. Upon the expiration of his apprenticeship he visited Europe, and after a tour of two years returned, in June, 1787. In 1808, upon the death of his brother-in-law, Samuel M. Fox, he was elected President of the Bank of Pennsylvania, which office he continued to fill till a short period prior to his death, when he resigned it, after an administration of thirty-three years: a longer period of time, it is believed, than any similar office had ever been held by any individual in this country.

In the Philadelphia Library Company he ever took a warm interest. In early life he was chosen Treasurer of that institution, which office he resigned after two years' service, upon being elected a Director, which latter post he held for upwards of fortyfive years.

Mr. Norris was a fair classical scholar, and a great reader, delighting particularly in the departments of history and biography. In all matters relating to the early settlement of our country he was minutely versed; and his mind was richly stored with facts, anecdotes, and traditions, in regard to the families and doings of the first settlers in Pennsylvania, which, it is much to be regretted, he never, to any great extent, committed to paper. Throughout life he was marked for unimpeachable integrity and unostentatious charity; and to these were joined a sound judgment of men and things, great prudence, firmness, and decision of purpose. In person he was tall, and, in latter life, rather corpulent. In manners he was dignified, kind, and affable. To his children he was one of the fondest and most indulgent of fathers, and his greatest pleasure was to be surrounded at his own fireside by his large family. A member of the Society of Friends by birth, though not conforming to their usages in attire and language, he was a regular attendant

upon their religious meetings. Uniting, in his own character, the virtues and probity of his family, he has ever been, like those from whom he was descended, beloved and honored by his family and friends, and greatly esteemed by the public. His death occurred June 22d, 1841.

JOHN C. OTTO, M.D.

JOHN C. OTTO, M.D., an eminent physician and medical professor of Philadelphia, but a native of New Jersey, was born in 1775. His father, Dr. Bodo Otto, was one of the most distinguished physicians of his time, and was also an officer in the Revolutionary Army. The subject of this memoir was a successful practitioner in Philadelphia for nearly fifty years, sharing largely in the confidence and affection of that community, and of those in particular to whom he was professionally allied. He was also an attending physician in the Pennsylvania Hospital, and for many years was clinical lecturer in that institution, where his kindness and assiduity, not less than his skill, rendered him popular. His moral character was untarnished; his benevolence was large; and his scientific attainments gave him a high rank with Christians, philanthropists, and scholars. He died June 30th, 1845, aged seventy years.

JOHN PARKE.

IN 1786, in Philadelphia, a literary novelty, for the times, appeared in a volume entitled, "The Lyric Works of Horace, translated into English verse; to which are added a number of Original Poems, by a Native of America." They were printed by Eleazer Oswald, at the Coffee-House. This was John Parke, of whom we learn, from Mr. Fisher's notice of "The Early Poets of Pennsylvania," that he was probably a native of Delaware, and born about

the year 1750, since he was in the College at Philadelphia in 1768, and although he called himself a Philadelphian; that, "at the commencement of the war, he entered the American Army, and was attached, it is supposed, to Washington's division, for some of his pieces are dated at camp, in the neighborhood of Boston, and others at Whitemarsh, and Valley Forge. After the peace he was again for some time in Philadelphia, and is last heard of in Arundel County, Virginia."

JOSEPH PARRISH, M.D.

DR. PARRISH, an eminent physician of Philadelphia, was born in that city September 2d, 1779. His parents being Quakers, or Friends, he was educated in their school, and under the influence of the principles of that denomination. He studied Latin and French, and at a later period of life even Hebrew, for his own amusement, and to obtain a better knowledge of the Scriptures. He was early inclined to the profession of medicine, but owing to the objections of his parents, he pursued, until he was over twenty years of age, the business of his father, which was that of a hatter. At this time, he resolved to follow his own inclination, and commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Wistar, graduating as a physician from the University of Pennsylvania in 1806. In the beginning of his practice, he was appointed Resident Physician in the Yellow Fever Hospital, where he distinguished himself by a devoted attention to the duties of his station. Very soon after he published some scientific experiments which brought him into notice. In addition to this, he delivered a course of popular lectures on chemistry, which were at that time a novelty. The combined effect of the whole was to make him extraordinarily popular. His practice as a physician and surgeon increased in an unparalleled manner. From 1806 to 1812, he was one of the physicians of the Philadelphia Dispensary; from 1806 to 1822, Surgeon to the Philadelphia Almshouse; from 1816 to 1829, Surgeon to the Pennsylvania Hospital; and from 1835 to his death, Consulting Physician to the Philadel