 At Guy's Hospital, he was a surgeon’s pupil, a physician’s pupil, and a surgeon's dresser.He then went to São Miguel Island in the Azores (1817–18).There, he practiced medicine; published his first book; and met the daughter of the American vice-consul on the island, Harriet Fredrica Hickling, whom he married on May 16, 1818, with whom he fathered four daughters.