Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

tavo, 1793. An Essay on the Medicinal Properties of Factitious Airs, with an Appendix on the Nature of Blood; one volume, octavo, 1798. The Treatises of Mr. Cavallo on popular and interesting branches of physics, may be justly esteemed the best elementary works in our language. But Mr. Cavallo's merit is not the merit of a merely judicious compiler; he generally improves the stock of valuable facts by his own occasional experiments. He also communicated several papers to the Royal Society, in whose transactions they have been published.

FEBRUARY.

In the London Road, St. George's Fields, Andrew Robinson Bowes, Esq. whose marriage to the Countess of Strathmore, thirty-three years ago (when Captain Stoney) occasioned much bustle in the fashionable world. Pursuant to the will of her ladyship's father, he then took the name of Bowes (as Lord Strathmore, her first husband, had also done) and for a few years the splendour of his establishments, both in Grosvenor Square and at the mansion of Gibside, in the county of Durham, eclipsed those of all his competitors. Domestic broils, however, between him and bis noble consort, arose so high that the law was appealed to; he carried her off, placed her in confinement, and therein was guilty of contempt of court. Her ladyship made all advantage of this intemperate conduct; he was required to give security for keeping the peace in so large a sum, that he never would ask any friend to be bail for him, and has ever since, for the long space of twenty-five years,

been a prisoner in the King's Bench prison. Lady Strathmore had afterwards interest to get a court of delegates appointed, which high court pronounced a sentence of divorce between her and Mr. Bowes. During Mr. Bowes's confinement, his demeanor obtained the confi dence of the different marshals of the prison, who rendered it as light as possible. as possible. By application to the Court of King's Bench, the demand of heavy bail was with-drawn; but during his long imprisonment his affairs were become too far deranged ever to be settled; he therefore remained a prisoner for debt, but in that situation obtained the privilege of residing any where within the rules.

John Hoppner, Esq. R. A. in Charles Street, St. James's Square, one of the most eminent portraitpainters since the time of Reynolds. He might indeed have merited the praise of being the first, if he had not so closely imitated the style of that great master, as it related to the spirit and elegance of his touch, forcible effect of light and shade, picturesque back-grounds, graceful simplicity of attitude, and especially the richness and harmony of colouring, in which he certainly excelled all his cotemporaries. Iu some of his best coloured works, such as the Nymph, in the possession of Sir J. Leicester, the vivacity, truth, and delicacy of the various fleshy tints, have scarcely been surpassed by any master. But if he could boast of displaying much of the merit, he possessed the faults of his prototype, especially that of incorrect drawing of the human figure.

Dr. Kelly, at Copford, in Essex, a native of the Isle of Mann, upon

which he reflected no ordinary degree of honour, by his abilities, his acquirements, and his truly exemplary conduct, as a divine and a scholar. He prosecuted his classical duties under the late Rev. Philip Moore, of Douglas; whose indefatigable coadjutor he afterwards became, in the important work of revising, correcting, transcribing, and preparing for the press, the manuscript translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Manks language; the impression of which, comprising all the books of the Old and New Testaments, with two of the Apocryphal books, he also superintended at Whitehaven, in the capacity of corrector; to which, ou the recommendation of the lastmentioned gentlemen, he was appointed by the society for promoting christian knowledge. Dr. Kelly also superintended an edition of the Book of Common Prayer, and Bishop Wilson's Treatise on the Sacrament, all in the Manks language; and, in the course of his labours in this vineyard, he had transcribed all the Books of the Old Testament three several times, before he had attained his twenty-second year! On the completion of this charitable work, begun by the venerable Bishop Wilson, and promoted by the active zeal of his successor, Bishop Hildesley, Mr. Kelly was ordained, upon a title from the episcopal congregation at Air, where he resided, respected by all who knew him, until the Duke of Gordon engaged him to be tutor to his son, the Marquis of Huntley, whose studies he superintended at Eton and Cambridge; and afterwards he accompanied that young nobleman on the tour of the Continent. Soon after his return, Mr. Kelly gradu

ated at Cambridge; and again vi sited the Continent, with two other of his pupils. In the course of a few inonths after his return, he was presented with the rectory of Arnleigh, in Essex; and afterwards, to that of Copford, in the same county: the former of which he resigned some years since. From the time that he entered into the ministry, it might truly be said, that he made the vocation of holiness honourable, He has left behind him a monument of his erudition in the Celtic, in a Grammar of the ancient Gaelic, or language of the Isle of Maun, which was expected to be followed by a much larger work, a Manks Dictionary, which was unfortunately consumed in the fire at Messrs. Nichols's.

At Greatness, near Sevenoaks, aged eighty-six, Peter Nouaille, Esq. the oldest member of his majesty's court of lieutenancy in the city of London. This gentleman's grandfather was descended from an aucient family in France, and came over to this country from Nasmes, in Languedoc, at the revocation of the edict of Nantes, having saerificed a considerable property in that country, in common with many others, who, upon that occasion, voluntarily left France for the sake of their religious principles. Mr. N.'s father resided at Hackney, and was a merchant of considerable eminence, in the Levant and Italian trade. At the age of twenty-one, Mr. N. having previously been taken into partnership with his father, set out upon a tour through Europe, with a view to establish correspondences, and to acquire general knowledge; at the end of two years, having travelled through France, Italy, and Sicily, he was obliged to

return

return home without visiting Germany, on account of the continental war, in which England was at that time engaged. Whilst abroad he gained a perfect knowledge of the French and Italian languages, which he spoke and wrote with the Buency and correctness of a native, acquired a great taste for the fine arts, and brought home with him a valuable collection of pictures and prints, &c, which he continued to augment for many years after his return to this country, in the year 1761, he married Elizabeth, the only daughter and beiress of Peter Delamare, Esq. of Greatness, whose ancestors were likewise refugees from France, in 1686. He first introduced the manufacture of crapes into England, which, before his time, were imported from Bologna, by his own ingenuity he discovered the process of their manufacture, and soon rivalled them in his manner of preparing them. In the year 1778, partly through the imprudent speculations of a near relation, in whom he placed implicit confidence, and partly by heavy losses, occasioned by the failure of a house with which he transacted business, he became a bankrupt. The unThe unkindness and oppression which he experienced from some of his relatives upon this occasion considerably aggravated, and certainly tended to confirm this misfortune, which might have been averted, had proper time been given him to settle his affairs. He was, however, amply compensated by the countenance and friendly offers of assistance which he received from many of the most eminent merchants in the city, among the foremost of whom was his ever valued friend Peter Gaussen, Esq. then Governor of

the Bank. After the sale of his ef fects and collections, he prosecuted his business with unceasing energy. In 1800, having realised an independent fortune, which was then considerably increased by the death of a near relation, he withdrew from business, giving up the manufactory and property connected with it to his son, and retired to Sevenoaks, where he resided till the death of his wife, which took place in 1805. He then returned to pass the remainder of his days with his son at Greatness. About this time his memory began to fail him; it was the only symptom he exhibited of old age, and was probably occasioned by his intense application to studies of an abstruse nature, at an earlier period of life. In the year 1792, when the mania of the French revolution had nearly obtained a footing in this country, and it became necessary for every one to testify their attachment to the constitution, his name appeared almost the first upon the list of those public-spirited men, who at that critical juncture established the association at the Crown and Anchor. He attained to an advanced age without suffering from any of the infirmities which usually accompany that period of life, being able to read the smallest print without the assistance of glasses. He possessed a highly-cultivated understanding, and a considerable portion of general knowledge, refined by an exquisite taste; the upright independence of his character and his high sense of honour, were manifested in every occurrence of his life. He had a strong sense of religion and piety, and a sensibility and tenderness of feeling that rendered him ever alive to the misfor

tunes

tunes of others. To the poor lie was a kind friend and benefactor, and no one was more deservedly esteemed in the neighbourhood where he resided: the respect which attended him through life was equalled only by the sorrow which accompanied him to the grave.

Dr. Adam, rector of the high school in Edinburgh. He was born in 1741, near Rafford, in the county of Moray, of respectable parents, farmers. He attended the grammar-school there, and, by his own efforts, with little aid from the abilities of his teacher, attained a proficiency, in 1758, to fit him for attending the University of Edinburgh. To this he was encouraged by Mr. Watson, then minister of Canongate, and a relation of his mother. In 1761, he was elected, on a comparative trial, master of Watson's Hospital. On the illness of Mr. Matheson, rector of the High School, he was applied to for assistance; and, after teaching for some time, was, in June 1768, appointed rector, and ever since has personally discharged the duties of the office. He was twice married very respectably. He is survived by a widow, a son, and two daugh

[blocks in formation]

and Roman excellence, the res mainder of his time was rigidly de voted to the preparation of works of great labour, which appeared to him wanting for facilitating the attainments of the youth, and exciting a relish for the study of letters. And though very susceptible of pleasure from the society of friends, and though the fatigue of great exertions required from him, as from other men, some interval of repose, the former was ever considered by him as an indulgence, which it became him to sacrifice; and the latter as a want, which was to be abridged as much as nature would permit: in short, he had imbibed the principles and fervour of the ancients, whom he studied, and a stoic as to all personal indulgence, he was an enthusiast as to importance of his undertakings, and a zealot for their accomplishment. Thus he was enabled to produce works of first-rate utility and merit. His Latin Grammar, though for a time encountered by prejudice, is, beyond all question, the work best adapted to those for whom it was destined. His Antiquities, coinprehended within moderate dimensions, state, in good arrangement, and with excellent judgment, nearly every thing of value in the voluminous, tedious, and expensive Commentaries on the Latin Classics, and afford every requisite aid for studying the text with intelligence and satisfaction. His Biography, Summary of History, and Geography, are superiorly calculated to furnish youth with a general knowledge of great characters, and great events, and of the scene of action on which man is placed; and the progress he had made in the preparation of a Latin Dictionary, which he had destined

destined to form the consummation is chiefly to be ascribed the patrio

of his labours, and the depository of the knowledge of Latin, which the indefatigable study of fifty years had conferred, suggests an additional and abundant source of regret that the intelligent public must experience from the loss of this valuable man.

At Seville, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, L. Geronimo De Ustariz Tovar, Marquis of Ustariz, Member of the Supreme Council of War, Assistant of Seville, and Intendant in Commission of Andalusia. He was employed in various public situations for fifty years with the approbation of his country. When Intendant of Estremadura, he introduced a variety of reforms and improvements, the effects of which were soon manifest in the increasing prosperity of that province; and he had the satisfaction of seeing many of his agricultural, financial, and judicial regulations, adopted by the royal cabinet, and extended to the whole of Spain. From Estremadura he was promoted to the Assistantship of Seville; but unfortunately for his country, he was removed, to make way for a cousin of the infamous Godoy. In reward for his public labours, he was nominally honoured with a seat in the council of war, but was actually banished to Teruel; though the disgrace of this proceeding was attempted to be disguised, by appointing him a commissioner of mines in that quarter. Here he remained many years; neglected by the court, but honoured with the attachment, esteem, and confidence of the Arragonese. To his popular conduct, and the general admiration of his civic virtues,

tic stand made by the Arragonesê in the present contest. This venerable, but proscribed, reformer, the instant the proceedings at Bayonne were known at Teruel, sallied froui his retirement, and, with all the ardour of youth, traversed the province in every direction, to rouse the inhabitants to resistance.. He recognized, and treated with the utmost respect, the new authority of General Palafox, and accepted a seat in the junta of government. After ten months of indefatigable service in Arragon, he received a royal order from the Supreme Juuta to resume the Assistantship of Se ville, and his functions as Member of the Supreme Council of War. His death, though naturally to have been expected from his advanced years and increasing infirmities, was no doubt accelerated by the incessant labours to which he devoted himself since the commencement of the contest with France. Before, and after his arrival at Seville, every interval which he could suatch from his official duties was employed in digesting a plan of a new constitution for Spain. His papers are said to furnish, upon this subject, an inestimable treasure of historical and political knowledge, applied to the exigencies of his fellow-citizens with all the discrimination of a statesman and philosopher.

Captain C. W. Boyes, commauder of his majesty's ship Statira. When in his sixteenth year, he lost a leg in the battle of the memorable first of June; and after a constant prosecution of the most honourable services, he was cut off in the prime of life, after a short illness, in the prospect of the first distinctions

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »