Nor was his private character at variance with his public excellence. He was mild, amiable, and fond of conversation, whether serious or festive, and he was not above uniting to the highest philosophical attainments most of the elegant accomplishments of life. In his advanced age he often expressed a hope that he might not linger in protracted sickness, on account of the distress which in such cases is felt by surrounding friends; and his death, which happened in his 71st year, in Nov. 1799, is on this account the more remarkable. He was taking some milk and water, and having the cup in his hand, when the last stroke of his pulse was to be given, had set it upon his knee, and in this attitude expired without the smallest agitation. The writings of Black, though lamentably few, are masterpieces of scientific composition. Newton was his model, and he was the first who transfused into Chemistry the severe system of inductive logic, which marks the productions of that great master of Natural Philosophy, "In no scientific inquiries, since the date of the Principia and Optics, do we find so great a proportion of pure ratiocination founded upon the description of common facts, but tending to the most unexpected and important results, as on the two grand systems of Black." Averse to all hypothesis, and aware of the multitudinous facts upon which a theory that is to stand firm must be founded, Dr. Black was unwarrantably slow in the formal public disclosure of his admirable resea rhes. His tenets were fully and freely delivered to his pupils; but he very rarely intruded on the public as an author, and his achievements in the philosophy of heat, are chiefly developed in his posthumous works. This ilence, arising out of an over-cautious modesty, which marked all his proceedings, was not favourable to the reputation of Dr. Black. Faulty and incomplete copies of his lectures were circulated among his friends and admirers, which afterwards reached the hands of those who deserved another name, and by whom they were not very honourably employed.

MR. WATT.

To Mr. Watt's character in relation to the public, and as a private indivi

dual, it is more than difficult to do justice; for the combined eloquence of the different writers who have attempted it, has only fully depicted the influence of his talents on the state of society; and still less has it succeeded in the still more difficult portraiture of the man occupied in the ordinary duties of life, and in the unsuspecting intercourse of social converse. Such at least is the impression which I feel upon looking over the different biographical sketches which have lately appeared. For my own part, I consider myself as highly fortunate in having occasionally enjoyed the society and profited by the information of one, whom, without exception, I consider as the most eminent benefactor to his country. And I should have attempted to have gleaned from others, and from my own memory, a few particulars relative to his character and pursuits, had I not, in looking into a production of the Author of Waverley, discovered a sketch of his character, which leaves one to lament that the same pencil is not more frequently employed in such delineations, and induces me at once to cancel all that I had collected upon the subject.

"He was a man," says that writer, "whose genius discovered the means of multiplying our national resources, to a degree even beyond his own stupendous powers of calculation and combination; bringing the treasures of the abyss to the surface of the earth; giving the feeble arm of man the momentum of an Afrite; commanding manufactures to arise as the rod of the Prophet produced water in the Desert; affording the means of dispensing with that time and tide, which wait for no man, and of sailing without that wind, which defied the commands and threats of Xerxes himself. This potent commander of the elements, this abridger of time and space, this magician whose cloudy machinery has produced a change on the world, the effects of which, extraordinary as they are, are only beginning to be felt, was not only the most profound man of science, the most successful combiner of powers, and calculator of numbers, as adapted to practical purposes; was not only one of the most generally well-informed, but one of the best and kindest of human beings. In his 84th year his

attention was at every one's question, his information at every one's com→ mand."

"No individual," says another and equally able writer, "possessed more varied and exact information. He had infinite quickness of apprehension, a prodigious memory, and a certain rectifying and methodising power of understanding, which extracted something precious out of all that was presented to it. His stores of miscellaneous knowledge were immense, and yet less astonishing than the command he had over them. His conversation had all the charm of familiarity, with all the substantial treasures of knowledge. With this philosophical excellence of character, be it never forgotten that Mr. Watt conjoined the higher duties and more exalted attributes of sincere but unaffected piety. Expressing his gratitude to Providence for that length of days and exemption from iufirmity which rendered the evening of his life cheerful and serene, he yielded up his soul in the calmest tranquillity, and passed, without pang or struggle, from the bosom of his family to that

of his God."

MR. CAVENDish.

Bergman was followed by two great and contemporary luminaries of classical science, Cavendish and Schule; and though each reached the goal of distinction, they reached it by very different roads, showing the little influence of external circumstances upon the growth of inherent and vigorous genius. Cavendish was a leading person in the scientific circles of London, of noble family and princely influence. The latter, of humble origin and with limited means, made up for the deficiencies of place and fortune by zeal and economy, and in the retirement of a Swedish village, raised a reputation that soon extended itself over Europe. In private life Cavendish was unambitious, unassuming, bashful, and reserved. He was peevishly impatient of the inconveniencies of eminence; he detested flattery, and was uneasy under merited praise. He therefore shunned general society, and was only familiar in a very limited circle of friends. There he bore his great faculties always meekly. His conversation

*

was lively, varied, and instructive; upon all subjects of science, he was at once luminous and profound, and in discussion wonderfully acute. Cavendish was an enemy to the new nomenclature of Chemistry, and was fond of foretelling its downfall. He disliked all innovations that were not rendered absolutely necessary by the progress of experiment, and would never adopt new opinions, till fully and leisurely convinced of the fallacy of the old. Though occasionally in his company, I scarcely ever knew him to take a part of a continued dialogue, except at the Royal Society Club, where he dined every Thursday till within a short time of his death, and there he never spoke except to gain or give information.

MR. TENNANT.

That the quantity of carbonic acid afforded by a grain weight of diamond, is the same as that yielded by a similar quantity of charcoal, is the great proof of the identity of those apparently dissimilar substances. This was demonstrated, in the year 1796, by the refined and elegant experiments of Mr. Tennant, whose untimely loss society has had lately to deplore. Mr. Tennant was a profound philosopher, and a matchless companion. His learning was without pedantry; his wit without sarcasm; he was deep but always clear; gentle yet never dull. To those who knew him not, it is scarcely possible to offer an adequate representation of his singularly pleasing and enlightened character. By those who enjoyed his acquaintance and partook of his social hours, his extent of knowledge, his happy and unrivalled talent for conversation, his harmless but brilliant flashes of merriment, and all his amiable peculiarities can never be forgotten. Mr. Tennant was born in Yorkshire in 1761, and died at Boulogne (in crossing the draw** bridge of a fort) in 1815.

Mr. URBAN, Guilford-st. Jan. 8. THE two following letters addressed to the famous John George Grævius, have never, I believe, appeared in print. They are highly interesting, being written by the originator of the Delphin

edition of the Latin Classics, and as showing not only the object which he had in view in causing the publication of that edition, but also his opinion of the manner in which his plan had been carried into execution.

The writer, Charles de St. Maure, Duke of Montausier,* was appointed governor of the Dauphin by Louis XIV. and the choice of such a tutor for his son has always been a bright spot in the chequered character of that monarch. Strictly upright, virtuous, and severe almost to austerity in his own conduct,† the Duke of Montausier never shrank from speaking the truth, not to his royal pupil alone, but even to Louis himself, surrounded as he might be by a court of fawning parasites. Many instances of the Duke's bold frankness are on record. Although a soldier, and living at a time when high rank was not usually adorned with learning, Montausier was no mean scholar; he was, besides, a friend and patron of men of letters, and was in correspondence with many of the most learned men in Europe: numerous works were dedicated to him, among them the Hesiod of his correspondent Grævius.

In 1670, on the death of Picart Perrin, the Duke nominated the celebrated Bossuet, then Bishop of Condom, as preceptor to the Dauphin, and the scarcely less celebrated Huet as subpreceptor. § To the latter he confided the execution of a plan, which he contemplated so early as 1672, that of an edition of the Latin Classics, for the use of his royal pupil. The mode in which Huet proceeded in the fulfilment of the task enjoined him, will be best described in his own words : ||

"Dum huic operi Demonstrationis Evangelica incumberem, succrevit aliud, laboriosum ipsum quoque et diuturnum, ac studiosæ juventuti per

utile, cujus laus omnis atque fructus auctori et inventori debetur Montauserio. Nam cum à prima ætate priscos auctores Latinos lectitasset diligenter, lectionis suavitatem et attentionem animi duabus potissimum difficultatibus interpellari solere querebatur : quarum altera oriretur ex verborum et elocutionis obscuritate, altera ex ignoratione rerum antiquarum; nec facile sibi fuisse ad bella proficiscenti Commentariorum mole sarcinas onerare, ideoque inter legendum sæpe se ad geminum hunc obicem adhæsisse; qui si removerentur, jam proclivem fore et facilem veterum Scriptorum intelligentiam, atque adeo studiosorum commodis præclare consultum iri: quamobrem vehementer optare se, meque adhortria, ut in curam hanc vellem incumbere, et eruditos aliquos homines seligere, qui veterum scriptorum, quos Classicos Gellius appellat, interpretatione et notis in usum Serenissimi Delphini illustrandorum negotium in se reciperent: invitandos eos esse, non tanquam mercenarios sordidi et illiberalis quæstús auctoramento, sed honorariis propositis præmiis, quibus expendendis certo sperare se non defuturum magnanimum Regem, suamque se ad id operam et interventum polliceri. Quæ cum audissem, Etsi, inquam, paratum mihi laborem infinitum præsentio, magnumque temporio dispendium, nusquam tamen deero, vel Principis nostri commodis, vel publicæ utilitati. Quoscunque ergo in studiis humanitatis optime versatos, et in veterum auctorum lectione exercitatos, vel noveram ipse, vel ex aliorum relatu audiveram, accersivi, sigillatim iis explicavi propositum opus, et ad suam Serenissimo Delphino commodandam operam satis quidem per se animatos strenue excitavi. Atque ea sane æquis accepta sunt animis, et, ut in rem abjecta omni cunctatione conferrentur,

valde eos sum cohortatus. Ergo decimo quinto quoque die recurrebam Lutetiam: conveniebant illi statis horis apud me; pensum suum exhibebat unusquisque, mihique cognoscendum, æstimandum, dijudicandum proponebat."

After giving an account of the opposition which he encountered respecting the indexes, Huet adds,

"Sed pervici tamen, nec destiti Ere ciere viros, Martemque accendere cantu, quoad de Serenissimi Delphini nuptiis agi coeptum est. Tunc enim conticuerunt literæ illæ aulicæ, quarum impensæ plusquam ducenties mille libris steterunt. Quamvis autem omnis à me adhibita est diligentia in selegendis perspectæ tantum doctrinæ viris, quibus veterum Auctorum commentariis instruendorum cura demandaretur, nonnulli tamen, vel levius quam putabam tincti literis, vel impatientes laboris, quam mihi commoverant exspectationem sui fefellerunt; (quid enim dissimulem?) adeo ut nequaquam par fuit operum omnium dignitas. Nec mirum sane in hunc juvenum numerum, tum primum suam periclitantium industriam, irrepsisse nonnullos ex inferiori eruditorum gradu, qui ea se posse docere alios crederent, quæ nondum satis ipsi didicissent: nimio plus enim arrogare sibi ætatis hujus vitium est."

It will be seen that Montausier entertained a much lower opinion of the work than did Huet, and we cannot suppose him to be actuated by any affectation of modesty as an author or editor, for such he was not. Posterity has confirmed his opinion. Had these letters been brought to light a few years since, it is not probable that the Delphin editions would have been selected as the basis of a republication of the Latin Classics, nor that any occasion would have been given for the caustic but just note of the (now Right Rev.) Quarterly Reviewer (Q.R. vol. xxii. p. 303, note.) The volume in which these letters are contained, belonged to the late Rev. Dr. Burney of Greenwich; on the purchase of his collections by Parliament in 1818, it was deposited in the British Museum.

J. H.

Ce 15 Mars, 1676, à St. Germain. La lenteur des imprimeurs, qui tra

vaillent aux auteurs sur lesquels on fait des notes pour Monseigneur le Dauphin, est cause, Monsieur, que j'ay esté si longtems à faire reponse à diverses de vos lettres, parceque j'attendois à vous envoyer ces auteurs avec ma lettre. En voicy donc enfin sept de ces auteurs, * en attendant les autres que je vous envoye. Vous, dont le savoir est eminent, et les autres doctes n'y trouverez pas votre conte, car ils sont faits pour des ignorans, et non pas pour des savans. Entrés donc, je vous prie, dans nôtre dessein, qui est de donner tous les auteurs anciens de la langue Latine si intelligible, par des gloses et des notes familières, que les enfans puissent les entendre, sans le secours de leurs precepteurs, ny des autres commentateurs. On ne s'est point piqué d'y apporter des choses nouvelles, des eruditions rares et recherchées, et des corrections tirées des manuscrits; on y explique simplement et nettement le sens du texte, et on y ajoute ce qui est necessaire à savoir de Fables, d'Histoires, de Coutumes anciennes, de Géographie, etc. Si ceux qui ont travaillé ont réussi à cela, ils ont atteint nôtre but. On a ajouté des indices, qui seront très-utiles, parceque ce sont des espèces de Concordances; et il n'y aura pas un mot dans la langue Latine, qu'on ne sache de quels auteurs il sera, et combien de fois il s'en sera servi. Faites moy la grace, Monsieur, de me mander votre avis fidèlement et sincèrement sur tout cela. Si nous avions trouvé d'excellens ouvriers, je croy que l'ouvrage auroit esté très utile au public, mais il a fallu se servir de ceux qui se sont presenté, ainsi nous n'avons pas choisi. Je vous rends un million de graces de tout mon cœur du Panégyrique de Pline, que vous m'avez envoyé. Je ne say qui me l'a apporté, car je n'ay point veu ce Monsieur Velthusius, dont vous me parliez dans deux de vos lettres. S'il fût venu à moy je luy eussé rendu tous les services que j'eusse pu en votre considération, tout ce que vous me recommandez m'étant fort considérable.

J'auray bien de la joye quand je

* Probably the following :- - Florus ; Sallustius; both printed in 1674; Callimachus; Corn. Nepos; Vell. Paterculus; Phædrus; Terentius; all printed in 1675.

verray vôtre Ciceron; et un auteur de cette importance, partant de vos mains, et illustré par vous, doit aussi estre une chose admirable. Il ne faut pas attendre pour le donner que la paix soit faite, car ce terme seroit un peu trop longue. Ce seroit une chose bien souhaitable que ce courageux libraire, dont vous me parlez, donnât en un corps tous les ouvrages de Meursius, et de Saumaise, s'il y vouloit joindre ceux de Grotius, il rendroit un grand service à la republique des lettres. N'oubliez pas, je vous prie, de me faire savoir ce que vous avez eu la bonté de debourser pour moy pour les opuscules de Meursius, à fin que je mette ordre qu'on vous en rembourse. Aimez moy toujours, et soyez assuré de l'affection, de l'estime, et de la considération extrêmes que j'ay pour MONTAUSIER.

vous.

M. Grævius.

Le 27 Fevrier, 1683, à Versailles. J'ay receu, Monsieur, deux de vos lettres, l'une du mois d'Octobre, et l'autre du mois de Novembre derniers. Je ne vous y ay pas fait réponse plutost, parceque j'attendois le retour d'Hortemels, qui a tardé très longtems, et l'arrivée des paquets de livres, dont vous l'aviez chargé, qui ne sont encore venus que longtems après luy, de sorte que je ne les ay receus que depuis fort peu de tems. Je vous remercie de tout mon cœur des temoignages d'amitié que vous me donnez. Je voudrois bien les meriter, par quelque service essentiel, et non pas par de simples paroles qui ne sauroient jamais exprimer les sentimens d'estime et de considération que j'ay pour vous. Je vous rends grace aussi, Monsieur, du beau Justin que vous m'avez envoyé; tout ce que vous donnez au public est excellent, et j'attends avec impatience les autres ouvrages que vous me faites esperer: je recevray entre autres avec beaucoup de joye celuy de Meursius que vous voulez me dédier, parce qu'encore que je ne le mérite pas, je ne laisse pas d'estre bien aise qu'un homme aussi estimable que vous temoigne au public, que je ne le suis pas indifferent. Je vous suis aussi fort obligé des Poèmes de M. Francius, et du livre de M. Binæus; car c'est de vous que je les tiens; je vous conjure pourtant d'en remercier ces deux Mes

sieurs de ma part et de leur dire que ce que j'ay lu de leurs ouvrages m’a donné beaucoup de satisfaction.

J'ay parcouru tout le Cathalogue de la bibliothèque dų pauvre M. Heinsius, dont je regrette tous les jours le digne possesseur. Comme vous m'avez mandé que si j'en voulois quelques livres, vous voudriez bien prendre le soin de les acheter, je vous envoie un mémoire de ceux que je voudrois; il est un peu grand. Mais je vous supplie, Monsieur, de ne travailler à les avoir qu'autant que cela ne vous incommodera point; d'ailleurs il n'y en a point que je veuille si le prix monte trop haut; s'il est raisonnable, je veux bien ceux dont je vous envoye le mémoire. Je n'en ay point marqué aucun des œuvres de Meursius, parceque vous savez celles que j'ay, et que je voudrois toutes les autres. Faites moy la faveur de me mander bientost la voye par laquelle vous voulez que je vous envoye l'argent nécessaire pour cette emplette, à fin que je vous le fasse tenir au plutost, et à peu près la somme à quoy cela sa pourra monter. S'il y a encore d'autres livres nouveaux, ou de ceux dont vous me parlez, ou d'autres venus à vostre connoissance, depuis vos lettres, vous me ferez plaisir de les joindre à ceux-icy. J'attens, Monsieur, de vous envoyer Festus, que je puisse vous l'envoyer avec plusieurs autres que je vous destine sur les quels on travaille pour Monseigneur le Dauphin; on me fait esperer qu'ils seront bientost achevés d'imprimer. Mais les impri

meurs de France sont aussi lents et aussi menteurs que ceux de Hollande.

J'espère vous envoyer quatorze ou quinze volumes de ces ouvrages, qui ne sont pas pour les savans, l'intention qu'on a eue n'estant que de faire entendre ces auteurs à de jeunes gens sortis du collége.

Je vous envoye une lettre pour M. Crucius, qui m'a fait la faveur de m'é. crire en son nom, et en celuy des autres hériteurs de M. Heinsius. Je vous prie de la luy faire rendre et d'exhorter ces Messieurs à faire imprimer les œuvres de leur excellent parent.

Adieu, Monsieur, conservez moy toute l'amitié que vous m'avez promise, et croyez que nul ne vous estime et ne vous considere plus que je fais, car rien n'est plus véritable.

MONTAUSIER.