1820.]

SIR VICARY GIBBS.

Feb. 8. The late Sir Vicary Gibbs (whose death is noticed in p. 190) was educated at Eton School, and in 1772 was elected to King's College, Cambridge, as a scholar on Lord Craven's foundation, where he distinguished himself by his attainments in classical literature; and where he took the degree of B. A. 1772, and proceeded M. A. 1775. He possessed strong powers, and had attained profound legal knowledge, by great industry and long practice. He rose gradually by his own merits and diligence. In the earlier part of his life he was what is styled a popular Counsel; being employed for the Prisoners in the State Trials in 1794, as second to the present Lord Erskine, but seeing the evil which arose from the uncurbed licentiousness of demagogues who abuse the name of Freedom, he became a firm prop of established rule, and a resolute supporter of regal authority. He was appointed King's Counsel in the same year; and in 1795 was made Solicitor General to the Prince of Wales, and was also elected Recorder of Bristol. He was appointed Solicitor General in 1805, which office he resigned on the change of administration in 1806. At the General Election in 1807, he was chosen one of the Representatives in Parliament for the University of Cambridge; and on Mr. Perceval's adminis tration coming into power, was made Attorney General, which laborious situation he held till 1812, when he was appointed one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, In 1813 he was made Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and soon afterwards Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, on the resignation of Sir James Mansfield, which important office he was obliged to resign in 1818, on account of ill health.

BENJAMIN WEST, Esq. March 10. Aged 82, Benjamin West, Esq. President of the Royal Academy.

The venerable and highly-respected Artist, who is the subject of this Memoir, was born at Springfield in Ches

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ter county, Pennsylvania, Oct. 10, 1738. His ancestors, who were Quakers, emigrated from England with the celebrated legislator of Pennsylvania; and Mr. John West, the father of the Artist, who was of the same persuasion, went over to America, where the other branches of his family had settled. He married a relation in that country, by whom he had ten children, the youngest of whom was Benjamin. By his father's side he was lineally descended from Lord Dela ware, who distinguished himself in the wars of Edward III. and at the battle of Cressy under the Black Prince. Col. James West, the friend and companion in arms of the celebrated Hampden, was the first of the family who embraced the tenets of the Quakers. The maternal grandfather of the Artist, Thomas Pearson, was the well-known confidential friend of Wm. Penn.

The object which first called forth and discovered the genius of West, was that of a sleeping infant, whom he was one day placed to watch in the absence of its mother, he being then about seven years old. The child happened to smile in its sleep, when he was so forcibly struck with its beauty, that he seized pens, ink, and paper, which happened to lie by him, and endeavoured to delineate a portrait, though at this period he had never seen an engraving or a picture. The year after he was sent to school in the neighbourhood. During his hours of leisure he was permitted to draw with pen and ink, for it did not occur to any of the family to provide him with better materials. In the course of the summer a party of Indians came to pay their annual visit to Springfield, who being amused with the sketches of birds and flowers which Benjamin showed them, taught him to prepare the red and yellow colours with which they painted their ornaments. To these his mother added blue, by giving him a piece of indigo; and thus, in a manner which might almost be mistaken for a poetical fiction rather than a fact, was he put in possession of the three primary colours. His drawings at length attracted the attention of his neighbours, who happening to regret that the Artist had no pencils, he inquired what kind of things those were, and they were described to him as camels' hair fastened in a quill. As, then, he could not procure camels' bair, he supplied the deficiency by cutting with his mother's scissars some fur from the end of the cat's tail. From the frequent repetition of this depredation, his father observed the altered appearance of his favourite, and lamented it as the effect of disease; but when the young

young Artist, with due contrition, informed him of the true cause, the old gentleman was much pleased with his ingenuousness. In the following year Mr. Pennington, merchant of Philadelphia, paid a visit to the West family, and being struck with the genius of the boy, upon his return home to the city, sent him a box of paints and pencils, with several pieces of canvass, and six engravings by Grevling. Nothing could exceed the rapture of West upon the receipt of this present; he rose at the dawn of the next day, carried the box into the garret, prepared a pallet, and began to imitate the figures in the engravings. Enchanted with his art, he forgot to go to school, and joined the family at dinner, without mentioning how he had been occupied. In the afternoon he again retired to his study in the garret; and for several successive days thus devoted himself to painting. The schoolmaster, however, sent to know the reason of his absence. Mrs. West recollecting that she had seen Benjamin going up stairs every morn ing, and suspecting that it was the box which occasioned this neglect of the school, affected not to notice the message, but went immediately to the gar ret, and found him employed on the picture. Her anger was changed to a different feeling by the sight of his performance; she kissed him with transports of affection, and assured him that she would intercede to prevent him being punished. It was ever the highest pleasure of Mr. West emphatically to declare, that it was this kiss that made him a painter. His mother would not allow him to complete the picture, lest he should spoil the half he had already dane.-Sixty-seven years after, it was' sent over to him by his brother, and the President showed it to every stranger admitted to his painting-room, declaring, that with all his subsequent knowledge and experience, he could not vary the situation of one single colour for the better. A short time after young West went to Philadelphia with his friend Mr. Pennington, and while paint. ing a view of the river with the vessels, was introduced to one Williams, a painter, who lent him the works of Fresnoy and Richardson, which, by inspiring him with enthusiasm for his art, much contributed to his advancement. Upon his return to Springfield, be amused himself by painting upon the detached pieces of broken furniture in the shop of a cabinet-maker, not far from his father's. These sketches have been since sought for by the Ameri cans, and purchased at enormous prices.

Twelve months after his visit to Philadelphia, young West went to Chester county, and in the course of painting & number of portraits became acquainted with one William Henry, an extraordinary mechanic, who had acquired a fortune by his abilities. This was the person that first set him upon painting History; and the subject of the first historical picture was the Death of Socrates, which Mr. Henry took great pains to explain to him from Plutarch. By Mr. Henry's interest, the young artist was sent to Philadelphia, to receive classical instruction from Provost Smith, until sixteen years old. When he had attained that age, a general consulta tion of the Quakers took place, as to his future destiny, when, after much debate, it was agreed that he should follow the profession of a painter.

In 1760 he left Philadelphia for Leghorn, where he procured letters of recommendation to many persons of the highest distinction at Rome, by virtue of which he formed an intimacy withMengs, Batteni, and other artists, of the first character in that city.

After spending some time in the antient capital of the world, he returned to Leghorn, and proceeded from thence to Florence, where he pursued his studies in the galleries of that place with such unwearied ardour as considerably injured his health. Having completed bis tour of Italy, he came to London through France, and after visiting several places in England, was about to return to America, when by the advice of Reynolds and Wilson, the two greatest painters of their day, he was induced to alter bis resolution and to remain in this country. He had before his departure from Philadelphia, formed an attachment to a Miss Shewell, who being apprised of his resolution to settle in England, came over with the father of her lover, and the young couple were married in London in 1764.

The year following, Mr. West was chosen a member and one of the directors of the Society of Artists, which three years afterwards became incorporated with the Royal Academy, in the formal tion of which Mr. West had a principal concern. It was about this time that he had the honour of being particularly noticed by his late Majesty, to whom he was introduced by Dr. Drummond, Archbishop of York. On this occasion the King gave him a commission to paint for him the picture of Regulus, which was the first piece exhibited by Mr. West on the opening of the Royal Academy in 1769. From that period his exertions have been unparalleled in ‘

the

Milner), in the History of the Church of Christ, 1801; View of the present State of Evangelical Religion throughout the World, 1812.

The remains of Dr. Haweis were interred in the Abbey Church at Bath.

REV. ROGERS RUDING, B.D. Feb. 16. At Maldon, Surrey, in his 69th year, the Rev. Rogers Ruding, B.D. vicar of that parish. This respectable gentleman was the second son of Rogers Ruding, esq. of Westcotes in the county of Leicester, by Anne, daughter of James Skrymsher, esq. He was born at Leicester, Aug. 9, 1751; was educated at Merton College, Oxford, of which he was some time Fellow; and proceeded B.A. 1771; M.A. 1775; B.D. 1782.

He married Charlotte, fourth daughter of his uncle John Ruding, esq. by whom he had three sons, all deceased, and two daughters, who, with their mother, survive to lament the loss of a kind husband and affectionate father.

In 1793 he was presented by his Collége to the vicarage of Maldon; and was afterwards elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London: he was also an Honorary Member of the Philosophical Society at Newcastle-uponTyne.

In 1798 he published "A Proposal for restoring the antient Constitution of the Mint, so far as relates to the Expence of Coinage; together with the Outline of a Plan for the Improvement of the Money, and for increasing the Difficulty of Counterfeiting;" 8vo. In 1812 he circulated Proposals for publishing by subscription his "Annals of Coinage," which valuable work appeared in 4 volumes 4to. in 1817, under the following title: "Annals of the Coinage of Britain and its Dependencies, from the

earliest Period of authentic History to the End of the 50th year of King George III." For the illustration and embellishment of these Volumes, tfie Society of Antiquaries permitted the Plates of Mr. Folkes's work on Coins to be used.

Mr. Ruding was deeply skilled in this his favourite pursuit. It was his opinion, "that the Coinage of this Kingdom has long been extremely defective. The barbarity of the workmanship is evident from the slightest inspection: and the constant disappearance of the money, in a short time after it has been issued from the Mint, irrefragably proves that the principles on which it is constructed, are not less imperfect than the execution.”- -"To trace the progress of the Errors in our Coinage, from the earliest times down to the pre

sent, and to offer to the consideration of the publick a theory less liable to objection than that which has hitherto been acted upon," were the main objects he proposed in the above elabo rate work, which will carry down his name to posterity with great credit.

On account of the limited number printed in quarto, the impression was wholly taken off by his Subscribers; which induced some spirited Publishers to engage Mr. Ruding in an octavo edition, with several new Plates, and additions to the present time, which will, no doubt, prove a standard work on the Coinage of this Country. Mr. Ruding very properly enabled his original Subscribers to procure the additional plates and supplemental matter, by publishing them separately.

Mr. Ruding contributed to the Archaologia of the Society of Antiquaries, "Some Account of the Trial of the Pix," vol. XVII. p. 164; and a "Memoir on the Office of Cuneator," vol. XVIII. p. 207. -He was also a valuable contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine; particularly on the subject of Coins; the latest of which appeared in our last number.

REV. MATTHEW HAYNES.

Feb. 15. The truly reverend Matthew Haynes (see p. 190) of Vincent-street, Westminster, was venerable in piety and years. His dissolution, morally speaking, was accelerated by the injudicious cutting of a corn, which was followed by an inflammatio pedis; and although most skilfully cured, yet the repeated necessary incisions and exhaustions by applica tions of cataplasms and medicines to prevent gangrene, and consequent debility from being confined to his room above four months, brought on a return of diarrbæa, with which he had periodically been afflicted for some time past, baffling every effort to arrest its fatal progress, he gradually wasted away,"his skin cleaving to his bones." After bearing his infirmities with the most Christian patience and resignation, he expired in the arms of his son without a sign, a struggle, or a groan. In the early part of his life he professed an inclination for the stage, and was most flatteringly received by the great Garrick; but an accident from some mortar falling in his eye whilst viewing an antient edifice under repair, caused a most dreadful inflammation, which, through improper treatment from a then-celebrated oculist, who had separated the eye-lid to get at the cause of the malady, it became an insuperable impediment to his appearance in publie, which occasioned the Roscius of the age