edge, and the happy facility with which he communicated his instructions,will long be remembered by numbers who experienced his kindness.

Not content with the uncertain and imperfect modes of execution then existing, Mr Lowry bent all the powers of his vigorous and well-informed mind to the invention of such mechanical means as might insure evenness of texture, and clearness and precision of line upon copper, especially in the representation of architectural subjects, machinery, apparatus, &c. In this desirable object he completely succeeded, and the extraordinary merit of his inventions has long been universally acknowledged.

About the years 1790 or 1791, Mr Lowry completed, principally with his own hands, and of wood, his first ruling machine, possessing the property of ruling successive lines, either equidistant, or in just gradation from the greatest required width to the nearest possible approximation. In 1798, he invented the diamond points for etching, the durability of which, as compared with steel points, and the equality of tone thereby produced, have rendered them highly important to the art of engraving. In 1799, he improved upon his ruling machine, and constructed a new one, capable of drawing lines to a point, as well as parallel lines, and of forming concentric circles. In 1800, he invented a simple instrument for describing parts of circles, of which the radius is so large as to preclude the use of even beam compasses. In 1801, he invented a machine for drawing ellipses on paper or copper. In 1806, he invented a machine for making perspective drawings; and so great was its accuracy, that, after having finished with its aid an elaborate drawing of the west front of Peterborough Cathedral, on taking the actual measures of

the building, they were found to agree exactly with all the parts of the drawing. Besides these important inventions, Mr Lowry constructed an instrument to place over a vanishing point, to which lines were to be drawn on copper; a variety of compasses, with micrometer screws; movable points for the insertion of diamonds, &c.; and not very long before his death, he completed two new ruling machines, of singular simplicity and accuracy. Mr Lowry was also the first person who bit steel in well; and Mr Heath purchased from him the secret.

For nearly twenty years, Rees's Cyclopædia occupied the greater part, but not the whole, of Mr Lowry's time. Among other works in which he was employed, were several of the plates in Wilkins's Magna Græcia ; almost all the plates in Wilkins's Vitruvius; and some of those which adorn Nicholson's Architectural Dictionary. About the month of June, 1820, the last plates of the Cyclopædia were finished. It was scarcely possible that such an artist as Mr Lowry could be long without employment; and, accordingly, he was soon engaged to engrave the plates for Crabbe's Technological Dictionary. Towards the latter end of 1821, Messrs Mawman and Rivington secured his valuable services for the Encyclopædia Metropolitana; and in this work he was chiefly employed until his last illness deprived the world of art of one of its brightest ornaments.

Whoever might be called upon to pronounce a judgment on Mr Lowry's engravings, would find it difficult to decide, whether in the extreme accuracy of the drawing, or in the extraordinary beauty of the mechanical execution, lay their chief merit. It may, perhaps, be said, that the correctness of the drawing is owing to the draftsman, and not to the engra

ver.

This is true, to a certain extent, in all other cases; but it is not true in the case before us. Very few drawings were brought to Mr Lowry, in which his piercing eye, or rather his penetrating judgment, could not discover some error; and, as we have already observed, he exercised the right of supplying whatever deficiencies he observed. Besides, many of his plates were drawn, as well as engraved, by himself; although he did not always affix his name as the delineator. All those plates in Rees's Cyclopædia which are without the name of any draftsman, were drawn either by Mr Lowry or by his daughters. His engravings in Leslie's Treatise on Light and Heat, which are among his most finished specimens, were also drawn by him; but he was afraid of appearing too ambitious of reputation, and was content to inscribe his name as the engraver only. His knowledge of perspective and of shadowing was so profound, that he could engrave a finished plate from a mere outline. Nay, he could do more. In Rees's Cyclopædia there is a print of an electrical machine, which was engraved without having been previously drawn, except upon the copper. Mr Lowry was pressed for time; he placed the machine before him, and engraved it at sight, if we may be allowed the expression.

It is indispensable, however, that we should say something of Mr Lowry's general attainments. It is to be regretted, that posterity will know little more of him than that he was an inimitable engraver. A few good judges will perceive from his works that he must have had considerable mathematical knowledge; but they will form no adequate idea of the extent and variety of his other acquirements. The first philosophers of the age, with most of whom he was more or

less intimate, can attest, that he held a distinguished rank amongst them. He was an excellent anatomist; he was an able chemist; he was familiar with the principles of medicine; be was a skilful engineer; in mineralogy and geology he was deeply learned; and his scientifically arranged cabinet is surpassed by few private collections in London. Indeed, his opinion was constantly sought by professors of mineralogy, and the trade often availed themselves of his knowlege, and were guided by his advice, in the purchase of the rarest and most valuable gems. It was in consequence of his great and varied information, that, in the year 1812, Mr Lowry was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society; of the Geological Society he was a member from the time of its establishment. In both those societies he was beloved and respected, and was frequently consulted on occasions interesting to the progress of science. With the late Sir Joseph Banks, and Sir Henry Englefield, and with the present Dr Woolaston, Mr Lee, Mr Greenough, and other of the most learned members of those institutions respectively, he was extremely intimate. From Sir Joseph Banks, in particular, Mr Lowry and his son, (Sir Joseph's namesake,) always experienced the greatest kindness and friendship; nor was any man better known by the members of his own profession, to whom he was ever communicative on the subject of their com mon pursuit. Indeed, no artist could be more free from low-minded jealousy. Whatever feelings of rivalry, or hopes of professional superiority. at any time occupied his mind, were of the most honourable nature, and were tempered by a candid appreciation of the qualifications of other engravers, deceased and contempora

neous.

Mr Lowry has left a family equally listinguished for their attainments. His widow possesses high mathematial acquirements, and a superior knowedge of many branches of natural philosophy.

His son pursues the steps of his father, as if determined "non impar esse parenti." His daughter has also displayed her portion of family talent, in that species of engraving with which the name is so much identified.

MR JOHN FORBES.

Lately, Mr John Forbes. Botanical science has sustained a severe loss in the death of this intelligent and enterprizing young man. He was sent out by the Horticultural Society of London, under the sanction of the Lords of the Admiralty, with the squadron commanded by Captain William Owen; the object of which was to make a complete survey of the whole eastern coast of Africa. Such an expedition afforded too favourable an opportunity to be omitted by the Horticultural Society to send out an intelligent collector, and Mr Forbes, whose zeal as a botanist was known to the society, was fixed on as a proper person to accompany it.

The squadron sailed in February 1822, and touched at Lisbon, Teneriffe, Madeira, and Rio Janeiro, at each of which places Mr Forbes made collections in almost every branch of natural history; the whole of which were received by the society.

His extensive collections subsequently made at the Cape of Good Hope, Delagoa Bay, and Madagascar, were also received by the Society in high preservation, and by their magnitude and variety evinced the unremitting attention which he had paid to the objects of his mission. With the approbation of Captain Owen, and with a zeal highly creditable to

his own character, although not instructed by the Society, he engaged himself to form part of an expedition which was proceeding from the squadron up the Zambezi River, on the eastern coast of Africa. It was intended to go about eight hundred miles up the river in canoes, and the party was then to strike off southwards to the Cape. It was in this progress up the Zambezi that Mr Forbes died, in the 25th year of his age. He received his botanical education under Mr Shepherd, of the Botanic Garden at Liverpool, and had, by close applicacation, acquired so much information in many other branches of natural science, as to justify the expectation that, had his life been spared, he would have stood high in the list of scientific travellers, and been eminently useful to the Society whose patronage he enjoyed.

MISS SOPHIA Lee.

Sophia Lee was born in London, May, 1750; her mother, (whose family were engaged in the wine trade,) though of Scotch parentage, was a native of Oporto. Her father, Mr Lee, was among the many young men of his day who had been allured to the stage by the character and celebrity of Garrick, and was said greatly to resemble him in features and voice. Being a man of considerable acquirements and of unblemished moral character, he was strictly attentive to the education of his children; the more so, as that care early devolved upon him by the loss of his wife. It was, however, most affectionately lightened by his eldest daughter, Sophia, who, after attending her mother through a lingering illness, undertook the arduous office of supplying her place to the younger branches of the family. She had begun, even at that period, however,

to indulge a secret passion for writing, which a trifling circumstance unexpectedly betrayed.

It happened that Dr Elliot, afterwards Sir John, who attended Mrs Lee, was not duly furnished with a sheet of paper on which to write his prescription. The young nurse hastily opened a small trunk in which all her hidden treasures were deposited, and its contents caught the eye of the doctor. "You seem to have a vary voluminous work there, my dear," observed he, in his Scottish accent, and with a smile. She hesitated, returned some confused answer, and then ventured to add, in the overflowing of a heart grateful for his attention to her mother, " If I ever should write a book, doctor, I will dedicate it to you ;" an engagement that was fulfilled many years after. "The Recess" was inscribed to Sir John Elliot, in terms characteristic of the sensibility of the author, at a time when, far from expecting such a tribute, he must have totally forgotten the promise, a promise probably, indeed, never remembered. The compliment was acknowledged by him, however, in a very flattering letter.

The work which had thus attracted observation, although her first essay in writing, was among the latest of her publications. Its original title was "Cecilia," a name to which she was very partial, and afterwards brought forward in "The Chapter of Accidents;" but, as it had since that time been distinguished by the pen of Miss Burney, Miss Lee, contrary to the simplicity of her first intention, called her own novel "The Life of a Lover." This work, with much of the alloy which belongs to youth and inexperience, is, nevertheless, remarkable for richness of mind, and happiness of expression. It contains also many acute observations upon life and character, such as would excite wonder,

when the age and circumstances of the writer are considered, did we not daily see that there is an instinctive penetration in genius that foreruns experience, and seems almost to supply its place.

This voluminous production," which Sir John Elliot had noticed, and such by degrees it really became, (as she often retouched it,) was not the only one that employed the fancy of the author. The comedy of " The Chapter of Accidents" was not long after sketched out, in the midst of narrow circumstances, domnestic cares, and even some little discouragement; for Mr Lee, whose first wish was that his daughters should prove rational and useful members of society, was not without his fears of literary pretension, unsupported by real talent; and had also a secret persuasion, that if talent really existed, it would force its way without the hot-bed of paternal partiality.

In the summer of 1780, Miss Lee at length ventured to appear as an author. The comedy of "The Chapter of Accidents," which had been accepted by the elder Mr Colman, with a warmth of approbation the more flattering as it came from a man of approved dramatic genius, was produced at the Haymarket Theatre. It was highly applauded, admirably performed, and placed the writer at once among the most successful candidates for public favour. This success Mr Lee just lived to witness. In February 1781, he died of an inflammatory complaint, after an illness of ten days only; an affliction quite unexpected by his family, as he was not much advanced in life, and had an excellent constitution. The prudence of his eldest daughter had, however, only a few months before, provided her sisters an asylum, by devoting the profits of "The Chapter of Accidents" towards an establishment at

Bath for educating young ladies; and that prudence was rewarded by rapid and permanent success. The pen, I therefore, became unavoidably only an employment for her leisure hours, but it continued to be her greatest pleasure.

Miss Lee had always a very retentive memory, particularly for whatever touched her imagination or her feelings. While a mere child, she happened to have visited Winchester; the monastic institutions and historical interest attached to that spot, and its vicinity to St Cross, although very imperfectly known to, or understood by her, retained a place in her recollection many years after. Brooding over that, and accidentally perusing Hurd's Dialogues, she imagined to herself the possibility of framing a story that might blend historical characters with fictitious events, and both with picturesque scenery. The brilliant court of Elizabeth struck her to be the suitable era for such a fiction, and the events of "The Recess, or a Tale of Other Times," gradually developed themselves.

The success of this work far surpassed her expectation; its interest was increased by her publishing only the first volume, in order to feel her ground. Popular applause, and urgent inquiries even from individuals wholly strangers to her, encouraged her to produce the remainder. Among the testimonies of approbation, none touched her so sensibly as a letter from the admired author of " Anticipation," the late Mr Tickell; for his was the voice of taste and judgment, sanctioned by that circle in London most distinguished for both. After warmly expressing his own sentiments, he adds, " I have the greatest pleasure in acquainting you that every person admires this beautiful work with more concurrence of opinion than I almost ever remember on

any literary subject. Mr and Mrs Sheridan have particularly commissioned me to bear witness to the delight which they have felt in reading

The Recess.' The new interest which this species of historical romance creates in favour of characters we all have heard of so often, yet never before so intimately regarded, gives the most useful embellishment to fact, and supports memory by the charm of imagination." This letter was the basis of a lasting and cordial friendship between the parties.

Miss Lee received also an epistle from the translator at Paris, with a French copy of the work, under the title of "Le Souterrain," mutilated, however, as he himself avowed, in those passages that touched upon the Catholic religion, and, of course, somewhat disfigured. Among many scenes pointed out by the French translator as greatly admired by his countrymen, were the midnight appearance of Ellinor in the closet of the queen, and that of the banqueting-room at Kenilworth, where Elizabeth is feasted. A more solid compliment than either of the above, though one not more acceptable, was offered by Mr Cadell; who, in addition to the sum paid for the copyright, (the value of which had been fixed by herself,) remitted her a banknote of fifty pounds.

Miss Lee still continued, at intervals, to use her pen, and published a Ballad, called "The Hermit's Tale." The Tragedy of " Almeyda, Queen of Grenada," in which Mrs Siddons displayed her exquisite talents-and "The Life of a Lover," a novel, in six volumes; the earliest production of her girlish pen, and not thought to be the happiest, though marked by the vigour and fertility of mind which characterised all she wrote; and lastly, in conjunction with her sister Harriet, the Canterbury Tales, of which