his works, in 1844. These were exhibited works; to which we may add, among the works which passed from his easel into private hands, and were never publicly exhibited, Sir Humphrey Davy, S. T. Coleridge, the poets of " Memory" and "Hope," Scott, Southey, and a head of Napoleon, now at Petworth, executed at Paris in 1802, at the request of the late Duke of Northumberland. Napoleon never sat to Phillips, but the painter took every opportunity, while at Paris, of getting a good look at the first consul, and, through the interposition of Josephine, was more than once admitted to the Tuileries while the first consul was at dinner. This is altogether an extraordinary portrait, and our only wonder is, that no publisher has had the good sense to get it engraved,-curious, beyond its intrinsic merits, as the only portrait of Napoleon by a British artist.

On his election, in 1824, to the Professorship of Painting in the Royal Academy, Mr. Phillips proceeded, with his friend Hilton, across the Alps, to contemplate Raphael and Michael Angelo in the Eternal City. At Florence the travellers fell in with Wilkie, then an invalid, devoting the whole of his time to the study of the great masters.

"It was a great pleasure to me," he writes in a letter, to visit the galleries of Rome and Florence with my lamented friend; and numerous and earnest were the conversations and friendly controversies we held on the wonderful and beautiful productions which we saw at every turn we took. One of these controversies was, I remember, on the general tone of shade, I averring, with Hilton, that it was cool in colour, while Wilkie espoused the opposite view, and regarded it as warm. Another contest which we had was about the propriety or impropriety of placing warm or cold colours in the front and principal groups of figures in a picture. Wilkie stated that it was a matter of indifference; I, that the most powerful and pleasing relief was gained by using warm colours in front."--"Phillips insists," writes Wilkie, "that a work of art, as well as an artist, ought to be judged of without reference to the time in which they were produced." No, my friend," writes Phillips, “I said, or meant to say, that when we seek to inform ourselves of what is excellent in art by criticizing pictures, we ought to consider the work without reference to time." This Wilkie thought unjust. "Earnest we all three were," adds Phillips, "in our one pursuit; and I sometimes wonder, when I reflect upon the restless activity of our proceedings, how

we went through it with so little discomfort. Would it were to do again! but that is a vain thought. Two, alas! are gone; and the third must expect now in a short time to be again gathered to them."

We read the fruit of these friendly controversies in ten lectures which Phillips delivered to the students of the Roy Academy, subsequently printed by him in 1833. These lectures were reviewed by Allan Cunningham in the Athenæum, No. 315.1

Mr. Phillips also wrote many occa sional essays on the fine arts, particularly those in Rees's Cyclopædia. He de voted much of his valuable time to the protection and permanent benefit of the class to which he belonged; by the establishment of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution, in co-operation with the late Sir F. Chantrey, Mr. Turner, Mr. Robertson, and others. This insti tution was established in 1814; it arose out of the Artists' Benevolent Fund in this manner. The latter was established in 1809, and was embraced by most of the profession, but an accident showed its insufficiency to meet the public wants. The widow of the celebrated Woollet ap plied for relief, but such a case was not provided for by the laws; its benevolence being limited to widows or orphans of members of the society. Upon this ocession a large secession took place, with a view to establish an institution upon & more enlarged principle; and Phillips, Turner, Chantrey, Robertson, and others, planned the Artists' General Benevolent Institution, by which all artists, subscribers or otherwise, whose works had been known and admired by the public, their widows and orphans, were to be

relieved.

For some time the support of so wide a benevolence was deemed problematical, but the warm, active, and persevering patronage of their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Sussex, who for several years presided alternately at its annual dinner, pleading its cause, over. came every difficulty; the public followed their example, and subscriptions have since been received to the average amount of 400l. per annum. Finally, her present Majesty has lately extended her patronage to this society; a charter has now been obtained securing the fund for ever, so that, including annual subscriptions and donations, the institution is enabled to distribute nearly 8001. annually amongst the unfortunate in art, their widows and orphans. The President of the Royal Academy has always been placed at the head of the institution, and directed its

elevated position which he held as a merchant secured him the confidence and esteem not only of Bristol but of the mer. cantile world at large, and it is not the least charm of his character that with great singleness of mind his abundant wealth was always at the service of the needy and the poor; and yet his delicate sensibility was such that, while his munificence relieved distress, it was still unknown to the world.

"Our readers may remember the confidence with which they reposed the representation of the City in his hands in 1835, and which he retained until the death of his Sovereign, in 1837, when he was succeeded by the eldest son of his second marriage, our present valued Member, Philip William Skinner Miles, esq."(Bristol Journal.)

"The death of Mr. Miles has left a void in Bristol which will not be easily filled up. At the head of one of the largest establishments of the kingdom, Mr. Miles afforded one of those honourable examples which distinguish the merchant princes' of Britain. Of active and intelligent business habits, the accumulation of vast wealth narrowed not his mind. He was a liberal patron of the fine arts, as the high rank which the collection at Leigh Court holds among private galleries bears witness. His manners and deportment were plain and unassuming; free alike from affectation and coarseness, they bore the English stamp of honest and hearty sincerity. His disposition corresponded with his appearance. He gave away much in charity, but he gave it without the least ostentation. In all the relations of private life the character of the deceased was unimpeachable. As a public man Mr. Miles did not exercise, nor, apparently, did he wish to possess much influence. In politics he was an unvarying Tory, and the minister of the period, when men and measures went together, might always reckon upon his vote.-(Bristol Gazatte.)

Mr. Miles married first, a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Whitter, Chaplain to the Earl of Westmoreland, when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and tutor to Lord Burghersh (the present Earl); secondly, one of the daughters of S. Peach Peach, esq. of Torkington.

He has left issue (with other children), William Miles, esq., of King's Weston, M.P. for East Somersetshire, who married a daughter of John Gordon, esq. merchant, of Bristol; Philip William Skinner Miles, esq., now M.P. for Bristol; Sara-Agatha, married in 1828 to John Ogle, esq., (eldest son of the Rev. John Savile Ögle, of Kirkley-hall, co. Northumberland, and a Prebendary

of Durham,) who died in 1832, leaving an only daughter; and Milley, married in 1833 to the Rev. Henry Mirehouse, Vicar of St. George's near Bristol, and Prebendary of Lincoln.

The will and codicil of Mr. Miles have just been proved by William Miles, esq., Philip William Skinner Miles, esq., and John William Miles, esq., the sons and executors, who have sworn the personal property alone to be above' the raise of a million sterling (the highest amount to which duty is payable). The deceased bequeaths to his sons (eight in number) 100,000l. each, and to William Miles an additional sum of 50,000.; to grandsons, 1007. each; to several godsons, 2007. each; to nieces and many other relatives, legacies varying from 100/. to 3,000.; to his two solicitors 2001. each, and legacies to three of his confidential clerks; to each of his banking partners legacies varying from 100l. to 300l. He observes that he has provided for his three eldest daughters on their marriage, and bequeaths them 1,000!. each, and directs his collection of pictures and best service of plate to go with his mansion, in the nature of heirlooms. gives to the Herefordshire Infirmary 200/.; to the Somersetshire Infirmary, 2007.; to the Gloucester Infirmary, 2007.; to the Bristol Infirmary, 500.; to the Bristol Dispensary, 50.; to the Lying-in Institution at Bristol, 507.; and to "three Dorcas Societies," 501. each. He directs sufficient money to be invested to produce the sum of 707. yearly, which is to be laid out in the purchase of bread and meat, and distributed every 1st of March to the poor of four neighbouring parishes. The residue, after very many legacies, is given to his sons and executors. The will is dated in 1842, and is of great length (79 sheets of paper, or 360 folios). The codicil is dated in 1844. The stamp affixed to the probate is of the value of 15,750.

MR. WILLIAM PHILIPS.

He

March 17. At Aberdeen, in his 85th year, William Philips, late of the Royal Navy, which he entered in 1780, as a master at arms, on board his Majesty's ship Warwick (under Sir G. Keith Elphinstone, afterwards Lord Keith), while his late Majesty, then Prince William Henry, was a midshipman in that vessel. William Philips served in the Warwick till 1793, and during the course of that period, while the late King was only sixteen years of age, he met with an accident by stumbling over the ninth gun over the larboard side upper gun-deck, by which the Prince fractured his collarbone, and was in consequence confined for about three weeks to his cabin. In the year

1805, William Philips having left the navy, and being captain of a vessel of his own, was captured on the coast of France, and confined, during the late war, for nine years, in a French prison, until released at the peace of Paris, in 1814, when he returned to Britain. In 1842, our excellent Queen Dowager, coming to the knowledge of William Philips being alive, with her usual munificence sent the honest shipmate of her Royal and lamented husband a present through her private secretary-along with a kind communication, through the same channel, expressive of her Majesty's sympathy for

the venerable sailor. Near the close of his life William Philips was offered a provision for the remainder of his days. by the Lords of the Admiralty, through the Earl of Haddington, which, however, he saw fit to decline. William Philips was a man of singular integrity of character, and, in early life, was an admirable mathematician and navigator. He was the last of those who served on board the Warwick with the late King-and has survived almost every relative, except the present minister of the parish of Kirkurd, in Peebles-shire.

Vol. XV. A monument has been erected in Passage Churchyard, near Cork, to the memory of Captain Roberts, the commander of the President steamer. It is a large square building of cut stone, with a base and cap moulding, and a bold pediment on either side. On the angles of the monument are represented in strong relief the sterns of the vessels which Captain Roberts commanded viz. the "Black Joke," the "Sirius," the "British Queen," and the "President." The following is the inscription:

"This stone commemorates in the churchyard of his native parish the merits and premature death of the first officer under whose command a steam-vessel ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean-undaunted bravery exhibited in the suppres sion of the slave traffic in the African seas, enterprise and consummate skill in the details of his profesion recommended him for that arduous service.

"Lieutenant Richard Roberts, R. N., in accomplishing it, not only surpassed the wildest visions of former days, but even the warmest anticipations of the present.

"He gave to science triumphs she had not dared to hope, and created an epoch for ever memorable in the history of his country, and of navigation.

"The thousands that shall follow in his track must not forget who it was that taught the world to traverse with such marvellous rapidity the highway of the ocean, and who in connecting in a voyage of a few days the eastern and western hemispheres, has for ever linked his name with the greatest achievements of navigation since Columbus first revealed Europe and America to each other.

"God having permitted him this high

distinction, was pleased to decree that the rearer of this great enterprise_should also be its martyr. Lieutenant Roberts perished, with all on-board his ship, the President, when, on her voyage from America to England, she was lost, in the month of March, A.D. 1841.

"As the gallant seaman under whose guidance was accomplished an undertaking the result of which centuries will not exhaust, it is for his country, for the world, to remember him. His widow, who erects this melancholy memorial, may be forgiven, if to her these claims are lost in the recollection of that devotedness of attachment, that upright. ness and kindness of spirit, which, alas! for three brief years, formed the light und joy of her existence."

The cenotaph was designed by Mr. R. C. Burke, of Cork.

Vol. XVII. p. 216. The will of George Birkbeck, esq. M.D. formerly of Cateaton-street, afterwards of Broadstreet, and latterly of Finsbury-square, was proved by Henry Lloyd, esq., and William Lloyd Birkbeck, esq., the son, the surviving executors; William Birkbeck, esq., banker at Settle, the brother and other executor, having died before the testator. The personal estate was sworn under 10,000.

At a meeting of the subscribers to the Birkbeck Testimonial Fund, held April 12, 1845, it was resolved, That the scheme proposed by the Committee be adopted, viz., That the Committee shall pay over to University College the sum of 500l., provided that the interest of that sum shall be applied, and the interest of a similar sum of 5007. shall be annually contributed by the College, for the endowment of a scholarship in mathematics and natural philosophy, to be called the

Birkbeck Scholarship, which shall be held for two or three years by students of the College.

Vol. XIX. p. 54. A monument in fine statuary marble has been erected in Dorstone church, Herefordshire, to the memory of the Rev. Thomas Prosser, Vicar of that parish for nearly half a century. The inscriptions record the names of the family who held the incumbency since 1663 down to 1843. "Thomas Prosser, of Brazenose College, Oxford, M.A., born 9th November, 1770, died 3rd March, 1843, having been Vicar of Dorstone for fortynine years. His widow and children have dedicated this mural tablet as a memorial of his virtue and their affection. His pilgrimage was peaceful, and as little tainted by the corruptions of the world as man may be. He closed a life of more than seventy years, honourable to his ancestry, and exemplary to his posterity. Upright as a magistrate, inalienable as a friend, hospitable as a neighbour, he was to society in general The Christian Gentleman.' At home, by sweetness of disposition-purity of sentiment-depth of affection and generosity of heart-he diffused a foretaste of that peace and love, for the full fruition of which he was removed from earth to heaven, through the redemption of Jesus Christ. Thomas Prosser, B.A., instituted to the living of Dorstone on the 12th of March, 1668died in the year 1685. Thomas Prosser, B.A., instituted to the living of Dorstone on the 21st of November, 1669— died 13th October, 1737. Thomas Prosser, B.A., instituted to the living of Dorstone, December 3, 1737-died April 27, 1751. Thomas Prosser, B.A., instituted to the living of Dorstone in the year 1764-died 22nd October, 1769."

Vol. XX. p. 320. A statue of the late General O'Malley has been placed in the churchyard of Castlebar. It is executed in Portland stone by Mr. Kirke. The following inscription is cut on a marble tablet: To the memory of MajorGeneral George O'Malley, C.B., who expired in London, on the 16th of May, 1843, in the 63d year of his age, and whose mortal remains are deposited in the family burying place at Murrish Abbey, this statue is erected by a numerous circle of his naval, military, and civil friends, amongst whom are the members of the Ancient and most Benevolent Order of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, as a small tribute of their esteem and affection. He served his country in Egypt, North America, the West Indies, the Mediterranean, &c. &c. He commanded the 2d battalion of the 44th regiment at Waterloo, where he was twice wounded,

and subsequently for many years com. manded the 88th regiment, or Connaught Rangers. He was a good and pious Christian, a zealous and excellent soldier, and a sincere and firm friend.”

Vol. XXII. p. 104. Special letters of administration, with the will annexed, of the Right Hon. Barbara Ponsonby, Ba roness De Mauley, late of Great Canford, co. Dorset, wife of the Right Hon. Willian Francis Spencer Ponsonby, Baron De Mauley, have been granted by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury to the husband, the sole executor. It is dated August 12, 1839, and in her handwriting. By virtue of a power of appointment she leaves to the Baron for his life the manor of Paw. let, in the county of Somerset, with the royalties, &c., together with the messuage at St. James's, Westminster; and after his decease to her son, the Hon. Charles Frederick Ashley Cooper Ponsonby, and his issue, failing which to the right heir. By a like power, under the will of her father the late Earl of Shaftesbury, she also leaves to her husband for his life so much of the sum of 106,0007. Bank Annuities as may be vested in her, subject to certain charges, and an annuity of 2001. to her aunt, Lady Mary Anne Sturt; and after his demise to her eldest son. The rent of the house in Portland-place, the residence of the late Earl her father, is to accumulate to the sum of 10,0001. for the benefit of her second son, Ashley George John Ponsonby. The family plate she leaves to Lord de Mauley, for his life, except a portion to descend as heir-looms with the manor of Paulet. The rest of the plate to her eldest son. In the will there are several bequests of 1,000l. 500%, and 1007. The residue of her personal estate she bequeaths to Lord de Mauley abso lutely.

P. 203. The will of Anthony Earl of Kintore, late of Keith-Hall, North Bri. tain, has been proved by John Blackie, esq., one of the executors. It directs that his plate, furniture, carriages, &ca be offered to his eldest son, and, in case he declines purchasing them, divided, with the whole of his estate, amongst his family. The will is extremely short, and the amount of property under which it is proved in London is only 3007., for the purpose of obtaining an investment of that amount.

P. 315. The will of his Royal Highness Louis Antoine Comte de Marnes, late Dauphin of France, (the Duc d'Angoulême) was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on the 4th Dec., by Jean Françoise Cyr Baron Billot, one of the exe cutors. The personal property in Eng. land was sworn under 250,000. The