resource on these occasions had hitherto been in temporary lodgings. He had now a country residence of his own, to which he could at any time retire, and which had the additional recommendation of being in the vicinity of Oxford. At Westminster, the noble fabric of his church was a principal object of his care, and he happily succeeded in effecting great repairs, removing considerable deformities, and promoting the most important improvements. The most remarkable instances were the very effectual and substantial repair, which he caused to be made after the alarming fire in 1803; and that beautiful work, now so far advanced, the restoration of Henry VII.'s chapel, of which he was the first adviser and most zealous promoter.

But all these various objects could not estrange him from his great pursuit, the investigation of ancient commerce and navigation. He continued assiduous in extending his inquiries; and was most scrupulous in acknowledging and correcting every error which bis unremitting diligence could detect. Attentive more especially to the remarks of those who had visited the places described, he anxiously sought their conversation, as well as their writings, and was highly gratified to learn, that several very intelligent men had carefully compared his books with the situations to which they alluded, and expressed in general extreme surprise, that a recluse scholar, quietly seated in his study, could possibly have arrived at such accuracy of conjecture or discovery. When they thought him mistaken, he readily resumed the inquiry, and, weighing all the reasons, quitted it not till he had brought it to a satisfactory result, Truth was his sole object, and whether it was brought to light by himself or others, he was equally ready to embrace it; abandoning the most favoured opinion, without hesitation, if not without regret, when he discovered its foundations to be unsound. As his materials were thus increased, and his work improved, he prepared for a second edition; which, with more view to the propriety of the measure, than any hope of advantage from it, was published in 1807.

In the new edition, the three former publications were formed into two handsome and uniform volumes; with the general title of "The Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients in the Indian Ocean, by William Vincent, D. D. dean of Westminster." Each volume had also a second title; the first for the voyage of Nearchus, the second for the Periplus. Gratitude now demanded the introduction

of lord Sidmouth's name, to whose unsolicited patronage the author owed so much. To him, therefore, the whole work was now dedicated, in a sincere and manly strain of acknowledgment; retaining, however, the two dedications to the king, which had introduced the two parts of the Periplus. It was afterwards translated into German and French, the latter by M. Billecoq, under the express authority of Buonaparte. At that period of inveterate enmity on his part, it would not have been safe, perhaps, to translate an English work, on any subject, without that sanction. Approbation so undeniably impartial gave the author a pleasure, which he avowed as frankly as he did his other sentiments; and that satisfaction was complete, when, in 1814, a degree from Göttingen, conferred upon him by diploma, was transmitted to him, with the most honourable testimony borne to the merit and value of his works. Though far from anxious for fame, he was much above affecting an insensibility to it, which no man ever felt who was capable of deserving it.

While the second edition of his great work was passing through the press, he suffered a domestic loss, which they only who are equally attached to their home can justly estimate. Mrs. Vincent died early in 1807: and his sense of her merits has been strongly expressed in a Latin inscription, which he wrote to be placed over her grave at Westminster. But the heaviest evils that would otherwise have followed upon this destitution were happily prevented by the interposition of his nearest relatives. His eldest son, with his truly amiable wife, and a growing family, immediately relinquished house-keeping, and became his constant inmates, both in town and country; omitting no possible attention that duty and affection could suggest, to make his home again delightful to him. They succeeded, as they deserved, to the utmost of their wishes. The dean recovered his spirits, resumed his usual labours and his usual relaxations, and persevered in both, to almost the latest hour of his life.

But though he continued his remarks and additions to the Ancient Commerce, as his further reading enabled him, he had in truth dismissed all thoughts of further publication on that subject. But the opinion of his friend, Mr. archdeacon Nares, after some time prevailed upon him to add a supplemental volume, for the sake of adding to his work the Greek text of Arrian's Indica, (including the

Journal of Nearchus) with that of the Pseudo-Arrian, which was before too scarce for scholars in general to obtain. This volume concluded the dean's separate publications. He printed, indeed, afterwards, a letter in French to a M. Barbié (as he chose to write himself, but more probably Barbier) du Bocage, who had very unhandsomely attacked his voyage of Nearchus; but this he never published. It contained a dignified remonstrance, without asperity, with a man whom the writer treats with a respect, little merited by the mode of the attack.

The principal works of Dean Vincent have now been distinctly enumerated; as forming an important part of his history, as a literary man; but he wrote occasionally in periodical works, in which he had no other interest, but such as arose from the general wish to promote the progress of sound literature, both sacred and profane; or to benefit the editors of works whose design was of that nature. His communications to the "Classical Journal" were not many, but valuable, and regularly signed with his name. They were these: 1. On Ancient Commerce; No. v. p. 60.-2. On China, as known to Classic Authors: No. xiii. p. 32.-3. On Theophilus, an African Bishop: No. xiv. p. 382.-4. On the Geography of Susiana; Suppl. to No. xviii. p. 449.-5. Correction of an Error in the Periplus; No. xx. p. 322. The contributions of Dr. Vincent to the "British Critic" commenced at a very early period of that publication, and were never entirely discontinued till the close of the first series. The friendship with which he honoured the original editor of that work, together with his entire approbation of the design and principles, with which it was undertaken and conducted, made him at all times ready to give his aid to it, when his other occupations and studies would permit. As he was always completely a volunteer, so the choice of his subjects, as well as of his opportunities, was left entirely to himself. These communications were not marked with his name, because it was not suitable to the practice of the Review, but he had no particular wish to be concealed, and his biographer has accordingly given a list of his articles, with useful remarks, for which, on account of its length, we must refer to our authority.

He continued to assist in this Review until 1812 or 1813, when the close of his career was more nearly approaching than his friends were willing to believe, or any VOL. XXX.

Cc

visible decay appeared to indicate.

It was not, however, till the Spring of 1815, that the powers of the stomach beto fail, so much as to create alarm. gan But the apprehensions then excited were soon too fully justified. Imperfect efforts towards recovery were constantly followed by relapses, each more formidable than the former. He remained at Islip, to his usual period of removal in the autumn, when he returned to Westminster, infirm, but not despaired of by the faculty; sound in mind, which he continued to the last, and not materially impaired in his external organs. But he felt within, that his complaints were beyond the reach of medicine, and calmly rejected all attempts to persuade him to rely upon it. At length, with the least possible disturbance from bodily suffering, he placidly obeyed the inevitable call; and died on the 21st of December, 1815, having passed his seventy-sixth year, by rather more than a month.

"Of the character and talents of Dr. Vincent," says his biographer, "a tolerably correct notion may be collected from the foregoing narrative *. That he was benevolent, charitable, generous, and placable, should undoubtedly be added to that view. That which, perhaps, would be least conceived, by those who had no personal knowledge of him, is the ease with which he could, on fit occasions, and without the smallest impropriety, sink the man of learning and research, in the cheerful friend and unassuming companion."

In tracing the steps of dean Vincent's progress through life, no notice has been taken of those temporary offices, which he held in consequence of his other situations; such as being president of Sion-college in 1799, and prolocutor to the Lower house of Convocation in Nov. 1802, and perhaps some others. When such services were required,

At the requcst of a learned correspondent, we add the following: "Dr. Vincent was in person above the common size, and had a very dignified and majestic aspect; advantages of no mean importance to the master of a public school. His countenance was a faithful index of his benevolent mind. He was kind to all, but be manifested a particular regard to the members of his own profession, whose useful labours he considered as very inadequately rewarded. He was therefore

a liberal and zealous patron of the

there can be no doubt that he undertook them readily, and was studious to perform the part allotted to him with punctuality and propriety. 1

1

VINCI (LIONARDO DA), an illustrious Italian painter, and universal genius, was the natural son of one Piero, a notary at Florence, and was called Da Vinci from the place of his birth, a small burgh or castle of Valdarno di Sotto. He was born in 1452, and was placed under Andrea Verrochio, a painter of some note in that city; but soon surpassed him, particularly in a piece which that painter had made of St. John baptizing our Saviour, and in which Da Vinci, by his order, had painted an angel, holding up some of the vestments. This appeared so much the finest figure, that it visibly discredited all the rest: which so hurt Verrochio, that he relinquished painting ever after.

Da Vinci now set up for himself; and executed many pictures at Florence of great credit, and the universality of his genius soon appeared. He had a perfect knowledge of the theory of his art. He was, by far, the best anatomist and physiologist of his time, the first who raised a spirit for anatomical study, and gave it credit, and certainly the first man we know of who introduced the practice of making anatomical drawings. His first attempt, according to Vasari, was a book of the anatomy of a horse; he afterwards applied with more diligence to the human anatomy, in which study he reciprocally received and communicated assistance to Marc. Antonio della Torra, an excellent philosopher, who then read lectures in Pavia, and wrote upon this subject. For him Da Vinci made a book of studies, drawn with red chalk, and touched with a pen, with great diligence, of such subjects as he had himself dissected: where he made all the bones, and to those he joined, in their order, all the nerves, and covered them with the muscles. And concerning those, from part to part, he wrote remarks in letters of an ugly form, which are written by the left hand, backwards, and not to be understood but by those who know the method of reading them. These very drawings and writings are now in his majesty's collection of drawings. After inspecting them some years ago, Dr. Hunter expressed his full persuasion that Da Vinci was the best anatomist, at that time, in the world *.

1 Communicated by the rev. archdeacon Nares, to the Classical Journal, Nos. XXVI and XXVII. * Hunter's Two Introductory Lectures, 1794, 4to.