REVERSION OF SERIES. In the nomenclature of | M=486269 - 19448ab7c+8008a2 (be + 3b3c2) mathematics, which is far from being consistent with itself, the words reversion and inversion are sometimes confounded. Thus the term by which we describe the square root, as connected with the square, is, that each is an INVERSE process to the other; but if y be a given series of powers of x, the determination of x in a series of functions of y is not called inversion, but reversion. Various points connected with reversion (to keep the common term) will be met with in TAYLOR'S THEOREM and SERIES; the present article is meant purely for reference upon the most usual case of the problem, which is not sufficiently developed in elementary works; that is, enough of the result for reference is not put down. The problem is as follows:-Given y-ax+bx2+cx2+ ex+x+...; required a in a series of the form Ay-By +Cys-Ey+.... It will be proper first to put down the coefficients in connection with the exponents to which they belong, as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1001a C3bf+15b ce+1063 c3)+1001a (b'g+4bcf+2be +662 ce+bc)-286a (b3h+3b cg+3b ef+3bcf +3bce2+ce) +22a6 (362k+6bch+6beg+3c2g+3bf +6cefte-11a (bl+ck+eh+fg)+am N=16796610-75582ab8c+15912a2 (2b7e+7b6c2-12376a2 (bef+6bs ce+56 c)+2184a (2bg+10b cf + 5b1e +206 ce+5b2c)-273as (56 h +20b3 cg+2063 ef +3062cf+30b ce+20bc3e+c) +182a6 (263k+6b ch +66 eg+6bc2g+3b3f2+12bcef +2c3f+2be3+3c2 e2 ) -78a7 Cb2l+2bck+2beh+ch+2bfg+2ceg+cf2+ef> +6a (2bm+2cl+2ek+2fh+g)-an We have given these coefficients to an extent which many will think useless, and in fact it will not often be necessary to employ all that are here given. But we have two objects in view: first, to enable those who want these coefficients to refer to them; secondly, to point out the great advantage of some methods which are never given in elementary works, and are not so much known and practised as methods of such utility and power should be. The usual way of obtaining these results is to take the series x=Aa1 y-Bay2+....., and in it to substitute Ka-15y+the value of y, namely, ax+bx+.... This would give a b c efgh k l m n Ea7y+Fay3 La 10 -17 y°-Ma-19y+Na A=1 B=b C=262-ac E-563-5abc+a2e -3 2 y + Ha-13y7 -21 11 y F=146-21abc+3a2 (2be+c2)-a3f -53 .We then have 8 G=4265-84ab3c+28a2 (be+bc2)-7a3 (bf+ce)+a'g and so on; but this process would become intolerably teK=42967-1287abic + 495a2 (b'e +263c°)−165a3 (b3ƒ+ dious and liable to error after a few steps; that which we 36 ce+be+45a (bg+2bcf+be+c2e)-9as (bh+ LOR'S THEOREM] would have enabled us with comparatively have followed in forming the preceding coefficients [TAYcg+ef)+ak little difficulty and small risk of error to double their numL-14300-5005ab°c +1001a (2b5e+5bc2-715a3 (bf+ber. It also gives the law of the coefficients, which is as follows:463ce +203+ 55a (463g + 12bcf+6b e2 + 12bc'e 1. What sort of terms enter into M, the coefficient of +c1)-55a3 (b2h+2bcg+2bef+c2f+ce2)+5a (2bk yo? Write down every way in which 2(10-1), or 18, can +2ch+2eg+f)-al be made up of 10-1, or 9, numbers, and, taking the letters belonging to these numbers from the table, we have the literal parts of the different terms of the coefficients. Thus 18 is made up of the nine numbers 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 6, the letters of which are a, a, a, a, b, b, b, b, g: accordingly, abg is the literal part of one of the terms of M. And similarly for every other combination of nine numbers which makes 18. follows: 2. What is the coefficient of any given term? Say that y" is the power to which the term belongs, and that a B ... is the literal part of it. The coefficient required is as (n+1) (n+2)...... (2n-a-2) (1.2.3. .ẞ) (1.2.3....y) (1.2.3....d).... Thus, to verify the numerical coefficient of ac2e2 in N, the coefficient of y", we must calculate (n=11, a=6, 2n-a-2 =14), inaccurately, and it is sometimes necessary to recur to its strict legal signification. Before the passing of the statute De Donis, if a man seised in fee simple granted his lands to a man and the heirs of his body, he had no reversion, for the grantee was considered to have a conditional fee. But since this statute, an estate to a man and the heirs of his body has always been considered to be a particular estate. If a man grants a lease of lands in possession, at comcymon law, he has no reversion until the lessee enters by enters; but if the term of years is created under the Statute of Uses, as by bargain and sale, the lessee has a vested estate by virtue of the statute, without entering on the land, and consequently the lessor has a reversion. It is said that a but reversion cannot be created by deed or other assurance, arises from construction of law. This means that a reversion is not created by the act of the party who conveys part of his estate, but is a legal consequence of his acts. If a man seised in fee simple limits his estate to another for life or in tail, remainder to himself in fee or to his own right heirs, he has not a remainder, but a reversion. Yet by a recent statute (3 and 4 Wm. IV., c. 106) the effect of such a limitation is to vest such remainder. in fee in the settlor by purchase, and he is not to be considered-to be entitled to it as his former estate or part thereof. virtue of his lease, for the lessee has no estate until he and 182 × 3, the coefficient in the table, is also 546. 2. The sign of any term is positive or negative according as the power of a which it contains is even or odd. We may thus verify any one term, and the coefficients may be sufficiently verified, as to typographical correctness, by remembering, that if a=b=c=&c.=1, we should have A=B=C=&c.=1; for y=x+x2+x3+... gives xy-y +y3.... The result of the use of the preceding table, distinguishing the positive from the negative parts, is x=y-y2+(2-1) y3 — (6 −5) y' + (23 −22) y3 — (99 — 98) yo +(452—451) y' — (2140-2139) y +(10397 — 10396) y' -(51525-51524) yo+(259430-259429) y11. - 5n+1 2 5n+1 5+2 5+3 2abc + n a2e 5n+1 5n+2 2 3 a2 (2be+c2)- na3ƒ 3ab'c +n Methods of obtaining all these series are given in TAYLOR'S THEOREM. REVERSION. 'Reversion of land is a certain estate remaining in the lessor or donor, after the particular estate and possession conveyed to another by lease for life, for years, or gift in tail. And it is called a reversion in respect of the possession separated from it; so that he that hath the one, hath not the other at the same time, for being in one body together, there cannot be said a reversion, because by the uniting, the one of them is drowned in the other. And so the reversion of land is the land itself when it falleth. (Termes de la Ley.) Thus if a man seised in fee simple conveys lands to A for life, or in tail, he retains the reversion in fee simple. The distinction between a remainder and a reversion has been explained in REMAINDER. In all cases where the owner of land or the person who has an estate in land, grants part only of his estate, he has a reversion; and as the grantee holds of him, there is tenure between them, and the grantor has a seignory by virtue of having a reversion. When a man grants all his estate to another, or grants a particular estate to A, and various remainders over, remainder to F in fee, he has no reversion left, and therefore he has no seignory since the passing of the statute of Quia Emptores. The remaindermen also who precede the remainder-man in fee, do not hold of such remainder-man, but of the lord of the fee of whom the original owner held. The word reversion is often used Should there be any error, it will be mentioned in SERIES A reversion is a vested estate, which may be granted or conveyed, and charged like an estate in possession; and in some cases the reversioner in fee may bring an action, as well as the tenant in possession, for an injury to his inheritance. Fealty is an inseparable incident to a reversion. There may or may not be a rent reserved, but fealty is always due from the owner of the particular estate to the reversioner, and it cannot be separated from the reversion, though the rent, if there is one reserved, may be separated from it. [RENT.] Reversions which are expectant on estates for years are subject to dower and courtesy; but this is not the case with reversions expectant on a freehold estate. By a recent act (3 and 4 Wm. IV., c. 104), reversionary estates or interests in lands, tenements, and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, are assets to be administered in courts of equity for the payment of a person's debts both on simple contract and on specialty, when such person shall not by his last will have charged such estates or interests with or devised them subject to the payment of his debts. When a reversion expectant on an estate tail comes into possession, it is liable to the leases made by those who were at any time entitled to the reversion, and to the covenants contained in such leases. All particular estates, except an estate tail, are subject to merge in the reversion, when the particular estate and the reversion are united in the same person. Formerly when an estate tail was converted into a base fee, and the remainder or reversion in fee in the same lands became united in the same person, the base fee was subject to merger in the reversion: but by the 39th section of 3 and 4 Wm. IV., c. 74, when such union takes place, and there shall be no intermediate estate between the base fee and the remainder or reversion, the base fee shall not merge, but shall be ipso facto enlarged into as large an estate as the tenant in tail, with the consent of the protector, if any, might have created by any disposition under this act, if such remainder or reversion had been vested in any other person.' Before this statute, when a base fee thus merged in the reversion, the reversion became an estate in possession, and liable to all the leases and charges of those who had at any time been entitled to it. REVETMENT, in permanent fortification, is a wall of brick or stone retaining the mass of earth which constitutes the rampart, generally on the exterior side only, or retaining the earth which forms the opposite side of the ditch. The exterior faces of these walls are considered as the scarp and counterscarp of the ditch. In and before the time of Vauban the scarp revetments were raised from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the parapet; but the part which was visible above the glacis being destroyed by the enemy's artillery, and the parapet in consequence partly ruined soon after the commencement of the siege, that engineer in most of his works raised his revetments no higher than the level of the crest of the glacis, or about 7 feet above the natural ground; the exterior of the parapet was then left at such an inclination to the horizon (45° in general) that the earth would support itself. The ditch of a fortress being about 18 feet deep, the height of the scarp revetment was consequently 25 feet, and this was considered sufficient to afford security against the danger of having the rampart escaladed. At present it is recommended that the main ditch should be 24 feet deep, and in this case the scarp revetment is above 30 feet high. In constructing the fortifications of Neuf Brisac, Vauban made the revetments of the scarps both of the enceinte and of the reduit of the ravelin, as high as the top of the parapet; but these works being covered by the counterguard or the ravelin, their revetments would be unseen by the enemy at a distance, and therefore not liable to the objection above mentioned. The form usually given in profile to revetments of masonry may be seen at M and N, fig. 2, BASTION; the first is the revetment of the counterscarp, and the other that of the scarp. The rectangular parts are sections through the counterforts or buttresses which are built up with the walls in order to strengthen them, at intervals of about 15 feet from each other. Scarp revetments, whose tops are as high or higher than the crest of the glacis, are called full revetments; while such as are no higher than the level of the natural ground are called demi-revetments. In order that the revetment might most effectually resist the pressure of the earth which it is to support, Vauban gave to the exterior face of the wall a slope, whose horizontal breadth was equal to one-fifth of the height; this was subsequently reduced to one-sixth, and not long since there were thought to be some advantages in making the face vertical. In laying the foundations of revetments in defective soils, the same methods are used as in the construction of civil edifices; and in all cases the courses of stones or bricks are laid obliquely to the horizon, inclining down towards the part under the earth which is to be supported, in order that the pressure of the latter' may be more directly resisted. But as the bed-joints of brickwork when so disposed allow the rain to penetrate, and the seeds of grass to lodge in them, it is thought that the wall is more speedily degraded when so built than when the courses are laid horizontally; therefore in order to unite the advantages of direct resistance and durability, it is customary to place the courses obliquely, but to lay one row of bricks in each course at the face of the wall in a horizontal position. The exterior and interior faces of the revetment, or retaining wall of a dock, have in a vertical section the form of concentric arcs of circles, with their convexities towards the land; and this form is given them that the stones may be able to resist the hydrostatical pressure of any water which, when the dock is full, may get behind the wall, and which may be prevented from escaping when the dock is made dry. Some of the ramparts of Coehorn, and all of those which Carnot proposed for his fortresses, are formed of earth unsupported by revetments; and even the opposite side of the ditch, instead of being faced with a steep wall, is by the latter engineer cut with a gentle slope from the level of the natural ground to the bottom of the ditch. But the fortifications of Coehorn are provided with wet ditches, which prevent the besiegers from getting to the foot of the rampart by surprise; and in those of Carnot a high detached wall covered by a counterguard of earth puts it out of the power of the enemy, while that wall stands, to get across the ditch. Without such obstacles the unreveted rampart would afford great facilities to the enemy in an effort to carry the fortress by assault. Its exterior slope must form at most an angle of 45° with the horizon, that the earth may support itself, and consequently it may be easily ascended; and any palisades or other impediments which the defenders might place on it would soon be displaced or destroyed by the batteries of the enemy. Besides these evils, the exterior slope, from its breadth, occupies a great portion of ground; it consequently obliges the engineer to contract the space enclosed within the works, and thus to sacrifice in some measure the convenience both of the inhabitants and the garrison. In order to investigate the conditions of stability in revetment walls, let EBC be a vertical section through the mass of earth retained by the wall; BC being the slope which earth is supposed to assume when unsupported, and let AEMN be a section of the wall, PC being the level of the bottom of the ditch, and MN being the bottom of the foundation. Imagine G to be the centre of gravity of the sec Imagine the vertical line AQ to be drawn; then the form and dimensions of the part AMQ of the wall are known. and let it be required to find the breadth QN of the rectangular part AN, so that the resistance of the whole shall be equal to the momentum of the supported earth. Suppose the centre of gravity of AMQ to be found, and let it be vertically over a. The centre of gravity of the rectangular part is vertically over b, the middle of QN; and let Qb be Then if g be the specific gravity of the represented by x. wall, we have by mechanics, AMQ. Ma.g+AQ.Mb.g.x for the resistance of the wall; consequently equating this expression with the above momentum of the earth, the value of x, and therefore of QN, can be found. But great uncertainty exists respecting the position of the line of rupture BC, from our ignorance of the allowance to be made for the effect of friction on the tendency of the earth to slide downwards. Experiments have led to the opinion that this effect is equal to half the pressure of the earth perpendicu larly upon the inclined plane which it would assume if unsupported; and that value is frequently adopted. In order to find the magnitude which the triangle EDC should have when the supported earth exerts the greatest pressure against the wall, the following process may be used; the earth above AD being at present, for simplicity, supposed to be removed. Imagine G to be the centre of gravity of that triangle, and the vertical line GH to be drawn; then GH may represent the weight of the unsupported earth, and let it be resolved into the pressures represented by GI and IH, the former perpendicular to the slope, and the latter coincident with it. Imagine HS to be drawn to represent the re-action of the wall AMN, and let it be resolved into the forces represented by SR and RH, perpendicular to and coincident with the slope, respectively. Then, IH representing the force with which the prism of earth would tend, if without friction, to slide down DC, RH represents the re-action by which the wall resists that force; while GI and SR represent the pressure and reaction perpendicular to DC. Consequently, the friction being supposed to be equal to half the pressure, we have (GI+SR) for the effect of friction; and in the case of equilibrium, IH=RH+(GI+SR). Let EC=h, ED=z, HS=p, and let g be the specific hgz gravity of the earth; then expresses the weight of the prism whose section is EDC, and whose thickness is unity, and which was represented by GH; and the triangles GIH, HSR being similar to ECD, we get by proportions hig z have IH = HR= 2CD 2CD' These values being substituted in the above equation, the ทะ CD GI: and SR = ph CD' value of the pressure HS or p will be found to be h 28 following title: 'Essays de Jean Rey, Docteur en Médécine, sur la Recherche de la Cause pour laquelle l'Estain et le 2hz-2 Plomb augmentent de poids quand on les calcine.' To this Now this quantity is to be a maximum; there- inquiry it appears that Rey was incited by a letter from 2z+h Sieur Brun, prefixed to the work, as the cause 'qui a donné fore making its differential relatively to z equal to zero, the sujet au présent discours.' M. Brun states that on subvalue of z will be found to be 618h; whence p=1908g.h.jecting melted tin to the air in a pot, he found that it inIf this equation be differentiated relatively to h, the result creased very considerably in weight, and applied to Rey to will express the horizontal pressure against an elementary explain so unexpected a fact, and he afterwards made a simiportion of the wall at a variable height (which represent by lar experiment with lead, and with a corresponding result. h) above C: therefore multiplying by h and integrating, we Rey, after refuting all the different explanations of this get1272gh for the whole force exerted by the earth to increase of weight which had been advanced, says, in his overturn about M a wall whose height EC is represented 16th essay, 'I have now made the preparation, laid as it by h, when that force is a maximum. When there is a were the foundation of my answer to the Sieur Brun's parapet above AD, its weight, expressed by the product of demand, namely, that having put two pounds six ounces of the area of the section multiplied by g must be added to the fine English tin into an iron vessel, and heated it strongly above expression for the weight of the prism EDC in the in open air for six hours, stirring it continually, without preceding investigation, in order to obtain the value of the having added anything, he obtained two pounds thirteen expression which is represented by GH. ounces of a white calx, which at first occasioned him great surprise, and the desire to ascertain whence these seven ounces of increase were derived; now, to augment the difficulty, I say that we must not only inquire whence these seven ounces are derived, but moreover, whence that which has replaced the loss of weight necessarily arising from the enlargement of the volume of the tin by its conversion into calx, and from the vapours and exhalations that have evaporated. To this question then, resting on the foundations that I have laid, I answer, and proudly maintain, that this increase of weight comes from the air, thickened and made heavy, and in some measure rendered adhesive on the vessel, by the violent and long-continued heat of the furnace, which air mixes with the calx (its union being assisted by the continual stirring), and attaches itself to its smallest particles, no otherwise than as water when sand is thrown into it makes it heavier by moistening it and adhering to its smallest grains.' Instead of making a revetment in the form of a simple wall, it is customary to build buttresses or counterforts at intervals from each other on the side next to the supported earth; consequently the thickness of the wall itself may be rather less than that which would result from the above equation. In order to determine it, if we assume, for example, that the distance from the centre of one counterfort to that of the next is fifteen feet, the area of a horizontal section fifteen feet long and taken at the mean height of the wall, if the face has a slope, together with the area of the like section through the two half counterforts, may be equal to the area of a section of the simple wall (of the same length) as determined by the above investigation; then deducting one-fifth of that quantity for the two half-counterforts, the remainder divided by 15 will give the required breadth of a horizontal section at the part between the counterforts. It should be observed however that the thickness of a brick revetment which is to resist the fire of a battering-train should not be less than seven or eight feet. It is usual to make the depth of a counterfort equal to the mean breadth of the wall; and to give it greater thickness at the part which joins the wall than at the other extremity. Counterforts serve in part as props to keep the wall from inclining in consequence of partial compressions in the cement; but chiefly by extending the breadth of the base at intervals they increase, at the places where they are formed, the length of the arm of the lever by which the weight of the wall resists the lateral pressure of the earth. The usual connection of the bricks or stones in the wall with those of the counterforts allows this advantage to be extended in nearly an equal degree to the parts which are situated between the counterforts. But in order that the connection may be more complete, it has been recommended to connect the tails of every two counterforts by a wall curved on the plan, and having the convex side towards the earth which is to be retained. Again, the nearest sides of every two counterforts have occasionally been connected by two or more arches, one above another; by which means the mass of retained earth is in part supported, and the lateral pressure of the whole is diminished. Revetments in which the counterforts are connected in either of those ways are said to be counter-arched; and it is recommended that arches of the latter kind should be formed in the mass of the parapet above the cordon of the scarp. It is also recommended that the masonry of the arches in the rampart should be but slightly connected with that of the revetment wall; since then the greater part of the rampart and parapet will remain supported by the arches even after the revetment has been demolished by the artillery of the besiegers. REVOLUTION. This well known term is applied in astronomy to the manner in which a detached body moves round another, as a planet round the sun; but the motion of connected particles of matter round an axis, such as the diurnal revolution of a planet, is more usually called ROTA TION. In pure mathematics the word revolution is applied to the angle moved over by a line which revolves round a point from any one position to that position again; it is therefore a synonym for four right angles. REVOLUTION OF 1688. [WILLIAM III.] REY, JEAN, a French physician, was a native of Bugue on the Dordogne. In 1630 he published, at Bazas, a town about 30 miles south-east of Bordeaux, a book under the In the 11th and subsequent volumes of the Royal Instition Journal, Mr. Children has given translations of various essays of Rey, which are extremely well worth perusal by those who are curious in the history of chemical discovery. We have already mentioned that Rey's work first appeared in 1630, and it was greatly neglected till 1777, when a new edition appeared, and it is remarked by Mr. Children that the 'copies of this reprint disappeared in a very sudden and remarkable manner,' and the fact has led to a suspicion that it was effected by Lavoisier and his friends, to avoid the imputation of plagiarism in his celebrated work which appeared about three years afterwards. Mr. Children and Dr. Thomson however are both inclined to give full credit to the assertion made by Lavoisier that he knew nothing of Rey's Essays when he originally undertook his experiments. REYNOLDS, SIR JOSHUA, born at Plympton, July 16, 1723, of an antient family of the county of Devon, was the son of the Rev. Samuel Reynolds, rector of Plympton St. Mary, and master of the free grammar-school there. This celebrated painter was originally intended by his father for the medical profession, but he manifested when still a child so great a taste for drawing, that his father was induced to abandon his intention. Reynolds's natural inclination to the arts was much strengthened by studying the Jesuits Perspective, but was finally confirmed, and became a passion, through the perusal of Richardson's treatise on painting, and he was from that time resolved to become a painter. He was accordingly, in 1741, in his eighteenth year, placed by his father for four years with Hudson, the principal portrait-painter of that time. The plan of instruction adopted by this painter, that of setting his pupil to copy Guercino's drawings, had a decided influence upon Reynolds's future taste, and was unquestionably one of the principal causes of the difficulty which he ever after experienced when drawing from the life, and especially from the naked figure. Reynolds and his master did not agree, and they separated in an unfriendly manner when half the period of the engagement had expired. Reynolds returned into Devonshire, and upon this slight foundation commenced his career as a portrait-painter, at Plymouth Dock. He was fortunate in obtaining the patronage of Lord Mount Edgecombe, whose influence was of the utmost service to him in procuring him introductions to the most distinguished naval officers of that port, amongst whom was Captain (afterwards Admiral Lord) Keppel, a connection that proved subsequently most valuable to him. Many naval and military officers sat to him for their portraits at this time; and he exhibited at this early stage of his career decided traces of his future style. The portraits of William Gandy of Exeter, which he greatly admired for their bold and effective manner, tended not a little to confirm that taste which his previous education from Guercino was so well calculated to engender. After the death of his father, in 1746, Reynolds came to London, where he took apartments and commenced practice in St. Martin's Lane, then a favourite quarter with painters. In 1749 he accompanied Commodore Keppel as that officer's guest, in the Centurion, to the Mediterranean; and after a delay of two months at Minorca, where he resided with the governor, General Blakeney, and during which time he painted the portraits of several naval and military officers, he embarked for Leghorn, and prosecuted his journey to Rome. Perhaps, with the exception of Flaxman, no English artist of eminence ever took so much experience with him to Rome as Reynolds did; yet, when he first saw the grand works of Raphael in the Vatican, he was greatly disappointed. However, as he himself has recorded, he did not for a moment suppose that Raphael owed his reputation to the ignorance or caprice of mankind, but he felt his own ignorance, and stood abashed. All the undigested notions of excellence which he had brought with him from England were to be eradicated from his mind; he felt that he had originally formed a false opinion of the perfection of art; and that if those works had really been what he expected, they would have contained beauties superficial and alluring, but by no means such as would have entitled them to the great reputation which they have so long and so justly obtained.' Notwithstanding this candid confession, the conviction seems to have had little or no influence upon his own manner in after-life, for he never possessed one single quality in common with Raphael. Reynolds never made a practice of copying pictures or taking sketches of whole compositions, as is the habit with many young painters. He very properly considered copying a delusive kind of industry; yet he was in the habit of selecting parts of compositions which were of striking excellence, or from an attentive study of which he imagined he should derive substantial benefit. It was in studying the various great works in the Vatican, particularly those of Michael Angelo and Raphael, that he contracted a severe cold which caused a deafness for the remainder of his life. From Rome he went to Florence, Bologna, Parma, Modena, Milan, Padua, and Venice, where he lodged with Zuccarelli, the landscape painter. The great masters of Venice, Titian, Paul Veronese, and Tintoretto, had a far greater influence upon Reynolds's future practice than the great works in Rome. The rich effect of Venetian tone and colour were much more suited to his genius or taste, which decidedly inclined to the florid or ornamental; and however much his better judgment may have induced him to extol the grandeur of the Roman school in his discourses, it was the magnificence of the Venetian that captivated him, that guided his practice, that excited his emulation. From Venice he went through Turin to Paris, where he made a short stay, aud returned to Plymouth towards the end of the year 1752, after an absence from England of three years and a half. At Plymouth he painted two portraits, one of which was of the Rev. Zachary Mudge, vicar of St. Andrews, and the old friend of his father. ner was considerably more modest and less bold than his At this period he was in the habit of receiving six sitters a day, and he valued his time at five guineas an hour. In 1761 he purchased a house in Leicester Square, where he fitted up an elegant painting-room, and built a spacious gallery for his rapidly-increasing collection of works of art; and here he resided the remainder of his life. His practice had now become so great, that he employed several assistants, of whom Marchi, the Italian, and Peter Toms, the celebrated painter of draperies, were the principal. This year the first public exhibition of works of art took place, in the room of the Society of Arts, in which Reynolds had four pictures; and in the exhibition of the following year, in Spring Gardens, he exhibited his portrait of Lord Ligonier on horseback (now in the National Gallery), and one of Sterne. These pictures, though not to be compared with his later performances, from a peculiarity of style and a richness of effect which distinguished them from the works of other artists, attracted universal attention, and established Reynolds as the favourite of the public. In 1762 he painted his celebrated picture of Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy; it was bought by the earl of Halifax for three hundred guineas, and has been engraved by Fisher. Dr. Johnson, in a letter written this year to Baretti, says, Mr. Reynolds gets six thousand a year.' In 1764 Reynolds and Johnson instituted the Literary Club, which was then limited to twelve members: Goldsmith and Burke were of the number. Upon the foundation of the Royal Academy, in 1768, Reynolds was unanimously chosen president, and the honour of knighthood was conferred on him upon the occasion. The Academy was opened on the 1st of January, 1769, and the president delivered an appropriate discourse in commemoration of the event. Lecturing was no part of the duty of the president; it was a task which Sir Joshua imposed upon himself. He delivered altogether fifteen of these discourses, which have been translated into several languages, and have been generally and deservedly well received: they are too well known to require any particular comment here. They are certainly in many respects admirable; yet, with much sound and original criticism, they contain much also that is questionable. In 1770 Sir Joshua raised his price for a head to thirtyfive guineas. In 1773 he painted his celebrated picture of Count Ugolino with his Sons, from Dante: it was purchased by the duke of Dorset for four hundred guineas, and has been engraved by Dixon. This same year he proposed his By the advice of his early patron, Lord Mount Edge- plan of decorating St. Paul's Cathedral with a series of hiscombe, Reynolds returned to London, and again took apart- torical pictures, which was readily acceded to by Dr. Newton, ments for a short time in St. Martin's Lane, where he painted bishop of Bristol and dean of St. Paul's; but Dr. Terrick, his celebrated portrait of Joseph Marchi, in a Turkish dress, bishop of London, put a stop to the whole scheme, upon the a young Italian whom he had brought with him as an assist- plea that it was an introduction of popery: the other artists ant from Rome. This picture, which was painted in a florid who had agreed to contribute works were West, Barry, style somewhat after the manner of Rembrandt, attracted Dance, Cipriani, and Angelica Kauffmann. This year is much attention, and among other visitors his old master also memorable for two honorary distinctions which were Hudson went to see it, who, having examined it somewhat conferred upon Sir Joshua; he was created Doctor of Civil closely, is reported to have said, with an oath, Reynolds, Law by the university of Oxford; and was elected mayor of you don't paint so well as you did when you left England.' his native town, Plympton, a circumstance which gave him This has been invariably imputed to Hudson as an expres- great gratification, and he presented the corporation with his sion of envy, yet it would be very difficult to reconcile an portrait upon the occasion. About this time also he was approbation of that head with his own practice, which was elected member of the Imperial Academy of Florence, to in a style diametrically opposed to it. Reynolds himself in which body he also sent his portrait. In 1779 he ornaafter-life, upon seeing some portraits that he had painted mented the ceiling of the library of the Royal Academy, in thirty years previously, is said to have regretted that he had its apartments in Somerset House, with an allegorical made so little progress. His execution in early life was painting representing Theory seated on a cloud, with the very different from that of his latter years; his earlier man-inscription Theory is the knowledge of what is truly Nature,' P. C., No. 1222. VOL. XIX.-3 L |
