Phil. Trans. The fame year he exhibited an examination of the ftrength of feveral purging waters, efpecially of the water of Jessop's well, which is printed in the Phil. Trans.

He had now been feveral years honoured with the esteem and friendship of his royal highness Frederick prince of Wales, who frequently vifited him at Teddington, from his neighbouring palace at Kew, and took a pleasure in furprifing him in the midst of those curious researches into the various parts of nature which almost inceffantly employed him. Upon the prince's death, which happened this year, and the fettlement of the houfhold of the princefs dowager, he was, without his folicitation or even knowledge, appointed clerk of the closet, or almoner to her royal highnefs.

In 1751, he was chofen by the College of Physicians to preach the annual fermon called Crowne's lecture: Dr. William Crowne having left a legacy for a fermon to be annually preached on the wisdom and goodness of God, displayed in the formation of man. Dr. Hales's text was, With the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days understanding; Job xii. 12. This fermon, as ufual, was published at the requeft of the college.

In the latter end of the year 1752, his ventilators, worked by a windmill, were fixed in Newgate, with branching trunks to 24 wards; and it appeared that the difproportion of thofe that died in the gaol before and after this establishment was at 7 to 16, He published alfo a farther account of their fuccefs, and fome obfervations on the great danger arifing

from foul air, exemplified by a narrative of feveral perfons feized with the gaol fever by working in Newgate.

On the death of Sir Hans Sloane, which happened in the year 1753, he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris in his room.

The fame year he published in the Gent. Mag. fome farther confiderations about means to draw the foul air out of the fick rooms of occafional army hofpitals, and private houses in towns.

He also published many other curious particulars relative to the use and fuccefs of ventilators.

The fame year a defcription of a fea gage, which the doctor invented to measure unfathomable depths, was communicated to the public in the fame miscellany: this paper was drawn up about the year 1732 or 33, by the doctor, for the late Colin Campbell, efq; who employed the ingenious Mr. Hawkfby to make the machine it defcribes, which was tried in various depths, and answered with great exactnefs; yet was at laft Loft near Bermuda.

On the 19th of Dec. 1754, he communicated to the Royal Society fome experiments for keeping water and fish sweet with lime water, an account of which was published in the Phil. Trans. He alfo continued to enrich their me moirs with many, ufeful articles from this time till his death, particularly a method of forwarding. the diftillation of fresh from falt water by blowing fhowers of fresh air up through the latter during the operation.

In 1757, he communicated to the editor of the Gent. Mag. an

eafy

eafy method of purifying the air, and regulating its heat in melon frames, and hot green-houses, alfo farther improvements in his method of diftilling fea-water.

His reputation and the intereft of his family and friends might eafily have procured him farther preferment: but of farther preferment he was not defirous; for being nominated by his late majefty to a canonry of Windfor, he engaged the princefs to requeft his majefty to recal his nomination. That a man fo devoted to philofophical ftudies and employments, and fo confcientious in the difcharge of his duty, fhould not defire any preferment, which would reduce him to the dilemma either of neglecting his duty, or foregoing his amufement, is not strange; but that he would refufe an honourable and profitable appointment, for which no duty was to be done that would interrupt his habits of life, can fcarce be imputed to his temperance and humility without impeaching his benevolence; for if he had no will of any thing more for himself, a liberal mind would furely have been highly gratified by the diftribution of fo confiderable a fum as a canonry of Windfor would have put into his power, in the reward of industry, the alleviation of diftrefs, and the fupport of helplefs indigence. He was, however, remarkable for focial virtue and sweetness of temper; his life was not only blamelefs, but exemplary in a high degree; he was happy in himfelf, and be

neficial to others, as appears by this account of his attainments and purfuits; the conftant ferenity and cheerfulness of his mind, and the temperance and regularity of his life, concurred, with a good conftitution, to preferve him in health and vigour, to the uncommon age of fourscore and four years.

He died at Teddington, on the 4th of January, 1761, and was buried, purfuant to his own directions, under the tower of the parish church which he built at his own expence not long before his death.

Her royal highness the princefs of Wales erected a monument to his memory in Westminster Abbey, with this infcription :

STEPHANO HALES
S. T. P.

Augusta GEORGII tertii
Regis optimi Mater P.
Quæ viventum

Ut sibi in sacris ministraret, eligit;
Mortuum prid.non.Jan. M.DCC.LXI.
Octogesimum quartum agentem

had

had been rewarded according to the worth of his productions, inftead of the number, he might have fhone in the roll of the greatest mafters; but he united the highest vanity with the moft confummate negligence of character at leaft, where he offered one picture to fame, he facrificed twenty to lucre; and he met with cuftomers of fo little judgment, that they were fond of being painted by a man who would gladly have difowned his works the moment they were paid for. Tent fovereigns fat to him; not one of them difcovered that he was fit for more than preferving their likeness. We, however, who fee king William, the czar Peter, Marlborough, Newton, Dryden, Godolphin, Somers, the duchefs of Grafton, lady Ranelagh, and fo many ornaments of an illuftrious age, tranfmitted to us by Kneller's pencil, muft not regret that his talent was confined to portraits. Perhaps the treasure is greater than if he had decorated the chambers of Hampton-court with the wars of Æneas, or the enchanted palace of Armida: and when one confiders how feldom great mafters are worthily employed, it is better to have real portraits, than Madonas without end. My opinion of what Sir Godfrey's genius Could have produced, muft not be judged by the hiftoric picture of king William in the palace juft mentioned; it is a tame and poor performance, but the original

sketch of it at Houghtons ftruck out with a spirit and fireequal to Rubens. The hero and the horfe are in the heat of battle: in the large piece, it is the king riding in triumph, with his ufual phlegm. Of all his works, Sir Godfrey was moft proud of the converted Chinese at Windfor; but his portrait of Gibbons is fuperior to it: it has the freedom and nature of Vandyck, with the harmony of colouring peculiar to Andrea Sacchi; and no part of it is neglected. In general, even where he took pains, all the parts are effectually kept down, to throw the greater force into the head -a trick unworthy so great a mafter. His draperies too are so carelefsly finished, that they resemble no filk or ftuff the world ever faw. His airs of heads have extreme grace; the hair admirably difpofed, and if the locks seem unnaturally elevated, it must be confidered as an inftance of the painter's art. He painted in an age when the women erected edifices of three stories on their heads. Had he reprefented fuch prepofterous attire, in half a century his works would have been ridiculous. To lower their dress to a natural level, when the eye was accuftomed to pyramids, would have fhocked their prejudices and diminifhed the refemblance.-He took a middle way, and weighed out ornament to them of more natural materials. Still, it must bo owned, there is too great a

fameness

fameness in his airs, and no imagination at all in his compofitions. See but a head, it interefts you uncover the reft of the canvass, you wonder faces fo expreffive could be employed fo infipidly. In truth, the age demanded nothing correct, nothing complete. Capable of tafting the power of Dryden's numbers, and the majefty of Kneller's heads, it overlooked doggrel and daubing. What pity that men of fortune are not bleft with fuch a pen, or fuch a pencil! That a genius muft write for a bookfeller, or paint for an alderman!

Sir Godfrey Kneller was born at Lubec, about the year 1648. His grandfather had an estate near Hall, in Saxony; was furveyor general of the mines, and infpector of count Mansfeldt's revenues. By his wife, of the family of Crowfen, he had one fon Zachary, educated at Leipfic, and for fome time in the fervice of Guftavus Adolphus's widow. After her death, he removed to Lubec, married, profeffed architecture, and was chief furveyor to his native city. He left two fons, John Zachary, and Godfrey. The latter, who at firft was defigned for a military life, was fent to Leyden, where he applied to mathematics and fortification but the predominance of nature determining him to painting, his father acquiefced, and fent him to Amfterdam, where he ftudied under Boll, and had fome inftructions from Rembrandt. Ver the, nor any of his biographers, take notice of it, nor do I affert it, but I have heard that one of his masters was Francis Francis Hals. It is certain that Kneller had no

:

fervility of a difciple, nor imitated any of them. Even in Italy, whither he went in 1672, he mimicked no peculiar ftyle; not even at Venice, where he refided moft, and was esteemed and employed by fome of the first families, and where he drew Cardinal Baffadonna. If he caught any thing, it was inftructions, not hints. If I fee the leaft refemblance in his works to any other master, it is in fome of his earlieft works in England, and thofe his beft, to Tintoret. A portrait at Houghton of Jofeph Carreras, a poet, and chaplain to Catharine of Lifbon, has the force and fimplicity of that mafter, without owing part of its merit to Tintoret's univerfal black drapery, to his own, afterwards, neglected draperies, or his mafter Rembrandt's unnatural Chiaro Scuro. Latterly Sir Godfrey was thought to give into the manner of Rubens; I fee it no where but in the fketch of king William's equeftrian figure, evidently imitated from Rubens's defign of the cieling for the Banquetting-house, which, as I have faid, in the life of that painter, was in Kneller's poffeffion. The latter had no more of Rubens's rich colouring than of Vandyck's delicacy in habits but he had more beauty than the latter, more dignit than Sir Peter Lely. The lat ter felt his capacity in a memorable inftance; Kneller and his brother came to England in 1671, without intending to refide here, but to return through France to Venice. They were recommended to Mr. Banks, a Hamburgh merchant, and Godfrey drew him and his family. The pictures

E 2

pleased.

pleafed. Mr. Vernon, fecretary to the duke of Monmouth, faw them, and fat to the new painter, and obtained his mafter's picture by the fame hand. The duke was fo charmed, that he engaged the king his father to fit to Kneller, at the time the duke of York had been promifed the king's picture by Lely. Charles, unwilling to have double trouble, propofed that both the artifts fhould draw him at the fame time. Lely, as an established mafter, chofe the light he liked : the ftranger was to draw the picture as he could; and performed it with fuch facility and expedition, that his piece was in a manner finifhed, when Lely's was only dead-coloured. The novelty pleafed-yet Lely deserved moft honour, for he did juftice to his new competitor; confeffed his abilities and the likeness. This fuccefs fixed Kneller here. The feries of his portraits prove the continuance of his reputation.

Charles II. fent him to Paris to draw Louis XIV. but died in his abfence. The fucceffor was equally favourable to him, and was fitting for his picture for fecretary Pepys, when he received the news that the prince of Orange was landed.

King William diftinguished Kneller ftill more: for that prince he painted the beauties at Hampton-court, and was knighted by him in 1692, with the additional prefent of a gold medal and chain, weighing 3001. and for him Sir Godfrey drew the portrait of the

czar; as for queen Anne, he painted the king of Spain, afterwards Charles VI. fo poor a performance that one would think he felt the fall from Peter to Charles. His works in the gallery of admirals were done in the fame reign, and feveral of them worthy fo noble a memorial. The Kit-cat club, generally mentioned as a set of wits, in reality the patriots that faved Britain, were Kneller's laft works in that reign, and his laft public work. He lived to draw George I. was made a baronet by him, and continued to paint during the greater part of his reign; but in 1722 Sir Godfrey was feized with a violent fever, from the immediate danger of which he was refcued by Dr. Mead. The humour, however, fell on his left arm; and it was opened. He remained in a languishing condition, and died O&. 27, 1723. His body lay in ftate, and was buried at Witton, but a monument was erected in Weftminfter Abbey +, where his friend Mr. Pope, as if to gratify an extravagant vanity dead, which he had ridiculed living, beftowed on him a tranflation of Raphael's epitaph-as high a compliment as even poetry could be allowed to pay to the original; a filly hyperbole when applied to the modern. This was not the only inftance in which the poet incenfed the painter. Sir Godfrey had drawn for him the ftatues of Apollo, Venus, and Hercules ; Pope paid for them with these lines,

.

What