It happened alfo that about the fame time one Sutton, who kept a coffee-house in Alderfgate-ftreet, invented a ventilator of another conftruction to draw off the foul air in of fhips, by means of the cook-room fire; but poor Sutton had not intereft enough to make mankind accept the benefit he offered them; he was, however, at length, introduced to Dr. Mead, who foon perceiving that it was greatly preferable to any other method for fea fervice, drew up and prefented a memorial to the royal fociety, in which the fimplicity and excellence of it was demonftrated: he also caused a model of it to be made in copper at the expence of 2001. which he prefented to the fociety, and which is now in their mufæum. After ten years follicitation, fupported by the influence of Dr. Mead, Sutton obtained an order to conftruct his machine on board his majesty's fhips of war, and his contrivance to preferve his fellow creatures from peftilential diseases was rewarded by a permiffion to put it in practice, an instance of attention to the public, and liberality to merit, which must reflect everlasting honour upon the great names who at that time prefided over the affairs of this kingdom. M. Duhamel, a celebrated mathematician of France, and furveyor-general of the French marine, has fhewn how Sutton's machine may be applied with great advantage to other purpofes, and the late ingenious Mr. Benjamin Robins, F. R. S. who was the beft military mathematician of his time, gave his testimony in favour of the fuperiority of Sutton's contrivance. The public, however, is not lefs indebted to the ingenuity and benevolence of Dr. Hales, whofe ventilators came more easily into ufe for many purposes of the greatest importance to life, parti cularly for keeping corn fweet, by blowing through it fresh fhowers of air, a practice very foon adopted by France, a large granary having been made under the direction of Duhamel, for the prefervation of corn in this manner, with a view to make it a general practice. In the year 1743 Dr. Hales read before the royal fociety a defcription of a method of conveying liquors into the abdomen during the operation of tapping, and it was afterwards printed in their Tranfactions. In 1745 he published some experiments and obfervations on tarwater, which he had been induced to make by the publication of a work called Siris, in which the late learned and moft excellent Dr. Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, had recommended tar-water as an univerfal medicine: on this occafion feveral letters paffed between them on the fubject, particularly with refpe&t to the ufe of tar-water in the difeafe of the horned cattle. In the fame year he communicated to the public, by a letter to the editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, a defcription of a back beaver, beaver, which will winnow and clean corn much fooner and better than can be done by the common method. He alfo, at the fame time, and by the fame channel, communicated to the public a cheap and eafy way to preferve corn fweet in facks, an invention of great benefit to farmers, especially to poor leafers, who want to keep fmall quantities of corn for fome time, but have no proper granary or repofitory for that purpose. He alfo the fame year took the fame method to publifh directions how to keep corn sweet in heaps without turning it, and to fweeten it when mufty. He published a long paper, containing an account of feveral methods to preferve corn by ventilators, with a particular description of feveral forts of ventilators, illuftrated by a cut, fo that the whole mechanifm of them may be eafily known, and the machine conftructed by a common carpenter. He published alfo in the fame volume, but without his name, a detection of the fallacious boafts concerning the efficacy of the liquid fhell in diffolving the stone in the bladder: in the urine of perfons who had taken the liquid fhell, there appeared a white fediment, which the difpenfer of the noftrum pretended to be the diffolved ftone; but Dr. Hales demonftrat ed that it was no other than the lime of the burnt fhell, which he precipitated with spirit of hartfhorn without a ftone, and which he alfo precipitated by putting a stone into fome of the liquid fhell, though the ftone fuffered not the leaft alteration. In 1746 he communicated to the royal fociety a propofal for bringing fmall paffable stones foon, and with eafe, out of the bladder, and this was also printed in their Tranfactions. In the Gent. Mag. for July 1747, he published an account of a very confiderable improvement of his back heaver, by which it became capable of clearing corn of the very small grain, feeds, blacks, fmut-balls, &c. to fuch perfection'as to make it fit for feed corn. On the 21st of April, 1748, he communicated to the royal fociety a propofal for checking, in fome degree, the progrefs of fires, occafioned by the great fire which happened that year in Cornhill. And the fubftance of this propofal was printed in their Tranfactions. In the fame year he also communicated to the fociety two memoirs, which are printed in their. tranfactions, one on the great benefit of ventilators, and the other on fome experiments in electricity. In the year 1749 his ventilators were fixed in the Savoy prifon, by order of the right honourable Henry Fox, Efq; then fecretary at war, and now Lord Holland; and the benefit was fo great that tho' 50 or 100 in a year often died of the gaol distemper before, yet from the year 1749 to the year 1752, inclufive, no more than 4 perfons died, though in the year 1750 the number of prifoners was 240; and of thofe 4, one died of the fmall pox, and another of intemperance. In the year 1750 he published fome confiderations on the causes of earthquakes, occafioned by the flight fhocks felt that year in London. The fubftance of this work was alfo printed in the Phil. Trans. The fame year he exhibited an examination of the ftrength of feveral purging waters, efpecially of the water of Jelop's well, which is printed in the Phil. Tranf. He had now been feveral years honoured with the esteem and friendship of his royal highness Fre. derick 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 happen ed this year, and the fettlement of the houshold of the princefs dowager, he was without his folicitation, or even knowledge, appointed clerk of the clofet, or almoner to her royal highness. In 1751 he was chofen by the college of phyficians 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 difplayed 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 request 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 as 7 to 16, He published also a farther account of their success, and some observations 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 fciences 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 hospitals, and private houses in towns. He also published many other curious particulars relative to the use and fuccefs of ventilators. The same year a description of a fea gage which the Doctor invented to measure unfathomable depths, was communicated to the public in the fame mifcellany: 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 anfwered with great exactnefs; yet was at last loft near Bermuda. On the 19th of Dec. 1754, he communicated to the royal fociety 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 memoirs with many useful articles from this time till his death, particularly a method of forwarding the diftillation of fresh from falt water by blowing showers 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 houfes, alfo farther improvements in his method of diftilling fea-water. His reputation and the intereft of his family and friends might cafily 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 recall his nomination. That a man fo devoted to philofophical ftudies and employments, and fo confcientious in the dif charge of his duty, fhould not defire any preferment which would reduce him to the dilemma either of neglecting his duty, or foregoing his amusement, is not ftrange; but that he fhould refuse an honourable and profitable appointment, for which no duty was to be done that would interrupt his habits of life, can fearce be imputed to his temperance and humility without impeaching his benevolence; for if he had no will of any thing more for himfelf, 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 induftry, the alleviation of distress, and the fupport of helpless 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 himself, and beneficial to others, as appears by this account of his attainments and pursuits; the conftant ferenity and chearfulness of his mind, and the temperance and regularity of his life, concurred with a good conftitution, to preserve him in health and vigour to the uncommon age of fourfcore 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. Augufta GEORGII tertii Regis optimi Mater P. Que viventem Ut fibi in facris miniftraret, elegit; Mortuum prid. non. Jan.M.DCC.LXI. Octogefimum quartum agentem annum Hoc Marmore ornavit. *The author of the Abregé fays, that Kneller preferred portrait painting for this reafon. "Painters of hiftory, faid he, make the dead live, and do not begin to live themfelves till they are dead.-I paint the living, and they make me live." VOL. VII. E 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 most confummate negligence of character—at leaft, where he offered one picture to fame, he facrificed twenty to lucre; and he met with customers 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. Ten 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 Madonnas 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 Houghton is ftruck out with a spirit and fire equal to Rubens. The hero and the horse 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 most 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 fo great a mafter. His draperies too are fo carelefly 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 feem 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 ftories 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 accustomed to pyramids, would have fhocked their prejudices and diminished the refemblance.-He took a middle way, and weighed out ornament to them of more natural materials. Still it must be owned, there is too great a + Charles II. James II. and his queen; William and Mary, Anne, George I. Louis XIV. Peter the Great, and the emperor Charles VI. For the last portrait, Leopold created Kneller knight of the Roman empire-by Anne, he was made gentleman of the privy-chamber; and by the univerfity of Oxford, a doctor. fameness |