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T. W. ROBERTSON.

CANON MELVILL.

The Rev. Henry Melvill, Canon of St. Paul's, and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen, died, on the 9th inst., at the Residentiary House, Amen Corner. He was born, Sept. 14, 1798, the son of Captain Philip Melvill, of the 73rd Regiment, Lieutenant-Governor of Pendennis Castle, Cornwall. Educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, he graduated in 1822 as Second Wrangler and First Smith's Prizeman. Immediately after he accepted a Fellowship at Peter House, and acted as one of the public examiners, as a Proctor, an examiner in Hebrew, and a Select Preacher before the University. In about ten years after he married, vacated his Fellowship, and became Incumbent of Camden Chapel, Camberwell. Mr. Melvill's next appointment was that of Principal of the East India College at Haileybury, which he retained until the dissolution of the institution. In 1840, Mr. Melvill was selected for the Chaplaincy of the Tower of London, and while holding that preferment was elected to the Golden Lectureship in St. Margaret's, Lothbury. In 1856 he was made a Canon of St. Paul's, and in 1863 was nominated by the Dean and Chapter to the Rectory of Barnes. An eloquent and popular preacher and the author of a very large number of printed sermons, this eminent scholar and divine was held in high estimation. Of Canon Melvill's brothers, one was the late Sir James Cosmo Melvill, K.C.B., and another the present Major-General Sir Peter Melvill, K.C.B.

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Few dramatists of modern times have risen so rapidly into celebrity as Mr. Robertson, and it is worthy of note that all his best plays were successfully addressed to the most refined class of playgoers. The piece which first brought him into general notice, "David Garrick," was a mere translation from the French piece, 'Sullivan," and chiefly owed its popularity to the excellent acting of Mr. Sothern. But the comedies with which Mr. Robertson's name is most intimately associated, and in connexion with which it will be remembered, are those which were brought out by Miss Marie Wilton at the Prince of Wales's Theatre. At the Prince of Wales's he had the advantage of a company, the members of which perfectly knew how to work together, and could accurately realize his creations. In "sensational" drama, whenever he attempted it, he more or less failed; but as a writer of comedies of the kind to which we have referred he was unrivalled. his decease he leaves a gap in an important department of dramatic art. Mr. Robertson may be said, in his own bright words, to have been "nursed on rosepink, and cradled in properties." His father was an actor, his mother an actress, and his sister Madge one of the first artists in London. Mr. Robertson, sen., being the manager of an important theatrical "circuit," young Tom Robertson himself naturally turned actor. But he was not a good actor; he owned this over and over again. During the intervals of acting, and during his peregrinations from town to town, he tried his hand at playwriting, but his plays were always refused. He managed to get a farce called

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called "Shadow Tree Shaft." He wrote for the best light periodicals of that time; he was dramatic critic to the Illustrated Times, to which newspaper he also contributed some admirable dramatic sketches; he threw in his fortunes with those of a little band of struggling authors like himself, and together each Christmas they The produced a nosegay of novelties. plots of most of Mr. Robertson's Prince of Wales's plays will be found in these little Christmas volumes. Undaunted by this never-ending periodical and newspaper writing, Mr. Robertson still wrote plays, and they were constantly rejected. "Society," the play which made Mr. Robertson, was in the Haymarket for many months, and was eventually sent back, to the bitter disappointment of the author. At last, in 1864, Mr. Sothern listened to Mr. Robertson, and "David Garrick "— an adaptation of a French piece called "Sullivan "- -was bought, paid for, and produced. In the year 1865 the Prince of Wales's Theatre was opened by Mr. Byron and Miss Marie Wilton, when Society was produced, and Mr. Robertson's name was made. There was something so fresh and charming in the style, such an utter absence of conventionality about the whole thing, the artistes-most of them new to London— were so clever and the play so bright, that the Prince of Wales's Theatre and Mr. Robertson became the talk of the town. Thus having got his foot on the ladder at this little theatre, up went Mr. Robertson. He knew exactly the strength and the cleverness of his company, and he fitted it to a nicety. Society was followed by "Ours" in 1866, "Caste" in 1867, "Play" in 1868, "School" in 1869, and "M.P." in 1870. At other theatres Mr. Robertson was naturally sought after. He gave "Home to the Haymarket, "Dreams" to the Gaiety, "For Love" to the Holborn, "Shadow Tree Shaft" to the Princess's, "A Rapid Thaw" and "War" (his last) to the St. James's; and he has written several plays, such as "Birth" and "The Passion Flowers," which were only acted in the provinces. Mr. Robertson also wrote the libretto to an opera by Mr. F. Clay, called "Constance," which was produced at Covent Garden, and an entertainment for the German Reeds, called "A Dream of Venice." He died after a wearing and painful illness, at his residence in Haverstock Hill, at little more than forty years of age, just when after the many cruel struggles of his life he had gained a secure position.

DR. SYMONDS.

This eminent physician died at Bristol on Saturday, February 25, in his 64th Almost his last public appear.

year.

ance was as president of one of the sec tions at the autumnal meetings in 1869 of the Social Science Congress in Bristol. He was one of the original medical staff of the General Hospital in that city, which was opened in 1832, just as he settled there; and he was the author of many valuable works. The professional career of Dr, Symonds was perhaps as successful and eminent as that of any physician in England out of London; and whilst his intellectual qualities were so high, there were few men of more amiable or benevolent disposition, or more courteous and considerate. He was a native of Oxford, where his father was a surgeon.

March.

THE QUEEN OF SWEDEN. Wilhelmina Frederica Alexandrina Anne Louise, Queen Consort of Charles XV., King of Sweden and Norway, died on the 30th March. Her Majesty, a Princess of Orange, was born at the Hague, Aug. 5, 1828, the eldest daughter of Prince William Frederick Charles, Admiral of the Dutch Fleet (brother of the late King of Holland), by his wife, Princess Louise, sister of the present Emperor-King of Germany. She married, June 19, 1850, Charles, Crown Prince of Sweden, who succeeded his father as King, July 8, 1859; and was, with his Queen, crowned at Stockholm, May 3, 1860. The issue of the marriage is one child, Louise Josephine Eugénie, born Oct. 31, 1851; married, July 31, 1869, to the Crown Prince of Denmark. The King of Sweden is son of the late Oscar I. by Josephine de Beauharnais, his wife, and grandson of the French General Bernadotte, who ascended the throne of Sweden.

ROBERT AND DAVID CHAMBERS.

Mr. Robert Chambers, LL.D., of the firm of Messrs. William and Robert Chambers, publishers, Edinburgh and London, died at St. Andrew's on the 17th in the 69th year of his age. He was the author of a number of works, including the "Traditions of Edinburgh, Popular Rhymes of Scotland, Histories of the Rebellions in Scotland," the Domestic Annals of Scotland," &c. Since 1832 he and his brother, Mr. William Chambers,

PROFESSOR DE MORGAN.

Professor De Morgan-the great mathematician and teacher whose books changed and raised the whole character of mathematical study in England-died on the 18th, and was buried at Kensal Green. His health had been shaken not many years ago by the loss of a son, a very able and promising young man, who was said to inherit not a little of his father's great mathematical capacity, but the proximate cause of his death was nervous prostration. His life had been one of extraordinary labour and great achievement. His numerous mathematical, astronomical, literary, and biographical articles in the Penny Cyclopædia made up nearly one-sixth of that enormous work (itself twenty-seven folio volumes). Besides these, his two treatises (mathematical and popular) on Probabilities, his Differential and Integral Calculus, his Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, and Treatise on Double Algebra were more than sufficient achievements even for the lifetime of an industrious man of genius. And over and above all these undertakings, his miscellaneous essays contributed to various newspapers and reviews were enough to have occupied the leisure of an ordinary man. Yet he died in his sixty-fifth year, and after gaining as much of the hearty affection of his contemporaries as usually falls to the lot of far less busy and less preoccupied men. He was born at Madura, in Southern India, June 27, 1806, the son of Colonel De Morgan, of the Madras Army. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1824, and took his Bachelor's degree as Fourth Wrangler in 1827. Originally destined for the Bar, he became a student of Lincoln's Inn, but abandoned all thought of the legal profession on his election, in 1828, to the Professorship of Mathematics in the University of London--a position resigned in 1831, but resumed in 1836. For many years he practised as an actuary. Professor de Morgan contributed largely to the "Penny Cyclopædia," "British Worthies," the "Companion to the Almanac," and the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, as

well as to Notes and Queries and the Athenæum. He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

SIR CHARLES SHAW.

Sir Charles Shaw, K.T.S., &c., died at Homburg, in the 77th year of his age. Sir Charles was of Scottish extraction, being the third son of the late Mr. Charles Shaw, of Ayr, North Britain, and was born in the early part of the year 1795. He entered the 52nd Regiment of Foot at the age of eighteen, and, having served through the campaigns in Holland and Belgium, in 1813 and 1814, was present with his regiment at Waterloo. In 1817 he was appointed to the 90th Regiment. In 1831 he joined the liberating army of Portugal in the Azores, in command of the Marines belonging to the fleet of Admiral (now Sir George) Sartorius, and commanded a regiment throughout the civil war in Portugal. He was in every action and sortie during the siege of Oporto, in the course of which he was several times wounded. For his services in command of a brigade in repulsing the Miguelite army he was created a Knight Commander of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword, and shortly afterwards was presented with a colonel's commission in the Portuguese army. In 1835 and the following year he acted as brigadiergeneral in the British Auxiliary Legion in Spain, and took part in almost every engagement. In May, 1836, we find him commanding the Irish Brigade in the successful attack on the heights before San Sebastian, and for his services on this occasion he was nominated a Knight Commander of the Spanish Order of San Ferdinand. More recently he held for many years the chief commissionership of the police force at Manchester. Sir Charles married in 1841 Louisa Hannah, only daughter of the late Major Martin Curry, of the 67th Regiment of Foot. Sir Charles Shaw died at Homburg, where he had been residing for some years past, and, as he had the Waterloo medal, was buried with military honours. Prussian and French officers attended.

SIR ANTHONY STERLING.

Sir Anthony Coningham Sterling, K.C.B., died at South Lodge, Knightsbridge, in his 67th year, on March 1. The gallant officer, who was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, entered the army in 1826, and served in the Eastern campaign of 1854 and 1855, first as brigade major, and afterwards as assis

tant adjutant-general to the Highland Division, commanded by Gen. Sir Colin Campbell, and took part in the battles of the Alma, Balaclava, and Inkermann, and remained with the Highland Division during the entire siege and fall of Sebastopol. For his services during the war he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and, in addition to the medal and clasps, was made an officer of the Legion of Honour; and received the Turkish medal and the decoration, fourth class, of the Order of the Medjidie. He was placed on half-pay in November, 1855, on account of ill-health, and finally retired from the service in October, 1857. He subsequently served as assistant-adjutant-general to the Inspector-Gen. of Militia. On the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny in 1858, Colonel Sterling was selected by Sir Colin Campbell as his military secretary, and accompanied the latter to India. In recognition of his important services he was created in 1860 a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. The late Sir A. Coningham Sterling was the son of Captain Edward Sterling by Hester, daughter of Mr. Coningham, and was born at Dundalk in 1805.

April.

MR. J. B. CHATTERTON.

The most celebrated of our professors of the harp died at his residence in Manchester-street, April 9, in his 67th year. He was son to a professor of music at Portsmouth, and was Bochsa's favourite pupil. He was professor of the harp at the Royal Academy of Music. The last occasion on which he performed was at the wedding of her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, at Windsor Castle, March 21.

THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE GENERAL.

The Right Hon. John Robert Davison, M.P. for Durham, the Judge AdvocateGeneral, died suddenly on Saturday, April 15, while on a visit to Mr. J. St. G. Burke, in Suffolk. Mr. Davison had for several years a very large practice at the Parliamentary Bar, and at the general election of 1868 was returned for his native city, Durham. The vacancy which occurred in the office of Judge-AdvocateGeneral in November last was not filled up for some time, pending a consideration of the question whether the office should be retained as a political appointment;

but it was felt that, in a session to be especially devoted to Army measures, Mr. Cardwell required all the Parliamentary assistance available, and Mr. Davison was appointed Judge-Advocate-a position he has lived to enjoy for just three months. He was greatly liked for his kindly personal qualities, and respected for his very great ability. An inquest was held on the body, when it was stated in evidence that Mr. Davison arrived from London, on a visit at The Anberries, in his usual health, that he dined with Mr. Burke and family, and, after smoking a cigar, retired to rest about 12 o'clock. On the following morning about 9, his valet went into his bed-room, but immediately left, thinking that his master was asleep. Shortly afterwards two of Mr. Davison's children went to his bed-side, but he made no reply to them, and it was then found that he was dead. He had evidently been reading, as a Parliamentary Blue-Book was lying by his side. The body, when first seen, was quite warm. It appeared that for some years past Mr. Davison had suffered from heart disease, and had more than once expressed his opinion that this would be the cause of his death. Davison died on his 45th birthday.

CAPTAIN OGILVY.

Mr.

The Hon. William Ogilvy was brother to the late Earl of Airlie, and uncle of the present head of the Airlie family. In his youth he entered as a midshipman in the Royal Navy, but an aversion to this profession caused him to give it up, and he entered the army as ensign, and in that capacity battled his way through the Peninsular war, and was present at nearly all the important engagements, such as Vittoria, St. Sebastian, Salamanca, Toulouse, Badajoz, &c. He held the Peninsular medal and seven clasps. At the battle of Waterloo he was with the 52nd Regiment of Foot, and so terrible was the French attack on the quarter in which the company of that regiment to which he belonged was stationed, that scarcely a man escaped being killed or wounded. For his heroic daring he was promoted to the rank of captain. After the peace he lived in comparative seclusion till the year 1832, when he was elected member of Parliament for the eastern district of burghs-St. Andrews, Forfar, Montrose, &c. About twenty years ago he built the mansion at Loyal, Alyth, where he made himself much endeared to every one by his various acts of generosity and kindHe was in his 78th year.

ness.

OMAR PASHA,

The celebrated commander of the Turkish army died on the 18th of this month. Omar Pasha was born in 1806, at Plaski, a village in the district of Ogulin, about sixty miles from Fiume, on the Adriatic. He entered the Austrian army, but not liking the service to which he was appointed-that of surveyor of roads and bridges-he deserted, and went to Turkey, where he adopted the Mahometan religion, and after a time obtained an appointment in the army. He first distinguished himself in quelling an insurrection in Syria and Albania, and in 1848 was made a Pasha. When the Russian troops invaded the Danubian Principalities in 1853, Omar Pasha was appointed Generalissimo of the Turkish army, and his services in that capacity during the Crimean war are well known. His most important public employment since that time was the subjugation of the insurrection in Crete, in 1867. In September, 1865, the Emperor of Austria conferred upon him the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold.

SCHAMYL.

This month brought to us from Russia the news of the death of Schamyl, the Circassian Chief, so long known to the history of our age as "The WarriorProphet of the Caucasus." There was a time when the news of his death would have caused what is called a "profound sensation;" but he had passed the allotted threescore years and ten, and his existence for the last few years was comparatively forgotten. Born in the village of Himri, just north of the Caucasus, in the year 1797, Schamyl became, when about thirty years of age, the leader of a National party, half religious and half political, whom he headed in a crusade against the dominion of Russia. The Emperor found that, in his efforts to subdue the mountain tribes of that wild district, he had no opponent with whom he was so little able to cope as the subject of this brief memoir, who was not only animated by patriotism, but whose inspiration was derived from one of the modern reformers of Islamism. In 1831, in one of the attempts of the Russians to subdue the tribes in the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, the Murids were slain almost to a man, and Schamyl fell, pierced by two balls. He, however, recovered, and effected his escape, and helped to renew the unequal contest, though at a great disadvantage. In 1836, on the death of his leader, Kasi Mollah, he was chosen to the command of the

Caucasian tribes, whose power of resistance was such as for years to keep at bay the whole forces of the Russian Empire. In 1857, and the following year, however, the latter gained some important victories over the independent chief, who, in September 1859, was captured by the Russians, under Field-Marshal Prince Bariatinsky, and carried off into Central Russia. Since that date Schamyl had resided chiefly at or near Moscow, a vanquished enemy and nominally a prisoner, but treated with the consideration and respect which were due to a fallen foe who had never forfeited his character for fair dealing. His adventures, if related at length, would fill a volume. It is sufficient to say here that the object of his life was to effect a union between the Caucasians of the Black Sea and those of the Caspian, and out of them to create a nationality which, strong in its mountain fortresses, and collected under his standard, should defy the power of Russia. It was not his fault that he failed; and, now that he is gone, there can be no harm in expressing the opinion that of all modern religious or semi-religious fanatics of these latter days, few have borne a character more pure and without reproach than the Warrior-Prophet of the Cau

casus.

SIR JUSTIN SHEIL, K.C.B.

Major-General Sir Justin Sheil died after a short illness, on April 18, at his residence in Eaton-place. Sir Justin entered the Bengal Native Infantry in 1820, and received the medal and clasp for the siege of Bhurtpoor. He went to Persia in 1833 as second in command of a detachment of officers and sergeants sent to discipline the Shah's army. In 1848 he received permission to accept and wear the first class of the Lion and Sun, conferred upon him by the Shah. In 1844 he was appointed envoy and minister at the Court of the Shah, which post he held till October 21, 1854. He was made K.C.B. in 1855, after a very successful career, in which he gave great satisfaction both to his own Government and to that of the Shah. Sir Justin was brother of the well-known Right Hon. Richard Lalor Sheil, member for Dungarvan.

May.

AUBER.

Daniel François Auber, the composer, died at Paris, on May 13, in the 89th year of his age, having been born in