OFFICIAL DUTIES 93 



aiming at the blackening and undermining the private characters 

 of many respectable and amiable personages. In his essays,, 

 which are by much the best of his writings, there is, in general, 

 a liveliness of imagination, and a prettiness in the manner of 

 extending perhaps some very trivial thought ; which, at the 

 first coiLp-d'ceil, is pleasing enough, and may, with many, be 

 mistaken for it ; but, on a nearer examination, the imagined 

 sterling will be found to dwindle down into mere French plate." 

 In addition to his literary work Hill found time to undertake 

 official duties. In 1760 he was gardener at Kensington Palace, 

 a post which brought him in an income of .2000 per annum 1 ; 

 also he was Justice of the Peace for Westminster. According 

 to Mrs Hill 2 he was nominated Superintendent of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew, and as such he is described on his portrait ; his 

 nomination, however, does not appear to have been confirmed,, 

 for Thiselton-Dyer 3 states that there is no evidence of his ever 

 having occupied such a position. Hill also advised, at the 

 request of the Earl of Bute, the governors of various islands 

 regarding their cultivation, for which work he received no 

 remuneration 4 . 



A natomy. 



Anatomical investigations during the eighteenth century were 

 very barren of results, no real advance upon the discoveries of 

 Grew, Malpighi and others being made. The work of Hill in 

 this field forms no exception to this statement ; and, although 

 he accomplished a fair amount of anatomical work, his investi- 

 gations apparently were without result in the advancement 

 of this particular branch of knowledge. 



In 1770 Hill published a small octavo volume on The 



1 Diet. Nat. Biog. 



2 His second wife, the Hon. Henrietta Jones, sister of Charles Viscount Ranelagh. 

 She published " An Address to the Public setting forth the Consequencies of the late 

 Sir John Hill's acquaintance with the Earl of Bute," 1788. 



3 Historical Account of Kav to 1841, Kew Bulletin, 1891. 



4 Further information relating to Hill's public Life will be found in the following 

 works. Arthur Murphy, The Life of David Gar rick, London, 1801 ; A narrative 

 of the affair between Mr Brown and the Inspector, London, 1752 ; The Covent Garden 

 Journal, 1752; Frederick Lawrence, Life of Fielding, London, 1855. 



