622 
the poor Arab’s head, and pouring into his 
parched expiring lips the last drop of water 
which he had for his own subsistence. 
Denon returned with Buonaparte to 
France, and prepared his immortal Travels 
in Upper and Lower Egypt, during the Cam- 
paigns of General Buonaparte—a work 
which has obtained the highest sufirages, 
and been translated into almost all the 
languages of Europe. Napoleon said one 
day, on looking over Denon’s work, “ If I 
lost Egypt, Denon has conquered it.”’ 
Napoleon rewarded our traveller’sattach- 
ment and superior talents, by appointing 
him Director and Administrator-general of 
the museums and medal-mint. No medals 
were allowed to be struck, of which the 
design and execution had not received the 
approbation of Denon; and to this cause is 
to be attributed the uniform superiority of 
the Napoleon medals, in beauty of execu- 
tion, over every other collection in the 
world. 
Pope Pius VII. having come to Paris 
to crown, or rather to pronounce the Apos- 
tolic benediction on the coronation of 
Napoleon, Denon was deputed to show 
his Holiness over the mint, the museum, 
and imperial printing offices. In his pre- 
sence, the Lord’s prayer, in 150 languages, 
and dialects was printed and presented to 
him. The Pope expressed his admiration, 
and turning to Denon said, ‘‘ But thou 
hast not given me thy work,” “ Your 
Holiness, I should never have presumed to 
offer it to you, for you recollect you excom- 
municated me for having attempted to proye 
in it, that the world was more than six 
thousand years old.” ‘‘ Psha! thou didst 
thy duty, and I did mine (¢u fis ton métier 
et moi le mien). Give me the book at any 
rate.” : 
When it was proposed to erect a column 
in the Place Vendome, in honour of the 
grand army and the battle of Austerlitz, 
which was to be composed ef cannon taken 
from the enemy in that campaign, Denon 
was appointed to superintend its execution. 
The column of Trajan, at Rome, was in- 
tended as the type, but Denon has greatly 
surpassed his model. In casting the bronze 
basso-relievos many imperfections occurred 
in the plates, which puzzled Denon to 
remedy: but he at length hit upon a plan 
which perfectly succeeded, and he fancied 
himself the happy inventor or discoverer 
of the secret. A less enlightened mind 
would, therefore, haye felt mortified on find- 
ing that the secret had been known and 
practised above two thousand years; but 
the author of this article will never forget 
with what delight the Baron related the 
anecdote of his having made this discovery 
(so destructive of his fancied original inyen- 
tion) as he showed the small antique cast 
to which the method had been applied. 
On the fall of Napoleop, Denon was 
retained, by Louis X VIII., in his place; 
but on the return of the ex-Emperor from 
Supplemeniary Obituary. 
Elba, our author could not resist the ties 
of old affection and unbounded gratitude, 
and he, of course, lost his place on the 
second return of the King. He has since 
lived in retirement, enjoying the olium cum 
dignitate in its fullest extent: His cabinet, 
open several days in the week, was the 
resort of strangers from all parts of the 
world ; and his kindness and affability ren- 
dered him the most interesting object in 
it. For the last seven years, he employed 
the leisure moments, stolen from the 
offices of friendship, in the composition 
of a work on the History of Art, with 
300 or 400 plates from his own cabinet. 
The subscription was closed in a short 
period after his intention was known. 
He resolved not to print one copy more 
than was subscribed for, and the number 
of subscribers was limited to 500. This 
work is nearly finished, and the Baron 
intended publishing it in the course of the 
present year. 
His loss will be very severely felt. He 
was the protector of rising merit, which he. 
aided both by preeept and example. Many 
of the first French artists owe their becom- 
ing known to his interest and influence. 
Madame Jacquotét, the first painter on 
porcelain in Europe, and many other ladies, 
owe their success as artists to the advice 
and fostering benevolence of the Baron, 
who himself excelled as an artist. His 
attachment to the sex was proverbial, and 
his partiality to English ladies very flatter- 
ing. Many of his fair English visitors 
will live in the productions of his pencil. 
He was born to be universally beloved,’ 
‘and will be long and deeply regretted by all 
who knew him, or had heard of his talents, 
and were acquainted with the amenity of 
his character ; and the number comprises 
the enlightened part cf the civilized world. 
He died at Paris, on Thursday the 28th 
April, aged 74 years, preserving his gaiety 
to the last moments. : 
[Some personal intercourse which’ the 
present Editor of the Monthly Magazine 
had with the nmunificent and truly illustrious 
Denon, both during the exile of Napoleon 
in Elba, and after the final restoration of 
the Bourbons, while it fully justifies all that 
is here said of the amiable characteristics 
and polished urbanity of that great luminary _ 
of the paths of art and science, also evinced 
him to be much more deeply imbued with 
the principles of the Revolution, than the 
writer of the memoir from which the above 
particulars are extracted seems disposed to 
admit ; and the comments, unsupported by 
facts, which affect to throw a doubt upon 
this subject, as if these principles were 
“adopted only in appearance,” are there- 
fore omitted. That his attachment to the 
Revolution was philosophical, not sangui- 
nary—to the principles, not the desolating 
ferocity of that convulsion, cannot for an _ 
instant be doubted. It was impossible to 
contemplate 
