222 
bosom of his family at Highwood-hill. 
Some days previously to his death he had 
suffered from a bilious attack, but there 
was nothing in his illness to excite appre- 
hension. He had retired to rest on the 
Tuesday evening between ten and eleven 
o’clock, his ustial hour in the country. At 
five on the following morning it was dis- 
covered that he had left his room before 
the usual hour of his rising—six o’clock ; 
and he was found lying at the bottom of a 
flight of stairs in a state of insensibility. 
Medical aid was promptly obtained, but 
without effect: life had fled. Sir Everard 
Home, under whose direction the body 
was opened, pronounced his death to have 
been caused by an apopletic attack, beyond 
the control of human aid. It was also 
apparent that his sufferings for some time 
must have been intense, brought on by his 
long residence in India, and by. his anxious 
and zealous discharge of the important du- 
ties of his station. 
MRS. WATTS. 
July 6.—This accomplished woman and 
elegant writer, to whom the public are in- 
debted for some very sensible Letters on 
Holland, her maiden effort—for a popular 
work, entitled Rome in the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury—and for an attractive novel in three 
volumes, called Continental Adventures, pub- 
lished a few weeks before her death, was 
the youngest daughter (Jane) of the late 
George Waldie, of Henderside, on the 
banks of the Tweed. By that beautiful 
stream her early fancy was inspired and 
nourished ; and to an ardent affection for 
classical and polite literature she united a 
fine genius, a richly poetical imagination, 
and capabilities of mind altogether of an 
elevated order. ‘These capabilities were 
heightened and expanded by foreign travel, 
which appears also to have furnished her 
with the materials for her last published 
work; the plot and characters of which 
alone are fictions, the main incidents 
having evidently originated in fact. About 
three years ago she married Captain Watts, 
of the Royal Navy. Some time since she 
lost an only child; a melancholy event, 
which seems to have cast a sombre shade 
over the latter portion of her life. This 
truly estimable woman, who was only be- 
tween thirty and forty years of age, died 
near Durham. 
JOHN FARQUHAR, FSQ. 
July 6.—This gentleman, the eccentric 
owner of that pretty piece of knick-knackery 
in architecture and decoration, Fonthill Ab- 
bey, was born at Aberdeen in the year 
1751. At a very early period of his life 
he proceeded to India in the Company’s 
service as acadet. Soon after his arrival 
there he sustained, in an engagement, a 
severe wound in his knee, from which he 
suffered considerably through life, as he 
could not be prevailed upon to submit to 
Biographical ‘Memoirs of Eminent’ Persons. 
[ AuG. 
amputation. He did not remain long in 
the military service, but became a free mer- 
chant. Chemistry, however, was his fayou- 
rite pursuit. When Lord Cornwallis was 
appointed to be Governor-general, he soli- 
cited Mr. Farquhar, from the knowledge 
he had of his science and integrity, to su- 
perintend the gunpowder manufactory, 
which had previously been conducted on 
defective principles. It was in that office, 
by the most honest and disinterested ‘con- 
duct, that he laid the foundation of his 
great fortune. Wealth and distinction 
rapidly poured in upon him; and, after a 
series of years he returned to England, 
the master of a splendid fortune. It is 
said that, on his landing at Gravesend, he, 
to save coach-hire, walked to London. 
His first visit was to his banker’s. 
Covered with dust and dirt, with clothes 
not worth a guinea, he presented himself 
at the counter and asked to see Mr. Coutts. 
Regarding him as some poor petitioner, 
the clerks allowed him to wait, until Mr. 
Coutts accidentally passing through, recog- 
nized his Indian customer. Mr. Farquhar 
requested five pounds, and took his leave. 
He then settled in Upper Baker-street, 
Portman-square, where his house was dis- 
tinguished by its dingy appearance, un- 
cleaned windows, and general neglect. An 
old woman was his sole attendant ; and his 
own apartment, to which a brush or a 
broom was never applied, was kept sacred 
even from her approach. Early in life, 
perhaps from necessity, he had been led to 
adopt the most parsimonious habits; and 
when he arrived at a princely fortune, he 
could not break through the unfortunate 
trammels, which lessened the respectability 
of a life, that might otherwise have termi- 
nated so as to ensure him no mean station 
in the temple of Fame.  Slovenly in his 
dress, and disagreeable at his meals, he was 
yet courteous and affable in his manners. 
He was deeply read in the classics ; and, 
though adverse through life to writing and 
figures, when prevailed upon to pen a letter 
or a note, his style was found to be at once 
terse, elegant, and condensed. In the 
more difficult sciences he had scarcely his 
equal; as a mathematician, chemist, and 
mechanic, few could contend with him. 
Mr. Farquhar’s peculiarities were great 
and numerous. He was fond of frequent- 
ing sales ; the auctioneer was always happy 
to see him; and it is more than probable 
that his fortune suffered much from this 
penchant, and from the implicit confidence 
which he was accustomed to repose in 
others. 
After his return to England he became 
a partner in the great agency house in the 
City, of Basset, Farquhar, and Co. ; he 
purchased the Jate Mr. Whitbread’s share 
in the brewery; and he bought Fonthill 
Abbey for the sum of £330,000, His 
religious opinions are thought to have been 
influenced by an admiration of the purity. 
