739 



PENNANT, THOMAS. 



PENNETHORNE, JAMES. 



730 



in 1691 by an instrument of William and Mary. An attempt was 

 afterwards made to take possession of the proprietary governments in 

 North America, and to convert them into regal ones. A bill for this 

 purpose was already before the Lords, when it was delayed by petition 

 of the friends of Penn, who immediately embarked for England, where 

 he arrived in December 1701. The bill was dropped after his return, 

 and the accession of Queen Anne once more restored him to favour at 

 court. In the meantime Penn had become encumbered with debt 

 He had mortgaged Pennsylvania in 1708 for 6600. In 1712 he agreed 

 to sell his rights to the English government for 12,OOOZ., but was unable 

 to complete the transaction by three apoplectic fits which followed each 

 other in rapid succession, and considerably impaired both his memory 

 and understanding. He survived however in a tranquil state, though 

 with his bodily and mental vigour gradually decaying, till the 30th of 

 July 1718, when he died, at his seat at Ruscombe, in Berkshire. 



Penn left children by both of his wives, and to them he bequeathed 

 his property in Great Britain and America. The government and quit- 

 rents of Pennsylvania devolved to the surviving sons of the second 

 family, with the title of Proprietaries, and by them were sold to the 

 state of Pennsylvania, after the American revolution, for 130.000J. 



Penn's writings, which are numerous, were collected and published, 

 with a life prefixed to them, in 1728, '2 voK folio. 



Peuu is one of the great names in English history which Mr. Macaulay 

 has, throughout the four volumes of his great work, pursued with 

 unceasing enmity. We have already referred to those charges as far as 

 they relate to his conduct during the reign of James II. : in like manner 

 Mr. Macaulay (' Hist, of Kug.,' vols iii. and iv.) charges him with speaking 

 "something very like a lie, and confirming it with something very like 

 an oath " with seeking to bring about the return of James by means 

 of a foreign army and other " scandalous conduct." But every one 

 of these charges has been fully, and for th j most part, as it would 

 seem, satisfactorily met by Peun's latest biographer ; and it will 

 therefore be enough here to refer the reader to Macaulay 'a ' History,' 

 and to ' William Penn : an Historical Biography, by Hepworth Dixon ; 

 a New Edition, with a Reply to Mr. Macaulay 's Charges against Penn,' 

 8vo, 1856. 



PENNANT, THOMAS, was born of an ancient Welsh family, at 

 Downing in Flintshire, on the 14th of June 17-ii. He was educated 

 at Wrexham School, and subsequently at Oxford, but took no degree 

 in that university, though the honorary distinction of LL.D. was after- 

 wards conferred on him. When about twelve years old he received a 

 present of Willughby's ' Ornithology,' and he dated the commence- 

 ment of that fondness for natural history which distinguished his 

 future life from the perusal of this book. Immediately after leaving 

 Oxford he made an excursion into Cornwall for tho purpose of 

 examining the mines and investigating the 1 objects of natural history 

 which that comity possesses. His first literary production was an 

 account of the shock of an earthquake felt at Downing in 1750, which 

 was published in the 'Philosophical Transactions.' In 1756 a memoir 

 appeared by Pennant in the same work on certain coralloid bodies 

 found in Shropshire; this attracted the attention of Linmeus, upon 

 whose recommendation the author was elected a member of the Royal 

 Society of Upsal, a distinction of which Pennant was always particu- 

 larly proud. 



In 1761 he commenced the publication of his first great work, the 

 'British Zoology,' which was printed in large folio, and when com- 

 plete contained 132 plates. It afterwards went through many smaller 

 editions, and received numerous additions. Latin and German trans- 

 lations with the plates were published abroad. The best copies of 

 this work are those which came out in 4to in 1776 and 1777, in 4 vols. 

 The ' British Zoology ' included nearly the whole of the species of the 

 animal kingdom (at that time known) inhabiting this island, with the 

 exception of the class of insects, which was entirely omitted. In 

 1765, during tho progress of this work, Pennant made a tour on the 

 Continent, where he was introduced to some of the celebrated foreign 

 naturalists. He visited Butfon at Montbard, and he afterwards main- 

 tained a correspondence with this great man. From France he pro- 

 ceeded to Switzerland, and at Berne became acquainted with Baron 

 Haller. Ho then travelled through Germany and Holland, and formed 

 an intimacy at the Hague with Pallas, who at Pennant's suggestion 

 undertook to draw up a history of quadrupeds on the system of Ray. 

 Fallal however weut to Russia, and never accomplished this project ; 

 but Pennant followed out the idea himself, and in 1771 published a 

 work with the title of a ' Synopsis of Quadrupeds,' illustrated with 

 about thirty plates. The 'Synopsis' was afterwards enlarged, and 

 republished with the name of a ' History of Quadrupeds.' The 

 descriptions in this work were short and meagre, and the synonyms 

 few in number and not always correct ; nevertheless it was very well 

 received, for it was the first detailed work on quadrupeds in which 

 they were methodically arranged, and it contained a number of new 

 species and many original figures, which were correctly though not 

 very elegantly drawn. It went through several editions, and Buffon 

 availed himself of the matter contained in it Tor bis supplements. 

 After his return to Eugland, Pennant commenced a work on ' Indian 

 Zoology,' of which 15 folio plates were published, the expense of 

 which was partly defrayed by Sir Joseph Banks : it was soon discon- 

 tinued. 

 In 1709 Pennant get out on a tour through Scotland, the northern 



part of which had at that time been little explored by the traveller 

 or the naturalist. He kept a journal in which he noted down all the 

 objects of interest that he met with, and published it after his return, 

 with plates illustrating the scenery, &c. ; this work went through 

 many editions. He made a second excursion into Scotland in 1772, 

 of which he also published an account. He was accompanied in this 

 tour by Dr. Lightfoot, who then collected a great part of the materials 

 for his ' Flora Scotica,' in the preparation of which Mr. Pennant was 

 of great assistance to him. 



The next work which Pennant commenced was a systematic cata- 

 logue called the 'Geuera of Birds; ' this was intended to be similar in 

 plan to tho ' Synopsis of Quadrupeds,' but it was never completed. 

 His last great work was his 'Arctic Zoology," which appeared in 

 3 vols. 4to in 1784-85-87, and contained 26 plates. This (which was 

 necessarily a compilation, as the author nerer visited the native haunts 

 of the animals which he described) included an account of the northern 

 coasts of Europe, Asia, and America, with their productions, taken 

 from the writings of different travellers, and from tho examination of 

 specimens of different animals sent to the author or preserved in 

 museums. Pennant received considerable assistance during the pro- 

 gress of this work from many foreign naturalists, among whom Pallas, 

 Thuuberg. Sparman, Miiller, and Fabricius may be mentioned. The 

 ' Arctic Zoology ' acquired considerable reputation among naturalists, 

 and was valuable from containing descriptions and figures of many 

 animals and birds previously unknown ; and it retains much of 

 its value. 



When in his sixty-seventh year he planned an extensive work on 

 the model of the preceding, which was to embrace an account of 

 every country in the world, with their productions; he published 

 two volumes of this, in 4to, entitled a ' View of Hindostan.' Two 

 more were brought out by his son after his decease, with the name of 

 ' Outlines of the Globe,' which also include the description of India 

 and the adjoining countries. Pennant wrote, among several other 

 works, a ' Jouruey from Chester to London,' a ' History of London," 

 and a ' Tour in Wales,' which contain much interesting matter on 

 antiquities an 1 natural history. He never followed any profession, 

 but spent almost the whole of his life as a retired country gentleman 

 at his seat of Downing, in the midst of his favourite pursuits. He 

 enjoyed nearly uninterrupted health till within a few years of his 

 death, which took place in 1798. 



PENNEFATHEli, MAJOR-QENERAL SIR JOHN LYSAGHT, 

 is the third son of the late Rev. John Pennefather, of the county of 

 Tipperary, and nephew of the venerable Baron Pennal'ather, one of 

 the oldest members of the judicial bench in Ireland. He was born in 

 1800, and entered the army in 1818. Here he rose by the regular 

 grades of promotion, and in 1839 had attained the rank of lieutenant- 

 colonel. In 1843 he served as brigadier in India under tbe late 

 gallant General Sir Charles James Napier during his operations in 

 Scinde, and contributed in no small degree to the victory which he 

 gamed over the faithless Ameers at Meeauee. He was severely wounded 

 in this battle, and, on returning home, received the companionship of 

 the Bath and the thanks of Parliament for bis services in India; he 

 also for some time held the post of deputy quarter-master-general in 

 Ireland. On the breaking out of the war with Russia in 1854, Colonel 

 Pennefather was entrusted with the command of the first brigade of 

 the second division, consisting of the 30th, 55th, and 95th regiments, 

 His behaviour at the head of his brigade at the battle of tue Alma 

 was mentioned in the highest terms by Lord Raglan in his despatches 

 home. On the 26th of October following he agaiu highly distinguished 

 himself by repelling a large force of Russian infantry, which had 

 assaulted the position of the Second Division ; and at the battle of 

 Inkermann (Nov. 5) he was compelled to assume the command of the 

 entire division, on account of the severe illness of General Sir De 

 Lacy Evans, which obliged him to remain on board ship. On the return 

 of that general to England, Pennefather succeeded to the permanent 

 command of the division which he had led at Inkermann. In the 

 same year he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and appointed 

 to the colonelcy of the 46th regiment of foot. 



*PENNETHORNE, JAMES, architect, who holds the offices of 

 Architect and Surveyor of Her Majesty's Parks, Palaces, and Public 

 Buildings, and Architect and Surveyor of Laud Revenues in London, 

 and has been concerned in many of the London improvements of recent 

 years, was born at Worcester June 4th, 1801, and was educated at Dr. 

 Simpson's academy in the same town. Mr. Pcnnethorne's first con- 

 nection with his present profession was due to the late John Nash. 

 Mrs. Nash was first cousin to Mr. Pennethorne's father, and an elder 

 brother of Mr. Pennethorne's had been brought up by Mr. Nash ; 

 and on the death of this brother Mr. Nash offered to take another of 

 the family the subject of this notice into his office. The arrange- 

 ment being made, Mr. Pennethorne came to London on February 

 20th, 1820. With Nash he was employed chiefly iu office accounts, 

 for about a year and a half; but, towards the middle of 1822, Mr. 

 Nash placed him in the office of Augustus Pugiu (who was much 

 engaged in assisting Nash) with a view to the study of Gothic archi- 

 tecture. With Pugin he remained two years. Subsequently he 

 devoted a year to preparatory study for foreign travel, and in 

 October 1825 ho left England, and spent two years abroad, chiefly in 

 Italy aud Sicily. In January 1828, he commenced his duties as priu- 



