11 O M 



443 



ROM 



Raisonnee of M. Davila'd collection, intended for sale, 

 ' wliicli appeared in 17'>7, in three volumes 8vo. ; and 

 " he was tlm-; led to an accurate examination of the forms 

 (>:' rr\ t.i!!:/<-d bodies, and to the construction of a sys- 

 tem of crystallography. His first essay on crystallo- 

 graphy was published in 1 771, and contains 110 species 

 of crystals, of which Linmvus knew only about 40. His 

 fame was rapidly extended by this production. Lin- 

 nanis courted his correspondence, and he was honour- 

 ed with a seat in many of the academies of Europe. 

 His countrymen, hovever, were the last to appreciate 

 his talents, and from the circumstance of his having 

 published eight explanatory catalogues of collections 

 from 1?0'7 till 1782, they were disposed to regard him 

 more as a scientific drudge than as a philosopher. In 

 1778 he published an explanation of Le Sage's theory 

 of chemistry, and in 1779 appeared his work entitled 

 L' Action de Feu central, banni de la Surface du Globe, 

 el le Soldi rttabli dans ses droils. His first work, how- 

 ever, by which he will be long remembered, was pub- 

 lished in 1783, under the title of Crystallographie ; on 

 Description des Formes propres de tous les Corps du 

 Jiegne Miner ale, in four volumes octavo. 



Besides the works now mentioned he published Cha- 

 ractcres Exterieiires des Mineraux, in 1787, and in 

 1789, Melrologie ; ou Tables pour servir a I' Intelli- 

 gence des Poids et des Mtsures des Anciens, d'apres 

 leur rapport avec les Poids et les Musures de la 

 France. 



Some time before his death, the eyes of our author 

 failed him, and he died of a dropsy at Paris, on the 

 10th March, 17<)0. 



The great merits of Rome de Tlsle in mineralogy 

 are less generally acknowledged than they deserve; 

 particularly by the French mineralogists. Modern mi- 

 neralogists are often astonished at the accuracy of the 

 descriptions given by this author, even of such sub- 

 stances as were afterwards confounded with each 

 other by Haiiy and those who copied him. In almost 

 every page the power of observation is displayed in a 

 remarkable degree, joined with good sense, correct 

 reasoning, and a vast mineralogical erudition. His fi- 

 gures of crystals, indeed, are frequently far from af- 

 fording the pleasing effect of geometrical perfection, 

 which captivates the eye in the figures adorning the 

 great work of Haiiy ; yet they betray the hand of the 

 master, who seized the peculiar character of the indi- 

 vidual crystals which he represents, and which is often 

 better preserved in these sketches than in better execu- 

 ted drawings. 



The student will always find a great deal of instruc- 

 tion in perusing the second edition of his Cryttallugra- 

 phie, the result of more than twenty years continued 

 and well-directed exertions; but those who are already 

 proficient in the science will find pleasure in discover- 

 ing in his writings that they have often been anticipat- 

 ed in their descriptions. It may be said with perfect 

 propriety, that, however ingenious the views of Haiiy 

 may have been in regard to the property of cleavage, 

 he could never have succeeded in establishing them as 

 a general system, applicable to all crystallized mine- 

 rals, had he not possessed the observationsand drawings 

 of Rome de 1'Isle. This great man met with all the 

 opposition commonly incidental to new ideas, or to a 

 degree of accuracy which, in fact, i* far beyond what 

 had been customary before; but the prejudices had 

 worn off, when Ilauy's system appeared, which then 

 earned the rewards both of its own merits and of Ho- 

 me de 1'Isle's. Haiiy has always been candid enough 

 to acknowledge every thing he owed to the latter ; he 



supplied the link which made Rorai de Title'* obter- 



v. it ions list-fill, by introducing general view* in crystal- 

 lography, founded upon geometrical processes, and by 

 giving a particular name to every substance determin- 

 ed as a particular species. Rome de 1'Isle was parti- 

 cularly regardless of the two great points, which, 

 according to Linna-us, like the thread of Ariadne, lead 

 us through the ma/.e of the variety of nature, the syste- 

 matic disposition and denomination of the species; al- 

 though, in hid paper Des Caracteres Exlerieuru des 

 Miin'-riiHi, he hag given principles for the determina- 

 tion of the latter, independent of chemical analysis, 

 which will stand every attack, and remain one of 

 the moat valuable disquisitions on the subject ever 

 proposed to the public, and which ought to be studied 

 by every one who wishes to inform himself on this im- 

 portant subject. Rome de 1'Iale was the first to vindi- 

 cate mineralogy to the province of natural history; 

 against the pretensions of chemists, who, even at that 

 time, when chemical knowledge, particularly of mine- 

 rals, was so imperfect, undervalued every thing that 

 was constant in minerals. This may account, in a 

 great measure, together with the neglect of those part* 

 which have been afterwards so highly improved by 

 Haiiy, why Rome de 1'Isle's works have never had that 

 degree of influence to which they were entitled by their 

 excellence. 



ROMNEY, GEORGE, a celebrated English painter 

 was born at Dalton in Lancashire, on the 26th of 

 December 1734-. At the age of twelve he was taken 

 from school to superintend the workmen of his father, 

 who was a builder and a farmer ; and in his leisure 

 hours he amused himself with carving, and in making 

 a violin and other articles. The sight of some engrav- 

 ings in a magazine turned his attention to drawing, and 

 he was put under an artist of the name of Steele, who 

 instructed him in the rudiments of the art. Hesoon began 

 portrait painting as a profession ; and when he had re- 

 alized one hundred guineas, he took thirty along with 

 him, and leaving the rest with his wife, he set out for 

 London, where iie arrived in 17()~- 



He began his career by painting portraits at five 

 guineas a head. In 1764- lie went to Paris, where he 

 studied the works of art in that capital. Upon his re- 

 turn to England, he obtained considerable employment 

 in his profession, and in 1!(>5 he got the prize from 

 the Society of Arts for his historical picture of the 

 death of King Edmund. 



Conscious of the necessity of improving his style by 

 the study of the ancient masters, he left an income of 

 L.I 200 ner annum, and in 1773 he set out for Rome, 

 and spent two years in the study of his art. He re- 

 turned to London in 1775, where h* devoted himself 

 to portrait painting. He had leisure, however, to exe- 

 cute several historical pictures, among which may be 

 enumerated, " Ophelia," " Titania and her Indian Vo- 

 taress," " Titania, Puck, and the Changeling," " the 

 Storm, from the Tempest," the Cassandra, from Troiius 

 and Cressida," and " the Infant Shakspeare, from the 

 Boy dell Gallery." He also executed some large car- 

 toons in charcoal, among which was one of the Dream 

 of Atossa. 



In the year 1785 he painted portraits to the value of 

 L.3G35. 



In 1790 he again visited Paris with his friend Mr. 

 Hay ley, and on his return in 1791. e resumed the la- 

 bours which he had some time before begun for the 

 Shakspeare Gallery, and painted some pictures for 

 the Prince of Wales. 



In 1798, our artist retired from his pi ole&iior. u 



