GIBBON 



June 27, 1787. The last three 

 volumes were published in 1788. 



Again in England, Gibbon spent 

 some time in Sussex with his friend 

 Lord Sheffield, but he was in Lon- 

 don for an operation when he died 

 Jan. 16, 1794. His remains were 

 buried at Fletching, Sussex. Gib- 

 bon was never married. At Lau- 

 sanne, in 1757, he became engaged 

 to Susan Curchod, afterwards the 

 wife of Necker ; but his father for- 

 bade the match, and, as he says, " I 

 sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son." 

 In addition to the Decline and Fall, 

 Gibbon wrote an Autobiography. 



Gibbon may be described as the 

 greatest of ' modern historians. 

 Ranke and probably Acton knew 

 more ; Ranke and Lecky wrote 

 more ; but when the qualities of 

 the ideal historian are estimated, 

 Gibbon excels them all. To know- 

 ledge, industry, and judgement he 

 added an English style which can 

 only be compared with that of 

 Burke, and a power of generalisa- 

 tion that amounts to genius. His 

 acquaintance with the literature of 

 his subject was amazing even 

 when his years of steady reading 

 are remembered. On the other 

 hand, it must be said that the latter 

 part of his history has certain 

 faults; it is a sketch, unequal to 

 the earlier part both in knowledge, 

 accuracy, and a sense of propor- 

 tion, while later research has shown 



3521 



Perceval Gibbon, 



British novelist 



1911 ; Margaret 



: Those Who 



his point of 

 view in one or 

 two instances 

 to be distinctly 

 wrong. 



A. W. Holland 



Gibbon, PERCEVAL (b. 1879). 

 British novelist. Born at Trelech, 

 Carmarthenshire, Nov. 4, 1879, 

 eldest son of the Rev. J. Morgan 

 Gibbon, the Congregationalist 

 minister, he travelled in Africa, and 

 published his first volume, African 

 Items, a collection of verse, in 

 1904. Turning to fiction, he 

 wrote effective short stories. He 

 served as war correspondent for 



GIBBONS 



various Brit- 



i s h and 



American 



journals. His 



works include 



Souls in Bon- 

 dage, 1905; 



Vrouw Grobe- 



laar's Leading 



Cases, 1906 ; 



Adventures of 



Miss Gregory, 



Harding, 1912 



Smiled, 1920. 



Gibbons, GRINLING (1648- 



1720). English carver and sculp- 

 tor. Born at Rotterdam, April 4, 

 1648, of Dutch 

 parentage, he 

 practised his 

 art in England, 

 where he came 

 as a boy, and is 

 usually classed 

 with the Eng- 

 lish school. 



Grinling Gibbons, Jolm , Evelyn, 

 English carver struck by his 



Afler Kneller carving, 1671, 



of Tintoretto's Crucifixion, ob- 

 tained the patronage of Sir Chris- 

 topher Wren for Gibbons, whose 

 carved decorations in S. Paul's 

 (the choir stalls) and other Wren 

 churches are noteworthy. 



Other fine works are at Blen- 

 heim Palace, Chatsworth, Pet- 

 worth, Belton House (Grantham), 



Grinling Gibbons. Carving, with detail of game, birds, and fruit, in the western recess of the State ante-room, Windsor 

 Castle, 1677-78. This room was originally the " King's Eating R 



