GIBBON. 
siderable interval, the second and third volumes were 
published. ‘The three last volumes, chiefly composed 
at Lausanne, were printed in England, and published 
in May 1788. i, 
In 1774, Mr Gibbon was returned as a member of 
parliament from the borough of Leskeard, and was a 
uniform but silent su er of administration during 
the American war. ‘Timidity, he says, was fortified by 
pride, and even the success of his pen discouraged the 
trial of his voice. He held his seat during eight ses- 
sions, and seems to have enjoyed the confidence, and 
occasio assisted the ‘councils, of the administration. 
Through the favour of Lord North, of whom Gibbon 
always speaks with high respect and esteem, he was 
komt one of the lords commissioners of trade and 
plantations, and had thus a clear addition to his income 
of between L. 700 and L. 800 a year. ‘The board was 
abolished in the following session by a small majority 
of votes in the House of Commons, but was soon after- 
wards revived. Mr Gibbon held the place for three 
ears, that is, till the board was abolished by Mr 
urke’s bill. Mr Gibbon having got into next parlia- 
ment through Lord North’s influence, for Lymington, 
tells us, that he uniformly supported the famous coali- 
tion between that minister and Mr Fox from a principle 
of gratitude. _ This confession, to be sure, though hard- 
ly ing the dignity of a historian, or the morality 
of a philosopher and patriot, who may be expected 
to act in a public cause, not from private feeling, but 
from conviction, does yet sound as a weakness leaning 
to virtue’s side ; but most unfortunately for his reputa- 
tion, even as a friend, he adds: “‘ My vote was count- 
ed in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the di- 
vision of the vine There were many claimants more 
ing and more importunate than myself.” A more 
unblushing and more unvarnished acknowledgment of 
venality we do not recollect to have seen; and we 
must confess that it lessens Mr Gibbon, in our moral 
estimate, to a degree that is painful to contemplate. 
One wonders that the man who nod the meanness thus 
to act, had the candour to acknowledge such meanness 
in a memoir designed for the public eye. But, in truth, 
with all the extent of his learning, and all the force of 
his genius, he does not appear to have discovered the 
unworthiness of thus betraying the interests of his 
. country for a private end. 
The attachment of Mr Gibbon to Lausanne, and his 
friendship for Mr Deyverdun, who was now residing at 
his delightful villa there, induced him to form the ro- 
mantic design of settling at that place, and living as an 
inmate with his friend. This wish, no importunities 
267 
of his friends at home ‘could prevent him from accom 
plishing; and accordingly he realized his project in 
1783. His friendship with Mr Deyverdun continued 
uninterrupted till the death of that respectable man, 
which happened in 1789. Mr Gibbon often lamented 
this event in language that shews how deeply he esti- 
mated his loss ; but by an arrangement m2 the heir, 
he continued to reside in the house’ till 1793, when the 
horrors of the French Revolution, and the domestic af- 
fliction of his friend Lord Sheffield, induced him to re- - 
turn to England. He was looked up to while at Lau- 
sanne with respect and admiration, and his house was 
the centre of learning and hospitality. The preference 
which he shewed to that little paradise, as he used to 
call it, made the inhabitants regard him as a father ; 
and the regrets that followed his departure are amost 
honourable tribute to his name. He arrived at the 
house of Lord Sheffield in London about the beginning 
of June, and spent the summer and autumn chiefly at 
Sheffield Place, where he seemed to enjoy good health, 
and where his conversation was the delight of all who 
heard it. For several years he had been subject to 
occasional attacks of gout. Towards the close of 
this autumn he was attacked with a dropsical tumour, 
the formation of which he had toolong concealed. Af- 
ter submitting to several operations, after each of which 
he anticipated a complete recovery, inflammation came 
on, and he expired in London on the 16th of January 
1794, in the 57th year of his age. We understand 
that the friendship of Lord Sheffield induced him te 
erect a handsome monument to his memory. 
That Mr Gibbon possessed, in an eminent degree, 
many of the qualities which constitute a good historian, 
will readily be admitted, even by those who most disap- 
prove of some of his sentiments. Extensive, varied, 
and profound learning, unwearied verance, great 
coolness of judgment, belonged to him in a high de- 
gree; and though his own diffidence leads him to dis~ 
claim a place beside our two great Scottish historians, 
Robertson and Hume, we apprehend that he is not much 
inferior to either. He has ably supplied a most impor- 
tant desideratum in historical knowledge, and has filled 
up the chasm which divided ancient from modern his~ 
tory. Though the history of his early life cannot ex- 
cuse, it leads us, in some degree, to extenuate the dis- 
ingenuousness with which he appears to be chargeable 
in discussing the nature and propagation of Christiani- 
ty ; and the able answers which have appeared, have, 
we hope, effectually counteracted the baneful effects of 
his misconceptions or misrepresentations, (/) 
GIBRALTAR. 
Grenarrar, the Mons Calpe of the Romans, is a cele- 
brated promontory in Andalusia, the most southern 
province of Spain, stretching into the Mediterranean to- 
wards the opposite promontory of Ceuta on the Bar- 
bary coast. Itis situated in Lat. 36° 6’ 30” North, and 
Long. 5° 19’ 31” East, from the meridian of Greenwich. 
de- The mountain of Gibraltar is of an oblong form ; its 
summit consists of a ya gy ridge, running in a 
» direction nearly from to south. The line of this 
ridge is undulated, being somewhat higher at the two 
extremities than in the centre. The whole rock is 
about seven miles in circumference, and forms a pro- 
montory about three miles in length. Its breadth va- 
ries with the indentations of the shore; but it no 
where exceeds three quarters of a mile. It is joined 
to the continent by a = sandy isthmus, the greatest 
elevation of which, above the level of the sea, does not 
exceed ten feet; and its breadth, at the base of the 
rock, is about 900 yards; but it grows considerably 
broader towards the country. This isthmus, with the 
mountain and the opposite coast of Spain, forms the 
Bay of Gibraltar, which is nearly eight miles and’a 
half long, and upwards of five miles broad. The most 
elevated point of the promontory, towards the south, 
which is the summit of the Sugar Loaf, stands 1439 
feet ; the Rock Mortar, the highest point towards the 
