Deaths 
fore his death, he walled from his houfe ta 
Galway, and back the fame day, which is 26 
miles. He could, to the laf, read the 
fmalleft print without the affiftance of glafles, 
which he never accuftomed himfelf to, with 
as much eafe as a boy of fixteen, It has been 
acknowledged by the moft intelligent men 
of this kingdom, that, for the prefent age, 
he was the moft experienced farmer, and the 
brighteft genius for the improvement of agri- 
culture: it is upwards of feventy years fince 
he propagated that moft ufeful article to the 
human fpecies, the potatoe. He was mar- 
ried feven times; and when married to his 
Jaft wife, was ninety-three years old.—y all 
his wives he had 48 children, 236 grand-chil- 
dren, 944 great-grand-children, and 25 great- 
great-grand-children, the oldeft of whom is 
1805.) 
four years old; and his own youngetft fon,. 
by his laft wife, is about 18 years old. 
DEATHS ABROAD. 
July the roth, at Paris, in the 74th year 
of his age, Francois Ambrofe Didot, born in 
the month. of January 1730, leaving two 
fons, Pierre and-Firmin Didot. This extra- 
ordinary man brought the art of printing to a 
ftate of excellence unattained by any of his 
contemporaries ; and among the number of 
improvements perfe€ted by his exertions, is 
the conitruétion of mills for making fine pa- 
per, which he ailifted not only by his zeal 
and activity, but by pecuniary contribution. 
Didot invented a prefs by which the work- 
man is enabled to print, equally and at once, 
the whole extent of a theet. He was alfo the 
inventor of many other machines and inftru- 
ments now commonly ufed in printing offices, 
and all which have powerfully contributed to 
the modern advancement of the typographical 
art. The elegant editions publifhed by order 
of Louis XIV. for the education of the Dau- 
phin, were the produétion of the Didots’ 
prefs, as well as the Theatrical Sele&tions by 
Corneille, the works of Racine, Telema- 
chus, Taflo’s Jerufalem, two fuperb Bibles, 
anda multiplicity of other ineftimable works, 
each of which, on its publication, has ema- 
nated frefh beauties, and made nearer ap- 
proaches to perfeétion. 
deavoured to unite in his family every talent 
auxiliary to the priating art; one of his fons 
became a celebrated type founder; and the 
voice of fame announces the fuperior rank 
which they both defervedly hold among the 
printersof the age, The fond father delight- 
ed to obferve that he was excelled by his 
children ; while they dutifully afcribed their 
fuccefs to the force of his inftruétion, and 
the benefit of his example. The life of Di- 
dot was the life of honour; his abilities are 
known and refpeéted; and the following 
anecdote will prove the goodnefs of his heart : 
Ta one of his journeys to the paper mills of 
Anonay, he met an artift who had introduced 
in France an improvement in the applicetion 
of cylinders, &c. and believing that his in- 
Montury Mag, No, 125. 
Didot feduloufly en- | 
eee 97 
genuity merited reward, exerted all his inte- 
ref{t with Government, but unfortunately, 
when he was on the point of fucceeding, the 
artift died, leaving two girls in the helplefs 
{tate of infancy. Didot took the orphans in 
his arms, proclaimed himfelf their father, 
and kept his word. Atthe age of feventy- 
three, Didot read over five times, and caree 
fully correéted, before it was fent to the 
prefs, every fheet of the ftereotype edition of 
Montagne, printed by his fons. At four 
o'clock in the morning he was purfuing this 
fatiguing occupation. Thecorreétnefs of the 
text will therefore render this work particu- 
larly valuable among the productions of the 
modern prefs. Abvut eighteen months pre- 
vious to his death, he projected an alphabe- 
tical index of every fubje& treated upon in 
Montagne’s Effays. He had collected all his 
materials, at which he laboured unceafingly 3 
and perhaps too ftriét an application to this 
favourite ftudy accelerated the death of this 
eminent artift and benevolent man. 
At Leipzig, Michael Huber. He was born 
at Frontenhaufen, in Bavaria, went to Patis 
very young, there became acquainted with 
many diftinguiithed Jiterary charaGters, and fur- 
nifhed a great number of articles on German 
literature for the Fournal Etranger. In 1755 
he was cailed to the univerfity of Leipzig, to _ 
He there ace — 
teach the French language. 
quired the love and efteem of many of thofe 
who, for forty years, have exercifed a very 
great influence on the literature of their 
country. Gellert, Zollikofer, Weiffe, and 
Garve, were his friends. His tranflations 
were the means of eftabiifhing the firft lite- 
rary communication that exifted between 
France and Germany. He was the firft tran{- 
lator of Gefiner’s work into the French lan- 
guage, into which he likewile rendered ma- 
ny of the produ@tions of the German Mufe | 
—To his talents M. Huber joined great frank « 
nefs, fincerity, and good-nature.. Few men 
have been more happy, more amiable, and 
more beloved. 
Suddenly, at Paris, M. Rofer, painter. He 
was born at Heidelberg, in the Palatinate, in 
1737. Nature herfelf had made hima painter. 
He firft chofe land{capes for the exercife of his 
art, and had Loutherbourg for his mafter. At 
the age of twenty-feven years he went to Paris, 
where he quitted lajd{cape painting, to devoie 
his abiliticvs to the repairing of pictures, in. 
which he occupied himfelf with fucceis til} 
the end of his life. He has repaired pictures 
by Corregio, Titian, Raphael, .and other 
great mafters ; and among the reft Raphael’s 
Virgin of Foligno, which was in very bad 
condition when it arrived from Italy. He 
was equally modeft and difiaterefted, and the 
only perfon who was ignorant of the value 
of his talents. He, for his amufement, 
made copies of feveral chef d’euvies of the 
’ Flemifh fchool, in which may be perceived 
the able imitator and not the fervile copyitt. 
N MONTHLY 
