702 
Tt was by his advice, ‘and that. of his 
friend, Don John Baptiste Menoz, that 
this seat of learning has substituted for 
its lessons the works.of Condillac and 
Muschenbrock, in the place of inferior 
authors. It was in consequence of their 
interposition -also, that. mathematics, 
searcely known there before, have since 
become one of the chief branches of 
learning. - | 
After being some time a professor of 
plufosophy at Murcia, Cavanilles was at 
Jength invited to superintend the educa- 
tion of the children of the late duke of 
Infantado, He immediately accepted of 
so honourable a charge, and conducted 
hunself on this oceasion with equal zeal 
and suceess. The eldest of his pupils, 
the present duke, who has taken up 
arms mn behalf af his oppressed country, 
soon disuaguished himself above all those 
of hisown rank, on account of his ate 
tachment both to men of letters, and to 
those sciences which he has cultivated 
avith success. 
The charge with which he had been 
entrusted, occasioned the Abbé to 
repair to Paris in 1777. 
spent no less than twelve whole years of 
his life, and there he made himself mas- 
ter of several new acquisitions, particu- 
larly botany, to which he is indebted for 
his great reputation. He also found 
means to acquire a critical knowledge of 
the language of the country in which he 
resided; for in 1784, he published ia 
French, a long article concerning Spain, 
in the New Encyclopedia. This was 
his first work; and he engaged in it with 
a zeal and a warmth. truly patriotic. 
His first botanical dissertation appeared 
in the course of the succeeding year, and 
from 1785 to 1790, he added nine others. 
‘hose acquainted with this branch of 
natural history, have admired the clear- 
ness, precision, and critical knowledge dis- 
played by him in the course of the under- 
taking. It contains a description of a 
very large number of species, and is 
accompanied by 297 engravings, all the 
designs of which were made by him- 
self. ! 
On his return to his native country, 
Cavanilles, in 1791, commenced that 
beautiful work published by bim under 
the title of Icones Plantarum; it consists 
There he. 
Retrospect of French Eiterature—Biographys | 
to the two Indies. New Holland also, has 
contributed its portion of the interesting — 
specimens which occupy all this work, 
The Abbé received orders from his 
of Neval. 
to succeed his father, he was brought 
of six volumes, and contains 601 plates, — 
executed in a superior manner by his own 
hand. Here are to be found not only 
many specimens of his new genera, but 
a prodigious collection of species, some 
of which are eminently curious. Some 
in part appertain to Spain, and in part 
- permit him to witness the depredations 
government to traverse Spain, for the pure 
pose of collecting the plants growing there. 
He began his botanical labours by repair- . 
ing to Valencia, his native country ; but . 
he did not confine himself to a simple 
examination of the vegetable worlds, for 
he made a variety of remarks relative to 
the mineral kingdom, the agriculture, the~ 
geography, &c. of this province; not a 
single village of which but was visited by 
him, not a canton but he examined, not 
a mountain, nay, scarcely a rock, that he 
has not made observations upon, 
In 1801, the Abbé Cavanilles was 
nominated Director of the Royal Estab- 
lishment of Botany at Madrid, where 
he soon proved himself worthy of the 
preference exhibited on this occasion: 
for he reformed the garden, and uitroe 
duced a new method of teaching. 
Scarcely did he find himself settled in 
the capital, when he determined to pub=— 
lish a Hortus Regis Matritensis, con- 
sisting of all the plants, both new and. - 
old, in the royal garden. Hie was stue 
dicusly occupied on the work in question, 
when this zealous botanist, the friend of 
Jussieu, Desfontaines, Thouin, Ventenat, 
é&c. fella prey to diseasesin the 60th 
year of his age; and thus at least was 
saved from beholding the misery at- 
tendant on the subjugation of the 
country that had given bim birth. 
«< Notice our Marc Hilaire Vilaris.” 
—A Biographical Notice relative to 
Mare Hilaire Vilaris. 
Marc Vilaire Hilaris was born at Bour- 
deaux in 1720. He was the son of an apo- 
thecary at that city, and his mother 
was the daughter of the Vice-Seneschal 
Having been always intended 
up under him until he was eighteen 
years of age, at which period he was 
sent to Paris, to obtain a knowledge 
of chemistry, and natural history. 
Vilaris had the good fortune to be 
placed under Rovelle, an accomplished 
chemist, and most amiable man. In his — 
laboratory, he not only learned whatso- 
ever was necessary, to his progress, but. 
became acquainted with a number of 
celebrated persons, whose conversation 
inspired him with a noble emulation. 
During the campaign in Hanover, he was 
employed in a medical capacity in the 
French army; but his heart, which was 
already devoted to virtue, would not 
and 
“a 
‘ 
