: been made the majority of proprietors still supported the wish of the directors for secrecy; and they, shielding themselves behind that majority, withheld all account of their accumulated gains. Mr. Ricardo took a view of their various transactions; showed what their annual savings ought to have been; and, following up the examination to the time at which he wrote, clearly pointed out to what, under proper management, their accumulation would have amounted. In this pamphlet, Mr. Ricardo suggested his plan for an economical currency. If there was any suggestion which emanated from him, upon which he seemed to pride himself more than any other, it was certainly this; and his wish to see it brought into effect at the time, induced him to step out of his usual course. He addressed a letter to Mr. Perceval, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, upon the subject; but that gentleman expressed his dissent from Mr. Ricardo's opinions, and on that account declined adopting his advice. Mr. Ricardo's next undertaking was his work on the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, - a work abounding with as strong marks of deep thought, and masterly comprehension of a difficult subject, as any that was ever published. The train of arguments is derived from a few luminous principles, and one is so consequent upon another, that the work cannot be examined in detail: it must be taken as a whole, and as such, its conclusions are demonstrated with almost mathematical precision. Mr. Ricardo never courted notoriety at first he shrunk from it, not so much because he undervalued it, as from a distrust, which not even success removed, of his powers. When he became sensible that he was held in some estimation, he seemed satisfied with what he had obtained, and was unwilling to risk it by a desire to accomplish more. These considerations made him very reluctant, first to write, and afterwards to publish this work; and it was only by the successive urgings of some of his most confidential friends, but particularly through the influence of Mr. Mill, that he was at length prevailed upon to do so. The success which followed amply compensated him; and this book, upon a subject which had heretofore not been popular, in a very short time passed through three editions, and placed the author in the highest rank as a philosophical writer. Mr. Ricardo had now wholly retired from business, with an ample fortune, acquired without exciting any of those envious and unpleasant feelings which usually attend upon those who precede their competitors. No one who knew him ever talked of his possessions without, at the same time, acknowledging that he had earned them fairly, and was worthy of them. In the year 1819 he became member of parliament for Portarlington; and perhaps few men, in so short a time, ever attained such influence, and, without eloquence, commanded such attention as he did in the House of Commons. He never spoke upon any subjects, but with a view to communicate ideas which he deemed important; and then he always spoke to the point. He was of no party; and at all times advocated such principles as he held to be sound and true, whether on the ministerial or the opposition side, or at variance with both. Attachment to party has generally made that neutral station a place of contempt, and those who have taken it have seldom obtained much consideration. Not so with Mr. Ricardo his independence was truly appreciated. Not courting popularity, not wanting or seeking any thing from either side of the House, he stood aloof, and claimed the respect and admiration of both. His influence and his selfconfidence were gaining ground. Had he lived, his utility would have kept pace with them. As it is, he has left a void. in the House, which there is no one to fill up. During the session, Mr. Ricardo's whole time was devoted to his duties as a member of parliament. His mornings were spent in study, in receiving visitors, in answering correspondents, or in attendance upon some committee; and in the evening he never missed going to the House. During the recess, he usually retired to his seat at Gatcomb Park, in Gloucestershire, where, in the bosom of his family, he spent his time in the enjoyment of contributing to the happiness of all around him. In the recess of 1822 he went to the Continent; travelled with his family through Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, and returned home, after an absence of five months, through France. Mr. Ricardo never appeared more cheerful, or in better health, than he did during his last retirement in the country, just previous to his death. This premature event was occasioned by an affection of the ear, which ultimately extended itself to the internal part of the head. Mr. Ricardo had for many years not been entirely free from this complaint, of which he thought but slightly; for it had never before occasioned him any very serious inconvenience. He was attended through his last illness by one of his brothers, who had retired from the medical profession, and who was then on a visit to him. There were no symptoms that could excite the smallest anxiety about his recovery, till a very short time before his decease, when the transition was sudden, from perfect confidence to complete despair. He died on Thursday, the 11th of September, 1823, surrounded by his family, who had the misery of watching him throughout a whole day and night, expecting every moment to be his last. He was buried at Hardenhuish. The church and burying-ground are on the estate of Mr. T. Clutterbuck, Mr. Ricardo's son-in-law. It was always his wish to be buried in the most private manner, as he hated any thing like ostentation, and more particularly on such an occasion; he was therefore followed to the grave only by his three sons, seven brothers, three sons-inlaw, and three brothers-in-law. Mr. Hume, M. P., also attended, at his own particular request. seven Mr. Ricardo has left behind him a beloved wife and * children, to bemoan the loss of one of the best of husbands, and most indulgent of fathers. High as has been the testimony publicly borne to the merits of Mr. R. since his death, it has not exceeded what he deserved. His private worth kept pace with those public qualities which earned him so great an estimation. To intel * One of his daughters died, shortly after her marriage, a few years ago. lectual powers of the first order, he joined a candour, a modesty, a diffidence, which never allowed him to assume to himself a merit which he felt he did not deserve ;-a love of justice which never permitted him to be influenced by his feelings, or biassed by any circumstances that might divert him from doing that which he thought strictly right; - a disinterestedness which made him always regardless of his own personal benefit, in the maintenance of general principles. When a Bank proprietor, he argued strenuously and warmly against the inordinate gains of that body; he defended the cause of the fund-holders when he had ceased to be one; he was accused of an attempt to ruin the landed interest after he became a large landed proprietor; and while a member of parliament, he advocated the cause of reform, which, if adopted, would have deprived him of his seat. Superior to the misleading power of self-interest, his aim was the dissipation of erroneous, and the promulgation of true and correct principles, the adoption of which should tend to the amelioration of mankind, and the production of the greatest possible good. Such was Mr.Ricardo :- as a private character unexcelled; pre-eminent as a philosopher; and in his public capacity a model of what a legislator ought to be. THE No. XIX. SIR HENRY RAEBURN, R. A. HE subject of the present memoir may be considered as the founder of the resident school of Scottish painting. Scotland had not failed to produce artists of eminence, both in history and portrait. Among the latter, Jameson, called sometimes the Scottish Vandyke, and Allan Ramsay, son of the poet, hold most respectable places. Their country, however, did not afford patronage adequate to their merits; and they were obliged to seek employment and dictinction in the sister metropolis. During the last half century, however, the progress of wealth and taste led to a sensible improvement in this particular; and during the early life of Mr. Raeburn, David Martin, though an artist of only secondary talent, and not to be compared to his two predecessors in the art, had obtained very considerable employment in Edinburgh. Henry Raeburn was born on the 4th March, 1756, and was the son of Mr. William Raeburn, a respectable manufacturer at Stockbridge, then a village about a mile distant from Edinburgh, though, in consequence of the great extension of that city, it has now become a closely contiguous suburb. While yet a child, he had the misfortune to lose both his parents; but this want was supplied to him, as much as it could be, by his elder brother, William, who succeeded to the business, and acted to him always the part of a father. We understand that Sir Henry, during his youthful education, did not discover any particular propensity to the art in which he was destined so remarkably to excel. It was only observed, at the class of arithmetic, when the boys were amusing themselves in drawing figures on their slates, that his displayed a very striking superiority to those of the |