wanted. We have an excellent translation of this poet by the amiable Gilbert West, esq. 1

PINE (JOHN), an eminent engraver, who, says lord Orford, "need but be mentioned, to put the public in mind of the several beautiful and fine works for which they are indebted to him," was born in 1690. We have no account of his education, but, independent of his art, he appears to have been a scholar. His first engravings exhibited the splendid ceremonial of the installation of the knights of the bath in 1725. These were followed by his admirable prints, ten in number, representing the tapestry hangings in the House of Lords. These were so highly approved, that the parliament passed an act to secure the emolument arising from their publication to him. These, with the letter-press, form a volume, "rivalling the splendid editions of the Louvre." The order of the battle, and other circumstances relative to the memorable Spanish armada, are most accurately executed: the portraits of the admirals and captains of the English fleet are not the least valuable part of the whole. He engraved five other plates of the same size, to accompany them, being, 1. A Plan' of the House of Peers; another of the House of Commons; A View of the Creation of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, by Henry VIII. from a drawing in the College at Arms. 2. The House of Peers, with Henry VIII. on the throne, the Commons attending, from a drawing by the then Garter King at Arms. Another View of the House of Peers, with Elizabeth on the throne, the Commons presenting their Speaker at the bar, from a painted print in the Cottonian Library. A copy of a beautiful Illumination of the Charter of Henry VI. to the Provost and College of Eton. 3. The House of Lords, shewing his majesty on the throne, the Lords in their proper robes and seats, the Commons at the bar, and the Speaker addressing the throne. 4. The House of Commons, shewing, the Commons assembled in their House, the Speaker in his Chair, and sir Robert Walpole, the Minister, standing forth in his usual posture toward the chair. A View of the Lord High Steward, in both Houses of Parliament, Judges, &c. assembled in Westminster-hall, Lord Lovat, the criminal at the bar, on his trial. He also engraved the whole

I Vossius de Poet. Græc.-Fabric. Bibl. Græc.-Kennet's Grecian Poets.Preface to the Odes of Pindar, by Gilbert West, esq.

text of Horace, illustrating it with ancient bas reliefs and gems, and in the same manner Virgil's Bucolics and Georgics. These are his principal works, except his "Magna Charta:" one of the copies of which he presented to the Aldermen of London, who voted him a purse with twenty guineas in it. He, with Tinney and Bowles, published a large Pian of London and Westminster, with all their buildings, on a large scale, from an actual survey taken by John Rocque. In 1743 he was made Blue Mantle in the Heralds' college, and his Majesty, George II gave him the appointment of marker of the dice, and afterward his engraver of the signets, seals, and stamps: places which he held to his death, which happened in the college, May 4, 1756, aged sixty-six.

His son, ROBERT EDGE PINE, was a painter of considerable merit at his outset in life, when he painted his "Sur render at the Siege of Calais," and his "Canute on the Sea-shore;" but did not improve as he went on, and not meeting with encouragement, went to Philadelphia, where he died in 1790. Edwards has given a short, but not very favourable account of him. Mr. Fuseli says that he had breadth, richness, and mellowness of colour, a forcible chiaroscuro, and an historic tone; his composition was not despicable; but his drawing was too provokingly feeble, to suffer the most unexperienced or indulgent eye to dwell long on his work.1

PINEAU (GABRIEL DU), a celebrated lawyer, was born in 1573, of a good family at Angers. He attended the bar with a degree of reputation superior to his age; and going afterwards to Paris, distinguished himself both in the parliament and grand council, by his eloquent pleadings. In 1600 he married Frances Ladvocat, daughter of Amauri Ladvocat, seigneur de Fougeres, and counsellor to the presidial of Angers, and at his return to his native place, was appointed counsellor to the same presidial. Mary de Medicis becoming acquainted with him in 1619, conceived the highest esteem for his merit, created him master of the requests in her palace, and endeavoured to support herself in her disgrace by his credit and advice; but M. du Pineau's whole aim was to inspire her with resignation, in which he at last succeeded. Louis XIII. in return ap

Walpole's Anecdotes.-Strutt's Dictionary.-Noble's College of Arms.Pilkington, by Fuseli.

pointed him mayor and captain-general of the city of Angers, June 2, 1632, in which situation he gained the flattering title of "Father of the People." His house became also a kind of academy, in which every one freely proposed his difficulties on the most intricate points of law or history, and when du Pineau had spoken, the point in dispute was considered as decided. He died Oct. 15, 1644, aged 71. His works are, Notes in Latin, against those of du Moulin on the canon law, printed under the inspection of Francis Pinsson, with du Moulin's works; "Comm. des observations et consultations sur la Coutume d'Anjou," reprinted, 1725, 2 vols. fol. by the care of M. de Livoniere, who has enriched them with very useful observations. Menage relates that when his father William Menage, and du Pineau, agreed in their opinions on the same question, the people of Angers used to say, "This must certainly be right, for Pineau bas confirmed the opinion of Menage." His house was so much frequented, that the street in which he lived was called " Rue Pineau."1

PINEDA (JOHN), a learned Spaniard, was born at Seville, of a noble family, and entered into the society of Jesuits in 1572. He taught philosophy and theology in several colleges, and was skilled in the oriental languages. He wrote, among other things, 1. Two volumes folio, of "Commentaries on Job." 2. The same on Ecclesiastes. 3. A book " De rebus Salomonis," folio, curious and learned, but not always correct. 4. "An universal History of the Church," in Spanish, 4 vols. folio. 5. "A History of Ferdinand III.” in the same language. He died in 1637, much regretted."

PINELLI (JOHN VINCENT), an Italian nobleman, celebrated for his love of letters, and the library he formed, and well compared by Thuanus to Pomponius Atticus, was born at Naples, in 1533, the son of a noble Genoese. After having received an excellent education, he went and settled at Padua, at the age of twenty-four, and early in life began to form his library, which he collected from all parts with incredible diligence. Lipsius, Jos. Scaliger, Sigonius, Pancirollus, Pithou, and all the most learned men of his time, corresponded with him, and have celebrated him for erudition. His whole mind was occupied with the love of knowledge, which embraced history, 2 Dupin. Moreri,

1 Moreri.-Dict. Hist.

medals, antiquities, natural history, and botany; and it is said, that in forty-three years he never was out of Padua, except twice, one of which times his removal was occasioned by the plague. He died in 1601. At his death, his library was removed to his heirs at Naples, in 130 cases, fourteen of which were full of manuscripts. Two hundred volumes were retained by the republic of Venice, as treating of affairs pertaining to that state. In 1790, this noble library, augmented considerably by the descendants of this Pinelli, was purchased by Messrs. Edwards and Robson, two eminent booksellers, and sold by auction in London; and thus in a few weeks was dissipated, what it had been the labour of near two centuries to collect.'

PINGRE (ALEXANDER GUY), a French mathematician and astronomer, was born at Paris, in 1711. In 1727 he became a member of the canons regular of the congregation of France. He was intended for the church, but the freedom of his opinions displeased his superiors, and after a few years' study of theology, he devoted himself entirely to the sciences. In 1749 he was appointed a member of the academy of sciences in Rouen, and was elected to fill the office of astronomer, and attained to first-rate excellence. His earliest production, as an author, was the "Calculation of an Eclipse of the Moon," on the 23d of December 1749. Lacaille had calculated it at Paris; but the calculations differed by four minutes: Lacaille, however confessed his error, and received Pingré into his friendship. In May 1753 he was elected correspondent of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, after having sent them an observation of the transit of Mercury, which he made at Rouen. He was next appointed librarian of the abbey of St. Genevieve, obtained the construction of an observatory, and was furnished by the abbot and chapter with a six-foot telescope, while he had the loan of an excellent quadrant from the academy. At the desire of Le Monnier, he next engaged in calculating "A Nautical Almanack," to enable navigators more easily to ascertain the longitude by means of lunar observations. He calculated a table of the eclipses visible of the sun and moon from the commencement of the Christian æra to 1900, and, afterwards a table of the eclipses visible from the northern pole to the equator, for a thousand years before our æra.

1 Tiraboschi.-Moreri,-Blount's Censura,

The utility of these labours for verifying historical dates, induced the Academy of Inscriptions to insert a part of them in the forty-second volume of their Memoirs. He published the "State of the Heavens" for 1754: in this the moon's place was calculated with the utmost exactness according to the tables of Dr. Halley for noon and midnight, with the right ascension in seconds of time twice a day. In 1758 he published "A Memoir relating to the Discoveries made in the South Sea, during the Voyages of the English and French round the World." In 1760, Pingrè left France for the island of Rodriguez, in the Indian ocean, to observe the transit of Venus, that was to take place in the following year; and on the 6th of June of that year he made his observations, from which he concluded that the parallax of the sun was 10".2. At the same time the English astronomer Mason concluded, from the observations which he made at the Cape of Good Hope, that the parallax was 8′′. 2. La Lande, in his "Astronomy," published in 1764, adopted a medium between these conclusions, and supposed the parallax to be 9", in which he was followed by astronomers in general, till more numerous observations, made on the transit of 1769, led to a different result. After the return of Pingrè from the East, he published a description of Pekin, in which he shewed the position of that capital from the result of a number of calculations of eclipses; and ascertained its longitude by other calculations, with a degree of precision to which none of the labours of the scientific missionaries had any pretensions. In 1769 he sailed for the island of St. Domingo, on board the Isis man of war, to observe the transit of Venus, and performed the service committed to him in the most able and satisfactory manner possible. An account of this voyage, which proved of considerable importance to the science of geography, as well as astronomy, appeared in 1773, in two vols. 4to. After comparing the results of the immense number of calculations made by the observers of the transit in 1769, the sun's parallax has been concluded to be about.8.6. In 1771, Pingrè made another voyage, on board the Flora frigate, with a view of extending the interests of geographical and astronomical knowledge, having with him, as the companion of his pursuits, the chevalier de Borda, a celebrated engineer and geometrician. The account of their proceedings, observations, and experiments, was pub