an octavo edition of Milton were designed by him, but Mr. Walpole does not tell us of what date. Sir John's grandson, John Medina, the last of the family, died at Edinburgh in 1796. He practised painting in some measure, although all we have heard specified is the repair he gave to the series of Scottish kings in Holyrood-house, which are well known to be imaginary portraits.'

MEERMAN (GERARD), a very learned lawyer and pensionary of Rotterdam was born at Leyden in 1722; of his early history, pursuits, &c. our authorities give no account, nor have the bibliographers of this country, to whom he is so well known, supplied this deficiency. All we know is, that he died December 15, 1771, in the forty-ninth year of his age, after a life spent in learned research and labour, which produced the following works: 1. "De rebus mancipi et nec mancipi." Leyden, 1741, 4to. 2. "Specimen calculi fluxionalis," ibid. 1742, 4to. 3. "Specimen animadversionum in Cazi institutiones," Mantuæ Carpetunorum (i. e. Madrid), reprinted with additions by the author, at Paris, 1747, 8vo. " 4. Conspectus novi thesauri juris civilis et canonici," Hague, 1751, 8vo. This conspectus was immediately followed by the work itself. 5. "Novus Thesaurus juris civilis," &c. 1751-1753, 7 vols. folio; a book of high reputation, to which his son John added an eighth volume, in 1780. 6. "Conspectus Originum Typographicarum proxime in lucem edendarum,” 1761, 8vo. This prospectus is very scarce, as the author printed but a very few copies: it is however in demand with collectors, as containing some things which he did not insert in the work itself. The abbé Gouget published a French translation, with some additions, in 1762.

The

entire work appeared in 1765, under the title of, 7. “Origines Typographicæ," Hague, 2 vols. 4to. An analysis of this valuable work was drawn up by Mr. Bowyer, and printed in "The Origin of Printing, in two Essays, 1. The substance of Dr. Middleton's Dissertation on the origin of printing in England. 2. Mr. Meerman's account of the first invention of the art," 1774, 8vo. This volume was the joint composition of Messrs. Bowyer and Nichols. Meerman's partiality to Haerlem, as the origin of printing, was attacked with much severity by Heinecken, who being a German, betrayed as much partiality to Mentz

Walpole's Anecdotes.-Edwards's Continuation.

and Strasburgh. It seems, however, now to be agreed among typographical antiquaries, that Heinecken paid too little attention to the claims of Haerlem, and Meerman infinitely too much. The dissertation of the latter, however, has very recently been reprinted in France, by Mons. Ja sen, with useful notes, and a catalogue of all the books published in the Low Countries during the fifteenth century.'

MEHEGAN (WILLIAM ALEXANDER), a French bistorian, of Irish extraction, as his name sufficiently denotes, was born in 1721 at Salle in the Cévennes. He addicted himself very early to letters, and the history of his life is only the history of his publications. He produced in 1752, 1. "The origin of the Guebres, or natural religion put into action." This book has too much of the cast of modern philosophy to deserve recommendation, and has now become very scarce. 2. In 1755 he published "Considerations on the Revolutions of Arts," a work more easily to be found; and, 3. A small volume of "Fugitive Pieces" in verse, far inferior to his prose. In the ensuing year appeared, 4. His "Memoirs of the Marchioness de Terville, with the Letters of Aspasia," 12mo. The style of these memoirs is considered as affected, which, indeed, is the general fault prevalent in his works. In his person also he is said to have been affected and finical; with very ready elocution, but a mode of choosing both his thoughts and expressions that was rather brilliant than natural. His style, however, improved as he advanced in life. In 1759 he gave the world a treatise on, 5. “The origin, progress, and decline of Idolatry," 12mo; a production in which this improvement in his mode of writing is very evident. It is still more so in his, 6. "Picture of modern History," "Tableau de l'Histoire moderne," which was published in 1766, in 3 vols. 12mo. His chief faults. are those of ill-regulated genius, which is very strongly apparent in this work; it is eloquent, full of those graces of elocution, and richness of imagination, which are said to have made his conversation so peculiar: but it becomes fatiguing from an excessive ambition to paint every thing in brilliant colours. He speaks of every thing in the present tense, and he embellishes every subject with images

1 Dict. Hist.-Bowyer and Nichols's " Origin of Printing."-Dibdin's Bibliomania and Typographical Antiquities.—Saxii Onomast.

and allusions. He died Jan. 23, 1766, before this most considerable of his works was quite ready for publication. He was married, and his wife is said to have been a woman who in all respects did honour to the elegance of his taste. All his writings are in French.1 ›

*: MEIBOMIUS, is the name of several learned men, who were Germans. JOHN-HENRY Meibomius was a professor of physic at Helmstadt, where he was born in 1590, and was afterwards first physician at Lubeck, where he died in 16.55. He was the author of several learned works on medical subjects, such as "Jusjurandum Hippocratis," Gr. & Lat. 1643, 4to; "De usu flagrorum in re medica," Leyden, 1639, &c. &c. He is known in the literary world by a work published at Leyden in 1653, 4to, and entitled, "Mæcenas, sive de C. Cilnii Mæcenatis vita, moribus, & rebus gestis," in which he seems to have quoted every passage from antiquity, where any thing is said of Mæcenas; but having employed neither criticism nor method, he cannot claim any higher merit than that of a mere collector.2

MEIBOMIUS (HENRY), son of the former, was born at Lubeck in 1638; and after laying a proper foundation in literature at home, went in 1655 to the university of Helmstadt, where he applied himself to philosophy and medicine. Afterwards he went to study under the professors at Groningen, Franeker, and Leyden; and upon his return to Germany, projected a larger tour through Italy, France, and England, which he executed; he contracted an acquaintance with the learned wherever he went; and took a doctor of physic's degree in 1663, as he passed through Angers in France. He was offered a professorship of physic at Helmstadt in 1661: but his travelling scheme did not permit him to take possession of it till: 1664. This, and the professorships of history and poetry, joined to it in 1678, he held to the time of his death, which happened in March, 1700. Besides a great number of works relating to his own profession, he published, in 3 vols. folio, in 1688, "Scriptores rerum Germanicarum," a very useful collection, which had been begun, but not finished, by his father,"

1 Necrologie pour 1767.-Dict. Hist.

? Moreri.-Eloy, Dict. Hist. de Medicine.-Saxii Onomasticon. 3 Moreri.-Eloy.-Niceron, vol. XVIII.-Saxii Onomasticon.

MEIBOMIUS (MARCUS), a very learned man, of the same family as the preceding, was born in 1611. He devoted himself to literature and criticism, but particularly to the learning of the ancients; as their music, the structure of their galleys, &c. In 1652 he published a collection of seven Greek authors, who had written upon ancient music, to which he added a Latin version by himself. It was entitled "Antiquæ Musicæ auctores septem Græce et Latine, Marcus Meibomius restituit ac Notis explicavit." Amst. The first volume contains: I. Aristoxeni Harmonicorum Elementorum, libri jii. II. Euclidis Introductio Harmonica. III. Nichomachi Geraseni, Pythagorici, Harmon. Manuale. IV. Alypii Introductio Musica. V. Gaudentii Philosophi Introductio Harmonica. VI. Bacchii Seuioris Introductio Artis Musicæ. The second volume: Aristidis Quintiliani de Musica, libri iii. Martiani Capellæ de Musica, liber ix. This, says Dr. Burney, is the most solid and celebrated of his critical works, in which all subsequent writers on the subject of ancient music place implicit faith. It is from these commentaries on the Greek writers in music, particularly Alypius, that we are able to fancy we can decipher the musical characters used by the ancient Greeks in their notation; which, before his time, had been so altered, corrupted, disfigured, and confounded, by the ignorance or negligence of the transcribers of ancient MSS., that they were rendered wholly unintelligible.

Meibomius, after this learned and elegant publication, was invited to the court of the queen of Sweden, to whom he had dedicated it; but this visit was not followed by the most pleasing consequences. Having by his enthusiastic account of the music of the ancients, impressed this princess with similar ideas, the younger Bourdelot, a physician, and his rival (as a classical scholar) in the queen's favour, instigated her majesty to desire him to sing an ancient Grecian air, while Naudet, an old Frenchman, danced à la Grec to the sound of his voice. But the performance, instead of exciting admiration, produced loud bursts of laughter from all present; which so enraged Meibomius, that seeing the buffoon Bourdelot in the gallery among the scoffers, and having no doubt but that it was he who, with a malicious design, had persuaded her majesty to desire this performance, immediately flew thither, and exercised the pugilist's art on his face so violently, without

being restrained by the presence of the queen, that he thought it necessary to quit the Swedish dominions before he could be called to an account for his rashness; and immediately went to Copenhagen, where being well received, he fixed his residence there, and became a professor at Sora, a Danish college for the instruction of the young nobility. Here too he was honoured with the title of aulic counsellor, and soon after was called to Elsineur, and advanced to the dignity of Architesorié, or president of the board of maritime taxes or customs; but, neglecting the duty of his office, he was dismissed, and upon that disgrace quitted Denmark. Soon after, he settled at Amsterdam, and became professor of history in the college of that city; but refusing to give instructions to the son of a burgomaster, alleging that he was not accustomed to instruct boys in the elements of knowledge, but to finish students arrived at maturity in their studies, he was dismissed from that station. After quitting Amsterdam, he visited France and England; then returning to Holland, he led a studious and private life at Amsterdam till 1710 or 1711, when he died at near 100 years of age.

Meibomius pretended that the Hebrew copy of the Bible was full of errors, and undertook to correct them by means of a metre, which he fancied he had discovered in those ancient writings; but this drew upon him no small raillery from the learned. Nevertheless, besides the work above mentioned, he produced several others, which shewed him to be a good scholar; particularly his "Diogenes Laertius," Amst. 1692, 2 vols. 4to, by far the most critical and perfect edition of that writer; his "Liber de Fabrica Triremium," 1671, in which he thinks he discovered the method in which the ancients disposed their bancs of oars; his edition of the ancient Greek Mythologists; and his dialogues on Proportions, a curious work, in which the interlocutors, or persons represented as speaking, are Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, Pappus, Eutocius, Theo, and Hermotimus. This last work was opposed by Langius, and by Dr. Wallis in a considerable tract, printed in the first volume of his works.'

1 Moreri.-Burney's Hist, of Music, and in the Cyclopædia.-Hutton's Dict. -Saxii Onomasticon.