Born 1757.—Died 1823.—George II.—George III.—George IV. The greatest of a family of actors—John Philip, Stephen, Charles, and Mrs. Siddons,—whose father was proprietor of a provincial theatre. Kemble’s fine figure and splendid face were of great service in his personation of such characters as Coriolanus, Brutus, and Julius Cæsar; Hamlet was one of his favourite parts, which particularly suited his somewhat sad and severe features. The Kemble family raised the English stage to a perfection and dignity it has never since attained. GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON. Born 1788.—Died 1824.—George III.—George IV. A poet, whose magnificent and musical language and passionate power conceal the want of principle and poverty of heart of most of his poems. _Childe Harold_ is the most celebrated of his works, _The Prisoner of Chillon_ and _The Bride of Abydos_, the best in aim. Lord Byron’s life was a bad one. He died at Missolonghi, in Greece. MRS. BARBAULD. B. 1743—D. 1825.—George II.—George III.—George IV. Anna Letitia Aikin, daughter of Dr. Aikin, a writer and literary man. Mrs. Barbauld was the first writer of really appropriate stories for very young children, and her _Children’s Hymns in Prose_ will probably be known as long as the English language lasts. JOHN FLAXMAN. Born 1755.—Died 1826.—George III.—George IV. An eminent sculptor. He represented in marble the tragedies of Æschylus, Homer, and Dante. He executed two celebrated works,—“The Fury of Athamas,” and the “Cephalus and Aurora,”—and is well known by his monuments, one of the finest of which is that to Lord Mansfield, in Westminster Abbey. SIR HUMPHREY DAVY. Born 1778.—Died 1829.—George III.—George IV. A celebrated natural philosopher, chiefly noted for his discoveries in chemistry and galvanism. He was the inventor of the safety-lamp for use in mines. His lectures at the Royal Institution were models of the narrative of scientific enquiry, and his general reading and information were extraordinary. SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE. Born 1769.—Died 1830.—George III.—George IV. A well-known portrait painter, and President of the Royal Academy. He drew good likenesses in pencil and ink at five years old, and received a prize from the Society of Arts at thirteen for a copy in chalk of Raphael’s Transfiguration. His portraits in the Waterloo Gallery at Windsor are very celebrated. He painted exquisite pictures of children. GEORGE CRABBE. Born 1754.—Died 1832.—George III.—George IV. A poet, born at Aldborough, in Suffolk, who perhaps first opened men’s eyes in England to the poetry of common things. His tales in verse are admirable pictures of everyday life, full of pathos. Crabbe went to London to try to make his fortune by literature, but would have perished of want had it not been for Edmund Burke, who generously befriended him in every possible way.