and private virtues made him an object of general esteem. He was possessed of high mental endowments, being an elegant scholar and a good public speaker. He had the gentlest manners and the mildest affections, warm and sincere friendship, and was so benevolent and humane that he never harboured revenge." His son, the 2nd Viscount, created Earl of Blessington, took as his second wife the well-known authoress of that name. [See Blessington, Marguerite.]
Gardiner, William, an engraver of some note, born in Dublin, 11th June 1766. He was a man of unsettled habits, and died in London, 8th May 1814, aged 47. A pupil of Bartolozzi, his engravings are said to be admirably executed. Among them are a set on the "Economy of Human Life," illustrations to Shakspere, the Memoirs of Grammont, and Dryden's Fables. 349
Gast, John, D.D., an author, born in Dublin, 29th July 1715, was the son of a Huguenot refugee. He was educated at Trinity College, and after serving as chaplain to the French congregation at Portarlington, he became Archdeacon of Glendalough, and held several preferments. He died in 1788, aged about 73. Mr. Gast was the author of a History of Greece and other works. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by the University of Dublin, in appreciation of his services to literature and his high character as a divine.
Gentleman, Francis, a dramatist and poet, was born in Ireland, 23rd October 1728, and received his education in Dublin. He served in the army, but was dismissed on the reduction of the forces in 1748. He then went on the stage, and succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations — appearing in Dublin, London, Edinburgh, and the provinces. He wrote several plays, and works bearing on the drama, and has the unhappy notoriety of being the editor of perhaps the most faulty edition of Shakspere that was ever published. Biographia Dramatica goes even so far as to call it "the worst edition that ever appeared of any English author." He returned to Ireland in 1777, and died in want, 21st December 1784, aged 56.
Gilbert, Eliza (Lola Montez, Countess of Landsfeldt), was born at Limerick in 1824. Her parents were not Irish. At an early age she developed extreme beauty; at fifteen she was married to an old man. Captain James, in Dublin, but quitted him on account of cruelty, and appeared as a ballet dancer in Paris in 1840, and afterwards at Munich. The Annual Register says: "The natural powers of her mind were very considerable; she had a strong will and a certain grasp of circumstances; her disposition was generous, and her sympathies large. These qualities raised the courtezan to a singular position. She became a political power. She exercised a fascination over sovereigns and ministers more widely extended than perhaps had before been possessed by any woman of the demi monde. She was invited from the stage to the palace at Dresden; she was flattered by royalty at Berlin; the good King of Prussia himself offered her refreshment; she was for a short time affianced to a prince ... She became the mistress of the old King of Bavaria. Over this weak but amiable monarch she exercised an unbounded influence. He created her Countess of Landsfeldt, endowed her with an estate of £5,000 a year, with feudal rights over a population of 2,000 persons. She ruled the kingdom, and, singular to say, ruled it with wisdom and ability; had not the revolution driven her from power, she would probably have established a free parliament and liberal institutions at Munich. Her audacity confounded the policy alike of the Jesuits and of Metternich." Her extravagance had dissipated all the treasure lavished on her by the King, her estate was confiscated, she fled the country in disguise, and in London, Paris, and the United States, sank deeper and deeper into degradation. She wrote some trashy books, and she lectured. Finally, a prey to illness, and full of remorse for her mis-spent life, she died in New York, 17th January 1861, aged 37.
Giolla Caoimhghin, who died in 1072, was the most celebrated Celtic poet and historian of his time. Copies of some of his pieces are preserved in the Book of Ballymote and Book of Leacan, and form the basis for the Irish chronology of many after writers. His Irish version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius was edited by Dr. Todd, with an English translation and notes, for the Irish Archaeological Society, in 1848.
Glover, Julia (Miss Betterton), a distinguished actress, was born at Newry, 8th January 1781. She commenced her theatrical career as an infant prodigy at the age of six years, playing at York, Bath, and elsewhere. In 1800 she became the wife of Mr. Glover, and subsequently appeared at Covent Garden and at Drury Lane, where she played with Edmund Kean. She was thus written of in 1813: "This lady has not a tragic voice, and very far from a tragic face. She was dressed well, however, and is a commanding figure. 218
