son, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A., were exhibited, some years ago, at Somerset House, and have since been engraved. Several remarkably fine portraits of Lord Dover have also been painted by Lawrence, Phillips, Sanders, &c.

His Lordship had for some time been in a declining state of health. His death took place at Dover House, Whitehall, on the 10th of July, 18:3.

Lord Dover left three sons and three daughters: 1. the Right Hon. Henry, now Lord Dover, born February 25th, 1825; 2. the Hon. Lucia Caroline Elizabeth; 3. the Hon. Caroline Anne Harriet; 4. the Hon. Leopold George Frederick, a godson of the present King of the Belgians; 5. the Hon. George Victor; and, 6. the Hon. Diana Mary Blanche Georgiana.

The body of Lord Dover was deposited in the family vault, at Twickenham.

The foregoing little Memoir has been derived principally from "The National Portrait Gallery," and "The Gentleman's Magazine."

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No. X.

GEORGE FRANCIS LYON, Esq.

A POST-CAPTAIN IN THE ROYAL NAVY, AND D. C.L.

THIS enterprising and celebrated traveller was a native of Chichester, and son of the late Colonel Lyon of that city. He was educated at Dr. Burney's well-known naval academy at Gosport, and entered on the Books of the Royal William flagship at Spithead, in 1808. He first sailed in the Milford 74, Captain (now Sir Henry Wm.) Bayntun, in August 1809; and, after serving for several months on the French coast, he proceeded to Cadiz in the same ship, then commanded by Captain Edward Kittoe, and destined to receive the flag of Vice Admiral, Sir R. G. Keats. On the 23d of November, 1810, he was engaged in one of the Milford's boats in an attack on several of the enemy's gun vessels near Santa Maria; on which occasion Lieutenants Thomas Worth, and John Buckland, of the Royal Marine Artillery, between whom he was sitting at the time, both fell by one unlucky shot.

The enemy had prosecuted the siege of Cadiz with rapidity and vigour; but the incessant labours of the fleet and flotilla checked their advances; still it kept all the officers on the station in a constant series of harassing boat-expeditions. After the battle of Barosa, the French turned the siege into a blockade, and contented themselves with firing shot and shells into and over Cadiz, from mortars and guns of extraordinary construction. The Milford left Cadiz in the summer of 1811, and joined the fleet off Toulon; and, as Sir Richard shifted his flag into the Hibernia, a beautiful first-rate, young Lyon was removed into her as a follower of the Admiral.

Mr. Lyon's next ship was the Caledonia 120, bearing the flag of the late Lord Exmouth, who shortly afterwards

appointed him acting Lieutenant of the Berwick 74, Captain Edward Brace, under whom he served at the reduction of 'Genoa, in April 1814. On the 8th of the same month, he was wounded in an attack made by the boats of the Berwick and Rainbow upon the enemy's posts near the pass of Rona, with a view to favour the advance of the British army, under Lord William Bentinck. On this occasion, two long 24-pounders and two mortars were taken. The total loss sustained by the boats was two men killed, and five, including Mr. Lyon, wounded. Mr Lyon's appointment to the Berwick was confirmed by the Admiralty, July 30. 1814.

During the war with Murat, in 1815, Lieutenant Lyon was present at the siege of Gaeta, by the combined Austrian and Anglo-Sicilian forces, under General Baron Laner, and Captain (now Sir William Charles) Fahie. On the last day of that year he was appointed to the Albion, 74, fitting for the flag of Rear-Admiral (afterwards Sir Charles) Penrose, in which ship he bore a part at the battle of Algiers, August

27. 1816.

In September, 1818, Mr. Ritchie, a gentleman of great science and ability, employed by the British government on a mission to the interior of Africa, arrived at Malta (where the Albion was then lying), attended by M. Dupont, a Frenchman in his pay, whom he had engaged at Marseilles for the purpose of collecting and preparing objects of natural history. It was understood that Captain Frederick Marryat, R. N., was also to have accompanied Mr. Ritchie, but that circumstances had occurred which induced that officer to relinquish his intention of joining the mission. Soon after Mr. Ritchie's arrival at Valette, he became acquainted with Lieutenant Lyon, who, hearing him express his disappointment at having failed to obtain Capt. Marryat as his companion on the proposed expedition, offered to supply his place, "hoping that the zeal by which he was actuated, would, in some degree, make amends for his deficiencies in other respects." Mr. Ritchie, without hesitation, accepted his proposal, and, in consequence, lost no time in requesting Sir Charles Penrose to solicit the necessary

permission for his quitting the Albion. On the 19th of November a favourable answer was received from the Admiralty; and Lieutenant Lyon, who had employed himself during the interval in acquiring the Arabic alphabet, and in otherwise preparing himself for the object in view, immediately followed Mr. Ritchie to Tripoli, where he landed on the 25th of the same month.

In 1821, he published his Journal, under the title of "A Narrative of Travels in Northern Africa, accompanied by Geographical Notices of Soudan, and of the Course of the Niger," with a chart of the routes, and a variety of coloured plates, illustrative of the costumes of the several natives of that country. The tour is divided into two parts; the first comprises a journey over the Gharian mountains to Benioleed, and the subsequent progress of the mission from Tripoli to Mourzouk, the capital of Fezzan (lat. 25° 54′ N., long. 15° 52′ E.), where Mr. Ritchie died on the 20th of November, 1819; the second embraces Mr. Lyon's proceedings between that period and March 25th, 1820, when he returned to Tripoli, after an absence of exactly one year," it being deemed too hazardous to attempt advancing any farther into the interior without fresh authority and additional pecuniary supplies from Government." During this period Lieutenant Lyon wore the dress of a Moslem, kept his head shaved, allowed his beard to grow, and travelled under the name of Said-ben-abd-Allah. Previous to the commencement of his journey, he was instructed in reading Arabic by a fighi (or clerk) of one of the mosques, who also gave him all the requisite information respecting the ceremonies used in prayer; which, when he became perfect in them, he taught to Mr. Ritchie. The following extracts will show what he had to contend with in the course of his travels:

"Mr. Ritchie felt much anxiety respecting a further allowance from Government, as we had scarcely more than money sufficient to pay the hire of our camels to Mourzouk, and beyond that place we were uncertain how we could procure a fresh supply for the use of the mission. He had brought with

him a good deal of merchandise; but, from what he learned at Tripoli, it was likely to be of little service to us, as it consisted of few or none of the articles of trade most commonly used in the interior. I furnished myself with a horse and the greater part of my equipments. M. Dupont thought fit to resign the office which he had pledged himself to fulfil, and abruptly left Mr. Ritchie, influenced, as we had reason to think, by the advice and suggestions of some of his supposed friends. The petty intrigues which were carried on in order to detract from the merits of the mission, and eventually to obstruct its progress, were most disgraceful. Such was the inauspicious state of our affairs, when we entered on our hazardous journey, determined, at all events, that, however unpromising in its commencement, its failure should not be attributed to our want of zeal in the service we had undertaken.

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May 15th, at Mourzouk (where the mission arrived on the thirty-ninth day after leaving Tripoli),— I was attacked with severe dysentery, which confined me to my bed during twentytwo days, and reduced me to the last extremity. Our little party was at this time miserably poor, for we had only money sufficient for the purchase of corn to keep us alive, and never tasted meat, unless fortunate enough to kill a pigeon in the gardens. My illness was the first break up in our little community, and from that time it rarely happened that one or two of us were not confined to our beds. The extreme saltness of the water, the poor quality of our food, together with the excessive heat and dryness of the climate, long retarded my recovery; and when it did take place, it was looked on as a miracle by those who had seen me in my worst state, and who thought it impossible for me to survive. I was no sooner convalescent, than Mr. Ritchie fell ill, and was confined to his bed with an attack of bilious fever, accompanied with delirium, and great pain in his back and kidneys, for which he required repeated cupping. When a little recovered, he got up for two days, but his disorder soon returned with redoubled and alarming violence. He rejected every thing but water; and, excepting about three hours in the afternoon, remained either