ing under his father, he entered Trinity College, became scholar in 1810, and obtained a fellowship in 1813, having as an opponent the Rev. Thomas Romney Robinson. He retired on the College living of Ardtrea in 1819, and in 1826 exchanged it for that of Killileagh, which he held until his death. "The fact of his not having received any other promotion, notwithstanding his European reputation and high personal character, has been ascribed to the earnestness with which he advocated a reform in the Irish Established Church, and a larger and more liberal system of education."40 He was an excellent Oriental scholar, and published a Hebrew Grammar. But it was in the field of Egyptian and Assyrian translation that his laurels were chiefly won. Mr. Layard remarks: "It is to Dr. Hincks we owe the determination of the numerals, the name of Senna-cherib on the monuments of Kouyunjik and of Nebuchadnezzar on the bricks of Babylon — three very important and valuable discoveries." He threw a flood of light on the grammar of the language, on cuneiform writings generally, and in various ways did much to smooth the path for subsequent investigators. His views have not all met with acceptance; but concerning the value of his researches and the soundness of his judgment, there is no difference of opinion. Most of his investigations were published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. In 1854 he published a Report to the Trustees of the British Museum respecting certain Cylinders and Terra-cotta Tablets, with Cuneiform Inscriptions; and in 1863 a Letter on the Polyphony of the Assyrio-Babylonian Cuneiform Writing. Mr. Hincks died 3rd December 1866, aged 74. His brother, Francis Hincks, C.B., still living, may be said to have secured to Canada the independence she enjoys. 40 241
Hogan, John, sculptor, was born at Tallow, in the County of Waterford, in 1800. Shortly after his birth his father, a builder, removed to Cork. His mother, Frances Cox, was great-granddaughter of Sir Richard Cox, the Chancellor. Though the family were in humble circumstances, the tone of their circle was elevated and refined. John was educated for a time at a school in Tallow, and when fourteen was placed in an attorney's office. This position was not congenial; a strong taste for art asserted itself, and much of his time was spent in cutting figures in wood, drawing fancy sketches, and copying architectural designs. Eventually he was engaged by a local firm as draughtsman and carver of models; and with extraordinary industry he employed himself during the next few years in mastering the principles of his art, and attending anatomical lectures. Some friends were attracted by the young artist's works, and raised sufficient funds to enable him to sojourn at Rome for a few years. The Royal Dublin Society and the Royal Irish Institution contributed towards this expense. Hogan reached Rome on Palm Sunday, 1824, and forthwith set to work in good earnest, attending the schools of St. Luke, studying in the Vatican and Capitol, and modelling in the life academies. His best friend was Signor Gentili, then a lawyer, afterwards a popular Catholic priest and preacher in Dublin. His first piece of merit was "A Shepherd Boy ;" his next a "pieta ;" followed by "Eve startled at the sight of death," which he finished in marble; a "Drunken Fawn" was next executed, and drew from Thorwaldsen the exclamation: "Ah! you are are a real sculptor — Avete fatto un miracolo." He returned home in 1829, and received a gratifying reception in Dublin, where the Royal Irish Institution placed its board-room at his disposal for the exhibition of his works, and the Royal Dublin Society awarded him a gold medal. The Carmelites purchased for £400 his "pieta", which now adorns the panel of the high altar of the church in Clarendon-street. Mr. Hogan returned to Italy in high spirits. He completed a "pieta" for Francis-street church; and in 1837 the statue of Bishop Doyle for Carlow Cathedral. The execution of this last work procured for him election as a member of the Society of the Virtuosi of the Pantheon, an honour to which no Irishman had been before raised. Through Lord Morpeth's (the Earl of Carlisle) influence he received the order for the execution of Drummond's statue for £1,200 — which, with his colossal figure of O'Connell, adorns the City Hall in Dublin. His twenty-four years' residence in Rome, from 1824 to 1848, may be said to have been the happiest period of his life. In 1838, Mr. Hogan married an Italian lady, and became almost naturalized in the country. The Roman revolution of 1848, to which he was bitterly opposed, impelled him to return home, and he took up his residence in Dublin. The last ten years of his life were saddened by many trials and disappointments; and the change from the glories of Rome to a narrow and uncongenial life in Dublin nearly broke his heart. The rejection of his beautiful model for the Moore statue was in itself a severe blow to a man of his temperament. He was taken ill early in 1858, and died on 27th March, aged 57. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, in the old O'Con-
