Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/781

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764

MAETIN.

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author's revision^ The 10th and 11th volumes, " Wars of Eeligion," obtained the first Gobert Prize from the Acad^mie des Inscriptions in 1844. In 1851 the French Academy, which for so many years gave its first Gobert Prize to the illustrious Augustin Thierry, awarded the second one to the 14th, 15th, and 16th volumes of M. Martin's work, comprising the "Beign of Louis XIV." After M. Thierry's death, in 1866, the first prize was given to these volumes. At that period M. Martin had been collecting the materials for a fourth edition of his great work, still further im- proved, which appeared in 16 octavo volumes between 1855 and 1860. More recently he prepared a popu- lar illustrated edition (1867 et seq,). In July, 1869, the Institute awarded to this great work the biennial prize of 20,000 francs. In 1848 M. Camot, provisional Minister of Public Instruction, appointed M. Martin to deliver at tiie Sorbonne a course of lectures on modern his- tory. The Professor took for his subject "La Politique Ext^rieure de la E^volution." The lectures were interrupted by the course of events, and did not extend beyond the first six months. After the fall of the Empire, he was appointed Maire of the 16th arrondissement of Paris. In Feb., 1871, he waa chosen Deputy for the Seine and for the Aisne, and he elected to sit for the latter department. He voted with the Left. When the Insurrection of March 18 broke out, he vainly endeavoured to oppose it by concentrating the resistance to it at the maire of the 2nd arron- dissement in the Itue de la Banque. On returning to Paris after the suppression of the Commune he 'finally resigned his office of Maire. On July 29, 1871, he was elected a member of the Acad^mie des In- scriptions et Belles Lettres, in suc- cession to M. Pierre Clement. He also became a member and Vice- President of the Conseil G^n^ral of

the Aisne; and he wa^ also elected a Senator for that dejiartment, his term of office expiring V 1885. On June 13, 1878, he wb% elected a member of the French Academy in the room of M. Thiers.^ M. Taine ^ was also a candidate fo* the seat, but M. Martin defeated ^m by 18 votes to 15. His recej^on at the French Academy toot place Nov. 13, 1879. It had V^n very long delayed, owing to if. Emile Olli- vier's refusal to jItLodif y his inten- tion of censuring' M. Thiers for not coming to the eA of the Empire in its last hours ^m 1870. M. Martin would not al^r his eulogy of M. Thiers, to whose seat he succeeded; M. Emile C/llivier, whose turn it was to welcome the new Academi- cian, would make no change in his speech; and so it was necessary to compromise matters by appointing M. Xavier Marmier to take M. Ollivier's place. M. Martin has written several minor historical works in addition to those men- tioned above, and he has been a constant conMbutor to Liberal and freethinking newspapers and peri- odicals.

MAETIN, Sib Theodore, K.C.B., son of the late James Martin, Esq., solicitor, of Edinburgh, was born there in 1816, and received his edu- cation at the High School, and at the University of his native city. After practising as a solicitor in Edinburgh for several years, he came, in 1846, to London, where he established himself as a parliamen- tary agent. In a few vears he was recognized as one of uie leaders in the body of able men in whoee hands is the conduct of the business of promoting private bills in Parlia- ment. That i>osition he still re- tains. He first became known as an author by his contributions to Fraser's Magazine and Taifs Mctga- Mine, under the signature of " Bon OaiUtier," and in conjimction with the late Professor Aytoun he com- posed the " Book of Ballads," which bears that pseudonym, and a volume