production of natural scenery, however profitable it might be, could not satisfy him; and he determined to enter the higher sphere of imaginative composition. The fruit of this determination was witnessed in his pictures of the "Garden of Eden" and the "Expulsion," exhibited in 1828. The merit of these works was admitted, but they failed to satisfy the public taste so completely as his simple landscapes. In June, 1829, Cole sailed for Europe, and for two years painted in London, where he contributed to several of the annual exhibitions; but from ignorance of the peculiar features of American scenery, or the injustice of hanging committees, his pictures were either regarded as exaggerations of nature, or were so disadvantageously placed that they attracted less attention than their merits deserved. In May, 1831, he visited Florence, and made careful studies in the chief galleries. In the succeeding February he visited Rome, and returning to Florence in July, worked with an assiduity which surprised himself, finishing more pictures in three months than he had done in double that time before. Among these were views on the Arno and in the vicinity of Rome and Naples. The influence of Italian scenery and of his studies of old Italian art had meanwhile wrought a change in his style, and the public were disappointed with these works upon their arrival in America, complaining that the artist had lost his first freshness and originality, and that his Italian landscapes were overcharged copies from the old masters. In November, 1832, he returned to New York, and during the ensuing year, while at Catskill, he received from Mr. Luman Reed of New York an order to fill an entire room of his house with pictures. The magnitude of the undertaking required several years of undivided labor, the most of which was devoted to the "Course of Empire," a series of five pictures, in which are presented, to use his own words, "an illustration of the history of the human race, as well as an epitome of man, showing the natural changes of landscape, and those effected by man in his progress from barbarism to civilization, to luxury, to the vicious state, or state of destruction, and to the state of ruin or desolation." The series has been called "a great epic poem." Mr. Reed died before the completion of the work, and at the distribution of his estate it was purchased by the New York gallery of fine arts, and is now in the gallery of the New York historical society. For the next few years Cole was engaged upon works of a similar class, chief among which were the "Departure" and the "Return," the "Dream of Arcadia," and the "Voyage of Life." The last, an allegorical series of four pictures, representing childhood, youth, manhood, and old age, are among the most popular of his works, and through the engravings by Smillie are most extensively known. They are now owned by J. Taylor Johnston of New York. In November, 1836, he married Miss Maria Bartow. The autumn of 1841 found him again in Rome, where he executed a duplicate of his "Voyage of Life," which elicited the praise of Thorwaldsen, who visited his studio repeatedly to see it. In the succeeding spring he travelled over many parts of Sicily, and returned to New York in the summer. An exhibition of his works was opened in Boston and New York in the winter of 1843-'4, for which he painted a number of Sicilian views of great beauty, including a large picture of Mount Etna from Taormina, executed in five days; this is now in the Wadsworth gallery, Hartford, Conn., as are also the "View of the White Mountains" and the "View of Northwest Bay on Lake Winnipiseogee." The "Angel appearing to Shepherds" is in the Boston Athenæum. Thenceforth until his death he painted with industry, executing among other works the "Cross in the Wilderness," "L'Allegro" and "II Penseroso," "Home in the Woods," the "Hunter's Return," the "Mountain Ford," &c. The "Cross and the World," a work in two parts, dictated by earnest religious conviction, he left unfinished. His life and genius were made the subject of a funeral oration by his friend William Cullen Bryant. In all the relations of life Cole's amiability and generosity were engagingly displayed, and to those who could sympathize with his enthusiastic and impressible nature, he especially endeared himself. His life was one of singular purity, and in the latter part of it he manifested a sincere and unostentatious piety. His poetic feeling, so amply illustrated in his works, frequently found expression in rhythmical forms, and his miscellaneous papers in prose and verse, few of which were ever made public, possess considerable literary merit.
COLEBROOKE, Henry Thomas, an English orientalist, born in London, June 16, 1765, died there in March, 1837. He was the son of Sir George Colebrooke, who in 1769 was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the East India company. His early education was conducted by a private tutor. In 1782 he was appointed to a writership in the East India company, and in 1783 he arrived in Madras. He soon went to Calcutta, and was employed in the company's board of accounts. In 1786 he was appointed assistant collector of revenue in Tirhoot. In the mean time he had devoted much attention to the study of Sanskrit, but his interest in it does not seem to have been so much literary as scientific, his love of astronomy and mathematics leading him to desire to ascertain what the Hindoos knew in regard to these sciences. In 1789 he was transferred to Purneah, and in 1793 to Nattore. He had now become interested in the religion, philosophy, and laws of the Hindoos. In 1794 he presented to the Asiatic society his first paper, "On the Duties of a Faithful Hindoo Widow." At the same time his views on commerce and finance were far in advance of his age; and though a servant of the East India
