Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 21.djvu/346

 was one of Gilby's congregation (, Works, ed. Pratt, i. 2).

Besides the works already enumerated, Gilby published: A letter to protestant writers, dated 10 March 1566, is prefixed, and reappears in ‘Part of a Register’ (1593), which reprints Gilby's ‘View of Anti-Christ.’ Gilby also translated Calvin's ‘Commentaries upon the Book of Daniel’ (1570: the address signed by the translator, A. G., has been erroneously attributed to [q. v.]); Beza's ‘Paraphrase of the Psalms,’ 1580, and Beza's ‘Paraphrase of fourteen Holy Psalms,’ 1590.
 * 1) ‘A brief Treatise of Election and Reprobation,’ London, 1547 (?); reissued, along with a treatise on the same subject by Foxe, as an appendix to Beza's ‘Treasure of Trueth,’ translated by Stockwood (London, 1576).
 * 2) ‘An Admonition to England and Scotland to call them to repentance,’ printed with Knox's ‘Appellation,’ Geneva, 1558.
 * 3) ‘A Pleasant Dialogue between a Soldier of Berwick and an English Chaplain …,’ London, 8vo, 1581.
 * 4) ‘The Testamentes of the Twelve Patriarches,’ from the Latin of Robert Grosseteste, London, 1581, often wrongly attributed to Arthur Golding.



GILBY, WILLIAM HALL (d. 1821?), geologist, was the son of William Gilby, M.D., an English physician, and studied under Professor Jameson at Edinburgh, where he graduated M.D. in 1815, his thesis being ‘Disceptatio … de mutationibus quas ea, quæ e terra gignuntur, aëri inferent,’ Edinb. 1815, 8vo, pp. 26, at which time he was annual president of the Royal Society of Medicine in that city. He wrote several papers, chiefly on geological subjects, his last being on the respiration of plants in the ‘Edinburgh Philosophical Journal’ for 1821. The date of his death has not been ascertained, but, as he was a frequent essayist until that year, he probably died either then or very shortly after. He was a member of the Geological Society before its incorporation.



GILCHRIST, ALEXANDER (1828–1861), biographer, son of James Gilchrist (author of ‘The Intellectual Patrimony,’ 1817), was born at Newington Green, London, 25 April 1828. In 1829 his father moved to an old water-mill on the Thames at Mapledurham, near Reading. Alexander was an affectionate and sympathetic child, and ‘almost as soon as he could walk’ his father's constant companion. At the age of twelve he was sent to University College School, and at sixteen left it to study law. He entered the Middle Temple in 1846, and was called to the bar in 1849. Legal studies, however, proved uncongenial, and he preferred the ‘most modest literary achievement’ to ‘brilliant legal success.’ Though he met with some disappointments from editors, his talents were recognised in 1848 by Dr. Price, editor of the ‘Eclectic Review.’ All his writings for three or four years appeared in the ‘Eclectic,’ and one upon Etty, published in 1849 and reissued separately, brought him a commission from David Bogue to write Etty's life. On 4 Feb. 1851 he married Anne Burrows [see ] at Earl's Colne, Essex. He wrote an article on decorative art as illustrated by the Great Exhibition, and then collected materials for the ‘Life of Etty,’ which appeared in 1855. He afterwards wrote lives of artists for an edition of ‘Men of the Time.’

In 1853 he settled at Guildford. In a visit to London a sight of some of Blake's illustrations of the Book of Job decided him to undertake a life of the artist. He had previously only known the illustrations to Blair's ‘Grave’ and Allan Cunningham's life of the artist. He now resolved to write a full life of Blake. In 1856 he settled in Chelsea, at the express wish of Carlyle, who was his next door neighbour, and with whom he and his wife had some pleasant intercourse. He was for two years afterwards chiefly occupied in winding up the business affairs of a brother who had died suddenly. He then devoted himself to Blake, contributing also to the ‘Literary Gazette’ and the ‘Critic.’ In the spring of 1861 he made the acquaintance of D. G. Rossetti. He had not finished Blake when he died of scarlet fever on 30 Nov. 1861. He had made preparations for lives of Wordsworth, the Countess d'Aulnoy, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, and Sir Kenelm Digby. His loss called forth strong expressions of sympathy from Mr. Madox Brown and D. G. Rossetti—the latter calling him ‘a far-sighted and nobly honest writer on subjects of which few indeed are able to treat worthily.’

The ‘Life of Blake’ was completed by his widow, and published in 1863. She also edited a second edition in 1880, and prefixed to it a ‘Memoir of Alexander Gilchrist.’



GILCHRIST, ANNE (1828–1885), miscellaneous writer, daughter of John Parker Burrows, solicitor, by his wife Henrietta (Carwardine), was born at 7 Gower Street, London, 25 Feb. 1828. Her father died in 1839.