hat, musing amid the ruins of the
Capitol at Rome on October 15, 1764, he formed the plan of writing the
history of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He returned to
England in 1765, and in 1770 his _f._ _d._, leaving him the embarrassed
estate of Buriton, which had been his usual home when in England. With a
view to recovering his affairs, he left his estate and lived in London
where, in 1772, he seriously set himself to realise the great plan which,
since its conception, had never been out of his thoughts. The first
chapter was written three times, and the second twice before he could
satisfy himself that he had found the style suited to his subject. The
progress of the work was delayed by the fact that G. had meanwhile (1774)
entered the House of Commons, where, as member for Liskeard, he was a
steady, though silent, supporter of Lord North in his American policy. He
subsequently sat for Lymington, and held office as a Commissioner of
Trade and Plantations 1779-82. The first vol. of the _Decline and Fall_
appeared in 1776, and was received with acclamation, and it was not until
some time had elapsed that the author's treatment of the rise of
Christianity excited the attention and alarm of the religious and
ecclesiastical world. When, however, the far-reaching nature of his views
was at length realised, a fierce and prolonged controversy arose, into
which G. himself did not enter except in one case where his fidelity as
an historian was impugned. The second and third vols. appeared in 1781,
and thereafter (1783) G. returned to Lausanne, where he lived tranquilly
with an early friend, M. Deyverdun, devoting his mornings to the
completion of his history, and his evenings to society. At length, on
the night of June 27, 1787, in the summer-house of his garden, the last
words were penned, and the great work of his life completed. Of the
circumstances, and of his feelings at the moment, he has himself given an
impressive account. The last three vols. were issued in 1788, G. having
gone to London to see them through the press. This being done he returned
to Lausanne where, within a year, his beloved friend Deyverdun _d._ His
last years were clouded by ill-health, and by anxieties with regard to
the French Revolution. In 1793, though travelling was a serious matter
for him, he came to England to comfort his friend Lord Sheffield on the
death of his wife, took ill, and _d._ suddenly in London on January 16,
1794.

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