lace of G. among historians is in the first rank, and if the vast
scale of his work and the enormous mass of detail involved in it are
considered along with the learning and research employed in accumulating
the material, and the breadth of view, lucidity of arrangement, and sense
of proportion which have fused them into a distinct and splendid picture,
his claims to the first place cannot be lightly dismissed. His style,
though not pure, being tinged with Gallicisms, is one of the most noble
in our literature, rich, harmonious, and stately; and though sources of
information not accessible to him have added to our knowledge, and have
shown some of his conclusions to be mistaken, his historical accuracy has
been comparatively little shaken, and his work is sure of permanence. As
a man G. seems to have been somewhat calm and cool in his feelings,
though capable of steady and affectionate friendships, such as those with
Deyverdun and the Sheffields, which were warmly reciprocated, and he
appears to have been liked in society, where his brilliant conversational
powers made him shine. He was vain, and affected the manners of the fine
gentleman, which his unattractive countenance and awkward figure, and
latterly his extreme corpulence, rendered somewhat ridiculous. He left an
interesting _Autobiography_.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1737, _ed._ Westminster and Oxf., became Romanist and sent
to Lausanne 1753, where he returned to Protestantism, _pub._ _Essay on
Study of Literature_ 1761, visited Rome 1764 and resolved to write his
_Decline and Fall of Roman Empire_, began to write it 1772, _pub._
1776-87, _d._ 1794.

_Decline and Fall_ (Sir W. Smith, 8 vols., 1854-55), another (J.B. Bury,
7 vols., 1896-1900). _Autobiography_ (Lord Sheffield, 1796), often
reprinted.

GIFFORD, RICHARD (1725-1807).--Poet, was _ed._ at Oxford and took orders.
He was the author of a poem, _Contemplation_. He also wrote theological
and controversial works.

GIFFORD, WILLIAM (1756-1826).--Critic and poet, was _b._ of humble
parentage at Ashburton, Devonshire, and after being for a short time at
sea, was apprenticed to a cobbler. Having, however, shown signs of
superior ability, and a desire for learning, he was befriended and _ed._,
ultimately at Oxf., where he _grad._ Becoming known to Lord Grosvenor, he
was patronised by him, and in course of time produced his first poem,
_The Baviad_ (1794), a satire directed against the Delia Cruscans, a
clique of ver