g industry, and his sacrifices of time, money and personal
comfort, in collecting and preparing materials for his _History_, and few
will be disposed to condemn severely errors and oversights in a work of
such extent and difficulty.

In 1774 he had written _A Plan for a Music School_. In 1779 he wrote for
the Royal Society an account of the infant Crotch, whose remarkable musical
talent excited so much attention at that time. In 1784 he published, with
an Italian title-page, the music annually performed in the pope's chapel at
Rome during Passion Week. In 1785 he published, for the benefit of the
Musical Fund, an account of the first commemoration of Handel in
Westminster Abbey in the preceding year, with an excellent life of Handel.
In 1796 he published _Memoirs and Letters of Metastasio_. Towards the close
of his life Burney was paid L1000 for contributing to Rees's _Cyclopaedia_
all the musical articles not belonging to the department of natural
philosophy and mathematics. In 1783, through the treasury influence of his
friend Edmund Burke, he was appointed organist to the chapel of Chelsea
Hospital, and he moved his residence from St Martin's Street, Leicester
Square, to live in the hospital for the remainder of his life. He was made
a member of the Institute of France, and nominated a correspondent in the
class of the fine arts, in the year 1810. From 1806 until his death he
enjoyed a pension of L300 granted by Fox. He died at Chelsea College on the
12th of April 1814, and was interred in the burying-ground of the college.
A tablet was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey.

Burney's portrait was painted by Reynolds, and his bust was cut by
Nollekens in 1805. He had a wide circle of acquaintance among the
distinguished artists and literary men of his day. At one time he thought
of writing a life of his friend Dr Samuel Johnson, but he retired before
the crowd of biographers who rushed into that field. His character in
private as well as in public life appears to have been very amiable and
exemplary. Dr Burney's eldest son, James, was a distinguished officer in
the royal navy, who died a rear-admiral in 1821; his second son was the
Rev. Charles Burney, D.D. (1757-1817), a well-known classical scholar,
whose splendid collection of rare books, and MSS. was ultimately bought by
the nation for the British Museum; and his second daughter was Frances
(Madame D'Arblay, _q.v._).

The _Diary and Letters_ of Madame D'Arb