- The Annual Obituary is this year rich in death
: the harvest has been great. One king, five admirals, two statesmen, a President of the Royal Academy, several authors, and other extraordinary or remarkable persons, have fallen before the reaper. The inter- est of these biographical sketches, however, does not so often depend upon the superiority of the individual or the peculiarity of his qualifications, as upon the materials he has left behind, or which intimate friends have supplied for his biography. Thus, perhaps the most interesting memoir in this very interesting volume is that of Dr. Gooch, though certainly he is not the most remarkable person among those who have died ; but the memoir gives us a near and home view of his disposition, character, occupations, and sufferings. It contains several of his letters, and has evidently been drawn up by some one well acquainted with this able phy- sician and amiable individual. The sketch of the life of Sir THOMAS LAWRENE is very efficiently performed : the precocity of LAWRENCE'S genius was as wonderful as that of DAVY and NEWTON, in his walk, and ought by the philosophical biographer to be considered in leference to them. On the whole, the volume for 1830 does great credit to the series.
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