Samuel Pasfield Oliver

“ During his tenure of office the intelligence department was brought to a high pitch of perfection, and means for the speedy mobilisation of army corps in case of emergency were first organised. MacGregor's work, 'The Defence of India,' privately printed in 1884, was acknowledged to be the most perfect work of its kind, but was rigorously suppressed by the government. In 1885 MacGregor was appointed general officer commanding the Punjab frontier force, but his health soon broke down, and he died at Cairo, a few days after his promotion to the rank of major-general, on 5 Feb. ”

“ DILLON, PETER (1785?–1847) , navigator in the South Seas, born about 1785, seems to have been engaged in the sandalwood trade between the West Pacific Islands and China from his youth upwards, as he states that when in the Mercury, during 1809, he visited New Zealand and the Fiji Islands, where he remained four months, 'associating very much with the natives' and learning their language. ”

“ Magellan definitely settled in London soon afterwards. He still maintained an animated correspondence with the chief French, Italian, and German physicists, and endeavoured to establish a system by which they might communicate to one another the results of their investigations of special subjects. ”

“ Among Magellan's friends was the Hungarian Count de Benyowsky. About 1784 the count borrowed a large sum of Magellan, and was soon afterwards shot as a pirate by the French in Madagascar. Magellan gave the count's memoirs to William Nicholson, who published them in English in 1790. Magellan's French version of the memoirs appeared after his death, and the latest letters of Magellan to Benyowsky were published in the Hungarian writer Jokai's new edition of the count's memoirs. Magellan never recovered the money lent to the count, and suffered much from the loss. He died on 7 Feb. ”

“ After touching at Rotumah Island, Tucopia was reached on 5 Sept., when, by means of Martin Bushart, friendly intercourse was opened with the natives, and more information obtained about the ships of La Pérouse; a silver sword-handle and other relics brought from Mannicolo were purchased from the Tucopians. ”

“ HASTIE, JAMES (1786–1826) , civil agent of the British government in Madagascar, was born at Cork in 1786, his parents being members of the Society of Friends. The religious restraint of the sect in which he was trained proved distasteful to him, and he enlisted in the 56th foot. Proceeding to India, he served there during the Mahratta war. ”

“ The Malagasy government pretended that the idol Ramahavaly had instigated the outrage to mark its disapproval of Lyall's visit to his sacred village for the purpose of collecting plants and reptiles. Lyall died at Port Louis, Mauritius, 23 May 1831 of the effects of the malarial fever common to the lowland swamps and forests of Madagascar.
Lyall was a fellow of the Linnean Society and of other scientific societies in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Moscow. Many of the plants collected by him in Madagascar are preserved at Kew. ”

“ In 1814 Captain Dillon was in command of the Active brig of Calcutta, and commissioned by the Rev. Samuel Marsden to convey Messrs. Kendall and Hall, missionaries, to the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. In 1819 Dillon commanded the St. Michael. While commanding his own ship, the Calder, from 1822 to 1825, he was employed likewise in purchasing and taking cargoes of timber from New Zealand and the South Sea Islands for the East India market. In May 1825 the Calder was wrecked and lost at Valparaiso. In May 1826, being commander of his own ship, St. ”

“ Magellan obtained a wide reputation as a student of chemistry and mineralogy and other branches of natural science. When forty years old he abandoned the monastic life in order to devote himself to wider philosophical research. ”

“ When the second phase of the war broke out, MacGregor was appointed chief of the staff to Sir Frederick Roberts, accompanied the advance from Ali Khel in Kuram, across the Shutargardan, and took an active share in the action of Charasia, capture of Cabul, and occupation of the Sherpur cantonment. ”

“ While in England he published ‘The Character of the Russians and a detailed History of Moscow, illustrated with numerous Engravings, with a Dissertation on the Russian Language, and an Appendix containing Tables, political, statistical, and historical, an Account of the Imperial Agricultural Society of Moscow, a Catalogue of Plants found in and near Moscow, and an Essay on the Origin and Progress of Architecture in Russia,’ 4to, London and Edinburgh, 1823. In 1825 Lyall published his ‘Travels in Russia, the Krimea, the Caucasus, and Georgia,’ 2 vols. ”

“ About ten thousand natives of Madagascar lived at this time in Mauritius, most of them being originally imported either as slaves or as 'prize negroes' (cf. Narrative of the Persecution of the Christians in Madagascar, by Freeman and Johns, p. 276) , and at Port Louis or at Mokar Le Brun and his son made every effort to supply them with religious instruction (cf. A Tour in S. Africa, by J. J. Freeman, 1851, p. 388) . Le Brun was reappointed an agent of the London Missionary Society on 27 Dec. ”

“ While travelling on the continent he made the acquaintance of the leading scholars of the day, especially in the Netherlands. ‘All the Literati in Europe knew something of his merit, and the most noted of them were desirous to know more’ (Gent. Mag. l.c.) ”

“ Petersburg as physician to a nobleman's family, and he afterwards travelled to Kaluga with Mr. Pollaratskii. From 1816 to 1820 he was attached to the establishment of the Countess Orlof-Tchésmenska at Ostrof, sixteen miles from Moscow, in summer, and in winter at the ancient capital. In 1821 he was attending General Natschokin at Semeonovskoyé, near Moscow. ”

“ On 10 July 1691 he left Texel with a small party of adventurers under the auspices of the Marquis Henri du Quesne, and on 1 May 1691 landed in Rodriguez, the smallest of the Mascarene islands, in order to found a colony of French protestants. ”

“ At Sinho he charged the Tartar cavalry, thereby saving Sterling's battery, was very severely wounded, and specially recommended for his gallantry. Still suffering from his wounds, he took part in the fighting near Tungchow and at the capture of Pekin. ”