The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-05
MINOR MENTION.

TITAN RAMSAY PEALE, who died recently in
Philadelphia, was the last survivor of Charles
Wilson Peale, the portrait painter of Revolu-
tionary fame, inherited many Of his fathers
instincts. The father painted the first portrait
of Washington, as Virginia colonel, in 1772,
and also the portraits of the most prominent
officers of the Revolution. He was the first
American popular lecturer ON natural history;
opened the first Am erican museum; first made
enamel teeth; invented great variety of ma
chimes, and published scientific essays, He was
a pupil of Copley and West captain of com
pany at Trenton and Germantown, and mem
Der of the Pennsylvania convention.
The versatility Of some Of these early Amer
lean patriots is striking. Peale was successfully
saddler, silversmth, watch maker carver, and
always a naturalist, painter, patriot and in
ventor. His son Titan was also naturalist
and founder of the Philosophical Society of
Washington, a member Of the Wilkes exploring
expedition. and at his death the only survivor of
Colonel Longs Rocky mountain expedition. He
was very tender and humane. His notice of
red bat which followed her captive young into
the museum, attaching herself to the breast of
the captor and showing notable maternal solici-
tude even unto DEATH is told in most histories Of
the bat group.
OF more noted literary tendency was his
brother, Rembrandt (1778-l86O), of Phi!adel-
phia. Like his father he a pupil of West
and also painted portrait of Washington, Sep
tember 1895 He had studio at Washington,
S. c., in 1896. spent several years at Paris, and
then lived in Philadelphia from 1909 to the time
of his death. His best known paintings are
'The Roman Daughter and ''The Court of
Death" the latter exhibited proftably through
out the United States. He published 'Notes on
Italy" and Portfolio of an Artist" and lectured
on the portraits of Washington. The memories
of these two generations, l74l-l865, covered an
important part of colonial and all of federal
history. What "a period, and in what q
rich time to be upon the earth.
Alive to nature and szk, travellers by sea and
land, competent for every occasion of either
barbarous or civilized life, this father and son
witnessed the great dramas in which Wash
ncton, Napoleon and Lincoln were chief actors;
saw serfdom and slavery extinguished, the
establishment and triumph of representative
government; the conquest and civilization by
steam power and machinery in fifty years of an
area greater than had been tie entire area of
the worlds history from the conquest of Caesar
to their own time, day and generation.
NOTWITHSTANDING the seriousness of the
subject, it is sometimes funny to read the mi
mute directions for escaping from a burning
house or avoiding drowning, invariably accom-
panied with what is evidently regarded as a
rather unmportant qualification, that the per
son in peril shall retain or recover presence OF
mind enough to follow the instructions One
philanthropist tells how EASILY hat may be con-
verted into q life buoy by ''holding the mouth of
it down in the water" thus keeping tho air in it,
and resting the chin on tho crown" il "a per