of a politician as well as poet. The characters of the king, of his brother, of Douglas, and of the earl of Moray, are discriminated, and their separate talents always
, or Blind Harry, are the
names given to a Scotch poet who lived in the fifteenth
century, but of whom there are few memorials that can be
relied on. It is conjectured that he wrote his celebrated
“Actis & Deidis of Shyr Willam Wallace,
” about Wallace,
” and Harbour’s
“Bruce,
” which terminates decidedly in Barbour’s favour.
The “Bruce,
” says an elegant critic, “is evidently the
work of a politician as well as poet. The characters of the
king, of his brother, of Douglas, and of the earl of Moray,
are discriminated, and their separate talents always employed with judgment; so that every event is prepared
and rendered probable by the means to which it is attributed; whereas the life of Wallace is a mere romance, in
which the hero hews down whole squadrons with his single
arm, and is indebted for every victory to his own muscular
strength. Both poems are filled with descriptions of battles; but in those of Barbour our attention is successively
directed to the cool intrepidity of king Robert, to the
brilliant rashness of Edward Bruce, or to the enterprizing
stratagems of Douglas; while in Henry we find little more
than a disgusting picture of revenge, hatred, and blood.
”
As a poet, however, he has considerable merit, and the
numerous editions through which his “Wallace
” has
passed, affords a sufficient proof of his popularity during
all that period, when his language would be understood
and the nature of his narrative be acceptable. The only
manuscript known of this poem, and from which all th
printed copies have been taken, is now in the Advocates’
library at Edinburgh, and bears date 1488. The first
printed edition was that of Edinburgh, 1570; but the best
and more correct is that of the Morisons of Perth, 1790,
3 vols. 12mo.
dor extraordinary; who misrepresented the affair so much to the disadvantage of sir Edward, that the earl of Carlisle, who was sent to accommodate the misunderstanding
Another writer relates this more particularly. Sir Edward, while he was in France, had private instructions from
England to mediate a peace for the protestants in France;
and, in case of a refusal, to use certain menaces. Accordingly, being referred to de Luines, he delivered to him
the message, reserving his threatenings till he saw how the
matter was relished. De Luines had concealed a gentleman of the reformed religion behind the curtain; who,
heing an ear-witness of what passed, might relate to his
friends what little expectations they ought to entertain of
the king of England’s intercession. De Luines was very
haughty, and asked what our king had to do in this affair.
Sir Edward replied, “It is not to you, to whom the king
my master owcth an account of his actions; and for me it
is enough that I obey him. In the mean time I must
maintain, that my master hath more reason to do what he
doth, than you to ask why he doth it. Nevertheless, if
you desire me in a gentle fashion, I shall acquaint you
farther.
” Upon this, de Luines bowing a little, said,
“Very well.
” The ambassador then gave him some reasons; to which de Luines said, “We will have none of
your advices.
” The ambassador replied, “that he took
that for an answer, and was sorry only, that the affection
and good-will of the king his master was not sufficiently
understood and that, since it was rejected ii> that manner,
he could do no less than say, that the king his master knew
well enough what to do.
” De Luines answered, “We are
not afraid of you.
” The ambassador smiling a little, replied, “If you had said you had not loved us, I should
have believed you, and given you another answer. In
the mean time, all that I will tell you more is, that we
know very well what we have to do.
” De Luines upon
this, rising from his chair with a fashion and countenance
a little discomposed, said, “By G, if you were not
monsieur the ambassador, I know very well how I would
use yon.
” Sir Edward Herbert rising also from his chair,
said, that “as he was the king of Great Britain’s ambassador,
so he was also a gentleman; and that his sword, whereon
he laid his hand, should give him satisfaction if he had
taken any offence.
” After which, de Luines making no
reply, the ambassador went on towards the door, and de
Luines seeming to accompany him, sir Edward told him,
that “there was no occasion to use such ceremony after
such language,
” and so departed, expecting to hear farther from him. But no message being brought from de
Luines, he had, in pursuance of his instructions, a more
civil audience from the king at Coignac; where the marshal
of St. Geran told him that tf he had offended the constable,
and was not in a place of security there:“to which he
answered, that
” he thought himself to be in a place of security wheresoever he had his sword by him." De Luines,
resenting the affront, procured Cadinet his brother, duke
of Chaun, with a train of officers, of whom there was not
one, as he told king James, but had killed his man, to go
as an ambassador extraordinary; who misrepresented the
affair so much to the disadvantage of sir Edward, that the
earl of Carlisle, who was sent to accommodate the misunderstanding which might arise between the two crowns, got
him recalled; until the gentleman who stood behind the
curtain, out of a regard to truth and honour, related all
the circumstances so as to make it appear, that though de
Luines gave the first affront, yet sir Edward had kept himself within the bounds of his instructions and honour. He
afterwards fell on his knees to king James, before the duke
of Buckingham, requesting that a trumpeter, if not an
herald, might be sent to de Luines, to tell him that he had
made a false relation of the whole affair; and that sir Edward Herbert would demand satisfaction of him sword in
hand. The king answered, that he would take it into consideration; but de Luines died soon after, and sir Edward
was sent again ambassador to France.
onsumptive appearances were apprehended, he went to Dauntsey in Wiltshire, the seat of lord Danvers, earl of Danby, who appropriated an apartment for him, and treated
About 1629, he was seized with a quotidian ague, which
obliged him to remove to Woodford in Essex, for change
of air; and when, after his ague had abated, some consumptive appearances were apprehended, he went to Dauntsey
in Wiltshire, the seat of lord Danvers, earl of Danby, who
appropriated an apartment for him, and treated him with
the greatest care and kindness. Here, by abstaining from
hard study, and by air and exercise, he apparently recovered his health, and then declared his resolution to marry,
and to take priest’s orders. Accordingly he married Jane
Danvers, daughter of Mr. Charles Danvers of Bainton in
Wilts, related to the earl of Danby; and about three
months after his marriage, at the request of Philip earl of
Pembroke, the king presented him to the living of Bemerton, into which he was inducted April 26, 1630. Here he
passed the remainder of his days, discharging the duties of
a parish priest in a manner so exemplary, that the history
of his life here, as given by Walton, or perhaps as delineated by himself in his “Country Parson,
” may justly be
recommended as a model. His own behaviour was indeed
an exact comment on all he wrote, which appears to have
come from the heart of a man of unfeigned piety and humility. Unhappily, however, for his rlock, his life was
shortened by a return of the consumptive symptoms which
had formerly appeared, and he died in February 1632, and
was buried March 3.
ved to Trinity-college in Cambridge. He made a short stay there, and then went to wait upon William earl of Pembroke, recorded in the following article; who owning him
, an eminent person of the Pembroke family, was born at York, where his grandfather
was an alderman, and admitted of Jesus-college, Oxford,
in 1621: but before he took a degree, removed to Trinity-college in Cambridge. He made a short stay there, and
then went to wait upon William earl of Pembroke, recorded
in the following article; who owning him for his kinsman,
and intending his advancement, sent him in 1626 to travel,
with an allowance to bear his charge. He spent four years
in visiting Asia and Africa; and then returning, waited on
his patron at Baynard’s-castle in London. The earl dying
suddenly, he was disappointed in his expectations of preferment, and left England a second time, and visited several parts of Europe. After his return he married, and now
being settled, devoted much of his time to literary employments. In 1634 he published in folio, “A Relation of
some Years Travels into Africa and the great Asia, especially the territories of the Persian Monarchy, and some
parts of the Oriental Indies, and Isles adjacent.
” The
edition of 1677 is the fourth, and has several additions.
This work was translated by Wiquefort into French, with
“An Account of the Revolutions of Siam in 1647,
” Paris,
g out of the civil wars, he was induced to side with the parliament; and, by the influence of Philip earl of Pembroke, became not only one of the commissioners of parliament
Upon the breaking out of the civil wars, he was induced
to side with the parliament; and, by the influence of
Philip earl of Pembroke, became not only one of the commissioners of parliament who acompanied the army of sir
Thomas Fairfax, but a commissioner also to treat with those
of the king’s party for the surrender of the garrison at Oxford. He afterwards attended that earl, especially in Jan.
1646, when he, with other commissioners, was sent from
the parliament to the king at Newcastle about peace, and
to bring his majesty nearer London. While the king was
at Oldenby, the parliament commissioners, pursuant to instructions, addressed themselves to his majesty, and desired
him to dismiss such of his servants as were there and had
waited on him at Oxford: which his majesty with great reluctance consented to do. He had taken notice in the
mean time of Mr. James Harrington, the author of the
“Oceana,
” and Mr. Thomas Herbert, who had followed
the court from Newcastle and hearing a favourable character of them, was willing to receive them as grooms of
his bed-chamber with the others that were left him; which
the commissioners approving, they were that night admitted. Being thus settled in that honourable office, and in
good esteem with his majesty, Herbert continued with
him when all the rest of the chamber were removed; even
till his majesty was brought to the block. The king,
though he found him, says Wood, to be presbyterianly
affected, yet withal found him very observant and loving,
and therefore entrusted him with many matters of moment.
The truth was, he found the king tu be of a very contrary
disposition and character from what the malcontents of the
day had represented him, and being equally ashamed of
them, and of the delusion into which he had himself fallen,
he attached himself to the king from that time to the moment of his murder; and during these two years he underwent, night and day, all the difficulties, dangers, and distresses, that his royal master suffered. At the restoration
he was made a baronet by Charles II. “for faithfully serving his royal father during the two last years of his life;
”
as the letters patent for that purpose expressed. He died
at his house in York, March 1, 1681-2.
, earl of Pembroke, was born at Wilton in Wiltshire, April 8, 1580,
, earl of Pembroke, was born at
Wilton in Wiltshire, April 8, 1580, and admitted of Newcollege in Oxford in 1592, where he continued about two
years. In 1601, he succeeded to his father’s honours and
estate; was made knight of the garter in 1604; and governor of Portsmouth six years after. In 1626 he was
elected chancellor of the university of Oxford, and about
the same time made lord steward of the king’s houshold.
He died suddenly at his house called Baynard’s-castle, in
London, April 10, 1630; according, as Wood foolishly
says, to the calculation of his nativity, made several years
before by Mr. Thomas Allen, of Gloucester-hall. Clarendon, however, seriously relates, concerning this calculation, that some considerable persons connected with lord
Pembroke being met at Maidenhead, one of them at supper drank a health to the lord steward: upon which another said, that he believed his lordship was at that time
very merry; for he had now outlived the day, which it had
been prognosticated upon his nativity he would not outlive; but he had done it now, for that was his birth-day,
which had completed his age to fifty years. The next
morning, however, they received the news of his death.
Mr. Park remarks that had his lordship possessed a credulous mind, it might have been suspected that this astrological prediction had worked upon his feelings, and occasioned a temporary suspension of the animal faculties, which
was too hastily concluded to be dissolution; for Mr. Granger
states it as an accredited fact in the Pembroke family, that
when his lordship’s body was opened in order to be embalmed, he was observed, immediately after the incision
was made, to lift up his hand. This remarkable circumstance, adds Granger, compared with lord Clarendon’s account of his sudden death, affords a strong presumptive
proof that his distemper was an apoplexy. Lord Pembroke
was not only a great favourer of learned and ingenious men,
but was himself learned, and endued with a considerable
share of poetic genius. All that are extant of his productions in this way, were published with this title: “Poems
written by William earl of Pembroke, &c. many of which
are answered by way pf repartee by sir Benjamin Rudyard,
with other poems written by them occasionally and apart,
”
himself the pleasures of all kinds, almost in all excesses,” &c. It ought not to be forgot that this earl of Pembroke vras a munificent contributor to the Bodleian library,
The character of this noble person is not only one of the
most amiable in lord Clarendon’s history, but is one of the
best drawn. We can, however, give only a few particulars. “He was,
” says the great historian, “the most
universally beloved and esteemed of any man of that age;
and having a great office in the court, he made the court
atself better esteemed, and more reverenced in the country: and as he had a great number of friends of the best
men, so no man had ever the confidence to avow himself
to be his enemy. He was a man very well bred, and of
excellent parts, and a graceful speaker upon any subject,
having a good proportion of learning, and a ready wit to
apply it, and enlarge upon it: of a pleasant and facetious
humour, and a disposition affable, generous, and magnificent. He lived many years about the court before in it,
and never by it; being rather regarded and esteemed by
lung James, than loved and favoured. As he spent and
lived upon his own fortune, so he stood upon his own feet,
without any other support than of his proper virtue and
merit. He was exceedingly beloved in the court, because
he never desired to get that for himself which others laboured for, but was still ready to promote the pretences of
worthy men: and he was equally celebrated in the country,
for having received no obligations from the court, which
might corrupt or sway his affections and judgment. He
was a great lover of his country, and of the religion and
justice which he believed could only support it: and his
friendships were only with men of those principles. Sure
never man was planted in a court who was fitter for that
soil, or brought better qualities with him to purify that
air. Yet his memory must not be flattered, that his virtues and good inclinations may be believed he was not
without some alloy of vice he indulged to himself the
pleasures of all kinds, almost in all excesses,
” &c. It
ought not to be forgot that this earl of Pembroke vras a
munificent contributor to the Bodleian library, of two hundred and forty-two Greek Mss. purchased by him in Italy,
and formerly belonging to Francis Barroccio. This gift is
commemorated by an inscription over the collection in the
library, where also are a painting and a statue of his lordship. Pembroke-college was so named in honour of him.
thor, was born at Beauvais in 1617, and displayed early propensities for learning. Potier bishop and earl of Beauvais sent him to the various colleges of Paris for education.
, a learned and pious doctor of
the Sorbonne, and a voluminous author, was born at Beauvais in 1617, and displayed early propensities for learning. Potier bishop and earl of Beauvais sent him to the
various colleges of Paris for education. He obtained a
canonry of Beauvais, was rector of the university of Paris
in 1646, and died in 1690, after being excluded from his
canonry and the Sorbonne for some ecclesiastical dispute.
Hermant had the virtues and defects of a recluse student^
and was much esteemed for his talents and piety by Tillemont and others of the solitaries at Port Royal. His style
was noble and majestic, but sometimes rather inflated.
His works are numerous: 1. “Toe Life of St. Athanasius,
”
2 vols. 4to. 2. Those of “St. Basil and Gregory Nazianzen,
” of the same extent. 3. The Life of St. Chrysostom,“written under the name of Menan. And, 4. That of
” St. Ambrose,“both in 4to. 5. A translation, of some
tracts from St. Chrysostom. 6. Another from St. Basil.
7. Several polemical writings against the Jesuits, who
therefore became his mortal enemies, and contrived to
interfere with his monumental honours after death, by preventing the inscription of a very commendatory epitaph.
8.
” A Defence of the Church against Labadie.“9.
” Index Universalis totius juris Ecclesiastici,“folio. 10.
” Discours Chretien sur retablissement du Bureau des pauvres
de Beauvais," 1653. A life of him has been published by
Baillet.
inity hall, Cambridge; but nothing more of his academical progress is known. Being patronised by the earl of Exeter, he was presented by king Charles I. on the promotion
, one of the minor poets, of very
considerable merit, in the reign of Charles I. was born in
London, but descended from an ancient and genteel family
in Leicestershire, the history of which is amply detailed
by the able historian of that county. He was the fourth
son of Nicholas Herrick, of St. Vedast, Foster-lane, by
Julian Stone his wife, and was born in August 1591. He
was educated at St. John’s college, Cambridge, from 1615
to 1617; and Wood, who indeed speaks with hesitation,
seems wrong in placing him in his Athenæ Oxonienses.
He is said to have afterwards removed to Trinity hall,
Cambridge; but nothing more of his academical progress
is known. Being patronised by the earl of Exeter, he was
presented by king Charles I. on the promotion of Dr. Potter to the see of Carlisle, to the vicarage of Dean Prior in
Devonshire, Oct. 1, 1629, where he became distinguished
for his poetical talents and wit. During the prevalence of
the parliamentary interest, he was ejected from his living,
and resided in London in St. Anne’s parish, Westminster,
until the Restoration, when he again obtained his vicarage.
The time of his death is not known. His poetical works
are contained in a scarce volume, entitled “Hesperides,
or the works, both humane and divine, of Robert Herrick,
Esq. London,
” 1643, 8vo. To this volume was appended
his “Noble numbers, or, his pious pieces,
” in which, says
Wood, “he sings the birth of Christ, and sighs for his
Saviour’s sufferings on the cross. These two books made
him much admired in the time they were published, and
especially by the generous and boon loyalists, who commiserated his sufferings.
” In 1810, Dr. Nott of Bristol published a selection from the “Hesperides,
” which may probably contribute to revive the memory of Herrick as a poet,
who certainly in vigour of fancy, feeling, and ease of vereification, is entitled to a superior rank among the bards
of his period, He is one of those, however, who will
require the selector’s unsparing hand, for, notwithstanding
his “pious pieces,
” there are too many of an opposite
description, which cannot, like his quaint conceits, be
placed to the account of the age in which he lived.
, a political and poetical writer of considerable fame, was the eldest son of John first earl of Bristol, by his second wife, Elizabeth, sole daughter and
, a political and poetical writer of considerable fame, was the
eldest son of John first earl of Bristol, by his second wife,
Elizabeth, sole daughter and heir to sir Thomas Felton of
Playford in the county of Suffolk, bart. He was born Oct.
15, 1696, and educated at Clare-hall, Cambridge, where
he took his master’s degree in 1715, previously to which,
on Nov. 7, 1714, he had been made gentleman of the
bed-chamber to the Prince of Wales. He came into parliament soon after the accession of George I. and was appointed vice-chamberlain to the king in 1730, and a privy
counsellor. In 1733 he was called up by writ to the house
of peers, as lord Hervey of Ickworth; and in 1740 was
constituted lord privy seal, from which post he was removed
in 1742. He died Aug. 5, 1743, in the forty-seventh year
of his age, a short period, but to which his life had been
protracted with the greatest care and difficulty. Having
early in life felt some attacks of the epilepsy, he entered
upon and persisted in a very strict regimen, which stopped
the progress of that dreadful disease, but prevented his
acquiring, or at least long enjoying, the blessing of sound
health. It is to this rigid abstemiousness that Pope malignantly alludes in the character he has given of lord Hervey,
under the name of Sporus, in the line “the mere white
curd of asses milk.
” But lord Hervey affords a memorable
instance of the caution with which we ou^ht to read the
characters drawn by Pope and his associates; nor can too
much praise be given to his late editors for the pains they
have taken to rescue some of them from the imputations
which proceeded from the irritable temper and malignity
of that admired satirist. In the character of Sporus, Dr.
Warton has justly observed, that language cannot afford
more glowing or more forcible terms to express the utmost
bitterness of contempt. Pope and his lordship were once
friends; but they quarrelled at a time when the poetical
world seemed to be up in arms, and perpetually contending
in a manner disgraceful to their characters. In the quarrel
between Pope and lord Hervey, it appears that Pope was
the aggressor, and that lord Hervey wrote some severe lines
in reply, and An Epistle from a Nobleman to a Doctor of
Divinity.“1733. (Dr. Sherwin). In answer to this, Pope
wrote the
” Letter to a Noble Lord, on occasion of some
libels written and propagated at court in the year 1732-3,“which is printed in his Works, and, as Warburton says,
” is
conducive to what he had most at heart, his moral character,“to which, after all, it conduced very little, as he
Violated every rule of truth and decency in his subsequent
attack on lord Hervey in the
” Prologue to the Satires,“under the character of Sporus, whic,h, we agree with
Mr. Coxe,
” cannot be read without disgust and horror
disgust at the indelicacy of the allusions, and horror at
the malignity of the poet, in laying the foundation of his
abuse on the lowest species of satire, personal invective;
and what is still worse, on sickness and debility."
, third earl of Bristol, second son of the preceding, was born May 19, 1724.
, third earl of Bristol, second son of the preceding, was born May 19, 1724. Chusing a maritime life, he passed through the subordinate stations, and was a lieutenant in the year 1744. In the same year he first saw miss Chudleigh at the house of Mrs. Hammer, her aunt, in Hampshire, where they were privately married, Aug. 4, in that year. A few clays after, Mr. Hervey was obliged to embark for Jamaica in vice-admiral Davers’s fleet. At his return his lady and he lived together, and were considered by their relations as man and wife. In January 1747, he was advanced to the rank of post-captain, and in the same year his lady brought him a son, though she continued a maid of honour to the year 1764. This circumstance gave occasion to the following amigmatical epigram by the late lord Chesterfield:
one of the lords of the admiralty; and in 1775, on the death of his brother without issue, he became earl of Bristol, after having represented the borough of Bury St.
Soon after this event, a coolness arose between captain Hervey and his wife, which increased till they both became desirous of a separation. In Jan. 1747, he was appointed to the command of the Princessa, and served in the Mediterranean under admirals Medley and Byng and after the peace, in Jan. 1752, he obtained the Phoenix of 22 guns. In the course of two wars, the courage, zeal, and activity of captain Hervey were distinguished in the Mediterranean, off Brest, at the Havannah, and in other places. During the same period he was gradually advanced to the command of a 74 gun ship; and at the peace in 1763 he was appointed one of the grooms of the bed-chamber to the king. In 1771 he was created one of the lords of the admiralty; and in 1775, on the death of his brother without issue, he became earl of Bristol, after having represented the borough of Bury St. Edmund’s in four parliaments. He now resigned his places, and was created an admiral. In the beginning of the American war, captain Hervey was a strenuous advocate for the measures of the ministry; but, changing his politics in the year 1778, continued to the end of it as violent an opponent; not without very striking appearances of inconsistency on several occasions. He died in 1779, when his titles, and as much of his estate as he could not leave away, devolved to his brother the bishop of Derry, as he left no legitimate heir. The affair of his marriage, which attracted much public notice at the time, was briefly thus: After nine years of preparation, his wife, who had long lived with the Juke of Kingston, obtained her suit in the commons, in 1768, by which it was decided that their marriage never had been legal, and was void. She then was married to the duke of Kingston in 1769. But, it appearing afterwards that the decision had been fraudulently obtained, she was indicted in 1775 for bigamy, tried in the House of peers, and found guilty, but, as a peeress, was discharged from corporal punishment. She afterwards died abroad in 1788, The following well-drawn character of lord Bristol, written by a contemporary peer in the sea-service, lord Mulgrave, seems to justify the insertion of his name in this place; though it may be in some degree heightened by personal partiality.
"The active zeal and diligent assiduity with which the earl of Bristol served, had for some years impaired a constitution
"The active zeal and diligent assiduity with which the earl of Bristol served, had for some years impaired a constitution naturally strong, by exposing it to the unwholesomeness of variety of climates, and the infirmities incident to constant fatigue of body and anxiety of mind. His family, his friends, his profession, and his country, lost him in the 56th year of his age.
, brother to the preceding, and fourth earl of Bristol, was born in August 1730. He was educated at Westminster
, brother to the preceding, and fourth earl of Bristol, was born in August 1730. He was educated at Westminster school, and was admitted fellow commoner of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge, Nov. 10, 1747, where his application to study was as remarkable as it was unusual in persons of his rank. He took his master’s degree, as nobleman, in 1754. While at college his good sense, good nature, and affability, gained him the love and esteem of all who knew him. At first he was designed for the bar, and, leaving Cambridge, went to one of the inns of court, but he afterwards turned his thoughts to the church, and went into holy orders. He was perhaps a singular instance of a man of his learning, family, and connexions, that never attained any ecclesiastical preferment until he was made a bishop, although he held a lay office under government, and in his father’s department, that of & principal clerk of the privy seal.
In 1779, on the death of his elder brother, he became earl of Bristol, with a noble estate, the produce of which he expended
In 1779, on the death of his elder brother, he became
earl of Bristol, with a noble estate, the produce of which
he expended in acts of munificence and liberality. One
of his first donations, after this accession of fortune, was
1000l. towards an augmentation of an endowment for the
widows and clergy of his diocese. He became, however,
about this time, rather eccentric in his political conduct,
and was among the leaders of the Irish patriots, as they
were called, during the A'merican war, and a member of
the famous convention of delegates from the volunteers,
held in Dublin in 1782; on which occasion he was escorted
from Derry to Dublin by a regiment of volunteer cavalry,
and received military honours in every town through which
he passed in that long journey. As an amateur, connoissieur, and indefatigable protector of the fine arts, he was
generally surrounded by artists, whose talents his
judgment directed, and whose wants his liberality relieved.
His love of the sciences was only surpassed by his Jove to
his country, and by his generosity to the unfortunate of
every country; neither rank nor power escaped his resentment when any illiberal opinion was thrown out against
England. At a dinner with the late king of Prussia and
the prince royal of Denmark, at Pynnont, in 1797, he
boldly said, after the conversation about the active ambition of England had been changed into inquiries about
the delicacy of a roasted capon, that he did not like neutral animals, let them be ever so delicate. In 1798 he was
arrested by the Frencb in Italy, and confined in the castle
of Milan; was plundered by the republicans of a valuable
and well-chosen collection of antiquities, which he had
purchased with a view of transmitting to his native country; and was betrayed and cheated by many Italians, whose
benefactor he had been. But neither the injustice nor
the ingratitude of mankind changed his liberal disposition,
he no sooner recovered his liberty, than new benefactions
forced even the ungrateful to repent, and the unjust to
acknowledge his elevated mind. The earl of Bristol was
one of the greatest English travellers (a capacity in which his merits have been duly appreciated by the celebrated Martin Sherlock); and there is not a country in Europe
where the distressed have not obtained his succour, and
the oppressed his protection. He may truly be said to
have clothed the naked, and fed the hungry; and, as ostentation never constituted real charity, his left hand did
not know what, his right hand distributed. The tears and
lamentations of widows and orphans discovered his philanthropy when he was no more; and letters from Swiss
patriots and French emigrants, from Kalian catholics and
German protestants, proved the noble use his lordship made
of his fortune, indiscriminately, to the poor, destitute, and
unprotected of all countries, of all parties, and of all religions. But, as no man is without his enemies, and envy
is most busy about the most deserving, some of his lordship’s singularities have been the object of calumny and
ridicule. He certainly did retain that peculiarity of character for which his family were formerly distinguished,
and which induced the mother of the late marquis Townsbend, a woman of uncommon wit and humour, to say that
there were three sorts of people in the world, “men,
women, and /fewys.
”His lordship died at Aibano, near
Rome, July 8, 1803, and his remains, being brought to
England, were interred in the family vault at Ickworth,
near Bury, where, at the time of his death, he was building a magnificent viila on the Italian model. His lordship
married, in early life, Elizabeth, daughter of sir Jenny n
Davers, bart. by whom he had several children. He was
succeeded in titles and estate by Frederic-William, his
second son, now fifth earl of Bristol.
emently against some of the errors and corruptions of the Romish church. In 1628, lord Danvers, then earl of Danby, recommended him to Laud, then bishop of Bath and Wells;
In 1625 he went over to France, where he continued
about six weeks, and took down in writing an account of
his journey; the original manuscript of which he gave to
his friend lord Danvers, but kept a copy for himself, which
was published about thirty years after. Jn April 1627, he
answered, pro forma, upon these two questions: 1. <* An
ecclesia unquam fuerit invisibles“” Whether the church
was ever invisible?“2.
” An ecclesia possit errare“”Whether the church can err“both which determining
in the affirmative, a great clamour was raised against him
as a papist, or at least a favourer of popery. Wood says,
that Prideaux, the divinity-professor,
” fell foul upon him
for it, calling him Bellarminian, Pontifician, and I know
not what." Heylin was not easy under the charge of being
popishly affected; for which reason, to clear himself from
that imputation, he took an opportunity, in preaching before the king on John iv. 20, of declaring vehemently
against some of the errors and corruptions of the Romish
church. In 1628, lord Danvers, then earl of Danby, recommended him to Laud, then bishop of Bath and Wells;
by whose interest also, in 1629, he was made one of the
chaplains in ordinary to his majesty. On Act-Sunday
1630, he preached before the university of Oxford at St.
Mary’s on Matth. xiii. 25, whence he took occasion to deliver his sentiments very freely in regard to an affair which
at first sight had a specious appearance of promoting the
honour and emolument of the ecclesiastical state, but was
in reality a most iniquitous scheme, injurious to the laity,
and of no service where it was pretended to avail. This
was a feoffment, that some designing persons had obtained,
for the buying in of impropriations; but Heylin, seeing
through the disguise, exposed very clearly the knavery of
the designers. About this time he resigned his fellowship,
having been married near two years; in concealing which
marriage he acted very unstatutably, not to say dishonestly,
nor did his friends attempt to justify him for it. What
rendered it more irregular was, that he was married in
Magdalen-college chapel.
h were printed in 1661, dedicated to Charles II. who in return appointed the author secretary to the earl of Windsor, then going out as governor of Jamaica. This post,
, a half-crazy kind of
writer, whose works may probably excite some curiosity
respecting the author, was born in 1630, in Essex, where
there was a considerable family of that name. He was first
a pensioner in St. John’s college, Cambridge; then, in
1650, junior bachelor of Gonvill and Caius college. He
was soon after a lieutenant in the English army in Scotland,
then a captain in general Fleetwood’s regiment, when he
was Swedish ambassador in England for Carolus Gustavus.
He afterwards went to Jamaica in some capacity, and on
his return, in 1660, published an account of it, called
“Jamaica viewed,
” 4to. two editions of which were printed
in He was a man,
” says Newcourt,
“though episcopally ordained (by bishop Sanderson), yet
publicly bade defiance to the prelacy, and that of his own
diocesan in particular: an impudent, violent, ignorant
fellow, very troublesome, as far as he could, to his right
reverend diocesan, and to all that lived near him.
” He
died Nov. 30, 1708, and was interred in the church of All
Saints, Colchester, with a long Latin epitaph, part of
which, “Reverendus admodum Dominus tarn Marte
quain Mercurio clarus, quippe qui terra marique militavit
non sine gloria, ingeniique vires scriptis multiplice argumento insignitis demonstravit, c.
” was afterwards effaced,
by order, as it was commonly reported at Colchester, of
bishop Compton. His tracts, which in point of style and
often of matter, are beneath criticism, were collected and
published by himself in a quarto vol. 1707. They include
his account of Jamaica the trial of the spiritual courts
general history of priestcraft; a satyr upon poverty; a
satyr against fame the survey of the earth and the writ
de excommunicato capiendo unmasked receipts to cure the
evil of this wicked world the art of contentment, a poem,
&c. &c. Mr. Malone has introduced him in his life of
Dryden, as the author of the “Mushroom, or a satyr against
libelHng tories and preiatical-tantivies, &c.
” He published
also a few occasional sermons, which are reprinted in a
Second edition of his works, 1716, 2 vols. 8vo.
r the great entrance into the choir, that none of them might plead ignorance in that particular. The earl of Nottingham, then secretary of state, called it “Dr. Hickes’
Upon the Revolution in 1688, Dr. Hickes, with many
others, refusing to take the oaths of allegiance, fell under
suspension in August 1689, and was deprived the February
following. He continued, however, in possession till the
beginning of May; when reading in the Gazette that the
deanery of Worcester was granted to Talbot, afterwards
bishop of Oxford, Salisbury, and Durham, successively, he
immediately drew up in his own hand-writing a claim of
right to it, directed to all the members of that church
and, in 1691, affixed it over the great entrance into the
choir, that none of them might plead ignorance in that
particular. The earl of Nottingham, then secretary of
state, called it “Dr. Hickes’ s Manifesto against Government;
” and it has since been published by Dr. Francis
Lee, in the appendix to his “Life of Mr. Kettlewell,
” with
this title, “The Protestation of Dr. George Hickes, and
claim of right, fixed up in the cathedral church of Worcester.
” Expecting on this account the resentment of the
government, he privately withdrew to London, where he
absconded for many years, till May 1699, when lord
Somers, then chancellor, out of regard to his uncommon
abilities, procured an act of council, by which the attorneygeneral was ordered to cause a. noli prosequi to be entered
to all proceedings against him.
nsecrated suffragan bishop of Thetford, and Wagstaffe suffragan of Ipswich; at which solemnity Henry earl of Clarendon is aid to have been present. It has indeed been
Soon after their deprivation, archbishop San croft and his colleagues began to consider about maintaining and continuing the episcopal succession among those who adhered to them; and, having resolved upon it, they sent Dr. Hickes over, with a list of the deprived clergy, to confer with king James about that matter. The doctor set out in May 1693, and had several audiences of the king, who complied with all he askedj Dr. Hickes, after being detained some months by an ague and fever, returned to England in February, and on the eve of St. Matthias the consecrations were performed by Dr. Lloyd bishop of Norwich, Dr. Turner bishop of Ely, and Dr. White bishop of Peterborough, at the bishop of Peterborough’s lodgings in the Rev. Mr. Giffard’s house, Southgate. Hickes was consecrated suffragan bishop of Thetford, and Wagstaffe suffragan of Ipswich; at which solemnity Henry earl of Clarendon is aid to have been present. It has indeed been averred, that Hickes was once disposed to take the oaths, in order to save his preferments; but this is not probable: he was a man very strict in his principles, and what he was convinced was his duty he closely adhered to, choosing to suffer any thing rather than violate his conscience. Some years before he died he was grievously tormented with the stone; and at length his constitution, though naturally strong, gave way to that distemper, Dec. 15, 1715, in his 74th year.
em, 1761. 6. “The New Hippocratrs,” a farce, acted at Drury-lane in 1761, but not published, 7. “The Earl of Warwick,” a tragedy, from the French of La Harpe, 1764. 8.
, a minor author of the last century, much patronized and befriended by Garrick, was
born in the county of Dublin in 1719, and educated for a
popish priest, first in Ireland, and afterwards for many
years in France. Yet after all, he took his degree of bachelor in physic, and returned to Dublin that he might
practise. Indolence, however, prevented his application
jto that or any profession, and he came to London about
1753, where he subsisted very scantily and idly, as an
author, for the remainder of his life; producing several
works, but none of any great merit. He was principally
employed by the booksellers in various works of translation,
compilement, &c. In short, with no principles, and slender abilities, he was perpetually disgracing literature, which
he was doomed to follow for bread, by such a conduct as
was even unworthy of the lowest and most contemptible of
the vulgar. His conversation was highly offensive to decency and good manners, and his whole behaviour discovered a mind over which the opinions of mankind had no
influence. He associated, however, occasionally with some
of the most celebrated men of his time, Foote, Garrick,
Murphy, Goldsmith, Kelly, Sec. who tolerated his faults,
and occasionally supplied his necessities, although when
he thought their liberality insufficient, he made no scruple
of writing the grossest libels on their character. One of
his peculiar fancies was to keep the place of his lodging a
secret, which he did so completely, that he refused to disclose it even when dying, to a friend who supported him,
and actually received his last contributions through the
channel of the Bedford coffee-house. When he died,
which was in June 1777, it was discovered that he had
lodged in one of the obscure courts near St. Martin’s-lane.
Dr. Hiffernan, as he was usually called, was author of the folio wing works: 1.“The Ticklers,
” a set of periodical and political papers, published in Dublin about 1750. 2. “The
Tuner,
” a set of periodical papers, published in London in
1753. 3. “Miscellanies in prose and verse,
” The
Ladies’ Choice,
” a dramatic petite piece, acted at Coventgarden in 1759. 5. “The Wishes of a free People,
” a
dramatic poem, The New Hippocratrs,
” a
farce, acted at Drury-lane in The Earl of Warwick,
” a tragedy, from the French of
La Harpe, Dramatic Genius,
” an essay, ia
five books, The Philosophic Whim,
” a farce,
The Heroine of the Cave,
” a tragedy, loft
unfinished by Henry Jones, author of the “Earl of Essex,
”
completed by Hiffernan, and acted at Drury-lane in 1774.
He also issued proposals for a quarto volume of additional
Miscellanies in prose and verse, which we believe never
appeared.
to which Caxton added an eighth. The most magnificent copy of this work extant is in the library of earl Spencer. There are also copies in his majesty’s collection,
, the author of an old
chronicle, not in much estimation, was a Benedictine of
St. Werberg’s monastery in Chester, where he died about
1360, aged between eighty and ninety. He is thought to
have borrowed much from another monk of his monastery,
Roger Cestrensis, but probably both were indebted to the
same original materials, and both were sufficiently admirers
of the marvellous to compile works rather of curiosity than
of use, unless where they present us with the transactions
of their own time. Higden’s work was entitled “Polychronicon;
” Dr. Gale published that part which relates to
the Britons and Saxons among his“Quindecem Scriptores,
&c.
” But the greatest curiosity among collectors is the
English translation of the “Polychronicon,
” by John de
Trevisa, printed by Caxton in 14S2, folio, in seven books,
to which Caxton added an eighth. The most magnificent
copy of this work extant is in the library of earl Spencer.
There are also copies in his majesty’s collection, in the
Bodleian and British Museum, and in Mr. Heber’s library.
The “Chester Mysteries,
” exhibited in that city in
ng the university without a degree, he retired to his native country. He married the widow of Robert earl of Essex; and delivered an oration at her funeral, Sept. 16,
, son of Dr. Thomas Hi?gons,
some time rector of Westburgh in Shropshire, was born in
1624, in that county became a commoner of St. Alban’s-hall
in the beginning of 1638, when he was put under the tuition of Mr. Edward Corbet, fellow of Merton college, and
lodged in the chamber under him in that house. Leaving
the university without a degree, he retired to his native
country. He married the widow of Robert earl of Essex;
and delivered an oration at her funeral, Sept. 16, 1656.
“Oratione funebri, a marito ipso, more prisco laudata
fuit,
” is part of this lady’s epitapii. He married, secondly,
Bridget, daughter of sir Devil Greenvili of Stow, and sister
to John earl of Bath and removed to Grewell in Hampshire was elected a burgess for Malmsbury in 16.38, and
for New Windsor in 1661. His services to the crown
were rewarded with a pension of 500l. a year, and gifts to
the amount of 4000l. He was afterwards knighted and
in 1669, was sent envoy extraordinary to invest John
George duke of Saxony with the order of the garter. About
four years after, he was sent envoy to Vienna, where he
continued three years. In 1685 he was elected burgess
for St. Germain’s, “being then,
” says Wood, “accounted
a loyal and accomplished person, and a great lover of the
tegular clergy.
” He died suddenly, of an apoplexy, in
the King’s-bench court, having been summoned there as
a witnt’ss, Nov. 24, 1691; and was buried in Winchester
caihedral near the relics of his first wife. His literary productions are, 1. “A Panegyric to the King,
” The Funeral Oration on his first Lady,
” Iff56. 3.
“The History of Isoof Bassa,
” The Venetian Triumph;
” for which he
was complimented by Waller, in his poems; who has also
addressed a poem to Mrs. Higgons. Mr. Granger, who
styles sir Thomas “a gentleman of great merit,
” was favoured by the duchess dowager of Portland with a ms
copy of his Oration; and concludes, from the great scarcity of that pamphlet, that “the copies of it were, for certain reasons, industriously collected and destroyed, though
few pieces of this kind have less deserved to perish. The
countess of Essex had a greatness of mind which enabled
her to bear the whole weight of infamy which was thrown
upon her; but it was, nevertheless, attended with a delicacy and sensibility of honour which poisoned all her enjoyments. Mr. Higgons had said much, and I think much
to the purpose, in her vindication; and was himself fully
convinced from the tenor of her life, and the words which
she spoke at the awful close of it, that she was perfectly
innocent. In reading this interesting oration, I fancied
myself standing by the grave of injured innocence and
beauty; was sensibly touched with the pious affection of
the tenderest and best of husbands doing public and solemn justice to an amiable and worthy woman, who had
been grossly and publicly defamed. Nor could I withhold
the tribute of a tear; a tribute which, I am confident, was
paid at her interment by every one who loved virtue, and
was not destitute of the feelings of humanity. This is what
I immediately wrote upon reading the oration. If I am
wrong in my opinion, the benevolent reader, I am sure,
will forgive me. It is not the first time that my heart has
got the better of my judgment.
” “I am not afraid,
” Mr.
Nichols adds, “of being censured for having transcribed
this beautiful passage.
”
, younger son of sir Thomas (and first cousin to the late earl of Granville), by Bridget his second wife, was born in 1670,
, younger son of sir Thomas (and first cousin to the late earl of Granville), by Bridget his
second wife, was born in 1670, and became a commoner
of St. John’s college, Oxford, in Lent term 1686; and
went afterwards to Cambridge, and then to the Middle
Temple. Wood enumerates five of his poems. He wrote
some others and was the author of a tragedy, entitled
“The Generous Conqueror, or the Timely Discovery,
”
acted at Drury-lane, and printed in on the Peace of Utrecht;
” and on the publication of
bishop Burnet’s “History of his own Times,
” he wrote
some strictures on it, in a volume entitled “Historical and
Critical Remarks,
” the second edition of which was printed in A
short View of the English History, with Reflections, political, historical, civil, physical, and moral on the reigns of
the kings their characters, and manners their successions
to the throne, and other remarkable incidents to the Revolution 1688. Drawn from authentic Memoirs and Mss.
”
“These papers,
” he tells us in his preface, “lay covered
with dust 36 years, till every person concerned in the
transactions mentioned were removed from the stage.
”
f Clarence, second brother to king Edward IV. by Isabella, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Richard earl of Warwick and Salisbury. All this will appear from the pedigree
, a very eminent and learned puritan divine, was descended from the royal family of England. He was the son of Thomas Hildersham, a gentleman of an ancient family, by Anne Pole (or Poole), his second wife, daughter to sir JefTery Pole, fourth son of sir Richard Pole, cousin-german to Henry VII. This sir Richard Pole’s wife was Margaret countess of Salisbury, daughter to George duke of Clarence, second brother to king Edward IV. by Isabella, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Richard earl of Warwick and Salisbury. All this will appear from the pedigree of cardinal Pole (who was Mr. Hildersham’s great uncle), as given from* the Heralds office, by the cardinal’s biographer, Mr. Phillips, but we might perhaps have passed it over, unless for a remarkable coincidence of descent which we shall soon have to notice in our account of bishop Hildesley.
so resolute, he disinherited him. He soon, however, obtained a liberal patron in his relation Henry earl of Huntingdon, lord president of the north, who sent him to
Mr. Hildersham was born at Stechworth in Cambridgeshire, Oct. 6, 1563, and educated at Christ’s college, Cambridge. His parents were zealous papists, but during his
abode at the university, he embraced the doctrines of the
reformed church with a cordiality and decision which nothing could shake, and when his father found him so resolute, he disinherited him. He soon, however, obtained a
liberal patron in his relation Henry earl of Huntingdon,
lord president of the north, who sent him to the university,
which he had been obliged to leave, and generously supported him. Being disappointed of a fellowship of Christ’s
college, owing to the partiality of Dr. Barwell, the master,
for another candidate, he was nearly about the same time,
in 1586, chosen fellow of Trinity-hall, by the influence of
lord Burleigh, chancellor of the university. This fellowship, however, he did not hold above two years, and having unguardedly began to preach without being admitted
into orders, he received a check from archbishop Whitgift,
although this irregularity was not in those days very uncommon. In 1593, however, every obstacle of this kind
being removed, the earl of Huntingdon presented him to
the living of Ashby-de-la Zoncb in Leicestershire, where
he remained the whole of his life. Being dissatisfied with
some points of ecclesiastical discipline, snch as wearing
the surplice, baptizing with the cross, and kneeling at the
sacrament, he often incurred the penalties of the law, and
more than once was suspended from his functions; but always restored by the intervention of some friend, or the prevalence of his own excellent character. The wonder is that
a man of his learning, piety, and good sense, should have
adhered with such pertinacity to matters of comparatively
little consequence, when he found the law and the general
sentiments of his brethren against him, and when, what
was of more importance to him, those labours were interrupted in which he delighted, and in which he was eminently successful. With these interruptions, however, he
continued in the exercise of his ministry at Ashby until
his death, March 4, 1631. He was interred in the southside of the chancel of Ashby church, with an inscription
which, after adverting to his noble descent, says that he
was “more honoured for his sweet 'and ingenuous disposition, his singular wisdom in settling peace, advising in
secular affairs, and satisfying doubts; his abundant charity,
and especially his extraordinary knowledge and judgment in
the Holy Scriptures, his painful and zealous preaching,
&c.
” This character is amply illustrated by his biographers, and may in part be confirmed by his works, which
in point of style and matter are equal, if not superior
to those of his contemporaries* Those which are best
known are his “Lectures on John iv.
” CLII Lectures on Psalm 51,
” 1635, fol. In all these
his steady adherence to the doctrines of the church is visible, and his aversion to sectarianism and popery. He was
particularly an opponent of the Brownists, or first independents. Echardjusily says he was “a great and shining light of the puritan party, and celebrated for his singular learning and piety.
” Ke was the author also of
“Lectures on Psalm 34,
” A Treatise
on the Lord’s Supper,
” which we have never seen. He
left in ms. a paraphrase on the whole Bible, from which
was extracted a paraphrase on the Song of Solomon,
printed, 1672, in 12mo. His son, Samuel, was ejected, for
nonconformity, from the living of West Felton in Shropshire, and died in 1674. He was editor of his father’s
Lectures.
me year he published his first poetical piece, entitled “Camillus,” in vindication and honour of the earl of Peterborough, who had been general in. Spain. This poem was
, an English poet and dramatic writer of
some celebrity in his day, was born in Beaufort-buildings
in the Strand, February 10, 1685. He was the eldest son
Of George Hill, esq. of Malmsbury-abbey in Wiltshire
and, in consequence of this descent, the legal heir to an,
entailed estate of about 2000l. per annum; but the misconduct of his father having, by a sale of the property,
which he had no right to execute, rendered it of no advanl
tage to the family, our author was left, together with Mr.
Hill’s other children, to the care of, and a dependence on,
his mother and grandmother; the latter of whom (Mrs. Anne Gregory) was more particularly anxious for his education and improvement. The first rudiments of learning
he received from Mr. Reyner, of Barnstaple in Devonshire^
to whom he was sent at nine years old, and, on his removal
from thence, was placed at Westminster-school, under the
care of the celebrated Dr. Knipe. After remaining here
until he was fourteen years of age, he formed a resolution
singular enough in one so young, of paying a visit to his
relation lord Paget, then ambassador at Constantinople;
and accordingly embarked for that place, March 2, 1700.
When he arrived, lord Paget received him with much surprise, as well as pleasure; wondering, that a person so
young should run the hazard of iuch a voyage, to visit a
relation whom he only knew by character. The ambassador immediately provided for him a very learned ecclesiastic in his own house; and, under his tuition, sent him to
travel, so that he had an opportunity of seeing Egypt, Palestine, and a great part of the East. With lord Paget he
returned home about 1703, and in his journey saw most of
the courts in Europe, and it is probable that his lordship
might have provided genteelly for him at his death, had
he not been dissuaded by the misrepresentations of a female about him, which in a great measure prevented his
good intentions. The young man’s well known merit,
however, soon recommended him to sir William Wentworth, a Yorkshire baronet, who being inclined to make
the tour of Europe, his relations engaged Mr. Hill to accompany him as a travelling tutor, which office he performed, for two or three years, to their entire satisfaction.
In 1709, he commenced author, by the publication of an
“History of the Ottoman Empire,
” compiled from tinmaterials 'which he had collected in the course of his di
rent travels, and during his residence at the Turkish conr:.
This work, though it met with success, Mr. Hill frequently
afterwards repented the having printed, and would himself,
at times, very severely criticize it; and indeed, to say
the truth, there are in it a great number of puerilities, which render it far inferior to the merit of his subsequent writings; in which correctness has ever been so
strong a characteristic, that his critics have even attributed
it to him as a fault; whereas, in this work, there at best
appears the labour of a juvenile genius, rather choosing to
give the full reign to fancy, and indulge the imagination
of the poet, than to aim at the plainness and perspicuity of
the historian. About the same year he published his first
poetical piece, entitled “Camillus,
” in vindication and
honour of the earl of Peterborough, who had been general
in. Spain. This poem was printed without any author’s
name; but lord Peterborough, having made it his business to find out to whom he was indebted, appointed Mr.
JHill his secretary; which post, however, he quitted the
year following, on occasion of his marriage.
endour. Soon after the publication of the first of these medicines, he obtained the patronage of the earl of Bute; under which he published a very pompous and voluminous
But the disposition of Dr. Hill was greatly changed with
his circumstances: from being humble and diffident, he had
become vain and self-sufficient. There appeared in him a
pride, which was perpetually claiming a more than ordinary homage, and a vindictive spirit, which could never
forgive the refusal of it. Hence his writings abounded
with attacks on the understandings, morals, or peculiarities
of others, descending, even to personal abuse and scurrility.
This licence of his pen engaged him frequently in disputes
and quarrels; and an Irish gentleman of the name of
Browne, supposed to be ridiculed in an “Inspector,
” proceeded so far as to cane him in the public gardens at Ranelagh. He had a paper war with Woodward the comedian was engaged with Henry Fielding in the affair of
Elizabeth Canning and concerned in a contest with the
Royal Society, Of this, the origin and progress has been
thus detailed by one who had every opportunity of knowing
the circumstances. When Mr. Hill had started all at once
as before related, from a state of indigence and distress,
to taste the comforts of very considerable emoluments from
his labour, giddy with success, and elated beyond bounds
with the warm sunshine of prosperity, he seemed to be
seized with a kind of infatuation. Vanity took entire possession of his bosom, and banished from thence every
consideration but of self. His conversation turned on little
else, and even his very writings were tainted with perpetual details of every little occurrence that happened to him.
His raillery, both in company and in his writings, frequently turned on those who closely attached themselves to
philosophical investigations, especially in the branches of
natural philosophy. The common -place wit of abusing the
medal-scraper, the butterfly-hunter, the cockle-shell-merchant, &c. now appeared in some of his Magazines and
Inspectors, and in two or three places he even indulged
some distant glances of satire at the Royal Society. Notwithstanding which, however, when the Supplement to
“Chambers’s Dictionary
” was nearly finished, the proprietors of that work, very sensible of the weight of an
F. R. S. annexed to the author’s name, were very desirous
that Dr. Hill should have this addition as well as Mr. Scott,
his colleague in the work. In consequence of this design,
Dr. Hill procured Mr. Scott to propose him for election
into that honourable body; but the doctor’s conduct for
some time past having been such as had rendered him the
object of contempt to some, of disgust to others, and of
ridicule to almost all the rest of his former grave and philosophical acquaintances, he now stood but a very indifferent chance for carrying an election, where an opposition
pf one third was sufficient to reject the candidate; and as.
the failing in that attempt might have done our author
more essential prejudice than the succeeding in it could
even have brought him advantage, the late ingenious and
worthy president, Martin Folkes, esq. whose remembrance
must ever live in the highest estimation with all who ever
had the honour of knowing him, notwithstanding that Dr.
Hill had given him personal occasion of offence against him,
yet with the utmost generosity and candour, advised Mr.
Scott to dissuade his friend, for his own sake, against a
design which there appeared so little probability of his succeeding in. This advice, however, Dr. Hill, instead of
considering in the generous light it was meant, misinterpreted into a prejudiced opposition against his interest, am
would have persisted in his intention even in despite of it,
had net his being unable to obtain the subscription o
requisite number of members to his recommendation^
obliged him to lay it aside, from a conviction that he could
not expect to carry an election in a body composed of three
hundred members, of which he could not prevail on three
to set their names to the barely recommending him as a
candidate. Thus disappointed, his vanity piqued, and his
pride lowered, no relief was left him but railing and scurrility, for which purpose, declaring open war with the
society in general, he first published a pamphlet entitled
*' A Dissertation on Royal Societies,“in a letter from a
Sclavonian nobleman in London to his friend in Sclavonia;
which, besides the most ill-mannered and unjust abuse on
the whole learned body he had been just aiming, in vain,
to become a member of, is interlarded with the grossest
personal scurrility on the characters of Mr. Folkes and
Mr. Henry Baker, two gentlemen to whom Dr. Hill had
formerly been under the greatest obligations, and whose
respective reputations in both the moral and literary world
had long been too firmly established for the weak efforts
of a disappointed scribbler to shake or undermine. Not
contented with this, he proceeded to compile together a
large quarto volume entitled
” A Review of the Works of
the Royal Society,“in which, by the most unfair quotations,
mutilations, and misrepresentations, numbers of the papers
read in that illustrious assembly, and published under the
title of the
” Philosophical Transactions,“are endeavoured
to be rendered ridiculous. This work is ushered into the
world with a most abusive and infamous dedication to
Martin Folkes, esq. against whom and the afore-mentioned
Mr. Henry Baker the weight of this furious attack was
chiefly aimed but the whole recoiled upon himself; and
by such personal abuse, malignant altercation, proud and
insolent behaviour, together with the slovenliness and inaccuracy of careless and hasty productions, he wrote himself out of repute both with booksellers and the town;
and, after some time, sunk in the estimation of the public
nearly as fast as he had risen. He found, however, as
usual, resources in his own invention. He applied himself
to the preparation of certain simple medicines namely,
” the Essence of Water-dock; Tincture of Valerian Pectoral Balsam of Honey and Tincture of Bardana.“The
well-known simplicity of these preparations led the public
to judge favourably of their effects; they had a rapid sale,
and once more enabled the doctor to live in splendour.
Soon after the publication of the first of these medicines,
he obtained the patronage of the earl of Bute; under
which he published a very pompous and voluminous botanical work, entitled
” A System of Botany;“but is said to
have been a very considerable loser by this speculation.
His botanical works, however, had a favourable influence
in promoting the science in general. To wind up the
whole of so extraordinary a life, having a year or two
before his death presented an elegant set of his botanical
works to the king of Sweden, that monarch invested him
with one of the orders of his court, that of Vasa, in consequence of which he assumed the title of Sir John. He
died Nov. 22, 1775, of the gout, which he professed to cure
others. As to his literary character, and the rank of
merit in which his writings ought to stand, Hill’s greatest
enemies could not deny that he was master of considerable
abilities, and an amazing quickness of parts. The rapidity
of his pen was ever astonishing, and he has been known
to receive within one year, no less than 1500l. for the
works of his own single hand; which, as he was never in
such estimation as to be entitled to any extraordinary price
for his copies, is, we believe, at least three times as much
as ever was made by any one writer in the same period of
time. But, had he written much less, his works would
probably have been much more read. The vast variety of
subjects he handled, certainly required such a fund of
universal knowledge, and such a boundless genius, as were
never perhaps known to centre in any one man; and it is
not therefore to be wondered, if, in regard to some he
appears very inaccurate, in some very superficial, and in
others altogether inadequate to the task he had undertaken.
His works on philosophical subjects seemed most likely to
have procured him fame, had he allowed himself time to
digest the knowledge he possessed, or preserved that regard
to veracity which the relation of scientific facts so rigidly
demands. His novels, of which he has written many, such
as
” The History of Mr. Lovell,“(in which he had endeavoured to persuade the world he had given the detail of his own life),
” The Adventures of a Creole,“” The Life of
Lady Frail,“&c. have, in some parts of them, incidents
not disagreeably related, but the most of them are merely
narratives of private intrigues, containing throughout the
grossest calumnies, and endeavouring to blacken and
undermine the private characters of many worthy persons.
In his
” Essays,“which are by much the best of hia
writings, there is, in general, a liveliness of imagination,
and adroitness in the manner of extending, perhaps some
very trivial thought, which at first may by many be mistaken for wit; but, on a nearer examination, will be found
to lose much of its value. A continued use of smart short
periods, bold assertions, and bolder egotisms, produces a
transient effect, but seldom tempts the spectator to take a
second glance. The utmost that can be said of Hill is,
that he had talents, but that, in general, he either greatly
nisapplied them, or most miserably hackneyed them for
profit. As a dramatic writer he stands in no estimation^
nor has he been known in that view by any thing but three
very insignificant pieces: namely, 1.
” Orpheus,“an
opera, 1740. 2.
” The Critical Minute,“a farce, published in 1754, but not acted, 3.
” The Rout," a farce,
1754*. A large volume might be written on the life and!
adventures of this extraordinary man, as affording a complete history of literary quackery, every branch of which
he pursued with a greater contempt for character than
perhaps any man in our time.
, taken into the family of the right honourable William Cavendish lord Hardwicke, soon after created earl of Devonshire, as tutor to his son William lord Cavendish. Hobbes
, an eminent English
philosopher and miscellaneous writer, was born at Malmsbury in Wiltshire, April 5, 1588, his father being minister
of that town. The Spanish Armada was then upon the
coast of England; and his mother is said to have been so
alarmed on that occasion, that she was brought to bed of
him before her time. After having made a considerable
progress in the learned languages at school, he was sent, in
1603, to Magdalen hall, Oxford; and, in 1608, by the
recommendation of the principal, taken into the family of
the right honourable William Cavendish lord Hardwicke,
soon after created earl of Devonshire, as tutor to his son
William lord Cavendish. Hobbes ingratiated himself so
effectually with this young nobleman, and with the peer
his father, that he was sent abroad with him on his travels
in 16:0, and made the tour of France and Italy. Upon
his return with lord Cavendish, he became known to persons of the highest rank, and eminently distinguished for
their abilities and learning. The chancellor Bacon admitted him to a great degree of familiarity, and is said to
have made use of his pen for translating some of his works
into Latin. He was likewise much in favour with lord
Herbert of Cherbury; and the celebrated Ben Jonson had
such an esteem for him, that he revised the first work which
he published, viz. his “English Translation of the History
of Thucyciides.
” This Hobbes undertook, as he tells us
himself, “with an honest view of preventing, if possible,
those disturbances in which he was apprehensive his country would be involved, by shewing, in the history of the
Peloponnesian war, the fatal consequences of intestine
troubles.
” This has always been esteemed one of the best
translations that we have of any Greek writer, and the
author himself superintended the maps and indexes. But
while he meditated this design, his patron, the earl of
Devonshire, died in 1626; and in 1628, the year his work
was published, his son died also. This loss affected him
to such a degree, that he very willingly accepted an offer
of going abroad a second time with the son of sir Gervase
Clifton, whom he accordingly accompanied into France,
and staid there some time. But while he continued there
he was solicited to return to England, and to resume his
concern for the hopes of that family, to which he had
attached himself so early, and owed many and great
obligations.
In 1631, the countess dowager of Devonshire was desirous of placing the young earl under his care, who was then about the age of thirteen; a trust
In 1631, the countess dowager of Devonshire was desirous of placing the young earl under his care, who was
then about the age of thirteen; a trust very suitable to his
inclinations, and which he discharged with great fidelity
and diligence. In 1634 he republished his translation of
Thucydides, and prefixed to it a dedication to that young
nobleman, in which he gives a nigh character of his father,
and represents in the strongest terms his obligations to that
illustrious family. The same year he accompanied his noble
pupil to Paris, where he applied his vacant hours to natural
philosophy, especially mechanism, and the causes of animal
motion. He had frequent conversations upon these subjects with father Mersenne, a man deservedly famous, who
kept up a correspondence with almost all the learned in
Europe. From Paris he attended his pupil into Italy, and
at Pisa became known to Galileo, who communicated to
him his notions very freely. After having seen all that was
remarkable in that country, he returned in 1637 with the
earl of Devonshire into England. The troubles in Scotland now grew high, and began to spread themselves southward, and to threaten disturbance.throughout the kingdom.
Hobbes, seeing this, thought he might do good service by
composing something by way of antidote to the pestilential
opinions which then prevailed. This engaged him to commit to paper certain principles, observations, and remarks,
out of which he composed his book “De Give,
” and which
grew up afterwards into that system which he called his
“Leviathan.
”
ion of his” Leviathan," Hobbes returned to England, and passed the summer commonly at his patron the earl of Devonshire’s seat in Derbyshire, -and his
In 1650 was published at London a small treatise by
Hobbes entitled “Human Nature,
” and another, “De corpore politico, or, of the Elements of the Law.
” The latter
was presented to Gassendi, and read by him a few months
before his death; who is said first to have kissed it, and
then to have delivered his opinion of it in these words:
tl This treatise is indeed small in bulk, but in my judgment
the very marrow of science.“All this time Hobbes had
been digesting with great pains his religious, political, and
moral principles into a complete system, which he called
the
” Leviathan,“and which was printed in English at
London in that and the year following. He caused a copy
of it, very fairly written on vellum *, to be presented to
Charles II.; but after that monarch was informed that the
English divines considered it as a book tending to subvert
both religion and civil government, he is said to have withdrawn his countenance from the author, and by the marquis
of Ormond to have forbidden him to come into his presence.
After the publication of his
” Leviathan," Hobbes returned
to England, and passed the summer commonly at his patron the earl of Devonshire’s seat in Derbyshire, -and his
* This copy appears to he now in How it came there has not been dis' the library of the late earl of Macart-covered. The library is now in the ney, at Lissanoure
* This copy appears to he now in How it came there has not been dis' the library of the late earl of Macart-covered. The library is now in the
ney, at Lissanoure in Ireland, if the possession of a lady, the late earl’s reone very accurately described by the presentative, who probably knew little
Rev. W. H. Pratt, in the Gentleman’s of its history.
Magazine for January 1813, p. 30.
winters in town; where he had for his intimate friends
some of the greatest men of the age; such as Dr. Harvey,
Selden, Cowley, &c. In 1654, he published his “Letter
upon Liberty and Necessity,
” which occasioned a long
controversy between him and Bramhall, bishop of Londonderry. About this time he began the controversy with
Wallis, the mathematical professor at Oxford, which lasted
as long as Hobbes lived, and in which he had the misfortune to have all the mathematicians against him. It is indeed said, that he came too late to this study to excel in it;
and that though for a time he maintained his credit, while
he was content to proceed in the same track with others,
and to reason in the accustomed manner from the established
principles of the science, yet when he began to.digress into
new paths, and set up for a reformer, inventor, and improver of geometry, he lost himself extremely. But notwithstanding these debates took up much of his time, yet
he published several philosophical treatises in Latin.
urine; and his physician plainly told him, that he had little hopes of curing him. In November, the earl of Devonshire removing from Chatsvvorth to another seat called
Such were his occupations till 1660, when upon the king’s
restoration he quitted the country, and came up to London.
He was at Salisbury-house with his patron, when the king
passing by one day accidentally saw him. He sent for
him, gave Kim his hand to kiss, inquired kindly after his
health and circumstances; and some time after directed
Cooper, the celebrated miniature-painter, to take his portrait. His majesty likewise afforded him another private
audience, spoke to him very kindly, assured him of his
protection, and settled a pension upon him of lOOl. per
annum out of his privy purse. Yet this did not render
him entirely safe; for, in 1666, his “Leviathan,
” and
treatise “De Give,
” were censured by parliament, which
alarmed him much; as did also the bringing of a bill into
the Hou^e of commons to punish atheism and profaneness.
When this-stonn was a little blown over, he began to think
of procuring a beautiful edition of his pieces that were in
Latin; but finding this impracticable in England, he
caused it to be undertaken abroad, where they were published in 1668, 4to, from the press of John Bleau. In
1669, he was visited by Cosmo de Medicis, then prince,
afterwards duke of Tuscany, who gave him ample marks
of his esteem; and having received his picture, and a complete collection of his writings, caused them to be deposited, the former among his curiosities, the latter in his
library at Florence. Similar visits he received from several
foreign ambassadors, and other strangers of distinction;
who were curious to see a person, whose singular opinions
and numerous writings had made so much noise all over
Europe. In 1672, he wrote his own Life in Latin verse,
when, as he observes, he had completed his eighty-fourth
year: and, in 1674, he published in English verse four
books of Homer’s “Odyssey,
” which were so well received, that it encouraged him to undertake the whole
“Iliad
” and “Odyssey,
” which he likewise performed,
and published in De Mirabilibus Pecci, or, Of the
Wonders of the Peak.
” But his poetry is below criticism,
and has been long exploded. In 1674, he took his leave
of London, and went to spend the remainder of his days
in Derbyshire; where, however, he did not remain inactive, notwithstanding his advanced age, but published
from time to time several pieces to be found in the collection of his works, namely, in 1676, his “Dispute with
Laney bishop of Ely, concerning Liberty and. Necessity;
”
in Decameron Physiologicum, or, Ten Dialogues of Natural Philosophy;
” to which he added a book,
entitled “A Dialogue between a Philosopher and a Student of the Common Law of England.
” June Behemoth, or, A History of
the Civil Wars from 1640 to 1660,
” to an eminent bookseller, with a letter setting forth the reasons for his communication of it, as well as for the request he then made,
that he would not publish it till a proper occasion offered.
The book, however, was published as soon as he was dead,
and the letter along with it; of which we shall give a curious extract: “I would fain have published my Dialogue of the Civil Wars of England long ago, and to that
end I presented it to his majesty; and some days after,
vrhen I thought he had read it, I humbly besought him to
let me print it. But his majesty, though he heard me graciously, yet he flatly refused to have it published: therefore I brought away the book, and gave you leave to take
a copy of it; which when you had done, I gave the original to an honourable and learned friend, who about a.
year after died. The king knows better, and is more
concerned in publishing of books than lam; and therefore
I dare not venture to appear in the business, lest I should
offend him. Therefore I pray you not to meddle in the
business. Rather than to be thought any way to further
or countenance the printing, I would be content to lose
twenty times the value of what you can expect to gain by
it. I pray do not take it ill; it may be I may live to send
you somewhat else as vendible as that, and without offence.
J am, &c.
” However he did not live to send his bookseller any thing more, this being his last piece. It is in
dialogue, and full of paradoxes, like all his other writings.
More philosophical, political, says Warburton, or any thing
rather than historical, yet full of shrewd observations. In
October following, he was afflicted with a suppression of
urine; and his physician plainly told him, that he had
little hopes of curing him. In November, the earl of Devonshire removing from Chatsvvorth to another seat called
Hardwick, Hobbes obstinately persisted in desiring that he
might be carried too, though this could no way be done
but by laying him upon a feather-bed. He was not much
discomposed with his journey, yet within a week after
lost, by a stroke of the palsy, the use of his speech, and
of his right side entirely; in which condition he remained
for some days, taking little nourishment, and sleeping
much, sometimes endeavouring to speak, but not being
able. He died Dec. 4, 1679, in his ninety-second year.
Wood tells us, that after his physician gave him no hopes
of a cure, he said, “Then I shall be glad to find a hole to
creep out of the world at.
” He observes also, that his not
desiring a minister, to receive the sacrament before he
died, ought in charity to be imputed to his being so suddenly seized, and afterwards deprived of his senses; the
rather, because the earl of Devonshire’s chaplain declared,
that within the two last years of his life he had often received the sacrament from his hands with seeming devotion.
His character and manners are thus described by Dr.
White Kennet, in his “Memoirs of the Cavendish Family;
”
“The earl of Devonshire,
” says he, “for his whole life
entertained Mr. Hobbes in his family, as his old tutor
rather than as his friend or confidant. He let him live
under his roof in ease and plenty, and in his own way,
without making use of him in any public, or so much as
domestic affairs. He would often express an abhorrence
of some of his principles in policy and religion; and both
he and his lady would frequently put off the mention of
his name, and say, ‘ he was a humourist, and nobody could
account for him.’ There is a tradition in the family of the
manners and customs of Mr. Hobbes somewhat observable.
His professed rule of health was to dedicate the morning
to his exercise, and the afternoon to his studies. At his
first rising, therefore, he walked out, and climbed any hill
within his reach; or, if the weather was not dry, he fatigued himself within doors by some exercise or other, to
be in a sweat: recommending that practice tfpon this opinion, that an old man had more moisture than heat, and
therefore by such motion heat was to be acquired, and
moisture expelled. After this he took a comfortable
breakfast; and then went round the lodgings to wait upon
the earl, the countess, and the children, and any considerable strangers, paying some short addresses to all of them.
He kept these rounds till about twelve o‘clock, when he
had a little dinner provided for him, which he eat always
by himself without ceremony. Soon after dinner he retired to his study, and had his candle with ten or twelve
pipes of tobacco laid by him; then shutting his door, he
fell to smoaking, thinking, and writing for several hours.
He retained a friend or two at court, and especially the lord
Arlington, to protect him if occasion should require. He
used to say, that it was lawful to make use of ill instruments to do ourselves good: * If I were cast,’ says he,
‘ into a deep pit, and the devil should put down his cloven
foot, I would take hold of it to be drawn out by it.’ Towards the end of his life he had very few books, and those
he read but very little; thinking he was now able only to
digest what he had formerly fed upon. If company came
to visit him, he would be free in discourse till he was
pressed or contradicted; and then he had the infirmities
of being short and peevish, and referring to his writings
for better satisfaction. His friends, who had the liberty
of introducing strangers to him, made these terms with
them before their admission, that they should not dispute
with the old man, nor contradict him.
”
After mentioning the apprehensions Hobbes was under,
when the parliament censured his book, and the methods
he took to escape persecution, Dr. Kennet adds, “It isnot much to be doubted, that upon this occasion he began
to make a more open shew of religion and church communion. He now frequented the chapel, joined in the service, and was generally a partaker of the holy sacrament:
and whenever any strangers in conversation with him
seemed to question his belief, he would always appeal to
his conformity in divine services, and referred them to the
chaplain for a testimony of it. Others thought it a mere
compliance to the orders of the family, and observed, that
in city and country he never went to any parish church;
and even in the chapel upon Sundays, he went out after
prayers, and turned his back upon the sermon; and when
any friend asked the reason of it, he gave no other but this,
‘ they could teach him nothing, but what he knew.’ He
did not cone‘al his hatred to the clergy but it was visible
that the hatred was owing to his fear of their civil interest
and power. He had often a jealousy, that the bishops
would burn him: and of all the bench he was most afraid
of the bishop of Sarum, because he had most offended him;
thinking every man’s spirit to be remembrance and revenge. After the Restoration, he watched all opportunities to ingratiate himself with the king and his prime ministers; and looked upon his pension to be more valqable,
as an earnest of favour and protection, than upon any other
account. His following course of life was to be free from
danger. He could not endure to be left in an empty
house. Whenever the earl removed, he would go along
with him, even to his last stage, from Chatsworth to Hardwick. When he was in a very weak condition, he dared
not to be left behind, but made his way upon a feather-bed
in a coach, though he survived the journey but a few days.
He could not bear any discourse of death, and seemed to
cast off all thoughts of it: he delighted to reckon upon
longer life. The winter before he died, he made a warm
coat, which he said must last him three years, and then
he would have such another. In his last sickness his frequent questions were, Whether his disease was curable?
and when intimations were given that he might have ease,
but no remedy, he used this expression, ’ I shall be glad
to find a hole to creep out of the world at;' which are reported to have been his last sensible words; and his lying.
some days following in a silent stupefaction, did seem
owing to his mind more than to his body. The only thought
of death that he appeared to entertain in time of health,
was to take care of some inscription on his grave. He
would suffer some friends to dictate an epitaph, among
which he was best pleased with this humour, * This is the
philosopher’s stone'.
” A pun very probably from the hand
which wrote for Dr. Fuller, “Here lies Fuller’s earth.
”
nicious Errors to Church and State in Mr. Hobbes’s book entitled Leviathan.” In the introduction the earl observes, that Mr. Hobbes’s *' Leviathan“” cohtains in it good
After this account of Hobbes, which, though undoubtedly true in the main, may be thought too strongly coloured, it will be but justice to subjoin what lord Clarendon has said of him. This noble person, during his banishment, wrote a book in 1670, which was printed six years
after at Oxford with this title, “A brief View of the dangerous and pernicious Errors to Church and State in Mr.
Hobbes’s book entitled Leviathan.
” In the introduction
the earl observes, that Mr. Hobbes’s *' Leviathan“” cohtains in it good learning of all kinds, politely extracted,
and very wittily and cunningly digested in a very commendable, and in a vigorous and pleasant style: and that
Mr. Hobbes himself was a man of excellent parts, of great
wit, some reading, and somewhat more thinking; one who
has spent many years in foreign parts and observations;
understands the learned as well as the modern languages;
hath long had the reputation of a great philosopher and
mathematician; and in his age hath had conversation with
very many worthy and extraordinary men: to which it may
be, if he had been more indulgent in the more vigorous
part of his life, it might have had greater influence upon
the temper of his mind; whereas age seldom submits to
those questions, inquiries, and contradictions, which the
laws and liberty of conversation require. And it hath been
always a lamentation among Mr. Hobbes’s friends, that he
spent too much time in thinking, and too little in exercising those thoughts in the company of other men of the
same, or of as good faculties; for want whereof his natural constitution, with age, contracted such a morosity,
that doubting-and contradicting men were never grateful to
him. In a word, Mr. Hobbes is one of the most ancient
acquaintance I have in the world; and of whom I have
always had a great esteem, as a man, who, besides his
eminent parts, learning, and knowledge, hath been always
looked upon as a man of probity, and of a life free from
scandal.“There have been few persons, whose writings have had
a more pernicious influence in spreading irreligion and infidelity than those of Hobbes; and yet none of his treatises are directly levelled against revealed religion. He
sometimes affects to speak with veneration of the sacred
writings, and expressly declares, that though the laws of
nature are not laws as they proceed from nature, yet
” as
they are given by God in Holy Scripture, they are properly
called laws; for the Holy Scripture is the voice of God,
ruling all things by the greatest right.“But though ha,
seems here to make the laws of Scripture the Jaws of God,
and to derive their force from his supreme authority, yet
elsewhere he supposes them to have no authority, but what
they derive from the prince or civil power. He sometimes
seems to acknowledge inspiration to be a supernatural gift,
and the immediate hand of God: at other times he treats
the pretence to it as a sign of madness, and represents
God’s speaking to the prophets in a dream, to be no more
than the prophets dreaming that God spake unto them.
He asserts, that we have no assurance of the certainty of
Scripture but the authority of the church f, and this he
resolves into the authority of the commonwealth; and declares, that till the sovereign ruler had prescribed them,
” the precepts of Scripture were not obligatory laws, but
only counsel or advice, which he that was counselled might
without injustice refuse to observe, and being contrary to
the laws could not without injustice observe;“that the word
of the interpreter of Scripture is the word of God, and that
the sovereign magistrate is the interpreter of Scripture,
and of all doctrines, to whose authority we must stand.
Nay, he carries it so far as to pronounce that Christians
are bound in conscience to obey the laws of an infidel king
in matters of religion; that
” thought is free, but when it
comes to confession of faith, the private reason must submit to the public, that is to say, to God’s lieutenant.“Accordingly he allows the subject, being commanded by the
sovereign, to deny Christ in words, holding the faith of
him firmly in his heart; it being in this
” not he, that
denieth Christ before men, but his governor and the laws
of his country.“In the mean time he acknowledges the
existence of God, and that we must of necessity ascribe
the effects we behold to the eternal power of all powers,
and cause of all causes; and he reproaches those as absurd, who call the world, or the soul of the world, God.
But then he denies that we know any thing more of him
than, that he exists, and seems plainly to make him corporeal; for he affirms, that whatever is not body is nothing
at all. And though he sometimes seems to acknowledge
religion and its obligations, and that there is an honour
and worship due to God; prayer, thanksgivings, oblations,
&c. yet he advances principles, which evidently tend to
subvert all religion. The account he gives of it is this,
that
” from the fear of power invisible, feigned by the
mind, or imagined from tales, publicly allowed, ariseth
religion; not allowed, superstition:“and he resolves religion into things which he himself derides, namely,
” opinions of ghosts, ignorance of second causes, devotion to
what men fear, and taking of things casual for prognostics.“He takes pains in many places to prove man a
necessary agent, and openly derides the doctrine of a future state: for he says, that the belief of a future state
after death,
” is a belief grounded upon other men’s saying, that they knew it supernaturally; or, that they knew
those, that knew them, that knew others that knew it supernaturally.“But it is not revealed religion only, of
which Hobbes makes light; he goes farther, as will appear by running over a few more of his maxims. He asserts,
” that, by the law of nature, every man hath a right
to all things, and over all persons; and that the natural
condition of man is a state of war, a war of all men against
all men: that there is no way so reasonable for any man,
as by force or wiles to gain a mastery over all other persons that he can, till he sees no other power strong enough
to endanger him: that the civtt laws are the only rules of
good and evil, just and unjust, honest and dishonest; and
that, antecedently to such laws, every action is in its own
nature indifferent; that there is nothing good or evil in
itself, nor any common laws constituting what is naturally
just and unjust: that all things are measured by what
every man judgeth fit, where there is no civil government,
and by the laws of society, where there is: that the power
of the sovereign is absolute, and that he is not bound by
any compacts with his subjects: that nothing the sovereign
can do to the subject, can properly be called injurious or
wrong; and that the, king’s word is sufficient to take any
thing from the subject if need be, and that the king is
judge of that need." This scheme evidently strikes at
the foundation of all religion, natural and revealed. It
tends not only to subvert the authority of Scripture, but
to destroy God’s moral government of the world. It confounds the natural differences of good and evil, virtue and
vice. It destroys the best principles of the human nature;
and instead of that innate benevolence and social disposition which should unite men together, supposes all men
to be naturally in a state of war with one another. It
erects an absolute tyranny in the state and church, which it
confounds, and maKes the will of the prince or governing
power the sole standard of right and wrong.
f Slangenberg; and his eminent talents may be seen in the grand staircase at Voorst, the seat of the earl of AlbemarSe. In Holland, and also in our kingdoms, several
Many capital pictures of this master are in the palace of Slangenberg; and his eminent talents may be seen in the grand staircase at Voorst, the seat of the earl of AlbemarSe. In Holland, and also in our kingdoms, several charming pictures of Hoet are preserved; some of them in the manner of Polemburg, and others in the style of Carel du Jardin. He died in 1733.
ach. This plate was intended as a satire on the translator of Homer, Mr. Kent tUe architect, and the earl of Burlington. It was fortunate for Hogarth that he escaped
In 1732 he ventured to attack Mr. Pope, in a plate called
“The Man of Taste,
” containing a view of the gate of
Burlington-house, with Pope white-washing it, and bespattering the duke of Chandos’s coach. This plate was
intended as a satire on the translator of Homer, Mr. Kent
tUe architect, and the earl of Burlington. It was fortunate
for Hogarth that he escaped the lash of the first. Either
Hogarth’s obscurity at that time was his protection, or the
bard was too prudent to exasperate a painter who had
already given such proof of his abilities for satire. What
must he have felt who could complain of the “pictured
shape
” prefixed to “Gulliveriana,
” “Pope Alexander’s
Supremacy and Infallibility examined,
” &c. by Ducket,
and other pieces, had such an artist as Hogarth undertaken,
to express a certain transaction recorded by Gibber?
-gardens, a very pleasing small picture by Hogarth made its first appearance. It was painted for the earl of Charlemont, in whose collection it remains; and was entitled
In one of the early exhibitions at Spring-gardens, a very
pleasing small picture by Hogarth made its first appearance. It was painted for the earl of Charlemont, in whose
collection it remains; and was entitled “Picquet, orVir.tuein
Danger,
” and shews us ayounglady, who, during a tete-a-tete,
had just lost all her money and jewels to a handsome officer
of her own age. He is represented in the act of offering her
the contents of his hat, in which are bank-notes, jewels, and
trinkets, with the hope of exchanging them for a softer
acquisition, and more delicate plunder. On the chimneypiece a watch-case and a figure of Time over it, with this
motto Nunc. Hogarth has caught his heroine during
this moment of hesitation, this struggle with herself, and
has marked her feelings with uncommon success.
rongly, that the nobleman, it is said, was immediately known by it. This nobleman some think was the earl of Arundel, others the earl of Surrey. The chancellor, having
After almost begging his way to England, as Patin tells
us, he found an easy admittance to the lord-chancellor,
sir Thomas More, having brought with him Erasmus’s
picture, and letters recommendatory from him to that great
man. Sir Thomas received him with all the joy imaginable, and kept him in his house between two and three
years; during which time he drew sir Thomas’s picture,
and those of many of his friends and relations. One clay
Holbein happening to mention the nobleman who had some
years ago invited him to England, sir Thomas was very
solicitous to know who he was. Holbein replied, that he
had indeed forgot his title, but remembered his face so
well, that he thought he could draw his likeness; and this
he did so very strongly, that the nobleman, it is said, was
immediately known by it. This nobleman some think was
the earl of Arundel, others the earl of Surrey. The chancellor, having now sufficiently enriched his apartments
with Holbein’s productions, adopted the following method
to introduce him to Henry VIII. He invited the king to
an entertainment, and hung up all Holbein’s pieces, disposed in the best order, and in the best light, in the great
hall of his house. The king, upon his first entrance, was
so charmed with the sight of them, that he asked, “Whether such an artist were now alive, and to be had for money?
” on which sir Thomas presented Holbein to the king,
who immediately took him into his service, with a salary of
200 florins, and brought him into great esteem with the
nobility of the kingdom. The king from time to time manifested the greac value he had for him, and upon the death
of queen Jane, his third wife, sent him into Flanders, to
draw the picture of the duchess dowager of Milan, widowto Francis Sforza, whom the emperor Charles V. had recommended to him for a fourth wife; but the king’s defection from the see of Rome happening about that time,
he rather chose to match with a protestant princess.
Cromwell, then his prime minister (for sir Thomas More had been removed, and beheaded), proposed Anne of
Cleves to him; but the king was not inclined to the match,
till her picture, which Holbein had also drawn, was presented to him. There, as lord Herbert of Cherbnry says, she was
represented so very charming, that the king immediately resolved to marry her; and thus Holbein was unwittingly the
cause of the ruin of his patron Cromwell, whom the king
never forgave for introducing him to Anne of Cleves.
d other towns along the Riiine, Danube, Necker, &c. got him his greatest reputation; and when Howard earl of Arundel, was sent ambassador to the emperor Ferdinand II.
, a most admired engraver, was born at Prague in
Bohemia, in 1607. He was at first instructed in schoollearning, and afterwards put to the profession of the law;
but not relishing that pursuit, and his family being ruined
when Prague was taken and plundered in 1619, so that
they could not provide for him as had been proposed, he
removed from thence in 1627. During his abode in several towns in Germany, he applied hiinselFto drawing and
designing, to copying the pictures of several great artists,
taking geometrical and perspective views and draughts of
cities, towns, and countries, by land and water; in which
at length he grew so excellent, especially for his landscapes in miniature, as not to be outdone in beauty and
delicacy by any artist of his time. He had some instructions from Matthew Merian, an eminent engraver, and
who is thought to have taught him that method of preparing and working on his plates which he constantly used.
He was but eighteen when the first specimens of his art
appeared; and the connoisseurs in his works have observed, that he inscribed the earliest of them with only a
cypher of four letters, which, as they explain it, was intended for the initials of. “Wenceslaus Hollar Pragensis
xcudit.
” He employed himseif chieth in copying heads
and portraits, sometimes from Rembrandt, Henzelman,
Fselix Biler, and other eminent artists; but h ^ uule delicate views of Strasburgh, Cologne, Mentz, Bon>, Francfort, and other towns along the Riiine, Danube, Necker,
&c. got him his greatest reputation; and when Howard
earl of Arundel, was sent ambassador to the emperor Ferdinand II. in 1636, he was so iiighly pleased with his performances, that he admitted him into his retinue. Hollar
attended his lordship froai Cologne to the emperor’s court,
and in this progress made several draughts and prints of the
places through which they travelled. He took that view of
Wurtzburgh under whicn is written, “Hoilar delineavit,
in legatione Arundeliana ad Imperatorem.
” He then made
also a curious large drawing, with the pen and pencil, of
the city of Prague, which gave great satisfaction to his patron, then upon the spot.
ed for the purpose by the hand of Hollar. The same year was published the portrait of his patron the earl of Arundel on horseback; and afterwards he etched another of
1639, and adorned with several portraits of the royal family, etched for the purpose by the hand of Hollar. The
same year was published the portrait of his patron the earl
of Arundel on horseback; and afterwards he etched another of him in armour, and several views of his
countryseat at Aldbrough in Surrey. In 1640, he seems to have
been introduced into the service of the royal family,“togive the prince of Wales some taste in the art of designing; and it is intimated, that either before the -eruption
of the civil wars, or at least before he was driven by them
abroad, he was in the service of the duke of York. This
year appeared his beautiful set of figures in twenty-eight
plates, entitled,
” Ornatus Muliebris Anglicanus," and
containing the several habits of English women of all ranks
or degrees: they are represented at full length, and have
rendered him famous among the lovers of engraving. In
1641, were published his prints of king Charles and his
queen: but now the civil wars being broke out, and his patron the earl of Arundel leaving the kingdom to attend
upon the queen and the princess Mary, Hollar was left to
support himself. He applied himself closely to his bu<iness, and published other parts of his works, after Holbein, Vandyck, &c. especially the portraits of several
persons of quality of both sexes, ministers of state, commanders of the army, learned and eminent authors; and especially another set or two of female habits in divers nations
in Europe. Whether he grew obnoxious as an adherent
to the earl of Arundel, or as a malignant for drawing so
many portraits of the royal party, is not expressly said:
but now it seems he was molested, and driven to take
shelter under the protection of one or more of them, till
they were defeated, and he taken prisoner of xvar with
them, upon the surrender of their garrison at Basing-house
in Hampshire. This happened on Oct. 14, 1645; but
Hollar, either making his escape, or otherwise obtaining
his liberty, went over to the continent after the earl of
Arundel, who resided at Antwerp, with his family, and
had transported thither his most valuable collection of
pictures.
ong his early friends or associates we find the names of colonel Forrester, Hamilton of Bangour, the earl of Findlater, Mr. Oswald, David Hume, and Dr. (afterwards bishop)
Mr. Home, in every period of his life, was fond of social intercourse, and with all his ardour of study, and variety of literary and professional occupations, a considerable portion of his time was devoted to the enjoyments of society in a numerous circle of acquaintance. Among his early friends or associates we find the names of colonel Forrester, Hamilton of Bangour, the earl of Findlater, Mr. Oswald, David Hume, and Dr. (afterwards bishop) Butler, with whom he had a correspondence. In 1741 be married miss Agatha Drummond, a younger daughter of James Drummond, esq. of Blair, in the county of Perth. His fortune being then comparatively small, ceconomy became a necessary virtue, but unfortunately, this lady, who had a taste for every thing that is elegant, was particularly fond of old china; and soon after her marriage had made such frequent purchases in that way as to impress her husband with some little apprehension of her extravagance. After some consideration, he devised an ingenious expedient to cure her of this propensity. He framed a will, bequeathing to his spouse the whole of the china that should be found in his possession at his death; and this deed he immediately put into her own hands. The success of the plot was complete; the lady was cured from, that moment of her passion for old china. This stratagem his biographer justly considers as a proof of the authors intimate knowledge of the human mind, and discernment of the power of the passions to balance and restrain each other. It is, indeed, in its contrivance and result, equally honourable to the husband and wife.
ocutor to the lower house of convocation and the same year was offered the primacy cf Ireland by the earl of Rochester, then lord-lieutenant, which he declined. In May
, an eminent English divine,
son of George Hooper, gent, was born at Grimley, in
Worcestershire, Nov. 18, 1640, and educated in grammar
and classical learning first at St. Paul’s, and afterwards at
Westminster-school, where he was a king’s scholar. From
thence he was elected to Christ-church in Oxford, in 1657,
where he took his degrees at the regular times and distinguished himself above his contemporaries by his superior knowledge in philosophy, mathematics, Greek and
Roman antiquities, and the oriental languages, in which
last he was assisted by Dr. Pocock. In 1672 he became
chaplain to Morley, bishop of Winchester, who collated
him to the rectory of Havant, in Hampshire, which, the
situation being unhealthy, he resigned for the rectory of
East Woodhay, in the same county. In July 1673 he
took the degree of B. D. and not long afterwards became
chaplain to archbishop Sheldon, who begged that favour
of the bishop of Winchester, and who in 1675 gave him
the rectory of Lambeth, and afterwards the precentorship
of Exeter. In 1677 he commenced D. D. and the same
year, being made almoner to the princess of Orange, he
went over to Holland, where, at the request of her royal
highness, he regulated her chapel according to the usage
of the church of England. After one year’s attendance,
he repassed the sea, in order to complete his marriage to
Abigail, daughter of Richard Guildford, gent, the treaty
for which had been set on foot before his departure. He
then went back to her highness, who had obtained a promise from him to that purpose; but, after a stay of about
eight months, she consented to let him return home. In
1680 he is said to have been offered the divinity-professorship at Oxford, but the succession to that chair had
been secured to Dr. Jane. About the same time, however,
Dr. Hooper was made king’s chaplain. In 1685, by the
king’s command, he attended the duke of Monmouth, and
had much free conversation with him in the Tower, both
the evening before, and the day of his execution, on
which, that unhappy nobleman assured him “be had made
his peace with God,
” the nature of which persuasion Dr.
Hooper solemnly entreated him to consider well, and then
waited on him in his last moments. The following year
he took a share in the popish controversy, and wrote a
treatise, which will be mentioned presently with his works.
In 1691, he succeeded Dr. Sharp in the deanery of Canterbury. As he never made tae least application for preferment, queen Mary surprised him vvitn this offer, when
the king her husband was absent in Holland. With a disinterestedness not very common, he now proposed to resign either of his livings, but the queen observed that
though the king and she never gave two livings to one
man, yet they never took them away,“and ordered him
to keep both. However, he resigned the rectory of Woodhay. He was made chaplain to their majesties the same
year. In 1698, when a preceptor was chosen forttie duke
of Gloucester, though both the royal parents of that prince
pressed earnestly to have Hooper, and no objection was
ever made against him, yet the king named bishop Burnet
for that service. In 1701, he was chosen prolocutor to
the lower house of convocation and the same year was
offered the primacy cf Ireland by the earl of Rochester,
then lord-lieutenant, which he declined. In May 1703,
he was nominated to the bishopric of St. Asaph. This he
accepted, though against his inclination on this occasion
be resigned Lambeth, but retained his other preferments
with this bishopric, in which, indeed, he continued but
a few months, and on that account he generously refused
the usual mortuaries or pensions, then so great a burthen
to the clergy of Wales, saying
” They should never pay
so dear for the sight of him." In March following, being
translated to the bishopric of Bath and Wells, he earnestly requested her majesty to dispense with the order,
not only on account of the sudden charge of such a translation, as well as a reluctance to remove, but aiso in regard to his friend Dr. Ken, the deprived bishop of that
place, for whom he begged the bishopric. The queen,
readily complied vvitb Hooper’s request; but the offer
being declined by Ken, Hooper at his importunity yielded
to become his successor. He now relinquished the deanery
of Canterbury, but wished to have retained the
precentorship of Exeter in commendam, solely for the use of Dr.
Ken. But this was not agreeable to Dr. Trelauney, bishop of Exeter. His intention, however, was supplied by
the bounty of the queen, who conferred an annual pension of 200l. on the deprived prelate. In 1705, bishop
Hooper distinguished himself in the debate on the danger
of the church, which, with many other persons, he apprehended to be more than imaginary. His observation
was candid; he complained with justice of that invidious
distinction which the terms high church and low church occasioned, and of that enmity which they tended to produce. In the debate in 1706, he spoke against the union
between England and Scotland, but grounded his arguments on 'fears which have not been realized. In 1709-10,
when the articles of Sachevereli’s impeachment were
debated, he endeavoured to excuse that divine, and entered his protest against the vote, which he could not
prevent.
ould recommend him as an acceptable sacrifice in the following bloody reign. By the interest of trie earl of Warwick, he was nominated and elected bishop of Gloucester;
On the accession of king Edwar.d in 1547, Hooper was enabled to return to England, and settled in London, where he frequently preached the doctrines of the reformation; but had imbibed abroad such notions on the subject of church government, and the habits, as rendered his principles somewhat suspected by archbishop Cranmer, and Kidley, and prevented his co-operating with them so cordially as could have been wished in that critical time. In doctrinal matters, however, he was an able assistant, being a man of learning,. and a good philosopher and critic. When Bonner was to be deprived of his bishopric, he was one of his accusers; which, no doubt, would recommend him as an acceptable sacrifice in the following bloody reign. By the interest of trie earl of Warwick, he was nominated and elected bishop of Gloucester; but, when he came to be consecrated or invested by archbishop Cranmer and bishop Ridley, he refused to wear a canonical habit; and it was not until these ceremonies were dispensed with by the king’s authority, that he was consecrated bishop, in 1550; and about two years after, he had the bishopric of Worcester given to him, to keep in commendam with the former. He now preached often, visited his dioceses, kept great hospitality for the poor, and was beloved by many. But in the persecution under Mary, being then near sixty years of age, and refusing to recant his opinions, he was burned in the city of Gloucester, Feb. 9, 1554, and suffered death with admirable constancy.
the comeliness of his person and elegance of preaching. The lord Robartes in particular (afterwards earl of Truro) w*as so pleased with him, that he gave him his daughter
, a learned and worthy prelate,
whojxperienced a fate extremely singular, was born in
1633, at Sandford in Devonshire, where his father was
curate; became chorister of Magdalen college, Oxford, ia
1649; at the age of about sixteen, he was usher of the
school adjoining, being already B. A.; he was chaplain of
the college when M. A.; and would have been fellow, had
his county qualified him. All this time he lived and was
educated under presbyterian and independent discipline;
and about the time of the restoration became assistant to
Dr. Spurstow of Hackney. He was afterwards elected
preacher at one of the city churches; the bishop of London, however, refused to admit him, as he was a popular
preacher among the fanatics; but after some time he was
settled in the parish church of St. Mary Wolnoth. Having
retired to Exeter on account of the plague, he obtained
the living of St. Mary’s church at Exeter, was countenanced by bishop Ward, and much admired for the comeliness of his person and elegance of preaching. The lord
Robartes in particular (afterwards earl of Truro) w*as so
pleased with him, that he gave him his daughter Araminta
in marriage, took him as his chaplain to Ireland in 1669,
gave him the deanery of llaphoe, and recommended him
so effectually to his successor lord Berkeley, that he was
consecrated bishop of Raphoe, Oct. 27, 1671, and translated to Londonderry in 1681. Driven thence by the
forces under the earl of Tyrconnel, in 1688, he retired
into England, and was elected minister of Aldermanbury
in Sept. 1689, where he died, June 22, 1690. He published five single sermons, afterwards incorporated in two
volumes; “An Exposition of the Ten Commandments,
1692, 4to, with his portrait; and an
” Exposition of the
Lord’s Prayer," 1691, all printed in one volume, 171O,
folio. An edition of his works has very recently appeared
in 4 vols. 8vo.
he “Art of Love,” which, Jacob says, “added to his fame, and happily brought him acquainted with the earl of Dorset, and other persons of distinction, who were fond of
, son of the preceding, was born
at Exeter, in 1664; but his father being taken chaplain to
Ireland, he received the early part of his education at Trinity college, Dublin; and afterwards was a student at
Queen’s college, Cambridge, where he took the degree of
B. A. in 1688. The rebellion breaking out in Ireland in
that year, he returned thither, and exerted his early valour
in the cause of his country, religion, and liberty. When
public tranquillity was restored, he came again into
Elngland, and formed an acquaintance with gentlemen of wit,
whose age and genius were most agreeable to his own. In
1694 he published some “Epistolary Poems and Translations,
” which may be seen in Nichols’s “Select Collec-'
tion;
” and in Pyrrhus king of Egypt,
” a tragedy, to which
Congreve wrote the epilogue. He published also in that
year, “The History of Love,
” a connection of select fables
from. “Ovid’s Metamorphoses,
” Art of Love,
” which, Jacob says, “added to
his fame, and happily brought him acquainted with the
earl of Dorset, and other persons of distinction, who were
fond of his company, through the agreeableness of his
temper, and the pleasantry of his conversation. It was in
his power to have made his fortune in any scene of life;
but he was always more ready to serve others than mindful
of his own affairs; and by the excesses of hard drinking,
and too passionate an addiction to women, he died a martyr
to the cause in the thirty-sixth year of his age.
” Mr.
Nichols has preserved in his collection an admirable hymn,
“written about an hour before his death, when in great
pain.
” His “Court-Prospect,
” in which many of the principal nobility are very handsomely complimented, is called
by Jacob “an excellent piece;
” and of his other poems he
adds, “that they are all remarkable for the purity of their
diction, and the harmony of their numbers.
” Mr. Hopkins
was also the author of two other tragedies; “Boadicea
Queen of Britain,
” Friendship improved, or
the Female Warrior,
” with a humourous prologue, comparing a poet to a merchant, a comparison which will hold
in most particulars except that of accumulating wealth.
The author, who was at Londonderry when this tragedy
came out, inscribed it to Edward Coke of Norfolk, esq. in
a dedication remarkably modest and pathetic. It is dated
Nov. 1, 1699, and concludes, “I now begin to experience
how much the mind may be influenced by the body. My
Muse is confined, at present, to a weak and sickly tenement; and the winter season will go near to overbear her,
together with her household. There are storms and tempests to beat tier down, or frosts to bind her up and kill
her; and she has no friend on her side but youth to hear
her through; If that can sustain the attack, and hold out
till spring comes to relieve me, one use I shall make of
fa<ther life shall be to shew how much I am, sir, your most
devoted humble servant, C. Hopkins.
”
is.” In one of his dedications he tells the lady Olympia Robartes, “Your ladyship’s father, the late earl of Radnor, when governor of Ireland, was the kind patron to
, another son of the bishop of Londonderry, who deviated likewise from his father’s character, was born January 1, 1675. Like his elder brother,
his poetry turned principally on’subjects of love; like him
too, his prospects in lite appear to have terminated unfortunately. He published, in 1693, “The Triumphs of
Peace, or the Glories of Nassau; a Pindaric poem occasioned by the conclusion of the peace between the Confederacy and France; written at the time of his grace the
duke of Ormond’s entrance into Dublin.
” “The design
of this poem,
” the author says in his preface, “begins,
after the method of Pindar, to one great man, and rises to
another; first touches the duke, then celebrates the actions of the king, and so returns to the praises of the duke
again.
” In the same year he published “The Victory of
Death; or the Fall of Beauty; a visionary Pindaric poem,
occasioned by the ever to-be-deplored death of the right
honourable the lady Cutts,
” 8vo. But the principal performance of J. Hopkins was “Amasia, or the works of the
Muses, a collection of Poems,
” To the memory of Amasia,
” whom he
addresses throughout these volumes in the character of
Sylvius. There is a vein of seriousness, if not of poetry,
runs through the whole performance. Many of Ovid’s stories are very decently imitated “most of them,
” he says,
“have been very well performed by my brother, and published some years since mine were written in another
kingdom before I knew of his.
” In one of his dedications
he tells the lady Olympia Robartes, “Your ladyship’s
father, the late earl of Radnor, when governor of Ireland,
was the kind patron to mine: he raised him to the first
steps by which v he afterwards ascended to the dignities he
bore; to those, which rendered his labours more conspicuous, and set in a more advantageous light those living
merits, which now make his memory beloved. These, and
yet greater temporal honours, your family heaped on him,
by making even me in some sort related and allied to you,
by his inter-marriage with your sister the lady Araminta.
How imprudent a vanity is it in me to boast a father so
meritorious! how may 1 be ashamed to prove myself his son,
by poetry, the only qualification he so much excelled in,
but yet esteemed no excellence. I bring but a bad proof
of birth, laying my claim in that only thing he would not
own. These are, however, madam, but the products of
immature years; and riper age, may, I hope, bring forth
more solid works.
” We have never seen any other of his
writings: nor hare been able to collect any farther particulars of his life: but there is a portrait of him, under his
poetical name of Sylvius.
o raise up a friend who concerned himself on his behalf, namely, the lord admiral Russel, afterwards earl of Orford. Before he went to sea, lord Russel waited on the
, an English divine, was
born at Baccharack, a town in the Lower Palatinate, in
1641. His father was recorder or secretary of that town,
a strict protestant; and the doctor was brought up in the
same manner, though some, we find, asserted that he was
originally a papist. He was designed for the sacred ministry from his birth, and first sent to Heidelberg, where
he studied divinity under Spanheim, afterwards professor
at Leyden. When he was nineteen he came over to
England, and was entered of Queen’s college, in Oxford,
Dec. 1663; of which, by the interest of Barlow, the provost of that college, and afterwards bishop of Lincoln, he
was made chaplain soon after his admission. He was incorporated M. A. from the university of Wittemberg, Dec.
1663; and not long after made vicar of All Saints, in Oxford, a living in the gift of Lincoln-college. Here he < ontinued two years, and was then taken into the family of
the duke of Albemarle, in quality of tutor to his son lord
Torrington. The duke presented him to the rectory of
Doulton, in Devonshire, aud procured him also a prebend
in the church of Exeter. In 1669, before he married, he
went over into Germany to see his friends, where he was
much admired as a preacher, and was entertained with
great respect at the court of the elector Palatine. At his
return in 1671, he was chosen preacher in the Savoyj
where he continued to officiate till he died . This,
however, was but poor maintenance, the salary being small as
well as precarious, and be continued in mean circumstances for some years, after the revolution; till, as his.
biographer, bishop Kidder, says, it pleased God to raise up
a friend who concerned himself on his behalf, namely,
the lord admiral Russel, afterwards earl of Orford. Before
he went to sea, lord Russel waited on the queen to take
leave and when he was with her, begged of her that she
“would be pleased to bestow some preferment on Dr.
Horneck.
” The queen told him, that she “could not at
present think of any way of preferring the doctor
” and
with this answer the admiral was dismissed. Some time
after, the queen related what had passed to archbishop
Tillotson; and added, that she “was anxious lest the ad-,
miral should think her too unconcerned on the doctor’s
behalf.
” Consulting with him therefore what was to be
done, Tillotson advised her to promise him the next prebend of Westminster that should happen to become void.
This the queen did, and lived to make good her word in
1693. In 1681 he had commenced D. D. at Cambridge,
and was afterwards made chaplain to king William and
queen Mary. His prebend at Exeter lying at a great distance from him, he resigned it; and in Sept. 1694 was
admitted to a prebend in the church of Wells, to which
he was presented by his friend Dr. Kidder, bishop of Bath
and Wells. It was no very profitable thing; and if it
had been, he would have enjoyed but little of it, since he
died so soon after as Jan. 1696, in his fifty-sixth year.
His body being opened, it appeared that both his ureters
were stopped; the one by a stone that entered the top of
the ureter with a sharp end; the upper part of which was
thick, and much too large to enter any farther; the other
by stones of much less firmness and consistence. He was
interred in Westminster-abbey, where a monument, with
an handsome inscription upon it, was erected to his memory.
He was, says Kidder, a man of very good learning, and
had goou skill in the languages. He had applied himself
to the Arabic from his youth, and retained it to his death.
He had great skill in the Hebrew likewise nor was his
skilllimited to the Biblical Hebrew only, but he was also
a great master in the Rabbinical. He was a most diligent
and indefatigable reader of the Scriptures in the original
languages: “Sacras literas tractavit indefesso studio,
” says
his tutor Spanheiui of him: and adds, that he was then
of an elevated wit, of which he gave a specimen in 1655,
by publicly defending “A Dissertation upon the Vow of
Jephthah concerning the sacrifice of his daughter.
” He
had great skill in ecclesiastical history, in controversial and
casuistical divinity; and it is said, that few men were so
frequently consulted in cases of conscience as Dr. Horneck.
As to his pastoral care in all its branches, he is set forth
as one of the greatest examples that ever lived. “He had
the zeal, the spirit, the courage, of John the Baptist,
”
says Kidder, “and durst reprove a great man; and perhaps that man lived not, that was more conscientious in
this matter. I very well knew a great man,
” says the
bishop, “and peer of the realm, from whom ne had just
expectations of preferment; but this was so far from stopping his mouth, that he reproved him to his face, upon a
very critical affair. He missed of his preferment, indeed,
but saved his own soul. This freedom,
” continues the
bishop, “made his acquaintance and friendship very desirable by every good man, that would be better. He
would in him be very sure of a friend, that would not suffer sin upon him. I may say of him what Pliny says of
Corellius Rufus, whose death he laments, “amisi meæ vitæ
testem,' &c. ‘I have lost a faithful witness of my life;’
and may add what he said upon that occasion to his friend
Calvisius, ‘vereor ne negligentius vivam,’ ‘I am afraid lest
for the time to come I should live more carelessly.’” His
original works are, 1.
” The great Law of Consideration:
or, a discourse wherein the nature, usefulness, and absolute necessity of consideration, in order to a truly serious
and religious life, are laid open,“London, 1676, 8vo,
which has been several times reprinted with additions and
corrections. 2.
” A letter to a lady revolted to the Romish
church,“London, 1678, 12mo. 3.
” The happy Ascetick: or the best Exercise,“London, 1681, 8vo. To this
is subjoined,
” A letter to a person of quality concerning
the holy lives of the primitive Christians.“4.
” Delight
and Judgment: or a prospect of the great day of Judgment, and its power to damp and imbitter sensual delights,
sports, and recreations,“London, 1683, 12mo. 5.
” The
Fire of the Altar: or certain directions how to raise the
soul into holy flames, before, at, and after the receiving of the blessed Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper with
suitable prayers and devotions,“London, 1683, 12mo. To
this is prefixed,
” A Dialogue between a Christian and his
own Conscience, touching the true nature of the Christian
Religion.“6.
” The Exercise of Prayer; or a help to devotion; being a supplement to the Happy Ascetick, or
best exercise, containing prayers and devotions suitable to the respective exercises, with additional prayers
for several occasions,“London, 1685, 8vo. 7.
” The first
fruits of Reason: or, a discouse shewing the necessity of
applying ourselves betimes to the serious practice of Religion,“London, 1685, 8vo. 8.
” The Crucified Jesus:
or a full account of the nature, end, design, and benefit of
the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, with necessary dU
rections, prayers, praises, and meditations, to be used by
persons who come to the holy communion,“London, 1686,
8vo. 9.
” Questions and Answers concerning the two
Religions; viz. that of the Church of England and of the
Church of Rome.“10.
” An Answer to the Soldier’s Question: What shall we do?“11, Several single Sermons.
12.
” Fifteen Sermons upon the fifth chapter of St. Matthew," London, 1698, 8vo.
In 1768 he went to Christ church, Oxford, as private tutor to Heneage earl of Aylesbury, then lord Guernsey. To this university he appears
In 1768 he went to Christ church, Oxford, as private
tutor to Heneage earl of Aylesbury, then lord Guernsey.
To this university he appears to have become attached;
and his first mathematical publication was elegantly printed
at the Clarendon press, “Apollonii Pergaci inclinationum
libri duo. Resthuebat S. Horsley,
” Remarks on the Observations made in the late Voyage
towards the North Pole, for determining the acceleration,
of the Pendulum, in latitude 79 51'. In a letter to the
hon. Constantinefohn Phipps,
” 4to. His intention in this
pamphlet, which ought ever to be bound up with “Phipps’s
Voyage,
” is to correct two or three important errors and
inaccuracies that had been introduced, by Israel Lyons,
the mathematician employed on the voyage, in the numerous mathematical calculations which appear in that valuable work; and this it was acknowledged, was performed by
our learned author with equal skill, delicacy, and candour.
I>r. Horsley had long meditated a complete edition of
the works of sir Isaac Newton, and in 1776 issued proposals
for printing it, by subscription, in 5 vote. 4to, having obtained the royal permission to dedicate it to his majesty;
but the commencement of it was for a considerable time
delayed by severe domestic affliction, arising from the illness of his wife, for whom he had the tenderest regard.
She died in the following year, and some time after, the
works of Newton were put to press, but were not finally
completed until 1785. In the mean time his great diligence and proficiency in various sciences attracted the notice of an excellent judge of literary merit, the late Dr.
Lowth, bishop of London, who on his promotion to that
see in 1777, appointed Dr. Horsley his domestic chaplain;
and collated him to a prebend in St. Paul’s cathedral. He
also, by the same interest, succeeded his father as clerk in
orders at St. Martin’s in the Fields.
ansmitted to him, engraved whatever was sent. His lordship mentions two instances, the heads of Carr earl of Somerset, and secretary Thurlow, which are not only not genuine,
The persons who undertook and brought to conclusion this great national work, were the two Knaptons, booksellers, encouraged by the vast success of Rapin’s History of England. They employed both Vertue and Houbraken, but chiefly the latter, and the publication began in numbers in 1744. The rirst volume was completed in 1747, and the second in 1152. It was accompanied with short lives of the personages, written by Dr. Birch. Lord Orford observes, that some of Houbraken’s beads were carelessly done, especially those of the moderns; and the engraver living in Holland, ignorant of our history, uninquisitive into the authenticity of what was transmitted to him, engraved whatever was sent. His lordship mentions two instances, the heads of Carr earl of Somerset, and secretary Thurlow, which are not only not genuine, but have not the least resemblance to the persons they pretend to represent. Mr. Gilpin, in his Essay on Prints, says, "Houbraken is a genius, and has given us in his collection of English portraits, some pieces of engraving at least equal to any thing of the kind. Such are the heads of Hampden, Schomberg, the earl of Bedford, and the duke of Richmond particularly, aud some others. At the same time, we must own that he has intermixed among his works a great numbe/ of bad prints. In his best, there is a wonderful union of softness and freedom. A more elegant and flowing line no artist ever employed.]' Mr. Strutt estimates his general merits more minutely. Houbraken’s great excellence, says that ingenious writer, consisted in the portrait line of engraving. We admire the softness and delicacy of execution, which appear in his works, joined with good drawing, and a fine taste. If his best performances have ever been surpassed, it is in the masterly determination of the features which we find in the works of Nanteuil, Edelink, and Drevet this gives an animation to the countenance, more easily to be felt than described. From his solicitude to avoid the appearance of an outline, he seems frequently to have neglected the little sharpnesses of light and shadow, which not only appear in nature, but, like the accidental semitones in music, raise a pleasing sensation in the mind, in proportion as the variation is judiciously managed. For want of attention to this essential beauty, many of his celebrated productions have a misty appearance, and do not strike the eye with the force we might expect, when we consider the excellence of the engraving. The Sacrifice of Manoah, from Rembrandt, for the collection of prints from the pictures in the Dresden gallery, is the only attempt he made in historical engraving; but in it he by no means succeeded so well. Of his private life, family, or character, nothing is known. He lived to a good old age, and died at Amsterdam, in 1780.
, earl of Surrey, and duke of Norfolk, an eminent commander in the
, earl of Surrey, and duke of Norfolk, an eminent commander in the reign of Henry VIII. was born in 1473, and brought up to arms, and soon after the accession of Henry was decorated with the knighthood of the garter. He served with his brother sir Edward, against sir Andrew Barton, a Scotch free-booter, or pirate, who perished in the action. Wuen his brother, sir Edward, was killed in an action near Brest, in 1513, he was appointed to the office in his stead, and in the capacity of high admiral he effectually cleared the channel of French cruisers. The victory of Flodden-field, in which the king of Scotland was slain, was chiefly owing to his valour and good conduct. For this his father was restored to the title of duke of Norfolk, and the title of earl of Surrey was conferred on him. In 1521 he was sent to Ireland as lordlieutenant, chiefly for the purpose, it was thought, of having him out of the way during the proceedings against his father-in-law, the duke of Buckingham. Here he was very instrumental in suppressing the rebellion, and having served there two years he returned, and had the command of the fleet against France. By the death of his father he succeeded to the title and estates as duke of Norfolk. Notwithstanding his great services, Henry, at the close of his tyrannical life and reign, caused the duke to be sent to the Tower on a charge of high treason, and his son to be beheaded in his presence. The death of the king saved the duke’s life. He was, however, detained prisoner during the whole of the reign of Edward VI. but one of the first acts of Mary, after her accession to the throne, was to liberate him. He was, after this, the principal instrument in suppressing the rebellion excited by sir Thomas Wyatt. He died in August 1554, having passed his eightieth year. He was father to the illustrious subject of our next article.
, Earl of Surrey. This highly accomplished nobleman has been peculiarly
, Earl of Surrey. This highly accomplished nobleman has been peculiarly unfortunate in his biographers, nor is there in the whole range of the English series, a life written with less attention to probability. Even the few dates on which we can depend have been overlooked with a neglect that is wholly unaccountable in men so professedly attentive to these matters, as Birch, Walpole, and Warton. The story usually told consists of the following particulars:
Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, was the eldest son of Thomas, the third duke of Norfolk,
Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, was the eldest son of Thomas, the third duke of Norfolk, lord high treasurer of England in the reign of Henry VIII. by Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham. He was born either at his father’s seat at Framlingham, in Suffolk, or in the city of Westminster, and being a child of great hopes, all imaginable care was taken of his education. When he was very young he was companion, at Windsor castle, with Henry Fitzroy, duke of Richmond, natural son to Henry VIII. and afterwards student in Cardinal college, now Christ Church, Oxford. In 1532 he was with the duke of Richmond at Paris, and continued there for some time in the prosecution of his studies, and learning the French language; and upon the death of that duke in July 1536, travelled into Germany, where he resided some time at the emperor’s court, and thence went to Florence, where he fell in love with the fair Geraldine, the great object of his poetical addresses, and in the grand duke’s court published a challenge against all who should dispute her beauty; which challenge being accepted, he came oft victorious. For this approved valour, the duke of Florence made him large offers to stay with him; but he refused them because he intended to defend the honour of his Geraldine in all the chief cities of Italy. But this design of his was diverted by letters sent to him by king Henry VIII. recalling him to England. He left Italy, therefore, where he had cultivated his poetical genius by the reading of the greatest writers of that country, and returned to his own country, where he was considered a one of the first of the English nobility, who adorned his high birth with the advantages of a polite taste and extensive literature. On the first of May, 1540, he was one of the chief of those who justed at Westminster, as a defendant, against sir John Dudley, sir Thomas Seymour, and other challengers, where he behaved himself with admirable courage, and great skill in the use of his arms, and, in 1542, served in the army, of which his father was lieutenant-genera!, and which, in October that year, entered Scotland, and burnt divers villages. In February or March following, he was confined to Windsor castle for eating flesh in Lent, contrary to the king’s proclamation of the 9th of February 1542. In 1544, upon the expedition to Boulogne, in France, he was field-marshal of the English army; and after taking that town, being then knight of the garter, he was in the beginning of September 1545, constituted the king’s lieutenant and captain-general of all his army within the town and country of Boulogne. During his command there in 1546, hearing that a convoy of provisions of the enemy was coming to the fort at Oultreau, he resolved to intercept it; but the Rhingrave, with' four thdusand Lanskinets, together with a considerable number of French under the marshal de Blez, making an obstinate defence, the Englisii were routed, anil sir Edward Poynings, with divers other gentlemen, killed, and the earl of Surrey himself obliged to fly; though it appears by a letter of his to the king, dated January 8, 1545-6, that this advantage cost the enemy a great number of men. But the king was so highly displeased with this ill success, that, from that time he contracted a prejudice against the earl, and, soon after, removed him from his command, appointing the earl of Hertford to succeed him. On this sir William Paget wrote to the earl of Surrey to advise him to procure some eminent post under the earl of Hertford, that he might not be unprovided in the town and field. The earl being desirous, in the mean time, to regain his former favour with the king, skirmished against the French, and routed them; but, soon after, writing over to the king’s council, that as the enemy had cast much larger cannon than had been yet seen, with which they imagined they should soon demolish Boulogne, it deserved consideration, whether the lower town should stand, as not being defensible, the council ordered him to return to England, in order to represent his sentiments more fully upon those points, and the earl of Hertford was immediately sent over in his room. This exasperating the earl of Surrey, occasioned him to let fall some expressions which savoured of revenge, and a dislike of the king, and an hatred of his counsellors; and was, probably, one great cause of his ruin soon after. His father, the duke of Norfolk, had endeavoured to ally himaelf to the earl of Hertford, and to his brother, sir Thomas Seymour, perceiving how much they were in the king’s favour, and how great an interest they were likely to have under the succeeding prince; and therefore he would have engaged his son, being then a widower (having lost his wife Frances, daughter of John earl of Oxford), to marry the earl of Hertford’s daughter, and pressed his daughter, the duchess of Richmond, widow of the king’s natural son, to marry sir Thomas Seymour. But though the earl of Surrey advised his sister to the marriage projected for her, yet he would nol consent to that designed for himself; nor did the proposition about himself take effect. The Seymours could not but perceive the enmity which the earl bore them; and they might well be jealous of the greatness of the Howard family, which was not only too considerable for subjects, of itself, but was raised so high by the dependence of th whole popish party, both at home and abroad, that they were likely to be very dangerous competitors for the chief government of affairs, if the king should die, whose disease was now growing so fast upon him that he could not live many weeks. Nor is it improbable, that they persuaded the king, that, if the earl of Surrey should marry the princess Mary, it might embroil his son’s government, and, perhaps, ruin him. And it was suggested that he had some such high project in his thoughts, both by his continuing unmarried, and by his using the arms of Edward the Confessor, which, of late, he had given in his coat without a diminution. To complete the duke of Norfolk’s and his son’s ruin, his duchess, who had complained of his using her ill, and had been separated from him about four years, turned informer against him. And the earl and his sister, the duchess dowager of Richmond, being upon ill terms together, she discovered all she knew against him; as likewise did one Mrs. Holland, for whom the duke was believed to have had an unlawful affection. But all these discoveries amounted only to some passionate expressions of the son, and some complaints of the father, who thought he was not beloved by the king and his counsellors, and that he was ill used in not being trusted with the secret of affairs. However, all persons being encouraged to bring informations against them, sir Richard Southwel charged the earl of Surrey in some points of an higher nature; which the earl denied, and desired to be admitted, according to the martial law, to fight, in his shirt, with sir Richard. But, that not being granted, he and his father were committed prisoners to the Tower on the 12th of December 1546; and the earl, being a commoner, was brought to his trial in Guildhall, on the 13th of January following, Jbefore the lord chancellor, the lord mayor, and other commissioners; where he defended himself with great skill and address, sometimes denying the accusations, and weakening the credit of the witnesses against him, and sometimes interpreting the words objected to him in a far different sense from what had been represented. For the point of bearing the arms of Edward the Confessor, he justified himself by the authority of the heralds. And when a witness was produced, who pretended to repeat some high words of his lordship’s, by way of discourse, which concerned him nearly, and provoked the witness to return him a braving answer; the qarl left it to the jury to judge whether it was probable that this man should speak thus to him, and he not strike him again. In conclusion, he insisted upon his innocence, but was found guilty, and had sentence of death passed upon him. He was beheaded on Tower-hill on the 19th of January 1546-7; and his body interred in the church of All Hallows Barking, and afterwards removed to Framlingham, in Suffolk.
tory of the Reformation. The principal errors, (corrected in this transcription,) are his making the earl of Surrey son to the second duke of Norfolk , and the duke of
Such is the account drawn up by Dr. Birch for the “Illustrious Heads,
” from Anthony Wood, Camden, Herbert,
Dugdale, and Burnet’s History of the Reformation. The
principal errors, (corrected in this transcription,) are his
making the earl of Surrey son to the second duke of Norfolk , and the duke of Richmond natural son to Henry the
Seventh.
His next biographer to whom any respect is due was the late earl of Orford, in his Catalogue of “Royal and Noble Authors.” The
His next biographer to whom any respect is due was
the late earl of Orford, in his Catalogue of “Royal and
Noble Authors.
” The account of Surrey, in this work, derives its chief merit from lord Orford’s ingenious explanation of the sonnet on Geraldine, which amounts to this,
that Geraldine was Elizabeth (second daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald earl of Kildare), and afterwards third wife of
Edward Clinton earl of Lincoln; and that Surrey probably saw her first at Hunsdon-house in Hertfordshire, where,
as she was second cousin to the princesses Mary and
Elizabeth, who were educated in this place, she might
have been educated with them, and Surrey, as the companion of the duke of Richmond, the king’s natural son,
might have had interviews with her, when the duke went
to visit his sisters. All this is ingenious; but no light is
thrown upon the personal history of the earl, and none of
the difficulties, however obvious, in his courtship of Geraldine removed, or even hinted at; nor does lord Orford
condescend to inquire into the dates of any event in his
life.
ars afterwards (1532) for the purpose of acquiring every accomplishment of an elegant education, the earl accompanied his noble friend and fellow-pupil into France, where
Mr. Warton commences his account of Surrey by observing, that “Lord Surrey’s life throws so much light on
the character and subjects of his poetry, that it is almost
impossible to consider the one, without exhibiting a few
anecdotes of the other.
” He then gives the memoirs of
Surrey almost in the words of lord Orford, except in th
following instances:
“A friendship of the closest kind commencing between
these two illustrious youths (Surrey and the duke of Richmond), about the year 1530, they were both removed
to cardinal Wolsey’s college at Oxford. Two years afterwards (1532) for the purpose of acquiring every accomplishment of an elegant education, the earl accompanied
his noble friend and fellow-pupil into France, where they
received king Henry, v on his arrival at Calais to visit
Francis I. with a most magnificent retinue. The friendship of these two young noblemen was soon strengthened
by a utw tie; for Richmond married the lady Mary Howard, Surrey’s sister. Richmond, however, appears to have
died in the year 1536, about the age of seventeen, having
never cohabited with his wife. It was long before Surrey
forgot the untimely loss of this amiable youth, the friend
and associate of his childhood, and who nearly resembled
himself in genius, refinement of manners, and liberal acquisitions.
”
"It is not precisely known at what period the earl of Surrey began his travels. They have the air of a romance.
"It is not precisely known at what period the earl of Surrey began his travels. They have the air of a romance. He made the tour of Europe in the true spirit of chivalry, and with the ideas of an Amadis: proclaiming the unparalleled charms of his mistress, and prepared to defend the cause of her beauty with the weapons of knight-errantry. Nor was this adventurous journey performed without the intervention of an enchanter. The first city in Italy which he proposed to visit was Florence, the capital of Tuscany, and the original seat of the ancestors of his Geraidine. In his way thither, he passed a few days at the emperor’s court ^ where he became acquainted with Cornelius Agrippa, a celebrated adept in natural magic. This visionary philosopher shewed our hero, in a mirror of glass, a living image of Geraidine, reclining on a couch, sick, and reading one of his most tender sonnets by a waxen taper. His imagination, which wanted not the flattering F represeniations and artificial incentives of illusion, was heated anew by this interesting and affecting spectacle. Inflamed wiih every enthusiasm of the most romantic passion, he hastened to Florence and on his arrival, immediately published a defiance against any person who could handle a lance and was in love, whether Christian, Jew, Turk, Saracen, or Canibal, who should presume to dispute the superiority of Geraldine’s beauty. As the lady was pretended to be of Tuscan extraction, the pride of the Flo-, rentines was flattered on this occasion: and the grand duke of Tuscany permitted a general and unmolested ingress into his dominions of the combatants of all countries, till this important trial should be decided. The challenge was accepted, and the earl victorious. The shield which he presented to the duke before the tournament began, is exhibited in Vertue’s valuable plate of the Arundel family, and was actually in the possession of the late duke of Norfolk.
so eloquent a lover. She appears, however, to have been afterwards the third wife of Edward Clinton, earl of Lincoln. Such also is the power of time and accident over
“Among these anecdotes of Surrey’s life, I had almost
forgot to mention what became of his amour with the fair
Geraldine. We lament to find that Surrey’s devotion to
this lady did not end in a wedding, and that all his gallantries and verses availed so little. No memoirs of that
incurious age have informed us whether her beauty was
equalled by her cruelty; or whether her ambition prevailed so far over her gratitude, as to tempt her to prefer
the solid glories of a more splendid title and ample fortune
to the challenges and the compliments of so magnanimous,
so faithful, and so eloquent a lover. She appears, however, to have been afterwards the third wife of Edward
Clinton, earl of Lincoln. Such also is the power of time
and accident over amorous vows, that even Surrey himself
outlived the violence of his passion. He married Frances,
daughter of John earl of Oxford, by whom he left several
children. One of his daughters, Jane countess of Westmoreland, was among the learned ladies of that age, and
became famous for her knowledge of the Greek and Latin
languages.
”
Mr. Warton observes, that “it is not precisely known at what period the earl of Surrey began his travels;” but this is a matter of little
Mr. Warton observes, that “it is not precisely known
at what period the earl of Surrey began his travels;
” but
this is a matter of little consequence in refuting the account usually given of those travels, because all his biographers are agreed that he did not set out before 1536,
At this time he had ten years only of life before him, which
have been filled up in a very extraordinary manner. First,
he travels over a part of Europe, vindicating the beauty
of Geraldine in 1540 he is celebrated at the justs at
Westminster in 1542 he goes to Scotland with his father’s
army in 1543 (probably) he is imprisoned for eating
flesh in lent ^in 1544 5, he is commander at Boulogne
and lastly, amidst all these romantic adventures, or serious
events, he has leisure to marry the daughter of the earl of
Oxford, and beget five children, which we may suppose
would occupy at least five or six of the above ten years,
and those not the last five or six years, for we find him a
widower a considerable time before his death. Among
other accusations whispered in the ear of his jealous sovereign, one was his continuing unmarried (an expression which usually denotes a considerable length of time) after
the period when a second marriage might be decent, in
order that he might marry the princess Mary, in the event
of the king’s death, and so disturb the succession of Edward.
The placing of these events in this series would render
the story of his knight-errantry sufficiently improbable,
were we left without any information respecting the date
of Surrey’s marriage, but that event renders the whole impossible, if we wish to preserve any respect for the consistency of his character. Surrey was actually married
before the commencement of his travels in pursuit or in
defence of Geraldine’s beauty. His eldest son, Thomas,
third duke of Norfolk, was eighteen years old when his
grandfather died in 1554. He was consequently born in
1536, and his father, it is surely reasonable to suppose,
was married in 1535. It would, therefore, be unnecessary to examine the story of Surrey’s romantic travels any
farther, if we had not some collateral authorities which
may still show that whatever may be wrong in the present statement, it is certain that there is nothing right in
the common accounts, which have been read and copied
without any suspicion.
ldine about twenty-four, and Surrey within two years of his death, and most probably a widower. This earl of Lincoln had three wives; the date of his marriage with any
If it be said that Surrey’s age is not exactly known, and
therefore allowing 1536, the date of his travels, to be erroneous, it is possible that he might have been enamoured
of Geraldine long before this, and it is possible that his
travels might have commenced in 1526, or any other period founded on this new conjecture. This, however, is
as improbable as all the rest of the story, for it can be decidedly proved that there was no time for Surrey’s gallantries towards Geraldine, except the period which his
biographers, however absurdly, have assigned, namely,
when he was a married man. The father of lady Elizabeth, the supposed Geraldine, married in 1519, one of
the daughters of Thomas Grey, marquis of Dorset, and
by her had five children, of whom Elizabeth was the
fourth, and therefore probably not born before 1523 or
1524. If Surrey’s courtship, therefore, must be carried
farther back, it must be carried to the nursery; for even
in 1536, when we are told he was her knight-errant, she
could not have been more than eleven or twelve years old.
Let us add to this a few particulars respecting Geraldine’s
husband. She married Edward lord C'linton. He was
born in 1512, was educated in the court, and passed his
youth in those magnificent and romantic amusements which
distinguished the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, but
did not appear as a public character until 1544, when he
was thirty-two years of age, Geraldine about twenty-four,
and Surrey within two years of his death, and most probably a widower. This earl of Lincoln had three wives;
the date of his marriage with any of them is not known,
nor how long they lived, but Geraldine was the third, the
only one by whom he had no children, and who survived
his death, which took place in 1584, thirty-eight years
after the death of Surrey. Mr. Warton, in his earnest
desire to connect her with Surrey, insinuates that she might
have been either cruel, or that her “ambition prevailed
so far over her gratitude as to tempt her to prefer the
solid glories of a more splendid title and ample fortune,
to the challenges and the compliments of so magnanimous,
so faithful, and so eloquent a lover.
” On this it is only
necessary to remark, that the lady’s ambition might have
been as highly gratified by marrying the accomplished and
gallant Surrey, the heir of the duke of Norfolk, as by allying herself to a nobleman of inferior talents and rank.
But of his two conjectures, Mr. Warton seems most to
adhere to that of cruelty^ for he adds, that “Surrey himgelf outlived his amorous vows, and married the daughter
of the earl of Oxford.
” This, however, is as little deserving of serious examination, as the ridiculous story of
Cornelius Agrippa showing Geraldine in a glass, which
Anthony Wood found in Drayton’s “Heroical Epistle,
”
or probably, as Mr. Park thinks, took it from Nash’s
fanciful “Life of Jack Wilton,
” published in Heroical Epistle
” which led Mr.
Warton into so egregious a blunder as that of our poet
being present at Flodden-field, in 1513. Dr. Sewell, indeed, in the short memoirs prefixed to his edition of Surrey’s Poems, asserts the same; tut little credit is due to
the assertion -of a writer who at the same time fixes Surrey’s birth in 1520, seven years after that memorable
battle was fought.
by Tottel, in 4to, with die title of “Songes and sonnettes by the right honorable Henry Howard, late earl of Surrey, and other.” Several editions of the same followed
Surrey’s poems were in high reputation among his contemporaries and immediate successors, who vied with each
other in compliments to his genius, gallantry, and personal
worth. They were first printed in 1557, by Tottel, in 4to,
with die title of “Songes and sonnettes by the right honorable Henry Howard, late earl of Surrey, and other.
”
Several editions of the same followed in Granville of a former age,
” induced the booksellers
to employ Dr. Sewell to be the editor of Surrey’s, Wyat’s,
and the poems of uncertain authors. But the doctor performed his task, with so little knowledge of the language,
that this is perhaps the most incorrect edition extant of
any ancient poet. It would have been surprizing had it
contributed to revive his memory, or justify Pope’s comparison and eulogium.
, earl of Northampton, second son of the preceding, but unworthy of
, earl of Northampton, second
son of the preceding, but unworthy of such a father, was
born at Shottisham in Norfolk about 1539. He was educated at King’s college, and afterwards at Trinity-hall,
Cambridge, where he took the degree of A. M. to which
he was also admitted at Oxford, in 1568. Bishop Godwin
says, his reputation for literature was so great in the unU
versity, that he was esteemed“the learnedest among the
nobility; and the most noble among the learned.
” He
was at first, probably, very slenderly provided for, being
often obliged, as Lloyd records, “to dine with the chair
of duke Humphrey.
” He contrived, however, to spend
some years in travel; but on his return could obtain no
favour at court, at least till the latter end of queen Elizabeth’s reign, which was probably owing to his connections.
In 1597, it seems as if he was in some power (perhaps, however, only through the influence of his friend lord Essex), because Rowland White applied to him concerning
sir Robert Sydney’s suits at court. He was the grossest of
flatterers, as appears by his letters to his patron and friend
lord Essex; but while he professed the most unbounded
friendship for Essex, he yet paid his suit to the lord treasurer Burleigh. On the fall of Essex, he insinuated himself so far into the confidence of his mortal enemy, secretary Cecil, as to become the instrument of the secretary’s
correspondence with the king of Scotland, which passed
through his hands, and has been since published by sit
David Dalrymple. It is not wonderful, therefore, that a
man of his intriguing spirit, was immediately on king
James’s accession, received into favour. In May 1603,
he was made a privy-counsellor; in January following,
lord warden of the Cinque Ports; in March, baron of
Marnhill, and earl of Northampton; in April 1608, lord
privy seal; and honoured with the garter. In 1609, he
succeeded John lord Lumley, as high steward of Oxford;
and in 1612, Robert, earl of Salisbury, as chancellor of
Cambridge. Soon after he became the principal instrument in the infamous intrigue of his great niece the countess of Essex with Carr viscount Rochester. The wretch
acted as pander to the countess, for the purpose of conciliating die rising favourite and it is impossible to doubt
his deep criminality in the murder of Overbury. About
nine months afterwards, June 15, 1614, he died, luckily
for himself, before this atrocious affair became the subject
of public investigation. He was a learned man, but a
pedant dark and mysterious, and far from possessing masterly abilities. It causes astonishment, says the elegant
writer to whom we are indebted for this article, “when
we reflect that this despicable and wicked wretch was the
sou of the generous and accomplished earl of Surrey.
”
One of his biographers remarks, that “his lordship very
prudently died a papist; he stood no chance for heaven in
any other religion.
”
, earl of Nottingham, lord high admiral of England, was son of William
, earl of Nottingham, lord high admiral of England, was son of William lord Howard of Effingliam, and grandson of Thomas second duke of Norfolk/ He was born in 1536, and initiated early into the affairs of state, being sent in 1559, on the death of Henry II. king of France, with a compliment or condolence to his successor Francis II. and to congratulate him on "his accession to the throne, &c. On his return he was elected one of the knights of the shire for the county of Surrey in 1562, and in 1569 was general of the horse under the earl of Warwick, in the army sent against the earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, then in rebellion. The year following he went with a fleet of men of war to convoy the princess Anne of Austria, daughter of the emperor Maximilian, going into Spain, over the British seas; and in 1573, upon the death of his father, succeeded him in honours and estate. The same year he was installed knight of the garter, and likewise made lord chamberlain of the household; and in 1585 constituted lord high admiral of England.
was equipped with a proper number of land forces, he was appointed commander in chief at sea, as the earl of Essex was at land. In this expedition Cadiz was taken, and
In 1588, the memorable year of the Spanish invasion, the queen, knowing his abilities in naval affairs, and popularity with the seamen, gave him the command of her whole fleet, with which he entirely dispersed and destroyed the Spanish armada; and when, in 1596, another invasion was apprehended from the Spaniards, and a fleet of 150 ships was equipped with a proper number of land forces, he was appointed commander in chief at sea, as the earl of Essex was at land. In this expedition Cadiz was taken, and the Spanish fleet there burnt; and the lord high admiral had so great a share in this success, that on Oct. 22 of the same year he was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Nottingham, and appointed justice itinerant for, life of all the forests south of Trent. In 1599, upon an apprehension of the Spaniards again designing the invasion of England, and on private intelligence, that the earl of Essex, then lord deputy of Ireland, discontented at the power of his adversaries, was meditating to return into England with a select party of men, the queen having raised 6000 foot soldiers to be ready on any emergency, reposed so entire a confidence in the earl of Nottingham, that she committed to him the chief command. But these forces being again disbanded a few days after, he had no opportunity for action until 1601, when he suppressed the carl of Essex’s insurrection. The same year he was appointed one of the commissioners for exercising the office of earl marshal of England; and in the beginning of 1602-3, dnring the queen’s last illness, he was deputed by the council, with the lord keeper Egerton and secretary Cecil, to know her majesty’s pleasure in reference to the succession, which she declared in favour of James king of Scotland.
Upon the accession of that king to the throne of England, the earl was continued in his post of lord admiral, and at the coronation
Upon the accession of that king to the throne of England, the earl was continued in his post of lord admiral,
and at the coronation was made lord high steward of England for that occasion; and the year following, upon the
renewing the commission to seven lords for exercising
the office of earl marshal, he was appointed one of that
number. In 1604 he was one of the commissioners to
treat of an union between England and Scotland; and in
1605, sent ambassador to the court of Spain, attended with
a splendid retinue, who being, as Wilson says, “persons
of quality, accoutred with all ornaments suitable, were the
more admired by the Spaniards for beauty and excellency,
by how much the Jesuits had made impressions in the vulgar opinion, that since the English left the Roman religion, they were transformed into strange horrid shapes,
with heads and tails like beasts and monsters.
” His employment there was to take the oath of the king of Spain
to the treaty of peace lately made with him; and he had a
particular instruction, that in performing that ceremony,
which was most likely to be in the royal chapel, he should
have especial care, that it might be done, not in the forenoon in the time of mass, but rather in the afternoon, at
which time the Romish service is most free from superstition. During this embassy, the king of Spain did more
honour to the earl than ever he had done to any person in
his employment in that kingdom; and the people in general shewed all possible regard for him, as his lordship’s behaviour there justly deserved; and at his departure from
thence in June the same year, he had presents made him
by that king in plate, jewels, and horses, to the value of
20.000l. besides the gold chains and jewels given to his
Upon the marriage of the lady Elizabeth to
the Elector Palatine, February 14, 1612-13, the earl of
Nottingham with the duke of Lenox conducted her highness from the chapel; and had the honour of convoying
Jierwith a royal navy to Flushing. He continued lord high
admiral of England till February 6, 1618-19, when finding
himself unable any longer to perform the necessary duties
of that great employment, which he ha4 enjoyed about
thirty-three years with the highest applause, he voluntarily resigned it to his majesty; who being sensible of the
important services which he had done the nation, remitted
him a debt owing to the crown of 1 8,000l. settled upon
him a pension of 1000l. a year for life, and granted him
the place and precedency of John Mowbray, who had been
created earl of Nottingham by king Richard II. at the time
of his coronation.
ep those ships with him, though it were at his own cost; and in the expedition to Cadiz, he, and the earl of Essex, the two commanders, contributed very largely out of
He died at the age of eighty-eight, leaving rather an
everlasting memorial of his extraordiaary worth, than any
great estate to his family; although he had enjoyed so
long the profitable post of lord admiral. He lived in a
most splendid and magnificent manner, keeping seven
standing houses at the same time; and was always forward to promote any design serviceable to his country.
He expended in several expeditions great sums out of his
private fortune; and in the critical year 1588, when, on
a surmise, that the Spaniards were unable to set sail that
year, secretary Walsingham, by order of the queen, wrote
to him to send back four of his largest ships, he desired,
that nothing might be rashly credited in so weighty a matter, and that he might keep those ships with him, though
it were at his own cost; and in the expedition to Cadiz,
he, and the earl of Essex, the two commanders, contributed very largely out of their own estates. Sir Robert
Naunton styles him “a good, honest, and brave man; and
as for his person, as goodly a gentleman as any of that
age:
” and Mr. Osborne tells us, that his “fidelity was
impregnable in relation to corruption.
” By his first wife,
Catharine, daughter to Henry Gary lord Hunsdon, he had
two sons and three daughters; and by his second, Margaret, daughter to James Stuart earl of Murray in Scot-<
land, two sons.
, an English writer of some abilities and learning, born Jan. 1626, was a younger son of Thomas earl of Berkshire, and educated at Magdalen college, Cambridge. During
, an English writer of some
abilities and learning, born Jan. 1626, was a younger son
of Thomas earl of Berkshire, and educated at Magdalen
college, Cambridge. During the civil war he suffered with
his family, who adhered to Charles I. but at the Restoration was made a knight, and chosen for Stockbridge in
Hampshire, to serve in the parliament which began in
May 1661. He was afterwards made auditor of the exchequer, and was reckoned a creature of Charles II. whom
the monarch advanced on account of his faithful services,
in cajoling the parliament for money. In 1679 he was
chosen to serve in parliament for Castle Rising in Norfolk;
and re-elected for the same place in 1688. He was a
strong advocate for the Revolution, and became so passionate an abhorrer of the nonjurors, that he disclaimed all
manner of conversation and intercourse with persons of
that description. His obstinacy and pride procured him
many enemies, and among them the duke of Buckingham;
who intended to have exposed him under the name of
Bilboa in the “Rehearsal,
” but afterwards altered his
resolution, and levelled his ridicule at a much greater
name, under that of Bayes. He was so extremely positive, and so sure of being in the right upon every subject,
that Shadwell the poet, though a man of the same principles, could not help ridiculing him in his comedy of the
“Sullen Lovers,
” under the character of Sir Positive At-all.
Jn the same play there is a lady Vaine, a courtezan which
the wits then understood to be the mistress of sir Robert,
whom he afterwards married. He died Sept. 3, 1698. He
published, 1. “Poems and Plays.
” 2. “The History of
the Reigns of Edward and Richard II. with reflections and
characters of their chief ministers and favourites; also a
comparison of these princes with Edward I. and III.
” 1690,
8vo. 3. “A letter to Mr. Samuel Johnson, occasioned by
a scurrilous pamphlet, entitled Animadversions on Mr.
Johnson’s answer to Jovian,
” The History
of Religion,
” The fourth book of Virgil
translated,
” Statius’s Achilleis translated,
”
of Langar in Nottinghamshire, by his wife Annabelia, third natural daughter and coheiress of Emanuel earl of Sunderland, lord Scrope of Bolton. He was born in Gloucestershire
, the author of a very popular book
of “Devout Meditations,
” was the third son of John,
Grubham Howe, of Langar in Nottinghamshire, by his
wife Annabelia, third natural daughter and coheiress of
Emanuel earl of Sunderland, lord Scrope of Bolton. He
was born in Gloucestershire in 1661, and during the latter
end of the reign of Charles II. was much at court. About
1686 he went abroad with a near relation, who was sent by
James II. as ambassador to a foreign court. The ambassador died; and our author, by powers given to hint to
that effect, concluded the business of the embassy. He
had an offer of being appointed successor to his friend in
his public character; but disliking the measures that were
then carried on at court, he declined it, and returned to
England, where he soon after married a lady of rank and
fortune, who, dying in a few years, left behind her an
only daughter, married afterwards to Peter Bathurst, esq.
brother to the first earl Bathurst. After his lady’s death,
Mr. Howe lived for the most part in the country, where
he spent many of his latter years in a close retirement,
consecrated to religious meditations and exercises. He
was a man of good understanding, of an exemplary life,
and cheerful conversation. He died in 1745. The work
by which he is still remembered, was entitled “Devout
Meditations; or a collection of thoughts upon religious
and philosophical subjects,
” 8vo, and was first published
anonymously; but the second edition, at the instance of
Dr. Young and others, came out in 1752 with the author’s
name. It has often been reprinted since. Dr. Young said
of this book, that he " should never lay it far out of his
reach; for a greater demonstration of a sound head and
sincere heart he never saw.
, fourth viscount Howe, and earl Howe, and first baron Howe of Langar, a gallant English admiral,
, fourth viscount Howe, and earl
Howe, and first baron Howe of Langar, a gallant English
admiral, was the third son of sir Emanuel Scrope, second
lord viscount Howe, and Mary Sophia Charlotte, eldest
daughter to the baron Kilmansegge. He was born in 1725,
was educated at Eton, entered the sea-service at the age
of fourteen, on board the Severn, hon. captain Legge,
part of the squadron destined for the South Seas under
Anson. He next served on board the Burford, 1743, under
admiral Knowles, in which he was afterwards appointed
acting lieutenant; but his commission not being confirmed,
he returned to admiral Knowles in the West- Indies, where
he was made lieutenant of a sloop of war; and being employed to cut an English merchantman, which had been
taken by a French privateer under the guns of the Dutch
settlement of St. Eustatia, and with the connivance of the
governor, out of that harbour, he executed the difficult
and dangerous enterprise in such a manner, as to produce
the most sanguine expectations of his future services. In
1745, lieutenant Howe was with admiral Vernon in the
Downs, but was in a short time raised to the rank of commander, in the Baltimore sloop of war, which joined the
squadron then cruizing on the coast of Scotland, under the
command of admiral Smith. During this cruize an action
took place, in which captain Howe gave a fine example of
persevering intrepidity. The Baltimore, in company with
another armed vessel, fell in with two French frigates of
thirty guns, with troops and ammunition for the service of
the pretender, which she instantly attacked, by running
between them. In the action which followed, capt. Howe
received a wound hi his head, which at first appeared to be
fatal. He, however, soon discovered signs of life, and
when the necessary operation was performed, resumed all
his former activity, continued the action, if possible, with
redoubled spirit, and obliged the French ships, with their
prodigious superiority in men and metal, to sheer off, leaving the Baltimore, at the same time, in such a shattered
condition, as to be wholly disqualified to pursue them. He
was, in consequence of this gallant service, immediately
made post-captain, and in April 1746, was appointed to
the Triton frigate, and ordered to Lisbon, where, in consequence of captain Holbourne’s bad state of health, he
was transferred to the Rippon, destined for the Coast of
Guinea. But he soon quitted that station to join his early
patron admiral Knowles in Jamaica, who appointed him
first captain of his ship of 80 guns; and at the conclusion
of the war in 1748, he returned in her to England. In
March 1750-51, captain Howe was appointed to the command of the Guinea station, in La Gloire, of 44 guns;
when, with his usual spirit and activity, he checked the
injurious proceedings of the Dutch governor-general on the
coast, and adjusted the difference between the English and
Dutch settlements. At the close of 1751, he was appointed
to the Mary yacht, which was soon exchanged for the Dolphin frigate, in which he sailed to the Streights, where he
executed many difficult and important services. Here he
remained about three years; and soon after, on his return
to England, he obtained the command of the Dunkirk of
60 guns, which was among the ships that were commissioned from an apprehension of a rupture with France.
This ship was one of the fleet with which admiral Boscawen
sailed to obstruct the passage of the French fleet into the
Gulph of St. Lawrence, when captain Howe took the Alcide, a French ship of 64 guns, off the coast of Newfoundland. A powerful fleet being prepared, in 1757, under
the command of sir Edward Hawke, to make an attack
upon the French coast, captain Howe was appointed to the
Magnanime, in which ship he battered the fort on the
island of Aix till it surrendered. In 1758 he was appointed
commodore of a small squadron, which sailed to annoy tke
enemy on their coasts. This he effected with his usual
success at St. Malo, where an hundred sail of ships and
several magazines were destroyed; and the heavy gale
blowing into shore, which rendered it impracticable for
the troops to land, alone prevented the executing a similar
mischief in the town and harbour of Cherbourg. On the
1st of July he returned to St. Helen’s. This expedition
was soon followed by another, when prince Edward, afterwards duke of York, was entrusted to the care of commodore Howe, on board his ship the Essex. The fleet sailed
on the 1st of August 1758, and on the 6th came to an
anchor in the Bay of Cherbourg; the town was taken, and
the bason destroyed. The commodore, with his royal
midshipman on board, next sailed to St. Malo; and as his
instructions were to keep the coast of France in continual
alarm, he very effectually obeyed them. The unsuccessful affair of St. Cas followed. But never was courage,
skill, or humanity, more powerfully or successfully displayed than on this occasion. He went in person in his
barge, which was rowed through the thickest fire, to save
the retreating soldiers; the rest of the fleet, inspired hy
his conduct, followed his example, and at least seven hundred men were preserved, by his exertions, from the fire
of the enemy or the fury of the waves. In July in the
same year (1758), his elder brother, who was serving his
country with equal ardour and heroism in America, found
an early grave. That brave and admirable officer was killed in a skirmish between the advanced guard of the French,
and the troops commanded by general Abercrombie, in the
expedition against Ticonderago. Commodore Howe then
succeeded to the titles and property of his family. In the
following year (1759), lord Howe was employed in the Channel, on board his old ship the Magnanime but no opportunity offered- to distinguish himself till the month of November, when the French fleet, under Conflans, was defeated. When he was presented to the king by sir Edward
Hawke on this occasion, his majesty said, “Your life, my
lord, has been one continued series of services to your
country.
” In March I advised his
majesty to make the promotion. 1 have tried my lord
Howe on fmportant occasions; he never asked me how he
was to execute any service, but always went and performed
it.
” In
, St. Lucia, and St. Domingo; but the most illustrious monument of British naval glory was raised by earl Howe. During the preceding part of the war, France, conscious
But the greatest glory of lord Howe’s life was reserved almost to its close. On the breaking out of the revolutionary war in 1793, he accepted the command of the western squadron. Three powerful armaments were prepared for the campaign of 1794: one under lord Hood commanded the Mediterranean, reduced the island of Corsica, and protected the coasts of Spain and Italy; a second under sir John Jervis, afterwards lord St. Vincent, with a military force headed by sir Charles Grey, reduced Martijiico, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, and St. Domingo; but the most illustrious monument of British naval glory was raised by earl Howe. During the preceding part of the war, France, conscious of her maritime inferiority, had confined her exertions to cruizers and small squadrons for harassing our trade; but in the month of May, the French were induced to depart from this system, and being very anxious for the safety of a convoy daily expected from America, with an immense supply of corn and flour, naval stores, &c. the Brest fleet, amounting to twenty-seven sail of the line, ventured to sea under tjbe command of rearadmiral Villaret. Lord Howe expecting the same convoy, went to sea with twenty ships of the line, and on the 28th of May descried the enemy to windward. After various previous manoeuvres which had been interrupted by a thick fog, the admiral found an opportunity of bringing the French to battle on the 1st of June. Between seven antj eight in the morning, our fleet advanced in a close and compact line; and the enemy, finding an engagement unavoidable, received our onset with their accustomed valour. A close and desperate engagement ensued, in the course of which, the Montague of 130 guns, the French admiral’s ship, having adventured to encounter the Queen Charlotte of 100 guns, earl Howe’s ship, was, in less than an hour, compelled to fly; the other ships of the same division, seeing all efforts ineffectual, endeavoured to follow the flying admiral: ten, however, were so crippled that they could not keep pace with the rest; but many of the British ships being also greatly damaged, some of these disabled French ships effected their escape. Six remained in the possession of the British admiral, and were brought safe into Portsmouth, viz. two of 80 and four of 74 guns; and the Le Vengeur, of 74, was sunk, making the whole loss to the enemy amount to seven ships of the line. The victorious ships arrived safe in harbour with their prizes; and the crews, officers, and admiral, were received with every testimony of national gratitude. On the 26th of the same month, their majesties, with three of the princesses, arrived at Portsmouth, and proceeded the next morning in barges to visit lord Howe’s ship, the Queen Charlotte, at Spithead. His majesty held a naval levee on board, and presented the victorious admiral with a sword, enriched with diamonds and a gold chain, with the naval medal suspended from it. The thanks of both houses of parliament, the freedom of the city of London, and the universal acclamations of the nation, followed the acknowledgments of the sovereign. In the course of the following year, he was appointed general of marines, on the death of admiral Forbes; and finally resigned the command of the western squadron in April 1797. On the 2d of June in the same year, he was invested with the insignia of the garter. The last public act of a life employed against the foreign enemies of his country, was exerted to compose its internal dissentions. It was the lot of earl Howe to contribute to the restoration of the fleet, which he had conducted to glory on the sea, to loyalty in the harbour. His experience suggested the measures to be pursued by government on the alarming mutinies, which in 1797 distressed and terrified the nation; while his personal exertions powerfully promoted the dispersion of that spirit, which had, for a time, changed the very nature of British seamen, and greatly helped to recall them to their former career of duty and obedience. This gallant officer, who gained the first of the four great naval victories which have raised the reputation of the British navy beyond all precedent and all comparison, died at his house in Graf ton -street, London, of the gout in his stomach, August 5, 1799. In 1758 his lordship married Mary, daughter of Chiverton Hartop, esq. of Welby, in the county of Leicester. His issue by this lady, is lady Sophia Charlotte, married to the hon. Pen Ashton Curzon, eldest son of lord Cuizon, who died in 1797; lady Mary Indiana, and lady Louisa Catharine, married to earl of Altamont, of Ireland. He was succeeded in his Irish viscounty by his brother, general sir William Howe, who died (1814) while this sheet was passing through the press; and in the English barony by lady Curzon.
owell returned to England in 1624; and was soon after appointed secretary to lord Scrope, afterwards earl of Sunderland, who was made lord-president of the North. This
Soon after his return, he quitted his stewardship of the
glass-house; and having experienced the pleasures of travelling, was anxious to obtain more employments of the
same kind. In 1622 he was sent into Spain, to recover a
rich English ship, seized by the viceroy of Sardinia for his
master’s use, on pretence of its having prohibited goods
on board. In 1623, during his absence abroad, he was
chosen fellow of Jesus college in Oxford, upon the new
foundation of sir Eubule Thelwal: for he had taken unremitting care to cultivate his interest in that society. He tells
sir Eubule, in his letter of thanks to him, that he “will
reserve his fellowship, and lay it by as a good warm garment against rough weather, if any fall on him:
” in which
he was followed by Prior, who alleged the same reason
for keeping his fellowship at St. John’s-college in Cambridge. Howell returned to England in 1624; and was
soon after appointed secretary to lord Scrope, afterwards
earl of Sunderland, who was made lord-president of the
North. This office carried him to York; and while he
resided there, the corporation of Richmond, without any
application from himself, and against several competitors,
chose him one of their representatives, in the parliament
which began in 1627. In 1632, he went as secretary to
Robert earl of Leicester, ambassador extraordinary from
Charles I. to the court of Denmark, on occasion of the
death of the queen dowager, who was grandmother to that
king: and there gave proofs of his oratorical talents, in
several Latin speeches before the king of Denmark, and
other princes of Germany. After his return to England,
his affairs do not appear so prosperous; for, except an
inconsiderable mission, on which he was dispatched to
Orleans in France by secretary Windebankin 1635, he was
for some years destitute of any employment. At last, in
1639, he went to Ireland, and was well received by lord
Strafford, the lord-lieutenant, who had before made him
very warm professions of kindness, and employed him as
an assistant-clerk upon some business to Edinburgh, and
afterwards to London; but his rising hopes were ruined by
the unhappy fate which soon overtook that nobleman. I
1640 he was dispatched upon some business to France;
and the same year was made clerk of the council, which
post was the most fixed in point of residence^ and the most
permanent in its nature, that he bad ever enjoyed. But
his royal master, having departed from his palace at Whitehall, was not able to secure his continuance long in it: for,
in 1643, having visited London upon some business of his
own, all his papers were seized by a committee of the
parliament, his person secured, and, in a few days after,
he was committed close prisoner to the Fleet. This at
least he himself assigns as the cause of his imprisonment:
but Wood insinuates, that he was thrown into prison, for
debts contracted through his own extravagance; and indeed some of his own letters give room enough to suspect
it. But whatever was the cause, he bore it cheerfully.
alem epitomised.“25.” Ah, Ha; Tumulus, Thalamus two Counter- Poems the first an Elegy on Edward late earl of Dorset: the second an Epithalamium to the Marquis of Dor
Hoelianae,“or the letters of James History of Poetry, vol. IV. p. 54.
Howell, a great traveller, an intimate
Hi 1660, with several additions. 24.
” History of the
Wars of Jerusalem epitomised.“25.
” Ah, Ha; Tumulus, Thalamus two Counter- Poems the first an Elegy
on Edward late earl of Dorset: the second an Epithalamium to the Marquis of Dorchester,“1653. 26.
” The
German Diet: or Balance of Europe, &c.“1653, folio,
with the author’s portrait, at whole length. 27.
” Parthenopeia: or, the History of Naples, &c.“1654. 28.
” Londinopolis,“1657: a short discourse, says Wood, mostly
taken from Stowe’s
” Survey of London,“but a work
which in onr time bears a high price, and is worth consulting, as containing particulars of the manners of Loodon in his days. 29.
” Discourse of the Empire, and of
the Election of the King of the Romans,“1658. 3O.
” Lexicon Tetraglotton an English-French-Italian-Spanish Dictionary, &c.“1660, 31.
” A Cordial for the Cavaliers,“1661. Answered immediately by sir Roger L'Estrange, in a book entitled
” A Caveat for the Cavaliers:“replied to by Mr. Howell, in the next article, 32.
” Some
sober Inspections made into those ingredients that went
to the composition of a late Cordial for the Cavaliers,“1661. 33.
” A French Grammar, &c.“34.
” The Parley of Beasts, &c.“1660. 35.
” The second Part of casual
Discourses and Interlocutions between Patricius and Peregrin, &c.“1661. 36.
” Twelve Treatises of the hite
Revolutions,“1661. 37.
” New English Grammar ifor
Foreigners to learn English: with a Grammar for the Spanish and Castilian Tongue, with special Remarks on the
Portuguese Dialect, for the service of her Majesty,“1662.
38.
” Discourse concerning the Precedency of Kings,"
. He met, sometimes, however, with generous patronage. When employed on his edition of Josephus, the earl of Caernarvon (afterwards duke of Chandos) hearing of his merit
Dr. Hudson intended, if he had lived, to publish a catalogue of the Bodleian library, which he had caused to
be fairly transcribed in 6 vols. folio. He was an able
assistant to several editors in Oxford, particularly to Dr.
Gregory in his “Euclid,
” and to the industrious Mr. Hearne
in his “Livy,
” &c. He corresponded with many learned
men in foreign countries; with Muratori, Salvini, and
Bianchini, in Italy; with Boivin, Kuster, and Lequien, in
France; with Olearius, Menckenius, Christopher Woifius,
and, whom he chiefly esteemed, John Albert Fabricius, in
Germany; Eric Benzel, in Sweden; Frederic Rostgard,
in Denmark; with Pezron, Reland, Le Clerc, in Holland,
&c. He used to complain of the vast expence of foreign
letters; for he was far from being rich, never having been
possessed of any ecclesiastical preferment; of which he
used also to make frequent and not unjust complaints. He
met, sometimes, however, with generous patronage. When
employed on his edition of Josephus, the earl of Caernarvon (afterwards duke of Chandos) hearing of his merit and
the expensive nature of his undertaking, sent him a present of two hundred guineas, which Dr. Hudson handsomely acknowledges in the dedication to the earl’s son,
lord Wilton, of his edition of Esop’s Fables. On his decease, several sets of his Josephus were disposed of by his
widow, at twelve shillings per set, a work which now
ranks in the very first class of Variorum editions in folio.
Dr. Hudson had been long conversant with Josephus, had
revised sir Roger L'Estrange’s translation, and added some
critical notes. He also digested and finished Dr. Willis’s
two discourses prefixed to that work. Hearne was a kind
of pupil to Dr. Hudson, and directed by him in his critical
studies.
pe, Southerne, Rowe, and others, but also to some men of rank in the kingdom, and among these to the earl of Wharton, who offered to carry him over, and to provide for
His numerous performances, for he had all along employed his leisure hours in translations and imitations from
the ancients, had by this time introduced him, not only to
the wits of the age, Addison , Congreve, Pope, Southerne,
Rowe, and others, but also to some men of rank in the
kingdom, and among these to the earl of Wharton, who
offered to carry him over, and to provide for him, when
appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland; but, having other
other views at home, he declined the offer. His views,
however, were not very promising, until in 1717 the lord
chancellor Cowper made him secretary to the commissions
of the peace; in which he afterwards, by a particular
request, desired his successor, lord Parker, to continue him.
He had now affluence; but such is human life, that he had
it when his declining health could neither allow him long
possession nor full enjoyment. His last work was his
tragedy, “The Siege of Damascus;
” after which a Siege
became a popular title. This play was long popular, and
is still occasionally produced; but is not acted or printed
according to the author’s original draught, or his settled
intention. He had made Phocyas apostatize from his
religion; after which the abhorrence of Eudocia would
have been reasonable, his misery would have been just,
and the horrors of his repentance exemplary. The players,
however, required that the guilt of Phocyas should terminate in desertion to the enemy; and Hughes, unwilling
that his relations should lose the benefit of his work, complied with the alteration. He was now weak with a lingering consumption, and not able to attend the rehearsal;
yet was so vigorous in his faculties, that only ten days
before his death he wrote the dedication to his patron lord
Cowper. On Feb. 17, 1720, the play was represented,
and the author died. He lived ta hear that it was well
received; but paid no regard to the intelligence, being
then wholly employed in the meditations of a departing
Christian.
A few weeks before he died, he sent, as a testimony of gratitude, to his noble friend earl Cowper, his own picture drawn by sir Godfrey Kneller, which
A few weeks before he died, he sent, as a testimony of
gratitude, to his noble friend earl Cowper, his own picture
drawn by sir Godfrey Kneller, which he had received as a
present from that painter: upon which the earl wrote him
the following letter. “24 January 1719-20. Sir, I thank
you for the most acceptable present of your picture, and
assure you, that none of this age can set an higher value
on it than I do, and shall while 1 live; though I am sensible that posterity will outdo me in that particular.
”
in Scotland, and born at Edinburgh April 26, 1711. His father was a descendant of the family of the earl of Hume or Home, and his mother, whose name was Falconer, was
, a celebrated philosopher and historian, was descended from a good family in Scotland, and
born at Edinburgh April 26, 1711. His father was a descendant of the family of the earl of Hume or Home, and
his mother, whose name was Falconer, was descended from
that of lord Halkerton, whose title came by succession to
her brother. This double alliance with nobility was a
source of great self-complacency to Hume, who was a philosopher only in his writings. In his infancy he does not
appear to have been impressed with those sentiments of
religion, which parents so generally, we may almost add
universally, at the time of his birth, thought it their duty
to inculcate. He once owned that he had never read the
New Testament with attention. However this may be, as
he was a younger brother with a very slender patrimony,
and of a studious, sober, industrious turn, he was destined
by his family to the law: but, being seized with an early
passion for letters, he found an insurmountable aversion
to any thing else; and, as he relates, while they fancied
him to be poring upon Voet and Vinnius, he was occupied with Cicero and Virgil. His fortune, however, being
very small, and his health a little broken by ardent application to books, he was tempted, or rather forced, to make
a feeble trial at business; and, in 1734, went to Bristol,
with recommendations to some eminent merchants: but, in
a few months, found that scene totally unfit for him. He
seems, also, to have conceived some personal disgust against
the men of business in that place: for, though he was by
no means addicted to satire, yet we can scarcely interpret
him otherwise than ironically, when, speaking in his History (anno 1660) of James Naylor’s entrance into Bristol
upon a horse, in imitation of Christ, he presumes it to be
“from the difficulty in that place of finding an ass
”
o spend the rest of his life in a philosophical manner, he received, in 1763, an invitation from the earl of Hertford to attend him on his embassy to Paris; which at
Being now about fifty, he retired to Scotland, determined never more to set his foot out of it; and carried
with him “the satisfaction of never having preferred a
request to one great man, or even making advances of
friendship to any of them.
” But, while meditating to
spend the rest of his life in a philosophical manner, he
received, in 1763, an invitation from the earl of Hertford
to attend him on his embassy to Paris; which at length he
accepted, and was left there charg6 d'affaires in the summer of 1765. In Paris, where his peculiar philosophical
opinions were then the mode, he met with the most flattering and unbounded attentions. He was panegyrized by
the literati, courted by the ladies, and complimented by
grandees, and even princes of the blood. In the beginning of 1766 he quitted Paris; and in the summer of that
year went to Edinburgh, with the same view as before, of
burying himself in a philosophical retreat; but, in 1767,
he received from Mr. Con way a new invitation to be
under-secretary of state, which, like the former, he did
not think it expedient to decline. He returned to Edinburgh in 1769, “very opulent,
” he says, “for he possessed a revenue of lOOOl. a year, healthy, and, though
somewhat stricken in years, with the prospect of enjoying
long his ease.
” In the spring of 1775, he was struck with
a disorder in his bowels; which, though it gave him no
alarm at first, proved incurable, and at length mortal. It
appears, however, that it was not painful, nor even troublesome or fatiguing: for he declares, that “notwithstanding
the great decline of his person, he had never suffered a
moment’s abatement. of his spirits; that he possessed the
same ardour as ever in study, and the same gaiety in company: insomuch,
” says he, “that, were I to name a period of my life which I should most choose to pass over
again, I might be tempted to point to this latter period.
”
He died August 25, 1776; and his account of his own life,
from which we have borrowed many of the above particulars, is dated only four mjonths previous to -hi* decease.
As the author was then aware of the impossibility of a recovery, this may he considered as the testimony of a dying
man respecting his own character and conduct. But it
disappointed those who expected to find in it some acknowledgment of error, and some remorse on reflecting on
the many whom he had led astray by his writings. Hume,
however, was not the man from whom this was to be expected. He had no religious principles which he had violated, and which his conscience might now recall. He
had none of the stamina of repentance. From a mere fondness for speculation, or a love of philosophical applause,
the least harmful motives we can attribute to Hume, it was
the business of his life, not only to extirpate from the
human mind all that the good and wise among mankind
have concurred in venerating, the authority and obligations
of revealed religion; but he treats that authority and the
believers in, and defenders of revealed religion, with a
contempt bordering on abhorrence; or, as has been said
of another modern infidel, “as if he had been revenging a
personal injury.
” Hume early imbibed the principles of a
gloomy philosophy, the direct tendency of which was to
distract the mind with doubts on subjects the most serious
and important, and, in fact, to undermine the best interests, and dissolve the strongest ties of society. Such is
the character of Hume’s philosophy, by one who knew him
as intimately as Dr. Smith , who respected his talents and
his manners, but would have disdained to insult wisdom
and virtue by bestowing the perfection of them on the
studies, the conversation, and the correspondence that were
constantly employed in ridiculing religion. Another reason, perhaps, why Hume died in the same state of mind
in which he had lived, gibing and jesting, as Dr. Smith
informs us, with the prospect of eternity, may be this,
that he was at the last surrounded by men who, being of
nearly the same way of thinking, contemplated his end
with a degree of satisfaction or as the triumph of philosophy over what he and they deemed superstition. Even
his clerical friends, the Blairs and Robertsons, who professed to know, to feel, aud to teach what Christianity is,
appear to have withheld the solemn duties of their office,
and by their silence at least, acquiesced in his obduracy.
His social qualities, his wit, his acuteness, and we may
add, his fame, preserved to him the regard of his learned
countrymen, who forgot the infidel in the historian.
not meet with the reception it deserved. In a conversation on this subject soon afterwards with the earl of Shelburne, his lordship expressed a wish that the plan might
We must now go back a little in the order of time, to describe the origin and progress of Dr. Hunter’s Museum, without some account of which these memoirs would be very incomplete. When he began to practise midwifery, he was desirous of acquiring a fortune sufficient to place him in easy and independent circumstances. Before many years had elapsed, he found himself in possession of a sum adequate to his wishes iii this respect; and this he set apart as a resource of which he might avail himself whenever age or infirmities should oblige him to retire from business. He has been heard to say, that he once took a considerable sum from this fund for the purposes of his museum, but that he did not feel himself perfectly at ease till he had restored it again. After he had obtained this competency, as his wealth continued to accumulate, he formed a laudable design of engaging in some scheme of public utility, and at first had it in contemplation to found an anatomical school in this metropolis. For this purpose, about 1765, during the administration of Mr. Grenville, he presented a memorial to that minister, in which he requested the grant of a piece of ground in the Mews for the site of an anatomical theatre. Dr. Hunter undertook to expend 7000l. on the building, and to endow a professorship of anatomy in perpetuity. This scheme did not meet with the reception it deserved. In a conversation on this subject soon afterwards with the earl of Shelburne, his lordship expressed a wish that the plan might be carried into execution by subscription, and very generously requested to have his name set down for 1000 guineas. Dr. Hunter’s delicacy would not allow him to adopt this proposal. He chose rather to execute it at his own expence, and accordingly purchased a spot of ground in Great Windmill-street, where he erected a spacious house, to which he removed from Jermyn-street in 1770. In this building, besides a handsome amphitheatre and other convenient apartments for his lectures and dissections, there was one magnificent room, fitted up with great elegance and propriety as a museum.
he might be more enabled to carry on his inquiries in comparative anatomy, he purchased some land at Earl’s-court, near Brompton, where he built a house. Here also he
By excessive attention to these pursuits, his health was so much impaired, that he was threatened with consumptive symptoms, and being advised to go abroad, obtained the appointment of a surgeon on the staff, and went with the army to Belleisle, leaving Mr. Hewson to assist his brother. He continued in this service till the close of the war in 1763, and thus acquired his knowledge of the nature and treatment of gun-shot wounds. On his return to London, to his emoluments from private practice, and his half-pay, he added those which arose from teaching practical anatomy and operative surgery; and that he might be more enabled to carry on his inquiries in comparative anatomy, he purchased some land at Earl’s-court, near Brompton, where he built a house. Here also he kept such animals alive as he purchased, or were presented to him; studied their habits and instincts, and cultivated an intimacy with them, which with the fiercer kinds was not always supported without personal risk. It is recorded by his biographer, that, on finding two leopards loose, and likely to escape or be killed, he went out, and seizing them with his own hands, carried them back to their den. The horror he felt afterwards at the danger he had run, would not, probably, have prevented him from making a similar effort, had a like occasion arisen.
hat the “Letter on Enthusiasm” had been ascribed to Swift, as it has still more commonly been to the earl of Shaftesbury. In 1710 he was appointed governor of New York,
, author of the celebrated
“Letter on Enthusiasm,
” and, if Coxeter be right in his
ms conjecture in his title-page of the only copy extant,
of a farce called “Androboros.
” He was appointed lieutenant-governor of Virginia in 1708, but was taken by the
French in his voyage thither. Two excellent letters, addressed to colonel Hunter while a prisoner at Paris, which
reflect equal honour on Hunter and Swift, are printed in
the 12th volume of the Dean’s works, by one of which it
appears, that the “Letter on Enthusiasm
” had been
ascribed to Swift, as it has still more commonly been to
the earl of Shaftesbury. In 1710 he was appointed governor of New York, and sent with 2700 Palatines to settle
there. From Mr. Cough’s “History of Croyland Abbey,
”
we learn, that Mr. Hunter was a major-general, and that,
during his government of New-York, he was directed by
her majesty to provide subsistence for about 3000 Palatine?
(the number stated in the alienating act) sent from Great
Britain to be employed in raising and manufacturing naval
stores; and by an account stated in 1734, it appears that
the governor had disbursed 20,000l. and upwards in that
undertaking, no part of which was ever repaid. He returned to England in 1719; and on the accession of
George II. was continued governor of New York and the
Jerseys. On account of his health he obtained the government of Jamaica, where he arrived in February 1728;
died March 31, 1734; and was buried in that island.
marked, the production of Dr. Green: Mr. Hurd, however, wrote “The opinion of an eminent lawyer (the earl of Hardwicke) concerning the right of appeal from the vice-chancellor
In May 1750, by Warburton’s recommendation to
Dr. Sherlock, bishop of London, Mr. Kurd was appointed
one of the Whitehall preachers. At this period the university of Cambridge was disturbed by internal divisions,
occasioned by an exercise of discipline against some of its
members, who had been wanting in respect to those who
were entrusted with its authority. A punishment having been inflicted on some delinquents, they refused
to submit to it, and appealed from the vice-chancellor’s
jurisdiction. The right of the university, and those to
whom their power was delegated, becoming by this means
the subject of debate, several pamphlets appeared, and
among others who signalised themselves upon this occasion,
Mr. Kurd was generally supposed to have written “The
Academic, or, a disputation on the state of the university
of Cambridge, and the propriety of the regulations made
in it on the 1 Ith day of May and the 26th day of June
1750, 8vo
” but this was, as we have already remarked, the
production of Dr. Green: Mr. Hurd, however, wrote
“The opinion of an eminent lawyer (the earl of Hardwicke)
concerning the right of appeal from the vice-chancellor of
Cambridge to the senate; supported by a short historical
account of the jurisdiction of the university; in answer
to a late pamphlet, intituled * An Inquiry into the right
of appeal from the vice-chancellor, &c.' By a fellow of a
college,
” A Letter to the
Author of a Further Inquiry,
”
had the sine-cure rectory of Folkton, near Bridlington, Yorkshire, given him by the lord chancellor ( earl of Northington), on the recommendation of Mr. Allen of Prior-Park
With this apology, we return to his well-earned promotions. In 1762, he had the sine-cure rectory of Folkton,
near Bridlington, Yorkshire, given him by the lord chancellor (earl of Northington), on the recommendation of
Mr. Allen of Prior-Park and in 1765, on the recommendation of bishop Warburton and Mr. Charles Yorke, he
was chosen preacher of Lincoln’s-inn; and was collated to
the archdeaconry of Gloucester, on the death of Dr.
Geekie, by bishop Warburton, in August 1767. On Commencement Sunday, July 5, 1768, he was admitted D. D.
at Cambridge; and on the same day was appointed to
open the lecture founded by his friend bishop Warburton,
for the illustration of the prophecies, in which he exhibited
a model worthy of the imitation of his successors. His
“Twelve Discourses
” on that occasion, which had been
delivered before the most polite and crowded audiences
that ever frequented the chapel, were published in 1772,
under the title of “An Introduction to the Study of the
Prophecies concerning the Christian Church, and in particular concerning the Church of Papal Rome;
” and raised
his character as a divine, learned and ingenious, to an eminence almost equal to that which he possessed as a man of
letters; but his notion of a double sense in prophecy, which
he in general supposes, has not passed without animadversion. This volume produced a private letter to the author
from Gibbon the historian, under a fictitious name, respecting the book of Daniel, which Dr. Hurd answered;
and the editor of Gibbon’s Miscellaneous Works having
printed the answer, Dr. Hurd thought proper to include
both in the edition of his works published since his death
(in 1811). It was not, however, until the appearance of
Gibbon’s “Miscellaneous Works,
” that he discovered the
real name of his correspondent.
1784 he went to Stanmer in Sussex, where he resided for some considerable time as tutor to the late earl of Chichester’s youngest son, the hon. George Pelham, now bishop
In 1780 he was entered a commoner of St. Mary-hall,
Oxford; and at the election in 1782, was chosen a demy
of St. Mary Magdalen college. Here his studies, which
were close and uninterrupted, were encouraged, and his
amiable character highly respected, by Dr. Home, president of Magdalen, and his successor Dr. Routh, by Dr.
Sheppard, Dr. Rathbone, and others. About 1784 he went
to Stanmer in Sussex, where he resided for some considerable time as tutor to the late earl of Chichester’s youngest
son, the hon. George Pelham, now bishop of Exeter. In
May 1785, having taken his bachelor’s degree, he retired
to the curacy of Burwash in Sussex, which he held for six
years, but in the interim, in 1786, was elected probationer
fellow of Magdalen, and the following year took his master’s degree. Finding himself now sufficiently enabled to
assist his mother in the support of her family, he hired a
small house, and took three of his sisters to reside with
him. In 1788, he first appeared before the public as a
poet, in “The Village Curate,
” the reception of which
far exceeded his expectations, a second edition being
called for the following year. This poem, although perhaps not highly finished, contained so many passages of
genuine poetry, and evinced so much elegance, taste, and
sense, as to pass through the ordeal of criticism with great
applause, and to be considered as the earnest of future
and superior excellence. Such encouragement induced
the author to publish in 1790, his “Adriano, or the first of
June,
” which was followed in a short time by his “Panthea,
”
“Elmer and Ophelia,
” and the “Orphan Twins,
” all which
were allowed to confirm the expectations of the public,
and place the author in an enviable rank among living
poets. These were followed by two publications, connected with his profession; “A short critical Disquisition ou
the true Meaning of the word tO*OiJin, found in Gen. i. 21,
1790,
” and “Select critical Remarks upon the English
version of the first ten chapters of Genesis.
” In Sir Thomas More,
” a poem of
considerable merit, but not intended for the stage. In
1792, he was deprived by death of his favourite sister Catherine, whose elegant mind he frequently pourtrayed in
his works, under the different appellations of Margaret and
Isabel. On this affliction he quitted his curacy, and returned with his two sisters to Bishopstone. Here the
trouble of his mind was considerably alleviated by an
affectionate invitation from his much- esteemed friend Mr. Hayley to visit Eartham, where he had the pleasing satisfaction
of becoming personally known to Cowper, the celebrated
poet, with whom he had maintained a confidential correspondence for some years.
nineteen, he went to be steward to Mr. Rathurst of Skutterskelf in Yorkshire, and from thence to the earl of Scarborough, who would gladly have engaged him in his service;
, an English autnor, whose writings have been much discussed, and who is considered as
the founder of a party, if not of a sect, was born at Spenny thorn in Yorkshire in 1674. His father was possessed of
about 40l. per ann. and determined to qualify his son for a
stewardship to some gentleman or nobleman. He had
given him such school- learning as the place afforded-, and
the remaining part of his education was finished by a gentleman that boarded with his father. This friend is said to
have instructed him, not only in such parts of the mathematics as were more immediately connected with his
destined employment, but in every branch of that science,
and at the same time to have furnished him with a competent knowledge of the writings of antiquity. At the age of
nineteen, he went to be steward to Mr. Rathurst of Skutterskelf in Yorkshire, and from thence to the earl of Scarborough, who would gladly have engaged him in his service; but his ambition to serve the duke of Somerset would
not suffer him to continue there, and accordingly he removed soon after into this nobleman’s service. About 1700
he was called to London, to manage a law-suit of consequence between the duke and another nobleman; and
during his attendance in town, contracted an acquaintance
with Dr. Woodward, who was physician to the duke his
master. Between 1702 and 1706, his business carried him
into several parts of England and Wales, where he made
many observations, which he published in a little pamphlet,
entitled, “Observations made by J. H. mostly in the year
1706.
”
, earl of Clarendon, and chancellor of England, was descended from
, earl of Clarendon, and chancellor of
England, was descended from an ancient family in Cheshire, and born at Dinton in Wiltshire, Feb. 16, 1608. In
1622, he was entered of Magdalen-hall in Oxford, and ir
1625, took the degree of bachelor in arts but failing of a
fellowship in Exeter college, for which he stood, he removed to the Middle Temple, where he studied the law
for several years with diligence and success. When tha
lawyers resolved to give a public testimony of their dissent
from the new doctrine advanced in Prynne’s “Histriomastix,
” in which was shewn an utter disregard of all manner of decency and respect to the crown, Hyde and Whitelocke were appointed the managers of the masque presented on that occasion to their majesties at Whitehall on
Candlemas-day, 1633-4. At the same time he testified,
upon all occasions, his utter dislike to that excess of power,
which was then exercised by the court, and supported by
the judges in Westminster-hall. He condemned the oppressive proceedings of the high-commission court, the
star-chamber, the council-board, the earl-marshal’s court,
or court of honour, and the court of York. This just way
of thinking is said to have been formed in him by a domestic accident, which Burnet relates in the following
manner: “When he first began,
” says that historian, “to
grow eminent in his profession of the law, he went down to
visit his father in Wiltshire; who one day, as they were
walking in the fields together, observed to him, that ‘ men
of his profession were apt to stretch the prerogative too
far, and injure liberty: but charged him, if ever he came
to any eminence in his profession, never to sacrifice the
laws and liberty of his country to his own interest, or the
will of his prince.’ He repeated this twice, and immediately fell into a fit of apoplexy, of which he died in afew hours; and this advice had so lasting an influence upou
the son, that he ever after observed and pursued it
”
ound by their determination.” He was one of the committee employed to prepare the charge against the earl of Strafford: but, as soon as he saw the unjustifiable violence
But though Hyde was very zealous for redressing the
grievances of the nation, he was no less so for the security
of the established church, and the honour of the crown.
When a bill was brought in to take away the bishops’ vote
in parliament, and to leave them out of all commissions of
the peace, or any thing that had relation to temporal affairs,
he was very earnest for throwing it out, and said, that,
“from the time tbat parliaments begun, bishops had always been a part of it that if they were taken out, there
was nobody left to represent the clergy which would introduce another piece of injustice, that no other part of
the kingdom could complain of, who, being all represented in parliament, were bound to submit to whatever was
enacted there, because it was, upon the matter, with their
own consent: whereas, if the bill was carried, there was
nobody left to represent the clergy, and yet they must be
bound by their determination.
” He was one of the committee employed to prepare the charge against the earl of
Strafford: but, as soon as he saw the unjustifiable violence
with which the prosecution was precipitated, he left them,
and opposed the bill of attainder warmly. He was afterwards appointed a -manager at the conference with the
house of lords, for abolishing the court of York, of which
that earl had been for several years president; and was
chairman also of several other committees, appointed upon
the most important occasions, as long as he continued to
sit among them. But, when they began to put in execution their ordinance for raising the militia against his majesty, Hyde, being persuaded that this was an act of open
rebellion, left them; and they felt the blow given to their
authority by his absence so sensibly, that in their instructions shortly after to the earl of Essex their general, he
was excepted with a few others from any grace or favour.
ration as for instance, that “sir John Digby lived many years after the king’s return” and that the “ earl of Sandwich’s expedition was never forgiven him by some men:”
During his retirement in Jersey, he began to write his
“History of the Rebellion,
” which had been particularly
recommended to him, and in which he was assisted also by
the king, who supplied him with several of the materials for it.
We learn from the history itself, that upon lord CapePs
waiting on the king at Hampton-court in 1647, his majesty wrote to the chancellor a letter, in which he “thanked
him for undertaking the work he was upon; and told him,
he should expect speedily to receive some contribution
from him towards it;
” and within a very short time afterwards, he sent to him memorials of all that had passed
from the time he had left his majesty at Oxford, when he
waited upon the prince into the west, to the very day that
the king left Oxford to go to the Scots; out of which memorials the most important passages, in the years 1644
and 1645, are faithfully collected. Agreeably to this, the
ninth book opens with declaring, that “the work was first
undertaken with the king’s approbation, and by his encouragement; and particularly, that many important points
were transmitted to the author by the king’s immediate
direction and order, even after he was in the hands and
power of the enemy, out of his own memorials and journals.
” Thus we may trace the exact time when this history was begun; and the time when it was finished may be
ascertained with the same degree of exactness, from the
dedication of the author’s “Survey of the Leviathan,
” in
which he addresses himself to Charles II. in these terms
“As soon as I had finished a work, at least recommended,
if not enjoined to me by your blessed father, and approved,
and in some degree perused by your majesty, I could not,
”
&c. This dedication is dated Moulins, May 10, 1673;
whence it appears, that the history was not completed till
the beginning of that, or the latter end of the preceding
year; and this may account for certain facts being related
which happened long after the Restoration as for instance,
that “sir John Digby lived many years after the king’s
return
” and that the “earl of Sandwich’s expedition was
never forgiven him by some men:
” which might very
consistently be introduced in this history, though that
nobleman did not lose his life till 1672.
n Wiltshire; to which were added, in April 1661, the titles of viscount Cornbury in Oxfordshire, and earl of Clarendon in Wiltshire. These honours, great as they were,
Besides the post of lord chancellor, in which he was
continued, he was chosen chancellor of the university of
Oxford in Oct. 1660 and, in November following, created
a peer by the title of baron Hyde of Hindon in Wiltshire;
to which were added, in April 1661, the titles of viscount
Cornbury in Oxfordshire, and earl of Clarendon in Wiltshire. These honours, great as they were, were, however,
by no means beyond his merit. He had, upon the Restoration, shewn great prudence, justice, and moderation,
in settling the just boundaries between the prerogative of
the crown and the liberties of the people. He had reduced
much confusion into order, and adjusted many clashing
interests, where property was concerned. He had endeavoured to make things easy to the Presbyterians and malcontents by the act of indemnity, and to satisfy the Royalists by the act of uniformity. But it is not possible to
stand many years in a situation so much distinguished,
without becoming the object of envy; which created him
such enemies as both wished and attempted his ruin, and
at last effected it. Doubtless nothing more contributed to
inflame this passion against him, than the circumstance of
his eldest daughter being married to the duke of York,
which became known in a few months after the king’s
return. She had been one of the maids of honour to the
princess royal Henrietta, some time during the exile, when
the duke fell in love with her; and being disappointed by
the defeat of sir George Booth, in a design he had formed
of coming with some forces to England in 1659, he went
to Breda, where his sister then resided. Passing some
weeks there, he took this opportunity, as Burnet tells us,
of soliciting miss Hyde to indulge his desires without marriage; but she managed the matter with such address, that
in the conclusion he married her, Nov. 4 that year, with
all possible secrecy, and unknown to her father. After
their arrival in England, being pregnant, she called upon
the duke to own his marriage; and though he endeavoured
to divert her from this object, both by great promises and
great threatenings, yet she had the spirit and wisdom to
tell him, “She would have it known that she was his wife,
let him use her afterwards as he pleased.
” The king
ordered some bishops and judges to peruse the proofs of
her marriage; and they reporting that it had been solemnized according to the doctrine of gospel and the law
of England, he told his brother, that he must live with
her whom he had made his wife, and at the same time
generously preserved the honour of an excellent servant,
who had not been privy to it; assuring him, that “this
accident should not lessen the esteem and favour he had
for him.
”
The first open attack upon lord Clarendon was made by the earl of Bristol; who, in 1663, exhibited against him a charge of
The first open attack upon lord Clarendon was made by
the earl of Bristol; who, in 1663, exhibited against him a
charge of high treason to the house of lords. There had
been a long course of friendship, both in prosperity and
adversity, between the chancellor and this earl: but they
had gradually fallen into different measures in religion and
politics. In this state of things, the chancellor refusing
what lord Bristol considered as a small favour (which was said to be the passing a patent in favour of a court lady),
the latter took so much offence, that he resolved upon revenge. The substance of the whole accusation was as
follows: “That the chancellor, being in place of highest
trust and confidence with his majesty, and having arrogated
a supreme direction in all thingjs, had, with a traiteroas
intent to draw contempt upon his majesty’s person, and to
alienate the affections of his subjects, abused the said
trust in manner following. 1. He had endeavoured to
alienate the hearts of his majesty’s subjects, by artfully
insinuating to his creatures and dependent);, that his majesty
was inclined to popery, and designed to alter the established religion. 2. He had said to several persons of his
majesty’s privy council, that his majesty was dangerously
corrupted in his religion, and inclined to popery: that
persons of that religion had such access and such credit
with him, that, unless there were a careful eye had upon
it, the protestant religion would be overthrown in this
kingdom. 3. Upon his majesty’s admitting sir Henry
Bennet to be secretary of state in the place of sir Edward
Nicholas, he said, that his majesty had given 10,000^. to
remove a most zealous Protestant, that he might bring into
that place a concealed Papist. 4. In pursuance of the
same traiterous design, several friends and dependents of
his have said aloud, that ‘ were it not for my lord chancellor’s standing in the gap, Popery would be introduced
into this kingdom.’ 5. That he kad persuaded the king,
contrary to his opinion, to allow his name to be used to the
pope and several cardinals, in the solicitation of a cardinal
”
cap for the lord Aubigny, great almoner to the queen: in
order to effect which, he had employed Mr. Richard Bealing, a known Papist, and had likewise applied himself to
several popish priests and Jesuits to the same purpose,
promising great favour to the Papists here, in case it should
be effected. 6. That he had likewise promised to several
Papists, that he would do his endeavour, and said, * he
hoped to compass taking away all penal laws against them;
to the end they might presume and grow vain upon his
patronage; and, by their publishing their hopes of toleration, increase the scandal designed by him to be raised
against his majesty throughout the kingdom. 7. That,
being intrusted with the treaty between his majesty and his
royal consort the queen, he concluded it upon articles
scandalous and dangerous to the Protestant religion. Moreover, he brought the king and queen together without any
settled agreement about the performance of the marriage
rites; whereby, the queen refusing to be married by a
Protestant priest, in case of her being with child, either
the succession should be made uncertain for want of the
due rites of matrimony, or else his majesty be exposed to
a suspicion of having been married in his own dominions
by a Romish priest. 8. That, having endeavoured to
alienate the hearts of the king’s subjects upon the score of
religion, he endeavoured to make use of all his scandals
and jealousies, to raise to himself a popular applause of
being the zealous upholder of the Protestant religion, &c.
9. That he further endeavoured to alienate the hearts of
the king’s subjects, by venting in his own discourse, and
those of his emissaries, opprobrious scandals against his
majesty’s person and course of life; such as are not fit to
be mentioned, unless necessity shall require it. 10. That
he endeavoured to alienate the affections of the duke of
York from his majesty, by suggesting to him, that ‘ his
majesty intended to legitimate the duke of Monmouth.’
11. That he had persuaded the king, against thie advice of
the lord general, to withdraw the English garrisons out of
Scotland, and demolish all the forts built there, at so vast
a charge to this kingdom; and all without expecting the
advice of the parliament of England. 12. That he endeavoured to alienate his majesty’s affections and esteem from
the present parliament, by telling him, ‘ that there never
was so weak and inconsiderable a house of lords, nor never
so weak and heady a house of commons’ and particularly
that ’ it was better to sell Dunkirk than be at their mercy
for want of money.' 13. That, contrary to a known law
made last session, by which money was given and applied
for maintaining Dunkirk, he advised and effected the sale
of the same to the French king. 14. That he had, contrary to law, enriched himself and his treasures by the sale
of offices. 15. That he had converted to his own use vast
sums of public money, raised in Ireland by way of subsidy,
private and public benevolences, and otherwise given and
intended to defray the charge of the government in that
kingdom. 16. That, having arrogated to himself a supreme
direction of all his majesty’s affairs, he had prevailed to
have his majesty’s customs farmed at a lower rate than
others offered; and that by persons with some of whom
he went a share, and other parts of money resulting
from his majesty’s revenue."
id, “The lords have commanded me to deliver to you this scandalous and seditious paper sent from the earl of Clarendon. They bid me present it to you, and desire you
Being now about to quit the kingdom in exile, before
he departed he drew up an apology, in a petition to the
house of lords, in which he vindicated himself from any
way contributing to the late miscarriages, in such a manner as laid the blame at the same time upon others. The
lords received it Dec. 3, and sent two of the judges to
acquaint the commons with it, desiring a conference. The
duke of Buckingham, who was plainly aimed at in the petition, delivered it to the commons; and said, “The lords
have commanded me to deliver to you this scandalous and
seditious paper sent from the earl of Clarendon. They bid
me present it to you, and desire you in a convenient time
to send it to them again; for it has a style which they are
in love with, and therefore desire to keep it.
” Upon the
reading of it in that house, it was voted to be “scandalous,
malicious, and a reproach to the justice of the nation;
”
and they moved the lords, that it might be burnt by the
hands of the common hangman, which was ordered and
executed accordingly. The chancellor retired to Rouen
in Normandy; and, the year following, his life was attempted at Evreux near that city by a body of seamen, in
such an outrageous manner, that he with great difficulty
escaped. In the Bodleian library at Oxford, there is an
original letter from Mr. Oliver Long, dated from Evreux,
April 26, 1668, to sir William Cromwell, secretary of state,
in which the following account is given of this assault.
“As I was travelling from Rouen towards Orleans, it was
my fortune, April 23, to overtake the earl of Clarendon,
then in his unhappy and unmerited exile, who was going
towards Bourbon, but took up his lodgings at a private
hotel in a small walled town called Evreux, some leagues
from Rouen. I, as most English gentlemen did to so valuable a patriot, went to pay him a visit near supper-time;
when he was, as usual, very civil to me. Before supper
was done, twenty or thirty English seamen and more came
and demanded entrance at the great gate; which, being
strongly barred, kept them out for some time. But in a
short space they broke it, and presently drove all they
found, by their advantage of numbers, into the earl’s chamber; whence, by the assistance of only three swords and
pistols, we kept them out for half an hour, in which dispute many of us were wounded by their swords and pistols,
whereof they had many. To conclude, they broke the
windows and the doors, and under the conduct of one
Howard, an Irishman, who has three brothers, as I am told,
in the king of England’s service, and an ensign in the
company of cannoneers, they quickly found the earl in his
bed, not able to stand by the violence of the gout; whence,
after they had given him many blows with the;r swords
and staves, mixed with horrible curses and oaths, they
dragged him on the ground in the middle of the yard,
where they encompassed him around with their swords,
and after they had told him in their own language, how
he had sold the kingdom, and robbed them of their pay,
Howard commanded them all, as one man, to run their
swords through his body. But what difference arose among
themselves before they could agree, God above, who alone
sent this spirit of dissention, only knows. In this interval
their lieutenant, one Svvaine, came and disarmed them.
Sixteen of the ringleaders were put into prison; and many
of those things they had rifled from him, found again,
which were restored, and of great value. Mons. la Fonde,
a great man belonging to the king of France’s bed-chamber, sent to conduct the earl on his way thither, was so
desperately wounded in the head, that there were little
hopes of his life. Many of these assassins were grievously
wounded; and this action is so much resented by all here,
that many of these criminals will meet with an usage equal
to their merit. Had we been sufficiently provided with
fire-arms, we had infallibly done ourselves justice on them;
however, we fear not but the law will supply our defect.
”
, earl of Clarendon, eldest son of the chancellor, was born in 1638.
, earl of Clarendon, eldest son of the chancellor, was born in 1638. Having received the rudiments of education, he early entered into business; for his father, apprehending of what fatal consequence it would be to the king’s affairs, if his correspondence should be discovered by unfaithful secretaries, engaged him, when very young, to write all his letters in cypher; so that he generally passed half the day in writing in cypher, or decyphering, and was so discreet, as well as faithful, that nothing was ever discovered by him. After the restoration, he was created master of arts, at Oxford, in 1660; and, upon settling the queen’s household, appointed chamberlain to her majesty. He was much in the queen’s favour; and, his father being so violently prosecuted on account of her marriage, she thought herself bound t. protect him in a particular manner. He so highly resented the usage his father met with, that he united himself eagerly to the party which opposed the court, and made no inconsiderable iigure in the list of speakers. Mr. "Grey has preserved a great number of his speeches. On his father’s death in 1674, he took his seat in the House of Lords; still continued his opposition, and even signed a protest against an address voted to the king on his speech. He still, however, held his post of chamberlain to the queen; and afterwards, shewing himself no less zealous against the bill of exclusion, was taken into favour, and made a privycounsellor, 1680. But he soon fell under the displeasure of the prevailing party in the House of Commons; who, unable to carry the exclusion bill, shewed their resentment against the principal opposers of it, by voting an address to the king, to remove from his presence and councils, the marquis of Worcester, and the earls of Halifax, Feversham, and Clarendon.
, Lord Hyde and Cornbury, eldest son to Henry earl of Clarendon and Rochester, was the author of a few pamphlets
, Lord Hyde and Cornbury, eldest
son to Henry earl of Clarendon and Rochester, was the
author of a few pamphlets published without his name: of
some tragedies still in manuscript, and of a comedy called
“The Mistakes or, The Happy Resentment,
” printed in
disdain whatever Cornbury disdained.
” “He was,
” says
lord Orford, “upright, calm, steady his virtues were of
the gentlest complexion, yet of the firmest texture vice
could not bend him, nor party warp him even his own
talents could not mislead him. Though a master of eloquence, he preferred justice and the love of his country
to all the applause which the violence of the times in which,
he lived was so prodigal of bestowing on orators who distinguish themselves in any faction; but the tinsel of popularity and the intrinsic of corruption were equally his
contempt. He spoke, nor wrote, nor acted, for fame.
”
He wrote the paper dated Feb. 12, 1737, in the periodical
paper entitled “Common Sense,
” and “A Letter to the
vice-chancellor of Oxford.
” Letter to his Lordship,
” from several
members of the university, acknowledging his merits. He
was succeeded by sir Roger Newdigate. But of all his
compositions, that which did his lordship most credit, was
his “Letter to David Mallet, on the intended publication
of lord Bolingbroke’s Manuscripts,
” which was printed in
Dr. Havvkes worth’s edition of Swift’s works; and it is a
monument, says that editor, that will do more honour to
the writer’s memory than all that mere wit or valour has
achieved since the word began. Mallet, it is well known,
did not profit as he ought to have done by this advice.
Pope’s allusion of “disdain,
” &c. is said, by Ruffhead, to
have arisen from the following circumstance: when lord
Cornbury returned from his travels, the earl of Essex, his
brother-in-law, told him he had got a handsome pension
for him; to which lord Cornbury answered with a composed dignity, “How could you tell, my lord, that I was
to be sold; or, at least, how came you to know my price
so exactly?
”
patron putting an end to that work, he sent this smaller performance abroad, and dedicated it to the earl of Nottingham, then secretary of state, in hopes that it might
About this time Hyde became known to Mr. Boyle, to
whom he was very useful in communicating from Oriental
writers several particulars relating to chemistry, physic,
and natural history. In Oct. 1666, he was collated to a
prebend in the church of Salisbury. In 1674, he published “A Catalogue of the books in the Bodleian library.
”
In Itinera
Mundi
” of Abraham Peritsol, the son of Mordecai Peritsol,
a very learned Jew. This was done to supply in some
measure the Arabic geography of Abulfeda, which, at the
request of Dr. Fell, he had undertaken to publish with a
Latin translation: but the death of his patron putting an
end to that work, he sent this smaller performance abroad,
and dedicated it to the earl of Nottingham, then secretary
of state, in hopes that it might excite a stronger curiosity
amongst the learned to search into this branch of literature.
Dr. Altham, regius-professor of Hebrew, and canon of
Christ-church, being, on some dispute about the oaths,
removed from both preferments, Hyde became possessed
of both, as they are always annexed, in July 1697.
to England, and was recommended by Mr. William Bedwell, a noted orientalist of that time, to William earl of Pembroke, chancellor of Oxford, as an extraordinary young
, son of the preceding, was born either
in 1606 or 1607. As his father was warmly attached to
puritanical principles, he was sent abroad for education;
in the course of which he was put under the tuition of the
celebrated Erpenius, professor of Arabic in the university
of Leyden, and by the help of strong natural parts, united
with a vigorous application, he in a short time made a
surprising progress in philological and oriental literature.
When he was about twenty-two years of age he returned
to England, and was recommended by Mr. William Bedwell, a noted orientalist of that time, to William earl of
Pembroke, chancellor of Oxford, as an extraordinary
young man, who deserved particular encouragement. Accordingly, that generous nobleman immediately wrote to
the university letters in his behalf, requesting that he might
be created bachelor of arts to which degree he was admitted in Jan. 1628-9. In the earl’s recommendation, Jacob
was described as having profited in oriental learning above
the ordinary measures of his age. Soon after he obtained
the patronage of John Selden, Henry Briggs, and Peter
Turner, and, by their endeavours, was elected probationer
fellow of Mertonr college in 1630. Not, however, being
sufficiently skilled in logic and philosophy to carry him
through the severe exercises of that society, the warden
and fellows tacitly assigned him the situation of philological
lecturer. He was then, for a while, diverted from his
studies by attending to some law-suits concerning his patrimony, at the conclusion of which he fell into a Dangerous
sickness, and, by the sudden loss of his patron, the earl of
Pembroke, his life was in danger. Bishop Laud, that great
encourager of literature, having succeeded the earl in the
chancellorship of Oxford, a way was found out, from Merton college statutes, to make Mr. Jacob Socius Grammaticus, that is, Reader of Philology to the Juniors, a place
which had been disused for about a hundred years. Being
now completely settled in his fellowship, he occasionally
resided with Mr. Selden, and assisted him as an amanuensis
in one of the works which he was publishing, and which,
we apprehend, must have been the “Mare clausum.
”
Selden, in acknowledging his obligations, styles him,
“doctissimus Henricus Jacobus.
” It is even understood,
that Jacob added several things to the book, which Mr.
Seldeir, finding them to be very excellent, permitted to
stand. Nay, it is said, that Jacob improved Selden in
the Hebrew language. In 1636, Mr. Jacob was created
master of arts, and in June 1641, he was elected superior
beadle of divinity. At the beginning of the November of
the following year, he was admitted to the degree of bachelor of ptiysic: “but his head,
” says Anthony Wood,
“being always over-busy about critical notions (whicbr made him sometimes a little better than crazed), he
neglected his duty so much, that he was suspended once,
if not twice, from his place, and had his beadle’s staff
taken from him.
” In consequence of the rebellion, and
his attachment to archbishop Laud, he soon became exposed to other calamities. Sir Nathaniel Brent, the republican warden of Merton college, silenced Mr Jacob as
philological lecturer; and at length he was totally deprived
of his fellowship by the parliamentary visitors. Being now
destitute of a sufficient maintenance, he retired to London, where Mr. Selden assisted him, gave him his clothes,
and, among the rest, an old scarlet cloak, the wearing of
which rendered poor Jacob an object of mirth to some of
his acquaintance, who, when they saw it upon his back,
used to call him “Young Selden.
” “But being,
” says
Wood, “a shiftless person, as most mere scholars are,
and the benefactions of friends not sufficing him,
” he sold
a small patrimony which he had at Godmersham in Kent,
to supply his necessities, and died before the money was
spent. He had brought on a bad habit of body by his
close application to his studies. In September 1652, he
retired to the city of Canterbury, where he was kindly
entertained by Dr. William Jacob, a noted physician of
that place; but who, though of the same name, was not
related to our author. By this gentleman he was cured of
a gangrene in his foot; but this being followed by a
tumour and abscess in one of his legs, the discharge
proved too violent for his constitution, and he died Nov. 5,
1652. The next day Dr. Jacob buried him in a manner
answerable to his quality, in the parish-church of All
Saints in Canterbury. Anthony Wood says, that Mr.
Jacob died about the year of his age forty-Spur. But
if the circumstances of his history be carefully compared
together, it will be found that he was probably not less than
forty-six years old at the time of his decease. As to his
character, it appears that he was an innocent, harmless,
careless man, who was entirely devoted to the pursuits of
literature, and totally ignorant of the world.
lished woman, and was left with the care of seven very young children. In 1754, lord Clare, the late earl Nugent, procured for him from Dr. Madox, bishop of Worcester,
For several years after his marriage, he resided at Harbury, to which living he was presented in 1746; lord Willoughby de Broke gave him also the living of Chesterton, at a small distance from Harbury. These two benefices together did not produce more than one hundred pounds a year. In 1751 he had the misfortune to lose his wife, who appears to have been an amiable and accomplished woman, and was left with the care of seven very young children. In 1754, lord Clare, the late earl Nugent, procured for him from Dr. Madox, bishop of Worcester, the vicarage of Snitterfield, worth about 140l. In 1759 he married a second wife, Margaret, daughter of James Underwood, esq. of Rudgely, in Staffordshire, who survived him, but by whom he had no children.
of the plot formed against his life. The chief actors in this tragedy were Robert Graham, and Walter earl of Athol, the king’s uncle. The former was actuated by revenge
king of Scotland, of the house of Stuart, was born in 1394. In 1405 his father Robert III. sent him to France, in order that he might escape the dangers to which he was exposed from his uncle the duke of Albany, but being taken by an English squadron, he and his whole suite were carried prisoners to the Tower of London. Here the young prince received an excellent education, to which Henry IV. of England was remarkably attentive, thereby making some atonement for his injustice in detaining him. Sir John Pelham, a man of worth and learning was appointed his governor, under whose tuition he made so rapid a progress, that he soon became a prodigy of talents and accomplishments. Robert died in the following year, and James was proclaimed king, but during the remainder of the reign of Henry IV. and the whole of that of Henry V. he was kept in confinement, with a view of preventing the strength of Scotland from being united to that of France against the English arms. At length, under the regency of the duke of Bedford, James was restored to his kingdom, having been full eighteen years a prisoner in this country. James was now thirty years of age, well furnished with learning, and a proficient in the elegant accomplishments of life, and dextrous in the manly exercises, which at that period were in high estimation. He married Joanna Beaufort, daughter of the duchess of Clarence, a lady of distinguished beauty, descended from the royal family of England; and on his return to Scotland, finding that the dujte of Albany and his son had alienated many of the most valuable possessions of the crown, instantly caused the whole of that family and their adherents to be arrested. The latter were chiefly discharged; but the late regent, his two sons, and his father-in-law, he caused to be convicted, executed, and their estates to be confiscated to the crown. Whatever other objections were made to James’s conduct, he procured the enactment of many good laws in his parliaments, which had a tendency to improve the state of society; but at the same time his desire of improving the revenues of the crown led him to many acts of tyranny, which rendered him odious to his nobility. In 1436 he gave his daughter Margaret in marriage to the dauphin of France, and sent with her a splendid train and a vast body of troops. The English, who had in vain attempted to prevent this union by negociation, now endeavoured to intercept the Scotch fleet in its passage, but they missed their object, and the princess arrived in safety at Rochelle. James, exasperated at this act of hostility, declared war against England, and summoned the whole array of his kingdom to assist in the siege of Roxburgh; which, however, he abandoned upon an intimation of a conspiracy being formed against himself by his own people. He now retired to the Carthusian monastery of Perth, which he had himself founded, where he lived in privacy, but this, instead of preventing, facilitated the suecess of the plot formed against his life. The chief actors in this tragedy were Robert Graham, and Walter earl of Athol, the king’s uncle. The former was actuated by revenge for the sufferings of some of his family, the latter by the hope of obtaining the crown for himself. The assassins obtained by bribery admission into the king’s apartments; the alarm was raised, and the ladies attempted to secure the chamber-door; one of them, Catharine Douglas, thrust her arm through a staple, making therewith a sort of bar, in which state she remained till it was dreadfully broken by the force of the assailants. The instant they got admission, they dragged the king from his concealment, and put him to death with a thousand wounds on Feb. 20, 1437, in the forty-fourth year of his age. He is introduced in this work chiefly on account of his literary reputation, for he was a poet as well as a sovereign, and his works, descriptive of the manners and pastimes of the age, were once extremely popular, and are still read with delight by those who can relish the northern dialect. He is said by all the British historians to have been a skilful musician; and it is asserted, that he not only performed admirably on the lute and harp, but was the inventor of many of the most ancient and favourite Scottish melodies, but this Dr. Burney is inclined to doubt. Where this prince acquired his knowledge in music is not ascertained; but it is probable that it was in France, in his passage home from which country he was taken prisoner by the English. Before the reformation we hear of no music being cultivated in Scotland but plain-song, or chanting in the church; nor afterwards, for a long time, except psalmody.
s born at Edinburgh-castle in June 1566, at the time when his mother had fixed her affections on the earl of Bothwell; the young prince, however, was committed to the
king of England, and VI. of Scotland, was the son of the unfortunate Mary queen of Scotland, by her cousin Henry, lord Darnley, and was born at Edinburgh-castle in June 1566, at the time when his mother had fixed her affections on the earl of Bothwell; the young prince, however, was committed to the charge of the earl of Mar, and in the following year, his mother being forced to resign the crown, he was solemnly crowned at Stirling, and all public acts from that time ran in his name. He was educated by the celebrated Buchanan while he was at Stirling castle; his progress in school-learning was rapid, and he manifested talents which presaged the future great man: but he became the prey of flatterers, who urged him to unpopular measures, which in 1582 produced a conspiracy of the nobles against him, who took possession of his person at Ruthven castle. From thence he was conveyed to the palace of Holyrood-house, and treated with much external respect, while in reality he was held in the utmost restraint. A new confederacy of other nobles produced his liberation, and he put himself under the sway of his favourite the earl of Arran, who was violent and unprincipled, and who carried on measures of severity againsf the nobles of the former conspiracy, and against the clergy who favoured them. He contrived to engage the mind of the young king with a constant round of amusement, and he himself exercised with unlimited sway all the regal authority, and by his insolence and rapacity rendered himself universally odious. Queen Elizabeth of England had long employed her arts to maintain a party in the country, which policy was become more necessary on account of her conduct to its queen. Though James had hitherto been induced to treat his mother very irreverently, yet when her life appeared to be in imminent danger, from the sentence pronounced against her by an English court of judicature, he felt himself bound to interfere, and wrote a menacing letter to Elizabeth on the occasion. He also applied to other courts for their assistance, and assembled his own nobles, who promised to stand by him in preventing or avenging such an injustice. When he learned the fatal catastrophe, he rejected with a proper spirit of indignation the hypocritical excuses of Elizabeth, and set about preparations for hostilities; but reflecting on his own resources, which were inadequate to the purposes of carrying on a serious war, he resolved to resume a friendly correspondence with the English court. It is to the honour of James that one of the' first acts of his full iriajority, in 1587, was an attempt to put an end to all family feuds among the nobility, and personally to reconcile them with each other at a solemn festival in Holyrood-house. When the invasion of England was resolved upon by Philip, king of Spain, he put his kingdom into a state of defence, resolving to support the queen against her enemies. His people also were zealous for the preservation of Protestantism, and entered into a national bond for the maintenance of true religion, which was the origin and pattern of all future engagements of the kind, under the name of solemn leagues and covenants. In 1589 he married Anne, daughter of Frederic king of Denmark, and as contrary winds prevented her coming to Scotland, he went to fetch her, and passed the winter in a series of feasting and amusements at Copenhagen. On his return he was frequently in danger from conspiracies against his life, particularly from those excited by the earl of Bothwell. In 1600, while the country was in a state of unusual tranquillity, a very extraordinary event took place, the nature and causes of which were never discovered. While the king was upon a hunting excursion, he was accosted by the brother of Ruthven earl of Gowrie, who, by a feigned tale, induced him and a small train to ride to the earl’s house at Perth. Here he was led to a remote chamber on pretence of having a secret communicated td him, where he found a man in complete armour, and a dagger was put to his breast by lluthven, with threats of immediate death. His attendants were alarmed, and came to his relief; in the end Gowrie and his brother were slain, and the king escaped unhurt. In 1603, on the death of queen Elizabeth, James was proclaimed her successor, and proceeded, amidst the acclamations of his new subjects, to London. One of his first acts was to bestow a profusion of honours and titles upon the great men, as well of his own country as those of England. A conference held at Hampton-court in 1604, between the divines of the established church and the Puritans, afforded James a good opportunity of exhibiting his skill in theological controversy, and the ill-will he bore to popular schemes of church-government. Although the king had distinguished himself in his own country by lenity to the Roman Catholics, yet those of that religion in England were so much disappointed in their expectations of his favour, that a most atrocious plot was formed by the zealots of that party to bloxv up the House of Lords at the first meeting of parliament, and with it the king, queen, and prince of Wales, and all the principal nobility and gentry of the kingdom, and then to set upon the throne the young princess Elizabeth, and establish the Catholic religion. This plot was fortunately discovered on the eve of the designed execution, and the principal persons in it suffered the punishment dae to their crimes. His next object was to reduce Ireland to a settled form of law and government. fc
ossessed of works by this great artist. The greatest collection is that at Taymouth, the seat of the earl of Breadalbane, Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, his lordship’s
Many of the considerable families in Scotland are possessed of works by this great artist. The greatest collection is that at Taymouth, the seat of the earl of Breadalbane, Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, his lordship’s ancestor, having been the chief and earliest patron of Jameson, who had attended that gentleman in his travels. In different gentlemen’s houses in the county of Aberdeen, there are portraits by Jameson, as well as in the halls of Marischal and King’s colleges. The most interesting of his pictures is that belonging to the earl of Findlater, at Cullen-house. This piece represents Jameson himself, as large as life, with a round hat on his head. He is looking you in the face, with his left hand, in which is his pallet, on a table, and his right over it, the forefinger of which points to several small pictures in the back ground. Dress, a black jacket with a white falling band. In the back ground are ten squares, of about six inches, representing portraits, some of them full lengths; some of the squares have two or three figures, and one of them is a sea-piece. Size of the picture, within the frame, two feet ten inches in breadth, by two feet eight in height. In the same house is another picture attributed to the same artist, three feet six inches high, by two feet eight broad. The subject must allude to the civil war, as it represents a crown, bottom upmost; sceptre, baton, royal standard, heaped near it; a printed scroll, a casket covered with crimson velvet, lid open, with necklaces and toys. At the bottom, on the right hand, is a small figure about four inches long, badly executed, of Charles I. which seems as if done with red chalk on a white ground.
and where he married a daughter of Dr. Torkington, of Huntingdonshire, who was grand-daughter to the earl of Harborough. His college was Peter-house. He early took up
, son of Dr. John Jebb, dean of Casbell,
was born in London, early in 1736. He was a man much
celebrated among the violent partizans for unbounded
liberty, religious and political; and certainly a man of
learning and talents, though they were both so much absorbed in controversy as to leave little among his writings
of general use. His education was begun in Ireland, and
finished in England. His degrees were taken at Cambridge,
where he bore public offices, and obtained the vicarage of
St. Andrew’s, and where he married a daughter of Dr. Torkington, of Huntingdonshire, who was grand-daughter to
the earl of Harborough. His college was Peter-house. He
early took up the plan of giving theological lectures, which
were attended by several pupils, till his peculiar opinions
became known in 1770, when a prohibition was published
in the university. How soon he had begun to deviate from
the opinions he held at the time of ordination is uncertain,
but in a letter dated Oct. 21, 1775, he says, “I have for
seven years past, in my lectures, maintained steadily the
proper unity of God, and that he alone should be the
object of worship.
” He adds, that he warned his hearers
that this was not the received opinion, but that his own was
settled, and exhorted them to inquire diligently. This
confession seems rather inconsistent with the defence he
addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury in 1770. He
was a strenuous advocate for the establishment of annual
examinations in the university, but could not prevail. In.
1775, he came to the resolution of resigning his ecclesiastical preferments, which he did accordingly; and then, by
the advice of his friends, took up the study of physic. For
this new object he studied indefatigably, and in 1777, obtained his degree by diploma from St. Andrew’s, and was
admitted a licentiate in London.
some to have been raised to the dignity of a cardinal also, but on no apparent good grounds. Robert earl of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I. and Alexander bishop
, or Geoffrey, of Monmouth (ap Arthur), the famous British historian, who flourished in the time of Henry I. was born at Monmouth, and probably educated in the Benedictine monastery near that place; for Oxford and Cambridge had not yet risen to any great height, and bad been lately depressed by the Danish invasion so that monasteries were at this time the principal seminaries of learning. Tradition still points out a small apartment of the above monastery as his library; it bears in the ceiling and windows remains of former magnificence, but is much more modern than the age of Jeffery. He was made archdeacon of Monmouth, and afterwards promoted to the bishopric of St. Asaph in 1152. He is said by some to have been raised to the dignity of a cardinal also, but on no apparent good grounds. Robert earl of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I. and Alexander bishop of Lincoln, were his particular patrons; the first a person of great eminence and authority in the kingdom, and celebrated for his learning; the latter, for being the greatest patron of learned men in that time, and himself a great scholar and statesman.
was buried in St. Mary Aldermanbury church. He married Charlotte, the daughter and heiress of Philip earl of Pembroke, by whom he had an only daughter, who married Thomas
This wretched man left an only son, who inherited his
title as lord Jeffreys, and also his intemperate habit. Two
poetical efforts, in the “State Poems,
” 4 vols. 8vo, are attributed to him, and he is said to have published “An Argument in the case of Monopolies,
”
s pre- -|- Ralph Montague, esq. ambassatended that she was not only a native, dor at that court, the earl of St. Albut au inhabitant of France conse- ban’s, and lord
Under these circumstances it was pre- -|- Ralph Montague, esq. ambassatended that she was not only a native, dor at that court, the earl of St. Albut au inhabitant of France conse- ban’s, and lord Arundel. Scotland, about an union between the two kingdoms. In 1671 he was chosen a representative in parliament far Hythe, in Kent, one of the cinque ports.
, earl of Liverpool, was the eldest son of colonel Charles Jenkinson,
, earl of Liverpool, was the eldest son of colonel Charles Jenkinson, who was younger son of sir Robert Jenkinson, the first baronet of the family.
ve been sometimes displayed in the Monthly Review about the period of its commencement. By the first earl of Harcourt, who was governor to the king, when prince of Wales,
* Some of the city were so much freedom, and afterwards chose master satisfied with the part he acted in this of the Sailers’ company, Wynne, p. affair, that he was presented with his 57. Colonel Jenkinson, who died in 1750, had married Amantha, daughter of Wolfran Cornwall, a captain in the royal navy, by whom he had the subject of this memoir, who was born May 16, 1727, and educated at the Charter-house. He went afterwards to University college, Oxford, where he took the degree of M. A. in Nov. 1752, and thence came to London, having previously distinguished himself by the active part he took in an election controversy for the county of Oxford, where his alliances were numerous, and not unconnected with the contending parties. On this occasion his literary talents were supposed to have contributed materially to the interests of the side he espoused; and those talents are likewise said to have been sometimes displayed in the Monthly Review about the period of its commencement. By the first earl of Harcourt, who was governor to the king, when prince of Wales, he was introduced to his majesty, and through the same channel obtained the notice and confidence of the eail of Bute, to jvhom he was private secretary. In 1761 he sat in parliament for Cockermouth, and held the office of under-secretary of state. In 1763 and 1764 he was secretary to the treasury; in 1766 he was nominated one of the lords of the admiralty; and from 1767 to 1773, was a lord of the treasury. In 1772 he was appointed joint vice-treasurer of Ireland, and called to the privy-council; and in exchange for this office, had afterwards the clerkship of the pells in Ireland, which had been purchased back by government of Mr. Charles Fox. In 1778 he was made secretary at war, which he held until the dissolution of lord North’s administration in 1782. On this occasion his principles led him to join that branch of the old administration which supported Mr. Pitt; and when that minister came into power in 1783-4, Mr. Jenkinson was appointed president of the board of trade, of which office he continued to discharge the duties with uncommon industry and abilities until age and bad health incapacitated him, in 18CU, from farther exertions in this department. In 1786 he obtained the situation of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, which he held till 1803. He was elevated to the peerage in 1786 by the title of baron Hawksbury, of Hawksbury, in the county of Gloucester; and advanced to be carl of Liverpool in 1796. His lordship died at his house in Hertford-street, May Pair, Dec. 17, 1808. At that time he held the place of collector of the customs inwards, in the port of London, and clerk of the pells in Ireland. He was interred in the family vault at Hawksbury, in Gloucestershire, and was succeeded in honours and estate by his eldest son, Robert Banks, second earl of Liverpool, and now first lord of the treasury.
The late earl of Liverpool made a very conspicuous figure during the whole
The late earl of Liverpool made a very conspicuous
figure during the whole of the present reign as a statesman;
and for the greater part of it, shared the severe obloquy
which attached to all the confidential friends of the Bute
administration; and as he possessed the favour and confidence of his sovereign, he was called the king’s secret adviser. A suspicion of this kind the people were taught to
cherish with uncommon animosity. Burke’s celebrated
pamphlet on “Popular Discontents
” encouraged the notipn; and the leaders of this party of supposed private
power, were the incessant objects of clamour with the multitude and the disaffected. His lordship, however, lived
long enough to weather this storm; to see his solid powers
of mind, and solid services, crowned with the reward of
high honours and great wealth; and to behold his ancient
family, which in early life he had seen sadly decline in its
property and consideration, placed by his own efforts near
the pinnacle of ambition. Senseless cries and prejudices
had gradually died away; and he was allowed to have deserved, as a laborious and profound statesman, the splendid public recompeuces which his sovereign had conferred
upon him.
ers, to have been for some time curate of Harlay, in Shropshire. On the death of his rector, Richard earl of Bradford, the patron of the living, hearing Mr. Jenks spoken
, a pious English divine and writer,
was born in 1646, and was descended from an ancient family at Eaton under Heywood, in Shropshire. He was
related to bishop Williams, of Chichester, to whom he dedicated his book of “Prayers.
” Where he was educated
we are not told, nor is it discoverable that he was at either
university. He appears, however, when admitted into
orders, to have been for some time curate of Harlay, in
Shropshire. On the death of his rector, Richard earl of
Bradford, the patron of the living, hearing Mr. Jenks
spoken of respectfully by the parishioners, went one Sunday, in private, to hear him preach; and was so much
pleased with the discourse, that he presented him to the
living in 1668, and made him his chaplain. Mr. Jenks
had also the living of Kenley, a small village about two
miles from Harlay, at both which churches he officiated
alternately, and kept no curate until old age and infirmities made assistance necessary. He died at Harlay on
May 10, 1724, and was buried in the chancel of that
church, where there is a monument to his memory. The
work by which Mr. Jenks is best known is his “Prayers
and offices of Devotion,
” of which the 27th edition was
published in 1810 by the Rev. Charles Simeon, fellow of
King’s college, Cambridge, with alterations and amendments in style. Mr. Jenks also was the author of “Meditations upon various important subjects,
” of which a second edition was published in Meditations
” is upon his coffin, which he kept by
him for many years, and in which were two sculls, one of
them that of a near relation.
“Art of Dancing,” printed in 1730, and inscribed to lady Fanny Fielding, one of the daughters of the earl of Denbigh, and afterwards countess of Winchelsea. He did not
Mr. Jenyns received the first, part of his education at
home, under the care of the rev. Mr. Hill, and afterwards
of the rev. Stephen White, who became rector of Holton,
in Suffolk. In 1722 he was removed to Cambridge, and
admitted as a fellow-commoner of St. John’s, under Dr.
Edmondson, at that time one of the principal tutors of the
college. Here he pursued his studies with great industry
for three years, and found so much satisfaction in the regular discipline and employments of a college life, that he
%vas often heard to say he accounted the days he had lived
there, among the happiest in his life. He left the university, however, without taking a degree, in consequence,
probably, of his marriage, which took place when he was
very young. His first wife was the natural daughter of his
uncle, colonel Soame, of Deerham Grange, in Norfolk.
With this lady he received a very considerable fortune,
but in all other respects the union was unhappy. After
some years she eloped from him with a Leicestershire gentleman; and a separation being agreed upon in form, Mr.
Jenyns consented to allow her a maintenance, which was
regularly paid until her death, in 1753. This affair, it
may be conjectured, interrupted the plan of life he had
formed after leaving Cambridge. If we may judge from
his poetical efforts, his turn was gay, lively, and satirical.
His songs and other amatory pieces were probably written
when young, and bespeak a mind sufficiently at ease to
trifle with the passions, and not always attentive to delicacy where it interfered with wit. His first publication,
and perhaps his best, was the “Art of Dancing,
” printed
in Epistle to Lord Lovelace,
” and this was followed by other pieces of poetry, which he contributed to
Dodsley’s collection, and afterwards printed in a volume,
in 1752. He wrote also some occasional essays on political
topics, the precise dates of which cannot now be ascertained, as he never put his name to any of his works.
They have, however, been since collected by Mr. Cole in
that edition of his works which was published in 4 vols.
8vo, 1790, and again in 1793.
moved into another department. At the time of its abolition, it consisted of our author, the present earl of Carlisle, the late lord Auckland, and Gibbon the historian.
Soon after his father’s death, at the general election in 1742, he was unanimously chosen one of the representatives for the county of Cambridge. From this time he continued to sit in parliament, either for the county or borough of Cambridge, until 1780, except on the call of a new parliament in 1754, when he was returned for the borougli of Dumvich. In 1755, he was appointed one of the lords commissioners of the board of trade and plantations, at which he sat during. all changes of administration, until the business of the board, which was not great, was removed into another department. At the time of its abolition, it consisted of our author, the present earl of Carlisle, the late lord Auckland, and Gibbon the historian. Mr. Cumberland, the well-known dramatic poet, was secretary. His parliamentary conduct was more uniform than is supposed to be consistent with freedom of opinion, or the usual attachments of party. When he was first elected a member, he found sir Robert Walpole on the eve of being dismissed from the confidence of the House of Commons, and he had the courage, unasked and unknown, to give his support to the falling minister, as far as he could without contributing his eloquence, for Mr. Jenyns seldom spoke, and only in reply to a personal question. He was conscious that he could make no figure as a public speaker, and early desisted from the attempt. After the dismissal of sir Robert Walpole, he constantly ranked among the friends of government. Without giving a public assent to every measure of the minister for the day, he contrived to give him no offence, and seems very early to have conceived an abhorrence of systematic oppositions. What his opinions were on great constitutional questions, may be found in his writings, where, however, they are not laid down with much precision, and seem at no time of his life to have been steady. In his attendance at the board of trade, he was very assiduous, and bestowed much attention on the commercial interests of his country. He has not left any thing in print expressly on this subject, but his biographer has given some of his private opinions, which are liberal and manly.
intimacy with the most eminent literary characters in the higher ranks, particularly the celebrated earl of Chesterfield, and the present earl of Carlisle. The illness
, an elegant English poet,
descended from an ancient Roman catholic family in Norfolk, was the youngest brother of the late sir William Jerningham, bart. and was born in 1727. He was educated
in the English college at Douay, and from thence removed
to Paris, where he improved himself in classical attainments,
becoming a good Latin scholar, and tolerably well acquainted with the Greek, while the French and Italian languages, particularly the former, were nearly as familiar to
him as that of his native country. In his mind, benevolence and poetry had always a mingled operation. His
taste was founded upon the best models of literature, which,
however, he did not always follow, with respect to style, in
his latter performances. The first production which raised
him into public notice, was a poem in recommendation of
the Magdalen hospital; and Mr. Jonas Hanway, one of its
most active patrons, often declared, that its success was
very much promoted by this poem. He continued 'occasionally to afford proofs of his poetical genius; and his
works, which passed through many editions, are uniformly
marked by taste, elegance, and a pensive character, that
always excites tender and pleasing emotions; and in some
of his works, as in “The Shakspeare Gallery,
” “
Enthusiasm,
” and “The Rise and Fall of Scandinavian Poetry,
”
he displays great vigour, and even sublimity. The fiist of
these poems had an elegant and spirited compliment from
Mr. Burke, in the following passage: “I have not for a,
long time seen any thing so well-finished. He has caught
new fire by approaching in his perihelium so near to the
Sun of our poetical system.
” His last work, published a
few months before his death, was entitled “The Old Bard’s
Farewell.
” It is not unworthy of his best days, and
breathes an air of benevolence and grateful piety for the
lot in life which Providence had assigned him. In his later
writings it has been objected that he evinces a species of
liberal spirit in matters of religion, which seems to consider
all religions alike, provided the believer is a man of meekness and forbearance. With this view in his “Essay on
the mild Tenour of Christianity
” he traces historically the
efforts to give an anchorite-cast to the Christian profession,
and gives many interesting anecdotes derived from the page
of Ecclesiastical history, but not always very happily applied. His “Essay on the Eloquence of the Pulpit in
England,
” (prefixed to bishop Bossuet’s Select Sermons and Orations) was very favourably received by the public,
but his notions of pulpit eloquence are rather French than
English. Mr. Jerningham had, during the course of a
long life, enjoyed an intimacy with the most eminent literary characters in the higher ranks, particularly the celebrated earl of Chesterfield, and the present earl of Carlisle.
The illness which occasioned his death, had continued for
some months, and was at times very severe; but his sufferings were much alleviated by a course of theological
study he had imposed on himself, and which he considered
most congenial to a closing life. He died Nov. 17, 1812.
He bequeathed all his manuscripts to Mr. Clarke, New
Bond-street. Mr. Jerningham’s productions are as follow:
J. “Poems and Plays,
” 4 vols. 9th edition, 1806. 2. “Select Sermons and Funeral Orations, translated from the
French of Bossuet, bishop of Meaux,
” third edition, The mild Tenour of Christianity, an Essay, (elucidated from Scripture and History; containing a new illustration of the characters of several eminent personages,)
”
second edition, The Dignity of Human Nature, an Kssay,
” The Alexandrian School;
or, a narrative of the first Christian Professors in Alexandria,
” third edition, The Old Bard’s
Farewell,
” a Poem, second edition, with additional passages,
1812. His dramatic pieces, “The Siege of Berwick,
” the
“Welsh Heiress,
” and “The Peckham Frolic,
” have not
been remarkably successful.
the arguments for it, that the opposers of the court gave him suitable encouragement to proceed. The earl of Essex admitted him into his company and lord William Russel,
The times were turbulent; the duke of York declaring
himself a Papist, his succession to the crown began to be
warmly opposed; and. this brought the doctrine of indefeasible hereditary right into dispute, which was strongly
disrelished by Johnson, who was naturally of no submissive
temper. This inclination was early observed by his patron, who warned him against the danger of it to one of
his profession, and advised him, if he would turn his
thoughts to that subject, to read Bracton and Fortescue
“de laudibus legum Angliae,
” &c. that so he might be
acquainted with the old English constitution but by no
means to make politics the subject of his sermons, for that
matters of faith and practice formed more suitable admonitions from the pulpit. Johnson, it is said, religiously
observed this advice; and though, by applying himself to
the study of the books recommended to him, he became
well versed in the English constitution, yet he never flitroduced it in his sermons, but employed these, with zeal,
to expose the absurdity and mischief of the Popish religion, which was then too much encouraged, and would,
he thought, unavoidably be established if the next heir to
the crown was not set aside. This point he laboured incessantly in his private conversation, and became so good a
master of the arguments for it, that the opposers of the
court gave him suitable encouragement to proceed. The
earl of Essex admitted him into his company and lord
William Russel, respecting his parts and probity, made him
his domestic chaplain. This preferment placed him in a
conspicuous point of view; and in 1679 he was appointed
to preach before the mayor and aldermen at Guildhallchapel, on Palm-Sunday. He took that opportunity of
preaching against Popery; and from this time, he tells us
himself, “he threw away his liberty with both hands, and
with his eyes open, for his country’s service.
” In short,
he began to be regarded by his party as their immoveable
bulwark; and to make good that character, while the bill
of exclusion was carried on by his patron at the head of
that party in the House of Commons, his chaplain, to promote the same cause, engaged the ecclesiastical champion
of passive obedience, Dr. Hickes , in a book entitled
“Julian' the Apostate, &c.
” published in Jovian, &c.
” to which Johnson drew
up a reply, under the title of “Julian’s arts to undermine
and extirpate Christianity,
” &c. This was printed and
entered at Stationers’-hall, 1683, in order to be published;
but, seeing his patron lord Russel seized and imprisoned,
Johnson thought proper to check his zeal, and take the
advice of his friends in suppressing it.
should be a master of arts. The university of Oxford, when applied to, refused to grant this favour. Earl Gower was then solicited, in behalf of Johnson, by Pope, who
His “London
” procured him fame, and Cave was not
sorry to have engaged the services of a man whose talents
had now the stamp of public approbation. Whether he
had offers of patronage, or was thought a formidable enemy
to the minister, is not certain; but, having leisure to calculate how little his labours were likely to produce, he
soon began to wish for some establishment of a more permanent kind. With this view an offer was made to him of
the mastership of the school of Appleby in Leicestershire,
the salary of which was about sixty pounds, but the laws
of the school required that the candidate should be a master
of arts. The university of Oxford, when applied to, refused to grant this favour. Earl Gower was then solicited,
in behalf of Johnson, by Pope, who knew him only as the
author of “London.
” His lordship accordingly wrote to
Swift, soliciting a diploma from the university of Dublin,
but, for what reason we are not told, this application, too,
was unsuccessful. Mr. Murphy says, “There is reason to
think, that Swift declined to meddle in the business; and
to that circumstance Johnson’s known dislike of Swift has
been often imputed.
” That Swift declined to meddle in
the business is not improbable, for it appears by his letters
of this date (August 1738) that he was incapable of attenc(ing to any business; but Johnson’s Life of Swift proves that his dislike had a more honourable foundation. About this time Johnson formed a design of studying the civil law, in order to practise in the Commons, yet this also was rendered impossible for want of a degree, and he was obliged to resume his labours in the Gentleman’s Magazine. The various articles which came from his pen are enumerated in chronological series by Mr. Boswell. It will be sufficient for our purpose to notice only his more
important productions, or such as were of sufficient consequence to be published separately. In 1739, he wrote
“A Complete Vindication of the Licensers of the Stage,
from the malicious and scandalous aspersions of Mr. Brooke,
author of Gustavus Vasa;
” and a political tract entitled
t( Marmor Norfolciense, or an Essay on an ancient prophetical inscription, in monkish rhyme, lately discovered near Lynne in Norfolk, by Probus Britannicus.“These pieces, it is almost needless to add, were ironical, a mode of writing in which our author was not eminently successful. Some notice has already been taken of
” Gustavus Vasa“in the Life of Brooke. The
” Marmor Norfolciense" was a severe attack on the Walpole administration, and on the reigning family; but whether it was not well understood, or when understood, considered as feeble, it certainly was not much attended to by the friends of government, nor procured to the author the reputation of a dangerous opponent. Sir John Hawkins indeed says that a prosecution was ordered, but of this no traces can be found
in any of the public offices. One of his political enemies
reprinted it in 1775, to shew what a change had been
effected in his principles by a pension; but the publisher
does not seem to have known what a very small change was
really effected, and how little was necessary to render
Johnson a loyal subject to his munificent sovereign, and a
determined enemy of the popular politics of that time.
oportioned to the quantity of manuscript sent to the press. The plan was addressed to the celebrated earl of Chesterfield, who had discovered an inclination to be the
The design of this great work was at first suggested by
Dodsley; and Johnson, having consented to undertake it,
entered into an agreement with the booksellers for the sum
of fifteen hundred guineas, which he was to receive in
small payments proportioned to the quantity of manuscript
sent to the press. The plan was addressed to the celebrated earl of Chesterfield, who had discovered an inclination to be the patron of the author; and Johnson, having
made suitable preparations, hired a house in Gough-square,
engaged amanuenses, and began a task which he carried
on by fits, as inclination and health permitted, for nearly
eight years. His amanuenses were six in number, and
employed upon what may be termed the mechanical part
of the work, but their expences and his own were so considerable, that before the work was concluded he had received the whole of the money stipulated for in his agreement with the proprietors. In what time it might have
been completed, had he, to use his own phrase, “set doggedly about it,
” it is useless to conjecture, and it would
perhaps have been hurtful to try. Whoever has been employed on any great literary work knows, not only the
pleasure, but the necessity of occasional relaxation; and
Johnson’s mind, stored with various knowledge, and a rich
fund of sentiment, afforded him many opportunities of this
kind, in addition to the love of society, which was his predominant passion. We find accordingly that during the
years in which his Dictionary was on hand, he accepted
some inferior employment from the booksellers, and produced some of the most valuable of his original works.
the King another from Mrs. Dodd to the Queen Observations inserted in the newspapers, on occasion of Earl Percy’s having presented to his Majesty a petition for mercy
Not long after he undertook this work, he was invited
to contribute the aid of his aloquent pen in saving the forfeited life of Dr. William Dodd, a clergyman who was convicted of forgery. This unhappy man had long been a
popular preacher in the metropolis; and the public sentiment was almost universal in deprecating so shameful a
sight as that of a clergyman of the church of England suffering by a public, execution. Whether there was much
in Dodd’s character to justify this sentiment, or to demand
the interference of the corporation of London, backed by
the petitions of thousands of the most distinguished and
wealthy citizens, may perhaps be doubted. Johnson,
however, could not resist what put every other consideration out of the question, “a call for mercy,
” and accordingly contributed every thing that the friends of Dodd
could suggest in his favour. He wrote his “Speech to
the Recorder of London,
” delivered at the Old Bailey
when sentence of death was about to be passed on him
“The Convict’s Address to his unhappy brethren,
” a sermon delivered by Dodd in the chapel of Newgate Two
Letters, one to the Lord Chancellor Bathurst, and one to
Lord Chief Justice Mansfield A petition from Dr. Dodd
to the King another from Mrs. Dodd to the Queen Observations inserted in the newspapers, on occasion of Earl
Percy’s having presented to his Majesty a petition for
mercy to Dodd, signed by twenty thousand persons; a petition from the city of London; and Dr. Dodd’s last solemn
declaration, which he left with the sheriff at the place of
execution. All these have been printed in Dr. Johnson’s
VVorks, with some additional correspondence which Mr.
Boswell inserted in his Life. Every thing is written in a
style of pathetic eloquence; but, as the author could not
be concealed, it was impossible to impress a stronger sense
of the value of Dodd’s talents than had already been entertained. The papers, however, contributed to heighten
the clamour, which was at that time raised against the execution of the sentence, and which was confounded with
what was then thought more censurable, the conduct of
those by whom the unhappy man might have been saved
before the process of law had been begun.
ary attempt, two volumes of which he wrote while on a visit to Mount Edgecumbe, the seat of the late earl of Mount Edgecumbe. He appears to have had recourse to some
, author of
<c Chrysal, or the Adventures 'of a Guinea,“and other works
of a similar kind, was a native of Ireland, and descended
from a branch of the Johnstons of Annandale. He was
born in the early part of the last century, but in what year
we have not been able to discover. After receiving a good
classical education, he was called to the bar, and came
over to England for practice in that profession, but being
unfortunately prevented by deafness from attending the
courts, he confined himself to the employment of a chamber counsel. It does not appear that his success was great,
and embarrassed circumstances rendered him glad to embrace any other employment, in which his talents might
have a chance to succeed. His
” Chrysal“is said to have
been his first literary attempt, two volumes of which he
wrote while on a visit to Mount Edgecumbe, the seat of the
late earl of Mount Edgecumbe. He appears to have had
recourse to some degree of art, in order to apprize the
public of what they were to expect from it. In the newspapers for April 1760, it is announced that
” there will be
speedily published, under the emblematical title of the
f Adventures of a Guinea/ a dispassionate, distinct account
of the most remarkable transactions of the present times all
over Europe, with curious and interesting anecdotes of
the public and private characters of the parties principally
concerned in these scenes, especially in England; the
whole interspersed with several most whimsical and entertaining instances of the intimate connection between high
and low life, and the power of little causes to produce great
events.“This, while it has the air of a puff, is not an unfaithful summary of the contents of these volumes, which
were published in May of the same year, and read with
such avidity, that the author was encouraged to add two
more volumes in 1765, not inferior to the former, in merit
or success; and the work has often been reprinted since.
The secret springs of some political intrigues on the continent, are perhaps unfolded in these volumes, but it was
the personal characters of many distinguished statesmen,
women of quality, and citizens, which rendered the work
palatable. A few of these were depicted in such striking
colours as not to be mistaken; and the rest, being supposed to be equally faithful, although less obvious, the
public were long amused in conjecturing the originals.
With some truth, however, there is so much fiction, and in
a few instances so much of what deserves a worse epithet,
that
” Chrysal“does not appear entitled to much higher
praise than that of the best
” scandalous chronicle of the
day." In one case, it may be remembered, the author
occasioned no little confusion among the guilty parties, by
unfolding the secrets of a club of profligates of rank, who
used to assemble at a nobleman’s villa in Buckinghamshire.
In this, as well as other instances, it must be allowed, that
although he describes his bad characters as worse than they
were, he everywhere expresses the noblest sentiments of
indignation against vice and meanness.
ts, or bards of humble origin, was panegyric. This procured him some friends; and, in 1745, when the earl of Chesterfield went over to Ireland as lord-lieutenant, Mr.
, a dramatic writer, was a native of
Drogheda, in Ireland, and was bred a bricklayer; but,
having a natural inclination for the muses, pursued his devotions to them even during the labours of his mere mechanical avocations, and composing a line of brick and a line
of verse alternately, his walls and poems rose in growth
together, but not with equal degrees of durability. His
turn, as is most generally the case with mean poets, or
bards of humble origin, was panegyric. This procured
him some friends; and, in 1745, when the earl of Chesterfield went over to Ireland as lord-lieutenant, Mr. Jones was
recommended to the notice of that nobleman, who, delighted with the discovery of this mechanic muse, not only
favoured him with his own notice and generous munificence,
but also thought proper to transplant this opening flower
into a warmer and more thriving climate. He brought him
with him to England, recommended him to many of the
nobility there, and not only procured him a large subscription for the publishing a collection of his “Poems,
” but
it is said, even took on himself the alteration and correction,
of his tragedy, and also the care of prevailing on the managers of Covent-garden theatre to bring it on the stage.
This nobleman also recommended him in the warmest
manner to Colley Gibber, whose friendly and humane disposition induced him to shew him a thousand acts of friendship, and even made strong efforts by his interest at court
to have secured to him the succession of the laurel after
his death. With these favourable prospects it might have
been expected that Jones would have passed through life
with so much decency as to have ensured his own happiness, and done credit to the partiality of his friends; but
this was not the case. “His temper,
” says one, who
seems to have known him, “was, in consequence of the
dominion of his passions, uncertain and capricious; easily
engaged, and easily disgusted; and, as ceconomy was a
virtue which could never be taken into his catalogue, he
appeared to think himself born rather to be supported by
others than under a duty to secure to himself the profits
which his writings and the munificence of his patrons from
time to time afforded.
” After experiencing many reverses
of fortune, which an overbearing spirit, and an imprudence
in regard to pecuniary concerns, consequently drew on
him, he died in great want, in April 1770, in a garret
belonging to the master of the Bedford coffee-house, by
whose charity he had been some time supported, leaving
an example to those of superior capacities and attainments,
who, despising the common maxims of life, often feel the
want of not pursuing them when it is too late. His principal performance, “The Earl of Essex,
” appeared in The Cave
of Idra,
” which falling into the hands of Dr. Hiffernan, he
enlarged it to five acts, and brought it out under the title
of “The Heroine of the Cave.
” His last publications
were, “Merit
” “The Relief;
” and “Vectis, or the Isle
of Wight,
” poems but his poetical worth, though not
contemptible, was far from being of the first-rate kind.
scape-painting, of which there is a specimen at Chiswick-house. These talents recommended him to the earl of Arundel, or, as some say, to William earl of Pembroke. It
, a celebrated English architect, was born about 1572, in the neighbourhood of St. Paul’s, London, where his father, Mr. Ignatius Jones, was a clothworker. At a proper age, it is said, he put his son apprentice to a joiner, a business that requires some skill in drawing; and in that respect suited well with our architect’s inclination, which naturally led him to the art of designing. It is not probable, however, that he attended long to the mechanical part of his business; for we are told that he distinguished himself early by the extraordinary progress he made with his pencil, and was particularly noticed for his skill in landscape-painting, of which there is a specimen at Chiswick-house. These talents recommended him to the earl of Arundel, or, as some say, to William earl of Pembroke. It is certain, however, that at the. expence of one or other of these lords he travelled over Italy, and the politer parts of Europe; saw whatever was recommended by its antiquity or value; and from these plans formed his own observations, which, upon his return home, he perfected by study. He was no sooner at Rome, says Wai pole, than he found himself in his sphere, and acquired so much reputation that Christian IV. king of Denmark sent for him from Venice, which was the chief place of his residence, and where he had studied the works of Palladio, and made him his architect, but on what buildings he was employed in that country we are yet to learn. He had been some time possessed of this honourable post when that prince, whose sister Anne had married James I. made a visit to England in 1606; and our architect, being desirous to return to his native country, took that opportunity of coming home in the train of his Danish majesty. The magnificence of James’s reign, in dress, buildings, &c. furnished Jones with an opportunity of exercising his talents, which ultimately proved an honour to his country. Mr. Seward says, we know not upon what authority, that the first work he executed after his return from Italy, was the decoration of the inside of the church of St. Catharine Cree, Leadenhall-street. We know, however, that the queen appointed him her architect, presently after his arrival; and he was soon taken, in the same character, into the service of prince Henry, under Whom he discharged his trust with so much fidelity and judgment, that the king gave him the reversion of the place of surveyor-general of his majesty’s works.
The king, in his progress 1620, calling at Wilton, the seat of the earl of Pembroke, among other subjects, fell into a discourse about
The king, in his progress 1620, calling at Wilton, the seat of the earl of Pembroke, among other subjects, fell into a discourse about that surprising group of stones called Stonehenge, upon Salisbury plain, near Wilton. Our architect was immediately sent for by lord Pembroke, and received his majesty’s commands to make observations and deliver his sentiments on the origin of Stone-henge. In obedience to this command, he presently set about the work; and having, with no little pains and expence, taken an exact measurement of the whole, and diligently searched the foundation, in order to find out the original form and aspect, he proceeded to compare it with other antique buildings which he had any where seen. After much reasoning, and along series of authorities, his head being full of Rome, and Roman edifices and precedents, he concluded, that this ancient and stupendous pile must have been originally a Roman temple, dedicated to Ccelus, the senior of the heathen gods, and built after the Tuscan order; that it was built when the Romans flourished in peace and prosperity in Britain, and, probably, betwixt the time of Agricola’s government and the reign of Constantine the Great. This account he presented to his royal master in the same year, 1620, and was immediately appointed one of the commissioners for repairing St. Paul’s cathedral in London.
of designing being little known in England till Mr. Jones, under the patronage of Charles I. and the earl of Arundel, brought it into use. This is the character given
In respect to his character, we are assured, by one who
knew him well, that his scientific abilities surpassed most
of his age. He was a perfect master of the mathematics,
and was not unacquainted with the two learned languages,
Greek and Latin, especially the latter; neither was he
without some turn for poetry . A copy of verses composed by him is published in the “Odcombian Banquet,
”
prefixed to Tom Coryate’s “Crudities,
” in Vindication of
Stone-henge restored ;
” and dying at Butleigh, his seat
in Somersetshire, Oct. 24, 1672, was buried in that church.
Walpole enumerates among his works which are still in
part extant, the new quadrangle of St. John’s college,
Oxfqrd the queen’s chapel at St. James’s the arcade of
Oovent-garden and the church Gunnersbury, near Brentford Lincoln’s Inn Chapel, and one or two of the houses
in Lincoln’s-inn-fields Coleshill in Berkshire, and Cobham
hall in Kent; the Grange, in Hampshire; the queen’s
house at Greeirwich, &c. Several other of his buildings
may be seen in Campbell’s “Vitruvius Britannicus.
” The
principal of his designs were published by Mr. Kent in
1727, fol. as also some of his less designs in 1744, foL
Others were published by Mr. Isaac Ware. Our artist left
in ms. some curious notes upon Palladio’s “Architecture,
”
now in Worcester college, Oxford, some of which are inserted in an edition of Palladio, published at London,
1714, fol. by Mr. Leoni; which notes, he says, raise the
value of the edition above all the preceding ones. His
original drawings for Whitehall-palace are also in Worcester library.
how arduous a task he had begun; but his very numerous acquaintance, and particularly his friend the earl of Macclesfield, never ceased importuning and urging him to
We learn from the “Anecdotes of Bowyer,
” that the
plan of another work was formed by this eminent mathematician, intended to be of the same nature with the “Synopsis,
” but far more copious and diffusive, and to serve
as a general introduction to the sciences, or, which is the
same thing, to the mathematical and philosophical works
of Newton. A work of this kind had long been a desideratum in literature, and it required a geometrician of the
first class to sustain the weight of so important an undertaking; for which, as M. d'Alembert justly observes, “the
combined force of the greatest mathematicians would not
have been more than sufficient.
” The ingenious author
was conscious how arduous a task he had begun; but his
very numerous acquaintance, and particularly his friend
the earl of Macclesfield, never ceased importuning and
urging him to persist, till he had finished the whole work,
the result of all his knowledge and experience through a
life of near 7O years, and a standing monument, as he had
reason to hope, of his talents and industry. He had
scarcely sent the first sheet to the press, when a fatal illness obliged him to discontinue the impression; and a few
days before his death, he intrusted the ms. fairly transcribed by an amanuensis, to the care of lord Macclesfield, who promised to publish it, as well for the honour
of the author as for the benefit of his family, to whom the
property of the book belonged. The earl survived his
friend many years but the “Introduction to the Mathetics
” was forgotten or neglected and, after his death, the
ms. was not to be found whether it was accidentally destroyed, which is hardly credible, or whether, as hath been
suggested, it had been lent to some geometrician, unworthy
to bear the name either of a philosopher or a man, who has
since concealed it, or possibly burned the original for fear
of detection. Lord Teignmouth, however, informs us, in
his life of Mr. Jones’s illustrious Son, that there is no evidence in his memoranda to confirm or disprove this account.
espair of achieving this object, when he received an offer to be private tutor to lord Althorpe, now earl Spencer. He had been recommended to the Spencer family by Dr.
During his residence at Oxford, his time was regularly divided into portions, each of which was filled up with the study of the ancients or moderns, and there have been few examples of such extensive accumulation of knowledge by one so young; yet, amidst this severe course of application, he regularly apportioned some time for the practice of those manly exercises which promote health. As all this necessarily became expensive, he anxiously wished for a fellowship, that he might be enabled to relieve his mother from a burthen which she could ill support. He had obtained a scholarship a few months after his matriculation, but a fellowship appeared more remote, and he was beginning to despair of achieving this object, when he received an offer to be private tutor to lord Althorpe, now earl Spencer. He had been recommended to the Spencer family by Dr. Shipley, who had seen and approved some of his performances at Harrow, and particularly a Greek oration in praise of Lyon, who founded the school at that place in the reign of Elizabeth.
th a prefatory discourse, notes historical and critical, and a commentary. This work he dedicated to earl Bathurst, who among all his illustrious friends, was as yet
In 1778, he published his translation of the “Orations
of Iseeus,
” in causes concerning the succession to property
at Athens; with a prefatory discourse, notes historical and
critical, and a commentary. This work he dedicated to
earl Bathurst, who among all his illustrious friends, was as
yet his only benefactor, by conferring on him the place of
commissioner of bankrupts. The elegant style, profound
research, and acute criticism, displayed in this translation,
attracted the applause of every judge of classical learning.
His next publication was a Latin ode to liberty, under the
title of “Julii Mdesigoni ad Libertatem
” a name formed
by the transposition of the letters of* 6 Gulielmus Jonesius"
In this ode, the author of which was soon known, he made
a more ample acknowledgment of his political principles;
and this, it is feared, had an unfavourable influence on the
hopes which he was encouraged to entertain of promotion
by the then administration. In 1780, there was a vacant
seat on the bench of Fort William in Bengal, to svhicli the
kindness of lord North Jed him to aspire; but, for some
time, he had very little prospect of success. While this
matter was in suspense, on the resignation of sir Roger
Newdigate, he was advised to come forward as a candidate
for the representation of the university of Oxford in parliament; but, finding that there was no chance of success,
he declined the contest before the day of election. His
principles on the great question of the American war were
so avowedly hostile, not only to the measures pursued by
administration, but to the sentiments entertained by the
majority of the members of the university, that, although
he might be disappointed, he could not be surprised at his
failure, and accordingly appears to have resigned himself
to his former pursuits with tranquil satisfaction.
eory was demonstrated and explained. At this school, too, he commenced an acquaintance with the late earl of Liverpool, which was farther cultivated at the university,
, a late venerable and pious divine of
the church of England, was born at Lowick in Northumberland, July 30, 1726. His father was Morgan Jones, a
Welsh gentleman, a descendant of Colonel Jones (but of very different principles) who married a sister of Oliver Cromwell. His mother was Sarah, the daughter of the Rev. Mr.
Lettin, of Lowick. He was remarkable from his childhood
for unwearied industry and ingmium versatile. As soon as
he was of the proper age, he was admitted, on the nomination of the duke of Dorset, a scholar at the Charterhouse, where he made a rapid progress in Greek and Latin,
and laid the foundation of that knowledge which has since
given him a distinguished name in the Christian world.
His turn for philosophical studies soon began to shew itself;
for meeting, when at the Charter- house, with Zachary
Williams, author of a magnetical theory, which is now lost,
he copied some of his tables and calculations, was shewn
the internal construction of his instrument for finding the
variation of the compass in all parts of the world; and saw
all the diagrams by which his whole theory was demonstrated and explained. At this school, too, he commenced
an acquaintance with the late earl of Liverpool, which was
farther cultivated at the university, where they were of the
same college, and continued to the last, notwithstanding
the great difference in their future destination, to entertain
a respect for each other.
When about eighteen years of age, he left the school,
and went to University college, Oxford, on a Charterhouse exhibition. Among the several companions of his
studies whom he loved and respected, there was no one
dearer to him than Mr. George Home, afterwards bishop
of Norwich. Between them “there was a sacred friendship a friendship made up of religious principles, which
increased daily, by a similitude of inclinations, to the same
recreations and studies.
” Having taken the degree of B. A.
in A full
Answer to bishop Clayton’s Essay on Spirit,
” published in
racion of divine truth and the advancement of virtue. "When the first volume was published, the late earl of Bute, the patron of learning ant 4 learned men, was so satisfied
While residing here he drew up “The Catholic Doctrine of the Trinity,
” which he had been revolving in his
mind for some years. When this valuable work came to a
third edition in 1767, he added to it “A Letter to the
common people, in answer to some popular arguments
against the Trinity,
” which the Society for promoting
Christian knowledge have since printed separately, and
admitted into their list of books. Here likewise he engaged in a favourite work, for which he was eminently
qualified, as the event proved, and for which some of his
friends subscribed among them 300l. for three years, to
enable him to supply himself with an apparatus sufficient
for the purpose of making the experiments necessary to his
composing a treatise on philosophy. Accordingly, in 1762,
he published “An Essay on the first principles of Natural
Philosophy,
” 4to, the design of which was to demonstrate
the use of natural means, or second causes, in the economy
of the material world, from reason, experiments, and the
testimony of antiquity; and in 1781 he published a larger
work in 4to, under the title of “Physiological DisquisU
tions, or Discourses on the Natural Philosophy of the
Elements.
” As it was ever his study to make philosophy
the handmaid of religion, he has in this work embraced
every opportunity of employing natural knowledge in the
illustracion of divine truth and the advancement of virtue.
"When the first volume was published, the late earl of Bute,
the patron of learning ant 4 learned men, was so satisfied
with it, that he desired the author not to be intimidated
through fear of expence from pursuing his philosophical
studies, and likewise commissioned him to direct Mr.
Adams, the mathematical instrument maker, to supply him
with such instruments as he might want for making experiments, and put them to his account. His lordship also
handsomely offered him the use of any books he naight
have occasion for.
ption also was entered hi to for a monument in the Abbey, but prevented by the rebellion. The second earl of Oxford contributed the bust in basrelievo which is now in
The “Tale of a Tub,
” and the “Magnetic Lady,
” were
his last dramatic pieces, and bear very few marks of his
original powers. He penned another masque in 1634,
and we have a “New Year’s Ode
” dated in 1G35, but the
remainder of his life appears to have been wasted in sickness of the paralytic kind, which at length carried him off,
Aug. 16, 1637, in the sixty-third year of his age. Three
days afterwards he was interred in Westminster- abbey, at
the north-west end near the belfrey, with a common pavement stone laid over his grave, with a short and irreverend
inscription of “O rare Ben Jonson,
” cut at the expence
of sir John Young of Great Milton in Oxfordshire. His
death was lamented as a public loss to the poetical world.
About six months after this event, his contemporaries
joined in a collection of elegies and encomiastic poems,
which was published under the title of “Jonsonius Virbius;
or the Memory of Ben Jonson revived by the friends of the
Muses.
” Dr. Duppa, bishop of Chichester, was the editor of this volume, which contained verses by lords Falkland and Buckhurst, sir John Beaumont, sir Francis Wortley, sir Thomas Hawkins, Messrs. Henry King, Henry
Coventry, Thomas May, Dudley Diggs, George Fortescue,
William Habington, Edmund Waller, J. Vernon, J. Cl.
(probably Cleveland) Jasper Mayne, Will. Cartwright,
John Rutter, Owen Feltham, George Donne, Shakerley
Marmio'n, John Ford, R. Brideoak, Rich. West, R. Meade,
H. Ramsay, T. Terrent, Rob. Wasing, Will. Bew, and
Sam. Evans. A subscription also was entered hi to for a
monument in the Abbey, but prevented by the rebellion.
The second earl of Oxford contributed the bust in basrelievo which is now in Poet’s-corner. Jonson had several
children, but survived them all. One of them was a poet,
and, as Mr. Malqne has discovered, the author of a Drama
written in conjunction with Brome. It should seem that
he was not on good terms with his father. Fuller says that
“Ben was not happy in his children.
”
-book written in the time of the civil wars by Mr. Oldisworth, who was secretary, I think, to Philip earl of Pembroke. Yet in 1614, when sir Walter published his History
“Mr. Camden recommended (Jonson) to sir Walter
Raleigh, who trusted him with the care and instruction of
his eldest son Walter, a gay spark, who could not brook
Ben’s rigorous treatment, but, perceiving one foible in his
disposition, made use of that to throw oft* the yoke of his
government. And this was an unlucky habit Ben had contracted, through his love of jovial company, of being overtaken with liquor, which sir Walter did of all vices most
abominate, and hath most exclaimed against. One day,
when Ben had taken a plentiful dose, and was fallen into a
sound sleep, young Raleigh got a great basket, and a
touple of men, who laid Ben in it, and then with a pole
carried him between their shoulders to sir Walter, telling
him their young master had sent home his tutor. This I
had from a ms memorandum-book written in the time of
the civil wars by Mr. Oldisworth, who was secretary, I
think, to Philip earl of Pembroke. Yet in 1614, when
sir Walter published his History of the World, there was a
good understanding between him and Ben Jonson; for the
verses, which explain the grave frontispiece before that
history, were written by Jonson, and are reprinted in his
” Underwoods,“where the poem is called
” The Mind
of the frontispiece to a book;“but he names not this
book.
”
, Bloomsbury. ID this town he spent the next twenty-five years of his life: for though, in 1737, the earl of Winchelsea gave him the living of Eastvvell in Kent, where
In May 1715, he was admitted of Jesus-college, Cambridge; and, about two years after, recommended by his
tutor Dr. Styan Thirlby, who was very fond of him, and
always retained a friendship for him, to make extracts from
Eustathius, for the use of Pope’s “Homer.
” He was not
employed directly by Pope, nor did it ever happen to him
to see the face of that poet: for, being of a shy modest
nature, he felt no impulse to force his way to him; nor
did the other make inquiry about him, though perfectly
satisfied with what he had done for him. He took the degree of B. A. in 1718-19, and M. A. in 1722: he had been
chosen fellow of his college soon after the taking of his
first degree. This year he distinguished himself by the
publication of a few Latin poems, entitled, “Lusus Poetici;
” which were well received, and were twice reprinted,
with additions. In Sept. 1723, he entered into deacon’s
orders, and into priest’s the June following. In Jan. 1726 -7,
he was presented by his college to Swavesey, near Cambridge; but, marrying in 1728, he resigned that living,
and spon after settled himself in London, where he was
engaged as a reader and preacher at a chapel in
street, near Russell-street, Bloomsbury.
ID this town he spent the next twenty-five years of his
life: for though, in 1737, the earl of Winchelsea gave him
the living of Eastvvell in Kent, where he resided a little
time, yet he very soon quitted it, and returned to London.
Here for many years he had employment as a preacher,
in the abovementioned and other chapels; with the emoluments of which occasional services, and a competency of
his own, he supported himself and family in a decent
though private manner, dividing his leisure hours between
his books and his friends, especially those of the literati,
with whom he always kept up a close and intimate connection. In 1730, he published “Four Sermons upon the
Truth of the Christian Religion:
” the substance of
which was afterwards incorporated in a work, entitled,
“Discourses concerning the Truth of the Christian Religion, 1746,
” 8vo.
e out his first volume of “Remarks upon Ecclesiastical History,” 8vi. This work was inscribed to die earl of Burlington by whom, as trustee for the Boylean Lecture, he
In 1731, he published “Miscellaneous Observations
upon Authors, ancient and modern,
” in 2 vols. 8vo. This
is a collection of critical remarks, of which, however, he
was not the sole, though the principal, author: Pearce,
Masson, Dr. Taylor, Wasse, Theobald, Dr. Robinson,
Upton, Thirlby, and others, were contributors to it. This
work was highly approved by the learned here, and was
translated into Latin at Amsterdam, and continued on the
same plan by D'Orville and Burman. In 1751, archbishop
Herring, unsolicited, gave him the living of St. Dunstan
in the East, London. This prelate had long entertained
a high and affectionate regard for him had endeavoured
to serve him in many instances with others and afterwards, in 1755, conferred upon him the degree of D. D.
This same year, 1751, came out his first volume of “Remarks upon Ecclesiastical History,
” 8vi. This work was
inscribed to die earl of Burlington by whom, as trustee
for the Boylean Lecture, he had, through the application
of bishop Herring and bishop Sherlock, been appointed,
in 1749, to preach that lecture. There is a preface to this
volume of more than forty pages, which, with much learning and ingenuity, displays a spirit of liberty and candour.
These “Remarks upon Ecclesiastical fiistory
” were continued, in tour succeeding volumes, down to the year 1517,
when Luther began the work of reformation; two, published by himself, in 1752 and 1754; and two, after his
death, in 1773.
In 1755, he published “Six Dissertations upon different
Subjects,
” 8vo. The sixth dissertation is, “On the state
of the dead, as described by Homer and Virgil;
” and the
remarks in this, tending to establish the great antiquity of
the doctrine of a future state, interfered with Warburton
in his “Divine Legation of Moses,
” and drew upon him
from that quarter a very severe attack. He made no reply; but in his “Adversaria
” was the following memorandum, which shews that he did not oppose the notions of
other men, from any spirit of envy or contradiction, but
from a full persuasion that the real matter of fact was as
he had represented it. “I have examined,
” says he, “the
state of the dead, as described by Homer and Virgil; and
upon that dissertation I am willing to stake all the little
credit that I have as a critic and philosopher. I have there
observed, that Homer was not the inventor of the fabulous
history of the gods: he had those stories, and also the
doctrine of a future state, from old traditions. Many notions of the Pagans, which came from tradition, are considered by Barrow, Serm. viii. vol. II. in which sermon the
existence of God is proved from universal consent.
”
s religion for that of Rome, renounced his fellowship, 1644, and being taken into the service of the earl of Glamorgan, went with him into Ireland, and continued there
, alias Lyde, second son of William,
Joyner, alias Lyde*, of Horspath, near Oxford, by Anne
his wife, daughter and coheir of Edward Leyworth, M. 0.
of Oxford, was born in St. Giles’s parish there, ApriT
1622, educated partly in Thame, but more in Coventry
free-school, elected demy of Magdalen-college, 1626, and
afterwards fellow. But, “upon a foresight of the utter
ruin of the church of England by the presbyterians in the
time of the rebellion,
” he changed his religion for that of
Rome, renounced his fellowship, 1644, and being taken
into the service of the earl of Glamorgan, went with him
into Ireland, and continued there till the royal cause declined in that country. He then accompanied that earl in
his travels abroad; and some time after being recommended
to the service of the hon. Walter Montague, abbot of St.
Martin, near Pontoise, he continued several years in his
family as his steward, esteemed for his learning, sincere
rles Cavendish, who appears to have studied under him at Hamburgh. This gentleman was brother to the earl of Newcastle, who had the care of Charles I. when a youth.
Jungius seems to have eminently distinguished himself
in the several studies of theology, medicine, mathematics,
metaphysics, and botany, upon all which pursuits his opinions and observations are handed down to us in his writings,
though the most famous part of his work, entitled “Doxoscopiae Physicze Minores,
” is upon the last mentioned subject, botany. This book was first printed at Hamburgh, in
4to, A.D. 1662, and again, in 1679, under the care of
Martin Fogel, with this additional title, “Prsecipuarum
opinionum physicarum.
” A copy of the former edition of
this work is in the Linnoean library, having been presented
to Linnæus by his pupil, professor P. D. Giseke, of Hamburgh. The botanical part of it, included in the third
section of the second part, occupies about 100 pages, and
contains many judicious and acute rules for making distinct
species of plants, as well as some curious remarks upon
genera. He was a great critic in botanical nomenclature;
and constructed a variety of terms which agree with those
of Linnasus, and his remarks upon botanical discrimination
have been of considerable advantage to succeeding botanists, and many of his definitions are repeatedly made
use of by our immortal countryman, Ray. He was the first
who projected and raised a literary society in Germany,
though this institution did not share a better fate than the one
which had just before been founded in this country (and which appears to have served for its model) by Hugh Latimer, Thomas Linacre, and others, for the purpose of
discussing and illustrating Aristotle’s philosophy. They
both Bourished but for a short period, though the Heunetic
or Ereunetic society, as it was called, established by professor Jungius, was on a far more comprehensive plan than
the other, and may indeed be considered as having, in
some measure, embraced the same views with which the
royal society was afterwards instituted in Great Britain.
The fame of Jungius was originally diffused through this
country by his noble pupil, the honourable Charles Cavendish, who appears to have studied under him at Hamburgh.
This gentleman was brother to the earl of Newcastle, who
had the care of Charles I. when a youth.
lf by his learning and amiable manners to the literati there, he was taken into the family of Thomas earl of Arundel, in which he continued for the space of thirty years.
, son of the preceding, was born at Heidelberg in 1589, and received the first elements of his education at Leyden, apparently with a view to letters; but upon the death of his father in 1602, resolving to go into the army in the service of the prince of Orange, he applied himself particularly to such branches of the mathematics as are necessary to make a figure in the military life. He had niade a good progress in these accomplishments at twenty years of age; when the war being concluded by a truce for twelve years in 1609, occasioned a change in his purpose, and inclined him to cultivate the arts of peace by a close application to study. His first literary employment was to collect, digest, and publish some of his father’s writings. After some years spent thus in his own country, he resolved, for farther improvement, to travel abroad. With that view he went first to France, and then to England, in which he arrived in 1620, and having recommended himself by his learning and amiable manners to the literati there, he was taken into the family of Thomas earl of Arundel, in which he continued for the space of thirty years. During his abode there he made frequent excursions to Oxford, chiefly for the sake of the Bodleian and other libraries; where, meeting with several Anglo-Saxon books, he resolved to study the language, which was at that time neglected. He soon perceived that the Anglo-Saxon tongue would be of service to him for discovering many etymologies necessary to clear up the Flemish, Belgic, German, and English, languages; and therefore devoted himself wholly to that study, He afterwards learned the ancient language of the Goths, Francs, Cimbri, and Prisons; by which he discovered the etymology of several Italian, French, and Spanish words; for the Goths, Vandals, French, Burgundians, and Germans, spread their language in the provinces they conquered, of which some vestiges are still left.
le edifice of church and state, he resigned his office May 17, 1641, just after the execution of the earl of Strafford, in consequence of the king’s passing the bill
It was, however, his misfortune, that the archbishop carried his esteem for him too far, and involved him in a scheme which Laud vainly fancied would raise the power and consequence of the church. This was no other than to place churchmen in high political stations;.and by way of experiment, he prevailed on the king to appoint bishop Juxon to the office of lord high treasurer, to which he was accordingly promoted in 1635. This office no churchman had held since the time of Henry VII. and although that was not such a very distant period, as not to afford something like a precedent to the promotion, yet the sentiments of the nation were now totally changed, and the noble families, from which such an officer was expected to have been chosen, were not more astonished than displeased to see the staff put into the hands of a clergyman scarcely known out of the verge of his college until called to the bishopric of London, which he had not filled two years. Notwithstanding this, it is allowed un all hands that Dr. Juxon conducted himself in such a manner, as to give no offence to any party; while, in the management of official concerns, he was so prudent and oeconomical, as considerably to benefit the exchequer. There cannot, indeed, be a greater proof of his good conduct than this, that when the republican party ransacked every office for causes of impeachment, sequestration, and death, they found nothing to object to bishop Juxon. He was not, however, made for the times; and when he saw the storm approaching which was to overset the whole edifice of church and state, he resigned his office May 17, 1641, just after the execution of the earl of Strafford, in consequence of the king’s passing the bill of attainder, contrary to Juxon’s express and earnest advice.
in imitation of the old manuscripts, curiously decorated with the pen. The book is dedicated to the earl of Essex. On one of the first pages are his arms neatly drawn,
, a lady celebrated for her skill in
calligraphy, in queen Elizabeth’s and king James’s time,
appears to have lived single until the age of forty, when
she became the wife of one Bartholomew Keilo, a native
of Scotland, by whom she had a son, Samuel Kello, who
was educated at Christ-church, Oxford, and was minister
of Speckshall in Suffolk. His son was sword-bearer of
Norwich, and died in 1709. All we know besides of her
is, that she was a correspondent of bishop Hall, when he
was dean of Worcester in 1617. Various specimens of her
delicate and beautiful writing are in our public repositories,
and some in Edinburgh-castle. In the library of Christchurch, Oxford, are the Psalrns of David, written in French
by Mrs. Inglis, who presented them in person to queen
Elizabeth, by whom they were given to the library. Two
manuscripts, written by her, were also preserved with care
in the Bodleian library: one of them is entitled “Le six
vingt et six Quatrains de Guy de Tour, sieur de Pybrac,
escrits par Esther Inglis, pour son dernier adieu, ce 21e
jour de Juin, 1617.
” The following address is, in the
second leaf, written in capital letters: “To the right
worshipful my very singular friende, Joseph Hall, doctor of
divinity, and dean of Winchester, Esther Inglis wisheth
all increase of true happiness. Junii xxi. 1617.
” In the
third leaf is pasted the head of the writer, painted upon a
card. The other manuscript is entitled “Les Proverbes de
Salomon; escrites en diverses sortes de lettres, par Esther
Anglois, en Francoise. A Lislehourge en Escosse,
” DC
l'Eternel Je biert, de moi le mal, ou rien.
” A music-book
lies open before her. Under the picture is a Latin epigram by Andrew Melvin, and on the following page a
second by the same author, in praise of Mrs. Inglis. In
the royal library, D. xvi. are “Esther Inglis’s fifty Emblems,
” finely drawn and written: “A Lislebourg en
Escosse, Panne 1624.
”
the short period of his life. He was elected F. S. A. 1771, and F. R. S. 1772; and, by favour of the earl of Suffolk, in him the honour of Suffolk herald extraordinary
, was the only son of one of the most eminent merchants at Yarmouth, where he was born in 1751.
He was entered of Caius college, Cambridge, where he
did not long reside; but, returning to Yarmouth, became
acquainted -with that celebrated antiquary Thomas Martin
of Palgrave, and caught from him that taste for antiquities
which he pursued during the short period of his life. He
was elected F. S. A. 1771, and F. R. S. 1772; and, by favour of the earl of Suffolk, in him the honour of Suffolk
herald extraordinary was revived; an office attended with
no profit, but valuable to him by the access it gave to the
Mss. muniments, &c. of the heralds college, of which he
thereby became an honorary member. His first attempt
at antiquarian publication was by proposals (without his name) in 1771, for printing an account of Lothingland
hundred in Suffolk; for which he had engraved several
small plates of arms and monuments in the churches of
Friston, Gorleston, Loud, Lowestoffe, and Somerliton, from
his own drawings. His next essay was the short preface
to Mr. Swinden’s “History and Antiquities of Great Yarmouth, in the county of Norfolk, 1772,
” 4to. Mr. Svvinden, who was a schoolmaster in Great Yarmouth, was a
most intimate friend of Mr. Ives, who not only assisted
him with his purse, and warmly patronized him while
living, but superintended the book for the emolument of
the author’s widow, and delivered it to the subscribers .
In 1772 he caused to be cut nine wooden plates of old Norfolk
seals, entitled “Sigilla antiqua Norfolciensia. Impressit
Johannes Ives, S. A. S.
” and a copper-plate portrait of Mr.
Martin holding an urn, since prefixed to Martin’s “History
of Thetford.
” On Aug. 16, 1773, by a special licence
from the archbishop of Canterbury, he was married at Lambeth church to Miss Kett (of an ancient family in Norfolk),
and afterwards resided at Yarmouth.
arshal in the king of Prussia’s service, was born in 1696, and was the younger son of William Keith, earl marshal of Scotland. He had his grammar-learning under Thomas
, field-marshal in the king of Prussia’s
service, was born in 1696, and was the younger son of
William Keith, earl marshal of Scotland. He had his
grammar-learning under Thomas Ruddiman, author of the
“Rudiments;
” his academical, under bishop Keith and
William IMeston, in the college of Aberdeen. He was designed by his friends for the profession of the law; but the
bent of his genius inclined him to arms, with which they
wisely complied. His first military services were employed
while a youth of eighteen, in the rebellion of 1715. In
this unhappy contest, through the instigation of the
counless his mother, who was a Roman catholic, he joined the
Pretender’s party, and was at the battle of Sheriffmuir, in
which he was wounded, yet able to make his escape to
France. Here he applied to those branches of education,
which are necessary to accomplish a soldier. He studied
mathematics under M. de Maupertuis; and made such
proficiency, that he was, by his recommendation, admitted
a fellow of the royal academy of sciences at Paris. He
afterwards travelled through Italy, Switzerland, and Portugal; with uncommon curiosity examined the several productions in architecture, painting, and sculpture; and surveyed the different fields where famous battles had been
fought. In 1717, he had an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with Peter, czar of Muscovy, at Paris, who invited him to enter into the Russian service. This offer he
declined, because the emperor was at that time at war
with the king of Sweden, whose character Keith held in
great veneration. He then left Paris, and went to Madrid;
where, by the interest of the duke of Lyria, he obtained a
commission in the Irish brigades, then commanded by the
duke of Ormond. He afterwards accompanied the duke of
Lyria, when he was sent ambassador extraordinary to Russia, and was recommended by him to the service of the
czarina, who promoted him to the rank of lieutenant-general, and invested him with the order of the black eagle.
us and valuable ms collections, which were once in the collection of Mr. West, were purchased by the earl of Shelburne, afterwards marquis of Lansdowne, and sold with
Whatever offence this sermon might give to others, it
did not offend the succeeding duke of Devonshire, to whom
it was dedicated, who, on the contrary, recommended the
doctor to the queen for the deanery of Peterborough, which
he obtained in 1707. In 1709, he published “A Vindication of the Church and Clergy of England from some
]ate Reproaches rudely and unjustly cast upon them
” and,
“A true Answer to Dr. SacheverelPs Sermon before the
Lord-Mayor, November 5 of that year.
” In the dean the traitor.
” It was generally said, that the original sketch was designed for a
bishop under Dr. Welton’s displeasure, which occasioned
the elbow-chair, and that this bishop was Burnet: but the
painter being apprehensive of an action of Scandalum Magnatum, leave was given him to drop the bishop, and make
the dean. Multitudes of people came daily to the church
to admire the sight; but it was esteemed so insolent a contempt of all that is sacred, that, upon the complaint of
others, (for the dean never saw or seemed to regard it, the bishop of London obliged those who set the picture up to take it down again. But these arts and contrivances to expose him, instead of discouraging, served only to animate him; and he continued to write and act as usual in the defence of that cause which he had espoused and pushed so vigorously hitherto. In the mean time, he employed his leisure-hours in things of a different nature; but which, he thought, would be no
less serviceable to the public good. In 1713, he made a
large collection of books, charts, maps, and papers, at his
own expence, with a design of writing “A full History of
the Propagation of Christianity in the English American
Colonies;
” and published a catalogue of all the distinct
treatises and papers, in the order of time as they were first
printed or written, under this title, “Bibliothecae Americanae primordia.
” About the same time he founded “an
antiquarian and historical library
” at Peterborough; for
which purpose he had long been gathering up pieces, from
the very beginning of printing in England to the latter end
of queen Elizabeth’s reign. In the rebellion of 1715, he
published a sermon upon “the witchcraft of the present
Rebellion;
” and, the two following years, was very zealous
for repealing the acts against occasional conformity and
the growth of schism. He also warmly opposed the proceedings in the convocation against Hoadly, then bishop of
Bangor which was thought to hurt him so as to prove an
effectual bar to his farther advancement in the church
nevertheless, he was afterwards promoted to the see of
Peterborough, November 1718. He continued to print
several things after his last promotion, which he lived to
enjoy something above ten years; and then died in his
house in James’s-street, December 19, 1728. His numerous and valuable ms collections, which were once in the
collection of Mr. West, were purchased by the earl of
Shelburne, afterwards marquis of Lansdowne, and sold
with the rest of his lordship’s Mss. to the British Museum,
where they are now deposited. Among these are two volumes in a large Atlas folio, which were intended for publication under the following comprehensive title “Diptycha Ecclesise Anglicanae sive Tabulae Sacrse in quibus
facili ordine recensentur Archiepiscopi, Episcopi, eorumque Suffraganei, Vicarii Generales, et Cancellarii; Ecclesiarum insuper Cathedralium Priores, Decani, Thesaurarii,
Praecentores, Cancellarii, Archidiaconi, & melioris notae
Canonici, continua serie deducti a Gulielmi I. Conquestu,
ad auspicata Gul. III. tempora.
”
was the principal man of talk and business, and acted as a master of requests. He was soliciting the earl of Arran to speak to his brother the duke of Ormond, to get
"Dr. Swift came into the coffee-house, and had a bow from every body but me, who, I confess, could not but despise him. When I came to the an ti- chamber to wait before prayers, Dr. Swift was the principal man of talk and business, and acted as a master of requests. He was soliciting the earl of Arran to speak to his brother the duke of Ormond, to get a chaplain’s place established in the garrison of Hull for Mr. Fiddes, a clergyman in that neighbourhood, who had lately been in gaol, and published sermons to pay fees. He was promising Mr. Thorold to undertake with my lord treasurer, that, according to his petition, he should obtain a salary of 200l. per annum, as minister of the English church at Rotterdam. Then he stopt F. Gwynne, esq. going in with his red bag to the queen, and told him aloud he had somewhat to say to him from my lord treasurer. He talked with the son of Dr. Davenant to be sent abroad, and took out his pocket-book and wrote down several things, as memoranda, to do for him. He turned to the fire, and took out his gold watch, and, telling the time of the day, complained it was very late. A gentleman said, ‘ he was too fast.’ * How can I help it,‘ says the doctor, ’ if the courtiers give me a watch that won‘t go right’ Then he instructed a young nobleman, that the best poet in England was Mr. Pope (a papist), who had begun a translation of Homer into English verse for which ‘ he must have ’em all subscribe' for, says he, the author shall not begin to print till I have a thousand guineas for him. Lord Treasurer, after leaving the queen, came through the room beckoning Dr. Swift to follow him: both went off just before prayers. 11 Nov. 3. I see and hear a great deal to confirm a doubt, that the pretender’s interest is much at the bottom of some
ition was superior to all civil powers.” The envoy communicated this answer of the great duke to the earl of Sunderland, then secretary of state, who sent a menacing
The same year he was, by the interest of his brother,
appointed chaplain to the English factory at Leghorn;
where he no sooner arrived than he met with great opposition from the papists, and was in great danger of the
inquisition. This establishment of a church-of-England
chaplain was a new thing; and the Italians were so jealous
of the Northern heresy, that, to give as little offence as
possible, he performed the duties of his office with the
utmost privacy and caution. But, notwithstanding this,
great offence was taken at it; and complaints were immediately sent to Florence and Rome. Upon this, the pope,
and the court of inquisition at Home, declared their resolution to expel heresy, and the public teacher of it, from
the confines of the holy see; and therefore secret orders
were given to apprehend Mr. Kennet at Leghorn, and to
hurry him away to Pisa, and thence to some other religious
prison, to bury him alive, or otherwise dispose of him in
the severest manner. Upon notice of this design, Dr.
Newton, the English envoy at Florence, interposed his
offices at that court; where he could obtain no other
answer, but that “he might send for the English preacher,
and keep him in his own family as his domestic chaplain;
otherwise, if he presumed to continue at Leghorn, he must
take the consequences of it; for, in those matters of religion, the court of inquisition was superior to all civil
powers.
” The envoy communicated this answer of the
great duke to the earl of Sunderland, then secretary of
state, who sent a menacing letter by her majesty’s order;
and then the chaplain continued to officiate in safety,
though he was with much difficulty preserved from their
intended fury till that letter arrived.
ever, of the ornamental kind, he was deservedly admired he executed the temple of Venus at Stowe the earl of Leicester’s house at Holkham in Norfolk; the great hall at
, an ingenious artist, was born in Yorkshire, in 1685, and put apprentice to a coach-painter, but, feeling the superiority of his talents, he left his master, and came up to London, where he soon proved himself worthy of encouragement and patronage. In 1710 he was sent, by the munificence of some gentlemen of his own country, to Rome, whither he accompanied Mr. Tallman. There he studied under Cavalier Luti, and in the academy gained the second prize of the second class. He also became acquainted with lord Burlington, whose sagacity discovered the rich vein of genius that had been hid even from himself; and, on their return to England in 1719, lodged him in his own house, and shewed for him all the marks of the most disinterested friendship. By his interest he was employed in various works, both as a painter in history and portrait; and yet there appear but very faint traces of that creative talent he displayed in a sister art. His portraits did not resemble the persons that sat for them. His colouring was worse than that of the most errant journeyman to the profession; and his drawing was defective, witness the hall at Wanstead, and his picture at St. Clement’s. Fie designed some of the drawings of Gay’s Fables, the prints for Spenser’s Fairy Queen, and the vignettes to the large edition of Pope’s works. In architecture, however, of the ornamental kind, he was deservedly admired he executed the temple of Venus at Stowe the earl of Leicester’s house at Holkham in Norfolk; the great hall at Mr. Pelham’s, Arlington-street; and the stair-case at lady Isabella Finch’s in Berkeley-square. Mr. Walpole considers him likewise as the inventor of modern gardening, in which it is certain that he excelled, and every thing in that branch has been since his time more natural, graceful, and pleasing. By the patronage of the dukes of Grafton and Newcastle, Mr. Pelham, and the earl of Burlington, he was made master-carpenter, architect, keeper of the pictures, and, after the death of Jervas, principal painter to the crown; the whole, including a pension of 100l. a year, which was given him for his works at Kensington, produced 600l. a year. In 1743 he was disordered in his eyes, but recovered, and in March 1748 an inflammation in his bowels put an end to his life at Burlington-house, April 12, 1748, aged sixty-three years. He was buried in lord Burlington’s vault at Chiswick.
ir Lloyd Kenyon continued till the latter end of May 1788, when, on the resignation of the venerable earl of Mansfield, who, for the long interval of thirty-two years,
, lord chief justice of the
King’s Bench, was born at Gredington, in Flintshire,
1733 and was the eldest surviving son of Lloyd Kenyon,
esq. originally of Bryno in the same county, and one of
the younger sons of the ancient family of Kenyon of
Peele in Lancashire. He received the elementary part of
his education at Ruthen in Denbighshire, whence he was
taken, at an early age, and articled to Mr. W. J. Tomlinson, an eminent attorney at Nantwich, in Cheshire. On
the expiration of his articles, Mr. Kenyon determined to
enter into a line which afforded a more ample scope to his
industry and talents, and, accordingly, became a member
of the Society of Lincoln’s Inn, in Trinity Term 1754, and
after a sedulous application to the requisite studies, was
called to the bar in Hilary Term 1761. In the early part
of his professional career, his advancement was but slow;
he was unassisted by those means which powerful connexion and interest afford. The branch of his profession to
which he chiefly applied himself, that of conveyancing,
was not calculated to bring him forward into public notice;
but the sterling merit of genuine abilities and persevering
industry were not to be overlooked. He rose gradually
into practice; few opinions at the bar, at the time, carried
more weight and authority, and he was frequently recurred to as an advocate. In 1773, he formed a matrimonial
connexion with his relative, Mary, the third daughter of
George Kenyon, of Peele and, not long after, contracted
an intimacy with Mr. afterwards lord Thurlow and chancellor. About this period too, and for some years after,
his practice in the Courtof Chancery was very extensive
and of the most lucrative kind, by which, as well as in the
other branches of his profession, he acquired a very considerable property. In 1780, a circumstance occurred
which not a little contributed to establish his reputation as
an advocate and a public speaker, his being employed as
leading counsel for the defence of the late lord George
Gordon, on a charge of high treason; on this interesting
occasion his second was Mr. now lord Erskine, who on
that day distinguished himself in such a manner as in a great
degree laid the foundation of his future fame. In April
1782, soon after the accession of the Rockingham party to
ministerial power, Mr. Kenyon was, without serving the intermediate office of solfcitor, appointed to the important
situation of attorney-general, and, at the same time, chief
justice of Chester; in the former office he succeeded the
late James Wallis, esq. The circumstance of his direct
promotion to the office of attorney-general was regarded
as a singular instance; this however is erroneous, similar
promotions have before occurred, and the case of sir Edward Law (the late attorney-general, now lord Ellenborough, his successor as lord chief justice), is a recent
instance. In parliament Mr. Kenyon took a decided part
in politics, warmly attaching himself to the party of Mr.
Pitt; and distinguishing himself not a little by his speeches
on the noted affair of the coalition, Mr. Fox’s India-bill,
&c. In March 1784 he was appointed master of the rolls,
an office of high judicial dignity, and generally leading to
still higher legal honours; yet its emoluments fell very
short of those which he necessarily relinquished by discontinuing his professional pursuits as a counsel. About this
time he was created a baronet. In this situation sir Lloyd
Kenyon continued till the latter end of May 1788, when,
on the resignation of the venerable earl of Mansfield, who,
for the long interval of thirty-two years, had held the honourable and very important office of chief justice of the
court of KingVbench, he was appointed to succeed him,
and at the same time was elevated to the peerage, by the
title of lord Kenyon, baron of Gredington in the county
of Flint. He was now fixed in a situation, which, though
not nominally the highest, is perhaps the most important
office in the administration of the law of this country; and
lord Kenyon furnished an instance nearly as striking as
that of the illustrious Hardwicke, that the profession of the
law is that which, of all others, affords the fairest opportunies for the exertion of genuine talents and persevering
industry; whether the object be the gratification of ambition in the attainment of the highest honours in the state,
or the possession of abundant wealth. His conduct in
those arduous and important situations attracted and
fixed the applauses and gratitude of his countrymen. He
was distinguished for his laudable, firm, and persevering
exertions to keep the channels of the law clear and unpolluted by low and sordid practices, which were particularly
exemplified in the vigilant and salutary exercise of his authority over the attorneys of his own court, the utility of
which has been experienced in a very considerable degree.
Nor was he less distinguished for his zeal in the cause of
morality and virtue, which most conspicuously appeared in
his conduct with respect to cases of adultery and seduction. On these occasions neither rank, wealth, nor station, could shield deliquency from the well-merited censure
and rebuke of offended justice and morality. Though
much, unhappily, remains to be done, yet his lordship’s
exertions, combined with those of some of the most virtuous and exalted characters of the upper House of Parliament, have contributed greatly, notwithstanding the acknowledged inadequacy and imperfection of the law in these
respects, to restrain the fashionable and prevailing vices
alluded to. What likewise redounded to the honour of his
lordship’s magisterial character, was the strictness, not to
say severity, with which he administered the justice of the
law against the pernicious tribe of gamblers of every description, who have for some years infested the metropolis.
On these occasions, as well as in those above mentioned,
the conduct of this truly virtuous judge was such as incontrovertibly shewed that “the law is no respecter of
persons;
” and his persevering exertions to restrain the destructive vice of gaming have been attended with no inconsiderable degree of success. Nor should we omit to mention the very laudable spirit and firmness, which on all occasions he evinced in maintaining due order and decorum
in his court. It was justly said of him, that though he
might not equal in talents or eloquence the pre-eminent
character whom he succeeded on the bench of justice; nevertheless, he possessed qualities mor*e appropriate to, and
knowledge more connected with, the important office which
he held. Profound in legal erudition, patient in judicial
discrimination, and of the most determined integrity, he
added no common lustre to his exalted station. He did
not sacrifice his official to his parliamentary character; the
sphere of his particular duty was the great scene of his
activity, as of his honour; and though, as a lord of parliament, he never lessened his character, it was as a judge
that he aggrandized it. In private life, the character of
lord Kenyon was amiable and praise- worthy in the highest
degree no man could excel him in the relations of husband and father in the former he may be considered as a
pattern of conjugal virtue. In his mode of living he was
remarkably temperate and regular; while the gratuitous
assistance in his professional capacity, which it was well
known he had often afforded to necessitous and injured individuals, is a proof that a fondness for money was not a
prevailing trait in his character. He died at Bath, April
2, 1802, supposed to be worth 300,000l. all acquired by
his own professional exertions, and a rigid spirit of economy. Lord Kenyon had issue by his lady, three sons;
Lloyd, born in 1775, whom his father appointed to the
office of filazer of the Court of King’s-bench; but who
died in 1800. The manner in which his lordship was affected by this melancholy event, is supposed, in some degree, to have accelerated his own dissolution. Secondly,
George, the present lord Kenyon, born in 1776. His lordship was appointed by his late father to the very lucrative
situation of joint chief clerk of the Court of King’s-bench,
on the demise of the late earl of Mansfield, better known
as lord viscount Stormont, and joined in the patent with
the late John Waye, esq. And, thirdly, the hon. Thomas
Kenyon, born in 1780,
, a celebrated English admiral, the second son of William earl of Albemarle, was born April 2, 1725. He entered the sea-service
, a celebrated English admiral,
the second son of William earl of Albemarle, was born
April 2, 1725. He entered the sea-service while he was
young, accompanied commodore Anson round the world,
and by the zeal which he manifested in his profession, was
raised to the first honours which it had to bestow. The
most important occurrence in his life took place in 1778,
when he had the command of the channel fleet, to which
he had been appointed at the personal and urgent solicitation of the king, and which he readily accepted, though he
could not help observing, that “his forty years’ services
were not marked by any favour from the crown, except
that of its confidence in the time of danger.
” On the 12th
of July he fell in with the French fleet, under count d'Orvilliers, off Ushant: an engagement ensued, which, though
partial, was very warm while it lasted. It was necessary
to take a short time to repair the damages: which being
done, the admiral made proper signals for the van and
rear division to take their respective stations. This order
was obeyed with great alacrity by sir Robert Harland of
the van, but admiral sir Hugh Palliser of the rear took no
notice of the signal, and refused to join his commander,
till night prevented a renewal of the battle. The French,
taking advantage of the darkness, escaped to their own.
coast. Admiral Keppel, willing to excuse sir Hugh Palliser, at least to screen him from public resentment, wrote
home such a letter as seemed even to imply great impropriety of behaviour in the commander himself. The conduct, however, of the rear-admiral was attacked in the
public papers: he demanded of his commander a formal
disavowal of the charges brought against him, which Keppel indignantly refused. He immediately exhibited articles of accusation against the commander-in-chief, for misconduct and neglect of duty, although he had a second
time sailed with him, and had never uttered a syllable to
his prejudice. The lords of the admiralty instantly fixed
a day for the trial of admiral Keppel, who was most
honourfcbly acquitted, and received the thanks of both houses of
parliament for his services. Palliser was next tried, and
escaped with a censure only, but the resentment of the
public was so great, that he was obliged to resign several
offices which he held under government, and to vacate his
seat in parliament. The acquittal of Keppel was celebrated with the most magnificent illuminations, and other
marks of rejoicing which had never been known at that
time in this country; and the houses of lord Sandwich,
first lord of the admiralty, and sir Hugh Palliser, were
with difficulty saved from destruction; the windows and
much of the furniture being demolished by the fury of the
populace. In 1782, admiral Keppel was raised to a peerage, with the titles of viscount Keppel baron Elden: he
was afterwards, at two different periods, appointed first
lord of the admiralty. He died Oct. 3, 1786, unmarried,
and of course his titles became extinct He was a thorough
seaman, and a man of great integrity and humanity.
ty, in 1662, by virtue of the Bartholomew act; but conforming soon after, he was presented by Arthur earl of Essex to the rectory 01 Raine, in Essex, 1664. Here he continued
, a very learned English bishop,
was born, as Wood says, at Brighthelmstone in Sussex, but
as others say, in Suffolk. In June 1649, he was admitted
sizar in Emanuel -college, Cambridge, where he took his degree of A. B. 1652, was elected fellow in 1655, and took his
degree of A. M. in 1656. He was presented by his college to the vicarage of Stanground, in Huntingdonshire;
from which he was ejected for nonconformity, in 1662, by
virtue of the Bartholomew act; but conforming soon after,
he was presented by Arthur earl of Essex to the rectory 01
Raine, in Essex, 1664. Here he continued till 1674,
when he was presented to the rectory of St. Martin’s Outwicb, London, by the Merchant-tailors company. In
September 1681, he was installed into a prebend of Norwich; and in 1689 made dean of Peterborough, in the
room of Simon Patrick, promoted to the see of Chichester.
On this occasion he took the degree of D. D. Upon the
deprivation of Ken, bishop of Bath and Wells, for not
taking the oaths to king William and queen Mary, and
Beveridge’s refusal of that see, Kidder was nominated in
June 1691, and consecrated the August following. In
1693 he preached the lecture founded by the honourable
Robert Boyle, being the second that preached it. His
sermons on that occasion are inserted in his “Demonstration of the Messias,
” in three parts; the first of which
was published in 1694, the second in 1699, and the third
in 1700, 8vo. It is levelled against the Jews, whom the
author was the better enabled to combat from his great
knowledge of the Hebrew and oriental languages, for
which he had long been celebrated. He wrote also, “A
Commentary on the Five Books of Moses; with a Disser
tation concerning the author or writer of the said books,
and a general argument to each of them.
” This commentary was published in 1694, in two volumes, 8vo; and the
reader in the preface is thus acquainted with the occasion
of it: “Many years are now passed since a considerable
number of the London clergy met together, and agreed
to publish some short notes upon the whole Bible, for the
use of families, and of all those well-disposed persons
that desired to read the Holy Scriptures to their greatest
advantage. At that meeting they agreed upon this worthy
design, and took their several shares, and assigued some
part to them who were absent. I was not present at that
meeting; but I was soon informed that they had assigned
to me the Pentateuch. The work was begun with common
consent; we did frequently meet; and what was done
was communicated from time to time to those that met together and were concerned. The methods of proceeding
had been adjusted and agreed to; a specimen was printed,
and an agreement was made when it should be put to the
press. I finished my part in order thereto; but so it fell
out, that soon after all this, the clouds began to gather
apace, and there was great ground to fear that the popish
party were attempting to ruin the church of England.
Hence it came to pass that the thoughts of pursuing this
design were laid aside; and those that were concerned in
it were now obliged to turn their studies and pens against
that dangerous enemy. During this time, also, some of
the persons concerned in this work were taken away by
death; and thus the work was hindered, that might else
have been finished long since. I, having drawn up my
notes upon this occasion, do now think myself obliged to
make them public,
” &c. To the first volume is prefixed
a dissertation, in which he sets down, and answers all the
objections made against Moses being the author of the
Pentateuch; and having considered, among the rest, one
objection drawn by Le Clerc, from Gen. xxxvi. 31, and
spoken in pretty severe terms of him, some letters passed
between them, which were printed by Le Clerc in his
“Bibliotheque Choisie.
” Dr. Kidder had likewise borne
a part in the popish controversy, during which he published the following tracts: 1 “A Second Dialogue between a new Catholic Convert and a Protestant; shewing
why he cannot believe the doctrine of Transubstantiation,
though he do firmly believe the doctrine of the Trinity.
”
2. “An Examination of Bellarmine’s Thirtieth note of the
Church, of the Confession of Adversaries.
” 3. “The
Texts which Papists cite out of the Bible for the proof of
their Doctrine, `of the Sacrifice of the Mass,' examined.
”
4. “Reflections on a French Testament, printed at Bourdeaux, 1686, pretended to be translated out of the Latin
by the divines of Louvain.
” He published also several
sermons and tracts of the devotional kind.
lowing, however, he was obliged to resign the chair, in favour of George lord de Ferrars, afterwards earl of Leicester and marquis Townsend, a majority of nearly two
, a learned and philosophical antiquary, was a native of Norfolk, where he was born in 1735, and having inherited from an uncle, Mr. Brown of Exeter, an ample fortune, was early enabled to pursue his inclinations, which led him chiefly to the study of antiquities. He was partly educated at Clare-hall, Cambridge, but afterwards entered of Lincoln’s-inn, and, we presume, studied the law, as he was afterwards chosen recorder of Lynn in Norfolk. He was elected F.R.S. in 1767, and F.S.A. in 1770; and to the Archecologia made various communications, which gave him such reputation with the society, that in 1784, on the demise of Dr. Milles, he was elected president, on which occasion he introduced a number of new regulations, and the appointment of two regular secretaries, and a draughtsman, to attend constantly. On St. George’s day following, however, he was obliged to resign the chair, in favour of George lord de Ferrars, afterwards earl of Leicester and marquis Townsend, a majority of nearly two to one having appeared against him. He afterwards printed a letter in vindication of himself, and reflecting upon the noble earl, and from that period ceased to make any communications to the society.
84,” printed in London, in 1684, in folio. As also the “Installation of Henry duke of Norfolk, Henry earl of Peterborough, and Laurence earl of Rochester, Windsor, July
Among his other literary labours were his composing a
pack of cards containing the arms of the English nobility,
in imitation of “Claud Oronce Fine Brianille;
” and “the
order of the installation of prince George of Denmark,
Charles duke of Somerset, and George duke of Northumberland, at Windsor, April 8, 1684,
” printed in London,
in Installation of Henry
duke of Norfolk, Henry earl of Peterborough, and Laurence earl of Rochester, Windsor, July 22, 1685,
” printed
in London in the same year, Natural and political
observations and conclusions upon the State and Condition
of England.
” Dying August 29, 1712, aged 63, he was
buried in the chancel of St. Bennet’s church, Paul’s Wharf,
where is a handsome mural monument of marble. He was
twice married, but left no issue.
Early in 1701, Dr. King was recalled to the busy scenes of life. His friend James the third earl of Anglesea (who had succeeded to that title April 1, 1690),
Early in 1701, Dr. King was recalled to the busy scenes of life. His friend James the third earl of Anglesea (who had succeeded to that title April 1, 1690), married Oct. 28, 1699, the lady Catharine Darnley, natural daughter to king James II. by Catharine countess of Dorchester, and had by her one daughter. After living together little more than a year, a dispute arose between them, which ended in a separation. Lord Anglesea solicited the assistance of Dr. King; and the force of friendship prevailed over his natural aversion to the wrangling of the bar. He complied with the request took abundant pains for his old friend, more than he was ever known to do and distinguished himself so in the earl’s defence, as shewed him to have had abilities in his profession equal to any occasion that might call for them, and effectually established his reputation in the character of a civilian, as he had already done in that of a polite writer.
uitting this kingdom cannot now be ascertained. It has been generally supposed that he went with the earl of Pembroke, who was appointed lord lieutenant in April 1707.
Notwithstanding the reputation acquired by Dr. King in
this cause, he never afterwards attained any striking eminence in a profession where constant assiduity and a long
course of years are requisites for the acquisition of fame.
Captivated by the rnuses, he neglected business, and by
degrees, as is natural to such tempers, began to dread and
abhor it. Heedless of those necessary supplies which a
due attention would actually have brought to his finances,
they were so much impaired by his neglect, and by the
gay course of life which he led, that he gladly accepted
the offer of preferment in Ireland; a sure sign that his
practice was then not very considerable, as he is perhaps
the only civilian that ever went to reside in Ireland after
once having experienced the emoluments of a settlement
in Doctors Commons. The exact period of his quitting this
kingdom cannot now be ascertained. It has been generally
supposed that he went with the earl of Pembroke, who
was appointed lord lieutenant in April 1707. But he was
certainly in Ireland much earlier, as we have a correct copy
of “Mully of Mountown,
” in
On Nov. 25, 1708, the earl of Wharton was appointed lord lieutenant. His secretary, Mr.
On Nov. 25, 1708, the earl of Wharton was appointed
lord lieutenant. His secretary, Mr. Addison, immediately
on his arrival in Ireland, was made keeper of the records;
and Dr. King returned to London, where he almost immediately gave the world those admirable instances of the
humour so peculiarly his own, by publishing “Useful
transactions in philosophy and other sorts of Learning.
”
The last of these, containing “A Voyage to the Island of
Cajamai in America,
” is one of the severest and most humourous satires that ever was written in prose.
. He still continued, however, to visit his friends in the metropolis, particularly his relation the earl of Clarendon, who resided in Somerset-house.
On Aug. 3, 1710, appeared the first number of “The
Examiner,
” the ablest vindication of the measures of the
queen and her new ministry. Swift be^an with No. 13,
and ended by writing part of No. 45 when Mrs.Mauley
took it up, and finished the first volume it was afterwards
resumed by Mr. Oldisworth, who completed four volumes
more, and published nineteen numbers of a sixth volume,
when the queen’s death put an end to the work. The
original institntors of that paper seem to have employed
Dr. King as their publisher, or ostensible author, before
they prevailed on their great champion to undertake that
task. It is not clear which part of the first ten numbers
were Dr. King’s; but he appears pretty evidently the
writer of No. H, Oct. 12 No. 12, Oct. 19 and No. 13,
Oct. 26 and this agrees with the account given by the
publisher of his posthumous works, who says he undertook
that paper about the 10th of October. On the 26th of
October, no Examiner at all appeared; and the next number, which was published Nov. 2, was written by Dr. Swift.
Our author’s warm zeal for the church, and his contempt
for the whigs (“his eyes,
” says Dr. Johnson, “were open to all the operations of whiggism
”), carried him naturally
on the side of Sacheverell; and he had a hand, in his dry
sarcastic way, in many political essays of that period. He
published, with this view, “A friendly Letter from honest
Tom Boggy, to the Rev. Mr. Goddard, canon of Windsor,
occasioned by a sermon preached at St. George’s chapel,
dedicated to her grace the duchess of Marlborough,
” A second Letter to Mr. Goddard, occasioned by the
late Panegyric given him by the Review, Thursday, July
13, 1710.
” These were succeeded by “A Vindication
of the Rev. Dr. Henry Sacheverell, from the false, scandalous, and malicious aspersions, cast upon him in a late
infamous pamphlet entitled ‘The Modern Fanatic;’ intended chiefly to expose the iniquity of the faction in general, without taking any particular notice of their poor
mad fool, Bisset, in particular in a dialogue between
a tory and a whig.
” This masterly composition had
scarcely appeared in the world before it was followed by
“Mr. Bisset’s Recantation in a letter to the Rev. Dr.
Sacheverell
” a singular banter on that enthusiast, whom
our author once more thought proper to lash, in “An Answer to a second scandalous book that Mr. Bisset is now
writing, to be published as soon as possible.
” Dr. White
Kennel’s celebrated sermon on the death of the first duke
of Devonshire, occasioned, amongst many other publications, a jeu d'esprit of Dr. King-, under the title of “An
Answer to Clemens Alexandrinus’s Sermon upon * Quis
Dives salvetur?‘ ’ What rich man can be saved' proving
it easy for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.
” In
Historical
account of the Heathen Gods and Heroes, necessary for
the understanding of the ancient Poets;
” a work still in
great esteem, and of which there have been several editions. About the same time he translated “Political considerations upon Refined Politics, and the Master-strokes
of State, as practised by the Ancients and Moderns, written by Gabriel Naude, and inscribed to the cardinal Bagni.
” At the same period also he employed himself on
“Rufinus, or an historical essay on the Favourite Ministry
under Theodosius and his son Arcadius with a poem
annexed, called ' Rufinus, or the Favourite.
” These were
written early in I
have settled Dr. King,
” says that great writer, “in the
Gazette; it will be worth two hundred pounds a year to
him. To-morrow I am to carry him to dine with the secretary.
” And in another letter, he tells the archbishop
of Dublin, “I have got poor Dr. King, who was some time
in Ireland, to be gazetteer; which will be worth two hundred and fifty pounds per annum to him, if he be diligent
and sober, for which I am engaged. I mention this because I think he was under your grace’s protection in Ireland.
” From what Swift te,lls the archbishop, and a hint
which he has in another place dropped, it should seem,
that our author’s finances were in such a state as to render
the salary of gazetteer no contemptible object to him. The
office, however, was bestowed on Dr. King in a manner
the most agreeable to his natural temper; as he had not
even the labour of soliciting for it. On the last day of
December, 1711, Dr. Swift, Dr. Freind, Mr. Prior, and
some other of Mr. secretary St. John’s friends, came to
visit him; and brought with them the key of the
Gazetteer’s office, and another key for the use of the paper-office,
which had just before been made the receptacle of a curious
collection of mummery, far different from the other contents of that invaluable repository. On the first of January
our author had the honour of dining with the secretary;
and of thanking him for his remembrance of him at a time
when he had almost forgotten himself. He entered on his
office the same day; but the extraordinary trouble he met
with in discharging its duties proved greater than he could
long endure. Mr. Barber, who printed the gazette, obliged
him to attend till three or four o'clock, on the mornings
when that paper was published, to correct the errors of
the press; a confinement which his versatility would never
have brooked, if his health would have allowed it, which at
this time began gradually to decline. And this, joined to
his natural indisposition to the fatigue of any kind of business, furnished a sufficient pretence for resigning his office
about Midsummer 1712. On quitting his employment he
retired to the house of a friend, in the garden-grounds
between Lambeth and Vauxhall, where he enjoyed himself principally in his library; or, amidst select parties, in
a sometimes too liberal indulgence of the bottle. He still
continued, however, to visit his friends in the metropolis,
particularly his relation the earl of Clarendon, who resided
in Somerset-house.
ng on the law line, he took his doctor’s degree in 1715; was secretary to the duke of Ormond and the earl of Arran, when chancellors of the university; and was made principal
, son of the rev. Peregrine King,
was born at Stepney, in Mfddlesex, in 1685; and, after
a school-education at Salisbury, was entered of Baliol-college, Oxford, July 9, 1701. Proceeding on the law line,
he took his doctor’s degree in 1715; was secretary to the
duke of Ormond and the earl of Arran, when chancellors
of the university; and was made principal of St. Maryhall, in 1718. When he was candidate for the university,
in 1722, he resigned his office of secretary; but his other
preferment he enjoyed (and it was all he did enjoy) to the
time of his death. Dr. Clarke, who opposed him, carried
his election; and, after this disappointment, 1727, he went
over to Ireland. With what design he went thither is to
us unknown; but his enemies say, it was for the purposes
of intrigue, and to expose himself to sale. But he says
himself, and there are no facts alleged to disprove it, “At
no time of my life, either in England or Ireland, either
from the present or any former government, have I asked,
or endeavoured by any means to obtain, a place, pension,
or employment, of any kind. 1 could assign many reasons
for my conduct; but one answer I have always ready: I
inherited a patrimony, which I found sufficient to supply
all my wants, and to leave me at liberty to pursue those
liberal studies, which afforded me the most solid pleasures
in my youth, and are the delight and enjoyment of my old
age. Besides, I always conceived a secret horror of a state
of servility and dependence: and I never yet saw a placeman or a courtier, whether in a higher or lower class,
whether a priest or a layman, who was his own master.
”
During his stay in Ireland, he is said to have written an
epic poem, called “The Toast,
” bearing the name of
Scheffer, a Laplander, as its author, and of Peregrine
O' Donald, esq. as its translator; which was a political
satire, and was printed and given away to friends, but never
sold. Dr. Warton says that the countess of Newburgh was
aimed at in this satire.
er artists of the kingdom, he removed from Ipswich to London, where he obtained the patronage of the earl of Bute. This nobleman introduced him to his present majesty
On being admitted to the friendship and intimacy of sir
Joshua Reynolds, Hogarth (who furnished the curious frontispiece to his perspective), and most of the other artists of
the kingdom, he removed from Ipswich to London, where
he obtained the patronage of the earl of Bute. This nobleman introduced him to his present majesty when prince
of Wales, by whom he was ever after highly and deservedly honoured. He was made clerk of the works at
Kew, and under his majesty’s patronage, who defrayed
the expence of the plates, he published in 1761 his very
splendid work, “The Perspective of Architecture,
” 2 vols.
folio. Tn this work Mr. Kirby wholly confined himself to
architectural representations; and gave a variety of designs, elegantly drawn and engraved, which he submitted
as “new principles for a complete system of the perspective of architecture, both as it relates to the true delineation of objects, and the doctrine of light and shadow.
”
Mr. Edwards, however, remarks, as a curious circumstance,
that the plates of this work contain no example of architectural features disposed obliquely to the picture; a circumstance from which he would infer that Mr. Kirby was
no great adept in architecture, and that his practice in perspective was not very comprehensive, especially as his first
work is equally deficient with the last in what relates to
mouldings, when inclined to the picture, which position, if
not the most abstruse in theory, is yet among the most
troublesome in operation, and therefore ought to have
been demonstrated.
ounty. In 1768 he published a third edition of his treatise on perspective, with a dedication to the earl of Bute. He was a member both of the royal aud antiquary societies;
Before the appearance of this work he wrote a pamphlet
in vindication of the fame of Dr. Brook Taylor, which was
indirectly struck at in the translation of a treatise on perspective by a foreigner. This pamphlet (which has no date) was entitled “Dr. Brook Taylor’s Method of Perspective, compared with the examples lately published on
the subject, as Sirigatti'i,
” 4to. In
where, having: taken his degree of B. A. in 1702, and of M. A. in 1706 he became chaplain to Edward earl of Orford, who presented him to the vicarage of Chippenham,
, an English antiquary and biographer, was a native of London (where his father was freje of the Mercers’ company), and received the early part of his education at St. Paul’s school. He was thence admitted of Trinity college, Cambridge, where, having: taken his degree of B. A. in 1702, and of M. A. in 1706 he became chaplain to Edward earl of Orford, who presented him to the vicarage of Chippenham, and also to the rectory of Borough- green in Cambridgeshire, to which last he was instituted Nov. 3, 1707. He afterwards was collated by bishop Moore to a prebendal stall in the church of Ely, June 8, 1714 and presented by him to the rectory of Bluntesham in Huntingdonshire, June 22, 1717. He was made chaplain to George II. in Feb. 1730-1, and promoted by bishop Sherlock to the archdeaconry of Berks, 1735. He died December 10, 1746, in the 72d year of his age, and was buried in the chancel of Bluntesham church, where a neat monument of white marble is erected to his memory, with an inscription written by his friend Mr. Castle, dean of Hereford. His only son, Samuel, was fellow of Trinity college, Cambridge, and rector of Fulham, in Middlesex. With the ample fortune which his father left him, he purchased the manor of Milton near Cambridge, and died Jan. 1790.
in the utmost devotion. He was interred at Edinburgh, several lords attending, and particularly the earl of Morton, that day chosen regent, who, as soon as he was laid
In 1567, Knox preached a sermon at the coronation of James VI. of Scotland, and afterwards the First of Great Britain and also another at the opening of the parliament. He went vigorously on with the work of reformation but, in 1572, was greatly offended with a convention of ministers at Leith, where it was agreed that a certain kind of episcopacy should be introduced into the church. At this time his constitution was quite broken; and what seems to have given him the finishing stroke was the dreadful news of the massacre of the Protestants at Paris about this time. He had strength enough to preach against it, which he desired the French ambassador might be acquainted with; but he fell sick soon after, and died November 24, 1572, after having spent several days in the utmost devotion. He was interred at Edinburgh, several lords attending, and particularly the earl of Morton, that day chosen regent, who, as soon as he was laid in his grave, said, u There lies he who never feared the face of man, who hath been often threatened with dag and dagger, but yet hath ended his days in peace and honour. For he had God’s providence watching over him in a special manner, when his very life was sought."
He was a native of Cheshire; and in his early years, under the patronage and friendship of the late earl of Cholmondely, mixed in all the more exalted scenes of polished
was many years
rector of Stamford Rivers, near Ongar, in Essex; and
author of the celebrated “Essay on Delicacy,
” Select Letters between the late Dutchess of Somerset, Lady Luxborough,
” &c. &c. He w;is a man of strong natural parts, gieat erudition, refined taste, and master of
a nervous, and at the same time elegant style, as is obvious
to every one who has had the happiness to read the Essay
here spoken of. His writings were fewer in number than
their author’s genius seemed to promise to his friends, and
his publications less known than their intrinsic excellence
deserved. Had he been as solicitous as he was capable to
instruct and please the world, few prose writers would
have surpassed h m; but in his latter years he lived a recluse, and whatever he composed in the hours of retired
leisure, he (unhappily for the public) ordered to be burned,
which was religiously (I had almost said irreligiously) performed. He was a native of Cheshire; and in his early
years, under the patronage and friendship of the late earl
of Cholmondely, mixed in all the more exalted scenes of
polished life, where his lively spirit and brilliant conversation rendered him universally distinguished and esteemed;
and even till within a few months of his decease (near seventy-five years of age) these faculties could scarce be
said to be impaired. The Essay on Delicacy (of which we are now speaking) the only material work of his which
the editor knows to have survived him, was first printed in
1748, and has been very judiciously and meritoriously
preserved by the late Mr. Dodsley in his Fugitive Pieces.
”
Notwithstanding Mr. Hull’s assertion, that his uncle wrote
nothing but the “Essay,
” a sermon of his, under the
title of“Public Virtue, or the Love of our Country,
” was
printed in The Old Serpent, or
Methodism Triumphant,
” 4to. The doctor’s imprudence
involved him so deeply in debt, that he was some time
confined for it, and left his parsonage-house in so ruinous
a condition, that his successor Dr. Beadon was forced entirely to take it down. He died June 20, 1775, leaving
two daughters, one of whom married to the rev. Thomas
Wetenhall, of Chester, chaplain of a man of war, and
vicar of Walthamstow, Essex, from 1759 till his death,
1776.
nued to be so during the greatest part of his life for about the year 1762 he was appointed agent to earl Fitzwilliam an employment which he resigned only two years before
, an eminent mathematician, was born
at Peakirk, near Peterborough in Northamptonshire, in
January 1719. He became very early a proficient in the
mathematics, as we find him a contributor to the “Ladies
Diary
” in Philosophical Transactions
” for An investigation of some theorems, which suggest several very
remarkable properties of the circle, and are at the same
time of considerable use in resolving Fractions, &c.
” In
Mathematical Lucubrations,
” and containing a variety of tracts relative to the rectification of curve lines, the summation of
series, the finding of fluents, and many other points in the
higher parts of the mathematics. The title “Lucubrations,
” was supposed to intimate that mathematical science
was at that time rather the pursuit of his leisure hours, than
his principal employment and indeed it continued to be
so during the greatest part of his life for about the year
1762 he was appointed agent to earl Fitzwilliam an employment which he resigned only two years before his
death.
lague which broke out about that time, prevented his reading. In 1640 he was counsel for the unhappy earl of Strafford; and soon after was made attorney to prince Charles.
, knt. lord chief baron of the exchequer, was born in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
and was the son of Richard Lane of Courtenhall in Northamptonshire, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Clement
Vincent of Harpole, in the same county. He studied law
in the Middle Temple, with great success, and being
called to the bar, became eminent in his profession. In
the 5th Charles I. he was elected Lent reader of his inn,
but the plague which broke out about that time, prevented
his reading. In 1640 he was counsel for the unhappy earl
of Strafford; and soon after was made attorney to prince
Charles. As the Long-parliament grew more capricious
and tyrannical in its proceedings, he began to be alarmed
for his property, and entrusted his intimate friend Buistrode Whitlocke, with his chamber in the Middle Temple,
his goods and library; and leaving London, joined the
king at Oxford, where, in 1643, he was made serjeant at
law, lord chief baron of the exchequer, a knight, and one
of his majesty’s privy council. The university also conferred on him the degree of LL. D. “with more,
” says
Wood, “than ordinary ceremony.
” In the latter end of
the following year, he was nominated one of his majesty’s
commissioners to treat of peace with the parliament at Uxbridge, and on Aug. 30, 1645, he had the great seal delivered to him at Oxford, on the death of Edward lord
Littleton. In May and June 1646, he was one of the
commissioners appointed to treat with the parliament for
the surrender of the garrison of Oxford, apd soon alter
went abroad to avoid the general persecution of the
royalists which the parliament meditated. He died in the
island of Jersey in 1650, or 1651, Wood tells a strange
story of the fate of the goods he entrusted to Whitlocke.
He says, that during sir Richard’s residence abroad, lm
son applied to Whitlocke, who would not own that he
knew such a man as sir Richard, and kept the goods. That
this story is not without foundation, appears from Whitlocke’s receipt for his pension, &c. printed by Peck, to
which he adds, “And I have likewise obtained some bookes
and manuscripts, which were the lord Littleton’s; and some
few bookes and manuscripts, which were sir Richard Lane’s;
in all worth about So/.
” Sir Richard Lane’s “Reports in
the court of Exchequer in the reign of king James,
” were
published in
ed a dispensation from the pope, for the marriage of William duke of Normandy with a daughter of the earl of Flanders his cousin. On his return to France, he rebuilt
, archbishop of Canterbury in the eleventh century, was an Italian, and born in 1005 at Pavia, being son of a counsellor to the senate of that town; but, losing his father in his infancy, he went to Bologna. Hence, having prosecuted his studies for some time, he removed into France in the reign of Henry I. and taught some time at Avranches, where he had many pupils of high rank. In a journey to Rouen, he had the misfortune to be robbed, and tied to a tree on the road, where he remained till next day, when being released by some passengers, he retired to the abbey of Bee, lately founded, and there took the monk’s habit in 1041. He was elected prior of this religious house in 1044; and opened a school, which in a little time became very famous, and was frequented by students from all parts of Europe. Amongst others, some of the scholars of Berenger, archdeacon of Angers, and master of the school at Tours, left that, and went to study at the abbey of Bee. This, it is said, excited the envy of Berenger, and gave rise to a long and violent controversy between him and Lanfranc, on the subject of the eucharist. (See Berengarius). In 1049, Lanfranc took a journey to Rome, where he declared his sentiments to pope Leo IX. against the doctrine of Berenger; for Berenger had xvritten him a letter, which gave room to suspect Lanfranc to be of his opinion. Soon after, he assisted in the council of Verceil, where he expressly opposed Berenger’s notions. He returned a second time to Rome in 1059, and assisted in the council held at the Lateran by pope Nicholas II. in which Berenger abjured the doctrine that he had till then maintained. Lanfranc now obtained a dispensation from the pope, for the marriage of William duke of Normandy with a daughter of the earl of Flanders his cousin. On his return to France, he rebuilt his abbey at Bee; but was soon removed from it by the duke of Normandy, who in 1062 made him abbot of St. Stephen’s at Caen in that province, where he established a new academy, which became no less famous than his former one at Bee. This duke, coming to the crown of England, sent for Lanfranc, who was elected archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, in the room of Stigand, who had been deposed by the pope’s legate. He was no sooner consecrated to this see, than he wrote to pope Alexander II. begging leave to resign it; which not being complied with, he afterwards sent ambassadors to Rome to beg the pall; but Hildebrand answering, in the pope’s name, that the pall was not granted to any person in his absence (which was not strictly true, as it had been sent to Austin, Justus, and Honorius), he went thither to receive that honour in 1071. Alexander paid him a particular respect, in rising to give him audience this pontiff, indeed, had a special regard for him, having studied under him in the abbey of Bee and kissed him, instead of presenting his slipper for that obeisance, nor was he satisfied with giving him the usual pall, but invested him with that pall of which he himself had made use in celebrating mass. Before his departure, Lanfranc defended the metropolitical rights of his see against the claims of the archbishop of York, and procured them to be confirmed by a national council in 1075, wherein several rules of discipline were established. At length, presuming to make remonstrances to the Conqueror upon some oppressions of the subjects, though he offered them with a becoming respect, the monarch received them with disdain and asked him, with an oath, if he thought it possible for a king to keep all his promises From this time, our archbishop lost his majesty’s favour, and was observed afterwards with a jealous eye. He enjoyed, however, the favour of William II. during the remainder of his life. Some years before this, Gregory VII. having summoned him several times to come to Rome, to give an account of his faith, at length sent him a citation to appear there in four months, on pain of suspension: Lanfranc, however, did not think proper to obey the summons. He died May 28, 1089.
the ecclesiastical immunities. A remarkable suit, which he carried against Odo, bishop of Bayeux and earl of Kent, put him in possession of five and twenty estates, which
Several of our ancient historians who were almost his contemporaries, speak in very advantageous terms of the genius and erudition of Lanfranc; and some of them who were personally acquainted with him, represent him as the most learned man of the age in which he flourished. His charity is said to have been so great, that he bestowed in that way no less than 500l. a year, a very great sum in those days, and equal to 1500l. in ours. Besides this he rebuilt the cathedral of Canterbury, re-established the chapter there, founded the hospitals of St. Nicholas at Herbaldown and St. John at Canterbury, repaired several churches and monasteries in his diocese, obtained a restoration of the estates of the church which had been alienated, and maintained the ecclesiastical immunities. A remarkable suit, which he carried against Odo, bishop of Bayeux and earl of Kent, put him in possession of five and twenty estates, which had been usurped by that prelate. Lanfranc, besides his piece against Berenger already mentioned, wrote several others, which were published in one volume, folio, in 1647, by father Luke D'Achery, a Benedictine monk, of the congregation of St. Maur. They consist of commentaries on the epistles of St. Paul, and on the Psalms a treatise on confession, letters, &C.
, wnich had a more fortunate issue. Through his (oediation a peace was made betwixt the king and the earl of Flanders, who had been at variance upon the account of the
The death of pope Urban happened at a period, as it was thought, critical to the affairs of the cardinal, as well as to those of the two kingdoms of England and France, as he had just appointed him to mediate a peace between them. But Gregory the Eleventh, who succeeded Urban, as sensible of his merit as his predecessor, confirmed his appointment, and even enlarged his powers. This treaty Tailing, as nad been foreseen by the cardinal, he proceeded from Melun, the place where he had met cardinal de Beauvois, to England with the sense of the French court upon the negotiation. Although unsuccessful in this business, he had, whilst abroad, an opportunity of displaying his diplomatic talents, wnich had a more fortunate issue. Through his (oediation a peace was made betwixt the king and the earl of Flanders, who had been at variance upon the account of the earl’s breaking his engagement to marry his daughter to Edmund earl of Cambridge, and betrothing her to Philip, the brother of Charles the Fifth, king of France. In the beginning of 1372, cardinal Langham left England in order to return to the pope; and when he arrived at Avignon, he found that his conduct had, during the course of his mission, been misrepresented to the pope, but he so amply satisfied his holiness on that point, that, in the same year, he elevated him to the dignity of cardinal bishop of Praeneste. On the death of Wittelsey, who succeeded him as archbishop of Canterbury, the monks endeavoured to persuade the king to allow Langham to return; but the king was enraged at their insolence, and in this was seconded by the pope, who preferred employing the cardinal at Avignon, where the affairs of the holy see rendered his presence necessary. From this situation, however, Langham had a strong desire to remove, and visit his native country, where he had projected some architectural plans, and meant to devote a large sum of money to the rebuilding of the abbey at Westminster. With this view he procured some friends at court to solicit leave to return, and their applications were successful; but before he could know the issue, he died suddenly of a paralytic stroke, July 22, 1376. His body was, according to 'the direction of his will, first deposited in a new-built church of the Carthusians, near the place of his decease, where it remained for three years. It was then with great state and solemnity removed to Saint Benet’s chapel, in Westminster abbey, where his tomb with his effigy upon it, and the arms of England, the monastery of Saint Peter, and the sees of Canterbury and Ely, engraved in tablets around it, still remains.
mation. In 1603, Laud was one of the proctors; and the same year became- chaplain to Charles Blonnt, earl of Devonshire, whom he inconsiderately married, Dec. 26, 1605,
, archbishop of Canterbury, was son of William Laud, a clothier of Heading, in Berkshire, by Lucy his wife, widow of John Robinson, of the same place, and sister to sir William Webbe, afterwards lord-mayor of London, in 1591. His father died in 1594, leaving his son, after his mother’s decease, the house which he inhabited in Broad-street, and two others in Swallowfield; 1200l. in money, and the stock in trade. The widow was to have the interest of half the estate during her life. She died in 1600. These circumstances, although in themselves of little importance, it is necessary to mention as a contradiction to the assertion of Prynne, that he was of poor and obscure parents, which was repeated by lord Say, in the house of peers. He was born at Reading, Oct. 7, 1573, and educated at the free-school there, till July 1589; when, removing to St. John’s college, in Oxford, he became a scholar of the house in 1590, and fellow in 1593. He took the degree of A. B. in 1594, and that of master in 1598. He was this year chosen grammarlecturer; and being ordained priest in 1601, read, the following year, a divinity-lecture in his college, which was then supported by Mrs. Maye. In some of these chapel exercises he maintained against the puritans, the perpetual visibility of the church of Rome till the reformation; by which he incurred the displeasure of Dr. Abbot, then vice-chancellor of the university, who maintained that the visibility of the church of Christ might be deduced through other channels to. the time of that reformation. In 1603, Laud was one of the proctors; and the same year became- chaplain to Charles Blonnt, earl of Devonshire, whom he inconsiderately married, Dec. 26, 1605, to Penelope, then wife of Robert lord Rich; an affair that exposed him afterwards to much censure, and created him great uneasiness; in reality, it made so deep an impression upon him, that he ever after kept that day as a day of fasting and humiliation.
nue, and appointed one of the commissioners of the treasury, March the 4th, upon the death of Weston earl of Portland. Besides this, he was, tvVo days after, called into
In 1634 our archbishop did the poor Irish clergy a very important service, by obtaining for them, from the king, a grant of all the impropriations then remaining in the crown. He also improved and settled the revenues of the London clergy in a better manner than before. On Feb. 5, 1634-5, he was put into the great committee of trade, and the king’s revenue, and appointed one of the commissioners of the treasury, March the 4th, upon the death of Weston earl of Portland. Besides this, he was, tvVo days after, called into the foreign committee, and had likewise the sole disposal of whatsoever concerned the church; but he fell into warm disputes with the lord^Cottington, chancellor of the exchequer, who took all opportunities of imposing upon him . After having continued for a year commissioner of the treasury, and acquainted himself with the mysteries of it, he procured the lord-treasurer’s staff" for Dr. William Juxon, who had through his interest been successively advanced to the presidentship of St. John’s college, deanery of Worcester, clerkship of his majesty’s closet, and bishopric of London, as already noticed in our life of Juxon. For some years Laud had set his heart upon getting the English liturgy introduced into Scotland; and some of the Scottish bishops hud, under his direction, prepared both that book and a collection of canons for public service; the canons were published in 1635, but the liturgy came not in use till 1637. On the day it was first read at St. Giles’s church, in Edinburgh, it occasioned a most violent tumult among the people, encouraged by the nobility, who were losers by the restitution of episcopacy, and by the ministers, who lost their clerical government. Laud, having been the great promoter of that affair, was reviled for it in the most abusive manner, and both he and the book were charged with downright popery. The extremely severe prosecution carried on about the same time in the star-chamber, chiefly through his instigation, against Prynne, Bastwick, and Burton, did him also infinite prejudice, and exposed him to numberless libels and reflections; though he endeavoured to vindicate his conduct in a speech delivered at their censure, June 14, 1637, which was published by the king’s command. Another rigorous prosecution, carried on with his concurrence, in the star-chamber, was against bishop Williams, an account of which may be seen in his article, as also of Lambert Osbaldiston, master of Westminster school.
rvice-book among them. In this state of general discontent, he was not only examined, Dec. 4, on the earl of Strafford’s case, but, when the Commons came to debate upon
It can be no wonder that his ruin should appear certain, considering his many and powerful enemies; almost the whole body of the puritans; many of the English nobility and others; and the bulk of the Scotch nation. The puritans considered him as the sole author of the innovations and of the persecutions against them; the nobility could not brook his warm and imperious manner, and his grasping at the office of prime-minister; and the Scots were excited to rebellion, by the restoring of episcopal government, and the introduction ol the English service-book among them. In this state of general discontent, he was not only examined, Dec. 4, on the earl of Strafford’s case, but, when the Commons came to debate upon the late canons and convocation, he was represented as the author of them; and a committee was appointed to inquire into all his actions, and prepare a charge against him on the 16th. The same morning, in the House of Lords, he was named as an incendiary, in an accusation from the Scottish commissioners; and, two days after, an impeachment of high-treason was carried up to the lords by Denzil Holies, desiring he might be forthwith sequestered from parliament, and committed, and the Commons would, in a convenient time, resort to them with particular articles. Soon after, the Scotch commissioners presented also to the upper House the charge against him, tending to prove liim an incendiary, and he was immediately committed to the custody of the black rod. After ten weeks, sir Henry Vane, junior, brought up, Feb. 26, fourteen articles against him, which they desired time to prove in particular, and, in the mean time, that he be kept safe. Accordingly, the black rod conveyed him to the Tower, March 1, 1640-1, amidst the insults and reproaches of the mob.
our separated from those of treason; to which the celebrated lawyer, Maynard, answered, that, in the earl of Strafford’s trial, he was put to answer every day the particular
On Tuesday, March 12, 1643-4, the trial was opened in
form; the original and additional articles of impeachment
were read, and, after that, the archbishop’s answer, plea,
and demurrer to them. He requested that the charge and
evidence to all the articles might be given together; and
the articles of misdemeanour separated from those of treason; to which the celebrated lawyer, Maynard, answered,
that, in the earl of Strafford’s trial, he was put to answer
every day the particular evidence given that day; that they
were now only to try matters of fact, not of law, and that
all the articles collectively, not any one separately, made
up the charge of treason. Serjeant Wilde then made a
long speech, upon the charge of high treason, insisting
chiefly upon the archbishop’s attachment to popery, and
his intention to introduce it into England; concluding with
these words, that “Naaman was a great man, but he was
a leper,
” and that the archbishop’s leprosy had so infected
all, “as there remained no other cure but the sword of
justice.
” The archbishop replied to the several charges,
and mentioned various persons whom he had brought back
from the Romish religion, particularly sir William Webbe,
his kinsman, and two of his daughters; his son lui took
from him; and, his father being utterly decayed, bred
him at his own charge, and educated him in the protestant
religion. The trial lasted above twenty days, and on Sept.
2, 1644, the archbishop made a recapitulation of the whole
cause; but, as soon as he came into the House, he saw
every lord present with a new thin book in folio, in a blue
cover; which was his “Diary,
” which Prynne, as already
mentioned, had robbed him of, and printed with notes of
his own, to disgrace the archbishop. On Sept. 11, Mr.
Brown delivered, in the House of Lords, a summary of
the whole charge, with a few observations on the archbishop’s answer. The queries of his counsel on the law of
treason was referred to a committee which ordered his
counsel to be heard on Oct. 11, when Mr. Herne delivered
his argument with great firmness and resolution. The lord
chancellor Finch told archbishop Sancroft that the argument was sir Matthew Hale’s, afterwards lord chief justice;
and that being then a young lawyer, he, Mr. Finch, stood
behind Mr. Herne, at the bar of the house, and took notes
of it, which he intended to publish in his reports. With
this argument, the substance of which may be seen in our
authorities, the trial ended for that day; but, after this, a
petition was sent about London, “for bringing delinquents
to justice;
” and many of the preachers exhorted the people
to sign it; so that with a multitude of hands, it was delivered to the House of Commons, on Oct. 8. The archbishop was summoned on Nov. 2, to the House of Commons, to hear the whole charges, and to make his defence,
which he did at large, Nov. 11. On the following Wednesday Mr. Brown replied and after the archbishop was
dismissed, the House called for the ordinance, and without
hearing his counsel, voted him guilty of high treason.
After various delays, the Lords had a conference with the
Commons, on Dec. 24, in which they declared, “that they
had diligently weighed all things charged against the archbishop, but could not, by any one of them, or all, find
him guilty of treason.
” The judges had unanimously made
the same declaration. At the second conference, on Jan.
2, 1644-5, the reasons of the Commons for the attainder
of the archbishop were communicated to the Lords, who
in a very thin house, passed the ordinance that he should
suffer death by hanging, which was fixed for Friday the
10th. He pleaded the king’s pardon, under the great seal,
which was over-ruled, and rejected, without being read,
and the only favour granted, and that after delay and with
reluctance, was, that his sentence should be changed to
beheading.
geries and gross impositions on the public. In a letter humbly addressed to the right honourable the earl of Bath,” 1751, 8vo. The appearance of this detection overwhelmed
, a native of Scotland, the author
of a remarkable forgery, was educated at the university of
Edinburgh, where he finished his studies with great reputation, and acquired a considerable knowledge of the
Latin tongue. He afterwards taught with success the
Latin tongue to some students who were recommended to
him by the professors. In 1734, Mr. professor Watt falling ill of that sickness of which he died, Lauder taught for
him the Latin class, in the college of Edinburgh, and
tried, without success, to be appointed professor in his
room. He failed also in his application for the office of
librarian. In Feb. 1739, he stood candidate, with eight
others, for the place of one of the masters of the high
school; but, though the palm of literature was assigned by
the judges to Lauder, the patrons of the school preferred
one of his opponents. In the same year he published at
Edinburgh an edition of “Johnston’s Psalms,
” or rather a
collection of Sacred Latin poetry, in 2 vols, but his hopes
of profit from this were disappointed. In 1742, although
he was recommended by Mr. Patrick Cuming and Mr.
Colin Maclaurin, professors of church history and mathematics, to the mastership of the grammar-school at Dundee, then vacant, we find him, the same year, in London,
contriving to ruin the reputation of Milton; an attempt
which ended in the destruction of his own. His reason for
the attack has been referred to the virulence of violent
party-spirit, which triumphed over every principle of
honour and honesty. He began first to retail part of his
design in “The Gentleman’s Magazine,
” in An Essay on Milton’s Use and Imitation
of the Moderns in his Paradise Lost,
” 8vo. The fidelity
of his quotations had been doubted by several people; and
the falsehood of them was soon after demonstrated by Dr.
Douglas, late bishop of Salisbury, in a pamphlet, entitled
“Milton vindicated from the Charge of Plagiarism brought
against him by Lauder, and Lauder himself convicted of
forgeries and gross impositions on the public. In a letter
humbly addressed to the right honourable the earl of Bath,
”
Johnston’s Psalms.
” This misfortune he ascribed to a couplet in Mr. Pope’s Dunciad,
book iv. ver. iii. and thence originated his rancour against
Milton. He afterwards imputed his conduct to other motives, abused the few friends who continued to countenance
him; and, finding that his own character was not to be
retrieved, quitted the kingdom, and went to Barbadoes,
where he was for some time master of the free-school in
Bridgetown, but was discharged for misconduct, and passed
the remainder of his life in universal contempt. “He
died,
” says Mr. Nichols, “sometime about the year 1771,
as my friend Mr. Reed was informed by the gentleman
who read the funeral-service over him.
” It may be added,
that notwithstanding Lauder’s pretended regret for his attack on Milton, he returned to the charge in 1754, and
published a pamphlet entitled “The Grand Impostor detected, or Milton convicted of forgery against Charles I.
”
which was reviewed in the Gent. Mag. of that year, probably by Johnson.
, intended him for the benefice of Hook Norton, to which his successor, bishop Potter, collated him. Earl Coningsby not only appointed him his own domestic chaplain,
, an English prelate, and very
eminent scholar, was descended from a family long settled
in Wiltshire, and was born at the parsonage- house of Mildenhall, in the above county, and baptised Jan. 18, 1683,
his grandfather, Constable, being then rector of that parish. Joseph, father to bishop Lavington, is supposed to
have exchanged his original benefice of Broad Hinton, in
Wiltshire, for Newton Longville, in Bucks, a living and
a manor belonging to New college, in Oxford. Transplanted thither, and introduced to the acquaintance of
several members of that society, he was encouraged to
educate the eldest of his numerous children, George, the
subject of this article, at Wykeham’s foundation, near
Winchester, from whence he succeeded to a fellowship of
New college, early in the reign of queen Anne. George,
while yet a schoolboy, had produced a Greek translation
of Virgil’s eclogues, in the style and dialect of Theocritus,
which is still preserved at Winchester in manuscript. At
the university he was distinguished by his wit and learning,
and equally so by a marked attachment to the protestant
succession, at a period when a zeal of that kind could promise him neither preferment nor popularity. But if some
of his contemporaries thought his ardour in a good cause
excessive, still their affection and esteem for him remained
undiminished by any difference of political sentiment. In
1717, he was presented by his college to their rectory of
Hayford Warren, in the diocese of Oxford. Before this
his talents and principles had recommended him to the
notice of many eminent persons in church and state.
Among others Talbot, then bishop of Oxford, intended
him for the benefice of Hook Norton, to which his successor, bishop Potter, collated him. Earl Coningsby not
only appointed him his own domestic chaplain, but introduced him in the same capacity to the court of king George
I. In this reign he was preferred to a stall in the cathedral church of Worcester, which he always esteemed as
one of the happiest events of his life, since it laid the
foundation of that close intimacy which ever after subsisted
between him and the learned Dr. Francis Hare, the dean.
No sooner was Dr. Hare removed to St. Paul’s, than he
exerted all his influence to draw his friend to the capital
after him; and his endeavours were so successful that Dr.
Lavington was appointed in 1732, to be a canon residentiary of that church, and in consequence of this station,
obtained successively the rectories of St. Mary Aldermary,
and St. Michael Bassishaw. In both parishes he was esteemed a minister attentive to his duty, and an instructive
and awakening preacher. He would probably never have
thought of any other advancement, if the death of Dr. Stillingfleet, dean of Worcester, in 1746, had not recalled to
his memory the pleasing ideas of many years spent in that
city, in the prime of life. His friends, however, had
higher views for him; and, therefore, on the death of
bishop Clagget, lord chancellor Hardwick, and the duke
of Newcastle, recommended him to the king, to till the
vacancy, without his solicitation or knowledge. From this
time he resided at Exeter among his clergy, a faithful and
vigilant pastor, and died universally lamented, Sept. 13,
1762; crowning a life that had been devoted to God’s
honour and service, by a pious act of resignation to his
will; for the last words pronounced by his faultering tongue,
were Ao<* in 0sa> “Glory to God.
” He married Francis
Maria, daughter of Lave, of Corf Mullion, Dorset, who
had taken refuge in this kingdom from the popish persecution in France. She survived the bishop little more
than one year, after an union of forty years. Their only
daughter is the wife of the rev. N. Nutcombe, of Nutcombe,
in Devonshire, and chancellor of the cathedral at Exeter.
Bishop Lavington published only a few occasional sermons,
except his “Enthusiasm of the Methodists and Papists
compared,
” three parts; which involved him in a temporary controvery with Messrs. Whitfield and Wesley.
ntlemen of the four inns of court, under the direction of Noy the attorney- general, Hyde afterwards earl of Clarendon, Selden, Whitelock, and others. Whitelock has given
Twenty years before, in 1633, Lawes had been chosen
to assist in composing the airs, lessons, and songs of a
masque, presented at Whitehall on Candlemas-night, before the king and queen, by the gentlemen of the four inns
of court, under the direction of Noy the attorney- general,
Hyde afterwards earl of Clarendon, Selden, Whitelock,
and others. Whitelock has given an account of it in his
“Memorials,
” &c. Lawes also composed tunes to Mr.
George Sandys’s “Paraphrase on the Psalms,
” published
in Comus
” was originally set by him,
and published in Comus
” was never printed and there is nothing in any
of the printed copies of the poem, or in the many accounts
of Milton, to ascertain the form in which it was composed.
Lawes taught music to the family of the earl of Bridgewater: he was intimate with Milton, as may be conjectured
Lawes taught music to the family of the earl of Bridgewater: he was intimate with Milton, as may be conjectured
from that sonnet of the latter, “Harry, whose tuneful and
well-measured song.
” Peck says, that Milton wrote his
masque of “Comus
” at the request of Lawes, who engaged
to set it to music. Most of the songs of Waller are set by
Lawes; and Waller has acknowledged his obligation to
him for one in particular, which he had set in 1635, in a
poem, wherein he celebrates his skill as a musician. Fenton, in a note on this poem, says, that the best poets of
that age were ambitious of having their verses set by this
incomparable artist; who introduced a softer mixture of
Italian airs than before had been practised in our nation.
Dr. Burney entertains another kind of suspicion. “Whether,
” says this historian, “Milton chose Lawes, or Lawes
Milton for a colleague in Comus, it equally manifests the
high rank in which he stood with the greatest poets of his
time. It would be illiberal to cherish such an idea; but
it does sometimes seem as if the twin-sisters. Poetry and
Music, were mutually jealous of each other’s glory: * the
less interesting my sister’s offspring may be,‘ says Poetry,
* the more admiration will my own obtain.’ Upon asking
some years ago, why a certain great prince continued to
honour with such peculiar marks of favour, an old performer on the flute, when he had so many musicians of
superior abilities about him? We were answered, * because he plays worse than himself.' And who knows whether Milton and Waller were not secretly influenced by
some such consideration? and were not more pleased with
Lawes for not pretending to embellish or enforce the sentiments of their songs, but setting them to sounds less
captivating than the sense.
”
preceding, w placed early in life under Coperario, for his musical education, at the expence of the earl of Hertford. His first preferment was in the choir of Chichester,
, brother to the preceding, w
placed early in life under Coperario, for his musical education, at the expence of the earl of Hertford. His first
preferment was in the choir of Chichester, but he was
soon called to London, where, in 1602, he was sworn a
gentleman of the chapel royal; which place, however, he
resigned in 1611, and became one of the private, or chamber-musicians, to Charles, then prince and afterwards king.
Fuller says, “he was respected and beloved of all such
persons as cast any looks towards virtue and honour:
” and
he seems well entitled to this praise. He manifested his
gratitude and loyalty to his royal master by taking up arms
in his cause against the parliament. And though, to
exempt him from danger, lord Gerrard, the king’s general, made him a commissary in the royal army, yet the
activity of his spirit disdaining this intended security, at
the siege of Chester, 1645, he lost his life by an accidental
shot. The king is said, by Fuller, to have been so affected
at his loss, that though he was already in mourning for his
kinsman lord Bernard Stuart, killed at the same siege, his
majesty put “on particular mourning for his dear servant
William Lawes, whom he commonly called the father of
music.
”
inest first-rate in the navy, of which he was appointed, Jan. 1701, first captain of three under the earl of Pembroke, newly made lord high admiral of England. This was
, a brave and successful English admiral, son of the preceding, was born in 1656, at Rotherhithe, in Surrey. His father instructed him both in mathematics and gunnery, with a view to the navy, and entered him early into that service as a midshipman; in which station he distinguished himself, under his father, at the above-mentioned engagement between sir Edward Spragge and Van Trump, in 1673, beingt'nen no more than seventeen years old. Upon the conclusion of that war soon after, hfc engaged in the merchants’ service, and had the command of a ship two or three voyages up the Mediterranean; but his inclination lying to the navy, he did not long remain unemployed in it. He had indeed refused a lieutenant’s commission; but this was done with a view to the place of master-gunner, which was then of much greater esteem than it is at present. When his father was advanced, not long after, to the command of a yacht, he gladly accepted the offer of succeeding him in the post of gunner to the Neptune, a second-rate man of war. This happened about 1675; and, the times being peaceable, he remained in this post without any promotion till 1688. James II. having then resolved to fit out a strong fleet, to prevent the invasion from Holland, Leake had the command of the Firedrake fireship, and distinguished himself by several important services; particularly, by the relief of Londonderry in Ireland, which was chiefly effected by his means. He was in the Firedrake in the fleet under lord Dartmouth, when the prince of Orange landed; after which he joined the rest of the protestant officers in an address to the prince. The importance of rescuing Londonderry from the hands of king James raised him in the navy; and, after some removes, he had the command given him of the Eagle, a third-rate of 70 guns. In 1692, the distinguished figure he made in the famous battle off La Hogue procured him the particular friendship of Mr. (afterwards admiral) Churchill, brother to the duke of Marlborough; and he continued to behave on all occasions with great reputation till the end of the war; when, upon concluding the peace of Ryswick, his ship was paid off, Dec. 5, 1697. In 1696, on the death of his father, his friends had procured for him his father’s places of mastergunner in England, and store- keeper of Woolwich, but these he declined, being ambitious of a commissioner’s place in the navy; and perhaps he might have obtained it, had not admiral Churchill prevailed with him not to think of quitting the sea, and procured him a commission for a third-rate of 70 guns in May 1699. Afterwards, upon the prospect of a new war, he was removed to the Britannia, the finest first-rate in the navy, of which he was appointed, Jan. 1701, first captain of three under the earl of Pembroke, newly made lord high admiral of England. This was the highest station he could have as a captain, and higher than any private captain ever obtained either before or since. But, upon the earl’s removal, to make way for prince George of Denmark, soon after queen Anne’s accession to the throne, Leake’s commission under him becoming void, May 27, 1702, he accepted of the Association, a second-rate, till an opportunity offered for his farther promotion. Accordingly, upon the declaration of war against France, he received a commission, June the 24th that year, from prince George, appointing him commander in chief of the ships designed against Newfoundland. He arrived there with his squadron in August, and, destroying the French trade and settlements, restored the English to the possession of the whole island. This gave him an opportunity of enriching himself by the sale of the captures, at the same time that it gained him the favour of the nation, by doing it a signal service, without any great danger of not succeeding; for, in truth, all the real fame he acquired on this occasion arose from his extraordinary dispatch and diligence in the execution.
ebellion in 1745. On the revival of the order of the Bath in 1725, he was one of the esquires of the earl of Sussex, deputy earl-marshal. He was elected F. A. S. March
, a herald and antiquary,
son of captain Stephen Martin, mentioned in the preceding
article, was born April 5, 1702. He was educated at the
school of Mr. Michael Maittaire, and was admitted of the
Middle-temple. In 1724 he was appointed a deputylieutenant of the Tower-hamlets; in which station he afterwards distinguished himself by his exertions during the
rebellion in 1745. On the revival of the order of the Bath
in 1725, he was one of the esquires of the earl of Sussex,
deputy earl-marshal. He was elected F. A. S. March 2,
1726-7. In the same year he was created Lancaster herald, in the room of Mr. Hesketh; in 1729 constituted
Norroy; in 1741 Clarenceux; and by patent dated December 19, 1754, appointed garter. In all his situations
in the college Mr. Leake was a constant advocate for the
rights and privileges of the office. He obtained, after
much solicitation, a letter in 1731, from the duke of Norfolk to the earl of Sussex, his deputy earl -marshal, requesting him to sign a warrant for Mr. Leake’s obtaining
a commission of visitation, which letter, however, was not
attended with success. In the same year he promoted a
prosecution against one Shiets, a painter, who pretended
to keep an om'ce of arms in Dean’s-court. The court of
chivalry was opened with great solemnity in the paintedchamber, on March 3, 1731-2, in relation to which he had
taken a principal part. In 1733, he appointed Francis
Bassano, of Chester, his deputy, as Norroy, for Chester and
North Wales; and about the same time asserted his right,
as Norroy, to grant arms in North Wales, which right was
claimed by Mr. Longville, who had been constituted
Gloucester King at Arms partium Walii<t, annexed to that
of Bath King at Arms, at the revival of that order. He
drew up a petition in January 1737-8, which was presented
to the king in council, for a new charter, with the sole
power of painting arms, &c. which petition was referred
to the attorney and solicitor general; but they making
their report favourable to the painters, it did not succeed.
He printed, in 1744, “Reasons for granting Commissions
to the Provincial Kings at Arms for visiting their Provinces.
” Dr. Cromwell Mortimer having, in
have written, although he never formally avowed it, the ingenious historical romance of “Longsword, earl or Salisbury.”
, a learned uivine and translator,
the son of a citizen of Dublin, was born in that city in 1722.
The first rudiments of classical education he received at
the seuool kept by the celebrated Dr. Sheridan, whose talents and success in forming excellent scholars, were then
well known. In 17^7 he entered a pensioner in Trinity
college; and in 1741 was elected a scholar commenced
bachelor of arts in 1742, and was a candidate for a fellowship in 1745, in which he failed at this time, but succeeded
the following year by the unanimous voice of the electors,
On bein^ thus placed in a state of independence, he did
not resign himself to ease and indolence, but was conspicuous for the same ardent love of knowledge which appeared in the commencement of his studies, and was predominant throughout his whole life. In 1748 he entered
into holy orders, and from a deep sense of the importance
of his profession, drew up a discourse “On the helps and
impediments to the acquisition of knowledge in religious
and moral subjects,
” wtiich was much admired at that time,
but no copy is now to be found In 1754, in conjunction
with Dr. John Stokes, he published, at the desire of the
university, an edition of the “Orations of Demosthenes,
”
with a Latin version and notes, which we do not find mentioned by any of our classical bibliographers, except Harwood, who says it is in 2 vols. 12mo. In 1760 Dr. Leiand
published the first volume of his English “Translation of
Demosthenes,
” 4to, with notes critical and historical; the
second volume of which appeared in 1761, and the third in
1770. This raised his reputation very high as a classical
scholar and critic, and public expectation was farther gratified in 1758 by his “History of the Life and Reign of
Philip king of Macedon, the father of Alexander,
” 2 vols.
4to. His attention to the orations of Demosthenes and
Æschmes, and to Grecian politics, eminently qualified
him for treating the life of Philip with copiousness and accuracy. After this he proceeded with translations of Æschines, and the other orations of Demosthenes. In 1762,
he is supposed to have written, although he never formally
avowed it, the ingenious historical romance of “Longsword, earl or Salisbury.
”
t of Don Quixote; and the work was very favourably received. Dr. Johnson wrote the dedication to the earl of Middlesex. In the following year she published” Shakespeare
She published, in 1751, “The Memoirs of Harriot
Stuart,
” and, in In the
latter of these novels, the character of Arabella is the
counter-part of Don Quixote; and the work was very
favourably received. Dr. Johnson wrote the dedication to
the earl of Middlesex. In the following year she published
” Shakespeare illustrated,“in 2 vols. J2mo, to wnich she
afterwards added a third. This work consists of the novels
and histories on which the plays of Shakspeare are founded,
collected and translated from the original authors: to which
are added critical notes, censuring the liberties which
Shakspeare has generally taken with the stories on which
his plays are founded. In 1756, Mrs. Lennox published,
” The Memoirs of the Countess of Berci, taken from the
French,“2 vols. 12mo; and,
” Sully’s Memoirs,“translated, 3 vols. 4to; which have since been frequently reprinted in 8vo, and are executed with no small ability.
In 1757, she translated
” The Memoirs of Madame Maintenon.“In 1758, she produced
” Philander, a Dramatic
Pastoral,“and
” Henrietta,“a novel of considerable merit,
2 vols. 12mo; and, in 1760, with the assistance of the
earl of Cork and Orrery, and Dr. Johnson, she published a translation of
” Father Brumoy’s Greek Theatre,“3
vols. 4to; the merit of which varies materially in different
parts of the work. In 1760-1, she published a kind of
Magazine, under the name of the
” Ladies Museum,“which extended to two volumes, octavo, and seems to have
been rather an undertaking of necessity than choice. Two
years after, she published
” Sophia, a Novel,“2 vols.
12mo, which is inferior to her earlier performances; and,
after an interval of seven years, she brought out, at Covent-garden theatre,
” The Sisters, a Comedy,“taken
from her novel of Henrietta, which was condemned on the
first night of its appearance. In 1773, she furnished Drurylane theatre with a comedy, entitled,
” Old City Manners.“Her last performance, not inferior to any of her
former in that species of composition, was
” Euphemia, a
Novel, 17yO,“4 vols. 12mo. In 1775, we find Dr. Johnson assisting her in drawing up proposals for an edition of
her works, in 3 vols. 4to; but it does not appear to have
been published. Dr. Johnson had such an opinion of Mrs.
Lennox that, on one occasion, not long before his death,
he went so far as to pronounce her superior to Mrs. Carter, miss Hannah Moore, and miss Burney. Sir John
Hawkins has given a ludicrous account of the doctor’s celebration of the birth of Mrs. Lennox’s first literary child,
' The Life of Harriot Stuart.
” This, however, was certainly not her first production, for in 1747, she published
“Poems on several occasions,
” printed for Sam. Paterson.
She was then Miss Ramsay.
Scotland, his attachment to whom some years after neatly cost him his life. In 1644, soon after the earl of Manchester had reduced the town of Lynn in Norfolk, Mr. L'Estrange,
L‘Estrange (Sir Roger), was descended from an ancient and reputable family, seated at Hunstanton-hall, Norfolk; where he was born Dec. 17, 1616. He was the youngest son of sir Hamond L’Estrange, knt. a zealous royalist during the disputes between king Charles and his parliament; who, having his estate sequestered, retired to Lynn, of which town he was made governor. The son had a liberal education, which was completed probably at Cambridge; and adopted his father’s principles with uncommon zeal, and in 1639, when about two-and- twenty, attended king Charles upon his expedition to Scotland, his attachment to whom some years after neatly cost him his life. In 1644, soon after the earl of Manchester had reduced the town of Lynn in Norfolk, Mr. L'Estrange, thinking he had sorpe interest in the place, as his father had been governor of it, formed a plan for surprizing it, and received a commission from the king, constituting him governor of the town in case of success: but, being seized, in consequence of the treachery of two of his associates, Leman and Hager, and his majesty’s commission found upon him, he was carried first to Lynn, thence to London, and there transmitted to the city court-martial for his trial; where, after suffering all manner of indignities, he was, as Whitlocke says, condemned to die as a spy, coming from the king’s quarters without drum, trumpet, or pass.
nd merits, as to put up quietly with this usage, and therefore addressed a warm expostulation to the earl of Clarendon, in the dedication to that minister of his “Memento,”
This appearance at the court of Cromwell was much
censured, after the restoration, by some of the royal party,
who also objected to him, that he had once been heard
playing in a concert where the usurper was present, and,
therefore, they nick-named him “Oliver’s Fidler.
” He
was charged also with having bribed some of the protector’s
people, but he positively disavows it; averring, he never
spoke to Thurloe but once in his life about his discharge;
and that, though during the dependency of that affair he
might well be seen at Whitehall, yet he never spoke to
Cromwell on any other business, or had the least
commerce of any kind with him. From this to the time of
the restoration, he seems to have lived free from any disturbance from the then governing powers; and perhaps
the obscurity into which he had fallen made him be overlooked by Charles II. and his ministry, on that prince’s
recovering his throne. He did not, however, so undervalue his own sufferings and merits, as to put up quietly
with this usage, and therefore addressed a warm expostulation to the earl of Clarendon, in the dedication to that
minister of his “Memento,
” published in The Public Intelligencer, and the News;' f the first of which came out
the 1st of August, and continued to be published twice a
week, till January 19, 1665; when he laid it down, on
the design then concerted of publishing the
” London Gazette,“the first of which papers made its appearance on.
Saturday Feb. 4.
After the dissolution of Charles’s second parliament, in
1679, he set up a paper, called
” The Observator;“the
design of which was to vindicate the measures of the court,
and the character of the king, from the charge of being
popislily affected. With the same spirit he exerted himself in 1681, in ridiculing the popish plot; which he did
with such vehemence, that it raised him many enemies,
who endeavoured, notwithstanding his known loyalty, to
render him obnoxious to the government. But he appeared with no less vehemence against the fanatic plot in
1682; and, in 1683, was particularly employed by the
court to publish Dr. Tillotson’s papers exhorting lord Russel to avow the doctrine of non-resistance, a little before
his execution. In this manner he weathered all the storms
raised against him during that reign, and, in the next, unrewarded with the honour of knighthood, accompanied
with this declaration,
” that it was in consideration of his
eminent services and unshaken loyalty to the crown, in all
extremities; and as a mark of the singular satisfaction of
his majesty, in his present as well as his past services.“In 1687, he was obliged to lay down his
” Observator,“now swelled to three volumes; as he could not agree with
the toleration proposed by his majesty, though, in all other
respects, he had gone the utmost lengths. He had even
written strenuously in defence of the dispensing power,
claimed by that infatuated prince; and this was probably one
reason, why some accused him of having become a proselyte to the church of Home, an accusation which gave him
much uneasiness, and which was heightened by his daughter’s defection to that church. To clear himself from this
aspersion, he drew up a formal declaration, directed to his
kinsman, sir Nicolas L'Estrange, on the truth of which he
received the sacrament at the time of publishing the same,
which is supposed to be in 1690 . By this declaration we
find he was married his lady’s name was Anne Doleman
but what issue he had by her, besides the just- mentioned
daughter, has not come to our knowledge. After the revolution, he seems to have been left out of the commission
of the peace; and, it is said, queen Mary shewed her contempt of him by the following anagram she made upon his
name,
” Lying- Strange Roger:" and it is certain he met
with some trouble, for the remainder of his life, on account
of his being a disaffected person.
Festivals as are appointed by the king’s authority, considered,“1721. 18.” A Letter of thanks to the earl of Nottingham, &c.“1721. 19.” The History and Antiquities of
Archbishop Wake’s character of him was that of vir sobrius, et bonus pradicator: and a considerable dignitary in
the church used to say, that he looked upon his life to have
been spent in the service of learning and virtue, and thought
the world to be more concerned for its continuance than
himself: that it would be happy for us if there were many
more of the profession like him, &c. It was his misfortune, however, to live in a time of much party violence, and
being a moderate man, he met with ill usage from both
parties, particularly from the clergy of his own diocese.
His only object was the security of our church-establishment as settled at the Revolution. He was so diligent a
preacher, that we are told he composed more than a thousand sermons. He was always of opinion that a clergyman
should compose his own sermons, and therefore ordered
his executor to destroy his stock, lest they should contribute to the indolence of others. Having no family, for
his wife died young without issue, he expended a great
deal of money on his library and the repairs of his dilapidated parsonage-houses; and was, at the same time, a liberal benefactor to the poor. His chief, and indeed only,
failing was a warmth of temper, which sometimes hurried
him on to say what was inconsistent with his character and
interest, and to resent imaginary injuries. Of all this, however, he was sensible, and deeply regretted it. Hearne
and Mr. Lewis Vvere, it appears, accustomed to speak,
disrespectfully of each other’s labours, but posterity has
done justice to both. The political prejudices of antiquariss
are of very little consequence.
Mr. Lewis’s works are, 1> “The Church Catechism efcplained,
” already mentioned, 1700, 8vo. 3.
” A serious
Address to the Anabaptists,“a single sheet, 1701, with a
second in 1702. 4.
” A Companion for the afflicted,“1706. 5.
” Presbyters not always an authoritative part of
provincial synods,“1710, 4to. 6.
” An apologetical Vindication of the present Bishops,“1711. 7.
” The Apology
for the Church of England, in an examination of the rights
of the Christian church,“published about this time, or
perhaps in 1714. 8.
” The poor Vicar’s plea against- his
glebe being assessed to the Church,“1712. 9.
” A Guide
to young Communicants,“1715. 10.
” A Vindication of
the Bishop of Norwich“(Trimnell), 1714. 11.
” The
agreement of the Lutheran churches with the church of
England, and an answer to some exceptions to it,“1715.
12.
” Two Letters in defence of the English liturgy and
reformation,“1716. 13.
” Bishop Feme’s Church of England man’s reasons for not making the decisions of ecclesiastical synods the rule of his faith,“1717, 8vo. 14.
” An
Exposition of the xxxivth article of Religion,“1717.
15.
” Short Remarks on the prolocutor’s answer, &c.“16.
” The History, &c. of John Wicliffe, D. D.“1720, 8vo.
17.
” The case of observing such Fasts and Festivals as are
appointed by the king’s authority, considered,“1721. 18.
” A Letter of thanks to the earl of Nottingham, &c.“1721.
19.
” The History and Antiquities of the Isle of Thanet in
Kent,“1723, 4 to, and again, with additions, in 1736. 20.
” A Specimen of Errors in the second volume of Mr. Collier’s Ecclesiastical History, being a Vindication of Bur-net’s
History of the Reformation,“1724, 8vo. 21.
” History and
Antiquities of the abbey church of Faversham, &c.“1727,
$to. 22.
” The New Testament, &c. translated out of the
Latin vulgate by John WicklifFe; to which is prefixed, an
History of the several Translations of the Holy Bible,“&c.
1731, folio. Of this only 160 copies were printed by subscription, and the copies unsubscribed for were advertised
the same year at I/. 1*. each. Of the
” New Testament“the rev. H. Baber, of the British Museum, has lately printed
an edition, with valuable preliminary matter, in 4to. 23.
” The History of the Translations, &c.“reprinted separately in 1739, 8vo. 24.
” The Life of Caxton,“1737,
8vo. For an account of this work we may refer to Dibdiu’s
new edition of Ames. 25.
” A brief History of the Rise
and Progress of Anabaptism, to which is prefixed a defence
of Dr. Wicliffe from the false charge of his denying Infant-baptism,“1738. 26.
” A Dissertation on the antiquity and use of Seals in England,“1710. 27.
” A Vindication of the ancient Britons, &c. from being Anabaptists,
with a letter of M. Bucer to bishop Hooper on ceremonies,“1741. 28.
” A Defence of the Communion office and Catechism of the church of England from the charge of favouring transubstantiation,“1742. 29.
” The Life of Reynold Pecock, bishop of St. Asaph and Chichester,“1744,
8vo. Mr. Lewis published also one or two occasional sermons, and an edition of Roper’s Life of sir Thomas More.
After his death, according to the account of him in the‘
Biog. Britannica (which is unpardonably superficial, as Masters’s History of Bene’t College had appeared some years before), was published
” A brief discovery of some
of the arts of the popish protestant Missioners in England,“1750, 8vo. But there are other curious tracts which Mr.
Lewis sent for publication to the Gentleman’s Magazine,
and which, for reasons stated in vol. X. of that work, were
printed in
” The Miscellaneous Correspondence," 1742
1748, a scarce and valuable volume, very little known to
the possessors of the Magazine, no set of which can be
complete without it. Of these productions of Mr. Lewis,
we can ascertain, on the authority of Mr. Cave, the following: an account of William Longbeard, and of John Smith,
the first English anabaptist; the principles of Dr. Hickes,
and Mr. Johnson; and an account of the oaths exacted by
the Popes. Mr. Lewis left a great many manuscripts, some
of which are still in public or private libraries, and are
specified in our authorities,
engagements prevented his preparing them for the press. They afterwards fell into the hands of Henry earl of Bath. Extracts from them are in Dublin college library.
, an eminent lawyer in
the early part of the seventeenth century, was the sixth
and youngest son of Henry Ley, esq. of Tesfont Evias, in
Wiltshire, and was born about 1552. In 1569 he entered
of Brazen-nose college, Oxford, whence he removed to
Lincoln’s-inn, studied the law, and was appointed Lent
reader in 1601, after which his learning and abilities raised
him to the highest rank of his profession. In 1603, he
was made serjeant at law, and the year following chief justice of the king’s bench in Ireland; on the ancient history
of which country he appears to have bestowed some attention, and collected with a view to publication, “The An.nals of John Clynne, a Friar Minor of Kilkenny,
” who lived
in the reign of Edward III.; the “Annals of the Priory of
St. John of Kilkenny,
” and the “Annals of Multiferman,
Rosse, and Clonmell.
” All these he had caused to be transcribed, but his professional engagements prevented his
preparing them for the press. They afterwards fell into
the hands of Henry earl of Bath. Extracts from them are
in Dublin college library.
with the honours bestowed on him immediately afterwards, for he was not only created baron Ley, and earl of Marlborough, but soon after made president of the council.
In 1609, being then a knight, sir James was made the
king’s attorney in the court of wards. In 1620 he was
created a baronet; in 1621, chief justice of the court of
king’s bench, England; and in 1625, lord high treasurer.
From this office he was removed, under pretence of his
great age, to make room for sir Richard VVeston. Lord
Clarendon seems to intimate that his disability as well as
age might be the cause, and that upon these accounts
there was little reverence shewn towards him. This, however, is scarcely reconcileable with the honours bestowed
on him immediately afterwards, for he was not only created
baron Ley, and earl of Marlborough, but soon after made
president of the council. Lloyd says he had better abilities for a judge than a statesman. He died at Lincoln’sinn, March 14, 1628, and was buried in the church at
Westbury, where a sumptuous monument was erected to
his memory. We have noticed his attention to Irish history while in that country. Lloyd has given us another
trait of his character while there, which is highly honourable to him. “Here he practised the charge king James
gave him at his going over (yea, what his own tender conscience gave himself), namely, not to build his estate upon
the ruins of a miserable nation, hut aiming, by the impartial execution of justice, not to enrich himself, but civilize
the people. But the wise king would no longer lose him
out of his own land, and therefore recalled him home about
the time when his father’s inheritance, by the death of
his five elder brethren, descended upon him.
”
used by appearing on May 3, 1641, at the head of a savage mob, who clamoured for justice against the earl of Stratford. Next day he was seized and arraigned at the bar
He wrote several other pamphlets, before the long parliament granted him the liberties of the Fleet, Nov. 1640, which indulgence he likewise abused by appearing on May 3, 1641, at the head of a savage mob, who clamoured for justice against the earl of Stratford. Next day he was seized and arraigned at the bar of the House of Lords, for an assault upon colonel Lunsford, the governor of the Tower; but the temper of the times being now in his favour, he was dismissed, and the same day a vote passed in the House of Commons, declaring his former sentence illegal and tyrannical, and that he ought to have reparation for his sufferings and losses. This reparation was effectual, although slow. It was not until April 7, 1646, that a decree of the House of Lords passed for giving him two thousand pounds out of the estates of lord Cottington, sir Banks Windehank, and James Ingram, warden of the Fleet; and it was two years after before he received the money, in consequence of a petition to the House of Commons, when he obtained an ordinance for 3000l. worth of the delinquents’ lands, to be sold to him at twelve years purchase. This ordinance included a grant for some part of the sequestered estates of sir Henry Bellingham and Mr. Bowes, in the counties of Durham or Northumberland, from which he received about 1400l.; and Cromwell, soon after his return from Ireland, in May 1650, procured him a grant of lands for the remainder. This extraordinary delay was occasioned entirely by himself.
forms us, he was exchanged very honourably above his rank, and rewarded with a purse of 300l. by the earl of Essex. Yet, when that general began to press the Scots’ covenant
When the parliament had voted an army to oppose the
king, Lilburne entered as a volunteer, was a captain of
foot at the battle of Edge-hill, and fought well in the engagement at Brentford, Nov. 12, 1612, but being taken
prisoner, was carried to Oxford, and would have been
tried and executed for high treason, had not his parliamentary friends threatened retaliation. After this, as he
himself informs us, he was exchanged very honourably
above his rank, and rewarded with a purse of 300l. by the
earl of Essex. Yet, when that general began to press the
Scots’ covenant upon his followers, Lilburne quarrelled
with him, and by Cromwell’s interest was made a major
of foot, Oct. 1643, in the new-raised army under the earl
of Manchester. In this station he behaved very well, and
narrowly escaped with his life at raising the siege of Newark by prince Rupert; but at the same time he quarrelled
with his colonel (King), and accused him of several misdemeanours, to the earl, who immediately promoted him
to be lieutenant-colonel of his own regiment of dragoons.
This post Lilburne sustained with signal bravery at the
battle of Marston-moor, in July; yet he had before that
quarrelled with the earl for not bringing colonel King to
a trial by a court* martial; and upon Cromwell’s accusing
his lordship to the House of Commons, Nov. 1644, Lilburne appeared before the committee in support of that
charge. Nor did he rest until he had procured an impeachment to be exhibited in the House of Commons in August
this year, against colonel King for high crimes and
misdemeanours. Little attention being paid to this, he first
offered a petition to the House, to bring the colonel
to his trial, and still receiving no satisfaction, he published a coarse attack upon the earl of Manchester, in
1646. Being called before the House of Lords, where
that nobleman was speaker, on account of this publication,
he not only refused to answer the interrogatories, but protested against their jurisdiction over him in the present
case; on which he was first committed to Newgate, and
then to the Tower. He then appealed to the House of
Commons; and upon their deferring to take his case into
consideration, he charged that House, in print, not only
with having done nothing of late years for the general good, but also with having made many ordinances notoriously unjust and oppressive. This pamphlet, which
was called “The Oppressed man’s oppression,
” being
seized, he printed another, entitled “The Resolved
man’s resolution,
” in which he maintained “that the
present parliament ought to be pulled down, and a new
one called, to bring them to a strict account, as the
only means of saving the laws and liberties of England
from utter destruction,
” This not availing, he applied to
the agitators in the army; and at length, having obtained
liberty every day to go, without his keeper, to attend the
committee appointed about his business, and to return
every night to the Tower, he made use of that indulgence
to engage in some seditious practices. For this he was recommitted to the Tower, and ordered to be tried; but,
upon the parliament’s apprehensions from the Cavaliers,
on prince Charles’s appearing with a fleet in the Downs,
he procured a petition, signed by seven or eight thousand
persons, to be presented to the House, which made an order, in August 1648, to discharge him from imprisonment*,
and to make him satisfaction for his sufferings. This was
not compassed, however, without a series of conflicts and
quarrels with Cromwell; who, returning from Ireland in
. 7. “A Comment on the white King’s Prophecy,” ib. 8. “The Nativities of archbishop Laud, and Thomas earl Strafford,” ib. 9. “Christian Astrology,” 1647; upon this piece
Lilly was author of many works. His “Observations on
the Life and Death of Charles late King of England,
” if
we overlook the astrological nonsense, may be read with
as much satisfaction as more celebrated histories, Lilly
being not only very well informed, but strictly impartial.
This work, with the Lives of Lilly and Ashmole, written
by themselves, were published in one volume, 8vo, in 1774.
His other works were principally as follow: 1. “Merlinus
Anglicus Junior.
” 2. “Supernatural Sight.
” 3. “The
white King’s Prophecy.
” 4. “England’s prophetical Merlin;
” all printed in The starry Messenger,
”
Collection of Prophecies,
” A
Comment on the white King’s Prophecy,
” ib. 8. “The
Nativities of archbishop Laud, and Thomas earl Strafford,
” ib. 9. “Christian Astrology,
” The third Book of Nativities,
” ib. 11.“The World’s
Catastrophe,
” ib. 12. “The Prophecies of Ambrose Merlin, with a Key,
” ib. 13. “Trithemius, or the Government of the World by presiding Angels.
” See Cornelius
Agrippa’s book with the same title. These three last were
printed together in one volume; the two first being
translated into English by Elias Ashmole, esq. 14. “A Treatise of the three Suns seen in the Winter of 1647,
” printed
in Monarchy or no Monarchy,
” Observations on the Life and Death of Charles, late
King of England,
” ib. and again in True History of King James and
King Charles I.
” &c. 17. “-Annus Tenebrosus or, the
black Year.
” This drew him into the dispute with Gataker,
which our author carried on in his almanack in 16.54.
uckingham. Theophilus was the second of three children, and so named after his godfather, Theophilus earl of Huntingdon. He received the rudiments of grammar-learning
, a Socinian writer, was born
at Middlewich, in Cheshire, June 20th, 1723, old style.
His father, Mr. Robert Lindsey, was an opulent proprietor
of the salt-works in that neighbourhood; his mother’s name
was Spencer, a younger branch of the Spencer family, in
the county of Buckingham. Theophilus was the second of
three children, and so named after his godfather, Theophilus earl of Huntingdon. He received the rudiments of
grammar-learning at Middlewich, and from his early attachment to books, and the habitual seriousness of his mind,
he was intended by his mother for the church. He lost
some time by a change of schools, until he was put under
the care of Mr. Barnard of the free-school of Leeds, under
whom he made a rapid progress in classical learning. At
the age of eighteen he was admitted of St. John’s college,
Cambridge, where, by exemplary diligence and moral
conduct, he obtained the entire approbation of his tutors.
As soon as he had finished his studies at college, taken
his first degree, and had been admitted to deacon’s orders,
he was nominated by sir George Wheler to a chapel in
Spital-square London. Soon after this, he was, by the
recommendation of the earl of Huntingdon, appointed domestic chaplain to Algernon duke of Somerset. The duke,
from a great regard for his merit, determined to procure
him a high rank in the church, but an early death deprived
Mr. Lindsey of his illustrious patron. In 1754, be accompanied the present duke of Northumberland to the continent, and on his return he supplied, for some time, the
temporary vacancy of a good living in the north of England, called Kirkby-Wisk: here he became acquainted
with Mr. archdeacon Blackburne, and in 1760 married his
daughter-in-law. From Kirkby Mr. Lindsey went to Piddletown, in Dorsetshire, having been presented to the
living of that place by the earl of Huntingdon: this,
through the interest of the same patron, he exchanged, in
1764, for the vicarage of Catterick, in Yorkshire. Here
he resided nearly ten years, an exemplary pattern of a primitive and conscientous pastor, highly respected and beloved by the people committed to his charge. Besides his
various and important duties as a parish clergyman, Mr.
Lindsey was ever alive, and heartily active, in every cause
in which a deviation from the formularies and obligations
of the church was considered as necessary. With this
view, in 1771 he zealously co-operated with Mr. archdeacon Blackburne, Dr. John Jebb, Mr. Wyvil, and others,
in endeavouring to obtain relief in matters of subscription
to the thirty-nine articles. Mr. Lindsey had, probably,
for some years, entertained doubts with respect to the
doctrine of the Trinity, and other leading topics of the
established faith; and these pressed so heavy upon him
that he could no longer endure to remain in a church,
partaking of its emoluments, which he could not deserve,
and preaching its doctrines, which he could not believe.
He therefore, in November 1773, wrote to the prelate of
his diocese, informing him of his iateiuion to quit the
church, and signifying, that in a few days he should transmit to him his deed of resignation. The bishop endeavoured to persuade him to remain at his post, but he had
made up his mind that duty required the sacrifice, and he
was resolved to bear the consequences. When the act was
done, he said he felt himself delivered from a load which
had long lain heavy upon him, and at times nearly overwhelmed him. Previously to his quitting Catterick, Mr.
Lindsey delivered a farewell address to his parishioners,
in which he stated his motives for quitting them in a simple and very affecting manner, pointing out the reasons
why he could no longer conduct, nor join in their worship,
without the guilt of continual insincerity before God, and
endangering the loss of his favour for ever. He left Catterick about the middle of December, and after visiting
some friends in different parts of the country, he arrived
in London in January 1774, where he met with friends,
who zealously patronized the idea which he entertained
of opening a place of worship, devoted entirely to unitarian principles. A large room was at first fitted up for
the purpose in Essex-street in the Strand, which was
opened April 17, 1774. The service of the place was
conducted according to the plan of a liturgy which had
been altered from that used in the established church by
the celebrated Dr. Samuel Clarke, whose conscience was
not quite so delicate as that of Mr. Lindsey. Mr. Lindsey
published the sermon which he preached on the opening of
his chapel, to which was added an account of the liturgy
made use of. About the same time he published his
“Apology,
” of which several editions were called for in
the course of a few years. This was followed by a still
larger volume, entitled “A Sequel to the Apology,
” which
was intended as a reply to his various opponents, and likewise to vindicate and establish the leading doctrines which
he professed, and on account of which he had given up
his preferment in the church. This work was published in
1776; and in 1778 he was enabled, by the assistance of
his friends, to build the chapel of Essex-street, and to purchase the ground on which it stands. Till the summer of
1793, Mr. Lindsey, with the aid of his friend the Rev. Dr.
Disney, conducted the services of the place, upon strict
unitarian principles, to a numerous congregation. He
then resigned the whole into the hands of his coadjutor,
notwithstanding the, earnest wishes of his hearers that he
should still continue a part of the services, Though he
had quitted the duties of the pulpit, he continued to labour
in the cause, by his publications, till he had attained his 80th,
year. In 1802, he published his last work, entitled “Conversations on the Divine Government, shewing that every
thing is from God, and for good to all.
” The professed
object of this piece is to vindicate the Creator from those
gloomy notions which are too often attached to his providence, and to shew that the government of the world is
the wisest that could have been adopted, and that afflictions and apparent evils are permitted for the general
good. From this principle Mr. Lindsey derived consolation through life, and upon it he acted in every difficult
and trying scene. On his death-bed he spoke of his sufferings with perfect patience and meekness, and when
reminded, by a friend, that he doubtless was enabled
to bear them with so much fortitude in the recollection
of his favourite maxim, that “Whatever is, is right; w
“No,” said he with an animation that lighted up his countenance, “Whatever is, is best.” This was the last sentence which he was able distinctly to articulate: he died
Novembers, 1808. Besides the works already referred
to, he published two dissertations: 1. On the preface to
St. John’s Gospel; 2. On praying to Christ:
” An Historical View of the State of the Unitarian Doctrine and Worship from the Reformation to our own Times;“and several other pieces. Among controversial writers Mr. Lindsey
takes a place as his
” Vindiciae Priestleianae,“and his
” Examination of Mr. Robinson’s Plea for the Divinity of
Christ," will shew. Two volumes of his Sermons have been
published since his death.
In 1698, he attended the earl of Portland in his embassy from king William to the court of
In 1698, he attended the earl of Portland in his embassy
from king William to the court of France; and having
the pleasure to see his “Synopsis Conchyliorum
” in the
king’s library, he presented that monarch with a second
edition of the treatise, much improved, in 1699, not long
after his return from Paris. Of this journey he published an
account, with observations on the state and curiosities of that
metropolis; which, containing some things of a trifling nature, was pleasantly ridiculed by Dr. Wm. King, in another,
entitled “A Journey to London.
” In Historiae Animalium Angliae
tres Tractatus,
” &c. John Goedertius of Insects,
” &c. De Fontibus medicalibus AnglitE,
” Ebor. Exercitatio anatomica, in qua
de Cochleis agitur,
” &c. Cochlearum &
Limacum Exercitatio anatomica; accedit de Variolis Exercitatio,
” Conchy liorum Bivalvium
utriusque Aquae Exercitatio anatom. tertia,
” &c. Exercitationes medicinales,
” &c.
. The judge’s third son, Thomas, was knighted by Henry VII. for taking Lambert Simnel, the pretended earl of Warwick. His eldest son and successor, sir William Littleton,
, a celebrated English judge, descended of an ancient family, was
the eldest son of Thomas Westcote, of the county of Devon, esq. by Elizabeth, daughter and sole-heir of Thomas
Littleton or Lyttleton, of Frankley in Worcestershire, in
compliance with whom she consented that the issue, or at
least the eldest son, of that marriage should take the name
of Lyttleton, and bear the arms of that family. He was
born about the beginning of the fifteenth century at Frankley. Having laid a proper foundation of learning at one
of the universities, he removed to the Inner-Temple; and,
applying himself to the law, became very eminent in that
profession. The first notice we have of his distinguishing
himself is from his learned lectures on the statute of Westminster, “de donis conditionalibus,
” “of conditional
gifts.
” He was afterwards made, by Henry VI. steward
or judge of the court of the palace, or marshalsea of the
king’s household, and, in May 1455, king’s serjeant, in
which capacity he went the Northern circuit as a judge of
the assize. Upon the revolution of the crown, from the
house of Lancaster to that of York) in the time of Edward
IV. our judge, who was now made sheriff of Worcestershire, received a pardon from that prince; was continued
in his post of king’s serjeant, and also in that of justice of
assi/r for the same circuit. This pardon passed in 1462,
the second year of Edward IV.; and, in 1466, he was appointed one of the judges of the court of Common Pleas.
The same year, he obtained a writ to the commissioners of
the customs of London, Bristol, and Kingston-upon-Hull,
enjoining them to pay him a hundred and ten marks annually, for the better support of his dignity; a hundred and
six shillings and eleven pence farthing, to furnish him
whh a furred robe; and six shillings and six-pence more,
for another robe called Li num. In 1473, we find him residing near St. Sepulchre’s church, London, in a capital
mansion, the property of the abbot of Leicester, which he
held on lease at the yearly rent of 1 <'>.-. In 1475 he was
created, among others, knight of the Hath, to grace the
solemnity of conferring that order upon the king’s eldest
son, then prince of Wales, afterwards Edward V. He
continued to enjoy the esteem of his sovereign and the nation, on account of his profound knowledge of the laws of
England, till his death, Aug. 23, 1481, the day after the
date of his will. He was then said to be of a good old
age, but its precise length has not been ascertained. He
was honourably interred in the cathedral church of Worcester, where a marble tomb, with his statue, was erected
to his memory; his picture was also placed in the church
of Frankley; and another in that of Hides-Owen, where
his descendants purchased a good estate. He married,
and had three sons, William, Richard, and Thomas.
Kichard, bred to the law, became eminent in thut profession; and it was for his use that our judge drew up his
celebrated treatise on tenures or titles, which will probably hand his name down to the latest posterity. The
judge’s third son, Thomas, was knighted by Henry VII.
for taking Lambert Simnel, the pretended earl of Warwick. His eldest son and successor, sir William Littleton,
after living many years in great splendour, at Frankley,
died in 1508; and from this branch the late celebrated lord
Lyttelton of Frankley co. Worcester, who was created a
baron of Great Britain, Nov. 1756, derived his pedigree;
but who, owing to the alteration in the spelling of the
name (which, however, appears unnecessary) will occur in
a future part of this work.
o lord Falkland, to demand the seal from him, and to consult about a successor with Hyde, afterwards earl of Clarendon; but this last step prevented the former order
In this station he preserved the esteem of both parties
for some time, and the two houses of parliament agreed to
return their thanks by him to the king, for passing the
triennial bill, and that of the subsidies; but, as he concurred in the votes for raising an army, and seizing the militia, in March 1641, measures very hostile to the royal
cause, the king sent an order from York to lord Falkland,
to demand the seal from him, and to consult about a successor with Hyde, afterwards earl of Clarendon; but this
last step prevented the former order from being put into
execution. Hyde, who always entertained a great regard
for the keeper, had, upon his late behaviour, paid him a
visit at Exeter-house, on which occasion the keeper freely
disclosed his mind, lamenting that he had been removed
from the common-pleas, of which court he was acquainted
with the business aud the persons with whom he had to
deal, to an higher office, which involved him with another
sort of men, and in affairs to which he was a stranger; and
this without his having one friend among them, to whom
he could confide any difficulty that occurred to him. Adverting likewise to the unhappy state of the king’s affairs,
he said that the party in hostility to the court “would
never have done what they had already, unless they had
been determined to do more: that he foresaw it would not
be long before a war would break out, and of what importance it was, in that season, that the great seal should be
with his majesty; that the prospect of this necessity had
made him comply to a certain degree with that party; that
there had lately been a consultation, whether, in case the
king might send for him, or the great seal be taken from
him, it were advisable to keep it in some secure place,
where the keeper should receive it upon occasion, they
having no mind to disoblige him: that the knowledge of
this had induced him to vote as he did in the late debates;
and by that compliance, which he knew would give the
king a bad impression of him, he had gained so much credit with them, that he should be able to preserve the
seal in his own hands till his majesty should demand it, and
then he would be ready to wait on the king with it, declaring that no man should be more willing to perish with
and for his majesty than himself.
” Mr. Hyde acquainted
lord Falkland with this conference; and, being confident
that the lord-keeper would keep his promise, recommended
to advise his majesty to write a kind invitation to the keeper
to come to York, and bring the seal with him, rather than,
think of giving it to any other person. The advice was
embraced by the king, who, though he still had his doubts
of Littleton’s sincerity, was influenced by the reasons assigned; and accordingly the seal was sent to York on the
f2d, and followed by the keeper on the 23d of May, 1642.
But, notwithstanding this piece of service and eminent
proof of his loyalty, at the risk of his life, he could never
totally regain the king’s confidence, or the esteem of the
court-party. He continued, however, to enjoy his post,
in which he attended his majesty to Oxford, was there
created doctor of laws, and made one of the king’s privycouncil, and colonel of a regiment of foot in the same
service, some time before his death, which happened Aug.
27, 1645, at Oxford. His body was interred in the cathedral of Christ church; uu which Qccasioa a funeral oration
was pronounced by the celebrated Dr. Hammond, then
orator to the university. In May 1683, a monument was
erected there to his memory, by his only daughter and
heiress, the lady Anne Lyttelton, widow of sir Thomas
Lyttelton; and the same year came out his “Reports,
” in
folio, which, however, Mr. Stevens, in his introduction
to lord Bacon’s Letters, edition 1702, p. 21, thinks were
not composed by him, many of the cases being the same
verbatim as in Hetley’s reports. Lord Clarendon says of
sir Edward Littleton, that “he was a man of great reputation in the profession of the law, for learning, and all other
advantages which attend the most eminent men. He was
of a very good extraction in Shropshire, and inherited a
fair fortune and inheritance from his father. He was a
handsome and a proper man, of a very graceful presence,
and notorious courage, which in his youth he had manifested with his sword. He had taken great pains in the
hardest and most knotty part of the law, as well as that
which was most customary; and was not only ready and
expert in the books, but exceedingly versed in records,
in studying and examining whereof he had kept Mr. Selden
company, with whom he had great friendship, and who had
much assisted him: so that he was looked upon as the best
antiquary of his profession, who gave himself up to practice; and, upon the mere strength of his abilities, he had
raised himself into the first of the practisers of the common
law courts, and was chosen recorder of London before he
was called to the bench, and grew presently into the
highest practice in all the other courts, as well as those of
the law.
” Whitelocke also observes, that he was a man of
courage, and of excellent parts and learning. But we fear
he cannot be altogether acquitted of unsteadiness in some
parts of his conduct, although it must at the same time be
owned that when he found he could no longer retain the
seal with credit, he delivered it, with his own hands, to
his unhappy sovereign, and died firmly attached to his
cause.
o make her a pattern for other women to imitate;” but we can scarcely credit what he adds, that “the earl being much displeased that the memory of his lady should be
Lloyd’s other publications were: 1. “Modern Policy
compleated, or the public actions and councils, '&c. of General Monk,
” Lond. The Pourtraictuue
of his sacred Majesty Charles II. &c.
” ibid. 1660, 8vo. 3.
“The Countess of Bridgwater’s Ghost, &c.
” Lond. to make her a pattern for other women to imitate;
”
but we can scarcely credit what he adds, that “the earl
being much displeased that the memory of his lady should
be perpetuated under such a title, and by such an obscure
person, who did not do her the right that was <Jue, he
brought him into trouble, and caused him to suffer six
months imprisonment /
” We have not seen this work; but
had it been a libel instead of a panegyric, which last appears to have been the author’s honest intention, it could
not have been punished with more severity. 4. “Of Plots,
&c.
” Lond. 1664, 4to, published under the name of Oliver Foulis. 5. “The Worthies of the World, &c.
” an
abridgment of Plutarch, ibid. Dying and
Dead men’s Living Words; or a fair warning to a careless
world,
” Wonders no miracles; or Mr. Valentine Greatrack’s Gift of Healing examined, &c.
” ibid. Exposition of the Catechism and Liturgy, &c.
” 9. “A Treatise on Moderation,
”
llowing year. 3. “A reasonable Defence of the Seasonable Discourse,” &c. 1673, 4to, in answer to the earl of Castlemain’s observations on the preceding article. 4. “The
Besides the “Considerations,
” &c. mentioned above,
he wrote, 1. “The late Apology in behalf of Papists, reprinted and answered, in behalf of the Royalists,
” A seasonable Discourse, shewing the necessity
of maintaining the Established Religion in opposition to
Popery,
” A reasonable Defence of the Seasonable Discourse,
” &c. The difference between the Church and the Court of
Rome considered,
” An Alarm for
Sinners,
” An historical account of Church
Government,
” A Letter to Dr. William
Sherlock, in vindication of that part of Josephus’s History,
which gives an account of Jaddua the high priest’s submitting to Alexander the Great,
” A Discourse of God’s ways of disposing Kingdoms,
” The Pretences of the French Invasion examined,
”
&c. A Dissertation upon Daniel’s 70
Weeks,
” the substance of which is inserted in the chronology of sir Isaac Newton. 12. An exposition of the same
subject, left printed imperfect, and not published. 13.
*‘ A Letter upon the same subject, printed in the ’ Life of
Dr. Humphrey Prideaux,' p. 288, edit. 1758,“8vo. 14.
” A
System of Chronology,“left imperfect, but out of it his
chaplain, Benjamin Marshall, composed his
” Chronological Tables,“printed at Oxford, 1712, 1713. 15.
” A Harmony of the Gospels,“partly printed in 4to, but left imperfect. 16.
” A Chronological account of the Life of
Pythagoras,“&c. 1699. 17. He is supposed to have had
a hand in a book published by his son at Oxford, 1700, in
folio, entitled
” Series Chronologica Olympiadum,“&c.
He wrote also some
” Explications of some of the Prophecies in the Revelations,“and added the chronological dates
at the head of the several columns, with an index to the
Bible, and many of the references and parallel places, first
printed in the fine edition of the Bible published in folio,
under the direction of archbishop Tenison, in 1701. He
left a Bible interlined with notes in short hand, which was
in the possession of Mr. Marshall, his chaplain, who married a relation, and would have published these notes had
he met with encouragement, as Whiston informs us, who
always, even in his index, calls Dr. Lloyd
” the great
bishop,“and in speaking of Wasse says,
” one more
learned than any bishop in England since bishop Lloyd."
t of natural philosophy. While at Oxford, in 1666, he became acquainted with lord Ashley, afterwards earl of Shaftesbury, and that in the character of a medical practitioner.
In 1664, sir William Swan being appointed envoy from the English court to the elector of Brandenburgh, and some other German princes, Mr. Locke attended him as his secretary, but returned to England within the year, and applied himself again with great vigour to his studies, and particularly to that of natural philosophy. While at Oxford, in 1666, he became acquainted with lord Ashley, afterwards earl of Shaftesbury, and that in the character of a medical practitioner. Lord Ashley by a fall had hurt his breast in such a manner, that there was an abscess formed in it, and being advised to drink the mineral waters at Astrop, wrote to Dr. Thomas, a physician at Oxford, to procure a quantity of those waters, which might be ready on his arrival. Dr. Thomas, being obliged to be absent from Oxford at that time, desired his friend Mr. Locke to execute this commission. By some accident or neglect, the waters were not ready the day after lord Ashley’s arrival, and Mr. Locke thought it his duty to wait on his lordship to make an apology, which he received with his usual civility, and was so pleased with Locke’s conversation as to detain him to supper, and engaged him to dine with him next day, that he might have the more of his company. And when his lordship left Oxford to go to Surinirig-hill, where he drank the waters, he made Mr. Locke promise to come thither, as he did in the summer of 1667. Lord Ashley afterwards returned, and obliged him to promise that he would come and lodge at his house. Mr. Locke accordingly went thither, and though not a regular practitioner, his lordship confided entirely in his advice, with regard to the operation, which was to be performed by opening the abscess in his breast, and which saved his life, though it never closed.
In 1668, he attended the earl and countess of Northumberland into France; but the earl’s death
In 1668, he attended the earl and countess of Northumberland into France; but the earl’s death did not allow
him to remain long in that country. On his return, Mr.
Locke lived, as before, at lord Ashley’s, who was then
chancellor of the exchequer, but made frequent visits to
Oxford, in the prosecution of his studies, as well as for
change of air, which appeared to be necessary to his health.
While he was at lord Ashley’s, he had the care of the education of that nobleman’s eldest son, who was then about
sixteen years of age. This province he executed with
great care, and to the full satisfaction of his noble patron.
The young lord being of a weakly constitution, his father
wished to see him married, lest the family should be extinct by his death; and as he thought him too young to
make a proper choice for himself, he not only consulted
Mr. Locke on the subject, but even requested he would
make a suitable choice for the youth. This was an affair
of some delicacy, and no small risk; for, although lord
Ashley did not regard fortune, yet he conditioned for a
lady of a good family, an agreeable temper, and a fine
person; of good education, and of good understanding,
and whose conduct would be different from that of the generality of court-ladies. In all these respects Mr.Xocke
had the happiness to succeed, and the marriage was fruitful. The eldest son, afterwards the author of the “Characteristics,
” was committed to the care of Mr. Locke in
his education, and his pupil, when lord Shaftesbury,
always spoke of Mr. Locke with the highest esteem, and
manifested on all occasions a grateful sense of his obliga r
tions to him, but there are some passages in his works, in
which he speaks of Mr. Locke’s philosophy with great severity. It will not, however, be thought a very serious
objection to Mr. Locke, that his philosophy did not give
entire satisfaction to lord Shaftesbury.
suits to which he more particularly addicted himself. In 1672, his patron Lord Ashley, being created earl of Shaftesburj', and lord high chancellor of England, appointed
In 1670, and the year following, our author began to
form the plan of his celebrated “Essay on Human Understanding,
” at the earnest request of Mr. Tyrrell, Dr. Thomas, and some other friends, who met frequently in his
chamber to converse together on philosophical subjects;
but his employments and avocations prevented him from
finishing it then. In 1668 he had been elected a fellow
of the royal society, and appears to have been now looked
up to as a man of superior talents, and an authority in
those pursuits to which he more particularly addicted himself. In 1672, his patron Lord Ashley, being created earl
of Shaftesburj', and lord high chancellor of England, appointed Mr. Locke secretary of the presentations to benefices; which place he held until 1673, when his lordship
resigned the great seal. As he had been the confidant of
this statesman in his most secret affairs, he now assisted
his lordship in publishing some treatises, which were designed to excite the people to watch the Roman catholics,
and to oppose the arbitrary measures of the court.
nce on account of his health, and at Montpelier became first acquainted with Mr. Herbert, afterwards earl of Pembroke, to whom he dedicated his “Essay on Human Understanding.”
In 1675, Mr. Locke travelled into France on account of
his health, and at Montpelier became first acquainted with
Mr. Herbert, afterwards earl of Pembroke, to whom he
dedicated his “Essay on Human Understanding.
” From
Montpelier he went to Paris, where he was introduced to
various men of letters. In 1679 he was recalled to London, on the earl of Shaftesbury’s having regained his
favour at court and been made president of the council, but
this was of short duration. The earl lost his place in a few
months, for refusing to comply with the designs of the
Court, which aimed at the establishment of popery and
arbitrary power; attd having incurred the implacable hatred
of the duke of York, on account of his supporting the exclusion-bill, he was, in 1681, committed to the lower,
and although acquitted upon trial, thought it most safe to
retire to Holland, where he died in 1683. Mr. Locke, also
thinking himself not quite secure in England, followed his
lordship to Holland, and was introduced to many of the
learned men of Amsterdam, particularly 1 anborrh, and
Le Clerc, whose intimacy and friendship he preserved
throughout life.
several English malcontents at the Hague, this conduct was communicated by our resident there to the earl of Sunderland, then secretary of state; who acquainting the
During his residence in Holland, he was accused at
court of having written certain tracts against the government of his country, which were afterwards discovered to
be the production of another person; and upon that suspicion he was deprived of his studentship of Christ-church.
This part of Mr. Locke’s history requires some detail.
The writer of his life in the Biographia Britannica (Nicoll)
says that “being observed to join in company with several
English malcontents at the Hague, this conduct was communicated by our resident there to the earl of Sunderland,
then secretary of state; who acquainting the king therewith, his majesty ordered the proper methods to be taken
for expelling him from the college, and application to be
made for that purpose to bishop Fell, the dean; in obedience to this command, the necessary information was given
by his lordship, who at the same time wrote to our author, to
appear and answer for himself on the first of January ensuing,
but immediately receiving an express command to turn him
out, was obliged to comply therewith, and, accordingly,
Air. Locke was removed from his student’s place on the
15th of Nov. 1684.
” This account, however, is not correct. All that lord Sunderland did, was to impart his majesty’s displeasure to the dean, and to request his opinion
as to the proper method of removing Mr. Locke. The
dean’s answer, dated Nov. 8, contains the following particulars of Mr. Locke, and of his own advice and proceedings against him. “I have,
” says the dean, “for divers
years had an eye upon him; but so close has his guard
been on himself, that after several strict inquiries, I may
confidently affirm there is not any man inthe college,
however familiar with him, who had heard him speak a
word either against or so much as concerning the government; and although very frequently, both in public and
private, discourses have been purposely introduced to the
disparagement of his master, the earl of Shaftesbury, his
party and designs, he never could be provoked to take
any notice, or discover in word or look the least concern.
So that I believe there is not a man in the world so much
master of taciturnity and passion. He has here a physician’s place (he had taken the degree of B. M. in 1674)
which frees him from the exercise of the college, and the
obligations which others have to residence in it; and he is
now abroad for want of health.
”
with some of whom he used to associate on the most familiar terms. He had weekly interviews with the earl of Pembroke, then lord keeper of the privy seal; and when the
About this time Mr. Locke’s attention was directed to
the state of the coin, which had been so much clipped,
as to want above a third of its real value; and although his
sentiments on the subject were at first disregarded, the
parliament at length was obliged to take the matter into
consideration, aud to assist the members in forming a right
opinion on the matter, aud introduce a proper remedy.
Mr. Locke, therefore, published “Some considerations of
the consequence of the lowering of the interest, and raising the value of money,
” and shortly followed it by two
more on the same subject, in answer to objections. These
writings extended his acquaintance among men of rank in
the political world, with some of whom he used to associate
on the most familiar terms. He had weekly interviews
with the earl of Pembroke, then lord keeper of the privy
seal; and when the air of London began to affect his
lungs, he went for some days to the earl of Peterborough’s
seat at Parsons’ Green, near Fulham, where he always met
with the most friendly reception: but was obliged afterwards entirely to leave London*, at least during the whole
of the winter season.
Miracles;” “Part of a fourth Letter for Toleration;” “Memoirs relating to the Life of Anthony first earl of Shaftesbury,” &c. &c. He deft behind him several Mss. from
This edition contains, principally, the following treatises, to which we have here appended the years of their
first publication 1. “Three Letters upon Toleration;
”
the first, printed at London in 168y, was in Latin. 2. “A
Register of the Changes of the Air observed at Oxford,
”
inserted in Mr. Boyle’s “General History of the Air,
”
New Method for a Common-place Book,
”
Essay concerning Human Understanding,
”
Two Treatises of Civil Government,
” &c.
Some Considerations of the Consequences of lowering
the Interest, and raising the Value, of Money,
” For coining silver Money in England,
”
&c. “Farther Observations concerning the raising the
Value of Money,
” &c. 9. “Some Thoughts concerning
Education,
” &c. De l'Education des Enfans,
” Amster.
The Reasonableness of Christianity,
” &c.
Vindication of the Reasonableness,
”
&c. A second Vindication,
” &c. A Letter to the Bishop of Worcester,
” Reply to the Bishop of Worcester,
” &c. Reply, in answer to the Bishop’s second Letter,
” Of the Conduct of the Understanding;
” “An Examination of Malebranche’s Opinion,
” &.c. “A Discourse of Miracles;
” “Part of a fourth Letter for Toleration;
” “Memoirs relating to the Life of Anthony first
earl of Shaftesbury,
” &c. &c. He deft behind him several
Mss. from which his executors, sir Peter King aud Anthony Collins, esq. published, in 1705, his paraphrase and
notes upon St. Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, which were
soon followed by those upon the Corintbians, Romans, and
Ephesians, with an essay prefixed, “For the understanding of St. Paul’s epistles, by consulting St. Paul himself.
”
In the following year the posthumous works of Mr. Locke
were published, comprising a treatise “On the Conduct
of the Understanding,
” intended as a supplement to the
“Essay:
” “An Examination of Malebranche’s Opinion
of seeing all Things in God.
” In
iament and an enemy to the measures of the court, encouraged his son to engage as a volunteer in the earl of Essex’s life-guard. In this station he appeared against the
, one of the chiefs of the republican party during the civil wars, was descended of an ancient and good family, originally of Shropshire, and thence removed into Wiltshire, in which county he wag born, at Maiden- Bradley, about 1620. After a proper foundation in grammar, he was sent to Trinity-college in Oxford, where he took the degree of batchelor of arts in 1636, but removed to the Temple, to study the law, as a qualification for serving his country in parliament, his ancestors having frequently represented the county of Wiltshire. His father, sir Henry Ludlow, who was a member of the long parliament and an enemy to the measures of the court, encouraged his son to engage as a volunteer in the earl of Essex’s life-guard. In this station he appeared against the king, at the battle of Edge-hill, in '1642; and, having raised a troop of horse the next summer, 1643, he joined sir Edward Hungerford in besieging Wardour-castle. This being taken, he was made governor of it; but being retaken the following year, 1644, by the king’s forces, he was carried prisoner to Oxford. After remaining here some time, he was released by exchange, went to London, and was appointed high-sheriff of Wiltshire by the parliament. He then appears to have declined a command under the earl of Essex, but accepted the post of major in sir Arthur Haslerig’s regiment of horse, in the army of sir William Waller, and marched to form the blockade of Oxford. From Oxford, however, he was immediately sent, with a commission from sir William, to raise and command a regiment of horse, and was so successful as to be able to join Waller with about five hundred horse, and was engaged in the second battle fought at Newbury. Upon new modelling the army, he was dismissed with Waller, and was not employed again in any post, civil or military, till 1645, when he was chosen in parliament for Wiltshire in the room of his father, who died in 1643.
Soon after the death of the earl of Essex, Sept. 1646, Ludlow had reason to suspect, from, a
Soon after the death of the earl of Essex, Sept. 1646, Ludlow had reason to suspect, from, a conversation with Cromwell, who expressed a dislike to the parliament and extolled the army, that his ambition would lead him to destroy the civil authority, and establish his own; and therefore he gave a flat negative to the vote for returning Cromwell thanks, on his shooting ' Arnell, the agitator, and thereby quelling that faction in the army. In the same spirit of what has been called pure rep ublicanism, he joined in the vote for not addressing the king, and in the declaration for bringing him to a trial: and soon alter, in a conference with Cromwell and the leaders of the army, he harangued upon the necessity and justice of the king’s execution, and, after that, the establishment of an equal commonwealth, in which he differed from another pure republican, Lilburne, who was for new-modelling the parliament first, and then, as a natural consequence, putting the king to death. Ludlow induced the Wiltshire people to agree to the raising of two regiments of foot, and one of horse, against the Scots, when they were preparing to release the king from Carisbrook- castle. After which, he went to Fairfax, at the siege of Colchester, and prevailed with him to oppose entering into any treaty with the king; and when the House of Commons, on his majesty’s answer from Newport, voted that his concessions were ground for a future settlement, Ludlow not only expressed his dissatisfaction, but had a principal share both in forming and executing the scheme of forcibly excluding all that party from the house by colonel Pride, in 1648. Agreeably to all these proceedings, he sat upon the bench at the trial and condemnation of the king, concurred in the vote that the House of Peers was useless and dangerous, and became a member of the council of state.
eedingly, if I and you, and my three sons, should be drowned” When he entered the territories of the earl of Mansfelt, he was received by 100 horsemen or more, and conducted
In this manner he was employed till his death, which
happened in 1546. That year, accompanied by Melancthon, he paid a visit to his own country, which he had not
seen for many years, and returned again in safety. But
soon after he was called thither again by the earls of Mansfelt, to compose some differences which had arisen about
their boundaries. He had not been used to such matters;
but because he was born at Isleben, a town in the territory
of Mansfelt, he was willing to do his country what service
he could, even in this way. Preaching his last sermon,
therefore, at Wittemberg, Jan. 17, he set off the 23d;
and at Hall in Saxony lodged with Justus Jonas, with
whom he stayed three days, because the waters were out.
The 28th he passed over the river with his three sons, and
Jonas and being in some danger, he said to the doctor,
“Do not you think it would rejoice the deril exceedingly,
if I and you, and my three sons, should be drowned
”
When he entered the territories of the earl of Mansfelt, he
was received by 100 horsemen or more, and conducted in
a very honourable manner; but was at the same time so
very ill that it was feared he would die. He said that these
fits of sickness often came upon him when he had any great
business to undertake: of this, however, he did not recover, but died Feb. 18, in his sixty-third year. A little
before he expired he admonished those that were about
him to pray to God for the propagation of the gospel
“because,
” said he, “the council of Trent, which had sat
once or twice, and the pope, will devise strange things
against it.
” Soon after, his body was put into a leaden
coffin, and carried with funeral pomp to the church at
Isleben, when Jonas preached a sermon upon the occasion.
The earls of Mansfelt desired that his body should be interred in their territories; but the elector of Saxony intsted upon his being brought back to Wittemberg, which
was accordingly done; and there he was buried with the
greatest pomp that perhaps ever happened to any private
mail. Princes, earls, nobles, aad students without
number, attended the procession; and Melancthon made his
funeral oration.
Mr. Lye became a member of the society of antiquaries, and about the same time was presented by the earl of Northampton to the vicarage of Yardley Hastings, on which
Having now qualified himself completely for a work of
that nature, he undertook the arduous task of publishing
the “Etymologicum Anglicanum
” of Francis Junius, from
the manuscript of the author in the Bodleian Library. To
this undertaking he was led, as he tells us in his preface,
by the commendations which Hickes and other learned
antiquaries had given to that unpublished work. In the
seventh year from the commencement of his design, he
published the work, with many additions, and particularly
that of an Anglo-Saxon Grammar prefixed. The work
was received with the utmost approbation of the learned.
In 1750, Mr. Lye became a member of the society of antiquaries, and about the same time was presented by the
earl of Northampton to the vicarage of Yardley Hastings,
on which accession he resigned his former living of Houghton; giving an illustrious example of primitive moderation,
especially as he had hitherto supported his mother, and
had still two sisters dependent upon him. The next publication which he issued, was that of the Gothic Gospels,
undertaken at the desire of Eric Benzelius, bishop of
Upsal, who had collated and corrected them. This, which
he had been long preparing, appeared from the Oxford
press in the same year, with a Gothic Grammar prefixed.
His last years were employed chiefly in finishing for the
press his own great work, the Anglo-Saxon and Gothic
Dictionary, which was destined to owe that to another
editor, which he had performed for Junius. His manuscript was just completed, and given to the printer, when
he died at Yardley Hastings, in 1767; and was there
buried, with a commendatory but just and elegant epitaph.
His Dictionary was published in 1772, in two volumes folio,
by the rev. Owen Manning, with a grammar of the two
languages united, and some memoirs of the author, from
which this account is taken. It appears by some original
correspondence between Mr. Lye and Dr. Ducarel (for the perusal of which we are indebted to Mr. Nichols), that Mr.
Lye had been employed on his dictionary a long time before
1765, and that he had almost relinquished the design from
a dread of the labour and expence. In the labour he had
none to share with him, but at the time above mentioned
archbishop Seeker offered him a subscription of 50l. to
forward the work, and he appears to have hoped for similar
instances of liberality.
ntences, and, having taken orders, was presented to the living of Shirburne, in Dorsetshire, by John Earl of Bristol. Here, says Wood, “he was very much resorted to for
, a pious clergyman of the seventeenth century, was born about 1598, at Peysmere, near
Newbury in Berkshire, of which place his father was rector. In 16 14 he became a commoner of Magdalen hall,
Oxford, and a demy of Magdalen college in 1617. In
1622 he took his degree of M. A. and was then chosen a
fellow. In 1631 he was admitted to the reading of the
sentences, and, having taken orders, was presented to
the living of Shirburne, in Dorsetshire, by John Earl of
Bristol. Here, says Wood, “he was very much resorted
to for his edifying and practical way of preaching;
” and
appears indeed to have deserved the affections of his
flock, by the most constant diligence in discharging the
duties of his office. He divided his day into the following
portions: nine hours for study, three for visits and conferences with his parishioners, three for prayers and devotion, two for his affairs, and the rest for his refreshment. He
divided likewise his estate into three parts, one for the use
of his family, one for a reserve in case of future wants,
and one for pious uses. His parish he divided into twentyeight parts, to be visited in twenty-eight days every month,
“leaving,
” says one of his biographers, “knowledge where
he found ignorance, justice where he found oppression,
peace where he found contention, and order where he
found irregularity.
”
tions of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, oo the Revolution in France, in a letter to the Right Hon. the Earl of Stanhope,” 1790, 8vo. Many curious particulars of this lady
, or Graham, the name of
her second husband, was born in 1733, at Ollantigh, in
Kent, the seat of her father, John Sawbridge, esq. She
appears to have had none of the regular education given
to young ladies of her ranl$, but had an early taste for promiscuous reading, which at length terminated in a fondness for history. That of the Romans is supposed to have
inspired her with the republican notions which she professed throughout life, and in which she was probably encouraged by her brother the late alderman Sawbridge,
whose politics were of the same cast. In 1760 she married
Dr. George Macaulay, a physician of London. Soon after
this, she commenced her career in literature, and in 1763
published the first volume, in 4to, of her “History of
England, from the accession of James I. to that of the
Brunswick Line.
” This work was completed in 8 vols.
in 1783; it was read with some avidity at the period of its
publication, as the production of a female pen, but has
since fallen into so much disrepute, as scarcely ever to be
inquired after. It was written in the true spirit of rancorous republicanism, and was greatly deficient in that impartiality which ought to be the characteristic of true history. While in the height of her fame, Mrs. Macaulay
excited the admiration of Dr. Wilson, rector of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook, who in his dotage placed her statue,
while living, in the chancel of his church. This disgraceful appendage, however, his successor thought himself
justified in removing. Having been left a widow, Mrs.
Macaulay in 1778 married Mr. Graham, a step which, from
the disparity of years, exposed her to much ridicule. In
the year 1785 she went to America, for the purpose of
visiting the illustrious Washington, with whom she had before maintained a correspondence. She died at Bin field,
in Berkshire, June 22, 1791. Her works, besides the
history already referred to, which may be regarded as the
principal, are, “Remarks on Hobbes’s Rudiments of Government and Society;
” “Loose Remarks on some of Mr.
Hobbes’s Positions;
” the. latter being an enlarged edition
of the former: the object of these is to shew the superiority of a republican to a monarchical form of government. In 1770, Mrs. Macaulay wrote a reply to Mr.
Burke’s celebrated pamphlet entitled “Thoughts on the
Causes of the Present Discontents;
” and in An Address to the People of England, Scotland,
and Ireland, on the present important Crisis of Affairs.
”
She wrote also “A Treatise on the Immutability of Moral
Truth;
” which she afterwards re-published, with much
other original matter, under the title of “Letters on Education,
” Observations
on the Reflections of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, oo
the Revolution in France, in a letter to the Right Hon. the
Earl of Stanhope,
”
buried in the church of St. Isidore, under a monumental stone, and inscription, placed there by the earl of Tyrone. He was reckoned a man of great learning, and one
, who in his Latin works called himself Cavellus, was titular primate of Armagh, and a learned writer in defence of Duns Scotus, whose opinions were generally embraced by his countrymen. He was born in the county of Down, in Ireland, in 1571, and became a Franciscan friar. He studied at Salamanca, in Spain, and afterwards for many years governed the Irish Franciscan college at Louvain, dedicated to St. Anthony, in the founding of which he had been instrumental. In this college he was also professor of divinity, which office he filled afterwards in the convent of Ara Cceli at Rome, was definitor-general of his order, and at length advanced by the pope to the see of Armagh; but died at Rome, as he was preparing for his journey to Ireland, Sept. 22, 1626, in the fifty -fifth year of his age. He was buried in the church of St. Isidore, under a monumental stone, and inscription, placed there by the earl of Tyrone. He was reckoned a man of great learning, and one of the best schoolmen of his time. His works, which consist chiefly of commentaries on and a defence of Scotus, were in substance incorporated in Wading' s edition of Scotus’s works, printed at Lyons, 1639, in 12 vols. folio.
and, was descended from an ancient and noble family, his father Simon Mackenzie being brother to the earl of Seaforth. He was born at Dundee, in the county of Angus,
, an ingenious and learned writer, and eminent lawyer of Scotland, was descended from an ancient and noble family, his father Simon Mackenzie being brother to the earl of Seaforth. He was born at Dundee, in the county of Angus, in 1636, and gave early proofs of an extraorJinary genius, having gone through the usual classic authors, at ten years of age. He was then sent to the universities of Aberdeen and St. Andrew’s, where he finished his studies in logic and philosophy before he had attained his sixteenth year. After this, he turned his thoughts to the civil law, and to increase his knowledge of it, travelled into France, and became a close student in the university of Bourges, for about three years. On his return home, he was called to the bar, became an advocate in 1656, and gained the character of an eminent pleader in a few years.
The poem is entitled “Caelia’s country-house and closet;” and in it are the following lines upon the earl of Montrose:
While he made the law his profession and chief study,
he cultivated a taste for polite literature; and produced
some works which added not a little to his reputation. In
1660, came out his “Aretino, or serious Romance,
” in
which he shewed a gay and exuberant fancy. In Religio Stoici;
” or a short discourse upon
several divine and moral subjects, with a friendly address
to the fanatics of all sects and sorts. This was followed,
in 1665, by “A Moral Essay,
” preferring solitude to
pubHe employment, and all its advantages; such as fame,
command, riches, pleasures, conversation, &c. This was
answered by John Evelyn, esq. in another essay, in which
the preference was given to public employment. In 1667,
he printed his “Moral gallantry;
” a discourse, in which
he endeavours to prove, that the point of honour, setting
aside all other ties, obliges men to be virtuous; and that
there is nothing so mean and unworthy of a gentleman, as
vice: to which is added, a consolation against calumnies,
shewing how to bear them with chearfulness and patience.
Afterwards he published “The moral history of frugality,
”
with its opposite vices, covetousness, niggardliness, prodigality, and luxury, dedicated to the university of Oxford; and “Reason,
” an essay, dedicated to the hon.
Robert Boyle, esq. All these works, except “Aretino,
”
were collected and printed together at London, in 1713,
8vo, under the title of “Essays upon several moral subjects:
” and have been regarded as abounding in good
sense and wit, although upon the whole the reasoning is
rather superficial. Besides these essays, which were the
production of such hours as could be spared from his profession, he was the author of a play and a poem. The
poem is entitled “Caelia’s country-house and closet;
”
and in it are the following lines upon the earl of Montrose:
, stretched the laws too far. This alludes to the noted trials of Baillie of Jerviswood, that of the earl of Argyle, and the prosecutions against Mitchel and Learmonth,
Soon after Mr. Mackenzie had been employed as counsel for the marquis of Argyle, he was promoted to the
office of a judge in the criminal court; which he discharged
with so much credit and reputation, that he was made
king’s advocate in 1674, and one of the lords of the privycouncil in Scotland. He was also knighted by his majesty.
In these offices he met with a great deal of trouble on account of the rebellions which happened in his time; and
his office of advocate requiring him to act with severity,
he did not escape being censured for having, in the deaths
of some particular persons who were executed, stretched
the laws too far. This alludes to the noted trials of Baillie
of Jerviswood, that of the earl of Argyle, and the prosecutions against Mitchel and Learmonth, events which make
a great figure in the history of that unhappy period; but
in the opinion of the late lord Woodhcusc lee, “his own
defence will fully justify his conduct in the breast of every
man whose judgment is not perverted by the same prejudices, hostile to all good government, which led those infatuated offenders to the doom they merited.
” (See Mackenzie’s Works, Vindication of the government of Charles II.)