oble family; and as Normandy was at that time subject to the King of England, it was supposed he was an Englishman. He was, however, a Canon-regular of the order of
, bishop of Avranches in Normandy, usually
surnamed St. Victor, flourished in the twelfth century.
His birth-place is much contested; but it appears most
probable that he was a Norman, of a noble family; and as
Normandy was at that time subject to the King of England,
it was supposed he was an Englishman. He was, however, a Canon-regular of the order of St. Augustine, and
second abbot of St. Victor at Paris. He was preferred to
the bishoprick of Avranches in 1162 by the interest of
King Henry II. of England, with whom he appears to
have been a favourite, as he stood god-father to Eleanor,
daughter to that prince, and afterwards wife of Alphonso
Jx. king of Castile. He died March 29, 1172, and was
interred in the church of the Holy Trinity, belonging to
the abbey of Luzerne, in the diocese of Avranches. His
epitaph, which, the authors of the General Dictionary say,
is still remaining, speaks his character: “Here lies bishop
Achard, by whose charity our poverty was enriched.
” He
was a person of great eminence for piety and learning.
His younger years he spent in the study of polite literature and philosophy, and the latter part of his life in
intense application. His works were: “De Tentatione
Christi,
” a ms. in the library of St. Victor at Paris.
“De divisione Animae & Spiritus,
” in the same library;
copies of which are in the public library at Cambridge,
and in that of Bene't. His “Sermons
” are in the library of
Clairvaux. He likewise wrote “The Life of St. Geselin,
”
which was published at Douay, 12mo,
him with attention, you would take him for a Grecian by his acuteness, a Roman by his elegance, and an Englishman by the pomp of his language.” He is said to have
, an English divine, was
bishop of Shireburn in the time of the Saxon heptarchy,
and in the eighth century. William of Malmesbury says
that he was the son of Kenred, or Kenter, brother of Ina
king of the West-Saxons. He was born at Caer Bladon,
now Malmesbury, in Wiltshire. He had part of his education abroad in France and Italy, and part at home under
Maildulphus, an Irish Scot, who had built a little monastery
where Malmesbury now stands. Upon the death of Maildulphus, Aldhelm, by the help of Eleutherius bishop of
Winchester, built a stately monastery there, and was himself the first abbot. When Hedda, bishop of the WestSaxons, died, the kingdom was divided into two dioceses;
viz. Winchester and Shireburn, and king Ina promoted
Aldhelm to the latter, comprehending Dorsetshire, Wiltshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall: he was consecrated at
Rome by pope Sergius I. and Godwin tells us that he had
the courage to reprove his holiness for having a bastard.
Aldhelm, by the directions of a diocesan synod, wrote a
book against the mistake of the Britons concerning the
celebration of Easter, which brought over many of them to
the catholic usage in that point. He likewise wrote a
piece, partly in prose and partly in nexameter verse, in
praise of virginity, dedicated to Ethelburga abbess of Barking, and published amongst Bede’s Opuscula, besides several other treatises, which are mentioned by Bale and William of Malmesbury, the latter of whom gives him the following character as a writer: “The language of the
Greeks,
” says he, “is close and concise, that of the Romans splendid, and that of the English pompous and swelling as for Aldhelm, he is moderate in his style; seldom
makes use of foreign terms, and never without necessity;
his catholic meaning is clothed with eloquence, and his
most vehement assertions adorned with the colours of rhetoric: if you read him with attention, you would take him
for a Grecian by his acuteness, a Roman by his elegance,
and an Englishman by the pomp of his language.
” He is
said to have been the first Englishman who ever wrote in
Latin; and, as he himself tells us in one of his treatises on
metre, the first who introduced poetry into England
“These things,
” says he, “have I written concerning the
kinds and measures of verse, collected with much labour,
but whether useful I know not; though I am conscious to
myself I have a right to boast as Virgil did:
history has been imperfectly related. According to Moreri (who refers to “Memoires du temps”) he was an Englishman by birth, and studied with great success at Lou vain.
, was an English Roman Catholic, of
the seventeenth century, whose history has been imperfectly related. According to Moreri (who refers to “Memoires du temps
”) he was an Englishman by birth, and
studied with great success at Lou vain. Wood savs he was
of a Lancashire family, and educated for some time at Oxford, whence he went to Spain, and studied divinity and
philosophy under the famous Dr. J. Alph. Curiel, who,
adds Wood, was wont to call Barnes by the name of John
Hiiss, because of a spirit of contradiction which was always
observed in him, but which, it appears by his writings,
was a spirit of thinking for himself that could not be very
acceptable to his superiors. He is said to have been
young when he entered among the English Benedictines
near Douay, for fear of the inquisition, with which he was
threatened at Louvain and some time after he was obliged
to leave the Benedictines, under the same alarm, for holding some sentiments they did not approve. Wood says,
that before this he was sent into England on a mission, but
being discovered there, he was imprisoned and sent to
Normandy with certain priests and Jesuits. Moreri says,
that on leaving Douay, he took refuge in Paris, where he
was protected by some persons of distinction, and admitted into the friendship of several men of learning. In
1625, at which time he was one of the confessors of the
abbey of Chelles, he published a work against mental reservation, entitled “Dissertatio contra equivocationes,
”
Paris, 8vo, of which a French translation was published at
the same time. In the approbation of the faculty of theology at Paris prefixed to this work, he is styled doctor of
arts and divinity, professor of the English mission, and
first assistant of the congregation of Spain. This work
made a considerable noise, and was attempted to be answered by father Theophilus Raynaud in 1627. His next
work, entitled “Catholico-Romanus Pacificus,
” gave yet
more offence, and the pope wrote to the king of France,
and to cardinal Richelieu, desiring they would send the
author of these publications to Rome. Barnes was accordingly taken up in December 1625. He wrote also an answer
to Clement Reyner’s “Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia,
” which Wood makes to precede the former. It appears certain, however, that in consequence of the moderation of his opinions, he was hurried like a malefactor
from place to place through Germany. While confined at
Mechlin, he contrived to make his escape from the room
by means of the strings of a bass viol, of which he had procured a quantity under pretence that the dampness of the
place had injured what belonged to his instrument; but he
was discovered while stepping into a vessel at Antwerp, and
conveyed to Rome. Here he was put into the prison belonging to the inquisition, in which he died, after thirty
years confinement. During part of this time, his sufferings
had brought on insanity. An edition of his “CatholicoRomanus Pacificus
” was printed at the theatre at Oxford
in Ancient Liberty of the Britannic
church.
” Wood mentions other writings by Barnes, but
without specifying their titles.
advantage of perusing several books in the great duke’s library, and of conversing with Mr. Fitton, an Englishman, his librarian. Here his poverty must have put an
In 1652, he commenced master of arts, and, on the 12th
of June the following year, was incorporated in that degree
at Oxford. When Dr. Duport resigned the chair of Greek.
professor, he recommended his pupil Mr. Barrow to succeed
him; who justified his tutor’s opinion of him by an excellent
performance of the probation exercise: but being looked
upon as a favourer of Arminianism, the choice fell upon
another; and this disappointment, it is thought, helped to
determine him in his resolution of travelling abroad. In
order to execute this design, he was obliged to sell his books.
Accordingly, in the year 1655, he went into France;
where, at Paris, he found his father attending the English
court, and out of his small means made him a seasonable
present. The same year his “Euclid
” was printed at
Cambridge, which he had left behind him for that purpose.
He gave his college an account of his journey to Paris in a
poem, and some farther observations in a letter. After a
few months, he went into Italy, and stayed sometime at
Florence, where he had the advantage of perusing several
books in the great duke’s library, and of conversing with
Mr. Fitton, an Englishman, his librarian. Here his poverty must have put an end to his travels, had he not been
generously supplied with money by Mr. James Stock, a
young merchant of London, to whom he afterwards dedicated his edition of Euclid’s Data. He was desirous to
have seen Rome; but the plague then raging in that city,
he took ship at Leghorn, November the 6th 1656, for
Smyrna. In this voyage they were attacked by a corsair
of Algiers, who, perceiving the stout defence the ship
made, sheered off and left her; and upon this occasion
Mr. Barrow gave a remarkable instance of his natural courage and intrepidity. At Smyrna, he made himself welcome
to Mr. Bretton the consul (upon whose death he
afterwards wrote an elegy), and to the English factory. Front
thence he proceeded to Constantinople, where he met
with a very friendly reception from sir Thomas Bendish
the English ambassador, and sir Jonathan Daws, with whom
he afterwards kept up an intimate friendship and correspondence. This voyage, from Leghorn to Constantinople, he has described in a Latin poem. At Constantinople, he read over the works of St. Chrysostom, once bishop of that see, whom he preferred to all the other fathers.
Having stayed in Turkey above a year, he returned from
thence to Venice, where, soon after they were landed,
the ship took fire, and was consumed with all the goods.
From thence he came home, in 1659, through Germany
and Holland, and has left a description of some parts of
those countries in his poems. Soon after his return into
England, the time being somewhat elapsed, before which
all fellows of Trinity-college are obliged to take orders, or
quit the society, Mr. Barrow was episcopally ordained by
bishop Brownrig, notwithstanding the unsettled state of
the times, and the declining condition of the church of
England. Upon the king’s restoration, his friends expected he would have been immediately preferred on account of his having suffered and deserved so much; but it
came to nothing, which made him wittily say (which he has not left in his poems),
p they had no personal quarrel to him, but that the sole cause of their confining him was, his being an Englishman. After being kept in this manner for three weeks,
The bishop was very moderate in his sentiments, and in.
his methods of enforcing them; he loved to bring men into
the communion of the church of England, but he did not
like compelling them; and it was his opinion, that Protestants would agree well enough if they could be brought to
understand each other. These principles induced him to
promote Mr. Drury’s design, of endeavouring to reconcile
the Lutherans to the Calvinists, a project which had beea
encouraged by many other worthy persons, and towards
which he subscribed twenty pounds a year, to defray the
expences of Mr. Drury’s negociations. The bishop himself, it must be mentioned, was a Calvinist, which Burnet
thinks was the cause of his having so little preferment in
England. He gave another instance, not only of his charity towards, but his ability in, reconciling those of other
communions, to the churches of England and Ireland.
There were some Lutherans at Dublin, who, for not coming to church and taking the sacrament, were cited into the
archbishop’s consistory, upon which they desired time to
write to their divines in Germany, which was given them,
and when their answers came, they contained some exceptions to the doctrine of the church, as not explaining the
presence of Christ in the sacrament, suitable to their sentiments; to which bishop Bedell gave so full and clear, and
withal so moderate and charitable, an answer, as entirely
satisfied their objections, insomuch that those divines advised their countrymen to join in communion with the
church, which they accordingly did. In this mild and prudent way our prelate conducted his charge, with great reputation to himself, and with the general approbation of all
good men, who were perfectly pleased with his doctrine,
and edified by his example. When the bloody rebellion
broke out in October 1641, the bishop did not at first feel
the violence of its effects; for even those rebels, who in
their conduct testified so little of humanity, professed a
great veneration for him, and openly declared he should be
the last Englishman they would drive out of Ireland. His
was the only English house in the county of Cavan that was
unviolated, notwithstanding that it, and its out-buildings,
the church, and the church-yard, were filled with people
who fled to him for shelter, whom, by his preaching and
prayers, he encouraged to expect and endure the worst
with patience. In the mean time, Dr. Swiney, the Popish
titular bishop of Kilmore, came to Cavan, and pretended
great concern and kindness for bishop Bedell. Our prelate had converted his brother, and kept him in his house
till he could otherwise provide for him; and Dr. Swiney
desired likewise to lodge in his house, assuring him in the
strongest terms of his protection. But this bishop Bedell
declined, in a very civil and well-written Latin letter, urging the smallness of his house, the great number of people
that had taken shelter with him, the sickness of some of his
company, and of his son in particular, but above all, the
difference in their ways of worship, which could not but be
attended with great inconveniency. This had some effect
for a time; but about the middle of December, the rebels,
pursuant, to orders they had received from their council of
state at Kilkenny, required him to dismiss the people that
were with him, which he absolutely refused to do, declaring that he would share the same fate with the rest. They
signified to him upon this, that they had orders to remove
him; to which he answered, in the words of David, “Here
I am, the Lord do unto me as seemeth good to him; the
will of the Lord be done.
” Upon this they seized him, his
two sons, and Mr. Clogy, who had married his step-daughter, and carried them prisoners to the castle of Cloughboughter, surrounded by a deep water, were they put
them all but the bishop in irons. They did not suffer any
of them to carry any thing with them; and the moment the
bishop was gone, Dr. Swiney took possession of his house
and all that belonged to it, and said mass in the church the
Sunday following. After some time the rebels abated of
their severity, took the irons off the prisoners, and suffered
them to be as much at their ease as they could be in so
wretched a place; for the winter was very rigorous, and
the castle being old and ruinous, they would have been exposed to all the severity of the weather, if it had not been
for an honest carpenter who was imprisoned there before
them, and who made use of a few old boards he found there,
to mend a part of the roof, the better to defend them from
the snow and sleet. While thus confined, the bishop, his
sons, and Mr Clogy, preached and prayed continually to
their small and afflicted congregation, and upon Christmas
day his lordship administered the sacrament to them. It is
very remarkable, that.rude and barbarous as the Irish were,
they gave them no disturbance in the performance of divine
service, and often told the bishop they had no personal
quarrel to him, but that the sole cause of their confining
him was, his being an Englishman. After being kept in
this manner for three weeks, the bishop, his two sons, and
Mr. Clogy, were exchanged for two of the O'Rourkes; but
though it was agreed that they should be safely conducted
to Dublin, yet the rebels would never suffer them to be
carried out of the country, but sent them to the house of
Dennis Sheridan, an Irish minister, and convert to the
Protestant religion, to which though he steadily adhered,
and relieved many who fled to him for protection, yet the
Irish suffered him to live quietly among them, on account
of the great family from which he was descended. While
our prelate remained there, and enjoyed some degree of
health, he every Sunday read the prayers and lessons, and
preached himself, though there were three ministers with
him. The last Sunday he officiated was the 30th of Jan.
and the day following he was taken ill. On the second day
it appeared that his disease was an ague; and on the fourth,
apprehending a speedy change, he called for his sons and
his sons’ wives, spoke to them a considerable time, gave
them much spiritual advice, and blessed them, after which
he spoke little, but slumbered out most of his time, only
by intervals he seemed to awake a little, and was then very
cheerful. At length, on the 7th of February, 1641, about
midnight, he breathed his last, in the seventy-first year of
his age, his death being chiefly occasioned by his late imprisonment, and the weight of sorrows which lay upon his
mind. The only care now remaining to his friends was, to
see him buried according to his desire; and since that
could not be obtained but by the new intruding bishop’s
leave, Mr. Clogy and Mr. Sheridan went to ask it, and Mr.
Dillon was prevailed with by his wife, to go and second
their desire. They found the bishop in a state of beastly
intoxication, and a melancholy change in that house, which
was before a house of prayer. The bishop, when he was
awakened out of his drunkenness, excepted a little to their
request, and said the church-yard was holy ground, and
was no more to be defiled with heretics’ bodies; yet he
consented to it at last. Accordingly, February L>, he was
buried next his wife’s coffin. The Irish did him unusual
honours at his burial, for the chief of the rebels gathered
their forces together, and with them accompanied his body
from Mr. Sheridan’s house to the church-yard of Kilmore in
great solemnity, and they desired Mr. Clogy to bury him
according to the office prescribed by the church. But
though the gentlemen were so civil as to offer it, yet it was
not thought advisable to provoke the rabble so much, as
perhaps that might have done; so it was passed over. But
the Irish discharged a volley of shot at his interment, and
cried out in Latin, “Requiescat in pace ultimus Anglorum,
” ‘ May the last of the English rest in peace;’ for
they had often said, that as they esteemed him the best of
the English bishops, so he should be the last that should be
left among them. What came from Edmund Farilly, a Popish priest, at the interment of the bishop, is too remarkable, and is too well attested, to be passed over, who cried
out, “O sit anima mea cum Bedello,
” ‘ I would to God
my soul were with Bedell’s.’ Our prelate had long before
prepared for death, as appears by his will, dated the 15th of
February, 1640, in which there are several legacies, that
shew he had recollected all the memorable passages of his
life before he made it, and seriously considered the several
blessings which God had bestowed upon him. He married
a lady of the ancient and honourable family of L‘Estrange,
who was the widow of the recorder of St. Edmundsbury, a
woman exemplary in her life, humble and modest in her
behaviour, and singular in many excellent qualities, particularly in an extraordinary reverence to him. She bore
him three sons and a daughter. One of the sons and the
daughter died young; only William and Ambrose survived,
for whom he made no provision, but a benefice of eighty
pounds a-year for the eldest and worthy son of such a father, and an estate of sixty pounds a-year for the youngest,
who did not take to learning. This was the only purchase
he made. His wife died three years before the rebellion
broke out, and he preached her funeral sermon himself,
with such a mixture both of tenderness and moderation,
that he drew tears from all his auditors. He was an enemy
to burying in the church, thinking that there was both superstition and pride in it, and believing it was a great annoyance to the living, to have so much of the steam of dead
bodies rising about them. One of the canons in his synod
was against burying in churches, and he often wished that
burying’ places were removed out of all towns. He chose
the least frequented place of the church-yard of Kilmore
for his wife to lie in, and by his will ordered, that he should
be placed next to her, with this inscription:
f Mark Paul, the Venetian, a celebrated traveller of the thirteenth century; and of John Mandeville, an Englishman, who, about the middle of the fourteenth century
After having performed several other interesting voyages, the chevalier Behem died at Lisbon, in July 1506, regretted by every one, but leaving behind him no other work than the globe and chart, which we have mentioned. The globe is made from the writings of Ptolomy, Pliny, Strabo, and especially from the account of Mark Paul, the Venetian, a celebrated traveller of the thirteenth century; and of John Mandeville, an Englishman, who, about the middle of the fourteenth century published an account of a journey of thirty-three years in Africa and Asia. He has also added the important discoveries made by himself on the coasts of Africa and America.
rowns, and sent it to Bernini to adorn the hand that could perform such wonders. About the same time an Englishman came to Italy, and had his bust executed by our artist,
It would be perhaps tedious to enumerate all the productions of Bernini’s genius at this time, but the following are the principal the Barberini palace the campanile of Su Peter the model of the tomb of the countess Matilda, which was executed by his pupils and that of his benefactor pope Urban VIII. When his reputation reached England, Charles I. was desirous of having a bust of himself by an artist of such eminence, and sent him three portraits by Vandyke of different positions. By this means Bernini was enabled to make an excellent likeness, with which the king was so pleased that he took from his finger a diamond ring valued at six thousand crowns, and sent it to Bernini to adorn the hand that could perform such wonders. About the same time an Englishman came to Italy, and had his bust executed by our artist, for which he also paid six thousand crowns. The bust of Charles I. was originally placed in Greenwich hospital, but is now in Westminster hall, in a circular recess over the stairs, leading to the chancellor’s chamber, between the court of chancery and that of the king’s bench, yet it is doubted whether this be really Bernini’s celebrated bust, or only one taken from it. Vertue was of opinion that the bust now existing was of an earlier date, and that Bernini’s was 'destroyed during the civil war.
, a celebrated saint of the eighth century, and usually styled the Apostle of Germany, was an Englishman, named Wilfrid, and born at C red ton or Kirton in
, a celebrated saint of the eighth century, and usually styled the Apostle of Germany, was an Englishman, named Wilfrid, and born at C red ton or Kirton in Devonshire, about the year 680. He was educated from the age of thirteen in the monastery of Escancester or Exeter, and about three years after removed to Nutcell, in the diocese of Winchester, a monastery which was afterwards destroyed by the Danes, and was never rebuilt. Here he was instructed in the sacred and secular learning of the times; and at the age of thirty, was ordained priest, and became a zealous preacher. The same zeal prompted him to undertake the functions of a missionary among the pagans and with that view he went with two monks into Friezeland, about the year 716; but a war which broke out between Charles Martel, mayor of the French palace, and Radbod, king of Friezeland, rendering it impracticable to preach the gospel at that time, he returned to England with his companions. Still, however, zealously intent on the conversion of the pagans, he refused being elected abbot of Nutcell, on a vacancy which happened on his return; and having received recommendatory letters from the bishop of Winchester, went to Rome, and presented himself to the pope Gregory II. who encouraged his design, and gave him a commission for the conversion of the infidels, in the year 719. With this he went into Bavaria and Thuringia, and had considerable success: and Radbod, king of Friezeland, being now dead, he had an opportunity of visiting that country, where he co-Operated with Willibrod, another famous missionary, who would have appointed him his successor, which Wilfrid rt fused, because the pope had particularly enjoined him to preach in the eastern parts of Germany. Through Hesse, or a considerable part of it, even to the confines of Saxony, he extended his pious labours, and had considerable success, although he suffered many hardships, and was often exposed to danger from the rage of the infidels.
his departure, acted as if he had a strong presentiment of what was to happen. He appointed Lullus, an Englishman, his successor as archbishop of Mentz, a privilege
In the year 732, he received the title of archbishop from
Gregory II f. who supported his mission with the same
spirit as his predecessor Gregory II.; and under this encouragement he proceeded to erect new churches, and
extend Christianity. At this time, he found the Bavarian
churches disturbed by one Eremvolf, who would have seduced the people into idolatry, but whom he condemned,
according to the canons, and restored the discipline of the
church. In the year 738, he again visited Rome; and
after some stay, he induced several Englishmen who resided there, to join with him in his German mission. Returning into Bavaria, he established three new bishoprics,
at Salczburgh, Frisinghen, and Ratisbon. At length he
was fixed at Mentz, in the year 745, and although afterwards many other churches in Germany have been raised
to the dignity of archbishoprics, Mentz has always retained the primacy, in honour of St. Boniface. He also
founded a monastery at Fridislar, another at Hamenburgh,
and one at Ordorfe, in all which the monks gained their
livelihood by the labour of their hands. In the year 746,
he laid the foundation of the great abbey of Fulda, which
continued long the most renowned seminary of religion
and learning in all that part of the world. The abbot is
now a prince of the empire. In the mean time his connection with England was constantly preserved; and it is
in the epistolary correspondence with his own country,
that the most striking evidence of his pious views appears.
Still intent on his original design, although now advanced
in years, he determined to return into Friezeland, and
before his departure, acted as if he had a strong presentiment of what was to happen. He appointed Lullus, an
Englishman, his successor as archbishop of Mentz, a privilege which the pope had granted him, and ordained him
with the consent of king Pepin. He went by the Rhine to
Friezeland, where, assisted by Eoban, whom he had ordained bishop of Utrecht, he brought great numbers of
pagans into the pale of the church. He had appointed a
day to confirm those whom he had baptized; and in
waiting for them, encamped with his followers on the banks of
the Bordue, a river which then divided East and West
Friezeland. His intention was to confirm, by imposition
of hands, the converts in the plains of Dockum. On the
appointed day, he beheld, in the morning, not the new
converts whom he expected, but a troop of enraged pagans, armed with shields and lances. The servants went
out to resist; but Boniface, with calm intrepidity, said to
his followers, “Children, forbear to fight; the scripture
forbids us to render evil for evil. The day which I have
long waited for is come; hope in God, and he will save
your souls.
” The pagans immediately attacked them
furiously, and killed the whole company, fifty-two in
number, besides Boniface himself. This happened on
June 5, 755, in the fortieth year after his arrival in Germany. His body was interred in the abbey of Fulda, and
was long regarded as the greatest treasure of that monastery. Boniface’s character has been strangely misrepresented by Mosheim, and by his transcribers, but ably vindicated by Milner, who has examined the evidence on
both sides with great precision. His works, principally
sermons and correspondence, were published under the title
“S. Bonifacii Opera, a Nicolao Serrario,
” Mogunt.
t religion, and in all virtuous qualities that may adorn that sex, &c.” 1671. 6. “A Dialogue between an Englishman and a Dutchman, concerning the last Dutch war,‘ ’
was descended from an
ancient family, and born at Odington in Gloucestershire,
1616. He was educated at Gloucester; became a commoner of St. Edmund-hall in Oxford in 1634; took both
his degrees in arts; and was afterwards appointed rhetoric
reader. During the civil war in England, he made the
tour of Europe. In 1658 he married the only daughter
of Richard Clifford, esq. by whom he had nine children.
In 1668 he was chosen F. R. S. and in 1669 attended
Charles earl of Carlisle, sent to Stockholm with the order
of the garter to the king of Sweden, as his secretary. In
1670 the degree of LL. D. was conferred on him at Cambridge, and two years after he was incorporated in the
same at Oxford. He was appointed to be tutor to Henry
duke of Grafton, one of the natural sons of Charles II.
about 1679; and was afterwards appointed to instruct
prince George of Denmark in the English tongue. He
died at Chelsea in 1703, and was buried in a vault in the
church-yard of that parish; where a monument was soon
after erected to his memory, by Walter Harris, M. D. with
a Latin inscription, which informs us, among other things,
that Dr. Chamberlayne was so desirous of doing service to
all, and even to posterity, that he ordered some of the
books he had written to be covered with wax, and buried
with him; which have been since destroyed by the damp.
The six books vanity or dotage thus consigned to the grave,
are, 1. “The present war paralleled; or a brief relation of
the five years’ civil wars of Henry III. king of England,
with the event and issue of that unnatural war, and by what
course the kingdom was then settled again; extracted out
of the most authentic historians and records,
” 1647. It
was reprinted in 1660, under this title, “The late war
paralleled, or a brief relation,
” &c. 2. “England’s wants;
or several proposals probably beneficial for England, offered to the consideration of both houses of parliament,
”
The Converted Presbyterian; or the church
of England justified in some practices,
” &c. Anglix Notitia or the Present State of England with
divers reflections upon the ancient state thereof,
” An academy or college, wherein young
ladies or gentlewomen may, at a very moderate expence,
be educated in the true protestant religion, and in all virtuous qualities that may adorn that sex, &c.
” A Dialogue between an Englishman and a Dutchman,
concerning the last Dutch war,‘ ’ 1672. He translated out
of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, into English, 1.
” The
rise and fall of count Olivarez the favourite of Spain.“2.
” The unparalleled imposture of Mich, de Molina, executed at Madrid,“1641. 3.
” The right and title of the
present king of Portugal, don John the IVth." These
three translations were printed at London, 1653.
oe we are not informed; but his enemies have asserted, that he assumed the De to avoid being thought an Englishman. It certainly appeared, from the books of the chamberlain
, a voluminous and very ingenious political and miscellaneous writer, was born in London about 1663. He was the son of James Foe, citizen and butcher, of the parish of St. Giles’s, Cripplegate: and his grandfather was Daniel Foe, of Elton, in Northamptonshire, yeoman. How he came by the name of De Foe we are not informed; but his enemies have asserted, that he assumed the De to avoid being thought an Englishman. It certainly appeared, from the books of the chamberlain of London (which were some time ago destroyed by a fire at Guildhall) that our author was admitted, by the name of Daniel Foe, to the freedom of the ciiy by birth, Jan. 26, 1687-8. The family of De Foe were protestant dissenters, and Daniel, who had received his education at a dissenting academy at Newington Green, near London, was a dissenter upon principle and reflection. From his various writings, says his biographer, it is plain that he was a zealous defender of the principles of the dissenters, and a strenuous supporter of their politics, before the liberality of our rulers had freed this conduct from danger. He merits the praise which is due to sincerity in manner of thinking, and to uniformity in habits of acting, whatever obloquy may have been cast on his name, by attributing writings to him, which, as they belonged to others, he was studious to disavow.
oreign pen, it will readily be concluded, that the body of the publication was chiefly translated by an Englishman, under the author’s eye.
He soon alter commenced that work which has established his literary and political fame, entitled “The Constitution of England; or an account of the English Government: in which it is compared, both with the republican
form of government, and the other monarchies in Europe.
”
It was applauded, on its first appearance (in Holland) in
the French language, as a very ingenious and spirited
performance, combining originality of thought with justness of remark and perspicuity of expression. A translation of it being earnestly desired, the author enlarged and
improved it, and published the first English edition in
June 1775, 8vo. It was supposed that he was the translator of his own work from the French; and his great
knowledge of our language was the subject of high encomium. But if the general style of the work be compared with that of the dedication, which, in every sentence, bears marks of a foreign pen, it will readily be
concluded, that the body of the publication was chiefly
translated by an Englishman, under the author’s eye.
:” The reason why you admire it,“said sir Charles,” is, because you are a Frenchman; for if you were an Englishman, you would not admire it.“”Why so?“asked Roberval.”
In reference to the dispute between his friends and those
of Harriot, as to the priority of their discoveries, we shall
here add an anecdote told by Dr. Pell, and recorded by
Dr. Wallis in his “Algebra.
” Sir Charles Cavendish,
then resident at Paris, had a conversation with M. Roberval concerning Des Cartes’s geometry, then lately published, to this purport: “I admire,
” says Uoberval, “that
method of Des Cartes, of placing all the terms of the
equation on one side, making the whole equal to nothing, and
how it occurred to him:
” The reason why you admire it,“said sir Charles,
” is, because you are a Frenchman; for if
you were an Englishman, you would not admire it.“”Why
so?“asked Roberval.
” Because,“replied sir Charles,
” we
in England know whence he had it; namely, from Harriot’s Algebra.“”What book is that?“says Roberval;
” I
never saw it.“”Next time you come to my chamber,“said
sir Charles,
” I will shew it to you;“which, some time after,
he did; and, upon perusal of it, Roberval exclaimed with
admiration, Il Tamil Il Va vu! I He had seen it! He
had seen it! finding all that in Harriot which he had before admired in Des Cartes, and not doubting that Des
Cartes had it from thence. Besides, as Harriot’s
” Artis
Analyticæ Praxis" was published in 1631, and Des Cartes
was in England about this time, and as he follows the
manner of Harriot, except in the method of noting the
powers, it is highly probable that he was more indebted to
the English algebraist than his partial advocates are willing
to allow.
ils, and the like, remaining all in the same posture as when alive. He had this account from Fitton, an Englishman residing in Flo rence as library-keeper to the grand
After some stay at Paris, he spent the summer of 1656
at Toulouse, where he conversed with several learned and
ingenious men, to whom he communicated, not only mathematical, physical, and philosophical discoveries of his
own, but also any matters of this nature he received from.
his friends in different parts of Europe. Among these was
a relation he had obtained of a city in Barbary under the
king of Tripoli, which was said to be turned into stone in
a very few hours by a petrifying vapour out of the earth;
that is, men, beasts, trees, houses, utensils, and the like,
remaining all in the same posture as when alive. He had
this account from Fitton, an Englishman residing in Flo
rence as library-keeper to the grand duke of Tuscany; and
Fitton from the grand duke, who a little before had written
to the pasha of Tripoli to know the truth. Sir Keuelm
sent it to a friend in England; and it was at length inserted in the “Mercurius Politicus.
” This drew a very
severe censure upon our author from the famous Henry
Stubbes, who called him, on that account, “The Pliny of
his age for lying.
” It has, however, been offered, in his
vindication, that accounts have been given of such a city
by modern writers; and that these accounts are in some
measure confirmed by a paper delivered to Richard Waller, esq. F. R. S. by Mr. Baker, who was the English consul at Tripoli, Nov. 12, 1713. This paper is to be found
in the “Philosophical Observations and Experiments of Dr.
Robert Hooke,
” published by Derham in About forty days journey S. E. from
Tripoli, and about seven days from the nearest sea-coast,
there is a place called Ougila, in which there are found
the bodies of men, women, and children, beasts and plants,
all petrified of hard stone, like marble.
” And we are afterwards told, in the course of the relation, that “the
figure of a man petrified was conveyed to Leghorn, and
from thence to England; and that it was carried to secretary Thurloe.
”
nally of Lucca, as well as his brother, married an English lady, and his son in every respect became an Englishman. He was also an excellent scholar, and being educated
, a very eminent divine, descended
of a noble family of Lucca, was born June 6, 1576; but
of his early years we have no information. When, however, he was only nineteen years of age, we find him appointed professor of Hebrew at Geneva. In 1619 the
church of Geneva sent him to the synod of Dort, with his
colleague Theodore Tronchin. Diodati gained so much
reputation in this synod, that he was chosen, with five
other divines, to prepare the Belgic confession of faith.
He was esteemed an excellent divine, and a good preacher.
His death happened at Geneva, Oct. 3, 1649, in his seventy-third year, and was considered as a public loss. He
has rendered himself noticed by some works which he
published, but particularly by his translation of the whole
Bible into Italian, the first edition of which he published,
with notes, in 1607, at Geneva, and reprinted in 16 n.
The New Testament was printed separately at Geneva in
1608, and at Amsterdam and Haerlem in 1665. M. Simon
observes, that his method is rather that of a divine and a
preacher, than of a critic, by which he means only, that
his work is more of a practical than a critical kind. He
translated the Bible also into French, but not being so intimate with that language, he is not thought to have succeeded so well as in the Italian. This translation was
printed in folio, at Geneva, in 1664. He was also the
first who translated into French father Paul’s “History of
the Council of Trent,
” and many have esteemed this a
more faithful translation than de la Houssaye’s, although
less elegant in language. He also is said to have translated sir Edwin Sandys’ book on the “State of Religion in
the West.
” But the work by which he is best known in
this country is his Annotations on the Bible, translated into
English, of which the third and best edition was published
in 1651, fol. He is said to have begun writing these annotations in 1606, at which time it was expected that
Venice would have shaken off the popish yoke, a measure to which he was favourable; and he went on improving them in his editions of the Italian and French
translations. This work was at one time time very popular
in England, and many of the notes of the Bible, called the
“Assembly of Divines’ Annotations,
” were taken from Diodati literally. Diodati was at onetime in England, as we
learn from the life of bishop Bedell, whom he was desirous
to become acquainted with, and introduced him to Dr. Morton, bishop of Durham. From Morrice’s “State Letters
of the right hon. the earl of Orrery,
” we learn that when
invited to preach at Venice, he was obliged to equip himself in a trooper’s habit, a scarlet cloak with a sword, and
in that garb he mounted the pulpit; but was obliged to
escape again to Geneva, from the wrath of a Venetian
nobleman, whose mistress, affected by one of Diqdati'a
sermons, had refused to continue her connection with her
keeper. The celebrated Milton, also, contracted a friendship for Diodati, when on his travels; and some of his
Latin elegies are addressed to Charles Diodati, the nepheiv
of the divine. This diaries was one of Milton’s most intimate friends, and was the son of Theodore Diodati, who,
although originally of Lucca, as well as his brother, married an English lady, and his son in every respect became
an Englishman. He was also an excellent scholar, and
being educated to his father’s profession, practised physic
in Cheshire. He was at St. Paul’s school, with Milton,
and afterwards, in 1621, entered of Trinity-college, Oxford. He died in 1638.
ght miles from England, and others have asserted that he was an Irishman. He is, however, treated as an Englishman by all the early authors who speak of him; and the
, surnamed Sgotus, an eminent scholastic
divine, who flourished in the latter end of the thirteenth
and the beginning of the fourteenth century, was born at
Dunstance, in the parish of Emildun or Embleton, near
Alnwick in Northumberland. Some writers have contended that he was a Scotsman, and that the place of his
birth was Duns, a village eight miles from England, and
others have asserted that he was an Irishman. He is, however, treated as an Englishman by all the early authors
who speak of him; and the conclusion of the ms copy of
his works in Merton college, gives his name, country, and
the place where he was born, as stated above. When a
youth, he joined himself to the minorite friars of Newcastle; and, being sent by them to Oxford, he was admitted into Merton college, of which, in due time, he
became fellow. Here, besides the character he attained
in scholastic theology, he is said to have been very eminent for his knowledge in the civil and canon law, in logic,
natural philosophy, metaphysics, mathematics, and astronomy. Upon the removal of William Varron from Oxford to Paris, in 1301, Duns Scotus was chosen to supply
his place in the theological chair; which office he sustained
with such reputation, that more than thirty-thousand scholars came to the university to be his hearers, a number
which, though confidently asserted by several writers, we
admit with great hesitation. After John Duns had lectured
three years at Oxford, he was called, in 1304, to Paris,
where he was honoured with the degrees, first of bachelor,
and then of doctor in divinity. At a meeting of the monks
of his order at Tholouse, in 1307, he was created regent;
and about the same time he was placed at the head of the
theological schools at Paris. Here he is affirmed to have
first broached the doctrine of the immaculate conception
of the Virgin Mary, and to have supported his position by
two hundred arguments, which appeared so conclusive,
that the members of the university of Paris embraced the
opinion; instituted the feast of the immaculate conception;
and issued an edict, that no one, who did not embrace the
same opinion, should be admitted to academical degrees.
In 1308, Duns Scotus was ordered by Gonsalvo, the general of the Minorites, to remove to Cologn, on the road to
which he was met in solemn pomp, and conducted thither
by the whole body of the citizens. Not long after his arrival in this city, he was seized with an apoplexy, which
carried him off, on the eighth of November, 1308, in the
forty-third, or, as others say, in the thirty-fourth, year of
his age. Paul Jovius’s account of the mode of his death
is, that when he fell down of his apoplexy he was immediately interred as dead; but that, afterwards coming to
his senses, he languished in a most miserable manner in his
coffin, beating his head and hands against its sides, till he
died. This story, though generally treated as a fable, is
hinted at by Mr. Whavton, who says, “Apoplexia correptus, et festinato nimis, ut volunt, funere elatus,
” and
whether true or not, gave occasion to the following epitaph:
er might recover it by applying to him at the hermitage. Some weeks after, a Mr. Foster, or Forster, an Englishman, knocked at the gate of St. Anne’s, and inquired
, a man of extraordinary talents, and who by their means was enabled to emerge from poverty and obscurity, was born in 1695 in the little village of Artonay in Champagne. At the age rjf ten years he lost his father, a poor labourer, who left his wife poor, and burthened with children, at a time when war and famine desolated France. In this state Duval accustomed himself from his infancy to a rude life, and to the privation of almost every necessary. He had scarcely learned to read, when, at the age of twelve years, he entered into the service of a peasant of the same village, who appointed him to take care of his poultry, but at the commencement of the severe winter of 1709, he quitted his native place, and travelled towards Lorraine. After a few days journey he was seized by an excessive cold, and even attacked by the small-pox, but by the humane care of a poor shepherd in the environs of the village of Monglat, aided by the strength of his constitution, he recovered, and quitted his benefactor to continue his route as far as Clezantine, a village on the borders of Lorraine, where he entered into the service of another shepherd, with whom he remained two years; but taking a disgust to this kind of life, chance conducted him to the hermitage of La llochette, near Deneuvre. The hermit, known by the name of brother Palemon, received him, made him partake his rustic labours, and when obliged to resign his place to a hermit sent to brother Palemon by his superiors, he got a letter of recommendation to the hermits of St. Anne, at some distance from La Rochette, and a mile or two beyond Luneville, where he arrived in 1713, and was entrusted with the care of six cows. The hermits also taught him to write; and as he had a great ardour for books, he engaged in the business of the chase, and with the money he procured for his game, was already enabled to make a small collection of books, when an unexpected occasion furnished him with the means of adding to it some considerable works. Walking in the forest one day in autumn, he found a gold seal, with a triple face well engraved on it. He went the following Sunday to Luneville, to entreat the vicar to publish it in the church, that the owner might recover it by applying to him at the hermitage. Some weeks after, a Mr. Foster, or Forster, an Englishman, knocked at the gate of St. Anne’s, and inquired for his. seal. In the course of the conversation which passed between him and Duval, he was surprized to find that the latter had picked up some knowledge of heraldry, and being much pleased with his answers, gave him two guineas as a recompense. Desirous of being better acquainted with this young lad, he made him promise to come and breakfast with him at Luneville every holiday. Duval kept his word, and received a crown-piece at every visit. This generosity of Mr. Foster continued during his abode at Luneville, and he added to it his advice respecting the choice of books and maps. The application of Duval, seconded by such a guide, could not fail of being attended with improvement, and he acquired a considerable share of various kind of knowledge.
, or Edmer, the faithful friend and historian of archbishop Anselm, was an Englishman, who flourished in the twelfth century, but we have
, or Edmer, the faithful friend and historian of archbishop Anselm, was an Englishman, who flourished in the twelfth century, but we have no information
respecting his parents, or the particular time and place of
his nativity. He received a learned education, and very
early discovered a taste for history, by recording every
remarkable event that came to his knowledge. Being a
monk in the cathedral of Canterbury, he had the happiness
to become the bosom friend and inseparable companion of
the two archbishops of that see, St. Anselm, and his successor Ralph. To the former of these he was appointed
spiritual director by the pope; and that prelate would do
nothing without his permission. In 1120 he was elected
bishop of St. Andrew’s, by the particular desire of Alexander I. king of Scotland; but on the very day after his
election, an unhappy dispute arose between the king and
him respecting his consecration. Eadmer would be consecrated by the archbishop of Canterbury, whom he regarded as primate of all Britain, while Alexander contended that the see of Canterbury had no pre-eminence
over that of St. Andrew’s. After many conferences, their
dispute becoming more warm, Eadmer abandoned his
bishopric, and returned to England, where he was kindly
received by the archbishop and clergy of Canterbury, who
yet thought him too precipitate in leaving his bishopric.
Eadmer at last appears to have been of the same opinion,
and wrote a long and submissive letter to the king of Scotland, but without producing the desired effect. Whartort
fixes his death in 1124, which was not long after this
affair, and the very year in which the bishopric of St. Andrew’s was tilled up. Eadmer is now best known for his
history of the affairs of England in his own time, from
1066 to 1122, in which he has inserted many original
papers, and preserved many important facts that are nowhere else to be found. This work has been highly commended, both by ancient and modern writers, for its authenticity, as well as for regularity of composition and purity of style. It is indeed more free from legendary tales
than any other work of this period, and affords many proofs
of the learning, good sense, sincerity and candour of its
author. The best edition is that by Selden, under the title
of “Eadmeri monachi Cantuarensis Historiac Novorum,
give sui Saeculi, Libri Sex,
” Lond. Anglia Sacra.
” 2. The Lives of St. Wilfrid, St.
Oswald, St. Dunstan, &c. &c. and others inserted in the
“Anglia Sacra,
” or enumerated by his biographers, as in
print or manuscript.
rs suppose that our historians have con.founded John Scotus Erigena with another John Scot, who was an Englishman, and who taught at Oxford. Accordr ing to Mackenzie,
The concluding period of Erigena’s life is involved in
some degree of uncertainty. According to Cave and Tanner, he removed from France to England in the year 877,
and was employed by king Alfred in the restoration of
learning at the university of Oxford, but this proceeds
upon the tradition that Alfred did restore learning at Oxford, which has no foundation whatever. It is said by Tanner, that in the year 879 he was appointed professor of
mathematics and astronomy at Oxford, which is likewise
very doubtful, although it may not be improbable that he
read lectures in Little University hall,- now part of Brazennose college, without the rank of professor. Here he is
reported to have continued three years, when, upon account of some differences which arose among the gownsmen, he retired to the abbey of Mahnesbury, where he
opened a school. Behaving, however, with harshness and
severity to his scholars, they were so irritated, that they
are reported to have murdered him with the iron bodkins
which were then used in writing. According to others,
the scholars were instigated to this atrocious act by the
monks, who had conceived a hatred against Scotus, as well
for his learning as his heterodoxy. Such is Leland’s account, who expressly says that it was the Scotus who translated Dionysius. The time of his death js differently
stated, but is generally referred to the year 883. Some,
however, place it in either the year 884 or 886. Such is
the state of facts, as given by most of the English writers;
but other authors suppose that our historians have con.founded John Scotus Erigena with another John Scot, who
was an Englishman, and who taught at Oxford. Accordr
ing to Mackenzie, Erigena retired to England in the year
864, and died there about the year 874. As a proof of
the last circumstance, he refers to a letter of Anastasius
the librarian to Charles the Bald, written in the year 875,
which speaks of Scotns as of a dead man. Dr. Henry
thinks it most probable that he ended his days in France.
Anastasius had so high an opinion of Erigena, that he
ascribed his translation of the works of Dionysius to the
especial influence of the spirit of God. He was undoubtedly a very extraordinary man for the period in which he
lived. During a long time he had a place in the list of the
saints of the church of Rome; but at length, on account of
its being discovered that he was heterodox with regard to
the doctrine of transubstantiation, Baronius struck his name
out of the calendar. A catalogue of Scotus’s works in
general may be seen in Cave. Bale has added to the number, but probably without sufficient reason. The following are all that have been printed: 1. “De divisione Nature,
” Oxon. by Gale, De pncdestinatione Dei, contra Goteschalcum,
” edited by Gilb. Maguin
in his “Vindiciac praedestinationis et gratiæ,
” vol. I. p. Excerpta de differentiis et societatibus Graeci Latinique verbi,
” in Macrobius’s works. 4. “De corpore et
sanguine Domini,
” Ambigtia S. Maximi, seu scholia ejus in difh'ciles locos
S. Gregorii Nazianzeni, Latino versa,
” along with the
“Divisio Nature,
” Oxford, Opera S.
Dionysii quatuor in Latinam linguam conversa,
” in the edition of Dionysius, Colon.
ormandy; hut as he came into England soon after the Conquest, Bale, Pitts, Tanner, have supposed him an Englishman, and Prince has enrolled him among the “Worthies
, or Joannes de Garlandia, a
grammarian, is said to have been a native of Garlande en
Brie in Normandy; hut as he came into England soon after
the Conquest, Bale, Pitts, Tanner, have supposed him
an Englishman, and Prince has enrolled him among the
“Worthies of Devon.
” He was not dead in A Poem on the contempt of the World,
”
improperly attributed to St. Bernard, Lyons, Floretus, or Liber Floreti;
”
on the Doctrines of Faith, and almost the whole circle of
Christian morality. 3. A treatise on “Synonimes,
” and
another on Equivoques,“or ambiguous terms, Paris, 149O,
4 to, and reprinted at London by Pynson in 149.6, and
again in 1500. 4. A poem in rhymed verses, entitled
” Facetus,“on the duties of man towards God, his neighbour, and himself, Cologne, 1520, 4to the three poems are
often printed together. 5.
” Dictionarium artis Alchymiae,
cum ejusdem artis compendio," Basle, 1571, 8vo.
"I am an Englishman, and naked I stand here,
, by birth an Englishman, arrived at the singular distinction of being admired
, by birth an Englishman, arrived at
the singular distinction of being admired in France as a
writer in the French language. He was born in Gloucestershire about 1740. He began his career in the army,
and served in Jamaica till the peace of 1763. A desire of
seeing the most remarkable parts of Europe, now carried
him into Italy, where he was so captivated with the beauty
of the climate, and the innumerable objects of liberal
curiosity which presented themselves, that he continued
there several years. About 1770, having satisfied his curiosity in Italy, he turned his thoughts to France, and went
to Paris. There also he studied the state of the arts, and
was particularly attentive to the theatre. At length he
began to write for the Italian comedy, which had principally attracted his notice, and wrote with considerable success. The pieces for that theatre are written chiefly in
French, with French titles, and only one or two characters
in Italian. He wrote, l. “Le Jugement de Midas,
” on
the contest between French and Italian music, which was
much applauded. But his 2. “Amant jaloux,
” had still
more success. 3. His third piece, “Les Evenemens imprevus,
” met with some exceptions, on which he modestly
withdrew it, and after making the corrections suggested,
brought it forward again, and had the pleasure to find it
much approved. The comedies of this writer, are full of
plot, the action lively and interesting: his versification is
not esteemed by the French to be of consummate perfection, nor his prose always pure; yet his dialogue constantly pleased, and was allowed to have the merit of nature and sound composition. Mr. Hele died at Paris, of a
consumptive disorder, in December 1750 and it may
possibly be long before another Englishman will be so
distinguished as a writer in the French language. We take
this account from French authors, who write his name
d'Hele, perhaps it was properly Hale or Dale.
ubespine, who was afterwards secretary of state. Hervet going then to Paris, assisted Edward Lupset, an Englishman, in an edition of Galen, and, following Lupset into
, a learned Frenchman, was born
at Olivet, near Orleans, in 1499. He learned Greek and
Latin from his childhood, and was made tutor to Claudius
de l‘Aubespine, who was afterwards secretary of state.
Hervet going then to Paris, assisted Edward Lupset, an
Englishman, in an edition of Galen, and, following Lupset into England, was entrusted with the education of Arthur Pole; from thence he was called to Rome by cardinal
Pole, to translate the Greek authors into Latin. He gained
the friendship of this cardinal, and of all the illustrious men
in Italy; distinguished himself at the council of Trent; was
grand-vicar of No}’on and Orleans, and afterwards canon of
Kheims, in which last city he passed the remainder of his
life, wholly devoted to study. He died September 12,
1584. He left many works in Latin and in French: the
principal are, Latin translations from several works of the
Fathers; two discourses delivered at the council of Trent,
4 to, one to prove the clergy should not be ordained without a title; the other, that marriages contracted by gentlemen’s children, without consent of parents, are null:
several controversial tracts in French; a French translation
of the Council of Trent, &c. Hervet has been mentioned
by Wood in his “Athenae,
” but it does not appear that he
was a member of the university of Oxford, although he
might reside there while in England. He acquired such
knowledge of the English language, as to translate into it;
1. Xenophon’s Treatise of Householde," 1532, 8vo; and
ollections of valuable books to the public library of Berne; which were presented anonymously as by “ an Englishman, a lover of liberty, his country, and its excellent
On his return home, he attempted to get into
parliarnent; but, not being able to effect this without some
small appearance of bribery, he turned his thoughts entirely to other objects. He began a collection of books
and medals; “for the purpose,
” it is said, “of illustrating and upholding liberty, preserving the memory of its
champions, rendering tyranny and its abettors odious, extending art and science, and keeping alive the honour due
to their patrons and protectors.
” Among his benefactions
to foreign libraries, none is more remarkable than that of
two large collections of valuable books to the public library
of Berne; which were presented anonymously as by “an
Englishman, a lover of liberty, his country, and its excellent constitution, as restored at the happy Revolution.
”
Switzerland, Geneva, Venice, Leyden, Sweden, Russia, &c.
shared his favours. His benefactions to Harvard-college
commenced in 1758, and were continued to the amount of
1400l. His liberality to individuals, as well as to public
societies, are amply detailed in the “Memoirs
” abovementioned. In Aug. Thomas Hollis is a man possessed of a large fortune:
above half of which he devotes to charities, to the encouragement of genius, and to the support and defence of
liberty. His studious hours are devoted to the search of
noble authors, hidden by the rust of time; and to do their
virtues justice, by brightening their actions for the review
of the public. Wherever he meets the man of letters, he
is sure to assist him: and, were I to describe in paint this
illustrious citizen of the world, I would depict him leading
by the hands Genius and distressed Virtue to the temple of
Resvard.
”
of promoting the reformation there. They had also been carried into the same country by Peter Payne, an Englishman, one of his disciples, and principal of Edmund-hall.
, a celebrated divine and martyr, was born at a town in Bohemia, called Hussenitz, about 1376, and liberally educated in the university of Prague. Here he took the degree of B. A. in 1393, and that of master in 1395; and we find him, in 1400, in orders, and a minister of a church in that city. About this time the writings of our countryman Wickliffe had spread themselves among the Bohemians, which was owing to the following circumstance: Queen Anne, the wife of Richard II. of England, was daughter to the emperor Charles IV. and sister to Wenceslaus king of Bohemia, and Sigismund emperor of Germany. She was a princess of great piety, virtue, and knowledge, nor could she endure the implicit service and devotion of the Romish church. Her death happened in 1394, and her funeral was attended by all the nobility of England. She had patronized Wickliffe, and after her death, several of Wickliffe’s books were carried by her attendants into Bohemia, and were the means of promoting the reformation there. They had also been carried into the same country by Peter Payne, an Englishman, one of his disciples, and principal of Edmund-hall. Fox mentions another person, a young nobleman of Bohemia, who had studied some time at Oxford, and carried home with him several of Wickliffe’s tracts. They were particularly read by the students at Prague, among the chief of whom was Huss; who, being much taken with Wickliffe’s notions, began to preach and write with great zeal against the superstitions and errors of the church of Rome. He succeeded so far, that the sale of indulgences gradually decreased among the Bohemians; and the pope’s party declared, that there would soon be an end of religion, if measures were not taken to oppose the restless endeavours of the Hussites. With a view, therefore, of preventing this danger, Subinco, the archbishop of Prague, issued forth two mandates in 1408; one, addressed to the members of the university, by which they were ordered to bring together all Wickliffe’s writings, that such as were found no contain any thing erroneous or heretical might be burnt; the other, to all curates and ministers, commanding them to teach the people, that, after the consecration of the elements in the holy Sacrament, there remained nothing but the real body and blood of Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine. Hjiss, whose credit and authority in the university were very great, as well for his piety and learning, as on account of considerable services he had done, found no difficulty in persuading many of its members of the unreasonableness and absurdity of these mandates: the first being, as he said, a plain encroachment upon the liberties and privileges of the university, whose members had an indisputable right to possess, and to read all sorts of books; the second, inculcating a most abominable error. Upon this foundation they appealed to Gregory XII. and the archbishop Subinco was summoned to Rome. But, on acquainting the pope that the heretical notions of WicklifTe were gaining ground apace in Bohemia, through the zeal of some preachers who had read his books, a bull was granted him for the suppression of all such notions in his province. By virtue of this bull, Subinco condemned the writings of Wickliffe, and proceeded against four doctors, who bad not complied with his mandate in bringing in their copies. Huss and others, who were involved in this sentence, protested against this projcedure of the archbishop, and appealed from him a second time, in June 1410. The matter was then brought before John XXIII. who ordered Huss, accused of many errors and heresies, to appear in person at the court of Rome, and gave a special commission to cardinal Colonna to cite him. Huss, however, under the protection and countenance of Wenceslaus king of Bohemia, did riot appear, but sent three deputies to excuse his absence, and to answe'r all which should be alledged against him. Colonna paid no regard to the deputies, nor to any defence they could make; but. declared Huss guilty of contumacy to the court of Rome, and excommunicated him for it. Upon this the deputies appealed from the cardinal to the pope, who commissioned four other cardinals to examine into the affair. These commissaries not only confirmed all that Colonna had done, but extended the excommunication, which was limited to Huss, to his friends and followers: they also declared him an Heresiarch, and pronounced an interdict against him.
to be quiet, and rnmd his own business:” to which Johnson replied, that he did mind his business as an Englishman when he wrote that book. He was condemned, however,
When Mr. Johnson was brought to trial, he employed
Mr. Wallop as his counsel, who urged for his client, that
he had offended against no law of the land that the book,
taken together, was innocent but that any treatise might
be made criminal, if treated as those who drew up the
information had treated this. The judges, however, had
orders to proceed in the cause, and the chief justice
Jeffries upbraided Johnson for meddling wi^tt what did not
belong to him, and scoffingly told him, that he would
give him a text, which was, “Let every man study to be
quiet, and rnmd his own business:
” to which Johnson replied, that he did mind his business as an Englishman when
he wrote that book. He was condemned, however, in a
fine of 500 marks, and committed prisoner to the King’sbench till he should pay it. Here he lay in very necessitous circumstances, it being reckoned criminal to visit or
shew him any kindness; so that few had the courage to
come near him, or give him any relief; by which means he
was reduced very low. Notwithstanding which, when his
mother, whom he had maintained for many years, sent to
him for subsistence, such was his filial affection, that though
he knew not how to supply his own wants, and those of his
wife and children, and was told on this occasion, that
“charity begins at home,
” he sent her forty shillings,
though he had but fifty in the world, saying, he would do
his duty, and trust Providence for his own supply. The
event shewed that his hopes were not vain; for the next
morning he received lOl. by an unknown hand, which he
discovered at a distant period to have been sent by Dr.
Fowler, afterwards bishop of Gloucester.
tachment of stores, winch the empress had ordered to be sent to Yakutz, for the use of Mr. Billings, an Englishman, at that time in her service. Thus accommodated,
, a native of America, of a very
enterprising turn, was born at Groton in Connecticut.
Having lost his father in his infancy, he was taken undef
the care of a relation, who sent him to a grammar-school,
and he studied for some time at Dartmouth college, in
New Hampshire. Here it appears to have been his intention to apply to theological studies, l>ut the friend who
sent him to college being dead, he was obliged to quit it,
and by means of a canoe of Ins own const ruction, he found
his way to Hartford, and thence to New York, where he
went on board ship as a common sailor, and in this capacity
arrived at London in 1771. When at college, there were
several young Indians there for their education, with whom
he used to associate, and learned their manners and hearing of capt. Cook’s intentions to sail on his third voyage,
Ledyard engaged himself with him in the situation of a
corporal of marines and on his return from that memorable voyage, during which his curiosity was rather excited
than gratified, feeling an anxious desire of penetrating
from the north-western coast of America, which Cook had
partly explored, to the eastern coast, with which he himself was perfectly familiar, he determined to traverse the
vast continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. His
first plan for the purpose was that of embarking in a vessel,
which was then preparing to sail, on a voyage of commercial adventure, to Nootka sound, on the western coast of
America; and with this view he expended in sea-stores
the greatest part of the money with which he had been
supplied by the liberality of sirJoseph Banks, who has
eminently distinguished himself in this way on other occasions for the promotion of every kind of useful science.
But this scheme was frustrated by the rapacity of a customhouse officer; and therefore Mr. Ledyard determined to
travel over land to Kamtschatka, from whence the passage
is extremely short to the opposite coast of America. Accordingly, with no more than ten guineas in his purse,
which was all that he had left, he crossed the British channel to Ostend, towards the close of 1786, and by the way
of Denmark and the Sound, proceeded to the capital of
Sweden. As it was winter, he attempted to traverse the
gulf of Bothnia on the ice, in order to reach Kamtschatka
by the shortest course; but finding, when he came to the
middle of the sea, that the water was not frozen, he returned to Stockholm, and taking his course northward,
walked to the Arctic circle, and passing round the head of
the gulf, descended on its eastern side to Petersburg,
where he arrived in the beginning of March 1787. Here
fae was noticed as a person of an extraordinary character;
and though he had neither stockings nor shoes, nor means
to provide himself with any, he received and accepted an,
invitation to dine with the Portuguese ambassador. From
him he obtained twenty guineas for a bill, which he took
the liberty, without being previously authorized, to draw
on sir Joseph Banks, concluding, from his well-known disposition, that he would not be unwilling to pay it. By the
interest of the ambassador, as we may conceive to have
been probably the case, he obtained permission to accompany a detachment of stores, winch the empress had ordered to be sent to Yakutz, for the use of Mr. Billings, an
Englishman, at that time in her service. Thus accommodated, he left Petersburg on the 2 1st of May, and travelling eastward through Siberia, reached Irkutsk in August; and from thence he proceeded to Yakutz, where he
was kindly received by Mr. Billings, whom he recollected
on board captain Cook’s ship, in the situation of the astronomer’s servant, but who was now entrusted by the empress
in accomplishing her schemes of discovery. He returned
to Irkutsk, where he spent part of the winter; and in the
spring proceeded to Oczakow, on the coast of the Kamtschatkan sea, intending, in the spring, to have passed over
to that peninsula, and to have embarked on the eastern
side in one of the Russian vessels that trade to the western
shores of America; but, finding that the navigation was
completely obstructed, he returned to Yakutz, in order
to wait for the termination of the winter. But whilst he
was amusing himself with these prospects, an express arrived, in January 1788, from the empress, and he was
seized, for reasons that have not been explained, by two
Russian soldiers, who conveyed him in a sledge through
the deserts of Northern Tartary to Moscow, without his
clothes, money, and papers. From Moscow he was removed to the city of Moialoff, in White Russia, and from
thence to the town of Tolochin, on the frontiers of the
Polish dominions. As his conductors parted with him, they
informed him, that if he returned to Russia he would be
hanged, but that if he chose to go back to England, they
wished him a pleasant journey. Distressed by poverty,
covered with rags, infested with the usual accompaniments of such clothing, harassed with continual hardships,
exhausted by disease, without friends, without credit,
unknown, and reduced to the most wretched state, he found
his way to Konigsberg. In this hour of deep distress, he
resolved once more to have recourse to his former benefactor, and fortunately found a person who was willing to
take his draft for five guineas on the president of the royal
society. With this assistance he arrived in England, and
immediately waited on sir Joseph Banks. Sir Joseph,
knowing his disposition, and conceiving, as we may well
imagine, that he would be gratified by the information,
told him, that he could recommend him, as he believed, to
an adventure almost as perilous as that from which he had
just returned; and then communicated to him the wishes
of the Association for discovering the Inland Countries of
Africa. Mr. Ledyard replied, that he had always determined to traverse the continent of Africa, as soon as he
had explored the interior of North America, and with a
letter of introduction by sir Joseph Banks, he waited on
Henry Beaufoy, esq. an active member of the fore-mentioned association. Mr. Beaufoy spread before him a map
of Africa, and tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, and
from thence westward in the latitude and supposed direction of the Niger, informed him that this was the route by
which he was anxious that Africa might, if possible, be
explored. Mr. Ledyard expressed great pleasure in the
hope of being employed in this adventure. Being asked
when he would set out? “To-morrow morning
” was his
answer. The committee of the society assigned to him,
at his own desire, as an enterprise of obvious peril and of
difficult success, the task of traversing from east to west,
in the latitude attributed to the Niger, the widest part of
the continent of Africa. On the 30th of June 1788, Mr.
Ledyard left London; and after a journey of thirty-six
days, seven of which were consumed at Paris, and two at
Marseilles, he arrived in the city of Alexandria. On die
14th of August, at midnight, he left Alexandria, and sailing up the Nile, arrived at Cairo on the 19th. From Cairo
he communicated to the committee of the society all the
information which he was able to collect during his stay
there: and they were thus sufficiently apprized of the
ardent spirit of inquiry, the unwearied attention, the persevering research, and the laborious, indefatigable, anxious
zeal, with which he pursued the object of his mission. The
next dispatch which they were led to expect, was to be
dated at Sennar; the terms of his passage had been
settied, and the day of his departure was appointed. The
committee, however, after having expected with impatience the description of his journey, received with great
concern and grievous disappointment, by letters from
Egypt, the melancholy tidings of his death. By a bilious
complaint, occasioned probably by vexatious delay at
Cairo, and by too free an use of the acid of vitriol and
tartar emetic, the termination of his life was hastened. He
was decently interred in the neighbourhood of such of the
English as had ended their days in the capital of Egypt,
2, in England, from Caesar duke of Vendosme, a natural son of France. In 1607, he had under his care an Englishman of quality, who after his recovery carried him into
, baron of Albone, first
physician to their Britannic majesties James I. and Charles I.
was the son of Louis de Mayerne, author of a “General
History of Spain,
” and of the “Monarchic aristo-democratique,
” dedicated to the States-general. His mother
was Louisa, the daughter of Antoine le Masson, treasurer
of the army to Francis I. and Henry II. in Piedmont.
Louis de Mayerne retired to Geneva about the end of 1572,
after having had two houses at Lyons pulled down on account of his religion. On Sept. 28, 1573, his son Theodore was born, and had for his godfather Theodore Beza.
He learnt polite literature in his own country, and he was
thence sent to Heidelberg, where he stayed some years;
after which, as he had made choice of physic for his profession, he went to Montpellier, and there he took the
degree of bachelor in 1596, and of doctor in 1597. Thence
he went to Paris, where, by way of introducing himself
into practice, he gave lectures in anatomy to the young
surgeons, and in pharmacy to the apothecaries. He acquired reputation by his prescriptions, and became known
to Riverius, first physician to Henry IV. who recommended him so effectually to the king, that he made him
one of his physicians in ordinary; and, in 1600, appointed
him to attend Henry duke of Rohan, in his embassies from
France to the princes of Germany and Italy. Upon his
return, he acquitted himself in the exercise of his office
very much to his credit, and was in high favour with the
king, who promised to do great things for him, provided
he would change his religion; and, it is said, notwithstanding that obstacle, would have appointed him his first physician, if the Jesuits, who were aware of it, had not prevented him by the means of queen Mary de Medicis. Of
this circumstance and intended favour, Mayerne knew
nothing till he learnt it, in 1642, in England, from Caesar
duke of Vendosme, a natural son of France. In 1607, he
had under his care an Englishman of quality, who after
his recovery carried him into England, where he had a
private conference with king James. He then returned to
Paris, and remained there till after the assassination of
Henry IV. in May 1610. In the following year, the king
of England caused him to be invited by his ambassador, to
serve in quality of first physician to himself and his queen,
and gave him a patent, sealed with the great seal of England; in which office he served the whole royal family
with great honour and approbation, till the day of his
death. He was admitted to the degree of doctor in both
universities, and into the college of physicians, and treated
with the greatest respect by these learned bodies. He incurred some obloquy on account of the fatal sickness of
Henry prince of Wales, in October 1612; in the treatment of which he differed in opinion from the other physicians, with respect to the use of blood-letting. But his
conduct obtained the approbation of the king and council,
of which certificates, couched in the most satisfactory
terms, were given him. He received the honour of knighthood from James, in 1624; and on the accession of
Charles I. he was appointed first physician to him and his
queen, and rose to high favour, particularly with the latter.
During the civil commotions he still adhered to the royal
party, for he was appointed first physician to Charles II.
after the death of his father, although the office was not
merely nominal. Thus he enjoyed the extraordinary
honour of serving four kings successively in his medical
capacity; and during all this period he -was most extensively employed by persons of the first rank in this kingdom, by which he accumulated a large fortune. He made
an exact collection of his prescriptions. He composed a
very curious dispensatory of medicines, galenical and chemical but never published any of his works, except an
“Apology
” for himself, against the faculty of physic at
Paris, who had attacked him for his application to the
practice of chemistry, which was greatly cried down by
the physicians of that place. Guy Patin has given an account of this dispute; in which he has shewn himself
greatly prejudiced against Mayerne, and calls him a quack,
on account of his pretensions to chemistry. He died
March 15, 1655, at Chelsea, of the effects of bad wine, a
slow, which, says Granger, the weakness of old age rendered a quick poison. He foretold the time of his death to
his friends, with whom he had been moderately drinking at
a tavern in the Strand; and it happened according to his prediction. He was buried at St. Martin’s-in-the-tields. He
left behind him one only daughter, who brought her great
fortune in marriage to the marquis de Montpouvillan,
grandson of the marshal duke de la Force; but she died
in childbed at the Hague, in 1661.
d excited, and would not cure. Without knowing a word of English, he here thought proper to pass for an Englishman and a Jacobite, and called himself Mr Budding. Leaving
In the ensuing winter he received some music from Italy,
and, being now of age, it was agreed that he should go
in the spring to Geneva, to demand the remains of his
mother’s fortune. He went accordingly, and his father
came also to Geneva, undisturbed, his affair being now
buried in oblivion. No difficulty was occasioned by our
author’s change of religion; his brother’s death not being
legally proved, he could not claim his share, and therefore
readily left it to contribute towards the maintenance of his
father, who enjoyed it as long as be lived. At length he
received his money, turned part of it into livres, and flew
with the rest to “Mama,*' who received it without affectation, and employed most of it for his use. His health,
however, decayed visibly, and he was again horribly oppressed with the vapours. At length his researches into
anatomy made him suspect that his disorder was a polypus
in the heart. Salomon seemed struck with the same idea.
And having heard that M Fizes, of Montpellier, had cured
such a polypus, he went immediately to consult him,
assisted by the supply from Geneva. But two ladies,
whom he met at Moirans, especially the elder, Mad. N. at
once banished his fever, his vapours, his polypus, and all
his palpitations, except those which she herself had excited, and would not cure. Without knowing a word of
English, he here thought proper to pass for an Englishman
and a Jacobite, and called himself Mr Budding. Leaving
the other lady at Romans, with madam N. and an old sick
marquis, he travelled slowly and agreeably to Saint Marcellin, Valence, Montelimar (before which the marquis left them), and at length, after having agreed to pass the
winter together, these lovers (for such they became) parted
with mutual regret. Filled with the ideas of madam N.
and her daughter, whom she idolised, he mused from
Pont St. Esprit to Remoulin. He visited Pont-du Card,
the first work of the Romans that he had seen, and the
Arena of Nimes, a work still more magnificent; in all
these journeys forgetting that he was ill till he arrived at
Montpellier. From abundant precaution he boarded with
an Irish physician, named Fitz- Moris, and consulted M.
Fizes, as madam N, had advised him. Finding that the
doctors Jcnew nothing of his disorder, and only endeavoured to amuse him and make him
” swallow his own
money,“he left Montpellier at the end of November, after
six weeks or two months stay, leaving twelve louis there
for no purpose, save for a course of anatomy, just begun
under M. Fitz-Moris, but which the horrible stench of
dissected bodies rendered insupportable. Whether he
should return to
” Mama,“or go (as he had promised) to
madam N. was now the question. Reason, however, here
turned the scale. At Pont St. Esprit he burnt his direction, and took the road to Chambery,
” for the first time
in his life indebted to his studies, preferring his duty to
pleasure, and deserving his own esteem.“At his return
to madam de Warens, he found his place supplied by a
young man of the Pays de Vaud, named Vintzenried, a
journeyman barber, whom he paints in the most disgusting colours. This name not being noble enough, he
changed it for that of M. de Courtilles, by which he was
afterwards known at Chambery, and in Maurienne, where
he married. He being every thing in the house, and
Rousseau nothing, all his pleasures vanished like a dream,
and at length he determined to quit this abode, once so
dear, to which his
” Mama" readily consented. And being
invited to educate the children of M. de Maiby, grand
provost of Lyons, he set out for that city, without regretting a separation of which the sole idea would formerly
have been painful as death to them both. Unqualified for
a preceptor, both by temper and manners, and much disgusted with his treatment by the provost, he quitted his
family in about a year; and sighing for madam de Warens,
flew once more to throw himself at her feet. She received
him with good nature, but he could not recover the past.
His former happiness, he found, was dead for ever. He
continued there, however, still foreseeing her approaching
ruin, and the seizure of her person; and to retrieve her affairs, forming castles in the air, and having made an improvement (as he thought) in musical notes, from which he
had great expectations, he sold nis books, and set out for
Paris, to communicate his scheme to tht academy.
dam, and a surgeon, and appears to have been born therein 1650. His grandfather, William Sewell, was an Englishman, and had resided at Kidderminster; but being one
, the historian of the Quakers,
was the son of Jacob Williamson Sewell, a citizen of Amsterdam, and a surgeon, and appears to have been born
therein 1650. His grandfather, William Sewell, was an
Englishman, and had resided at Kidderminster; but being
one of the sect of the Brownists, left his native country for
the more free enjoyment of his principles in Holland,
married a Dutch woman of Utrecht, and settled there. The
parents of the subject of this article both died when he was
young, but had instructed him in the principles of the
Quakers, to which he steadily adhered during life. His
education in other respects appears to have been the fruit
of his own application; and the time he could spare from
the business to which he was apprenticed (that of a weaver)
he employed with good success in attaining a knowledge of
the Greek, Latin, English, French, and High Dutch,
languages. His natural abilities being good, his application unwearied, and his habits strictly temperate, he soon
became noticed by some of the most respectable booksellers in Holland; and the translation of works of credit,
chiefly from the Latin and English tongues, into Low Dutch,
seems to have been one of the principal sources from which
his moderate income was derived, in addition to the part
he took, at different times, in several approved periodical publications. His modest, unassuming manners gained
him the esteem of several literary men, whose productions,
there is reason to believe, were not unfrequently revised
and prepared for the press by him. His knowledge of his
native tongue was profound: his “Dictionary,
” “Grammar,
” and other treatises on it, having left very little room
for succeeding improvement: and he assisted materially in
the compilation of Halma’s French and Dutch Dictionary.
His “History of the people called Quakers,
” written first
in Low Dutch, and afterwards, by himself, in English
(dedicated to George I.) was a very laborious
undertaking, as he was scrupulously nice in the selection of his
materials, which he had been during many years engaged
in collecting. Of the English edition, for it cannot properly be called a translation, it may be truly said, that as
the production of a foreigner, who had spent only about
ten months in England, and that above forty years before,
the style is far superior to what could have been reasonably
expected. One principal object with the author was, a
desire to correct what he conceived to be gross misrepresentations in Gerard Croese’s “History of Quakerism.
”
The exact time of SewelPs death does not appear; but in,
a note of the editor’s to the third edition of his “Dictionary,
” in History of the Quakers
” appears to have
been first published in
the people of Ireland displeased him, he has been heard to say, “I am not of this vile country; I am an Englishman:” but this account of his birth is taken from one
It happened, by whatever accident, that Jonathan was
not suckled by his mother, but by a nurse, who was a native of Whitehaven and when he was about a year old,
her affection for him was become so strong, that, finding
it necessary to visit a sick relation there, she carried him
with her, without the knowledge of his mother or uncle.
At this place he continued about three years; for, when
the matter was discovered, his mother sent orders not to
hazard a second voyage, till he should be better able to
benr it. Mrs. Swift, about two years after her husband’s
death, quitted the family of Mr. Godwin Swift in Ireland,
and retired to Leicester, the place of her nativity; but her
son was again carried to Ireland by his nurse, and replaced
under the protection of his uncle Godwin. It has been
generally believed, that Swift was born in England; and,
when the people of Ireland displeased him, he has been
heard to say, “I am not of this vile country; I am an
Englishman:
” but this account of his birth is taken from
one which he left behind him, in his own hand-writing
Some have also thought, that he was a natural son of sir
William Temple, because sir William expressed a particular regard for him; but that was impossible; for sir WilJiam was resident abroad in a public character from 1665
to 1670; and his mother, who was never out of the British
dominions, brought him into the world in 1667.
principal courts and most interesting countries of Europe, which were not yet become inaccessible to an Englishman through the overwhelming dominion of republican France.
It was not without a view to this that Mr. Tweddell determined to travel, and employ a few years in acquiring a
knowledge of the manners, policy, and characters of the
principal courts and most interesting countries of Europe,
which were not yet become inaccessible to an Englishman through the overwhelming dominion of republican
France. He accordingly embarked on the“24th September 1795, for Hamburg; where that
” Correspondence"
commences which was lately published, and which may
serve to illustrate, though very imperfectly, the progress,
pursuits, and indefatigable researches of this traveller in
Switzerland, the North of Europe, and various parts of
the East, until the period of his arrival in the provinces of
Greece: here, after visiting several of the islands in the
Archipelago, he fixed his residence for four months in Athens,
exploring with restless ardour, and faithfully delineating,
the remains of art and science, discoverable amidst her
sacred ruins. The hand of a wise but mysterious Providence suddenly arrested his career, on- the 25th of July,
1799.
nd in his sixteenth year was sent to school at Dundee. In 1295, he was insulted by the son of Selby, an Englishman, constable of the port and castle of Dundee, and
, a celebrated warrior and patriot, was born, according to the account of his poetical biographer Henry, or Blind Harry, in 127G. He was the younger son of sir Malcolm Wallace of Ellerslie, near Paisley, in the shire of Renfrew, Scotland, and in his sixteenth year was sent to school at Dundee. In 1295, he was insulted by the son of Selby, an Englishman, constable of the port and castle of Dundee, and killed him; on which he fled, and appears to have lived a roving and irregular life, often engaged in skirmishes with the English troops which then bad invaded and kept Scotland under subjection. For his adventures, until he became the subject of history, we must refer to Henry. Most of them appear fictitious, or at least are totally unsupported by any other evidence. Wallace, however, is represented by the Scotch historians as being about this time the model of a perfect hero; superior to the rest of mankind in bodily stature, strength, and activity; in bearing cold and heat, thirst and hunger, watching and fatigue; and no less extraordinary in the qualities of his mind, beirrg equally valiant and prudent, magnanimous and disinterested, undaunted in adversity, modest in prosperity, and animated by the most ardent and inextinguishable love of his county. Having his resentment against the English sharpened by the personal affront abovementioned, and more by the losses his family had sustained, he determined to rise in defence of his country, and being joined by many of his countrymen, their first efforts were crowned with success; but the earl of Surrey, governor of Scotland, collecting an army of 40,000 men, and entering Annandale, and marching through the South-west of Scotland, obliged all the barons of those parts to submit, and renew the oaths of fealty. Wallace, with his followers, uuable to encounter so great a force, retired northward, and was pursued by the governor and his army.
, an Englishman, eminent for learning and politics, was descended
, an Englishman, eminent for
learning and politics, was descended from a gentleman’s
family by both parents, and was born at Boughton-hall in
Kent, March ^0, 1568. The Wottons were of no inconsiderable distinction, having possessed this lordship for
nearly three centuries. Sir Edward Wotton,“our statesman’s grandfather, was treasurer of Calais, and of the privycouncil to king Henry VIII. and was elder brother to the
celebrated Dr. Nicholas Wotton, dean of Canterbury, the
subject of our next article. Sir Robert Wotton, the father
of these, was entrusted by king Edward i V. with the lieutenancy of Guisnes, and was knight-porter and comptroller of Calais; where he died and lies buried. Sir Henry’s
elder brother, who was afterwards raised by king James J.
to the peerage by the title of lore) Wotton, was in 1585
sent by queen Elizabeth ambassador to that monarch in
Scotland; and Dr. Robertson speaks of him, as
” a man,
gay, well-bred, and entertaining; who excelled in all the
exercises, for which James had a passion, amused the
young king by relating the adventures which he had met
with, and the'obseYvations h,e had made during a long residence in foreign countries; but under the veil of these superficial qualities,“Dr. Robertson adds, that
” he concealed a dangerous and intriguing spirit. He soon grew in
favour with James, and while he was seemingly attentive
only to pleasure and diversions, he acquired influence over
the public councils, to a degree, which was indecent for
strangers to possess."
etters to the king in Italian: then, stepping up and whis^ pering to his majesty, he told him he was an Englishman, requested a more private conference with him, and
Sir Henry was the only son of the second marriage of his
father Thomas Wotton, esq. with Eleanora, daughter of
sir William Finch, of Eastwell in Kent (ancestor to lord Winchelsea), and widow of Robert Morton, of the same
county, esq. He was educated first under private tutors,
and then sent to Winchester-school whence, in 1584, he
was removed to New- college in Oxford. Here he was
entered as a gentleman-commoner, and had his chamber
in Hart-hall adjoining; and, for his chamber-fellow, Richard Baker, his countryman, afterwards a knight, and author of the well known “Chronicle
” which goes by his
name. Wotton did not continue long there, but went to
Queen’s-college, where he became well versed in logic
Uid philosophy-, and, being distinguished for his wit, was
solicited to write a tragedy for private acting in that society,
The name of it was “Tancredo
” and Walton relates,
“that it was so interwoven with sentences, and for the method and exact personating those humours, passions, and
dispositions, which he proposed to represent, so performed,
that the gravest of the society declared^ he had in a slight
employment given an early and solid testimony of his future abilities.
” In 1588 he supplicated the congregation
of regents, that he might be admitted to the reading of any
of the books of Aristotle’s logic, that is, be admitted to the
degree of bachelor of arts; but “whether he was admitted
to that or any other degree doth not appear,
” says Wood,
^from the university registers;“although Walton tells us,
that about his 20th year he proceeded master of arts, and
at that time read in Latin three lectures de oculo, on the
blessing of sight, which he illustrated by some beautiful
passages aud apt reflexions.
In 1589 he lost his father, and was left with no other
provision than a rent-charge of 100 marks a-year. Soon
after, he left Oxford, betook himself to travel, and went
into France, Germany, and Italy. He stayed but one year
in France, and part of that at Geneva; where he became
acquainted with Beza and Isaac Casaubon. Three years he
spent in Germany, and five in Italy, where both in Rome,
Venice, and Florence, he cultivated acquaintance with the
most eminent men for learning and all manner of fine arts;
for painting, sculpture, chemistry, and architecture; of all
which he was an amateur and an excellent judge. After
having spent nine years abroad, he returned to England
highly accomplished, and with a great accumulation of
knowledge of the countries through which he had passed.
His wit and politeness so effectually recommended him to
the earl of Essex that he first admitted him into his friendship, and afterwards made him one of his secretaries, the
celebrated Mr. Henry Cuff being the other. (See Cuff.)
He personally attended all the councils and employments
of the earl, and continued with him till he was apprehended
for high treason. Fearing now lest he might, from his intimate connexion, be involved in his patron’s ruin, he thought
proper to retire, and was scarcely landed in France, when
he heard that his master Essex was beheaded, and his
friend Cuff hanged. He proceeded to Florence, and was
received into great confidence by the grand duke of Tuscany. This place became the more agreeable to him, from
his meeting with signor Vietta, a gentleman of Venice,
with whom he had been formerly intimately acquainted,
and who was now the grand duke’s secretary. It was during this retreat that Mr. Wotton drew up his
” State of
Christendom, or a most exact and curious discovery of
many secret passages, and hidden myteries of the times."
This was first printed, a thin fol. in 1657, and afterwards in
1677, with a small alteration in the title. It was here also
that the grand duke having intercepted letters which discovered a design to take away the life of James VI. of
Scotland, dispatched Wouon thither to give him notice of
it. Wotton was on this account, as well as according to
his instructions, to manage this affair with all possible secrecy: and therefore, having parted from the duke, he
took the name and language of an Italian; and to avoid
the line of English intelligence and danger, he posted into
Norway, and from that country to Scotland, He found
the king at Stirling, and was admitted to him under the
name of Octavio Baldi. He delivered his message and his
letters to the king in Italian: then, stepping up and whis^
pering to his majesty, he told him he was an Englishman,
requested a more private conference with him, and that he
might be concealed during his stay in Scotland. He spent
about three months with the king, who was highly entertained with him, and then returned to Florence, where,
after a few months, the news of queen Elizabeth’s death,
and of king James’s accession to the crown of England,
arriyep!.