cipal regent of the schools, and accustomed to mark the early appearance of talents, soon discovered his son’s aptitude for learning, and taught him Greek and Latin.
, a learned philologist, was born at
Worcum in Friesland, Nov. 23, 1670. His father who
was rector or principal regent of the schools, and accustomed to mark the early appearance of talents, soon discovered his son’s aptitude for learning, and taught him
Greek and Latin. His mother, a woman of abilities, and
aunt to Vitringa, when she saw the latter, then a very
young man, advanced to the professorship of Oriental languages, exclaimed with maternal fondness that she hoped
to see her son promoted to a similar rank. In this, however, she was not gratified, as she died before he had
finished his studies. When he had gone through the ordinary course of the classes in his father’s school, he continued adding to his knowledge by an attentive perusal of the
Greek and Latin authors, and had many opportunities for
this while he lived with a man of rank, as private tutor to
his children. Cicero, above all, was his favourite Latin,
author, whom he read again and again. In 1694 he went
to the university of Franeker, where his relation, Vitringa,
encouraged him to pursue the Greek and Latin studies, to
which he seemed so much attached. In October 1696 he
was permitted to teach Greek in the university, and in February of the following year, the curators honoured him
with the title of prelector in that language. In 1704, when
the Greek professorship became vacant by the death of
Blancard, Mr. Bos was appointed his successor, and on
taking the chair, read a dissertation on the propagation of
Greek learning by their colonies, “de eruditione Graecorum per Colonias eorum propagata.
” About the end of
1716 he was attacked with a malignant fever, ending in a
consumption, a disorder he inherited from his mother,
which terminated his life Jan. 6, 1717. Bos was a man of
extensive classical learning, a solid judgment, and strong
memory. In his personal character he was candid, amiable, and pious; in his studies so indefatigable that he cegretted every moment that was not employed in them.
About five years before his death he married the widow of
a clergyman, by whom he left two sons.
h happened January 2, 1692. He published some volumes of sermons; and after his death, P. Le Gendre, his son-in-law, published his” Life, Letters, Poems, Orations,
, a French minister, and the greatest
preacher in his time among the protestants, was son of
William du Bosc, advocate to the parliament of Roan, and
born at Bayeux, February 21, 1623. He made such progress, after having studied divinity eighteen months at
Montauban, and three years at Saumur, that although he
was but in his three and twentieth year, he was qualified to
serve the church of Caen, to which he was presented Nov.
15, 1645, and received the imposition of hands Dec. 17,
the same year. The merit of his colleagues, and above all
that of Mr. Bochart, did not hinder Mr. du Bosc from acquiring speedily the reputation of one of the first men of
his function; and his eloquence became so famous
throughout the whole kingdom, that the church of Charenton would have him for their minister, and sent to desire him of his church, in the beginning of 1658. The
strongest solicitations were made use of; but neither the
eloquence of the deputies of Paris, nor the letters of persons of the greatest eminence in France amongst the protestants, could engage the church of Caen to part with
him, nor him to quit his flock. It was impossible that such
talents and fame should not give umbrage to the enemies
of the protestant religion, which they shewed in 1664, by
procuring a lettre de cachet, which banished him from Chalons till a new order, for having spoke disrespectfully of
auricular confession. Mr. du Bosc, as he passed through
Paris to go to the place of his banishment, explained to
Mr. le Tellier his opinion on confession, and in what manner he had spoken of it, with which Le Tellier was satisfied, and told him that he had never doubted of the falseness of the accusation. Mr. du Bosc recovered the liberty
of returning to his church October 15, 1664, and the joy
which was at Caen among the brethren, when he came
there, November 8, was excessive, A great many honourable persons of the other party congratulated him; and
there was a catholic gentleman who celebrated the event
in a very singular manner, as thus related by Du Bosc’s
biographer. “A gentleman of the Roman religion, of
distinction in the province, whose life was not very regular, but who made open profes&ion of loving the pastors
who had particular talents, and seemed particularly enamoured with the merit of Mr. du Bosc, having a mind to
solemnize the feast with a debauch, took two Cordeliers
whom he knew to be honest fellows, and made them drink
so much, that one of them died on the spot. He went to
see Mr. du Bosc the next day, and told him that he thought
himself obliged to sacrifice a monk to the public joy; that
the sacrifice would have been more reasonable, if it had
been a Jesuit; but that his offering ought not to displease
him, though it was but of a Cordeiier. This tragical accident, of which he was only the innocent occasion, did
not fail to disturb the joy which he had upon seeing himself again in his family and amongst his flock.
” During
the prosecutions of the protestant churches in 1665, he
defended that of Caen, and many others of the province,
against the measures of the bishop of Bayeux. The king
having published in 1666 a severe proclamation against
the protestants, all the chrrches sent deputies to Paris to
make humble remonstrances to his majesty. The churches
of Normandy deputed Mr. du Bosc, who departed from
Caen July 3, 1668. As soon as he was arrived at Paris,
the other deputies chose him “to draw up several memoirs.
It being reported that the king would suppress some chambers of the edict, all the deputies ran to Mr. de Ruvigni,
the deputy general, to speak with him about so important
an affair, in hopes of procuring leave to throw themselves
at his majesty’s feet; but Mr. du Bosc only was admitted
to the audience. He harangued the king, who was alone
in his closet, November 27, 1668; and after having ended
his discourse, he had the courage to represent several
things, and succeeded so well as to make all the court
speak of his eloquence and prudence. After several conferences with Mr. le Tellier, and many evasions and delays,
in April 1669, he obtained some relaxation of the declaration of 1666. After that time Mr. du Bosc went several
journies about the churches’ affairs, and supported them,
before the ministers of state and the intendants, with
great force and ability, until he was commanded himself,
by an act of the parliament of Normandy June 6, 1685,
not to exercise his ministry any more in the kingdom. It
was, however, universally acknowledged, t.iat if it had
been possible to preserve the reformed church of France
by the means of negotiation, he was more likely to succeed than any one that could be employed. He retired
into Holland after his interdiction, and was minister of
the church of Rotterdam, until his death, which happened
January 2, 1692. He published some volumes of sermons; and after his death, P. Le Gendre, his son-in-law,
published his
” Life, Letters, Poems, Orations, Dissertations," and other curious documents respecting the history of the reformed churches in his time, Rotterdam,
1694, 8vo, dedicated to lord viscount Galloway.
ouhours so effectually to the celebrated minister Colbert, that he trusted him with the education of his son, the marquis of Segnelai. The Remarks and Doubts upon the
, a celebrated French critic,
was born at Paris in 1628; and has by some been considered as a proper person to succeed Malherbe, who died
about that time. He entered into the society of Jesuits at
sixteen, and was appointed to read lectures upon polite
literature in the college of Clermont at Paris, where he
had studied; but he was so incessantly attacked with the
head-ach, that he could not pursue the destined task. He
afterwards undertook the education of two sons of the duke
of Longueville, which he discharged to the entire satisfaction of the duke, who had such a regard for him, that he
would needs die in his arms; and the “Account of the
pious and Christian death
” of this great personage was the
first work which Bouhours gave the public. He was sent
to Dunkirk to the popish refugees from England; and, in,
the midst of his missionary occupations, found time to
compose and publish many works of reputation. Among
these were “Entretiens d‘Ariste & d’Eugene,
” a work of
a critical nature, which was printed no less than five times
at Paris, twice at Grenoble, at Lyons, at Brussels, at Amsterdam, at Leyden, &c. and embroiled him with a great
number of critics, and with Menage in particular; who,
however, lived in friendship with our author before and
after. There is a passage in this work which gave great
oifence in Germany, where he makes it a question,
“Whether it be possible that a German could be a wit
”
The fame of it, however, and the pleasure he took in reading it, recommended Bouhours so effectually to the celebrated minister Colbert, that he trusted him with the education of his son, the marquis of Segnelai. The Remarks
and Doubts upon the French language has been reckoned
one of the most considerable of our author’s works; and
may be read with great advantage by those who would perfect themselves in that tongue. Menage, in his Observations upon the French language, has given his approbation
of jt in the following passage: “The book of Doubts,
”
says he, “is written with great elegance, and contains
many fine observations. And, as Aristotle has said, that
reasonable doubt is the beginning of all real knowledge; so
we may say also, that the man who doubts so reasonably
as the author of this book, is himself very capable of deciding. For this reason perhaps it is, that, forgetting the
tide of his work, he decides oftener than at first he proposed.
” Bouhours was the author of another work, “The
art of pleasing in conversation,
” of which M. de la Grose,
who wrote the eleventh volume of the Bibliotheque Universelle, has given an account, which he begins with this
elogium upon the author “A very little skill,
” says he,
“in style and manner, will enable a reader to discover the
author of this work. He will see at once the nice, the
ingenious, and delicate turn, the elegance and politeness
of father Bouhours. Add to this, the manner of writing in
dialogue, the custom of quoting himself, the collecting
strokes of wit, the little agreeable relations interspersed,
and a certain mixture of gallantry and morality which is
altogether peculiar to this Jesuit. This work is inferior to
nothing we have seen of father Bouhours. He treats in
twenty dialogues, with an air of gaiety, of every thing
which can find a way into conversation; and, though he
avoids being systematical, yet he gives his reader to understand, that there is no subject whatever, either of divinity,
philosophy, law, or physic, &c. but may be introduced
into conversation, provided it be done with ease, politeness, and in a manner free from pedantry and affectation.
”
He died at Paris, in the college of Clermont, upon the
27th of May 1702; after a life spent, says Moreri, under
such constant and violent fits of the head-ach, that he had
but few intervals of perfect ease. The following is a list
of his works with their dates: 1. “Les Entretiens d‘Ariste
et d’Eugene,
” Remarques et Doutes
sur la langue Franchise,
” 3 vols. 12mo. 3. “La Manier
de bien penser sur les ouvrages d' esprit,
” Paris, Pensees ingenieuses des anciens et des modernes,
” Paris, You have, it is true, introduced me in your
new work, but in very bad company,
” alluding to the frequent mention of some Italian and French versifiers whom
Boileau despised. 5. “Pensees ingenieuses des Peres de
l'Eglise,
” Paris, too much of
his time Oh profane literature. 6.
” Histoire du grandmaitre d'Aubusson,“1676, 4to, 1679, and lately in 1780.
7. The lives of St. Ignatius, Paris, 1756, 12mo, and of
St. Francis Xavier, 1682, 4to, or 2 vols. 12mo. Both these
are written with rather more judgment than the same lives
by Ribadeneira, but are yet replete with the miraculous
and the fabulous. The life of Xavier was translated by
Dryden, and published at London in 1688, with a dedication to king James II. 's queen. Dryden, says Mr. Malone,
doubtless undertook this task, in consequence of the queen,
when she solicited a son, having recommended herself to
Xavier as her patron saint. 8.
” Le Nouveau Testament,"
translated into French from the Vulgate, 2 vols. 1697
1703, 12mo.
hts without interruption. Thomas Cornell le had a sincere regard for Boursault, whom he used to call his son, and insisted on his applying to be admitted a member of
, a French dramatic writer
and satirist, was born in 1638, at Mussi-l'évêque in Burgundy. He was not brought up at school, and could only
speak the rude provincial dialect of his country, when he
came to Paris in 1651, yet, by the perusal of good books,
with his good memory, he was soon able to converse and
to write elegantly in French. Having composed, by order of Louis XIV. a book of no great merit, entitled “Of
the proper study of sovereigns,
” Merry Muse;
” but it was again suppressed. He
afterwards got into favour once more, and was made receiver of the excise at Montlugon, where he died of a violent colic, aged 63, Sept. 5, 1701. He wrote several
theatrical pieces, and other works. The chief of them
are, “Æsop in the city,
” and “Æsop at court;
” which
long remained to the stage. These two pieces and the
following are an agreeable satire on the ridiculous manners
or the several ages and conditions of life. His verse in
general is harmonious, but his style sometimes negligent,
yet in general easy and suitable to the subject. 2. The
“Mercure galante,
” or “La comedie sans titre,
” in which
he ingeniously ridicules the rage for getting a place in the
Mercure galaut. 3. “La satyre des satyres,
” in one act.
Boiltau’s satirical notice of Boursault, to avenge Moliere,
with whom he had had a difference, gave occasion to this
piece, which Boileau had interest enough and meanness
enough to prevent being played. The satirist being some
years afterwards at the baths of Bourbon, Boursault, at that
time receiver of the excise at Montluc/>n, repaired thither
on purpose to offer him his purse and his services. At this
act of generosity Boileau was much affected; and they
immediately engaged in a mutual friendship, of which
Boursault was highly deserving by the gentleness of his
manners, and the cheerfulness of his disposition. He behaved with less tolerance, however, towards his other censors; and was able sometimes to chastise them with effect.
A cabal having prevented the success of the first representation of “Æsop in the city,
” the author added to it a
fable of the dog and the ox, applying the moral of it to
the pit; which so effectually silenced the cabal, that the
piece had a run of forty-three nights without interruption.
Thomas Cornell le had a sincere regard for Boursault, whom
he used to call his son, and insisted on his applying to be
admitted a member of the academy. Boursault desired to
be excused on account of his ignorance, adding with his
usual simplicity, “What would the academy do with an
ignorant and illiterate (ignare & non Lettre) member, who
knows neither Latin nor Greek?
” “We are not talking
(returned Corneille) of a Greek or Latin academy, but of
a French academy; and who understands French better
than you?
” There are likewise by him, 1. Some romances, “The marquis de Chavigny,
” “The prince de
Conde
” which are written with spirit “Artemisia and
Polyanthus and,
” We should only believe what we see.“2. A collection of letters on subjects of respect, obligation,
and gallantry; known under the name of
” Lettres a Babet;“now forgotten. 3.
” Lettres nouvelles,“with fables, tales, epigrams, remarks, bon-mots, &c. 3 vols. 12mo,
several times reprinted, though mostly written in a loose
and inelegant style: a miscellany, which was very popular when ii first came out; but is much less at present, as
the tales and bon-mots which Boursault has collected, or
put into verse, are found in many other books. His fables
have neither the simplicity of those of La Fontaine, nor
the elegant precision of Phaedrus. There is an edition of
the
” Theatre de Boursault," in 3 vols. 1746, 12mo.
s the turn of his mind in other respects, we shall insert it at large. After a liberal provision for his son, among other legacies are these “I likewise give to my son
Mr. Bowyer had always been subject to a bilious colic;
and during the last ten years of his life, he was afflicted
with the palsy and the stone. But, notwithstanding these
infirmities, he preserved, in general, a remarkable cheerfulness of disposition; and received great satisfaction from
the conversation of a few literary friends, by whom he continued to be visited. The faculties of his mind, though
somewhat impaired, were strong enough to support the labour of almost incessant reading, which had ever been his
principal amusement; and he regularly corrected the
learned works, and especially the Greek books, which came
from his press. This he did till within a very few weeks of
his death; which happened on the 18th of November,
1777, when he had nearly completed his 78th year. The
publications of Mr. Bowyer are an incontrovertible evidence
of his abilities and learning; to which may be added that
he was honoured with the friendship and patronage of many
of the most distinguished ornaments of his age. We already have had occasion to mention the earls of Macclesfield and Marchmont, Dr. Wotton, Mr. Pope, Mr. Chishull,
Mr. Clarke, Mr. Markland, bishop Warburton, the right
honourable Arthur Onslow, Mr. Hollis, Dr. Salter, Mr,
De Missy, Dr. Owen, and Dr. Heberden. To these, among
other respectable names, might be added those of archbishop Seeker, bishop Kennett, bishop Tanner, bishop Sherlock, bishop Hoadly, bishop Lyttelton, bishop Pearce, bishop Lowth, bishop Barrington, bishop Hurd, bishop
Percy, lord Lyttelton, lord Sandys, dean Prideaux, doctors
Robert and John Freind, dean Freind, dean Milles, the very
learned Dr. Taylor, chancellor of Lincoln, Dr. Barnard, Dr.
Powell, Dr. Wilkins, Mr. Maittaire, Messrs. R. and S.
Gale, Mr. Browne Willis, Mr. Spelman, Mr. Morant, Dr.
Ducarel, Dr. Pegge, Mr. Garrick, and most of the distinguished scholars and antiquaries of his time. His connec^
tion with the late eminent and excellent Richard Gough,
esq. so well known by his acquaintance with British topography and antiquities, is apparent from his last will;
where his obligations to Dr. Jenkin, dean Stanhope, and
Mr. Nelson, are acknowledged. The late excellent Dr.
Robert Clayton, bishop of Clogher, so highly esteemed his
friendship, that he not only honoured him by a regular
epistolary intercourse, but presented him with the copy-right
of all his valuable writings. Mr. Bowyer stood unrivalled,
for more than half a century, as a learned printer; and
some of the most masterly productions of this kingdom have
undoubtedly appeared from his press. To his literary and
professional abilities, he added an excellent moral character.
His regard to religion was displayed in his publications, and
in the course of his life and studies; and he was particularly
distinguished by his inflexible probity, and an uncommon
alacrity in assisting the necessitous. His liberality in relieving every species of distress, and his endeavours to conceal
his benefactions, reflect great honour on his memory.
Though he was naturally fond of retirement, and seldom
entered into company, excepting with men of letters, he
was, perhaps, excelled by few in the talent of justly discriminating the real characters of mankind. He judged of the
persons he saw by a sort of intuition; and his judgments
were generally right. From a consciousness of literary superiority, he did not always pay that particular attention tQ
the booksellers which was expedient in the way of his business. Too proud to solicit the favours in that way which he
believed to be his due, he was often disappointed in his expectations. On the other hand, he' frequently experienced
friendships in cases where he had much less reason to have
hoped for them so that, agreeably to his own expression,
“in what he had received, and what he had fyeen denied,
he thankfully acknowledged the will of Heaven.
” The two
great objects of Mr. Bowyer’s view, in the decline of his
life, were to repay the benefactions his father had met
with, and to be himself a benefactor to the meritorious of
his own profession. These purposes are fully displayed in
his last will: for which reason, and because it illustrates
the turn of his mind in other respects, we shall insert it at
large. After a liberal provision for his son, among other
legacies are these “I likewise give to my son all my plate;
except the small silver cup which was given to my father
(after his loss by fire) by Mrs. James, and which I give to
the Company of Stationers in London, hoping they will
preserve it as a memorial. Having committed my body to
the earth, I would testify my duty and gratitude to my few
relations and numerous benefactors after my father’s loss by
fire. I give and bequeath to my cousin Scott, lately of
Westminster, brewer, and to his sister, fifty pounds each.
I give and bequeath to my relations Mr. Thomas Linley and
his wife one thousand pounds four per cent, consolidated annuities, to be transferred to them, or to the survivor of them;
and which I hope they will take care to settle, at their
deaths, for the benefit of their son and daughter. I give
to the two sons and one daughter of the late reverend Mr.
Maurice of Gothenburgh iuSweden, who married the only
daughter of Mr. Richard Williamson, bookseller (in return for her father’s friendship to mine), one thousand pounds
four per cent, consolidated annuities, to be divided equally
between them. Among my father’s numerous benefactors,
there is not, that I can hear of, one alive: to several of
them I made an acknowledgement. But one respectable
body I am still indebted to, the University of Cambridge;
to whom I give, or rather restore, the sum of fifty pounds,
in return for the donation of forty pounds made to my father
at the motion of the learned and pious master of Saint John’s
college, doctor Robert Jenkin: to a nephew of his I have
already given another fifty pounds, as appears by his receipt
of the thirty-first of May, one thousand seven hundred and
seventy. The benefactions which my father received from
Oxford I can only repay with gratiiude; as he received
them, not from the university as a body, but from particular members. I give thirty pounds to the dean and chapter
of Canterbury, in gratitude for the kindness of the worthy
doctor Stanhope (sometime dean of Canterbury) to my father; the remembrance of which amongst the proprietors of
his works I have long out-lived, as I have experienced by not
being employed to print them: the like I might say of the
works of Mr. Nelson, another respectable friend and patron of
my father’s, and of many others. I give to doctor William
Heberden my little cabinet of coins, with H ickes’s Thesau rus,
Tristan, and the odd volume, Spanheim’s Numismata, Harduin’s Opera Selecta, in folio, Nummi Populorum et Urbium, in quarto, and any other of my books he chooses to
accept: to the reverend doctor Henry Owen, such of my
Hebrew books and critical books on the New Testament,
as he pleases to take: to Richard Gough, esq. in like manner, my books on topographical subjects: to Mr. John
Nichols, all books that relate to Cicero, Livy, and the Roman
history, particularly the * Cenotaphia' of Noris and Pighius, my grammars and dictionaries, with Swift’s and
Pope’s works: to my son, whatever books (not described above) he thinks proper to take. And now I hope I may
be allowed to leave somewhat for the benefit of printing.
To this end, I give to the master and keepers or wardens
and commonalty of the mystery or art of a stationer of the
city of London, such a sum of money as will purchase two
thousand pounds three per cent, reduced Bank annuities,
upon trust, to pay the dividends and yearly produce thereof,
to be divided for ever equally amongst three printers, compositors or pressmen, to be elected from time to time by
the master, wardens, and assistants, of the said company,
and who at the time of such election shall be sixty-three
years old or upwards, for their respective lives, to be paid
half-yearly; hoping that such as sha.ll be most deserving
will be preferred. And whereas I have herein before given
to my son the sum of three thousand pounds four per cent,
consolidated annuities, in case he marries with the consent
of my executors: Now, I do hereby give and bequeath the
dividends and interest of that sum, till such marriage take
place, to the said company of stationers to be divided
equally between six other printers, compositors or pressmen, as aforesaid, in manner as aforesaid; and, if my said
son shall die unmarried, or married without such consent as
aforesaid, then I give and bequeath the said capital sum of
three thousand pounds to the company of stationers, the
dividends and yearly produce thereof to be divided for ever
equally amongst six other such old printers, compositors or
pressmen, for their respective lives, to be qualified, chosen,
and paid in manner as aforesaid. It has long been to me
matter of concern, that such numbers are put apprentices
as compositors without any share of school-learning, who
ought to have the greatest: in hopes of remedying this,
I give and bequeath to the said company of stationers such
a sum of money as will purchase one thousand pounds three
per cent, reduced bank annuities, for the use of one journeyman compositor, such as shall hereafter be described; with
this special trust, that the master, wardens, and assistants,
shall pay the dividends and produce thereof half-yearly to
such compositor: the said master, wardens, and assistants
of the said company, shall nominate for this purpose a compositor who is a man of good life and conversation, who shall
usually frequent some place of public worship every Sunday unless prevented by sickness, and shall not have worked
on a newspaper or magazine for four years at least before
such nomination, nor shall ever afterwards whilst he holds
this annuity, which may be for life, if he continues a journeyman; he shall be able to read and construe Latin, and at
least to read Greek fluently with accents; f which he shall
bring a testimonial from the rector of St. Martin’s Ludgate
for the time being: I could wish that he shall have been
brought up piously and virtuously, if it be possible, at Merchant Taylors, or some other public school, from seven
years of age till he is full seventeen, and then to serve seven years faithfully as a compositor, and work seven years
more as a journeyman, as I would not have this annuity bestowed on any one under thirty -one years of age: if after
he is chosen he should behave ill, let him be turned out,
and another be chosen in his stead. And whereas it may
be many years before a compositor may be found that shall
exactly answer the above description, and it may at some
times happen that such a one cannot be found; I would
have the dividends in the mean time applied to such person
as the master, wardens, and assistants, shall think approaches
nearest to what I have described. And whereas the above
trusts will occasion some trouble: I give to the said company, in case they think proper to accept the trusts, two
hundred and fifty pounds.
” It is almost superfluous to add,
that the trust was accepted, and is properly executed.
had the boldness to procure the lady Mary Stewart, the late king’s eldest daughter, in marriage for his son sir Thomas Boyd, notwithstanding the care and precaution
, a nobleman of Scotland, of whose early years we have no account, began to make a figure in public life towards the end of the reign of James II. of Scotland. Being a man of great penetration and sound judgment, courteous and affable, he acquired the esteem and confidence of all ranks of people, as well as of his prince, who created him a baron by the title of lord Boyd, of Kilmarnock. In 1459, he was, with several other noblemen, sent to Newcastle, with the character of plenipotentiary, to prolong the truce with England, which had just fhen expired. On the death of James II. who was killed at the siege of Roxburgh, lord Boyd was made justiciary, and one of the lords of the regency, in whose hands the administration was lodged during the minority of the young king. His lordship had a younger brother who had received the honour of knighthood, sir Alexander Boyd of Duncow, a man in great credit with the king, whom he was appointed to teach the rudiments of military discipline; and between them, the two brothers found means to engross most of the places and preferments about the court. Sir Alexander began to instil into the young king, then twelve years old, that he was now capable of governing without the help of guardians and tutors, and that he might free himself from their restraint. This advice was readily listened to, and the king resolved to take upon himself the government, which, however, was no other than transferring the whole power, from the other regents, to the Boyds. The king was at this time at Linlithgow, and it was necessary to remove him to Edinburgh, to take upon him the regal government, which the Boyds effected, partly by force, and partly by stratagem. Haying got the king- to Edinburgh, lord Boyd began to provide for his own safety, and to avert the danger which, threatened him and his friends, for what they had done in the face of an act of parliament; and accordingly prevailed upon the king to call a parliament at Edinburgh, in October 1466; in which lord Boyd fell down upon his knees before the throne, where the king sat, and in an elaborate harangue, complained of the hard construction put upon the king’s removal from Linlithgow, and how ill this was interpreted by his enemies, who threatened that the advisers of that affair should one day suffer punishment; humbly beseeching his majesty to declare his own sense and pleasure thereupon, and that if he conceived any illwill or disgust against him for that journey, that he would openly declare it. The king, after advising a little with the lords, made answer, that the lord Boyd was not his adviser, but rather his companion in that journey; and therefore that he was more worthy of a reward for his courtesy, than of punishment for his obsequiousness or compliance therein; and this he was willing to declare in a public decree of the estates, and in the same decree provision should be made, that this matter should never be prejudicial to the lord Boyd or his companions. His lordship then desired, that this decree might be registered in the acts of the assembly, and confirmed by letters patent under the great seal, which was also complied with. At the same time also the king, by advice of his council, gave him letters patent, whereby he was constituted sole regent, and had the safety of the king, his brothers, sisters, towns, castles, and all the jurisdiction over his subjects, committed to him, till the king himself arrived to the age of twenty-one years. And the nobles then present solemnly promised to be assistant to the lord Boyd, and also to his brother, in all their public actions, and that they would be liable to punishment, if they did not carefully, and with faithfulness, perform what they then promised, to which stipulation the king also subscribed. Lord Boyd next contrived to be made Jord great chamberlain, and after this had the boldness to procure the lady Mary Stewart, the late king’s eldest daughter, in marriage for his son sir Thomas Boyd, notwithstanding the care and precaution of the parliament. The lord Boyd’s son was a most accomplished gentleman, and this match and near alliance to the crown, added to his own distinguished merit, raised him to a nearer place in the affection as well as confidence of his sovereign, by whom he was soon after created earl of Arran, and was now himself considered as the fountain from whence all honours and preferments must flow. The lord chamberlain, by this great accession of honour to his family, seemed to have arrived at the highest pinnacle of power and grandeur; but what seemed to establish his power, proved the very means of its overthrow. About this time, a marriage having been concluded, by ambassadors sent into Denmark for that purpose, between the young king of Scotland, and Margaret, a daughter of the king of Denmark, the earl of Arran was selected to go over to Denmark, to espouse the Danish princess in the king his brother-in-law’s name, and to conduct her to Scotland. The earl of Arran, judging all things safe at home, willingly accepted this honour; and, in the beginning of the autumn of 1469, set sail for Denmark with a proper convoy, and a noble train of friends and followers. This was, however, a fatal step, for the lord chamberlain, the earl’s father, being now much absent from the court in the necessary discharge of his office, as well as through age and infirmities, which was the case also of his brother sir Alexander Boyd; the earl of Arran had no sooner set out on his embassy, than every endeavour was tried to alienate the king’s affection from the Boyds. Every public miscarriage was laid at their door; and the Kennedies, their ancient enemies, industriously spread abroad reports, to inflame the people likewise against them. They represented to the king, that the lord Boyd had abused his power during his majesty’s minority; that his matching his son, the earl of Arran, with the princess Mary, was staining the royal blood of Scotland, was an indignity to the crown, and the prelude to the execution of a plot they had contrived of usurping even the sovereignty itself; for they represented the lord chamberlain as an ambitious, aspiring man, guilty of the highest offences, and capable of contriving and executing the worst of villanies: with what justice, history does not inform us. Buchanan only says the Boyds were the occasion of the king’s degeneracy into all manner of licentiousness, by their indulgence of his pleasures. The king, however, young, weak, credulous, and wavering, and naturally prone to jealousy, began to be alarmed, and was prevailed on to sacrifice, not only the earl of Arran, but all his family, to the resentment of their enemies, notwithstanding their ancestors’ great services to the crown, and in spite of the ties of blood which united them so closely. At the request of the adverse faction, the king summoned a parliament to meet at Edinburgh, the 20th of November, 1469, before which lord Boyd, the earl of Arran, though in Denmark, and sir Alexander Boyd of Duncow, were summoned to appear, to give an account of their administration, and answer such charges as should be exhibited against them. Lord Boyd, astonished at this sudden blow, betook himself to arms; but, finding it im-r possible to stem the torrent, made his escape into England; but his brother, sir Alexander, being then sick, and trusting to his own integrity, was brought before the parliament, where he, the lord Boyd, and his son the earl of Arran, were indicted of high-treason, for having laid hands on the king, and carried him, against an act of parliament, and contrary to the king’s own will, from Linlithgow to Edinburgh, in 1466. Sir Alexander alleged in his defence, that they had not only obtained the king’s pardon for that'offence in a public convention, but it was even declared a good service by a subsequent act of parliament; but no regard was had to this, because it was obtained by the Boyds when in power, and masters of the king’s person: and the crime being proved against them, they were found guilty by a jury of lords and barons; and sir Alexander Boyd, being present, was condemned to lose his head on the Castle-hill of Edinburgh, which sentence was executed accordingly. The lord Boyd would have undergone the same fate, if he had not inade his escape into England, where, however, he did not long survive his great reverse of fortune, dying at Alnwick in 1470. The earl of Arran, though absent upon public business, was declared a public enemy, without being granted a hearing, or allowed the privilege of defending himself, and his estates confiscated. Things were in this situation, when he arrived from Denmark, with the espoused queen, in the Frith of Forth. Before he landed he received intelligence of the wreck and ruin of his family, and resolved to retire into Denmark; and without staying to attend the ceremonial of the queen’s landing, he took the opportunity of one of those Danish ships which convoyed the queen, and were under his command, and embarking his lady, set sail for Denmark, where he met with a reception suitable to his high birth. From thence he travelled through Germany into France, and went to pay a visit to Charles duke of Burgundy, who received him most graciously, and being then at war with his rebellious subjects, the unfortunate lord offered him his service, which the duke readily accepted, and finding him to be a brave and wise man, he honoured and supported him and his lady, in a manner becoming their rank. But the king their brother, not yet satisfied with the miseries of their family, wrote over to Flanders to recal his sister home; and fearing she would not be induced to leave him, he caused others to write to her, and give her hopes that his anger towards her husband might be appeased, and that if she would come over and plead for him in person, there was no doubt but she might prevail with her brother to restore him again to his favour. The countess of Arran, flattered with these hopes, returned, and was no sooner arrived in Scotland, than the king urged her to a divorce from her husband, cruelly detained her from going back to him, and caused public citations, attested by witnesses, to be fixed up at Kilmarnock, the seat of the Boyds, wherein Thomas earl of Arran was commanded to appear in sixty days, which he not doing, his marriage with the king’s sister was declared null and void, and a divorce made (according to Buchanan), the earl still absent and unheard; and the lady Mary was compelled, by the king, to marry James lord Hamilton, a man much inferior to her former husband both in point of birth and fortune. This transaction was in 1474; and the earl of Arran, now in the last stage of his miseries, and borne down with the heavy load of his misfortunes, soon al'ter, died at Antwerp, and was honourably interred there. The character of him and of his father is variously represented. That they were ambitious, and regardless of the means of gratifying that ambition, cannot well be denied, nor are we permitted to censure with great asperity their enemies who effected their ruin by similar measures and with similar motives. Their fall undoubtedly holds out an useful lesson, but the experience of others, especially of examples in history, seldom checks the progress of that ambition that has once commenced in success.
e for drawing generally discovers itself very early, he might probably foresee great advantages from his son’s possessing this talent. Fortunately, however, for young
, a liberal patron of the arts, and an
honour to his country, was born at Stanton in Shropshire,
Jan. 19, 1719. His grandfather was the rev. John Boydell, D. D. vicar of Ashbourne, and rector of Mapleton in
Derbyshire, whose son Josiah married Mary Milnes, eldest daughter of Samuel Milnes, esq. of Ash-house near
Turnditch, Derbyshire, Jan. 22, 1718. Dr. Boydell was
an excellent scholar, and for some time superintended the
education of his grandson, intending him for the church,
but dying in 1731, the youth was brought up by hisfatlver,
a land-surveyor, who very naturally intended him for his
own profession, and as a taste for drawing generally discovers itself very early, he might probably foresee great
advantages from his son’s possessing this talent. Fortunately, however, for young Boydell, and for the arts, a
trifling accident gave a more decided direction to his mind,
and led him to aim at higher efforts in the art than the
mere mechanism of ground-plans and outlines. This was
no other than the sight of a print by Toms, a very indifferent artist, of sir John Glynne’s seat and the old castle
attached to it, in “Baddeley’s Views of different Country
Seats.
” An exact delineation of a building that he had
so often contemplated, afforded him pleasure, and excited
some reflections which gave a new turn to his ambition.
Considering it as an engraving, and from the copper of
which might be taken an almost indefinite number of impressions, he determined to quit the pen, and take up
the graver, as an instrument which would enable him to
disseminate whatever work he could produce, in so much
wider a circle. This resolution was no sooner made, than
it was put in execution; for, with that spirit and perseverance which he manifested in every succeeding scene of
life, he, at twenty-one years of age, walked up to the
metropolis, and bound himself apprentice for seven years
to Mr. Toms, the engraver of the print which had so forcibly attracted his attention. These, and accidents equally
trifling, sometimes attract men of strong minds into the
path that leads direct to fame, and have been generally
considered as proving that they were born with some peculiar genius for some peculiar study. Sir J. Reynolds
had the first fondness for his art excited by the perusal of
“Richardson’s Treatise on Painting
” and Mr. Boydell
was induced to learn the art of engraving, by a coarse
print of a coarse artist, representing a mis-shapen gothic
castle.
shire, where his father had lived before him, but did not live long enough to witness the success of his son John, in the pursuit he so much disapproved.
This step, however, gave his father no little uneasiness, and every argument and remonstrance of himself and his friends were employed to divert him from a pursuit which they considered as likely to be very unprofitable. But this producing no effect, his father took into business with him a younger son, Thomas, who succeeded him, and who died a few years before the subject of the present article, at Trevallyn Hall, Denbighshire, where his father had lived before him, but did not live long enough to witness the success of his son John, in the pursuit he so much disapproved.
ishing my lord of Cork’s tomb is charged upon you, as if it were done only because he will not marry his son to my lord Clifford’s daughter, and that I do it to join
It is much to be regretted that so faithful a servant of
the public should have lived at variance with the earl
of Strafford, himself a man of virtue, talents, and patriotism, and afterwards a sacrifice to the fury of the republican party in England; yet it cannot be denied that
the earl of Strafford behaved in a very arrogant and
haughty manner to the earl of Cork; and that the conduct
of the lord deputy was such, as it could not reasonably be expected any man of spirit would patiently submit to, and especially a man of so much worth and
merit as the noble subject of this article. His lordship
gave evidence at Strafford’s trial, that when he had commenced a suit at law, in a case in which he apprehended
himself to be aggrieved, the earl of Strafford, in the
most arbitrary manner, forbad his prosecuting his suit,
saying to him, “Call in your writs, or if you will not,
I will clap you in the castle; for I tell you, I will not have
my orders disputed by law, nor lawyers.
” We have,
however, already seen that lord Cork had other enemies,
who took various opportunities of displaying their jealousy
of his power and talents. One singular opportunity was
taken on the death of his second lady, which we shall detail, as including some traits of the taste and prejudices of
the times. This lady was privately interred on the 27th of
February 1629-30, but her funeral was publicly solemnized
on the llth of March following; soon after which$ the
earl of Cork purchased from the dean and chapter of St.
Patrick’s church, the inheritance of the upper part of the
chancel where the vault was, in which the bodies of her
grandfather by the mother’s side, the lord chancellor Weston, and of her father sir Geoffry Fenton, were laid, over
which the earl her husband caused a fine marble tomb to
be erected. This presently gave offence to some people,
who suggested that it stood where the altar ought to stand,
of which they complained to the king, who mentioned it
to Dr. Laud, then bishop of London; who after the lord
Wentworth was made lord deputy of Ireland, and himself
archbishop of Canterbury, moved him that it might be
inquired into, as it was, and this affair made afterwards a
very great noise. The earl of Cork procured a letter from
Dr. Usher, then lord primate of Ireland, and also from Dr.
Launcelot Bulkeiey, then archbishop of Dublin, justifying,
that the tomb did not stand in the place of the altaf, and
that instead of being an inconvenience, it was a great ornament to the church; which letters archbishop Laud
transmitted to the lord deputy, and at the same time acquainted^ him that they did not give himself any satisfaction. The postscript to this letter, dated Lambeth, March
11, 1634, is very remarkable, and shews both the rise and
the falsehood of the common opinion, that it was the lord
deputy, afterwards earl of Strafford, who set this matter on
foot out of prejudice to the earl of Cork. “I had almost
forgot to tell you, that all this business about demolishing
my lord of Cork’s tomb is charged upon you, as if it were
done only because he will not marry his son to my lord
Clifford’s daughter, and that I do it to join with you;
whereas the complaint came against it to me out of Ireland,
and was presented by me to the king before I knew that
your lordship was named for deputy there. But jealousies
know no end.
” The archbishop afterwards wrote in very
strong terms to the earl of Cork himself, in which he affirms the same thing, and deals very roundly with his lordship upon that and other subjects, advising him to leave
the whole to the lord deputy and the archbishops. As to
the issue of the affair, it appears clearly from a letter of
the lord deputy Wentworth’s, dated August 23, 1634, to
the archbishop, in which he delivers himself thus: “I
have issued a commission, according to my warrant, for
viewing the earl of Cork’s tomb: the two archbishops and
himself, with four bishops, and the two deans and chapters, were present when we met, and made them all so
ashamed, that the earl desires he may have leave to pull it
down without reporting further into England; so as I am
content if the miracle be done, though Mohammed do it,
and there is an end of the tomb before it come to be entombed indeed. And for me that my lord treasurer do
what he please; I shall ever wish his ways may be those of
honour to himself, and dispatch to my master’s affairs; but
go it as it shall please God with me, believe me, my lord,
I will be still tlwrow and thorowout one and the same, and
with comfort be it spoken by myself, and your grace’s
commendations.
” It may be added that though the tomb
has been taken away above a century, yet the inscription
that was upon it is still extant.
After the death of Cromwell, Broghill did his utmost to serve his son, to whom his lordship, in conjunction with lord Howard and
After the death of Cromwell, Broghill did his utmost to serve his son, to whom his lordship, in conjunction with lord Howard and some others, made an offer, that if he would not be wanting to himself, and give them a sufficient authority to act under him, they would either force his enemies to obey him, or cut them off. Richard, startled at this proposal, answered in a consternation, that he thanked them for their friendship, but that he neither had done, nor would do, any person any harm; and that rather than that a drop of blood should be spilt on his account, he would lay down that greatness which was a burden to him. He was so fixed in his resolution, that whatever the lords could say was not capable of making him alter it; and they found it to no purpose to keep a man in power who would do nothing for himself. Lord Broghill, therefore, finding the family of Cromwell thus laid aside, and not being obliged by any ties to serve those who assumed the government, whose schemes too he judged wild and ill-concerted, from this time shewed himself most active and zealous to restore the king, and for that purpose repaired forthwith to his command in Munster; where, finding himself at the head of a considerable force, he determined to get the army in Ireland to join with him in the design, to gain, if possible, sir Charles Coote, who had great power in the north, and then to send to Monk in Scotland. Whilst meditating this design, a summons came to him from the seven commissioners, sent over by the committee of safety to take care of the affairs of Ireland, requiring him to attend them immediately at the castle of Dublin. His friends advised him to be upon his guard, and not put himself in the power of his enemies; but, as he thought himself not strong enough yet to take such a step, he resolved to obey the summons. Taking, therefore, his own troop with him as a guard, he set out for Dublin. When he came to the city, leaving his troop in the suburbs, he acquainted the commissioners, that, in obedience to their commands, he was come to know their farther pleasure. Next day, on appearing before them, they told him, that the state was apprehensive he would practise against their government, and that therefore they had orders to confine him, unless he would give sufficient security for his peaceable behaviour. He desired to know what security they expected. They told him, that since he had a great interest in Munster, they only desired him to engage, on the forfeiture of his life and estate, that there should be no commotion in that province. He now plainly perceived the snare which was laid for him; and that, if he entered into such an engagement, his enemies themselves might raise some commotions in Munster. He saw himself, however, in their power, and made no manner of doubt but that if he refused to give them the security they demanded, they would immediately put him up in prison. He therefore desired some time to consider of their proposal; but was told, they could give him no time, and expected his immediate answer. Finding himself thus closely pressed, he humbly desired to be satisfied in one point, namely, whether they intended to put the whole power of Munster into his hands? if they did, he said, he was ready to enter into the engagement they demanded; but if they did not, he must appeal to all the world how cruel and unreasonable it was, to expect he should answer for the behaviour of people over whom he had no command. The commissioners found themselves so much embarrassed by this question, that they ordered him to withdraw; and fell into a warm debate in what manner to proceed with him. At last Steel, one of the commissioners, who was also lord chancellor of Ireland, declared himself afraid, that even the honest party in Ireland would think it rery hard to see a man thrown into prison, who had dons such signal services to the Protestants; but that, on the other hand, he could never consent to the increase of lord Broghill’s power, which the state was apprehensive might one day be employed against them. He therefore proposed that things should stand as they did at present; that his lordship should be sent back to his command in Munster in a good humour, and be suffered at least to continue there till they received further instructions from England. This proposal was agreed to by the majority of the board, and lord Broghill being called in, was told in the most obliging manner, that the board was so sensible of the gallant actions he had performed in the Irish wars, and had so high an opinion of his honour, that they would depend upon that alone for his peaceable behaviour.
Orrery was committed prisoner to the Tower on account of Layer’s plot, such was the filial piety of his son, that he earnestly entreated to be shut up with his noble
When the earl of Orrery was committed prisoner to the Tower on account of Layer’s plot, such was the filial piety of his son, that he earnestly entreated to be shut up with his noble father; but this indulgence was thought too considerable to be granted. Not long after he had completed the twenty-first year of his age, he married, on the 9th of May 1728, lady Harriet Hamilton, the third and youngest daughter of George earl of Orkney. Though this marriage had the entire approbation of lord Orrery, it unfortunately happened that a dissension arose between the two earls, which placed the young couple in a very delicate and difficult situation; but lord Boyle maintained at the same time the tenderest affection for his wife, and the highest attachment to his father. The earl of Orrery, however, was too much irritated by the family quarrel, to see at first his son’s conduct in a proper point of light, although his excellent understanding could not fail in the end to get the better of his prejudices, when a reconciliation took place, and the little coldness which had subsisted between them served but the more to endear them to each other. The earl of Orrery was now so much pleased with lord Boyle, that he could scarcely be easy without him; and when in town, they were seldom asunder. It is to be lamented, that this happiness was rendered very transient by the unexpected death of lord Orrery and that the stroke was embittered by circumstance peculiarly painful and affecting to his noble son and successor. The father, whilst under the impression of his dissension with the earl of Orkney, had made a will, by which he had bequeathed to Christ-church, Oxford, his valuable library, consisting of above ten thousand volumes, together with a very fine collection of mathematical instruments. The only exceptions in favour of lord Boyle were the Journals of the House of Peers, and such books as related to the English history and constitution. The earl of Orrery left, besides, though he was greatly in debt, several considerable legacies to persons nowise related to him. Upon his reconciliation with his son, he determined to alter his will, and had even sent for his lawyer with that view, when the suddenness of his decease prevented the execution of his just and reasonable design. The young lord Orrery, with a true filial piety and generosity, instead of suffering his father’s effects to be sold, took his debts upon himself, and fulfilled the bequests, by paying the legacies, and sending the books and mathematical instruments within the limited time to Christ-church. The loss, however, of a parent, thus aggravated and embittered, left a deep impression upon his mind, and was succeeded by a fit of illness which endangered his life, and obliged him to repair to Bath. Whilst he was in that city, he received a letter from a friend, with a copy of verses inclosed, exhorting him to dispel his grief by poetry r and to shew that Bath could inspire, as well as Tunbridge;. from which place he had written some humorous verses the year before. To this letter his lordship returned the following answer:
le the practice of duelling, as it prevailed in the last age; and the third is a father’s account of his son, Charles lord Dungarvan, whose weakness of temper was such,
On the 3d of December, 1753, by the death of Richard
the third earl of Burlington, and fourth earl of Cork,
without issue male, lord Orrery succeeded to that nobleman’s Irish tides, viz. earl of Cork, viscount Dungarvan, and
lord Boyle, baron of Youghall. About this time, Mr.
Moore undertook the periodical publication called “The
World;
” to which our noble author contributed three
papers, viz. No. 47, 68, 161. The two first are papers
of some humour, intended to ridicule the practice of duelling, as it prevailed in the last age; and the third is a
father’s account of his son, Charles lord Dungarvan, whose
weakness of temper was such, that he could not resist the
temptation to indulgences which at last proved fatal. The
earl of Cork was a contributor, likewise, to the “Connoisseur,
” carried on by Mr. Thornton and Mr. Coiman.
In the last number of this publication, G. K. which was his
lordship’s signature, is distinguished, by the ingenious
authors, as their “earliest and most frequent correspondent;
” and “we are sorry,
” they add, “that he will not
allow us to mention his name; since it would reflect as
much credit on our work, as we are sure will redound to
it from his compositions.
” His communications to the
“Connoisseur
” were the most part of No. 14 and 17 the
letter signed Goliah English, in No. 19 great part of
No. 33 and 40 and the letters, signed “Reginald Fitzworm,
” “Michael Krawbridge,
” “Moses Orthodox,
” and
“Thomas Vainall,
” in No. for humour, innocent humour, no one
had a truer taste, or better talent.
” On the 20th of September, 1754, the earl and countess of Cork, with their
daughter lady Lucy Boyle, began a tour to Italy. His
lordship’s chief object was Florence, in which city and its
neighbourhood he resided nearly a year. Whilst he was
at that place, he presented to the academy della Crusca,
his friend Dr. Samuel Johnson’s English Dictionary. His
inveterate enemy, the gout, introduced by a severe winter,
overtook him even in Italy, and prevented his attendance
on the exercises of the academy. He enjoyed, at Florence, a general esteem; and, by a free conversation with
books and men, and the assistance of manuscripts, collected materials for the History of Tuscany, which he
intended to write in a series of Letters, twelve of which
only he lived to finish. In November 1755; he arrived at
Marston, having, in his return to England, on account of
the commencement of the war with France, gone through
Germany and part of Holland. The situation of public
affairs, in this country, at the beginning of the year 1757,
being such as required, in our national councils, the
most exertion of wisdom and integrity, one of lord Cork’s
friends urged him, in an ode, to exchange his retirement
for a more active scene.
subscriptions, and from a small estate of eighty pounds a year in Yorkshire, endeavoured to maintain his son, and to reclaim him to the prosecution of his studies. Tenderness
, the only son of the preceding, and whose life affords an excellent moral, was born in the year 1708, and after receiving the rudiments of education in a private school in Dublin, was sent at the age of eighteen to the university of Glasgow. His father’s int?ntion was, that he might cultivate the studies that are preparatory to entering into the ministry, but before he had resided many months at Glasgow, he contracted an attachment for a Miss Atchenson, the daughter of a tradesman in that city, and married her about a year after, probably without the consent of the parents on either side. By this imprudent match his studies were in some measure interrupted, and his expenses increased. The family of his wife were either unwilling or unable to support their new relation, and he soon found it necessary to repair to Dublin in hopes of receiving assistance from his father. On this expedition he was accompanied by his wife and her sister; but notwithstanding this additional incumbrance, and tue general levity of his conduct, his father received him with kindness, and out of the scanty and precarious income which he derived from his congregation by voluntary subscriptions, and from a small estate of eighty pounds a year in Yorkshire, endeavoured to maintain his son, and to reclaim him to the prosecution of his studies. Tenderness like this, however, which only to mention is to excite gratitude, produced no corresponding effects on t>ur poet, who abandoned his mind and time" to dissipation and idleness, without a thought of what he owed to his father or to himself. In this course too he was unhappily encouraged by the girl he married, who, while she imposed upon the good old man by a show of decency, and even sanctity, became in fact devoid of all shame, and at length shared her favours with other men, and that not without the knowledge of her husband, who is said to have either wanted resolution to resent her infidelity, or was reconciled by a share of the profits of his dishonour. Such a connection and such a mind, at an age when the manly and ingenuous feelings are usually strongest, may easily account for the miseries of his subsequent life.
His father died in the year 1728, and his whole property having been exhausted in the support of his son, the latter repaired in 1730 to Edinburgh, where his poetical
His father died in the year 1728, and his whole property
having been exhausted in the support of his son, the latter
repaired in 1730 to Edinburgh, where his poetical genius
raised him many friends and some patrons of considerable
eminence, particularly the lords Stair, Tweedale, and
Stormont; and there is some reason to think that he was
occasionally entertained at their houses. In 1731, he published a volume of poems, to which was subjoined a
translation of the Tablature of Cebes, and a Letter upon Liberty
which had been before published in the Dublin Journal.
This volume, which was addressed to the countess of Eglinton, a lady of great accomplishments, procured him
much reputation. He also wrote an elegy on the viscountess
Stormont, entitled, “The Tears of the Muses/‘ in compliment to her ladyship’s taste as a patroness of poets.
Lord Stormont was so much pleased with this mark of respect to the memory of his lady, that he ordered a handsome present to be made to the author, whom, however, it
was not easy to find. Such was Boyse’s unsocial turn and
aversion to decent company, that his person was known
only among the lower orders, and Lord Stormont’ s generous intention would have been frustrated, if his agent had
not put an advertisement into the papers desiring the author
of
” The Tears of the Muses“to call upon him. By means
of lady Eglinton and lord Stormont, Boyse became known
to the duchess of Gordon, who likewise was a person of literary taste, and cultivated the correspondence of some of
the most eminent poets of her time. She was so desirous
to raise Boyse above necessity, that she employed her interest in procuring the promise of a place for him; and
accordingly gave him a letter, which he was next day to
deliver to one of the commissioners of the customs at Edinburgh.
” But it unluckily happened that he was then some
miles distant from the city, and the morning on which he
was to have ridden to town with her grace’s letter, proved
to be rainy. This trivial circumstance was sufficient to discourage Boyse, who was never accustomed to look beyond
the present moment: he declined going to town on account
of the rainy weather; and while he let slip the opportunity, the place was bestowed upon another, which the commissioner declared he kept for some time vacant, in expectation of seeing a person recommended by the duchess of
Gordon."
brothers of that name). This Edmund was summoned to parliament in 1530, as baron of Eaton Bray; but his son John lord Bray dying without issue in 1557, the estate was
, was second son of sir Richard
Bray, one of the privy council to king Henry VI. who lies
buried in the north aile of Worcester cathedral, in which
county sir Reginald was born. One of this family (which were lords of Braie, or Bray, in Normandy) came with
William the Conqueror into England, where they flourished
in the counties of Northampton and Warwick; but Edmond, the father of sir Richard, is styled of Eton Bray, in
the county of Bedford, which county they had represented
in parliament in 18 Ed. I. and 6 Ed. II. In 1 Rich. III.
this Reginald had a general pardon granted to him, probably on account of his having taken part with Henry VI.
to whose cause he had a personal as well as hereditary
attachment being receiver- general to sir Henry Stafford,
who married Margaret, countess of Richmond, mother to
the earl of Richmond, afterward king Henry VII. and
continued in her service after the death of sir Henry, and
was put in trust for her dowry, on her marriage to Thomas,
earl of Derby. When the duke of Buckingham had concerted with Morton, bishop of Ely (then his prisoner at Brecknock in Wales), the marriage of the earl of Richmond with the princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Edward I V. and the earl’s advancement to the throne, the
bishop recommended sir Reginald for the transaction of
the affair with the countess, telling the duke he had an old
friend with her, a man sober, secret, and well-witted,
called Reginald Bray, whose prudent policy he had known
to have compassed matters of great importance; and accordingly wrote to him in Lancashire, where he then was
with the countess, to come to Brecknock with all speed. He
readily obeyed the summons, entered heartily into the
design, and was very active in carrying it on; and soon
engaged sir Giles Daubeney (afterwards lord Daubeney),
sir John Ciieney, Richard GuiUbrd, esq. and many other
gentlemen of note, to take part with Henry. After the
success at Bosworth, he gradually rose into great favour
with the king, who eminently distinguished and liberally
rewarded his services. His attachment to that prince was
sincere and uriremitted; and such were his ptudence and
abilities, that he never forfeited the confidence he had
acquired, during an attendance of seventeen years on the
most suspicious monarch of his time. He was made a
knight banneret, probably at the battle of Bosworth; a
knight of the bath at the king’s coronation, and afterwards
a kni“ht of the garter. In the first year of the kind’s reign
he had a grant of the constableship of the castle of Oakham in Rutlandshire, and was appointed joint chie‘ justice,
with the lord Fitzwalter, of all the forests south of Trent,
and chosen of the privy council. After this he was appointed high-treasurer, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, and nigh steward of the university of Oxford. At
the queen’s coronation, the ducliess of Norfolk, &c. sat at
one side-table at the other, lady Ferrars, v>f Chartley,
lady Bray, &c. At the christening of prince Arthur, sir
Reginald bore a rich salt of gold which was given by the
earl of Derby. He was amongst the knights bannerets
when Henry, the king’s second son, was created duke of
York in 1494. In the 7th year of the king, he by indenture covenanted to serve him in his wars beyond sea a
whole year, with twelve men, himself accompted, each
having his custrell and page, twenty-four demy lances,
seventy-seven archers on horseback, two hundred and
thirty-one archers, and bil’.es on foot twenty-four. In the
10th year he had a grant for life of the Isle of Wight,
castle of Carisbrook, and the manors of Swainston, Brixton,
Thorley, and Welow, in that isle, at th^ rent of 308l. 6s. 8rf.
Camden mentions the grant of the Isle of Wight at the
rent of 300 marks. In June 1497 he was at the battle of
Blackheath, when the lord Audley, having joined the
Cornish rebels, was taken prisoner; on whose execution
and attainder, his manor of Shire Vachery and Crap ley in
Surry, with a large estate there, was given to sir Reginald.
He received many other marks of the king’s bounty and
favour, and died 5th August 1503, possessed of a very
great estate; notwithstanding which, and his activity as
a minister, under a monarch whose love of, money was the
cause of great and just complaints amongst the people,
historians call him the father of his country, a sage and
grave person, a fervent lover of jusuce, and one who
would often admonish the king when he did any thing contrary to justice or equity. That he should do this, and
the king still continue his favour, is an ample proof of the
sense which his sovereign entertained of his services and
abilities. He appears to have taken great delight in architecture, and to have had no small skill in it, as he had
a principal concern and direction in building Henry Vllth’s
chapel in Westminster-abbey, and in the finishing and
bringing to perfection the chapel of St. George at Windsor, to which he was a liberal benefactor in his life-time,
and for the completion of which he made farther provision
by his will. His arms, crest, and device (R. B.) are exhibited on the cieling of the chapel at Windsor in many
places; and in the middle of the south aile is a spacious
chapel erected by him, and still called by his name, in
which also, by his own particular direction, he was interred, though his executors neglected to erect a tomb for
him, as he desired. Perhaps they thought his merit would
be the most lasting monument. It is supposed that he
is buried under the stone which covers Dr. Waterland;
for, on opening the vault for that gentleman, who died in
1740, a leaden coffin, of ancient form and make, was
found, which by other appearances also was judged to be
that of sir Reginald, and was, by order of the dean, immediately arcned over with great decency. He was of
great devotion, according to the piety of the times, and a
bountiful friend, in his life-time, to many churches. In
one of the letters of the dean and chapter of Westminster, John, abbot of Newminster in Northumberland, addresses him as founder of the monastery of Pipwell (in Northamptonshire); but this must be on account of some
donations, as that house was founded by William Boutevileyr in 1143. In 1494, being then high steward of Oxford, he gave 40 marks to repair the church of St. Mary’s,
in a window of which were the figures of him and his wife
kneeling, their coats of arms on their backs, remaining in
1584. The dean and chapter of Lincoln, in recompence
for his services to them, receive him and my lady his wife
to be brother and sister of their chapter, and to be partakers of all suffrages, prayers, masses, fastings, almsdeeds, and other good deeds, whatever they be, done in
the said church, both in their lives and after their deceases. The prior of the cathedral church of Durham
receives him in like manner. In a south window of the
priory church of Great Malvern in Worcestershire, were
the portraits of Henry VII. Elizabeth his queen, prince
Arthur, sir Reginald Bray, John Savage, and Thomas
LoveJ), esquires, with their coats of arms on their armour,
and the following words underneath:
” Orate pro bono
statu nobilissimi et excellentissimi Regis Henrici Septimi
et Elizabeths Reginse, ac Domini Arthuri Principis filii
eorundem, nee not) praedilectissimae consortis suoe, ac suorum trium militum." The portraits of the king and sir
Reginald remained in 1774, and are engraved in Mr.
Strutt’s View of the Arms and Habits of the English, vol. II,
plate 60. The others have been broken and destroyed.
He had no issue, and his elder brother John having only
one daughter, married to sir William Sandes, afterwards
lord Sandes of the Vine, he left the bulk of his fortune to
Edmund, eldest son of his younger brother John (for he had two brothers of that name). This Edmund was summoned to parliament in 1530, as baron of Eaton Bray;
but his son John lord Bray dying without issue in 1557,
the estate was divided amongst six daughters of Edmund.
Sir Reginald left very considerable estates to Edward and
Reginald, younger brothers of Edmund. From Edward
the manor of Shire Vachery and Cranley, above mentioned,
has descended to the rev. George Bray, who was owner in
1778. Reginald settled at Barrington in Gloucestershire,
where the male line of that branch became extinct about
sixty years ago.
parish, from whence he gave it the name of Spring-grove. He came and settled there in 1674, and sent his son to its grammar-school; the master of which was then John
an eminent English divine and controversial writer, the son of Thomas Brett, gent. of Spring-grove, in the parish of Wye, in Kent, by Letitia, his wife, the daughter and heir of John Boys, esq. of Bettishanger, near Sandwich, in that county, was born at the seat of the latter, 3d Sept. 1667. His father disliking the situation of the old house at Wye, where his ancestors had lived for many generations, rebuilt it in a more commodious place, near a small grove of trees and a pleasant spring of water in the same parish, from whence he gave it the name of Spring-grove. He came and settled there in 1674, and sent his son to its grammar-school; the master of which was then John Paris, A. M. but he dying about three years after, was succeeded by Samuel Pratt, under whose instruction the youth remained until 1684.
, Nov. 17, 1672. The time of his death we have not been able to ascertain, but a singular account of his son sir Orlando, may be seen in the Biog. Brit. vol. VI. p.
, a lawyer of considerable eminence, was the son of Dr. John Bridgeman, bishop
of Chester, and educated to the profession of the law, in
which, as he disapproved of the usurpation, he made no
figure until the restoration, when on May 13, 1660, he was
called to be a serjeant by the king’s special writ, and on
June 1, was advanced to be lord chief baron of the exchequer, from which, Oct. 22, he was removed to be lord chief
justice of the common pleas. While he presided in this’
court, his reputation was at its height for equity and moderation. In 1667, when the great seal was taken from
lord Clarendon, the king delivered it, August 13, to sir
Orlando, with the title of Keeper. After this, his good
name began to decline: he was timid and irresolute, and
his timidity still increased with his years: nor was his
judgment equal to all the difficulties of his office. His
Jady, a woman of cunning and intrigue, was too apt to interfere in chancery suits; and his sons, who practised under him, did not bear the fairest characters. He was desirous of an union with Scotland, and a comprehepsion
with the dissenters: but was against tolerating the papists.
He is said to have been removed from his office for refusing
to affix the seal to the king’s declaration for liberty of conscience, Nov. 17, 1672. The time of his death we have
not been able to ascertain, but a singular account of his
son sir Orlando, may be seen in the Biog. Brit. vol. VI.
p. 3740. The lord-keeper is known as a law writer, by his
“Conveyances, being select precedents of deeds and instruments concerning the most considerable estates in
England,
”
eld-diversions, and by keeping company with people above his rank. The consequence of this was, that his son was so totally neglected, that he did not receive the ordinary
, a man of a most uncommon genius for mechanical inventions, and who particularly excelled in planning and conducting inland navigations, was born at Tunsted, in the parish of Wormhill, and county of Derby, in 1716. His parents were possessed of a little freehold, the small income of which his father dissipated by a fondness for shooting and other field-diversions, and by keeping company with people above his rank. The consequence of this was, that his son was so totally neglected, that he did not receive the ordinary rudiments of education. The necessities of the family were so pressing, that young Brindley was obliged, as early as possible, to contribute towards its support; and, till he was nearly seventeen years of age, he was employed in those kinds of light labour which are usually assigned, in country places, to the children of the poor. At this period of his life, he bound himself apprentice to one Bennet, a mill-wright, near Macclesfield, in Cheshire, and soon became expert in the business; besides which, he quickly discovered a strong attachment to the mechanic arts in general, and a genius for extending them much farther than they had hitherto been carried. In the early part of his apprenticeship, he was frequently left by himself, for whole weeks together, to execute works concerning which his master had given him n previous instructions. These works, therefore, he finished in his own way; and Mr. Bennet was often astonished at the improvements his apprentice, from time to time, introduced into the mill-wright business, and earnestly questioned him from whence he had gained his knowledge. He had not been long at the trade, before the millers, wherever he had been employed, always chose him again, in preference to the master, or any other workman; and, before the expiration of his servitude, at which time Mr. Bennet, who was advanced in years, grew unable to work, Mr. Brindley, by his ingenuity and application, kept up the business with credit, and supported the old man and his family in a comfortable manner.
the king testified so much munificence to a castrato, he made no other return than by procuring for his son a place he applied for in the army, and delivering to him
He was also grateful and generous towards every one that had shewn him any kindness. Never was he heard to speak ill of any man; and when he was injured, he magnanimously overlooked it. There are even examples of his heaping favours on some that shewed themselves envious and malignant towards him. To a Spanish nobleman who murmured that the king testified so much munificence to a castrato, he made no other return than by procuring for his son a place he applied for in the army, and delivering to him himself the king’s order for his appointment. He was in general extremely circumspect not to distinguish himself by any thing by which he might excite the envy and jealousy of the nation against him. Hence it was, that he constantly declined accepting the comthury of the order of Calatrava, which the king had so frequently offered him; beseeching him rather to bestow it on one of his deserving subjects. His generous way of thinking was not unnoticed by the Spaniards. Every one courted his friendship. The grandees of the kingdom, the foreign and domestic ministers, vouchsafed him their visits, and he was never wanting in due respect for their civilities. Towards persons of inferior stations he was always condescending and friendly .
ded him "to his grave. In 1778, a posthumous volume of sermons, on select subjects, was published by his son, the rev. Thomas Broughton, M. A. of Wadham college, Oxford,
From the time of Mr. Broughton’s quitting the university, till he was considerably advanced in life, he was engaged in a variety of publications; and some little time
before his death, composed “A short view of the principles
upon which Christian churches require, of their respective
clergy, Subscription to established Articles of Religion;
”
but this work never appeared in print. He possessed,
likewise, no inconsiderable talent for poetry, as is evident
from many little fugitive pieces in manuscript, found
among his papers; and particularly, from two unfinished
tragedies, both written at the age of seventeen. During
his residence in London, he enjoyed the esteem and friendship of most of the literary men of his time. He was a
great lover of music, particularly the ancient; which introduced him to the knowledge and acquaintance of Mr.
Handel, whom he furnished with the words for many of
his compositions. In his public character, Mr. Brougbton
was distinguished by an active zeal for the Christian cause,
joined with moderation. In private life, he was devoted
to the interests and happiness of his family; and was of a
mild, cheerful, and liberal temper. This disposition, which
is not always united with eminent literary abilities, attended him "to his grave. In 1778, a posthumous volume
of sermons, on select subjects, was published by his son,
the rev. Thomas Broughton, M. A. of Wadham college,
Oxford, and vicar of Tiverton, near Bath.
taken, at the age of twenty, to the house of a gentleman in the neighbourhood of Dunse, as tutor to his son. Here he did not long reside, but went the same year, 1755,
, M. D. author of what has been called
the Brunonian system in medicine, was born in the parish
of Buncle, in the county of Berwick, in the year 1735, of
parents in a mean situation in life, but, in common with
the children of other villagers in Scotland, he received his
education at a grammar-school. As his mind was much
above the rank he was born in, his progress in literature
was proportionably superior to the rest of his school-fellows. He there imbibed a taste for letters, so that when
he was afterwards put apprentice to a weaver, instead of
attending to Ms business, his whole mind was bent on procuring books, which he read with great eagerness. Finding this disposition could not be conquered, his father
took him from the loom, and sent him to the
grammarschool at Dunse, where, under the tuition of Mr. Cruickshanks, he made such progress that he was soon regarded
as a prodigy. He read all the Latin classics with the
greatest facility, and was oo mean proficient in the knowledge of the Greek language. “His habits,
” we are told,
“were sober, he was of a religious turn, and was so
strongly attached to the sect of Seceders, or Whigs as tlrey
are called in Scotland, in which he had been bred, that he
would have thought his salvation hazarded, if he had attended the meetings of the established church. He aspired
to be a preacher of a purer religion.
” An accident, however, disgusted him with this society, before he was of art
age to be chosen a pastor, for which it appears he was intended. Having been prevailed on by some of his schoolfellows to attend divine service at the parish church of
Dunse, he was summoned before the session of the seceding congregation to answer for this offence; but his
high spirit not brooking to make an apology, to avoid the
censures of his brethren, and the ignominy of being expelled their community, he abdicated his principles, and
professed himself a member of the established church.
As his talents for literature were well known, he was
taken, at the age of twenty, to the house of a gentleman
in the neighbourhood of Dunse, as tutor to his son. Here
he did not long reside, but went the same year, 1755, to
Edinburgh, where he applied to the study of divinity, in
which he proceeded so far as to deliver, in the public hall,
a discourse upon a prescribed portion of scripture, the
usual step preliminary to ordination. But here his theological studies appear to have ended, and he suddenly left
Edinburgh, returned to Dunse, and officiated as an usher
in the school where he had been educated. He now exhibited himself as a free-liver and free-thinker, his discourse and manners being equally licentious and irregular,
which accounts for his dereliction of the study of theology.
At Dunse he continued about a year. During this time,
a vacancy happening in one of the classes in the high
school at Edinburgh, Brown appeared as a candidate, but
was not successful. Soon after he was applied to by a
student in medicine, at Edinburgh, to put his inaugural
thesis into, Latin. This he performed in so superior a
manner, that it gained him great reputation; it opened to
him a path which he had not probably before thought of,
for turning his erudition to profit. On the strength of the
character procured him by this performance, he returned
to 'Edinburgh, and determined to apply to the study of
medicine. “He had now,
” he said, “discovered his
strength, and was ambitious of riding in his carriage as a
physician.
” At the opening of the session he addressed
Latin letters to each of the professors, who readily gave
him tickets of admission to their lectures, which he attended
diligently for several years; in the interim, teaching Latin
to such of the pupils as applied, and assisting them in,
writing their theses, or turning them into Latin. The
price, when he composed the thesis, was ten guineas;
when he translated their compositions into Latin, five. If
he had been now prudent, or had not indulged in the most
destructive excesses, he might, it is probable, in a few
years, have attained the eminence he promised himself;
but he marred all by his intemperance. In no long time
after this, his constitution, which had been hardy and robust, became debilitated, and he had the face and appearance of a worn-out debauchee. His bad habits had not,
however, prevented his getting the friendship or assistance
of Dr. Cullen, who, desirous of availing himself of his
talents, employed him as a tutor to his sons, and made
use of him as an assistant in his lectures; Brown repeating
to his pupils in the evening, the lecture they had heard in
the morning, and explaining to them such parts as were
abstruse and difficult. In 1765 he married, and took a
house, which was soon filled with boarders; but, continuing his improvident course, he became a bankrupt at the
nd of three or four years. He now became a candidate
for one of the medical chairs, but failed; and as he attributed his missing this promotion to Dr. Cullen, he very unadvisedly broke off his connection with him, and became the
declared enemy to him and his system; which he had always
before strenuously defended. This probably determined him
to form a new system of medicine, doubtless meaning to annihilate that of his former patron. As he had read but few
medical books, and was but little versed in practice, his
theory must have been rather the result of contemplation
than of experience. That in forming it, he was influenced
by his attachment to spirituous liquors, seems probable
from internal evidence, and from the effects he attributed
to them of diminishing the number as well as the severity
of the fits of the gout, under which he suffered. He always
found them more severe and frequent, he says,
he lived abstemiously. One of his pupils informed Br;
Beddoes, “that he was used, before he began to read his
lecture, to take fifty drops of laudanum in a glass of
whisky; repeating the dose four or five times during the
lecture. Between the effects of these stimulants, and
voluntary exertions, he soon waxed warm, and by degrees
his imagination was exalted into phrenzy.
” His intention
seems to have been to simplify medicine, and to render
the knowledge of it easily attainable, without the labour
of studying other authors. All general or universal diseases were therefore reduced by him to two great families
or classes, the sthenic and the asthenic; the former depending upon excess, the latter upon deficiency of exciting power. The former were to be removed by debilitating, the latter by stimulant medicines, of which the
most valuable and powerful are wine, brandy, and opium.
As asthenic diseases are more numerous y and occur much
more frequently than those from an opposite cause, his
opportunities of calling in the aid of these powerful stimuli
were proportionately numerous. “Spasmodic and convulsive disorders, and even hemorrhages,
” he says, “were
found to proceed from debility; and wine, and brandy,
which had been thought hurtful in these diseases, he found
the most powerful of all remedies in removing them.
”
When he had completed his plan, 'he published his theory
or system, under the title of “Elementa Medicinse,
” from
his preface to which the preceding quotations have been
principally taken. Though he had been eleven or twelve
years at Edinburgh, he had not taken his degree of doctor;
and as he was now at variance with all the medical professors, not thinking it prudent to offer himself there, he
went to St. Andrew’s, where he was readily admitted to
that honour. He now commenced public teacher of medicine, making his “Elementa
” his text book; and convinced, as it seems, of the soundness of his doctrine, he
exultingly demands (preface to a new edition of the translation of his “Elementa,
” by Dr. Beddoes), whether the
medical art, hitherto conjectural, incoherent, and in the
great body of its doctrines false, was not at last reduced to
a science of demonstration, which might be called the
science of life? His method in giving his lectures was, first
to translate the text book, sentence by sentence, and then
to expatiate upon the passage. The novelty of the docfeine procured him at first a pretty numerous class of pupilsj
but as he was irregular in his attendance, and his habits
of drinking increased upon him, they were soon. reduced
in number, and he became so involved in his circumstances, that it became necessary for him to quit Edinburgh; he therefore came to London in the autumn of the
year 1786. Here, for a time, he was received with favour, but his irregularities in living increasing upon him,
he came to his lodgings, in the evening of the 8th of October, in 1788, intoxicated, and taking, as it was his
custom, a large dose of laudanum, he died in the course
of the night, before he had entered on his career of lecturing, for which he was making preparations. He had
the preceding year published “Observations on the Old
Systems of Physic,
” as a prelude to the introduction of his
own; but it was little noticed. His opinions have, however, ' met with patrons in Germany and Italy, as well as
in this country, and several volumes have been Written on
the subject of them; but they are now pretty generally,
and deservedly, abandoned.
ormer opinions, and shewed himself so incorrigible, that his good old father resolved to own him for his son no longer than his son owned the church of England for his
, an English divine of the sixteenth
and beginning of the seventeenth century, from whom the
sect of the Brownists derived its name, was descended of
an ancient and worshipful family, says Fuller, (one whereof founded a fair hospital in Stamford), and was nearly allied
to the lord-treasurer Cecil. He was the son of Anthony
Brown, of Tol thorp, in Rutlandshire, esq. (though born at Northampton, according to Mr. Collier), and grandson
of Francis Brown, whom king Henry VIII. in the eighteenth year of his reign, privileged by charter to wear
Jiis cap in the presence of himself, his heirs, or any of his
nobles, and not to uncover but at his own pleasure;
which charter was confirmed by act of parliament. Robert
Brown studied divinity at Cambridge, in Corpus Christi
college, and was afterwards a schoolmaster in Southwark. He was soon discovered by Dr. Still, master of
Trinity-college, to have somewhat extraordinary in him
that would prove a great disturbance to the church. Brown
soon verified what the doctor foretold, for he not only jm^
bibed Cartwright’s opinions, but resolved to refine upon
his scheme, and to produce something more perfect of his
own. Accordingly, about the year 1580, he began to inveigh openly against the discipline and ceremonies of the
church of England, and soon shewed that he intended to
go much farther than Cartwright had ever done. In his
discourses the church government was antichristian; her
sacraments clogged with superstition; the liturgy had a
mixture of Popery and Paganism in it; and the mission of
the clergy was no better than that of Baal’s priests in the
Old Testament. He first preached at Norwich, in 1581,
where the Dutch having a numerous congregation, many
of them inclined to Ahabaptism; and, therefore, being the
more disposed to entertain any new resembling opinion,
he made his first essay upon them; and having made some
progress, and raised a character for zeal and sanctity, he
then began to infect his own countrymen; for which purpose he called in the assistance of one Richard Harrison, a
country schoolmaster, and they formed churches out of
both nations, but mostly of the English. He instructed
his audience that the church of England was no true
church; that there was little of Christ’s institution in the
public ministrations, and that all good Christians were
obliged to separate from those impure assemblies; that
their only way was to join him and his disciples, among
whom all was pure and unexceptionable, evidently inspired by the Spirit of God, and refined from all alloy and
prophanation. These discourses prevailed on the audience; and his disciples, now called Brownists, formed a
society, and made a total defection from the church, refusing to join any congregation in any public office of
worship. Brown being convened before Dr. Freake, bishop
of Norwich, and other ecclesiastical commissioners, he
maintained his schism, to justify which he had also written
a book, and behaved rudely to the court, on which he was
committed to the custody of the sheriff of Norwich; but
his relation, the lord treasurer Burghley, imputing his
error and obstinacy to zeal, rather than malice, interceded
to have him charitably persuaded out of his opinions, and
released. To this end he wrote a letter to the bishop of
Norwich, which procured his enlargement. After this,
hisjordship ordered Brown up to London, and recommended him to archbishop Whitgift for his instruction and
counsel, in order to his amendment; but Brown left the
kingdom, and settled at Middleburgh in Zealand, where
he and his followers obtained leave of the states to form a
church according to their own model, which was drawn in
a book published by Brown at Middleburgh in 1582, and
called “A treatise of Reformation, without staying for any
man.
” How long he remained at Middleburgh, is not
precisely known; but he was in England in 1585, when
he was cited to appear before archbishop Whitgift, to
answer to certain matters contained in a book published by
him, but what this was, we are not informed. The archbishop, however, by force of reasoning, brought Brown
at last to a tolerable compliance with the church of England; and having dismissed him, the lord treasurer Burgh.Jey sent him to his father in the country, with a letter to
recommend him to his favour and countenance, but from
another letter of the lord treasurer’s, we learn that Brown’s
errors had sunk so deep as not to be so easily rooted out as
was imagined; and that he soon relapsed into his former opinions, and shewed himself so incorrigible, that his good old
father resolved to own him for his son no longer than his son
owned the church of England for his mother; and Brown
chusing rather to part with his aged sire than his new schism,
he was discharged the family. When gentleness was found
ineffectual, severity was next practised; and Brown, after
wandering up and down, and enduring great hardships, at
length went to live at Northampton, where, industriously
labouring to promote his sect, Lindsell, bishop of Peterborough, sent him a citation to come before him, which Brown
refused to obey; for which contempt he was excommunicated. This proved the means of his reformation; for he was
so deeply affected with the solemnity of this censure, that
he made his submission, moved for absolution, and received
it; and from that time continued in the communion of the
church, though it was not in his power to close the chasrn^
or heal the wound he had made in it. It was towards the
year 1590 that Brown renounced his principles of separation, antl was soon after preferred to the rectory of
Achurch, near Thrapston in Northamptonshire. Fuller
does not believe that Brown ever formally recanted his
opinions, either by word or writing, as to the main points
of his doctrine; but that his promise of a general compliance with the church of England, improved by the countenance of his patron and kinsman, the earl of Exeter, prevailed upon the archbishop, and procured this extraordinary favour for him. He adds, that Brown allowed a
salary for one to discharge his cure; and though he opposed his parishioners in judgment, yet agreed in taking
their tithes. He was a man of good parts and some learning, but was imperious and uncontroulable; and so far
from the Sabbatarian strictness afterwards espoused by
some of his followers, that he led an idle and dissolute life.
In a word, says Fuller, he had a wife with whom he never
lived, and a church in which he never preached, though
he received the profits thereof: and as all the other scenes
of his life were stonny and turbulent, so was his end: for
the constable of his parish requiring, somewhat roughly,
the payment of certain rates, his passion moved him to
blows, of which the constable complaining to justice St.
John, he rather inclined to pity than punish him but
Brown behaved with so much insolence, that he was sent
to Northampton gaol on a feather-bed in a cart, being
very infirm, and aged above eighty years, where he soon
after sickened and died, anno 1630, after boasting, “That
he had been committed to thirty-two prisons, in some of
which he could not see his hand at noon-day.
” He was
buried in his church of Achurch in Northamptonshire.
ed Dec. 19, of that year. His father, George Browne, was a reputable yeoman, who was enabled to give his son a classical education at Barton school, and afterwards sent
, D.D. provost of Queen’s-college, Oxford, was born at a place called the Tongue, in Watermillock, Cumberland, in 1700, and was baptised Dec. 19, of that year. His father, George Browne, was a reputable yeoman, who was enabled to give his son a classical education at Barton school, and afterwards sent him to Queen’s-college, where he was admitted a member March 22, 1716-17. Here his good behaviour and rapid progress in knowledge, procured him many friends that were of great service to him. In due time he was elected taberdar upon the foundation; and having gone through that office with honour, he took the degree of M. A. Nov. 4th, 1724, and was chosen one of the chaplains of the college. In 1726 he published, from the university press, a most beautiful edition of cardinal Barberini’s Latin poems, with notes and a life of the author, (who was afterwards pope Urban VIII.) and a dedication to his friend Edward Hassel, esq. of Dalemain* his friend and patron. In April 1731, he was elected fellow, and became an eminent tutor, having several young noblemen of the first rank intrusted to his care. In this useful and important station he continued many years, exercising strict discipline, and assiduously studying to promote the prosperity of the college. He took the degree of D. D. July 9, 1743, and was presented by the provost and society to the rectory of Bramshot, in Hampshire, May 1, 1746, The university also conferred upon him the professorship of natural philosophy in 1747, which he held till his death. At his living at Bramshot, he resided more than ten years, during which time he was collated to the chancellorship of Hereford, and was made a canon-residentiary by the right rev. lord James Beauclerk, bishop of that diocese, who had formerly been his pupil.
these, with what had been published in his life-time, were printed in one vol. fol. in 1686. In 1690 his son, Dr. Edward Browne, of whom we have already spoken, published
The reputation of Browne encouraged some low writer
to publish, under his name, a book called “Nature’s cabinet unlocked,
” translated, according to Wood, from the
physics of Magirus, but Browne advertised against it. In
1658, the discovery of some ancient urns in Norfolk gave
him occasion to write “Hydriotaphia, Urn -burial, or a
discourse of Sepulchral Urns,
” 8vo, in which he treats
with his usual learning, on the funeral rites of the ancient
nations; exhibits their various treatment of the dead; and
examines the substances found in these Norfolk urns.
There is, perhaps, none -of his works which better exemplifies his reading or memory. To this treatise was
added “The Garden of Cyrus, or the Quincunxial lozenge, or net-work plantation of the ancients, artificially,
naturally, mystically considered.
” This is a more fanciful
performance than the other, but still it exhibits the fancy
of a man of learning. Besides these, he left some papers
prepared for the press, of which two collections have been
published, the first by Dr. Thomas Tennison, afterwards
archbishop of Canterbury, in 1684, 8vo, entitled, “A
Collection of Miscellaneous Tracts,
” and these, with what
had been published in his life-time, were printed in one
vol. fol. in 1686. In 1690 his son, Dr. Edward Browne,
of whom we have already spoken, published a single tract,
entitled “A Letter to a friend upon occasion of the death
of his intimate friend,
” 8vo. The second collection was
of the “Posthumous Works,
” edited in
tly family of Browne of Brownes-Ilash in the parish of Langtree near Great Torrington in Devonshire. His son was born in 1590, and became a student of Exeter college,
, an ingenious English poet, was
the son of Thomas Browne of Tavistock in Devonshire,
gent, who, according to Prince, in his Worthies of Devon,
was most probably a descendant from the knightly family
of Browne of Brownes-Ilash in the parish of Langtree near
Great Torrington in Devonshire. His son was born in
1590, and became a student of Exeter college, Oxford,
about the beginning of the reign of James I. After making
a great progress in classical and polite literature, he removed to the Inner Temple, where his attention to the
study of the law was frequently interrupted by his devotion to the muses. In his twenty -third year (1613) he
published, in folio, the first part of his “Britannia’s Pastorals,
” which, according to the custom of the time, was
ushered into the world with so many poetical eulogies,
that he appears to have secured, at a very early age, the
friendship and favour of the most celebrated of his contemporaries, among whom we find the names of Selden
and Drayton. To these he afterwards added Davies of
Hereford, Ben Jonson, and others. That he wrote some
of these pastorals before he had attained his twentieth year,
has been conjectured from a passage in Book I. Song V.;
but there is sufficient internal evidence, independent of
these lines, that much of tham was the offspring of a juvenile fancy. In the following year, he published in 8vo,
“The Shepherd’s Pipe,
” in seven eclogues. In the fourth
of these he laments the death of his friend Mr. Thomas
Manwood, under the name of Philarete, the precursor, as
some critics assert, of Milton’s Lycidas.
, called Old Brueghel, to distinguish him from his son, was the first of a family of eminent artists. He was born
, called Old
Brueghel, to distinguish him from his son, was the first
of a family of eminent artists. He was born at Brueghel,
a village near Breda, in 1510, and acquired the first principles of his art from Peter Cock, or Koeck-van-Aelst,
whose daughter he married. He afterwards travelled in
France and Italy; studied nature, amidst the mountains of
Tyrol, and the scenery of the Alps; and availed himself
of the works of the greatest masters in Italy. On his return from Italy, he resided for some time at Antwerp, and
from thence he removed to Brussels. Whilst he was employed by the magistrates of this city, in taking views of
the canal which fails into the Scheldt, he sickened, and
died in 1570; after having caused to be burned in his
presence, all his licentious and satirical designs. He
chiefly excelled in landscapes, and droll subjects, re
sembling those of Jerom Bosche; and he was particularly
fond of representing the marches of armies, robberies,
skirmishes, sports, dances, weddings, and drunken quarrels; and in order to acquire greater skill and accuracy in
this kind of representations, he often assumed the habit of
a peasant, and joined the meaner boors at their feasts and.
amusements. His figures were correct, and their
draperies well chosen; the heads and hands were touched
with spirit; and his expression, though not elegant, was
true. Sir Joshua Reynolds says, that “he was totally ignorant of all the mechanical art of making a picture;
” hut
there is in his “Slaughter of the Innocents
” (which sir Joshua saw in his travels), a great quantity of thinking, a
representation of variety of distress, enough for twenty
modern pictures. His principal performance is in the
emperor’s collection at Vienna, which is the “Representation of the building of the tower of Babel, by Nimrod.
” Several of his paintings are in the cabinets of the
emperor and elector palatine, and dispersed through various parts of Europe. For his amusement he engraved
some few landscapes and grotesque subjects.
ill passes for a fine piece. His father being employed in the gardens at Seguier, and having brought his son along with him, the chancellor of that name took a liking
, an illustrious French painter, was
of Scottish extraction, and born in 1619. His father was
a statuary by profession. At three years of age it is reported that he drew figures with charcoal; and at twelve
he drew the picture of his uncle so well, that it still passes
for a fine piece. His father being employed in the gardens at Seguier, and having brought his son along with
him, the chancellor of that name took a liking to him, and
placed him with Simon Vouet, an eminent painter, who
was greatly surprised at young Le Brun’s amazing proficiency. He was afterwards sent to Fontainbleau, to take
copies of some of Raphael’s pieces. The chancellor sent
him next to Italy, and supported him there for six years.
Le Brun, on his return, met with the celebrated Poussin,
by whose conversation he greatly improved himself in his
art, and contracted a friendship with him which lasted as
long as their lives. Cardinal Mazarin, a good judge of
painting, took great notice of Le Brun, and often sat by
him while he was at work. A painting of St. Stephen,
which he finished in 1651, raised his reputation to the
highest pitch. Soon after this, the king, upon the representation of M. Colbert, made him his first painter, and
conferred on him the order of St. Michael. His majesty
employed two hours every day in looking over him, whilst
he was painting the family of Darius at Fontainbleau.
About 1662, be began his five large pieces of the history
of Alexander the Great, in which he is said to have set the
actions of that conqueror in a more glorious light than
Quintus Curtius in his history. He procured several advantages for the royal academy of painting and sculpture
at Paris, and formed the plan of another for the students
of his own nation at Rome. There was scarce any thing
done for the advancement of the fine arts in which he was
not consulted. It was through the interest of M. Colbert
that the king gave him the direction of all his works? and
particularly of his royal manufactory at the Gobelins, where
he had a handsome house, with a genteel salary assigned
to him. He was also made director and chancellor of the
royal academy, and shewed the greatest zeal to encourage
the fine arts in France. He possessed in a great degree
that enthusiasm which animates the efforts, and increases
the raptures of the artist. Some one said before him of
his fine picture of the Magdalen, “that the contrite penitent was really weeping.
” “That, 7 * said he,
” is perhaps
all that you can see; I hear her sigh.“He was endowed
with a vast inventive genius, which extended itself to arts
of every kind. He was well acquainted with the history
and manners of all nations. Besides his extraordinary talents, his behaviour was so genteel, and his address Sq
pleasing, that he attracted the regard and affection of the
whole court of France: where, by the places and pensions
conferred on him by the king, he made a very considerable
figure. He died at his house in. the Gobelins in 1690,
leaving a wife, but no children. He was author of a curious treatise of
” Physiognomy“and of another of the
” Characters of the Passions."
s born at Plymouth in that county in 1715. His father held an office in the custom-house, but before his son arrived at his seventh year, was removed thence into Kent,
, one of the most learned English
scholars of the eighteenth century, who adds a very illustrious name to the “Worthies of Devon,
” was born at Plymouth in that county in
ird;' which was written above twenty years after his death, by George Buck, esq. who was, I suppose, his son. The precise time of, the father’s death, I have not been
, a learned antiquary, was born in Lincolnshire, in the sixteenth century, and flourished in the
beginning of the seventeenth. He was descended from
the ancient family of the Bucs, or Buckes, of West Stanton, and Herthill, in Yorkshire, and Melford-hall, in Suffolk. His great grandfather, sir John Buc, knight, was
one of king Richard the Third’s favourites, and attended
that unfortunate prince to the battle of Bosworth, where
he lost his crown and life. In the first parliament of king
Henry VII. this sir John Buc was attainted for being one
of the chief aiders and assistants to the king just now mentioned, in the battle of Bosworth, and soon after was beheaded at Leicester. By this attainder his posterity were
reduced to very great distress; but, through the interest
of Thomas duke of Norfolk, the great patron of the family, they had probably some of their estates restored to
them, and, among others, that in Lincolnshire, where our
author was born. In the reign of king James I. he was made
one of the gentlemen of his majesty’s privy-chamber, and
knighted. He was also constituted master of the revels,
whose office was then kept on St. Peter' s-hill, in London.
What he mostly distinguished himself by, was writing
“The Life and Reign of Richard III. in five books,
”
wherein, in opposition to the whole body of English historians, he endeavours to represent that prince’s person
and actions in a quite different light from what they have
been by others; and takes great pains to wipe off the
bloody stains that have been fixed upon his character. He
has also written: “The third universitie of England; or,
a treatise of the foundations of all the colledges, ancient
schooles of priviledge, and of houses of learning, and liberall arts, within and about the most famous citie of London.
With a briefe report of the sciences, arts, and faculties
therein professed, studied, and practised.
” And a treatise
t)f “The Art of Revels.
” Mr. Camden gives him the character of “a person of excellent learning,
” and thankfully
acknowledges that he “remarked many things in his historiei, and courteously communicated his observations to
him.
” He has since received very able support, and
Richard III. has found a powerful advocate in Horace
Walpole, the late lord Orford, who in his “Historic
Doubts
” has, with much ingenuity, at least, shewn that
the evidence produced in confirmation of Richard’s crimes,
is far from being decisive, But we have now an “historic
doubt
” to bring forward of more importance to the present article, which we find in a note on Malone’s Shakspeare, in the following words: “I take this opportunity
of correcting an error into which Anthony Wood has fallen,
and which has been implicitly adopted in the new edition
of the Biographia Britannica, and many other books. The
error I allude to, is, that this sir George Buc, who was
knighted at Whitehall by king James the day before his
coronation, July 23, 1603, was the author of the celebrated * History of king Richard the Third;' which was
written above twenty years after his death, by George
Buck, esq. who was, I suppose, his son. The precise
time of, the father’s death, I have not been able to ascertain, there being no will of his in the prerogative office;
but I have reason to believe that it happened soon after
the year 1622. He certainly died before August 1629.
”
t this country could boast of, should remain shut up and useless, the doctor, with the assistance of his son, who conducted the experimental part, delivered several
On the death of Fergusson, the celebrated lecturer on natural philosophy, which took place about the year 1775, he bequeathed to the doctor the whole of his apparatus. Unwilling that this collection, which at that period was perhaps the best this country could boast of, should remain shut up and useless, the doctor, with the assistance of his son, who conducted the experimental part, delivered several courses of lectures, during three years, at Edinburgh, with great success, the theatre being always crowded with auditors. On removing to London, he disposed of this apparatus to Dr. Lettsom. Of natural philosophy, the part which particularly attracted the doctor’s attention was astronomy. Nothing delighted him more than to point out the celestial phenomena on a fine starlight evening to any young person who appeared willing to receive information; and the friendship of the late highly respectable astronomer royal, Dr. Maskelyne, afforded him every facility of renovating his acquaintance with the planetary bodies, whenever so inclined.
nt for Buchanan into Piedmont, where he then commanded, and made him preceptor to Timoleon de Cosse, his son; and he spent five years in this station, partly in Italy,
During the life of Govea, who was a great favourite of
his Portuguese majesty, matters went on extremely well
with Buchanan in Portugal; but after the death of Govea,
which happened in 1548, a variety of ill treatment was
practised against the learned men who followed him, and
particularly against Buchanan. He was accused of being
author of the poem against the Franciscans, of having
eaten flesh in time of Lent, and of having said that, with
respect to the Eucharist, St. Augustine was more favourable
to the doctrine of the reformers, than to that of the church
of Home. Besides these enormities, ibwas also deposed
against him by certain witnesses, that they had heard from
divers reputable persons, that Buchanan was not orthodox
as to the Romish faith and religion. These were sufficient
reasons in that country for. putting any man into the inquisition; and accordingly, Buchanan was confined there
about a year and a half. He was afterwards removed to a
more agreeable prison, being confined in a monastery till
he should be better instructed in the principles of the
Romish church. He says of the monks under whose care
he was placed, that “they were altogether ignorant of religion, but were otherwise, men neither bad in their morajs, nor rude in their behaviour.
” It was during his re-sidence in this monastery, that he began to translate the
Psalms of David into Latin verse; and which he executed, says Mackenzie, “with such inimitable sweetness
and elegancy, that this version of the Psalms will be
esteemed and admired as long as the world endures, or
men have any relish for poetry.
” Having obtained his
liberty in 1551, he desired a passport of the king, in order
to return to France; but his majesty endeavoured to retain him in his service, and assigned him a small pension
till he should procure him an employment. But these
uncertain hopes did not detain him long in Portugal; and
indeed, it was not to be supposed that the treatment which
he had received there, could give a man of Buchanan’s
temper any great attachment to the place. He readily
embraced an opportunity which offered of embarking for
England, where, however, he made no long stay, though
some advantageous offers were made him. Edward VI.
was then upon the throne of England, but Buchanan, apprehending the affairs of that kingdom to be in a very
unsettled state, went over into France at the beginning of
the year 1553. It seems to have been about this time that
he wrote some of those satirical pieces against the monks,
which are found in his “Fratres Fraterrimi.
” He was also
probably now employed at Paris in teaching the belleslettres; but though he seems to have been fond of France,
yet be sometimes expresses his dissatisfaction at his treatment and situation there. The subject of one of his elegies
is the miserable condition of those who were employed in
teaching literature at Paris. His income was, perhaps,
small; and he seems to have had no great propensity to
ceconomy; but this is a disposition too common among the
votaries of the Muses, to afford any peculiar reproach
against Buchanan. In 1555, the marshal de Brissac, to
whom he had dedicated his “Jephthes,
” sent for Buchanan
into Piedmont, where he then commanded, and made him
preceptor to Timoleon de Cosse, his son; and he spent
five years in this station, partly in Italy, and partly ill
France. This employment probably afforded him much
leisure; for he now applied himself closely to the study of
the sacred writings, in order to enable him to form the
more accurate judgment concerning the subjects in controversy between the Protestants and Papists. It was also
during this period that he composed his ode upon the
taking of Calais by the duke of Guise, his epithalamiuni
upon the marriage of Mary queen of Scots to the Dauphin
of France, and part of his poem upon the Sphere.
genteel family, seated at Shapwick in that county. Our prelate’s father, Mr. George Bull, dedicated his son to the church from his infancy, having declared at the font,
, bishop of St. David’s, was born March 25, 1634, in the parish of St. Cuthbert, at Wells in Somersetshsre. He was descended from an ancient and genteel family, seated at Shapwick in that county. Our prelate’s father, Mr. George Bull, dedicated his son to the church from his infancy, having declared at the font, that he designed him for holy orders, but he died when George was but four years old, and left him under the care of guardians, with an estate of two hundred pounds per annum. When he was fit to receive the first rudiments of learning, he was placed in a grammar-school at Wells, from whence he was soon removed to the free-school of Tiverton, in Devonshire, where he made a very quick progress in classical learning, and became qualified for the university at fourteen years of age.
r. Samuel Thomas, the son of his host, supplied him, much against the old gentleman’s will, who told his son that he would “corrupt Mr. Bull.” Soon after he had left
He was entered a commoner of Exeter-college, in
Oxford, the 10th of July, 1648, under the tuition of Mr.
Baldwin Ackland, and though he lost much time in the
pursuit of pleasures and diversions, yet, by the help of
logic, which he mastered with little labour, and a close
way of reasoning, which was natural to. him, he soon
gained the reputation of a smart disputant, and as,
such was taken notice of and encouraged by his superiors, particularly Dr. Conant, rector of the college,
and Dr. Prideaux, bishop of Worcester, who at that time
resided in Oxford. He continued in Exeter-college till
January, 1649, at which time having refused to take the
oath to the Commonwealth of England, he retired with his
tutor, Mr. Ackland, who had set him the example, to
North-Cadbury, in Somersetshire, where he continued
under the care of that good and able man, till he was
about nineteen years of age. This retreat gave him an
opportunity of frequent converse with one of his sisters,
whose good sense, and pious admonitions, weaned him
entirely from all youthful vanities, and influenced him to
a serious prosecution of his studies. And now, by the
advice of his friends and guardians, he put himself under
the care of Mr. William Thomas, rector of Ubley, in Somersetshire, a puritan divine, in whose house he boarded,
with some of his sisters, for the space of two years. To
this gentleman’s principles, however, he had no lasting attachment, and as he advanced in reading, he beg'an to
study Hooker, Hammond, Taylor, Episcopius, &c. with
which his friend Mr. Samuel Thomas, the son of his host,
supplied him, much against the old gentleman’s will, who
told his son that he would “corrupt Mr. Bull.
” Soon
after he had left Mr. Thomas, he entertained thoughts of
entering into holy orders, and for that purpose applied
himself to Dr. Skinner, the ejected bishop of Oxford, by
whom he was ordained deacon and priest in the same day,
being at that time but twenty-one years of age, and consequently under the age prescribed by the canons, with
which, however, in times of such difficulty and distress,
it was thought fit to dispense. Not long after, he accepted
the small benefice of St. George’s, near Bristol, where,
by his constant preaching twice every Sunday, the method
he took in governing his parish, his manner of performing
divine service, his exemplary life and great charities, he
entirely gained the affections of his flock, and was very
instrumental in reforming his parish, which he found overrun with quakers and other sectarists.
Andrew’s burying-ground. He was created a baronet in 1789, and was succeeded in titles and estate by his son sir F. Buller Yarde, which last name he took for an estate.
, bart. a judge of the court of king’s-bench and common-pleas, the son of James Buller, esq. member of parliament for the county of Cornwall, by Jane, his second wife, one of the daughters of Allen earl Bathurst, was born in 1745, and educated at a private school in the west of England. After this he removed ta London, and was admitted of the Inner Temple, Feb. 1763, and became a pupil of sir William Ashurst, who was at that time a very eminent spe'cial-pleader, but whom, it has been thought, he excelled. He was always ranked among the most eminent of the profession in this branch, and his business, as a common -law draughtsman, was immediate, and immense. His practice also at the bar, to which he was called by the honourable society of the Middle Temple in Easter Term, 1772, was at first considerable, and in a very short period, became equal to that of almost any of his brethren. Devoting himself entirely to it, he never came into parliament. On Nov. 24, 1777, he was appointed king’s-counsel, and on the 27th of the same month, second judge of the Chester circuit. In Easter term, May 6, 1778, by the patronage of lord Mansfield, who had a high opinion of his talents, he was made a judge of the king’s-bench, in the room of sir Richard Aston. During the indisposition of lord Mansfield, for the last three or four years that he held the office of chief justice, sir Francis Buller executed almost all the business at the sittings ap nisi prius, with great ability, and lord Mansfield left him 2000l. in his will, which, it is said, Mr. justice Buller declined receiving of his lordship, when offered as a compensation for his trouble. On the resignation of lord Mansfield, his expectations were directed to the succession to the high office so long and ably filled by that venerable lawyer, but, for various reasons, sir Lloyd Kenyon was preferred. In 1794, in consequence of his declining state of health, which rendered him unequal to the laborious duties of that court, he was, on the death of judge Gould, removed to the court of common-pleas, but his health still continuing to decay, he was about to have obtained his majesty’s leave to resign, when he died suddenly, at his house in Bedford-square, June 4, 1800, and was interred in a vault in St. Andrew’s burying-ground. He was created a baronet in 1789, and was succeeded in titles and estate by his son sir F. Buller Yarde, which last name he took for an estate. Sir Francis Buller was allowed to be ably and deeply versed in the law, and was certainly more distinguished for substantial than showy talents. His eloquence at the bar was seldom admired, but his addresses from the bench were perspicuous, dignified, and logical. He possessed great quickness of perception, saw the consequences of a fact, and the drift of an argument at its first opening, and could immediately reply to an unforeseen objection, but was on some occasions thought rather hasty. He seldom, however, formed his opinions without due ^consideration, and was particularly tenacious of what he had thus considered.
e been a man of talents and considerable learning, and in his political course, able and consistent. His son Whitlocke Buistrode, who published his “Essays,” enjoyed
At eighty he is said to have composed, 1. 185 elegies
and epigrams, all on religious subjects; and before that,
in early life, a poem on the birth of the duke of York, 1721.
2. “Letters to the Earl of Arlington,
” Essays
” on subjects of manners and morals, Memoirs and Reflections upon the reigns and governments of Charles I. and II.
” He appears to have been a
man of talents and considerable learning, and in his political course, able and consistent. His son Whitlocke Buistrode, who published his “Essays,
” enjoyed the office of
prothonotary of the marshal’s court, and published a treatise on the transmigration of souls, which went through
two editions, 1692, 1693, 8vo, and was translated into Latin by Oswald Dyke, 1725. 2. “Essays, ecclesiastical and
civil,
” Letters between him and Dr.
Wood,
” physician to the pretender. 4. “Compendium of
the crown laws, in three charges to the grand jury at
Westminster,
”
rwards went to Paris and played on the harp to Louis XIV. who was much pleased with his performance. His son, Peter John, was so sickly and feeble during infancy, that
, born at Paris in 1665, was
the son of a surgeon, who, not being very prosperous in
his practice, had recourse for his support to music; and
first performed, professionally, at Lyons; and afterwards
went to Paris and played on the harp to Louis XIV. who
was much pleased with his performance. His son, Peter
John, was so sickly and feeble during infancy, that he
passed almost his whole youth in amusing himself on the
spinet, and in the study of music; but he had so strong a
passion for this instrument, that he had scarcely arrived
at his ninth year when he was heard at court, accompanied by his father on the harp. Two years after, the
king heard him again, when he performed a duet with
his father on the harp, and at eleven years of age he
assisted him in giving lessons to his scholars. His taste
for music, however, did not extinguish his passion for
other sciences. He taught himself Latin and Greek with
little assistance from others; and the study of these languages inclined him to medical inquiries. At eighteen
years old he attended, for the first time, the public schools,
went through a course of philosophy, and took lessons in
the schools of medicine. And even during this time he
learned Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, German, and English, sufficiently to understand them in
books. He was at length admitted of the faculty at Paris,
and practised with reputation during thirty-three years.
In 1705, he was received into the academy of belleslettres, and in 1706 he had a considerable share in the
publication of the “Journal des Scavans,
” at which he
laboured more than thirty years. In
ack upon his character by some distinguished speakers in the house of peers. Soon after the death of his son, his majesty bestowed a pension of 1200l. for his own life
Mr. Burke being now associated with Mr. Pitt, although neither soliciting, nor invited into any public station, con-; tinned to write from time to time, memorials and remarks on the state of France, and the alliance of the great powers of Europe that was formed against the new order of things in that distracted country. Some of these were published after his death, but as all of them are included in his collected works, it is unnecessary now to specify their dates and titles. Having resolved to quit the bustle of public life as soon as the trial of Mr. Hastings should be concluded, he vacated his seat when that gentleman was acquitted, and retired to his villa at Beaconsfield, where on Aug. 2, 1794, he met with a heavy domestic loss in the death of his only son. In the beginning of the same year he had lost his brother Richard, whom he tenderly loved; but though this reiterated stroke of death deeply affected him, it never relaxed the vigour of his mind, nor lessened the interest which he took in the public welfare. In this retreat he was disturbed by a very unprovoked attack upon his character by some distinguished speakers in the house of peers. Soon after the death of his son, his majesty bestowed a pension of 1200l. for his own life and that of his wife on the civil list, and two other pensions of 2500l. a year for three lives, payable out of the four and a half per cent. These gifts were now represented as a reward for having changed his principles, and deserted his friends, although they were bestowed after he had left parliament. This charge he repelled in a letter addressed to earl Fitzwilliam, written in terms of eloquent and keen sarcasm.
e sixty-eighth year of his age. He was interred on the 15th, in the church of Beaconsfield, close to his son and brother.
From the beginning of July 1797, his health rapidly declined; but his understanding exerted itself with undiminished force and uncontracted range. On the 7th of
that month, when the French revolution was mentioned,
he spoke with pleasure of the conscious rectitude of his
own intentions in what he had done and written respecting
it; intreated those about him to believe, that if any unguarded expression of his on the subject had offended any
of his former friends, no offence was by him intended; and
he declared his unfeigned forgiveness of all who had on
account of his writings, or for any other cause, endeavoured to do him an injury. On the day following, whilst
one of his friends, assisted by his servant, was carrying
him into another room, he faintly uttered, “God bless
you,
” fell back, and instantly expired in the sixty-eighth
year of his age. He was interred on the 15th, in the
church of Beaconsfield, close to his son and brother.
person of considerable opulence, as he married into the family of the Dennes of Dennehili, and gave his son a very liberal education. He studied law in Gray’s-inn,
, knt. garter king at arms, is
said to have been the son of a gardener or a brewer at
Sandwich, who appears, however, to have been a person of
considerable opulence, as he married into the family of the
Dennes of Dennehili, and gave his son a very liberal education. He studied law in Gray’s-inn, and in 1623, was
appointed keeper of the records in the Tower, and about
the same time became secretary to the Earl Marshal. In
the former reign (Elizabeth) he had been created Mowbray
herald extraordinary, to enable him to become a king at
arms, upon, a vacancy, and was knighted by king James I.
July 17, 1624. He attended Charles I. when he wetit to
Scotland to be crowned. In 1633 he was made garter
king at arms. In 1636, he obtained a grant to entitle him
to the fees and perc “e. of his office, because he had
been abroad upon the L^siness of the crown, which enabled him to take his share of the dues of his office, the
same as if he had been personally present in the college.
In 1640, he attended the treaty held by the sovereign with
his subjects in Scotland, and upon the civil war breaking
out, withdrew from the college, to attend his duty upon
his royal master. Whilst in this service, a grace passed
in convocation at Oxford for the degree of LL. D. but
Wood says it does not appear by the register whether he
was admitted, which, however, is highly probable. He
died at Oxford, Oct. 21, 1643, and was buried in Christ
church cathedral. He wrote, 1.
” Impetus juveniles, et
quaedam sedatioris aliquantulum animi epistolae,“Oxon.
1643, 8vo, in which his name is Latinized into Burrhus.
Most of the epistles are written to Philip Bacon, sir Francis
Bacon (lord Verulam), Thomas Famabie, Thomas Coppin,
sir Henry Spelman, &c. 2.
” The Sovereignty of the
British Seas, proved by records, &c.“written in 1633, but
not published until 1651, 12mo. Wood says he also made
” A Collection of Records in the Tower of London."
There are many ms pedigrees remaining of his drawing
up. In the Inner Temple library is a commentary in ms.
from his pen, on the formulary for combats before the
constable and marshal. His abilities and erudition were
universally acknowledged during his life.
e, in 1692. His father, Mr. Thomas Butler, who was a reputable shopkeeper in that town, observing in his son Joseph an excellent genius and inclination for learning,
, a prelate of the most distinguished
character and abilities, was born at Wantage in Berkshire,
in 1692. His father, Mr. Thomas Butler, who was a reputable shopkeeper in that town, observing in his son
Joseph an excellent genius and inclination for learning,
determined to educate him for the ministry, among the
protestant dissenters of the presbyterian denomination.
For this purpose, after he had gone through a proper
course of grammatical literature, at the free grammarschool of his native place, under the care of the rev. Mr.
Philip Barton, a clergyman of the church of England,
he was sent to a dissenting academy, then kept at Gloucester, but which was soon afterwards removed to Tewkesbury, the principal tutor of which was Mr. Jones, a man of
uncommon abilities and knowledge. At Tewkesbury, Mr.
Butler made an extraordinary progress in the study of divinity; of which he gave a remarkable proof in the letters
addressed by him, whilst he resided at Tewkesbury, to
Dr. Samuel Clarke, laying before him the doubts that
had arisen in his mind concerning the conclusiveness of
some arguments in the doctor’s “Demonstration of the
Being and Attributes of God.
” The first of these letters
was dated November the 4th, 1713; and the sagacity and
depth of thought displayed in it immediately excited Dr.
Clarke’s particular notice. This condescension encouraged Mr. Butler to address the doctor again upon the
same subject, which, ^likewise, was answered by him; and
the correspondence being carried on in three other letters,
the whole was annexed to the celebrated treatise before
mentioned, and the collection has been retained in all the
subsequent editions of that work. The management of
this correspondence was entrusted by Mr. Butler to his
friend and fellow-pupil Mr. Seeker, who, in order to
conceal the affair, undertook to convey the letters to the
post-office at Gloucester, and to bring back Dr. Clarke’s
answers. When Mr. Butler’s name was discovered to the
doctor, the candour, modesty, and good sense with which
he had written, immediately procured him his friendship.
Our young student was not, however, during his continuance at Tewkesbury, solely employed in metaphysical
speculations and inquiries. Another subject of his serious
consideration was, the propriety of his becoming a dissenting minister. Accordingly, he entered into an examination of the principles of non-conformity; the result of
which was, such a dissatisfaction with them, as determined
him to conform to the established church. This intention
was at first very disagreeable to his father, who endeavoured to divert him from his purpose; and with that view
called in the assistance of some eminent presbyterian divines; but finding his son’s resolution to be fixed, heat
length suffered him to be removed to Oxford, where he
was admitted a commoner of Oriel college, on the 17th of
March, 1714. At what time he took orders is uncertain,
but it must have been soon after his admission at Oxford,
if it be true, as is asserted, that he sometimes assisted Mr.
Edward Talbot in the divine service, at his living of Hendred near Wantage. With this gentleman, who was the.
second son of Dr. William Talbot, successively bishop of
Oxford, Salisbury, and Durham, Mr. Butler formed an
intimate friendship at Oriel college, which laid the foundation of all his subsequent preferments, and procured for
him a very honourable situation when he was only twentysix years of age. In 1718, at the recommendation of Mr.
Talbot and Dr. Clarke, he was appointed by sir Joseph
Jekyll to be preacher at the Rolls. This was three years
before he had taken any degree at the university, where
he did not go out bachelor of law till the 10th of June,
1721, which, however, was as soon as that degree could
statutably be conferred upon him. Mr. Butler continued
at the Rolls till 1726, in the beginning of which year he
published, in one volume 8vo, “Fifteen Sermons preached
at that Chapel.
” In the mean time, by the patronage of
Dr. Talbot, bishop of Durham, to whose notice he had
been recommended (together with Mr. Benson and Mr. Seeker) by Mr. Edward Talbot on his death-bed, our author had been presented first to the rectory of Haughton,
near Darlington, in 1722, and afterwards to that of Stanhope in the same diocese, in 1725, At Haughton there
was a necessity for rebuilding a great part of the parsonagehouse, and Mr. Butler had neither money nor talents for
that work. Mr. Seeker, therefore, who had always the
interest of his friends at heart, and had acquired a very
considerable influence with bishop Talbot, persuaded that
prelate to give Mr. Butler, in exchange for Haughton,
the rectory of Stanhope, which was not only free from any
such incumbrance, but was likewise of much superior
value, being indeed one of the richest parsonages in England. Whilst our author continued preacher at the Rolls
chapel, he divided his time between his duty in town and
country; but when he quitted the Rolls, he resided, during seven years, wholly at Stanhope, in the conscientious
discharge of every obligation appertaining to a good parish
priest. This retirement, however^ was too solitary for his
disposition, which had in it a natural cast of gloominess:
and though his recluse hours were by no means lost either
to private improvement or public utility, yet he felt at
times very painfully the want of that select society of
friends to which he had been accustomed, and which could
inspire him with the greatest chearfulness. Mr. Seeker,
therefore, who knew this, was extremely anxious to draw
him out into a more active and conspicuous scene, and
omitted no opportunity of expressing this desire to such as
he thought capable of promoting it. Having himself been,
appointed king’s chaplain in 1732, he took occasion, in a
conversation which he had the honour of holding with
queen Caroline, to mention to her his friend Mr. Butler.
The queen said she thought he had been dead. Mr.
Seeker assured her he was not. Yet her majesty afterwards asked archbishop Blackburne if he was not dead?
His answer was, “No, madam, but he is buried.
” Mr.
Seeker, continuing his purpose of endeavouring to bring
his friend out of his retirement, found means, upon Mr.
Charles Talbot' s being made lord chancellor, to have Mr.
Butler recommended to him for his chaplain. His lordship accepted and sent for him; and this promotion calling
him to town, he took Oxford in his way, and was admitted
there to the degree of doctor of law, on the 8th of December, 1733. The lord chancellor, who gave him also a
prebend in the church of Rochester, had consented that
he should reside at his parish of Stanhope one half of the
year.
Mr. Longueville, asserts he was an honest farmer with some small estates who made a shift to educate his son at the grammar-school of Worcester, under Mr. Henry Bright,
, a poet of a very singular cast, was
born at Strensham in Worcestershire, and baptized Feb.
8, 1612. His father’s condition is variously represented.
Wood mentions him as competently wealthy; but the
author of the short account of Butler, prefixed to Hudibras,
who, Dr. Johnson erroneously says, was Mr. Longueville,
asserts he was an honest farmer with some small estates
who made a shift to educate his son at the grammar-school
of Worcester, under Mr. Henry Bright, from whose care
he removed for a short time to Cambridge; but, for want
of money, was never made a member of any college. Wood
leaves us rather doubtful whether he went to Cambridge of
Oxford; but at last makes him pass six or seven years at
Cambridge, without knowing in what hall or college: yet
it can hardly be imagined that he lived so long in either
university, but as belonging to one house or another; and
it is still less likely that he could have so long inhabited a
place of learning with so little distinction as to leave his
residence uncertain. Dr. Nash has discovered that his
father was owner of a house and a little land, worth about
eight pounds, a year, still called Butler’s tenement. Wood
had his information from his brother, whose narrative placed
him at Cambridge, in opposition to that of his neighbours,
which sent him to Oxford. The brother’s seems the best
authority, till, by confessing his inability to tell his hall
or college, he gives reason to suspect that he was resolved
to bestow on him an academical education, but durst not
name a college, for fear of detection. Having, however,
discovered an early inclination for learning, his father
placed him at the free-school of Worcester; whence he
was sent, according to the above report, for some time to
Cambridge. He afterwards returned to his native country,
and became clerk to one Mr. Jefferys of Earl’s Croomb, an
eminent justice of the peace for that county, with whom
he lived some years in an easy and reputable station. Here
he found sufficient leisure to apply himself to whatsoever
learning his inclinations led him; which was chiefly history and poetry; adding to these, for his diversion, music
and painting. He was afterwards recommended to that
great encourager of learning, Elizabeth countess of Kent;
in whose house he had not only the opportunity of consulting all kinds of books, but of conversing with Mr. Seldeo,
who often employed him to write letters beyond sea, and
translate for him. He lived some time also with sir Samuel
Luke, a gentleman of an ancient family in Bedfordshire,
and a famous commander under Oliver Cromwell. Whilst
he resided in this gentleman’s family, it is generally supposed that he planned, if he did not write, the celebrated
Hudibras; under which character it is thought he intended
to ridicule that knight. After the restoration of Charles II.
he was made secretary to Richard earl of Carbury, lord
president of the principality of Wales, who appointed him.
steward of Ludlow-castle, when the Court was revived there.
In this part of his life, he married Mrs. Herbert, a gentlewoman of a good family; and lived, says Wbod^ upon her
fortune, having studied the common law, but never practised it. A fortune she had, says his biographer, but it
was lost by bad securities. In 1663 was published the first
part, containing three cantos, of the poem of “Hudibras,
”
which, as Prior relates, was made known at court by the
taste and influence of the earl of Dorset, and when known,
it was necessarily admired: the king quoted, the courtiers
studied, and the whole party of the royalists applauded it.
Every eye watched for the golden shower which was to fall
upon the author, who certainly was not without his share
in the general expectation. In 1664 the second part appeared; the curiosity of the nation was rekindled, and the
writer was again praised and elated. But praise was his
whole reward. Clarendon, says Wood, gave him reason
to hope for “places and employments of value and credit;”
but no such advantages did he ever obtain. It is reported,
that the king once gave him 300 guineas; but of this temporary bounty we find no proof. Wood relates that he was
secretary to Villiers duke of Buckingham, when he was
chancellor of Cambridge: this is doubted by the other
writer, who yet allows the duke to have been his frequent
benefactor. That both these accounts are false there is
reason to suspect, from a story told by Pack, in his account
of the life ef Wycherley, and from some verses which Mr.
Thyer has published in the author’s Remains. “Mr. Wycherley,” says Pack, “had always laid hold of any opportunity which offered of representing to the duke of Buckingham how well Mr. Butler had deserved of the royal
family, by writing his inimitable Hudibras; and that it
was a reproach to the court, that a person of his loyalty
and wit should suffer in obscurity, and under the wants he
did. The duke always seemed to hearken to him with
attention enough; and, after some time, undertook to recommend his pretensions to his majesty. Mr. Wycherley,
in Jiopes to keep him steady to his word, obtained of his
grace to name a day, when he might introduce that modest and unfortunate poet to his new patron. At last an
appointment was made, and the place of meeting was
agreed to be the Roebuck. Mr. Butler and his friend attended accordingly: the duke joined them; but, as the
devil would have it, the door of the room where they sat
was open, and his grace, who had seated himself near it,
observing a pimp of his acquaintance (the creature too was a knight) trip by with a brace of ladies, immediately quitted his engagement, to follow another kind of business, at
which he was more ready than in doing good offices to
men of desert; though no one was better qualified than
he, both in regard to his fortune and understanding, to
protect them; and, from that time to the day of his death,
poor Butler never found the least effect of his promise!”
Such is the story. The verses are written with a degree
of acrimony, such as neglect and disappointment might
naturally excite; and such as it would be hard to imagine
Butler capable of expressing against a man who had any
claim to his gratitude. Notwithstanding this discouragement and neglect, he still prosecuted his design; and in.
1678 published the third part, which still leaves the poem
imperfect and abrupt. How much more he originally intended, or with what events the action was to be concluded,
it is vain to conjecture. Nor can it be thought strange
that he should stop here, however unexpectedly. To write
without reward is sufficiently unpleasing. He had now arrived at an age when he might think it proper to be in
jest no longer, and perhaps his health might now begin to
fail. He died Sept. 25, 1680; and Mr. Longueville, having unsuccessfully solicited a subscription for his internment in Westminster abbey, buried him at his own cost
in the chureb-yard of Covent Garden. Dr. Simon Patrick
read the service. About sixty years afterwards, Mr. Barber, a printer, lord mayor of London, bestowed on him a
monument in Westminster abbey.
nstitutio Epistolaris Hebraica,“1629, 8vo. He compiled also,” Concordantia3 Hebraicse," published by his son in 1632.
, the first of a learned family, was
born at Camen, in Westphalia, in 1564, and became an
eminent Calvinist divine, and professor of the Hebrew and
Chaldaic languages at Basil, a situation which he filled
with great reputation until his death, in 1629. During
his Hebrew studies, he availed himself of the assistance
of the ablest Jews, and from them acquired a fondness for
rabbinical learning. The first of his works was his great
dictionary, entitled “Lexicon Chaldaicum, Talmudicum
et Rabbinicum,
” printed at Basil in Treasury of the Hebrew Grammar,
” 2 vols. 8vo. He
also printed a great Hebrew Bible at Basil, in 1618, 4 vols.
fol. with the Rabbins, the Chaldaic paraphrases, and the
Massora, after the manner of the great Bible of Venice;
but father Simon thinks it incorrect. To this Bible is
commonly added the Tiberias of the same author, which
is a commentary upon the Massora; where he explains at
large what the Rabbins think of it, and expounds in Latin
the terms of the Massora, which are very difficult. He
follows rabbi Elias the Levite, in his exposition of those
terms. He has also published “Synagoga Judaica,
” Bibliotheca of the Rabbins, a curious
work; but there have been since his time a great many
discoveries made in that part of learning. They who have a
mind to write Hebrew, may make use of the collection of
Hebrew letters, which he has published under the title of
” Institutio Epistolaris Hebraica,“1629, 8vo. He compiled also,
” Concordantia3 Hebraicse," published by his
son in 1632.
remarkable case. The noted Adonrram Byfield, a zealous adherent to the commonwealth revolution, was his son; and Richard Byfield, another ejected non-conformist, was
, a puritan divine of considerable
eminence in the beginning of the seventeenth century,
was the son of Richard Byfield, minister of Stratford-uponAvon, and was born in Warwickshire about the year 1579.
He became a servitor of Exeter college, Oxford, in Lent
term 1596, and remained at the university upwards of
four years, but left it without taking a degree. He was
admitted, however, into holy orders, and was soon after
invited to be pastor of St. Peter’s church, Chester, which
he gladly accepted, and continued there for several years,
“much followed and admired,
” says Wood, “by the precise party, who esteemed his preaching profitable, and his
life pious.
” He was a strict observer of Sunday, on which
subject he preached and wrote, and this involved him in
a controversy, particularly with Edward Brerewood the
mathematician. (See Brerewood.) The observation of
the Sabbath was at this time a subject of much controversy, and many pamphlets were written on both sides,
with the warmth natural at a period of increasing religious
dissension. From Chester Mr. Byfield removed, in 1615,
to the vicarage of Isleworth, where he died in 1622,
leaving behind him an excellent character for learning,
success in his ministry, and a pious and peaceable disposition. He was the author of many popular works, which
are enumerated by Wood. Of these, his “Commentary
on the First Epistle of St. Peter,
” 1637, fol. and “on
Colossians,
” 1628, fol. are held in the highest estimation,
and confirm the character which Wood, somewhat reluctantly, gives of him. Dr. Gouge, of Blackfriars, who drew
up an account of his death, informs us that on his body
being opened, a stone was taken out of his bladder that
weighed thirty-three ounces; and was in length and
breadth about thirteen inches, and solid, like a flint. A
print of him was published by Richardson, in 1790, with
an account of this very remarkable case. The noted Adonrram Byfield, a zealous adherent to the commonwealth
revolution, was his son; and Richard Byfield, another
ejected non-conformist, was his half brother; but neither
had his meek, loyal, and submissive spirit. Adoniram
is one of the few persons who have been, by name, stigmatized by Butler in his “Hudibras.
” He was the father
of Dr. Byfield, the noted Sal volatile doctor, who in his
epitaph is said to be “Diu volatilis tandem Jfcms.
”
John Cabot, attended by his son Sebastian, set sail with this fleet in the spring of the
John Cabot, attended by his son Sebastian, set sail with
this fleet in the spring of the year 1497. They sailed
happily on their north west course, till the 24th of June,
jn the same year, about five in the morning, when they
discovered the island of Baccalnos, now much better known
by the name of Newfoundland. The very day on which
they made this important discovery, is known by a large?
map, drawn by Sebastian Cabor, and cut by Clement
Adams, which hung in the privy gallery at Whitehall;
whereon was this inscription, under the author’s picture
“Eftigics Seb. Caboti, Angli, Filii Jo. Caboti, Venetian!,
'IMilitis Aurati, &c.
” and on this map was likewise the following account of the discovery, the original of which was
in Latin: “In the year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot,
a Venetian, and his son Sebastian, with an English fleet,
set out from Bristol, and discovered that island which no
man before had attempted. This discovery was made on
the four and twentieth of June, about five o'clock in the
morning. This land he called Prima Vistu. (or First Seen),
because it was that part of which they had the first sight
from the sea. The island, which lies out before the land,
he called the island of St. John, probably because it was
discovered on the festival of St. John the Baptist. The
inhabitants of this island wore beasts’ skins, and esteemed
them as the finest garments.
” To this Purchas adds, “In
their wars they used bows, arrows, pikes, darts, wooden
clubs, and slings. They found the soil barren in some
places, and yielding little fruit; but it was full of white
bears and stags, far larger than those of Europe. It yielded
plenty of fish, and those of the larger kind, as seals and
salmon. They found soles there above a yard in length,
and great abundance of that kind of fish which the savages
called baccalaos. They also observed there partridges, as
likewise hawks and eagles; but what was remarkable in
them, they were all as black as ravens.
”
The accounts of this voyage made by John Cabot, accompanied by his son Sebastian, are, in some respects, involved in much obscurity;
The accounts of this voyage made by John Cabot, accompanied by his son Sebastian, are, in some respects, involved in much obscurity; and Sebastian is supposed to have made some voyages of discovery without his father, in the reign of Henry VII. of which no narrations have been preserved. However, it appears that John Cabot, after the discovery of Newfoundland, sailed down to Cape Florida, and then returned with three Indians, and a good cargo, to England, where he uas well received. The discovery that he and his *on had made, was, indeed, as Dr. Campbell obcry important; "since, in truth,
which he carried on business. In conjunction with Mr. Strahan, already noticed, and afterwards with his son Andrew Strahan, esq. the present member for Aldborough,
, an eminent bookseller, and a
striking instance of the effects of a strong understanding
united with industry and integrity, was born in Wine-street,
Bristol, on the 27th of October, 1742, O. S. After being
educated in his native city, he was apprenticed, in 1758,
to Mr. Andrew Millar, at that time at the head of his profession in London, anil the steady patron of Thomson, Fielding, and many other celebrated writers. In Mr. Cadell
he soon discovered a taste for business, a love of industry,
and an understanding uncommonly acute, which embraced
all the concerns of a trade that necessarily requires more
than mere mechanical talents; and Mr. Millar being Dow
advanced in life readily admitted Mr. Cadell into partnership in 1765, and in 1767, a year before his death, relinquished the whole to him. Mr. Cadell thus became, at a
very early period, at the head of his profession, and by
associating with himself the late William Strahan, esq.
secured the advice and assistance of a printer of corresponding liberality and taste. Introduced at the same time
by Mr. Millar to writers of the first rank in literature, to
Johnson, Hume, Robertson, Warburton, Hurd, &c, he
pursued the same commendable track, iind acting upon
the liberal principles of his predecessor in respect to authors, enlarged upon it to an extent, which, at the same
time that it did honour to his spirit, was well suited to the
more enlightened period in which he carried on business.
In conjunction with Mr. Strahan, already noticed, and
afterwards with his son Andrew Strahan, esq. the present
member for Aldborough, munificent remunerations were
held out to writers of the most eminent talents, and, as
Dr. Johnson was accustomed to aay, “the price of literature was raised.
” The names of some of the writers whose
works were brought forward under Mr. Cadell’s auspices
have already been mentioned; nor was he less fortunate
in the judicious connexions formed, upon the most liberal
principles, with Blackstone, Burn, Henry, Gibbon, and
many others whose works are to be found in every library.
Although in success such as Mr. Cadell experienced, and
which must depend ultimately on the pleasure of the public, chance may be supposed to have some influence, yet it
is but justice to add that Mr. Cadell had acquired, by whatever means, an uncommon discernment in the value of
books, which led him with apparent facility, and almost
always with success, to predict the future fate of what was
submitted to him; and when any plan of republication was
discussed in conjunction with his brethren, we have the
testimony of some yet living, and of many now off the
stage, that no man could see more clearly than Mr. Cadell
into the disposition and bias of the reading world, or
display more judgment in every arrangement of editions, &c
calculated to gratify public taste. Hence, in his individual capacity, it was universally remarked that he gave the
largest prices for the most successful works, and that at a
time when their success could be only in his own contemplation; and when that success seemed to be delayed beyond all reasonable hope, even in such cases the final
issue justified his original opinion, and proved that he had
formed it upon substantial grounds.
he table of which he wrote a note, requesting lord Cadogan to accept the vicarage of St. Giles’s for his son. The offer of so valuable a preferment, and so near to the
, grand nephew of the preceding, and second son of Charles Sloan Cadogan, third baron, and first earl Cadogan of the new creation (1800), was born Jan. 22, 1751, at his father’s house in Bruton-street, and was educated at Westminster-school, whence he was removed to Christ church college, Oxford, where he took the degree of B. A. At this university, he distinguished himself by obtaining several prizes for classical learning, and by a diligent application to the study of the holy scriptures. In 1774, the vicarage of St. Giles’s, Reading, became vacant, by the death of the rev. William Talbot, a very popular preacher of Calvinistic principles, and was conferred on Mr. Cadogan, unsolicited, in the following manner. Lord Bathurst, who was then chancellor, called at lord Cadogan’s house in Privy Gardens, and desired to see him. Lord Cadogan was not at home; and the servants, seeing lord Bathurst plainly dressed, admitted him no farther than the hall, on the table of which he wrote a note, requesting lord Cadogan to accept the vicarage of St. Giles’s for his son. The offer of so valuable a preferment, and so near to the family seat at Caversham, was peculiarly acceptable to lord Cadogan: but his son not being in priest’s orders, it was held by sequestration till he was ordained priest in 1775. Soon after, he was presented by lord Cadogan to the rectory of Chelsea, but as he could not hold two livings without being a master of arts, that degree was conferred upon him by archbishop Cornwallis and in the following year, being then of sufficient standing in the university, he was regularly admitted to the same degree of Oxford.
ich was consecrated, May 8, 1614. As he had been privy-counsellor to king James I. so was he also to his son king Charles I.; and appears to have been custos rotulorum
, a learned civilian, was born near
Tottenham, in Middlesex, in 1557. His father was Cæsar
Adelmar, physician to queen Mary and queen Elizabeth
lineally descended from Adelmar count of Genoa, and admiral of France, in the year 806, in the reign of Charles
the Great. This Cæsar Adelmar’s mother was daughter to
the duke de Cesarini, from whom he had the name of
Cæsar which name Mary I. queen of England, ordered
to be continued to his posterity and his father was Peter
Maria Dalmarius, of the city of Trevigio in Italy, LL. D.
sprung from those of his name living at Cividad del Friuli.
Julius, who is the subject of this article, had his education in
the university of Oxford, where he took the degree of B. A.
May 17, 1575, as a member of Magdalen hall. Afterwards
he went and studied in the university of Paris where, in
the beginning of 1581, he was created D. C. L. and had
letters testimonial for it, under the seal of that university,
dated the 22d of April, 1531. He was admitted to the
same degree at Oxford, March the 5th, 1583; and also
became doctor of the canon law. In the reign of queen Elizabeth, he was master of requests, judge of the high court
of admiralty, and master of St. Catherine’s hospital near
the Tower. On the 22d of January, 1595, he was present
at the confirmation of Richard Vaughan, bishop of Bangor,
in the church of St. Mary-le-Bow, London. Upon kingJames’s accession to the throne, having before distinguished
himself by his merit and abilities, he was knighted by that
prince, at Greenwich, May 20, 1603. He was also constituted chancellor and under- treasurer of the exchequer
and on the 5th of July, 1607, sworn of his majesty’s privy
council. January 16th, in the eighth of king James I. he
obtained a reversionary grant of the office of master of the
rolls after sir Edward Phillips, knight; who, departing this
life September 11, 1614, was succeeded accordingly by
sir Julius, on the 1st of October following; and then he
resigned his place of chancellor of the exchequer. In
1613 he was one of the commissioners, or delegates employed in the business of the divorce between the earl of
Essex and his countess; and gave sentence for that divorce.
About the same time, he built a chapel at his house, <on
the north side of the Strand, in London, which was consecrated, May 8, 1614. As he had been privy-counsellor
to king James I. so was he also to his son king Charles I.;
and appears to have been custos rotulorum of the county
of Hertford. We are likewise informed by one author,
that he was chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. After
having thus passed through many honourable employments,
and continued in particular, master of the rolls for above
twenty years, he departed this life April 28, 1636, in the
seventy-ninth year of his age. He lies buried in the church
of Great St. Helen’s within Bishopgate, London, under
a fair, but uncommon monument, designed by himself;
being in form of a deed, and made to resemble a ruffled
parchment, in allusion to his office as master of the rolls.
With regard to his character, he was a man of great gravity and integrity, and remarkable for his extensive bounty
and charity to all persons of worth, or that were in want:
so that he might seem to be almoner-general of the nation.
Fuller gives the following instance of his uncommon charity
“A gentleman once borrowing his coach (which was as well known to poor people as any hospital in England)
was so rendezvouzed about with beggars in London, that
it cost him all the money in his purse to satisfy their importunity, so that he might have hired twenty coaches on
the same terms.
” He entertained for some time in hisr
house the most illustrious Francis lord Bacon, viscount
St. Alban’s. He made his grants to all persons double
kindnesses by expedition, and cloathed (as one expresses it) his very denials in such robes of courtship, that it was
not obviously discernible, whether the request or denial
were most decent. He had also this peculiar to himself,
that he was very cautious of promises, lest falling to an
incapacity of performance he might forfeit his reputation,
and multiply his certain enemies, by hisoiesign of creating
uncertain friends. Besides, he observed a sure principle
of rising, namely, that great persons esteem better of such
they have done great courtesies to, than those they have
received great civilities from; looking upon this as their
disparagement, the other as their glory.
ed in 1654. Since his death, there was a treatise of Meditation printed in a clandestine way, not by his son, nor from his manuscript, but from some imperfect notes
Beisides the pieces already mentioned, Mr. Calamy published several single sermons preached on different occasions, and five sermons entitled “The Godly Man’s Ark,
or a city of refuge in the day of his distress,
” the eighth
edition of which was printed at London, 1683, in 12mo.
He had a hand in drawing up the “Vindication of the Presbyterian Government and Ministry,
” London, Jns Divinum Ministerii Evangelic! Anglicani,
” printed
in
was admitted to the bar in 1760; but his father being possessed of a good estate, fully adequate to his son’s wishes, he never paid much attention to the profession
, a literary gentleman of Ireland, was the son of Charles Caldwell, esq. an eminent solicitor, and was born in Dublin, 1732. He received part
of his education in one of the universities in Scotland, from
whence he removed to London; and after a residence of
about five years at the Temple, returned to Dublin, where
he was admitted to the bar in 1760; but his father being
possessed of a good estate, fully adequate to his son’s wishes,
he never paid much attention to the profession of the law,
and for several years before his death had entirely quitted
it. His studious disposition, and taste for the tine arts,
always afforded him sufficient employment, and he was a
liberal patron of those who excelled in any of the various
branches of art. He had studied architecture with particular attention; and about the year 1770, published, anonymously, some very judicious “Observations on the public buildings of Dublin,
” and on some edifices, which at
that time were about to be erected in that city at the expence of the state. The only other known production of
his pen that has been published, is a very curious “Account of the extraordinary escape of James Stewart, esq.
(commonly called Athenian Stewart) from being put to
death by some Turks, in whose company he happened to
be travelling;
” the substance of which had been communicated to Mr. Caldwell by the late Dr. Percy, bishop of
Dromore, as related to his lordship by Stewart himself.
Of this narrative, of which only a small number was printed
at London in 1304, for the use of the author’s friends, it
is believed not more than a dozen copies were distributed
in this country. Mr. Cald well’s love of literature naturally
led him to collect an ample library, which was particularly
rich in natural history. His manners were gentle and
pleasing, and his benevolence, various knowledge, and cultivated taste, endeared him to a very numerous circle of
friends. He died at the house of his nephew, major-general Cockburn, near Bray in the county of Wicklow, July
2, 1808, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.
ith oeconomy, at least with integrity, as appeared by his inability two years afterwards to maintain his son, who served as a foot soldier in the corps of nobility in
When this assembly met, Calonne accused his predecessor M. Necker, of having caused the deficiency by his
system of loans, and of war without taxation; and Calonne’s
enemies, on their side, threw the blame on his personal extravagance, and his readiness in yielding to the unlimited
demands of the royal family. The comparative merits of
those two ministers, equally im fortunate in the issue, may
be probably ascertained by a perusal of the appeals they
made to the public, M. Calonne in his “Speech to the Assembly of Notables,
” in his “Requete au Roi,
” and his
“Reponse a PEcrit de M. Necker
” and M. Necker in his
“Answer to Calonne’s Speech, and Requete, &c.
” The
consequence, however, of the opposition Calonne met with,
was, that the king withdrew his confidence from him, took
from him the insignia of his order, and banished him to
Lorraine. He and his brother presented themselves to the
assemblies of the bailiwick of Bailleul in Flanders, but were
disrespectfully received, and obliged to withdraw into the
Low Countries. He returned to France for a very short
time, and in 1790 left it again, and retired to England. In
1791 the brothers of Louis XVI. summoned him to join them.
at Coblentz, where he for some time managed their finances,
if not with oeconomy, at least with integrity, as appeared
by his inability two years afterwards to maintain his son,
who served as a foot soldier in the corps of nobility in the
army of Cond6. It was at that time that he proposed a
plan of counter-revolution, which was not generally approved in the royalist party, to whom, it is certain that
many of the sentiments he expressed in his political writings, published at London in 1793 and 1796, were not acceptable. In 1802, during the consular government, the reputation of his talents, which no party has questioned, procured him permission to return to France, where he gave in
some memorials on finance, which, however, were not favourably received. He died in Paris October 29, 1802.
land on the north of Virginia. He died at London, April 15, 1632, before the grant was made out; but his son Cecil Calvert, lord Baltimore, who had been at Virginia,
While he was secretary of state, he had obtained a patent for him and his heirs to be absolute lord and proprietor (with the royalties of a count-palatine) of the province of Avalon in Newfoundland. This name he gave it from Avalon in Somersetshire, whereon Glastonbury stands, the first-fruits of Christianity in Britain, as the other was in that part of America. He laid out 2500l. in advancing this new plantation, and built a handsome house in Ferryland. After the death of king James he went twice to Newfoundland. When M. de PArade, with three French men of war, had reduced the English fishermen there to great extremity, lord Baltimore, with two ships manned at his own expence, drove away the French, taking sixty of them prisoners, and relieved the English; but still finding his plantation very much exposed to the insults of the French, he at last determined to abandon it. He then went to Virginia; and having viewed the neighbouring country, returned to England, and obtained from Charles I. (who had as great a regard for him as James had) a patent to him and his heirs for Maryland on the north of Virginia. He died at London, April 15, 1632, before the grant was made out; but his son Cecil Calvert, lord Baltimore, who had been at Virginia, took it out in his own name, and the patent bears date June 20, 1632. He was to hold it of the crown of England in common soccage> as of the manor of Windsor; paying yearly, on Easter r l uesday, two Indian arrows of those parts at the castle of Windsor, and the fifth part of the gold and silver ore that should be found therein. King Charles himself gave that province the name of Maryland, in honour of his queen Henrietta Maria. The first colony sent thither consisted of about 200 people, Roman catholics, the chief of whom were gentlemen of good families. The Baltimore family were in danger of losing their property on account of their religion, by the act which requires all Roman catholic heirs to profess the protestant religion, on pain of being deprived of their estates: but this was prevented by their professing the protesunt religion.
ain to sir William Strickland of Boynton, where he" continued several years, preaching and educating his son, till both he and his lady died; then he removed to Hull,
, the son of Robert Calvert, a grocer and sheriff of York, was born on the Pavement in that
ancient city. He was educated at Clare-hall, Cambridge,
where he was contemporary with the famous archbishop
Tillotson. He was bred up under Mr. David Clarkson,
and was a graduate in the university. He had been for
several years at Topcliff, when he was silenced by the act
of uniformity after which he retired to York, lived privately, but studied hard; and there it was that he wrote
his learned book concerning the ten tribes, entitled “Naphthali, seu colluctatio theologica de reditu decem tribuum,
conversione Judaeorum et mens. Ezekielis,
” Lond.
ther, had been bred to business as a Turkey merchant, and died in London not long after the birth of his son, the care of whom then devolved on his mother and his maternal
, an ingenious English writer, was born in London, Feb. 14, 1717, of ancestors belonging to the county of Gloucester. His father, who was a younger brother, had been bred to business as a Turkey merchant, and died in London not long after the birth of his son, the care of whom then devolved on his mother and his maternal uncle Thomas Owen, esq. who adopted him as his future representative. He was sent to Eton, school, where quickness of parts supplied the place of diligence; yet although he was averse to the routine of stated tasks, he stored his mind with classical knowledge, and amuseid it by an eager perusal of works addressed to the imagination. He became early attached to the best English poets, and to those miscellaneous writers who delineate human life and character. A taste likewise for the beauties of rural nature began to display itself at this period, which he afterwards exemplified at his seat in Gloucestershire, and that at Twickenham. In 1734, he entered as a gentleman commoner of St. John’s college, Oxford, and, without wishing to be thought a laborious scholar, omitted no opportunity of improving his mind in such studies as were suitable to his age and future prospects. His first, or one of his first, poetical effusions was on the marriage of the prince of Wales, which was published with the other verses composed at Oxford on the same occasion. In 1737, he became a member of Lincoln’s-inn, where he found many men of wit and congenial habits, but as he had declined taking a degree at Oxford, he had now as little inclination to pursue the steps that lead to the bar; and in 1741, in his twenty-fourth year, he married Miss Trenchard, the second daughter of George Trenchard, esq. of Woolverton in Dorsetshire, a lady who contributed to his happiness for upwards of half a century, and by whom he had a family equally amiable and affectionate. She died Sept. 5, 1806, Laving survived her husband four years.
It appears from the whole of his Son’s very interesting narrative, that few men have enjoyed
It appears from the whole of his Son’s very interesting narrative, that few men have enjoyed a life of the same duration so little interrupted by vexation or calamity. His fortune, if not relatively great, was rendered ample by judicious management, and as he had been highly favoured by Providence in his person and in his family, he felt the importance v of these blessings with the gratitude of a Christian. Such information as the following, so honourable to the subject of it, and to him who relates it, ought not to be suppressed.
Of his literary character his Son has formed a just estimate, when he says that he is to be
Of his literary character his Son has formed a just estimate, when he says that he is to be regarded rather as an elegant than a profound scholar. Yet, where he chose to apply, his knowledge was far from being superficial, and if he had not at an early period of life indulged the prospect of filling the station of a retired country gentleman, it is probable that he might have made a distinguished figure in any of the learned professions. It is certain that the ablest works on every subject have been produced, with very few exceptions, by men who have been scholars by profession, to whom reputation was necessary as well as ornamental, and who could not expect to rise but in proportion to the abilities they discovered. Mr. Cambridge, without being insensible to the value of fame, had yet none of the worst perils of authorship to encounter. As a writer 1 he was better known to the world, but he could not have been more highly respected by his friends.
About a year after his death, his son, the rev. George Owen Cambridge, published a splendid edition
About a year after his death, his son, the rev. George Owen Cambridge, published a splendid edition of all his works (except his History of the War) to which he prefixed an account of his life and writings. To this very interesting narrative, the present sketch is indebted for all that is valuable in it, but from what is here borrowed the reader can have but a feeble conception of a composition which does so much honour to the moral and literary reputation of the father, and to the^ filial piety and chastened affection of the son.
ng in London, became a member of the company of Puinter-stainers. The inscription on the cup left by his son to the company calls him Pictor Londinensis, which may refer
, one of the most eminent English
antiquaries, was born in the Old Bailey, London, May 2,
1551. His father, Samson Camden, was a native of Lichfield, whence he was sent very young to London, where
he practised painting, and settling in London, became a
member of the company of Puinter-stainers. The inscription on the cup left by his son to the company calls him
Pictor Londinensis, which may refer either to his profession or to his company. His mother was of the ancient
family of the Curwens of Workington in Cumberland.
Their son received his first education at Christ’s hospital,
which was founded the year after his birth by king Edward
VI.; but the records of that house being destroyed in the
fire of London, the date of his admission is lost. Bishop
Gibson treats his admission at Christ’s hospital as a fiction,
because not mentioned by himself; but as it is by Wheare,
who pronounced his funeral oration very soon after his
death, it seems to have some foundation, especially if we
consider the lowness of his circumstances, and his dependence on Dr. Thornton at Oxford. Dr. Smith (his biographer) says, some infer from hence, that he had lost his father, and was admitted as an orphan; but it is certain
Wheare does not give it that turn. Being seized with the
plague in 1563, he was removed to Islington, or perhaps
was seized with it there, “peste correptus Islingtonue
”
but on his recovery, he completed his education at St.
Paul’s school; where under Mr. Cook or Mr. Malin, he
made such progress in learning as laid the foundation of
his future fame.
d again in 1772, with a few corrections and improvements from his lordship’s ms. in his own copy, by his son-in-law, George Scot, esq. of Wolstonhall, near Chigwell,
The Britannia was translated in 1694 by bishop Gibson,
and published in folio, with large additions at the end of
each county; others are inserted in the body of the book,
distinguished from the original, and Holland’s most material notes placed at the bottom of each page. As this was
grown scarce, and many improvements were communicated
to the editor, he published a new edition 1722, 2 vols. fol.
and additions, greatly enlarged, incorporated with the
text, distinguished by hooks. This edition was reprinted
1753, 2 vols. fol. and again in 1772, with a few corrections and improvements from his lordship’s ms. in his own
copy, by his son-in-law, George Scot, esq. of Wolstonhall, near Chigwell, Essex, who died 1780. A first volume of a translation, by W. O. (William Oldys), esq. was
printed in 4to, but, as Mr. Gough thinks, was never
finished or dated. A manuscript most erroneous translation of it, without acknowledgment, by Richard Butcher,
author of the “Antiquities of Stamford,
” is in St. John’s
college library, Cambridge, with a few immaterial additions. The last and most complete translation of the Britannia, by such an antiquary as Camden would have chosen,
the late learned and excellent Richard Gough, esq. was
published in 1789, 3 vols. fol. of which we shall speak
more at large in his article. Some years afterwards he had
made preparations for a new edition, of which he superintended only the first volume, and announced that fact in
a public advertisement, which did not, however, prevent
an attempt to pass off the whole of a recent edition as his.
Of Mr. Cough’s Life of Camden we have here availed
ourselves, as far preferable to the ill-digested compilation
in the Biog. Britannica.
discipline and credit of that university and in 1541, Henry, duke of Saxony, and afterwards Maurice his son, invited him to Leipsic, to direct and assist in founding
In 1525, when there was an insurrection among the common people through all Germany, commonly called the war of the peasants, Camerarius went into Prussia, but he returned very soon, and was made professor of the belies lettres in an university which the senate of Nuremberg had just founded under the direction and superintendency of Melancthon. In 1526, when the diet of Spires was held, Albert earl of Mansfelt was appointed ambassador to Charles V. of Spain, and Camerarius to attend him as his Latin interpreter; but this embassy being suspended, Camerarius went no farther than Sslirigen, whence he returned home, and was married the year after to Anne Truchses, a lady of an ancient and noble family, with whom he lived forty-six years very happily, and had four daughters and five sons by her, who all did honour to their family. In 1530, the Senate of Nuremberg sent him with some other persons to the diet of Augsburgh, and four years after offered him the place of secretary; but, preferring the ease and freedom of a studious life to all advantages of a pecuniary nature, he refused it. In 1538, Ulric prince of Wittemberg sent him to Tubingen, to restore the discipline and credit of that university and in 1541, Henry, duke of Saxony, and afterwards Maurice his son, invited him to Leipsic, to direct and assist in founding an university there.
, and three centuries of emblems. On his death, which happened October 11, 1598, he was succeeded by his son Joachim in his practice, and in the honour of being dean
, son of the preceding, was
born at Nuremberg, in 1534, and there first educated.
As his mind was early turned to the study of botany and
medicine, with the view of improving himself he visited
the principal seminaries in Germany, and thence went to
Padua, and afterwards to Bologna, where he took the degree
of doctor in 1562. Two years after he returned to Nuremberg, and by his superior skill and ability, seemed the
legitimate inheritor of his father’s fame. In 1592, he
founded a medical college, of which he was appointed dean
or president, and continued to direct its affairs for the remainder of his life. He formed an extensive garden, stored
with the choicest plants, the cultivation of which he superintended with great assiduity, and assisted the landgrave of Hesse in forming a botanical garden; and with a
view of disseminating the knowledge of plants, he purchased the collections of Gesner and Wolfe, which he
methodised, and corrected, and with considerable additions from his own stores, together with the works of
Matthiolus, he published them in 1586, under the title of
“De Plantis Epitome utilissima Petri Andrew Matthioli
novis Iconibus et Descriptionibus plurimis diligenter
aucta,
” 4to. “Hortus Medicus et Philosophicus, in quo
piurimarum Stirpium breves Descriptiones, novae Icones
non paucae, continentur,
” Opercula de Re
Rustica, quibus, praeter alia, Catalogus Rei Botanicac et
Rusticae Scriptorum veterum et recentiorum insertus est,
”
De recta et necessaria Ratione preservandi a Pestis Contagione,
”
is father Simon Vaz de Camoens is said to have perished by shipwreck in the year which gave being to his son, although this is somewhat doubtful. It appears, however,
, a very celebrated
Portuguese poet, and from his much-admired poem the
“Lusiadas,
” called the Virgil of Portugal, was descended
from an illustrious, and originally, Spanish family, and was
born at Lisbon about the year 1524. His father Simon
Vaz de Camoens is said to have perished by shipwreck in
the year which gave being to his son, although this is somewhat doubtful. It appears, however, that our poet was
sent to the university of Coimbra, and maintained there
by his surviving parent. On his arrival in Lisbon, he became enamoured of Donna Catarina de Ataide, whom he
addressed with all the romantic ardour of youth and poetry,
but according to the prescribed reserve, or prudery of the
age, obtained no higher mark of her favour, after many
months of adoration, than one of the silken fillets which,
encircled her head. His impatience, however, hurried him
into some breaches of decorum, while pursuing his coy
mistress, who was one of the queen’s ladies, and her parents took this opportunity to terminate an intercourse
which worldly considerations rendered, on her part, of the
highest imprudence. This interference produced its usual
effect. Camoens was banished the court, and on the
morning of his departure, Catarina confessed to him the
secret of her long-concealed affection. Thus comforted, he
removed to Santarem, the place of his banishment, but is
said to have speedily returned to Lisbon, where he was
again detected, and again sent into exile.
d has not been attended with the advantages expected from it. Camper’s other works were published by his son: 3. “A Dissertation on the fracture of the patella and olecranon,”
His works, if not numerous, are highly valuable, and
contain many important facts, and successful experiments
and improvements. He published, l. “Demonstrationum
Anatomico-Pathologicarum liber primus, continens brachii
humani fabricam et morbos, in folio maximo, cum quatuor
figuris,
” Amst. Liber secundus, continens pelvis human se fabricam et morbos,
” An account
of a method of performing the operation of Lithotomy at
two different times,
” published in a Dutch journal. The
operation is performed at twice, that is, on the first day
the surgeon makes the incision into the bladder; the patient is then to be put to bed, and the extraction of the
stone deferred until the second, third, or fourth day; but
this method has not been attended with the advantages expected from it. Camper’s other works were published by
his son: 3. “A Dissertation on the fracture of the patella
and olecranon,
” A Treatise on the natural
difference of features, &c.
” which was translated by Dr.
Cogan, and published at London in 1794, under the title
“The Works of the late professor Camper, on the connection between the science of anatomy and the arts of
drawing, painting, statuary, &c. &c. in 2 books containing a treatise on the natural difference of features in
persons of different countries and periods of life; and on
beauty, as exhibited in ancient sculpture, &c.
” This is
unquestionably a work of great curiosity and importance
to artists, and is one of the best translated scientific books
in our language. In 1803, a collection of Camper’s works
was published at Paris, in 3 vols. 8vo. with a folio atlas
of plates, containing his various dissertations on natural
history, physiology, and comparative anatomy. To these
is prefixed an account of his life by his son. Camper was!
not less amiable in private life, than celebrated in his public character.
Cantacuzenus refused. In 1341 Andronicus died, and left to Cantacuzenus the care of the empire, till his son John Paleologus, who was then but nine years of age, should
, emp.eror of Constantinople, and a celebrated Byzantine historian, was born at Constantinople about the year 1295, of a very ancient and noble family; his father being governor of Peloponnesus, and his mother a near relation of the emperor’s. He was bred to letters and to arms, and afterwards to the highest offices of statej in which he acquitted himself in such a manner as to gain the favour of both court and city. He was made prelect of the bedchamber to the emperor Andronicus the elder, but lost his favour about 1320, by addicting himself too much to the interest of his grandson Andronicus. In 1328, when the grandson seized the empire, he loaded Cantacuzenus with wealth and honours; made him generalissimo of his forces; did nothing without consulting him; and fain would have joined him with himself in the government, which Cantacuzenus refused. In 1341 Andronicus died, and left to Cantacuzenus the care of the empire, till his son John Paleologus, who was then but nine years of age, should be fit to take it upon himself: which trust he discharged very diligently and faithfully. But the empress dowager, the patriarch of Constantinople, and some of the nobles, soon growing jealous and envious of Cantacuzenus, formed a party against him, and declared him a traitor: upon which a great portion of the nobility and army besought him to take the empire upon himself, and accordingly he was crowned at Hadrianopolis in May 1342. A civil war raged for five years, and Cantacuzenus was conqueror, who, however, came to the following terms of peace with John Paleologus; viz. that himself should be crowned, and that John should he a partner uith him in the empire, though not upon an equal footing, till he should arrive at years sufficient. He gave him also his daughter Helen, to whom he had formerly been engaged, for a wife; and the nuptials were celebrated in May 1347. But suspicions and enmities soon arising between the new emperors, the war broke out again, and lasted till John took Constantinople in 1355. A few days after that city was taken, Cantacuzenus, unwilling to continue a civil war any longer, abdicated his share of the empire, and retired to a monastery, where he took the habit of a monk, with the new name of Joasaphus, and spent the remainder of his life in study and writing. His wife retired also at the same time to a nunnery, where she changed her own name Irene for the new one of Eugenia.
emy of the Otiosi. Francis de la Rovere, duke of Urbino, employed him in the education of the prince his son; and while he was employed in this business he wrote most
, a historian of the seventeenth century, was born in Campagnia, in the kingdom of
Naples, of an obscure family, which was afterwards raised
by Capaccio’s merits. He studied at Naples the civil and
canon law, and afterwards read over the poets and historians. Being a person of note for his learning and parts,
he was made secretary to the town of Naples. He was
one of those that had the greatest share in setting up the
academy of the Otiosi. Francis de la Rovere, duke of
Urbino, employed him in the education of the prince his
son; and while he was employed in this business he wrote
most of his works. He died in 1631. His works are:
“Tratato de'l imprese
” “II secretario, prediche quadragecimali
” “II principe
” “Historia Puteolana
” “Historia Napolitana,
” &c. the latter are in Grgevius’s Thesaurus, but the separate editions of these, as well as of his
“Illustrium mulierum et virorum historia,
” Naples,
against some exceptions, 1659, 8vo. 2. “Remains, being an useful Appendix to the former,” 1658, 8vo. His son Daniel Capel was also a divine, and, according to Walker,
, son of Christopher Capel, an alderman of Gloucester, was born 1586 in that city, and
after being educated there in grammar, became a commoner of Aiban hall, Oxford, in 1601, and soon after was
elected demy of Magdalen-college. In 160.9 he was made
perpetual fellow, being then M. A. the highest degree
which he took at the university. While there, Wood says,
“his eminence was great, and he was resorted to by noted
men, especially of the Calvinist persuasion,
” and was tutor
to several young men who afterwards rose to high reputation, particularly Accepted Frewen, archbishop of York,
Will. Pemble, &c. He left college on obtaining the rectory of Eastington in Gloucestershire, and became highly
popular as a plain and practical preacher, and a man of
exemplary life and conversation. In 1633, when the Book
of Sports on the Lord’s day was ordered to be read in all
churches, he refused, and resigned his rectory. He then
obtained licence from the bishop of Gloucester to practise
physic, which he did with much success for some years,
residing at Pitchcomb, near Stroud, where he had an
estate. In the commencement of the rebellion, he was
called to be one of the assembly of divines, but did not
accept the offer. Wood thinks he was restored to his benefice at this time, or had another conferred upon him,
which we believe was Pitchcomb, where he died Sept. 21,
1656, and was buried in the church there. Clarke informs
us that for some time he attended the court of James I.
until the death of sir Thomas Overbury, who was his particular friend. His principal works are, 1. “Temptations,
their nature, danger, and cure, &c.
” Lond. Apology
” against some exceptions, Remains, being an useful Appendix to the former,
”
Tentamen medicum de variolis,
” and some other tracts.
ghly displeased the protestants that they hindered the impression of it; till John Capellus, who was his son, and afterwards turned papist, got leave of the king to
Capellus composed another work, entitled “Critics, Sacra;
” fol. which so highly displeased the protestants that
they hindered the impression of it; till John Capellus,
who was his son, and afterwards turned papist, got leave
of the king to print it at Paris in 1650. This work is a
collection of various readings and errors, which he thought
were crept into the copies of the Bible, through the fault
of the transcribers, and must have been a work of prodigious labour, since the author acknowledges, that he had
been thirty-six years about it. The younger Buxtorf wrote
a learned answer to it, and some English protestants have
also appeared against it: but Grotius, on the other side,
very much commends it in an epistle to the author; where
he tells him to be content with the judicious approbation
of a few, rather than the blind applause of many readers.
“Contentus esto,
” says he, “magnis potius quam multis
laudatoribus.
” Father Simon quotes a letter which Morinus wrote to cardinal Francis Barbarini on the subject of
his “Critrca Sacra,
” in which he intimates that they would
do Capellus a kindness in condemning his book, because it
had procured him the hatred of his own party; but that
at the same time it would be prejudicial to the Roman
catholic 1 cause, which those “Critica
” were thought to
support. This letter was printed in England, and added
to a collection of letters entitled “Bibliotheca Orientalis.
”
Capellus died at Saumur, June 16, 1658, aged almost
eighty having made an abridgment of his life in his work
“De gente Capellorum.
”
and “La Ninnetta,” published at Venice in 1605. A collection -of his poems, with the observations of his son Charles, was published at Venice in 1656 and 1662.
, an Italian poet and governor
of Atri in the kingdom of Naples, was born at Perugia in
]530. He wrote a satirical poem on courts and courtiers,
which procured him much reputation, while his circle of
friends- and admirers was greatly enlarged by. the vivacity
and pleasantry of his conversation. Among the number of
his patrons was Ascanio, marquis of Coria, at whose house
he died in 1601. He wrote also some poems of the romantic class, as his “Life of Maecenas,
” left unfinished,
and two comedies, viz. “Lo Seiocco,
” and “La Ninnetta,
” published at Venice in
may be seen in Dibdin. Capperonnier also contributed various papers to the academy of inscriptions. His son, a very learned young man, who had also a place in the royal
, nephew of the preceding,
was born at Mondidier in 1716, and died at Paris in 1775.
He was a member of the academy of inscriptions, professor
of Greek in the royal college, to which he succeeded on
his uncle’s death, and librarian to the king. He inherited
much of his uncle’s taste for classical studies, and was not
less esteemed for his private character. He published, 1.
an edition of Joinville’s “History of St. Lewis,
” Paris,
Anacreon,
” Csesaris Opera,
” Paris,
Barbou, Plautus,
” with a good
glossary, by Valart, Sophocles,
”
prepared by our author, but published after his death by
Vauvilliers, Paris, 1781, 2 vols. 4to. An ample account
of this edition may be seen in Dibdin. Capperonnier also
contributed various papers to the academy of inscriptions.
His son, a very learned young man, who had also a place
in the royal library, was unfortunately drowned a few years
ago, while sailing in a pleasure-boat with some friends.
apriata in his life-time, from 1613 to 1644; and the third part, extending to 1660, was published by his son after his death. The whole was translated into English by
, a Genoese advocate, who lived in the seventeenth century, and acquired much fame as a lawyer, is now only known as a historian. His Italian history comprehends the transactions that occurred in Italy during his own time, which he has related with clearness, and with sagacity traced to their causes; maintaining at the same time, as he says, a perfect impartiality between the powers of France and Spain, that were concerned in them. The two first parts of this history were published by Capriata in his life-time, from 1613 to 1644; and the third part, extending to 1660, was published by his son after his death. The whole was translated into English by Henry earftrfTVloninoutb, and published Lond. 1663, fol.
ished from a manuscript in the possession of the late earl of Corke and Orrery, in 1759, 8vo. Henry, his son, was born in 1596, admitted a fellow commoner of Exeter
, earl of Monmouth, was the eldest
son of Robert, the first earl of Monmouth, who died in
1639, and whose “Memoirs,
” written by himself, and
containing some curious particulars of secret history of the
Elizabethan period, were published from a manuscript in
the possession of the late earl of Corke and Orrery, in
1759, 8vo. Henry, his son, was born in 1596, admitted
a fellow commoner of Exeter college, Oxford, at the age
of fifteen, and took the degree of B. A. in 1613, after
which he was sent to travel into foreign countries. In 1616
he was made a knight of the bath at the creation of Charles
prince of Wales. In 1625 he was known by the name of
lord Lepington, his father’s title before he was created earl
of Monmouth, and was noted, Wood says, as “a person
well skilled in modern languages, and a general scholar.
”
This taste for study was his consolation when the depression of the nobility after the death of Charles I. threw many
of them into retirement. He died June 13, 1661. In
Chauncey’s Hertfordshire is the inscription on his monument
in the church at Rickmansworth, which mentions his living
forty-one years in marriage, with his countess, Martha,
daughter of the lord treasurer Middlesex. He was a
most laborious writer, but chiefly of translations, and, as
lord Orford observes, seems to have distrusted his abilities,
and to have made the fruits of his studies his amusement
rather than his method of fame. Of his lordship’s publications we have, 1. “Romulus and Tarquin; or De Principe
et Tyranno,
” Lond. Fragmenta Aurea,
” and others were prefixed by
Stapylton, Davenant, Carew, &c. It came to a third edition in 1648. 2. “Speech in the house of peers, Jan.
30, 1641, upon occasion of the present distractions, and
of his Majesty’s removal from Whitehall,
” London, Historical relations of the United Provinces, and of
Flanders,
” London, History of the Wars in Flanders,
” ibid. ibid. 1656, fol. from Boccalini. 6.
” Politic Discourses, in six books,“ibid. 1657, fol. 7.
” History of Venice,“ibid. 1658, fol. both from Paul Paruta, a noble Venetian. 8.
” The use of Passions,“ibid.
1649 and 1671, 8vo, from the French of J. F. Senault. 9.
” Man become guilty or the corruption of his nature by
sin,“ibid, from the same author. 10.
” The History of
the late Wair of Christendom,“1641, fol. which lord Orford thinks is the same work with his translation of
” Sir
Francis Biondi’s History of the Civil Wars of England,
between the houses of York and Lancaster.“11.
” Capriata’s “History of Italy,
” Priorato’s History of
France,
” but died before he could finish it. It was completed by William Brent, esq. and printed at London,
1677.
s to his claim to the honour of having composed our great national air of “God save the King,” which his son, the subject of the next article, frequently brought forward,
As Carey was an entertaining companion, he shared the
fate of those who mistake the roar of the table for friendship. At first, however, he was not altogether disappointed.
The publication of his songs in 1740 in a collection entitled “The Musical Century,
” and of his dramatic works in
God save the
King,
” which his son, the subject of the next article, frequently brought forward, Dr. Burney is of opinion that it
was of prior date, written for James II. while the prince
of Orange was hovering over the coast; and when the latter became king, was forgot. It is certain that in 1745,
when Dr. Arne harmonized it for Drury-lane theatre, and
Dr. Burney for Covent-garden, the original author of the
melody was wholly unknown. The writer of a “Succinct
Account
” of Carey, says that he was the principal projector of the fund for decayed musicians, which was held,
when first established, at the Turk’s head in Gerrard- street,
Soho.
losophy on a new plan, but did not live to see it completed, as he died at Glasgow in 1738, aged 56. His son Frederick Carmichael was born at Monimail i<i 1708. He received
was born at Glasgow in 1682, and educated in the university of that city,
where he took his degrees, and was ordained minister at
Monimail in Fifcshire. In 1722 he was promoted to be
professor of moral philosophy in the university of Glasgow;
and for the use of his students wrote some learned notes
on “PufYendorfi de officiis hominis.
” He intended to
have published a system of moral philosophy on a new
plan, but did not live to see it completed, as he died at
Glasgow in 1738, aged 56. His son Frederick Carmichael was born at Monimail i<i 1708. He received his
education in the Marischal college, Aberdeen, where he
took his degrees, and was ordained minister at Monimail
in 1737, on the presentation of the earl of Leven. In
1743 he was translated to Inveresk; and in 1747 he was
elected one of the ministers of Edinburgh, having previously declined an offer made him of the divinity chair in
the Marischal college, Aberdeen. In 1751 he was seized i
with a fever, which put an end to his life, aged 45. He
has left one volume of sermons, which in justness of sentiment and elegance of expression are equal to the best discourses in the English language.
the parish church of Owselbury in Hampshire, where a monument of marble was erected to his memory by his son, the late lord Carpenter, who was the only issue he left.
, baron of Killaghy in the kingdom of Ireland, descended from an ancient and good family in Herefordshire, was born at Pitchers Ocul in that county, February 10, 1657. His father was Mr. Warncomb Carpenter, sixth son of Thomas Carpenter, esq, of the Homme or Holme, in the parish of Dilwyn in Herefordshire. His mother was daughter to Mr. Taylor of the same county, and widow to Mr. John Hill, by whom she had one son. George lord Carpenter was the youngest of seven children, whom his father left at his death, and was educated at a private school in the country. In 1672 he went into the third troop of guards as a private gentleman, and was afterwards appointed quarter-master to the regiment of horse commanded by the earl of Peterborough, and went through the several posts of cornet, lieutenant, captain, &c. till he was advanced to that of lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, in which commission he continued thirteen years, though the regiment was almost coastantly in service. In 1693 he married Alice, daughter of William lord viscount Charlemont, who having a considerable jointure from her first husband James Margetson, esq. by the sale of part of it for her life he was enabled to purchase the regiment of dragoons which he commanded till his death. He served in all the first wars in Ireland and Flanders, and the last in Spain, with unblemished honour and reputation, and distinguished himself to great advantage by his courage, conduct, and humanity. At the unfortunate battle of Almanza in Spain he commanded the rear, and brought up the last squadron in the retreat, which saved the baggage of the army. At the battle of Almenara he was wounded, but received the compliments of Charles then king of Spain, and afterwards emperor of Germany, for his conduct in the engagement. He was again desperately wounded in defending the breach at Britmega against the whole French and Spanish army, where they "were at last taken prisoners. In 1705 he was made a brigadier-general; in 1708 major-general; and in 1710 lieutenant-general. In 1714 he was chosen member of parliament for Whitchurch in Hampshire; and the year following was appointed envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the emperor, whose personal regard and esteem he had gained while he served under that prince in Spain. But the rebellion breaking out that year, he was sent into the North, where he not only prevented the rebels from seizing Newcastle, and marching into Yorkshire, but having overtaken them at Preston, where they were invested by major-general Wills, he, by altering the disposition which that general had made, cut off entirely both their escape and their receiving any supplies, which immediately reduced them to a capitulation. In the beginning of February 1715-16 he sent a challenge to general Wills, but they were prevented from fighting by the interposition of the dukes of Marlborough and Montague. In 1716 he was appointed governor of 'Minorca, and commander in chief of his majesty’s forces in Scotland; and in 1719 was created baron Carpenter of Killaghy in the kingdom of Ireland. In 1722 he was chosen member of parliament for the city of Westminster, and upon all occasions voted for what he thought to be the real good of his country, without any regard to party. In October 1731 being near seventy-four years of age, he began to labour under the failure of appetite, and having had a fall, by which his teeth were loosened on that side which had not been wounded, he was capable of taking but little nourishment, which together with old age, and a decay of nature, put an end to his life February 10, 1731-2. He was interred near his beloved wife in the chancel of the parish church of Owselbury in Hampshire, where a monument of marble was erected to his memory by his son, the late lord Carpenter, who was the only issue he left.
e of Cornwall, was at that time rector of this place, and author of some sermons enumerated by Wood. His son, after a private education, was entered of Edmund hall,
, an English clergyman o great learning and parts, was born in the parsonage-house of North- Lew (not Northlegh, as Wood says), near Hatherlegh, in Devonshire, Feb. 7, 1588. His father, John Carpenter, a native of Cornwall, was at that time rector of this place, and author of some sermons enumerated by Wood. His son, after a private education, was entered of Edmund hall, Oxford; and in 1607, by the casting vote of the vice-chancellor, was elected fellow of Exeter college, to which he removed, and became distinguished as a logician, mathematician, and philosopher.- He took his degree of B. A. in 1610, of M. A. in 1613, and of B. D. in 1620, and soon after completing his master’s degree, entered into holy orders, and had the reputation of a very popular divine. About 1626 he became acquainted with
emiah Collier, in preaching to a nonjuring congregation in Broad-street, London; but this belongs to his son. It is certain that Mr. Samuel Carte spent the latter part
, an English divine, was the son of
Thomas Carte, a clothier at Coventry, where he was born.
October 21, 1652, or 1653, and in the free-school of which
place he received his grammatical education. He was afterwards removed to Magdalen college, Oxford, where he
took his degree of B. A. 1672; and M. A. 1675. After he
entered into holy orders he had several preferments, the
chief of which were, a prebend in the cathedral church of
Litchfield, the rectory of Eastwell in Leicestershire, and,
last of all, the vicarage of St. Martin’s, in the town of Leicester. It has been supposed that he resigned his preferments
at the accession of king George the First, and that at one
time he assisted the celebrated Jeremiah Collier, in preaching to a nonjuring congregation in Broad-street, London;
but this belongs to his son. It is certain that Mr. Samuel
Carte spent the latter part of his life on his living at Leicester, where he died on the 16th of April, 1740, in the eightyseventh year of his age. A high, and, we doubt not, a
just character is given of him, in an inscription to his memory in the chancel of St. Martin’s church. He published
two sermons, and “Tabula Chronologica Archiepiscopatuum
et Episcopatuum in Anglia et Wallia, Ortus, Divisiories,
TransUuiones, &c. breviter exhibens; una cum Indice alphabetioo Nominum, quibus apucl Authores insigniuntur,
”
folio, without date. Part of a letter of his on a tesselated
pavement at Leicester is in Phil. Trans. No. 331, and his
account of Leicester is in the Bib]. Top. Britannica. Those
eminent antiquaries, Dr. Willis and Mr. Stukeley, acknowledged his assistance and correspondence.
spending a good estate, was reduced to keep an inn at Cirencester; at the free-school of which town his son was educated under Mr. William Topp. Being chosen a king’s
, an English poet of the
seventeenth century, was born at Northway near Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, Sept. 1611. His father, after
spending a good estate, was reduced to keep an inn at
Cirencester; at the free-school of which town his son was
educated under Mr. William Topp. Being chosen a king’s
scholar, he was removed to Westminster school, under
Dr. Osbaldiston, and thence elected a student of Christ
church, Oxford, in 1628. After pursuing his studies, with
the reputation of an extraordinary scholar and genius,
he took his master’s degree in 1635, and in 1638 went
into holy orders, becoming “a most florid and seraphical
preacher in the university.
” One sermon only of his is in
print, from which we are not able to form a very high
notion of his eloquence; but whdn Mr. Abraham Wright,
of St. John’s, Oxford, compiled that scarce little book,
entitled “Five Sermons in five several styles, or ways of
Preaching,
” it appears that Dr. Maine and Mr. Cartwright
were of consequence enough to be admitted as specimens
of university preaching. The others are bishop Andrews’,
bishop Hall’s, the presbyterian and independent “ways
of preaching.
”
In 1642, bishop Duppa, with whom he lived in the
strictest intimacy, bestowed on him the place of succentur
of the church of Salisbury. In the same year he was one
of the council of war or delegacy, appointed by the university of Oxford, for providing for the troops sent by the
king- to protect the colleges. His zeal in this office occasioned his being imprisoned by the parliamentary forces
when they arrived at Oxford, but he was bailed soon after.
In 1643, he was chosen junior proctor of the university,
and was also reader in metaphysics. “The exposition of
them,
” says Wood, “was never better performed than by
him and his predecessor Thomas Barlow, of Queen’s college.
” Lloyd asserts that he studied at the rate of sixteen
hours a day. From such diligence and talents much might
have been expected, but he survived the last- mentioned
appointments a very short time, dying on December 23,
1643, in the thirty-second year of his age, of a malignant
fever, called the camp disease, which then prevailed at
Oxford. He was honourably interred towards the upper
end of the south aile of the cathedral of Christ church.
th countess of Huntingdon,” which is in Wilford’s Memorials. The letter to the king was in behalf of his son, the subject of the following article; who, for challenging
, afterwards created viscount Falkland,
and descended from the family of the Gary’s, of Cockington, in Devonshire, was the son of sir Edward Gary, of
Betkhamsted and Aldenham, in the county of Hertford,
knight, master of the Jewel-office to queen Elizabeth and
king James I. by Catherine his wife, daughter of sir Henry
Knevet, knight, and widow of Henry lord Paget. He was
born at Aldenham; and, when about sixteen years of age,
was sent to Exeter-college in Oxford, where it does not
appear he took any degree: but when he quitted the university, he left behind a celebrated name. Soon after, he
was introduced to court; and in 1608, made one of the
knights of the bath at the creation of Henry prince of
Wales. In 1617, he was sworn in comptroller of his majesty’s houshold, and one of his privy-council: and on
the 10th of November, 1620, was created viscount of Falkland, in the county of Fife, in Scotland. King James I.
knowing his great abilities and experience, constituted
him lord deputy of Ireland; into which high office he was
sworn, September 18, 1622; and continued in it till 1629.
During his administration, he kept a strict hand over. the
Roman catholics in that kingdom; who sent frequent complaints to the court of England against him, and though
he proceeded very honourably and justly, yet by the clamour of the Irish, and the prevailing power of his Popish
enemies, he was removed in disgrace; but his innocence
being afterwards vindicated, this affront was in some measure atoned for by the subsequent t'avour of the king. At
his return to England, he lived in honour and esteem, till
1633; when having the misfortune to break one of his
legs, on a stand in TheobaldVpark, he died in September and was buried at Aldenham. He married Elizabeth,
sole daughter andheir of sir Laurence Tanfield, chief
baron of the exchequer, with whom he had the manor of
Great Tew, Burford, and other estates in Oxfordshire.
He is said to have written many things, which never were
published, except, 1. “The History of the most unfortunate prince, king Edward II.
” found among his papers,
and printed in 1680, fol. and 8vo, with a preface of sir
James Harrington; at a time, says Wood, “when the
press was open for all books that could make any thing
against the then government.
” 2. “A Letter to James I.
”
and an “Epitaph on Elizabeth countess of Huntingdon,
”
which is in Wilford’s Memorials. The letter to the king
was in behalf of his son, the subject of the following article; who, for challenging sir Francis Willoughby, had
been thrown into the Meet. It was printed in the “Cabala.
” In the Harl. ms. 1581, there are four original
letters from lord Falkland to the duke of Buckingham.
raged, and himself expell'd; Let him for succour sue from place to place, Torn from his subjects and his son’s embrace, &c.
Oppressed with numbers in the unequal field, His men discouraged, and himself expell'd; Let him for succour sue from place to place, Torn from his subjects and his son’s embrace, &c.
other had been to the king’s; being the following expressions of Evander, upon the untimely death of his son Pallas, JEn. xi. 152.
King Charles seeming concerned at this accident, the lord Falkland, who observed it, would likewise try his own fortune in the same manner; hoping he might fall upon some passage that could have no relation to his case, and thereby divert the king’s thoughts from any impression the other might make upon him: but the place lord Falkland stumbled upon was yet more suited to his destiny, than the other had been to the king’s; being the following expressions of Evander, upon the untimely death of his son Pallas, JEn. xi. 152.
ini that on the south side. The latter was assisted in 1700 in the continuation of this operation by his son, our author. The same work was farther continued by the
Although astronomy was the principal object of our author’s consideration, he made occasional excursions into other fields. We owe also to him, for example, Experiments on Electricity, or the light produced by bodies by friction; Experiments on the recoil of fire-arms; Researches on the rise of the mercury in the barometer at different heights above the level of the sea; Reflections on the perfecting of burning-glasses; and other memoirs. The French academy had properly judged that one of its most important objects was the measurement of the earth. In 1669, Picard measured a little more than a degree of latitude to the north of Paris; but as that extent appeared too small from which to conclude the whole circumference with sufficient accuracy, it was resolved to continue that measurement on the meridian of Paris to the north and south, through the whole extent of the country. Accordingly, in 1683, the late M. de la Hire continued that on the north side of Paris, and the older Cassini that on the south side. The latter was assisted in 1700 in the continuation of this operation by his son, our author. The same work was farther continued by the same academicians; and finally the part left unfinished by de la Hire in the north, was finished in 1718 by our author, with the late Maraldi, and de la Hire the younger.
His son, Francesco Castiglione, was the disciple of his father,
His son, Francesco Castiglione, was the disciple of his father, and was born at Genoa. He inherited in a very considerable degree the talents of his father, and imitated his style and manner exactly in composition, handling, and design. Many pictures ascribed to Benedetto, and occurring in sales and collections, are thought to be copies after him by his son Francesco, or perhaps originals of the younger Castiglione.
opinion of him, and had so much confidence in him, that, dying soon after, he committed the care of his son and the management of his estate to him. So great a trust
, a celebrated Italian general, was born at Lucca, in Tuscany, in 1284; where,
it is said, he was taken up one morning accidentally in a
vineyard, where he had been laid and covered with leaves;
but others deduce him from an ancient and great family.
The former account, however, goes on to inform us that
he was found by Dianora, a wi.iow lady, and sister of Antonio, a canon ot rft Michael in Lucca, who was descended
from the illustrious family of the Castracani. Antonio be ing
priest, and Dianora having no children, they determined
to bring him up, christened him Castruccio, by the name
of their father, and educated him as carefully as if he had
been their own. Antonio designed him for a priest, and
accordingly trained him to letters; but Castruccio was
scarcely fourteen years old when he began to neglect his
books, and to devote himself to military exercises, to
wrestling, running, and other athletic sports, which very
well suited his great strength of body. At that time the
two great factions, the Guelfs and Ghibilins, shared all
Italy between them, divided the popes and the emperors,
and engaged in their different interests, not only the members of the same town, but even the members of the same
family. Francisco, a considerable man on the side of the
Ghibilins, observing one day in the market-place, the uncommon spirit and qualities of Castruccio, prevailed with
Antonio to let him turn soldier. As nothing could be more
agreeable to the inclination of Castruccio, he presently
became accomplished in every thing which could adorn his
profession. He was eighteen years old when the faction
of the Guelfs drove the Ghibilins out of Pavia, and was
then made a lieutenant of a company of foot, by Francisco
Guinigi, of whom the prince of Milan had solicited succours. The first campaign this new lieutenant made, he
gave such proofs of his courage and conduct, as spread
his fame all over Lombardy; and Guinigi conceived such
an opinion of him, and had so much confidence in him,
that, dying soon after, he committed the care of his son
and the management of his estate to him. So great a trust
and administration made Castruccio more considerable than
before but at the same time created him many enemies,
and lost him some friends for, knowing him to be of an
high and enterprising spirit, many began to fancy his
views were to empire, and to oppress the liberty of his
country. He went on still, however, to distinguish himself by military exploits, and at last raised so much jealousy in his chief commander, that he was imprisoned by
stratagem, with a view of being put to death; but the
people of Lucca soon released him, and in a short time
after, solemnly chose him their sovereign prince, and there
were not then, either in Lombardy or Tuscany, any of the
Ghibilins who did not look upon Castruccio as the true
head of their faction. Those who were banished their
country upon that account fled to him for protection, and
promised unanimously, that if he could restore them to
their estates, they would serve him so effectually, that
the sovereignty of their country should be his reward.
Flattered by these promises, and encouraged by the
strength of his forces, he entertained a design of making
himself master of Tuscany; and to give more reputation
to his affairs, he entered into a league with the prince of
Milan. He kept his army constantly on foot, and employed
it as suited best with his own designs. For the services he
did the pope he was made senator of Rome with more than
ordinary ceremony. The day of his promotion, he came
forth in a habit suitable to his dignity, but enriched with
a delicate embroidery, and with two devices artificially
wrought in, one before, the other behind. The former
was in these words, “He is as it pleases God
” the latter,
“And shall be what God will have him.
” While Castruccio was at Rome, news was brought him which obliged
him to return in all haste to Lucca. The Florentines were
making war upon him, and had already done him some
damage; and conspiracies were forming against him as an
usurper, at Pisa and in several places; but Castruccio
surmounted all these difficulties, and the supreme authority of Tuscany was just falling into his hands, when a
period was put to his progress and his life. An army of
30,000 foot and 10,000 horse appeared against him in
May 1328. Of these he destroyed 22,000, with the loss
of not quite 1600 of his own men, and was returning from
the field of battle; but, happening to halt a little for the
sake of thanking and caressing his soldiers as they passed
fi,red with an action as fatiguing as glorious, and covered
with sweat, a north wind blew upon him, and affected him
so, that he fell immediately into a fit of ague. At first he
neglected it, believing himself sufficiently hardened against
such attacks; but the fit increasing, and with it the fever,
his physicians gave him over, and he died in a few days.
He was in his forty-fourth year; and from the time he
came to appear first in the world, he always, as well in his
good as bad fortune, expressed the same steadiness and
equality of spirit. As he left several monuments of his
good fortune behind him, so he was not ashamed to leave
some memorials of his adversity. Thus, when he was delivered from the imprisonment above-mentioned, he caused
the irons with which he was loaded, to be hung in the most
public room of his palace, where they were to be seen
many years after.
de when grand duke, to marry her, place her, in the room of Catherine, on the throne, and bastardize his son Paul, whose place he was to supply by adopting prince Ivan,
Peter’s conduct, on the other hand, was mere infatuation.
He permitted his mistress the countess Woronzoff to have
the most complete ascendancy over him, and this woman
had the hardihood to claim the performance of a promise
which he had made when grand duke, to marry her, place
her, in the room of Catherine, on the throne, and bastardize his son Paul, whose place he was to supply by
adopting prince Ivan, who had been dethroned by the empress Elizabeth. Whatever ground he might have for
expecting success to this wild project, he had not the sense
to conceal it; and his mistress openly made her boast of it.
Such indiscretion was, no doubt, in favour of Catherine^
but still the part she had to play required all her skill. It
was no less than a plot to counteract that of her husband,
and dethrone him. The minute details of this would extend too far in a sketch like the present; her conspirators
were numerous, secret, and well prepared, and by their
means she, who had been confined at Peterhof by her husband, was enabled to enter Petersburgh July 9, 1762,
where she was received as empress, and where, while the
enthusiasm was fresh in the minds of her troops and subjects, she was crowned in the church of Kazan, by the
archbishop of Novogorod, who proclaimed her with a loud
voice, sovereign of all the Russias, by the title of Catherine II. and declared at the same time the young grand
duke, Paul Petrovitch, her successor. But of all this
Peter III. had yet no suspicion. Such was his security,
that he set out, after having received some intimations of
the conspiracy, from Oranienbaum in a calash with his
mistress, his favourites, and the women of his court, for
Peterhof; but in the way, Gudovitch, the general aidede-camp, met one of the chamberlains of the empress, by
whom he was informed of her escape from Peterhof; and
upon his communicating the intelligence to Peter, he
turned pale, and appeared much agitated. On his arrival
at Peterhof, his agitation and confusion increased, when
he found that the empress had actually left the palace,
and he soon received the certain tidings of the revolution
that had been accomplished; and the chancellor Worouzof
offered his services to hasten to Petersburgh, engaging to
bring the empress back. The chancellor, on entering the
palace, found Catherine surrounded by a multitude of
people in the act of doing homage; and forgetting his
duty, he took the oath with the rest. He was permitted,
however, at his earnest request, to return to his house,
under the guard of some trusty officers; and thus secured
himself from the vindictive spirit of the partisans of Catherine, and from the suspicions of the czar. After the departure of the chancellor, Peter became a prey to the most
distressing anxieties, and he every instant received some
fresh intelligence of the progress of the revolution, but
knew not what steps to pursue. Although his Holstein
guards were firmly attached to him, and the veteran marshal Munich offered to risk every thing for his service, he
remained hesitating and undetermined; and after some
fruitless attempts, he found it absolutely necessary to submit unconditionally to her will, in consequence of which
he was compelled to sign a most humiliating act of abdication, in which he declared his conviction of his inability
to govern the empire, either as a sovereign, or in any other
capacity, and his sense of the distress in which his continuance at the head of affairs would inevitably involve it,
and in the evening an officer with a strong escort came
and conveyed him prisoner to Ropscha, a small imperial
palace, at the distance of about 20 versts from Peterhof.
He now sent a message to Catherine, requesting, that he
might retain in his service the negro who had been attached
to him, and who amused him with his singularities, together with a dog, of which he was fond, his violin, a Bible,
and a few romances; assuring her, that, disgusted at the
wickedness of mankind, he would henceforward devote
himself to a philosophical life. Not one of these requests
was granted. After he had been at Ropscha six days without the knowledge of any persons besides the chiefs of the
conspirators, and the soldiers by whom he was guarded,
Alexius Orlof, accompanied by Teplof, came to him with
the news of his speedy deliverance, and asked permission
to dine with him. While the officer amused the czar with
some trifling discourse, his chief rilled the wine-glasses,
which are usually brought in the northern countries before
dinner, and poured a poisonous mixture into that which
he intended for the prince. The czar, without distrust,
swallowed the potion; on which he was seized with the
most excruciating pains; and on his being offered a second glass, on pretence of its giving him relief, he refused
it with reproaches on him that offered it. Being pressed
to take another glass, when he called for milk, a French
valet-de-chamhre, who was greatly attached to him, ran
in; and throwing himself into his arms, he said in a faint
tone of \oice, “It was not enough, then, to prevent me
from reigning in Sweden, and to deprive me of the crown
of Russia! I must also be put to death.
” The valet-dechamhre interceded in his behalf; but the two miscreant
forced him out of the room, and continued their ill treatment of him. In the midst of the tumult, the younger of
the princes Baratinsky, who commanded the guard, entered; Orlof, who in a struggle had thrown down the emperor, was pressing upon his breast with both his knees,
and firmly griping his throat with his hand. In this situation the two other assassins threw a napkin with a running knot round his neck, and put an end to his life by
suffocation, July 17th, just one week after the revolution;
and it was announced to the nation, that Peter had died
of an haemorrhoidal colic. When Catherine received the
news of Peter’s death, she appeared at court, whither she
was going, with a tranquil air; and afterwards shut herself
up with Orlof, Panin, Rasumofsky, and others who had
been concerned in her counterplot, and resolved to inform
the senate and people next day of the death of the emperor. On this occasion she did not forget her part, but
rose from her seat with her eyes full of tears, and for some
days exhibited all the marks of profound grief. The best
part of her conduct was, that she showed no resentment to
the adherents of Peter, and even pardoned the countess
Woronzoff.
uke, as a memorial of his services. Her majesty likewise expressed her approbation of the conduct of his son, by conferring on him the same title, and ordering him to
In 1764, when the throne of Poland had become vacant by the death of Augustus III. in the October of the preceding year, Catherine displayed her political talents and influence in the advancement of her early favourite count Poiu'atowsky to that dignity. At this time she made a tour through Esthonia, Livonia, and Courland; but during her absence on this expedition, an insurrection broke out in the prison of the dethroned Ivan, which threatened the stability of her own throne. But this was soon quelled by the murder of that unhappy prince. What share the empress had in this affair is not very clear, but the event was certainly in her favour, and she now proceeded in her improvements, and in the establishment of useful institutions, endeavouring to soften the manners of her subjects by instruction. She also seemed determined to be at once both conqueror and legislatrix, and it is certain that the laws of the Russian empire were much simplified under her reign, and the administration of justice rendered milder and more impartial. Her purpose was to form a solid, and not an arbitrary legislation. Her whole plan was directed to prevent all those who governed under her from exercising a capricious and cruel authority, by subjecting them to invariable laws, which no authority should be able to infringe, but in this, when they were at a distance, she was not always successful. She also continued to cultivate and encourage the arts and sciences; to make her empire an asylum to the learned and ingenious and the transit of Vqihis, which happened in 1769, afforded an opportunity of exhibiting as well the munificence of Catherine as the attention she paid to astronomy. About the middle of the year 1767, the empress conceived the useful project of sending several learned men to travel into the interior of her immense territories, for the purpose of determining the geographical position of the principal places, of marking their temperature, and of examining into the nature of their soil, their productions, their wealth, as well as the manners and characters of the several people by whom they are inhabited. The selection of the learned travellers destined for this expedition, the helps that were granted them, and the excellent instructions that were given them, will be a lasting honour to the academy of sciences, by which they were appointed. About this time, viz. in 1768, the court of Catherine became the asylum of the sciences, to which she invited learned men from every part of Europe. She encouraged artists and scholars of all denominations; she granted new privileges to the academy of sciences, and exhorted the members to add the names of several celebrated foreigners to those which already conferred a lustre on their society. Nor was she less attentive to the academy of arts, by increasing the number of its pupils, and adding such regulations as tended more than ever to the attainment of the end for which it was endowed. For the further encouragement of the fine arts in her dominions, the empress assigned an annual sum of 5000 rubles for the translation of foreign works into the Russian language. The improvement of the state of physic was another important object of her concern; and in order to give the highest possible sanction to the salutary practice of inoculating for the small pox, she herself submitted to the operation under the care of an English practitioner, and she persuaded the grand duke to follow her example. In 1768, Dr. T Dimsdale, of Hertford, was invited to Russia for the purpose of introducing inoculation:. upon the recovery of trie grand duke, Catherine rewarded his services by creating him a baron of the Russian empire, and appointed him counsellor of state and physician to her imperial majesty, with a pension of 500l. a year, to be paid him in England; besides 10,000l. sterling, which he immediately received; and she also presented him with a miniatnre picture of herself, and another of the grand duke, as a memorial of his services. Her majesty likewise expressed her approbation of the conduct of his son, by conferring on him the same title, and ordering him to be presented with a superb gold snuff-box, richly set with diamonds. On December 3, 1768, a thanksgiving service was performed in the chapel of the palace on account of her majesty’s recovery and that of the grand duke from the small-pox: and the senate decreed, that this event should be solemnized by an anniversary festival, which has been regularly observed ever since.
æsar, he advised his friends to leave him, and throw themselves on Cæsar’s mercy. They complied, and his son only, and a young man, Statilius, who was remarkable for
On one occasion, to keep out a very bad man, he was a candidate for the tribunate. He afterwards laboured to bring about an agreement between Cæsar and Pompey, but seeing it in vain, he sided with the latter. When Pompey was slain, he fled to Utica, and being pursued by Cæsar, he advised his friends to leave him, and throw themselves on Cæsar’s mercy. They complied, and his son only, and a young man, Statilius, who was remarkable for his hatred of Cæsar, remained with him. The execution of the purpose which Cato had formed with regard to himself has furnished Addison with the story of his interesting tragic poem, called Cato, which has particularly familiarized the history of Cato to English readers. Notwithstanding the interference of his friends, and particularly of his son, who by every method endeavoured to dissuade him from the resolution he had taken to dispatch himself rather than fall into Cæsar’s hands, he committed suicide in the fortyeighth year of his age, after some deliberation, and after twice reading Plato’s dialogue on the immortality of the soul an instance which has been imitated since in too many cases of political disappointment, and in the absence of all moral and religious principle. But, as Brucker has observed, it should be remembered, that the situation of Cato, in concurrence with his stoical principles, strongly impelled him to the fatal deed; and that whatever censure he may deserve on this account, he supported, through his whole life, a character of inflexible integrity and uncorrupted public spirit. Whilst he lived, he held up before his fellow-citizens a pattern of manly virtue; and when he died, he taught the conquerors of the world that the noble mind can never be subdued.
r strength and rustic intrepidity. He lived to a great age, and was in his latter years supported by his son.
, a printer to whom the literary world owes great obligations, was born at Newton, in Warwickshire, Feb. 29, 1691. His father (Joseph) was the younger son of Mr. Edward Cave, of Cave’s in the Hole, a lone house on the street-road in the same county, which took its name from the occupier; but having concurred with his elder brother in cutting off the entail of a small hereditary estate, by which act it was lost from the family, he was reduced to follow in Rugby the trade of a shoemaker. He was a man of good reputation in his narrow circle, and remarkable for strength and rustic intrepidity. He lived to a great age, and was in his latter years supported by his son.
. April 1705 he attended her majesty to Cambridge, and was there created LL. D. In 1706, himself and his son the marquis of Harrington were in the number of English
In the case of sir John Fenwick, though he had a conviction of his guilt, yet he was so averse to any extraordinary judicial proceedings, that he opposed the bill, as
he did likewise another bill for the resumption of the forfeited estates in Ireland. At the accession of queen Anne,
he was confirmed in all his offices. April 1705 he attended her majesty to Cambridge, and was there created
LL. D. In 1706, himself and his son the marquis of
Harrington were in the number of English peers appointed
commissioners for concluding an union with Scotland; this
was the last of his public employments. He died August
18, 1707. His mien and aspect were engaging and commanding: his address and conversation civil and courteous
in the highest degree. He judged right in the supreme
court; and on any important affair his speeches were
smooth and weighty. As a statesman, his whole deportment came up to his noble birth and his eminent stations:
nor did he want any of what the world call accomplishments. He had a great skill in languages; and read the
Roman authors with great attention: Tacitus was his
favourite. He was a true judge of history, a critic in
poetry, and had a fine hand in music. He had an elegant
taste in painting, and all politer arts; and in architecture
in particular, a genius, skill, and experience beyond any
one person of his age; his house at Chatsworth being a
monument of beauty and magnificence that perhaps is not
exceeded by any palace in Europe. His grace’s genius for
poetry shewed itself particularly in two pieces that are published, and are allowed by the critics to be written with
equal spirit, dignity, and delicacy. 1. “An Ode on the
Death of queen Mary.
” 2. “An allusion to the bishop of
Cambray’s supplement to Homer.
” He married the lady
Mary, daughter of James duke of Ormond, by whom he
had three sons and a daughter.
entrance into Westminster-abbey, with an inscription suitable to his merits. His titles descended to his son Henry, earl of Ogle, who was the last heir male of this
, baron Ogle, viscount Mansfield, earl, marquis, and duke of Newcastle, one of the most accomplished persons, as well as one of the most able generals and most distinguished patriots of the age, was son of sir Charles Cavendish, youngest son of sir William Cavendish, and younger brother of the first earl of Devonshire, by Catherine, daughter of Cuthbert lord Ogle. He was born in 1592, and discovering great capacity in his infancy, his father had him educated with such success, that he early acquired a large stock of solid learning, to which he added the graces of politeness. This soon made him be taken notice of at the court of James I. where he was quickly distinguished by the king’s favour; and in 1610, was made knight of the bath, at the creation of Henry prince of Wales. In 1617, his father died, by which he came to the possession of a very large estate and having a great interest at court, he was by letters- patent, dated November 3, 1620, raised to the dignity of a peer of the realm, by the style and title of baron Ogle and viscount Mansfield; and having no less credit with Charles I. than with his father king James, was in* the third year of the reign of that prince advanced to the higher title of earl of Newcastle upon Tyne, and at the same time he was created baron Cavendish of Bolesover. Our genealogists and antiquaries give us but a very obscure account of these honours, or at least, of the barony of Ogle, to which, in the inscription upon his own and his grandmother the countess of Shrewsbury’s tomb, he is said to have succeeded in right of his mother. His attendance on the court, though it procured him honour, brought him very early into difficulties; and there is some reason to believe that he was not much liked by the great duke of Buckingham, who perhaps was apprehensive of the large share he had in his master’s favour. However, he did not suffer, even by that powerful favourite’s displeasure, but remained in full credit with his master; which was notwithstanding so far from being beneficial to him, that the services expected from him, and his constant waiting upon the king, plunged him very deeply in debt, though he had a large estate, of which we find him complaining heavily in his letters to his firm and steady friend the lord viscount Wentworth, afterwards earl of Strafford. But th&e difficulties never in the least discouraged him from doing his duty, or from testifying his zeal and loyalty, when the king’s service required it. In 1638, when it was thought requisite to take the prince of Wales, afterwards Charles II. from the nursery, the king made choice of the earl of Newcastle, as the person in his kingdom most fit to have the tuition of his heir-apparent and accordingly declared him governor to the prince. In the spring of 1639, the first troubles in Scotland broke out, which induced the king to assemble an army in the north; soon after which, he went down thither to put himself at the head of it; and in his way, was most splendidly entertained by the earl of Newcastle, at his noble seat at Welbeck, as he had been some years before when he went into that kingdom to be crowned; which though in itself a very trivial matter, yet such was the magnificence of this noble peer, that from the circumstances attending them, both these entertainments have found a place in general histories. But this was not the only manner in which he expressed his warm affection for his master. Such expeditions require great expences, and the king’s treasury was but indifferently provided, for the supply of which, the earl contributed ten thousand pounds, and also raised a troop of horse, consisting of about two hundred knights and gentlemen, who served at their own charge; and this was honoured with the title of the Prince’s troop. These services, however, rather heightened than lessened that envy borne to him by some great persons about the court, and the choice that had been made of his lordship for the tuition of the prince, which was at first so universally approved, began now to be called in question by those who meant very soon to call every thing in question. On this the earl desired to resign his office, which he did; and in June 1640, it was given to the marquis of Hertford. As his lordship took this step from the knowledge he had of the ill-will borne him by the chief persons amongst the disaffected, so he thought he could not take a better method to avoid the effects of their resentment, than to retire into the country; which accordingly. he did, and remained there quietly till he received his majesty’s orders to visit Hull; and though these came at twelve o'clock at night, his lordship went immediately thither, though forty miles distant, and entered the place with only two or three servants, early the next morning. He cffered his majesty to have secured for him that important fortress, and all the magazines that were there: but instead of receiving such a command as he expected, his majesty sent him instructions to obey whatever directions were sent him by the parliament; upon the heels of which, came their order for him to attend the service of the house; which he accordingly did, when a design was formed to have attacked him, but his general character was so good, that this scheme did not succeed. He now again retired into the country, but soon after, upon the king’s coming to York, his lordship was sent for thither; and in June 1642, his majesty gave him directions to take upon him the care of the town of Newcastle, and the command of the four adjacent counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Durham. These orders were easily issued, but they were not so easily to be carried into execution; for at this time, the king had not either money, forces, or ammunition; and yet there never was more apparent necessity, for at that juncture his majesty had not a single port open in his dominions; and if either the order had been delayed a few days, or had been^ sent to any other person, the design had certainly miscarried. But, as soon as he received his majesty’s commands, he repaired immediately to the place, and by his own interest there secured it: he raised also a troop of one hundred and twenty horse, and a good regiment; of foot, which secured him from any sudden attempts. Soon after, the queen, who was retired out of the kingdom, sent a supply of arms and ammunition, which being designed for the troops under the king’s command, the earl took care they should be speedily and safely conducted to his majesty under the escdVt of his only troop, which his majesty kept, to the great prejudice of his own affairs in the nor x th. The parliament, in the mean time, had not forgotten the earl’s behaviour towards them, but as a mark of their resentment excepted him by name; which was so far from discouraging, that it put his lordship upon a more decided part: and having well considered his own influence in those parts, he offered to raise an army in the north for his majesty’s service. On this the king gave him a commission, constituting him general of all the forces raised north of Trent; and likewise general and commander in chief of such as might be raised in the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, Lancaster, Chester, Leicester, Rutland, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex; with power to confer the honour of knighthood, coin money, and to print and set forth such declarations as should seem, to him expedient; of all which extensive powers, though freely conferred, and without reserve, his lordship made a very sparing use. But with respect to the more material point of raising men, his lordship prosecuted it with such diligence, that in less than three months he had an army of eight thousand horse, foot, and dragoons, with which be marched directly into Yorkshire; and his forces having defeated the enemy at Fierce-bridge, his lordship advanced to York, where sir Thomas Glen ham, the governor, presented him with the keys, and the earl of Cumberland and many of the nobility resorted thither to compliment and to assist his lordship. He did not long remain there; but, having placed a good garrison in the city, marched on towards Tadcaster, where the parliament forces were very advantageously posted. The design which the earl had formed, not only for reducing that 'place, hut for making the troops that were there prisoners, tailed, through the want of diligence in some of his officers; hut notwithstanding this, his lordship attacked the place so vigorously, that the enemy thought fit to retire, and leave him in possession of the hest part of Yorkshire. This advantage he improved to the utmost, hy estahiishing garrisons in proper places, particularly at Newark upon Trent, by which the greatest part of Nottinghamshire, and some part of Lincolnshire, were kept in obedience. In the beginning of 1643, his lordship gave orders for a great convoy of ammunition to be removed from Newcastle to York, under the escort of a body of horse, commanded by lieutenantgeneral King, a Scotch officer, whom his majesty had lately created lord Ethyn. The parliament forces attempted to intercept this convoy at Y arum-bridge, but were beaten on the 1st of February with a great loss. Soon after this, her majesty landing at Burlington, the earl drew his forces that way to cover her journey to York, where she safely arrived on the 7th of March, and having pressing occasions for money, his lordship presented her with three thousand pounds, and furnished an escort of fifteen hundred men, under the command of lord Percy, to conduct a supply of arms and ammunition to the king at Oxford, where he kept them for his own service. Not long after, sir Hugh Cholmondley and captain Brown Bushel were prevailed upon to return to their duty, and give up the important port and castle of Scarborough. This was followed by the routing Ferdinando lord Fairfax on Seacroft, or as some call it Bramham-moor, by lord George Goring, then general of the horse under the earl, when about eight hundred of the enemy were taken prisoners; and this again made way for another victory gained on Tankersly-moor. In the month of April, the earl marched to reduce Rotherham, which he took by storm, and soon after Sheffield; but in the mean time, lord Goring and sir Francis Mackworth were surprised, on the 2 1st of May, at Wakefield, where the former and most of his men were made prisoners, which was a great prejudice to the service. In the same month her majesty went from York to Pomfret under the escort of the earPs forces; and from thence she continued Jier journey tp Oxford, with a body of seven thousand horse, foot, and dragoons, detached for that service by the earl; and those forces, likewise, the king kept about him. In the month of June the earl reduced Howly-house by storm; and on the 30th gained a complete victory over Ferdinando lord Fairfax, though much superior to him in numbers, on Adderton- heath, near Bradford, where the enemy had seven hundred men killed, and three thousand taken prisoners; and on the 2d of July following Bradford surrendered. The earl advanced next into Lincolnshire, where he took Gainsborough and Lincoln; but was then recalled by the pressing solicitations of the gentlemen of Yorkshire into that country, wherq Beverley surrendered to him on the 28th of August, and in the next month, his lordship was prevailed on to besiege Hull, the only place of consequence then held for the parliament in those parts. Notwithstanding these important successes obtained by an army raised, and in a great measure kept up by his lordship’s personal influence and expence, there have not been wanting censures upon his conduct; of which, however, his majesty had so just a sense, that by letters-patent dated the 27th of October, he advanced him to the dignity of marquis of Newcastle; and in the preamble of his patent all his services are mentioned with suitable encomiums. That winter the earl marched into Derbyshire, and from thence to his own house at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire, where he received the news of the Scots intending to enter England, which brought him back into Yorkshire, from whence he sent sir Thomas Glenham to Newcastle, and himself for some time successfully opposed the Scots in the bishopric of Durham: but, the forces he left behind under the command of lord Bellasis at Selby being routed, the marquis found himself obliged to retire, in order, if possible, to preserve York; and this he did with so much military prudence, that he arrived there safely in the month of April 1644, and retaining his infantry and artillery in that city, sent his horse to quarter in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire, for the sake of subsistence. The city was very soon blocked up by three armies, who quickly commenced a regular siege, and were once very near taking the place by storm; and at last, having lain before it three months, brought the garrison into great distress for want of provision; and if the marquis had not very early had recourse to a short allowance, had infallibly reduced it by famine. For though sir Charles Lucas, who commanded the marquis’s horse, importuned the king for relief, yet it was the latter end of June before his majesty could send a sufficient body, under the command of prince Rupert, to join sir Charles Lucas, and attempt the forcing the enemy to raise the siege; which, however, upon their approach, they did, remaining on the west side of the Owse with all their forces, while the king’s army advanced on the east side of the same river. By this quick and vigorous march, prince Rupert had done his business; but, as is very well observed by a most judicious historian of these times, he would needs overdo it; and not content with the honour of raising the siege of York by a confederate army much superior to his own, he was bent upon having the honour to beat that army also; and this brought on the fatal battle of Hessom, or, as it is more generally called, Marston-moor, which was fought July 2, 1644, against the consent of the marquis of Newcastle, who, seeing the king’s affairs totally undone thereby, made the best of his way to Scarborough, and from thence, with a few of the principal officers of his army, took shipping for Hamburgh. After staying about six months at Hamburgh, he went by sea to Amsterdam, and from thence made a journey to Paris, where he continued for some time; and where, notwithstanuing the vast estate he had when the civil war broke out, his circumstances were now so bad, that himself and his young wife were reduced to the pawning their cloaths for a dinner. He removed afterwards to Antwerp, that he might be nearer his own country; and there, though under very great difficulties, he resided for several years; while the parliament in the mean time levied prodigious sums upon his estate, insomuch that the computation of what he lost by the disorders of those times, though none of the particulars "can be disproved, amount in the whole to a sum that is almost incredible. It has been computed at 733,579l. All these hardships and misfortunes never broke his spirit in the least, which his biographer somewhat fondly says was chiefly owing to his great foresight; for as he plainly perceived after the battle of Marston-moor, that the affairs of Charles I. were irrecoverably undone, so he discerned through the thickest clouds of Charles lid’s adversity, that he would be infallibly restored: and as he had predicted Hie civil war to the father before it began, so he gave the strongest assurance to the son of his being called home, by addressing to him a treatise upon Government and the Interests of Great Britain with respect to the other powers of Europe; which he wrote at a time when the hopes of those about his majesty scarcely rose so high as the marquis’s expectations. During this long exile of eighteen years, in which he suffered so many and so oreat hardships, this worthy nobleman wanted not some consolations that were particularly such to one of his high and generous spirit. He was, notwithstanding his low and distressed circumstances, treated with the highest respect, and with the most extraordinary marks of distinction, by the persons entrusted with the government of the countries where he resided. He received the high compliment of having the keys of the cities he passed through in the Spanish dominions offered him: he was visited by don John of Austria, and by several princes of Germany. But what comforted him most was the company very frequently of his royal master, who, in the midst of his sufferings, bestowed upon him the most noble order of the garter. On his return to England at the restoration, he was received with all the respect due to his unshaken fidelity and important services was constituted chief justice in Eyre of the counties north of Trent, and, by letters- patent dated the 16th of March 1664, was advanced to the dignity of earl of Ogle, and duke of Newcastle. He spent the remainder of his life, for the most part, in a country retirement, and in reading and writing, in which he took singular pleasure. He also employed a great part of his time in repairing the injuries which his fortune had received, and at length departed this life December 25, 1676, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. His grace was twice married, but had issue only by his first lady. His body lies interred, with that of his duchess, under a most noble monument at the entrance into Westminster-abbey, with an inscription suitable to his merits. His titles descended to his son Henry, earl of Ogle, who was the last heir male of this family, and died July 26, 1691, in whom the title of Newcastle, in the line of Cavendish, became extinguished, but his daughters married into some of the noblest families of this kingdom.
xile, and retiring to Rotterdam, became minister of the English church there, and died Ang. 7, 1659. His son, th.e subject of our next article, took care to preserve
, a puritan clergyman of the church
of England, exiled for his loyalty during the rebellion, was
born at Rainham in Norfolk in 1605, of parents who were
not in circumstances to give him an education suited to his
capacity and their wishes, but were so much respected as
to procure the patronage of sir Roger Townsend, knt. who
not only sent him to school, but took the pains to assist
him in his tasks, particularly in the Greek. By the same
interest he was sent to Cambridge, and entered of Queen’s
college, and made a distinguished figure, not only in the
usual studies preparatory to the ministry, but in that of the
languages, acquiring an uncommon acquaintance with the
oriental languages, the Saxon, high and low Dutch, and
the Italian, French, and Spanish. His religious principles
he imbibed from Drs. Preston and Sibbs, and Mr. Herbert
Palmer, puritans of great reputation at that time. After
taking orders, he resided for four years in the house of sir
William Armine of Orton in Huntingdonshire; and his old
patron sir Roger Townscncl, just before his death in r
presented him to the living of \V ivcnhoc in Essex. Alter
he had been on this living about seven years, a violent and
long continued tit of ague rendered it necessary to try
a change of air, and in compliance with the advice of his
physicians, he removed to London, where, by the interest
of sir Ilai bottle Grirnston, he was promoted to the valuable
rectory of St. Bartholomew, Exchange. He had not been
here above five years when Charles I. was put to death. A
few weeks after, Mr. Gawton was called upon to preach
before the lord mayor and aldermen of London, at Mercers’
chapel, when he delivered himself in such plain terms
against the hypocrisy of the predominant powers, that he
was first sent for to Westminster, and then committed to the
Gatehouse. This served only to raise his character among
the loyal presbyterians, who, when Charles II. had thoughts
of entering England, and asserting his right, intrusted him,
with Mr. Christopher Love, and some other worthy persons,
with the money raised by them for his majesty’s service,
for which Mr. Love was imprisoned, and afterwards executed. Mr. Cawton then betook himself to a voluntary
exile, and retiring to Rotterdam, became minister of the
English church there, and died Ang. 7, 1659. His son,
th.e subject of our next article, took care to preserve a just
account of his merits and sufferings by writing “The Life
nnd Death of that holy and reverend man of God Mr.
Thomas Cawton, some time minister of St. Bartholomew,
”
&c. To which is added, his father’s Sermon, entitled
“God’s Rule for a godly Life, from Philippians i. 27.
”
which is the sermon for the preaching of which he was imprisoned, London, 1662, 8vo. This account is an artless
picture of a man who did great honour to his profession,
and was a pattern of virtue in every social relation. His
life is important in another respect, as proving that the
ambition of civil power was as much the cause of the trpu-f
bles of that time, as any want of liberty of conscience in
matters of religion. Cawton knew how to unite the puritan with the loyalist. His biographer informs us that when
he first received the sacrament, he ever afterwards expressed the profoundest reverence, and the most elevated
devotion at that solemnity.
any other works of art in the fire which consumed that palace. The father died in 1625, before which his son had attained high favour and eminence. The excellence of
, a Spanish artist, the son of Patrizio
Caxes, of Arezzo, who settled in Spain, was born at Madrid in 1577, and learned the art of his father, with whom
he was employed by Philip III. in the palace del Pardd.
Their chief work in the queen’s gallery there, was the
story of “Joseph and Potiphar’s wife,
” which perished
with many other works of art in the fire which consumed
that palace. The father died in 1625, before which his
son had attained high favour and eminence. The excellence of his frescos in the Sala d' Udienza procured him
the favour of Philip III. who appointed him painter to the
court in 1612. He soon after painted one of the principal
altar-pieces for the church de la Merced at Madrid; and
in 1615, various pictures in company with Vinzenzio Caoducho in the cathedral of Toledo and elsewhere. Though,
his pencil, in common^with his contemporaries, was chiefly
devoted to church legends, he found means to paint the
“History of Agamemnon
” in the Alcazar at Madrid. His
scholars were, Luis Fernandez of Madrid, who painted
the life of S. Ramori in the cloisters of La Merced Calzada, a celebrated series; Juan de Arnau of Barcellona;
and Don Pedro de Valpuesta of Burgo de Osma, a young
man of education, who probably would have excelled his
fellow-scholars, had he not entered the church, in which
he arrived at the dignity of licentiate. Caxes died in
1642.
was buried at Stamford, where an elegant monument is erected to his memory. By his first wife he had his son and heir Thomas earl of Exeter, and by his second a numerous
His lordship was buried at Stamford, where an elegant
monument is erected to his memory. By his first wife he
had his son and heir Thomas earl of Exeter, and by his
second a numerous issue, who all died before him except
the subject of the following article, to whom he addressed
those valuable “precepts
” so often reprinted. Few men
knew better than lord Burleigh how to advise the young.
Peacham, in his “Gentleman,
” informs us that when any
one came to the lords of the council for a licence to travel,
he would first examine him of England, and if he found
him ignorant, he would bid him stay at home, and know
his own country first.
suffering at all. He recommended to his followers the worship of the Supreme God in conjunction with his Son; he required them to abandon the lawgiver of the Jews; and
, an ancient heretic, was contemporary with St. John towards the end of the first, or the commencement of the second century. He is said to have been a Jew, educated at Alexandria, but resident at Antioch. Authors differ as to his moral character, but Dr. Lardner has found nothing of a vicious kind imputed to him. With respect to his opinions, he ascribed the creation of the world, and the legislature of the Jews, to a created being, who derived from the Supreme. God extraordinary virtues and powers, but afterwards became apostate and degraded. He supposed that Jesus was a mere man, born of Joseph and Mary; but that, in his baptism, the Holy Ghost, or the Christ, who was one of the ^ons, descended upon him in the form of a dove; and that he was commissioned to oppose the degenerate god of the Jews, and to destroy his empire. In consequence of which, by his instigation, the man Jesus was seized and crucified; but Christ ascended up on high, without suffering at all. He recommended to his followers the worship of the Supreme God in conjunction with his Son; he required them to abandon the lawgiver of the Jews; and though they were permitted to retain circumcision and the rites of the Mosaic law, and, according to Jerom, this was the principal error of Cerinthus, that he was for joining the law with the gospel; yet they were to make the precepts of Christ the rule of their conduct. For their encouragement, he promised them the resurrection of the body; after which the millennium was to commence under the government of Christ united to the man Jesus: and this he represented as consisting in eating and drinking, nuptial entertainments, and other festivities. Cerinthus’ opinions, however, as a millenarian, have been doubted by some, and the question is accurately examined by Lardner, although with some degree of leaning towards Cerinthus’s opinion of Jesus Christ.
h many editions; the first twenty of wkich were published by Dr. Edward Chamberlain, and the rest by his son. 5. “An academy or college, wherein young ladies or gentlewomen
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.
rtune by being obliged to receive the base coin issued by that monarch. This circumstance occasioned his son to reside many years in, Sweden, in order the more effectually
, an eminent architect, was a native of Sweden, but originally descended from the family of Chalmers in Scotland, barons of Tartas, in France. His grandfather was an opulent merchant, who supplied the armies of Charles XII. with money and military stores, and suffered considerably in his fortune by being obliged to receive the base coin issued by that monarch. This circumstance occasioned his son to reside many years in, Sweden, in order the more effectually to prosecute his pecuniary claims. The subject of this article was born in that country, and for what reason is not known, was brought over from Sweden in 1723, at the age of two years, and placed at a school at Rippon, in Yorkshire. His first entrance into life was as a supercargo to the Swedish East India company. In this capacity he made one voyage to China; and, it appears, lost no opportunity of observing what was curious in that country. At the age of eighteen, however, he quitted this profession, and with it all commercial views, to follow the bent of his inclination, which led him to design and architecture.
Harte, a celebrated tutor, who was selected at a later period by the earl of Chesterfield to finish his son Mr. Stanhope’s education in classical literature. After
, a miscellaneous writer, was
the son of Peter Champion, a gentleman of an ancient and
respectable family, seated at St. Columb in Cornwall, who
Acquired a considerable fortune as a merchant at Leghorn
he was born February 5, 1724-5, at Croydon, in Surrey,
and received his first instruction in the Greek and Latin
languages at Cheani school in that county; from whence,
in 173y, he was removed to Eton, and in February 1742,
became a member of the university of Oxford having
been placed at St. Mary-hall, under the care of the rev.
Walter Harte, a celebrated tutor, who was selected at a
later period by the earl of Chesterfield to finish his son
Mr. Stanhope’s education in classical literature. After
having passed two years at Oxford, he was entered as a
student of law at the Middle Temple, where he continued
to reside to the day of his decease; and was a bencher of
that society, to which he bequeathed one thousand pounds.
He served in two parliaments, having been elected in
1754 for the borough of St. Germain’s, and in 1761 for
Liskard in Cornwall; but the same great modesty and reserve restrained him from displaying the powers of his very
discerning and enlightened mind in that illustrious assembly, which prevented him also from communicating to the
world his poetical effusions, a collection of which was
published in an elegant volume in 1801, by William Henry
lord Lyttelton, who prefixed a biographical article, from
which the above account is taken. He died Feb. 22, 1801,
beloved and lamented, as his noble friend says, by all
who were acquainted with the brightness of his genius, his
taste for the finer arts, his various and extensive learning,
and the still more valuable qualities of his warm and benevolent heart. From his “Miscellanies in prose and verse,
English and Latin,
” it is discernible that he was a polite
scholar, and had many qualities of a poet, but not unmixed
with a love for those disgusting images in which Swift
delighted.
1642, folio. He also published other works on detached parts of French history; and after his death, his son published his “Treatise on Fiefs,” 1662, folio, in which
,
a learned French antiquary, was born at Paris, Sept. 12,
1538, and became highly distinguished for general erudition, and especially for his knowledge of civil and canon
law, history, politics, and the belles lettres. Nor was he
less admired for the excellence of his private character.
Louis XIII. made him intendant of the fortifications of the
gabelles, or excise on salt, &c. in the principality of Sedan,
and lastly intendant of the finances of the duchies of Bar
and Lorrain. He compiled, from original records, “Historical Memoirs of the Houses of Lorrain and Bar;
” the
first part of which only was published at Paris, 1642, folio.
He also published other works on detached parts of French
history; and after his death, his son published his “Treatise on Fiefs,
”
hich is at least ingenious. He is of opinion that Chaucer about this time found out a rich match for his son Thomas, namely, Maud, the second daughter of sir John Burghershe;
Soon after this, however, Chaucer’s biographers concur in the fact that he experienced a very serious reverse in his affairs, which in the second year of Richard II. were in such disorder, that he was obliged to have recourse to the king’s protection, in order to screen him from the importunities of his creditors. But as to the cause of this embarrassment, we find no agreement among those who have attempted a narrative of his life. Some think his distresses were temporary, and some that they were artificial. Among the latter, the writer of his life in the Biographia Britannica hazards a supposition which is at least ingenious. He is of opinion that Chaucer about this time found out a rich match for his son Thomas, namely, Maud, the second daughter of sir John Burghershe; and in order to obtain this match, he was obliged to bring his son somewhat upon a level with her, by settling all his landed estates upon him: and that this duty might occasion those demands which put him under the necessity of obtaining the king’s protection. The conclusion of the matter, according to this conjecture, must be, that Chaucer entailed his estates upon his son, and found means to put off his creditors, a measure not very honourable. But we are still in the dark as to the nature of those debts, or the existence of his landed property, and it is even doubtful whether this Thomas Chaucer was his son. We know certainly of no son but Lewis, who was born in 1381, twenty-one years after his marriage, if the date of his marriage before given be correct.
years. During his retirement in 1391, he wrote his learned treatise on the Astrolabe, for the use of his son Lewis, who was then ten years old; and this is the only
But the king’s favour did not end with the offices just mentioned. In the seventeenth year of his reign, 1394, he granted to Chaucer a new annuity of twenty pounds; in 1398, his protection for two years; and in 1399, a pipe of wine annually. From the succeeding sovereign Henry IV. he obtained, in the year last mentioned, a confirmation of his two grants of 20l. and of the pipe of wine, and at the same time an additional grant of an annuity of forty marks. Notwithstanding this dependent state of his affairs, some of his biographers represent him as possessed of Dunnington castle in Berkshire, which he must have purchased at the time he received the above annuity of twenty pounds; for up to that date (1394) it was in the possession of sir Richard Abberbury. Mr. Tyrwhitt remarks that the tradition which Evelyn notices in his Sylva, of an oak in Dunnington park called Chaucer’s oak, may be sufficiently accounted for, without supposing that it was planted by Chaucer himself, as the castle was undoubtedly in the hands of Thomas Chaucer for many years. During his retirement in 1391, he wrote his learned treatise on the Astrolabe, for the use of his son Lewis, who was then ten years old; and this is the only circumstance respecting his family which we have on his own or any authority that deserves credit. Leland, Bale, and Wood place this son under the tuition of his father’s friend Nicholas Strode (whom, however, they call Ralph) of Merton college, Oxford; but if Wood could trace Strode no farther than the year 1370, it is impossible he could have been the tutor of Chaucer’s son in 1391.
ther accident, they never reached their destination. Four volumes of these collections were given by his son Henry Cheke, to Humphrey Purefoy, esq. one of queen Elizabeth’s
, a learned writer of the sixteenth
century, descended from an ancient family in the Isle of
Wight, was born at Cambridge, June 16, 1514, being the
son of Peter Cheke, gent, and Agnes, daughter of Mr.
Dufford of Cambridgeshire. After receiving his grammatical education under Mr. John Morgan, he was admitted
into St. John’s college, Cambridge, in 1531, where he
became very eminent for his knowledge in the learned
languages, particularly the Greek tongue, which was then
almost universally neglected. Being recommended as such,
by Dr. Butts, to king Henry VIII. he was soon after made
kind’s scholar, and supplied by his majesty with money
for his education, and for his charges in travelling into
foreign countries. While he continued in college he introduced a more substantial and useful kind of learning
than what had been received for some years; and encouraged especially the study of the Greek and Latin languages, and of divinity. After having taken his degrees
in arts he was chosen Greek lecturer of the university.
There was no salary belonging to tnat place: but king
Henry having founded, about the year 1540, a professorship of the Greek tongue in the university of Cambridge,
with a stipend oi forty pounds a year, Mr. Cheke, though
but twenty-six years of age, was chosen the first professor.
This place he held long after he left the university, namely,
till October 1551, and was highly instrumental in bringing
the Greek language into repute. He endeavoured
particularly to reform and restore the original pronunciation of
it, but met with great opposition from Stephen Gardiner,
bishop of Winchester, chancellor of the university, and
their correspondence on the subject was published. Cheke,
however, in the course of his lectures,- went through all
Homer, all Euripides, part of Herodotus, and through
Sophocles twice, to the advantage of his hearers and his
own credit. He was also at the same time universityorator. About the year 1543 he was incorporated master
of arts at Oxford, where he had studied some time. On
the 10th of July 1544 he was sent for to court, in order to
be school- master, or tutor, for the Latin tongue, jointly
with sir Anthony Cooke, to prince Edward and, about
the same time, as an encouragement, the king granted
him, being then, as it is supposed, in orders, one of the
canonries in his new- founded college at Oxford, now Christ
Church but that college being dissolved in the beginning
of 1545, a pension was allowed him in the room of his
canonry. While he was entrusted with the prince’s education, he made use of all the interest he had in promoting
men of learning and probity. He seems also to have
sometimes had the lady Elizabeth under his care. In
1547, he married Mary, daughter of Richard Hill, serjeant of the wine-cellar to king Henry VIII. When his
royal pupil, king Edward VI. came to the crown, he rewarded him for his care and pains with an annuity of one
hundred marks; and also made him a grant of several
lands and manors . He likewise caused him, by a mandamus, to be elected provost of King’s college, Cambridge,
vacant by the deprivation of George Day, bishop of Chichester. In May 1549, he retired to Cambridge, upon
some disgust he had taken at the court, but was the same
Summer appointed one of the king’s commissioners for
visiting that university. The October following, he was one
of the thirty-two commissioners appointed to examine the
old ecclesiastical law books, and to compile from thence a
body of ecclesiastical laws for the government of the
church; and again, three years after, he was put in a new
commission issued out for the same purpose. He returned
to court in the winter of 1549, but met there with great
uneasiness on account of some offence given by his wife
to Anne, duchess of Somerset, whose dependent she was.
Mr. Cheke himself was not exempt from trouble, being of
the number of those who were charged with having suggested bad counsels to the duke of Somerset, and afterwards betrayed him. But having recovered from these
imputations, his interest and authority daily increased, and
he became the liberal patron of religious and learned men,
both English and foreigners. In 1550 he was made chief
gentleman of the king’s privy -chamber, whose tutor he
still continued to be, and who made a wonderful progress
through his instructions. Mr. Cheke, to ground him well
in morality, read to him Cicero’s philosophical works, and
Aristotle’s Ethics; but what was of greater importance, instructed him in the general history, the state and interest,
the laws and customs of England. He likewise directed
him to keep a diary of all the remarkable occurrences that
happened, to which, probably, we are indebted for the
king’s Journal (printed from the original in the Cottonian library) in Burnett’s History of the Reformation. In October, 1551, his majesty conferred on him the honour of
knighthood; and to enuhle him the better to support that
rank, made him a grant, or gift in fee simple (upon consideration of his surrender of the hundred marks abovementioned), of the whole manor of Stoke, near Clare, exclusively of the college before granted him, and the appurtenances in Suffolk and Essex, with divers other lands,
tenements, &c. all to the yearly value of 145l. 19$. 3d.
And a pasture, with other premises, in Spalding; and the
rectory, and other premises, in Sandon. The same year
he held two private conferences with some other learned
persons upon the subject of the sacrament, or transubstantiation. The first on November the 25th, in -secretary
Cecil’s house, and the second December 3d the same year,
at sir Richard Morison’s. The auditors were, the lord
Russel, sir Thomas Wroth of the bed-chamber, sir Anthony Cooke, one of the king’s tutors, Throgmorton,
chamberlain of the exchequer, Mr. Knolles, and Mr. Harrington, with whom were joined the marquis of Northampton, and the earl of Rutland, in the second conference.
The popish disputants for the real presence were, Feckenham, afterwards dean of St. Paul’s, and Yong; and at the
second disputation, Watson. The disputants on the other
side were, sir John Cheke, sir William Cecil, Horn, dean
of Durham, Whitehead, and Grindal. Some account of
these disputations is still extant in Latin, in the library of
Mss. belonging to Bene't college, Cambridge and from
thence published in English by Mr. Strypein his interesting
Life of sir John Cheke. Sir John also procured Bucer’s
Mss. and the illustrious Leland’s valuable, collections for
the king’s library but either owing to sir John’s misfortunes, or through some other accident, they never reached
their destination. Four volumes of these collections were
given by his son Henry Cheke, to Humphrey Purefoy, esq.
one of queen Elizabeth’s council in the north, whose son,
Thomas Purefoy, of Barvvell in Leicestershire, gave them
to the famous antiquary, William Burton, in 1612 and he
made use of them in his description of Leicestershire.
Many years after, he presented them to the Bodleian library at Oxford, where they now are. Some other of these
collections, after Cheke’s death, came into the hands of
William lord Paget, and sir William Cecil. The original
of the “Itinerary,
” in five volumes, 4to, is in the Bodleian library; and two volumes of collections, relating to
Britain, are in the Cottonian.
, in 1522. His father was a poor wool-comber, who found it difficult to give him much education, but his son’s industry supplied the want in a great measure. After having
, an eminent Lutheran divine,
and one of the reformers in Germany, was born at Britzen,
a town in the marquisate of Brandenburg, in 1522. His
father was a poor wool-comber, who found it difficult to
give him much education, but his son’s industry supplied
the want in a great measure. After having learned the
rudiments of literature in a school near home, he went to
Magdeburg, where he made some progress in arts and languages. Then he removed to Francfort upon the Oder,
to cultivate philosophy under his relation George Sabinus;
and to Wittenburg, where he studied under Philip Melancthon. Afterwards he became a school-master in Prussia;
and, in 1552, was made librarian to the prince. He now
devoted himself wholly to the study of divinity, though he
was a considerable mathematician, and skilled particularly
in astronomy. After he had continued in the court of
Prussia three years, he returned to the university of Wittemberg, and lived in friendship with Melancthon, who
employed him in reading the com-mon-places. From thence
he removed to Brunswick, where he spent the last thirty
years of his life as pastor, and commenced D. D. at Rostock. He died April 8, 1586. His principal works are,
1. “Harmonia Evangeliorum,
” Francfort, Examen Concilii Tridentini.
”
3. “A treatise against the Jesuits,
” wherein he explained
to the Germans the doctrines and policy of those crafty
devisers, &c. His “Examination of the Council of Trent
”
has always been reckoned a very masterly performance,
and was translated and published in English, 1582, 4to.
n, and exposing the errors of the church of Rome. Blount has an ample collection of these encomiums. His son of the same names, who was born at Brunswick Oct. 15, 1561,
Chemnitz, according to Thuanus and many others, was
a man of great parts, learning, judgment, and of equal
modesty; and was very much esteemed by the princes of
his own communion, who often made use of him in the
public affairs of the church. Some protestant writers have
not scrupled to rank him next to even Luther himself, for
the services he did in promoting the reformation, and exposing the errors of the church of Rome. Blount has an
ample collection of these encomiums. His son of the same
names, who was born at Brunswick Oct. 15, 1561, studied
at Leipsic and Francfort, and became successively syndic
of the council of Brunswick, professor of law at Rostock,
chancellor and counsellor at Stettin, and lastly chancellor
at Sleswick, where he died Aug. 26, 1627. He wrote
several works, and among them “Historia Navigations
Indiae Orientalis.
”
5, by his “Histoire des Papes,” fol. reprinted in 1645, but as this last edition was very incorrect, his son Francis Du Chesne published a new one in 1653, enlarged
Du Chesne’s first attempt as an author, was a duodecimo
volume, printed in 1602, and dedicated to Boulanger,
entitled “Egregiarum seu Electarum Lectionum et Antiquitatum liber.
” The same year he dedicated another to
M. de Cerisy, archbishop of Tours, entitled “Januariae
Kalendae, seu de solemnitate anni tain Ethnica quam
Christiana brevis tractatus,
” with a Latin poem “Gryphus
de Ternario numero.
” In Les figures mystiques
du riche et precieux Cabinet des Dames,
” apparently a
moral work. In his twenty-third year he began a translation of Juvenal, which he published with notes, in 1607.
This is a work of very rare occurrence. In 16-09 he published “Antiquitez et Recherches de la grandeur et
majeste des Rois de France,
” dedicated to Louis XIII. then
dauphin. In 1610 he wrote a poem, “Chandelier de
Justice,
” and also a panegyrical discourse on the ceremonies of the coronation of queen Mary of Medicis, with
a treatise on the ampulla and fleur-de-lys, &c. but owing
to the assassination of the king, which happened after this
ceremony, these productions were lost. The same year
he published a funeral discourse on king Henry IV. and
the first edition of his “Antiquitez et Recherches des
Villes et Chateaux de France,
” which has been often reprinted. In Histoire d'Angleterre,
” the first edition of which was
published in Bibliotheca Cluniacensis.
” This was followed in Histoire des Papes,
” fol. reprinted in Works of Abelard,
”
with a preface and notes/ which are rarely found together.
” which passed through several editions, as already noticed; that of 1647 was edited and improved by his son. In 1621 was printed his “Histoire genealogique de la Maison
In 1619, he published his “Histoire des Rois, Dues,
et Comtes de Burgogne,
” a new edition of the “Letters
of Stephen Pasqnier,
” and his “Historic Normannorum
Scriptores antiqui,
” which forms the first volume of his
collection of French historians. The following year appeared his “Histoire genealogique de la Maison de Chastillou-sur-Marue, &c.
” As his intended publication of
the geographical history of France was interrupted in Holland, he published an abridgment of it at Paris, under the
title of “Antiqnitez et Recherches desvilles, chateaux, et
places remarkables de la France selon Pordre et les ressorfc
ties parlemens,
” which passed through several editions, as
already noticed; that of 1647 was edited and improved by
his son. In 1621 was printed his “Histoire genealogique
de la Maison de Montmorency,
” folio, which Le Long
thinks a capital work of the kind; it was followed in 1626
by a similar history of the house of De Vergy. In 1629
he published a second volume of the history of Burgundy,
under the title of “Histoire genealogique des Dues de
Bonrgogne,
” and in
h, and bade fair for long life and usefulness. The two volumes, then in the press, were completed by his son, and published in 1641, to which he added a fifth volume
With respect to his collection of French historians, he
published the first two volumes in 1636, fol. after having
two years before issued a prospectus of the whole, and the
third and fourth volumes were in the press, when on May
30, 1640, he was crushed to death by a cart, as he was
going to his country-house at Verrieres. He was at this
time in full health, and bade fair for long life and usefulness. The two volumes, then in the press, were completed
by his son, and published in 1641, to which he added a
fifth volume in 1649, without any assistance from government, as the pension granted to his father, and continued to hirn on his death, was taken from him about
three years after that event. Some particulars of the continuation of the work to the present time may be seen in
our life of Bouquet. In Du Chesne’s “Historic Norluannorum,
” is the “Emmae Anglorum reginse encomium,
”
of which an edition, with William of Poictier’s history of
William the Conqueror, and other historical documents,
was published, or rather printed for private distribution,
in 1783, 4to, by the learned Francis Maseres, esq. F. 11. S.
cursitor-baron of the court of exchequer.
ions that Dr. Chetwood had a claim to an ancient English barony, which was fruitlessly prosecuted by his son, and which accounts for his being styled “a person of honour,”
Jacob mentions that Dr. Chetwood had a claim to an
ancient English barony, which was fruitlessly prosecuted
by his son, and which accounts for his being styled “a
person of honour,
” in a translation which he published of
some of St. Evremont’s pieces. By the favour probably
of the earl of Dartmouth, he was nominated to the see of
Bristol by king James II. but soon after his nomination,
the king’s abdication took place. In April 1707, he was
installed dean of Gloucester, which preferment he enjoyed
till his death, which happened April 11, 1720, at Tempsford, in Bedfordshire, where he had an estate, and where
he was buried. He married a daughter of the celebrated
Samuel Shute, esq. sheriff of London in the time of
Charles II. by whom he left a son, John, who, was fellow
of Trinity-hall, Cambridge, and died in 1735. Two copies of verses by Dr. Chetwood, one in English, and the
other in Latin, are prefixed to lord Roscommon’s “Essay
on translated Verse,
” A Speech to the
Lower House of Convocation, May 20, 1715, against the
late riots.
”
ations, his halfbrother, the rev. William Cheyne, vicar of Weston near Bath, died Sept. 6, 1767, and his son the rev. John Cheyne, vicar of Brigstock, Northamptonshire,
Dr. Cheyne died at Bath, April 12, 1743, in the seventysecond year of his age. He had great reputation in his own time, both as a practitioner and as a writer; and most of his pieces passed through several editions. He is to be ranked among those physicians who have accounted for the operations of medicine, and the morbid alterations which take place in the human body, upon mechanical principles. A spirit of piety and of benevolence, and an ardent zeal for the interests of virtue, are predominant throughout his writings. An amiable candour and ingenuousness are also discernible, and which led him to retract with readiness whatever appeared to him to be censurable in what he had formerly advanced. Some of the metaphysical notions winch he has introduced into his books may perhaps justly be thought fanciful and illgrounded; but there is an agreeable vivacity in his productions, together with much openness and frankness, and in general great perspicuity. Of his relations, his halfbrother, the rev. William Cheyne, vicar of Weston near Bath, died Sept. 6, 1767, and his son the rev. John Cheyne, vicar of Brigstock, Northamptonshire, died August 11, 1768.
ntended might be done by the human intellect. He died at Pisa, through excess of joy, when embracing his son, who had returned from the Olympic games, crowned as victor.
, one of the wise men of Greece, as they are
called, flourished about the first year of the fifty-sixth
Olympiad, or 556 B. C. Diogenes Laertius, however,
thinks he was an old man in the fifty-second olympiad.
Fenelon, with his usual respect for the ancient philosophers, asserts that he was a perfect model of virtue. About
the fifty-fifth olympiad, he was made one of the ephori
at Lacedaemon, a dignity which counterbalanced the authority of the kings. He appears to have been superstitiously attached to divination, and stories are told of his
foretelling future events, which he contended might be
done by the human intellect. He died at Pisa, through
excess of joy, when embracing his son, who had returned
from the Olympic games, crowned as victor. He executed
the offices of magistracy with so much uprightness, that in
his old age, he said, that he recollected nothing in his public
conduct which gave him uneasiness, except that, in one instance, he had endeavoured to screen a friend from punishment. He held, however, the selfish maxim of Pittacus,
that “we ought to love as if we were one day to hate, and
hate, as if we were one day to love.
” The more valuable
of his precepts and maxims, were: Three things are difficult: to keep a secret, to bear an injury patiently, and
to spend leisure well. Visit your friend in misfortune
rather than in prosperity. Never ridicule the unfortunate.
Think jbefore you speak. Do not desire impossibilities.
Gold is tried by the touchstone, and men are tried by
gold. Honest loss is preferable to shameful gain; for by
the one, a man is a sufferer but once; by the other, always.
In conversation use no violent motion of the hands; in
walking, do not appear to be always upon business of life
or death; for rapid movements indicate a kind of phrenzy.
If you are great, be condescending; for it is better to
be loved then feared. Speak no evil of the dead. Re\erence the aged. Know thyself.
le clerk of Queen’s college, Cambridge, and master of arts, as a member of Pembroke college, Oxford. His son being intended for the church, was sent to Oxford, became
, a learned divine and antiquary,
was born at Ey worth, in Bedfordshire, and was the son of
Paul Chishull, formerly bible clerk of Queen’s college,
Cambridge, and master of arts, as a member of Pembroke
college, Oxford. His son being intended for the church,
was sent to Oxford, became a scholar of Corpus Christi
college, and received the degree of master of arts in
February 1693; and he was chosen, likewise, a fellow of
his college. Previously to his commencing master of arts,
he had published in 1692, a Latin poem, inquarto, on
occasion of the famous battle of La Hogue, entitled, “Gulielmo Tertio terra manque principi invictissimo in Gallos
pugna navali nuperrime devictos, ' carmen heroic urn,
”
Oxon. When queen Mary died, on the 28th of December 1694, Mr. Chishull was one of the Oxford gentlemen
who exerted their poetical talents in deploring that melancholy event, and his tribute of loyalty is preserved in
the third volume of the Musse Anglicans, but is rather a
school exercise, than a production of genius. In 1698,
having obtained a grant of the traveller’s place, from the
society of Corpus Christi college, he sailed from England
on the 12th of September, and arrived on the 19th of November following at Smyrna. Before he set out on his
voyage, he preached a sermon to the Levant company,
which was published, and probably procured him to be
appointed chaplain to the English factory at Smyrna, in.
which station he continued till the 12th of February,
1701-2. On the 16th of June, 1705, he was admitted to
the degree of bachelor in divinity. In the next year he
engaged in a controversy, which at that time excited
considerable attention, by publishing “A charge of Heresy maintained against Mr. Dodwell’s late Epistolary Discourse concerning the Mortality of the Soul,
” London,
8vo. This was one of the principal books written in
answer to Dodwell on that subject. In 1707, Chishull
exerted his endeavours in opposing the absurdities and
enthusiasm of the French prophets, and their followers, in
a sermon, on the 23d of November, at Serjeant’s-inn
chapel, in Chancery-lane, which was published in the
beginning of 1708, and was entitled, “The great Danger
and Mistake of all new uninspired Prophecies relating to
the End of the World,
” with an appendix of historical
collections applicable to subject. On the 1st of September, in the same year, he was presented to the vicarage of
Walthamstow, in Essex; and in 1711, he had the honour
of being appointed one of the chaplains in ordinary to the
queen. About the same time, he published a visitation
and a few other occasional sermons, preached on public
occasions, all which were favourably received. But he,
soon became more distinguished for his researches in ancient literature and history.
s in 1715 increased to two, and in 1730, to three volumes in 12mo, and is esteemed an useful manual. His son, John Baptiste Lewis, was educated also at Paris, and took
, a French physician, was
the son of Noel Chomel, an agriculturist, and the author of
the “DictionTiaire œconomique,
” of which we have an
English translation by Bradley, 1725, 2 vols. folio. He was
born at Paris towards the end of the seventeenth century,
and studied medicine at Montpellier, where he took his
degree of doctor, in 1708. Returning to his native city,
he was appointed physician and counsellor to the king.
The following year he published “Universal Medicince
Theoricse pars prima, seu Physiologia, ad usum scholae accommodata,
” Montpellier, Traite des Eaux Minerales, Baines et Douches de Vichi,
”
Memoirs
”
sent to the academy of sciences, and his “Defence of
Tournefort,
” published in the Journal des Savans, he published “Abrege de L'Histoire des Pi antes usuelles,
” Paris,
1712, 12mo. This was in 1715 increased to two, and in
1730, to three volumes in 12mo, and is esteemed an useful
manual. His son, John Baptiste Lewis, was educated also
at Paris, and took his degree of doctor in medicine in
1732. He was several years physician in ordinary to the
king, and in November 1754 was chosen dean of the
faculty. He died in 1765. He published in 1745, 1. “An
account of the disease then epidemic among cattle,
” and
boasts of great success in the cure, which was effected, he
says, by using setons, imbued with white hellebore. 2.
“Dissertation historique sur la Mai de Gorge Gangreneaux, qui a regne parmi les enfans, en 1748:
” the malignant sore throat, first treated of in this country by Dr.
Fothergill, about ten years later than this period. 3. “Essai historique sur la Medicine en France,
” Vie de M. Morin,
” and “Eloge historique
de M. Louis Duret,
”
all find the proofs of them myself.” A person asked him one day whom he should choose for a tutor to his son? “Me,” answered Chrysippus; “for, if I knew any body more
, a celebrated stoic philosopher, was born
at Soli, a city of Cilicia, afterwards called Pompeiopolis,
and was not the disciple of Zeno, as some have said, but
of Cleanthes, Zeno’s successor. He had a very acute
genius, and wrote a great many books, above 700, as we
are told, several of which belonged to logic; for he applied himself with great care to cultivate that part of philosophy. Val. Maximus relates, that he began his 39th
book of logic when he was eighty years old: and Lucian,
who sought out absurdities in order to laugh at them, could
not forbear ridiculing the logical subtilties of this philosopher. The great number of books he composed will not
appear so surprising if it be considered that his manner
was to write several times upon the same subject; to set
down whatever came into his head; to take little pains in
correcting his works; to crowd them with an infinite number of quotations: add to all these circumstances, that he
was very laborious, and lived to a great age. Of his works
nothing remains except a few extracts in the works of
Cicero, Plutarch, Seneca, and Aulus Gellius. He had an
unusual portion of vanity, and often said to Cleanthes,
“Shew me hut the doctrines; that is sufficient for me, and
all I want I shall find the proofs of them myself.
” A
person asked him one day whom he should choose for a
tutor to his son? “Me,
” answered Chrysippus; “for, if
I knew any body more learned than myself, 1 would go and
study under him.
” There is another apophthegm of his
preserved, which does him much more honour than either
of these; and therefore we hope it is not spurious. Being
told that some persons spoke ill of him, “It is no matter,
”
said he, “I will live so, that they shall not be believed.
”
ny years curate and lecturer of that parish, and rector of Rainham, near Grays*, in Essex. He placed his son, when ahout eight years of age, at Westminster-school, which
, an English poet of unquestionable genius, was born in Vine-street, in the parish of St. John the Evangelist, Westminster, some time in February, 1731. His father was for many years curate and lecturer of that parish, and rector of Rainham, near Grays*, in Essex. He placed his son, when ahout eight years of age, at Westminster-school, which was then superintended by Dr. Nichols and Dr. Pierson Lloyd. His proficiency at school, although not inconsiderable, was less remarkable than his irregularities. On entering his nineteenth year he applied for matriculation at the university of Oxford, where it is reported by some, he was rejected on account of his deficiency in the learned languages, and by others, that he was hurt at the trifling and childish questions put to him, and answered the examiner with a contempt which was mistaken for ignorance. It is not easy to reconcile these accounts, and, perhaps, not of great importance. Churchill, however, was afterwards admitted of Trinity college, Cambridge, but immediately returned, to London, and never visited the university any more.
ed to what was unavoidable, and entertained the young couple in his house about a year, during which his son’s conduct was irreproachable. In 1751 he retired to Sunderland,
The reason of his abandoning the university may have been an attachment which he formed while at Westminsterschool, and which ended in a clandestine marriage at the Fleet. This was a severe disappointment to his father’s hopes, but he wisely became reconciled to what was unavoidable, and entertained the young couple in his house about a year, during which his son’s conduct was irreproachable. In 1751 he retired to Sunderland, in the north of England, where he applied himself to such studies as might qualify himfor the church, and at the customary age he received deacon’s orders from Dr. Willes, bishop of Bath and Wells, and in 1756 was ordained priest by Dr. Sherlock, bishop of London. He then exercised his clerical functions at Cadbury in Somersetshire, and at Rainham, his father’s living, but in what manner, or with what display of abilities, is not remembered. A story was current some time after his death that he received a curacy of 30l. a year in Wales, and kept a public house to supply his deficiencies, but for this there appears to have been no other foundation than what the irregularities of his more advanced life supplied. So regardless was he of character, that his enemies found ready credit for any fiction at his expence. While at Rainham, he endeavoured to provide for his family by teaching the youth of the neighbourhood, an occupation which necessity rendered eligible, and habit might have made pleasing; but in 1758 his father’s death opened a more flattering prospect to him in the metropolis, where he was chosen his successor in the curacy and leetureship of St. John’s. For some time he performed the duties of these offices with external decency at least, and employed his leisure hours in the instruction of some pupils in the learned languages, and was also engaged as a teacher at a ladies’ boarding-school.
, 1563, 8vq; “Chroniconanni 1593, 1594, etinitii 1595,” Leipsic, 1595, 8vo. We have also, written by his son, “Vita D. Chytraei memoriae posteritatis orationibus et
, whose family name was Kochhafe, or Rochhafe, was an eminent Lutheran divine, and a
promoter of the reformation. He was born at Ingelsing in
Suabia, in 1530, of parents who, discerning his capacity,
bestowed much pains on his education, and in his ninth
year sent him to Tubingen, where he was placed under the
ablest masters. Such was his proficiency that he was soon
after admitted into the university of that place, and at the
age of fifteen took his master’s degree with the greatest
credit. He then went to Wittemberg, and studied under
Melancthon, who expressed himself surprised at his having
so early attained academic honours, and received him into
his house. There also he heard some of Luther’s lectures.
After Luther’s death, and the interruption which the wars
occasioned to the university of Wittemberg, Chytreeus
went to Heidelberg, where he studied Hebrew, and to
Tubingen, where he took some lessons in mathematics;
but prince Maurice having restored the university of Wittemberg, and recalled Melancthon, Chytraeus went back
also, and completed his theological course. In 1548, having raised some money by private teaching, he visited a
considerable part of Italy, and on his return was invited to
become one of the professors of the university of Rostock,
where he acquired such reputation for learning, that various
offers were made to him by the princes of Germany, and
by the universities, all which he declined; and yet when
prince John Albert offered to increase his stipend as an
inducement for him to remain at Rostock, he refused to
accept it. He travelled, however, occasionally during his
residence here to such places as he was invited to assist the
reformation, or to give advice in founding schools and
colleges, but always returned in time for his regular courses
of lectures; and amidst his many public employments,
found leisure to write a great many works on subjects of
theology, philology, and history, which extended his
fame, he died June 25, 1600. His principal works are,
a commentary on the Revelations, and “C|ironologia historice lierodoti et Thucydidis,
” Strasburgh, Chroniconanni 1593, 1594, etinitii 1595,
” Leipsic, Vita D. Chytraei
memoriae posteritatis orationibus et carminibus consecrata,
”
Rostock, De vitaD. Chytrasi commentariorum libri quatuor, ex editis et ineditis
monumentis ita conpinnata, ut sit annalium instar et supplementorum pist_ Eccles. seculi XVI. speciatim rerum in
Lutherana ecclesia et academia Rostochiensi gestarum,
”
IJamtmrgh, 1720 1728, 4 vols. 8vo, Of so much importance was Chytncus above a century after his death, that hi$
personal history was thought a proper foundation and connecting medium, for a general history of the Lutheran
church,
pected, but the match was by no means agreeable to his father, who had entertained hopes of settling his son in a higher rank in life than the stage; but the amiable
, wife of the preceding, and for several years the best actress in England, was the daughter of an eminent upholsterer in Covent-garden, and sister to Dr. Thomas Augustin Arne, the musician. Her first appearance on the stage was as a singer, in which the sweetness of her voice rendered her very conspicuous, although she had not much judgment, nor a good ear. It was in this situation, that, in April 1734, she married Theoph. Cibber, then a widower for the second time. The first year of their nuptials was attended with as much felicity as could be expected, but the match was by no means agreeable to his father, who had entertained hopes of settling his son in a higher rank in life than the stage; but the amiable deportment of his daughter-in-law, and the seeming reformation of his son, induced him to take the young couple into favour. As he was a manager of Drury-lane play-house at that time, and his son having hinted somewhat respecting Mrs. Cibber’s talents as an actress, he desired to hear a specimen. Upon this her first attempt to declaim in tragedy, he was happy to discover that her speaking voice was perfectly musical, her expression both in voice and feature, strong and pathetic at pleasure, and her figure at that time perfectly in proportion. He therefore assiduously undertook to cultivate those talents, and produced her in 1736, in the character of Zara, in Aaron Hill’s tragedy, being its first representation. The audience were both delighted and astonished. The piece, which was at best an indifferent translation, made its way upon the stage; and Mrs. Cibber’s, reputation as an actress was fully established, with its agreeable concomitants, a rise of salary, &c. The character, however, which she acquired in public, was lost in private life. She was married to a man who was luxurious and prodigal, and rapacious after money to gratify his passions or vanity, and at length he resolved to make a profit of the honour of his wife. With this view, therefore, he cemented the closest friendship with a gentleman, whom he introduced to his wife, recommended to her, gave them frequent interviews, and even saw them put, as if by accident, in the same bed, and had then the impudence to commence a trial for criminal correspondence, which brought to light his nefarious conduct. He laid his damages at 5000l. but the jury discerning the baseness of his conduct, gave only 10l. costs; a sum not sufficient to reimburse him a fortieth part of his expences. From that time Mrs. Cibber discontinued living with her husband, and resided entirely with the gentleman who was the defendant in this abominable trial.
public school under an eminent Greek master. His father, indeed, discerning the promising genius of his son, spared no expence in procuring the ablest masters among
He was educated at Rome with his cousins, the young Aculeos, by a method approved and directed by L. Crassus, and placed there in a public school under an eminent Greek master. His father, indeed, discerning the promising genius of his son, spared no expence in procuring the ablest masters among whom was the poetA re hi as, who came to Rome with a high reputation, when Cicero was about five years old; and who was afterwards defended by Cicero in a most elegant oration, still extant.
hirteen to C. Piso Frugi, a young nobleman of great hopes, and one of the best families in Rome; and his son and heir was also born in the same year.
Cicero being now in his forty-third year, the proper age
required by law, declared himself a candidate for the consulship along with six competitors. The two first were
patricians; the two next plebeians, yet noble; the two
last the sons of fathers, who had first imported the public
honours into their families: Cicero was the only new man,
as he was called, amongst them, or one born of equestrian
rank. Two of them, C. Antonius and Catiline, employed
bribery on this occasion in the most shameful manner, but
as the election approached, Cicero’s interest appeared
to be superior to that of all the candidates, and in his case,
instead of choosing consuls by a kind of ballot, or little
tickets of wood distributed to the citizens with the names
of the several candidates severally inscribed upon each,
the people loudly and universally proclaimed Cicero the
first consul; so that, as he himself says, “he was not
chosen by the votes of particular citizens, but the common
suffrage of the city; nor declared by the voice of the crier,
but of the whole Roman people.
” This year several alterations happened in his own family. His father died; his
daughter Tullia was given in marriage at the age of thirteen
to C. Piso Frugi, a young nobleman of great hopes, and
one of the best families in Rome; and his son and heir
was also born in the same year.
fast to his purpose, he embarked at length for Dyrrhachium; and arrived safely in Pompey’s camp with his son, his brother, and his nephew, committing the fortunes of
As to the public news of the year, the grand affair that
engaged all people’s thoughts was the expectation of a
breach between Caesar and Pompey, which seemed to be
now unavoidable, and which Cicero soon learned from his
friends, as he was returning from uis province of Cilicia,
But as he foresaw the consequences of a war more coolly
and clearly than any of them, his first resolution was to
apply all his endeavours and authority to the mediation of
a peace. He had not yet declared for either side, although
his inclination was to follow Pompey and while he was
endeavouring to remain neuter, he had an interview with
Pompey, who, finding him wholly bent on peace, contrived to have a second conference with him hefore he
reached the city, in hopes to prevent any project of an
accommodation. Cicero, however, the more he observed
the disposition of both parties, the more he perceived the
necessity of it; and that a war must necessarily end in a
tyranny of some kind or other. When he arrived at the
city, he found the war in effect proclaimed: for the senate
had just voted a decree, that Caesar should dismiss his army
by a certain day, or be declared an enemy; and Cæsar’s
sudden march towards Rome effectually confirmed it. In
the midst of all this hurry and confusion, Caesar was extremely solicitous to prevail with Cicero to stand neuter,
but in vain, for Cicero was impatient to be gone to Pompey. In the mean time Caesar’s letters on the subject
afford a striking proof of the high esteem and credit in
which Cicero flourished at this time in Rome: when, in a
contest for empire, which force alone was to decide, the
chiefs on both sides were so solicitous to gain a man to
their party, who had no peculiar talents for war. Steadfast
to his purpose, he embarked at length for Dyrrhachium;
and arrived safely in Pompey’s camp with his son, his brother, and his nephew, committing the fortunes of the whole
family to the issue of that cause. But he soon had reason
to dislike every thing which they had done, or designed to
do; and saw that their own councils would ruin their cause.
In this disagreeable situation he declined all employment;
and finding his counsels wholly slighted, resumed his usual
way of raillery, for he was a great jester, and what he
could not dissuade by his authority, endeavoured to make
ridiculous by his jests. When Pompey put him in mind
of his coming so late to them: “How can I come late
”
said he, “when I find nothing in readiness among you?
” and
upon Pompey’s asking him sarcastically, where his son-in-law
Dolabella was; “He is with your father-in-law,
” replied
he. To a person newly arrived from Italy, and informing
him of a strong report at Rome, that Pompey was blocked
up by Caesar; “And you sailed hither therefore,
” said he
“that you might see it with your own eyes.
” By the frequency of these splenetic jokes, he is said to have provoked
Pompey so far as to tell him, “I wish you would go over
to the other side, that you may begin to fear us.
”
angers and barbarians. At another time, being desired by a friend in a public company to procure for his son the rank of a senator in one of the corporate towns of Italy,
After the battle of Pharsalia, in which Pompey was defeated, Cicero returned to Italy, and was afterwards received into great favour by Caesar, who was now declared
dictator for the second time, and Marc Antony his master
of the horse. At his interview with Caesar he had no occasion to depart from the dignity of his character, for Caesar
no sooner saw him than he alighted, and ran to embrace
him, and walked with him alone, conversing very familiarly for several furlongs. About the end of the year,
Caesar embarked for Africa, to pursue the war against the
Pompeian generals, and Cicero, despairing of any good
from either side, chose to live retired; and whether in the
city or the country, shut himself up with his books; which,
as he often says, “had hitherto been the diversion only, but
were now become the support of his life.
” In this retreat
he entered into a close friendship and correspondence with
M. Terentius Varro, who is said to have been the most
learned of all the Romans; and wrote two of those pieces
upon orators and oratory, which are still extant in his works.
He was now in his sixty-first year, and having been divorced from his wife Terentia, he incurred both censure
and ridicule for marrying a handsome young woman named
Publilia, of an age disproportioned to his own, and to
whom he was guardian. But at present he was yet more
imprudent in frequently hazarding Caesar’s displeasure by
his sarcastic remarks. Some of these jests upon Caesar’s
administration are still preserved, and shew an extraordinary want of caution in times so critical. Caesar had
advanced Laberius, a celebrated player, to the order of
knights; but when he stepped from the stage to take his
place on the equestrian benches, none of the knights would
admit him to a seat amongst them. Cicero, however, as
he was marching off therefore with disgrace, said, “I
would make room for you here on our bench, if we were
not already too much crowded:
” alluding to Caesar’s filling
up the senate also with the lowest of his creatures, and even
with strangers and barbarians. At another time, being
desired by a friend in a public company to procure for his
son the rank of a senator in one of the corporate towns of
Italy, He shall have it,“says he,
” if you please, at
Rome; but it will be difficult at Pompeii.“An acquaintance likewise from Laodicea, coming to pay his respects
to him, and being asked what business had brought him to
Rome, said, that he was sent upon an embassy to Caesar,
to intercede with him for the liberty of his country: upon
which Cicero replied,
” If you succeed, you shall be an
ambassador also for us." Caesar, it must be allowed, to
his honour, preserved such a reverence for his character,
that he gave him many marks of personal favour; and this
influence Cicero employed only to screen himself in the
general misery of the times, and to serve those unhappy
men who were driven from their country and families for
the adherence to that cause which he himself had espoused.
Cicero was now oppressed by a new affliction, the death
of his beloved daughter Tullia; who died in childbed,
soon after her divorce from her third husband Dolabella.
She was about thirty-two years old at the time of her
death, and was most affectionate to her father. To the
usual graces of her sex, she added the more solid accomplishments of knowledge and polite letters, was qualified
to be the companion as well as the delight of his age; and
was justly esteemed not only as one of the best, but the
most learned of the Roman ladies. His affliction for the
death of this daughter was so great, that he endeavoured
to shun all company by removing to Atticus’s house, where
h'e lived chiefly in his library, turning over every book he
could meet with on the subject of moderating grief. But,
rinding his residence even here too public, he retired to
Asturia, one ol his seats near Antium, a little island on the
Latian shore, at the mouth of a river of the same name,
covered with woods and groves, cut out into shady walks;
a scene of all others the fittest to indulge melancholy, and
where his whole time was employed in reading and writing.
After the death of Caesar, Cicero was freed at once from
all subjection to a superior, whose power he perpetually
dreaded, and was now without competition the first citizen
in Rome, the first in credit and authority both with the
senate and people. The conspirators had no sooner killed
Caesar in the senate-house, which Cicero tells us he had
the pleasure to see, than Brutus, lifting up his bloody
dagger, called upon him by name, to congratulate with
him on the recovery of their liberty. It is evident from
several of his letters, that he had an expectation- of such
an attempt; for he prophesied very early, that Caesar’s
reign could not last six months, but must necessarily fall,
either by violence, or of itself; nay farther, he hoped to
live to see it; yet it is equally certain that he had no hand
in it, nor was at all acquainted with it.
his studies, and besides some philosophical pieces, now finished his book of Offices, for the use of his son; a work admired by all succeeding ages, as a perfect system
In the hurry of these politics, he was still prosecuting his studies, and besides some philosophical pieces, now finished his book of Offices, for the use of his son; a work admired by all succeeding ages, as a perfect system of heathen morality. At the same time, he missed no opportunities to attempt the recovery of the republic, as appears from those memorable Philippics, which he published against Antony; but notwithstanding this struggle in support of expiring liberty, Brutus was disposed at last to throw all the blame upon him, charging him chiefly, that by a profusion of honours on young Caesar, he had inspired him with an ambition incompatible with the safety of the republic, and armed him with that power which he was now employing to oppress it; whereas the truth is, that by these honours Cicero did not intend to give Caesar any new power, but to apply that which he had acquired by his own vigour to the public service, and the ruin of Antony; in which he succeeded even beyond expectation; and would certainly have gained his end, had he not bee'tt prevented by accidents which could not be foreseen.
ce, and yet continued his practices. He avowed fully “to Mr. Ramsay what he was too timid to avow to his son, to a Hoadly, or to an Emlyn; and what he even took pains
After this paper had been before the upper house, being
apprehensive that, if it should be published separately, as
afterwards happened, without any true account of the preceding and following circumstances, it might be misunderstood in some particulars, he caused an explanation, dated
July 5, to be presented to the bishop of London, the next
time the upper house met: setting forth, “That whereas
the paper laid before their lordships the Friday before,
was, through haste and want of time, not drawn up with
sufficient exactness, he thought himself indispensably
obliged in conscience to acquaint their lordships, that he
did not mean thereby to retract any thing he had written,
but to declare that the opinion set forth at large in his
Scripture Doctrine, &c. is, that the Son was eternally begotten by the eternal incomprehensible power and will of
the Father, &c. and that, by declaring he did not intend
to write any more concerning the doctrine of the Trinity,
he did not preclude himself from a liberty of making any
inoffensive corrections in his former books, if they should
come to another edition, or from vindicating himself
against any misrepresentations or aspersions, which might
possibly hereafter be cast upon him, on occasion of this
controversy.
” After the delivery of this explanation, the
upper house resolved, July 5,. to proceed no farther upon
the extract, laid before them by the lower house and ordered Dr. Clarke’s papers to be entered in the acts of that
house. But the lower house, not so satisfied, resolved,
July 7, that the paper subscribed by Dr. Clarke, and communicated to them by the bishops, does not contain in it
any recantation of the heretical assertions and offensive
passages complained of in their representation, and afterwards produced in their extract; nor gives such satisfaction for the great scandal occasioned thereby, as ought to
put a stop to any farther examination and censure thereof.
Thus ended. this affair; the most authentic account of which
we have in a piece entitled, “An Apology for Dr. Clarke,
containing an account of the late proceedings in convocation, upon his writings concerning the Trinity, 1714, 8vo,
”
written, Whiston tells us, by a clergyman in the country,
a common friend of his and Dr. Clarke’s, with the knowledge and assistance of the latter. The “Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity,
” as we have observed, was first published in from the time of publishing this book to
the day of his death, he found no reason, as far as he was
able to judge, to alter the notions which he there professed.
” Mr. Whitaker, in his “Origin of Arianism disclosed,
” has taken uncommon pains to support the truth of
chevalier Ramsay’s assertion, that Dr. Clarke greatly repented of his ever having published his work upon the
Trinity. The testimonies on the other side of the question
Mr. Whitaker endeavours to reconcile, by supposing that
the doctor occasionally avowed his repentance, and yet
continued his practices. He avowed fully “to Mr. Ramsay
what he was too timid to avow to his son, to a Hoadly, or
to an Emlyn; and what he even took pains to conceal
from them, in a seeming continuance of opinion, and in
an actual perseverance of conduct.
” All this, however,
has been most confidently denied by Dr. Clarke’s friends.
To God, through Christ, his son, our Lord,
is permission to resign the rectory of Buxted (after having held it more than thirty-four years), to his son Edward, through the unsolicited interest of the late marquis
In 1768 Mr. Clarke obtained from archbishop Cornwallis
permission to resign the rectory of Buxted (after having held it more than thirty-four years), to his son Edward,
through the unsolicited interest of the late marquis Cornwallis, who recollected on this occasion the intimacy that
had subsisted between himself and the rev. Edward Clarke
in the island of Minorca. In June 1770, he was installed
chancellor of the church of Chichester, to which office the
rectories of Chittingley and Pevensey are annexed; and in
August that year was presented to the vicarage of Amport.
These preferments he did not long enjoy, as he died Oct. 21,
1771. In the “Anecdotes of Bowyer
” are many letters
and extracts of letters, written to that learned printer and
other persons, by Mr. Clarke, which exhibit him to great
advantage as a man of piety, a friend, and a scholar. Besides the writings already mentioned, Mr. Clarke joined
with Mr. Bowyer in the translation of Trapp’s Lectures on
poetry, and in annotations on the Greek Testament; and
was the author of several of the notes subjoined to the
English version of Bleterie’s Life of the Emperor Julian.
He left behind him a considerable number of manuscripts,
among which are some volumes of excellent sermons, the
best of which were given to the late Ashburnham, bishop
of Chichester, and at his death were inadvertently burnt
with some other papers. Bishop Bagot had strongly recommended the publication of a selection of Mr. Clarke’s
sermons.
commentators, but sufficient encouragement was not given. The copy, however, is in the possession of his son the rev. James Stanier Clarke, with another that was interleaved
, son to the preceding, was born at
Btixted, March 16, 1730, and was educated at St. John’s
college, Cambridge, where he took his degree of B. A,.
1752, and after being elected a fellow, proceeded M. A.
1755. In 1758 he was presented to the rectory of Pepperharrow, in Surrey. He was, like his father, a man of genius
and an excellent scholar. His taste and wit gave peculiar
charms to his conversation, in which he particularly excelled. His first publication, we believe, was a copy of
Greek hexameters on the death of Frederic prince of Wales,
in the “Luctus Academias Cantabrigiensis,
” A Letter to a Friend in Italy, and
verses on reading Montfaucon.
” In concert with Mr.
Itowyer, he projected the improvement of a Latin dictionary, by reducing that of Faber from its present radical
to a regular form. One single sheet of this work was completed, when the design dropped for want of due encouragement. In 1759, he published a thanksgiving sermon,
for the victory over the French fleet; and the following
year, went as chaplain to the embassy at Madrid, and during
a residence there of two years, collected the materials of a
very curious work which he published on his return, entitled
“Letters concerning the Spanish nation, written at Madrid
during the years 1760 and 1761,
” A defence of the conduct of the lieutenantgovernor, in reply to a printed libel.
” On his return from
Minorca, about Greek Testament,
” with a
selection of notes from the most eminent critics and commentators, but sufficient encouragement was not given.
The copy, however, is in the possession of his son the rev.
James Stanier Clarke, with another that was interleaved
and filled with notes by his grandfather Mr. William Clarke.
He died November 1786, and was buried at Buxted. He
left three sons, and a daughter married to capt. Parkinson
of the royal navy. Of his sons, the youngest, capt. George
Clarke of the royal navy, a brave and skilful officer, was
unfortunately drowned by the upsetting 1 of a pleasure-boat
in the Thames, Oct. 1, 1805. It would be unnecessary to
add how much the literary honours of this family are likely
to be perpetuated by his other sons, the rev. James Stanier
Clarke, LL. B. and F. K. S. the biographer of Nelson, and
the rev. Edward Daniel Clarke, LL. D. a gentleman of
consummate abilities in the antiquities of literature, and
author of two volumes of “Travels
” just published, which
have interested the public in no common degree.
, and his “Essay on the Composition of a Sermon,” which he wrote about the year 1676, for the use of his son, was translated and published in English, in 1778, by the
Claude married in 1648 Elizabeth de Malcare, by whom
he had a son, Isaac Claude, born March 5, 1653, of whom
he was very fond, and bred him to the ministry. He
studied in the universities of France; after which he returned to his father, who completed his education for the
pulpit. He was examined at Sedan in 1678, and approved;
he was invited by the congregation of the church of Clermont in Beauvoisis; and his father had the satisfaction to
impose his hands on him in 1678, and to see him minister
of the Walloon church at the Hague, when he retired to
Holland in 1685. He died at the Hague, July 29, 1695,
after having published many excellent works of his deceased father, particularly 5 vols. 12mo of posthumous
theological and controversial treatises, Amst. 1689.Lavocat, a Roman catholic writer, allows that his works are
written in a manly, exact, elegant and close style, discover great genius and learning, and an uncommon talent
for employing all the subtleties of logic. So candid a
critic may be forgiven for adding, “happy had he not
talents by writing against the catholic church.
”
These volumes just mentioned contain “An answer to a
treatise on the Sacrament,
” supposed to be written by
cardinal le Camus, bishop of Grenoble; Four Letters on
the same subject; an “Essay on the composition of a Serinon;
” a “Body of Christian Divinity;
” expositions of
parts of Scripture, Letters, &c. His Life, written by
M. de la Devaize, was translated into English by G. P. and
published Lond. 1688, 4to. His “Historical Defence of
the Reformation
” was published in English by T. B. Lond.
Essay on the Composition of a Sermon,
” which he wrote about the year
op of Rochester, with whom he held a lasting friendship. From Westminster school Dr. Clayton removed his son to Trinity college, Dublin, of which, in due time, he became
, bishop of Clogher, was born at Dublin in 1695, a descendant of the Claytons of Fulwood, in Lancashire, whose estate he became possessed of, by right of inheritance. His father, Dr. Clayton, minister of St. Michael’s, Dublin, and dean of Kildare, sent him to Westminster-school, under the private tuition of Zachary Pearce, afterwards bishop of Rochester, with whom he held a lasting friendship. From Westminster school Dr. Clayton removed his son to Trinity college, Dublin, of which, in due time, he became a fellow, and afterwards made the tour of Italy and France. From whom Mr. Clayton received holy orders, what preferments he had before he was raised to the episcopacy, and when he took his degrees, we are not informed; only we find that he was become D. D. in 1729. In 1728, having come into the possession of an affluent estate, in consequence of his father’s decease, he married Catharine, daughter of lord chief baron Donnellan, and gave her fortune, which was not considerable, to her sister. He behaved with the same generosity to his own three sisters, and gave to each of them the double of what had been bequeathed to them by their father’s will.
Norwich, Aug. 12, 1725. His father was a blacksmith, in humble life, and could only afford to allow his son a short time for instruction, in the elements of reading,
, an ingenious professor of the veterinary art, was born at Norwich, Aug. 12, 1725. His father was a blacksmith, in humble life, and could only afford to allow his son a short time for instruction, in the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. He was taken from school before he had made much progress in his education; and when he was seventeen years old, he was obliged, by the death of his father, to carry on the business for the benefit of his mother and her family, which consisted of four children. About the year 1750, he was first noticed by Dr. Kirwan Wright, an eminent physician, and a man of learning, who encouraged him to direct his mind to the investigation and treatment of the diseases of horses. To this pursuit he devoted his attention with great zeal and success. Through the same friend he was induced to acquire a knowledge of the Latin and French languages, in. order to make himself acquainted with the best authors on farriery and medicine, but particularly Vegetius and La Fosse. His Latin teacher was a Mr. Pagan, under whose tuition he made a rapid progress: and in French he instructed himself without the help of any master. He was much assisted in his Latin studies by acting as an amanuensis, and sometimes read in^ Latin books, to Dr. Wright, who had the misfortune to be deprived of his sight. During this time he was a hard worker as well as a hard student. He used to work at the forge, the regular hours, from sixo'clock in the morning until eight at night, and then frequently got ready the nails requisite for his men the next day. To his labours as a blacksmith, a veterinary practitioner, a student of Latin and French, he added others, as a student of mathematics. He became a member of a society established in Norwich, among men of original minds and small incomes, for improvement in mathematics and experimental philosophy, under the direction of Mr. Peter Bilby. Here ho associated with John Fransham, with Mr. Arderon, F. 11. S. a friend and correspondent of Baker, whose inquiries with the microscope excited general interestat that time, and with other working and thinking men. Mr. Clover had a greater quickness of apprehension, and excelled Fransham in mathematics; but the latter had made a greater proficiency in the classics, and was therefore qualified to become his master. After his return from his eccentric excursion to Newcastle, Mr. Clover employed Fransham occasionally to ride the horses home after they were shod, and whilst the iron was heating, they used both to be employed in Latin exer^ses and mathematical problems, worked upon a slate hung against the forge. Thus the tutor assisted in all the labours of his pupil, and, ' after correcting an exercise, or discussing the properties of a circle, he earned his frugal meal by conducting home the horses which his pupil had shod. Natural philosophy, natural history, and botany, engaged much of this little Bilbean society’s attention. Mr. Clover demonstrated at several of their meetings the origin and progress of the bots found in the stomach and intestines of horses, so early as 1753. He discovered the manner in which the larvae of these insects f&strus equij are conveyed from the coat of the horse, where they are deposited by the fly, into the animal’s stomach; and he illustrated, by many experiments, the whole progress of their transformation, which has been since so well described by Mr. B. Clarke, in the Linnean Transactions for 1796. In 1765, Mr. Clover’s reputation had increased so much that he relinquished working at the forge, and devoted himself wholly to the veterinary art. In this he was assisted by the most eminent medical practitioners of those days, particularly Mr. Gooch, who has inserted in the second volume of his surgical cases, a letter from Mr. Clover, giving a description and a drawing of an ingenious machine invented by him for the cure of ruptured tendons and fractured legs in horses. For many years Mr. Clover was severely afflicted with giddiness and pain in his head, which obliged him to decline business in 178!. He continued, however, to interest himself in every improvement that was made, and always took delight in recounting the results of his extensive experience. One of his greatest amusements was to talk with those who studied physic and surgery; and he continued to read the new medical publications, and to deliver short private lectures on the theory and practice of the healing art, with a lively interest, until the very day of his death. It is to be regretted that he never could be prevailed upon to extend the usefulness of his knowledge and experience in the diseases of animals, by any publication of his observations; but he felt a diffidence and fastidiousness in writing that could never be overcome, though his readiness to communicate information was universally acknowledged. The latter end of his life was cheered by the amusement of gardening, in which he excelled. He marked the gradual decay of his bodily organs with perfect tranquillity and composure, and watched his declining pulse when he expired Feb. 19, 1811, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. With an understanding vigorous and acute, and n. power of discrimination and discernment peculiar to himself, Mr. Clover possessed the external advantage of a strong muscular frame of body, which was tall and well proportioned.
ted into English. He wrote also “On the Baths at Pisa, and Sopra Asclepiadea.” This was published by his son, Raymond Cocchi, who succeeded his father as professor of
, of Florence, professor of physic
at Pisa, afterwards of surgery and anatomy at Florence,
was born there in 1693, and died in 1758, at the age of
sixty-two. In the course of his travels he became the intimate friend of Newton, Boerhaave, and Dr. Mead. The
emperor made him his antiquary. He was esteemed both
for his theoretical and practical knowledge. He wrote:
1. “Grsecorum Chirurgici Libri; Sorani unus de Fracturarum signis, Oribasii duo de Fractis, et Luxatis, ex
Collectione Nicetse, Florent.
” O ratio de
Usu Artis Anatomicse, Florent.
” Medicinae laudatio in Gymnasio Pisis habita,
” Del vitto Pythagorico,
” Flor. On
the Baths at Pisa, and Sopra Asclepiadea.
” This was
published by his son, Raymond Cocchi, who succeeded
his father as professor of anatomy, and physician to the
public hospital at Florence.
s wedding, however, cost sir Edward dear. For besides 10,000l. paid in money at two payments, he and his son sir Robert did, pursuant to articles and directions of the
Low as sir Edward was fallen, he was afterwards restored to credit and favour; the first step to which was, his proposing a match between the earl of Buckingham’s elder brother, sir John Villiers, and his younger daughter by the lady Hatton: for he knew no other way of gaining that favourite. This, however, occasioned a violent dispute and quarrel between sir Edward and his wife; who, resenting her husband’s attempt to dispose of her daughter without asking her leave, carried away the young lady, and lodged her at sir Edmund Withipole’s house near Oatlands. Upon this, sir Edward wrote immediately to the earl of Buckingham, to procure a warrant from the privy-council to restore his daughter to him; but before he received an answer, discovering where she was, he went with his sons and took her, by force, which occasioned lady Hatton to complain in her turn to the privy council. Much confusion followed; and this private match became at length an affair of state. The differences were at length made up, in appearance at least, Sept. 1617; sir Edward was restored to favour, and reinstated in his place as privy-councillor; and sir John Villiers was married to Mrs. Frances Coke at Hampton-court, with all the splendour imaginable. This wedding, however, cost sir Edward dear. For besides 10,000l. paid in money at two payments, he and his son sir Robert did, pursuant to articles and directions of the lords of the council, assure to sir John Villiers a rent-charge of 2000 marks per annum during sir Edward’s life, and of 900l. a year during the lady Hatton’s life, if she survived her husband; and after both their deaths, the manor of Stoke in Buckinghamshire, of the value of 900l. per annum, to sir John Villiers and his lady, and to the heirs of her body. The same were settled by good conveyances carefully drawn the January following, and certified to his majesty under the hands of two Serjeants and the attorneygeneral. All this time the quarrel subsisted between him and his wife: and many letters are still extant, which shew a great deal of heat and resentment in both parties. At the time of the marriage lady Hatton was confined at the complaint of her husband: for, since her marriage, she had purchased the island and castle of Purbeck, and several other estates in different counties; which made her greatly independent of her husband. However, their reconciliation was afterwards effected, but not till July 1621, and then by no less a mediator than the king.
Egyptians in the Red Sea.” This artist flourished according to Strutt and Heinecken about 1530 1550. His son, Hans or John, was an excellent draughtsman and engraver.
, an engraver and print-seller of
Antwerp, of the sixteenth century, is said to have received
the first instructions in his art, in the place of his nativity;
after which he repaired to Italy to complete his studies.
He contributed not a little, by his assiduity, and the facility of his graver, to the numberless sets of prints of sacred
stones, huntings, landscapes, flowers, fish, &c. with which
the states of Germany and Flanders were at that time inundated. Many of these are apparently from his own designs, and others from Martin de Vos, Theodore Bernard,
P. Breughel, John Stradanus, Hans Bol, and other masters.
His style of engraving is at the same time masterly and
neat, and his knowledge of drawing appears to have been
considerable; but his prints partake of the defects of his
contemporaries, his masses of light and shade being too
much scattered, and too equally powerful. The following
are amongst his numerous performances. The “Life of
Christ in 36 small prints.
” “The twelve months, small
circles from H. Bol.
” “The women of Israel chanting
the psalm of praise, after the destruction of the Egyptians
in the Red Sea.
” This artist flourished according to Strutt
and Heinecken about 1530 1550. His son, Hans or John,
was an excellent draughtsman and engraver. He
studied some time in Rome, and afterwards settled in his
native place, Antwerp, where he assisted his father in most
of his great works; and afterwards published a prodigious
number of prints of his own, nowise inferior to those of
Adrian. The works attributed by some to one Herman
Coblent, are, by Heinecken, supposed to be by this master.
His prints, according to Strutt, are dated from 1555 to
1622, so that he must have lived to a great age. We shall
only notice the following amongst his numerous performances “The Life of St. Francis in 16 prints lengthways,
surrounded by grotesque borders.
” “Time and Truth,
” a
small upright print beautifully engraved, from J. Stradanus
“The Last Judgment,
” a large print, encompassed with
small stories of the life of Christ. M. Heinecken mentions
a print by an artist, who signs himself William Collaert,
and supposes him the son of John Collaert.
h, he was placed under proper management at Paddington, and the conduct of the theatre was vested in his son. He died the 14th of August 1794. Mr. Colman, as a scholar,
Some time about the year 1790 Mr. Colman had a stroke
of the palsy, which nearly deprived him of the use of one
side of his body; and in a short time afterwards he gave
evident signs of mental derangement; in consequence of
which, he was placed under proper management at Paddington, and the conduct of the theatre was vested in
his son. He died the 14th of August 1794. Mr. Colman,
as a scholar, holds a very respectable rank, as may be seen
by his translations of Horace’s Art of Poetry, and of the
comedies of Terence; and his manners were as pleasing as
his talents were respectable. His various dramatic pieces
have been published in 4 vols. 8vo.
The year after his death appeared a pamphlet, entitled
“Some Particulars of the Life of the late George Colman,
esq. written by himself, and delivered by him to Richard
Jackson, esq. one of his executors, for publication after
his decease.
” The object of this pamphlet was to contradict two reports which had long been current. The one,
that by his literary pursuits and dramatic compositions, he
lost the favour and affection of the earl of Bath; the other,
that by his purchase of a fourth of the patent of Coventgarden theatre, he knowingly and voluntarily forfeited the
intended bequest of a certain estate under the will of general Pulteney. In opposition to these reports, he proves
very clearly that he did not lose the favour of the earl of
Bath, and that general Pulteney, while he did not openly
resist his becoming a manager of the theatre, but rather
consented to it, changed his intentions towards him, and
left him, in lieu of the estate, an annuity of four hundred
pounds. The general appears, however, to have considered the family as disgraced by Mr. Colman’s becoming
a manager, for the latter is obliged to remind him of gentlemen who had been managers, of sir William Davenant,
sir Richard Steele, sir John Vanburgh, and Mr. Congreve.
noese, and frequently mentioned in history as the discoverer of America, was born in 1442. Ferdinand his son, who wrote his life, would suggest to us, that he was descended
, a Genoese, and frequently mentioned in history as the discoverer of America, was born in 1442. Ferdinand his son, who wrote his life, would suggest to us, that he was descended from an ancient and considerable family; but it is generally believed that his father was a woolcomber, and that he himself was of the same trade, till, by having been at sea, he had acquired a taste for navigation. In his early years he applied himself much to the study of geometry and astronomy at Pavia, in order to understand cosmography: and learnt to draw, in order to describe lands, and set down cosmographical bodies, plains, or rounds. He went to sea at the age of fourteen: his first voyages were to those ports in the Mediterranean frequented by the Genoese; after which he took a voyage to Iceland; and proceeding still further north, advanced several degrees within the polar circle. After this, Columbus entered into the service of a famous sea-captain of his own name and family, who commanded a small squadron fitted out at his own expence; and by cruising against the Mahometans and Venetians, the rivals of his country in trade, had acquired both wealth and reputation. With him Columbus continued for several years, no less distinguished for his courage than his experience as a sailor. At length, in an obstinate engagement, off the coast of Portugal, with some Venetian caravals returning richly laden from the Low Countries, his ship took fire, together with one of the enemy’s ships to which it was first grappled. Columbus threw himself into the sea, laid hold of a floating oar, and by the support of it, and his dexterity in swimming, reached the shore, though above two leagues distant.
d in that tumultuous period, for his loyalty, as to be compelled to take refuge in Flanders, leaving his son entirely under the care of jiis mother. His early education
, dean of Durham, the son of James Comber, and Mary Burton, who, when she married his father was the widow of Mr. Edward Hampden of Westerham in Kent, was born at Westerham March 19, 1644, and was the last child baptised in that parish church according to the rites of the church of England, before those rites were prohibited by the usurping powers. His father was so persecuted in that tumultuous period, for his loyalty, as to be compelled to take refuge in Flanders, leaving his son entirely under the care of jiis mother. His early education he received at the school of Westerham, under the rev. Thomas Walter, a teacher of piety as well as learning. Here his progress was so rapid that he could read and write Greek before he was ten years old, and in other respects was accounted a pupil of great promise. From this place he removed in 1653 to London, and passed some time under a schoolmaster, a distant relation, but without adding much to his stock of knowledge, and in 1656 returned to his first master at Westerham, and on his death, read Greek and Latin, for a year, assisted by the rev. William Holland.
d by our author in 1777, entitled” A Book of Instructions, written by sir Christopher Wandesforde to his son, but they are seldom found together." Dr. Comber died in
, LL. D. grandson to the preceding
Dr. Comber, dean of Durham, was educated at Jesus
college, Cambridge, where he took his degrees of B. A. 1744,
M. A. 1770, and LL. D. 1777. He was rector of Kirkby
Misperton, Yorkshire, and afterwards rector of Morborne
and Buckworth in Huntingdonshire. He was a man of
considerable parts and learning, and the author of several
controversial tracts, among which are: 1. “The Heathen
rejection of Christianity in the first ages considered/' 1747,
8vo. 2.
” An Examination of a late introductory Discourse concerning Miraculous Power,“by Dr. Middleton, a
pamphlet in which Warburton discovered marks of genius
and sense, but with some puerilities. 3.
” A Vindication
of the great Revolution in England in 1688, &c.“1758,
8vo. 4.
” A Free and Candid Correspondence on the
Farmer’s Letter to the people of England, &c. with the
Author,“1770, 8vo. 5.
” A Treatise of Laws, from the
Greek of Sylburgius’s edition of Theodoret, bishop of Cyprus, &c.“177G, 8vo. 6.
” Memoirs of the Life and
Death of the right hon. the Lord Deputy Wandesforde,“Cambridge, 1778, 12mo. Dr. Comber was great great
grandson to this nobleman. This last is a very curious and
a very scarce performance. It is marked on the title-page,
vol. II. and was to be considered as the second volume of a
work published by our author in 1777, entitled
” A Book
of Instructions, written by sir Christopher Wandesforde to
his son, but they are seldom found together." Dr. Comber died in 1778.
ons and visitation charges are still in the hands of his descendants, as is a life of him written by his son John Conant, LL. D. also in manuscript, but communicated
He was a man oif great piety, and of solid and extensive
learning; and so very modest, it is said, that though he
understood most of the Oriental languages, and was particularly versed in the Syriac, yet few people knew it.
There have been published six volumes of his sermons;
the first in 1693, and dedicated by himself to the inhabitants of Northampton; the second, after his death, in 1697,
by John bishop of Chichester; the third in 1698, the
fourth in 1703, the fifth in 1708, by the same editor; the
sixth in 1722, by Digby Cotes, M. A. principal of Magdalenhall in Oxford. Many more of his sermons and visitation
charges are still in the hands of his descendants, as is a
life of him written by his son John Conant, LL. D. also in
manuscript, but communicated to the editors of the first
edition of the Biog. Britannica. For want of attention to
this account, which must undoubtedly be deemed authentic, Mr. Palmer, in his “Nonconformists’ Memorial,
” (a new edition, with continuations of Calamy’s work), has introduced him for the purpose of giving some extracts from
an unpublished ms. relative to the oppressions he suffered
from the bishop of Bath and Wells, all which story evidently belongs to his uncle John Conant, B. D. and rector
of Lymington.
ang he, who had enjoyed the highest offices of the kingdom of Long; but left no other inheritance to his son, except the honour of descending from Ti ye, the 27th emperor
, or Con-Fu-Tsee, the celebrated Chinese
philosopher, was born in the kingdom of Lou, which is at
present the province of Chan Long, in the 2 1 st year of the
reign of Ling van, the 23d emperor of the race of Tcheou,
551 years B. C. He was contemporary with Pythagoras,
and a little before Socrates. He was but three years old
when he lost his father Tcho leang he, who had enjoyed
the highest offices of the kingdom of Long; but left no
other inheritance to his son, except the honour of descending from Ti ye, the 27th emperor of the second race of
the Chang. His mother, whose name wasChing, and who
sprung originally from the illustrious family of the Yen,
lived twenty-one years after the death of her husband,
Confucius did not grow in knowledge by degrees, as children ordinarily do, but seemed to arrive at reason and the
perfect use of his faculties almost from his infancy. Taking no delight in amusements proper for his age, he had
a grave and serious deportment, which gained him respect,
and was joined with an appearance of unexampled artd
exalted piety. He honoured his relations; he endeavoured
in all things to imitate his grandfather, who was then alive
in China, and a most holy man: and it was observable,
that he never ate any thing but he prostrated himself upon
the ground, and offered it first to the supreme Lord of
heaven. One day, while he was a child, he heard his
grandfather fetch, a deep sigh; and going up to him with
many bowings and much reverence, “May I presume,
”
says he, “without losing the respect I owe you, to inquire
into the occasion of your grief? perhaps you fear that
your posterity should degenerate from your virtue, and
dishonour you by their vices.
” “What put this thought
into your head,
” says Coum-tse to him, “and where have
you learnt to speak after this manner?
” “From yourself,
”
replied Confucius: “I attend diligently to you every time
you speak; and I have often heard you say, that a son r
who does not by his virtue support thfe glory of his ancestors, does not deserve to bear their name.
” After his
grandfather’s death he applied himself to Tcem-se, a celebrated doctor of his time; and, under the direction of
so great a master, soon made a surprising progress in antiquity, which he considered as the source from whence
all genuine knowledge was to be drawn. This love for the
ancients very nearly cost him his life when he was not
more than sixteen years of age. Falling into discourse
one day about the Chinese books with a person of high
quality, who thought them obscure, and not worth the
pains of searching into, “The books you despise,
” says
Confucius, “are full of profound knowledge, which is not
to be attained but by the wise and learned: and the
people would think cheaply of them, could they comprehend them of themselves. This subordination of spirits,
by which the ignorant are dependent upon the knowing,
is very useful, and even necessary in society. Were all
families equally rich and equally powerful, there could not
subsist any form of government; but there would happen a
yet stranger disorder, if mankind were all equally knowing,
viz. every one would be for governing, and none would
think themselves obliged to obey. Some time ago,
” added
Confucius, “an ordinary fellow made the same observation to me about the books as you have done, and from
such a one indeed nothing better could be expected:
but I wonder that you, a doctor, should thus be found
speaking like one of the lowest of the people.
” This rebuke had indeed the good effect of silencing the mandarin,
and bringing him to a better opinion of the learning of his
country; yet vexed him so at the same time, as it came
from almost a boy, that he would have revenged it by
violence, if he had not been prevented.
Dr, Douglas, from Pechlinus’s “Observationes Physico-mediciK.” It is there said, on the authority of his son-in-law, that Conringius, when labouring under an ague, was
, one of the eminent publicists of Germany, and one of the most illustrious ornaments of the German schools, was born at Embden Nov. 3,
1606, and was educated at Leyden, where he made himself
acquainted with the whole circle of sciences, but chiefly
applied to theology and medicine; and during his residence here, is said to have been supported by Matthias
Overbek, a Dutch merchant, and by G. Calixtus, one of
the professors. His eminent attainments soon procured
him distinction; and he was appointed professor, first of
natural philosophy, and afterwards of medicine, in the university of Brunswick. Turning his attention to the study
of history and policy, he became so famous in these branches
of knowledge, as to attract the attention of princes. Christina, queen of Sweden, who professed to be a general patroness of learned men, invited Conringius to her court,
and upon his arrival received him with the highest marks of
respect. The offer of a liberal appointment could not,
however, induce him to relinquish the academic life, and
after a short time he returned to Juliers. But his uncommon talents for deciding intricate questions on policy were
not long suffered to lie dormant. The elector Palatine,
the elector of Mentz, the duke of Brunswick, the emperor
of Germany, and Louis XIV. of France, all consulted and
conferred upon him honours and rewards. And, if universal learning, sound judgment, and indefatigable application, can entitle a man to respect, Conringius merited all
the distinction he obtained. The great extent of his abilities and learning appears from the number and variety
of his literary productions. His polemic writings prove him
to have been deeply read in theology. His medical knowledge appears from his “Introduction to the medical art,
”
and his “Comparison of the medical practice of the ancient
Egyptians, and the modern Paracelsians.
” The numerous
treatises which he has left on the Germanic institution, and
other subjects of policy and law, evince the depth and accuracy of his juridical learning. His book, “De hermerica Medicina,
” and his “Antiquitates academicae,
” discover a correct acquaintance with the history of philosophy.
It is to be regretted, that this great man was never able
wholly to disengage himself from the prepossession in favour of the Aristotelian philosophy, which he imbibed in
his youth. Although he had the good sense to correct the
more barren parts of his philosophy, and was not ignorant
that his system was in some particulars defective, he still
looked up to the Stagyrite as the best guide in the pursuit
of truth. It was owing to his partiality for ancient
philosophy, particularly for that of Aristotle, that Conringius
was a violent opponent of the Cartesian system. He died
Dec. 12, 1681. His works were published entire in six
volumes folio, Brunswick, 1730, which renders it unnecessary to specify his separate publications. Bibliographers place
a considerable value on his “Bibliotheca Augusta,
” Helmstadt, De antiquitatibus
academicis dissertationes septem,
” the best edition of which
is that of Gottingen, Observationes Physico-mediciK.
” It is there said, on the authority of his son-in-law,
that Conringius, when labouring under an ague, was cured,
without the help of medicines, merely by the joy he felt
from a conversation with the learned Meibomius.
almost the same method in teaching him the learned languages, as Montaigne’s father did in teaching his son Latin: that is, he placed a person about him, who was so
, earl of Shaftesbury, the
celebrated author of the Characteristics, was born Feb. 26,
1671, at Exeter-house in London. His father was Anthony earl of Shaftesbury; his mother lady Dorothy Manners, daughter of John earl of Rutland. He was born in
the house of his grandfather Anthony first earl of Shaftesbury, and chancellor of England, of whom we have spoken
in the preceding article; who was fond of him from his
birth, and undertook the care of his education. He pursued almost the same method in teaching him the learned
languages, as Montaigne’s father did in teaching his son
Latin: that is, he placed a person about him, who was so
thoroughly versed in the Greek and Latin tongues, as to
speak either of them with the greatest fluency. This person was a female, a Mrs. Birch, the daughter of a schoolmaster in Oxfordshire or Berkshire; and a woman who
could execute so extraordinary a task, deserves to have
her name recorded with honour among the learned ladies of
England. By this means lord Shaftesbury made so great
a progress, that he could read both these languages with
ease when but eleven years old. At that age he was sent
by his grandfather to a private school; and in 1683 was
removed to Winchester school, but such was the influence
of party-spirit at the time, that he was insulted for his
grandfather’s sake, by his companions, which made his
situation so disagreeable, that he begged his father to consent to his going abroad. Accordingly he began his travels
in 1686, and spent a considerable time in Italy, where he
acquired great knowledge in the polite arts. This knowledge is very visible through all his writings; that of the
art of painting is more particularly so, from the treatise he
composed upon “The Judgement of Hercules.
” He made
it his endeavour, while he was abroad, to improve himself
as much as possible in every accomplishment; for which
reason he did not greatly affect the company of other English gentlemen upon their travels; and he was remarkable
for speaking French so readily, and with so good an accent,
that in France he was often taken for a native.
e higher claims to originality. The “Epistles to Aristippus/' his songs, and the” Father’s Advice to his Son,“although of unequal merit, contain many passages that are
Dr. Kippis, who knew him personally, informs us that
he was a gentleman of polite address and accomplishments,
and if the general tenour of his works may be credited,
he possessed an amiable and affectionate heart. His chief
foible was vanity, but this is more discoverable in his writings than it probably was in his life. There are few of the
minor poets who have higher claims to originality. The
“Epistles to Aristippus/' his songs, and the
” Father’s
Advice to his Son,“although of unequal merit, contain
many passages that are truly poetical. His veneration for
some of the French poets, particularly Gresset, induced
him to attempt a mode of versification in the Epistles, to
which the English ear cannot easily become familiar, and
which is not to be justified from any defect in the manliness
or copiousness of the English language. Yet this study of
the French writers, of no use in other respects, has rendered his translation of the
” Ver Vert" almost a perfect
copy of the original, and far superior to the coarse version
since published by the late Dr. Geddes.
his sovereign’s favour, for he died in December 1661, and was succeeded in his estate and titles by his son Charles, the second earl. Dr. Leland asserts that Coote
, a distinguished military officer
in the 17th century, was the eldest son of Sir Charles
Coote, who was created baronet in April 1621. He was a
gentleman of great consideration in Ireland. Upon the
breaking out of the rebellion, in 1641, he had a commission
for a regiment of foot, and was made governor of Dublin.
From this period to the year 1652, he was engaged in a
great number of important services for his country. In
almost all the contests of which he took a part, he
was successful. After Ireland was reduced to the obedience
of the parliament, sir Charles was one of the court of justice in the province of Connaught, of which he was made
president by act of parliament. Being in England at the
time of the deposing of Richard Cromwell, he went post
to Ireland, to carry the news to his brother Henry Cromwell, that they might secure themselves; but when he perceived that king Charles the Second’s interest was likely to
prevail, he sent to the king sir Arthur Forbes, “to assure
his Majesty of sir Charles’s affection and duty, and that if
his Majesty would vouchsafe to come to Ireland, he was
confident the whole kingdom would declare for him; that
though the present power in England had removed all the
sober men from the government of the state in Ireland, under
the character of presbyterians, and had put Ludlow, Corbet,
and others of the king’s judges in their places, yet they were
generally so odious to the army as well as to the people,
that they could seize on their persons and the castle of
Dublin when they should judge it convenient.
” The king
did not think it prudent to accept the invitation. In a short
time after, sir Charles Coote, and some others, so influenced
the whole council of officers, that they prevailed upon them
to vote not to receive colonel Ludlow as commander in
chief, and made themselves masters of Athlone, Drogheda,
Limerick, Dublin, and other important places, for the service of the king. He immediately caused colonel Monk
to be made acquainted with the progress of the king’s interest in Ireland, who urged them by every means not to
restore the suspended commissioners to the exercise of
their authority. Soon after, sir Charles Coote and others
sent to the parliament a charge of high treason against colonel Ludlow, Corbet, Jones, and Thomlinson. He likewise made himself master of Dublin castle; and apprehended John Coke, chief justice of Ireland, who had been
solicitor-general at the trial of king Charles I. Notwithstanding this, parliament thought themselves so sure of him
in their interest, that he received their vote of thanks on
the 5th of Jan. 1659-60. On the 19th of the same month
he was appointed one of the commissioners for the management of the affairs of Ireland. Before those commissioners declared for king Charles, they insisted upon certain
things relating to their interest as members of that nation.
On the 6th of September 1660, sir Charles Coote, on account of his many and very valuable services for the royal
cause, was created baron and viscount Coote, and earl of
Montrath in the Queen’s county. He was also appointed
one of the lords justices of Ireland, but he did not long
enjoy these marks of his sovereign’s favour, for he died in
December 1661, and was succeeded in his estate and titles
by his son Charles, the second earl. Dr. Leland asserts that
Coote and his father had engaged in the parliamentary service not from principle, but interest. Dr. Kippis, however, doubts the assertion, upon the ground that the Cootes
were zealous presbyterians; and therefore he thinks it
highly probable that they were influenced, at least in part,
by their real sentiments, civil and religious, and especially
by their aversion from popery.
lent circumstances, and of consideration, not only from the liberal education which he bestowed upon his son, but from the rank of his wife, the sister of Luca Watzelrode,
, an eminent astronomer, was born at Thorn in Prussia, January 19, 1473. His father was a stranger, but from what part of Europe is unknown. He settled here as a merchant, and the archives of the city prove that he obtained the freedom of Thorn in 1462. It seems clear that he must have been in opulent circumstances, and of consideration, not only from the liberal education which he bestowed upon his son, but from the rank of his wife, the sister of Luca Watzelrode, bishop of Ermeland, a prelate descended from one of the most illustrious families of Polish Prussia. Nicholas was instructed in the Latin and Greek languages at home; and afterward sent to Cracow, where he studied philosophy, mathematics, and medicine: though his genius was naturally turned to mathematics, which he chiefly studied, and pursued through all its various branches. He set out for Italy at twenty-three years of age; stopping at Bologna, that he might converse with the celebrated astronomer of that place, Dominic Maria, whom he assisted for some time in making his observations. From hence he passed to Rome, where he was presently considered as not inferior to the famous Regiomontanus. Here he soon acquired so great a reputation, that he was chosen professor of mathematics, which he taught there for a long time with the greatest applause and here also he made some astronomical observations about the year 1500.
ed the age of eighty, appears to have been a man of excellent character, and is celebrated in one of his son’s poems with filial ardour. For some reason he assumed the
, an English prelate, but better
known and perhaps more respected as a poet, was the son
of Vincent Corbet, and was born at Ewell in Surrey, in
1582. His father, who attained the age of eighty, appears
to have been a man of excellent character, and is celebrated in one of his son’s poems with filial ardour. For
some reason he assumed the name of Pointer, or, perhaps,
relinquished that for Corbet, which seems more probable:
his usual residence was at Whitton in the county of
Middlesex, where he was noted for his skill in horticulture,
and amassed considerable property in houses and land,
which he bequeathed to his son at his death in 1619. Our
poet was educated at Westminster school, and in Lenu
term, 1597-8, entered in Broadgate hall (afterwards Pembroke college), and the year following was admitted a student of Christ Church, Oxford, where he soon became
noted among men of wit and vivacity. In 1605 he took
his master’s degree, and entered into holy orders. In
3612 he pronounced a funeral oration in St. Mary’s church,
Oxford, on the death of Henry, prince of Wales; and the
following year, another on the interment of that eminent
benefactor to learning, sir Thomas Bodley. In 1618 he
took a journey to France, from which he wrote the epistle
to sir Thomas Aylesbury. His “Journey to Fiance,
” one
of his most humorous poems, is remarkable for giving some
traits of the French character that are visible in the present
day. King James, who showed no weakness in the choice
of his literary favourites, made him one of his chaplains in
ordinary, and in 1627 advanced him to the dignity of dean,
of Christ Church. At this time he was doctor in divinity,
vicar of Cassington near Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, and
prebendary of Bedminster Secunda in the church of Sarum.
y 28, 1635, and was buried at the upper end of the choir of the cathedral church of Norwich. Besides his son Vincent, he had a daughter named Alice. They were both living
On the 30th of July, 1629, he was promoted to the see of Oxford, and on the 7th. of April 1632 was translated to that of Norwich. He married, probably, before this time, Alice, the daughter of Dr. Leonard Hutton, vicar of Flower, or Flore, in Northamptonshire, who had been his contemporary at the university, and with whom he appears to have renewed his acquaintance during his Iter Boreale. By this wife he had a son, named after his grandfather, Vincent, to whom he addresses some lines of parental advice and good wishes. Of the rest of his life little can be now recovered. He died July 28, 1635, and was buried at the upper end of the choir of the cathedral church of Norwich. Besides his son Vincent, he had a daughter named Alice. They were both living in 1642, when their grandmother, Anne Hutton, made her will, and the son administered to it in 1648, but no memorial can be found of their future history. It would appear that his wife died before him, as in his will he committed his children to the care of their grandmother.
ced at the gates; and, as he seemed to trust every body, no body mistrusted him. Raphael Corbinelli, his son, was secretary to queen Mary de Medicis, and father of M.
, a man of wit and learning of
the sixteenth century, was born of an illustrious family at
Florence. He went into France in the reign of Catherine
de Medicis; and that queen, to whom he had the honour
of being allied, placed him with her son, the duke of Anjou, as a man of learning, and a good counsellor. Corbinelli paid his court without servility, and was compared
to those ancient Romans who were full of integrity, and
incapable of baseness. Chancellor de l'Hospital had a
high esteem for him. He was a professed friend and patron of the learned, and frequently printed their works at
his own expence, adding notes to them, as he did to Fra.
Paolo del Rosso’s poem, entitled “La Fisica,
” Paris, De Vulgari Eloquentia,
” where he supped such a day
” “I think I do not remember,
” replied Corbinelli, yawning. “Are you not
acquainted with such and such princes
” “I forget.
”
“Have you not supped with them
” “I remember nothing
of it.
” “But I think such a man as you ought to remember
things of this kind.
” “Yes, sir; but in the presence of
such a man as you, I am not such a man as myself.
” He
left “Les anciens Historiens Latins reduits en Maximes,
”
with a preface, which was attributed to P. Bouhours, printed
1694, 12mb; “Hist, genealogique de la Maison de Gondi,
” Paris,
etimes differs from them. In the latter part of his life, he was assisted in his literary labours by his son Lewis, who was born in 1651, and who became successively
, a French historian, was
born at Paris, of a noble family, originally of Auvergne,
and having studied law, was admitted to the bar, which he
quitted for the philosophy of Descartes. Bossuet, who
was no less an admirer of that philosopher, procured him
the appointment of reader to the dauphin, which office he
filled with success and zeal, and died the 8th of October
1684, member of the French academy, at an advanced age.
We are indebted to his pen for, 1. “The general History of
France during the two first races of its kings,
” CEuvres de feu M. de Cordemoi.
”
They contain useful investigations, judicious thoughts,
and sensible reflections on the method of writing history.
He had adopted in philosophy, as we before observed, the
sentiments of Descartes, but without servility; he even
sometimes differs from them. In the latter part of his life,
he was assisted in his literary labours by his son Lewis, who
was born in 1651, and who became successively a licentiate
of Sorbonne, and an abbot in the diocese of Clermont.
He was a voluminous writer, chiefly on theological subjects; and was considered among the catholics as an able
advocate of their cause against the attacks of the defenders
of protestantism. He was, however, of considerable service to his father in the latter part-of his “General History
of France;
” and, it is believed, wrote the whole of that
part which extends from about the conclusion of the reign
of Lewis V. to the end of the work. By order of Lewis
XIV. he continued that history from the time of Hugh
Capet until the year 1660, which he did not live to finish.
He died at the age of seventy-one, in the year 1722.
informed. He died at the parsonage-house at Odcombe, on the 4th of March, 1606. It is asserted that his son, the celebrated traveller, agreeably to his whimsical character,
, a Latin poet of some note in
his day, was born in the parish of St. Thomas, in Salisbury.
He received his education at Winchester-school, and in
the year 1562 was admitted perpetual fellow of New college, Oxford. In the year 1566, on queen Elizabeth’s
visiting the university, he, together with W. Reynolds,
bachelor of arts, received her majesty and her train at New
college; on which occasion he pronounced an oration, for
which he received great praises and a handsome purse of
gold. He afterwards took his degree in arts, and, in June
1570, became rector of Odcombe on the death of Thomas
Reade, and some time after, bachelor of divinity. In the
year 1594, he was appointed prebendary of Warthill, in
the cathedral church of York, and also held some other
dignity, but what we are not informed. He died at the
parsonage-house at Odcombe, on the 4th of March, 1606.
It is asserted that his son, the celebrated traveller, agreeably to his whimsical character, entertained a design of
preserving his body from stench and putrefaction, and with
that view caused it to be kept above ground until the 14th
of April following, when it was buried in the chancel of
the church of Odcombe. George Cory ate was much commended in his time for his fine fancy in Latin poetry; and
for certain pieces which he had written was honourably
quoted by several eminent writers. The only pieces Mr.
Wood had seen of his composition were, 1. “Poemata
varia Latina,
” London, Posthuxna fragmenta
Poematum Georgii Coryate.
” 2. “Descriptio Anglise,
Scotiæ, et Hiberniæ,
” written in Latin verse, and dedicated
to queen Elizabeth, but it does not appear that this piece
was ever printed. In 1763, James Liunley Kingston, esq.
of Dorchester, published, from a ms. found amongst the
papers belonging to a considerable family in one of the
western counties, a Latin poem, which appears to have
been written in the reign of queen Elizabeth, entitled
“Descriptio Angli.se et Descriptio Londini,
” being two
poems in Latin verse, supposed to be written in the
fifteenth century. This pamphlet Mr. Gough thinks may
be part of the poem noticed by Mr. Wood. The mention
of only fifteen colleges at Oxford, fixes the date of the
verses before the year 1571. Mr. Coryate’s wife, Gertrude,
outlived her husband and son many years, and resided at
Odcombe or near it until her death. Dr. Humphry Hody,
a native of that place, informed Mr. Wood, that she was
buried near the remains of her husband on the 3d of April,
1645. It appears that after her husband’s death she married a second time.
te from the Spanish. In 1686 he resigned his place of master of the ceremonies, and was succeeded by his son Charles Lodowick Cotterel, esq. He is celebrated by Mrs.
, was the son of sir Clement
Cotterel of Wylsford in Lincolnshire, groom porter to
James I. He was in the interregnum steward to the queen
of Bohemia; and in 1670, when he was created LL. D. in
the university of Oxford, it appears that he was master of
the requests to Charles II. He possessed in an extraordinary degree the various accomplishments of a gentleman, and particularly excelled in the knowledge of modern languages. During the exile of his royal master, he
translated from the French “Cassandra the famed romance,
” which has been several times printed; and had a
principal hand in translating “Davila’s History of the civil
wars of France
” from the Italian, and several pieces of less
note from the Spanish. In 1686 he resigned his place of
master of the ceremonies, and was succeeded by his son
Charles Lodowick Cotterel, esq. He is celebrated by Mrs.
Catherine Phillips under the name of Poliarchus, and to
one of his descendants, colonel Cotterel of Rousham near
Oxford, Pope addressed his second epistle in imitation of
Horace. It is unnecessary to add that the office of master
of the ceremonies has long been in this family.
Cotton, esq. of Beresford in Staffordshire, a man of considerable fortune and high accomplishments. His son, who inherited many of these characteristics, was born on
, an English poet, was the son of Charles Cotton, esq. of Beresford in Staffordshire, a man of considerable fortune and high accomplishments. His son, who inherited many of these characteristics, was born on the 28th of April, 1630, and educated at the university of Cambridge, where he had for his tutor Mr. Ralph Rawson, whom he celebrates in the translation of an ode of Joannes Secundus. At the university, he is said to have studied the Greek and Roman classics with distinguished success, and to have become a perfect master of the French and Italian languages. It does not appear, however, that he took any degree, or studied with a view to any learned profession; but after his residence at Cambridge, travelled into France and other parts of the continent. On his return, he resided during the greater part of his life at the family seat at Beresford. In 1656, when he was in his twenty-sixth year, he married Isabella, daughter of sir Thomas Hutchinson, knt. of Owthorp in the county of Nottingham, a distant relation, and took her home to his father’s house, as he had no other establishment. In 1658 he succeeded to the family estate encumbered by some imprudencies of his deceased father, from which it does not appear that he was ever able to relieve it.
re de Condillac,” tom. XIII. p. 505. After the much lamented death of Henry, Cotton was confessor to his son Louis XIII, but the court being a solitude to him, he asked
, a Jesuit, born in
1564, at Neronde near the Loire, of which place his father was governor, distinguished himself early in life by
his zeal for the conversion of protestants, and by his success in the pulpit. He was called to the court of Henry
IV. at the instance of the famous Lesdiguieres, whom he
had converted, and the king pleased with his wit, manners,
and conversation, appointed him his confessor. M. Mercier censures the king, for “having too peculiar a
deference for this Jesuit, a man of very moderate talents, solely
attached to the narrow views of his order;
” and it was
commonly said, “Our prince is good, but he has cotton in
his ears.
” Henry was desirous of making him archbishop
of Aries, and procuring him a cardinal’s hat; but Cotton
persisted in refusing his offers. His brotherhood, after
their recall, unable easily to settle themselves in certain
towns, that of Poitiers especially, started great difficulties,
and Cotton wished to persuade the king that this opposition was the work of Sulli, governor of Poitou; but Henry
having refused to listen to this calumny, and blaming Cotton for having adopted it with too much credulity: “God
forbid,
” said Cotton, “that I should say any harm of those
whom your majesty honours with his confidence! But,
however, I am able to justify what I advance. I will
prove it by the letters of Sulli. I have seen them, and I
will shew them to your majesty.
” Next day, however,
he was under the necessity of telling the king that the letters had been burnt by carelessness. This circumstance is
related in the “Cours d'histoire de Condillac,
” tom. XIII.
p. 505. After the much lamented death of Henry, Cotton was confessor to his son Louis XIII, but the court
being a solitude to him, he asked permission to quit it, and
obtained it in 1617, so much the more easily as the duke
de Luynes was not very partial to him. Mezerai and other
historians relate, that when Ravaillac had committed his
parricide, Cotton went to him and said: “Take care that
you do not accuse honest men!
” There is room to suppose that his zeal for the honour of his society prompted
him to utter these indiscreet words, and his notions on the
subject appear to be rather singular. We are told that
Henry IV. having one day asked him, “Would you reveal the confession of a man resolved to assassinate me?
”
he answered “No; but I would put my body between
you and him.
” The Jesuit Santarelli having published a
work, in which he set up the power of the popes over that
of kings, Cotton, then provincial of Paris, was called to
the parliament the 13th of March 1626, to give an account
of the opinions of his brethren. He was asked whether
he thought that the pope can excommunicate and dispossess a king of France “Ah
” returned he, “the king
is eldest son of the church and he will never do any thing
to oblige tae pope to proceed to that extremity
” “But,
”
said the first president. “are you not of the same opinion
with your general, who attributes that power to the pope?
”
—“Our general follows the opinions of Rome where he is
and we, those of France where we are.
” The many disagreeable things experienced by Cotton on this occasion,
gave him so much uneasiness, that he fell sick, and died a
few days afterwards, March 19, 1626. He was then
preaching the Lent-discourses at Paris in the church of St.
Paul. This Jesuit wrote, “Traite du Sacrifice de la
Messe;
” “Geneve Plagiaire,
” Lyons, L'Institution Catholique,
” Sermons,
” La Rechute de Geneve Plagiaire;
” and other
things, among which is a letter declaratory of the doctrine
of the Jesuits, conformable to the doctrine of the council
of Trent, which gave occasion to the “Anti Cotton,
”
ry was placed in his own house at Westminster, near the house of commons; and very much augmented by his son sir Thomas Cotton, and his grandson sir John (who died in
But, without intending to derogate from the just merits of this learned and knowing man as an author, it may reasonably be questioned, whether he has not done more service to learning by securing, as he did, his valuable library for the use of posterity, than by all his writings. This library consists wholly of Mss. many of which being in loose skins, small tracts, or very thin volumes, when they were purchased, sir Robert caused several of them to be bound up in one cover. They relate chiefly to the history and antiquities of Great Britain and Ireland, though the ingenious collector refused nothing that was curious or valuable in any point of learning. He lived indeed at a time when he had great opportunities of making such a fine collection: when there were many valuable books yet remaining in private hands, which had been taken from the monasteries at their dissolution, and from our universities and colleges, at their visitations when several learned antiquaries, such as Joceline, Noel, Allen, Lambarde, Bowyer, Elsinge, Camden, and others, died, who had made it their chief business to scrape up the ^scattered remains of our monastical libraries: and, either by legacy or purchase, he became possessed of all he thought valuable in their studies. This library was placed in his own house at Westminster, near the house of commons; and very much augmented by his son sir Thomas Cotton, and his grandson sir John (who died in 1702, aged 71). In 1700 an act of parliament was made for the better securing and preserving that library in the name and family of th\ Cottons, for the benefit of the public; that it might not be sold, or otherwise disposed of and embezzled Sir John, great grandson of sir Robert, having sold Cotton -house to queen Anne, about 1706, to be a repository for the royal as well as the Cottonian library, an act was ma le for the better securing of her Majesty’s purchase of that house; and botli house and library were settled and vested in trustees. The books were then removed into a more convenient room, the former being very damp; and Cotton-house was set apart for the use of the king’s library-keeper, who had there the royal and Cottonian libraries under his care. In 1712 the Cottonian library was removed to Essex house, in Essexstreet; and in 1730 to a house in Little DeanVyard, Westminster, purchased by the crown of the lord Ashburnham; where a fire happening, Oct. 23, 1731, 111 books were lost, burnt, or entirely defaced, and 99 rendered imperfect. It was thereupon removed to the Old Dormitory belonging to Westminster-school; and finally, in 1753, to the British Museum, where they still remain.
Thomas the second baronet, who died 1662, and was succeeded by sir John the third, and he, 1702, by his son John, who died in the life-time of his father, 1681, leaving
He died of a fever, at his house in Westminster, May 6, 1631, aged 60 years, three months, and 15 days. He married Elizabeth, one of the daughters and coheirs of William Brocas, of Thedingworth in the county of Leicester, esq, by whom he left one only son, sir Thomas the second baronet, who died 1662, and was succeeded by sir John the third, and he, 1702, by his son John, who died in the life-time of his father, 1681, leaving two sons, of whom the elder, John, succeeded his grandfather, and died without issue 1731. The title and part of the estate went to his uncle Robert, by whose death, at the age of 80, July 12, 1749, the tide became extinct. He had one son, John, who died before his father; and one grandson, John, who died of the small-pox, on his return from his travels, in 1739.
of which he was enjoined to lay out 50,000l. in the purchase pf lands in England, to be settled upon his son by this lady, of whom she was delivered in London, and whose
The elder brother, sir William Courten, besides his capital concern in the original partnership above mentioned, traded very extensively on his own account to Guinea, Portugal, Spain, and the West Indies. He married first a Dutch woman of the name of Cromling, the daughter of Mr. Peter Cromling, an opulent merchant in Haerlem, who, though both deaf and dumb, was book-keeper to her father. By this marriage he got, it is said, 60,000l. of which he was enjoined to lay out 50,000l. in the purchase pf lands in England, to be settled upon his son by this lady, of whom she was delivered in London, and whose name was Peter. This son, who was all the offspring from this marriage, king James I. made one of the first rank of his baronets. He was afterwards married to lord Stanhope’s daughter, but died without issue, leaving the estate in lands to his father sir William, who settled that estate, and 3000l. more per annum, upon his only son and heir, by a second wife, the daughter of Mr. Moses Tryon. Sir Peter, the uncle to Peter just mentioned, and brother to sir William Courten, kept the books of the family partnership, and died unmarried in 1630 at Middleburgh. It is affirmed that he was worth at his death 100,000l. and that he left his nephew Peter Boudean, the son of his sister by her first husband, his sole heir and executor, who seems at this time to have taken the name of Courten, which he annexed to his own. This crafty man took immediate possession, not only of his uncle sir Peter’s property, which could not have been ascertained without balancing the accounts of the copartnership, but seized likewise the shipping and goods that belonged unquestionably to his other uncle sir William, and Mr. Money, amounting, as it is stated, to 100,000l. more; nor could he, to the very end of his life, which lasted above thirty years longer, be brought, by argument or law, to settle the accounts of the company.
handize whatsoever. It is stated, with apparent fairness, that he actually lent to king James I. and his son Charles I. at different times, of his own money, or from
Sir William Courten, after the death of his Dutch lady, married a second wife of the name of Tryon, by whom he had one son, named William, and three daughters. Sir William seems to have been possessed of a comprehensive mind, an enterprising spirit, abundance of wealth, and credit sufficient to enable him to launch out into any promising branch of trade and merchandize whatsoever. It is stated, with apparent fairness, that he actually lent to king James I. and his son Charles I. at different times, of his own money, or from the company trade, 27,000l. and in another partnership wherein he was likewise concerned with sir Paul Pyndar, their joint claims on the crown amounted, it seerns, to 200,000l. Sir William employed, one way or other, for many years, between four and five thousand seamen; he built above twenty ships of burthen; was a great insurer, and besides that, a very considerable goldsmith, or banker, for so a banker was then called. It appears likewise, that he was very deeply engaged in a herring fishery, which was carried on at one time with great spirit and at great expence: but shortly after, much to his cost, it came to nothing, in consequence of the supervening dissensions, confusion, and misery, that accompanied the rebellion. Previous to this, however, about the year 1624, two of sir William Courten’s ships, in their return from Fernambuc, happened to discover an uninhabited island, now of considerable importance to Great Britain, to which sir William first gave the name of Barbadoes. On the 25th of February 1627, he obtained the king’s letters patent for the colonization of this island, sheltering himself, for whatever reasons, under the earl of Pembroke. On the faith of this grant, afterwards superseded by the influence of James then earl of Carlisle, though its validity was acknowledged by the first, and indeed by all the lawjers, sir William sent two ships with men, arms, ammunition, &c. which soon stored the island with inhabitants, English, Indians, &c. to the number of one thousand eight hundred and fifty; and one captain Powel received from sir William a commission to remain in the island as governor, in behalf of him and the earl of Pembroke. After sir William had expended 44,000l. on this business, and been in peaceable possession of the island about three years, James earl of Carlisle claiming on grants said to be prior, though dated July 2, 1627, and April 7, 1628; affirming too that he was lord of all the Caribbee islands lying between 10 and 20 degrees of latitude, under the name of Carliola, gave his commission to colonel Royden, Henry Hawley, and others, to act in his behalf. The commissioners of lord Carlisle arrived at Barbadoes with two ships in 1629, and having invited the governor captain Powel on board, they kept him prisoner, and proceeded to invade and plunder the island. They carried off the factors and servants of sir William Courten and the earl of Pembroke, and established the earl of Carlisle’s authority in Barbadoes; which continued there under several governors, till 1646, when the government of it was vested by lease and contract in lord Willoughby of Parham. Sir William Courten, it is said, had likewise sustained a considerable loss several years before this blow in the West Indies, by the seizure of his merchandize, after the cruel massacre of his factors at Amboyna in the East Indies. But after all the losses above mentioned, he was still possessed, in the year 1633, of lands in various parts of this kingdom to the value of 6 500l. per annum, besides personal estates rated at 128,Ogo/. and very extensive credit. Such were his circumstances when he opened a trade to China, and, as if he had grown* young again, embarked still more deeply in mercantile expeditions to the East Indies, where he established sundry new forts and factories. In the course of this new trade he lost unfortunately two of his ships richly laden, the Dragon and the Katharine, which were never heard of more: and he himself did not long survive this loss, which involved him in great debt; for he died in the end of May or beginning of June 1636, in the 64th year of his age, and was buried in the church or church-yard of St. Andrew Hubbard, the ground of both which was after the fire of 1666 disposed of by the city for public uses, and partly laid into the street, the parish being annexed to St. Mary Hill. There is an abstract of sir William Courten’s will in the British Museum.
1642. He had probably no knowledge or remembrance of his father, who, the next year after his son was born, in
1642. He had probably no knowledge or remembrance of his father, who, the next year after his son was born, in
s eloquence manly, but flowing. His manner graceful and noble.” Lord Chesterfield, in his Letters to his Son, represents earl Cowper as more distinguished, as a speaker,
The eloquence and abilities of earl Cowper were highly
celebrated ii> his own time he made a very conspicuous
figure at the bar he was a distinguished member of both
houses of parliament; his general character as a public
man appears to have been entitled to high praise, from
which, perhaps, in our days, it will be thought no deduction that he did not always act with the independence which
rejects party connections and views. But in his conduct
in the court of chancery he displayed great disinterestedness. He opposed the frequency and facility with which
private bills passed in parliament; and refused the new
year’s gifts, which it had been customary to present to
those who held the great seal. Mr. Tindal, who had an
opportunity of knowing him, says that he “was eminent
for his integrity in the discharge of the office of lord chancellor, which he had twice filled. There may have been
chancellors of more extensive learning, but none of more
knowledge in the laws of England. His judgment was
quick, and yet solid. His eloquence manly, but flowing.
His manner graceful and noble.
” Lord Chesterfield, in
his Letters to his Son, represents earl Cowper as more distinguished, as a speaker, by the elegance of his language,
and the gracefulness of his manner, than by the force of
his arguments; that his strength as an orator lay by no
means in his reasoning, for he often hazarded very weak
ones. “But such was the purity and elegancy of his style,
such the propriety and charms of his elocution, and such
the gracefulness of his action, that he never spoke without
universal applause. The ears and the eyes gave him up
the hearts and the understanding of the audience.
”
e was father of George Nassau, third earl Cowper, who died at Florence in 1789, and was succeeded by his son George Augustus, who also dying in 1799, was* succeeded
William, the second earl Cowper, was twice married; in 1732, to lady Henrietta, youngest daughter and coheir of Henry D'Auverquerque earl of Grantham; and in 1750, to lady Georgina, daughter to earl Granville, and widow of the hon. John Spencer, esq. by whom she was mother of John earl Spencer. By lady Georgina, lord Cowper had no issue; but by his first countess, who died in 1747, he was father of George Nassau, third earl Cowper, who died at Florence in 1789, and was succeeded by his son George Augustus, who also dying in 1799, was* succeeded by Leopold Louis Francis, his brother, the present and fifth earl Cowper.
my of painting in his twentieth year, where he had already executed several pictures of great merit; his son, who was born at Paris in 1694, and to whom he left his
was admitted into the academy
of painting in his twentieth year, where he had already executed several pictures of great merit; his son, who was
born at Paris in 1694, and to whom he left his name, his
talents, his knowledge, and virtues, enjoyed the same good
fortune. in his 2ist year: he was first painter to the duke
of Orleans, and in 1747 to the king. Though his peronal qualities and endowments had already made him a
welcome guest with the princes and great men of the court,
yet this last appointment increased his reputation; and the
first use he made of his consequence, was to induce M. de
Tourathem, who had fortitude of mind sufficient for such a
sacrifice, to decline the title of a protector of the academy,
which hitherto had always been connected with the office
of superintendant of the buildings, in order that the academy of painting, like all the rest, might be under the
immediate protection of the king. He also erected a preparatory school, at Paris, for the y^ung pupils, who went
to Rome, where they studied history, and exercised themselves under able masters. To him likewise the public
were indebted for the exhibition of the pictures in the
Luxembourg gallery. Like all men of genius, he had his
enviers and rivals; but his rivals were his friends, his modesty drew them to him, and he never refused them his
esteem. His place as first painter to the king brought him
to court, and made him more intimately acquainted with
the queen and the dauphin. The queen often gave him,
work to do, which chiefly consisted in pictures of the saints
and other objects of devotion. On her return from Metz,
finding over her chimney a picture which he had privately
executed, representing France in the attitude of returning
thanks to heaven for the deliverance of the king, she was
so moved, that she exclaimed, “No one but my friend
Coypel is capable of such. a piece of gallantry!
” The
dauphin had frequently private conversations with him.
He himself executed the drawing for the last work of Coypel, the “Sultan in his seraglio.
” His table was always
strewed with the manuscripts of this artist, which he intended to publish at his own expence. The death of the
author prevented his design, and on hearing of the event,
the prince said publicly at supper: “I have in one year
lost three of my friends!
”
majesty. The apprehension of being called to perform this service occasioned no small uneasiness to his son. His fortune was large, which he received from his father.
The principal features of his face, which was a very fine one, were mildness, kindness, and goodness and though they could not well be described in one line, yet they might be expressed by the single epithet of // benevolo. He was an universal favourite, because he possessed those qualities of which mankind are seldom jealous, and which they are ever ready to commend. His judgment was sound, and his taste excellent: he was eager. to learn, and modest to decide. His general manner of life, though he occasionally mixed with the world, and lived with the first people, was quiet and recluse: and his excursions from Queen-square were, for the most part, terminated at Clapham. The greatest journey of his life was from London to Oxford, and he was never on horseback. He had an estate in Hertfordshire, on which grew a remarkable c-hcsnut-tree, which he never saw but in an etching. This property was the manor of great Wimondly, held of the crown in grand serjeantry by the service of presenting to the king the first cup he drinks at his coronation; the cup to be of silver gilt, and the king returns it as the fee of office. His father, colonel Cracherode, purchased this manor of the Grosvenor family, and officiated at the coronation of his present majesty. The apprehension of being called to perform this service occasioned no small uneasiness to his son. His fortune was large, which he received from his father. Possessing about 600l. a year in landed property, and nearly 100,000l. in three per cents, he was usually reckoned worth 5000l. a year, of which he made the best possible use, for his charities were as ample as his fortune, but secret.
mpaired. His sufferings were heightened by many additional afflictions; particularly by the death of his son Alexander, a very agreeable young man, who had been bred
Craig about this time married the daughter of Mr. Anderson, a considerable merchant in Glasgow. She lived with him sixteen years; and by her he had several children; two of whom, namely, William, an eminent lawyer at the Scottish bar, and John, a merchant in Glasgow, survived their father. But the excellent understanding and amiable dispositions of his wife, which rendered his married state happy, contributed, by their painful recollection, to embitter the sufferings of his declining age. She died in 1758 and though he afterwards formed a very happy marriage with the daughter of Gilbert Kennedy, esq. of Auchtifardel, he scarcely ever recovered the shock of his first separation. Several years before he died, his strength and health gradually declined; his spirits were overwhelmed with melancholy; he seemed to have lost the power of enjoying happiness-; no amusement could relieve his depressions; he lamented that he was become useless; and that he felt, not only his body, but the faculties of his soul impaired. His sufferings were heightened by many additional afflictions; particularly by the death of his son Alexander, a very agreeable young man, who had been bred a merchant, but who was strongly inclined to the study of polite literature: and soon after by the death of his second wife, whose affectionate assiduities had been invariably employed in endeavouring to solace and support his infirmities. In this state of feebleness and dejection, notwithstanding the unwearied attention of, his surviving sons, he continued to languish: and, at length, in 1784, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, he was released by an easy death. Great sensibility seems to have given the general and prevailing colour to his character. It rendered his piety devout, his benevolence tender, and his friendship affectionate. In the culture of his understanding it inclined him to those studies that please by their beautiful imagery, or touch the heart with agreeable feelings. He was therefore very early addicted to classical learning; and cherished those views of religion that represent both God and man in a favourable light. Such sentiments and propensities, though not altogether singular at the time that he commenced his studies, were, however, so rare among students of theology, that, speaking figuratively, we may call them singular. But singularity of disposition or opinion is usually disliked or opposed. The man of fortitude and strong nerves encounters the opposition; and either makes converts, or, by a bold authoritative tone, though he fails to conciliate affection, imposes respect. But the man of extreme sensibility, yielding to his native bias, is afraid of the struggle, declines the contest; and, excepting in the retirements of confidential friendship, not only appears, but really becomes shy and reserved. This disposition is nearly allied to modesty, and even humbleness of mind; yet the appearance of distance it so often assumes, is misrepresented by the undiscerning multitude; and, by a violent misapplication of terms, is misconstrued into pride. Effects almost of an opposite appearance are produced by the same principle, yet tend in their final issue to confirm this mistaken reserve. The man of sensibility, conscious of powers, exerts them; and, conscious of his own candour, expects suitable returns. He is disappointed. The observation of men is otherwise engaged: accidental circumstances, and other causes than such as arise from perversion of mind, carry away their attention from the merit that claims and deserves their notice. Of these the man of shy and retired sensibility is not aware; he becomes still more cautious in his intercourse with mankind; more shy, and more retired. But Craig, under the sacred shade, and in the retirements of intimate and confidential friendship, was unreserved, open, and even ardent. The spirit of real enjoyment, with which in his better days he engaged in familiar and literary conversation with his friends, displayed the most interesting view of his character. Conversations on the merits of elegant authors, both ancient and modern, but, above all, the liberal discussion of moral and religious topics, were the joy of his soul. On these occasions, his eyes, naturally animated, sparkled with additional lustre; his voice, naturally musical, became delightfully mellow; his features brightened, for his heart glowed. These were blessed intervals, anticipations, perhaps, of what he now enjoys. By degrees, this glowing mood became tinged with melancholy: at first it was amiable and interesting; but became at last distressful. The sensibility which gave him such moments of rapture, had not, perhaps, been duly managed; and contributed to or occasioned his sufferings. It had rendered him averse to indiscriminate society, and thus precluded him from many innocent means of relieving the lassitude, or alleviating the weight of declining age. It quickened his sense of misfortune, and rendered his affliction for the loss of friends too poignant. It overwhelmed him with too much sorrow, if at any time he apprehended that the affection of those in whose love he trusted had suffered change. His sense of deity was strong and lively. Even though the dejection and the despondency of affliction might at times have brought a gloomy cloud between him and the radiance of heaven, the cloud was transient: his religious opinions, founded not merely on feeling, but on conviction, were permanent: and even in the earlier periods of his life he often lamented that men of worth and integrity were not pious; and though they performed many charitable and disinterested actions from very laudable motives, yet that their conduct did not seem to be founded on any principles of religion. It might be friendship, it might be compassion, it might be beneficence; but it wanted those aids, those supports and comforts, which alone could arise from hope and trust in God. It is unnecessary to say of such a character, that he was just, charitable, and temperate. His virtues were those of a Christian, his failings were those incident to the weakness of human nature; and his sufferings were occasioned, or much aggravated by his feelings.
turn internes turn externos, morbos curandos, &c. continentur,” 1709, 4to, He again was succeeded by his son, John Andrew Cramer, who rendered himself famed by his skill
, an eminent mathematician, was
born at Geneva, in 1704, and became a pupil of John
Bernouilli, and a professor of mathematics at the age of
nineteen. He was known all over Europe, and was of the
academies of London, Berlin, Montpellier, Lyons, and
Bologna. He died in 1752, worn out with study, at the
baths of Languedoc, whither he had repaired for the recovery of his health. He made a most important and interesting collection of the works of James and John Bernouilli, which was published 1743, under his inspection,
in 6 vols. 4to, and he had before bestowed no less pains
on an edition of Christopher Wolf’s “Elementa universae
matheseos,
” Genev. Introduction to the Theory of Curve lines,
” Epitome of Anatomy,
” and
a “Dissertation on Diseases of the Liver,
” left by his father. Also, “Thesaurus secretorum curiosorum, in quo
curiosa, ad omnes corporis humani, turn internes turn externos, morbos curandos, &c. continentur,
” Elementa Artis Docirnasticae.
” It was reprinted in
ll of holy Meditations and Prayers.” All these show him to have been a zealous protestant; but, like his son, somewhat tinctured with a love of mystic poetry and pe
, an English poet, was the son
of the rev. William Crashaw, a divine of some note in his
day, and preacher at the Temple church, London. He
published several volumes on points controverted between
the Roman catholics and protestants, either original or
translated; and in 1608, a translation of the Life of Galeacius Caracciolo, marquis of Vico, an Italian nobleman,
who was converted by the celebrated reformer Peter
Martyr, and forsook all that rank, family, and wealth
could yield, for the quiet enjoyment of the reformed religion. Mr. Crashaw also translated a supposed poem of
St. Bernard’s, entitled “The Complaint or Dialogue between the Soule and the Bodie of a damned man,
” Manual for true Catholics, or a handfull or rather a heartfull of holy Meditations
and Prayers.
” All these show him to have been a zealous
protestant; but, like his son, somewhat tinctured with a
love of mystic poetry and personification.
ferred the glory of a celebrated writer to the consequence of a subaltern magiatrate. But he thought his son entirely dishonoured by alliance with a family neither opulent
About the time when Crebillon first devoted himself to the theatre, he fell in love, and married without the consent of his parents. His father was already greatly irritated against him for having preferred the glory of a celebrated writer to the consequence of a subaltern magiatrate. But he thought his son entirely dishonoured by alliance with a family neither opulent nor noble; and he disinherited him for his ingratitude and rebellion. Some years afterward, however, when the brilliant 'reputation Crebillon began to enjoy, came to the ears of his hitherto inexorable father, the old man’s vanity was flattered, and he began to think that his son had acted his part in life very prudently. In consequence he restored him to his rights. Crebillon, after his father’s death, went to receive the very moderate inheritance he had left him; but the fees of justice devoured a part, and the Mississippi bubble finished the rest. For some time he found a resource in the bounty of some opulent persons; but they were soon wearied with heaping favours upon one who would neither be their humble servant nor their dependent. Crebillon again became free and poor; and though, during the season of his transitory opulence, he had carried the love of expence to a taste for fancies and superfluities, he had no difficulty in accommodating himself to the kind of life his new situation required.
e thought the best? “I don't know,” answered he, “which is my best production; but this (pointing to his son, who was present) is certainly my worst.” “It is,” replied
, son of
the preceding, was born at Paris February 12, 1707, and
died there April 12, 1777, at the age of 70. It is said that
his father being one day asked, in a large company, which
of his works he thought the best? “I don't know,
” answered he, “which is my best production; but this
(pointing to his son, who was present) is certainly my
worst.
” “It is,
” replied the son, with vivacity, “because
no Carthusian had a hand in it:
” alluding to the report,
that the best passages in his father’s tragedies had been
written by a Carthusian friar, who was his friend. His
father had gained his fame as a manly and nervous writer;
the son was remarkable for the ease, elegance, and caustic
malignity of his conversation and writings, and might be
surnamed the Petronius of France, as his father had been
characterised by that of the Æschylus. The abbe Boudot,
who lived on familiar terms with him, said to him one day
in reply to some of his jokes: “Hold thy tongue! Thy
father was a great man; but as for thee, thou art only a
great boy.
” “Crebiilon the father,
” says M. d'Alembert,
“paints in the blackest colours the crimes and wickedness
of man. The son draws, with a delicate and just pencil,
the refinements, the shades, and even the graces of our
vices; that seducing levity which renders the French what
is called amiable, but which does not signify worthy of being beloved; that restless activity, which makes them feel
ennui even in the midst of pleasure; that perversity of
principles, disguised, and as it were softened, by the mask
of received forms; in short, our manners, at once frivolous and corrupt, wherein the excess of depravity combines
with the excess of ridiculousness.
” This parallel is more
just than the opinion of L'Advocat, who says that the romances of Crebiilon are extremely interesting, because all
the sentiments are drawn from a sensible heart, but it is
plain that this “sensible heart
” is full of affectation, and
that the author describes more than he feels. However
this may be, Crebiilon never had any other post than that
of censor-royal. He is said to have lived with his father
as with a friend and a brother; and his marriage with an
English woman, whom Crebiilon the father did not approve, only produced a transient misunderstanding. The
principal works of the son are: 1. Letters from the marchioness to the count of ***, 1732, 2 vols. 12rno. 2. Tanzai and Neadarne“, 1734, 2 vols. 12mo. This romance,
abounding in satirical allusions and often unintelligible,
and which caused the author to be put into the bastille,
was more applauded than it deserved. 3.
” Les egarements du coeur & de Tesprit,“1736, three parts, 12mo.
4.
” The Sopha,“a moral tale, 1745, 1749, 2 vols. 12mo,
grossly immoral, as most of his works are. For this he Was
banished from Paris for some time. 5.
” Lettres
Atheniennes,“177I,4vols. 12mo. 6.
” Ah! que?i conte“1764,
8 parts, 12mo. 7.
” Les Heureux Orphelins,“1754, 2
vols. 12mo. 8.
” La Nuit & le Moment,“1755, 12mo.
9.
” Le hasard du coin du feu,“1763, 12mo. 10.
” Lettres de la duchesse de ***,' &c. 1768, 2 vols. 12mo.
11. “Lettres de la marquise de Pompadour,
” 12mo, an
epistolary romance, written in an easy and bold style; but
relates few particulars of the lady whose name it bears.
The whole of his works have been collected in 7 vols.
12mo, 1779.
f this, and his other wonderful performances, the duke of Mantua made choice of him for preceptor to his son Vincentio di Gonzaga, who is represented as being of a riotous
The next account we have of Crichton, and which appears to have been transmitted, through sir Thomas Urquharr, to later biographers, is of an extraordinary instance of bodily courage and skill. It is said, that at Mantua there was at this time a gladiator, who had foiled, in his travels, the most famous fencers in Europe, and had lately killed three persons who had entered the lists with him. The duke of Mantua was much grieved at having granted this man his protection, as he found it to be attended with such fatal consequences. Crichton, being informed of his highness’s concern, offered his service, not only to drive the murderer from Mantua, but from Italy, and to fight him for fifteen hundred pistoles. Though the duke was unwilling to expose such an accomplished gentleman to so great a hazard, yet, relying upon the report he had heard of his warlike achievements, he agreed to the proposal; and, the time and place being appointed, the whole court attended to behold the performance. At the beginning of the combat, Crichton stood only on his defence; while the Italian made his attack with such eagerness and fury, that, having over-acted himself, he began to grow weary. Our young Scotchman now seized the opportunity of attacking his antagonist in return; which he did with so much dexterity and vigour, that he ran him through the body in three different places, of which wounds he immediately died. The acclamations of the spectators were loud and extraordinary upon this occasion; and it was acknowledged by all of them, that they had never seen art grace nature, or nature second the precepts of art, in so lively a manner as they had beheld these two things accomplished on that day. To crown the glory of the action, Crichton bestowed the prize of his victory upon the widows of the three persons who had lost their lives in fighting with the gladiator. It is asserted, that, in consequence of this, and his other wonderful performances, the duke of Mantua made choice of him for preceptor to his son Vincentio di Gonzaga, who is represented as being of a riotous temper and a dissolute life. The appointment was highly pleasing to the court. Crichton, to testify his gratitude to his friends and benefactors, and to contribute to their diversion, framed, we are told, a comedy, wherein he exposed and ridiculed all the weaknesses and failures of the several employments in which men are engaged. This composition was regarded as one of the most ingenious satires that was ever made upon mankind. But the most astonishing part of the story is, that Crichton sustained fifteen characters in the representation of his own play. Among the rest, he acted the divine, the philosopher, the lawyer, the mathematician, the physician, and the soldier, with such inimitable grace, that every time he appeared upon the stage he seemed to be a different person . From being the principal actor in a comedy, Crichton soon became the subject of a dreadful tragedy. One night, during the time of carnival, as he was walking along the streets of Mantua, and playing upon his guitar, he was attacked by half a dozen people in masks. The assailants found that they had no ordinary person to deal with; for they were not able to maintain their ground against him. In the issue, the leader of the company, being disarmed, pulled off his mask, and begged his life, telling him that he was the prince his pupil. Crichton immediately fell on his knees, and expressed his concern for his mistake; alleging, that what he had done was only in his own defence, and that if Gonzaga had any design upon his life he might always be master of it. Then, taking his own sword by the point, he presented it to the prince, who immediately received it, and was so irritated by the affront which he thought he had sustained in being foiled with all "his attendants, that he instantly ran Crichton through the heart. Various have been the conjectures concerning the motives which could induce Vincentio di Gonzaga to be guilty of so ungenerous and brutal an action. Some have ascribed it to jealousy, asserting that he suspected Crichton to be more in favour than himself with a lady whom he passionately loved; and sir Thomas Urqnhart has told a story upon this head which is extravagant and ridiculous in the highest degree. Others, with greater probability, represent the whole transaction as the result of a drunken frolic; and it is uncertain, according to Imperiaiis, whether the meeting of the prince and Crichton was by accident or design. However, it is agreed on all hands, that Crichton lost his life in this rencontre. The time of his decease is said, by the generality of his biographers, to have been in the beginning-of July 1583; but lord Buchan, most likely in consequence of a more accurate immiry, fixes it to the same month in the preceding year. There is a difference likewise with regard to the period of life at which Crichton died. The common accounts declare that he was killed in the thirty-second year of his age; but Imperialis asserts that he was only in his twenty-second when that calamitous event took place; and this fact is confirmed by lord Buchan. Criehton’s tragical end excited a very great and general lamentation. If the foolish ravings of sir Thomas Urquhart are to be credited, the whole court of Mantua went three quarters of a year into mourning for him; the epitaphs and elegies that were composed upon his death, and stuck upon his hearse, would exceed, if collected, the bulk of Homer’s works; and, for a long time afterwards, his picture was to be seen in most of the bed-chambers and galleries of the Italian nobility, representing him on horseback, with a lance in one hand and a book in the other. From all this wonderful account we can only infer, with any degree of confidence, that Crichton was a youth of such lively parts as excited great present admiration, and high expectations with regard to his future attainments. He appears to have had a fine person, to have been adroit in his bodily exercises, to have possessed a peculiar facility in learning languages, to have enjoyed a remarkably quick and retentive memory, and to have excelled in a power of declamation, a fluency of speech, and a readiness of reply. His knowledge likewise was probably very uncommon for his years; and this, in conjunction with his other qualities, enabled him to shine in public disputation. But whether his knowledge were accurate or profound, may justly be questioned; and it may equally be doubted whether he would have arisen to any extraordinary degree of eminence in the literary world, which, however, his early and untimely death prevented from being brought to the test of experiment.
ed upon by Leo Allatius, to whom the bishop wrote an answer. Wood says he has some sermons in print. His son, who was chanter of Wells, published a volume of Sermons
, bishop of Bath and Wells, was born of an ancient family at Dunkeld, in Scotland, in 1593, and was educated at Westminster school, whence in 1613 he was elected to Trinity college, Cambridge, where he took his degrees in arts, and was chosen Greek professor, and university orator. In 1632 he was made treasurer of the cathedral of Wells, and was also canon residentiary, prebendary of Taunton, and had a living in Somersetshire. In 1637 he was admitted to the degree of D. D. and, as reported, was made dean of St. Burian, in Cornwall, but this seems doubtful. In the beginning of the rebellion, Dr. Crighton’s loyalty endangered his person and property, and to save the former he joined the king’s troops at Oxford. But from this place he was obliged afterwards to escape into Cornwall, in the dress of a day-labourer, and contrived to go to Charles II. abroad, who employed him as his chaplain, and bestowed on him the deanery of Wells, of which he took possession at the restoration. In 1670 he was promoted to the bishopric of Bath and Wells, which he held until his death Nov. 21, 1672. He was accounted a man of much learning, and in the discharge of his duty as a preacher, reproved the vices of the court with great boldness and plainness. His only publication was a translation from Greek into Latin, of Sylvester Syguropolus’s history of the council of Florence, Hague, 1660, fol. which was animadverted upon by Leo Allatius, to whom the bishop wrote an answer. Wood says he has some sermons in print. His son, who was chanter of Wells, published a volume of Sermons in 1720.
d any thing in his life-time; but, after his death, three 4to volumes of his sermons were printed by his son, under the title of “Christ alone exalted,” containing in
, a puritan writer of considerable eminence, the third son of Ellis Crisp, esq. an alderman, and
probably related to the family of the subject of the preceding article, was born in Bread-street, London, in 1600,
and educated at Eton-school. He afterwards went to Cambridge, where he studied until he took his degree of B. A,
and was, on his removal to Oxford, “for the accomplishment,
” says Wood, “. of certain parts of learning,
” incorporated in the same degree as a member of Baliol-college,
in the end of Feb. 1626, and the degree was completed
by him in the act following, July 1627. In this year he
was presented to the rectory of Newington Butts, near
Southwark, but enjoyed the living only a few months,
being removed on account of a simoniacal contract. In
the same year, however, he became rector of Brinkwortb,
in Wiltshire, and a few years after proceeded D. D. At
Brinkworth he was much followed for his edifying manner
of preaching, and for his great hospitality. But on the
breaking out of the rebellion, being noted among those
who were inclined to favour the republicans, he met witk.
such harsh treatment from the king’s soldiers, as obliged
him to repair to London, where his preaching, although
at first acceptable, was soon accused of leaning to
Antinomianism, and involved him with many of his brethren in
a controversy. He was baited, says Wood, by fifty-two
opponents, in a grand dispute concerning the freeness of
the grace of God in Jesus Christ; and by this encounter,
which was eagerly managed on his part, he contracted a
disease that brought him to his grave. This disease, communicated by infection, and probably nowise connected
with the eagerness of his dispute, was the small-pox, of
which he died Feb. 27, 1642, and was buried in the family
vault in St. Mildred’s, Bread-street. In his last sickness,
he avowed his firm adherence in the doctrines he had
preached. The dispute mentioned by Wood, was probably carried on in person, or in the pulpit, for we do not
find that he published any thing in his life-time; but, after
his death, three 4to volumes of his sermons were printed
by his son, under the title of “Christ alone exalted,
” containing in all forty-two sermons. When they appeared,
we are told, that the Westminster assembly proposed to
have them burnt; and although we do not find that this was
done, Flavel, and other non-conformists, endeavoured to
expose the danger of some of his sentiments. Here, probably, the controversy might have rested, had not his
works been again published about the revolution, by one
of his sons, with additions. This excited a new controversy, confined almost entirely to the dissenters, but in
which some of the most eminent of that body took a part,
and carried it on with an asperity which produced considerable disunion. In particular it disturbed the harmony
of the weekly lecture established at Pinners’ -hall, and the
congregation mostly inclining to Dr. Crisp’s sentiments,
the minority seceded, and began a weekly lecture at Salters’-hall. The principal writers in this controversy were
Williams, Edwards, Lorimer, &c. against Crisp; and
Chauncey, Mather, Lobb, &c. for him; and after a contest of seven-years, they rather agreed to a suspension of
hostilities than came to a decision. The truth appears to
have been, that Crisp was extremely unguarded in many
of his expressions, but was as far as the fiercest of his antagonists from intending to support any doctrine that
tended to licentiousness. A very full account of the whole
controversy may be seen in the last of our authorities.
, and was twice knight of the shire in the reign of king William. He died 1720, and was succeeded by his son Archer, and he by his son and namesake in 1761, who dying
As bishop Croft lived, so he died, without the least
tincture of that popery which he had contracted in his
youth, as appears clearly enough from the preamble to his
will: “I do,
” says he, “in all humble manner most
heartily thank God, that he hath been most graciously
pleased, by the light of his most holy gospel, to recall me
from the darkness of gross errors and popish superstitions,
into which I was seduced in my younger days, and to settle me again in the true ancient catholic and apostolic
faith, professed by our church of England, in which I was
born and baptized, and in which I joyfully die,
” &c. He
had one only son, Herbert, who was educated in Magdalen college, Oxford, was created baronet by Charles II.
Nov. 167 1, and was twice knight of the shire in the reign
of king William. He died 1720, and was succeeded by
his son Archer, and he by his son and namesake in 1761,
who dying in 1792, without male issue, the title descended
to the rev. Herbert Croft, a gentleman well known in the
literary world.
ed in 3 vols, but has no references. The third, also in 3 vols, fol. was translated and published by his son-in-law, sir Harbottle Grimstone, in 1683 or 1685, with tables
The “Reports
” of sir George Croke have obtained the
character of great authenticity. There have been several
editions, as in 1657, 1658, 1661, all of which are called
the first edition, and are frequently without tables of the
principal matters; there is also a very incorrect edition,
varying in the numbers from the other editions, and the
dates are printed in numerical letters MDCL. &c. An edition of 1669, which is called the second, is well printed in
3 vols, but has no references. The third, also in 3 vols,
fol. was translated and published by his son-in-law, sir
Harbottle Grimstone, in 1683 or 1685, with tables and references. This first led the way in divesting this branch of
legal literature of the foreign idiom, and substituting the
author’s native language. The fourth and last edition, in
4 vols. 8vo, 1790 1792, with additions and marginal
notes, and many references to later authorities, including
several from the ms notes of lord chief baron Parker, was
published by Thomas Leach, esq. There is an accurate
abridgment of Croke’s Reports, three parts, 8vo, by Will.
Hughes, esq, published in 1685. Sir George Croke’s arguments on ship-money were published with those of sic
Richard Hutton. Lloyd, no friend to the patriots of Charles
I.'s time, remarks that the share in this tax for which
Hampden went to law was eighteen shillings, and that it
cost the nation eighteen millions.
uted lord high chamberlain of England. The same day he was created earl of Essex he procured Gregory his son to be made baron Cromwell of Okeham. On the 12th of March
, earl of Essex, an eminent statesman in the sixteenth century, was the son of Walter Cromwell, a blacksmith, at Putney, near London, and in his latter days a brewer; after whose decease, his mother was married to a sheerman in London. What education he had, was In a private school: and all the learning he attained to, was (according to the standard of those times), only reading and writing, and a little Latin. When he grew up, having a very great inclination for travelling, he went into foreign countries, though at whose expence is not known; and by that means he had an opportunity of seeing the world, of gaining experience, and of learning several languages, which proved of great service to him afterwards. Coming to Antwerp, where was then a very considerable English factory, he was by them retained to be their clerk, or secretary. But that office being too great a confinement, he embraced an opportunity that offered in 1510, of taking a journey to Rome. Whilst he remained in Italy he served for some time as a soldier under the duke of Bourbon, and was at the sacking of Rome: and at Bologna he assisted John Russel, esq. afterwards earl of Bedford, in making his escape, when he had like to be betrayed into the hands of the French, being secretly in those parts about our king’s affairs. It is also much to his credit, as an early convert to the reformation, that, in his journey to and from Rome, he learned by heart Erasmus’s translation of the New Testament. After his return from his travels he was taken into the family and service of cardinal Wolsey, who is said to have first discovered him in France, and who made him his solicitor, and often employed him in business of great importance. Among other things, he had the chief hand in the foundation of the two colleges begun at Oxford and Ipswich by that magnificent prelate; and upon the cardinal’s disgrace in 1529, he used his utmost endeavours and interest to have him restored to the king’s favour: even when articles of high-treason against him were sent down to the house of commons, of which Cromwell was then a member, he defended his master with so much wit and eloquence, that no treason cauld be laid to his charge: which honest beginning procured Cromwell great reputation, and made his parts and abilities to be much taken notice of. After the cardinal’s household was dissolved, Cromwell was taken into the king’s service (upon the recommendation of sir Christopher Hales, afterwards master of the rolls, and sir John Russel, knt. above-mentioned) as the fittest person to manage the disputes the king then had with the pope; though some endeavoured to hinder his promotion, and to prejudice his majesty against him, on account of his defacing the small monasteries that were dissolved for endowing Wolsey’s colleges. But he discovering to the king some particulars that were very acceptable to him respecting the submission of the clergy to the pope, in derogation of his majesty’s authority, he took him into the highest degree of favour, and soon after he was sent to the convocation, then sitting, to acquaint the clergy, that they were all fallen into a praemunire on the above account, and the provinces of Canterbury and York were glad to compromise by a present to the king of above 100,000l. In 1531 he was knighted; made master of the king’s jewel-house, with a salary of 50l. per annum; and constituted a privy-counsellor. The next year he was made clerk of the Hanaper, an office of profit and repute in chancery; and, before the end of the same year, chancellor of the exchequer, and in 1534, principal secretary of state, and master of the rolls. About the same time he was chosen chancellor of the university of Cambridge; soon after which followed a general visitation of that university, when the several colleges delivered up their charters, and other instruments, to sir Thomas Cromwell. The year before, he assessed the fines laid upon those who having 40l. per annum estate, refused to take the order of knighthood. In 1535 he was appointed visitor-general of the monasteries throughout England, in order for their suppression; and in that office is accused of having acted with much violence, although in other cases promises and pensions were employed to obtain the compliance of the monks and nuns. But the mode, whatever it might be, gave satisfaction to the king and his courtiers, and Cromwell was, on July 2, 1536, constituted lord keeper of the privy seal, when he resigned his mastership of the rolls . On the 9th of the same month he was advanced to the dignity of a baron of this realm, by the title of lord Cromwell of Okeham in Rutlandshire; and, six days after, took his place in the house of lords. The pope’s supremacy being now abolished in England, lord Cromwell was made, on the 18th of July, vicar-general, and vicegerent, over all the spirituality, under the king, who was declared supreme head of the church. In that quality his lordship satin the convocation holden this year, above the archbishops, as the king’s representative. Being-invested with such extensive power, he employed it in discouraging popery, and promoting the reformation. For that purpose he caused certain articles to be enjoined by the king’s authority, differing in many essential points from the established system of the Roman-catholic religion; and in September, this same year, he published some injunctions to the clergy, in which they were ordered to preach up the king’s supremacy; not to lay out their rhetoric in extolling images, relics, miracle*, or pilgrimages, but rather to exhort their people to serve God, and make provision for their families: to put parents and other directors of youth in mind to teach their children the Lord’s-prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments in their mother-tongue, and to provide a Bible in Latin and English, to be laid in the churches for every one to read at their pleasure. He likewise encouraged the translation of the Bible into English; and, when finished, enjoined that one of the largest volume should be provided for every parish church, at the joint charge of the parson and parishioners. These alterations, with the dissolution of the monasteries, and (notwithstanding the immense riches gotten from thence) his demanding at the same time for the king subsidies both from the clergy and laity, occasioned very great murmurs against him, and indeed with some reason. All this, however, rather served to establish him in the king’s esteem, who was as prodigal of money as he was rapacious and in 1537 his majesty constituted him chief justice itinerant of all the forests beyond Trent and on the 26th of August, the same year, he was elected knight of the garter, and dean of the cathedral church of Weils. The year following he obtained a grant of the castle and lordship of Okeham in the county of Rutland; and was also made constable of Carisbrook-castle in the Isle of Wight. In September he published new injunctions, directed to all bishops and curates, in which he ordered that a Bible, in English, should be set up in some convenient place in every church, where the parishioners might most commodiously resort to read the same: that the clergy should, every Sunday and holiday, openly and plainly recite to their parishioners, twice or thrice together, one article of the Lord’s Prayer, or Creed, in English, that they might learn the same by heart: that they should make, or cause to be made, in their churches, one sermon every quarter of a year at least, in which they should purely and sincerely declare the very gospel of Christ, and exhort their hearers to the works of charity, mercy, and faith not to pilgrimages, images, &c. that they should forthwith take clown all images to which pilgrimages or offerings were wont to be made: that in all such benefices upon which they were not themselves resident, they should appoint able curates: that they, and every parson, vicar, or curate, should for every church keep one book of register, wherein they should write the day and year of every wedding, christening, and burying, within their parish; and therein set every person’s name that shall be so wedded, christened, or buried, &c. Having been thus highly instrumental in promoting the reformation, and in dissolving the monasteries, he was amply rewarded by the king in 1539, with many noble manors and large estates that had belonged to those dissolved houses. On the 17th of April, the same year, he was advanced to the dignity of earl of Essex; and soon after constituted lord high chamberlain of England. The same day he was created earl of Essex he procured Gregory his son to be made baron Cromwell of Okeham. On the 12th of March 1540, he was put in commission, with others, to sell the abbey-lands, at twenty years’ purchase: which was a thing he had advised the king to do, in order to stop the clamours of the people, to attach them to his interest, and to reconcile them to the dissolution of the monasteries. But as, like his old master Wolsey, he had risen rapidly, he was now doomed, like him, to exhibit as striking an example of the instability of human grandeur; and au unhappy precaution to secure (as he imagined) his greatness, proved his ruin. Observing that some of his most inveterate enemies, particularly Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, began to be more in favour at court than himself, he used his utmost endeavours to procure a marriage between king Henry and Anne of Cleves, expecting great support from a queen of his own making; and as her friends were Lutherans, he imagined it would bring down the popish party at court, and again recover the ground he and Cranmer had now lost. But this led immodiaieiy to his destruction; for the king, not liking the queen, began to hate Cromwell, the great promoter of the marriage, and soon found an opportunity to sacrifice him; nor was this difficult. Cromwell was odious to all the nobility by reason of his low binh: hated particularly by Gardiner, and the Roman catholics, for having been so busy in the dissolution of the abbies: the reformers themselves found he could not protect them from persecution; and the nation in general was highly incensed against him for his having lately obtained a subsidy of four shillings in the pound from the clergy, and one tenth and one fifteenth from the laity; notwithstanding the immense sums that had flowed into the treasury out of the monasteries. Henry, with his usual caprice, and without ever considering that Cromwell’s faults were his own, and committed, if we may use the expression, for his own gratification, caused him to be arrested at the council table, by the duke of Norfolk, on the 10th of June, when he least suspected it. Being committed to the Tower, he wrote a letter to the king, to vindicate himself from the guilt of treason; and another concerning his majesty’s marriage with Anne of Cleves; but we do not find that any notice was taken of these: yet, as his enemies knew if he were brought to the bar he would justify himself by producing the king’s orders and warrants for what he had done, they resolved to prosecute him by attainder; and the bill being brought into the house of lords the 17th of June, and read the first time, on the 19th was read the second and third times, and sent down to the commons. Here, however, it stuck ten days, and at last a new bill of attainder was sent up to the lords, framed in the house of commons: and they sent back at the same time the bill the lords had sent to them. The grounds of his condemnation were chieHy treason and heresy; the former very confusedly expressed. Like other falling favourites, he was deserted by most of his friends, except archbishop Cranmer, who wrote to the king in his behalf with great boldness and spirit. But the duke of Norfolk, and the rest of the popish party, prevailed; and, accordingly, in pursuance of his attainder, the lord Cromwell was brought to a scaffold erected on Tower-hill, where, after having made a speech, and prayed, he was beheaded, July 28, 1540. His death is solely to be attributed to the ingratitude and caprice of Henry, whom he had served with great faithfulness, courage, and resolution, in the most hazardous, difficult, and important undertakings. As for the lord Cromwell’s character, he is represented by popish historians as a crafty, cruel, ambitious, and covetous man, and a heretic; but their opponents, on better grounds, assert that he was a person of great wit, and excellent parts, joined to extraordinary diligence and industry; that his apprehension was quick and clear; his judgment methodical and solid; his memory strong and rational; his tongue fluent and pertinent; his presence stately and obliging; his heart large and noble; his temper patient and cautious; his correspondence well laid and constant; his conversation insinuating and close: none more dextrous in finding out the designs of men and courts; and none more reserved in keeping a secret. Though he was raised from the meanest condition to a high pitch of honour, he carried his greatness with wonderful temper; being noted in the exercise of his places of judicature, to have used much moderation, and in his greatest pomp to have taken notice of, and been thankful to mean persons of his old acquaintance. In his whole behaviour he was courteous and affable to all; a favourer in particular of the poor in their suits; and ready to relieve such as were in danger of being oppressed by powerful adversaries; and so very hospitable and bountiful, that about two hundred persons were served at the gate of his house in Throgmorton-strcet, London, twice every day, with bread, meat, and drink sufficient. He must be regarded as one of the chief instruments in the reformation; and though he could not prevent the promulgation, he stopped the execution, as far as he could, of the bloody act of the six articles. But when the king’s command pressed him close, he was not firm enough to refuse his concurrence to the condemnation and burning of John Lambert. In his domestic concerns he was very regular; calling upon his servants yearly, to give him an account of what they had got under him, and what they desired of him; warning them to improve their opportunities, because, he said, he was too great to stand long; providing for them as carefully, as for his own son, by his purse and credit, that they might live as handsomely when he was dead, as they did when he was alive. In a word, we are assured, that for piety towards God, fidelity to his king, prudence in the management of affairs, gratitude to his benefactors, dutifulness, charity, and benevolence, there was not any one then superior to him in England.
Cambridgeshire, then the army’s head quarters. Here, through the management chiefly of Cromwell and his son-in-law commissary Ireton, the king was treated, not only
The wisest men and the best patriots saw very clearly
whither these excessive praises tended. That the nation
might be made as fully convinced of it, the earl of Manchester exhibited a charge against him in the house of
lords; and Cromwell, in return, brought another against
the noble peer in the house of commons. It is true, that
neither of these charges was prosecuted; but it is equally
true, that Cromwell and his friends absolutely carried their
point, by bringing in what was called the self-denying ordinance, which excluded the members of either house
from having any commands in the army; from which,
however, on account of his extraordinary merit, which
set him above all ordinances, Cromwell was at first occasionally, and at length altogether exempted. From being
lieutenant-general of the horse, he became lieutenant-general of the army; and he procured an address from his
regiment, declaring their satisfaction with the change. He
continued to distinguish himself by his military successes,
and to receive the thanks of both houses for the services
he did. He shone particularly at the battle of Naseby,
June 14, 1646, and had also his share in reducing the
west; till, upon the surrender of Exeter, April 13, 1645,
he found leisure to return to London. Upon taking his
seat in the house, thanks were returned him, in terms as
strong as words could express; and the prevailing party
there received from him such encouragement, as induced
them to believe he was wholly at their devotion. But in
this they were mistaken; for while they thought the lieutenant-general employed in their business, he was in
reality only attentive to his own. Thus, when the parliament inclined to disband a part of their forces, after the
king had delivered himself to the Scots and the Scots
had agreed to deliver him to the parliament, Cromwell opposed it vigorously, if not openly. For, in the first
place, he insinuated by his emissaries to the soldiers, that
this was not only the highest piece of ingratitude towards
those who had fought the parliament into a power of disbanding them, but also a crying act of injustice, as it was
done with no other view than to cheat them of their arrears. Secondly, he procured an exemption for sir Thomas Fairfax’s army, or, in other words, for his own, the
general only having that title and appointments, while
Cromwell had the power; and the weight of the reduction
fell upon Massey’s brigade in the west, together with the
troops which colonel Poyntz commanded in Yorkshire;
men of whom he had good reason to doubt, but upon whom
the parliament might have depended. Thus he dextrously
turned to his own advantage the means which, in truth,
were contrived for his destruction.
Nov. 12, 1646, the army marched triumphantly through
London; and in February following, the Scots having received the money agreed on, delivered up the king, who
was carried prisoner to Holmby. At this time Cromwell
had a most difficult part to play. What wore the legal
appearance of power was evidently in the hands of the parliament, in which the presbyterian party was still prevalent;
and as the general sir Thomas Fairfax was likewise in that
interest, the real power seemed also to be on their side.
At bottom, however, the army, now taught to know their
own strength, were in reality the masters; and they were
entirely directed by Cromwell, though they knew it not
themselves. He saw the necessity of having a strong place,
and getting the king’s person into their power and he
contrived to do both, without seeming to have a hand in
either. Oxford was at that time in a good condition, and
well supplied with artillery, upon which the army seized
it, with the magazines, and every thing else; and Cromwell, then at London, prevailed upon cornet Joyce to
seize the king’s person with a strong detachment of horse,
not only without the general’s orders, but without any
orders at all, except those verbal instructions from Cromwell. This was executed June 4, 1G47, notwithstanding
the parliament’s commissioners were then with the king;
who was conducted from Holmby to Childersly, in Cambridgeshire, then the army’s head quarters. Here, through
the management chiefly of Cromwell and his son-in-law commissary Ireton, the king was treated, not only with reverence,
but with kindness; and when sir Thomas Fairfax, who
knew nothing of the taking of the king away, and disliked
it, would have sent him back asrain with the commissioners,
under the guard of two regiments of horse, the king absolutely refused to move. Nay, to such a degree was that
monarch convinced of the sincerity of his new friends, that
he had the indiscretion to tell sir Thomas Fairfax, when
he made him a tender of his duty and respect, with promises of fair treatment, that “he thought he had as good
an interest in the army as himself.
”
ly by those who wished him well, but even by his most inveterate enemies; and therefore constituting his son-inlaw Ireton, his deputy, he took ship for Bristol, where,
The government being now entirely changed, for in five days after the king’s death the house of lords was voted useless, it became necessary to think of some expedient for managing the executive power; and therefore it was resolved to set up a council of state, of which John Bradshaw was president, and lieutenant-general Cromwell a principal member. But before he had well taken possession of this new dignity, he was again called to action; and that too as hazardous as any in which he had hitherto been concerned. The persons he had to engage were part of the army he commanded; who, being dissatisfied on some account or other, set forth their sentiments by way of remonstrance presented to the general. For this high offence they were seized, and tried by a court martial, and sentenced to ride with their faces to their horses’ tails, at the head of their respective corps, with a paper expressing their crime fixed on their breasts, after which their swords were to be broke over their heads, and themselves cashiered; every circumstance of which was strictly executed, March 6, in Great Palace-yard. This served only to increase the flame; for several regiments of horse, and among the rest Cromwell’s own, mutinied, put white cockades in their hats, and appointed a rendezvous at Ware; where Cromwell appeared, when he was least suspected, and brought with him some regiments quartered at a distance, that he couicl depend on. Here, without any previous expostulations, he with two regiments of horse surrounded one regiment of the mutineers, and calling four men by name out of their ranks, obliged them to cast dice for their lives; and the two that escaped were ordered to shoot the others, which they did; upon which the rest thought fit to slip their white cockades into their pockets, and to secure themselves by a submission. The same spirit of mutiny broke out in another regiment of horse; but it was entirely subdued by Cromwell, and the fomenters of it punished. After this, he and Fairfax went first to Oxford, where they were made doctors in civil law; and thence to London, where they were splendidly entertained by the city, and had presents of great value when they took leave. At this time England, if not quiet, was totally subdued; the Scots were discontented, but not in arms; so that Ireland became the principal object of the parliament’s care, since in that island, of three parties which had for many years been shedding each other’s blood, their own was the weakest. In August, therefore, 1649, Cromwell embarked with an army for Ireland, where his successes, as in England, were attended with so few disappointments, that, by June 1650, he had in a manner subdued the whole island. By that time his presence was required in England, not only by those who wished him well, but even by his most inveterate enemies; and therefore constituting his son-inlaw Ireton, his deputy, he took ship for Bristol, where, after a dangerous passage, he safely arrived, leaving such a terror upon the minds of the Irish as made every thing easy to those who succeeded him, and completed the conquest of that country.
n liberty of conscience. He gave the command of all the forces in Scotland to general Monk, and sent his son Henry to govern Ireland. By an ordinance dated April 12,
The true reason why Cromwell thus dismissed this council of state, was, because he intended to have another of
his own framing; these being men entirely devoted to the
parliament, from whom they derived their authority. He
now projected such measures as appeared to him the most
proper for the support of that great authority which he
had attained. He continued for a few days to direct all
things by the advice of the council of officers; but afterwards a new council of state was called, by virtue of letters
or warrants under the lord-general’s hand. But this consisting chiefly of fifth-monarchy and other madmen, soon
dissolved of itself; and then the power returned into the
hands of Cromwell, from whom it came. Harrison, and
about twenty more, remained in the house, and seeing the
reign of the saints at an end, placed one Moyer in the
speaker’s chair, and began to draw up protests; but they
were soon interrupted by colonel White with a party of
soldiers. White asking them what they did there, they
told him, “they were seeking the Lord;
” to which he
replied, “that they might go somewhere else, for to his
knowledge, the Lord had not been there many years;
”
and so turned them out of doors. The scene thus changed,
the supreme power was said to be in the council of officers
again; and they very speedily resolved, that the lordgeneral, with a select council, should have the administration of public affairs, upon the terms contained in a paper,
entitled “The Instrument of Government;
” and that his
excellency should be protector of the commonwealth of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and have the title of
Highness. Accordingly he was invested therewith Dec.
16, 1653, in the court of chancery in Westminster-hall,
with great solemnity; and thus, in his 54th year, assumed
the sovereign power, which he well knew how to exercise
with firmness. When he had thus reduced the government
into some order at least, he proceeded very wisely and
warily; appointed a privy-council, in which there were
great and worthy men, who he knew would either not act
at all, or not very long with him; but their names giving
a sanction for the present, he proceeded, with the advice
of as many of them as attended, to make several ordinances that were necessary, as also to dispose matters for
the holding a new parliament. He applied himself also to
the settlement of the public affairs, both foreign and domestic; he concluded a peace with the states of Holland
and Sweden; he obliged the king of Portugal, notwithstanding all that had passed between the parliament and
bim, to accept of a peace upon his terms; and adjusted
matters with France, though not without some difficulty.
As to affairs at home, he filled the courts in Westminsterhall with able judges; and directed the lawyers themselves
to make such corrections in the practice of their profession,
as might free them from public odium. The same moderation he practised in church matters; professing an unalterable resolution to maintain liberty of conscience. He
gave the command of all the forces in Scotland to general
Monk, and sent his son Henry to govern Ireland. By an
ordinance dated April 12, 1654, he united England and
Scotland, fixing the number of representatives for the latter at 30; and soon after he did the same by Ireland. He
affected to shew great zeal for justice, in causing the brother of the ambassador from Portugal to be executed for
murder; which he did July 10, in spite of the greatest
application to prevent it.
sition tending to restore the king; but he rejected it unmoved, as he had shewn himself before, when his son Richard threw himself at his feet, to dissuade him from
With such arts and qualities as these, joined to his great
military skill and reputation, we may account for all his
successes, and that prodigious authority to which he raised
himself, without having-recourse to that contract of his
with the devil, of which, as Echard pretends, colonel
Lindsey was eye and ear-witness. In the course of his
life he was temperate and sober, and despised those who
were not so. In his family he shewed great kindness, but
without any diminution of his authority. He was very respectful to his mother, and very tender to his wife; yet
neither had any influence over him. He expressed a deep
sense of the concern which the former discovered for his
danger, heard whatever she said to him patiently, but
acted as he thought proper, and, in respect to her burial,
directly against her dying request. His wife is said to have
made a proposition tending to restore the king; but he
rejected it unmoved, as he had shewn himself before, when
his son Richard threw himself at his feet, to dissuade him
from taking the king’s life. He did not seem offended at
applications of the same kind from other persons, as from
Whitlocke, though that gentleman thought he lost his confidence by it; from the marquis of Hertford, whom he
treated very respectfully; and from Dr. Brownrig, bishop
of Exeter, to whom he shewed more kindness than to any
other man of his rank and profession. Asking advice once
of this prelate, “My advice,
” said he to him, “must be
in the words of the Gospel: ' Render to Citsar the things
that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s:
”
to which Cromwell made no reply. He shewed a great
respect for learning and learned men, without affecting to
be learned himself. His letters, however, are the best
testimonies of his parts; for they are varied in their style
in a wonderful manner, exactly adapted to the purposes
for which they were written, and the persons to whom they
were addressed. A great number of them are to be found
in Thurloe’s and Nichols’s collections, as well as in Rushworth and Whitlocke. His public speeches were long,
dark; and perplexed; and though mixed with the cant of
the times, yet have sentiments in them which shew a superiority of understanding. Several of these are in Whitlocke’s “Memorials.
” In his conversation he was easy
and pleasant, and could unbend himself without losing his
dignity. He made an excellent choice in those he cmployed, but trusted none of them farther than was necessary.
tary right. When he had afterwards brought about a change in affairs, he altered his conduct towards his son; named him the first lord in his other house; resigned to
He had many children, of whom six, Richard, Henry,
Bridget, Elizabeth, Mary, and Frances, survived to advanced age. Richard, his eldest son, was born Oct. 4,
1626. His father has been censured for keeping him at a
distance from business, and giving him no employment
but for this perhaps there was not any just ground. He
married him to a daughter and coheir of Richard Major,
of Hunley, in Hampshire, esq. who brought him a good
fortune. He suffered him to pursue the bent of his inclinations, and to lead the life of a plain, honest, country
gentleman; which for a time was highly suitable to his
own interest, as it seemed to correspond with the terms of
the Instrument of Government; and with the dislike which
the protector, when first so called, had expressed of hereditary right. When he had afterwards brought about a
change in affairs, he altered his conduct towards his son;
named him the first lord in his other house; resigned to
him the chancellorship of Oxford; and conferred upon him
all the honours he could. His weak and harmless reign is
well known. On his dismission from the protectorate, he
resided some time at Pezenas, in Languedoc, and afterwards went to Geneva. Sometime in 1680, he returned
to England, and for some time took the name of Richard
Clark, and resided at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, where
he died July 13, 1712. In 1705 he lost his only son, and
became in right of him possessed of the manor of Horsley,
which had belonged to his mother. Richard, then in an
advanced age, sent or.c of his daughters to take possession
of the estate for him. She kept it for herself and her
sisters, allowing her father only a small annuity out of it,
till she was dispossessed of it by a sentence of one of the
courts of Westminster-hall. It was requisite for this purpose, that Richard should appear in person; and tradition
says, that the judge who presided, lord Cowper, ordered
a chair for him in court, and desired him to keep on his
hat: this last circumstance appears wholly incredible. As
Richard was returning from this trial, curiosity led him to
see the house of peers, when, being asked by a person to
whom he was a stranger, if he had ever seen any thing like
it before, he replied, pointing to the throne, “Never since
I sat in that chair.
”
florins; and when the lords of Berne granted him permission to accept this office, they also allowed his son to fill the chair at Lausanne for a year; during which he
In 1724 he was invited to the professorship of mathematics and philosophy at Groningen, with a salary of
1500 Dutch florins; and when the lords of Berne granted
him permission to accept this office, they also allowed his
son to fill the chair at Lausanne for a year; during which
he might see whether the air of Groningen agreed with
him. He departed accordingly, and in October took possession of his new professorship with a discourse “De logic-ce cum physica, et de mathesceos cum utraque, et utriusque cum mathesi reciproco nexu,
” which was afterwards
printed. In
xall, rector of Hanworth in Middlesex, and Walton upon Thames in Surrey, in the last of which places his son was born. He received his early education at Eton school,
, was the son of Samuel Croxall, rector of Hanworth in Middlesex, and Walton upon
Thames in Surrey, in the last of which places his son was
born. He received his early education at Eton school, and
thence was sent to St. John’s college, in Cambridge. It is
said, that while he was at the university he became enamoured of Mrs. Anna Maria Mordaunt, who first inspired
his breast with love; and to whom he dedicates “The
Fair Circassian,
” in a bombastic style, bordering on prophaneness. Croxall was designed for orders, and had
probably entered them when he published this poem,
which made him cautious of being known to be the author
of a piece so ludicrously written, and yet taken from a
book which makes a part of the canon of scripture. The
first specimen of this poem, under the title of “Solomon’s
Song, chap, iv.
” appeared in Steele’s Miscellany,
s father, who was a merchant, was also a man of letters, and bestowed much pains on the education of his son, who answered his expectations by the proficiency he made
, a learned French writer, was born at Nantes, Dec. 4, 1661. His father, who was a merchant, was also a man of letters, and bestowed much pains on the education of his son, who answered his expectations by the proficiency he made in classical studies. He had, however, provided him with a private tutor, who happened to disgust him by the severity of his manners, and upon this account partly, at the age of fourteen, he desired to take a voyage to some of the West India islands, to which his father traded; but his principal inducement was what he had read in books of voyages, and the conversation of persons who had been in America, all which raised his curiosity to visit the new world. He embarked on board a French ship, with no other books than Erasmus’s Colloquies, and the Gradus ad Parnassum. His passage was not unpleasant, and during his residence at Guadeloupe he borrowed all the Latin books he could discover, and read them with avidity; but the chief advantage he seems to have derived here was an opportunity to learn the English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese San^uasres. To these he afterwards added an acquaintance with the German, Sclavonic, and AngloSaxon; and studied with much attention the ancient and modern Greek, the Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic, and even the Chinese. On his return to Nantes in 1677, he found his father’s affairs somewhat deranged, and was obliged to take a part in the business. Medicine appears to have been first suggested to him as a profession, but he found little inclination for that study; and some conferences he happened to have with the Benedictines of the congregation of St. Maur determined him to enter their society. He accordingly made his noviciate in 1673, and applied himself to the study of theology. In 1682 he formally became a member of the congregation. His residence at Paris, in the abbey of St. Germain des Pres, the vast number of books within his reach, and particularly of manuscripts, increased his knowledge and his thirst for knowledge, and some of his earliest labours were bestowed in preparing materials, collecting Mss. &c. for new editions of the works of St. Clement of Alexandria, and St. Gregory Nazianzen. But these were interrupted by certain differences which occurred in the abbey to which he belonged, and of which we have various accounts. The prior of St. Germain, father Loo, had a great aversion to the study of classical and polite literature, and was for confining the members to the strict religious duties of the house. This could not fail to be disgusting to a man of La Croze’s taste: but, according to other accounts, which seem more prohable, he began to entertain religious scruples about this time (lr.96), which induced him to withdraw himself. It is said that his superiors found among his papers a treatise against transubstantiation in his hand-writing, and which they believed to be his composition; but they discovered afterwards that it uas a translation from the English of Stillingfleet. Some other manuscripts, however, sufficiently proved that he had changed his opinion on religious matters; and the dread of persecution obliged him to make his escape to Basil, which he successfully accomplished in May 1696. Here he renounced the Roman catholic religion, and as his intention was to take up his residence, he was matriculated as a student of the college of Basil. He remained in this place, however, only till September, when he departed, provided with the most honourable testimonies of his learning and character from Buxtorf, the Hebrew professor, and Werenfels, dean of the faculty of theology. He then went to Berlin, where his object was to secure a iixed residence, devote himself to study, and endeavour to forget France. In order to introduce himself, he began with offering to educate young men, the sons of protestant parents, which appears to have answered his purpose, as in 1697 we find him appointed librarian to the king of Prussia; but his biographers are not agreed upon the terms. To this place a pension was attached, but not sufficient to enable him to live without continuing his school; and some assert that he was very poor at this time. The probability is, that his circumstances were improved as he became better known, and his reputation among the learned was already extensive. In June of 1697 he went to Francfort to visit the literati of that place, and their fine library, and visited also Brandenburgh for the same purpose. In November 1697 (or, as Chaufepie says, in 1702), he married Elizabeth Rose, a lady originally of Dauphiny, and thus, adds one of his Roman catholic biographers, completed the abjuration of the true religion. In 1698 he first commenced author, and from time to time published those works on which his fame rests. Soon after he became acquainted with the celebrated Leibnitz, with whom he carried on an intimate correspondence. In 17 13 he went to Hamburgh, where he paid many visits to the learned Fabricius, and in his letters speaks with great warmth of the pleasure this journey afforded; but this year, 17 J 3, was not in other respects a vei'y fortunate one to La Croze, and he formed the design of quitting Germany. He had been appointed tutor to the margrave of Schwel, and this employment terminating in 1714, he lost the pension annexed to it, and was reduced to considerable difficulties, of which he wrote to Leibnitz, as to a friend in whom he could confide. Leibnitz, by way of answer, sent him a copy of a letter which he had written to M. BernsdorfT, prime minister to the elector of Hanover, in his behalf. The object likely to be attained by this interest was a professorship at Helmstadt; but as it required subscription to the articles of the Lutheran church, M. la Croze, notwithstanding the persuasions Leibnitz employed, declined accepting it. His affairs, however, soon after wore a more promising aspect, partly in consequence of a prize he gained in the Dutch lottery. In 1717 he had the honour to be engaged as private tutor to the princess royal of Prussia, afterwards margravine of Bareoth. In 1724, for several months his studies were interrupted by a violent fit of the gravel; and on his recovery, the queen of Prussia, who always patronized La Croze, obtained for him the professorship of philosophy in the French college at Berlin, vacant by the death of M. Chauvin. This imposed on him the necessity of drawing up a course of philosophy, but as he never intended to print it, it is said not to have been executed with the care he bestowed on his other works. In 1713 father Bernard Pez, the Benedictine, made him liberal offers if he would return to the church he had forsaken, but this he declined with politeness, offering the arguments which influenced his mind to remain in the protestant church. In 1739 an inflammation appeared on his leg, which inApril put on appearances of mortification, hut did not prove fatal until May 21. About a quarter of an bour before his death he desired his servant to read the 51st and 77th psalms, during which he expired, in the seventy -first year of his age. He was reckoned one of the most learned men of his time, and was frequently called a living library. So extensive was his reading, and so vast iiis memory, that no one ever consulted him without obtaining prompt information. In dates, facts, and references he was correct and ready. We have already noticed how many languages he had learned, but it appears that he made the least progress in the Chinese, to which Leihnitz, in his letters, is perpetuiiy iirging him. The greater part of his life was employed in study, and he had no other pleasures. There was scarcely a book in his library whicli he had not perused, and he wrote ms notes on most of them. His conversation could not fail to be acceptable to men of literary research, as his memory was stored with anecdotes, which he told in a very agreeable manner. He was conscientiously attached to the principles of the reformed religion. He had always on his table the Hebrew Psalter, the Greek Testament, and Thomas a Kempis in Latin: the latter he almost had by heart, as well as Buchanan’s Psalms. His consistent piety and charity are noticed by all his biographers.
ally written by his father, sir Thomas Culpeper, who died in 1661, and appears to have bequeathed to his son his sentiments on usury, and the necessity of adjusting
, second
son of sir Thomas Culpeper of Hollingbourne, in Kent,
knight, was born in 1636, and entered a commoner of
University college, Oxford, in the beginning of 1640, and
was created B. A. in 1643. He afterwards travelled, and
on his return was elected probationer fellow of All Souls’
college, but soon retired to his estate in Kent, and after
the restoration received the honour of knighthood. When
he died is not ascertained, but probably it was about the
end of the seventeenth century. He wrote: 1. “Moral
Discourses and Essays upon several subjects,
” Lond. Considerations touching Marriage,
” 4to. 3. “A
Discourse shewing the many advantages, which will accrue
to this kingdom by the abatement of usury. Together
with the absolute necessity of reducing interest of money
to the lowest rate it bears in other countries,
” ibid. The necessity of abating
Usury, re-asserted,
” ibid. Brief Survey
of the growth of Usury in England, with the mischiefs
attending it,
” ibid. Humble proposal for
the relief of Debtors, and speedy payment of their Creditors,
” ibid. Several Objections against
the Reducement of Interest, propounded in a letter, with
the answer thereto,
” ibid. A Tract against the high rate of Usury, presented to the parliament in 1623,
” and reprinted by him
in
this the most probable reason that can be assigned is, that thorough dislike he had to controversy. His son-in-law, however, the rev. Mr. Payne, has done justice to
The high fame and repeated praises of this work did
not divert the author from his studies or his duties; and in
his station of a private clergyman, so great was his reputation, that he was importuned by the university, and by
other acquaintance, to take upon him the weighty exercise of responding at the public commencement. Nothing but the earnest solicitation of his friends could have
prevailed with a man void not only of ambition, but of
even the desire of applause, to appear so publicly. This
he did in 1680, in so masterly a manner, as to be remembered for many years after. The next specimen of his
abilities was his “Essay on Jewish Measures and Weights,
”
I love always to make my clergy easy.
” This was
his rule in all applications made to him by them, and if he
erred, it was always on this side. When the duties of his
office required it, he never spared himself. To the last
month of his life it was impossible to dissuade him from
undertaking fatigues that every body about him feared
were superior to his strength. He was inflexible to their
intreaties, and his answer and resolution was, “I will do
my duty as long as I can.
” He had acted by a maxim
like this in his vigour. When his friends represented to
him, that by his studies and labours he would injure his
health, his usual reply was, “A man had better wear out
than rust out.
” The last time he visited his diocese, he
was in the eightieth year of his age; and at his next triennial, when he was in the eighty-third year of his age, it
was with the utmost difficulty that he could be dissuaded
from undertaking again the visitation of his diocese. To
draw the clergy nearer than the usual decanal meetings,
to make his visitations easier to himself, was a thing he
would not hear of. Such were the public acts of this
great prelate in the discharge of his duty as a father of the
church. In respect to his temporal concerns, and his management of the revenue arising from his see, he was not
less liberal and munificent. His natural parts were not
quick, but strong and retentive. He was a perfect master
of every subject he studied. Eyery thing he read staid
with him. The impressions on his mind were some time
in forming, but they were clear, distinct, and durable.
The things he had chiefly studied, were researches into
the most ancient times; mathematics in all its parts and
the Scripture in its original languages but he was also
thoroughly acquainted with all the branches of philosophy,
medicine, and anatomy, and was a good classical scholar.
He was so thoroughly conversant in Scripture, that no difficult passage ever occurred, either occasionally, or in reading,
but he could readily give the meaning of it, and the several interpretations, without needing to consult his books.
He sometimes had thoughts of writing an exposition of
the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, with a view to
set the doctrine of justification in a light very different
from that in which it has been hitherto considered by most
divines, but what that light was we are not told. One of
his chief objects was the examination of Sanchoniatho’s
Phoenician History, about which the greatest men had
been most mistaken, and in relation to which none had
entered into so strict an examination as our learned prelate thought it deserved. He spent many years in these
speculations; for he began to write several years before
the revolution, and he continued improving his design
down to 1702. Jt may be justly wondered, that, after
taking so mnch pains, and carrying a work of such difficulty to so high a degree of perfection, he should
never judge it expedient to publish it; for though his
bookseller refused to print the first part at a critical season, yet afterwards both might have seen the light; and
for this the most probable reason that can be assigned
is, that thorough dislike he had to controversy. His
son-in-law, however, the rev. Mr. Payne, has done justice
to his memory, and published it under the title of“Sanchoniatho’s Phoenician History, translated from the first
book of Eusebius de Preparatione Evangelica,
” &c. Lond.
hampton. The earl, as a mark of his consideration, insisted upon bestowing one of the companies upon his son, who being too young to take the command, an officer was
, a late dramatic and miscellaneous writer, was the great grandson of the preceding. His father, Denison, so named from his mother, was educated at Westminster school, and from that admitted fellow-commoner of Trinity college, Cambridge. He married, at the age of twenty-two, Joanna, the younger daughter of Dr. Richard Bentley (the Phoebe of Byron’s Pastoral); by whom he had a daughter, Joanna, and Richard, the subject of this article. Though in possession of an independent fortune, he was readily prevailed upon by his father-in-law to take the rectory of Stanwick, in. Northamptonshire, given to him by lord chancellor King, as soon as he was of age to hold it. From this period he fixed his constant residence in that retired spot, and sedulously devoted himself to the duties of his function, never holding any other preferment for thirty years, except a small prebend in the church of Lincoln, given him by his uncle bishop Reynolds, He was in the commission of the peace, and a very active magistrate in the reconcilement of parties rather than in the conviction of persons. When the rebels were on the march, and had advanced to Derby, he raised among the neighbouring parishes two companies of 100 men each for the regiment then enrolling under the command of the earl of Halifax, and marched them in person to Northampton. The earl, as a mark of his consideration, insisted upon bestowing one of the companies upon his son, who being too young to take the command, an officer was named to act in his place. Some time after, on the approach of the general election for the county of Northampton, a contest took place with the rival parties of Knightly and Hanbury, or, in other words, between the tories and the whigs. His politics accorded with the latter, and he gave a very active and effectual support to his party. His exertions, though unsuccessful, were not overlooked by the earl of Halifax, who was then high in office, and lord lieutenant of the county. Offers were pressed upon him; yet, though he was resolute in declining all personal favours, he was persuaded to lend an ear to flattering situations pointed out for his son, who was shortly afterwards employed by lord Halifax as his confidential secretary. In 1757 he exchanged the living of Stanwick for Fulham, in order to be nearer his son, whose attendance on the earl of Halifax required his residence in town. On the earl being appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, he was made one of his chaplains; and in 1763, at the close of his lordship’s administration, was promoted to the bishopric of Clonfert. In this situation he much ingratiated himself with all classes of people by his benevolence and generosity. He introduced many improvements and comforts among the Irish peasantry. He encouraged the English mode of agriculture by judicious rewards; and, as one of the members of the linen trade, introduced a number of spinning-wheels, and much good linen was made in consequence. This improving manufacture formed an interesting occupation also to his lady, and flourished under her care. The city of Dublin presented him with his freedom in a gold box, an honour never before (except in the remarkable instance of dean Swift) conferred on any person below the rank of a chief governor; and the deed which accompanied it assigned as the motive, the great respectability of his character, and his disinterested protection of the Irish clergy. In 1772 he was translated to the see of Kilmore. Some alarming symptoms soon after indicated the breaking up of his constitution, which was increased by the anxiety he experienced, through the debility and loss of health of his, amiable lady. When his son took leave of him at the end of his summer visit, the bishop expressed an intention of attempting a journey to England; but died in the winter of the same year; and this sad event was speedily succeeded by the death of his lady, whose weak and exhausted frame sunk under the blow, May 27, 1775.
ey had not been under a wrong bias, might have been beneficial to himself and useful to his country. His son, who succeeded him in his title, became deranged in his
, bart. a man of considerable talents, unhappily, in some respects, misapplied, was the son of Alexander Cuming of Coulter, who was created a baronet in 1695, and was born probably about the beginning of the last century. It appears by his Journal, which was in the possession of the late Isaac Reed, esq. that he was bred to the law of Scotland, but was induced to quit that profession in consequence of a pension of 300l. per annum being assigned him by government, either, as he intimates, for services done by his family, or expected from himself. This pension was withdrawn in 1721, at the instance, according to his account, of sir Robert Walpole, who had conceived a pique against his father, for opposing him in parliament. It is mors probable, however, that he was found too visionary a schemer to fulfil what was expected from him. In 1129 he was induced, by a dream of lady Cunaing’s, to undertake a voyage to America, for the purpose of visiting the Cherokee nations. He left England on Sept. 13, and arrived at Charlestown Dec. 5. On March 11 following, he set out for the Indians country; and on April 3, 1730, he was crowned commander, and chief ruler of the Cherokee nations in a general meeting of chiefs at Nequisee among the mountains; he returned to Charlestown April 13, with six Indian chiefs, and on June 5, arrived at Dover. On the 18th he presented the chiefs to George II. at Windsor, where he laid his crown at his majesty’s feet: the chiefs also did homage, laying four scalps at the king’s feet, to show that they were an overmatch for their enemies, and five eagles’ tails as emblems of victory. These circumstances are confirmed by the newspapers of that time, which are full of the proceedings of the Cherokees whilst, in England, and speak of them as brought over by sir Alexander Cuming. Their portraits were engraved on a single sheet. Sir Alexander says in his Journal, that whilst he was in America in 1729, he found such injudicious notions of liberty prevail, as were inconsistent with any kind of government, particularly with their dependence on the British nation. This suggested to him the idea of establishing banks in each of the provinces dependent on the British exchequer, and accountable to the British parliament, as the only means of securing the dependency of the colonies. But it was not till 1748 (as it appears) that he laid his plans before the minister (the right hon. Henry Pelham) who treated him as a visionary enthusiast, which his journal indeed most clearly indicates him to have been. He connected this scheme with the restoration of the Jews, for which he supposed the time appointed to be arrived, and that he himself was alluded to in various passages of Scripture as their deliverer. He was not, like a late enthusiast, to conduct them to the Holy Land, but proposed to take them to the Cherokee mountains: wild as his projects were, some of the most learned Jews (among whom was Isaac Netto, formerly grand rabbi of the Portuguese synagogue) seem to have given him several patient hearings upon the subject. When the minister refused tollsten to his schemes, he proposed to open a subscription himself for 500,000l. to establish provincial banks in America, and to settle 300,000 Jewish families among the Cherokee mountains. From one wild project he proceeded to another; and being already desperately involved in debt, he turned his thoughts to alchemy, and began to try experiments on the transmutation of metal. He was supported principally by the contributions of his friends: till at length, in 1766, archbishop Seeker appointed him one of the pensioners in the Charter-house, where he died at a very advanced age in August 1775, and was buried at East Bavnet, where lady Cuming had been buried in 1743. He appears to have been a man of learning., and to have possessed talents, which, if they had not been under a wrong bias, might have been beneficial to himself and useful to his country. His son, who succeeded him in his title, became deranged in his intellects, and died some years ago, in a state of indigence, in the neighbourhood of Red-lionstreet, Whitechapel. He had been a captain in the army: the title became extinct at his death.
ve him his office; but his strong attachment to books made him prefer a literary education, and when his son had attained his eleventh year, he sent him to S. Maixent
, a minister of the church of Paris, and one of the ablest advocates the protestants ever had, was born at Chatelleraut, Jan 6, 1594; but carried soon after to Poitiers, where his father usually lived, on account of the office which he bore of receiver of the deposits there. His father designed him for business, and proposed to leave him his office; but his strong attachment to books made him prefer a literary education, and when his son had attained his eleventh year, he sent him to S. Maixent in Poitou, to learn the first rudiments of learning. He continued his studies at Poitiers, Chatelleraut, and Saumur; and, having finished his classical course in the last of those towns, he entered on logic at Poitiers, at the age of sixteen, and finished his course of philosophy at Saumur under the celebrated Mark Duncan. He began his theological studies at Saumur in 1612; which, says his son, was indisputably one of the most fortunate years in his whole life, as in October of it, he was admitted into the family of the illustrious mons. du Plessis Mornay, who did him the honour to appoint him tutor to two of his grandsons. Here, though he discharged the trust he had undertaken very well, yet it is said that he received more instruction from the grandfather than he communicated to the grandsons. Mornay was extremely pleased with him, frequently read with him, and concealed from him nothing of whatever he knew; so that some have been ready to impute the great figure Mr. Daillc afterwards made, to the assistance he received here; and it is but reasonable to suppose, that Mornay’s advice and instructions contributed not a little to it.
cal pieces, as well from his own compositions as from the designs of Berghem, Rembrandt, and others. His son, Danckert Danckerts, who was born at Antwerp about 1600,
, or Danckerts, is the name of a family of engravers of considerable reputation in Holland. Cornelius Danckkkts, who was born at Amsterdam in 1561, established himself at Antwerp as a print-seller; but he did not suffer this employment to engross his whole time, as he engraved many portraits, landscapes, and historical pieces, as well from his own compositions as from the designs of Berghem, Rembrandt, and others. His son, Danckert Danckerts, who was born at Antwerp about 1600, also engraved different subjects, as well from his own designs as from those of other artists; and though his pieces are not so numerous as his father’s, they surpass them in merit. Danckert combined the point and the graver with very great success, and the pieces from Berghem and Wouvermanns, which he has wrought in this manner, are much esteemed.
y (Somersetshire), whose father was a master of musick and his harmonious mind made an impression on his son’s genius, who proved an exquisite poet. He carried in his
“He was born not far from Taunton, in this county
(Somersetshire), whose father was a master of musick and
his harmonious mind made an impression on his son’s genius, who proved an exquisite poet. He carried in his
Christian and surname, two holy prophets, his monitors so
to qualify his raptures, that he abhorred all prophaneness.
He was also a judicious historian, witness his Lives of our
English kings since the conquest, until king Edward III.
wherein he hath the happiness to reconcile brevity with
clearness, qualities of great distance in other authors. He
was a servant in ordinary to queen Anne, who allowed him,
a fair salary. As the tortoise burieth himself all the winter
under the ground, so Mr. Daniel would lye hid at his
garden-house in Old -street, nigh London, for some months
together (the more retiredly to enjoy the company of the muses) and then would appear in publick, to converse with
his friends, whereof Dr. Cowel and Mr. Camden were
principal. Some tax him to smack of the old cask, as resenting of the Romish religion, but they have a quicker
palate than I, who can make any such discovery. In his
old age he turned husbandman, and rented a farm in Wiltshire, nigh the Devizes. I can give no account how he
thrived thereupon. For though he was well versed in
Virgil, his fellow-husbandman-poet, yet there is more required to make a rich farmer, than only to say his Georgics
by heart; and I question whether his Italian will fit our
English husbandry. Besides, I suspect that Mr. Daniel
his fancy was too fine and sublimated to be wrought down
to his private profit.
”
sect to whom the author’s political and religious, or rather irreligious principles, were endeared. His son, Charles Darwin, who died at Edinburgh the 15th of May,
In 1753, the author published the first volume of“Zoonomia, or the Laws of Organic Life,
” 4to. The second
volume, which completed the author’s plan, was printed in
1796. As the eccentric genius of the author was known,
great expectations were formed of this work, the labour,
we were told, of more than twenty years. It was to reform,
or entirely new model, the whole system of medicine, professing no less than to account for the manner in which
man, animals, and vegetables are formed. They all, it
seems, take their origin from living filaments, susceptible
of irritation, which is the agent that sets them in motion.
Archimedes was wont to say, “give me a place to stand on,
and I will move the earth:
” such was his confidence in
his know edge of the power of the lever. Our author
said, “give me a fibre susceptible of irritation, and I will
make a tree, a dog, a horse, a man.
” “I conceive,
” he
says, Zoonomia, vol. I. p. the primordium, or rudiment of the embryon, as secreted from the blood of the
parent, to consist in a single living filament, as a muscular fibre, which I suppose to be the extremity of a nerve of
loco-motion, as a fibre of the retina is the extremity of a
nerve of sensation; as, for instance, one of the fibrils
which compose the mouth of an absorbent vessel; I suppose this living filament, of whatever form it may be,
whether sphere, cube, or cylinder, to be endued with the
capacity of being exciied into action by certain kinds of
stimulus. By the stimulus of the surrounding fluid in which
it is received from the mah-, it may bend into a ring, and
thus form the lieg'nninj of a tube. This living ring may
now embrace, or absorb a nutritive particle of the fluid in
which it swims, and by drawing it into its pores, or joining
it by compression to its extremities, may increase its own
length or crassitude, and, by degrees, the living-ring may
become a living tube. With this new organization, or accretion of parts, new kinds of irritability may commence,
”
&c.; whence, sensibility, which may be only an extension
of irritability, and sensibility further extended, beget perception, memory, reason, and, in short, all those faculties
which have been, it seems, erroneously attributed to mind,
for which, it appears, there is not the smallest necessity;
ajid as the Deity does nothing in vain, of course such a
being does not exist. It would be useless to enter into a
further examination of theZoonomia, which has long ceased
to be popular; those who wish to see a complete refutation of the sophisms contained in it will read with satisfaction, “Observations on the Zoonomia of Dr. Darwin, by
Thomas Brown, esq.
” published at Edinburgh in 8vo, in
Phytologia, or the
Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening;
” but the public, tired with the reveries of the writer, let this large book
of 600 pages in 4to pass almost unnoticed. As little attention was paid to a small tract on Female Education, which
had little indeed to attract notice. “It is,
” Miss Seward
observes, “a meagre work, of little general interest, those
rules excepted, which are laid down for the preservation
of health.
” It is, however, harmless, a character that can
by no means be accorded to the Zoonomia, as may he
gathered from the strictures which the author of his life in
the Cyclopædia has justly passed on that work, and to which
nothing could have given even a temporary popularity
but the activity of a small sect to whom the author’s political and religious, or rather irreligious principles, were
endeared. His son, Charles Darwin, who died at Edinburgh the 15th of May, 1778, while prosecuting his studies
in medicine, deserves to be noticed for having discovered
a. test distinguishing pus from mucus, for which a gold
medal was adjudged him by the university. “As the result of numerous experiments,
” he says, “when any one
wishes to examine the matter expectorated by his patient,
let him dissolve a portion of it in vitriolic acid, and another
portion of it in caustic alkaline lixivium, and then add
pure water to both solutions; if there is a precipitation in
each solution, it is clear the expectorated matter is pus;
if there is no precipitation, the matter is simply mucus.
”
Mr. Darwin left an unfinished essay on the retrograde motion of the absorbent vessels of animal bodies in some
diseases. This was, some time after the death of the
young man, published by his father, together with the
dissertation for which he had obtained the prize medal.
re on any subject, not only in his college, but in all public places, and even in the church, where, his son informs us, he once preached during Lent. He was also much
, a learned Italian writer, the son of
a lawyer at Sienna, was born at that place in 1420, and
after acquiring some knowledge of the Latin language,
was put under the care of Francis Philelphus, an eminent
teacher at Sienna, who at the end of two years declared
he was his best scholar. Dati, however, at this time suffered not a little from the ridicule of his schoolfellows,
owing to a hesitation in his speech, which he is said to
have cured by the means which Demosthenes adopted, that
of speaking with small pebbles in his mouth. After
finishing his classical studies, he learned Hebrew of some
Jews, and then entered on a course of philosophy, jurisprudence, and theology. During his application to these
branches, Odo Anthony, duke of Urbino, from the very
favourable account he had of him, invited him to Urbino
to teach the belles lettres. Dati accordingly set out for
that city in April 1442, where he was received with every
mark of honour and friendship by the duke, but this prosperity was not of long duration. He had not enjoyed it
above a year and a half, when the duke, whose excesses
and tyranny had rendered him odious, was assassinated in
a public tumult, with two of his favourites; and Dati, who
was hated by the populace merely because he was respected
by the duke, was obliged to take refuge for his life in a
church, while the mob pillaged his house. The successor
of Odo, prince Frederick, endeavoured to console Dati for
this misfortune, and offered him a pension, besides recompense for all he had lost; but Dati could not be reconciled
to a residence so liable to interruption, and in 1444 returned to Sienna. Here, after refusing the place of secretary of the briefs, offered to him by pope Nicholas V. he
opened a school for rhetoric and the classics, and acquired
so much reputation, that the cardinal of Sienna, Francis
Piccolomini, formally granted him permission to lecture on
the Holy Scriptures, although he was a married man; and
at the same time gave him a similar licence to teach and
lecture on any subject, not only in his college, but in all
public places, and even in the church, where, his son informs us, he once preached during Lent. He was also
much employed in pronouncing harangues on public
occasions in Latin, many of which are among his works.
Nor were his talents confined to literature, but were the
means of advancing him to the first offices of the magistracy, and the republic of Sienna entrusted him with the
negociation of various affairs of importance at Rome and
elsewhere. In 1 J-57 he was appointed secretary to the republic, which he held for two years. Towards the close
of his life he laid aside the study of profane authors for
that of the Scriptures and ecclesiastical historians. He
died of the plague at Sienna, April 6, 1478. His son
Nicolas collected his works for publication, “Augustini
Dathi, Senensis, opera,
” of which there are two editions,
that printed at Sienna, 1503, fol. and an inferior in correctness, printed at Venice, 1516. They consist of treatises on the immortality of the soul letters; three books
on the history of Sienna; a history of Piombinoj on grammar, &c. &c.
and being possessed of some property at Sacco in the territory of Padua, determined to settle there. His son was born in this place in 1576, and named Henry Catherine,
, a celebrated historian,
was the son of Anthony Davila, who was constable of the
kingdom of Cyprus when it was under the power of the
Venetians; but having lost his situation by the conquest
made by the Turks in 1570, retired to Venice, and being
possessed of some property at Sacco in the territory of
Padua, determined to settle there. His son was born in
this place in 1576, and named Henry Catherine, in honour of Henry III. and Catherine de Medicis, who had
shown marks of great respect and kindness for the constable, when he was in France a little before the war of
Cyprus. When young Davila had attained his seventh
year, his father sent him to France, where he was placed
under the care of the marechal D‘Hemery, who had married his father’s sister. D’Hemery, who resided at Villars
in Normandy, gave his nephew an excellent education,
and at a suitable age introduced him at court as one of the
pages to the queen mother. At the age of eighteen, he
served in the war against the League, and distinguished
himself by an ardour which frequently endangered his life.
In 1599, the war being concluded by the peace of Vervins, Davila was recalled by his father and by the Venetians, and returned to Italy. The republic of Venice entrusted him with various employments, both military and
civil, such as the government of Candy, and of Dalmatia,
and what pleased him most, the title of constable was confirmed to him, and in the senate and on all public occasions he took precedence after the doge. The last office
to which he was appointed, but which he never enjoyed,
was that of commander of Crema. On his way to this
place, the different towns and villages, through which he
was to pass, were ordered to furnish him with a change of
horses and carriages; but when he arrived at a place near
Verona, and requested the usual supplies, they were denied; and on his remonstrating, a brutal fellow shot him
dead with a pistol. The assassin was immediately killed
by one of Davila’s sons, who happened to be with him.
This misfortune happened in 1631, exactly a year after he
had published, in Italian, his history of the civil wars of
France, under the title “Istoria delle Guerre civili di
Francia,
” Venice, 4to, reprinted in
St. Giles’s Cripplegate. He left a widow, who did not long survive him, and six sons and daughters. His son Daniel is said to have emigrated to Carolina, but had a
De Foe died in April 1731, in the parish of St. Giles’s Cripplegate. He left a widow, who did not long survive him, and six sons and daughters. His son Daniel is said to have emigrated to Carolina, but had a daughter, Mary, who about 1745, boarded in a private family at Chelmsford, in Essex. She was married about 1749, to Mr. John Thome, a shop-keeper at Braintree, in the same county. She died a widow, about 1775, leaving a son (since dead) and two daughters. She was a zealous dissenter, and seemed to inherit her grandfather’s sarcastic spirit. A sister of her’s, the wife of Mr. Standerwick, haberdasher and milliner, in Cornhill, died in 1787, a widow, at Stoke Newington, where her grandfather, as already mentioned, had so long lived, and where, it may now be added, he paid in April 1721, 10l. to be excused from serving parish-offices. His daughter Sophia, married Henry Baker, the natural philosopher, who died in 1774.
tion of the edict of Nantes, came over to England with king William. He died soon after the birth of his son, who was brought up by his uncle, an officer in the English
, an ingenious
electrician, was born in the parish of St. Martin’s, London,
in 1710. His father having escaped from France to Holland, upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes, came
over to England with king William. He died soon after
the birth of his son, who was brought up by his uncle, an
officer in the English service, and page of honour to queen
Mary, who placed him at Westminster school. Whilst
pursuing his studies there, he boarded in the house of Dr.
Desaguliers, who instructed him in the mathematics and
natural philosophy. At the age of seventeen, before he
had left school, he married; and went to Leyden and followed his studies in the university of that place. In 1740,
he began to read lectures in experimental philosophy at
Edinburgh, and continued them till he was interrupted by
the rebellion. He then took up arms for government,
and was a volunteer at the battle of Preston-pans. In
1746, he resumed his lectures, and published his discovery
of the effects of electricity upon the growth of vegetables.
This discovery was afterwards claimed by abbé Nollet;
but is very properly assigned to Dr. Demainbray by Dr.
Priestley, in his “History of Electricity.
” In
tted. One of his companions proposing to go to the temple of Esculapius, to pray for the recovery of his son from sickness, Demonax said: “Do you suppose that Esculapius
, a Cynic philosopher, who flourished
during the reign of Adrian, in the second century, was
a native of Cyprus, and descended from a family of wealth
and high rank; but preferring a life of philosophic study
to the employments which his birth and fortune might have
commanded, he removed to Athens while he was young,
and there spent the remainder of his days. In his manners
and habits, he was in some respects the imitator of Diogenes, and hence he obtained a rank among the Cynics,
though he never professed himself to be of any sect. From
them all he selected what was excellent, and most favourable to moral wisdom; and like Socrates, he endeavoured
to make philosophy not a speculative science, but the rule
of life and manners. He was virtuous without ostentation,
and was able to reprove vice without acrimony, and with
the happiest effect. So high was his reputation, that the
greatest deference was paid to his opinion in the assemblies of the Athenian people. After his death, which was
not till he had attained the age of an hundred, he was honoured with a public funeral, attended with a numerous
train of philosophers, and others who lamented the loss of
so estimable a character. Lucian, from whom alone we
have any account of Demonax, furnishes also the following
anecdotes. Soon after Demonax came to Athens, a public
charge was brought against him for neglecting to offer sacrifice to Minerva, and to be initiated into the Eleusinian
mysteries. Appearing before the assembly in a white garment, he pleaded that Minerva did not stand in need of
his offerings; and that he declined initiation into the
mysteries, because, if they were bad, he ought not to conceal
them; and if they were good, his love to mankind would
oblige him to disclose them: upon which he was acquitted.
One of his companions proposing to go to the temple of
Esculapius, to pray for the recovery of his son from sickness, Demonax said: “Do you suppose that Esculapius
cannot hear you as well from this place?
” Hearing two ignorant pretenders to philosophy conversing, and remarking
that the one asked foolish questions, and the other made replies which were nothing to the purpose, he said, “One
of these men is milking a he-goat, while the other is holding
a sieve under him.
” Advising a certain rhetorician, who
was a wretched declaimar, to perform frequent exercises,
the rhetorician answered, “I frequently practise by myself.
” “No wonder,
” replied Demonax, “that you are
so bad a speaker, when you practise before so foolish an
audience.
” Seeing a Spartan beating his servant unmercifully, he said to him, “Why do you thus put yourself
upon a level with your slave?
” When Demonax was informed that the Athenians had thoughts of erecting an
amphitheatre for gladiators, in imitation of the Corinthians,
he went into the assembly, and cried out, “Athenians,
before you make this resolution, go and pull down the
altar of mercy.
”
onarch of him, that he appointed him one of the executors of his will, and one of the counsellors to his son and successor Edward VI. and hequeathed him a legacy of
, knt. one of the gentlemen of the privy chamber to king Henry VIII., was the second son of Thomas Denny, of Cheshunt, in the county of Hertford, esq. by Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Mannock. He had his education in St. Paul’s school, London, under the celebrated grammarian Lilly; and afterwards in St. John’s college, Cambridge; in both which places he so improved himself, that he became an excellent scholar, as well as a person of great worth. His merit having made him known at court, he was constituted by Henry VIII. one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber, groom of the stole, and a privy counsellor; and likewise received the honour of knighthood from that prince; with whom being in great favour, he raised a considerable estate on the ruins of the dissolved monasteries. In 1537, Henry gave him the priory of Hertford, together with divers other lands and manors; and in 1539, Dec. 15, the office of steward of the manor of Bedwell and Little Berkhamstead, in Herts; besides which sir Anthony also obtained the manor of Buttenvick, in the parish of St. Peter in St. Alban’s, the manors of the rectory and of the nunnery, in the parish of Cheshunt; and of Great Amwell, all in the county of Hertford. In 1541, there was a large grant made to him by act of parliament, of several lands that had belonged to the abbey of St. Alban’s, lately dissolved; and not content with all this, he found means to procure a thirty-one years’ lease of the many large and rich demesnes that had been possessed by Waltham-abbey, in Essex; of which his lady purchased aftenvards the reversion. In 1544 the king gave him the advantageous wardship of Margaret, the only daughter and heir of Thomas lord Audley, deceased. On the 31st of August, 1546, he was commissioned, with John Gate and William Clerk, esquires, to sign all warrants in the king’s name. Though somewhat rapacious, he was liberal; in this reign he did eminent service to the great school of Sedberg in Yorkshire, belonging to the college wherein he had received his education; the building being fallen to decay, and the lands appropriated thereto sold and embezzled, he caused the school to be repaired, and not only recovered, but also settled the estate so firmly, as to prevent all future alienations. He was also a more faithful servant than his brother courtiers, for when Henry VIII. was on his death-bed, he had the courage to put him in mind of his approaching end, and desired him to raise his thoughts to heaven, to think of his past life, and to call on God for mercy through Jesus Christ. So great an opinion had that capricious monarch of him, that he appointed him one of the executors of his will, and one of the counsellors to his son and successor Edward VI. and hequeathed him a legacy of 300l. He did not live long after this; for he died in 1.550. By his wife Joan, daughter of sir Philip Champeruon, of Modbury, in Devonshire, a lady of great beauty and parts, he had six children; of whom, Henry, the eldest, was father of Edward Denny, knighted in 1589, summoned to parliament in 1605, and advanced Oct. 24, 1626, to the dignity of earl of Norwich. Of sir Anthony Denny’s personal character, one of his contemporaries informs us, that his whole time and cares were employed about religion, learning, and the care of the public, and has highly commended him for his prudence and humanity. He was the early friend and patron of Matthew Parker, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury. The learned Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, wrote an excellent epitaph for him some years before his decease; tfnd sir John Cheke, who had a great esteem for him, honoured his memory with an elegant heroic poem.
m the inscription on his tomb-stone in the church of Stonegrave, in which living he was succeeded by his son, Mr. Robert Denton, who was educated at Catherine-hall,
, an English divine, author of some small controversial pieces, was born in 1625, and educated at Clare-hall, Cambridge, and was admitted sizar and pupil to Mr. David Clarkson, on the 4th of May, 1646, as appears from the register of the college. He was ejected by the act of uniformity in 1662, from the living of Oswaldkirk, near Helmsley, in Yorkshire, and not from that of Bolton, as Dr. Calamy affirms in his account, p. 818, who has rectified that mistake in his Continuation, p. 950, though, as it seems, without knowing that it was a mistake, it being indeed Mr. Nathan, and not Mr. John Denton, who was ejected from Bolton upon Dearn, or more properly Darwent. Mr. John Denton afterwards conformed; and being re-ordained by Dr. Thomas Barlow, bishop of Lincoln, was collated to the living of Stonegrave, within two miles of Osvvaldkirk, and a prebend of the church of York, both which he held till his death, January 4, 1708, in the eighty-third year of his age, as is evident from the inscription on his tomb-stone in the church of Stonegrave, in which living he was succeeded by his son, Mr. Robert Denton, who was educated at Catherine-hall, in Cambridge, and died about 1748. Mr. John Denton having contracted an intimate friendship with Mr. Tillotson, at Clare-hall, they kept up a constant correspondence during his grace’s life.
, January 1775. His father, who was a schoolmaster at Ennis for some years, is said to have employed his son, when only in his ninth year, in the situation of Greek
, a young man who acquired a short-lived reputation as a poet, was born in the south of Ireland, January 1775. His father, who was a schoolmaster at Ennis for some years, is said to have employed his son, when only in his ninth year, in the situation of Greek and Latin assistant at his own school, and to increase the wonder, we are told time he had written as much genuine poetry at ten, as either Cowley, Milton, or Pope had produced at nearly double that age. At ten, too, he. ran away to Dublin, where he acquired the patronage of a Dr. Houlton, in whose house he resided about ten weeks, giving astonishing proofs of his acquaintance with the Greek and Roman classics, and producing poetical translations ad aperturam libri. This gentleman, when obliged himself to leave Dublin, gave him some money, which he soon spent, and wandered through the streets without a settled home, until he found an asylum with a scene-painter belonging to the theatre. The scene-painter introduced him to the players, and some attempts were laudably made by them to place him in a situation where he might prosecute his studies; but the depravity of his disposition appears to have been as early wonderful as his poetical talents. The latter, however, procured him one patron after another, all of whom he disgusted by his ingratitude and licentious conduct. At length, abandoned by every person of character, he entered as a private in the 108th regiment, commanded by the earl of Granard, and behaving with some decency under the check of military discipline, he was progressively advanced to the ranks of corporal and serjeant; and in September 1794, in the nineteenth year of his age, embarked with the regiment for England. He accompanied it afterwards abroad in the expedition under the earl of Moira, and appears to have behaved so well, that his lordship promoted him to a second-lieutenancy in the waggon corps, but on the reduction of this army, Dermody was put on the half-pay list.
om the Latin, Gravesande’s “Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy.” This work was published by his son J. T. Desaguliers, in two volumes, 4to. He left two other
When Channel row, in which he had lived for some
years, was ordered to be taken down to make way for the
new bridge at Westminster, Dr. Desaguliers removed to
lodgings over the Great Piazza in Covent Garden, where
he carried on his lectures till his death. He is said to
have been repeatedly consulted by parliament, upon the
design of building that bridge; in the execution of which,
Mr. Charles Labelye, who had been many years his assistant, was appointed a supervisor. He likewise erected
a ventilator, at the desire of parliament, in a room over the
house of commons. In 1742 he published a “Dissertation on Electricity,
” by which he gained the prize of the
academy at Bourdeaux. “This prize,
” Dr. Priestley observes, “was a medal of the value of 300 livres, proposed,
at the request of monsieur Harpez de la Force, for the
best essay on electricity; and shews how much this
subject engaged the attention of philosophers at that time.
The dissertation is well drawn up, and comprizes all that
was known of the subject till that period.
” Dr. Desaguliers, who is styled by Dr. Priestley “an indefatigable
experimental philosopher,
” died Feb. 29, 1744, at the
Bedford coffee-honse, Covent Garden, where he had lodgings, and was buried March Cth, in the Savoy. He was
the first who introduced the reading of lectures in experimental philosophy at the metropolis; and was a member
of several foreign academies, and corresponding member
of the royal academy of sciences at Paris. His personal
figure was not very promising; for he was thick and short,
not well-shaped, his features irregular, and extremely nearsighted. In the former part of his life he lived very abstemiously; but in his latter years was censured for an
indulgence in eating to excess, both in the quantity and
quality of his diet. He translated into English, from the
Latin, Gravesande’s “Mathematical Elements of Natural
Philosophy.
” This work was published by his son J. T.
Desaguliers, in two volumes, 4to. He left two other sons:
Alexander, who was bred to the church, and had a living
in Norfolk, where he died in 1751; and another, named
Thomas, who became colonel of the royal regiment of artillery, and equerry to his present majesty, and rose to
the rank of major-general.
or of a work entitled “Remarques historiques, critiques, et satiriques d'un cosmopolite,” printed by his son at Nantes, although Cologne is on the title, 1731, 12mo.
, a French
writer, who might have been an able coadjutor, in the
cause of infidelity, to the D'Alemberts, Diderots, and Voltaires of France, was born at Pondicherry in 1690. His
father, who resided here, was a director of the French
East India company, and died at St. Domingo in the office
of commissary-general of the marine. He was the author
of a work entitled “Remarques historiques, critiques, et
satiriques d'un cosmopolite,
” printed by his son at Nantes,
although Cologne is on the title, 1731, 12mo. His son,
the object of this article, became commissary-general of
the marine at Rochefort and Brest, and a member of the
royal academy of Berlin. These employments and honours
he resigned in his latter days, and died at Paris in 1757.
In 1713 he came to London, for what reason we have not
been able to discover, where he was seized with the small
pox. In that year he published in London his “Litteraturn Otium,
” in which he has very successfully imitated
Catullus. He had previously printed at Paris his “Reflexions sur les grands homines qui sont morts en plaisautant,
” which was immediately translated by Boyer, and
published at London under the title of “A Philological
Essay, or Reflections on the death of Freethinkers, with
the characters of the most eminent persons of both sexes,
ancient and modern, that died pleasantly and unconcerned,
” Histoire critique de la Philosophic,
” 4 vols. 12mo, the first
three published at Amsterdam in 1737. In this, which is
poor in respect of style, and not to be depended on in
point of fact, he grossly misrepresents the opinions of the
philosophers in order to accommodate them to his own.
2. “Kssai snr la Marine et le Commerce,
” which was translated and published at London, under the title, “Essay on
Maritime Power and Commerce,
” Recueil de differents traites de physique et d'histoire naturelle,
” 3 vols.
12mo, an useful collection. 4. “Histoire de Constance,
minister de Siam,
” Pygmalion,
” 12mo; “Fortune,
” 12mo;
“La Comtesse de Montserrat,
” 12mo; all of the licentious
kind.
ion in church and state. He died April 18, 1650, and was succeeded in his titles and large estate by his son Willoughby D'Ewes; to whom the above Journals were dedicated,
D‘Ewes (Sir Symonds), an English historian and antiquary, was the son of Paul D’Eues, esq. and born in
1602, at Coxden in Dorsetshire, the seat of Richard Syxnonds, esq. his mother’s father. He was descended from
an ancient family in the Low Countries, from whence his
ancestors removed hither, and gained a considerable settlement in the county of Suffolk. In 1618, he was entered a
fellow- commoner of St. John’s college in Cambridge and
about two years after, began to collect materials for forming a correct and complete history of Great Britain. He
was no less studious in preserving the history of his own
times; setting down carefully the best accounts he was
able to obtain of every memorable transaction, at the time
it happened. This disposition in a young man of parts
recommended him to the acquaintance of persons of the
first rank in the republic of letters, such as Cotton, Selden,
Spelman, &c. In 1626, he married Anne, daughter to sir
William Clopton of Essex, an exquisite beauty, not fourteen years old, with whom he was so sincerely captivated,
that his passion for her seems to have increased almost to
a degree of extravagance, even after she was his wife. He
pursued his studies, however, as usual, with great vigour
and diligence, and when little more than thirty years of
age, finished that large and accurate work for which he is
chiefly memorable. This work he kept by him during his
life-time it being written, as he tells us, for his own private use. It was published afterwards with this title
“The Journals of all the Parliaments during the reign of
queen Elizabeth, both of the House of Lords and House
of Commons, collected by sir Symonds D'Ewes, of Stowhall in the county of Suffolk, knt. and bart. revised and
published by Paul Bowes, of the Middle Temple, esq.
1682,
” folio. In
absolutely free from errors. He practised engraving sometimes himself. He died at Paris in 1766; and his son continued the biography began by the father by the addition
, a
French naturalist and biographer, was born at Paris in the
beginning of the last century. He was the son of a bookseller of Paris, and was educated in his native city, but a
considerable time after this he spent in foreign countries,
particularly in Italy, where he formed a taste for the fine
arts. He became acquainted with men of science in various parts of Europe, and was elected in 1750 member
of the royal society in London, and of the academy of
sciences at Montpelier. He wrote some considerable articles, particularly those of gardening and hydrography,
in the French Encyclopaedia; and in 1747 he published,
in quarto, “La Theorie et la Pratique du Jardinage;
”
and in Conchyliologie, ou Traite sur la nature des
Coquillages,
” 2 vols. 4to, reprinted 1757, and accounted
his most valuable work. His arrangement is made from
the external form of shells, according to which he classes
them as univalve, bivalve, and multivalve; he then divides
them again into shells of the sea, of fresh water, and of
the lands. He also gave an account of the several genera of animals that inhabit shells. He published also
“L'Orycthologie ou Traite des pierres, des mineraux,
des metaux et autres Fossiles,
” Abreg6 de la
Vie de quelques Peintres celebres,
” 3 vols. 4to, and 4 vols.
8vo, a work of great labour and taste, although not absolutely free from errors. He practised engraving sometimes
himself. He died at Paris in 1766; and his son continued
the biography began by the father by the addition of two
volumes, containing the lives of architects and sculptors.
5, his works were collected and published tog-ether, at Utrecht, under the title of” Opera Omnia,“by his son Timanis de Diemerbroeck, in folio. This was reprinted in
, was born at Montfort, in the neighbourhood of Utrecht, Dec. 13, 1609.
After taking his degree of doctor in medicine at Angers, he
went to Nimeguen in 1636, and continued there, through
that and the following years, practising during the plague,
which all that time raged with greatviolence. This furnished him with observations on the nature and treatment
of that disease, which he published at Amsterdam, in 1644,
4to; but as he pursued the injudicious plan of keeping the
patients in close apartments, and gave them heating medicines, his practice was probably not so successful as his
book, which has passed through many editions. In 1642
he went to Utrecht, ar>d was made professor extraordinary
in medicine. His lectures in medicine, and in anatomy,
procured him great credit, and were no less useful to the
university, drawing thither a great conflux of pupils. In
1651, he was made ordinary professor; he was also twice
appointed rector of the university, and continued in high
esteem to the time of his death, which happened Nov. 17,
1674, when his funeral oration was pronounced by the
learned Graevius. Although an Arminian in his religious
tenets, the magistrates dispensed in his case with the laws
which excluded persons of that persuasion from attaining
academical honours. In 1649 he published “O ratio de
reducenda ad Medicinam Chirurgia;
” and in 12mo, in which Haller says, there
are some curious and useful observations. His
” Anatoine
Corporis Humani,“which has passed through numerous
editions, was first published in 1672, 4to, a compilation,
interspersed with some original observations; but the plates
are neither very elegant nor very correct. In 1G85, his
works were collected and published tog-ether, at Utrecht,
under the title of
” Opera Omnia,“by his son Timanis de
Diemerbroeck, in folio. This was reprinted in two volumes,
4to, and published at Geneva in 1687. It contains, besides the works above named,
” A treatise on the Measles
and Small-pox, a century of observations in medicine and
surgery, and a third part of disputations containing accounts of diseases of the lower belly."
proposals of peace, while the king of Spain was equipping a formidable fleet against England. Lewis, his son, studied under Daniel Colonius, his uncle by his mother’s
, protestant minister of Leyden, and professor in the Walloon college of that city, a man of great abilities, and uncommonly versed in the oriental languages, was born April 7, 1590, at Flushing, where his father Daniel de Dieu was minister. Daniel was a man of great merit, and a native of Brussels, where he had been a minister twenty: two years. He removed from thence in 1585, to serve the church at Flushing, after the duke of Parma had taken Brussels. He understood Greek and the oriental languages, and could preach with the applause of his auditors in German, Italian, French, and English. The churches of the Netherlands sent him, in 1588, over to queen Elizabeth, to inform her of the designs of the duke of Parma, who secretly made her proposals of peace, while the king of Spain was equipping a formidable fleet against England. Lewis, his son, studied under Daniel Colonius, his uncle by his mother’s side, who was professor at Leyden in the Walloon college. He was two years minister of the French church at Flushing; and might have been court-minister at the Hague, if his natural aversion to the manners of a court had not restrained him from accepting that place. There are some circumstances relating to that affair which deserve to be remembered. Prince Maurice, being in Zealand, heard Lewis de Dieu preach, who was yet but a student; and some time after sent for him to court. The young man modestly excused himself, declaring, that he designed to satisfy his conscience in the exercise of his ministry, and to censure freely what he should find deserved censure; a liberty, he said, which courts did not care to allow. Besides, he thought the post which was offered him more proper for a man in years than a student. The prince, conscious that he was in the right, commended his modesty and prudence. He was called to Leyden in 1619 to teach, with his uncle Colonius, in the Walloon college; and he discharged the duty of that employment with great diligence till his death, which happened in 1642. He refused the post, which was offered him, of divinity-professor in the new university of Utrecht; but, if he had lived long enough, he would have been advanced to the same post in that of Leyden. He married the daughter of a counsellor of Flushing, by whom he had eleven children.
andi, libri duo,” 1587. 4. “A dissuasive from taking away the goods and livings of the church,” 4to. His son, the subject of this article, was educated with great care,
, an English gentleman, memorable for the share he had in the powder-plot, and his suffering on that account, was descended from an ancient
family, and born some time in 1581. His father, Everard
Digby, of Drystoke in Rutlandshire, esq. a person of great
worth and learning, was educated in St. John’s college,
Cambridge, where he took the degree of M. A. and published several treatises, some on learned, others on curious
subjects: as, 1. “Theoria analytica viam ad mouarchiam
scientiarum demonstrans,
” De duplici
methodo libri duo, Rami methodum refutantes,
” 1580,
8vo. 3. “De arte natandi, libri duo,
” A
dissuasive from taking away the goods and livings of the
church,
” 4to. His son, the subject of this article, was
educated with great care, but unfortunately under the tuition of some popish priests, who gave him those impressions which his father, if he had lived, might probably have
prevented; but he died when his son was only eleven
years of age. He was introduced very early to the court
of queen Elizabeth, where he was much noticed, and received several marks of her majesty’s favour. On the accession of king James, he went likewise to pay his duty,
as others of his religion did; was very graciously received;
and had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him,
being looked on as a man of a fair fortune, pregnant abilities, and a court-like behaviour. He married Mary,
daughter and sole heiress of William Mulsho, esq. of Gothurst, in Buckinghamshire, with whom he had a great fortune, which, with his own estate, was settled upon the
children of that marriage. One would have imagined that,
considering his mild temper and happy situation in the
world, this gentleman might have spent his days in honour
and peace, without running the smallest hazard of meeting
that disgraceful death, which has introduced his name into
all our histories: but it happened far otherwise. He was
drawn in by the artifices and persuasions of sir Thomas
Tresham, a zealous papist, and probably also by those of
the notorious Catesby, with whom he was intimate, to be
privy to the gunpowder-plot; and though he was not a
principal actor in this dreadful affair, or indeed an actor
at all, yet he offered 1500l. towards defraying the expences
of it; entertained Guy Fawkes, who was to have executed
it, in his house; and was taken in open rebellion with
other papists after the plot was detected and miscarried.
The means by which sir Everard was persuaded to engage
in this affair, according to his own account, were these:
first, he was told that king James had broke his promises
to the catholics; secondly, that severer laws against popery
would be made in the next parliament, that husbands
would be made obnoxious for their wives’ otte/iees and
that it would be made a praemunire only to be a catholic;
but the main point was, thirdly, that the restoring of the
catholic religion was the duty of every member and that,
in consideration of this, he was not to regard any favonjr*
received from the crown, the tranquillity of his country,
or the hazards that might be run in respect to his life, his
family, or his fortune. Upon his commitment to the Tower,
he persisted steadily in maintaining his own innocence as
to the powder-plot, and refused to discover any who were
concerned in it; but when he was brought to his trial at
Westminster, Jan. 27, 1606, and indicted for being acquainted with and concealing the powder-treason, taking
the double oath of secrecy and constancy, and acting
openly with other traitors in rebellion, he pleaded guilty.
After this, he endeavoured to extenuate his offence, by
explaining the motives before mentioned; and then requested that, as he had been alone in the crime, he might
alone bear the punishment, without extending it to his
family; and that his debts might be paid, and himself beheaded. When sentence of death was passed, he seemed
to be very much affected: for, making a low bow to those
on the bench, he said, “If I could hear any of your lordships say you forgave me, I should go the more cheerfully
to the gallows.
” To this all the lords answered, “God
forgive you, and we do.
” He was, with other conspirators, upon the 30th of the same month, hanged, drawn,
and quartered at the west end of St. Paul’s church in London, where he asked forgiveness of God, the king, the
queen, the prince, and all the parliament; and protested,
that if he had known this act at first to have been so foul a
treason, he would not have concealed it to have gained a
world, requiring the people to witness, that he died penitent and sorrowful for it. Wood mentions a most extraordinary circumstance at his death, as a thing generally
Itnown, or rather generally reported; namely, that when
the executioner plucked out his heart, and according to
form held it up, saying, “Here is the heart of a traitor,
”
sir Everard made answer, “Thou lyest;
” a story which
will scarcely now obtain belief; yet it is told by Bacon in
his “Historia vitae et mortis,
” although he does not mention sir Everard’s name.