nioroil the peace of Europe, by arming the Porte against the Emperor, and by making the Czar and the king of Sweden go to war with England, in order to establish the
Our own history shews, that his spirit was always very
high, and his temper very violent. During the time that
he was prime minister of Spain, colonel Stanhope, afterwards lord Harrington, the English envoy, carried him a
list of the ships of his country that were then before Barcelona, and would act against it, if he persisted in his endeavours to enioroil the peace of Europe, by arming the
Porte against the Emperor, and by making the Czar and
the king of Sweden go to war with England, in order to
establish the Pretender upon the English throne. Alberoni
snatched the paper which contained the numbers out of
the envoy’s hands, and, according to the continuator of
Rapin’s history, threw it on the ground with much passion.
Mr. Seward, from whose “Anecdotes of distinguished Persons
” we have taken the principal part of this article, says,
that he tore it in a thousand pieces. Col. Stanhope, nothing abashed, went on coolly with the thread of his conversation, which may be seen in the continuation of Rapin.
That Alberoni wrote with the same spirit he acted, is
evinced by three letters of his to lord Melcombe, which
Mr. Seward has published.
t Birca, from the ruins of which Stockholm took its rise, though built at some distance from it. The king of Sweden received them favourably, and his council unanimously
, one of the early propagators. of Christianity, and the first who introduced it into Denmark and Sweden, and hence called the apostle of the north, was born at Picardy, Sept. 8, in the year 801. He was educated in a Benedictine convent at Corbie, from whence he went to Corvey, in Westphalia, where he made such progress in his studies, that, in the year 821, he was appointed rector of the school belonging to the convent. Harold, king of Denmark, who had been expelled from his dominions, and had found an asylum with Lewis, the son and successor of Charlemagne, who had induced him to receive Christian baptism, was about to return to his country, and Lewis enquired for some pious person, who might accompany him, and confirm both him and his attendants in the Christian religion. Vala, the abbot of Corbie, pointed out Anscarius, who readily undertook the perilous task, although against the remonstrances of his friends. Aubert, a monk of noble birth, offered to be his companion, and Harold accordingly set out with them, but neither he nor his attendants, who were rude and barbarous in their manners, were at all solicitous for the accommodation of the missionaries, who therefore suffered much in the beginning of their journey. When the company arrived at Cologne, Hadebald, the archbishop, commiserating the two strangers, gave them a bark, in which they might convey their effects; but, when they came to the frontiers of Denmark, Harold, finding access to his dominions impossible, because of the power of those who had usurped the sovereignty, remained in Friesland, where Anscarius and Aubert laboured with zeal and success, both among Christians and Pagans, for about two years, when Aubert died. In the year 829, many Swedes having expressed a desire to be instructed in Christianity, Anscarius received a commission from the emperor Lewis to visit Sweden. Another monk of Corbie, Vitmar, was assigned as his companion, and a pastor was left to attend on king Harold, in the room of Anscarius. In the passage, they fell in with pirates, who took the ship, and all its effects, On this occasion, Anscarius lost the emperor’s presents, and forty volumes, which he had collected for the use of the ministry. But his mind was determined, and he and his partner having reached land, they walked on foot a long way; now and then crossing some arms of the sea in boats. At length they arrived at Birca, from the ruins of which Stockholm took its rise, though built at some distance from it. The king of Sweden received them favourably, and his council unanimously agreed that they should remain in the country, and preach the gospel, which they did with very considerable success.
aterials of history and biography; and about the time of his death, a “History of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden,” was published at Breslaw in 2 vols. 8vo. originally
, a Swedish historian, was born
at Helsingfors, Feb. 9, 1695, and died July 14, 1777.
He published various political works, principally relating
to the history of his own country, none of which have been
very highly esteemed. He was, however, indefatigable in
his researches for the materials of history and biography;
and about the time of his death, a “History of Gustavus
Adolphus, king of Sweden,
” was published at Breslaw in
2 vols. 8vo. originally written by Mauvillon, a Frenchman; but now much improved from the Mss. of M. Arckenholz. He published in his life-time, “Memoirs concerning Christina, queen of Sweden,
” 4 vols. 4to, Amst.
1751—1760, a work which may be consulted with advantage, although it has few of the charms of elegance or conciseness. A long account of this writer may be seen in
Adelung’s continuation of Jocher’s Lexicon.
o the theological chair of Abo in Finland, when only in his thirty-second year. In 1682, Charles IX. king of Sweden, appointed him to the bishopric of Wyburgh in Carelia.
, son of Eric Basngius, a divine,
was born at Helsingborg in Sweden, in 1633, and studied
first at Stregne,s in Sudermania, and afterwards at UpsaL
Colonel Sylver Sparre, hearing of his good character and
abilities, appointed him tutor to his son, with whom Bsengius travelled into Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, and visited eleven universities. On his return to
his own country, he was called to the theological chair of
Abo in Finland, when only in his thirty-second year. In
1682, Charles IX. king of Sweden, appointed him to the
bishopric of Wyburgh in Carelia. Baengius introduced
many useful regulations in his diocese, particularly with
respect to schools, and established a printing-office. He
died in 1696. He wrote a commentary, in Latin, on the
epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, which was printed at
Abo in 1671, 4to the “.Life of St. Anscharius
” a work
on the ecclesiastical history of Sweden a treatise on the
sacraments a Lutheran catechism several disputations,
and funeral orations, and a sacred chronology.
e. The dispute, we may suppose, was deemed of high importance, since the prince Gustavus, afterwards king of Sweden, and then chancellor of the university, took cognizance
, a celebrated chemist and
natural philosopher, was born March 20, 1735, at Catharineberg in Westgothland. His father was receiver-gene^
ral of the finances, and had destined him to the same employment but nature had designed him for the sciences,
to which he had an irresistible inclination from his earliest
years. His first studies were confined to mathematics and
physics, and all efforts that were made to divert him from
science having proved ineffectual, he was sent to Upsal
with permission to follow the bet of his inclination. Linnaeus at that time filled the whole kingdom with his fame.
Instigated by his example, the Swedish youth flocked
around him; and accomplished disciples leaving his school,
carried the name and the system of their master to the most
distant parts of the globe. Bergman, struck with the
splendour of this renown, attached himself to the man whose
merit had procured it, and by whom he was very soon distinguished. He applied himself at first to the study of insects, and made several ingenious researches into their
history; among others into that of the genus of tenthredo,
so often and so cruelly preyed on by the larvae of the ichneumons, that nestle in their bowels and devour them. He
discovered that the leech is oviparous, and that the coccus
aquaticus is the egg of this animal, from whence issue ten
or twelve young. Linnæus, who had at first denied this
fact, was struck with astonishment when he saw it proved.
“Vidi et obstupui
” were the words he pronounced, and
which he wrote at the foot of the memoir when he gave it
his sanction. Mr. Bergman soon distinguished himself as
an astronomer, naturalist, and geometrician; but these are
not the titles by which he acquired his fame. The chair of
chemistry and mineralogy, which had been filled by the
celebrated Wallerius, becoming vacant by his resignation,
Mr. Bergman was among the number of the competitors
and without having before this period discovered any particular attention to chemistry, he published a memoir on the
preparation of alum, that astonished his friends as well av
his adversaries but it was warmly attacked in the periodi^cal publications, and Wallerius himself criticised it without
reserve. The dispute, we may suppose, was deemed of
high importance, since the prince Gustavus, afterwards
king of Sweden, and then chancellor of the university,
took cognizance of the affair, and after having consulted
two persons, the most able to give him advice, and whose
testimony went in favour of Bergman, he addressed a memorial, written with his own hand, in answer to all the objections urged against the candidate, to the consistory of
the university and to the senate, who elected him agreeably
to his highness’s wishes.
and of a translation from the Swedish language, of the celebrated count Tessin’s letters to the late king of Sweden. It is dedicated to the prince of Wales, his present
Having continued some years at Edinburgh, Mr. Berkenhout went to the university of Leyden, where he took
the degree of doctor of physic, in 1765, as we learn from his
“Dissertatio medica inauguralis de Podagra,
” dedicated to
his relation baron de Bielfeldt. Returning to England,
Dr. Berkenhout settled at Isleworth in Middlesex, and in
1766, published his “Pharmacopoeia Medici,
” 12mo, the
third edition of which was printed in Outlines of the Natural History of Great Britain and Ireland,
” vol. I.; vol. II. appeared in 1770, and vol.
III. in 1771. The encouragement this work met with afforded at least a proof that something of the kind was
wanted. The three volumes were reprinted together in.
1773, and in 1788 were again published in 2 vols. 8vo,
under the title of “Synopsis of the Natural History of
Great Britain, &c.
” In Dr. Cadogan’s dissertation on the Gout, examined and refuted
”
and in Biographia Literaria, or a Biographical
History of Literature; containing the lives of English,
Scotch, and Irish authors, from the dawn of letters in these
kingdoms to the present time, chronologically and classically arranged,
” 4to, vol.1, the only volume which appeared. The lives are very short, and the author frequently
introduces sentiments hostile to religious establishments
and doctrines, which could not be very acceptable to English readers. The dates and facts, however, are given
with great accuracy, and in many of the lives he profited
by the assistance of George Steevens, esq. the celebrated
commentator on Shakspeare. This was followed by “A
treatise on Hysterical Diseases, translated from the French.
”
In Lucubrations on
Ways and Means, inscribed to lord North,
” proposing certain taxes, some of which were adopted by that minister,
and some afterwards by Mr. Pitt. Dr. Berkenhout’s friends
at that time appear to have taken some pains to point him
out as an inventor of taxes. His next work was “An essay
en the Bite of a -Mad Dog, in which the claim to infallibility of the principal preservative remedies against the
Hydrophobia is examined.
” In the year following Dr.
Berkenhout published his “Symptomatology
” a book
which is too universally known to require any recommendation. In 1788, appeared “First lines of the theory and
practice of Philosophical Chemistry,
” dedicated to Mr.
Eden, afterwards lord Auckland, whom the doctor accompanied to America. Of this book it is sufficient to say,
that it exhibits a satisfactory display of the present state
of chemistry. His last publication was “Letters on Education, to his son at Oxford,
” Lives of the Admirals,
” 4 vols. 8vo and once printed
“Proposals for a history of Middlesex, including London,
”
4 vols. fol. which, as the design dropt, were never circulated. There is also reason to suppose him the author of
certain humorous publications, in prose and verse, to which
he did not think fit to prefix his name, and of a translation
from the Swedish language, of the celebrated count Tessin’s letters to the late king of Sweden. It is dedicated to
the prince of Wales, his present majesty of Great Britain
and was, we believe, Mr. Berkenhout’s first publication.
He died the 3d of April 1791, aged 60.
. By some he is said only to have assumed the title of doctor after his successful attendance on the king of Sweden, but the other report is more probable, that when
, an ingenious lady, to whom physic was indebted for the most complete set of figures of the medicinal plants, was the daughter of a merchant of Aberdeen, and born, probably about the beginning of the last century. Her husband, Dr. Alexander Blackwell (brother of Dr. Thomas, the subject of our next article) received an university education, and was early distinguished for his classical knowledge. By some he is said only to have assumed the title of doctor after his successful attendance on the king of Sweden, but the other report is more probable, that when he had regularly studied medicine, he took his degree at Leyden under Boerhaave. Having failed in his attempt to introduce himself into practice, first in Scotland, and afterwards in London, he became corrector of the press for Mr. Wilkins, a printer. After some years spent in this employment, he set up as a printer himself, and carried on several large works, till 1734, when he became bankrupt. To relieve his distresses, Mrs. Blackwell, having a genius for drawing and painting, exerted all her talents: and, understanding that an herbal of medicinal plants was greatly wanted, she exhibited to sir Hans Sloane, Dr. Mead, and other physicians, some specimens of her art in painting plants, who approved so highly of them as to encourage her to prosecute a work, by the profits of which she is said to have procured her husband’s liberty, after a confinement of two years.
w rupture with the Turkish court, in which the emperor of Germany engaged as ally to Russia, and the king of Sweden as ally to the Porte. The latter prevented the empress
In the following year, 1783, she augmented the splendour of her court, by instituting the new order of St.
Wolodimir, or Vladimir, and this year, having acquired,
without a war, the sovereignty of the Crimea, of the isle
of Taman, and a great part of the Kuban, she called the
former of these countries Taurida, and the other Caucasus.
Thus Catherine gained a point of much importance towards
the main object of her ambition, i. e. the destruction of
the Turkish empire in Europe; in the view of which she
had named the grand duke’s second son Constantine, and
had put him into the hands of Greek nurses, that he might
be thoroughly acquainted with the language of his future
subjects. Instigated by Potemkin, the empress formed a
design in 1787 of being splendidly crowned in her new
dominions “queen of Taurida;
” but the expence being
objected to by some of her courtiers, she contented herself
with making a grand progress through them. At her new
city of Cherson, she had a second interview with the emperor Joseph. She then traversed the Crimea, and returned to Moscow, having left traces in her progress of her
munificence and condescension. This ostentatious tour
was probably one cause of the new rupture with the Turkish court, in which the emperor of Germany engaged as
ally to Russia, and the king of Sweden as ally to the Porte.
The latter prevented the empress from sending a fleet into
the Mediterranean; and even endangered Petersburgh itself
by a sudden incursion into Finland. The danger, however,
was averted by the empress’s own vigorous exertions, by
the desertion of some of Gustavus’s troops, who would not
fight against the Russians, and by an attack of Sweden, on
the part of the prince of Denmark, who proceeded as far
as Gottenburgh. The Turkish army, though superior to
that of the empress, could not resist the efforts of the
Russian generals. Potemkin at the head of a numerous
army, and a large train of artillery, laid siege to Otchakof,
and it was at length taken by storm, with the loss of 25,000
Turks and 12,000 Russians, but the issue of the war was
upon the whole unfavourable, and all parties consented to
the peace signed in 1792, by which the Dniester was declared to be in future the limit of the two empires. Mr.
Pitt at this time had a strong desire to compel Russia to
restore Otchakof to the Turks, but not being supported by
the nation, this point was conceded. When the French
revolution took place, the empress finding Prussia and
Austria engaged in opposing it by force of arms, turned
her attention to Poland, marched an army thither, overturned the new constitution the Poles had formed, and
finally broke the spirit of the Poles by the dreadful massacre made on the inhabitants of the suburbs of Warsaw by
her general Suvarof: a new division took place of this illfated country, between Russia, Austria, and Prussia, and
afforded precedents for other divisions which the two latter
powers little suspected.
re-establishment of the throne of Constantino; to which succeeded that of humbling and punishing the king of Sweden. Afterwards the invasion of Poland became her ruling
Previous to the death of Catherine the monuments of her reign resembled already so many wrecks and dilapidations: colleges, colonies, education, establishments, manufactories, hospitals, canals, towns, fortresses, every thing had been begun, and every thing given up before it was finished. As soon as a project entered her head, all preceding ones gave place, and her thoughts were fixed on that alone, till some new idea was started and drew off her attention. She abandoned her new code of laws, to drive the Turks out of Europe. After the glorious peace of Ka'inardgi, she seemed for a time to attend to the interior administration of her affairs; but the whole was presently forgotten, that she might be queen of Tauris. Her next project was the re-establishment of the throne of Constantino; to which succeeded that of humbling and punishing the king of Sweden. Afterwards the invasion of Poland became her ruling passion; and then a second Pugatshef might have arrived at the gates of Petersburgh without forcing her to relinquish her hold. She died, again meditating the destruction of Sweden, the ruin of Prussia, and mortified at the successes of France and republicanism. Thus was she incessantly led away by some new passion still stronger in its influence than the preceding, so as to neglect her government, both in its whole and in its parts. This mania of Catherine, of planning every thing and completing nothing, drew from Joseph II. a very shrewd and satirical remark. During his travels in Taurida, he was invited by the empress to place the second stone of the town of Ekatarinoslaf, of which she had herself, with great parade^ laid the first. On his return, he said, " I have finished in a single day a very important business with the empress of Russia; she has laid the first stone of a city, and I have laid the last.
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
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.
The grand seignor gave Charles a handsome reception, and appointed him a guard of 400 Tartars. The king of Sweden’s view, in coming to Turkey, was to excite the Porte
The grand seignor gave Charles a handsome reception, and appointed him a guard of 400 Tartars. The king of Sweden’s view, in coming to Turkey, was to excite the Porte against the tzar Peter: but, not succeeding either by menaces or intrigues, he grew in time obstinate and restive, and even braved the grand seignor, although he was his prisoner. The Porte wanted much to get rid of their guest, and at length was compelled to offer a little violence. Charles entrenched himself in his house at Bender, and defended himself against an army with 40 domestics, and would not surrender till his house was on fire. From Bender he was removed to Demotika, where he grew sulky, and was resolved to lie in bed all the time he should be there: and he actually did lie in bed 10 months, feigning to be sick.
e extremely odious to the Roman catholics of that kingdom. He did not seem to be undeceived when the king of Sweden turned his arms against Denmark; for he made him a
Comenius became at last sensible of the vanity of his
labours, as we learn from the book he published in 1668
at Amsterdam, entitled “Unius necessarii,
” or “Of the
one thing needful;
” in which he acquaints us also with the
resolution he had made, of employing all his future thoughts
wholly on his salvation, and this he probably kept. He
died at Amsterdam, 1671, in his eightieth year. Had he
lived much longer, he would have seen the falsity of his
prophecies with regard to the millennium, which he affirmed would begin in 1672, or 1673. Whatever mortification Comenius must have felt on the score of his prophecies, his enemies have brought more serious charges against
him. He was first reproached with having done great prejudice to his brethren, who were banished with him from
Moravia. Most of them had fled from their country with
considerable sums of money; but, instead of being ceconomists, they squandered it away in a short time, because
Comenius prophesied they should return to their country
immediately, and thus they were very soon reduced to
beggary. He was also accused of having been the cause
of the plundering and burning of Lesna, where his brethren had found an asylum, by the panegyric he made so
unseasonably upon Charles Gustavus of Sweden, when he
invaded Poland. Comenius proclaimed him in a prophetic
manner to be the immediate destroyer of popery; by
which the protestants of Poland became extremely odious
to the Roman catholics of that kingdom. He did not
seem to be undeceived when the king of Sweden turned his
arms against Denmark; for he made him a second panegyric, wherein he congratulated him no less on this new
invasion than he had done upon the former. But whatever
credit the protestants of Lesna might give to Comenius,
that city was surprised and burnt by the Polish army; on
which occasion Comenius lost his house, his furniture, and
his library; a proof that, if he was an impostor, he had
first deceived himself. Part of his apocalyptic treatises,
and some other pieces relating to his Pansophia, escaped
the flames; he having just time to cover them, in a hole
under ground, from which they were taken ten days after
the fire but his “Lexicon Bobemicum,
” a work which
baron Born conceives would have been of the highest
utility, was totally destroyed. On this he had spent above
forty years of his life.
at, on the other hand, the French king should oblige the royal family to quit his dominions. The new king of Sweden sent over an ambassador to compliment the protector.
The opening of 1655 proved but cloudy: the dissolution of the parliament created much discontent in the
kingdom; so that Cromwell found himself beset with conspiracies on all sides, and by all parties; but he had the
good luck to discover them before they could be executed.
Upon Feb. 13, he went to Guildhall; and declared, that
the republicans and cavaliers had formed designs against
his person. Of the former, major John Wildman, who
had been an intimate friend of his, was seized while
penning a paper, entitled “A declaration of the people of
England against the tyrant Oliver Cromwell;
” and other
violent men of that party he imprisoned, but was afraid of
doing more. As to the royalists, he suffered them to go
on a little; for, by the help of one Manning, who was his
spy in the court of Charles II. he was so well acquainted
with their projects, as to put them upon measures which
turned to his own account. And this is a true solution of
that insurrection which broke out at Salisbury, where the
king was proclaimed, and Cromwell’s judges seized; which
act of open force left no doubt with the public, that there
were designs against the protector. For this insurrection
several persons suffered death; and hence the protector,
who had hitherto shewn an inclination to govern as a lawful prince if he could, seemed to lay aside his disposition,
and no longer to make any difficulty of supporting his
authority in any manner and by any means; In the spring
of this year was carried into execution that famous expedition, by which the protector hoped to make himself
master of the Spanish West Indies; where, though his
forces did not succeed in their main design, yet they made
themselves masters of Jamaica, which island has remained
ever since part of the British dominions. The alliance
which had been so long in treaty with the crown of France,
was signed Nov. 24, 1655, and proclaimed the 28th; by
which it was stipulated, that Cromwell should send over a
body of English troops, to act in conjunction with the
French agaiust the Spaniards in the Low Countries; and
that, on the other hand, the French king should oblige
the royal family to quit his dominions. The new king of
Sweden sent over an ambassador to compliment the protector. He was most graciously received; but the intended visit of queen Christina, who had just resigned the
crown, he judged proper to avoid. The glorious successes of admiral Blake in the Mediterranean, and the
great sums he recovered from several powers for depredations committed by their subjects on the English merchants, did much honour to the protector’s government;
and to conclude the transactions of this year, it must be
allowed, that how much soever Ire might be disliked at
home, his reputation at this time was very great abroad.
to Cassel; and he superintended the education of his illustrious pupil until 1732, in which year the king of Sweden made him counsellor of his embassies. In September
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
. 36.” Sketch of the life of sir James Ramsay, a general officer in the armies of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden.“37.” Life of George Leslie,“4 to. 38.” Sketch of
The works of lord Hailes, arranged in the order of their
publication, are as follow: 1. “Sacred poems, by various
authors,
” Edinb. The wisdom of Solomon, wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus.
” Edinb. Select discourses, nine
in number, by John Smith, late fellow of Queen’s college, Cambridge,
” Ediub. 17 06, 12mo. 4. “World,
”
No. A discourse of
the unnatural and vile Conspiracy attempted by John earl
of Go wry, and his brother, against his majesty’s person,
at St. Johnstoun, upon the 5th of Aug. 1600,
” A sermon which might have been preached in East
Lothian, upon the 25th day of Oct. 1761, from Acts xxvii.
1, 2.
” The barbarous people sbewed us no little kindness,“Edinb. 1761, 12mo; occasioned by the country
people pillaging the wreck of two vessels, viz. the Betsy,
Cunningham, and the Leith packet, Pitcairn, from London to Leith, cast away on the shore between D unbar and
North Berwick. All the passengers on board the former,
in number seventeen, perished; five on-board the latter,
Oct. 16, 1761. An affecting discourse, which is said to
have produced the restitution of some part of the pillage.
9.
” Memorials and Letters relating to the history of Britain in the reign of James I. published from the originals,“Glasgow, 1762. 10.
” The works of the ever-memorable
Mr. John Hailes of Eton, now first collected together,“Glasgow, 1765, 3 vols. The fine-paper copies of this
work are truly elegant. 11. A specimen of a book entitled: Ane compendious booke of godlie and spiritual
sangs, collectit out of sundrie parts of the Scripture, with
sundrie other ballates, changed out of prophaine sangs, for
avoyding of sin and harlotrie, with augmentation of sundrie
gucle and godlie ballates, not contained in the first edition.
Printed by Andro Hart,
” Edinb. Memorials and Letters relating to the history of Britain in the
reign of Charles’ I. published from the originals,
” Glasgow,
An Account of the Preservation of Charles II.
after the battle of Worcester, drawn up by himself; to
which are added, his letters to several persons,
” Glasgow,
1766. 14. “The secret correspondence between sir Robert Cecil and James VI.
” 1766, 12mo. 15. “A catalogue of the lords of session, from the institution of the
college of justice, in 1532, with historical notes,
” Edinb.
The private correspondence of doctor
Francis Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, and his friends,
in 1725, never before published,
” An
examination of some of the arguments for the high antiquity of regiam majestatem; and an inquiry into the authenticity of the leges Malcolrni,
” Edinb. Historical Memoirs concerning the Provincial Councils of
the Scottish Clergy, from the earliest accounts of the,; aera
of the reformation,
” Edinb. Canons of
the church of Scotland, drawn up in the provincial councils
held at Perth, anno 1242 and 1269,
” Edinb. Ancient Scottish poems, published from the manuscript of George Bannatyne, 1568,
” Edinb. The additional case of Elizabeth, claiming the title
and dignity of countess of Sutherland,
” 4to. 22. “Remarks on the History of Scotland,
” Edinb. Hubert! Langueti Epistolae ad Philippum Syclm-ium
eqtritem Anglum, ace ura rite D. Dalrymple de Hailes eq.
”
Edinb. Annals of Scotland, from the
accession of Malcolm III. suriiamed Canmore, to the accession of Robert!.
” Edinb. 1776. 25. “Tables of the
succession of the kings of Scotland, from Malcolm 111. to
Robert 1.
” 26. Chronological abridgment of the volume.“The appendix contains eight dissertations. 27.
” Annah
of Scotland, from the accession of Robert I. surnamed
Bruce, to the accession of the house of Stewart,“177:,
4to, with an appendix containing nine dissertations. 28.
” Account of the Martyrs of Smyrna and Lyons, in the 2d
century, with explanatory notes,“Edinb. 1776. 29,
” Remains of Christian Antiquity,“Edinb. 1778, 3 vols.
30.
” Octavius, a dialogue by Marcus Minucius Felix,“Edinb. 1781. 31.
” Of the manner in which the persecutors died, by Lactantius,“Edinb. 17S2. 32.
” Luciani
Coelii Firmiani Lactantii divinarum institutionum liber
quintus, sen de justitia,“1777. 33.
” Disquisitions concerning the Antiquities of the Christian Church,“Glasgow,
1783. 34.
” Sketch of the life of John Barclay,“1786,
4to. 35.
” Sketch of the life of John Hamilton, a secular
priest, who lived about 1600,“4to. 36.
” Sketch of the
life of sir James Ramsay, a general officer in the armies of
Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden.“37.
” Life of
George Leslie,“4 to. 38.
” Sketch of the life of Mark
Alex. Boyd,“4to. 39.
” The opinions of Sarah duchess
dowager of Marlborough, published from her originalMSS.“1788, 12mo. 40.
” The address of Q. Septini. Tertullian
to Scapula Tertullus, proconsul of Africa," Edinb. 1790,
12mo. This address contains many particulars relating to
the church after the 3d century. The translator has rejected all words and phrases of French origin, and writes
entirely in the Anglo-Saxon dialect. In the course of the
notes, many obscurities of the original, not adverted to by
other commentators, are explained. Some strange inaccuracies of Mr. Gibbon are also detected, not included in
the misrepresentations of his two famous chapters. He
was long engaged in pursuits to examine the authenticity
of the books of the New Testament. The result is said to
have been, that he discovered every verse contained in it,
with the exception of two or three, in the writings of the
three first centuries. Indeed this seems to have been an
object in all his works; for, at the end of each of his
translations and editions of the primitive Christian writers,
a table is given of passages quoted or mentioned by them.
the discipline of the prison in every one, he was invited to Stockholm in 1727 to prescribe for the king of Sweden. The clergy of that kingdom, pleased with the hope
, an author famous for his extravagancies, and who styled himself in his writings Christianus Democritus, was born Aug. 10, 1672, at Frankenstein, near Darmstadt, where he commenced his studies.
He afterwards studied philosophy and theology at Giessen,
where he took his master’s degree in 1693. He began his
literary career by a controversy with the pietists, a sect
against which he declaimed publicly at Strasburg. Being
obliged, for some irregularities, to quit that city, he returned to Giessen, and shewed himself as zealous in behalf of pietism as he had been before in opposition to it.
Having failed in his views of getting a wife, and a professor’s chair, he threw off the mask, and openly attacked the
reformed religion, in his “Papismus Protestantium vapulans.
” This book having incensed the protestants against
him, he abandoned theology for chemistry; and gave out,
that, after a process of eight months, he had succeeded in
making a sufficient quantity of gold to enable him to keep
a country house, which he bought for 50,000 florins; but
he was at that time actually in the utmost indigence; and
could think of no better expedient for avoiding the pursuit of his creditors than by commencing his travels. After
having run over various countries, Berlin, Copenhagen,
Francfort, Leyden, Amsterdam, Altona, Hamburgh, and
having experienced the discipline of the prison in every
one, he was invited to Stockholm in 1727 to prescribe for
the king of Sweden. The clergy of that kingdom, pleased
with the hope of the king’s recovery, but unwilling to owe
it to a man that openly derided their religion, procured an
order for the medical alchemist to quit the kingdom.
Dippel returned to Germany, without having changed
either his opinions or his conduct. The report of his death
having been several times falsely propagated, he in 1733
published a sort of certificate, in which he affirmed that he
should not die till the year 180$; a prophecy which was
not fulfilled: for he was found dead in his bed at the castle
of Witgenstein, the 25th of April, 1734, at the age of 62.
as betrothed to Charles Augustus, bishop of Lubec, duke of Sleswick and Holstein, and brother to the king of Sweden; but he died before the completion of the ceremony.
, daughter of Peter the great, by the revolution of 1741, renewed in her person the line of that monarch on the throne of Russia. Elizabeth was born in 1709, and when arrived at years of maturity, was extremely admired for her great personal attractions. Her beauty, as well as her exalted rank, and large dowry, occasioned her several offers, none of which, however, took effect; and she died in celibacy. During the life of her father Peter I. a negotiation had commenced for her marriage with Lewis XV. but although not seriously adopted by the court of France, it was never relinquished until the daughter of Stanislaus, titular king of Poland, was publicly affianced to the young monarch. By the will of Catharine, Elizabeth was betrothed to Charles Augustus, bishop of Lubec, duke of Sleswick and Holstein, and brother to the king of Sweden; but he died before the completion of the ceremony. In the reign of Peter II. she was demanded by Charles margrave of Anspach in 1741, by the Persian tyrant Kouli Kan; and at the time of the revolution, the regent Ann endeavoured to force her to espouse prince Louis of Brunswick, for whom she entertained a settled aversion. From the period of her accession she renounced all' thoughts of the connubial state, and adopted her nephew Peter. Her dislike to marriage, however, certainly did not proceed from any rooted aversion to the other sex; for she would freely and frequently own to her confidants, that she was never happy but when she was in love; if we may dignify by that name a capricious passion ever changing its object. The same characteristic warmth of temper hurried her no less to the extremes of devotion: she was scrupulously exact in her annual confessions at Easter of the wanderings of her heart; in expressing the utmost contrition for her frequent transgressions; and in punctually adhering both in public and private to the minutest ceremonies and ordinances of the church. With respect to her disposition and turn of mind, she is generally styled the humane Elizabeth, as she made a vow upon her accession to inflict no capital punishments during her reign; and is reported to have shed tears upon the news of every victory gained by her troops, from the reflection that it could not have been obtained without great bloodshed. But although no criminal was formally executed in public, yet the state prisons were filled with wretched sufferers, many of whom, unheard of and unknown, perished in clamp and unwholesome dungeons: the state inquisition, or secret committee appointed to judge persons suspected of high treason, had constant occupation during her reign many upon the slightest surmises were tortured in secret many underwent the knoot, and expired under the infliction. But the transaction which reflects the deepest disgrace upon her reign, was the public punishment of two ladies of fashion; the countesses Bestuchef and Lapookin: each received fifty strokes of the knoot in the open square of Petersburg: their tongues were cut out; and they were banished into Siberia. One of these ladies, Madame Lapookin, esteemed the handsomest woman in Russia, was accused of carrying on a secret correspondence with the French ambassador; but her real crime was, her having commented too freely on the amours of the empress. Even the bare recital of such an affecting scene, as that of a woman of great beauty and high rank publicly exposed and scourged by the common executioner, must excite the strongest emotions of horror; and forbid us to venerate the memory of a princess, who, with such little regard to her own sex, could issue those barbarous commands. But let us at the same time lament the inconsistency of human nature; and, in considering the character of Elizabeth, let us not deny that her heart, perhaps naturally benevolent, was eventually corrupted by power, and steeled with suspicion; and that although mercy might predominate whenever it did not interfere with her passions and prejudices; yet she by no means deserves the appellation of humane, the most noble attribute of a sovereign when it interposes to temper and mitigate the severity of justice. Elizabeth died in 1761, in the twenty-first year of her reign, and in the fifty-third year of her age; she expired in December (the 25th), the same month in which she was born, and in which she acceded to the throne. It is asserted on unquestionable authority, that it was impossible to obtain this tzarina’s consent for the execution of a felon who had even committed the most horrid species of premeditated murder, and that the master of the police used secretly to order the executioner to knoot to death those delinquents who were found guilty of the most atrocious crimes. It is a pity that she did not reserve her humanity, which in this instance was cruelty to her people, for more respectable objects. By way of conclusion to the present article, it will not be unapt to add the following anecdote, especially as it must at the same time give pleasure to the reader. Although the sovereign of this empire is absolute in the most unlimited sense of the word; yet the prejudice of the Russians in regard to the necessity of torture (and a wise legislator will always respect popular prejudices, be they ever so absurd and unreasonable) was so deeply rooted by immemorial usage, that it required great circumspection in the present tzarina not to raise discontents by an immediate abolition of that inhuman practice. Accordingly, the cautious manner in which it was gradually suppressed, discovered no less judgment than benevolence. In 17C2, Catherine II. soon after her accession, took away the power of inflicting torture from the vayvodes, or inferior justices, by whom it had been shamefully abused. In 1767, a secret order was issued to the judges in the several provinces, that whenever they should think torture requisite to force a criminal to confession, they should draw up the general articles of the charge, and lay the case before the governor of the province for his consideration: and all the governors had received previous directions to determine the case according to the principles laid down in the third question of the tenth chapter of her majesty’s instructions for a code of laws; wherein torture is proved to be no less useless than cruel. This, therefore, was a tacit abolition of torture, which has been since formally and publicly annulled. The prohibition of this horrid species of judicature, throughout the vast dominions of the Russian empire, forms a memorable aera in the annals of humanity.
him Thomas a Kempis “de Imitatione.” He seemed to be of the opinion of the great Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, “that a good Christian always made a good soldier.”
As to a general character of prince Eugene, it may easily
be collected from what has already been said of him. He
was always remarkable for his liberality; one instance of
which he shewed, while he was here in England, to Mrs.
Centlivre, the poetess; who, having addressed to him a
trifling poem on his visiting England, received from him a
gold snuff-box, valued at about 35 pistoles. He was also a
man of great and unaffected modesty, so that he could
scarcely bear, with any tolerable grace, the just acknowledgments that were paid him by all the world. Burnet,
who was admitted several times to much discourse with
him, says, that “he descended to an easy equality with
those who conversed with him, and seemed to assume nothing to himself, while he reasoned with others.
” He said
jokingly one day, when the duke of Marlborough
talking of his attachment to his queen, Regina pecunia,
“Money is his queen.
” This great general was a man of
letters; he was intended for the church, and was known at
the court of France by the name of the abbé de Savrie.
Having made too free in a letter with some of old Louis the
Fourteenth’s gallantries, he fled out of France, and served
as a volunteer in the emperor’s service in Hungary against
the Turks, where he soon distinguished himself by his
talents for the military art. He was presented by the emperor with a regiment, and a few years afterwards made
commander in chief of his armies. Louvois, the insolent
war-minister of the insolent Louis XIV. had written to him
to tell him, that he must never think of returning to his
country: his reply was, “Eugene entrera un jour en
France en dépit de Louvois & de Louis.
” In all his military expeditions, he carried with him Thomas a Kempis
“de Imitatione.
” He seemed to be of the opinion of the
great Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, “that a good
Christian always made a good soldier.
” Being constantly
busy, he held the passion of love very cheap, as a mere
amusement, that served only to enlarge the power of women, and to abridge that of men. He used to say, “Les
amoureux sont dans la société ce que les fanatiques sont en
religion.
” His amusement was war, and in the Memoirs
written by himself, and lately published, he speaks of some
of its horrors with too little feeling. It is said that he was
observed to be one day very pensive, and was asked by his
favourite aid-de-camp on what he was meditating so
deeply? “My good friend,
” replied he, “I am thinking,
that if Alexander the Great had been obliged to wait for
the approbation of the deputies of Holland before he attacked the enemy, how impossible it would have been for
him to have made half the conquests that he did!
” This
illustrious conqueror lived to a great age, and being tam
Mercurio quam Marte, “as much a scholar as a captain,
”
amused himself with making a fine collection of books,
pictures, and prints, which are now in the emperor’s collection at Vienna. The celebrated cardinal Passionei, then
nuncio at Vienna, preached his funeral sermon, from the
following text of apocryphal Scripture: “Alexander, son,
of Philip the Macedonian, made many wars, took many
strong holds, went through the ends of the earth, took
spoils of many nations: the earth was quiet before him.
After these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should
die.
”—Maccabees.
us XI V. who five years after recommended him to a doctor’s degree at Gripswald. About this time the king of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, arriving in Germany, made him
, a Lutheran divine, was born at
Coslin, a town of Pomerania, in 15D3. In his youth, as
his parents were poor, he contrived to defray the expences
of his education by instructing a few pupils in what he had
already learned, and having the charge of some of them
to Rostock, he soon distinguished himself among the
learned of that city. Having taken orders, he was chosen
preacher at Coslin, and chaplain to the duke Bogislaus XI V.
who five years after recommended him to a doctor’s degree at Gripswald. About this time the king of Sweden,
Gustavus Adolphus, arriving in Germany, made him his
confessor, and superintendant of his army; and after the
battle of Lutzen, in which that prince lost his life, the duke
Bogislaus recalled Fabricius, and made him superintendant
of Upper Pomerania, in which office he was afterwards continued by queen Christina. He was also appointed minister of the principal church of Stettin, and professor of divinity. He died suddenly of an apoplectic stroke, Aug.
11, 165+. His principal writings are, 1. “Disputationes
in Genesim, et in Kpistolam ad Romanes. 2.
” Probatio
visionum,“a work which involved him in disrepute with
some of his brethren, and obliged him to publish in defence
of it, 'J.
” Invictir visionum probationes.“4.
” JustaGustaviana." He published besides some pieces in German.
. This gentleman was minister of the church of St. James at Hamburgh, ecclesiastic-counsellor to the king of Sweden, and honorary professor of divinity at Kiel. Being
Besides his studies in the belles lettres and philosophy,
he had much inclination to that of medicine, and would
probably have pursued it as a profession; but Berger, the
medical professor, under whom he studied, being removed
from Leipsic, he thenceforth devoted himself entirely to
divinity. In April 1692 he had been admitted a preacher,
and his four disputations on subjects of theology procured
him the highest praises from his tutors. In 1693 he went
to Hamburgh, without any immediate design, except that
of visiting some relations, particularly his maternal uncle.
but intended afterwards to travel, from which he was diverted by an unexpected event. His guardian Valentine
Albert now wrote to him that his whole patrimony, amounting only to 1000 German crowns, had been expended in
his education, and that he was indebted to him for a considerable sum advanced. Fabricius returned an answer to
this letter, expressing his concern at the news, but full of
gratitude to his guardian for the care he had taken of him
and his property. He had, however, to seek for the means
of subsistence, and might have been reduced to the greatest
distress, had he not found a liberal patron in John Frederick
Mayer. This gentleman was minister of the church of St.
James at Hamburgh, ecclesiastic-counsellor to the king of
Sweden, and honorary professor of divinity at Kiel. Being
made acquainted with Fabricius’s situation, and probably
no stranger to the fame he had acquired at Leipsic, he gave
him an invitation to his house, and engaged him as his
librarian, on which office Fabricius entered in June 1694,
and during his residence here, which lasted five years,
divided his time betwixt study and preaching, in the
church of St. James, and other churches. In the month of
August 1695, he sustained a disputation at Kiel on the irrational logic of the popes, in the presence of the dukes of
Holstein and Brunswick. In 1697 he published the first
edition of his “Bibliotheca Latina,
” in a small volume, 8vo,
and appears to have prepared some of his other works for
the press; but a fuller list of these, with their dates, will
be given at the conclusion of this article.
ch research, entitled “De Statuis illustrinm Romanorum,” 8vo, which he dedicated to Charles Gustavus king of Sweden. He had passed some months at Rome in his youth, and
, a learned Swede, a professor of history, and an antiquary at Upsal, published in
1656, a work of much research, entitled “De Statuis
illustrinm Romanorum,
” 8vo, which he dedicated to
Charles Gustavus king of Sweden. He had passed some
months at Rome in his youth, and this work was partly the
result of his studies and observations there. He died in
1676. We have no farther particulars of his life, and he
is but slightly mentioned in biographical collections.
tical, and literary; particularly “Reflections on the military talents and character of Charles XII. king of Sweden; a discourse on war; letters on education, and on
Frederic, like Cesar, united the talents of a writer with
those of a warrior. He wrote in French, and was a tolerable poet; but his abilities are more displayed in history.
His poem on the art of war is, however, valuable, both
from his deep knowledge of the subject, ^and the traits of
genius it displays. His works compose altogether nineteen volumes, 8vo. His poetical compositions, which, excepting his poem on the Art of War, consist chiefly of
odes and epistles, passed through many editions under the
title of “Oeuvres melees du Philosophe de Sans Souci.
”
But all the works published in his life, both in prose and
verse, were collected in four vols. 8vo, in 1790, under the
title of “Oeuvres primitives de Frederic II. Roi de Prusse,
ou collection desouvragesqu'il publia pendant son regne.
”
Of this publication, the first volume contains his “AntiMachiuvel; military instructions for the general of his
army; and his correspondence with M. de la Motte Fouquei.
” TJie second, his “Memoirs of the House of Branden burgh.
” In the third volume are his poems; and in
the fourth, a variety of pieces in prose, philosophical,
moral, historical, critical, and literary; particularly “Reflections on the military talents and character of Charles
XII. king of Sweden; a discourse on war; letters on education, and on the love of our country; and a discourse on
German literature.
” His posthumous works hud been published stiil earlier. They appeare4 at Berlin in 1788, in
15 vols. 8vo. The two first of these contain the “History
of his own Time, to the year 1745.
” The third and fourth,
his “History of the Seven Years’ War.
” The fifth contains “Memoirs from the Peace of Hubertsbourg in 1763,
to the Partition of Poland in 1775.
” The sixth is filled
with miscellaneous matter, particularly “Considerations
on the present state of the political powers of Europe,
”
and “an Essay on Forms of Government, and on the
duties of Sovereigns.
” The seventh and eighth volumes
contain poetical pieces, and some letters to Jordan and
Voltaire. The remaining seven volumes continue his correspondence, including letters to and from Fontenelle,
Rollin, Voltaire, D‘Argens, D’Alembert, Condorcet, and
others. Of these productions many are valuable, more
especially his “History of his own Times,
” where, however, he is more impartial in his accounts of his campaigns,
than in assigning the motives for his wars, or estimating
the merits of his antagonists.
He had always entertained a very high opinion of Gustavus king of Sweden; and that prince having sent to Paris Benedict Oxenstiern,
He had always entertained a very high opinion of Gustavus king of Sweden; and that prince having sent to Paris Benedict Oxenstiern, a relation of the chancellor, to bring to a final conclusion the treaty between France and Sweden, this minister became acquainted with Grotius, and resolved, if possible, to draw him to his master’s court: and Grotius writes, that if that monarch would nominate him ambassador, with a proper salary for the decent sup* port of the dignity, the proposal might be accepted. In this situation Salvius, vice-chancellor of Sweden, a great statesman, and a man of learning, being then at this city, Grotius was introduced to him, and saw him frequently. Polite literature was the subject of their conversation. Salvius conceived a great esteem for Grotius, and the favourable report he made of him to the high-chancellor Oxenstiern determined the latter to write to Grotius to come to him, that he might employ him in affairs of the greatest importance. Grotius accepted of this invitation; and setting out for Francfort on the Maine, where that minister Avas, arrived there in May 1634. He was received with the; greatest politeness by Oxenstiern, who did not yet, how-> ever, explain his intentions. In confidence of the highchancellor’s character, and apparent sincerity, he sent for his wife, who arrived at Francfort with his daughters and son, in the beginning of August The chancellor after for some time continuing to heap civilities upon him, without mentioning a word of business, ordered that he should follow him to Mentz, and at length declared him counsellor to the queen of Sweden, and her ambassador to the court of France.
, or more properly Gustavus Ericson, king of Sweden, was the son of Eric Vasa, and descended from the
, or more properly Gustavus Ericson, king of Sweden, was the son of Eric Vasa, and descended from the ancient kings of Sweden. He was born in 1490. His great passion was the love of glory, and this difficulties and dangers increased rather than diminished. He lived at a time when the greatest part of the wealth of Sweden was in the hands of the clergy, when every nobleman was, in his own territories, a sovereign, and, lastly, when Steeno was administrator of the realm. In the war which was originally prosecuted betwixt the Swedes and Christian king of Denmark, this last, having got Gustavus into his power, kept him a prisoner many years in Denmark. He at length made his escape, and through innumerable dangers got back to his native country, where, for a long period, he used every effort to rouse his countrymen to resist and repel their invaders and victorious enemies. In this, however, he was not successful; and Christian of Denmark having got possession of Stockholm and Coltnar, exercised the cruelest tyranny on all ranks, and in one day put to death ninety-four nobles, among whom was the father of Gustavus. Gustavus at length prevailed on the Dalecarlians to throw off the yoke; and, at the 4 head of a considerable body of forces, entered the provinces of Halsingia, Gestricia, and some others. After a series of desperate adventures, temporary successes, and frequent defeats; he recovered Upsal; for which disappointment Christian put to death the mother and sister of Gustavus in cruel torments. Having overcome East Gothland, and blockaded Stockholm, he convened the Staters-General, and was by them offered the title of King. This he refused, and was satisfied with the regal power, and title of administrator. A short time afterwards, a revolution took place in Denmark; Christian was driven from his dominions; and Frederic duke of Holstein, uncle of Christian, was made his successor. There was now nothing to oppose Gustavus; he therefore summoned the States to meet at Stregnez, filled up the vacancies of the senate, and was proclaimed king with the usual forms of election. He also prevailed on the States to render the crown hereditary to the male heirs; and, to make the life of Gustavus yet more remarkable in history, it was in his reign that Lutheranism was established as the natural religion of Sweden. The latter part of his life was spent in cultivating the arts of peace, and in decorating his metropolis with noble edifices. He died at Stockholm, of a gradual decay, on the 9th of September, 1560, in the seventieth year of his age, and was quietly succeeded in his throne by his eldest sou Eric.
, king of Sweden, commonly called the Great, a title which, if great
, king of Sweden, commonly called the Great, a title which, if great valour united with great wisdom, great magnanimity with regard to himself, and great consideration of the wants and infirmities of others, have any claim, he seems well to have deserved. He was born at Stockholm in 1594. His name Gustavus he inherited from his grandfather Gustavus Vasa, and he was called Adolphus from his grandmother Adolpha. His education was calculated to form a hero, and seems, in all respects, to have resembled that bestowed on Henry the Fourth of France. He had a great genius, a prodigious memory, and a docility and desire of learning almost beyond example. He ascended the throne of Sweden in 1611, being then no more than fifteen; but the choice he made of ministers and counsellors proved him fully adequate to govern. His valour in the field was tried first against Denmark, Muscovy, and Poland. He made an honourable peace with the two first, and compelled the last to evacuate Livonia. He then formed an alliance with the protestants of Germany against the emperor, and what is commonly called the league. In two years and a half he overran all the countries from the Vistula as far as the Danube and the Rhine. Every thing submitted to his power, and all the towns opened to him their gates. In 1631 he conquered Tilly, the imperial general, before Leipsic; and a second time at the passage of the Lech. In the following year, he fought the famous battle in the plains of Lutzen, where he unfortunately fell at the immature age of thirty-eight, Nov. 16, 1632. Besides his other noble qualities he loved and cultivated the sciences. He enriched the university of Upsal; he founded a royal academy at Abo, and an university at Dorp in Livonia. Before his time there were no regular troops in Sweden; but he formed and executed the project of having 80,000 men constantly well armed, disciplined, and cloathed. This he accomplished without difficulty, on account of the love and confidence which his subjects without reserve reposed in their king. Some historians have delighted to draw a parallel between Gustavus and the great Scipio, and it is certain that they had many traits of character in common. Scipio attacked the Carthaginians in their own dominions; and Gustavus undertook to curb the pride of Austria by carrying the war into the heart of her country. Here indeed the advantage is with Gustavus; for, the Carthaginian power was already debilitated; but the emperor’s had before never received any check. He died literally, as it is said of him, with the sword in his hand, the word of command on his tongue, and victory in his imagination. His life has been well written by our countryman Harte; and he appears in all respects to have deserved the high and numerous encomiums which writers of all countries have heaped upon his memory. Some have suspected this exalted character to have lost his life from the intrigues of cardinal Richelieu; others from Lawemburgh, one of his generals, whom Ferdinand the emperor is said to have corrupted. He left an only daughter, whom he had by the princess Mary of Brandenburg, and who succeeded her father at the age of five. This princess was the celebrated Christina queen of Sweden.
in the name of his mistress, the empress, offering him a distinguished place at St. Petersburgh. The king of Sweden conferred on him an unsolicited honour, by raising
But the labours of Dr. Haller during his residence at Gottingen, were by no means confined to any one department of science. He was not more anxious to be an improver himself, than to instigate others to similar pursuits. To him, the anatomical theatre, the school of midwifery, the chirurgical society, and the royal academy of sciences at Gottingen, owe their origin. Such distinguished merit could not fail to meet with a suitable reward from the sovereign under whose protection he then taught. The king of Great Britain not only honoured him with every mark of attention which he himself could bestow, but procured him also letters of nobility from the emperor. The title, however, of baron de Haller, he never assumed, although it was often bestowed on him. On the death of Dillenius he had an offer of the professorship of botany at Oxford the states of Holland invited him to the chair of the younger Albinus and the king of Prussia was anxious that he should be the successor of Maupertuis at Berlin. Marshal Keith wrote to him in the name of his sovereign, offering him the chancellorship of the university of Halle, vacant by the death of the celebrated Wolff. Count Orlowr invited him to Russia, in the name of his mistress, the empress, offering him a distinguished place at St. Petersburgh. The king of Sweden conferred on him an unsolicited honour, by raising him to the rank of knighthood, of the order of the polar star; and the late Joseph II. emperor of Germany, honoured him with a personal visit.
well as at home; and received uncommon marks of respect from foreign potentates. Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, gave him a place among his counsellors of state:
The learned have all joined in their praises of Heinsius.
Gerard Vossius says that he was a very great man; and
calls him the ornament of the muses and the graces. Casaubon admires him equally for his parts and learning.
Pareus calls him the Varro of his age. Barthius ranks
him with the first writers. Bochart pronounces him a truly
great and learned man and Selden speaks of him as “tarn
severiorum quam amceniorum literarum sol
” a light to
guide us in our gay as well as severe pursuits in letters.
Some, however, have thought that, he was not so well
formed for criticism; and Le Clerc, in his account of the
Amsterdam edition of Bentley’s “Horace,
” says that
though doubtless a learned man, who had spent his life in
the study of criticism, yet if we may judge by his Horace,
he was by no means happy in his conjectures; but he
speaks much more advantageously of his son Nicolas Heinsius; and agreed, with the rest of the world, that though
not so learned a man as his father, he had a better taste
for criticism. Daniel Heinsius was, however, highly honoured abroad as well as at home; and received uncommon marks of respect from foreign potentates. Gustavus
Adolphus, king of Sweden, gave him a place among his
counsellors of state: the republic of Venice made him a
knight of their order of St. Mark: and pope Urban VIII.
was such an admirer of his fine talents and consummate
learning, that he made him great offers if he would come
to Rome; “to rescue that city from barbarism,
” as the
pontiff is said to have expressed himself.
a life, having a year or two before his death presented an elegant set of his botanical works to the king of Sweden, that monarch invested him with one of the orders
But the disposition of Dr. Hill was greatly changed with
his circumstances: from being humble and diffident, he had
become vain and self-sufficient. There appeared in him a
pride, which was perpetually claiming a more than ordinary homage, and a vindictive spirit, which could never
forgive the refusal of it. Hence his writings abounded
with attacks on the understandings, morals, or peculiarities
of others, descending, even to personal abuse and scurrility.
This licence of his pen engaged him frequently in disputes
and quarrels; and an Irish gentleman of the name of
Browne, supposed to be ridiculed in an “Inspector,
” proceeded so far as to cane him in the public gardens at Ranelagh. He had a paper war with Woodward the comedian was engaged with Henry Fielding in the affair of
Elizabeth Canning and concerned in a contest with the
Royal Society, Of this, the origin and progress has been
thus detailed by one who had every opportunity of knowing
the circumstances. When Mr. Hill had started all at once
as before related, from a state of indigence and distress,
to taste the comforts of very considerable emoluments from
his labour, giddy with success, and elated beyond bounds
with the warm sunshine of prosperity, he seemed to be
seized with a kind of infatuation. Vanity took entire possession of his bosom, and banished from thence every
consideration but of self. His conversation turned on little
else, and even his very writings were tainted with perpetual details of every little occurrence that happened to him.
His raillery, both in company and in his writings, frequently turned on those who closely attached themselves to
philosophical investigations, especially in the branches of
natural philosophy. The common -place wit of abusing the
medal-scraper, the butterfly-hunter, the cockle-shell-merchant, &c. now appeared in some of his Magazines and
Inspectors, and in two or three places he even indulged
some distant glances of satire at the Royal Society. Notwithstanding which, however, when the Supplement to
“Chambers’s Dictionary
” was nearly finished, the proprietors of that work, very sensible of the weight of an
F. R. S. annexed to the author’s name, were very desirous
that Dr. Hill should have this addition as well as Mr. Scott,
his colleague in the work. In consequence of this design,
Dr. Hill procured Mr. Scott to propose him for election
into that honourable body; but the doctor’s conduct for
some time past having been such as had rendered him the
object of contempt to some, of disgust to others, and of
ridicule to almost all the rest of his former grave and philosophical acquaintances, he now stood but a very indifferent chance for carrying an election, where an opposition
pf one third was sufficient to reject the candidate; and as.
the failing in that attempt might have done our author
more essential prejudice than the succeeding in it could
even have brought him advantage, the late ingenious and
worthy president, Martin Folkes, esq. whose remembrance
must ever live in the highest estimation with all who ever
had the honour of knowing him, notwithstanding that Dr.
Hill had given him personal occasion of offence against him,
yet with the utmost generosity and candour, advised Mr.
Scott to dissuade his friend, for his own sake, against a
design which there appeared so little probability of his succeeding in. This advice, however, Dr. Hill, instead of
considering in the generous light it was meant, misinterpreted into a prejudiced opposition against his interest, am
would have persisted in his intention even in despite of it,
had net his being unable to obtain the subscription o
requisite number of members to his recommendation^
obliged him to lay it aside, from a conviction that he could
not expect to carry an election in a body composed of three
hundred members, of which he could not prevail on three
to set their names to the barely recommending him as a
candidate. Thus disappointed, his vanity piqued, and his
pride lowered, no relief was left him but railing and scurrility, for which purpose, declaring open war with the
society in general, he first published a pamphlet entitled
*' A Dissertation on Royal Societies,“in a letter from a
Sclavonian nobleman in London to his friend in Sclavonia;
which, besides the most ill-mannered and unjust abuse on
the whole learned body he had been just aiming, in vain,
to become a member of, is interlarded with the grossest
personal scurrility on the characters of Mr. Folkes and
Mr. Henry Baker, two gentlemen to whom Dr. Hill had
formerly been under the greatest obligations, and whose
respective reputations in both the moral and literary world
had long been too firmly established for the weak efforts
of a disappointed scribbler to shake or undermine. Not
contented with this, he proceeded to compile together a
large quarto volume entitled
” A Review of the Works of
the Royal Society,“in which, by the most unfair quotations,
mutilations, and misrepresentations, numbers of the papers
read in that illustrious assembly, and published under the
title of the
” Philosophical Transactions,“are endeavoured
to be rendered ridiculous. This work is ushered into the
world with a most abusive and infamous dedication to
Martin Folkes, esq. against whom and the afore-mentioned
Mr. Henry Baker the weight of this furious attack was
chiefly aimed but the whole recoiled upon himself; and
by such personal abuse, malignant altercation, proud and
insolent behaviour, together with the slovenliness and inaccuracy of careless and hasty productions, he wrote himself out of repute both with booksellers and the town;
and, after some time, sunk in the estimation of the public
nearly as fast as he had risen. He found, however, as
usual, resources in his own invention. He applied himself
to the preparation of certain simple medicines namely,
” the Essence of Water-dock; Tincture of Valerian Pectoral Balsam of Honey and Tincture of Bardana.“The
well-known simplicity of these preparations led the public
to judge favourably of their effects; they had a rapid sale,
and once more enabled the doctor to live in splendour.
Soon after the publication of the first of these medicines,
he obtained the patronage of the earl of Bute; under
which he published a very pompous and voluminous botanical work, entitled
” A System of Botany;“but is said to
have been a very considerable loser by this speculation.
His botanical works, however, had a favourable influence
in promoting the science in general. To wind up the
whole of so extraordinary a life, having a year or two
before his death presented an elegant set of his botanical
works to the king of Sweden, that monarch invested him
with one of the orders of his court, that of Vasa, in consequence of which he assumed the title of Sir John. He
died Nov. 22, 1775, of the gout, which he professed to cure
others. As to his literary character, and the rank of
merit in which his writings ought to stand, Hill’s greatest
enemies could not deny that he was master of considerable
abilities, and an amazing quickness of parts. The rapidity
of his pen was ever astonishing, and he has been known
to receive within one year, no less than 1500l. for the
works of his own single hand; which, as he was never in
such estimation as to be entitled to any extraordinary price
for his copies, is, we believe, at least three times as much
as ever was made by any one writer in the same period of
time. But, had he written much less, his works would
probably have been much more read. The vast variety of
subjects he handled, certainly required such a fund of
universal knowledge, and such a boundless genius, as were
never perhaps known to centre in any one man; and it is
not therefore to be wondered, if, in regard to some he
appears very inaccurate, in some very superficial, and in
others altogether inadequate to the task he had undertaken.
His works on philosophical subjects seemed most likely to
have procured him fame, had he allowed himself time to
digest the knowledge he possessed, or preserved that regard
to veracity which the relation of scientific facts so rigidly
demands. His novels, of which he has written many, such
as
” The History of Mr. Lovell,“(in which he had endeavoured to persuade the world he had given the detail of his own life),
” The Adventures of a Creole,“” The Life of
Lady Frail,“&c. have, in some parts of them, incidents
not disagreeably related, but the most of them are merely
narratives of private intrigues, containing throughout the
grossest calumnies, and endeavouring to blacken and
undermine the private characters of many worthy persons.
In his
” Essays,“which are by much the best of hia
writings, there is, in general, a liveliness of imagination,
and adroitness in the manner of extending, perhaps some
very trivial thought, which at first may by many be mistaken for wit; but, on a nearer examination, will be found
to lose much of its value. A continued use of smart short
periods, bold assertions, and bolder egotisms, produces a
transient effect, but seldom tempts the spectator to take a
second glance. The utmost that can be said of Hill is,
that he had talents, but that, in general, he either greatly
nisapplied them, or most miserably hackneyed them for
profit. As a dramatic writer he stands in no estimation^
nor has he been known in that view by any thing but three
very insignificant pieces: namely, 1.
” Orpheus,“an
opera, 1740. 2.
” The Critical Minute,“a farce, published in 1754, but not acted, 3.
” The Rout," a farce,
1754*. A large volume might be written on the life and!
adventures of this extraordinary man, as affording a complete history of literary quackery, every branch of which
he pursued with a greater contempt for character than
perhaps any man in our time.
to the Russian service. This offer he declined, because the emperor was at that time at war with the king of Sweden, whose character Keith held in great veneration. He
, field-marshal in the king of Prussia’s
service, was born in 1696, and was the younger son of
William Keith, earl marshal of Scotland. He had his
grammar-learning under Thomas Ruddiman, author of the
“Rudiments;
” his academical, under bishop Keith and
William IMeston, in the college of Aberdeen. He was designed by his friends for the profession of the law; but the
bent of his genius inclined him to arms, with which they
wisely complied. His first military services were employed
while a youth of eighteen, in the rebellion of 1715. In
this unhappy contest, through the instigation of the
counless his mother, who was a Roman catholic, he joined the
Pretender’s party, and was at the battle of Sheriffmuir, in
which he was wounded, yet able to make his escape to
France. Here he applied to those branches of education,
which are necessary to accomplish a soldier. He studied
mathematics under M. de Maupertuis; and made such
proficiency, that he was, by his recommendation, admitted
a fellow of the royal academy of sciences at Paris. He
afterwards travelled through Italy, Switzerland, and Portugal; with uncommon curiosity examined the several productions in architecture, painting, and sculpture; and surveyed the different fields where famous battles had been
fought. In 1717, he had an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with Peter, czar of Muscovy, at Paris, who invited him to enter into the Russian service. This offer he
declined, because the emperor was at that time at war
with the king of Sweden, whose character Keith held in
great veneration. He then left Paris, and went to Madrid;
where, by the interest of the duke of Lyria, he obtained a
commission in the Irish brigades, then commanded by the
duke of Ormond. He afterwards accompanied the duke of
Lyria, when he was sent ambassador extraordinary to Russia, and was recommended by him to the service of the
czarina, who promoted him to the rank of lieutenant-general, and invested him with the order of the black eagle.
William, elector of Brandenburg, with a similar appointment; and subsequently to that of Charles XI. king of Sweden, who, in 1693, granted him letters of nobility, under
, a celebrated chemist, was born at
Husurn, in the duchy of Sleswick, in 1630. He was originally intended for the practice of pharmacy; but having
applied himself with equal diligence to the study of chemistry and metallurgy, he obtained great reputation in.
these sciences, and was appointed chemist to the elector
of Saxony. He afterwards went to the court of Frederic
William, elector of Brandenburg, with a similar appointment; and subsequently to that of Charles XI. king of
Sweden, who, in 1693, granted him letters of nobility,
under the name of Kunckel de Loewenstern. He was
elected a member of the imperial Academia Naturae Curiosorum, under the name of Hermes III. He died in Sweden, in March 1703. Notwithstanding his advantages and
fame, his theoretical knowledge was very imperfect; he
was altogether destitute of the least tincture of philosophy,
and was even said to have been one of the searchers for
the philosopher’s stone. He is now principally known as
the discoverer of phosphorus, which he prepared from
urine, and which bears his name in the shops. He
was the author of several works, written in German, in a
very bad style, and with as little method as the rest of the
alchemists. His treatise “On Phosphorus,
” was printed
at Leipsic in Art of Glass-making
” in
in 1555, and that of Livonia and Laponia in 1558. During this last tour, he became known to Gustavus king of Sweden, who conceived a great affection for him, and engaged
This connexion with Melancthon did not, however, extinguish the inclination which Languet had to travel. In 1551, he took up a resolution to visit some part of Europe every year, for which he set apart the autumn season, returning to pass the winter at Wittenberg. In the course of these travels, he made the tour of Rome in 1555, and that of Livonia and Laponia in 1558. During this last tour, he became known to Gustavus king of Sweden, who conceived a great affection for him, and engaged him to go into France, in order to bring him thence some of the best scholars and artists: for which purpose his majesty gave him a letter of credit, dated Sept. 1, 1557. Two years after, Languet attended Adolphus count of Nassau and prince of Orange, into Italy; and at his return passed through Paris, to visit the celebrated Turnebus; but it was a great deduction from the pleasure of this interview, that he heard at this time of the death of his friend Melancthon.
ks’s-hall, for giving judgment upon stolen goods, but acquitted: and, in 1659, he received, from the king of Sweden, a present of a gold chain and medal, worth above
All this while our astrologer continued true to his own interest, by serving that of the parliament party, from whom he received this year, 1648, fifty pounds in cash, and an order from the council of state for a pension of 100l. perann. which was granted to him for furnishing them with a perfect knowledge of the chief concernments of France. This he obtained by means of a secular priest, with whom he had been formerly acquainted, and who now was confessor to one of the French secretaries. Lilly received the pension two years, when he threw it up, with the employment, in disgust on some account or other. He read public lectures upon astrology, in 1648 and 1649, for the improvement of young students in that art and succeeded so well both as a practitioner and teacher, that we find him, in 1651 and 1652, laying out near 2000l. for lands and a house at Hersham. During the siege of Colchester, he and Booker were sent for thither, to encourage the soldiers, which they did by assuring them that the town would soon be taken, which proved true, and was perhaps not difficult to be foreseen. In 1650 he published that the parliament should not continue, but a new government arise, agreeably thereto; and in the almanack for 1653, he also asserted, that the parliament stood upon a ticklish foundation, and that the commonalty and soldiery would join together against them. On this he was called before the committee of plundered ministers; but, receiving notice before the arrival of the messenger, he applied to speaker Lenthal, always his friend, who pointed out the offensive passages, which he immediately altered; and attended the committee next morning with six copies printed, which six alone he acknowledged to be his. By this trick he escaped after having been only detained thirteen days in custody of the serjeant at arms. This year he was engaged in a dispute with Mr. Thomas Gataker, and, before the expiration of the year, he lost his second wife, to his great joy, and married a third in October following. In 1655 he was indicted at Hicks’s-hall, for giving judgment upon stolen goods, but acquitted: and, in 1659, he received, from the king of Sweden, a present of a gold chain and medal, worth above 50l. on account of his having mentioned that monarch with great respect in his almanacks of 1657 and 1658.
ns, who were come thither with prince Ragotski. At the same time he insinuated himself much into the king of Sweden’s favour; and the city reverting again to the dominion
In 1652 he married the daughter of a zealous Socinian, and was appointed ro:idjntor to John Ciachovuis, minister of Siedlieski; and the synod of Czarcow having admitted him into the ministry, he was appointed pastor of that tliurch; but, on the Swedish invasion in 1655, he retired to Cracow with his family, where he employed himself in offices of devotion with the Hungarian Unitarians, who were come thither with prince Ragotski. At the same time he insinuated himself much into the king of Sweden’s favour; and the city reverting again to the dominion of Poland in 1657, he followed the Swedish garrison, with a view to obtain of that prinpe, that the Unitarians, who had put themselves under his protection, might be comprehended in the general amnesty, by the treaty of peace with Poland. On his arrival at Wolgast in October this year, he was well received by the Swedish monarch, and conversed intimately upon his religion with some Swedish lords; but when the peace was concluded at Oliva, he was disappointed in his object, and the Unitarians were excepted out of the general amnesty granted to all other dissenters from popery.
e in 8vo, containing, “The Turkish policy, &c. a Discourse upon Machiavel, &c. Observations upon the King of Sweden’s descent into Germany a Discourse upon Piso and Vindex,
, an English writer of considerable abilities, was born about 1589. He was descended
from an ancient family, who had been long seated at Chicksand, near Shefford, in Bedfordshire, where his grandfather, and father, sir John Osborne, were men of fortune,
and, according to Wood, puritans, who gave him what
education he had at home, but never sent him to either
school or university. This he appears to have afterwards
much regretted, on comparing the advantages of public
and private education. As soon, however, as he was of
age, he commenced the life of a courtier, and being taken
into the service of the Pembroke family, became master of
the horse to William earl of Pembroke. Upon the breaking
out of the civil wars, he sided with the parliament, but not
in all their measures, nor all their principles; yet they
conferred some public employments upon him; and, having
married a sister of one of Oliver’s colonels, he was enabled
to procure his son John a fellowship in All-souls’ college,
Oxford, by the favour of the parliamentary visitors of that
university, in 1648. After this he resided there himself,
purposely to superintend his education; and also to print
some books of his own composition. Accordingly, among
others, he published there his “Advice to a Son,
” the first
part in godly ministers,
” as Wood calls them,
they drew up a complaint against the said books, as instilling atheistical principles into the minds of the youth,
and proposed to have them publicly burnt. Although this
sentence was not carried into execution, there appeared so
many objections to the volumes, that an order passed the
27th of July, 1658, forbidding all booksellers, or any other
persons, to sell them. But our author did not long survive this order, dykig Feb. 11, 1659, aged about seventy.
For the accusation of atheism there seems little foundation;
but many of his sentiments are otherwise objectionable,
and the quaintness of his style, and pedantry of his expression, have long ago consigned the work to oblivion. His
other publications were, 1. “A seasonable Expostulation,
with the Netherlands,
” &c. Persuasive
to mutual compliance under the present government.
”
3. “Plea for a free State compared with Monarchy.
” 4.
“The private Christian’s non ultra,
” &c. 1G56, 4to. 5.
A volume in 8vo, containing, “The Turkish policy, &c.
a Discourse upon Machiavel, &c. Observations upon the
King of Sweden’s descent into Germany a Discourse upon
Piso and Vindex, &c. a Discourse upon the greatness
and corruption of the Court of Rome another upon the
Election of Pope JLeo X. Political occasion for the defection from the Church of Rome a Discourse in vindication
of Martin Luther.
” Besides these were published, 1.
“Historical Memoirs on the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth
and King James.
” 2. “A Miscellany of sundry Essays,
&c. together with political deductions from the History
of the Earl of Essex,
” c. Other pieces have been ascribed to him on doubtful authority. A collection of his
works was published in 1689, 8vo and again, 1722, in 2
vols. 12mo.
n June 1777, the learned professor read before the academy of Petersburgh, in a meeting at which the king of Sweden was present, a dissertation on the formation of mountains,
In the same year in which Dr. Pallas printed his “Elenchus Zoophytorum,
” he also published a treatise under the
title of “Miscellanea Zoologica quibus novae imprimis atque obscurae animalium species describuntur, et observationibus iconibusque illustrantur.
” This work is in a great
measure incorporated into a subsequent publication made
the next year on his return to Berlin, entitled “Spicilegia
Zoologica,
” and was continued in numbers, or fasciculi,
till Russia Illustrata.
” In Novae species quadrupedum e Gliriumordine,
”
describing numbers of the rat genus and their anatomy.
In 1781 he brought out “Enumeratio plantarum quae in
horto Procopii & Demidof Moscua vigent,
” or catalogue of
the plants in M Demidofs gardens at Moscow. His newnorthern collections on various subjects in geography, natural history, and agriculture, came forth the same year;
to which were afterwards added two more volumes.
In 1782 he put forth two fasciculi or numbers of “Icones
insectarum prsesertim Russiae Siberieeque peculiarium.
” In
Flora Russica;
”
a splendid work, executed at the empress Catharine’s expence. About this period her majesty conceived the idea
of collecting from all quarters of the globe a universal vocabulary, the superintendance whereof she committed to
our author, which necessarily for a time retarded his zoological researches. Exclusive of these separate publications, he printed in the acts of the imperial academy of
sciences, various zoological and botanical dissertations.
rn antiquities, he was in 1689 appointed professor at Upsal; in 1693, secretary and antiquary to the king of Sweden, and in 1719 counsellor to the chancery for antiquities.
, a learned Northern antiquary, was born Oct. 6, 1654, at Strengnes in Sudermania,
and was the son of Lawrence Frederic Peringer, professor
of rhetoric and poetry. Having acquired great skill in
northern antiquities, he was in 1689 appointed professor
at Upsal; in 1693, secretary and antiquary to the king of
Sweden, and in 1719 counsellor to the chancery for antiquities. When appointed secretary to the king he changed
his name from Peringer to Peringskiold. He died March
24, 1720. His principal works, which are very much valued by Swedish historians and antiquaries, are, 1. “Snarronis Sturlonidac Hist, regum Septentrionalium,
” with
two translations, Historia Wilkinensium,
Theodorici Veronensis, ac Niflungorum,
” c. copied from
an ancient Scandinavian ms. with a translation, 1715, fol.
3. M Hist. Hialmari regis,“from a Runic ms. this is inserted in Hickes’s Thesaurus, 4.
” Monumenta SuecoGothica," 2 vols. fol. 1710—1719, &c. &c.
In the mean time, Petersburgh had risen into a large and powerful city; and the king of Sweden having been obliged to fly from Pultowa to Bender
In the mean time, Petersburgh had risen into a large and powerful city; and the king of Sweden having been obliged to fly from Pultowa to Bender in the Turkish dominions for refuge, the czar availed himself of his absence, by making a complete conquest of Livonia and Ingria to which he added Finland, anda part of Pomerania. The Turks having broken a truce they had concluded with him, he was inclosed by their army in 1712, on the banks of the Pruth; and that in so disadvantageous a situation, that he seemed to be inevitably lost. While the army was under great consternation, the czarina Catherine projected an expedient for its deliverance. She sent to negociate with the grand vizir, and let him privately know, that a great sum of money was at his service: he was tempted, and the czar’s prudence completed the work. To perpetuate the memory of this event, he caused the czarina to institute the order of St. Catherine, of which she was declared sovereign, and into which none but women were to be admitted. The king of Sweden having at last quitted the Turkish dominions, in 1713, the czar found this formidable enemy advancing to oppose him: but he was now strengthened by an alliance with the king of Denmark. He carried the war into the duchy of Holstein, which was is alliance with the Swedes; and, in 1714, obtained over them a victory at sea, near the coasts of Finland, upon which he entered triumphantly with his fleet into the haven of Petersburgh.
loyment fit for him. One of his brothers, named Isaiah, who had been some time in the service of the king of Sweden, and was afterwards his chancellor in the duchies
, an eminent German civilian and historian, was born in 1631 at Flaeh, a little village near Chemnitz, in Upper Saxony, of which village his father, the descendant of a Lutheran family, Elias Puffendorf, was minister. He discovered an early propensity to letters, when at the provincial school at Grimm, and at a proper age was sent to Leipsic, where he was supported by the generosity of a Saxon nobleman, who was pleased with his promising talents, his father’s circumstances not being equal to the expence. His fajher designed him for the ministry, and directed him to apply himself to divinity; but his inclination led his thoughts to the public law, which, in Germany, consists of the knowledge of the rights of the empire over the states and princes of which it is composed, and of those of the princes and states with respect to each other. He considered this study as a proper method of advancing in some of the courts of Germany, where the. several princes who compose the Germanic body, were accustomed to have no other ministers of state than men of learning, whom they styled counsellors, and whose principal study was the public law of Germany. As these posts were not venal, and no other recommendation necessary to obtain them but real and distinguished merit, Puffendorf resolved to qualify himself for the honours to which he aspired. After he had resided some time at Leipsic, he left that city, and went to Jena, where he joined mathematics and the Cartesian philosophy to the study of the law. He returned to Leipsic in 1658, with a view of seeking an employment fit for him. One of his brothers, named Isaiah, who had been some time in the service of the king of Sweden, and was afterwards his chancellor in the duchies of Bremen and Werden, then wrote to him, and advised him not to fix in his own country, but after his example to seek his fortune elsewhere. In compliance with this advice, he accepted the place of governor to the son of Mr. Coyet, a Swedish nobleman, who was then ambassador from the king of Sweden at the court of Denmark. For this purpose he went to Copenhagen, but the war being renewed some time after between Denmark and Sweden, he was seized with the whole family of the ambassador, who himself escaped in consequence of having a few days before taken a tour into Sweden.
ction of the electoral prince, his son. Puffendorf remained at Heidelberg till 1670, when Charles XL king of Sweden, having founded an university at Lunden, sent for
During his confinement, which lasted eight months, as
he had no books, and was allowed to see no person, he
amused himself by meditating upon what he had read in
Grotius’s treatise “De jure belli & pacis,
” and in the political writings of Hobbes. He drew up a short system of
what he thought best in them he turned and developed
the subject in his own way he treated of points which
had not been touched by those authors and he added much
that was new. In all this he appears to have had no other
object than to divert himself in his solitude; but two years
after, shewing his work to a friend in Holland, where he
then was, he was advised to review and publish it. It appeared accordingly at the Hague in 1660, under the title
of “Elementorum Jurisprudent Universalis libri duo;
”
and gave rise to his more celebrated work “De jure naturae &^gentium.
” The elector Palatine, Charles Louis,
to whom he had dedicated the “Elements,
” not only wrote
him immediately a letter of thanks, but invited him to the
university of Heidelberg, which he was desirous of restoring to its former lustre and founded there, in his favour,
a professorship of the law of nature and nations which
was the first of that kind in Germany, though many have
since been established in imitation of it. The elector engaged him also to allot some portion of his time to the instruction of the electoral prince, his son. Puffendorf remained at Heidelberg till 1670, when Charles XL king of
Sweden, having founded an university at Lunden, sent
for him to be professor there and thither, to the great
concern of the elector Palatine, he went the same year,
and was installed professor of the law of nature and nations.
His reputation greatly increased after that time, both by
the fame and success of his lectures, and by the many
valuable works that he published. Some years after, the
king of Sweden sent for him to Stockholm, and made him
his historiographer, and one of his counsellors. In 1688,
the elector of Brandenberg obtained the consent of the
king of Sweden for Puffendorf to go to Berlin, in order to
write the history of the elector William the Great; and
granted him the same titles of historiographer and privycounsellor, which he had in Sweden, with a considerable
pension. The king of Sweden also continued to give him
marks of his favour, and made him a baron in 1694. But
he did not long enjoy the title for he died the same year,
of a mortification in one of his’toes, occasioned by cutting
the nail. He was as much distinguished by the purity of
his morals, and the rectitude of his conduct, as by the
superiority of his talents, and the celebrity of his numerous
writings.
ce he passed to Denmark, and afterwards to Sweden. Having done some singular piece of service to the king of Sweden, this monarch, who perceived that he was travelling
He had not been long at Paris, before he set out to visit Flanders and Holland, whence he passed to Denmark, and afterwards to Sweden. Having done some singular piece of service to the king of Sweden, this monarch, who perceived that he was travelling out of pure curiosity, told him, that Lapland contained many things well worthy of observation; and ordered his treasurer to accommodate him with whatever he wanted, if he chose to proceed thither. Regnard embarked for Stockholm, with two other gentlemen that had accompanied him from France; and went as far as Torneo, a city at the bottom of the Bothnic Gulph. He went up the river Torneo, whose source is not far from the Northern cape; and at length penetrated to the Icy sea. Here, not being able to go farther, he and his companions engraved these four lines upon a rock:
by the cardinal with that view, was a treaty he concluded, January 23, 1631, with Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, for currying the war into the heart of Germany. He
In 1619 the king recalled Richelieu, and sent him into
Angouleme, where he persuaded the queen to a reconciliation, which was concluded in 1620; and in consequence
of this treaty, the duke de Luynes obtained a cardinal’s
hat for him from pope Gregory XV. Richelieu, continuing his services after the duke’s decease, was admitted, in
1624, into the council, through the interest of the queen,
and almost against the will of the king, who, devout and
scrupulous, considered him as a knave, because he had
been informed of his gallantries. It is even said that he
was insolent enough to aspire to queen Anne of Austria,
and that the railleries to which this subjected him were the
cause of his subsequent aversion to her. Cardinal Richelieu was afterwards appointed prime minister, head of the
councils, high steward, chief, and superintendant-generai
of the French trade and navigation. He preserved the
Isle of Rhe in 1627, and undertook the siege of Rochelle
against the protestants the same year. He completed the
conquest of Rochelle in October 1628, in spite of the
king of Spain, who had withdrawn his forces, of the king
of England, who could not relieve it, and of the French
king, who grew daily more weary of the undertaking, by
means of that famous mole, executed by his orders, but
planned by Lewis Metezeau and John Tiriot. The capture of Rochelle proved a mortal blow to the protestants,
but in France was reckoned the most glorious and beneficial circumstance of cardinal Richelieu’s administration.
He also attended his majesty to the relief of the duke of
Mantua in 1629, raised the siege of Casal, and, at his return, compelled the protestants to accept the treaty of
peace which had been concluded at Alais, and completed
the ruin of their party. Six months after this, cardinal
Richelieu, having procured himself to be appointed lieutenant-general of the army beyond the mountains, took Pignerol, relieved Casal a second time, which was besieged
by the marquis Spinola, defeated general Doria, by means
of the duke de Monttnorenci at Vegliana, July 10, 1630,
and made himself master of all Savoy. Louis XIII. having
returned to Lyons, in consequence of sickness, the queenmother, and most of the nobility, took advantage of this
circumstance to form plots against Richelieu, and speak
ill of his conduct to the king, which they did with so much
success, that Louis promised the queen to discard him.
The cardinal’s ruin now seemed inevitable, and he was
actually preparing to set out for Havre-de Grace, which
he had chosen for his retreat, when cardinal de la Valette,
knowing that the queen had not followed her son to Versailles, advised him first to see his majesty. In this interview, he immediately cleared himself from all the accusations of his enemies, justified his conduct, displayed the
advantages and necessity of his administration, and wrought
so forcibly upon the king’s mind by his reasoning, that,
instead of being discarded, he became from that moment
more powerful than ever. He inflicted the same punishments upon his enemies which they had advised for him;
and this day, so fortunate for Richelieu, was called “The
Day of Dupes.
” Those who had the misfortune to incur
his displeasure, certainly did not all deserve the penalties
to which he doomed them; but he knew how to make himself master of their fate, by appointing such judges to try
them as were at his disposal. That abominable method of
taking the accused from their lawful judges, had, in the
preceding century, served as a means for the families of
condemned persons to get their characters restored; after
which the French had no reason to fear its revival; but
Richelieu hesitated not to adopt it, though at the risque of
general odium, as being favourable to his designs. By
thus making himself master of the lives and fortunes of the
mal-contents, he imposed silence even on their murmurs.
This artful minister, being now secure of his lasting ascendancy over the king, and having already accomplished
one of the two great objects which he had proposed to
himself from the beginning of his administration, which
were, the destruction of the protestants, and the humbling
the too great power of the house of Austria, began now
to contrive means for executing this second undertaking.
The principal and most efficacious method employed by
the cardinal with that view, was a treaty he concluded,
January 23, 1631, with Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, for currying the war into the heart of Germany. He
also formed a league with the duke of Bavaria, secured to
himself Lorrain, raised part of the German princes against
the emperor, treated with Holland to continue the war
wirh Spain, favoured the Catalonians and Portuguese
when they shook off the Spanish yoke, and, in short,
made use of so many measures and stratagems, that he
completely accomplished his design. Cardinal Richelieu
was carrying on the war with success, and meditating on
that glorious peace, which was not concluded till 1648,
when h died in his palace at Paris, worn out by his long
toils, December 4,“1642, aged fifty-eight. He was buried
at the Sorbonne, where his mausoleum (the celebrated Girardon’s master-piece) may be seen. He is considered
as one of the most complete statesmen, and ablest politicians, that France ever had. Amidst all the anxieties
which the fear of his enemies must necessarily occasion,
he formed the most extensive and complicated plans, and
executed them with great superiority of genius. It was
cardinal Richelieu who established the throne, while yet
shaken by the protestant factions, and the power of the
House of Austria, and made the royal authority completely
absolute, and independent, by the extinction of the petty
tyrants who wasted the kingdom. In the mean time he
omitted nothing which could contribute to the glory of
France. He promoted arts and sciences; founded the
botanical garden at Paris called the king’s garden; also
the French academy, and the royal printing-office; built
the palace since called the Palais Royal, and gave it to his
majesty; rebuilt the Sorbonne (of which he was provisor)
in a style of kingly magnificence; and prepared for all the
splendour of Louis the Fourteenth’s reign. His enemies,
says the abbe L'Atocat, unable to deny his great talents,
have reproached him with great faults; irregularity of conduct, unbounded ambition, universal despotism, from which
even the king, his master, did not escape; for he left
him, as they express it, only the power of curing the evil;
a vanity and ostentation which exceeded the dignity of the
throne itself, where all was simplicity and negligence,
while the cardinal’s court exhibited nothing but pomp and
splendour; unexampled ingratitude to his benefactress,
queen Mary de Medicis, whom he inhumanly compelled
to end her da*ys in Germany, in obscurity and indigence;
and, finally, his revengeful temper, which occasioned so
many cruel executions; as those of Chalais, Grandier, the
marechal de Marillac, M. de Montmorenci, Cinqmars, M.
de Thou, &c. Even the queen, for having written to the
duchess de Chevreuse, Richelieu’s enemy, and a fugitive,
saw all her papers seized, and was examined before the
chancellor Sequier. Mad. de la Fayette, mad. de Hautefort, and father Caussin, the king’s confessors, were all
disgraced in consequence of having offended this despotic
minister. But, says his apologist, there are many points
to be considered with respect to these accusations: it appears certain, from a thousand passages in the life of this
celebrated cardinal, that he was naturally very grateful,
and never proceeded to punishment but when he thought
state affairs required it; for which reason, when in his last
sickness, his confessor asked
” if he forgave his enemies?“he replied,
” I never had any but those of the state.“At
the head of his
” Political Testament“may be seen his
justification of himself on the subject of these bloody executions, with which he has been so much reproached. It
is equally certain, that he never oppressed the people by
taxes or exorbitant subsidies, notwithstanding the long
wars he had to carry on; and that, if he was severe in
punishing crimes, he knew how to distinguish merit, and
reward it generously. He bestowed the highest ecclesiastical dignities on such bishops and doctors as he knew to
be men of virtue and learning; placed able and experienced generals at the head of the armies, and entrusted public business with wise, punctual, and intelligent men. It
was this minister who established a navy. His vigilance
extended through every part of the government; and,
notwithstanding the cabals, plots, and factions, which were
incessantly forming against him during the whole course of
his administration (and which must have employed great part of his time) he left sufficient sums behind him to carry
on the war with glory; and France was in a more powerful
and flourishing state at the time of his decease than when
Louis XIV. died. After stating these facts, Richelieu’s
enemies areinvited to determine whether France would have
derived more advantage from being governed by Mary de
Medicis, Gaston of Orleans, &c. than by this cardinal
The estate of Richelieu was made a dukedom in his favour,
in 1631, and he received other honours and preferments.
Besides the
” Method of Controversy“he wrote, 2.
” The
principal points of the Catholic Faith defended, against
the writing addressed to the king by the ministers of Charenton.“3.
” The most easy and certain Method of converting those who are separated from the Church.“These
pieces are written with force and vivacity. He wrote also,
” A Catechism,“in which he lays down the doctrine of
the church, in a clear and concise manner and a treatise
of piety, called,
” The Perfection of a Christian.“These
are his theological works; and they have been often
printed: but that which is most read, and most worthy of
being read, is his
” Political Testament," the authenticity
of which has been doubted by some French writers, particularly Voltaire. The cardinal also had the ambition to
be thought a dramatic poet; and, says lord Chesterfield,
while he absolutely governed both his king and country,
and was, in a great degree, the arbiter of the fate of all
Europe, he was more jealous of the great reputation of
Corneille, than of the power of Spain; and more flattered
with being thought (what he was not) the best poet, than
with being thought (what he certainly was) the greatest
statesman in Europe; and affairs stood still, while he was
concerting the criticism upon the Cid.
reeable Ugliness or, the triumph of the graces,“&c. 1754, 12mo. 4.” The History of Gustavus Ericson, king of Sweden, with an introductory history of Sweden, from the
The following is given on the same authority, as an im<perfect list of Mrs. Scott’s works, all published at London,
without her name, and one with a fictitious name, 1. “The
History of Cornelia/' a novel, 1750, 12mo. 2.
” A Journey through every stage of Life,“1754, 2 vols. 12mo. 3.
” Agreeable Ugliness or, the triumph of the graces,“&c.
1754, 12mo. 4.
” The History of Gustavus Ericson, king
of Sweden, with an introductory history of Sweden, from
the middle of the twelfth century. By Henry Augustus
Raymond, esq.“1761, 8vo. 5.
” The History of Mecklenburgh,“1762, 8vo. 6.
” A Description of Millenium
Hall,“second edition, 1764, 12mo. 7.
” The History of
sir George Ellison,“1776, 2 vols. 12mo. 8.
” The test of
Filial Duty,“1772, 2 vols. 12mo. 9.
” Life of Theodore
Agrippa D'Aubigne," 1772, 8vo.
, an Islandic author, of a noble and ancient family, was minister of state to one king of Sweden, and three kings of Norway. Being obliged by an insurrection
, an Islandic author, of a
noble and ancient family, was minister of state to one king
of Sweden, and three kings of Norway. Being obliged
by an insurrection to take refuge in Iceland, of which he
was governor, he remained there till 1241, when his enemy
Gyssums drove him from his castle, and put him to death.
He wrote, 1. “Chromcim Regum Norwegorum,
” an useful work for the history of that country. 2. “Edda Islandica,
” which is a history of the Islandic philosophy. (See Saemumd). This has been translated by M. Mallet, and
prefixed to his history of Denmark.
ook Leipsic; but was defeated three days after, Sept. 17, the same year, 1631, by Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. Having rallied his forces he repulsed Horn, chief
, son of Martin Tzerclais, hereditary sénéchal of the county of Namur, was descended from an ancient and illustrious family, which was one of the seven patrician families of Brussels. It is said that he was originally a Jesuit; but, going into the army, he commanded the Bavarian troops under the duke Maximilian. He had a great share in the victory gained at Prague, November 8, 1620, over the unfortunate elector palatine Frederic V. and afterwards defeated successively the armies of count Mansfeldt, the duke of Brunswick, and the margrave of Baden Dourlach. At the battle of Lutter in Luneuburg, 1626, he conquered the Danish army, which their king commanded in person. In 1629, he was sent to Lubeck, as plenipotentiary for concluding a peace with Denmark, had the sole command of the imperial forces the following year, instead of Walstein, and took the city of Magdeburg by storm, in 1631, where his soldiers committed the most horrid cruelties, barbarities, and ravages during three days. This unhappy city, after having been given up to pillage, was destroyed by fire, and almost all the inhabitants,.men, women, and children, murdered in the most inhuman manner; a barbarous massacre, which will for ever tarnish the glory of this celebrated general. He then invaded Saxony, and took Leipsic; but was defeated three days after, Sept. 17, the same year, 1631, by Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. Having rallied his forces he repulsed Horn, chief of the protestant party General Tilly was at length wounded by a cannon ball while defending the passage of Lech against the Swedes, and died of his wound, April 30, 1632. Tilly is said to have been remarkable for two virtues, seldom found in his profession, the strictest chastity and temperance. He was likewise very popular with his troops, to whom he was always kind and liberal, and at last bequeathed sixty thousand crowns to the old regiments which had served under him.
ce with Christian IV. king of Denmark; and to conclude peace and confederacy with Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. He returned to England in Nov. 1632, and in May of
, an English statesman, whose family name had for some generations been Fane, but originally Vane, to which he restored it, was born Feb. 18, 1589.
The family is said to have been at first of the diocese of
Durham, but were now settled in Kent. (See Collins, art. Darlington). In 16 11 he had the honour of knighthood
conferred upon him by king James I. after which he improved himself by travel, and the acquisition of foreign languages. On his return he was elected member of parliament for Carlisle, in which his abilities were conspicuous.
Such also was his attachment to the royal family, that king
James made him cofferer to his son Charles, prince of
Wales, on the establishment of his household, and he was
continued in the same office by the prince when Charles I.
He was also sent by the new king to notify to the States of
Holland the death of his royal father, and made one of
the privy-council. In Sept. 1631 he was appointed ambassador extraordinary, to renew the treaty of friendship
and alliance with Christian IV. king of Denmark; and to
conclude peace and confederacy with Gustavus Adolphus,
king of Sweden. He returned to England in Nov. 1632,
and in May of the following year, entertained Charles I.
in a sumptuous manner, at Raby-castle, on his way to
Scotland to be crowned; as he did again, April 30, 1639,
in his majesty’s expedition to Scotland, when sir Henry
commanded a regiment of 1099 men. In 1639 he was
made treasurer of the household, and next year, principal
secretary of state in the room of sir John Coke. Hitherto
he had enjoyed the confidence of the king, and had always
been employed in the most important public affairs. But
when he appeared in the prosecution against the earl of
Strafford, his motives to which appear to have been of a
personal kind, the king was so offended, that he removed
him from his places of treasurer of his household, and also
from being secretary of state, though, in the patent granting that office to him, he was to hold it during life. The
parliament therefore made this one of their pleas for
taking up arms against the king. In their declaration, they
avowed, “it was only for the defence of the king’s person,
and the religion, liberties, and laws of the kingdom, and
for those, who for their sakes, and for those ends, had observed their orders. That, by the instigation of evil counsellors, the king had raised an army of papists, by which
he intended to awe and destroy the parliament, &c.; and
the putting out the earl of Northumberland, sir Henry
Vane, and others, &c. from their several places and employments, were sufficient and ample evidences thereof.
”
the territories just given him; and the’ protest* tants, being alarmed, called in Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, to their assistance. This step so intimidated the
, duke of Fridland, a celebrated German commander, was born in 1584, and descended of a noble and ancient Bohemian family. His education appears to have been irregular. At first he had no inclination for study, but later in life he applied himself to astronomy and politics, at Padua. After his return to his own country, he married, but being soon left a widower, he went to the siege of Gradisca, in Friuli, and offered his services to the archduke Ferdinand, against the Venetians. When the troubles broke out in Bohemia, he offered himself to the emperor, with an army of thirty thousand men, on condition of being their general. The emperor having consented, Walstein marched at the head of this army, and reduced the diocese of Halberstadt and the bishopric of Halle he ravaged also the territories of Magdeburgh and Anhalt; defeated Mansfeldt in two battles retook all Silesia; vanquished the marquis d‘Urlach conquered the archbishopric of Bremen and Holsace, and made himself master of all the country between the ocean, the Baltic sea, and the Elbe; leaving only Gluckatadt to the king of Denmark, whom he also drove from Pomerania, where he had made a descent. After the treaty of Lubec, the emperor gave him the titles and spoils of the duke of Mecklenburgh, who had rebelled; but Walstein published an edict about that time, ordering the restitution of ecclesiastical property in the territories just given him; and the’ protest* tants, being alarmed, called in Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, to their assistance. This step so intimidated the emperor, that he permitted Walstein to be removed, and sent only Tilly against Gustavus. Tilly having been defeated at Leipsic by the Swedes, the conqueror rushed into Germany like a torrent, which obliged the emperor to recall Walstein, whom he appointed generalissimo. Walstein accordingly entered the lists with the Swedish monarch; defeated him, and was defeated in his turn; took from him almost the whole of Bohemia, by the capture of Prague, and fought with various success till the bloody battle of Lutzen, November 16, 1632, which Walstein lost, though Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the commencement of the action. Walstein, notwithstanding this defeat, finding himself delivered from so formidable a prince, was suspected of aiming at independence; and these suspicions being increased by his refusing to submit to the court of Vienna in any of his enterprises, the emperor degraded him, and gave the command to Galas. Walstein, alarmed at this, made the officers of his army take an oath of fidelity to him at Pilsen, January 12, 1634, and retired to Egra, a strong city on the frontiers of Bohemia and Saxony; but Gordon, a Scotchman, lieutenant-colonel and governor of Egra, nattered by the hopes of great preferment, conspired against him with Butler, an Irishman, to whom Walstein had given a regiment of dragoons, and Lasci, a Scotchroan, captain of his guards. These three, who are said to have been instigated to this crime by the court of Vienna, murdered him in his chamber, February 15, 1634. He was, at that time, fifty years old. The family of Walstein is distinguished in Germany, and has produced several other great men.
of ten shillings; thirty pounds, which was paid hirn by Mr. Sowters of Exeter for a portrait of the king of Sweden (which was probably of much larger dimensions), has
, an eminent engraver, was born in
London in 1645, and became the disciple of David Loggan, for whom he drew and engraved many architectural
views. He applied himself mostly to the drawing of portraits, in black lead upon vellum; and his success in taking
likenesses procured him much applause. His drawings are
said to have been much superior to his prints. He drew
the portraits of sir Godfrey Kneller and his brother, and
sir Godfrey thought so well of them, that he painted
White’s portrait in return. White’s portrait of sir Godfrey
is in Sandrart’s Lives of the painters. In 1674, which is
two years before Burghers was employed on the “Oxford
Almanack,
” White produced the first of that series. For
the generality of his portraits for books, which are, however, generally disfigured by the broad borders that were
then the fashion, he received at the rate of four pounds
each, with the occasional addition of ten shillings; thirty
pounds, which was paid hirn by Mr. Sowters of Exeter for a
portrait of the king of Sweden (which was probably of much larger dimensions), has been spoken of as an extraordinary
price. So great, however, is,the number of his engravings,
that in the course of forty years he saved from four to five
thousand pounds; and yet, say his biographers, by some
misfortune or sudden extravagance, he died in indigent
circumstances at his house in Bloomsbury in 1704.
r of the academy of sciences at St. Petersburgh, and, in 1733, was admitted into “that at Paris. The king of Sweden also declared him one of the council of regency: the
Wolfe retired now to Cassel, where he obtained the
professorship of mathematics and philosophy in the university of Marbourg, with the title of counsellor to the court
^f the landgrave of Hesse, to which a profitable pension
was annexed. Here he reassumed his labours with redoubled ardour; and it was in this retreat that he published
the best parts of his numerous works. In 1725 he was declared an honorary professor of the academy of sciences at
St. Petersburgh, and, in 1733, was admitted into “that at
Paris. The king of Sweden also declared him one of the
council of regency: the pleasing situation of his new
abode, and the multitude of honours which he had received,
were too alluring to permit him to accept of many advantageous offers; amongst which was the post of president
6f the academy at St. Petersburgh. The king of Prussia,
who was now recovered from the prejudices he had been
made to conceive against Wolfe, wished to re-establish
him in the university of Hall in 1733, and made another
attempt to effect it in 173.9. Wolfe met these advances
with all that respectful deference which became him, but
took the liberty to insinuate, that he did not then believe
it right for him to comply. At last, however, he submitted; and the prince offered him, in 1741, an employment
which threw every objection that he could make aside.
Wolfe, still mindful of his benefactors, took a gracious
leave of the king of Sweden; and returned to Hall, invested with the characters of privy-counsellor, vice-chancellor,
” and professor of the law of nature and of nations.
After the death of Ludwig, the king raised him to the dignity
of chancellor of the university, and the elector of Bavaria
created him a baron of the empire (whilst he was exercising the vicarship of it), from his own free unbiassed inclination.