the public obfervance of it has been always kept up wherever he has held the command.

When the victory was decided, which has immortalized his name, his Lordfhip ordered the crew of his fhip to be called together, and, at their head, upon his bended knees, in the prefence of the Dutch Admiral, who was greatly affected with the scene, he folemnly and pathetically offered up praife to the GOD OF BATTLES.

Let it be added here, that his demeanor, when all eyes were upon him, in the cathedral of St. Paul's, on the day of general thanksgiving, was fo humble, modest, and devout, as greatly to increase that admiration which his fervices had procured him.

In fhort, Lord Duncan is one more inftance of the truth of the affertion, that piety and courage ought to be infeparably allied; and that the latter quality, without the former, lofes its principal virtue.

This gallant veteran has retired to his native country to enjoy the otium cum dignitate; but, should the fervice of his country again require his affiftance, we are perfuaded that neither age nor infirmity would prevent him from devoting his life once more to his country.

DR. SAMUEL HORSLEY.

LORD BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.

[BY A FRIEND.]

OF all the right reverend members of the epifcopal bench, no one has obtained a greater fhare of celebrity, than this prelate.

We

We are well aware, that a Bishop who has diftinguished himself in political, as well as theological, controverfy, will be regarded by different men with very oppofite fentiments. Our aim, however, has no exclufive reference to either of these objects; and therefore we shall study to give a faithful delineation of the character before us, without the flighteft attention to the spirit of party, whether that party be of a religious or political complexion.

Dr. Samuel Horfley is the eldeft of the three fons of the Rev. Mr. Horfley, formerly minifter of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. The grandfather of the Bishop was bred a diffenting divine, but he afterwards thought proper to conform to the establishment.

His Lordship was born about the year 1737, and received the ground-work of his education at Weftminster school, whence he was removed to the Uni verfity of Cambridge.

He applied himfelf, while there, chiefly to the fiudy of mathematics; and not content with carefully reading the writings of the acuteft of the moderns in that line, he went back to the profoundeft of the ancients, and made himself thoroughly mafter of the moft intricate reafonings.

Having taken his degree of Master of Arts, he accepted an invitation to go to Oxford, as private tutor to the prefent Earl of Aylesford. From that Univerfity he received a degree of Doctor of Laws, and in 1769 printed at the Clarendon prefs, his edition of the Inclinations of Apollonius, a geometrical work of confiderable value, though exceedingly ab

ftrufe.

ftrufe. Previously to his time, mathematical learn ing had been in little repute at Oxford; but fince that period it has grown into fashion there, so that this University can hardly be faid to fall fhort of her fifter, in that great branch of human knowledge.

Here our author first conceived the design of publifhing a complete edition of the works of Sir Ifaac Newton; to which end he began to collect the neceffary materials.

On leaving the University, Dr. Horsley came to London, where he was elected fellow of the Royal Society, of which he was alfo chofen fecretary in 1773. He continued to ferve that office with the greatest credit to himself, as well as benefit to the scientific world, till the refignation of the late prefident, Sir John Pringle, when finding that the connoiffeurs and virtuofi were gaining ground, he retired.

Soon after his fettling in the metropolis, Dr. Horfley was noticed by that obferving and excellent prelate, Bishop Lowth, who invited him to become his domestic chaplain. It is fomewhat remarkable that, at this time, he was fufpected of not being quite orthodox in his theological fentiments, and those who pretended to smell herefy in him, wondered at Bishop Lowth's taking him under his patronage. The only grounds for this fufpicion, were his being a profound mathematician, and his clofe intimacy with Mr. Maty and other men of fcience, who were avowed Socinians.

In 1774, Bishop Lowth prefented him to the rectories of St. Mary Newington and Albury, both in

the

the county of Surrey; and in the courfe of the fame year he married a Mifs Botnam.

In 1776, he published propofals for a complete and elegant edition of the works of the immortal Newton, which appeared in 1779, in five volumes, quarto, with an excellent dedication to the King, in Latin.

It was expected that a large memoir respecting the Prince of Philofophers would have been prefixed to this edition; and confiderable difappointment was, of courfe, experienced by the public when nothing of this kind appeared. Certain it is, that the learned editor gave room for this expectation, and had actually made fome progrefs in the life. He moreover had conversed with Dr. Johnson upon the fubject, who advised him to write it in Latin, as beft suited to the dignity of the character. This biographical defideratum, however, has not yet made its appearance; and we are apprehenfive that it never will.

In 1778, when the controverfy was on foot be. tween Drs. Prieftley, Price, and others, refpecting materialism and philofophical neceffity, Dr. Horfley preached a fermon, on Good Friday, at St. Paul's Cathedral, which he afterwards publifhed. In this ingenious difcourfe he reconciles, with much force of argument, the doctrine of divine providence with the free agency of man, and combats the neceffarian hypothefis with great, and in the opinion of his friends, complete fuccefs.

About this time he was appointed Archdeacon of St. Alban's, by Bishop Lowth, who, in 1782, pre

fented

fented him to the valuable living of South Weald, in Effex.

In 1783, Dr. Prieftley publifhed his celebrated work, the "Hiftory of the Corruptions of Chriftianity." It need hardly be mentioned, that the principal defign of this was to overthrow the catholic doctrine respecting Chrift's divinity.

Great was the triumph manifefted by the unitarian party on the publication of fo elaborate an history. The outcry made by them on the occafion, naturally roufed the attention of those who adhered to the Orthodox confeffion, and Dr. Horfley feized this opportunity of fhewing not only the foundnefs of his faith, but his abilities for the most intricate branches of theological controverfy.

In the fummer of this year, he delivered to the clergy of the Archdeaconry of St. Alban's a charge, in which he exprefsly controverted the Socinian pofition-that the doctrine of the Trinity was not maintained by the Chriftian church in the first three centuries; and he not only gave a flat contradiction to Dr. Prieftley's affertion on this point, but charged him with having taken, without acknowledgment, the whole of his argument from Zwicker, and other eminent Socinians of the laft century.

This discourse, at the requeft of his reverend auditory, was printed, with an appendix, explaining and confirming the pofitions which it contained.

Dr. Priestley, whofe pen is that of a ready writer, was not to be daunted at meeting with fo formidable

an