at the latter end of Queen Anne's reign, Burnet, whose curiosity is said to have been equal to that of any woman in the kingdom, contrived to be among the guests at a dinner party, to which the prince was invited, at Marlborough house. He had previously been warned to say nothing which might disgust the illustrious visitor, whose mother, the Countess of Soissons, it is necessary to remark, had been imprisoned, at Paris, on suspicion of having been concerned in the administration of poison to certain individuals, about the year 1680. Burnet preserved an inflexible silence, until the prince, discovering his name, entered into conversation with him, and, among other questions, asked him when he had last visited Paris. The bishop answered, precipitately, that "he could not recollect the year, but it was about the time when the Countess of Soissons was imprisoned." seems," he adds, "as if he had just come from the king's closet, or from the apartments of the man whom he describes, and was telling his reader, in plain terms, what he had seen and heard." The humorous piece, entitled, Memoirs of P. P. the Parish Clerk, was composed in ridicule of the History of his own Times; a work, which, on account of its anecdotes and characters, excited considerable clamour among the Tories, and exposed his memory to much animadversion and ridicule from Swift, Pope, and Arbuthnot. His Exposition of the Thirtynine Articles, originally undertaken at the request of Queen Mary and Archbishop Tillotson, although it incurred the censure of the lower house of convocation, was honoured with the applause of Tenison, Sharpe, Stillingfleet, Patrick, Lloyd, Hall, and others, and is still esteemed a standard work on the subject of which it treats. His History Although hasty and careless in his of the Reformation, which has been composition, he has, deservedly, by his visited with much animadversion, is vigour, the variety of his knowledge, highly illustrative of the fervour, talent, and the liberality of his sentiments, and honesty of its author; whose Acacquired considerable reputation as an count of the Life and Death of the author. Horace Walpole, after stating Earl of Rochester, Dr. Johnson says, is that his very credulity is a proof of a book the critic ought to read for its his honesty, declares his style and elegance, the philosopher for its argumanner to be very interesting. "Itments, and the saint for its piety. WILLIAM WAKE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. THIS eminent prelate was born in 1657, at Blandford, in Dorsetshire. He commenced his university education at Christchurch, Oxford, where he took the degree of B. A. in 1676, and that of M. A. in 1679. It appears that his father wished him to enter into business, as a clothier; but, preferring the ministry, he was allowed to obtain ordination; and, in 1682, he visited Paris, as chaplain to the envoy extraordinary, Viscount Preston, who had been his fellow-collegian. Soon after his return to England, he was elected preacher to the society of Gray's-inn; contrary, as it appears, to the express desire of James the Second, to whom he had given offence, by his spirited Exposition of the Doctrines of the Church of England; in which, he had closely imitated the style, and exposed the sophisms, of Bossuet, the famous Bishop of Meaux. After having published some other theological pieces against the Roman catholic faith, he proceeded to the degrees of B. D. and D.D.; became one of the royal chaplains, and deputy clerk of the closet to William and Mary; and obtained a canonry of Christchurch. In 1693, he produced An English Version of the genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers; which, on its being subsequently republished, with additions, exposed him to an attack from Dr. Middleton. In 1694, he was presented to the rectory of St. James's, Westminster; and, three years afterwards, appeared his Defence of the Power of Christian Princes over Ecclesiastical Synods, with particular Respect to the Convocations of the Clergy of the Church of England. This work was speedily followed by his Vindication of the King's Supremacy, against both Popish and Fanatical Opposers; as a reward for which, perhaps, he was promoted, by the crown, in 1701, to the deanery of Exeter. His doctrines had already been vehemently attacked by Burnet, Kennett, Gibson, Atterbury, and others; in opposition to whom, he published a work, in 1703, entitled, The State of the Church and the Clergy of England considered; which, it is said, decided the contest in his favour. In 1705, he was promoted to the bishopric of Lincoln; and, being a strenuous opponent to high-church principles, warmly concurred in the prosecution and punishment of Sacheverell. A few months after the accession of George the First, he was raised to the primacy, and his views, with regard to ecclesiastical affairs, suffered an immediate and extraordinary change. He wrote and spoke against the proposed repeal of the schism act, which, previously, during its progress through the house of lords, he had warmly opposed. His first speech from the episcopal bench had been in favour of a compromise with the dissenters; but he now resisted the repeal of the conformity bill; insisted on the necessity of continuing the test and corporation acts; and, in conjunction with Lord Nottingham, brought in a bill for imposing a new test against Arian opinions. In 1717, he formed a scheme for uniting the English and Gallican churches; and entered into a secret correspondence on the subject with Dupin, De Noailles, and others, through the medium of Beauvoir, chaplain to the British ambassador, at Paris. The negotiation had proceeded so far, that a plan for the proposed union, had been read and approved of in the Sorbonne; when, the affair being made public, a clamour was raised against De Noailles and his friends, for attempting, as it was said, to bring about a coalition with heretics; and the French government, which, from temporary political motives, had appeared to encourage the design, sent the whole of Archbishop Wake's letters to the pope, who is stated to have much admired the catholic spirit and ability displayed by the writer. Soon after the failure of this, his favourite project, which exposed him to great vituperation, the primate corresponded, relatively to a proposed union between the Roman catholics and the Lutherans, with Jablonski, the Pole, whom he earnestly exhorted not to enter into any arrangement with the church of Rome, except on a footing of perfect equality; and not to sacrifice truth for a temporal advantage, or even to a desire of peace. On account of his infirmities, during the latter years of his life, the duties of the primacy were, for the most part, performed by Gibson, Bishop of London. He lingered, in a most enfeebled state, until the 24th of January, 1737; when he expired, at Lambeth palace, leaving, by his wife, Etheldred, coheiress of her father, Sir William Havel, knight, six daughters, all of whom were married at the time of his decease. He was buried within the precincts of the archiepiscopal palace, at Croydon; which, together with that at Lambeth, he is said to have repaired and improved, at an expense of £11,000. He bequeathed his valuable collection of books, manuscripts, and ancient coins, to the society of Christchurch, Oxford. Archbishop Wake is represented to have been gentle, benevolent, and conciliating; liberal in his disbursements, and munificent in his charities; powerful, but never acrimonious, as a controversialist; and a most zealous advocate for concord in the christian church. The historical fact, however, of his hostility to toleration, after he had attained the primacy, throws some doubt upon his imputed sincerity, in recommending an extensive reconciliation of theological differences. He has, indeed, been broadly accused, by his opponents, of the grossest tergiversation, particularly with regard to Arian opinions; against which he introduced a test bill, in 1721, although he had spoken of them with moderation, nearly amounting to approval, in 1712. Besides the works already mentioned, he was the author of several tracts against the doctrines of the Romish church; of a letter, addressed to a young lady in France, entitled, A Preparation for Death, which reached a fourth edition, so early as 1688; of three volumes of sermons, published after his death; and of some other theological productions. WHITE KENNETT, BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH. THIS learned prelate was born at Dover, on the 10th of August, 1660. After having acquired the rudiments of education at Eleham and Wye, he was removed to Westminster school; where, however, the progress of his studies was interrupted by an attack of the small-pox; on recovering from which, he became tutor to the sons of a country gentleman; and, in 1678, was entered of St. Edmund's hall, Oxford, under the celebrated Allam, who so approved of his exercises, as to read them before the college. His first literary employment appears to have been on the Athenæ Oxoniensis, for which he was employed, by Matthew Wood, to collect epitaphs and notices of eminent men. In 1680, he gave offence to the Whigs, by publishing A Political Letter from a Student at Oxford to a Friend in the Country; and, in the following year, aggravated them further, by producing A Tory Ballad on the Dissolution of Parliament. He took his degree of B. A. in 1682, and soon afterwards published a translation from Erasmus, entitled Wit against Wisdom; or, a Panegyric upon Folly. In 1684, he printed a Life of Chabrias; and, taking orders, became curate of Burrester. In 1685, he proceeded M. A., and was presented to the vicarage of Amersden, by Sir William Glynne; to whom, in 1686, he dedicated a translation of Pliny's panegyric upon Trajan, which was considered as an indirect eulogium on James the Second; although Kennett, at the same time, rendered himself obnoxious to the more violent partisans of that monarch, by declaiming against popery, and refusing to read the royal declaration of indulgence. While on a shooting excursion, in 1689, the front of his skull was so dreadfully fractured, by the bursting of his gun, that he was compelled to submit to the operation of trepanning, and ever afterwards wore a black patch over the part that had been thus injured. It is said, that when suffering most severely from the consequences of the accident, he calmly wrote some Latin verses, which, according to one of his biographers, were "thought, by good judges, to be no reproach to the author." In 1691, having previously become tutor and vice-principal of his college, he was chosen lecturer of St. Martin's, Oxford; and, in 1693, he obtained the rectory of Shottesbrook, in Berkshire; but still continued to reside at the university, devoting a great portion of his time to antiquarian researches, and the study of Saxon. About this time, he wrote a life of Somner, and subsequently published Parochial Antiquities, and Sir Henry Spelman's History and Fate of Sacrilege, with additional authorities. Having been admitted B. D. in 1694, he proceeded to the degree of D. D. in 1699. In 1700, he was appointed, without any solicitation on his part, minister of St. Botolph, Aldgate; in the following year, he became archdeacon of Huntingdon, and acquired great reputation among the lowchurchmen, by engaging in a dispute with Atterbury, on the rights of Convocation. In 1703, he created much clamour by a discourse on clerical privileges; and, two years after, preached a consecration sermon, which chief justice Holt said, "had more in it, to the purpose, of the legal and christian constitution of the church, than any volume of discourses." In 1706, appeared his Continuation of the History of England, from Charles the First to Queen Anne. In the following year, he was appointed a royal chaplain, and preached a funeral sermon on the first Duke of Devonshire, by which he procured the patronage of that nobleman's successor, and, at the same time, greatly exasperated his enemies, who said, that he had built a bridge to heaven for men of wit and parts, but had excluded the duller part of mankind from any chance of passing it. Through the interest of his patron, he now procured the deanery of Peterborough, as well as the rectory of St. Mary, Aldermanbury, and acquired great favour with the Whigs, who, in the early part of his career, had been the objects of his derision, by his stern opposition to Sacheverell, for which, he was denounced, by the Tories, as an enemy to government, and a traitor to the cause, which, at a former period, he had, upon conviction, espoused. Among other offensive expedients adopted by the high churchmen, to render him odious, he was depicted as Judas Iscariot, in an altar-piece, representing the last supper, at Whitechapel church, to which vast crowds were consequently attracted, until the Bishop of London properly directed that the painting should be removed. In 1713, he made a large collection of books and maps, for the purpose of preparing a History of the Propagation of Christianity in English America; and, about the same time, founded an antiquarian and historical library at Peterborough. In 1715, he published a discourse On the Witchcraft of the Rebellion; and, although his conduct and doctrines were, it is said, in some respects, offensive to the new government, he was promoted, in 1718, to the bishopric of Peterborough, which he held during the remainder of his life. He died, at his house in St. James's street, on the 19th of December, 1728. Besides his literary labours already mentioned, he partly edited a collection of English historians, and published A Register and Chronicle, Ecclesiastical and Civil. The Marquess of Lansdowne purchased the whole of his valuable manuscripts, which were, eventually, deposited in the British Museum. Bishop Kennett is described as having been courteous, bountiful, and communicative. His application was intense, his judgment solid, his style easy, and his elocution impressive. As a prelate, his conduct appears to have been exemplary; but, before his elevation to the episcopal bench, he certainly, on some occasions, displayed more zeal as a partisan, than dignity as a divine. FRANCIS ATTERBURY, BISHOP OF ROCHESTER. FRANCIS, son of Lewis Atterbury, a time-serving divine, was born at Milton-Keynes, near Newport Pagnel, in 1662. After having greatly distinguished himself at Westminster school, he was elected to a studentship, at Christchurch, Oxford, where he soon became conspicuous for classical attainments and poetical abilities. In 1684, he took the degree of B. A.; and, in 1687, that of M. A. During the latter year, he published his first work, entitled, Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther, &c.; and it is suspected that, about the same time, he assisted his pupil, Boyle, in the controversy with Bentley, relative to the Epistles of Phalaris. Disgusted with a college life, and feeling himself, as he stated, "made for another scene, and another sort of conversation," he adopted the advice of his worldly-minded father, (who had advised him to form a matrimonial alliance, which might better his prospects,) and married a relative of the Duke of Leeds, named Osborne, who possessed a fortune of £7,000. In 1691, he entered into holy orders; and, two years afterwards, became chaplain in ordinary to the king and queen, preacher at Bridewell, and lecturer at St. Bride's. The spirit and elegance of his discourses soon rendered him popular; while the tendency of his opinions to high-church doctrines, exposed him to the attacks of Hoadly and others, with whom he willingly entered into a controversy. In 1700, he commenced a dispute with Dr. Wake, on the rights, powers, and privileges of convocations, in which he supported the principles of his ecclesiastical party, with such zeal and dexterity, although with little Christian charity or candour, that, at its conclusion, four years afterwards, he received the solemn thanks of the lower house of convocation, and the degree of D. D.; although he was not then of sufficient standing in the university to have obtained it in the regular course. On the accession of Queen Anne, he became chaplain in ordinary to her majesty; and, two years afterwards, Dean of Carlisle. In 1705, appeared a pamphlet, entitled, The Christian Religion, as professed by a Daughter of the Church of England; of which he was suspected, and accused by Lord Stanhope, of being the author. In 1707, he was made a canon of Exeter cathedral; and, in 1709, preacher at the Rolls chapel. He engaged in another controversy with Hoadly, on the doctrine of passive obedience; and aided materially in the defence of Sacheverell, for whom he is stated to have become bail. At this time, he was prolocutor to the lower house of convocation; and, as it is alleged, wrote, and privately circulated, a work, which was deemed too grossly violent to be presented to the queen, entitled, A Representation of the present State of Religion. In 1712, he was made Dean of Christchurch; and, in the following year, by the recommendation of Lord Oxford, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster. On the death of Queen Anne, it is asserted that he offered, with a sufficient guard, to proclaim the Pretender in full canonicals. George the First, who was, doubtless, aware of his political sentiments, treated him with marked coolness; and Atterbury evinced his disaffection towards the new monarch, by refusing to sign the loyal declaration of the bishops, during the rebellion, in 1715; and suspended a clergyman in his diocese, (Gibbin, curate of Gravesend,) for allowing the performance of divine service in his church to the Dutch troops, who had been brought over to act against the insurgents. At length, he engaged in a correspondence with the Pretender's friends, for which he was committed to the Tower, in August, 1722, and, in the following March, a bill of pains and penalties was brought forward against him. He defended himself with great eloquence, but contemptible hypocrisy; meekly, but stedfastly, denying his guilt, which has since been established on authenticated documentary evidence. The bill, although vehemently opposed by many of the peers of Atterbury's party, who declared it to be grossly unconstitutional, was passed into a law; and, by its operation, the bishop was stripped of his benefices, exiled for life, and deprived of the society of British subjects residing abroad; they being forbidden to visit him, without permission under the king's sign manual, which, however, was not withheld from any of his relatives. In June, 1723, he proceeded, with his favourite daughter, Mrs. Morice, to Brussels; and, soon afterwards, fixed his residence at Paris, where he amused himself, chiefly, during the remainder of his life, in corresponding with eminent men of letters. But his love of political intrigue, appears to have never subsided. While pretending to be wholly devoted to the enjoyments of literature, and affecting, even in his correspondence with Pope, to be a friend to the constitution as it then existed, he was secretly contributing, as a collection of letters, published at Edinburgh in 1768, unquestionably prove, to the advance of the Jacobite cause in the Highlands. His last years were much embittered by the death of his favourite daughter, Mrs. Morice, the voluntary companion of his exile, who expired in his arms, in 1729. He had three other children by his wife, (who died in 1722,) of whom, only one, Osborn, Rector of Oxhill, in Warwickshire, survived him. His own death occurred in the month of February, 1731, and his remains were permitted to be brought to this country, and privately interred in Westminster abbey. Although remarkably turbulent, aspiring, and contentious, Bishop Atterbury succeeded in obtaining a high character for moderation and humility, from many of his cotemporaries, by an affected suavity of deportment, and a hypocritical mildness of expression. Few prelates have evinced a more intemperate spirit of partisanship, or a greater share of daring ambition. He was hostile to civil and religious liberty, from political, rather than conscientious motives; passive obedience, and nonresistance, being among the chief tenets of the party, to which he had deemed |