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business several years before he died. He had a good sound understanding, with some tincture of reading, was a conversable agreeable old man, lived and acted under a just sense of religion as well as of virtue, constantly attended the daily service of the Church, and died at the age of eighty-three, much regretted and lamented by all his friends and acquaintance. Such was his father; his mother, the daughter of Mr. Rhodes, a clergyman, died young of a consumption, when this her only child was about a year old, who from her inherited a tender constitution.

He received the first part of his education in the Free School of Lichfield, which at that time florished greatly under the direction of Mr. Hunter, and at all times has sent forth several persons of note and eminence from Bishop Smalrige and Mr. Wollaston, author of the Religion of Nature delineated, down to Dr. Johnson and the English, Roscius Mr. Garrick. It was observed one day in company, What an honor it was to Westminster School, that the three heads of the law, the Lord Chancellor Northington, the Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, and Sir Thomas Clarke Master of the Rolls, should all have been educated there! To which a reply was made, that it was still more extraordinary, that out of the twelve Judges at that time five of them should have come from Lichfield School, the Lord Chief Justice Willes, the Lord Chief

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Chief Baron Parker, Mr. Justice Noel, Mr. Justice afterwards Lord Chief Justice Wilmot, and Sir Richard Lloyd, Baron of the Exchequer.

When he was of an age to be sent out into the world, and not before, his father married a second wife, a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Trebeck of Worcester, and sister to Dr. Trebeck the first rector of St. George Hanover-square: and it was by the advice of Dr. Trebeck, and by the encouragement of Bishop Smalrige, that the son was removed from Lichfield to Westminster School; as Bishop Sinalrige himself had been, and also Mr. Justice Wilmot. He was sent to Westminster after the Whitsun Holidays in 1717, when he was between thirteen and fourteen years old. He was placed at the lower end of the fourth form, and the year follow

ing became a King's Scholar, being admitted into the College by the nomination of Bishop Smalrige. Westminster School never was in higher estimation than at that time under the auspices of Dr. Freind and Dr. Nicoll, nor ever contained a greater number of scholars, there being really not fewer than five hundred, and several of quality. There was something august and awful too in the Westininster elections, to see three such great men presiding, Bishop Atterbury as Dean of Westminster, Bishop Smalrige as Dean of Christ Church, and Dr. Bentley as Master of Trinity College: and as iron sharpeneth iron," so these three by their

wit and learning and liberal conversation whetted and sharpened one another.

Not long after his admission into Westminster College, he lost his friend and patron Bishop Smalrige, who died of an apoplexy at Christ Church on the 27th of September 1719. This was truly a worthy prelate, an excellent scholar, a sound divine, an eloquent preacher, a good writer both in Latin and in English, of great gravity and dignity in his whole deportment, and at the same time of as great complacency and sweetness of manners, a character at once both amiable and venerable. Nemo illum amabilem, qui non simul venerabilem, diceret. Sen. Epist. cxv. He was so noted for his good temper, that succeeding Dr. Atterbury in the deanries of Carlisle and Christ Church, he was said to carry the bucket wherewith to extinguish the fires which the other had kindled. But notwithstanding his merits he never attained to any very great or lucrative preferments. He had Bristol the poorest bishopric in the kingdom, and Christ Church the most expensive deanery, foreigners and persons of quality, who visit the university of Oxford, being usually recommended to the Dean of Christ Church. He was also the Preacher at the new chapel in the BroadWay, Westminster, which at that time was frequented by one of the best and politest congregations in town, several families of fashion and distinction

tinction living then in those parts. He was besides appointed Lord Almoner by Queen Anne, but was removed by the Ministers of George I. on account of party; though surely no man ever exercised greater candor and moderation than he did towards all parties and persons, and is particularly commended for it by Sir Richard Steele and Mr. Addison in the Tatler, the latter of whom likewise makes very honorable mention of him in a letter to Dr. Swift, dated from Bristol October 1, 1718. "The greatest pleasure I have met with for some "months, is in the conversation of my old friend "Dr. Smalrige, who, since the death of the excel"lent man you mention, is to me the most candid "and agreeable of all 'bishops: I would say,

clergymen, were not deans comprehended under "that title. We have often talked of you; and "when I assure you he has an exquisite taste of "writing, I need not tell you how he talks on such

a subject." The authors of the Biographia Britannica from the pretended information of a gentleman well known to the family say, that the Bishop left a widow and two children, a son and a daughter, the son named Henry. But the truth is, he left a widow and three children, a son named Philip and two daughters, both sensible clever women. Considering the nature of the Bishop's preferments, his hospitable manner of living, and his extensive charities, he cannot be supposed

supposed to have niade sufficient provision for his widow and family; but it was happy for him and for them too, that some time before his death he grew much into the favor of Caroline Princess of Wales, who generously procured a pension of 300l. a year for the widow, and a prebend of Worcester for the son. The son was also presented to the living of Christleton near Chester by Sir Roger Mostyn, and had the chancellorship of Worcester conferred upon him by Bishop Hough, out of regard to his father's memory. A subscription too was opened, and nobly promoted for the publication of sixty of the Bishop's sermons; some of which, it must be confessed, are unequal to the rest, having never been designed for the press, but others are truly excellent, and worthy of him or of any author. The widow very properly took this opportunity of addressing the dedication to the Princess of Wales with an humble acknowlegment of the many and great obligations which she and her family had received from her Royal Highness.

The year 1719 proved fatal to Mr. Addison as well as to Bishop Smalrige. The Bishop was buried at Christ Church, where a monument was erected to him by his widow with a handsome inscription, drawn up most probably by Dr. Freind, the Head Master of Westminster School, and aiso his brother in law, the Bishop and he having

married

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