that the reputation of the family should not decline in their descendant. His great grandfather was the Bishop of Peterborough, author of a work intitled De Legibus Naturæ Disquisitio Philosophica. His mater. nal grandfather was the celebrated Doctor Bentley, whose youngest daughter was married to the grandson of Bishop Cumberland. This lady was the heroine of Dr. Byron's well-known pastoral in the Spectator, in which her attractions are alluded to, under the designation of Phoebe. The father of Mr. Cumberland, although possessed of an independent fortune, embraced the profession of the Church at the persuasion of Bentley, and was inducted into the rectory of Stanwick, in the county of Northampton, by Lord Chancellor King. Before the birth of his son, he was the parent of a daughter, who was thought, in the earlier years of her brother, to have the advantage of him both in talents and seniority.

Richard Cumberland was born, on the 19th Feb. 1732, in the Master's Lodge of Trinity College, Cambridge, where Bentley resided as Master. In his sixth year, he was sent to the school of Bury St. Edmund's; then kept by Arthur Kynnesman, but his childhood was unpromising, and he did not appear to be endowed with the talents requisite to obtain a proficiency in learning. His emulation was gradually excited by the judicious conduct of Kynnesman, who admonished him of the degeneracy which he had hitherto betrayed, in comparison with the attainments of his grandfather. Before Cumberland had profited by his improved dispositions, he fell ill, and was removed home, where he remained for some time. About this period, Dr. Bentley died;

After the death of Bentley, Cumberland's father resided wholly at the parsonage-house, of Stanwick, and Mr. C. in his Memoirs, dwells, with much tender interest, on the affectionate cares of his mother. She was a woman of more than ordinary acquirements, and, at an early period, directed the attention of her son to the beauties of Shakspeare's dramas. In his twelfth year, he produced a species of cento, in one act, intitled, Shakspeare in the Shades.

The following reflexions, which are put into the mouth of Shakspeare, upon the suicide of Romeo, is the best specimen which the extracts afford: "What rage is this, O man, that thou should'st dare

To turn unnatural butcher on thyself, And thy presumptuous violent hand uplift [rais'd?

Against that fabric which the Gods have Insolent wretch, did that presumptuous hand [bold spirit Temper thy wond'rous frame? Did that Inspire the quicken'd clay with living breath? [Gods Do not deceive thyself. Have the kind Lent their own goodly image to thy use For thee to break at pleasure?— What are thy merits? Where is thy do minion?

If thou aspir'st to rule, rule thy desires.
Thou poorly turn'st upon thy helpless
body,
[sins:
And hast no heart to check thy growing
Thou gain'st a mighty victory o'er thy
life,

But art enslaved to thy basest passions,
And bowest to the anarchy within thee.
Oh! have a care
[be found
Lest at thy great account thou should'st
A thriftless steward of thy master's sub-

stance.

'Tis his to take away, or sink at will; Thou but the tenant to a greater lord, Nor maker, nor the monarch, of thyself." -p. 49.

Soon after, he was placed at

Westminster school, under the tuition of Dr. Nichols. During his residence here, he found an opportunity to witness the performance of Garrick, in the character of Lothario.

His family, at this time, sustained a heavy domestic loss by the death of his sister; and Cumberland was so sincerely affected by the occurrence, that it was thought necessary to relieve his despondency by a change of prospect. Accordingly, he returned to his parents: and, in his 14th year, he was sent to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he passed, in succession, under the care of the Rev. Dr. Morgan and Rev. Dr. Philip Yonge, afterwards Bishop of Norwich; from neither of whom did he receive much encouragement to pursue his studies. The honors that Cumberland obtained, by his own vigorous application, and the terms in which he mentions them, have led Mr. Mudford into the subsequent train of reflexion:

The influence produced upon the mind of an academical student, by the expectation of public honors may, in some cases, stimulate him to vigorous efforts: but, I believe, there must always exist a predisposition, there must exist a salient spring of living energy, without which, what we call honors, would fail to be considered as such by the candidates for them; and where that active principle does exist, where the mind is impelled by an innate and self-produced desire of knowledge and distinction, it matters little whether the hours of study are pursued inter sylvas academi, or in the privacy of domestic retirement, unless, perhaps, the facilities of study, which are presumed to exist in a collegiate foundation, may be urged as a motive of preference in its favor. Very little has ever been done in education by compulsory methods; knowledge, if acquired at all, must be acquired with

the free grace of a volunteer; but the only effect of arming instruction with all the terrors of the school is, to repress the glowing ardor of enterprise in an aspiring mind, and to thicken the impenetrable glooms of ignorance in a dull one. The only probable utility of these forms in public institutions is, that they may tend to generate habits of industry, which, in any future destination of life, cannot fail to be beneficial to their possessor; but, if it were maintained that they are so essential to the developement of intellect, that a Newton or a Milton would have been something different to what they were, had they not enjoyed such advantages, I own I should take refuge in scepticism, from a position to which my reason would not suffer me to assent. pp. 67, 68.

on

There were, however, some disadvantages attendant his researches at this period, by which they were rendered less effective than such diligence merited:

But the misfortune of this period, which he chiefly laments, and which every man has cause to lament who experiences it, was the want of a sagacious director, of one whose own knowledge might anticipate the wants of a youthful enquirer, and direct his steps into the readiest paths of acquisition. Without such a guide the student wanders in a maze of endless errors and contradictions; his labors are often supererogatory, and often fruitless: he encumbers his mind with stores that have no currency, while he might have accumulated those which the business of every day would call for. There are few situations more lamentable than that of an eager mind, ambitious of distinction, impatient to attain it, toiling after success, and toiling through unnecessary difficulties. Yet such was Cumberland's condition: and though, at a late period of his life, he derived some advantage from the manuscript collections of his college years, yet it may be supposed that he would have benefited more by a more skilful and judicious applica

tion of his time and talents at that period. pp. 70, 71.

Among his ardent projects, afterwards abandoned, was that of a Universal History; and, on the appearance of Mason's Elfrida,

The piece which Cumberland had admired so warmly, he was eager to imitate; 'and it is a curious coincidence that he adopted the very same subject which afterwards occupied the pen of Mason. This was Caractacus; but Cumberland's disposition of the incidents, many of which were fictitious, differed totally from Mason's, with whom, as he had no communication at the time, there could rest no charge of plagiarism. This drama Cumberland never published, though he tells us it contained "a good deal of fancy, and some strong writing." This is his own testimony, and I suppose it may be received with that hesitation which accompanies our belief of every thing an author says in praise of his own works. p. 77.

At this time, he was appointed private Secretary to the Earl of Halifax, then high in office, and Lord Lieutenant of the county of Nottingham, on account of some electioneering services, rendered by his father to that nobleman. While Cumberland's alma mater was meditating to confer on him fresh honors, he was summoned to officiate at the Board of Trade, over which Lord Halifax presided. He found his new situation irksome to a man whose habits had been chiefly regulated with a view to literature; and, on the recess of parliament, he returned to Cambridge. Here a fellowship was injuriously bestowed upon him, to the exclusion of others, who were regularly intitled to contend for it; and the merits of Cumberland were thought sufficient to justify this deviation from the general practice. From Cambridge he returned to London; and his duties growing

less oppressive, he found considerable leisure for his literary plans. Mr. Cumberland, senior, having exchanged his living at Stanwick for the vicarage at Fulham, his son was also gratified by the opportunity of more frequent intercourse with his family. When Lord Halifax resigned his office as First Lord of Trade and Plantations, Cumberland proceeded on a visit to Bubb Doddington, Lord Melcombe. Eastbury, in Dorsetshire, the seat of On his return from Dorsetshire, he obtained a lay-fellowship, which soon afterwards he resigned in order to form a domestic engagement more congenial with his inclinations.

The first dramatic effort of Cumberland was intitled The Banishment of Cicero. It was politely approved by Warburton; and, being presented by Lord Halifax to Garrick, was, much to the displeasure of his lordship, rejected by the Manager. In 1759, Cumberland married Elizabeth, the only daughter of George Ridge, Esq. an intimate friend of his father's.

On the accession of the present king, Lord Halifax was promoted to the dignity of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Mr. Cumberland, senior, went out with Lord Halifax as one of his chaplains. The confi dence which his Lordship reposed in his secretary, was now augmented to an extraordinary degree; but his emoluments did not comport with the responsibility of the situation that he filled. Lord Halifax proposed to invest Mr. Cumberland with the dignity of a baronet; and the author intimates a suspicion, that his Lordship might consider the refusal, which arose from motives of prudence, as an implied disavowal of his future patronage.