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23d. I dined yesterday with general Hamilton. I forget to tell you. I write fhort journals now. I have eggs on the fpit. This night the queen has figned all the warrants, among which Sterne is bishop of Dromore, and the duke of Ormond is to fend over an order for making me dean of St. Patrick's. İ have no doubt of him at all. I think 'tis now paft.” But you fee what a condition I am in. I thought I was to pay but fix hundred pounds for the houfe; but the bifhop of Clogher fays eight hundred pounds; firft-fruits about one hundred and fifty pounds Irifh, and fo with a patent, &c. a thousand pounds in all; fo that I shall not be the better for the deanery these three years. I hope, in fome time, they will be perfuaded here to give me fome money to pay off thefe debts. I müft finish the book I am writing, before I can go over; and they expect 1 fhall pass next winter here, and then I will drive them to give me a fum of money. However, I hope to pafs four or five months with you. I received your's to-night; juft ten weeks fince I had your laft. I fhall write next post to bishop Sterne. Never man had fo many enemies of Ireland as he. I carried it with the ftrongeft hand poflible. If he does not use me well, and gently, in what dealings I fhall have with him, he will be the most ungrateful of mankind. The archbishop of York, my mort. I enemy, has fent, by the third hand, that he would be glad to fee me. Shall I fee him or not? I hope to be over in a month. I fhall anfwer your rattle foon; but no more journals. 1 fhall be very bufy. Short letters from henceforward. I fhall not part with Laracor. That is all I have to live on, except the deanery be worth more than four hundred pounds a year. Is it? Pray write to me a good-humoured. letter immediately, let it be ever fo fhort. This affair was carried with great difficulty, which vexes me. But they fay here, it is much to my reputation, that I have made a bishop, in spite of all the world, and to get the best deanery in Ireland.

24th. I forgot to tell you I had Sterne's letter yesterday, in anfwer to mine. I dined in the city to-day with my printer, and came home early, and am going to be bufy with my work. I will fend this to-morrow, and I fuppofe the warrants will go then. I wrote to Dr. Coghill, to take care of paffing my pátent; and to Parvifol, to attend him with money, if he has any, or to borrow fome where he can.

25th. Morning. I know not whether my warrant be got ready from the duke of Ormond. I fuppofe it will be to-night. I am going abroad, and will keep this unfcaled, till I know whether all be finished. O

• I had this letter all day in my pocket, waiting till I heard the warrants were gone over. Mr. Lewis fent to Southwell's clerk

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at ten; and he faid the bishop of Killaloe had defired they fhould be stopped till next poft. He fent again, that the bishop of Killaloe's bufinefs had nothing to do with ours. Then I went myself, but it was past eleven, and asked the reafon. Killaloe is removed to Rapho, and he has a mind to have an order for the rents of Rapho, that have fallen due fince the vacancy, and he would have all ftop till he has gotten that. A pretty requeft! But the clerk, at Mr. Lewis's meffage, fent the warrants for Sterne and me; but then it was too late to fend this, which frets me heartily.

26th. I was at court to-day, and a thoufand people gave me joy; fo I ran out. I dined with lady Orkney Yesterday I dined with lord treasurer, and his Saturday people, as usual; and was fo be-dean'd, &c. The archbishop of York fays, he will never more speak against me. Pray fee, that Parvifol ftirs about getting my patent I have given Took D. D's note, to prove he is alive

[To be concluded in our next. ]

XIV. An Account of the Life of Dr. John Ward, LL. D. Profellor of Rhetoric in Gresham College; F. R. S. and F. S. A. By Thomas Birch, D. D. Sec. R. S. and F. S. A. 8vo. Pr. Vaillant.

IS.

T is with peculiar pleafure we take every opportunity of contributing towards preferving the memory of the learned and ingenious; and fuch was Dr. Ward, whose life we are now reviewing. His biographer, the accurate and induftrious Dr. Birch, in compofing the pamphlet before us, probably never intended that it should be published as a detached piece ; though, whether he defigned to prefix it to a republication of any or all of his works, we cannot affert with any certainty.

John Ward, LL.. D. was born in London about the year 1679: his father was a diffenting minifter. In the early part of his life, he was a clerk in the navy office; but, at his leifire hours, he profecuted his ftudies by the affiftance of one Dr. Ker, a Scotchman, who kept an academy. In 1710, he refigned his employment in the navy office, and became a tutor to a certain number of the children of his friends, for which purpofe he opened a school in Tenter Alley in Moorfields, which he kept for many years. In 1712, he became member of a private fociety of gentlemen who entertained each other with difcourfes on the civil law, and the fociety was exifting till Michaelmas term, 1742. In 1720, Mr. Ward had rendered himself fo eminent for his learning and knowledge in the study Gg3

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of antiquity, that he was chofen profeffor of rhetoric in Grefham College. In 1723, during the prefidency of Sir Ifaac Newton, he was elected fellow of the Royal Society; and in 1752 one of its vice-prefidents, in which office he was continued till his death.

The doctor, among other works, fome of them not very interefting to the republic of letters, was affiftant to Mr. Ainfworth in his account of Kemp's collection of antiquities, which was fold by auction at the Phoenix tavern in Pall mall, on the 23d, 24th, 25th, and 27th of March 1721, in two hundred and ninety-three articles; the fale amounting to 10901. 8s. 6d. He wrote an answer to Dr Middleton's Latin differtation, concerning the eftimation in which phyficians were held among the old Romans, in order to fhew that the profeffion was not fo flavish and ignoble as Middleton alledged. Middleton replied, and Ward rejoined. He affifted Buckley in his edition of Thuanus, and tranflated into Latin, three very stupid filly letters addreffed to Dr. Mead concerning that edition. He likewife aflifted Horfeley in his Britannia Romana, and Mr. Ainsworth acknowledged his obligations to him in compofing his dictionary, which, though far from being perfect, is the beft Latin dictionary extant in the English language. Its laft editor, Mr. Young, acknowleges his affittance likewife. Young's genius, however, was far fuperior either to Ainfworth's or Ward's; and could he have beftowed the leaft degree of application in writing, he might have publifhed the best Latin dictionary that perhaps ever was compofed. Abftracted from this talent, he was the real parfon Adams exhibited by Fielding. We have been the more diffuse on this fubject, because we think Ainsworth's dictionary requires ftill many material correc tions, and will admit of confiderable improvements.

In 1736, Mr. Ward was a member of a fociety of gentlemen who had incorporated themselves for the encouragement of learning. This was a laudable, but badly digefted inftitution; and nobody reaped any benefit from it except Gordon, who received a good falary, and a houfe to live in, for being fe

cretary.

If we are not mistaken, Ward's principal work is his Lives of the Profeffors of Grefham College, which Dr. Birch fays,

is a confiderable addition to the hiftory of learning in our country." Dr. Ward, however, gave no great specimen of his critical abilities, when he clubbed them with Benfon, in publishing Dr. Arthur Johnfton's Latin verfion of the pfalms, which cannot enter into the smallest degree of competition with that of Buchanan. In 1751, he was honoured with the title of Doctor of Laws by the univerfity of Edinburgh, probably on account of a Latin letter he wrote to its principal Dr. Wishart,

the

the editor of Florentius Volufenus, or Wilfon, De Animi Tranquillitate. This Volufenus was a poet of confiderable merit, but we never faw the doctor's letter. In 1753, he was elected one of the trustees of the British Mufeum, and died in the eightieth year of his age, at his apartments in Gresham College, on Tuesday October 17, 1758.

Our readers will pleafe to obferve, that Dr. Ward, befides the works we have already mentioned, was the author of many others, especially in the lapidary way, being no inconfiderable antiquarian His biographer tells us, s piety was fincere and unaffected, and his profeflion as a chriftian was that of a proteftant diffenter, with a moderation and candour, which recommended him to the efteem of those members of the eftablished church, who had the pleasure of his acquaintance or friendship.'.

With respect to his literary character, we hope we shall be excufed if we do not entirely affent to Dr. Birch's encomiums ; tho' we will venture to fay, that Birch has written just such an account of Ward, as Ward would have done of Birch, had he been the furvivor.

MONTHLY CATALOGU B.

15. A Plain and Full Account of the Chriftian Practices obferved by the Church in St. Martin's-le-grand, London, and other Churches in Fellowship with them. In a Letter to a Friend. 8vo.

Pr. 3d. Vernor.

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MONG all the fects that have appeared in the hriftian church, there is not one which has not urged thec fcriptures in its own defence. The ancient heretics produced abundance of texts, by which they could have proved their orthodoxy, if they might have had the liberty of explaining them. in their own way; and at this day, Papifts, Quakers, Antinomians, and all other fectaries among us, confidently appeal to the fcriptures for the truth of their peculiar tenets.

What wonderful conclufions have been drawn by the Papifts from fragments of the facred text! Mofes informs us, that God made man after his image: pope Adrian infers, that images may therefore be fet up in churches. The difciples faid to Jefus, Here are two words: pope Boniface from thence concludes, that the pope has both a spiritual and a temporal jurifdiction. Our Saviour fays, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs therefore, fays an advocate of the church of Rome, it is pot lawful for vulgar people to read the fcriptures. Thou, fays

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the pfalmift, haft put all things under bis feet: that is, fays a Ramish expofitor," thou haft made all things fubject to the pope ; the cattle of the field, that is to say, men living on the earth; the fishes of the Jea, that is to fay, the fouls in purgatory; and the fowls of the air, that is to fay, the fpirits of the bleffed in heaven."

How ridiculously does pope Innocent III. in his book of the myfteries of the mafs, Durant, Cardinal Tolet, and others of that perfuafion, turn and torture the fcriptures, in order to fupport their fantastical opinions! The Apostle tells us, The rock was Chrift: therefore, fay they, the altar must be of ftone. Jefus faid, I am the light of the world: therefore tapers must be set upon the altar. It is written, Let him kiss me with the kiffes of bis mouth therefore the priest must kifs the altar. It is faid, Thou halt fee my back parts: therefore the priest must turn his back to the people. David fays, pfalm 51, Wafa me, twice: there fore the priest must wash his hands twice. Put off thy boes, fays the Lord to Mofes, for this place is boly: therefore, at mafs, the bishop must put off his fhoes. God is faid to have made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day: therefore the pope is greater than the emperor.

We have heard of a cafuift who attempted to prove from St. Paul's epiftles, that a heretic ought to be killed. For, faid he, the Apoftle fays, hæreticum depita; and what do these words imply, but hæreticum de vitâ tollere? And we have feen a writer, who, as a proof that tranfubftantiation is a fcripture doctrine, alleges thefe words of our Saviour: Wherefoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

In like manner the Sandimanians, or the fociety in St. Martin's-le-grand, produce feveral texts of fcripture in their defence. The author of this account, who is one of the fociety, informs us, that they regard all the directions of Chrift and his Apoftles in their moft obvious meaning, and ftriatly adhere to the cuftoms of the primitive church; not confidering, or not knowing, that it is abfurd to make thofe inftructions, which were adapted to particular occafions, the standard of faith, and the rule of duty, to all future ages.

They regularly meet together, and communicate in the Lord's fupper every Sunday; and in the interval between the morning and evening fervice, have their love-feafts. Yet fuch is their notions of the genius and defign of chriftianity, that they look upon the apoftolical edit, by which certain Gentile converts, in particular circumftances, were required to abstain from things firangled, and from blood, as a precept of immutable and univerfal obligation; though it is not once mentioned in the Gospels, nor in any of the Epiftles,

They