distinguished more by the quantity than the quality of his writings, which, in too many instances, bear evident marks of haste and necessity. His most popular performances we have already mentioned; and these, together with The Fashionable Lover, are his only dramatic efforts that display more than ordinary merit. As a poet he can scarcely be mentioned; and the reputation he has gained, as a critic, by his collection of essays, entitled The Observer, was no longer accorded to him, after the confession of his obligations to Dr. Bentley's manuscripts. His character, allowing for the drawback of an equal addiction to flattery and detraction, had some estimable and honourable traits, of which the following anecdote is an instance :-Being presented, by a distant relation, with a deed of gift in his favour of some considerable property, he positively refused to accept it, till assured it had not been made to the prejudice of a near relation, and, insisted finally, on the insertion of a clause of resumption, of which the giver subsequently took advantage. His manners were those of the courtier and the gentleman; and his powers of conversation would seem, from an observation of Dr. Johnson, to have been of no common order. "The want of company," says the doctor, in a letter to Mrs. Thrale, "is an inconvenience, but Mr. Cumberland is a million." He was extremely sensitive to hostile criticism; on which account Garrick called him "the man without a skin;" and Sheridan is said to have intended Sir Fretful Plagiary as a satire upon this part of Cumberland's character. His principal literary productions, in addition to the beforementioned, are Anecdotes of Spanish Painters; the Novels of Arundel, Henry, and John de Lancaster; Calvary, a poem; A version of fifty of the Psalms of David; and two pamphlets, one addressed to Dr. Lowth, in defence of Bentley; and another to Dr. Parr, entitled Curtius restored from the Gulf. Among other of his plays may be mentioned The Summer's Tale; The Brothers; The Widow of Delphi; The Natural Son; The Choleric Man; The Battle of Hastings, and several tragedies, of which the Carmelite was least unsuccessful.

WALKER, (JOHN,) was born near Barnet, Herts, on the 18th of March, 1732. His aversion to trade, for which he was destined, induced him to appear on the stage, but though a respectable, he never became a popular, actor; and he finally quitted the boards in 1768. In the following year, he opened a school at Kensington Gravel-pits, in conjunction with a catholic clergyman, but a disagreement arising between the parties. Mr. Walker relinquished his situation, and commenced teaching elocution, which he did with a success that procured him great celebrity, both at the universities and capitals of England, Scotland, and Ireland. As an author, he also acquired considerable reputation by the publication of several useful elementary works, of which the most popular are, his Rhetorical Grammar, Elements of Elocution, and Pronouncing Dictionary. He also published a Rhyming Dictionary; a compilation from the English classics; The Academic Speaker; a Key to the Correct Pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and Scriptural Names; the Teacher's Assistant; and Outlines of English Grammar. Mr. Walker was one of the best speakers at the Robin Hood Debating Society, and had qualities which procured him the esteem of Dr. Johnson, Garrick, Burke, and others. He died on the 1st of August, 1807; having, some time previous to his death, become a Roman catholic, though, in the early part of his life, he had been a strict Calvinistic dissenter.

LLOYD, (ROBERT,) the friend and associate of Churchill, was born in 1733, and educated at Westminster School, of which his father was second master, and where Robert himself was, for some time, an usher. His classical attainments were considerable, and gave promise of his future eminence; but, preferring the wit to the scholar, he soon resigned his situation, and, in connexion with Churchill, took to dissipation, and became an author. The Rosciad of the latter was suggested by Lloyd's poem of The Actor, which, together with a miscellaneous volume of poems, procured him considerable reputation. He also wrote for the St. James's Magazine, and other periodicals; and, among other dramatic pieces, a comic opera, called

The Shepherd's Wedding. The same carelessness and extravagance which he had manifested throughout his literary career, at length led to his confinement in the Fleet prison, where he died, in 1764, with the reputation of an able writer, rather to be condemned, than pitied, for his misfortunes.

SHARP, (GRANVILLE,) youngest son of Dr. Thomas Sharp, a prebendary of Durham, and grandson of Dr. J. Sharp, Archbishop of York, was born in 1734, and educated for the bar, but never practised his profession. He had a place in the Ordnance office, till the commencement of the American war, when he took chambers in the Temple, and, soon afterwards, became known to the public by his philanthropic conduct and writings. A negro, named Somerset, who had been brought, by his master, from the West Indies, and turned into the streets, in consequence of illness, was placed, by Mr. Sharp, in Bartholomew's Hospital; and, on his restoration to health, established by his benefactor in a comfortable situation. His former master, on ascertaining this, thought proper to seize him, and commit him to prison, as a runaway slave, when the subject of our memoir brought the case before the Lord Mayor, who decided in favour of the slave's freedom. His inhuman master, however, grasping him by the collar, and attempting to detain him, Mr. Sharp cominenced an action against the former, in the court of King's Bench; and the result was, by a decision of the twelve judges, that slavery could not exist in Great Britain. Thus encouraged, he continued his exertions in opposition to slavery, for the abolition of which he instituted a society; and, about the same time, sent over, at his own expense, a number of negroes to Africa. Another instance of his public spirit was shown in his obtaining the release of a citizen of London, who had been impressed into the navy; to effect which, he procured a habeas corpus from the King's Bench, and himself addressed the court. He died, beloved and respected by all who knew him, July the 6th, 1813. Besides some treatises on the Slave Trade, Duelling, &c., and a pamphlet in favour of parliamentary reform. Mr. Sharp, who was an able Biblical linguist, wrote

several theological works, the chief of which, entitled Remarks on the definitive uses of the Article in the Greek Testament, has obtained permanent reputation for its defence of the doctrine of the divinity of Christ against the arguments of the Unitarians.

LANGHORNE, (JOHN,) the son of a clergyman, was born at Kirby Stephen, in Westmorland, in March, 1735. He was first placed at Winton School, afterwards at Appleby, where he continued till his eighteenth year, when he became private tutor to a family near Ripon, in Yorkshire, and was next assistant in the free-school of Wakefield. Having taken deacon's orders, he obtained some popularity as a preacher; and, in 1759, became tutor to the sons of Robert Cracroft, Esq., of Hackthorn, near Lincoln; but left that gentleman's house, in consequence of an attachment to one of his daughters, whom, however, he subsequently married. Having previously published a volume of poems, he, in 1760, became a member of Clare Hall, with a view of proceeding to the degree of B. D.; and, in the same year, he printed his Tears of the Muses, a poem to the memory of Handel. In 1761, he officiated as curate at Dagenham, in Essex, and shortly afterwards he obtained considerable reputation in the literary world by the publication of his eastern tale of Solyman and Almena, and other smai works. His Letters on Religions Ketirement, which followed, received the approbation of Warburton, and led to Langhorne's composition of The Letters that passed between Theodo-ins and Constantia, founded on the well-known story in The Spectator. In 1764, he came to reside in London, on obtaining the curacy and lectureship of St. John's, Clerkenwell; and, about the same time, became a writer in The Monthly Review, being the only one in that periodical who escaped the animadversion of Smollett. In 1765, he was appointed assistaut preacher at Lincoln's Inn Chapel; and, about the same time, published, among other pieces, a poem called Genius and Valour, in vindication of the Scots, against the satire of Churchill and others, and for which the University of Edinburgh created him D. D., in 1766. In 1767, he married Miss Cracroft,

whose relations procured for him the rectory of Blagdon, in Somersetshire; but, losing his wife in the following year, he removed to Folkestone, in Kent, the residence of his brother William, who assisted him in his celebrated translation of Plutarch's Lives, which appeared in 1770. In 1771, he published his Fables of Flora, and a poem called The Origin of the Veil; and, in the following year, on his marriage with a Miss Thomson, he made a tour in France. On his return, he fixed his residence at Blagdon, where he practised both in a magisterial and clerical capacity; and, after having been made a prebendary of Wells, in 1777, died in April, 1779. Dr. Langhorne, though an easy and elegant poet, is principally known as the translator of Plutarch's Lives, and few of his other writings are now popular. In addition to the works before-mentioned, he wrote Effusions of Friendship and Fancy, in two volumes, after the manner of Sterne; Letters to Eleanora, being his correspondence with Miss Cracroft, previous to his marriage with her; Precepts of Conjugal Happiness; The Country Justice; besides some poems, sermons, an edition of the Poems of Collins, a translation of Milton's Italian Sonnets; and a tragedy, called The Fatal Prophecy. His death is said to have been accelerated by a too convivial course of living; but he is described as having been of an amiable disposition, a friend to morality and religion, and a refined wit.

FARMER, (RICHARD,) the son of a maltster, at Leicester, was born there on the 28th of August, 1735. He was educated at the grammar-school of his native town, and at Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship, and graduated B. A. in 1757, and M. A. in 1760. Having entered into holy orders, he obtained a curacy near Cambridge, of which university he was elected junior proctor, in 1765, and had been previously admitted a member of the Antiquarian Society. His well known taste for the study of antiquities, procured his admission to this body; and, in 1766, he established his reputation, both as a critic and an antiquary, by the publication of his Essay on the Learning of Shakspeare. In this, he maintains that the poet acquired his

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knowledge of the writings of the ancients through the medium of translations; and if the mass of evidence he brings forward is to be relied on, his conciusion is indisputable. This work, both from its style and matter, procured the author considerable reputation; and, in a few years, reached a third edition. In 1769, previously to which, the subject of our memoir had graduated B. D., he was appointed one of the preachers at Whitehall; in 1775, master of his college; and, shortly afterwards, vicechancellor of the university. In 1778, he was chosen principal university librarian; obtained, subsequently, a stall and chancellorship in Lichfield Cathedral, whence he removed, in 1782, to occupy one at Canterbury, and finally to St. Paul's, of which he was appointed a canon residentiary, in 1788. He died at Cambridge, on the 8th of September, 1797, leaving behind him a library, the sale of which occupied thirty-five days, and produced £2,200. Dr. Farmer was held in general respect and esteem; and Parr, who wrote his epitaph, describes both his intellectual and moral character in glowing terms of admiration.

He appears to have had a few peculiarities; and, like Sheridan, is said to have thrown letters into the fire unopened, which he was too indolent to read. There were three things, it was said, which the master of Emanuel loved above all others, viz. :-old port, old clothes, and old books; and three things which nobody could persuade him to perform, viz.:-to rise in the morning, to go to bed at night, and to settle an account. He was generous and philanthropic in the distribution of great part of his income, and was a liberal patron both of learned men and learned publications.

GOUGH, (RICHARD,) the son of a captain in the East India Company, and a member of parliament, was born in London, in 1735. As early as his eleventh year, he commenced a translation, from the French, of a History of the Bible, and gave other indications of a taste for literature and antiquities. In 1752, he was admitted a fellow-commoner of Benet College, Cambridge, and left the university without taking a degree, in 1756. He then made visits to various parts of England, Scotland,

and Wales; and, in 1762, published, anonymously, The History of Carausius, or an Examination of what has been advanced on that subject by Genebrier and Dr. Stukeley, a work displaying great industry and critical skill. In 1768, appeared his Anecdotes of British Topography, and the same work was published, in 1780, in two volumes, quarto, to which the manuscript of a third was added, in 1806, but was unfortunately destroyed by the fire which burnt down Mr. Nichols' printing-office. His next works, in succession, were a new edition of Camden's Britannia, in three volumes, folio; editions of Martin's History of Thetford, and Vertue's Medals, &c.; and his most important publication, the Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain, applied to illustrate the history of families, manners, and arts, in two folio volumes. This is termed, by Dr. Aikin, a splendid performance, the result of industrious research, and replete with the most valuable and curious particulars. He wrote other works of minor consideration, edited many publications similar to his own, was a contributor to The Gentleman's Magazine, to the Vetusta Monumenta, and to the Archæologia of the Society of Antiquaries, of which he was a director, as also a member of the Royal Society. From both of these institutions he withdrew himself, for some reason not apparent, several years previous to his death, which took place in February, 1809. Nichols speaks highly of his private character; but even from the account given by this somewhat partial biographer, it may be inferred that Mr. Gough was disposed to indulge strong aversions. He was married to a Miss Hall, but had no issue by her.

STEEVENS, (GEORGE,) the son of an East India director, was born at Stepney, on the 10th of May, 1736, and received his education at the grammarschool at Kingston, and at King's College, Cambridge. Having a taste for literature, he, in particular, examined the writings of Shakspeare, twenty of whose plays he published, with notes, in four octavo volumes, in 1766; and, about the same time, advertized for assistance in an intended edition of the whole of that poet's works. This he published, in conjunction with Dr.

Johnson, in ten volumes, in 1773; of which a second edition appeared in 1785, and a third, in fifteen volumes, in 1793, the most complete and accurate of all. Mr. Steevens, in the meantime, had been engaged in a literary dispute with Mr. Malone, and others, which was conducted, on his part, with a virulence and malignity that reflected great discredit on his character. He is also said to have rendered himself odious in private society, by his sneers and calumnies, till he was at length so shunned, that Dr. Johnson observed he lived "the life of an outlaw." He is, however, said to have been generous and humane, and to have given away great part of his fortune with equal discrimination and liberality. Besides his edition of Shakspeare, of whom he is the best illustrator we have, he is the author of several contributions to Hogarth's Biographical Anecdotes, and the Biographia Dramatica.

JEBB, (JOHN,) was born in London in 1736, but received his education in Ireland, where his father was Dean of Cashell. He was entered first of Trinity College, Dublin, and afterwards of Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated B. A., in 1757, and M. A. in 1761, when he obtained a fellowship. This he relinquished in 1764, on his presentation to the rectory of Ovington, in Norfolk; and, in the following year, he published, in conjunction with the Rev. R. Thorpe, and J. Wollaston, a work, entitled Excerpta quædam e Newtoni Principiis Philosophiæ Naturalis, cum notis variorum, &c. In 1768, he delivered, at Cambridge, a course of lectures on the Greek Testament; and, in 1769, having married a relation of the Earl of Harborough, he was appointed chaplain to that nobleman; and, in the same year, obtained three livings in Suffolk. The freedom, however, of the opinions he had expressed in his lectures, which were still more openly avowed, on his endeavours, with Archdeacon Blackburne, to procure the abrogation of clerical subscription to the thirty-nine articles, and to improve the mode of education at Cambridge, raised such a party against him, as induced him, in 1775, to resign all his benefices and academical appointments. At the same time, he pub