ftate. A few years after (1788,) he was nominated as a proper perfon to be sheriff of London and Middlesex; in excufe for which, he cheerfully paid the customary fine. It is worthy noticing, as a literary anecdote, that he fold no less than 18,000 copies of Mr Burke's famous "Reflections on the French Revolution;" with confiderable advantage both to himfelf and to the author, to whom he made a very handfome compliment for the profits. His property (which is estimated to be about 70,000.) he has given principally to nephews and neices, and their defcendants; to fome of them 800pl. 3 per cents each, and to others 4 or 5000l. each, in fpecific fums, or in higher funds: to each of his executors 1000l. Thefe are, Mr Tho. Tawney, of Brooks place, Lambeth, who married a daughter of his brother Ifaac; Mr J. Walter, of Charing-cross (with whom he had been in habits of friendship, Mr Walter having served his apprenticeship with his brother Robert ;) and Mr G. Nicol, his Majesty's bookfeller, in Pall Mall. To his attorney, Mr Webster, 1000l. ; to Mr John Free born, who had been for several years his affiftant in bufinefs, 4000l.; to his maidfervant 500l.; to his coach man 5ool. and alfo his carriage and horfes; to the poor of St James's, Westminster, 200l. 3 per cents; and to the Company of Stationers nearly 400l. By a habit of fecluding himfelf from the world, Mr James D. (who certainly poffeffed a liberal heart and a strong understanding) had acquired many peculiarities. He at one time advertised an intention of quitting trade; but, in less than a fortnight, repenting the refolution, again advertised that he fhould continue in business, and re folicited the favour of his friends. For fome years paft, however, he kept no public (hop, but continued to be a large wholefale dealer in books of his own copyright. Of thefe a part, to the amount of fome thousand pounds, was burnt by an accidental fire in a warehouse which he had not prevailed on himfelf to infure; but the lofs of which he was philofopher enough to bear without the leaft apparent emotion; and, in the prefence of the writer of this article, who dined with him before the fire was well extinguished, fold, to a gentleman in company, the chance of the fragments of waste-paper that might be faved, for a fingle hundred pounds. This agreement was not fulfilled, but the whole remainder was afterwards fold for to guineas. He kept a carriage many years; but ftudioufly wished that his friends fhould not know it, nor did he ever use it on the Eaftern fide of Temple-bar. He purchased some years fince an eftate, with a small houfe on it, between Chislehurst and Bromley; on the house he expended an incredible fum, more than would have re-built one of twice the fize, which afterwards he rarely vifited, and at length lett, with the eftate, on a long leafe, at a very low rent.— Though he has often expreffed his apprehenfion that the Law (if he should die inteftate) would not dif pofe of his property as he could wish, he never could perfuade himself to make a will till he was turned of 70; fince when, he has made four; the laft of them Jan. 4, 1797, not long before his decease. He left every legacy clear of the tax, and appointed fix refiduary-legatees. Rev. Mr Parkhurst. The family of the Rev. Mr Parkhurft was originally of Surrey, but have alfo, for a century or upwards, been poffeffed of Catesby, in Nor. thamptonshire, by purchase of his grandfather, John Parkhurft. His mother was the daughter of Judge Dormer. Being a younger brother, he was intended for the Church; and, with that view, fent, firft, to the school of Rugby, Warwickshire, and thence to to Clare-hall, Cambridge, of which he was fome time a fellow. It was not long after his entering into holy orders, that his elder brother died. This event made him the heir of a very confiderable eftate; though, as his father was still living, it was fome time before he came into the full poffeffion of it. From his family connexions, as well as from his learning and piety, he certainly had a good right to look forward to preferment in his profeffion; but, betaking himfelf to retirment, and to a life of clofe and intense study, he fought for no preferment; and he did not live in an age in which even Merit was commonly fought for to accept of preferment; of course, he never obtain ed any. Yet, in the capacity of a curate, but without any falary, he long did the duty, with exemplary diligence and zeal, in his own chapel at Catesby, which, after the demolition of the church of the nunnery there, ferved as a parish-church,* of which also he was the patron. When, feveral years after, it fell to his lot to exercife the right of reprefentation, he was fo unfashionable as to confider church-patronage as a truft rather than a property; and, accord. ingly, refifting the influence of intereft, favour, and affection, prefented to the vicarage the perfons who now holds it, though, till then, known to him only by character; from no motive but a perfuafion that he would faithfully perform the duties of it. Mr Parkhurst was of Clare-hall, Cambridge; B. A. 1748; M. A. 1752; and many years fellow of his college. He was author of "A friendly Addrefs to the Rev. Mr John Wesley, in relation to a principal Doctrine maintained by him and his Affiftants, 1753," 8vo; "An Hebrew and Eng. lith Lexicon, without Points; to which is added, a methodical Hebrew Grammar, without points, adapted to the ufe of Learners, 1762," 4to: its being published did not re A train him from continuing to correct and improve it; and, in 1778, another edition of it came out, much enlarged, and a third in 1792; Greek and English Lexicon to the New Teftament; to which is prefixed, a plain and eafy Greek Grammar, 1769," 4to; a fecond edition 1794: and there is now in the prefs a new edition of both these lexicons, in a large octavo, with his laft cor. rections; for, he continued to revife, correct, add to, and improve, thefe works, till within a few weeks of his death. As, from their nature, there cannot be fuppofed to be any thing in these works that is particularly attractive and alluring, this continued increafing demand for them feems to be a fufficient proof of their merit. He published "The Divinity and Pre-existence of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift demonftrated from Spripture; in Anfwer to the first Section of Dr Priestley's Introduction to the History of early Opinions concerning Jefus Chrift; together with Strictures on fome other Parts of the Work, and a Poftfcript relating to a late Publication of Mr Gilbert Wakefield, 1787," 8vo. This work was very generally regarded as completely performing all that its title page promised; and, accordingly, the whole edition was foon fold off. The brief, evafive, and very unfatisfactory notice taken of this able pamphlet by Dr Priestley, in A Letter to Dr Horne," &c. fhewed only that he was unable to answer it. Mr Parkhurft was a man of very extraordinary independency of mind, and firmnefs of principle. In early life, a long with many other men of diftin guifhed learning, it was alfo objected to him, that he was an Hutchinfo. nian; and on this account alone, in common with them, he was neglect. ed and fhunned. There is not, in the hiftory of the times, a circumftance more difficult to account for than the unmerited but increafing *See Bridges's Northamptonshire, I. 35. dif discountenance fhewn to thofe perfons to whom Hutchinfonianifm was then objected. Methodists, Papifts, and fectaries of any and of every name, all stood a better chance of being noticed and esteemed than Hutchinfonians. Had it even been proved that the few peculiar tenets by which they were diftinguished from other Chriftians were erroneous, the oppofition they experienced might have been deemed hard meaSure, because even their opponents al lowed their principles to be inoffen. five, and themselves to be learned. Be this as it may, Mr Parkhurst continued occafionally to read the writings of Hutchinfon, as he did thofe of many other men; with whom he yet was far from agreeing in all points, as long as he read at all. And tho' he was always ready to allow that Hutchinson was oftentimes a confufed and bad writer, and fometimes unbecomingly violent, he never ceafed to regard him as an original thinker, and of wonderful ftrength of mind. To have been deterred from reading fuch an author, for fear of being thought an Hutchinfonian by thofe chiefly who know as little of Hutchinfon as they did of the fubjects on which he wrote, would have argued a pufillanimity of which Mr Parkhurst was incapable. What he believed, he was not afraid to profefs; and never profeffed to believe any thing which he did not very fincerely believe. An earnest lover of truth, he fought it where only it is to be found-in the Scriptures. The study of these was at once the bufinefs and the pleasure of his life; from his earliest to his latest years he was an hard ftudent; and, had the daily occupations of every twenty-four hours of his life been portioned out, as it is faid thofe of king Alfred were, into three equal parts, there is reafon to believe a deficiency would rarely have been found in the eight hours allotted to ftudy. What the fruits have been of a life fo conducted, few theologians, it is presumed, need to be informed, it being hardly within the fcope of a fuppofition, that any man will now fit down to the ftudy of the Scriptures without availing himself of the affiftance to be obtained from his learned labours. CURIOUS ANECDOTES, BIOGRAPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC. Continued from our last, Page 330. The Real Hiftory of William Tell. GESSLER,the Auftrian governor, who lived at Kufnacht in the canton of Schweitz, in order to break the independent fpirit of the people of Uri, had hung his hat upon a lance, at Altorf; and had given orders that all who paffed it should be uncover. ed, in token of fubjection. William Tell, an inhabitant of Schacherthals near Altorf, paffed the hat, and omitted the ceremony. When Gessler came to Altorf, to hold a court of juftice for the canton of Uri, complaints were lodged against Tell for difobedience. The accufed boldly declared he would not bow to a hat * Zwing is to force: without a head. The governor, or Zwingherr, for this was the fignifiant title given by the people of Swifferland to the Auftrian governor, condemned Tell to fhoot an apple from the head of his fon. Thus compelled, Tell brought his fon, refolutely took aim, hit the apple, and did not hurt the boy. Being asked by the governor why he had brought another arrow, he at firft alledged the use of arms as his reafon; but, being preffed, he replied; Had I ftruck my child, I would have buried this in your heart.' The governor put him in fetters; and took him on board his boat, to herr is lord. bring bring him to Kufnacht. A storm came on,and the boatmen expected to be loft unlefs Tell, who was an excellent pilot, would fteer; for the deep fhores of thefe lakes have few landing places; and ftorms coming from the mountains, are fudden and often dan gerous. Tell was releafed and put to the helm. While fteering, he thought of the means of escape. As he approached the fhore, he perceived a projecting stone, on which he leapt, and, with his foot, pushed the boat, back the lake; then, taking an unfrequent path, he haftened to Kufnacht. Gefsler likewife came there; and mounted his horfe, to ride to his castle. Tell, in ambush, way laid him; and fhot him from his horse. Remarkable Custom at Berne. In ancient times, a custom was introduced in the German districts of the canton of Berne, that a maiden, having once received the holy facrament, fhould every Saturday evening leave her chamber door open, and receive a young man in bed. Improbable as it, may appear, in thofe days fuch nightly vifits were feldom attended with the confequences that might well have been expected. The lover left the maiden as innocent as he found her; and continued to repeat his vifits. This was called going to knilt; or to kilp : kilpen, or kilten, is a phrafe which only fignified a vifit after fupper. But this cuftom, which even then was improper, for it could not but fully the innocence of the heart, is now become more reprehenfible. It is at prefent very difreput able for a young village girl to admit of a fecond lover, before she has difcarded the first; but the may have feveral lovers in a fhort time, without incurring any blame; although fuch vifits are no longer as harmless as they formerly were. Should the be with child, the feducer must marry her but the feldom knows who the father is; and therefore the is at liberty to choose which of the lovers fhe pleases as the father. So rooted is the prejudice in favour of this cuftom, that the old people encourage it; and a chafte young woman, among the village girls, is rarely to be found. They make faithful and affectionate wives; neither do they blush at the follies committed before marriage; which they do not confider as follies, and which the fobereft matron among them would not punish as fuch. I can conceive how difficult it must be to extirpate a prejudice from a country where it has taken fuch deep root: but fo wife a government as this should not be terrified at diffi culties, when the chastity of women and the virtue of men are fo intimately concerned. A custom like this might have been expected among the inhabitants of the South Sea islands, rather than in the largest canton in Swifferland: a country which is fo justly celebrated for the purity of its manners. How blameable is this cuf tom compared to that of the favages of North America! If a young man there wishes to espouse a maiden, he goes by night with a lighted candle into her hut, and places himself by her bedfide. fhould fhe disapprove his courtship, the gives a fign with her hand; and he retires without a murmur. If, on the contrary, the is pleased, she rifes half up in her bed; while fweet modefty binds her tongue; and as a token of approbation, blows out the light. Well might the ancients celebrate their Penelope, who, when her father asked her whether fhe would remain with him or follow her husband, made no reply; but, concealing her face with her veil, thereby declared in favour of Ulyf fes. With equal delicacy of feeling, the American virgin gives the young favage her permiffion, by blowing out the light before she takes him to her arms. [To be concluded in our next.] ACCOUNT . IT INSURRECTION OF THE NEGROES, IN AUGUST 1791, AT CAPE FRANCOIS. From Edwards's Hiftorical Survey of St Domingo. T was on the morning of the 23d of August, just before day, that a general alarm and confternation fpread throughout the town of the Cape, from a report that all the negro flaves in the feveral neighbour. ing parishes had revolted, and were at that moment carrying death and defolation over the adjoining large and beautiful plain to the north-east. The governor, and most of the military officers on duty, affembled to. gether; but the reports were fo confufed and contradictory, as to gain but little credit; when, as day-light began to break, the fudden and fucceffive arrival, with ghaftly countenances, of perfons who had with difficulty efcaped the maffacre, and flown to the town for protection, brought a dreadful confirmation of the fatal tidings. The rebellion first broke out on a plantation called Noel, in the parish of Acul, nine miles only from the city. Twelve or fourteen of the ringleaders, about the middle of the night, proceeded to the refinery, or fugar-houfe, and feized on a young man, the refiner's apprentice, dragging him to the front of the dwel ling houfe, and their hewed him into pieces with their cutlaffes: his fcreams brought out the overfeer, whom they inftantly shot. The rebels now found their way to the apartments of the refiner, and maffacred him in his bed. A young man, lying fick in a neigh.. bouring chamber, was left apparently dead of the wounds inflicted by their cutlaffes: he had frength enough, however, to crawl to the next plantation, and relate the horrors he had witneffed. He reported, that all the whites of the estate which he had left were murdered, except only the furgeon, whom the rebels had compelled to accompany them, Ed. Mag. June 1797. 4IL on the idea that they might ftand in need of his profeffional affistance. Alarmed by this intelligence, the perfons to whom it was communicated immediately fought their fafety in flight. What became of the poor youth I have never been informed. The revolters (confifting now of all the flaves belonging to that plantation) proceeded to the houfe of a Mr Clement, by whole negroes alfo they were immediately joined, and both he and his refiner were maffa. cred. The murderer of Mr Clement was his own poftilion, a man to whom he had always fhewn great kindness. The other white people on this eftate contrived to make their escape. At this juncture, the negroes on the plantation of M. Flaville, a few miles diftant, likewife rofe and murdered five white perfons, one of whom (the procureur, or attorney for the eftate) had a wife and three daughters. Thefe unfortunate women, while imploring for mercy of the favages on their knees, beheld their husbands and father murdered before their faces: for themfelves, they were devoted to a more horrid fate, and were carried away captives by the affaflins. The approach of day-light ferved only to difcover fights of horror. It was now apparent that the negroes on all the estates in the plain acted in concert, and a general maffacre of the whites took place in every quarter. On fome few eftates, indeed, the lives of the women were fpared, but they were referved only to gra tify the brutal appetites of the ruffians; and it is thocking to relate, that many of them fuffered violation on the dead bodies of their husbands and fathers! 3 F In the town itself, the general be. lief |