"If you refuse admission to so long an article, I will offer it to one more periodical publication, and if it be thought too long there, I shall print a pamphlet, and put my name." In a second letter, only five days after, the Doctor observed :— "Somehow or other my matter has crowded upon me so fast, that I must give up all thoughts of introducing it into any periodical publication, and, therefore, I shall make a pamphlet, and print it at Warwick. There again my vexations about a scribe are almost intolerable; I must submit to the torments of delay." This tract has been published by the Rev. John Lynes, the grandson by marriage, and one of the executors of Dr Parr. It is called "A Letter to the Rev. Dr Milner, occasioned by some passages contained in his Book, entitled The End of Religious Controversy. By the late Rev. S. Parr, LL.D." One of the most material of the Doctor's intended labours, was a memoir of Robert Sumner, the master of Sir William Jones and himself, at Harrow, and the friend of Dr Samuel Johnson; and it appears, that, at the time of his death, he had made considerable progress in the work, which was upon a comprehensive plan. Perhaps the reader may wish to know in what manner Dr Parr conducted his instructions from the pulpit. He wrote many of his sermons; but in Middlesex, at Colchester, and at Norwich, he often preached extempore: and it must be unnecessary to say, that the ardour of his temper, the fulness of his knowledge, and the strength of his understanding, always readily supplied him with matter pertinent, forcible, and abundant. He preached without any preparation whatsoever, and his custom was to select his subject from that which struck him in the lessons, epistle and gospel, or psalms of the day. There was always method in these extemporaneous effusions. They were frequently accompanied with critical remarks; and they were delivered with an earnestness of manner, and a correctness and vigour of diction, most interesting to the hearers, and equal to the highest expectations which could be formed of his powers, even by men most prejudiced in his favour, and most accustomed to his conversation. At Hatton he generally took up a sermon written by Clarke, Balguy, or Jortin, or by some other distinguished divine of the Established Church. But his own observations were always introduced; and from the peculiarity of his thinking and his style, the difference was easily discerned by an intelligent hearer. Such, indeed, were his readiness and copiousness, that of sermons which continued for half an hour or forty minutes, the parts which he merely read occupied scarcely five or six pages. His views were most comprehensive, his arguments most acute; his diction was correct without stiffness, and his imagery splendid without glare. It was the vulgar notion of those who did not know Dr Parr, that his information was confined to the structure of sentences, the etymology of words, the import of particles, and the quantity of syllables. But those who intimately knew and appreciated his singular mental acquirements, were struck alike with their va. riety and with their depth. In classical erudition he was without a rival, and was one of the few surviving devotees of the old school of learning. His knowledge of ecclesiastical history, particularly as connected with the church history of Britain, was most extraordinary: all the minute and illustrative facts connected with the liturgies, forms, doctrines, and creeds of the establishment, were most accurately known to him. As he idolized the memories of those who had fallen martyrs in the cause of political truth, so, in his own words, he "loved to soar in the regions of religious liberty." His religious sentiments were formed on the most mature reflection, the most accurate balance of evidence, the most extensive, bold, and impartial results. There were no doubts he dared not investigate, no difficulties he did not grapple with. But although there was no polemical question which he did not analyse, yet he entertained the most profound contempt for established bigotry, and sectarian dogmatism. Above all, he early discovered the limitation of the human understand ing; the folly of diving after hidden knowledge. To use his own quotation from Johnson, "by the solicitous examination of objections, and judicious comparisons of opposite arguments, he attained what inquiry never gives but to industry, and perspicuity,-a firm and unshaken settlement of conviction; but his firmness was without asperity, for knowing with how much difficulty truth was sometimes found, he did not wonder that many missed it." So careful a guardian did the doctor prove of the different bequests belonging to the poor of his parish at Hatton, that one of them has been tripled, after having been recovered from thirty-six years' loss. Another is made to produce clothes for the poor in two townships, nearly in a threefold proportion. Another, left for the decoration of the church, has been rescued from an inferior class of trustees, who formerly misapplied the revenue; and the revenue itself is increased in value, as well as employed to the purpose for which it was originally designed. The doctor was as strongly attached to a pipe as the learned Dr Isaac Barrow is said to have been. Wherever he went to dine he was indulged with his favourite whiff. He was once invited to dinner by a gentleman whose wife, a fine lady, had an intense aversion to smoking, and the following story is told of the occasion:-The husband, on his return-"My dear, whom do you think I met in the street just now, and invited to dine with us to-morrow?" "I cannot say, my love, unless you tell me." "Dr Parr." Very well, love; you know I am always happy to see your friends at our table." "You are very kind, my dear wife, but I must mention one thing; the doctor, wherever he goes, is indulged with a pipe." "Indeed, my dear! then I have only this to say, he shall not have that indulgence here; no gentleman shall smoke a pipe in my drawing-room." The husband perceived the case was lost, and like a wise man, dropped the subject. On the morrow the Doctor came, and a select party met him. After a sumptuous dinner, they retired to the drawing-room. The Doctor began to feel certain cravings for the stimulating fumes of his beloved pipe; he tried to catch the eye of his host, but that was constantly averted. The lady of the house was on the qui vive; she watched both her husband and the Doctor. At length the reverend gentleman grew impatient; he addressed himself in a half whisper to his friend: the word "pipe" caught the ear of madam, who immediately took upon herself to answer for her husband. Lady: "Dr Parr, I hope you will excuse what • Hatton is divided into three distinct townships; each of which provides for its own poor. I am going to say, but I cannot permit smoking in my drawing-room." Doctor: "And why not, madam? I have smoked a pipe with my king, and it surely can be no offence or disgrace to a subject to permit me the like indulgence." Lady: "Notwithstanding that, sir, I never will allow my drawingroom to be defiled with the nauseous smoke of tobacco. I have ordered a room below to be prepared for any gentlemen who wish to indulge in that disagreeable habit." Doctor: "Madam -"Lady, quickly: "Sir." Doctor; Madam, you are. Lady: "I beg, sir, you will not express any rudeness!" The doctor, raising his voice: "Madam, you are the greatest tobacco stopper in England." This sally caused a loud laugh at the expense of the lady, and though the doctor had not the pleasure of his pipe, he enjoyed the effect of his wit. 66 Soon after the execution at Maidstone, in 1798, of O'Coigley, the Irish priest, for high-treason, Dr Parr happened to be in company with a gentleman, a native of Scotland, who has since acquired considerable celebrity, both on the bench and in the House of Commons, but who was then only a young barrister, and was suspected of more than a disposi tion to desert whiggism, of which he had been the warm advocate, for the politics of the administration of that day. In the course of conversation, this gentleman observed, that O'Coigley richly deserved his fate, for that it was impossible to conceive a greater scoundrel. "By no means, sir," said Dr Parr; "it is possible to conceive a much greater scoundrel. He was an Irishman, he might have been a Scotchman; he was a priest, he might have been a lawyer; he was a traitor, he might have been an apostate!" To the latest period of his life the vigour of Dr Parr's mind remained unimpaired. In his 77th year he wrote to Mr Brougham,-" Animo quam nul la senectus, say I, triumphantly, in the words of Statius." His last illness was long protracted. In the course of it appearances were, more than once, so favourable as to excite the strongest hopes of his recovery; but about a fortnight before his decease all these flattering ideas took their flight. From that time he gradually declined, the vital powers slowly and almost imperceptibly wasting, until exhausted nature sunk, and in the evening of the 6th of March 1825, he gently expired, having completed his 78th year on the 26th of January. He was to the last serene and placid, calmly, even cheerfully resigned. It was most gratifying to his weeping relatives and friends to hear, mingled with the devoutest breathings of pious acquiescence in the will of Providence, the warm and glowing expressions which often broke from his lips of intense feeling and generous concern for the welfare of his friends, his numerous acquaintance, his country, and his fellow-men. Even in his last hours, it seemed to be still his delight, as it ever was in his previous life, to range through the whole compass of rational creation; embracing within his kindest thoughts and wishes all human beings; and interesting himself in every event, in every part of the world, which wore a favourable aspect towards human improvement and human happiness. With that greatness of mind which can anticipate with perfect composure the last awful change of mortal man, he gave minute directions respecting his funeral. His remains were deposited near those of his late wife and her daughters, in a vault in Hatton Church. They were attended on foot by nearly forty gentlemen in mourning, consisting of the clergy of the surrounding parishes, &c. The pall-bearers were seven clergymen, and one dissenting minister; and the coffin was borne by parishioners of Hatton appointed by himself. Agreeably to his express instructions, the burial service was read by the Rev. Rann Kennedy, minister of St Paul's Chapel, Birmingham. After reading of the lessons, a sermon was preached, " in obedience to his own request," by the Rev. Dr Butler, Archdeacon of Derby, and Head Master of Shrewsbury School, from the text which Dr Parr directed to be inscribed on his monument, viz. "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" On the following Sunday, the Rev. Dr Wade, Vicar of St Nicholas, Warwick, there preached a funeral sermon for him, which was attended by an immense concourse of all ranks. Another was delivered the same day at the High Street Dissenting Chapel. HENRY FUSELI, ESQ. M. A. R.A. PROFESSOR OF PAINTING, AND KEEPER liar talent by which he afterwards so eminently distinguished himself, his father determined to bring him up to the church, and did everything that he could to thwart the natural bent of his inclination. This opposition met with the fate which usually attends similar attempts. The zest of prohibition being added to the gratification which young Henry felt in the exercise of his pencil, he devoted to it every moment that he could contrive to withdraw from his other occupations. Even at that period, Michael Angelo was his favourite. His father had an extensive collection of prints, especially after that great master; and with their peculiar merits and style, young Fuseli, by repeated copies, rendered himself familiar. Nor did he confine himself to "servile imitation." Among the productions of his juvenile invention, were a set of outlines, (etchings of which were many years afterwards published,) suggested by the perusal of an eccentric German novel, called "The Hour ACADEMY OF ST LUKE, AT ROME, &c. glass;" and representing a number of &c. The father of Mr Fuseli was an artist of Zurich,-John Gaspard Fuessli, (for Fuessli was the family name,) who painted portraits and landscapes with great power. He had three sons; Rodolph, who settled at Vienna, and became librarian to the Emperor of Germany; Henry, the subject of the present memoir; and Caspar, a skilful entomologist, who, after having published several works on his favourite science, died in the prime of life. The precise year of Mr Fuseli's birth is not known. He had the foible which is frequently found in persons of the strongest mind, that of unwillingness to talk of their age. It is generally supposed that he was born in 1739; but this is only conjecture. Although young Fuseli evinced, from infancy, strong indications of the pecu fantastic imps engaged in all kinds of mischievous tricks. In order that he might be duly qualified for the sacred office to which he was destined, his father placed him, at the proper age, in the Academical Gymnasium, or Humanity College. Here he became a fellow student in theology with the amiable Lavater, with whom he formed a friendship that lasted until death; and that was then transferred to Lavater's son with unabated fervour. It was here also that he began to cultivate a knowledge of the English language; in which he soon became so great a proficient as to read Shakspeare with ease, and to translate Macbeth into German. He subsequently translated Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's letters into German. Here, too, the writings of Klopstock and Wieland operated as incentives to his muse; he imbibed an in tense love of poetry; and produced several poems in his native language that met with considerable applause. About this period, an event occurred, which proved that the characteristic energy of his mind was already powerfully developing itself. Fuseli and Lavater had heard much of the acts of injustice committed by a ruling magistrate in one of the bailiwicks of Zurich. But although the complaints of his conduct became daily louder, and his guilt more evident, yet it seemed difficult to obtain redress, as the burgomaster of Zurich was his father-inlaw. Fuseli and his friend first addressed an anonymous letter to the unjust magistrate, containing a list of his offences, and threatening a public accusation, unless he gave immediate satisfaction to those whom he had plundered. No notice having been taken of this letter, the two friends made their complaint public, in a pamphlet entitled, "The Unjust Magistrate, or the Complaint of a Patriot," which was printed and introduced into the houses of the principal members of the government. The business was at length taken up by the council at Zurich; a rigorous inquiry was instituted; and the authors of the complaint were called upon to make themselves known. Lavater and Fuseli immediately stepped forward, and boldly avowed what they had written. The magistrate, however, did not choose to await the issue of the inquiry; but thought it prudent to abscond. The result of the investigation was such as did equal credit to the patriotic exertions of the complainers, and to the impartial administration of justice by the council of Zurich. The unjustlyacquired property was restored, and the guilty magistrate condemned to a suitable punishment. It was not possible, however, that an act of public spirit, such as this, could be performed without the crea tion of some private enmity. There is reason to believe that young Fuseli felt the annoying effect of this enmity, and that it induced him soon after to quit Zurich ; but not until he had taken the degree of Master of Arts. Accompanied by his friend Lavater, he first repaired to Vienna, and then to Berlin; where they both placed themselves under the instructions of the learned Professor Sulzer, the author of a celebrated Lexicon of the Fine Arts. The ready and apprehensive talent which Fuseli discovered, and the intimate acquaintance that he had acquired with the English language, induced Sulzer to select him, as a person admirably. qualified for the prosecution of a design which he and other learned men had formed, of opening a channel of communication between the literature of Germany and that of England. Added to this peculiar fitness for the undertaking, young Fuseli, who, constant to his early attachment, derived from his pencil all the amusement of his leisure, had made several drawings, among the rest, Macbeth, and Lear and Cordelia,-for Sir Robert Smith, the English ambassador at the Prussian court; who, pleased with his genius, treated him with marked kindness; and strongly recommended him to visit England. The concurrence of so many favourable circumstances was irresistible; and the visit to England was determined upon. On parting with his friend Lavater, the high opinion which the latter entertained of him was shown by his presenting him with a small piece of paper, beautifully framed and glazed, on which was written, in German, "Do but the tenth part of what you can do." "Hang that up in your bedroom, my dear friend," said Lavater, "and I know what will be the result.' It was about the year 1762 that Mr Fuseli arrived in this country. On coming up to London, his first lodging |