siastical courts, &c. &c.; but, after sitting ten days, no progress was made in any of these measures, and the convocation was adjourned. Dr. Prideaux, who was of opinion that many alterations in the liturgy were necessary, wrote a pamphlet on the subject, entitled "A Letter to a Friend, relating to the present Convocation at Westminster," of which several thousands were sold within a fortnight.

After this he quitted Norwich, and resided at his parsonage at Saham, in which church he officiated every morning and afternoon throughout the four years that he lived there, unless when keeping his two months' residence at Norwich, or visiting his archdeaconry, which he did constantly twice a year, until unable to bear the journey in consequence of the stone, a disorder he had already contracted, and which at last proved fatal to him. A favourite topic in his visitations was the duty of private prayer in the families of the clergy, which he urged by every argument; and told them, that when visiting, if there was any house where the dwellers refused to hear them perform family-worship, that was no house for a clergyman to make his abode in.

In the first session of parliament after the new bishops (appointed in the room of those who refused to take the oaths to government) made their appearance, two bills were brought into the House of Lords, relating to the church, in both of which Dr. Prideaux was concerned: the first was to take away pluralities of benefices, the other to prevent clandestine marriages. Bishop Burnet intended to introduce the first, but submitted it previously to Dr. Prideaux, who drew up a bill, which all the prelates friendly to the measure thought would be less liable to objection, and therefore it was brought into the House, but rejected: the other, to prevent clandestine marriages, was introduced by one of the peers; and its object was, to make it felony in the minister who should solemnize or officiate at such marriage. This matter being warmly debated, Dr. Kidder, then bishop of Bath and Wells, wrote to Dr. Prideaux, desiring his opinion on it. The doctor, in a very long letter, proved that the ecclesiastical laws were already sufficient to prevent clandestine marriages, if only carried into execution; and stated, by what means, all the precautions provided in these laws had been evaded by the avarice of chancellors, commissaries, and registrars. He added that,

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as the bill stood, it could have no other effect than to subject the clergy to be tried for their lives every marriage they solemnized. Kidder, who had made use of this paper in the debate which ended in withdrawing the bill, immediately sent it to the press; and the week following, to Dr. Prideaux's great surprize, he received a printed copy of it from the bishop, who however had not put his name to it.

In 1691, on the death of Dr. Pocock, his professorship. (of Hebrew) was offered to Dr. Prideaux; but he declined it, says his biographer, "for several reasons, which at that time made it inconvenient to him to accept it, but afterwards it proved much to his detriment that he did not." As after the act of toleration, many people imagined themselves at liberty either to go to church or stay at home, as they thought proper, by which means the churches were much deserted, Dr, Prideaux drew up a circular letter, directed to the ministers of his archdeaconry, which was afterwards published, in 1701, at the end of his "Directions to Churchwardens." In 1694, finding his health impaired by the aguish air of Saham, he determined to return again with his family to Norwich; but, instead of putting in a curate at Saham, he thought it his duty to give up both benefice and office, which he accordingly did, into the hands of the bishop of the diocese, and informed the warden and fellows of New college, Oxford, the patrons of the living, of his resignation. On his return to Norwich, the care of the cathedral affairs again devolved upon him, in the absence of the dean (Dr. Fairfax), who resided mostly in London *. In 1696, the dean and chapter presented him to the vicarage of Trowse, worth about 40l. and situated a mile from Norwich. Here he officiated with the same assiduity and regularity as at Saham, and that purely for the love of duty; for, in addition to his other preferments, he had a private fortune, which rendered this last vicarage of no consequence in a pecuniary view.

In 1697 he published his "Life of Mahomet†," 8vo, of

* On the promotion of Dr. Tenison to the see of Canterbury, our author addressed a letter to his grace, containing "An Account of the English settlements in the East Indies, together with some proposals for the propagation of Christianity in thosep arts of the world."

+ The facetious Mr. Greaves informs us, "that when the learned Humphry Prideaux (as the story goes) offered his life of Mahomet to the bookseller, he was desired to leave the copy with him a few days, for his perusal. The bookseller, who had not the learning or taste of a modern

which three editions were printed the first year. He intended to have written a history of the Saracen empire, and with it the decay and fall of the Christian religion; but he gave up this design for reasons stated in the preface to the Life of Mahomet. This valuable work was followed by his useful little treatise called "Directions to Churchwardens," whose negligence he had very much experienced in his archdeaconry: this has gone through many editions. In 1702, on the death of the dean of Norwich, Dr. Henry Fairfax, Dr. Prideaux was installed as his successor on June 8th of that year, and a more proper person could not be found. He now continued, with better effect, if possible, that attention to regularity and discipline which he had before paid; and although this made him obnoxious to the persons whom he censured or dismissed, the benefit to the general body was too obvious not to be approved. In December 1702, on a public thanksgivingday for the success of the expedition to Vigo, he preached a sermon on the subject, which we notice as the only one he ever printed; and, had it been left to his own inclination, would never have been thought of by himself for that purpose. In 1703 he published a tract in vindication of the ecclesiastical law, which gives the successor in any ecclesiastical benefice or promotion, all the profits, from the day of the avoidance. This was occasioned by an alteration in the law which bishop Burnet was about to have introduced; but our author's arguments carried such weight, that the design was given up.

On the translation of the bishop of Norwich to Ely, Dr. Prideaux was advised (to make interest for the bishopric; but being now sixty years of age, too late to enter on a course of public life and parliamentary attendance, and for other reasons, he declined interfering, and Dr. Trimnell became bishop, whom he thought every way deserving of the preferment. In the mean time Dr. Prideaux continued. his labours for the general interests of the church, and in

1709, published his tract on "The original right of Tythes." In this, his first intention was to give the History of Appropriations; and this was to have been only an introduction; but it enlarging under his hand, he resolved to publish it by itself as the first part of the work. He had for many years made collections of the common law and ecclesiastical history; but wanted much information which he could not have without going to London, and consulting the public records there; and he was about this time seized with the calamitous distemper of the stone; so that he was forced to lay aside that design. Upon this last account also he resigned the vicarage of Trowse, when no longer able to go up into the pulpit. The severity of his disorder now suggested the operation of lithotomy, which was successfully performed by Mr. Salter, an eminent surgeon of London, who went to Norwich for the purpose; but the subsequent cure, having been entrusted to a young man at Norwich, was so badly treated, that the patient had almost lost his life, and was indeed ever after a great sufferer by this misconduct.

Being enabled, however, to return to his studies, after improving a new edition of his "Directions to Church Wardens," in 1712, he proceeded with that greater work, on which his reputation with posterity principally depends. It was entitled "The Connection of the History of the Old and New Testament;" the first part of which was published in 1715, the second in 1718, fol. Both parts were received with the greatest approbation, and went through eight editions in 4 vols. 8vo, at London, besides two or three at Dublin, before the end of 1720, since which it has been often reprinted, and is indeed accounted a standard book in every theological library. This history takes in the affairs of Egypt, Assyria, and all the other eastern nations, as well as the Jews; and likewise those of Greece and Rome, as far as was necessary to give a distinct view of the completion of the prophecies which relate to the times comprehended in the history. The author has also set in the clearest light some passages of prophane history, which before lay dispersed and buried in confusion: and there appears throughout the whole work such an amiable spirit of sincerity and candour, as sufficiently atones for the few mistakes which escaped his diligence. Gordon, the author of "Cato's Letters," had certainly no prejudices in favour of Prideaux, or of his work; yet he styles it "a

body of universal history, written with such capacity, accuracy, industry, and honesty, as make it one of the best books that ever came into the world, and shew him to be one of the greatest men in it. No book was ever more universally read and approved: it is, indeed, a great public service done to mankind, and entitles the author to the highest public gratitude and honour. But though I never saw any great work, to which I found fewer objections, yet as a memorable proof how inseparably mistakes and prejudices cleave to the mind of man, the great and candid Dr. Prideaux is not without them. I therefore do not upbraid him with them, but rather admire him for having so few. There are, however, some of his theological observations, which seem to me not only ill-grounded, but to have a tendency to create in his readers wrong notions of the Deity, and to encourage them to mistake the common accidents of life, and the common events of nature, for judgments; and to apply them superstitiously as such." There are letters between the dean and his cousin Mr. Moyle, concerning some passages in this "Connection," &c. printed in the "Miscellaneous Works" of the latter, and in Dr. Prideaux's life. No man could be more willing to listen to reasonable objections, or to correct what could be proved to be wrong. Candour was the distinguishing feature of Dean Prideaux's character.

These

In the interval between the publication of the first and second parts of his "Connection," lord Townsend, secretary of state to George I. having meditated a design to introduce a reformation in the two universities, consulted our author upon it, who drew up a plan for the purpose, and sent it to his lordship, under the title of "Articles for the Reformation of the two Universities." amounted to fifty-six in number. No proceeding was held in consequence of this; but some of his articles have been silently adopted, and others are perhaps irreconcileable with the true interests of those seminaries. His proposition to erect a sort of college for those who had neglected their studies, by the name of Drone-Hall, has more the air of a piece of humour, than a serious proposition. whole are printed in the volume which contains his life.

The

In the seventy-fourth year of his age, finding himself so much weakened by age and infirmity that he could no longer use his books as formerly, and being desirous that his collection of Oriental books should not be dispersed, he permitted

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