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poffeffed all the amiable qualities that adorned the character of his father, a calm philanthropy, a genuine piety, an unaffected humility. It was at the house of this his nephew, that Dr. Ken was upon a visit, when a stack of chimnies fell into his bed-chamber, Nov. 27, 1703, without doing him any harm; whilst Dr. Kidder, his immediate fucceffor in the fee of Bath and Wells, was unfortunately killed with his lady by a fimilar accident, during the fame ftorm, in his palace at Wells. Mr. Walton, junior, died in 1716. His remains lie interred at the feet of his friend and patron, Bishop Ward, in the Cathedral of Salisbury".

It would be highly improper to afcribe to Mr. Ifaac Walton that extent of knowledge, which characterifes the fcholar: Yet thofe who are converfant in his writings will probably entertain no doubt of his acquaintance with books. His frequent references to ancient and modern history, his season

"On a Plain flat ftone is this infcription:

H. S. E.

ISAACUS WALTON, HUJUS ECCLESIÆ

CANONICUS RESIDENTIARIUS,
PIETATIS NON FUCATÆ,

DOCTRINE SANÆ,

MUNIFICENTIÆ, BENEVOLENTIÆ

EXEMPLAR DESIDERANDUM.

PASTORIS BONI ET FIDELIS FUNCTUS OFFICIO PER ANNOS

38 IN PAROCHIA DE POLSHOT WILTS.

OBIIT VICESIMO NONO DECEMBRIS,
ANNO DOMINI 1716,
ÆTATIS 69.

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* Walton, in his "Complete Angler," frequently cites authors that have written only in Latin, as Gefner, Aldrovandus, Rondeletius, and others. The voluminous History of Animals, compofed by Gefner, is tranflated into English by Mr. Edward Topfel. This tranflation was published in 1658, and as it contained numberlefs particulars, extracted from the works of various writers concerning frogs, ferpents, and caterpillar s, it furnished our author with much intelligence. "Pliny's Natural History" was tranflated by Dr. Philemon Holland. Also there were verfions of the tract of Janus Dubravius "de Pifcinis et Pifcium Naturâ,” and of "Lebault's Maison ruftique," fo often referred to by him in the courfe of his Work. (See the "Biographical Dictionary, London, 1784.")-In " The Life of Dr. Sanderson," Walton has quoted Thucydides. It must be remembered, that Hobbes printed his English tranflation of "The Hiftory of the Græcian War," in 1628.

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able applications of feveral paffages in the most approved writers, his allufions to various branches of general fcience, thefe and other circumstances concur in confirming the affertion, that though he did not partake of the benefits of early erudition, yet in maturer age, he enlarged his intellectual acquifitions, so as to render them fully proportionate to his opportunities and abilities. The fruits of his truly commendable industry he has generoufly confecrated to pofterity. Deprived of the advantage of a learned education, he hath with great fidelity preserved the memory of thofe, who by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wife and eloquent in their inftructions, honoured in their generations; and the glory of their times,” each of whom, in his edifying pages, "being dead yet speaketh." He may be literally faid "to have laboured not for himself only, but for all those that feek wifdom." How interefting and affecting are many of his narratives and defcriptions! The vision of ghaftly horror that prefented itself to Dr. Donne, at the time of his fhort refidence in Paris,the pleasant meffages which Sir Henry Wotton and the good-natured priest exchanged with each other in a church at Rome, during the time of vefpers, the domeftic incidents which excited the tender commiferation of Mr. Edwin Sandys and Mr. George Cranmer, while they vifited their venerable tutor at his country parfonage of Drayton Beauchamp',-the affectionate and patient condefcenfion of Mr. George Herbert, compaflionating the diftreffes of the poor woman of Bemerton,-the interview of Dr. Sanderson and Mr. Ifaac Walton accidentally meeting each other in the ftreets of London,-these and numberlefs other fimilar paffages will always be read with reiterated pleasure.

We shall indeed be difappointed, if we expect to find in the following volume the brilliancy of wit, the elaborate correctnefs of ftyle, or the afcititious graces and ornaments of fine compofition. But that pleating finplicity of fentiment, that plain and unaffected language, and, may I add,

that

A circumftance mentioned in this narrative, reminds me of the defeription of a domeftic picture, in "The Life of Melancthon," who was feen by one of his friends, "with one hand rocking the cradle of his child, with the other holding a book."

that natural eloquence", which pervades the whole, richly compenfates the want of elegance, and rhetorical embellishment'. Truth is never displayed to us in more grateful colours, than when the appears, not in a garish attire, but in her own native garb, without artifice, without pomp. In that garb Ifaac Walton has arrayed her. Deeply impreffed with the excellence of thofe exemplary characters which he endeavours to portray, he speaks no other language than that of the heart, and thus imparts to the reader his own undisguised fentiments, fo friendly to piety and virtue. Affuredly, no pleasure can be placed in competition with that, which refults from the view of men fedulously adjufting their actions with integrity and honour. To accompany them, as it were, along the path of life, to join in their converfation, to obferve their demeanour in various fituations, to contemplate their acts of charity and beneficence, to attend them into their closets, to behold their ardour of piety and devotion; in short, to establish, as it were, a friendship and familiarity with them,-this doubtlefs, must be pronounced an happy anticipation of that holy intercourfe, which will, I, trust, subsist between beatified fpirits in another and a better ftate.

Thofe parts of this volume are more peculiarly adapted to afford fatiffaction, improvement, and confolation, in which is related the behaviour of these good men at the hour of death. Here we find ourselves perfonally and intimately interested. "A battle or a triumph," fays Mr. Addison, are conjunctures, in which not one man in a million is likely to be en:gaged;

z This quality is, i truft, not improperly applied to Mr. Ifaac Walton's writings. "True eloquence," fays Milton, "I find to be none but the serious and hearty love of truth: And that, whofe mind foever is fully poffeffed with a fervent desire to know good things, and with the dearest charity to infuse the knowledge of them into others; when fuch a man would fpeak, his words, like fo many nimble and airy fervitors, trip about him at command, and in well-ordered files, as he would wifh, fall aptly into their own places."

poignancy of Dr. "Thus he began

a I indulge myself in quoting only one paffage. Having defcribed the Donne's grief on the death of his wife, the author pathetically concludes. the day, and ended the night; ended the restless night, and began the weary day in lamentations." The repetition is exquifitely beautiful. It reminds me of Orpheus lamenting over Eurydice, in Virgil's Georgics:

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"Te veniente Die, te decedente canebat."

gaged; but when we see a perfon at the point of death, we cannot forbear being attentive to every thing he fays or does; because we are fure, that fome time or other, we fhall ourselves be in the fame melancholy circumftances. The general, the ftatefman, or the philofopher, are perhaps characters which we may never act in; but the dying man is one whom, fooner or later, we fhall certainly refemble." Thus while these instructive pages teach us how to live, they impart a leffon equally ufeful and momentous-how to die. When I contraft the death-bed fcenes, which our author has described, with that which is exhibited to us in the laft illness of a modern philofopher, who at that awful period had no source of confola-. tion but what he derived from reading Lucian and other books of amufement, discoursing cheerfully with his friends on the trifling topics of common converfation, playing at his favourite game of whift, and indulging his pleasantry on the fabulous hiftory of " Charon and his Boat," without one single act of devotion, without any expreffion of penitential forrow, of hope, or confidence in the goodness of God, or in the merits of a Redeemer; when this contrast, I fay, is prefented to my view, it is impoffible not to adopt the language of the prophet, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my laft end be like his "."

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Is it neceffary to add, that we are here prefented with two pleafing portraits of female excellence, in the mother and in the wife of Mr. George. Herbert? In the firft were united all the perfonal and mental accomplishments of her fex: The enlightened piety of the latter, her native humility, her truly Chriftian charity, exhibit her as a perfect model of every thing. good and praife-worthy, while her marriage with Mr. Herbert, though attended with fome unufual circumftances, proves inconteftably, that an union, originating from "good fenfe, from inclination, and from an equality

Dr. Thomas Townson, the late Archdeacon of Richmond, read "Ifaac Waiton's Lives" during his laft illness, with a view, no doubt, to trim his lamp, and prepare for his Lord, by comparing his conduct with the examples of thofe meek and holy men, defcribed by the pleafing and faithful biographer. He alfo read, and, affuredly, with fimilar intentions, Mr. Herbert's "Country Parfon."-Of this pious and learned man, the ornament of the eighteenth century, fee" Churton's Memoirs of Dr. Townfon."

See "The Life of David Hume, Efq." p. 43, 46.

equality of age, of dignity, and of fortune," can feldom fail of being attended with happiness.

It is faid of Socrates, that all who knew him, loved him: And that if any did not love him, it was because they did not know him. May we not affirm the fame of that worthy perfon, who is the fubject of this memoir? Such was the sweetness of his temper, fo affectionate was the regard which his friends profeffed for him, that, in their epiftolary correfpondence, though they were far fuperior to him in rank and condition of life, they ufually addreffed him in the language of tenderness and foothing endearment, styling him, "Good Mr. Walton;"" Honeft Ifaac;" " Worthy Friend;""Dear Brother;" "Moft Ingenious Friend." No one better deserved these kind appellations. Let it always be recorded to his honour, that he never retracted any promife, when made in favour even of his meanest friend. Neal, in his "Hiftory of the Puritans," introduces an erroneous quotation from "Walton's Life of Mr. Hooker." Dr. Warburton, in his notes on that history (Warburton's Works, Vol. VII. p. 895,) commenting upon this quotation, fpeaks of "the quaint trafh of a fantastical lifewriter." Is it poffible to suppose that an epithet, more adapted to the afperity of faftidious cenfure, than to the cool and deliberate judgment of candid and equitable criticism, fhould be juftly applied to a man of real merit, who ftrenuously exerted himself in promoting the cause of religion, as well by his writings as by his exemplary conduct?

The corporation of Stafford have publicly pronounced him their worthy and generous benefactor. Of his fingular munificence to the poor inhabitants of this his native town, we find feveral inftances in his life-time: And, at his death, he configned fome bequests of confiderable value to be appropriated to their use".

In

See "Mr. Cotton's Epiftle Dedicatory to his moft worthy Father and Friend, Mr. Ifaac Walton the elder," prefixed to the Second Part of "The Complete Angler."

It appears from a table fixed in the Church of St. Mary's, in the borough of Stafford, that Mr. Ifaac Walton gave, in his life-time, a garden of eight fhillings a year, to buy coals for the poor yearly about Christmas; and that he also gave twenty-two pounds, to build a stonewall around St. Chad's churchyard in the faid borough; and did alfo fet forth nine boys apprentices, bestowing five pounds on each.

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