and widow of general Charles Churchill, brother to John duke of Marlborough, by whom he had one fon James, lord Norris, who died of the fmall-pox, February 25, 1717-8. His lordship departing this life without other iffue, on June 16, 1743, he was fucceeded in his honours and eftate by his nephew, Willoughby Bertie, the late earl, eldest son of the honourable James Bertie, Efq; fecond fon of James, the first earl of Abingdon, who was born November 28, 1692, and married, in August 1727, Anna-Maria, daughter of Sir John Collins, bart. by whom he had iffue three fons and feven daughters; viz. James lord Norris, who was burnt in his bed at Rycote; Willoughby, who fucceeded him; and Peregrine and the Jadies Elizabeth, Jane, Bridget, Anne, Eleanora, Mary, and Sophia. His lordship died June 10, 1760, and was fucceeded by his fecond fon, Willoughby, the prefent earl of Abingdon, who was born January 16, 1740, and is yet unmarried. His brother Peregrine, the youngest fon, is at prefent captain of a sip of war in his majefty's navy. His lordship's titles are, Earl of Abingdon, Baron Norris of Rycote, and High Steward of Abingdon and Wallingford. Arms.] Argent, three battering rams barways, proper, arm'd and garnish'd azure; an annulet for difference. Creft.] On a wreath, the head and buft of a king coup'd, proper, crown'd ducally, and charged on the cheft with a fret, or. Supporters.] On the dexter fide, a pilgrim or friar vested in ruffet, with his ftaff and pater-nofter, or. On the finifter, a favage wreath'd about the temples and middle with ivy, proper. On each of their chefts a fret, or. Motto.] Virtus ariete fortior. Virtue ftronger than a battering-ram. Chief Seats.] At Witham, in Berkfhire; Rycote, in Oxfordshire; Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, London. Account of the Life and Writings of HENRY FIELDING, Efq. Extracted from Mr. Murphy's Effay on his Life and Genius, prefixed to the laft Edition of bis Works. [Concluded.] WE E are now arrived at the fecond grand epoch of Mr. Fielding's genius, when, as Mr. Murphy remarks, all his faculties were in perfect unifon, and confpired to produce a complete work. If, fays he, we confider Tom Jones in the fame light in which the ableft critics have examined the Iliad, the Eneid, and the Paradife Loft, namely, with a view to the fable, the manners, the fentiments, and the style, we fhall find it ftanding the teft of the feverest criticism. In the first place, the action has that unity, which is the boast of the great models of compofition; it turns upon a single event, attended with many circumstances, and many fubordinate incidents, which feem, in the progrefs of the work, to perplex, to entangle, and to involve the whole in difficulties, and lead on the reader's imagination, with an eager 3 nefs nefs of curiofity, through fcenes of prodigious variety, till at length the different intricacies and complications of the fable are explained after the fame gradual manner in which they had been worked up to a crifis: incident arifes out of incident: the feeds of every thing that fhoots up are laid [fown] with a judicious band, and whatever occurs in the latter part of the ftory, feems naturally to grow out of thofe paffages which preceded; fo that, upon the whole, the bufinefs with great propriety and probability works itfelf up into various embarrassments, and then afterwards, by a regular feries of events, clears itself from all impediments, and brings itself inevitably to a conclufion; like a river, which, in its progrefs, foams amongst fragments of rocks, and for a while feems pent up by unfurmountable oppofitions; then angrily dashes for a while, then plunges under ground into caverns, and runs a fubterraneous courfe, till at length it breaks out again, meanders round the country, and with a clear placid ftream flows gently into the ocean. By this artful management, our author has given us the perfection of fable; which, as the writers upon the fubject have juftly obferved, confifts in fuch obftacles to retard the final iffue of the whole, as thall at leaft, in their confequences, accelerate the catastrophe, and bring it evidently and neceffarily to that period only, which, in the nature of things, could arife from it; fo that the action could not remain in fuf. pence any longer, but must naturally close and determine itself. "In the execution of this plan, thus regular and uniform, what a variety of humorous fcenes, defcriptions, and characters, has our author found means to incorporate with the principal action; and this too, without diftracting the reader's attention with objects foreign to his fubject, or weakening the general intereft by a multiplicity of epifodical events. Still obferving the grand effential rule of unity in the defign, I believe no author has introduced a greater diversity of characters, or difplayed them more fully, or in more various attitudes. Allworthy is the moft amiable picture of a man who does honour to his fpecies: in his own heart he finds conftant propenfities to the most benevolent and generous actions, and his underftanding conducts him with diferetion in the performance of whatever his goodness fuggefts to him. And though it is apparent that the author laboured this portrait con amore, and meant to offer it to mankind as a juft object of imitation, he has foberly reftrained himself within the bounds of probability, nay, it may be faid, of ftrict truth: as in the general opinion, he is fuppofed to have copied here the features of a worthy character lately deceafed. Nothing can be more entertaining than Western; his ruftic manners, his natural undisciplined honefty, his half-enlightened underftanding, with the felf-pleafing fhrewdnefs which accompanies it, and the biass of his mind to miftaken politics, are all delineated with precifion and fine humour. The fifters of thofe two gentlemen are aptly introduced, and give rife to many agreeable scenes. Tom Jones will at all times be a fine leffon to young men of good tendencies to virtue, who yet fuffer the impetuofity of their passions to hurry them away. Thwackum and Square are excellently oppofed to each other; the former is a well-drawn 3 G 2 picture picture of a divine who is neglect ful of the moral part of his character, and oftentatiously talks of religion and grace; the latter is a frong ridicule of those who have high ideas of the dignity of our nature, and of the native beauty of virtue, without owning any obligations of conduct from religion. In fhort, all the characters down to Partridge, and even to a maid or an hoftler at an inn, are drawn with truth and humour: and indeed they abound fo much, and are fo often brought forward in a dramatic manner, that every thing may be faid to be here in action; every thing has MANNERS; and the very manners which belong to it in human life. They look, they act, they speak to our imaginations just as they appear to us in the world. The SENTIMENTS which they utter, are peculiarly annexed to their habits, paffions, and ideas; which is what poetical propriety requires; and, to the honour of the author it must be faid, that, whenever be addreffes us in perfon, he is always in the interefts of virtue and religion, and inspires, in a strain of moral reflection, a true love of goodness and honour, with a just deteftation of impofture, hypocrify, and all fpecious pretences to uprightnefs." Thus we have traced our author in his progrefs to the time when the vigour of his mind was in its full growth of perfection; from this period it funk, but by flow degrees, into a decline: Amelia, which fuc, ceeded Tom Jones in about four years, has indeed the marks of genius, but of a genius beginning to fall into its decay. The auther's invention in this performance does not appear to have loft its fertility; Lis judgment too kems as ftrong as ever; but the warmth of imagina tion is abated; and in his lancfkips or his fcenes of life, Mr. Fielding is no longer the colourift he was before. The perfonages of the piece delight too much in narrative, and their characters have not thofe touches of fingularity, thofe fpecific differences, which are fo beautifully marked in our author's former works: of course the humour, which confifts in happy delineations of the caprices and predominant foibles of the, human mind, lofes here its high flavour and relish. And yet Amelia holds the fame proportion to Tom Jones, that the Odyffey of Homer bears, in the estimation of Longinus, to the Iliad. A fine vein of morality runs through the whole; many of the fituations are affecting and tender; the fentiments are delicate; and, upon the whole, it is the Odyffey, the moral and pathetic work of Henry Fielding. While he was planning and executing this piece, it fhould be remembered, that he was distracted by that multiplicity of avocations, which furround a public magistrate; and his conftitution, now greatly impaired and enfeebled, was labouring under attacks of the gout, which were, of courfe, feverer than ever. However, the acity of his mind was not to be fubdued. One literary purfuit was no fooner over, than fresh game arose. A periodical paper, under the title of The Covent Garden Journal, by Sir Alexander Draucanfir, Knight, and Cenfor General of Great Britain, was immediately fet on foot. It was published twice in every week, viz. on Tucfday and Saturday, and conduced fo much to the entertainment of the public, for a twelvemonth together, that it was at length felt with a general general regret, that the author's health did not enable him to perfit in the undertaking any longer. Soon after this work was dropt, our author's whole frame of body was fo entirely fhattered by continual inroads of complicated diforders, and the inceflant fatigue of bufinefs in his office, that, by the advice of his phyficians, he was obliged to fet out for Lifbon, to try if there was any restorative quality in the more genial air of that climate. Even in this diftrefsful condition, his imagination ftill continued making its strongest efforts to difplay itself; and the laft gleams of his wit and humour faintly fparkled in the account he left behind him of his voyage to that place. About two months after his arrival at Lisbon, he yielded his laft breath, in the year 1754, and in the forty-eighth year of his age. He left behind him (for he married a fecond time) a wife, and four children, three of which are ftill living, and are now training up under the care of their uncle. Thus was clofed a courfe of difappointment, distress, vexation, infirmity and ftudy: for with each of thefe his life was varioufly chequer ed, and, perhaps, in ftronger proportions than has been the lot of many. Henry Fielding was in ftature rather rifing above fix feet; his frame of body large, and remarkably robuft, till the gout had broke the vigour of his conftitution. His paffions were, as the poet expreffes it, tremblingly alive all o'er: whatever he defired, he defired ardently; he was alike impatient of difappointment, or ill-ufage, and the fame quicknefs of fenfibility rendered him elate in profperity, and overflowing with gratitude at every inftance of friendtip or generofity: fteady in his private attachments, his affection was warm, fincere, and vehement; in his refentments he, was manly, but temperate, seldom breaking out in his writings into gratifications of ill-humour, or perfonal fatire. It is to the honour of thofe whom he loved, that he had too much penetration to be deceived in their characters; and it is to the advantage of his enemies, that he was above paffionate attacks upon them. Open, unbounded, and focial in his temper, he knew no love of money; but inclining to excels even in his very virtues, he pushed his contempt of avarice into the oppofite extreme of imprudence and prodigality. When young in life he had a moderate eflate, he foon fuffered hofpitality to devour it; and when in the latter end of his days he had an income of four or five hundred a year, he knew no ufe of money, but to keep his table open to thofe who had been his friends when young, and had impaired their own fortunes. A fenfe of honour he had as lively and delicate as most men, but sometimes his paffions were too turbulent for it, or rather his neceffities were too preffing; in all cafes where delicacy was departed from, his friends know how his own feelings reprimanded him. The interefts of virtue and religion he never betrayed; the former is amiably enforced in his works; and, for the defence of the latter, he had projected a laborious answer to the pofthumous philofophy of Bolingbroke; and the preparation he had made for it of long extracts and arguments from the fathers and the moft eminent writers of controverfy, is ftill extant in the hands of his brother. In fhort, Our cur author was unhappy, but not vicious in his nature; in his underftanding lively, yet folid; rich in invention, yet a lover of real fcience; an obferver of mankind, yet a fcholar of enlarged reading; a fpirited enemy, yet an indefatigable friend; a fatyrift of vice and evil manners, yet a lover of mankind; an useful citizen, a polished and inftructive wit; and a magiftrate zealous for the order and welfare of the community which he ferved. Some Account of the Life and Writings of M. DE VOLTAIRE. Extracted from the Anecdotes of Literature, lately published. M. De Voltaire has long been one of the most celebrated writers in Europe; and he is a fingular inftance of an author near fourfcore years of age poffeffing almoft all the fire and vivacity of his youth. The number of pieces, of all kinds, which have flowed from his pen, is furprizing. His tragedies have great merit; fome of them not inferior to thofe of Racine himfelf; his comedies poffefs a vein of true humour. As to his Henriade, that poem, great as its reputation has been in France, is little read, and would not alone have fecured its author's fame. The abbé Trublet thinks it would have fucceeded better in profe. M. de Voltaire's hiftorical pieces have often been attacked on the fide of truth and impartiality, and there has been fome reafon for fuch fufpicions. His Age of Louis XIV. is a defence of that ambitious monarch; and that national partiality, or rather vanity, fo ftrong in the French, abounds in it: however, his ftyle and manner of writing is admirable; there is fomething fo lively and animated in this piece, that fcarce any are more entertaining. His hiftory of Charles XII. is equally amuting, but much more Prefixed to his hiftory of Peter the Geeat, is a long letter to true. him from Stanislaus king of Poland, which gives him great encomiums for his veracity and furprifing intelligence, and avows the truth of all thofe parts of the hiftory, which his majefty could any way be acquainted with. His Effay on Univerfal Hiftory is a most beautiful and ufeful performance, full of the jufteft and most penetrating remarks on manners, customs, and opinions. His romances are exquifitely entertaining, particularly Zadig; and whatever may be objected to the morals of Candide, every one must allow that there is an amazing flow of wit, humour, ridicule, and fatire, throughout the whole piece. The detached pieces and loofe, effays which have dropped from this lively Frenchman's pen, are entertaining, full of wit, and wrote in a fpirited ftyle. This aiming at being univerfal has hurt his reputation, as it fuffered fome pieces to escape his pen unworthy of it. His explanation of Sir Ifaac Newton's Philofophy is but a trifling performance. As to his poetic pieces, many of them are as good as the language would permit. In fome of his odes are feveral fine ftrokes, which rise above the French poetry; nor are his other variety of poems without their luftre; but his Maid of Orleans is fcandaloufly indecent. The |