WRINGTON is a market-town, pleasantly situated to the south-west of the Mendip. The streets are irregularly built, and most of the houses thatched. It was anciently privileged with a market, which is still held on Tuesday, but is exceedingly trifling. The market-place contains the ruins of a cross. In this town there is a free-school for six boys and as many girls. The church is a stately building, one hundred and twenty feet long, and fifty-two wide. It consists of a nave, chancel, side aisles, and a porch, embattled at the top, and ornamented with a variety of handsome pinnacles. The tower, which rises at the west end, is one of the finest in the kingdom. It is one hundred and forty feet high to the top of the battlements, which are adorned with four turrets, one at each corner, and sixteen elegant Gothic pinnacles, fifteen feet in height. This church contains several neat monuments, both ancient and modern. One of them is remarkable for its elegance. It' is built of white and Sienna marble, and was erected in honour of Henry Waterland, LL. D. Prebendary of Bristol, who died in the year 1779. The inscription is too long to be quoted. An humble cottage in this parish had the distinguished honour of giving birth to MR. JOHN LOCKE, one of the first philosophic characters the annals of science can boast of. His father was a gentleman of some property, and originally bred to the law. At the breaking out of the civil war, having declared for the parliament, he received a captain's commission in their service. Our author was born in 1632. At the proper age he became a pupil in Westminster school; from hence he removed to Christ Church, Oxford, where he prosecuted his studies with great assiduity. In 1655 he took his degrees in arts, and three years afterwards began to apply himself to medicine. He went through the necessary preliminaries with eclat, and ob tained tained a diploma as physician. He now entered upon his profession, and succeeded in acquiring considerable practice at Oxford. His constitution, however, was too delicate to bear the fatigues incident to a medical life. Hence he gladly embraced the opportunity of going abroad, in the capacity of secretary to Sir William Swan, who was at that time appointed ambassador to several of the states of Germany. The object of this mission being finished in one year, Mr. Locke again returned to his practice at Oxford, where an accident soon after brought him acquainted with Lord Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury. His lordship being afflicted with a cancerous affection in the breast, for which he was ordered to drink the mineral waters at Acton, wrote to Dr. Thomas, a physician at Oxford, to procure a quantity of them against his arrival there. Just at this period Dr. Thomas happened to be called away on other business, and left his friend Mr. Locke to undertake the commission. He did so, but having employed a person who failed him, he was constrained to wait upon Lord Ashley to make his excuses for the disappointment. His lordship received his apology with great politeness, and being much pleased with his conversation, detained him to supper, and engaged him to dinner next day. About a year after Locke was invited to take up his residence in Lord Ashley's house. That nobleman advised him to turn his thoughts to the study of political subjects; and this advice being quite congenial to Mr. Locke's temper, he did not hesitate to follow it. In a short time he made such rapid progress in his new pursuit, as to be thought worthy of being consulted by his patron on matters of the highest importance. His lordship also brought him acquainted with many of the first political and literary characters of that age. In 1669 he was solicited by the Earl and Countess of Northumberland to accompany them to France, whither they were going for the sake of the earl's health. With this request he complied; but that nobleman having died at Turin the year following following, he returned with the countess to England, and again became an inmate in the family of Lord Ashley, then chancellor of the exchequer. At this period his lordship and some other noblemen obtained. a grant of Carolina. Locke was employed to draw up the fundamental constitutions of that province. Shortly after he began to form the plan of his " Essay on the Human Understanding" but was prevented making much progress in it, by his employment in the service of his patron, who about this time was created Earl of Shaftesbury, and elevated to the dignity of lord chancellor. His lordship named Mr. Locke secretary to the presentations; but the great seal being soon again taken from himself, our author lost his appointment also. Lord Shaftesbury, however, still continuing at the board of trade, Mr. Locke remained secretary to a commission from that board, which had been added to his other situation, and was worth five hundred pounds per annum. He enjoyed it somewhat more than a year, when the commission was dissolved. On the sixth of February, in the year 1674, he took his bachelor's degree in physic, at Oxford; and the summer following went to Montpelier, being apprehensive of a consumption. Here he employed himself in arranging the plan of his Essay on the Human Understanding. In the mean time, however, he did not neglect his profession. About this period he became acquainted with Mr. Herbert, afterwards Earl of Pembroke, to whom he communicated the design of his Essay. Mr. Locke continued abroad till the year 1699, when he was sent for by Lord Shaftesbury, then appointed president of Sir William Temple's council. His lordship, however, having lost his situation in a few months, had no opportunity of serving our author. Still, however, he continued firmly attached to his interest, and even followed him to Holland, when he fled there in 1682, to avoid a prosecution for high treason; which induced many to suspect he was a confederate. This suspicion being strengthened by his keeping company with a person of the the name of Ferguson, who had written several papers against the government, he was deprived of his student's place at Christ Church, in 1684, by the special order of the king, as visitor of the college. In May, 1685, he was even demanded by the English envoy at the Hague. This rendered it expedient for him to conceal himself for nearly twelve months, which time he employed chiefly in composing his Essay. Toward the end of the following year, however, the suspicion subsided, and he again made his appearance in public. About this period he formed a weekly assembly at Amsterdam, with Limborch, Le Clerc, and other celebrated characters, for the discussion of questions in science. In 1687 he completed his great work, the Essay, and having made an abridgement of it, Le Clerc translated it into French, and published it in his "Bibliotheque Universelle," in 1688. This abridgiment was well received, and created such a general desire to see the work itself, that Mr. Locke put it to press immediately upon his arrival in Eng land, in 1689. Our author, being now restored to favour, could easily have obtained a very considerable post; but he contented himself with that of commissioner of appeals, worth only two hundred pounds a year, procured him by Lord Mordaunt, afterwards Earl of Monmouth, and next of Peterborough. He had also the offer of going abroad as envoy to the emperor, or any of the states of Germany. But he waved this distinction, on account of the infirm state of his health, and accepted the invitation' of Sir Francis and Lady Masham, to occupy an apartment in their country seat, at Oates. Here he spent the greater part of his after life, indefatigably pursuing his researches, into different branches of philosophical pursuit. The publication of his treatise on the bad state of the silver coin, procured him a seat at the board of trade and plantations, in 1695, which of course engaged him in the immediate business of the state. Shortly after he turned his attention to the affairs of the church, and published a treatise to promote the scheme |