modern biographer," have never been surpassed in the annals of the British Navy."Sir Richard was the eighth oldest Admiral on the list, having got his flag at the main in April 1804; when be resigned the command on the Leith Station. He was twice married; but has left only one son, besides several daughters, all married; viz. Capt. George Miller Bligh, R. N. who was severely wounded by a musket shot through the breast in the memorable battle of Trafalgar, when Lieutenant of the Victory, to which ship he was appointed, at the desire of Lord Nelson, out of regard to his father's distinguished conduct in the service.

REV. DR. EDMUND OUTRAM.

The Rev. Edmund Outram, D. D. (whose death has been briefly recorded in p. 184) was of a respectable family settled at Alfreton, in Derbyshire; and early distinguished himself as a scholar in the University of Cambridge, of which he became Public Orator. There also he formed a congenial matrimonial connexion with a daughter of the learned Dr. Postlethwaite, by whom he had two sons, who promise to emulate the merit of their father.

The different preferments which were rapidly conferred upon him, need not be recapitulated. Of these, on account of its more general influence, the Rectory of St. Philip's in Birmingham may, perhaps, be regarded as the most important.

Dr. Outram commenced his residence in that town at a period when a benign interposition was peculiarly requisite to heal the festering wounds occasioned by party spirit and religious animosity. For promoting good-will among mankind, few wore so well qualified as this worthy Divine. He was, indeed, the Minister of Peace; and his unwearied endeavours to cherish conciliation, and a more Christian temper, were one continued and successful labour of love.

In himself was strikingly exemplified a stedfast adherence to his own principles, combined with a due respect for those of others.

In the midst of this beneficent career, his feeling mind was but too severely tried by the loss of his beloved Beatrix; whose virtues he has embalmed in an epitaph, which thus affectingly concludes:

"A tender plant, borne from the fost'ring gales [droop'd, and died. That breathe on Cam's fair margin, But time will be, sweet plant! a gale divine [bloom, Shall thee revive, and then, in vernal

By the pure streams of peace thou'lt ever live,

And flourish in the Paradise of God.".

Long did the bereaved husband struggle against the depression incident to this overwhelming affliction ;-the powerful advocate of each laudable institution *** the friend of misery, in whatever form it might appear; till impaired health and spirits gradually contracted the sphere of his public utility, but never quenched the glow of philanthropy.

No one more sensibly regretted this unavoidable retirement from active life than himself:-a mortification which he had acutely expressed but a short time previous to his awefully sudden dissolution. After having taken part in the service of the Church, he felt dissatisfied with a performance which could not but be correct and impressive, deploring the diminution of those energies which he once possessed; and praying to be released from a state of existence, which bis diffidence figured as comparatively useless.

But, in truth, his last acts were fully consistent with the uniform tenour of his benevolent exertions. From him the most abject sons of misfortune were sure to receive comfort and consideration, Having inadvertently passed one who, unobtrusively, would have attracted his attention, a gentleman who observed the circumstance, well knowing that such could not be the Doctor's intention, acquainted him that he had neglected to notice a humble petitioner deserving of regard: when, striking bis sympathizing breast, he exclaimed, "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner!-Pray, Sir, give this note to the poor man.'

And how was he engaged when, in a few hours after, the stroke of death instantaneously called him away from the cares and sorrows of this world?-He was found pouring the balm of consolation into the wounded spirit of a poor pensioner.

Such having been the daily babits of Dr. Outram, it is not surprizing that his decease should be universally lamented, or that his remains should have been entombed amidst a vast assemblage of deeply-affected mourners.

In the days of health it may be truly affirmed, that, as in the Church he appealed to the hearts and understandings of his auditors with the dignity and per suasive eloquence of an apostle; so, in the varied duties of private life, for humanity, for charity, in the most extend. ed sense, and for a bosom overflowing with the milk of human kindness, we shall rarely find his equal.

Neither the high ecclesiastical offices

470

which he held, nor the unquestionably great intellectual attainments which he possessed, ever, for a moment, superseded an innate humility peculiar to himself whilst as a Magistrate, his highest praise will be,-a tenderness which almost unnerved the steady arm. of Justice.

But further encomium were unneces sary. Enough has been stated to evince that the character of Dr. Outram was such as to command our admiration, respect, and esteem:-such as, even from the grave, forcibly to exhort us to "6 go and do likewise." W. W.

THOMAS BATEMAN, M. D. April 9. At Whitby, Yorkshire, in his 43d year, Thomas Bateman, M. D. late of Bloomsbury square.-The health of this lamented Physician had long been in a declining state, and there had for some time been unhappily little prospect of any favourable result. The failure of his bodily powers did not, however, impair the vigour of his mind; and his wonted cheerfulness continued unabated to the last, his religious principles supporting him under the expectation and approach of death. In private life he was most exemplary, and in the exercise of his profession upheld its dignity and usefulness by independent feeling, integrity of conduct, active benevolence, and extensive learning. Dr. Bateman was indeed highly gifted for administer ing to the sick, being acute and accurate in his observations of disease, and prompt and judicious in the treatment of it. His contributions to the medical literature of his country have been no less various than important; whilst the zeal and ability with which, for many years, he performed the arduous services. of the public Dispensary, as well as the House of Recovery or Fever Hospital, were highly beneficial to those Institutions, and to the community.

MRS. HESTHER LYNCH PIOZZI, May 2. At Clifton, aged 82, Mrs. Piozzi. This Lady long held a high station in the literary and fashionable circles, of which she was a distinguished ornament. An author herself, and the admirer of learned men, her friendship with Dr. Johnson were alike honourable to both. An independent fortune, a mind richly stored, a lively wit, and pleasing inanners, rendered her a most desirable friend and companion. Her fine flow of spirits did not forsake her until the last. She was the daughter of John Salusbury, Esq. of Bodvel, in Caernarvonshire, where she was born in 1739. Early in life she was distinguished in the fashionable

[May,

world as the beautiful Miss Salusbury. In 1763 she married Henry Thrale, Esq. an eminent brewer in Southwark, and M. P. for that borough.-This excellent man, in the year following his marriage, was introduced, by Mr. Murphy, to the acquaintance of Dr. Samuel Johnson. The intimacy of that celebrated character with this family daily increased, and he soon became an almost constant inmate of their country residence at Streatham. The conduct of Mr. Thrale to Dr. Johnson, was indeed truly praiseworthy. His family contributed, for fifteen years, to the prolongation and comfort of a most valuable life, and when the benevolent Master sunk into the grave, the memory of his kindness was acknowledged by the loving object of his regard, with the confession that with him were buried many of his hopes and pleasures; that the face upon which he had looked for the last time, had never been turned upon him but with respect and benignity; that he obtained from him many opportunities of amusement, and turned his thoughts to him as to a refuge from misfortunes. Upon the death of Mr. Thrale in 1781, his widow finding it (as she asserted) extremely perplexing and difficult to live in the same house with the Doctor, took advantage of a lost law-suit to plead inability of purse for remaining longer in London or its vicinity, and retired to Bath, where she knew he would not follow her. She continued, however, to correspond with Dr. Johnson, till near the time (July 1784) of her marriage to her second husband, Signior Piozzi, a native of Florence, and a music-master of the City of Bath; when a very warm expostulation, on the part of the Doctor, against this step, dissolved their friendship. Soon after her union with Mr. Piozzi, she travelled with him to the place of his birth, and they visited several parts of Europe before their return to England.

During her residence in Florence, in 1785, chance having brought together, at that place, a few English of both sexes, particularly Mr. Merry, Mr. Parsons, and Mr. Greathed, they wrote, in association, "The Florence Miscellany," a collection of pieces in prose and verse, of which a few copies have been printed, but it has not been published. Some specimens of this flighty production appeared in a newspaper of the day, called the "World," as well as in several of the magazines: the preface was written by Mrs. Piozzi, to whom, we believe, the conduct of the work had been committed. Several other fugitive poetical pieces by Mrs. Piozzi, as, the

Three

Three Warnings, a tale imitated from La Fontaine, a Translation of Boileau's Epistle to his Gardener (first printed in Mrs. Williams's Miscellanies); and a Prologue to the Royal Suppliants, have reached the public eye. Among these, the first is to be particularly distinguish ed as a very masterly production, and it was strongly suspected that Dr. Johnson either wrote it, or assisted in the composition of it; but it has been since asserted, that this Tale was written before her acquaintance with Dr. Johnson.

The first regular exploit of Mrs. Piozzi in authorship, was made in the year 1786; when she produced her crown-octavo volume of Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson. Two years after this, she published a Collection of Letters to and from Dr. Johnson, from 1765 to 1784, in two octavo volumes. Her "Anecdotes," as coming from the pen of a writer who had long shared the society and friendship of that illustrious character, were perused at the time with great avidity. The late ingenious Joseph Baretti was very severe in his animadversions on this work; and Dr. Wolcot published a poem, in which he satirized Mr. Boswell and this literary lady under the titles of "Bozzy and Piozzi."

8vo. ;

Her other separate works are : "Observations and Reflections made in the Course of a Journey through France, Italy, and Germany," 2 vols. 8vo. 1789; "The Florence Miscellany," "British Synonymy, or an Attempt at regulating the Choice of Words in Familiar Conversation," 2 vols. 8vo. 1794; "Retrospection, or a Review of the most striking and important Events, Characters, Situations, and their Consequences, which the last 1800 Years have presented to the View of Mankind," 2 vols. 4to. 1801.

REV. T. M. LYSTER.

April 14. Suddenly, in the 69th year of his age, in the act of retiring to rest, at the Rectory-house at Oldbury near Bridgnorth, co. Salop, the Rev. Thomas Moses Lyster, Rector of Neenton, Billingsley, and Oldbury, in that county, to which latter he was presented by the crown in 1793. At this favourite spot, with the consent of his diocesan, he at a very considerable expence added, embellished, and improved the old lowly habitation of the rectors of Oldbury; which he made a most desirable residence, without laying any part of the charge upon the future incumbent. He was a younger son of the ancient Shropshire family of Lyster, of Rowton Castle, and of that county, which his father had represented in parliament till his death.

He was a scholar of great reading, very generally attended the examination of the exhibitioners from Bridgnorth Freeschool, to Christ church; he possessed very acute discernment and penetration, and his information upon general subjects was of a superior kind. He had performed the important duties of a Magistrate for the above county during the last 30 years of the reign of our late most revered Sovereign George III.; upon whose demise, and the accession of his present Majesty, this divine receded from office, and those duties which he had previously acquitted bimself with so much ability, integrity, and impar tiality, being then far advanced in years, and the infirmities of age approaching fast upon him. Always accessible to the complaints of the injured and distressed, he gave up much of his valuable time to redress their grievances, by which means the cause of justice triumphed in his hands. The inhabitants of the surrounding vicinity of the borough of Bridgnorth, where he so-constantly and faithfully attended in his official capacity as a Magistrate, at the regular Sessions, as well as upon special occasions, will long lament his final farewell to all public concerns, and venerate his excellent name so long as memory shall hold a seat in this distracted globe.. His widow, with an only daughter, and an extensive circle of acquaintance, have also to mourn the loss of an affectionate husband, a tender parent, and a sincere and valuable friend.

JOHN BONNYcastle, Esq.

May 15. On Woolwich Common, John Bonnycastle, esq. Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, well known to, and much respected by all the Officers of the Royal Artillery, most of whom had been principally under his tuition, and equally esteemed by the chief nobility of the three kingdoms, the sons and grandsons of whom had been entrusted to his care, and derived advantage from his instructions.

He was born at Whitchurch in the county of Buckingham; his parents, though not in affluent circumstances, were yet enabled to bestow upon their son a respectable education. At an early age, the favourable opinion which his friends entertained of his acquirements, induced him to seek his fortune in London. In that great metropolis his growing taste for Mathematics became strongly fixed from an association with friends of congenial habits and pursuits. Many of those friends have since attained considerable eminence in various departments of Literature.

Were we to write his Memoirs in detail,

we

472

were

we should give the names of the eminent friends above alluded to, with some interesting anecdotes of their early association ; but this we shall leave to other hands, and pursue our sketch. At the early age of 19 he married a Miss Rolt, a lady whose liberal and cultivated mind gave fair promise of many happy domestic hours; the hopes he cherished speedily blighted by her untimely death. Soon after this event the Earl of Pomfret engaged him as a private tutor to his sons (the present Earl, and the Hon. General Ferior). That he was perfectly qualified for the task, every one who had the pleasure of his acquaintance will readily admit, when they recall to their memory the almost universal knowledge which he possessed, although he was nearly selftaught, not having in his early youth received the advantages of a classical education. And yet from our intimacy with him, we can assure our readers that no one, even amongst those who had received an University education, could be better acquainted with Homer, Virgil, Horace, the Grecian tragedians, and the Classics in general, than the worthy subject of this memoir. With the French, Italian, and German literature he was intimately ac quainted. It is true, he could not speak those languages, but he read and knew the best of their authors. In a knowledge of the English language, no one could surpass him in appreciating the merits of our best authors in every class of composition. Like his friend Fuseli, he was a great admirer of Shakspeare, and so strongly was his immortal lines fixed upon his memory, that on the mention of a single word in the works of that incomparable poet, he would finish the sentence and give the proper emphasis.

Mr. Bonnycastle remained about two years at Easton, in the county of Northampton; the situation he then filled, he left in consequence of being appointed one of the Mathematical Masters at Woolwich, where for more than forty years he devoted a considerable portion of his time in discharging the duties of his profession; the remainder was employed in writing elementary works on the most useful branches of the Mathematics. How competent he was, has been demonstrated by the numerous editions which have been

printed of those works. His first was,

"The Scholar's Guide to Arithmetic," the 13th edition of which is now selling. Those upon Algebra and Mensuration have long ranked as standard school-books. His "Treatise upon Astronomy" is the most popular of all works upon that sublime science; chiefly arising from the perspicuous manner in which the subject is treated, and its lucid style of composition; it has become a general library book, and

will long remain as a testimony of the religious sentiments, benevolence, and great attainments of its author. Yet this very book was written by Mr. Bonnycastle, at Bath, under circumstances of peculiar depression, arising from a nervous complaint, to which he was very subject, in the early part of his life.

The success of his former works induced him to publish "The Elements of Geometry," 8vo.; "A Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry," 8vo.; an octavo edition of "The Scholar's Guide to Arithmetic," and a "Treatise on Algebra," in 2 vols. 8vo. The last mentioned work was dedicated, by permission, to his present Majesty. These have also been frequently re-printed. A translation of "L'Histoire des Mathematiques," by Bossut, was also by him; as well as various articles in the early parts of the "Cyclcpædia" by Dr. Rees; and several miscellaneous papers.

So far we have considered Mr. Bonnycastle as a man possessing talents of a varied, universal description, and as an author of elementary works in various branches of Mathematics; but it now remains to add a few words respecting his private character, from an intimate acquaintance with him for the last twenty years of his life. He was a good husband, a good father, and a sincere friend. company, no man could be more attractive; he was so rich in anecdote upon all subjects, especially of literature, that his presence and conversation were productive of endless amusement as well as instruc. tion to his auditors. His widow, three sons, and a daughter survive him, all of whom, by the most unremitting attention during his long and tedious illness, proved how much he was endeared to them by his domestic virtues.

Mr. Bonnycastle was interred at Charlton, in a vault, expressly built for him. His funeral obsequies were attended by the Mathematical Masters of the Royal Academy, and several Officers of the Royal Artillery. General Ford, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Academy, bestowed a marked tribute of respect to the memory of the deceased: all the Cadets were drawn out, in two double lines, before the door, thus testifying their regard for the excellent man whose funeral procession was to pass before them.

WILLIAM STEVENSON, ESQ. May 13. At his house in Surrey-street, Norwich, after eight months severe afflic tion, in his 72d year, William Stevenson, Esq. F.S.A. upwards of 35 years Proprietor of the Norfolk Chronicle.-He was the eldest son of the late Rev. Seth Ellis Stevenson of East Retford, in Nottingham

shire, rector of Treswell in that county. He served the office of Sheriff of Norwich in 1799. Happy in his family and connexions, this truly amiable and good man was as thoroughly beloved by them as he is deeply lamented. The circle of his friends and correspondents was large and respectable; by whom he will be much missed and sincerely regretted. Mr. Stevenson was an able and industrious Antiquary, and at all times desirous of promoting the objects of that Society, which had done him the honour of electing him one of its members.

In 1812, Mr. Stevenson superintended through his own press a new Edition of Mr. Bentham's History and Antiquities of Ely Cathedral; to which he added an Account and Portrait of the Author, a few additions from his "Notitia," and other interesting particulars. This Republication having been favourably received by the public, induced its respectable Editor to enlarge his researches, and redouble his exertions; the fruits of which he published in 1817, in another handsome 4to. volume, intituled, "A Supplement to the Second Edition of Mr. Bentham's History and Antiquities of the Cathedral and Conventual Church of Ely; comprizing enlarged Accounts of the Monastery, Lady Chapel, Prior Crawden's Chapel, the Palaces and other buildings connected with the See, and the Church; -with Lists of the Chancellors, Vicars General, Officials, Commissaries, Chief Justices of the Isle of Ely, &c.;-also. Notes, architectural, biographical, historical, and explanatory."

In a modest preface to this work, be trusts, "that a patient investigation of the materials left by Mr. Bentham, and a due care in the arrangement of them, would qualify him to render some little service to our national topography, especially to the History of this fine Cathedral." The embellishments to this elegant volume reflected credit on the artists employed. It embraces two fine Plates from drawings by Mr. J. Buckler, F.S.A.; seven Plates from drawings by his son, Mr. J. C. Buckler; and one Plate from a drawing by Mr. F. Mac kenzie.

Mr. Stevenson was ever happy to befriend indigent merit; and it was through his patronage that Mrs. Elizabeth Bentley, an extraordinary self-educated poetess in the City of Norwich, was first known to the public. Another selection from her genuine poetical compositions, printed under his superintendance, has just made its appearance, dedicated by permission to Lord Wodehouse, and paGENT. MAG. May, 1821.

JAMES SYMONDS, ESQ.

May 2. At his ancestorial seat at Great Ormsby, Norfolk, in the 66th year of his age, James Symonds, esq. He was the only child of Nathaniel Symonds, esq. of the same place, by Anne, his wife, sole daughter and heiress of Thomas Symonds, of Browston Hall, Suffolk, a branch of his own family. His ancestors for ages had been seated at Coleby Saffield (by the sea) and Great Ormsby, and they have matched with the best families in their own and other counties, as the Theobauldes, Rugges, Calthorpes of Cackthorpes, Saundersons, Mundfords, Plumsteds of Plumsted, Bedingfelds, Cobbes of Sandringham, Tanfields of Oxfordshire, the Baronet family of Cotton of Connington, Hunts, and of Cotton Hall, Cheshire, see" Collinson's Barts. vol. I. p. 138.' The great Sir Robert Cotton, founder of the Cotton Library now in the British Museum, was the first Baronet of this race.

He left issue by Hannah, his wife, second daughter of John Spurgeon, Esq. of Great Yarmouth in the same county, Hetty, wife of the Rev. John Homfray, B. A. F. A.S. of Great Yarmouth, and of Merton College, Oxford, by whom she has 3 sons and 5 daughters; James Symonds, M. A. of Caius College, Cambridge, and now of Great Ormsby, who married Janet, sole child of the late John Fish, Esq. of Great Yarmouth, by whom he has 4 sons and 1 daughter; Anne who died unmarried in 1799; and Charles Symonds, Esq. now of Runham Hall, in the same county, who by his wife, Miss Price, has two sons and two daughters.

EDWARD STONE, ESQ.

(From a Correspondent.) March 27. At Wisbich, in the Isle of Ely, aged 65, Edward Stone, Esq. Of this Gentleman, it is difficult to speak in the words of truth and soberness; without uttering what Friendship would wish to conceal, and Affection will perhaps be grieved to hear.

The subject of our present memoir

was