The following paragraphs refer to the Benefactions of the Rev. JOHN HULSE, the Founder of the Hulsean Lectureship.

SUMMARY of certain CLAUSES abridged from the WILL of the Rev. JOHN HULSE, late of Elworth, in the county of Chester, clerk, deceased, dated July 21, 1777.

66

I.

From and after the end of the said term of ninety-nine years, determinable as aforesaid, I give the same premises to the University of Cambridge for ever, for the purposes herein after expressed, that is to say, I direct that the clear rents, issues, and profits of the same premises in Mewton and Middlewich shall be divided into six equal parts; . . . of which one part shall be paid every year to the person appointed to the Lectureship herein after founded."

II.

"And I direct that the said term of one hundred years is so vested in them the said Ralph Leeke, John Smith, and Thomas Vawdrey, upon further trust, that they, or the survivors, or survivor of them, or the executors, administrators, or assigns of such survivor, shall, out of the rents and profits of the premises in Clive, which shall arise previous to the determination of the said term of one hundred years, annually pay the sum of sixty pounds, (exclusive of such augmentation as herein before and herein after is mentioned,) on Saint John the Evangelist's day following the preaching of the twenty Lectures or Sermons herein after mentioned, to such learned and ingenious Clergyman in the said University of Cambridge, of the degree of Master of Arts, and under the age of forty years, as shall be duly chosen at the time, and by the persons herein after appointed for that purpose, as a salary for preaching the before mentioned Sermons or Lectures."

III.

And upon further trust that they the said Ralph Leeke, &c. &c., shall pay the residue of the rents, and profits of the premises in Clive, which shall arise previous to the determination of the said term of one hundred years, and which are herein (or by a grant or rentcharge of ten pounds per annum, dated Nov. 4, 1773) otherwise dis

posed of, to and for the use of the person and persons, who shall from time to time preach the before named twenty Lectures *.”

IV.

"And from and after the end of the said one hundred years, determinable as aforesaid, I give all my said messuages, lands, tythes, and hereditaments in Clive aforesaid, to the said University of Cambridge for ever, for the purposes herein after mentioned.

"And first, it was always my humble and earnest desire and intention, that the following donation should be founded, as much as possible, on the plan of that profoundly learned and successful inquirer into nature, and most religious adorer of Nature's God, I mean the truly great and good (as well as honourable) Robert Boyle, Esquire; who has added so much lustre, and done equal service, both by his learning and his life, to his native country, and to human nature, and to the cause of Christianity and truth.

"To the promoting in some degree a design so worthy of every reasonable creature, I direct that four parts out of six of the last mentioned rents, tythes, and profits, to arise from the premises (exclusive of such augmentations as herein before and herein after are mentioned) shall be paid, on Saint John the Evangelist's Day following the preaching of the Lectures or Sermons after mentioned, annually to such learned and ingenious Clergyman in the said University, of the degree of Master of Arts, and under the age of forty years, as shall be duly chosen or elected on Christmas-day, or within seven days after, by the Vice-Chancellor there for the time being †, and by the Master or Head of Trinity College, and the Master of Saint John's College, or by any two of them, in order to preach twenty Sermons in the whole year.

"The subject of which discourses shall be as followeth; that is to say, the subject of ten Sermons, shall be to show the Evidence for Revealed Religion; and to demonstrate, in the most convincing and persuasive manner, the truth and excellence of Christianity, so as to include not only the Prophecies and Miracles, general and particular, but also any other proper or useful arguments, whether the same be direct or collateral proofs of the Christian religion, which he may

By an order of the Court of Chancery, eight Sermons only, in lieu of twenty, are now required: but the Hulsean Lecturer, being Select Preacher for the months of April and October, and for Good Friday, when it falls in April, will usually preach more.

It is provided, in another clause of the Will, that if either the Master of Trinity, or the Master of St. John's be Vice-Chancellor, the Greek Professor shall be third Trustee.

think fittest to discourse upon, either in general or particular, especially the collateral arguments, or else any particular article or branch thereof; and chiefly against notorious Infidels, whether Atheists, or Deists, not descending to any particular sects or controversies (so much to be lamented) amongst Christians themselves; except some new and dangerous error, either of superstition, or enthusiasm, as of Popery or Methodism, or the like, either in opinion or practice, shall prevail; in which case only it may be necessary for that time to write and preach against the same.

"Nevertheless, the Preacher of the ten Sermons, last mentioned, to show the truth and excellence of revealed religion, and the evidence of Christianity, may, at his own discretion, preach either more or fewer than ten Sermons on this great argument.

"And as to the ten Sermons that remain, the Lecturer shall take for his subject some of the more difficult texts or obscure parts of the Holy Scriptures; such as may appear to be more generally useful, or necessary to be explained, and which may best admit of such a comment or explanation, without seeming to pry too far into the profound secrets, or awful mysteries of the Almighty. And in all the said twenty Sermons, such practical observations shall be made, and such useful conclusions added, as may best instruct and edify mankind.

"The said twenty Sermons to be every year printed, and a new preacher to be every year elected, (except in the case of the extraordinary merit of the Preacher, when it may sometimes be thought proper to continue the same person for five or, at the most, for six years together, but for no longer term,) nor shall he ever afterwards be again elected to the same duty. And I do direct, that the expense of printing the said Sermons shall be defrayed out of the said salary of sixty pounds, with the augmentations first mentioned, or from the further provision hereby made, of the rents, tythes, and profits afterwards mentioned, for the said Lectures; and the remainder of the same given to him.

And may the Divine blessing for ever go along with all my Benefections! And may the greatest and the best of Beings, by his all-wise Providence, and gracious influence, make the same effectual to his own glory, and the good of my fellow-creatures!"

"AN ABSTRACT of the heads or material parts" of the WILL of the Rev. JOHN HULSE, relative to the two Scholarships, founded by him in St. John's College, and by him directed to be added to the conclusion of the foregoing clauses, concerning the Lectures, "so

that such Clergymen, or persons, whom the same may concern, may know that there are such endowments, of which they may claim and take the benefit, under the regulations, and with the qualifications, therein mentioned."

The Scholars are to be "Undergraduates of St. John's College, who shall be born in the county Palatine of Chester." "Such Scholar is to be elected by the Master and a majority of the senior Fellows of the said College on Christmas-day, or in the first seven days after," and candidates are to have the preference, in the order, and with the limitations specified in the following extracts.

1.-"The son of any Clergyman, who shall at any time officiate as Curate to the Vicar of Sandbach; or next to him the son of any Vicar or Curate, who shall then live and officiate in the parish of Middlewich, as the proper Minister or Curate of Middlewich ; or, lastly, of any Minister or Curate of the Chapel of Witton, or who shall reside and live in the town of Northwich or Witton, or the adjacent townships of Castle Northwich and Winnington, and shall do the duty of the said Chapel as the proper Minister of Witton (all of them in the said county of Chester)."

2.-" And in default of such persons, then the son of any other Clergyman, who (that is which son) shall be born in either of the said parishes of Sandbach or Middlewich, or in the said Chapelry of Middlewich, shall have the preference. And if none shall be admitted, then the son of any other Clergyman shall be preferred, who (that is which son) shall be born in the said county of Chester, and next in any of the four following counties of Stafford, Salop, Derby, or Lancaster; or, lastly, elsewhere in any other county or part of England, provided that it shall appear that the Clergyman who is father to such Scholar is not, if living, or, if dead, was not at the time of his death possessed of any spiritual preferment of more than one hundred and forty pounds a year, clear income; or whose income in every respect shall not exceed the clear yearly value of two hundred pounds in the whole.

"But if no son of any Clergyman, so entitled as aforesaid, shall be elected into such Scholarship, the same shall be given to the son of some lay person, whose clear yearly income does not, if living, and, if dead, did not at the time of his death amount to more than two hundred pounds; and such son being born in the counties of Chester, Stafford, Salop, Derby, and Lancaster, the counties in that order having a preference; or, lastly, elsewhere in England.

"And such Scholar, whether the son of a Clergyman, or Layman, to be elected in manner aforesaid, shall continue to enjoy this my benefaction until he shall take, or be of standing to take his first degree of Bachelor of Arts, unless some other person, being the son of some of the officiating ministers at some of the Churches or Chapels before mentioned, and otherwise qualified as aforesaid, and which qualification, had he been a member of the said College at the time the party in possession of the Scholarship had been elected, would have been entitled to the preference, shall be admitted a member of the said College; in which case the Scholar, who shall then be in possession, shall only hold the same for that year; and the other, with a prior right, shall be elected to the same the year following. And I do appoint the Master and senior Fellows of St. John's College Trustees for the said Scholarships *."

In a clause near the conclusion of his Will, the Testator permits the Lecturer to abridge the clauses concerning the HULSEAN LECTURES; but he requires the insertion of those relating to the HULSEAN SCHOLARSHIPS in full.

LECTURE I.

REV. xx. 1-3.

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

THE APOCALYPSE, or BOOK OF REVELATION, closes the Canon of the Old and New Testament'; and, in this respect, it demands special attention. The peculiarities, also, of its style, and the solemn import of its prophecies, require the most earnest

1 It is τελευταία τῆς Χάριτος βίβλος, as it is called by S. Gregory Nyssen, tom. iii. p. 601, de Ephraemo, Lampe Proleg. ad Joann. i. cap. 5, § 13, p. 80. Ames Theolog. i. c. 34, § 35. Canonem V. T. constituerunt Prophetæ et Christus Ipse suo testimonio approbavit. Canonem N. T. obsignavit Apostolus Joannes divinâ auctoritate instructus Apoc. xxii. 18, 19. Vetustiores Apocalypsin pro Sigillo universæ Scripturæ habuerunt. Anon. ap. Allatium de libris Eccles. Græcorum, p. 48. Θεολογικὴ δ' ̓Αποκάλυψις πάλιν Σφραγὶς πέφυκε τῆσδε τῆς πάσης βίβλου.

B