A B greatly captivated by the church-mufick, which was then brought to great perfection by the encouragement of the then worthy Dean of Chrift Church. In this he employed moft of his leisure time, and the evening he commonly fpent with fome felect company, but without drinking to excefs, or even to exhileration, which he did not want, and at nine he retired to his apartment. He could not, however, be content with the reputation which fobriety and learning procured him; but when he came home he used to light a candle and let it burn the greatest part of the night in his ftudy, to make thofe who faw the light believe he was bufy at his books; he used alfo to fleep in his eafy chair for a week together to the great furprize of his bedmaker, who finding the bed as the left it, could not imagine how he lived with fo little fleep, and without the C refreshment of a bed; to fupport the notion of extroardinary application which he thus propagated, he pretended to have fwelled legs and feet, and a gouty kind of diftemper; for which his friends advised him to drink fome medicinal waters in the neighbourhood; as there was much company at the wells he gladly complied, and rendered himself still more remarkable ♦ there, by limping about like a cripple, tho' no man enjoyed better health and Spirits. In the mean time, he prepared his history of Formofa for a fecond edition, the first having had a very rapid fale, and he wrote the best answer he could to the objections, which had been made to it: when it was ready for the prefs, he brought it to town, having ta ken leave of his friends at Oxford, where he did not continue longer than fix months. When he had been in England about fix years, he was applied to, by one Pattendon, the inventor of a white fort. of japan, who offered him a confiderable fhare of the profits that fhould arife from the fale of his work, upon condition, that he should introduce it under the notion of his having brought the art from Formofa. To this propofal he readily agreed, not merely from a view to the profit, but because he imagined it would confirm the account he had given of himself; not confidering, that he put it into the power of Pattendon totally to fubvert his reputation by difclofing the fraud: Pattendon, indeed, feems to have fufpected him, for he would not have dared to propofe a fraud to a man whom he did not think likely to concur in it, and yet his reputation must till have been confiderable, for if he had been generally deemed an impoftor, it would not have been worth Pattendon's while to have purchased his name as a recommendation to his project. This japan was advertised under the name of white Formosan work, and tho' Dit was greatly admired by a few curious people, yet its fale was never fufticient to continue the manufacture, E F Why he was not matriculated, and why he did not continue longer at college, he has not informed us; but when he came to London he found that Dr Innes had totally deferted him,& hav ing ferved his own turn, being by the G interest of good bishopCompton, appointed chaplain general to the English forces in Portugal, had gone off to his deftination without fo much as leaving a letter behind him. How he fupported himself in London does not appear; he lived, he fays, an idle and diffipated life, indulging himfelf in fome gallantries, being a favotite of the ladies, and of fome who were eminent both for their parts and fortune. H He afterwards attempted to get money by a kind of emperical practise of phyfick, and by teaching the modern languages, in neither of which he fucceeded. He was retained as private tutor in two families, and afterwards, during the rebellion in 1715, he accepted an offer from a major of dragoons, of being clerk to the regiment. In this capacity he went into Lancashire, and being honoured with the friendship and familiarity of the major, he was received as a companion by the relt of the officers, whom he greatly obliged by introducing them into fuch families of reputation as folicited his company from motives of curiofity, to whom he always greatly recommended himself by the propriety of his behaviour, and the entertainment of his converfation. He, therefore, fpent his time very agreebly in this fituation, especially after the rebellion was fuppreffed when he was quartered at Wigan, Ware rington, and Manchefter; efpecially at Mancheffer, where he had frequent opportunities of vifiting a noble library. belonging to the collegiate church. In this fituation he continued two years, wandring from place to place, and feeing many countries, which ne would would not otherwife have been able to fee; and the regiment being ordered to Ireland, he quitted it. g fays providentially fell in his way, a- When he returned to London, he was for fome time much at a lofs to know what to do with himself, and at lalt having fome skill, and more tafte in A drawing, he commenced fan painter. But this business was then at fo low an ebb, that tho' he lived with a good family almost gratis, and was early and late at work, yet he found it impoffible to procure a competency by it; it was not however wholly without advantage, for it brought him acquainted with a worthy clergyman, who thinking the employment unworthy of his parts and learning, raised a fubfcription for him among his acquaintance of about 30 pounds a year, with a view to enable him to profecute his ftudies, particularly divinity, to C which he had always a predominant inclination. Upon this annuity, having by this time become a fevere oeconomist, he fubfifted fometime, but frequently felt great compunction at receiving it, knowing it was paid him only on a belief of his being a Formofan, D and a true convert to the protestant religion; both which, he knew to be falle. He therefore fincerely wished that he might fall into fome more honeft way of life, and for this an opportunity foon after happened. He became accidentally acquainted with a good natured generous man, E who was concerned in various branches of the trade of printing, by whofe means he procured employment in the tranflation of books fufficient to afford him a very comfortable fubfiftance. The study of the facred books which he had before commenced with other views, he now profecuted with a fincere defire to know and conform to the will of God: But he was fo perplexed: by criticism and commentary, that he determined to learn the language in which they were originally written. He was at firit greatly difcouraged by the difficulties he met with at the threshold, for he could never procure a grammar that he had patience to read, but as he was hammering at an exercitation on the xxxivth Pfaim, at the end of the grammar that goes under Bellarmine's name, a poor man offered him a pocket Hebrew Pfalter with Leufden's Latin verfion over against each page; this he bought and found the verfion much more eafy and natural, than thofe of Pugninus and Montanus; he went thro' every verse. in the book without troubling himself about grammar, and by reading it twice, his memory being very good, he obtained a confiderable copia verflexion of nouns and verbs, made a borum, and by obfervation on the confiderable progrefs in grammar befides, which he found it now easy to improve, because when a difficulty occurred he could easily turn to Bellarmine, or even Buxtorf, the most discouraging of all, because having then but one point in view he could without perplexity fatisfy himfelf about it. After having read this Pfalter a third time, he began the hiftorical books: But instead of perlexing himself with fuch bibles as had the fervite letters printed in a different character, to diftinguish them from the radicals, he pitched upon the first edition of that of Munfer, which, however, is far inferior to the fecond, and by the help of the verfion in the oppofite column he found his exercise so easy, that before he had read 8 chapters in the first of Samuel, he went back to Genefis, and took the chapters in their course, except the poetical parts which he passed over; at the fecond reading he attempted thele parts, and paffed only the chapters in Daniel, Ezra, &c. which are in Chaldee. When he came after-. wards to compare this with the Hebrew, he fays, he found a noble fimpliHcity, yet mafculine energy in the Hebrew, and a foftnefs and effeminacy in the Chaldee not unlike the difference between the Latin and Italian. With the Chaldee, however, he made himself acquain He was now about eight and thirty years old, and his feafons of ferious p reflection and remorfe became longer, and more frequent; fo that, at length, a fenfe of virtue and religion became predominant in his mind. As the perfors who paid his fubfcription dropped off, he did not apply to their furvivors for a continuance of their benevolence, but applied himself with G more diligence to his new employ. ment, always refusing to tranflate any book that he thought had an ill tendency with refpect to the morals of mankind, either in principles or practice. He was much frengthened in his good purposes, by Dr Hicks's refor. med devotions, a book which was put into his hands by a worthy clergyman of Braintree, in Essex, and by fome other books of practical divinity, which af tewards accidentally, or rather as he acquainted, that he might avail himfelf of the great affiftance afforded by the Cbaldee paraphrafe, in fixing the meaning of obfcure words and expreffions, and difcovering the fentiments of the antient Jerus, concerning many pregnant prophecies of the Meiab, from which the Talmudic writers have fince departed, merely becaufe, they had an infuperable dislike to Christ. When he had read the Pfalms 5 or 6. times, Genefis a fecond time, and had again got into the hiftorical tile, he began to try how he could read the Latin into Hebrew, that is by hiding the Hebrew column with his hand to try how near he could come by an extemporaneous verfion of his own. In this he found himself more deficient than he imagined, yet he did not wholly lay afide the practice, tho' he did not confine himself to it. He used alfo to exercife himself in conjugating veries by his memory, and then fearching the grammar to fee how far he was right. As the Hebrew is figurative and fcanty, he found it alfo of great ufe to confult the Lexicon for the primitive sense of words, which it was eafy to diftinguish from the remote by the parallel text referred to. B years of maturity may attain a perfect knowledge of it without the discouraging flavery of beginning at grammar, the knowledge of the Hebrew being eflentially neceffary to the understanding even of the New Teftament, in which, tho' the words are Greek, the Hebrew idiom is preferved. A To facilitate the learning of this language, and render it fomething more entertaining than it is at prefent; he began to compofe a tragicomic piece, intitled David and Micab, in Hebrew verfe, but tho' he made a confiderable progrefs in it he did not finish it; he allo formed a defign of compofing fome fcriptural dialogues in Hebrew, in imitation of the Latin ones of Caftalio, and others on more common fubjects like thofe of Corderius, tho' not fo puerile, and a third between a Jer and a Chriftian, on the moft material points of controverly between them, together with a collection and expofition of many texts both in the Old and New Teftament, foretell. ing the restoration of the r2 tribes to their own land. Thefe projects, however, he did not execute fearing that they would not meet with fuitable encouragement. D F By close application in this method, he was at length able to speak the Hebrew pretty fluently, tho' he was still at a lofs for the right pronunciation; to learn this, he applied to fome Morocco Jews, whofe native language being Arabic, he thought moft likely to pro- E nounce it properly, and by converfing with thofe he was foon able to make himself understood by the southern Jews, tho' he could not fo readily understand them, because they did not distinguifh fufficiently between the found of many confonants, aspirations, and gutterals, which feemed to him to have originally differed very greatly; to the northern Jews he was wholly unintelligible, and they to him. He also, to perfect his acquaintance with Hebrew, accustomed himself to think in it, and at length was able to fpeak it in the pure and elegant ftile G of the facred writers, and now and then to raise it to the lofty ftrain of the poetical books, for which he was the more admired, as few, if any among the Jews could do it, having fpoiled their language by a heterogeneous mixture of the corrupt Talmudic and Rabbinical words and idioms, to which he was a stranger. This account of his learning Hebrew is inferted to thew, how easily men at H He contented himself therefore with preparing for the prefs a new edition of the Pjaims in Hebrew, with Leusden's Latin verfion over against it, and fome notes for the ufe of learners, with others of a more curious nature. But upon his applying to one Palmer a printer in Bartholomew Clofe, to print it; he was told that Dr Washburn had been there just before to treat with him about printing a new edition of it, faid to have been compiled by Dr Hare, afterwards bishop of Chichester, he therefore laid this work by. Soon after this, Mr Palmer engaged him to write the history of printing. which he had long promised to the public, and which Pfalmanazar compleated after Palmer's death, under the patronage of the late Earl of Pembroke, of whom he makes honourable mention. He was alfo about this time engaged in writing the Univerfal Hiftory; the parts of this work that he executed, from the return from Babylon to the deftruction of Jerufalem by Titus. 5. The hiftory of the antient empires of Nice and Trebizon. 6. Of the antient Spaniards. 8. Of the antient Germans. 1. The fequel of the Theban and Corinthian history. 2. The retreat of Xenophon. 3. The continuation of the Jewish Hiftory, from the deftruction of Jerusalem by Titus, to the prefent time. mellilot, and not touch the beans: Sheep may be kept among beans till they are ready to bloffom, but they must be kept gently moving about, and not fuffered to lie down. II. In lands, where wheat is apt to A be winter-proud, fow old wheat inftead of new; for that will always be backwarder in its growth. In his hiftorical account of this B work, which employed him almoft to the end of his life, he has related feveral curious prrticulars of the celebrated Mr Archibald Bower, the writer of the Roman Hiftory, which will ferve as a very good appendix to what the reader will find relative to his character in fome former numbers of this mifcellany, but for thefe and many other curious particulars, we refer to the narrative itfelt. He made his will on the ad of April, 1752, O. S. and ratified it on the ft of January 1762, and died in Auguft 1763, being upwards of eighty years old. He enjoyed uncommon health and fpirits to the laft, notwithstanding his fedentary life, and hard ftudy; he lived on the plaineft diet at noon, and took a light fupper, regaling himfelt conftantly after he left off writing, with a pint of very fmall punch with about twelve drops of laudanum, according to Sydenham's preparation, and indulged himself in the use of no other strong liqour: To this practice, he imputes his being able to ftudy from feven in the morning to feven at night, with a good appetite and digeftion, a clear head, a tolerable flow of fpirits, and a found fleep of 6 or 7 hours every night. An Account of Proposals for the Improvement of Agriculture. (Continued from December Magazine 1764. I. Tis good husbandry, after the haulm is brought in, to carry out the dung, and lay it upon the land where the wheat grew the laft harvest, and spread it forthwith: It will enfure a good crop of beans or peas the next year, and the land will be more free from weeds than if the dung is laid upon the fallow. It is alfo good husbandry, as foon as beans have got fix leaves, to turn eep in among them; they will eat the young weeds, even the C III. If corn or hay happens to heat in the mow, and is in danger of firing, cut in it a round hole like a well, quite to the bottom, which will act as a chimney, or flue, to carry off the heat. A mow of barley, which was greatly heated by a horfe having been indifcreetly got upon it, to tread it, was faved by this expedient. IV. It has been found advantageous to fow wheat without laying on any manure; and, in the beginning of February, to lay twenty bufhels of lime, unflacked, upon every acre, and forty bushels of fand, or the rubbish of a brick-kiln; then, about the end of the month, to flack the lime, which doubles its measure, and mix it well with the fand, and immediately afterwards to scatter it, by way of topD drefling, over the green wheat. As rain generally fucceeds, it is foon washed down to the roots of the plants, and gives them a vigour and itrength, that, to thofe who never made the experiment, is aftonishing. E F G H V. It is best to hack peas in small wads; they will thus be feldom lia. ble to be caught in the rain, being fooner fit for carting than those hacked in the ufual method. VI. What will deftroy the fly in fheep, will also cure the fcab, and the remedy for the fly is this: Take of good corrofive fublimate, half an ounce; diffolve it in twe quarts of rain-water; add a gill of Spirit of turpentine; use this mixture as follows: When the sheep is ftruck, make a circle round the maggets with some of the water, by dropping it out of a bottle: This prevents their geting away, for they will not come near the water: Then thred or open the wool within the circle, & drop a few drops of the water among them, and rub them about with the finger, and there leave them, for they will all die prefently. To a quart of the above water add a pint of the fimple lime water of the London Difpenfatory, and it will infallibly cure the scab. VII. Farmers in general cut their Account of the Number of Acres in Maryland. eats too foon, and inn keepers com- VIII. The fame is true of barley, which is alfo frequently cut before it is ripe. Moft farmers, if they see the grain full, dry, and hard, imagine their barley must be ripe; but the only fure fign of its being fit to mow is, the drooping or falling of the ears, fo as to double againft the ftraw. If it is then cut, and not before, it may be carried in directly, without danger of heating in the mow. B IX. Smut in wheat may effectually be prevented merely by washing it C well in a large tub of water, ftirring it violently with birch brooms, and kimming off the light corn and impurities. D X. To fatten pigs faster and better than in the common way, put up none but young porkers; put only four in a ftye; the firft week feed them moderately on barley, oatmeal, peas, or beans: During the fecond week, mix with their barley-meal as much antimony, in powder, as will lie on a fhilling three times: During the third week, give them the antimony twice. It purifies their blood, gives them an E appetite, & makes them thrive apace. 15 is thought, that, by mistakes in furveys running into each other, there is as much more than the true quantity of land already patented as what there may be yet to patent: If this grant was to be measured by the latitude and longitude of its extreme parts, it would certainly number a greater number of acres; but this province is fo nobly watered by fo great a number of fine navigable rivers, that a very great part thereof is always under tide water. I may perhaps, fome other time, furnish you with fome ftrictures on the trade of this country, the great advantage to the revenue by the duties on tobacco; and, as it is a cold country, may fhew the advantage that it is to Britain, by taking off fo large a quantity of her fabricks, the freight of her tobacco to Britain, and the treight of her goods from Britain. I am, Sir, &c. XI. Vale land will produce good crops of turnips, but on fuch land turnips are feldom fown, because they cannot be fed; and if they are drawn, the tap roots leave holes, which fill with water, and four the land. But if, immediately after drawing the tur- p nips, you go over the field with a heavy pair of drags, they will fill up the holes, and make the land yield a good crop of barley. [To be continued.] Mr URBAN, an Maryland, Nov. 20, 1764. NUMBER. In this province are no wafte lands, all are fit for cultivation. I think Jamaica contains about four millions of acres; and Yorkshire about 3,800,000. Suppofe, in round numbers, we call Maryland four millions. An Account of the Number of Acres of Land in each County, in the Province of Maryland; diffinguishing what Number of Acres are held by Proteftants, and what Number of Acres are held by Papifs, in each County, as it was returned by the several Collectors of the Land Tax on Sept. Names of 29, 1759. Acres of land held by Proteftants. Acres of land held by Pa pifts. Total number land in each of acres of county. 120027 66010 | 1860371 243742 46780 St Mary's 2905221 Ann Arundel 340848 23976 364825 Calvert G 1113391 3307 114646 Baltimore 546465 31647 578112 Frederick 416586 32958449545 189741 76179 26 5920 Queen Anne's 276968 $5970 292938 212133 1882 214015 269391 2693914 1678764 16991 169575 1523232 5678 158002 280952 100 281052 Dorchefter 308915 9961 318876 HE last year, I fent to you THE account of the number of fouls in each county in the province of Maryland, white and black, bond and free. I now fend, you an account of the number of acres of land in each county, diftinguishing how many acres are held by Proteftants, and how ma- H Worcester ay acres are held by Papifts; thefe are very near the whole number of acres that the Lord Baltimore's grant doth contain ; for although there may be fome more lands to be patented, it |