Great Britain and Ireland, is full ofalpable mistakes and misre presentations. In 1773, we find Mr. Whitaker the morning preacher of Ber. keley Chapel; to which office he had been appointed by a Mr. Hughes; but, about the end of the following year, he was removed from that situation. This gave occasion to The Case between Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Hughes, relative to the Morning Preachership of Berkeley Chapel; in which Mr. Whitaker relates some remarkable particulars; and declares himself "unalterably determined to carry the matter into Westminster-Hall;" and, we may be assured, that he used his utmost efforts to bring his determination into action but the fervour of his resentment threw him off his guard; and he expressed himself so indiscreetly, that his Case was considered as a libel by the Court of King's Bench. During his residence in London, he had an opportunity of conversing with several of our most celebrated writers; among whom were the author of The Rambler, and the historian of the Roman Empire. It does not appear, indeed, that Johnson was much attached to Whitaker. Equally strong in understanding, equally tenacious of opinion, and equally impassioned in conversation, it is not probable that they should amicably coalesce on all occasions. In the Ossianic controversy, they were decidedly hostile. With Gibbon, Mr. Whitaker was well acquainted; and the MS. of the first volume of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was submitted to Mr. W.'s inspection; but what was his surprize when, as he read the same volume in print, that chapter which has been so obnoxious to the Christian world, was then first introduced to his notice! That chapter, Gibbon had suppressed in the MS. over-awed by Mr. Whitaker's high character, and afraid of his censure; and, in fact, that the feeble Deist should have shrunk from his indignant eye, may well be conceived, when we see his Christian principle and his manly spirit uniting in the rejection of a living of considerable value, which was at this time offered him by a Unitarian patron! He spurned at the temptation, and pitied the seducer * ! Of his integrity, however, some recompense was now at hand; and, about the year 1778, he succeeded, as fellow of Corpus Christi College, to the Rectory of Ruan-Lanyhorne, in this county, one of the most valuable livings in the gift of that College +; and into this county he came, to reside upon his Rectory. Here, it might have been expected, that retirement and leisure would greatly favour the pursuits of literature; and that, though the converser" (to use an expression of Mr. Whitaker) had disappeared, the author would break forth with new energies; but RuanLanyhorne was, for several years, no tranquil seat of the Muses. On this subject, Mr. Polwhele addressed to Mr. Whitaker a Sonnet; for which, see "Sketches in Verse," sccond edition. + He had proceeded to his degree of B. D. That pleasant seclusion was now the scene of contest-but of con test which (in the opinion of the writer of this Memoir) was absolutely unavoidable. Mr. Whitaker had proposed a tythe-compo sition with his parishioners, by no means unreasonable. This they refused to pay but Mr. Whitaker was steady to his purpose. A rupture ensued between the parties-the tythes were demanded in kind-disputes arose upon disputes-animosities were kindled-and litigations took place. That Mr. Whitaker was finally victorious, afforded pleasure to the friends of the Rector, and, let us add, to the friends of justice and of truth;-yet it was long before harmony was restored to Ruan-Lanyhorne. That his literary schemes had been so sadly interrupted, was the subject of general regret. But the conscientious Pastor looked with a deeper concern to the spiritual welfare of his parishioners. He saw with sorrow their aversion to his preaching-their indifference to his instructions—their repugnance to his authority, and "he laboured more abundantly;" till, after a few years, he had the satisfaction to perceive a visiblè alteration in the behaviour of the principal parishioners; and a mutual good understanding was established between the Pastor and - his flock, His cordial-his familiar manner, indeed, was always pleasing to those whom prejudice had not armed against him; and, in proportion as they became acquainted with his kind disposition, the transitoriness of his resentments, and, after injuries, his promptness to forgive, and anxious wish to be forgiven,-they endeavoured more and more to cultivate his friendship, and at length loved and revered him as their father. Nothing can more fully display the warmth of his affections, his zeal as a Minister of Christ, or his impassioned style of eloquence, than those Sermons which he published in 1783; after having preached them to his parishioners, we doubt not with a voice and manner to penetrate the conscience, and strike conviction into the soul, to awaken the tears of peni. tence, and elevate the hopes of the Christian to the abodes of immortality. That he should have published so little in the line of his profession, is, perhaps, to be regretted. Though his Origin of Arianism be a large volume, it is a controversial tract, full of erudition and ingenious argumentation. We have read no other work of Mr. Whitaker in Divinity, except The Real Origin of Government (expanded into a considerable Treatise, from a Sermon which he had preached before Bishop Buller, at his Lordship's primary visitation) and The Introduction to Flindell's Bible.This has been much admired as a masterly piece of eloquence. In the mean time the Antiquary was not at rest. His Mary Queen of Scots, published in 1787, in three octavo volumes; bis Course of Hannibal over the Alps,—his Ancient Cathedral of Cornzal,—his Supplement to Mr. Polwhele's Antiquities of Cornwall,— *They are entitled "Sermons upon Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell." his London, and his Oxford (both as yet in MS.) furnish good evidence of an imagination continually occupied in pursuits which kindled up its brightest flame, though not always of that judgment, discretion, or candour, which, if human characters had been ever perfect, we should have expected from a Whitaker. In criticism, however (where writing anonymously, he would probably have written as temper or caprice suggested) we find him, for the most part, candid and good-natured-not sparing of cen sure, nor yet lavish of applause-and affording us, in numerous instances, the most agrecable proofs of genuine benevolence. Even in the instance of Gibbon *, where he has been thought severe beyond all former example, we have a large mixture of the sweet with bitterness. It was the critique on Gibbon that contributed greatly to the reputation of The English Review, in which Mr. Whitaker was the author of many valuable articles. To his pen also, The British Critic and The Antijacobin Review were indebted for various pieces of criticism. But the strength of his principles is nowhere more apparent than in those articles where he comes forward, armed with the panoply of truth, in defence of our Civil and Ecclesiastical Constitution. It was there he struck his adversaries with consternation; and we beheld the host of Jacobins shrinking away from before his face, and creeping into their caverns of darkness.-But we are here, perhaps, betrayed into expressions too violent for plain prose, which reminds us of another part of our friend's literary character,--we mean his Poetical Genius. That he contributed some fine pieces of poetry to The Cornwall and Devon Poets, is well known. were published in two small octavo volumes; and the Editor has now in his possession a sufficient quantity of good verse, by Mr. Whitaker, to fill forty or fifty pages of a third volume, now in contemplation. These We have thus (with rapid glances, and in a manner too desultory to be perfectly satisfactory to ourselves) reviewed the productions of our old and valued friend; and hailed him in the several departments of the Historian, the Theologist, the Critic, the Politician, and the Poet. Versatility, like Whitaker's, is, in truth, of rare occurrence; but still more rare is the splendor of original genius, exhibited in walks so various: not that Mr. Whitaker was equally happy in them all. His characteristic traits as a wri. ter, were acute discernment, and a velocity of ideas which acquired new force in composition, and a power of combining images in a manner peculiarly striking, and of flinging on every topic of discussion the strongest illustration. With little scruple, therefore, we hazard an opinion, That though his chief excellence be recog nized in antiquarian research, he would have risen to higher emi *Whitaker's Review of Gibbon's History (vols. iv, v. and vi.) originally appeared in The English Review. nence as a poet, had he cultivated in early youth the favour of the Muses. Be this, however, as it may, there are none who will deem us extravagant in pronouncing, That Mr. Whitaker was a GREAT literary character. That he was GOOD as well as great, would sufficiently appear in the recollection of any period of his life, whether we saw him abandoning preferment from principle, and heard him "reasoning of righteousness and judgment to come," until a Gibbon trembled; or whether, amongst his parishioners, we witnessrd his unaffected earnestness of preaching, his humility in conversing with the poorest cottagers, his sincerity in assisting them with advice, his tender. ness in offering them consolation, and his charity in relieving their distresses. It is true, to the same warmth of temper, together with a sense of good intentions, we must attribute an irritability at times destructive of social comfort, an impetuousness that brooked not opposition, and bore down all before it. This precipitation was in part also to be traced to his ignorance of the world,-to his simplicity in believing others like himself,-precisely what they seemed to be, and on the detection of his error, his anger at dissimulation or hypocrisy. But his general good humour, his hospitality, and his convivial pleasantry, were surely enough to atone for those sudden bursts of passion, those flashes which betrayed his " human frailty," but still argued genius. And they who knew how "fearfully and wonderfully he was made," could bear from a Whitaker what they could not so well have tolerated in another. In his family, Mr. Whitaker was uniformly regular: nor did he suffer at any time his literary cares to trench on his domestic duties. The loss of such a man must be deemed, as it were, a chasm both in public and in private life. But, for the latter, we may truly say, that if ever wife had cause to lament the kind and faithful husband, or* children the affectionate parent, or servants the indulgent master, the family at Ruan-Lany horne must feel their loss irreparable. + Such was the Historian of Manchester and the Rector of RuanLanyhorne, of whom we have given a very hasty sketch-we hope, however, a just and impartial one. That he should have lived to the age of seventy-three is rather to be wondered; for, strong as was his bodily constitution, his mind, ever active and restless, must have worn out (we should have presumed) even that athletic frame, long before the period assigned to man's existence. Amidst his ar dent and indefatigable researches into the Antiquities of London, his friends detected the first symptoms of bodily decay. His journey to London, his vast exertious there in procuring information, his energetic and various conversation with literary characters, brought on a debility which he little regarded, till it alarmed him in a stroke of paralysis. From this he never recovered to such a degree as to * Two amiable daughters. + Mrs. Whitaker was a Miss Tregenna, of an ancient Cornish family, be able to resume, with any good effect, his studies or occupations But, for the last year, his decline has been gradual; and it was such as we have contemplated with pleasure, since we have seen him sensible of his approaching dissolution, yet invariably supported by the faith of a Christian. His indeed was the resignation, the cheerfulness becoming a primitive disciple of that Jesus, in whose mercies he reposed, and to whom only he looked for acceptance. And he who would derive comfort from the prospect of death, should keep in view our venerable friend, when, at that awful hour which assured us of his happiness, at peace with himself, his fellow-creatures, and his God, he sunk as into quiet slumber, without a trouble or a pain,-and, with a smile on his countenance, expired. WHEN the Sons of a Frederick at France were dismay'd, And abandon'd to Frenchmen the soil where they bled; II. When France and Oppression base Europe enslav'd, Nail'd Royalty's Standard to Liberty's Mast. Re-echo'd the Mandate, "Brave Spaniards Strike Home;" III. Resistless to Faction and Slavery's Yoke, The True Briton's Heart's like the Heart of his Oak : S. B. FROME. |