his father, which were foon after followed by his death, were the occafion of the fon's being left very young in the hands of a near relation (one who married Mr. Neale's fifter), whose name was Smith. This gentleman and his lady treated him as their own child, and put him to Westminster-school under the care of Dr. Bufby; whence, after the lofs of his faithful and generous guardian (whofe name he affumed and retained), he was removed to Chrift-church in Oxford, and there by his aunt handfomely maintained till her death; after which he continued a member of that learned and ingenious fociety, till within five years of his own; though, some time before his leaving Christchurch, he was fent for by his mother to Worcester, and owned and acknowledged as her legitimate fon; which had not been mentioned, but to wipe off the afperfions that were ignorantly caft by fome on his birth. It is to be remembered for our author's honour, that, when at Westminster election he stood a candidate for one of the univerfities, he fo fignally diftinguished himself by his confpicuous performances, that there arofe no fmall contention between the reprefentative electors of Trinity-college in Cambridge and Chrift-church in Oxon, which of those two royal focieties fhould adopt him as their own. But the electors of Trinity-college having the preference of choice that year, they refolutely elected him; who yet, being invited at the fame time to Chrift-church, chofe to accept of a studentship there. Mr. Smith's perfections, as well natural as acquired, feem to have been formed upon Horace's plan; who fays, in his Art of Poetry, "Ego nec ftudium fine divite venâ, Ho He was endowed by Nature with all thofe excellent and neceffary qualifications which are previous to the accomplishment of a great man. His memory was large and tenacious, yet, by a curious felicity chiefly fulceptible of the fineft impreffions it received from the best authors he read, which it always preferved in their primitive strength and amiable order. He had a quickness of apprehenfion, and vivacity of underftanding, which eafily took in and furmounted the most subtle and knotty parts of mathematicks and metaphyficks. His wit was prompt and flowing, yet folid and piercing; his taste delicate, his head clear, and his way of expreffing his thoughts perfpicuous and engaging. I fhall fay nothing of his perfon, which yet was fo well turned, that no neglect of himfelf in his dress could render it disagreeable; infomuch that the fair fex, who obferved and esteemed him, at once commended and reproved him by the name of the handsome floven. An eager but generous and noble emulation grew up with him; which (as it were a rational fort of instinct) pushed him upon striving to excel in every art and science that could make him a credit to his college, and that college the ornament of the most learned and polite univerfity; and it was his happiness to have feveral contemporaries and fellowftudents who exercised and excited this virtue in themfelves and others, thereby becoming fo defervedly in favour with this age, and fo good a proof of its nice difcernment. His judgement, naturally good, foon ripened into an exquifite fineness and distinguishing fagacity, which as it was active and bufy, fo it was vi-gorous and manly, keeping even paces with a rich and ftrong imagination, always upon the wing, and never tired Gg 2 tired with afpiring. Hence it was, that, though he writ as young as Cowley, he had no puerilities; and his earliest productions were fo far from having any thing in them mean and trifling, that, like the junior compofitions of Mr. Stepney, they may make grey authors blush. There are many of his firft effays in oratory, in epigram, elegy, and epique, ftill handed about the univerfity in manufcript, which fhew a mafterly hand; and, though maimed and injured by frequent tranfcribing, make their way into our most celebrated mifcellanies, where they fhine with uncommon luftre. Befides thofe verfes in the Oxford books, which he could not help fetting his name to, several of his compofitions came abroad under other names, which his own fingular modefty, and faithful filence, ftrove in vain to conceal. The Enconia and public Collections of the Univerfity upon State Subjects were never in fuch esteem, either for elegy or congratulation, as when he contributed moft largely to them; and it was natural for thofe, who knew his peculiar way of writing, to turn to his fhare in the work, as by far the most relishing part of the entertainment. As his parts were extraordinary, fo he well knew how to improve them; and not only to polish the diamond, but enchafe it in the moft folid and durable metal. Though he was an academick the greateft part of his life, yet he contracted no fournefs of temper, no fpice of redantry, no itch of difputation, or obftinate contention for the old or new philosophy, no affuming way of dictating to others; which are faults (though excufable) which some are infenfibly led into, who are constrained to dwell long within the walls of a private college. His converfation was pleafant and inftructive; and what Horace faid of Plotius, Varius, and Virgil, might "Nil ego contulerim jucundo fanus Amico." As correct a writer as he was in his most elaborate pieces, he read the works of others with candor, and referved his greatest severity for his own compofitions; being readier to cherish and advance, than damp or deprefs a rifing genius, and as patient of being excelled himself (if any could excel him) as industrious to excel others, "Twere to be wished he had confined himself to a particular profeffion, who was capable of furpaffing in any; but in this, his want of application was in a great measure owing to his want of due encourage ment. He paffed through the exercises of the college and univerfity with unusual applause; and though he often fuffered his friends to call him off from his retirements, and to lengthen out thofe jovial avocations, yet his return to his ftudies was fo much the more paffionate, and his intention upon those refined pleasures of reading and thinking fo vehement (to which his facetious and unbended intervals bore no proportion), that the habit grew upon him, and the series of meditation and reflection being kept up whole weeks together, he could better fort his ideas, and take in the fundry parts of a science at one view, without interruption or confufion. Some indeed of his acquaintance, who were pleafed to diftinguish between the wit and the scholar, extolled him altogether on the account of the first of these titles; but others, who knew him better, could not forbear doing him juftice as a pro 7 digy in both kinds. He had fignalized himself, in the schools, as a philofopher and polemick of extensive knowledge and deep penetration; and went through all the courses with a wife regard to the dignity and importance of each science. I remember him in the Divinity-school refponding and difputing with a perfpicuous energy, a ready exactness, and commanding force of argument, when Dr. Jane worthily prefided in the chair; whofe condefcending and difinterested commendation of him gave him fuch a reputation as filenced the envious malice of his enemies, who durft not contradict the approbation of fo profound a master in theology. None of those felf-fufficient creatures, who have either trifled with philofophy, by attempting to ridicule it, or have encumbered it with novel terms, and burdenfome explanatious, understood its real weight and purity half fo well as Mr. Smith. He was too difcerning to allow of the character of unprofitable, rugged, and abstruse, which fome fuperficial fciolifts (fo very smooth and polite as to admit of no impreffion), either out of an unthinking indolence, or an ill-grounded prejudice, had affixed to this fort of ftudies. He knew the thorny terms of philofophy ferved well to fence-in the true doctrines of religion; and looked upon school-divinity as upon a rough but well-wrought armour, which might at once adorn and defend the Chriftian hero, and equip him for the combat. Mr. Smith had a long and perfect intimacy with all the Greek and Latin Clafficks; with whom he had carefully compared whatever was worth perusing in the French, Spanish, and Italian (to which languages he was no ftranger), and in all the celebrated writers of |