To latest life from early youth, And with precision just and clear, Marshfield, Dec. 14, 1773. W. O. 1622.-SINGULAR BEQUEST BY A TEWKESBURY LADY.-Under the will of the late Miss Frances Strickland, of Apperley Court, near Tewkesbury, the sum of £2,000 is bequeathed to five trustees for the purpose of being invested in guaranteed stocks or shares bearing a fixed interest, the income from which is to be applied for such charitable and useful purposes within eight miles of Tewkesbury, as the trustees shall determine. As to these purposes the testator says: "And without intending to limit the purposes for which the said dividends, interest, and income may be applied, I recommend to my said charity trustees or trustee the objects following, that is to say:-The raising or repairing of the artificial bank of the river Severn. The dredging away of sand banks for the benefit of the landowners, and for the formation of convenient § He frequently spent near whole nights in star-gazing and the study of the Heavens. He read Newton, Halley, Kiel, and other learned authors; and told me he laid out 301. in the purchase of books of science, which money he saved out of the labour of his hands, in his younger days. + He made an almanac. ✰ He ground glasses to the greatest perfection, and to any focus required; he made refracting, reflecting, and double-tubed Telescopes, and also Microscopes of every kind. landing places for the local traffic. The building or repairing of bridges, large or small, for the benefit of local traffic. The application thereof in aid of the poor rates in any parish or district in cases of much sickness or disaster, in which case the same is to pass through the hands of the Board of Guardians in aid of the ratepayers who would otherwise have to meet unusually heavy assessments, and not to be given to individual paupers. The preservation of any natural curiosity or relic of antiquity in danger of destruction by neglect or greed of money. The construction of reservoirs for water or drinking fountains open to the public, and the preservation of open places for play grounds for villages. But the same shall not be applied for the purpose of apprenticing of poor persons, or in the acquisition of land." The trustees will hold an annual meeting, which is to be advertised twice beforehand "in the principal county newspapers," and at which application for grants from the trustees may be made. In the event of none of the applications being considered within the scope and object of the trust, the income of the fund for the year is to be paid to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.-Gloucester Journal, June 30, 1888. 1623. WILLIAM WARBURTON, D.D., LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER 1760-79.—The Rev. Richard Warner, in his entertaining New Guide through Bath and its Environs, observes, "It is curious to remark on what trifling accidents the destinies of men frequently depend. This was strikingly exemplified in the fortunes of Warburton. Pope, being one day at dinner with Mr. Allen, had a letter put into his hand by one of the footmen. The Poet, on reading it, shook his head. What occasions your perplexity?' said Allen. 'A Lincolnshire clergyman,' said he, 'to whom I am much obliged, writes me word, that he will be with me in a few days at Twickenham.' If that be all, Mr. Pope, request him to come to us; my carriage shall meet him at Chippenham, and bring him hither'. Pope complied with the kind request; and the Lincolnshire clergyman, in consequence of his visit to Prior Park, became Bishop of Gloucester, the husband of Allen's niece [Gertrude Tucker], and an inheritor of a large part of his property! But Warburton, it should seem," adds Mr. Warner, was not more indebted for his success with Mr. Allen to Pope's recommendation, than to his own knowledge of the human character. Delicate flattery, he knew, would be gratifying even to the bestregulated mind; and therefore duly poured into the ear of his friend a just and regular proportion of it. Sometimes, indeed, he went a little beyond the mark in adulation; but it was erring on the right side; a venial fault, and easily forgiven. 'Doctor,' said Mr. Allen to him one day, when conversing on the subject of the Divine Legation, 'your adversaries appear to me to advance only weak and futile arguments against you.' 'Sir,' replied Warburton, 'you have spoken more to the purpose in those few words, than all the rascals, in all their volumes, have written.' After Mr. Allen's death, Warburton took possession of Prior Park, in right of his wife; and there produced some of those profound literary labours, which will be an ornament to the English language and nation as long as they exist. He seems to have adopted the Roman emperor's determination, oderint dum metuant; he used no allurements of gentle language, but wished to compel rather than persuade. His style is copious without selection, and forcible without neatness; he took the words that presented themselves; his diction is coarse and impure, and his sentences are unmeasured. But, with all these defects of manner, his powers of reasoning are so gigantic, that his works can never fail to interest the understanding most forcibly; an assertion that will be readily assented to by every one who reads his wonderful literary labour, The Divine Legation of Moses; a book which has been much abused, but never satisfactorily answered. The Bishop's literary labours confined him a great deal to Prior Park. After a long absence from London, he appeared at Court, when the King, for the sake of saying something, observed to him that he supposed he had just left his diocese. Warburton, considering the speech as a tacit rebuke, replied, with point and spirit, 'No, please your Majesty, I am come from Prior Park, near my diocese, but not in it where I have been combating the enemies of that Faith, of which your Majesty is the avowed and zealous Defender.' In Claverton Churchyard, near Bath, is the vault of the Allens, with an handsome square freestone mausoleum over it, having a pyramidal roof, and three semicircular arches in each of the sides. Within this structure a table monument bears these inscriptions:On the north side: "Beneath this monument lieth entombed the body of Ralph Allen, Esq., of Prior Park, who departed this life the 29th of June, 1764, in the 71st year of his age; in full hopes of everlasting happiness in another state, through the infinite merey and mediation of our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ. And of Elizabeth Holder, his second wife, who died September 20th, 1766, aged 68." At the eastern end: "Near this place lie the remains of Ralph Allen Warburton, the only son of William Warburton, Lord Bishop of Glocester, and Gertrude, his wife, who died July 28, 1775, aged 19 years. He was a youth eminently distinguished for goodness of heart, elegance of manners, and gracefulness of person. How transient are human endowments! How vain are human hopes! Reader, prepare for eternity!" On the south side: "In this vault are deposited the remains of Gertrude, wife of the Rev. M. Stafford Smith, of Prior Park, relict of William Warburton, Lord Bishop of Glocester, and niece to the late Ralph Allen, Esq. She died Sept. 1, 1796, aged 66 years. She was a firm and devout Christian; with a fine, natural, and highlycultivated understanding; and a frank, generous, good heart."* * Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, vol. ix., p. 801. Warburton died at his palace in Gloucester, June 7, 1779, in his eighty-first year. In Literary and Miscellaneous Memoirs, vol. iv., p. 205, Cradock mentions a striking circumstance which was reported to have occurred at the bishop's death, but gives it merely as a report. About the time that his only son died, Warburton became, as is generally known, almost an imbecile, and continued to feel little interest in anything for several years, till, shortly before his death, a momentary revival of intellect took place, and he asked, in a quiet rational tone, "Is my son really dead, or not?" His attendant hesitated how to reply, when the question was repeated in a firmer voice. The attendant then answered, "As your lordship presses the question, I must say, he is dead." "I thought so,' said Warburton, and soon after expired. He was buried in his cathedral, not far from the west door, and close to the grave of one of his predecessors, Bishop Benson; and a marble monument was there erected to his memory, at the expense of his widow, with this inscription, composed by his friend Bishop Hurd, over a medallion portrait:"To the memory of William Warburton, D.D., | for more than nineteen years Bishop of this See: a prelate of the most sublime genius and exquisite learning, both which talents | he employed, through a long life, in the support of what he firmly believed, the Christian Religion, and of what he esteemed the best establishment of it, the Church of England. He was born at Newark-upon-Trent, Dec. 24, 1698; was consecrated Bishop of Gloucester, Jan. 20, 1760; died at his palace in this City, June 7, 1779, and was buried near this place," An octavo volume, entitled The Life of William Warburton, D.D., Lord Bishop of Gloucester from 1760 to 1779; with Remarks on his Works, by the Rev. John Selby Watson, M.A., has been published by Longman, Green, and Co., London, 1863. J. G. In 1624. THE CORNER STONE OF ST. MARK'S CHURCH, CHELTENHAM. The corner stone of the new transepts, &c., of the church of St. Mark's, Cheltenham, will be laid to-morrow. connection with the new works it was found necessary to move the former corner stone, laid exactly 28 years ago, containing silver coins and a parchment. The glass bottle, though encased in a receptacle scooped out of a solid stone, and covered with a protecting weather stone of 7 or 8 cwt., was found to be one third full of water, which had reduced the parchment almost to a state of pulp. The three coins were perfectly bright, retaining their pristine bloom and freshness. No reason can be assigned for the presence of the water.-Bristol Times and Mirror, July 16, 1888. 1625.-CHIPPING SODBURY CHURCH: MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS. In the parish church of St. John the Baptist, Chipping Sodbury, there were, as Rudder, who wrote in 1779, has recorded, several inscriptions; but now, as explained below, only three are to be seen (the second and third being on memorial windows), of which accurate copies were taken in July, 1888 1. Sacred to the memory of George Griffin, Sergt R.M.L.I., who departed this life | on board H.M. Ship Charybdis, at Taboga, on the 9th July, 1863, aged 35 years. | This monument is erected by the Officers and Ship's Company of H.M. Ship Charybdis, | to show their appreciation of his worth and respect for his memory. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv. 22. 2. and of To the glory of our Saviour, and in loving remembrance of | William Davidson, who fell asleep August 19, 1865, Sarah, his wife, who fell asleep October 23, 1871. 3. In loving remembrance of Grace, wife of | Revd D. C. Randolph, of Yate House, who fell asleep Oct. 7, 1873. | "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." In the adjacent churchyard there are many inscriptions, two of which are as follows: 1. Underneath are deposited the remains of Katharine Jones, | the beloved wife of the Revd David Jones, Clerk, ❘ and second daughter of the late William Veel, Esq, of Alkerton House, in this County. She died the 20th of May, 1830, aged 29 years. 2. Underneath are deposited the remains of Anna Veel, | eldest daughter of the late William Veel, Esq, of Alkerton House, in this County, who died June 2nd, 1832, aged 35 years. In 1869 the church was well restored by the late Mr. Street, and the monuments, with one exception, were removed from their original positions, and re-erected in the belfry! Why was one spared? The door leading to the belfry being locked, the monuments could not be seen. More than once it has been stated in print that "during the restoration a curious old stone pulpit was discovered, which is now in use." It would be more correct to say, that the place where an old pulpit had been was discovered, and that the present pulpit corresponds with the original design. ABHBA. 1626.-STRANGE Custom at St. BRIAVELS, FORest of Dean.— (See No. 704.) Felix Farley's Bristol Journal of June 6, 1807, contains this paragraph :-One of the most strange customs that time has handed down to us prevails at St. Briavels, Gloucestershire. On Whit-Sunday, several baskets full of bread and cheese, cut into small squares of about an inch each, are brought into the |