ment, that he revised and published those admirable Sermons, which stand foremost among the brightest ornaments of our theological literature; and of which I conceive this to be a striking characteristic, that they make it evident by irresistible arguments, that the doctrines discussed are consistent with sound sense, and that religion in its various details is not contrary to reason, but, in fact, highly rational. In 1755 and 1756, he published four volumes of these Discourses in octavo; to which a fifth was added in 1776, when their author was no more. * Death seemed as if he delayed to strike this great and good man, allowing him to continue in the uninterrupted exercise of his mental powers, until he saw the accession of our late revered monarch; when, unable as he was personally to approach the throne, he addressed the following beautiful letter of condolence and congratulation to him who so auspiciously ascended it : SIRE, November 1, 1760. Amidst the congratulations that surround the throne, permit me to lay before your Majesty a heart, which, though oppressed with age and infirmity, is no stranger to the joys of my country. When the melancholy news of the late king's demise reached us, it naturally led us to consider the loss we had sustained, and upon what *This contains his fourteen occasional Sermons, and was undertaken at the suggestion of Mr. Southgate, Curate of St. Giles's, who furnished the copies. The publishers were those two eminent bibliopoles, Lockyer Davies and Thos. Davies, whose initials D.D. are subscribed to the Preface.-Nichols's Lit. Anecd. vol. iii. p. 214. His Sermons were translated into French by the celebrated Pere Houbigant, his Discourses on Prophecy, and bis Trial of the Witnesses, having received the same compliment from the pen of Le Moine. our hopes of futurity depended. The first part excited grief, and put all the tender passions into motion; but the second brought life and spirit with it, and wiped away the tears from every face. Oh! how graciously did the providence of God provide a successor, able to bear the weight of government in that unexpected event! You, Sir, are the person whom the people ardently desire: which affection of theirs is happily returned by your Majesty's declared concern for their prosperity; and let nothing disturb this mutual consent. Let there be but one contest between them, whether the king loves the people best, or the people him : and may it be a long, a very long contest! may it never be decided, but let it remain doubtful! and may the paternal affection on the one side, and the filial obedience on the other, be had in perpetual remembrance! This will probably be the last time I shall ever trouble your Majesty. I beg leave to express my warmest wishes and prayers on your behalf. May the God of heaven and earth have you always under his protection, and direct you to seek his honor and glory in all you do; and may you reap the benefit of it by an increase of happiness in this world and in the next!' At length the summons came; when this illustrious prelate, well prepared to answer it, resigned his soul into the hands of his Maker, on the 18th of July, 1761, at the advanced age of 84. He was buried at Fulham, not in the church, but in the church-yard; exhibiting an example, like many other prelates of this see, which is well worthy of observation in this church-defiling age. A monument is erected to his memory, on which the following epitaph is inscribed :— In this vault is deposited the body of The Right Reverend Father in God Dr. Thomas Sherlock, late Bishop of this Diocese, formerly Master of the Temple, Dean of Chichester, and Bishop of Bangor and Salisbury. * Compton, Robinson, Gibson, Hayter, Osbaldiston, Terrick, Lowth, and Randolph.-Lit. Anecd. vol. ix. p. 505. Whose beneficent and worthy conduct His superior genius, his extensive and well-applied learning, his admirable faculty and unequalled power of reasoning, They do honor to the age wherein he lived; and Underneath, on another tablet, is this: He died the 18th day of July, in the year which he sustained to the last with a most cheerful The side of a monument, to the memory of his lady, placed on the top of the above-mentioned tablet, is thus inscribed. Judith Fountaine, was married to Dr. Thomas Sherlock, Died July 23, 1764; aged 77. Bishop Sherlock died without issue, and left a large fortune behind him, not, as some have asserted,* shamefully amassed out of the see of London, but principally saved * Among others, Dr. King, in the 'Anecdotes of his own Times,' p. 183. from his own private resources; for he received a considerable sum from his father, which was greatly augmented by the testamentary disposal of his elder brother's fortune: neither is it true, as others have declared,* that he left the palace at Fulham in a bad condition, though it is very true that he found it so. In fact, his present worthy successor informs me, in a letter dated January 27, 1830, that he built a dining-room there (which is now the kitchen) with bed-rooms over it. To his lady, who survived him, Bishop Sherlock bequeathed 30007. per annum for her life, and 10,000l. at her own disposal. The rest of his property, with the reversion of his widow's income, after certain bequests, devolved on his nephew, Sir Thomas Gooch. It seems that he was neither deficient in the virtue of charity during his life, nor unmindful of those who had any claim on him at his death; for as his piety was constant and exemplary, his zeal in establishing the great truth of Christianity warm and fervent, so, says Dr. Nichols,† was his munificence and his charity large and diffusive. It appears that he gave great sums of money to the corporation of clergymen's sons, to several of the hospitals, and to the Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Indeed at the instance of this same Society, he printed at his own charge an impression of 2000 copies of his valuable Discourses, which were sent to all the islands and colonies of America. To his old college of Catherine Hall, the place of his education, he left his valuable library of books, with an estate at Congeston, in the county of Leicester,* *The Rev. C. Godwyn, in a letter to Mr. Hutchins, says that he died worth 120,000l., and left the palace at Fulham in very bad condition. Lit. Anecd. vol. viii. p. 227. On this point see his letter to Dr. Grey, p. xlvii. + Funeral Sermon. This estate was subsequently exchanged for one at Nether for a library fund, on which a salary of 207. per annum is charged for the pay of a librarian. He also left an estate at Therfield, in Cambridgeshire, to found a scholarship, which must be given to the master's sizar. When he resigned his headship of Catherine Hall, Dr. Crosse, the senior fellow, a person whom Sherlock disliked, was elected to succeed him, for no other reason but that a senior might be removed out of the way; and this probably was the reason why he neglected his college in the disposal of his preferment. Besides the above-mentioned, and other public instances of his charity, the private flow of his bounty to many individuals was constant and regular: on all just occasions he was ever ready to stretch forth his hand towards the needy and afflicted; of which no one,' continues Dr. Nichols, can bear testimony better than myself, whom he often employed as the distributor of it.' This is evidence which must overbalance a thousand insinuations of those who judge only from hearsay, or perhaps, still worse, from the suggestions of their own imagination. To his servants it is said that he was a kind master, knowing how to reward fidelity and diligence; especially in those who had been long in his service. They were careful over him, and he remembered their care, by leaving a large sum among those who had been nearest about him during his illness.* If he had failings (and who is there without them?) they were those which generally attach themselves to the greatest minds: he was ambitious; but he directed his ambition to noble purposes: he was irritable in his temper; but he generally corrected this defect, oftentimes Wittacre, in the county of Warwick, which at present brings in 1107. per annum. * Funeral Sermon. |