his labour, giddy with success, and elated beyond bounds with the warm sunshine of prosperity, he seemed to be seized with a kind of infatuation. Vanity took entire possession of his bosom, and banished from thence every consideration but of self. His conversation turned on little else, and even his very writings were tainted with perpetual details of every little occurrence that happened to him. His raillery, both in company and in his writings, frequently turned on those who closely attached themselves to philosophical investigations, especially in the branches of natural philosophy. The common-place wit of abusing the medal-scraper, the butterfly-hunter, the cockle-shell-merchant, &c. now appeared in some of his Magazines and Inspectors, and in two or three places he even indulged some distant glances of satire at the Royal Society. Not withstanding which, however, when the Supplement to "Chambers's Dictionary" was nearly finished, the proprietors of that work, very sensible of the weight of an F. R. S. annexed to the author's name, were very desirous that Dr. Hill should have this addition as well as Mr. Scott, his colleague in the work. In consequence of this design, Dr. Hill procured Mr. Scott to propose him for election into that honourable body; but the doctor's conduct for some time past having been such as had rendered him the object of contempt to some, of disgust to others, and of ridicule to almost all the rest of his former grave and philosophical acquaintances, he now stood but a very indifferent chance for carrying an election, where an opposition of one third was sufficient to reject the candidate; and as the failing in that attempt might have done our author more essential prejudice than the succeeding in it could even have brought him advantage, the late ingenious and worthy president, Martin Folkes, esq. whose remembrance must ever live in the highest estimation with all who ever had the honour of knowing him, notwithstanding that Dr. Hill had given him personal occasion of offence against him, yet with the utmost generosity and candour, advised Mr. Scott to dissuade his friend, for his own sake, against a design which there appeared so little probability of his succeeding in. This advice, however, Dr. Hill, instead of considering in the generous light it was meant, misinterpreted into a prejudiced opposition against his interest, and would have persisted in his intention even in despite of it, had not his being unable to obtain the subscription of the

(

requisite number of members to his recommendation, obliged him to lay it aside, from a conviction that he could not expect to carry an election in a body composed of three hundred members, of which he could not prevail on three to set their names to the barely recommending him as a candidate. Thus disappointed, his vanity piqued, and his pride lowered, no relief was left him but railing and scurrility, for which purpose, declaring open war with the society in general, he first published a pamphlet entitled "A Dissertation on Royal Societies," in a letter from a Selavonian nobleman in London to his friend in Sclavonia; which, besides the most ill-mannered and unjust abuse on the whole learned body he had been just aiming, in vain, to become a member of, is interlarded with the grossest personal scurrility on the characters of Mr. Folkes and Mr. Henry Baker, two gentlemen to whom Dr. Hill had formerly been under the greatest obligations, and whose respective reputations in both the moral and literary world had long been too firmly established for the weak efforts of a disappointed scribbler to shake or undermine. Not contented with this, he proceeded to compile together a large quarto volume entitled " A Review of the Works of the Royal Society," in which, by the most unfair quotations, mutilations, and misrepresentations, numbers of the papers read in that illustrious assembly, and published under the title of the "Philosophical Transactions," are endeavoured to be rendered ridiculous. This work is ushered into the world with a most abusive and infamous dedication to Martin Folkes, esq. against whom and the afore-mentioned Mr. Henry Baker the weight of this furious attack was chiefly aimed; but the whole recoiled upon himself; and by such personal abuse, malignant altercation, proud and insolent behaviour, together with the slovenliness and inaccuracy of careless and hasty productions, he wrote himself out of repute both with booksellers and the town; and, after some time, sunk in the estimation of the public nearly as fast as he had risen. He found, however, as usual, resources in his own invention. He applied himself to the preparation of certain simple medicines; namely, "the Essence of Water-dock; Tincture of Valerian; Pectoral Balsam of Honey; and Tincture of Bardana." The well-known simplicity of these preparations led the public to judge favourably of their effects; they had a rapid sale, and once more enabled the doctor to live in splendour.

t

Soon after the publication of the first of these medicines, he obtained the patronage of the earl of Bute; under which he published a very pompous and voluminous botanical work, entitled "A System of Botany;" but is said to have been a very considerable loser by this speculation. His botanical works, however, had a favourable influence in promoting the science in general. To wind up the whole of so extraordinary a life, having a year or two before his death presented an elegant set of his botanical works to the king of Sweden, that monarch invested him with one of the orders of his court, that of Vasa, in consequence of which he assumed the title of Sir John. He died Nov. 22, 1775, of the gout, which he professed to cure others. As to his literary character, and the rank of merit in which his writings ought to stand, Hill's greatest enemies could not deny that he was master of considerable abilities, and an amazing quickness of parts. The rapidity of his pen was ever astonishing, and he has been known to receive within one year, no less than 1500l. for the works of his own single hand; which, as he was never in such estimation as to be entitled to any extraordinary price for his copies, is, we believe, at least three times as much as ever was made by any one writer in the same period of time. But, had he written much less, his works would probably have been much more read. The vast variety of subjects he handled, certainly required such a fund of universal knowledge, and such a boundless genius, as were never perhaps known to centre in any one man; and it is not therefore to be wondered, if, in regard to some he appears very inaccurate, in some very superficial, and in others altogether inadequate to the task he had undertaken. His works on philosophical subjects seemed most likely to have procured him fame, had he allowed himself time to digest the knowledge he possessed, or preserved that regard to veracity which the relation of scientific facts so rigidly demands. His novels, of which he has written many, such as "The History of Mr. Lovell," (in which he had endeavoured to persuade the world he had given the detail of his own life), "The Adventures of a Creole," "The Life of Lady Frail," &c. have, in some parts of them, incidents not disagreeably related, but the most of them are merely. narratives of private intrigues, containing throughout the grossest calumnies, and endeavouring to blacken and undermine the private characters of many worthy persons.

In his "Essays," which are by much the best of his writings, there is, in general, a liveliness of imagination, and adroitness in the manner of extending, perhaps some very trivial thought, which at first may by many be mistaken for wit; but, on a nearer examination, will be found to lose much of its value. A continued use of smart short periods, bold assertions, and bolder egotisms, produces a transient effect, but seldom tempts the spectator to take a second glance. The utmost that can be said of Hill is, that he had talents, but that, in general, he either greatly misapplied them, or most miserably hackneyed them for profit. As a dramatic writer he stands in no estimation, nor has he been known in that view by any thing but three very insignificant pieces namely, 1. "Orpheus," an opera, 1740. 2. "The Critical Minute," a farce, published in 1754, but not acted, 3. "The Rout," a farce, 1754*. A large volume might be written on the life and adventures of this extraordinary man, as affording a complete history of literary quackery, every branch of which he pursued with a greater contempt for character than perhaps any man in our time.'

HILL (JOSEPH), an English divine and lexicographer, was born Oct. 1625, at Bromley, near Leeds, where his father, Joshua Hill, was a puritan preacher. He was carefully educated in classical learning, and sent to Cambridge in 1644, where he was admitted of St. John's college. Iu 1649, he was chosen fellow of Magdalen college, and became a favourite tutor. In 1658 he served the office of senior proctor, and in 1660 kept the act for the degree of bachelor of divinity, and having declared his sentiments in favour of nonconformity, his fellow-collegians erased his name from their books, that he might be enabled to retire without suffering a formal ejectment. He then retired to London, and preached for a while at the church

* Some smart epigrams, by Garrick and others, on his joint occupations of poet and physician, will be remembered longer than his own dramas. Some of them run thus:

"For physic and farces, his equal there
scarce is ;
[is."
His farces are physic, his physic a farce
Another.

"Thou essence of dock, of valerian, and

sage,

At once the disgrace and the pest of this 'age,

The worst that we wish thee, for all thy vile crimes,

Is to take thy own physie, and read thy own rhymes."

Answer.

"The wish must be in form revers'd
To suit the doctor's crimes;
For if he takes his physic first,
He'll never read his rhymes !"

Gent. Mag. see Index.-Biog. Dram.-Davies's Life of Garrick.-Dilly's Repository.-D'Israeli's Quarrels, vol. II. &c. &c.

of Allhallows Barking, but in 1663 went abroad, and, after visiting various parts of the continent, passed three years at the university of Leyden. In 1667 he was invited to be minister of the English church at Middleburgh in Zealand, where he continued till 1673, when his too late publishing hisDefence of the Zealander's choice," occasioned the governors of that province to order him to leave the place. On his arrival in England, however, and waiting on Charles II. he rewarded him for writing that book with a sinecure of 80l. and, according to Calamy, offered him a bishopric if he would conform. But this being against his principles, he accepted an invitation to the English church at Rotterdam in 1678, where he exercised the office of pastor until his death, Nov. 5, 1707. Mr. Hill was much esteemed as a preacher, and has left one or two specimens of his talents; but he is more noticeable as the editor of Schrevelius's Lexicon, which he augmented with 8000 words, and purged of nearly as many faults. He published his edition in 1676, since which it has often been reprinted, sometimes with improvements, and is still a standard book. Mr. Hill had accumulated a very fine library, in which hẹ employed his leisure hours to the last.1

HILL (ROBERT) was a man remarkable for his perseverance and talent in learning many languages by the aid of books alone, and that under every disadvantage of labosrious occupation and extreme poverty. His extraordinary character was made known to the world by Mr. Spence in 1757, who, in order to promote a subscription for him, published a comparison between him and the famous Magliabecchi, with a short life of each. From this account it appears that he was born January 11, 1699 at Miswell near Tring in Hertfordshire, that he was bred a taylor, which trade and that of a staymaker he practised throughout life, sometimes adding to them that of a schoolmaster. He was three times married, and the increase of his family, with the extravagance of his second wife, kept him always in great penury. He worked in general, or taught by day, and studied by night; in which way he acquired the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, with a good knowledge of arithmetic. As he could proceed only as he accidentally picked up books in a very cheap way, his progress was slow, but by his unremitting diligence very steady. AcCalamy.-Cole's MS Athenæ Cantab. in Brit, Mus.