sent to Lambert, as an indication of what might be expected from him with further cultivation.

Lambert, being unwilling to take the whole weight of the affair on himself, called to his assistance Mr. Postlethwaite and Mr. Collier, head tutors of Trinity College, and Mr. Attwood, assistant tutor, esteemed an eminent mathematician. Each of these three gentlemen testified strongly to Porson's abilities, and Lambert transmitted their reports, through Mr. Carthew, to Mr. Norris. The whole account of the circumstances attendant on this examination of Porson, is recorded in a paper in Lambert's handwriting, preserved, with Hewitt and Carthew's letters, in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. The paper was written to confute a notion of Beloe's, that Porson's journey to Cambridge at this time, though often mentioned by his family, had in reality never taken place, as it was utterly improbable that a mere boy would be sent to be examined by a Greek professor. Lambert concludes the document thus: "Porson returned home; but how long he remained under Mr. Hewitt's charge, by what means his patronage became afterwards so extensive, or in what manner he accumulated that stupendous mass of knowledge in a language of which in the beginning of 1773 he was only studying the verbs, I cannot say." Lambert ceased to reside in college soon after, and heard nothing more of Porson till he had grown up and become distinguished.

He continued under Mr. Hewitt's tuition for something more than another year, during which time he seems to have advanced into Livy, Cicero, and Horace, and to have read some portion of Homer.

It being determined to send him to the Charterhouse, Lambert kindly introduced him to the Marquis of Granby, who was then an undergraduate of the college, and who immediately wrote to the Duke of Rutland and the Earl of Mansfield, to engage their interest for him at that seminary, of which they were governors. But their nominations for the next vacancy had been long pre-engaged, and some other plan of education was to be sought for him.

Mr. Norris still held to his resolution of serving him, and determined on raising a fund, by contributing largely himself, and by procuring such subscriptions as he could, for educating him at a first-rate school, and for afterwards maintaining him at the University. This scheme succeeded beyond Mr. Norris's expectations, for many persons of eminence interested themselves about a youth of such ability, and gave liberal donations. Among the contributors were Bishop Bagot, another bishop whose name is now unknown, Sir George Baker, Dr. Poynter, Dr. Hammond, a prebendary of Norwich, and Mrs. Mary Turner, a grand-daughter of Sir George Turner, and relative of Mr. Norris. This lady took a great liking to Porson, paid him constant attention, and gave him permission, when he should return from school for the holidays, to pass them at her house.

The treasurer of the fund was Sir George Baker, then president of the College of Physicians, and eminently distinguished for his learning and classical taste. It was perhaps by his recommendation that the school chosen for Porson was that of Eton, at which he was entered in the month of August 1774, when he was in

CHAP. II.

PORSON AT ETON.-DR. GOODALL'S ACCOUNT OF HIM.-WHAT HE KNEW

WHEN HE WENT TO ETON, AND WHAT HE LEARNED THERE.
MEMORY.

HIS HIS DISLIKE OF COMPOSITION. ANECDOTES.- DEATH OF MR. NORRIS.-PORSON LIBERALLY PATRONISED BY SIR GEORGE BAKER. 66 HIS ILLNESS AT ETON. NOTICE OF HIS DRAMA, OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE," WRITTEN AND ACTED AT ETON. — A SPECIMEN OF HIS SCHOOL VERSES.

HIS MIND TURNED TO CRITICAL RESEARCH.-HIS ESTIMATION OF DAWES AND BENTLEY.

OF Porson's career at Eton we have no detailed account, but we may gather some information about it from the various notices of him. Two sources from which we learn something of it are Beloe's "Sexagenarian," and a paper in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for October 1808. "In that great seminary," says the writer in the Magazine," he almost from the commencement of his career displayed such a superiority of intellect, such facility of acquirement, such quickness of perception, and such a talent of bringing forward to his purpose all that he had ever read, that the upper boys took him into their society, and promoted the cultivation of his mind. by their lessons, as well, probably, as imposing upon him the performance of their own exercises. He was courted by them as the never-failing resource in every difficulty; and in all the playful excursions of the imagination, in their frolics as well as in their serious tasks, Porson was their constant adviser and support. He used to dwell on this lively part of his youth with peculiar complacency; and we have heard him repeat

a drama which he wrote for exhibition in their long chamber, and other compositions, both of seriousness and drollery, with a zest that the recollection of his enjoyment at the time never failed to revive in him."

Beloe says that he wrote two dramatic pieces, and acted in them himself; but that nothing more is remembered of them than that the one, which was entitled "Out of the Frying-pan into the Fire," was more ingenious and elaborate than the other, which was founded on some petty affair that occurred in the school. In other respects Beloe's account differs from that of the other writer. Many of Porson's schoolfellows at Eton, he observes, were living at the time that "The Sexagenarian" was written, who all declare, without variation, that when Porson went to Eton he was not particularly distinguished above other boys either for knowledge or disposition to acquire it.

Dr. Goodall, when Provost of Eton, being called upon, after Porson's death, to give evidence on the state of education in the country, before a Committee of the House of Commons, and being asked, among other questions, "if he was acquainted with what had happened to the late Professor Porson, to prevent his election to King's College," made the following state

ment :

"Every account that I have read about him, in relation to that circumstance, is incorrect. When he came to the school he was placed rather higher, by the reputation of his abilities, than perhaps he ought to have been in consequence of his actual attainments. With respect to prosody, he knew but little; and as to Greek he had made comparatively but little progress when he came to Eton. The very ingenious and learned editor of one account of him has been misinformed

C

in most particulars; and many of the incidents which he relates, I can venture from my own knowledge to assert, are distorted or exaggerated. Even Porson's compositions, at an early period, though eminently correct, fell far short of excellence; still we all looked up to him in consequence of his great abilities and variety of information, though much of that information was confined to the knowledge of his schoolfellows, and could not easily fall under the notice of his instructors. He always undervalued school exercises, and generally wrote his exercises fair at once, without study. I should be sorry to detract from the merit of an individual whom I loved, esteemed, and admired; but I speak of him when he had only given the promise of his future excellence; and, in point of school exercises, I think he was very inferior to more than one of his contemporaries: I would name the present Marquis Wellesley as infinitely superior to him in composition.'

"On being asked whether he wrote the same beautiful hand as he did afterwards, Dr. Goodall replied he did, nor was there any doubt of his general scholarship.

"To a question whether he made great progress during the time he was at Eton, or after he left, Dr. Goodall said he was advanced as far as he could be with propriety, but there were certainly some there who would not have been afraid to challenge Porson as a schoolboy, though they would have shunned all idea of competition with him at Cambridge. The first book that Porson ever studied, as he often told me, was 'Chambers's Cyclopædia;' he read the whole of that dictionary through, and in a great degree made himself master of the algebraic part of that work entirely by the force of his understanding.

“Dr. Goodall was then asked if he considered there was any ground for complaint on the part of Porson in not having been sent to Cambridge; to which he answered, 'No; he was placed as high in the school as he well could be: as a proof, however, of his merits, when he left Eton contributions were readily supplied by Etonians in aid of Sir George Baker's proposal to secure the funds for his maintenance at the University."