Secondly. In forming such a decision, the clamors of some of the provincial assemblies ought not to be the sole criterion, to judge by; particularly, in their contending for more power than, it is most manifest, was ever intended them, or, from the best rational principles, judged to be for their real benefit; clamors, in great measure, either groundless, mistaken, or magnified, for particular purposes; and of dangerous, or, at least, of uncertain consequence, both to the proprietary and themselves; and probably impossible for him safely to comply with: for it is most certain, that it was not always in his power to do as he pleased; and his ever being a friend to rational, or true, liberty, was never questioned; but he very well knew, that power, unduly proportioned, in the different parts of government, weakens its force, frustrates its design, and, without prudence, judgment and unanimity, soon destroys its own existence.

Thirdly. A just and proper estimate and comparison should be made, not only of the restricted power, and over-ruled authority of the proprietary, but also of the smallness of his fortune, or the narrowness of his circumstances, with the greatness of his actions; his long and assiduous labor and attention, his great expense and patience, both in effecting and preserving what he effected, in regard to the province, as originating in a just debt, due to his father, ought not only to have due place, in such an account, but also the numerous and various acts of both public and private beneficence, should be truly estimated; in which, it is most certain, he was continually, and in an extraordinary manner, engaged for the general and particular good of mankind, in Europe, besides his founding the province of Pennsylvania, and effectually providing for such advantage, freedom and prosperity of its inhabitants, as no other person, that we know of, had done for any country; with the nature and deficiency of his returns from thence;* which, instead of producing him a real benefit, proportionate, or similar, to what he had done for that province, afford no small argument in his favor, and as little honor to such as may be most disposed to cavil, in this respect, that, in the latter part of his life, when, it might reasonably be thought he ought to have reaped different fruits from that department of his labors, he should have any real occasion to say, or lament, as he did, that those, which he received from thence, were actually the cause of grief, trouble and poverty! Moreover, how much he stood on his terms with the different interests at court, is a circumstance of no small moment; with the changes in the government, at that time, in England, especially at the revolution; for there, it is manifest, as well as elsewhere, he was not without adversaries; and those not the least powerful and dangerous. Like

*It may be noted, that the great expense and trouble, which the province cost William Penn, and for which himself never received an equivalent, have, since his death, been amply rewarded to his family, or heirs, by a very great increase of the income from thence, to his children and posterity,

wise the difficulties, consequent on a vast expense, was another obstacle in his way to further good service, and his wonted liberality; in which it is well known his great generosity, in settling and encouraging the colony, had, in a particular manner, involved him, to the great reduction of his private estate, so liberally, and most evidently spent for a more public and general benefit; but, it is to be regretted, that the ingratitude of some people is too liable to misconstrue, slight, or undervalue, the kindest beneficence, though, in its consequences, to themselves very considerable, while they think any more may be had. Besides, the embarrassment of his private affairs, in which, during the latter part of his time, an ungrateful agent is said to have involved him, was another great disappointment, and heavy incumbrance, with which he had to struggle; and which rendered the preserving of the province, for his posterity, still more difficult; but, in some of these cases, his great interest among his friends, the Quakers, in England and Ireland, is said to have been of singular service to him.

As to what few small irregularities and deficiencies, really existed in the government, or management of the province, unmagnified by his adversaries, or mistaken friends, which, at any time, wanted proper redress, or assistance, they were principally owing to his absence from it; which, it is certain, was very much against his mind, and chiefly occasioned by the necessity of his circumstances, the unsettledness of the government in England, together with the attempts of his enemies, and his great beneficence to his province, with his small and discouraging returns from thence.

From these and similar considerations, it will be easy to perceive the nature of some of his difficulties, and the obstructions to such further public service, as might have been desired, in a person of his disposition, rank and station; which may account for part, at least of the exceptionable conduct of some of his deputy governors; for whose office it was no easy matter to procure proper, and, in every respect, suitable persons; as appears in the resignation of Thomas Lloyd; and, in his more than once, even, offering to the assembly themselves the choice of naming the deputy governor, or his representative, during his absence! a very remarkable condescension! which governors, though so much blamed, and doubtless some of them justly, in some things; yet, in such a limited sphere, as they acted in, they were not so much unjustifiable, in their general conduct, as a partial view of their administration might suggest; which, in the main, there is great reason to apprehend, would either not have been prudent, safe, or possible, for the proprietary, in his then present circumstances, to have contravened, in such manner, as some seem to have expected he ought to have done; for the very maintaining, and immediate preservation of the government, and consequently of the privileges of the province itself, at that time, undoubtedly depended more on much of the same conduct, which these seem to have judged so exceptionable, on the part of the proprietary, or of his deputy governors, than they ap

pear to have apprehended: instead of which, such a change of the government, as would then most probably have been effected, either by a resumption, or disposal, of it, to the crown, (which, in consequence of the attempts of his and its enemies, at home, and also of the opposition and liberties, used in the province, against his long sinking interest there, appeared likely to ensue) would, beyond all controversy, have been of much greater importance, and of such fatal effect to what was contended for, in the province, or the extension of its excellent privileges, in the manner desired, and that, even, to the discontented party in it, in some respects, as certainly, ought to silence-every attempt of detraction, and the narrowness of party spirit, against such exalted and true merit, and the general good conduct of the proprietary; whose wise counsels, and worthy actions, so far transcended and over-balanced every little failing, and human weakness, that can possibly be alledged against him, even, by an enemy; from which no mortal man, on earth, is, at all times entirely free: these, in such a case, should not be retained long in our minds; but the virtues, and excellent services, of such illustrious and worthy persons ought to be had in everlasting remembrance: services, which, being immortal here on earth, crown their agents with deathless praise, and eternal felicity; and place them beyond the power of envy and detraction; where, besides that serenity of mind which arises from the sense of a life well spent, their companion in this mortal state of existence, they also enjoy that glorious eternity, in the happy mansions above, which Cicero in his treatise, entitled, Somnium Scipionis, declares to be the portion of all true and genuine patriots: 'A certain place, in heaven (says he) is assigned to all, who preserve, or assist their country, or increase her glory; where they are to enjoy an eternity of happiness. For nothing is more acceptable to that God of Gods, who governs the system of the world, and directs all human occurrences, than those councils and assemblies of men, that, being united by social laws, from thence are termed estates; of these the governors and preservers, having proceeded from thence, do thither again return.""

BIOGRAPHY.

DR. CHARLES RIDGELY.

CHARLES RIDGELY, an eminent physician of Dover, Delaware, was descended from an opulent and respectable family of Devonshire in England, a younger branch of which came to America towards the latter part of the seventeenth century, and settled on the western shore of Maryland. His immediate parents were Nicholas Ridgely, an inhabitant of Dover, and Mary Vining, widow

of Benjamin Vining, who resided near the town of Salem, in West Jersey, and whose maiden name was Middleton. Their eldest son, who is the subject of this memoir, was born near Salem, January 26th 1738. His parents being in affluent circumstances, and occupying a respectable station in society, directed particular attention to the education of this son, as well as their other children. One of his first teachers was Dr. Samuel M'Call, a native of Ireland, residing in Dover, a self-taught scholar, and much distinguished in his day for his mathematical knowledge. From the care of Dr. M'Call he was transferred to that of David James Dove of Philadelphia: and afterwards completed his literary course in the "Academy of Philadelphia," which had been recently founded under the auspices of Dr. Franklin, and which in 1755, by an additional charter, was constituted a college. Of this institution it is believed that young Ridgely was one of the earliest pupils.

In the year 1754 he entered on the study of medicine in Philadelphia, under the direction of Dr. Phineas Bond. His studies were conducted under all those advantages which the talents and learning of his preceptor, and the institutions of the city of Philadelphia then afforded; and with all that diligence and success which might have been expected from his ardent and enlightened mind. In 1758 he commenced the practice of his profession in Dover; and there he continued to reside during the remainder of his life, in very extensive medical business, in the enjoyment of a professional reputation of the highest grade, and rich in the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens.

Dr. Ridgely was not only distinguished as a learned, skilful and popular physician; but his powerful and active mind, his liberal reading on other subjects besides those of his profession, his strict integrity and honor, and his remarkable urbanity of manners, recommended him to his fellow citizens as a suitable candidate for a variety of public stations. Accordingly, from a short time after his settlement in Dover until his death, he scarcely passed a year in which he did not fill some important office, and frequently seve ral of them. He was elected a member of the legislature of Delaware in 1765, and continued to be annually re-elected to the same trust, with very few intervals, until the close of his life. Several years before the revolution he was the presiding judge in Kent county, in the court of Common Pleas, and in the court of Quarter Sessions, which two courts were then held by the same judges. He was a member of the convention which formed the constitution of Delaware in 1776; and when the new government was set in operation, he was again called to the bench in one of the courts just mentioned, and continued, it is believed, to occupy that honorable station as long as he lived.

In the midst of this career of usefulness and honor, Dr. Ridgely was removed by death. In the month of August 1785, by great exposure and exertion in the discharge of his professional duties, he brought on a severe attack of bilious fever, which confined him to

his bed and room for nearly three months. In the beginning of the following November, when his weakness was yet so great that he could only ride a mile or two in a carriage, he unwarily exposed himself by descending from his carriage and standing for a short time on ground more damp than he supposed. In a few hours he was seized with a peripneumonia notha, which terminated his important life on the 25th of that month, in the forty-eighth year of his age.

Dr. Ridgely was eminently amiable and exemplary in all the relations of domestic life. His intercourse with his professional brethren was always marked with the most delicate honor and magnanimity. He feared no man as a rival. He honored merit wherever he found it: and he was ready to bestow praise and patronage wherever they were due. His brother physicians, as might have been expected, reciprocated his honorable treatment, and gave him an unusual share of their esteem and confidence. Perhaps no physician in Delaware ever had so large a number of respectable medical practitioners trained up under his direction as Dr. Ridgely. Profound as his medical learning was, he by no means confined himself to that department of reading. With ancient and modern history; with the principal works of imagination and taste in his own language; and with the leading elementary works on law and government, he was familiar. It was, indeed, often a matter of wonder to his friends, how a physician, in such extensive practice as he was, could find time to read so much out of the immediate line of his profession: how he could manifest so intimate an acquaintance with the principles of law on the bench, of government in the legislative body, and of ancient and modern literature in the social circle. The true secret of the whole was, that few men have been more rigid economists of time than he was, and few more methodical in their daily pursuits. When not employed in business, or occupied by company, he was seldom without a book in his hand. This habit he carried more particularly into the studies of his profession. He by no means ceased, as is the case with too many physicians, to study medicine, when he entered on the practice of it. He never gave up his medical books. He regularly procured and read every new publication within his reach on this subject; and he continued to do this up to the time at which he was arrested by the disease, in the summer of 1785, from which he never fully recovered.

Dr. Ridgely had a force and versatility of talent, which rendered him eminent in every business in which he engaged. It is true that by the bedside of his patients, and in medical consultation, he appeared to peculiar advantage; but it is no less true, that, as a judge, a legislator, or a literary companion, he was scarcely less distinguished. Almost every one who had occasion to transact business with him, remarked, with how muchi ntelligence, facility and despatch he went through it; that nothing ever appeared further from his mind than a disposition to raise unnecessary disputes or obsta