Mr. WARTON died in August, 1745, and was characterized by his sons as a man of learning, pro bity and piety.

Mr. JOSEPH WARTON was admitted a scholar into Winchester College, Aug. 2, 1736, and left it in Sept. 1740: he was admitted of Oriel College, Oxford, and determined his batchelor's degree in 1744, and was ordained, and immediately became his father's curate at Basingstoke, where he officiated till February 1746. He proceeded M. A. by diploma, June 23, 1759, and B. and D. D. January 15, 1768. In May, 1766, he was elected head master of Winchester College, which he resigned in 1793, soon after a kind of rebellion among the scholars, of the blame of which he appears to have had no share. Although long celebrated as a scholar, and living much among the patrons of the church, his promotions were neither numerous nor very valuable. He was Rector of Wickham, in Hampshire, a Prebendary of Winchester, and of St. Paul's, and Rector of Upham, in Hampshire, which last he received from the Bishop of Winchester in the year 1788.*

His earliest publication was " A volume of Odes, in 1747." In 1756, without his name, appeared the "Essay on the writings and genius of Pope," vol. 1. and in 1782, the second volume, of which the first two hundred pages were printed about twenty years before publication. Dr. JOHNSON accounted for this delay by supposing that the author

A more minute account of his life has lately been publish ed by the Rev. Mr. WOOLL, with a literary correspondence, á selection from his poems, &c.

was disappointed in not having been able to per suade the world to be of his opinion as to POPE, But the kindness his brother had received from WARBURTON, is supposed, with more probability, to have delayed a work, in which WARBURTON was to be mentioned without much respect for his critical talents. JOHNSON praises it, however, as a book which teaches how the brow of criticism may be smoothed, and how she may be enabled, with all her severity, to attract and to delight.

In 1753, was published, "The Works of Virgil in English verse; the Eneid translated by the Rev. Mr. CHRISTOPHER PITT, the Eclogues and Georgics, by Mr. JOSEPH WARTON, &c." 4 vols. octavo; dedicated to Sir GEORGE, afterwards Lord LYTTELTON. Of Dr. WARTON'S Georgics and Eclogues, it has been said that they convey the sense of the originals with greater exactness and perspicuity than any other translation we have; that the versification is easy and harmonious, and the style correct and pure: yet that, if read for themselves, they are inferior, as pleasing poems, to the similar performances of Dryden.

In the same year, while he superintended the press during the printing of his Virgil, he was induced to engage in the ADVENTURER, by Dr. JOHNSON'S persuasion. His last work, the labour of many years, an edition of the works of POPE, appeared in 1797, but the expectations of the literary world were in a great measure disappointed. It bore evident marks of haste, and the notes and illustrations were seldom new, the style was not without blemishes, and there was more of the garrulity of age than of the judicicus compression of

taste and genius. There was a time when, perhaps, this would have been less exceptionable, but literary history is now very generally diffused, and the public was disappointed to be told what it knew before. A more serious objection was also made to the additions which this editor thought proper to admit, some of which are totally inconsistent with a respect for public decency.

It is said, Dr. WARTON had made collections for a literary history of LEO X. and proposals were in circulation for a history of Poetry from Homer to Voltaire, but no part of these undertakings was discovered among his papers.

His personal character was allowed by all who knew him to rank high: he was cheerful in company, and even convivial; his conversation replete with information on the history of literature, and with classical knowledge. As a teacher he was ever highly venerated by his scholars, many of whom rose to eminent distinction both in the church and state. He died at Wickham, in Hampshire, Feb. 23, 1800 *.

His contributions to the ADVENTURER amount

* In the account of Dr. WARTON, in the Gentleman's Magazine, it is said he had only one son, who disappointed his hopes: but he had two sons, one of whom, the Rev. JOHN WARTON, of Blandford, is now living, and to this gentleman I am indebted for a small part of a MS. diary written by his father, which has enabled me to correct the dates in this account. The son who died suddenly, was a very promising genius, and wrote, when at school, two poems, entitled "The Pyramids of Egypt, and Rex Pluviorum Tamesis;" the first in English, and the last in Latin, both which are highly creditable to his talents. It is easy to suppose that the loss of such a youth would disappoiut his father's hopes.

to twenty-four papers, Of these a few are of the humourous cast, but the greater part consist of elegant criticism, not that of cold sagacity, but warm from the heart, and powerfully addressed to the finer feelings as well as to the judgment. His critical papers on Lear have never been exceeded for just taste and discrimination. His disposition lay in selecting and illustrating those beauties of ancient and modern poetry, which, like the beauties of nature, strike and please many who are yet incapable of describing or analysing them. No. 101, on the blemishes in the Paradise Lost, is an example of the delicacy and impartiality with which writings of established fame ought to be examined. His observations on the Odyssey, in Nos. 75, 80, and 83, are original and judicious, but it may be doubted whether they have detached many scholars from the accustomed preference given to the Iliad. If any objection may be made to Dr. WARTON'S critical papers, it is that his Greek occurs too frequently in a work intended for domestic instruction. His style is always pure and perspicuous, but sometimes it may be discovered, without any other information, that "he kept company with Dr. JOHNSON." The beginning of No. 139, if found detached, might have been attributed to Dr. JOHNSON. It has all his manner, not merely the "contortions of the sybil," but somewhat of the "inspiration."

It only remains to be mentioned, that this author made many alterations and corrections in his papers, after the first publication; and two or three slight variations have been adopted into the present edition, from the manuscript on the mar

gin of his own copy now in the possession of the writer of this article. On the blank leaf at the end, is the following authority in his handwriting, which may be added to the preceding, if any addition be wanted, "The papers marked T. were written by ·Mr. S. Johnson."

The paper, No. 90, which shews more acquaintance with literary history and criticism than we usually find in young men, was written by Mr. COLMAN, afterwards the principal author of the CONNOISSEUR. It was no trifling merit to have written such a paper at the early age of twenty.

The beautiful lines in No. 37, have been usually attributed to the pious GILBERT WEST, and HAWKESWORTH believed this, when he announced that they were communicated to him, " by a gentleman, who is not only eminent for taste, literature, and virtue, but for his zeal in defence of that religion, which most strongly inculcates compassion to inferior natures," which is the subject of the paper. Dr. JOHNSON supposes that Mr. WEST gave it to HAWKESWORTH without naming the author. It was afterwards discovered to have been the production of the Rev. RICHARD JAGO, a poet of a very pleasing cast, who has several other pieces in DODSLEY'S collection, and whose works were published together by his friend Mr. HILTON.

The very interesting story of Fidelia, in Nos. 77-8-9, was written by Mrs. CHAPONE, a lady who has already been noticed as the writer of four billets in No. 10 of the RAMBLER. She was the daughter of Thomas Mulso, Esq. of Twywell, in North Hants, was born October 27, 1727, and at a very early age exhibited proofs of a lively ima