temporary, and perfonally acquainted with him, fpends ten chapters in his praifes, and in lamentations on his death; and, a mongst other things, fays, that his knowledge of the Scriptures, of law, and philofophy, was incredible. Hector Boyle tells us, that Henry IV. and V. furnished their royal prifoner with the best teachers in all the arts and fciences; and that, by their affittance, he made great proficiency in every part of learning, and the fine arts; that he became a perfect mafter in grammar, rhetoric, poetry, mufic, and all the fecrets of natural philofophy, and was inferior to none in divinity and law. He obferves further, that the poems he compofed in his native tongue were fo beautiful, that you might eafily perceive he was born a poet; but that

his Latin poems were not fo fault, lefs; for though they abounded in the moft fublime fentiments, their language was not fo pure, owing to the rudeness of the times in which he lived. From one of his English poems, which hath been lately ref cued from oblivion, and prefented to the public, by the laudable induftry of its learned editor, it plainly appears, that its royal au thor was poffeffed of a great variety of learning, as well as of a genuine fpirit of poetry; and if his other works had been preferved, it is probable we fhould have had still ftronger evidences of his erudition. But the works of James I. have been as unfortunate as their author; and all his Latin, and many of his English compofitions, are, it is to be feared, irrecoverably loft."

66 OHN Tiptoft, earl of Worcefter, who flourished in the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. was greatly diftinguifhed among the nobility of his time, by his genius and love of learning. He fucceeded to the great eftates of his family, by the death of his father John lord Tiptoft, 21ft Henry VI. when he was about fixteen years of age; and, fix years after, was honoured by that monarch with the higher title of earl of Worcelter. This accomplished nobleman was, by the fame prince, conftituted lord high treasurer of England, when he was only twentyfive years of age. The earl of Worcester very early difcovered a taste for learning, and at a proper 1785.

age profecuted his ftudies at Baliol college in Oxford; where, as his contemporary and fellow-ftudent, John Rous of Warwick, tells us, he was much admired for his rapid progrefs in literature. In the twenty-feventh year of his age, he was commiffioned, with fome other noblemen, to guard the narrow feas, and performed that fervice with honour to himfelf, and advantage to his country. But in the midst of all thefe honourable toils and offices, his love of learning continu ed unabated; and he refolved to travel for his improvement. Having visited the Holy Land, he returned to Italy, and fettled at Padua, where Lodovicus Carbo, Guarinus, and John l'hrea,

an Englishman, were then very famous for their learning, and at tracted great crowds of ftudents. Our illuftrious ftranger was treated with great refpect at Padua, and much admired by all the men of letters, for the knowledge he already poffeffed, and his ardour in adding to his ftores. His countryman, John Phrea, dedicated two books, which he then published, to the earl of Worcester; and in these dedications he bestowed the higheft praifes on his patron, for his genius, learning, and many virtues; and, amongst other things, fays, "Thofe fuperior beings, whofe of fice it is to be the guardians of our ifle of Britain, knowing you to be a wife and good man, an enemy to faction, and a friend of peace, warned you to abandon a country which they had abandoned, that you might not be ftained by mixing with impious and factious men." While he refided at Padua, which was about three years, during the heat of the civil wars in England, he vifited Rome, and delivered an oration before pope Pius II. (Eneas Silvius), and his cardinals, which drew tears of joy from his holiness, and made him lay aloud, " Behold the only prince of our times, who, for virtue and eloquence, may be justly compared to the most excellent emperors of Greece and Rome.' Such a compliment from an Italian to an Englishman must have been extorted by the force of truth.

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"The earl of Worcester was a great collector of books; and while he refided in Italy, he expended much money in literary purchases. "The earl of Worcester (fays Laurentius Carbo), captivated by the charms of the Mufes, hath remained three years in Italy, and now refides at Padua, for the fake of tudy, and detained by the civilities

of the Venetians; who being exceedingly fond of books, hath plun dered, if I may fo fpeak, our Italian libraries to enrich England. After his return home, he made a prefent of books to the univerfity library of Oxford, which had cost him five hundred marks: a great fum in thofe times.

"As foon as the earl received intelligence that the civil war was ended, by the elevation of Edward IV. to the throne, he returned to England, fubmitted to that prince, was received into his favour, and raifed by him to feveral places of power and truft. In the fecond year of that reign, he was made treasurer of the exchequer, and in the next year, chancellor of Ireland for life. He was foon after conftituted lord-deputy of Ireland, under the duke of Clarence, and at laft made lord-lieutenant of that kingdom, and conftable of England. In a word, he was loaded with favours; and hardly a year paffed in which he did not receive fome valuable grant or great office.

"But this profperity was not of long duration. A new revolution took place. Edward IV. was obliged to abandon his kingdom with great precipitation, to fave his life. The earl of Worcester was not so fortunate as to escape; but after he had concealed himself a few days, he was difcovered on a high tree in the forest of Waybrig, conducted to London, condemned at Wettminster, and beheaded on Towerhill, October 15, A. D. 1470, in the 42d year of his age. He was accufed of cruelty in the government of Ireland; but his greate crime, and that for which he fut fered, was his feady loyalty to his rightful fovereign and generous benefactor, Edward IV. "O good bleffed Lord God! (faith Caxton),

what grete loffe was it of that noble, virtuous, and well-difpofed lord the earl Worcester ! What worship had he at Rome, in the prefence of our holy fader the pope, and in all other places unto his deth! The axe then did at one blow cut off more learning than was in the heads of all the furviving nobility." Caxton was his contemporary; and being also a zealous Yorkift, could not but be well acquainted with him.

"This earl tranflated the orations of Publius Cornelius, and

Caius Flaminius, rivals for the love of Lucretia; and his tranflation (fays Leland) was fo neat, elegant, and expreffive, that it equalled the beauty of the original. He tranflated alfo into English, Cicero De Amicitia, and his treatife De Senectute; and these translations were printed by Caxton, A. D. 1481. His famous oration before the pope and cardinals, and most of his original works, are loft, a few letters and small pieces only remaining in MSS."

66 R. Sykes had been many

the gout and stone, but had received much relief from the pains of the latter diforder, for fifteen ar fixteen years before his death, by the medicine purchafed by parliament of Mrs. Stephens, for the public ufe. And upon the whole he enjoyed a general ftate of good health and fpirits, until he was feized with a stroke of the palfy, while attending the funeral of a friend, on Monday evening, November the 15th, 1756. The change in his countenance, and the faltering in his fpeech, being inftantly perceived by the rest of the company, who attended on the fame occafion, he was prevailed upon to return to his own house, in Cavendith-fquare, without waiting the interment of the corpfe. He furvived this prefage of his own diffolution little more than a week; and died at two o'clock in the after

noon of Tuesday the 23d of the

fame the feventy-third

year of his age. He was buried, near the pulpit in the parish church of St. James's, Westminster, on the 30th of November; when Dr. Gregory Sharpe, who fucceeded him in King-treet chapel, and was afterwards mafter of the Temple, and who had long been in habits of friendship with the deceased, officiated upon the occafion.

"Dr. Sykes had been married many years, to Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, a widow lady, and a native of Bristol, but had no children by her. He left the whole of his fortune, which was confiderable, to her for life; and afterwards to his brother, the Rev. George Sykes; who gave the bulk of it to the family of their patron, Robert Briftow, efq. whofe grandfon, a minor, is now the owner of it.

"Mrs. Sykes furvived her hufband upwards of fix years, and B 2 died