"By those whose opportunities of observing him were confined to his public functions and duties, the more soft and amiable features of his character were little understood. The commanding vigour of his colloquial powers was felt by all who conversed with him; but the lively narrative, the unstudied wit, the playful and inoffensive gaiety which adorned and animated his private conversation, were known only to few; for in the mixed and varied circle of general society, his habits were usually serious, and sometimes reserved.

"With a strength of intellect, of which he could not be unconscious, and a frame of nerves naturally firm, it is the less surprising that he should have possessed also that admirable presence of mind, which enabled him, on many trying and delicate emergencies, to act with equal promptitude, spirit, and propriety.

"As a coadjutor in public business, he was neither forward to dictate, nor, when consulted, slow to suggest; but when an entire question was fairly before him, his decision was formed without hesitation, and pronounced without fear. On the other hand, in collecting, weighing, and comparing evidence, he was patient and indefatigable. Never would he consent to sanction grave measures on questionable grounds; to assign public rewards where no public service was proved; or, least of all, to affix the stigma of delinquency, unless where a strong case was clearly made out.

"He entertained a due respect for the opinions and information of others; but where facts, testimony, and argument had failed to convince him, it was vain to urge him with mere names and authorities, excepting on subjects remote from his own province or track of enquiry. His co-operation, therefore, was only to be obtained by satisfying his judgment; and such was his penetration, that any attempt to ensnare him by sophistry, or to work upon his feelings by imposture, was exposed to detection.

"Though resolute and tenacious where conscience was concerned, no man could be more unwilling to contend for trifles; but he anxiously deprecated that false liberality, which, under the name of trifles, is ready to abandon the most important outworks of the Church and State. To peace he was ready to make any sacrifice but that of principle and the public good; and, wherever his situation gave him influence, it was for this object that he most delighted to exert it. Hence it was his earnest endeavour to heal divisions and to extinguish the spirit of party in every society with which he became connected; and he made his own example eminently conducive to this end by the strict impartiality of his regulations and decisions.

"When placed where sectaries were numerous and powerful, he neither courted them by concessions, nor disgusted them by useless hostility; and his conduct, however averse to their views, conciliated their esteem.

"Though he had not been long known to his clergy as their Diocesan, they already appreciated his character, and felt the value of his paternal counsels and care. A few years had taught them to regard his residence among them as a blessing, and the prospect of his removal as that of an impending misfortune.

"As a Preacher, his grave, dignified, and emphatic delivery was well suited to compositions of which the purpose was to convince, not to attract applause; and it is highly reputable to the University of Oxford, that its pulpit was never more numerously attended than when he was expected to fill it.

"In the House of Peers he was rather a hearer than a speaker. There the due dispatch of business was his object; and to his industry and perseverance in committees, his readiness in catching the true bearing of a question, and his acuteness in

the detection of errors, they who were accustomed to act with him, will bear ample testimony.

"Where such is the intrinsic weight of Character, the lustre which it may derive from the friendship of other great and good men, is reflected upon themselves. Honourable, therefore, as it was to the Bishop of Peterborough, it was not to him alone honourable that for many years he possessed equally the confidence of some persons who filled the highest offices with dignity and credit, and of others who, with no less dignity, had declined them.

"Of such a man it is almost superfluous to record, that his faith as a Christian was sound, rational, and effective; that what he taught he believed, and what he believed he practised.

"When the religious opinions of other men, however opposite to his own, appeared to him to be sincere, his dissent from them was consistent with respect, and his disapprobation, with charity. But to the Establishment in which he was bred, he was no lukewarm friend. Whether he regarded, with a greater share of dread, an intolerant superstition, or an intolerant fanaticism, may reasonably be doubted; but certain it is, that he could not contemplate the prevalence of either without serious alarm. So earnest, indeed, was his solicitude to guard and maintain what he considered as the best and purest form of Christianity, and so well adapted was the turn of his mind, either to withstand the force, or to expose the artifices of its assailants, that his decease cannot but be regarded as having left a void in the ranks of orthodoxy, not easily to be supplied."

The Rev. JOHN COLE, D. D.

a native of Marazion in Cornwall, was educated at Exeter College, Oxford; where he proceeded M. A. 1788; B. D. 1795; and D. D. 1800..

He was elected Rector of that College in 1808; Vice-chancellor of the University in 1810 and 1811, and at the time of his death was Pro-Vice-chancellor, and also Chaplain to his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, Rector of Yaverland, in the Isle of Wight, and Vicar of Gulval in Cornwall.

Mr. Polwhele, in his "Traditions and Recollections," has printed several interesting letters addressed to him by this old friend and fellow-collegian. In one of these occurs the following passage, connected with Dr. Cole's own circumstances: "I am just returned from my little parsonage in the Isle of Wight, where I have spent the whole of the Summer much to my satisfaction. My situation is very beautiful, but my Living is very small; the number of souls in my parish less than one hundred. Still it is a most desirable residence for a Head of a College, especially one who was almost born and bred in the sea, which washes some of my glebe at Yaverland, and is in view and not far from my house. After an absence of three months I have much to do;-so God bless you!"

At

Mr. Polwhele has given Dr. Cole the character of being "lively, kind-hearted, and sincere. school he was beloved by his master and his fellows; in domestic life, a son, and a brother, affectionate beyond example, he submitted to many privations for the sake of his family; at Sea, his society or assistance was courted by Officers and Sailors; in College, by Under-graduates and Doctors; at Court, by Princes! He was a good Scholar, almost by intuition; for, careless in his studies he was often indebted to R. Polwhele and others for a theme or a declamation, which he could have himself composed with superior ability; but though in

his reading desultory, in the service of a friend he was indefatigable. Owing to a long and painful disease, his peevishness and apparent capriciousness, for a year or two before his death, were complained of (I think unjustly) as repulsive to the College. His little foibles were, however, infinitely over-balanced by his good qualities." In a later page, Mr. Polwbele affectionately adds, in annotation to some kind directions the Doctor gave Mr. Polwhele to assist him to the Bampton Lectureship: "The above is the last letter I ever received from Dr. Cole. He died at Marazion, October 13, 1819, at the age of 63; sincerely regretted by all who knew him, and by none, I believe, more than myself

How we regret our love of former years!

Our long-lost friendships-how lament in tears." R. P.

The Rev. THOMAS FOTHERGILL, D. D. was educated at Queen's College, Oxford; where he took the degree of M. A. in 1745; proceeded B. D. in 1755; and D. D. in 1762. He was elected Provost in 1767; and Vice-chancellor in 1772, and the three succeeding years. In 1775, he was appointed a Prebendary of the Fifth Stall in the Cathedral of Durham. He died August 30, 1796, in his 82d year. To the Society over which he presided twenty-nine years, he exhibited a dignified example of every useful virtue; and his memory will be there long cherished with peculiar respect. His piety was manly and fervent; his learning extensive and profound. He was a constant benefactor to the poor, the patron and promoter of every design that conduced to the general good of mankind. In him the University lost a distinguished ornament, Christianity an able advocate, and society a valuable member.