and, shortly afterwards, on the resignation of Sir Roger Newdigate, he was induced to become a candidate for the representation of the University of Oxford; but the liberality of his political principles rendering his success hopeless, he declined a poll. The tumults of this year induced him to write a pamphlet, entitled, An Inquiry into the Legal Mode of suppressing Riots, with a Constitutional Plan of Future Defence; and about the same period he published his celebrated essay on the Law of Bailments, in which he treated his subject, says Mr. Roscoe, with an accuracy of method hitherto seldom exhibited by our legal writers. In 1782, he spoke at a public meeting in favour of parliamentary reform, and also became a member of the Society for Contitutional Reformation. In a letter to the Dean of St. Asaph, this year, he says it is "his wish to become as great a lawyer as Sulpicius ;" and hints at giving up politics, to the resignation of which he was the more inclined in consequence of a bill of indictment being preferred against the divine abovementioned, for publishing a tract, composed by Jones, entitled, A Dialogue between a Farmer and a Country Gentleman, on the Principles of Government. Of this our author immediately avowed himself the writer, by a letter addressed to Lord Kenyon, in which he defended his positions, and contended that they were conformable to the laws of England. His political principles had for some time prevented him obtaining the grand object of his ambition, an Indian judge-ship; but he was at length, in March, 1783, appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Bengal, through the influence of Lord Ashburton. Previous to his departure he received the honour of knighthood, and married Miss Shipley, daughter to the Bishop of St. Asaph, with whom he arrived in Calcutta, in September, and entered upon his judicial functions in the following December. Law, literature, and philosophy, now engrossed his attention to such a degree, that his health, on which the climate also had a prejudicial influence, was quickly impaired. In a letter to Dr. Patrick Russell, dated March, 1784, he says, “I do not expect, as long as I stay in India, to be free from a bad digestion, the morbus literatorum, for which there is hardly any remedy but abstinence from too much food, literary and culinary. I rise before the sun, and bathe after a gentle ride; my diet is light and sparing, and I go early to rest; yet the activity of my mind is too strong for my constitution, though naturally not infirm, and I must be satisfied with a valetudinarian state of health." Soon after his arrival he projected the scheme of the Asiatic Society, of which he became the first president, and contributed many papers to its memoirs. With a view to rendering himself a proficient in the science of Sanscrit and Hindoo laws, he studied the Sanscrit and Arabic languages with great ardour; and whilst on a tour through the district of Benares, for the recovery of his health, he composed a tale, in verse, called The Enchanted Fruit, and A Treatise on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India. In 1790, he appears to have received an offer of some augmentation of his salary, as, in a letter of that year to Sir James Macpherson, he says, "Really I | want no addition to my fortune, which is enough for me; and if the whole legislature of Britain were to offer me a station different from that I now fill, I should most gratefully and respectfully decline it." He continued, with indefatigable zeal, his compilation of the Hindoo and Mahometan Digest; on the completion of which he was to have followed his wife to England, who had proceeded thither, for the recovery of her health, in the December of 1793. This intention, however, he did not live to carry into effect, being shortly afterwards attacked with an inflammation of the liver, which terminated his existence on the 27th of April, 1794. His epitaph, written by himself is equally admirable for its truth and its elegance. Here was deposited the mortal part of a man none above him but the wise and virtuous; who loved his parents, kindred, friends, and country; and having devoted his life to their service, and the improvement of his mind, His resigned it calmly, giving glory to his Creator, and good will to all his creatures. character was, indeed, truly estimable in every respect. To exquisite taste and learning quite unparalleled," says Dr. Parr, "Sir William Jones is known to have united the most benevolent temper, and the purest morals." His whole life was one unceasing struggle for the interests of his fellow creatures, and, unconnected with this object, he knew no ambition. He was a sincere aad pious Christian; and in one of his latest discourses to the Asiatic Society, he has done more to give validity to the Mosaic account of the creation, than the researches of any contemporary writers. His acquirements as a linguist were absolutely wonderful: he understood, critically, English, Latin, French, Italian, Greek, Arabic, Persian, and Sanscrit; he could translate, with the aid of a dictionary, the Spanish, Portuguese, German, Ru nic, Hebrew, Bengalee, Hindoo, and Turkish; and he had bestowed considerable attention on the Russian, Swedish, Coptic, Welsh, Chinese, Dutch, Syriac, and several other languages. In addition to his vast stock of literary information, he possessed extensive legal knowledge; and, as far as we may judge from his translations, had sufficient capacity and taste for a first-rate original poet. His indefatigable application and industry have, perhaps, never been equalled; even when in illhealth he rose at three in the morning, and what were called his hours of relaxation, were devoted to studies, which would have appalled the most vigorous minds. In 1799, his widow published a splendid edition of his works, in six volumes, folio, and placed, at her own expense, a marble statue of him, executed by Flaxman, in the anti-chamber of University College, Oxford; and, among other public testimonies of respect to his memory, the directors of the East India Company voted him a monument in St. Paul's Cathedral, and a statue ir Bengal. CAISSA: OR, THE GAME OF CHESS. ADVERTISEMENT. THE first idea of the following piece was taken from a Latin poem of Vida, entitled Scacchia Ludus, which was translated into Italian by Marino, and inserted in the fifteenth canto of his Adonis: the author thought it fair to make an acknowledgment, in the notes, for the pas sages which he borrowed from those two poets; but he must also do them the justice to declare, that most of the descriptions, and the whole story of Caissa, which is written in imitation of Ovid, are his own; and their faults must be imputed to him only. The characters in the poem are no less imaginary than those in the episode; in which the invention of chess is poetically ascribed to Or armies on the chequer'd field array'd,* Then Delia thus: "Or rather, since we meet prepare To view the combat, and the sport to share ; The champions burn'd their rivals to assail, In shape and station different, as in name, Who form'd the legions on the level field? Near yon cool stream, whose living waters play, And o'er the rest their pearly sceptres rear: One solemn step, majestically slow, They gravely move, and shun the dangerous foe, light, The queens exulting near their consorts stand; The valiant guards, their minds on havoc bent, Compact they move, the bulwark of the fight.‡ |