Some Time after therefore he got Junius's Grammar, to try whether that could unravel his former Difficulty; but hunted it over and over, in vain. His next Acquifition was a large one; that of thirteen Hebrew Books together, which he bought for as many Shillings, at Reading. Among thefe was Stennit's Grammar (1737), which immediately cleared up the Difficulty, that had engaged and perplexed him for fo many Years. After this he went on quite fuccefsfully, and met with nothing but Conqueft after Conqueft; and confequently, the latter Part of his Travels muft have gone off much more pleasingly with him, than the former.

All this while, it was neceflary that the Places of his Refidence fhould be concealed; which prevented his keeping up any Correfpondence with his Friends at Buckingham; fo that Death had been fo good as to cafe him of his greateft Embaraffment, his Wife, two or three Years before he heard of it. She had, as he himself allows, one Child, and as fhe used to affirm, two by him; but the Parentage of the latter was very equivocal. However, I think, they both died foon after their Mother.

On the News of this his Relief from a Confort who did nothing but add to his Unhappiness and Difficulties whilft fhe lived, he returned January 31, 1744, N. S. to Buckingham. In the courfe of his Travels he had left Parcels of Books in feveral Places, and confiderable ones in fome; fo that he came home with no more than five or fix, the

i.

chief

C

thief of which was a Hebrew Bible, and Mayr's Grammar. There he fettled himself again in his firft Occupation of Taylor and Stay-maker; which anfwered all his Purposes very well for four or five Years, in which Space he procured Books for his Ufe, in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew: But marrying a third Wife (1747), who proved as good a Breeder as his firft, he began to be involved again in Difficulties; not by any Fault of hers, for he speaks of her as of the best of Women; but in the former Part of the Time, from the Increase of his Family; and in the latter, from the uncommon Dearness of Things, and Hardness of the Times.

Though Mr. Hill, in his whole Courfe of getting the three learned Languages, had endeavoured to keep his Acquifition of them as much a Secret as he could; it could not be fo wholly concealed, but that there was fome Talk of it. In particular, at this Period of his Life, it was rumoured about the Country; "That he could read the Bible in the fame Books, and the fame ftrange Figures, that the travelling Jews did." Upon hearing this, a very worthy Clergyman in the Neighbourhood of Buckingham, when Mr. Hill happened to be working one Day at his Houfe in the way of his Trade, put Queftion to him (1748), relating to a Difficulty in the New Teftament [m]; which he answered fo readily,

Z4

[m] "Pray Robin," fays the Doctor, "can you folve the Dif ❝ficulty of St. Peter, calling the fame Perfon the Son of Bofor, whom Mofes calls the Son of Beor ?" Hill's Answer was;

"That

he

fo readily, and fo fully, that he took a liking to him, and has been his Friend ever fince.

The fame Gentleman fome Years after fent Mr. Hill THE ESSAY ON SPIRIT, faid to be written by the late Bishop of Clogher in Ireland; and defired him to write down his Thoughts on that Piece, as they occurred to him in reading it. He did so; and I am told by those who understand Hebrew, for which there was frequent Occafion in thofe Obfervations, that our humble Taylor has proved his Lordship to be in the wrong in feveral of his Quotations and Affertions in that Work. This was the firft Piece of Mr. Hill's, that was ever printed (1753). The next thing the fame Gentleman employed him about, was to write a Paper against the Papifts, whofe Emiffaries were then very bufy in thofe Parts, in which Mr. Hill endeavoured to fhow, that feveral of the most important and favourite Doctrines of the Church of Rome are novel Inventions; and confequently, that it is they, and not we, that are the Innovators. About the fame Time, or rather in the Interval between these two, Hill wrote The Character of a Jew; when the Bill for naturalizing that People was in Agitation: This he fays was the best Thing he ever wrote, and was the leaft approved of. And laterly, he has written

"he did not know of any Difficulty in it; that they were both one "and the fame Name: Bofor in the Chaldaic pronunciation being "exactly the fame with Beor in the Hebrew." 2 Epift. of St. Peter, c. ii. ver. 14; and Numbers, c. xxii. ver. 5.

Criticifms

Eriticisms on JOB, in five Sheets; which, I think, is the largest of all his Works.

According to his own Account, Mr. Hill was taken up seven Years in getting Latin; and twice as long in getting Greek: But as to the Hebrew, he he fays, he himself would now engage to teach it to any body of tolerable Parts, and with very moderate [n] Application, in fix Weeks,

He says he has read, he believes, twenty Hebrew Grammars; and is now writing one himself: In which fort of Subject he seems likely to fucceed better than in any other; because it has been the most general Study of his Life. Mayr's Grammar he thinks much the best of all he has read: He therefore intends to build his chiefly upon Mayr's; as Mayr himself did on that of Cardinal Bellarmine.

He thinks, he could teach the Hebrew Language, even at a Distance, by way of Letters; that fix, or feven, would be fufficient: And that even the Pronounciation of it, as it is a dead Language, might be taught the fame way.

It was the worthy Clergyman who firft employed and encouraged him (1753), who informed me of him as a great Curiofity: And on my expreffing how glad I should be to fee and talk with him, was fo good as to invite him to his House, when I was to dine there. I found him a modeft good fort of

[n] At an Hour, each Morning; and another, each Afternoon.

1

Man; and have had moft of the Particulars beforementioned from his own Mouth. When I was faying to him, among other Things; That I was

afraid his Studies muft have broke in upon his "other Business too much :" He faid, "That "fometimes they had, a little; but that his usual "way had been to fit up very deep in the Nights, <or elfe to rife by two or three in the Morning, ❝on Purpose to get Time for reading, without "prejudicing himself in his Trade." This fhows his Prudence and Industry; and indeed that he is almost indefatigable in any Point that he ftrongly aims at, appears from his manner of acquiring each of the three learned Languages, as above described. I have heard him fay; "That it is very hard Work "fometimes to catch a Hebrew root, but that he "never yet hunted after one, which he did not "catch in the end." I believe he may affirm the fame in every Thing which he has attempted; for his Application and Attention seem to be beyond any thing that one can well conceive of it; without having obferved him in the Procefs of his Studies, as I have done.

He is a vaft Admirer of St. Jerome; thinks him as fine a Writer as Cicero; and that no body ever could excel him in Eloquence. Yet he fays, "That "he is not obliged to any one Writer, nor to all "others put together, for fo many Lights, as he ❝ has had from Father Simon.

As