It appears absolutely necessary, therefore, for the benefit of his health, as well as of his studies, that he should retire for a time from public life. The warmest of his admirers cannot maintain that he has as yet attained the climax of excellence. Much remains to be accomplished; and when the novelty of precocious talents is gone, other supports, and those of a more durable kind, will be wanting. Let it be recollected, that all our great actors endeavoured by study to add to the advantages, or supply the defects of education; and that although they have held in no small estimation

"The scenic triumph and the loud applause;

The robe of purple, and the people's gaze;"

yet even they have at times experienced the caprice of fortune. It is a well-known fact, that the greatest of our players, although backed by nature and Shakespeare, was overborne for a while by the torrent of Rich and Pantomime, and that he retired for a time from mere disgust. By unceasing study and attention, however, he rendered himself a complete master of his art, and in his turn triumphed over the muscular exertions of flying Harlequins, the mechanical dexterity of showmen and scene-shifters, and all the pageantry introduced by this rival.

It is thus, and thus only, that young Betty can ever attain excellence; and it is by these means alone that he may at length be enabled to equal, for it is hardly possible to suppose that he will ever excel the veteran actors of the last age. Premature LIS

powers,

powers, after blazing forth like a meteor, have sud, denly become dim, as if nature had been exhausted. It is by a judicious course of study, by toil and industry alone, that lasting fame can be attained. With the assistance, of these, young Roscius may attain the summit of his art; while without it, like Master Crouch, he may prove but the wonder of a day,

REV. HENRY BATE DUDLEY.

IN a country like Great Britain, the government of which is linked together by the sacred ties of religion, the character of a clergyman will at all times find from society a sort of reverential awe, an awe which is inspired from the most virtuous of motives; so that the divine truths which he is chosen to disseminate, must flow from his lips with a double effect.

Among the most dissolute in society, there is not one who is callous to the voice of Omnipotence. However he may outwardly affect the sneer of con tempt when the word of God is dealt out from the pulpit, that stern monitor, conscience, which is implanted within his breast, is present to his view, and in spight of his mockery compels him to acknowledge the existence of a Creator.

In all ages then the cloth has been held as respectable; and its professors have found in all

countries

countries that deference and regard which is due to them as the ministers of God.

The subject of our present memoir is a clergyman. He is the son of the Rev. Mr. Bate, of Worcester, a clergyman of the greatest respectability, who conducted a seminary for the education of youth; and had to boast of having instructed the sons of the principal nobility and gentry in his neighbourhood.

The amiableness of Mr. Bate's, character endeared him to all acquaintance. The present Mr. Bate Dudley, (who took the name of Dudley in consequence of the will of a friend, who left him an estate), was the second child of twelve born to his father in wedlock. Upon the death of the old gentleman, the younger branches of the family were left in some measure unprovided for; it therefore ought to be mentioned to the honour of the fraternal feelings and beneficence of Mr. Bate Dudley, that he appropriated the whole of the emoluments arising from the living of North Fambridge, which he held very early in life, to the maintenance and education of his orphan brothers and sisters. Actions like this are traits in the characters of men which the world know how to appreciate, and to the mind possessing such benevolence, must be a source of intellectual delight which none but feeling hearts can know.

At the proper age, Mr. Bate Dudley was entered of Queen's College, Oxford, where having finished his studies, he removed from thence, and was or

dained by the Right Reverend Dr. Terrick, Bishop of London, and shortly after was inducted to the living of North Fambridge, in Essex. He also held the curacy of Leatherhead in the county of Surry.

While at college, Mr. Bate Dudley was particularly noticed for his attention to the rules prescribed by the head, but more so for the very great progress he made in learning. When, however, he was emancipated from the trammels which are necessarily imposed upon the inmates of the sequestered haunts of education, he was not altogether (as is common with young men) proof against the fascinating allurements of the gay world. Hence we find this gentleman mixing with its votaries, and partaking of its pleasures. Possessing a heart formed of materials which do honour to human nature, Mr. Bate Dudley on all occasions was found the most active in supporting and protect. ing injured innocence, and in avenging the cause of the oppressed against the oppressor.

Let it not be imagined for a moment that the cloth is or ought to be exempt from the natu ral feelings of worldly men. When, as must ever be the case, a clergyman mixes with society, it becomes his duty, by every means in his power to contribute towards the well-doing of that society; and when engaged in a participation of the comforts which are derivable from thence, should any untoward circumstances arise, which

may

may call for his interference, he is absolutely bound to step forward in the support of the weak and the injured.

In the early part of Mr. Bate Dudley's life, it was his peculiar lot to associate with some of the most public characters of the day; and in the course of that association, he of necessity was thrown into the company of persons who, despising the more orderly and decorous rules laid down for its good government, were prone to constant excesses. In correcting these excesses, Mr. Bate Dudley was always a firm and useful Mentor; and upon all occasions has evinced a steady and determined adherence to the principles of justice.

Though it may be said that a clergyman ought not to interfere in the brawls which may arise, yet it must be acknowledged that when unexpectedly he is placed in such a situation, he is bound to check, and if possible put an end to them. In many cases Mr. BateDudley has been a successful and firm advocate for the cause of peace, though on some occasions he has unfortunately been engaged in controversies which were carried on at the point of the sword.

It was on one of these occasions that he was involved in a very unpleasant adventure; and though the man who acted so disgraceful and ungentleman-like a part, has quitted this life and gone to atone for his crimes before the Supreme Judge, yet candour compels us to state shortly the facts as they were.

During the Vauxhall season in 1777, the cele

brated