who was with him at Geneva, he quoted a saying of Calvin's, "that for external matters of order, they might not neglect their ministry, for so should they, for tithing of mint, neglect the greater things of the law." It had been well for the church had this maxim more generally prevailed. Whittingham did essential service to government in the rebellion of 1569, but rendered himself very obnoxious at court, by a zealous preface, written by him, to Christopher Goodman's book, which denied women the right of government. He was probably in other respects obnoxious, generally as a nonconformist, which at last excited a dispute between him and Dr. Sandys, archbishop of York. In 1577 the archbishop made his primary visitation throughout the whole of his province, and began with Durham, where a charge, consisting of thirty-five articles, was brought against Whittingham, the principal of which was his being ordained only at Geneva. Whittingham refused to answer the charge, but denied in the first place the archbishop's power to visit the church of Durham. On this Sandys proceeded to excommunication. Whittingham then appealed to the queen, who directed a commission to the archbishop, Henry earl of Huntington, lord president of the north, and Dr. Hutton, dean of York, to hear and determine the validity of his ordination, and to inquire into the other misdemeanours contained in the articles; but this commission ended only in some countenance being given to Whitaker by the earl and by Dr. Hutton, the latter of whom went so far as to say, that "Mr. Whittingham was ordained in a better sort than even the archbishop himself." Sandys then obtained another commission directed to himself, the bishop of Durham, and lord president, the chancellor of the diocese, and some others. This was dated May 14, 1578, and may be seen in Rymer's Fœdera, vol. XV. Here, as Whittingham had nothing to produce but a certificate or call from the church of Geneva, it was objected to, but the lord president said that "it would be ill taken by all the godly and learned, both at home and abroad, that we allow of popish massing priests in our ministry, and disallow of ministers made in the reformed church." It does not appear that any thing was determined, and Whittingham's death put an end to the question. He died June 10, 1579, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and his remains were interred in the cathedral of Durham, with a monumental inscription,

which was afterwards destroyed by another set of innovators. He appears to have been a man of talents for business, as well as learning, and there was a design at one time of advancing him at court. He published little except some few translations from foreign authors to promote the cause of the reformation, and he wrote some prefaces.

WHITTINGTON (ROBERT), one of our early grammarians, was born in Lichfield about 1480, and educated under the famous grammarian, John Stanbridge, in the school adjoining to Magdalen college, Oxford. He afterwards made a considerable progress in philosophy, but took more pleasure in classical and grammatical studies, in which he fancied himself destined to shine. In 1501 he began to teach a grammar-school, probably in London, as all his publications were dated thence. In the beginning of 1513, he supplicated the congregation of regents of the university of Oxford, by the name of Robert Whittington, a secular chaplain, and a scholar of the art of rhetoric, that whereas he had spent fourteen years in the study of the said art, and twelve years in teaching, "it might be sufficient for him that he might be laureated." This being granted, he composed an hundred verses which were stuck up in public places, especially on the doors of St. Mary's church, and was solemnly crowned with a wreath of laurel, &c. that is, he was made doctor of grammar, an unusual title and ceremony, and the last of the kind. This appears to have conferred no academical rank, for he was. afterwards admitted to the degree of bachelor of arts. From this time, however, he called himself in several of his works. Protovates Angliæ, an assumption which his fellow-grammarians, Horman and Lily, did not much relish. He appears indeed to have been very conceited of his abilities, and to have undervalued those who were at least his equals. Yet historians allow him to have been an excellent Greek and Latin scholar, and a man of a facetious turn, but too much given to personal satire both in conversation, and in. his literary disputes with Lily, Aldridge, and others. He was alive in 1530, but how long afterwards does not appear. He wrote a great many grammatical treatises, some of which must have long been in use in schools, for they went through many editions. They are enumerated by

1 Ath. Ox. vol. I.-Hutchinson's Hist. of Durham:-Strype's Life of Parker, pp. 135, 156.-Strype's Grindal, p. 170.-Strype's Annals.-Brook's Lives of the Puritans.

Wood, and, more correctly, by Mr. Dibdin in his Typogra phical Antiquities. Warton also mentions a few of them, and says that some of his Latin poetry is in a very classical style, and much in the manner of the earlier Italian poets.

WHITWORTH (CHARLES, LORD), author of a very curious account of the Russian empire, was son of Richard Whitworth, esq. of Blowerpipe, in Staffordshire, who, about the time of the revolution, had settled at Adbaston. He married Anne Moseley, niece of sir Oswald Moseley, of Cheshire, by whom he had six sons and a daughter: Charles; Richard, lieutenant-colonel of the queen's own royal regiment of horse; Edward, captain of a man of war; Gerard, one of the chaplains to king George the First; John, captain of dragoons; Francis, surveyor-general of his majesty's woods, and secretary of the island of Barbadoes, father of Charles Whitworth, esq. member of parliament in the beginning of the present reign for Minehead in Somersetshire; and Anne, married to Tracey Pauncefort, esq. of Lincolnshire.

Charles, the eldest son, was bred under that accomplished minister and poet Mr. Stepney; and, having attended him through several courts of Germany, was, in 1702, appointed resident at the diet of Ratisbon. In 1704 he was named envoy - extraordinary to the court of Petersburgh, as he was sent ambassador-extraordinary thither on a more solemn and important occasion, in 1710. M. de Matueof, the Czar's minister at London, had been arrested in the public street by two bailiffs, at the suit of some tradesmen, to whom he was in debt. This affront had like to have been attended with very serious consequences. The Czar demanded immediate and severe punishment of the offenders, with threats of wreaking his vengeance on all English merchants and subjects established in his dominions. In this light the menace was formidable, and the Czar's memorials urged the queen with the satisfaction which she had extorted herself, when only the boat and servants of the earl of Manchester had been insulted at Venice. Mr. Whitworth bad the honour of terminating this quarrel. In 1714, he was appointed plenipotentiary to the diet of Augsbourg and Ratisbon; in 1716, envoy-extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the king of Prussia; in 1717, envoy-extraordi

Ath. Ox. vol. I. new edit,Warton's Hist. of Poetry.-Dibdin's Ames.Dodd's Ch. Hist.

nary to the Hague. In 1719, he returned in his former character to Berlin; and in 1721 the late king rewarded his long services by creating him baron Whitworth of Galway, in the kingdom of Ireland. The next year his lordship was entrusted with the affairs of Great Britain at the congress of Cambray, in the character of ambassador-extraordinary and plenipotentiary. He returned home in 1724, and died the next year at his house in Gerard-street, London. His body was interred in Westminster-abbey.

His "Account of Russia, as it was in the year 1710," was published by the late lord Orford at Strawberry-hill, who informs us that besides this little piece, which must retrieve and preserve his character from oblivion, lord Whitworth left many volumes of state letters and papers in the possession of his relations. One little anecdote of him lord Orford was told by the late sir Luke Schaub, who had it from himself. Lord Whitworth had had a personal intimacy with the famous Czarina Catherine, at a time when her favours were not purchased, nor rewarded at so extravagant a rate as that of a diadem. When he had compromised the rupture between the court of England and the Czar, he was invited to a ball at court, and taken out to dance by the Czarina. As they began the minuet, she squeezed him by the hand, and said in a whisper, "Have you forgot little Kate?"

Lord Whitworth's MS Account of Russia was communicated to lord Orford, by Richard Owen Cambridge, esq. having been purchased by him in a very curious set of books, collected by Mons. Zolman, secretary to the late Stephen Poyntz, esq. This little library relates solely to Russian history and affairs, and contains, in many languages, every thing that perhaps has been written on that country.'

WHYTT (ROBERT), an eminent physician, born at Edinburgh Sept. 6, 1714, was the son of Robert Whytt, esq. of Beunochy, advocate. This gentleman died six months before the birth of our author, who was also deprived of his mother before he had attained the seventh year of his age. After receiving the first rudiments of school-education, he was sent to the university of St. Andrew's; and after the usual course of instruction there, in classical, philosophical, and mathematical learning, he came to Edinburgh, where he entered upon the study of medicine, under those emi

Lord Orford's preface to the "Account," &c.

nent teachers, Monro, Rutherford, Sinclair, Plummer, Alston, and Innes. After learning what was to be acquired in this university, he visited other countries in the prosecution of his studies, and after attending the most eminent teachers at London, Paris, and Leyden, he had the degree of M. D. conferred upon him by the university of Rheims in 1736, being then in the twenty-second year of his age. Upon his return to his own country, he had the same honour conferred upon him by the university of St. Andrews, where he had before obtained, with applause, the degree of M. A. In 1737, he was admitted a licentiate of medicine. in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the year following he was raised to the rank of a fellow of the college. From the time of his admission as a licentiate, he practised physic at Edinburgh; and the reputation which he acquired for medical learning, pointed him out as a fit successor for the first vacant chair in the university. Accordingly, when Dr. Sinclair, whose eminent medical abilities, and persuasive powers of oratory, had contributed not a little to the rapid advancement of the medical school of Edinburgh, found that the talents which he possessed, could no longer be exerted consistently with his advanced age, he resigned his academical appointments in favour of Dr. Whytt.

This admission into the college took place June 20,1746, and Dr. Whytt began his first course of the Institutions of Medicine at the commencement of the next winter session, in which the abilities he displayed were answerable to the expectations his fame had excited. The Latin tongue was then the language of the university of Edinburgh, and he both spoke and wrote in Latin with singular propriety, elegance, and perspicuity. At that time the system and sentiments of Boerhaave, which, notwithstanding their errors, must challenge the admiration of the latest ages, were very generally received by the most intelligent physicians in Britain. Dr. Whytt had no such idle ardour for novelties as to throw them entirely aside because he could not follow them in every particular. Boerhaave's "Institutions," therefore, furnished him with a text for his lectures; and he was no less successful in explaining, illustrating, and establishing the sentiments of the author, when he could freely adopt them, than in refuting them by clear, connected, and decisive arguments, when he had occasion to differ from him. The opinions which he himself proposed,