Xll LIFE OF 



them a wise and worthy man, of a liberal mind 

 .and prineely fortune. This was Zachary Bayly, 

 of the island of Jamaica, who, on the death of 

 my father, took my mother and her family under 

 his protection, and as I was the eldest son, di- 

 rected that I should be well educated. I had 

 been placed by my father at the school of a dis- 

 senting minister in Bristol, w r hose name was Wil- 

 liam Foot, of whom I remember enough, to bei- 

 Jieve that he was both a learned and a good man, 

 but by a strange absurdity, he was forbidden to 

 teach me Latin and Greek, and directed to con- 

 fine my studies to writing, arithmetic, and the 

 English grammar. I should therefore have had 



o o 



little to do, but that the schoolmaster had an ex- 

 cellent method of making the boys write letters 

 to him on different subjects, such as the beauty 

 and dignity of truth, the obligation of a religious 

 life, the benefits of good education, the mischief 

 of idleness, &c. &c. previously stating to. them 

 the chief arguments to be urged ; and insisting on 

 correctness in orthography and grammar. In this 

 employment, I had sometimes the good fortune to 

 excel the other boys 5 and when this happened, 

 my master never failed to praise me very liberal]} 

 before them all; and he would frequently trans- 

 mit mv letters to my father and mother, This 

 \ m '. . * 



