46 Stephensimia, No. XXVI. 



ample collalion. His lime was fully 



occnj)icd in religions exercises, pro- 



foiiiid aiitl unremiltiu-; sfudies, and 



sicts ol' benevolence, especially towards 



llie rising fjeneration. No intolerance 



gave a wrong bias to his piety, nor 



conld the most sublime spccuiations 



divert him from performing any office 



prescribed by tlie Ritual. From the 



nature of liis researches, the finest 



jewels were often the objects of his 



observations ; but, to a man of his 



senlimenls, the crystals only attracted 



attention. One degree more or less in 



the angle of a schori, or of a spath, 



Avould Jia\c interested liini more than 



all the treasures of the Indies. If 



there was any attachment to which he 



seemed too partial, it was forliis own 



ideas on such subjects. 



His latter days were somewhat 

 clouded, by the loss of one or two pen- 

 sions which he had enjoyed, in the 

 department of the Finances. Ho de- 

 rived consolation, however, from the 

 assiduous attentions of his relations, 

 his (juontlain pupils, and the learned 

 of all ranks and countries. His bro- 

 ther, wiiohad been invited into Russia, 

 to teach those born blind, had returned 



[Feb. I, 



with his healtii so much impaired, tiiat 

 he became chargeable to liis family : 

 none of the splendid oilers made to 

 him had been fulfilled. Among other 

 forcii;n visitors, was the Prince Royal 

 of Denmark, who attended often at his 

 bedside, and expressed a lively regard 

 for his interest. 



In his modes of living, Haiiy never 

 quilted the habits of his native village, 

 and his college. His hours of rising, 

 sleep, &c. were uniform ; the same 

 exercises, and promenades iu the same 

 places, recurred daily. To stnmgers 

 he w'oidd frequently give cards of 

 admission to his collections, though 

 unknown to them. His antique garb, 

 sinqdc and modest air and language, 

 prevented his aocient neighbours, 

 whom he sometimes visited in his vil- 

 lage, from discovering that ho had 

 become a considerable personage. 



This worthy character, who died 

 on the .'W of June, 1822, has left no 

 other inheritance to his family than his 

 valuable eoUeelion of crystals, which, 

 by donations, &c. from dilfcrent parts 

 of Europe, during twenty years, is 

 reckoned to exceed any other known. 



STEPHENSIANA. 



NO. xxvr. 



The late Alkxakider Stephens, Esq. nf Park House, Chchcn, drrotrd an uofhr and 

 well-spent life hi cvllccliiv^ Anecdotes of his cnntcmpuntiies, mid ffciurullij nilcreil in a 

 l>0ok the coUedions nf the passing day ;— these cnllrclimts «r hare pwchnsril, ami propose Iu 

 present a sAcclim from them to our readers. As Edit-r of the Aiimial Ohilvani, and many 

 other l,ioi;raphical works, the Aiilhn- may prohubhj lutce incoiyoraled some of these scraps; 

 but the unalcr part are hnpuldishcd, and stand alone us cubinet-piclures of mm and 

 manntrs, worthy of a place in a Ulcrary miscellany. 



SINGULAR WILL. 



THE following remarkable pas- 

 sages have been extracted from 

 the will of Francis Stanhope, esq. 

 brother to Lord Chesterfield, proved 

 the 251h of October, 1739, and regis- 

 tered in the Prerogative Court of 

 Canterbury: — "Item, a silver cup 

 upon a high foot, in which my dear 

 father tipt ofl' his last Sacrament, after 

 disinheriting and defrauding mc of the 

 greatest part of my patrimony, by 

 sinking and destroying a deed, and 

 setting up another to defeat me, and, 

 contrary to all right ajid justice, to 

 settle the said estate (thirteen years 

 , after the first deed,) on a most exe- 

 crable, vile, detestable monster, who 

 is commonly calletl or known by the 

 name of Doctor Michael Stanhope, 



who, by liis wicked intrigues and base 

 ascendancy over a credulous deluded 

 father and mother, devoured the in- 

 heritance of his brothers and sisters, 

 drove two of his brothers to absolute 

 despair, for want of subsistence, after 

 the decease of his father; insonnieh, 

 that one brother (viz. Philip) shot him- 

 self, and the other (viz. Henry) drank 

 himself to death ; and other brothers 

 and sisters, though they forebore such 

 violent courses, he robbod and cheated 

 them so much, as to abridge them of 

 the more comfortable way of living 

 they would have been in if they had 

 had their rigiit, and a due proportion 

 of their patrimony.— Jiem, As I ever 

 was of opinion that pompons funerals, 

 attended with great expenses, arc a 

 ridiculous and foolish piece of pa- 

 geantry. 



