CHARACTERS. 



723 



fcdtancement in the schools ; he 

 now entered upon the shidy of the 

 Greek tongue, the characters of 

 which he had already learned for his 

 amusement. His gtniiis and assidu- 

 ity were also displayed in various 

 compositions, not required by the 

 discipline of the school. lie trans- 

 lated into English verse several of 

 the epistles of Ovid, all the pasto- 

 rals ol Virgil, and composed a dra- 

 matic piece on the story of Meleagcr, 

 ■which he denominated a tragedy ; 

 and it was acted, during the vaca- 

 tion, by some of his school-fellows, 

 ■with whom he v,as most intimate. 

 In his own play he performed the 

 part of the hero. 



In the usual recreations of his 

 school-fellows at Harrow, Jones was 

 rarely a partaker; and the hours 

 ■which they allotted toamusement, he 

 generally devoted to improvement. 

 The following anecdote strongly in- 

 dicates the turn of his mind, and the 

 impression made b}' his studies. He 

 invented a play, in which Dr. Wij. 

 liam Bennet, bishop of CIo) ne, and 

 the celebrated Dr. Parr, were his 

 j)riiKipal associates. They divided 

 the fields in the neighbourhood of 

 Harrow according to a map of 

 Greece, into states and kingdoms ; 

 each fixed upon one as his dominion, 

 and assumed an ancient name. Some 

 of their school-fellows consented to 

 be styled barbarians, who were to 

 invade their territories, and attack 

 their hillocks, which were denomi- 

 nated fortresses. The chiels vigo. 

 rously defetuled their respective do- 

 mains against the incursions of the 

 rneniy ; and in these imitative wars, 

 the young statesmen held councils, 

 made vehement harangues, and com- 

 posed memorials, all, doubtless, 

 very boyish, but calculated to fill 

 their minda with ideas of legisUtiou 



and civil government. In these un- 

 usual amusements, Jones was ever 

 the leader; and he might ju.'^tiy have 

 appropriated to himself the words 

 of Catullus : 



Ego gymnasii flos, ego decus o!ei. 



Dr. Thackeray retired from the 

 superintendance of the school at 

 Harrow when his pupil had attained 

 his fifteenth year. It was a singular 

 trait in the character of tliis good 

 man and respectable tutor, that he 

 never applauded the best compo-;i- 

 tions of his scholars, from a notioa 

 which he had adopfed, that praise 

 only tended to make them vain or 

 idle. But the opinion which he gave 

 of Jones in private was, that he was 

 a boy of so active a mind, that if 

 he were left naked and fri 'udless oa 

 Salisbury plain, he would, never- 

 theless, find the road to lame and 

 riches. 



Dr. Thackeray was succce d-d by 

 Dr. Sumner; and for his inronna- 

 tion of the course of study pursued 

 at Harrow, a plan of the lectures 

 and exercises in the upper school 

 was accurately dtlineated by Jones, 

 at the suggestion of the princijial 

 assistant, who presented it to the 

 new master, with many tiicomiums 

 on the talents of his favourite scho- 

 lar. He annexed it to a collection 

 of his compositions, including his 

 translation of the pastorals of Virgil. 

 Dr. Sumner quickly distinguished 

 him; and of the two complete years 

 which he passed under that excellent 

 instructor, it is sufficient to say, that 

 he employed them in reading and 

 imitating the best ancient authors ; 

 nor did he confine himself merely to 

 the compositions of Greece and 

 Home ; he learned the Arabic cha- 

 racters, and studied the Hebrew 

 language sulficicnlly to enable him 

 3 A2 to 



