FOR 



118 



P O R 



Fortens, 

 Bishop 



II 

 Porto Rico. 



fortune, from Ashbourne, in Derbyshire. In 1767 he 

 was made rector of Lambeth, and in the same year he 

 obtained the degree of D. D. 



Upon the death of the Archbishop, in 1767, Dr. Por- 

 teus, in conjunction with Dr. Stinton, edited -Dr. 

 Seeker's works, in seven volumes, to which was prefix- 

 ed a life of the author from the pen of Dr. Porteus. 



The Queen having become acquainted with the cha- 

 racter and talents of Dr. Porteus, recommended him to 

 the King as his chaplain ; and he soon after became 

 Master of the Hospital of St. Cross, near Winchester, 

 Dean of the Chapel Royal, and Provincial Dean, of 

 Canterbury. 



He was soon after raised to the see of Chester ; and 

 in the year 1 783, he published a volume of sermons on 

 various subjects, which underwent several editions. 



Upon the death of Dr. Lowth in 1787, Dr. Porteus 

 was translated to the bishoprick of London ; and, in 

 1790, he published the charge which he delivered on 

 the first visitation of his diocese. A second volume of 

 his sermons appeared in 1777, and, during the Lent of 

 1778, he began a series of Discourses on the Truth of 

 the Gospel History, which he delivered every Friday 

 to crowded audiences at St. James's Church, West- 

 minster. In 1S02, these discourses were published, 

 under the title of " Lectures on St. Matthew's Gos- 

 pel," in 2 vols. 8vo. The last work which Bishop 

 Porteus published, was entitled '' The Beneficial Ef- 

 fects of Christianity on Ike Temporal Concerns of Man- 

 kind, proved from History and Facts," which appeared 

 in 1806. Having been long in a weak state of health, 

 liis bodily frame began to experience a rapid decline of 

 strength, and, on the 14th May 1808, he expired in the 

 seventy-eighth year of his age. 



The benevolence and liberality of Dr. Porteus were 

 no less distinguished than his character and conduct 

 as a prelate. During his life he transferred 7000 in 

 the 3 per cents to the archdeacons of the diocese of Lon- 

 don, as a permanent fund for relieving the wants of the 

 poorer clergy of his diocese. He likewise bequeathed 

 three gold medals to Christ's Church, to be contended for 

 annually by the students of the college; one, valued at 

 fifteen guineas, for the best Latin dissertation on any of 

 the chief evidences of Christianity; another of equal 

 value for the best English composition. on some moral 

 precept in the Gospel; and one of ten guineas to the 

 best reader in, and the most constant attendant at 

 chapel. He likewise left a library for the use of his 

 successors in the see of London, and a liberal sum for 

 erecting a building to receive it, at the Episcopal Pa- 

 lace of Fulharru At Hydehill, near Sundridge, in 

 Kent, where he had a country house, he built a cha- 

 pel, beneath which he directed his remains to be de- 

 posited; and he endowed this chapel with an annual 

 income of 250 per annum. Sec Hodgson's Life of 

 Porteus. 



PORTICI, the name of a small town of Italy, near 

 Naples, situated at the sea-shore, at the foot of Mount 

 Vesuvius. The principal ornament of the town is a 

 royal palace. Beneath the town and palace, lies buried, 

 at the depth of 70 feet, the city of Herculanfum, which 

 we have already described in Vol. X. p. 739. Popu- 

 lation of the town 5200. See Eustace's Travels, vol. 

 i. p. 582. 



PORTLAND ISLE. See DORSETSHIRE, Vol. 

 VIII. p. 54. 



PORTO. See OPORTO, Vol. xv. P . 459. 

 PORTO-RICO, an island in the West Indies, about 

 60 miles east of Hispaniola. Its length from east to 



west is about 140 miles, and its breadth from north to 

 south about 36. It is highly fertile; is diversified 

 with woods, hills, and valleys; is watered with a va- ^ 

 riety of streams, and has rich meadows, which feed 

 great quantities of cattle. The woods abound with 

 parrots, wild" pigeons, and other fowls, and the breed 

 of dogs brought 'over by the Spaniards is said still to 

 exist wild in the woods, and to subsist upon land-crabs 

 that burrow in the ground. 



The chief trade of the island consists in cotton, 

 sugar, ginger, tobacco, hides, cassia, mastic, silk, 

 oranges, lemons, &c. 



Porto-Rico was discovered by Columbus in 1493, 

 but it was not till 1509 that it attracted the notice of 

 the Spaniards. A considerable time ago there were 

 1500 Spaniards in the island, and 3000 negroes. 



St. Juan de Porto-Rico, the capital of the island, 

 was founded in 1514. It is populous and well built, 

 and has a good harbour, defended by a citadel and 

 castle. West Long, of the town 66 13' 15", and North 

 Lat. 18 29' 10". 



PORTSMOUTH, a sea-port town of England, in 

 Hampshire, is situated on the coast of the English 

 Channel, and on the west side of the isle of Portsea. 

 It comprehends the old town of Portsmouth, and the 

 town of Portsea, which is situated within the borough, 

 and subject to the jurisdiction of the magistracy. 



The town of Portsmouth is the seat of the civil and 

 military establishments, and the residence of the port- 

 admiral. Its streets are more spacious than those of 

 Portsea, and the houses and buildings are generally of 

 a superior character. The town of Portsea, however, 

 surpasses it in size and population, and contains within 

 its limits the dock-yard and gun-wharf, to the first of 

 which Portsmouth owes much of its real import- 

 ance. 



Within the last fifty years, this town has undergone 

 great improvements, the paving of Portsmouth having 

 been finished in 1775, and that of Portsea in 1792. 

 The church of Portsmouth, which is a spacious struc- 

 ture, has been erected at different periods. It has a 

 tower 120 feet high, which forms a useful sea-mark. 

 Behind the altar there is a large and elaborate ceno- 

 taph to the memory of the celebrated Duke of Buck- 

 ingham. The parish church of Portsea is two miles 

 distant from the town, at the hamlet of Kingston ; but 

 there are several handsome chapels in the town, the 

 chief of which are dedicated to St. James and St. John, 

 and the last of which is particularly elegant within. 

 Besides these churches, there are various meeting- 

 houses for dissenters. 



The town-house where the borough courts are held, 

 is a large building, situated near the middle of the 

 high street, and was repaired and enlarged in 1796. 

 At a short distance from it stands the white house or 

 town prison, in which the prisoners are separated into 

 classes, and which is under excellent regulations. The 

 government house, situated at the upper end of the 

 grand parade, was part of an old hospital, but is now 

 an excellent residence for the governor of Portsmouth. 

 The residences of the lieutenant-governor and of the 

 port-admiral, are both elegant and commodious build- 

 ings ; particularly the latter, which is situated in the 

 high street. 



The dock-yard of Portsmouth, which is very exten- 

 sive, contains immense store-houses, handsome resi- 

 dences for the principal officers, an elegant house for 

 the commissioner, an academy for n-aval instruction, 

 a chapel, and extensive workshops, mast houses and 



