WES 



WEST, GiLBRRT, in Biography, the fon of the Rev. 

 Dr. Weft, prebendary of Winchefter, and of a fifter of fir 

 Richard Temple, afterwards lord Cobham, was born in 1 706, 

 and educated for the church at Eton and Chriftchurch, in 

 Oxford ; but preferring a military life, he fe^ed in the 

 army till he received an appointment in the office of lord 

 Townftiend, fecretary of ftate, with whom he accompanied 

 king George I. to Hanover. In early life he entertained 

 doubts concerning the Chriftian religion, which were in- 

 «illed into him and his coufin Lyttelton by lord Cobham. 

 In 1729 he was appointed a clerk -extraordinary of the privy 

 council; and foon after, being married, he fettled at Wick- 

 ham in Kent. His income was not large, but it was fuf- 

 ficient to entertain his friends Pitt and Lyttelton, who often 

 vifited him for hterary recreation at Wickham. Asa poet, 

 he was known in 1742 by a piece on a dramatic plan, in- 

 titled " Th° Inftitution of the Order of ihe Garter," diftin- 

 guifhed by pure and elevated morality, ^nd containing paf- 

 fag.s or elegant fancy and fpler.did diction. Well's " Ob- 

 fervatlons on the Refurreaion of Chrill," publifhed in 1747, 

 engaged the particular attention of the public, and even in- 

 duced the univerfity of Oxford to confer upon the author 

 the de>riee of dodor of laws. This work was fo well exe- 

 cuted.'^that we may well regret his not having lived to have 

 completed his defign by another work on the evidence of 

 the truth of the New Teftament. In 1752 the circum- 

 ftances of our author were improved by fucceeding, when 

 Mr. Pitt became paymafter-general, to one of the lucrative 

 clerkfhips of the privy council, and his obtaining the 

 place of treafurer to Chelfea hofpital. In 1755 he loft an 

 only fon, and in the following year his life was terminated 

 by ' paralytic ftroke, March 1756, at the age of fifty. 

 •< Mr. Weft was a gentleman in manners, agreeable in con- 

 verfation, and lively though ferious. He was regular in the 

 performance of family devotion and in attendance on public 

 worfhip, and was particularly attached to Dr. Clarke as a 

 preacher." . 



The other works of Mr. Weft were, " Tranflatione of 

 the Odes of Pindar, with a Diflertation on the Olympic 

 Games ;" " Tranflations from the Argonautics of ApoUo- 

 nius Rhodius, and the Tragopodagra of Lucian ;" " The 

 Abufe of Travelling ;" and " Education :" poems in the imi- 

 tation of the ftanza and manner of Spenfer ; " Iphigenia in 

 Tauris," from Euripides ;" and " Original Poems on Various 

 Occafions." Several of thefe pieces were printed in the col- 

 leftions of Dodfley and Pearch, and alfo in three diftinft vo- 

 lumes, i2mo. 1766; and entitle the author, fays his biogra- 

 pher, to a refpeftable rank among the minor poets. John- 

 fon's Lives. Nichols's Lit. Anecd. Gen. Biog. 



West, Occldens, Occafus, in Cofmography, one of the car- 

 dinal points of the horizon ; diametrically oppofite to the 

 eaft. 



Weft is ftriftly defined, the interfeftion of the prime 

 vertical with the horizon, on that fide in which the fun fets. 



To draw a true weft line, fee Meridian. 



West, in AJlronomy, is chiefly ufed for the place, in or 

 towards which the fun and ftars fink under the horizon. 

 Thus we fay, the Sun, Mars, &c. are in the weft. 



The point in which the fun fets when in the equator, is 

 particularly called the equinoSial weft, or point of true wejl. 



West, and Wejiern, in Geography, are applied to certain 

 countries, &c. fituated towards the point of fun-fetting with 

 .refpeft to certain others. 



Thus, the empire of Rome, anciently, and of Germany, 

 at prefent, is called the empire of the IVeJl, or wejlern empire, 

 in oppofition to that of Conftantinople, which is called the 

 tmpire of the Eaft. 



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WES 



The Latin or Roman church is called the tuefiern thurch; 

 in oppofition to the Greek church. 



The French, Spaniards, Italians, &c. are called wejierh 

 nations, in refpeft to the Afiatics ; and America, the Wejl 

 Indies, in refpeft of the Eaft Indies. 



V^s&T-AJhton Water, is a chalybeate water, refembling 

 that of Holt. See Phil. Tranf. N°46l. feft. 20. 



West Wind is alfo called Zephyrus, and Favoniui. See 

 Wind. 



West Saxonlage, or the law of the Weft Saxona. See 

 Law. 



West India Companies. See Company, &c. 



West Dial. See Dial. 



West, Mooring for. See Mooring. 



West, in Geography, a townfliip of Pennfylvania, in the ' 

 county of Huntingdon, with 1698 inhabitants. 



West Bay, a bay of the South Pacific ocean, in Cook't 

 Straits, between the two iflands of New Zealand. 



West Bay, a bay of tl e Englith Channel, on the coaft. 

 of the counties of Dorfet and Devon, of valt extent. It 

 begins weft of Portland, and ends at Berry Point near Tor- 

 bay, according to fome ; according to others, from Portland 

 to Lyme or Exmouth. The tide is current here nine hours; 

 high water at ten o'clock at new and full moon ; an E.S.E. 

 moon makes full fea. The fea off^ the coaft is reckoned the 

 moft dangerous part of the Channel, efpecially on the weft, 

 where ftiips, not aware of the currents, are embayed and 

 driven afhore on the beach. When ftiips are fo deeply em- 

 bayed, that there is no poffibihty of getting off, efpecially 

 at the beginning of the ebb, they may run boldly on the 

 beach, and the mariners are to remain aboard for five or fix 

 feas, but may then ftep on (hore with fafety ; but if they 

 leave the fhip inttantly it is dangerous and fatal : light- 

 houfes have been ferviceable for preventing thefe accidenti. 

 Where Ihips that come from the weft negleft to keep a 

 good offing, or are taken fhort by contrary winds, and can- 

 not weather the highland at Portland, but are driven be- 

 tween the ifland and the main-land, they perifh without 

 remedy ; and it has been obferved, that more Dutch veflels 

 are loft here than any other, almoft every year, efpecially ia 

 winter, which is thought to be owing to an obftinate ad- 

 herence to old charts, and not allowing for the true variation 

 of the compafs. When the variation is W. the true channel 

 courfe is W. by S. from Dungenefs to the Cafkets ; Port- 

 land Bill and the Caikets are 15 leagues afunder nearly in a 

 meridian. Dr. Halley obferves, that the navigation up and 

 down the Channel is an E. variation : W.S.W. is the true 

 courfe. The Channel between Portland and the Cafkets is 

 40 fathoms deep, and in fair weather one mav fee in that 

 depth the land on both fides : the nearer England the 

 fhoalier, the nearer the Cafkets the deeper. 



West Bay, a bay at the weftern extremity of lake Su- 

 perior. N. lat. 46° 45'. W. long. 91° 45'. — Alfo, a bay 

 on the N.W. coaft of Virgin-Gorda, in the Weft Indies. 

 N. lat. 1 8'= 2 3'. W. long. 62° 48'. 



West Bethlehem, a townfhip of Pennfylvania, in the 

 county of Wafh'ngton, containing 1849 inhabitants. 



West Boyljlon, a town of MafFachufetts, in the county 

 of Worcefter, containing 632 inhabitants. 



West Bradford, a townftiip of Pennfylvania, in the 

 county of Cheller, with 12 19 inhabitants. 



West Buffaloe, a townfhip of Pennfylvania, in the county 

 of Northumberland, containing 2523 inhabitants. 



West Cain, a townfhip of Pennfylvania, in the county 

 of Chefter, with 1003 inhabitants. 



West Cambridge, a town of MafFachufetts, in the county 

 of Middlefex, containing 971 inhabitants. 



W£ST 



