WET 



WET 



falling in a (heet of water over a high dam erefted for tlie 

 convenience of the mills. Over this cafcade, the falmon, in 

 their way up the river from the fea, are feen to leap with 

 wonderful dexterity. Wetherby has a weekly market on 

 Thurfdays, and three annual fairs. In the population re- 

 turn of the year 1811, the town is ftated to contain 1 140 

 inhabitants, occupying 243 houfes. In the time of Wil- 

 liam the Conqueror, this manor was poflefled by two Nor- 

 man lords, William de Percy and Erneis de Burun. It 

 •was afterwards given to the knights templars ; and, together 

 with all their eftates in England, was forfeited on the aboli- 

 tion of their order, in the year 13 12. In the civil war of 

 Charles I. this town was garrifoned by fir Thomas Fairfax, 

 who, in 1642, repulfed fir Thomas Glenham, in two differ- 

 ent attacks. A httle below the town is St. Helen's Ford, 

 where the Roman mihtary-way crofled the Wharfe. 

 Within a mile of the town is Wetherby Grange, the feat of 

 Richard Thompfon, efq. In the park is an heronry, a 

 thing rather uncommon in this part of the country. The 

 herons build their nefts in the tops of the higheft trees ; but 

 feldom take the trouble, when they can get them ready made 

 by the rooks, whom they expel, and enlarge and line the 

 nefts, driving away the original poflefTors, (hould they 

 happen to renew their fruitlefs claims. 



About two miles to the weft of Wetherby, is Stociceld 

 park, the feat of WiUiam Middleton, efq. His anceftors 

 defcended from Hypolitus de Brame, lord of Middleton, 

 •who lived in the reign of Henry II. Not far from the 

 houfe, and near the high road, is a rock of a very fingular 

 (hape, 65 feet in circumference, and 30 feet high, ftanding 

 on the margin of a lake. — Hargrove's Hiftory of Knaref- 

 borough, 1809. Beauties of England and Wales, vol. xvi. 

 Yorkfhire. By J. Bigland, 1812. 



WETHERSFIELD, a town of Connedicut, in the 

 .county of Hartford, containing 3961 inhabitants. 



WETMORE's Island, a fmall ifland on the coaft of 

 Maflachufetts, at the mouth of the river Penobfcot. 



WETSTEIN, John James, in Biography, was born at 

 Bafle in 1693, and made fuch proficiency in his early 

 ftudies, that he was fit to be admitted into the univerfity at 

 the age of eleven years. In his 20th year he was ordained 

 minifter, on which occafion he maintained a difputation on 

 the various readings of the New Teftament, in which he de- 

 fended the authenticity and integrity of the text. To this 

 courfe of ftudy he was feduloufly devoted, and in order to 

 explain the words and phrafes of the New Teftament, he 

 carefully read the Greek authors, both facred and profane ; 

 and he alfo confulted the Rabbinical writings, for the pur- 

 pofe of acquainting himfelf with the opinions and cuftoms 

 of the Jews. Richly furnilhed with this kind of knowledge, 

 lie fetout, in 1 7 14, on a literary tour to Zurich, Berne, and 

 Geneva. From the latter place he proceeded through 

 Lyons to Paris, where he became acquainted with Mont- 

 faucon, Courayer, and other eminent men ; and he alfo vifited 

 England, where he was particularly noticed by the cele- 

 brated Bentley, and diligently fearched for MSS. of the 

 New Teftament. During his ftay in this country, he was 

 made chaplain to a regiment of Swifs troops, and having 

 obtained leave of abfence, vifited Paris, in order to collate a 

 particular MS., and, after three months, joined the regi- 

 ment at Bois-le-duc. Having afterwards vifited Holland 

 and Germany, he returned to Bafle in 1717, and became 

 deacon to the church of St. Leonard, which office he held 

 with diftinguiftied approbation for nine years. In purfuance 

 of his main objeft, he correfponded with Bentley on the 

 fubjeft of various readings ; but he was interrupted in his 

 plan by a violent difpute with a divine of Bafle, who had 



been his intimate friend, occafioncd by his publication of a 

 fpecimen of his various readings in 17 18. In the progrefs 

 of this difpute, the clergy took a part, and prefented a peti- 

 tion to the council, requefting that Wetftein's edition of the 

 New Teftament might be pi-ohibited ; alleging, amongft 

 other objeftions, that it favoured of Socinianifm. His Pro- 

 legomena, however, were printed in 1730, and a new accufa- 

 tion was preferred to the council againft the author. This 

 kind of clamour proving ineffeftual, his enemies engaged 

 fome of his pupils to appear as witnefles againft him ; and 

 they produced extrafts of his leftures from the MS. copies 

 of thefe pupils to fupport their accufation. The refult of 

 thefe diflionourable proceedings was a fufpenfion of his func- 

 tions in 1729, and this was foon followed by his total depo- 

 fition. This conduft of the clergy was aggravated by a 

 variety of mifreprefentations ; the minifters of Mulhaufen, 

 Neufchatel, Vallangen, and Geneva, exprefled their difap- 

 probation of thefe meafures ; and forty heads of families in 

 the parifti of St. Leonard prefented a petition for obtaining 

 Wetftein's re-eftabhfliment. But as this interpofition on his 

 behalf was unfuccefsful, he left his native country, and re- 

 moved to Amfterdam, where the Remonftrants elefted him 

 profeffor of philofophy in the room of Le Clerc, requiring, 

 at the fame time, that he ftiould juftify himfelf, either by a 

 pubhc apology, or before the council at Bafle. Adopting 

 the latter method, he returned to Switzerland, and in the 

 prefence of thirteen commiflioners, chofen from the council 

 and body of the profeflbrs, he ftiewed that the extrafts fur- 

 nifhed by his pupils were not worthy of credit ; that the wit- 

 neffes had fworn nothing that could prove the accufation al- 

 leged againft him ; and that the adls of the divines contra- 

 difted each other. The council, in March 1732, annulled 

 the decree of condemnation, and reftored him to the full 

 exercife of his funftions. Tiie Remonftrants at Amfterdam 

 were fatisfied, and in 1733 he took pofleffion of his office, 

 the duties of which he faithfully difcharged till his death. 

 His character being re-eftabliftied at Bafle, he was elefted 

 in 1744 profeflbr of the Greek language ; but the Remon- 

 ftrants, in order to retain him, nominated him profeflbr of 

 ecclefiaftical hiftory, and made an addition to his falary. 

 Amidft the labours of the offices, which he fuftained with 

 great honour to himfelf and benefit to his pupils, he pro- 

 ceeded in collefting and arranging his various readings of the 

 New Teftament ; grudging no expence, and avaiUng himfelf 

 of every opportunity that occurred in collating various MSS. 

 Encouraged by a great number of learned men in Englaud, 

 Holland, and Germany, he at length publilhed his firft 

 volume in 1751, and the fecond in the following year ; and 

 in order to preclude every objeftion, he printed the text 

 from that commonly received, and the various readings at 

 the bottom. To the whole he fubjoined a commentary, 

 comprehending all the remarks with which he had been fur- 

 niflied by the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman writers whom he 

 had confulted. His attachment to received principles is 

 evinced by his mode of explaining feveral paftages, and par- 

 ticularly thofe which related to the divinity of Jefus Chrift. 

 To his New Teftament he added two epiftles of St. Clement, 

 now firft publiftied, with a Latin verfion, and a diflertation 

 on their authenticity. His literary reputation being now 

 eftabliflied, he was made a foreign afTociate of the Academy 

 of Sciences at Berlin, in 1752; and in the following year 

 eleftcd a fellow of the Royal Society in London. Although 

 Wetftein's conftitution was vigorous, his inceflant labour 

 accelerated the infirmities of age ; and he was feized with a 

 numbnefs and coldnefs in his right leg, which threatened a 

 gangrene, and all attempts to check the progrefs of this ma- 

 lady were ineffeftual ; fo that it terminated his valuable life 

 U u 2 in 



