JONES. 



to amufe themfclves with the reprefentation of a play ; and 

 at his recommendation the Tempeft'was fclefted ; but not 

 being able to procure a copy, he fiirnidied them with it 

 from his memory ; and in the exhibition he performed the 

 part of Profpero. As he advanced in the fchool, his dili- 

 gence increafcd ; and he commenced the ftudy of tlie Grtek 

 language. At this time lie trandated into Englilh verfe 

 •fevcral of the epiftlcs of Ovid, and all the paftorals of Vir- 

 gil ; and he compoL'd a dramatic piece on the ftory of 

 Melcager, whicli he denominated a tragedy, and which, 

 dadng the vacation, was afted by fonie of his moll intimate 

 fchool-fellovvs ; the part of the hero being performed by 

 liimfelf. His acquaintance with profody was very dif- 

 tino-uilhed ; fo that he was able to fcan the trochaic and 

 iambic verfes of Terence, before his companions fufpefted 

 that they were any thing but mere profe. At fchool he 

 wrote the exercifes of many boys in the two fuperior clafTes, 

 and thofe in liis own chfs were happy to become his pupils. 

 During the holidays he learned the rudiments of French 

 and arithmetic ; and in this early age he was highly gratified 

 by being honoured with an admiflion to the fociety of 

 learned and ingenious men at the houfe of Mr. Baker and 

 his friend Mr. Pond, At the requeil of his mother iie read 

 the " Spetlacle de la Nature ;" but derived greater amufe- 

 ment, as he acknowledged., from the Arabian tales, and 

 from Shakfpeare, whofe poems and plays he repeatedly 

 perufed with increafed delight. At Harrow he invented a po- 

 litical play, in which Dr. Binnet, biOiop of Cloyne, and the 

 celebrated Dr. Parr, were his principal aflbciates. " They 

 divided the fields in the neighbourhood of Harrow, ac>:ord- 

 ino- to a map of Greece, into Hates and kingdoms; each 

 fixed upon one as his dominion, and afTumed an ancient 

 name. Some of their fchool-fellows confented to be ilyled 

 barbarians, who were to invade their territories and attack 

 their hillocks, which were denominated fortreffes. The chiefs 

 vigoroufly defended their refpeftive domains again It the 

 incurfions of the enemy ; and in thefe imitative wars the 

 younf^ ftatefmen held councils, made vehement liarangues, 

 and c'ompofed memorials, all donbtlefs very boyidi, but cal- 

 culated to fill their minds with ideas of legiflation and civil 

 government. In thefe unufual amufements Jones was ever 

 the leader.'' In his 15th year Dr. Thackeray was fucceeded 

 ]jy ]3r. Sumner, who foon difcovered the talents and ac- 

 quirements of his pupil ; and who afforded him every ad- 

 vantage in the profecution of his ftudies which he had it in 

 his power to grant him. Indeed this excellent inftrudtor of 

 youth, with an excufable partiality and an amiable modefly, 

 was heard to declare, " that Jones knew more Greek than 

 himfjlf, and was a greater proficient in the idiom of that 

 language." During the two years which he fpent with Dr. 

 Sumner, he employed his time in reading and imitating the 

 beft aneient authors of Greece and Rome ; and, devoting the 

 iii.rhtas well as the day to iludy, he acquired the knowledge 

 of^the Arabic charadlers, and a fufficient acquaintance with 

 the Hebrew language to enable him to read fome of th.e 

 Pfalms in the original His reputation was at this early period 

 of his life fo extenfive, " that he was often flattered by the 

 inquiries of ftrangers, under the title of the great fcholar." 

 Sone of his juvenile compofitions, both in profe and verfe, 

 may be found in the fragment of a work which he began 

 at Ichool, and entitled " Limon," in inr.tation of Cicero, 

 and may be found in the complete edition of his works. 

 His inccfiant application occafioned a weaknefs in his fight, 

 which rendered it neceffary for Dr. Sumner to interdict it 

 dur.ng the laft months of his relidence at Harrow. The 

 inrervals of interrupted ftudy, v/hich he reluftantly al'owed 

 hiMfelf, were employed in learning chefs, by pracliCng 



the games of Philidor. As he was intended for the pro. 

 fellion of the law, for which, howc\er, he does not icem 

 to have had any great predileftion, fome of liis friends re- 

 commended his being placed, at the age of 16, in tlie 

 office of a fpecial pleader ; others, however, wifhed him 

 to be removed from Harrow to one of tlie univerfities. 

 The choice of an univerlity v as for fome time the fub- 

 jed of dehbcration ; but at length Oxford was preferred 

 in confequence of the recommendation of Dr. GlalTe, and 

 the inclination of his mother, who determined to refide 

 with him at tlie univerfity. In the fpring of 1764. he was 

 niatriculated and admitted into Univerlity college ; and 

 in the following term, after having fpent a few months at 

 Harrow, in order to finifli a courfe of lettures in which 

 he was much interefted, he fixed hinifelf at Oxford. Upon 

 his firft fettlement in the univerfity he was ratlier difgulled 

 than pkafed with the plan of education. " Inllead of pure 

 principles on the fubjeds of tafte, on rhetoric, poetry, and 

 pradlieal morals, he complained that he was required to at- 

 t-end dull comments on artilici;il ethics, and logic detailed in 

 fuch barbarous Latin, that he profefled to know as little 

 of it as he then knew of Arabic." The only logic then in 

 fafliion was that of the fchools : and in a memorandum 

 written by himfelf, which,"' fays his biographer, lord Teign- 

 mouth, " is my authority for thefe remarks, I find an anec- 

 dote related of one of the fellows, who was reading Locke 

 with his own pupih, that he carefully palfed over every 

 paflage in which that great metaphyfician derides tlie old 

 fyftem." After a refidence of a few months at the uni- 

 verfity, on the 31ft of October, 1764, Mr. Jones was una- 

 nimoufly elected one of the four fchol.irs on the foundation 

 of fir Simon Bennett, for whi^-h aiTillance he was grateful ; 

 more cfpecially as the profpect of a fellowihip was remote. 

 Addiiied to oriental literature for feveral years, he now in- 

 dulged his inclination by the ftudy of Arabic under tlie 

 example and encouragement of a fellow ftudeut, and wi;li 

 the affillance of a native of Aleppo. His fituation at the 

 univerfity became gradually more plcafanc to him than it was 

 at firll ; for his college tutors, perceiving that his whole 

 time was devoted to improvement, difpenfed with his atten- 

 dance on their ledtures, and even allowed him to purfue his 

 ftudies in a manner agree ible to his tafte and inclination. 

 To the perufal of the principal Greek poets and hiliorians, 

 and of the entire works of Plato and Lucian, lie added the 

 ftudy of the Arabic and a'fo of the modern Perfic lan- 

 guages. Daring his vacations, which he fpent in London, 

 he attended the fchools of Angelo, in order to acquire the 

 elegant accompliihments of riding and fencing ; and at 

 home he direded liis attention to the modern languages ; 

 reading the beft authors in Italian, Spanifli, and Portuguefc. 

 The potfefiion of a fellowlhip, which he was anxious of 

 obtaining, partly for relieving his mother from the burdeu 

 of his education, and partly for (ccuring fome kind of in- 

 dependence, however inconiiderable, to himfelf, was ftiU at 

 a dillance ; and he almoll defpaired of obtaining it. Hav- 

 ing been recommended to the family of earl Spencer by Dr. 

 Shipley, to whom he was not perfonally known, but who 

 was not unacquainted with his compofitions at Harrow, an 

 offer was made to him by Mr. Arden, related, by marriage, 

 to his friend Sumner, of being private tutor to lord Al- 

 thorp, now earl Spencer. The propofal was cheerfully ac- 

 cepted, and upon an interview with his pupil, then feveu 

 years old, he was fo pleafed, that he determined to give up 

 all thoughts of a profeffion, and to devote himfelf to the 

 faithful difcharge of the duties of education now devolved 

 upon him. In the fummcr of 1765, he wholly left the uni- 

 verfity, and entered on his new office. At Wimbledon, 

 3 A 2 where 



