w in 
for liis learning, integritj', and piety, did 
they prevent his being frequently in great 
distress. 
In 1739, Mr. Whiston put in his claim to 
the mathematical professorship at Cam- 
bridge, then vacant by the death of Dr. 
Saunderson, in a letter to Dr. Ashton, the 
Master of Jesus College ; but no regard was 
paid to it. Among a variety of works, he 
published Memoirs of his . own Life and 
Writings, which are very curious. 
Whiston continued many years a member 
of the established Church ; but at length 
forsook it on account of the reading of the 
Athahasian Creed, and went over to the 
Baptists ; whkh happened while he was at 
the house of Samuel Barker, Esq. at Lin- 
don in Rutlandshire, who had mari ied his 
daughter; wdiere he died, after a week’s ill- 
ness, the 22d of August 1752, at upw'ards 
of 84 years of age. 
The' character of this conscientious and 
worthy man has been attempted by two 
very able personages, who were well ac- 
quainted with him, namely. Bishop Hare 
and Mr. Cdllins, who unite in giving him 
the highest applauses for his integrity, 
piety, &c. Mr. Whiston left some children 
behind him ; among them, Mr. John Whis- 
ton, who was for many years a very con- 
siderable bookseller in Londdn. 
WHITE, one of the colours of bodies. 
Though white cannot properly be said to 
be one colour, but rather a composition of 
all the colours togetlier; for Newton has 
demonstrated that bodies only appear white 
by reflecting all the kinds of coloured lays 
alike ; and that even the light of the sun is 
only white because it consists of all colours 
mixed together. 
This may be showm mechanically in the 
following manner: Take seven parcels of 
coloured fine powders, the same as the 
primary colours of the rainbow, taking such 
quantities of these as shall be proportional 
to thg respective breadths of these colours 
in the rainbow which are of red 45 parts, 
orange 27, yellow 48, green 60, blue 60, 
indigo 40, and of violet 80 ; then mix in- 
timately together these seven parcels of 
powders, and the mixture will be a whitish 
dolour : and this is only similar to the unit- 
ing the prismatic colours together again, to 
form a white ray or pencil of light of the 
whole of them. The same thing is done 
conveniently thus : Let the flat upper sur- 
face of a top be divided into 360 equal 
parts, all arbund its edge; then divide the 
same surface into seven sectors, in the pro- 
WHI 
portion of the numbere above, by seven 
radii or lines drawn from the centre ; next 
let the respective colours be painted in a 
lively manner on these spaces, but so as the 
edge of each colour may be made nearly like 
the colour next adjoining, that the separation 
may not be well distinguished by the eye; 
then if the top be made to spin, the colours 
will thus seem to be mixed all together, and 
the whole surface will appear of a uniform 
whiteness: and if a large round black spot 
be painted in the middle, so as there may 
be only a broad flat ring of colours around 
it, ^ the experiment will succeed the bet- 
ter. 
White bodies are found to take heat 
slower than black ones : because the latter 
absorb or imbibe rays of all kinds and co- 
lours, and the former reflect them. Hence 
it is that black paper is sooner inflamed, 
by a burning-glass, than white ; and hence 
also black clothes, hung up in the sun by 
the dyers, dry sooner than white ones. 
WHITEHURST, (John), in biography, 
an ingenious English philosopher, was born 
at Congleton in the county of Cheshire, the 
10th of April 1713, being the son of a clock 
and watch-maker there. On his quitting 
school, where it seems the education he re- 
ceived was very defective, he was bred by 
his falher to his own profession, in which he 
soon gave hopes of his future eminence. 
At about the age of tw’enty-one, his 
eagerness after new ideas carried him to 
Dublin, having heard of an ingenious piece 
of mechanism in that city, being a clock 
with certain curious appendages, which he 
yvas very desirous of seeing, and no less so 
of conversing with the maker. On his ar- 
rival, however, he could neitlier procure a 
sight of the former, nor draw the least hint 
from the latter concerning it. Tims dis- 
appointed, he fell upon an expedient for 
accomplishing ids design ; and accordingly 
took lip his residence in the house of the 
mechanic, paying the more liberally for his 
hoard, as he had hopes from thence of more 
readily obtaining the indulgence wished for. 
He was accommodated with a room directly 
over that in which the favourite piece was 
kept carefully locked up ; and he had not 
long to wait for his gratification : for the 
artist, while one day employed in examin- 
ing his machine, was suddenly called down 
stairs; which the young enquirer happening 
to overhear, softly slipped into the room, 
inspected the machine, and, presently satis- 
fying liimself as to the secret, escaped un- 
discovered to his own apartment. His epd 
