770 JEN 
nation of it,” 8vo. In his remarks on this piece, Dr. 
Taylor complains, not without reafon, of the heavy 
charges or infinuations againft him contained in it, which 
do not refleCl credit on the author’s liberality and can¬ 
dour. In the year 174.3, Mr- Jennings was chofen a truf- 
tee of Mr. Coward’s charities, and alfo one of his lectu¬ 
rers at Little St. Helen’s. During the following year he 
publifhed, “An Abridgment of the Life of the late re¬ 
verend and learned Dr. Cotton Mather, of Bolton, in 
New England, taken from the Account of him publifhed 
by his fon the Rev. Mr. Samuel Mather 5” which was 
drawn up at the fuggeftion and defire of Dr. Watts, and 
introduced to the world with a recommendatory preface 
from his pen. In the fame year Mr. Jennings entered on 
the'office of ; divinity-tutor in the academy then chiefly 
fupported by Mr. Coward’s funds, to which he was ap¬ 
pointed on the death of Mr. Eames. As he was indefa¬ 
tigable in purfuing every iludy in which he engaged, and 
it was his delight to fill up all the duties of his ltation ; 
when he undertook the character of a tutor, he entered 
upon it with a vigorous application, and for leveral years 
went through a conftant ieries of laborious ftudies. But 
it is to be lamented that, in particular inltances, his con¬ 
duct could not be reconciled with true liberality, norcon- 
fiftency. He who, at the beginning of life, had ranked 
with the advocates for religious liberty in oppofition to 
human impofitions, was afterwards; at times, tranfported 
by an attachment to his own views on controverlial points, 
and a folicitude to preferve the reputation of orthodoxy to 
his feminary, into unbecoming refentments at difcourfes 
delivered in the academy, though they were not avowed¬ 
ly hoftile to his own fentiments, and into a determined 
oppofition to thofe ftudents who deviated, or were fuf- 
pe&ed to deviate, from the ftandard of reputed ortho¬ 
doxy. In one or two inltances, he proceeded to the 
length of expelling, on this ground, young gentlemen of 
abilities, and of blamelefs characters. 
In the year 1747, Mr. Jennings gave the public a fpe- 
cimen of his fcientific ftudies, in a thin oClavo volume, 
entitled, “An Introduction to the Ufeof the Globes, and 
the Orrery, as alfo the Application of Aftronomy to Chro¬ 
nology, &c.” which palled through three editions, and is 
entitled to rank among the molt perfpicuous and ufeful 
elementary works of the fame kind. In the year 1749, 
the univerfity of St. Andrew’s, in Scotland, conferred 
upon our author the degree of doCtor of divinity. The 
laft of his publications, printed in his life-time, which it 
falls within our plan to notice, was “ An Appeal to Rea¬ 
fon and Common Senfe, for the Truth of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures,” 1755; containing a concife and familiar view of 
the evidences for revelation. Dr. Jennings enjoyed a good 
iiate of health till about the year 1760, when he was at¬ 
tacked by a diforder of the epileptic kind, by the fre¬ 
quent returns of which his ftrength was impaired, and 
the conllancy of his attendance on his public duties in¬ 
terrupted. It proved fatal to him on the 16th of Septem¬ 
ber, 1762, when he was feventy-one years of age. After 
his death, an ufeful little treatife was printed from a ma- 
wufeript which he left behind him, entitled, “An Intro¬ 
duction to the Knowledge of Medals 5” confifting of a 
courfe of leCtures on the hiftory, the nature, fize, and 
ffiape, the orders into which they are to be diftinguilhed, 
the impreffion and form, and the value and life of me¬ 
dals. From his manuferipts alfo was publiffied, in 
the year 1766, a larger and more elaborate work, edited 
by Dr. Philip Furneaux, who bellowed much care and la¬ 
bour on it, particularly in examining the reference to au¬ 
thors, either for proof or illuftration, which are very nu- • 
merous. It is entitled, “ Jewilh Antiquities ; or, a Courfe 
of LeCtures on the three firll Books of Godwin’s Mofes 
and Aaron. To which is annexed, a Diflertation on the 
Hebrew Language,” in 2 vols. Svo. 
JEN'NY, [the diminutive of jfafte.] The name of a wo¬ 
man. 
JEN'SON, or Janson, (Nicholas), an eminent printer 
JEN 
of the fifteenth century, was an engraver in the mint of 
Paris, when he was appointed by Louis XI. to go to 
Mentz, and endeavour to bring away with him thenewly- 
difeovered art of typography. Another account aferibes 
this miffion to Charles VII. in 1458 ; and fays, that Jen- 
fon on his return, finding that king dead, went and fet¬ 
tled elfewhere. It is certain that Venice was the place 
where he exercifed his art, and in which he acquired a 
high degree of reputation in the three branches of cut¬ 
ting punches, founding types, and printing. He was the 
firll who planned and reduced to its prefent proportions 
the character called Roman. The neatnefs and elegance 
of his types command admiration even in the modern im¬ 
proved Hate of the art, and his editions are in great re¬ 
quell with the curious. The earlieft work from Jenfon’s 
prefs is one entitled Decor Puellarum, 440. with the date 
1461, but which, from internal evidence, is pronounced 
an error for 1471. 
JENTILFNO, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of Na¬ 
ples, and province of Calabria Citra : twelve miles north- 
north-weft of Bifignano. 
JENUCHSHADE'GA, an Indian village in Pennfyl- 
vania, fituated on the welt bank of Alleghany river, eight 
miles fouth-fouth-welt from that of Teulhanulhfong-gogh- 
ta, and fourteen fouth-eaft from the outlet of Chataugh- 
que Lake. 
JEN'YNS (Soame), a gentleman diltinguiffied as a witty 
and elegant writer, was the only fon of fir Roger Jenyns,, 
of Bottilham-hall, Cambridgelhire, and was born in Lon¬ 
don in 1704. He received a domeftic education till the 
age of feventeen, when he was entered a fellow-commoner 
of St. John’s college, Cambridge. In that univerfity he 
fpent three years, laudably attentive to his ftudies ; and 
then entered upon the plan of life fuited to a man of in¬ 
dependent fortune. In his younger days, Mr. Jenyns, 
with a delicate and diminutive perfon, fultained the cha¬ 
racter of a beau; and his polite attention to the ladies 
was difplayed in his firll performance, a poem on the Art 
of Dancing, pubiilhed in 1728, and inferibed to lady Fan¬ 
ny Fielding. He continued occafionally to make himfelf 
known by pieces in verfe, which were fufficiently numer¬ 
ous to be colleCled into a volume in 1752. His father’s 
death leaving him mailer of a confiderable eftate, he en¬ 
tered, in 1741, into public life as a reprefentative for the 
county of Cambridge; and began his career by lupport- 
ing fir Robert Walpole ; this conduCl was at length re¬ 
warded by the place of one of the lords of trade, which 
he held from 1755 through every change till its abolition 
in 1780; when he retired from parliamentary bufinefs. 
As a country gentleman, Mr. Jenyns maintained a very 
refpeClable character. He was a conftant fummer-refident. 
at his eftate in Cambridgelhire, where he officiated as a 
magiftrate, and exercifed charity and hofpitality among 
his neighbours. He was twice married, but died without 
iflfue, in December 1787, at the age of eighty-three. 
We are now to confider Soame Jenyns as a writer, in 
which capacity he attained no-fmall lhare of temporary 
celebrity. His poems, beftdes that already mentioned, 
confiltof a variety of mifcellaneous pieces; as. The Squire 
and Parfon, The Modern Fine Lady and Gentleman, Imi¬ 
tations of Horace, Epiftles, Songs, a tranfiation of Haw¬ 
kins Brown’s Latin Poem on the Immortality of the Soul, 
&c. of which the lighter are eafy, fatirical, humprojis, 
and fome of them licentious; the graver fmooth, and to¬ 
lerably elegant; but none marked with the higher quali¬ 
ties of poetical genius. His prole-works are, in point of 
ftyle, of a luperior degree of excellence; and perhaps no 
writer, of his time or fince, has afforded an example of 
purer and more perfpicuous language, at the fame time 
animated with wit and embellilhed with eloquence. He 
was one of the falhionable contributors to The World, 
firll pubiilhed in 1753, and his five papers in this perio¬ 
dical work are diftinguifhed by humour and vivacity. 
His enquiries took a wide and free range. He pubiilhed.; 
in 1757, A Free Inquiry into the Origin of Evil, 8vo. 
This 
