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(defcriptian. Mr. Lewis came upon the London boards 
juft as Woodward was doling his career, and he was the 
rightful inheritor of that excellent artor’s range of cha¬ 
racters ; and was indeed capable of a (fuming parts which 
Woodward would have been incapable of reprefenting; 
fuch, for instance, as Faulkland in the Rivals, a part 
which Mr. Lewis rendered very prominent in that admi¬ 
rable comedy, and which he fupported with all requilite 
eafe and fenfibility. There was an original fpirit, gaiety, 
and whim, in Mr. Lewis’s manner, which not only en¬ 
abled him to difplay the general round of (lock-characters, 
as they are called, of the legitimate drama, with great (kill, 
but which induced O’Keeffe, and other dramatic writers 
of the prefent day, to defign parts entirely for the pur- 
pofe of drawing forth his peculiar talents, and affording 
i’cope for the exuberance of his humour. Indeed it may 
be truly faid, that many productions of the prefent day 
were indebted for the favour with which they were re¬ 
ceived wholly to the whim, gaiety, and fportive humour, 
with which he fupported the principal characters. But 
the powers of Mr. Lewis were not confined to comedy: 
he was a very refpertable artor in the tragic province ; 
and we are allured that the excellence which hedifplayed 
in Hannah More’s tragedy of Percy, procured him the 
warm approbation of Garrick himfelf. His favourite 
parts were Belcour, Ranger, Benedict, Mercutio, and the 
Copper Captain, in which lalt he took a final leave of his 
generous friends and admirers about eighteen months 
previous to his deceafe. He then affured the audience 
that it would be gratifying in his feclufion to reflect, that, 
during the long period he had been in their fervice, he 
had never once incurred their difpleafure. And this we 
have reafon to believe was the real fart. Mr. Lewis died 
in Jan. 1811, at the age of 65. Though diltinguifhed fo 
much in what maybe called the dafliing characters of co¬ 
medy, his private life was marked by every domeftic vir¬ 
tue : he was an affectionate hufband and father; and he 
was rewarded by the poffefiion of an eftimable wife, and amia¬ 
ble and accomplifhed offspring. The immediate caufe of 
his death was a fever on his cheft; and he had only been 
confined to his bed a week, before his family and numerous 
train of friends had the misfortune to be deprived of him. 
As a member of fociety he was difting.uiflied for probity, 
and a ftrirt performance of all his engagements. It was 
generally fuppofed that Mr. Lewis was a native of Ire¬ 
land ; but he was born in the principality of Wales. 
LEW'IS’s CREE'K, a ffnall ftream in Vermont, which 
falls into Lake Champlain at Ferritberg, a little north of 
Little Otter Creek. * 
LEW'IS and RE'HOBOTH, a town in Suffex county, 
Delaware, containing 1514 inhabitants. 
LEW'ISBURG. See Louisburg. 
LEW'ISHAM, a village in the hundred of Blackheath, 
and county of Kent, is (ituated five miles and a half from 
London, and extends nearly a mile in length on the road 
to Bromley ; with a population of 6625 inhabitants. Here 
was anciently a benediCtine priory, fubordinate to the ab¬ 
bey cf St. Peter in Ghent, and mod probably founded in 
the Saxon times ; this manor having been given to that 
abbey by Eltbruda, niece to king Alfred. After the fup- 
prefiion of the alien priories, Henry V. made this a part 
of the endowment of his newly erected Carthufian priory 
at Sheene in Surry. Upon the general diffoluiion of mo- 
nafteries in England, this manor came to the crown, and 
remained there till the 5th of queen Elizabeth, who then 
granted it, with the appurtenances, to Ambrofe Dudley, 
earl of Warwick. But, after various changes, it lias for 
fome time belonged to the family of the prefent earl of 
Dartmouth, who is now the proprietor of it. The church 
of Lewilham being judged incapable of a repair, applica¬ 
tion was made to parliament in 1774, by the inhabitants, 
to empower them to raile money for rebuilding it; an act 
was obtained ; in purfuance of which the old church was 
taken down, and a new one ererted on the fame ground. 
The prefent church, which is diftinguffhed for its neatnel’s 
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and fimplicity, is a done ftrurture, in form of an oblong 
fquare, with a circular recefs at the eaft end for the altar. 
On the fouth fide is a portico, fupported by four columns 
of the Corinthian order, The ancient fquare tower re¬ 
mains at the welt end, but the upper-part of it has been 
rebuilt. It contains feveral neat monuments ; particularly 
one to the memory of Anne, wife of John Petrie, efq. 
this was executed in Italy ; it includes a fine bas-relief in 
marble, reprefenting the deceafed on her death-bed, with 
her hufband and children lamenting round her. And 
another to commemorate Margaret, reiirt of the Rev. Ro¬ 
bert Petrie, fculptured by Banks: it reprefents Mrs. Pe¬ 
trie dying in the arms of Religion, fupported by Faith 
and Hope. Many old monuments were thrown carelefsly 
into the vault, when the church was rebuilt. 
An excellent free grammar-fehool was founded by the 
Rev. Abraham Colfe, who was rector of this parifh from 
the year 1610 to 1656. His will contains the regulations 
of the fchool, and direrts that it fhall be for the education 
of thirty-one boys, five of whom (hall be of the parifh of 
Lewifham (one of thefe to be nominated by the lord of 
the manor from among his tenants’ Ions, the others from 
the reading-fehool alfo founded by Mr. Colfe- at Lew¬ 
ifham, in preference to any others) ; ten of Greenwich 5 
eight of Deptford ; one of Lee ; one of Charlton ; three 
of Eltham ; and three of Woolwich, to be chofen in the 
feveral- parifhes at a public meeting of the chief parilhio- 
ners ; and, in addition to this number, every incumbent 
minifter in the hundred of Blackheath, and alio the mi¬ 
nifter of Chiflehurlf, (hould have the privilege of fending 
their fons to the fchool for education ; but no minifter to 
have more than one fon in the fchool at a time. The 
matter to be examined and approved by the head-matter of 
Weftminfter, St. Paul's, and Merchant-Taylors’, fchools, 
by the prefident of Sion College, the minifters of the hun¬ 
dred of Blackheath, and the minifter of Chiftehurft ; and 
to be chofen by them, in conjunction with the wardens 
of the Leatherfellers’ Company and the lord of the ma¬ 
nor, who (hould have the privilege of nominating a Welt - 
mintter fcholar, to ftand in elertion with one, two, or three, 
candidates nominated by the other elertors. The matter 
(hould not undertake any church-duty without leave of 
the truftees, by whom he might be diiplaced if guilty of 
any notorious milbehaviour; as, “if he give lean dal or 
evil example to the fcholars or others, by being a game- 
fter or diver,’ or a frequenter of taverns and alehouies, or 
a drunkard, or a whoremonger, or given to wanton dalli- 
ancies and unfeemly behaviour with women, or lavifh 
in unneceffary expenles in following vain gaudy fathions 
of apparel, or if he wear long, curled, or rufiin-like, hair, 
or if he be a fwearer or a curler, or unfound in the faith, 
or corrupt in religion ; either Papift or pcpilhly affefted, 
or an Armenian, or Socinian, or Anabaptitt, or one hold¬ 
ing or broaching herelies, and grofs erroneous opinions, 
contrary to the articles of our Chrittian faith, and of the 
true religion eftablithed of the Church of England, and 
confirmed by public authority of public laws and ffatutes; 
or if he delight, and being admonilhed to the contrary 
do yet continue, to teach the fcholars fuch books and 
fuch parts-in the book, in either of Latin or Greek au¬ 
thors, whether poets or others, and do not withal (how 
them the errors and vices to be avoided, which may draw 
youth to popifit fuperftition, to epicurifm, licentioufnefs, 
profanenefs, and atheifm, and not induce them to godli- 
nefs and leading a holy life.” After a vacancy, the elec¬ 
tion of a new matter mutt be within eighteen days ; his 
falary is fixed at 30I. with a houfe tor iiis refidence, 
which, as it was built large and commodious that he might 
enjoy the advantage of taking boarders, the founder di¬ 
rected that he (hall keep it in repair. (It is now, in fart, 
a refpertable boarding-fchool.) The founder’s relations, 
being duly qualified, are to have the preference, if candi¬ 
dates for the matter’s place. The u(her, orlecond matter, 
for whom alfo a houfe was built adjoining the fchool, and 
for which he is charged with 6s. a-year due to the parifh 
3 ©f 
