1802.7 
with the welfare of others, are, no doubt, 
to be forborne; but, benevolence and pru- 
dence permitting, it is, furely, as mucha 
fin to tofe an opportunity of doing onelelf 
a pleafure, or to feize an opportunity of 
doing onefelf a pain, as if any other fenfi- 
tive being were in queltion 
not the fyftem of Bifhop J.remy [Laylor; 
witnefs the follow ng remarkably beauti 
ful period: ‘* He tha: takes off the yoke 
- of obcdience, and unties the bands of 
difcipline, and preaches a cheap religton, 
and prefents heaven in che midft of flowers, 
Account of Thomas Wilkams Malkin. 
This was_ 
329 
and ftrews carpets fofter than the Afian 
luxury in the way, and fets the fongs of 
Sion to the tunes of Perfian and lighter 
airs, and offers great liberty in bondage 
under affections and fins, and reconciles 
eternity with the prefent enjoyment, he thall 
have his {chools filled with difciples: but, 
he that preaches the crofs, and the feveri- 
ties of chriftianity, and the ftrictneffes of 
a holy life, thall have the lot of his bleffed 
Lord, he fhall be thought ill of, and de- 
ferted.”° 
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PERSONS. 
=a 
ACCOUNT of THOMAS WILLIAMS MAL- 
KIN, @ CHILD of extraordinary AT- 
TAINMENTS, who lately died at HACK- 
NEY. 
N a former Obituary we had occafion 
to notice the death of Thomas Wil- 
Jiams Malkin, at the early age of fix years 
and nine months. 
fuch an event would, in an ordinary cafe, 
be deemed fufficient: but we cannot pafs 
over a circumftance which equally anrefts 
the attention of the moralift and the fym- 
pathy of the philanthropift, without ob- 
ferving how fuddenly and unexpeétedly 
the brighteft profpeéts vanifh, which de- 
pend on the precarious tenure of human 
life, however bright and promifing the 
dawn of intellect—however encouraging 
the appearances of corporeal ftability. 
With refpect to the uncommon child 
whole early fate we have to lament, the ex- 
tent of his attainments may excite fur- 
Bee and poflibly in fome minds doubt. 
et we have well-authenticated accounts 
of juvenile proficiency; and in the prefent 
inffance there are many and molt refpec- 
table witneffes to atteft, that amiable dif- 
pofitions and fuperior talents were never 
united in a more diftinguifhed manner, 
than in the fubje&t of this biographical 
fketch. His knowledge of the Englith 
language was correét and copious; and 
his expreflion, whether in {peaking or 
writing, remarkable as well for fertility 
as felection. In the Latin he had pro- 
ceeded fo far, as to read with eafe the 
more popular parts of Cicero’s works, 
He had made fome progre({s in French: ; 
and was fo thorough a proficient in geo- 
graphy, as not only to be able, when 
gueftioned, to particularize the fituation 
of the principal countries, cities, rivers, 
éc. but te draw maps from memory, 
The bare mention of . 
with a neatnefs and accuracy which would 
fcarcely be credited but by thofe who are 
in pofleffion of the fpecimens. Without 
any profeffional affiftance, he had acquired — 
confiderable execution in the art of draw~ 
ing; and fome of his copies from Ra- 
phael’s heads, though wanting the pre~ 
cifion of the Academy ftudents, evinced a 
fellow-feeling with the ftile and fentiment 
of the originals, which feemed hkely, had 
he purfued it, to have ranked him with 
the more eminent profeflors of the art. 
But the moft ftriking feature in his 
charaéter was a firength of intellect, and 
rapidity of compreheufion on all fubjects, 
independent of thofe to which his ftudies 
were immediately direéted, which, in~ 
creafing with his growth, feemed likely 
in manhood to nave placed more within 
his reach than it ufually falls to the lot of 
humanity to grafp at.. He united, ina 
remarkable manner, the folid and the 
brilliant ; for the powers of his memory 
kept pace with thofe of his underftanding 
and imagination ; and the character of his 
mind may be comprized in thefe few but 
comprehenfive words—that-he remember- 
ed whatever he had once known, and 
could do whatever he had once feen done. 
But it may not be uninterefting to par- 
ticularize the periods of his fhort lite, at — 
which the leading traits of his character 
firft prefented themfelves to obfervation. 
He was familiar with the alphabet long 
before he could fpeak, not only as exhi- 
bited on counters, a practice very judi- 
cious, becaufe very enticing to children, 
but as expreffed in books, to which, ‘from 
feeing them conitantly about him, he 
fhewed a very early partiality. At the 
age of three years, on his birth-day, he 
wrote his firft letter to his mother ; amd 
though it contained nothing but hort ex- 
fk ae preflions | 
