400 
yet this wag no obftacle to her ftudies; for 
her mind was conftantly ferene, her. intel- 
le&tual powers clear and ftrong, and her re- 
folution undaunted. Day and night fhe pur- 
fued her favorite occupation, feldom getting 
more than four, and often. not more than 
two, hours? reft; out of the twenty-four. 
While fhe was confined to her bed; her fa- 
_ ther, who has made no inconfiderable progrefs 
in {ciences not often cultivated by perfons in 
his ftation, in order to foothe the weary hours 
of iflnefs, became ber inftru€tor in the He- 
brew language, of which, in lefs than half a 
year, fhe made herfelf .complete miftre{g. 
With equal eafe fhe attained a fufficient ac- 
quaintance with the Greex to enable her to 
read the teftament in that language with 
great facility. Among her bequefts was 
Dawfon’s Lexicon, in the margin of which 
fhe had written the Englifh fignifications of 
all the Latin phrafes; this fhe left to her 
father. She was, however, far from confin- 
ing herfelf to the ftudy of languages; fhe 
poffeffed an accurate knowledge of the theory 
of anatomy, having attentively perufed the 
beft anatomical works fke could procure. 
Geography and aftronomy did not efcdpe her 
notice; the latter was one of her favorite 
‘purfuits. She perfeétly underftood the mo- 
tions of the heavenly bodies, and could 
converfe fluently on the fubje&. Her ar- 
dent mind, which at a very early period of 
her life had been fufceptible of imprefitons 
of piety, often vented its fervcrs in verfe, 
ef which Dr. Watts’s hymns appear to have 
been the prototype. _Many-sof thefe pro= 
du€tions are written in fhort-hand, of which 
fhe underftood two fyftems ; her indefatiga- 
ble mind attempting every branch of know- 
ledge which fell In her way. From what 
has already been faid, it will appear that 
this extraordinary young woman made the 
greateft part of her proficiency in knowledge 
in the fchool of affiiétion. The moft ex- 
quifite fufferings fhe underwent, were borne 
with the greatef%& patience and refignation; 
and her volatile difpofition even feemed at 
times to render her infenfible to pain, In 
Auguit, 1303, fhe was fo much recovered as 
to be able to take a journey to Lopham, in 
Norfolk, to vifita relation. From'that place 
fhe wrote to her parents, to inform them 
what good efre&ts the change of air had pro-— 
duced, and that fhe was able to walk into 
the fields to fee the reapers; but before the 
etter reachéd. them, the was conveyed home 
in fuch a-ftaté that her diffolution was 
hourly expected) From this time till her 
end, her pains. were inexpreflidle ; but her 
patience kept pace with her fufferings, and 
exhorting thofe around her to’ ** fight the 
good fight,” fie refigned her fpirit into the 
hands of her maker, on the 2gth of January, 
1304. pe: 
[ Further particulars of Mr. Edwin, whofe 
acath is mentioned at page 306.) ‘He was born 
at Bath, in 1772, and remained under the 
Marriages and Deaths in and near Loxdan. 
t 
[May 1, 
care of a tender mother till he was twelve 
years old, at which period his father (whofe 
fame as an aétor has been univerfally allowed} 
fent him to an academy in Surry, where he 
received a moft liberal education. 
fuavity of his manners and opennefs of his 
heart gained him the affection of all his 
{chool-fellows; the friendthip of many of 
whom continued to the day of his. death.— 
After remaining at fchoo! fome years, his 
father took him home, refolved to comply 
with his fon’s with, by introducing him on - 
the ftage. His firft appearance was at the 
Haymarket Theatre, in the part of Tipple, 
in the ** Flitch of Bacon; and fo well did 
he juftify his father’s expeGtation, that that 
excellent comedian exclaimed, with ‘raptute, 
at the conclufion of the farce, ** that his 
fon Jack was worth twenty of himfelf!" 
Mr. Colman immediately engaged him for 
the feafon, but kindly releafed him from his 
articles Jat the requeft of Lord Barrymore, 
whofe partiality to Edwin’s mode of aéting 
induced him to folicit his affiftance in fuper= 
intending the ftage management at his private 
theatre at Wargrave, The acceptance of 
this offer was not generally approved of by 
Edwin’s friends: but, however perilous the 
fituation might have been to a young man of 
little thought, to him it proved the happieft 
occurrence of his life. Inftead of diffipating 
beyond his means, he ftudied, by a modeft 
unafluming converfe with men of fathion, to 
familiarize himfelf in all the accomplifhments 
of polifhed life. 
did fill more—-he gained the affections of 
Mifs Richards (the prefent Mrs. Edwin), a 
lady whofe perfonal beauties are only ex» 
ceeded by her mental endowments, and love 
for the objeét of her afte€tions. Soon after 
his marriage with this lady, he quitted War- 
grave, and played with great fuccefs in feve- 
ral provincial theatres in England till 1797, 
when he went to Ireland, in confequence of 
an invitation from the conduétors of the pri- 
vate theatre in Dublin to Mrs. Edwin, 
the expiration of this engagement he returned 
to England, and joined the company at Chel- 
tenham, where he remained but a fnort time, — 
the managers of the Bath theatre offering 
him an advantageous engagement. The 
juftly earned fame both he and his wife ac- 
quired at Bath attracted the notice of the 
Dublin manager, whe engaged them at the 
commencement of the prefent feafon.  When- 
his profeffional duties permitted, he occa- 
fionally employed himfelf in tranflating and 
adapting pieces for the fage, and the public © 
willy perhaps, be’ furprifed to hear that the ~ 
play of the Stranger was principally tranflated 
by. him, though completed by its prefent 
avowed author, 
ftone, he was induced to write the fong call-. 
ed ‘* Paddy’s Defcription of Pizarro,” which 
has generally been attributed to the pen of 
- that gentleman himfelf. 
PROVINCIAL 
Here the. 
This he efte&ted; but he ~ 
At. 
At the requeft of Mr. Joha- ; 
a 
4 
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