1210,] 
the naturalists of Europe; and his ¢atalogue 
of the Banksian library, which is before the 
public, will be a lasting monument of erudi- 
tion, perseverance, and sound judgment, which 
has never been equalled, and cannot be sur- 
passed. 
At Ealing, Fohn Williams, esq. one of the 
king’s serjeants. aglaw, a native of Carmar- 
then, and formerly fellow of Wadham college, 
Oxford. He-was a man gifted by nature 
with extraordinary powers of memory and an 
excellent understanding; to these happy en- 
cowments he added the most patient and per- 
severing application to the study of the law: 
his labours were crowned with success; he 
became one of the most eminent lawyers of 
modern times. His luminous expositions, 
sound deductions, clear reasoning, profound and 
accurate Iknowledge in his profession, were 
justly appreciated, in Westminster-hall, by 
his contemporaries, and will long be recol- 
lected by them with admiration and merited 
eulogy; bur his professional and posthumous 
fame will not rest on the frail basis of living 
testimony, his edition of Lord Chief: Justice 
Saunders’s Reports will remain to after ages a 
proud and splendid monument of his intimate 
acquaintance with the !aws of his country, 
his deep research and erudition, his indefatiga- 
ble and successful industry in the persuit of 
legal knowledge. 
At Morden, Surry, Abrebam Goldsmid, esq. 
When the depraved gambler, reduced to des- 
peration by an adverse throw of the dice, visits 
on himself the injuries which he has inflicted 
on society: when the seducer or adulterer lifts 
against his own’ breast the pistol with which 
he was wont to defend and augment his 
crimes ; when the fashionable idiot, tired with 
a life of folly, and shuddering at reflection, 
Seeks in vain for endlest rest in the ‘grave, 
we are grieved, but not surprised, at the blind 
audacity of our fellow creatures, But, when 
the benevolent of heart, in whose hands wealth 
has proved a source of comfort to the poor, as- 
sistance to the helpless, and support to the 
deserving, close an honorable and useful ca- 
reer by an act as cowardiy as it is criminal, we 
not only feel grief but astonisliment at the 
wealoness and perversity of man. We interro- 
Gate the past to discover some traces of iniqui- 
ty unmarked by the eye of the world, which 
might have led more watchful observers to 
the expectation of such a deed; buc when, as 
Inthe present case, none appears, we can 
only attribute the rash action to the absence’ 
of that Christian light which reveals in pre- 
sent calamities future blessings, and those 
Christian principles that seeten the mast bit- 
ter cupy with the dew of resignation. It is 
remarkable, that whilst chiefly the wicked 
amongst Christians, or those who, although 
born under the dispensation of the gospel, 
both by their conduct and professions, deny 
its doctrine and contemn its faith, are found 
to commit suicide, the best characters in 
Deaths in and near London. 
S73 
other religions, have recourse to that dreade - 
ful expedient as a means of security for their 
fame and rest of their souls) Mr. Abraham 
‘Goldsmith, whose self inflicted death gave 
birth to the preceding observations, was the 
second son of a respectable Dutch merchant. 
of the Jewish persuasion, and came over to, 
this country with his father and elder brother. , 
He was born in the year 1757, and as soon ag 
his mind had acquired sufficient powers waa 
initiated into the principles of merchandizee 
Tenderly attached to his brother, he became. 
his partner when bath were grown up, and 
when the death of their father left them im 
possession of a capital that enabled them tq, 
venture into bold speculations. Their indefa 
tigable industry and natural acuteness soom 
improved their fortune, which was greatly 
augmented by the marriage of the elder 
Goldsmid with the daughter of Mr. Solomons, 
of Clapton, who brought him no less a sum 
than one hundred thousand pounds, From that 
time their commercial undertakings became 
more considerable, and in a few years they were 
ranked among the first men in the monied 
world. Their increasing riches introduce 
them to the notice ef an adminiscration cele= 
brated for the expence which it incurred, and 
the debt which it entailed on the nationg 
Whenever a loan was wanted, the Goldsmids 
easily supplied a large portion of it; and as the 
terms on which it was obtained were always 
advantageous, their fortune kept pace with 
the facilities which they granted to Governe 
ments In the purchase and sale of bullion, 
stocks, navy bills, and exchequer bills, and 
in negotiating foreign bills of exchange, they 
also annually disposed of millions, till at las¢. 
the extent of their speculations, the greatnesa 
of their credit, andthe liberality of their dispo~ 
sitions, caused them to he placed, without one 
dissenting voice, at the head of the Stock 
Exchange. ‘Thus eminently raised in the 
public opitfon, they incessantly laboured, not 
to obtain the applause of men, which they 
already possessed, but that of their own hearts, 
Charity and benevolence marked all their ace 
tions, and their munificence was not confined 
to the deserving objects of their own nation 
and belief, but to Christians of every denomi- 
nation: ‘They supported every public-spirited 
institution with their subscriptions, and never 
closed their hearts or their purse to those wha 
wanted assistance, whatever might be theig 
religious principles. Lhe unfortunate end of 
Mr. Benjamin Go!dsmid, one or two years ago, 
iswellk own, it greatly affected bis brother, 
and perliaps first awakened the thought of 
committing suicide in his mind. Mr. Gold- 
smid was joint contractor with the house of 
Sir Francis Baring for the last loan, and taking 
the largest probable range tha’ he had dealc 
amongst his friends one halfof the sum allote 
ted to him, the loss sustained by thc remainder 
at the rate of 651. per thousand, which was 
the price of Thursday, was more than any indie 
vidual 
