Dr. Pretyman's first publication was his celebrated 'Elements of Christian Theology, 2 vol. 8vo, 1799, expressly composed for students in divinity, and still used by them. This work, however, is, in some measure, superseded by the very comprehensive and erudite Critical Introduction to the Study of the Bible, by the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne,' in four octavo volumes, a sixth edition of which has been lately published. In 1811 appeared the Bishop's triumphant 'Refutation of the charge of Calvinism against the Church of England.' In 1813, on the death of Dr. Randolph, the bishoprio of London was offered to Dr. Tomline, and declined; but, after having presided over that of Lincoln for thirty-two years and a half, he accepted Winchester, on the death of Bishop North, in 1820. By the profits of his lucrative ecclesiastical preferments, in addition to some private acquisitions, his property vastly accumulated in his latter years. In 1803, Marmaduke Tomline, Esq. of Riby Grove in Lincolnshire, a gentleman with whom he had no relationship or connexion, had, on condition of his taking the name of Tomline, bequeathed to him a valuable estate, consisting of the manor, advowson, and whole parish of Riby, with a very handsome mansion-house; and in 1821, James Hayes, Esq. left him several farms in Suffolk, which had formerly belonged to the family of Pretyman, and had been left by the widow of a greatuncle of the Bishop to a relation of her own, the mother of Mr. Hayes. To these superfluities of wealth was shortly after added, for Mrs. Tomline's gratification (the Bishop himself was said to be indifferent to it), an accession of honour. On the 22d of March, 1823, at Haddington, in the presence of the Sheriff of the county, Bishop Tomline was, by a distinguished jury, of whom Lord Viscount Maitland was Chancellor, served heir male in general of Sir Thomas Pretyman, baronet, of Nova Scotia, who died about the middle of the last century; and his lordship also established his right to the ancient baronetcy of Nova Scotia, conferred by Charles the First on Sir John Pretyman, of Loddington, the male ancestor of Sir Thomas. The Bishop's eldest son now declines to assume this title. In 1821 Bishop Tomline published, in two quarto volumes, a first portion of Memoirs of the Life of the Right Hom. William Pitt.' 'Having had,' says the Bishop in the preface, 'the honour and happiness of superintending Mr. Pitt's education at the university; having for some time acted as his confidential secretary, and afterwards kept up a constant communication with him upon all matters connected with his official situation; having received from him the most decisive proofs of kindness and good opinion; having lived with him in the most unreserved and uninterrupted intimacy, from the beginning of our acquaintance to the hour of his death; and having access to all his papers, as one of his executors, I was emboldened by the consideration of these advantages, and urged by the combined feelings of affection, gratitude, and duty, to endeavour to convey some idea of the character of one, in whom the talents of a great statesman, and the virtues and qualities of an amiable man, were so eminently united. The volumes now offered to the public reach to the declaration of war by France against Great Britain, in 1793; a remarkable epoch both in Mr. Pitt's political life, and in the history of the country. It is my intention, if it shall please God to indulge me with a continuance of life and health, to proceed in the work with all the expedition consistent with the discharge of more important duties. The remaining portion will, I hope, be comprised in one volume, for which I now reserve what relates to Mr. Pitt's private life.' This announcement is dated April 1821: nothing further has yet appeared; but the right reverend author is said to have been, for the last two or three years, closely employed on the conclusion, which there is, therefore, some reason to hope will not be lost to the world. The printed portion, of which there has been more than one edition in three volumes quarto, received, as far as politics would allow, the highest approbation from the public; and has been correctly characterized as 'candid, impartial, just; free from all acrimony; an honest, plain narration; displaying no more than a proper love for the object it illustrates; not made unfitly piquant, but grave, sedate, and worthy of the momentous events which fill its pages.odt to plaun Hvad Ruins of Winchester House, Southwark. In his professional character, the conduct of Dr. Tomline was most exemplary, being vigilant, impartial, and compassionate. In ordinary intercourse, though extremely dignified, his lordship was condescending, encouraging, and kind; and, though to the inferior clergy there was unquestionably something over-awing in his presence, arising from their consciousness of his superior attainments-his comprehensive intellect, and, above all, his singular intuition and penetrating glance, yet it was impossible not to admire the courtliness of his manners, and the benevolence of his sentiments. He was never in the habit of speaking in the House of Lords; but no one can read his lordship's masterly Life of Pitt, without being convinced that his principles were firm, manly, undeviating, and constitutional. His vote was always given in defence of the Protestant church; and one of his Charges (that of 1803) is particularly devoted to examining the claims of the Papists, and exposing the dangers to be apprehended from them. In literary composition, his lordship's style is plain and perspicuous: his writings evince a clear judgment, strong sense, and close reasoning, conveyed in the best chosen and most judiciously arranged expressions. In controversy he is never dogmatical; what he asserts, he proves; and he admirably succeeds in that highly difficult point, the abstinence from all asperity. The bishop's will has been proved at the Commons, and his personal effects sworn under £200,000.-See Gentleman's Magazine, March 1828, p. 201 et seq., for a more detailed memoir and a portrait. 15.-SAINT MACHUTUS. Saint Machutus, or Maclou, was son of Went, a noble Briton; he died on this day, A.D. 630, being then 130 years old. See T.T. for 1826, p. 272. 17.-SAINT HUGH, Bishop of Lincoln, died in the year 1200. There is every reason to believe that he was a man of learning and piety. 20.-EDMUND, KING AND MARTYR, Was the last titular king of East Anglia, and a tributary king to Etheldred. He is said to have been killed by the Danes in 870, because he would not renounce Christianity. 22.-SAIN -SAINT CECILIA Was a native of Rome, and was martyred by being plunged into boiling water (A.D. 230), because she refused to acknowledge the gods of the Pagans. LINES from a POEM on MUSIC.. [By Mary Ann Browne.] : 'Tis not in the harp's soft melting tone, There's music, too, in the evening breeze, There's music, too, when the winds are high, There's music, and grandeur, and beauty for me. Was converted by St. Peter, and was a zealous coadjutor of the apostles. He is mentioned in Phil. iv, 3. He was Bishop of Rome, and is generally thought to have suffered martyrdom about the year 100. 23.-0. MART. Old Martinmas-day, an ancient quarter-day. 25.-SAINT CATHERINE, Virgin and martyr, is said to have been tortured by wheels turning with great rapidity, having nails, knives, &c. fastened on their rims, A.D. 305. 29.-ADVENT SUNDAY. This, and the three following Sundays, precede the grand festival of Christmas, and take their name from the Latin advenire, to come into, or from adventus, an approach. Some very singular customs take place during Advent, in the department of the Eure-etLoir. See our last volume, pp. 319-321. 30. SAINT ANDREW Was the younger brother of Simon Peter. He was the first apostle who came to Christ. He is regarded as the tutelary saint of Scotland; and the anniversary of the Order of the Thistle is on his day. The officers of the Royal Society of London are also elected on this day. The Order of the Thistle is described in T. T. for 1816, p. 283. |