OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webb, Alexander

Layout 4
​WEBB. (Lieutenant, 1815.)
Alexander Webb died about the commencement of 1847.
This officer entered the Navy, in 1805, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Hibernia 110, Capt. Tristram Robt. Ricketts, successive flag-ship, in the Channel and off Lisbon, of Admirals Lord St. Vincent, Sir Jas. Saumarez, Sir Wm. Sidney Smith, and Sir Chas. Cotton. After the Convention of Cintra he removed to the Comus 22, Capts. Hon. Josceline Percy and Matthew Smith, on leaving which vessel we find ​him successively, until promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 16 Feb. 1815, employed, on the Home and North American stations, in the Desirée 36, Capt. Arthur Farquhar, Maidstone 36, Capt. Geo. Burdett, San Domingo 74, flag-ship of Sir John Borlase Warren, Niobe 40, Ruby 64, Capt. Andrew Fitzherbert Evans, Centurion 50, bearing the flag of the late Sir Edw. Griffith Colpoys, and Bulwark 74, Capt. Farmery Predam Epworth. On 3 April, 1813, being then in the Maidstone, he accompanied a brilliant boat-expedition 15 miles up the Rappahannock river, where, in the launch under Lieut. Matthew Liddon, he assisted, in conjunction with the large cutter of the Statira 38, in gallantly boarding and carrying the Dolphin schooner of 12 guns and 98 men. His conduct on this occasion elicited the public thanks of Rear-Admiral Cockburn, and obtained for him, we believe, a recommendation to the Commander-in-Chief, Sir J. B. Warren. While serving in the Bulwark he aided in bringing troops home from Quebec. After his promotion he served in the Coast Blockade, from 29 Nov. 1825 until 1827, and again from 7 Nov. 1829 until 1831, as a Supernumerary-Lieutenant of the Ramillies 74 and Hyperion 42, Capts. Hugh Pigot and Wm. Jas. Mingaye; he officiated next as Admiralty Agent on board a contract mail steam-vessel in the West Indies, from 15 Jan. 1845 until compelled by repeated attacks of yellow fever to invalid about the close of the same year; and from 29 Sept. 1846 until the period of his death he had charge of a station in the Coast Guard. While his name was on the books of the Ramillies, Lieut. Webb had the good fortune to save the lives of a Midshipman (Mr. Trench) and 14 men from drowning, off Kingsgate. For this he received a letter of thanks from the Royal Humane Society, as at another time he did from Mr. Phelps, Master of the brig Elizabeth of Plymouth, for a similar service. We may add that he was the means, on one occasion, of saving the life of H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, father of Her present Majesty. His eldest son, an officer of the Lizard steamer, was killed during the operations in the Panama in 1846 (see Lieut. H. M. Tylden). One of his daughters is the wife of Commander Alex. Pretyman, R.N. Agents – Goode and Lawrence.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webb, William

Layout 4
​WEBB. (Captain, 1826. f-p., 17; h-p., 23.)
William Webb entered the Navy, 24 Jan. 1807, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Prothée, Lieut.-Commander Wm. Todman, lying at Portsmouth. In April, 1810, nearly four months after he had been discharged from the Prothée 64, he joined the Victory 100, bearing the flag of Sir Jas. Saumarez in the Baltic, whence, in the course of the same year, he made a voyage to Lisbon. He next, from Jan. 1811 until March, 1812, served (he had already attained the rating of Midshipman) oif Brest in the Tonnant 80, Capt. Sir John Gore. He was then received on board the Nymphen 38, Capts. Farmery Predam Epworth and Hugh Pigot, with whom he continued actively employed on the coast of North America and in the West Indies, part of the time in the capacity of Master’s Mate, until nominated, 22 Nov. 1814, Acting-Lieutenant, on the latter station, of the Magnificent 74, Capt. Willoughby Thos. Lake. To that ship he was confirmed 29 March, 1815. Being paid off from her in Nov. 1815, he was appointed next – 27 Dec. in the same year, to the Myrmidon 20, Capt. Robt. Gambier, in the Mediterranean, whence he returned in Nov. 1818 – 22 Nov. 1821, to the Liffey 50, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Chas. Grant in the East Indies – and, 6 Jan. 1824, to the Jupiter 60, Capt. David Dunn. In the ship last mentioned he proceeded to the Halifax station, where he was made Commander 17 July, 1824, into the Rifleman 18, and Posted, 2 Dec. 1826, into the Jupiter, bearing then the flag of (his former Captain) Rear-Admiral W. T. Lake. He paid the Jupiter off in Aug. 1827; and, not having been since employed, accepted the Retirement 1 Oct. 1846.
Capt. Webb married, 12 Dec. 1827, Emily, daughter of his old commander, the late Admiral Sir W. T. Lake, K.C.B., and was left a widower 29 Jan. 1842. Agent – J. Chippendale.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webb, William Henry

Layout 4
​WEBB. (Commander, 1847.)
William Henry Webb entered the Navy (from the Royal Naval College) 27 June, 1829; passed his examination 14 Nov. 1834; and while employed on the Niger expedition in the Soudan steamer, Capt. Bird Allen, was made Lieutenant, 23 Nov. 1841, into the Alert, Capt. Henry Dundas Trotter. He was next, 5 Jan. 1843, appointed to the Styx steam surveying-sloop, Capt. Alex. Thos. Emeric Vidal, stationed among the Azores; and from 5 Feb. 1845 until advanced to his present rank 26 Oct. 1847, he was employed in the Firebrand steam-frigate of 410 horse-power, Capt. Jas. Hope, on the south-east coast of America. On 20 Oct. 1845 he was present in the battle of the Parana, where a hard day’s fighting resulted in the destruction, by the combined squadrons of England and France, of four heavy batteries belonging to General Rosas at Punta Obligado, also of a schooner-of-war carrying 6 guns, and of 24 vessels chained across the river. Agent – Joseph Woodhead.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webber, William Charles

Layout 4
​WEBBER. (Lieutenant, 1825.)
William Charles Webber is second son of the Rev. Archibald Webber.
This officer entered the Navy 1 Sept. 1809. While serving as Midshipman on board the Eurotas, of 46 guns and 320 men, Capt. John Phillimore, he took part (after having witnessed the capture of La Trave French frigate) in a destructive action of two hours and 10 minutes, which preceded the surrender of La Clorinde, mounting 44 guns and 12 brass swivels, with a complement of 360 picked men, of whom 120 were killed and wounded, with a loss to the British of 20 slain and 40 wounded. This engagement took place 25 Feb. 1814; and in 1816 Mr. Webber passed his examination. He obtained his commission 3 Oct. 1825; and was lastly, from 2 July, 1828, until the latter part of 1829, employed, on the Cork station, in the Trinculo 18, Capt. Sam. Price.
He married, 18 Nov. 1829, Catherine, daughter, of the late Colonel Geo. Mason, of the Bengal Artillery.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webber, George Wood

Layout 4
​WEBBER. (Lieutenant, 1827.)
George Wood Webber entered the Navy 4 Oct, 1809; passed his examination in 1816; and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 30 April, 1827.- He has since been on half-pay.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webster, Godfrey

Layout 4
​WEBSTER Bart. (Lieutenant, 1840.)
Sir Godfrey Webster, born 3 July, 1815, is eldest son of the late Sir Godfrey Vassal Webster, of Battel Abbey, co. Sussex (whom he succeeded as sixth Baronet 17 July, 1836), by Charlotte, eldest daughter of Robt. Adamson, Esq., of co. Westmeath; and nephew of Rear-Admiral Hon. Sir Fleetwood B. R. Pellew, Kt., C.B., K.C.H.
This officer entered the Navy 8 Nov. 1828; passed his examination in 1838; and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 10 Jan. 1840. His appointments have since been – 14 Jan. 1840, as Additional, to the Princess Charlotte 104, flag-ship of Hon. Sir Robt. Stopford in the Mediterranean – 24 June, 1840, for nearly two years, to the Thunderer 84, Capts. Maurice Fred. Fitzhardinge Berkeley and Daniel Pring, under the former of whom he took part in the operations on the coast of Syria, including the bombardment of St. Jean d’Acre – 19 Dec. 1846 to the St. Vincent 120, flag-ship of Sir Chas. Ogle at Portsmouth – 11 Jan. 1847, to the Shearwater steamer of 160 horse-power, Capt. Chas. Gepp Robinson, employed on Surveying-service on the coast of Scotland – and, 9 Oct. 1847, to the command of the Tartarus steamer of 136 horse-power, now in the Mediterranean. Agents – Hallett and Robinson.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webb, Joseph Richard Raggett

Layout 4
​WEBB. (Commander, 1828.)
Joseph Richard Raggett Webb, born 14 Sept. 1788, at Penzance, co. Cornwall, is son of Mr. Webb, Purser R.N., who died in the Alfred 74, in the West Indies; and nephew of the late Rear-Admiral Rich. Raggett.
This officer entered the Navy, in 1798, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Galykheid, in which vessel, and in the Bristol and Snipe, commanded by Lieuts. Marsden, Joseph Withers, and Chas. Champion, he continued employed in the river Medway and in the Downs and North Sea, the greater part of the time as Midshipman, until transferred, in Aug. 1803, to the Romney 50, Capts. Wm. Brown and Hon. John Colville. In that ship, after visiting the coast of Africa and the West Indies, he was wrecked in the Texel 19 Nov. 1804. He next, in the early part of’the following year, joined the Namur 74 and Leopard 50, flag-ships (the latter commanded by his uncle) of Admirals Rowley and Billy Douglas at the Nore and in the Downs; and on 17 March, 1806 he was made Lieutenant into the Anson 40, Capt. Chas. Lydiard, fitting for a voyage to Bermuda. His succeeding appointments, we believe, were – 13 July, 1806, to the command of the Laura, in which vessel he returned to England – 14 Feb. 1807, for three months, to the Pandora sloop, Capt. Henry Hume Spence, lying at Sheerness – 13 June, 1808, to the Cherokee of 10 guns and 70 men, Capt. Rich. Arthur – early in 1810, to the Franchise 36, Capts. John Allen and Rich. Buck, with whom he served on the Newfoundland and Mediterranean stations until Sept. 1814 – 19 June, 1815, to the Royal Sovereign 100, Capt. Wm. Robt. Broughton, lying at Plymouth, where he remained until 28 Aug. ensuing – 21 March, 1816, to the Prince 98, from which ship, commanded at Portsmouth by Capt. Robt. Hall, he was superseded in March, 1819 – and, in 1820-1-6, to the command, on the Home station, of the Hind and Dove Revenue-cruizers, and Swan cutter. In the Cherokee, besides sharing in the operations connected with the expedition to the Walcheren, he assisted, we believe, at the capture (detailed in our memoir of Rear-Admiral Arthur) of L’Aimable Nelly privateer of 16 guns and 60 men. He attained his present rank 1 May, 1828; and was lastly, from 28 Feb. 1839 until March, 1842, employed in the Ocean 80, guard-ship at Sheerness, Capts. Sir John Hill and Peter Fisher.
Commander Webb married, first, 12 June, 1814, Charlotte Sophia Emily Ulrich, daughter of the Danish Consul at Algiers; and, secondly, 21 Jan. 1841, Elizabeth, widow of the late Thos. Edis, Esq., of Broad-street Buildings, London. He has had issue seven children. His eldest son died while serving with the Niger expedition, aged 24. Agents – Holmes and Folkard.
# A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Webster, Augustus Frederick

Layout 4
​WEBSTER. (Lieutenant, 1843.)
Augustus Frederick Webster entered the Navy, 14 March, 1834; passed his examination 6 July, 1840: and was nominated, about the close of the same year. Mate of the Endymion 44, Capt. Hon. Fred. Wm. Grey, fitting for the East Indies; where he was made Lieutenant, 28 Aug. 1843, into the Cornwallis 72, flag-ship of Sir Wm. Parker. In the autumn of 1844 he returned to England and was paid oif. His next appointments were, 8 Dec. 1845 and 24 Sept. 1847, to the Sampson steam-frigate of 467 horse-power, Capt. Thos. Henderson, and Collingwood 80, flag-ship of Sir Geo. Fras. Seymour, both in the Pacific. In the Sampson he was for some time First-Lieutenant. He continued in the Collingwood until she was paid off in 1848.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Bryant, Jacob

​Bryant, Jacob (1715-1804).—Scholar, ed. at Eton and Camb., wrote learnedly, but paradoxically, on mythological and Homeric subjects. His chief works were A New System or Analysis of Ancient Mythology (1774-76), Observations on the Plain of Troy (1795), and Dissertation concerning the Wars of Troy (1796). In the last two he endeavoured to show that the existence of Troy and the Greek expedition were fabulous. Though so sceptical on these points he was an implicit believer in the authenticity of the Rowley authorship of Chatterton's fabrications. He also wrote on theological subjects.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Buchanan, Robert

​Buchanan, Robert (1841-1901).—Poet and novelist, b. at Caverswall, Staffordshire, the s. of a Scottish schoolmaster and socialist, and ed. at Glasgow, was the friend of David Gray (q.v.), and with him went to London in search of fame, but had a long period of discouragement. His first work, a collection of poems, Undertones (1863), had, however, some success, and was followed by Idylls of Inverburn (1865), London Poems (1866), and others, which gave him a growing reputation, and raised high hopes of his future. Thereafter he took up prose fiction and the drama, not always with success, and got into trouble owing to some drastic criticism of his contemporaries, culminating in his famous article on the Fleshly School of Poetry, which appeared in the Contemporary Review (Oct. 1871), and evoked replies from Rossetti (The Stealthy School of Criticism), and Swinburne (Under the Microscope). Among his novels are A Child of Nature (1879), God and the Man (1881), and among his dramas A Nine Days' Queen, A Madcap Prince, and Alone in London. His latest poems, The Outcast and The Wandering Jew, were directed against certain aspects of Christianity. B. was unfortunate in his latter years; a speculation turned out ruinously; he had to sell his copyrights, and he sustained a paralytic seizure, from the effects of which he d. in a few months. He ultimately admitted that his criticism of Rossetti was unjustifiable.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Buckingham, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of

​Buckingham, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of (1628-1687).—Dramatist, s. of the 1st Duke, who was in 1628 assassinated by Felton. His life was full of adventure and change of fortune. The Restoration gave him back his already twice lost estates, which he again squandered by a life of wild extravagance and profligacy at Court. He was a member of the "Cabal" and intrigued against Clarendon. He wrote pamphlets, lampoons, and plays, but his chief contribution to literature was The Rehearsal, a comedy, in which he satirised the heroic drama of Dryden and others. It is believed that S. Butler had a hand in it. Dryden had his revenge in his picture of B. as Zimri in Absalom and Achitophel.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Bruce, Michael

​Bruce, Michael (1746-1767).—Poet, s. of a poor weaver at Kinnesswood, Kinross-shire, as a child herded cattle, but received a good education, including 4 sessions at the Univ. of Edin., and for a short time kept a school. His longest poem, Loch Leven, shows the influence of Thomson. His best is his Elegy. His promising career was cut short by consumption in 1767. The authorship of the beautiful Ode to the Cuckoo beginning "Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove" is contested, some authorities claiming it for B. and others for the Rev. John Logan (q.v.), who ed. B.'s works, adding some of his own, and who claimed the Ode as his.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Bryant, William Cullen

​Bryant, William Cullen (1794-1878).—Poet, was b. at Cummington, Massachusetts, the s. of a doctor. His ancestors on both sides came over in the Mayflower. His first poem was Thanatopsis (1817), which was greeted as the best poem produced in America up to that time. After being a lawyer for some time he was induced to exchange law for journalism, and acted as ed. of various periodicals. Among his best known poems are Lines to a Water-fowl, The Rivulet, The West Wind, The Forest Hymn, The Fringed Gentian, etc. His muse is tender and graceful, pervaded by a contemplative melancholy, and a love of solitude and the silence of the woods. Though he was brought up to admire Pope, and in his early youth imitated him, he was one of the first American poets to throw off his influence. He had a high sense of duty, was a prominent and patriotic citizen, and enjoyed the esteem and even the reverence of his fellow-countrymen. B. also produced a blank-verse translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Brydges, Sir Samuel Egerton

​Brydges, Sir Samuel Egerton (1762-1837).—Bibliographer and genealogist, ed. at Camb., was called to the Bar in 1787. He wrote some novels and poems, now forgotten, but rendered valuable service by his bibliographical publications, Censura Literaria, Titles and Opinions of Old English Books (10 vols. 1805-9), his editions of E. Phillips's Theatrum Poetarum Anglicanorum (1800) Collin's Peerage of England (1812), and of many rare Elizabethan authors. He was made a baronet in 1814. He d. at Geneva.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Buchanan, George

​Buchanan, George (1506-1582).—Historian and scholar b. at Killearn, Stirlingshire, of poor parents, was sent in 1519, with the help of an uncle, to the Univ. of Paris, where he first came in contact with the two great influences of the age, the Renaissance and the Reformation. His uncle having died, he had to leave Paris, and after seeing some military service, returned to Scotland, and in 1524 went to St. Andrews, where he studied under John Major (q.v.). Two years later he found means to return to Paris, where he graduated at the Scots Coll. in 1528, and taught grammar in the Coll. of St. Barbe. Returning to Scotland in 1536 with a great reputation for learning he was made by James V. tutor to one of his illegitimate sons, and incited by him to satirise the vices of the clergy, which he did in two Latin poems, Somnium and Franciscanus. This stirred the wrath of the ecclesiastical powers to such a heat that, the King withholding his protection, he was obliged in 1539 to save himself by flight first to England and then to France, where he remained until 1547 teaching Latin at Bordeaux and Paris. In the latter year he was invited to become a prof. at Coimbra, where he was imprisoned by the Inquisition as a heretic from 1549-51, and wrote the greater part of his magnificent translation of the Psalms into Latin verse, which has never been excelled by any modern. He returned to England in 1552, but soon re-crossed to France and taught in the Coll. of Boncourt. In 1561 he came back to his native country, where he remained for the rest of his life. Hitherto, though a supporter of the new learning and a merciless exposer of the vices of the clergy, he had remained in the ancient faith, but he now openly joined the ranks of the Reformers. He held the ​Principalship of St. Leonard's Coll., St. Andrews, was a supporter of the party of the Regent Moray, produced in 1571 his famous Detectio Mariæ Reginæ, a scathing exposure of the Queen's relations to Darnley and the circumstances leading up to his death, was tutor, 1570-78, to James VI., whom he brought up with great strictness, and to whom he imparted the learning of which the King was afterwards so vain. His chief remaining works were De Jure Regni apud Scotos (1579), against absolutism, and his History of Scotland, which was pub. immediately before his death. Though he had borne so great a part in the affairs of his country, and was the first scholar of his age, he d. so poor that he left no funds to meet the expenses of his interment. His literary masterpiece is his History, which is remarkable for the power and richness of its style. Its matter, however, gave so much offence that a proclamation was issued calling in all copies of it, as well as of the De Jure Regni, that they might be purged of the "offensive and extraordinary matters" which they contained. B. holds his great and unique place in literature not so much for his own writings as for his strong and lasting influence on subsequent writers.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Bruce, James

​Bruce, James (1730-1794).—Traveller, was b. at the family seat of Kinnaird, Perthshire, and ed. at Harrow. After various travels in Europe he set out in 1768 on his expedition to Abyssinia, and in 1770 reached the source of the Blue Nile. He returned to England in 1774, and in 1790 pub. his Travels in 5 quarto vols. His notorious vanity, the singular adventures he related, and the generally embellished character which he imparted to his narrative excited some degree of scepticism, and he was subjected to a good deal of satire, to which, though much annoyed, he did not reply. It is, however, generally allowed that he had shown great daring, perseverance, and zeal in his explorations, and that he made a real addition to the geographical knowledge of his day.
# A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Brunton, Mary

​Brunton, Mary (Balfour) (1778-1818).—Novelist, dau. of Col. Balfour of Elwick, and m. to the Rev. Dr. Brunton, Prof. of Oriental Languages in the Univ. of Edin., was the authoress of two novels, Self-Control (1811) and Discipline (1814), which were popular in their day.
# A golden treatise of mental prayer/— his charity towards his neighbor

CHAPTER VIII.
OF HIS CHARITY TOWARDS HIS NEIGHBOR.
His charity towards his neighbor was unspeakable; for this cause he often visited hospitals to serve the sick, assisting them both spiritually and corporally, and oftentimes miraculously restoring them to their former health. After he had made an end of his devotion, the residue of his time he spent in comforting the afflicted, in cherishing the feeble, and, finally, in anything he could imagine might comfort his neighbor, either corporally or spiritually; so that innumerable people of all conditions and sexes, continually flocked unto him for his charitable assistance.
# A golden treatise of mental prayer/Of the time and fruit of these meditations

CHAPTER III.
OF THE TIME AND FRUIT OF THESE MEDITATIONS.
Behold, Christian reader, thou hast seven former meditations, accommodated to every day of the week; not so that it is an offence to meditate upon another matter; when, as we said before, whatsoever inflameth the heart to the love and fear of God, and to the keeping of his commandments, may profitably be assumed for matter of meditation. We, therefore, out of so great a number, have selected these, both for that they contain the chief mysteries of our faith, and that in them is force and efficacy, to rouse up our souls to the love and fear of God: as also to set before novices, which have need of a guide, prepared and, as it were, fore-chewed matter, lest they confusedly wander up and down in this spacious field, without any certainty, now meditating upon one thing, and presently on another.
Moreover, these meditations, as we have said elsewhere, suit best with those who do begin to turn from Almighty God from their wicked courses. For these had need to be helped by the consideration of these things, to the detestation and horror of sin, the fear of ​God, the contempt of the world, which are, as it were, the first steps to the amendment of our former perverse life; therefore, it is good, that they should sometimes insist in them, that they may have the better foundation for other ensuing virtues.