The Sun.
London, England, 1812-11-18 00:00:00

• UR: EACr.LEgi - • -
qOMPTAOLLER OF TITE CUSTOMS AT BRt3TOI..

The loss of Mr. Eagle; to his native city his
made 'an impression which nothing but true merit
could have produced. Vanity and presnmptio -
may live their hour, but mostly bury with thZl:
their shallow and trivial pretensions. lTc lets
stood that awful test which merit al.Alle can
abide.

There is; probably, in no -One's memory a loss
which has occasioned here more ~,2.-en,;:ral regret.—
This syMpathy is highly honotii'ablt to his fellow
citizens. Where the sdlid merits of a modest and
unobtrtiding man arc remembered with the
tenderest esteem.; where the tongue will bestow
that praise upon .the departed wbieb he shrunk
from while living ; it is a generous proof that we
value in others those accomplismtnts which adorn
the spot .on which we dwell ourselves ; that we
arc sensible' that local reputation is but the—mass
of personal ability, and social happiness the result
of private virtue. ,
Some accouutof Mr. Eagles has already-appear-
ed in a London. Newspaper, which, as far as
went, was very faithful and well written,', but it
has, perhaps, occurred to many that more might
be said of one who was remarkably industrious in
his literary pursuits, and on wboin
.had bestowed no short term of-health and exist-
- ence, • This memorial is intended to supply some
few omissions ; and to cvirrY some of . the inform-
ation a little further. The writer, however, fully:
foresees its insuffic!ency, and Mina leave to the
wider extent of his, own feelings, and to recollec-
tions which will never desert lain, ail ampler tri-
bute to Mr. EaglcS's memory.
Some mention of Th. Eagles's origin .may be
not. he Unacceptable to every one.—He was bore,
in Bristol ; and descended, on his .father's side,
from a very respectable family, -which till these
test years resided in Temple'parish for near two.
centeries,--On his Mother's side, he sprung frOw
a Very ancient 'family 'in Monmouthshire of the
name of Perkins and he died seised of estates in
that. county Which have belonged to his::finternal
ancestors for many hundreA years: 'Jae- was edu-
cated at Winchester, and designed for Orders ; but
, the death of a nobleman, who would have been a
• valuable patron to him in the Church, at a time
:when there was little prospect of the inheritance
which afterwards devolved to Hill, threwliim into
a sphere of life less necessarily connected with
literature. With mercantile interests he still main-,
tamed and improved an early 'attachment to every
intellectual accomplishment, and in. a constant in.•
tercourse with commercialmen acquired a repu.
Cation as a polite scholar, :Which would have
highly diitinguished him in a learned professiolL
His natural abilities were very considerable ; bar
they ,never carried him beyond the most delicate
retirements of modesty. He was utterly disin-
clined to those intrusions, and unacquainted with
those contrivances by which little minds make the
utmost of their meagre endowmentS. • •

His sty 4, upon whatever subject his thought§
were expressed, was singUlarly chaste, and cON
rect. Its resemblance to that of an universally
admired writer has been frequently noticed.—
This-propriety of expression seemed rather the
result of inbred purity of taste than of study and
Attention ; for it characterised every thing that
flowed from his pen ,—not merely literary compo-
sition,----tbat which Was the result of meditation
and research i but whatever it fain his way to ex-.
press upon paper.

A*. a poet, more of him; 'in all probability, trill
be knoWn. Eis translation of Athemens com-
prises, the beautiful fragments of Menander, and
they are rendered so exquisitely well that it will
not remain merely for the' learned' tb regret that
so much has been lost of this fine Greek comedi-
an.: -This translation Mr. Eagles has modestly
:entitled " Selections "only. The truth is, Athe-
rutuS is a very valuable writer, but indelicate as
well as varied. We_have from him, however, aid
-from him only, many lively. fragments of theold
Greek play writers, and as chaste as they are en-
chanting. But it is not every one that will give
us the honey without the. poison. .Athenaius is
really for infinite sources of information too
.inte-
resting to reniain any. longer unknown in our own
langitage; yet it required judgment as well as
delicacy to'strip him of his obscurities,, without
destroying the unity and arrangement of bis work,
and it is fortunate for morality as well as for lite-
rature, that Mr. Eagles has-surmounted this digi-
Culty„ and left .Athenmns as proper for a father's
fire-side as a scholar's closet.
It Wonl& transgress the limits of the ineditim
throngh which thescslender intimations are offered
to enter intothe several. result 'of Mr. Bagles's
industry within the writer's knowledge.. In addl-
tioir tor-the Crier. (of which it is to be hoped the
public will soon know mOre,, and for the promo-
tion of a .moSt benevolent purpose contemplated
by Mr. :Eagles), he -has left a very curious and
amusing nareative,, similar to that of Robinson
Crupoc, c.ame into his
.possession in a
nianner'Wllieb, from an uncommon act of charity
it gave rise to in Mr.Liigles, renders him an ami-
able party in the history of a very extraordinary
character.

Upon the Porileian controversy be has also left
many valuable docurnduts, and has supported his
own opinion upon that still disputed question,
With matter which has riot yet reached the public.
With Shakespeare, perhaps, no man living was
better acquainted. - His literary friends will well
remember the enthusiasm win, Which he would
sustain that great man's pre-eminence in the
power of imagination above all other hunian be-
ings of whose genius we have any testimony.
We have thus far spoken of Mr. Eagles mere-
ly as a man of letters. A just tribute has al-
ready been paid to his devotional habits; and his
pious attachment to the religion of bis country.
We live in times when the political opinions and
conduct of one so likely to influence others around
him are of importance to society ; avid here in a
personal parallel which naturally su:,,gests itself
the writer of this slight memorial inight, if the
medium %rue more convenient, have ample scope
to dwell upon the ardent patriotism of his. lost
and revered friend. lie well knows how few
there are-around him in his own sphere'of life who