Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1827-05-31
TIL cAszET.
offending he useful a,th he "
ASTONISHING CHiLD.

.1oL FJDaLsbG CHlLU.
The following interesting account !.
from the memoirs OF Sir Joha EVELYN.
who was faithful member of he
Church Of England, and suffered pro.
secution on that account dur ing the pro.
tectorate.
1865, eth January: after six 81,
of an ague, died my son, Richard, five
years and three days old only, but at
that tender age prodigy Tor wit and
under standing; for beauty of body a We.
ry angel; for endowment of mind Of in.
credible and rare hopes. To give Only
a little taste of some of them, and there.
by glory to Gods at two years and
half old, be could pc rfectly read any Of
the English, Latin, French, or Gothic
alphabets, pronouncing the three Ian.
guages exactly. He had, before TIC
fifth year, or in that year, not only
skill to read most written hands, but Ia
decline all the nouns, conjugate all the
verbs regular and most OF the irregular,
learned all Pnerillis, got by heart al.
most the entire vocabulary Of Latin and
French prlmitiyes and words; could
make congruous syRtax; turn English
into Latin, and vice versia; construe
and prove what he read; aud know the
government and use of relatives, verbs
substantives, eilipses, and many figures
and tropes, and made considerable
progress in Commeniu's Janus; began
himself to write legibly, and had strong
passion for the Greek. The numbtt
OF verses he could reciie was prod gious,
aud what he re membered of the parts.
When seeing Plautus in ones hand, be
asked what book 1T was, and being told
it was comedy, and too difficult for
him, he wept for sorrow. Strange was
his apt and ingenious application OF ia
bles and morals, for he had read Esop,
He had wonderful disposition to ma.
thematiGs: having by heart divers propo.
stions of Euclid, that were read to him
in play, and he would make lines
and demonstrate them. As tohis piety,
astonishing were his applications Of
scripture upon occasion, and his sense
OF God. He bad learned all his cafea
chsm early, and understood the histog.
ical parts of the Bible and New Tesla.
ment to a wonder:-how Christ came to
redeem mankind, and how, comprehen.
ding these necessaries himself his god.
fathers were discharged Of their prom
Use. These and the like ,luminations
FAR exec eding his age and experience,
considering the prettness Of his address
and behavior. cannot but leave impres.
SONS in me, at the memory of him
When one told him many days Qusk'
er had tasted, he replied that was no
wonder, tot Christ had said that man
should not live by bread alone, but BY
the word OF God.-Re would of himself
select the most pathetic psalms and
chapters out of Job, to read 10 his maid
during his sickness, telling her when
she pilied him. that all Gods children
must suffer affection he declaimed a.
gainst the vanity of the world before he
had seen any. Often he would desire
those who came 10 see him to pray by
him, and year before he fell sick to
pray with him alone in some corner.
How thankfully would he receive ad.
tnonitions How soon be reconciled.
How different, yet continually cheerful
lie would give grave advice to bis
Brother John; bear with his impertlnen-
ces, and say that he was but child. 1t
he heard and saw any thing new, he
was unqliet until be was told how 1t was
made. He brought to us all such ditfl.
culties as he found in books to be ex.
pounded; he had learnt by heart divers
sentences in Latin and Greek, which on
occasion, he would produce to Won
der lie was all life, all prettihess; lar
from sullen, morose or childish in any
tniug he said or did. he last time he
had been at churr b, which vas at Green
wich, | asked HIM, according 10 custom,
what he remembered uf the sermon Two
good things, father, said he, bonum graz
tie and bonum giorie, with a J1st ac-
count of what the preacher said The
day before he died lie called TO me, aud
In a more serious manner than usual,
told me that for all loved him SO
dearly should give my house, land. and
all my fine things to his brother Jaes,
he should have none of them; and next
morning, when he found hmsel. III, and
that persuaded him to keep his HANDS
in bed, he demanded whether he might
pray to God with hs hands unjoinedj
and little after, while in great agony,
whether he should not offend God By