heve Mr. Richmond was generally present. He was at all times attentive to the studies of the University, and preserved, throughout, the character of a reading man. Mr. Copley (now the Lord Chancellor) had apartments directly under those of Mr. Richmond, and as they were both reading hard, they commonly, for some months before taking the degree of A. B., had coffee together after midnight. He went through the public exercises of the schools, preparatory to his degree, with great credit, and was accordingly placed by the moderator in the first class. He did not, however, go into the senate-house to stand the final examination, owing to ill-health. Dr. Butler, master of Harrow School, was the senior wrangler, and Mr. Copley the second; and I have a printed Tripos for 1794, now lying before me, at the bottom of which are the following words :- Egrot. {Ds. Ashworth, Eman. In Imâ Quæstionistarum classe a mode Richmond, Trin.ratoribus censebantur. "I believe our year was the last in which those who went out Egrot. in the first class, were noticed in the Tripos. Ever since, the names of such graduates have been omitted in the list of honours; and the Cambridge Calender, in giving a list of honours for each year, has omitted the names of the Egrot. in 1794, and all the preceding years, although they were actually printed in the original lists. Mr. Richmond for some years was collecting materials for a great work, which he intended to publish, on the theory as well as history of music. After taking his degree, he applied himself with great ardour to his favourite study, and took much pains to provide materials for his intended musical publication, which he hoped might be ready for the press in the course of two or three years. I have frequently sat with him, while, for hours together, he was making experiments with his musical plates, of which he had a great number, some of glass and some of copper, of all the common regular forms; as circles, ellipses, squares, rhombuses, pentagons, &c. These he screwed down at a particular point, so as to be perfectly horizontal; and then, having sprinkled fine sand over the surface, the bow of a fiddle was drawn across the edge, so as to draw forth a musical note; and, by the vibration thus caused, the sand was shaken from the vibrating parts, and became collected in one line or more, formed by the quiescent points. It seemed very remarkable, that whenever that particular note which was the fundamental of any plate was sounded by it, the sand invariably took the form of a cross, having its centre in the centre of the plate. All other notes which could be sounded by the same plate, diverged from the fundamental note, according to a certain scale; and every one caused the sand to take a different form. Sometimes it seemed to take the figure of two opposite hyperbolas; but in whatever form it rested, the figures on the different sides of a straight line, drawn through the centre of the plate, were exactly the counterparts of each other. The lines formed by the quiescent points, in the vibrations of such plates, were calculated by Euler, as may be seen by the Transactions of the Imperial Society of Petersburgh (Acta Petropolitana;) but the results are little satisfactory, being commonly expressed in hyperbolic forms, and not assuming a tangible shape. "About this time Mr. Richmond was member of a small club, formed by six or eight Trinity men, for the discussion of philosophical subjects. They met once a week, at each other's rooms; and, to prevent expense in giving suppers, nothing more was to be provided than red-herrings, bread, cheese, and beer. Hence they called this society the "Red-herring Club." respectability of the members appears from this circumstance, that nearly every one obtained a fellowship. Mr. Richmond took a leading part at this time in another small society, which was named "The Harmonic Society." The members were musical amateurs, who, in turn, gave a concert every fortnight, at which, with the help of two or three hired musicians, they performed pieces out of Handel and other celebrated composers, together with catches, glees, &c. In 1796 was published, by Mr. Dixon, a townsman of Cambridge, and one of the members of the Harmonic Society, a collection of glees and rounds, for three, four, and five voices, composed by the members of that society. In this publication, out of seventeen pieces, seven were contributed by Mr. Richmond. "In 1796, Mr. Richmond began seriously to think of taking orders, and of marrying on a curacy. In that situation, he intended conscientiously to do his duty, though he had not the deep sense he afterwards entertained of the vast importance and responsibility of the charge he was about to undertake.” The important period to which Mr. Tate alludes was now arrived, when it became necessary that he should no longer delay his choice of a profession,-that choice, which exercises so powerful an influence over all the events and circumstances of future life, and in which our usefulness and moral responsibility are so deeply involved. It was the wish and intention of Dr. Richmond that his son should direct his attention to the law, with the view of being called to the bar; but after taking his degree, the predominant views of his mind are thus expressed in the following letter: 66 Cambridge, Feb. 18th. 1794. "My dear Father,-It has long been my wish to write to you on the subject which has occupied so much of my attention of late; and on which, during the solemn interval of my confinement, I had more frequent opportunities of meditating than on any former occasion. I hope and trust that I have thought more seriously on this subject, and have pursued a more regular train of sound reasoning and self-examination on account of my illness, than if I had enjoyed an uninterrupted series of good health. The time is now arrived when, after having passed through the regular forms of an academic education, it is expected that a young man should select his profession; and on the foundation (which he either has, or ought to have laid in the university) of sound learning and good morals, should begin to raise a superstructure of such materials as may render him an ornament to his profession, and a satisfaction to his friends. "I should here feel myself guilty of much ingratitude, or at least of much unpardonable neglect, if I did not, at this period of my life, return you my most sincere and unfeigned thanks for the repeated testimonies of affection and generosity, which I have experienced for upwards of two-and-twenty years at your hands: more especially do I feel myself indebted to you, during the last four years, for placing me in a situation in which I have enjoyed numberless happy hours; have formed friendships and connexions, which are a source of honest pride and satisfaction; and have had an opportunity (which I hope I have not entirely thrown away) of making great proficiency in such studies and acquirements, as must and will be the chief basis of my future usefulness and happiness. If such be the obligation which I owe to your kindness, what must be my insensibility to every tie of affection, and to every principle of honourable feeling, were I deficient in my expressions of gratitude to the benevolent author of so many blessings. No, sir, I am neither ungrateful nor insensible. It has not been my custom, hitherto, to make long professions, nor to enter into a detail of my internal feelings; and, perhaps, owing to a deficiency of this kind, I may have suffered in your opinion, on some particular occasions, more than I deserved. It now appears, therefore, to be the more advisable to unfold myself at large, observing, at the same time, that the chief faults and errors of which I hitherto have been, and of which I am still, I fear, too susceptible, have not arisen from any source of moral depravity, or innate viciousness; but from an evil, which I see much too prevalent among young men, and from the contagion of which I have not been entirely able to escape; I mean, the want of resolution to resist temptation, when it is opposed to their better convictions. A very moderate acquaintance with the younger part, at least, of mankind, will convince any observer, that a certain degree of irresolution is by no means inconsistent with many better qualities, and often has its origin rather in the influence of external example, than in any real viciousness of the heart. But I can truly say that I am very desirous of becoming such as your most sanguine wishes could expect, and I look up to a superior Power for assistance not to violate these my resolutions. "It appears to me, that in reviewing the respective merits of the different professions, and in determining upon one of them, a very intimate self-examination is requisite, previous to the formation of any fixed resolution. It has beer my endeavour for five months past to pursue this difficult undertaking; and I hope I have not failed in the attempt. The church and the law are the two subjects to which I have directed my attention. I have consulted my own inclinations, abilities, deficiencies, merits, and demerits, and examined them in as many points of view as I have been able, in order to determine which of those professions was the best calculated to promote my own, and the welfare of others. My present determination is in favour of the former, principally from the following considerations. The sacred profession is in itself without doubt the most respectable and the most useful in which any man of principle and education can possibly be engaged. The benefits which it is the province of the clergyman to bestow on his fellow-creatures are more widely disseminated, and are in themselves more intrinsically valuable, than those of every other profession or employment united together. To a conscientious mind, therefore, that line of life appears to be the most eligible, in which he may be enabled to do the most good to mankind. "One further argument with myself for preferring the church to the law is, that I have found, from four years' experience, a strong inclination to study several branches of literature, which are far more connected with the church than with the law, as neither their nature nor the time requisite to be bestowed upon them would allow the lawyer to exercise himself in them. What these are shall be the subject of future information to At present, my desire of becoming a VERY good general scholar is so much stronger than that of becoming an EX you. TREMELY good particular one, that I am convinced I could not throw aside the hopes of pursuing my favourite views in that way, and dedicating myself solely to one, and that perhaps not the most inviting, without the utmost regret. Your affectionLEGH RICHMOND." ate son, In these views Dr. Richmond ultimately expressed his acquiescence, though his own wishes inclined him to recommend the choice of the bar; and thus was the profession of the church determined upon, for which he subsequently proved to be so singularly qualified, and where his influence and services were so widely felt and acknowledged. He continued to reside at Cambridge till the end of the Midsummer term, in 1797, pursuing those studies which were more immediately connected with his future destination. The following letter, the last that he wrote from college to his father, expresses his sentiments more fully on the subject of the ministry, and his preparation for those duties, on which he was now on the eve of entering. It is dated June 30th, 1797 :— "My dear Father,--I take this opportunity of returning you` my most hearty and sincere thanks for all your kindness to me during my stay at Cambridge, for nearly the last eight years. I look back on the time which I have there spent, with a considerable mixture of pain and pleasure. That I have done things which I ought not to have done, and neglected to do things which I ought to have done, is most true: yet have I added very considerably to my stock of literary informationhave gained the good-will and approbation of many respectable and good men--have made acquaintances and friends of several literary and worthy characters--have enabled myself, I trust, by the improvement of my abilities, such as they are, hereafter to maintain myself. I have also had an opportunity of contemplating men, manners and morals to a very extensive degree; and finally, in an age of much infidelity, and surrounded by many, whose principles savoured strongly of irreligion, I have built up a fabric of confidence in, and love for, that holy religion of which I am now a professor. To this I ultimately look as my ftuure guide through life, and hope it will enable me to bear with fortitude those evils which may be in store for me; for who can expect exemption? In return for these advantages, I have to offer you my gratitude, and my affection; and let what will hereafter become of me, bear in mind that it is not in the power of any thing human to lessen either the one or the other. I am now preparing to undertake what I cannot but consider as |