A Christian Terence, Master of the File
That arms the Curious to Reform their Style.
Now Rome and Athens from their Ashes rise;
See their Platonick Year with vast surprize:
And in our School a Miracle is wrought;
For the Dead Languages to Life are brought.

His Work he Lov'd: Oh! had we done the same!
Our Play-dayes still to him ungrateful came.
And yet so well our Work adjusted Lay,
We came to Work, as if we came to Play.

Our Lads had been, but for his wondrous Cares,
Boyes of my Lady Mores unquiet Pray'rs.
Sure were it not for such informing Schools,
Our Lat❜ran too would soon be fill'd with Owles.
Tis CORLET's pains, & CHEEVER's, we must own,
That thou, New-England, art not Scythia grown.
The Isles of Silly had o're-run this Day
The Continent of our America.

Grammar he taught, which 'twas his work to do:
But he would Hagar have her place to know.

The Bible is the Sacred Grammar, where
The Rules of speaking well, contained are.
He taught us Lilly, and he Gospel taught;
And us poor Children to our Saviour brought.
Master of Sentences, he gave us more
That we in our Sententiæ had before.

We Learn't Good Things in Tullies Offices;

But we from him Learn't Better things than these.

With Cato's he to us the Higher gave.

Lessons of JESUS, that our Souls do save.

We Constru'd Ovid's Metamorphosis,

But on ourselves charg'd, not a Change to miss.
Young Austin wept, when he saw Dido dead,

Tho' not a Tear for a Lost Soul he had:
Our Master would not let us be so vain,

But us from Virgil did to David train,

Textors Epistles would not Cloathe our Souls;
Pauls too we heard; we went to School at Pauls.

Syrs, Do you not Remember well the Times,
When us he warn'd against our Youthful Crimes:
What Honey dropt from our old Nestors mouth
When with his Counsels he Reform'd our Youth:
How much he did to make us Wise and Good;
And with what Prayers, his work he did conclude.
Concern'd that when from him we Learning had,
It might not Armed Wickedness be made!
The Sun shall first the Zodiac forsake,

And Stones unto the Stars their Flight shall make;

First shall the Summer bring large drifts of Snow,
And beauteous Cherries in December grow;

E're of those Charges we Forgetful are

Which we, O Man of God, from thee did hear.

Such Tutors to the Little Ones would be.
Such that in Flesh we should their Angels see;
Ezekiel should not be the Name of such;
We'd Agathangelus not think too much.

Who Serv'd the School, the Church did not forget;
But Thought, and Pray'd, and often wept for it.
Mighty in Prayer: How did he wield thee, Pray'r!
Thou Reverst Thunder: CHRIST's-Sides-piercing Spear?
Soaring we saw the Bird of Paradise;

So Wing'd by Thee, for Flights beyond the Skies.
How oft we saw him tread the Milky Way,
Which to the Glorious Throne of Mercy lay!

Come from the Mount, he shone with ancient Grace, Awful the Splendor of his Aged Face.

Cloath'd in the Good Old Way, his Garb did wage

A War with the Vain Fashions of the Age.

Fearful of nothing more than hateful Sin;
'Twas that from which he laboured all to win,
Zealous; And in Truths Cause ne'r known to trim;

No Neuter Gender there allow'd by him.
Stars but a Thousand did the Ancients know;
On later Globes they Nineteen hundred grow:
Now such a CHEEVER added to the Sphere;
Makes an Addition to the Lustre there.
Mean time America a Wonder saw;
A Youth in Age, forbid by Natures Law.
You that in t'other Hemisphere do dwell,
Do of Old Age your dismal Stories tell.
You tell of Snowy Heads and Rheumy Eyes
And things that make a man himself despise.
You say, a frozen Liquor chills the Veins,
And scarce the Shadow of a Man remains.
Winter of Life, that Sapless Age you call,
And of all Maladies the Hospital:
The Second Nonage of the Soul; the Brain
Cover'd with Cloud; the Body all in pain.
To weak Old Age, you say, there must belong
And Trembling Palsey both of Limb and Tongue;
Dayes all Decrepit; and a Bending Back,
Propt by a Staff, in Hands that ever shake.

Nay, Syrs, our CHEEVER shall confute you all,
On whom there did none of these Mischefs fall.
He Liv'd and to vast Age no Illness knew;
Till Times Scythe waiting for him Rusty grew.

He Liv'd and Wrought; His Labours were Immense;
But ne'r Declin'd to Præter-perfect Tense.
A Blooming Youth in him at Ninety Four
We saw; But, Oh! when such a sight before!
At Wondrous Age he did his Youth resume,
As when the Eagle mew's his Aged plume.
With Faculties of Reason still so bright,
And at Good Services so Exquisite;

Sure our sound Chiliast, we wondring thought,
To the First Resurrection is not brought!
No, He for That was waiting at the Gate
In the Pure Things that fit a Candidate.
He in Good Actions did his Life Employ,
And to make others Good, he made his Joy.
Thus well-appris'd now of the Life to Come,
To Live here was to him a Martyrdom.
Our brave Macrobius Long'd to see the Day
Which others dread, of being Call'd away.
So, Ripe with Age, he does invite the Hook,
Which watchful does for its large Harvest look;
Death gently cut the Stalk, and kindly laid
Him, where our God His Granary has made.

Who at New-Haven first began to Teach, Dying Unshipwreck'd, does White-Haven reach. At that Fair Haven they all Storms forget;

He there his DAVENPORT with Love does meet.
The Luminous Robe, the Loss whereof with Shame
Our Parents wept, when Naked they became;

Those Lovely Spirits wear it, and therein
Serve God with Priestly Glory, free from Sin.

But in his Paradisian Rest above,

To Us does the Blest Shade retain his Love.
With Rip'ned Thoughts Above concern'd for Us,
We can't but hear him dart his Wishes, thus.
'TUTORS, Be Strict; But yet be Gentle too:
6 Don't by fierce Cruelties fair Пopes undo.
'Dream not, that they who are to Learning slow,
'Will mend by Arguments in Ferio.
'Who keeps the Golden Fleece, Oh, let him not
'A Dragon be, tho' he Three Tongues have got.
'Why can you not to Learning find the way,
'But thro' the Province of Severia ?
'Twas Moderatus, who taught Origen;

6

'A Youth which prov'd one of the Best of men.

• The Lads with Honour first, and Reason Rule;

'Blowes are but for the Refractory Fool.

But, Oh! First Teach them their Great God to fear;

'That you like me, with Joy may meet them here.'

H'has said!

Adieu, a little while, Dear Saint, Adieu;
Your Scholar won't be Long, Sir, after you.
In the mean time, with Gratitude I must
Engrave an EPITAPH upon your Dust.
'Tis true, Excessive Merits rarely safe:
Such an Excess forfeits an Epitaph.

But if Base men the Rules of Justice break,

The Stones (at least upon the Tombs) will speak.

Et Tumulum facite, et Tumulo superaddite carmen. (Virg. in Daphn.)

F.

THE following appeared in the BOSTON WEEKLY NEWS LETTER, from Thursday, Jan. 5th, to Thursday, Jan. 12th, 1738: "Boston. Last Tuesday in the afternoon died here the Reverend and Learned Mr. Nathaniel Williams, a Gentleman who has been a faithful and upright Servant in his generation; being for many Years Master of the South Grammar School in this Town which difficult and important Business he discharged with great Industry and Fidelity; and as he was by the Blessing of GOD a very skilful and successful Physician, so he was very much imployed and approved among As his Life has been very extensively serviceable, so his Death is esteemed as a publick loss."

us.

The following is the extract from the funeral sermon of the Rev. Thomas Prince, referred to in the text :

Nathaniel Williams was born in Boston August 25th 1675 of Pious parents, his father a deacon of this church and his mother a sister of the late Honourable Daniel Oliver Esq. he received their gracious Spirit; and improved under their religious influence and the happy Ministry and Life of the Reverend Mr. Willard, for whom he had the highest Veneration, and he aspired to be like them.

In his early days he gave himself to his Creator: at fourteen years of Age, July 1689, he entered the School of the Prophets: and as he advanced in Knowledge he grew in Wisdom and in Favour with GOD and Man.

Being well accomplished for the work of the ministry, He was ordained an Evangelist in the College Hall, for one of the West India islands (in 1698). But

the climate not agreeing with his constitution, He soon returned to this his native City, where He was first employed by several Gentlemen to instruct their sons in learning; and soon after introduced into the government of the then only Publick and Free Grammar School of this Great Town, the Principal School of the British Colonies, if not of all America. Here he displayed his singular talent for this laborious and important service, being very diligent and faithful: applying himself to bring on the Children both in Virtue, Learning and good manners; Praying with them every Morning and Evening, instructing them in religious Principles, especially on Saturdays, and affectionately recommending the Practice to them.

By an agreeable mixture of Majesty and sweetness, both in his Voice and Countenance, with a mild and steady conduct, He happily ruled them; and was generally both reverenced and beloved among them. Here he spent the strength and vigour of his Life, was a great and publick Blessing, and then he continued for about Thirty Years; till his bodily infirmities increasing, He to the sorrow of many laid it down in 1734.

G.

THE following is a portion of the poem written by Mr. Nathaniel Gardner, and dated 1754, on the course of studies in the Latin School, referred to on page 40:

Undecima, tandem, schola jam demittitur hora,

Lætentur magis an pueri, dic, anne magister?