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'died at last of mere decay. His writings are numerous and valuable; the Treatise on Logic, and the Improvement of the Mind, are the most celebrated of his prose works; and it would be difficult to mention any book which has been so extensively dispersed as his Psalms and Hymns. The Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen conferred on him, in 1728, the unsolicited title of D. D., which no man has ever better merited; and it is no small proof of his excellence that Dr. Johnson, avowedly hostile to Dissenters, and notoriously severe in his criticisms, has bestowed the following eulogium upon Watts: "He has provided instruction for all ages; from those who are lisping their first lessons, to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke; he has left neither corporeal nor spiritual nature unexamined; he has taught the art of reasoning, and the science of the stars."

SOUTHWICK, a small village on the road to Portsmouth, from whence it is distant about seven miles, had formerly a Priory of Black Canons, founded by Henry I, and in which Henry VI was married to Margaret of Anjou. At the Dissolution its revenues amounted to more than £300 per annum; a very small portion of the buildings still exists, forming part of a mansion called Southwick Park, once inhabited by Colonel Norton, who dying in 1732, left his estates, amounting to £6000 a-year, and more than £60,000 in personal property, to "the poor, hungry, and thirsty; naked and strangers; sick, wounded, and prisoners, to the end of the world." He bequeathed his pictures and other valuables to the King; appointed the British Parliament his executors, and, in case of their refusal to accept the trust, it was to devolve on the Bishops. This extraordinary will was set aside on the ground of the testator's insanity.

STOCKBRIDGE.

This town is situated 661⁄2 miles from London, on the road to Salisbury, and consists chiefly of a long street, through which the highway passes; it derives its support almost entirely from the passage of travellers, as it has no manufactories, and very little trade. Although but a chapelry of King's Som

borne, it is a borough, and has returned two Members to Parliament from the year 1558 to the present time; a Bailiff, a Constable, and other officers, exercise the government of the town, whose population, in 1821, was 715 persons. Here is a good Bridge, of modern erection, over the Test; and the Andover Canal passing through the town, affords a ready communication with the interior and with the sea. The Market is held on Thursday, and it has four yearly Fairs. About two miles westward, on Houghton Downs, is a handsome Race Course.

On Danebury Hill, a long elevated ridge, between Stockbridge and the Wiltshire border, is an extensive circular Entrenchment, with very high_ramparts, and a ditch; several barrows are met with in the neighbourhood, one of which is called Canute's Barrow. Another considerable Camp occupies the summit of Quarley Mount, about five miles distant, and numerous tumuli and barrows are scattered over the adjacent Downs.

STRATHFIELD TURGIS, a small village on the Berkshire border, about eight miles from Reading, is celebrated only as containing the mansion called Strathfield Saye, which was purchased at the national expense, soon after the restoration of peace, and presented to the Duke of Wellington, as a token of gratitude for his victorious exertions during the war. The house is spacious and convenient, and is agreeably situated in an extensive park, well wooded and watered.

TITCHFIELD, a neat town, about three miles from Fareham, is pleasantly situated on a small river of the same name. The Church is large, and exhibits the architecture of various ages; the north side is said to have been built by Wykeham, but the south is much more ancient. It contains several monuments, particularly to members of the Southampton family, whose residence, (near the town), called Titchfield House, was erected by the first Earl, on the site and with the materials of an Abbey, which formed a part of the spoils lavished on him by Henry VIII. This House, which afforded shelter to Charles I, after his escape from Hampton Court, in 1647, is

now in a very dilapidated state, little more than the entrance Gateway being left. Titchfield has not a Market, but four annual Fairs are held; the population, in 1821, was 3528.

UPHAM, a village about three miles north-west of Bishop's Waltham, was the birth-place of Dr. Edward Young, whose father at that period (1681) was Rector of this parish, and subsequently became Dean of Salisbury. After pursuing his studies at Winchester College and at Oxford, where he was distinguished for his learning and application, he took the degree of D. C. L. in 1719, but did not enter into holy orders until 1730. He 'unfortunately devoted too much of his time to politics, a subject always unfit for a clergyman, especially when pursued, as in his case, with a view to temporal preferment. Notwithstanding his zeal, however, his success was but small, as he never obtained more than the living of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire. In 1731, he married Lady Elizabeth Lee, widow of Colonel Lee, whose daughter died in her seventeenth year at Nice; she is generally considered to have been intended by the character of Narcissa, in the Night Thoughts, as her husband Mr. Temple, who shortly followed her to the grave, is indicated by Philander; and this well-known apostrophe

"Insatiate Archer! could not one suffice?

Thy shaft flew thrice, and thrice my peace was slain !
And thrice, ere thrice yon moon had fill'd her horn!".

refers to the deaths of the youthful pair, and of Lady Elizabeth, the poet's wife. To the acute sorrow felt by him, the world is indebted for the beautiful and sublime poem, by which he is best known. He also wrote several tragedies, of which the "Revenge" still keeps the stage; the Love of Fame, a satire, highly praised by Dr. Johnson; and several prose works, of which the "Centaur not Fabulous" is the only one now read. He died in 1765, at the age of 84 years.

WEYHILL, about three miles from Andover, is the site of a celebrated annual Fair, which commences on the 10th of October, and usually continues. about seven days. The first day is devoted to the sale of

sheep, of which 150,000 have been sold here in a single day; on the second the hiring of servants takes place; on the third the sale of hops begins, and continues to the end of the Fair. Beside the above commodities, horses, oxen, cheese, cloth, and a variety of other articles, are disposed of, and the Fair is attended by persons from all parts of England: the Bailiff of Andover holds a Court of Pie-powder, and receives a small fee from every occupant of a booth or standing.

WHITCHURCH.

This town is situated near the north-western border of the County, 66 miles from London; it is a small ill-built place, but is governed by a Mayor, and has sent two Members to Parliament ever since 1585: the number of freeholders, in whom the right of election is vested, is stated to be about 70. The Church is a low, but spacious building; and here are also Meeting-houses for Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and Independents. The population, in 1821, was 1434 persons, many of whom are employed in a manufactory of shalloons, serges, &c.; and others in an extensive paper mill. The Market day is Friday.

About a mile to the west of Whitchurch is Hurstbourne Park, the seat of the Earl of Portsmouth, the circumstances connected with whose unhappy malady have rendered its name familiar to the public. The house is a very fine building, designed by Wyatt, consisting of a centre and two wings, connected by colonnades. The principal apartments are superbly fitted up, and contain many fine paintings. The mansion stands on a beautiful eminence, (sloping to a fine sheet of water, which winds through the extensive and well-wooded Park), and commands, in every direction, extensive and charming prospects.

WHERWELL, a village about three miles from Andover, had a Nunnery, founded by the beautiful but profligate Elfrida, second wife of King Edgar, as an atonement for her treacherous murder of her son-inlaw Edward the Martyr, at Corfe Castle, and also for her assent to the assassination of her first husband, Athelwold, by Edgar, whom she afterwards married.

After the accession of her son Ethelred to the throne, she took the veil, and passed the remainder of her days in this Nunnery, which, by her liberality, and that of other benefactors, was found at the Dissolution to possess lands of the annual value of upwards of £400. The building was granted to Sir Thomas West, afterwards Lord Delawar; but not a vestige of it now remains.

WICKHAM, or WYKEHAM, a pleasant village 3 miles from Fareham, is deserving of notice as being the native place of the celebrated William of Wykeham, who was born here in 1324, of humble parentage. Having been educated at Winchester and Oxford, his talents introduced him to the notice of Nicholas Uvedale, Constable of Winchester Castle, and of Bishop Edyngton, whose secretary he became, when that prelate was Lord High Treasurer; by these patrons he was recommended to Edward III, who, observing his inclination for architecture, made him surveyor of all his buildings, in which capacity he superintended the erection of the Castles of Windsor and Queenborough, and many other edifices. Nor were his talents as a statesman less conspicuous than as an architect; we find him filling the offices of. Keeper of the Privy Seal, Lord High Chancellor, and several others; and, although accused by the malice of faction of various misdemeanours, investigation served but to prove his ability and integrity. In 1366 he became Bishop of Winchester, and devoted himself, with the utmost zeal, to the rebuilding his Cathedral, and many other churches in his diocese; the foundation of those munificent institutions, Winchester College, and New College, Oxford; the repairing and making new roads, building bridges, and other works of usefulness and beneficence*.

After

* This munificent prelate, rightly considering himself but as the Steward of Providence, and well aware that the enormous revenues of the See of Winchester were never intended by the donors to gratify the avarice or to administer to the luxuries of an individual, employed them in erecting buildings devoted to the service of God, and in founding and endowing establishments for the education of youth, the support of the studious, the advancement of learning, and the maintenance of the aged, and infirm. If all his successors had imitated his conduct, the disgraceful fact of a late Bishop dying possessed of“ effects valued at £700,000,” could never have occurred..

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