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with these made a fire in the church porch, in order to boil them; but some of his adversaries, to show how far they could carry their rage against the church (for this poor man was so harmless, they could have none against him), came and kicked about his fire, threw down his skillet, and broke his eggs. After this, having still a little money, he made a small purchase in that neighbourhood, built a house, and lived there some years. He was encouraged to this by a presbyterian minister who came in his room, and honestly paid him a fifth part of the annual, income of the living, which was the allowance made by parliament to ejected ministers, treated him with great humanity, and did him all the services in his power. It is a great misfortune that this gentleman's name is not preserved, his conduct in this respect being the more laudable, because it was not a little singular. Walker calls him Mr. B—, and the living is not mentioned by Calamy. Afterwards, probably on the death or removal of this gentleman, Mr. Alphery left Huntingdonshire, and came and resided at Hammersmith, till the Restoration put him in possession of his living again. He returned on this occasion to Huntingdonshire, where he did not stay long; for, being upwards of 80, and very infirm, he could not perform the duties of his function. Having therefore settled a curate,. he retired to his eldest son's house at Hammersmith, where shortly after he died, full of years and of honour. It must be owned that this article is very imperfect; but the singularity of a Russian prince's being a country minister in England is a matter of too much curiosity to be wholly

omitted.

Mrs. Alphery, the last descendant of the family, married one Mr. Johnson a cutler at Huntingdon. She was living in 1764, and had eight children. By her the facts contained in the preceding article, first related by Walker, were confirmed to lord Sandwich, and were likewise known to be true by old people in the neighbourhood. His lordship informed Dr. Campbell, that such was the respect paid this woman on account of her illustrious descent, that no persons, of whatever station, chose to be seated in her presence: on the contrary they rose, and remained so till she had taken her chair. '

'Biog. Brit.-Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy,

ALPHONSUS X. king of Leon and Castile, who has been surnamed The Wise, on account of his attachment to literature, is now more celebrated for having been an astronomer than a king. He was born in 1203, succeeded his father Ferdinand III. in 1252, and died in 1284, consequently at the age of 81. The affairs of the reign of Alphonsus were very extraordinary and unfortunate, but we shall here only consider him in that part of his character, on account of which he has a place in this work, namely, as an astronomer and a man of letters. He acquired a profound knowledge of astronomy, philosophy, and history, and composed books upon the motions of the heavens, and on the history of Spain, which are highly commended. "What can be more surprising," says Mariana," "than that a prince, educated in a camp, and handling arms from his childhood, should have such a knowledge of the stars, of philosophy, and the transactions of the world, as men of leisure can scarcely acquire in their retirements? There are extant some books of Alphonsus on the motions of the stars, and the history of Spain, written with great skill and incredible care." In his astronomical pursuits he discovered that the tables of Ptolemy were full of errors, and was the first to undertake the task of correcting them. For this purpose, about the year 1240, and during the life of his father, he assembled at Toledo the most skilful astronomers of his time, Christians, Moors, or Jews, when a plan was formed for constructing new tables. This task was accomplished about 1252, the first year of his reign; the tables being drawn up chiefly by the skill and pains of Rabbi Isaac Hazan, a learned Jew, and the work called the Alphonsine Tables, in honour of the prince, who was at vast expences concerning them. He fixed the epoch of the tables to the 30th of May 1252, being the day of his accession to the throne. They were printed for the first time in 1483, at Venice, by Radtolt, who excelled in printing at that time; an edition extremely rare: there are others of 1492, 1521, 1545, &c.

We must not omit a memorable saying of Alphonsus, which has been recorded for its boldness and impiety; namely, "That if he had been of God's privy council when he made the world, he could have advised him better." His biographers have endeavoured to vindicate him in this instance, by assuring us that he meant only to reflect on

the absurd philosophy by which the laws of nature were then explained. Perhaps their wiser course would have been to consign it to oblivion, as there is no direct proof of his not having used this irreverent language.

1

ALPHONSUS (PETER), a Spanish Jew of the 12th century, was converted to the Christian religion in 1106, in the 44th year of his age. Being severely censured by his countrymen, he published a." Dialogue between a Jew and a Christian," which seems to have been no con temptible defence of Christianity against his countrymen. He wrote also "On science and philosophy," and was eminent for sacred and profane literature. The time of his death is not known. The first mentioned work is in the "Bibl. Patrum." 2

ALPHONSUS TOSTATUS. See TOSTATUS.

ALPINI (PROSPERO), a celebrated physician and bo tanist, was born the 23d of November 1553, at Marostica, in the republic of Venice. In his early years he was inclined to the profession of arms, and accordingly served in the Milanese; but being at length persuaded by his father, who was a physician, to apply himself to learning, he went to Padua, where in a little time he was chosen deputy to the rector, and syndic to the students, which offices he discharged with great prudence and address. This, however, did not hinder him from pursuing his study of physic, in which faculty he was created doctor in 1578. Nor did he remain long without practice, being soon after invited to Campo San Pietro, a little town in the territories of Padua. But such a situation was too confined for one of his extensive views; he was desirous of gaining a knowledge of exotic plants, and thought the best way to succeed in his inquiries, was, after Galen's example, to visit the countries where they grow. He soon had an opportunity of gratifying his curiosity, as George Emo, or Hemi, being appointed consul for the republic of Venice in Egypt, chose him for his physician. They left Venice the 12th of September 1580; and, after a tedious and dangerous voyage, arrived at Grand Cairo the beginning of July the year following. Alpini continued three years in this coun try, where he omitted no opportunity of improving his

1 Univ. History.Moreri.-Saxii Onomasticon.-Gen. Dict. in art. Castille. 2 Cave vol. 11-Fabricii Bibl. Lat. Med.-Dupin.

knowledge in botany, travelling along the banks of the river Nile, and as far as Alexandria, and other parts of Egypt. Upon his return to Venice, in 1584, Andrea Doria, prince of Melfi, appointed him his physician; and he distinguished himself so much in this capacity, that he was esteemed the first physician of his age. The republic of Venice, displeased that a subject of theirs, of so much merit as Alpini, should continue at Genoa, when he might be of very great service and honour to their state, recalled him in 1593, to fill the professorship of botany at Padua, where he had a salary of 200 florins, afterwards raised to 750. He discharged this office with great reputation; but his health became very precarious, having been much injured by the voyages he had made. According to the registers of the university of Padua, he died the 5th of February 1617, in the 64th year of his age, and was buried the day after, without any funeral pomp, in the church of St. Anthony.

His works, some of which are still held in esteem, were, 1. "De Medicina Egyptiorum, libri IV." Venice, 1591, 4to, Paris, 1645, and Leyden, 1735, 4to. 2. "De Balsamo dialogus," Venice, 1591, Padua, 1640, 4to. In this he describes the plant in Asia Minor which produces the white balsam. 3. De Plantis Egyptii liber," Venice, 1592, Padua, 1640, 4to. 4. "De Plantis exoticis, libri II." Venice, 1627, 1656, 4to. 5. "Historiæ naturalis Egypti, libri IV." Leyden, 1735, 2 vols. 4to. 6. "De præsagienda vita et morte ægrotantium, libri VII." Padua, 4to, Leyden, 1710, edited by Boerhaave; the most considerable of all his works, of which there have been various editions, and an English translation by Dr. James, 2 vols. 8vo. 1746. 7. "De Medicina methodica, libri XIII." Padua, fol. 1611, Leyden, 1719, 4to, a work in which he evinces his predilection for the methodists. 8. "Dissertatio de Rhapontico," Padua, 1612, 4to. All these works have been fre quently reprinted. Towards the end of his life Alpini became deaf, and in consequence turned his thoughts towards the causes of that privation, and the possibility of cure. The result of his researches he communicated in a treatise on the subject, which, with some other works, still remain in manuscript. He left four sons, one of whom was a lawyer, and another a physician, and the publisher of his father's posthumous works. The Alpinia, a genus

of the monogynia order, of which there is but one species, derives its name from him. 1

ALREDUS, ALFREDUS, or ALUREDUS, an ancient English historian, was born at Beverley in Yorkshire, and received his education at Cambridge. He returned afterwards to the place of his nativity, where he became a secular priest, one of the canons, and treasurer to the church of St. John, at Beverley. Tanner, in a note, informs us, that he travelled for improvement through France and Italy, and that at Rome he became domestic chaplain to cardinal Othoboni. According to Bale and Pits, he flourished under king Stephen, and continued his annals to the year 1136. Vossius is supposed to come nearer the truth, who tells us that he flourished in the reign of Henry I. and died in 1126, in which same year ended his annals. His history, however, agrees with none of these authors, and it seems probable from thence that he died in 1128 or 1129. He intended at first no more than an abridgment of the history of the ancient Britons; but a desire of pursuing the thread of his story led him to add the Saxon, and then the Norman history, and at length he brought it down to his own times. This epitome of our history from Brutus to Henry I. is esteemed a valuable performance; it is written in Latin, in a concise and elegant style, with great perspicuity, and a strict attention to dates and authorities: the author has been not improperly styled our English Florus, his plan and execution very much resembling that of the Roman historian. It is somewhat surprising that Leland has not given him a place amongst the British writers: the reason seems to have been that Leland, through a mistake, considers him only as the author of an abridgment of Geoffrey of Monmouth's history; but most of the ancient writers having placed Geoffrey's history later in point of time than that of Alredus, we have reason to conclude that Alredus composed his compendium before he ever saw the history of Geoffrey. We have also the authority of John Withamsted, an ancient writer of the fifteenth century, who, speaking of our author, says, that he wrote a chronicle of what happened from the settlement of Brutus to the time of the Normans, in which he also treated of the cities anciently founded in this kingdom, and mentioned the names

1 Gen. Dict.-Moreri.-Haller Bibl. Med.-Manget, Bibl.-Freyeri Thea trum. Saxii Onomast.

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