the inachine was not quitted for a moment; the experimenters alternately refreshing themselves when fatigued by lying down for a few hours on mattresses in the laboratory. The volume of hydrogen employed was 25963-568 cubic inches, and the weight was 1039-358 grains. The volume of oxygen was 12570 942, and the weight was 6209-869 grains. The total weight of both elastic fluids was 7249-227. The weight of water obtained was 7244 grains, or 12 oz., 4 gros, 45 grains. The weight of water which should have been obtained was 12 oz., 4 gros, 49.227 grains; the deficit being only 4.227 grains-easily accounted for by the imperfection of all human instruments and experiments, especially on such a scale. If we take sulphuric or muriatic acid, diluted three parts with water, and pour it upon iron-filings in a glass vessel, the temperature of the mixture will soon be so much increased by the union of the water with the acid, as to enable the iron to decompose a part of the water. A hole being made through a cork which fits the mouth of the phial, and a piece of tobacco-pipe with a very small orifice being fitted into it, and the whole cemented into the phial, the hydrogen gas, as it is separated from the water, will pass in a continued stream through the pipe, and may be set on fire by the flame of a candle. The gas will continue to burn with a blue lambent flame, as long as the decomposition goes on. This shows that the gas is really hydrogen, and that it arises from the decomposition of the water. That water may be re-formed by the combustion of this gas may be shown by holding a glass bell over the flame of the gas: as the hydrogen burns, it unites with the oxygen of the atmosphere, and the union of the two gases produces water, which will soon be seen to deposit itself like dew on the inside of the glass. These two experiments, taken together, prove the compound nature of water in the most satisfactory manner. The carburetted hydrogen burnt for lights in the shops and counting houses sometimes, also, will establish the above facts relative to the composition of water. Over the lamps we see bell-glasses with long curved pipes fitted to the top, ending in a small glass vessel. By these pipes what would otherwise become an annoying smoke is consumed, and, uniting with the oxygen of the atmosphere, forms water, which is received in the glass vessel. A friend of ours in Cheapside thus carries off from two burners about half a wine glass full of water every night. There are other methods of decomposing water. When two wires from the opposite extremities of the galvanic battery are placed in a tube containing water, so that they are distant from each other a quarter of an inch or half an inch, a stream of gas issues from each wire-from the positive wire oxy gen, from the negative hydrogen gas; and these are in the proportions which when exploded, either by galvanism or electricity, re-form water. Vegetables have the power of decomposing water by an operation peculiar to themselves. If a sun-flower leaf be placed in an inverted jar of water, exposed to the rays of the sun, bubbles of oxygen will be rapidly formed; the leaf having appropriated to itself the hydrogen, and consequently disengaged the oxygen which forms the bubbles. Having thus established the great general fact of the composition of water, and what are its component parts, it will be interesting to examine these parts separately. Oxygen was first obtained by Dr. Priestley in 1774, from the red oxide of mercury exposed to a burning lens; that is, he obtained this gas from the oxide, not knowing or believing it to be a component part of water. He clearly ascertained, however, at this period its two great distinguishing properties of rendering combustion more vivid and eminently supporting life. Scheele, a Danish chemist, and Lavoisier, seemed to have obtained it in the same way, without any knowledge of Dr. Priestley's discovery, the same year. It was reserved for Mr. Cavendish, as we have seen, first to suggest, in 1781, and prove beyond dispute in 1784, the important quantum of this vivifying ingredient contained in water. See OXYGEN. We have said its two principal characteristics are promoting combustion and sustaining life. These, perhaps, are in substance one. We all remember the old experiment of the plumbers to ascertain whether they may in safety descend a well; that is, by first letting down a candle-for generally where a candle burns they know a man can breathe. How eminently this gas supports combustion may be further inferred from the fact that, 1. It relights a taper; 2. Readily produces sulphuric acid from sulphur; 3. Or, with equal readiness, phosphuric acid from phosphorus. We may here add though this eminent supporter of combustion, this gas is not itself a combustible. Hydrogen, though the much inferior component part of water, has been honored with a name which signifies (vdwp, water, and yɛvvaw, to produce) to produce water. See HYDROGEN. 1. In proof of its being the lightest ponderable known, it is the great ingredient used in aerostation. One of Bate's balloons may be sent up in any parlor filled with this gas: it is composed of the maw of a turkey, and filled precisely on the principle of the largest balloons. 2. Hydrogen will not support combustion; if we immerse in it a taper it instantly dies. Yet is this gas highly combustible in atmospheric air: hence its importance in modern times, arising from its extensive use (already adverted to) in lights; and its well known connexion with the explosions that frequently take place in coal-mines. The investigation of its properties in the latter case has led to Sir Humphry Davy's admirable invention of the SAFETY LAMP, which see. He found that this gas was generated in large quantities, imperceptibly, by the surface of the coal, and then ou mixing with the air of the atmosphere went off, on application of a common light, in a violent and dangerous explosion. Sir Humphry Davy's invention simply prevents the light from coming in contact with this dangerous mixture of airs by a gauze veil. We conclude in the words of a contemporary author, which may suggest a reflection for our younger readers :— When judgment waked the Almighty hand, Conducting Mercy's myriad streams Wherever life puts forth its gleams; And writes on all below-above, That nature is the work of love. WATER, among jewellers, is properly the color or lustre of diamonds and pearls. The term, though less properly, is sometimes used for the hue or color of other stones. WATER APPLE, in botany. See ANNONA. WATER BETONY. See SCROPHULARIA. WATER CALAMINT, a species of mentha. WATER COLORS, in painting, are such colors as are only diluted and mixed up with gum water, in contradistinction to oil colors. See COLOR MAKING. WATER CRESSES. See SISYMBRIUM. WATER, HOLY, which is made use of in the church of Rome, as also by the Greeks, and by the other Christians of the east of all denominations, is water with a mixture of salt, blessed by a priest according to a set form of benediction. It is used in the blessing of persons, things, and places; and is likewise considered as a ceremony to excite pious thoughts in the minds of the faithful. The priest, in blessing it, first, in the name of God, commands the devils not to hurt the persons who shall be sprinkled with it, nor to abuse the things, nor disquiet the places, which shall likewise be so sprinkled. He then prays that health, safety, and the favor of heaven, may be enjoyed by such persons, and by those who shall use such things, or dwell in such places. Vestments, vessels, and other such things that are set apart for divine service, are sprinkled with it. It is sometimes sprinkled on cattle, with an intention to free or preserve them from diabolical enchantments; and in some ritual books there are prayers to be said on such occasions, by which the safety of such animals, as being a temporal blessing to the possessors, is begged of God, whose providential care is extended to all his creatures. The hope which Catholics entertain of obtaining such good effects from the devout use of holy water is grounded on the promise made to believers by Christ (St. Mark. xvi. 17), and on the general efficacy of the prayers of the church; the petition of which prayers God is often pleased to grant; though sometimes, in his providence, he sees it not expedient to do so. WATER HOUSE-LEEK, in botany. See PISTIA. WATER LEAF. See HYDROPHILLUM. WATER LEMON, a species of passiflora. WATER LILY. See NYMPHEA. WATER LILY, LESSER, a species of menyanthes. WATER LINE OF A SHIP, certain horizontal lines supposed to be drawn about the outside of a ship's bottom, close to the surface of the water in which she floats. They are accordingly higher or lower upon the bottom, in proportion to the depth of the column of water required to float her. WATER MELON. See ANGUria. WATER MELON is also a species of cucurbita. WATER, METHOD OF PRESERVING FRESH AT SEA. The following method of preserving fresh water sweet during long voyages at sea, by Samuel Bentham, esq., appears in the Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, who conferred on the author their gold medal. The mode in which I conceived fresh water might be preserved sweet,' says Mr. Bentham, was merely by keeping it in vessels of which the interior lining at least should be of such a substance as should not be acted upon by the water, so as to become a cause of contamination. Accordingly on board two ships the greater part of the water was kept, not in casks, but in cases of tanks, which, though they were made of wood, on account of strength, were lined with metallic plates, of the kind manufactured by Mr. Charles Wyatt, of Bridge Street, under the denomination of tinned copper sheets; and the junctures of the plates or sheets were soldered together, so that the tightness of the cases depended entirely on the lining, the water having no where access to the wood. The shape of these cases was adapted to that of the hold of the ship, some of them being made to fit close under the platform, by which means the quantity of water stowed was considerably greater than could have been stowed in the same space by means of casks; and thereby the stowage room on board ship was very much increased. The quantity of water kept in this manner on board each ship was about forty tons divided into sixteen tanks; and there was likewise, on board each of the ships, about thirty tons stowed in casks as usual. The water in thirteen of the tanks on board one ship, and in all the tanks on board the other, was always as sweet as when first taken from the source; but in the other three of the tanks, on board one ship, the water was found to be more or less tainted as in the casks. This difference, however, is easily accounted for, by supposing that the water of these tanks was contaminated before it was put into them; for in fact the whole of the water was brought on board in casks, for the purpose of filling the tanks, and no particular care was taken to taste the water at the time of taking it on board. After the water kept in this manner had remained on board a length of time which was deemed sufficient for experiment, it was used out, and the tanks were replenished as occasion required; but in some of the tanks, on board one ship at least, the original water had remained three years and a half.' WATER MILFOIL, a species of hottonia. WATER, OXYGENIZED, or deutoxide of hydrogen, is an interesting compound lately formed by M. Thenard, an account of which he published in the tenth volume of the Annales de Chimie et de Physique. The deutoxide of barium being dissolved in water, and sulphuric acid added, the protoxide of barium or barytes falls down, leaving the oxygen combined with the water. It contains, at 32° Fahrenheit when saturated, twice the quantity of oxygen of common water; that is to say, a cubic inch absorbs 662 cubic inches 224:46 gr. forming 476.98 grains, and acquires a specific gravity of 1-453. Hence 1·0 in volume becomes apparently 1-3; containing 1324 volumes of oxygen; and one volume therefore contains very nearly 1000 volumes. In consequence of this great density, when it is poured into common water, we see it fall down through that liquid like a sort of syrup, though it is very soluble in it. It attacks the epidermis almost instantly, and produces a prickling pain, the duration of which varies, according to the quantity of the liquid applied to the skin. If this quantity be too great, or if the liquid be renewed, the skin itself is attacked and destroyed. When applied to the tongue it whitens it also, thickens the saliva, and produces in the organs of taste a sensation difficult to express, but one which approaches to that of tartar emetic. Its action on oxide of silver is exceedingly violent. Every drop of the liquid let fall on the dry oxide produces a real explosion; and so much heat is evolved, that, if the experiment be made in a dark place, there is a very sensible disengagement of light. Besides the oxide of silver, there are several other oxides, which act with violence on oxygenated water; for example, the peroxide of manganese, that of cobalt, the oxides of lead, platinum, gold, iridium, rhodium, palladium. Several metals in a state of extreme division occasion the same phenomenon; such as silver, platinum, gold, osmium, iridium, rhodium, palladium. In all the preceding cases, it is always the oxygen united to the water which is disengaged, and sometimes likewise that of the oxide; but in others a portion of the oxygen unites with the metal itself. This is the case when arsenic, molybdenum, tungsten, or selenium is employed. These metals are often acidified with the production of light. The acids render the oxygenated water more stable. Gold in a state of extreme division acts with great force on pure oxygenated water; yet it has no action on that liquid, if it be mixed with a little sulphuric acid. M. Thenard took pure oxygenated water, and diluted it, so that it contained only eight times its volume of oxygen. He passed twenty-two measures of it into a tube filled with mercury. He then introduced a little fibrin, quite white, and recently extracted from blood. The oxygen began instantly to be disengaged from the water; the mercury in the tube sunk; at the end of six minutes the water was completely disoxygenated; for it no longer effervesced with oxide of silver. Having then measured the gas disengaged, he found it 176 measures 8 x 22, that is to say, as much as the liquid contained. This gas contained neither carbonic acid nor azote. It was pure oxygen. The same fibrin, placed in contact with new portions of oxygenated water, acted in the same manner. Urea, albumen, liquid or solid, and gelatin, do not disengage oxygen from water, even very much oxygenated. But the tissue of the lungs cut into thin siices and well washed, that of the kidneys and the spleen, drive the oxygen out of the water, with as much facility, at least, as fibrin does. The skin and the veins possess the same property, but in a weaker degree. These results are equally interesting and mysterious. WATER PEPPER, a species of polygonum. WATER PIMPERNEL, a species of veronica. WATER PIMPERnel, Round-leaVED. See SA MOLUS. WATER PLANTAIN. See ALISMA. WATER PLANTAIN, LEAST, in botany, is a species of limosella; which, being omitted in its order, it is proper to describe here: Limosella, least water plantain, is a genus of the class of didynamia, and order of angiospermia; and in the natural method, ranking under the twenty-first order, preciæ. The plants of this genus, with all others of the same order, constantly have their seeds in a pericarpium: they have a simple stigma, and spreading corollæ. WATER POTS, in Spain, called Alcarazas, are earthen vessels, extremely porous, destined to cool the water for drinking, by means of the continual evaporation which takes place on their whole surface. Every house in Madrid is provided with these vessels, which are known to have been introduced into the country by the Arabs, and to be equally used in Syria, Persia, China, Egypt, &c. Those of Madrid are made of a kind of marly earth, found on the banks of the river Tanusoro, near the town of Auduxar, in Andalusia. On being carefully analysed it is found to contain about onethird of calcareous earth, a third of alumine, a third of silex, and a very small proportion of iron. The process for manufacturing the alcarazas is as follows:-After the earth has been dried, it is sepaparated into small lumps about the size of walnuts, which are thrown into a tub or vat, covered with water, and left to soak during twelve hours, after which it is kneaded. After it has been well wrought, it is spread in layers of about six fingers' depth on a smooth surface covered with brick, over which has been sprinkled a small quantity of sifted ashes. Here it is suffered to remain until it has become chapped: it is then cleared from the ashes, carried to a clean flagged floor, where it receives the addition of about the twentieth part of its weight of sea-salt, if intended for the fabrication of large jars, or only a fortieth if destined to be made into vessels of smaller size. An observant traveller says that a quantity of sand is also added. This mixture is kneaded anew with the feet, and then wrought on the wheel, after having been first carefully cleaned from any bits of straw or gravel which might have adhered to it. The vessels, when made, are placed in the potter's oven, but not more than half baked. It is to this circumstance, and to the marine salt which they contain, that they are indebted for their porosity; for the very same earth is wrought into common pottery, without the addition of the salt, or the diminution of the baking. In the hottest weather, water put into one of these vessels, and placed in the open air, more particularly in a current of air, becomes in a very short time agreeably cool. In Estremadura, at a place called Salvatierra, are made red vases called bucaros, which serve also to preserve water cool. They impart to it a disagreeable clayey taste, which is, however, much admired by the women of Madrid. Girls are said to be particularly fond of this species of pottery, and eat it in the green sickness. Nearly similar vases are used in Portugal for moistening snuff, which is done by placing them in water after they have been filled with the snuff. WATER PURSLANE, in botany. See PEPLIS. WATER RAT. See Mus. WATER ROCKET. See SISYMBRIUM. WATER SAIL, a small sail spread occasionally under the lower studding-sail, or driver-boom, in a fair wind and smooth sea. WATER SPOUT, an extraordinary meteor consisting of a large mass of water collected into a sort of column, and moved with rapidity along the surface of the sea. See METEOROLOGY. WATER VIOLET. See HOTTONIA. WATERLAND (Dr. Daniel), a learned English divine who distinguished himself greatly in theological controversies, was born in 1633 at Wailsby, near Rasen, in Lincolnshire, of which his father, Erasmus Waterland, was many years rector. He was educated at Magdalen College, Cambridge, where he drew up a useful tract, which went through several editions, entitled Advice to a Young Student, with a method of Study for the first four years. In 1713 he became master of the college, was soon after appointed chaplain to George I., and in 1720 preached the first course of lectures founded by lady Moyer in defence of our Lord's divinity. He went through several promotions, and at his death, in 1740, was canon of Windsor, archdeacon of Middlesex, and vicar of Twickenham. Besides his controversial writings, he published two volumes of sermons; but his chief work Is his Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity, against Dr. Clarke; with his Defence of that work in reply to Clarke. WATERLAND, an island in the South Pacific Ocean, discovered by Le Maire and Schouten, in 1616. It is represented as a low, sandy, uninhabited island, full of rocks, with plenty of trees on the border, but neither cocoa-nuts nor palmetoes. Some cresses and Indian salad were found, and some fresh water; but no soundings for anchorage were found. Long. 149° 30′ W., lat. 14° 46′ S. WATER-LODGED, the state of a ship when, by receiving a great quantity of water into the hold by leaking, &c., she has become heavy upon the sea, so as to yield without resistance to every wave rushing over her decks. . As, in this dangerous situation, the centre of gravity is no longer fixed, but fluctuating, the stability of the ship is utterly lost: she is therefore almost totally deprived of the use of her sails, which would operate to overset her, or press her head under water. Hence there is no resource for the crew but to free her by the pumps, or to abandon her as soon as possible. WATERLOO (Anthony), a famous Dutch painter, born at Utrecht in the sixteenth century. His paintings are admirably executed. WA ATERLOO, a village of the Netherlands, ten miles south of Brussels, adjoins a spot where Marlborough, had he not been withheld by the Dutch deputies, might, in 1705, have defeated a French army, and have conferred on this village a similar renown to that attached to it since the memorable 18th of June 1815. We can only here afford space for a brief sketch of this memorable conflict. The forces engaged were, until late in the evening, nearly equal, the French reckoning 71,000 men, while the troops under lord Wellington were about 58,000; and those under Bulow, who came up early in the afternoon, were about 15,000 men. In regard to position, also, there was no great advantage, the ground on which the British were drawn up rising by a gentle ascent. In pursuance of his plan of diverting his opponents from the real attack, Buonaparte ordered an assault towards the right of the British, on the Chateau de Goumond, a post which, though hardly entitled to the name of a military station, was defended with such firmness that the French could gain possession only of the plantation, and failed in their attempts to drive the British from the position. This encounter, partial but sanguinary, took place between eleven and one o'clock. It was speedily followed by a more serious onset on the British left and centre. The British plan of battle, as regarded the infantry, was defensive; their battalions drawn up in squares, and protected by a number of field-pieces, awaited the attack; but their cavalry stood ready to seize any favorable opening to advance. This occurred, or was believed to occur on more than one occasion, in the early part of the battle; and conflicts took place with that varied result which will always prevail when, in armies of equal or nearly equal discipline, there remain regiments in reserve. A charge made by a body of British horse, on the flank of a French column, when marching from left to right, This was attended with great success; but this was soon found to be dearly purchased; the field was covered with a number, apparently equal, of French and British uniforms; and the French cavalry were repulsed only by the arrival of a fresh body of British dragoons. On the part of the British infantry, the case was different; the defensive plan being strictly followed, the resistance was almost uniformly successful. The French generals witnessed a dreadful carnage; but observing that the British never advanced, and being unable to see clearly the whole of their battalions, they, in particular Ney, remained unconscious of their strength, and ventured between four and five o'clock to bring forward to the charge their cavalry reserve, the imperial guards. Twice did these intrepid horsemen rush on the British field-pieces and battalions. Though partially successful against the former, they failed against the latter; and being galled by their fire, both of cannon and musquetry, were obliged each time to retreat with great loss. charge,' said Buonaparte, who stood on high ground at some distance, is too early by an hour.' Ney,' rejoined Soult, commits us as he did at Jena.' After two hours more of firing and partial attacks, Buonaparte thought it time to bring forward his final reserve, the imperial foot guard. This took place at seven o'clock, and brings us to the most remarkable juncture of the battle; that juncture in which, on almost every former occasion, whether against Austrians, Prussians, or Russians, the attack of a corps fresh and high spirited, caused the rout of the opposing line. Here, however, the British troops had been well supported; and, though fatigued, were not shaken. The blanks in their ranks (above 10,000 men had by this time been killed and wounded) had been successively filled by drafts from the reserve; and, if few expected victory, all were determined rather to fall than yield. Their general had higher hopes; he knew that the Prussians were approaching; and making the squares dissolve their order, and form into a continuous line, they obtained in their musquetry fire a great advantage over an enemy formed in close column. Affairs were now drawing to a crisis. Lord Wellington, observing the march of Blucher, ordered a forward movement; and the French, seeing on one side the British advance, on the other that the high road in their rear was on the point of being forced by the Prussians, relinquished the field of battle, and sought safety in a retreat, which soon became a disorderly flight. WATERSAY, one of the Western Islands of Scotland, lying one mile south of that of Barray. It is three miles long and one broad, and pretty fertile. It has an excellent harbour, fit for sheltering vessels of any size, and in all weathers, from storms, being defended from all winds by the islands of Sanderay and Maldonich. It is inhabited by ten families; and belongs to Macniel of Barray. It lies about a mile from south Uist, from which it is separated by Christmas Bay. WATERWORKS. See HYDRAULICS, and HYDROSTATICS. WATFORD, a market-town and parish in Cashio hundred, Herts, on the banks of the Colne, eighteen miles and a half north-west from London. The Colne, which nearly surrounds the town, has several mills on its banks; but the principal manufacture is the throwing of silk, for which here is a very extensive machine, worked by water. WATS (Gilbert), D. D., a learned divine, born in Yorkshire, and educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he became a fellow, and D. D. He translated lord Verulam's Treatise De Augmentis Scientiarum, 4to., and Davilla's History of the Civil Wars in France. He died in 1657. WATSON (Henry), an eminent surgeon, born at London in 1702. He became famous as a lecturer on anatomy, and was chosen surgeon of Westminster Hospital. He published an Account of the Absorbents of the Urinary Bladder, and some papers in the Philosophical Transactions. He died in 1793, aged ninety-one. WATSON (John), F. S. A., an English divine, born at Presbury in Cheshire, in 1724; and educated at Brazen Nose College, Oxford, where he became a fellow. In 1769, after several inferior promotions, he became rector of Stockport; and in 1770 chaplain to the earl of Dysart. He was twice married, and was made a J. P. for Cheshire and Lancashire. His chief work was his History of Halifax, 1775. He died March 14th, 1783, while preparing for the press A History of the Earls of Warren and Surrey, aged fifty-nine. WATSON (Dr. Robert), an elegant historian, was born at St. Andrew's, in Scotland, about 1730. He was the son of an apothecary there, who was also a brewer. Having gone through the usual course, at the school or university of that city, he went first to the university of Glasgow, and afterwards to that of Edinburgh. He pursued his studies with ardor, eight hours every day during the rest of his life. An emulation began to prevail of writing pure and elegant English. Mr. Watson studied the principles of grammar; and by these, with the authority of the best English writers, formed a course of lectures on style, and another on rhetoric; and in Edinburgh he met with the approbation and friendship of lord Kames, Mr. Hume, and other men of learning. At this time he had become a preacher; and, a vacancy happening in a church at St. Andrew's, he offered himself a candidate, but was disappointed. Mr. Rymer, who then taught logic in St. Salvador's College, being in a very infirm state of health, Mr. Watson purchased the succession to Mr. Rymer's place; and, with the consent of the other masters, was appointed professor of logic. He obtained also a patent from the crown, constituting him professor. The study of logic, in St. Andrew's, had been till now confined to syllogisms, modes, &c. Mr. Watson prepared and read to his students a course of metaphysics and logics on the most enlightened plan. By his History of Philip II. Dr. Watson attained a considerable degree of celebrity; and his History of Philip III., published after his death, has added to his fame. Of this last performance, however, he only lived to complete the first four books. The last two were written by the editor of his MSS. WATSON (Thomas), M. A., a nonconformist divine of the seventeenth century, educated and graduated at Emanuel College, Cambridge. He became minister of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, during the republic, but was ejected in 1663. He wrote A Body of Divinity; and A Course of Sermons on the Assembly's Catechism, in one volume, folio, and other tracts on theology. He died in 1673. WATSON (Sir William), M. D., and F. R. S., an eminent botanist, born and educated at London about 1700; and bred an apothecary. In 1738 he married, and began business. In 1741 he was admitted F.R. S.; to whose Philosophical Transactions he communicated many valuable papers. In 1745 he was honored with the Copley medal for his discoveries in electricity. In 1757 he was created M. D., by the universities of Halle and Wirtemberg. In 1762 he was appointed a physician in the Foundling Hospital; and in 1784 a Fel. Reg. Col. In 1786 he was knighted. He died in 1787. His Tracts on Electricity make one vol. 8vo. WATSON (Richard), D.D., a late celebrated English prelate, was born at Heversham in Westmorland, in 1737. His father was a clergyman, and master of a free grammar school, where the son received his education, until in 1754 he became a sizar of Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he was at once distinguished for his intense application to study, and for the singularity of his dress, which consisted of a coarse mottled Westmorland coat, and blue yarn stockings. He regularly took his degrees, became a college tutor, and in 1760, obtained a fellowship. In 1764 he was elected professor of chemistry, when he first applied himself to the study of that science, and with great success, as appears from the five volumes of Chemical Essays which he subsequently published. On the death of Dr. Rutherforth, in 1771, he became regius professor of divinity. He distinguished himself by a display of his political opinions, in a sermon preached before the university on the anniversary of the Revolution, entitled The Principles of the Revolution Vindicated. A short time previous. to this, Dr. Watson appeared with advantage in the field of controversy as the opponent of Gibbon, to whom he addressed a series of letters, entitled an Apology for Christianity. The patronage of the duke of Rutland was exerted to obtain his promotion to the see of Llandaff in 1782; and he was permitted to hold at the same time the archdeaconry of Ely, his professorship, and other preferments. Shortly after, he addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury an unacceptable letter containing a project for equalizing the value of church benefices. In 1785 he published a collection of Theological Tracts, in 6 vols. 8vo. The following year he experienced a large addition to his income by the bequest of a valuable estate from Mr. Luther, of Ongar in Essex, one of his Cambridge pupils. During the illness of the late king, in 1788, bishop Watson, in a speech in the house of lords, strongly defended the right of the prince of Wales to the regency, in opposition to Mr. Pitt. He never obtained any farther promotion. In 1796 the bishop appeared a second time as the defender of revealed religion, in his Apology for the Bible, designed as an answer to Paine's Age of Reason; and in 1798 published An Address to the People of Great Britain, in which he animadverted on the danger which threatened this country, in common with other parts of Europe, from the influence of those principles which had occasioned the Revolution in France. Gilbert Wakefield, having published a reply to this address, was prosecuted for sedition, and sentenced to imprisonment; but bishop Watson took no part whatsoever in the proceedings. Though he always continued to be the advocate of liberality; his fears from the ascendancy of French principles were strongly expressed in a publication which he issued under the title of The Substance of a Speech intended to have been |
