NEW AND GENERAL

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.

ENNIS (JOHN), a celebrated critic, was born in London in 1657; his father being a fadler and an eminent citizen. He was educated under Dr. Horn at Harrow on the Hill, and thence removed to Catus-college, Cambridge, in 1675. He took the degree of B. A. and was expelled the college for literally attempting to ftab a perfon in the dark after which he travelled through France and Italy: At his return, he fet up for a wit and a fine gentleman; and having fome fortune, which was left him by an uncle, held every attainment in contempt, that did not relate to poetry and tafte. Though it is now become fashionable to speak flightly of him, he had then qualities enough to recommend him to the acquaintance of fome of the moft eminent perfonages for birth, wit, and learning; fuch as the duke of Buckinghamshire, the earls of Halifax and Pembroke, Walter Moyle, efq. Dryden, Wycherley, Congreve, Southern, Garth, who really had an opinion of his talents: but the black paffions were fo predominant in him, and his pride, envy, jealoufy, and fufpicion, hurried him into fo many abfurd and ridiculous meafures, that his life appears to have been nothing but a mixture of folly and madness. Upon his first introduction to the earl of Halifax, he had the misfortune to get intoxicated. with fome very fine wines, which he had not been used to. These had a ftrange effect upon him, and made him fo very impatient of contradiction, that, rifing on a fudden, he rushed out of the room, and overturned the fide-board of plate and glaffes as he went. The next morning feeing Mr. Moyle, who was one of the company, he told him he had quite forgot every thing that VOL. V. happened

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happened, for he was much in liquor, and defired he would tell him in what maner he went away: "Why," faid Moyle, you went away like the devil, and took one corner of the house with you."

He began to be a writer as early as 1690, if not earlier, and so continued to the time of his death, which happened 1733, in his 77th year. He was always making attacks upon fomebody or other, and thereby became embroiled in quarrels, in which he generally had the worst of it. In 1692 he wrote a pindaric ode on king William, occafioned by the victory at the battle of Aghrim; and in 1695 a pindaric poem, called "The court of Death," dedicated to the memory of queen Mary. Upon the death of king William, he published another poem, called “The Monument:" after which he wrote fome pieces in profe; amongst which, in 1702, was, "Priefteraft dangerous to religion and the government," in anfwer to a piece of Sacheverell's, intituled, "The political Union;" the defign of which was to fhew, that the church was neceflary to fupport the state. He wrote two poems on the battles of Blenheim and Ramilies; for the first of which he had a prefent of 100l. from the duke of Marlborough, and foon after, through his intereft, a finecure in the customs of about 120l. per ann.

In 1704 came out his favourite tragedy," Liberty afferted," in which are fo many vere ftrokes upon the french nation, that he thought they were never to be forgiven. He really perfuaded himfelf, as it is related of him, that the king of France would never make peace with England, unlefs the author of "Liberty aflerted" was delivered up to him: and upon this full perfuafion of his own importance, is faid to have waited on his patron, the duke of Marlborough, when the congrefs was held at Utrecht for a treaty of peace, to defire" that no fuch article might be ftipulated, as his being given up." The duke told him, that he was forry he could not ferve him, for he really had no intereft with any of the minifters of that time;" but faid, that "he fancied his cafe was not fo defperate as he imagined; that he had indeed made no fuch provision for himself, yer could not help thinking, that he had done the French almoft as much damage as even Mr. Dennis himfelf." Another story relating to this affair is, that walking near the beach of the fea, when he was at a gentleman's houfe on the coaft of Suffex, he faw a fhip failing, as he imagined, towards him. Upon this he fufpected himself betrayed, and therefore made the best of his way to London, without taking any leave of his hoft, but proclaiming him a traitor, who, he faid, had decoyed him down to his house, that he might give him up to the French; who had certainly carried him off, if he had not escaped as he did.

It would be endlefs to recite the ftories which are told of this strange

ftrange man. In 1709 he published a tragedy called "Appius and Virginia," which met with no fuccefs, but for which he invented a new kind of thunder. Being at the play-house a few nights after the ill fate of his own play, and hearing it thunder, he started up of a fudden, and cried out aloud, "That's my thunder, by G! How thefe rafcals ufe me! They will not have my play, yet fteal my thunder." In 1712 he wrote against Pope's Effay on Criticifm, and in 1713 against Addison's Čato; which occafioned a pamphlet intituled, "The narrative of Dr. Robert Norris, concerning the ftrange and deplorable frenzy of Mr. John Dennis," fince printed in Swift's miscellanies; and laid the foundation of that quarrel which provoked Pope to put him into his Dunciad. He wrote many other pieces, in all of which he fhewed, that he had better talents for judging of the performances of others, than for producing any thing of himself; which made a fmart fellow fay, that "Dennis was the fittest man in the world to inftruct a dramatic writer; for he laid down rules for writing good plays, and fhewed him what were bad by his own."

DENNY (SIR ANTHONY), knt. favourite, and one of the gentlemen of the privy chamber to king Henry VIII. was the fecond fon of Thomas Denny, of Chefhunt in the county of Hertford, efq. by Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Mannock. He had his education in St. Paul's fchool, London, under the famous William Lilly; and afterwards in St. John's-college, Cambridge: in both which places he fo improved himself, that he became an excellent fcholar, as well as a perfon of great worth. His merit having made him known at court, he was conftituted by Henry VIII. one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber, groom of the ftole, and a privy counsellor; and likewife received the honour of knighthood from that prince: with whom being in great favour, he raised a confiderable eftate on the ruins of the diffolved monafteries. For, in 1537, Henry gave him the priory of Hertford, together with divers other lands and manors. He further granted him, in 1539, Dec. 15, the office of fteward of the manor of Bedwell and Little Berkhamstead, in Herts; befides which fir Anthony alfo obtained the manor of Butterwick, in the parish of St. Peter in St. Albans, the manors of the rectory and of the nunnery, in the parish of Chefhunt; and of Great Amwell, all in the county of Hertford. Moreover, in 1541, there was a large grant made to him, by act of parliament, of feveral lands that had belonged to the abbey of St. Albans, lately diffolved. Not content with that, he found means to procure a thirty-one years' leafe of the many large and rich demefnes that had been poffeffed by Waltham-abbey in Effex: of which his lady purchafed afterwards the reverfion. In 1544 the king gave him the advantageous wardship of Mar

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garet,

garet, the only daughter and heir of Thomas lord Audley, de ceafed. On the 31st of Auguft 1546 he was commiffioned, with John Gate and William Clerk, efquires, to fign all warrants in the king's name. In this reign he did an eminent service to the great school of Sedberg in Yorkshire, belonging to the col lege wherein he had received his education. For the building being fallen to decay, and the lands appropriated thereto fold and embezzled, he caufed the fchool to be repaired, and not only recovered, but also fettled the eftate fo firmly, as to prevent all future alienations. When king Henry VIII. was on his death-bed, fir Anthony had the honesty and courage to put him in mind of his approaching end; and defired him to raise his thoughts to heaven, to think of his paft life, and to call on God for mercy through Jefus Chrift. So great an opinion had that king of him, that he appointed him one of the executors of his will, and one of the counsellors to his fon and fucceffor Edward VI. and bequeathed him a legacy of 300l. He did not live long afterthis; for he died in 1550. By his wife Joan, daughter of fir Philip Champernon of Modbury in Devonfhire, a lady of great beauty and parts, he had fix children; of whom Henry the eldeft was father of Edward Denny, knighted in 1589, fummoned to parliament in 1605, and advanced Oct. 24, 1626, to the dignity of earl of Norwich. As for fir Anthony Denny's character, one of his contemporaries informs us, that his whole time and cares were taken up with and employed about religion, learning, and the care of the public, and has highly commended him for his prudence and humanity. The learned Henry Howard, earl of Surry, wrote an excellent epitaph for him fome years before his decease. And fir John Cheke, who had a great efteem for him, honoured his memory with an elegant heroic poem.

DENTON (JOHN), an english divine, author of fome small controverfial pieces, was educated at Clare-hall, Cambridge, and was admitted fizar and pupil to Mr. David Clarkson, on the 4th of May, 1646, as appears from the regifter of the college. He was ejected by the act of uniformity in 1662 from the living of Ofwaldkirk, near Helmfley in Yorkshire, and not from that of Bolton, as Dr. Calamy affirms in his account, p. 818, who has rectified that miftake in his Continuation, p. 950, though, as it feems, without knowing that it was a mistake, it being indeed Mr. Snathan, and not Mr. John Denton, who was ejected from Bolton upon Dearn, or more properly Darwent. Mr. John Denton afterwards conformed; and being re-ordained by Dr. Thomas Barlow, bishop of Lincoln, was collated to the living of Stonegrave, within two miles of Ofwaldkirk, and a prebend of the church of York, both which he held till his death, on the 4th of January, 1708, in the 83d year of his age, as is evident

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from the infcription on his tombstone in the church of Stonegrave, in which living he was fucceeded by his fon Mr. Robert Denton, who was educated at Catherine-hall in Cambridge, and died about 1748. Mr. John Denton having contracted an intimate friendfhip with Mr. Tillotfon at Clare-hall, they kept up a conftant correfpondence during his grace's life.

DENTRECOLLES (FRANCIS XAVIER), a jefuit, born at Lyons in 1664, went as miffionary to China with pere Parrennin. Here he was employed a like number of years with him, and died in the fame year, 1741, at the age of 77 His amiable

character, his infinuating turn, and his mild and affable manners, gained him the esteem and affection both of the populace and the men of letters. He caufed a great number of works to be printed in the chinefe language, to inculcate the doctrines of his church among the difciples of Confucius, and to encourage the new converts in the way of falvation. Besides these writings, which it cannot be expected we fhould understand, there are feveral interesting pieces of his in the collection of " Lettres édifiantes & curieufes," and in the history of China by du Halde.

DEREING (EDWARD) was born in the xvith century, and defcended from an antient and confiderable family in Kent. He was educated in Chrift's-college in Cambridge, of which he was fellow. He took the degree of B. D. and was chofen preacher at St. Paul's in London; and was a very eminent preacher at court in this reign. He died in the year 1576. His principal works are: his "Anfwer to Harding;" his Lectures on the epiftle to the Hebrews; and his fermons. The happy death of this truly religious man was suitable to the purity and integrity of his life.

DERHAM (WILLIAM), an excellent philofopher and divine, was born at Stoughton near Worcester, Nov. 26, 1657; and educated in grammar-learning at Blockley in that county. May 1675 he was admitted into Trinity-college, Oxford; and by the time he took his degree of B. A. was greatly diftinguished for his learning, and other valuable and eminent qualifications. He was ordained deacon by Compton bishop of London, in May 1681; prieft by Ward bishop of Salisbury, in July 1682; and was the fame month presented to the vicarage of Wargrave in Berkshire. Auguft 1689 he was prefented to the valuable rectory of Upminster in Effex: which living, lying at not more than a convenient distance from London, afforded him an opportunity of converfing and correfponding with the greatest virtuofi in the nation. Being therefore in a retirement fuitable to his contemplative and philofophical temper, he applied himself with great eagerness to the study of nature, and to mathematics and experi mental philofophy; in which he became fo eminent, that he was foon after chofen F. R. S. He proved one of the most useful

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and