EDWARDS (BRYAN), the well-known historian of the West Indies, was born at Westbury in Wiltshire, on the II st May 1748. His father had a small pa ternal estate, but as this did not exceed L.100 per an num, he found it insufficient for the maintenance of a numerous family, and endeavoured to improve his cir. cumstances by dealing in corn and malt. This ha zardous trade proved, as it often does, only a means of more deeply involving his affairs, and he died in 1756, leaving a widow and six children in a very distressed situation. Mrs Edwards, however, had two ' opulent brothers in the West Indies, the eldest of whom, called Zachary Bayly, possessing a princely fortune, and being of a very amiable and generous disposition, undertook the support and education of young Edwards. He had already been placed by _ his father at the school of Mr Foot, a dissenting clergyman at Bristol, where he been taught the elementary branches of education; but for some reason which he never was able to divine, that per son was strictly prohibited from initiating him in any branches of classical learning. He gave a species of instruction, however, not usual in schools, and froria which his pupil, probably, derived the greatest be nefit. He was accustomed to make the boys write letters, or rather essays, on various subjects, such as the beauty and dignity of truth,—the obligations to a religious life,—the benefits of good education, &c. giving them, where it appeared necessary, an out line of the arguments which might be employed on the subject. When the papers were given in, he made such observations as appeared proper, insist ing, at least, that they should be correct in point of grammar and orthography. These exercises gave occasion to display the superior talents of Edwards, whose powers of elegant composition already began to appear. He soon became the favourite of his master, who liberally praised these youthful per formances, and often transmitted them for the gra tification of his parents. They were entirely satis fied; but when the care of his education devolved on his uncle, the agent employed by him at Bris tol was much surprised to find an entire deficiency in classical knowledge, and imputing the blame to the master, removed him immediately to a French boarding school in the same city. ft is not said,
that he acquired here any great portion of Greek and Latin, but he became master of the French lan guage, and having access to an extensive circulat ing library, cultivated a taste for reading which ad hered to him through the whole of his future life.
In 1759, another uncle, the younger brother of him under whose care he lied hitherto been, arrived in England. He, too, was possessed of an ample fortune, became member of Parliament, first for Abingdon, and afterwards for his native town, and set up a splendid establishment in London. He appear ed quite disposed to befriend young Edwards, and even took him to reside with him; but the latter ob serves, that after enumerating his external advan tages, he had nothing else to say in favour of his uncle. What the bad qualities were, which drew forth so unfavourable a sentence, we are not inform ed; but in a few months they separated, and Ed wards went out to his other uncle. In this friend he seems to have found every thing he could desire, the most enlightened mind, the sweetest temper, and most generous disposition. To this was added, a truly paternal regard for himself, which was returned with all the warmth of filial affection. His uncle, finding him possessed of literary talents, but deficient in classical acquirements, engaged a Mr Teale, a clergyman, and formerly master of a free grammar school, to reside in his house, and give him the in struction of which he stood in need. This choice proved most acceptable to Edwards ; he found in Mr Teale a man of extensive information, and possess ing considerable taste in poetry. He viewed him, therefore, as a companion rather than a teacher ; but this relation between the tutor and pupil, how ever agreeable to both, was not favourable for instil ling the dry principles of grammar and prosody. A much larger proportion of their time was spent in tasting the beauties of Dryden and Pope, and in laughing at the comic sallies of Moliere. Mr Ed wards, upon the whole, acquired, during this pe riod, small Latin and less Greek ; but he continued to practise composition, both in prose and verse, and the two companions sent occasional pieces to the colonial newspapers.