FRANCIS, REV. DR. I'IIILIP, was the eon of the Rev. John Francis, dean of Lismore, and rector of St. Mary's, Dublin, iu which city Philip was born in the early part of the last century. Philip was educated at the University of Dublin, and thou entered the church, the profession to which his progenitors for several genera tions had belonged. About the year 1750 he came over to Englend, and set up an academy at Esher in Surrey, where Gibbon was for a short time one of his pupils; but the historian in his posthumous memoirs gives no favourable account of the improvement he made. "Francis," be says, "preferred the pleasures of London to the instruction of his pupils." While in this situation he published his poetical translation of ' Horace,' which immediately brought him into notice, and still continues to bo reprinted. It has the advantage of being the °nip complete modern metrical version in English of the works of that poet, but has no pretensions to be considered an adequate representation of the original. He also published in 1757 a translation of the Orations of Demosthenes and JEschines,' in 2 vols. 4to. Before this he had published two tragedies, 'Eugenia,' 8vo, 1752, and Constantine,' 8vo, 1754. 'Eugenia' was acted at Drury Lane, Garrick sustaining the principal character; but although repeated for nine nights, it was very indifferently received. It is said in the ' Biographia Dramatis' to be little more than a free translation of a French tragedy by Grasigni, called 'Conic, of which a literal version was published the same year uuder the title of Ccni s; or, the Sup posed Daughter.' Constantino' was produced at Coveut Garden.
" It met with very bad success," says the 'Biog. Dram.,' "although not by many degrees the worst of the productions of that Benson." These literary performances obtained for the author the acquaintance of many of the most distinguished persona of the time ; but he secured a ommection more important to his worldly interests by some political pamphlets which he is raid to have written, though they seem to have appeared without his name, and their titles are not given in any of the biographical notices of him that we have seen. From a passage In the Preface to hie Tranelatiou of Demosthenes,' it may be iuferred that he took the Whig, or what.le commonly called the liberal side of politics. The biographer of hie eon in the Annual Obituary' says, that "he Is mentioned in Wilkes's 'Letters' as being engaged in some delicate negooiations on the part of the Right lion. lieury Fox, afterwards Lord Holland." lie was chaplain, it seems, to Lora Hollend, and assisted in the education of his son Charles, afterwards the distinguished orator. Through Lord Holland's influeuce ho was presented to the rectory of Barrow In Suffolk ; In 1764 he was also appointed joiut-chaplain to Chelsea College. He died In 1773.