"The gift of HENRY HOARE, Esq., who died March 12, 1724-5, aged forty-seven, and by his last Will and Testament hath vested the sum̅e of two thousand pounds in trustees, who are to apply the yearly interest, rents, and profits arising out of the said sum̅e to the purchasing, dispensing, and giving away, yearly, Bibles, Common Prayer-Books, and such other books as are intirely agreeable to the principles and doctrine of the Church of England, as now by law established, and most conducive to the advancement of Christian faith and piety in the world."
I shall be glad to learn whether this charity is still bestowed, and where: any particulars relative to the original donor will be acceptable. Permit me to add the Query,—Is mine the first edition of The Whole Duty of Man? if not, when was it first published, and who was the author?
W. SPARROW SIMPSON, B.A.
[Mr. Henry Hoare was a son of Sir Richard Hoare, Lord Mayor of London, and an intimate friend of that worthy man, Robert Nelson, author of the Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England; a work which Dr. Johnson recommends as being a most valuable help to devotion, and as having had the greatest sale of any book ever printed in England, except the Bible. Mr. Hoare's name occurs in several parts of Robert Nelson's will, viz. "I give and bequeath to Mr. Henry Hoare, of London, goldsmith, one of my executors, 200l., upon trust to distribute 100l., part thereof, in such manner as shall be directed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; and the other 100l. to be employed by him in promoting parochial libraries.... I give and bequeath to Mrs. Jane Hoare, wife of the said Mr. Henry Hoare, two pair of little silver candlesticks for her closet." It is also worthy a note in our pages that the first legacy received by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was that of Robert Nelson's, which is thus entered on the minutes of the Society:—"3d Feb. 1714-15. Mr. Hoare reported, that Mr. Nelson, lately deceased, had ordered him by his will, as one of his executors, to pay 100l. to the Society for promoting their designs; and also 50l. towards supporting the charity-school at St. George's Chapel." The name of Mr. Henry Hoare occurs among the list of subscribers in the first volume of Jeremy Collier's Ecclesiastical History, fol. 1708; and some of his letters to John Strype, the historian, will be found among the Additional MSS. in the British Museum, No. 5853. No biographical notice of Mr. Henry Hoare appears to have been preserved. See Herbert's History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies, vol. ii. p. 285., for a notice of his gift to the Goldsmiths' Company.
The first edition of The Whole Duty of Man was published in 1657. Like the enigmatical Junius, its authorship still remains a problem; but we believe it is now generally supposed to be written either by Lady Packington or Archbishop Sterne. Our correspondent will find the question discussed in the Rev. W. B. Hawkins's Introduction to Pickering's edition of this work, published in 1842; as well as in the valuable communication of J. E. B. Mayor, Esq., of Marlborough College, in our second volume, p. 292.]
Dr. Sacheverell's "Sermon at Derby."
—Can any of your correspondents furnish me with information as to the various editions which were published of Dr. Henry Sacheverell's Sermon at Derby in 1709? I am anxious to ascertain how many editions were issued, with their dates and other particulars.
L. J.
[We think our correspondent will not be able to obtain the information he requires, owing to the great demand at the time for the two Sermons for which the Doctor was prosecuted. Mr. Lathbury states (History of the Nonjurors, p. 237) that "of the Sermon 'Perils among False Brethren,' no less than forty thousand copies were sold in a few weeks." We have also now before us two copies of the Derby Sermon, both printed in 1709, 8vo., but no intimation on the title-page of their being different editions, which they evidently are, on an examination of their typographical composition. The Bodleian contains a quarto edition of the latter Sermon, 1710.]