testimony,’ 1648, 4to (signed by Bryan, Grew, and John Herring as ministers of Coventry). 4. ‘A Publick Disputation sundry dayes at Killingworth [Kenilworth] in Warwickshire between John Bryan, &c. and John Onley, pastor of a church at Lawford, upon this question, Whether the parishes of this nation generally be true churches. Wherein are nine arguments alleged in proof of the affirmative of the question, with the answer of I. O. thereunto, together with Dr. B.'s reply, &c.’ 1655, 4to (this discussion was criticised in ‘Animadversions upon a Disputation, &c.,’ 1658, 4to, by J. Ley, prebendary of Chester). 5. ‘Dwelling with God, the interest and duty of believers, opened in eight sermons,’ 1670, 8vo (epistle to the reader by Richard Baxter). 6. Prefatory letter to ‘Sermon,’ 2 Cor. v. 20, by S. Gardner, 1672, 4to. 7. ‘Harvest-Home: being the summe of certain sermons upon Job 5, 26, one whereof was preached at the funeral of Mr. Ob. Musson, an aged godly minister of the Gospel, in the Royally licensed rooms in Coventry; the other since continued upon the subject. By J. B., D.D., late pastor of the Holy Trinity in that ancient and honourable city. The first part being a preparation of the corn for the sickle. The latter will be the reaping, shocking and inning of that corn which is so fitted,’ London, printed for the author, 1674, 4to (this little volume of verse is very scarce; the British Museum has two copies, both with author's corrections; ‘Ob.’ on the title-page is corrected to ‘Rich.’ [Richard Musson was ejected from the rectory of Church Langton, Leicestershire]; the preface says the author has presumed to send his book ‘to some of his noble and most worthy friends;’ he introduces, from 1 Pet. i. 4, three perhaps unique words:—
a kingdom that
Is apthartal [aphthartal MS. corr.], amiantal,
Amarantall—).
[Calamy's Account, 1713, pp. 546, 629, 735, 743, 771; Continuation, 1723, pp. 850, 893; Monthly Repos. 1819, p. 600; Sibree and Caston's Independency in Warwickshire, 1855, pp. 27, 29 seq.; Benn's Hist. of Belfast, 1877, pp. 719 seq.; Wanley's MS. Diary in British Museum; manuscript extracts from corporation records, Coventry, also from burial register and churchwardens' accounts of Trinity parish, per Rev. F. M. Beaumont; Cole's MS. Athenæ Cantab.]
BRYAN, MARGARET (fl. 1815), natural philosopher, a beautiful and talented schoolmistress, was the wife of a Mr. Bryan. In 1797 she published in 4to, by subscription, a 'Compendious System of Astronomy,' with a portrait of herself and two daughters as a frontispiece, the whole engraved by Nutter from a miniature by Samuel Shelley. Mrs. Bryan dedicated her book to her pupils. The lectures of which the book consisted had been praised by Charles Hutton, then at Woolwich (Preface, p. xi). An 8vo edition of the work was issued later. In 1806 Mrs. Bryan published, also by subscription, and in 4to, 'Lectures on Natural Philosophy' (thirteen lectures on hydrostatics, optics, pneumatics, acoustics), with a portrait of the authoress, engraved by Heath, after a painting by T. Kearsley; and there is a notice in it that 'Mrs. Bryan educates young ladies at Bryan House, Blackheath.' In 1815 Mrs. Bryan produced an 'Astronomical and Geographical Class Book for Schools,' a thin 8vo.
'Conversations on Chemistry,' published anonymously in 1806, is also ascribed to her by Watt (Bibl. Brit.) and in the 'Biog. Dict. of Living Authors' (1816). Mrs. Bryan's school appears to have been situated at one time at Blackheath, at another at 27 Lower Cadogan Place, near Hyde Park Corner, and lastly at Margate.
[Mrs. Bryan's Works.]
BRYAN, MATTHEW (d. 1699), Jacobite preacher, son of Robert Bryan of Limington, Somerset, sometime minister of St.Mary's, Newington, Surrey, was born at Limington, became a semi-commoner of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in 1665, and left the university without taking a degree in arts. After holding a benefice in the diocese of Bath and Wells for about ten years, he was appointed to his father's old living, St. Mary's, Newington, and to the afternoon lectureship at St. Michael's, Crooked Lane. His living was sequestered for debt in 1684. A sermon preached by him at Newington and at St. Michael's (26 Oct. and 2 Nov. of the same year) on 2 Cor. v. 11 was said to contain reflections on the king's courts of justice, and an accusation was laid against him before the dean of arches. In order to vindicate himself he printed this sermon, which certainly does not appear to contain any such reflections, with a dedication, dated 10 Dec. 1684, to Dr. Peter Mews, bishop of Winchester, formerly his diocesan in Somerset. The archbishop was satisfied that the charge against him was groundless, and it was quashed accordingly. In July 1685 Bryan accumulated the degrees of civil law at Oxford. Refusing to take the oaths on the accession of William and Mary, he lost his preferment, and became the minister of a Jacobite congregation meeting in St. Dunstan's Court, Fleet Street. This brought him into trouble several times. On 1 Jan. 1693 his meeting was discovered, the names of his congregation, consisting of about a hundred
