Page:Men of Kent and Kentishmen.djvu/81

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
AND KENTISHMEN.
67

the piety of a sincere Christian without bigotry. His "History of Kent" will be a lasting record of his indefatigable researches into the history and antiquities of his native county. It is a work which will bear comparison with the valuable labours of Dugdale, Thoresby, Blomefield, Hutchins, Manning, and Nichols in the same department of literature." It was published in 4 vols., folio, between 1788 and 1799, but the labour of preparing it extended over a period of forty years. Mr. Hasted contributed a paper concerning Chestnut Trees to the "Philosophical Transactions," 1771.

[See "Gentleman's Magazine," 1812.]


John Hawkesworth,

ESSAYIST, ETC.,

Was born at Bromley in 1713, though some give his birthplace in London. Though of humble birth he devoted himself early to literature, and became the successor of Dr. Johnson as compiler of the Parliamentary Debates for the "Gentleman's Magazine." In 1752 he commenced the periodical known as "The Adventurer," in which he wrote about half the articles (140 in number), the rest being chiefly by Johnson, Bathurst and Warton. His papers consist chiefly of Eastern tales and stories of domestic life, exhibiting a fine imagination and a keen knowledge of human nature. His style resembles the Rambler of Johnson, with less pomp of diction. In 1761 he edited the works of Swift, prefixing a life which Johnson speaks of as a narrative "dignified with much elegance of language and