various labours and researches in the different branches of science in which from this period Preston was engaged, it will suffice to state that during the long period of his residence in the College he never refused any labour, nor shrunk from any occupation in which his talents could be employed with advantage. Of his ability in all the branches of Philosophy, the works which he has left in manuscript are incontestible proofs, and could they have been issued from the press, would have, undoubtedly, widely spread his reputation in the world at large. He was one of the first who, in spite of great opposition, introduced the Newtonian Philosophy into Portugal, and the treatise which he has left on the subject, though intended merely as an elementary course for his own scholars, shows him to have been well acquainted with the subject. Though he often, and for a long time together, discharged the laborious part of the duties of President and Vice-President, such was his characteristic aversion to honour and dignity, that he could never be induced to accept either of those offices. The Annals of the College allude with particular praise to the manner in which he discharged the duties of the Procuratorship which, owing to the financial difficulties to which reference has been made, must have been of the most harassing nature. This office he held for upwards of sixteen years. It might be supposed that amidst so many and so deversified occupations, Preston had little leisure for Missionary duties, but besides attending to the spiritual concerns of the Community he was instrumental in the conversion of many Protestants to the Catholic Faith.
The fatal earthquake of 1755, the financial difficulties of the College, and the insubordinate spirit which had crept in among the students, offered a wide field for the exertions of all interested in the stability of the Establishment. As for Preston, in proportion as the wants of the College increased, his efforts and affection for it seemed to redouble. His talents and virtues caused him to be universally esteemed and beloved. The Portuguese
