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the village of East Clandon, on the 20th of May, 1782. My father shortly afterwards quitted the family of Mr. Sumner, and obtained a similar post in the service of Sir Richard Hill, Bart., with whom he continued several years.
In the year 1785, my grandfather, being advanced in life and naturally fond of domestic retirement, quitted the profession to which, by his integrity and honour, he had long been an ornament; and prevailing on my parents to commit me to his care, removed with my grandmother to S——— in S———shire, I being then about three years of age. In this neat little town, surrounded by the relatives of my grandmother, and many friends of his own, my grandfather having served his clerkship in the county, this worthy and truly virtuous couple enjoyed, for several years, uninterrupted happiness, their only care being centred in the education and indulgence of their grandson, of whom they every day became more extravagantly fond.
As my years increased, I was transferred from the preparatory school, at which I had been first placed, to a respectable seminary in the town, one of the best the county afforded, where I received the rudiments of a general education, and my capacity for learning endeared me still more to my indulgent friends. The imprudence of my mother's conduct had much lessened her in the affectionate esteem of her parents; nor did her subsequent behaviour, I
