Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 2.djvu/555

 SLOANE. 551 of doctor of divinity, which he declined. In 1784, he published by subscription a sixth volume of his works, and in 1786, he published his seventh volume. In the same year, he also published a short answer to a catechism, written by an English clergyman, and used at Sunday schools, which he supposed to contain an erroneous doc trine with respect to the state of men after death, and sent a copy to a l l the bishops o f England and Ireland. The Archbishop o f Dublin was s o convinced b y i t , that h e stopped the use o f the catechism i n his diocese. Mr. Skelton died May 4, 1787, and was buried near the west door o f St. Peter's church-yard. His character has been i n some degree displayed i n the preceding sketch taken from his “Life,” b y the Rev. Samuel Burdy, 1792, 8vo. With the exception o f some oddities o f con duct and expression, i n which h e somewhat resembled Swift and Johnson, his life was truly exemplary i n a l l i t s parts, and his writings deserve t o b e held i n higher esti mation. SIR HANS SLOANE. This celebrated naturalist was born a t Killileagh, county o f Down, o n the 16th o f April, 1660. His father, Alex ander Sloane, a native o f Scotland, and head o f the Scotch colony i n the north o f Ireland, i n the reign o f James I . was collector o f taxes for that county, and died i n 1666. Young Sloane early manifested his attachment for those studies which h e afterwards s o successfully cultivated, and his perseverance i n them was s o intense, a s t o occasion, i n his sixteenth year, a spitting o f blood, which confined him t o his chamber for three years. On his recovery from this dangerous attack, h e applied himself t o the study o f medicine i n general, but more particularly o f chemistry and botany, i n his cultivation o f which sciences, even a t this early age h e was liberally assisted b y those truly scientific men, Boyle and Ray. Having spent four years i n London i n the prosecution o f these his favourite studies,