Montague (Edward), earl of Sandwich, an illustrious Englishman, who shone from the age of 19, and united the qualifications of general, admiral, and statesman; yet there were strange incongruities in his character. He acted early against Charles I; he persuaded Cromwell, whom it is said he admired, to take the crown; and he was zealous for the restoration of Charles II. All this is imputed to a fond and unaccountable passion which he had for royalty. Upon general Monk's coming into England, he failed with the fleet to Holland, and soon after he had the honour to convey his majesty to England. For this he was created knight of the garter; and on the 12th of July 1660 he was created baron Montague of St Neot's in the county of Huntingdon, Viscount Hinchinbrooke in the same county, and earl of Sand-

Montague, which in Kent, sworn one of his majesty's most honourable privy-council, made master of the king's wardrobe, admiral of the Narrow Seas, and lieutenant-admiral to the duke of York, as lord high admiral of England.

When the Dutch war broke out in 1694, and the duke of York took upon himself the command of a fleet as high-admiral, his lordship commanded the blue squadron, and by his industry and care abundance of the enemies ships were taken; and in the great battle fought on the third of June 1665, in which the Dutch lost admiral Opdam, and had 18 men of war taken and 14 destroyed, a large share of the honour of the victory was justly given to the conduct of the earl of Sandwich. On the return of the English navy, the command of the whole fleet was given to the earl of Sandwich, which he was ordered to put as speedily as possible in a condition to return to the coast of Holland. Accordingly the earl sailed on the 5th of July with 60 men of war to the Dutch coast; when finding that their East India and Smyrna fleets were to return home north about, he steered for the coast of Norway, and found they had taken shelter in the port of Bergen, where the fleet were attacked: but leaving them there, and failing back towards the coast of Holland, he met with four Dutch East Indiamen, with several other merchant ships, under a good convoy, and took eight men of war, two of their East India ships, and 20 sail of merchant men; and a few days after, a part of the fleet falling in with 18 of the Hollanders, the greatest part of them were also taken, with four Dutch men of war, and above 1000 prisoners. On his return he was received by the king with distinguished marks of favour; and soon after, he was sent ambassador extraordinary to the court of Madrid, to mediate a peace between the crowns of Spain and Portugal; when he had the happiness to conclude a peace between the two nations to their mutual satisfaction.

On the breaking out of the last Dutch war, his lordship went to sea with the duke of York, and commanded the blue squadron; the French admiral, count d'Estrees, commanding the white. The fleet was at sea in the beginning of the month of May; and coming to an anchor in Southwold-bay in order to take in water, we are told, that on the 27th many officers and seamen were permitted to go on shore, and were at Southwold, Dunwich, and Aldborough; when, the weather being hazy, the earl gave it as his opinion, that, the wind standing as it did, the fleet rode in danger of being surprised by the Dutch; and indeed, between two and three the next morning, they were informed of their approach, upon which his royal highness made the signal for weighing anchor. The blue squadron was out first, the red next, and the white was much after. The earl of Sandwich in the Royal James, which carried 100 guns, began the fight, and fell furiously on the squadron of Van Ghent in order to give the rest of his fleet time to form; when captain Brakel, in the Great Holland, attacked the Royal James; but was soon disabled, as were several other men of war, and three fire-ships sunk. By this time most of his men were killed; and the hull of the Royal James was so pierced with shot, that it was impossible to carry her off. In this distress he might have Montague been relieved by his vice-admiral Sir Joseph Jordan, had not that gentleman been more solicitous about afflicting the duke. When therefore he saw him fail by, heedless of the condition in which he lay, he said to those who were about him, "There is nothing left for us now, but to defend the ship to the last man." Being at length grappled by a fourth fire-ship, he begged his captain Sir Richard Haddock, and all his servants, to get into the boat and leave themselves, which they did; yet some of the sailors refused to quit the admiral, and staying endeavoured to extinguish the fire, but in vain; the ship blew up about noon. His lordship's body was found about a fortnight after, and was interred with great state in Henry VII.'s chapel.—We have of his lordship's writing, 1. The Art of Metals, in which is declared the manner of their generation, translated from the Spanish of Albaro Alonso Barba, 8vo. 2. Several letters during his embassy to Spain, published with Arlington's letters. 3. A letter to secretary Thurloe. 4. Original letters and negotiations of Sir Richard Fanshaw, the earl of Sandwich, the earl of Sunderland, and Sir William Godolphin, wherein divers matters between the three crowns of England, Spain, and Portugal, from the year 1663 to 1678, are set in a clear light, 2 vols 8vo.

Montague (Charles), earl of Halifax, fourth son of George Montague of Harton in Northamptonshire, Esq; son of Henry the first earl of Manchester, was born in 1661. He was educated at Westminster-school and Cambridge, showed very early a most pregnant genius, and quickly made great progress in learning. In 1684, he wrote a poem on the death of King Charles II., in which he displayed his genius to such advantage, that he was invited to London by the earl of Dorset; and upon his coming thither he soon increased his fame, particularly by a piece which he wrote in conjunction with Prior, published at London in 1687, under the title of, "The Hind and the Panther transferred to the Story of the Country-mouse and the City-mouse." Upon the abdication of King James II., he was chosen one of the members of the convention, and recommended by the earl of Dorset to King William, who immediately allowed him a pension of £500 per annum. Having given proofs of his great abilities in the house of commons, he was made one of the commissioners of the treasury, and soon after chancellor of the exchequer: in which post he brought about that great work of recoining all the current money of the nation. In 1698, he was appointed first commissioner of the treasury; and in 1699 was created a peer of England, by the title of Baron Halifax in the county of York. In 1701, the house of commons impeached him of six articles, which were dismissed by the house of Lords. He was attacked again by the house of commons in 1702, but without success. In 1705, he wrote, An Answer to Mr Bromley's Speech in relation to the occasional Conformity-bill. In 1706, he was one of the commissioners for the Union with Scotland; and upon passing the bill for the naturalization of the illustrious house of Hanover, and for the better security of the succession of the crown in the Protestant line, he was made choice of to carry that act to Hanover. Upon the death of Queen Anne, when the king had taken possession of his throne, his lordship was appointed first Montague, commissioner of the treasury, and created earl of Halifax and knight of the garter. He died in 1715. His lordship wrote several other pieces besides those above-mentioned; all which, with some of his speeches, were published together in 1716 in an octavo volume.

Montague (Lady Mary Wortley) accompanied her husband who was sent on an embassy to Constantinople in the beginning of this century. On her return she introduced the practice of inoculation into England, and thence acquired great celebrity. She cultivated the belles lettres; and at one period of her life she was the friend of Pope, and at another his enemy. While they were at enmity with each other, Lady Mary Montague embraced every opportunity of defaming the poet, who well knew how to take revenge. Both of them carried their animosity to so great a height, that they became the subject of public conversation. After a long life, full of singular and romantic adventures, she died about the year 1760. From her we have Letters, written during her travels from the year 1716 to the year 1718. They have been translated into French, and published at Rotterdam 1764, and at Paris 1783, one vol. 12mo. They are composed in a lively, interesting, and agreeable style, and contain many curious facts relating to the manners and government of the Turks, which are nowhere else to be found. The Baron de Tott, who lived many years at Constantinople, attacked them with great severity; but they have been defended with equal zeal by M. Guis de Marfeilles, who has published a valuable work on Turkey. It need not appear extraordinary, that persons who have visited the same country should not see things in the same light. How few travellers agree in their accounts of the same objects, which they nevertheless pretend to have seen and to have examined with attention.

Montague (Edward Wortley), son of the former, passed through such variegated scenes, that a bare recital of them would favour of the marvellous. From Westminster-school, where he was placed for education, he ran away three several times. He exchanged clothes with a chimney-sweeper, and he followed for some time that footy occupation. He next joined himself to a fisherman, and cried flounders in Rotherhithe. He then sailed as a cabin-boy to Spain; where he had no sooner arrived, than he ran away from the vessel, and hired himself to a driver of mules. After thus vagabondising it for some time, he was discovered by the confus, who returned him to his friends in England. They received him with a joy equal to that of the father of the prodigal son in the gospel. A private tutor was employed to recover those rudiments of learning which a life of dissipation, of blackguardism, and of vulgarity, might have obliterated. Wortley was sent to the West Indies, where he remained some time; then returned to England, acted according to the dignity of his birth, was chosen a member, and served in two successive parliaments. His expenses exceeding his income, he became involved in debt, quitted his native country, and commenced that wandering traveller he continued to the time of his death. Having visited most of the eastern countries, he contracted a partiality for their manners. He drank little wine; a great deal of coffee; wore a long beard; smoked much; and, Montague and, even whilst at Venice, he was habited in the elegant style. He sat cross-legged in the Turkish fashion through choice. With the Hebrew, the Arabic, the Chaldaic, and the Persian languages, he was as well acquainted as with his native tongue. He published several pieces. One on the "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." Another an exploration of "The Causes of Earthquakes." As this gentleman was remarkable for the uncommon incidents which attended his life, the close of that life was no less marked with singularity. He had been early married to a woman who aspired to no higher a character than that of an industrious washerwoman. As the marriage was solemnized in a frolic, Wortley never deemed her sufficiently the wife of his bosom to cohabit with her. She was allowed a maintenance. She lived contented, and was too submissive to be troublesome on account of the conjugal rites. Mr Montague, on the other hand, was a perfect patriarch in his manners. He had wives of almost every nation. When he was with Ali Bey in Egypt, he had his household of Egyptian females, each striving who should be the happy she who could gain the greatest ascendancy over this Anglo-Eastern bashaw. At Constantinople, the Grecian women had charms to captivate this unsettled wanderer. In Spain a Spanish brunette, in Italy the olive-complexioned female were solicited to partake the honours of the bridal-bed. It may be asked what became of this group of wives? Mr Montague was continually shifting the place, and consequently varying the scene. Did he travel with his wives as the patriarchs did with their flocks and herds? No such thing. Wortley, considering his wives as bad travelling companions, generally left them behind him. It happened, however, that news reached his ears of the death of the original Mrs Montague the washerwoman. Wortley had no issue by her; and without issue male, a very large estate would revert to the second son of lord Bute. Wortley, owing the family no obligations, was determined, if possible, to defeat their expectations. He resolved to return to England and marry. He acquainted a friend with his intentions; and he commissioned that friend to advertise for any young decent woman who might be in a pregnant state. Several ladies answered it. One out of the number was selected, as being the most eligible object. She waited with eagerness for the arrival of her expected bridegroom; but, behold, whilst he was on his journey, death very impertinently arrested him in his career.

Montague-Island, one of the Hebrides, in the South Sea, near Sandwich Island. E. Long. 168. 37. S. Lat. 17. 26.

Montaigne (Michel de), a French gentleman, was born in Perigord in 1533. His father educated him with great care, and made him learn Latin as other children learn their mother-tongue. His tutors were Nicholas Gronchi, who wrote De Comitibus Romanorum; William Guerenti, who wrote on Aristotle; George Buchanan; and M. Anthony Muret. He was also taught Greek by way of recreation; and because some think that starting children out of their sleep spoils their understanding, he was awakened every morning with the sound of music. He was counsellor for a while in the parliament of Bordeaux; afterwards made mayor of Bordeaux. He published his Essays, so much known in the world, in 1580. Montaigne had a great deal of wit and subtlety, but no small share of conceit and vanity. The learned and ingenious are much divided in their opinion about his works. He died in 1592.