Wilder,  a  man  of  savage  brutality  of  disposition,  and  addicted
to  the  exact  sciences,  for  which  his  poetical  pupil  entertained  no
partiality,  treated  him  with  cruel  harshness,  and  took  pleasure
in  deriding  his  abilities  in  the  presence  of  his  class.  The
character  of  this  man  is  so  vividly  drawn  by  Mr.  Prior,  that  we
make  no  apology  for  quoting  it  at  length.
"  The  character  of  the  unhappy  person  to  whom  the  direction  of  bis
studies  was  entrusted,  ^  under  the  notion  of  a  tutor,'  as  Dr,  Wilson  ex-
presses it,  appears  to  have  been  wholly  unfit,  either  in  temper  orgeoeral
conduct,  ibr  the  superintendence  of  youth.  Many  unfavourable  stories
are  still  told  of  him  in  the  university  ;  and  the  mortifications  endured  by
his  pupil,  from  mingled  caprice  and  harshness,  were  supposed  to  have
not  only  obstructed  his  progress  in  learning,  but,  by  producing  despond-
ency and  irregularities,  tinged  with  a  darker  hue  parts  of  his  future  life.
