Memoirs of Dr Joseph Priestley, Written by Himself, to the Year 1795 ...

CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL DAYSand dying soon after I went to them, left the greatest partof his fortune to my aunt for life, and much of it at herdisposal after her death.(7.) By this truly pious and excellent woman, who knewno other use of wealth, or of talents of any kind, than to dogood, and who never spared herself for this purpose, I wassent to several schools in the neighbourhood, especially to alarge free school, under the care of a clergyman, Mr. Hague,under whom, at the age of twelve or thirteen, I first began*to make any progress in the Latin tongue, and acquired theelements of'-Greek. But about the same time that 1: beganto learn Greek at this public school, I learned Hebrew onholidays of the Dissenting minister of the place, Mr. Eirkby ;and upon the removal of Mr. Hague from the free school, Mr.Eirkby opening a school of his own, I was wholly under hiscare. With this instruction, I had acquired a pretty goodknowledge of the learned languages at the age of sixteen.But from this time Mr. Kirkby's increasing infirmities obligedhim to relinquish his school, and beginning to be of a weaklyconsumptive habit, so that it was not thought advisable to sendme to any other place of education, I was left to conductmy studies as well as I could till I went to the academy atDaventry, in the year 1'152.(8.) From the time I discovered any fondness for books,my aunt entertained hopes of my being a minister, and Ireadily entered into her views. But my ill-health obligedme to turn my thoughts another way, and, with a view totrade, I learned the modern languages, French, Italian, andHigh Dutch, without a master; and in the first and last ofthem I translated and wrote letters for an uncle of minewho was a merchant, and who intended to put me into acounting-house in Lisbon. A house was actually engaged to