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ejected from his living for non-conformity. He was ten years em-ployed in composing his celebrated Synopsis Criticorum, &c.Besides this great work, he published several other pieces. WhenDr. Oates’s depositions concerning the Popish plot were printed,our author found his name in the list of those who were to be cutoff, on account (as was supposed) of what he had written againsttile Papists in his “ Nullity of the Ilomish Faith.” So that he wasobliged to retire into Holland, where he died in 1679, and left behind him the character of a very able critic and casuist.

POONAII, a town of Hindooslan, in Visiapour, the capital ofthe Western Mahrattas, 30 miles E. of (lie Gauts; and 75 S. E. ofBombay. Lon. 73. 55. E. Lat. IS. 30. N.

POC>P, the stern of a ship; or the highest and uppermostpart of a ship’s hull. See Stern .

POOR, an appellation given to persons, whose situation is soreduced as to render them chargeable to the parish. Previouslyto the Reformation, the poor received alms, and other benefac-tions, from the monasteries, and religious houses; but, on thesuppression of the latter, the wealth with which they were endow-ed, was diverted into other channels: and the poor, being thusleft destitute, became a heavy burthen to the nation at large. Inorder to remedy this inconvenience, the 14th Eliz. c. 5, and the43d Eliz. c. 2, were enacted, by which certain rates or assessmentsare to be levied for their relief; and which have been continuedto the present day. The 43d Eliz. is generally regarded as thebasis of the poor-laws in England ; and, though it was framed withgreat judgement and circumspection, yet experience has evinced,that it is not calculated to produce the salutary effects, that wereexpected to result from these regulations. In the 25th volume ofAnnals of Agriculture, there is an account of a most humane me-thod of assisting the poor, which must be interesting to everyreader, who possesses the smallest drop of the “ milk of humankindness.”—In the parishes of Aslilev, and Newton, Wiltshire ;and Shipton-moine, Gloucestershire ; the landlord, Tho. last-court, Esq. allotted fifteen perches of land to every cottager,which were inclosed in one large tract, that contained a sufiicienlnumber of acres. As some parts of the soil were not perfectlylevel, lots were drawn, for the choice, by the cottagers, to whomevery encouragement was offered, in case they diligently cultivat-ed their gardens. 'I he happy elfects of this donation soon becameevident; employment was furnished for the women and children,in planting potatoes, &c. while the poorer inhabitants of thoseparishes, who had been dissipated, idle, and addicted to drunken-ness, were gradually, by shutting tip an ale-house, and repairingtheir dwellings, converted into honest, industrious, and valuablemembers of society. We cannot, injustice, omit to mention thebenevolent plan proposed by Lord Somerville. It consists in vest-ing a fund, for the reduction of the poor-rates, and the support ofthe aged, sick, &c. in the hands of proper persons. This fund isto be levied “either parochially, by hundreds, counties, or by onegeneral accumulation of the whole kingdom,” in certain propor-tions, according to the different classes, under the direction of re-spectable commissioners. For a minute'account of bis design,together with the arguments for and against the probability of itsexecution, the reader will consult his lordship’s work, intituled,“The System followed during the two last years bv the Board olAgriculture, further illustrated, Ac. (8vo. 2d edit. 1800.)—Somevaluable remarks also occur in Mr. Saunders’s Observations onthe present State, and Influence of the Poor-Laws, &c. (8vo. pp.K)0, 3s. 6d. Sewell, 1800);—in Mr. Bleamiie’s Remarks on thePoor-Laws, and the Maintenance of the Poor (8vo. pp. 3(5, Is.6d. Butterworth, 1800);—and, lastly, in the Reports of the So-ciety for bettering the Condition, and increasing the Comforts, olthe Poor; of which the third volume is in the press; a work that isperiodically continued under the patronage of that benevolent as-sociation.

POORHOUSE, an asylum appropriated to (he accommoda-tion of those aged, sick, or helpless poor, who are unable to sup-port themselves: but, as such design is generally combined withjvork-houses, or buildings, in which the indigent, vagrant, oridle, are employed, and supplied with food and clot (ring, we*hall communicate a few hints relative to their management. Insuch places, the strictest regard ought to be paid to cleanliness;and, if the inhabitants be disorderly, a proper system of coercionshould be adopted. The unruly’must be confined in separate

apartments; where they perform labour lor the.r own support,being left to solitary meditations: these may be farther directed by.the exhortations of a pious, well-informed minister, who is ableto adapt his instruction to the peculiar circumstances, or case ofthe individual. We are mvare that houses of correction have beenestablished with this view ; but, we conceive, that more salutaryconsequences would result from their general combination withthe common poor, or work-houses. There is, however, a strangesystem prevailing in several parishes of the metropolis, namely,that of farming out the poor; or contracting with speculative per-sons to support them at a certain price per head. This practice iscarried on chiefly in the precincts of the city, where no work-houses can be conveniently erected, and in consequence where-of the poor are sent to a small distance.—Some of these farms arecertainly conducted on the most humane plan, while the manage-ment of others deserve the severest censure. Surrounded withfilth; confined in close situations; ill-clad; and worse fed; thewretched tenants of such habitations, present the most haggardcountenances; and the children reared in such places, instead ofbecoming healthy and vigorous, are weak, puny', and frequentlyfall early victims of disease!—The loud complaints of the poorhave lately excited general attention ; we have, therefore, men-tioned these few circumstances, to induce the benevolent to be-stow serious considerations on the subject, so that some measuresmay be devised for preventing such accumulated misery.

Pop .E, in Roman antiquity, persons who attended the sacrifi-.ces, provided the victim-, knocked them down, and killed them.

POPA MADRE, a town of South America , in Terra Eirma,Lon. 74. 32. W. Lat. 10. 15. N.

PO PAY AN, a province of South America , in Terra Firma,bounded on the N. by Cartbagena; E. by New Granada, S. by rQuito, and W. by the South Pacific Ocean ; 400 miles in length,and 300 in breadth. A chain of barren mountains runs throughthe country from N. to S. and near the sea the soil is so soakedwith almost continual rains, that few care to reside there, exceptfor the sake of the gold that is met with in great plenty in the sandsof the rivulets.

Popayan , the capita! of the above province, 220 miles N. E. ofQuito . Lon. 75. 55. W. Lat. 2. 35. N.

POPE, Alexander, a celebrated English poet, descendedfrom good families, and born the 8th of June 1()S8, at London ,where Ids father was then a considerable merchant. The familybeing of the Romish religion, he was put, at eight years of ?.ge,under one Taverner, a priest, who taught him the rudiments of tileLatin and Greek tongues together; and soon after he was sent to aPopish seminary at Winchester, whence lie was removed to aschool at Hyde Park corner. He discovered early an inclinationto versifying ; and Ogilby’s Virgil and Sandys’s Ovid were his fa-vourite books. At 12 he retired with his parents to Binfseld, inWindsor forest; where he studied Spenser, Waller, and Dryden.At 15 he had acquired a readiness in Latin and Greek ; to whichlie soon after added French and Italian. IIis pastorals, begun in1704, first introduced him to the wits of the time ; among whomwere Wychcrly and Walsh. The same -year, he wrote the fiixtpart of his Windsor Forest, though the whole was not published till1710. In 1708, he wrote the Essay on Criticism, which is justlyesteemed a masterpiece, though he was not then 20 years old. TheRape of the Locke was first published in 1712; in which, above allhis works, his strength of imagination is most conspicuous. In1713, he gave out proposals for publishing a translation of Homer'sIliad , by subscription : by which he acquired a considerable for-tune. The subscription amounted to 6000/. besides 1200/. whichLintot the bookseller gave him for the copy. Pope’s financesbeing now in good condition, he purchased a house at Twicken-ham^ "hither he removed with his father and mother in 1715:where the former died about two years after. As he was a Papist,he could not purchase, nor put his money to interest on real secu-rity ; and as he adhered to the cause of King Janies, he made it apoint of conscience not to lend it to the new government; so that,though he was once worth near 20,000/. yet, livingafterward: up uthe principal, he did not leave a great fortune to his family. Buthe improved it to the utmost; and had already acquired much byhis publications. In 1717, he published a collection of all he hadprinted separately ; and prucreded to give a new edition of Shake-speare ; which, being published in 1721, discovered that he had

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