The task of the Biographer becomes particularly difficult, when he attempts to delineate the actions, and the mind, of unassuming merit; when he is occupied in rendering more public the existence of virtues, whose delicacy almost eludes his grasp; when Benevolence, that “seeketh not her own,” eagerly conceals the source whence unexpected blessings arise; when a wish to do good, overcomes the vanity that seeks for human praise; when, in a word, every thing that is great and noble, forms a character for men to emulate, and to revere:–we must however attempt the outline, and leave it to some future writer to give that distinct colouring to the portrait, which may then be added.

Mr. John Willett Payne, the youngest son of the Honourable Mr. Payne Lieutenant-Governor of the Island of St. Christopher's, was born in that island; and received the early part of his education, as already mentioned in our Memoir of the Right Honourable Lord Hugh Seymour, at Dr. Brackyn's academy at Greenwich.