HOWE, JOAN (1630-1706), one of the greatest of the later Puritan divines, was born May 17, 1630, at Loughborough, Leicestershire, of which parish his father was minister. When hardly five years old he was removed to Ireland by his father, who, unable to support the ecclesiastical policy of Archbishop Laud, had been ejected from his living. On the outbreak of the Irish rebellion in 1641, the exiles returned to England; and, fixing his abode in Lancashire, the elder Howe conducted in person the studies of his son, who in his seventeenth year (May 19, 1617) entered Christ's College, Cambridge, as a sizar, and in the following year took his degree of RA. During his residence in this university he made the acquaintance of Cudworth, More, and Smith, from intercourse with whom, doubtless, as Calamy suggests, as well as from direct acquaintance with the Dialogues themselves, his mind received that " Platonic tinge " which is so perceptible in his writings, Immediately after graduation at Cambridge, he removed to Oxford, where he took the same degree in the following year, and, after becoming a fellow of Magdalen College. proceeded M.A. in 1652. On leaving Oxford in that year he returned to his father's retreat in Lancashire, and received ordination at Wiuwick from the hands of Mr Herle, the minister of the parish, who was assisted by the ministers of the neighbouring chapelries. Sometime afterwards " an unexpected conduct of divine providence " bore him to Great Torrington in Devonshire, where he spent same years as pastor. It was there that lie preached those discourses which at a later period took shape in his treatises on The Blessedness of the Righteous and on Delighting in God. There also it was that he married the daughter of "his inner friend" Mr George Hughes. In the beginning of 1637 a journey to London accidentally brought Howe under the notice of Cromwell, who, struck by his appearance and preaching, made him his domestic chaplain. In this prominent position, which he had accepted with very great reluctance, Iris conduct as the almoner and confidential adviser of the Protector was such as to win the praises of even the bitterest enemies of his party. Without overlooking the due claims of the Puritans, he omitted no opportunity of helping pious and learned DI en of other deuomina thins, Ward (afterwards bishop of Exeter) and Thomas Fuller having been among the number of those who profited by Howe's kindness, and who were not ashamed subsequently to express their gratitude for it. On the deposition of Richard Cromwell, Howe returned to Great Torrington, where, like all who had played a conspicuous part under the Commonwealth, lie soon after the Restoration found himself an object of suspicion and hatred ; in 1662 the passing of the Act of Uniformity drove bins from his parish. For several years lie now led a wandering and uncertain life, preaching in secret as occasion offered to handfuls of trusted hearers. More than once his liberty was in imminent peril ; and it is alleged by Calamy, though on doubtful grounds, that for two months in 1665 he was imprisoned in the Isle of St Nicholas in Plymouth Sound. Impelled by the demands of pressing want, he in 1668 published the treatise entitled The Blessedness of the Righteous; the reputation which he had acquired by it procured for him in 1669 an invitation from Lord Massarene of .Antrim Castle, Ireland, to become his domestic chaplain. At Antrim, where he was soon joined by his family, lie accordingly spent six years of quiet, during which he frequently preached in public, with the approval of the bishop of the diocese, and also found time to produce the most eloquent of his shorter treatises, The Vanity of Man as Mortal, and On Delighting in God ; there too he planned the largest (and also in some respect the greatest) of his works, The Living Temple. In the beginning of 1676 he accepted an invitation to become pastor of a nonconformist congregation in Silver Street, London ; and in the same year he published the first part of The Living Temple, entitled Concerning God's Existence and Ills Conversableness with Man: Against Atheism or the Epicurean Deism. In 1677 appeared his tractate On the 1?econcileableness of God's Prescience of the Sins of Men ?vide the Wisdom, and Sincerity of His Counsels, Exhortations, and whatsoever means Ile uses to prevent them, which was attacked from various quarters, and hadAndrew Marvel for one of its defenders. Ris work On Thoughtfulness for the Morrow followed in 1681 ; those on Self-Dedication and Union among Protestants in 1682 ; and that on The Redeemer's Tears wept over Lost Souls in 1684. During the earlier years that followed his settlement in London Howe had enjoyed comparative freedom from annoyance on the ground of his nonconformity, and had been on intimate terms with many who already were or who afterwards became eminent in the Established Church, such as Stillingtleet, Tillotson, Sharp, and Kidder ; but the greater severity which began to be manifested in 1681, and which continued to be shown during the following years, so interfered with his liberty that in 1685 he gladly accepted the invitation of Philip Lord Wharton to travel abroad with him. The tour extended over the greater part of a year. In 1686, matters still seeming hopeless in England, lie determined to settle for a time at Utrecht, where he officiated along with Mead and others in the English chapel, and also read privately with English students at the university. Among his friends there was Burnet, the future bishop of Salisbury, by whose influence he obtained several confidential interviews with the prince of Orange. In 1687 Howe availed himself of the publication by James II. of the declaration for liberty of conscience to return to England, and in the following year he headed the procession of nonconformist ministers who went to congratulate William on his accession to the English throne. The remainder of his life, so far as recorded, was extremely uneventful. In 1693 he published three admirable discourses On the Carnality of Religious Contention, suggested by the disputes and divisions that had so abundantly occurred among the nonconformists as soon as liberty of doctrine and worship had been granted. In 1694 and 1695 he published various treatises on the subject of the Trinity, the principal being A Calm and Solemn, Inquiry concerning the Possibility of a Trinity in the Godhead. The second part of The Living Temple, entitled Animadversions on Spinosa and a French Writer pretending to confute him, with a recapitulation of the former part and an account of the destitution and restitution of God's Temple among Men, appeared in 1702. About this time he appears to have fallen into shattered health, but he was able in 1705 to give to the world a discourse On Patience in the Expectation of Future Blessedness, which proved to be his last work. He died in London on April 2, 1706.

Though excelled by Baxter as a pulpit orator, and by Owen in exegetical ingenuity and in almost every department of theological learning, Voce compares favourably with either as a sagacious and profound thinker, while tie was much more successful in combining religions earnestness and fervour of conviction with large-hearted tolerance and cultured breadth of view. His style, Moreover, though not altogether free from the literary faults which may almost be called characteristic of Puritanism, has often a stately yet graceful flow which the modern reader will look for in vain in most of Howe's theological contemporaries. The works published in his life-time, including a number of sermons and other occasional pieces besides those specified above, were collected into 2 vole. fol. in 1724, and again reprinted in 3 vole. 8vo. in 1848, A complete edition of the Whole (Yorks, including much posthumous and additional matter, appeared with a Memoir in 8 vols. in 1822; this was reprinted in 1 vol. in 1838. The Memoirs of II owe by eadony, originally published in 1724, have been inure than once reprinted, and form the basis of The Life and Character of Howe, with an Analysis of leis Writings, by Ilettry Rogers 0836; new ed., 1863).

H OWE, RICUARD HOWL, EARL ( I 725-1799), English admiral, was born in 1725. By his father Emanuel Scrope Howe, second Viscount Howe in the Irish peerage, he was descended from an old family, several members of which attained distinction in war or in politics ; and his mother was the daughter of Baron Kielmansegge, master of the horse to George I. when elector of Hanover. Leaving Eton at the age of fourteen, llowe entered the navy as midshipman on board the " Severn," which then formed one of a squadron under Anson destined for an expedition against Spain in the Pacific. Nothing is recorded as to the manner in which be conducted himself in the actions in which the squadron engaged, but he at any rate succeeded in winning the approval of his commander, and in his twentieth year was made lieutenant. Shortly after this he was appointed to the command of a sloop-of-war, the " Baltimore," in which with the aid of the "Greyhound" frigate, commanded by Captain Noel, he signalized himself by defeating off the coast of Scotland two French vessels, of greatly superior metal to his own, which were carrying supplies and reinforcements to the Pretender. On his arrival in England he found that previous to this action he had been raised to the rank of post-captain, and he served in this capacity on the coast of Guinea and on the Jamaica station. In 1748 he returned to England, and after spending three years chiefly in the study of naval tactics, he was in 1751 appointed to the " Glory," of 44 gulls, and employed on the coast of Africa. In May 1752 lie was commissioned to the " Dolphin " frigate, in which he was employed for some years in protecting the trade in the vicinity of Gibraltar. Shortly after his return to England he was appointed in 1755 to the " Dunkirk," and joined the squadron of Admiral Boscawen, bound for America. In the course of the voyage thither Howe took a- prominent part in capturing two French men-of-war, the " Alcide " and the " Lys." This action was virtually the commencement of the seven years' war with France, in the course of which Howe in command of a small squadron succeeded in capturing from the French the island of Chaussd, and, after obtaining a commission to the " Magnanime," distinguished himself in the attacks made on the Isle of Aix, St .halo, and Cherbourg, manifested conspicuous courage and readiness of resource at the disaster of St Cas, and in the action with the French fleet under De Conflans disabled two of the enemy's ships. Shortly before the close of the war Howe had married, and by the death of his brother Viscount Howe had inherited the family titles and estates. From 1758 till 1182 he represented Dartmouth in parliament ; in the latter year he was raised to the British peerage as Viscount Howe. In 1763 he received a seat at the board of admiralty, and in June 1765 be was appointed to the important office of treasurer of the navy, which he retained till August 1770. In October of this latter year he was made rear-admiral of the blue, and nominated commander in chief of the fleet intended to be employed in the Mediterranean in view of a probable rupture with Spain, which, however, did not take place. In 1775 he was promoted rear-admiral of the white, and in the following year he received the command of the squadron despatched to America, but owing to the insufficiency of his force he achieved no exploit of importance. After his return to England he was in September 1782 appointed to the command of the Channel fleet, and ordered to proceed to the relief of Gibraltar, then besieged by the combined laud and sea forces of France and Spain, when after succeeding in supplying the garrison with stores and provisions he engaged at long ranges the united fleet which numbered 44 sail to his 34, and caused them to retreat to Cadiz. In January 1783 Howe succeeded Keppel as first lord of the admiralty, an office which he resigned in the following April, but again accepted under the Pitt ministry, holding it till July 1788. In July 1787 he was made admiral of the white, and shortly afterwards was raised to an earldom. In 1790 he was appointed to the command of a fleet intended to operate against the Spaniards, but peace was concluded before any action took place. On the commencement of the war with France after the Revolution he obtained the chief command in the Channel, and on the 1st of June 1791 gained a great victory over the French fleet off Ushant, dismasting ten of the enemy's ships and taking seven, one of which, the " Vengeur," sank as she was being towed away. On the 9th August of the same year he resumed the command of the Channel fleet, but in none of his cruises was he fortunate enough to meet any of the enemy's vessels ; and during the greater part of 1795 and 1796 ill health compelled him to remain on shore. In May 1797 he resigned his command. In the seine year he was appointed with full powers to treat with the mutineers in the British fleet at Portsmouth and Spithead, and completely succeeded, through the confidence they had in the friendliness of his intentions, and by the firm and judicious measures he adopted, in eradicating the causes of discontent. During the latter years of his life Lord Howe suffered much from ill health; and he died under a violent attack of gout, August 5, 1799. A splendid monument was erected to Howe in St Paul's Cathedral.

Lord Howe is entitled to the exceptional praise of never having. failed to bear himself with credit and success in any of his enterprises. The qualities in which he excelled were coolness, firmness, seamanship, and caution - an excess of the latter virtue, however, tending perhaps on some occasions to diminish the lustre and completeness of his victories. He introduced a new and thorough system of naval tactics, evolutions, and signals, and bestowed careful and minute attention on all the details of the service. In person he was tall and well-proportioned. His countenance was strongly marked, somewhat harsh in expression except when softened by his genial smile, and dark in complexion - although the sobriquet of Black Dick by which he was known in the navy was not due to this circumstance, but to a mezzotinto portrait of himself which hung in his cabin. The benevolent friendliness of his disposition secured. him the strong affection and confidence as well as respect of his seamen, while no professional jealousy prevented him from doing full justice to the achievements of his officers.