Shortly after his decease, some part of the produce of his studies was published in London by the Rev. John Palmer: "A Paraphrase upon the Fifteenth Chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; with Critical Notes and Observations, and a Preliminary Dissertation. A Commentary, with Critical Remarks, upon the Sixth, Seventh, and part of the Eighth Chapters to the Romans. To which is added, A Sermon on Ecclesiastes ix. 10; composed by the author the day preceding his death. By John Alexander." It is observed by Mr. Palmer, that Mr. Alexander was no less an object of admiration to his acquaintance for the intenseness of his application, than for the native strength of his mind; by the united force of which he made those advances in knowledge and literature, which are very rarely attained by persons at so early an age. The justness of this encomium is abundantly evident from the work now mentioned, which contains indubitable proofs of great sagacity and learning. The preliminary Dissertation in particular, in which he favours the opinion of there being no state of consciousness between death and the resurrection, may be ranked with the first productions on the subject; though the same side of the question has been maintained by some of the first divines of the last century
Yet, though the study of religion and the scriptures, as became his profession, was the principal object of Mr. Alexander's attention, he found leisure for cultivating the other departments of literature. He had a quick turn for observation on common life, and possessed no inconsiderable portion of wit and humour. He had formed his style on the more correct and chaste parts of Dr. Swift's writings, and had somewhat of the cast of that celebrated author, without his excessive severity. Of this he gave several proofs in a monthly work, "The Library," supposed to have been conducted principally by Dr. Keppis, and which was published in London in 1761 and 1762; in an ironical "Defence of Persecution," " Essays on Dull-
