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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Gallery of Portraits: with Memoirs. Volume 3 (of 7) - -Author: Various - -Release Date: August 6, 2017 [EBook #55277] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GALLERY OF PORTRAITS, VOL 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber's Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><em>UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'><span class='small'>THE</span><br /> GALLERY OF PORTRAITS:<br /> <span class='xsmall'>WITH</span><br /> <span class='xlarge'>MEMOIRS.</span><br /> <br /> <span class='large'>VOLUME III.</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>LONDON:</div> - <div>CHARLES KNIGHT, 22, LUDGATE-STREET.</div> - <div class='c003'>1834.</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='xsmall'>[PRICE ONE GUINEA, BOUND IN CLOTH.]</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>LONDON:</div> - <div>PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES,</div> - <div>Duke-Street, Lambeth.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>PORTRAITS, AND BIOGRAPHIES<br /> <span class='large'>CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME.</span></h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary='PORTRAITS, AND BIOGRAPHIES'> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>1.</td> - <td class='c007'>Erskine</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>2.</td> - <td class='c007'>Dollond</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_12'>12</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>3.</td> - <td class='c007'>John Hunter</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_19'>19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>4.</td> - <td class='c007'>Petrarch</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_25'>25</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>5.</td> - <td class='c007'>Burke</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_33'>33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>6.</td> - <td class='c007'>Henry IV.</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_41'>41</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>7.</td> - <td class='c007'>Bentley</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_49'>49</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>8.</td> - <td class='c007'>Kepler</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_59'>59</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>9.</td> - <td class='c007'>Hale</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_66'>66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>10.</td> - <td class='c007'>Franklin</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_77'>77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>11.</td> - <td class='c007'>Schwartz</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_86'>86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>12.</td> - <td class='c007'>Barrow</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_94'>94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>13.</td> - <td class='c007'>D’Alembert</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_101'>101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>14.</td> - <td class='c007'>Hogarth</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_106'>106</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>15.</td> - <td class='c007'>Galileo</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_113'>113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>16.</td> - <td class='c007'>Rembrandt</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>17.</td> - <td class='c007'>Dryden</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_127'>127</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>18.</td> - <td class='c007'>La Perouse</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_135'>135</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>19.</td> - <td class='c007'>Cranmer</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_141'>141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>20.</td> - <td class='c007'>Tasso</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_149'>149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>21.</td> - <td class='c007'>Ben Jonson</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_156'>156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>22.</td> - <td class='c007'>Canova</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_165'>165</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>23.</td> - <td class='c007'>Chaucer</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_176'>176</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>24.</td> - <td class='c007'>Sobieski</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_184'>184</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>⁂ It should have been stated in the Life of D’Alembert, that that Life was mostly taken from the Penny Cyclopædia, with some alterations by the Editor of this work.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_001fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by R. Woodman.</em><br /><br />ERSKINE.<br /><br /><em>From the original Picture by Hoppner<br />in his Majesty’s Collection at Windsor.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> -<img src='images/i_001.jpg' alt='ERSKINE.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>ERSKINE.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Honourable Thomas Erskine was the third son of David Earl of -Buchan, a Scottish peer of ancient family and title, but reduced -fortune. He was born in January 1748, and received the rudiments -of his education, partly at the High School of Edinburgh, -partly at the University of St. Andrews. But the straitened circumstances -of his family rendered it necessary for him to embrace -some profession at an early age; and he accordingly entered the navy -as a midshipman in 1764. Not thinking his prospects of advancement -sufficiently favourable to render his continuance in that service -expedient, he exchanged it in the year 1768 for that of the army. In -1770 he married his first wife, Frances, the daughter of Daniel -Moore, M.P. for Marlow; and soon after went with his regiment to -Minorca, where he remained three years. Soon after returning to -England he changed his profession again. It has been said that he -took this step against his own judgment, and on the pressing entreaties -of his mother, a woman of lofty and highly cultivated mind, the sister -of Sir James Stewart, whose scientific writings, especially upon political -philosophy, have rendered his name so famous, and the daughter -of a well known Scotch lawyer and Solicitor-General of the same -name. But it is certain that at this time he had acquired considerable -celebrity in the circles of London society; and it is hard -to suppose that he was not sensible of his own brilliant qualifications -for forensic success. Whatever the cause, he commenced his legal -life in 1775, in which year he entered himself as a student of Lincoln’s -Inn, and also as a fellow commoner of Trinity College, Cambridge; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>not with a view to university honours or emoluments, but to obtain -the honorary degree of M.A., to which he was entitled by his birth, -and thereby to shorten the period of probation, previous to his being -called to the bar. He gave an earnest, however, of his future eloquence, -by gaining the first declamation prize, annually bestowed in -his college. The subject which he chose was the Revolution of 1688. -His professional education was chiefly carried on in the chambers of -Mr. Buller and Mr. Wood, both subsequently raised to the bench. In -Trinity term, 1778, he was called to the bar.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mr. Erskine’s course was as rapid as it was brilliant. In the -following term, Captain Baillie, Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich -Hospital, was prosecuted for an alleged libel on other officers of that -establishment, contained in a pamphlet written to expose the abuses -which existed there, and bearing heavily on the character of the Earl -of Sandwich, then First Lord of the Admiralty. It is believed that -on this occasion Mr. Erskine made his first appearance in court. His -speech was characterized by great warmth and eloquence, and a most -fearless assertion of matters not likely to be palatable either to the -Court or the Government. And this is the more worthy of notice, -because it shows that the boldness which he afterwards displayed in -causes more nearly connected with the liberties of England, was not -the safe boldness of a man strong in professional reputation, and -confident in his experience and past success, but the result of a fixed -determination to perform, at all hazards, his whole duty to his client. -The best testimony to the effect of this speech is to be found in the -anecdote, that thirty briefs were presented to him by attorneys before -he left the court.</p> - -<p class='c000'>We must hasten very briefly through the events of Mr. Erskine’s -life to make room for speaking at somewhat more length of a very few -of his most remarkable performances. He rose at once into first -rate junior business in the Court of King’s Bench, and received a -patent of precedence in May 1783, having practised only for the -short space of five years. He belonged to the Home Circuit in the -early part of his professional life; but soon ceased to attend it, or any -other, except on special retainers, of which it is said that he received -more than any man in his time or since.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In his political life he was a firm adherent of Mr. Fox: but his -success in Parliament, which he entered in 1783 as member for -Portsmouth, was not commensurate with the expectations which -had been raised upon the brilliant powers of oratory which he had -displayed at the bar. On attaining his majority in 1783, the Prince -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>of Wales appointed Mr. Erskine, with whom he lived in habits of -intimacy, to be his Attorney-General. This office he was called on -to resign in 1792, in consequence of his refusing to abandon the -defence of Paine, when he was prosecuted for a libel, as author of the -‘Rights of Man:’ and his removal, though not a solitary, is fortunately -a rare instance in modern times, of an advocate being punished -for the honest discharge of his professional duties. Five years afterwards -he conducted the prosecution of the ‘Age of Reason;’ and in -1802 he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall. On the -formation of the Grenville administration, in 1806, he was appointed -Chancellor of Great Britain, and raised to the peerage, by the title of -Baron Erskine, of Restormel Castle in Cornwall. The short period -during which he presided in the Court of Chancery, makes it difficult -to estimate how far his extraordinary powers of mind, and in particular -the eminently legal understanding which he possessed, would have -enabled him to overcome the difficulties of so new a situation. But -his judgments have, generally speaking, stood the test of subsequent -investigation; and his admirable conduct in the impeachment of 1806, -over which he presided as Lord High Steward, uniting the greatest -acuteness and readiness with singular firmness of purpose, and all -that urbanity which neither in public nor in private life ever quitted -him for an instant, may be said to have restored to life a mode of trial -essential to our constitution, though discredited by the vexatious procrastination -which had characterized the last instance of its use.</p> - -<p class='c000'>On the dissolution of the Grenville ministry, which occurred about -a year after its formation, Lord Erskine retired in a great degree -from public life. In 1808 he took an active share in opposing the -measure of commercial hostility, so well known under the name of -the Orders in Council, and still so deeply felt: and his speech against -the Jesuits’ Bark Bill, which was not reported, is said to have been -worthy of his most celebrated efforts, both for argument and eloquence. -In 1809 he introduced into the House of Lords a bill for -the prevention of cruelty to animals, which passed that branch of the -legislature, but was thrown out by the Commons. The part, too, -which he took upon the memorable proceedings of 1820, relative -to the Queen’s trial, will long be remembered, marked as it was -by all the highest qualities of the judicial character: and his arguments -upon the Banbury case a few years before, only leave a regret -that he did not devote more of his leisure to the legal business of the -House of Lords.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After his retirement, Lord Erskine occupied himself occasionally -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>in literary pursuits. In this period he composed the Preface to Mr. -Fox’s Speeches, and the political romance of Armata. His only other -written work of importance is a pamphlet, entitled ‘View of the -Causes and Consequences of the War with France,’ which appeared -in 1797, and ran through the extraordinary number of forty-eight -editions. But he is not to be considered as a literary man: on the -contrary, it is one of the many singularities in his history, that with a -scanty stock of what is usually called literature, he should have been -one of our most purely classical speakers and writers. His study was -confined to a few of the greatest models; and these he almost knew by -heart.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The later years of his life were harassed by pecuniary embarrassment, -arising partly from the loss of his large professional income, -inadequately replaced by a retiring pension of £4000; and partly from -an unfortunate investment of the fruits of his industry in land, which -yielded little return when the period of agricultural depression arrived. -His first wife died in 1805: and an ill-assorted second marriage, contracted -much later in life, is supposed to have increased his domestic -disquietudes, as it certainly injured his reputation, and gave pain to -his friends. He was seized with an inflammation of the chest while -travelling towards Scotland, and died at Almondale, his brother’s seat, -near Edinburgh, November 17, 1823. Immediately after his decease, -the members of that profession of which he had been at once the -ornament and the favourite, caused a statue of him to be executed. -When the marble was denied admittance within those walls which -had so often been shaken by the thunder of his eloquence, they placed -it in the hall of Lincoln’s Inn, where he had presided as chancellor; -a lasting monument to those who study the law, that subserviency is -not necessary to advancement, and that they will be held in grateful -remembrance by their professional brethren, who boldly uphold the -liberties of their country.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In speaking, which we can do very briefly, of Lord Erskine’s professional -merits, our attention is directed to those of his speeches which -bear on two great subjects, the Liberty of the Press, and the doctrine -of Constructive Treason, not merely because they embrace his most -laboured and most celebrated efforts, nor for the paramount importance -of these subjects in a constitutional point of view; but also because -we possess a collection of those speeches corrected by himself, while of -the numberless arguments and addresses delivered on other subjects -during a most active period of twenty-eight years, but very few have -been authentically reported. From those which are preserved, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>rising generation can form but an inadequate idea of this extraordinary -man’s power as an advocate; such is said, by those who yet -remember him, to have been the witchery of his voice, eye, and action; -such his intuitive perception of that which at the instant was likely to -have weight with a jury. His peculiar skill in this respect is thus -described by a distinguished writer in the Edinburgh Review, in -commenting upon a brilliant passage, which we shall presently have -occasion to quote. “As far as relates to the character of Lord -Erskine’s eloquence, we would point out as the most remarkable feature -in this passage, that in no one sentence is the subject, the business -in hand, the case, the client, the verdict, lost sight of; and that the -fire of that oratory, or rather of that rhetoric (for it was quite under -discipline), which was melting the hearts and dazzling the understandings -of his hearers, had not the power to touch for one instant -the hard head of the <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Nisi Prius</span></i> lawyer, from which it radiated; or -to make him swerve, by one hair’s breadth even, from the minuter -details most befitting his purpose, and the alternate admissions and -disavowals best adapted to put his case in the safest position. This, -indeed, was the grand secret of Mr. Erskine’s unparalleled success -at the English bar. Without it he might have filled Westminster -Hall with his sentences, and obtained a reputation for eloquence, -somewhat like the fame of a popular preacher or a distinguished -actor: but his fortunes,—aye, and the liberties of his country,—are -built on the matchless skill with which he could subdue the genius -of a first rate orator to the uses of the most consummate advocate of -the age.”—(Edinburgh Review, vol. xvi. p. 116–7, 1810.)</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mr. Erskine’s speeches against the doctrine of Constructive -Treason were delivered in behalf of Lord George Gordon, when -accused of high treason as the ringleader of the riots in 1780, and -in behalf of Messrs. Hardy and Horne Tooke, when attacked by the -whole weight of Government in 1794. In the first of these he -begins by laying down broadly and distinctly the law of treason, -as defined by the celebrated statute of Edward III. He proceeds, -carefully avoiding to offend the probable temper of the jury by asserting -either the prudence or legality of Lord George Gordon’s conduct, -to show the total failure of evidence to bring his intentions within the -scope of the act; the utter want of pretence for assuming that he had -levied war on the King, the crime charged in the indictment; and -the utter want of proof to connect him, or the Protestant Association, -of which he was chairman, with the outrages committed by a rabble, -insignificant alike in numbers and character. He enters into a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>minute examination of the crown evidence; lays bare the infamy of -one witness; exposes the forced constructions by which alone any -legal or moral guilt can be attached to his client; and, warming in -his subject, breaks out into an appeal to the jury, the effect of which -is said to have been electric. And it has been justly observed, that -by such an effect alone could the boldness of the attempt have been -justified: failure would have been destruction. The eloquence of -this speech is even less remarkable than the exquisite judgment and -professional skill by which that eloquence is controlled.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the State Trials of 1794, the prisoners, it is well known, were -proceeded against separately. Hardy’s turn came first. They were -charged with compassing the death of the King, the evidence of this -intention being a conspiracy to subvert by force the constitution of -the country, under pretence of procuring, by legal means, a reform -in the House of Commons. It must be evident to every one that this -was stretching the doctrine of constructive treason to the utmost: yet -Parliament had passed a bill, declaring in the preamble that such -a conspiracy did actually exist; and this being asserted on such high -authority, and no doubt existing of the prisoners being deeply -engaged in the design to procure a reform in Parliament, they -came to their trial under the most serious disadvantages. On this -occasion, as in defence of Lord George Gordon, Mr. Erskine began -by explaining the law of treason, under the statute of Edward III. -He showed the strictness with which it had been defined and limited -by the most eminent constitutional lawyers; and argued, that granting -the intention to hold a general convention, with the view of obtaining -by that means a reform in Parliament; granting even that this -amounted to a conspiracy to levy war for that purpose, still the -offence would not be the high treason charged by the indictment, -unless the conspiracy to levy war were directly pointed against the -King’s person. And that there was no want of affection for the King -himself, appeared fully even from the evidence for the prosecution. -He maintained that the clearest evidence should be required of the -evil intention, especially when so different from the open and avowed -object of the prisoners. He proceeded to show that their ostensible -object, so far from necessarily involving any evil designs, was one -which had been advocated by the Earl of Chatham, Mr. Burke, Mr. -Pitt himself; and that the very measures of reform which it was sought -to introduce, had been openly avowed and inculcated by the Duke -of Richmond, then holding office in the ministry of which Mr. Pitt -was chief. Mr. Hardy, Mr. Tooke, and Mr. Thelwall were severally -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>and successively acquitted, and all men now confess that to the powers -and the courage of this matchless advocate in that day of its peril, the -preservation of English liberty must be mainly ascribed. The other -prosecutions were then abandoned.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mr. Erskine’s powerful and fearless support of the liberty of the -subject on all occasions rendered him especially sought after by all -persons accused of political libels; and a large proportion of his most -important speeches are on these subjects. The earliest reported, -and for their consequences the most remarkable, are the series of -speeches which he delivered in behalf of the Dean of St. Asaph, in -1784. Of the merits of the case we have not room to speak: but it -is important for the influence which it had in determining the great -question, whether in prosecutions for libel, the jury is to judge of fact -alone, or of law and fact conjointly. For many years it had been the -doctrine of the courts, that juries had no cognizance of the nature of -an imputed libel, beyond ascertaining how far the meaning ascribed in -the indictment to passages charged as libellous was borne out by -evidence; the truth of these, and the fact of the publication being -ascertained, it was for the judge to determine whether the matter -were libellous or no. This doctrine was controverted by Mr. Erskine -in his speech for the Dean of St. Asaph, and maintained by the judge -who tried the case; and on the ground of misdirection, Mr. Erskine -moved for a new trial. On this occasion he went into an elaborate -argument to prove that it was the office of the jury, not of the judges, -to pronounce upon the intention and tendency of an alleged libel; and -to him is ascribed the honour of having prepared the way for the -Libel Bill, introduced by Mr. Fox in 1792, and seconded by himself, -in which the rights and province of the jury are clearly defined, and -the position established, for which he, in a small minority of his professional -brethren, had contended. This was a triumph of which the -oldest, and most practised lawyer might have been proud; it is doubly -honourable to one young in years, and younger in professional experience.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Equal perhaps to those in importance, for it bore directly on the -liberty of the press, and superior in brilliance of execution, is the -speech in behalf of Stockdale, the bookseller, who was prosecuted for -a libel on the House of Commons, in consequence of having published -a pamphlet commenting on the articles of impeachment brought against -Mr. Hastings, and containing some passages by no means complimentary -to some portion of that honourable body. The fact of the publication -being admitted, Mr. Erskine, agreeably to the provisions of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>Libel Act, proceeded to address the jury on the merits of the work. -It was his argument, that the tenor of the whole, and the intentions of -the writer, were to be regarded; and that if these should be found praiseworthy, -or innocent, the presence of a few detached passages, which, -taken separately, might seem calculated to bring the House of Commons -into contempt, were altogether insufficient to justify conviction. -This speech may be selected as one of the finest examples of Mr. -Erskine’s oratory, whether for the skill displayed in managing the -argument, the justness of the principles, the exquisite taste with which -they are illustrated and enforced, or the powerful eloquence in which -they are embodied; and from this, in conclusion, we would extract one -passage as a specimen of his powers. It is sufficient to state in introduction, -that the pamphlet in question was a defence of Mr. Hastings, -and that, among other topics, it urged the nature of his instructions -from his constituents. Commenting on this, the orator proceeds in a -strain which few persons, not hardened by long converse in affairs of -state, will read without emotion, or without a deep sense of the justice -of the sentiments, the gravity of the topics introduced.</p> - -<p class='c000'>“If this be a wilfully false account of the instructions given to Mr. -Hastings for his government, and of his conduct under them, the author -and publisher of this defence deserve the severest punishment, for a -mercenary imposition on the public. But if it be true, that he was -directed to ‘make the safety and prosperity of Bengal the first object of -his attention,’ and that under his administration it has been safe and -prosperous; if it be true that the security and preservation of our -possessions and revenues in Asia were marked out to him as the great -leading principle of his government, and that those possessions and -revenues amidst unexampled dangers have been secured and preserved; -then a question may be unaccountably mixed with your consideration, -much beyond the consequence of the present prosecution, involving -perhaps the merit of the impeachment itself which gave it birth; a -question which the Commons, as prosecutors of Mr. Hastings, should -in common prudence have avoided; unless, regretting the unwieldy -length of their prosecution against him, they wished to afford him the -opportunity of this strange anomalous defence. For although I am -neither his counsel, nor desire to have any thing to do with his guilt or -innocence, yet in the collateral defence of my client I am driven to -state matter which may be considered by many as hostile to the impeachment. -For if our dependencies have been secured, and their -interests promoted, I am driven in the defence of my client to remark, -that it is mad and preposterous to bring to the standard of justice and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>humanity, the exercise of a dominion founded upon violence and terror. -It may, and must be true, that Mr. Hastings has repeatedly offended -against the rights and privileges of Asiatic government, if he was -the faithful deputy of a power which could not maintain itself for an -hour without trampling upon both; he may and must have offended -against the laws of God and nature, if he was the faithful Viceroy of -an empire wrested in blood from the people to whom God and nature -had given it; he may and must have preserved that unjust dominion -over timorous and abject nations by a terrifying, overbearing, insulting -superiority, if he was the faithful administrator of your government, -which, having no root in consent or affection, no foundation in similarity -of interests, nor support from any one principle which cements men -together in society, could only be upheld by alternate stratagem and -force. The unhappy people of India, feeble and effeminate as they are -from the softness of their climate, and subdued and broken as they -have been by the knavery and strength of civilization, still occasionally -start up in all the vigour and intelligence of insulted nature. When -governed at all, they must be governed with a rod of iron; and our -empire in the east would long since have been lost to Great Britain, if -civil skill and military prowess had not united their efforts, to support -an authority which Heaven never gave, by means which it never can -sanction.</p> - -<p class='c000'>“Gentlemen, I think I can observe that you are touched with this -way of considering the subject, and I can account for it. I have not -been considering it through the cold medium of books, but have been -speaking of man and his nature, and of human dominion, from what I -have seen of them myself among reluctant nations submitting to our -authority. I know what they feel, and how such feelings can alone be -repressed. I have heard them in my youth, from a naked savage, in the -indignant character of a prince surrounded by his subjects, addressing the -Governor of a British colony, holding a bundle of sticks in his hand, -as the notes of his unlettered eloquence. ‘Who is it,’ said the jealous -ruler over the desert, encroached upon by the restless foot of English -adventure; ‘who is it that causes this river to rise in the high mountains, -and to empty itself into the ocean? Who is it that causes to -blow the loud winds of winter, and that calms them again in the summer? -Who is it that rears up the shade of these lofty forests, and blasts -them with the quick lightning at his pleasure? The same Being, -who gave to you a country on the other side of the waters, and gave -ours to us; and by this title we will defend it,’ said the warrior, -throwing down his tomahawk on the ground, and raising the war-cry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>of his nation. These are the feelings of subjugated man all round the -globe; and depend upon it, nothing but fear will control, where it is -vain to look for affection.</p> - -<p class='c000'>“These reflections are the only antidotes to those anathemas of superhuman -eloquence which have lately shaken these walls that surround -us; but which it unaccountably falls to my province, whether I will or -no, a little to stem the torrent of, by reminding you that you have a -mighty sway in Asia which cannot be maintained by the finer sympathies -of life, or the practice of its charities and affections. What will -they do for you when surrounded by two hundred thousand men -with artillery, cavalry, and elephants, calling upon you for their -dominions which you have robbed them of? Justice may, no doubt, -in such a case forbid the levying of a fine to pay a revolting soldiery; a -treaty may stand in the way of increasing a tribute to keep up the very -existence of the government; and delicacy for women may forbid all -entrance into a <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">zenana</span> for money, whatever may be the necessity for -taking it. All these things must ever be occurring. But under the -pressure of such constant difficulties, so dangerous to national honour, -it might be better perhaps to think of effectually securing it altogether, -by recalling our troops and merchants, and abandoning our Oriental -empire. Until this be done, neither religion nor philosophy can be -pressed very far into the aid of reformation and punishment. If England, -from a lust of ambition and dominion, will insist on maintaining -despotic rule over distant and hostile nations, beyond all comparison -more numerous and extended than herself, and gives commission to her -Viceroys to govern them, with no other instructions than to preserve -them, and to secure permanently their revenues; with what colour of -consistency or reason can she place herself in the moral chair, and affect -to be shocked at the execution of her own orders; adverting to the exact -measure of wickedness and injustice necessary to their execution, and -complaining only of the excess as the immorality; considering her -authority as a dispensation for breaking the commands of God, and -the breach of them only punishable when contrary to the ordinances of -man.</p> - -<p class='c000'>“Such a proceeding, Gentlemen, begets serious reflections. It -would be better perhaps for the masters and the servants of all such -governments to join in supplication, that the great Author of violated -humanity may not confound them together in one common -judgment.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>These speeches, on constructive treason, and on subjects relating to -the liberty of the press, fill four octavo volumes. A fifth was subsequently -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>published, containing speeches on miscellaneous subjects; -among which those in behalf of Hadfield and for Mr. Bingham are -especially worthy of attention. The latter is one of the most affecting -appeals to the feelings ever uttered. Hadfield is notorious for having -discharged a pistol at George III. in Drury Lane Theatre. He was a -soldier, who had been dreadfully wounded in the head, and other parts -of the body; and no doubt could be entertained but that he was of -unsound mind. Whether his insanity was of such a nature, that it -could be pleaded in excuse for an attempt to murder, was a harder -question to decide; and the speech in his behalf, besides many -passages of much power and pathos, contains a masterly exposition of -the principles by which a court of law should be guided in examining -the moral responsibility of a person labouring under alienation of -mind. Hadfield, we need hardly say, was acquitted.</p> - -<p class='c000'>No life of Lord Erskine has yet been written on a scale calculated -to do justice to the subject. The fullest which we have seen is contained -in the ‘Lives of British Lawyers,’ in Lardner’s Cyclopædia: -there is also a scanty memoir in the Annual Biography and Obituary, -from which the facts contained in this sketch are principally derived.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_011.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Statue of Lord Erskine in Lincoln’s Inn Hall.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span> -<img src='images/i_012.jpg' alt='DOLLOND.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>DOLLOND.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The parents of this eminent discoverer in optics, to whom we are -chiefly indebted for the high perfection of our telescopes, were French -Protestants resident in Normandy, whence they were driven by the -revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685. With many others of their -class, they took up their residence in Spitalfields, where John Dollond, -the subject of this memoir<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c010'><sup>[1]</sup></a>, was born, June 10, 1706. It has been -supposed, and among others by Lalande, that the name is not French; -if we were to hazard a conjecture, we should say that it might have -been an English corruption of <em>D’Hollande</em>. While yet very young, -John Dollond lost his father; and he was obliged to gain his livelihood -by the loom, though his natural disposition led him to devote all his -leisure hours to mathematics and natural philosophy. Notwithstanding -the cares incumbent upon the father of a family (for he -married early) he contrived to find time, not only for the above-mentioned -pursuits, but for anatomy, classical literature, and divinity. -He continued his quiet course of life until his son, Peter Dollond, -was of age to join him in his trade of silk-weaving, and they carried -on that business together for several years. The son, however, who -was also of a scientific turn, and who had profited by his father’s -instructions, quitted the silk trade to commence business as an optician. -He was tolerably successful, and after some years his father -joined him, in 1752.</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c000'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. </span>For the details of this life, we are mostly indebted to the Memoir of Dr. Kelly, -his son-in-law, from which all the existing accounts of Dollond are taken. This book has -become very scarce, and we are indebted for the opportunity of perusing it to the kindness of -G. Dollond, Esq.</p> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_012fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Posselwhite.</em><br /><br />DOLLOND.<br /><br /><em>From an original Picture<br />in the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>The first improvement made by the elder Dollond in the telescope, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>was the addition of another glass to the eye-piece, making the whole -number of glasses in the instrument (the object-glass included) six -instead of five. This he communicated to the Royal Society in 1753, -through his friend James Short, well known as an optician and -astronomer, who also communicated all his succeeding papers. By -his new construction, an increase in the field of view was procured, -without any corresponding augmentation of the unavoidable defects -of the instrument. In May, 1753, Dollond communicated to the -Royal Society his improvement of the micrometer. In 1747 -Bouguer proposed to measure the distance of two very near objects -(the opposite edges of a planet, for example) by viewing them -through a conical telescope, the larger end of which had two object-glasses -placed side by side, the eye-glass being common to both. -The distance of the objects was determined by observing how far it -was necessary to separate the centres of the object-glasses, in order -that the centre of each might show an image of one of the objects. -Mr. Dollond’s improvement consisted in making use of the same -object-glass, divided into two semicircular halves sliding on one -another, as represented in the diagrams in page <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>; the first of which -is an oblique perspective view of the divided glass, and the second a -side view of the same, in such a position, that the images of the -stars A and B coincide at C.</p> - -<p class='c000'>If the whole of an object-glass were darkened, except one small -portion, that portion would form images similarly situated to those -formed by the whole glass, but less illuminated. Each half of the -object-glass, when separated from the other, forms an image of every -object in the field; and the two images of the same object coincide in -one of double brightness, when the halves are brought together so as to -restore the original form. By placing the divided diameter in the -line of two near objects, A and B, whose distance is to be measured, and -sliding the glasses until the image of one formed by one half comes -exactly into contact with the image of the other formed by the other -half, the angular distance of the two objects may be calculated, from -observation of the distance between the centres of the two halves. -This last distance is measured on a scale attached to the instrument; -and when found, is the base of the triangle, the vertex of which is at C, -and the equal sides of which are the focal lengths of the glasses. This -micrometer Dollond preferred to apply to the reflecting telescope; his -son afterwards adapted it to the refracting telescope; and it is now, -under the name of the <em>divided object-glass micrometer</em>, one of the most -useful instruments for measuring small angles.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>But the fame of Dollond principally rests upon his invention of -<em>achromatic</em>, or colourless telescopes, in which the surrounding fringe of -colours was destroyed, which had rendered indistinct the images formed -in all refracting telescopes previously constructed. He was led to this -practical result by the discovery of a principle in optics, that the <em>dispersion</em> -of light in passing through a refracting medium, that is, the -greater or less length through which the coloured <em>spectrum</em> is scattered, -is not in proportion to the <em>refraction</em>, or angle through which the rays -are bent out of their course. Newton asserted that he had found by -experiments, made with water and glass, that if a ray of light be subjected -to several refractions, some of which correct the rest, so that it -emerges parallel to its first direction, the dispersion into colours will -also be corrected, so that the light will be restored to whiteness. This -is not generally true: it is true if one substance only be employed, or -several which have the same, or nearly the same, <em>dispersive power</em><a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c010'><sup>[2]</sup></a>. -Mr. Peter Dollond afterwards satisfactorily explained the reason of -Newton’s mistake, by performing the same experiment with Venetian -glass, which, in the time of the latter, was commonly used in England; -from which he found that the fact stated by Newton was true, as far -as regarded that sort of glass. Had Newton used flint glass, he would -have discovered that dispersion and refraction are not necessarily -corrected together: he would then have been led to the difference -between refractive and dispersive power, and would have concluded -from his first experiment that Venetian glass and water have their -dispersive powers very nearly equal. As it was, he inferred that -the refracting telescope could never be entirely divested of colour, -without entirely destroying the refraction, that is, rendering the -instrument no telescope at all; and, the experiment being granted, -the conclusion was inevitable. It is well known that he accordingly -turned his attention entirely to the reflecting telescope.</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c000'><span class='label'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. </span>See Penny Cyclopædia, article Achromatic, for this and other terms employed in this -life.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>In 1747, Euler, struck by the fact that the human eye is an achromatic -combination of lenses, or nearly so, imagined that it might -be possible to destroy colour by employing compound object-glasses, -such as two lenses with an intermediate space filled with water. In -a memoir addressed to the Academy of Berlin, he explained his -method of constructing such achromatic glasses, and proposed a -new law of refrangibility, different from that of Newton. He could -not, however, succeed in procuring a successful result in practice. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>Dollond, impressed with the idea that Newton’s experiment was conclusive, -objected to Euler’s process in a letter to Mr. Short; which the -latter persuaded the author to communicate, first to Euler, and then, -with his answer, to the Royal Society. Assuming Newton’s law, -Dollond shows that Euler’s method would destroy all refraction as -well as dispersion. The latter replies, that it is sufficient for his -purpose that Newton’s law should be <em>nearly</em> true; that the theory -propounded by himself does not differ much from it; and that the -structure of the eye convinces him of the possibility of an achromatic -combination. Neither party contested the general truth of Newton’s -conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c000'>A new party to the discussion appeared in the field in the person of -M. Klingenstierna, a Swedish astronomer, who advanced some mathematical -reasoning against the law of Newton, and some suspicions as -to the correctness of his experiment. The latter being thus formally -attacked, Mr. Dollond determined to repeat it, with a view of settling -the question, and his result was communicated to the Royal Society in -1758. By placing a prism of flint glass inside one of water, confined -by glass planes, so that the refractions from the two prisms should be -in contrary directions, he found that when their angles were so -adjusted, that the refraction of one should entirely destroy that of the -other, the colour was far from being destroyed; “for the object, -though not at all refracted, was yet as much infested with prismatic -colours, as if it had been seen through a glass wedge only, whose -refracting angle was near thirty degrees.” It was thus proved that -the correction of refraction, and the correction of dispersion, are not -necessarily consequent the one on the other. Previously to communicating -this result, Dollond had, in 1757, applied it to the construction -of achromatic glasses, consisting of spherical lenses with -water between them: but finding that the images, though free from -colour, were not very distinct, he tried combinations of different -kinds of glass; and succeeded at last in forming the achromatic object-glass -now used, consisting of a convex lens of crown, and a concave of -flint glass. His son afterwards, in 1765, constructed the triple object-glass, -having a double concave lens of flint glass in the middle of two -double convex lenses of crown glass. The right of Dollond to the -invention has been attacked by various foreign writers, but the point -seems to have been decided in his favour by the general consent of -later times. His conduct certainly appears more philosophical than -that of either of his opponents. So long as he believed that Newton’s -experiment was correct, he held fast by it, not allowing any mathematical -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>reasoning to shake his belief, and in this respect he was more -consistent than Euler, who seems to have thought that an achromatic -combination might be made out of the joint belief of an experiment, -and of an hypothesis utterly at variance with it. And the manner -in which the distinguished philosopher just mentioned received the -news of Dollond’s invention, appears singular, considering the side -which each had taken in the previous discussion. Euler, who had -asserted the possibility of an achromatic lens, against Dollond, who -appeared to doubt it, says, “I am not ashamed frankly to avow that -the first accounts which were published of it, appeared so suspicious, -and even so contrary to the best established principles, that I could -not prevail upon myself to give credit to them.” Dollond was the -first who actually resorted to experiment, and he thus became the -discoverer of a remarkable law of optics; while his tact in the application -of his principles, and the selection of his materials, is worthy of -admiration. The reputation of Dollond rests upon the discovery of the -law, and its application to the case in point; for it has since been -proved that he was not absolutely the first who had constructed an -achromatic lens. On the occasion of an action brought for the invasion -of the patent, the defendant proved that about the year 1750, -Dr. Hall, an Essex gentleman, was in the possession of a secret for -constructing achromatic telescopes of twenty inches focal length: and -a writer in the Gentleman’s Magazine for 1790, has advanced his -claim with considerable circumstantial detail. It is difficult to get -any account of that trial, as it is not reported in any of the books. At -least we presume so, from not finding any reference to it either in the -works of Godson or Davis on Patents, though the case is frequently -mentioned; or in H. Blackstone’s report of Boulton and Watt v. -Bull, in which Dollond’s case forms a prominent feature of the -argument. But, from the words of Judge Buller in the case just -cited, it is difficult to suppose that the account given by Lalande -(Montucla, <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Histoire des Mathématiques</span>, vol. iii. p. 448, note) can be -correct. Lalande asserts that it was proved that Dollond received -the invention from a workman who bad been employed by Dr. Hall, -and that the latter had shown it to many persons. Judge Buller says, -“The objection to Dollond’s patent was, that he was not the inventor -of the new method of making object-glasses, but that Dr. Hall had -made the same discovery before him. But it was holden that as Dr. -Hall had <em>confined it to his closet</em>, and the public were not acquainted -with it, Dollond was to be considered as the inventor.” The circumstances -connected with the discovery, particularly the previous investigation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>of the phenomenon on which the result depends, independently -of the words of Judge Buller, quoted in italics, appear to us to render -the anonymous account very improbable: nor, as far as we know, is -there any other authority for it. That Dr. Hall did construct achromatic -telescopes is pretty certain; but we are entirely in the dark as -to whether he did it on principle, or whether he could even construct -more than one sort of lens: and the assertion that he, or any one -instructed by him, had communicated with Dollond, is unsupported -by any thing worthy the name of evidence. We may add, that the -accounts of this discovery, written by Dollond himself, possess a clearness -and power of illustration, which can result only from long and -minute attention to the subject under consideration.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After this great discovery, for which he received the Copley medal -of the Royal Society, Mr. Dollond devoted himself to the improvement -of the achromatic telescope, in conjunction with his other pursuits. -We are informed by G. Dollond, Esq., that his grandfather, at the -latter end of his life, was engaged in calculating almanacs for various -parts of the world; one of which, for the meridian of Barbadoes, and -the year 1761, is now in his possession.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mr. Dollond was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1761. -In the same year, November 30, he was struck with apoplexy, while -attentively engaged in reading Clairaut’s Theory of the Moon, which -had then just appeared. He died in a few hours afterwards, in the -fifty-sixth year of his age. His son Peter Dollond, already mentioned, -continued the business in partnership with a younger brother; and it is -now most ably carried on by his daughter’s son, who has, by permission, -assumed the name of Dollond.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The following extract is from the memoir written by Dr. Kelly, -in which we find nothing to regret, except that so few traits of character -are related in it. Those who write memoirs of remarkable men from -personal knowledge, should remember that details of their habits and -conversation will be much more valuable to posterity, than disquisitions -upon their scientific labours and discussions, which, coming from the -pens of friends or relations, will always be looked upon as <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">ex parte</span></i> -statements. Had the learned author borne this in mind, we should -have been able to give a better personal account of Dollond than the -following; which is absolutely the only information relative to his -private character which we can now obtain. “He was not content -with private devotion, as he was always an advocate for social worship; -and with his family regularly attended the public service of the French -Protestant church, and occasionally heard Benson and Lardner, whom -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>he respected as men, and admired as preachers. In his appearance -he was grave, and the strong lines of his face were marked with -deep thought and reflection; but in his intercourse with his family -and friends he was cheerful and affectionate; and his language and -sentiments are distinctly recollected as always making a strong -impression on the minds of those with whom he conversed. His -memory was extraordinarily retentive, and amidst the variety of his -reading he could recollect and quote the most important passages of -every book which he had at any time perused.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_018.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_019fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by W. Holl.</em><br /><br />JOHN HUNTER..<br /><br /><em>From a Picture by Sir Joshua Reynolds<br />in the Royal College of Surgeons, London.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span> -<img src='images/i_019.jpg' alt='JOHN HUNTER.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>JOHN HUNTER.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>A life and character like that of John Hunter has many claims upon -the honourable remembrance of society; the more, because, for meritorious -members of his profession, there is no other public reward than -the general approbation of good men. We look upon him with that -interest which genius successfully directed to good ends invariably -excites; as one whose active labours in the service of mankind have -been attended with useful consequences of great extent; and whose -character it is important to describe correctly, as a valuable example -to his profession.</p> - -<p class='c000'>John Hunter was the son of a small proprietor in the parish of -Kilbride in Lanarkshire, and was born February 13, 1728. His father -died while he was a child; his brothers were absent from home; and, -being left to the care of his mother and aunt, he was spoiled by -indulgence, and remained uneducated, until his natural good sense -urged him to redeem himself in some degree from this reproach. -When a boy he continued to cry like a child for whatever he wanted. -There is a letter extant from an old friend of the family, which has -this curious postscript, “Is Johnny aye greeting yet?” presenting an -unexpected picture to those who are familiar only with the manly -sense, and somewhat caustic manners, of the great physiological and -surgical authority. But the influence of feelings and opinions, proceeding -from respected persons, and accompanied by offices of affection, -is powerful upon the young mind; and the circumstances of -Mr. Hunter’s family were calculated to give such feelings their full -power over such a character as his. They lived retired, in that state -of independence which a small landed property confers on the elder -members, while the young men are compelled to seek their fortunes -at a distance from home. John Hunter neglected books, but he was -not insensible to the pride and gratification expressed by every member -of the family on hearing of his elder brother William’s success, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>the pleasure which that brother’s letters gave to all around him. -These feelings made him ashamed of his idleness, and inclined him to -go to London, and become an assistant to Dr. William Hunter in his -anatomical inquiries. William consented to this arrangement; and -the subject of our memoir quitted his paternal home in 1748; certainly -without that preparation of mind which should lead us to expect a very -quick proficiency in medical pursuits. At an earlier age he had displayed -a turn for mechanics, and a manual dexterity, which led to his -being placed with a cabinet-maker in Glasgow to learn the profession: -but the failure of his master had obliged him to return home.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dr. William Hunter had at this time obtained celebrity as a teacher -of anatomy. He won his way by very intelligible modes. His -upright conduct and high mental cultivation gained him friends; and -his professional merits were established by his lectures, which in -extent and depth, as well as eloquence, surpassed any that had yet been -delivered. There was a peculiar ingenuity in his demonstrations, and -he had a happy manner exactly suited to his subject. The vulgar -portion of the public saw no marks of genius in the successful exertions -of Dr. Hunter; his eminence was easily accounted for, and -excited no wonder. They saw John Hunter’s success, without fully -comprehending the cause; and it fell in with their notions of great -genius that he was somewhat abrupt and uncourtly.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dr. Hunter immediately set his brother to work upon the dissection -of the arm. The young man succeeded in producing an admirable -preparation, in which the mechanism of the limb was finely displayed. -This at once showed his capacity, and settled the relation between the -two brothers. John Hunter became the best practical anatomist of -the age, and proved of the greatest use in forming Dr. Hunter’s splendid -museum, bequeathed by the owner to the University of Glasgow. He -continued to attend his brother’s lectures; was a pupil both at St. -Bartholomew’s, and St. George’s Hospitals; and had the farther advantage -of attending the celebrated Cheselden, then retired to Chelsea -Hospital. And here we must point out the advantage which John -Hunter possessed in the situation and character of his elder brother, -lest his success should encourage a laxity in the studies of those who -think they are following his footsteps. It would indeed have been -surprising that his efforts for the advancement of physiology commenced -at the precise point where Haller’s stopped, if he had really -been ignorant of the state of science at home and abroad. But he could -not have been so, unless he had shut his eyes and stopped his ears. In -addition to his anatomical collection Dr. Hunter had formed an extensive -library, and possessed the finest cabinet of coins in Europe. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>Students crowded around him from all countries, and every one distinguished -in science desired his acquaintance. John Hunter lived in this -society, and at the same time had the advantage of being familiar with -the complete and systematic course of lectures delivered by his brother. -He was thus furnished with full information as to the actual state of -physiology and pathology, and knew in what directions to push inquiry, -whilst the natural capacity of his fine mind was untrammelled.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1755 John Hunter assisted his brother in delivering a course of -lectures; but through life the task of public instruction was a painful -one to him, and he never attained to fluency and clearness of expression. -In 1760 his health seems to have been impaired by his exertions: and -in the recollection that one brother had already died under similar -circumstances, his friends procured him a situation in the army, as -being less intensely laborious than his mode of life. He served as -a staff surgeon in Portugal and at the siege of Bellisle. On returning -to London he recommenced the teaching of practical anatomy.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1767 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, having already -gained the good opinion of its members by several papers on most -interesting subjects. There is this great advantage in the pursuit of -science in London, that a man remarkable for success in any branch -can usually select associates the best able to assist him by their experience -and advice. It was through John Hunter’s influence that a -select club was formed out of the fellows of the Royal Society. They -met in retirement and read and criticised each others papers before -submitting them to the general body. This club originally consisted -of Mr. Hunter, Dr. Fordyce, Sir Joseph Banks, Dr. Solander, Dr. -Maskelyne, Sir George Shuckburgh, Sir Henry Englefield, Sir Charles -Blagden, Mr. Ramsden, and Mr. Watt. To be the associate of such -men could not but have a good effect on a mind like Hunter’s, active -and vigorous, but deficient in general acquirement, and concentrated -upon one pursuit.</p> - -<p class='c000'>At this time, and for many years afterwards, he was employed in the -most curious physiological inquiries; and at the same time forming -that museum, which remains the most surprising proof both of his -genius and perseverance. It is strange that Sir Everard Home should -have considered this collection as a proof of the patronage Hunter -received. He had many admirers, and many persons were grateful -for his professional assistance; but he had no patrons. The extent -of his museum is to be attributed solely to his perseverance; a quality -which is generally the companion of genius, and which he displayed -in every condition of life. Whether under the tuition of his brother, -or struggling for independence by privately teaching anatomy, or -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>amidst the enticements to idleness in a mess-room, or as an army surgeon -in active service, he never seems to have forgotten that science -which was the chief end of his life. Hence the amazing collection -which he formed of anatomical preparations; hence too the no less -extraordinary accumulation of important pathological facts, on which -his principles were raised.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It was only towards the close of life that Hunter’s character was -duly appreciated. His professional emoluments were small, until a -very few years before his death, when they amounted to £6000 a -year. When this neglect is the portion of a man of distinguished -merit, it has sometimes an unhappy influence on his profession. Men -look for prosperity and splendour as the accompaniments of such -merit; and missing it, they turn aside from the worthiest models, to -follow those who are gaining riches in the common routine of practice. -Dr. Darwin said, that he rejoiced in Hunter’s late success as -the concluding act of a life well spent: as poetical justice. But -throughout life he spent all his gains in the pursuit of science, and -died poor.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His museum was purchased by government for £15,000. It was -offered to the keeping of the College of Physicians, which declined -the trust. It is now, committed to the College of Surgeons, in Lincoln’s -Inn Fields; where it is open to the inspection of the public -during the afternoons of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The corporation -has enlarged the museum, instituted professorships for the -illustration of it, and is now forming a library. The most valuable -part of the collection is that in the area of the great room, consisting -of upwards of 2000 preparations, which were the results of Mr. Hunter’s -experiments on the inferior animals, and of his researches in morbid -human anatomy. All these were originally arranged as illustrative of -his lectures. The first division alone, in support of his theory of -inflammation, contains 602 preparations. Those illustrative of specific -diseases amount to 1084. There are besides 652 dried specimens, -consisting of diseased bones, joints, and arteries. On the floor there -is a very fine collection of the skeletons of man and other animals; and -if the Council of the College continue to augment this collection with -the same liberal spirit which they have hitherto shown, it will be -creditable to the nation. The osteological specimens amount to 1936. -But the most interesting portion, we might say one of the most interesting -exhibitions in Europe to a philosophical and inquiring mind, -is that which extends along the whole gallery. Mr. Hunter found -it impossible to explain the functions of life by the investigation of -human anatomy, unaided by comparison with the simpler organization -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>of brutes; and therefore he undertook the amazing labour of examining -and preparing the simplest animals, gradually advancing from the -lower to the higher, until, by this process of synthesis, the structure of -the human body was demonstrated and explained. Let us take one -small compartment in order to understand the effect of this method. -Suppose it is wished to learn the importance of the stomach in the -animal economy. The first object presented to us is a hydatid, an -animal, as it were, all stomach; being a simple sac with an exterior -absorbing surface. Then we have the polypus, with a stomach opening -by one orifice, and with no superadded organ. Next in order is the -leech, in which we see the beginning of a complexity of structure. -It possesses the power of locomotion, and has brain, and nerves, and -muscles, but as yet the stomach is simple. Then we advance to creatures -in which the stomach is complex: we find the simple membraneous -digesting stomach; then the stomach with a crop attached to -macerate and prepare the food for digestion; then a ruminating stomach -with a succession of cavities, and with the gizzard in some animals -for grinding the food, and performing the office of teeth; and finally, all -the appended organs necessary in the various classes of animals; until -we find that all the chylopoietic viscera group round this, as performing -the primary and essential office of assimilating new matter to the -animal body.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mr. Hunter’s papers and greater works exhibit an extraordinary -mind: he startles the reader by conclusions, the process by which they -were reached being scarcely discernible. We attribute this in part to -that defective education, which made him fail in explaining his own -thoughts, and the course of reasoning by which he had arrived at his -conclusions. The depth of his reflective powers may be estimated by -the perusal of his papers on the apparently drowned, and on the stomach -digested after death by its own fluids. The importance of discovering -the possibility of such an occurrence as the last is manifest, when we -consider its connexion with medical jurisprudence, and the probability -of its giving rise to unfounded suspicions of poisoning. His most -important papers were those on the muscularity of arteries; a fine piece -of experimental reasoning, the neglect of which by our continental -neighbours threw them back an age in the treatment of wounded -arteries and aneurisms. But the grand discovery of Mr. Hunter was -that of the life of the blood. If this idea surprise our readers, it did no -less surprise the whole of the medical profession when it was first promulgated. -Yet there is no doubt of the fact. It was demonstrated by -the closest inspection of natural phenomena, and a happy suite of -experiments, that the coagulation of the blood is an act of life. From -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>this one fact, the pathologist was enabled to comprehend a great variety -of phenomena, which, without it, must ever have remained obscure.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mr. Hunter died of that alarming disease, <em>angina pectoris</em>: alarming, -because it comes in paroxysms, accompanied with all the feelings of -approaching death. These sensations are brought on by exertion or -excitement. In St. George’s Hospital, the conduct of his colleagues -had provoked him; he made no observations, but retiring into another -room, suddenly expired, October 16, 1793.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After these details no man will deny that John Hunter possessed -high genius, and that he employed his talents nobly. He was indeed -of a family of genius: his younger brother was cut off early, but not -until he had given promise of eminence. Dr. Hunter was, in our -opinion, equal in talents to John, the subject of this memoir, though -his mind received early a different bias. And in the next generation -the celebrated Dr. Baillie, nephew to these brothers, contributed largely -to the improvement of pathology, and afforded an instance of the most -active benevolence joined to a plainness of manner most becoming in a -physician. Joanna Baillie, his sister, still lives, honoured and esteemed, -and will survive in her works as one of our most remarkable female -writers.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The portrait from which the annexed engraving is made was -painted at the suggestion of the celebrated engraver Sharpe, by Sir -Joshua Reynolds, and was among his last works. There could not -indeed be a more picturesque head, nor one better suited to the burin. -The original picture is in the College of Surgeons. It exhibits more -mildness than we see in the engraving of Sharpe.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_024.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Surgeons’ Hall in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_025fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by Rob<sup>t</sup>. Hart.</em><br /><br />PETRARCH.<br /><br /><em>From a Print by Raffaelle Morghen,<br />after a Picture by Tofanelli.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span> -<img src='images/i_025.jpg' alt='PETRARCH.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>PETRARCH.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Francesco Petrarca, whose real name is said to have been -Petracco, was born at Arezzo, in Tuscany, July 20, 1304. His -father was a notary at Florence, who had been employed in the service -of the state; but in the civil strife excited by Corso Donati, chief -of the faction of the Neri, he, with the rest of the Bianchi, including -Dante, whose friend he is recorded to have been, was banished -from the Republic in 1302. When the death of the Emperor -Henry VII. deprived the exiles of all hope of return, Petracco took -his family to Avignon, at that period the seat of the Pontifical Court. -The boy Francesco then saw for the first time scenes and objects, with -which his destiny was irrevocably connected; and he has left on record -the impression which at ten years of age the fountain and wild -solitude of Vaucluse had made upon his imagination. He was sent -to study the canon law at the University of Montpellier, where he -remained four years, devoting his time to Cicero, Virgil, and the -Provençal writers, much more than to the doctors of jurisprudence. -From Montpellier he went to Bologna; and formed an acquaintance -with the celebrated Cino da Pistoia, from whom, although distinguished -no less as a jurist than as a poet, Petrarch learned more poetry than -law. On his father’s death, which occurred when he was about -twenty years old, he returned to Avignon. His mother died soon -after; and the moderate patrimony which he inherited was so much -diminished by the dishonesty of his guardians, that at the age of -twenty-two, he found himself without fortune or profession, and with -no resource, but that of entering the church.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Avignon was then the chosen abode of fashion, luxury, and vice. -Petrarch mingled in its gay society, without yielding to its corruptions, -or withdrawing himself from the philosophical studies which interested -him above all other pursuits. A great conformity of tastes, and a -common superiority to the low objects of ambition with which they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>were surrounded, made him the friend of Jacopo Colonna, afterwards -Bishop of Lombez. This prelate introduced Petrarch to his brother, -the Cardinal Colonna, who resided at Avignon; and in whose palace, -in 1331, the poet acquired the friendship of old Stefano Colonna, the -illustrious head of that family, and drew from his discourse a stronger -love of Italy, of freedom, and of glory. But his affectionate, enthusiastic -temper was not to be exhausted even by these objects: soon, -without ever being entirely diverted from the interest of friendship or -patriotism, he became the vassal of that long and illustrious passion -to which he owes the immortality of his name. April 6, 1327, -on Easter Monday, in the church of the Nuns of Santa Clara, -Petrarch, being then twenty-three years of age, saw for the first time, -and loved at sight, Laura de Noves, the bride of Hugo de Sade, a -young patrician of Avignon. From this time his life was passed in -wandering from place to place, sometimes at the several courts of -Italian princes; sometimes in solitary seclusion at Vaucluse; often at -Avignon itself, where from the lofty rock on which stands the old -Pontifical Palace, he could see Laura walking in the gardens below, -which with all the adjacent part of the town belonged to the family of -de Sade.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Few subjects have been discussed more largely, with greater -minuteness of examination, or with greater licence of conjecture, than -the history of the love of Petrarch. Some have chosen to treat with -ridicule the idea of a passion, subsisting through a long and eventful -life, without gratification, and nearly without hope; others have -thought the difficulty obviated by supposing, in defiance of all -apparent evidence, that Laura was not so insensible as the laws of -morality required. A few have wished to rescue the character of -the poet from the imputation of having loved a married woman, and -have dragged certain obscure spinsters out of doubtful epitaphs and -registers, to dispute the claim of Laura de Sade. A few more, -and but a few, although the race is not extinct, have denied the -existence of Laura altogether; either considering her as a mere -poetical fancy, or still more boldly resolving her into some allegory, -political or religious. But none of these theories, maintained at -various times, and with various degrees of ingenuity, almost from the -age of Petrarch until the present day, have shaken the received -opinion on the four main points of the question; namely, that Laura -was no creation of the poet’s brain, but a woman; that she was -married; that Hugo de Sade was her husband; and that her virtue -was proof against the passion of Petrarch. When all the circumstances -of the case, including the peculiarities of sentiment which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>characterize the time, are fairly taken into consideration, there will -appear no such miraculous improbability as has been presumed in the -duration of Petrarch’s attachment. That it partook of the vehement -character of true passion, is evident from many passages in his epistles -and philosophical works, where he may be supposed to speak with less -disguise than in his Canzoniere; but a natural vanity, the habit of -refining his feelings into intellectual notions, and the then prevalent -fashion of poetical constancy to a real object, may have contributed -more than he could himself be aware to the durability of the sentiment. -It is not to be forgotten, however, that at different periods of his life -he had two natural children, a son and a daughter: still he maintained -that notwithstanding these irregularities, he never loved any one but -Laura. The Sonnets and Canzones, which, separately published, now -together form the Canzoniere, soon elevated their author to the highest -rank among living poets, and gave him in the eyes of his admirers -a place beside the “creator della lingua,” the author of the Divina -Commedia. Petrarch, however, whose mind was full of veneration -for antiquity, and who was ardently desirous to recover all the -monuments of classic literature that still preserved a hazardous -existence in convents and other receptacles of the little learning of an -ignorant age, for a long time, if not to the end of life, prided himself -more on his Latin compositions, than on being the founder of a school -of poetry in his native language. At one time he had commenced a -Latin history of Rome, from the foundation of the city to the reign of -Titus. But he was diverted from this work, by conceiving the idea of -an epic poem, entitled ‘Africa,’ founded on the events which marked -the close of the second Punic war, of which Scipio was the hero. -For a year he laboured on it with enthusiasm; and it was received with -admiration: but like most works of imagination composed in languages -not rendered familiar to the writer in all their delicacy by vernacular -and hourly use, and on subjects not consecrated by any feelings of -national and domestic interest, they have long since been forgotten by -all but the learned.</p> - -<p class='c000'>On one and the same day, August 23, 1340, he received at -Vaucluse a letter from the Roman Senate, inviting him to accept the -honour of a public coronation in the Capitol, and one from the -Chancellor of the University of Paris, offering the same distinction. -It has been said, and there is at least negative evidence in favour of -the assertion, that this last invitation was unauthorized by any corporate -decision of the university: if so, it probably resulted from the personal -enthusiasm of the chancellor, Roberto Bardi, who was a Florentine, -and a private friend of the poet. Either from a knowledge of this, or -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>from a natural preference of the Imperial City, Petrarch decided at -once in favour of Rome; and embarked for Naples, to demand a -preliminary examination from Robert of Anjou, the reigning prince, -himself devotedly attached to literature. The King and the Poet -conferred on poetical and historical subjects: during three days questions -were formally proposed, and triumphantly answered; after which -Robert pronounced solemnly that Petrarch was worthy of the honour -offered to him, and taking off his own royal robe, entreated the poet to -wear it at the ceremony of his coronation. On Easter-day, April 8, -1341, Petrarch ascended the stairs of the Capitol, surrounded by the -most illustrious citizens of Rome, and preceded by twelve young men -chosen from the highest families, who repeated at intervals various -passages of his poetry. After a short oration, he received the crown -from the hands of the senator, Orso, Count of Anguillara, and recited -a sonnet on those heroes of the ancient city, whose triumphal honours, -after a cessation of centuries, he first was come to share, and to renew. -Then, amidst the acclamations of the multitude, he was conducted to -the church of St. Peter’s, where, taking from his head the laurel, he -deposited it with religious care on the altar. After this ceremony he -returned by land to Avignon, carrying with him letters patent of the -King of Naples and of the senate and people of Rome, conferring on -him by their joint authorities the full and free power of reading, discussing, -and explaining all ancient books, composing new works (especially -poems), and wearing on all occasions, as he might prefer, a crown -of laurel, of ivy, or of myrtle. Shortly afterwards he was again at -Naples, under very different circumstances. Appointed by Clement VI. -to urge the claims of the Holy See to the Regency of that state, -during the minority of Joanna, the grand-daughter of Robert of Anjou, -he was treated with no less distinction and kindness than on the -former visit; but, unsuccessful in his mission, and scandalized by the -debauchery and cruelty which prevailed in the dissolute court, he -soon quitted Naples and Italy for his beloved Vaucluse. There, however, -at no great distance of time, a new excitement awaited him. -In 1347, Rienzi, the famous demagogue, who began his career so -nobly, and closed it with such circumstances of disgrace, obtained -his brief and singular dominion. All the hopes of Italian independence, -all the reverence for antiquity which had ever animated the -spirit of Petrarch, now strongly impelled him to admire the restorer -of those ancient names, which he trusted would realize his visions of -ancient freedom and majesty. Even the massacre of the Colonna -family, which Petrarch heard at Genoa as he was hastening to join -the tribune at Rome, did not destroy these feelings, although it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>materially weakened them. But the fabric of Rienzi’s power was -sapped by his own extravagances in less than a year; and nearly at -the same time a more severe affliction fell upon Petrarch even than -the disappointment of his hopes for the restoration of Italian liberty.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In April, 1348, Laura expired of the dreadful malady which then -ravaged Europe, and which is described by Boccaccio in the introduction -to the Decameron. The second half of the Canzoniere is the -monument of his glorious sorrow; which is however more calmly, and, -to the apprehensions of many, more convincingly expressed, in the -pathetic note to his own MS. of Virgil, now in the Ambrosian -Library at Milan. It would be unjust to him not to relate this event -in his own words. “Laura, illustrious for her own virtues, and long -celebrated by my verses, was seen by me for the first time in my early -manhood, in the year 1327, April 6, at six in the morning, in the -church of S. Clara, at Avignon. In the same city, in the same month -of April, on the same sixth day, and at the same hour, in 1348, this -light was taken from the world, while I was at Verona, alas! -ignorant of my unhappy lot. The melancholy news reached me in a -letter from my friend Louis: it found me at Parma the same year, -May 19, in the morning. That body, so chaste, so fair, was laid in -the church of the Minor Friars on the evening of the day of her death. -Her soul, I doubt not, is returned, as Seneca says of Scipio Africanus, -to heaven, whence it came. To preserve the grievous memory of this -loss, I write this with a sort of pleasure mixed with bitterness; and I -write by choice upon this book, which often comes before my eyes, that -hereafter there may be nothing for me to delight in in this life, and that, -my strongest chain being broken, I may be reminded by the frequent -sight of these words, and by the just appreciation of a fugitive life, -that it is time to go forth from Babylon; which, by the help of God’s -grace, will become easy to me by vigorous and bold contemplation -of the needless cares, the vain hopes, the unexpected events which -have agitated me during the time I have spent on earth.” The -authenticity of this note has been contested: to us it bears internal -evidence of being genuine, not merely in the unpretending pathos of -the conclusion, but in the minuteness of the earlier details. It is the -luxury of grief to connect the memory of the dead with our thoughts, -and employments, and even abodes at the moment of their death; and -the pen of the literary forger is not likely to trace so simple and unpretending -a statement.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The jubilee of 1350 led Petrarch again to Rome. When he -passed through Arezzo, the principal citizens of the town led him -with pride to the house in which he was born; declaring that nothing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>had been changed there, and that the municipal authorities had -enforced this scrupulous respect for the great poet’s birth-place by -injunctions to the successive proprietors of the mansion. Not long -afterwards, Boccaccio, his friend and his compeer in the great literary -triumvirate of Italy, came to him at Padua, to announce in the name -of the senate at Florence that he was restored to his rights of citizenship, -and to offer him the superintendence of the recently established -university. Petrarch did not accept the proposal. Twice in the course -of his remaining life his name is found connected with great events. -Admitted to the counsels of Gian Visconti, he accepted the mission -of reconciling the republic of Genoa, which had yielded to that prince, -with the state of Venice, elated by recent victories. But Petrarch -was destined to be unsuccessful as a statesman. This embassy had no -effect; nor were his subsequent efforts to infuse into the mind of -Charles IV. the lessons of magnanimity, when that weak and avaricious -emperor entered Italy, more beneficial either to Charles or to his -country. Once, however, when employed by Galeazzo Visconti in a -subsequent mission to the same prince, he was able to dissuade him -from recrossing the Alps: unless we suppose that the distracted state of -Germany had more to do with keeping the emperor at home, than the -eloquence of the poet, or the skill of the politician. The second plague -in 1362 deprived the now aged poet of the few early friends who -remained to him, Azo of Correggio, and the two who in his letters are -usually denominated Lælius and Socrates, and had, like himself, been -intimate with Jacopo Colonna. He was then resident in Venice; where, -in 1363, Boccaccio came to visit him in company with Leontius Pilatus -of Thessalonica, who had instructed the Florentine novelist in Greek. -At a former period Petrarch had commenced the study of that language -under a Grecian monk named Barlaam; and though now sixty -years of age, he returned to the task with enthusiasm and with perseverance. -He was hospitably and honourably received by the republic, -to which he presented his valuable collection of manuscripts.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After some more adventures and wanderings the old man fixed his -residence at Arquà, a village situated on the Euganean hills, at four -leagues distance from Padua. Here he led a life of abstinence and -study, reposing from the toilsome vicissitudes to which he had been -subjected, but not from his thirst for knowledge and desire of glory. -His last years were solaced by his intimacy with Boccaccio, who -seemed to supply the place of those numerous and valued early friends -whom he had survived, and by the filial attentions of his daughter -Francesca. The last important act of his life was his appearance before -the Senate of Venice, in behalf of Francesco of Carrara, who had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>been forced to conclude a humiliating peace with the republic in 1373. -It is said that he was so much awed by the majesty of the assembly, -that on the first day on which he appeared before it, he was unable to -deliver his address. The next day he recovered his spirits, or more -probably his strength, and his speech in behalf of Carrara was loudly -applauded. He returned to his retirement in a failing state of health, -and his complaints were aggravated by imprudence, and disregard of -medical advice. July 18, 1374, he was found dead in his library, -his head resting on an open book. A stroke of apoplexy had thus suddenly -terminated his life. All Padua assisted at his obsequies, and -Francesco of Carrara led the funeral pomp. A marble tomb, which -still exists, was raised to him before the door of the church of Arquà.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Such was the death and such the life of Francesco Petrarca, than -whom few men have exerted more influence over their own times; -have contributed more to form and polish the language of their native -land; or have given a more decided tone to the literature of succeeding -generations. This is not the place to enter into a minute analysis of -his merits as a poet. If he did not create the kind of poetry in which -he excelled, at least he carried it to perfection: if he could not save his -style from being disfigured by feeble imitators, at least he left it in -itself a noble work: if he did not avoid the false conceits and strained -illustrations, which at the rise of a new literature are almost always -found to possess irresistible attractions, he redeemed and even ennobled -them by strains of simple passion, imagination, and melody, which will -live as long as the language in which they are composed. His Latin -writings, on which he wished his reputation to rest, are now much -neglected. They are not indeed calculated for general reading; but -they are highly valuable as records of the time and of the man. His -letters form the most interesting, because the most personal, portion -of them. Few men have laid bare their hearts so completely as -Petrarch. His vanity, his dependence on the sympathy of others, led -him to commit to writing every incident of his life, every turn in the -troubled course of his feelings. But he gains rather than loses by this -voluntary exposure. His Christian faith and Christian principles of -philosophy, however swayed by occasional currents of passion, stand -out beautifully amidst the corruptions of that age. It is as impossible -to rise from a perusal of Petrarch’s poetry, and even more perhaps of -his prose, without a feeling of love for the man, as of admiration for -the author.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In early life he was distinguished for beauty, of which he was himself -not insensible; for he left, in his ‘Letter to Posterity,’ a description -of his own person, which we quote from Ugo Foscolo’s translation. -“Without being uncommonly handsome, my person had something -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>agreeable in it in my youth. My complexion was a clear and lively -brown; my eyes were animated; my hair had grown grey before -twenty-five, and I consoled myself for a defect which I shared in common -with many of the great men of antiquity (for Cæsar and Virgil -were grey-headed in youth), and I had a venerable air, which I was by -no means very proud of.” He was then miserable, Foscolo continues, -if a lock of his hair was out of order; he was studious of ornamenting -his person with the nicest clothes; and to give a graceful form to his -feet, he pinched them in shoes that put his nerves and sinews to the -rack. These traits are taken from his own familiar letters.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The life and writings of Petrarch have been repeatedly illustrated -at great length. The ‘Petrarcha Redivivus’ of Tomasini; the voluminous -‘<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mémoires sur Petrarque</span>’ of the Abbé de Sade, who has taken -up the subject as a matter of family history; and the works of Tiraboschi -and Baldelli, are among the best authorities for our author’s -history. To the English, and indeed to every reader, we must recommend -the ‘Essays on Petrarch,’ by Ugo Foscolo; at the end of which -there are some exquisite translations by Lady Dacre. The most -complete edition of Petrarch’s works is the folio published at Bâsle -in 1581. Among the numerous editions of his Italian poems, we may -particularize that of Biagioli, 1822, as containing the notes of Alfieri; -and that of Marsard, printed at Padua, as distinguished alike for its -correctness and beauty of execution.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_032.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Tomb of Petrarch at Arquà.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_033fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by C. E. Wagstaff.</em><br /><br />BURKE.<br /><br /><em>From a Picture after Sir Joshua Reynolds<br />in the possession of T. H. Burke Esq<sup>r</sup>.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span> -<img src='images/i_033.jpg' alt='BURKE.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>BURKE.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The six and thirty years which have elapsed since the death of -Edmund Burke are not sufficient to secure a right and impartial -sentence on his character. We are still within the heated temperature -of the same political agitations in which he lived and struggled. -We are not, perhaps our children will not be, qualified to judge him -and his contemporaries, with that calmness with which men weigh -the merits of things and persons who have exerted no perceptible -influence over their own times. It is fortunate, therefore, that the -limits of this brief memoir prescribe rather a succinct statement of -unquestioned facts, than a disputable adjudication between opposite -opinions.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Edmund Burke, son of Richard Burke, an attorney in extensive -practice in Dublin, was born in that city, January 1, 1730. Of his -early life little is known with certainty. He appears to have distinguished -himself at Trinity College, Dublin, by his acquirements -and talents, especially by a decided taste and ability for the discussion -of subjects relating to English history and politics. His first -literary effort of any importance was made before he quitted that -university, in some letters directed against a factious writer called -Lucas, at that time the popular idol. These are not preserved. In -1750 he came to London, and was entered a student of the Middle -Temple. It is singular that the idle rumour, expressly contradicted -by himself, of his having completed his education at St. Omer’s, -should be still in some degree accredited by the author of the article -‘Burke,’ in the Biographie Universelle. Whether, in 1752 or 1753, -he became a candidate for the chair of Logic at Glasgow, is a more -doubtful question: the opinions of Dugald Stewart and Adam Smith, -who took some pains to ascertain the truth, were in the negative. It is -certain, however, that the extraordinary talents of Burke soon began -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>to attract attention: he wrote in many political and literary miscellanies, -and formed an acquaintance with some distinguished characters -of the time. Among these should be mentioned Lord Charlemont, -Gerard Hamilton, Soame Jenyns, and somewhat later, Goldsmith, -Reynolds, Dr. Johnson, and Hume. His first avowed work, the -‘Vindication of Natural Society,’ was published in 1756, and excited -very general admiration. The imitation of Bolingbroke’s style -in this essay was so perfect, that some admirers of the deceased philosopher -are said to have overlooked the evident signs of irony, and to -have believed it to be a genuine posthumous work. This may appear -strange; but it is surely more strange, that forty years afterwards this -‘Vindication’ should have been republished by the French party, -with a view of serving democratic interests. Before the close of 1756, -appeared the ‘Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the -Sublime and Beautiful,’ which added largely to Burke’s reputation, and -procured him the valuable friendship of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Shortly -afterwards, the public attention being at that time much directed to -the American colonies, was published ‘An Account of the European -Settlements in America,’ of which Burke was probably not the sole, -but the principal author. It was much read, as well on the Continent -as in England; and indeed no inconsiderable portion of it has been -incorporated into the celebrated work of the Abbé Raynal. About this -time Burke married the daughter of Dr. Nugent, an intelligent physician, -who had invited him to his house while suffering under an illness, -the result of laborious application. This union was a source of uninterrupted -comfort to him through life. “Every care vanishes,” he was -in the habit of saying, “when I enter my own home.” A confined -income, however, rendered literary exertion still more indispensable to -him than before: and in 1759 ‘The Annual Register,’ that most useful -work, for many years entirely composed by Burke, or under his -immediate superintendence, was undertaken by him in conjunction -with Dodsley. At length, in 1765, with the first Rockingham -administration, he entered on a more extensive sphere of action: being -appointed private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham, through -the recommendation of his friend Mr. Fitzherbert.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Coming now into Parliament as member for Wendover in Buckinghamshire, -Burke became an eminent supporter of the Whig party. -The situation of affairs was critical. Mr. Grenville’s stamp act, a -fatal departure from the policy on which the colonies had been previously -governed, had excited much discontent in America. A strong -party, supported by the evident favour of the court and the general -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>feeling of the country, urged the necessity of perseverance in this -coercive policy. Lord Chatham and his adherents no less strenuously -denied the right of the Imperial Legislature to impose taxes on -America without her own consent. The Rockingham Whigs adopted -a middle course between these extremes. They repealed the stamp -act, declaring at the same time that the right of taxation resided -inalienably in Parliament. Their administration was short-lived. -Lord Chatham succeeded them in power, at the head of that “dovetailed” -cabinet which Burke has so admirably satirised in his ‘Speech -on American Taxation.’ His influence was little more than nominal, -and in spite of it, schemes for raising a revenue in America were soon -revived. From these measures, the public attention was for a short -time diverted by the domestic agitation caused by the proceedings -against Wilkes, the disputed election in Middlesex, and the mysterious -letters of Junius. The shadow of that name was at the time believed -by many to rest on Burke: a supposition long since rejected, and -supported by scarce any evidence; though his power as a writer, and -his known facility in disguising his style, gave some degree of plausibility -to the supposition. In his own name, and without any disguise, -he came forward to attack the ministry of the Duke of Grafton, -in a political treatise, entitled, ‘Thoughts on the Present Discontents.’ -This has been termed the Whig Manual, and certainly contains the -ablest exposition ever given of the principles held by that party for -a long series of years. Shaken by this and other attacks, the Duke -retired, and left the state under the guidance of a minister, whose -merits have been overshadowed by the disastrous circumstances in -which he was involved. From this time commenced that long and -brilliant opposition, which, from a very low condition of numbers -and influence, gradually worked its way through the most momentous -parliamentary struggles; and by a continued display of powers the -most accomplished, and union the most effective, gained an ultimate -victory, first over popular prepossessions, and then over royal obstinacy. -The court party were so inferior in eloquence and genius, that their -arguments are little remembered, while the speeches of the Whigs -are in every body’s hands. They felt the importance of the contest -deeply, or they would not have been animated to their extraordinary -exertions. But the wisest of them could not foresee the prodigious -extent of those consequences, which, within the duration of their own -lives, resulted from their endeavours. It was much for them to look -forward to the independence of America. What would it have been -to contemplate the spread of popular principles in Europe, and that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>mighty revolution which has changed the balance of society? No -member of the opposition contributed so largely as Burke to their -final triumph. During the latter years of the war, indeed, his fame -as a debater was eclipsed by the rising genius of Charles Fox, to -whom he willingly yielded the office of leader of the Whig party. -But the talents of Fox had been trained and nourished by the wisdom -of Burke; and in the speeches published at different periods by the -latter, on American taxation [1774], and on conciliation with America -[1775], and his Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol [1777], (written -on the occasion of a temporary secession of the Rockingham party -from Parliament,) the friends of freedom found a magazine of invaluable -weapons. In 1774 Burke was elected member of Parliament for -Bristol; but six years afterwards he was unable to procure his reelection -for that borough, the people being displeased with his recent -votes in favour of Irish trade and of the Roman Catholics. His -popularity was in a great measure restored by the famous Bill of -Economical Reform, brought forward by him in 1782, when paymaster -of the forces under the second Rockingham ministry, after the -overthrow of Lord North. The death of the Marquis of Rockingham -produced a schism among the Whigs; Lord Shelburne was appointed -his successor, and the Rockingham division resigned their places. They -soon returned to them, by means of that strange junction of force with -Lord North, emphatically termed <em>The Coalition</em>, which raised a general -cry of indignation throughout the country. Burke always vindicated -this step, both at the time, and when the state of things which led to it -had long passed away; but it is generally supposed that he did not -counsel it, and was only induced to give in his adhesion by the urgent -entreaties of his political friends.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The celebrated East-India Bill, of which Burke is said to have -been partly the author, and upon which he pronounced one of his -most magnificent orations, was fatal to the coalition. William Pitt, -called at the age of twenty-four to occupy the first place in the counsels -of his sovereign, fought an arduous but finally victorious fight against -the Whig majority in the Commons. A dissolution followed; the -new House supported the new Ministers; and a second long period of -Whig opposition began, during which Fox was the acknowledged -leader of the party, and was warmly supported in that capacity by -Burke. The most important event of this second great division of -Burke’s parliamentary life is undoubtedly the impeachment of Warren -Hastings. Throughout the long debates on the accusations brought -against the Governor of India, and afterwards throughout the trial -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>itself, which began in 1788 and was not concluded until 1795, Burke -was indefatigable. Never, perhaps, has greater oratorical genius been -displayed than by that combination of great men who were appointed -managers of the impeachment. Yet all their efforts failed to establish -their case on a secure foundation. History still hesitates to decide -with confidence on the guilt or innocence of Hastings. It is -agreed, however, that the violence of Burke’s proceedings on this -trial was often unworthy of the situation he held and the cause he -advocated. When with harsh tones and a look more expressive of -personal than political hatred he bade Mr. Hastings kneel before the -court, it is said that Fox whispered to his friends, “In that moment -I would rather have been Hastings than Burke.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>At the latter end of 1788 arose the regency question, on which -Burke, with all his party, maintained the opinion that any apparently -irreparable incapacity in the sovereign caused a demise of the crown, -because, the prerogatives of royalty being given for public benefit, it -would be highly dangerous to suspend them for an indefinite period. -Burke, however, did some injury to his party by the intemperate and -imprudent language he adopted on this occasion, speaking of the -King’s situation in the tone of triumph rather than pity, and even -using the expression “God has hurled him from his throne.” These -constitutional questions, however important, were soon forgotten in a -new absorbing interest, which began to occupy the minds of all men. -The French Revolution had taken place. That astonishing event -was at first hailed with general sympathy and admiration in this -country. The supporters of Pitt either joined in the vehement delight -of the Fox party, or took no pains to restrain it. Here and there -some may have murmured dislike: but in general it was thought -unworthy of Englishmen not to rejoice in the acquisition of liberty by -a neighbouring people; and not a few looked to this great change as -the harbinger of political regeneration to Europe and the world. In -this general acclamation one voice was wanting. Burke, from the very -first meeting of the States General, did not conceal his aversion to -their proceedings and his apprehension of the results. Gradually, as -the excesses of popular violence in Paris became more frequent, an -Anti-Gallican party began to gather round him. On the 9th of -February, 1790, during a debate on the army estimates, Burke -took advantage of some expressions which Fox let fall in praise of -the French Revolution to open an attack against it, denying that -there was any similarity between our revolution of 1688 and the -“strange thing” called by the same name in France. Fox in his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>reply spoke in memorable terms of his obligations to his friend, -declaring that all he had ever learnt from other sources was little in -comparison with what he had gained from him. Sheridan attacked -the speech just made by Burke in no measured terms, describing it -as perfectly irreconcilable with the principles hitherto professed by -that gentleman. On this, Burke again rose, and in a few words -declared that Sheridan and himself were thenceforth “separated in -politics.” Before the end of this year came out the celebrated ‘Reflections,’ -which at once showed how irreparable was the schism between -the author and his former associates. It roused an immediate war -of opinion, which gave birth to a war of force throughout Europe. -Innumerable pamphlets soon followed upon its publication, some -denouncing the work as a specious apology for despotism, others advocating -the opinions contained in it with a vehemence which the authors -had not dared to show, till they were encouraged by the support of so -eloquent and so distinguished a partizan. The most remarkable attempts -of the former description were the ‘Rights of Man,’ by Thomas Paine, -which soon became the manual of the democratic party; and the -‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Vindiciæ Gallicæ</span>,’ by Mr., afterwards Sir James Mackintosh, the most -illustrious, if not the only successor of Burke himself in his peculiar -line of philosophical politics. Fox was loud in condemning the book, -and although no formal breach of friendship had hitherto taken place, -such an event was obviously to be expected. On the 6th May, 1791, -during a discussion on a plan for settling the constitution of Canada, -this separation actually occurred, with a solemnity worthy of the men -and the event. From that hour, during the six remaining years of -his life, one idea swayed with exclusive dominion the mind of Burke. -Utterly separated from Fox’s party, aloof from the ministry, retired, -after a few sessions, from Parliament, he continued to wage unceasing -war by speech and writing against the principles and practice of -Jacobinism. Soon he was pointed out as a prophet, and the verification -of his predictions in characters of blood was much more powerful, -because much more palpable, than the vague anticipations of future -advantage put forward by his opponents. In 1794, after his retirement -from Parliament, he received the grant of a considerable pension for himself -and his wife. The democratic party did not scruple to stigmatize -his motives, and in answer to an accusation of this sort was written the -‘Letter to a Noble Lord,’ perhaps the most astonishing specimen -of his peculiar capacities of style. In this year the death of his son -overwhelmed him with affliction. Still he continued his exertions. -His views of the war differed widely from those of the ministry; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>he ceased not to urge that it was a war not against France but Jacobinism, -and that it would be a degradation to Britain to treat with -any of the Regicides. On this subject are written the two ‘Letters -on a Regicide Peace,’ published in 1796, and the others published -since his death. On the 8th of July, 1797, this event took place, in -the 68th year of his age, at his own house at Beaconsfield, whither, -after seeking medical aid elsewhere in vain, he had returned to die.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The mind of this great man may, perhaps, be considered as a fair -representative of the general characteristics of English intellect. Its -groundwork was solid, practical, and conversant with the details of -business, but upon this, and secured by this, arose a superstructure of -imagination and moral sentiment. He saw little, because it was painful -to him to see any thing, beyond the limits of the national character; with -that, and with the constitution which he considered its appropriate expression, -all his sympathies were bound up. But he loved them with an -intelligent and discriminating love, making it his pains to comprehend -thoroughly what it was his delight to serve diligently. His political -opinions, springing out of these dispositions, were early fixed in favour -of the Whig system of governing by great party connexions. These -opinions, however, were swayed in their application by strong impulses -of personal feeling. A temper impatient of control, an imagination -prone to magnify those classes of facts which impressed him with -alarm or hope, a command of language almost unlimited, and a -copiousness of imagery misleading nearly as much as it illustrated or -enforced; these were qualities which laid him open to many serious -accusations. But his admirers have started a philosophic doubt, -whether less of passion and prejudice would have been compatible with -the peculiar station he was destined to occupy. In an age of revolution, -it might be plausibly maintained, his genius was the counteracting -force: alone he stood against the impulses communicated to European -society by the philosophers of France; their enthusiasm could only -be met by enthusiasm; their influence on the imaginations and hearts -of men was capable of overbearing either a blind prejudice or a dispassionate -logic. But Burke was an orator in all his thoughts, and -a sage in all his eloquence; he held the principles of Conservation -with the zeal of a Leveller, and tempered lofty ideas of Improvement -with the scrupulousness of official routine. As a debater in the House -of Commons he was inferior to some otherwise inferior men. Pitt and -Fox will be neglected while the speeches of Burke shall still be read. -It has been said of Fox by a philosophical panegyrist that he was the -most Demosthenean speaker since Demosthenes. Perhaps, of all great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>orators Burke might be called the least Demosthenean. Probably a -hearer of the great Athenian would have felt as extemporaneous and -intuitive the slowly-wrought perfections of rhetorical art, while the -listeners to Burke may have often set down to elaborate preparation -what was really the inspiration of the moment. His conversation, however, -seems to have been uniformly delightful. It is a true maxim in one -sense, although in another it would often need reversal, that great men -are always greater than their works. Much as we possess of Edmund -Burke, very much is lost to us of that which formed the admiration of -his contemporaries. “The mind of that man,” said Dr. Johnson, “is -a perennial stream: no one grudges Burke the first place.” He was -acquainted with most subjects of literature, and possessed some knowledge -of science. The philosophy of mind owes him one contribution -of no inconsiderable value: but the indirect results of his metaphysical -studies as seen in the tenor of his practical philosophy are much -more extensive. For in all things, while he deeply reverenced principles, -he chose to deal with the concrete more than with abstractions: -he studied men rather than man. In private life the character of -Burke was unsullied even by reproach. A good father, a good -husband, a good friend, he was sincerely attached to the Protestant -religion of the English church, “not from indifference,” as he said -himself of the nation at large, “but from zeal; not because he -thought there was less religion in it, but because he knew there was -more.” But his attachment was without bigotry; the principles of -toleration ever found in him a powerful advocate; and he was ever -zealous to remove imperfections, and correct abuses, in the establishment, -as the best means of securing its permanent existence.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The works of Burke are collected in sixteen volumes octavo. His -speeches are separately published in four volumes octavo. A small -volume appeared in 1827, containing the correspondence, hitherto -unpublished, between this great statesman and his friend Dr. Laurence. -His life has been written soon after his death by Mr. Bisset; and -more recently by Mr. Prior. Several other biographical accounts -were published about the time of his death, both in the periodical -publications and as independent works: we are not aware that any of -these are entitled to particular notice.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_041fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by T. Woolnoth.</em><br /><br />HENRY IV.<br /><br /><em>From the original Picture by Porbus<br />in the Collection of the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Musée Royal</span>, Paris.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span> -<img src='images/i_041.jpg' alt='HENRY IV.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>HENRY IV.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Henry IV., the most celebrated, the most beloved, and perhaps, in -spite of his many faults, the best of the French monarchs, was born at -Pau, the capital of Béarn, in 1553. His parents were Antoine de -Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, and, in right of his wife, titular King of -Navarre, and Jeanne d’Albret, the heiress of that kingdom. On the -paternal side he traced his descent to Robert of Clermont, fifth son of -Louis IX., and thus, on the failure of the elder branches, became heir -to the crown of France. Educated by a Protestant mother in the -Protestant faith, he was for many years the rallying point and leader -of the Huguenots. In boyhood the Prince of Béarn displayed sense and -spirit above his years. Early inured to war, he was present and exhibited -strong proofs of military talent at the battle of Jarnac, and that -of Moncontour, both fought in 1569. In the same year he was declared -chief of the Protestant League. The treaty of St. Germain, concluded -in 1570, guaranteed to the Huguenots the civil rights for which they -had been striving: and, in appearance, to cement the union of the two -parties, a marriage was proposed between Henry, who, by the death of -his mother, had just succeeded to the throne of Navarre, and Margaret -of Valois, sister of Charles IX. This match brought Condé, Coligni, -and all the leaders of their party, to Paris. The ceremony took place -August 17, 1572. On the twenty-second, when the rejoicings were -not yet ended, Coligni was fired at in the street, and wounded. -Charles visited him, feigned deep sorrow, and promised to punish the -assassin. On the night between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth, -by express order of the Court, that atrocious scene of murder began, -which history has devoted to execration, under the name of the massacre -of St. Bartholomew. For three years afterwards Henry, who to save -his life had conformed to the established religion, was kept as a kind -of state prisoner. He escaped in 1576, and put himself at the head -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>of the Huguenot party. In the war which ensued, with the sagacity -and fiery courage of the high-born general, he showed the indifference -to hardships of the meanest soldier. Content with the worst fare and -meanest lodging, in future times the magnificent monarch of France -could recollect when his wardrobe could not furnish him with a -change of linen. He shared all fortunes with his followers, and was -rewarded by their unbounded devotion.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Upon the extinction of the house of Valois, by the assassination of -Henry III. in 1589, Henry of Navarre became the rightful owner of -the French throne. But his religion interfered with his claims. The -League was strong in force against him: he had few friends, few fortresses, -no money, and a small army. But his courage and activity -made up for the scantiness of his resources. With five thousand men -he withstood the Duc de Mayenne, who was pursuing him with -twenty-five thousand, and gained the battle of Arques, in spite of the -disparity. This extraordinary result may probably be ascribed in great -measure to the contrast of personal character in the two generals. -Mayenne was slow and indolent. Of Henry it was said, that he lost -less time in bed, than Mayenne lost at table; and that he wore out -very little broad-cloth, but a great deal of boot-leather. A person was -once extolling the skill and courage of Mayenne in Henry’s presence. -“You are right,” said Henry; “he is a great captain, but I have -always five hours’ start of him.” Henry got up at four in the morning, -and Mayenne about ten.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The battle of Arques was fought in the year of his accession. In -the following year, 1590, he gained a splendid victory at Ivri, over -the Leaguers, commanded by Mayenne, and a Spanish army superior in -numbers. On this occasion he made that celebrated speech to his -soldiers before the battle: “If you lose sight of your standards, rally -round my white plume: you will always find it in the path of honour -and glory.” Nor is his exclamation to his victorious troops less worthy -of record: “Spare the French!”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Paris was soon after blockaded; and the hatred of the Leaguers displayed -itself with increased violence, in proportion as the King showed -himself more worthy of affection. A regiment of Priests and Monks, -with cuirasses on their breasts, muskets and crucifixes in their hands, -paraded the streets, and heightened the passions of the populace into -frenzy. At this period of fanaticism, theologians were the most influential -politicians, and the dictators of the public conscience. Accordingly -the Sorbonne decided that Henry, as a relapsed and excommunicated -heretic, could not be acknowledged, even although he should be -absolved from the censures. The Parliament swore on the Gospels, in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>the presence of the Legate and the Spanish Ambassador, to refuse all -proposals of accommodation. The siege was pushed to such extremities, -and the famine became so cruel, that bread was made of human -bones ground to powder. That Henry did not then master the capital, -where two hundred thousand men were maddened with want, was -owing to his own lenity. He declared that he had rather lose Paris, -than gain possession of it by the death of so many persons. He gave -a free passage through his lines to all who were not soldiers, and -allowed his own troops to send in refreshments to their friends. By -this paternal kindness he lost the fruit of his labours to himself; but -he also prolonged the civil war, and the calamities of the kingdom at -large.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The approach of the Duke of Parma with a Spanish army obliged -Henry to raise the siege of Paris. It was not the policy of the -Spanish court to render the Leaguers independent of its assistance, and -the Duke, satisfied with having relieved the metropolis, avoided an -engagement, and returned to his government in the Low Countries, -followed by Henry as far as the frontiers of Picardy. In 1591 Henry -received succours from England and Germany, and laid siege to -Rouen; but his prey was again snatched from him by the Duke of -Parma. Again battle was offered and declined; and the retiring -army passed the Seine in the night on a bridge of boats: a retreat -the more glorious, as Henry believed it to be impossible. The Duke -once said of his adversary, that other generals made war like lions, or -wild boars; but that Henry hovered over it like an eagle.</p> - -<p class='c000'>During the siege of Paris, some conferences had been held between -the chiefs of the two parties, which ended in a kind of accommodation. -The Catholics of the King’s party began to complain of his perseverance -in Calvinism; and some influential men who were of the latter -persuasion, especially his confidential friend and minister Rosny, -represented to him the necessity of a change. Even some of the reformed -ministers softened the difficulty, by acknowledging salvation to -be possible in the Roman church. In 1593 the ceremony of abjuration -was performed at St. Denys, in presence of a multitude of the -Parisians. If, as we cannot but suppose, the monarch’s conversion -was owing to political motives, the apostacy must be answered for at -a higher than any human tribunal: politically viewed, it was perhaps -one of the most beneficial steps ever taken towards the pacification -and renewal of prosperity of a great kingdom. In the same year he -was crowned at Chartres, and in 1594 Paris opened her gates to him. -He had but just been received into the capital, where he was conspicuously -manifesting his beneficence and zeal for the public good, when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>he was wounded in the throat by John Châtel, a young fanatic. -When the assassin was questioned, he avowed the doctrine of tyrannicide, -and quoted the sermons of the Jesuits in his justification. -That society therefore was banished by the Parliament, and their -librarian was executed on account of some libels against the King, -found in his own hand-writing among his papers.</p> - -<p class='c000'>For two years after his ostensible conversion, the King was obliged -daily to perform the most humiliating ceremonies, by way of penance; -and it was not till 1595 that he was absolved by Clement VIII. The -Leaguers then had no further pretext for rebellion, and the League -necessarily was dissolved. Its chiefs exacted high terms for their -submission; but the civil wars had so exhausted the kingdom, that -tranquillity could not be too dearly purchased; and Henry was faithful -to all his promises, even after his authority was so firmly established, -that he might have broken his word with safety to all but his own -conscience and honour. Although the obligations which he had to -discharge were most burdensome, he found means to relieve his people, -and make his kingdom prosper. The Duc de Mayenne, in Burgundy, -and the Duke de Mercœur, in Britanny, were the last to protract an -unavailing resistance; but the former was reduced in 1596, and the -latter in 1598, and thenceforth France enjoyed almost uninterrupted -peace till Henry’s death. But the Protestants gave him almost as -much uneasiness as the Catholic Leaguers. He had granted liberty -of conscience to the former; a measure which was admitted to be -necessary by the prudent even among the latter. Nevertheless, either -from vexation at his having abjured their religion, from the violence of -party zeal, or disgust at being no longer the objects of royal preference, -the Calvinists preferred their demands in so seditious a tone, -as stopped little short of a rebellious one. While on the road to -Britanny, he determined to avoid greater evils by timely compromise. -The edict of Nantes was then promulgated, authorizing the public -exercise of their religion in several towns, granting them the right -of holding offices, putting them in possession of certain places for -eight years, as pledges for their security, and establishing salaries for -their ministers. The clergy and preachers demurred, but to no purpose; -the Parliament ceased to resist the arguments of the Prince, -when he represented to them as magistrates, that the peace of the state -and the prosperity of the church must be inseparable. At the same time -he endeavoured to convince the bigots among the priesthood on both -sides, that the love of country and the performance of civil and political -duties may be completely reconciled with difference of worship.</p> - -<p class='c000'>But it would be unjust to attribute these enlightened views to Henry, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>without noticing that he had a friend as well as minister in Rosny, best -known as the Duc de Sully, who probably suggested many of his wisest -measures, and at all events superintended their execution, and did his -best to prevent or retrieve his sovereign’s errors by uncompromising -honesty of advice and remonstrance. The allurements of pleasure were -powerful over the enthusiastic and impassioned temperament of Henry: -it was love that most frequently prevailed over the claims of duty. The -beautiful Gabrielle d’Estrées became the absolute mistress of his heart; -and he entertained hopes of obtaining permission from Rome to divorce -Margaret de Valois, from whom he had long lived in a state of separation. -Had he succeeded time enough, he contemplated the dangerous -project of marrying the favourite; but her death saved him both from -the hazard and disgrace. It is not by anecdotes of his amours, that -we would be prone to illustrate the life of this remarkable sovereign; -but the following may deserve notice as highly characteristic. Shortly -after the peace with Spain, concluded by the advantageous treaty of -Vervins in 1598, Henry, on his return from hunting, in a plain dress -as was usual with him, and with only two or three persons about him, -had to cross a ferry. He saw that the ferryman did not know him, and -asked what people said about the peace. “Faith,” said the man, “I -know nothing about this fine peace; every thing is still taxed, even to -this wretched boat, by which I can scarcely earn a livelihood.” “Does -not the King intend,” said Henry, “to set all this taxation to rights?” -“The King is good kind of man enough,” answered the sturdy boatman; -“but he has a mistress, who wants so many fine gowns, and so -many trumpery trinkets, and we have to pay for all that. Besides, that -is not the worst: if she were constant to him, we would not mind; -but people do say that the jade has other gallants.” Henry, much -amused with this conversation, sent for the ferryman next day, and -extorted from him all that he had said the evening before, in presence -of the object of his vituperation. The enraged lady insisted on his -being hanged forthwith. “How can you be such a fool?” said the -King; “this poor devil is put out of humour only by his poverty: for -the time to come, he shall pay no tax for his boat, and then he will -sing for the rest of his days, <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vive Henri, vive Gabrielle</span></i>.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The King’s passions were not buried in the grave of La Belle Gabrielle: -she was succeeded by another mistress, Henrietta d’Entragues, -a woman of an artful, intriguing, and ambitious spirit, who inflamed -his desires by refusals, until she extorted a promise of marriage. -Henry showed this promise, ready signed, to Sully: the minister, in a -noble fit of indignation, tore it to pieces. “I believe you are mad,” -cried the King, in a rage. “It may be so,” answered Sully; “but I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>wish I was the only madman in France.” The faithful counsellor was -in momentary expectation of an angry dismissal from all his appointments; -but his monarch’s candour and justice, and long tried friendship, -prevailed over his besetting weakness; and as an additional -token of his favour, he conferred on Sully the office of Grand Master -of the Ordnance. The sentence of divorce, so long solicited, was at -length granted; and the King married Mary de Medicis, who bore -Louis XIII. to him in 1601. The match, however, contributed little -to his domestic happiness.</p> - -<p class='c000'>While France was flourishing under a vigilant and paternal administration, -while her strength was beginning to keep pace with her -internal happiness, new conspiracies were incessantly formed against -the King. D’Entragues could not be his wife, but continued to be -his mistress. She not only exasperated the Queen’s peevish humour -against him, but was ungrateful enough to combine with her father, -the Count d’Auvergne, and the Spanish Court, in a plot which was -timely discovered. The criminals were arrested and condemned, -but received a pardon. The Duke de Bouillon afterwards stirred up -the Calvinists to take Sedan, but it was immediately restored. Spite -of the many virtues and conciliatory manners of Henry, the fanatics -could never pardon his former attachment to the Protestant cause. -He was continually surrounded with traitors and assassins: almost -every year produced some attempt on his life, and he fell at last by the -weapon of a misguided enthusiast. Meanwhile, from misplaced complaisance -to the Pope, he recalled the Jesuits, contrary to the advice -of Sully and the Parliament.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Shortly before his untimely end, Henry is said by some historians, -to have disclosed a project for forming a Christian republic. The -proposal is stated to have been, to divide Europe into fifteen fixed -powers, none of which should be allowed to make any new acquisition, -but should together form an association for maintaining a mutual -balance, and preserving peace. This political reverie, impossible to be -realized, is not likely ever to have been actually divulged, even if meditated -by Henry, nor is there any trace of it to be found in the history, -or among the state papers of England, Venice, or Holland, the supposed -co-operators in the scheme. His more rational design in arming -went no further than to set bounds to the ambition and power of the -house of Austria, both in Germany and Italy. His warlike preparations -have, however, been ascribed to his prevailing weakness, in an infatuated -passion for the Princess of Condé. Whatever may have been -the motive, his means of success were imposing. He was to march -into Germany at the head of forty thousand excellent troops. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>army, provisions, and every other necessary were in readiness. Money -no longer failed; Sully had laid up forty millions of livres in the -treasury, which were destined for this war. His alliances were -already assured, his generals had been formed by himself, and all -seemed to forebode such a storm, as must probably have overwhelmed -an emperor devoted to the search after the philosopher’s stone, and a -king of Spain under the dominion of the inquisition. Henry was -impatient to join his army; but his mind had become harassed with -sinister forebodings, and his chagrin was increased by a temporary -alienation from his faithful minister. He was in his way to pay a visit -of reconciliation to Sully, when his coach was entangled as it passed -along a street. His attendants left the carriage to remove the obstruction, -and during the delay thus caused he was stabbed to the heart by -Francis Ravaillac, a native of Angoulême. This calamitous event took -place on May 14, 1610, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. The -Spaniards, who had the strongest interest in the catastrophe, were -supposed to have been the instigators; but the fear of implicating -other powers, and plunging France into greater evils than those from -which their hero had rescued them, deterred not only statesmen, but -even the judges on Ravaillac’s trial, from pressing for the names of -accomplices. Hardouin de Perefixe, in his History of Henry the -Great, says, “If it be asked who inspired the monster with the -thought? History answers that she does not know; and that in so -mysterious an affair, it is not allowable to vent suspicions and conjectures -as assured truths; that even the judges who conducted the -examinations opened not their mouths, and spoke only with their -shoulders.” There were seven courtiers in the coach when the murder -took place; and the Marshal d’Estrées, in his History of the Regency of -Mary de Medicis, says that the Duke d’Epernon and the Marquis de -Verneuil were accused by a female servant of the latter, of having -been privy to the design; but that, having failed to verify her charge -before the Parliament, she was condemned to perpetual imprisonment -between four walls. The circumstance that Ravaillac was of Angoulême, -which was the Duke’s government, gave some plausibility to the -suspicion. It was further whispered, that the first blow was not -mortal; but that the Duke stooped to give facility to the assassin, and -that he aimed a second which reached the King’s heart. But these -rumours passed off, without fixing any well-grounded and lasting imputation -on that eminent person’s character.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The assertions of Ravaillac, as far as they have any weight, discountenance -the belief of an extended political conspiracy. The house of -Austria, Mary de Medicis his wife, Henrietta d’Entragues his mistress, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>as well as the Duke d’Epernon, have been subjected to the hateful -conjectures of Mazarin and other historians; but he who actually struck -the blow invariably affirmed that he had no accomplice, and that he -was carried forward by an uncontrollable instinct. If his mind were -at all acted on from without, it was probably by the epidemic fanaticism -of the times, rather than by personal influence.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Henry left three sons and three daughters by Mary de Medicis.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Of no prince recorded in history, probably, are so many personal -anecdotes related, as of Henry IV. These are for the most part well -known, and of easy access. The whole tenor of Henry’s life exhibits a -lofty, generous, and forgiving temper, the fearless spirit which loves -the excitement of danger, and that suavity of feeling and manners, -which, above all qualities, wins the affections of those who come -within its sphere: it does not exhibit high moral or religious principle. -But his weaknesses were those which the world most readily -pardons, especially in a great man. If Henry had emulated the pure -morals and fervent piety of his noble ancestor Louis IX., he would -have been a far better king, as well as a better man; yet we doubt -whether in that case, his memory would then have been cherished -with such enthusiastic attachment by his countrymen.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_048.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Marriage of Henry IV. and Mary de Medicis, from the Picture by Rubens.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_049fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Posselwhite.</em><br /><br />BENTLEY.<br /><br /><em>From a Picture by Hudson,<br />in Trinity College, Cambridge.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span> -<img src='images/i_049.jpg' alt='BENTLEY.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>BENTLEY.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Richard Bentley was the son, not of a low mechanic, as the earlier -narratives of his life assert, but of a respectable yeoman, possessed of -a small estate. That fact has been established by his latest and most -accurate, as well as most copious biographer, Dr. Monk, now Bishop -of Gloucester. Bentley was born in Yorkshire, January 27, 1661–2, -at Oulton, near Wakefield; and educated at Wakefield school, and -St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he pursued his studies with -unwearied industry. No fellowship to which he was eligible having -fallen vacant, he was appointed Master of Spalding school, in 1682; -over which he had presided only one year, when his critical learning -recommended him to Dr. Stillingfleet, then Dean of St. Paul’s, as a -private tutor for his son. In 1689 he attended his pupil to Wadham -College in Oxford, where he was incorporated Master of Arts on the -4th of July in that year, having previously taken that degree in his -own university. Soon after the promotion of Stillingfleet to the see of -Worcester, Bentley was made domestic chaplain to that learned prelate, -with whom he continued on the terms of confidential intimacy -incident to that connexion, till his Lordship’s death. Dr. William -Lloyd, at that time Bishop of Lichfield, was equally alive to the -uncommon merit of this rising scholar; and his two patrons concurrently -recommended him as a fit person to open the lectures founded -by the celebrated Robert Boyle, in defence of natural and revealed -religion. Bentley had before this time embarked largely in literary -pursuits. Among these we can only stop to mention his criticisms -on the historiographer Malelas, contained in a letter appended to -Dr. Mill’s edition of that author, which stamped his reputation as a -first-rate scholar, especially among the learned men of the Continent.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>The delivery of the first course of Boyle’s Lectures, in 1692, gave -Bentley an admirable opportunity of establishing his reputation as a -divine; and he taxed his abilities to the utmost to ensure success. -Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia had not been published more than six -years: the sublime discoveries of the author were little known, and -less understood, from the general prejudice against any new theory, -and the difficulty of comprehending the deep reasonings on which this -one rested. Bentley determined to spare no pains in laying open this -new philosophy of the solar system in a popular form, and in displaying -to the best advantage the cogent arguments in behalf of -the existence of a Deity, furnished by that masterly work. That -nothing might be wanting to his design, he applied to the author, and -received from him the solution of some difficulties. This gave rise to -a curious and important correspondence; and there is a manuscript in -Newton’s own hand preserved among Bentley’s papers, containing directions -respecting the books to be read as a preparation for the perusal -of his Principia. Newton’s four letters on this subject are preserved in -Trinity College Library, and have been given to the public in the form -of a pamphlet. The lecturer did not neglect, in addition to the -popular illustration of the Principia, to corroborate his argument by -considerations drawn from Locke’s doctrine, that the notion of a Deity -is not innate. The sermons were received with loud and universal -applause, and the highest opinion of the preacher’s abilities was entertained -by the learned world. Bentley soon reaped the fruits of his -high reputation, being appointed to a stall at Worcester in October, -1692, and made Keeper of the King’s Library in the following year. -In 1694 he was again appointed to preach Boyle’s lecture. His -subject was a defence of Christianity against the objections of infidels. -These sermons have never been published; nor have Dr. Monk’s -researches enabled him to ascertain where they are now deposited.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Bentley was scarcely settled in his office of librarian, when he -became involved in a quarrel with the Hon. Charles Boyle, brother -to the Earl of Ossory, who was then in the course of his education -at Christ Church in Oxford, and had carried thither a more than -ordinary share of classical knowledge, and a decided taste for literary -pursuits. Mr. Boyle had been selected by his college to edit a new -edition of the Epistles of Phalaris; and for that purpose, not by direct -application, but through the medium of a blundering and ill-mannered -bookseller, he had procured the use of a manuscript copy of the -Epistles from the Library at St. James’s. The responsibility attendant -on the custody of manuscripts, and perhaps some disgust at the channel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>through which the loan was negotiated, occasioned the librarian to -demand restitution before the collation was finished. A notion was -entertained at Christ Church, that an affront was intended both to -the Epistles, which Bentley had already pronounced to be a clumsy -forgery of later times, and to the advocates of their genuineness. -Tory politics had probably some share in exasperating a quarrel -with a scholar in the opposite interest. Be this as it may, the -preface to Phalaris contained an offensive sentence, which the editor -would not, or perhaps could not cancel, as the copies seem to have -been delivered before the real state of the case was explained; and -this gave rise to the once celebrated controversy between Boyle and -Bentley. It produced a number of pieces written with learning, -wit, and spirit, on both sides; but Bentley fought single-handed, -while the tracts on the side of Boyle were clubbed by the wits of -Christ Church; for the reputed author was attending his parliamentary -duty in Ireland, while those enlisted under his colours were sustaining -his cause in the English republic of letters. Of the numerous -attacks on Bentley published at this period, Swift’s Battle of the -Books is the only one which continues to be known by the merit -of the writing. The controversy was prolonged to the year 1699, -when Bentley’s enlarged dissertation upon Phalaris appeared, and -obtained so complete a victory over his opponents, as to constitute an -epoch not only in the writer’s life, but in the history of literature. -It is avowedly controversial; but it contains a matchless treasure -of knowledge, in history, chronology, antiquities, philosophy, and -criticism. The preface contains his defence against the charges made -on his personal character, his vindication of which is satisfactory -and triumphant. So strong, however, are the prejudices of party -and fashion, that many persons looked upon the controversy as a field -for a grand tournament of wit and learning, exhibiting the prowess of -the combatants without deciding the cause in dispute; but all those -whose judgment on such questions could be of any value held the -triumph of Dr. Bentley to be complete, both as to the sterling -merits of the case, and his able management of its discussion. It -was not long before the impression created in his favour became -manifest; for, in the course of the next year, 1700, Bentley was -appointed by the crown to the Mastership of Trinity College, Cambridge. -On that high advancement he resigned his stall at Worcester. -He was afterwards collated to the Archdeaconry of Ely, in 1781, -which, besides conferring rank in the church, was endowed with -two livings; and he was appointed Chaplain both to King William -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>and Queen Anne. There is a tradition in Bentley’s family, that -Bishop Stillingfleet said, “We must send Bentley to rule the turbulent -Fellows of Trinity College: if any one can do it, he is the -person; for he has ruled my family ever since he entered it.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Having thus attained to affluence and honour, he married a lady to -whom he had been long attached. The union was eminently happy. -Mrs. Bentley’s mind was highly cultivated; she was amiable and -pious; and the benevolence of her disposition availed to soften the -animosity of opponents at several critical periods of her husband’s -life. His new station was calculated to increase rather than to lessen -the Master’s taste for critical studies. As he occasionally gave the -results of his inquiries to the public, his labours, abounding in erudition -and sagacity, by degrees raised him to the reputation of being -the first critic of his age. Among the most remarkable of his numerous -pieces, we may mention a collection of the Fragments of Callimachus, -with notes and emendations, transmitted to Grævius, in whose edition -of that poet’s works they appeared in 1697; and three letters on the -Plutus and the Clouds of Aristophanes, written to Kuster, and by -him dissected into the form of notes, and published in his edition of -that author. Copies of two of the original epistles have fortunately -been preserved, and given to the world in the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Museum Criticum</span>, after -more than a century. Kuster had in a great measure destroyed their -interest by omissions, and by curtailing their amusing and digressive -playfulness. But as they fell from Bentley’s own pen, few of his -writings exhibit more acuteness, or more lively perception of the -elegancies of the Greek tongue. About the same time he produced -one of the ablest and most perfect of his works, his Emendations on -the Fragments of Menander and Philemon. That piece indicates -rather intimate acquaintance with his subject, and a feeling of -security in his positions, than direct and immediate labour or research. -He wrote under the assumed name of Phileleutherus Lipsiensis, and -sent the work to be printed and published on the Continent. Under -the same signature he appeared again in 1713, in his Reply to -Collins’s Discourse of Freethinking. His exposure of the sophistry -and fallacies pervading that book was judicious and highly effective; -and for the eminent service done to the Christian religion, and the -clergy of England in this work, by refuting the objections and -exposing the ignorance of the writers calling themselves Freethinkers, -Dr. Bentley received the public thanks of the University of Cambridge -assembled in senate, January 4, 1715. But his edition of Horace is -the capital work, which through good and evil report will associate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>his name with the Latin language so long as it endures. He completed -it in 1711. The tone of the preface is arrogant and invidious: -the presumption, which is the great blot in his character, both as a -man and a critic, is more conspicuous in those few pages than in all -his other productions. With respect to the work itself, between seven -and eight hundred changes in the common readings were introduced -into the text, contrary to the established practice of classical editors. -The language of the notes is that of absolute dictatorship, not however -without an award of fair credit to some other commentators. His -Latinity, although easy and flowing, has been censured as by no means -pure. Many of his readings have been confirmed and adopted by the -latest and best editors; others are considered as either unnecessary, -harsh, or prosaic: but, with all its faults, Bentley’s Horace is a -monument of inexhaustible learning; the reader, whether convinced -or not, adds to his stock of knowledge; and the very errors of such a -critic are instructive.</p> - -<p class='c000'>But Bentley’s haughty temper, thus displayed in his criticisms, -burst forth much more injuriously in the government of his college; -where he carried himself so loftily, and gave such serious and repeated -offence, that several of the Fellows exhibited a complaint against him -before the Bishop of Ely, as visitor. Their object was his removal -from the headship, in furtherance of which they charged him with -embezzlement, in having improperly applied large sums of money to -his own use; and with having adopted other unworthy and violent -proceedings, to the interruption of peace and harmony in the society. -In answer to these imputations he states his own case in a letter to -the Bishop, which was published in octavo in 1710, under the title of -the Present State of Trinity College. Such was the beginning of a -long, inveterate, and mischievous quarrel; which, after a continuance -of more than twenty years, ended in the Master’s favour. The Biographia -Britannica, and the Life of Bentley by the present Bishop of -Gloucester, necessarily give a detailed narrative of this dispute, during -the progress of which several books were written, with the most -determined animosity on both sides. We cannot in this instance -regret the confined space, which prevents our dilating on a quarrel, -unfortunate in its origin, virulent in its progress, and, in our opinion, -especially discreditable to the Master.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Nor was this the only trial of a spirit sufficiently able to bear up -against the storms of opposition, and by obstinate perseverance to -triumph over its adversaries. During the course of the former dispute, -Bentley had been promoted to the Regius Professorship of Divinity. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>George I. paid a visit to the university in October, 1717. It is usual -on such occasions to name several persons for a doctor’s degree in -that faculty by royal mandate; and the principal part of the ceremony -consists in what is called the creation, that is, the presentation of the -nominees to the Chancellor, if present, or to the Vice-Chancellor in his -absence, by the Professor. Bentley claimed a fee of four guineas as -due from each of the Doctors whom it was his office to create, in -addition to a broad-piece, which had been the ancient and customary -compliment. There were two gold coins under that denomination; -a Jacobus, worth twenty-five shillings, and a Carolus, passing for -twenty-three. Both were called in, and no gold pieces of that value -have since been coined. The Professor refused to create any doctor -who would not acquiesce in the fee. His arguments in favour of the -claim were at least plausible; but it ill became so high a functionary -to interrupt solemn proceedings, and sow discord in a learned body -for a mercenary and paltry consideration. From this low origin -arose a long and warm dispute, in the course of which the Master of -Trinity and Regius Professor was suspended from all his degrees, -October 3, 1718, and degraded on the seventeenth of that month. -Of thirty Doctors present, twenty-three voted for the degradation of -their brother; and of ten heads of colleges who attended all but one -joined in the sentence. The principal ground for these extraordinary -measures will not appear very strong to impartial posterity; it was -an alleged contempt in speaking of a regular meeting of the Heads -of Houses, as “the Vice-Chancellor and four or five of his friends -over a bottle.” From this sentence Bentley petitioned the King -for relief: and the affair was referred to a committee of the Privy -Council, whence it was carried into the Court of King’s Bench, where -the four Judges declared their opinions <em>seriatim</em> against the proceedings -of the university; and a peremptory mandamus was issued, February 7, -1724, after more than five years of undignified altercation, charging -the Chancellor, Masters, and scholars “to restore Richard Bentley to -all his degrees, and to every other right and privilege of which they -had deprived him.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Happily both for himself and the learned world, Bentley was gifted -with a natural hardiness of temper, which enabled him to buffet -against both these storms; so that he continued to pursue his career -of literature, as if the elements had been undisturbed. November 5, -1715, he delivered a sermon on popery from the university pulpit, -distinguished by learning and argument, and written in an original -style, which compelled the attention of the hearers, unlike those -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>common-place and narcotic declamations usually poured forth on -that anniversary. It was printed, and has incurred the strange fate -of having been purloined by Sterne, and introduced into Tristram -Shandy. Part of it is read by Corporal Trim, whose feelings are so -overpowered by the description of the Inquisition, that he declares -“he would not read another line of it for all the world.” The -sermon had the common lot of Bentley’s publications; it gave birth -to a controversy. It was attacked in ‘Remarks’ by Cummins, a -Calvinistic dissenter. An answer was put forth with the following -title: ‘Reflections on the scandalous Aspersions on the Clergy, by -the author of the Remarks.’ It is asserted in more than one life of -Bentley, that he was himself the author of these Reflections; but the -Bishop of Gloucester says that no one can believe this who reads half -a page of the pamphlet. In 1716 Bentley had propounded the plan of -a projected edition of the Greek Testament, in a letter to the Archbishop -of Canterbury. He brooded over this design for four years, -sparing neither labour nor expense to procure the necessary materials. -In 1720 he issued proposals for printing it by subscription, together -with the Latin version of Jerome; to which proposals a specimen of -the execution was annexed. The proposals are printed at length in -the Biographia Britannica, and in Dr. Monk’s Life. They were -virulently attacked by Dr. Conyers Middleton, at that time a fellow -of Trinity, and a leading person in the opposition to the Master, in -‘Remarks’ on Bentley’s proposals. At this time Bentley’s enemies -were endeavouring to oust him from his professorship. It was -insinuated that his project was a mere pretext, to be abandoned -when it had answered his temporary purpose of diverting the public -mind from his personal misconduct. To these suspicions he added -force by the confession, in excuse for certain marks of haste in a -paper drawn up, not as a specimen of his critical powers, but simply -as an advertisement, that the proposals were drawn up one evening -by candle-light. Middleton followed up his blow by ‘Further Remarks:’ -the publication of the Testament was suspended, nor was it -ever carried into effect. That it was stopped by Middleton’s pamphlet, -is an error countenanced by numerous writers of the time, but denied -by Dr. Monk, who says that the discontinuance certainly was not -owing to Middleton’s attack. He doubts indeed whether Bentley ever -looked into the tract. A speech of his to Bishop Atterbury shortly -after its appearance is quite in character: he “scorned to read the -rascal’s book; but if his Lordship would send him any part which he -thought the strongest; he would undertake to answer it before night.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>In 1726, his Terence was published with notes, a dissertation concerning -the metres, which he termed Schediasma, and, strangely -placed in such a work, his speech at the Cambridge commencement -in 1725. The sprightliness and good temper of this short but eloquent -oration is in strong contrast with his controversial asperity: it breathes -strong affection for the university, from which body a stranger might -suppose that he had received the kindest treatment. But even this -edition of the polished and amiable comedian was undertaken in a -spirit of jealousy and resentment against Dean Hare, a former friend -and rival editor, who had in truth deserved his anger, by availing -himself of information derived from Bentley in an unauthorized and -unhandsome manner. The notes throughout are in caustic and contemptuous -language, with unceasing severity against Hare, not indeed -in that violent strain of abuse which has so often marked the warfare -of critics, but with cool and sneering allusions without the mention of -the proper name, under the disparaging designation of <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Quidam, est -qui</span></i>, or <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Vir eruditus</span></i>. Not content with this revenge, Bentley undertook -to anticipate Hare in an edition of Phœdrus, which is characterized -by Dr. Monk as a “hasty, crude, and unsupported revision” of -the text of that author; in which the rashness and presumption of his -criticisms were rendered still more offensive by the imperious conciseness -in which his decrees were promulgated. Hare, on the contrary, -had long been preparing his edition: his materials were provided -and arranged, and he retaliated in an <cite><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Epistola Critica</span></cite>, addressed to -Dr. Bland, head-master of Eton. The spirit of the epistle is personal -and bitter; and while it undoubtedly had its intended effect in -exposing Bentley, it is not creditable either to the temper or to the -consistency of its author.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The last of Bentley’s works which we shall notice is his unfortunate -edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost, given to the public in 1732. -It is a sad instance of utter perversion of judgment in a man of -extraordinary talent. Fenton first suggested, that the spots in that -sun-like performance might be owing to the misapprehension of the -amanuensis, and the ignorant blunders of a poverty-stricken printer. -On this foundation Bentley, neither himself a poet, nor possessing -much taste or feeling for the higher effusions of even his own favourite -authors, the Greek and Latin poets, undertook to revise the language, -remedy the blemishes, and reject the supposed interpolations of our -national epic. He was peculiarly disqualified for such a task, not only -by prosaic temperament and the chill of advanced years, but by his -entire ignorance of the Italian poets and romance writers, from whose -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>fables and imagery Milton borrowed his illustrations as freely as from -the more familiar stories and modes of expression of the classical -authorities. As usual with him, his notes were written hastily, and -sent immediately to the press. The public disapprobation was -unanimous and just: but even in this performance many acute pieces -of criticism are scattered up and down, for which the world, disgusted -by his audacity and flippancy, allows him no credit.</p> - -<p class='c000'>We must pass quickly over the ten remaining years of Bentley’s -life. They were embittered by a fresh contest for character and -station before the supreme tribunal of the kingdom. The case -between the Bishop of Ely and Dr. Bentley, respecting the visitatorial -jurisdiction over Trinity College in general, and over the Master -in particular, was argued first in the Court of King’s Bench, and then -carried by appeal to the House of Lords, where it was finally affirmed -that the Bishop of Ely was visitor. In his seventy-second year -Bentley underwent a second trial at Ely House, and was sentenced to -be deprived of his mastership; but he eluded the execution of the -sentence, and continued to perform the duties of the office which he -held. At length a compromise was effected between him and some -of his most active prosecutors, many of whom, as well as himself, -were septuagenarians. On his proposed edition of Homer, distinguished -by the restoration of the Digamma, we need not enlarge. It -appears to have been broken off by a paralytic attack, in the course -of 1739. In the following year he sustained the severest loss, by the -death of his wife in the fortieth year of their union. His own death -took place July 14, 1742, when he had completed his eightieth year. -He was buried in the chapel; to which he had been a benefactor by -giving £200 towards its repairs, soon after he was appointed to the -mastership.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Bentley’s literary character is known in all parts of Europe where -learning is known. In his private character he was what Johnson -liked, a good hater: there was much of arrogance, and no little obstinacy -in his composition; but it must be admitted on the other hand, that -he had many high and amiable qualities. Though too prone to encounter -hostility by oppression, he was warm and sincere in friendship, -an affectionate husband, and a good father. In the exercise of hospitality -at his lodge he maintained the dignity of the college, and rivalled -the munificence even of the papal priesthood. His benefactions -to the college were also liberal: but he exacted from it far more -than it was willing to pay, or than any former master had received; -and his name would stand fairer if his generosity had been less distinguished, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>provided that, at the same time, his conduct had been less -grasping. We shall only add that the severity of his temper as a -critic and controversial writer was exchanged in conversation for a -strain of vivacity and pleasantry peculiar to himself.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Bentley had three children: a son called by his own name, and -two daughters. The son was bred under his own tuition at Trinity -College, where he obtained a fellowship. His contemporaries acknowledge -his genius, but lament that his pursuits were so desultory and -various as to exclude him from that substantial fame which his talents -might have ensured. Dr. Bentley’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married -Mr. Humphry Ridge, a gentleman of good family in Hampshire, but -was left a widow in less than a year, and returned to reside with her -father. The youngest, Joanna, married Mr. Denison Cumberland, -grandson to the learned Bishop of Peterborough. The first issue -of this marriage was the late Richard Cumberland, well known in -the republic of letters, and especially as a dramatic writer. In his -memoir of his own life Mr. Cumberland gives some amusing anecdotes -of his grandfather in his old age. His object seems to have -been to paint the domestic character of Bentley in a pleasing light, -and to counteract the prevalent opinion of his stern and overbearing -manners. The old man’s personal kindness towards himself seems -to have produced a deep and well merited feeling of gratitude. His -communications however are of little value, for he neglected his -opportunities of obtaining accurate and more important information -from his mother and other relatives of the great critic.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_059fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by F. Mackenzie.</em><br /><br />KEPPLER.<br /><br /><em>From a Picture in the Collection of<br />Godefroy Kraenner, Merchant at Ratisbon.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span> -<img src='images/i_059.jpg' alt='KEPLER.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>KEPLER.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The matter contained in this sketch of Kepler’s history, is exclusively -derived from the Life published in the Library of Useful Knowledge. -To that work we refer all readers who wish to make themselves -acquainted with the contents of Kepler’s writings, and with the -singular methods by which he was led to his great discoveries: it will -be evident, on inspection, that it would be useless to attempt farther -compression of the scientific matter therein contained. Our object -therefore will be to select such portions as may best illustrate his -singular and enthusiastic mind, and to give a short account of his not -uneventful life.</p> - -<p class='c000'>John Kepler was born December 21, 1571, Long. 29° 7´, Lat. 48° 54´, -as we are carefully informed by his earliest biographer Hantsch. It -is well to add that on the spot thus astronomically designated as our -astronomer’s birth-place, stands the city of Weil, in the Duchy of -Wirtemberg. Kepler was first sent to school at Elmendingen, -where his father, a soldier of honourable family, but indigent circumstances, -kept a tavern: his education was completed at the -monastic school of Maulbronn, and the college of Tubingen, where -he took his Master’s degree in 1591. About the same time he -was offered the astronomical lectureship at Gratz, in Styria: and -he accepted the post by advice, and almost by compulsion, of his -tutors, “better furnished,” he says, “with talent than knowledge, -and with many protestations that I was not abandoning my claim -to be provided for in some other more brilliant profession.” Though -well skilled in mathematics, and devoted to the study of philosophy, he -had felt hitherto no especial vocation to astronomy, although he had -become strongly impressed with the truth of the Copernican system, -and had defended it publicly in the schools of Tubingen. He was much -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>engrossed by inquiries of a very different character: and it is fortunate -for his fame that circumstances withdrew him from the mystical pursuits -to which through life he was more or less addicted; from such profitless -toil as the “examination of the nature of heaven, of souls, of -genii, of the elements, of the essence of fire, of the cause of fountains, -of the ebb and flow of the tide, the shape of the continents and inland -seas, and things of this sort,” to which, he says, he had devoted much -time. The sort of spirit in which he was likely to enter on the more -occult of these inquiries, and the sort of agency to which he was -likely to ascribe the natural phenomena of which he speaks, may be -estimated from an opinion which he gravely advanced in mature -years and established fame, that the earth is an enormous living -animal, with passions and affections analogous to those of the creatures -which live on its surface. “The earth is not an animal like -a dog, ready at every nod; but more like a bull or an elephant, slow -to become angry, and so much the more furious when incensed.” -“If any one who has climbed the peaks of the highest mountains -throw a stone down their very deep clefts, a sound is heard from -them; or if he throw it into one of the mountain lakes, which beyond -doubt are bottomless, a storm will immediately arise, just as when -you thrust a straw into the ear or nose of a ticklish animal, it shakes -its head, and runs shuddering away. What so like breathing, especially -of those fish who draw water into their mouths, and spout it -out again through their gills, as that wonderful tide! For although -it is so regulated according to the course of the moon, that in the -preface to my ‘Commentaries on Mars’ I have mentioned it as probable -that the waters are attracted by the moon, as iron is by the loadstone, -yet if any one uphold that the earth regulates its breathing according -to the motion of the sun and moon, as animals have daily and nightly -alternations of sleep and waking, I shall not think his philosophy -unworthy of being listened to; especially if any flexible parts should -be discovered in the depths of the earth to supply the functions of -lungs or gills.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The first fruit of Kepler’s astronomical researches was entitled -‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Prodromus Dissertationis Cosmographicæ</span>,’ the first part of a work -to be called ‘Mysterium Cosmographicum,’ of which, however, the -sequel was never written. The most remarkable part of the book -is a fanciful attempt to show that the orbits of the planets may be -represented by spheres circumscribed and inscribed in the five regular -solids. Kepler lived to be convinced of the total baselessness of this -supposed discovery, in which, however, at the time, he expressed high -exultation. In the same work are contained his first inquiries into -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>the proportion between the distances of the planets from the sun and -their periods of revolution. He also attempted to account for the -motion of the planets, by supposing a moving influence emitted like -light from the sun, which swept round those bodies, as the sails of a -windmill would carry any thing attached to them: of a genuine central -force he had no knowledge, though he had speculated on the existence -of an attractive force in the centre of motion, and rejected it on -account of difficulties which he could not explain. The ‘Prodromus’ -was published in 1596, and the genius and industry displayed in -it gained praise from the best astronomers of the age.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the following year Kepler withdrew from Gratz into Hungary, -apprehending danger from the unadvised promulgation of some, -apparently religious, opinions. During this retirement he became -acquainted with the celebrated Tycho Brahe, at that time retained by -the Emperor Rodolph II. as an astrologer and mathematician, and -residing at the castle of Benach, near Prague. Kepler, harassed -throughout life by poverty, was received by his more fortunate fellow-labourer -with cordial kindness. No trace of jealousy is to be found in -their intercourse. Tycho placed the observations which he had made -with unremitted industry during many years in the hands of Kepler, -and used his interest with the Emperor to obtain permission for his -brother astronomer to remain at Benach as assistant observer, retaining -his salary and professorship at Gratz. Before all was settled, however, -Kepler finally threw up that office, and remained, it should seem, -entirely dependent on Tycho’s bounty. The Dane was then employed -in constructing a new set of astronomical tables, to be called the -Rudolphine, intended to supersede those calculated on the Ptolemaic -and Copernican systems. He was interrupted in this labour by death, -in 1601; and the task of finishing it was intrusted to Kepler, who -succeeded him as principal mathematician to the Emperor. A large -salary was attached to this office, but to extract any portion of it from -a treasury deranged and almost exhausted by a succession of wars, -proved next to impossible. He remained for several years, as he -himself expresses it, begging his bread from the Emperor at Prague, -during which the Rudolphine Tables remained neglected, for want of -funds to defray the expenses of continuing them. He published, however, -several smaller works; a treatise on Optics, entitled a Supplement -to Vitellion, in which he made an unsuccessful attempt to determine -the cause and the laws of refraction; a small work on a new star -which appeared in Cassiopeia in 1604, and shone for a time with -great splendour; another on comets, in which he suggests the possibility -of their being planets moving in straight lines. Meanwhile -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>he was continuing his labours on the observations of Tycho, and -especially on those relating to the planet Mars: and the result of -them appeared in 1609, in his work entitled ‘<span lang="pt" xml:lang="pt">Astronomia Nova</span>;’ or -Commentaries on the motions of Mars. He engaged in these extensive -calculations from dissatisfaction with the existing theories, by none -of which could the observed and calculated motions of the planets be -made to coincide; but without any notion whither the task was about -to lead him, or of rejecting the complicated machinery of former -astronomers—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c011'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in24'>the sphere</div> - <div class='line'>With centric and eccentric scribbled o’er,</div> - <div class='line'>Cycle and epicycle, orb in orb.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>His inquiries are remarkable for the patience with which he continued -to devise hypotheses, one after another, and the scrupulous fidelity -with which he rejected them in succession, as they proved irreconcileable -with the unerring test of observation. Not less remarkable -is the singular good fortune by which, while groping in the dark -among erroneous principles and erroneous assumptions, he was led, -by careful observation of Mars, to discover the true form of its orbit, -and the true law of its motion, and the motion of all planets, round the -sun. These are enunciated in two of the three celebrated theorems -known by the name of Kepler’s Laws, beyond comparison the most -important discoveries made in astronomy from the time of Copernicus -to that of Newton, of which the first is, that the planets move in -ellipses, in one of the foci of which the sun is placed the second, -that the time of describing any arc is proportional, in the same orbit, -to the area comprised by the arc itself, and lines drawn from the sun -to the beginning and end of it.</p> - -<p class='c000'>About the year 1613 Kepler quitted Prague, after a residence of -eleven years, to assume a professorship in the University of Linz. -The year preceding his departure saw him involved in great domestic -distress. Want of money, sickness, the occupation of the city by a -turbulent army, the death of his wife and of the son whom he best -loved, these, he says to a correspondent, “were reasons enough why I -should have overlooked not only your letter, but even astronomy itself.” -His first marriage, contracted early in life, had not been a happy one: -but he resolved on a second venture, and no less than eleven ladies -were successively the objects of his thoughts. After rejecting, or being -rejected, by the whole number, he at last settled on her who stood -fifth in the list; a woman of humble station, but, according to his own -account, possessed of qualities likely to wear well in a poor man’s house. -He employed the judgment and the mediation of his friends largely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>in this delicate matter: and in a letter to the Baron Strahlendorf, he -has given a full and amusing account of the process of his courtships, -and the qualifications of the ladies among whom his judgment wavered. -He proposed to one lady whom he had not seen for six years, and was -rejected: on paying her a visit soon after, he found, to his great relief, -that she had not a single pleasing point about her. Another was too -proud of her birth; another too old; another married a more ardent -lover, while Kepler was speculating whether he would take her or -not; and a fifth punished the indecision which he had shown towards -others by alternations of consent and denial, until after a three months’ -courtship, the longest in the list, he gave her up in despair.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Kepler did not long hold his professorship at Linz. Some religious -opinions relative to the doctrine of transubstantiation gave offence to -the Roman Catholic party, and he was excommunicated. In 1617 -he received an invitation to fill the chair of mathematics at Bologna: -this however he declined, pleading his German origin and predilections, -and his German habits of freedom in speech and manners, which he -thought likely to expose him to persecution or reproach in Italy. In -1618 he published his Epitome of the Copernican system, a summary -of his philosophical opinions, drawn up in the form of question and -answer. In 1619 appeared his celebrated work ‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Harmonice Mundi</span>,’ -dedicated to King James I. of England; a book strongly illustrative -of the peculiarities of Kepler’s mind, combining the accuracy of -geometric science with the wildest metaphysical doctrines, and visionary -theories of celestial influences. The two first books are almost -strictly geometrical; the third treats of music; for the fourth and -fifth, we take refuge from explaining their subjects in transcribing the -author’s exposition of their contents. “The fourth, metaphysical, -psychological, and astrological, on the mental essence of harmonies, -and of their kinds in the world, especially on the harmony of rays -emanating on the earth from the heavenly bodies, and on their effect -in nature, and on the sublunary and human soul; the fifth, astronomical -and metaphysical, on the very exquisite harmonies of the -celestial motions, and the origin of the eccentricities in harmonious -proportions.” This work, however, is remarkable for containing amid -the varied extravagances of its two last books, the third of Kepler’s -Laws, namely, that the squares of the periods of the planets’ revolution -vary as the cubes of their distances from the sun; a discovery in which -he exulted with no measured joy. “It is now eighteen months since -I got the first glimpse of light, three months since the dawn, very few -days since the unveiled sun, most admirable to gaze upon, burst out -upon me. Nothing holds me; I will indulge in my sacred fury; I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>will triumph over mankind by the honest confession that I have stolen -the golden vases of the Egyptians, to build up a tabernacle for my God -far away from the confines of Egypt. If you forgive me, I rejoice; if -you are angry, I can bear it: the die is cast, the book is written; to -be read either now or by posterity, I care not which: it may well wait -a century for a reader, as God has waited six thousand years for an -observer.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The substance of Kepler’s astrological opinions is contained in this -work. It is remarkable that one whose candour and good faith are so -conspicuous, one so intent on correcting his various theories by observation -and experience, should have given in to this now generally -rejected system of imposture and credulity; nay should profess to -have been forced to adopt it from direct and positive observations. -“A most unfailing experience (as far as can be hoped in natural phenomena), -of the excitement of sublunary nature by the conjunctions -and aspects of the planets, has instructed and compelled my unwilling -belief.” At the same time he professed through life a supreme -contempt for the common herd of nativity casters, and claimed to be -the creator of a “new and most true philosophy, a tender plant which, -like all other novelties, ought to be carefully nursed and cherished.” -His plant was rooted in the sand, and it has perished; nor is -it important to explain the fine-spun differences by which his own -astrological belief was separated from another not more baseless. -Poor through life, he relieved his ever recurring wants by astrological -calculations: and he enjoyed considerable reputation in this -line, and received ample remuneration for his predictions. It was -principally as astrologers that both Tycho Brahe and Kepler were -valued by the Emperor Rudolph: and it was in the same capacity -that the latter was afterwards entertained by Wallenstein. One -circumstance may suggest a doubt whether his predictions were -always scrupulously honest. From the year 1617 to 1620, he published -an annual Ephemeris, concerning which he writes thus: “In -order to pay the expense of the Ephemeris for these two years, I have -also written a <em>vile prophesying almanac</em>, which is hardly more respectable -than begging; unless it be because it saves the Emperor’s credit, -who abandons me entirely, and, with all his frequent and recent orders -in council, would suffer me to perish with hunger.” Poverty is a hard -task-master; yet Kepler should not have condescended to become the -Francis Moore of his day.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1620, Kepler was strongly urged by Sir Henry Wotton, then -ambassador to Venice, to take refuge in England from the difficulties -which beset him. This invitation was not open to the objections -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>which had deterred him from accepting an appointment in Italy: but -love of his native land prevailed to make him decline it also. He -continued to weary the Imperial Government with solicitations for -money to defray the expense of the Rudolphine Tables, which were -not printed until 1627. These were the first calculated on the supposition -of elliptic orbits, and contain, besides tables of the sun and -planets, logarithmic and other tables to facilitate calculation, the places -of one thousand stars as determined by Tycho, and a table of refractions. -Similar tables of the planetary motions had been constructed -by Ptolemy, and reproduced with alterations in the thirteenth century -under the direction of Alphonso, King of Castile. Others, called the -Prussian Tables, had been calculated after the discoveries of Copernicus, -by two of that great astronomer’s pupils. All these, however, -were superseded in consequence of the observations of Tycho Brahe, -observations far more accurate than had ever before been made: and -for the publication of the Rudolphine Tables alone, which for a long -time continued unsurpassed in exactness, the name of Kepler would -deserve honourable remembrance.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Kepler was the first of the Germans to appreciate and use -Napier’s invention of logarithms: and he himself calculated and -published a series, under the title ‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Chilias Logarithmorum</span>,’ in 1624. -Not long after the Rudolphine Tables were printed, he received -permission from the Emperor Ferdinand to attach himself to the -celebrated Wallenstein, a firm believer in the science of divination by -the stars. In him Kepler found a more munificent patron than he -had yet enjoyed; and by his influence he was appointed to a professorship -at the University of Rostock, in the Duchy of Mecklenburgh. -But the niggardliness of the Imperial Court, which kept him starving -through life, was in some sense the cause of his death. He had claims -on it to the amount of eight thousand crowns, which he took a journey -to Ratisbon to enforce, but without success. Fatigue or disappointment -brought on a fever which put an end to his life in November, 1630, in -his 59th year. A plain stone, with a simple inscription, marked his -grave in St. Peter’s church-yard, in that city. Within seventy paces of -it, a marble monument has been erected to him in the Botanic Garden, -by a late Bishop of Constance. He left a wife and numerous family -ill provided for. His voluminous manuscripts are now deposited in -the Imperial Library of St. Petersburg. Only one volume of letters, -in folio, has been published from them; and out of these the chief -materials for his biography have been extracted.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span> -<img src='images/i_066.jpg' alt='SIR MATTHEW HALE.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>SIR MATTHEW HALE.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Matthew Hale was born on the 1st of November, 1609, at -Alderley, a small village situated in Gloucestershire, about two miles -from Wotton-under-Edge. His father, Robert Hale, was a barrister -of Lincoln’s Inn, and his mother, whose maiden name was Poyntz, -belonged to an ancient and respectable family which had resided for -several generations at Iron Acton. Hale’s father is represented to have -been a man of such scrupulous delicacy of conscience, that he abandoned -his profession, because he thought that some things, of ordinary -practice in the law, were inconsistent with that literal and precise -observance of truth which he conceived to be the duty of a Christian. -“He gave over his practice,” says Burnet, in his Life of Hale, “because -he could not understand the reason of giving colour in pleadings, -which, as he thought, was to tell a lie.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_066fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. W. Cook.</em><br /><br />HALE.<br /><br /><em>From an original Picture in the Library<br />of Lincolns Inn.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>Hale had the misfortune to lose both his parents very early in life, -his mother dying before he was three years old, and his father before -he had attained his fifth year. Under the direction of his father’s will -he was committed to the care of a near relation, Anthony Kingscote, -Esq., of Kingscote in Gloucestershire. This gentleman, being inclined -to the religious doctrines and discipline of the Puritans, placed him in -a school belonging to that party; and, intending to educate him for a -clergyman, entered him in 1626, at Magdalen Hall in Oxford. The -strictness and formality of his early education seem to have inclined -him to run into the opposite extreme at the university, when he -became to a certain extent his own master. He is said to have been -very fond at this time of theatrical amusements, and of fencing, and -other martial exercises; and giving up the design of becoming a -divine, he at one time determined to pass over into the Netherlands, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>and to enlist as a volunteer in the army of the Prince of Orange. -An accidental circumstance diverted him from this resolution. He -became involved in a lawsuit with a gentleman in Gloucestershire, -who laid claim to part of his paternal estate; and his guardian, being -a man of retired habits, was unwilling to undertake the task of personally -superintending the proceedings on his behalf. It became -necessary therefore that Hale, though then only twenty years old, -should leave the university and repair to London for the purpose of -arranging his defence. His professional adviser on this occasion was -Serjeant Glanville, a learned and distinguished lawyer; who, being -struck by the clearness of his young client’s understanding, and by -his peculiar aptitude of mind for the study of the law, prevailed upon -him to abandon his military project, and to enter himself at one of -the Inns of Court with the view of being called to the bar. He -accordingly became a member of the society of Lincoln’s Inn in -Michaelmas term 1629, and immediately applied himself with unusual -assiduity to professional studies. At this period of his life, he is -said to have read for several years at the rate of sixteen hours a day.</p> - -<p class='c000'>During his residence as a student in Lincoln’s Inn, an incident -occurred which recalled a certain seriousness of demeanour, for which -he had been remarkable as a boy, and gave birth to that profound -piety which in after-life was a marked feature in his character. -Being engaged with several other young students at a tavern in the -neighbourhood of London, one of his companions drank to such excess -that he fell suddenly from his chair in a kind of fit, and for some time -seemed to be dead. After assisting the rest of the party to restore -the young man to his senses, in which they at length succeeded, -though he still remained in a state of great danger, Hale, who was -deeply impressed with the circumstance, retired into another room, -and falling upon his knees prayed earnestly to God that his friend’s -life might be spared; and solemnly vowed that he would never again -be a party to similar excess, nor encourage intemperance by drinking -a health again as long as he lived. His companion recovered, and to -the end of life Hale scrupulously kept his vow. This was afterwards -a source of much inconvenience to him, when the reign of licentiousness -commenced, upon the restoration of Charles II.; and drinking -the King’s health to intoxication was considered as one of the tests of -loyalty in politics, and of orthodoxy in religion.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His rapid proficiency in legal studies not only justified and confirmed -the good opinion which had been formed of him by his early friend -and patron, Serjeant Glanville, but also introduced him to the favourable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>notice of several of the most distinguished lawyers of that day. Noy, -the Attorney-General, who some years afterwards devised the odious -scheme of ship-money, and who, while he is called by Lord Clarendon -“a morose and proud man,” is also represented by him as an “able -and learned lawyer,” took particular notice of Hale, and advised and -assisted him in his studies. At this time also he became intimate -with Selden, who, though much older than himself, honoured him with -his patronage and friendship. He was induced by the advice and -example of this great man to extend his reading beyond the contracted -sphere of his professional studies, to enlarge and strengthen his -reasoning powers by philosophical inquiries, and to store his mind with -a variety of general knowledge. The variety of his pursuits at this -period of life was remarkable: anatomy, physiology, and divinity -formed part only of his extensive course of reading; and by his subsequent -writings it is made manifest that his knowledge of these -subjects was by no means superficial.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The exact period at which Hale was called to the bar is not given -by any of his biographers; and in consequence of the non-arrangement -of the earlier records at Lincoln’s Inn, it cannot be readily -ascertained. It is probable however that he commenced the actual -practice of his profession about the year 1636. It is plain that he -very soon attained considerable reputation in it, from his having -been employed in most of the celebrated trials arising out of the -troubles consequent on the meeting of Parliament in 1640. His -prudence and political moderation, together with his great legal and -constitutional knowledge, pointed him out as a valuable advocate for -such of the court party as were brought to public trial. Bishop -Burnet says that he was assigned as counsel for Lord Strafford, in -1640. This does not appear from the reports of that trial, nor is it -on record that he was expressly assigned as Strafford’s counsel by the -House of Lords: but he may have been privately retained by that -nobleman to assist in preparing his defence. In 1643 however he -was expressly appointed by both Houses of Parliament as counsel for -Archbishop Laud: and the argument of Mr. Herne, the senior -counsel, an elaborate and lucid piece of legal reasoning, is said, but -on no certain authority, to have been drawn up by Hale. In 1647 he -was appointed one of the counsel for the Eleven members: and he is -said to have been afterwards retained for the defence of Charles I. -in the High Court of Justice: but as the King refused to own the -jurisdiction of the tribunal, his counsel took no public part in the -proceedings. He was also retained after the King’s death by the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>Duke of Hamilton, when brought to trial for treason, in taking up -arms against the Parliament. Burnet mentions other instances, but -these are enough to prove his high reputation for fidelity and courage, -as well as learning.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the year 1643 Hale took the covenant as prescribed by the -Parliament, and appeared more than once with other laymen in the -assembly of divines. In 1651 he took the “Engagement to be -faithful and true to the Commonwealth without a King and House -of Lords,” which, as Mr. Justice Foster observes, “in the sense of -those who imposed it, was plainly an engagement for abolishing -kingly government, or at least for supporting the abolition of it.” -In consequence of his compliance in this respect he was allowed to -practise at the bar, and was shortly afterwards appointed a member -of the commission for considering of the reformation of the law. The -precise part taken by Hale in the deliberations of that body cannot -now be ascertained; and indeed there are no records of the mode in -which they conducted their inquiries, and, with a few exceptions, no -details of the specific measures of reform introduced by them. A -comparison, however, of the machinery of courts of justice during the -reign of Charles I., and their practice and general conduct during -the Commonwealth, and immediately after the Restoration, will afford -convincing proofs that during the interregnum improvements of great -importance were effected; improvements which must have been -devised, matured, and carried into execution by minds of no common -wisdom, devoted to the subject with extraordinary industry and -reflection.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It was unquestionably with the view of restoring a respect for the -administration of justice, which had been wholly lost during the reign -of Charles I., and giving popularity and moral strength to his own -government, that Cromwell determined to place such men as Hale on -the benches of the different courts. Hale however had at first many -scruples concerning the propriety of acting under a commission from -an usurper; and it was not without much hesitation, that he at length -yielded to the importunity of Cromwell and the urgent advice and -entreaties of his friends; who, thinking it no small security to the -nation to have a man of his integrity and high character on the bench, -spared no pains to satisfy his conscientious scruples. He was made a -serjeant, and raised to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas in -January, 1653–4.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Soon after he became a judge he was returned to Cromwell’s first -Parliament of five months, as one of the knights of the shire for the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>county of Gloucester, but he does not appear to have taken a very -active part in the proceedings of that assembly. Burnet says that -“he, with a great many others, came to parliaments, more out of a -design to hinder mischief than to do much good.” On one occasion, -however, he did a service to his country, for which all subsequent -generations have reason to be grateful, by opposing the proposition of -a party of frantic enthusiasts to destroy the records in the Tower and -other depositories, as remnants of feudality and barbarism. Hale -displayed the folly, injustice, and mischief of this proposition with such -authority and clearness of argument, that he carried the opinions of -all reasonable members with him; and in the end those who had -introduced the measure were well satisfied to withdraw it. That his -political opinions at this time were not republican, is evident from -a motion introduced by him, that the legislative authority should -be affirmed to be in the Parliament, and an individual with powers -limited by the Parliament; but that the military power should for -the present remain with the Protector. He had no seat in the second -Parliament of the Protectorate, called in 1656; but when a new -Parliament was summoned upon the death of Cromwell in January, -1658–9, he represented the University of Oxford.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His judicial conduct during the Commonwealth is represented by -contemporaries of all parties as scrupulously just, and nobly independent. -Several instances are related of his resolute refusal to submit -the free administration of the law to the arbitrary dictation of the -Protector. On one occasion of this kind, which occurred on the -circuit, a jury had been packed by express directions from Cromwell. -Hale discharged the jury on discovering this circumstance, and refused -to try the cause. When he returned to London, the Protector severely -reprimanded him, telling him that “he was not fit to be a judge;” -to which Hale only replied that “it was very true.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>It appears that at this period, he, in common with several other -judges, had strong objections to being employed by Cromwell as -commissioners on the trial of persons taken in open resistance to his -authority. After the suppression of the feeble and ineffectual rebellion -in 1655, in which the unfortunate Colonel Penruddock, with many -other gentlemen of rank and distinction, appeared in arms for the King -in the western counties, a special commission issued for the trial of the -offenders at Exeter, in which Hale’s name was inserted. He happened -to be spending the Lent vacation at his house at Alderley, to which -place an express was sent to require his attendance; but he plainly -refused to go, excusing himself on the ground that four terms and two -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>circuits in the year were a sufficient devotion of his time to his judicial -duties, and that the intervals were already too small for the arrangement -of his private affairs; “but,” says Burnet, “if he had been -urged to it, he would not have been afraid of speaking more clearly.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>He continued to occupy his place as a judge of the Common Pleas -until the death of the Protector; but when a new commission from -Richard Cromwell was offered to him, he declined to receive it: -and though strongly urged by other judges, as well as his personal -friends, to accept the office on patriotic grounds, he firmly adhered to -his first resolution, saying that “he could act no longer under such -authority.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the year 1660 Hale was again returned by his native county -of Gloucester to serve in the Parliament, or Convention, by which -Charles II. was recalled. On the discussion of the means by which -this event should be brought about, Hale proposed that a committee -should be appointed to look into the propositions and concessions offered -by Charles I. during the war, particularly at the treaty of Newport, -from whence they might form reasonable conditions to be sent over to -the King. The motion was successfully opposed by Monk, who urged -the danger which might arise, in the present state of the army and the -nation, if any delay should occur in the immediate settlement of the -government. “This,” says Burnet, “was echoed with such a shout -over the House, that the motion was no longer insisted on.” It can -hardly be doubted that most of the destructive errors of the reign of -Charles II. would have been spared, if express restrictions had been -imposed upon him before he was permitted to assume the reins -of government. On the other hand it has been justly said, that -the time was critical; that at that precise moment the army and the -nation, equally weary of the scenes of confusion and misrule which -had succeeded to Richard Cromwell’s abdication, agreed upon the -proposed scheme; but that if delay had been interposed, and if debates -had arisen in Parliament, the dormant spirit of party would in all -probability have been awakened, the opportunity would have been -lost, and the restoration might after all have been prevented. These -arguments, when urged by Monk to those who were suffering under -a pressing evil, and had only a prospective and contingent danger -before them, were plausible and convincing; but to those in -after times who have marked the actual consequences of recalling -the King without expressly limiting and defining his authority, as -displayed in the miserable and disgraceful events of his “wicked, -turbulent, and sanguinary reign,” and in the necessary occurrence of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>another revolution within thirty years from the Restoration, it will -probably appear that our ancestors paid rather too dearly on that -occasion for the advantages of an immediate settlement of the nation.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Immediately after the restoration of the King in May, 1668, Lord -Clarendon, being appointed Lord Chancellor, sought to give strength -and stability to the new government, by carefully providing for the due -administration of justice. With this view, he placed men distinguished -for their learning and high judicial character upon the benches of the -different courts. Amongst other eminent lawyers, who had forsaken -their profession during the latter period of the Commonwealth, he -determined to recall Hale from his retirement, and offered him the -appointment of Lord Chief Baron. But it was not without great -difficulty that Hale was induced to return to the labours of public life. -A curious original paper containing his “reasons why he desired to be -spared from any place of public employment,” was published some -years ago by Mr. Hargrave, in the preface to his collection of law -tracts. Amongst these reasons, which were stated with the characteristic -simplicity of this great man, he urged “the smallness of his -estate, being not above £500 per annum, six children unprovided -for, and a debt of £1000 lying upon him; that he was not so -well able to endure travel and pains as formerly; that his constitution -of body required some ease and relaxation; and that he had of late -time declined the study of the law, and principally applied himself to -other studies, now more easy, grateful, and seasonable for him.” He -alludes also to two “infirmities, which make him unfit for that -employment, first, an aversion to the pomp and grandeur necessarily -incident to it; and secondly, too much pity, clemency, and tenderness in -cases of life, which might prove an unserviceable temper.” “But if,” -he concludes, “after all this, there must be a necessity of undertaking -an employment, I desire that it may be in such a court and way as may -be most suitable to my course of studies and education, and that it -may be the lowest place that may be, to avoid envy. One of his -Majesty’s counsel in ordinary, or at most, the place of a puisne judge -in the Common Pleas, would suit me best.” His scruples were -however eventually overcome, and on the 7th of November, 1660, he -accepted the appointment of Lord Chief Baron: Lord Clarendon -saying as he delivered his commission to him that “if the King could -have found an honester and fitter man for that employment he would -not have advanced him to it; and that he had therefore preferred -him, because he knew no other who deserved it so well.” Shortly -afterwards he reluctantly received the honour of knighthood.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>The trials of the regicides took place in the October immediately -preceding his appointment, and his name appears among the commissioners -on that occasion. There is however no reason to suppose -that he was actually present; his name is not mentioned in -any of the reports, either as interfering in the proceedings themselves, -or assisting at the previous consultations of the judges; and -it can hardly be doubted but that, if he had taken a part in the -trials, he would have been included with Sir Orlando Bridgeman and -several others in the bitter remarks made by Ludlow on their conduct -in this respect. It has been the invariable practice from very early -times to the present day, to include the twelve judges in all commissions -of Oyer and Terminer, for London and Middlesex; and as, at -the time of the trials in question, only eight judges had been appointed, -it is probable that Hale and the other three judges elect were named in -the commission, though their patents were not made out till the following -term, in order to preserve as nearly as possible the ancient form.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Sir Matthew Hale held the office of Lord Chief Baron till the year -1671; and during that period greatly raised the character of the -court in which he presided, by his unwearied patience and industry, -the mildness of his manners, and the inflexible integrity of his judicial -conduct. His impartiality in deciding cases in the Exchequer where -the interests of the Crown were concerned, is admitted even by Roger -North, who elsewhere charges him with holding “demagogical -principles,” and with the “foible of leaning towards the popular.” -“I have heard Lord Guilford say,” says this agreeable but partial -writer, “that while Hale was Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by means -of his great learning, even against his inclination, he did the Crown -more justice in that court, than any others in his place had done with -all their good-will and less knowledge.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Whilst he was Chief Baron he was called upon to preside at the -trial of two unhappy women who were indicted at the Assizes at Bury -St. Edmunds, in the year 1665, for the crime of witchcraft. The -Chief Baron is reported to have told the jury that, “he made no -doubt at all that there were such creatures as witches,” and the women -were found guilty and afterwards executed. The conduct of Hale on -this occasion has been the subject of much sarcastic animadversion. It -might be said in reply, that the report of the case in the State Trials -is of no authority whatever; but supposing it to be accurate, it would -be unjust and unreasonable to impute to Sir Matthew Hale as personal -superstition or prejudice, a mere participation in the prevailing and -almost universal belief of the times in which he lived. The majority -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>of his contemporaries, even among persons of education and refinement, -were firm believers in witchcraft; and though Lord Guilford -rejected this belief, Roger North admits that he dared not to avow his -infidelity in this respect in public, as it would have exposed him to the -imputation of irreligion. Numerous instances might be given to show -the general prevalence at that time of this stupid and ignorant -superstition; and therefore the opinion of Hale on this subject does -not appear to be a proof of peculiar weakness or credulity.</p> - -<p class='c000'>On the occurrence of the great fire of London in 1666, an act of -parliament passed containing directions and arrangements for rebuilding -the city. By a clause in this statute, the judges were authorized to sit -singly to decide on the amount of compensation due to persons, whose -premises were taken by the corporation in furtherance of the intended -improvements. Sir Matthew Hale applied himself with his usual -diligence and patience to the discharge of this laborious and extrajudicial -duty. “He was,” says Baxter, “the great instrument for -rebuilding London; for it was he that was the constant judge, who for -nothing followed the work, and by his prudence and justice removed a -multitude of great impediments.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the year 1671, upon the death of Sir John Kelyng, Chief Justice -of the Court of King’s Bench, Sir Matthew Hale was removed from -the Exchequer to succeed him. The particular circumstances which -caused his elevation to this laborious and responsible situation at a -time when his growing infirmities induced him to seek a total retirement -from public life, are not recorded by any of his biographers. For -four years after he became Chief Justice he regularly attended to the -duties of his court, and his name appears in all the reported cases -in the Court of King’s Bench, until the close of the year 1675. -About that time he was attacked by an inflammation of the diaphragm, -a painful and languishing disease, from which he constantly predicted -that he should not recover. It produced so entire a prostration of -strength, that he was unable to walk up Westminster Hall to his -court without being supported by his servants. “He resolved,” says -Baxter, “that the place should not be a burden to him, nor he to -it,” and therefore made an earnest application to the Lord Keeper -Finch for his dismission. This being delayed for some time, and -finding himself totally unequal to the toil of business, he at length, in -February 1676, tendered the surrender of his patent personally to the -King, who received it graciously and kindly, and promised to continue -his pension during his life.</p> - -<p class='c000'>On his retirement from office, he occupied at first a house at Acton -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>which he had taken from Richard Baxter, who says “it was one -of the meanest houses he had ever lived in; in that house,” he adds, -“he liveth contentedly, without any pomp, and without costly or -troublesome retinue of visitors, but not without charity to the poor; he -continueth the study of mathematics and physics still as his great -delight. It is not the least of my pleasure that I have lived some years -in his more than ordinary love and friendship, and that we are now -waiting which shall be first in heaven; whither he saith he is going -with full content and acquiescence in the will of a gracious God, and -doubts not but we shall shortly live together.” Not long before his -death he removed from Acton to his own house at Alderley, intending -to die there; and having a few days before gone to the parish church-yard -and chosen his grave, he sunk under a united attack of asthma -and dropsy, on Christmas-day, 1676.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The judicial character of Sir Matthew Hale was without reproach. -His profound knowledge of the law rendered him an object of -universal respect to the profession; whilst his patience, conciliatory -manners, and rigid impartiality engaged the good opinion of all -classes of men. As a proof of this, it is said that as he successively -removed from the Court of Common Pleas to the Exchequer, and -from thence to the King’s Bench, the mass of business always -followed him; so that the court in which he presided was constantly -the favourite one with counsel, attorneys, and parties. Perhaps indeed -no judge has ever been so generally and unobjectionably popular. -His address was copious and impressive, but at times slow and embarrassed: -Baxter says “he was a man of no quick utterance, and often -hesitant; but spake with great reason.” This account of his mode of -speaking is confirmed by Roger North, who adds, however, that “his -stop for a word by the produce always paid for the delay; and on -some occasions he would utter sentences heroic.” His reputation -as a legal and constitutional writer is in no degree inferior to his -character as a judge. From the time it was published to the -present day, his history of the Pleas of the Crown has always -been considered as a book of the highest authority, and is referred -to in courts of justice with as great confidence and respect as the -formal records of judicial opinions. His Treatises on the Jurisdiction -of the Lords’ House of Parliament, and on Maritime Law, which -were first published by Mr. Hargrave more than a century after Sir -Matthew Hale’s death, are works of first-rate excellence as legal arguments, -and are invaluable as repositories of the learning of centuries, -which the industry and research of the author had collected.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After his retirement from public life, he wrote his great work called -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>‘The primitive Origination of Mankind, considered and examined -according to the light of nature.’ Various opinions have been -formed upon the merits of this treatise. Roger North depreciates the -substance of the book, but commends its style; while Bishop Burnet -and Dr. Birch greatly praise its learning and force of reasoning.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Sir Matthew Hale was twice married. By his first wife, who was -a daughter of Sir Henry Moore of Faley in Berkshire, he had ten -children, most of whom turned out ill. His second wife, according to -Roger North, was “his own servant maid;” and Baxter says, “some -made it a scandal, but his wisdom chose it for his convenience, that -in his age he married a woman of no estate, to be to him as a nurse.” -Hale gives her a high character in his will, as “a most dutiful, -faithful, and loving wife,” making her one of his executors, and intrusting -her with the education of his grand-children. He bequeathed -his collection of manuscripts, which he says had cost him much -industry and expense, to the Society of Lincoln’s Inn, in whose -library they are carefully preserved.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The published biographies of Hale are extremely imperfect, none -of them containing a particular account of his personal history and -character. Bishop Burnet’s Life is the most generally known, and, -though far too panegyrical and partial, is perhaps the most complete; -it has been closely followed by most of his subsequent biographers. -In Baxter’s Appendix to the Life of Hale, and in his account of his -own Life, the reader will find some interesting details respecting his -domestic and personal habits; and Roger North’s Life of Lord Guilford -contains many amusing, though ill-natured and sarcastic anecdotes of -this admirable judge.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_076.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>View of Alderley Church.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_077fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Thomson.</em><br /><br />FRANKLIN.<br /><br /><em>From an original Picture by J. A. Duplesis in the possession of M. Barnet<br />Consul General for the United States of America at Paris.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span> -<img src='images/i_077.jpg' alt='FRANKLIN.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>FRANKLIN.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Benjamin Franklin was born at Boston in New England, January 6, -1706. His father was a non-conformist, who had emigrated in 1682, -and followed the trade of a tallow-chandler. Benjamin was one of -the youngest of fourteen children, and, being intended for the ministry, -was sent for a year to the Boston Grammar School; after which, -poverty compelled his father to remove him, at ten years old, to assist -in his business. The boy disliked this occupation so much, that he -was bound apprentice to an elder brother, who was just established at -Boston as a printer. Though but twelve years of age, he soon -learnt all his brother could teach him; but the harsh treatment he met -with, which he says first inspired him with a hatred for tyranny, made -him resolve to emancipate himself on the first opportunity. All his -leisure time was spent in reading; and having exhausted his small -stock of books, he resorted to a singular expedient to supply himself -with more. Having been attracted by a treatise on the advantages of -a vegetable diet, he determined to adopt it, and offered to provide for -himself, on condition of receiving half the weekly sum expended on -his board. His brother willingly consented; and by living entirely -on vegetables he contrived to save half his pittance to gratify his -voracious appetite for reading. He continued the practice for several -years, and attributes to it his habitual temperance and indifference -to the delicacies of the table.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Some time before this the elder Franklin had set up a newspaper, -the second ever published in America, which eventually gave Benjamin -a pretext for breaking through the trammels of his apprenticeship. In -consequence of some remarks which gave offence to the provincial -authorities, the former was imprisoned under a warrant from the -Speaker of the Assembly; and his discharge was accompanied with an -order, that “James Franklin should no longer print the New England -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>Courant.” In this dilemma the brothers agreed that it should be -printed for the future in Benjamin’s name; and to avoid the censure -that might fall on the elder as printing it by his apprentice, the old -indenture was cancelled, and a new one signed which was to be kept -secret; but fresh disputes arising, Benjamin took advantage of the -transaction to assert his freedom, presuming that his brother would -not dare to produce the secret articles. Expostulation was vain; but -the brother took care to spread such reports as prevented him from -getting employment at Boston. He determined therefore to go elsewhere; -and, having sold his books to raise a little money, he set off -without the knowledge of his friends, and wandered by way of New -York to Philadelphia, where he found himself at seventeen with a -single dollar in his pocket, friendless and unknown. He succeeded, -however, at last in procuring employment with a printer of the name -of Keimer, with whom he remained seven months. By some accident -he was thrown in the way of the Governor, Sir William Keith, -who promised to be of service to him in his business, if he could -persuade his father to establish him in Philadelphia. His father, -however, refused to advance any money, thinking him too young to be -established in a concern of his own. He therefore once more engaged -himself with Keimer, and remained with him a year and a half.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The favour of the Governor, who promised him introductions and a -letter of credit, led Franklin to undertake a voyage to England, with -a view of improving himself in his trade, and procuring a set of types. -But he was severely disappointed, when, at the end of the voyage, -upon applying to the Captain who carried the Governor’s despatches, -he learnt that there were no letters for him, and that Governor<a id='t78'></a> Keith -was one of that large class of persons who are more ready to excite -expectations than to fulfil them. He soon however got employment, -and, with frugality, contrived to maintain both himself and his friend -Ralph, who had accompanied him to England on a literary speculation, -which, after many failures in verse and prose, procured him at -last a nook in the Dunciad, and a pension from the Prince of Wales, -whose cause he had espoused in print against George II.</p> - -<p class='c000'>During his voyage he attracted the notice of a merchant named -Denham, who, again meeting him in London, became fond of him, and -engaged his services as a clerk. After remaining a year and a half in -London, he returned with Mr. Denham to Philadelphia. During this -voyage he drew up a scheme for self-examination, and several prudent -rules for the guidance of his future conduct, to which he steadily -adhered through life. Indeed the remarkable success of most of his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>undertakings may be traced in a great measure to this faculty of -profiting early by the lessons of experience, and abiding rigorously by -a resolution once made.</p> - -<p class='c000'>He had scarcely returned half a year when his patron died, leaving -him again on the world at the age of twenty-one. But he had now -acquired so much skill in his business, that he was gladly received at -advanced wages into Keimer’s printing-house.</p> - -<p class='c000'>About this time he set on foot a club, called “The Junto,” consisting -of twelve persons of his own age, most of whom proved eminent -men in after-life. This association had much influence on his -fortunes, particularly when, having quarrelled with Keimer, he was -induced to establish himself in partnership with a fellow-journeyman -named Meredith, and needed both interest and money. By 1729 he -had saved enough to buy out his partner, and make himself sole proprietor -of the printing-house. In the following year he married a -young woman named Reade, to whom he had been attached before he -went to England.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1732 he began to publish ‘Poor Richard’s Almanack.’ It was -interspersed with many prudential maxims, which were printed with -additions, in a collected form, in 1757, and have been translated into -many languages. The annual sale of this Almanack reached 10,000 -copies, and, as it was continued for twenty-five years, was very profitable -to the author.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1736 he was appointed Clerk to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, -and obtained their printing. The next year he was made Deputy -Postmaster, and introduced so many judicious reforms into his -department, that it began to bring in a considerable revenue, though -up to that time it had before barely paid its own expenses. He also -carried into effect many improvements at Philadelphia, as his credit -with his fellow-townsmen increased; invariably taking care to introduce -them as “the idea of a few friends,” or “the plan of some -public spirited persons,” thus avoiding the odium which attaches to -the corrector of abuses, and eventually securing the credit of having -made useful suggestions. In these schemes he was well seconded by -the “Junto.” Some of them were—Institutions for watching, paving, -and lighting the city; the Union Fire Company, still, we believe, in -useful operation; a Philosophical Society; an Academy for Education, -now grown up into the University of Pennsylvania; and the City Hospital. -But many of these improvements were brought forward at a -later period; for until 1748, when he took a partner, his time was -almost exclusively occupied in his printing-office.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>Being now, comparatively, a man of leisure, he devoted more attention -to philosophical pursuits and to public business, for which his fellow-citizens -began to find his habits and talents exceedingly well suited. -He became, in succession, magistrate, alderman, and member of the -Assembly; and nothing of importance was transacted without his -assistance or advice.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The first public mission in which he was engaged, was to a tribe of -Indians in 1750, which was successful. In 1753 he was appointed -Postmaster-General, with a salary of £300 a year.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The next year he produced a plan for the union of the American -Provinces, for mutual defence against an apprehended invasion by the -French from the Canada frontier. This seems to have been the first -time that such an idea was broached; and, as he was fond of saying, -like all good motions it was kept alive, though not carried into effect -at the time.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Pennsylvania was then ruled by an Assembly elected annually, -and a Governor appointed by the descendants of William Penn, -who resided in England, and were the feudal lords of the soil. This -anomalous kind of government naturally led to misunderstandings, -which were among the causes that mainly contributed to alienate the -affections of the provinces from the mother country. The Proprietaries, -as they were called, laid claim to immunity from taxation, upon -grounds which the Assembly refused to admit; and the Governor and -his officers taking part with the Proprietaries, to whom they were indebted -for their appointments, a controversy grew up, which was never -entirely disposed of while the connexion with Great Britain subsisted. -In this dispute Franklin took an active share, and sided with the opposition, -rejecting frequent overtures from the government; with which, -however, he continued to keep on good terms, never losing sight of -the duty of a citizen, in supporting the authority of the laws, and -defending the state against its foreign and domestic enemies by his -writings and example. In following this course on various occasions, -especially that of the French invasion from Canada, he not only -warmly exerted himself in person, but advanced a good deal of money, -which, to the disgrace of the British Government, was never wholly -repaid.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1757 he was appointed to manage the controversy with the Proprietaries -in England. Thither he accordingly repaired after some -vexatious delays, and proceeded in the object of his mission with his -accustomed energy; and though he met with many obstacles, his -efforts were at length successful, and the Penns gave up their claim to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>be exempt from contributing to the burdens of the state. But they -still held the power of appointing the Governor, which the Province -wished to be transferred to the Crown, and the dispute was afterwards -renewed. The conduct of Franklin in this affair gained him so much -credit in America, that he received the additional appointments of -Agent for Maryland, Massachusetts, and Georgia, each of which -provinces had grievances of its own requiring redress.</p> - -<p class='c000'>During this absence in England, Franklin was presented by the -Universities of St. Andrew’s and Oxford with the degree of D.C.L., -and took his place as Fellow of the Royal Society, which honour, with -many similar distinctions, had been conferred upon him some years -before for his discoveries in electricity. The chief of these were, the -identity of electricity with lightning, and the mode of protecting -buildings by pointed metallic conductors. The simplification which -he effected in the theory of electricity, by showing how all the phenomena -are explicable by the hypothesis of a single electric fluid, -forms a remarkable example of philosophical generalization, and a -lasting monument of its author’s genius<a id='r3' /><a href='#f3' class='c010'><sup>[3]</sup></a>. He was also consulted on -American affairs by Lord Chatham, who, by his advice, as it is -believed, withdrew a part of the British force then acting with the -King of Prussia, and directed it with so much secrecy and success -against Canada, that the French had no intelligence of the danger -of the province till they heard of its irretrievable loss.</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c000'><span class='label'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. </span>See the Library of Useful Knowledge—Treatise on Electricity, § 48, &c.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>In the summer of 1762 he returned to Philadelphia, where he -received public thanks, and a grant of £5000 for his services. His -popularity was such, that he had been re-elected annually to the -Assembly, and he immediately resumed the active part which he had -formerly taken in its proceedings.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Among other projects for reform, that relating to the appointment of -Governor, which the Proprietaries seem to have exercised with very -little regard to the public interest, gave rise to much stormy discussion -during the next two years. Franklin’s share in it procured him many -enemies, who succeeded in preventing his election in 1764. Yet, a -strong petition to the Crown on the subject having been disregarded, he -was a second time appointed agent for enforcing the views of the Assembly -upon the authorities in England. When there, he by no means limited -his exertions to this narrow point: minor dissensions were now merging -in the final struggle for national independence, to which the passing -of the Grenville Stamp Act in 1763 gave the immediate impulse. -Franklin reprobated this tax as arbitrary and illegal, when it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>first reported to the Assembly; and his writings in the papers against -it with his examination in Parliament, are thought to have contributed -much to its repeal under the Rockingham administration, in 1766.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In this and the three next years he paid several visits to the Continent, -where he was received with much distinction. He began already -to record his observations upon the part the different powers would be -likely to take in case of a rupture between England and her colonies: -an event which a thorough knowledge of the temper of both led him, -even thus early, to contemplate as by no means improbable. The -closure of the port of Boston in 1773, and the quartering of troops in -the town, filled up the measure of discontent. Franklin was then -agent for three provinces besides Pennsylvania; and their remonstrances, -which he lost no opportunity of forcing on the attention of -the English public as well as the Government, found in him a most -efficient supporter. At length, finding all his efforts to bring about -a reconciliation entirely fruitless, and having met with much misconstruction -and personal indignity at the hands of successive administrations, -he resigned his agencies and set sail for Philadelphia, where -he arrived in the spring of 1775, after an absence of eleven years.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the preceding autumn a Congress of delegates from the Assemblies -of all the provinces, the idea of which seems to have originated -with Franklin, had met at Philadelphia; and their first act was to -sign a Declaration of Rights, which had been transmitted to Franklin -and the other agents for presentation. The day after his return he -was himself elected to serve in this Congress for Pennsylvania, and -was intrusted with the management of several important negotiations. -In the mean time collisions had taken place between the troops at -Boston and the inhabitants, which led to the actions of Lexington -and Bunker’s Hill. These events quickened the deliberations of the -Congress; and after one more fruitless petition for redress, the -Declaration of Independence was published, July 4, 1776, and warlike -preparations were actively commenced. The English Ministry now -sent out Lord Howe, with full powers to concede every thing but -absolute independence; but as the Commissioners appointed to confer -with him, of whom Franklin was one, were instructed to treat upon -no other terms, the negotiation abruptly terminated.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After his return from a short but unsuccessful mission to Canada, -Dr. Franklin had been appointed President of the Convention for settling -the constitution of Pennsylvania; but he had not long held the -office before his services were again put in requisition by the Congress, -as head of the Commission to the Court of France, with powers to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>negotiate loans, purchase stores, and grant letters of marque. He -consented, with all the alacrity of youth, to undertake this charge, -though in his 71st year; and, crossing the Atlantic for the fourth time, -arrived in France with his colleagues before the end of 1776, and -took up his residence at Passy, a village near Paris. The nation at -large received the Commission with open arms, and rendered them -much assistance, in which the Government secretly participated. But -it was not till the surrender of Burgoyne’s army, in October 1777, that -the reluctance of the Court to hazard a war with England was overcome. -The treaty of alliance, and recognition of the United States, -was signed in February 1778, and war immediately was declared -against England.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The principal object of the Commission being thus gained, Franklin -still continued in France with the character of plenipotentiary during -the seven remaining years of the war, till 1783, when England consented -to recognize the independence of her late colonies. The definitive -treaty for that purpose was signed by himself, and on the part -of England by David Hartley, September 3, 1783.</p> - -<p class='c000'>He had of late years been afflicted with those painful disorders the -gout and stone, and at last received permission to return, of which he -availed himself the following spring, having just completed his 79th -year. He was, as may be supposed, most enthusiastically received at -Philadelphia, after an absence of eight years and a half; but the -Congress, with an ingratitude which has often been justly laid to the -charge of republics, made him no acknowledgment or compensation for -his long and arduous services; and he felt the neglect rather keenly.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In a very short time we find him again busily engaged in public -employments; first as a member of the Supreme Executive Council, -and of the Commission for the settlement of the National Confederacy, -and soon afterwards as President of the state of Pennsylvania, -which he retained for the full legal period of three years. He was -also a leading member in several societies for public and charitable -purposes. One of the latter was a Society for the Abolition of Slavery, -and his last public act was a memorial to Congress on this subject. -He then wholly retired from public employments, after a life spent in -labours through which nothing could have supported him but a consciousness -of the high responsibilities of a mind gifted like his own, and -the magnitude of the cause for which his powerful advocacy was so -long engaged. He died about two years after his retirement, at the -age of eighty-four, in the full enjoyment of all his faculties. Few men -ever possessed such opportunities or talents for contributing to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>welfare of mankind; fewer still have used them to better purpose: -and it is pleasant to know, on his own authority, that such extensive -services were rendered without any sacrifice of his own happiness. In -his later correspondence he frequently alludes with complacency to a -favourite sentiment which he has also introduced into his Memoirs;—“That -he would willingly live over again the same course of life, even -though not allowed the privilege of an author, to correct in a second -edition the faults of the first.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>His remarkable success in life and in the discharge of his public -functions is not to be ascribed to genius, unless the term be extended -to that perfection of common sense and intimate knowledge of mankind -which almost entitled his sagacity to the name of prescience, -and made ‘Franklin’s forebodings’ proverbially ominous among -those who knew him. His preeminence appears to have resulted -from the habitual cultivation of a mind originally shrewd and -observant, and gifted with singular powers of energy and self-control. -There was a business-like alacrity about him, with a -discretion and integrity which conciliated the respect even of his -warmest political foes; a manly straight-forwardness before which -no pretension could stand unrebuked; and a cool tenacity of temper -and purpose which never forsook him under the most discouraging -circumstances, and was no doubt exceedingly provoking to his -opponents. Indeed his sturdiness, however useful to his country in -time of need, was perhaps carried rather to excess; his enemies -called it obstinacy, and accused him of being morose and sullen. -No better refutation of such a charge can be wished for than the -testimony borne to his disposition by Priestley (Monthly Magazine, -1782), a man whom Franklin was justly proud to call his friend. -In private life he was most estimable; two of his most favourite -maxims were, never to exalt himself by lowering others, and in -society to enjoy and contribute to all innocent amusements without -reserve. His friendships were consequently lasting, and chosen at -will from among the most amiable as well as the most distinguished -of both sexes, wherever his residence happened to be fixed.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His chief claims to philosophical distinction are his experiments -and discoveries in electricity; but he has left essays upon various -other matters of interest and practical utility; an end of which he -never lost sight. Among these are remarks on ship-building and -light-houses; on the temperature of the sea at different latitudes -and depths, and the phenomena of what is called the Gulf-stream -of the Atlantic; on the effect of oil poured upon rough water, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>other subjects connected with practical navigation; and on the proper -construction of lamps, chimneys, and stoves. His suggestions on -these subjects are very valuable. His other writings are numerous; -they relate chiefly to politics, or the inculcation of the rules of prudence -and morality. Many of them are light and even playful; they -are all instructive, and written in an excellent and simple style; but -they are not entirely free from the imputation of trifling upon serious -subjects. The most valuable of them is probably his autobiography, -which is unfortunately but a fragment.</p> - -<p class='c000'>As a speaker he was neither copious nor eloquent; there was even -a degree of hesitation and embarrassment in his delivery. Yet as he -seldom rose without having something important to say, and always -spoke to the purpose, he commanded the attention of his hearers, and -generally succeeded in his object.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His religious principles, when disengaged from the scepticism of -his youth, appears to have been sincere, and unusually free from -sectarian animosity.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Upon the whole, his long and useful life forms an instructive -example of the force which arises from the harmonious combination -of strong faculties and feelings when so controlled by sense and -principle that no one is suffered to predominate to the disparagement -of the rest.</p> - -<p class='c000'>An excellent Life, in which his autobiography is included, with -a collection of many of his miscellaneous writings, and much of his -correspondence, has been published in six octavo volumes, by his -grandson Temple Franklin, who accompanied him during his mission -to France, and possessed the amplest means of verifying his statements -by reference to the original papers.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_085.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span> -<img src='images/i_086.jpg' alt='SCHWARTZ.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>SCHWARTZ.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>It is refreshing to turn from the scenes of war and bloodshed, and -frequently of perfidy and oppression, by which our European empire -in India was established and consolidated, to watch the progress -of a benevolent and peaceful enterprise, the substitution of the -Christian faith for the impure, and bloody, and oppressive superstitions -of the Hindoos. We augur well of its success, though it is still far -from its accomplishment; for, since the first hand was put to it, it -has advanced with slow, yet certain and unfaltering steps. Many -able and good men have devoted themselves to the cause, and -none with more distinguished success than he who has been called -the Apostle of the East, <span class='sc'>Christian Schwartz</span>. The saying of an -eminent missionary, who preached to a far different people, the stern -and high-minded Indians of North America, is exemplified in his life,—“Prayer -and pains, through faith, will do any thing.” For years -Schwartz laboured in obscurity, with few scattered and broken rays -of encouragement to cheer his way. But his patience, his integrity, -his unwearied benevolence, his sincerity and unblemished purity of -life, won a hearing for his words of doctrine; and he was rewarded -at last by a more extended empire in the hearts of the Hindoos, both -heathen and convert, than perhaps any other European has obtained.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_086fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by E. Scriven.</em><br /><br />SCHWARTZ.<br /><br /><em>From an original Picture in the possession of<br />the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge Lincolns Inn Fields.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>Christian Frederic Schwartz was born at Sonnenburg, in the New -Mark, Germany, October 26, 1726. His mother died while he was -very young, and, in dying, devoted the child, in the presence of her -husband and her spiritual guide, to the service of God, exacting from -both of them a promise that they would use every means for the -accomplishment of this, her last and earnest wish. Schwartz received -his education at the schools of Sonnenburg and Custrin. He -grew up a serious and well-disposed boy, much under the influence of -religious impressions; and a train of fortunate circumstances deepened -those impressions, at a time when the vivacity of youth, and the excitement -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>which he was dedicated. When about twenty years of age he entered -the University of Halle, where he obtained the friendship of one of the -professors, Herman Francke, a warm and generous supporter of the -missionary cause. While resident at Halle, Schwartz, together with -another student, was appointed to learn the Tamul or Malabar language, -in order to superintend the printing of a Bible in that tongue. His -labour was not thrown away, though the proposed edition never was -completed; for it led Francke to propose to him that he should go out -to India as a missionary. The suggestion suited his ardent and laborious -character, and was at once accepted. The appointed scene of his labours -was Tranquebar, on the Coromandel coast, the seat of a Danish mission: -and, after repairing to Copenhagen for ordination, he embarked from -London for India, January 21, 1750, and reached Tranquebar in July.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It is seldom that the life of one employed in advocating the faith of -Christ presents much of adventure, except from the fiery trials of -persecution; or much of interest, except to those who will enter into -the missionary’s chief joy or sorrow, the success or inefficiency of his -preaching. From persecution Schwartz’s whole life was free; his -difficulties did not proceed from bigoted or interested zeal, but from the -apathetic subtlety of his Hindoo hearers, ready to listen, slow to be -convinced, enjoying the mental sword-play of hearing, and answering, -and being confuted, and renewing the same or similar objections at -the next meeting, as if the preacher’s former labours had not been. -The latter part of his life was possessed of active interest; for he was -no stranger to the court or the camp; and his known probity and -truthfulness won for him the confidence of three most dissimilar -parties, a suspicious tyrant, an oppressed people, and the martial and -diplomatic directors of the British empire in India. But the early -years of his abode in India possess interest neither from the marked -success of his preaching, nor from his commerce with the busy scenes -of conquest and negotiation. For sixteen years he resided chiefly at -Tranquebar, a member of the mission to which he was first attached; -but at the end of that time, in 1766, he transferred his services to the -Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, with which he acted -until death, and to which the care of the Danish mission at Tranquebar -was soon after transferred. He had already, in 1765, established a -church and school at Tritchinopoly, and in that town he now took up -his abode, holding the office of chaplain to the garrison, for which he -received a salary of £100 yearly. This entire sum he devoted to the -service of the mission.</p> - -<p class='c000'>For several years Schwartz resided principally at Tritchinopoly, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>visiting other places, from time to time, especially Tanjore, where his -labours ultimately had no small effect. He was heard with attention, -he was everywhere received with respect, for the Hindoos could not -but admire the beauty of his life, though it failed to win souls to his -preaching. “The fruit,” he said, “will perhaps appear when I am -at rest.” He had, however, the pleasure of seeing some portion of it -ripen, for in more than one place a small congregation grew gradually -up under his care. His toil was lightened and cheered in 1777, -when another missionary was sent to his assistance from Tranquebar. -Already he had derived help from some of his more advanced converts, -who acted as catechists, for the instruction of others. He was -sedulous in preparing these men for their important duty. “The -catechists,” he says, “require to be daily admonished and stirred up, -otherwise they fall into indolence and impurity.” Accordingly he -daily assembled all those whose nearness permitted this frequency of -intercourse; he taught them to explain the doctrines of their religion; -he directed their labours for the day, and he received a report of those -labours in the evening.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His visits to Tanjore became more frequent, and he obtained the -confidence of the Rajah, or native prince, Tulia Maha, who ruled that -city under the protection of the British. In 1779 Schwartz procured -permission from him to erect a church in his capital, and, with -the sanction of the Madras Government, set immediately to work on -this task. His funds failing, he applied at Madras for further aid; -but, in reply, he was summoned to the seat of government with all -speed, and requested to act as an ambassador, to treat with Hyder -Ally for the continuance of peace. It has been said, that Schwartz -engaged more deeply than became his calling in the secular affairs of -India. The best apology for his interference, if apology be needful, -is contained in his own account:—“The novelty of the proposal surprised -me at first: I begged some time to consider of it. At last I -accepted of the offer, because by so doing I hoped to prevent evil, and -to promote the welfare of the country.” The reason for sending him -is at least too honourable to him to be omitted: it was the requisition -of Hyder himself. “Do not send to me,” he said, “any of your -agents; for I do not trust their words or treaties: but if you wish me -to listen to your proposals, send to me the missionary of whose character -I hear so much from every one; him I will receive and trust.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>In his character of an envoy Schwartz succeeded admirably. He -conciliated the crafty, suspicious, and unfeeling despot, without compromising -the dignity of those whom he represented, or forgetting the -meekness of his calling. He would gladly have rendered his visit to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>Seringapatam available to higher than temporal interests: but here -he met with little encouragement. Indifferent to all religion, Hyder -suffered the preacher to speak to him of mercy and of judgment; but -in these things his heart had no part. Some few converts Schwartz -made during his abode of three months; but on the whole he met -with little success. He parted with Hyder upon good terms, and -returned with joy to Tanjore. The peace, however, was of no long -continuance; and Schwartz complained that the British Government -were guilty of the infraction. Hyder invaded the Carnatic, wasting it -with fire and sword; and the frightened inhabitants flocked for relief -and protection to the towns. Tanjore and Tritchinopoly were filled -with famishing multitudes. During the years 1781, 2, and 3, this -misery continued. At Tanjore, especially, the scene was dreadful. -Numbers perished in the streets of want and disease; corpses lay -unburied, because the survivors had not energy or strength to inter -them; the bonds of affection were so broken that parents offered their -children for sale; and the garrison, though less afflicted than the -native population, were enfeebled and depressed by want, and threatened -by a powerful army without the walls. There were provisions -in the country; but the cultivators, frightened and alienated by the -customary exactions and ill-usage, refused to bring it to the fort. They -would trust neither the British authorities nor the Rajah: all confidence -was destroyed. “At last the Rajah said to one of our principal -gentlemen, ‘We all, you and I, have lost our credit: let us try whether -the inhabitants will trust Mr. Schwartz.’ Accordingly, he sent -me a blank paper, empowering me to make a proper agreement with -the people. Here was no time for hesitation. The Sepoys fell down -as dead people, being emaciated with hunger; our streets were lined -with dead corpses every morning—our condition was deplorable. I -sent therefore letters every where round about, promising to pay any -one with my own hands, and to pay them for any bullock which might -be taken by the enemy. In one or two days I got above a thousand -bullocks; and sent one of our catechists, and other Christians, into -the country. They went at the risk of their lives, made all possible -haste, and brought into the fort, in a very short time, 80,000 kalams -of grain. By this means the fort was saved. When all was over, I -paid the people, even with some money which belonged to others, -made them a small present, and sent them home.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The letter from which this passage is extracted was written to the -Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, in consequence of an -attack made by a member of Parliament upon the character of -the Hindoo converts, and depreciation of the labours of the missionaries. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>To boast was not in Schwartz’s nature; but he was -not deterred by a false modesty from vindicating his own reputation, -when it was expedient for his master’s service: and there has seldom -been a more striking tribute paid to virtue, unassisted by power, than -in the conduct of the Hindoos, as told in this simple statement. His -labours did not cease with this crisis, nor with his personal exertions. -He bought a quantity of rice at his own expense, and prevailed on -some European merchants to furnish him with a monthly supply; by -means of which he preserved many persons from perishing. In 1784 -he was again employed by the Company on a mission to Tippoo Saib; -but the son of Hyder refused to receive him. About this period his -health, hitherto robust, began to fail; and in a letter, dated July, -1784, he speaks of the approach of death, of his comfort in the prospect, -and firm belief in the doctrines which he preached. In the -same year the increase of his congregation rendered it necessary to -build a Malabar church in the suburbs of Tanjore, which was done -chiefly at his own expense. In February, 1785, he engaged in a -scheme for raising English schools throughout the country, to facilitate -the intercourse of the natives with Europeans. Schools were -accordingly established at Tanjore and three other places. The -pupils were chiefly children of the upper classes—of Bramins and -merchants; and the good faith with which Schwartz conducted these -establishments deserves to be praised as well as his religious zeal. -“Their intention, doubtless, is to learn the English language, with a -view to their temporal welfare; but they thereby become better -acquainted with good principles. No deceitful methods are used to -bring them over to the doctrines of Christ, though the most earnest -wishes are felt that they may attain that knowledge which is life -eternal.” In a temporal view, these establishments proved very serviceable -to many of the pupils: but, contrary to Schwartz’s hopes and -wishes, not one of the young men became a missionary.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In January, 1787, Schwartz’s friend, the Rajah of Tanjore, lay at -the point of death. Being childless, he had adopted a boy, yet in his -minority, as his successor: a practice recognised by the Hindoo law. -His brother, Ameer Sing, however, was supported by a strong British -party, and it was not likely that he would submit quietly to his exclusion -from the throne. In this strait Tulia Maha sent for Schwartz, -as the only person to whom he could intrust his adopted son. -“This,” he said, “is not my, but your son; into your hands I deliver -the child.” Schwartz accepted the charge with reluctance; he represented -his inability to protect the orphan, and suggested that Ameer -Sing should be named regent and guardian. The advice probably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>was the best that could be given: but the regent proved false, or at -least doubtful in his trust; and the charge proved a source of trouble -and anxiety. But by Schwartz’s care, and influence with the Company, -the young prince was reared to manhood, and established in -possession of his inheritance. Nor were Schwartz’s pains unsuccessful -in cultivation of his young pupil’s mind, who is characterized -by Heber as an “extraordinary man.” He repaid these fatherly cares -with a filial affection, and long after the death of Schwartz testified, -both by word and deed, his regard for his memory.</p> - -<p class='c000'>We find little to relate during the latter part of Schwartz’s life, -though much might be written, but that the nature of this work -forbids us to dilate upon religious subjects. His efforts were unceasing -to promote the good, temporal as well as spiritual, of the Indian -population. On one occasion he was requested to inspect the watercourses -by which the arid lands of the Carnatic are irrigated; -and his labours were rewarded by a great increase in the annual -produce. Once the inhabitants of the Tanjore country had been so -grievously oppressed, that they abandoned their farms, and fled the -country. The cultivation which should have begun in June was not -commenced even at the beginning of September, and all began to -apprehend a famine. Schwartz says in the letter, which we have -already quoted, “I entreated the Rajah to remove that shameful -oppression, and to recall the inhabitants. He sent them word that -justice should be done to them, but they disbelieved his promises. -He then desired me to write to them, and to assure them that he, at -my intercession, would show kindness to them. I did so. All immediately -returned; and first of all the Collaries believed my word, so -that 7,000 men came back in one day. The rest of the inhabitants -followed their example. When I exhorted them to exert themselves -to the utmost, because the time for cultivation was almost lost, they -replied in the following manner:—‘As you have showed kindness to -us, you shall not have reason to repent of it: we intend to work night -and day to show our regard for you.’”</p> - -<p class='c000'>His preaching was rewarded by a slow, but a progressive effect; -and the number of missionaries being increased by the Society in -England, the growth of the good seed, which he had sown during a -residence of forty years, became more rapid and perceptible. In the -country villages numerous congregations were formed, and preachers -were established at Cuddalore, Vepery, Negapatam, and Palamcotta, -as well as at the earlier stations of Tranquebar, Tritchinopoly, and -Tanjore, whose chief recreation was the occasional intercourse with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>each other which their duty afforded them, and who lived in true -harmony and union of mind and purpose. The last illness of Schwartz -was cheered by the presence of almost all the missionaries in the south -of India, who regarded him as a father, and called him by that -endearing name. His labours did not diminish as his years increased. -From the beginning of January to the middle of October, 1797, we are -told by his pupil and assistant, Caspar Kolhoff, he preached every -Sunday in the English and Tamul languages by turns; for several -successive Wednesdays he gave lectures in their own languages to the -Portuguese and German soldiers incorporated in the 51st regiment; -during the week he explained the New Testament in his usual order -at morning and evening prayer; and he dedicated an hour every day to -the instruction of the Malabar school children. In October, he who -hitherto had scarce known disease, received the warning of his mortality. -He rallied for a while, and his friends hoped that he might yet be -spared to them. But a relapse took place, and he expired February 13, -1798, having displayed throughout a long and painful illness a beautiful -example of resignation and happiness, and an interest undimmed -by pain in the welfare of all for and with whom he had laboured. -His funeral, on the day after his death, presented a most affecting -scene. It was delayed by the arrival of the Rajah, who wished to -behold once more his kind, and faithful, and watchful friend and -guardian. The coffin lid was removed; the prince gazed for the last -time on the pale and composed features, and burst into tears. The -funeral service was interrupted by the cries of a multitude who loved -the reliever of their distresses, and honoured the pure life of the -preacher, who for near fifty years had dwelt among them, careless alike -of pleasure, interest, and ambition, pursuing a difficult and thankless -task with unchanging ardour, the friend of princes, yet unsullied even -by the suspicion of a bribe, devoting his whole income, beyond a scanty -maintenance, to the service of the cause which his life was spent in -advocating.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The Rajah continued to cherish Schwartz’s memory. He commissioned -Flaxman for a monument erected to him at Tanjore; he -placed his picture among those of his own ancestors; he erected more -than one costly establishment for charitable purposes in honour of his -name; and, though not professing Christianity, he secured to the -Christians in his service not only liberty, but full convenience for the -performance of their religious duties. Nor were the Directors backward -in testifying their gratitude for his services. They sent out a -monument by Bacon to be erected in St. Mary’s Church at Madras, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>with orders to pay every becoming honour to his memory, and especially -to permit to the natives, by whom he was so revered, free access to -view this memorial of his virtues.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It is to be regretted that no full memoir of the life and labours of this -admirable man has been published. It is understood that his correspondence, -preserved by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, -would furnish ample materials for such a work. The facts of -this account are taken from the only two memoirs of Schwartz which -we know to be in print,—a short one for cheap circulation published -by the Religious Tract Society; and a more finished tribute to his -memory in Mr. Carne’s ‘Lives of Eminent Missionaries,’ recently -published. We conclude in the words of one whose praise carries -with it authority, Bishop Heber: “Of Schwartz, and his fifty years’ -labour among the heathen, the extraordinary influence and popularity -which he acquired, both with Mussulmans, Hindoos, and contending -European governments, I need give you no account, except that my -idea of him has been raised since I came into the south of India. I -used to suspect that, with many admirable qualities, there was too -great a mixture of intrigue in his character—that he was too much of -a political prophet, and that the veneration which the heathen paid, -and still pay him (and which indeed almost regards him as a superior -being, putting crowns, and burning lights before his statue), was purchased -by some unwarrantable compromise with their prejudices. I -find I was quite mistaken. He was really one of the most active and -fearless, as he was one of the most successful missionaries, who have -appeared since the Apostles. To say that he was disinterested in -regard of money, is nothing; he was perfectly careless of power, and -renown never seemed to affect him, even so far as to induce an outward -show of humility. His temper was perfectly simple, open, and cheerful; -and in his political negotiations (employments which he never -sought, but which fell in his way) he never pretended to impartiality, -but acted as the avowed, though certainly the successful and judicious -agent of the orphan prince committed to his care, and from attempting -whose conversion to Christianity he seems to have abstained from a -feeling of honour<a id='r4' /><a href='#f4' class='c010'><sup>[4]</sup></a>. His other converts were between six and seven -thousand, being those which his companions and predecessors in the -cause had brought over.”</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c000'><span class='label'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. </span>He probably acted on the same principle as in conducting the English schools above-mentioned, -using “no deceitful methods.” That he was earnest in recommending the <em>means</em> -of conversion, appears from a dying conversation with his pupil, Serfogee Rajah.</p> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span> -<img src='images/i_094.jpg' alt='BARROW.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>BARROW.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The name of <span class='sc'>Isaac Barrow</span> stands eminent among the divines -and philosophers of the seventeenth century. Of the many good and -great men whom it is the glory of Trinity College, Cambridge, to -number as her foster-sons, there is none more good, none perhaps, -after <span class='sc'>Bacon</span> and <span class='sc'>Newton</span>, more distinguished than he: and he has -an especial claim to the gratitude of all members of that splendid -foundation as the projector of its unequalled library, as well as a -liberal benefactor in other respects.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The father of Barrow, a respectable citizen of London, was linen-draper -to Charles I., and the son was naturally brought up in royalist -principles. The date of his birth is variously assigned by his biographers, -but the more probable account fixes it to October, 1630. It is -recorded that his childhood was turbulent and quarrelsome; that he -was careless of his clothes, disinclined to study, and especially addicted -to fighting and promoting quarrels among his school-fellows; and of -a temper altogether so unpromising, that his father often expressed a -wish, that if any of his children should die, it might be his son Isaac. -He was first sent to school at the Charter House, and removed thence -to Felstead in Essex. Here his disposition seemed to change: he -made great progress in learning, and was entered at Trinity College -in 1645, in his fifteenth year, it being then usual to send boys to -college about that age. He passed his term as an under graduate with -much credit. The time and place were not favourable to the promotion -of Royalists; for a royalist master had been ejected to make room -for one placed there by the Parliament, and the fellows were chiefly -of the same political persuasion. But Barrow’s good conduct and -attainments won the favour of his superiors, and in 1649, the year -after he took his degree, he was elected fellow. It deserves to be -known, for it is honourable to both parties, that he never disguised or -compromised his own principles.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_094fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by B. Holl.</em><br /><br />BARROW.<br /><br /><em>From the original Picture by Isaac Whood<br />at Trinity College, Cambridge.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>His earlier studies were especially turned towards natural philosophy; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>and, rejecting the antiquated doctrines then taught in the -schools, he selected Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes as his favourite -authors. He did not commence the study of mathematics until after -he had gained his fellowship, and was led to it in a very circuitous -way. He was induced to read the Greek astronomers, with a view to -solving the difficulties of ancient chronology; and to understand their -works a thorough knowledge of geometry was indispensable. He -therefore undertook the study of that science; which suited the bent of -his genius so well, that he became one of the greatest proficients in it -of his age. His first intention was to become a physician, and he -made considerable progress in anatomy, chemistry, botany, and other -sciences subservient to the profession of medicine; but he changed -his mind, and determined to make divinity his chief pursuit. In -1655 he went abroad. His travels extended through France, Italy, -and the Levant, to Constantinople; and, after an absence of four -years, he returned to England through Germany and Holland. -During this period he lost no opportunity of prosecuting his studies; -and he sent home several descriptive poems, and some letters, written -in Latin, which are printed in his Opuscula, in the fourth volume of -the folio edition of his works. In the voyage to Smyrna he gave a -proof of the high spirit, which, purified from its childish unruliness and -violence, continued to form part of his character through life. The -vessel being attacked by an Algerine corsair, Barrow remained on -the deck, cheerfully and vigorously fighting, until the assailant sheered -off. Being asked afterwards why he did not go into the hold, and -leave the defence of the ship to those whom it concerned, he replied, -“It concerned no one more than myself. I would rather have died -than fallen into the hands of those merciless pirates.” He has -described this voyage, and its eventful circumstances, in a poem contained -in his Opuscula.</p> - -<p class='c000'>He entered into orders in 1659, and in the following year was made -Greek Professor at Cambridge. The numerous offices to which he -was appointed about this time, show that his merits were generally -and highly esteemed. He was chosen to be Professor of Geometry at -Gresham College in 1662; and was one of the first fellows elected into -the Royal Society, after the incorporation of that body by charter in -1663; in which year he was also appointed the first mathematical -lecturer on the foundation of Mr. Lucas, at Cambridge. Not that he -made sinecures of these responsible employments, or thought himself -qualified to discharge the duties of all at once: for he resigned the -Greek professorship, on being appointed Lucasian Professor, for reasons -explained in his introductory oration, which is extant in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>Opuscula. The Gresham professorship he also gave up in 1664, -intending thenceforth to reside at Cambridge. Finally, in 1669, he -resigned the Lucasian chair to his great successor, Newton, intending -to devote himself entirely to the study of divinity. Barrow received -the degree of D.D. by royal mandate, in 1670; and, in 1672, was -raised to the mastership of Trinity College by the King, with the -compliment, “that he had given it to the best scholar in England.” -In that high station he distinguished himself by liberality: he remitted -several allowances which his predecessors had required from the -college; he set on foot the scheme for a new library, and contributed -in purse, and still more by his personal exertions, to its completion. -It should be remarked that his patent of appointment being drawn up, -as usual, with a permission to marry, he caused that part to be struck -out, conceiving it to be at variance with the statutes. He was cut off -by a fever in the prime of life, May 4, 1679, aged 49, during a visit -to London. His remains were honourably deposited in Westminster -Abbey, among the worthies of the land; and in that noble building a -monument was erected to him by the contributions of his friends.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Of Barrow’s mathematical works we must speak briefly. The -earliest of them was an edition of Euclid’s Elements, containing -all the books, published at Cambridge in 1655, followed by an edition -of the Data in 1657. His <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Lectiones Opticæ</span>, the first lectures delivered -on the Lucasian foundation, were printed in 1669, and attracted -the following commendation from the eminent mathematician, James -Gregory. “Mr. Barrow, in his Optics, shows himself a most subtle -geometer, so that I think him superior to any that ever I looked -upon. I long exceedingly to see his geometrical lectures, especially -because I have some notions on that subject by me.” In this work, -(we speak on the authority of Montucla, part iv. viii.), Barrow has -applied himself principally to discuss subjects unnoticed or insufficiently -explained by preceding authors. Among these was the general -problem, to determine the focus of a lens; which, except in a few cases, -as where the opposite sides of the lens are similar, and the incident -rays of light parallel to the axis, had hitherto been left to the practical -skill and experience of the workman. Barrow gave a complete -solution of the problem, comprised in an elegant formula which -includes all cases, whether of parallel, convergent, or divergent rays. -This book, says Montucla, is a mine of curious and interesting propositions -in optics, to the solution of which geometry is applied with -peculiar elegance.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Lectiones Geometricæ</span>, full of profound researches into the -metaphysics of geometry, the method of tangents, and the properties -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>of curvilinear figures, appeared in the following year, 1670. The vast -improvements in our methods of investigation, arising out of the -invention of the fluxional or differential calculus, have cast into the -shade the labours, and in part the fame, of the early geometricians, -and have made that easy, which before was all but impossible. This -work, however, is remarkable as containing a way of determining the -subtangent of a curve, justly characterized by Montucla as being so -intimately connected with the above-named method of analysis, that -it is needless to seek in subsequent works the main principle of the -differential calculus. The inquiring reader will find a full account of -it in Montucla, or in Thomson’s History of the Royal Society, page -275. There is an English translation of the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Lectiones Geometricæ</span> -by Stone, published in 1735. Barrow also edited the works of -Archimedes, the Conics of Apollonius, and the Spherics of Theodosius, -in a very compressed form, in 1 vol. 8vo. Lond. 1675. The treatise -of Archimedes on the Sphere and Cylinder, and the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Mathematicæ -Lectiones</span>, a series of Lucasian lectures, read in 1664 and subsequent -years, were not printed until 1683, after the author’s death. This -work, or at least Kirby’s translation, published about 1734, contains -the Oration which he made before the University on his election to -the Lucasian chair. For further detail see Ward’s Lives of the -Gresham Professors.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It is however as a theologian that Barrow is best known to the -present age. Unlike his scientific writings, his theological works -never can grow obsolete, for they contain eternal truths set forth with a -power of argument, and force of eloquence, which must ever continue to -command the admiration of those who are capable of appreciating and -relishing the noblest qualities and products of the human mind. The -light of revelation shone clearly and steadily then as now; no modern -discoveries can increase or diminish its brightness; no new methods -of reasoning, no more convenient forms of notation or expression, can -supersede the sterling excellences which we have just ascribed to -this great divine. Others may rise up (they are yet to come) equal -or superior to him in these very excellences; still their fame can never -detract from his; and Barrow with his great predecessor, Hooker, -will not fail to be classed among the luminaries of the English -church, and the standard authors of the English language. Copious -and majestic in his style, his sermons were recommended by the great -Lord Chatham to his great son, as admirably adapted to imbue the -public speaker with the coveted “abundance of words” the knowledge -and full command of his native language. He himself neglected not -to increase his stores from the models of ancient eloquence; and his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>manuscripts, preserved in Trinity College Library, bear testimony to -the diligence with which he transcribed the finest passages of the -Greek and Latin authors, especially Demosthenes and Chrysostom. -His sermons were long, too long it was thought by many of his hearers; -but they were carefully composed, written and rewritten again and -again, and their method, argumentative closeness, and abundant learning, -show that he thought no pains too great to bestow on the important -duty of public teaching. Warburton said that in reading Barrow’s -sermons, he was obliged to think. They are numerous, considering -their nature and the comparatively short period of the author’s clerical -life. The first edition of his works, by Archbishop Tillotson, to whom, -in conjunction with his friend and biographer Mr. Hill, Barrow left his -manuscripts, contains seventy-seven sermons on miscellaneous subjects, -of which only two were printed, and those not published, during -the author’s life; together with a series of thirty-four sermons on -the Apostle’s Creed. Mr. Hughes, the late editor of his works, has -added to the former collection five more, printed for the first time from -the original MSS. in Trinity Library. We quote from the life -prefixed to that edition, the eloquent passage in which Mr. Hughes -speaks of these admirable works.</p> - -<p class='c000'>“Never, probably, was religion at a lower ebb in the British -dominions, than when that profligate Prince Charles II., who sat -unawed on a throne formed as it were out of his father’s scaffold, found -the people so wearied of puritanical hypocrisy, presbyterian mortifications, -and a thousand forms of unintelligible mysticism, that they were -ready to plunge into the opposite vices of scepticism or infidelity, and -to regard with complacency the dissolute morals of himself and his vile -associates. To denounce this wickedness in the most awful terms; -to strike at guilt with fearless aim, whether exalted in high places, -or lurking in obscure retreats; to delineate the native horrors and sad -effects of vice, to develope the charms of virtue, and inspire a love -of it in the human heart; in short, to assist in building up the fallen -buttresses and broken pillars of God’s church upon earth, was the high -and holy duty to which Barrow was called.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Besides his sermons, Barrow wrote a shorter Exposition of the Creed, -an Exposition of the Decalogue, an Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer, and -a short account of the doctrine of the Sacraments. These were composed -in 1669, the year in which the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Lectiones Opticæ</span> were published, -in obedience to some college regulation, and, Mr. Hughes conjectures, -as exercises for a college preachership. Barrow says, in a letter, -that they so took up his thoughts, that he could not easily apply them -to any other matter. His great work on the Pope’s Supremacy was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>not composed till 1676. The pains which he took with it were immense; -and we are told by the same authority that “the state of his -MS. in Trinity Library shows that probably no piece was ever composed -more studiously, digested more carefully, or supported by more numerous -and powerful authorities.” Barrow states in this work the several -positions, on which the Romanists ground their claim on behalf of the -Bishop of Rome, for universal supremacy over the Christian church. -These he divides into seven heads, which he proceeds severally and -successively to refute. “This treatise,” says Dr. Tillotson, in his -preface to it, “he gave to me on his death-bed, with the character that -he hoped it was indifferent perfect, though not altogether as he had -intended it, if God had granted him longer life. He designed indeed -to have transcribed it again, and to have filled up those many spaces -which were purposely left in it for the farther confirmation and illustration -of several things, by more testimonies and instances which he -had in his thoughts. And it would certainly have added much to the -beauty and perfection of this work, had it pleased God that he had -lived to finish it to his mind, and to have given it his last hand. However, -as it is, it is not only a just, but an admirable discourse on this -subject, which many others have handled before, but he hath exhausted -it; insomuch that no argument of moment, nay, hardly any consideration -properly belonging to it, hath escaped his large and comprehensive -mind. He hath said enough to silence the controversy for ever, and -to deter all wise men of both sides from meddling any further with -it.” Appended to this treatise on the Supremacy of the Pope, is a -discourse on the Unity of the Church.</p> - -<p class='c000'>We conclude with a few scattered notices of the character and -person of this excellent man. His habits, it will readily be supposed, -were very laborious. Dr. Pope, in his Life of Bishop Ward, says -that during winter Barrow would rise before light, being never without -a tinder-box, and that he has known him frequently rise after his first -sleep, light and burn out his candle, and then return to bed before -day. In pecuniary affairs he was generous in the extreme. Of his -liberality to his college we have already spoken. We may add that, -being appointed to two ecclesiastical preferments, he bestowed the -profits of both in charity, and resigned them as soon as he became -master of Trinity. He left no property but books and unpublished -manuscripts. Pure in his morals, he was the farthest possible from -moroseness; amiable, lively, and witty in his temper and conversation, -he was impatient of any looseness, irreverence, or censoriousness of -speech, “being of all men,” says Dr. Tillotson, in his Address to the -Reader, “I ever had the happiness to know, the clearest of this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>common guilt, and most free from offending in word; coming as near -as it is possible for human frailty to do, to the perfect idea of St. -James, his <em>perfect man</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>His figure was low and spare, but of uncommon strength; and -his courage, devoid of all alloy of quarrelsomeness, was approved in -more than one instance related by the biographers of his peaceful -life. It was among his peculiarities that he never would sit for his -portrait; but some of his friends found means to have it taken without -his knowledge, while they engaged his attention in discourse. There -is a full length of him in the hall of Trinity, in fit conjunction with -those of Newton and Bacon.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The earliest authority for Barrow’s life is a short memoir by his -friend and executor, Mr. Hill, prefixed to the first edition of his works. -Mr. Ward added some particulars, in his Lives of the Gresham Professors. -The fullest accounts are to be found in the second edition -of the Biographia Britannica, and in the life prefixed to Mr. Hughes’s -edition of his theological works. In this the editor has given an -analysis of the contents of each piece, calculated to assist the student -to a thorough understanding of the author’s train of argument.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_100.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Monument of Barrow in Westminster Abbey.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_101fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by W. Hopwood.</em><br /><br />D’ALEMBERT.<br /><br /><em>From the original Picture by De la Tour<br />in the Collection of the Institute of France.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span> -<img src='images/i_101.jpg' alt='D’ALEMBERT.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>D’ALEMBERT.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Jean le Rond D’alembert, one of the most distinguished mathematicians -of the last century, owed none of his eminence to the -accidents of birth or fortune. Even to a name he had no legal title; -he derived the one half of that which he bore from the church of St. -Jean le Rond in Paris, near which he was exposed; and the other -probably from his foster-mother, a glazier’s wife, to whose care he -was intrusted by a commissary of police, who found him. It is conjectured -that both the exposure and the adoption of the infant were -preconcerted; for a short time the father appeared, and settled on him -a yearly pension of twelve hundred francs, equivalent to about £50.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Owing to these circumstances the date of D’Alembert’s birth is not -exactly known; it is said to have been the 16th or 17th of November, -1717. He commenced his studies at the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Collège des Quatre Nations</span> -when twelve years old. Mathematics and poetry seem to have been his -favourite pursuits, since his instructors, he says, endeavoured to turn him -from them; making it a charge against the former, that they dried up the -heart, and recommending that his study of the latter should be confined -to the poem of St. Prosper upon Grace. He was permitted, however, to -study the rudiments of mathematics: and we may infer that he was -little indebted either to books or teachers, from the mortification which -he felt somewhat later in life, at finding that he had been anticipated -in many things which he had believed to be discoveries of his own. -He meant, at one time, to follow the profession of the law, and proceeded -so far as to be admitted an advocate. Finding this not to his -taste, he tried medicine; and, resolute in good intentions, sent his mathematical -books to a friend, to be retained till he had taken his doctor’s -degree. But he reclaimed book after book on various pretexts, and -finally determined to content himself with his annuity of fifty pounds, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>and liberty to devote his whole time to the scientific pursuits which he -loved so much. His mode of life at this period has been described by -himself:—“He awoke,” he says, “every morning, thinking with pleasure -on the studies of the preceding evening, and on the prospect of -continuing them during the day. When his thoughts were called off -for a moment, they turned to the satisfaction he should have at the -play in the evening, and between the acts of the piece he meditated on -the pleasures of the next morning’s study.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The history of D’Alembert’s life is soon told. Some memoirs written -in 1739 and 1740, and some corrections which he made in the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Analyse -Démontrée</span> of Reynau, a work then much esteemed in France, obtained -for him an entrance into the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie des Sciences</span> in 1741, at the -early age of twenty-four. Simple in his habits, careless of his own -advancement, or of the favours of great men, he refused several advantageous -offers, which would have withdrawn him from the society of -Paris, and from the libraries and other literary advantages of that great -metropolis. Frederic II. of Prussia sought to tempt him to Berlin in -1752, and again in 1759. The invitation was again repeated and -urged upon him in 1759 and 1763; and on the last occasion the King -assured D’Alembert that, in rejecting it, he had made the only false -calculation of his whole life. In 1762 Catharine of Russia wished him -to undertake the education of her son, and endeavoured to overcome -his reluctance to leave Paris, by promising him an income of ten -thousand francs, and a kind reception to as many of his friends as -would accompany him. “I know,” she said, “that your refusal arises -from your desire to cultivate your studies and your friendships in quiet. -But this is of no consequence: bring all your friends with you, and I -promise you that both you and they shall have every accommodation -in my power.” But his income had been rendered sufficient for his -wants by a pension of twelve hundred francs from the King of Prussia, -and an equal sum from the French Government; and he declined to -profit by any of these liberal offers.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It is to D’Alembert’s honour that, until the end of her life, he repaid -the services of his foster-mother with filial attention and love. It is -said that when his name became famous, his mother, Mademoiselle -de Tencin, a lady of rank and wit, and known in the literary circles -of the day, sent for him, and acquainted him with the relationship -which existed between them. His well-merited reply was, “You are -only my step-mother, the glazier’s wife is my mother.” He lived -unmarried, but the latter years of his life were overcast in consequence -of a singular and unfortunate attachment to a M<sup>lle.</sup> de l’Espinasse, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>a young lady of talent, whose society was much courted by the -literary men of Paris. She professed to return this attachment; -insomuch that when D’Alembert was attacked by a severe illness in -1765, she insisted on becoming his nurse, and after his recovery took -up her abode under his roof. The connexion is said to have been -purely Platonic; and this, it has been observed, <em>may</em> be believed, because, -had the fact been different, there was little reason for concealing it, -according to the code of morals which then regulated Parisian society. -But the lady proved fickle; and worse than fickle, for she treated -D’Alembert, who still retained his affection for her, with contempt and -unkindness. Yet this ill usage did not alienate his regard. Upon her -death he fell into a state of profound melancholy, from which he never -entirely recovered. He died October 29, 1783. Not having conformed, -on his death-bed, to the requisitions of the Roman church, -some difficulty was experienced in procuring the rites of burial; and -in consequence his interment was strictly private.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In his personal character D’Alembert was simple, benevolent, warm in -his attachments, a sworn foe to servility and adulation, and no follower -of great men. This temper stood in the way of his progress to riches. -It was his maxim, that a man should be very careful in his writings, -careful enough in his actions, and moderately careful in his words; -and the latter clause was probably that which he best observed. In -more than one instance his plain drollery gave offence to persons of -influence at court, and frustrated the exertions of his friends to -improve his fortunes. Fortunately he united simple tastes with an -independent, fearless, and benevolent mind; and it is said that he -gave away one half of his income, when it did not amount to £350. -His own account of his own character, written in the third person, -runs in the following terms, and is confirmed by the testimony -of his friends:—“Devoted to study and privacy till the age of -twenty-five, he entered late into the world, and was never much -pleased with it. He could never bend himself to learn its usages and -language, and perhaps even indulged a sort of petty vanity in despising -them. He is never rude, because he is neither brutal nor severe; -but he is sometimes blunt, through inattention or ignorance. Compliments -embarrass him, because he never can find a suitable answer -immediately; when he says flattering things, it is always because he -thinks them. The basis of his character is frankness and truth, often -rather blunt, but never disgusting. He is impatient and angry, even -to violence, when any thing goes wrong, but it all evaporates in words. -He is soon satisfied and easily governed, provided he does not see what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>you aim at; for his love of independence amounts to fanaticism, so -that he often denies himself things which would be agreeable to him, -because he is afraid that they would put him under some restraint; -which makes some of his friends call him, justly enough, the slave -of his liberty.” In his religious opinions D’Alembert was, in the -true meaning of the word, a sceptic, and his name has obtained an -unenviable notoriety as co-editor, with Diderot, of the celebrated Encyclopédie. -His superintendence, however, extended only to the end -of the second volume, after which the work was stopped by the French -Government; and on its resumption D’Alembert confined himself -strictly to the mathematical department. In one respect his conduct -may be advantageously contrasted with that of some of his colleagues; -he intruded his own opinions on no man, and he took no pleasure in -shocking others, by insulting what they hold sacred. “I knew -D’Alembert,” says La Harpe, “well enough to say that he was -sceptical in every thing but mathematics. He would no more have -said positively that there was no religion, than that there was a God; -he only thought that the probabilities were in favour of theism, and -against revelation. On this subject he tolerated all opinions: and -this disposition made him think the intolerant arrogance of the -Atheists odious and unbearable. I do not think that he ever printed -a sentence, which marks either hatred or contempt of religion.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>We proceed to mention the most remarkable of D’Alembert’s -mathematical works. He published in 1743 a treatise on Dynamics, -in which he enunciated the law now known under the name of -D’Alembert’s principle, one of the most valuable of modern contributions -to mechanical science. In the following year appeared a -treatise on the Equilibrium and Motion of Fluids; and in 1746, -Reflections on the general Causes of Winds, which obtained the prize -of the Academy of Berlin. This work is remarkable as the first -which contained the general equations of the motion of fluids, as well -as the first announcement and use of the calculus of partial differences. -We may add to the list of his discoveries, the analytical solutions of -the problem of vibrating chords, and the motion of a column of air; of -the precession of the equinoxes, and the nutation of the earth’s axis, -the phenomenon itself having been recently observed by Bradley. -In 1752 he completed his researches into fluids, by an Essay on the -Resistance of Fluids. We have to add to the list his Essay on the -Problem of Three Bodies, as it is called by astronomers, an investigation -of the law by which three bodies mutually gravitating affect -each other; and Researches on various points connected with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>system of the Universe: the former published in 1747, and the latter -in 1754–6. His Opuscules, or minor pieces, were collected in eight -volumes, towards the end of his life.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Of his connexion with the Encyclopédie, we have already spoken. -He is said to be singularly clear and happy in his expositions of the -metaphysical difficulties of abstract science. He is also honourably -known in less abstruse departments of literature by his <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mélanges de -Philosophie</span>, Memoirs of Christina of Sweden, Essay on the Servility -of Men of Letters to the Great, Elements of Philosophy, and a work -on the Destruction of the Jesuits. On his election to the office of -perpetual Secretary to the Academy, he wrote the Eloges of the members -deceased from 1700 up to that date. His works and correspondence -were collected and published in eighteen volumes 8vo. -Paris, 1805, by M. Bastien, to whose first volume we refer the reader -for complete information on this subject.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_105.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span> -<img src='images/i_106.jpg' alt='HOGARTH.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>HOGARTH.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“I was born,” says Hogarth in his Memoirs of himself, “in the city -of London, November 10, 1697. My father’s pen, like that of many -authors, did not enable him to do more than put me in a way of -shifting for myself. As I had naturally a good eye, and a fondness for -drawing, shows of all sorts gave me uncommon pleasure when an -infant; and mimicry, common to all children, was remarkable in me. -An early access to a neighbouring painter drew my attention from -play; and I was, at every possible opportunity, employed in making -drawings. I picked up an acquaintance of the same turn, and soon -learnt to draw the alphabet with great correctness. My exercises -when at school were more remarkable for the ornaments which -adorned them, than for the exercise itself. In the former I soon -found that blockheads with better memories could much surpass me; -but for the latter I was particularly distinguished.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>To this account of Hogarth’s childhood we have only to add, that -his father, an enthusiastic and laborious scholar, who like many of his -craft owed little to the favour of fortune, consulted these indications of -talent as well as his means would allow, and bound his son apprentice -to a silver-plate engraver. But Hogarth aspired after something -higher than drawing cyphers and coats-of-arms; and before the -expiration of his indentures he had made himself a good draughtsman, -and obtained considerable knowledge of colouring. It was his ambition -to become distinguished as an artist; and not content with being -the mere copier of other men’s productions, he sought to combine the -functions of the painter with those of the engraver, and to gain -the power of delineating his own ideas, and the fruits of his acute -observation. He has himself explained the nature of his views in a -passage which is worth attention.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_106fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Mollison.</em><br /><br />HOGARTH.<br /><br /><em>From the original Picture by Himself<br />in the National Gallery.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>“Many reasons led me to wish that I could find the shorter path,—fix -forms and characters in my mind,—and instead of copying the -lines try to read the language, and, if possible, find the grammar -of the art by bringing into one focus the various observations I had -made, and then trying by my power on the canvass how far my plan -enabled me to combine and apply them to practice. For this purpose -I considered what various ways, and to what different purposes, -the memory might be applied; and fell upon one most suitable to my -situation and idle disposition; laying it down first as an axiom, that he -who could by any means acquire and retain in his memory perfect -ideas of the subjects he meant to draw, would have as clear a -knowledge of the figure as a man who can write freely hath of the -twenty-five letters of the alphabet and their infinite combinations.” -Acting on these principles, he improved by constant exercise his -natural powers of observation and recollection. In his rambles among -the motley scenes of London he was ever on the watch for striking -features or incidents; and not trusting entirely to memory, he was -accustomed, when any face struck him as peculiarly grotesque or expressive, -to sketch it on his thumb-nail, to be treasured up on paper at -his return home.</p> - -<p class='c000'>For some time after the expiration of his apprenticeship, Hogarth -continued to practise the trade to which he was bred; and his shop-bills, -coats-of-arms, engravings upon tankards, &c., have been collected with -an eagerness quite disproportionate to their value. Soon he procured -employment in furnishing frontispieces and designs for the booksellers. -The most remarkable of these are the plates to an edition of Hudibras, -published in 1726: but even these are of no distinguished -merit. About 1728 he began to seek employment as a portrait -painter. Most of his performances were small family pictures, containing -several figures, which he calls “Conversation Pieces,” from -twelve to fifteen inches high. These for a time were very popular, -and his practice was considerable, as his price was low. His life-size -portraits are few; the most remarkable are that of Captain Coram in -the Foundling Hospital, and that of Garrick as King Richard III. -But his practice as a portrait painter was not lucrative, nor his popularity -lasting. Although many of his likenesses were strong and characteristic, -in the representation of beauty, elegance, and high-breeding, -he was little skilled. The nature of the artist was as uncourtly as his -pencil; he despised, or affected to despise, what is called embellishment, -forgetting that every great painter of portraits has founded his -success upon his power of giving to an object the most favourable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>representation of which it is susceptible. When Hogarth obtained -employment and eminence of another sort, he abandoned portrait -painting, with a growl at the jealousy of his professional brethren, -and the vanity and blindness of the public.</p> - -<p class='c000'>March 23, 1729, Hogarth contracted a stolen marriage with the -only daughter of the once fashionable painter, Sir James Thornhill. -The father, for some time implacable, relented at last; and the reconciliation, -it is said, was much forwarded by his admiration of the -“Harlot’s Progress,” a series of six prints, commenced in 1731, and -published in 1734. The novelty as well as merit of this series of -prints won for them extraordinary popularity; and their success encouraged -Hogarth to undertake a similar history of the “Rake’s -Progress,” in eight prints, which appeared in 1735. The third, and -perhaps the most popular, as it is the least objectionable of these -pictorial novels, “Marriage Alamode,” was not engraved till 1745.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The merits of these prints were sufficiently intelligible to the -public: their originality and boldness of design, the force and freedom -of their execution, rough as it is, won for them an extensive -popularity and a rapid and continued sale. The Harlot’s Progress was -the most eminently successful, from its novelty rather than from its -superior excellence. Twelve hundred subscribers’ names were entered -for it; it was dramatized in several forms; and we may note, -in illustration of the difference of past and present manners, that -fan-mounts were engraved, containing miniature copies of the six -plates. The merits of the pictures were less obvious to the few who -could afford to spend large sums on works of art; and Hogarth, too -proud to let them go for prices much below the value which he put -upon them, waited for a long time, and waited in vain, for a purchaser. -At last he determined to commit them to public sale; but instead of -the common method of auction, he devised a new and complex plan, -with the intention of excluding picture-dealers, and obliging men of -rank and wealth, who wished to purchase, to judge and bid for themselves. -The scheme failed, as might have been expected. Nineteen -of Hogarth’s best pictures, the Harlot’s Progress, the Rake’s Progress, -the Four Times of the Day, and Strolling Actresses dressing -in a Barn, produced only 427<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">l.</span></i> 7<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i>, not averaging 22<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">l.</span></i> 10<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i> each. -The Harlot’s Progress was purchased by Mr. Beckford, at the rate of -fourteen guineas a picture; five of the series perished in the fire at -Fonthill. The Rake’s Progress averaged twenty-two guineas a -picture; it has passed into the possession of Sir John Soane, at the -advanced price of five hundred and seventy guineas. The same eminent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>architect became the proprietor of the four pictures of an Election, for -the sum of 1732<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">l.</span></i> Marriage Alamode was disposed of in a similar way -in 1750; and on the day of sale one bidder appeared, who became -master of the six pictures, together with their frames, for 115<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">l.</span></i> 10<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">s.</span></i> -Mr. Angerstein purchased them, in 1797, for 1381<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">l.</span></i>, and they now -form a striking feature in our National Gallery.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The number and variety of Hogarth’s moral and satiric works -preclude our naming any but the more remarkable. To those -already mentioned we would add the March to Finchley, Southwark -Fair, the Distressed Poet, the Enraged Musician, Modern Midnight -Conversation, Gin Lane and Beer Street, the four prints of an -Election, and two entitled “The Times,” which would hardly require -notice, except for having produced a memorable quarrel between -himself on one side, and Wilkes and Churchill on the other. The -satire of the first, published in 1762, was directed, not against -Wilkes himself, but his political friends, Pitt and Temple; nor is -it so biting as to have required Wilkes, in defence of his party, to -retaliate upon one with whom he had lived in familiar and friendly -intercourse. He did so, however, in a number of the North Briton, -containing not only abuse of the artist, but unjust and injurious -mention of his wife. Hogarth was deeply wounded by this attack, -and he retorted by the well-known portrait—it ought not to be -called a caricature—of Wilkes with the cap of liberty. “I wished,” -he says, “to return the compliment, and turn it to some advantage. -The renowned patriot’s portrait, drawn as like as I could, as to -features, and marked with some indications of his mind, answered -every purpose. A Brutus, a saviour of his country, with such an -aspect, was so arrant a farce, that though it gave rise to much -laughter in the lookers-on, it galled both him and his adherents. -This was proved by the papers being crammed every day with invectives -against the artist, till the town grew sick of thus seeing me -always at full length. Churchill, Wilkes’s toad-eater, put the North -Briton into verse in an epistle to Hogarth; but as the abuse was -precisely the same, except a little poetical heightening, it made no -impression, but perhaps effaced or weakened the black strokes of the -North Briton. However, having an old plate by me, with some parts -ready sunk, as the back-ground and a dog, I began to consider how I -could turn so much work laid aside to some account; and so patched -up a print of Master Churchill in the character of a bear.” The -quarrel was unworthy of the talents either of the painter or poet. -“Never,” says Walpole, “did two angry men of their abilities throw -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>dirt with less dexterity.” It is the more to be regretted, because its -effects, as he himself intimates, were injurious to Hogarth’s declining -health. The summer of 1764 he spent at Chiswick, and the free -air and exercise worked a partial renovation of his strength. The -amendment, however, was but temporary; and he died suddenly, -October 26, the day after his return to his London residence in -Leicester Square.</p> - -<p class='c000'>If we have dwelt little upon Hogarth’s merits in his peculiar style -of art, it is still less necessary to say much concerning his historical -pictures. Of their merits he himself formed a high and most exaggerated -estimate, not hesitating to give out that nothing but envy and -ignorance prevented his own pictures from commanding as much -admiration, and as high prices, as the most esteemed productions of -foreign masters. Posterity has confirmed the judgment of his contemporaries, -and Hogarth’s serious compositions are very generally -forgotten. The only one which merits to be excepted from this -observation is his Sigismunda, painted in 1759, in competition with -the well-known and beautiful picture, ascribed by some to Correggio, -by others to Furino. Our painter’s vanity and plain dealing had -raised up a host of enemies against him among painters, picture-dealers, -and connoisseurs; and all whose self-love he had wounded, or -whose tricks he had denounced, eagerly seized this opportunity to -vent their anger in retaliation. The picture is well known, both by -engravings and by Walpole’s severe criticism. We abstain from -quoting it: we have passed lightly over a great artist’s excellences, and -it would be unfair to expatiate on his defects and errors. Besides -this, Hogarth’s chief historical works are the Pool of Bethesda and -the Good Samaritan, executed in 1736 as a specimen of his powers, -and presented to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; Paul before Felix, -painted for the Hall of Lincoln’s Inn, in 1749; and Moses brought -before Pharaoh’s daughter, painted in 1752, and presented to the -Foundling Hospital.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Hogarth was not a mere painter: he used the pen as well as the -pencil, and aspired to teach as well as to exercise his art. He has left -a memoir of his own life, which contains some curious and interesting -and instructive matter concerning his own modes and motives of -thought and action. He wrote verses occasionally in a rough and -familiar style, but not without some sparkles of his humorous turn. -But his most remarkable performance is the “Analysis of Beauty,” -composed with the ambitious view of fixing the principles of taste, -and laying down unerring directions for the student of art. Its leading -principle is, that the serpentine line is the foundation of all that is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>beautiful, whether in nature or art. To the universality of this -assertion we should be inclined to demur; Nature works by contrast, -and loves to unite the abrupt and angular with the flowing and graceful, -in one harmonious whole. The work, however, unquestionably -contains much that was original and valuable. But when it was -found that Hogarth, a man unpolished in conversation, not regularly -trained either to the use of the pen or the pencil, and, above all, a -profound despiser of academics, of portrait painters, and of almost all -things conventionally admired, had written a book professing to teach -the principles of art, the storm of criticism which fell upon him was -hot and furious. It was discovered that Hogarth was not the author -of the book, that the principle was false and ridiculous, and that every -body had been in possession of it long before. The last objection, certainly, -is so far true, that every one instinctively must feel a line of easy -curvature to be more graceful than one of abrupt and angular flexure. -But the merit of first enunciating this as a rule of art belongs to -Hogarth; and it is recorded to have been the opinion of West, -uttered after the author’s death, that the Analysis is a work of the -highest value to the student of art, and that, examined after personal -enmity and prejudice were laid to sleep, it would be more and more -read, studied, and understood. We doubt whether this judgment of -the President is altogether sanctioned by the practice of the present -day; but time, without altogether establishing the author’s theory, -has at least laid asleep the malicious whispers which denied to -Hogarth the merit of it, whatever that may be.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the executive part of his art, either as painter or engraver, -Hogarth did not attain to first-rate excellence. His engravings are -spirited, but rough; but they have the peculiar merit (one far above -mechanical delicacy and correctness of execution) of representing -accurately, by a few bold touches, the varied incidents and expression -which he was so acute and diligent in observing. A faithful copier, -his works are invaluable as records of the costume and spirit of the -time; and they preserve a number of minute illustrative circumstances, -which his biographers and annotators have laboured to -explain, with the precision used by critics in commenting upon Aristophanes. -Wit and humour are abundant in all of them, even in -accessories apparently insignificant; and they require to be studied -before half the matter condensed in them can be perceived and apprehended. -“It is worthy of observation,” says Mr. Lamb, “that Hogarth -has seldom drawn a mean or insignificant countenance.” This is so -far true, that there are few of his faces which do not contribute to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>the general effect. Mean and insignificant in the common sense of -the words they often are, and the fastidious observer will find much to -overcome in the general want of pleasing objects in his compositions. -But the vacancy or expression, the coarseness or refinement of the -countenance, are alike subservient to convey a meaning or a moral; -and in this sense it may justly be said, that few of Hogarth’s faces are -insignificant. Through the more important of his works, a depth and -unity of purpose prevails, which sometimes rises into high tragic -effect, the more striking from the total absence of conventional objects -of dignity, as in the two last plates of the “Rake’s Progress.” -“Gin Lane” has been included by Mr. Lamb in the same praise, and -its power cannot be denied; but it contains too much that is purely -disgusting, mixed with much that is in the nature of caricature, to be -a general favourite.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The nationality of Hogarth’s prints has given to them a more -lasting and extensive popularity than any class of engravings has -ever enjoyed. Not to mention the large impressions from the original -plates, which were touched and retouched again and again, they -have been frequently engraved on a smaller scale, accompanied with -an historical and descriptive text; and there is scarcely a library of -any pretensions which has not a “Hogarth Illustrated,” in some -shape or other, upon its shelves. Of these works, the first was Dr. -Trusler’s “Hogarth Moralized,” republished lately in a very elegant -shape; the most complete is the quarto edition of Hogarth’s works, -by Nichols and Stevens. There is a long and valuable memoir of -the artist in Rees’s “Cyclopædia,” by Mr. Phillips, R.A., and an -extended life by Allan Cunningham in the “Family Library.” The -works of Walpole, Gilpin, Hazlitt, and others, will furnish much of -acute criticism; and we especially recommend the perusal of an -Essay by Charles Lamb on the “Genius and Character of Hogarth,” -published originally in the “Reflector,” No. 3. It is chiefly occupied -by a minute criticism upon the “Rake’s Progress,” and though, in -our opinion, somewhat partial and excessive in praise, is admirably -calculated to show the reader in what spirit the moral works of -Hogarth should be studied.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_112.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_113fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by Rob<sup>t</sup>. Hart.</em><br /><br />GALILEO.<br /><br /><em>From a picture by Ramsay<br />in Trinity College, Cambridge.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span> -<img src='images/i_113.jpg' alt='GALILEO.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>GALILEO.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The great Tuscan astronomer is best known as the first telescopic -observer, the fortunate discoverer of the Medicean stars (so Jupiter’s -satellites were first named): and what discovery more fitted to -immortalize its author, than one which revealed new worlds, and -thus gave additional force to the lesson, that the universe, of which -we form so small a part, was not created only for our use or pleasure! -Those, however, who consider Galileo only as a fortunate observer, -form a very inadequate estimate of one of the most meritorious and -successful of those great men who have bestowed their time for the -advantage of mankind in tracing out the hidden things of nature.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Galileo Galilei was born at Pisa, February 15, 1564. In childhood -he displayed considerable mechanical ingenuity, with a decided taste -for the accomplishments of music and painting. His father formed a -just estimate of his talents, and at some inconvenience entered him, -when nineteen years old, at the university of his native town, intending -that he should pursue the medical profession. Galileo was then entirely -ignorant of mathematics; and he was led to the study of geometry by -a desire thoroughly to understand the principles of his favourite arts. -This new pursuit proved so congenial to his taste, that from thenceforward -his medical books were entirely neglected. The elder Galilei, -a man of liberal acquirements and enlarged mind, did not require the -devotion of his son’s life to a distasteful pursuit. Fortunately the -young man’s talents attracted notice, and in 1589 he was appointed -mathematical lecturer in the University of Pisa. There is reason to -believe that, at an early period of his studentship, he embraced, upon -inquiry and conviction, the doctrines of Copernicus, of which through -life he was an ardent supporter.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>Galileo and his colleagues did not long remain on good terms. -The latter were content with the superstructure which <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">à priori</span></i> reasoners -had raised upon Aristotle, and were by no means desirous of the -trouble of learning more. Galileo chose to investigate physical truths -for himself; he engaged in experiments to determine the truth of some -of Aristotle’s positions, and when he found him in the wrong, he said -so, and so taught his pupils. This made the “paper philosophers,” as -he calls them, very angry. He repeated his experiments in their -presence; but they set aside the evidence of their senses, and quoted -Aristotle as much as before. The enmity arising from these disputes -rendered his situation so unpleasant, that, in 1592, at the invitation of -the Venetian commonwealth, he gladly accepted the professorship of -mathematics at Padua. The period of his appointment being only six -years, he was re-elected in 1598, and again in 1606, each time with -an increase of salary; a strong proof of the esteem in which he was -held, even before those astronomical discoveries which have immortalized -his name. His lectures at this period were so fully attended, -that he was sometimes obliged to adjourn them to the open air. In -1609 he received an invitation to return to his original situation at -Pisa. This produced a letter, still extant, from which we quote a -catalogue of the undertakings on which he was already employed. -“The works which I have to finish are principally two books on the -‘System or Structure of the Universe,’ an immense work, full of -philosophy, astronomy, and geometry; three books on ‘Local Motion,’ -a science entirely new, no one, either ancient or modern, having discovered -any of the very many admirable accidents which I demonstrate -in natural and violent motions, so that I may, with very great reason, -call it a new science, and invented by me from its very first principles; -three books of mechanics, two on the demonstration of principles, -and one of problems; and although others have treated this same -matter, yet all that has been hitherto written, neither in quantity nor -otherwise, is the quarter of what I am writing on it. I have also -different treatises on natural subjects—on Sound and Speech, on -Light and Colours, on the Tides, on the Composition of Continuous -Quantity, on the Motions of Animals, and others besides. I have -also an idea of writing some books relating to the military art, giving -not only a model of a soldier, but teaching with very exact rules -every thing which it is his duty to know, that depends upon mathematics, -as the knowledge of castrametation, drawing up of battalions, -fortification, assaults, planning, surveying, the knowledge of artillery, -the use of instruments, &c.” Out of this comprehensive list, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>treatises on the universe, on motion and mechanics, on tides, on fortification, -or other works upon the same subjects, have been made -known to the world. Many, however, of Galileo’s manuscripts, -through fear of the Inquisition, were destroyed, or concealed and -lost, after the author’s death.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the same year, 1609, Galileo heard the report, that a spectacle-maker -of Middleburg, in Holland, had made an instrument by which -distant objects appeared nearer. He tasked his ingenuity to discover -the construction, and soon succeeded in manufacturing a telescope. -His telescope, however, seems to have been made on a different construction -from that of the Dutch optician. It consisted of a convex -and concave glass, distant from each other by the difference of their -focal lengths, like a modern opera-glass; while there is reason to -believe that the other was made up of two convex lenses, distant by -the sum of their focal lengths, the common construction of the -astronomical telescope. Galileo’s attention naturally was first turned -to the moon. He discovered that her surface, instead of being smooth -and perfectly spherical, was rough with mountains, and apparently -varied, like the earth, by land and water. He next applied to Jupiter, -and was struck by the appearance of three small stars, almost in a -straight line, and close to him. At first he did not suspect the nature -of these bodies; but careful observation soon convinced him that these -three, together with a fourth, which was at first invisible, were in -reality four moons revolving round their primary planet. These -he named the Medicean stars. They have long ceased to be known -by that name; but so highly prized was the distinction thus conferred -upon the ducal house of Florence, that Galileo received an intimation, -that he would “do a thing just and proper in itself, and at the -same time render himself and his family rich and powerful for ever,” -if he “named the next star which he should discover after the name -of the great star of France, as well as the most brilliant of all the -earth,” Henry IV. These discoveries were made known in 1610, in -a work entitled “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Nuncius Sidereus</span>,” the Newsman of the Stars: in -which Galileo farther announced that he had seen many stars invisible -to the naked eye, and ascertained that the nebulæ scattered -through the heavens consist of assemblages of innumerable small -stars. The ignorant and unprejudiced were struck with admiration; -indeed, curiosity had been raised so high before the publication of this -book, as materially to interfere with the convenience of those who -possessed telescopes. Galileo was employed a month in exhibiting his -own to the principal persons in Venice; and one unfortunate astronomer -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>was surrounded by a crowd who kept him in durance for -several hours, while they passed his glass from one to another. He -left Venice the next morning, to pursue his inquiries in some less -inquisitive place. But the great bulk of the philosophers of the day -were far from joining in the general feeling. They raised an outcry -against the impudent fictions of Galileo, and one, a professor of -Padua, refused repeatedly to look through the telescope, lest he should -be compelled to admit that which he had predetermined to deny. In -the midst of this prejudice and envy, Kepler formed a brilliant exception. -He received those great discoveries with wonder and delight, -though they overturned some cherished theories, and manifested an -honest and zealous indignation against the traducers of Galileo’s fame.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In particular his wrath broke out against a <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégé</span></i> of his own, -named Horky; who, under the mistaken notion of gaining credit with -his patron, wrote a violent attack on Galileo, and asserted, among -other things, that he had examined the heavens with Galileo’s own -glass, and that no such thing as a satellite existed near Jupiter. The -conclusion of the affair is curious and characteristic. Horky begged -so hard to be forgiven, that, says Kepler, “I have taken him again -into favour, upon this preliminary condition, to which he has agreed,—that -I am to show him Jupiter’s satellites, <em>and he is to see them, and -to own that they are there</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>It was not long before Galileo had new, and equally important -matter to announce. He observed a remarkable appearance in Saturn, -as if it were composed of three stars touching each other; his telescope -was not sufficiently powerful to resolve into them Saturn and his ring. -Within a month he ascertained that Venus exhibits phases like those of -the moon,—a discovery of great importance in confirming the Copernican -system. The same phenomenon he afterwards detected in Mars. -We close the list with the discovery of the revolution of the sun round -his axis, in the space of about a lunar month, derived from careful -observation of the spots on his surface.</p> - -<p class='c000'>About this time (1610–11) Galileo took up his abode in Tuscany, -upon the invitation of the Grand Duke, who offered to him his -original situation at Pisa, with a liberal salary, exemption from the -necessity of residence, and complete leisure to pursue his studies. In -1612 he published a discourse on Floating Bodies, in which he -investigates the theory of buoyancy, and refutes, by a series of beautiful -and conclusive experiments, the opinion that the floating or -sinking of bodies depends on their shape.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Neither Copernicus nor his immediate followers suffered inconvenience -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>or restraint on account of their astronomical doctrines: nor -had Galileo, until this period of his life, incurred ecclesiastical censure -for any thing which he had said or written. But the Inquisition now -took up the matter as heretical, and contrary to the express words of -Scripture; and in 1616, Copernicus’s work ‘De Revolutionibus,’ Kepler’s -Epitome, and some of Galileo’s own letters, were placed on the list -of prohibited books; and he himself, being then in Rome, received -formal notice not to teach that the earth revolves round the sun. He -returned to Florence full of indignation; and considering his hasty -temper, love of truth, and full belief of the condemned theory, it is -rather wonderful that he kept silence so long, than that he incurred at -last the censures of the hierarchy. He did, however, restrain himself -from any open advocacy of the heretical doctrines, even in composing -his great work, the ‘Dialogue on the Ptolemaic and Copernican -Systems.’ This was completed in 1630, but not printed till 1632, -under licence from officers of the church, both at Rome and Florence. -It is a dialogue between Simplicio, an Aristotelian, Salviati, who represents -the author, and Sagredo, a half convert to Salviati’s opinions. It -professes “indeterminately to propose the philosophical arguments, -as well on one side as on the other:” but the neutrality is but ill -kept up, and was probably assumed, not with any hope that the court -of Rome would be blinded as to the real tendency of the book, but -merely that it would accept this nominal submission as a sufficient -homage to its authority. If this were so, the author was disappointed; -the Inquisition took cognizance of the matter, and summoned him to -Rome to undergo a personal examination. Age and infirmity were -in vain pleaded as excuses; still, through the urgent and indignant -remonstrances of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, he was treated with -a consideration rarely shown by that iniquitous tribunal. He was -allowed to remain at the Florentine ambassador’s palace, with the -exception of a short period, from his arrival in February, until the -passing of sentence, June 21, 1633. He was then condemned, in the -presence of the Inquisitors, to curse and abjure the “false doctrines,” -which his life had been spent in proving; to be confined in the prison -of the Holy Office during pleasure, and to recite the seven penitential -psalms once a week during three years. The sentence and the abjuration -are given at full length in the Life of Galileo, in the ‘Library -of Useful Knowledge.’ “It is said,” continues the biographer, “that -Galileo, as he rose from his knees, stamped on the ground, and whispered -to one of his friends, ‘<i><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">e pur si muove</span></i>,’ (it does move though.”)</p> - -<p class='c000'>Galileo’s imprisonment was not long or rigorous; for after four days -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>he was reconducted to the Florentine ambassador’s palace: but he -was still kept under strict surveillance. In July he was sent to -Sienna, where he remained five months in strict seclusion. He -obtained permission in December to return to his villa at Arcetri, -near Florence: but there, as at Sienna, he was confined to his own -premises, and strictly forbidden to receive his friends. It is painful -to contemplate the variety of evils which overcast the evening of this -great man’s life. In addition to a distressing chronic complaint, -contracted in youth, he was now suffering under a painful infirmity -which by some is said to have been produced by torture, applied in -the prisons of the Inquisition to extort a recantation. But the arguments -brought forward to show that the Inquisitors did resort to -this extremity do not amount to anything like direct proof. In -April, 1634, Galileo’s afflictions were increased by the death of -a favourite, intelligent, and attached daughter. He consoled his -solitude, and lightened the hours of sickness, by continuing the -observations which he was now forbidden to publish to the world; -and the last of his long train of discoveries was the phenomenon -known by the name of the moon’s libration. In the course of -1636–7 he lost successively the sight of both his eyes. He mentions -this calamity in a tone of pious submission, mingled with a not -unpleasing pride. “Alas, your dear friend and servant Galileo has -become totally and irreparably blind; so that this heaven, this earth, -this universe, which with wonderful observations I had enlarged -a hundred and thousand times beyond the belief of by-gone ages, -henceforward for me is shrunk into the narrow space which I myself -fill in it. So it pleases God: it shall therefore please me also.” In -1638 he obtained leave to visit Florence, still under the same restrictions -as to society; but at the end of a few months he was remanded -to Arcetri, which he never again quitted. From that time, however, -the strictness of his confinement was relaxed, and he was allowed -to receive the friends who crowded round him, as well as the many -distinguished foreigners who eagerly visited him. Among these we -must not forget Milton, whose poems contain several allusions to the -celestial wonders observed and published by the Tuscan astronomer. -Though blind and nearly deaf, Galileo retained to the last his intellectual -powers; and his friend and pupil, the celebrated Torricelli, was -employed in arranging his thoughts on the nature of percussion, when -he was attacked by his last illness. He died January 8, 1642, aged -seventy-eight.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It was disputed, whether, as a prisoner of the Inquisition, Galileo -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>had a right to burial in consecrated ground. The point was conceded; -but Pope Urban VIII. himself interfered to prevent the -erection of a monument to him in the church of Santa Croce, in -Florence, for which a large sum had been subscribed. A splendid -monument now covers the spot in which his remains repose with -those of his friend and pupil, the eminent mathematician Viviani.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1618, Galileo published, through the medium of Mario Guiducci, -an Essay on the Nature of Comets. His opinions (which, in fact, were -erroneous) were immediately attacked under the feigned signature of -Lotario Sarsi. To this antagonist he replied in a work entitled -‘<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Il Saggiatore</span>,’ the Assayer, which we select for mention, not so -much for the value of its contents, though, like the rest of his works, -it has many remarkable passages, as for the high reputation which -it enjoys among Italian critics as a model of philosophical composition. -The “Dialogues on Motion,” the last work of consequence which -Galileo published, contain investigations of the simpler branches of -dynamics, the motion of bodies falling freely or down inclined -planes, and of projectiles; determinations of the strength of beams, -and a variety of interesting questions in natural philosophy. The -fifth and sixth are unfinished; the latter was intended to comprise the -theory of percussion, which, as we have said, was the last subject -which occupied the author’s mind. For a full analysis of this and the -other treatises here briefly noted, and for an account of Galileo’s -application of the pendulum to the mensuration of time; his invention -of the thermometer, though in an inaccurate and inconvenient form; -his methods of discovering the longitude, and a variety of other -points well worth<a id='t119'></a> attention, we must refer to the Life of Galileo -already quoted. The numerous extracts from Galileo’s works convey -a lively notion of the author’s character, and are distinguished by a -peculiar tone of quaint humour. For older writers we may refer -to the lives of Viviani, Gherardini, and Nelli; and to the English one -by Salusbury, of which however the second volume is so rare that the -Earl of Macclesfield’s copy is the only one known to exist in England. -Venturi has given to the world some unpublished manuscripts, and -collected much curious and scattered information in his “<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Memorie e -Lettere de Gal. Galilei</span>.” Of Galileo’s works several editions exist: -the most complete are those of Padua, in four volumes quarto, 1744, -and of Milan, in thirteen volumes octavo, 1811.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In conclusion, we quote the estimate of Galileo’s character, from the -masterly memoir from which this sketch is derived. “The numberless -inventions of his acute industry; the use of the telescope, and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>brilliant discoveries to which it led; the patient investigation of the -laws of weight and motion, must all be looked upon as forming but -a part of his real merits, as merely particular demonstrations of the -spirit in which he everywhere withstood the despotism of ignorance, -and appealed boldly from traditional opinions to the judgment of -reason and common sense. He claimed and bequeathed to us the right -of exercising our faculties in examining the beautiful creation which -surrounds us. Idolised by his friends, he deserved their affection -by numberless acts of kindness; by his good humour, his affability, -and by the benevolent generosity with which he devoted himself, and -a great part of his limited income, to advance their talents and -fortunes. If an intense desire of being useful is everywhere worthy -of honour; if its value is immeasurably increased when united to -genius of the highest order; if we feel for one, who, notwithstanding -such titles to regard, is harassed by cruel persecution, then none -deserve our sympathy, our admiration, and our gratitude, more than -Galileo.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_120.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>[Monument to Galileo in the Church of Santa Croce at Florence.]</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_121fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by R. Woodman.</em><br /><br />REMBRANDT.<br /><br /><em>From the original Picture by himself<br />in his Majesty’s Collection.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span> -<img src='images/i_121.jpg' alt='Rembrandt.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>REMBRANDT.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Born June 15, 1606. His father was a miller, named Gerretz, who -lived near Leyden, on the banks of the Rhine. Hence Rembrandt -assumed the higher-sounding title of Van Ryn, in exchange for his paternal -appellation. The miller was sagacious enough to perceive that -his son had talent, but not to discover the direction in which it lay; and -sent him to study Latin, and qualify himself for one of the learned -professions at the University of Leyden. He had no turn for scholarship; -indeed, through life, his literary acquirements were decidedly -below par: but he showed great expertness in drawing any object -which caught his notice. The miller wisely yielded to what appeared -the natural bent of his son’s genius, and suffered him to -pursue painting as a profession. He studied first for three months -at Amsterdam, in the school of Jacob Van Swannenberg, then six -months with Peter Lastman, and six with Jacob Pinas. It is -somewhat surprising that he should have continued so long with -these masters, from whom he could learn no more than the rudiments -of execution. Had they been better, he would have gained little but -manual skill from them; for, from the first, his style was essentially his -own. Nature was his preceptress, and his academy was his father’s -mill. There he found those unique effects of light and shadow -which distinguish his pictures from all others. The style of art which -astonished his contemporaries by its novelty and power, and will ever -continue to influence the practice of later artists, was founded on -and formed out of the brilliant contrasts exhibited by a beam of -light admitted through a narrow aperture, and rapidly subsiding -into darkness: a spectacle which, familiar to his childhood, seems -to have left an indelible impression on his imagination. He studied -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>with great assiduity, but seems to have scarcely been conscious of -his own strength until the commendation of his fellow-students -roused him. At the suggestion of one of them he took a painting -which he had just finished to an amateur at the Hague, who gave the -best proof of his approbation by paying a hundred florins for it on the -spot. The sudden acquisition of so much wealth almost turned the -young artist’s head. He went on foot to the Hague; but he posted -home to his father’s mill in a chariot. Extravagance, however, was -not one of his characteristics, and this was his last, as it was his first -act of ostentatious disbursement.</p> - -<p class='c000'>He remained for some time in his native village, induced, perhaps, -by the facilities which the banks of the Rhine presented to him for the -study of landscape. Even in that department of art he selected those -phases of nature which harmonized with his usual management of -<em>chiar’ oscuro</em>: such as effects of twilight, or the setting sun, or any -combinations of clouds, rocks, trees, or other objects, which formed -large masses of shade relieved by light concentrated in one spot. But -being frequently summoned to Amsterdam by commissions for portraits, -he settled in that city in 1630. At the same time he married -a pretty peasant girl from Ramsdorp, whose portrait he has often -introduced in his pictures. He received several pupils into his house, -who paid largely for his instructions.</p> - -<p class='c000'>One of Rembrandt’s earliest and most steadfast patrons was the -burgomaster Six, for whom he painted the celebrated picture now -in the National Gallery, of ‘The Woman taken in Adultery.’ If -this be an average specimen of his style at this time, no wonder -can be felt that his reputation rose to a prodigious height, and -that he obtained large prices for his performances. The style -of this picture, though approaching to the elaborate finishing of -Mieris or Gerard Dow, is yet as broad as in any of his subsequent -works, after he had adopted a bolder method of execution. Refinement -of character we never must expect in Rembrandt; but in this -picture we are not shocked by that uncalled-for coarseness which -debases many of his later works. In the figure of Christ especially, -there is some attempt to rise above the level of common life, which he -usually contents himself with copying. The picture exhibits his usual -grandeur and solemnity of light and shade, and is remarkable for -brilliancy of colouring.</p> - -<p class='c000'>As Rembrandt’s practice became more and more lucrative, he gave -way to a vice which certainly is not the besetting one of artists, and grew -insatiably avaricious. His engravings were sought with even more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>avidity than his pictures; and he left unemployed no artifice by which -their popularity might be turned to account. Impressions were -taken off and circulated when the plates were half finished, then -the work was completed, and the sale recommenced. Alterations -were then made in the perfect engraving, and these botched prints were -again sent into the market. Impressions of the same plate in all -these stages of transformation were eagerly sought by the idle foppery -of collectorship; and it was held a serious impeachment of taste not to -possess proofs of the little Juno with and without a crown; the young -Joseph with the face light, and the same Joseph with his face dark; -the woman with the white bonnet, and the same woman without -a bonnet; the horse with a tail, and a horse without a tail, &c. Ungentlemanly -tricks were practised to enhance the price of his works. -He often expressed an intention of quitting Amsterdam altogether. -Once he was announced to be dangerously ill; at another time he was -reported to be dead. It is strange that he should not have felt these -petty artifices to be unworthy of his genius, and unnecessary to his -fame or fortune; but it seems not improbable that some of his -eccentricities were played off to attract attention. Being occupied one -day in painting the picture of a burgomaster and his family, word was -brought that his favourite monkey was dead. He made great parade -of his distress, and as some alleviation of it, proceeded to paint -the monkey into the picture. The civic dignitary remonstrated in -vain against this extraordinary addition to the family group: Rembrandt -refused to finish the picture unless the monkey kept his place, -and accordingly it was allowed to remain. That he was not unconscious -of the absurdity of such caprices, may be inferred from his quick -turn for humour, and the shrewdness and sagacity of his remarks.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The roughness and apparent negligence in the execution of his -works astonished many of the Dutch connoisseurs, who had been so -used to minute delicacy of finish as to consider it essential to excellence. -To these critics he replied in a tone of irony, requesting that -when they perceived anything particularly wrong in his works, they -would believe that he had a motive for it. To others who examined -his pictures too closely, he observed, that the smell of the paint was -unwholesome, adding a very just observation, that the picture is -finished when the painter has expressed his intention.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Numerous copies of Rembrandt’s pictures were made by his pupils, -which he retouched and sold as originals. Sandraart asserts that he -gained one thousand two hundred florins yearly by this commerce. It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>is proper, however, to state that most of the great masters have, more -or less, availed themselves of the labour of their scholars.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In one respect, however, Rembrandt acted worthily of his genius. -He never allowed the love of gain to interfere with or limit the time -and labour which were required to give excellence to his paintings. -The bravura of hand by which his later works are distinguished, has -led to an idea that he painted them carelessly and with great dispatch. -No doubt he wrought with firmness and decision when his plan was -fixed; but various studies are extant, which show that, before commencing -a picture, he constructed and reconstructed his design with -indefatigable attention. This was especially the case with his historical -works; yet in portrait painting he was scarcely less particular. -Frequently when the picture was considerably advanced, struck by -some new arrangement, an effect of light, a happy turn of drapery, a -better position of the head, he would begin again; and the patience of -the sitter was sometimes so much tried by a succession of these alterations, -that works would have been left unfinished on the artist’s -hands, but for that confidence in the ultimate excellence of the -pictures, which rendered his employers anxious to possess them at any -outlay of time, patience, or money.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Descamps, the French biographer of the Flemish painters, enlarges -on Rembrandt’s misfortune in not having been born in Italy, or, at least, -not having spent some years there. “How different a painter would he -have been,” he says, “had he been familiar with the works of Raphael and -Titian.” That he would have been a different painter may be doubted; -that he would have been a better one is still less probable. Descamps -adds, that he owed his genius to nature and instinct alone; a much -more rational remark, and so true, that it appears almost demonstrable -that no system of discipline or education would have materially altered -his turn of mind. He was sufficiently well acquainted, through the -medium of prints, casts, and marbles, with the leading works both of -ancient and modern art; but he had no taste for refinement, and he -knew that what is called high art was not his vocation. He had collected -quantities of old armour, rich draperies, grotesque ornaments, -and military weapons, which he jocularly called his antiques; and he -made no scruple of deriding the exclusive claims to taste set up -by particular schools. He felt that he had no occasion to ask his passport -to reputation from others; but that, as Fuseli expresses it, he -could enter the temple of fame by forging his own keys.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Few painters, indeed, have so full a claim to the merit of originality -as Rembrandt. It would be hard to point out any of his predecessors -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>to whom he is indebted for any part of his style; but he has opened a -rich treasure of excellence for his successors to profit by. The full -powers of the management of light and shade, which we denominate -by the Italian phrase <em>chiar’ oscuro</em>, were not known until Rembrandt -developed them. It might have been supposed that the power and -harmony, and splendour of Corregio left nothing to be desired in this -department of the art; but Rembrandt gave to his masses a force and -depth, and concentration, unequalled, and peculiar to himself. Nor is -<em>chiar’ oscuro</em> in his hands merely an instrument of picturesque effect; -it is also a most powerful vehicle of sentiment, especially in subjects -characterized by solemnity or terror. The ‘Crucifixion,’ ‘Christ and -St. Peter in the Storm,’ and ‘Sampson seized by the Philistines,’ are -striking but not singular examples of this:—it is the excellence which -pervades his works. ‘Jacob’s Dream,’ in the Dulwich Gallery, deserves -mention as a most remarkable instance of his peculiar powers, -for it embodies images so vague and undefinable, that they might be -thought beyond the grasp of painting. Forms float before us, apparently -cognizable by our senses, yet so vague, that when examined, -they lose the semblance of form which at first they wore, receding -gradually to so immeasurable a distance, that it would seem as if -in truth the heavens were opened. It is the most <em>spiritual</em> thing -conceivable, and breathes the very atmosphere of a dream.</p> - -<p class='c000'>As a colourist Rembrandt has scarcely a superior: if his tints are -not equal in truth and purity to those of Titian, yet his admirable -management of light and shadow gives to his colouring an almost -unrivalled splendour. In that quality of execution which painters call -<em>surface</em>, he was eminently skilled; perhaps none but Corregio and -Reynolds can compare with him in it. To his portraits he gave -a most speaking air of identity; but his delineations of the human -form and character in works of imagination are almost ludicrous, and -little better than travesties of the subject. Beauty certainly must -have come in his way; but he seems to have avoided and rejected it -for the sake of ugliness and vulgarity. The picture of a ‘Woman -Bathing,’ in the National Gallery, is a good instance both of his -merits and faults, treating with the utmost fidelity and beauty of -execution a subject so disagreeable, that admiration is neutralized by -disgust. Indeed his genius has no greater triumph than that of -reconciling us to his defects.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Rembrandt’s style of engraving, as of painting, is in great measure -of his own invention. His plates are partly etched, assisted with the -dry point, and sometimes, but not often, finished with the graver. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>His prints possess the effect of colouring in a surprising degree; -the light and shade is managed, as might be expected, with consummate -skill, and the touch has a lightness and apparent negligence, -which give to his etchings an indescribable charm.</p> - -<p class='c000'>De Piles and some other writers have asserted that Rembrandt -was at Venice in the year 1635 or 1636. This mistake arose from -the dates, and the name of Venice which Rembrandt put at the -bottom of some of his prints, with the view of enhancing the price of -them. He never quitted Amsterdam after he first established himself -there in 1630. He could have had no inducement indeed -to absent himself from a city in which he was so rapidly acquiring both -fame and fortune. In what related to his art he never looked out of -himself; and he was so far from seeking any general acquaintance -with the world, that he associated only with a small circle in his -own city, and that of an inferior class. The burgomaster Six, who -appreciated his extraordinary talents, and wished to see him fill a -place in society worthy of them, often attempted to lead him among -the wealthy and the great; but that inveterate want of refinement -which is visible in his works, pervaded his character, and he confessed -that he felt uneasy in such company; adding, that when he left -his painting-room, it was for the purpose of relaxation, which he was -more likely to find among his humble associates, and in the convivialities -of the tavern. He lived nearly to the age of sixty-eight -years, and died at Amsterdam in 1674.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Those who may be curious to know the different impressions and -variations of Rembrandt’s plates, and their respective rarity and value, -will find information in the catalogue of his works, first published by -Gersaint, at Paris, and P. Yver, at Amsterdam; which was afterwards -enlarged by our countryman Dalby, and has since been added to in a -publication by Adam Bartset, printed at Vienna in 1797.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Rembrandt’s works are nowhere more valued than in this country, -which may account for the vast influx of them hither. Originals -are not often met with on the Continent: here they may be found in -every great collection. The National and the Dulwich Galleries -contain some of his finest performances. Particulars of Rembrandt’s -life and works may be found in La Vie des Peintres Flamands, par -Descamps, and in De Piles. In English, in Bryan’s ‘Dictionary of -Painters,’ and in Pilkington.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_127fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by C. E. Wagstaff.</em><br /><br />DRYDEN.<br /><br /><em>From a Picture by Houdson<br />in the Hall of Trinity College Cambridge.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span> -<img src='images/i_127.jpg' alt='DRYDEN.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>DRYDEN.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>John Dryden was born at Aldwinkle, near Oundle, in Northamptonshire, -August 9, 1631, according to Dr. Johnson; but Mr. Malone -raises a doubt concerning the accuracy of this date. The inscription -on his monument says, only, <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">natus</span></i>, 1632. He was educated at Westminster -School, under Dr. Busby, and elected Scholar of Trinity -College, Cambridge, in 1650. The year before he left the university, -he wrote a poem on the death of Lord Hastings. Of this production -Dr. Johnson says, that “it was composed with great ambition -of such conceits as, notwithstanding the reformation begun by Waller -and Denham, the example of Cowley still kept in reputation.” -Dryden’s vacillation, both in religion and politics, proves, that though -perhaps not completely dishonest, he had no firm and well-considered -principles. His heroic stanzas on Oliver Cromwell, written after the -Protector’s funeral in 1658, were followed on the restoration by his -Astrea Redux, and in the same year by a second tribute of flattery to -his sacred Majesty, ‘A Panegyric on his Coronation.’ The <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Annus -Mirabilis</span> is one of his most elaborate works; a historical poem in celebration -of the Duke of York’s victory over the Dutch. He succeeded -Sir William Davenant as poet laureat. He did not obtain the laurel -till August 18, 1670; but according to Malone, the patent had a retrospect, -and the salary commenced from the Midsummer after Davenant’s -death, in 1668. He was also made historiographer to the king, and -in the same year published his Essay on Dramatic Poetry.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Among the works of so voluminous a writer, we can only notice those -which are distinguished by excellence, or by some strong peculiarity.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dryden was more than thirty years of age when he commenced dramatic -writer. His first piece, the Wild Gallant, met with so mortifying -a reception, that he resolved never more to write for the stage. -The hasty resolutions of anger are seldom kept, and are seldom worth -keeping; but in the present instance it would have been well had he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>adhered to the first dictates of his resentment. We should not then -have had to regret, that so large a portion of a great writer’s life and -labour has been wasted on twenty-eight dramas: the comedies exhibiting -much ribaldry and but little wit; with neither ingenuity nor -interest in the fable; with no originality in the characters: the tragedies -for the most part filled with the exaggerations of romance, and -the hyperboles of an extravagant imagination, in the place of nature -and pathos. His tragedy seldom touches the passions: his staple -commodities are pompous language, poetical flights, and picturesque -description. His characters all speak in one language—that of the -author. Addison says, “It is peculiar to Dryden to make all his -personages as wise, witty, elegant, and polite as himself.” In confirmation -of the proofs internally afforded by his writings, that his taste -for tragedy was not genuine, he expresses his contempt for Otway, -master as that poet was of the tender passions. But however uncongenial -with his natural talent dramatic composition might be, his temporary -disgust soon passed away. In his Essay on Dramatic Poetry, -he tells his patron, Dorset, that the writing of that treatise served as an -amusement to him in the country, when he was driven from London -by the plague; that he diverted himself with thinking on the theatres, -as lovers do by ruminating on their absent mistresses. But whatever -opinion he might entertain of his own tragic style, he was himself -sensible that his talents did not lie in the line of comedy. “Those who -decry my comedies do me no injury, except it be in point of profit: -reputation in them is the last thing to which I shall pretend.” He -retaliated on the criticisms levelled against his extravagances in -tragedy, by an ostentatious display of defiance. We find in his Dedication -of the Spanish Friar, “All that I can say for certain passages -of my own Maximin and Almanzor is, that I knew they were bad -enough to please when I wrote them.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1671 he was publicly ridiculed on the stage in the Duke of -Buckingham’s comedy of the Rehearsal. The character of Bayes -was at first named Bilboa, and meant for Sir Robert Howard; but -the representation of the piece in its original form was stopped by -the plague in 1665: it was not reproduced till six years afterwards, -when it appeared with alterations in ridicule of the pieces brought out -in the interval, and with a correspondent change of the hero. Dryden -affected to despise the satire. In the Dedication to his Translation -of Juvenal, he says, “I answered not to the Rehearsal, because I -knew the author sat to himself when he drew the picture, and was -the very Bayes of his own farce.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>An Essay on Satire, said to be written jointly by Dryden and Lord -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>Mulgrave, was first printed in 1679. This piece was handed about in -manuscript, for some time before its publication. It contained reflections -on the Duchess of Portsmouth and Lord Rochester. Anthony -Wood says, that suspecting Dryden to be the author, the aggrieved parties -hired three ruffians, who cudgelled the poet in Will’s coffee-house.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1680 a translation of Ovid’s Epistles into English came out: two -of which, together with the Preface, were by Dryden. In the following -year he published Absalom and Achitophel; a work of first-rate -excellence as a political and controversial poem. Dr. Johnson ascribes -to it “acrimony of censure, elegance of praise, artful delineation of -character, variety and vigour of sentiments, happy turns of language, -and pleasing harmony of numbers; and all these raised to such a -height as can scarcely be found in any other English composition.” -In the same year, the Medal, a satire, was given to the public. This -piece was occasioned by the striking of a medal, on account of the -indictment against Lord Shaftesbury being thrown out, and is a severe -invective against that celebrated statesman.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1682 Dryden published ‘<cite><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Religio Laici</span></cite>,’ in defence of revealed -religion against Deists, Papists, and Presbyterians. Yet soon after the -accession of James the Second, he became a Roman Catholic; and in -the hope of promoting Popery, was employed on a translation of Maimbourg’s -History of the League, on account of the parallel between the -troubles of France and those of Great Britain. This extraordinary -conversion exposed him to the ridicule of the wits, and especially to the -gibes of the facetious and celebrated Tom Brown.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The Hind and Panther, a controversial poem in defence of the -Romish church, appeared in 1687. The Hind represents the church of -Rome, the Panther the church of England. The first part of the poem -consists mostly of general characters and narration; which, says the -author, “I have endeavoured to raise, and give it the majestic turn of -heroic poetry. The second, being matter of dispute, and chiefly concerning -church authority, I was obliged to make as plain and perspicuous -as possibly I could, yet not wholly neglecting the numbers, though -I had not frequent occasion for the magnificence of verse. The third, -which has more of the nature of domestic conversation, is, or ought to -be, more free and familiar than the two former. There are in it two -episodes, or fables, which are interwoven with the main design; so -that they are properly parts of it, though they are also distinct stories -of themselves. In both of these I have made use of the commonplaces -of satire, whether true or false, which are urged by the members of -one church against another.” The absurdity of a fable exhibiting two -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>beasts discoursing on theology, was ridiculed in the City Mouse and -Country Mouse, a burlesque poem, the joint production of Montague, -afterwards Earl of Halifax, and Prior, who then put forth the first -sample of his talents. Dryden is supposed to have been engaged for -the translation of Varillas’s History of Heresies, but to have dropped -the design, from a feeling of his own incompetency to theological controversy. -Bishop Burnet, in his Reflections on the Ninth Book of the -first Volume of M. Varillas’s History, classes together that work, and -the Hind and Panther, as “such extraordinary things of their kind, that -it will be but suitable to see the author of the worst poem become likewise -the translator of the worst history that the age has produced.” Dr. -Johnson supports the Bishop’s hostile criticism so far as to pronounce -the scheme of the work injudicious and incommodious, and to censure -the absurdity of making one beast advise another to rest her faith -on a pope and council: but he allows it to be written “with great -smoothness of metre, a wide extent of knowledge, and an abundant -multiplicity of images; the controversy to be embellished with pointed -sentences, diversified by illustrations, and enlivened by sallies of invective;” -and a poem inlaid with such ornaments, however little worth -the solid material might be, was but peevishly represented as “the -worst that the age had produced.” Pope, a higher authority than the -honest Bishop in such matters, considered it as the most correct specimen -of Dryden’s versification. Malone has shown that Burnet was -mistaken in attributing to our author the answer to Burnet’s Remarks -on the History.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1688 Dryden published Britannia Rediviva, a poem on the birth -of the Prince afterwards known by the title of the Pretender. The -poem is to be noticed only for its extravagant and ill-timed adulation, -which deservedly involved the author in the disgrace and fall of his -party. But even had he not so identified himself with the ejected -dynasty, his conversion to Popery disqualified him for holding his place. -He was accordingly dispossessed of it; and the mortification of its -being conferred on an object of his confirmed dislike, aggravated the -pecuniary loss, which he could ill afford. Shadwell, his successor, was -an old enemy, whom he had formerly stigmatized under the name of -Og. In consequence of this appointment, Dryden again attacked -him in a poem called MacFlecknoe; one of the severest as well as -most witty satires in the English language. The poetry of the new -laureat was so indifferent, as to give ample scope for ridicule:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c011'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>This Flecknoe found, who, like Augustus, young</div> - <div class='line'>Was call’d to empire, and had governed long;</div> - <div class='line'>In prose and verse, was own’d, without dispute,</div> - <div class='line'>Through all the realms of nonsense, absolute.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>Although these lines be written of Flecknoe, Shadwell is the hero of -the piece, introduced as if selected by Flecknoe to succeed him on -the throne of dulness. Richard Flecknoe was an Irish priest, well -known about the court; but notwithstanding Cibber’s assertion in -his Lives of the Poets, he was never poet laureat. The above is the -story told by all the biographers; but if Mr. Malone’s laborious and -minute researches have been pursued with his usual accuracy, they -have been mistaken in the date of the publication, which he fixes in -October, 1682. If this be correct, the satire must have been a sportive -anticipation of an event, which its author little expected to come to -pass; and not the ebullition of revenge for the loss of an honourable and -lucrative employment. Taking the earlier as the true date, we might -suspect that the prophecy was fulfilled in the person of Shadwell, as a -vindictive aggravation of the deposed laureat’s fall. Yet it is difficult -to reconcile it to probability that Dryden should have dishonoured an -office which he had been holding for the last twelve years, and must -then have calculated on holding for his life, by a fictitious successive -inauguration of two blockheads, who “never deviated into sense.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Pope’s Dunciad, though more extended in its plan, and more diversified -in its incidents, was professedly written in imitation of this poem. -The leisure and pains bestowed on his performance gave the imitator -the superiority in point of elaborate execution; but there are bursts of -pleasantry in MacFlecknoe, and sallies of wit and humour, equal if not -superior to any thing in Pope or Boileau, or perhaps in any poet excepting -Horace. Dr. Joseph Warton says of it, that “in point of satire, both -oblique and direct, contempt and indignation, clear diction, and melodious -versification, this poem is perhaps the best of its kind in any -language.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dr. Johnson doubts whether Dryden was the translator of the Life -of Francis Xavier, by Father Bouhours, to which his name is affixed. -The borrowing of popular names for title-pages was very prevalent in -those days, and the loan probably not without profit to the lenders.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1693 a translation of Juvenal and Persius appeared. The first, -third, sixth, tenth, and sixteenth satires of Juvenal, and the whole of -Persius, are Dryden’s: also the Dedication to Lord Dorset, a long and -ingenious discourse, in which the writer gives an account of a design, -which he never carried into effect, of writing an epic poem either on -Arthur or the Black Prince. Lord Dorset well deserved the compliment -of so masterly a dedication; for he continued to patronise the -poet in the reverse of his fortunes, and allowed him an annuity equal -to the salary which he had lost.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1694 Dryden published a prose translation of Du Fresnoy’s Art -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>of Painting, with a Preface, exhibiting a parallel between painting and -poetry. Pope addressed a copy of verses to Jervas, the painter, in -praise of this work.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The most laborious of Dryden’s works, the translation of Virgil, -was given to the world in 1697. The Pastorals were dedicated to -Lord Clifford, the Georgics to Lord Chesterfield, and the Æneid to -Lord Mulgrave: an economical and lucrative combination of flattery -which the wits suffered not to pass unnoticed. The translation had an -extensive sale, and has since passed through many editions. Like -most of Dryden’s longer productions, it has many careless passages, -which do not well accord with an original so remarkable for finish -and correctness; but it still stands its ground, and is a stock-book in -the face of the more careful and perhaps more scholarlike performances -of Warton, Sotheby, and Pitt.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Besides the original pieces and translations already mentioned, -Dryden wrote many others, the most important of which were published -in six volumes of Miscellanies, to which he was the principal -contributor. They consist of translations from the Greek and Latin -poets; epistles, prologues, and epilogues; odes, elegies, epitaphs, and -songs. Alexander’s Feast, an ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day, displays -one of the highest flights within the compass of lyric poetry. Dryden, -although no lover of labour, is said to have devoted a fortnight to this -masterpiece. Yet the poetic fervour is so supported throughout, that -it reads as if struck off at a heat; so much so, that the few negligences -which escaped the enthusiasm of the writer are scarcely ever noticed. -Dr. Johnson, seldom carried beyond the wariness of criticism by the -inspiration of his author, did not discover that some of the lines are -without correspondent rhymes, till after an acquaintance with it of -many years. The splendour of this poem eclipsed that of his first -ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day, which would have fixed the fame of -any other poet. In Alexander’s Feast the versification is brilliantly -worked up, and abruptly varied, according to the rapid transitions of -the subject; the language is natural though elevated, and the sentiments -are suited to the age and occasion. Had Dryden never written -another line, his name would yet be as undying as the tongue in -which he wrote. His Fables in English verse from Homer, Ovid, -Boccaccio, and Chaucer, were his last work; they were published -in 1698. The preface gives a critical account of the authors from -whom the Fables are translated. In this work he furnished us -with the first example of the revival of ancient English writers -by modernizing their language. Yet those readers who can master -Chaucer’s phraseology, and have an ear so practised as to catch the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>tune of his verse, will like him better in the simplicity of his native -garb, than in the elaborate splendour of his borrowed costume.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dryden was a voluminous writer in prose as well as in verse, and -quite as great a master of the English language in the former as in -the latter. His performances in prose consist of Dedications, Prefaces, -and controversial pieces; the Lives of Plutarch and Lucian, -prefixed to the translation of those authors by several hands; the Life -of Polybius, prefixed to the translation of that historian by Sir Henry -Shears; and the Preface to Walsh’s Dialogue concerning Women.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dryden died on the 1st of May, 1701, and was buried in Westminster -Abbey. He married Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter to the Earl -of Berkshire. He had three sons by this lady; Charles, John, and -Henry. They were all educated at Rome, where John died of a fever. -He translated the fourteenth satire of Juvenal, and was author of a -comedy. Charles translated the seventh satire. There is a confused -story respecting some vexatious and tumultuary incidents occurring at -Dryden’s funeral, which rests on no satisfactory authority; and, even -if true, would occupy more room in the detail, than would square either -with our limits or its own importance.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dryden was the father of English criticism; and his Essay on -Dramatic Poetry is the first regular and judicious treatise in our language -on the art of writing. Although, after so many valuable discourses -have been delivered to the public on the same subject during -the century and a half which has elapsed since his original attempts, -his prose works may now be read more for the charm of their pure -idiomatic English, than for their novelty or instructive matter, yet the -merits of a discoverer must not be underrated because his discoveries -have been extended, or his inventions improved upon. Before his time, -those who wished to arrive at just principles of taste, or a rational -code of criticism, if they were unacquainted with the works of the -ancients and the modern languages of Italy and France, had no guides -to lead them on their way. Dryden communicated to his own -learning, which, though not deep nor accurate, was various and extensive, -the magic of his style and the popular attraction of his mother -tongue: the Spectator followed his lead, in essays less diffusive, and -therefore more within the reach of the million: in our day, such is the -accumulation of material, and so cheap and copious the power of circulating -knowledge, that the poorest man who can read may inform his -mind on subjects of general literature, to the enlargement of his understanding, -and the improvement of his morals. But we must not -forget our obligations to those who began that hoard, whence we -have the privilege of drawing at will.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>With respect to those prose works of our author which are devoted to -controversy, their interest has quite passed away, farther than as they may -evince his powers in argument, or command of language. Dr. Johnson -gives a just estimate of his general character. “He appears to -have a mind very comprehensive by nature, and much enriched with -acquired knowledge. His compositions are the effects of a vigorous -genius, operating upon large materials.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Dryden’s works have been constantly before the public, in various -shapes and successive editions. Those best deserving a place in the -library are, his Prose Works in four volumes, edited by Mr. Malone; -his Poetical Works in four volumes, with notes, by Dr. Joseph -Warton, and his son, the Rev. John Warton; and the whole of his -Works in eighteen volumes octavo, by Sir Walter Scott. The earlier -authorities for his Life are Wood’s <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Athenæ Oxonienses</span>; the Biographia -Britannica; and a Life by Derrick, poorly executed, prefixed to -Tonson’s edition, in 1760. Johnson’s admirable Essay on this subject -is in the hands of every reader, and is one of the most masterly among -his Lives of the Poets. He was peculiarly well qualified to appreciate -a writer in whom, to use his own words, “strong reason rather predominated -than quick sensibility.” Scott also has written a copious -Life, occupying the first volume of his edition of Dryden’s Works.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_134.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>[Monument of Dryden in Westminster Abbey.]</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_135fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by T. Woolnoth.</em><br /><br />LA PÉROUSE.<br /><br /><em>From a Miniature in the possession of<br />La Perouse’s niece at Alby.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span> -<img src='images/i_135.jpg' alt='La Perouse.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>LA PEROUSE.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The latter half of the last century was distinguished by a rekindling -of that spirit of maritime discovery which, active at the close of the -sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries, had lain comparatively -dormant for many years. The voyages of Wallis and -Carteret, the circumnavigation of the globe by Anson, had done something -to enlarge our knowledge, and to recall to mind the discoveries -of Dampier, Tasman, and other early navigators of the western world. -The leading objects, however, of those voyages were political and -warlike; the information gleaned in them was secondary and incidental; -and the first expedition sent out expressly for scientific -purposes was that under the command of Cook, of which we have -formerly given a short account. The brilliant success of that admirable -navigator roused France to emulation; and, under the auspices -of Louis XVI., a voyage of discovery was planned, and entrusted to -La Perouse, a name well known for the interest excited by his mysterious -disappearance, and for the frequent and (for a long time) -fruitless attempts which have been made to trace his fate, and which -interest has been recently renewed, by the unexpected discovery of the -place and manner in which he perished.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Jean Francois Galaup de la Perouse was born at Albi, in 1741, -where he entered the French marine in 1756; and, after passing -regularly through the subordinate ranks, in the course of which -he saw some active service, was promoted to the command of a -frigate in 1778. In that year hostilities broke out between France -and England, in the course of which La Perouse had the honour of -capturing more than one British ship of war. In 1782 he was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>appointed to command a small squadron sent to attack our settlements -in Hudson’s Bay. The object of the expedition was trifling, being -confined to the capture of a few insignificant forts, which made no -resistance. But La Perouse had the opportunity of displaying his -merits as a seaman in the successful navigation of a tempestuous and -icy sea, rendered more dangerous by the prevalence of thick fogs; -and the credit which he thus acquired caused him to be selected as a -proper leader in an intended voyage of discovery. He is entitled to -still higher praise for his humanity, in leaving a provision of food and -arms for the support and protection of those English residents who -had fled into the woods on his approach.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The expedition in question was planned in conformity with the -views of Louis XVI. Attached to the science, and well versed -in the study of geography, he was desirous, on behalf of France, at -once of emulating the glory which England had just acquired through -Cook’s discoveries, and of opening new channels for her commerce in -the most distant regions. A rough draft of the intended course was -made out in conformity with the king’s views, and submitted to his -perusal; and the nature of the scheme is concisely explained in a few -sentences appended to the document by Louis himself. “To sum -up the contents of this paper, and my own observations on them, the -objects in view belong to the two heads of commerce and discovery. -Of the former class there are two principal ones: the whale fishery -in the southern ocean, and the trade in furs in the north-west of -America, for transport to China, and, if possible, to Japan. Among -the points to be explored, the principal are the north-west of America, -which falls in with the commercial part of the scheme; the seas -round Japan, which do the same, but I think the season proposed -for this in the paper is ill chosen; the Solomon Islands, and the -south-west of New Holland. All other objects must be made subordinate -to these: we must confine ourselves to what is most useful, and -can be accomplished without difficulty in the three years proposed.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>La Perouse’s official instructions were only a development of this -sketch. Men of science were invited to communicate their views -as to the objects to be pursued, and the best manner of pursuing -them; and the expedition was fitted out with every appliance calculated -to promote its success. It consisted of two frigates, La -Boussole, commanded by La Perouse, and L’Astrolabe, commanded -by an accomplished officer, his friend, named Delangle; each of them -with a complement of a hundred men. They sailed August 1, 1785, -doubled Cape Horn without adventures worthy of notice, and cast -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>anchor in the Bay of La Conception, February 22, 1786. Hence he -steered northward, touching at Easter and the Sandwich islands, -until he reached the coast of America, at Mount St. Elias, in about the -sixtieth degree of north latitude. In prosecution of the first part of -his instructions, he ran down southwards, examining the coast minutely, -to the harbour of Monterey, in California, a distance between -five and six hundred leagues: hence he sailed for Japan, September -24. In crossing the Pacific, the group of small islands named -after the statesman Necker was discovered. During this run, the -two frigates, which were instructed always to keep close to each other, -were in imminent danger of being wrecked on an unknown reef. -They were upon it so suddenly, that La Boussole was thought scarcely -to have cleared the rock by a hundred fathoms. They reached Macao -without more adventures, visited Manilla, where they spent some time, -and then set sail for the Japanese isles, and the coast of Tartary, a -part of the globe little known, except through the reports of missionaries. -La Perouse sailed up the narrow channel, called the Gulf of -Tartary, lying between the Asiatic continent and the almost unknown -island of Segalien, or Sagalin. His progress was stopped by shoals, -consisting of the deposits brought down by the river Amoor; but he -went far enough to be satisfied that Sagalin is not united to the continent; -and his belief has since been shown to be correct. He discovered -and gave his own name to the strait which separates that -island from the neighbouring one of Jesso, or Matsmai; and having -thus ascertained that the land to the north of the principal island of -Japan, hitherto believed to be one island, consisted of two, he sailed -northward, traversing the Kurile Islands, visited Kamtschatka, and -passing southwards by the Friendly Islands, dropped anchor in -Botany Bay, January 16, 1788.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It should be mentioned that from the harbour of St. Peter and St. -Paul, in Kamtschatka, M. de Lesseps was dispatched home overland, -bearing the navigator’s charts and journals up to the period of their -arrival at that place. To this precaution the world owes that any -record of La Perouse’s wanderings and discoveries has been preserved; -for neither vessel ever was seen or heard of, after they left -Botany Bay. The last communication which reached home from La -Perouse was dated February 7, 1788; and expressed his intention of -returning to the Friendly Islands, of exploring the southern coast -of New Caledonia, and the Louisiade of Bougainville. He proposed -to coast the western side of New Holland to Van Dieman’s Land, so -as to arrive at the Mauritius in the close of the same year. Of this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>scheme but a small portion could have been executed. Both ships -were lost, there is every reason to believe, on the island of Mallicolo, -or Vanicoro, one of the New Hebrides, a group lying about the sixteenth -degree of south latitude; but the exact time and circumstances -remain unknown, for not one of the crews ever reached an European -settlement. When the non-arrival of La Perouse in France began -to be the subject of alarm, an expedition was fitted out under Admiral -d’Entrecasteaux, with orders strictly to pursue the route laid down -above, and to use every means of ascertaining the fate of, and if they -yet lived, ministering relief to, his unfortunate countrymen. The -service was performed with zeal and ability, but without success. -Chance led a private English trader to the solution of this question, -vainly, yet anxiously, sought for many years.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1813, Mr. Dillon, a subordinate officer on board a Calcutta -trading vessel, escaped almost by miracle from an affray with the -natives of the Fegee, or Beetee islands, a group lying to the west of -the Friendly Islands, about the eighteenth degree of south latitude, in -which fourteen of the ship’s crew were killed, and of his immediate -companions only two survived. One of these was a Prussian, named -Martin Busshart, who had been for some time on the island where -this tragical event occurred. This man, certain of being sacrificed -to the revenge of the natives, of whom many were killed, if he -remained there, requested to be transported to some other spot; and -he was put ashore upon an island named Tucopia. In time Mr. -Dillon became owner and commander of a vessel named the St. -Patrick, and being again in those seas, he visited Tucopia in May, -1826, to procure some tidings of his old companion in danger. Here -a silver sword-guard was offered for sale. Inquiry being made how -the article was obtained, it was replied, that “when the old men in -Tucopia were boys,” two ships had been wrecked on an island not -very far off, called Mallicolo, or Vanicoro, and that there yet remained -large quantities of the wreck. Captain Dillon guessed that these -might be La Perouse’s vessels, and made sail for the island pointed -out; but he was baffled by adverse circumstances, and forced to -pursue his course to Calcutta without obtaining the desired satisfaction. -Arrived at the capital of India, he laid before the government -information and evidence which was deemed sufficiently conclusive -to warrant the fitting out a ship, named the Research, with -the design of fetching off two white men, who were said to have -escaped, and to be living on the island; or, at least, to seek, by inquiry -on the spot, some conclusive evidence of the fate of La Perouse. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>Captain Dillon reached Vanicoro, and obtained an ample harvest of -European articles, both in wood and metal. The tale told by the -natives was simple and probable: “A long time ago the people of -this island, upon coming out one morning, saw part of a ship on the -reef opposite to Paiow, where it held together till the middle of the -day, when it was broken by the sea, fell to pieces, and large parts of it -floated on shore along the coast. The ship got on the reef in the -night, when it blew a tremendous hurricane, which broke down a -considerable number of our fruit-trees. We had not seen the ship -the day before. Four men were saved from her, and were on the -beach at this place, whom we were about to kill, supposing them to -be spirits, when they made a present to our chief of something, and -thus saved their lives. They lived with us a short time, and then -joined their people at Paiow, who built a small ship there, and went -away in it. The things which we sell you now have been procured -from the ship wrecked on that reef, on which, at low water, our people -were in the habit of diving, and bringing up what they could find. -The same night another ship struck on a reef near Whannow, and -went down. There were several men saved from her, who built a -little ship and went away, five moons after the big one was lost. -While building it they had a great fence of trees round them, to -keep off the islanders, who being equally afraid of them, they consequently -kept up but little intercourse. The white men used often -to look at the sun through something, but we have none of those things. -Two white men remained behind after the last went away: the one -was a chief, and the other a common man, who used to attend on the -white chief, who died about three years ago. The chief, with whom -the white man resided, was obliged, about two years and a half ago, -to fly from his country, and was accompanied by the white man. The -only white people the inhabitants of this island have ever seen were, -first, the people of the wrecked ship; and, secondly, those before me -now.”—Dillon’s Discovery of the Fate of La Perouse, vol. ii. p. 194.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Whannow and Paiow are two villages about ten nautical miles -distant from each other in a straight line, on the western side of the -island, which is nearly surrounded by an abrupt and dangerous coral -reef. The climate is reported to be wet and hazy, so that probably -the sufferers were not aware of their approach to danger till all chance -of escape was past. The story just related is consistent and probable, -and it was confirmed by examination of the shore at Paiow, where a -small cleared space, of about an acre (the only one on the island), was -found, in a place well suited for building and launching a ship; and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>in the neighbourhood of which stumps of trees, evidently felled with -axes many years before, were discovered. The spot where one of the -ships had struck was ascertained, and some heavy articles, as guns, -raised in the shallow water on the reef. No trace of the others could -be found; and it was said by the natives to have gone down in deep -water. Captain Dillon returned to Calcutta, and thence to England, -bringing the articles he had obtained along with him.</p> - -<p class='c000'>No doubt can be entertained but that two French ships, apparently -ships of war, were wrecked at Vanicoro. There are no other vessels -whose loss is to be accounted for, and the apparent length of time since -their destruction, corresponds with the date of La Perouse’s expedition. -There is therefore the strongest presumptive evidence for concluding -that the fate of that intrepid navigator is at length revealed: but the -articles collected, though indisputably belonging to French ships, -could not be conclusively identified as having been on board La Boussole -and L’Astrolabe. It was suggested that the point might be -determined by comparing the marks of the cannon with the registers -of the French ordnance, in which the numbers and weight of the -guns supplied to each ship would of course be set down. We do not -know whether, or with what success, this has been done. But the -French government appears to have been satisfied; for on visiting -Paris Captain Dillon received the personal thanks of Charles X., and -the cross of the Legion of Honour, together with a liberal pecuniary -reward for his exertions.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The French, even during the excitement of the early part of the -revolution, manifested a lively interest for La Perouse and his crew. -D’Entrecasteaux, we have said, was sent out expressly in quest of -them; and a reward was offered to whosoever should bring intelligence -of their fate, which Captain Dillon was the first to claim. -A narrative of the voyage, compiled from the papers brought home -by M. de Lesseps, was printed in four quarto volumes, with an atlas, -at Paris, 1797, at the national expense, and a certain number of copies -being reserved, the rest of the impression was presented to La Perouse’s -widow, who continued to receive her husband’s pay. Recently the -“Voyage de la Perouse” has been compiled from the original documents, -with notes by M. de Lesseps, in an octavo volume, with an -Appendix, containing an account of Captain Dillon’s researches, and -of the voyage of a French ship, L’Astrolabe, which was engaged at -the same time in the same office. To this work, to Captain Dillon’s -publication above quoted, and to the “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bulletins de la Société de Géographie<a id='t140'></a></span>,” -we refer the readers for a full account of all that is known -of the progress and catastrophe of this celebrated expedition.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_141fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by W. Holl.</em><br /><br />CRANMER.<br /><br /><em>From an original Picture in the Collection<br />at Lambeth Palace.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span> -<img src='images/i_141.jpg' alt='CRANMER.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>CRANMER.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Thomas Cranmer was born July 2, 1489, at Aslacton, in Nottinghamshire. -He was descended from an ancient family, which had -long been resident in that county. At the age of fourteen he was -sent to Jesus College, Cambridge; where he obtained a fellowship, -which he soon vacated by marriage with a young woman who -is said to have been of humble condition. Within a year after his -marriage he became a widower, and was immediately, by unusual -favour, restored to his fellowship. In 1523, he was admitted to the -degree of doctor of divinity, and appointed one of the public examiners -in that faculty. Here he found an opportunity of showing the -fruits of that liberal course of study which he had been for some time -pursuing. As soon as his teachers left him at liberty, he had wandered -from the works of the schoolmen to the ancient classics and -the Bible; and, thus prepared for the office of examiner, he alarmed -the candidates for degrees in theology by the novelty of requiring -from them some knowledge of the Scriptures.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It was from this useful employment that he was called to take part -in the memorable proceedings of Henry the Eighth, in the matter of -his divorce from Catherine.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Henry had been counselled to lay his case before the universities, -both at home and abroad. Cranmer, to whom the subject had been -mentioned by Gardiner and Fox, went a step farther, and suggested -that he should receive their decision as sufficient without reference to -the Pope. This suggestion was communicated to the king, who, -observing, with his usual elegance of expression, that the man had got -the sow by the right ear, summoned Cranmer to his presence, and -immediately received him into his favour and confidence.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1531, Cranmer accompanied the unsuccessful embassy to Rome, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>and in the following year was appointed ambassador to the Emperor. -In August, 1532, the archbishopric of Canterbury became vacant by -the death of Warham, and it was Henry’s pleasure to raise Cranmer -to the primacy. The latter seems to have been truly unwilling to -accept his promotion; and when he found that no reluctance on his -part could shake the king’s resolution, he suggested a difficulty which -there were no very obvious means of removing. The Archbishop -must receive his investiture from the Pope, and at his consecration -take an oath of fidelity to his Holiness, altogether inconsistent with -another oath, taken at the same time, of allegiance to the king. All -this had been done without scruple by other bishops; but Cranmer -was already convinced that the Papal authority in England was a -mere usurpation, and plainly told Henry that he would receive the -archbishopric from him alone. Henry was not a man to be stopped by -scruples of conscience of his own or others; so he consulted certain -casuists, who settled the matter by suggesting that Cranmer should -take the obnoxious oath, with a protest that he meant nothing by it. -He yielded to the command of his sovereign and the judgment of the -casuists. His protest was read by himself three times in the most public -manner, and solemnly recorded. It is expedient to notice that the -transaction was public, because some historians, to make a bad matter -worse, still talk of a private protest.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1533, he pronounced sentence of divorce against the unhappy -Catherine, and confirmed the marriage of the king with Anne Boleyn. -He was now at leisure to contemplate all the difficulties of his -situation. It is commonly said that Cranmer himself had, at this time, -made but small progress in Protestantism. It is true that he yet -adhered to many of the peculiar doctrines of the Roman Church; -but he had reached, and firmly occupied, a position which placed him -by many degrees nearer to the reformed faith than to that in which -he had been educated. By recognising the Scriptures alone as the -standard of the Christian faith, he had embraced the very principle -out of which Protestantism flows. It had already led him to the -Protestant doctrine respecting the pardon of sin, which necessarily -swept away all respect for a large portion of the machinery of -Romanism. As a religious reformer, Cranmer could look for no -cordial and honest support from the king. Every one knows that -Henry, when he left the Pope, had no mind to estrange himself more -than was necessary from the Papal Church, and that the cause of -religious reformation owes no more gratitude to him, than the cause of -political liberty owes to those tyrants who, for their own security, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>often by very foul means, have laboured to crush the power of equally -tyrannical nobles. From Gardiner, who, with his party, had been -most active and unscrupulous in helping the king to his divorce and -destroying papal supremacy, Cranmer had nothing to expect but open -or secret hostility, embittered by personal jealousy. Cromwell, indeed, -was ready to go with him any lengths in reform consistent with his -own safety; but a sincere reformer must have been occasionally -hampered by an alliance with a worldly and unconscientious politician. -The country at large was in a state of unusual excitement; but the -rupture with Rome was regarded with at least as much alarm as -satisfaction; and it was notorious that many, who were esteemed for -their wisdom and piety, considered the position of the church to be -monstrous and unnatural. The Lollards, who had been driven into -concealment, but not extinguished, by centuries of persecution, and the -Lutherans, wished well to Cranmer’s measures of reform: but he was -not equally friendly to them. They had outstripped him in the search -of truth; and he was unhappily induced to sanction at least a miserable -persecution of those men with whom he was afterwards to be numbered -and to suffer.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His first and most pressing care was by all means to reconcile the -minds of men to the assertion of the king’s ecclesiastical supremacy, -because all further changes must necessarily proceed from the royal -authority. He then addressed himself to what seem to have been the -three great objects of his official exertions,—the reformation of the -clerical body, so as to make their ministerial services more useful; -the removal of the worst part of the prevailing superstitious observances, -which were a great bar to the introduction of a more -spiritual worship; and above all, the free circulation of the Scriptures -among the people in their own language. In this last object he was -opportunely assisted by the printing of what is called Matthews’s Bible, -by Grafton and Whitchurch. He procured, through the intervention -of Cromwell, the king’s licence for the publication, and an injunction -that a copy of it should be placed in every parish church. He hailed -this event with unbounded joy; and to Cromwell, for the active part -he took in the matter, he says, in a letter, “This deed you shall hear of -at the great day, when all things shall be opened and made manifest.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>He had hardly witnessed the partial success of the cause of Reformation, -when his influence over the king, and with it the cause which -he had at heart, began to decline. He had no friendly feeling for those -monastic institutions which the rapacity of Henry had marked for -destruction; but he knew that their revenues might, as national -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>property, be applied advantageously to the advancement of learning -and religion, and he opposed their indiscriminate transfer to the -greedy hands of the sycophants of the court. This opposition gave to -the more unscrupulous of the Romanists an opportunity to recover -their lost ground with the king, of which they were not slow to avail -themselves. They were strong enough at least to obtain from Parliament, -in 1539, (of course through the good will of their despotic -master,) the act of the Six Articles, not improperly called the -“Bloody Articles,” in spite of the determined opposition of Cranmer: -an opposition which he refused to withdraw even at the express command -of the king. Latimer and Shaxton immediately resigned their -bishoprics. One of the clauses of this act, relating to the marriage of -priests, inflicted a severe blow even on the domestic happiness of Cranmer. -In his last visit to the continent, he had taken, for his second -wife, a niece of the celebrated divine Osiander. By continuing to -cohabit with her, he would now, by the law of the land, be guilty of -felony; she was therefore sent back to her friends in Germany.</p> - -<p class='c000'>From this time till the death of Henry in 1546, Cranmer could do -little more than strive against a stream which not only thwarted his plans -of further reformation, but endangered his personal safety; and he had -to strive alone, for Latimer and other friends among the clergy had -retired from the battle, and Cromwell had been removed from it by the -hands of the executioner. He was continually assailed by open -accusation and secret conspiracy. On one occasion his enemies -seemed to have compassed his ruin, when Henry himself interposed -and rescued him from their malice. His continued personal regard -for Cranmer, after he had in a measure rejected him from his confidence, -is a remarkable anomaly in the life of this extraordinary king; -of whom, on a review of his whole character, we are obliged to -acknowledge, that in his best days he was a heartless voluptuary, and -that he had become, long before his death, a remorseless and sanguinary -tyrant. It is idle to talk of the complaisance of the servant -to his master, as a complete solution of the difficulty. That he was, -indeed, on some occasions subservient beyond the strict line of -integrity, even his friends must confess; and for the part which he -condescended to act in the iniquitous divorce of Anne of Cleves, no -excuse can be found but the poor one of the general servility of the -times: that infamous transaction has left an indelible stain of disgrace -on the Archbishop, the Parliament, and the Convocation. But -Cranmer could oppose as well as comply: his conduct in the case of -the Six Articles, and his noble interference in favour of Cromwell -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>between the tiger and his prey, would seem to have been sufficient to -ruin the most accommodating courtier. Perhaps Henry had discovered -that Cranmer had more real attachment to his person than any of his -unscrupulous agents, and he may have felt pride in protecting one -who, from his unsuspicious disposition and habitual mildness, was -obviously unfit, in such perilous times, to protect himself. His -mildness indeed was such, that it was commonly said, “Do my Lord -of Canterbury a shrewd turn, and you make him your friend for life.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>On the accession of Edward new commissions were issued, at the -suggestion of Cranmer, to himself and the other bishops, by which -they were empowered to receive again their bishoprics, as though they -had ceased with the demise of the crown, and to hold them during the -royal pleasure. His object of course was to settle at once the question -of the new king’s supremacy, and the proceeding was in conformity -with an opinion which at one time he undoubtedly entertained, that -there are no distinct orders of bishops and priests, and that the office -of bishop, so far as it is distinguished from that of priests, is simply of -civil origin. The government was now directed by the friends of Reformation, -Cranmer himself being one of the Council of Regency; but -still his course was by no means a smooth one. The unpopularity, which -the conduct of the late king had brought on the cause, was even aggravated -by the proceedings of its avowed friends during the short reign of -his son. The example of the Protector Somerset was followed by a herd -of courtiers, and not a few ecclesiastics, in making reform a plea for the -most shameless rapacity, rendered doubly hateful by the hypocritical -pretence of religious zeal. The remonstrances of Cranmer were of course -disregarded; but his powerful friends were content that, whilst they -were filling their pockets, he should complete, if he could, the establishment -of the reformed church. Henry had left much for the Reformers -to do. Some, indeed, of the peculiar doctrines of Romanism had been -modified, and some of its superstitious observances abolished. The -great step gained was the general permission to read the Scriptures; -and, though even that had been partially recalled, it was impossible to -recall the scriptural knowledge and the spirit of inquiry to which it -had given birth. With the assistance of some able divines, particularly -of his friend and chaplain Ridley, afterwards Bishop of London, -Cranmer was able to bring the services and discipline of the church, -well as the articles of faith, nearly to the state in which we now see -them. In doing this he had to contend at once with the determined -hostility of the Romanists, with dissensions in his own party, and -conscientious opposition from sincere friends of the cause. In these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>difficult circumstances his conduct was marked generally by moderation, -good judgment, and temper. But it must be acknowledged that -he concurred in proceedings against some of the Romanists, especially -against Gardiner, which were unfair and oppressive. In the composition -of the New Service Book, as it was then generally called, and of -the Articles, we know not what parts were the immediate work of -Cranmer; but we have good evidence that he was the author of three -of the Homilies, those of Salvation, of Faith, and of Good Works.</p> - -<p class='c000'>It should be observed, that Cranmer, though he early set out from a -principle which might be expected eventually to lead him to the full -extent of doctrinal reformation, made his way slowly and by careful -study of the Scriptures, of which he left behind sufficient proof, to that -point at which we find him in the reign of Edward. It is certain that -during the greater part, if not the whole, of Henry’s reign, he agreed -with the Romanists in the doctrine of the corporal presence and -transubstantiation.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The death of Edward ushered in the storms which troubled the -remainder of his days. All the members of the council affixed their -signatures to the will of the young king, altering the order of succession -in favour of the Lady Jane Grey. Cranmer’s accession to -this illegal measure, the suggestion of the profligate Northumberland, -cannot be justified, nor did he himself attempt to justify it. He appears, -weakly and with great reluctance, to have yielded up his better -judgment to the will of his colleagues, and the opinion of the judges.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Mary had not been long on the throne before Cranmer was committed -to the Tower, attainted of high treason, brought forth to take -part in what seems to have been little better than a mockery of disputation, -and then sent to Oxford, where, with Latimer and Ridley, -he was confined in a common prison. The charge of high treason, -which might undoubtedly have been maintained, was not followed up, -and it was not, perhaps, the intention of the government at any time -to act upon it: it was their wish that he should fall as a heretic. At -Oxford he was repeatedly brought before commissioners delegated -by the Convocation, and, in what were called examinations and disputations, -was subjected to the most unworthy treatment. On the 20th -of April, 1554, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer were publicly required to -recant, and on their refusal were condemned as heretics. The commission -however having been illegally made out, it was thought expedient -to stay the execution till a new one had been obtained; which, -in the case of Cranmer, was issued by the Pope. He was consequently -dragged through the forms of another trial and examination; summoned, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>whilst still a close prisoner, to appear within eighty days at -Rome; and then, by a sort of legal fiction, not more absurd perhaps -than some which still find favour in our own courts, declared contumacious -for failing to appear. Finally, he was degraded, and delivered -over to the secular power. That no insult might be spared him, -Bonner was placed on the commission for his degradation, in which -employment he seems to have surpassed even his usual brutality.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Cranmer had now been a prisoner for more than two years, during -the whole of which his conduct appears to have been worthy of the -high office which he had held, and the situation in which he was -placed. Whilst he expressed contrition for his political offence, and -was earnest to vindicate his loyalty, he maintained with temper and -firmness those religious opinions which had placed him in such fearful -peril. Of the change which has thrown a cloud over his memory, -we know hardly any thing with certainty but the fact of his recantation. -Little reliance can be placed on the detailed accounts of the circumstances -which accompanied it. He was taken from his miserable cell -in the prison to comfortable lodgings in Christchurch, where he is said -to have been assailed with promises of pardon, and allured, by a treacherous -show of kindness, into repeated acts of apostacy. In the mean -while the government had decreed his death. On the 21st of March, -1556, he was taken from his prison to St. Mary’s Church, and exhibited -to a crowded audience, on an elevated platform, in front of the -pulpit. After a sermon from Dr. Cole, the Provost of Eton, he uttered -a short and affecting prayer on his knees; then rising, addressed an -exhortation to those around him; and, finally, made a full and distinct -avowal of his penitence and remorse for his apostacy, declaring, that -the unworthy hand which had signed his recantation should be the -first member that perished. Amidst the reproaches of his disappointed -persecutors he was hurried from the church to the stake, where -he fulfilled his promise by holding forth his hand to the flames. We -have undoubted testimony that he bore his sufferings with inflexible -constancy. A spectator of the Romanist party says, “If it had been -either for the glory of God, the wealth of his country, or the testimony -of the truth, as it was for a pernicious error, and subversion of true -religion, I could worthily have commended the example, and matched -it with the fame of any Father of ancient time.” He perished in his -sixty-seventh year.</p> - -<p class='c000'>All that has been left of his writings will be found in an edition of -“The Remains of Archbishop Cranmer,” lately published at Oxford, -in four volumes 8vo. They give proof that he was deeply imbued -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>with the spirit of Protestantism, and that his opinions were the result -of reflection and study; though the effect of early impressions occasionally -appears, as in the manner of his appeals to the Apocryphal -books, and a submission to the judgment of the early fathers, in a -degree barely consistent with his avowed principles. See his First -Letter to Queen Mary.</p> - -<p class='c000'>This brief memoir does not pretend to supply the reader with materials -for examining that difficult question, the character of the Archbishop. -It is hardly necessary to refer him to such well-known books -as Strype’s Life of Cranmer, and the recent works of Mr. Todd and -Mr. Le Bas.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The time, it seems, has not arrived for producing a strictly impartial -life of this celebrated man. Yet there is doubtless a much nearer -agreement among candid inquirers, whether members of the Church -of England or Roman Catholics, than the language of those who have -told their thoughts to the public might lead us to expect. Those who -are cool enough to understand that the credit and truth of their respective -creeds are in no way interested in the matter, will probably allow, -that the course of reform which Cranmer directed was justified to -himself by his private convictions; and that his motive was a desire -to establish what he really believed to be the truth. Beyond this they -will acknowledge that there is room for difference of opinion. Some -will see, in the errors of his life, only human frailty, not irreconcileable -with a general singleness of purpose; occasional deviations from -the habitual courage of a confirmed Christian. Others may honestly, -and not uncharitably, suspect, that the habits of a court, and constant -engagement in official business, may have somewhat marred the simplicity -of his character, weakened the practical influence of religious -belief, and caused him, whilst labouring for the improvement of others, -to neglect his own; and hence they may account for his unsteadfastness -in times of trial.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In addition to the works mentioned above, we may name as easily -accessible, among Protestant authorities, Burnet’s History of the -Reformation; among Roman Catholic, Lingard’s History of England. -Collier, in his Ecclesiastical History, stands, perhaps, more nearly on -neutral ground, but can hardly be cited as an impartial historian. -Though a Protestant, in his hatred and dread of all innovators, and -especially of the Puritans, he seems ready to take refuge even with -Popery; and examines always with jealousy, sometimes with malignity, -the motives and conduct of Reformers, from his first notice of -Wiclif to the close of his history.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_149fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by Rob<sup>t</sup>. Hart.</em><br /><br />TASSO.<br /><br /><em>From a Print by Raffaelle Morghen.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span> -<img src='images/i_149.jpg' alt='TASSO.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>TASSO.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Torquato Tasso, born at Sorrento March 11, 1544, was the son of -Bernardo Tasso by Portia de Rossi, a lady of a noble Neapolitan -family. His father was a man of some note, both as a political and -as a literary character; and his poem of ‘Amadigi,’ founded on the -well-known romance of Amadis de Gaul, has been preferred by -one partial critic even to the Orlando Furioso. Ferrante Sanseverino, -Prince of Salerno, chose him for his secretary, and with him -and for him Bernardo shared all the vicissitudes of fortune. That -Prince having been deprived of his estates, and expelled from the -kingdom of Naples by the court of Spain, Bernardo was involved -in his proscription, and retired with him to Rome. Tarquato, then five -years old, remained with his mother, who left Sorrento and went to -reside with her family in Naples.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Bernardo Tasso having lost all hopes of ever returning to that capital, -advised his wife to retire with his daughter into a nunnery, and to -send Torquato to Rome. Our young poet suffered much in parting -from his mother and sister; but, fulfilling the command of his parents, -he joined his father in October, 1554. On this occasion he composed -a canzone, in which he compared himself to Ascanius escaping from -Troy with his father Æneas.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The fluctuating fortunes of the elder Tasso caused Torquato to visit -successively Bergamo, the abode of his paternal relatives, and Pesaro, -where his manners and intelligence made so favourable an impression, -that the Duke of Pesaro chose him for companion to his son, then -studying under the celebrated Corrado of Mantua. In 1559, he accompanied -his father to Venice, and there perused the best Italian -authors, especially Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. The next year -he went to the University of Padua, where, under Sperone Speroni, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>and Sigonio, he studied Aristotle and the critics; and by Piccolomini -and Pandasio he was taught the moral and philosophical doctrines of -Socrates and Plato. However, notwithstanding his severer studies, -Torquato never lost sight of his favourite art; and, at the age of seventeen, -in ten months, he composed his <cite>Rinaldo</cite>, a poem in twelve -cantos, founded on the then popular romances of Charlemagne and his -Paladins. This work, which was published in 1562, excited great -admiration, and gave rise to expectations which were justified by the -Gerusalemme Liberata. The plan of that immortal poem was conceived, -according to Serassi’s conjecture, in 1563, at Bologna, where -Tasso was then prosecuting his studies. The first sketch of it is -still preserved in a manuscript, dated 1563, in the Vatican Library, -and printed at Venice in 1722. Unfortunately, while thus engaged, -he was brought into collision with the civil authorities, in consequence -of some satirical attacks on the University, which were falsely -attributed to him. The charge was refuted, but not until his papers -had been seized and himself imprisoned. This disgusted him with -Bologna, and he returned to Padua in 1564. There he applied all -his faculties to the accomplishment of his epic poem; collected immense -materials from the Chronicles of the Crusades; and wrote, to -exercise his critical powers, the <cite><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Discorsi</span></cite> and the <cite><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Trattato sulla Poesia</span></cite>. -While thus engaged, the Cardinal Luigi d’Este appointed him a -gentleman of his court. Speroni endeavoured to dissuade the young -poet from accepting that office, by relating the many disappointments -which he had himself experienced while engaged in a similar career. -These remonstrances were vain. Tasso joined the Cardinal at Ferrara -at the end of October, 1564, and soon attracted the favourable notice -of the Duke Alphonso, brother of the Cardinal, and of their sisters; -one of whom, the celebrated Eleonora, is commonly supposed to have -exercised a lasting and unhappy influence over the poet’s life. Ferrara -continued to be his chief place of abode till 1571, when he was summoned -to accompany his patron the Cardinal to France. The gaieties -of a court, celebrated in that age for its splendour, did not prevent his -prosecuting his poetic studies with zeal; for it appears from his will, -quoted by Mr. Stebbing, that, at his departure for France, he had -written a considerable portion of the Gerusalemme, besides a variety -of minor pieces. His reputation was already high at the court of -France, where he was received by Charles IX. with distinguished -attention. But he perceived, or fancied that he saw, a change in the -Cardinal’s demeanour towards him, and, impatient of neglect, begged -leave to return to Italy. In 1572, he was at Rome with the Cardinal -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>Ippolito d’Este. In the same year he entered the service of the Duke -of Ferrara, and resumed with zeal the completion and correction of -the Gerusalemme.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1573, Tasso wrote his beautiful pastoral drama <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Aminta</span>. This -new production added greatly to his reputation. He chose simple -Nature for his model; and succeeded admirably in the imitation of her.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The Gerusalemme Liberata was completed in 1575. Tasso submitted -it to the criticism of the most learned men of that age. The -great confusion which prevailed in the remarks of his critics caused -him extraordinary uneasiness and labour. To answer their objections, -he wrote the <cite><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Lettere Poetiche</span></cite>, which are the best key to the true -interpretation of his poem.</p> - -<p class='c000'>During 1575, Tasso visited Pavia, Padua, Bologna, and Rome, -and in 1576 returned to Ferrara. His abode there never was a happy -one; for his talents, celebrity, and the favour in which he was held, -raised up enemies, who showed their spleen in petty underminings -and annoyances, to which the poet’s susceptible temper lent a sting. -He was attracted, however, by the kindness of the Duke and the -society of the beautiful and accomplished Eleonora, the Duke’s sister, -for whom the poet ventured, it is said, to declare an affection, which, -according to some historians, did not remain unrequited. The portrait -of Olinda, in the beautiful episode which relates her history, is -generally understood to have been designed after this living model: -while some have imagined that Tasso himself is not less clearly pictured -in the description of her lover Sofronio. But about this time, -whether from mental uneasiness, or from constitutional causes, his -conduct began to be marked by a morbid irritability allied to madness. -The Gerusalemme was surreptitiously printed without having -received the author’s last corrections; and he entreated the Duke, -and all his powerful friends, to prevent such an abuse. Alfonso and -the Pope himself endeavoured to satisfy Tasso’s demands, but with -little success. This circumstance, and other partly real, partly imaginary -troubles, augmented so much his natural melancholy and apprehension, -that he began to think that his enemies not only persecuted -and calumniated him, but accused him of great crimes; he -even imagined that they had the intention of denouncing his works -to the Holy Inquisition. Under this impression he presented himself -to the Inquisitor of Bologna; and having made a general confession, -submitted his works to the examination of that holy father, and begged -and obtained his absolution. His malady, for such we may surely call -it, was continually exasperated by the arts of his rivals; and on one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>occasion, in the apartments of the Duchess of Urbino, he drew his -sword on one of her attendants. He was immediately arrested; -and subsequently sent to one of the Duke’s villas, where he was kindly -treated and supplied with medical advice. But his fancied injuries -(for in this case they do not seem to have been real) still pursued him; -and he fled, destitute of every thing, from Ferrara, and hastened to his -sister Cornelia, then living at Sorrento. Her care and tenderness very -much soothed his mind and improved his health; but, unfortunately, he -soon repented of his hasty flight, and returned to Ferrara, where his -former malady soon regained its power. Dissatisfied with all about him, -he again left that town; but, after having wandered for more than a year, -he returned to Alfonso, by whom he was received with indifference -and contempt. By nature sensitive, and much excited by his misfortunes, -Tasso began to pour forth bitter invectives against the Duke -and his court. Alfonso exercised a cruel revenge; for, instead of -soothing the unhappy poet, he shut him up as a lunatic in the Hospital -of St. Anne. This act merits our unqualified censure; for if Tasso -had in truth any tendency to madness, what so likely to render it incurable -as to shut him up in solitary confinement, in an unhealthy -cell, deprived of his favourite books, and of every amusement? Yet, -strange to say, notwithstanding his sufferings, mental and bodily, for -more than seven years in that abode of misery and despair, his powers -remained unbroken, his genius unimpaired; and even there he composed -some pieces both in prose and verse, which were triumphantly -appealed to by his friends in proof of his sanity. To this period we -may probably refer the ‘<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Veglie</span>,’ or ‘Watches’ of Tasso, the manuscript -of which was discovered in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, -towards the end of the last century. They are written in prose, and -express the author’s melancholy thoughts in elegant and poetic language. -The Gerusalemme had now been published and republished -both in Italy and France, and Europe rang with its praises; yet the -author lay almost perishing in close confinement, sick, forlorn, and -destitute of every comfort.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1584, Camillo Pellegrini, a Capuan nobleman, and a great admirer -of Tasso’s genius, published a Dialogue on Epic Poetry, in -which he placed the Gerusalemme far above the Orlando Furioso. -This testimony from a man of literary distinction caused a great sensation -among the friends and admirers of Ariosto. Two Academicians of -the Crusca, Salviati and De Rossi, attacked the Gerusalemme in the -name of the Academy, and assailed Tasso and his father in a gross -strain of abuse. From the mad-house Tasso answered with great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>moderation; defended his father, his poem, and himself from these -groundless invectives; and thus gave to the world the best proof of -his soundness of mind, and of his manly philosophical spirit.</p> - -<p class='c000'>At length, after being long importuned by the noblest minds of -Italy, Alphonso released him in 1586, at the earnest entreaty of Don -Vincenzo Gonzaga, son of the Duke of Mantua, at whose court the -poet for a time took up his abode. There, through the kindness and -attentions of his patron and friends, he improved so much in health -and spirits, that he resumed his literary labours, and completed his -father’s poem, Floridante, and his own tragedy, Torrismondo.</p> - -<p class='c000'>But, with advancing age, Tasso became still more restless and -impatient of dependence, and he conceived a desire to visit Naples, in -the hope of obtaining some part of the confiscated property of his -parents. Accordingly, having received permission from the Duke, -he left Mantua, and arrived in Naples at the end of March, -1588. About this time he made several alterations in his Gerusalemme, -corrected numerous faults, and took away all the praises he -had bestowed on the House of Este. Alfieri used to say, that this -amended Gerusalemme was the only one which he could read with -pleasure to himself, or with admiration for the author. But as -there appeared no hope that his claims would be soon adjusted, he -returned to Rome, in November, 1588. Ever harassed by a restless -mind, he quitted, one after another, the hospitable roofs which gave -him shelter; and at last, destitute of all resources, and afflicted with -illness, took refuge in the hospital of the Bergamaschi, with whose -founder he claimed relation by the father’s side: a singular fate for -one with whose praises Italy even then was ringing. But it should -be remembered, ere we break into invectives against the sordidness -of the age which suffered this degradation, that the waywardness of -Tasso’s temper rendered it hard to satisfy him as an inmate, or to -befriend him as a patron.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Restored to health, at the Grand Duke’s invitation, he went to -Florence, where both prince and people received him with every -mark of admiration. Those who saw him, as he passed along the -streets, would exclaim, “See! there is Tasso! That is the wonderful -and unfortunate poet!”</p> - -<p class='c000'>It is useless minutely to trace his wanderings from Florence to Rome, -from Rome to Mantua, and back again to Rome and Naples. At the -latter place he dwelt in the palace of the Prince of Conca, where he -composed great part of the Gerusalemme Conquistata. But having -apprehended, not without reason, that the prince wished to possess -himself of his manuscripts, Torquato left the palace to reside with his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>friend Manso. His health and spirits improved in his new abode; -and besides proceeding with the Conquistata, he commenced, at the -request of Manso’s mother, ‘<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Le Sette Giornate del Mondo Creato</span>,’ -a sacred poem in blank verse, founded on the Book of Genesis, which -he completed in Rome a few days before his death.</p> - -<p class='c000'>He visited Rome in 1593. A report that Marco di Sciarra, a -notorious bandit, infested the road, induced him to halt at Gaeta, -where his presence was celebrated by the citizens with great rejoicing. -Sciarra having heard that the great poet was detained by fear of him, -sent a message, purporting, that instead of injury, Tasso should receive -every protection at his hands. This offer was declined; yet Sciarra, -in testimony of respect, sent word, that for the poet’s sake he would -withdraw with all his band from that neighbourhood; and he did so.</p> - -<p class='c000'>This time, on his arrival at Rome, Tasso was received by the -Cardinals Cinzio and Pietro Aldobrandini, nephews of the Pope, not -as a courtier, but as a friend. At their palace he completed the -Gerusalemme Conquistata, and published it with a dedication to -Cardinal Cinzio. This work was preferred by its author to the Gerusalemme -Liberata. It is remarkable that Milton made a similar error -in estimating his Paradise Regained.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In March, 1594, Tasso returned to Naples in hope of benefiting his -rapidly declining health. The experiment appeared to answer; but -scarcely had he passed four months in his native country, when -Cardinal Cinzio requested him to hasten to Rome, having obtained for -him from the Pope the honour of a solemn coronation in the Capitol. -In the following November the poet arrived at Rome, and was received -with general applause. The Pope himself overwhelmed him with -praises, and one day said, “Torquato, I give you the laurel, that -it may receive as much honour from you as it has conferred upon -them who have worn it before you.” To give to this solemnity greater -splendour, it was delayed till April 25, 1595; but during the winter -Tasso’s health became worse. Feeling that his end was nigh, he -begged to be removed to the convent of St. Onofrio, where he was -carried off by fever on the very day appointed for his coronation. His -corpse was interred the same evening in the church of the monastery, -according to his will; and his tomb was covered with a plain stone, on -which, ten years after, Manso, his friend and admirer, caused this -simple epitaph to be engraved,—<span class='sc'><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Hic Jacet Torquatus Tasso</span></span>.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Tasso was tall and well proportioned; his countenance very expressive, -but rather melancholy; his complexion of a dark brown, -with lively eyes. Our vignette is taken from a cast in wax, made after -his death. He has left many beautiful and remarkable pieces, both in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>verse and prose; but his fame is based upon the Gerusalemme Liberata: -the others are comparatively little read. Among his countrymen, -the comparative merits of this great work, and of the Orlando -Furioso, have, ever since the days of Pellegrini, been a favourite subject -of controversy. Some who persist in asserting that Ariosto was -the greater poet, do not refuse to allow the superiority of the Gerusalemme -as a poem; and of this opinion was (at least latterly) Metastasio, -who, in his youth, was so great an admirer of the Orlando, that -he would not even read the Gerusalemme. In after-life, however, -having perused it with much attention, he was so enchanted by its -beauties and regularity, that, being requested to give his opinion on -the comparative merits of the two, he wrote in these words:—“If it -ever came into the mind of Apollo to make me a great poet, and were -he to command me to declare frankly whether I should like to choose -for model the Orlando or the Gerusalemme, I would not hesitate to -answer, the Gerusalemme.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The principal biographers of Tasso, among his own countrymen, -are his friend Manso, who wrote his Life in 1600, six years only after -the poet’s death; and the Abate Serassi, whose work was first published -at Rome in 1785, and again at Bergamo in 1790. Besides these is -his Life, in French, by the Abbé de Charnes (1690); and that by -M. Suard, prefixed to the translation of the Gerusalemme by Prince -Lebrun (1803, two tom. 8vo.): while in English we have a Life of -Tasso by Mr. Black (1810); and a Memoir by the Rev. Mr. Stebbing -(1833). The best complete edition of Tasso’s works is that of -Molini, in eight volumes 8vo., Florence, 1822–6.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_155.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>[From a Cast taken after death.]</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span> -<img src='images/i_156.jpg' alt='BEN JONSON.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>BEN JONSON.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The rapid growth and early maturity of the drama form a remarkable -portion of the literary history of Britain. Within forty years -from the appearance of the first rude attempts at English comedy, -all the most distinguished of our dramatists had graced the stage -by their performances. Among the worthies, he whom we familiarly -call Ben Jonson holds a prominent place. He was born -in Westminster, June 11, 1574, and placed, at a proper age, at -Westminster School, where Camden then presided. He made unusual -progress in classical learning, until his mother, who was left -in narrow circumstances, married a bricklayer, and removed her son -from school, that he might work with his step-father in Lincoln’s-Inn. -In his vexation and anger at this domestic tyranny, he enlisted as a -private soldier, was sent abroad to join the English army in the -Netherlands, and distinguished himself against the Spaniards by a -gallant achievement. In an encounter with a single man of the -enemy, he slew his opponent, and carried off his spoils in the view -of both armies.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_156fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by E. Scriven.</em><br /><br />BEN JONSON.<br /><br /><em>From a Picture in the possession of M<sup>r</sup>. Knight.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>On his return home, he resumed his former studies at St. John’s, -Cambridge; but thither the miseries of slender means followed him, -and he quitted the University after a short residence. He then turned -his thoughts to the stage. The encouragement afforded to dramatic -talent coincided with his taste and inclination; and the example of -Shakspeare, who had successfully adopted the same course under similar -difficulties, determined his choice. He was admitted into an obscure -theatre, called the Green Curtain, in the neighbourhood of Shoreditch -and Clerkenwell; but his salary there must have been insufficient for -his support, and his merits were too meagre to entitle him to a place -in any respectable company. While in this humble station, he fought -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>a duel with one of the players, in which he was wounded in the arm, -but killed his antagonist, who had been the challenger. During his -imprisonment for this offence, he was visited by a Popish priest, who -profited by his depressed state of mind to win him over to the Church -of Rome, within the pale of which he continued for twelve years. -Thus did melancholy produce a change in his religious condition; -but his spirits returned with his release, and he ventured to offer up -his recovered liberty on the altar of matrimony.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Considering that he was only about twenty-four years of age when -he rose to reputation as a dramatic writer, his life had been unusually, -but painfully, eventful. He had made some attempts as a playwright -from his first entrance into the profession, but without success. His -connexion with Shakspeare has been variously related. It has been -stated that when Jonson was unknown to the world, he offered a play -to the theatre, which was rejected after a very careless perusal; but -our great dramatist, having accidentally cast his eye on it, thought well -of the production, and afterwards recommended the author and his -writings to the public. For this candour he is said to have been repaid -by Jonson, when the latter became a poet of note, with an envious -disrespect. Farmer, of all Shakspeare’s commentators, was most inclined -to depart from these traditions, and to think the belief in Jonson’s -hostility to Shakspeare absolutely groundless. This question, -triumphantly, but with needless acrimony, argued by Mr. Gifford, -we regard as now determined in Jonson’s favour. Without any imputation -of ingratitude, the acknowledged superior in learning might -chequer his commendations with reproof; as he undeniably did, partly -from natural temper, and partly from a habit of asserting his own preeminence, -as having first taught rules to the stage. He has been loosely, -not to say falsely, accused of endeavouring to depreciate The Tempest, -by calling it a <em>foolery</em>, a term which unquestionably cannot be applied to -any work without such design. But he called it, not a <em>foolery</em>, but a -<em>drollery</em>. In present acceptation the terms may be nearly equivalent; -but in that age, the word conveyed no censure. Dennis says, in one -of his letters, that he went to see the Siege of Namur, a <em>droll</em>. In -after-times, the word implied a farcical dialogue in a single scene. -Where Jonson says, “if there be never a servant-monster in the fair, -who can help it?”—he is supposed to fling at Caliban; but the satire -was general. Creatures of various kinds, taught a thousand antics, -were the concomitants of puppet-shows. In the Dumb Knight, by -Lewis Machin, 1608, Prate, the orator, cautions his wife thus:—“I -would not have you to step into the suburbs, and acquaint yourself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>either with <em>monsters</em> or <em>motions</em>; but holding your way strictly homeward, -show yourself still to be a rare housewife.” It has been alleged -in the controversy, that Jonson seems to ridicule the conduct of -Twelfth Night in his Every Man out of his Humour, where he makes -Mitis say, “that the argument of the author’s comedy might have -been of some other nature, as of a duke to be in love with a countess, -and that countess to be in love with a duke’s son, and the son to love -the ladies’ waiting-maid; some such cross-wooing, with a clown to -their serving-men, better than to be thus near, and familiarly attired -to the time.” Unfortunately for Stevens’s application of this passage, -Ben Jonson could not have ridiculed Twelfth Night, which was produced -at least eight years after the play quoted. Among the commendatory -poems prefixed to the editions of Shakspeare, Jonson’s is -not only the first in date, but the most judicious, zealous, and affectionate. -His personal attachment is expressed on various occasions -with more enthusiasm than is apt to be felt by men of his temperament. -We have no right to doubt its sincerity.</p> - -<p class='c000'>We are told that, “having improved his fancy by keeping scholastic -company, he betook himself to writing plays.” The comedy entitled -Every Man in his Humour was his first successful piece. It was -produced in 1598, on the stage with which Shakspeare was connected, -and the generous poet and proprietor sanctioned it by playing the part -of Kno’well. This was followed the next year by Every Man out of -his Humour. After this time he produced a play every year, for -several years successively. In 1600 he paid his court to Queen Elizabeth, -by complimenting her under the allegorical character of the -goddess Cynthia, in his Cynthia’s Revels, which was acted that year -by the choristers of the Queen’s Chapel, In his next piece, The -Poetaster, which was represented in 1601 by the same performers, -he ridicules his rival Decker under the character of Crispinus. Some -reflections in it were also supposed to allude to certain well-known -lawyers and military men. A popular clamour was raised against -him; in vindication of himself, he replied in an apologetical dialogue, -which was once recited on the stage, and on the publication of his -works annexed to this play. But Decker was bent on revenge, and -resolved, if possible, to conquer Jonson at his own weapons. He -immediately wrote a play called Satiromastix, or the Untrussing of -the Humourous Poet, in which Jonson is introduced under the character -of Horace Junior. Jonson’s enemies industriously gave out -that he wrote with extreme labour, and was not less than a year -about every play. Had it been so, it was no disgrace: the best -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>authors know by experience, that what appears to be the most natural -and easy writing is frequently the result of study and close application. -But the insinuation was meant to convey, that Jonson had heavy -parts, and little imagination: a charge which applies only to two -of his works, Sejanus and Catiline. Jonson retorted upon Decker -in the prologue to Volpone, or The Fox. We are there told that this -play, which is one of his best, was finished in five weeks. He professes -that, in all his poems, his aim has been to mix profit with pleasure; -and concludes with saying, that all gall is drained from his ink, -and “only a little salt remaineth.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>“Eastward Hoe” was the joint production of Ben Jonson, George -Chapman, and John Marston. What part each author had in it -is not known; but the consequences were near being very serious to -them all. They were accused of reflecting on the Scots, who crowded -the court at that time to the utter disgust of the English gentlemen; -and, in perfect unison with the arbitrary temper of the times, were -all three not only committed to prison, but in peril as to their ears and -noses. On submission however they received pardons. Jonson, on -his releasement from prison, gave an entertainment to his friends, -among whom were Camden and Selden. His mother seems now to -have risen mightily in her ideas, and to have affected the Roman -matron, although the bricklayer’s wife would, in past time, have bound -her son to the hod and trowel. In the midst of the entertainment she -drank to him, and produced a paper of poison, which she intended to -have mixed with his liquor, having first taken a portion of it herself, -if the punishment of mutilation had not been remitted.</p> - -<p class='c000'>That mixture of poetry and spectacle, which, in our ancient literature, -is termed a masque, had been encouraged by Elizabeth, -and became still more fashionable during the reigns of James and -Charles. The queens of both monarchs, being foreigners, understood -the English language but imperfectly, so that the music, dancing, -and decorations of a masque were better adapted to their amusement -than the more intellectual entertainment of the regular drama. After -Queen Elizabeth’s example, they occasionally assisted in the representation, -and probably were still better pleased to be performers than -spectators. Jonson was the chief manufacturer of this article for the -court; and a year seldom passed without his furnishing more than -one piece of this sort. They were usually got up, as the phrase is, -with the utmost splendour. In the scenery, Jonson had Inigo Jones -for an associate. As compositions, these trifles rank little higher -than shows and pageants; but they possessed a property peculiarly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>acceptable at court—they abounded with incense and servility. However -crusty Jonson might be as a critical censor, he saw plainly what -food his royal master relished, and furnished the table plentifully.</p> - -<p class='c000'>This occupation interrupted the periodical production of his regular -plays; but the interval had not been frivolously passed. In 1609, -he produced “Epicœne, or the Silent Woman.” This was generally -esteemed to be the most perfect pattern of a play hitherto brought -out in England, and might be selected as a proof that its author was -a careful and learned observer of the dramatic laws. We are assured -that Jonson was personally acquainted with a man quite as ridiculous -as Morose is represented to be. It may here be observed that the description -of humour, drawn from the knowledge and observation of -particular persons, was in the line of this author’s peculiar genius and -talent. There is more wit and fancy in the dialogue of this play -than in any by the same hand. Truewit is a scholar, with an alloy -of pedantry; but he is the best gentleman ever drawn by Jonson, -whose strength, in general, was not properly wit or sharpness of -conceit, but the natural imitation of various and contrasted follies. -The Alchemist came out in 1610. Jonson shows in it much learning -relative to changes in the external appearance of metals, and uses -some of the very terms of art met with in Eastward Hoe; which -makes it probable that the passages in which they are contained are -from his pen. This piece was unusually free from personal allusions; -yet it was not popular at first. The partisans of inferior writers were -constantly let loose whenever Jonson brought out a new play; but -their censure was harmless, for he numbered among his friends and -admirers, Shakspeare, Beaumont, Fletcher, Donne, Camden, Selden, -and a host of worthies of every class. In 1613, he made the tour of -France, and was introduced to Cardinal Perron, who showed him his -translation of Virgil; but Perron not being his master and sovereign, -but a foreign cardinal, with his customary bluntness he told him it was -a bad one. About this time he and Inigo Jones quarrelled; and he -ridiculed his colleague of the Masques, under the character of Sir -Lantern Leatherhead, a Hobby-horse Seller. His next play was -“The Devil is an Ass,” 1616.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1617, the salary of poet-laureat was settled on him for life by -King James, and he published his works in one folio volume. His -fame, both as to poetry and learning, was now so fully established, -that he was invited to the University of Oxford by several members, -and particularly by Dr. Corbet, of Christ Church. That college was -his residence during his stay, and he was created Master of Arts in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>full convocation, in July, 1619. In the following October, on the -death of Daniel, he received the appointment of Poet-laureat, after -having discharged the duties of the office for some time. At the latter -end of this year he travelled into Scotland on foot, to visit his correspondent, -Drummond of Hawthornden. Jonson had formed a design -of writing on the history and geography of Scotland, and had -received some curious documents from Drummond. The acquisition -of additional materials appears to have been the main object of his -journey. In the freedom of social intercourse, he expressed his sentiments -strongly concerning the authors and poets of his own time. -Drummond committed the heads of their conversations to writing, -and has been severely censured on account of what he has left us concerning -his guest. He says that he was “a great lover and praiser -of himself; a contemner and scorner of others; chusing rather to lose -his friend than his jest; jealous of every word and action of those -about him, especially after drink, which was one of the elements in -which he lived; a dissembler of the parts which reigned in him; a -bragger of some good that he wanted; he thought nothing right, -but what either himself or some of his friends had said or done. He -was passionately kind and angry; careless either to gain or keep; -vindictive, but if he was well answered, greatly chagrined; interpreting -the best sayings and deeds often to the worst. He was for -either religion, being versed in both; oppressed with fancy, which -over-mastered his reason, a general disease among the poets.” Drummond’s -letters exhibit Jonson in a much more favourable light; and -this inconsistency may, perhaps, be explained by supposing that they -exhibit the Scotch poet’s deliberate opinion of his guest, while the -strictures contained in his loose notes were probably penned in a -moment of irritation, to which he appears to have been subject. -If, indeed, the received notions of Jonson’s heat of temper had any -foundation, we may suppose him and his northern host to have been -occasionally so far advanced in disputation, that “testy Drummond -could not speak for fretting.” Jonson recorded his adventures on this -journey in a poem, which was accidentally burnt; a loss which he -lamented in another poem called “An Execration upon Vulcan.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The laureateship obliged him annually to provide, besides other entertainments -of the court, the Christmas Masque: of these we have a -series in his works, from 1615 to 1625. In 1625, his comedy called -The Staple of News was exhibited. In 1627, The New Inn was performed -at the Blackfriars theatre, and deservedly hissed off the stage. -Three of Jonson’s plays underwent that fate. He was so much incensed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>against the town, that in 1631 he published it with the following title: -“The New Inn, or the Light Heart, a comedy; as it was never acted, -but most negligently played, by some, the king’s servants, and more -squeamishly beheld and censured by others, the king’s subjects, 1629; -and now at last set at liberty to the readers.” To this he annexed an -ode to himself, threatening to leave the stage, which was sarcastically -parodied by Owen Feltham, a writer of note, and author of a book -called “Resolves.” Jonson’s mingled foibles and excellencies are pleasantly -touched by Sir John Suckling, in his “Session of the Poets.” -An improbable story is told by Cibber, and repeated by Smollet, that -in 1629, Ben, being reduced to distress, and living in an obscure alley, -petitioned his Majesty to assist him in his poverty and sickness; but -that, on receiving ten pounds, he said to the messenger who brought the -donation, “His Majesty has sent me ten pounds, because I am poor -and live in an alley: go and tell him that his soul lives in an alley.” His -annual pension had been increased from a hundred marks to a hundred -pounds, with the welcome addition of a yearly tierce of Canary -wine. He received from the king a further present of one hundred -pounds in that very year, which he acknowledged in an epigram published -in his works. Could he, as he does in his “Epistle Mendicant,” -have further solicited the Lord Treasurer for relief in 1631, had he -been guilty of such an insult to royalty in 1629? There is reason to -believe that he had pensions from the city, and from several of the -nobility and gentry; particularly from Mr. Sutton, the founder of the -Charter-house. Yet, with all these helps, his finances were unredeemed -from disorder.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In his distress, he came upon the stage again, in spite of his last -defeat. Two comedies without a date, “The Magnetic Lady,” and -“The Tale of a Tub,” belong to these latter compositions, which -Dryden has called his dotages; at all events, they are the dotages of -Jonson. Alexander Gill, a poetaster of the times, attacked him with -brutal fury, on account of his “Magnetic Lady.” Gill was a bad -man as well as a bad poet; and Jonson availed himself of his adversary’s -weak points in a short but cutting reply. His last masque was -performed July 30, 1634, and the only piece extant of later date is -his “New Year’s Ode for 1635.” He died of palsy, August 6, 1637, -in his sixty-third year, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His -grave-stone only bears the quaint inscription,—“<span class='sc'>O rare Ben -Jonson!</span>”</p> - -<p class='c000'>In the beginning of 1638, elegies on his death were published, -under the title of “Jonsonius Virbius, or, the Memory of Ben Jonson -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>Revived, by the Friends of the Muses.” This collection contains -poems by Lord Falkland, Lord Buckhurst, Sir John Beaumont, Sir -Thomas Hawkins, Mr. Waller, Mayne, Cartwright, Waryng, the -author of “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Effigies Amoris</span>,” and other contributors of note. In -1640, the former volume of his works was reprinted; with a second, -containing the rest of his plays, masques, and entertainments; Underwoods; -English Grammar; his translation of Horace’s Art of Poetry; -and Discoveries. The latter is a prose work of various and extensive -learning, containing opinions on all subjects, worthy to be weighed -even at this distant period. In 1716, his works were reprinted in six -volumes octavo. Another edition appeared in 1756, under the care of -Mr. Whalley, of St. John’s, Oxford, with notes, and the addition of a -comedy not inserted in any former edition, called “The Case is Altered.” -But all former editions are superseded in value by that of Mr. Gifford.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Jonson was married, and had children; particularly a son and a -daughter, both celebrated by him in epitaphs at their death; but -none of his children survived him.</p> - -<p class='c000'>As a dramatic writer, he is remarkable for judgment in the arrangement -of his plots; a happy choice of characters; and skill in maintaining -character throughout the piece. The manners of the most -trifling persons are always consistent. Dryden censures him for exhibiting -<em>mechanic humour</em>, “Where men were dull and conversation -low.” This remark is so far just, that Jonson chiefly aimed at mirth -by the contrast and collision of what Dryden terms <em>humour</em>. The -reader, however, would do the dramatist injustice, were he to apply -the word humour to him in its modern and confined sense. Jonson -cultivated it according to a more philosophical definition; as a technical -term for characters swayed and directed by some predominant -passion, the display of which, under various circumstances, formed -the strength of the comedy. Among the writers of that age, Jonson -alone perhaps felt all the impropriety arising from frequent -and violent change of scene. Yet Jonson himself, who disapproved -of Shakspeare’s practice in that particular, was not wholly free from -it, as Dryden has remarked with some appearance of triumph. Pope -has touched on his genius in respect to dramatic poetry. He says,—“That -when Jonson got possession of the stage, he brought critical -learning into vogue; and this was not done without difficulty, which -appears from those frequent lessons, and indeed almost declamations, -which he was forced to prefix to his first plays, and put into the -mouths of his actors the grex, chorus, &c., to remove the prejudices -and reform the judgment of his hearers. Till then the English -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>authors had no thoughts of writing upon the model of the ancients; -their tragedies were only histories in dialogue, and their comedies -followed the thread of any novel as they found it, no less implicitly -than if it had been true history.” In fact, this author’s object was to -found a reputation on understanding, and submitting to the discipline -of the ancient stage; but his success fell short of his just expectations, -and he growls on every occasion against the rude taste of an age -which preferred to his laboured and well-concocted scenes, the more -glowing, wild, and irregular effusions of his unlearned contemporaries. -Beyond this there appears nothing to confirm the eagerly propagated -opinion of his pride and malignity, at least in the earlier part of his life. -At that time he contributed an encomium to almost every play or -poem that appeared, from Shakspeare down to the translator of -Du Bartas. His antagonist, Decker, seems to hint at a personal -failing, seldom allied to malignity, when, in the “Satiromastix,” Sir -Vaughan says to Horace, that is, Jonson, “I have some cousin-german -at court shall beget you the reversion of the master of the king’s -revels, or else to be his <em>Lord of Misrule</em> now at Christmas.” We -have already quoted Drummond to the purport, that “drink was one -of the elements in which he lived;” which accounts but too well for the -poverty of his latter days, in spite of royal and noble munificence. In -reference to this unfortunate propensity, the following amusing story is -told:—Camden had recommended him to Sir Walter Raleigh, who -trusted him with the care and education of his eldest son Walter, a -gay spark, who could not brook Ben’s rigorous treatment; but perceiving -one foible in his disposition, made use of that to throw off the -yoke of his government. This was an unlucky habit Ben had contracted, -through his love of jovial company, of being overtaken with -liquor, which Sir Walter did of all vices most abominate, and hath -most exclaimed against. One day, when Ben had taken a plentiful -dose, and was fallen into a sound sleep, young Raleigh got a great -basket, and a couple of men, who laid Ben in it, and then with a pole -carried him between their shoulders to Sir Walter, telling him their -young master had sent home his tutor.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_165fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Posselwhite.</em><br /><br />CANOVA.<br /><br /><em>From a Picture by</em><br />Sir Thomas Lawrence,<br /><em>in the possession of the Abate Canova at Rome</em>.<br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span> -<img src='images/i_165.jpg' alt='CANOVA.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>CANOVA.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>About the middle of the last century the art of Sculpture, which -had been long on the decline, may be said to have reached the lowest -point to which it has sunk since the revival of the arts; for, although -the seventeenth century was the great æra of bad taste, the genius -which was often apparent in the mannered productions of that time, -no longer survived in those of the imitators who succeeded. The -works of Bernini in Italy, and of Puget in France, both men of -extraordinary talent but most mistaken principles, were still regarded -as types of excellence. Their fame still produced a host -of followers, who, with perhaps the single exception of Duquesnoy, -called Fiammingo, naturally aimed at the extravagances and -peculiarities of their models; and the consequence was, a constantly -increasing deviation from nature, and a total misconception of the -style and limits of the art. The works which were produced in Rome -about the period alluded to, thus fluctuated between manner and insipidity; -till the art had relapsed into a state of such lethargic mediocrity, -that even sculptors of note, such as Cavaceppi, Pacetti, and -Albacini, were content to occupy themselves in restoring and mending -antique statues. But the germs of a better taste, and a more rational -imitation, were already expanding. If the mania for collecting antique -statues had the temporary effect of paralysing invention in the -artist, and diverting the means of patronage, a gradual appreciation of -the principles of ancient art was, nevertheless, the result; while the -illustration and description of museums, and the works of Winkelmann, -all tended to awaken the attention of the connoisseur to the -amazing difference between the ill-advised caprices of the Bernini -school and the sagacious simplicity of the ancients.</p> - -<p class='c000'>These circumstances concurred ultimately to work a change and an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>improvement of taste among the artists themselves, and thus prepared -a better æra of sculpture. The partiality of the Italians may be excused, -when they attribute the reformation of the art to the single -efforts of Canova, although the designs of Flaxman, composed about the -same time that the Italian artist was beginning his career, exhibit a -more decided feeling for the long-lost purity of the antique, and a more -thorough comprehension of the style and language of sculpture, than -we find in the works of his continental contemporaries. But it is time -to give a more particular account of the subject of this memoir.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Antonio Canova was born <span class='sc'><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">A.D.</span></span> 1757, at Possagno, a small town in -the province of Treviso. His father, Pietro Canova, was a stonemason -and builder; and the first occupation of the future sculptor -taught him to use the chisel with dexterity. At the age of fourteen, -he was introduced to the notice of Giovanni Faliero, a Venetian -senator, who used annually to pass the autumn near Possagno. By -the kind assistance of this nobleman, the young Canova was placed -with one Torretti, a sculptor who had studied in Venice, and who -resided in a neighbouring town. On the return of this artist to -Venice, Canova accompanied him. A year afterwards however -Torretti died, and the young sculptor, unwilling to continue with -Ferrari, his master’s nephew and heir, established himself in a -<em>studio</em> of his own. While with Ferrari, he produced his first work, -a pair of baskets of fruit and flowers, done for the noble Faliero. -They are still to be seen in the stair-case of the Farsetti palace, in -Venice, more generally known as the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Albergo della Gran Bretagna</span>. -The same patron next employed him on two statues of Orpheus and -Eurydice, preserved in the villa of Pradazzi, near Possagno. After -one or two other less important performances, he executed his Dædalus -and Icarus, for the Procurator Pisani. In all these works he aimed -at a close imitation of individual nature, and this was carried so far in -the Dædalus, that, when it was afterwards shown in Rome, the sculptor -was hardly believed when he asserted that it was not moulded from -a living model.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The imitation of the softness, surface, and accidents of skin -was an early excellence and a lasting peculiarity of Canova; and -however he may have been smitten with the antique statues in Rome, -it is certain that, while in Venice, where he remained till the age of -twenty-two, he paid little attention to the specimens of ancient art -in the Farsetti Gallery. It is probable that the prejudice against the -antique, which had prevailed ever since Bernini’s time, was hardly -yet effaced in Venice; and if Canova’s admiration of the ancients -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>increased in Rome, it was undoubtedly greatly owing to the opinion -and examples of those among whom he had the good fortune to be -first thrown.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1779, Girolamo Zulian being appointed ambassador of the Republic -at Rome, Faliero recommended Canova to his notice. The -young sculptor had already determined to visit the metropolis of the -arts, and soon followed the ambassador thither. The course of study -which he adopted, founded on the comparison of nature with the best -specimens of art, showed that he was earnest to improve; and his -new patron Zulian, who had introduced him to the distinguished -amateurs and artists residing in Rome, recommended him to send for -a cast of his Dædalus and Icarus, in order to show them what he had -done, and profit by their advice. He did so, and the day on which -that group was submitted to the judgment of the connoisseurs was a -memorable one for Canova. His work by no means excited unqualified -approbation. It was, indeed, so different from the style which was -then prevalent, that his judges remained silent, till the generous Gavin -Hamilton openly declared, that it was a simple imitation of nature, -which showed that the artist had nothing to unlearn; at the same -time reminding him, that although the greatest artists had always -begun thus, they had subsequently refined their taste by comparison -and selection, and their execution by an ampler and larger treatment; -all which, aiming at the grandest impressions of nature, but by no -means departing from nature, approaches what is called the divine -and ideal in art. This opinion, from so good a judge as Hamilton, -delighted Zulian, who asked “what was to be done with the young -man?” “Give him a block of marble,” said Hamilton, “and let him -follow his own feeling.” From this hour the fate of the young artist -was decided: Zulian furnished him with a <em>studio</em> and materials, and -he began his career in Rome.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Canova always spoke with gratitude of Gavin Hamilton, and acknowledged -that he owed to him every sound principle of art. The -vast knowledge of the antique which the Scotch artist possessed, gave -more than common weight and value to his advice respecting its imitation. -Canova’s first work in Rome, was an Apollo crowning himself. -The sculptor himself was not satisfied with it, and felt all the difficulty -of uniting a purer and broader style with a sufficient attention -to the details of nature. His engagements soon after recalled him to -Venice, to complete an unfinished work, the statue of the Marquis -Poleni, placed in the Prato della Valle, at Padua. It was probably -hurried, that he might get back sooner to Rome.</p> - -<p class='c000'>On his return to Rome, he produced his celebrated group of Theseus -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>sitting on the slain Minotaur. The moment chosen was recommended -by Hamilton, who observed, that it was generally safer for young -artists not to aim at too much action in their subjects. In this composition -Canova endeavoured to infuse still more of the style of the -antique, and he succeeded so well, that the exhibition of it may be -considered an epoch in the art. Quatremère de Quincy (an eminent -French sculptor) spoke of it in these words in 1804:—“This group -struck foreigners even more than the Romans, who were still attached -to their accustomed manner. Nevertheless, Canova, from that time, -was considered the sculptor who was destined to restore good taste, -and to reduce the art to its grand principles.” The fame which this -work gained for its author has been allowed, on all hands, to have been -justly awarded; and, after the efforts of the artist to fix his style and -define the mode of imitation which he believed to be the best, it may -be supposed that the praises he received would have confirmed him -in the principles he had formed to himself, and encouraged him to -carry them farther. None of his Italian biographers, however, have -taken sufficient notice of the fact, that he never followed up the style -which is observable in this group. His subsequent works were -undoubtedly more refined in execution and more anatomically studied; -but it is quite certain that he never approached the breadth of the -antique so much in any later works. Hence it would appear that, in -this effort, he was in some degree doing violence to his real feelings; -and having once established his reputation, he was more likely afterwards -to exercise his own unbiassed taste. It was, indeed, some time before -he was occupied on a subject which afforded a display of the figure.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His next work was the monument of Ganganelli (Clement XIV.), -placed in the Church de’ Santi Apostoli at Rome; in this he was again -fortunate. Its originality and simplicity, for such was the character of -the design, compared with the extravagant compositions of preceding -artists, gave very general satisfaction; but the advocates of the taste -of a former age did not remain silent. Pompeo Battoni, the most celebrated -Italian painter of his day, having condescended to accompany -Hamilton to see the model of the monument while it was in the clay, -observed, in Canova’s hearing, that the young artist had talent, but that -it was a pity he had chosen a bad road, and that it would be better to -retrace his steps while there was time. Hamilton, in consoling Canova -afterwards, reminded him, that it was the style of Pietro da Cortona, -Carlo Maratti, and Bernini, which Battoni considered synonymous with -excellence; and it was the departure from this, in search of the purer -style of sculpture, which he called “the bad road.” The fastidious -Milizia, on the other hand, gave this work unqualified approbation.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>The monument of Rezzonico (Clement XIII.), which was the next -subject the sculptor was invited to treat, was begun in 1787, and only -placed in St. Peter’s in 1795. While engaged on this, and the monument -of Ganganelli, other works of less extent were from time to time -finished. Among these were a group of Cupid and Psyche, a group -of Venus and Adonis, which, however, was not executed in marble, -and a second composition of Cupid and Psyche, the one in which Psyche -is recumbent. These were the works which first procured for their -author, among his Italian admirers, the reputation and title of the -sculptor of the Graces; and it was in these that a certain effeminacy of -style—at least what would be so called by less indulgent critics—seemed -to supersede the simplicity, and almost severity, which he had appeared -to aim at in the Theseus and Minotaur. To the same period belong -most of the bassi relievi of Canova. These were composed and executed -when his imagination was warmed by the study of the ancient -poets; and although wrought in the intervals of greater occupations, -there can be no doubt that they received his mature attention, and -exhibited the free expression of his own taste. Of all the works of the -artist, these bassi relievi have, perhaps, been most universally and -deservedly condemned; but, defective as they are, they are still purer -in the forms and drapery than the works of his predecessors.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The monument of Rezzonico completely established Canova’s reputation; -the expression and attitude of the kneeling Pope, and the novelty -and happy execution of the lions, excited the utmost admiration. The -figure of the Genius is again an instance of a total dereliction of the -style of the antique, for a soft and pulpy fleshiness without sufficient -characteristic marking; but even this was found to be new and agreeable, -and the drapery of the figure of Religion was almost the only -part of the work which was criticised. On revisiting Venice, after -an illness brought on by severe application, the Venetian government -commissioned him to execute a monument for the Procurator Angelo -Emo, which was afterwards placed in the arsenal. He returned to -Rome to execute this work; but first revisited his native village, where -he was surprised, and somewhat disconcerted, at finding a fête prepared -for his welcome. A deputation of the inhabitants lined the -roads to receive him; the streets were strewed with laurel; the bells -of the campanile, and the <i><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">mortaletti</span></i>, usually fired on festivals, saluted -him as he entered; and a band of music accompanied him to his -mother’s house. The enthusiasm of his countrymen went so far, that -a statue was erected to him even in early life, and placed in the Prato -della Valle, at Padua.</p> - -<p class='c000'>A group of Venus and Adonis was next completed, and sent to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>Naples, where it contributed to spread his fame. A new group of -Cupid and Psyche, standing, done for Murat, was sent to Paris, and -being fortunately one of his best works, it excited a great sensation -when exhibited there. The reputation Canova had acquired in Italy -naturally provoked a close and keen scrutiny into the merits and defects -of this work; but its success was complete, and from that time -his great merit was as fully acknowledged in France as elsewhere. -Some of his subsequent works exhibited in the Louvre were, it is -true, severely criticised, but they always found ardent defenders, and -those among the most respectable connoisseurs and artists.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The celebrated kneeling Magdalen, which ultimately became the -property of Count Sommariva, and adorned his house in Paris, was -Canova’s next performance; it was afterwards, like many of his -works, copied, or rather repeated, for other amateurs.</p> - -<p class='c000'>This statue created a still greater sensation than the Cupid and Psyche -when it was exhibited in Paris. The well-known Hebe was executed -about the same time; this, too, was often repeated, and one copy was -exhibited in the Louvre bearing a golden vase and cup, and with the -lips and cheeks slightly tinged with vermilion. These innovations were -severely objected to by the French critics, while the general taste of -this and other works of the artist was still less indulgently treated in -London. But the execution of individual parts of his statues was -every where allowed to be exquisite, and many a time, in Rome, artists -who were his professed rivals have purchased casts of the joints and -extremities of his figures as models of perfect imitation: such detached -portions have even been mistaken for casts from the antique.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Much has been said by the Italian eulogists of Canova of his skill -in painting, and a story is told of his having done a pretended portrait -of Giorgione on an old panel, which Angelica Kaufmann, and other -very sufficient judges, for a time believed to be an original by the -Venetian master. Canova’s attempts at painting were regarded with -complacency, at least by himself, remarkable as he was for great -modesty in speaking of his works in sculpture. He seems never to have -forgotten that he was a Venetian, and gloried in the perfections, and -almost in the defects, of the painters of that school. It is not impossible -that this predilection may have operated in some degree to -check his pursuit of the severe style of the ancients in sculpture, and it -may, perhaps, account for the picturesque licences which he sometimes -indulged in, as, for instance, in the Hebe; but if his efforts in -painting were naturally defective in execution, they were still more -open to criticism in their invention and taste, and, on the whole, call -rather for indulgence than admiration.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>The unsettled state of Italy consequent upon the French Revolution, -and the troubles in Rome, induced Canova, about the close of the -century, to retire for a time to his native province. From thence he -accompanied the Senator Rezzonico into Germany, and visited Munich, -Vienna, Dresden, and Berlin. At Vienna, he received from Duke -Albert of Saxe Teschen, the commission for the monument to Maria -Christina of Austria.</p> - -<p class='c000'>His first ambition, however, on returning to Italy, was to embody -in a picture some of the impressions he had received from contemplating -the galleries of Germany, and particularly the Notte of Correggio; -and he actually painted a large altar-piece for the parochial -church of Possagno. This work, though since considered unworthy -of criticism, was highly extolled at the time it was done. On his -return to Rome, he began the model of his celebrated group of Hercules -and Lichas, a work which found favour even with those who had -objected to the want of manliness of taste in his treatment of most -other subjects. It is indeed impossible to contemplate this group, -without feeling it to be the production of a man of genius; while the -patient elaboration of the anatomical details, and the power and knowledge -with which the difficulties of the composition are overcome, -have never failed to excite the high praise which is awarded to rare -excellence. The originality of the idea has, however, been lately -disputed; and a bronze has come to light which, if its history be true, -at least proves that some earlier sculptor than Canova had conceived -the subject nearly in the same manner. This grand work, first intended -for Naples, was purchased by Torlonia, Duke of Bracciano, -and is now the principal ornament of the Bracciano Palace in Rome.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Soon after this the Perseus was produced, a statue which, by command -of Pius VII., received the unparalleled honour of being placed -in the Vatican, in a situation similar to that of the Apollo, or rather -to supply its place, for the Apollo at this time was not returned from -Paris. The honour was even greater when that statue was restored to -Rome, for the Perseus then remained as a companion or pendant to it. -The two Pugilists were modelled soon after for the same patron, -Pope Pius VII., and were placed, when finished, in the Vatican, -together with the Perseus. A cast of the Creugas, one of these figures, -exhibited about the same time at Paris, was very generally admired, and -very ably and generously defended from the hostile criticisms it called -forth, by the sculptor Quatremère de Quincy. The high estimation in -which Canova was held, and his zeal for the preservation of the ancient -monuments in Rome, as well as the frescoes of the Vatican, induced -the Pope to confer on him the appointment and title of Inspector-General -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>of the Fine Arts. Though at first unwilling to assume the -responsibility of this charge, Canova at last undertook it; and it appears -that his conscientious attention to the duties connected with it, -gave a new impulse to the Roman school, and excited in all a zeal -and ardour for the preservation of the precious remains of antiquity. -The conduct of Canova in furthering the general interests of the arts -of his country is worthy of all praise: his private benevolence is well -known. It may be said that his happy freedom from jealousy was -owing to the quiet security of established fame; but he was equally -remarkable for magnanimity when placed in competition with those -whom he had reason to regard as possible rivals.</p> - -<p class='c000'>After finishing a model of the colossal statue of the King of Naples, -Canova received a flattering invitation to visit the court of Bonaparte, -then First Consul; and in obedience to the wishes even of the Pope -he proceeded to Paris. His conversations with Bonaparte during -this and a subsequent visit have been preserved; and it appears -that he lost no opportunity of representing the fallen and impoverished -state of Italy (the consequence of the French invasion) to the arbiter -of its destinies, whom he dexterously reminded of his Pisan or Florentine -origin. His recommendation of the arts in Rome was at least -successful, for soon after his return thither ample funds were forwarded -by command of Bonaparte for the revival and extension of the -Academy of St. Luke, of which Canova was naturally appointed the -Director, and for prosecuting the excavations in the Forum. When -Canova, in one of his visits to Paris, ventured to ask for the restitution -of the statues that had been taken from Rome, the French ruler replied, -that “they might dig for more.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Having modelled the bust of Bonaparte, Canova returned to Italy -to complete the colossal statue of Napoleon, now in the possession -of the Duke of Wellington. In this work, which he considered -an heroic representation, he elevated the forms to his highest conceptions -of an abstract style, and, probably in imitation of the statue -of Pompey, exhibited the figure naked. The censures which were -passed on this bold attempt were most satisfactorily answered by the -celebrated Visconti. In Canova’s second visit to Paris, Napoleon -himself remarked, that his statue should have been in the ordinary -dress, to which Canova replied, “Our art, like all the fine arts, has its -sublime language; this language in sculpture is the naked, and such -drapery as conveys a general idea.” The extensive monument for -Vienna was next finished, and Canova repaired to the Austrian capital -to see it put together. The artist’s general deviation from the style -of sculpture practised by the ancients, may be illustrated by this work, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>admirable as it is for its details. The real aperture, or door of the -tomb, into which the procession is entering, the literal reality of the -steps, the accurately-imitated drapery, and other circumstances, are all -nearer to nature than the flesh, the reverse of the principle of the -Greeks. The partial or absolute truth of the accessories thus reminds -us that colour and life are wanting in the figures—a discovery the -spectator should never be permitted to make. Again, the indistinctness -which must exist more or less in an assemblage of figures similar -in colour (the unavoidable condition of the art), far from being -obviated by indiscriminate imitation, requires rather to be counteracted -by those judicious conventions which, in some measure, represent the -varieties of nature, and constitute the style of sculpture. The Venus -for Florence, (afterwards more than once repeated,) and the statues -of the Princess Borghese, and the mother of Napoleon, were the -next works of Canova. The attitude and treatment of the last -seem to have been inspired by the statue of Agrippina; it was completely -successful in Paris. After these, the well-known Dancing -Nymphs occupied him, and seem to have been favourite works of his -own. Although these statues excited more attention in Paris than -perhaps any of his former works, and raised his reputation more than -ever, they have since been very generally censured as meretricious in -their taste. The portrait statues of the Princess Borghese and -Madame Letitia, invited many other commissions of the same kind, -which it would be long to recount. The monument of Alfieri, and -the statues of Hector and Ajax, the latter admirable for their details, -but with little of the antique character in their general treatment, were -successively produced, together with many busts of individuals and of -ideal personages. An opportunity was soon after afforded the sculptor, -in a statue of Paris for the Empress Josephine, of exhibiting his best -powers to the French critics. He was perhaps better satisfied with -this than with any other single figure he had done. It was much -admired when exhibited in the Louvre, and Quatremère de Quincy -published an eulogium on it.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1810, Canova again proceeded to the French capital to receive -the commands of Napoleon, and modelled the bust of Maria Louisa. -The statue of the Empress, as Concord, and of the Princess Eliza, in -the character of a Muse, were finished on his return to Rome. The -group of the Graces, and a statue of Peace, were next completed. -The colossal horse, first intended to bear Napoleon, and then Murat, -was finally surmounted with the statue of Charles III. of Naples, and -placed in that city. A recumbent nymph, Canova’s next work, was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>succeeded by one of his most extraordinary productions, the Theseus -and Centaur, a group now in Vienna, where it is placed in a temple -built for its reception. Opinions are divided between the merits of -this work and of his Hercules and Lichas.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1815, when the Allies occupied Paris, Canova was sent there -by Pope Pius VII. on an honourable and interesting mission, namely, -to intercede with the French government and the invading powers, for -the restitution of the works of art which had been torn from Rome by -the treaty of Tolentino. The French ministry resisted his application, -and it was ultimately by the decision of the Allied Powers, and literally -under the protection of foreign bayonets, that Canova removed -the objects in question from the Louvre. The gratitude of the -Pope to the British government on this occasion led to Canova’s visit -to London. The honours he received in England from George IV., -then Prince Regent, from the nobility, and the professors of the arts, -perhaps even exceeded the homage which had been paid him on the -continent; and it ought not to be forgotten, that the great Flaxman, -who was among the warmest in welcoming him, wrote a letter to -Canova on his return to Rome, which did honour to both, and in which -he says, “You will be always a great example in the arts, not only in -Italy, but in Europe.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Canova’s return to Rome, in 1816, was little short of a triumph. -The Pope created him Marquis of Ischia, with an annual pension of -three thousand crowns; but the noble-minded artist divided this sum, -till his death, among the institutions of the arts, in premiums for the -young and in aids for the old and decayed. Long was his benevolence -to rising artists the general theme of gratitude and regret; and -in every case of ill-rewarded industry, or fancied oppression, the -exclamation was, “Ah! if Canova were alive!”</p> - -<p class='c000'>The statue of Washington; the Stuart monument in St. Peter’s; -the group of Mars and Venus, which was done for George IV.; the -Sleeping Nymphs; the recumbent Magdalen, executed for the Earl -of Liverpool, were successively produced at this highly-honoured -period of his life; and a third monument in St. Peter’s, viz., that of -Pope Pius VI.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The last great act of Canova’s life was the foundation of a magnificent -church at Possagno, the first stone of which was laid by him -July 11, 1819. The monument for the Marquis Salsa Berio, sent to -Naples, the figures of which are in basso relievo; seven mezzi relievi -for the metopes of the frieze of his church at Possagno, the design of -which combines the forms of the Parthenon and the Pantheon; and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>the beautiful group of the Pietà, or dead Christ in the lap of the -Virgin at the foot of the cross, accompanied by the Magdalen, intended -for the altar of the same church, were the last works of Canova.</p> - -<p class='c000'>In 1822, he visited Possagno, partly to see the progress of the -building, and still more on account of his infirm state of health. -After a short stay in the neighbourhood, his illness increased so much -that he was forced to repair to Venice for medical assistance; but his -recovery was hopeless, and he died October 13, 1822, in the 65th year -of his age. Gratitude was among the prominent virtues of Canova, -and among his legacies, it is pleasing to observe that the sons of -Faliero, his earliest patron, were remembered. He was buried at -Possagno; but his funeral obsequies were celebrated throughout -Italy, and a statue to his memory was afterwards placed in the -Academy of St. Luke, at Rome.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Ample details of Canova’s life, his precepts on art, and conversations -with Napoleon, will be found in the account of him by Missirini: for -a catalogue and eulogy of his works, Cicognara’s ‘<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Storia della -Scultura</span>’ may be consulted. The memoir of him by that nobleman, -together with his own ‘Thoughts on the Arts,’ taken down and recorded -by Missirini, will be found in the splendid edition of Canova’s -works, engraved in outline by Moses.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_175.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>[Monument to the Archduchess Maria Christina.]</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span> -<img src='images/i_176.jpg' alt='CHAUCER.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAUCER.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>There is considerable discrepance between the generally received and -the probable date of Geoffrey Chaucer’s birth. In the life prefixed -to the edition of his works by Speght, it is stated, that he “departed -out of this world in the year of our Lord 1400, after he had lived -about seventy years.” The biographer’s authority for this is “Bale, -out of Leland.” Leland’s accuracy on this, as on many other points, -may be doubted, since he believed Oxfordshire or Berkshire to have -been the poet’s native county. But Chaucer himself, in his Testament of -Love, mentions London as the “place of his kindly engendure.” The -received date of his birth is 1328: if that be correct, he was fifty-eight -in 1386. But a record in the Appendix to Mr. Godwin’s Life shows -that in that year he was a witness on oath, in a question between Sir -Richard le Scrope and Sir Robert Grosvenor. The point at issue occasioned -an inquiry to be made as to Chaucer’s age, which he stated to -be “forty years and upwards.” Eighteen years upon forty is a large -<em>upwards</em> on a sworn examination. Mr. Sharon Turner, therefore, in -his History of the Middle Ages, suggests, with every appearance of -reason, that 1340, or thereabouts, is a date fairly corresponding with -the witness’s “forty years and upwards,” and even necessary to vindicate -his accuracy in a predicament requiring the most scrupulous adherence -to truth. Chaucer might not be certain as to the precise year of -his birth; and, in that case, it was natural to fix on the nearest round -number. The chronology of his Works must be deeply affected by this -difference of twelve years: it will be to be seen whether the few authenticated -facts of his life are to be reconciled with this presumptive later -date.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_176fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Thomson.</em><br /><br />CHAUCER.<br /><br /><em>From a Limning in Occleve’s Poems<br />in the British Museum.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street, & Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>Chaucer is represented by Leland to have studied both at Cambridge -and at Oxford. At the latter University, he is said to have -diligently frequented the public schools and disputations, and to have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>affected the opinions of Wiclif in religion. “Hereupon,” says Leland, -“he became a witty logician, a sweet rhetorician, a pleasant poet, -a grave philosopher, and a holy divine.” But Mr. Tyrwhitt thinks -that nothing is known as to his education, and doubts his having -studied at either University. The evidence that he was of the Inner -Temple seems to rest on a record of that house, seen some years afterwards -by one Master Buckley, showing that Geoffrey Chaucer was -fined two shillings for beating a Franciscan Friar in Fleet Street. -Mr. Tyrwhitt complains of the want of date to this record. The -sally is plainly a youthful one, and inclines him to believe that Chaucer -was of the Inner Temple before he went into the service of Edward -III. That he could have been engaged in the practice of the -law in after-life, as stated by Leland, is shown by Mr. Tyrwhitt to -be utterly inconsistent with his employments under the crown. In -the paucity of biographical anecdotes, Chaucer’s personal career will -be most satisfactorily ascertained by following the succession of his -appointments, as verified by the public documents in Mr. Godwin’s -valuable appendices. In 1367, Edward III. granted him, for his good -services, an annuity of twenty marcs, payable out of the Exchequer. -In 1370, he was sent to the Continent on the king’s business. Two -years afterwards, he, with two others, was employed on an embassy -to the Doge of Genoa. This negotiation probably regarded the hiring -of ships for the king’s navy. In those times, although the necessity -for naval armaments was frequent, very few ships were built by the -English. This deficiency was supplied by the free states either in -Germany or Italy. The age of thirty and thirty-two squares well -enough with such appointments. In 1374, the king granted to him -a pitcher of wine daily, to be delivered by the Butler of England. -At the same time, he made him Comptroller of the Customs of London, -for wool, wool-fells, and hides, on condition of his executing the -office in person, and keeping the accounts with his own hand. In the -following year he obtained from the king the wardship of the lands -and body of Sir Edmund Staplegate, a young Kentish heir. In 1377, -the last year of King Edward, “Geoffrey Caucher” is mentioned by -Froissart as one of those envoys employed abroad, as his protection -expresses it, “on the king’s secret service.” The object of the -mission is divulged by the French historian; it was a treaty between -the Kings of England and France, in which the marriage of Richard -with the French Princess Mary was debated; but neither the peace -nor the marriage were brought about. Here end both the commissions -and benefactions received by Chaucer from Edward III.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>Some time after 1370, and before 1381, according to Mr. Turner’s -calculation, but in 1360 according to others, Chaucer married a lady -who, according to documents taken from Rymer, had been one of the -“domicellæ,” damsels, or, in modern court phrase, maids of honour to -Queen Philippa. Mr. Turner places the marriage within those limits, on -the following grounds:—Chaucer, in his “Treatise on the Astrolabe,” -dates an observation as made in 1391, and mentions his son Lewis as -being then ten years old. A grant to the queen’s damsel, on quitting -her service, is dated 1370, and made to her by her maiden name. The -“Astrolabe” and the grant together furnish conclusive evidence in -favour of Mr. Turner’s limits; but the current story of the Duke and -Duchess of Lancaster having concocted the match, can only be reconciled -with the earlier date, as the duchess died in 1369. It is unnecessary -to enumerate those various grants made to Chaucer by Richard II., -which bear on no other events of his life. An important document of -the year 1398, states that the king had ordered Chaucer to expedite -several urgent affairs for him, as well in his absence as in his presence, -in various parts of England. As a security against alarms expressed -by Chaucer respecting suits and other molestations, Richard granted -him a protection from arrest, injury, violence, or impediment, for two -years. Richard was deposed in August of the following year. In -October, Henry IV. confirmed Richard’s donations, with an additional -annuity of forty marcs. The last document as to Chaucer is an -indenture of lease to him, dated 24th December, 1399, of a tenement -in the Priory Garden of Westminster, for a term of fifty-three years. -Chaucer, therefore, was active at the end of 1399, and seems, from the -length of his lease, still to have thought himself a good life, as he well -might, if his age were only sixty; but his biographers (probably because -they traced him in no later documents, and thought seventy-two -a good old age) in the absence of any other positive evidence, than the -date on a monument erected in the sixteenth century, have fixed his -death in 1400.</p> - -<p class='c000'>We have thought it expedient not to mix up the facts proved by -official documents, with the few others to be gleaned from passages in -his works. Such as are attested by neither of these vouchers have no -claim to implicit credit. In his Testament of Love, he speaks of -having “endured penance in a dark prison.” Again, “Although I -had little in respect of other great and worthy, yet had I a fair parcel, -as methought for the time; I had riches sufficiently to wave need. I -had dignity to be reverenced in worship; power methought that I had -to keep from mine enemies, and me seemed to shine in glory of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>renown.” With this picture of former prosperity, he contrasts his -present state. “For riches now have I poverty; instead of power, -wretchedness I suffer; and for glory of renown, I am now despised -and foully hated.” We cannot with certainty connect this reverse -of personal fortune with any passage of general history. He alludes -to it thus:—“In my youth I was drawn to be assenting, and in my -might helping to certain conjurations, and other great matters of -ruling of citizens, so painted and coloured, that at first to me seemed -then noble and glorious to all the people.” He intimates that he had -made some discoveries concerning certain transactions in the city. He -was, consequently, exposed to calumny, and the charge of falsehood. -To prove his veracity, he offered an appeal to arms, and “had prepared -his body for Mars’s doing, if any contraried his saws.” He alludes to -his escape out of the kingdom, when we are told by his biographers -that he spent his time in Hainault, France, and Zealand, where he -wrote many of his books. He himself says, that during his exile -those whom he had served never refreshed him with the value of the -least coined plate; those who owed him money would pay nothing, -because they thought his return impossible. Mr. Godwin, like preceding -biographers, refers these personal misfortunes to his support -of John Comberton, generally styled John of Northampton, who, in -1382, attempted reform in the city on Wiclif’s principles. This was -highly resented by the clergy; Comberton was taken into custody, and -Chaucer is stated to have fled the kingdom. Mr. Turner thinks, -that as the date assigned to these reverses is purely conjectural, -they may be referred with more probability to a later period. He -argues that, had Chaucer joined any party against the court, he -would not have enjoyed Richard’s continued favour. The protection -from the king, in 1398, implies that he was intermeddling -in hazardous concerns; and in the Testament of Love, which may -be considered as an autobiography composed of hints rather than -facts, there is this remarkable passage. “Of the confederacies made -by my sovereigns, I was but a servant; and thereof ought nothing in -evil to be laid to me wards, sithen as repentant I am turned.” Mr. -Turner infers, from the singular protection granted to Chaucer, in the -very year when, after Gloucester’s murder, Richard adopted his most -illegal and tyrannical measures, that the poet was prosecuted as an -accomplice in those measures; that Henry might have thrown him -into prison, as implicated in the deposed monarch’s unlawful acts; -but on his professions of repentance, and in consideration of his connexion -and alliance with his own father, might have pardoned him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>with others, at his coronation. In this difference of opinion, or rather -of conjecture, between the biographers and the historian, we may, perhaps, -be allowed to hazard the supposition, that those scattered allusions -in the Testament may refer not to the same, but to different -periods of evil fortune; indeed, the very expressions quoted seem -hardly reconcileable with any one event. The “conjurations, noble and -glorious to the people,” seem to point at some measures distasteful -to the higher powers: and as both Chaucer and his patron the Duke -of Lancaster had adopted many of Wiclif’s tenets, it seems not improbable -that the conspiracy alluded to may be identified with that -of John of Northampton. Delicately as the circumstance is glossed -over by the poet, he appears to have turned what in homely phrase -is called <em>king’s evidence</em>, the imputation of which he parries by a -chivalrous appeal to “Mars’s doing.” This will account for his -being received back into royal favour, and for his lending himself in -after-time, no longer to the conjurations of the people, in plain -English, the rebellion of the commons, but to the confederacies of -his sovereigns. If his allusion to his personal misfortunes, and his -expressions of conscientious remorse, may be referred to different -periods, and to events of opposite character; in that view of the case, -neither Mr. Godwin nor Mr. Turner may be in the wrong.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Few particulars of Chaucer’s private history are to be gathered -from his poems. In his Dream, of which Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, -is the subject, the poet describes himself as a victim to nervous -melancholy from habitual want of sleep, accompanied with a dread -of death. The translation of Boethius, and occasional quotations from -Seneca and Juvenal, attest that he retained through life his juvenile -acquaintance with the Latin classics. The chronology of his works -must be rendered doubtful by the uncertainty respecting that of his -life. Mr. Turner places the time of his death later than 1400, but -before 1410. The poet is said to have had the unusual honour of being -brother-in-law to a prince of the blood, by the marriage of John of -Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, with Catherine, widow of Sir Hugh Swinford, -and sister to Chaucer’s wife. He is said to have lived at Woodstock -at a late period of his life, and finally, to have retired to Donnington -Castle on the Duke of Lancaster’s death. By his wife, Philippa, he -had two sons, Thomas and Lewis. Thomas was Speaker of the House -of Commons in the reign of Henry IV., ambassador to France and Burgundy, -and discharged other public duties. Chaucer’s principal biographers -are Leland, Thomas Speght, Mr. Tyrwhitt, and Mr. Godwin. -The work of the latter would have been more valuable had it been less -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>voluminous, less discursive, and less conjectural. Mr. Tyrwhitt’s edition -of the Canterbury Tales is a model of criticism on an old English -classic. His Introductory Discourse on the Language and Versification -of Chaucer will enable its readers to form just and clear ideas of -the history of our ancient tongue, and Chaucer’s peculiar use of it.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Chaucer was held in high estimation by his most distinguished -contemporaries. John the Chaplain, who translated Boethius into -English verse, as Chaucer had into prose, calls him the Flower of -Rhetoric. Occleve laments him with personal affection as his father -and master, and styles him the honour of English tongue. Lydgate, -the monk of Bury, mentions him as a chief poet of Britain; the -loadstar of our language; the notable rhetor. Dryden says, in the -preface prefixed to his Fables,—“As Chaucer is the father of English -poetry, so I hold him in the same degree of veneration as the Grecians -held Homer, or the Romans Virgil; he is a perpetual fountain of good -sense, learned in all sciences, and therefore speaks properly on all -subjects; as he knew what to say, so he knows also when to leave off, -a continence which is practised by few writers, and scarcely by any -of the ancients, excepting Virgil and Horace.”</p> - -<p class='c000'>Our account of his principal works must be brief. The Romaunt -of the Rose is professedly a translation of the French Roman de la -Rose. It is a long allegory, representing the difficulties and dangers -encountered by a lover in the pursuit of his mistress, who is emblematically -described as a Rose, and the plot, if so it may be called, -ends with his putting her in a beautiful garden.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Troilus and Creseide is for the most part a translation of the Filostrato -of Boccaccio, but with many variations and large additions. As -a tale, it is barren of incident, although, according to Warton, as long -as the Æneid; but it contains passages of great beauty and pathos.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The story of Queen Annelida and false Arcite is said to have been -originally told in Latin. Chaucer names the authors whom he professes -to follow. “First folwe I Stace, and after him Corinne.” -The opening only is taken from Statius, so that Corinne must be supposed -to have furnished the remainder; but who she was has never -yet been discovered. False Arcite is a different person from the -Arcite of the Knight’s Tale. It is probable therefore that this poem -was written before Chaucer had become acquainted with the Teseide -of Boccaccio.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The opening of the Assembly of Foules is built on the Somnium -Scipionis of Cicero. The description of a garden and temple is almost -entirely taken from the description of the Temple of Venus in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>Fourth Book of the Teseide. Mr. Tyrwhitt suspects this poem to -allude to the intended marriage between John of Gaunt and Blanche -of Lancaster, which took place in 1359.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Warton, in his History of English Poetry, intimates his belief that -the House of Fame was originally a Provençal composition. But -Mr. Tyrwhitt differs from him in opinion, and states that he “has not -observed, in any of Chaucer’s writings, a single phrase or word which -has the least appearance of having been fetched by him from the -South of the Loire.” With respect to the matter and manner of his -compositions, Mr. Tyrwhitt adds, that he “shall be slow to believe -that in either he ever copied the poets of Provence,” or that he had -more than a very slender acquaintance with them. The poem is an -allegorical vision; a favourite theme with all the poets of Chaucer’s -time, both native and foreign.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The Flower and the Leaf was printed for the first time in Speght’s -edition of 1597. Mr. Tyrwhitt suggests a doubt of its correct ascription -to Chaucer; but it seems to afford internal evidence of powers -at all events congenial with those of Chaucer, in its description of rural -scenery and its general truth and feeling. Dryden has modernised it, -without a suspicion of its authenticity.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Chaucer’s prose works are—his Translation of Boethius, the Treatise -on the Astrolabe, and the Testament of Love. The Canterbury Tales -were his latest work. The general plan of them is, that a company of -Pilgrims, going to Canterbury, assemble at an inn in Southwark, and -agree that each shall tell at least one tale in going and another on returning; -and that he who shall tell the best tales shall be treated by -the rest with a supper at the inn, before they separate. The characters -of the Pilgrims, as exhibited in their respective Prologues, are drawn -from the various departments of middle life. The occurrences on the -journey, and the adventures of the company at Canterbury, were intended -to be interwoven as Episodes, or connected by means of the -Prologues; but the work, like its prototype the Decameron, was -undertaken when the author was past the meridian of life, and was -left imperfect. Chaucer has, in many respects, improved on his model, -especially in variety of character and its nice discrimination; but the -introductory machinery is not contrived with equal felicity. Boccaccio’s -narrators indulge in the ease and luxury of a palace; a journey -on horse-back is not the most convenient opportunity of telling long -stories to a numerous company.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The works of Chaucer, notwithstanding the encomiums of four -successive centuries, emanating from poets and critics of the highest -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>renown and first authority, are little read excepting by antiquaries -and philologers, unless in the polished versions of Dryden and Pope. -This is principally to be attributed neither to any change of opinion -respecting the merit of the poet, nor to the obsoleteness of the language; -but to the progressive change of manners and feelings in -society, to the accumulation of knowledge, and the improvement of -morals. His command over the language of his day, his poetical -power, and his exhibition of existing characters and amusing incidents, -constitute his attractions; but his prolixity is ill suited to our -impatient rapidity of thought and action. Unlike the passionate and -natural creations of Shakspeare, which will never grow obsolete, the -sentiments of Chaucer are not congenial with our own: his love is -fantastic gallantry; he is the painter and panegyrist of exploded -knight-errantry. Hence the preference of the Canterbury Tales above -all his other works; because the manners of the time are dramatized, -in other ranks of life than that of chivalry; his good sense, and capacity -for keen observation are called forth, to the exclusion of conventional -affectations. With respect to his prose, it is curious as that -“strange English” and “ornate style,” adopted by him as a scholar -for the sake of distinction, rather than as a specimen of the language -and mode of expression characteristic of his age.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_183.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>[The Wife of Bath, from Stothard’s Canterbury Pilgrimage.]</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span> -<img src='images/i_184.jpg' alt='SOBIESKI.' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>SOBIESKI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>So rapid and complete has been the decay of the Ottoman empire -as an aggressive power, that any person now living, unacquainted with -history anterior to the date of his own birth, would treat the notion -of danger to Christian Europe from the ambition of Turkey, as the -idle fear of an over-anxious mind. Yet there was a time, and that -within a century and a half, when Popes summoned the princes of -Europe to support the Cross, and the Eastern frontier of Christendom -was the scene of almost constant warfare between Christian and Moslem. -That period of danger was to Poland a period of glory; and -the brightest part of it is the reign of the warrior-king, John -Sobieski. It proved, indeed, no better than an empty glitter, won at -a vast expense of blood and treasure, the benefits of which were chiefly -reaped by the faithless and ungrateful Austria.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_184fp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><em>Engraved by J. Thomson.</em><br /><br />JOHN SOBIESKI.<br /><br /><em>From an original Picture, in the<br />Gallery of the Louvre.</em><br /><br />Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.<br /><br /><em>London, Published by Charles Knight, Pall Mall East.</em></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c000'>Sobieski was the younger son of a Polish nobleman, high in rank and -merit. He was born in 1629. The death of his brother, slain in warfare -with the Cossacks of the Ukraine, in 1649, placed him in possession -of the hereditary titles and immense estates of his house. To -these distinctions he added high personal merits, an athletic body, a -powerful, active, and upright mind, and, as the result proved, the -qualities which make a general and statesman. It is no wonder therefore -that, in the wars carried on by Poland during his youth against -Tartars, Cossacks, and Swedes, he won laurels, though the Republic -gained neither honour nor advantage. At an early age he acquired -the confidence of Casimir, the reigning king of Poland, and was employed -in various services of importance. On the revolt of Lubomirski, -Grand Marshal of Poland, Sobieski was invested with that -office, and soon after made Lieutenant-General (if we may so translate -it) of the Polish army. In that capacity he led the royal troops -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>against Lubomirski. The king’s obstinacy forced him to give battle -at a disadvantage, and he was defeated, July 13, 1666; but the blame -of this mishap was universally thrown on the right person, while the -skilful conduct of Sobieski’s retreat obtained general admiration.</p> - -<p class='c000'>He married Marie de la Grange d’Arquien, a French lady of noble -birth, who had accompanied the queen into Poland. She was a -woman of wit and beauty, who exercised throughout life an unusual -and unfortunate influence over a husband devotedly attached to her. -Aided by her favour with her mistress, Sobieski obtained the highest -military office, that of Grand General, in 1667. Happy for Poland, -that in this instance favour and merit went hand in hand: for a -host of fourscore thousand Tartars broke into the kingdom, when -its exhausted finances could not maintain an army, and its exhausted -population could hardly supply one. By draining his own purse, -pledging his own resources, and levying recruits on his immense -estates, the General raised his troops from twelve to twenty -thousand, and marched fearlessly against a force four times as great. -The scheme of his campaign was singularly confident, so much so as -to excite the disapprobation even of the intrepid Condé. He detached -eight thousand men in several corps, with secret orders, and took -post with the remaining twelve thousand in a fortified camp at Podahiecz, -a small town in the Palatinate of Russia, to stand the attack of -eighty thousand Tartars, while his detachments were converging to -their assigned stations. The assault was renewed for sixteen successive -days; and day after day the assailants were repulsed with slaughter. -On the seventeenth, Sobieski offered battle in the open field. A -bloody contest ensued; but while victory was doubtful, the Polish -detachments appeared on the Tartar flanks, and turned the balance. -Disheartened by their loss, the Tartars made overtures of peace, which -was concluded equally to the satisfaction of both the belligerents, -October 19, 1667.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The circumstances attendant on the abdication of Casimir, in 1668, -and the election of his successor Michael Wiesnowieski, do not demand -our notice, for Sobieski took little part in the intrigues of the -candidates, or the deliberations of the Diet. The new king wept and -trembled as he mounted a throne to which he had never aspired, and -which he protested himself incapable to fill; and the event proved that -he was right. Yet, when he had tasted the sweets of power, he -looked jealously on the man most highly esteemed and most able to do -his country service, and therefore most formidable to a weak and suspicious -prince. The Ukraine Cossacks had been converted by oppression -from good subjects into bad neighbours, and on the accession of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>Michael they again raised the standard of war. Partly by negotiation, -partly by force, the Grand General reduced all the country from -the Bog to the Dniester in the campaign of 1671, and he received -the thanks of the Republic for performing such eminent services with -such scanty means. It is still more to his credit that he interfered, -not for the first time, in favour of the revolted Cossacks, and insisted -on their being received into allegiance with kindness, and encouraged -to good behaviour by equitable and friendly treatment.</p> - -<p class='c000'>King Michael was of a very different mind in this matter. Determined -on the subjugation of the whole Ukraine, he intrigued to hinder -the Diet from confirming the peace, and thus induced the Cossacks -to call in the help of Turkey, by threatening which they had stopped -the progress of Sobieski. This brought on a fresh discussion in the -Diet, in which Sobieski warmly urged the expediency of concession. -Michael, however, persisted in his course; and from this period we -may date the commencement of a league to dethrone him. In this, -at first, Sobieski took no active, certainly no open, part. When compelled -to declare himself, he asserted, with zeal, the right of the Republic -to depose a prince who had shown himself unfit to reign. The -consequences of this discord were very serious. At a Diet held in the -spring of 1672, Michael was openly required to abdicate. To avoid -this he summoned the minor nobility, who had no seats in the Diet, -and with whom, having formerly been of their body, he was more popular, -to meet in the field of Golemba, on the bank of the Vistula; and -he thus raised a sort of militia, to the number of a hundred thousand, -ready to uphold him as the king. Sobieski, encamped at Lowicz -with an army devoted to him, maintained the cause of the confederate -nobles. Neither party, however, was in haste to appeal to arms; and -in the interim, Mahomet IV., with 150,000 Turks and 100,000 Tartars, -invaded Poland. The king, instead of marching against the -enemy, contented himself with setting a price on Sobieski’s head, in -whom alone the hope of Poland rested. Too weak however to oppose -the Turks, he sought the Tartars, who had dispersed to carry ruin -through the country, routed them in five successive battles, and recovered -an immense booty and thirty thousand prisoners from their -hands. Meanwhile the Turks overran Podolia, and took its capital -town, the strong fortress of Kaminiec, the bulwark of Poland. Incapable -himself of action, and apprehensive alike of the failure or success -of Sobieski, Michael hastily concluded an ignominious peace, by -which the Ukraine and part of Podolia were ceded to Turkey, and the -payment of an annual tribute was agreed upon.</p> - -<p class='c000'>This treaty of Boudchaz, signed October 8, 1672, prevented Sobieski -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>from continuing the war, and he returned indignantly to his -camp at Lowicz. Before the end of the year, the king found it necessary -to adopt conciliatory measures, and Sobieski, and other nobles -who had been outlawed with him, were restored to civil rights and -the enjoyment of their property. At the Diet held in February, -1673, he inveighed against the scandalous treaty of Boudchaz, which, -in truth, was void, being concluded without the sanction of that body, -and it was resolved to renounce the treaty, and renew the war. -Eighty thousand Turks were stationed in a fortified camp at -Choczim, to overawe the newly-conquered provinces. November 12, -1673, Sobieski stormed their camp. Observing that the infantry -wavered, he dismounted his own regiment of dragoons, and led them -to the ramparts, which they were the first to scale. The infantry -rushed forward to support their general; the entrenchments were won, -and the Turks routed with great slaughter, and entirely disorganized. -This victory was disgraced by the massacre of a great number of prisoners -in cold blood. Soon after it the death of Michael relieved -Poland from the burden of a weak king, and the Interrex stopped the -victorious general’s progress, by requiring his attendance in Poland.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The diet of election commenced its sittings May 1, 1674. As -before, there were a number of foreign candidates, but none who commanded -a decisive majority among the electors; and at last the choice -of the assembly fell on Sobieski, who, whatever his secret wishes or -intrigues may have been, had never openly pretended to the crown. -That choice was received with general rejoicing. The new king’s -first care was to follow up the blow struck at Choczim, and wrest the -Ukraine from Turkey. During this and the two following years, that -unhappy country was again the scene of bloodshed and rapine. There -is little in the history of the war to claim our attention. It was concluded -at the memorable leaguer of Zurawno, where, with a policy -somewhat similar to that which he pursued at Podahiecz, he advanced -to meet an invading army outnumbering his own six to one. Fortunately -the Turkish government stood in need of peace, and their general -had authority and orders to put an end to the war in the best -manner he could; and after besieging the Polish camp for five weeks, -he consented to a treaty, signed October 29, 1676, the terms of which -were far more favourable than could have been anticipated by Poland. -Two-thirds of the Ukraine, and part of Podolia, were restored to her, -and the tribute imposed by the treaty of Boudchaz was given up. -These terms were ratified by the Porte, and seven years of peace -succeeded to almost constant war.</p> - -<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>This interval of rest from arms is not important in the history of -Sobieski’s life. As he had anticipated, he found the throne no easy -seat; and his criminal weakness in admitting the queen, who never -scrupled at disturbing public affairs to gratify her own passions or -prejudices, to an undue weight in his counsels, lessens our sympathy -with his vexations, and casts a shade over his brilliant qualities. In -1680, greater matters began to be moved. Ever watchful of the Porte, -Sobieski knew through his spies that Mahomet was preparing for -war with Austria, as soon as the existing truce expired; and he conceived -the project of uniting the money of Rome, and the arms of -Austria and Venice, with those of Poland; and, by thus distracting the -power of Turkey, to regain more easily the much coveted fortress of -Kaminiec, and the remnant of Podolia. He had, indeed, sworn -solemnly to maintain a treaty, which the Turks religiously observed; -but the Pope was ready to absolve him from the oath, and this the -morality of the age thought quite sufficient. For a time his views -were frustrated, both at home and abroad; but as the political storm -which was collecting grew darker and darker, both Pope and Emperor -entered more heartily into the scheme, and an offensive and defensive -treaty was concluded between Austria and Poland.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The Turkish troops assembled in the plains of Adrianople, in May, -1683, in number, according to the calculations of historians, upwards -of 200,000 fighting men. The brave Hungarians, heretofore the bulwark -of Austria against the Ottoman, but now alienated by oppression -and misgovernment, revolted under the celebrated Tekeli, and opened -a way into the heart of the Austrian empire. Kara Mustapha commanded -the immense army destined by the Porte for this warfare, -and for once he showed judgment and decision in neglecting small -objects and pushing forward at once to Vienna. Leopold fled in -haste with his court: the Imperial General, the brave Charles of -Lorraine, threw in part of his small army to reinforce the garrison, -but was unable to oppose the progress of the besiegers. The trenches -were opened July 14, and the heavy artillery of the Turks crumbled -the weak ramparts, and carried destruction into the interior of the -city. Unhappy is the country which trusts to foreign aid in such a -strait! The German princes had not yet brought up their contingents; -and even Sobieski, the last man to delay in such a cause, -could not collect his army fast enough to meet the pressing need of -the occasion. Letter reached him after letter, entreating that he -would at least bring the terror of his name and profound military -skill to the relief of Austria; and he set off to traverse Moravia with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>an escort of only two thousand horse, leaving the Grand General -Jablonowski to bring up the army with the utmost speed. After all, -the Polish troops reached Tuln, on the Danube, the place of rendezvous, -before the Bavarians, Saxons, and other German auxiliaries -were collected. September 7, the whole army was assembled, in -number about 74,000. Vienna was already in the utmost distress. -Stahremberg, the brave commandant, had written to the Duke of -Lorraine a letter, containing only these pithy words, “No more time -to lose, my Lord; no more time to lose.” Incapable of resisting with -its enfeebled garrison a general assault, the place must have fallen but -for the avarice and stupid pride of Mustapha, who thought that the -imperial capital must contain immense treasures, which he was loth to -give up to indiscriminate plunder; and never dreamed that any one -would be hardy enough to contest the prize with his multitudes before -it fell into his hands from mere exhaustion. There was indeed no -more time to lose: it was calculated on August 22, that Vienna could -only hold out three days against a general assault; and September 9 -arrived before the Christian army moved from Tuln. Five leagues of -mountain road still separated it from Vienna, in any part of which its -progress might have been stopped by such a detachment as the immense -Turkish army might well have spared.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The battle of deliverance, fought September 12, 1683, was short -and decisive: the Turks were disgusted and disheartened by their -general’s misconduct. Sobieski was not expected to command in person; -but the Tartars had seen him lead his cavalry to the charge too -often to overlook the signs which marked his presence, and the knowledge -of it sunk their hearts still more. “Allah!” said the brave -Khan of the Tartars, as he pointed out to the Visir the pennoned -lances of the Polish Horse Guards, “Allah! but the wizard is amongst -them, sure enough.” The Visir attempted to atone by courage for -his past errors, but despair or disaffection had seized on soldiers and -officers. Even the veteran Tartar chief replied to his entreaties,—“The -Polish king is there. I know him well. Did I not tell you -that all we had to do was to get away as fast as possible?” The Polish -cavalry pushed forward to the Visir’s tent, and cut their way through -the Spahis, who alone disputed the victory; and with the capture of their -great standard the consternation and confusion of the Turks became -final and complete. Entering Vienna the next day, Sobieski was -received with an enthusiasm little pleasant to the jealous temper of -the Emperor, who manifested his incurable meanness of disposition, -not only in his cold reception and ungracious thanks of the deliverer -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>of his kingdom, but in the ingratitude and perfidy of all his subsequent -conduct.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Whether from pure love of beating the Turks, or from a false hope -that Leopold might be induced to perform his promises, Sobieski, -contrary to the wishes of the Republic, pursued the flying enemy -into Hungary. Near Gran, on the Danube, he met with a severe -check, in which his own life had nearly been sacrificed to the desire -of showing the Imperialists that he could conquer without their help. -This he acknowledged after his junction with the Duke of Lorraine. -“Gentlemen,” he said, “I confess I wanted to conquer without you, -for the honour of my own nation. I have suffered severely for it, -being soundly beat; but I will take my revenge both with you and -for you. To effect this must be the chief object of our thoughts.” -The disgrace was soon wiped off by a decisive victory gained nearly -on the same spot. Gran capitulated, and the king led his army back -to Poland in the month of December.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The glory of this celebrated campaign fell to Poland, the profit -accrued to Austria. Kaminiec was still in the possession of Turkey, -and continued so during the whole reign of Sobieski: not from -want of effort, for the recovery of that important fortress was the leading -object of the campaigns of 1684, 5, and 7; but the Polish army -was better suited for the open field than for the tedious and expensive -process of a siege. In 1686, Leopold, apprehensive lest Sobieski -should break off an alliance distasteful to his subjects and unsatisfactory -to himself, (for the Emperor had broken every promise and -failed in every inducement which he had held out to the Polish -sovereign,) threw out another bait, which succeeded better than the -duplicity and ingratitude of the contriver deserved. He suggested -the idea of wresting from the Turks Moldavia and Wallachia, to be -held as an independent and hereditary kingdom by Sobieski and his -family, and promised a body of troops to assist in the undertaking. -The great object of Sobieski’s ambition, by pursuing which he lost -much of his popularity and incurred just censure, as aiming at an -unconstitutional object by unconstitutional means, was to hand the -crown of Poland to his son at his own decease, and render it, if possible, -hereditary in his family. The possession of the above-named -provinces was most desirable as a step to this; or, if this wish were still -frustrated, it was yet desirable as placing his posterity among the royal -houses of Europe: and with a preference of private to public interest, -which is not less censurable for being common, he rejected an offer -made by Mahomet to restore Kaminiec, and to pay a large sum to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>indemnify Poland for the expenses of the war, that he might pursue -his favourite scheme of family aggrandizement. Satisfied, however, -with having engaged him in this new diversion of the Turkish power, -Leopold had not the smallest intention of sending the promised troops; -and the King of Poland was involved in great danger from their -non-appearance at the expected place. This campaign, however, was -so far satisfactory, that Moldavia yielded without resistance or bloodshed; -a second and a third expedition, undertaken in 1688 and 1691, -to consolidate and extend this conquest, were unsuccessful, and the -sovereignty soon passed back into the hands of Turkey. The campaign -of 1691 was the last in which Sobieski appeared in the field.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The reader will see from this brief account that he added few -laurels, after the campaign of Vienna, to those by which his brows -were so profusely garlanded. Indeed he scarcely deserved to do so; -for great and disinterested as his conduct often was, in this juncture -he sacrificed national to family interests, and consumed the blood and -riches of his countrymen in a needless and fruitless war.</p> - -<p class='c000'>Sobieski’s internal policy has little to recommend it, or to exalt his -fame. Devoted to his wife, who proved herself unworthy his affection -by the most harassing demands upon his time and attention, and -still more by a pertinacious, unwise, and unconstitutional interference -in state affairs, which had not even the excuse of being well directed, -but was continually employed to promote private interests, to gratify -private prejudices, and, ultimately, at once to violate the laws and sow -dissension in her own family by securing the crown of Poland to her -own son, and choosing a younger in preference to the elder branch, the -king lowered his popularity and reputation by thus weakly yielding -to an unworthy influence, and, as the natural consequence, he was -continually thwarted by a harassing and often factious opposition. -Civil discord, family quarrels, and the infirmities of a body worn out -prematurely by unsparing exposure for more than forty years to the -toils of war, combined to embitter the decline of his life. In the five -years which elapsed from Sobieski’s last campaign to his death, the -history of Poland records much of unprincipled intriguing, much -personal ingratitude, and some upright opposition to his measures, -but nothing of material importance to his personal history. He died -June 17, 1696, on the double anniversary, it is said, of his birth and -his accession to the throne; and by another singular coincidence, his -birth and death were alike heralded by storms of unusual violence.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The character of Sobieski is one of great brilliancy and considerable -faults. As a subject, he displayed genuine, disinterested patriotism; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>as a king, the welfare of his family seems to have been dearer to him -than that of his country. Nor did his domestic government display -the vigour and decision which we might reasonably have expected -from his powerful mind. But his justice was unimpeachable; he was -temperate, and unrevengeful even when personally affronted, which -often happened in the tumultuous Diets of Poland; and, in a bigoted -age, he displayed the virtue of toleration. The constant labours of an -active life did not choke his literary taste, and his literary attainments -were considerable; he spoke several languages, aspired to be a poet, -and loved the company of learned men. He was remarkable for the -suavity of his temper and the charms of his conversation. Such a -character, though far from perfection, is entitled to the epithet <span class='fss'>GREAT</span>, -which he won and enjoyed; and, as a soldier, he has a claim to our -gratitude, which not every soldier possesses. His warfare was almost -uniformly waged against an aggressive and barbarian power, which, -in the utmost need of Christian Europe, he stood forward to resist, -and finally broke. Like other nations, Turkey has had its alternations -of success and loss; but never, since the campaign of Vienna, have -the arms of the East threatened the repose of Europe.</p> - -<p class='c000'>The history of Sobieski’s life and reign is told at large in the works -of his countryman Zaluski; in the Life by the Abbé Coyer, of which -there is an English translation; and in a recent publication by M. -Salvandy. The same writer has republished a most interesting collection -of Letters, written by Sobieski to his queen during the campaign -of Vienna, printed for the first time in Poland about ten years ago.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_192.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</h2> -</div> - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>Changed “General Keith” to “Governor Keith” on p. <a href='#t78'>78</a>. - - </li> - <li>Changed “well worthy attention” to “well worth attention” on p. <a href='#t119'>119</a>. - - </li> - <li>Changed “Geographie” to “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Géographie</span>” on p. <a href='#t140'>140</a>. - - </li> - <li>Silently corrected typographical errors. - - </li> - <li>Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gallery of Portraits: with -Memoirs. 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