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diff --git a/old/56096-0.txt b/old/56096-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e9dcb87..0000000 --- a/old/56096-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9279 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gallery of Portraits: with Memoirs. Vol -7 (of 7), by Anonymous - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. 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. Vol 7 (of 7) - -Author: Anonymous - -Release Date: December 1, 2017 [EBook #56096] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GALLERY OF PORTRAITS, VOL 7 *** - - - - -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) - - - - - - - _UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL - KNOWLEDGE._ - - - - - THE - GALLERY OF PORTRAITS: - WITH - MEMOIRS. - - VOLUME VII. - - - LONDON: - CHARLES KNIGHT, 22, LUDGATE-STREET. - - 1837. - - [PRICE ONE GUINEA, BOUND IN CLOTH.] - - - - - LONDON: - - PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, - - Duke-Street, Lambeth. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES - CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME. - - - Page. - - 1. Gustavus Adolphus 1 - - 2. Marc Antonio Raimondi 10 - - 3. Coke 15 - - 4. Gibbon 25 - - 5. Scaliger 32 - - 6. Penn 39 - - 7. De Thou 49 - - 8. Chatham 55 - - 9. Mozart 66 - - 10. Loyola 73 - - 11. Brindley 81 - - 12. Schiller 87 - - 13. Bentham 97 - - 14. Catherine II. 103 - - 15. Defoe 112 - - 16. Hume 121 - - 17. De Witt 129 - - 18. Hampden 137 - - 19. Dr. Johnson 145 - - 20. Jefferson 153 - - 21. Wilberforce 162 - - 22. Dr. Black 169 - - 23. Bacon 177 - - 24. Sir Walter Scott 185 - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. - - _From a Print by Paul Pontius, after a Picture by Van Dyck._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - GUST. ADOLPHUS. - - -During the fourteenth, and the beginning of the fifteenth century, -Sweden, lying under vassalage to the crown of Denmark, suffered the -evils which commonly belong to that condition. Gustavus Vasa, after a -series of romantic adventures, established the independence of his -country, and was deservedly elected by the Swedish Diet, in 1523, to -wear its crown. The same kingdom to which he gave a place among free -states, his grandson, Gustavus Adolphus, raised from the obscurity of a -petty northern power, to rule in Germany, and to be the terror of the -Church of Rome. - -The establishment of the Reformation was coeval with the independence of -Sweden; and a fundamental law forbade any future sovereign to alter the -national religion, or to admit Roman Catholics to offices of power and -trust. For infringing this principle, Sigismond, by election King of -Poland, the lineal successor of Gustavus Vasa, was set aside by the -Diet, and the crown was given to his father’s younger brother, Charles, -Duke of Sudermania. Charles died, and was succeeded by his son Gustavus -Adolphus, December 31, 1611; the high promise of whose youth induced the -States to abridge the period of minority, and admit him at once to the -exercise of regal power, though he had but just attained the age of -seventeen, being born December 9, 1594. - -He had been trained up in the knowledge likely to be serviceable to a -king and a soldier. He spoke the Latin language, then a universal medium -of communication, with uncommon energy and precision; he conversed -fluently in French, Italian, and German; he had studied history, -political science, mathematics, and military tactics; and commencing -with the part of a musketeer, he had been made master, by practice, of -all the details of a soldier’s life. He was capable of very severe -application to abstruse study, and is said to have passed whole nights -in reading the military history of the ancients. He was of uncommon -stature and strength, and his constitution was early inured to labour -and endurance. - -Gustavus’s situation, at his accession, was critical. The King of Poland -laid claim to his dominions, and Denmark and Muscovy were in arms -against him. The danger was most pressing on the side of Denmark; and -thither Gustavus’s first efforts were directed. But in Christian IV. he -had to contend with an able enemy, from whom he gained no advantage; and -after one unsuccessful campaign he accommodated the quarrel at the -expense of some concessions. In the war with Muscovy he was more -fortunate; and he reduced the Czar to purchase peace in 1617, by the -sacrifice of the provinces which border the Gulf of Finland and the -Baltic sea. During these years of warfare, Gustavus found leisure to -bestow attention upon internal improvements. He devoted much thought and -care upon strengthening the Swedish navy, esteeming that to be his -surest defence against invasion; he sought to encourage commerce; he -purified the administration of justice, by rendering judges less -dependant upon the crown, and by abridging the tediousness and expense -of lawsuits; and he laboured to devise means for increasing the revenue -by judicious arrangement, without adding to the burdens of the people. -Both in peace and war he received the most valuable assistance from his -zealous, faithful, and sagacious minister, the celebrated Oxenstiern. - -In 1620 Gustavus travelled incognito through the chief towns of Germany. -At Berlin he formed acquaintance with Maria Eleonora, sister to the -Elector of Brandenburg, whom he espoused at Stockholm in November of the -same year. One daughter, the famous Christina, his successor, was the -offspring of this marriage. - -The King of Poland’s enmity was not seconded by his ability. He -endeavoured in vain to shake the fidelity of Gustavus’s subjects, and he -tried the fortune of war with no better success. In the contests between -the cousins, which occurred in the first ten years of Gustavus’s reign, -the advantage was always on the side of Sweden. Gustavus was desirous of -peace, and forbore to press his superiority. But Sigismond’s hostility -was nourished and stimulated by the leading Catholic powers, Spain and -Austria; and he made so bad a return for this moderation, that in 1621 -the war was renewed in a more determined manner, and in the course of -eight years Livonia, Courland, and Polish Prussia, were gradually -subjected to Sweden. During this time Gustavus was no careless spectator -of the Thirty Years’ War, which was raging in Germany. However well -inclined he might be to step forward as the defender of the Protestant -cause, he could not do so with effect while his exertions were demanded -in Poland; and though he made an offer of assistance to the Protestants -in 1626, it was clogged with conditions which induced them to decline -his proposals. But in 1629, under the mediation of France, he concluded -a truce for six years with Sigismond, retaining possession of the -conquered provinces; and being thus relieved from all fear of Poland, -and guaranteed against injury from Denmark by the interest of that -country in checking the progress of the Imperial arms, he found himself -qualified to take the decisive part which he had long desired in the -affairs of Germany. How far his determination was influenced by personal -and ambitious motives, how far it was due to patriotism and religious -zeal, it must be left to each inquirer to decide for himself. The crisis -was one of extreme importance: for the temporal rights of the whole -German empire were endangered by the inordinate and seemingly prosperous -ambition of the House of Austria; and the Protestant states in -particular had reason to apprehend the speedy destruction of their own, -and the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic church. And if the -influence of the Emperor, Ferdinand II., supported by the papal -hierarchy re-established in its great power and rich benefices through -the north of Germany, were suffered unchecked to extend itself to the -Baltic sea, the liberties of Sweden and Denmark, and the very existence -of the Reformation on the Continent, seemed to be involved in no remote -danger. To pull down the power of Ferdinand and the Catholic League thus -became of vital moment to the King of Sweden. But though the Protestant -princes were ready to invoke his assistance in secret complaints, none -of them dared to conclude an open treaty with a distant prince, and a -kingdom hitherto obscure, and thus to incur the resentment of the -Emperor, whose formidable armies, anxious above all things for the -renewal of war and rapine, were at hand. Moreover, the jealousy and -selfishness of the chiefs of the Protestant union formed a greater -obstacle to the King of Sweden’s views, than even the weakness of their -individual states. Unable, therefore, to obtain the cordial and willing -co-operation of those who were linked to him by the bond of a common -interest, Gustavus had only the alternative to abandon them to their -fate and share the dangers which he sought to obviate, or to take the -equivocal and rarely defensible step of occupying their territories and -compelling their assistance, an unsolicited, though an honourable and -friendly, ally. He chose the latter. - -The shortest apology for this determination, which as a matter of policy -was opposed by Oxenstiern, may be found in the substance of the king’s -answer to that minister’s objections, as it is abridged by Schiller in -his History of the Thirty Years’ War. “If we wait for the enemy in -Sweden, in losing a battle, all is lost: all, on the contrary, is gained -if we obtain the first success in Germany. The sea is large, and we have -extensive coasts to watch. Should the enemy’s fleet escape us, or our -own be beaten, it is not possible for us to prevent a landing. We must -therefore use all our efforts for the preservation of Stralsund. So long -as this harbour shall be in our power Ave shall maintain the honour of -our flag in the Baltic, and shall be able to keep up a free intercourse -with Germany. But in order to defend Stralsund we must not shut -ourselves up in Sweden; but must pass over with an army into Pomerania. -Speak to me then no more of a defensive war, by which we shall lose our -most precious advantages. Sweden herself must not behold the standards -of the enemy; and, if we are vanquished in Germany, it will still be -time enough to have recourse to your plan.” - -The army which Gustavus carried into Germany consisted only of 15,000 -men; but it was formidable from its bravery, its high discipline, and -the reliance which the general and the troops felt upon each other. “All -excesses,” we quote from Schiller, “were punished in a severe manner; -but blasphemy, theft, gaming, and duelling, met with a more severe -chastisement. The Swedish articles of war prescribed moderation; there -was not to be seen in the Swedish camp, even in the tent of the king, -either gold or silver. The general’s eye watched carefully over the -manners of the soldiers, while it en-flamed their courage in battle. -Every regiment must each morning and evening form itself in a circle -round its chaplain, and, in the open air, address prayers to the -Almighty. In all this the legislator himself served as a model. An -unaffected and pure piety animated the courage of his great mind. -Equally free from that gross incredulity which leaves without restraint -the ferocious movements of the barbarian, and the grovelling bigotry of -a Ferdinand, who abased himself in the dust before the Divinity, and yet -disdainfully trampled on the necks of mankind, in the height of his good -fortune, Gustavus was always a man and a Christian; amid all his -devotion, the hero and the king. He supported all the hardships of war -like the lowest soldier in his army; his mind was serene in the midst of -the most furious battle; his genius pointed out the results to him -beforehand; everywhere present, he forgot death which surrounded him, -and he was always found where there was the greatest danger. His natural -valour made him too often lose sight of what was due to the general, and -this great king terminated his life as a common soldier. But the coward -as well as the brave followed such a leader to victory, and not any of -the heroical actions which his example had created ever escaped his -penetrating eye. The glory of their sovereign inflamed the entire -Swedish nation with a noble confidence; proud of his king, the peasant -of Finland and Gothland joyfully gave up what his poverty could afford; -the soldier willingly shed his blood; and that elevated sentiment which -the genius of this single man gave to the nation survived him a -considerable time.” - -Gustavus took a solemn farewell of the States of the kingdom, May 20, -1630, presenting to them his daughter Christina, as his heir and -successor. Adverse winds delayed his departure, and it was not till the -24th of June that he reached the coast of Pomerania. He disembarked his -army on the islands of Wollin and Usedom, at the mouth of the Oder, and -having taken possession of the strong town of Stettin on the same river, -established a sure footing on the continent, and secured his means of -retreat and communication with Sweden. To this proceeding he gained a -reluctant consent from the Duke of Pomerania, who, though wearied and -disgusted with the ravages of the Imperial troops, was unwilling to -commit himself in defence of that which still appeared the weaker cause. -But having no force to prevent the hostile, if he refused to warrant the -friendly, occupation of his country, he made a virtue of necessity, and -allied himself closely with the Swede. - -Gustavus’s progress at first produced no uneasiness at Vienna: the -courtiers called him the snow-king, and said in derision that he would -melt in his progress southward. But in the first campaign he nearly -cleared Pomerania of the Imperialists; and he was strengthened by the -accession of the Duke of Mecklenburg, who, having been despoiled of his -territories in favour of Wallenstein, now openly raised troops in -support of the King of Sweden. As winter approached, the Imperialists -negotiated for a suspension of arms; but Gustavus replied, “The Swedes -are soldiers in winter as well as summer, and are not disposed to make -the peaceable inhabitants of the country support any longer than -necessary the evils of war. The Imperialists may do as they choose, but -the Swedes do not intend to remain inactive.” - -Meanwhile he met with cold support from the Protestant princes, in whose -cause he had taken arms. The chief of these was the Elector of Saxony, -who felt a jealousy, not unnatural, of the power and the ultimate views -of the King of Sweden, and was himself ambitious to play the first part -among the Protestants of Germany. Seeking to act independently, and to -hold the balance between Sweden and Austria, he invited the Protestant -States to a conference at Leipsic, February 6, 1613, at which it was -determined to demand from the Emperor the redress of grievances, and to -levy an army of 40,000 men, to give weight to their remonstrances. On -the 13th of January, Gustavus had concluded an alliance with France, by -the terms of which he was to maintain in Germany 30,000 men, France -furnishing a subsidy of 400,000 dollars yearly, to use his best -endeavours to reinstate those princes who had been expelled from their -dominions by the Emperor, or the Catholic League, and to restore the -empire to the condition in which it existed at the commencement of the -war. Richelieu tried to bring the princes who had joined in the -convention of Leipsic to accede to this alliance, but with very partial -success. A few promised to support the Swedes, when opportunity should -favour; but the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg kept aloof. During -these negotiations Gustavus made progress in Brandenburg. The memorable -siege and destruction of Magdeburg, May 10, by Tilly, for a time cast a -gloom over the Protestant cause. Gustavus has been censured, both as a -man and a soldier, for suffering that well-deserving and important place -to fall without risking a battle in its behalf. His defence rests upon -the interposed delays, and the insincerity of the Electors, which -involved him in the risk of total destruction if he advanced thus far -without having his retreat secured. But even this signal misfortune -proved finally serviceable to the Protestant cause. It induced Gustavus -to adopt a different tone with his brother-in-law of Brandenburg, who, -finding no alternative but a real union or an open rupture with Sweden, -wisely chose the former. The pride of success led the Imperial generals -into acts of insolence, which induced the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, -first of the German princes, to conclude a close and hearty alliance -with Sweden, and left the Elector of Saxony no choice between entire -dependence on the already exasperated Emperor, and an effective support -of the only power that could protect him. Accordingly he formed a -junction with the Swedes, and the united forces joined battle with Tilly -not far from Leipsic, September 7, 1631. The opposing armies were nearly -equal in strength. The stress of the conflict fell on the right wing of -the Swedes, where the King commanded in person. The fiery Pappenheim led -seven impetuous charges of the whole Austrian cavalry against the -Swedish battalions without success, and, seven times repulsed, abandoned -the field with great loss. The Saxons on the left wing were broken by -Tilly. But the day was restored by a decisive movement of the Swedish -right wing upon Tilly’s flank, and the Imperialists dispersed in utter -confusion. Leipsic, Merseburg, and Halle speedily fell into the victor’s -hands; and no obstacle existed to check his advance even to the heart of -the Emperor’s hereditary dominions. This was a tempting prospect to an -ambitious man: but it would have abandoned Germany to Tilly, who was -already occupied in raising a fresh army; and the King of Sweden -determined to march towards Franconia and the Rhine, to encourage by his -presence the Protestants who wavered, and to cut the sinews of the -Catholic League, by occupying the territories, and diverting the -revenues of its princes. Bohemia lay open to the Elector of Saxony, and -he left it to that prince to divert the Emperor’s attention, by carrying -the war into that country. - -From Leipsic, Gustavus pursued his triumphant way to the southward. The -rich bishopric of Wurtzburg fell into his hands, almost without -resistance. Nuremburg placed itself under his protection. The nobility -and citizens of Franconia declared in his favour as soon as they were -relieved from the presence of the Imperial troops, and when his drum -beat for recruits, crowds flocked to the Swedish standards. He pursued -his course along the Maine to Frankfort, which opened its gates, and -received a Swedish garrison; and being strengthened by the junction of -the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, with 10,000 men, he crossed the Rhine, -and, after a short siege, became master of Mentz by capitulation, -December 13, 1631. There he gave his troops a few weeks’ repose, being -himself busily engaged in diplomatic labours. Early in the following -year he completed the conquest of the Palatinate, and threatened to -carry the war into Alsace and Lorraine. - -The advance of Tilly recalled the King of Sweden into Franconia, at the -head of 40,000 men. Tilly then retreated into Bavaria, closely followed -by the enemy, who passed the Danube at Donawerth, forced the passage of -the Lech, and carried the war into the yet uninjured plains of Bavaria. -The passage of this river in the face of the enemy, April 5, is regarded -as one of the King of Sweden’s most remarkable exploits. His old -antagonist Tilly received a mortal wound on this day. Munich, the -capital, and the greater part of the Electorate, yielded without -resistance. The Emperor was now reduced to the greatest difficulties. -Bohemia was overrun by the Saxons, the Austrian dominions lay open to -invasion from Bavaria, Tilly was dead, the Duke of Bavaria discouraged -by his reverses, and inclined to purchase peace by consenting to a -neutrality. There was but one man capable by the charm of his name and -the power of his talents to compete with Gustavus, and he was -Wallenstein. In his retirement that wildly ambitious man had long been -scheming to bring his master to such a degree of abasement as should -enable him to dictate his own terms of reconciliation and assistance; -and the time was come when the Emperor saw himself obliged to consent to -demands which almost superseded his own authority, and invested his -dangerous subject with more than Imperial power. For this event -Wallenstein’s plans had long been maturing: a powerful army started up -at once at his command, and when it suited his secret purposes to act, -Bohemia was cleared of the Saxons more quickly than it had been -conquered by them. He then formed a junction with the Duke of Bavaria, -and at the head of 60,000 men advanced against Gustavus, who, not having -above 18,000 or 20,000 men with him, entrenched himself strongly under -the walls of Nuremburg. Wallenstein took up a strong position against -him, and the two generals, each hoping to exhaust the other by scarcity -of provisions, remained inactive till August 21, when Gustavus, having -drawn together his scattered forces, made a desperate and fruitless -attempt to carry the Imperial lines. Frustrated in this, he returned to -his encampment, which he quitted finally, September 8, and marched into -Bavaria. - -Wallenstein followed his example on the 12th, and retired without any -hostile attempt on Nuremburg. He had determined to fix his winter -quarters in Saxony, hoping by the terror of his arms to detach the -Elector from the Swedish alliance; and had already advanced beyond -Leipsic, on his march against Dresden, when he was recalled by the rapid -approach of the King of Sweden. Gustavus arrived at Nuremburg November -1, and entrenched himself there to wait for reinforcements which he -expected. Wallenstein, in the belief that his adversary would be in no -hurry to quit his strong position, proceeded to canton his troops near -Merseburg, in such a manner that they might easily be called into action -at the shortest notice, and detached Pappenheim with a large division of -the army upon distant service. As soon as Gustavus heard of the latter -movement, he marched in haste to attack the diminished enemy, and -Wallenstein, though with inferior troops, was not slow to meet him. The -King of Sweden’s last victory was gained November 6, 1632, in the plain -of Lutzen. Suffering from a recent wound, he did not wear armour, and -early in the day, as he mingled in the front of the battle with his -usual ardour, his left arm was broken by a musket-ball. As he retreated -from the press he received another bullet in the back, and fell. His -body was stripped by the Imperialists, a furious contest took place for -the possession of it, and it was soon buried under a heap of slain. The -Duke of Weimar took the chief command, and completed the victory. - -It was probably fortunate for Gustavus’s honour that his brilliant -career was here cut short. He died when no more successes could have -enhanced the fame as a soldier which he had already acquired; at a -period, says Schiller, when he had ceased to be the benefactor of -Germany, and when the greatest service that he could render to German -liberty was to die. However pure his views had been at the commencement -of the war, success had taught him ambition. This was shown by the -homage to Sweden which he exacted from Augsburg and other free cities of -the empire, by his design of converting the archbishopric of Mentz into -an appanage of Sweden, and by his reluctance to reinstate the Elector -Palatine in the conquered Palatinate, and the conditions which he -finally exacted for so doing. And whether or not he aimed at the -Imperial throne, it is probable that his life and prosperity would have -proved no less dangerous to the constitution of Germany, and the welfare -of the Catholic states, than to the Protestant, the ambition of -Ferdinand II., and the Catholic League. But dying thus early, he has -preserved the reputation of sincere piety, humanity in the field, heroic -courage, consummate policy, and skill united to success in the art of -war, unequalled by any general since the downfall of Rome. Of the -improvements which he effected in military tactics we have no room to -speak: a full account of them, and of his whole system, will be found in -the Essay prefixed to Harte’s ‘History of Gustavus Adolphus.’ A more -concise and spirited account of the King of Sweden’s exploits in -Germany, than is contained in that laborious book, will be found in -Schiller’s ‘History of the Thirty Years’ War,’ which is translated both -into French and English. - -[Illustration: [From the original in the British Museum.]] - -[Illustration] - - - - - M. A. RAIMONDI. - - -The invention of the art of taking impressions on paper from an engraved -plate is, on the authority of Vasari, usually ascribed to Tommaso -Finiguerra, a celebrated enameller and chaser, of Florence, who, having -occasion to make a sulphur cast from a piece of plate in 1460, observed -that the charcoal dust and dirt which had collected in the engraved -lines of the metal were brought off upon the sulphur, so as to present a -counterpart of his work. Struck by the appearance, he tried to produce a -similar effect by passing moistened paper over the plate, under pressure -from a roller; and the experiment succeeded. This is a natural and a -probable account; from the earliest antiquity the graver has been -employed in embellishing armour, vessels of the precious metals, and -other valuable articles of use and ornament; and it is certain that the -earliest Italian engravers were, by profession, workers in gold and -silver. It is strange indeed that so obvious an extension of the uses of -engraving should not have been observed sooner; but all experience -teaches us that a very important discovery may long lie very near the -surface, before it meets with an observer sufficiently clear-sighted or -fortunate to bring it to light. The Germans, however, contest priority -of invention in this art with the Italians. The matter is of no great -importance, even to the national fame of the two lands. Those prints -which date before Albert Durer in the one, and before Marc Antonio in -the other, possess little value either for their design or their -execution, however precious they may be to collectors for their rarity, -or to antiquaries and artists as historical records of the art. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - MARC ANTONIO RAIMONDI. - - _From a Print by Rosaspina, after a Picture by Raphael._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -Marc Antonio Raimondi was born at Bologna, about the year 1488: the -dates of his birth and death are not mentioned by Vasari, who is the -sole original authority for the private history of this artist. He -learnt the art of design from Francesco Francia, or Raibolini, after -whom he has sometimes been denominated Marc Antonio di Francia: his -first instructor in the use of the graver is said to have been a -goldsmith. And as Hogarth set out on his career of art by ornamenting -tankards and shop-bills, so Marc Antonio at first gained his livelihood -as a jeweller’s workman. The first of his copper-plates which bears a -date represents the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, and was engraved in -1505[1]; but he is said to have executed others before it, among which -we find one only, the Four Horsemen, mentioned by name. - -Footnote 1: - - Heinekin says 1502, by mistake. The print of Apollo and Hyacinth bears - also the date of 1505. - -Induced by the desire of improvement in his art, he took a journey to -Venice. Here, for the first time, he saw Albert Durer’s engravings on -wood; which he admired so highly, both for correctness of outline and -accuracy of workmanship, that he bought the series of thirty-six pieces, -representing the passion of our Saviour, at a price which very nearly -exhausted his slender purse. These wood-cuts he copied upon copper, with -so much success that they were mistaken for the originals; and Vasari -says that Albert Durer complained in great anger to the Venetian senate -of the injury thus done to him, and obtained no other redress than an -order that Antonio should abstain from imitating his signature. The -Baron Heineken, on the contrary, asserts that the existing copies of -these prints do not bear the German artist’s mark, and that no one has -seen copies which do bear it; and he believes the story, if founded on -fact, to refer to a series of prints representing the life of the Virgin -Mary, in seventeen prints, which are exactly copied from Durer, even to -his cipher. - -From Venice Marc Antonio went to Rome, where, to his inestimable -benefit, he became acquainted with Raphael, who perceived and assisted -his talents, certainly by advice, and, some say, even by manual help. -The outlines of Antonio’s plates after Raphael have been said to be -executed by the painter himself: but this is solely conjecture; and it -appears improbable that, in an art depending so much upon manual -dexterity, the more unpractised hand should be the superior in precision -and delicacy. But that Raphael was very much pleased with the justice -which Antonio rendered to his designs is certain. He sent to Albert -Durer copies of the Bolognese engraver’s works; and Durer, however -jealous he might be, and however justly displeased at past occurrences, -could not deny his rival’s merit, and acknowledged the courtesy by -sending impressions of his own works in return. The honour of Raphael’s -patronage, the admirable choice of subjects afforded by his pictures, -and the real benefit which any lover and cultivator of art must have -derived from his society, all combined to raise Antonio’s fame; and many -pupils came to study under him, among whom Marco di Ravenna, Agostino di -Musis, and Giulio Bonasoni, whose plates are highly valued by -collectors, may be named as most eminent. - -After the death of Raphael, Antonio was largely employed by Raphael’s -distinguished pupil, Giulio Romano, and executed, among other things, -the designs which accompanied Aretin’s notorious sonnets. These -engravings attracted the just indignation of Pope Clement VII., who cast -the artist into prison. His release was procured by the interference and -interest of Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici and Baccio Bandinelli; and, as a -testimony of gratitude to the latter, Antonio executed the engraving -from his picture of the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence. This print is -twenty-one inches by sixteen in dimensions, and is the largest and one -of the finest of the artist’s works. It procured for him the entire -forgiveness and favour of the offended pontiff. The plates to Aretin -were so carefully suppressed, that not a single specimen of them is now -certainly known to exist. - -When Rome was plundered by the Spaniards, in 1520, Marc Antonio lost all -his property. He returned to Bologna after this misfortune, and was -still leading a retired life there in 1539: the battle of Centaurs and -Lapithæ bears date in that year, and is the last certain memorial of -him. The combat of Hector and Achilles, dated in 1546, though attributed -to Marc Antonio, is considered by the Baron Heineken to be at least -doubtful. Malvasia relates that a Roman nobleman, for whom Antonio had -engraved a print of the Massacre of Innocents, with an undertaking never -to repeat the subject, caused the artist to be assassinated for -re-engraving it. But it casts a doubt on the truth of this story, that -it is not even alluded to by Vasari. - -Marc Antonio’s plates passed through the hands of Tommaso Barlacchi, -Antonio Salamanca, Antonio Lafreri, Nicholas Van Aelst, and Rossi, or De -Rubeis, of Rome. Of these publishers, the impressions which bear -Salamanca’s name, are most esteemed: but the best are those which have -no publisher’s name at all. The Baron Heineken, in his elaborate -‘Dictionnaire des Artistes dont nous avons des Estampes,’ (from which -this memoir is little more than a free translation,) has given a minute -catalogue of the works attributable to Marc Antonio. He divides them -into four classes:—prints really engraved by the master, and bearing his -marks, in number, 120; prints engraved by him, but without mark, 126; -prints doubtful, 66; and prints which belong to his era, and to his -school, but are by unknown hands. In this reckoning, series like the -Passion of Christ, which consist of many plates, are counted only as -single works. Strutt, in his Dictionary of Engravers, and Bryan, in his -Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, give lists of the more remarkable -of Antonio’s productions; Bryan is the fuller, but neither of them -pretend to compete in extent and detail with the catalogue of Heineken; -whom Strutt has closely followed in his biographical notice of this -artist. He has given fac-similes of this engraver’s marks, seven in -number, in plate 9, vol. ii. We quote the following passages in -illustration of Marc Antonio’s merits and peculiar characteristics, from -the Essay on the History of Engraving, which is prefixed to Strutt’s -work. - -“His engravings are often defective in point of harmony, and the skilful -management of the light and shadow, which gives them an unfinished and -sometimes disgustful appearance to the common eye. On the other hand, a -graceful flow of outline, joined with purity and correctness of drawing -in its greatest latitude, are found in the best works of this master; -but these beauties rarely attract the general notice without the -assistance of neatness, or what is more properly called high finishing, -especially in the present day (1786). The eye, long accustomed to -neatness and delicacy of finishing, especially where the judgment is not -capable of distinguishing the greater essentials of the art, will -necessarily consider that neatness to be the criterion of excellency. -Hence it is that the works of the old masters are fallen into such -general disrepute: their beauties are overlooked, and their faults are -viewed through a magnifying medium. And it is perhaps because Marc -Antonio stands the first among the old masters, that he has received a -greater share of censure than the rest. - -“The excellency of this master consists in the correctness of his -drawing, the character of his heads, and the pure idea his works convey -of the simplicity and elegance of the originals they are taken from: and -they may be considered as admirable drawings, not highly finished -indeed, but sufficiently so to preserve the design and spirit of the -masters from whom he worked. - -“That persons possessed of little judgment in the arts should not -discover the merits of this engraver, cannot surprise us; but that -artists themselves, and experienced collectors, should join in the -common censure, is much more extraordinary. In these instances, we may -conclude, he has been too hastily, as he has certainly been unjustly, -condemned, without a proper examination of his works in their native -state. Such as generally appear at sales, and too many of those in the -hands of collectors, are either worn-out impressions, or what is still -worse, retouched ones. In these the primitive beauty is entirely lost. -Let any one, for instance, examine the common impressions of that -admirable engraving of this master, representing the Martyrdom of St. -Lawrence, from Baccio Bandinelli, which is the largest of all his -prints, and he will find the outlines darkened with black strokes upon -the lights, and the demitints upon the flesh increased, so as nearly to -equal the deep shadows; by which means all the breadths of light are -destroyed, and cut into a variety of disagreeable divisions, which -produce a disgustful and inharmonious effect. But in a fine impression -of the same plate, there are none of these disagreeable crudities to be -found; the shadows are judiciously softened and blended into the lights, -and harmonized with each other; the outlines are neat and correct; and -the characters of the heads admirably well expressed. In short, he would -scarcely believe it possible that the same plate should furnish -impressions, so beautiful in one state, and so truly execrable in the -other. But the wonder ceases, if he be told that the plate, passing -through a variety of hands, has been frequently retouched, and that by -careless and unskilful men. We may further add, that as the name of Marc -Antonio stands high among the curious collectors, the ignorant are too -frequently imposed upon by bad copies, or spurious productions.” - -A very excellent and extensive collection of the engravings of Marc -Antonio, and of his pupils, exists in the British Museum, which, with -the exception of a few of the extremely rare prints, presents a better -assemblage than most public or private cabinets can boast of, whether as -to number, beauty of impression, or condition. - -[Illustration: [Poesy, from a print by Marc Antonio.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - COKE. - - _From a Picture in the Hall of Sergeant’s Inn, Chancery Lane._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - COKE. - - -Edward Coke, the only son of Robert Coke, of Mileham, in the county of -Norfolk, and Winifred, daughter and one of the heirs of William -Knightley, of Morgrave-Knightley, in the same county, was born at -Mileham, February 1, 1551. He was descended, both by his father’s and -his mother’s side, from ancient and opulent families. His father, who -was a bencher of Lincoln’s Inn, died in the year 1561, when Edward Coke -was ten years old. Before that event he had been sent to the Free -Grammar School at Norwich, whence, in September, 1567, he removed to -Cambridge, and was admitted as a fellow commoner at Trinity College. -After having spent three years at the University he returned into -Norfolk for a few months, and then went to London to commence his legal -education. According to the practice of that time, he took the first -step of his legal course by becoming a member of Clifford’s Inn, a house -of Chancery, or inferior inn, dependent upon the Inner Temple, and was -admitted into the latter society, April 24, 1572. He was called to the -bar in Easter Term, 1578. During the continuance of his studies in the -Inner Temple, he is said to have greatly distinguished himself in the -exercises called mootings and readings, which constituted a necessary -part of the education of an advocate in former times, and which were -carried on with a degree of interest and excitement almost incredible to -those who at the present day peruse the details of these grotesque and -antiquated proceedings. - -In the course of the year after his call to the bar, the society of the -Inner Temple appointed him reader at Lyon’s Inn; and the learning -displayed by him, in the conduct of the exercises at which he presided -in this capacity, raised for him a high reputation as a lawyer, and -opened the way to that extensive practice at the bar, which he acquired -with a degree of rapidity almost without a parallel in the history of -the profession. In the first term after he was called to the bar he -conducted an argument of much nicety and importance, which is reported -by the name of Lord Cromwell’s Case; “And this,” he says, in his own -report of it (4 Rep. 146), “was the first cause that the author of this -book moved in the King’s Bench.” Less than three years afterwards he was -associated with Popham, the Solicitor General, in arguing before the -Chancellor and the twelve judges the important case in which was laid -down the celebrated doctrine in the law of real property, well known as -the ‘Rule in Shelley’s Case.’ From that period until he became Solicitor -General in 1592, his practice was enormous: it appears from the Reports -of that time that there was scarcely a single motion or argument before -the court of King’s Bench in which he was not engaged. Professional -honours were the legitimate consequence of this large business in the -courts; in 1586 he was chosen Recorder of Norwich, and four years -afterwards was made a bencher of the Inner Temple. In January, 1592, on -the resignation of Serjeant Fleetwood, he was elected Recorder of -London; but, in the following June, on being appointed Solicitor -General, he resigned that office. In the same summer he became Reader of -the Inner Temple, and selected the Statute of Uses for the subject of -his readings. He says that he had composed seven readings for this -occasion, and had delivered five of them to a large audience, consisting -of not less than 160 members of the society, when the appearance of the -plague in the Middle Temple, which raged with great violence in the -autumn of that year, compelled him to discontinue them, and to leave -London abruptly for his house at Huntingfield in Suffolk. Such was the -honour and respect in which he was held by the profession, that on this -occasion he was accompanied on his journey, as far as Romford, by a -procession composed of nine benchers and forty other members of the -Inner Temple. In March, 1594, he was appointed Attorney General, and, as -the office of Solicitor continued vacant until the close of the -following year, the duties and labours of both offices during that -interval devolved upon him. - -At this period originated the animosity between Coke and Bacon, which -prevailed with little intermission during the life of the latter. As -soon as the office of Attorney General became vacant, in consequence of -the removal of Sir Thomas Egerton, the Earl of Essex used his most -strenuous efforts to induce the Queen to bestow that place upon Bacon, -instead of promoting Sir Edward Coke from the inferior office of -Solicitor General. The letters of Bacon, written to Essex and others, -with relation to this intrigue, abound with sarcastic and contemptuous -expressions respecting Coke, whose high reputation and great experience -certainly marked him out as fitter for the office than his rival, whose -practice at the bar was never extensive, and who was then scarcely known -in the courts. After Coke had obtained the appointment of Attorney -General, Bacon and his friends charged him first with intriguing to keep -the emoluments of both offices in his own hands, and afterwards with -recommending Serjeant Fleming for the vacant solicitorship and -encouraging the antipathies and prejudices of the Queen against Bacon. -There is, however, no evidence to show that these imputations were true; -and if Coke really urged the appointment of Fleming, it might well be -with the view of obtaining a more experienced and efficient coadjutor -than Bacon. - -In truth, the state services imposed upon the Attorney General at this -time were extremely laborious. The severity of the laws recently -introduced against Roman Catholics had occasioned a succession of plots -by foreign adventurers against the person of the Queen, more or less -dangerous, the investigation of which was necessarily committed to the -Attorney General. The treasons of Lopez, the Queen’s physician, of -Patrick Cullen, and of Williams and Yorke, all occurred about this -period; and the business of constant examination at the Tower, in -addition to his Star Chamber duties and his undiminished practice in the -common-law courts, must have imposed a weight of labour and -responsibility upon Coke, which no mind of ordinary activity and energy -could have sustained. Whole volumes of examinations in these cases of -treason, taken by himself and written with his own hand, are still -preserved at the State Paper Office, and sufficiently attest his zeal -and assiduity in the service. - -In February, 1593, Coke, being at that time Solicitor General, was -elected a member of parliament for his native county of Norfolk. In his -own memorandum of this circumstance he says, that the election was -“unanimous, free, and spontaneous, without any canvassing or -solicitation on his part.” At the meeting of parliament he was chosen -Speaker of the House of Commons. - -In the year 1582, Coke married the daughter and heiress of John Paston, -Esq., of Huntingfield, in Suffolk, through whom he became connected with -several families of great opulence and importance, and with whom he -received a fortune of 30,000_l._—a very large dowry in those days. By -this lady he had ten children. She died in June 1598; and in his private -register of this event in the Notes, which have been often before -referred to, he calls her “dilectissima et præclarissima uxor,” and -concludes his brief notice of her decease thus:—“Bene et beaté vixit, et -tanquam vera ancilla Domini obdormivit in Domino, et nunc vivit et -regnat in cœlo.” In the month of November in the same year, Coke -contracted a second marriage with the widow of Sir William Hatton, -daughter of Thomas Lord Burleigh, and grand-daughter of the Lord High -Treasurer, which, though it was an advantageous alliance in point of -connection and brought him a considerable accession of property, was by -no means a source of domestic happiness. The marriage itself involved -all the parties concerned in considerable embarrassment: for having -taken place without license or banns, Coke and his lady, together with -the clergyman, Lord Burleigh, and all who were present at the ceremony, -were cited to appear in the Archbishop’s Court; and it was only in -consequence of their making full submission, and pleading their -ignorance of the law, (a singular excuse in Coke’s mouth,) that they -escaped the sentence and penalties of excommunication. - -Sir Edward Coke held the office of Attorney General until the death of -Queen Elizabeth, and with the exception of the Earl of Essex, who always -disliked him, enjoyed the fullest confidence of her ministers, and in -particular of Sir Robert Cecil. He had always been favourable to the -title of James I., and upon the death of Elizabeth, is said to have -co-operated cordially with Cecil and the other members of the late -Queen’s council in making the necessary arrangements for the peaceable -accession of the king of Scotland to the crown. James, upon his arrival -in London, continued him in his office of Attorney General, and -conferred upon his eldest son the honour of knighthood. - -Coke’s sound judgment and extensive legal knowledge, united with his -fervent attachment to Protestantism, rendered him an invaluable officer -of the crown in the various proceedings against the Roman Catholics at -the close of Elizabeth’s reign, and the beginning of that of James I. In -the examinations respecting the several assassination-treasons, which -have been already mentioned, as well as that of Squire in 1598, of the -Raleigh conspiracy in 1603, of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, and of -numerous other treasonable and seditious movements imputed to the -Catholics during the period that he filled the office of Attorney -General, he engaged with a zeal and ardour far beyond mere professional -excitement: and the temper displayed in his speeches and general conduct -on the several trials is much more that of a religious partisan than of -a legal advocate. It is common with Catholic writers to attribute to him -the utmost barbarity in the use of the rack and the general treatment of -prisoners under examination. That he, who in his writings inveighs most -strenuously against the use of torture, was nevertheless in his official -character the constant instrument of the Privy Council for applying this -odious process, is beyond all question: but it must be remembered that -what he wrote on this subject was written long after the period of which -we are now speaking, and in the dawn of a better order of things; and -also that the use of the rack for discovering State secrets was common -throughout Europe in his time, and had been the daily practice of the -Privy Council in England for centuries before he was born. There is no -satisfactory proof that he was coarse and cruel in his conduct towards -prisoners under examination; and on the contrary, Father Cornelius, the -Jesuit, who had been examined by him respecting the Popish Plots in -Queen Elizabeth’s time, told Garnet that he had found him “omnium -hominum humanissimus;” and Garnet himself, in his intercepted -correspondence, admits, as he also did on his trial, that he was -constantly treated by him with the utmost courtesy and kindness. - -As the advocate of the crown on trials for State offences, he displayed -a degree of intemperance and asperity shocking to the feelings of -readers, who are familiar only with the more civilized character of -criminal proceedings at the present day. His vulgar vituperation of -Raleigh, and his more measured sarcasm towards Essex, were extremely -offensive even to his contemporaries, and were remembered against him -with malicious eagerness on his own reverse of fortune. “In your -pleadings,” says Bacon to him on the eve of his discharge from the -office of Lord Chief Justice, “you were wont to insult over misery, and -to inveigh bitterly at the persons; which bred you many enemies, whose -poison yet swelleth, and the effects now appear.” - -With the trials of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot in 1606, the -career of Sir Edward Coke as an advocate closed. In the month of June in -that year he received his appointment as Chief Justice of the Common -Pleas. He retained this situation upwards of seven years; and, in the -discharge of the common judicial duties at this period, his profound -learning and unwearied industry procured him the highest reputation. At -this time too, though he has sometimes been reproached for a haughty and -unconciliating deportment on the bench, the bitterness of temper which -he had displayed at the bar appears to have been suppressed or softened; -and in several constitutional questions of the highest importance which -occurred while he was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and in which he -resolutely opposed the views of the king, especially in the conflicts -between the ecclesiastical jurisdictions and the courts of common law, -and in his resistance to the encroachment of prerogative on the subject -of royal proclamations, he displayed great integrity and independence. -With a view to corrupt his uncompromising disposition, his crafty and -ambitious rival, Sir Francis Bacon, who was then Solicitor General, -suggested his promotion to the Chief Justiceship of the King’s Bench; -and accordingly he received his patent for that office in October, 1613, -and a few days afterwards took his seat at the board as a Privy -Councillor. In the following year he was elected High Steward of the -University of Cambridge. - -The project of making the Chief Justice “turn obsequious” by his -advancement, which was no doubt entertained by the court, and was -expressly avowed by Bacon, altogether failed. In the case of Peacham, -who was prosecuted for treason in the year 1615, for having in his -possession a sermon supposed to contain sedition, written by him, but -never preached or published, Lord Coke expressed an opinion, in direct -opposition to the wishes of the court, that the offence was not treason. -His deportment at the trial of Somerset and the murderers of Sir Thomas -Overbury, in the same year, though praised by Bacon in conducting the -case as Attorney General, gave much displeasure to the king; and his -independent conduct in the case of Commendams, which occurred in 1616, -finally determined the court to remove him from his office. The -transaction was this. A serjeant-at-law, in the discharge of his duty as -an advocate in the Court of Common Pleas, was supposed to have used -matter in his argument which tended to abridge, or at least to question, -the royal prerogative; upon this the king required the judges to proceed -no further in the case without his warrant. The twelve judges conferred -upon this message, and resolved that in a common dispute between party -and party, it was their duty to proceed notwithstanding the king’s -mandate. Upon this they were summoned to the council table, and -personally reprimanded by the king; and all of them, excepting the Lord -Chief Justice, acknowledged their error, and craved pardon for their -offence upon their knees. Sir Edward Coke, on the contrary, boldly -justified his opinion, contending that the king’s command for staying -the proceedings was a delay of justice, and consequently against the -law, and contrary to the judges’ oath. After much discussion, the Lords -of the council proposed the following question to the judges:—“Whether -in a case where the king believed his prerogative or interest concerned, -and required the judges to attend him for advice, they ought not to stay -proceedings till his Majesty had consulted them?” All the judges at once -answered in the affirmative, except Coke, who only said “that, when the -case happened, he would do his duty.” - -The court now despaired of bending the stubborn integrity of the Chief -Justice, and determined at all events to displace him. Accordingly, as a -preliminary to his removal, he was summoned before the Council and -charged with several frivolous accusations, some of them founded upon -alleged malversations while he was Attorney General, to all of which he -returned distinct answers. Soon afterwards, being again summoned to -appear before the Council, he was reprimanded, sequestered from the -Council-table during the King’s pleasure, enjoined not to ride the -summer circuit as Judge of Assize, and ordered to employ his leisure in -revising certain “extravagant and exorbitant opinions” set down, as was -pretended, in his Book of Reports. He received his writ of discharge -from the office of Chief Justice, in November, 1616; and was succeeded -by Sir Henry Montague, who was expressly warned by the Lord Chancellor -Egerton “to avoid the faults of his predecessor, who had been removed -for his excessive popularity.” The discharge of a judge of unrivalled -learning and incorruptible integrity for the exercise of the very -qualities which rendered him an honour and an ornament to his station, -forms a part of the long catalogue of weak and wicked actions which -disgraced the reign of James I., and directed the course of events to -that catastrophe by which the fate of the Stuart family was decided. - -From causes, not very distinctly explained in the letters and histories -of the day, but which are supposed to have been connected with an -intrigue for the marriage of his daughter to Sir John Villiers, -afterwards Viscount Purbeck, and brother to the celebrated Duke of -Buckingham, Sir Edward Coke, though he never afterwards filled any -judicial situation, was, at no long interval, restored to a certain -degree of royal favour; and in September, 1617, he was reinstated as a -member of the Privy Council. In the course of the next three years he -was employed in several commissions of a public nature; and in the -Parliament which assembled in 1620 he was returned as a Member for the -Borough of Liskeard in Cornwall. In this Parliament he distinguished -himself as one of the most able and zealous advocates of the liberal -measures which were proposed; he declared himself a strenuous opponent -of the pernicious monopolies by which at that period the freedom of -trade was fettered, and took an animated part in that struggle between -the prerogative pretensions of James and the freedom of debate, which -ended in the celebrated resolution of the Commons, “That the liberties, -franchises, privileges, and jurisdictions of Parliament are the ancient -and undoubted birth-right and inheritance of the subjects of England.” -The consequence was, that he was arrested on one of those vague and -senseless charges which prevailed in those evil days, and committed to -the Tower, in December, 1621, where he remained a close prisoner until -the month of August in the ensuing year. On this occasion, he was a -second time formally dismissed from the Council-table, and was never -afterwards restored to favour at Court. - -In the first Parliament of Charles I., called in April, 1625, Sir E. -Coke was again returned as one of the knights of the shire for the -county of Norfolk, as he says in his note, without any canvassing or -solicitation on his part. At the commencement of this Parliament he -adopted a moderate tone. He dissuaded the House from insisting upon -grievances, and urged conciliatory measures; saying, that “as it was the -very beginning of the new king’s reign, there could be no grievances as -yet.” But this disposition to peace was overcome by the determined -tendency of the crown to arbitrary measures; and the king being unable -to obtain any other answer to his demand of a subsidy, than repeated -remonstrances against grievances, abruptly dissolved the Parliament. He -was compelled, however, by his pecuniary wants, to assemble a new one in -the course of the same year, having previously appointed Sir Edward Coke -and three other popular leaders sheriffs of counties, in order to -prevent their serving as members. Coke was again returned as knight of -the shire for Norfolk; and though he did not take his seat, and -consequently took no part in the proceedings of that Parliament, it was -considered that he was still _de facto_ a member of the House, and for -that reason no new writ was issued to supply his place. On occasion of -the third Parliament summoned by Charles I. in March, 1628, Sir Edward -Coke was returned for two counties, Buckingham and Suffolk. He elected -to serve for the former. In this Parliament, though now in his 79th -year, this extraordinary man asserted and defended the constitutional -rights of the people of England with all the energy of youth, and the -sagacity of age. By his advice, and with his active co-operation and -assistance, which his extensive and varied experience rendered -particularly valuable, the celebrated Petition of Right was framed; and -by his perseverance and reasoning the Lords were, after many -conferences, induced to concur in that measure, which was, at last, and -after many ineffectual attempts at evasion, reluctantly assented to by -the king. One of the last acts of his public life was his spirited -denunciation of the Duke of Buckingham as the cause of all the -misfortunes of the country. As a proof of the earnest feelings by which -he was impressed, Rushworth records that, on this occasion, “Sir Edward -Coke, overcome with passion, seeing the desolation likely to ensue, was -forced to sit down when he began to speak, through the abundance of -tears.” At the close of the Session of Parliament, in March, 1629, the -growing infirmities of age induced him to withdraw from public life, and -he passed the remainder of his days in retirement on his estate at Stoke -Pogis, in Buckinghamshire. Still it appears that his vigorous and active -mind was not without employment; and the last years of his life are said -to have been occupied by the revision of the numerous unpublished works -which he left behind him. - -The last entry in his note-book, written with almost as firm a hand as -he wrote at the age of 40, records the following incident, which may -possibly have been the cause of his death:— - -“Memorandum. Die Jovis, the iii^{rd} of May, 1632, riding in the morning -in Stoke, between eight and nine of the clocke to take the ayre, my -horse under me had a strange stumble backward, and fell upon me (being -above 80 years old), where my head lighted nere to sharpe stubbes, and -the heavy horse upon me. And yet, by the providence of Almighty God, -though I was in the greatest danger, yet I had not the least hurt,—nay, -no hurt at all. For Almighty God saith by his prophet David, ‘The angel -of the Lord tarieth round about them that feare him, and delivereth -them.’ Et nomen Domini benedictum, for it was his work!” - -He died on the 3rd of September, in the following year, repeating with -his last breath the words, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” He was -interred in the burying-place of the Coke family in the church of -Titeshall, in Norfolk. - -Lloyd, in his “State Worthies,” gives the following account of Sir -Edward Coke:—“His parts were admirable; he had a deep judgment, faithful -memory, active fancy. And the jewel of his mind was put into a fair -case,—a beautiful body with a comely countenance;—a case, which he did -wipe and keep clean, delighting in good clothes, well worn, and being -wont to say ‘that the outward neatness of our bodies might be a monitor -of purity to our souls.’” - -The most celebrated of Sir Edward Coke’s works is the treatise commonly -known by the name of Coke upon Littleton, or the First Institute. It -consists of a minute and laborious Commentary upon the text of -Littleton’s Tenures, in the course of which almost the whole learning of -the common law, as it existed in his time, is embodied and explained. -Ever since the time of Sir Edward Coke to the present day, this book has -been considered as a work of the highest authority in the municipal law -of England. The Second Institute contains Commentaries on several -ancient statutes; the Third Institute is a Treatise on Criminal Law; and -the Fourth Institute relates to the Jurisdiction of different Courts. -Besides these works, Sir Edward Coke was the author of a Treatise on -Copyholds, entitled “The Complete Copyholder,” and of a “Reading on -Fines.” He also published a collection of Reports, which are still of -great value to the profession; and at the time of their appearance -formed an epoch in the history of the law. Sir Francis Bacon speaks of -this produce of the industry and learning of his great rival in terms of -high and deserved commendation; and justly ascribes to the Reports the -praise of having preserved the vessel of the common law in a steady and -consistent course; “For the law,” says he, “by this time had been like a -ship without ballast, for that the cases of modern experience are fled -from those that are adjudged and ruled in former time.” - -[Illustration: [Westminster Hall.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - GIBBON. - - _From a Print by Ja^s. Hall, after a Picture by Sir Joshua Reynolds._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - GIBBON. - - -The historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was born at -Putney in Surrey, in May, 1737. He was the eldest son of Edward Gibbon, -a gentleman of some fortune, and a strong attachment to Tory principles. -His mother’s name was Porten. But in his Memoirs, written at the close -of his life, he betrays no strong sense of gratitude or affection -towards either of his parents; while he acknowledges with abundant -warmth the most important obligations to his aunt, Catharine Porten. To -her lessons he ascribes his “invincible love for reading;” to her care -he attributes the very preservation of his precarious life; and he -designates her, in the calmness of distant reflection, as the true -mother both of his body and his mind. - -From a private school he was removed to Westminster; from Westminster to -Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was admitted as a gentleman-commoner, -April 3, 1752. About this time his constitution, hitherto extremely -feeble, acquired a sudden vigour, which never deserted him during the -rest of his life. At Oxford he made absolutely no proficiency in any -branch of knowledge, or any useful accomplishment. “To the University of -Oxford (he says) I acknowledge no obligation; and she will as cheerfully -renounce me for a son, as I am willing to disclaim her for a mother.” -Accordingly he exhausts the severity of his sarcasm, both upon the -system which was there established, and upon the men who administered -it, without honestly inquiring whether he had laboured to extract, even -from an imperfect system, the modicum of advantage which it was capable -of yielding. But his recollections of Oxford were embittered by his -subsequent contest with some of the clergy, and the hostile treatment -which he sustained at their hands; and the principles which he embraced -in after life would have rendered him equally intolerant of any -institution, standing on a religious foundation. - -During his residence at Oxford, and at the usually unreflecting age of -sixteen, he was converted to the Roman Catholic faith. He was first -stirred to thought by the “bold criticism” of Middleton. He then -“swallowed” the miracles of the Basils, the Chrysostoms, and other -Fathers of the Church; and Bossuet achieved the conquest by the -‘Exposition of the Catholic Doctrine,’ and the ‘History of the -Variations.’ And then he made his formal recantation before a Jesuit, -named Baker, one of the Chaplains of the Sardinian Ambassador. In his -retrospect upon this the most singular incident in the history of his -mind, Gibbon might indeed profess to be proud of his change of opinion, -as a sacrifice of interest to principle; but he probably conveys his -habitual reflections more faithfully when he says, with his usual -strength: “To my present feelings it seems incredible that I should ever -believe that I believed in transubstantiation.” - -He was immediately removed from Oxford, and placed under the care of a -tutor at Lausanne. To a Swiss pastor, named Pavillard, was entrusted the -delicate office of disentangling the mind of Gibbon from the intricacies -of popery, and leading it back again into the pale of the Protestant -Church. He succeeded: by seasonable arguments, and judicious -admonitions, aided perhaps by the influence of a mild and benevolent -character, he prevailed over the hasty caprice of a powerful intellect; -and on Christmas-day, in 1754, Gibbon publicly renounced his adopted -creed, and received the sacrament in the church of Lausanne. There is no -reason to suspect the sincerity of this recantation, or to believe that -he had yet fallen either into scepticism, or indifference. - -He remained, in the whole, five years at Lausanne, and by his “serious -character, and soft and quiet manners” he won the respect and affection -of his tutor. During this time he laid the foundation of those studious -habits, which formed the pride and happiness of his later life. Besides -a passionate devotion to French literature and great diligence in -forming a correct style in that language, he read, according to a -regular system, the whole of the Latin Classics; he acquired the -rudiments of Greek; and gained some insight into the principles of -mathematics. But this last pursuit he never afterwards renewed; though -he would lead us to believe that a readiness in calculation was the -talent of his childhood, and that nature had qualified him to succeed in -that branch of application. - -He was presented to Voltaire, at that time resident at Geneva, without -being distinguished by any particular mark of his attention. Yet he was -a constant spectator at the poet’s little theatre, when he recited his -own verses, and represented his own characters. It was likewise during -this period that he formed an attachment for Madlle. Curchod, the -daughter of a Swiss pastor, and afterwards the wife of Necker. The -attachment appears to have been mutual; but his father prevented the -marriage, and he remained faithful during the rest of his life to the -memory of his youthful passion. - -He returned to England in May, 1758, and remained there, with a short -interval, for the twenty-five following years. His father’s residence -was Buriton, near Petersfield; and, as he passed some time there, he -became in 1760 a captain in the South Hampshire militia: an incident -which might well pass unnoticed in the life of an ordinary person, but -which in this case is dignified by the value which Gibbon himself has -set upon it, and the conviction long afterwards expressed by him—“that -the captain of the Hampshire Grenadiers was not useless to the historian -of the Roman Empire.” - -On the disbanding of the militia, in the beginning of 1763, he spent two -or three months at Paris, from which he proceeded on his second visit to -Lausanne. Here he remained for a year, occupied in various studies, -especially that of geography; and then passed, in the spring of 1764, -into Italy. An ardent curiosity, nourished by reading and meditation, -carried him directly to Rome; and the emotions with which he approached -and entered the Eternal City were, after an interval of twenty-five -years, still fresh in his memory. “After a sleepless night I trod, with -a lofty step, the ruins of the Forum; each memorable spot where Romulus -stood, or Tully spoke, or Cæsar fell, was at once present to my eye; and -several days of intoxication were lost or enjoyed, before I could -descend to a cool or minute investigation.” His enthusiasm gradually -gave way to deep and philosophical reflection, not uninfluenced either -by the scenes which surrounded him, or by the recollection of the past. -He became curious to trace the links which connected what he had read -with what he saw; and it was when he was musing in the ruins of the -Capitol, _while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the Temple -of Jupiter_, that the idea of writing the Decline and Fall of the City -first started to his mind. This idea, once suggested, was never -abandoned; and though other avocations prevented him from immediately -pursuing it, it remained immovably fixed in his mind, and was the object -of his perpetual meditation. - -Without claiming any precocity of genius, Gibbon describes his mind as -having opened considerably in his twelfth year. He had an early and -indiscriminate appetite for books, and had indulged it in much desultory -reading even before his admission at Oxford. A preference for historical -works already displayed itself. His attention was fixed by the accounts -of Mahomet and the Saracens; and the ‘Continuation of Echard’s Roman -History’ first introduced him to the successors of Constantine. But, as -his studies had been directed only by his own curiosity, his information -was partial and ill-digested, and more useful as the result of literary -habits, than as a fund for the use of his maturer years. Yet even thus -early he made an essay at historical composition; and the subject showed -that his mind had been chiefly attracted by the records of the Eastern -World. The ‘Age of Sesostris,’ suggested perhaps by the ‘Siècle de Louis -XIV.,’ then new and popular, was the first production of the pen of -Gibbon. But this attempt was presently abandoned; though the unfinished -manuscript remained for twenty years at the bottom of a drawer, and was -not finally destroyed till 1772. His first publication was an ‘Essai sur -l’Etude de la Littérature.’ It appeared in the spring of 1761, and was -written in French, through a secret ambition in the author to acquire a -peculiar celebrity, as a successful writer in a foreign language. This -dream, however, was not realised. The ‘Essai’ was received with little -enthusiasm abroad, with absolute indifference at home. Nor, indeed, were -its intrinsic merits, clouded as they were by an obscure and abrupt -style, sufficient to establish the author’s claims to the reputation -which he sought. - -Gibbon then turned his thoughts to some historical subject; and among -many that attracted him were The Life of Raleigh; The History of the -Liberty of the Swiss; and that of the Republic of Florence under the -House of Medici. But he appears not to have engaged seriously in any one -of these, at the time of his second departure for the Continent. To the -second of those subjects however he afterwards returned, again -discarding his native tongue, for the use of what he deemed a more -general language. He wrote his ‘History of Switzerland’ in Latin. But -having caused a specimen of it to be recited in a society of literary -foreigners in London, at which he was himself present, though not known -as the author, he had the affliction of hearing its condemnation. He -submitted to the sentence, and delivered the imperfect sheets to the -flames. And it was in the same year (October 24, 1767) that Hume -addressed to him a very sensible exhortation to confine his compositions -to his own language, as that which was destined, through conquest and -colonization, to the most general prevalence in after-ages. It was -worthy of the riper wisdom and genius of Hume, to direct the rising -candidate for historical fame into the path wherein alone it was -possible to find it; and to enlarge his views, to teach him to look -beyond the actual and transient condition of the world, and fix his eyes -upon the generations that were to come. - -Gibbon mentions three works as having more than any others contributed -to the formation of his mind: ‘Pascal’s Provincial Letters;’ ‘The Life -of Julian, by the Abbé Bletterie;’ and ‘Giannone’s History of Naples.’ -Not one of them was English; he acknowledges no early obligations to the -literature of his own country; in fact, those five years which usually -decide the character of the rest of life were entirely passed abroad, in -the study and perpetual use of foreign languages, and the imitation of -foreign literature. It was not then wonderful that he should continue -for some time longer to follow the first impulse. But repeated failures -would doubtless have shown him the false position in which he stood, -even without the seasonable admonition administered by the authority of -Hume. - -Gibbon returned immediately from Italy to England, and retired to the -peaceful retreat of his family and his books. Yet the five years which -followed were those on which he reflected with least satisfaction. He -was dependent on his father’s generosity, he had no professional -occupation for an active and ambitious mind, his very reading was -somewhat desultory, and his whole energies were not yet devoted to one -great object. He felt the absence of this; and it was ill supplied by -his ‘Critical Observations on the 6th Book of the Æneid,’ or his attempt -at the History of Switzerland. The death of his father, in 1770, placed -him in possession of a moderate fortune and of entire independence; and -then it was that he entered in good earnest on the ‘History of the -Decline and Fall.’ - -In 1772 he settled in London, and obtained a seat in parliament for -Liskeard. He adhered to the Government of Lord North, and by “many a -sincere and silent vote” on the American question, supported the rights -(as he says), though not perhaps the interests, of the mother country. -As a senator, he acquired no distinction. A mixture of timidity and -pride, a want of physical energy and of that ready vigour of mind, which -fits men for public life, better than habits of the sagest meditation, -disqualified him for political polemics: and even his general opinions -seem at that time to have been so little fixed, that when at last he -accepted a place at the Board of Trade under Lord North, he gave -surprise and offence to the opposition, who considered him as on their -side. He fell with his patron; and his natural distaste for politics -being probably increased by this and a subsequent disappointment, he -retired for ever from the disquietudes of public life. - -During his residence in London, he published the first three volumes of -his History. On the composition of the first he had bestowed peculiar -care, and its reception repaid his labours. A very laudatory letter, -which he received from Hume, foretold the attacks to which the fifteenth -and sixteenth chapters would subject him; for which he was entirely -unprepared. And in his subsequent reflections on this subject, he admits -that, had he foreseen the offence they were calculated to give, he -“might perhaps have softened the two invidious chapters, which would -create many enemies, and conciliate few friends.” Among his -ecclesiastical opponents, by far the most eloquent and powerful was -Bishop Watson, whose high-minded hostility deserved the respect bestowed -on it by the historian himself, in his celebrated Vindication. - -The second and third volumes were not so favourably received as the -first; the author himself admits that they are possibly too minute and -prolix: and the work made as yet no progress on the continent. But he -persevered with increasing zeal in the labour which was now become -necessary to his happiness; and that he might the more exclusively -devote himself to it, he returned to establish himself at Lausanne, in -1783, nearly twenty years after his second visit to that place. He made -it his residence until 1793, and there composed the last three volumes -of his history: and he has carefully recorded, that it was on the 27th -of June, 1787, between eleven and twelve at night, in a summer-house in -his garden, that he wrote the last sentence. His fourth volume cost him -rather more than two years, his fifth rather less, and the sixth little -more than one. It had been his habit, till quite at last, to close his -studies with the day, and commonly begin them with the morning, and the -result of this late change is observed in the increased rapidity with -which the latter portion of the work was written. He visited England to -superintend the printing of these three volumes, and published them -together on his fifty-first birthday. - -He lived only five years and seven months longer: and his premature -death (for he died during the full vigour of all his faculties and -talents) may be ascribed to his own singular improvidence. He had been -afflicted above thirty years by a disease requiring surgical assistance, -which he altogether neglected till it became incurable. He died January -16, 1794, at the house of his friend Lord Sheffield, and was buried in -his lordship’s family vault at Fletching in Sussex. - -Of his miscellaneous works, the following are some of the most -remarkable:— - -_Historical._ ‘Outlines of the History of the World (written between -1755 and 1763); ‘Mémoire sur la Monarchie des Mèdes’ (do.); -‘Introduction à l’Histoire Générale de la République des Suisses’ -(1767); ‘Antiquities of the House of Brunswick’ (1790). - -_Classical and critical._ ‘Essai sur l’Etude de la Littérature’; ‘Nomina -Gentesque Antiquæ Italiæ’ (1763 and 1764); ‘Remarques sur les Ouvrages -et sur le Caractère de Salluste, Jules César, Cornèle Nepos, Tite Live, -&c.’; ‘Critical Observations on the Design of the 6th Book of the Æneid’ -(1770); ‘Vindication of the History of the Decline and Fall.’ - -_Miscellaneous._ ‘Mémoire Justicatif;’ ‘Principes des Poids, des -Monnoies, et des Mesures des Anciens’ (1759); and ‘Dissertation sur les -anciennes Mesures du Bas Empire’; ‘Selections from the Extraits -raisonnés de mes Lectures, and from the Recueil de mes Observations’ -(from 1754 to 1764); ‘Remarks on Blackstone’s Commentaries’ (1770). -These, and many more than these, were the subjects to which he applied -his extensive erudition—with more or less success, but never without -throwing some light on whatever he undertook to treat. - -[Illustration] - - - - - SCALIGER. - - -In the sixteenth and the latter part of the fifteenth century, a man of -learning filled a very prominent and distinguished place in the world’s -esteem. Public attention was not then distracted by the multitude of -claimants; for scarcely any country but Italy possessed a national -literature; and few branches of knowledge were much prized, except the -faculties of divinity, law, and physic, and the newly-opened stores of -Greek and Roman antiquity. As Latin was still the universal language of -Europe, that which was done in one country soon and readily became known -to the learned men of all; and if the general standard of information -was low, those who possessed it abundantly towered the higher above -their fellows. Though there were then fewer helps to learning, it was a -time of great discoveries and much excitement. A modern scholar of far -inferior calibre may have a more accurate knowledge of antiquity, and a -deeper insight into the minutiæ of the ancient languages, than the -greatest men of the age of which we speak; but as far as regards the -mass of information gained by their individual labour, few indeed could -venture to compete with such men as Casaubon, Lipsius, Grævius, the -Scaligers, and others. And the honour paid them was proportionate to -their merits. Princes and States courted them, Universities competed for -their residence, Europe at large took an interest in their quarrels and -controversies; and as humility and charity were not the graces in which -they most abounded, the interest in these subjects was in no danger of -perishing for want of agitation. Of this remarkable class of men, none -were more admired by their contemporaries than the two Scaligers. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by C. E. Wagstaff._ - - JOSEPH SCALIGER. - - _From a Print engraved by Edelinch._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -Julius Cæsar Scaliger, the elder, was as singular a mixture of great -talent, learning, vanity, and presumption, as the world has often seen. -He was born, probably at Verona, in 1484, being the son, according to -the best authorities, of a miniature painter, named Benedict Bordoni, -was baptized by the name of Julius, studied at the University of Padua, -adopted the medical profession, and having attracted the favourable -notice of Antoine de la Rovere, Bishop of Agen in Gascony, accompanied -him thither, in 1525, in the quality of domestic physician. We are not -informed of the exact time at which he thought fit to make addition to -his real name, but in 1528 he obtained letters of naturalization under -the sounding appellation of Julius Cæsar de Lescalle de Bordoms, or -Bordonis; and in 1529 he married a girl of sixteen, by whom he had a -very numerous family. This is his real history, as far as it is known; -but the truth was far too commonplace to satisfy his passion for -notoriety, and he invented a new version of his history, to the -following effect:— - -He called himself the son of Benedict de la Scala, one of the bravest -captains of the fifteenth century (of whom it is observed that his name -unfortunately occurs in no contemporary historian), and through him -descended from the ancient family of Princes of Verona. He was born near -the Lago di Guarda; and having narrowly escaped, in infancy, the jealous -search of the Venetians, who were anxious to cut off every scion of his -house, was brought up as a page in the service of the Emperor -Maximilian. He served with distinction in the Italian wars. But the -desire of recovering Verona, the inheritance of his family, from Venice, -ever haunted him; and seeing no chance any other way, he became a monk, -in hope of rising to the Holy Chair, and rendering the resources of the -papacy subservient to the gratification of this ruling passion. The -frivolous and wearisome observances of the cloister soon disgusted him, -and he (broke his vows, we presume, and) returned to his old trade as a -soldier, and again distinguished himself in the wars of Piedmont, while -at the same time he studied the ancient languages, philosophy, and -medicine. At the solicitation of the Bishop of Agen he closed his -adventurous course, as is above related. This extravagant story, -entirely without foundation in any of its parts, and garnished with -abundance of gasconade, was stoutly upheld by the elder Scaliger, and -generally believed by his contemporaries: the younger Scaliger wrote a -book to maintain it, with equal stoutness, but without equal success. - -After Scaliger took up his abode at Agen, his chief employment was the -cultivation of learning; his chief passion, the acquisition of fame. In -this he succeeded to the extent of his wishes; and we need seek no -stronger proof of the ascendancy which he gained over his -contemporaries, than the general acceptation of the wonderful story -which we have just told. De Thou said of him, that the age did not -furnish his equal, nor antiquity his superior; and Lipsius classed him -with Homer, Hippocrates, and Aristotle, and named him ‘the miracle and -glory of his age.’ Unquestionably he possessed a vast fund of knowledge, -was an excellent Latin scholar, and wrote extremely well in Latin prose. -Of Greek his knowledge probably was much less; he did little for Greek -literature, and appears not to have taught his son Joseph so much as the -rudiments of the language. His many fine qualities were sadly obscured -by a temper arrogant and overbearing in the last degree: on this subject -it is enough to refer to the abuse which he lavishes on a better man -than himself, the excellent Erasmus, in their controversy concerning -_Ciceronianism_. Unfortunately, he bequeathed the same overweening -vanity and propensity to scurrilous language to his still more -distinguished son, the original of our portrait. - -Joseph Justus Scaliger, the tenth child of this singular man, was born -at Agen, August 4, 1540. At the age of eleven he was sent with two of -his brothers to study at the University of Bourdeaux; but at the end of -three years the plague broke out, and he returned in consequence to his -paternal home. The elder Scaliger from that time forward took charge of -Joseph’s education: concerning his method of teaching we know little -more than that he obliged his pupil to compose an essay every day upon -some historical subject. He died in 1558; and in the following year -Joseph Scaliger went to Paris, and devoted himself to the study of Greek -under the celebrated Turnebus. At that time his acquaintance, if he had -any, with the language was very slight. Before two months elapsed he -found the progress of his master too slow to please him; and resolving -to take the matter into his own hands, he made himself cursorily -acquainted with the conjugations, and set to work at once upon Homer, -whom he read through in twenty-one days, constructing a grammar for -himself as he went along. The other Greek poets he perused in the same -manner in four months. The orators and historians he took next in order; -but these extraordinary exertions rest upon his own testimony, which in -things connected with the gratification of his vanity cannot be -considered unimpeachable. After two years’ study of Greek he undertook -Hebrew and other Oriental languages, which he learned without assistance -in the same manner. He certainly possessed an uncommon talent for the -study of languages: it is stated by Du Bartas that he knew -thirteen,—Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, French, -English, Ethiopian, Arabic, Syriac, Chaldaic, and Persian. His habits -throughout life were very laborious; he slept little, and sometimes -passed days almost without taking food. Heinsius, in his first oration, -reports that he had often heard Scaliger speak of having been in Paris -during the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and engaged so deeply in his -Hebrew studies as for a long time not to be aware of the tumult without. -On the contrary, the Vassans, collectors of the ‘Scaligera secunda,’ -state, also on the authority of Scaliger’s private conversation, that he -was at Lausanne when the massacre took place. The matter is of little -moment, excepting in so far as it may serve to illustrate the speaker’s -boastful disregard for veracity. - -Joseph Scaliger embraced the Reformed religion in 1562, and in the -following year became domestic tutor in a noble family named -Roche-Pozay. In this connexion he was very fortunate: his patron was a -generous and discerning man, by whose liberality he was enabled to visit -the principal Universities of France and Germany. He studied theology at -Geneva under Beza, and shortly after the massacre of St. Bartholomew, in -1572, was invited to accept the chair of philosophy in the University of -that city: this he declined, but it appears that he did give lectures -there in 1578. In 1573 he ventured to return to his patron’s estate near -Tours, and there composed the greater portion of his works. He visited -Italy, whence he brought home a number of inscriptions, which he -communicated to Gruter, with leave to publish them in his ‘Thesaurus;’ -and he even extended his travels to our northern, and then uninviting, -realm of Scotland. - -The multiplicity of Scaliger’s labours did not enrich him. “Poverty,” he -says in one of his letters, “has been my faithful companion through -life, and I never thought to lose her company.” But his spirit was lofty -and independent, and he refused on more than one occasion large sums of -money, which those who esteemed his merits would have forced upon him. -In 1593 he was invited by the States of Holland to accept the -professorship of belles-lettres at Leyden, with a liberal salary. This -he accepted, so that the close of his life was spent in independence. -Unfortunately for his tranquillity, his evil genius of vanity led him in -1594 to publish his testimony to the truth of his own illustrious -descent, in his ‘Letter concerning the Antiquity of the Family Della -Scala’ (Epistola de vetustate et splendore gentis Scaligeræ, et vita -Jul. C. Scaligeri, &c.). It is here, says Niceron, that the vanity and -presumption of Scaliger appear to the greatest advantage; and Scioppius, -a brother critic and scholar, who expressed the highest regard and -admiration for the Leyden professor, so long as they were on terms of -mutual admiration, no sooner felt a touch of Scaliger’s power of -sarcasm, than he attacked him in this weak point, in the ‘Scaliger -hypobolimæus; hoc est, Elenchus Epistolæ Joan. Burdonis, -pseudo-Scaligeri, de vetustate et splendore gentis Scaligeræ: 1607.’ -Scaliger replied in ‘Confutatio stultissimæ Burdonum fabulæ: 1608,’ in -which, though the letter of his adversary was short enough, he professed -to have detected 499 falsities. Scaliger retorted on Scioppius, whose -life and conversation were open enough to attack, in his ‘Confutatio -stultissimæ Burdonum fabulæ: 1608,’ published under the name of -Rutgersius, one of his pupils. It has been said that the veteran -controversialist died of chagrin in consequence of Scioppius’s book. -This, however, is not much in accordance with his character; at all -events, his annoyance was long in killing him, for he did not die till -1609, and his disease was a dropsy. High honours were paid by the -University to his memory; a funeral oration was pronounced in his praise -by the eminent scholar Heinsius, and a monument was erected to him at -the public expense. - -For the fullest account of Scaliger’s very numerous works, we refer to -Niceron, ‘Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire des Hommes Illustres,’ vol. -23. The earliest of them, ‘Conjectanea in Varronem,’ was composed when -the author was only twenty years old. Another of his earlier productions -was an edition of ‘Lycophron,’ with a version into Latin iambics, for -which he has obtained the sarcastic commendation of having by a _tour de -force_ of which no other person was capable, made the translation quite -as unintelligible as the original. He translated the ‘Ajax’ of -Sophocles, in the same metre. He has commented upon Cæsar, Catullus, -Tibullus and Propertius, Persius, Ausonius, Manilius, the tragedies of -Seneca, Theocritus, Bion and Moschus, &c. His original works contain -treatises on astronomy, mathematics, numismatics, and chronology, and -various departments of philological and antiquarian research. He -flattered himself that he had discovered and propounded in his -‘Cyclometrica Elementa duo; nec non Mesolabium;’ a method for the -quadrature of the circle: but the fallacy which deceived him was soon -exposed by Vieta and others. Scaliger’s most important and most original -work is that ‘De Emendatione Temporum, 1583,’ which merits especial -praise, as being the first attempt to produce a system of chronology. It -contains a vast quantity of learning, in the collection of which the -author was greatly assisted by his knowledge of the Oriental languages, -as well as of Greek and Latin. That he is often in error is, in this -instance, hardly a blemish upon his merited fame: in so vast an -untrodden field it was impossible to avoid mistakes. And doubtless this -would have been willingly conceded, but for his presumptuous, -uncharitable, and abusive manner of treating the mistakes of others: -those who had suffered from his venomous tongue, of course were ready -and eager to revenge themselves at the first opportunity. In the second -and third editions he made considerable alteration. Petavius, another -eminent chronologer of the same age, who had the advantage, it is to be -recollected, of all that Scaliger had done before him, finds great fault -with the ‘De Emendatione;’ but he allows that “the learning diffused -through it, the immense variety of topics which it embraces, the novelty -of the subject, and the decided tone of the author, procured for him a -very high reputation.” It was in this that Scaliger propounded the -Julian period, as a sort of common measure for the various eras; but it -never became general, and has fallen into complete disuse. The same -Petavius, in speaking of Scaliger’s letters, which are full of curious -matter, easy and familiar, and brilliant without affectation (Epistolæ -Omnes, 1627, published by Heinsius), declared, that if he had then seen -these “divine letters,” he would never have attacked the author of them. -Scaliger’s poems (Poemata Omnia, collected and published in 1615) have -not done much for his fame, though he boasted of his critical skill in -poetry. “Je me connais en trois choses—in vino, poesi, et juger des -personnes. Si bis hominem alloquar, statim scio qualis sit.” -(Scaligerana secunda.) From his translation of select epigrams of -Martial into Greek (Florilegium Martialis Epigrammatum, cum versione -Græca metrica, 1607) a list of sixty-four faults, false quantities and -barbarisms, has been drawn up and preserved in the ‘Menagiana,’ vol. i. -p. 325; many of them, however, are very trifling. - -Concerning Scaliger’s character as a critic, we may quote the opinion of -Bayle—‘Nouvelles de la République des Lettres,’ for June 1684—“I know -not whether it might not be said that Scaliger had too much wit and -learning to write a good commentary; for his wit enabled him to find in -the authors on whom he commented more refinement and genius than in fact -they possessed; and his deep knowledge of literature was the cause of -his fancying a thousand points of connexion between the thoughts of a -writer and some rare matter of antiquity. And having made up his mind as -to the reference contained in the passage, he proceeded forthwith to -correct it accordingly. Unless it should rather be thought that the -desire of throwing light upon some mystery of learning, unobserved by -previous critics, led him to fancy hidden meanings where they did not -really exist. Be this as it may, his notes are full of conjectures, -bold, ingenious, and learned; but it is not clear that the authors -always meant to say all that he has made them. It is possible to go as -far wide of the real meaning, by having too much wit, as by having too -little; and it will not do to believe that the lines of Horace and -Catullus contain all the erudition which it pleases Messieurs the -notemakers to bestow upon them.” This passage will sufficiently explain -the grounds of the bitter saying, that Scaliger was born to corrupt, -rather than to correct, the classics. - -The praises bestowed on him by his contemporaries, however, were most -extravagant. Heinsius says, in his Funeral Oration, “Men call him -differently, an abyss of erudition, a sea of sciences, the sun of -doctors, the divine progeny of a divine father, of the race of gods, the -greatest work and miracle, the extreme reach of Nature.” His great -contemporaries, Casaubon, Lipsius, and De Thou, adopt a somewhat similar -style of exaggerated commendation. Such expressions of course are to be -taken with allowance; rather as specimens of the taste of the age than -as the deliberate testimony of those who use them. That Scaliger was -profoundly learned and of immense acquirement, will not be denied; that -it is impossible to push things farther than he has, will not now be -asserted, “because,” says Niceron, “it has been done by many.” -Unfortunately, this extravagant admiration contributed, no doubt, by -feeding his vanity, to exacerbate that intolerably scurrilous and -malignant humour, the worst part of his character, which he inherited, -with his great talents, from his remarkable father. - -The Table-Talk, as we may call it, of Scaliger has been collected in two -series, entitled ‘Scaligerana, Prima et Secunda.’ For the history of -these see Niceron, or the preface to Des Maizeaux’s edition. They bear -the same unfavourable impress of character as the rest of his writings: -“the pride, arrogance, and venom of an angry pedant reign from the first -leaf to the last; and they are sometimes defective in point of -learning.” So says Vigneul Marville, and his judgment is fully confirmed -by others. “The Scaligerana,” says D’Israeli, “will convince us that he -was incapable of thinking or speaking favourably of any person.” We have -already quoted one passage which gives a specimen of the strange way in -which French and Latin are mixed up in the second series, and we -conclude with another, which contains an amusing instance of his vanity, -both for himself and his father:—“Auratus dicebat Jul. Cæs. Scaligerum -Regi alicui facie similem. Oui, à un Empereur! Il n’y a Roi qui eût si -belle façon que lui. Regardez moi! je lui ressemble en tout, et partout, -le nez aquilin.” - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - WILLIAM PENN. - - _From the Print by J. Hall, after the Picture by West._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - PENN. - - -William Penn was born in London, October 14, 1644. He was the son of a -naval officer of the same name, who served with distinction both in the -Protectorate and after the Restoration, and who was much esteemed by -Charles II. and the Duke of York. At the age of fifteen, he was entered -as a gentleman-commoner at Christchurch, Oxford. He had not been long in -residence, when he received, from the preaching of Thomas Loe, his first -bias towards the doctrines of the Quakers; and in conjunction with some -fellow-students, he began to withdraw from attendance on the Established -Church, and to hold private prayer-meetings. For this conduct Penn and -his friends were fined by the college for non-conformity; and the former -was soon involved in more serious censure by his ill-governed zeal, in -consequence of an order from the king, that the ancient custom of -wearing surplices should be revived. This seemed to Penn an infringement -of the simplicity of Christian worship: whereupon he with some friends -tore the surplices from the backs of those students who appeared in -them. For this act of violence, totally inconsistent, it is to be -observed, with the principles of toleration which regulated his conduct -in after life, he and they were very justly expelled. - -Admiral Penn, who like most sailors possessed a quick temper and high -notions of discipline and obedience, was little pleased with this event, -and still less satisfied with his son’s grave demeanour, and avoidance -of the manners and ceremonies of polite life. Arguments failing, he had -recourse to blows, and as a last resource, he turned his son out of -doors; but soon relented so far as to equip him, in 1662, for a journey -to France, in hope that the gaiety of that country would expel his -new-fashioned and, as he regarded them, fanatical notions. Paris, -however, soon became wearisome to William Penn, and he spent a -considerable time at Saumur, for the sake of the instruction and company -of Moses Amyrault, an eminent Protestant divine. Here he confirmed and -improved his religious impressions, and at the same time acquired, from -the insensible influence of those who surrounded him, an increased -polish and courtliness of demeanour, which greatly gratified the Admiral -on his return home in 1664. - -Admiral Penn went to sea in 1664, and remained two years on service. -During this time the external effects of his son’s residence in France -had worn away, and he had returned to those grave habits, and that rule -of associating only with religious people, which had before given his -father so much displeasure. To try the effect of absence and change of -associates, Admiral Penn sent William to manage his estates in Ireland, -a duty which the latter performed with satisfaction both to himself and -his employer. But it chanced that, on a visit to Cork, he again attended -the preaching of Thomas Loe, by whose exhortations he was deeply -impressed. From this time he began to frequent the Quakers’ meetings; -and in September, 1667, he was imprisoned, with others, under the -persecuting laws which then disgraced our statute-book. Upon application -to the higher authorities, he was soon released. - -Upon receiving tidings that William had connected himself with the -Quakers, the Admiral immediately summoned him to England; and he soon -became certified of the fact, among other peculiarities, by his son’s -pertinacious adherence to the Quakers’ notions concerning what they -called Hat Worship. This led him to a violent remonstrance. William Penn -behaved with due respect: but in the main point, that of forsaking his -associates and rule of conduct, he yielded nothing. The father confined -his demands at last to the simple point, that his son should sit -uncovered in the presence of himself, the King, and the Duke of York. -Still William Penn felt bound to make not even this concession; and on -this refusal, the Admiral again turned him out of doors. - -Soon after, in 1668, he began to preach, and in the same year he -published his first work, ‘Truth Exalted, &c.’ We cannot here notice his -very numerous works, of which the titles run, for the most part, to an -extraordinary length: but ‘The Sandy Foundation Shaken,’ published in -the same year, claims notice, as having led to his first public -persecution. In it he was induced, not to deny the doctrine of the -Trinity, which in a certain sense he admitted, but to object to the -language in which it is expounded by the English Church; and for this -offence he was imprisoned for some time in the Tower. During this -confinement, he composed ‘No Cross, No Crown,’ one of his principal and -most popular works, of which the leading doctrine, admirably exemplified -in his own life, was, that the way to future happiness and glory lies, -in this world, not through a course of misery and needless -mortification, but still through labour, watchfulness, and self-denial, -and continual striving against corrupt passions and inordinate -indulgences. This is enforced by copious examples from profane as well -as sacred history; and the work gives evidence of an extent of learning -very creditable to its author, considering his youth, and the -circumstances under which it was composed. He was detained in prison for -seven months, and treated with much severity. In 1669 he had the -satisfaction of being reconciled to his father. - -William Penn was one of the first sufferers by the passing of the -Conventicle Act, in 1670. He was imprisoned in Newgate, and tried for -preaching to a seditious and riotous assembly in Gracechurchstreet; and -this trial is remarkable and celebrated in our criminal jurisprudence, -for the firmness with which he defended himself, and still more for the -admirable courage and constancy with which the jury maintained the -verdict of acquittal which they pronounced. He showed on this, and on -all other occasions, that he well understood and appreciated the free -principles of our constitution, and that he was resolved not to -surrender one iota of that liberty of conscience which he claimed for -others, as well as for himself. “I am far from thinking it fit,” he -said, in addressing the House of Commons, “because I exclaim against the -injustice of whipping Quakers for Papists, that Papists should be -whipped for their consciences. No, for though the hand pretended to be -lifted up against them hath lighted heavily upon us, and we complain, -yet we do not mean that any should take a fresh aim at them, or that -they should come in our room, for we must give the liberty we ask, and -would have none suffer for a truly sober and conscientious dissent on -any hand.” His views of religious toleration and civil liberty he has -well and clearly explained in the treatise entitled ‘England’s present -Interest, &c.,’ published in 1674, in which it formed part of his -argument that the liberties of Englishmen were anterior to the -settlement of the English church, and could not be affected by -discrepancies in their religious belief. He maintained that “to live -honestly, to do no injury to another, and to give every man his due, was -enough to entitle every native to English privileges. It was this, and -not his religion, which gave him the great claim to the protection of -the government under which he lived. Near three hundred years before -Austin set his foot on English ground the inhabitants had a good -constitution. This came not in with him. Neither did it come in with -Luther; nor was it to go out with Calvin. We were a free people by the -creation of God, by the redemption of Christ, and by the careful -provision of our never-to-be-forgotten, honourable ancestors: so that -our claim to these English privileges, rising higher than Protestantism, -could never justly be invalidated on account of non-conformity to any -tenet or fashion it might prescribe.” - -In the same year died Sir William Penn, in perfect harmony with his son, -towards whom he now felt the most cordial regard and esteem, and to whom -he bequeathed an estate computed at 1500_l._ a-year, a large sum in that -age. Towards the end of the year he was again imprisoned in Newgate for -six months, the statutable penalty for refusing to take the oath of -allegiance, which was maliciously tendered to him by a magistrate. This -appears to have been the last absolute persecution for religion’s sake -which he endured. Religion in England has generally met with more -toleration in proportion as it has been backed by the worldly importance -of its professors: and though his poor brethren continued to suffer -imprisonment in the stocks, fines, and whipping, as the penalty of their -peaceable meetings for Divine worship, the wealthy proprietor, though he -travelled largely, both in England and abroad, and laboured both in -writing and in preaching, as the missionary of his sect, both escaped -injury, and acquired reputation and esteem by his self-devotion. To the -favour of the King and the Duke of York he had a hereditary claim, which -appears always to have been cheerfully acknowledged; and an instance of -the rising consideration in which he was held, appears in his being -admitted to plead, before a Committee of the House of Commons, the -request of the Quakers that their solemn affirmation should be admitted -in the place of an oath. An enactment to this effect passed the Commons -in 1678, but was lost, in consequence of a prorogation, before it had -passed the Lords. It was on this occasion that he made that appeal in -behalf of general toleration, of which a part is quoted in the preceding -page. - -Penn married in 1672, and took up his abode at Rickmansworth in -Hertfordshire. In 1677 we find him removed to Worminghurst in Sussex, -which long continued to be his place of residence. His first engagement -in the plantation of America was in 1676, in consequence of being chosen -arbitrator in a dispute between two Quakers, who had become jointly -concerned in the colony of New Jersey. Though nowise concerned, by -interest or proprietorship, (until 1681, when he purchased a share in -the eastern district of New Jersey,) he took great pains in this -business; he arranged terms, upon which colonists were invited to -settle; and he drew up the outline of a simple constitution, reserving -to them the right of making all laws by their representatives, of -security from imprisonment or fine except by the consent of twelve men -of the neighbourhood, and perfect freedom in the exercise of their -religion: “regulations,” he said, “by an adherence to which they could -never be brought into bondage but by their own consent.” In these -transactions he had the opportunity of contemplating the glorious -results which might be hoped from a colony founded with no interested -views, but on the principles of universal peace, toleration, and -liberty: and he felt an earnest desire to be the instrument in so great -a work, more especially as it held out a prospect of deliverance to his -persecuted Quaker brethren in England, by giving them a free and happy -asylum in a foreign land. Circumstances favoured his wish. The Crown was -indebted to him 16,000_l._ for money advanced by the late Admiral for -the naval service. It was not unusual to grant not only the property, -but the right of government, in large districts in the uncleared part of -America, as in the case of New York and New Jersey respectively to the -Duke of York and Lord Baltimore: and though it was hopeless to extract -money from Charles, yet he was ready enough, in acquittal of this debt, -to bestow on Penn, whom he loved, a tract of land from which he himself -could never expect any pecuniary return. Accordingly, Penn received, in -1681, a grant by charter of that extensive province, named Pennsylvania -by Charles himself, in honour of the Admiral: by which charter he was -invested with the property in the soil, with the power of ruling and -governing the same; of enacting laws, with the advice and approbation of -the freemen of the territory assembled for the raising of money for -public uses; of appointing judges, and administering justice. He -immediately drew up and published ‘Some Account of Pennsylvania, &c.;’ -and then ‘Certain Conditions or Concessions, &c.’ to be agreed on -between himself and those who wished to purchase land in the province. -These having been accepted by many persons, he proceeded to frame the -rough sketch of a constitution, on which he proposed to base the charter -of the province. The price fixed on land was forty shillings, with the -annual quit-rent of one shilling, for one hundred acres: and it was -provided that no one should, in word or deed, affront or wrong any -Indian without incurring the same penalty as if the offence had been -committed against a fellow-planter; that strict precautions should be -taken against fraud in the quality of goods sold to them, and that all -differences between the two nations should be adjudged by twelve men, -six of each. And he declares his intention “to leave myself and my -successors no power of doing mischief; that the will of one man may not -hinder the good of a whole country.” - -This constitution, as originally organized by Penn, consisted, says Mr. -Clarkson, “of a Governor, a Council, and an Assembly; the two last of -which were to be chosen by, and therefore to be the Representatives of, -the people. The Governor was to be perpetual President, but he was to -have but a treble vote. It was the office of the Council to prepare and -propose bills, to see that the laws were executed, to take care of the -peace and safety of the province, to settle the situation of ports, -cities, market-towns, roads and other public places, to inspect the -public treasury, to erect courts of justice, to institute schools for -the virtuous education of youth, and to reward the authors of useful -discovery. Not less than two-thirds of these were necessary to make a -quorum, and the consent of not less than two-thirds of such quorum in -all matters of moment. The Assembly were to have no deliberative power, -but when bills were brought to them from the Governor and Council, were -to pass or reject them by a plain Yes or No. They were to present -Sheriffs and Justices of the Peace to the Governor; a double number, for -his choice of half. They were to be chosen annually, and to be chosen by -secret ballot.” This ground-work was modified by Penn himself at later -periods, and especially by removing that restriction which forbade the -Assembly to debate, or to originate bills: and it was this, -substantially, which Burke, in his ‘Account of the European Settlements -in America’ describes as “that noble charter of privileges, by which he -made them as free as any people in the world, and which has since drawn -such vast numbers of so many different persuasions and such various -countries to put themselves under the protection of his laws. He made -the most perfect freedom, both religious and civil, the basis of his -establishment; and this has done more towards the settling of the -province, and towards the settling of it in a strong and permanent -manner, than the wisest regulations could have done on any other plan.” - -In 1682 a number of settlers, principally Quakers, having been already -sent out, Penn himself embarked for Pennsylvania, leaving his wife and -children in England. On occasion of this parting, he addressed to them a -long and affectionate letter, which presents a very beautiful picture of -his domestic character, and affords a curious insight into the minute -regularity of his daily habits. He landed on the banks of the Delaware -in October, and forthwith summoned an assembly of the freemen of the -province, by whom the frame of government, as it had been promulgated in -England, was accepted. Penn’s principles did not suffer him to consider -his title to the land as valid, without the consent of the natural -owners of the soil. He had instructed persons to negotiate a treaty of -sale with the Indian nations before his own departure from England; and -one of his first acts was to hold that memorable Assembly, to which the -history of the world offers none alike, at which this bargain was -ratified, and a strict league of amity established. We do not find -specified the exact date of this meeting, which took place under an -enormous elm-tree, near the site of Philadelphia, and of which a few -particulars only have been preserved by the uncertain record of -tradition. Well and faithfully was that treaty of friendship kept by the -wild denizens of the woods: ‘a friendship,’ says Proud, the historian of -Pennsylvania, ‘which for the space of more than seventy years was never -interrupted, or so long as the Quakers retained power in the -government.’ - -Penn remained in America until the middle of 1684. During this time much -was done towards bringing the colony into prosperity and order. Twenty -townships were established, containing upwards of 7000 Europeans; -magistrates were appointed; representatives, as prescribed by the -constitution, were chosen, and the necessary public business transacted. -In 1683 Penn undertook a journey of discovery into the interior; and he -has given an interesting account of the country in its wild state, in a -letter written home to the Society of Free Traders to Pennsylvania. He -held frequent conferences with the Indians, and contracted treaties of -friendship with nineteen distinct tribes. His reasons for returning to -England appear to have been twofold; partly the desire to settle a -dispute between himself and Lord Baltimore, concerning the boundary of -their provinces, but chiefly the hope of being able, by his personal -influence, to lighten the sufferings and ameliorate the treatment of the -Quakers in England. He reached England in October, 1684. Charles II. -died in February, 1685. But this was rather favourable to Penn’s credit -at court; for besides that James appears to have felt a sincere regard -for him, he required for his own church that toleration which Penn -wished to see extended to all alike. This credit at court led to the -renewal of an old and assuredly most groundless report, that Penn was at -heart a Papist—nay, that he was in priest’s orders, and a Jesuit: a -report which gave him much uneasiness, and which he took much pains in -public and in private to contradict. The same credit, and the natural -and laudable affection and gratitude towards the Stuart family which he -never dissembled, caused much trouble to him after the Revolution. He -was continually suspected of plotting to restore the exiled dynasty; was -four times arrested, and as often discharged in the total absence of all -evidence against him. During the years 1691, 1692, and part of 1693, he -remained in London, living, to avoid offence, in great seclusion: in the -latter year he was heard in his own defence before the king and council, -and informed that he need apprehend no molestation or injury. - -The affairs of Pennsylvania fell into some confusion during Penn’s long -absence. Even in the peaceable sect of Quakers there were ambitious, -bustling and selfish men: and Penn was not satisfied with the conduct -either of the representative Assembly, or of those to whom he had -delegated his own powers. He changed the latter two or three times, -without effecting the restoration of harmony: and these troubles gave a -pretext for depriving him of his powers as Governor, in 1693. The real -cause was probably the suspicion entertained of his treasonable -correspondence with James II. But he was reinstated in August, 1694, by -a royal order, in which it was complimentarily expressed that the -disorders complained of were produced entirely by his absence. Anxious -as he was to return, he did not find an opportunity till 1699: the -interval was chiefly employed in religious travel through England and -Ireland, and in the labour of controversial writing, from which he -seldom had a long respite. His course as a philanthropist on his return -to America is honourably marked by an endeavour to ameliorate the -condition of Negro slaves. The society of Quakers in Pennsylvania had -already come to a resolution, that the buying, selling, and holding men -in slavery was inconsistent with the tenets of the Christian religion: -and following up this honourable declaration, Penn had no difficulty in -obtaining for them free admission into the regular meetings for -religious worship, and in procuring that other meetings should be holden -for their particular benefit. The Quakers therefore merit our respect as -the earliest, as well as some of the most zealous emancipators. Mr. -Clarkson says, “When Penn procured the insertion of this resolution in -the Monthly Meeting book of Philadelphia, he sealed as assuredly and -effectually the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and the Emancipation of -the Negroes within his own province, as, when he procured the insertion -of the minute relating to the Indians in the same book, he sealed the -civilization of the latter; for, from the time the subject became -incorporated into the discipline of the Quakers, they never lost sight -of it. Several of them began to refuse to purchase Negroes at all; and -others to emancipate those which they had in their possession, and this -of their own accord, and purely from the motives of religion; till at -length it became a law of the society that no member could be concerned, -directly or indirectly, either in buying and selling, or in holding them -in bondage; and this law was carried so completely into effect, that in -the year 1780, dispersed as the society was over a vast tract of -country, there was not a single Negro as a slave in the possession of an -acknowledged Quaker. This example, soon after it had begun, was followed -by others of other religious denominations.” - -In labouring to secure kind treatment, to raise the character, and to -promote the welfare of the Indians, Penn was active and constant, during -this visit to America, as before. The legislative measures which took -place while he remained, and the bickerings between the Assembly and -himself, we pass over, as belonging rather to a history of Pennsylvania, -than to the biography of its founder. For the same reason we omit the -charges preferred against him by Dr. Franklin. The union in one person -of the rights belonging both to a governor and a proprietor, no doubt is -open to objection; but this cannot be urged as a fault upon Penn: and we -believe that it would be difficult to name any person who has used power -and privilege with more disinterested views. That he was indifferent to -his powers, or his emoluments, is not to be supposed, and ought not to -have been expected. He spent large sums, he bestowed much pains upon the -colony: and he felt and stated it to be a great grievance, that, whereas -a provision was voted to the royal governor during the period of his own -suspension, not so much as a table was kept for himself, and that -instead of contributing towards his expenses, even the trivial -quit-rents which he had reserved remained unpaid: nay, it was sought by -the Assembly, against all justice, to divert them from him, towards the -support of the government. It is to be recollected that Franklin wrote -for a political object, to overthrow the privileges which Penn’s heirs -enjoyed. - -The Governor returned to England in 1701, to oppose a scheme agitated in -Parliament for abolishing the proprietary governments, and placing the -colonies immediately under royal control: the bill, however, was dropped -before he arrived. He enjoyed Anne’s favour, as he had that of her -father and uncle, and resided much in the neighbourhood of the court, at -Kensington and Knightsbridge. In his religious labours he continued -constant, as heretofore. He was much harassed by a law-suit, the result -of too much confidence in a dishonest steward: which being decided -against him, he was obliged for a time to reside within the Rules of the -Fleet Prison. This, and the expenses in which he had been involved by -Pennsylvania, reduced him to distress, and in 1709, he mortgaged the -province for £6,600. In 1712 he agreed to sell his rights to the -government for £12,000, but was rendered unable to complete the -transaction by three apoplectic fits, which followed each other in quick -succession. He survived however in a tranquil and happy state, though -with his bodily and mental vigour much broken, until July 30, 1718, on -which day he died at his seat at Rushcomb, in Berkshire, where he had -resided for some years. - -His first wife died in 1693. He married a second time in 1696; and left -a family of children by both wives, to whom he bequeathed his landed -property in Europe and America. His rights of government he left in -trust to the Earls of Oxford and Powlett, to be disposed of; but no sale -being ever made, the government, with the title of Proprietaries, -devolved on the surviving sons of the second family. - -Penn’s numerous works were collected, and a life prefixed to them, in -1726. Select editions of them have been since published. Mr. Clarkson’s -‘Life,’ Proud’s ‘History of Pennsylvania,’ and Franklin’s ‘Historical -Review, &c. of Pennsylvania,’ for a view of the exceptions which have -been taken to Penn’s character as a statesman, may be advantageously -consulted. - -[Illustration: [From West’s picture of the Treaty between Penn and the -Indians.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - DE THOU. - - _From a Picture by Ferdinand, in the Royal Library, Paris._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - DE THOU. - - -Jacques Auguste de Thou, whom it is no exaggerated praise to call the -greatest writer of contemporary history that has appeared since the -extinction of Roman literature, was descended of a noble family of the -Orleanois; and his immediate ancestors for three generations had filled -with honour the higher legal offices of the realm. He was born in Paris, -October 9, 1553. His temper was naturally studious; but the extreme -weakness of his childhood interfered greatly with the early cultivation -of his mind, and almost incapacitated him for severe application. He -received, however, the best instruction which Paris could afford, until -1570, when he went to the University of Orleans to study law. Thence he -removed to Valence in Dauphiny, to attend the lectures of the celebrated -civilian Cujas. - -De Thou returned to Paris in 1572, and meaning to take orders, applied -himself principally to the study of Greek and of the canon law. In the -next year he visited Italy in the train of Paul de Foix, ambassador of -France to the Pope and other Italian sovereigns, and employed himself -diligently and profitably in cultivating the acquaintance of learned -men, and in collecting materials for his history, the design of which he -had already conceived. He returned to Paris in 1575, and during four -years applied himself chiefly to study, taking various occasions to -extend his travels into Flanders and Germany. In 1578 he was appointed -Conseiller-clerc to the parliament of Paris, and in 1581, one of a -commission sent into Guienne, to provide for the better administration -of justice, which had been greatly impeded by religious dissension. -Returning to Paris in November, 1582, immediately after the decease of -his father, and having become the head of his family by the death of two -elder brothers, he determined to abandon the ecclesiastical profession, -and exchanged his place of Conseiller-clerc, for the lay appointment of -Maître des Requêtes. In 1586 he obtained the reversion of the office of -Président à Mortier, held by his uncle Augustin de Thou; and having -obtained a dispensation from the ecclesiastical engagements which he had -contracted, he married, in 1587, Marie de Barbanson. - -When the Parisians embraced the party of the League, in 1588, and Henry -III. was obliged to quit the capital, De Thou followed the person and -fortunes of the monarch, and received a commission to travel through -Normandy and Picardy, to sound the intentions, and, if possible, to -secure the adherence of the authorities, civil and military, of those -provinces. His services were rewarded by the dignity of Conseiller -d’État. In the autumn he was present at the convention of the States at -Blois; but he returned to Paris before the murder of the Duke of Guise. -He was not informed of the intention to commit that crime; and he -believed, from certain peculiarities of behaviour, that the king had -sent for him expressly to communicate that intention, but had changed -his mind during the course of the interview. In the tumults which took -place on the arrival of the news at Paris, De Thou’s life was in -considerable danger, until he effected his escape under the disguise of -a soldier, and returned to Blois. - -De Thou laboured to induce Henry III. to reconcile himself sincerely to -the King of Navarre; and being engaged in a journey to raise supplies of -men and money in Germany and Italy when the former was assassinated, he -returned with all haste to tender his allegiance to the new monarch, -Henry IV., by whom he was favourably received, and employed in the most -important and confidential negotiations. Of this period of his life, and -of its ill requital, he has spoken with considerable bitterness in a -letter dated March 31, 1611, to his friend the President Jeannin, and -written, it is to be observed, in a moment of considerable -mortification, because his claims to the office of First President had -been passed over in favour of M. de Verdun. “I remained,” he says, -“after returning from Italy, in Henry IV.’s camp for five years, except -when commissioned to repair to Tours, where the Parliament was then -held, or to visit other parts of the kingdom upon business. At last, -after the king was crowned at Chartres, and the surrender of Paris, -being restored to my library and my home, I thought myself sufficiently -repaid for my labours, in enjoying, with a sound conscience and -unstained fidelity to my sovereign, the benefits of the peace, expecting -that the king would do something for me, in remembrance of those five -years of service in the camp, during which I hardly quitted his side. -Throughout that time I was in the greatest need of all things, being -deprived of all my means by the war, and having served the whole time at -my own cost, without pay or fee. And the king himself used to say that I -was very different from other men, inasmuch as I, though a constant -loser, made no complaints, while others, who were every day profiting by -the public misfortunes, used diligently to complain of their own losses. -Which in truth was complimentary enough; but this praise was my only -payment for past labours: for the king’s temper changed with his -fortune, and I learnt, at my own expense, how fleeting is the favour of -princes, and how ready they are in prosperity to forget past sufferings, -and to take the mention of them by their fellow-sufferers as a -reproach.” - -“For two years,” he continues, “nothing was said of me, until the -Protestants again made inconvenient demands, and I was selected by the -king with full powers to hear their complaints.” These were the disputes -which were terminated in 1598, by the publication of the celebrated -Edict of Nantes. De Thou was very reluctant to undertake this office, -foreseeing that it would involve him in great odium. Nor was he mistaken -in this respect. He was a zealous advocate of toleration: and his -liberality of spirit, manifested upon this and on other occasions, but -most of all in the unsparing impartiality of his History, placed him, -though a Catholic, in bad odour at the court of Rome, by whose influence -with the Queen Regent, after the death of Henry IV., he was frustrated -in the chief object of his ambition, that of succeeding to the office of -First President of the Parliament of Paris, which became vacant in 1611. -To that of Président à Mortier he had succeeded in 1595, by his uncle’s -death. He was deeply mortified at this slight, and meditated the -resignation of all his offices: and he has strongly expressed his sense -of the weight of his claims, and of the injury done to him by thus -overlooking them, in the letter to the President Jeannin, part of which -we have just quoted. The first suggestion of pique, however, was -overruled by his friends. He was appointed one of the directors-general -of finance, after the death of Henry IV., and consequent resignation of -Sully, in 1610, and was consulted by the Regent in almost all matters of -delicacy and importance. His leisure moments during these last years -were devoted to his History, which he did not live to bring down to its -intended point of conclusion, the death of Henry IV. He died May 7, -1617, leaving three sons and three daughters by a second marriage: his -first wife, childless, died in 1601. The eldest of these, François -Auguste de Thou, is known in history by having suffered death with -Cinq-Mars, in the reign of Louis XIII., for an alleged conspiracy -against the state, the real object of which was the overthrow of -Cardinal Richelieu. - -In 1593 De Thou was appointed principal librarian to Henry IV.; and by -his advice the valuable library of Catherine de’ Medici was purchased, -and the foundation was laid of that splendour and importance which the -Bibliothèque du Roi has since attained. He had himself brought together -a very excellent library, a large part of which has since passed into -the royal collection. He was a steady friend and favourer of learning -and learned men; a zealous, faithful, and disinterested subject; an able -statesman; an upright and enlightened magistrate: and his life, both in -public and private, displayed the same undeviating integrity and love of -truth, which especially distinguish him as an historian. - -De Thou began to write his great work, the History of his own Times, in -1591: but, as has been already stated, he had been engaged from early -youth in collecting materials for it, and his own description of the -pains which he bestowed on the task, will convey the best idea of his -zeal and industry. We quote again from the letter to the President -Jeannin. “Having always received great pleasure from the perusal of -history, and being of opinion that men are to be formed for happiness by -examples, as well as precepts, I came to the conclusion, that by -undertaking a history of my own time, beginning where Paulus Jovius left -off, I should do what would be useful to my country, and honourable to -myself. Resolute in this purpose even from boyhood, I laboured -afterwards, in my travels, at the bar, in embassies, in the employments -of war and peace, for this one object, that when leisure came for the -execution of it, I might have all things necessary to my purpose -provided. All printed histories I purchased, unprinted ones I procured -to be copied, I consulted the notes of military commanders, the records -of embassies, the papers of secretaries to kings. I also acquired a -great deal of knowledge from the confidential conversations of -illustrious men who were my seniors, and weighed, by their judgment and -candour, the contradictory reports of party spirit. Thus prepared, I -began to compose my History, while the civil war still raged; and I call -on God, who gave me strength and understanding to complete a work of -such magnitude, amidst such troubles and employments, to witness my -entire and uncorrupted honesty, unswayed either by fear or favour, and -that I had no other end in view but the glory of God, and the benefit of -the public. In style, eloquence, perspicuity, depth of thought, I -confess myself inferior to many: in good faith and diligence I yield to -none who have preceded me in this kind of composition; and I refer this -point to the judgment of posterity.” He proceeds to speak of his full -knowledge that the tenor of the book would involve him in broils and -danger, and expresses a wish that he could have published it -anonymously. But he was prepared, he adds, to sacrifice court favour, -fortune, and his good name with the public, rather than, by an excess of -prudence, throw a shade of discredit upon a work which he had composed -with such lofty ends, and with so great labour. He was not wrong in his -anticipations. It was impossible honestly to write the history of the -stormy and profligate times in which he lived, without saying much that -would shock religious zeal, offend party spirit, and raise up bitter -enemies in those whose misdeeds were openly and unsparingly brought to -light and condemned. De Thou, himself a Catholic, recognised the -existence of virtue and talent among the Reformers, and exposed the -selfish schemes and atrocious cruelties, which had been formed and -exercised under the cloak of maintaining true religion. This was enough -to bring on him the hatred of those who still clung to the principles of -the League, and the enmity of the court of Rome, which in 1609 placed -his History in the list of forbidden books, and, as has been said, -exerted its influence with success in 1611, to prevent his promotion. In -a Latin epitaph, which he composed for his own tomb, after a solemn -declaration of his orthodoxy, he demands, as the only favour which he -has to ask of men, to be more kindly treated by them after his death -than he had been before it. Posterity at least has responded to the -appeal, and by its admiration of the very qualities which involved him -in his mortifications, has done him ample justice for the jealousy of -Rome, and for the lukewarmness of the master whom he had well served -through bad and good fortune. - -The History is written in Latin: the style is good, but it is disfigured -by the affectation not only of Latinizing names, but of expressing -modern offices by classical phrases, which of necessity bear a very -forced, or no analogy to the things which they are tortured to denote. -For instance, it would be difficult to recognise the Constable of France -under the title Magister Equitum. This makes the assistance of an -explanatory dictionary very requisite, and such a one was published by -Jacques Dupuy, in 1634, under the title, Index Thuani. The History is -comprised in 138, or, as divided in some editions, into 143 books; and, -in the London edition of 1733, fills six ponderous folios. In the -relation of foreign affairs, De Thou’s authority is less valuable, for -it is stated that he received with little examination the accounts which -were transmitted to him from abroad: but for the history of France -during the sixteenth century, his work is the standard authority on -which later writers have relied. The best and wisest men of all parties -have joined, since his death, in according to him the praise of strict -integrity and impartiality, a generosity of temper which scorned to -suppress or pervert the truth, and great diligence, as well as unusual -opportunities, in ascertaining the real course of events. It is not -meant to claim for him an entire exemption from the errors of limited -information, or the faults of temper and prejudice: defects such as -these are incident to all human productions. It is to be observed that -the heaviest charges against him on this head have been made by those -who were of his own religion. - -The first portion of this work was published in 1604, comprising the -first eighteen books, with the letter to Henry IV., which serves as a -preface. This, which was translated into French, and published -separately, has obtained great admiration, as one of the finest -specimens extant of this branch of composition. De Thou published the -remainder at different times, and superintended several editions. -Prudential considerations induced him to make some changes and -suppressions, but upon his death-bed he entrusted a perfect manuscript -copy to his friends Peter Dupuy and Rigault, with injunctions to publish -it. The passages expunged by De Thou himself were subsequently collected -and published in Holland, under the title, Thuanus Restitutus. But the -most complete edition is that of London, 1733, from the collections and -papers of Carte the historian, which were purchased for that purpose by -Dr. Mead. This consists of six splendid folio volumes, with a seventh, -containing De Thou’s autobiography, and a variety of supplementary -pieces. The Eloges of learned men, to the number of 400 and upwards, -contained in the History, were extracted and published in a body by -Antoine Teissier. The whole has been translated into French. - -A doubt has been expressed whether the Latin memoirs which profess to be -written by De Thou, proceed from his own pen, or from that of Rigault. -They are translated into French, and printed by themselves. They are -interspersed with many pieces in Latin verse, which De Thou took -pleasure in composing, and wrote with elegance. He composed a poem on -Hawking, entitled “Hieracosophion”, and translated the Book of Job, and -several portions of the Prophecies. The gleanings of his conversation, -extant under the title Thuana, are scarcely worthy of his high -reputation. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - LORD CHATHAM. - - _From a Print by E. Fisher, after a Picture by R. Brompton_. - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHATHAM. - - -William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, was born in Westminster, -November 15, 1708. He was sent to Eton at an early age, and admitted a -gentleman-commoner of Trinity College, Oxford, in January, 1726. His -father, Robert Pitt, Esq., of Boconnock, in Cornwall, died in the -following year, and left to him the scanty inheritance of a younger son. -He quitted Oxford without taking a degree; spent some time in travelling -on the Continent; and entered the army shortly after his return. He -obtained a seat in Parliament for Old Sarum in 1735, and attached -himself to the party in opposition, then headed in the lower house by -the Pulteneys, and favoured in the upper by the Prince of Wales. His -known talents, and his determined hostility, soon drew upon him the -anger of Sir Robert Walpole, who is reported to have said, “We must at -all events muzzle that terrible cornet of horse.” Failing in this, he -had recourse to a method of revenge which would not have been tolerated -in later times, and took away Pitt’s commission. For this injury, -however, the sufferer received an ample recompense in the increased -estimation of the public. - -Pitt spoke with great ability and energy, in 1739, against the proposed -convention with Spain, and in 1740, against a bill introduced to -facilitate the impressment of seamen, containing very arbitrary and -oppressive provisions. Many of his speeches have been preserved, to a -certain extent, in the periodical works of the day; though it is -probable, from the very imperfect mode of reporting which then -prevailed, that little remains of their original garb of words. Walpole -was compelled to resign in 1742; but, with his usual dexterity, he -contrived, by disuniting the opposition, to secure himself from the -consequences of an inquiry into his conduct. Pitt spoke with much heat -and eloquence in favour of the inquiry; and two of his speeches on this -subject are reported at considerable length. He obtained no share in the -ministry upon Walpole’s fall, and continued to be a leader in opposition -during the years 1742–3–4. More especially he was earnest in reprobation -of the Hanoverian policy, which was supposed at that time to have an -undue preponderance in our councils: and his pertinacity on this point -engendered in the breast of George II. a strong personal dislike, which -is said to have prevented his admission into that which was whimsically -termed the “broad-bottomed administration,” formed at the close of 1744. -In that autumn he received a bequest of £10,000 from the celebrated -Duchess of Marlborough, “upon account of his merit, in the noble defence -he has made for the support of the laws of England, and to prevent the -ruin of his country.” - -Pitt was assured by the Pelhams, that as soon as the King’s antipathy -could be removed, his services would be secured to the government: and -he accordingly received the appointment, of Vice-treasurer of Ireland, -February 22, 1746, and, May 6, was promoted to the office of -Paymaster-general. In the latter capacity he showed his superiority to -pecuniary corruption, by foregoing the profit which it had been usual to -derive from the large balances retained in that officer’s hands, and by -rejecting other lucrative perquisites of office. But he has incurred the -charge of political dishonesty, by supporting measures, as a minister, -analogous in character to those which, under former governments, he had -so strongly condemned. On this subject we may quote the words of a -recent writer on the history of parties in England. “By the absorption -into the government of almost all its leaders and chief orators, the -opposition was for some time reduced in Parliament to extreme -insignificance. Mr. Pitt was now one of the most determined supporters -of the very measures which the first ten years of his parliamentary life -had been spent in condemning and opposing. Nor did he scruple to avow -his change of opinion. In reference, for instance, to the claim of -exemption from search for British ships when found near the coast of -Spanish America, which, urged by the opposition in the time of Sir -Robert Walpole, had involved the country in a war with Spain, and was -afterwards abandoned at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle by the government -of which Pitt was a member, he said in the House of Commons that he had -indeed once been an advocate for that claim; but it was when he was a -young man; he was now ten years older, and having considered public -affairs more coolly, was convinced it could not be maintained. In the -same manner very much of his old jealousy of military power and of the -prerogative appears to have evaporated in the cooler consideration which -he had now been enabled to give to such matters. We do not profess to -doubt the perfect honesty of Mr. Pitt in this change of sentiment; and -we may also think that his more matured opinions were, upon the whole, -more rational than those of his fervid and impetuous nonage as a -politician; but the facts (which only furnish an instance of what has -often happened) are worth recording as a lesson for such as are capable -of understanding it.” It is to be recollected, that the remarkable -events of 1745–6 may very well have modified Mr. Pitt’s opinions with -respect to the maintenance of a standing army. - -On the death of Henry Pelham, March 6, 1754, his brother, the Duke of -Newcastle, became First Lord of the Treasury. Pitt’s wishes certainly -pointed to the office of Secretary of State, vacated by the Duke, but he -received no promotion. This was excused on the ground of the King’s -personal dislike; but Pitt felt himself aggrieved; and having neither -regard nor respect for the prime minister, he gradually placed himself -in decided opposition to the government. Still he retained his place as -Paymaster, until November 20, 1755, on which day, with his friends Legge -and George Grenville, he was dismissed. In opposition, he resumed his -former activity; and he had abundant ground for invective against the -incapacity which led to those reverses in the Mediterranean, in America, -and in India, which raised a general cry of indignation through the -country. The Duke tried in vain to strengthen himself, by making -overtures of reconciliation to Mr. Pitt, and at last resigned, November -11, 1756. The Duke of Devonshire went to the Treasury, Pitt was made -Secretary of State, and Legge and Grenville both were taken into office. -This arrangement was short-lived. The King was ill-pleased at the way in -which the present ministry had been forced upon him; and he had a -personal dislike to some of them, especially to Pitt, and to the first -Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Temple, who was dismissed in April, 1757. -Upon this Pitt resigned. During the short period of this administration, -he had displayed his vigour and decision in originating measures to -repair the loss which we had sustained in America; and had endeavoured, -but in vain, to save the unfortunate Admiral Byng. - -A sort of ministerial interregnum succeeded, and lasted until the -beginning of June. The King tried in vain to construct an -administration. Meanwhile Pitt was at the height of popularity; and -addresses of approbation were showered on him from all parts of the -kingdom. At last the King was compelled to recall him; and, after -considerable negotiation, he consented to form a government in union -with the Duke of Newcastle, whose parliamentary influence conferred on -him a degree of importance quite disproportioned to the weakness of his -character. Pitt, with the power of Premier, returned to his post as -Secretary, and the Duke took the office of First Lord of the Treasury. - -Pitt found the country engaged in an unsuccessful war, and hampered with -a system of continental alliances, against which he had often directed -the full vigour of his eloquence. By pursuing that system he endangered -his popularity, and incurred the charge of having sacrificed his -principles to his ambition. There is no doubt (and this ought to teach -us moderation in our censures), that even honest men, in administration -and in opposition, may view the same measures under very different -aspects. Objectionable as he had thought and called that policy, he -probably persuaded himself that, under existing circumstances, it was -inexpedient to change it; and he followed it up with an energy and -decision, which at least led to results very different to those which -had disgraced the administration of his predecessors. He is reported to -have said to the Duke of Devonshire, “My Lord, I am sure I can save this -country, and nobody else can;” and the success which attended him made -good one half at least of the boast. France was alarmed by frequent, -and, on the whole, successful descents upon her shores; our connexion -with Frederic of Prussia was strengthened and improved; the plans for -the expulsion of the French from North America, which Pitt had formerly -conceived, were now carried into effect; and the result of his judgment -in selecting officers for foreign service, and of his indefatigable care -that no preliminary steps were neglected at home, was seen in those -various successes which were crowned by the glorious capture of Quebec, -and the ultimate cession of Canada by the French. In three years he -raised England from depression and despondency into a situation to give -laws to Europe; and during that time he converted into confidence and -favour that obstinate dislike with which George II. had so long regarded -him. But with the accession of George III., October 25, 1760, a new -favourite, Lord Bute, rose into power. Pitt continued at the head of -administration for a time, but he found that his counsels had ceased to -be the mainspring of government; and having been outvoted in the cabinet -when he urged the necessity of immediately declaring war against Spain, -he resigned, October 5, 1761, to use his own words, “in order not to -remain responsible for measures which he was no longer allowed to -guide.” The King bestowed on him a pension of 3000_l._, and raised his -wife to the rank of Baroness Chatham. - -Not many months elapsed before the new ministers found it absolutely -necessary to declare war against Spain, the very point upon which Pitt -had resigned. A general peace was effected by the treaty of Paris, -signed February 10, 1763, by which Canada and other French possessions -in North America were ceded to England. Pitt inveighed strongly, more -strongly perhaps than was quite fair and candid, against the terms of -this treaty; but he took no active part to overthrow the existing -administration. In August, 1763, the King made overtures to induce him -to return to office; and it is not very clearly known upon what account -this negotiation failed. When Wilkes’s case brought forward the question -of general warrants, Pitt took a strong part in condemning the use of -them. In January, 1765, he received a second uncommon testimony of -respect for his public conduct from Sir William Pynsent, an aged baronet -of ancient family in Somersetshire, who, dying, bequeathed to him his -property, to the amount of nearly 3000_l._ a year. - -To the scheme for raising a revenue in America, Mr. Pitt was very -strongly opposed. Illness prevented his attendance in the House of -Commons when that scheme was first brought forward; but in his speech on -the meeting of parliament, January 14, 1766, after tidings of the -disturbances in America had been received, he declared his opinion in -the strongest terms. “It is a long time, Mr. Speaker, since I have -attended in parliament. When the resolution was taken in the House to -tax America, I was ill in bed. If I could have endured to have been -carried in my bed, so great was the agitation of my mind for the -consequences, I would have solicited some kind friend to have laid me -down on this floor, to have borne my testimony against it.... It is my -opinion that this kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. -At the same time I assert the authority of this kingdom over the -colonies to be sovereign and supreme in every circumstance of government -and legislation whatsoever.” He recommended that the Stamp Act should be -repealed absolutely and immediately, but that the repeal should be -accompanied with an assertion of the sovereign power of this country -over the colonies, couched in the strongest terms that could be devised, -in every point whatsoever, except that of taking their money out of -their pocket without their consent. These declarations coincided with -the policy of the Marquis of Rockingham, who had been summoned by the -King to form an administration in July, 1765, and who, without any fault -on his side, was involved in all the difficulties and dangers which -resulted from his predecessor’s ill-judged scheme for taxing America. -Mr. Pitt had previously been applied to, but declined taking office upon -the terms proposed; and he showed a coolness towards the Rockingham -administration, which appears to have been uncalled for by any -difference in their political opinions, and which, as far as we can -conjecture from the course of events, was very prejudicial to the -country. Disliked by the King, slighted by Mr. Pitt, whose influence in -the nation was at this time at its height, harassed by a powerful -opposition which regarded it base to yield to the demands of America, -the Rockingham government rather fell to pieces than was broken up, -little more than a year after its formation; and Mr. Pitt reached the -utmost limit of ambition in being commissioned by the King to form a -ministry, without the smallest limitation as to terms, in July, 1766. - -Whatever gratification he may have felt at the moment, this high -position added neither to his glory nor his happiness. It led in the -first place to a violent quarrel with his most intimate friend and -political associate, Lord Temple, who felt himself slighted by Mr. -Pitt’s arrangements. Many of the most important persons, whose support -he desired, felt aggrieved by his past conduct, or were offended by the -haughtiness of his demeanour: Lord Rockingham, in particular, refused -even to grant him an interview. And when the government was formed at -last, it was of that ill-assorted and motley character which led Burke, -in an often-quoted passage of his great speech on American taxation, to -describe it as a “tesselated pavement without cement.” The Duke of -Grafton was placed at the Treasury, and for himself Pitt took a peerage -and the Privy Seal. The astonishment of every body at this was extreme. -Lord Chesterfield says, “Mr. Pitt, who had a carte blanche given him, -named every one of them (the new ministry); but what would you think he -named himself for?—Lord Privy Seal, and (what will astonish you as it -does every mortal here) Earl of Chatham. The joke here is, that he has -had a fall up stairs, and has done himself so much hurt that he will -never be able to stand upon his legs again. Every body is puzzled how to -account for this step; though it would not be the first time that great -abilities have been duped by low cunning. But, be it what it will, he is -now certainly only Earl of Chatham, and no longer Mr. Pitt in any -respect whatever. Such an event, I believe, was never heard nor read of. -To withdraw in the fullness of his power, and in the utmost -gratification of his ambition, from the House of Commons (which procured -him his power, and which could alone insure it to him), and to go into -that hospital of incurables, the House of Lords, is a measure so -unaccountable, that nothing but proof positive could have made me -believe it; but true it is.” - -At this time often recurring paroxysms of gout had greatly shattered -Lord Chatham’s constitution, and incapacitated him for that -comprehensive superintendence over the affairs of government which he -had exercised during his former glorious administration. Surrounded by a -disjointed set of men, fluctuating in opinion, attached neither to each -other nor to their chief, it was more than ever necessary that the -master-hand should retain its wonted dexterity and power. But the case -was very different. During the whole session of Parliament in 1767, Lord -Chatham was prevented from attending to business by illness; and after -the rising of Parliament he was compelled to inform the King, that “such -was his ill state of health, that his Majesty must not expect from him -any further advice or assistance in any arrangements whatever.” This -declaration may be considered as equivalent to a resignation; but -unfortunately he continued nominally in office until October 15, 1768, -lending the sanction of his great name to a course of policy the reverse -of that which he had advocated, especially in regard of the renewal of -the attempt to tax America. On this subject Mr. Thackeray remarks, “A -greater contrast in the feelings of the Cabinet and of the nation upon -the present resignation of Lord Chatham, to those which were evinced -upon his dismission from office in 1757, and upon his retirement in -1761, can hardly be imagined. His dismission in 1757 excited one common -cry of enthusiastic admiration towards himself, and of indignation -against his political opponents. The attention, not only of Great -Britain, but of the whole of Europe, was attracted by his resignation in -1761; and, although the voices of his countrymen were not so universally -united in his favour as upon the former occasion, the event was -considered as affecting the interests of nations in the four corners of -the globe. The resignation of Lord Chatham in 1768 was in fact nothing -more than the official relinquishment of an appointment in which he had -long ceased to exercise his authority, or to exert his abilities. It was -expected by the ministry, it was little regarded by the people of Great -Britain, it was almost unknown on the Continent of Europe.” - -Repose soon wrought a favourable change in Lord Chatham’s health, for in -1770 he led the opposition in the House of Lords. The proceedings in the -House of Commons against Mr. Wilkes formed the principal topic of his -first attack: but he warned the House against the fatal tendency of the -attempts to raise a revenue in America; and he took occasion, at an -early period of the session, to express his belief of the necessity of -introducing some reform into the representation of the people, and to -proclaim his cordial reconciliation and union with the Rockingham party. -At the end of January, to the general surprise, the Duke of Grafton -resigned; and Lord North succeeding him, formed the first durable -administration which had existed since the death of Henry Pelham. During -the years 1771, 1772, 1773, and 1774, Lord Chatham very seldom appeared -in Parliament. At the beginning of 1775, he made two vain attempts to -induce the government to offer overtures of reconciliation to America: -but during the greater part of that year, and the whole of 1776, the -shattered state of his health prevented him from taking any part in -public affairs. May 30, 1777, he came down to the House swathed in -flannel, to move an address imploring the King to take the most speedy -and effectual measures for putting a stop to hostilities in America, by -removing the accumulated grievances of that country: and predicted, with -his usual energy and eloquence, the certain results of the conduct which -we were pursuing. “You may ravage, you cannot conquer; it is impossible, -you cannot conquer the Americans. You talk of your numerous friends to -annihilate the Congress, and of your powerful forces to disperse their -army. I might as well talk of driving them before me with this crutch. -What you have sent there are too many to make peace, too few to make -war. If you conquer them, what then? You cannot make them respect you, -you cannot make them wear your cloth: you will plant an invincible -hatred in their breasts against you. Coming from the stock they do, they -can never respect you.” The events of that year, the capture of -Philadelphia, and the surrender of Burgoyne, fully justified his -predictions. These events had not been announced in England in November, -when Parliament again met; but in the debate on the Address on the 18th, -Lord Chatham again raised his warning voice to predict the certain -failure of the contest in which we were engaged. “I love and honour the -English troops: I know their virtues and their valour: I know they can -achieve anything except impossibilities; and I know that the conquest of -English America is an impossibility. You cannot, I venture to say it, -you cannot conquer America.” His speech on this occasion fortunately is -very fully reported, and the records of our Parliament contain none more -eloquent. - -In February, 1778, Lord North announced the resolution of government to -yield every point in question to the Americans, except their nominal -independence of the crown. To this, little opposition was offered in -either house; it probably was the line of conduct which Lord Chatham at -this late hour would have advised. But the Americans had declared their -independence, and were not now to be satisfied with anything short of a -formal acknowledgment of it; and here the two great sections of -opposition, the Rockingham and Shelburne parties, were divided. The -latter, with Lord Chatham at their head, regarded such an acknowledgment -as the prelude to the total ruin and degradation of the country. The -former held that it was impossible to avoid it at last, and earnestly -desired, since the colonists could not be retained as subjects, to -secure their alliance to this country, and not to drive them into the -arms of France. The Duke of Richmond moved an address embodying these -views, April 7th, a day memorable for the most affecting scene ever -witnessed within the walls of Parliament. We relate it as nearly as -possible from the account communicated to Mr. Seward by an eyewitness, -and published in his Anecdotes of distinguished Persons. - -“Lord Chatham came into the House of Lords leaning on two friends, -wrapped up in flannel, pale and emaciated. Within his large wig little -more was to be seen than his aquiline nose, and his penetrating eye. He -looked like a dying man; yet never was seen a figure of more dignity; he -appeared like a being of superior species. - -“He rose from his seat with slowness and difficulty, leaning upon his -crutches, and supported under each arm by his two friends. He took one -hand from his crutch, and raised it, casting his eyes towards Heaven, -and said, ‘I thank God that I have been enabled to come here this day, -to perform my duty, and to speak on a subject which has so deeply -impressed my mind. I am old and infirm—have one foot—more than one foot, -in the grave. I am risen from my bed, to stand up in the cause of my -country!—perhaps never again to speak in this House.’ - -“The reverence, the attention, the stillness of the house, was most -affecting: if any one had dropped an handkerchief, the noise would have -been heard. At first he spoke in a very low and feeble tone; but as he -grew warm his voice rose, and was as harmonious as ever; oratorical and -affecting perhaps more than at any former period; both from his own -situation and from the importance of the subject on which he spoke. He -gave the whole history of the American war; of all the measures to which -he had objected; and all the evils which he had prophesied in -consequence of them; adding, at the end of each, ‘And so it proved.’” He -concluded with an energetic appeal against the “dismemberment of this -ancient and most noble monarchy.” To the Duke of Richmond’s reply he -listened with attention and composure: he then rose again, but his -strength failed, and he fell back in convulsions in the arms of the -Peers who surrounded him. The House immediately adjourned. On the -following day the Duke of Richmond’s motion was negatived. - -Lord Chatham was removed to Hayes, where he languished until May 12, -1778, on which day he expired. He was honoured with a public funeral, -and a public monument in Westminster Abbey; a sum of 20,000_l._ was -voted in discharge of his debts; and a pension of 4,000_l._ a year was -annexed to the earldom of Chatham. He left five children by his wife, -Lady Hester Grenville, sister of Earl Temple, whom he married November -6, 1754. He warmly loved and was beloved by his family, and in domestic -life enjoyed all the happiness which unbroken confidence and harmony can -bestow. - -The character of this great man is thus drawn by Lord Chesterfield:—“His -constitution refused him the usual pleasures, and his genius forbade him -the idle dissipations of youth; for so early as the age of sixteen, he -was the martyr of an hereditary gout. He therefore employed the leisure -which that tedious and painful distemper either procured or allowed him, -in acquiring a great fund of premature and useful knowledge. Thus, by -the unaccountable relation of causes and effects, what seemed the -greatest misfortune of his life, was perhaps the principal cause of its -splendour. His private life was stained by no vice, nor sullied by any -meanness. All his sentiments were liberal and elevated. His ruling -passion was an unbounded ambition, which, where supported by great -abilities, and crowned with great success, makes what the world calls a -great man. He was haughty, imperious, impatient of contradiction, and -overbearing; qualities which too often accompany, but always clog great -ones. He had manners and address, but one might discover through them -too great a consciousness of his own superior talents. He was a most -agreeable and lively companion in social life, and had such a -versatility of wit, that he would adapt it to all sorts of conversation. -He had also a happy turn for poetry, but he seldom indulged, and seldom -avowed it. He came young into Parliament, and upon that theatre he soon -equalled the oldest and the ablest actors. His eloquence was of every -kind, and he excelled in the argumentative, as well as in the -declamatory way. But his invectives were terrible, and uttered with such -energy of diction, and such dignity of action and countenance, that he -intimidated those who were the most willing and best able to encounter -him. Their arms fell out of their hands, and they shrunk under the -ascendant which his genius gained over theirs.” - -Mr. Thackeray’s ‘History of the Right Hon. W. Pitt, Earl of Chatham,’ in -addition to the fullest account of his public and private life, contains -copious extracts from the reports of his speeches, and his -correspondence. The letters to his nephew, afterwards Lord Camelford, -deserve notice, as exhibiting his private character in a very amiable -light. The same may be said of the letters to his son, William Pitt, -printed by Dr. Tomline in his life of that statesman. - -[Illustration: [Death of Chatham, from the picture by J. S. Copley, -R.A.]] - -[Illustration] - - - - - MOZART. - - -That most of those who are now by universal consent numbered among the -benefactors of the human race reaped little benefit from their genius, -however actively exerted, is a melancholy truth not to be disputed, and -seldom more strongly exemplified than in the instance of the great -composer, who is the subject of this memoir. He to whom all the really -civilized parts of the world are so deeply indebted for the increase, to -an almost incalculable amount, of the stock of an intellectual and -innocent pleasure, scarcely ever enjoyed a moment’s respite from -ill-requited labour and corroding anxieties: few, not in a state of -actual want, ever suffered more from the evils of poverty; and he who -left so valuable a treasure to mankind had not in the hour of death the -consolation of feeling that he had been able to secure against the -miseries of dependence, an affectionate wife and her helpless offspring. - -JOHANN-CHRYSOSTOMUS-WOLFGANG-GOTTLIEB MOZART was born at Salzburg, -January 26, 1756. His father, Leopold, was sub-chapel master, or -organist, to the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, and a skilful performer -on the violin, a valuable treatise on which instrument he published, in -quarto, under the title of ‘Violinschule,’ in 1769. Whatever time the -duties of his office left at his disposal, he devoted to the education -of his two children, and he began to give his daughter, who was four -years older than her brother, instructions on the harpsichord, when the -latter had scarcely completed his third year. The boy’s strong -disposition for music then immediately developed itself: his delight was -to seek out _thirds_ on the instrument, and his joy was unbounded when -he succeeded in discovering one of these harmonious concords. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Thomson._ - - MOZART. - - _From a Print engraved by C. Kohl, 1793._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -When Wolfgang had attained his fourth year, says M. Schlichtegroll, his -father began, though hardly in earnest, to teach him a few minuets and -other short pieces of music. It took the child half an hour to learn a -minuet, and proportionately more time to master compositions of greater -length. In less than two years he had made such progress, that he -invented short pieces of music, which his father, to encourage such -promising talent, committed to writing. It is to be regretted that not -one of these curious manuscripts, if preserved, has ever been produced. -Before he began to manifest a predilection for music, his amusements -were like those of other children; and so ardent was he in the pursuit -of them, that he would willingly have sacrificed his meals rather than -be interrupted in his enjoyment. His great sensibility was observable as -soon as he could make his feelings understood. Frequently he said to -those about him, “Do you love me well?” and when in sport he was -answered in the negative, tears immediately began to flow. He pursued -everything with extraordinary ardour. While learning the elements of -arithmetic, the tables, chairs, even the walls, bore in chalk the marks -of his calculations. And here it will not be irrelevant to state,—what -we believe has never yet appeared in print,—that his talent for the -science of numbers was only inferior to that for music: had he not been -distinguished by genius of a higher order, it is probable that his -calculating powers would have been sufficiently remarkable to bring him -into general notice. - -When under six years of age, Mozart surprised his father, though well -accustomed to these premature manifestations of musical genius, by the -production of a concerto for the harpsichord, written in every respect -according to rule, the only objection to which was its difficulty of -execution. This circumstance at once determined Leopold Mozart to let -the youthful prodigy be seen at some of the courts of Germany. He -therefore carried his whole family, as soon as Wolfgang had completed -his sixth year, to Munich, where they were received by the Elector in so -flattering a manner, that the party returned to Salzburg to prepare for -other visits. In 1762 they proceeded to Vienna, and performed at court. -Here Mozart, when sitting down to play, said to the emperor Francis -I.,—“Is not M. Wagenseil here? he ought to be present; he understands -such matters.” The emperor sent for M. Wagenseil. “Sir,” said the child -to the composer, “I shall play one of your concertos,—you must turn the -leaves for me.” About the same time, a small violin was purchased for -him, merely for his amusement; but while it was supposed to be little -more than a toy in his hands, he made himself so far a master of the -instrument, that when Wenzl, the violinist, brought his newly composed -trios to Leopold Mozart for his opinion, Wolfgang supplicated to be -allowed to take the second violin part, and accomplished the task as -much to the satisfaction of the composer as to the wonder of all. - -In 1763 the Mozart family commenced an extended tour, giving concerts in -the principal cities through which they passed. In Paris they continued -five months, and Wolfgang performed on the organ in the _chapelle du -roi_, in presence of the whole court. There he composed and published -his first two works, which, compared with other productions of the day, -are by no means trivial. In April, 1764, the party arrived in London, -where they remained till the middle of the following year. Here, as in -France, the boy exhibited his talents before the royal family, and -underwent more severe trials than any to which he had before been -exposed, through which he passed in a most triumphant manner. So much -interest did he excite in London, that the Hon. Daines Barrington drew -up an account of his extraordinary performances, which was read before -the Royal Society, and declared by the council of that body to be -sufficiently interesting and important to form part of the Philosophical -Transactions, in the seventieth volume of which it is published. But -some suspicions having been entertained by many persons that the -declared was not the real age of the youthful prodigy, Mr. Barrington -obtained, through Count Haslang, then Bavarian minister at the British -court, a certificate of Wolfgang’s birth, signed by the chaplain of the -Archbishop of Salzburg, which at once dispelled all doubts on the -subject. - -In 1765, the family returned to the continent. At the Hague, where -Mozart published six sonatas, they remained some months; then paid a -second long visit to Paris, and, passing through Switzerland, reached -Salzburg in 1768. Some time after, the children performed at Vienna -before Joseph II., by whose desire Mozart composed an entire opera, _La -finta Sposa_. Hasse and Metastasio both bestowed great commendations on -the work, but it never was produced on the stage, and the probability is -that its merit was only of a relative kind. - -In 1769, Mozart (in his fourteenth year!) was appointed director of the -Archbishop of Salzburg’s concerts. Shortly after he proceeded with his -father to Italy, where he was received with enthusiasm. At Rome he gave -a proof of memory which is still the subject of conversation in that -city. He heard the famous Miserere of Allegri in the pontifical chapel, -and knowing that the pope’s singers were forbidden, under pain of -excommunication, to furnish a copy, or allow one, under any plea, to be -taken, he gave his utmost attention to the composition during its -performance, wrote it down when he returned home, and exultingly carried -it with him to Germany. While in Italy, the pope invested him with the -order of the Golden Spur. At Bologna he was unanimously elected a member -of the Philharmonic Academy. He reached Milan in October, 1770, and in -the following December gave his second opera, Mitridate, which had a run -of twenty nights. In 1773 he composed another serious opera, Lucio -Silla; this was performed twenty-six nights successively. He produced -many other works of various kinds between that year and 1779, when he -fixed his residence permanently in Vienna. - -In his twenty-fifth year he was captivated by Madlle. Constance Weber, -an amiable, accomplished, and celebrated actress, to whom he soon made a -proposal of marriage. This was courteously declined by her family, on -the ground that his reputation was not then sufficiently established. -Upon this he composed his Idomeneo, in order to prove what means were at -his command; and, animated by the strongest passion that ever entered -his heart, produced an opera which he always considered his highest -effort: certainly it was the first that showed his positive strength. -Parts of it are in his most original, and grandest manner; but parts -show that he had not quite emancipated himself from the thraldom of -custom. Some of the airs, though far superior to those of his -contemporaries, are too much in the opera style then prevailing, a style -now become nearly obsolete; and when, a few years ago, it was wished to -bring out Idomeneo at the King’s Theatre, it became evident that, if -performed as originally written, its success would be very doubtful. To -Madlle. Weber, on whom the composer’s affections were unalterably fixed, -was assigned the principal character in the opera, and the high -reputation which the author acquired by his work having immediately -silenced the objections of Constance’s family, her hand was shortly -after the reward of his efforts. - -In 1782 Mozart composed Die Entführung aus dem Serail, (L’Enlévement du -Sérail,) and here it is evident that he had entirely broken the fetters -which before he had only loosened. Here is exhibited that style which, -in an improved state, afterwards characterized all his dramatic works. -It was on the first representation of this opera that Joseph II. -remarked to the composer,—“All this may be very fine, but there are too -many notes for our ears.” To which Mozart, with that independent spirit -which always characterised him, replied,—“There are, Sire, just as many -as there ought to be.” Le Nozze di Figaro—second in merit only to Don -Giovanni, if to that—was produced in 1786, by command of the Emperor, by -whose authority alone an Italian conspiracy against it was suppressed. - -In 1787 appeared, first at Prague, the _chef-d’œuvre_ of Mozart, his Don -Giovanni, which was received with enthusiasm by the Bohemians, but at -that time, and indeed years after, was above the comprehension of the -Viennese public, whose taste, unlike that which prevails in the north of -Germany, still inclines them to prefer the nerveless, meagre -compositions of Italy. “This matchless work of its immortalised author,” -never found its way to our Anglo-Italian stage till the year 1817, when -it was performed in a manner that surpassed all former representations, -and has never since been equalled. The production of Don Giovanni in -London,—which put ten thousand pounds into the manager’s pocket, and -forms an era in our musical history—was so strenuously opposed by an -Italian cabal, that but for the courage and perseverance of the director -of that season, it would have been put aside, even after all the expense -of getting up and trouble of rehearsing had been incurred. The charming -comic opera, Cosi fan tutti, was composed in 1790; Die Zauberflöte and -La Clemenza di Tito, in 1791; the latter for the coronation of Leopold -II. - -The last and, taken as a whole, the most sublime work of Mozart, his -Requiem, was written on his death-bed; and having been left in rather an -unfinished state, his pupil, Süssmayer, filled up some of the -accompaniments. This circumstance led, a few years ago, to a dispute -concerning its authorship, some indiscreet friends of the latter having -claimed as his composition the best parts of the mass. The assertions by -which the claim was supported, and the arguments in its favour, proved -unavailing against the internal evidence which the work afforded, and it -is to be presumed that the controversy will never be renewed. A story, -too, that an anonymous, mysterious stranger commissioned Mozart to -compose the Requiem, raised many idle conjectures, some of them of the -most grossly superstitious kind. The matter, however, has latterly been -very satisfactorily explained[2]. - -Footnote 2: - - See Harmonicon, vol. iv., page 102. - -This illustrious composer, on whom nature bestowed so much vigour of -imagination, so little physical strength, never seemed destined to -attain longevity. Slightly constructed, and feeble in constitution, he -required more mental repose than his necessities would allow. His mind -did not yield, but his body gave way, and on the 5th of December, 1792, -prematurely worn out, he expired thoroughly exhausted, without any -appearance of organic disease. - -It has been said of Mozart, that his knowledge was bounded by his art, -and that detached from this he was little better than a nonentity. That -his thoughts were almost wholly bent on music was not a matter of -choice, but of necessity. Had not his miserably-remunerated labours -occupied nearly all his time, his means would have been still more -limited than they were. But we have reason to think (as we have -elsewhere stated) that his acquirements were far greater than in England -is generally believed; in proof of which we have the best authority for -saying, that once, at a court masquerade given at Vienna, Mozart -appeared as a physician, and wrote prescriptions in Latin, French, -Italian, and German; in which not only an acquaintance with the several -languages was shown, but great discernment of character, and -considerable wit. Assuming this to be true, he could not have been a -very ignorant man, nor always a dull one, out of his profession. But -still stronger evidence in favour of his understanding may be extracted -from his works. That he who, in his operas, adapted his music with such -felicity to the different persons of the drama—who evinced such nicety -of discrimination—who represented the passions so accurately—who -coloured so faithfully—whose music is so expressive, that without the -aid of words it is almost sufficient to render the scene -intelligible,—that such a man should not have been endowed with a high -order of intellect is hard to be believed, but that his understanding -should have been below mediocrity is incredible. - -Had Mozart lived, this country, which witnessed his early proofs of -genius, would have enjoyed it in its matured and most luxuriant state. -When Salomon, the celebrated violin player—an enterprising, liberal, -sensible man—was about establishing his subscription-concerts in London, -he went to Vienna to engage either Haydn or Mozart to compose symphonies -for him, and after several “most amicable and pleasant meetings” -(Salomon’s own words) between the parties, it was agreed that Haydn -should first proceed to the rich capital of the British dominions, and -that the following season he should be succeeded by Mozart. The illness -and death of the latter rendered unavailing an arrangement which would -at least have compensated his labours more adequately than they had ever -before been rewarded. The father of modern orchestral music may be said -to have made his fortune—a small one, it is true, but an independence—by -his visits to London; and the creator of an entirely new, an infinitely -superior, style of dramatic music would hardly have been less -successful. - -The compositions of Mozart are of every kind, and so numerous, that we -cannot pretend to give even a bare list of them. But it may be observed, -generally, that from the sonata to the symphony, from the simplest -romance to the most elaborate musical drama, he—whose career was stopped -before he had completed his thirty-sixth year—composed in every -imaginable style, and excelled in all. In each class he furnished models -of the greatest attainable excellence: “exquisite melodies, profound -harmonies, the playful, the tender, the pathetic, and the sublime,” are -to be found among his works. It is the exclusive privilege of first rate -merit to be more admired as it is better known; and while inferior -composers enjoy their day of fashion, and are forgotten, Mozart’s fame -will continue to expand in proportion as mankind advances in taste and -knowledge. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - LOYOLA. - - _From a Print by Bolswert, after a Picture by Rubens._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - LOYOLA. - - -The family-name of the founder of the Order of Jesuits, commonly called -IGNATIUS LOYOLA, is stated by Ranke, Romischen Papste, vol. 1, on the -authority of judicial records, to have been Don Inigo Lopez de Recalde. -He was born in 1491, at the Castle of Loyola, in the province of -Guipuscoa, in Spanish Biscay; and being destined to the profession of -arms, was sent, at an early age, to learn the rudiments of war and -gallantry, at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. He made great -proficiency in both. Endowed with a lively imagination, and an ardent -temperament, he became distinguished in arms, and first applied his -talents, which were destined to such different purposes, to the -composition of poetry. Thus he spent his youth; and he had already -reached his thirtieth year, when he was called to the defence of -Pampluna against the attack of the French. On this occasion he displayed -his wonted valour, and while standing in the breach of the castle, he -was struck by a cannon shot which fractured his leg. A tedious -confinement followed; in part occasioned, as some assert, by his great -anxiety to preserve the symmetry of the limb, which led him to undergo a -second operation, to remove a deformity which had been occasioned by an -ill-set bone. To relieve his weariness he called for some books of -chivalry, but in their place he was supplied with the Lives of Saints, -and other devotional works. He read them with extraordinary eagerness. -He admired the zeal of those holy men; he sympathized in their -sufferings; he envied their glory; and he aspired at their eternal -recompense. His thoughts and wishes were thus turned into a new channel, -and he entered on the path of spiritual warfare, with his natural ardour -stimulated and inflamed by religious devotion. - -Accordingly, he rose from his bed of sickness, resolved to renounce the -pursuits and pleasures of this world, and to dedicate himself to the -service of God. Still it was not without a desperate struggle that he -could accomplish this resolution. He had a passion for military fame; he -had a mistress whom it was necessary to abandon; and his earthly ties -were as strong, as his temperament was violent. But the new sprung -influence of religion overcame all obstacles. March 24, 1522, he passed -the night in prayer and fasting in the church of the Holy Virgin at -Montserrat; and having hung up his arms on the altar, he consecrated -himself, according to all the forms of chivalry, to her service. At the -same time he made a vow to perform a pilgrimage barefoot to Jerusalem; -and he carried his immediate penance to such extremes of austerity, as -to enervate his frame, and to endanger his life. - -As the histories which had most deeply affected his imagination were -those of St. Francis and St. Dominic, so the service which he vowed to -the Virgin was one of privation and errantry. Accordingly he set out -privately on his pilgrimage; and after tarrying some little time at -Rome, to obtain the benediction of the Pope, he proceeded to Venice, and -from Venice to Cyprus and the Holy Land. He reached Jerusalem, September -4, 1523, in the guise of the poorest pilgrim; and after indulging his -piety in frequent visits to all the spots which religion and tradition -have consecrated, he offered his services to the ecclesiastical officers -resident there, for the conversion of the Infidels, or any other holy -purpose. These however were refused, and he was dismissed, somewhat -peremptorily, and commanded to return to Europe. - -It is curious, in reviewing the lives of some of those eminent men, who -have left lasting traces of their exertions, to observe how their own -inclinations, had Providence allowed them their course, would sometimes -have led them away from the work which they were commissioned to -accomplish. Had Wesley proved a successful missionary, which was his -earliest enterprise, the society which bears his name might never have -existed. Had Loyola been permitted to spend his energies in attempts at -converting the Jews or Turks, his life might have been of short -duration, and his name might never have been heard beyond the limits of -Palestine. - -When his pilgrimage was completed, and he was restored to his native -country, his passion for religious enterprise and distinction did not in -any degree abate; but he soon discovered that his literary acquirements -were wholly insufficient for his purpose. He began therefore, at the age -of thirty-three, to apply himself to the rudiments of grammar; and -endeavoured to regain lost time by his zeal and industry. He commenced -his labours at Barcelona, and remained there till his pious attempts to -reform a convent of abandoned nuns brought down upon him the vengeance -of their lovers. Thence he retired to Alcala, where an university had -lately been founded by Cardinal Ximenes. Here he pursued his studies -with great ardour till the year 1527: he attempted at the same time the -three sciences of logic, physic, and theology, and was bent on -accomplishing by a single effort what results to other men from the -patient employment of much time and labour. But it was too late in life. -His mind had been already formed to more active pursuits, and he could -not bend it to the acquisition of learning. A confused mass of -knowledge, directed by no reflection, and founded on no principles, -could neither be applied nor retained; and his endeavour to grasp so -much, at so great a disadvantage, ended, where it was sure to end, in -entire ignorance. He discovered his failure; and thenceforward directed -his energies to a more attainable end: and, though he desisted not -entirely from his tardy struggles after learning, he seems rather to -have looked for success from the influence which personal intercourse -generally enabled him to acquire over those about him. Some lectures, -however, which he delivered at Alcala, gave offence to the authorities -of that university; and after an imprisonment of forty-two days, he was -prohibited from public preaching, until he should have completed a -course of four years in theology. It seems too, that, together with two -or three companions, he had assumed a peculiar dress, which they were -ordered to lay aside. - -From Alcala he removed to Salamanca; but there too he had no sooner -resumed his preaching than the Inquisitors laid hands on him; and after -a second confinement, with severer treatment, he and his companions were -again dismissed, under a sentence not widely differing from the -preceding. On these occasions it was not so much the character of his -sermons which gave the offence, as the circumstance that they were -delivered by a layman. - -Thus discouraged in his native country, he hoped to find a wider, or at -least a safer, field for his exertions in France. Accordingly he -departed for Paris, and arrived there in the beginning of February, -1528. His means were extremely small, and even these had been provided -by the generosity of his friends. He was deprived of all that remained -to him, soon after his arrival, by the treachery of a fellow-student, -and had no other method of subsistence than mendicity. Thus he lived, -returning, as we are informed, with his first ardour to the rudiments of -literature, and striving by his instructions and example to extend the -narrow limits of his influence. Even thus however he was not beneath the -notice of the Inquisitor, a special emissary of Clement VII., then -resident at Paris; but on this occasion he cleared himself from any -charge or suspicion of heresy, and was absolved without any particular -injunction or reproach. But his poverty still compelled him to employ -his vacations in begging, through various countries, the means which -were to maintain him during his studies; and in one of these mendicant -excursions, he visited certain Spanish merchants resident in London. -Doubtless his powers of observation were profitably exercised during -these wanderings, and his perpetual intercourse, even in the character -of a religious beggar, with all classes of all nations, could not fail -to improve a penetrating intellect in the art of dealing with mankind. - -By this uncommon perseverance he was enabled to finish his course of -study of three years, and was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts. -Then again he betook himself more especially to theology; and it was at -this time (1534) that he formed the first serious design of establishing -a new Order. Such a project, in the hands of so very humble a person as -Loyola then was, might have seemed wild and hopeless; and the prospect -of its success was not improved by the number or quality of his -associates. Seven individuals, of no distinguished rank or eminence, -personal or ecclesiastical, some of whom were very young and others very -poor, met together in the church of Montmartre, August 15, 1534, and -devoted themselves to the service of Christ. They were prepared for this -solemnity by prayer and fasting. One of them, Le Fevre, who had lately -been ordained, administered the sacrament to his brethren in a -subterraneous chapel; and all then bound themselves, by a solemn vow, to -undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the conversion of the infidels -of the East, and to renounce all their possessions, except such as -should be necessary for that pilgrimage: or else, in case they should be -unable to accomplish that design, to throw themselves at the feet of the -Pope, and offer their services as his faithful and gratuitous -instruments and missionaries, for the performance of any ministry that -he might think proper to impose on them. Another of these devotees was -Francis Xavier, a Spaniard, fifteen years younger than Loyola; who, -being from the very beginning one of his most zealous disciples, was -numbered in later life among the most distinguished ornaments of the -society. - -Such was the origin of the “Society of the Jesuits.” From this little -congregation of obscure enthusiasts in the subterraneous chapel of -Montmartre arose that redoubted Company, which sprang up into such -immediate eminence; which spread so soon through the whole body of -Christendom; which took possession of the courts and the consciences of -princes, and exerted for so many years a scarcely credible influence, in -every quarter of the globe, over the course of human affairs. Its first -professed object was the conversion of the infidels: the entire devotion -to the Roman See, whence its future importance chiefly proceeded, was -not, as it would seem, the primary motive which Ignatius inspired into -his followers. Perhaps the chivalrous feeling which animated, or rather -created, the earliest efforts of his piety, was not yet extinct within -him—or it may have been his policy to put forward, as the leading part -of his design, that which required the greatest sacrifice and offered -the least reward. But, however that may have been, he had no sooner thus -bound his associates together, than he prescribed to them rules and -practices of devotion, daily meditations and penances, spiritual -conversations, the study and imitation of the character of Jesus, -constant self-examination, and frequent communion. He appointed the Day -of the Assumption, the anniversary of their vow, for their peculiar -observance; and during an interval of preparation necessary for his -disciples, he directed his own exertions to repress the progress in -France of the doctrines of Luther and Zuinglius. - -After visiting his native country, he proceeded to Venice, according to -agreement with his followers, for the accomplishment of their vow of -pilgrimage: and arrived there at the end of 1535. - -Their first design however was to present themselves at Rome. There -Ignatius acquired the confidence of Peter Ortiz, a distinguished -Spaniard, employed by Charles V. to sustain at the Holy See the validity -of the marriage of Catharine of Arragon with Henry VIII. Ortiz presented -him to Paul III., who approved his doctrine and encouraged his project. -Howbeit, his departure for the Holy Land was prevented by the Turkish -war, which at that moment broke out; and at the end of 1537 he assembled -his companions, now increased to nine, at Vicenza, and persuaded them, -that, as the approach to Palestine was closed, it only remained for them -to fulfil the other part of their vow, and offer their devoted services -to the Pope. Accordingly, Ignatius, with two others, returned to Rome -for that purpose. The rest dispersed themselves among the principal -academies of Italy, to gain proselytes. All bound themselves to the -observance of certain distinctive rules and practices; and to any -interrogatories which might be put to them respecting the Order to which -they belonged, Ignatius instructed them to reply, that they were members -of the Company of Jesus. - -The encouragement which he received at Rome induced him to take further -measures for the establishment and enlargement of his new Order. He -presently recalled his missionaries, and collected them about him at -Rome. During their residence at Venice they had taken the two vows of -poverty and chastity; they now added that of obedience, and decided to -elect a General with absolute power. They next determined to undertake a -fourth and peculiar obligation—one, to which they had indeed already -engaged themselves in the chapel of Montmartre, but which they had not -yet proclaimed to the world—that of doing, without aid or recompense, -any errand on which the Pope, as Vicar of Christ, might think fit to -send them. Loyola then applied to Paul III. for the confirmation of his -Order. Some obstacles arose, which were gradually removed. A charge of -heresy, founded chiefly on his early persecutions at Alcala and -Salamanca, was advanced with great clamour against him and his -companions; but a judicial inquiry, by confirming their innocence, -increased their reputation. An influential Cardinal earnestly opposed -the establishment of the new Order. But his objections were finally -overcome, and, September 27, 1540, the Pope issued his bull to sanction -the institution of Ignatius. The number of his disciples was still -confined to nine. Three of these were then absent from Italy,—Xavier and -Rodriguez on a mission to India, Le Fevre at the Diet of Worms; so that -on the day appointed for the election of a general, six only assembled, -together with Loyola. He was chosen unanimously: but he affected great -sorrow at this decision, and only accepted the honour, after it had been -pressed upon him by a second assembly, and urged by the authoritative -command of his confessor. The ceremonies of profession were performed in -the Church of St. Paul, April 22, 1541; and while Ignatius made his vow -of especial obedience directly to the Pope, the vows of the others -professed were tendered exclusively to their General. - -The Pope immediately availed himself of the services thus offered him, -and sent the six disciples on various missions into different parts of -Europe. Ignatius alone remained at Rome, and employed himself in offices -of piety. He lectured publicly on religious subjects; he discharged many -duties of humanity and charity; he took measures for the conversion of -the Jews at Rome; he established a penitentiary for women reclaimed from -sin; he founded an asylum for orphans; and the leisure which he could -spare from these holy works, he devoted to composing the Constitutions -of his Order. - -These were founded on the principle of uniting spiritual meditation with -active habits of practical piety; so that, while, on the one hand, he -enjoined mental prayer, frequent self-examination, and religious -retirement; on the other, he engaged his disciples to use every exertion -for the instruction and sanctification of the rest of mankind. He -commanded them to be perpetually exercised in preaching and missions, in -the conversion of infidels and heretics, in the inspection of prisons -and hospitals, in the direction of consciences, and the instruction of -youth. To this end, he discouraged every severity of mortification, and -all superfluity both in their public and private devotions. He -prohibited the possession of property by any of his establishments, -except colleges, which he permitted to be endowed for the advantage of -necessitous students; and he closed, as far as he was able, all the -various sources of ecclesiastical emolument. Similar professions of -disinterested devotion and perfect self-denial had laid the foundations -of the enormous wealth, power, and luxury of more ancient Orders; and if -Ignatius had been actuated by ambition, he could have devised no better -means of raising his society to affluence and importance, than by laying -the same snare for the credulity of mankind. - -In this mere sketch of the life of Loyola, it would be absurd to attempt -any account of the internal constitution of his Order, of the particular -laws by which it was regulated, of the gradual development of its -principles, and the general evils which flowed from them. It is enough -to give some faint notion of its earliest progress. Six years after the -confirmation of the Order of Jesuits, a college was opened to them in -Spain (it was the first of these establishments), by Francis Borgia, -Duke of Gandia, and endowed with the same privileges as those of Alcala -and Salamanca. Its statutes were composed by Loyola. In the same year, -to give some pledge for the sincerity of his vow of self-denial, and to -secure his followers against one of the commonest temptations of -ambition, he prevailed upon the Pope to exclude them and their -successors, by a perpetual edict, from the possession of bishoprics, -abbeys, and every description of benefice. This restriction not only -stamped them with a peculiar character, and recommended them to popular -favour as singular instances of self-devotion, but also left them, for -the furtherance of the especial objects of the society, the leisure, -talents, and industry which might otherwise have been employed in the -pursuit of ecclesiastical dignities, or the performance of pastoral -duties. But it was not faithfully observed, even during the lifetime of -Ignatius. - -The Spiritual Exercises, the great work of the founder of the Jesuits, -is asserted to have been composed by him, aided by the inspiration of -the Holy Virgin, very soon after his return from Jerusalem. His capacity -for such a composition, at that period of his life, has been disputed by -many, and various doubts have been thrown on its genuineness. Howbeit, -the book passed for his during the infancy of the society, and in 1548 -the Archbishop of Toledo took great pains to suppress it. Loyola turned -this attempt into an advantage to himself. He caused the merits of the -work to be strongly represented to Paul III., and obtained a bull in -praise and confirmation of all contained in it. Thus recommended by the -apostolical authority to the meditations of the faithful, it attracted -more general attention on its author, and on the institution which he -had founded. - -After the first step had been taken, the progress of the Company of -Jesus surpassed in rapidity all that is recorded of the infancy of the -older establishments. It was scarcely planted in Spain before it spread -to Ferrara, and other parts of Italy. In 1548 it got footing at Messina -and Palermo. In 1550 it was introduced into Bavaria; and in the same -year it was still further confirmed by a bull of Julius III., and -enriched, as it had previously been, by abundant benefactions from the -apostolic treasury. Two years afterwards, it founded a Germanic college -at Rome, and by this time it could boast of similar institutions in many -of the most civilized cities of Europe. And not in Europe only: its -missionaries had already penetrated into India, Africa, and America. In -the year 1553 they presented themselves in Cyprus, at Constantinople, -and Jerusalem, and were carried by the same impulse into Abyssinia and -China. France alone avowed her suspicion of their principles, and -refused them admission: nor were the utmost endeavours of Loyola himself -able to achieve this object. Howbeit, the perseverance of his followers, -supported by their general success, succeeded even there, and in -February, 1564, they opened their celebrated college in the Rue St. -Jacques at Paris. - -Cheered by this sudden and most rapid prosperity, Loyola, whom his -disciples represent as the only spring of all the movements of the -Company, and the sole spirit of the mighty body which was already spread -over all the quarters of the world—whom his enemies describe as a vain, -illiterate enthusiast, without talents, without knowledge, a mere -machine in the hands of a crafty and worldly hierarchy—peaceably expired -at Rome, July 31, 1566, surrounded by his disciples, and animated (as -they relate) with the deepest feelings of piety, and gratitude to -Providence for the blessing which had been vouchsafed upon his mission. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. T. Wedgwood._ - - BRINDLEY. - - _From a Print by R. Dunkarton 1773, after a Picture by F. Parsons._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - BRINDLEY. - - -Our memoir of the man who originated that system of canal navigation, -which contributed in no secondary degree to the wonderful increase of -our national wealth in the last century, is taken entirely, and in many -parts verbatim, from Dr. Kippis’s Biographia Britannica. The article -BRINDLEY in that work, communicated by Brindley’s brother-in-law, Mr. -Henshall, and his friend Mr. Bentley, appears to be the only original -account of him extant, and the source from which all later accounts have -been taken. - -James Brindley was born in the parish of Wormhill in Derbyshire, in -1716. He was the son of a small freeholder, who squandered his property -in rustic dissipation, and could scarcely afford to give him even the -rudiments of education. His boyhood, therefore, was spent in rural -labour: but at the age of seventeen he left his home, to be apprenticed -to a millwright at Macclesfield. He soon exhibited an uncommon share of -mechanical ingenuity, which enabled him to excel his master in planning -and executing orders for machinery more complicated than usual, and -caused his services to be eagerly sought and highly prized by those who -had once occasion to employ him. - -At a later period he went into business on his own account, and, by many -useful inventions and contrivances, established his reputation -throughout the neighbourhood as a skilful mechanic. He gradually -obtained a wider range for the exercise of his powers. In 1752 he -erected a remarkable engine to drain some coal mines at Clifton, in -Lancashire, of which the moving power was a wheel fixed thirty feet -below the surface of the earth, and driven by water drawn from the river -Irwell, by a tunnel cut for near 600 yards through the rock. In 1755 he -was employed to construct portions of the works for a silk mill at -Congleton, under the superintendence of an engineer, who proved -incompetent to the task which he had in hand. Brindley does not appear -ever to have executed machinery of the sort required, and he had not -even been permitted to see the general model of the mill: but on the -incompetency of his superior being discovered, he came forward and told -the proprietors, that if they would let him know what was the effect -they wished to have produced, and would permit him to perform the -business in his own way, he would finish the mill to their satisfaction. -The knowledge which they had of his ability and integrity induced them -to repose confidence in this assurance; he accomplished that very -curious and complex piece of machinery, in a manner far superior to the -expectations of his employers, and with the addition of several new and -useful contrivances. He also invented machines for making tooth and -pinion wheels, which hitherto had been cut by hand, and with great -labour. - -Many other improvements Brindley introduced into the mechanical arts. -But about this time his thoughts were drawn towards a larger sphere of -action by the resolution of Francis Duke of Bridgewater to cut a canal -from his coal mines at Worsley to the town of Manchester, distant about -seven miles. This scheme is said to have been before conceived by one of -that nobleman’s predecessors: but that circumstance does not detract -from the honour due to the great perseverance and resolution displayed -in the execution of his plan. Divesting himself of the splendour which -usually belongs to his rank, he devoted his large revenue almost -entirely to his favourite undertaking: resisting the temptation to -borrow money, lest he should involve himself and his successors in -irremediable difficulties, in case of the failure of an undertaking -which, from its novelty, no man living could assert to be certain of -success. At the same time having selected Brindley as his engineer, on -good experience of his skill and talent, he placed a noble confidence in -him; and, without fear or distrust, devoted his energy and fortune to -work out the magnificent design which the genius of his coadjutor had -planned. As the difficulties to be overcome were very great, so there -was little experience to guide the projectors. Navigable rivers indeed -had been improved, and those which were not navigable by nature had been -made so by pounding up their waters with locks and dams: but of canals, -properly so called, this was the first constructed in England. That it -might be perfect in its kind, it was resolved to preserve a level, and -avoid locks altogether: but to effect this obstacles were to be -overcome, such as never had been surmounted in England,—obstacles which -had always been considered insurmountable. Navigable tunnels were to be -cut, long and large mounds to be carried across valleys, and in the line -which finally was adopted, an aqueduct bridge of three arches, nearly -fifty feet in height, and including the embankments on each side, five -hundred yards in length, was to be carried over the river Irwell. This -part of the scheme being generally considered wild and extravagant, -Brindley, to justify himself to his employer, desired that the opinion -of another engineer might be taken. This was accordingly done: but the -second, on being conducted to the spot where it was intended that the -aqueduct should be made, exclaimed, “I have often heard of castles in -the air, but never before was shown the place where any of them were to -be erected.” But the Duke of Bridgewater’s confidence in Brindley was -not to be shaken, and the bridge was undertaken and finished within less -than a year. - -It is needless now to give the details of works which, though they -excited the wonder of contemporaries, have been far surpassed in -magnitude by more recent undertakings. One feature in the Duke of -Bridgewater’s canal, however, is too remarkable to be passed over: it is -continued on the same level more than three quarters of a mile into the -heart of the hill in which the collieries are situated, so that after a -short transit in low waggons along the galleries of the mine, the coal -is deposited at once in the barges which convey it to Manchester. For a -fuller account, we may refer to Phillips’s History of Inland Navigation. -In 1762, the Duke of Bridgewater obtained an Act of Parliament, enabling -him to continue his canal from Worsley in an opposite direction to -Runcorn, in the tideway of the Mersey, so as to establish a perfect -water-way between Liverpool and Manchester, unembarrassed by the -constant current, and inequalities of flood and drought, which impeded -the navigation of the Irwell. In this part of the line several deep -valleys, especially those of the rivers Mersey and Bollin, were to be -crossed, and this was done without the assistance of a single lock. -Brindley’s method of constructing the long embankments, which occurred -in some places, was remarkable: he built caissons along the line of its -intended course, into which boats laden with excavated soil were -conducted by the canal itself, and discharged their contents upon the -very spot where the ground was to be raised. Thus the canal, as it were, -pushed itself forward; and the labour and expense of transporting these -immense masses of earth was greatly diminished. To guard against the -total loss of water, and ruin to the surrounding country, which might -occur from a breach of these embankments, Brindley contrived stops, -which were gates so hung as to lie horizontally near the bottom when the -water was at rest, but to rise and close when any current should be -produced by the banks giving way, and thus prevent the escape of any -water, except that portion near the breach which should be comprised -between them. It is hardly necessary to add that the result of this, the -greatest undertaking perhaps ever performed by any private person out of -his own fortune, has been the realization of an enormous income to the -peer who undertook it, and to his heirs. - -This success encouraged others to proceed in the same course; and in -1765 a subscription was raised, and an Act of Parliament procured, for -uniting the rivers Mersey and Trent, and consequently the ports of -Liverpool and Hull, by what is commonly called the Grand Trunk Canal. -Brindley bestowed this name upon it, in the expectation that, traversing -a large and important portion of our manufacturing district, it would be -the main trunk, from which a number of minor branches would spring. The -scheme had been projected so early as 1755, and the ground surveyed, -which for the most part offered little difficulty. But there was one -line of high ground, called Harecastle Hill, which could neither be -turned nor surmounted by any expedient that former engineers could -devise. Brindley overcame the obstacle by driving a tunnel through it, -upwards of a mile and five furlongs in length, and in some parts seventy -yards below the surface of the ground. This canal, which is ninety-three -miles long, was begun in 1766, and finished in May, 1777, less than -eleven years after its commencement. In connexion with it, Brindley -planned and executed a branch which joined the Severn, and thus gave -Bristol an inland navigation to Hull, Liverpool, and Manchester. - -Some notion may be formed of the impulse which Brindley’s energy and -skill gave to the system of internal navigation, when it is stated that -during the few years which elapsed between the completion of the -Bridgewater Canal, and his death in 1772, he was engaged in at least -eighteen different projects for cutting canals, or for improving rivers, -without including those we have already mentioned. The mere names of -these would be matter of little interest; they may be seen in the -Biographia Britannica. Nor shall we now be expected to dwell on the -unprecedented increase of trade and manufactures during the last -century, and to point out how closely this is connected with our great -facilities of internal communication. One thing, however, is too -remarkable to be passed over: it was as nearly as possible at the same -time that Watt, Arkwright, and Brindley, were effecting, each in his own -department, those wonderful improvements in mechanical science, which -conjointly have given such vast extent and importance to all branches of -our manufactures, and which singly would have been, as it were, each of -them crippled and imperfect. Of Brindley’s private history, scarcely any -particulars are preserved. The following account of his character is -stated by Dr. Kippis to proceed from the pen of Mr. Bentley, a partner -in the celebrated house of Wedgwood, who knew him well:— - -“When any extraordinary difficulty occurred to Mr. Brindley in the -execution of his works, having little or no assistance from books, or -the labours of other men, his resources lay within himself. In order -therefore to be quiet and uninterrupted, whilst he was in search of the -necessary expedients, he generally retired to his bed; and he has been -known to lie there one, two, or three days, till he had attained the -object in view. He then would get up, and execute his design without any -drawing or model. Indeed, it never was his custom to make either, unless -he was obliged to do it to satisfy his employers. His memory was so -remarkable, that he has often declared that he could remember and -execute all the parts of the most complex machine, provided he had time, -in his survey of it, to settle in his mind the several departments, and -their relation to each other. His method of calculating the powers of -any machine invented by him was peculiar to himself. He worked the -question for some time in his head, and then put down the results in -figures; after this, taking it up again in that stage, he worked it -further in his mind for a certain time, and set down the results as -before. In the same way, he still proceeded, making use of figures only -at stated periods of the question. Yet the ultimate result was generally -true, though the road he travelled in search of it was unknown to all -but himself; and, perhaps, it would not have been in his power to have -shown it to another. - -“The attention which was paid by Mr. Brindley to objects of peculiar -magnitude did not permit him to indulge himself in the common diversions -of life. Indeed, he had not the least relish for the amusements to which -mankind in general are so much devoted. He never seemed in his element, -if he was not either planning or executing some great work, or -conversing with his friends upon subjects of importance. He was once -prevailed upon, when in London, to see a play. Having never been at an -entertainment of this kind before, it had a powerful effect upon him, -and he complained for several days afterwards, that it had disturbed his -ideas, and rendered him unfit for business. He declared, therefore, that -he would not go to another play upon any account. It might, however, -have contributed to the longer duration of Mr. Brindley’s life, and -consequently to the further benefit of the public, if he could have -occasionally relaxed the tone of his mind. His not being able to do so, -might not solely arise from the vigour of his genius, always bent upon -capital designs; but be, in part, the result of that total want of -education, which, while it might add strength to his powers in the -particular way in which they were exerted, precluded him, at the same -time, from those agreeable reliefs that are administered by -miscellaneous reading, and a taste in the polite and elegant arts. The -only fault he was observed to fall into, was his suffering himself to be -prevailed upon to engage in more concerns than could be completely -attended to by any single man, how eminent soever might be his abilities -and diligence. It is apprehended that, by this means, Mr. Brindley -shortened his days, and in a certain degree abridged his usefulness. -There is, at least, the utmost reason to believe, that his intense -application in general to the important undertakings he had in hand -brought on a hectic fever, which continued upon him, with little or no -intermission, for some years, and at length terminated his life. He died -at Turnhurst, in Staffordshire, on the 27th of September, 1772, in the -fifty-sixth year of his age, and was buried at New Chapel in the same -county. The vast works Mr. Brindley was engaged in at the time of his -death, he left to be carried on and completed by his brother-in-law Mr. -Henshall, for whom he had a peculiar regard, and of whose integrity and -abilities in conducting these works he had the highest opinion. - -“The public could only recognise the merit of this extraordinary man in -the stupendous undertakings which he carried to perfection, and -exhibited to general view. But those who had the advantage of conversing -with him familiarly, and of knowing him well in his private character, -respected him still more for the uniform and unshaken integrity of his -conduct; for his steady attachment to the interest of the community; for -the vast compass of his understanding, which seemed to have a natural -affinity with all grand objects; and likewise for many noble and -beneficent designs, constantly generating in his mind, and which the -multiplicity of his engagements, and the shortness of his life, -prevented him from bringing to maturity.” - -[Illustration: [Aqueduct over the Irwell.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - SCHILLER. - - _From a Print by Faustin Anderloni, after a Picture by G. von - Kügelgen._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - SCHILLER. - - -Schiller is as universally acknowledged to be the second of German, as -Milton is of English poets: and these great names, after those of Goethe -and Shakspeare, denote the chiefs of the national literature of their -respective countries. But the German poets were not merely -contemporaries, but associated in friendship and congenial pursuits; and -so much light is thrown upon the character of each by its being -contemplated in connexion with that of the other, that in our endeavour -to compress within very narrow limits the pregnant matter which this -great man’s name suggests, we shall take leave to call in aid our -attempted characteristics of his greater friend, and request that this -article may be considered as a sequel to the former. - -Frederick Christopher von Schiller was born at Marbach, in the duchy of -Wurtemburg, November 10, 1759. His father held the rank of captain in -the service of the duke, and was in fortune so low, that he was glad to -place his son, in 1773, after an ordinary school-education, in the ducal -academy of Stuttgard, which, partaking of an eleemosynary character, -subjected the pupils to military discipline, though training for arts -and professions called liberal. Schiller had early in life manifested -the sensibilities common to the religious and poetic temperament, but -was compelled to forego the study of theology, because this institution -made no provision for it. He began with law, but finally went through a -course of medical study, so as to obtain the post of regimental surgeon -in 1780. These pursuits were against his inclination. During eight -years, as he said, his genius was in conflict with military subjection. -He ought rather to have said, that thereby his genius received the -direction which determined the course of his life. For it was while -under the sad impressions produced by a life of restraint within the -walls of the academy, that he composed his tragedy of The Robbers, which -he found means to print in 1781. Germany was at that period without a -national theatre; scarcely half-a-dozen original stock-plays could be -now produced which were then popular. Hence this juvenile work, with all -its faults and extravagances (perhaps on account of these), was received -with a tumult of applause in many parts of Germany. He was invited to -adapt it to the stage, and it was performed the following year at -Manheim. Of this most faulty and most famous maiden-play, it will be -sufficient to remark that it exhibits, in over-charged colours, -relations of life and character most likely to strike a youthful -imagination. It represents in contrast two brothers. One, originally -noble and heroic, becomes the perpetrator of those crimes against -society, which law punishes with its severest penalties. The other -betrays a character far more odious and revolting to the moral sense of -mankind. The result is a catastrophe of appalling horror. The young poet -solicited for leave of absence to witness the representation of his -first play, which was refused him. He therefore, in defiance, made a -journey to Manheim, and was punished by a fortnight’s arrest in his own -house. He was also found guilty of having in his play uttered a national -reflection on the people of the Grisons. For this he was reprimanded, -ordered by his sovereign not to write on any subject but medicine, or at -least to submit any literary work to the inspection and correction of -his Serenity, and threatened with imprisonment in a fortress. While he -was compelled to submit to a tyranny so humiliating, he learned that -beyond the limits of the petty state to which he belonged, his work was -the subject of loud and even extravagant applause. After a severe -conflict, he abandoned his parents and the friends of his youth, and in -October of the same year made his escape from an intolerable servitude. -It has been gravely stated, to the credit of the duke, that he suffered -his disobedient subject, some ten years afterwards, when he had acquired -celebrity, to visit his family unmolested. That is, he was not seized -and shot as a deserter. - -When Schiller thus threw himself on the world, he had no other friends -than those whom these early fruits of his talents had raised, no other -support than the consciousness of those talents, nor other immediate -resource than the unwrought materials of two other tragedies in prose, -which he produced almost immediately, and which established his -character as a dramatic poet. These were the Conspiracy of Fiesco, a -political play taken from the romantic tale of St. Real, in which the -intrigues of republican faction were picturesquely exhibited, and Cabal -and Love, in which the tragic distress arises from the conflict between -the natural passion of love, and the conventional social duties which -originate in the relations of birth and station. During the completion -of these juvenile works, which appeared in 1783 and 1784, his first -asylum was Manheim, where he even deliberated about becoming an actor; -and his first patron was the munificent ecclesiastic Baron von Dalberg, -who became at a future period, under the French government, -Prince-primate of Catholic Germany. Schiller also became the editor of -the Rhenish Mercury, a monthly miscellany devoted to literature and the -arts, and engaged in manifold literary labours, for which he had to -qualify himself by supplying the defects of a very imperfect education. -He early felt the necessity of studying history as indispensable to the -cultivation of the serious drama, and so he became an historian by -profession. At that time, it was a fashionable opinion that all sciences -and arts were to be founded on metaphysics, and he became also a -metaphysician. But in order to pursue these studies, it was not on the -north-western frontier of Germany that he could profitably remain. - -Saxony was already become the seat of literature as well as philosophy. -He removed thither, and during the years 1785–1789, he resided at -Leipzic, Dresden, Rudolstadt, and Weimar. At the latter place he gained -the favour of Wieland and Herder, during the absence of Goethe in Italy. -It was in 1787 that these great poets met. Though mutually repelled at -first by obvious dissimilarities of character and genius, they were soon -attracted and united by their common love of art and poetry. Under the -auspices of his new friend, Schiller obtained, in 1789, the -professorship of history at the neighbouring University of Jena, where -he cultivated, as a teacher and as a writer, both history and -philosophy, which in that university were followed with great celebrity: -he himself lectured on history and æsthetics (the science of taste). In -the year 1790 he united himself in a happy marriage with a lady of good -family but small fortune, Fraûlein Lengenfeld. But at this early period -he was attacked by disease; and the state of his health compelled his -removal to Weimar, whence he never departed. Here he lived in the -closest intimacy with Goethe. Their union was a memorable incident, even -in the life of Goethe. But it was the one great event in the life of -Schiller, by which his education was consummated, and he was enabled to -execute nearly all the great works on which his reputation rests. A few -years were now spent in intense intellectual labour, rendered painful by -the attacks of disease. He edited first the Thalia, and then a monthly -work of higher pretensions, ‘Die Horen’ [the Hours]. He published for -several years an Almanac of the Muses, and with unwearied assiduity -devoted himself to the drama as literary manager, translator, editor, -and author. The eagerness with which he pursued these various -avocations, it has been generally thought, undermined his constitution. -For several years before his death he devoted his nights, not days, to -poetic composition; and his pale and emaciated countenance, and the -lassitude and debility of his frame, announced the ravages of disease -which carried him off, May 9, 1805, in the forty-sixth year of his age. -He left a widow and several children, who were enabled to occupy an -honourable station in society. During his latter years, Schiller enjoyed -a pension from the Duke of Weimar, sufficient, in addition to the -profits of his works, to enable him to live in comfort; and a patent of -nobility was procured for him by the Duke, to replace his lady in her -station at the court of Weimar, from which her marriage with a commoner -had excluded her. Schiller was in figure tall and thin. The -characteristic features of his feeling and melancholy countenance are -admirably represented on the colossal bust executed in marble, by -Dannecker, which is preserved at Stuttgard. - -Schiller’s numerous works may be classed under the heads of criticism, -history, lyrical poetry, and the drama. We shall endeavour to -characterise them, in the inverse order of their importance. In all of -these departments his writings acquired immediate popularity. And in the -latter they will enjoy permanent distinction, more from the vigorous -style, warm sensibility, and fine moral feeling which are diffused over -all his compositions, than from the development of the peculiar genius -which any one class especially requires. When Schiller emancipated -himself from the thraldom of his youth, the Kantian metaphysics were -become popular among students. With characteristic ardour he became a -disciple of the new school, and laboured to apply the critical -philosophy to poetry and the arts. His first writings were scholastic -exercises performed in public. But as the philosophy of his country, -like his own mind, was in a state of transition, his metaphysical -dissertations on æsthetical education, on naive and sentimental poetry, -&c., deserve notice chiefly as appertaining to the literary history of a -memorable philosophical crisis. They did not serve even to lay the -foundation of a system of poetics, which was reserved for the Schlegels. -These constitute three volumes. - -The historical works of Schiller originated in his dramatic studies. -These led him to the subjects of his histories; and his mode of treating -these subjects as a dramatist, and an historian, is such that we must -blend the consideration of his two historical works with two of his most -famous tragedies. The first of his elaborate dramas in blank verse was -Don Carlos, in connexion with which was written the commencement of a -history of the successful insurrection of the Dutch against the Spanish -despotism. In his play he has not, like Otway in his forgotten tragedy, -and Alfieri in his Filippo, rendered the real or supposed love of the -young prince to his step-mother the most important incident. The heroic -reformer, Marquis Posa, is the character that most excites the sympathy -of the reader. And it is the sort of prophetic prelude to the -reformation that engrosses his attention. So in the history, the author -addresses himself rhetorically to the patriotism, the love of religious -and civil liberty, and other virtuous feelings of his reader. Schiller -is no where the critical investigator of doubtful facts, nor is he an -authority to decide the merits of a doubtful character. His other great -subject was the Thirty Years’ War. This narrative also is a series of -eloquent dissertations, splendid descriptions, and pregnant moral -reflections, rather than a philosophic development of the chain of -events. His Wallenstein, which dramatises a chapter of that history, is -the most laboured of his dramas; and it obtained for him the honour of a -translation from a man of kindred genius, Coleridge. In the half comic -prelude, called The Camp, and the two parts of the tragedy, all the -varieties of the military character and of military cabal are unfolded. -Besides the hero himself, the subtle intriguer the elder Piccolomini, is -finely contrasted with his high-minded, enthusiastic son, the lover of -Thekla, the exquisite daughter of the heroic victim. - -Besides the four volumes of these histories, there are two others of -minor historical treatises. And it may be noticed here, in connexion -with this class of his writings, that he began a romance called the -Ghost-Seer, the historical foundation of which lay in the tragi-comic -absurdities, and mischievous vagaries of the German illuminati and -freemasons, a strange compound of superstition and infidelity, with -which were blended political fanaticism, fraud, and sentimental -philanthropy. This disease was partly cured by, and partly absorbed in -the events of the French Revolution. - -But it was as a philosophic and lyric poet that Schiller’s peculiar -genius developed itself, and in this class of his works chiefly do we -find those qualities which characterise him morally and intellectually, -and exhibit him in striking contrast to his friend Goethe. As in his -philosophical and historical writings, Schiller never wrote under the -influence of the mere love of truth, but was impelled by moral feelings, -always generous and noble; so it was in his poems. They neither mainly -originated in, nor were addressed especially to the imagination. A large -portion of them were metaphysical exercises in verse. There were -scattered, even among these, the “thoughts that breathe and words that -burn,” but they were not poetical, because they were addressed either to -the mere intellect, the faculty of solving philosophical problems, or to -the will, under the excitement of passions, which, however exalted in -their character, are far remote from the exercise of imagination, and do -not originate in the sense of beauty. Even the ballads of Schiller are -didactic and moral, and therein strikingly contrasted with those of -Goethe. Each poet idealised in his own way; but the ideal of the one was -framed according to a law of natural, that of the other, according to a -law of moral beauty. Goethe avowed his creed, “faults as well as virtue -look well in song.” He therefore, availing himself of a style -incomparably graceful, exhibits the passions of humanity in all their -natural charm, and so fascinates the sense of natural beauty in the -reader, that he is content to disregard what a severe moral sense might -require. Schiller’s ballads, on the contrary, originate in, and have no -other object than to excite, a passionate sympathy with virtuous and -heroic affections and actions. But though there is “a pomp and -prodigality of phrase,” there is seldom that magic of style that leaves -the most fastidious taste gratified. Among these lyric poems, a -considerable portion originated in his political and patriotic, or -rather philanthropic feelings. To appreciate these, we must bear in mind -that Schiller was brought up in a country, the people of which possessed -no political power, nor any civil liberty but under sufferance; and that -during the more important period of his life, his country suffered under -the aggravated oppression of a foreign yoke. No English reader can form -a correct judgment of any German political work of the last age, be it -of thought or imagination, who for an instant forgets either of these -two facts; and in the study of the works of Goethe and Schiller, it is -especially necessary to keep them always before us. It must otherwise -appear unaccountable, that since the youth of Schiller had been passed -in the suffering incident to oppressed poverty; since he had the -consciousness of not occupying that station in society to which his -natural superiority over others entitled him; since he had the -constitutional ardour of a man of genius, and was, by his position in -society, led to feel, as a reformer, not to say agitator, on every -polemical question that could arise between the people and the -privileged orders; there should, notwithstanding all this, be so little -that is stimulating and practical in his writings. But the wonder -ceases, when it is borne in mind, that while in Britain the French -Revolution was an object of hope or fear, and was held up as party -feelings prompted, either as a warning or an example, in Germany it was -seldom more than a problem for the exercise of the talents of -speculative men: and whatever susceptibility to insurrectional -excitements there might be among any class of the people, was repressed, -not merely by the utter extinction of all liberty in France, but by all -the humiliations and oppressions endured in every part of Germany from -an imperious conquering enemy. Hence, while the German people went far -beyond the British in the intensity of their hatred towards France, the -privileged order of thinkers among them, from their habits of abstract -speculation, were able to contemplate the events of the day, as well as -the principles set afloat, with an unsympathising coolness unknown -either in England or France. Hence, even in Schiller, whose earliest -writings betrayed tendencies from which it might be feared that a German -Jacobin would be formed, the love of liberty soon subsided from a -passion into a taste. It became a quiet, moral sentiment, like the love -of religion, of virtue, of country: he never could indeed lay aside his -essentially moral and sentimental nature; nor during the period of his -country’s abasement, which to the irretrievable loss of the nation he -did not survive, could he, like Goethe, devoting himself to the studies -of pure art and science, dismiss by an effort from his mind the -consideration of the painful incidents of the day. On the contrary, they -entirely filled his soul; they formed the background of all his -speculations and feelings, in his dramas, histories, disquisitions, and -poems. A sentiment which for years pressed on him, and which -appropriately terminates the collection of his poems in two volumes, we -will venture to render in prose, as most expressive of the sort of -philosophic resignation to which he at length brought himself at the -close of the century. “Two mighty nations are wrestling for the sole -possession of the world. To annihilate freedom in every country, they -wield the trident and the thunderbolt. To them every land must pay -tribute. The Gaul, like Brennus, throws his iron sword into the scale of -justice, and the Briton greedily stretches out his polypus arms on every -side, and will shut up the free realm of Amphitrite, as if it were his -own mansion.... Into the still and sacred recesses of the heart you must -fly from the pressure of life. Freedom is only in the realm of dreams, -and the beautiful blooms only in song.” - -But it was not as a lyric poet that Schiller exercised the widest -influence over his countrymen. It was in the more popular form of the -drama, to which perhaps his genius was less adapted, that he sought and -acquired a fame that has already reached the utmost limits of European -civilization. - -His dramatic works fill seven volumes. Not to repeat our remarks on the -three juvenile prose tragedies, and on Don Carlos and Wallenstein, we -proceed to enumerate the master-pieces which he produced during the last -years of his life; but we must, for want of space, pass over unnoticed -his less successful attempts at comedy, his translations of Shakspeare’s -Macbeth, Racine’s Phaedra, and Gozzi’s Turandot; and his labours on the -works of other authors. The result of these, his various studies, was -the production of a form of tragedy, which, to be fairly appreciated, -must be compared with the French, not the English, drama: for Schiller -stands at an immeasurable distance, not merely from Shakspeare, but from -the great body of the romantic dramatists of the English and Spanish -schools, in whom are to be found either profound development of -character, or elaborate skill in the entanglement and management of -incident. Schiller has however, on the other hand, enhanced the dignity, -and poetically enriched that form of tragedy which the French gratify -their vanity by claiming as peculiarly their own, and which they do not -hesitate to proclaim an improvement on the Greek! This class is -essentially rhetorical. The French public seem to estimate the -master-pieces of their favourite tragic poets, chiefly by the number of -fine quotable passages they supply; while their critics estimate their -worth by their conformity with certain purely artificial rules. One of -them says, “Though the English stage has not one perfect tragedy [we had -thought Cato to be perfect in their eyes], yet it has many fine scenes: -we cannot say so much for the German.” In this the critic is wrong on -his own principle. The great works of Schiller contain, relatively, as -many splendid declamatory passages as are to be met with in the -tragedies of Corneille, Racine, or Voltaire: and he has in the structure -of his pieces amply made up for his disregard of the dramatic unities, -by the infusion of higher beauties, both of sentiment and character, -than the French school can boast of. In the enumeration of his later -tragedies, we can merely point out the subjects to which his taste and -opinions naturally led him. - -In 1800 he attained the summit of his dramatic reputation by Maria -Stuart. This tragedy exhibits, not the early and guilty love, but the -late sufferings and death of the Queen of Scots. The author, as becomes -the poet, takes no part in the controversies which her ambiguous -character has produced. With an allowable departure from historic truth, -he brings together the rival queens, and succeeds in rendering Mary an -object of admiration and pity, and Elizabeth, not of disgust. He finely -opposes the heroic enthusiasm of the youthful Mortimer to the flagitious -wiles of the practised courtier Leicester, and avails himself of the -most solemn rite of the Roman Catholic church to enhance the picturesque -effect, and clothe poetically the religious feeling that adorns and -sanctifies the character of the heroine. - -In 1801 he produced the most poetical of his historic dramas, the -Jungfrau von Orleans. It was reserved for a German to render due honour -to the most romantic of French heroines, who was degraded, perhaps, by -Shakspeare. The unworthy caricature which passes under his name at -least, only shows the virulence of national prejudices. Joan of Arc has -been not only shut out from the temple of Fame erected in her own -country, but her name has been polluted by the impurities so vilely cast -on it by Voltaire: while French literature has only its infamous -_Pucelle_, the German stage has its _Virgin_ of Orleans. In this -romantic play, Schiller has poured a richer stream of poetry over the -camp and military glory than in his Wallenstein; and has exquisitely -contrasted with the sacred virago, the frail, tender, most lovely, and -admirable Agnes Sorel. - -In 1803 appeared the Braut von Messina, a lyrical play, in which the -author has introduced not only a chorus, but other prominent ingredients -of the Grecian tragedy, oracles, dreams, an overwhelming fate, and a -Nemesis, whose vengeance falls alike on the evil and good; by means of -which pity and terror are excited. The odes are splendid, but the -dramatic effect on the stage is weak. - -In 1804, in the year preceding his death, Schiller produced the most -picturesque of his dramas, Wilhelm Tell. The name sufficiently announces -the plot, in which well-known incidents are inartificially exhibited. -The characters display all the varieties of moral beauty which harmonize -with the scene, and those virtues which the incidents are likely to call -forth. Throughout there is an exhilarating predominance of good over -evil, which forms a pleasing contrast to the fierce passions and -barbarous themes which attracted the author in his youth. It was the fit -termination of his short career, for it impresses the spectator and -reader with the feeling that the poet ended his labours a happier and -better man than he began. His untimely death while his last work was in -the enjoyment of its fresh popularity, spread a universal sorrow over -Germany, which had never yet beheld so powerful an intellect devoted to -interests of such high morality, and in such perfect harmony, with the -wants and wishes of his age and country. - -For a further account, we refer to the life by Thomas Carlyle—Leben von -Döring; and the brief memoir by Körner, prefixed to the edition in -eighteen volumes, Vienna and Stuttgard 1819. Of English translations we -may enumerate, besides two of Wallenstein, The Maid of Orleans, printed, -but not yet published, by Mr. Drinkwater; Maria Stuart, by Mr. Mellish; -and also Don Carlos, and the three prose tragedies by we know not whom. -Translations have also been published of the Ghost Seer, and the two -historical works; and also of a number of the poems in periodical works, -besides several of the ballads, and the Song of the Bell, with -illustrations by Retsch. - -[Illustration: [From a bust of Schiller by Dannecker.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - BENTHAM. - - _From an Original Picture by J. Watts, in the possession of J.A. - Roebuck. Esq._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - BENTHAM - - -The life of Jeremy Bentham was peculiarly that of a student, and, -consequently, in common with the lives of many others who have acquired -extensive celebrity, it presents few passages of a personal kind that -can be separated from the account of his studies and his publications. -Bentham was the son of an eminent solicitor, resident in the city of -London, and was born February 15, 1748. At an early age he was sent to -Westminster School, from which he removed to Queen’s College, Oxford. -Both at school and at the university he is said to have distinguished -himself. At sixteen years of age he took the degree of B.A., and before -he was twenty he took that of M.A. No inference, however, as to the -development of his talents, or the extent of his acquirements, is to be -drawn from the early age at which these degrees were obtained: for it -was the common practice, until towards the end of the last century, for -students to commence and terminate their studies at the universities, at -a very early period of life. While at Oxford, Mr. Bentham subscribed the -Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, under exceedingly painful -feelings of doubt respecting their interpretation. He yielded to the -authority of the university, which requires that subscription from its -graduates; but this compliance in opposition to his judgment was -followed by a sense of bitter regret, which the lapse of time never -removed. During his residence at Oxford he attended the celebrated -lectures delivered by Blackstone upon the English law, and his dissent -to the almost universal panegyric of the lecturer upon every part of the -system of which he treated, was expressed in a work published by him -soon after he left the university, entitled A Fragment upon Government. -In this treatise he exposes, with great force, many of the errors that -are chargeable upon the Commentaries. The style in which it is written -is exceedingly correct, and, like all his earlier works, it is entirely -free from those peculiar expressions which abound in the later writings -of the author,—expressions which, though they have been the subject of -much mirth and ridicule, favoured a precision and accuracy of thought -that excuses their use. This Fragment contains the germ of his later -works, and is remarkable for the mode it introduced of dealing with the -science of government. It was the first philosophic attack upon many of -the distinguishing characteristics of the English constitution. - -After leaving Oxford, Mr. Bentham became a member of Lincoln’s Inn, and -in 1772 was called to the bar. The connexions of his father afforded to -him a very favourable prospect of professional advancement, which was -greatly extended by his own extraordinary habits of industry. But he was -repelled from the practice of the law by the moral sacrifices which he -conceived it to require, and by the impossibility of combining it with -speculative pursuits. He continued, however, a member of Lincoln’s Inn, -of which society he became a bencher in 1817. In the year 1785 he left -England for nearly three years, and, after proceeding through France and -part of Italy, went on to Smyrna and Constantinople, through Bulgaria, -Wallachia, and Moldavia, and joined his brother, afterwards Sir Samuel -Bentham, then a lieutenant-colonel in the service of the Emperor of -Russia, at Crichoff, in White Russia. At Crichoff he wrote his -celebrated letters in defence of usury, which very shortly and -accurately expound the principles upon which loans of money are -effected, and the impolicy of laws regulating the amount of interest at -which loans may be made. When these letters were published, the subject -was surrounded with every kind of prejudice, and both judges of our -courts of law and moral writers had treated excessive rates of interest -as highly censurable and immoral. On this question however, as upon -several others, Mr. Bentham preceded his age. Long before he died, his -opinions upon usury were supported by the great body of mercantile men, -the nature of whose business was once considered hostile to any -alteration in the laws regulating rate of interest. His principles have -not as yet been fully adopted by the legislature, but he lived to see -several acts of parliament passed, in which they were very extensively -acted upon. It was also at Crichoff that the letters which subsequently -formed the greater portion of his work entitled Panopticon, proposing a -systematic plan for the construction and general administration of -prisons, were written. The suggestions it contained were afterwards -formally submitted by him to Mr. Pitt, who readily acknowledged their -importance and his willingness to carry them into effect. Difficulties, -however, occurred; and though the Milbank Penitentiary was the result of -Mr. Pitt’s intercourse with Mr. Bentham, its plan is very different from -that which Mr. Bentham proposed; its arrangements are imperfect and have -been found, as was foreseen, very inadequate for its purposes, and it -was erected at a cost enormously exceeding that which would have -accompanied the execution of the original design. - -Mr. Bentham died at his residence in Queen Square, Westminster, June 6, -1832, at the advanced age of eighty-five. He had long been possessed of -a handsome patrimony, which afforded him an income considerably -exceeding his own necessities. His studies were pursued without being -affected by any of the interruptions which arise, either from an -insufficient income, or from the occupations or distractions which a -large one invites. His habits were retiring, and the number of his -intimate friends were few, but this arose from no moroseness or -unkindness of disposition. “Had he engaged,” says his friend Dr. -Southwood Smith, “in the active pursuits of life,—money-getting, -power-acquiring pursuits,—he, like other men so engaged, must have had -prejudices to humour, interests to conciliate, friends to serve, and -enemies to subdue; and, therefore, like other men under the influence of -such motives, must sometimes have missed the truth, and sometimes have -concealed or modified it. But he placed himself above all danger of the -kind, by retiring from the practice of the profession for which he had -been educated, and by living in a simple manner on a small income -allowed him by his father: and when, by the death of his father, he at -length came to the possession of a patrimony which secured to him a -moderate competence, from that moment he dismissed from his mind all -further thoughts about his private fortune, and lent the whole power of -his mind, without distraction, to his legislative and moral labours. Nor -was he less careful to keep his benevolent affections fervent, than his -understanding free from a wrong bias. He surrounded himself only with -persons whose sympathies were like his own, and whose sympathies he -might direct to their appropriate objects in the active pursuits of -life.” - -Though his frame of body was weak, he enjoyed remarkable health. For -upwards of sixty years he never suffered from any serious indisposition; -and at eighty, his appearance by no means indicated his advanced age. -For upwards of fifty years, he devoted eight, and often ten hours, -daily, to study, and he adhered with punctilious regularity, to a -certain fixed distribution of his time and employments. - -The works published during his life, though very numerous, formed but a -small part of his manuscripts. Those that were published were chiefly -edited by friends, who, in most instances, performed the task with great -ability and fidelity. Some of his best treatises were published first in -France, and in the French language, by his friend M. Dumont, who was -also the well-known friend of Romilly and Mirabeau. Through them Mr. -Bentham obtained a very extensive reputation in foreign countries, -before his name was generally known in England. His admirable book upon -Fallacies was also edited in a similar manner; and his masterly treatise -upon the Rationale of Evidence was prepared for the press by Mr. John -Mill, with more correctness, and a more careful regard for the -expressions of Mr. Bentham, than most of his other works. It exhausts -its subject, and most thoroughly investigates the doctrines of the -English law of evidence. The leading principle which it establishes is, -that objections may be made to the _credibility_ of witnesses, but that -none should be admitted to their _competence_. The manuscripts of Mr. -Bentham were generally in a state requiring great trouble and labour to -render them fit for the press. He often wrote upon the same branch of a -subject at different times, adding to and repeating what he had before -written. In order, therefore, to bring together all his remarks upon the -same subject, much discrimination was required. The temptation to -neglect the words of the author, under such circumstances, is -necessarily great, and that some of his writings should be published -with less attention to them than those above-mentioned, can excite no -surprise. He ordered by his will, that his manuscripts should be -published by his executors, and left a considerable sum of money for the -purpose. One posthumous publication has already shown the difficulty -that attends the fulfilment of his directions. - -The chief merits of Bentham have been thus stated by Mr. Mill in the -Appendix to Mr. E. L. Bulwer’s work, entitled England and the English, -in the following words:—“Mr. Bentham, unlike Bacon, did not merely -prophesy a science; he made large strides towards the creation of one. -He was the first who conceived, with anything approaching to precision, -the idea of a Code, or complete body of law; and the distinctive -characters of its essential parts,—the Civil Law, the Penal Law, and the -Law of Procedure. On the first of these three departments, he rendered -valuable service; the third, he actually created. Conformably to the -habits of his mind, he set about investigating, _ab initio_, a -philosophy, or science, for each of the three branches. He did, with the -received principles of each, what a good code would do with the laws -themselves;—extirpating the bad; substituting others; re-enacting the -good, but in so much clearer and more methodical a form, that those who -were most familiar with them before, scarcely recognised them as the -same. Even upon old truths, when they pass through his hands, he leaves -so many of his marks, that often he almost seems to claim the discovery -of what he only systematized. - -“In erecting the philosophy of the civil law, he proceeded not much -beyond establishing upon its proper basis some of its most general -principles, and cursorily discussing some of the most interesting of its -details. Nearly the whole of what he has published upon this branch of -the law is contained in the _Traités de Législation_, edited by M. -Dumont. To the most difficult part, and that which needed a master-hand -to clear away its difficulties, the nomenclature and arrangement of the -civil code, he contributed little, except detailed observations and -criticisms upon the errors of his predecessors. The “Vue Générale d’un -corps complet de Législation,” included in the work just cited, contains -almost all that he has given to us upon this subject. In the department -of the penal law, he is the author of the best attempt yet made towards -a philosophical classification of offences. The theory of punishments -(for which, however, more had been done by his predecessors than for any -other part of the science of law), he left nearly complete. The theory -of procedure (including that of the constitution of the courts of -justice), he found in a more utterly barbarous state than even either of -the other branches; and he left it incomparably the most perfect. There -is scarcely a question of practical importance in the most important -department which he has not settled. He has left next to nothing for his -successors.” - -His work on Judicial Establishments, is one of the best and the most -important of those he published; and it will afford the great tests that -must hereafter be applied to ascertain the progress of principles which -he first expounded. His labours were so much a series of attacks upon -the faults of existing institutions, accompanied at the same time with -the specific reforms that should follow their correction, and related to -matters generally so far removed from the studies of the great body of -readers, that they could not be expected to obtain, for many years, that -popularity for their writer which he deserved. It is, however, not -difficult already to trace the progress of opinions which he was the -first to advance, and we may already observe changes suggested and -adopted by the legislature, which he many years since proposed. The same -reasons which have secured to Bacon a reputation upon questions of -physical science, which his contemporaries refused to award to him, -will, in legislative science, secure a similar reputation to Bentham. -The talents of the latter will appear not less important than those of -the former, when their effects shall, in the progress of time, be traced -upon the opinions and the institutions of the people of this and of -other countries. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by R. Woodman._ - - CATHERINE. - - _From a Print by Caroline Watson, after a Picture by Rosselin._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - CATHERINE II. - - -After the death of Peter I., the sceptre of Russia passed into hands -incompetent to carry on the great scheme of national aggrandizement and -civilization which he had originated. Nearly forty years elapsed before -there appeared a worthy successor to that remarkable prince: and at last -it was a German woman, who, under the title of CATHERINE II., -established Russia in that lofty position which she now occupies among -the powers of Europe. - -This masculine-minded woman was the daughter of Christian Frederic, -prince of Anhalt Zerbst Dornberg, and major-general in the Prussian -service. She was born at Stettin, May 2, 1729, and was named at her -baptism Sophia Augusta Frederica. In her sixteenth year she was selected -by the Empress Elizabeth to become the wife of the Grand-Duke, -afterwards Peter III.; and their marriage was solemnized, September 1, -1745, after the bride had made public profession of the faith of the -Greek church, and received the name of Catherina Alexiewna. On the -events of her life during the next sixteen years, until the death of -Elizabeth, it is not necessary to dwell: she then exercised no influence -in affairs of state. The example of a most corrupt court, and a -sovereign sunk in the grossest sensuality, exerted their natural effect -upon her youthful mind: and if she brought principles of morality and -chastity from Germany, they were soon extinguished by the evil influence -of all around her, and the disgust inspired by an ignorant and besotted -husband; during whose life, as well as after her own accession to the -throne, she bestowed her favour on a succession of paramours. Her -behaviour was less revolting, but her rule of life was hardly more -strict than that of the Empress Elizabeth. - -The history of Russia gave encouragement to an able, ambitious spirit, -like that of Catherine, to shape for itself a more brilliant prospect -than that which lay before her as the wife of a despotic prince, whom -she hated, and had reason to fear. Even before the death of Elizabeth, -which took place January 2, 1762, N. S., she had intrigued to supplant -her husband on the throne; and he had hardly occupied it six months, -before she organized the revolution which conducted him to a prison and -a grave. The only extenuation of her conduct in this crisis, is the -probability, we might almost say certainty, that a similar fate would -otherwise have befallen herself. Early on the morning of the 9th of -July, Catherine quitted the palace of Peterhoff, on the Neva, to invoke -the affection of the regiments of guards at St. Petersburg, who, like -the Prætorian troops of Rome, had often bestowed the crown at their free -pleasure. Her ready attention to Russian habits and prejudices, her -assumed devotion to the Greek church, and the arts of her accomplices, -had disposed, not only the soldiers, but a large portion of the -citizens, to declare in her favour: and when she applied for protection, -and told them “that her danger had driven her to the necessity of coming -to ask their assistance, that the Czar had intended to put her to death -that very night, together with her son; that she had no other means than -by flight of escaping death, and that she had so much confidence in -their dispositions as to put herself entirely in their hands,” the -assembled crowd was not slow to hail her as their prince, and before the -end of the day she had been crowned and proclaimed sovereign of all the -Russias, by the title of Catherine II., had been acknowledged by crowds -of citizens, and saw herself at the head of 15,000 picked soldiers. The -Czar, confused and affrighted, consulted neither his safety nor his -honour. On the following day, after some futile demonstrations of -resistance, he surrendered his person unconditionally; and on the 17th -he perished by a violent death, with the concurrence, no doubt, if not -by the command of Catherine. - -Nevertheless her situation for some time was critical. The common people -reverenced the blood of Peter the Great, and lamented, with anger, the -cruel fate which had befallen his grandson. The priests, whose favour -Catherine had courted while Grand-Duchess, were disappointed and -indignant to find her resolved to cast them off, when they had served -her turn, and to limit as much as possible their influence, which had -often been troublesome to her predecessors. The courtiers, many of them, -were indignant at the sudden elevation of the daring adventurers who had -won Catherine her throne. But her promptitude and sagacity overcame -these troubles and difficulties; and without any very alarming -commotions, she gradually acquired that prescriptive right to the -throne, which does so much for princes of doubtful title. - -The power thus acquired by fraud and murder, Catherine used, on the -whole, to the benefit of her subjects, with liberal intentions and with -a judicious and enlightened policy. Abroad her views were directed to -conquest, with the usual disregard of the common rules of honour and -justice, as they are recognised between man and man. This fault she -shares with the majority of princes: but the dismemberment of Poland -pollutes her memory with one of the foulest stains recorded in history. -Without proceeding seriatim through the multifarious events of her long -reign, we shall attempt a short sketch of the leading features of her -domestic policy and meditated improvements; and conclude with an equally -concise outline of its foreign relations. - -Her earliest cares and her zealous attention were directed to the -fostering of commerce, and the encouragement of national industry in all -its important branches: and it ought not to detract from her credit, -that some of her measures, in accordance with the system of the age, -were not such as modern economical science approves. But we may mention -with unmixed praise, as indicative of a far-sighted and disinterested -policy, the abolition of numerous monopolies, as well belonging to the -crown, as granted to trading companies and private persons. Among these -were the caravan-trade between Russia and China, several branches of -fisheries, the manufacture of chintzes, the preparation of sugar, the -tobacco-trade, and other things which were freely thrown open to -individual competition. In promoting agriculture she was no less -zealous. She established an experimental school of farming at her -country-palace of Tzarsko-Tzelo, at which the most improved system of -English agriculture was introduced, and gratuitous instruction was given -to persons from all parts of the empire. One of her schemes was the -establishment of numerous colonies over the uncultivated steppes of her -vast empire: and thousands of families were allured from Poland, -Germany, and even France, by the advantages which she held out, not -merely to agricultural settlers, but to artificers, merchants, and all -who were willing to aid in developing by their industry the unknown -resources of the Russian empire. She sought to amend the administration -of justice, and, to her high honour, put an end to the use of torture -for extracting the truth in criminal proceedings. She abolished an -odious tribunal, established by Peter I., called the Secret Inquisition -Chancery, a kind of Star-Chamber, which gave facility to the most -frivolous and malicious investigations, and had recourse to the most -intolerable severities in conducting its inquiries. Aspiring to the -glory of reforming the government, and giving a new code of laws to the -empire, she summoned, in 1767, deputies to Moscow from every part and -nation of her dominions, for whose consideration she had previously -drawn up a body of instructions, of which the original manuscript, -written in her own hand, is preserved in the library of the Academy of -Petersburg. The work was greatly needed; for not merely were the general -laws of the empire voluminous, insufficient, perplexed, and -contradictory, but the particular laws of different provinces were -confused and conflicting, and the difficulties arising out of this state -of things were increased in a tenfold degree by the venality of the -judges. But Catherine wanted perseverance and vigour to work out her -scheme through the vexations of conflicting interests and tedious -details. The history of this meeting of legislators illustrates the fate -of most of her mighty undertakings. In their early sittings anger rose -so high on the question of emancipating the serfs, that Catherine -dismissed them, never to be recalled. She had acquired the glory of -propounding a new code, not of laws, but of instructions for -legislators; and the restless activity of her mind was satisfied, and -passed to spend itself in some other channel. The instructions abound in -philanthropic and wise suggestions; and satisfactorily show that it is -much easier to talk than to perform. They are printed under the title -“Instructions de Catherine II., pour la Commission chargée de dresser le -projet d’un nouveau code des Loix.” - -Of learning and of learned men Catherine was a liberal patroness. The -love of glory was her ruling passion, and those whose praise was fame -were sure of her favourable regard. The French writers were the chief -objects of her attention and bounty. She corresponded with Voltaire, -whom she earnestly invited to Petersburg: but, as we learn from his -correspondence with the Empress, he feared in old age the rigour of a -northern climate; perhaps too he recollected how Frederic of Prussia had -sunk the philosopher in the king, and felt reluctant to trust himself -again within the reach of despotic power: at all events he declined the -intended honour. Diderot, at her request, visited Petersburg, and spent -several months there; contriving, if Frederic’s account be true, to -weary the imperial patience by his turn for argument and repetition. Her -benefactions to him had been delicate and splendid. Being informed that -poverty compelled him to dispose of his library, she purchased it for -15,000 livres, and at the same time left it in his care, and for his use -and enjoyment, granting to him an annual salary, under the title of her -librarian. With similar liberality she purchased and entrusted to the -care of Professor Pallas his own valuable collections of natural -history. She sought to attract D’Alembert to Petersburg, and invited him -to superintend the education of her son, the Grand-Duke Paul: but he -declined her offers. She patronized all institutions for the promotion -of science and literature; and the Academy of Sciences at Petersburg -owes to her generous support the greater part of its foreign associates, -and its high reputation. The discoveries of Billings and others in the -Northern and Eastern seas, and the expedition of Pallas and his -associates to explore and describe the less known portions of the -empire, are also to be mentioned among the scientific honours of her -reign. In the patronage of art she was splendid; she loved magnificence, -was regardless of expense, and spared no cost to assemble round her -throne the greatest rarities of nature, and the most admirable or -wonderful productions of man. And the architectural magnificence of St. -Petersburg still bears witness to the elevation and splendour of her -taste, and the extent of her revenues. - -By much the greater part of what has been said, may appear to vindicate -Catherine’s title to be called a good, as well as a great sovereign. -Such, no doubt, had her moral faculties been better educated, she might -have been: but her reign was vitiated, and her talents rendered -comparatively useless to her subjects, by one prevailing fault of -selfishness. Her temper was averse from wanton cruelty; she loved to see -prosperity around her; she loved, still more, the glory of being reputed -the author of that prosperity. But she loved to see others happy, not -for their sakes, but for her own; we seek in vain in the records of her -life for that laborious and self-denying spirit, which is ready to -sacrifice its own will for the good of others. Hence the multiplicity of -her plans, and the inconstancy of her purposes: she persevered in no -task which had lost the excitement of novelty, or no longer nourished -the craving appetite for praise. She was too eager to build, to allow -the requisite time for laying foundations: and the consequence was seen, -even before her death, in the ruined and neglected state of -establishments on which she had prided herself, and which men who were -no flatterers had regarded as the marks of a new era of civilization in -Russia. A French writer, in the Biographie Universelle, says, -“Legislation, colonies, education, institutions, canals, towns, -fortresses, every thing had been begun, and abandoned before -completion.” This passion of Catherine, for sketching every thing and -finishing nothing, is well characterised by a saying of Joseph II. In -her journey to the Crimea, she invited him to lay the second stone of -Ekaterinoslaf, of which she herself had just laid the first. Joseph -said, after his return, “The Empress of Russia and I completed a great -undertaking in one day: she laid the first stone of a city, and I the -last.” - -Of the more than imperial splendour—the profuse extravagance—of her -court and social life, space will not allow us to speak: a number of -curious and amusing anecdotes on this subject, and other details -relative to her person, manners, and habits, are to be found in Coxe’s -Travels in Russia, and Tooke’s Life of the Empress Catherine II. The -licentiousness of her conduct we should alike pass over, but for its -connexion with affairs of state: for she paraded her prostitution before -the eyes of all, apparently considering herself released by supreme rank -and irresponsible power, from the control of those decencies which -fetter even the vicious. A lover was part of Catherine’s state -furniture, and a most expensive one: since the sums lavished on her -series of favourites during her reign of thirty-four years, without -including the enormous annual expense of their establishment, amounted, -according to Mr. Tooke, (vol. iii. p. 374,) to more than eighty millions -of roubles. This, at the lowest rate of two shillings a rouble, (Mr. -Tooke states it to have been then worth four,) would be more than eight -millions of pounds sterling. Nor was this the only evil: though -Catherine suffered none of her favourites, except Potemkin, to interfere -in the chief affairs of the state, their influence at a distance and in -subordinate departments was immense; and whoever enjoyed their -protection was sure of advancement beyond his merits, and enabled to -tyrannize over others, and trample on law with impunity. Chosen for the -most part from officers of the Guard, without a particle of sentiment, -solely for personal attractions, we look in vain among them for one -raised above the common level by talent or accomplishment, except the -celebrated Potemkin, and perhaps the coarse and brutal Orloff, her -husband’s murderer, and one of the chief instruments in placing herself -upon the throne. Potemkin did possess a certain barbarous grandeur of -ideas, fitted to strike an answering chord in Catherine’s ambitious and -ostentatious mind; together with an aptitude for affairs, and a nature -born to command, had it been improved by education and self-restraint, -or chastened by adversity: and he alone, after he ceased to be a lover, -preserved an all-ruling influence as a friend and confidant. - -In speaking of Catherine’s foreign policy we must confine ourselves -chiefly to two heads,—the humiliation of Turkey, and the spoliation of -Poland. Very soon after her accession, a vacancy in the throne of Poland -gave her the opportunity of imposing upon that unhappy nation as its new -king one of her former lovers, Stanislaus Poniatowsky, whom she knew, -from the weakness of his character, to be a fit instrument of -maintaining and increasing her influence. Fear of the aggrandizement of -so powerful and hostile a neighbour, and, more especially, jealousy of -her designs upon Poland, induced the Porte to declare war against her in -1768. For eight years the contest continued, in all respects to the -advantage of the Russians; and during the course of it a Russian fleet -(conducted, however, in great measure by British officers) appeared for -the first time in the Mediterranean, and signalized its prowess by the -total destruction of a superior Turkish armament in the bay of Tchesme, -in Lemnos. Not less successful were the Russian arms in the Black Sea, -and in Moldavia and Wallachia. Still peace was desirable, even to the -victor, from the exhaustion of the contest, and it was concluded in -1774, by the treaty of Kainardgi, upon terms very advantageous to -Russia, yet perhaps more favourable than Turkey had cause to expect. The -reason of this moderation we shall see presently. The free navigation of -the Mediterranean seas and the passage of the Dardanelles were secured -to Russia, and the district between the rivers Dnieper and Bog was ceded -to her. The Tartars of the Crimea were declared independent, which was -nearly equivalent to rendering them tributary to Russia: and in fact -that country was formally ceded to Catherine in 1783, by the reigning -Cham, and the Porte, unwillingly enough, yielded to that arrangement. -But the insulting pomp of Catherine, which almost dared in a moment of -bravado to threaten Constantinople itself with an invasion, led to a -second war in 1786, which, after a bloody and exhausting conflict, -terminated in 1791–2, by the treaty of Jassy, by the farther cession, on -the part of Turkey, of the provinces between the Bog and the Dniester, -which was declared to be thenceforward the frontier of the two empires. -The Russian conquests in Bessarabia, Moldavia, and Wallachia were -restored. Memorable in this war, for the desperation of their defence by -the Turks, and the awful cruelties which attended their capture by the -Russians, were the sieges of the strong fortresses of Oczakow at the -mouth of the Dnieper, and Ismail on the Danube. On this occasion again, -but for the intervention of other European powers, especially England -and Prussia, Catherine might probably have obtained more favourable -terms. But the importance of the acquisitions thus made by her on the -Black Sea, from the Straits of Kertsh to the Dniester, is not to be -measured by their wealth, scarcely by their extent. It was the command -of the commerce of the Black Sea, and the opening a passage to -Constantinople, which she had so much desired, and the Porte so much -feared, that formed her chief triumph; and in the height of her ambition -she dared to project the expulsion of the Turks from Europe, and the -re-establishment of a Christian empire in Constantinople. - -Not less important were her acquisitions on the western frontier. The -atrocious project of partitioning Poland between her three most powerful -neighbours, is said by Koch (Tableau des Révolutions) to have originated -in the Turkish wars which we have just described. The occupation of -Moldavia and Wallachia by the Russians was calculated to alarm the -jealousy of Austria; and Koch states, that Frederic II. suggested to the -Empress that if she resigned them, as was done by the treaty of -Kainardgi, she might take her equivalent from Poland, to a part of which -Austria had already laid claim. Other writers have maintained that the -scheme originated with Catherine. Be this as it may, the two monarchs -readily came to an agreement, at the end of July, 1772: and as the Poles -were in no condition to resist, and the powers which had guaranteed the -independence of Poland looked on in silence, no opposition beyond -remonstrance was made. In 1773, the Diet made a formal act of cession at -Warsaw. In this first division, about 6500 square leagues of land, and -five millions of human beings were thus robbed of their nationality: and -the larger share, containing more than 4000 square leagues and three -millions of people, situated in Livonia and Lithuania, was transferred -to Russia, and formed into the governments of Polotsk and Mohilow. At -the same time the three powers formally renounced all farther claims on -Poland, and guaranteed to it its constitution and existence. But -treaties are seldom able to bind ambition. A coldness succeeded between -Russia and Prussia; and the latter, whose conduct ought to be marked -with especial infamy, excited the Polish Diet, under promises of -support, to make alterations in the constitution calculated to diminish -the influence and rouse the jealousy of Russia. Catherine marched an -army into the country in 1792, to support her party; the Poles flew to -arms; and the King of Prussia, instead of sending the assistance which -he had pledged himself to give, openly joined the Empress. A second -partition of the spoil ensued in 1793, in which another portion of -Lithuania was assigned to Russia; and another treaty of alliance, or -rather of subjection, was made. But the nation was roused by despair; -and in the following spring that general insurrection broke out, which -has given undying fame to the name of Kosciusko. There is a short -account of this struggle in the memoir of that hero in our first volume; -it terminated in the total subjection and final partition of Poland: in -which Russia obtained the remainder of Lithuania, with Semigallia, -Courland, &c., to the amount of about 2000 square leagues more. This -took place in 1795. - -We must refer to the various historical works on these times for an -account of Catherine’s complicated negotiations with foreign courts, the -blow which she aimed at the British dominion of the sea by the -establishment, in 1780, of the celebrated Armed Neutrality, the war -which she commenced against Persia at the end of her reign, and other -events inferior in importance to those of which we have here given an -imperfect outline. It is asserted that, having turned her arms towards -the east, she had ventured to conceive the design of overturning the -British empire in India. But her ambition and her life were -simultaneously cut short by an attack of apoplexy, which carried her off -very suddenly, November 9, 1796. She was succeeded by her grandson Paul -I. - -Catherine, in imitation of Frederic II., aspired to fame as an author. -Besides the Instructions, she wrote moral tales and allegories, for the -education of her grandchildren, and a number of dramatic pieces and -proverbs acted at the Hermitage, and published under the title of -Theatre of the Hermitage. Her correspondence with Voltaire and others is -published. - -[Illustration: [The Pavilion at Tzarsko-Tzelo. From a Print in the -King’s Library.]] - -[Illustration] - - - - - DEFOE. - - -Daniel, the son of James Foe, citizen and butcher, was born in London, -in the parish of Cripplegate, in or about the year 1663: at what time, -or on what account he prefixed the syllable De to his paternal name, -does not clearly appear. He was a Dissenter himself, and appears to have -been of a dissenting family. Early imbued with a dread of Papal -ascendancy, he took up arms to support the Duke of Monmouth’s -insurrection, and was fortunate in escaping not only the sword, but the -legal consequences of that rash adventure. In 1685 he went into business -as a hosier, in Freeman’s Yard, Cornhill. He was not successful, -probably because his attention was engrossed by affairs foreign to his -trade: for he not only mingled in the political and religious -dissensions of that stormy time, but was too much occupied, according to -his biographer Mr. Chalmers, by engagements, which became neither the -conscientious dissenter, nor the steady man of business. “With the usual -imprudence of superior genius, he was carried by his vivacity into -companies who were gratified by his wit, and he spent those hours in the -idle hilarity of the tavern, which he ought to have employed in the -calculations of the counting-house; and being obliged to abscond from -his creditors in 1692, he attributed those misfortunes to the war, which -were doubtless owing to his own misconduct. He afterwards carried on the -brick and pantile works near Tilbury Fort, though probably with no -success. He was in after-times wittily reproached, ‘that he did not, -like the Egyptians, require bricks without straw, but, like the Jews, -required bricks without paying his labourers.’ He was born for other -enterprises, which, if they did not gain him wealth, have conferred a -renown, that will descend the current of time with the language wherein -his works are written.” His misfortunes however, even if accompanied by -some imprudence, did not alienate his friends. “I was invited,” he says -in his Appeal to Honour and Justice, “by some merchants with whom I had -corresponded abroad, and some also at home, to settle at Cadiz, and that -with offers of very good commissions; but Providence, which had other -work for me to do, placed a secret aversion in my mind. Some time after, -I was, without the least application of mine, and being then seventy -miles from London, sent for to be Accomptant to the Commissioners of the -Glass Duty; in which service I continued to the determination of their -commission.” - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Thomson._ - - DE FOE. - - _From a Print by M. Vandergucht._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -Having lost this occupation, Defoe’s active mind expanded itself in a -variety of schemes. He wrote, he tells us, many sheets about the coin; -he proposed a law for registering seamen; he projected county banks; -factories for goods; a commission of inquiry into the estates of -bankrupts; a pension-office for the relief of the poor; an academy “to -encourage polite learning, and to polish and refine the English tongue;” -and an academy for the education of women, with a view to the -improvement of society, by training them to a more exemplary discharge -of their social duties. Notices of various of these schemes, and of the -use or abuse of a speculative spirit in a mercantile country, will be -found in his Essay on Projects, published in January, 1697. In 1701 he -produced a satire in verse, called The True-born Englishman, which arose -out of a personal and virulent attack, by one Tutchen, on William III., -whose faults were finally summed up in the epithet “foreigner.” “This,” -Defoe says, “filled me with a kind of rage against the book, and gave -birth to a trifle, which I never could hope should have met with such -general acceptation as it did—I mean, The True-born Englishman. How this -poem was the occasion of my being known to his Majesty; how I afterwards -was received by him; how employed; and how, above all my capacity of -deserving, rewarded, is no part of the present case:” and history does -not supply us with the particulars here left unnoticed. But whatever -were Defoe’s services or their rewards, he always expressed his -gratitude and affection for King William’s memory in ardent terms. In -the same year he published two able tracts in support of the principles -of the Revolution, entitled, one, The Original Power of the Collective -Body of the People of England Examined and Asserted; the other, The -Freeholder’s Plea against the Stock-jobbing Elections of Parliament-men. -The following pithy sentence may give some notion of the general tenor -of the latter. “It is very rational to suppose that those who buy will -sell, or what seems more rational they who have bought, must sell.” In -these pieces the ultimate resort of all power in the people, and the -responsibility of the parliament to the people, inasmuch, to use his own -words elsewhere, “as the person sent is less than the sender,” are -forcibly explained and asserted. The same principles were developed more -strongly in what is commonly called The Legion Letter, a remonstrance -against certain exertions of the privilege of parliament, by which the -subject’s right of petitioning was thought to be curtailed. This -remarkable paper, which, though never clearly avowed, is believed to -have been written by Defoe, and presented by him, dressed in women’s -clothes, to the Speaker, was entitled, A Memorial from the Gentlemen, -Freeholders, and Inhabitants of the Counties of ——, in behalf of -themselves, and many thousands of the good people of England, to the -Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses in Parliament assembled; and ends in -the following words: “For Englishmen are no more to be slaves to -Parliaments than to Kings. - - “Our name is LEGION, - “And we are MANY. - -“If you require to have this Memorial signed with our names, it shall be -done on your first orders, and formally presented.” - -Of this attempt to intimidate the House no open notice was taken, nor -does it appear to have been known at the time who was the author. But -any ill-will which the Tories might have against Defoe, if suspected, -was gratified by the consequences of a pamphlet which he published in -1702, entitled, The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, or Proposals for -the Establishment of the Church. In this ironical performance, which -ostensibly recommends the total extirpation of Dissenters from England, -he intended to satirize the blind prejudices and headstrong zeal of the -high Tory faction: but he had the misfortune to raise up enemies on -every side. Some of the Dissenters took it literally, and raised an -outcry against him as a persecutor: the Tories understood it better, and -had influence enough to get a prosecution commenced against him, and a -reward offered for his apprehension, by the government. The House of -Commons voted the book a libel, and ordered it to be burnt by the -hangman. The printer and the publisher of it were taken into custody, -upon which Defoe, who had secreted himself, came forward, “to throw -himself upon the favour of Government, rather than that others should be -ruined for his mistakes.” He was tried in July, 1703, found guilty of -composing and publishing a seditious libel, and, by a very oppressive -sentence, was condemned to be imprisoned, to stand in the pillory, to -pay a fine of 200 marks, and to find security for his good behaviour -during seven years. It is in allusion to this that Pope, who ought to -have better appreciated such a man, has made an unworthy attack upon -Defoe in the Dunciad, - - Earless on high stood unabashed Defoe. - -He had no reason to be, and was not, abashed; and he composed a Hymn to -the Pillory, and an Elegy on the Author of a True-born Englishman, -esteeming himself defunct as an author, when he was obliged to find -sureties for good behaviour. These, like all his works, contain the -energetic expression of an independent spirit: to poetical merit they -have no claim. - -Early in 1704, while he was still in prison, Defoe commenced a -periodical paper, entitled The Review, which, in addition to the usual -topics of news, contained a report of the proceedings of a “Scandal -Club, which discusses questions in divinity, morals, war, trade, -language, poetry, love, marriage, drunkenness, and gaming. Thus it is -easy to see that the Review pointed out the way to the Tatlers, -Spectators, and Guardians, which may be allowed, however, to have -treated these interesting topics with more delicacy of language, more -terseness of style, and greater depth of learning: yet has Defoe many -passages, both of prose and poetry, which for refinement of wit, -neatness of expression, and efficacy of moral, would do honour either to -Steele or Addison.” (Chalmers.) This periodical was published three -times a week, until May, 1713, when it was brought to a close. Defoe -continued in Newgate until August, 1704, when Harley procured his -release, and recommended him to Queen Anne, who seems to have thought -that he had been hardly used, and contributed generously towards the -relief of his family, reduced to poverty by the misfortunes of its head. -She employed him, he says, in “several honourable, though secret -services;” and he speaks, in his Appeal to Honour and Justice, of a -“special service, in which I ran as much risque of my life as a -grenadier upon the counterscarp.” These seem to have been rewarded by a -pension, or by some subordinate office; but the exact nature of the -recompense is not known. In October, 1706, he was dispatched to -Scotland, to assist in promoting the union between the two kingdoms. In -addition to his talents and readiness as an author, he possessed great -practical knowledge of commerce and matters connected with the revenue: -he frequently attended the committees of the Scottish parliament, and -made a variety of calculations, relative to trade and taxes, for their -use; and he was very serviceable, as a popular writer, in replying to -the various attacks which were made upon that hated measure. His -intimate acquaintance with the transactions of this period qualified him -well for a work, which now probably is known to few readers, but which -contains a great body of minute information concerning the condition and -the history of Scotland at that period,—The History of the Union between -England and Scotland: of which Mr. Chalmers says, “The minuteness with -which he describes what he saw and heard upon that turbulent stage, -where he acted a conspicuous part, is extremely interesting to us, who -wish to know what actually passed, however this circumstantiality may -have disgusted contemporaneous readers. History is chiefly valuable, as -it transmits a faithful copy of the manners and sentiments of every age. -This narrative of Defoe is a drama, in which he introduces the highest -peers and the lowest peasants speaking and acting, according as they -were each actuated by their characteristic passions; and while the man -of taste is amused by his manner, the man of business may draw -instruction from the documents, which are appended to the end, and -interspersed in every page. This publication had alone preserved his -name, had his Crusoe pleased us less.” Chalmers naturally makes the most -of its merits, for his Life of Defoe was originally prefixed to a -reprint of it in 1786: but the author would have been little known if -his popularity had depended on this work only. - -After his return from Scotland, Defoe resided for some time at -Newington. He incurred great obloquy, he says, for trying to make the -best of the peace of Utrecht after it was concluded, and bore infinite -reproaches as having been hired and bribed to defend a bad peace, upon -the supposition that he was the author of pamphlets in which he had no -share. To escape from this persecution he went to Halifax, in Yorkshire, -where he had ample opportunity to observe the confidence of the Jacobite -party, and the success with which they laboured to make converts among -the lower ranks. To counteract these plottings, he wrote A Seasonable -Caution, Reasons against the Succession of the House of Hanover, and -some other pamphlets with similar titles; intending, he says, by means -of their apparent drift, to put them into the hands of persons whom the -Jacobites had deluded. But Defoe was unfortunate as an ironical writer: -perhaps the same qualities which gave his fictions such an air of truth -tended to give his irony too much the appearance of earnest. On this, as -on a former occasion, some persons were foolish or malicious enough to -misconstrue his meaning, and to accuse him of writing seditious libels -in favour of the Pretender. On this frivolous charge an information was -filed against him in the spring of 1713, on which he was taken into -custody, and obliged to find bail to a large amount; and the -consequences might have been still more serious, but for a second -intervention of Harley, who procured a free pardon for him in the -following November. Speaking of these very publications in his Appeal, -he protests that “if the Elector of Hanover had given me a thousand -pounds to have written for the interests of his succession, and to -expose, and render the interest of the Pretender odious and ridiculous, -I could have done nothing more effectual to these purposes than these -books were.” - -Well intended and valuable as his labours might be, his only recompense -for them was a bare immunity from persecution. After the accession of -George I. he was discountenanced and neglected. In 1715 he wrote An -Appeal to Honour and Justice, comprising a defence of his character, and -a general account of his life, principles, and conduct. He was struck by -apoplexy before he had quite completed this work, but recovered the full -possession of his faculties, and lived until April 26, 1731. After this -attack, whether from the wish to avoid excitement and anxiety, or from -the little advantage which his political writings had produced to him, -he almost ceased to handle controversial subjects, and devoted himself -with unwearying industry to works of a more popular and lucrative kind. -Upon the profits of his pen he seems to have depended for his -livelihood; and to the necessity of courting popular favour it may -probably be attributed, that the subjects of some of his works are -vulgar, and the style coarse: but even out of vicious and revolting -subjects he had the art of extracting a wholesome moral. The following -are the names and dates of the principal productions of his declining -years; and it is very remarkable, considering the circumstances in which -they were composed, that they should comprise all those fictions to -which he owes his imperishable name in British literature:—Life and -Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1719. Life, Adventures, and Piracies of -the Famous Captain Singleton, 1720. Fortunes and Misfortunes of the -Famous Moll Flanders, 1721. Religious Courtship; Journal of the Plague -Year, 1722. Life of Colonel Jack, 1723. Tour through the whole Island of -Great Britain, 1724–7. New Voyage round the World, 1725. Political -History of the Devil, 1726. Complete English Tradesman, 1727. Plan of -English Commerce, 1728. Memoirs of a Cavalier—date uncertain. But -notwithstanding the unceasing industry which enabled him to produce -these, and many other works, in the time specified, he appears to have -died insolvent, for a creditor took out letters of administration on his -effects. - -A catalogue of the numerous works known, or confidently believed by the -compiler to be Defoe’s, and of those also which are attributed to him on -more doubtful evidence, is given by Mr. Chalmers at the end of that -edition of his Life which is subjoined to Stockdale’s edition of -Robinson Crusoe, in 2 vols. 8vo., 1790; hardly one in four of them has -been named in this short account. Defoe was a very rapid, as well as a -laborious composer: it is said that he once wrote two shilling pamphlets -in a single day. His controversial works however have long lost their -interest; and his principal historical work, that on the Union, is too -prolix and minute to find general acceptation in our days. In his -acquaintance with commerce, and insight into the principles by which it -is governed, he is entitled to rank with the most skilful of his -contemporaries; but the progress of economical science has of course -deprived his commercial writings of most of their value, except as -records of the past. Of his numerous works of fiction, we may notice the -History of the Plague of London in 1665, Memoirs of a Cavalier, and -Robinson Crusoe, as the best known and the most deserving. The first, -which professes to be the journal of a saddler resident in Whitechapel -during the awful visitation which he describes, is said to have been -received as genuine even by Dr. Mead, as no doubt it has been by very -many of those who are unacquainted with its real history. There is a -homely pathos, a minute and scrupulous adherence to verisimilitude in it -which almost irresistibly persuades the reader that none but an -eyewitness could have written such an account. The Memoirs of a Cavalier -possess the same air of truth. They relate the campaigns of a young -Englishman of good family, first in Germany under Gustavus Adolphus, -afterwards on the royal side in our civil wars; and depict with great -vividness and fidelity the principal events of those interesting and -stirring times. But popular as these works have been and deserve to be, -they sink into obscurity when compared with the universal acceptation of -Robinson Crusoe; the only thing, according to Dr. Johnson, written by -mere man, that was ever wished longer by its readers, except Don Quixote -and the Pilgrim’s Progress. And Bunyan and Defoe had some points in -common. Both came of the people, and both, without the advantages or -trammels of a learned education, wrote for and to the people; they -slighted no source of pathos or eloquence as being too humble, and cared -little for homeliness of phrase, if it expressed their meaning clearly -and strongly. It is needless to give any account of a book, which in one -shape or other, for in the numerous reprints it has often been curtailed -and mutilated, must be familiar to every reader. The story is well known -to be identical with that of Alexander Selkirk, who, after a solitary -abode of four years on the island of Juan Fernandez, returned to England -in 1709. Defoe has been charged with surreptitiously obtaining and -making an unfair use of this man’s papers; but there seems to be no -ground whatever for the accusation. Selkirk’s story had been made public -in several forms seven years at least before Robinson Crusoe was -written, and it was free to Defoe or to any man to take it as the ground -upon which to build a tale. And far from Selkirk’s papers having been -traced into Defoe’s hands, it does not even appear that these pretended -papers ever were in existence: indeed Selkirk seems, from the published -accounts of him, to have been so much below the fictitious Crusoe in the -extent of his resources, and the fertility of his ingenuity (and we say -this with no desire to undervalue his active spirit and contented -temper), that it is hardly possible that he should have furnished more -than the first hint, which Defoe has expanded into so instructive, -fascinating, and varied a story. - -The following lively criticism of this remarkable work is extracted from -Dunlop’s History of Fiction:— - -“Defoe and Swift, though differing very widely in education, opinions, -and character, have at the same time some strong points of resemblance. -Both are remarkable for the unaffected simplicity of their -narratives—both intermingle so many minute circumstances, and state so -particularly names of persons, and dates, and places, that the reader is -involuntarily surprised into a persuasion of their truth. It seems -impossible that what is so artlessly told should be a fiction, -especially as the narrators begin the account of their voyages with such -references to persons living, or whom they assert to be alive, and whose -place of residence is so accurately mentioned, that one is led to -believe a relation must be genuine, which could, if false, have been so -easily convicted of falsehood. The incidents too are so very -circumstantial, that we think it impossible they could have been -mentioned, except they had been real....” Speaking of the moral of -Robinson Crusoe, he continues, “We are delighted with the spectacle of -difficulty overcome, and with the power of human ingenuity and -contrivance to provide not only accommodation but comfort, in the most -unfavourable circumstances. Never did human being excite more sympathy -in his fate than this shipwrecked mariner: we enter into all his doubts -and difficulties, and every rusty nail which he acquires fills us with -satisfaction. We thus learn to appreciate our own comforts, and we -acquire, at the same time, a habit of activity; but above all we attain -a trust and devout confidence in Divine mercy and goodness. The author -also, by placing his hero in an uninhabited island in the Western Ocean, -had an opportunity of introducing scenes which, with the merit of truth, -have all the wildness and horror of the most incredible fiction. _That_ -foot in the sand—_Those_ Indians who land on the solitary shore to -devour their captives, fill us with alarm and terror; and after being -relieved from the fear of Crusoe perishing by famine, we are agitated by -new apprehensions for his safety. The deliverance of Friday, and the -whole character of that young Indian, are painted in the most beautiful -manner; and, in short, of all the works of fiction that have ever been -composed, Robinson Crusoe is perhaps the most interesting and -attractive.” - -[Illustration: [Robinson Crusoe building his Boat. From a design by -Stothard, R.A.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - DAVID HUME. - - _From a Print by A. Smith, after a Picture by Allen Ramsay._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - HUME. - - -David Hume was born in Edinburgh, April 26, 1711. His father, who was -descended from a branch of the Earl of Home’s, or Hume’s, family, died -while David was an infant, leaving him, with an elder brother and -sister, to the care of his mother, the daughter of Sir Edward Falconer, -who devoted the remainder of her days to the welfare of her children. -Her property was inconsiderable, and that which fell to David, as a -younger son, was very slender. His family, observing the manner in which -he acquitted himself at college, would have fixed his attention on the -law; but his growing passion for philosophy and general learning -rendered him averse to that pursuit, and after a fruitless attempt at -Bristol to reconcile himself to a more active kind of employment, he -went to France, where he laid down that plan of life to which he ever -afterwards adhered. It now became his fixed resolve to secure his -independence by means of the most rigid frugality; and to deem every -acquisition contemptible, except the improvement of his talents in -literature. This was in 1734. - -During his three years’ residence in France, Hume composed his Treatise -of Human Nature, which he published on his return to England in 1738. -The work failed to attract the slightest notice from friend or foe. But -our young aspirant was not dismayed; and his buoyant spirit was much -strengthened by the degree of success which attended the appearance of -the first part of his Essays, which were published at Edinburgh in 1742. - -In 1745 Hume quitted the residence of his mother and brother, in -compliance with an invitation from the Marquis of Annandale; the friends -of that young nobleman having thought that his health and mind required -the aid which such a tutorship, or companionship, for we hardly know -which to call it, would afford. Hume states, that his employment during -the twelve months thus passed in England made a considerable accession -to his small fortune. “I thus received,” he says, “an invitation from -General St. Clair to attend him as a secretary to his expedition, which -was at first meant against Canada, but ended in an incursion on the -coast of France. Next year, to wit 1747, I received an invitation from -the General to attend him in the same station in his military embassy to -the courts of Vienna and Turin. I then wore the uniform of an officer, -and was introduced at those courts as aid-de-camp to the General, along -with Sir Harry Erskine, and Captain Grant, now General Grant. These two -years were almost the only interruptions my studies received during the -course of my life.” - -In 1747 Hume re-cast the first part of his Treatise of Human Nature, and -published it under the title of an Inquiry concerning Human -Understanding. But this amended performance also failed to produce any -immediate effects; and a new edition of his Essays Moral and Political, -published about the same time in London, found scarcely a better -reception. Still looking to the hopeful side of things, our author -composed during 1749 and 1750 the second part of his Essays, which were -called Political Discourses; and also his Inquiry concerning the -Principles of Morals, which was another part of his ill-fated Treatise -of Human Nature, in a new form. By this time some of the more obnoxious -parts of that treatise began to call forth opponents, and it became -evident that its author, though much more frequently censured than -applauded, was a man of rising reputation. This result was favoured by -his determination never to reply to any of his critics, a resolve which -the peculiarities of his temper enabled him to act upon to the end of -life. - -In 1751 he removed to Edinburgh, and being chosen librarian by the -Faculty of Advocates in the following year, the plan of writing his -History of England was formed. This memorable work commenced with the -accession of the House of Stuart; and the author, who was sanguine as to -its success, relates that “on the publication of the first volume, he -scarcely knew a man in the three kingdoms, considerable for rank or -letters, that could endure the book.” After a sale of less than fifty -copies in the first year, the work seemed fast sinking into oblivion. -This disappointment appears to have affected Hume more than any event -which had befallen him; and, had not the war with France at that -juncture prevented it, he would probably have gone to that country, -never again to have seen his own. But the habits induced by a passion -for literature are not easily put in abeyance. Soon after receiving this -discouragement, Hume published his Natural History of Religion. In 1756 -the second volume of the History of England made its appearance, “which -not only rose itself, but helped to buoy up its unfortunate brother.” -The third volume, relating to the House of Tudor, appeared in 1759, and -was censured hardly less than the first. In 1761, the two volumes -embracing the early period of our history were published, and, according -to their author “with tolerable, and but tolerable success.” - -Hume now formed the purpose of spending the remainder of his days in -philosophical retirement in Scotland; but was induced in 1763 to visit -Paris, in connexion with the embassy of the Earl of Hertford to that -city. The honours paid to our philosopher and historian in that capital -once disposed him to think of settling there for life. He had now passed -his fiftieth year, and his official residence in Paris extended, with a -slight intermission, to six years—from 1763 to 1769. From the period of -his leaving Paris, to 1775, when his last sickness came upon him, his -time appears to have been given chiefly to the enjoyment of his friends; -his authorship, and other employments, having secured him an income of -not less than 1000_l._ a year. A disorder in the bowels, which reduced -him considerably, but without becoming the occasion of much pain, or at -all affecting his spirits, ended his life, August 25, 1776, in the -sixty-fifth year of his age. - -Hume’s character as a man has been sketched by himself, and his account -may be admitted as, in most respects, substantially accurate. He -describes himself as mild in disposition, possessing a command of -temper, of an open, social, and cheerful humour, capable of attachment, -but little susceptible of enmity, and of great moderation in his -passions. “Even my love of literary fame,” he adds, “my ruling passion, -never soured my temper, notwithstanding my frequent disappointments. My -company was not unacceptable to the young and careless, as well as to -the studious and literary; and as I took a particular pleasure in the -company of modest women, I had no reason to be displeased with the -reception I met with from them. In a word, though most men any wise -eminent, have found reason to complain of calumny, I never was touched, -or even attacked by her baleful tooth: and though I wantonly exposed -myself to the rage of both civil and religious factions, they seemed to -be disarmed in my behalf of their wonted fury. My friends never had -occasion to vindicate any one circumstance of my character and conduct.” -Much to this effect is the testimony of Dr. Adam Smith, the intimate -friend of Hume. This writer, indeed, does not hesitate to speak of him -“as approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous -man, as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit.” Some deduction -should of course be made from this language, as that of a natural -self-love in the one instance, and of an ardent friendship in the other. -It is no proof, for example, of Hume’s exemption from the irascible -passions, that he should have been so rarely capable of adverting to the -opponents of his favourite speculations in morals or religion, without -indulging in reproachful and degrading language; “bigots” and “zealots” -being the designations flung at such persons on almost all occasions. In -the same spirit the name of a “faction,” is his favourite one for that -large class of politicians in this country whose principles did not -embrace so much of “the monstrous creed of many made for one,” as -belonged to his own. And it is worthy of notice, that a passage in his -memoirs, which was inserted by him as an evidence of his exemption from -this sort of prejudice and resentment, affords one of the most decisive -proofs that he shared in this common weakness much more than himself or -his admirers were willing to allow. “Though I had been taught by -experience,” he writes, “that the Whig party were in possession of -bestowing all places, both in the state and in literature, I was so -little inclined to yield to their senseless clamour, that in above a -hundred alterations, which further study, reading, or reflection, -engaged me to make in the reigns of the two first Stuarts, I have made -all of them invariably to the Tory side.” Now what reader can suppose -that the inaccuracies detected by a mind without bias, could possibly -have occurred in this shape—a hundred on one side, and not one on the -other! The fact itself, and the tone in which it is recorded, disclose -what our philosopher would fain have concealed. We leave the moral -conduct of Hume in the spotless state set forth by his own description -of it, though we cannot forbear to remark that such language comes -somewhat strangely from a gentleman who had been so fascinated with the -manner of the Parisian fashionables under Louis XV., as to have thought -of never leaving them. We believe, however, that in his case, the -principal attraction of such society was its polish, and not its almost -incredible licentiousness. We learn, that in one of those gay -assemblies, Hume was induced to make his appearance in the character of -a Sultan, placed on a sofa between two of the most beautiful women in -Paris. It was his province to solicit the favours of these ladies, and -it was theirs to act the part of fair ones who were not to be subdued, -and in the dialogue, or rather trilogue, which lasted some quarter of an -hour, the author of the Treatise of Human Nature, and of the History of -England, acquitted himself, we are told, much to the edification of all -who were present[3]. In these moments of relaxation, the philosopher was -regarded as discovering his amiable sympathy with the ordinary feelings -of humanity. It does not appear to have occurred to him, or to his -flatterers, to consider the much stronger evidence of the want of such -sympathy, which was afforded by his approval of the system of government -which had so long spread its terrors and its wrongs over the length and -breadth of that splendid, miserable country. Our limits will not allow -of any reference to the particulars of the public dispute between Hume -and Rousseau, and we therefore abstain from expressing any opinion -respecting it. - -Footnote 3: - - ‘Mémoires et Correspondance de Madame d’Epinay.’ III., 284, 285. - -In the philosophical writings of Hume, the great element is scepticism. -He had many precursors in that sort of amusing speculation which tends -to throw doubt over received opinions; and which, as a natural effect of -human vanity, does so the more in regard to those notions which happen -to be retained most generally and with the greatest confidence. But -these limits did not satisfy the author of the Treatise of Human Nature. -The drift of his philosophy is to prove, not only that nothing _is_ -known, but that nothing _can_ be known; that the human race are shut up -in the most entire ignorance, partly from the character of the objects -around them, but mainly from the very framework and nature of the human -understanding. Much ingenuity and acuteness was required to give any -plausible appearance to a theory so contrary to the natural impressions -of mankind, and Hume’s philosophical works afford evidence enough of the -sort of talent necessary to his object. But he well knew, that however -proper, and however felicitous it might be, to lay low the giant spirit -of dogmatism by such means, his own conclusions, in every instance of -importance, were hardly less dogmatic than those of his opponents, the -principal difference being, that the sources of _his_ assumptions were -somewhat more difficult to detect and expose. For what assumption can be -greater than that of a right to believe in all unbelief? In this case, -the very faculty that doubts must be a figment of vanity. The writer who -determines to assail everything, forces on mankind a suspicion of -caprice and insincerity, and is not likely to demolish anything. By -attempting less, Hume would have accomplished more; and he would not -then have called forth that array of philosophic power against himself, -which has done so much damage to his reputation in this department of -his labours. His miscellaneous Essays abound in valuable observations, -and are fine models of English composition. The manner in which he met -his death is the stock theme with the superficial, as illustrating the -power of philosophy. But the man of reflection may perhaps see as much -of the weakness of humanity in that event, as of the strength of -philosophy; and certainly he will not need to be told, that nothing can -be more delusive than the use generally made of such scenes. - -It is not however as the philosopher, but as the historian, that Hume is -known to the majority of persons, both in this country and on the -continent. Those habits of close thought, and that careful use of -language, to which he had been so long accustomed in his philosophical -studies, qualified him, in a high degree, to treat the topics of history -with discrimination, simplicity, and clearness. The evil to be feared -was, that he would often allow the sprightliness of narrative to sink -into the dullness of disquisition; and that even his narrative would be -deficient in that selection of familiar anecdote, and in those -picturesque descriptions, which, while having little relation to the -great lessons of history, are certainly among its great attractions. But -it happens that the narrative of Xenophon himself is not more easy and -uninterrupted than that of Hume; nor has the former writer shown a -stronger disposition to dwell on domestic incidents, or to throw a -dramatic colouring over public occurrences, than the latter. Never did -any man bring so much of the power of abstruse thought to the writing of -history, and appear to be so much served and so little inconvenienced by -it. His station and intercourse in society added much of the feeling and -manners of the gentleman to the more grave attainments of the man of -learning, and tended to produce that combination of qualities, which -made his society at all times agreeable, and has thrown a nameless and -irresistible charm over his historical writing. His style was the result -of great elaboration, but has every appearance of being that which must -have been adopted without effort. It is open, indeed, in almost every -page, to much verbal criticism, no book perhaps of the same standing -being in this respect so vulnerable. But these lesser blemishes are -forgotten amid the many natural and delightful graces with which it is -adorned; graces which no one can help feeling, but which it would be as -difficult to describe as to imitate. - -Having however spoken thus of Mr. Hume’s style, and remarked the general -acuteness and frequent justice of his observations, we have fairly -exhausted our topics of praise. With regard to the two most valuable -qualities of a historian—research and integrity, the claims of Hume are -in the inverse position of his pretensions in other respects. Instead of -seeking, as the author of the Essay on Miracles might have been expected -to do, for the best possible testimonies, for these in the greatest -possible number, and then sifting them to the utmost, we find him -committing himself, with apparent unconsciousness, to the most -incompetent guides, often to a single authority where several were -accessible, and where several are adduced, attaching no more credit to -the depositions of an intelligent writer contemporary with what he -records, than to that of some worthless chronicler, who lived some -centuries later! This is particularly the case with regard to that -portion of our history which precedes the Reformation; and there cannot -be a greater mistake than to suppose that his references at the foot of -the page in these earlier volumes indicate the sources from which the -material of his text was derived. “Ingenious but superficial” is the -description of these volumes which Gibbon recorded in his diary, after -reading them. In the more modern period of our history, as the -authorities relating to it may be consulted by an indolent man with less -labour, and by a man of taste with less disgust, we find a little more -research and discrimination, but by no means sufficient to render his -accounts worthy of implicit confidence, even when not liable to be -affected by any of his known partialities. It is to this deficient -industry, and to the consequent want of a steady mastery of his subject -before beginning to write upon it, that we have mainly to attribute the -perpetual contradictions which occur in his description of the great -contest under the Stuart princes; contradictions which are so many and -so irreconcilable as to make his book one of the most inconsistent that -ever emanated from a man of ordinary powers. We have not, of course, -space in which to exhibit the proofs of this statement;—but we are -confident that inquiry will prove it to be correct. - -But the want of industry, though a serious delinquency in a historian, -is almost venial when compared with a want of impartiality, and the -deficiency of Hume in this last quality has been often and largely -exposed. The extent in which the historian was conscious of his own -habit of unfairness, it is not in our power to determine; but there is -hardly a conceivable form of disingenuousness, of which his volumes -might not be shown to afford numerous and striking examples. The volume -embracing the reigns of James and Charles was first published, and we -have seen that the reception it met with only taught the author to -resolve, with a more fixed purpose, as to the complexion of those which -were to follow. In instances where his integrity is in the main -preserved, his eloquence is often so far misdirected that the truth -becomes discoloured, and makes the impression of falsehood. In his hands -the faults of his favourites lose much of their magnitude and grossness, -while their merits are raised much above their proper level, and with -regard to their opponents, the inverse process is adopted. Disagreeable -facts are passed over, or but partially and very artfully developed; -while others, of an opposite nature, have all prominence, and all -imaginable force assigned them. Incidents of very rare occurrence, and -existing only as exceptions, are culled with the greatest care, and -presented as the rule, and as no more than samples of the abundance that -might be adduced. And in describing the reasonings and the motives by -which the contending parties from time to time were influenced, it is -the fixed usage of this writer to consult his own prejudices or -imagination much more than the lights afforded by the documents of the -times. These summaries, as they are called, are inserted by Hume, in the -place of the speeches which the ancient historians were wont to put into -the mouth of their leading men; and, interesting as they are, deserve no -more credit, considered as the character of parties, or as accounts of -what was really said, than it is usual to bestow on those elaborate -harangues. There is much reason to believe that the historian began the -reigns of the two first Stuarts with a sincere conviction that -sufficient allowance had not been made for the peculiar situation of -those princes. But his delinquencies are such, that this excuse must be -of small avail in his defence. The majority of more than one generation -in this country have derived their notions of English history almost -exclusively from the pages of Hume; but so low has he fallen as a -historical authority, that the persons who have read scarcely anything -else, rarely show courage, or rather weakness, enough to make any appeal -to him. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by E. Scriven._ - - DE WITT. - - _From a Picture by Netscher, in the possession of M^r. Lenoir, at - Paris._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - DE WITT. - - -The father of this wise and honest statesman was burgomaster of the town -of Dort, or Dordrecht, and one of its representatives in the Assembly of -the States of Holland, a man of patriotism, courage, and integrity, who -apprehended danger to the liberties of the United Provinces from the -hereditary power of the House of Orange, and used his best exertions to -counteract it. His sons, Cornelius and John De Witt, born at Dort, the -former June 25, 1623, the latter September 25, 1625, inherited his -principles and his integrity; and rendered his name illustrious by -greater talents exerted in a higher sphere of action. Of these brothers, -united in their counsels, their lives, and their deaths, it is the -younger, John, the original of our portrait, who rendered the name of De -Witt most illustrious, by the ability and virtue with which, during -eighteen years, he directed the government of his country. - -Cornelius De Witt served in the navy during several years, and -distinguished himself in the bloody wars of England and Holland; he also -studied jurisprudence in his youth, and displayed talents for civil and -military business not unnoticed by his fellow-citizens, who bestowed -several municipal offices on him at an early age. The youth of John De -Witt appears to have been less occupied by active employments; though he -possessed great knowledge and practical skill in maritime affairs, and -was esteemed one of the best pilots of his time. The early development -of his political talents, aided probably by family connexion, and the -respect due to his father’s services, soon introduced him to high civil -employment. In 1650 he was appointed Pensionary of his native town, and -in 1652, Grand Pensionary of Holland, an office which gave him a -commanding influence over the deliberations of the whole Union. It was -granted nominally only for five years, but in effect was permanent, -since at the end of each period it was customary to re-appoint the -holder. - -It was the leading object of De Witt’s policy to diminish the influence -which the princes of the House of Orange had acquired, as much by their -services and high personal qualities, as by their power and territorial -possessions, and to strengthen the republican institutions of his -country, which he saw to be endangered, as it was ultimately destroyed, -by their hereditary tenure of the office of Stadtholder. “The chief -direction of the affairs of Holland, for eighteen years, continued in -the hands of their Pensionary De Witt, a minister of the greatest -authority and sufficiency, the greatest application and industry, ever -known in their state. In the course of his ministry he and his party -reduced, not only all the civil charges of the government in this -province, but in a manner all the military commands of the army, out of -the hands of persons affectionate to the Prince of Orange, into those -esteemed more sure and fast to the interests of their more popular -state. And all this was attended for so long a course of years with the -perpetual success of their affairs, by the growth of their trade, power -and riches at home, and the consideration of their neighbours abroad.” -Such is the testimony of Sir William Temple, (Essay on the Origin and -Nature of Government,) to the policy, success, and merits of a friend -whom he loved and venerated. The position of affairs, when De Witt -attained to the direction of the state, favoured the development of his -republican views. William II., Prince of Orange, had died in 1650, and -his posthumous son and heir, afterwards William III. of England, was an -infant. Had the representative of that house been of mature age, we may -conclude that gratitude for the eminent services of his predecessors, -and the natural inclination of the people towards the form of government -to which they had been accustomed, would have led again to the -appointment of a Stadtholder in his person. But the office was of a -nature which could not be well exercised by a regent, or committed to an -infant, without acknowledging a species of hereditary right, scarcely -differing from the claims of royalty: and accordingly in some provinces -another prince of the Nassau family was appointed Stadtholder, in -others, of which Holland was one, the office continued in abeyance, and -De Witt, thwarted by no superior, was able to direct his best efforts to -counteract the workings of the Orange party, and to effect those changes -in the civil and military organization of the state, which are mentioned -in the above quotation from Sir W. Temple. The same leading principle -guided his foreign policy. When he was appointed Grand Pensionary, the -Provinces were engaged in war with England; an unequal contest while her -government was directed by Cromwell. But the true interest of both -parties lay in their amity, and peace was concluded in 1654. While -Cromwell lived, the republican party was upheld by his influence. He -endeavoured to obtain from the States General, in the treaty of 1654, -the perpetual exclusion of the Prince of Orange from the -Stadtholdership: but not being able to obtain their consent to this, -contented himself with the assent of the States of Holland, as far as -regarded their own province, which was accorded by a secret article. -After the Restoration it was to be expected that Charles II. would -support the interests of his nephew the Prince of Orange; and De Witt -thenceforward cultivated the alliance of France in preference to that of -England. This, and the jealousy of the English nation at the commercial -prosperity of the Dutch, led to the breaking out of a bloody war in -1665, in which the preponderance of success was on the side of England. -The spirit, energy, and ability of De Witt was the main stay of his -countrymen under the reverses which they sustained in this contest: -their disasters were promptly repaired, their defeated armaments -refitted, their credit sustained; and Charles II. becoming weary of a -war which brought no advantages to compensate for the drain which it -occasioned on the treasury, condescended to open negotiations for peace -in 1667. These, however, proceeded but slowly: and while they were yet -pending, De Witt planned that memorable expedition which surprised our -ill-guarded shores, burnt our ships in the Thames, and threw the -metropolis into the utmost alarm. The course of diplomacy being -quickened by this event, the treaty of Breda was soon after concluded, -on terms not disadvantageous to Holland. - -In the following year a closer union, called the Triple League, was -formed, chiefly by the agency of De Witt and Sir William Temple, between -these two powers, in conjunction with Sweden. It was intended to -restrain the ambition of Louis XIV., which had manifested itself in such -encroachments upon the Spanish Netherlands as gave just cause of anxiety -to the United Provinces. De Witt saw that a new danger threatened the -independence of his country from abroad, and sacrificed to the emergency -his own political prepossessions and his jealousy of everything which -could restore the House of Orange to power. So great was his -earnestness, that he violated a fundamental principle of the Union, by -inducing the States General to ratify the treaty at once, instead of -referring it, as was prescribed by the constitution, to the acceptance -of the several provinces: an act by which, had it proved unpalatable to -the nation, the lives of all who were concerned in it were endangered, -and which is only to be excused on the plea of necessity, and by the -certainty that the measure, which its framers regarded as essential to -the welfare of the whole confederacy, would have been frustrated by the -influence of France over some or other of its least important members. -In 1670 De Witt concluded another treaty with the emperor of Germany and -the King of Spain, with the same object of maintaining the power of -Spain in the Netherlands, as a barrier against the encroachments of -France. - -All these precautions were rendered vain by the weak and corrupt conduct -of the English Court. The ministers were bribed, and the King cajoled by -a French mistress, sent over in the train of his sister the Duchess of -Orleans, to renounce the Triple League and to declare war against the -United Provinces, in 1672, on the most frivolous pretences. At the same -time the king of France in person led against them a numerous, well -appointed, and well officered army. It is probable that De Witt had -relied with confidence on the sincerity of England in promoting the -objects of the Triple League, and that though well aware of the -disposition of Louis, he had not thought the danger so near at hand. At -all events he had made no sufficient preparation to meet it; and the -consequences of this omission were most disastrous. The troops of the -Provinces, composed in a great measure of new levies, could make no -head; the frontier fortresses yielded almost without resistance; the -Rhine was passed, an event remarkable only by the flatteries for which -it gave a subject to the French poets; and Louis held his court at -Utrecht, while his troops advanced within a few miles of Amsterdam. A -loud clamour was now raised against De Witt, who was roundly accused of -having disbanded the veteran troops of the Republic, dismantled the -fortresses, and exhausted the treasury, that his country might fall an -easier prey to the French connexion. This calumny, even at the time, -probably, was hardly believed: but too great neglect of the military -establishment seems justly chargeable as a fault on his administration. -For this, however, some excuse may be found in the necessity of economy, -the inconsistency of a mercenary army of foreigners with republican -principles, and the readiness of the Orange party to misrepresent this -policy of the Pensionary, as tending to concentrate in himself the -powers of Stadtholder, a name and office which he had been so eager to -abolish. By the machinations of that party the embarrassments of the -government were increased, and discontent was fomented; and their -sufferings and danger led the people to think more and more favourably -of the claims of William of Orange. The natural high qualities of that -prince had received most careful cultivation under the superintendence -of De Witt, who was resolved, he said, to render him capable of serving -his country, if any change should throw the administration into his -hands. Already, February 25, he had been declared captain-general and -admiral of the Provinces. Shortly after, De Witt’s life was attempted by -four assassins, who left him for dead, as he was returning home at -night, unattended, with his usual simplicity of demeanour. While he lay -ill of his wounds, the repeal of the Perpetual Edict passed in 1667, by -which the office of Stadtholder was abolished for ever in the province -of Holland, was demanded by the populace, with much violence and -sedition. That State yielded to the clamour, and the Prince was thus -reinstated in the full power enjoyed by his predecessors. - -Cornelius De Witt was induced, with great difficulty, to sign the -revocation of the Edict. Soon after, he was accused of being concerned -in a plot to murder the Prince of Orange. The informer and only witness, -one Tichelaer, was a person of infamous character: yet on his evidence -this brave and well-deserving citizen was thrown into prison at the -Hague, and cruelly tortured to extort confession of a plot, the very -existence of which, without that confession, could not be proved. He -bore the trial with unshaken constancy, protesting that if they cut him -to pieces, they should not make him confess a thing which he had never -thought of. Without it, he could not be convicted: but he was stripped -of his employments and banished from Holland; and such was the madness -of the time, that even this iniquitous decree gave great offence, by its -leniency, to the people, who were fully persuaded of Cornelius De Witt’s -guilt. John De Witt meanwhile had recovered from his wounds; and finding -that in the existing state of public feeling his continuance at the head -of affairs was both undesirable for himself and unpleasing to the -country, he resigned his office. After the promulgation of his brother’s -sentence, he went to receive him upon his delivery from prison; and -probably to do him more honour, and testify his own sense of the malice -of the charge, and the unworthiness of the treatment which he had -received, repaired to the Hague in his coach and four, a sort of display -which he was not wont to affect. This bravado proved still more -unfortunate than ill-judged. The people, collected by the unusual -spectacle, began to murmur at the presumption of one suspected traitor -coming in state to insult the laws, and triumph in the escape of a -traitor-brother from a deserved death. De Witt went to the prison, to -convey his brother to his own house; but Cornelius replied, that having -suffered so much, being innocent, he would not leave the prison as a -culprit, but remain, and appeal against the sentence; a resolution which -John De Witt strove in vain to shake. Meanwhile Tichelaer, the informer, -was busily engaged in stirring up the populace to riot. Apprehending -some disturbance, the States of Holland, which were then sitting at the -Hague, requested the Prince of Orange to repair thither with a military -force. Meanwhile the tumult spread from the lowest people to the -burghers, and a furious mob collected round the gates of the prison -where the brothers still remained. The military force which had been -sent for did not arrive, and that which was in the city was drawn off, -by written order from one or more of the magistrates, upon a false -report, that a body of peasants was advancing to pillage the Hague. -Actuated by fear, or some worse motive, the gaoler opened the gates, the -leaders of the mob rushed in, the brothers were violently dragged from -their chamber, and massacred as soon as they reached the street, with -circumstances of brutality too revolting to be narrated in detail. Their -corpses were dragged to the gibbet, and publicly suspended with the -heads downwards; and the mangled limbs of these upright magistrates and -patriotic citizens were offered for sale, and bought at prices of -fifteen, twenty, and thirty sols. - -There is another account, different in some particulars, which intimates -that this atrocious murder was preconcerted, and that a train was laid -for it, if not by the Prince of Orange himself, at least by the leaders -of his party. Such charges are often lightly made; and we are not aware -that there is any direct evidence to fix this guilt on any one, -certainly not personally on that distinguished monarch. But that there -was culpable neglect, even acquitting those in power of wilful -connivance, seems certain; and the proceedings of the court which -sentenced Cornelius, show that the government was not delicate in -finding means to remove those whom it disliked. And William’s subsequent -conduct may almost be said to have merited the imputation which he -incurred; for though the States of Holland voted the murder detestable -in their eyes and the eyes of all the world, and requested the -Stadtholder to take proper measures to avenge it, none of the murderers -were ever brought to justice. The flimsy pretext for this neglect was, -that it would be dangerous to inquire into a deed in which the principal -burghers of the Hague were concerned. - -Mr. Fox, in his History of James II., has made the following reflections -on this event. “The catastrophe of De Witt, the wisest, best, and most -truly patriotic minister that ever appeared upon the public stage, as it -was an act of the most crying injustice and ingratitude, so likewise it -is the most completely dis-encouraging example that history affords to -the lovers of liberty. If Aristides was banished, he was also recalled: -if Dion was repaid for his service to the Syracusans by ingratitude, -that ingratitude was more than once repented of: if Sidney and Russell -died upon the scaffold, they had not the cruel mortification of falling -by the hands of the people; ample justice was done to their memory, and -the very sound of their names is still animating to every Englishman -attached to their glorious cause. But with De Witt fell also his cause -and his party; and although a name so respected by all who revere virtue -and wisdom when employed in their noblest sphere, the political service -of the public, yet I do not know that even to this day any public -honours have been paid by them to his memory.” - -After De Witt’s death, all his papers were submitted to the most -rigorous examination, in hope of discovering something which should -confirm the popular notion of his being traitorously in league with -France. One of the persons appointed to perform this service being asked -what had been found in De Witt’s papers, replied, “What could we have -found? Nothing but probity.” To the moral qualities of integrity, -intrepidity, and patience, he added intellectual endowments of the -highest order: his perception was acute, his judgment solid; he -possessed great skill and readiness in transacting business, and that -persuasive influence over those who came in contact with him, which is -perhaps the most serviceable gift of a statesman. His manners, we are -told by Sir William Temple, (Observations on the United Provinces, c. -11), were such as befitted his station and his principles. “His habit -was grave, plain and popular; his table, what only served turn for his -family or a friend; his train was only one man, who performed all the -menial service of his house at home, and upon his visits of ceremony, -putting on a plain livery cloak, attended his coach abroad; for upon -other occasions he was seen usually in the streets on foot and alone, -like the commonest burgher of the town. Nor was this manner of life -affected; but was the general fashion and mode among all the magistrates -of the state.” - -De Witt cultivated mathematics, and published a Treatise on Curves. -Burnet says, “Perhaps no man ever applied algebra to all matters of -trade so nicely as he did. He made himself so entirely master of the -state of Holland, that he understood exactly all the concerns of their -revenue, and what sums, and in what manner, could be raised upon any -emergent of state. For this he had a pocket book full of tables, and was -ever ready to show how they could be furnished with money.” The most -remarkable of his works are his Memoirs, published during his life in -1667, in which, after examining the principles which govern the -prosperity and decline of states, he proceeds to apply them to Holland, -and to review the condition and prospects of the country. They have been -translated into French by Mad. Zoutelandt, who has also written a life -of the two brothers. De Witt’s correspondence with the plenipotentiaries -of France, England, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland, has also been -published, and translated into French. - -[Illustration: [Murder of the brothers De Witt, from a Dutch print in -Wagenaar’s ‘Vaterlandsche Historie,’ 1770.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - HAMPDEN. - - _From a Print by J. Houbraken 1740._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - HAMPDEN. - - -John Hampden was the head and representative of an ancient and opulent -family, which had received the lands of Hampden in Buckinghamshire from -Edward the Confessor, and boasted to have transmitted its wealth, -honours, and influence, unimpaired and increasing, in direct male -succession, down to this the most illustrious of the house. The date of -his birth is 1594; the place of it is generally believed to have been -London. Under four years of age, he came, by the death of his father, -into possession of the family estates, which, besides the ancient seat -and extensive domain in Buckinghamshire, comprehended large possessions -in Essex, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire. Our knowledge of his early life -may be summed in a few facts and dates. He was brought up at the -free-school of Thame, in Oxfordshire; entered as a commoner at Magdalen -College, Oxford, in 1609; and was admitted student of the Inner Temple -in 1613, where he made considerable progress in the knowledge of common -law. His classical attainments also seem to have been respectable, since -he was associated, oddly enough, with Laud, then Master of St. John’s, -in writing the Oxford gratulatory poems on the marriage of the Elector -Palatine and the Princess Elizabeth; from which sprung Prince Rupert, -who led the Royalist troops when Hampden received his death-wound. In -1619, he married his first wife Elizabeth Symeon. Inheriting a noble -property, he devoted himself, without suffering his literary habits to -fall into desuetude, principally to the business and amusements of a -country life, having, says Lord Clarendon, “on a sudden retired from a -life of great pleasure and licence, to extraordinary sobriety and -strictness, and yet retained his usual cheerfulness and affability.” His -first entrance into public life was in January, 1620–1, when he took his -seat in the Parliament then convened, for Grampound, at that time a -borough of wealth and importance: a prevalent error, that he sat for the -first time in the first Parliament summoned by Charles I. in 1625, is -corrected by Lord Nugent, who in his Memorials of Hampden has shown that -he sat in the Parliaments of 1621 and 1624; that he was active and -diligent in his attendance, and intimately connected himself with -Selden, Pym, St. John, and other leaders of the popular party; and that, -though he seldom spoke, his capacity for business was known and -respected, as appears from the employments in committees and -conferences, imposed on him by the House. - -In the first Parliament of Charles I., Hampden sat for Wendover, an -ancient borough of Buckinghamshire, which with two others had lately -regained their dormant privilege of returning members, chiefly by his -exertions, and at his expense. In this and in the following Parliament, -summoned in February, 1627, Hampden still appears to have taken no -leading part. After the dissolution of the latter, he was called upon to -contribute to a general loan, which he refused, and was in consequence -imprisoned for a time in the Gate House, and then sent still under -restraint to reside in Hampshire. The order for his release, with many -others, is dated March, 1627–8. On this occasion, he made the remarkable -reply to the demand, why he would not contribute to the king’s -necessities, that “he could be content to lend as well as others, but -feared to draw upon himself that curse in Magna Charta, which should be -read twice a year against those who infringe it.” - -In the new Parliament which met in March, 1628, Hampden again sat for -Wendover, and having become more generally known by the part which he -had taken in resisting the demands of the crown, from this time forward, -says Lord Nugent, “scarcely was a bill prepared, or an inquiry begun, -upon any subject, however remotely affecting any one of the three great -matters at issue—privilege, religion, or the supplies—but he was thought -fit to be associated with St. John, Selden, Coke and Pym, on the -committee.” - -That Parliament, after framing the Petition of Right, voting supplies, -and taking resolute steps towards procuring a redress of grievances, was -hastily and angrily dissolved in May, 1629. Previous to this, Hampden, -“although retaining his seat for Wendover, had retired to his estate in -Buckinghamshire, to live in entire privacy, without display, but not -inactive; contemplating from a distance, the madness of the Government, -the luxury and insolence of the courtiers, and the portentous apathy of -the people, who, amazed by the late measures, and by the prospect of -uninterruptedly increasing violence, saw no hope from petition or -complaint, and watched, in confusion and silence, the inevitable advance -of an open rupture between the King and the Parliament. The literary -acquirements of his youth he now carefully improved; increasing that -stock of general knowledge which had already gained him the reputation -of being one of the most learned and accomplished men of his age: and -directing his attention chiefly to writers on history and politics. -Davila’s History of the Civil Wars of France became his favourite study, -his vade mecum, as Sir Philip Warwick styles it; as if forecasting from -afar the course of the storm which hung over his own country, he already -saw the sad parallel it was likely to afford to the story of that work. -In his retirement, he bent the whole force of his capacious mind to the -most effectual means by which the abuses of ecclesiastical authority -were to be corrected, and the tide of headlong prerogative checked, -whenever the slumbering spirit of the country should be roused to deal -with those duties to which he was preparing to devote himself.” -(Memorials of Hampden, p. 175.) It may here be added that Hampden’s -religious opinions were those of the Independent party, who were -honourably distinguished, no less from the Presbyterians than the -Episcopalians, by granting to all persons that freedom of conscience and -full toleration which they claimed for themselves. While thus awaiting, -with study and patient observation, the time when the active service of -a real patriot might benefit his country, his domestic happiness -received a severe blow by the death of his wife, Aug. 20, 1634. - -In the same autumn the scheme of raising a revenue by ship-money was -devised. Confined in the first instance to seaport towns, it proved so -profitable that the levy was soon extended to inland places. In 1636, -the charge was laid, by order of council, upon all counties, cities, and -corporate towns, and the sheriffs were required, in case of refusal or -delay, to proceed by distress. Here Hampden resolved to make a stand. -The sum demanded of him was but thirty-one shillings and sixpence; but -the very smallness of the sum served to show that his opposition was -directed against the principle of the exaction, and rested on no ground -of personal inconvenience, or individual injustice. Proceedings being -instituted in the Exchequer for recovery of the money, the case was -solemnly argued before the twelve judges, who severally delivered their -opinions, and by a majority of eight to four, determined in favour of -the crown. “But the judgment,” says Lord Clarendon, “infinitely more -advanced him, Mr. Hampden, than the service for which it was given. He -was rather of reputation in his own country, than of public discourse, -or fame in the kingdom, before the business of ship-money: but then he -grew the argument of all tongues, every man inquiring who or what he -was, that durst, at his own charge, support the liberty and property of -the country, as he thought, from being made a prey to the court. His -carriage, throughout this agitation, was with that rare temper and -modesty, that they who watched him narrowly to find some advantage -against his person, to make him less resolute in his cause, were -compelled to give him a just testimony.” - -These measures, which placed at the king’s disposal the property, were -accompanied by equally stringent attacks on the liberties of the -country. Tutored by the lofty spirit of Wentworth, Charles resolved, and -seemed likely to succeed, to rule independently of Parliaments: and in -the sycophancy of the judges, and the unlimited and illegal severities -of the courts of the Star-Chamber and High Commission, he had ample -means of suppressing murmur, and punishing the refractory. We need not -dwell upon the state to which the country was reduced, during the eleven -years which elapsed without the meeting of a Parliament: so unpromising -did it appear, that even the most resolute of that party comprehended by -the Royalists under the general name of Puritans, meditated a withdrawal -from the tyranny which they had almost ceased to hope to restrain. Even -this however was denied to them by the infatuated jealousy of popular -principles entertained by the king and his advisers, who issued an -order, April 6, 1638, by which masters of ships were prohibited to carry -passengers to America, without special licence. It has often been dwelt -on as a very remarkable circumstance, that Hampden, and his cousin -Oliver Cromwell, were at this time actually embarked for New England on -board one of eight ships then lying in the river and freighted with -emigrants, and that these eight ships were specially ordered to be -detained. - -A dawn of better times appeared, when in consequence of the king’s rash -attempt to impose the English ritual upon Scotland, and restore -Episcopacy, that country rose in rebellion. The expenses of the war -rendered it imperative to obtain supplies; and Charles, fearing at this -juncture to resort to fresh impositions, saw no resource except in -summoning that which is commonly called the Short Parliament, which met -in April, 1640. Hampden was returned for Buckinghamshire. About this -time he had married his second wife, Letitia Vachell, but the quiet -happiness of his home was henceforth entirely broken up by the -disturbances of the times, and he never returned to any settled -residence at his paternal mansion. In the short and energetic session of -this spring he displayed his usual diligence and activity; and his -influence was much increased in consequence of his resistance to the -demand of ship-money, which had attracted such notice, that Clarendon, -in speaking of the opening of the Long Parliament in November following, -observes, “the eyes of all men were fixed upon him as their Pater -Patriæ, and the pilot that must steer the vessel through the tempests -and rocks which threatened it. And I am persuaded his power and -interest, at that time, was greater to do good or hurt, than any man in -the kingdom, or than any man of his rank hath held in any time: for his -reputation of honesty was universal, and his affections seemed so -publicly guided, that no corrupt or private ends could bias them.” - -The causes of the dissolution of the Short Parliament, and the history -of the second Scottish war which compelled Charles I. to summon the Long -Parliament, hardly form a part of our subject: it is to be observed -however that during the summer and autumn, Hampden, with other leading -persons of the popular party, was engaged in active correspondence with -the leaders of the Scottish insurrection, in whose success, as tending -to the further embarrassment of the king, they placed their best hope of -obtaining security for the maintenance of the liberties and privileges -of the English people. Of the first great act of that Parliament, the -impeachment of Strafford, he was a zealous supporter, and a member of -the committee of twelve appointed to arrange the evidence, and to -conduct that memorable trial. After the Commons, for reasons which have -never been satisfactorily explained, thought fit to change the method of -proceeding by introducing a bill of attainder, the name of Hampden -appears in none of the records: and it is probable that he abstained -from taking any part in the business. It is important to keep this in -mind, because the censure, which has justly been cast upon the -proceedings of the House of Commons against Lord Strafford, applies -solely to the attainder, not to the impeachment. To the question, why, -if Hampden disapproved of the attainder, he did not as resolutely oppose -it as he had supported the impeachment, the following hypothetical -answer is supplied by Lord Nugent. “In a case doubtful to him only as -matter of precedent; but clear to him in respect of the guilt of the -accused person; in a case in which the accused person, in his -estimation, deserved death, and in which all law, except that of the -sceptre and the sword, was at an end if he had escaped it; when all the -ordinary protection of law to the subject throughout the country was -suspended, and suspended mainly by the counsels of Strafford himself, -Hampden was not prepared to heroically immolate the liberties of England -in order to save the life of him who would have destroyed them. Hampden -probably considered the bill which took away Strafford’s life (and -indeed it must in fairness be so considered) as a revolutionary act -undertaken for the defence of the Commonwealth.” - -He was an active supporter of two important measures which occupied the -Parliament simultaneously with Strafford’s impeachment, the Triennial -Bill, for securing the convocation of Parliaments, and the bill for -excluding bishops from the House of Lords. After the rejection of the -latter, he adopted the views of that more violent party who urged the -necessity of abolishing episcopacy altogether. But, notwithstanding his -recognised position as a leader of his party, and his known weight in -determining the line of conduct to be pursued by it, he was not a -frequent speaker, and his name therefore occurs less frequently than -would be expected in the records of this eventful period. “His practice -was usually to reserve himself until near the close of a debate; and -then, having watched its progress, to endeavour to moderate the -redundancies of his friends, to weaken the impression produced by its -opponents, to confirm the timid, and to reconcile the reluctant. And -this he did, according to the testimony of his opponents themselves, -with a modesty, gentleness, and apparent diffidence in his own judgment, -which generally brought men round to his conclusions.”—(Memorials of -Hampden, ii. 47.) He was one of the five members accused of treason, and -demanded personally by Charles in the House of Commons, January 6, 1642; -“and from this time,” says Clarendon, “his nature and carriage seemed -much fiercer than it did before.” Unquestionably that ill-advised step -was not likely to conciliate those whose life was aimed at, but it is -also clear that before that event, the party, with whom he acted, were -preparing for a struggle more serious than that in which they were as -yet engaged. A Committee of Public Safety was formed, of which Hampden -was a member, the power of the sword was claimed by the Ordinance of -Militia, the king on his part issued his Commission of Array, and at -last raised his standard at Nottingham, August 22. - -In the military events of the first year of the war, Hampden took an -active, but subordinate share, as colonel of a regiment of infantry, -which he himself raised in Buckinghamshire. Nor did he intermit, as the -exigencies of war allowed him, to continue his attendance in Parliament, -and to urge there that decisive course of action, which he knew to be -necessary to the success of the cause, and laboured in vain to recommend -to the Parliamentary general. At the battle of Brentford, his troops, -and those of Lord Brook, in support of the London regiment under Hollis, -bore the brunt of the day against superior numbers, until the army -arrived from London in the evening: and on this occasion (as before at -Edge Hill, where he arrived too late to take part in the fight,) he in -vain urged Essex to convert, by a decisive forward movement, the -doubtful issue of the day into victory. During the winter months, while -the king held his court at Oxford, and a Parliamentary army lay between -London and that city, Hampden’s regiment was quartered in -Buckinghamshire, and his own time was divided between the seat of war -and the House of Commons. - -To this period also, is to be referred the association of six midland -counties for the purposes of the war, Bedford, Buckingham, Hertford, -Cambridge, Huntingdon, and Northampton; a step which proved of material -service in giving strength and union to the Parliamentary cause, and -which probably would not have been carried into operation but for -Hampden’s peculiar talent of allaying jealousies, reconciling -conflicting interests, and smoothing away the obstacles to any business -which he undertook. - -From March 1, to April 15, a cessation of arms was agreed on in -Oxfordshire and Bucks, while an attempt was made to arrange terms of -pacification. The treaty having been broken off, war recommenced with an -incessant and generally successful series of predatory incursions, -conducted by Prince Rupert, on the Parliamentary outposts, which lay -widely dispersed in the intricate country on the borders of -Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. In this district, with which his early -habits of the chase had made him familiar, Hampden’s regiment was -quartered. He had laboured incessantly, but in vain, to promote some -great enterprise, which might give lustre to the seemingly declining -cause, and confidence to the adherents, of the Parliament. Failing in -this, he manifested no less alacrity in performing his duty than if his -views and his suggestions had been adopted: indeed it would be consonant -to his character to suppose, that a strict sense of what is due to -military discipline, and a desire to avoid even the appearance of -slighting his commanding officer, led him to still more zealous -exertions. It was in a matter beyond the strict line of his duty that he -received his death-wound. On the evening of the 17th of June, Rupert set -out from Oxford with about 2000 men, and surprised and burnt two -villages, Postcombe and Chinnor, which were occupied by the -Parliamentary troops. When the alarm reached Hampden, he instantly set -out at the head of a small body of cavalry, which volunteered to follow -him, in hopes of being able to delay the Royalists sufficiently to -enable Essex to occupy the passes of the Cherwell, and cut them off from -Oxford. Strengthened by the accession of four troops of horse, he -overtook Prince Rupert, who drew up to receive the attack on -Chalgrove-field. Early in the action Hampden received two bullets in the -shoulder, which shattered the bone, and in an agony of pain he rode off -the field; “a thing,” says Clarendon, “he never used to do, and from -which it was concluded he was hurt.” Two others of the chief -Parliamentary officers present were killed or taken, and the Royalists -made good their retreat. Hampden expired at Thame, after six days severe -suffering. His last words are thus given from a contemporary -publication. “O Lord God of Hosts, great is thy mercy, just and holy are -thy dealings unto us sinful men. Save me, O Lord, if it be thy good -will, from the jaws of death. Pardon my manifold transgressions, O Lord, -save my bleeding country. Have these realms in thy especial keeping. -Confound and level in the dust those who would rob the people of their -liberty and lawful prerogative. Let the king see his error, and turn the -hearts of his wicked counsellors from the malice and wickedness of their -designs. Lord Jesu, receive my soul!” He then mournfully uttered, “O -Lord, save my country—O Lord, be merciful to” ... and here his speech -failed him. He fell back in the bed, and expired. - -His death, according to Sir Philip Warwick, was regretted even by the -king, “who looked on his interest, if he could gain his affections, as a -powerful means of begetting a right understanding between him and the -two Houses.” To his own party it was irreparable. It removed the fittest -person for the chief command of their troops, which it is not -unreasonable to suppose would, upon the removal of Essex, have been -vested in him; deprived them of a leader and adviser, who, of all, was -the most likely to have confined his wishes to the establishment of a -secure peace, on the basis of a strictly limited monarchy; and opened -way to the ambition of Cromwell, which probably would never have been -developed if Hampden had lived to direct the counsels of the Parliament. - -We have already given a portion of Clarendon’s character of Hampden; for -the rest of that celebrated passage, we must refer to the History of the -Rebellion, book vii. It describes a man of rare virtues, though the -political bias of the noble author has thrown a dark colouring over the -whole. The latest, and we believe the most elaborate account of this -eminent patriot, is that of Lord Nugent, from which the greater part of -our memoir is derived. But the memoirs and pamphlets of the time must be -intimately studied by those who wish for full information concerning -Hampden’s parliamentary life. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - JOHNSON. - - _From a Picture by Sir J. Reynolds, in the possession of Sir Robert - Peel Bar^t._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - JOHNSON. - - -Samuel Johnson was born September 18, 1709, in the city of Lichfield, -where his father, a man well respected for sense and learning, carried -on the trade of a bookseller, and realized an independence, which he -afterwards lost by an unsuccessful speculation. His mother also -possessed a strong understanding. From these parents Johnson derived a -powerful body, and a mind of uncommon force and compass. Unfortunately -both mind and body were tainted by disease: the former by a melancholy, -of which he said that it had “made him mad all his life—at least not -sober;” the latter by that scrofulous disorder called the king’s evil, -for which, in compliance with a popular superstition, recommended by the -Jacobite principles of his family, he was _touched_ by Queen Anne. By -this disease he lost the sight of one eye, and the other was -considerably injured: a calamity which combined with constitutional -indolence to prevent his joining in the active sports of his -school-fellows. Tardy in the performance of his appointed tasks, he -mastered them with rapidity at last, and he early displayed great -fondness for miscellaneous reading, and a remarkably retentive memory. -After passing through several country schools, and spending near two -years in a sort of busy idleness at home, he went to Pembroke College, -Oxford, about the age of sixteen. There he made himself more remarkable -by wit and humour, and negligence of college discipline, than by his -labours for University distinction: his translation of Pope’s Messiah -into Latin hexameters was the only exercise on which he bestowed much -pains, or by which he obtained much credit. But his high spirits, unless -the recollections of his earlier years were tinctured by his habitual -despondency, were but the cloak of a troubled mind. “Ah! Sir,” he said -to Boswell, “I was mad and violent. It was bitterness which they mistook -for frolic. I was miserably poor, and I thought to fight my way by my -literature and my wit, so I disregarded all power and all authority.” -His poverty during this period was indeed extreme: and the scanty -remittances by which he was supported, in much humiliation and -inconvenience, were altogether stopped at last by his father’s -insolvency. He had the mortification to be compelled to quit Oxford in -the autumn of 1731, after three years’ residence, without taking a -degree; and his father’s death in the December following threw him on -the world, with twenty pounds in his pocket. - -He first attempted to gain a livelihood in the capacity of usher to a -school at Market-Bosworth, in Leicestershire. For that laborious and -dreary task he was eminently unfit, except by talent and learning, and -he soon quitted a situation which he ever remembered with a degree of -aversion amounting to horror. After his marriage he tried the experiment -of keeping a boarding-house, near Lichfield, as principal, with little -better success. From Bosworth he went to Birmingham, in 1733, where he -composed his first work, a translation of the Jesuit Lobo’s Voyage to -Abyssinia. He gained several kind and useful acquaintance in the latter -town, among whom was Mr. Porter, a mercer, whose widow he married in -1735. She was double his age, and possessed neither beauty, fortune, nor -attractive manners, yet she inspired him with an affection which -endured, unchilled by the trials of poverty, unchanged by her death, -even to the end of his own life, as his private records fully testify. -She died in 1752. - -In March, 1737, Johnson set out for the metropolis, in hopes of mending -his fortunes, as a man of letters, and especially of bringing on the -stage his tragedy of Irene. It was long before his desires were -gratified in either respect. Irene was not performed till 1749, when his -friend and former pupil, Garrick, had the management of Drury-Lane. -Garrick’s zeal carried it through nine nights, so that the author, in -addition to one hundred pounds from Dodsley for the copyright, had the -profit of three nights’ performance, according to the mode of payment -then in use. The play however, though bearing the stamp of a vigorous -and elevated mind, and by no means wanting in poetical merit, was unfit -for acting, through its want of pathos and dramatic effect: and Johnson -perhaps perceived his deficiency in these qualities, for he never again -wrote for the stage. Garrick said of his friend, that he had neither the -faculty to produce, nor the sensibility to receive the impressions of -tragedy: and his annotations upon Shakspeare confirm this judgment. - -His first employment after his arrival in London, was as a frequent -contributor to the Gentleman’s Magazine, from which, during some years, -he derived his chief support. This was a period of labour, poverty, and -often of urgent want. Sometimes without a lodging, sometimes without a -dinner, he became acquainted with the darker phases of a London life; -and among other singular characters, a similarity of fortunes made him -acquainted with the notorious Richard Savage, whom he regarded with -affection, and whose life is one of the most powerful productions of -Johnson’s pen. - -In the thoughts suggested, and the knowledge taught, by this rough -collision with the world, we may conjecture his imitation of the third -satire of Juvenal, entitled London, to have originated. To the majority -of the nation it was recommended by its strong invectives against the -then unpopular ministry of Sir Robert Walpole, as well as by the energy -of thought and style, the knowledge of his subject, and the lively -painting in which it abounds: it reached a second edition in the course -of a week, and Boswell tells us, on contemporary authority, that “the -first buz of the literary circles was, ‘here is an unknown poet, greater -even than Pope.’” Yet this admired poem produced only ten guineas to its -author, and appears to have done nothing towards improving his -prospects, or giving a commercial value to his name: his chief -employment was still furnished by the Gentleman’s Magazine; and in -November, 1740, he undertook to report, or rather to write, the -Parliamentary debates for that publication. At that time the privileges -of Parliament were very strictly interpreted, and the avowed publication -of debates would have been rigorously suppressed. Such a summary however -as could be preserved in the memory, was carried away by persons -employed for the purpose, and the task which Johnson undertook was to -expand and adorn their imperfect hints from the stores of his own -eloquence: in doing which he took care, as he afterwards acknowledged, -that “the Whig dogs should not have the best of it.” The speeches of -course were referred to fictitious names, and were published under the -title, Debates of the Senate of Lilliput: but in February, 1743, -Johnson, on finding that they were esteemed genuine, desisted from the -employment, declaring that he would not be accessary to the propagation -of falsehood. So scrupulous was he on this score, that forty years -after, not long before his death, he expressed his regret at having been -the author of fictions that had passed for realities. - -For a detailed account of this early portion of Johnson’s literary -history, we refer the reader to Boswell’s Life, and the list of -Johnson’s works thereto prefixed, and pass on at once to those greater -performances, to which he owes his eminent rank among British writers. -Of these the earliest and most celebrated is his Dictionary of the -English Language. How long the plan of this work had been meditated, -before it was actually commenced, is uncertain: he told Boswell, that -his knowledge of our language was not the effect of particular study, -but had grown up insensibly in his mind. That he under-rated the time -and labour requisite for such a work, is evident from his promising in -his prospectus, issued in 1747, to complete it in three years: he -probably had also under-rated the needful knowledge, and amount of -preparatory study. In fact it was not published till 1755. He received -for it 1575_l._, of which however a very considerable portion was spent -in expenses. The prospectus was addressed to Lord Chesterfield; who -expressed himself warmly in favour of the design, and from that time -forward treated the author with neglect until the time of publication -drew nigh, when he again assumed the character of a patron. Fired at -this, Johnson repudiated his assistance in a dignified but sarcastic -letter, which is printed by Boswell. The transaction merits notice, for -it is characteristic of Johnson’s independent spirit, and excited at the -time much curiosity and comment. - -The Dictionary was justly esteemed a wonderful work: it established at -once the author’s reputation among his contemporaries, and was long -regarded as the supreme standard by which disputed points in the English -language were to be tried. Johnson’s chief qualification for the task -lay in the accuracy of his definitions, and the extent of his various -and well-remembered reading; his chief disqualification lay in his -ignorance of the cognate Teutonic languages, the stock from which the -bulk and strength of our own is derived: and in proportion as the -history and philosophy of the English language have been more -extensively studied, has the need of a more learned and philosophical -work of reference been felt. The verbose style of his definitions is -rather a fruitful theme of ridicule than an important fault. Shortly -before its publication he received from the University of Oxford, which -through life he regarded with great affection and veneration, the -honorary degree of M.A., a mark of respect by which he was highly -gratified. - -That his labour in composing this work was not severe, may be inferred -from the variety of literary employments in which, during its progress, -he found time and inclination to engage: among which we may select for -mention the imitation of Juvenal’s tenth satire, entitled Vanity of -Human Wishes, and the periodical paper called the Rambler, which was -published twice a week, from March 20, 1750, to March 17, 1752. Of the -whole series, according to Boswell, only four papers, and a part of a -fifth, were contributed by other pens: and it is remarkable, considering -the general gravity of the subjects, and the elaboration of the style, -that most of them were struck off at a heat, when constitutional -indolence could procrastinate no longer, without even being read over -before they were printed. The circulation of the work was small; for its -merits, which lie chiefly in moral instruction and literary criticism, -were of too grave a cast to ensure favour: the lighter parts, and the -attempts at humour, are the least successful. But its popularity -increased as the author’s fame rose, and fashion recommended his -grandiloquent style; and before his death it went through numerous -editions in a collected form. - -In 1756 he issued proposals for an edition of Shakspeare, a scheme which -he had contemplated as long back as 1745, when he published -Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth. He promised to -complete it before Christmas, 1757, but it did not appear until October, -1765. Imperfectly versed in the antiquities, literature, and language of -the Elizabethan era, the source from which almost all valuable comment -on our early dramatists has been drawn, he has done little to elucidate -difficulties or correct errors. His preface has been esteemed among the -most valuable of his critical essays. But the perusal of his notes, and -especially of his summary criticisms on the several plays, will confirm -Garrick’s judgment as to his sensibility, and show that he wanted that -delicate perception and deep knowledge of the workings of the passions -which were necessary to the adequate fulfilment of his most difficult -task. - -From April 15, 1758, to April 5, 1760, Johnson wrote a second periodical -paper, called the Idler. Twelve only, out of one hundred and three -essays, were contributed by his friends; the rest were generally written -with as much haste, and are of slighter texture, than those of the -Rambler. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, he wrote in the beginning of -1759, to defray the expenses of his mother’s funeral, and pay some -trifling debts which she had left. He told Sir Joshua Reynolds, that it -was composed in the evenings of one week, and sent to the press in -portions as it was written. This anecdote affords a good instance of -Johnson’s facility and power, when an adequate stimulus was applied: -from the rich imagery, and the varied, powerful strain of reflection -which pervade it, and the elaborated pomp of its style, it would -assuredly be taken for the product of mature consideration, labour, and -frequent revision. For this he received one hundred pounds, and -twenty-five pounds more at a second edition. It has been translated into -most European languages. - -In 1762 Johnson accepted a pension of 300_l._, for which he underwent -considerable obloquy. This was entirely undeserved, though in some sort -he had brought it on himself by indulging his satirical bias and -political predilections in a wayward definition of the words _pension_ -and _pensioner_, in his Dictionary; where other instances occur of his -indulging the humour of the moment, whether it prompted him to spleen or -merriment. Why he should not have accepted the pension, no sound reason -can be given: his Jacobitical predilections, never probably so strong as -he used to represent them in the heat of argument, were lost, like those -of others, in the hopelessness of the cause; and his Toryism naturally -led him to transfer his full respect and allegiance to the reigning -king, who never was suspected of an undue bias towards Whiggism. The sum -bestowed was no more than an honourable testimony to his literary -eminence, and a comfortable provision for his declining age: and as far -as it is possible to form an opinion on such matters, the gift was -unstained by any compact, expressed or understood, for political -support. - -Among the more important events of Johnson’s life, we are bound to -mention his acquaintance with Mr. Boswell, which commenced in 1763, not -only because it formed an important article among the pleasures of the -philosopher’s declining years, but because it led to the composition and -publication of the most lively and vivid picture ever given by one man -of another, the Life of Johnson. By Boswell, Johnson was induced, in -compliance with a wish that he had long before entertained, to undertake -a journey to the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides: and it is -remarkable that the first English book of travels (as we believe,) into -what to the English was then almost a _terra incognita_, should have -been composed by a man so careless of natural beauty, and so little -disposed to sacrifice his ease and habits to the cravings of curiosity, -as Johnson. His desire to visit that country seems to have arisen rather -from a wish to study society in a simple form, than from any taste for -the wild beauties of our Northern regions, of which he saw not the most -favourable specimen, and has given not a flattering account. His Journey -to the Western Islands will be read with pleasure, abounding in acute -observation, passages of lofty eloquence, and grateful acknowledgment of -the kindness and hospitality which he received; kindness which his -snappish railings against the Scotch in general never led him to -undervalue or forget. His companion and disciple’s account of their -expedition will, however, be read with more amusement, from presenting -such vivid pictures of the author himself, as well as of the subject -which he painted, and of the varied characters to which they were -introduced, and scenes in which they intermingled. We may here add that -Johnson was a resolute unbeliever in the authenticity of Macpherson’s -Ossian, against which, in his book, he pronounced a decided judgment. He -thus gave considerable offence to national vanity. To the claims of -second-sight he was more favourable. Throughout life he was influenced -by a belief, not only in the possibility, but in the occasional exertion -of supernatural agencies, beyond the regular operation of the laws of -nature. - -In 1775, Johnson received from the University of Oxford the honorary -degree of D.C.L. The same degree had been conferred on him some time -before by the University of Dublin; but he did not then assume the title -of doctor. His only subsequent work which requires notice is the Lives -of the English Poets, written for a collective edition of them, which -the booksellers were about to publish. To the selection of the authors, -praise cannot be given: many ornaments to our literature are omitted, -and many obscure persons have found a place in the collection: this -however, probably, was not Johnson’s fault. The publication began in -1779, and was not completed till 1781: the lives have gone through many -editions by themselves. Though strongly coloured by personal and -political predilections, they contain much sound criticism, and form a -valuable article in British biography. - -Many incidents connected with Johnson’s life, his places of residence, -his domestication in Mr. Thrale’s family, his connexion with The Club, -and the like, have been made generally known by the amusing works of -Boswell, Mrs. Piozzi, and others. Perhaps public curiosity was never so -strongly directed towards the person, habits, and conversation of any -man known only as an author; and certainly it never has been so amply -gratified. Boswell’s Life of Johnson is unique in its kind. - -His powers of conversation were very great, and not only commanded the -admiration and deference of his contemporaries, but have contributed in -a principal degree to the upholding of his traditionary fame. They were -deformed by an assumption of superiority, and an intolerance of -contradiction or opposition, which often betrayed him into offensive -rudeness. Yet his temper was at bottom affectionate and humane, his -attachments strong, and his charity only bounded, and scarcely bounded, -by his means. - -The latter years of Dr. Johnson’s life were overshadowed by much gloom. -Many of his old and most valued friends sank into the grave before him; -his bodily frame was much shattered by disease; his spirits became more -liable to depression; and his sincere and ardent piety was too deeply -tinged by constitutional despondency to afford him steady comfort and -support under his sufferings. He was struck by palsy in 1783, but -recovered to the use both of his bodily and mental faculties. A -complication of asthma and dropsy put an end to his existence, December -13, 1785. During his illness, his anxiety for a protracted life was -painfully intense: but his last hours are described by the bystanders to -have been calm, happy, and confident. He was buried in Westminster -Abbey. A statue to his memory is erected in St. Paul’s Cathedral. - -[Illustration: [Monument to Dr. Johnson in St. Paul’s Cathedral.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - JEFFERSON. - - _From a Print engraved by A. Desnoyers._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - JEFFERSON. - - -From the American Revolution of 1776 we may date the commencement of -that struggle which has agitated and still agitates Europe and the two -Americas. By whatever words the character of this struggle may be -expressed,—whether under the name of popular rights against exclusive -privileges, or self-government or the government of the people, against -absolute government or the government of a few, or by any other terms -more or less appropriate,—the contest is still going on, openly and -actively in those called free governments, silently and languidly in -those where the sovereign power is opposed to the extension or -introduction of the new doctrines. The contest is between progress (not -here considered whether as right or wrong) and standing still; between -change, without which there cannot be improvement, and a desire to -resist all change, which can hardly end in keeping things stationary, -but almost necessarily leads to a backward movement. The contest is not -only for the practical application of principles in government, which -are vigorously maintained by the one party, and either not denied or -faintly opposed by the arguments of the other; but also for the free -expression and publication of all opinions on all subjects affecting the -moral and political condition of society. - -There is no individual, either in America or in Europe, who by his -actions and opinions has had a greater influence on this contest than -THOMAS JEFFERSON. During a long and laborious life, both in official -situations which gave him opportunities that his activity never let -slip, and in private life in his extensive correspondence and -intercourse with persons of all countries, he constantly, perseveringly, -and honestly maintained what he conceived to be the principle of pure -republican institutions. In the ardour of youth, his zeal and energy -mainly contributed to animate his countrymen to declare their -independence on a foreign power. In his maturer age, when a member of -the General Administration, he struggled, and he struggled at one time -almost alone, against a monarchical and aristocratical faction, to -maintain the great principles of the Revolution, and develop the -doctrines of a pure unmixed popular government. His influence gave to -these doctrines a consistency, and a form, and a distinctness, which the -mass of the nation could easily seize and retain. He thus became the -head of a party in the United States, which, whether always rightly -appealing to his doctrines or not for the vindication of their acts, -still regards him as the father of their school and the expounder of -their principles. By his plain and unaffected manners, and the freedom -with which he expressed his opinions on all subjects, he gave a -practical example of that republican simplicity which he cultivated, and -of that free inquiry which he urged upon all. Such a man must always -have many friends and many enemies. From his friends and admirers he has -received, perhaps, not more praise than those who believe in the truth -of his doctrines and the purity of his conduct are bound to bestow; by -his enemies, both at home and abroad, he has been blackened by every -term of abuse that bigotry, malice, and falsehood can invent. - -Thomas Jefferson was born April 2, 1743, at Shadwell, now in the county -of Albemarle, in Virginia. He was educated at the College of William and -Mary, at Williamsburg, then the capital of the colony, where, under Dr. -Small, a native of Scotland, who was then Professor of Mathematics in -the College, he studied mathematics, ethics, and other branches of -knowledge. His education, owing to the care of this excellent instructor -and his own industry, must have been of a superior kind. In addition to -his general acquirements, he made himself well acquainted with the best -Greek and Latin writers, and to the end of his long life retained his -ability to read them. Mr. Jefferson studied law under Mr. Wythe, then a -lawyer of eminence. He made his first appearance at the bar of the -General Court in 1767, at the age of twenty-four, about two years after -the misunderstanding between Great Britain and the Colonies had -commenced. He practised for seven or eight years in the General Court, -and was gradually rising to the first rank as an accurate and able -lawyer, when he was called away to more important duties by the -political events that preceded the American Revolution. In 1769 he was -elected a member of the House of Burgesses for the County of Albemarle. -In the session of this spring the House unanimously came to resolutions -in opposition to those which had been lately passed in England by both -Houses of Parliament on the affairs of Massachusetts. This measure, -which was accompanied with the declaration that the right of laying -taxes in Virginia was exclusively vested in its own legislature, and -others of a like tendency, induced the Governor, Lord Botetourt, -abruptly to dissolve the Assembly. The next day the members met at the -Raleigh Tavern, and entered into articles of agreement, by which they -bound themselves not to import or purchase certain specified kinds of -British merchandise, till the act of parliament for raising a revenue in -America was repealed; and they recommended this agreement to be adopted -by their constituents. Eighty-eight members signed the agreement, among -whom were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others, who -afterwards took a distinguished part in public affairs. - -In 1773, on the meeting of the Virginia Assembly in the spring, Mr. -Jefferson was an active member in organizing the Standing Committee of -Correspondence and Inquiry, the main objects of which were to procure -early intelligence of the proceedings of the British Parliament, and to -maintain a constant communication among all the Colonies. On the -dissolution of the Assembly, in May 1774, by the Governor, Lord Dunmore, -eighty-nine members met at the Raleigh Tavern, and, among other things, -recommended the Committee of Correspondence to communicate with the -Committees in the other colonies “on the expediency of appointing -deputies for the several colonies of British America, to meet in General -Congress, at such place annually as should be thought most convenient,” -to consult on their common interests. It was also forthwith agreed that -the members who might be elected under the writs at that time issuing in -the colony of Virginia, should meet in Convention at Williamsburg on the -1st of August following, in order to appoint delegates to the Congress, -if such General Congress should be approved by the other colonies. The -Convention did meet, and thus formed the first popular assembly in -Virginia, uncontrolled by Governor or Council. Mr. Jefferson, who was -one of the deputies, prepared instructions for the delegates who might -be sent to the Congress. In his absence, for illness prevented him from -attending on this occasion, his instructions were laid on the table for -perusal, and were generally approved, but thought too bold in the -existing state of affairs. Still the Convention printed them, in the -form of a pamphlet, under the title of A Summary View of the Rights of -British America. The Convention drew up another set of instructions, -which, though not so strong as Mr. Jefferson’s, expressed with great -clearness the points at issue between the colonies and the -mother-country, and the grievances of which the colonies had to -complain. The General Congress, consisting of fifty-five members, met at -Philadelphia, September 4, 1774. The disputes which had broken out -between Lord Dunmore and the Assembly of Virginia were continually -increased by fresh causes of mutual irritation. The Governor at last -thought it prudent to remove himself and his family into a British ship -of war that was lying at York in York River. His whole conduct during -this period was feeble and contemptible. His last acts from his -head-quarters at Norfolk were to annoy the inhabitants on the rivers and -bays by a predatory kind of warfare, to proclaim martial law in the -colony, and to give freedom to such of the slaves as would bear arms -against their masters. At last, after setting fire to Norfolk, he was -obliged to take refuge in his ships, and soon after to leave the -country. Thus ended the colonial government in Virginia. - -June 21, 1775, Mr. Jefferson took his seat in the General Congress, as -one of the delegates from Virginia, and was appointed one of a Committee -for preparing a declaration of the cause of taking up arms. A part of -the address which he drew up was finally adopted, and no doubt greatly -contributed to bring about the more decisive declaration of the -following year. In 1776, Mr. Jefferson was again a delegate to Congress, -and one of a committee appointed to draw up a Declaration of -Independence. The committee was chosen in the usual way, by ballot, and -as Mr. Jefferson had received the greatest number of votes, he was -deputed by the other members to make the draught. Before it was shown to -the committee, a few verbal alterations were made in it by Dr. Franklin -and Mr. Adams. After being curtailed about one-third, and with some -slight alterations in the part retained, it was agreed to by the House, -July 4, and signed by all the members present, except one. This -instrument is too well known to require any remarks. It has both merits -and defects; but it possessed one great quality. It served the purpose -for which it was intended, and its author had the satisfaction of seeing -the mighty question between the mother-country and the colonies referred -to the decision of the sword, the only alternative then left except -unconditional and disgraceful submission. - -Before their adjournment the Virginia Convention, July 5, had elected -Mr. Jefferson a delegate to Congress for another year; but he declined -the honour on various grounds, among which was his desire to assist in -reforming the laws of Virginia, under the New Constitution, which had -just been adopted. Congress also marked their sense of his services by -appointing him joint envoy to France, with Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane; -but domestic considerations induced him to decline this honour also. - -From this time Mr. Jefferson’s public life is interwoven with the -history of his native state, and with that of the United States. During -the war, he took no part in military movements. He was governor of -Virginia in part of 1779, 1780, and part of 1781, in which year the -State suffered considerably from the incursions of Lord Cornwallis; and -at the close of his period of office, he narrowly escaped being taken -prisoner by Colonel Tarleton, in his own house at Monticello. - -In May, 1784, Mr. Jefferson was appointed by Congress minister to -France; where he remained five years, during which he was actively -employed in promoting the general interests of his country, and in -keeping up an extensive correspondence. His industry and methodical -habits enabled him to devote a great deal of his time to the examination -of everything that could in any way prove beneficial to his countrymen. -His correspondence during this period shows the variety of his pursuits, -his unwearied industry, and unbounded zeal for every improvement that -could benefit the social condition of man. His remarks on the political -troubles of France, of which he witnessed the beginning, are -characterized by his usual closeness of observation, and his sanguine -anticipations of the benefit that would result from the people being -called to participate in the exercise of the sovereign power. After all -that has been written on the subject, they will still be read with -interest. - -He returned to America at the close of 1789, and early in the next year -he was appointed Secretary of State by the President, General -Washington. He held this office till the end of 1793, when he resigned. -From 1793 to 1797 he lived in retirement. In 1797 he was elected -Vice-President of the United States; and in 1801 was chosen President, -in place of Mr. Adams, by the House of Representatives, on whom the -election devolved in consequence of the equal division of the electors’ -votes between Mr. Jefferson and Colonel Burr. He was elected a second -time, and after fulfilling his term of eight years retired to his -favourite residence at Monticello, near the centre of the State of -Virginia. - -On Mr. Jefferson’s retirement from the Presidency of the United States -he received, in the form of a farewell address, the thanks of the -General Assembly of his native State, Feb. 9, 1809. After briefly -recapitulating the leading measures of his administration, most of which -faction itself must allow were eminently calculated to promote the -happiness of the nation, and secure those republican principles on which -the constitution was founded, the General Assembly conclude with bearing -testimony to his unvarying singleness of purpose, from the days of his -youth when he resisted the Governor Dunmore, to his retirement from the -highest honours which the united nation could bestow. This address, -which, in point of style, is more free from objection than most American -productions of the same class, is such as few men on retiring from power -have received, and it was offered for services which few have performed. - -In this document, among the advantages for which the nation was indebted -to Mr. Jefferson’s administration, the acquisition of Louisiana and with -it the free navigation of the Mississippi, are not forgotten. Mr. -Jefferson early saw the importance of the United States possessing this -great outlet for the commerce of the Western States, and strongly urged -it while he was Secretary of State under General Washington. The object -was accomplished in 1803, when Louisiana was purchased from the French, -for 15,000,000 dollars. - -Mr. Jefferson himself thought that the most important service which he -ever rendered to his country, was his opposition to the federal party -during the presidency of Mr. Adams, while he was himself Vice-President -of the United States. Himself in the Senate, and Mr. Gallatin in the -House of Representatives, had alone to sustain the brunt of the battle, -and to keep the Republican party together. The re-action that ensued, -drove Mr. Adams from his office, and placed Mr. Jefferson there. Mr. -Jefferson’s administration was characterized by a zealous and unwearied -activity in the promotion of all those measures which he believed to be -for the general welfare. He never allowed considerations of relationship -or friendship to bias him in the selection of proper persons for -offices; he always found, as he says, that there were better men for -every place than any of his own connexions. - -The last years of his life, though spent in retirement, were not wasted -in inactivity. He continued his habits of early rising and constant -occupation: he maintained a very extensive correspondence with all parts -of the world, received at his table a great number of visitors, and was -actively engaged in the foundation and direction of the University of -Virginia, which was established by the State of Virginia, near the -village of Charlottesville, a few miles from Monticello. - -The last letter in Mr. Jefferson’s published correspondence, and it is -probably the last that he wrote, is in reply to Mr. Weightman of -Washington, on behalf of the citizens of Washington who had invited Mr. -Jefferson to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of American -Independence. His health would not permit him to accept the invitation: -his reply is characteristic. The zeal for republican institutions which -had animated him during a long life still glows warm and fresh in the -letter of a man of the age of fourscore and three, suffering under a -painful malady. His firm conviction in the truth of those principles -which he had maintained through life, appears stronger as he approaches -the termination of his career. He died July 4, 1826, the day of the -celebration, just half a century after that on which the instrument was -signed. Mr. Adams died on the same day. Mr. Jefferson is buried in the -grounds near his own house, with a simple inscription recording him as -the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the Act for Religious -Toleration; and as the Rector of the University of Virginia. The fact of -his having been President of the United States is not mentioned. - -The latter days of Mr. Jefferson were embittered by pecuniary -difficulties, which were owing, no doubt, in some measure to the neglect -of his estates during his long absence on the public service; and in a -great degree to an obligation which he incurred to pay a friend’s debts -(see an excellent letter to Mr. Madison, Feb. 17, 1826). - -In the 4th vol. of his Memoirs, &c., p. 439, are printed his Thoughts on -Lotteries, which were written at the time when he was making his -application to the Legislature of Virginia for permission to sell his -property by lottery, in order to pay his debts and make some provision -for his family. The general arguments in defence of lotteries are -characterized by Mr. Jefferson’s usual felicity of expression and -ingenuity in argument, and they are also in like manner pervaded by the -fallacies which are involved in many of his political and moral -speculations. But this paper has merits which entitle it to particular -attention. It contains a brief recapitulation of his services; and is in -fact the epitome of the life of a man who for sixty years was actively -and usefully employed for his country. “I came,” he says, “of age in -1764, and was soon put into the nomination of justices of the county in -which I live, and at the first election following I became one of its -representatives in the legislature; - -“I was thence sent to the old Congress; - -“Then employed two years with Mr. Pendleton and Wythe, on the revisal -and reduction to a single code of the whole body of the British -Statutes, the acts of our Assembly, and certain parts of the Common Law; - -“Then elected Governor; - -“Next to the legislature, and to Congress again; - -“Sent to Europe as Minister Plenipotentiary; - -“Appointed Secretary of State to the new government; - -“Elected Vice-President and President; - -“And lastly, a Visitor and Rector of the University of Virginia. In -these different offices, with scarcely any interval between them, I have -been in the public service now sixty-one years, and during the far -greater part of that time in foreign countries, or in other states.” - -This is the outline of Mr Jefferson’s public life: to fill it up would -be to write the history of the United States, from the troubles which -preceded the declaration of Independence, to Mr. Jefferson’s retirement -from the Presidency in 1809. - -The paper from which we have already made one extract, presents us with -his services, in another point of view, still more interesting. It is an -epitome of those great measures which were due mainly or entirely to his -firm resolution, unwearied industry, and singleness of mind, in his -pursuit of objects which he believed essential to the stability and -happiness of his country. - -“If legislative services are worth mentioning, and the stamp of -liberality and equality, which was necessary to be impressed on our laws -in the first crisis of our birth as a nation, was of any value, they -will find that the leading and most important laws of that day were -prepared by myself, and carried chiefly by my efforts; supported, -indeed, by able and faithful coadjutors from the ranks of the House, -very effective as seconds, but who would not have taken the field as -leaders. - -“The prohibition of the further importation of slaves was the first of -these measures in time. - -“This was followed by the abolition of entails, which broke up the -hereditary and high-handed aristocracy, which by accumulating immense -masses of property in single lines of families, had divided our country -into two distinct orders, of nobles and plebeians. - -“But further to complete the equality among our citizens, so essential -to the maintenance of republican government, it was necessary to abolish -the principle of primogeniture. I drew the law of descents, giving equal -inheritance to sons and daughters, which made a part of the revised -code. - -“The attack on the establishment of a dominant religion was first made -by myself. It could be carried at first only by a suspension of salaries -for one year, by battling it again at the next session for another year, -and so from year to year, until the public mind was ripened for the bill -for establishing religious freedom, which I had prepared for the revised -code also. This was at length established permanently, and by the -efforts of Mr. Madison, being myself in Europe at the time that work was -brought forward. - -“To these particular services, I think I might add the establishment of -our University, as principally my work, acknowledging at the same time, -as I do, the great assistance received from my able colleagues of the -Visitation. But my residence in the vicinity threw of course on me the -chief burden of the enterprise, well as of the buildings, as of the -general organization and care of the whole. The effect of this -institution on the future fame, fortune, and prosperity of our country, -can as yet be seen but at a distance. That institution is now qualified -to raise its youth to an order of science unequalled in any other state; -and this superiority will be the greater from the free range of mind -encouraged there, and the restraint imposed at other seminaries by the -shackles of a domineering hierarchy, and a bigoted adhesion to ancient -habits.” - -When Mr. Jefferson was a member of the Colonial Legislature, he made an -effort for the emancipation of slaves; but all proposals of that kind, -as well as to stop the importation of slaves, were discouraged during -the colonial government. The importation of slaves into Virginia, -whether by sea or land, was stopped in 1778, in the third year of the -Commonwealth, by a bill brought in by Mr. Jefferson, which passed -without opposition, and as Mr. Jefferson observes, “stopped the increase -of the evil by importation, leaving to future efforts its final -eradication[4].” The Act for the Abolition of Entails was not carried -without some opposition, and that for the abolition of the Established -Anglican Church was not finally carried till 1778, though before the -Revolution the majority of the people had become dissenters from the -Church. The reason of the difficulty lay in the majority of the -legislature being churchmen. - -Footnote 4: - - Act in Hening’s Statutes at Large, vol ix., p. 471. Act declaring - tenants of lands, or slaves in taille, to hold the same in fee simple. - Hening, ix., p. 226. - -Mr. Jefferson married, in 1772, Martha Skelton, the widow of Bathurst -Skelton. She died ten years after their marriage. One daughter, and a -numerous family of grandchildren and great grandchildren, survived him. -He was the author of Notes on Virginia, which have been several times -printed; but his reputation as a writer rests on his official papers and -correspondence, of which latter, we believe, that which is published -forms only a part of what he left behind him. - -The authorities here used are Jefferson’s Memoirs, Correspondence, &c., -London, 1829, and part of the forthcoming Life of Jefferson, by -Professor Tucker, of the University of Virginia. An article in the -Journal of Education, No. 7, by Professor Tucker, contains a full -account of the University of Virginia. To these sources we add, as -evidence for some opinions expressed, some personal knowledge of Mr. -Jefferson during the last two years of his life. - -[Illustration] - - - - - WILBERFORCE. - - -William Wilberforce, whose name a heartfelt, enlightened, and unwearied -philanthropy, directing talents of the highest order, has enrolled among -those of the most illustrious benefactors of mankind, was born August -24, 1759, in Hull, where his ancestors had been long and successfully -engaged in trade. By his father’s death he was left an orphan at an -early age. He received the chief part of his education at the grammar -school of Pocklington, in Yorkshire, and at St. John’s College, -Cambridge, of which he became a fellow-commoner about 1776 or 1777. When -just of age, and apparently before taking his B.A. degree, he was -returned for his native town at the general election of 1780. In 1784 he -was returned again; but being also chosen member for Yorkshire, he -elected to sit for that great county, which he continued to represent -until the year 1812, during six successive parliaments. From 1812 to -1825, when he retired from parliament, he was returned by Lord Calthorpe -for the borough of Bramber. His politics were in general those of Mr. -Pitt’s party, and his first prominent appearance was in 1783, in -opposition to Mr. Fox’s India Bill. In 1786 he introduced and carried -through the Commons a bill for the amendment of our criminal code, which -was roughly handled by the Lord Chancellor Thurlow, and rejected in the -House of Lords without a division. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by E. Scriven._ - - WILBERFORCE. - - _From a Picture by George Richmond._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -At the time when Mr. Wilberforce was rising into manhood, the iniquity -of the Slave Trade had engaged in a slight degree the attention of the -public. To the Quakers belongs the high honour of having taken the lead -in denouncing that unjust and unchristian traffic. At the beginning of -the eighteenth century, during the life of Penn, the Quakers of -Pennsylvania passed a censure upon it, and from time to time the Society -of Friends expressed their disapprobation of the deportation of negroes, -until in 1761 they completed their good work by a resolution to disown -all such as continued to be engaged in it. Occasionally the question was -brought before magistrates, whether a slave became entitled to his -liberty upon landing in England. In 1765 Granville Sharp came forward as -the protector of a negro, who, having been abandoned and cast upon the -world in disease and misery by his owner, was healed and assisted -through the charity of Mr. Sharp’s brother. Recovering his value with -his health, he was claimed and seized by his master, and would have been -shipped to the colonies, as many Africans were, but for the prompt and -resolute interference of Mr. Sharp. In several similar cases the same -gentleman came forward successfully: but the general question was not -determined, or even argued, until 1772, when the celebrated case of the -negro Somerset was brought before the Court of King’s Bench, which -adjudged, after a deliberate hearing, that in England the right of the -master over the slave could not be maintained. The general question was -afterwards, in 1778, decided still more absolutely by the Scotch Courts, -in the case of Wedderburn _v._ Knight. In 1783 an event occurred well -qualified to rouse the feelings of the nation, and call its attention to -the atrocities of which the Slave Trade was the cause and pretext. An -action was brought by certain underwriters against the owners of the -ship Zong, on the ground that the captain had caused 132 weak, sickly -slaves to be thrown overboard, for the purpose of claiming their value, -for which the plaintiffs would not have been liable if the cargo had -died a natural death. The fact of the drowning was admitted, and -defended on the plea that want of water had rendered it necessary; -though it appeared that the crew had not been put upon short allowance. -It now seems incredible that no criminal proceeding should have been -instituted against the perpetrators of this wholesale murder. - -In 1785 the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge proposed, as the subject for -the Bachelor’s Prize Essay, the question, Is it allowable to enslave men -without their consent? Thomas Clarkson, who had gained the prize in the -preceding year, again became a candidate. Conceiving that the thesis, -though couched in general terms, had an especial reference to the -African Slave Trade, he went to London to make inquiries on the subject. -Investigation brought under his view a mass of cruelties and -abominations, which engrossed his thoughts and shocked his imagination. -By night and day they haunted him; and he has described in lively -colours the intense pain which this composition, undertaken solely in -the spirit of honourable rivalry, inflicted on him. He gained the prize, -but found it impossible to discard the subject from his thoughts. In the -succeeding autumn, after great struggles of mind, he resolved to give up -his plan for entering the Church, and devoted time, health and substance -(to use his own words) to “seeing these calamities to an end.” In -sketching the progress of this great measure, the name of Wilberforce -alone will be presented to view; and it is our duty therefore, in the -first place, to make honourable mention of him who roused Wilberforce in -the cause, and whose athletic vigour and indomitable perseverance -surmounted danger, difficulties, fatigues, and discouragements, which -few men could have endured, in the first great object of collecting -evidence of the cruelties habitually perpetrated in the Slave Trade. - -In the first stage of his proceedings, Mr. Clarkson, in the course of -his application to members of Parliament, called on Mr. Wilberforce, who -stated, that “the subject had often employed his thoughts, and was near -his heart.” He inquired into the authorities for the statements laid -before him, and became, not only convinced of, but impressed with, the -paramount duty of abolishing so hateful a traffic. Occasional meetings -of those who were alike interested were held at his house; and in May, -1787, a committee was formed, of which Wilberforce became the -Parliamentary leader. Early in 1788 he gave notice of his intention to -bring the subject before the House: but owing to his severe -indisposition that task was ultimately undertaken by Mr. Pitt, who moved -and carried a resolution, pledging the House in the ensuing session to -enter on the consideration of the subject. Accordingly, May 12, 1789, -Mr. Wilberforce moved a series of resolutions, founded on a report of -the Privy Council, exposing the iniquity and cruelty of the traffic in -slaves, the mortality which it occasioned among white as well as black -men, and the neglect of health and morals by which the natural increase -of the race in our West India islands was checked; and concluding with a -declaration, that if the causes were removed by which that increase was -checked, no considerable inconvenience would result from discontinuing -the importation of African slaves. Burke, Pitt, and Fox supported the -resolutions. Mr. Wilberforce’s speech was distinguished by eloquence and -earnestness, and by its unanswerable appeals to the first principles of -justice and religion. The consideration of the subject was ultimately -adjourned to the following session. In that, and in two subsequent -sessions, the motions were renewed, and the effect of pressing such a -subject upon the attention of the country was to open the eyes of many -who would willingly have kept them closed, yet could not deny the -existence of the evils so forced on their view. In 1792 Mr. -Wilberforce’s motion for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was met by a -proposal to insert in it the word “gradually;” and in pursuance of the -same policy, Mr. Dundas introduced a bill to provide for its -discontinuance in 1800. The date was altered to 1796, and in that state -the bill passed the Commons, but was stopped in the Upper House by a -proposal to hear evidence upon it. Mr. Wilberforce annually renewed his -efforts, and brought every new argument to bear upon the question, which -new discoveries, or the events of the times, produced. In 1799 the -friends of the measure resolved on letting it repose for a while, and -for five years Mr. Wilberforce contented himself with moving for certain -papers; but he took an opportunity of assuring the House that he had not -grown cool in the cause, and that he would renew the discussion in a -future session. On the 30th of May, 1804, he once more moved for leave -to bring in his bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, in a speech -of great eloquence and effect. He took the opportunity of making a -powerful appeal to the Irish members, before whom, in consequence of the -Union, this question was now for the first time brought, and the greater -part of whom supported it. The division showed a majority of 124 to 49 -in his favour; and the bill was carried through the Commons, but was -again postponed in the House of Lords. In 1805 he renewed his motion, -but on this occasion it was lost in the Commons by over-security among -the friends of the measure. But when Mr. Fox and Lord Grenville took -office in 1806, the Abolition was brought forward by the ministers, most -of whom supported it, though it was not made a government question in -consequence of several members of the cabinet opposing it. The Attorney -General (Sir A. Pigott) brought in a bill which was passed into a law, -prohibiting the Slave Trade in the conquered colonies, and excluding -British subjects from engaging in the foreign Slave Trade; and Mr. Fox, -at Mr. Wilberforce’s special request, introduced a resolution pledging -the House to take the earliest measures for effectually abolishing the -whole Slave Trade: this resolution was carried by a majority of 114 to -15; and January 2, 1807, Lord Grenville brought forward a bill for the -Abolition of the Slave Trade, in the House of Lords, which passed safely -through both Houses of Parliament. As however the King was believed to -be unfriendly to the measure, some alarm was felt by its friends, lest -its fate might still be affected by the dismissal of the ministers, -which had been determined upon. Those fears were groundless; for though -they received orders to deliver up the seals of their offices on the -25th of March, the royal assent was given by commission by the Lord -Chancellor Erskine on the same day; and thus the last act of the -administration was to conclude a contest, maintained by prejudice and -interest during twenty years, for the support of what Mr. Pitt -denominated “the greatest practical evil that ever afflicted the human -race.” - -Among other testimonies to Mr. Wilberforce’s merits, we are not inclined -to omit that of Sir James Mackintosh, who in his journal, May 23, 1808, -speaks thus of Wilberforce on the “Abolition.” This refers to a pamphlet -on the Slave Trade which Mr. Wilberforce had published in 1806. “Almost -as much enchanted by Mr. Wilberforce’s book as by his conduct. He is the -very model of a reformer. Ardent without turbulence, mild without -timidity or coolness, neither yielding to difficulties, nor disturbed or -exasperated by them; patient and meek, yet intrepid; persisting for -twenty years through good report and evil report; just and charitable -even to his most malignant enemies; unwearied in every experiment to -disarm the prejudices of his more rational and disinterested opponents, -and supporting the zeal, without dangerously exciting the passions, of -his adherents.” - -The rest of Mr. Wilberforce’s parliamentary conduct was consistent with -his behaviour on this question. In debates chiefly political he rarely -took a forward part: but where religion and morals were directly -concerned, points on which few cared to interfere, and where a leader -was wanted, he never shrunk from the advocacy of his opinions. He was a -supporter of Catholic Emancipation and Parliamentary Reform; he -condemned the encouragement of gambling, in the shape of lotteries -established by Government; he insisted on the cruelty of employing boys -of tender age as chimney sweepers; he attempted to procure a legislative -enactment against duelling, after the hostile meeting between Pitt and -Tierney; and on the renewal of the East India Company’s charter in 1816, -he gave his zealous support to the propagation of Christianity in -Hindostan, in opposition to those who, as has been more recently done in -the West Indies, represented the employment of missionaries to be -inconsistent with the preservation of our empire. It is encouraging to -observe, that with the exception of the one levelled against duelling, -all these measures, however violently opposed and unfairly censured, -have been carried in a more or less perfect form. - -As an author, Mr. Wilberforce’s claim to notice is chiefly derived from -his treatise entitled A Practical View of the prevailing religious -system of professing Christians in the higher and middle classes in this -country, contrasted with Real Christianity. The object of it was to show -that the standard of life generally adopted by those classes, not only -fell short of, but was inconsistent with, the doctrines of the Gospel. -It has justly been applauded as a work of no common courage, not from -the asperity of its censures, for it breathes throughout a spirit of -gentleness and love, but on the joint consideration of the unpopularity -of the subject and the writer’s position. The Bishop of Calcutta, in his -introductory essay, justly observes, that “the author in attempting it -risked every thing dear to a public man and a politician, as -such—consideration, weight, ambition, reputation.” And Scott, the -divine, one of the most fearless and ardent of men, viewed the matter in -the same light, for he wrote, “Taken in all its probable effects, I do -sincerely think such a stand for vital Christianity has not been made in -my memory. He has come out beyond my expectations.” Of a work so -generally known we shall not describe the tendency more at large. It is -said to have gone through about twenty editions in Britain, since the -publication in 1797, and more in America; and to have been translated -into most European languages. - -In the discharge of his parliamentary duties Mr. Wilberforce was -punctual and active beyond his apparent strength: and those who further -recollect his diligent attendance on a vast variety of public meetings -and committees connected with religious and charitable purposes, will -wonder how a frame naturally weak should so long have endured the wear -of such exertion. In 1788, when his illness was a matter of deep concern -to the Abolitionists, Dr. Warren said that he had not stamina to last a -fortnight. No doubt his bodily powers were greatly aided by the placid -and happy frame of mind which he habitually enjoyed: but it is important -to relate his own opinion, as delivered by an ear-witness, on the -physical benefits which he derived from a strict abstinence from -temporal affairs on Sundays. “I have often heard him assert that he -never could have sustained the labour and stretch of mind required in -his early political life, if it had not been for the rest of his -Sabbath: and that he could name several of his contemporaries in the -vortex of political cares, whose minds had actually given way under the -stress of intellectual labour, so as to bring on a premature death, or -the still more dreadful catastrophe of insanity and suicide, who, -humanly speaking, might have been preserved in health, if they would but -conscientiously have observed the Sabbath.” (Venn’s Sermon.) - -In 1797 Mr. Wilberforce married Miss Spooner, daughter of an eminent -banker at Birmingham. Four sons survive him. He died, after a gradual -decline, July 29, 1833, in Cadogan Place. He directed that his funeral -should be conducted without the smallest pomp; but his orders were -disregarded in compliance with a requisition addressed to his relatives -by many of the most distinguished men of all parties, and couched in the -following terms:—“We, the undersigned Members of both Houses of -Parliament, being anxious, upon public grounds, to show our respect for -the memory of the late William Wilberforce, and being also satisfied -that public honours can never be more fitly bestowed than upon such -benefactors of mankind, earnestly request that he may be buried in -Westminster Abbey, and that we, and others who may agree with us in -these sentiments, may have permission to attend his funeral.” The -attendance of both Houses was numerous. Mr. Wilberforce was interred -within a few yards of his great contemporaries Pitt, Fox, and Canning. - -Among the other honours paid to his memory may be mentioned the York -meeting, held October 3, 1833, at which it was resolved to erect a -public memorial in testimony of the high estimation in which Mr. -Wilberforce’s character and services were held by men of all parties: -and further, “that it is advisable (if the sum raised be adequate) to -found a benevolent institution, of a useful description, in this -country, and to put up a tablet to the memory of Mr. Wilberforce; but -should the subscriptions be insufficient to accomplish such an object, -that they should be applied to the erection of a monument.” An asylum -for the indigent blind has in consequence been founded. At Hull a -monument has likewise been erected to his memory by public subscription; -and a statue by Joseph is about to be placed in Westminster Abbey, also -by subscription, the surplus of the fund thus raised being reserved for -founding an institution congenial to his principles, as soon as it shall -be sufficient for the purpose. - -No fitting life of Mr. Wilberforce has yet appeared. A short memoir, -from the pen of a friend, appeared in the Christian Advocate, August 5, -1833; which we believe may be relied on for accuracy, and which seems to -form the basis of other memoirs in the periodical publications. The -funeral sermons of Messrs. Brown, Scott, and Venn contain some -interesting anecdotes, which are told on good authority. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - BLACK. - - _From a Print by Ja^s. Heath, after a Picture by Raeburn._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - DR BLACK. - - -Joseph Black was born in 1728, near Bourdeaux in France, where his -father, a native of Ireland, but of Scottish extraction, who was engaged -in the wine trade, then resided. In 1740 young Black was sent home to -receive the rudiments of education at a grammar-school in Belfast. -Thence he went, in 1746, to Glasgow, and having chosen the profession of -medicine, proceeded in that university with the preliminary studies. - -At that period, Dr. Cullen had just entered on the then untrodden paths -of philosophical chemistry in his lectures, at which Black was an -assiduous attendant. He soon formed an intimacy with his instructor, -with whom he associated himself in the toils of the laboratory. It was -here that he laid the foundation of his future attainments and -discoveries, in an accurate and practical knowledge of the science as -far as it then reached, and above all in the cultivation of habits of -precise and cautious inductive investigation. - -In 1750 he removed to Edinburgh to complete his medical course; and it -was in connexion with the important inquiries belonging to that -department that he made his first discoveries in chemistry. - -His first object of research was one which possessed high medical as -well as chemical interest:—the nature and properties of magnesia. This -substance had hitherto been confounded with lime: Dr. Black first showed -it to be characterized by peculiar properties which demonstrate its -distinct nature as a separate species of earth. The second point of his -investigation was the difference between mild and caustic alkalis, -between limestone and quick-lime, common and calcined magnesia, &c. The -whole of this subject was at that period involved in complete obscurity. -Dr. Black showed by simple and decisive experiments the real condition -of these substances, and indicated the general law by which they are -governed, viz.:—that the difference consists merely in the combination -of the simple earth or alkali with a peculiar air, which is driven off -by heat, and which was called _fixed air_ by him, and _carbonic acid -gas_ by later chemists. He did not however prosecute the inquiry into -the nature and properties of this gas. This discovery supplied the -foundation on which all subsequent researches and theories have been -built. He gave an account of these investigations in an inaugural -dissertation, composed as an exercise on taking his Doctor’s degree, and -in a paper entitled Experiments on Magnesia Alba, &c., first published -in the Edinburgh Physical and Literary Essays in 1755. - -It was almost immediately after the publication of these researches that -Dr. Cullen was elected Professor of Chemistry at Edinburgh. The -reputation which Dr. Black had now acquired pointed him out as the -proper person to succeed to the vacant chair at Glasgow, to which he was -accordingly appointed in 1756. His department included chemistry and -medicine; and he also practised as a physician. His lectures soon became -highly popular from the clearness of his style and method, and the -beauty and simplicity of his experimental illustrations. He did not -however prosecute his inquiries, in that particular department of -chemistry, in which he had already had so much success. But in another -branch of science his power of original research was signally displayed. - -The relations of bodies to heat, especially in connexion with the -changes of state they undergo, was a subject which had hitherto excited -hardly any notice; and though some effects were such as might have been -supposed obvious, still no one had as yet reasoned on them, or -understood their nature. - -It is a characteristic of great genius to find important matter of -reflection in objects which the vulgar pass by as too common to excite -notice, and Dr. Black having remarked some very common facts with regard -to heat, was conducted to those great discoveries on which his celebrity -rests:—that of _latent heat_, and that of _specific heat_; which last -term is, in fact, only another mode of expressing the same principle. -This great truth, the foundation of all our determinate ideas of the -causes of those diversities of physical condition which the same mass of -matter is capable of assuming, seems to have suggested itself to the -mind of the discoverer about the year 1757. - -After the invention of the thermometer, it had been among the earliest -facts observed that changes in the state of bodies, such as boiling, -freezing, melting, &c., take place always at certain fixed temperatures -as indicated by the thermometer; and at a different degree of the scale, -for each different substance. And several of these remarkable points -came by custom to be marked upon the thermometric scale. - -When however it was said that water always boiled at 212° of Fahrenheit, -or froze at 32°, &c., it was not meant that the mass would boil or -freeze the instant the thermometer reached that point. It was supposed -that a certain increase or diminution of temperature (as the case might -be) was necessary for the production of the effect beyond that precise -point; though that point marked, as it were, the commencement of the -process. The views generally entertained on this subject were however so -vague, that it is difficult to make out precisely what was imagined to -take place; but it seems to have been supposed, that a very slight -accession or loss of heat was sufficient completely to accomplish the -change. - -Such were the notions which prevailed on the subject prior to the -commencement of Dr. Black’s researches. No one advanced, or seemed to -have any desire to advance, a step nearer to the truth: yet the whole -was a mere question of fact, and a fact of the most obvious nature. In -this we cannot fail to observe one of those instructive instances, which -the history of science often brings before us, of the unaccountable -blindness, even of inquiring minds, to truths constantly before their -eyes, or, if perceived, to the importance of their being thoroughly -examined. A very little consideration ought to have shown any observer, -that the gain or loss of heat in the cases in question is by no means -slight or trifling in amount: yet no one thought of this till Dr. Black -pointed it out; and no one reasoned upon it, or perceived its bearing, -till that philosopher showed the curious inference to be drawn from it. -The case was simply this:—Two equal vessels, one full of water just at -the freezing temperature, the other of actual ice, are brought into a -warm room. In a short time the water acquires the temperature of the -room. Exactly the same quantity of heat has been communicated to the -vessel of ice; yet, at the end of the same time, it is found to retain -precisely the same temperature as at first. A considerable part of it -indeed has been melted, but it may take several hours more to melt the -whole. Until that change is completed, the temperature does not vary a -single degree. As soon as all the ice is liquefied, and not before, the -temperature of the mass begins to rise, and proceeds to increase, from -this time, as rapidly as that of the water in the other vessel did -before, until it acquires the temperature of the room. - -What then, Dr. Black enquired, becomes of the heat which has been all -along given to the vessel of ice? Heat has been communicated to it as -well as to the other vessel; yet it has not been employed in raising the -temperature, but in some way has been expended in converting the ice -into water. It is but this simple fact otherwise stated, when we say -that the heat so imparted has _disappeared_ as heat of temperature; but -may it not have been destroyed or annihilated? To reply to this question -we have only to consider that the same vessel of water, cooled nearly to -the freezing point, and then exposed to a much greater degree of cold, -must, by the same rule, continue parting with its excess of temperature -above that of the colder bodies around it. Yet a thermometer immersed in -it continues invariably at 32° till the whole has become ice; it then -will sink to the lower temperature, but not before. Thus there must be -within it a continued supply of _heat_ in order to keep it up to 32° all -the time. - -Is not this a sufficient answer to the question just proposed? Adopt any -theory you please respecting the nature of heat: suppose a material -substance, or conceive an effect, or quality, or a series of vibrations; -in any case, what is apparently lost in the former case is regained in -the latter. Without sacrifice of accuracy we may affirm, in any sense, -that the heat which had disappeared in the process of thawing has -re-appeared in the process of congealing. Moreover, the most exact -thermometric observations showed the _amount_ in the two cases to be the -same. Thus, without reference to any particular theory of the nature of -heat, Dr. Black was justified in asserting that a certain portion of -heat becomes _latent_ in the water; and that it owes its fluid state to -this latent heat. - -We have here referred only to one class of these phenomena; to one -particular application of the general law. Similar results take place -when water boils: the boiler receives as much heat from the fire during -the time requisite to raise it to 212° as it does during the next equal -portion of time; but its temperature (in an open vessel) will not rise -beyond that point. Here then again a quantity of heat has disappeared; -but the water is converted into vapour. Collect the vapour in a cold -receiver; it produces a high degree of heat, and is re-condensed into -the form of water. - -The heat then, whatever it be, Dr. Black inferred, is latent in the -steam. It is not destroyed; it disappears as temperature, but under -other circumstances it can be made to re-appear: it is therefore merely -concealed, or dormant for the time; and no term can be so proper to -describe its condition as _latent heat_. - -Analogous facts are presented by all other bodies which have been -subjected to examination. Whenever a change of state from the aëriform -to the liquid, or from the solid to the liquid takes place, a -corresponding evolution or absorption of heat accompanies it. Every -research of experimenters on this subject, since Dr. Black, has -contributed fresh instances confirming the universality of this great -law of nature. - -A solid body then requires a certain portion of heat to be thrown into -it, in order to melt, or convert it into a liquid: and the liquid again -requires a similar supply to evaporate it into steam, or convert it into -an elastic fluid state; and this portion of heat produces no influence -on the temperature of the body. The reverse is true of the reverse -processes. The quantity of heat so absorbed or given out is different in -different bodies. - -Not only indeed is this the case in these changes of state, but it is -also the case in the simple instance of mere changes in the temperature -of bodies; different bodies require different degrees of heat to be -communicated, or thrown into them, in order to produce the same increase -of sensible temperature. This was the other great result to which we -referred at first as the discovery of Dr. Black: he designated this -peculiarity in bodies their _capacity for heat_; a term sufficiently -expressive, but which is now more usually exchanged for the term -_specific heat_. The establishment of the accurate values of this -capacity or specific heat, in a number of different bodies, has afforded -a wide field of research for subsequent experiments. It has been -sometimes said that to Dr. Black’s discovery of latent heat we owe the -steam-engine. This is, we think, a mistaken view of the matter. That -heat will generate steam, and cold condense it, are facts that were well -known, independently of the doctrine of latent heat; though that -doctrine undoubtedly gives the explanation of them. The knowledge of -these facts might therefore have been practically applied in the -construction of the steam-engine, had Dr. Black’s discovery never been -made. It is at the same time perfectly true, that this theory supplies -us with accurate data dependent on the quantity of heat necessary to be -communicated, on which calculation must proceed: and it is on the basis -of such exact investigation, that the great improvements in the -application of steam have been brought about. - -To return however to our narrative: though, as we have said, the leading -ideas of these discoveries had occurred to the author probably about the -year 1757, yet it was not till a few years afterwards that he had fully -made out his theory. The discovery of specific heat was announced in -1760; and that of latent heat, with all the details of its experimental -proof, was laid before a literary society in Glasgow, in a paper read -April 23, 1762. After this period a full account of both subjects was -regularly introduced by the author into his courses of lectures. He did -not himself follow out the train of experimental research to which he -had opened the way, but his friends and disciples entered largely upon -the investigation of those valuable data, the numerical values -expressing the quantities of latent heat and specific heat belonging to -different substances. - -In 1766, Dr. Cullen having been promoted to the chair of medicine, Dr. -Black, again treading in the steps of his revered friend and instructor, -was called from Glasgow to the professorship of chemistry at Edinburgh. -He was thus placed in a more conspicuous position, and the fame of the -Edinburgh school was not a little raised by his accession to it. -Students flocked from all quarters in increasing numbers, and Dr. Black -now devoted himself entirely to perfecting his chemical lectures. - -In reference to this period, it has been sometimes remarked as singular, -that while chemical science was beginning to make those rapid strides by -which its modern advance has been so much accelerated, Dr. Black should -have been contented to go on merely as an able expositor and illustrator -of what others were doing, without himself taking any share in their -labours. Perhaps it might be difficult to assign any better reasons for -this conduct than are to be found in the peculiar disposition of the -individual, though it has been alleged that he was actuated by a dread -of criticism; this, indeed, can only be regarded as itself an indication -of a morbid sensitiveness of mind, of which, unhappily, we have other -instances in individuals of the highest philosophical genius; and which -has probably, in more than one instance, deprived the world of services -which would have been invaluable in the cause of science. Be this as it -may, Dr. Black, though he continued by constant revisions and additions -to make his lectures amply keep pace with the discoveries of the day, -yet himself produced during this period only two papers, and those of -minor importance: one appeared in the Philosophical Transactions for -1774, in which he assigned the reason why water which has been boiled -freezes more easily than that which has not, viz., the expulsion of the -air: another was inserted in the second volume of the Edinburgh -Transactions, on the analysis of the water from the Geysers of Iceland. - -It appears from an anecdote related on good authority, (see Edinburgh -Encyclopædia, article, Dr. Black) that so early as 1766, when the low -specific gravity of hydrogen as discovered by Mr. Cavendish had been -announced, the idea of employing it for balloons occurred to Dr. Black; -and that he actually exhibited a small one, to the extreme astonishment -of a party of friends. It was not till 1782 Montgolfier claimed the -merit of originating this idea. - -Dr. Black never enjoyed very robust health, but by great care and -attention he managed to the best advantage a constitution naturally -delicate, pursuing, especially towards the latter part of his life, an -extremely regular and abstemious mode of living. About 1793 his strength -began to fail. In 1796 he became unequal to the sole discharge of his -duties as a lecturer, and employed an assistant. In the following year -he was compelled to relinquish lecturing altogether. Though in great -weakness, he was able by unremitting precautions to preserve a -considerable share of general health. He had always expressed a hope -that he might be spared the distress of a long illness; and, in -accordance with this wish, while sitting at table partaking of his usual -simple fare, he expired November 26, 1799, in so tranquil a manner, that -a cup of milk which he had placed on his knee remained unspilt; and it -was some time before his servant perceived that life was extinct. - -The cast and character of Dr. Black’s mind is illustrated by the whole -nature and course of his labours and investigations. Methodical -precision and originality of thought were the qualities which -pre-eminently distinguished him. In framing general conclusions he was -peculiarly cautious and exact. It is clear that he possessed abilities -which might have placed him much higher in the rank of original -discoverers, had not an unfortunate backwardness, perhaps the result of -natural timidity or indolence, perhaps of weak health and incessant -employment, withheld him from pushing his researches to a greater -extent, and even from asserting his just claims to what he had done, -which was in some instances wrongfully appropriated by others. Some -charges of this nature have been brought against Lavoisier, in reference -to the discovery of the nature of alkalies; but in his writings -Lavoisier certainly does ample justice to Black. - -In all the best and most substantial qualifications of a teacher and -lecturer, he has seldom been surpassed. His method was luminous and -natural; his style unadorned, but beautifully perspicuous; his -experimental illustrations completely satisfactory and convincing, yet -always of the simplest possible kind. He manifested a great dislike to -any unnecessary parade of apparatus, and the exhibition of showy and -striking, but useless phenomena. He aimed not at display and popular -fame, but to arrive at the best means of interesting, instructing, and -enlightening his pupils. He led them by his own example pre-eminently to -value accuracy in the establishment of facts, caution in deducing -general conclusions, and a resolute adherence to the results derived -from experiment and induction. - -Dr. Black’s moral and social character was exactly such as harmonized -with his mental endowments. He was moderate in his desires, temperate in -his enjoyments, benevolent and warm in his affections. He manifested a -strong love of order, propriety, and decorum, and a total absence of -jealousy against scientific rivals, or envy of their fame. His -disposition was at once serious and cheerful; and he was distinguished -by a happy equanimity of temper. He was sometimes accused of -penuriousness: but the charge is wholly denied by his relative, Dr. -Ferguson; and his intimate friend, Professor Robison, has related many -instances of his conduct totally incompatible with such a disposition. -In person he was rather above the middle height; of a slender figure, -with a mild and engaging countenance. - -After Dr. Black’s death his manuscript lectures were revised and -published by Professor Robison, in two quarto volumes, in 1803. The -first and most important portion of the work is devoted to the subject -of heat; and contains the development of the author’s original -researches to which we have referred. The simplicity of style, the -admirable taste and propriety of language, and the perspicuous and -luminous method of illustration, cannot be too highly praised. With -respect to the other portion, embracing the details of chemistry -properly so called, though the same commendation as to the manner must -be bestowed, the matter, which was not less excellent for the time at -which the lectures were delivered, was yet, at the period of the -publication, necessarily much behind the advance of discovery. - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ - - LORD BACON. - - _From a Print by J. Houbraken 1738._ - - Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - LORD BACON. - - -Among the many great names which England boasts of, few have such claims -to her gratitude as that of FRANCIS BACON. For besides the unparalleled -services which science received from him, to his _original_ genius we -may indirectly ascribe many, if not most, of those large improvements in -the arts of life which have raised this nation to the highest place -among the countries of the world. - -Francis Bacon was the second son, by a second marriage, of Sir Nicholas -Bacon, twenty years Keeper of the Great Seal in the reign of Elizabeth, -and Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Cook, the preceptor of Edward the -Sixth. He was born at York House or Place, in the Strand, January 22, -1561. In 1573 he was entered of Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he -speedily acquired more than the ordinary learning of the age, becoming -deeply versed in classical literature. Although taught to look up to -Aristotle as to a writer whom it was almost heresy to question, yet at -that early age he began to perceive where his philosophy failed, and to -conceive the reorganization of a purer and better system. “His -exceptions against that great philosopher not being founded on the -worthlessness of the author, to whom he would ascribe all high -attributes, but for the unfruitfulness of the way; being a philosophy -only for disputations and contentions, but barren in the production of -works for the benefit of the life of man, in which mind he continued to -his dying day.”—(Dr. Rawley’s Life of Bacon.) His intellectual efforts -were ever after bent on working out and declaring these novel views, of -which, through many modifying and expanding minds, we now reap the -fruits. - -In 1576 he was entered as a Student in the Society of Gray’s Inn, with -the view of keeping his terms for the bar. Before, however, he commenced -his legal studies, his father sent him to France, in the suite of the -Queen’s Ambassador, Sir Amias Paulet. During his residence abroad he -wrote his first work, which was not intended originally for publication, -but was improved and printed after some years. It is called, A short -View of the Present State of Europe. It derives its chief interest from -having been written at the early age of nineteen; but the civil and -political views are sound, and the composition graceful. - -In 1579 Sir Nicholas Bacon died, leaving Francis but a small share of -his fortune, in consequence of family circumstances, which we need not -here relate. Finding his private means insufficient for his support, he -returned to England, and commenced the study of the Law, to which he -applied himself with great diligence. - -He did not, however, suffer the demands of his profession to interfere -with those pursuits, in which he was fully persuaded that his great -strength lay. Between the ages of twenty and twenty-eight he produced a -work, which he called the Greatest Birth of Time. It was never -published, and is lost in its separate form, but the substance of it -remains in his Instauration. - -In 1582 Bacon was called to the bar, and in 1588 was chosen Reader or -Lecturer by the Society of which he was a member, and the same year he -received the only mark of honour conferred upon him in the reign of -Elizabeth, in the title of Counsel Learned in the Law Extraordinary. It -seems strange that Bacon, who was the nephew of the Lord High Treasurer -Burleigh, and cousin of the principal Secretary of State Sir Robert -Cecil, should never have been able to obtain any office in the Court of -Elizabeth. The reason possibly was that he had early attached himself to -the faction of the Earl of Essex, who, though the Queen’s greatest -favourite, was in constant opposition to her ministers. This unfortunate -nobleman exerted himself to the utmost, at the extreme risk of -offending: his testy mistress, to secure for Bacon the place of -Solicitor General, as the first step of legal advancement; but he was -unsuccessful. The ministers declared their belief that Bacon was merely -a theorist, and that his talents were not of a nature fitted for -practical purposes: perhaps there was no small mixture of jealousy in -this declaration. To make some amends to his friend for this -disappointment, Essex gave him an estate (which he afterwards sold at an -under price for 1300_l._) out of his private fortune: one of many -kindnesses which Bacon too ill requited. - -In 1592 Bacon published a defence of the government, in answer to a -libel, in consequence of which he received the reversion of the -register’s office to the Star-chamber, which he did not enjoy till -twenty years after. In the Parliament of 1593 he was chosen member for -the county of Middlesex, a proof that his public talents were not -unappreciated by his countrymen. In the House he shone as an orator of -the first class, his speeches were extremely elegant and forcible, and -his wit so well blended with good sense and winning manners, as to -secure to him the favourable attention of that assembly. He was -frequently employed by the government to defend their measures in -Parliament, which he did with consummate prudence, but he still went -unrewarded. - -In 1596 Bacon composed, but did not then print, his Maxims of the Law; -and in the year following he published his first edition of Essays, or -Counsels Civil and Moral; the work by which he is best known to the -general reader. In the trial of the Earl of Essex for high treason -(1601) Bacon appeared as counsel for the Crown; and after the execution -of that unfortunate nobleman, the Queen directed him to compose and -publish An Account of the Earl of Essex’s Treasons. His apparent zeal on -this occasion excited the indignation of the people, among whom Essex -was much beloved, and he was obliged to apologize for his conduct, by a -letter to the Earl of Devonshire, one of the firm partisans of Essex. - -The death of Elizabeth, which soon followed that of her favourite, -revived Bacon’s hopes of advancement. He applied himself early to obtain -the favour of the new king; and a proclamation, which he drew up on -James’s arrival, though never published, did him great service. He was -introduced to the King at Whitehall, and was knighted, July 23, 1603. In -the following year his services to the court in Parliament, and -elsewhere, were rewarded by the title of King’s Counsel, with a stipend -of forty, and an additional pension of sixty pounds. - -But though he seemed in the high road to preferment, Bacon had powerful -enemies to obstruct his advancement. Sir Robert Cecil, son of Lord -Burleigh, created Earl of Salisbury by James I., though Bacon’s cousin -by the maternal side, had always shown himself averse to his kinsman’s -preferment, apparently from jealousy of his uncommon talents. Between -Bacon and the Attorney-General, Sir Edward Coke, there existed a more -violent hostility, arising from various causes. Sir Edward was -successful early, Bacon late, and the power which Coke obtained, he used -to depress his antagonist. They had both been suitors of the rich Lady -Hatton, Lord Burleigh’s grand-daughter, whom Coke married; and, as a -farther exasperation of their enmity, in that celebrated dispute, which -occurred in 1616, between the courts of King’s Bench and Chancery, -“Whether the Chancery, after judgment given in the Courts of Law, was -prohibited from giving relief upon matters arising in equity, which the -judges at law could not determine or relieve,” Bacon had a leading share -in obtaining that decision in favour of the privileges of the Court of -Chancery, which has had so great an influence upon the jurisdiction of -courts. - -In 1605 Bacon published his first specimen of The Advancement of -Learning. His view of the service he was doing to science, is shewn in a -letter to Lord Salisbury, sent with a copy of this work, where he says, -that “in this book he was contented to awake better spirits, being -himself like a bell-ringer, who is the first to call others to church.” - -The following year he married Alice, the daughter of Benedict Barnham, -alderman, a lady of large fortune, who outlived him many years, and by -whom he had no children. The year 1607 produced him his first solid -success. Lord Salisbury had arisen to such power and confidence with his -master, that he no longer feared the talents of Bacon, and with his -concurrence, if not by his means, Bacon was at length appointed -Solicitor-General, which, besides its future promise, was an office -worth 5000_l._ or 6000_l._ a-year to him in private practice. Though now -a busy man, and constantly engaged in affairs of the Crown, he -nevertheless found time to write and publish his Wisdom of the Ancients, -a work of great elegance and profound learning, but not one to which the -present age owes much. In 1611 he was appointed joint judge of the -Marshal’s court, and immediately afterwards Attorney-General, on the -promotion of Lord Coke to the office of Chief Justice of the King’s -Bench. Bacon did not attach himself to the fortunes of the reigning -favourite Somerset, and when that lord and his countess were brought to -trial for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, he had the management of -the case for the Crown, which he so conducted as to keep himself out of -the disgrace into which Coke and others fell with the King, on account -of this critical affair. - -He was farther advanced to the office of Lord Keeper in March, 1617, on -the resignation of the Lord Chancellor Viscount Brackley, and the same -year sat at the head of the council-board, as manager of the King’s -affairs, during the absence of the monarch and his new favourite -Buckingham in Scotland. On the return of the King, Bacon was made Lord -High Chancellor, Jan. 4, 1618; and in July following he was created -Baron of Verulam. In 1620 he sent to the King his Novum Organum, or ‘New -Instrument of Logic, better calculated for the real progress of science -than that of Aristotle.’ - -The next year Bacon received the title of Viscount St. Albans, and -opened the Parliament of February, 1621, the most honoured, and among -the most powerful subjects of the realm. But this parliament was fatal -to him. James had not called this assembly together for more than ten -years, except for the short session of two months in 1614, and during -that period had been subsisting on the unconstitutional resources of -benevolences, and the sale of monopolies. Almost the first act of this -parliament was the inquiry into abuses, and more particularly those of -the courts of justice, and the sale of patents. As all patents had to -pass the seal, it was natural that the conduct of the Lord Keeper should -be looked into, and this led to farther inquiry concerning the -administration of justice in the Chancellor’s court. The chairman of a -committee appointed to conduct this inquiry, brought up two charges of -bribery against Bacon. This alarmed James and his favourite, and the -parliament was adjourned for three weeks, in the hope that the affair -would blow over. But during this recess, twenty-two cases of bribery -were charged upon the Chancellor, and a deputation from the lower House -waited on him to know whether he would confess or refute them. In a few -days he chose to make confession, and threw himself on the mercy of his -peers. His confession was not thought ample enough, and too extenuatory; -and he was obliged to make one still more full, in writing, upon which a -deputation of thirteen Lords was sent to him, to know whether it were -really his. His answer to them was, “My Lords, it is my act, my hand, my -heart; I beseech your Lordships to be merciful to a broken reed.” At the -petition of the Peers, the seals were sequestrated, Bacon was deprived -of his speakership and of his seat in Parliament, and farther was fined -40,000_l._, sentenced to imprisonment during the King’s pleasure, -debarred from entering the verge of the Court, and declared incapable of -holding any office in future. This penalty was considerably mitigated by -James, who confined him but for a short space in the Tower, allowed him -to make over the fine to assignees of his own choosing, and, for the -settling of his affairs, gave him leave to reside for some time within -the verge of the Court. After some years, at the earnest solicitation of -Bacon, “that his royal master would be pleased to wipe out his disgrace -from the page of history by his princely pardon,” he received the favour -he so much desired. - -At the age of sixty-one, Bacon retired to his country-seat at -Gorhambury, having an income of about 2500_l._ His debts amounted to -about 30,000_l._, of which he liquidated a third before his death. - -Apart from the noise and stir of life, Bacon more sedulously bent his -mind to the cultivation of philosophy, his true field of labour. With -the exception of his Reign of Henry the Seventh, and a tract written -against the match between Prince Charles and the Infanta of Spain, the -five last years of his life were spent in making philosophical -experiments, and in moulding his works to a more perfect form. It was -his great wish that what he had written should be translated into the -general language of learning, Latin; consequently much of his time -during this period was employed in translating himself, or revising the -translations of his friends. His chief labour, however, was the -reduction of his Instauration to a most highly finished state of -aphorisms. He took incredible pains with this great performance. His -biographer and editor, Dr. Rawley, declares that this work was revised -and corrected, almost re-written, at least ten times, and finally left -_unfinished_: for a book which taught what was known in the world, and -wherein that knowledge was defective or pretended; which professed to -teach a new system, by which general laws should be made for the -foundation of true science; and which pointed out what remained to be -known, was indeed rather the undertaking of many lives of manhood, than -a few years of one suffering under a load of debt, disgrace, infirmity, -and age. The peculiarity of Bacon’s philosophical doctrine may be -expressed in few words. He found that the beliefs of learned men (apart -from religious beliefs) rested upon the authority of one unquestionably -great intelligence, Aristotle, who had invented laws of science, -unfounded except in the speculations of his own mind, and many of them -misunderstood by his idolizers. These laws were given or made, and facts -were supposed to follow from them necessarily and without question. But -Bacon proposed to found his general laws on actual experiments. So that -when by a multitude of facts arising from this course of proceeding, -laws should be produced which fairly accounted for phenomena, the -application of such laws might farther become the confirmation of fresh -and, it may be, more difficult, combinations. It is curious that Bacon’s -own experiments should, for the most part, be so signally frivolous and -inconclusive. This may be accounted for, in some measure, by the novelty -of the method,—his own defence, for he was aware of the fact, is, “that -he did not like to throw away any experiment, however seeming foolish, -in case that some spark of truth should be contained in it, or suggested -by it.” But he certainly did not possess the power of applying his own -principles to practice, and far better examples of the inductive powers -may be found, even in the labours of his predecessors, than any which -his own writings afford. - -After having spent five years in this labour for posterity, on the 9th -of April, 1626, Bacon died at the age of 66, at the house of Lord -Arundel, in Highgate, on his way to London. A week’s acute illness -carried him to his grave. He was buried at Old Verulam, and for a long -time no “stone told where he lay,” till the affection of an old servant -erected a marble monument to the memory of his noble master. His name -was well known among the continental nations, and he himself was -understood and appreciated by them, to a far greater extent than by his -fellow-countrymen. Some allusion to this is found in his will, in which, -after having commended his soul to God, and his body to the dust, he -proceeds, prophetically, to “bequeath his name and fame to foreign -nations, and to his own countrymen after some time be passed over.” - -The character of Bacon has been held up as an extraordinary anomaly, as -containing the extremes of strength and weakness. Pope was pleased to -call him - - “The greatest, wisest, meanest of mankind,” - -probably for the sake of the powerful contrast presented in the line. -That his great strength lay in his intellectual powers there is no -doubt, but that his moral power was slight enough for him to deserve the -character of “meanest of mankind,” is not to be believed. The wrong he -did to Essex is perhaps the strongest stain that remains on his memory. -The charge of bribery is not so heinous in him as it appears to be at -first sight. He says (and though it be a sophism yet it has some -weight,) “that he never sold injustice,” nor did he: his decrees were -pronounced without regard to the parties concerned, and were none of -them reversed; moreover, judicial bribery was not thought so vicious -then as it is now; in France, it was open and daily. Of the twenty-two -charges brought against him, five only were really for bribery, that is, -while the suit was pending. The rest were presents. He had lived in want -for the greater portion of his life, and becoming suddenly rich, and -full of various business, he was naturally careless of expenses, and -left a great deal more than he ought to have done in the hands of his -servants; who lived upon him so extravagantly, that on passing through -his hall (when they rose at his presence) he said, “Sit down, my -masters, your rise hath been my fall.” There is also every reason to -believe that he was induced to suppress his defence by the intrigues of -James, and his favourite Buckingham; to whose escape he had the weakness -to let himself be made a sacrifice. He has been accused of cringing to -this powerful favourite in less important particulars; but his letters -are no more than a type of the usual style of an inferior to a superior -in the Court in which he lived. He fell upon hard times, first the -courtier of a princess whose thirst of praise and requisition of -humility was unbounded, then the courtier and servant of a king who all -but believed himself to be a god. The most marvellous fact of Bacon’s -character is, that he who knew men so well, and whose insight into their -feelings and motives was so clear, should have been so blind as to -remain totally ignorant, as is apparent from all his letters and -writings, of that youthful spirit of freedom which in the subsequent -reign sprung into such vigorous manhood. But he seems to have been “the -king’s true chancellor,” and to have believed most firmly in that Divine -right for which James argued and his son died. - -Bacon’s private character was generous and humane almost to a fault. His -manners were exceedingly winning, and his method of drawing from all -sorts of men the information belonging to their separate callings was -wonderful. He was constitutionally timid, and was always in weak health. -His person was slightly above the common height, his countenance most -dignified, and intellectually commanding. - -[Illustration: [Statue of Lord Bacon in St. Michael’s Church, St. -Alban’s.]] - -[Illustration: - - _Engraved by W. Holl._ - - SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - _From a Bust by Chantrey._ - - Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful - Knowledge. - - _London, Published by Charles Knight & C^o. Ludgate Street._ -] - -[Illustration] - - - - - SIR W. SCOTT. - - -Walter Scott was born in the Old Town of Edinburgh, April 15, 1771, in a -house at the head of the College Wynd, which has been pulled down to -make way for the new buildings of the University. His father was a -writer to the signet, his grandfather a farmer resident in -Roxburghshire, who traced his descent to the ancient Border family of -Scott of Harden. His infancy gave no promise of the robust manhood which -he attained: and in addition to general weakness of constitution, his -right foot received an early injury, which rendered him lame through -life. This delicacy of health induced his parents to send him, when -almost an infant, to his grandfather’s farm at Sandyknow in -Roxburghshire, adjoining the Border fortress called Smailholm Tower, in -the heart of that romantic pastoral district whose scenery and legends -he has rendered famous. [5]“His residence at this secluded spot, which -after early boyhood was, we believe, occasionally renewed during the -summer vacations of the High School and College, was undoubtedly fraught -with many advantages, physical and mental. It was here that his feeble -constitution was, by the aid of free air and exercise, gradually -strengthened into robustness; and though he never got rid of his -lameness, it was so far overcome as to be in after life rather a -deformity than an inconvenience. It was here that his love of ballad -lore and border story was fostered into a passion; and it was here -doubtless, and at the house of one of his uncles, Mr. Thomas Scott, of -Woolee, also a Roxburghshire farmer, that he early acquired that -intimate acquaintance with the manners, character, and language of the -Scottish peasantry, which he afterwards turned to such admirable account -in his novels.” - -Footnote 5: - - This, and the other passages marked with inverted commas, except those - taken from Scott’s Autobiography, are derived from a memoir of Sir - Walter Scott published in the Penny Magazine, No. 37, and written by - Scott’s countryman and acquaintance, the late Mr. Pringle. - -In October, 1779, he entered the High School of Edinburgh, which he -attended during four years. He there acquired the character of being “a -remarkably active and dauntless boy, full of all manner of fun, and -ready for all manner of mischief;” and so far from being timid or quiet -on account of his lameness, that very defect, (as he himself remarked to -be usually the case in similar circumstances with boys of enterprising -disposition) prompted him to take the lead among all the stirring boys -in the street where he lived, or the school which he attended. In Greek -and Latin he made little progress, and obtained little credit for talent -or industry from his masters; but he has invoked his surviving -school-fellows, in the Introduction to the last edition of the Waverley -Novels, “to bear witness that I had a distinguished character for talent -as a tale-teller, at a time when the applause of my companions was the -recompense for the disgraces and punishments which the future -romance-writer incurred for being idle himself, and keeping others idle, -during hours of the day that should have been employed upon our tasks.” - -He entered the University of Edinburgh in October, 1783; but his -attendance there was only for two sessions. About the age of fifteen the -rupture of a blood-vessel again reduced him to a very weak state, and -during the space of two years bodily and mental exertion were forbidden. -He had recourse for amusement to a circulating library, “rich,” he says, -“in works of fiction, from the romances of chivalry, and the ponderous -folios of Cyrus and Cassandra, down to the most approved works of later -times. I was plunged into this great ocean of reading without compass or -pilot, and unless when some one had the charity to play at chess with me -I was allowed to do nothing, save read, from morning to night.... I -believe I read almost all the old romances, old plays, and epic poetry -in that formidable collection, and no doubt was unconsciously amassing -materials for the task in which it has been my lot to be so much -employed. At the same time I did not in all respects abuse the license -permitted me. Familiar acquaintance with the specious miracles of -fiction brought with it some degree of satiety, and I began by degrees -to seek in histories, memoirs, voyages and travels, and the like, events -nearly as wonderful as those which were the work of the imagination, -with the additional advantage that they were at least in a great measure -true. The lapse of two years, during which I was left to the service of -my own free will, was followed by a temporary residence in the country, -where I was again very lonely but for the amusement which I derived from -a good though old-fashioned library. The vague and wild use which I made -of this advantage I cannot describe better than by referring my reader -to the desultory studies of Waverley in a similar situation; the -passages concerning whose reading were imitated from recollections of my -own.” - -After recovering from this illness his constitution changed, and he -became unusually robust, and capable of enduring great bodily and mental -fatigue; even his lameness occasioning no serious inconvenience. He then -applied himself in earnest to the study of law, and, to acquire a -thorough knowledge of its technicalities, went through the duties of a -clerk in his father’s office. He completed the usual course of legal -education, and was called to the bar in July, 1792. He seemed however -little anxious for business; and as usual, business unsought came -slowly: in his legal capacity he acquired neither wealth nor -distinction. But, in amends for this, in those days of volunteer corps, -he made an admirable quarter-master to the Edinburgh Light Dragoons; and -his zeal and skill, and the popularity which his high powers of social -entertainment procured, recommended him to the friendship of the Duke of -Buccleugh, by whose interest he obtained, in December, 1799, the -appointment of Sheriff of Selkirkshire, with a salary of 300_l._ He had -married in 1797 Miss Carpenter, a lady of foreign birth but English -parentage, possessed of fortune sufficient, when added to the salary of -his office, and his own patrimonial inheritance, to release him from the -necessity of labouring at the bar for a livelihood. This was a step on -which his mind had been some time bent. “My profession and I,” he says, -“came to stand nearly on the footing which honest Slender consoled -himself on having established with Mistress Anne Page—‘There was no -great love between us at the beginning, and it pleased Heaven to -decrease it on farther acquaintance.’ I became sensible that the time -was come when I must either buckle myself resolutely to ‘the toil by -day, the lamp by night,’ renouncing all the Dalilahs of my imagination, -or bid adieu to the profession of the law, and hold another course.” - -Scott was not a premature writer; he had reached his twenty-fifth year -before he tried his strength in composition, excepting a few trivial -attempts in childhood; and his name was still unknown to the public, -when he resolved to devote his powers to literature. His first essays -were made about 1796, when his attention was caught by the Leonora, and -other poems of Bürger, which he translated and published anonymously. -“The adventure,” he says, “proved a dead loss, and a great part of this -edition was condemned to the service of the trunk-maker.” His next -performance was a translation of Goethe’s drama, Goetz of Berlichingen, -published in 1799. But he continued his devotion to ballad poetry, and -as his confidence rose, essayed his strength in Glenfinlas, and the Eve -of St. John, his first original compositions. At Lasswade on the banks -of the Esk, about five miles from Edinburgh, where he spent several -summers after his marriage, he prosecuted with increased zeal and -success his favourite inquiries into the antiquities and legendary song -of his country, and commenced the work which gave him a name in -literature, the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. “The materials for -this work were collected during various excursions, or _raids_, as Sir -Walter was wont to call them, through the most remote recesses of the -border glens, made by the poetical compiler in person, assisted by one -or two other enthusiasts in ballad lore. Pre-eminent among his -coadjutors in this undertaking was Dr. John Leyden, an enthusiastic -borderer and ballad-monger like himself, and to whom he has gratefully -acknowledged his obligations both in verse and prose.” - -“Some amusing anecdotes have been printed, and others are still extant -in oral tradition among the border hills, of the circumstances attending -the collection of these ballads. The old women, who were almost the only -remaining depositories of ancient song and tradition, though proud of -being solicited to recite them by ‘so grand a man’ as an Edinburgh -Advocate, could not repress their astonishment that ‘a man o’ sense and -lair’ should spend his time in writing into a book ‘auld ballads and -stories of the bluidy Border wars, and paipish times....’ The Minstrelsy -was printed at Kelso, in 1802, at first in two volumes, to which a third -was added in the second edition. Two years subsequently Scott published -the romance of Sir Tristram, a Scottish metrical tale of the thirteenth -century, which he showed, in a learned disquisition, to have been -composed by Thomas of Ercildown, commonly called the Rhymer.” - -“These works, especially the Border Minstrelsy, were favourably received -by the public, and established Scott’s reputation on a very respectable -footing, as an excellent poetical antiquary, and as a writer of -considerable power and promise, both in verse and prose. As yet, -however, he had produced no composition of originality and importance -sufficient to secure that high and permanent rank in literature, to -which his secret ambition led him to aspire. But he had now a subject in -hand which was destined to attain for him a popularity far beyond what -his most sanguine hopes could have ventured to anticipate.” - -“The Lay of the Last Minstrel appeared in 1805. The structure of the -verse was suggested, as the author states, by the Christabel of -Coleridge; a part of which had been repeated to him about the year 1800. -The originality, wildness, poetical beauty, and descriptive powers of -Scott’s Border romance produced an effect on the public mind, only to be -equalled perhaps by some of the earlier works of Byron.” - -“In the spring of 1806 Sir Walter obtained an appointment, which, he -says, completely met his moderate wishes as to preferment. This was the -office of a principal Clerk of Session, of which the duties are by no -means heavy, though personal attendance during the sitting of the courts -is required. Mr. Pitt, under whose administration the appointment had -been granted, having died before it was officially completed, the -succeeding Whig ministry had the satisfaction of confirming it. The -emoluments of this office were about 1200_l._ a year; but Scott received -no part of the salary till 1812, the appointment being a reversionary -one.” - -His reputation and his fortune seemed now to be completely established. -Marmion, published in 1808, and the Lady of the Lake, in 1810, were -received each with greater favour than its predecessor. Don Roderick, -1811, was not successful; Rokeby, 1813, and The Lord of the Isles, 1814, -were generally thought inferior in merit to his earlier works. This -might arise, in part, from the extraordinary rapidity of their -composition: for Rokeby was commenced September 15, and finished -December 31, 1812; and the Lord of the Isles was written in the -following autumn, with equal rapidity, but under circumstances which -rendered the task a burden, and damped the fire of his muse. Still -these, like their predecessors, commanded very large sales, and brought -in large sums to the author, and large profits to the publishers. His -popularity, however, was on the ebb, and it was the general impression -that Scott had nearly written himself out. At the time when this was -said, he had already published one anonymous poem, the Bridal of -Triermain, 1810, as if ashamed of his prolific pen. Afterwards, in 1817, -he published Harold the Dauntless, in the same way. The censure, -however, was not unfounded; and the two last acknowledged poems of Scott -were inferior in interest and execution to his earlier productions. -Another reason for the decrease of Scott’s popularity he has himself -assigned, in the rapid growth of Lord Byron’s. - -It was about the end of 1813 that accident threw in his way the mislaid -manuscript of the beginning of Waverley, seven chapters of which he had -composed in 1805, and had thrown aside, in deference to the unfavourable -opinion of a critical friend. At different times he had been inclined to -resume this work, but had been prevented by the loss of the manuscript: -which he now applied himself in earnest to complete. Waverley was -published in the summer of 1814; and obtained success beyond the -author’s fondest expectations. The history of this wonderful series of -works of fiction, and the author’s reasons for adopting and retaining -his incognito, are familiar to the public, through his own account in -the Introduction to the Waverley Novels. The manner in which the secret -was kept is a remarkable anecdote in literary history: for, whatever -conclusions might be drawn from internal evidence by Scott’s intimate -friends, and from putting things together by the public, not a particle -of external evidence was produced to fasten it upon him, until the -failure of Constable’s house in 1826 led to Scott’s public avowal of the -authorship in 1827. Perhaps this mystery tended to keep alive the public -interest: perhaps also Scott had a keener relish of the homage paid to -the Great Unknown, than if it had been offered to him in his own person. - -Scott’s metrical romances, as they were composed with unexampled -rapidity, commanded also unexampled prices from the booksellers. And at -the same time he found leisure for a variety of laborious works in -criticism, biography, and miscellaneous literature, which added -considerably both to his funds and his reputation. Among these were new -editions of the works of Dryden and Swift, with biographical accounts; -Sadler’s State Papers; Somers’s Tracts; Lives of the Novelists; besides -numerous contributions to encyclopædias, reviews, and other periodical -publications. His scheme of devoting himself to literature had borne -fruit of fame and profit beyond his brightest anticipations. His certain -income (we presume after the year 1812) is said by Mr. Pringle to have -exceeded 2000_l._: and he was supposed to double that sum by the -exuberant harvest of his brain. - -“Amidst all this labour Scott found abundant leisure not only for his -official avocations, but for social enjoyment and rural recreation. -While the Court of Session was sitting, he lived in Edinburgh, in a good -substantial house in North Castle Street. During the vacations he -resided in the country, and appeared to enter with ardour into the -ordinary occupations and amusements of country gentlemen. After he was -appointed Sheriff of Selkirk he hired for his summer residence the house -and farm of Ashiesteil, on the banks of the Tweed; and here many of his -poetical works were written. But with the increase of his resources grew -the desire to possess landed property of his own, where he might indulge -his tastes for building, planting, and gardening. Commencing with -moderation, he purchased a small farm of about one hundred acres, lying -on the south bank of the Tweed, three miles above Melrose, and in the -very centre of that romantic and legendary country which his first great -poem has made familiar to every reader. This spot, then called Cartly -Hole, had a northern exposure, and at that time a somewhat bleak and -uninviting aspect: the only habitable house upon it was a small and -inconvenient farm-house. Such was the nucleus of the mansion and estate -of Abbotsford. By degrees, as his resources increased, he added farm -after farm to his domain, and reared his chateau, turret after turret, -till he completed what a French tourist not inaptly terms ‘a romance of -stone and lime,’ clothing meanwhile the hills behind, and embowering the -lawns before, with flourishing woods of his own planting. The -embellishment of his house and grounds, and the enlargement of his -landed property, became, after the establishment of his literary -reputation, the objects, apparently, of Scott’s most engrossing -interest; and whatever may be the intrinsic value of the estate as a -heritage to his posterity, he has at least succeeded in erecting a scene -altogether of no ordinary attractions, and worthy of being associated -with his distinguished name.” - -“During the greater part of the summer and autumn he kept house at -Abbotsford like a wealthy country gentleman, receiving with a cordial, -yet courtly, hospitality, the many distinguished persons, both from -England and the Continent, who found means to obtain an introduction to -his enchanted castle. Anything more delightful than a visit to -Abbotsford, when Sir Walter was in the full enjoyment of his health and -spirits, can scarcely be imagined. After his morning labours, which, -even when busiest, were seldom protracted beyond mid-day, (his time for -composition being usually from seven to eleven or twelve o’clock,) he -devoted himself to the entertainment of his guests with so much -unaffected cordiality, such hilarity of spirits, and such homely -kindliness of manner, and above all with such an entire absence of -literary pretension, that the shyest stranger found himself at once on -terms of the easiest familiarity with the most illustrious man in -Europe.” - -In the spring of 1820, Scott was created a baronet by George IV., as a -testimony of personal regard; and on the King’s visit to Scotland in -1822, he was appointed to superintend the arrangements for his Majesty’s -reception; an office gratifying to his national feelings and antiquarian -tastes, as well as to his aristocratical predilections. - -The profusion of his expenditure no doubt had considerable effect in -strengthening the general belief that Scott was the author of the -Waverley Novels; inasmuch as he possessed no ostensible means from which -the sums expended in the purchase and improvement of Abbotsford, as well -as the liberal hospitality which he there exercised, could be defrayed. -His urbanity, his innate kindliness of nature, his unassuming demeanour, -and readiness to foster humble merit, had almost disarmed ill-will, -besides softening the asperity of party feelings; and men looked without -envy on a fortune which, to be the produce of one man’s literary labours -for the short space of twenty years, seemed almost beyond belief, as -well as beyond example, and acknowledged it to be deserved, without a -doubt of its continuance, or reality. In this belief, (for otherwise he -would have acted differently, being naturally a prudent man,) Scott -himself rested secure, until January, 1826, when the house of Constable -and Co. became bankrupt, at the close of that calamitous season which -pressed so heavily upon all branches of trade. He then, to use his own -words, found himself called on to meet the demands of creditors upon -commercial establishments with which his fortunes had long been bound -up, to the extent of no less a sum than 120,000_l._ How and why he was -led into so deep a confidence, and how far the prices received for his -works were connected with his commercial transactions, has never, we -believe, been clearly explained, nor does it much import the public to -know; the error, so far as his reputation is concerned, (and the only -charge against him was want of prudence,) he amply redeemed by the -nobleness of his conduct under this crushing misfortune; and it has been -truly said that “the honour which rests upon his memory for his gigantic -exertions to pay off this immense debt without deduction, is a far -nobler heritage to his posterity than the most princely fortune.” - -“On meeting his creditors, he refused to accept of any compromise, and -declared his determination, if life was spared him, to pay off every -shilling. He insured his life in their favour for 22,000_l._; -surrendered all his available property in trust (Abbotsford being -rendered inalienable by the marriage articles of his eldest son); sold -his town house and furniture, and removed to a humbler dwelling; and -then set himself calmly down to the stupendous task of reducing this -load of debt. The only indulgence he asked for was time; and, to the -honour of the parties concerned, time was liberally and kindly given -him. A month or two after the crash of Constable’s house, Lady Scott -died; domestic affliction thus following fast upon worldly calamity.” - -For five years after his pecuniary misfortunes, namely, from January -1826 to the spring of 1831, Sir Walter continued his indefatigable -labours; and in that period, besides several new works of fiction, he -produced the History of Scotland, published in Lardner’s Cyclopædia, -Tales of a Grandfather, Letters on Demonology, and a number of smaller -pieces. The Life of Napoleon was in part composed anterior to the -calamity of which we speak: it was published in 1827, and though read -with interest, did not display the research and impartiality which the -character of an historian requires. He also superintended a new edition -of the Waverley Novels, with prefaces and illustrative notes; and the -profits of all these works were so considerable, that by the close of -1830, 54,000_l._ had been paid off; all of which, except six or seven -thousand, had been produced by his own literary labours. The copyright -of the published novels was sold by Constable’s creditors for 8,400_l._, -half of which was assigned to Sir Walter by his creditors, in -consideration of his assistance in furnishing prefaces and notes to the -new edition. - -But over-exertion in the evening of life, and under circumstances too -well calculated to weaken the elasticity of his spirits, and to destroy -the pleasure which he used to feel in composition, broke his -constitution and brought on premature old age. In the autumn of 1830 he -retired from his office of Clerk of Session. In the following winter, -symptoms of paralysis began to appear. Still he continued to labour -until the summer of 1831, in the course of which mental exertion was -strictly forbidden. He was advised to visit Italy in the following -autumn, and even in his declining condition must have been gratified by -the sympathy and the honour rendered to him. A passage to Malta in the -Barham man-of-war was granted to him by the British Government; and at -Rome and Naples he was received with honours rarely paid except to royal -blood. But his desire to return to his native land became irrepressible; -and he hurried homewards, taking the route by the Rhine, with a rapidity -which proved very injurious. He reached London in nearly the last stage -of physical and mental weakness. Still the love of his native land was -strong in death, and after remaining some weeks in the metropolis, he -was conveyed at his own earnest desire by sea to Leith, and reached -Abbotsford, July 11. After lingering two months, almost without -consciousness, in the last stage of his most afflictive malady, he -expired, September 22, 1832. His body was laid in his family -burial-place in the ruined abbey of Dryburgh on the Tweed. - -Throughout the kingdom his death was regarded like the loss of a friend; -and the general admiration of his talents, respect for his conduct, and -sympathy for his misfortunes, was shown by the favourable reception of a -project for raising a subscription to discharge the incumbrances -existing on the Abbotsford estate, and to preserve it by entail in Sir -Walter’s family, as a lasting memorial of his genius. - -Scott’s works, in the last uniform edition, fill eighty-eight closely -printed duodecimo volumes. Of these his poems occupy twelve, the novels -forty-eight, the miscellaneous prose works twenty-eight. The Letters on -Demonology, History of Scotland, and a few minor productions are not -included herein, in consequence of the copyrights being vested in -different hands. From his numerous unnamed works, we may select for -mention his Border Antiquities, Picturesque Scenery of Scotland, his -share in Weber and Jameson’s Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, -Paul’s Letters, which contain the liveliest description ever given of -the Battle of Waterloo, and three dramas, Halidon Hill, the Doom of -Devorgoil, and the Auchindrane Tragedy. - -[Illustration: [View of Abbotsford.]] - - - - -In closing this Series, an apology may be thought necessary for the -omission of many portraits which have formerly been advertised for -publication. In a few instances this has arisen from the nonexistence of -authentic portraits; in some from their remoteness, or the difficulty of -obtaining leave to copy those which are known to exist: the latter -causes have compelled us to engrave from prints to a greater extent than -was at first contemplated. But where access could be had to the -originals, in France and Italy as well as England, artists have been -employed to copy them for the engraver’s use; and it is our duty to -express our gratitude for the liberality with which applications for -this purpose have, for the most part, been acceded to. One important -branch of science, metaphysics, has been left with very few -representatives, in consequence of the highly controversial nature of -the subject. This work was planned to include those, and those only, of -all nations, who since the revival of art and within the era of -authentic portraiture, have been great originators and inventors in -arts, sciences, and literature: but the line which separates those who -have originated from those who have improved or greatly excelled, is so -hard to draw, that many persons have been admitted, whose claims may not -be reconcilable with a strict adherence to the principle at first laid -down; and one extension forms a precedent and reason for another. -Regarding it as a collection of the most distinguished men of modern -times, completeness is impossible, from the vast extent of the subject -and the diversities of judgement which differences in character, the -bias of natural prejudices, and greater or less familiarity with the -results of their lives, cause men to pass upon the worth and eminence of -others. A Briton may think the foreigners in our collection too -numerous; a foreigner will be as likely to say, that in choosing full -one half from our own countrymen, we have given way to national pride: -but to every nation its own great men are the most interesting and the -most important. We believe, however, that except where no portraits can -be found, as in the cases of the inventor of Printing, and the -discoverer of the New World[6], no branch of science is without one or -more of its fittest and most distinguished representatives; and we claim -the merit of having brought together, in a book of easy access, a -greater number of the genuine likenesses of men eminent in every branch -of honourable distinction than has ever been included in a similar -scheme. - -Footnote 6: - - There is a Portrait of Columbus at Naples, but it is of a late age. - -An extension of the work would no doubt have allowed us to approximate -somewhat nearer to completeness. But in every undertaking of this sort -there is a limit in respect of size and expense which it is inexpedient -to pass: and this consideration prescribes that for the present we -should end our labour. But death has added many illustrious names to our -list since it was first drawn up; and as every year lays some honoured -head in the grave, a fresh fund of interest, and fresh reasons for the -resumption of the work, will be continually accruing. It is, therefore, -not unlikely that the Gallery of Portraits may hereafter be resumed and -continued in a similar form. - -A series of Indexes is subjoined, which present the portraits in -alphabetical and chronological order, and classed according to the -pursuits in which they have excelled, and the nations to which they -belong. This it is hoped will make amends for the absence of any system -in the order of their issuing, which would have rendered it almost -impossible to maintain the monthly publication with punctuality. - -We avail ourselves of this opportunity to correct a few mistakes in the -text; but have not thought it necessary to give a list of obvious or -unimportant errata. - - Life of Fox, vol. i., p. 107, par. 3. The anecdote here told, - applies, we have been informed, not to the debate on the Test Act, - but to the application of dissenting ministers for relief on the - subject of Subscription. - - Life of Banks, vol. i., p. 193, _for_ February 13, _read_ January 4: - on the authority of his baptismal register. See Penny Cyclopædia. - - Life of More, vol. ii., p. 32, line 22, _for_ 1555, _read_ 1535. - - Life of Pascal, vol. ii., p. 51, _for_ Sir W., _read_ Sir John - Herschel. - - Life of Bentley, vol. iii., p. 51, three lines from bottom, _for_ - 1781, _read_ 1701. - - Life of Schwartz, vol. iii., p. 93, last line but one, _for_ being, - _read_ besides. - - Life of D’Aguesseau, vol. iv., p. 5, eleven lines from bottom, - _read_, in which, it was said, the obnoxious. - - Life of Blake, vol. v., p. 77, _read_, Robert Blake was born at the - seaport town of Bridgewater in Somersetshire, where his father - followed the occupation of a merchant, in August, 1598. - - Ib., p. 82, line 5, _after_ April 20, _insert_ 1657. - - Ib., p. 83, line 15, _for_ revolution, _read_ restoration. - - Life of Maskelyne, vol. vi., p. 21, last line but six, _omit_ did. - - Life of Jenner, vol. vi., p. 28, line 18. We believe this statement - to be exaggerated; but have not the means before us of tracing the - error. - - - - - ALPHABETICAL INDEX. - - - The paging of the three lives thus * marked has accidentally been - repeated. - - Date of Date of │Vol. Page. - Birth. Death. │ - Addison 1672 1719│vi. 147 - Aguesseau 1668 1751│iv. 1 - Alembert 1717 1783│iii. 101 - Antonio (_see_ Raimondi). │ - Ariosto* 1474 1533│iv. 93 - Arkwright 1732 1792│v. 181 - │ - Bacon 1560 1626│vii. 177 - Banks 1743 1820│i. 193 - Barrow 1630 1679│iii. 94 - Bentham 1748 1832│vii. 97 - Bentley 1662 1742│iii. 49 - Black 1728 1799│vii. 169 - Blake 1598 1657│v. 77 - Boccacio 1313 1375│ii. 126 - Bolivar 1783 1830│v. 173 - Bossuet 1627 1704│i. 113 - Boyle 1627 1691│i. 72 - Bradley 1693 1762│vi. 68 - Bramante 1444 1514│vi. 156 - Brindley 1716 1772│vii. 81 - Buchanan 1506 1580│i. 129 - Buffon 1707 1788│ii. 19 - Buonarotti (_see_ Michael Angelo). │ - Burke 1730 1797│iii. 33 - │ - Calvin 1509 1564│vi. 55 - Canova 1757 1822│iii. 165 - Cartwright 1743 1823│vi. 102 - Catherine II. 1729 1796│vii. 103 - Cervantes 1547 1616│iv. 147 - Charles V. 1500 1558│iv. 179 - Chatham, Earl of 1708 1778│vii. 55 - Chaucer doubtful 1400│iii. 176 - Clarendon 1609 1673│v. 25 - Claude Lorraine 1600 1682│ii. 136 - Coke 1551 1632│vii. 15 - Colbert 1619 1683│iv. 122 - Cook 1728 1779│ii. 165 - Copernicus 1473 1543│i. 34 - Corneille 1606 1684│i. 153 - Corregio 1493 1534│i. 57 - Cortez 1485 1547│vi. 122 - Cowper 1731 1800│v. 189 - Cranmer 1489 1536│iii. 141 - Cromwell 1599 1658│iv. 11 - Cuvier 1769 1832│ii. 150 - │ - Dante 1265 1321│i. 1 - Davy 1778 1829│i. 11 - Defoe 1663 1731│vii. 112 - Delambre 1749 1822│iv. 165 - Descartes 1596 1650│iv. 189 - Dollond 1706 1761│ii. 12 - Drake 1545 1591│iv. 170 - Dryden 1631 1701│iii. 127 - │ - Elizabeth 1533 1603│vi. 177 - Epée, De l’ 1712 1789│iv. 113 - Erasmus 1467 1536│ii. 56 - Erskine 1748 1823│iii. 1 - Euler 1707 1783│v. 129 - │ - Fénélon 1651 1715│i. 137 - Flaxman 1755 1826│i. 27 - Franklin 1706 1790│iii. 72 - Frederick II. 1712 1786│iv. 155 - Fox 1749 1806│i. 101 - │ - Galileo 1564 1642│iii. 113 - Gibbon 1737 1794│vii. 25 - Goethe 1749 1832│iv. 46 - Grotius 1583 1645│iv. 201 - Gustavus 1594 1632│vii. 1 - │ - Hale 1609 1676│iii. 66 - Halley 1656 1742│i. 161 - Hampden 1594 1643│vii. 137 - Handel 1684 1759│ii. 10 - Harrison 1693 1776│v. 153 - Harvey 1578 1657│i. 185 - Henry IV. 1553 1610│iii. 41 - Herschel 1738 1822│v. 105 - Hobbes 1588 1679│vi. 25 - Hogarth 1697 1764│iii. 106 - Hume 1711 1776│vii. 121 - Hunter 1728 1793│iii. 19 - │ - Jefferson 1743 1826│vii. 153 - Jenner 1749 1823│vi. 11 - Johnson 1709 1785│vii. 145 - Jones, Sir W. 1746 1794│v. 134 - Jonson 1574 1637│iii. 156 - │ - Kepler 1571 1630│iii. 59 - Knox 1505 1572│vi. 40 - Kosciusko 1755 1817│i. 21 - │ - La Grange 1736 1813│ii. 88 - La Place 1749 1827│ii. 34 - Lavoisier 1743 1794│v. 9 - Leibnitz 1646 1716│vi. 132 - L’Hôpital 1505 1573│v. 85 - Lionardo da Vinci 1452 1519│iv. 21 - Linnæus 1707 1778│iv. 77 - Locke 1632 1704│v. 53 - Lorenzo de’Medici 1448 1492│i. 122 - Loyola 1491 1566│vii. 73 - Luther 1483 1546│ii. 73 - │ - Mansfield 1704 1794│vi. 62 - Marlborough* 1650 1722│iv. 104 - Maskelyne 1732 1811│vi. 20 - Medici (_see_ Lorenzo). │ - Melancthon 1497 1560│vi. 75 - Michael Angelo 1475 1564│i. 89 - Milton 1608 1674│i. 43 - Molière 1622 1673│i. 95 - Montaigne 1533 1592│v. 157 - More 1480 1535│ii. 25 - Mozart 1756 1792│vii. 66 - Murillo 1618 1682│iv. 137 - │ - Napoleon 1769 1821│iv. 67 - Nelson 1758 1805│ii. 141 - Newton 1642 1727│i. 79 - │ - Palladio 1518 1580│vi. 172 - Paré 1509 1590│v. 69 - Pascal 1623 1662│ii. 49 - Penn 1644 1718│vii. 39 - Perouse, La 1741 1788│iii. 135 - Peter I. 1672 1725│ii. 183 - Petrarch 1304 1374│iii. 25 - Pitt 1759 1805│vi. 83 - Pope 1688 1744│v. 164 - Porson 1759 1808│vi. 108 - Poussin 1594 1665│i. 177 - Priestley* 1733 1804│iv. 85 - │ - Raimondi 1488 doubtful│vii. 9 - Raleigh 1552 1618│vi. 1 - Raphael 1483 1520│vi. 30 - Ray 1628 1705│ii. 160 - Rembrandt 1606 1674│iii. 121 - Reynolds 1723 1792│v. 35 - Richelieu 1586 1642│ii. 107 - Rodney 1718 1792│ii. 82 - Romilly 1757 1818│v. 111 - Rousseau 1712 1778│v. 143 - Rubens 1577 1640│ii. 99 - │ - Scaliger, Joseph 1540 1609│vii. 32 - Schiller 1759 1805│vii. 87 - Schwartz 1726 1798│iii. 86 - Scott 1771 1832│vii. 185 - Selden 1584 1654│v. 61 - Shakespear 1564 1616│v. 122 - Siddons 1755 1831│v. 94 - Smeaton 1724 1792│ii. 13 - Smith, Adam 1723 1790│vi. 49 - Sobieski 1629 1696│iii. 184 - Somers 1650 1716│ii. 1 - Spenser doubtful 1599│iv. 194 - Staël, De 1766 1817│vi. 161 - Sully 1559 1641│i. 169 - Swift 1667 1745│v. 45 - Sydenham 1034 1689│v. 18 - │ - Tasso 1544 1595│iii. 149 - Taylor, Jeremy 1613 1667│v. 1 - Thou, De 1553 1617│vii. 49 - Titian 1480 1576│ii. 63 - Turenne 1611 1675│i. 63 - Turgot 1727 1781│ii. 175 - │ - Vauban 1633 1707│iv. 29 - Vinci (_see_ Lionardo). │ - Voltaire 1694 1778│ii. 93 - │ - Washington 1732 1799│iv. 128 - Watt 1736 1819│i. 55 - Wesley 1703 1791│vi. 93 - Wiclif 1324 1385│vi. 113 - Wilberforce 1759 1833│vii. 162 - Witt, De 1625 1672│vii. 129 - William III. 1650 1702│iv. 37 - Wollaston 1766 1828│ii. 121 - Wren 1632 1723│i. 144 - │ - Ximenes 1437 1517│vi. 139 - - - - - CLASSIFIED INDEX. - - - STATESMEN AND LAWYERS. - - _Italian._ - - Died - Lorenzo de’ Medici 1492 - - _Spanish._ - - Ximenes 1517 - Bolivar 1830 - - _British and_ _American._ - - More 1535 - Elizabeth 1603 - Raleigh 1618 - Coke 1632 - Hampden 1643 - Cromwell 1658 - Clarendon 1673 - Hale 1676 - Somers 1716 - Penn 1718 - Chatham 1778 - Mansfield 1794 - Burke 1797 - Washington 1799 - Pitt 1805 - Fox 1806 - Romilly 1818 - Erskine 1823 - Jefferson 1826 - Wilberforce 1833 - - _Dutch and German._ - - Charles V. 1558 - De Witt 1672 - William III. 1702 - - _Russian._ - - Peter I. 1725 - Catherine II. 1796 - - _French._ - - L’Hôpital 1573 - Henry IV. 1610 - Sully 1641 - Richelieu 1642 - Colbert 1683 - D’Aguesseau 1751 - Turgot 1781 - - - SOLDIERS. - - _British._ - - Blake 1657 - Marlborough 1722 - Rodney 1792 - Nelson 1805 - - _Germans, Swedes, and Poles._ - - Gustavus Adolphus 1632 - Sobieski 1696 - Frederick II. 1786 - Kosciusko 1817 - - _French._ - - Turenne 1675 - Vauban 1707 - Napoleon 1821 - - _Spanish._ - - Cortez 1547 - - - NAVIGATORS. - - _British._ - - Drake 1596 - Cook 1779 - - _French._ - - La Perouse 1788 - - - DIVINES. - - _British._ - - Wiclif 1385 - Cranmer 1556 - Knox 1572 - Taylor 1667 - Barrow 1679 - Wesley. 1791 - - _German._ - - Luther 1546 - Melancthon 1560 - Schwartz 1798 - - _French._ - - Calvin 1564 - Bossuet 1704 - Fénélon 1715 - - _Spanish._ - - Loyola 1566 - - - MEN OF LETTERS. - - _Italian._ - - Dante 1321 - Petrarch 1374 - Boccacio 1375 - Ariosto 1533 - Tasso 1595 - - _British._ - - Chaucer 1400 - Buchanan 1580 - Spenser 1599 - Shakespeare 1616 - Bacon 1626 - Jonson 1637 - Milton 1674 - Hobbes 1679 - Dryden 1701 - Locke 1704 - Addison 1719 - Defoe 1731 - Bentley 1742 - Pope 1744 - Swift 1745 - Hume 1776 - Johnson 1785 - Adam Smith 1790 - Gibbon 1794 - Jones 1794 - Cowper 1800 - Porson 1808 - Bentham 1832 - Scott 1832 - - _Spanish_ - - Cervantes 1616 - - _Dutch and German._ - - Erasmus 1536 - Grotius 1645 - Schiller 1805 - Goethe 1832 - - _French._ - - Montaigne 1592 - Joseph Scaliger. 1609 - De Thou 1617 - Pascal 1662 - Molière 1673 - Corneille 1684 - Rousseau 1778 - Voltaire 1778 - De Staël 1817 - - - ARTS AND SCIENCES. - - _Italian._ - - Galileo 1642 - - _British and American._ - - Harvey 1657 - Sydenham 1689 - Boyle 1691 - Ray 1705 - Newton 1727 - Halley 1742 - Dollond 1761 - Bradley 1762 - Brindley 1772 - Harrison 1776 - Franklin 1790 - Arkwright 1792 - Smeaton 1792 - Hunter 1793 - Black 1799 - Priestley 1804 - Maskelyne 1811 - Watt 1819 - Banks 1820 - Cartwright 1823 - Jenner 1823 - Wollaston 1828 - Davy 1829 - - _German and Swedish_ - - Copernicus 1543 - Kepler 1630 - Leibnitz 1716 - Linnæus 1778 - Euler 1783 - Herschel 1822 - - _French._ - - Pare 1590 - Descartes 1650 - D’Alembert 1783 - Buffon 1788 - De l’Epée 1789 - Lavoisier 1794 - La Grange 1813 - Delambre 1822 - La Place 1827 - Cuvier 1832 - - - FINE ARTS. - - _Italian._ - - Bramante 1514 - Lionardo da Vinci 1519 - Raphael 1520 - Corregio 1534 - Raimondi 1540 - Michael Angelo. 1564 - Titian 1576 - Palladio 1580 - Canova 1822 - - _British._ - - Wren 1723 - Hogarth 1764 - Reynolds 1792 - Flaxman 1826 - Siddons 1831 - - _Spanish._ - - Murillo 1682 - - - _Dutch and German._ - - Rubens. 1640 - Rembrandt 1674 - Handel 1759 - Mozart 1792 - - _French._ - - Poussin 1665 - Claude 1682 - - - - - CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. - - - Arranged according to the Dates of Death. - - Died - Dante 1321 - Petrarch 1374 - Boccacio 1375 - Wiclif 1385 - - Chaucer about 1400 - Lorenzo de’ Medici 1492 - - Bramante 1514 - Ximenes 1517 - Lionardo da Vinci 1519 - Raphael 1520 - Ariosto 1533 - Corregio 1534 - More 1535 - Erasmus 1536 - Copernicus 1543 - Raimondi after 1540 - Luther 1546 - Cortez 1547 - Cranmer 1536 - Charles V. 1558 - Melancthon 1560 - Calvin 1564 - Michael Angelo 1564 - Loyola 1566 - Knox 1572 - L’Hôpital 1573 - Titian 1576 - Buchanan 1580 - Palladio 1580 - Paré 1590 - Montaigne 1592 - Tasso 1595 - Drake 1596 - Spenser 1599 - - Elizabeth 1603 - Scaliger, Joseph 1609 - Henry IV. 1610 - Cervantes 1616 - Shakespear 1616 - De Thou 1617 - Raleigh 1618 - Bacon 1626 - Kepler 1630 - Coke 1632 - Gustavus Adolphus 1632 - Jonson 1637 - Rubens 1640 - Sully 1641 - Richelieu 1642 - Galileo 1642 - Hampden 1643 - Grotius 1645 - Descartes 1650 - Selden 1654 - Blake 1657 - Harvey 1657 - Cromwell 1658 - Pascal 1662 - Poussin 1665 - Taylor 1667 - De Witt 1672 - Molière 1673 - Clarendon 1673 - Rembrandt 1674 - Milton 1674 - Turenne 1675 - Hale 1676 - Barrow 1679 - Hobbes 1679 - Claude 1682 - Murillo 1682 - Colbert 1683 - Corneille 1684 - Sydenham 1689 - Boyle 1691 - Sobieski 1696 - - Dryden 1701 - William III. 1702 - Bossuet 1704 - Locke 1704 - Ray 1705 - Vauban 1707 - Fénélon 1715 - Leibnitz 1716 - Somers 1716 - Penn 1718 - Addison 1719 - Marlborough 1722 - Wren 1723 - Peter I. 1725 - Newton 1727 - Defoe 1731 - Bentley 1742 - Halley 1742 - Pope 1744 - Swift 1745 - D’Aguesseau 1751 - Handel 1759 - Dollond 1761 - Bradley 1762 - Hogarth 1764 - Brindley 1772 - Hume 1776 - Harrison 1776 - Rousseau 1778 - Chatham 1778 - Linnæus 1778 - Voltaire 1778 - Cook 1779 - Turgot 1781 - D’Alembert 1783 - Euler 1783 - Johnson 1785 - Frederic II. 1786 - Buffon 1788 - La Perouse 1788 - De l’Epée 1789 - Franklin 1790 - Adam Smith 1790 - Wesley 1791 - Arkwright 1792 - Mozart 1792 - Rodney 1792 - Reynolds 1792 - Smeaton 1792 - Hunter 1793 - Gibbon 1794 - Jones 1794 - Lavoisier 1794 - Mansfield 1794 - Catherine II. 1796 - Burke 1797 - Schwartz 1798 - Black 1799 - Washington 1799 - - Cowper 1800 - Priestley 1804 - Nelson 1805 - Pitt 1805 - Schiller 1805 - Fox 1806 - Porson 1808 - Maskelyne 1811 - La Grange 1813 - Kosciusko 1817 - De Staël 1817 - Romilly 1818 - Watt 1819 - Banks 1820 - Napoleon 1821 - Canova 1822 - Delambre 1822 - Herschel 1822 - Cartwright 1823 - Jenner 1823 - Erskine 1823 - Flaxman 1826 - Jefferson 1826 - La Place 1827 - Wollaston 1828 - Davy 1829 - Bolivar 1830 - Siddons 1831 - Bentham 1832 - Cuvier 1832 - Scott 1832 - Goethe 1832 - Wilberforce 1833 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - LONDON: - Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, - Stamford Street. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Changed the date “5570” to “1570” on p. 49. - 2. Corrected the repeated page numbers to volume iv in the ALPHABETICAL - INDEX on p. 197. - 3. Silently corrected typographical errors. - 4. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 6. Superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript - character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in - curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gallery of Portraits: with -Memoirs. 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