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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..023faa2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #56166 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56166) diff --git a/old/56166-0.txt b/old/56166-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8d49889..0000000 --- a/old/56166-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7140 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Word Portraits of Famous Writers, Edited by -Mabel E. (Mabel Elizabeth) Wotton - - -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: Word Portraits of Famous Writers - - -Editor: Mabel E. (Mabel Elizabeth) Wotton - -Release Date: December 11, 2017 [eBook #56166] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORD PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS WRITERS*** - - -E-text prepared by David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/wordportraitsoff00wottrich - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text in italics is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=. - - - - - -WORD PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS WRITERS - -Edited by - -MABEL E. WOTTON - - - ‘What manner of man is he?’ - _Twelfth Night_ - - - - - - -London -Richard Bentley & Son -Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen -1887 - -Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -“The world has always been fond of personal details respecting men -who have been celebrated.” These were the words of Lord Beaconsfield, -and with them he prefixed his description of the personal appearance -of Isaac D’Israeli; but we hardly need the dictum of our greatest -statesman to convince ourselves that at all events every honest -literature-lover takes a very real interest in the individuality of -those men whose names are perpetually on his lips. It is not enough -for such a one merely to make himself familiar with their writings. It -does not suffice for him that the _Essays of Elia_, for instance, can -be got by heart, but he feels that he must also be able to linger in -the playground at Christ’s with the “lame-footed boy,” and in after -years pace the Temple gardens with the gentle-faced scholar, before he -can properly be said to have made Lamb’s thoughts his own. At the best -it is but a very incomplete notion that most of us possess as to the -actual personality of even the most prominent of our British writers. -The almost womanly beauty of Sidney, and the keen eyes and razor face -of Pope, would, perhaps, be recognised as easily as the well-known form -of Dr. Johnson; but taking them _en masse_ even a widely-read man might -be forgiven if, from amongst the scraps of hearsay and curtly-recorded -impressions on which at rare intervals he may alight, he cannot very -readily conjure up the ghosts of the very men whose books he has -studied, and to whose haunts he has been an eager pilgrim. - -Such a power the following pages have attempted to supply. They -contain an account of the face, figure, dress, voice, and manner of -our best-known writers ranging from Geoffrey Chaucer to Mrs. Henry -Wood,--drawn in all cases when it is possible by their contemporaries, -and when through lack of material this endeavour has failed, the task -of portrait-painting has devolved either on other writers who owed -their inspiration to the offices of a mutual friend, or on those whose -literary ability and untiring research have qualified them for the -task. Infinite toil has not always been rewarded, and it would be easy -to supply at least half a dozen names whose absence is to be regretted. -Beaumont and Fletcher are as much read as Thomas Otway, and William -Wotton has perhaps as much right of entrance as his famous opponent -Richard Bentley, but as a small child pointed out when the book was -first proposed: “_You can’t find what isn’t there._” And the worth of -the book naturally consists in keeping to the lines already indicated. - -An asterisk placed under the given reference means that the writer -of that particular portrait (who is not necessarily the writer of -that particular book) did not actually see his subject, but that he -is describing a picture, or else that he is building up one from -substantiated evidence. Sometimes, as in the case of Suckling, this -distinction leads to the same book supplying two portraits, only one of -which is at first hand. - -When a date is placed at the foot of a description, it refers to the -appearance presented at that time, and not to the period when the words -were penned. - -British writers only are named, and amongst them there is of course no -living author. - -Chaucer’s birth-date has been given as _About_ 1340, for the -traditional year of 1328 is based on little more than the inscription -on his tomb, which was not placed there until the middle of the -sixteenth century, while according to his own deposition as witness, -his birth could not have taken place until about twelve years later. - -In only one other instance has there been a departure from recognised -precedent, and that is in the case of Thomas de Quincey. In defiance -of almost every compiler and present-day writer, I have entered the -name in the Q’s and spelt it as here written. The reason for this -is threefold: First, he himself invariably spelt his name with a -small d. Second, Hood, Wordsworth, and Lamb, and, I believe, all his -other contemporaries did the same. Third, de Quincey himself was -so determined about the matter that he actually dropped the prefix -altogether for some little time, and was known as Mr. Quincey. “His -name I write with a small d in the de, as he wrote it himself. He would -not have wished it indexed among the D’s, but the Q’s,” wrote the Rev. -Francis Jacox, who was one of his Lasswade friends, and in spite of his -recent and skilful biographers, it must be conceded that after all the -little man had the greatest right to his own name. - -I am glad to take this opportunity of thanking those who have helped -me, and who will not let me speak my thanks direct. It is a pleasant -thought that while working amongst the literary men of the past, I -have received nothing but kindness from those of to-day. First and -foremost to Mr. George Augustus Sala, to whom I am infinitely indebted; -also to Mrs. Huntingford, Mrs. and Mr. Frederick Chapman, Mr. Henry M. -Trollope, Dr. W. F. Fitz-Patrick, and Mr. S. C. Hall: to all these, -as well as to my own personal friends, I offer my hearty and sincere -thanks. - - M. E. W. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - JOSEPH ADDISON 1 - HARRISON AINSWORTH 4 - JANE AUSTEN 7 - FRANCIS, LORD BACON 10 - JOANNA BAILLIE 12 - BENJAMIN, LORD BEACONSFIELD 15 - JEREMY BENTHAM 17 - RICHARD BENTLEY 20 - JAMES BOSWELL 21 - CHARLOTTE BRONTË 24 - HENRY, LORD BROUGHAM 27 - ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING 34 - JOHN BUNYAN 36 - EDMUND BURKE 39 - ROBERT BURNS 42 - SAMUEL BUTLER 47 - GEORGE, LORD BYRON 47 - THOMAS CAMPBELL 51 - THOMAS CARLYLE 55 - THOMAS CHATTERTON 58 - GEOFFREY CHAUCER 61 - PHILIP, LORD CHESTERFIELD 63 - WILLIAM COBBETT 66 - HARTLEY COLERIDGE 70 - SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE 74 - WILLIAM COLLINS 77 - WILLIAM COWPER 79 - GEORGE CRABBE 81 - DANIEL DE FOE 83 - CHARLES DICKENS 86 - ISAAC D’ISRAELI 91 - JOHN DRYDEN 94 - MARY ANNE EVANS (GEORGE ELIOT) 98 - HENRY FIELDING 102 - JOHN GAY 105 - EDWARD GIBBON 107 - WILLIAM GODWIN 110 - OLIVER GOLDSMITH 112 - DAVID GRAY 114 - THOMAS GRAY 116 - HENRY HALLAM 118 - WILLIAM HAZLITT 120 - FELICIA HEMANS 125 - JAMES HOGG 128 - THOMAS HOOD 130 - THEODORE HOOK 134 - DAVID HUME 136 - LEIGH HUNT 139 - ELIZABETH INCHBALD 143 - FRANCIS, LORD JEFFREY 144 - DOUGLAS JERROLD 147 - SAMUEL JOHNSON 150 - BEN JONSON 152 - JOHN KEATS 155 - JOHN KEBLE 158 - CHARLES KINGSLEY 164 - CHARLES LAMB 168 - LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON 172 - WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR 174 - CHARLES LEVER 177 - MATTHEW GREGORY LEWIS 179 - JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART 180 - SIR RICHARD LOVELACE 181 - EDWARD, LORD LYTTON 183 - THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY 187 - WILLIAM MAGINN 190 - FRANCIS MAHONY (FATHER PROUT) 195 - FREDERICK MARRYAT 199 - HARRIET MARTINEAU 202 - FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE 205 - JOHN MILTON 207 - MARY RUSSELL MITFORD 211 - LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU 215 - THOMAS MOORE 217 - HANNAH MORE 220 - SIR THOMAS MORE 224 - CAROLINE NORTON 227 - THOMAS OTWAY 231 - SAMUEL PEPYS 232 - ALEXANDER POPE 234 - BRYAN WALLER PROCTER 236 - THOMAS DE QUINCEY 238 - ANN RADCLIFFE 243 - SIR WALTER RALEIGH 244 - CHARLES READE 248 - SAMUEL RICHARDSON 251 - SAMUEL ROGERS 254 - DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI 256 - RICHARD SAVAGE 262 - SIR WALTER SCOTT 264 - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 267 - MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY 275 - PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY 277 - RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN 282 - SIR PHILIP SIDNEY 284 - HORACE SMITH 286 - SYDNEY SMITH 287 - TOBIAS SMOLLETT 289 - ROBERT SOUTHEY 290 - EDMUND SPENSER 293 - ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY 296 - SIR RICHARD STEELE 299 - LAURENCE STERNE 302 - SIR JOHN SUCKLING 304 - JONATHAN SWIFT 305 - WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY 308 - JAMES THOMSON 311 - ANTHONY TROLLOPE 313 - EDMUND WALLER 317 - HORACE WALPOLE 319 - IZAAC WALTON 323 - JOHN WILSON 324 - ELLEN WOOD (MRS. HENRY WOOD) 330 - WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 332 - SIR HENRY WOTTON 335 - - - - -JOSEPH ADDISON - -1672-1719 - - -[Sidenote: _Temple Bar_, 1874. *] - -“Of his personal appearance we have at least two portraits by good -hands. Before us are three carefully-engraved portraits of him, but -there is a great dissimilarity between the three except in the wig. -Sir Godfrey Kneller painted one of these portraits, which is entirely -unlike the two others; let us, however, give Sir Godfrey the credit -of the best picture, and judge Addison’s appearance from that. The -wig almost prevents our judging the shape of the head, yet it seems -very high behind. The forehead is very lofty, the sort of forehead -which is called ‘commanding’ by those people who do not know that some -of the least decided men in the world have had high foreheads. The -eyebrows are delicately ‘pencilled,’ yet show a vast deal of vigour and -expression; they are what his old Latin friends, who knew so well the -power of expression in the eyebrow, would have called ‘supercilious,’ -and yet the nasal end of the supercilium is only slightly raised, and -it droops pleasantly at the temporal end, so that there is nothing -Satanic or ill-natured about it. The eyebrow of Addison, according to -Kneller, seems to say, ‘You are a greater fool than you think yourself -to be, but I would die sooner than tell you so.’ The eye, which is -generally supposed to convey so much expression, but which very often -does not, is very much like the eyes of other amiable and talented -people. The nose is long, as becomes an orthodox Whig; quite as long, -we should say, as the nose of any member of Peel’s famous long-nosed -ministry, and quite as delicately chiselled. The mouth is very tender -and beautiful, firm, yet with a delicate curve upwards at each end of -the upper lip, suggestive of a good joke, and of a calm waiting to -hear if any man is going to beat it. Below the mouth there follows of -course the nearly inevitable double chin of the eighteenth century, -with a deep incision in the centre of the jaw-bone, which shows through -the flesh like a dimple. On the whole a singularly handsome and -pleasant face, wanting the wonderful form which one sees in the faces -of Shakespeare, Prior, Congreve, Castlereagh, Byron, or Napoleon, but -still extremely fine of its own.” - -[Sidenote: Johnson’s _Lives of the Poets_.] - -“Of his habits, or external manners, nothing is so often mentioned as -that timorous or sullen taciturnity, which his friends called modesty -by too mild a name. Steele mentions, with great tenderness, ‘that -remarkable bashfulness, which is a cloak that hides and muffles merit;’ -and tells us ‘that his abilities were covered only by modesty, which -doubles the beauties which are seen, and gives credit and esteem to all -that are concealed.’ Chesterfield affirms that ‘Addison was the most -timorous and awkward man that he ever saw.’ And Addison, speaking of -his own deficiency in conversation, used to say of himself that, with -respect to intellectual wealth, ‘he could draw bills for a thousand -pounds though he had not a guinea in his pocket.’... ‘Addison’s -conversation,’ says Pope, ‘had something in it more charming than I -have found in any other man. But this was only when familiar; before -strangers, or, perhaps, a single stranger, he preserved his dignity by -a stiff silence.’” - - - - -HARRISON AINSWORTH - -1805-1882 - - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a Long Life_.] - -“I saw little of him in later days, but when I saw him in 1826, not -long after he married the daughter of Ebers of New Bond Street, and -‘condescended’ for a brief time to be a publisher, he was a remarkably -handsome young man--tall, graceful in deportment, and in all ways a -pleasant person to look upon and talk to. He was, perhaps, as thorough -a gentleman as his native city of Manchester ever sent forth.” - -[Sidenote: A personal friend.] - -“Harrison Ainsworth was certainly a handsome man, but it was very -much of the barber’s-block type of beauty, with wavy scented hair, -smiling lips, and pink and white complexion. As a young man he was -gorgeous in the _outré_ dress of the dandy of ’36, and, in common -with those other famous dandies, d’Orsay, young Benjamin Disraeli, -and Tom Duncombe, wore multitudinous waistcoats, over which dangled -a long gold chain, numberless rings, and a black satin stock. In old -age he was very patriarchal-looking. His gray hair was swept up and -back from a peculiarly high broad forehead; his moustache, beard, and -whiskers were short, straight, and silky, and the mouth was entirely -hidden. His eyes were large and oval, and rather _flat_ in form,--less -expressive altogether than one would have expected in the head of so -graphic a writer. The eyebrows were somewhat overhanging, and the nose -was straight and flexible. Up to the day of his death he was always a -well-dressed man, but in a far more sober fashion than in his youth.” - -[Sidenote: Ainsworth’s _Rookwood_.] - -“What have we to add to what we have here ventured to record, which the -engraving which accompanies this memoir will not more happily embody? -(_This refers to a portrait by Maclise which appeared in_ The Mirror.) -Should that fail to do justice to his face--to its regularity and -delicacy of feature, its manly glow of health, and the cordial nature -which lightens it up--we must refer the dissatisfied beholder to Mr. -Pickersgill’s masterly full-length portrait exhibited last year, in -which the author of _The Miser’s Daughter_ may be seen, not as some -pale, worn, pining scholar,--some fagging, half-exhausted, periodical -romancer,--but, as an English gentleman of goodly stature and well-set -limb, with a fine head on his shoulders, and a heart to match. If to -this we add a word, it must be to observe, that, though the temper -of our popular author may be marked by impatience on some occasions, -it has never been upon any occasion marked by a want of generosity, -whether in conferring benefits or atoning for errors. His friends -regard him as a man with as few failings, blended with fine qualities, -as most people, and his enemies know nothing at all about him.” - - - - -JANE AUSTEN - -1775-1817 - -[Sidenote: Tytler’s _Jane Austen and her Works_. *] - -“In person Jane Austen seems to have borne considerable resemblance to -her two favourite heroines, Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse. Jane, -too, was tall and slender, a brunette, with a rich colour,--altogether -‘the picture of health’ which Emma Woodhouse was said to be. In minor -points, Jane Austen had a well-formed though somewhat small nose and -mouth, round as well as rosy cheeks, bright hazel eyes, and brown hair -falling in natural curls about her face.” - -[Sidenote: Leigh’s _Memoir of Jane Austen_. *] - -“As my memoir has now reached the period when I saw a great deal of my -aunt, and was old enough to understand something of her value, I will -here attempt a description of her person, mind, and habits. In person -she was very attractive; her figure was rather tall and slender, her -step light and firm, and her whole appearance expressive of health and -animation. In complexion she was a clear brunette, with a rich colour; -she had full round cheeks, with mouth and nose small and well-formed, -bright hazel eyes, and brown hair forming natural curls close round her -face. If not so regularly handsome as her sister, yet her countenance -had a peculiar charm of its own to the eyes of most beholders. At the -time of which I am now writing, she never was seen, either morning -or evening, without a cap; I believe that she and her sister were -generally thought to have taken to the garb of middle age earlier than -their years or their looks required; and that, though remarkably neat -in their dress, as in all their ways, they were scarcely sufficiently -regardful of the fashionable, or the becoming.”--1809. - -[Sidenote: Austen’s _Sense and Sensibility_.] - -“Of personal attractions she possessed a considerable share; her -stature rather exceeded the middle height; her carriage and deportment -were quiet, but graceful; her features were separately good; their -assemblage produced an unrivalled expression of that cheerfulness, -sensibility, and benevolence which were her real characteristics; her -complexion was of the finest texture--it might with truth be said that -her eloquent blood spoke through her modest cheek; her voice was sweet; -she delivered herself with fluency and precision; indeed, she was -formed for elegant and rational society, excelling in conversation as -much as in composition.... The affectation of candour is not uncommon, -but she had no affectation.... She never uttered either a hasty, a -silly, or a severe expression. In short, her temper was as polished as -her wit; and no one could be often in her company without feeling a -strong desire of obtaining her friendship, and cherishing a desire of -having obtained it.” - - - - -FRANCIS, LORD BACON - -1560-1-1626 - - -[Sidenote: Montague’s _Life of Bacon_. *] - -[Sidenote: Evelyn on Medals.] - -“He was of a middle stature, and well proportioned; his features were -handsome and expressive, and his countenance, until it was injured by -politics and worldly warfare, singularly placid. There is a portrait -of him when he was only eighteen now extant, on which the artist -has recorded his despair of doing justice to his subject, by the -inscription,--‘Si tabula daretur digna, animum mallem.’ His portraits -differ beyond what may be considered a fair allowance for the varying -skill of the artist, or the natural changes which time wrought upon -his person; but none of them contradict the description given by one -who knew him well, ‘That he had a spacious forehead and piercing eye, -looking upward as a soul in sublime contemplation, a countenance worthy -of one who was to set free captive philosophy.’” - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_. *] - -“He had a delicate, lively hazel eie; Dr. Harvey told me it was like -the eie of a viper.” - -[Sidenote: Campbell’s _Lives of the Lord Chancellors_. *] - -“All accounts represent him as a delightful companion, adapting himself -to company of every degree, calling, and humour,--not engrossing the -conversation,--trying to get all to talk in turn on the subject they -best understood, and not disdaining to light his own candle at the -lamp of any other.... Little remains except to give some account of -his person. He was of a middling stature; his limbs well-formed though -not robust; his forehead high, spacious and open; his eye lively and -penetrating; there were deep lines of thinking in his face, his smile -was both intellectual and benevolent; the marks of age were prematurely -impressed upon him; in advanced life his whole appearance was venerably -pleasing, so that a stranger was insensibly drawn to love before -knowing how much reason there was to admire him.” - - - - -JOANNA BAILLIE - -1762-1851 - - -[Sidenote: Crabb Robinson’s _Diary_.] - -“We met Miss Joanna Baillie, and accompanied her home. She is small in -figure, and her gait is mean and shuffling, but her manners are those -of a well-bred woman. She has none of the unpleasant airs too common to -literary ladies. Her conversation is sensible. She possesses apparently -considerable information, is prompt without being forward, and has -a fixed judgment of her own, without any disposition to force it on -others. Wordsworth said of her with warmth, ‘If I had to present any -one to a foreigner as a model of an English gentlewoman, it would be -Joanna Baillie.’”--1812. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“Of the party I can recall but one; that one, however, is a -memory,--JOANNA BAILLIE. I remember her as singularly impressive in -look and manner, with the ‘queenly’ air we associate with ideas of high -birth and lofty rank. Her face was long, narrow, dark, and solemn, and -her speech deliberate and considerate, the very antipodes of ‘chatter.’ -Tall in person, and habited according to the ‘mode’ of an olden time, -her picture, as it is now present to me, is that of a very venerable -dame, dressed in coif and kirtle, stepping out, as it were, from a -frame in which she had been placed by the painter Vandyke.”--1825-26. - -[Sidenote: Sara Coleridge’s _Letters_.] - -“I saw Mrs. Joanna Baillie before dinner. She wore a delicate lavender -satin bonnet; and Mrs. J. says she is fond of dress, and knows what -every one has on. Her taste is certainly exquisite in dress though -(strange to say) not, in my opinion, in poetry. I more than ever -admired the harmony of expression and tint, the silver hair and -silvery-gray eye, the pale skin, and the look which speaks of a -mind that has had much communing with high imagination, though such -intercourse is only perceptible now by the absence of everything which -that lofty spirit would not set his seal upon.”--1834. - - - - -BENJAMIN, LORD BEACONSFIELD - -1804-1881 - - -[Sidenote: Jeaffreson’s _Novels and Novelists_.] - -“His ringlets of silken black hair, his flashing eyes, his effeminate -and lisping voice, his dress-coat of black velvet lined with white -satin, his white kid gloves with his wrist surrounded by a long hanging -fringe of black silk, and his ivory cane, of which the handle, inlaid -with gold, was relieved by more black silk in the shape of a tassel.... -Such was the perfumed boy-exquisite who forced his way into the salons -of peeresses.”--1829. - -[Sidenote: Mill’s _Beaconsfield_.] - -“In the front seat on the Conservative side of the House, may be -observed a man who, if his hat be off, which it generally is, is sure -to arrest one’s attention, and we need scarcely to be told after having -once seen him that he is the leader of that great party. He is not -old, just turned fifty we may suppose, but he bears his age well, -whatever it may be. His face, which was once handsome, is now ‘sicklied -o’er with the pale cast of thought.’ The head is long, and the forehead -massive and finished. The eye is restless, but full of fire; the hair -black and curly. Nature has evidently taken some pains to finish the -exterior.”--about 1855. - -[Sidenote: J. H. du Vivier, _Portraits comparés des hommes d’état_.] - -“Certes, le premier aspect de Mr. Gladstone ... réponds à l’idée -qu’on peut se faire d’un chef doué d’un élan irrésistible, mieuxque -l’attitude maladive de lord Beaconsfield, ses traits mous, son regard -flétri et comme perdu dans l’abstraction ou dans une réverie hantée par -la désillusion et la lassitude.... Chez le plus faible ... on devine -bientôt que si le fourreau est usé par la lame, c’est à raison de la -dévorante activité de celle-ci.... La tête s’incline avec mélancholie, -la bouche a pris l’habitude des contractions douleureuses; mais que -de patience invincible dans cette attitude! quelle fécondité, quelle -soudaineté d’inspirations marquées sur ces lèvres que plisse le rictus -de l’ironie!” - - - - -JEREMY BENTHAM - -1748-1832 - - -[Sidenote: Sir John Bowring’s _Autobiographical Recollections_.] - -“In the very centre of the group of persons who originated the -_Westminster Review_ stands the grand figure of Jeremy Bentham. -Though closely resembling Franklin, his face expresses a profounder -wisdom and a more marked benevolence than the bust of the American -printer. Mingled with a serene contemplative cast, there is something -of playful humour in the countenance. The high forehead is wrinkled, -but is without sternness, and is contemplative but complacent. The -neatly-combed long white hair hangs over the neck, but moves at every -breath. _Simplex munditiis_ best describes his garments. When he walks -there is a restless activity in his gait, as if his thoughts were, ‘Let -me walk fast, for there is work to do, and the walking is but to fit me -the better for the work.’” - -[Sidenote: Sir John Bowring’s _Life of Bentham_.] - -“The striking resemblance between the persons of Franklin and Bentham -has been often noticed. Of the two, perhaps, the expression of -Bentham’s countenance was the more benign. Each remarkable for profound -sagacity, Bentham was scarcely less so for a perpetual playfulness of -manner and of expression. Few men were so sportive, so amusing, as -Bentham,--none ever tempered more delightfully his wisdom with his -wit.... Bentham’s dress was peculiar out of doors. He ordinarily wore -a narrow-rimmed straw hat, from under which his long white hair fell -on his shoulders, or was blown about by the winds. He had a plain -brown coat, cut in the Quaker style; light-brown cassimere breeches, -over whose knees outside he usually exhibited a pair of white worsted -stockings; list shoes he almost invariably used; and his hands were -generally covered with merino-lined leather gloves. His neck was bare; -he never went out without his stick ‘dapple,’ for a companion. He -walked, or rather trotted, as if he were impatient for exercise; but -often stopped suddenly for purposes of conversation.” - -[Sidenote: Crabb Robinson’s _Diary_.] - -“_December 31st._--At half-past one went by appointment to see Jeremy -Bentham, at his house in Westminster Square, and walked with him -for about half an hour in his garden, when he dismissed me to take -his breakfast and have the paper read to him. I have but little to -report concerning him. He is a small man. He stoops very much (he is -eighty-four), and shuffles in his gait. His hearing is not good, yet -excellent considering his age. His eye is restless, and there is a -fidgety activity about him, increased probably by the habit of having -all round fly at his command.”--1831. - - - - -RICHARD BENTLEY - -1662-1742 - - -[Sidenote: R. C. Jebb’s _Bentley_. *] - -“The pose of the head is haughty, almost defiant; the eyes, which are -large, prominent, and full of bold vivacity, have a light in them as -if Bentley were looking straight at an impostor whom he had detected, -but who still amused him; the nose, strong and slightly tip-tilted, -is moulded as if Nature had wished to show what a nose can do for the -combined expression of scorn and sagacity; and the general effect of -the countenance, at a first glance, is one which suggests power--frank, -self-assured, sarcastic, and, I fear we must add, insolent: yet, -standing a little longer before the picture, we become aware of an -essential kindness in those eyes of which the gaze is so direct and -intrepid; we read in the whole face a certain keen veracity; and the -sense grows--this was a man who could hit hard, but who would not -strike a foul blow, and whose ruling instinct, whether always a sure -guide or not, was to pierce through falsities to truth.” - - - - -JAMES BOSWELL - -1740-1795 - - -[Sidenote: Littell’s _Living Age_, 1870. *] - -“The sketch by Sir Thomas Lawrence of Boswell, prefixed to Mr. -Murray’s edition of Johnson’s _Life_, illustrates with striking -accuracy the saying of Hazlitt, that ‘A man’s life may be a lie to -himself and others; and yet a picture painted of him by a great -artist would probably stamp his character.’ The busy vanity, the -garrulous complacency of the man when out of sight of Dr. Johnson, -as he may be supposed to have been when the portrait was etched, are -brought out with all the humour and point of a caricature, without -its exaggeration. The thin nose, that seems to sniff the air for -information, has the sharp shrewdness of a Scotch accent. The small -eyes, too much relieved by the high-arched eyebrows, twinkle with -the exultation of victories not won--an expression contracted from a -vigilant watching of Dr. Johnson, who, when he spoke, spoke always for -victory; the bleak lips, making by their protrusion an angle almost -the size of the nose, proclaim Boswell’s love of ‘drawing people -out,’ a thirst for information at once droll and impertinent; but -which finally embodied itself in a form that has been pronounced by -Lord Macaulay the most interesting biography in the world; the ample -chins, fold upon fold, tell of a strong affection, gross, and almost -sottish, for port wine and tainted meats; whilst the folded arms, -the slightly-inclined posture, the strong and arrogant setting of -the head, exhibit the self-importance, the shrewd understanding, not -to be obscurated by vanity, the imperturbable but artless egotism, -the clever inquisitiveness which have made him the best-despised -and best-read writer in English literature. The portraits handed -down to us of Boswell by his contemporaries are most graphic; some -of them are malignant, some bitter, some temperate; and those that -are temperate are probably just.... Miss Burney thus caricatures the -appearance of Boswell in Johnson’s presence, when intent upon his -note-taking: ‘The moment that voice burst forth, the attention which -it excited on Mr. Boswell amounted almost to pain. His eyes goggled -with eagerness; he leant his ear almost on the shoulder of the doctor, -and his mouth dropped down to catch every syllable that was uttered; -nay, he seemed not only to dread losing a word, but to be anxious not -to miss a breathing, as if hoping from it latently or mystically some -information.’” - - - - -CHARLOTTE BRONTË - -1816-1855 - - -[Sidenote: Mrs Gaskell’s _Life of C. Brontë_.] - -“In 1831, she was a quiet, thoughtful girl, of nearly fifteen years -of age, very small in figure--‘stunted’ was the word she applied to -herself; but as her limbs and head were in just proportion to the -slight, fragile body, no word in ever so slight a degree suggestive -of deformity could properly be applied to her; with soft, thick, -brown hair, and peculiar eyes, of which I find it difficult to give a -description as they appeared to me in her later life. They were large -and well-shaped, their colour a reddish brown, but if the iris were -closely examined, it appeared to be composed of a great variety of -tints. The usual expression was of quiet, listening intelligence; but -now and then, on some just occasion for vivid interest or wholesome -indignation, a light would shine out, as if some spiritual lamp had -been kindled, which glowed behind those expressive orbs. I never saw -the like in any other human creature. As for the rest of her features, -they were plain, large, and ill-set; but, unless you began to catalogue -them, you were hardly aware of the fact, for the eyes and power of -the countenance overbalanced every physical defect; the crooked mouth -and the large nose were forgotten, and the whole face arrested the -attention, and presently attracted all those whom she herself would -have cared to attract. Her hands and feet were the smallest I ever -saw; when one of the former was placed in mine, it was like the soft -touch of a bird in the middle of my palm. The delicate long fingers -had a peculiar fineness of sensation, which was one reason why all -her handiwork, of whatever kind--writing, sewing, knitting,--was -so clear in its minuteness. She was remarkably neat in her whole -personal attire; but she was dainty as to the fit of her shoes and -gloves.”--1831. - -[Sidenote: Harriet Martineau’s _Biographical Sketches_.] - -“There was something inexpressibly affecting in the aspect of the -frail little creature who had done such wonderful things, and who was -able to bear up, with so bright an eye and so composed a countenance, -under not only such a weight of sorrow, but such a prospect of -solitude. In her deep mourning dress (neat as a Quaker’s), with her -beautiful hair, smooth and brown, her fine eyes, and her sensible face -indicating a habit of self-control, she seemed a perfect household -image--irresistibly recalling Wordsworth’s description of that domestic -treasure. And she was this.”--1850. - -[Sidenote: Bayne’s _Two great Englishwomen_.] - -“I can only say of this lady, _vide tantum_. I saw her first just -as I rose out of an illness from which I never thought to recover. -I remember the trembling little frame, the little hand, the great -honest eyes. An impetuous honesty seemed to me to characterise the -woman.... She gave me the impression of being a very pure, and lofty, -and high-minded person. A great and holy reverence of right and truth -seemed to be with her always. Such, in our brief interview, she -appeared to me.”--1851. - - - - -HENRY, LORD BROUGHAM - -1778-1868 - - -[Sidenote: Ticknor’s _Life and Letters_.] - -“Brougham, whom I knew in society, and from seeing him both at his -chambers and at my own lodgings, is now about thirty-eight, tall, thin, -and rather awkward, with a plain and not very expressive countenance, -and simple or even slovenly manners. He is evidently nervous, and -a slight convulsive movement about the muscles of his lips gives -him an unpleasant expression now and then. In short, all that is -exterior in him, and all that goes to make up the first impression, -is unfavourable. The first thing that removes this impression is the -heartiness and good-will he shows you, whose motive cannot be mistaken, -for such kindness comes only from the heart. This is the first thing, -but a stranger presently begins to remark his conversation. On common -topics nobody is more commonplace. He does not feel them, but if the -subject excites him, there is an air of originality in his remarks -which, if it convinces you of nothing else, convinces you that you -are talking with an extraordinary man. He does not like to join in -a general conversation, but prefers to talk apart with only two -or three persons, and, though with great interest and zeal, in an -undertone. If, however, he does launch into it, all the little, trim, -gay pleasure-boats must keep well out of the way of his great black -collier, as Gibbon said of Fox. He listens carefully and fairly--and -with a kindness which would be provoking if it were not genuine--to -all his adversary has to say; but when his time comes to answer, it is -with that bare, bold, bullion talent which either crushes itself or its -opponent.... Yet I suspect the impression Brougham generally leaves is -that of a good-natured friend. At least that is the impression I have -most frequently found, both in England and on the Continent.”--1819. - -[Sidenote: Newspaper cutting 1876.] - -“Standing in the narrow Gothic railed-off place reserved for the -public--the throne at the opposite extremity of the House--you may see -on one of the benches to the right, almost every forenoon, Saturday and -Sunday excepted, during the session, a very old man with a white head, -and attired in a simple frock and trousers of shepherd’s plaid. It is a -leonine head, and the white locks are bushy and profuse. So, too, the -eyebrows, penthouses to eyes somewhat weak now, but that can flash fire -yet upon occasion. The face is ploughed with wrinkles, as well it may -be, for the old man will never see fourscore years again, and of these, -threescore, at the very least, have been spent in study and the hardest -labour, mental and physical. The nose is a marvel--protuberant, rugose, -aggressive, inquiring and defiant: unlovely, but intellectual. There is -a trumpet mouth, a belligerent mouth, projecting and self-asserting; -largish ears, and on chin or cheeks no vestige of hair. Not a beautiful -man this, on any theory of beauty, Hogarthesque, Ruskinesque, -Winclemenesque, or otherwise. Rather a shaggy, gnarled, battered, -weather-beaten, ugly, faithful, Scotch-collie type. Not a soft, -imploring, yielding face. Rather a tearing, mocking, pugnacious cast -of countenance. The mouth is fashioned to the saying of harsh, hard, -impertinent things: not cruel, but downright; but never to whisper -compliments, or simper out platitudes. A nose, too, that can snuff the -battle afar off, and with dilated nostrils breathe forth a glory that -is sometimes terrible; but not a nose for a pouncet-box, or a Covent -Garden bouquet, or a _flacon_ of Frangipani. Would not care much for -truffles either, I think, or the delicate aroma of sparkling Moselle. -Would prefer onions or strongly-infused malt and hops; something honest -and unsophisticated. Watch this old man narrowly, young visitor to the -Lords. Scan his furrowed visage. Mark his odd angular ways and gestures -passing uncouth. Now he crouches, very dog-like, in his crimson bench: -clasps one shepherd’s plaid leg in both his hands. Botherem, _q.c._, -is talking nonsense, I think. Now the legs are crossed, and the hands -thrown behind the head; now he digs his elbows into the little Gothic -writing-table before him, and buries his hands in that puissant white -hair of his. The quiddities of Floorem, _q.c._, are beyond human -patience. Then with a wrench, a wriggle, a shake, a half-turn and -half-start up--still very dog-like, but of the Newfoundland rather, -now--he asks a lawyer or a witness a question. Question very sharp and -to the point, not often complimentary by times, and couched in that -which is neither broad Scotch nor Northumbrian burr, but a rebellious -mixture of the two. Mark him well, eye him closely: you have not much -time to lose. Alas! the giant is very old, though with frame yet -unenfeebled, with intellect yet gloriously unclouded. But the sands -are running, ever running. Watch him, mark him, eye him, score him on -your mind tablets: then home, and in after years it may be your lot -to tell your children that once at least you have seen with your own -eyes the famous Lord of Vaux; once listened to the voice which has -shaken thrones and made tyrants tremble; that has been a herald of -deliverance to millions pining in slavery and captivity; a voice that -has given utterance, in man’s most eloquent words, to the noblest, -wisest thoughts lent to this man of men by heaven; a voice that has -been trumpet-sounding these sixty years past in defence of Truth, and -Right, and Justice; in advocacy of the claims of learning and industry, -and of the liberties of the great English people, from whose ranks he -rose; a voice that should be entitled to a hearing in a Walhalla of -wise heroes, after Francis of Verulam and Isaac of Grantham; the voice -of one who is worthily a lord, but who will be yet better remembered, -and to all time,--remembered enthusiastically and affectionately,--as -the champion of all good and wise and beautiful human things--Harry -Brougham.” - -[Sidenote: _Temple Bar_, 1868.] - -“The personal man, the bodily man, the private man, did not vary. -From 1830 to 1866,--the period between his brightest glow of fame and -his mental eclipse,--he was always the same gaunt, angular, raw-boned -figure, with the high cheek-bones, the great flexible nose, the mobile -mouth, the shock head of hair, the uncouthly-cut coat with the velvet -collar, the high black stock, the bulging shirt front, the dangling -bunch of seals at his fob, and the immortal pantaloons of checked -tweed. It is said that one of his admirers in the Bradford Cloth Hall -gave him a bale of plaid trousering ‘a’ oo’’[1] in 1825, and that he -continued until the day of his death to have his nether garments cut -from the inexhaustible store. I have seen Lord Brougham in evening -dress and in the customary black continuations; but I never met him by -daylight without the inevitable checks.” - - - - -ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING - -1809-1861 - - -[Sidenote: M. R. Mitford’s _Recollections of a Literary Life_.] - -“My first acquaintance with Elizabeth Barrett commenced about fifteen -years ago. She was certainly one of the most interesting persons that -I had ever seen. Everybody who then saw her said the same; so that -it is not merely the impression of my partiality, or my enthusiasm. -Of a slight delicate figure, with a shower of dark curls falling on -either side of a most expressive face, large tender eyes, richly -fringed with dark eyelashes, a smile like a sunbeam, and such a look -of youthfulness, that I had some difficulty in persuading a friend, in -whose carriage we went together to Chiswick, that the translatress of -the _Prometheus_ of Æschylus, the authoress of the _Essay on Mind_, was -old enough to be introduced into company, in technical language, was -_out_.”--1835. - -[Sidenote: Sara Coleridge’s _Letters_.] - -“She is little, hard featured, with long dark ringlets, a pale face, -and plaintive voice, something very impressive in her dark eyes and her -brow. Her general aspect puts me in mind of Mignon,--what Mignon might -be in maturity and maternity.”--1851. - -[Sidenote: Crab Robinson’s _Diary_.] - -“Dined at home, and at eight dressed to go to Kenyon. With him I found -an interesting person I had never seen before, Mrs. Browning, late -Miss Barrett--not the invalid I expected; she has a handsome oval face, -a fine eye, and altogether a pleasing person. She had no opportunity -for display, and apparently no desire. Her husband has a very amiable -expression. There is a singular sweetness about him.”--1852. - - - - -JOHN BUNYAN - -1628-1688 - - -[Sidenote: Charles Doe’s _Life of John Bunyan_.] - -“He appeared in countenance to be of a stern and rough temper. He -had a sharp, quick eye, accomplished, with an excellent discerning -of persons. As for his person, he was tall of stature, strong-boned, -though not corpulent; somewhat of a ruddy face, with sparkling eyes, -wearing his hair on the upper lip after the old British fashion; his -hair reddish, but in his later days time had sprinkled it with gray; -his nose well set, but not declining or bending, and his mouth moderate -large, his forehead something high, and his habit always plain and -modest.” - -[Sidenote: Tulloch’s _English Puritanism_. *] - -“It is impossible to look at his portrait, and not recognise the lines -of power by which it is everywhere marked. It has more of a sturdy -soldier than anything else--the aspect of a man who would face dangers -any day rather than shun them; and this corresponds exactly to his -description by his oldest biographer and friend, Charles Doe.... A more -manly and robust appearance cannot well be conceived, his eyes only -showing in their sparkling depth the fountains of sensibility concealed -within the roughened exterior. Here, as before, we are reminded of his -likeness to Luther.” - -[Sidenote: Bunyan’s _Works_, 1692.] - -“Give us leave to say his natural parts and abilities were not mean, -his fancy and invention were very pregnant and fertile; the use he -made of them was good, converting them to spiritual objects. His wit -was sharp and quick; his memory tenacious; it being customary with -him to commit his sermons to writing, after he had preached them. His -understanding was large and comprehensive; his judgments sound and deep -in the fundamentals of the Gospel, as his writings evidence. And yet, -this great saint was always, in his own eyes, the chiefest of sinners -and the least of saints; esteeming any, where he did believe the truth -of (their) grace, better than himself. There was, indeed, in him all -the parts of an accomplished man. His carriage was condescending, -affable, and meek to all; yet bold and courageous for Christ’s and the -Gospel’s sake. His countenance was grave and sedate, and did so, to -the life, discover the inward frame of his heart, that it did strike -something of awe into them that had nothing of the fear of God.... His -conversation was as becomes the Gospel.” - - - - -EDMUND BURKE - -1730-1797 - - -[Sidenote: Burney’s _Diary and Letters_.] - -“No expectation that I had formed of Mr. Burke, either from his works, -his speeches, his character, or his fame, had anticipated to me such a -man as I now met. He appeared, perhaps, at the moment, to the highest -possible advantage in health, vivacity, and spirits. Removed from -the impetuous aggravations of party contentions, that at times, by -inflaming his passions, seemed (momentarily, at least), to disorder -his character, he was lulled into gentleness by the grateful sense of -prosperity; exhilarated, but not intoxicated, by sudden success; and -just rising, after toiling years of failures, disappointments, fire and -fury, to place, affluence, and honours, which were brightly smiling on -the zenith of his powers. He looked, indeed, as if he had no wish but -to diffuse philanthropic pleasure and genial gaiety all around. - -“His figure is noble, his air commanding, his address graceful; his -voice clear, penetrating, sonorous, and powerful; his language copious, -eloquent, and changefully impressive; his manners are attractive; his -conversation is past all praise. - -“You may call me mad, I know; but if I wait till I see another Mr. -Burke for such another fit of ecstacy, I may be long enough in my sober -good senses.”--1782. - -[Sidenote: Peter Burke’s _Life of Burke_. *] - -“The personal description of Edmund Burke has been handed down. He was -about five feet ten inches high, well made and muscular; of that firm -and compact frame that denotes more strength than bulk. His countenance -had been in his youth handsome. The expression of his face was less -striking than might have been anticipated; at least it was so until lit -up by the animation of his conversation, or the fire of his eloquence. -In dress he usually wore a brown suit; and he was in his later days -easily recognisable in the House of Commons from his bob-wig and -spectacles.” - -[Sidenote: Macknight’s _Life of Burke_. *] - -“He deserved ... worship better than most idols. Gentle, affectionate, -unassuming towards the members of his own family, he was also -dignified, polished, and courteous in his manner to all the rest of -mankind. Nature had stamped the noblest impress of genius on his -wrinkled brow, and time had slowly conferred a grace on his address -which made him appear singularly pleasing and lovable. In the House of -Commons only the fiercer peculiarities of his character were now seen; -while at home he seemed the mildest and kindest, as well as one of the -best and greatest of human beings. He poured forth the rich treasures -of his mind with the most prodigal bounty. At breakfast and dinner -his gaiety, wit, and pleasantry enlivened the board, and diffused -cheerfulness and happiness all round.” - - - - -ROBERT BURNS - -1759-1796 - - -[Sidenote: Currie’s _Life of Burns_.] - -“Burns ... was nearly five feet ten inches in height, and of a form -that indicated agility as well as strength. His well-raised forehead, -shaded with black curling hair, indicated extensive capacity. His -eyes were large, dark, full of ardour and intelligence. His face was -well-formed, and his countenance uncommonly interesting and expressive. -His mode of dressing, which was often slovenly, and a certain fulness -and bend in his shoulders, characteristic of his original profession, -disguised in some degree the natural symmetry and elegance of his -form. The external appearance of Burns was most strikingly indicative -of the character of his mind. On a first view, his physiognomy had -a certain air of coarseness, mingled, however, with an expression -of deep penetration, and of calm thoughtfulness, approaching to -melancholy.... His dark and haughty countenance easily relaxed into -a look of good-will, of pity, or of tenderness, and, as the various -emotions succeeded each other in his mind, assumed with equal ease the -expression of the broadest humour, of the most extravagant mirth, of -the deepest melancholy, or of the most sublime emotion. The tones of -his voice happily corresponded with the expression of his features, -and with the feelings of his mind. When to these endowments are added -a rapid and distinct apprehension, a most powerful understanding, -and a happy command of language--of strength as well as brilliancy -of expression--we shall be able to account for the extraordinary -attractions of his conversation--for the sorcery which in his social -parties he seemed to exert on all around him.” - -[Sidenote: Lockhart’s _Life of Scott_.] - -“His person was strong and robust; his manners rustic, not clownish; a -sort of dignified plainness and simplicity, which received part of its -effect, perhaps, from one’s knowledge of his extraordinary talents. His -features are represented in Mr. Nasmyth’s picture, but to me it conveys -the idea that they are diminished, as if seen in perspective. I think -his countenance was more massive than it looks in any of the portraits. -I would have taken the poet, had I not known what he was, for a very -sagacious country farmer of the old Scotch school; _i.e._ none of your -modern agriculturists, who keep labourers for their drudgery, but the -_douce gudeman_ who held his own plough. There was a strong expression -of sense and shrewdness in all his lineaments; the eye alone, I think, -indicated the poetical character and temperament. It was large, and -of a dark cast, and glowed (I say literally _glowed_) when he spoke -with feeling or interest. I never saw such another eye in a human -head, though I have seen the most distinguished men in my time. His -conversation expressed perfect self-confidence, without the slightest -presumption. Among the men who were the most learned of their time and -country, he expressed himself with perfect firmness, but without the -least intrusive forwardness; and when he differed in opinion, he did -not hesitate to express it firmly, yet, at the same time, with modesty. -I do not remember any part of his conversation distinctly enough to be -quoted, nor did I ever see him again, except in the street, where he -did not recognise me, as I could not expect he should.”--1787. - -[Sidenote: _Dumfries Journal_, 1796.] - -“His personal endowments were perfectly correspondent to the -qualifications of his mind, his form was manly, his action energy -itself, devoid in a great measure perhaps of those graces, of that -polish, acquired only in the refinement of societies where in early -life he could have no opportunities of mixing; but where, such was -the irresistible power of attraction that encircled him, though his -appearance and manners were always peculiar, he never failed to delight -and to excel. His figure seemed to bear testimony to his earlier -destination and employments. It seemed rather moulded by nature for the -rough exercises of agriculture, than the gentler cultivation of the -_Belles Lettres_. His features were stamped with the hardy character -of independence, and the firmness of conscious, though not arrogant, -pre-eminence; the animated expressions of countenance were almost -peculiar to himself; the rapid lightenings of his eye were always the -harbingers of some flash of genius, whether they darted the fiery -glances of insulted and indignant superiority, or beamed with the -impassioned sentiments of fervent and impetuous affections. His voice -alone could improve upon the magic of his eye; sonorous, replete with -the finest modulations, it alternately captivated the ear with the -melody of poetic numbers, the perspicuity of nervous reasoning, or the -ardent sallies of enthusiastic patriotism.” - - - - -SAMUEL BUTLER - -1612-1680 - - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Men_.] - -“He is of a middle stature, strong sett, high-colored, a head of -sorrell haire, a severe and sound judgement: a good fellowe.” - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Men_.] - -“He was of a leonine-colored haire, sanguine, cholerique, middle-sized, -strong; a boon and witty companion, especially among the companie he -knew well.” - - - - -GEORGE, LORD BYRON - -1788-1824 - - -[Sidenote: Moore’s _Life of Byron_.] - -“Among the impressions which this meeting left upon me, what I chiefly -remember to have remarked was the nobleness of his air, his beauty, -the gentleness of his voice and manners, and--what was naturally not -the least attraction--his marked kindness to myself. Being in mourning -for his mother, the colour, as well of his dress as of his glossy, -curling, and picturesque hair, gave more effect to the pure, spiritual -paleness of his features, in the expression of which, when he spoke, -there was a perpetual play of lively thought, though melancholy was -their habitual character when in repose.”--1811. - -[Sidenote: Geo. Ticknor’s _Life_.] - -“I called on Lord Byron to-day, with an introduction from Mr. Gifford. -Here, again, my anticipations were mistaken. Instead of being deformed, -as I had heard, he is remarkably well-built, with the exception of -his feet. Instead of having a thin and rather sharp and anxious face, -as he has in his pictures, it is round, open, and smiling; his eyes -are light, and not black; his air easy and careless, not forward and -striking; and I found his manners affable and gentle, the tones of -his voice low and conciliating, his conversation gay, pleasant, and -interesting in an uncommon degree.”--1815. - -[Sidenote: Moore’s _Life of Byron_.] - -“It would be to little purpose to dwell upon the mere beauty of a -countenance in which the expression of an extraordinary mind was so -conspicuous. What serenity was seated on the forehead, adorned with -the finest chestnut hair, light, curling, and disposed with such art, -that the art was hidden in the imitation of most pleasing nature! What -varied expression in his eyes! They were of the azure colour of the -heavens, from which they seemed to derive their origin. His teeth, in -form, in colour, in transparency, resembled pearls; but his cheeks were -too delicately tinged with the hue of the pale rose. His neck, which he -was in the habit of keeping uncovered as much as the usages of society -permitted, seemed to have been formed in a mould, and was very white. -His hands were as beautiful as if they had been the works of art. His -figure left nothing to be desired, particularly by those who found -rather a grace than a defect in a certain light and gentle undulation -of the person when he entered a room, and of which you hardly felt -tempted to inquire the cause. Indeed it was hardly perceptible,--the -clothes he wore were so long.... His face appeared tranquil like the -ocean on a fine spring morning, but, like it, in an instant became -changed into the tempestuous and terrible, if a passion (a passion did -I say?), a thought, a word occurred to disturb his mind. His eyes then -lost all their sweetness, and sparkled so that it became difficult to -look on them.”--1819. - - - - -THOMAS CAMPBELL - -1777-1844 - - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“They who knew Mr. Campbell only as the author of _Gertrude of -Wyoming_, and the _Pleasures of Hope_, would not have suspected him -to be a merry companion, overflowing with humour and anecdote, and -anything but fastidious.... When I first saw this eminent person, he -gave me the idea of a French Virgil. Not that he was like a Frenchman, -much less the French translator of Virgil. I found him as handsome as -the Abbé Delille is said to have been ugly. But he seemed to me to -embody a Frenchman’s ideal notion of the Latin poet; something a little -more cut and dry than I had looked for; compact and elegant, critical -and acute, with a consciousness of authorship upon him; a taste -over-anxious not to commit itself, and refining and diminishing nature -as in a drawing-room mirror. This fancy was strengthened, in the course -of conversation, by his expatiating on the greatness of Racine. I think -he had a volume of the French poet in his hand. His skull was sharply -cut and fine; with plenty, according to the phrenologists, both of the -reflective and amative organs; and his poetry will bear them out. For a -lettered solitude, and a bridal properly got up, both according to law -and luxury, commend us to the lovely _Gertrude of Wyoming_. His face -and person were rather on a small scale; his features regular; his eye -lively and penetrating; and when he spoke, dimples played about his -mouth, which, nevertheless, had something restrained and close in it. -Some gentle puritan seemed to have crossed the breed, and to have left -a stamp on his face, such as we often see in the female Scotch face -rather than in the male. But he appeared not at all grateful for this; -and when his critiques and his Virgilianism were over, very unlike a -puritan he talked! He seemed to spite his restrictions, and, out of the -natural largeness of his sympathy with things high and low, to break at -once out of Delille’s Virgil into Cotton’s, like a boy let loose from -school. When I had the pleasure of hearing him afterwards, I forgot -his Virgilianisms, and thought only of the delightful companion, the -unaffected philanthropist, and the creator of a beauty worth all the -heroines in Racine.”--About 1809. - -[Sidenote: Patmore’s _Sketch from Real Life_.] - -“The person of this exquisite writer and delightful man is small, -delicately formed, and neatly put together, without being little or -insignificant. His face has all the harmonious arrangement of features -which marks his gentle and refined mind; it is oval, perfectly regular -in its details, and lighted up not merely by ‘eyes of youth,’ but -by a bland smile of intellectual serenity that seems to pervade and -penetrate all the features, and impart to them all a corresponding -expression, such as the moonlight lends to a summer landscape; the -moonlight, not the sunshine; for there is a mild and tender pathos -blended with that expression, which bespeaks a soul that has been -steeped in the depths of human woe, but has turned their waters (as -only poets can) into fountains of beauty and of bliss.” - - -[Sidenote: Beattie’s _Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell_.] - -“He was generally careful as to dress, and had none of Dr. Johnson’s -indifference to fine linen. His wigs were always nicely adjusted, -and scarcely distinguishable from natural hair. His appearance was -interesting and handsome. Though rather below the middle size, he -did not seem little; and his large dark eye and countenance bespoke -great sensibility and acuteness. His thin quivering lip and delicate -nostril were highly expressive. When he spoke, as Leigh Hunt has -remarked, dimples played about his mouth, which, nevertheless, had -something restrained and close in it.... In personal neatness and -fastidiousness--no less than in genius and taste--Campbell in his -best days resembled Gray. Each was distinguished by the same careful -finish in composition--the same classical predilections and lyrical -fire, rarely but strikingly displayed. In ordinary life they were both -somewhat finical--yet with greater freedom and idiomatic plainness in -their unreserved communications--Gray’s being evinced in his letters, -and Campbell’s in conversation.” - - - - -THOMAS CARLYLE - -1795-1881 - - -[Sidenote: Caroline Fox’s _Journals and Letters_.] - -“Carlyle soon appeared, and looked as if he felt a well-dressed London -crowd scarcely the arena for him to figure in as a popular lecturer. -He is a tall, robust-looking man; rugged simplicity and indomitable -strength are in his face, and such a glow of genius in it,--not always -smouldering there, but flashing from his beautiful gray eyes, from the -remoteness of their deep setting under that massive brow. His manner is -very quiet, but he speaks like one tremendously convinced of what he -utters.... He began in a rather low nervous voice, with a broad Scotch -accent, but it soon grew firm, and shrank not abashed from its great -task.”--1840. - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Carlyle_.] - -“He was then fifty-four years old; tall (about five feet eleven), -thin, but at the same time upright, with no signs of the later stoop. -His body was angular, his face beardless, such as it is represented -in Woolner’s medallion, which is by far the best likeness of him in -the days of his strength. His head was extremely long, with the chin -thrust forward; the neck was thin; the mouth firmly closed, the under -lip slightly projecting; the hair grizzled and thick and bushy. His -eyes, which grew lighter with age, were then of a deep violet, with -fire burning at the bottom of them, which flashed out at the least -excitement. The face was altogether most striking, most impressive -in every way. And I did not admire him the less because he treated -me--I cannot say unkindly, but shortly and sternly. I saw then what -I saw ever after--that no one need look for conventional politeness -from Carlyle--he would hear the exact truth from him and nothing -else.”--1849. - -[Sidenote: Wylie’s _Carlyle_.] - -“The maid went forward and said something to Carlyle and left the room. -He was sitting before a fire in an arm-chair, propped up with pillows, -with his feet on a stool, and looked much older than I had expected. -The lower part of his face was covered with a rather shaggy beard, -almost quite white. His eyes were bright blue, but looked filmy from -age. He had on a sort of coloured night-cap, a long gown reaching to -his ankles, and slippers on his feet. A rest attached to the arm of his -chair supported a book before him. I could not quite see the name, but -I think it was Channing’s works. Leaning against the fireplace was a -long clay pipe, and there was a slight smell of tobacco in the room.... -His hands were very thin and wasted, he showed us how they shook and -trembled unless he rested them on something, and said they were failing -him from weakness.... He seemed such a venerable old man, and so worn -and old looking, that I was very much affected. Our visit was on -Tuesday, 18th May 1880, at about 2 P.M.” - - - - -THOMAS CHATTERTON - -1752-1770 - - -[Sidenote: Wilson’s _Chatterton_. *] - -“It is to be feared that no authentic portrait of Chatterton exists; -and even the accounts furnished as to his appearance, only partially -aid us in realising an idea of the manly, handsome boy, with his -flashing, hawklike eye, through which even the Bristol pewterer thought -he could see his soul. His forehead one fancies must have been high; -though hidden, perhaps, as in the supposed Gainsborough portrait, with -long flowing hair. His mouth, like that of his father, was large. -But the brilliancy of his eyes seems to have diverted attention from -every other feature; and they have been repeatedly noted for the -way in which they appeared to kindle in sympathy with his earnest -utterances. Mr. Edward Gardner, who only knew him during his last three -months in Bristol, specially recalled ‘the philosophic gravity of his -countenance, and the keen lightening of his eye.’ Mr. Capel, on the -contrary, resided as an apprentice in the same house where Lambert’s -office was, and saw Chatterton daily. His advances had been repelled -at times with the flashing glances of the poet; and the terms in which -he speaks of his pride and visible contempt for others show there was -little friendship between them. But he also remarks: ‘Upon his being -irritated or otherwise greatly affected, there was a light in his eyes -which seemed very remarkable.’ He had frequently heard this referred -to by others; and Mr. George Catcott speaks of it as one who had often -quailed before such glances, or been spell-bound, like Coleridge’s -wedding guest by the ‘glittering eye’ of the Ancient Mariner. He said -he could never look at it long enough to see what sort of an eye it -was; but it seemed to be a kind of hawk’s eye. You could see his soul -through it.” - -[Sidenote: Gregory’s _Life of Chatterton_. *] - -“The person of Chatterton, like his genius, was premature; he had a -manliness and dignity beyond his years, and there was a something about -him uncommonly prepossessing. His more remarkable feature was his eyes -which, though gray, were uncommonly piercing; when he was warmed in -argument or otherwise, they sparked with fire, and one eye, it is said, -was still more remarkable than the other.” - - - - -GEOFFREY CHAUCER - -ABOUT 1340-1400 - - -[Sidenote: Nicholas’s _Life of Chaucer_. *] - -“The affection of Occleve” (_his contemporary and dear friend_) “has -made Chaucer’s person better known than that of any individual of his -age. The portrait of which an engraving illustrates this memoir, is -taken from Occleve’s painting already mentioned in the Harleian MS. -4866, which he says was painted from memory after Chaucer’s decease, -and which is apparently the only genuine portrait in existence. The -figure, which is half-length, has a background of green tapestry. He -is represented with gray hair and beard, which is bi-forked; he wears -a dark-coloured dress and hood, his right hand is extended, and in -his left he holds a string of beads. From his vest a black case is -suspended, which appears to contain a knife, or possibly a ‘penner’[2] -or pencase. The expression of the countenance is intelligent, but the -fire of the eye seems quenched, and evident marks of advanced age -appear on the countenance. This is incomparably the best portrait of -Chaucer yet discovered.” - -[Sidenote: Nicholas’s _Life of Chaucer_. *] - -“There is a third portrait in a copy of the _Canterbury Tales_ made -about the reign of King Henry the Fifth, being within twenty years of -the poet’s death, in the Lansdowne MS. 851. The figure, which is a -small full-length, is placed in the initial letter of the volume. He -is dressed in a long gray gown, with red stockings, and black shoes -fastened with black sandals round the ankles. His head is bare, and the -hair closely cut. In his right hand he holds an open book; and a knife -or pencase, as in the other portraits, is attached to his vest.” - -_Tradition asserts that Chaucer merged his own personality in that of -the Poet in his_ Canterbury Tales. - -[Sidenote: Prologue to _The Rime of Sire Thopas_.] - - “... Our Hoste to japen he began, - And than at erst he loked upon me, - And saide thus; ‘What man art thou?’ quod he; - ‘Thou lokest, as thou woldest finde an hare, - For ever upon the ground I see thee stare. - - ‘Approche nere, and loke up merily. - Now ware you, sires, and let this man have place. - He in the waste is shapen as wel as I: - This were a popet,[3] in an arme to enbrace - For any woman, smal and faire of face. - He semeth elvish[4] by his contenance, - For unto no wight doth he daliance.’” - - - - -PHILIP, LORD CHESTERFIELD - -1694-1773 - - -[Sidenote: _Life and Letters of Lord Chesterfield._] - -“Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, was a slight-made man, -of the middle size; rather genteel than handsome either in face or -person: but there was a certain suavity in his countenance, which, -accompanied with a polite address and pleasing elocution, obtained -him in a wonderful degree the admiration of both sexes, and made his -suit irresistible with either. He was naturally possessed of a fine -sensibility; but by a habit of mastering his passions and disguising -his feelings, he at length arrived at the appearance of the most -perfect Stoicism: nothing surprised, alarmed, or discomposed him.” - -[Sidenote: Hayward’s _Lord Chesterfield_. *] - -“The name of Chesterfield has become a synonym for good breeding and -politeness. It is associated in our minds with all that is graceful -in manner and cold in heart, attractive in appearance and unamiable -in reality. The image it calls up is that of a man rather below the -middle height, in a court suit and blue riband, with regular features -wearing an habitual expression of gentleman-like ease. His address -is insinuating, his bow perfect, his compliments rival those of _Le -Grand Monarque_ in delicacy; laughter is too demonstrative for him, -but the smile of courtesy is ever on his lips; and by the time he has -gone through the circle, the great object of his daily ambition is -accomplished--all the women are already half in love with him, and -every man is desirous to be his friend.” - -[Sidenote: _Blackwood’s Magazine_, 1868.] - -“... Lord Hervey pauses in his story of Queen Caroline and her Court -to describe with cutting and bitter force the character and appearance -of his rival courtier.... ‘His person was as disagreeable as it was -possible for a human figure to be without being deformed,’ he says. ‘He -was very short, disproportioned, thick and clumsily made, with black -teeth, and a head big enough for a Polyphemus. One Ben Ashurst, who -said few good things though admired for many, told Lord Chesterfield -once that he was like a stunted giant, which was a humorous idea, -and really apposite.’... The defects of his personal appearance are -evidently exaggerated in this truculent sketch; but his portrait by -Gainsborough, which is said to be the best, affords some foundation for -the picture. The face is heavy, rugged, and unlovely, though full of -force and intelligence; and his unheroic form and stature are points -which Chesterfield himself does not attempt to conceal.” - - - - -WILLIAM COBBETT - -1762-1835 - - -[Sidenote: Bamford’s _Passages in the Life of a Radical_.] - -“Had I met him anywhere else save in the room and on that occasion, I -should have taken him for a gentleman farming his own broad estate. -He seemed to have that kind of self-possession and ease about him, -together with a certain bantering jollity, which are so natural -to fast-handed and well-housed lords of the soil. He was, I should -suppose, not less than six feet in height, portly, with a fresh, clear, -and round cheek, and a small gray eye, twinkling with good-humoured -archness. He was dressed in a blue coat, yellow swan’s-down waistcoat, -drab kerseymere small-clothes, and top-boots. His hair was gray, and -his cravat and linen fine, and very white.”--1818. - -[Sidenote: Hazlitt’s _Table Talk_.] - -“Mr. Cobbett speaks almost as well as he writes. The only time I -ever saw him he seemed to me a very pleasant man, easy of access, -affable, clear-headed, simple and mild in his manner, deliberate and -unruffled in his speech, though some of his expressions were not very -qualified. His figure is tall and portly. He has a good, sensible face, -rather full, with little gray eyes, a hard square forehead, a ruddy -complexion, with hair gray or powdered; and had on a scarlet broadcloth -waistcoat with the flaps of the pockets hanging down, as was the custom -for gentleman farmers in the last century, or as we see it in pictures -of members of parliament in the reign of George I. I certainly did not -think less favourably of him for seeing him.” - -[Sidenote: Watson’s _Biographies of Wilkes and Cobbett_.] - -“In stature the late Mr. Cobbett was tall and athletic. I should think -he could not have been less than six feet two, while his breadth was -proportionately great. He was indeed one of the stoutest men in the -House.... His hair was of a milk-white colour, and his complexion -ruddy. His features were not strongly marked. What struck you most -about his face was his small, sparkling, laughing eyes. When disposed -to be humorous yourself, you had only to look at his eyes, and you -were sure to sympathise with his merriment. When not speaking, the -expression of his eye and his countenance was very different. He was -one of the most striking refutations of the principles of Lavater I -ever witnessed. Never were the looks of any man more completely at -variance with his character. There was something so heavy and dull -about his whole appearance, that any one who did not know him would -at once set him down for some country clodpole, to use a favourite -expression of his own, who not only had never read a book, or had a -single idea in his head, but who was a mere mass of mortality, without -a particle of sensibility of any kind in his composition. He usually -sat with one leg over the other, his head slightly drooping, as if -sleeping, on his breast, and his hat down almost to his eyes. His -usual dress was a light-gray coat of a full make, a white waistcoat, -and kerseymere breeches of a sandy colour. When he walked about the -House, he generally had his hands inserted in his breeches’ pocket. -Considering his advanced age, seventy-three, he looked remarkably hale -and healthy, and walked with a firm but slow step.”--1835. - - - - -HARTLEY COLERIDGE - -1796-1849 - - -[Sidenote: Derwent Coleridge’s _Memoir of Hartley Coleridge_.] - -“I first saw Hartley in the beginning, I think, of 1837, when I was -at Sedbergh, and he heard us our lesson in Mr. Green’s parlour. -My impression of him was what I conceived Shakespeare’s idea of a -gentleman to be, something which we like to have in a picture. He was -dressed in black, his hair, just touched with gray, fell in thick waves -down his back, and he had a frilled shirt on; and there was a sort of -autumnal ripeness and brightness about him. His shrill voice, and his -quick, authoritative ‘Right! right!’ and the chuckle with which he -translated ‘rerum repetundarum’ as ‘peculation, a very common vice in -governors of all ages,’ after which he took a turn round the sofa--all -struck me amazingly.”--1837. - -[Sidenote: Derwent Coleridge’s _Memoir of Hartley Coleridge_.] - -“His manners and appearance were peculiar. Though not dwarfish either -in form or expression, his stature was remarkably low, scarcely -exceeding five feet, and he early acquired the gait and general -appearance of advanced age. His once dark, lustrous hair, was -prematurely silvered, and became latterly quite white. His eyes, dark, -soft, and brilliant, were remarkably responsive to the movements of his -mind, flashing with a light from within. His complexion, originally -clear and sanguine, looked weather-beaten, and the contour of his -face was rendered less pleasing by the breadth of his nose. His head -was very small, the ear delicately formed, and the forehead, which -receded slightly, very wide and expansive. His hands and feet were -also small and delicate. His countenance when in repose, or rather -in stillness, was stern and thoughtful in the extreme, indicating -deep and passionate meditation, so much so as to be at times almost -startling. His low bow on entering a room, in which there were ladies -or strangers, gave a formality to his address, which wore at first the -appearance of constraint; but when he began to talk these impressions -were presently changed,--he threw off the seeming weight of years, his -countenance became genial, and his manner free and gracious.”--1843. - -[Sidenote: Littell’s _Living Age_, 1849.] - -“His head was large and expressive, with dark eyes and white waving -locks, and resting upon broad shoulders, with the smallest possible -apology for a neck. To a sturdy and ample frame were appended legs -and arms of a most disproportioned shortness, and, ‘in his whole -aspect there was something indescribably elfish and grotesque, such as -limners do not love to paint, nor ladies to look upon.’ He reminded -you of a spy-glass shut up, and you wanted to take hold of him and -pull him out into a man of goodly proportions and average stature. It -was difficult to repress a smile at his appearance as he approached, -for the elements were so quaintly combined in him that he seemed like -one of Cowley’s conceits translated into flesh and blood.... His -manners were like those of men accustomed to live much alone, simple, -frank, and direct, but not in all respects governed by the rules of -conventional politeness. It was difficult for him to sit still. He -was constantly leaving his chair, walking about the room, and then -sitting down again, as if he were haunted by an incurable restlessness. -His conversation was very interesting, and marked by a vein of quiet -humour not found in his writings. He spoke with much deliberation, -and in regularly-constructed periods, which might have been printed -without any alteration. There was a peculiarity in his voice not -easily described. He would begin a sentence in a sort of subdued tone, -hardly above a whisper, and end it in something between a bark and a -growl.”--1848. - - - - -SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE - -1772-1834 - - -[Sidenote: de Quincey’s _Life and Writings_.] - -“I had received directions for finding out the house where Coleridge -was visiting; and in riding down a main street of Bridgewater, I -noticed a gateway corresponding to the description given me. Under -this was standing and gazing about him, a man whom I shall describe! -In height he might seem to be about five feet eight (he was in reality -about an inch and a half taller, but his figure was of an order which -drowns the height); his person was broad and full, and tended even -to corpulence; his complexion was fair, though not what painters -technically style fair, because it was associated with black hair; -his eyes were large and soft in their expression, and it was from -the peculiar haze or dreaminess which mixed with their light that I -recognised my object. This was Coleridge.”--1807. - -[Sidenote: Bryan Procter’s _Recollections of Men of Letters_.] - -“Coleridge had a weighty head, dreaming gray eyes, full, sensual lips, -and a look and manner which were entirely wanting in firmness and -decision. His motions also appeared weak and undecided, and his voice -had nothing of the sharpness or ring of a resolute man. When he spoke -his words were thick and slow, and when he read poetry his utterance -was altogether a chant.”--About 1820. - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Life of Carlyle_.] - -“I have seen many curiosities; not the least of them I reckon -Coleridge, the Kantian metaphysician and quondam Lake Poet. I will -tell you all about our interview when we meet. Figure a fat, flabby, -incurvated personage, at once short, rotund, and relaxed, with a -watery mouth, a snuffy nose, a pair of strange brown, timid, yet -earnest-looking eyes, a high tapering brow, and a great bush of gray -hair, and you have some faint idea of Coleridge. He is a kind, good -soul, full of religion and affection and poetry and animal magnetism. -His cardinal sin is that he wants _will_. He has no resolution. He -shrinks from pain or labour in any of its shapes. His very attitude -bespeaks this. He never straightens his knee-joints. He stoops with his -fat, ill-shapen shoulders, and in walking he does not tread, but shovel -and slide. My father would call it ‘skluiffing.’ He is also always -busied to keep, by strong and frequent inhalations, the water of his -mouth from overflowing, and his eyes have a look of anxious impotence. -He _would_ do with all his heart, but he knows he dares not. The -conversation of the man is much as I anticipated--a forest of thoughts, -some true, many false, more _part_ dubious, all of them ingenious in -some degree, often in a high degree. But there is no method in his -talk; he wanders like a man sailing among many currents, whithersoever -his lazy mind directs him; and, what is more unpleasant, he preaches, -or rather soliloquises. He cannot speak, he can only _tal-k_ (so he -names it). Hence I found him unprofitable, even tedious; but we parted -very good friends, I promising to go back and see him some evening--a -promise which I fully intend to keep. I sent him a copy of _Meister_, -about which we had some friendly talk. I reckon him a man of great and -useless genius: a strange, not at all a great man.”--1824. - - - - -WILLIAM COLLINS - -1720-1756 - - -[Sidenote: _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1781.] - -“Collins I was intimately acquainted with from the time that he came -to reside at Oxford. In London I met him often.... He was of moderate -stature, of a light and clear complexion, with gray eyes so very weak -at times as hardly to bear a candle in the room, and often raising -within him apprehensions of blindness. He was passionately fond of -music, good-natured and affable, warm in his friendships and visionary -in his pursuits, and, as long as I knew him, temperate in his eating -and drinking.” - -[Sidenote: Johnson’s _Life of Collins_.] - -“About this time I fell into his company. His appearance was decent -and manly; his knowledge considerable, his views extensive, his -conversation elegant, and his disposition cheerful.”--1744. - -[Sidenote: J. Langhorne’s _Memoirs of William Collins_.] - -“Mr. Collins was, in stature, somewhat above the middle size; of a -brown complexion, keen expressive eyes, and a fixed sedate aspect, -which, from intense thinking, had contracted an habitual frown. His -proficiency in letters was greater than could have been expected from -his years. He was skilled in the learned languages, and acquainted with -the Italian, French, and Spanish.” - - - - -WILLIAM COWPER - -1731-1800 - - -[Sidenote: Cowper’s _Letters_.] - -“As for me, I am a very smart youth of my years. I am not indeed grown -gray so much as I am grown bald. No matter. There was more hair in the -world than ever had the honour to belong to me. Accordingly, having -found just enough to curl a little at my ears, and to intermingle -with a little of my own that still hangs behind, I appear, if you -see me in an afternoon, to have a very decent head-dress, not easily -distinguished from my natural growth; which being worn with a small -bag, and a black ribbon about my neck, continues to me the charms of -my youth, even on the verge of age. Away with the fear of writing too -often. - - “Yours, my dearest cousin, - “W. C. - -“_P.S._--That the view I give you of myself may be complete, I add the -two following items,--that I am in debt to nobody, and that I grow -fat.”--1785. - -[Sidenote: H. F. Cary’s _Notice of Cowper_.] - -“Cowper was of a middle height, with limbs strongly framed, hair of -light brown, eyes of a bluish gray, and ruddy complexion.” - -[Sidenote: Rossetti’s _Memoir of Cowper_. *] - -“The eager, sudden-looking, large-eyed, shaven face of Cowper is -familiar to us in his portraits--a face sharp-cut and sufficiently -well-moulded, without being handsome, nor particularly sympathetic. -It is a high-strung, excitable face, as of a man too susceptible -and touchy to put himself forward willingly among his fellows, -but who, feeling a ‘vocation’ upon him, would be more than merely -earnest,--self-asserting, aggressive, and unyielding. This is in fact -very much the character of his writings.” - - - - -GEORGE CRABBE - -1754-1832 - - -[Sidenote: _Life of Crabbe_, by his son.] - -“In the eye of memory I can still see him as he was at that period -of his life,--his fatherly countenance unmixed with any of the less -lovable expressions that in too many faces obscure that character; but -pre-eminently _fatherly_, conveying the ideas of kindness, intellect, -and purity; his manner grave, manly, and cheerful, in unison with his -high and open forehead; his very attitudes, whether as he sat absorbed -in the arrangement of his minerals, shells, and insects; or as he -laboured in his garden until his naturally pale complexion acquired -a tinge of fresh healthy red; or as, coming lightly towards us with -some unexpected present, his smile of indescribable benevolence spoke -exultation in the foretaste of our raptures.”--1789. - -[Sidenote: _Life of Crabbe_, by his son.] - -“... Mr. Lockhart ... recently favoured me with the following -letter.... ‘His noble forehead, his bright beaming eye, without -anything of old age about it--though he was then, I presume, above -seventy; his sweet, and, I would say, innocent smile, and the calm -mellow tones of his voice, are all reproduced the moment I open any -page of his poetry.’”--1822. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“In the appearance of Crabbe there was little of the poet, but even -less of the stern critic of mankind, who looked at nature askance, and -ever contemplated beauty animate or inanimate,-- - - ‘The simple loves and simple joys,’ - -‘through a glass darkly.’ On the contrary, he seemed to my eyes the -representative of the class of rarely troubled, and seldom thinking, -English farmers. A clear gray eye, a ruddy complexion, as if he loved -exercise and wooed mountain breezes, were the leading characteristics -of his countenance. It is a picture of age, ‘frosty but kindly,’--that -of a tall and stalwart man gradually grown old, to whom age was rather -an ornament than a blemish. He was one of those instances of men, plain -perhaps in youth, and homely of countenance in manhood, who become -absolutely handsome when white hairs have become a crown of glory, and -indulgence in excesses or perilous passions has left no lines that -speak of remorse, or even of errors unatoned.”--1825-26. - - - - -DANIEL DE FOE - -1661-1731 - - -[Sidenote: Secretary of State’s Proclamation.] - -“Whereas, Daniel De Foe, _alias_ De Fooe, is charged with writing a -scandalous and seditious pamphlet entitled _The Shortest Way with the -Dissenters_. He is a middle-sized spare man, about forty years old, -of a brown complexion, and dark brown-colored hair, but wears a wig; -a hooked nose, a sharp chin, gray eyes, and a large mole near his -mouth.”--1703. - -[Sidenote: Wilson’s _De Foe_. *] - -“A likeness of the author, engraved by M. Vandergucht, from a painting -by Taverner, is prefixed.” (_To a volume of treatises published in -1703._) “It is the first portrait of De Foe, and probably the most -like him. The following description of it by a recent biographer is -strikingly characteristic: ‘No portrait can have more verisimilitude, -to say the least of it. It exhibits a set of features rather regular -than otherwise, very determined in its outlines, more particularly the -mouth, which expresses great firmness and resolution of character. The -eyes are full, black, and grave-looking, but the impression of the -whole countenance is rather a striking than a pleasing one. Daniel is -here set forth in a most lordly and full-bottomed wig, which flows -down lower than his elbow, and rises above his forehead with great -amplitude of curl. A richly-laced cravat, and fine loose-flowing cloak -completes his attire, and preserve, we may suppose, the likeness -of that civic “gallantry” which Oldmixon ascribes to Daniel on the -occasion of his escorting King William to the Lord Mayor’s feast. It is -altogether more like a picture of a substantial citizen of the “surly -breed” De Foe has himself so often satirised, than that of a poor -pamphleteer languishing in jail after the terrors of the pillory.’” - -[Sidenote: John Forster’s _Bibliographical Essays_. *] - -“It is, to us, very pleasing to contemplate the meeting of such -a sovereign and such a subject, as William and De Foe. There was -something not dissimilar in their physical aspect, as in their moral -temperament resemblances undoubtedly existed. The King was the elder -by ten years, but the middle size, the spare figure, the hooked nose, -the sharp chin, the keen gray eye, the large forehead, and grave -appearance, were common to both. William’s manner was cold, except in -battle, and little warmth was ascribed to De Foe’s, unless he spoke of -civil liberty.” - - - - -CHARLES DICKENS - -1812-1870 - - -[Sidenote: Forster’s _Life of Dickens_.] - -“Very different was his face in those days from that which photography -has made familiar to the present generation. A look of youthfulness -first attracted you, and then a candour and openness of expression -which made you sure of the qualities within. The features were very -good. He had a capital forehead, a firm nose with full wide nostrils, -eyes wonderfully beaming with intellect and running over with humour -and cheerfulness, and a rather prominent mouth strongly marked with -sensibility. The head was altogether well formed and symmetrical, and -the air and carriage of it was extremely spirited. The hair so scant -and grizzled in later days was then of a rich brown and most luxuriant -abundance, and the bearded face of his last two decades had hardly a -vestige of hair or whisker; but there was that in the face as I first -recollect it which no time could change, and which remained implanted -on it unalterably to the last. This was the quickness, keenness, and -practical power, the eager, restless, energetic outlook on each several -feature, that seemed to tell so little of a student or writer of books, -and so much of a man of action and business in the world. Light and -motion flashed from every part of it. _It was as if made of steel_, was -said of it, four or five years after the time to which I am referring, -by a most original and delicate observer, the late Mrs. Carlyle. ‘What -a face is his to meet in a drawing-room!’ wrote Leigh Hunt to me, the -morning after I had made them known to each other. ‘It has the life -and soul in it of fifty human beings.’ In such sayings are expressed -not alone the restless and resistless vivacity and force of which I -have spoken, but that also which lay beneath them of steadiness and -hard endurance.”--1838. - -[Sidenote: J. T. Fields’s _Yesterdays with Authors_.] - -“How well I recall the bleak winter evening in 1842 when I first saw -the handsome, glowing face of the young man who was even then famous -over half the globe! He came bounding into the Tremont House, fresh -from the steamer that had brought him to our shores, and his cheery -voice rang through the hall, as he gave a quick glance at the new -scenes opening upon him in a strange land on first arriving at a -Transatlantic hotel. ‘Here we are!’ he shouted, as the lights burst -upon the merry party just entering the house, and several gentlemen -came forward to meet him. Ah, how happy and buoyant he was then! Young, -handsome, almost worshipped for his genius, belted round by such -troops of friends as rarely ever man had, coming to a new country to -make new conquests of fame and honor,--surely it was a sight long to -be remembered and never wholly to be forgotten. The splendour of his -endowments and the personal interest he had won to himself called forth -all the enthusiasm of old and young America, and I am glad to have -been among the first to welcome his arrival. You ask me what was his -appearance as he ran, or rather flew, up the steps of the hotel, and -sprang into the hall? He seemed all on fire with curiosity, and alive -as I never saw mortal before. From top to toe every fibre of his body -was unrestrained and alert. What vigor, what keenness, what freshness -of spirit, possessed him! He laughed all over, and did not care who -heard him! He seemed like the Emperor of Cheerfulness on a cruise of -pleasure, determined to conquer a realm or two of fun every hour of his -overflowing existence. That night impressed itself on my memory for all -time, so far as I am concerned with things sublunary. It was Dickens, -the true ‘Boz,’ in flesh and blood, who stood before us at last, and -with my companions, three or four lads of my own age, I determined to -sit up late that night.”--1842. - -[Sidenote: The Cowden Clarkes’ _Recollections of writers_.] - -“Charles Dickens had that acute perception of the comic side of things -which causes irrepressible brimming of the eyes; and what eyes his -were! Large, dark blue, exquisitely shaped, fringed with magnificently -long and thick lashes--they now swam in liquid, limpid suffusion, -when tears started into them from a sense of humour or a sense of -pathos, and now darted quick flashes of fire when some generous -indignation at injustice, or some high-wrought feeling of admiration at -magnanimity, or some sudden emotion of interest and excitement touched -him. Swift-glancing, appreciative, rapidly observant, truly superb -orbits they were, worthy of the other features in his manly, handsome -face. The mouth was singularly mobile, full-lipped, well-shaped, -and expressive; sensitive, nay restless, in its susceptibility to -impression that swayed him, or sentiment that moved him. He, who -saw into apparently slightest trifles that were fraught to his -perception with deeper significance; he, who beheld human nature with -insight almost superhuman, and who revered good and abhorred evil -with intensity, showed instantaneously by his expressive countenance -the kind of idea that possessed him. This made his conversation -enthralling, his acting first-rate, and his reading superlative.” - - - - -ISAAC D’ISRAELI - -1766-1848 - - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a long Life_.] - -“I found him a most kindly and courteous gentleman, obviously of a -tender, loving nature, and certainly more than willing to give me what -I asked for. I do not recall him as like his illustrious son; if my -memory serves me rightly, he was rather fair than dark; not above the -middle height, with features calm in expression; his eyes (which, -however, were always covered with spectacles) sparkling, and searching, -but indicating less the fire of genius than the patient inquiry that -formed the staple of his books.”--1823. - -[Sidenote: Beaconsfield’s _Memoirs of Isaac D’Israeli_.] - -“As the world has always been fond of personal details respecting men -who have been celebrated, I will mention that he was fair, with a -Bourbon nose, and brown eyes of extraordinary beauty and lustre. He -wore a small black velvet cap, but his white hair latterly touched his -shoulders in curls almost as flowing as in his boyhood. His extremities -were delicate and well formed, and his leg, at his last hour, as -shapely as in his youth, which showed the vigour of his frame. Latterly -he had become corpulent. He did not excel in conversation, though -in his domestic circle he was garrulous. Everything interested him, -and blind and eighty-two, he was still as susceptible as a child.... -He more resembled Goldsmith than any man that I can compare him to: -in his conversation, his apparent confusion of ideas ending with -some felicitous phrase of genius, his _naïveté_, his simplicity not -untouched with a dash of sarcasm affecting innocence--one was often -reminded of the gifted and interesting friend of Burke and Johnson. -There was, however, one trait in which my father did not resemble -Goldsmith; he had no vanity. Indeed, one of his few infirmities was -rather a deficiency of self-esteem.” - -[Sidenote: Chorley’s _Personal Reminiscences_.] - -“Mr. D’Israeli was announced.... An old gentleman, _strictly_ in his -appearance; a countenance which at first glance (owing, perhaps, to -the mouth, which hangs), I fancied slightly chargeable with solidity -of expression, but which developed strong sense as it talked; a rather -_soigné_ style of dress for so old a man, and a manner good-humoured, -complimentary (to Gebir), discursive and prosy, bespeaking that -engrossment and interest in his own pursuits which might be expected to -be found in a person so patient in research and collection. But there -is a tone of _philosophe_ (or I fancied it), which I did not quite -like.”--1838. - - - - -JOHN DRYDEN - -1631-1700 - - -[Sidenote: Anderson’s _Poets of Great Britain_.] - -“Of the person, private life, and domestic manners of Dryden, very few -particulars are known. His picture by Kneller would lead us to suppose -that he was graceful in his person; but Kneller was a great mender of -nature. From the _State Poems_ we learn that he was a short, thick man. -The nickname given him by his enemies was _Poet Squab_. ‘I remember -plain John Dryden’ (says a writer in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for -February 1745, who was then eighty-seven years of age) ‘before he paid -his court to the great, in one uniform clothing of Norwich drugget. -I have eat tarts with him and Madam Reeve (the actress) at the -Mulberry Garden, when our author advanced to a sword and _Chedreux_ -wig (probably the wig that Swift has ridiculed in _The Battle of the -Books_). Posterity is absolutely mistaken as to that great man. Though -forced to be a satirist, he was the mildest creature breathing, and -the readiest to help the young and deserving. Though his comedies -are horribly full of _double entendre_, yet ’twas owing to a false -compliance for a dissolute age; he was in company the modestest man -that ever conversed.’... From those notices which he has very liberally -given us of himself, it appears, that ‘his conversation was slow and -dull, his humour saturnine and reserved, and that he was none of those -who endeavour to break jests in company, and make repartees.’” - -[Sidenote: Gilfillan’s _Life of Dryden_. *] - -“As to his habits and manners little is known, and that little is worn -threadbare by his many biographers. In appearance he became in his -maturer years fat and florid, and obtained the name of ‘Poet Squab.’ -His portraits show a shrewd but rather sluggish face, with long gray -hair floating down his cheeks, not unlike Coleridge, but without his -dreamy eye like a nebulous star. His conversation was less sprightly -than solid. Sometimes men suspected that he had ‘sold all his thoughts -to his booksellers.’ His manners are by his friends pronounced -‘modest,’ and the word modest has since been amiably confounded by his -biographers with ‘pure.’ Bashful he seems to have been to awkwardness; -but he was by no means a model of the virtues. He loved to sit at -Will’s coffee-house and be the arbiter of criticism. His favourite -stimulus was snuff, and his favourite amusement angling. He had a bad -address, a down look, and little of the air of a gentleman.” - -[Sidenote: Christie’s _Memoir of Dryden_. *] - -“Some notion of Dryden’s personal appearance may be gathered from -contemporary notices. He was of short stature, stout, and ruddy in the -face. Rochester christened him ‘Poet Squab,’ and Tom Brown always calls -him ‘Little Bayes.’ Shadwell, in his _Medal of John Bayes_, sneers at -him as a cherry-cheeked dunce; another lampooner calls him ‘learned and -florid.’ Pope remembered him as plump and of fresh colour, with a down -look. Lady de Longueville, who died in 1763 at the age of a hundred, -told Oldys that she remembered Dryden dining with her husband, and that -the most remarkable part of his appearance was an uncommon distance -between his eyes. He had a large mole on his right cheek. The friendly -writer of some lines on his portrait by Closterman says: - - ‘A sleepy eye he shows, and no sweet feature.’ - -He appears to have become gray comparatively early, and he let his -gray hair grow long. We see him with his long gray locks in the -portrait by which, through engravings, his face is best known to us, -painted by Kneller in 1698. The face, as we know it by that picture -and the engravings, is handsome, it indicates intellect, and sensual -characteristics are not wanting.” - - - - -MARY ANNE EVANS - -(GEORGE ELIOT) - -1819-1880 - - -[Sidenote: _Harper’s Magazine_, 1881.] - -“In more than one striking passage in his novels Mr. Hardy has -recognised the fact that the beauty of the future, as the race is more -developed in intellect, cannot be the mere physical beauty of the past; -and in one of the most remarkable he says that ‘ideal physical beauty -is incompatible with mental development, and a full recognition of -the evil of things. Mental luminousness must be fed with the oil of -life, even though there is already a physical need for it.’ And this -was the case with George Eliot. The face was one of a group of four, -not all equally like each other, but all of the same spiritual family, -and with a curious interdependance of likeness. These four are Dante, -Savonarola, Cardinal Newman, and herself.... In the group of which -George Eliot was one there is the same straight wall of brow; the -droop of the powerful nose; mobile lips, touched with strong passion, -kept resolutely under control; a square jaw, which would make the face -stern, were it not counteracted by the sweet smile of lip and eye.... -The two or three portraits that exist, though valuable, give but a very -imperfect presentiment. The mere shape of the head would be the despair -of any painter. It was so grand and massive that it would scarcely be -possible to represent it without giving the idea of disproportion to -the frame of which no one ever thought for a moment when they saw her, -although it was a surprise, when she stood up, to see that after all, -she was but a little fragile woman who bore this weight of brow and -brain.” - -[Sidenote: _The Century_, 1881.] - -“Everything in her aspect and presence was in keeping with the bent of -her soul. The deeply-lined face, the too marked and massive features, -were united with an air of delicate refinement, which in one way was -the more impressive because it seemed to proceed so entirely from -within. Nay, the inward beauty would sometimes quite transform the -external harshness; there would be moments when the thin hands that -entwined themselves in their eagerness, the earnest figure that bowed -forward to speak and hear, the deep gaze moving from one face to -another with a grave appeal,--all these seemed the transparent symbols -that showed the presence of a wise benignant soul. But it was the voice -which best revealed her, a voice whose subdued intensity and tremulous -richness seemed to environ her uttered words with the mystery of a -work of feeling that must remain untold.... And then again, when in -moments of more intimate converse some current of emotion would set -strongly through her soul, when she would raise her head in unconscious -absorption and look out into the unseen, her expression was not one to -be soon forgotten. It had not, indeed, the serene felicity of souls to -whose child-like confidence all heaven and earth are fair. Rather it -was the look (if I may use a platonic phrase) of a strenuous Demiurge, -of a soul on which high tasks are laid, and which finds in their -accomplishment its only imagination of joy.” - -[Sidenote: William Morgan’s _George Eliot_. *] - -“I was disappointed when I found the illustrated papers gave no -portraits of George Eliot, and I afterwards learned that, celebrated -as she is in other ways, she enjoys the rare, and perhaps unique, -distinction that she was never photographed. Two portraits of her are, -however, in existence. One, by Mr. Lawrence, hangs in Mr. Blackwood’s -drawing-room in Edinburgh; the other, by Mr. Buxton, was in her own -house at Chelsea. She is described as a woman of large, massive, and -homely features, which were softened and irradiated by a gracious -and winning smile. The size, shape, and poise of her head were very -noticeable, and some of her friends have been struck by her resemblance -to the portrait of Savonarola by Fra Bartolommea. Her voice was rich -and melodious, and those who best knew her speak of her as a strangely -fascinating and sympathetic woman, who left on every one who approached -her an impression of goodness and greatness. Her conversation had no -traces of the rich humour which runs through some of her writings, but -she joined very heartily in the jocularity of others.” - - - - -HENRY FIELDING - -1707-1754 - - -[Sidenote: Roscoe’s _Life of Fielding_. *] - -“With regard to his personal appearance, Fielding was strongly built, -robust, and in height rather exceeding six feet; he was also remarkably -active, till repeated attacks of gout had broken down the vigour of a -fine constitution. Naturally of a dignified presence, he was equally -impressive in his tone and manner, which added to his peculiarly-marked -features; his conversational powers and rare wit must have given him a -decided influence in general society, and not a little ascendency over -the minds of common men.” - -[Sidenote: Jeaffreson’s _Novels and Novelists_. *] - -“That our nation was well and favourably represented by him, amongst -the lads at the university, there can be no doubt; for he was a -magnificent fellow, frank in bearing, agile as a trained wrestler, -rather exceeding six feet in height, with a face, both by aristocratic -features and gallant expression, remarkably engaging, with a fresh, -slightly ruddy complexion, and a winning smile of the most mirthful -intelligence, with an air commanding, but free from the slightest taint -of haughtiness, and lastly, with a disposition as well endowed as his -mind,--generous and truly noble as became one sprung from the seed of -kings.”--1725. - -[Sidenote: Lawrence’s _Life of Fielding_. *] - -“The personal appearance of the great novelist has been thus described -by his friend, Mr. Arthur Murphy: ‘Henry Fielding was in stature -rather rising above six feet; his frame of body large and remarkably -robust, till the gout had broken the vigour of his constitution.’ His -features were marked and striking, so much so, that a portrait of him -was painted by his friend Hogarth from memory, with the assistance of a -profile which had been cut in paper with a pair of scissors by a lady. -Though he was singularly handsome in his youth, in his later years it -appears, from his own account, that his gouty and dropsical figure was -anything but agreeable to behold. But his cheerfulness and good temper -rendered him to the last a delightful companion, and endeared him to -his family and friends.” - - - - -JOHN GAY - -1688-1732 - - -[Sidenote: Coxe’s _Life of John Gay_.] - -“His physiognomy does not appear to have been remarkable for -strong lines or expressive features, it rather denoted benignity -and meekness.... In his person Gay was inclined to corpulency; a -circumstance which he humorously alludes to in his Epistle to Lord -Burlington: - - ‘You knew fat bards might tire, - And mounted sent me forth your trusty squire.’ - -His natural corpulency was increased by extreme indolence, for which -his friends often rallied him. Swift, in a letter to the Duchess of -Queensberry, thus expresses himself on this subject: ‘You need not be -in pain about Mr. Gay’s stock of health; I promise you he will spend -it all upon laziness, and run deep in debt by a winter’s repose in -town; therefore I entreat your Grace will order him to move his chaps -less, and his legs more, the six cold months, else he will spend all -his money in physic and coach-hire.’--8th October 1731.... In the early -part of his life Gay was extremely fond of dress.... Pope also touches -upon this weakness in a letter to Swift.--18th December 1713. - -... “‘One Mr. Gay, an unhappy youth, who writes pastorals during the -time of divine service; whose case is the more deplorable, as he hath -miserably lavished away all that silver he should have reserved for his -soul’s health in buttons and loops for his coat.’” - -[Sidenote: Thackeray’s _English Humourists_. *] - -“In the portraits of the literary worthies of the early part of -the last century, Gay’s face is the pleasantest perhaps of all. It -appears adorned with neither periwig nor nightcap (the full dress -and _négligée_ of learning without which the painters of those days -scarcely ever pourtrayed wits), and he laughs at you over his shoulder -with an honest boyish glee--an artless sweet humour. He was so kind, -so gentle, so jocular, so delightfully brisk at times, so dismally -woe-begone at others, such a natural good creature, that the Giants -loved him.” - - - - -EDWARD GIBBON - -1737-1794 - - -[Sidenote: Colman’s _Random Recollections_.] - -“The learned Gibbon was a curious counter-balance to the learned (may -I not say the less learned) Johnson. Their manners and tastes, both -in writing and conversation, were as different as their habiliments. -On the day I first sat down with Johnson in his rusty brown suit and -his black worsted stockings, Gibbon was placed opposite to me in a -suit of flowered velvet, with a bag and sword. Each had his measured -phraseology, and Johnson’s famous parallel between Dryden and Pope -might be loosely parodied in reference to himself and Gibbon. Johnson’s -style was grand, and Gibbon’s elegant: the stateliness of the former -was sometimes pedantic, and the latter was occasionally finical. -Johnson marched to kettledrums and trumpets, Gibbon moved to flutes -and hautboys. Johnson hewed passages through the Alps, while Gibbon -levelled walks through parks and gardens. Mauled as I had been by -Johnson, Gibbon poured balm upon my bruises by condescending once or -twice in the course of the evening to talk with me. The great historian -was light and playful, suiting his matter to the capacity of a boy; but -it was done _more suo_--still his mannerism prevailed, still he tapped -his snuff-box, still he smirked and smiled, and rounded his periods -with the same air of good-breeding, as if he were conversing with men. -His mouth, mellifluous as Plato’s, was a round hole nearly in the -centre of his visage.” - -[Sidenote: Lord Sheffield’s _Gibbon_.] - -“M. Pavilliard has described to me the astonishment with which he gazed -on Mr. Gibbon standing before him; a thin little figure, with a large -head, disputing and urging, with the greatest ability, all the best -arguments that had ever been used in favour of popery. Mr. Gibbon many -years ago became very fat and corpulent, but he had uncommonly small -bones, and was very slightly made.” - -[Sidenote: _Quarterly Review_, 1809. *] - -“As to his manners in society, without doubt the agreeableness of -Gibbon was neither that yielding and retiring complaisance, nor that -modesty which is forgetful of self; but his vanity never showed itself -in an offensive manner: anxious to succeed and to please, he wished to -command attention, and obtained it without difficulty by a conversation -animated, sprightly, and full of matter: all that was dictatorial in -his tone betrayed not so much that desire of domineering over others, -which is always offensive, as confidence in himself. Notwithstanding -this, his conversation never carried one away; its fault was a kind of -arrangement which never permitted him to say anything unless well.” - - - - -WILLIAM GODWIN - -1756-1836 - - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“In person he was remarkably sedate and solemn, resembling in dress and -manner a Dissenting minister rather than the advocate of ‘free-thought’ -in all things--religious, moral, social, and intellectual; he was short -and stout, his clothes loosely and carelessly put on, and usually old -and worn; his hands were generally in his pockets; he had a remarkably -large, bald head, and a weak voice; seeming generally half asleep -when he walked, and even when he talked. Few who saw this man of -calm exterior, quiet manners, and inexpressive features, could have -believed him to have originated three romances--_Falkland_, _Caleb -Williams_, and _St. Leon_,--not yet forgotten because of their terrible -excitements; and the work, _Political Justice_, which for a time -created a sensation that was a fear in every state of Europe.... Lamb -called him ‘a good-natured heathen’; Southey said of him, in 1797, ‘He -has large noble eyes, and a nose--oh! most abominable nose.’” - -[Sidenote: George Ticknor’s _Life_.] - -“Godwin is as far removed from everything feverish and exciting as if -his head had never been filled with anything but geometry. He is now -about sixty-five, stout, well-built, and unbroken by age, with a cool, -dogged manner, exactly opposite to everything I had imagined of the -author of _St. Leon_ and _Caleb Williams_.”--1819. - -[Sidenote: H. Martineau’s _Autobiography_.] - -“The mention of Coleridge reminds me, I hardly know why, of Godwin, -who was an occasional morning visitor of mine. I looked upon him as a -curious monument of a bygone state of society; and there was still a -good deal that was interesting in him. His fine head was striking, and -his countenance remarkable. It must not be judged of by the pretended -likeness put forth in _Fraser’s Magazine_ about that time, and -attributed, with the whole set, to Maclise.... The high Tory favourites -of the Magazine were exhibited to the best advantage; while Liberals -were represented as Godwin was. Because the finest thing about him was -his noble head, they put on a hat; and they represented him in profile -because he had lost his teeth, and his lips fell in. No notion of -Godwin’s face could have been formed from that caricature.”--1833. - - - - -OLIVER GOLDSMITH - -1728-1774 - - -[Sidenote: Forster’s _Life and Times of Oliver Goldsmith_.] - -“You scarcely can conceive how much eight years of disappointment, -anguish, and study, have worn me down.... Imagine to yourself a pale -melancholy visage, with two great wrinkles between the eyebrows, with -an eye disgustingly severe, and, a big wig, and you may have a perfect -picture of my present appearance.... I can neither laugh nor drink, -have contracted a hesitating disagreeable manner of speaking, and a -visage that looks ill-nature itself; in short, I have thought myself -into a settled melancholy, and an utter disgust of all that life brings -with it.”--1759. - -[Sidenote: Boswell’s _Life of Dr. Johnson_.] - -“He was very much what the French call _un étourdi_, and from -vanity and an eager desire of being conspicuous wherever he was, he -frequently talked carelessly without knowledge of the subject, or even -without thought. His person was short, his countenance coarse and -vulgar, his deportment that of a scholar awkwardly affecting the easy -gentleman.”--1763. - -[Sidenote: R. Walsh’s _British Poets_. *] - -“Nothing could be more amiable than the general features of his mind; -those of his person were not perhaps so engaging. His stature was under -the middle size, his body strongly built, and his limbs more sturdy -than elegant. His complexion was pale, his forehead low, his face -almost round and pitted with the small-pox, but marked with strong -lines of thinking. His first appearance was not captivating; but when -he grew easy and cheerful in company, he relaxed into such a display of -good-humour as soon removed every unfavourable impression.” - - - - -DAVID GRAY - -1838-1861 - - -[Sidenote: Buchanan’s _Life of David Gray_.] - -“At twenty-one years of age ... David was a tall young man, slightly -but firmly built, and with a stoop at the shoulders. His head was -small, fringed with black curly hair. Want of candour was not his -fault, though he seldom looked one in the face; his eyes, however, -were large and dark, full of intelligence and humour, harmonising well -with the long thin nose and nervous lips. The great black eyes and -woman’s mouth betrayed the creature of impulse; one whose reasoning -faculties were small, but whose temperament was like red-hot coal. He -sympathised with much that was lofty, noble, and true in poetry, and -with much that was absurd and suicidal in the poet. He carried sympathy -to the highest pitch of enthusiasm; he shed tears over the memories of -Keats and Burns, and he was corybantic in his execution of a Scotch -‘reel.’”--1859. - -[Sidenote: R. M. Milnes’s _Notice on David Gray_.] - -“I was told a young man wished to see me, and when he came into the -room I at once saw it was no other than the young Scotch poet. It was -a light, well-built, but somewhat stooping figure, with a countenance -that at once brought strongly to my recollection a cast of a face of -Shelley in his youth, which I had seen at Mr. Leigh Hunt’s. There was -the same full brow, out-looking eyes, and sensitive melancholy mouth.” - -[Sidenote: Hedderwick’s _Memoir of David Gray_.] - -“In person, the deceased poet was tall, with a slight stoop. His head -was not large, but his temperament was of the keenest and brightest -edge. With black curling hair, eyes dark, large, and lustrous, and a -complexion of almost feminine delicacy, his appearance never failed to -make a favourable impression on strangers.” - - - - -THOMAS GRAY - -1716-1771 - - -[Sidenote: Gosse’s _Gray_. *] - -“In one of Philip Gray’s fits of extravagance he seems to have had a -full-length of his son painted about this time, by the fashionable -portrait-painter of the day, Jonathan Richardson the elder. This -picture is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge. The head is -good in colour and modelling; a broad pale brow, sharp nose and chin, -large eyes, and a pert expression, give a lively idea of the precocious -and not very healthy young gentleman of thirteen. He is dressed in a -blue satin coat, lined with pale shot silk, and crosses his stockinged -legs so as to display dapper slippers of russet leather.”--1729. - -[Sidenote: Warburton’s _Horace Walpole and his contemporaries_. *] - -“Gray, judging from his portrait by Echardt, lately at Strawberry -Hill, was eminently the poet and the scholar in his appearance. A -delicate frame, a pale complexion, an expansive forehead, clear eyes, -a small mouth, and regular features, bearing the general impression of -thoughtfulness and melancholy, surrounded by his own hair, worn long, -prepossessed the spectator in his favour, and charmed those who were -already his admirers.” - -[Sidenote: Gosse’s _Gray_.] - -“Mr. Gray’s singular niceness in the choice of his acquaintance makes -him appear fastidious in a great degree to all who are not acquainted -with his manner. He is of a fastidious and recluse distance of -carriage, rather averse to all sociability, but of the graver turn, -nice and elegant in his person, dress, and behaviour, even to a degree -of finicality and effeminacy.”--1770. - - - - -HENRY HALLAM - -1777-1859 - - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“Hallam was a tall and remarkably handsome man, very stately in look -and manner. His countenance was thoughtful and intelligent, yet by no -means stern. On the contrary, he was kindly and condescending. I had -once occasion to apply to him for information. He gave it graciously -and gracefully, and appeared as if he had received instead of conferred -a compliment.” - -[Sidenote: George Ticknor’s _Life_.] - -“Mr. Hallam is, I suppose, about sixty years old, gray-headed, -hesitates a little in his speech, is lame, and has a shy manner which -makes him blush frequently, when he expresses as decided an opinion as -his temperament constantly leads him to entertain. Except his lameness, -he has a fine dignified person, and talked pleasantly, with that air of -kindness which is always so welcome to a stranger.... He is a wise man, -a little nervous in his manner and a little fidgety, yet of a sound and -quiet judgment.”--1838. - -[Sidenote: Jerdan’s _Men I have known_.] - -“A statue of him by Mr. Theed was sculptured for St. Paul’s Cathedral, -and a good copy was exhibited at the last National Exhibition, though -I was not altogether satisfied with the likeness, nor thought the -accessories well chosen and happy; for a standing figure, nevertheless, -it has the great merit of simplicity. - -“Though habitually rather grave, the pleasant smile best became his -features, and I do not think he was often guilty of audible laughter.” - - - - -WILLIAM HAZLITT - -1778-1830 - - -[Sidenote: Patmore’s _Personal Recollections_.] - -“The truth is, that for depth, force, and variety of intellectual -expression, a finer head and face than Hazlitt’s were never seen. -I speak of them when his countenance was not dimmed and obscured -by illness, or clouded and deformed by those fearful indications -of internal passion which he never even attempted to conceal. -The expression of Hazlitt’s face, when anything was said in his -presence that seriously offended him, or when any peculiarly painful -recollection passed across his mind, was truly awful, more so than can -be conceived as within the capacity of the human countenance; except, -perhaps, by those who have witnessed Edmund Kean’s last scene of ‘Sir -Giles Overreach’ from the front of the pit. But when he was in good -health, and in a tolerable humour with himself and the world, his face -was more truly and entirely answerable to the intellect that spoke -through it, than any other I ever saw, either in life or on canvas; and -its crowning portion--the brow and forehead--was, to my thinking, quite -unequalled for mingled capacity and beauty. - -“For those who desire a more particular description, I will add that -Hazlitt’s features, though not cast in any received classical mould, -were regular in their formation, perfectly consonant with each other, -and so finely ‘chiseled’ (as the phrase is), that they produced a much -more prominent and striking effect than their scale of size might have -led one to expect. The forehead, as I have hinted, was magnificent; the -nose precisely that (combining strength with lightness and elegance) -which physiognomists have assigned as evidence of a fine and highly -cultivated taste, though there was a peculiar character about the -nostrils like that observable in those of a fiery and unruly horse. The -mouth, from its ever-changing form and character, could scarcely be -described, except as to its astonishingly varied power of expression, -which was equal to, and greatly resembled, that of Edmund Kean. His -eyes, I should say, were not good. They were never brilliant, and there -was a furtive and at times a sinister look about them, as they glanced -suspiciously from under their overhanging brows, that conveyed a very -unpleasant impression to those who did not know him. And they were -seldom directed frankly and fairly towards you, as if he were afraid -that you might read in them what was passing in his mind concerning -you. His head was nobly formed and placed, with (until the last few -years of his life) a profusion of coal-black hair, richly curled; and -his person was of middle height, rather slight, but well formed and put -together.” - -[Sidenote: Bryan Procter’s _Recollections of Men of Letters_.] - -“My first meeting with Mr. Hazlitt took place at the house of -Leigh Hunt, where I met him at supper. I expected to see a severe, -defiant-looking being. I met a grave man, diffident, almost awkward -in manner, whose appearance did not impress me with much respect. He -had a quick, restless eye, however, which opened eagerly when any -good or bright observation was made; and I found at the conclusion of -the evening, that when any question arose, the most sensible reply -always came from him.... Hazlitt was of the middle size, with eager, -expressive eyes, near which his black hair, sprinkled sparely with -gray, curled round in a wiry, resolute manner. His gray eyes, not -remarkable in colour, expanded into great expression when occasion -demanded it. Being very shy, however, they often evaded your steadfast -look. They never (as has been asserted by some one) had a sinister -expression, but they sometimes flamed with indignant glances when their -owner was moved to anger, like the eyes of other angry men. At home, -his style of dress (or undress) was perhaps slovenly, because there -was no one to please; but he always presented a very neat and clean -appearance when he went abroad. His mode of walking was loose, weak, -and unsteady, although his arms displayed strength, which he used to -put forth when he played at racquets with Martin Burney and others.” - -[Sidenote: The Cowden Clarkes’ _Recollections of Writers_.] - -“The painting ... was standing on an old-fashioned couch in one corner -of the room leaning against the wall, and we remained opposite to it -for some time, while Hazlitt stood by holding the candle high up so as -to throw the light well on to the picture, descanting enthusiastically -on the merits of the original. The beam from the candle falling -on his own finely intellectual head, with its iron-gray hair, its -square potential forehead, its massive mouth and chin, and eyes full -of earnest fire, formed a glorious picture in itself, and remains a -luminous vision for ever upon our memories.”--About 1829. - - - - -FELICIA HEMANS - -1794-1835 - - -[Sidenote: Hughes’s _Memoir of Mrs. Hemans_.] - -“The young poetess was then only fifteen; in the full glow of that -radiant beauty which was destined to fade so early. The mantling bloom -of her cheeks was shaded by a profusion of natural ringlets, of a -rich golden brown, and the ever-varying expression of her brilliant -eyes gave a changeful play to her countenance, which would have made -it impossible for any painter to do justice to it. The recollection -of what she was at that time, irresistibly suggests a quotation from -Wordsworth’s graceful poetic picture:-- - - ‘She was a Phantom of delight, - When first she gleamed upon my sight; - A lovely Apparition, sent - To be a moment’s ornament. - - * * * * - - A dancing Shape, an Image gay, - To haunt, to startle, and waylay.’” - -1809. - -[Sidenote: Moir’s _Memoirs of Mrs. Hemans_.] - -“Mrs. Hemans was about the middle height, and rather slenderly made -than otherwise. To a countenance of great intelligence and expression, -she united manners alike unassuming and playful, and with a trust -arising out of the purity of her own character--which was beyond the -meanness of suspicion in others--she remained untainted by the breath -of worldly guile.” - -[Sidenote: Rossetti’s _Notice of Mrs. Hemans_. *] - -“An engraved portrait of her by the American artist William E. -West--one of three which he painted in 1827, shows us that Mrs. Hemans, -at the age of thirty-four, was eminently pleasing and good-looking, -with an air of amiability and sprightly gentleness, and of confiding -candour which, while none the less perfectly womanly, might almost be -termed childlike in its limpid depth. The features are correct and -harmonious; the eyes full; and the contour amply and elegantly rounded. -In height she was neither tall nor short. A sufficient wealth of -naturally clustering hair, golden in early youth, but by this time of -a rich auburn, shades the capacious but not over-developed forehead, -and the lightly pencilled eyebrows. The bust and form have the fulness -of a mature period of life; and it would appear that Mrs. Hemans was -somewhat short-necked and high-shouldered, partly detracting from -delicacy of proportion, and of general aspect of impression on the -eye. We would rather judge of her by this portrait (which her sister -pronounces a good likeness) than by another engraved in Mr. Chorley’s -Memorials. This latter was executed in Dublin in 1831, by a young -artist named Edward Robinson. It makes Mrs. Hemans look younger than in -the earlier portrait by West, and may on that ground alone be surmised -unfaithful, and, though younger, it also makes her heavier and less -refined.” - - - - -JAMES HOGG - -1770-1835 - - -[Sidenote: Lockhart’s _Peter’s Letters_.] - -“Although for some time past he has spent a considerable portion -of every year in excellent, even in refined society, the external -appearance of the man can have undergone but very little change since -he was ‘a herd on Yarrow.’ His face and hands are still as brown -as if he had lived entirely _sub dio_. His very hair has a coarse -stringiness about it, which proves beyond dispute its utter ignorance -of all the arts of the _friseur_, and hangs in playful whips and cords -about his ears, in a style of the most perfect innocence imaginable. -His mouth which, when he smiles, nearly cuts the totality of his -face in twain, is an object that would make the Chevalier Ruspini -die with indignation; for his teeth have been allowed to grow where -they listed, and as they listed, presenting more resemblance, in -arrangement (and colour too), to a body of crouching sharp-shooters, -than to any more regular species of array. The effect of a forehead, -towering with a true poetic grandeur above such features as these, and -of an eye that illuminates their surface with genuine lightenings of -genius ... these are things which I cannot so easily transfer to my -paper.”--1819. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“The Rev. Mr. Thomson, his biographer, thus pictures him:--‘In height -he was five feet ten inches and a half; his broad chest and square -shoulders indicated health and strength; while a well-rounded leg, and -small ankle and foot, showed the active shepherd who could outstrip -the runaway sheep.’ His hair in his younger days was auburn, slightly -inclining to yellow, which afterwards became dark brown, mixed with -gray; his eyes, which were dark blue, were bright and intelligent. His -features were irregular, while his eye and ample forehead redeemed the -countenance from every charge of common-place homeliness.” - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Life of Carlyle_.] - -“Hogg is a little red-skinned stiff sack of a body, with quite the -common air of an Ettrick shepherd, except that he has a highish though -sloping brow (among his yellow grizzled hair), and two clear little -beads of blue or gray eyes that sparkle, if not with thought, yet with -animation. Behaves himself quite easily and well; speaks Scotch, and -mostly narrative absurdity (or even obscenity) therewith.... His vanity -seems to be immense, but also his good-nature.”--1832. - - - - -THOMAS HOOD - -1798-1845 - - -[Sidenote: _The Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1872.] - -“As he entered the room my first impression was that of slight -disappointment. I had not then seen any portrait of him, and my -imagination had depicted a man of the under size, with a humorous -and mobile mouth, and with sharp, twinkling, and investigating eyes. -When, therefore, a rather tall and attenuated figure presented itself -before me, with grave aspect and dressed in black, and when, after -scrutinising his features, I noticed those dark, sad eyes set in -that pale and pain-worn yet tranquil face, and saw the expression of -that suffering mouth, telling how sickness with its stern plough had -driven its silent share through that slender frame, all the long train -of quaint and curious fancies, ludicrous imageries, oddly-combined -contrasts, humorous distortions, strange and uncouth associations, -myriad word-twistings, ridiculous miseries, grave trifles, and trifling -gravities--all these came before me like the rushing event of a dream, -and I asked myself, ‘Can this be the man that has so often made me roll -with laughter at his humour, chuckle at his wit, and wonder while I -threaded the maze of his inexhaustible puns?’ When he began to converse -in bland and placid tones about Germany, where he had for some time -lived, I became more reconciled to him.” - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“In person Hood was of middle height, slender and sickly-looking, of -sallow complexion and pale features, quiet in expression, and very -rarely excited so as to give indication of either the pathos or the -humour that must ever have been working in his soul. His was, indeed, -a countenance rather of melancholy than mirth; there was something -calm, even to solemnity, in the upper portion of the face, seldom -relieved, in society, by the eloquent play of the mouth, or the sparkle -of an observant eye. In conversation he was by no means brilliant. -When inclined to pun, which was not often, it seemed as if his wit was -the issue of thought, and not an instinctive produce, such as I have -noticed in other men who have thus become famous, who are admirable in -crowds, whose animation is like that of the sounding-board, which makes -a great noise at a small touch, when listeners are many and applause is -sure.” - -[Sidenote: Rossetti’s _Memoir of Hood_. *] - -“The face of Hood is best known by two busts and an oil-portrait, -which have both been engraved from. It is the sort of face to which -apparently a bust does more than justice, yet less than right,--the -features, being mostly by no means bad ones, look better when thus -reduced to the more simple and abstract contour than they probably -showed in reality, for no one supposed Hood to be a fine-looking man; -on the other hand, the _value_ of the face must have been in its -shifting expression--keen, playful, or subtle--and this can be but -barely suggested by the sculptor. The poet’s visage was pallid, his -figure slight, his voice feeble; he always dressed in black, and is -generally spoken of as presenting a generally clerical appearance.” - - - - -THEODORE HOOK - -1788-1841 - - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“I remember, one day at Sydenham, Mr. Theodore Hook coming in -unexpectedly to dinner, and amusing us very much with his talent at -extempore verse. He was then a youth, tall, dark, and of a good person, -with small eyes, and features more round than weak; a face that had -character and humour, but no refinement.”--1809. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“When I first saw him, he was above the middle height, robust of frame, -and broad of chest; well-proportioned, with evidence of great physical -capacity; his complexion dark, as were his eyes. There was nothing fine -or elevated in his expression; indeed, his features when in repose were -heavy; it was otherwise when animated; yet his manners were those of a -gentleman, less, perhaps, from inherent faculty than the polish which -refined society ever gives.”--1828. - -[Sidenote: Barham’s _Life of Hook_.] - -“In person Theodore Hook was above the middle height, his frame was -robust and well-proportioned, possessing a breadth and depth of chest -which, joined to a constitution naturally of the strongest order, would -have seemed, under ordinary care, to hold out promise of a long and -healthy life. His countenance was fine and commanding, his features -when in repose settling into a somewhat stern and heavy expression, but -all alive and alight with genius the instant his lips were opened. His -eyes were dark, large, and full--to the epithet [Greek: boôpis] he, not -less justly than the venerable goddess, was entitled. His voice was -rich, deep, and melodious.” - - - - -DAVID HUME - -1711-1776 - - -[Sidenote: Chambers’s _Eminent Scotsmen_.] - -“Lord Charlemont, who at this period met with Mr. Hume at Turin, has -given the following account of his habits and appearance, penned -apparently with a greater aim at effect than at truth, yet somewhat -characteristic of the philosopher: ‘Nature, I believe, never formed -any man more unlike his real character than David Hume. The powers of -physiognomy were baffled by his countenance; neither could the most -skilful in the science pretend to discover the smallest trace of the -faculties of his mind in the unmeaning features of his visage. His face -was broad and fat, his mouth wide, and without any other expression -than that of imbecility. His eyes vacant and spiritless; and the -corpulence of his whole person was far better fitted to communicate -the idea of a turtle-eating alderman than of a refined philosopher. -His speech in English was rendered ridiculous by the broadest Scotch -accent, and his French was, if possible, still more laughable, so that -wisdom most certainly never disguised herself before in so uncouth a -garb.’” - -[Sidenote: Lockhart’s _Peter’s Letters_.] - -“The prints of David Hume are, most of them, I believe, taken from -the very portrait I have seen; but of course the style and effect -of the features are much more thoroughly to be understood when one -has an opportunity of observing them expanded in their natural -proportions. The face is far from being in any respect a classical -one. The forehead is chiefly remarkable for its prominence from the -ear, and not so much for its height. This gives him a lowering sort -of look forwards, expressive of great inquisitiveness into matters -of fact and the consequences to be deduced from them. His eyes are -singularly prominent, which, according to the Gallic system, would -indicate an extraordinary development of the organ of language behind -them. His nose is too low between the eyes, and not well or boldly -formed in any other respect. The lips, although not handsome, have in -their fleshy and massy outlines abundant marks of habitual reflection -and intellectual occupation. The whole had a fine expression of -intellectual dignity, candour, and serenity. The want of elevation, -however, which I have already noticed, injures very much the effect -even of the structure of the lower part of the head.... It is to be -regretted that he wore powder, for this prevents us from having the -advantage of seeing what was the natural style of his hair--or, indeed, -of ascertaining the form of any part of his head beyond the forehead.” - -[Sidenote: David Hume’s _Life_.] - -“To conclude historically with my own character. I am, or rather was -(for that is the style which I must now use in speaking of myself, -which emboldens me the more to speak my sentiment); I was, I say, a -man of mild dispositions, of command of temper, of an open, social, -and cheerful humour, capable of attachment, but little susceptible -of enmity, and of great moderation in all my passions. Even my -love of literary fame--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.” - - - - -LEIGH HUNT - -1784-1859 - - -[Sidenote: Son’s preface to _Autobiography of Leigh Hunt_.] - -“It was at this period of his life” (_as a young man_) “that his -appearance was most characteristic, and none of the portraits of him -adequately conveyed the idea of it. One of the best, a half-length -chalk drawing, by an artist named Wildman, perished. The miniature -by Severn was only a sketch on a small scale, but it suggested the -kindness and animation of his countenance. In other cases, the artists -knew too little of their sitter to catch the most familiar traits of -his aspect. He was rather tall, as straight as an arrow, and looked -slenderer than he really was. His hair was black and shining, and -slightly inclined to wave; his head was high, his forehead straight and -white, his eyes black and sparkling, his general complexion dark.... -Few men were so attractive ‘in society,’ whether in a large company -or over the fireside. His manners were peculiarly animated; his -conversation varied, ranging over a great field of subjects, was moved -and called forth by the response of his companion, be that companion -philosopher or student, sage or boy, man or woman; and he was equally -ready for the most lively topics or for the gravest reflections--his -expression easily adapting itself to the tone of his companion’s mind. -With much freedom of manners, he combined a spontaneous courtesy that -never failed, and a considerateness derived from a ceaseless kindness -of heart that invariably fascinated even strangers.” - -[Sidenote: Bryan Procter’s _Recollections of Men of Letters_.] - -“Hunt was a little above the middle size, thin and lithe. His -countenance was very genial and pleasant. His hair was black; his eyes -were very dark, but he was short-sighted, and therefore, perhaps, it -was that they had nothing of that fierce glance which black eyes so -frequently possess. His mouth was expressive, but protruding, as is -sometimes seen in half-caste Americans.”--1817. - -[Sidenote: Haydon’s _Autobiography_.] - -“I afterwards met Hunt, and reminded him of Wilkie’s intention, and -Hunt, with a frankness I liked much, became quite at home, and as I -was just as easily acquainted in five minutes as himself, we began to -talk, and he to hold forth, and I thought him, with his black bushy -hair, black eyes, pale face, and ‘nose of taste,’ as fine a specimen of -a London editor as could be imagined; assuming yet moderate, sarcastic -yet genial, with a smattering of everything and a mastery of nothing, -affecting the dictator, the poet, the politician, the critic, and the -sceptic, whichever would, at the moment, give him the air, to inferior -minds, of being a very superior man. I listened with something of -curiosity to his republican independence, though hating his effeminacy -and cockney peculiarities. The fearless honesty of his opinions, the -unscrupulous sacrifice of his own interests, the unselfish perseverance -of his attacks on all abuses, whether royal or religious, noble or -democratic, ancient or modern, so gratified my mind, that I suffered -this singular young man to gain such an ascendancy in my heart, as -justified the perpetual caution of Wilkie against my great tendency to -become acquainted too soon with strangers, and like Canning’s German, -to swear eternal friendship with any spirited talented fellow after a -couple of hours of witty talk or able repartee.” - - - - -ELIZABETH INCHBALD - -1753-1821 - - -[Sidenote: Kavanagh’s _English Women of Letters_. *] - -“Miss Simpson ... was ... tall and slender, with hair of a golden -auburn, and lovely hazel eyes, perfect features, and an enchanting -countenance.”--1771. - -[Sidenote: Mrs. Inchbald’s _Memoirs_.] - -“DESCRIPTION OF ME. - - _Age._--Between 30 and 40, which, in the register of a lady’s - birth, means a little turned of 30. - - _Height._--Above the middle size, and rather tall. - - _Figure._--Handsome, and striking in its general air, but a little - too stiff and erect. _Shape._--Rather too fond of sharp angles. - - _Skin._--By nature fair, though a little freckled, and with a tinge - of sand, which is the colour of her eyelashes, but made coarse by - ill-treatment upon her cheeks and arms. - - _Bosom._--None; or so diminutive, that it’s like a needle in a - bottle of hay. - - _Hair._--Of a sandy auburn, and rather too straight as well as thin. - - _Face._--Beautiful in effect, and beautiful in every feature. - - _Countenance._--Full of spirit and sweetness; excessively - interesting, and, without indelicacy, voluptuous. - - _Dress._--Always becoming; and very seldom worth so much as - _eightpence_.”--About 1788. - - - - -FRANCIS, LORD JEFFREY - -1773-1850 - - -[Sidenote: Geo. Ticknor’s _Life_.] - -“You are to imagine then, before you, a short, stout little gentleman, -about five and a half feet high, with a very red face, black hair -and black eyes. You are to suppose him to possess a very gay and -animated countenance, and you are to see in him all the restlessness -of a will-o’-wisp, and all that fitful irregularity in his movements -which you have heretofore appropriated to the pasteboard Merry Andrews -whose limbs are jerked about with a wire. These you are to interpret -as the natural indications of the impetuous and impatient character -which a farther acquaintance developes. He enters the room with a -countenance so satisfied and a step so light and almost fantastic, -that all your previous impressions of the dignity and severity of -the _Edinburgh Review_ are immediately put to flight, and, passing -at once to the opposite extreme, you might, perhaps, imagine him -to be frivolous, vain, and supercilious. He accosts you too, with -a freedom and familiarity which may, perhaps, put you at your ease -and render conversation unceremonious; but which, as I observed in -several instances, were not very tolerable to those who had always been -accustomed to the delicacy and decorum of refined society.”--1814. - -[Sidenote: Lockhart’s _Peter’s Letters_.] - -“I had not been long in the room, however, when I heard Mr. J---- -announced, and as I had not seen him for some time, resolved to stay, -and if possible, enjoy a little of his conversation in some corner.... -I have seldom seen a man more nice in his exterior than Mr. J---- now -seemed to be. His little person looked very neat in the way he had now -adorned it. He had a very well-cut blue coat,--evidently not after -the design of any Edinburgh artist,--light kerseymere breeches and -ribbed silk stockings, a pair of elegant buckles, white kid gloves, -and a tricolour watch-ribbon. He held his hat under his arm in a very -_dégagée_ manner--and altogether he was certainly one of the last men -in the assembly, whom a stranger would have guessed to be either a -great lawyer or a great reviewer. In short, he was more of a dandy -than any great author I ever saw--always excepting Tom Moore and David -Williams.” - -[Sidenote: _New Monthly Magazine_, 1831.] - -“He is of low stature, but his figure is elegant and well proportioned. -The face is rather elongated, the chin deficient, the mouth well -formed, with a mingled expression of determination, sentiment, and arch -mockery; the nose is slightly curved; the eye is the most peculiar -feature of the countenance; it is large and sparkling. He has two -tones in his voice--the one harsh and grating, the other rich and -clear.”--1831. - - - - -DOUGLAS JERROLD - -1803-1857 - - -[Sidenote: Hodder’s _Personal Reminiscences_.] - -“To my great delight, ... I had not been in the room many minutes -before I was introduced to Douglas Jerrold, who was flitting about with -that peculiar restlessness of eye, speech, and demeanour, which was -amongst his most marked characteristics. I confess I was not surprised -to find him a man of small stature, as I had heard before that his -proportions were rather those of Tydeus than of Alcides; but I was a -little astonished when I saw in the author of _Black-eyed Susan_, _The -Rent Day_, and _The Wedding Gown_, (all of which pieces and many others -he had then produced), an amount of boyish gaiety and a rapidity of -movement which one could hardly expect from a writer who had risen to -high rank as a moralist and censor.” - -[Sidenote: W. B. Jerrold’s _Life of Douglas Jerrold_.] - -“He had none of the airs of success or reputation, none of the -affectations, either personal or social, which are rife everywhere. -He was manly and natural; free and off-handed to the verge of -eccentricity. Independence and marked character seemed to breathe from -the little, rather bowed figure, crowned with a lion-like head and -falling light hair--to glow in the keen, eager, blue eyes glancing on -either side as he walked along. Nothing could be less commonplace, -nothing less conventional, than his appearance in a room or in the -streets.” - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“He was a very short man, but with breadth enough, and a back -excessively bent--bowed almost to deformity; very gray hair, and a face -and expression of remarkable briskness and intelligence. His profile -came out pretty boldly, and his eyes had the prominence that indicates, -I believe, volubility of speech; nor did he fail to talk from the -instant of his appearance; and in the tone of his voice, and in his -glance, and in the whole man, there was something racy--a flavour of -the humourist. His step was that of an aged man, and he put his stick -down very decidedly at every foot-fall; though, as he afterwards told -me, he was only fifty-two, he need not yet have been infirm.”--1856. - - - - -SAMUEL JOHNSON - -1709-1784 - - -[Sidenote: Boswell’s _Life of Dr. Johnson_.] - -“Miss Porter told me, that when he was first introduced to her mother, -his appearance was very forbidding; he was then lean and lank, so -that his immense structure of bones was hideously striking to the -eye, and the scars of the scrofula were deeply visible. He also wore -his hair, which was straight and stiff, and separated behind; and he -often had, seemingly, convulsive starts and odd gesticulations, which -tended to excite at once surprise and ridicule. Mrs. Porter was so much -engaged by his conversation that she overlooked all these external -disadvantages, and said to her daughter, ‘This is the most sensible man -that I ever saw in my life.’”--1731. - -[Sidenote: Boswell’s _Life of Dr. Johnson_.] - -“His chambers were on the first floor of No. 1 Inner Temple Lane.... -He received me very courteously; but it must be confessed that his -apartment and furniture and morning dress was sufficiently uncouth. -His brown suit of clothes looked very rusty; he had on a little old -shrivelled unpowdered wig, which was too small for his head; his shirt -neck and knees of his breeches were loose, his black worsted stockings -ill drawn up, and he had a pair of unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. -But all these slovenly peculiarities were forgotten the moment he began -to talk.”--1763. - -[Sidenote: Croker’s _Johnsoniana_.] - -“The day after I wrote my last letter to you I was introduced to Mr. -Johnson by a friend. We passed through three very dirty rooms to a -little one that looked like an old counting-house, where this great -man was sat at breakfast.... I was very much struck with Mr. Johnson’s -appearance, and could hardly help thinking him a madman for some time, -as he sat waving over his breakfast like a lunatic. He is a very large -man, and was dressed in a dirty brown coat and waistcoat, with breeches -that were brown also (although they had been crimson), and an old black -wig; his shirt collar and sleeves were unbuttoned; his stockings were -down about his feet, which had on them, by way of slippers, an old pair -of shoes.... We had been with him some time before he began to talk, -but at length he began, and, faith, to some purpose; everything he says -is as _correct_ as a _second edition_; ’tis almost impossible to argue -with him, he is so sententious and so knowing.”--1764. - - - - -BEN JONSON - -1574-1637 - - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_. *] - -“He was (or rather had been) of a clear and faire skin, his habit -was very plaine. I have heard Mr. Lacy, the player, say that he was -wont to weare a coate like a coach-man’s coate with slitts under the -arme-pitts. He would many times exceed in drinke. Canarie was his -beloved liquer.... Ben Jonson had one eie lower than t’other and -bigger, like Clun, the player.” - -[Sidenote: Anderson’s _Poets of Great Britain_. *] - -“The character of Jonson, like that of most celebrated wits, has been -drawn with great diversity of lights and shades, according as affection -or envy guided the pencil. His person, as he has himself told us, was -corpulent and large. His disposition seems to have been reserved and -saturnine, and sometimes not a little oppressed with the gloom of a -splenetic imagination.... Stern and rigid as his virtue was, he was -easy and social in the convivial meetings of his friends; and the laws -of his _Symposia_, inscribed over the chimney of the Apollo, a room in -the Devil Tavern, near Temple Bar, where he kept his club, show that he -was neither averse to the pleasures of conversation, nor ignorant of -what would render it agreeable and improving.” - -[Sidenote: Lafond, _Notice sur Ben Jonson_. *] - -“Il est clair pour nous que Ben Jonson avait une nature violente dans -un corps robuste et athlétique; son portrait nous le montre avec une -énorme face, une vigoureuse mâchoire, des yeux profonds et durs, un -cou de taureau. Sa peau avait été, de bonne heure, couturée par le -scorbut; et lui-même dit quelque part qu’il eut, dans le milieu de -sa vie, une montagne pour ventre et un dandinement disgracieux pour -démarche. Tous ses traits fortement accentués, anguleux ou carrés, -dénoncent l’énergie, l’orgueil et l’amour des luttes de toute nature. -Il aimait la bonne chère et le vin; sa prédilection pour le vin des -Canaries avait, disait il, pour excuse la nécessité de sa constitution -scorbutique. Il avait l’esprit semblable au corps; malgré ses études -classiques, il était loin d’être un Athénien, c’était un Anglo-Saxon -enté sur un Romain de la décadence. Généreux, libéral, prodigue, il -tint toujours table ouverte, même lorsque la misère était devenue -l’hôte de son foyer.” - - - - -JOHN KEATS - -1795-1821 - - -[Sidenote: Bryan Procter’s _Recollections of Men of Letters_.] - -“I was first introduced to him (Keats), by Leigh Hunt, and found him -very pleasant, and free from all affectation in manner and opinion. -Indeed it would be difficult to discover a man with a more bright and -open countenance.... I can only say that I never encountered a more -manly and simple young man. In person he was short, and had eyes large -and wonderfully luminous, and a resolute bearing, not defiant but well -sustained.” - -[Sidenote: Monckton Milnes’s _Life of Keats_.] - -“His eyes were large and blue, his hair auburn, he wore it divided -down the centre, and it fell in rich masses on each side his face, -his mouth was full, and less intellectual than his other features. -His countenance lives in my mind as one of singular beauty and -brightness,--it had an expression as if he had been looking on some -glorious sight. The shape of his face had not the squareness of a -man’s, but more like some women’s faces I have seen--it was so wide -over the forehead, and so small at the chin. He seemed in perfect -health, and with life offering all things that were precious to -him.”--1818. - -[Sidenote: The Cowden Clarkes’ _Recollections of Writers_.] - -_In reviewing this portrait, Mrs. Cowden Clarke, while admitting -that much of it is_ “excellent” _and_ “true,” _goes on to add these -words_: “But when our artist pronounces that ‘his eyes were large and -_blue_,’ and that ‘his hair was _auburn_,’ I am naturally reminded of -the ‘Chameleon’ fable--‘they were _brown_, ma’am--_brown_, I assure -you!’... Reader, alter, in your copy of the _Life of Keats_, vol. i. -page 103, ‘eyes’ light hazel, ‘hair’ _lightish brown and wavy_.” - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“Keats, when he died, had just completed his four and twentieth year. -He was under the middle height, and his lower limbs were small in -comparison with the upper, but neat and well-turned. His shoulders were -very broad for his size; he had a face in which energy and sensibility -were remarkably mixed up; an eager power, checked and made patient by -ill-health. Every feature was at once strongly cut, and delicately -alive. If there was any faulty expression, it was in the mouth, which -was not without something of a character of pugnacity. His face was -rather long than otherwise; the upper lip projected a little over the -under; the chin was bold, the cheeks sunken; the eyes are mellow and -glowing, large, dark, and sensitive. At the recital of a noble action, -or a beautiful thought, they would suffuse with tears, and his mouth -trembled. In this there was ill-health as well as imagination, for -he did not like these betrayals of emotion; and he had great personal -as well as moral courage. He once chastised a butcher, who had been -insolent, by a regular stand-up fight. His hair, of a brown colour, -was fine, and hung in natural ringlets. The head was a puzzle for the -phrenologists, being remarkably small in the skull--a singularity which -he had in common with Byron and Shelley, whose hats I could not get -on. Keats was sensible of the disproportion above noticed between his -upper and lower extremities, and he would look at his hand, which was -faded, and swollen in the veins, and say it was the hand of a man of -fifty.”--1826. - - - - -JOHN KEBLE - -1792-1866 - - -[Sidenote: J. Coleridge’s _Memoir of the Rev. John Keble_.] - -“To me both the portraits are full of deep interest” (_these portraits -of Keble, the one in the prime of manhood and the other in old age, -were drawn by Richmond_), “the earlier and the later both--each -brings him back to me as he was; in the earlier, he has some of the -merry defiance he could assume in argument; in the latter, I see the -sad tenderness of his advanced years. Keble had not regular features; -he could not be called a handsome man, but he was one to be noticed -anywhere, and remembered long; his forehead and hair beautiful in all -ages; his eyes, full of play, intelligence, and emotion, followed you -while you spoke; and they lighted up, especially with pleasure, or -indignation, as it might be, when he answered you. The most pleasing -photograph is one in which he is standing by Mrs. Keble’s side; she is -sitting with a book in her hand. The later photographs are to me very -unpleasant. I will attempt no more particular description, for I feel -how little definite I can convey in writing.” - -[Sidenote: _The Christian Observer_, 1871.] - -“Mr. Keble greeted us, emerging from his little study, the door of -which, as I afterwards noticed, oftener than not, stood open.... His -features, indeed, were familiar to us, as to most people, from the -engraving of Richmond’s first portrait of him, taken in middle life -for Sir John Coleridge. Now the original stood before me, and I saw -at a glance that face and figure had been faithfully portrayed. The -forehead was pale and serene, the hair silvery; doubtless this token -of advancing years must have helped to give softness and refinement to -the features; eyebrows, sprinkled with white, shaded eyes of singular -brilliancy and depth of expression, as ready (I afterwards well knew) -to light up with mirth and mischief while playful talk was going on, -as they were to melt into mournful earnestness when graver topics were -broached. He habitually wore glasses, but used often to take them off -and hold them in his hand when conversing with animation. A dear -and old friend of his has told me that he ‘looked almost boyish till -about fifty, and after that rapidly aged in personal appearance.’ -At this time he was in his sixty-first year, healthy and strong and -active.... In appearance he was quite one’s ideal of an old-fashioned -country clergyman, but of one whose Oxford days were still fresh in -his mind; there was a touch of _vieille cour_ in his manner, which -added, I think, to its charm. His voice in speaking was rather low, -and especially so when the subject of conversation was very near his -heart. It often struck me, when listening to him, that without the -slightest effort or aim at effect, he always hit upon the most suitable -and telling words, (and the shortest), in which to clothe his ideas. -This unconscious beauty of language, coupled with the originality and -wisdom of the ideas themselves, riveted them in one’s memory; the look, -too, with which they were uttered, could not be forgotten, and rises -as vividly before my mind’s eye ‘through the golden mist of years’ as -though it belonged to the present, instead of the ‘long ago.’”--1852. - -[Sidenote: L. A. Huntingford: private letter.] - -“People who went to look at Mr. Keble as a ‘lion’ were, I think, -disappointed to see a very simple old-fashioned clerical gentleman, -with very little manner, and so completely unconscious of self that -as he talked of common things, they were inclined to think as little -of him as he thought of himself. He used to come down early and -stand writing at a side-table till it was quite time for prayers and -breakfast, and then sit down anywhere and, with a little peculiar jerk -of the head and shoulders, read a short ‘Instruction,’ almost as if he -were reading it to himself. Certain people even called his reading bad, -for his voice was weak, and he had a slight cough which never wholly -left him; but he brought out the meaning of Holy Scripture in a manner -which I never heard surpassed. Mr. Keble was of middle height, very -thin, with a splendid forehead, bright eyes which were rather hidden by -his spectacles, and a sweet merry smile. Those who knew him well must -remember the way in which he used to pull himself together, as if he -were a boy obeying a well-known rule to ‘hold up his head.’ His manner -was nervous, so much so that people who were not intimately acquainted -with him were rarely quite at their ease when in his presence. The two -pictures of Mr. Keble by Richmond are both good likenesses; but the -lithograph of the head which was taken from the then-unfinished picture -which, in its completed form, now hangs in Keble College, Oxford, has -caught the peculiar intelligence of the eyes when lighted up with the -eager brightness his friends knew so well. He had the unusual power of -being able to write upon one subject and listen to the discussion of -another at the same time; and he would often glance up from the paper -in which he was apparently immersed, and pushing up his spectacles join -eagerly in the conversation.” - - - - -CHARLES KINGSLEY - -1812-1875 - - -[Sidenote: Caroline Fox’s _Journals and Letters_.] - -“Torquay, _January 30th_.--Charles Kingsley called, but we missed him. - -“_February 3d._--We paid him and his wife a very happy call; he -fraternising at once, and stuttering pleasant and discriminating things -concerning F. D. Maurice, Coleridge and others. He looks sunburnt with -dredging all the morning, has a piercing eye under an overhanging brow, -and his voice is most melodious and his pronunciation exquisite. He is -strangely attractive.”--1854. - -[Sidenote: _The Galaxy_, 1872.] - -“I was present at a meeting not long since where Mr. Kingsley was -one of the principal speakers. The meeting was held in London, the -audience was a peculiarly Cockney audience, and Charles Kingsley is -personally little known to the public of the metropolis. Therefore -when he began to speak there was quite a little thrill of wonder and -something like incredulity through the listening benches. Could that, -people near me asked, really be Charles Kingsley, the novelist, the -poet, the scholar, the aristocrat, the gentleman, the pulpit-orator, -the ‘soldier--priest,’ the apostle of muscular Christianity? Yes, -that was indeed he. Rather tall, very angular, surprisingly awkward, -with thin staggering legs, a hatchet face adorned with scraggy gray -whiskers, a faculty for falling into the most ungainly attitudes, and -making the most hideous contortions of visage and frame; with a rough -provincial accent and an uncouth way of speaking which would be set -down for absurd caricature on the boards of a comic theatre. Such was -the appearance which the author of _Glaucus_ and _Hypatia_ presented to -his startled audience. Since Brougham’s time nothing so ungainly, odd, -and ludicrous had been displayed upon an English platform. Needless to -say, Charles Kingsley has not the eloquence of Brougham. But he has a -robust and energetic plain-speaking which soon struck home to the heart -of the meeting. He conquered his audience. Those who at first could -hardly keep from laughing, those who, not knowing the speaker, wondered -whether he was not mad or in liquor, those who heartily disliked his -general principles and his public attitude, were alike won over, long -before he had finished, by his bluff and blunt earnestness and his -transparent sincerity.” - -[Sidenote: _Fraser’s Magazine_, 1877.] - -“For nine years the portrait of Kingsley, close to that of John Parker, -has looked down from the wall of the room in which I write. It is a -large photograph, taken, while he was on a visit to the house, by an -amateur of extraordinary ability, the late Dr. Adamson of St. Andrews. -It is the best and most lifelike portrait of Kingsley known to me. -It has the stern expression, which came partly of the effort, never -quite ceasing, to express himself through that characteristic stammer -which quite left him in public speaking, and which in private added -to the effect of his wonderful talk. Photography caught him easily. -Those who look at the portrait prefixed to Volume I. of the _Life_ -see the man as he lived. Mr. Woolner’s bust, shown at the beginning -of Volume II., shows him aged and shrunken, not more than he was but -more than he ought to have been; and the removal of all hair from the -face is a marked difference from the fact in life; yet the likeness is -perfect too. That somewhat severe face belied one of the kindest hearts -that ever beat: yet the handsome and chivalrous features unworthily -expressed one of the truest, bravest, and noblest of souls. Kingsley -could not have done a mean or false thing: by his make it was as -impossible as that water should run uphill.” - - - - -CHARLES LAMB - -1775-1834 - - -[Sidenote: de Quincey’s _Life and Writings_.] - -“Lamb, at this period of his life, then passed regularly, after taking -wine, under a brief eclipse of sleep. It descended upon him as soft as -a shadow. In a gross person laden with superfluous flesh, and sleeping -heavily, this would have been disagreeable; but in Lamb, thin even -to meagreness, spare and wiry as an Arab of the desert, or as Thomas -Aquinas, wasted by scholastic vigils, the affection of sleep seemed -rather a net-work of aerial gossamer than of earthly cobweb,--more like -a golden haze falling upon him gently from the heavens than a cloud -exhaling upwards from the flesh. Motionless in his chair as a bust, -breathing so gently as scarcely to seem entirely alive, he presented -the image of repose midway between life and death like the repose -of sculpture, and to one who knew his history, a repose contrasting -with the calamities and internal storms of his life. I have heard -more persons than I can now distinctly recall, observe of Lamb when -sleeping, that his countenance in that state assumed an expression -almost seraphic, from its intellectual beauty of outline, its childlike -simplicity, and its benignity. It could not be called a transfiguration -that sleep worked in his face; for the features wore essentially the -same expression when waking; but sleep spiritualised that expression, -exalted it, and also harmonised it. Much of the change lay in that -last process. The eyes it was that disturbed the unity of effect in -Lamb’s waking face. They gave a restlessness to the character of his -intellect, shifting, like northern lights, through every mode of -combination with fantastic playfulness; and sometimes by fiery gleams -obliterating for the moment that pure light of benignity which was the -predominant reading on his features.”--1822. - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Life of Carlyle_.] - -“He was the leanest of mankind; tiny black breeches buttoned to the -knee-cap and no further, surmounting spindle-legs also in black, face -and head fineish, black, bony, lean, and of a Jew type rather; in the -eyes a kind of smoky brightness, or confused sharpness; spoke with -a stutter; in walking tottered and shuffled, emblem of imbecility, -bodily and spiritual (something of real insanity, I have understood), -and yet something, too, of human, ingenuous, pathetic, sportfully much -enduring. Poor Lamb! he was infinitely astonished at my wife, and her -quiet encounter of his too ghastly London wit by a cheerful native -ditto. Adieu! poor Lamb!” - -[Sidenote: Talfourd’s _Reminiscence of Charles Lamb_.] - -“Methinks I see him before me now, as he appeared then, and as he -continued with scarcely any perceptible alteration to me, during the -twenty years of intimacy which followed, and were closed by his death. -A light frame, so fragile that it seemed as if a breath would overthrow -it, clad in clerklike black, was surmounted by a head of form and -expression the most noble and sweet. His black hair curled crisply -about an expanded forehead; his eyes, softly brown, twinkled with -varying expression, though the prevalent feeling was sad; and the nose -slightly curved, and delicately carved at the nostril, with the lower -outline of the face regularly oval, completed a head which was finely -placed on the shoulders, and gave importance and even dignity to a -diminutive and shadowy stem. Who shall describe his countenance, catch -its quivering sweetness, and fix it for ever in words? There are none, -alas, to answer the vain desire of friendship. Deep thought striving -with humour, the lines of suffering wreathed into cordial mirth, and -a smile of painful sweetness, present an image to the mind it can as -little describe as lose. His personal appearance and manner are not -unfitly characterised by what he himself says in one of his letters -to Manning, of Braham, ‘a compound of the Jew, the gentleman, and the -angel.’”--_Written shortly after Lamb’s death._ - - - - -LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON - -1802-1838 - - -[Sidenote: Crabb Robinson’s _Diary_.] - -“... Miss Landon, a young poetess--a starling--the L. E. L. of the -_Gazette_, with a gay good-humoured face, which gave me a favourable -impression.”--1826. - -[Sidenote: Blanchard’s _Life of L. E. L._] - -“Her hair was ‘darkly brown,’ very soft and beautiful, and always -tastefully arranged; her figure, as before remarked, slight, but -well-formed and graceful; her feet small, but her hands especially -so, and faultlessly white and finely shaped; her fingers were fairy -fingers; her ears also were observably little. Her face, though not -regular in ‘every feature,’ became beautiful by expression,--every -flash of thought, every change and colour of feeling lightened over -it as she spoke,--when she spoke earnestly. The forehead was not -high, but broad and full; the eyes had no overpowering brilliancy, but -their clear intellectual light penetrated by its exquisite softness; -her mouth was not less marked by character, and, besides the glorious -faculty of uttering the pearls and diamonds of fancy and wit, knew -how to express scorn, or anger, or pride, as well as it knew how to -smile winningly, or to pour forth those short, quick, ringing laughs -which, not excepting even her _bon-mots_ and aphorisms, were the most -delightful things that issued from it.”--1832. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a Long Life_.] - -“Small of person, but well formed. Her dark silken hair braided back -over a small, but what phrenologists would call a well-developed head; -her forehead full and open, but the hair grew low upon it; the eyebrows -perfect in arch and form; the eyes round--soft or flashing as might -be--gray, well formed, and beautifully set; the lashes long and black, -the under lashes turning down with delicate curve, and forming a soft -relief upon the tint of her cheek, which, when she enjoyed good health, -was bright and blushing; her complexion was delicately fair; her skin -soft and transparent; her nose small (_retroussé_), slightly curved, -but capable of scornful expression, which she did not appear to have -the power of repressing, even though she gave her thoughts no words, -when any despicable action was alluded to.”--About 1835. - - - - -WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR - -1775-1864 - - -[Sidenote: Crabb Robinson’s _Diary_.] - -“He was a man of florid complexion, with large full eyes, and -altogether a _leonine_ man, and with a fierceness of tone well suited -to his name; his decisions being confident, and on all subjects, -whether of taste or life, unqualified, each standing for itself, not -caring whether it was in harmony with what had gone before or would -follow from the same oracular lips. But why should I trouble myself to -describe him? He is painted by a master hand in Dickens’s novel _Bleak -House_, now in course of publication, where he figures as Mr. Boythorn. -The combination of superficial ferocity and inherent tenderness, so -admirably portrayed in _Bleak House_, still at first strikes every -stranger,--for twenty-two years have not materially changed him,--no -less than his perfect frankness and reckless indifference to what he -says.”--1830. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a Long Life_.] - -“... He was at that time sixty years of age, although he did not look -so old; his form and features were essentially masculine; he was not -tall, but stalwart; of a robust constitution, and was proud even to -arrogance of his physical and intellectual strength. He was a man to -whom passers-by would have looked back and asked, ‘Who is that?’ His -forehead was high, but retreated, showing remarkable absence of the -organs of benevolence and veneration. It was a large head, fullest at -the back, where the animal propensities predominate; it was a powerful, -but not a good head, the expression the opposite of genial. In short, -physiognomists and phrenologists would have selected it,--each to -illustrate his theory.”--1836. - -[Sidenote: Harriet Martineau’s _Biographical Sketches_.] - -“His tall, broad, muscular, active frame was characteristic, and so was -his head, with the strange elevation of the eyebrows which expresses -self-will as strongly in some cases as astonishment in others. Those -eyebrows, mounting up until they comprehend a good portion of the -forehead, have been observed in many more paradoxical persons than -one. Then there was the retreating but broad forehead, showing the -deficiency of reasoning and speculative power, with the preponderance -of imagination and a huge passion for destruction. The massive -self-love and self-will carried up his head to something more than a -dignified bearing--even to one of arrogance. His vivid and quick eye, -and the thoughtful mouth, were fine, and his whole air was that of -a man distinguished in his own eyes certainly, but also in those of -others. Tradition reports he was handsome in his youth. In age he was -more.” - - - - -CHARLES LEVER - -1806-1872 - - -[Sidenote: Fitz-Patrick’s _Life of Lever_.] - -“I found him seated at an open window, a bottle of claret at his right -hand, and the proof-sheets of _Lord Kilgobbin_ before him.... At the -date of our visit he looked a hale, hearty, laughter-loving man of -sixty. There was mirth in his gray eye, joviality in the wink that -twittered on his eyelid, saucy humour in his smile, and _bon-mot_, -wit, repartee, and rejoinder in every movement of his lips. His hair -very thin, but of a silky brown, fell across his forehead, and when -it curtained his eyes he would jerk back his head--this, too, at some -telling crisis in a narrative, when the particular action was just the -exact finish required to make the story perfect. Mr. Lever’s teeth were -all his own and very brilliant, and whether from accident or habit, he -flashed them on us in conjunction with his wonderful eyes, a battery -at once powerful and irresistible.... Mr. Lever made great use of his -hands, which were small and white and delicate as those of a woman. -He made play with them, threw them up in ecstasy, or wrung them in -mournfulness, just as the action of the moment demanded. He did not -require eyes or teeth with such a voice and such hands; they could tell -and illustrate the workings of his brain. He was somewhat careless -in his dress, but clung to the traditional high shirt-collar, merely -compromising the unswerving stock of the Brummell period.” - - - - -MATTHEW GREGORY LEWIS - -1775-1818 - - -[Sidenote: _The Southern Literary Messenger_, 1849.] - -“In person, Mat Lewis (as his intimate friends at first termed him) was -quite ordinary; his stature was rather diminutive; his face was almost -an ellipse, looking upon it from the side, and his features though -pleasant were not to be regarded as handsome. His forehead, however, -was high and his eyes very lustrous.” - -[Sidenote: Jeaffreson’s _Novels and Novelists_.] - -“Lewis’s personal appearance was not prepossessing. He describes -himself as - - ‘Of passions strong, of hasty nature, - Of graceless form and dwarfish stature.’ - -He had, moreover, large gray eyes, thick features, and an inexpressive -countenance. When he talked he had an insufferable habit of drawing the -fore-finger of his right hand across his eyelid, and in conversation -he was guilty of the absurd affectation of a drawling tone such as was -popular with dandies.” - -[Sidenote: _New Monthly Magazine_, 1848.] - -“Matthew Gregory Lewis. Of this gentleman I knew but little, not having -encountered him half a dozen times after my introduction to him at the -house of Nat Middleton, the banker. With a short thick-set figure, -unintellectual features, and a disagreeable habit of peering, being -very short-sighted, his aspect was by no means prepossessing; but as he -had ‘that within which passeth show,’ he recovered the ground lost at -starting as rapidly as Wilkes could have done.” - - - - -JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART - -1794-1854 - - -[Sidenote: _The Times_, 9th Dec. 1854.] - -“Endowed with the very highest order of manly beauty, both of features -and expression, he retained the brilliancy of youth and a stately -strength of person comparatively unimpaired in ripened life; and then, -though sorrow and sickness suddenly brought on a premature old age -which none could witness unmoved, yet the beauty of the head and of the -bearing so far gained in melancholy loftiness of expression what they -lost in animation, that the last phase, whether to the eye of painter -or of anxious friend, seemed always the finest.” - - - - -SIR RICHARD LOVELACE - -1618-1658 - - -[Sidenote: Anthony Wood’s _Athenæ Oxonienses._] - -“Richard Lovelace ... became a gent-commoner of Glo’cester Hall in -the beginning of the year 1634, and in that of his age 16, being then -accounted the most amiable and beautiful person that ever eye beheld, a -person also of innate modesty, virtue, and courtly deportment, which -made him then, but especially after, when he retired to the great city, -much admired and adored by the female sex.... Accounted by all those -that well knew him, to have been a person well vers’d in the Greek and -Latin poets, in music, whether practical or theoretical, instrumental -or vocal, and in other things befitting a gentleman. Some of the said -persons have also added in my hearing, that his common discourse was -not only significant and witty, but incomparably graceful, which drew -respect from all men and women.”--1634 and 1658. - -[Sidenote: _The Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1884. *] - -“The personal attractions of Richard Lovelace have been much extolled -by his contemporaries; nor is this matter for wonder. A picture of the -poet by an unknown painter, preserved in the old college at Dulwich, to -which it was bequeathed by Cartwright the actor, in 1687, represents -him as a very handsome man. The face is oval, the hair, worn Cavalier -fashion, long, is of a dark brown colour and falls down in abundant -masses, while the mustachios are small and thin. The small, well-formed -mouth is perhaps a trifle voluptuous, but is nevertheless suggestive of -firmness of character. The eyes are large and dark, and the well-arched -and delicately pencilled eyebrows are unusually far apart; the general -expression of the face is singularly sweet and winning. The hand is -small, well formed and aristocratic. Lovelace is attired in armour, -with a white collar, and across the breast is thrown a red scarf. The -picture is inscribed ‘Col. Lovelace.’” - - - - -EDWARD, LORD LYTTON - -1803-1873 - - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a long Life_.] - -“A young man whose features, though of a somewhat effeminate cast, -were remarkably handsome. His bearing had that aristocratic something -bordering on hauteur, which clung to him during his life. I never saw -the famous writer without being reminded of the passage, ‘Stand back; I -am holier than thou.’--1826. - -“The last time I saw him was in his then residence, No. 12 Grosvenor -Square. It was growing towards fifty years since first we had met, -and there were more changes in him than those that time usually -brings. His once handsome face had assumed the desolation without -the dignity of age. His locks, once brown, inclining to auburn, were -shaggy and grizzled; his mouth, seldom smiling even in youth, was -close shut; his whole aspect had something in it at once painful and -unpleasant.”--About 1872. - -[Sidenote: _Appleton’s Journal_, 1873.] - -“Bulwer is described as having been, at this period of his first -brilliant triumph, rather taller than the middle height, with a -graceful, slender figure, well-proportioned limbs, and a countenance -stamped with distinctly aristocratic features and expression. His -dark-brown, curly hair, his large and bright blue eye, his decided, -though delicately-formed aquiline nose, his rather full and handsome -mouth, his patrician, almost haughty pose and manner, as seen at that -time, are dwelt on, with true feminine enthusiasm, by a lady who -frequented the circles of which he was regarded as one of the most -shining ornaments.”--1828. - -[Sidenote: _Appleton’s Journal_, 1873.] - -“It was my fortune to see Bulwer in the House of Commons in 1863 and -1865, and in the House of Lords, to which he had recently risen, in -1868. He then had the appearance of being a man of some fifty years, -tallish, straight, stiff, and proudly sedate. His long, sombre face -was no longer ‘fair,’ but was yellow and wrinkled, while the almost -cadaverous aspect of his features added to the really far from -proportionate prominence of his long, aquiline nose. He now wore a -moustache with his ‘heavy red whiskers,’ which had themselves become -a dull brown, plentifully sprinkled with gray; and upon his chin he -grew an imperial. His hair was still thick, but no trace of its rich -auburn hue of youth remained; it was a heavy gray in colour. Spectacles -partially concealed the large but now dulled and glassy blue eyes; and -the whole appearance was far from prepossessing. On the former occasion -referred to, I heard him address the House in an eloquent and evidently -carefully-prepared speech of half an hour. His manner was quiet and -subdued, his voice no longer ‘lover-like and sweet,’ but rather harsh -and grating, and his declamation humdrum; occasionally a spark of the -old animation appeared, when he drew himself up to the full height, -and, for the moment seemed a very orator in motion as in speech; -but the spark soon vanished, and he was again Pelham grown old, the -exhausted and melancholy beau and wit of the past, struggling through -an imposed task.... His dress was conspicuously plain, almost stiff and -ministerial; though there was something about the attire of the neck -which seemed a suspicion of a relic of dandyism.” - - - - -THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY - -1800-1859 - - -[Sidenote: Trevelyan’s _Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay_.] - -“Macaulay’s outward man was never better described than in two -sentences of Praed’s Introduction to Knight’s _Quarterly Magazine_. -‘There came up a short manly figure, marvellously upright, with a bad -neckcloth, and one hand in his waistcoat pocket. Of regular beauty -he had little to boast; but in faces where there is an expression of -great power, or of great good-humour, or both, you do not regret its -absence.’ This picture, in which every touch is correct, tells all that -there is to be told. He had a massive head, and features of a powerful -and rugged cast, but so constantly lit up by every joyful and ennobling -emotion that it mattered little if, when absolutely quiescent, his face -was rather homely than handsome. While conversing at table no one -thought him otherwise than good-looking; but, when he rose, he was seen -to be short and stout in figure. ‘At Holland House, the other day,’ -writes his sister Margaret in September 1831, ‘Tom met Lady Lyndhurst -for the first time. She said to him: “Mr. Macaulay, you are so -different to what I had expected. I thought you were dark and thin, but -you are fair, and really, Mr. Macaulay, you are fat!”’ He at all times -sat and stood straight, full, and square; and in this respect Woolner, -in the fine statue at Cambridge, has missed what was undoubtedly the -most marked fact in his personal appearance. He dressed badly, but not -cheaply. His clothes, though ill put on, were good, and his wardrobe -was always enormously overstocked.”--1822 and 1831. - -[Sidenote: Crabb Robinson’s _Diary_.] - -“I went to James Stephen, and drove with him to his house at Hendon. A -dinner-party. I had a most interesting companion in young Macaulay, one -of the most promising of the rising generation I have seen for a long -time. He has a good face,--not the delicate features of a man of genius -and sensibility, but the strong lines and well-knit limbs of a man -sturdy in body and mind. Very eloquent and cheerful. Overflowing with -words, and not poor in thought. Liberal in opinion, but no radical. He -seems a correct as well as a full man. He showed a minute knowledge of -subjects not introduced by himself.”--1826. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a long Life_.] - -“I never heard Macaulay speak in the House, where, although by no -means an orator, he always made a strong impression. He spoke as he -wrote,--eloquently in the choicest diction,--smooth, easy, graceful, -and ever to the purpose, striving to convince rather than persuade, and -grudging no toil of preparation to sustain an argument or enforce a -truth. His person was in his favour; in form as in mind he was robust, -with a remarkably intelligent expression, aided by deep blue eyes that -seemed to sparkle, and a mouth remarkably flexible. His countenance -was certainly well calculated to impress on his audience the classical -language ever at his command--so faithfully did it mirror the high -intelligence of the speaker.... I found him--as the world has found -him--a man of rare intelligence, deep research, and untiring energy in -pursuit of facts: also a kind, courteous, and unaffected gentleman. His -memory is to me one of the pleasantest I can recall.” - - - - -WILLIAM MAGINN - -1793-1842 - - -[Sidenote: William Maginn’s _Miscellanies_.] - -“All were standing, all were listening to some one who sat in the -middle of a group. A low-seated man, short in stature, was uttering -pleasantries and scattering witticisms about him with the careless -glee of his country. His articulation was impeded by a stutter, yet -the sentences he stammered forth were brilliant repartees uttered -without sharpness, and edged rather with humour than with satire. His -countenance was rather agreeable than striking; its expression sweet -rather than bright; the gray hair, coming straight over his forehead, -gave a singular appearance to a face still bearing the attributes of -youth. He was thirty or thereabouts, but his thoughtful brow, his hair, -and the paleness of his complexion, gave him many of the attributes -of age. His conversation was careless and off-hand, and, but for the -impediment of speech, would have had the charm of a rich comedy. -His choice of words was such as I have rarely met with in any of my -contemporaries.”--1824. - -[Sidenote: _Bentley’s Miscellany_, 1842.] - -“I dined to-day at the Salopian with Dr. Maginn. He is a most -remarkable fellow. His flow of ideas is incredibly quick, and his -articulation so rapid, that it is difficult to follow him. He is -altogether a person of vast acuteness, celerity of apprehension, and -indefatigable activity both of body and mind. His is about my own -height; but I could allow him an inch round the chest. His forehead is -very finely developed, his organ of language and ideality large, and -his reasoning faculties excellent. His hair is quite gray, although he -does not look more than forty. I imagined he was much older looking, -and that he wore a wig. While conversing his eye is never a moment -at rest: in fact his whole body is in motion, and he keeps scrawling -grotesque figures upon the paper before him, and rubbing them out -again as fast as he draws them. He and Gifford are, as you know, joint -editors of the _Standard_.” - -[Sidenote: _The Dublin University Magazine_, 1844.] - -“Well does the writer of this notice recollect the feelings with which -he first wended to the residence of his late friend. He was then but -a mere boy, fresh from the university.... He went, and was shown -upstairs; the doctor was not at home, but was momentarily expected.... -Suddenly, when his heart almost sank within him, a light step was heard -ascending the stairs--it could not be a man’s foot--no, it was too -delicate for that; it must, certainly, be the nursery-maid. The step -was arrested at the door, a brief interval, and Maginn entered. The -spell vanished like lightning, and the visitor took heart in a moment. -No formal-looking personage, in customary suit of solemn black, stood -before him, but a slight, boyish, careless figure, with a blue eye, -the mildest ever seen--hair, not exactly white, but of a sunned snow -colour--an easy, familiar smile--and a countenance that you would be -more inclined to laugh with than feel terror from. He bounded across -the room with a most unscholar-like eagerness, and warmly welcomed the -visitor, asking him a thousand questions, and putting him at ease with -himself in a moment. Then, taking his arm, both sallied forth into the -street, where, for a long time, the visitor was in doubt whether it -was Maginn to whom he was really talking as familiarly as if he were -his brother, or whether the whole was a dream. And such, indeed, was -the impression generally made on the minds of all strangers--but, as -in the present case, it was dispelled instantly the living original -appeared. Then was to be seen the kindness and gentleness of heart -which tinged every word and gesture with sweetness; the suavity and -mildness, so strongly the reverse of what was to be expected from the -most galling satirest of the day; the openness of soul and countenance, -that disarmed even the bitterest of his opponents; the utter absence -of anything like prejudice and bigotry from him the ablest and most -devoted champion of the Church and State. No pedantry in his language, -no stateliness of style, no forced metaphors, no inappropriate -anecdote, no overweening confidence--all easy, simple, agreeable, and -unzoned.” - - - - -FRANCIS MAHONY - -(FATHER PROUT) - -1805-1866 - - -[Sidenote: The works of Father Prout.] - -“Stooping his short and spare but thick-set figure as he walked, -wearing his ill-brushed hat upon the extreme back of his head, clothed -in the slovenliest way in a semi-clerical dress of the shabbiest -character, he sauntered by with his right arm habitually clasped behind -him in his left hand,--altogether presenting to view so distinctly -the appearance of a member of one of the mendicant orders, that upon -one occasion, in the Rue de Rivoli, an intimate friend of his found -it impossible to resist the impulse of slipping a sou into the open -palm of his right hand, with the apologetic remark, ‘You _do_ look so -like a beggar.’ Apart, however, from his threadbare garb and shambling -gait, there were personal traits of character about him which caught -the attention almost at a glance, and piqued the curiosity of even the -least observant wayfarer. The ‘roguish Hibernian mouth,’ noted in his -regard by Mr. Gruneisen, and the gray piercing eyes, that looked up at -you so keenly over his spectacles, won your interest in him even upon a -first introduction. From the mocking lips soon afterwards, if you fell -into conversation with him, came the ‘loud snappish laugh,’ with which, -as Mr. Blanchard Jerrold remarks, the Father so frequently evinced -his appreciation of a casual witticism--uproarious fits of merriment -signalising at other moments one of his own ironical successes, -outbursts of fun followed during his later years by the racking cough -with which he was too often then tormented.” - -[Sidenote: Blanchard Jerrold’s _Final Reliques of Father Prout_.] - -“The Rev. Francis Mahony, or Father Prout, trudging along the -Boulevards with his arms clasped behind him, his nose in the air, -his hat worn as French caricaturists insist all Englishmen wear hat -or cap; his quick, clear, deep-seeking eye wandering sharply to the -right or left, and sarcasm--not of the sourest kind--playing like -Jack-o’-lantern in the corners of his mouth, Father Prout was as much a -character of the French capital as the learned Armenian of the Imperial -Library only a few years ago.... It was difficult to meet Father Prout. -He was an odd, uncomfortable, uncertain man. His moods changed like -April skies. Light little thoughts were busy in his brain, lively and -frisking as ‘troutlets in a pool.’ He was impatient of interruption, -and shambled forward talking in an undertone to himself, with now and -then a bubble or two of laughter, or one short sharp laugh almost -like a bark, like that of the marksman when the arrow quivers in the -bull’s-eye. He would pass you with a nod that meant ‘Hold off--not -to-day!’... He was very impatient if any injudicious friend or passing -acquaintance (who took him to be usually as accessible as any _flâneur_ -on the macadam), thrust himself forward and would have his hand and -agree with him that it was a fine day, but would possibly rain shortly. -A sharp answer, and an unceremonious plunge forward without bow or -good-day, would put an end to the interruption. Of course the Father -was called a bear by shallow-pates who could not see that there was -something extra in the little man talking to himself and shuffling, -with his hands behind him, through the _fines fleurs_ and _grandes -dames_ of the Italian Boulevard.” - -[Sidenote: A personal friend.] - -“In recalling the Rev. Francis Mahony, I am forcibly reminded of a -few lines at the beginning of old Burton’s _Anatomy of Melancholy_: -‘Democritus, as he is described by Hippocrates, and Laërtius, was -a little wearish old man, very melancholy by nature, averse from -company in his latter dayes, and much given to solitariness, a famous -philosopher in his age, ... wholly addicted to his studies at the last, -and to a private life; writ many excellent workes.’ Substituting Father -Prout’s name for that of Democritus, the words are equally descriptive -of the quaint little Irishman. He was a small spare man, with a pale -deeply-lined face; badly dressed; with gray unkempt whiskers, and -a certain waspish expression on his thin face which was utterly at -variance, not only with the good Father’s writings,--which for ‘real -larky fun,’ as James Hannay expressed it, are unsurpassed,--but also -with the really kind nature of the man. His eyes were by far the -best feature of his face. Keen, bright, and piercing, they were eyes -that held you. Their glance was very rapid and eager, and instantly -prepossessed you in his favour.” - - - - -FREDERICK MARRYAT - -1792-1848 - - -[Sidenote: F. Marryat’s _Life and Letters of Captain Marryat_.] - -“Although not handsome, Captain Marryat’s personal appearance was very -prepossessing. In figure he was upright, and broad-shouldered for -his height, which measured five feet ten inches. His hands, without -being under-sized, were remarkably perfect in form, and modelled by -a sculptor at Rome on account of their symmetry. The character of -his mind was borne out by his features, the most salient expression -of which was the frankness of an open heart. The firm decisive mouth -and massive thoughtful forehead were redeemed from heaviness by the -humorous light that twinkled in his deep-set gray eyes, which, bright -as diamonds, positively flashed out their fun, or their reciprocation -of the fun of others. As a young man, dark crisp curls covered his -head; but, later in life, when, having exchanged the sword for the pen -and the ploughshare, he affected a soberer and more patriarchal style -of dress and manner, he wore his gray hair long, and almost down to -his shoulders. His eyebrows were not alike, one being higher up and -more arched than the other, which peculiarity gave his face a look of -inquiry, even in repose. In the upper lip was a deep cleft, and in his -chin as deep a dimple--a pitfall for the razor, which, from the ready -growth of his dark beard, he was often compelled to use twice a day.” - -[Sidenote: _The Cornhill_, 1876.] - -“He was not a tall man--five feet ten--but I think intended by nature -to be six feet, only having gone to sea when still almost a child, at a -time when the between-decks were very low-pitched, he had, he himself -declared, had his growth unnaturally stopped. His immensely powerful -build and massive chest, which measured considerably over forty inches -round, would incline one to this belief. He had never been handsome, -as far as features went, but the irregularity of his features might -easily be forgotten by those who looked at the intellect shown in his -magnificent forehead. His forehead and his hands were his two strong -points. The latter were models of symmetry. Indeed, while resident -at Rome, at an earlier period of his life, he had been requested by a -sculptor to allow his hand to be modelled. At the time I now speak of -him he was fifty-two years of age, but looked considerably younger. -His face was clean-shaved, and his hair so long that it reached almost -to his shoulders, curly in light loose locks like those of a woman. -It was slightly gray. He was dressed in anything but evening costume -on the present occasion, having on a short velveteen shooting-jacket -and coloured trousers. I could not help smiling as I glanced at his -dress--recalling to my mind what a dandy he had been as a young -man.”--1844. - - - - -HARRIET MARTINEAU - -1802-1876 - - -[Sidenote: H. Martineau’s _Autobiography_.] - -“She was graver and laughed more rarely than any young person I ever -knew. Her face was plain, and (you will scarcely believe it) she had -_no_ light in the countenance, no expression to redeem the features. -The low brow and rather large under lip increased the effect of her -natural seriousness of look, and did her much injustice. I used to -be asked occasionally, ‘What has offended Harriet that she looks so -glum?’--I, who understood her, used to answer, ‘Nothing; she is not -offended, it is only her look,’”--1818. - -[Sidenote: James Payn’s _Literary Recollections_.] - -“In the porch stood Miss Martineau herself. A lady of middle height, -‘inclined’ as the novelists say ‘to _embonpoint_,’ with a smile on -her kindly face and her trumpet at her ear. She was at that time, -I suppose, about fifty years of age; her brown hair had a little -grey in it, and was arranged with peculiar flatness over a low but -broad forehead. I don’t think she could ever have been pretty, but -her features were not uncomely, and their expression was gentle and -motherly.”--1852. - -[Sidenote: H. Martineau’s _Autobiography_.] - -“... I saw Miss Martineau a few weeks since. She is a large, robust, -elderly woman, and plainly dressed; but withal she has so kind, -cheerful, and intelligent a face, that she is pleasanter to look at -than most beauties. Her hair is of a decided gray, and she does not -shrink from calling herself old. She is the most continual talker I -ever heard; it is really like the babbling of a brook; and very lively -and sensible too; and all the while she talks she moves the bowl of -her ear-trumpet from one auditor to another, so that it becomes quite -an organ of intelligence and sympathy between her and yourself.... All -her talk was about herself and her affairs; but it did not seem like -egotism, because it was so cheerful and free from morbidness.”--About -1856. - - - - -FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE - -1805-1872 - - -[Sidenote: F. Maurice’s _Life of F. D. Maurice_.] - -“He was distinctly below the middle height, not above five feet seven -inches, but he had a certain dignity of carriage, despite the entire -absence of any self-assertion of manner, which in the pulpit, where -only his head and shoulders were observable, removed the impression of -small stature.... His hair was now of a silvery white, very ample in -quantity, fine and soft as silk. The rush of his start for a walk had -gone. His movements had, like his life, become quiet and measured. At -no time had there been so much beauty about his face and figure. There -was now--partly from manner, partly from face, partly from a character -that seemed expressed in all,--beauty which seemed to shine round -him, and was very commonly observed by those amongst whom he was. -It made undergraduates, not specially impressionable, stop and watch -him.... Servants and poor people whom he visited often spoke of him as -‘beautiful.’”--1866. - -[Sidenote: _The Spectator_, 1872.] - -“Yet though Mr. Maurice’s voice seemed to be the essential part of -him as a religious teacher, his face, if you ever looked at it, was -quite in keeping with his voice. His eye was full of sweetness, but -fixed, and, as it were, fascinated on some ideal point. His countenance -expressed nervous, high-strung tension, as though all the various play -of feelings in ordinary human nature converged, in him, towards a -single focus, the declaration of the divine purpose. Yet this tension, -this peremptoriness, this convergence of his whole nature on a single -point, never gave the effect of a dictatorial air for a moment. There -was a quiver in his voice, a tremulousness in the strong deep lines -of his face, a tenderness in his eye, which assured you at once that -nothing of the hard crystallising character of a dogmatic belief in -the Absolute had conquered his heart, and most men recognised this, -for the hardest and most business-like voices took a tender and almost -caressing tone in addressing him.” - - - - -JOHN MILTON - -1608-1674 - - -[Sidenote: D’Israeli’s _Curiosities of Literature_.] - -“Salmasius sometimes reproaches Milton as being but a puny piece of -man, an homunculus, a dwarf deprived of the human figure, a bloodless -being composed of nothing but skin and bone, a contemptible pedagogue, -fit only to flog his boys; and rising into a poetic frenzy applies to -him the words of Virgil: ‘_Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui -lumen ademptum._’ Our great poet thought this senseless declamation -merited a serious refutation; perhaps he did not wish to appear -despicable in the eyes of the ladies; and he would not be silent on the -subject, he says, lest any one should consider him as the credulous -Spaniards are made to believe by their priests, that a heretic is a -kind of rhinoceros or a dog-headed monster. Milton says that he does -not think any one ever considered him as unbeautiful; that his size -rather approaches mediocrity than the diminutive; that he still felt -the same courage and the same strength which he possessed when young, -when, with his sword, he felt no difficulty to combat with men more -robust than himself; that his face, far from being pale, emaciated, and -wrinkled, was sufficiently creditable to him: for though he had passed -his fortieth year, he was in all other respects ten years younger. And -very pathetically he adds, ‘That even his eyes, blind as they are, -are unblemished in their appearance; in this instance alone, and much -against my inclination, I am a deceiver!’” - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_.] - -“He was scarce as tall as I am.[5] He had light browne hayre. His -complexion exceeding fayre. Ovall face, his eie a darke gray. His -widowe has his picture drawne very well and like, when a Cambridge -scollar. She has his picture when a Cambridge scollar, which ought to -be engraven; for the pictures before his books are not at all like -him.... He was a spare man.... Extreme pleasant in his conversation, -and at dinner, supper, etc., but satyricall. He pronounced the letter -_r_ very hard. He had a delicate tuneable voice, and had good skill. -His harmonicall and ingeniose soul did lodge in a beautiful and -well-proportioned body:--‘In toto nusquam corpore menda fuit.’--Ovid.” - -[Sidenote: Keightley’s _Life of Milton_. *] - -“In his person Milton was rather under the middle size, well built and -muscular. ‘His deportment,’ says Wood, ‘was affable, and his gait erect -and manly, bespeaking courage and undauntedness.’ He was skilled in the -use of the small sword, and, though he certainly would not have engaged -in a duel, he had strength, skill, and courage to repel the attack of -any adversary. His hair, which never fell off, was of a light-brown -hue, and he wore it parted on his forehead as it is represented in his -portraits. His eyes were gray, and, as the cause of his blindness was -internal, they suffered no change of appearance from it. His face was -oval, and his complexion was so fine in his youth that at Cambridge he -was, as we are told by Aubrey, called the Lady of his College; even in -his later days his cheeks retained a ruddy tinge. He had a fine ear -for music, and was well skilled in that delightful science; he used to -perform on the organ and bass-viol. His voice was sweet and musical, -and we may presume that his singing showed both taste and science.” - - -MARY RUSSELL MITFORD - -1786-1855 - - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“I certainly was disappointed when a stout little lady, tightened -up in a shawl, rolled into the parlour of Newman Street, and Mrs. -Holland announced her as Miss Mitford; her short petticoats showing -wonderfully stout leather boots, her shawl _bundled_ on, and a little -black coal-scuttle bonnet--when bonnets were expanding--added to the -effect of her natural shortness and rotundity; but her manner was that -of a cordial country gentlewoman; the pressure of her ‘fat’ little -hands (for she extended both) was warm; her eyes, both soft and bright, -looked kindly and frankly into mine; and her pretty rosy mouth dimpled -with smiles that were always sweet and friendly.... She was always -pleasant to look at, and had her face not been cast in so broad--so -‘out-spread’--a mould, she would have been handsome; even with that -disadvantage, if her figure had been tall enough to carry her head with -dignity, she would have been so; but she was most vexatiously ‘dumpy.’ -Miss Landon ‘hit off’ her appearance when she whispered, the first time -she saw her (and it was at our house), ‘Sancho Panza in petticoats!’ -but when Miss Mitford spoke, the awkward effect vanished,--her pleasant -voice, her beaming eyes and smiles, made you forget the wide expanse of -face; and the roley-poley figure, when seated, did not appear really -short.”--1828. - -[Sidenote: James Payn’s _Literary Recollections_.] - -“I can never forget the little figure rolled up in two chairs in the -little Swallowfield room, packed round with books up to the ceiling, on -to the floor--the little figure with clothes on of course, but of no -recognised or recognisable pattern; and somewhere out of the upper end -of the heap, gleaming under a great deep, globular brow, two such eyes -as I never, perhaps, saw in any other Englishwoman--though I believe -she must have had French blood in her veins, to breed such eyes, and -such a tongue, for the beautiful speech which came out of that ugly (it -was that) face, and the glitter and depth too of the eyes, like live -coals--perfectly honest the while, both lips and eyes--these seemed to -me to be attributes of the highest French, or rather Gallic, not of the -highest English, woman. In any case, she was a triumph of mind over -matter, of spirit over flesh, which gave the lie to all materialism, -and puts Professor Bain out of court--at least out of court with those -who use fair induction about the men and women whom they meet and -know.”--About 1851. - -[Sidenote: James Payn’s _Literary Recollections_.] - -“I seem to see the dear little old lady now, looking like a venerable -fairy, with bright sparkling eyes, a clear, incisive voice, and a -laugh that carried you away with it. I never saw a woman with such an -enjoyment of--I was about to say a joke, but the word is too coarse -for her--of a pleasantry. She was the warmest of friends, and with all -her love of fun never alluded to their weaknesses.... I well remember -our first interview. I expected to find the authoress of _Our Village_ -in a most picturesque residence, overgrown with honeysuckle and roses, -and set in an old-fashioned garden. Her little cottage at Swallowfield, -near Reading, did not answer this picture at all. It was a cottage, -but not a pretty one, placed where three roads met, with only a piece -of green before it. But if the dwelling disappointed me, the owner did -not. I was ushered upstairs (for at that time, crippled by rheumatism, -she was unable to leave her room) into a small apartment, lined with -books from floor to ceiling, and fragrant with flowers; its tenant -rose from her arm-chair with difficulty, but with a sunny smile and -a charming manner bade me welcome. My father had been an old friend -of hers, and she spoke of my home and belongings as only a woman can -speak of such things. Then we plunged, _in medias res_, into men and -books.”--1852. - - - - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU - -1690-1762 - - -[Sidenote: Horace Walpole’s _Letters_.] - -“I went last night to visit her. I give you my word of honour, and you -who know her will believe me without it, the following is a faithful -description: I found her in a little miserable bedchamber of a ready -furnished house, with two tallow candles and a bureau covered with -pots and pans. On her head, in full of all accounts, she had an old -black-laced hood wrapped entirely round so as to conceal all hair, or -want of hair; no handkerchief, but instead of it a kind of horseman’s -riding-coat, calling itself a _pet-en-l’air_, made of a dark green -brocade, with coloured and silver flowers, and lined with furs; bodice -laced; a full dimity petticoat, sprigged; velvet muffetees on her arms; -gray stockings and slippers. Her face less changed in twenty years than -I would have imagined. I told her so, and she was not so tolerable -twenty years ago that she should have taken it for flattery, but she -did, and literally gave me a box on the ears. She is very lively, all -her senses perfect, her language as imperfect as ever, her avarice -greater.” - -[Sidenote: Horace Walpole’s _Letters_.] - -“Did I tell you that Lady Mary Wortley is here? She laughs at my Lady -Walpole, scolds my Lady Pomfret, and is laughed at by the whole town. -Her dress, her avarice, and her impudence must amaze any one that never -heard her name. She wears a foul mob, that does not cover her greasy -black locks, that hang loose, never combed or curled; an old mazarine -blue wrapper, that gapes open and discovers a canvas petticoat. Her -face swelled violently on one side with the remains of a ----, partly -covered with a plaister, and partly with white paint, which for -cheapness she has bought so coarse that you would not use it to wash a -chimney.--In three words I will give you her picture as we drew it in -the ‘Sortes Virgilianae’-- - - ‘Insanam vatem aspicies.’ - -I give you my honour we did not choose it; but Gray, Mr. Coke, Sir -Francis Dashwood, and I, and several others, drew it fairly amongst a -thousand for different people, most of which did not hit as you may -imagine.”--1740. - - - - -THOMAS MOORE - -1779-1852 - - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“Moore’s forehead was bony and full of character, with ‘bumps’ of -wit, large and radiant enough to transport a phrenologist. Sterne had -such another. His eyes were as dark and fine as you would wish to see -under a set of vine-leaves; his mouth generous and good-humoured, with -dimples; and his manner was as bright as his talk, full of the wish -to please and be pleased. He sang, and played with great taste on the -pianoforte, as might be supposed from his musical compositions. His -voice, which was a little hoarse in speaking (at least I used to think -so), softened into a breath, like that of a flute, when singing. In -speaking he was emphatic in rolling the letter _r_, perhaps out of a -despair of being able to get rid of the national peculiarity.” - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“His eyes sparkle like a champagne bubble; there is a kind of wintry -red, of the tinge of an October leaf, that seems enamelled on his -cheek; his lips are delicately cut, slight, and changeable as an aspen; -the slightly-turned nose confirms the fun of the expression; and -altogether it is a face that sparkles, beams, and radiates-- - - ‘The light that surrounds him is all from within.’” - -1835. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a Long Life_.] - -“I recall him at this moment--his small form and intellectual face rich -in expression, and that expression the sweetest, the most gentle, and -the kindliest. He had still in age the same bright and clear eye, the -same gracious smile, the same suave and winning manner I had noticed as -the attributes of what might in comparison be styled his youth (I have -stated I knew him as long ago as 1821); a forehead not remarkably broad -or high, but singularly impressive, firm, and full, with the organs -of music and gaiety large, and those of benevolence and veneration -greatly preponderating; the nose, as observed in all his portraits, -was somewhat upturned. Standing or sitting, his head was invariably -upraised, owing, perhaps, mainly to his shortness of stature. He had -so much bodily activity as to give him the attribute of restlessness, -and no doubt that usual accompaniment of genius was eminently a -characteristic of his. His hair was, at the time I speak of, thin and -very gray, and he wore his hat with the jaunty air that has been -often remarked as a peculiarity of the Irish. In dress, although far -from slovenly, he was by no means precise. He had but little voice, -yet he sang with a depth of sweetness that charmed all hearers; it was -true melody, and told upon the heart as well as the ear. No doubt much -of this charm was derived from association, for it was only his own -melodies he sang.”--1845. - - - - -HANNAH MORE - -1745-1833 - - -[Sidenote: _Memoir of Mrs. Hannah More._] - -“I was much struck by the air of affectionate kindness with which the -old lady welcomed me to Barley Wood--there was something of courtliness -about it, at the same time the courtliness of the _vieille cour_, -which one reads of, but so seldom sees. Her dress was of light green -Venetian silk; a yellow, richly embroidered crape shawl enveloped her -shoulders; and a pretty net cap, tied under her chin with white satin -riband, completed the costume. Her figure is singularly _petite_; but -to have any idea of the expression of her countenance, you must imagine -the small withered face of a woman in her seventy-seventh year; and, -imagine also (shaded, but not obscured, by long and perfectly white -eyelashes) eyes dark, brilliant, flashing, and penetrating, sparkling -from object to object, with all the fire and energy of youth, and -smiling welcome on all around.”--1820. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“Her form was small and slight: her features wrinkled with age; but -the burden of eighty years had not impaired her gracious smile, nor -lessened the fire of her eyes, the clearest, the brightest, and the -most searching I have ever seen--they were singularly dark--positively -black they seemed as they looked forth among carefully-trained tresses -of her own white hair; and absolutely sparkled while she spoke of -those of whom she was the venerated link between the present and the -long past. Her manner on entering the room, while conversing, and at -our departure, was positively sprightly; she tripped about from console -to console, from window to window, to show us some gift that bore a -name immortal, some cherished reminder of other days--almost of another -world, certainly of another age; for they were memories of those whose -deaths were registered before the present century had birth.... She -was clad, I well remember, in a dress of rich pea-green silk. It was -an odd whim, and contrasted somewhat oddly with her patriarchal age -and venerable countenance, yet was in harmony with the youth of her -step, and her unceasing vivacity as she laughed and chatted, chatted -and laughed, her voice strong and clear as that of a girl, and her -animation as full of life and vigour as it might have been in her -spring-time.”--1825. - -[Sidenote: A. M. Hall’s _Pilgrimages to English Shrines_.] - -“Her brow was full and well sustained, rather than what would be called -_fine_: from the manner in which her hair was dressed, its formation -was distinctly visible; and though her eyes were half-closed, her -countenance was more tranquil, more sweet, more holy--for it _had_ -a holy expression--than when those deep intense eyes were looking -you through and through. Small, and shrunk, and aged as she was, she -conveyed to us no idea of feebleness. She looked, even then, a woman -whose character, combining sufficient thought and wisdom, as well as -dignity and spirit, could analyse and exhibit, in language suited -to the intellect of the people of England, the evils and dangers of -revolutionary principles. Her voice had a pleasant tone, and her -manner was quite devoid of affectation or dictation; she spoke as one -expecting a reply, and by no means like an oracle. And those bright -immortal eyes of hers--not wearied by looking at the world for more -than eighty years, but clear and far-seeing then--laughing, too, when -she spoke cheerfully, not as authors are believed to speak-- - - ‘In measured pompous tones,’-- - -but like a dear matronly dame, who had especial care and tenderness -towards young women. It is impossible to remember how it occurred, but -in reference to some observation I had made she turned briskly round -and exclaimed, ‘Controversy hardens the heart, and sours the temper: -never dispute with your husband, young lady; tell him what you think, -and leave it to time to fructify.’” - - - - -SIR THOMAS MORE - -1480-1535 - - -[Sidenote: More’s _Life of Sir Thomas More_.] - -“He was of a meane stature, well proportioned, his complexion tending -to the phlegmaticke, his colour white and pale, his hayre neither -black nor yellow, but betweene both; his eies gray, his countenance -amiable and chearefull, his voyce neither bigg nor shrill, but speaking -plainely and distinctly; it was not very tunable, though he delighted -much in musike, his bodie reasonably healthfull, only that towards his -latter ende by using much writing, he complained much of the ache of -his breaste. In his youth he drunke much water, wine he only tasted -of, when he pledged others; he loved salte meates, especially powdered -beefe, milke, cheese, eggs and fruite, and usually he eate of corse -browne bread, which it may be he rather used to punish his taste, -than from anie love he had thereto. For he was singularly wise to -deceave the world with mortifications, only contenting himselfe with -the knowledge which God had of his actions: et pater ejus, qui erat in -abscondito reddidit ei.” - -[Sidenote: Campbell’s _Lives of the Lord Chancellors_. *] - -“Holbein’s portrait of More has made his features familiar to all -Englishmen. According to his great-grandson, he was of ‘a middle -stature, well proportioned, of a pale complexion; his hair of a -chestnut colour, his eyes gray, his countenance mild and cheerful; -his voice not very musical, but clear and distinct; his constitution, -which was good originally, was never impaired by his way of living, -otherwise than by too much study. His diet was simple and abstemious, -never drinking any wine but when he pledged those who drank to him, and -rather mortifying than indulging his appetite in what he ate.’ - -[Sidenote: _Life of Sir Thomas More._ *] - -“He is rather below than above the middle size; his countenance of -an agreeable and friendly cheerfulness, with somewhat of an habitual -inclination to smile; and appears more adapted to pleasantry than -to gravity or dignity, though perfectly remote from vulgarity or -silliness.” - - - - -CAROLINE NORTON - -1808-1877 - - -[Sidenote: Kemble’s _Records of a Girlhood_.] - -“When I first knew Caroline Sheridan she had not long been married to -the Hon. George Norton. She was splendidly handsome, of an un-English -character of beauty, her rather large and heavy head and features -recalling the grandest Grecian and Italian models, to the latter of -whom her rich colouring and blue-black braids of hair gave her an -additional resemblance. Though neither as perfectly lovely as the -Duchess of Somerset, nor as perfectly charming as Lady Dufferin, -she produced a far more striking impression than either of them, by -the combination of the poetical genius with which she alone, of the -three, was gifted, with the brilliant power of repartee which they -(especially Lady Dufferin) possessed in common with her, united to -the exceptional beauty with which they were all three endowed. Mrs. -Norton was exceedingly epigrammatic in her talk, and comically dramatic -in her manner of relating things.... She was no musician, but had a -deep, sweet contralto voice, precisely the same in which she always -spoke, and which, combined with her always lowered eyelids (‘downy -eyelids’ with sweeping silken fringes), gave such incomparably comic -effect to her sharp retorts and ludicrous stories.... I admired her -extremely.--1827. - -“The next time ... was at an evening party at my sister’s house, -where her appearance struck me more than it had ever done. Her dress -had something to do with this effect, no doubt. She had a rich -gold-coloured silk on, shaded and softened all over with black lace -draperies, and her splendid head, neck, and arms, were adorned with -magnificently simple Etruscan ornaments, which she had brought from -Rome, whence she had just returned, and where the fashion of that -famous antique jewellery had lately been revived. She was still ‘une -beauté triomphante à faire voir aux ambassadeurs.’” - -[Sidenote: A personal friend.] - -“The most beautiful of ‘the beautiful Sheridans,’ Caroline Norton will -also live in the memory of her friends as one of the most fascinating -of women. Her voice was exceedingly sweet and musical, her movements -wonderfully graceful, and, with the solitary exception of Theodore -Hook, whose rough, coarse wit spared no one, her queenly bearing won -her general adulation and deference. Her face was a pure oval, her head -was crowned by heavy braids of the darkest hair, while the warmth and -light which suffused her expressive countenance gave her a somewhat -un-English appearance. Her eyes were dark; black curly lashes swept -over the warmly-tinted cheek; the lips were of geranium red; the teeth, -dazzlingly white. Altogether she was a vivid piece of colouring, and -as she was always very beautifully dressed, it did not require her -literary reputation to make her at all times sought after and admired.” - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a long Life_.] - -“It seems but yesterday--it is not so very long ago certainly--that -I saw for the last time the Hon. Mrs. Norton. Her radiant beauty was -then faded, but her stately form had been little impaired by years, and -she had retained much of the grace that made her early womanhood so -surpassingly attractive. She combined, in a singular degree, feminine -delicacy with masculine vigour; though essentially womanly, she seemed -to have the force of character of man. Remarkably handsome she perhaps -excited admiration rather than affection. I can easily imagine greater -love to be given to a far plainer woman. She had, in more than full -measure, the traditional beauty of her family, and no doubt inherited -with it some of the waywardness that is associated with the name of -Sheridan.” - - - - -THOMAS OTWAY - -1651-1685 - - -[Sidenote: _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1745.] - -“You’ll be glad to know any trifling circumstance concerning Otway. His -person was of the middle size, about five feet seven inches in height, -inclinable to fatness. He had a thoughtful speaking eye, and that was -all. He gave himself up early to drinking, and, like the unhappy wits -of that age, passed his days between rioting and fasting, ranting -jollity and abject penitence, carousing one week with Lord Pl----th, -and then starving a month in low company at an ale-house on Tower Hill.” - -[Sidenote: Sir Walter Scott’s _Memoir of Mrs. Radcliffe_. *] - -“Otway, heavy, squalid, unhappy; yet tender countenance, but not so -squalid as one we formerly saw; full-speaking, black eyes; it seems as -if dissolute habits had overcome all his finer feelings, and left him -little of mind, except a sense of sorrow.” _On a picture._ - - - - -SAMUEL PEPYS - -1632-1703 - - -[Sidenote: _The Cornhill Magazine_, 1874. *] - -“Pepys spent part of a certain winter Sunday, when he had taken physic, -composing ‘a song in praise of a liberal genius (such as I take my -own to be) to all studies and pleasures.’ The song was successful, -but the diary is, in a sense, the very song that he was seeking; and -his portrait by Hales, so admirably reproduced in Mynors Bright’s -edition, is a confirmation of the diary. Hales, it would appear, had -known his business, and though he put his sitter to a deal of trouble, -almost breaking his neck ‘to have the portrait full of shadows,’ and -draping him in an Indian gown hired expressly for the purpose, he was -preoccupied about no merely picturesque effects, but to portray the -essence of the man. Whether we read the picture by the diary, or the -diary by the picture, we shall at least agree, that Hales was among -the numbers of those who can ‘surprise the manners in a face.’ Here we -have a mouth pouting, moist with desires; eyes greedy, protuberant, -and yet apt for weeping too; a nose great alike in character and -dimensions, and altogether a most fleshly, melting countenance. The -face is attractive by its promise of reciprocity. I have used the -word _greedy_, but the reader must not suppose that he can change -it for that closely kindred one of _hungry_, for there is here no -aspiration, no waiting for better things, but an animal joy in all -that comes. It could never be the face of an artist; it is the face of -a _viveur_--kindly, pleased, and pleasing, protected from excess and -upheld in contentment by the shifting versatility of his desires. For a -single desire is more rightly to be called a lust; but there is health -in a variety, where one may balance and control another.” - - - - -ALEXANDER POPE - -1688-1744 - - -[Sidenote: _The Guardian_, 1713.] - -“Dick Distich ... we have elected president, not only as he is the -shortest of us all, but because he has entertained so just a sense of -his stature as to go generally in black, that he may appear yet less. -Nay, to that perfection is he arrived, that he stoops as he walks. The -figure of the man is odd enough; he is a lively little creature, with -long arms and legs: a spider is no ill emblem of him. He has been taken -at a distance for a small windmill.”--1713. - -[Sidenote: Johnson’s _Life of Pope_.] - -“The person of Pope is well known not to have been formed on the nicest -model. He has, in his account of the Little Club, compared himself -to a spider, and, by another, is described as protuberant behind and -before. He is said to have been beautiful in his infancy; but he was of -a constitution originally feeble and weak; and, as bodies of a tender -frame are easily distorted, his deformity was, probably, in part the -effect of his application. His stature was so low, that to bring him on -a level with common tables it was necessary to raise his seat. But his -face was not displeasing, and his eyes were animated and vivid.... His -dress of ceremony was black, with a tie-wig and a little sword.... He -sometimes condescended to be jocular with servants or inferiors; but by -no merriment, either of others or of his own, was he ever seen excited -to laughter.” - -[Sidenote: Tyer’s _Historical rhapsody on Mr. Pope_.] - -“Pope, as Lord Clarendon says of (the ever memorable) Hales of Eaton, -was one of the least men in the kingdom; who adds of Chillingworth, -that he was of a stature little superior to him, and that it was an -age in which there were many great and wonderful men of that size.... -He inherited his deformity from his father, who turns out at last, -from the information of Mrs. Racket his relation, to have been a -linen-draper in the Strand. - - ‘My friend, this shape which you and I will admire, - Came not from Ammon’s son, but from my sire,’ - -as he expresses himself in his first epistle to Arbuthnot. He was -protuberant behind and before, in the words of his last biographer. -But he carried a mind in his face, as a reverend person once expressed -himself of a singular countenance. He had a brilliant eye, which -pervaded everything at a glance.” - - - - -BRYAN WALLER PROCTER - -1787-1874 - - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Life of Carlyle_.] - -“I have also seen and scraped acquaintance with Procter--Barry -Cornwall. He is a slender, rough-faced, palish, gentle, languid-looking -man, of three or four and thirty. There is a dreamy mildness in his -eye; he is kind and good in his manners and, I understand, in his -conduct. He is a poet by the ear and the fancy, but his heart and -intellect are not strong.”--1824. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Retrospect of a long Life_.] - -“A decidedly rather pretty little fellow, Procter, bodily and -spiritually: manners prepossessing, slightly London-elegant, not -unpleasant; clear judgment in him, though of narrow field; a sound, -honourable morality, and airy friendly ways; of slight, neat figure, -vigorous for his size; fine genially rugged little face, fine head; -something curiously dreamy in the eyes of him, lids drooping at the -_outer_ ends into a cordially meditative and drooping expression; would -break out suddenly now and then into opera attitude and a _Là ci darem -là mano_ for a moment; had something of real fun, though in London -style.” - -[Sidenote: Fields’s _Yesterdays with Authors_.] - -“The poet’s figure was short and full, and his voice had a low, -veiled tone habitually in it, which made it sometimes difficult to -hear distinctly what he was saying. When he spoke in conversation, -he liked to be very near his listener, and thus stand, as it were, -on confidential grounds with him. His turn of thought was apt to be -cheerful among his friends, and he entered readily into a vein of wit -and nimble expression. Verbal facility seemed natural to him, and his -epithets, evidently unprepared, were always perfect. He disliked cant -and hard ways of judging character. He praised easily. He impressed -every one who came near him as a born gentleman, chivalrous and -generous in a high degree.” - - - - -THOMAS DE QUINCEY - -1786-1859 - - -[Sidenote: Masson’s _de Quincey_.] - -“In addition to the general impression of his diminutiveness and -fragility, one was struck with the peculiar beauty of his head and -forehead, rising disproportionately high over his small, wrinkly -visage and gentle, deep-set eyes. His talk was in the form of -really harmonious and considerate colloquy, and not at all in that -of monologue.... That evening passed, and though I saw him once or -twice again, it is the last sight I remember best. It must have been, -I think, in 1846, on a summer afternoon. A friend, a stranger in -Edinburgh, was walking with me in one of the pleasant, quiet, country -lanes near Edinburgh. Meeting us, and the sole living thing in the -lane beside ourselves, came a small figure, not untidily dressed, -but with his hat pushed far up in front of his forehead, and hanging -on his hindhead, so that the back rim must have been resting on his -coat-collar. At a little distance I recognised it to be De Quincey; -but, not considering myself entitled to interrupt his meditations, I -only whispered the information to my friend, that he might not miss -what the look at such a celebrity was worth. So we passed him, giving -him the wall. Not unnaturally, however, after we passed, we turned -round for the pleasure of a back view of the wee, intellectual wizard. -Whether my whisper and our glance had alarmed him, as a ticket-of-leave -man might be rendered uneasy in his solitary walk by the scrutiny of -two passing strangers, or whether he had some recollection of me (which -was likely enough, as he seemed to forget nothing), I do not know, -but we found that he, too, had stopped, and was looking round at us. -Apparently scared at being caught doing so, he immediately wheeled -round again, and hurried his face towards a side-turning in the lane, -into which he disappeared, his hat still hanging on the back of his -head. That was my last sight of De Quincey.”--1846. - -[Sidenote: Page’s _de Quincey_.] - -“Pale he was, with a head of wonderful size, which served to make more -apparent the inferior dimensions of his body, and a face which lived -the sculptured past in every lineament from brow to chin. One seeing -him would surely be tempted to ask who he was that took off his hat -with such grave politeness, remaining uncovered if a lady were passing -almost until she was out of sight, and would get for an answer likely -enough, ‘Oh, that is little De Quincey, who hears strange sounds and -eats opium. Did you ever see such a little man?’ Little he was, indeed, -like Dickens and Jeffrey, the latter of whom had so little flesh that -it was said that his intellect was indecently exposed.” - -[Sidenote: James Payn’s _Literary Recollections_.] - -“In the ensuing summer, after the publication of another volume of -poems, I visited Edinburgh, and called upon De Quincey, to whom I -had a letter of introduction from Miss Mitford. He was at that time -residing at Lasswade, a few miles from the town, and I went thither -by coach. He lived a secluded life, and even at that date had become -to the world a name rather than a real personage; but it was a great -name. Considerable alarm agitated my youthful heart as I drew near -the house: I felt like Burns on the occasion when he was first about -‘to dinner wi’ a Lord.’... My apprehensions, however, proved to be -utterly groundless, for a more gracious and genial personage I never -met. Picture to yourself a very diminutive man, carelessly--very -carelessly--dressed; a face lined, careworn, and so expressionless -that it reminded one of ‘that chill changeless brow, where cold -Obstruction’s apathy appals the gazing mourners heart’--a face like -death in life. The instant he began to speak, however, it lit up as -though by electric light; this came from his marvellous eyes, brighter -and more intelligent (though by fits) than I have ever seen in any -other mortal. They seemed to me to glow with eloquence. He spoke of my -introducer, of Cambridge, of the Lake Country, and of English poets. -Each theme was interesting to me, but made infinitely more so by some -apt personal reminiscence. As for the last-named subject, it was like -talking of the Olympian gods to one not only cradled in their creed, -but who had mingled with them, himself half an immortal.” - - - - -ANN RADCLIFFE - -1764-1823 - - -[Sidenote: Kavanagh’s _English Women of Letters_. *] - -“Ann Ward’s education was plain and somewhat formal. She was shy; she -showed no extraordinary genius, and the times were not propitious -to the development of female intellect. The young girl’s person was -probably more admired than her mind. She was short, but exquisitely -proportioned; she had a lovely complexion, fine eyes and eyebrows, and -a beautiful mouth. She had a sweet voice too, and sang with feeling and -taste.” - -[Sidenote: Scott’s _Memoir of Ann Radcliffe_.] - -“This admirable writer, whom I remember from about the time of -her twentieth year, was, in her youth, of a figure exquisitely -proportioned, while she resembled her father and his brother and sister -in being low of stature. Her complexion was beautiful, as was her whole -countenance, especially her eye, eyebrows, and mouth.” - -[Sidenote: _Memoir of Mrs. Ann Radcliffe._] - -“Mrs. Radcliffe, though a giant in intellect, was low in stature, and -of a slender form, but exquisitely proportioned: her countenance was -beautiful and expressive.” - - - - -SIR WALTER RALEIGH - -1552-1618 - - -[Sidenote: _The Nineteenth Century_, 1881. *] - -“In appearance what manner of man was Raleigh when in Ireland? There -was much change, of course, from the dashing captain of eight and -twenty, when he was putting the unarmed men to the sword and hanging -the women in Dingle Bay, to the admiral of sixty-five who, between the -Tower and the scaffold, visited his old haunts in the county of Cork -for the last time in the three summer months of 1617. - -“But all accounts agree in giving him a commanding presence, a handsome -and well-compacted figure, a forehead rather too high; the lower part -of his face, though partly hidden by the moustache and peaked beard, -showing rare resolution. His portrait, a life-sized head, painted -when he was Major of Youghal, was recently presented to the owner -of his house, where it had been years ago, by the senior member for -the county of Waterford; and another original picture of him when in -Ireland is in the possession of the Rev. Pierce W. Drew of Youghal. -Both these Irish pictures show the same lofty brow and firm lips. There -is an old and much-prized engraving by Vander Werff of Amsterdam that -seems to combine all his characteristic features--the extraordinarily -high forehead, the moustache and peaked beard, ill-concealing a too -determined mouth. The likeness is most striking.” - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_. *] - -“He was a tall, handsome, and bold man; but his _næve_ was, that he was -damnably proud.... In the great parlour at Downton, at Mr. Ralegh’s, -is a good piece (an originall) of Sir W. in a white sattin doublet, -all embroidered with rich pearles, and a mighty rich chaine of great -pearles about his neck. The old servants have told me that the pearles -were neer as big as the painted ones. He had a most remarkable aspect, -an exceedingly high forehead, long-faced, and sourlie-bidded, a kind of -pigge-eie.... He spake broad Devonshire to his dye-ing day. His voice -was small, as likewise were my schoolfellowes, his gr. nephews.” - -[Sidenote: _Publications of the Prince Society._ *] - -“In all the pictures we have of him, there is almost nothing to suggest -the typical Englishman. Burly and robust. About six feet in height, -he is rather thin than corpulent, and in the vivacity of expression -and the nervous cast of his features he resembles rather the modern -New-Englander than the old-time Englishman. He was nineteen years -younger than Elizabeth, and had, as Naunton describes him, ‘a good -presence in a handsome and well-compacted person.’ Fuller has already -told us that at the time of his entrance at the court his clothes made -a ‘considerable part of his estate.’ He seems to have had an innate -love for the luxury and splendour of dress. He lived at a period -when gentlemen as well as ladies indulged in all the glory of gay -colours. Edwards, describing some of the more noted pictures of him, -says: ‘In another full-length, which long remained in the possession -of his descendants, he is apparelled in a white satin pinked vest, -close sleeved to the wrists with a brown doublet finely flowered -and embroidered with pearls, and a sword, also brown and similarly -decorated. Over the right hip is seen the jewelled pommel of his -dagger. He wears his hat, in which is a black feather with a ruby and -pearl drop. His trunk hose and fringed garters appear to be of white -satin. His buff-coloured shoes are tied with white ribbons.’” - - - - -CHARLES READE - -1814-1884 - - -[Sidenote: Coleman’s _Personal Reminiscences_.] - -“On arriving at Bolton Row I was shown into a large room littered over -with books, MSS. agenda, newspapers of every description from the -_Times_ and the _New York Herald_ down to the _Police News_. Before me -stood a stately and imposing man of fifty or fifty-one, over six feet -high, a massive chest, herculean limbs, a bearded and leonine face, -giving traces of a manly beauty which ripened into majesty as he grew -older. Large brown eyes which could at times become exceedingly fierce, -a fine head, quite bald on the top but covered at the sides with soft -brown hair, a head strangely disproportioned to the bulk of the body; -in fact I could never understand how so large a brain could be confined -in so small a skull. On the desk before him lay a huge sheet of drab -paper on which he had been writing--it was about the size of two sheets -of ordinary foolscap; in his hand one of Gillott’s double-barrelled -pens. (Before I left the room he told me he sent Gillott his books, and -Gillott sent him his pens.) - -“His voice, though very pleasant, was very penetrating. He was rather -deaf, but I don’t think quite so deaf as he pretended to be. This -deafness gave him an advantage in conversation; it afforded him time to -take stock of the situation, and either to seek refuge in silence or to -request his interlocutor to propound his proposal afresh. At first he -was very cold, but at last, carried away by the ardour of my admiration -for his works, he thawed, and in half an hour he was eager, excited, -delighted and delightful.”--1856. - -[Sidenote: _The Contemporary Review_, 1884.] - -“The man in truth justified Lavater, for his physiognomy was noble, -and his body the perfection of symmetry and grace. Nature gave him -a forehead as high as Shakespeare’s, but broader; the mild, pensive -ox-eye so dear to the old Greek æsthetes; a marble skin, a mouth that -was sarcasm itself. His personal attractiveness was phenomenal. In any -roomful of people, however illustrious, he became involuntarily--for -he was as little self-asserting off his paper as he was dogmatic on -it--the centre. Living immersed in Bohemianism, and in the society of -a large-hearted, yet not very cultured woman, he never parted company -with his Ipsden breeding, and his natural bearing was that of one born -to command.” - -[Sidenote: _Eclectic Magazine_, 1880.] - -“In personal appearance Mr. Reade is tall, erect, of a commanding -presence, with a full, expressive brown eye and a noble brow. His -manner is singularly dignified without being arrogant, and in society -he sustains an enviable reputation as a conversationalist.” - - - - -SAMUEL RICHARDSON - -1689-1761 - - -[Sidenote: Barbauld’s _Life of Richardson_. *] - -“Richardson was, in person, below the middle stature, and inclined -to corpulency; of a round, rather than oval face, with a fair, ruddy -complexion. His features, says one who speaks from recollection, -bore the stamp of good nature, and were characteristic of his placid -and amiable disposition. He was slow in speech, and, to strangers at -least, spoke with reserve and deliberation; but in his manners was -affable, courteous, and engaging, and when surrounded with the social -circle he loved to draw around him, his eye sparkled with pleasure, -and often expressed that particular spirit of archness which we see -in some of his characters, and which gave, at times, a vivacity to -his conversation not expected from his general taciturnity and quiet -manners.” - -[Sidenote: Richardson’s _Correspondence_.] - -“Short, rather plump, about five feet five inches, fair wig, one hand -generally in his bosom, the other a cane in it, which he leans upon -under the skirts of his coat, that it may imperceptibly serve him as a -support when attacked by sudden tremors or dizziness; of a light brown -complexion; teeth not yet failing him. Looking directly foreright as -passengers would imagine, but observing all that stirs on either hand -of him, without moving his short neck; a regular even pace, stealing -away ground rather than seeming to rid it; a gray eye, too often -overclouded by mistiness from the head, by chance lively, very lively, -if he sees any he loves; if he approaches a lady, his eye is never -fixed first on her face, but on her feet, and rears it up by degrees, -seeming to set her down as so and so.”--1749. - -[Sidenote: Stephen’s _Richardson_. *] - -“He looks like a plump white mouse in a wig, with an air at once -vivacious and timid, a quick excitable nature, taking refuge in the -outside of a smug, portly tradesman. Two coloured engravings in Mrs. -Barbauld’s volumes give us Richardson amidst his surroundings.... -One introduces us to Richardson at home. Half a dozen ladies and -gentlemen are sitting by the open window in his bare parlour looking -out into the garden. There is only one spindle-legged table, and a -set of uncompromising wooden chairs, just enough to accommodate the -party.... Miss Highmore, whose hoop can scarcely be squeezed into her -straight-backed chair, is quietly sketching the memorable scene. We are -truly grateful to her, for there sits the little idol of the party in -his usual morning dress, a nondescript brown dressing-gown with a cap -on his head of the same materials. His plump little frame fills the -chair, and he is apparently raising one foot for an emphatic stamp, -as he reads a passage of _Sir Charles Grandison_. We can see that as -he concludes he will be applauded with deferential gasps of heartfelt -admiration.” - - - - -SAMUEL ROGERS - -1763-1855 - - -[Sidenote: S. C Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“His countenance was the theme of continual jokes. It was ‘ugly,’ -if not repulsive. The expression was in no way, nor under any -circumstances, good; he had a drooping eye and a thick underlip; his -forehead was broad, his head large--out of proportion indeed to his -form; but it was without the organs of benevolence and veneration, -although preponderating in that of ideality. His features were -‘cadaverous.’ Lord Dudley once asked him why, now that he could afford -it, he did not set up his hearse; and it is said that Sydney Smith gave -him mortal offence by recommending him, ‘when he sat for his portrait, -to be drawn saying his prayers, with his face hidden by his hands.’” - -[Sidenote: Jerdan’s _Men I have known_.] - -“His personal appearance was extraordinary, or rather his countenance -was unique. His skull and facial expression bore so striking a likeness -to the skeleton pictures which we sometimes see of Death, that the -facetious Sydney Smith (at one of the dressed evening parties ...) -entitled him the ‘Death dandy.’ And it was told (probably with truth), -that the same satirical wag inscribed upon the capital portrait in his -breakfast-room, ‘Painted in his lifetime.’” - -[Sidenote: Mackay’s _Forty Years’ Recollections_.] - -“My first look at the poet, then in his seventy-eighth year, was an -agreeable surprise, and a protest in my mind against the malignant -injustice which had been done him. As a young man he might have been -uncomely, if not as ugly as his revilers had painted him, but as an -old man there was an intellectual charm in his countenance, and a -fascination in his manner which more than atoned for any deficiency of -personal beauty.”--1840. - - - - -DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI - -1828-1882 - - -[Sidenote: William Sharp’s _Dante Gabriel Rossetti_.] - -“According to a sketch by Mr. Eyre Crowe, dated about this time, -Rossetti must have had anything but a robust appearance, being very -thin and even somewhat haggard in expression. He went about in a long -swallow-tailed coat of what was even in 1848 an antique pattern. That -his appearance in his twentieth and some subsequent years was that -of an ascetic I have been told by several, including himself, and in -addition to such pen-and-ink sketches as the above, and of himself -sitting to Miss Siddall (his future wife) for his portrait, there are -the perhaps more reliable portraitures in Mr. Millais’s _Isabella_ -(painted in 1849), and Mr. Deverell’s _Viola_. On the other hand, -a beautifully-executed pencil head of himself in boyhood shows him -much removed from the ascetic type of later years, not unlike and -strongly suggestive of a young Keats or Chatterton; while in maturer -age he carefully drew his portrait from his mirrored image, the result -being a highly-finished pen-and-ink likeness. While speaking of -portraits, I may state that Rossetti was twice photographed, once in -Newcastle (which is the one publicly known, and upon which all other -illustrations have been based), and once standing arm-in-arm with Mr. -Ruskin, the latter being the best likeness of the poet-artist as he was -a quarter of a century ago. There is also an etching by Mr. Menpes, -which, however, is only founded on the well-known photograph; and, -finally, there is a portrait taken shortly after death by Mr. Frederick -Shields.” - -[Sidenote: Hall Caine’s _Recollections of Rossetti_.] - -“Very soon Rossetti came to me through the doorway in front, which -proved to be the entrance to his studio. Holding forth both hands -and crying, ‘Hulloa!’ he gave me that cheery hearty greeting which -I came to recognise as his alone, perhaps, in warmth and unfailing -geniality among all the men of our circle. It was Italian in its -spontaneity, and yet it was English in its manly reserve, and I -remember with much tenderness of feeling that never to the last (not -even when sickness saddened him, or after an absence of a few days or -even hours), did it fail him when meeting with those friends to whom -to the last he was really attached. Leading the way to the studio, he -introduced me to his brother, who was there upon one of the evening -visits, which at intervals of a week he was at that time making with -unfailing regularity. I should have described Rossetti, at this time, -as a man who looked quite ten years older than his actual age, which -was fifty-two, of full middle height and inclining to corpulence, -with a round face that ought, one thought, to be ruddy but was pale, -large gray eyes with a steady introspecting look, surmounted by broad -protrusive brows and a clearly-pencilled ridge over the nose, which -was well cut and had large breathing nostrils. The mouth and chin -were hidden beneath a heavy moustache and abundant beard, which grew -up to the ears, and had been of a mixed black-brown and auburn, and -were now streaked with gray. The forehead was large, round, without -protuberances, and very gently receding to where thin black curls, that -had once been redundant, began to tumble down to the ears. The entire -configuration of the head and face seemed to me singularly noble, and -from the eyes upwards full of beauty. He wore a pair of spectacles, -and, in reading, a second pair over the first: but these took little -from the sense of power conveyed by those steady eyes, and that ‘bar -of Michael Angelo.’ His dress was not conspicuous, being however -rather negligent than otherwise, and noticeable, if at all, only for -a straight sack-coat buttoned at the throat, descending at least to -the knees, and having large pockets cut into it perpendicularly at -the sides. This garment was, I afterwards found, one of the articles -of various kinds made to the author’s own design. When he spoke, even -in exchanging the preliminary courtesies of an opening conversation, -I thought his voice the richest I had ever known any one to possess. -It was a full deep baritone, capable of easy modulation, and with -undertones of infinite softness and sweetness, yet, as I afterwards -found, with almost illimitable compass, and with every gradation of -tone at command, for the recitation or reading of poetry.”--1880. - -[Sidenote: William Sharp’s _Dante Gabriel Rossetti_]. - -“As to the personality of Dante Gabriel Rossetti much has been written -since his death, and it is now widely known that he was a man who -exercised an almost irresistible charm over most with whom he was -brought in contact. His manner could be peculiarly winning, especially -with those much younger than himself, and his voice was alike notable -for its sonorous beauty and for a magnetic quality that made the ear -alert, whether the speaker was engaged in conversation, recitation, -or reading. I have heard him read, some of them over and over again, -all the poems in the _Ballads and Sonnets_; and especially in such -productions as _The Cloud Confines_ was his voice as stirring as -a trumpet tone; but where he excelled was in some of the pathetic -portions of the _Vita Nuova_, or the terrible and sonorous passages -of _L’Inferno_, when the music of the Italian language found full -expression indeed. His conversational powers I am unable adequately to -describe, for during the four or five years of my intimacy with him -he suffered too much from ill-health to be a consistently brilliant -talker, but again and again I have seen instances of those marvellous -gifts that made him at one time a Sydney Smith in wit, and a Coleridge -in eloquence. In appearance he was, if anything, rather over middle -height, and, especially latterly, somewhat stout; his forehead was -of splendid proportions, recalling instantaneously to most strangers -the Stratford bust of Shakespeare; and his gray blue eyes were clear -and piercing, and characterised by that rapid penetrative gaze -so noticeable in Emerson. He seemed always to me an unmistakable -Englishman, yet the Italian element was frequently recognisable. As far -as his own opinion is concerned, he was wholly English.”--1878. - - - - -RICHARD SAVAGE - -1697-1743 - - -[Sidenote: _Dublin University, Magazine_, 1858. *] - -“His companion, Who is he? He looks a little older, and is a great deal -slenderer, and very much better dressed; that is, his clothes are well -made, but alas! they are also well worn. He has an air of faded fashion -about him. There is decision in every line of the lank, and long, and -melancholy visage; it is a veritable Quixotic face. Meagre and proud, -and high and pale. An exceeding ‘woeful countenance,’ which sadness -and scorn alternately cloud and corrugate. It is mixed up with extreme -diversities. The brow and eye are intellectual and bright, while the -lower features are sensual and coarse: humour and passion both lurk in -the mouth, yet few smiles expand those lips from which laughter seems -altogether banished, while the voice is sweet, soft, and lute-like; -the pace is slow, and the gait has a certain pretension to importance, -which ill harmonises with the rest of his appearance. This person is -Richard Savage, a man whose rare talents might have brought him poetic -immortality, and a lofty pedestal in the muse’s temple, had not his -coarser vices, together with his pride and his ingratitude, dragged him -down to the lowest moral depth, and buried the many bright things he -had in brain and bosom, head and heart, in the same mud-heap.” - -[Sidenote: Johnson’s _Life of Savage_.] - -“He was of a middle stature, of a thin habit of body, a long visage, -coarse features, and melancholy aspect; of a grave and manly -deportment, a solemn dignity of mien, but which, upon a nearer -acquaintance, softened into an engaging easiness of manners. His walk -was slow, and his voice tremulous and mournful. He was easily excited -to smiles, but very seldom provoked to laughter.” - - - - -SIR WALTER SCOTT - -1771-1832 - - -[Sidenote: Lockhart’s _Life of Scott_.] - -“His personal appearance at this time was not unengaging. A lady of -high rank, who remembers him in the Old Assembly Rooms, says, ‘Young -Walter Scott was a comely creature.’ He had outgrown the sallowness of -early ill-health, and had a fresh, brilliant complexion. His eyes were -clear, open, and well set, with a changeful radiance, to which teeth -of the most perfect regularity and whiteness lent their assistance, -while the noble expanse and elevation of the brow gave to the whole -aspect a dignity far above the charm of mere features. His smile was -always delightful; and I can easily fancy the peculiar intermixture -of tenderness and gravity, with playful innocent hilarity and humour -in the expression, as being well calculated to fix a fair lady’s eye. -His figure, excepting the blemish in one limb, must in those days -have been eminently handsome; tall, much above the usual standard, -it was cast in the very mould of a young Hercules; the head set on -with singular grace, the throat and chest after the truest model of -the antique, the hands delicately finished; the whole outline that of -extraordinary vigour, without as yet a touch of clumsiness. When he -had acquired a little facility of manner, his conversation must have -been such as could have dispensed with any exterior advantages, and -certainly brought swift forgiveness for the one unkindness of nature. -I have heard him, in talking of this part of his life, say, with an -arch simplicity of look and tone which those who were familiar with him -can fill in for themselves--‘It was a proud night with me when I first -found that a pretty young woman could think it worth her while to sit -and talk with me, hour after hour, in a corner of the ball-room, while -all the world were capering in our view.’”--1790. - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Life of Carlyle_.] - -“I never spoke with Scott.... Have a hundred times seen him, from of -old, writing in the Courts, or hobbling with stout speed along the -streets of Edinburgh; a large man, pale, shaggy face, fine, deep-browed -gray eyes, an expression of strong homely intelligence, of humour and -good-humour, and, perhaps (in later years amongst the wrinkles), of -sadness or weariness.... He has played his part, and left _none like_ -or second to him. _Plaudite!_” - -[Sidenote: Sir John Bowring’s _Autobiographical Recollections_.] - -“More eloquent men I have known, I think, but I never knew any one so -attractive. The variety of his conversation is stupendous, while it -overflows with the most agreeable anecdotes, and almost every person -who has figured in modern times has in some way or other been connected -with him. His manner of talking is without the smallest pretence, and -is gentle and humorous. His eye has a constant play upon it, and around -it. His dress is that of a substantial farmer,--a short green coat with -steel buttons, striped waistcoat and pantaloons, and he put on light -gaiters when we sallied forth.” - - - - -WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE - -1564-1616 - - -[Sidenote: E. T. Craig’s _Portraits of Shakespeare_. *] - -“The portrait of Martin Droeshout” (_published with the first folio -edition of Shakespeare’s works in 1623_) “has a greater claim to -attention, as it was engraved by a well-known artist at the time when -published by Shakespeare’s contemporaries, Heminge and Condell, and -has the additional testimony of the poet’s friend, Ben Jonson, in its -favour, in the following lines inscribed opposite to the engraving of -the portrait:-- - - ‘This figure, that thou here seest put, - It was for gentle Shakespeare cut; - Wherein the graver had a strife - With Nature, to out-doo the life. - O, could he but have drawne his wit - As well in brasse as he hath hit - His face, the print would then surpasse - All that was ever writ in brasse; - But since he cannot, reader, looke - Not on his picture, but his booke.’ - -These lines would indicate that the portrait of the face was -represented with some degree of truth. It may be observed here that -until within the last few years artists were less exact and minute -in the delineation of the head than the face; and the head appears -unusually high for its breadth, and impresses you with the semblance of -a form more like Scott than Byron, of Canova than Chantrey. - -“The features of Droeshout’s engraving bear a closer resemblance to -the plaster cast than to the Stratford bust. The nose has the same -flowing outline, well defined, prominent, yet finely chiselled, and -the nostrils rather large. There is the same long upper lip, and a -general correspondence with the mouth of the cast. The eye is large and -round, and in life would be mild and lustrous. The hair is thin and not -curled, and the head is high but comparatively narrow. There would be -moderate secretiveness, less destructiveness, small constructiveness, -and little acquisitiveness. There is an ample endowment of the higher -sentiments. The imaginative and imitative faculties are represented -as very large. Ideality, wonder, wit, imitation, benevolence, and -veneration, comparison and causality, are all very large. The -perceptive region is scarcely sufficiently indicated for the powers -of mind possessed by Shakespeare, in his vast and ready command of -view over the range of natural objects so evident in his works. This -may be the fault of the engraver. It is the opposite in this respect -to the cast from the face. There is one feature in the portrait which -harmonises with Milton’s praise and Jonson’s worship and Spenser’s -admiration,--his large benevolence, veneration and ideality, and his -small destructiveness and acquisitiveness, leading to the control over -his feelings and generous sympathy with others, manifested by his -quiet manner and gentle nature. Men of strong passions like Jonson -and Byron have very different heads to this portrait, which presents -a great contrast both to the bust and the Chandos portrait” (_said to -be painted by Burbage, a player contemporary with Shakespeare_). “The -physical proportions of the Droeshout figure harmonise better with a -fine temperament and an intellectual head than the Stratford bust with -Shakespeare’s mental activity.” - -[Sidenote: Halliwell-Phillipps’s _Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare_. -*] - -“The exact time at which the monument was erected in the church” -(_Stratford-on-Avon_) “is unknown, but it is alluded to by Leonard -Digges as being there in the year 1623. The bust must, therefore, have -been submitted to the approval of the Halls, who could hardly have been -satisfied with a mere fanciful image. There is, however, no doubt that -it was an authentic representation of the great dramatist, but it has -unfortunately been so tampered with in modern times that much of the -absorbing interest with which it would otherwise have been surrounded -has evaporated. It was originally painted in imitation of life, the -face and hands of the usual flesh colour, the eyes a light hazel, and -the hair and beard auburn. The realisation of the costume was similarly -attempted by the use of scarlet for the doublet, black for the loose -gown, and white for the collar and wristbands.” - -[Sidenote: E. T. Craig’s _Portraits of Shakespeare_. *] - -“It only remains to examine the cast from the face of Shakespeare. The -documentary statements published by Mr. Friswell tend to establish a -claim to attention. It was left in the possession of Professor Owen -by Dr. Becher, the enterprising botanist, who fell a victim to his -zeal in the unfortunate Australian expedition under Burke. The cast, -it appears, originally belonged to a German nobleman at the Court of -James I., whose descendants kept it as an heirloom till the last of -the race died, when his effects were sold. Mr. Friswell observes that -‘the cast bears some resemblance to the more refined portraits of the -poet. It is not unlike the ideal head of Roubillac, and bears a very -great resemblance to a fine portrait of the poet in the possession of -Mr. Challis.’ It has some of the characteristics of Jansen’s portrait. -The mask has a mournful aspect, and sensitive persons are affected -when they look at it.... There are indications visible ... of wrinkles -and ‘crow’s feet’ at the corners of the eyes. It is utterly destitute -of the jovial physiognomy of the Stratford bust and portrait. It is -certainly the impress from one who was gifted with great sensibility, -great range of perceptive power, a ready memory, great facility of -expression, varied power of enjoyment, and great depth of feeling. -The year 1616, when Shakespeare died, is recorded on the back of the -cast. Hairs of the moustache, eyelashes, and beard still adhere to -the plaster, of a reddish brown or auburn colour, corresponding with -several portraits and the Stratford bust.... The cast presents to view -finely formed features, strongly marked, yet regular. The forehead is -well developed in the region of the perceptive powers; but scarcely so -high as the Droeshout, and the coronal region is much lower than in -that of the Felton head. The sides of the head are well developed, and -there is a large mass of brain in the front. The moustache is divided, -and falls over the corners of the mouth, and the beard, or imperial, -is a full tuft on the chin, which, as well as the moustache, appears -to be marked with a tool since taken. The face is a sharp oval, that -of the bust is a blunt or round one. The chin is rather narrow and -pointed, yet firm; that of the bust well rounded. The cheeks are thin -and fallen; in those of the bust full, fat, and coarse, as if ‘good -digestion waited on appetite,’ without thought, fancy, or feeling, -troubling either. The mask has a moderate-sized upper lip, the bust a -very large one, although Sir Walter Scott lost his wager in asserting -that it was longer than his own. The lips of the cast are thin and well -marked; those of the bust present a rude opening for the mouth. The -nostrils are drawn up, and this feature is exaggerated in the bust. -The nose of the cast is large, finely marked, aquiline, and delicately -formed. That of the bust is short, mean, straight, and small. In -their physiognomy and phrenology they are utterly different. The cast -indicates the man of thought, emotion, and suffering; the bust, of -ease, enjoyment, and self-satisfaction. If the bust is to represent -the living image of the dead poet, the answer is, death does not -immediately alter the language once written on the ivory gate at the -temple of thought. It has been said by John Bell that the Stratford -bust was cut from a mask, but by a clumsy sculptor, who modified -his work. A monument, erected as a memorial of Shakespeare, should -therefore avoid the evident discrepancies that already exist, and -perpetrate no repetition of forms inconsistent with nature, truth, and -beauty.” - - - - -MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY - -1798-1851 - - -[Sidenote: _Anecdote Biography of P. B. Shelley._] - -“... At the time I am speaking of, Mrs. Shelley was twenty-four. Such a -rare pedigree of genius was enough to interest me in her, irrespective -of her own merits as an authoress. The most striking feature in her -face was her calm gray eyes; she was rather under the English standard -of woman’s height, very fair and light-haired, witty, social, and -animated in the society of friends, though mournful in solitude.”--1821. - -[Sidenote: The Cowden Clarkes’ _Recollections of Writers_.] - -“Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, with her well-shaped, -golden-haired head, almost always a little bent and drooping; her -marble-white shoulders and arms statuesquely visible in the perfectly -plain black velvet dress, which the customs of that time allowed to be -cut low, and which her own taste adopted; ... her thoughtful, earnest -eyes; her short upper lip and intellectually curved mouth, with a -certain close compressed and decisive expression while she listened, -and a relaxation into fuller redness and mobility when speaking; her -exquisitely formed, white, dimpled, small hands, with rosy palms, -and plumply commencing fingers, that tapered into tips as slender and -delicate as those in a Vandyck portrait,--all remain palpably present -to memory.”--About 1824. - -[Sidenote: _The Cornhill_, 1875.] - -“Shelley’s second love, who was five years his junior, is described -as ‘rather short, remarkably fair, and light-haired with brownish -gray eyes, a great forehead, striking features, and a noticeable air -of sedateness.’ One writer has compared her with the classic bust of -Clytie.” - - - - -PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY - -1792-1822 - - -[Sidenote: Stoddard’s _Anecdote Biography of Percy Bysshe Shelley_.] - -“As I felt in truth but a slight interest in the subject of his -conversation, I had leisure to examine, and, I may add, admire the -appearance of my very extraordinary guest. It was a sum of many -contradictions. His figure was slight and fragile, and yet his bones -and joints were large and strong. He was tall, but he stooped so much -that he seemed of a low stature. His clothes were expensive, and -made according to the most approved mode of the day; but they were -tumbled, rumpled, unbrushed. His gestures were abrupt and sometimes -violent, occasionally even awkward. His complexion was delicate and -almost feminine, of the purest red and white; yet he was tanned and -freckled by exposure to the sun, having passed the autumn, as he said, -in shooting. His features, his whole face, and particularly his head, -were, in fact, unusually small; yet the last _appeared_ of a remarkable -bulk, for his hair was long and bushy, and in fits of absence, and in -the agonies (if I may use the word) of anxious thought, he often rubbed -it fiercely with his hands, or passed his fingers quickly through his -locks unconsciously, so that it was singularly wild and rough. In -times when it was the mode to imitate stage-coachmen as closely as -possible in costume, and when the hair was invariably cropped, like -that of our soldiers, this eccentricity was very striking. His features -were not symmetrical (the mouth, perhaps, excepted), yet was the effect -of the whole extremely powerful. They breathed an animation, a fire, an -enthusiasm, a vivid and preternatural intelligence, that I never met -with in any other countenance.”--1810. - -[Sidenote: The Cowden Clarke’s _Recollections of Writers_.] - -“Shelley’s figure was a little above the middle height, slender, and -of delicate construction, which appeared the rather from a lounging or -waving manner in his gait, as though his frame was compounded barely -of muscle and tendon; and that the power of walking was an achievement -with him and not a natural habit. Yet I should suppose that he was not -a valetudinarian, although that has been said of him on account of his -spare and vegetable diet; for I have the remembrance of his scampering -and bounding over the gorse-bushes on Hampstead Heath late one -night--now close upon us, and now shouting from the height like a wild -school-boy. He was both an active and an enduring walker,--feats which -do not accompany an ailing and feeble constitution. His face was round, -flat, pale, with small features; mouth beautifully shaped; hair bright -brown and wavy; and such a pair of eyes as are rarely in the human or -any other head,--intensely blue, with a gentle and lambent expression, -yet wonderfully alert and engrossing; nothing appeared to escape his -knowledge.” - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“Shelley, when he died, was in his thirtieth year. His figure was tall -and slight, and his constitution consumptive. He was subject to violent -spasmodic pains, which would sometimes force him to lie on the ground -until they were over; but he had always a kind word to give to those -about him when his pangs allowed him to speak. In this organisation, -as well as in some other respects, he resembled the German poet -Schiller. Though well-turned, his shoulders were bent a little, owing -to premature thought and trouble. The same causes had touched his -hair with gray; and though his habits of temperance and exercise gave -him a remarkable degree of strength, it is not supposed that he could -have lived many years. He used to say that he had lived three times as -long as the calendar gave out; which he would prove, between jest and -earnest, by some remarks on Time, - - ‘That would have puzzled that stout Stagyrite.’ - -Like the Stagyrites, his voice was high and weak. His eyes were large -and animated, with a dash of wildness in them; his face small, but well -shaped, particularly the mouth and chin, the turn of which was very -sensitive and graceful. His complexion was naturally fair and delicate, -with a colour in the cheeks. He had brown hair, which, though tinged -with gray, surmounted his face well, being in considerable quantity, -and tending to a curl. His side face, upon the whole, was deficient -in strength, and his features would not have told well in a bust; but -when fronting and looking at you attentively, his aspect had a certain -seraphical character that would have suited a portrait of John the -Baptist, or the angel whom Milton describes as holding a reed ‘tipt -with fire.’”--1822. - - - - -RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN - -1751-1816 - - -[Sidenote: Moore’s _Life of Sheridan_.] - -“It has been seen, by a letter of his sister already given, that, -when young, he was generally accounted handsome; but in later years -his eyes were the only testimonials of beauty which remained to him. -It was, indeed, in the upper part of his face that the spirit of the -man chiefly reigned; the dominion of the world and the senses being -rather strongly marked out in the lower. In his person, he was above -the middle size, and his general make was, as I have already said, -robust and well-proportioned. It is remarkable that his arms, though of -powerful strength, were thin, and appeared by no means muscular. His -hands were small and delicate; and the following couplet, written on -the cast of one of them, very livelily enumerates both its physical and -moral qualities:-- - - ‘Good at a fight, better at a Play, - God-like in giving, but--the Devil to pay!’” - -[Sidenote: Jerdan’s _Men I have known_.] - -“I have seen his large beautiful eyes speak sadly, even while his -brilliant tongue was rehearsing the gayest sentiments and the finest -wit.... What a portrait to pronounce of intellect is that by Sir -Joshua! The head so fine, the expression so brilliant, and the lower -part of the countenance, in the prime of life, without the sensuous -encroachment of luxurious indulgence upon later years. And how -light-hearted the look.” - -[Sidenote: Gantter’s _Standard Poets of Great Britain_.] - -“Sheridan was above the middle size, and of a make robust and -well-proportioned. In his youth, his family said, he had been handsome; -but in his latter years he had nothing left to show for it but his -eyes. ‘It was, indeed, in the upper part of his face,’ says Mr. Moore, -‘that the spirit of the man chiefly reigned; the dominion of the world -and the senses being rather strongly marked out in the lower.’” - - - - -SIR PHILIP SIDNEY - -1554-1587-8 - - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_. *] - -“He was not only an excellent witt, but extremely beautiful; he much -resembled his sister but his haire was not red, but a little inclining; -viz., a darke amber colour. If I were to find a fault in it, methinkes -’tis not masculine enough; yett he is a person of great courage.... My -great-uncle Mr. T. Browne, remembered him, and sayd that he was wont to -take his table-booke out of his pocket and write downe his notions as -they came into his head, when he was writing his _Arcadia_ (which was -never finished by him) as he was hunting on our pleasant plaines.” - -[Sidenote: The Worthie Sir Phillip Sidney, Knight, his Epitaph.] - - “A man made out of goodliest mould - As shape in ware were wrought, - Or Picture stoode in stampe of gold - To please each gazer’s thought.... - ... His silent lookes sayd wisdome great - Did lodge in loftie brow: - His patient heart (in chollers heate) - Supprest all passion’s throw. - ... A portly presence passing fine - With beautie furnisht well, - Where vertues buds and grace divine - And daintie gifts did dwell.” - -[Sidenote: _The Edinburgh Review_, 1876. *] - -“He was tall, shapely, and muscular, with large blue-gray eyes, a long -aquiline nose, hair of a dark auburn tint, and full sensitive lips, the -slightly pensive expression of which was relieved by the decision of -the jaw and chin.” - - - - -HORACE SMITH - -1779-1849 - - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“Horace was delicious.... A finer nature than Horace Smith’s, except in -the single instance of Shelley, I never met with in man; nor even in -that instance, all circumstances considered, have I a right to say that -those who knew him as intimately as I did the other, would not have -had the same reasons to love him.... The personal appearance of Horace -Smith, like that of most of the individuals I have met with, was highly -indicative of his character. His figure was good and manly, inclining -to the robust; and his countenance extremely frank and cordial; sweet -without weakness. I have been told he was irascible. If so, it must -have been no common offence that could have irritated him. He had not a -jot of it in his appearance.”--1809. - - - - -SYDNEY SMITH - -1771-1845 - - -[Sidenote: Duycknick’s _Memoir of Sydney Smith_. *] - -“In person, Sydney Smith, as he has been described to us by those who -knew him, was of the medium height; plethoric in habit though of great -activity, of a dense brown complexion, a dark expressive eye, an open -countenance, indicative of shrewdness, humour, and benevolence. There -is a look too, in the English engraved portraits, of a thoughtful -seriousness. His ‘sense, wit, and clumsiness,’ said a college -companion, gave ‘the idea of an Athenian carter.’” - -[Sidenote: Reid’s _Life and Times of Sydney Smith_. *] - -“Strangers entering St. Paul’s ... would have witnessed a burly but -active-looking man of sixty-three, of medium height, with a dark -complexion and iron-gray hair, ascend the pulpit. When he stood up to -preach, the shapely and well-carried head, the fine eyes, with their -quick and penetrating glance, the expression of thorough benevolence -which lit up the sensitive yet boldly chiselled features of the strong -and intellectual face, would all contribute to heighten favourably -the first general impression concerning a man whose every movement -suggested intelligence, determination, and kindliness.”--1834. - -[Sidenote: Reid’s _Life and Times of Sydney Smith_.] - -“Very distinctly do I recall the portly figure of Sydney Smith seated -in his large yellow chariot--then a fashionable style of carriage--the -full-sized head, the face indicative, as it now presents itself to my -mind’s eye, of mental power, of kindliness, and of the spirit of humour -which possessed him.... This brilliant man was not brilliant only; -there was in his character, as I conceive, an unusually substantial -basis of sound common sense.” - - - - -TOBIAS SMOLLETT - -1721-1771 - - -[Sidenote: Chalmers’s _Life of Smollett_.] - -“The person of Smollett was stout and well-proportioned, his -countenance engaging, his manner reserved, with a certain air of -dignity that seemed to indicate that he was not unconscious of his own -powers.” - -[Sidenote: Anderson’s _Poets of Great Britain_. *] - -“In his person he was graceful and handsome, and in his air and manner -there was a certain dignity which commanded respect. He possessed a -loftiness and elevation of sentiment and character, without pride -or haughtiness, for to his equals and inferiors he was ever polite, -friendly and generous.” - -[Sidenote: Chambers’s _Eminent Scotsmen_. *] - -“Smollett, who thus died prematurely in the fifty-first year of his -age, and the bloom of his mental faculties, was tall and handsome, with -a most prepossessing carriage and address, and the marks and manners of -a gentleman.” - - - - -ROBERT SOUTHEY - -1774-1843 - - -[Sidenote: Froude’s _Carlyle_.] - -“A man towards well up in the fifties; hair gray, not yet hoary, -well setting off his fine clear brown complexion, head and face both -smallish, as indeed the figure was while seated; features finely -cut; eyes, brow, mouth, good in their kind--expressive all, and even -vehemently so, but betokening rather keenness than depth either of -intellect or character; a serious, human, honest, but sharp, almost -fierce-looking thin man, with very much of the militant in his -aspect,--in the eyes especially was visible a mixture of sorrow and of -anger, or of angry contempt, as if his indignant fight with the world -had not yet ended in victory, but also never should in defeat.”--1835. - -[Sidenote: _Southey’s Life and Correspondence._] - -“The personal appearance and demeanour of Southey at this time (he -was then aged sixty-two) was striking and peculiar. The only thing in -art which brings him exactly before me is the monument by Lough, the -sculptor. Like many other young men of the time who had read Byron -with great admiration, I had imbibed rather a prejudice against the -Laureate. This was weakened by his appearance, and wholly removed by -his frank conversation. He was calm, mild, and gentlemanly; full of -quiet, subdued humour; the reverse of ascetic in his manner, speech, or -actions. His bearing was rather that of a scholar than that of a man -much accustomed to mingle in general society.... In any place Southey -would have been pointed at as ‘a noticeable man.’ He was tall, slight, -and well made. His features were striking, and Byron truly described -him as ‘with a hook nose and a hawk’s eye.’ Certainly his eyes were -peculiar,--at once keen and mild. The brow was rather high than square, -and the lines well defined. His hair was tinged with gray, but his head -was as well covered with it--wavy and flowing--as it could have been in -youth. He by no means looked his age; simple habits, pure thoughts, the -quietude of a happy hearth, the friendship of the wise and good, the -self-consciousness of acting for the best purposes, a separation from -the personal irritations which men of letters are so often subjected -to in the world; and health, which to that time had been so generally -unbroken, had kept Southey from many of the cares of life, and their -usually harrowing effect on mind and body. It is one of my most -pleasant recollections that I enjoyed his friendship and regard.”--1836. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“His height was five feet eleven inches. ‘His forehead was very broad; -his complexion rather dark; the eyebrows large and arched; the eye well -shaped, and dark brown; the mouth somewhat prominent, muscular, and -very variously expressive; the chin small in proportion to the upper -features of the face.’ So writes his son, who adds that ‘many thought -him a handsomer man in age than in youth,’ when his hair had become -white, continuing abundant, and flowing in thick curls over his brow. -Byron, who saw him but twice, once at Holland House, and once at one -of Rogers’ breakfasts, said, ‘To have that man’s head and shoulders, I -would almost have written his sapphics.’ That was in 1813, when Southey -was in his prime.” - - - - -EDMUND SPENSER - -1553-1599 - - -[Sidenote: Grosart’s _Life of Spenser_. *] - -“But of Edmund Spenser we have inestimable portraits. In the first -rank must be placed the miniature now in the inherited possession -of Lord Fitzhardinge. It was a gift to the Lady Elizabeth Carey -(Althorp Spenser), heiress of the Hunsdons, to whom it was left by -Queen Elizabeth. It thus came with an indisputable lineage through the -marriage of a Berkeley to Lady Elizabeth Carey. It is an exquisitely -beautiful face. The brow is ample, the lips thin but mobile, the eyes -a grayish-blue, the hair and beard a golden red (as of ‘red monie’ -of the ballads) or goldenly chestnut, the nose with semi-transparent -nostril and keen, the chin firm-poised, the expression refined and -delicate. Altogether just such ‘presentment,’ of the Poet of Beauty -_par excellence_ as one would have imagined. To be placed next is the -older face of the Dowager Countess of Chesterfield. It is identically -the same face. But there is more roundness of chin, more fulness -or ripening of the lips (especially the under), more restfulness. -There is not the ‘fragile’ look of the Fitzhardinge miniature. Hair -and eyes agree with the miniature. The only other with a pedigree -or sufficiently authenticated,--not mere ‘copies,’ such as those at -Pembroke College,--is the very remarkable one that came down as a -Devonshire heirloom to the Rev. S. Baring Gould, M.A., with a companion -of Sir Walter Raleigh. - -“Both have been in the family beyond record. This shows the poet in the -full strength of manhood. It is a kind of three-quarter profile, and as -one studies it, it seems to vindicate itself as ‘our sage and serious -Spenser.’ Again, hair and eyes agree with the others. The Spaniard’s -haughty face, for long engraved and re-engraved, ought never to have -been engraved as Spenser. There is not a jot or tittle of evidence in -its favour. It is an absolutely un-English, and palpably Spanish face, -and an impossible portrait of our Poet.” - -[Sidenote: Payne Collier’s _Life of Spenser_. *] - -“Several portraits of Spenser are in existence; but it is difficult to -settle the degree of authenticity belonging to them. The late Mr. Rodd, -of Newport Street, had a miniature of the poet in his possession in -1845, and perhaps afterwards, which corresponded pretty exactly with -the ordinary representations, but what became of it is not known to us. -The features were sharp and delicately formed, the nose long, and the -mouth refined; but the lower part of the face projected, and the high -forehead receded, while the eyes and eyebrows did not very harmoniously -range.” - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Men_. *] - -“Mr. Beeston sayes he was a little man, wore short haire, little band, -and little cuffs.” - - - - -ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY - -1815-1881 - - -[Sidenote: _Harper’s Magazine_, 1881.] - -“He was at that time (and indeed always remained) very slight of his -age, of rather florid complexion, and with a singularly bright, quick, -and yet often dreamy expression. He wore his hat rather on the back of -his head, and walked with queer little short shuffling paces, rather on -his heels, so that you could tell him by his gait at any distance--a -singular contrast to the Doctor’s long shambling stride as they -walked along at the side of Mrs. Arnold’s gray pony on half-holiday -afternoons.”--1834. - -[Sidenote: _Macmillan_, 1881.] - -“Il n’improvisait jamais; il lisait avec gravité, avec une force réelle -qui étonnait, sortant d’un corps si fragile, mais avec une sorte de -monotonie. L’action oratoire manquait de variété et d’abandon; c’était -toujours la même note. Du reste, personne n’avait l’oreille moins -musicale que le doyen.... D’une complexion délicate, de petite taille, -son corps semblait n’être qu’un prétexte pour être, et pour retenir son -esprit dans le monde visible.” - -[Sidenote: _Temple Bar_, 1881.] - -“Dean Stanley, like so many great men, possessed some strongly-marked -personal characteristics. If he was superintendent in some qualities -there were some of which he was almost altogether destitute. He was -utterly careless of personal appearance, and of external circumstances. -Short and spare in figure, there was a beauty and a dignity about him -that made his presence a perpetual pleasure. Those clear-cut features, -the beautiful forehead, and the silvery head of hair, will remain -photographed on the minds of this generation. When in the performance -of any sacred or secular function, the more crowded his auditory, the -more he was at ease. There must be many who can remember him as he used -to stand at the lectern in the Abbey waiting to read the lesson in one -of those crowded services in the nave, with the people clustered even -round his feet, and yet unconsciously, as if in his own library, with -the old familiar action, passing his hand across his face and ruffling -up his head.” - - - - -SIR RICHARD STEELE - -1671-1729 - - -[Sidenote: Thackeray’s _English Humourists_.] - -“Dennis, who ran a-muck at the literary society of his day, falls foul -of poor Steele, and thus depicts him: ‘Sir John Edgar, of the County -of ---- in Ireland, is of a middle stature, broad shoulders, thick -legs, a shape like the picture of somebody over a farmer’s chimney; a -short chin, a short nose, a short forehead, a broad, flat face, and a -dusky countenance. Yet with such a face and such a shape, he discovered -at sixty that he took himself for a beauty, and appeared to be more -mortified at being told that he was ugly, than he was by any reflection -made upon his honour or understanding.’” - -[Sidenote: _Dublin University Magazine_, 1858. *] - -“The interior of a coffee-house at Hyde Park Corner. Here in a room -small and meanly furnished, sit two men who have just arrived in a -handsome carriage, which is at this moment driving from the door. One -of these is Richard Savage; the other, who is fully twenty years his -senior, is a _beau_ and a _militaire_, being a Captain in Lord Lucas’s -regiment of Fusileer Guards. With a somewhat diminutive stature and -a long dress sword; he has laced ruffles in abundance on his shirt -sleeves and at his bosom, but not a shadow on his smiling face; with an -air at that time styled ‘genteel,’ in these days called _distingué_. -Around this gentleman’s agreeable face and person there is a brilliant -atmosphere of life and animation, for the three Celtic characteristics -are his--vivacity, volatility, and versatility,--by turns the curse -and advantage, the obstacle and ornament of his nation,--for he is an -Irishman, and his name is Sir Richard Steele.” - -[Sidenote: Swift’s _Works_.] - -“He has naturally a downcast foreboding aspect, which they of the -country hereabouts call a hanging look, and an unseemly manner of -staring, with his mouth wide open, and under-lip propending, especially -when any ways disturbed.... He takes a great deal of pains to persuade -his neighbours that he has a very short face, and a little flat nose -like a diminutive wart in the middle of his visage.... His eyes are -large and prominent, too big of all conscience for the conceited -narrowness of his phiz.... His back, though not very broad, is well -turned, and will bear a great deal; I have seen him myself, more -than once, carry a vast load of timber. His legs also are tolerably -substantial, and can stride very wide upon occasion; but the best thing -about him is a handsome pair of heels, which he takes especial pride -to show, not only to his friends, but even to the very worst of his -enemies.” - - - - -LAURENCE STERNE - -1713-1768 - - -[Sidenote: Sir Walter Scott’s _Memoir of Sterne_. *] - -“We are well acquainted with Sterne’s features and personal appearance, -to which he himself frequently alludes. He was tall and thin, with a -hectic and consumptive appearance. His features, though capable of -expressing with peculiar effect the sentimental emotions by which -he was often affected, had also a shrewd, humorous, and sarcastic -expression, proper to the wit and the satirist. His conversation was -as animated as witty, but Johnson complained that it was marked by -licence, better suiting the company of the Lord of Crazy Castle than of -the great moralist.” - -[Sidenote: Timbs’s _Anecdote Biography_. *] - -“In the same year (1761) that Reynolds exhibited the large equestrian -portrait of Lord Ligonier, now in the National Gallery, he also -exhibited the half-length of Sterne, seated, and leaning on his hand. -This portrait was painted for the Earl of Ossary, and afterwards came -into the possession of Lord Holland, on whose death in 1840, it was -purchased for 500 guineas by the Marquis of Lansdowne. ‘This,’ says -Mrs. Jameson, ‘is the most astonishing head for truth of character -I ever beheld; I do not except Titian; the character, to be sure, -is different: the subtle evanescent expression of satire round the -lips, the shrewd significance in the eye, the earnest contemplative -attitude,--all convey the strongest impression of the man, of his -peculiar genius, and peculiar humour.’” - -[Sidenote: _Memoir of Sterne._ *] - -“Speaking of Sterne’s physiognomy, Lavater says, ‘In this face -you discover the arch, satirical Sterne, the shrewd and exquisite -observer, more limited in his object, but on that very account more -profound,--you discover him, I say, in the eyes, in the space which -separates them, in the nose and the mouth of this figure.’” - - - - -SIR JOHN SUCKLING - -1608-1641 - - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_.] - -“His picture, which is like him, before his poems, says that he was -but twenty-eight years old when he dyed. He was of middle stature and -slight strength, brisque round eie, reddish fac’t, and red-nosed (ill -liver), his head not very big, his hayre a kind of sand colour, his -beard turn’d up naturally, so that he had a brisk and graceful looke. -He died a batchelour.” - -[Sidenote: W. C. Hazlitt’s _Life of Sir John Suckling_.] - -“He was a man of grave deportment and very comely person: of a fair -complexion, with good features and flaxen haire.” - -[Sidenote: W. C. Hazlitt’s _Life of Sir John Suckling_. *] - -“In person he was of a middle size, though but slightly made, with a -winning and graceful carriage, and noble features.” - - - - -JONATHAN SWIFT - -1667-1745 - - -[Sidenote: Scott’s _Life of Swift_. *] - -“Swift was in person tall, strong, and well made, of a dark complexion, -but with blue eyes, black and bushy eyebrows, nose somewhat aquiline, -and features which remarkably expressed the stern, haughty, and -dauntless turn of his mind. He was never known to laugh, and his smiles -are happily characterised by the well-known lines of Shakespeare. -Indeed the whole description of Cassius might be applied to Swift: - - ‘He reads much; - He is a great observer and he looks - Quite through the deeds of men; ... - Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort, - As if he mock’d himself and scorn’d his spirit - That could be moved to smile at any thing.’ - -... In youth he was reckoned handsome; Pope observed that though his -face had an expression of dulness, his eyes were very particular. They -were as azure, he said, as the heavens, and had an unusual expression -of acuteness. In old age the Dean’s countenance conveyed an expression -which, though severe, was noble and impressive.” - -[Sidenote: Johnson’s _Life of Swift_. *] - -“The person of Swift had not many recommendations. He had a kind -of muddy complexion which, though he washed himself with oriental -scrupulosity, did not look clear. He had a countenance sour and severe, -which he seldom softened by an appearance of gaiety. He stubbornly -resisted any tendency to laughter.” - -[Sidenote: Thomas Roscoe’s _Life of Dean Swift_. *] - -“Swift was of middle stature, inclining to tall, robust, and manly, -with strongly-marked and regular features. He had a high forehead, -a handsome nose, and large piercing blue eyes, which retained their -lustre to the last. He had an extremely agreeable and expressive -countenance, which, in the words of the unfortunate Vanessa, sometimes -shone with a divine compassion,--at others, the most engaging vivacity, -indignation, fearful passion, and striking awe. His mouth was pleasing, -he had a fine regular set of teeth, a round double chin with a small -dimple; his complexion a light olive or pale brown. His voice was -sharp, strong, high-toned; but he was a bad reader, especially of -verses, and disliked music. His mien was erect, his head firm, and his -whole deportment commanding. There was a sternness and severity in his -aspect which wit and gaiety did not entirely remove. When pleased he -would smile, but never laughed aloud.... In his person he was neat and -clean even to superstition, and appeared regularly dressed in his gown -every morning, to receive the visits of his most familiar friends.” - - - - -WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY - -1811-1863 - - -[Sidenote: Theodore Taylor’s _Thackeray_.] - -“As for the man himself who has lectured us, he is a stout, healthful, -broad-shouldered specimen of a man, with cropped grayish hair, and -keenish gray eyes, peering very sharply through a pair of spectacles -that have a very satiric focus. He seems to stand strongly on his own -feet, as if he would not be easily blown about or upset, either by -praise or pugilists; a man of good digestion, who takes the world easy, -and scents all shams and humours (straightening them between his thumb -and forefinger) as he would a pinch of snuff.”--1852. - -[Sidenote: Stoddard’s _Anecdote Biography of Thackeray_.] - -“Good portraits of Thackeray are so common, and so many of your -readers saw him in the lecture-room, that I need not describe his -person. The misshaped nose, so broad at the bridge and so stubby at -the end, was the effect of an early accident. His near-sightedness, -unless hereditary, must have had, I think, a similar origin, for no -man had less the appearance of a student who had weakened his sight by -application to books. In his gestures--especially in the act of bowing -to a lady--there was a certain awkwardness, made more conspicuous by -his tall, well-proportioned, and really commanding figure. His hair, -at forty, was already gray, but abundant and massy; the cheeks had a -ruddy tinge, and there was no sallowness in the complexion; the eyes, -keen and kindly even when they bore a sarcastic expression, twinkled -through and sometimes over the spectacles. What I should call the -predominant expression of the countenance was courage--a readiness to -face the world on its own terms, without either bawling or whining, -asking no favour, yielding, if at all, from magnanimity. I have seen -but two faces on which this expression, coupled with that of high and -intellectual power, was equally striking--those of Daniel Webster -and Thomas Carlyle. But the former had a saturnine gloom even in its -animation, and the latter a variety and intensity of expression which -was absent from Thackeray’s.” - -[Sidenote: Watts’s _Great Novelists_.] - -“In stature he was tall and commanding, and he walked erect. With -gray eyes--not over luminous--and a noble brow, his appearance was -confident, but never conceited or aggressive. He wore long hair, and, -but for a small whisker, shaved clean. His features, if anything, -were immobile; the nose, which had been fractured in youth at the -Charterhouse, was, like Milton’s, ‘a thoughtful one,’ and the nostrils -were full and wide, as are those of all men of genius, according to -Balzac.” - - - - -JAMES THOMSON - -1700-1748 - - -[Sidenote: Johnson’s _Life of Thomson_.] - -“Thomson was of stature above the middle size, and ‘more fat than bard -beseems,’ of a dull countenance, and a gross, unanimated, uninviting -appearance; silent in mingled company, but cheerful among select -friends, and by his friends very tenderly and warmly beloved.” - -[Sidenote: Murdoch’s _Thomson_.] - -“Our author himself hints, somewhere in his works, that his exterior -was not the most promising--his make being rather robust than graceful, -though it is known that in his youth he had been thought handsome. His -worst appearance was when you saw him walking alone in a thoughtful -mood, but let a friend accost him and enter into conversation, he would -instantly brighten into a most amiable aspect, his features no longer -the same, and his eye darting a peculiar animating fire. The case was -much alike in company, where, if it was mixed or very numerous, he made -but an indifferent figure, but with a few select friends he was open, -sprightly, and entertaining. His wit flowed freely but pertinently, and -at due intervals leaving room for every one to contribute his share. -Such was his extreme sensibility, so perfect the harmony of his organs -with the sentiments of his mind, that his looks always announced and -half expressed what he was about to say, and his voice corresponded -exactly to the manner and degree in which he was affected.” - -[Sidenote: Rossetti’s _Memoir of Thomson_. *] - -“Thomson was above the middle size, of a fat and bulky form, with a -face that might almost be called dull, and an uninviting heavy look, -although in his early youth he had even been counted handsome, and his -eyes were expressive. He was mostly taciturn, save in the company of -his familiar friends; with them he was cheerful and pleasant, and he -secured their attachment in an eminent degree.” - - - - -ANTHONY TROLLOPE - -1815-1882 - - -[Sidenote: A personal friend.] - -“I remember a man hitting off a very good description of Trollope’s -manner, by remarking that ‘he came in at the door like a frantic -windmill.’ The bell would peal, the knocker begin thundering, the door -be burst open, and the next minute the house be filled by the big -resonant voice inquiring who was at home. I should say he had naturally -a sweet voice, which through eagerness he had spoilt by holloing. He -was a big man, and the most noticeable thing about his dress was a -black handkerchief which he wore tied _twice_ round his neck. A trick -of his was to put the end of a silk pocket-handkerchief in his mouth -and to keep gnawing at it--often biting it into holes in the excess -of his energy; and a favourite attitude was to stand with his thumbs -tucked into the armholes of his waistcoat. He was a full-coloured man, -and joking and playful when at his ease. Unless with his intimates, -he rarely laughed, but he had a funny way of putting things, and was -usually voted good company.” - -[Sidenote: A personal friend.] - -“Trollope said his height was five feet ten, but most people would -have thought him taller. He was a stout man, large of limb, and always -held himself upright without effort. His manner was bluff, hearty, and -genial, and he possessed to the full the great charm of giving his -undivided attention to the matter in hand. He was always enthusiastic -and energetic in whatever he did. He was of an eager disposition, and -doing nothing was a pain to him. In early manhood he became bald; in -his latter life his full and bushy beard naturally grew to be gray. He -had thick eyebrows, and his open nostrils gave a look of determination -to his strong capable face. His eyes were grayish-blue, but he was -rarely seen without spectacles, though of late years he used to take -them off whenever he was reading. From a boy he had always been -short-sighted.” - -[Sidenote: A personal friend.] - -“Standing with his back to the fire, with his hands clasped behind -him and his feet planted somewhat apart, the appearance of Anthony -Trollope, as I recall him now, was that of a thorough Englishman in -a thoroughly English attitude. He was then, perhaps, nearing sixty, -and had far more the look of a country gentleman than of a man of -letters. Tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a careless though not -slovenly fashion, it seemed more fitting that he should break into -a vivid description of the latest run with the hounds than launch -into book-talk. Either subject, however, and for the matter of that -I might add _any_ subject, was attacked by him with equal energy. -In writing of the man, this, indeed, is the chief impression I -recall--his energy, his thoroughness. While he talked to me, I and -my interests might have been the only things for which he cared; and -any passing topic of conversation was, for the moment, the one and -absorbing topic in the world. Being short-sighted, he had a habit of -peering through his glasses which contracted his brows and gave him the -appearance of a perpetual frown, and, indeed, his expression when in -repose was decidedly severe. This, however, vanished when he spoke. He -talked well, and had generally a great deal to say; but his talk was -disjointed, and he but rarely laughed. In manner he was brusque, and -one of his most striking peculiarities was his voice, which was of an -extraordinarily large compass.”--1873. - - - - -EDMUND WALLER - -1605-1687 - - -[Sidenote: Aubrey’s _Lives of Eminent Persons_.] - -“His intellectuals are very good yet; but he growes feeble. He is -somewhat above a middle stature, thin body, not at all robust: fine -thin skin, his face somewhat of an olivaster; his hayre frized, of a -brownish colour, full eie, popping out and working; ovall faced, his -forehead high and full of wrinkles. His head but small, braine very -hott, and apt to be cholerique. _Quarto doctior, eo iracundior._--CIC. -He is somewhat magisteriall, and hath received a great mastership of -the English language. He is of admirable elocution, and gracefull, and -exceeding ready.”--1680. - -[Sidenote: _Life of Edmund Waller._ *] - -“Waller’s person was handsome and graceful. That delicacy of soul -which produces instinctive propriety, gave him an easy manner, which -was improved and finished by a polite education, and by a familiar -intercourse with the Great. The symmetry of his features was dignified -with a manly aspect, and his eye was animated with sentiment and -poetry. His elocution, like his verse, was musical and flowing. In the -senate, indeed, it often assumed a vigorous and majestick tone, which, -it must be owned, is not a leading characteristick of his numbers.... -His conversation was chatised by politeness, enriched by learning, and -brightened by wit.” - -[Sidenote: _An account of the life of Mr. Edmund Waller._ *] - -“’Twas the politeness of his manners, as well as the excellence of his -genius, which endeared him to these foreign wits. All the world knows -Mr. St. Evremond was polite almost to a fault, for ev’ry virtue has its -opposite vice, and this has affectation; and yet writing to my Lord St. -Albans he says, ‘Mr. Waller vous garde une conversation délicieuse, je -ne suis pas si vain de vous _parleur_ de mienne.’... We shall close -what we intend to say of his manners and personal endowments with the -Earl of Clarendon’s short character of him: ‘There was of the House -of Commons one Mr. Waller, and a gentleman of very good fortune and -estate, and of admirable parts and faculty of wit, and of an intimate -conversation with those who had that reputation.’ This, and what has -been taken out of his lordship’s history which has respect to Mr. -Waller’s qualities, confirm the judgment we endeavour to form of him -that he was one of the most polite, the most gallant, and the most -witty men of his time, and he supported that character above half a -century.” - - - - -HORACE WALPOLE - -1717-1797 - - -[Sidenote: _Walpoliana._] - -“The person of Horace Walpole was short and slender, but compact and -neatly formed. When viewed from behind he had somewhat of a boyish -appearance, owing to the form of his person, and the simplicity of his -dress. His features may be seen in many portraits; but none can express -the placid goodness of his eyes, which would often sparkle with sudden -rays of wit, or dart forth flashes of the most keen and intuitive -intelligence. His laugh was forced and uncouth, and even his smile not -the most pleasing. His walk was enfeebled by the gout; which, if the -editor’s memory do not deceive, he mentioned he had been tormented -with since the age of twenty-five.... This painful complaint not only -affected his feet, but attacked his hands to such a degree that his -fingers were always swelled and deformed.... His engaging manners and -gentle endearing affability to his friends exceed all praise.” - -[Sidenote: Cunningham’s _Letters of Walpole_. *] - -“The person of Horace Walpole[6] was short and slender, but compact, -and neatly formed. When viewed from behind he had, from the simplicity -of his dress, somewhat of a boyish appearance: fifty years ago, he -says, ‘Mr. Winnington told me I ran along like a pewet.’ His forehead -was high and pale. His eyes remarkably bright and penetrating. His -laugh was forced and uncouth, and his smile not the most pleasing. -His walk, for more than half his life, was enfeebled by the gout, -which not only affected his feet, but attacked his hands. Latterly -his fingers were swelled and deformed, having, as he would say, more -chalk-stones than joints in them, and adding with a smile, that he -must set up an inn, for he could chalk a score with more ease and -rapidity than any man in England.... His entrance into a room was -in that style of affected delicacy which fashion had made almost -natural--_chapeau bras_ between his hands as if he wished to compress -it, or under his arm, knees bent, and feet on tiptoe, as if afraid of -a wet floor. His summer dress of ceremony was usually a lavender suit, -the waistcoat embroidered with a little silver, or of white silk worked -in the tambour, partridge silk stockings, gold buckles, ruffles, and -lace frills. In winter he wore powder. He disliked hats, and in his -grounds at Strawberry would even in winter walk without one. The same -antipathy, Cole tells us, extended to a greatcoat.” - -[Sidenote: Hawkins’s _Memoirs_.] - -“His figure was not merely tall, but more properly long and slender to -excess; his complexion, and particularly his hands, of a most unhealthy -paleness. His eyes were remarkably bright and penetrating, very dark -and lively: his voice was not strong, but his tones were exceedingly -pleasant, and if I may say so, highly gentlemanly. I do not remember -his common gait; he always entered a room in that style of affected -delicacy which fashion had then made almost natural--_chapeau bras_ -between his hands, as if he wished to compress it, or under his arm, -knees bent, and feet on tiptoe, as if afraid of a wet floor. His -dress in visiting was most usually, in summer, when I most saw him, -a lavender suit, the waistcoat embroidered with a little silver, or -of white silk worked in the tambour, partridge silk stockings, and -gold buckles, ruffles and frill generally lace. I remember, when a -child, thinking him very much under-dressed, if at any time, except in -mourning, he wore hemmed cambric. In summer, no powder, but his wig -combed straight, and showing his very smooth, pale forehead, and queued -behind; in winter, powder.” - - - - -IZAAC WALTON - -1593-1683 - - -[Sidenote: Zouch’s _Memoir of Izaac Walton_. *] - -“The features of the countenance often enable us to form a judgment, -not very fallible, of the disposition of the mind. In few portraits -can this discovery be more successfully pursued than in that of Izaac -Walton. Lavater, the acute master of physiognomy, would, I think, -instantly acknowledge in it the decisive traits of the original,--mild -complacency, forbearance, mature consideration, calm activity, peace, -sound understanding, power of thought, discerning attention, and -secretly active friendship. Happy in his unblemished integrity, happy -in the approbation and esteem of others, he inwraps himself in his own -virtue. The exaltation of a good conscience eminently shines forth in -this venerable person-- - - ‘Candida semper - Gaudia, et in vultu curarum ignara voluptas.’” - - - - -JOHN WILSON - -1785-1854 - - -[Sidenote: de Quincey’s _Life and writings_.] - -“William Wordsworth it was who ... did me the favour of making me -known to John Wilson.... A man in a sailor’s dress, manifestly in -robust health, _fervidus juventa_, and wearing upon his countenance -a powerful expression of ardour and animated intelligence, mixed -with much good nature. ‘Mr. Wilson of Elleray’--delivered as the -formula of introduction, in the deep tones of Mr. Wordsworth--at once -banished the momentary surprise I felt on finding a stranger where I -had expected nobody, and substituted a surprise of another kind; and -there was no wonder in his being at Allan Bank, Elleray standing within -nine miles; but (as usually happens in such cases) I felt a shock of -surprise on seeing a person so little corresponding to the one I had -at first half-consciously prefigured. Figure to yourself a tall man -about six feet high, within half an inch or so, built with tolerable -appearance of strength; but at the date of my description (that is, in -the very spring-tide and bloom of youth) wearing, for the predominant -character of his person, lightness and agility or (in our Westmoreland -phrase) _lishness_, he seemed framed with an express view to gymnastic -exercises of every sort. Ask in one of your public libraries for that -little quarto edition of the ‘_Rhetorical Works of Cicero_’ ... and you -will there see ... a reduced whole-length of Cicero from the antique, -which in the mouth and chin, and indeed generally, if I do not greatly -forget, will give you a lively representation of the contour and -expression of Professor Wilson’s face. Of all this array of personal -features, however, I then saw nothing at all, my attention being -altogether occupied with Mr. Wilson’s conversation and demeanour, which -were in the highest degree agreeable; the points which chiefly struck -me, being the humility and gravity with which he spoke of himself, his -large expansion of heart, and a certain air of noble frankness which -overspread everything he said; he seemed to have an intense enjoyment -of life; indeed, being young, rich, healthy, and full of intellectual -activity, it could not be very wonderful that he should feel happy and -pleased with himself and others; but it was something unusual to find -that so rare an assemblage of endowments had communicated no tinge of -arrogance to his manner, or at all disturbed the general temperance of -his mind.”--1808. - -[Sidenote: Harriet Martineau’s _Biographical Sketches_.] - -“If the marvel of his eloquence is not lessened, it is at least -accounted for to those who have seen him,--or even his portrait. Such -a presence is rarely seen; and more than one person has said that he -reminded them of the first man, Adam, so full was that large frame -of vitality, force, and sentience. His tread seemed almost to shake -the streets, his eye almost saw through stone walls, and as for his -voice, there was no heart which could stand before it. He swept away -all hearts, whithersoever he would. No less striking was it to see him -in a mood of repose, as when he steered the old packet-boat that used -to pass between Bowness and Ambleside, before the steamers were put -upon the Lake. Sitting motionless with his hand upon the rudder, in -the presence of journey-men and market-women, with his eyes apparently -looking beyond everything into nothing, and his mouth closed under his -beard, as if he meant never to speak again, he was quite as impressive -and immortal an image as he could have been to the students of his -class or the comrades of his jovial hours.” - -[Sidenote: Forster’s _Life of Dickens_.] - -“Walking up and down the hall of the courts of law (which was full -of advocates, writers to the signet, clerks, and idlers), was a -tall, burly, handsome man of eight and fifty, with a gait like -O’Connell’s, the bluest eye you can imagine, and long hair--longer than -mine--falling down in a wild way under the broad brim of his hat. He -had on a surtout coat, a blue checked shirt; the collar standing up, -and kept in its place with a wisp of black neckerchief; no waistcoat; -and a large pocket-handkerchief thrust into his breast, which was all -broad and open. At his heels followed a wiry, sharp-eyed, shaggy devil -of a terrier, dogging his steps as he went slashing up and down, now -with one man beside him, now with another, and now quite alone, but -always at a fast, rolling pace, with his head in the air, and his eyes -as wide open as he could get them. I guessed it was Wilson; and it was. -A bright, clear-complexioned, mountain-looking fellow, he looks as -though he had just come down from the Highlands and had never in his -life taken pen in hand. But he has had an attack of paralysis in his -right arm within this month. He winced when I shook hands with him, and -once or twice when we were walking up and down slipped as if he had -stumbled on a piece of orange-peel. He is a great fellow to look at, -and to talk to; and, if you could divest your mind of the actual Scott, -is just the figure you would put in his place.”--1841. - - - - -ELLEN WOOD - -(MRS. HENRY WOOD) - -1814-1887 - - -[Sidenote: _The Argosy_, 1887.] - -“The face was a pure oval of the most refined description; that -perfection of form that is so rarely seen. A small, straight, very -delicate and refined nose; teeth of dazzling whiteness, entire to the -day of her death; a perfect mouth, revealing at once the sensitiveness -and tender sympathy of her nature, and the steadfastness of her -disposition. Her eyes were unusually large, dark, and flashing, with -a penetrating gaze that seemed to read your inmost thoughts. One felt -that everything before her had to be outspoken; for if you uttered -only half your thoughts, she would certainly divine the rest.... The -head was well set upon the shoulders; a head perfect in form, small -except where the intellectual faculties were developed. Her complexion -was dazzling, the most lovely bloom at all times contrasting with the -brilliant whiteness of her skin. In hours of animation I have watched -the delicate flush come and go a hundred times in as many minutes -across her wonderful countenance; and, to record the simile once used -by a friend in speaking to me of this peculiar beauty, ‘chasing each -other like the rosy clouds of sunrise sweeping across a summer sky.’ -She had a very keen sense of wit and humour. This strange beauty -remained with her to the end. Even in hours of illness and suffering -it never forsook her. Her face never lost its look of youth. It was -absolutely without line or wrinkle or any mark or sign of age. She kept -to the last the complexion and freshness of a young girl; that strange -radiancy which seemed the reflection of some unseen glory. This was so -great that to the last we were unable to realise that death could come -to her.” - - - - -WILLIAM WORDSWORTH - -1770-1850 - - -[Sidenote: Leigh Hunt’s _Autobiography_.] - -“Mr. Wordsworth ... had a dignified manner, with a deep and roughish -but not unpleasing voice, and an exalted mode of speaking. He had a -habit of keeping his left hand in the bosom of his waistcoat; and -in this attitude, except when he turned round to take one of the -subjects of his criticism from the shelves (for his contemporaries were -there also), he sat dealing forth his eloquent but hardly catholic -judgments.... Walter Scott said that the eyes of Burns were the finest -he ever saw. I cannot say the same of Mr. Wordsworth; that is, not in -the sense of the beautiful, or even of the profound. But certainly I -never beheld eyes which looked so inspired and supernatural. They were -like fires half burning, half smouldering with a sort of acrid fixture -of regard, and seated at the further end of two caverns. One might -imagine Ezekiel or Isaiah to have had such eyes. The finest eyes, in -every sense of the word, which I have ever seen in a man’s head (and I -have seen many fine ones), are those of Thomas Carlyle.”--1815. - -[Sidenote: S. C. Hall’s _Memories of Great Men_.] - -“His features were large, and not suddenly expressive; they conveyed -little idea of the ‘poetic fire’ usually associated with brilliant -imagination. His eyes were mild and up-looking, his mouth coarse rather -than refined, his forehead high rather than broad; but every action -seemed considerate, and every look self-possessed, while his voice, -low in tone, had that persuasive eloquence which invariably ‘moves -men.’”--1832. - -[Sidenote: Carlyle’s _Reminiscences_.] - -“... He (Wordsworth) talked well in his way; with veracity, easy -brevity, and force, as a wise tradesman would of his tools and -workshop,--and as no unwise one could. His voice was good, frank, and -sonorous, though practically clear, distinct, and forcible, rather -than melodious; the tone of him business-like, sedately confident; no -discourtesy, yet no anxiety about being courteous. A fine wholesome -rusticity, fresh as his mountain breezes, sat well on the stalwart -veteran, and on all he said and did. You would have said he was a -usually taciturn man; glad to unlock himself to audience sympathetic -and intelligent when such offered itself. His face bore marks of much, -not always peaceful, meditation; the look of it not bland or benevolent -so much as close, impregnable, and hard: a man _multa tacere loquive -paratus_, in a world where he had experienced no lack of contradictions -as he strode along! The eyes were not very brilliant, but they had a -quiet clearness; there was enough of brow, and well-shaped; rather -too much of cheek (‘horse face’ I have heard satirists say); face of -squarish shape, and decidedly longish, as I think the head itself was -(its ‘length’ going horizontal); he was large-boned, lean, but still -firm-knit, tall, and strong-looking when he stood, a right good old -steel-gray figure, with rustic simplicity and dignity about him, and a -vivacious strength looking through him which might have suited one of -those old steel-gray markgrafs whom Henry the Fowler set up to ward the -‘marches’ and do battle with the heathen in a stalwart and judicious -manner.” - - - - -SIR HENRY WOTTON - -1568-1639 - - -[Sidenote: _Reliquiæ Wottoninæ_] - -“He returned out of _Italy_ in _England_ about the thirtieth year of -his age, being then noted by many, both for his person and comportment; -for indeed he was of a choice shape, tall of stature, and of a most -persuasive behaviour; which was so mixed with sweet Discourse and -Civilities, as gained him much love from all Persons with whom he -entered into an acquaintance. And whereas he was noted in his Youth -to have a sharp Wit, and apt to jest; that, by Time, Travel, and -Conversation, was so polished, and made so useful, that his company -seemed to be one of the delights of mankind.”--1598. - -[Sidenote: M. E. W. *] - -“An eminently lovable face, albeit there is something in the -gravely-set mouth which recalls the old Elizabethan expression ‘_My -Dearest Dread_.’ The love of those about him for this tender-worded -amourous poet, this gentle student, this courtly gentleman, must have -struggled hard for the mastery with that reverence which they must have -felt for the learned author, the friend of kings, the diplomatist. -Something of all this, I fancy, shows in the face and figure of the man -as Jansen has portrayed him in the picture now hanging in the Bodleian -Library at Oxford. The high square brow from which the hair has been -brushed up and back in short silky waves, the strongly-marked eyebrows, -the long straight nose,--they all speak of good brains and an iron -will; while there is a suspicion of daintiness in the close-cropped -whiskers, trimly-pointed beard, and flowing moustache. The eyes are -his finest feature, large and oval, with the eyelid drooping somewhat -at the outer edge, which gives him a look of sadness. So far from -bending forward under the orthodox student’s-stoop, Sir Henry is tall, -straight, and broad-shouldered, for he comes of a fighting race, and -there is more of the soldier than of the scholar in his appearance. -The hands are strong, nervous, and well shaped; the dress that of -a sober-minded gentleman. That word indeed sums up his personal -appearance as fully as it does his character: the portrait of Sir Henry -Wotton is emphatically that of a gentleman.” - - -THE END. - - - - - _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - _S. & H._ - - - - -RICHARD BENTLEY & SON’S - -LIST OF WORKS - -FOR - -_OCTOBER & NOVEMBER_ - -1887. - - -I - - =AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND REMINISCENCES= OF W. P. FRITH, R.A. In two - vols., demy 8vo., with two Portraits. - -II - - =WHAT I REMEMBER.= By THOMAS ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE. In two vols., demy - 8vo., with Portrait. - -III - - =MEMOIRS OF THE PRINCESSE HÉLÈNE= DE LIGNE. From the French of - LUCIEN PEREY, by LAURA ENSOR. In two vols., large crown 8vo., with - Portrait. - -IV - - =VERESTCHAGIN: PAINTER: SOLDIER=: TRAVELLER. Autobiographical - Sketches by Mons. and Madame VERESTCHAGIN, from the original by F. - H. PETERS, M.A. In two volumes, large crown 8vo., with upwards of - eighty Illustrations from sketches by the Author. - -V - - =AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND REMINISCENCES= OF SIR DOUGLAS FORSYTH, K.C.S.I., - C.B. Edited by his Daughter, ETHEL FORSYTH. In demy 8vo., with - Portrait on Steel, and Map. - -VI - - =THE COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS= THE FIRST, KING OF FRANCE. By - JULIA PARDOE. A New Edition in three volumes, demy 8vo., with - Illustrations on Steel, and voluminous Index. - -VII - - =THE LAST OF THE VALOIS: and the= Accession of Henry of Navarre, - 1559-1610. By CATHERINE CHARLOTTE LADY JACKSON. In two vols., large - Crown 8vo., with Portraits on Steel. 24s. - -VIII - - =A HOLIDAY ON THE ROAD.= An Artist’s Wanderings in Kent, Sussex, - and Surrey. By JAMES JOHN HISSEY. In demy 8vo., with numerous - Illustrations from Sketches by the Author, and engraved upon wood - by GEORGE PEARSON. - -IX - - =WILD LIFE AND ADVENTURE IN THE= AUSTRALIAN BUSH. By ARTHUR NICOLS, - F.G.S., F.R.G.S., Author of “Zoological Notes,” “Natural History - of the Carnivora,” etc. In two vols., large crown 8vo., with eight - Illustrations from Sketches by MR. JOHN NETTLESHIP. - -X - - =MY CONSULATE IN SAMOA.= With Personal Experiences of King Malietoa - Laupepa, His Country, and His Men. By WILLIAM B. CHURCHWARD. In - demy 8vo. 15s. - -XI - - =LETTERS FROM CRETE.= Written during the Spring of 1886. By CHARLES - EDWARDES. In demy 8vo. 15s. - -XII - - =THE ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF TANGIERS=, 1663-1684. Being the first - volume of “The History of the Second Queen’s Royal Regiment (now - the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment).” By Lieut.-Colonel JOHN - DAVIS, F.S.A., Author of “Historical Records of the Second Royal - Surrey Militia.” In royal 8vo., with Maps, Plans, and numerous - Illustrations. Vol. I. 24s. - - _The Work is expected to be completed in four volumes, royal 8vo._ - -XIII - - - =LORD CARTERET=: a Political Biography. By ARCHIBALD BALLANTYNE. In - demy 8vo. 16s. - -XIV - - =WORD PORTRAITS of FAMOUS WRITERS.= Edited by MABEL E. WOTTON. In - large Crown 8vo. - -XV - - =A GENTLEMAN OF THE OLDEN TIME.= FRANÇOIS DE SCÉPEAUX, SIRE DE - VIEILLEVILLE, 1509-1571. From the French of Madame C. Coignet, by - C. B. PITMAN. In two vols., crown 8vo. 21s. - - -LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, NEW BURLINGTON ST. - -Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - -[1] All wool. - -[2] “Prively a _penner_ gan he borwe, - And in a lettre wrote he all his sorwe!” - _Marchant’s Tale_, l. 9753. - -[3] A puppet. - -[4] Shy, reserved. - -[5] _Q. Quot feet I am high? Resp. of middle stature._ - -[6] Drawn from Pinkerton, Miss Hawkins, Coles MSS. and his letters. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Archaic spelling that may have been in use at the time of publication - has been preserved. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been preserved. - - One unpaired double quotation mark could not be corrected. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORD PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS WRITERS*** - - -******* This file should be named 56166-0.txt or 56166-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/6/1/6/56166 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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(Mabel Elizabeth) Wotton</title> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph3 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.tiny {width: 20%; margin-left: 40%; margin-right: 40%;} - -.hangingindent { - padding-left: 22px ; - text-indent: -22px ; -} - - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} - - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.sidenote { - width: 15%; - text-align: center; - padding-bottom: .5em; - padding-top: .5em; - padding-left: .5em; - padding-right: .5em; - margin-right: 1em; - float: left; - clear: left; - margin-top: 0em; - font-size: smaller; - color: black; - /* background: #eeeeee;*/ - /* border: dashed 1px;*/ -} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - - -.indent {padding-left: 7em;} -.indent1 {text-align: right; padding-right: 7em;} - - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -2.5em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .verseright {text-align: right;} -.poetry .indent {text-indent: -2em} -.poetry .indent1 {text-indent: 2em} -.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: 7em} - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Word Portraits of Famous Writers, Edited by -Mabel E. (Mabel Elizabeth) Wotton</h1> -<p>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 <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. 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.</p> -<p>Title: Word Portraits of Famous Writers</p> -<p>Editor: Mabel E. (Mabel Elizabeth) Wotton</p> -<p>Release Date: December 11, 2017 [eBook #56166]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORD PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS WRITERS***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by David E. Brown<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/wordportraitsoff00wottrich"> - https://archive.org/details/wordportraitsoff00wottrich</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h1>WORD PORTRAITS<br /> - -OF<br /> - -FAMOUS WRITERS</h1> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<div class="titlepage"> -<p class="ph1">WORD PORTRAITS</p> - -<p>OF</p> - -<p class="ph2">FAMOUS WRITERS</p> - -<p><small>EDITED BY</small><br /> -MABEL E. WOTTON</p> - -<p><small>‘What manner of man is he?’</small><br /> - -<span class="indent"><small><i>Twelfth Night</i></small></span></p> - -<p>LONDON<br /> -RICHARD BENTLEY & SON<br /> -Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen<br /> -1887</p> -</div> - - - - - - - -<p class="center"><i>Printed by</i> <span class="smcap">R. & R. Clark</span>, <i>Edinburgh</i>.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i-005f.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">INTRODUCTION</h2></div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> world has always been fond of -personal details respecting men who have -been celebrated.” These were the words of -Lord Beaconsfield, and with them he prefixed -his description of the personal appearance of -Isaac D’Israeli; but we hardly need the -dictum of our greatest statesman to convince -ourselves that at all events every honest -literature-lover takes a very real interest in -the individuality of those men whose names -are perpetually on his lips. It is not enough -for such a one merely to make himself -familiar with their writings. It does not -suffice for him that the <i>Essays of Elia</i>, for -instance, can be got by heart, but he feels that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> -he must also be able to linger in the playground -at Christ’s with the “lame-footed -boy,” and in after years pace the Temple -gardens with the gentle-faced scholar, before -he can properly be said to have made Lamb’s -thoughts his own. At the best it is but a -very incomplete notion that most of us -possess as to the actual personality of even -the most prominent of our British writers. -The almost womanly beauty of Sidney, and -the keen eyes and razor face of Pope, would, -perhaps, be recognised as easily as the well-known -form of Dr. Johnson; but taking them -<i>en masse</i> even a widely-read man might be -forgiven if, from amongst the scraps of hearsay -and curtly-recorded impressions on which -at rare intervals he may alight, he cannot -very readily conjure up the ghosts of the -very men whose books he has studied, and to -whose haunts he has been an eager pilgrim.</p> - -<p>Such a power the following pages have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span> -attempted to supply. They contain an -account of the face, figure, dress, voice, and -manner of our best-known writers ranging -from Geoffrey Chaucer to Mrs. Henry Wood,—drawn -in all cases when it is possible by -their contemporaries, and when through lack -of material this endeavour has failed, the task -of portrait-painting has devolved either on -other writers who owed their inspiration to -the offices of a mutual friend, or on those -whose literary ability and untiring research -have qualified them for the task. Infinite -toil has not always been rewarded, and it -would be easy to supply at least half a dozen -names whose absence is to be regretted. -Beaumont and Fletcher are as much read as -Thomas Otway, and William Wotton has -perhaps as much right of entrance as his -famous opponent Richard Bentley, but as a -small child pointed out when the book was first -proposed: “<i>You can’t find what isn’t there.</i>”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> -And the worth of the book naturally consists -in keeping to the lines already indicated.</p> - -<p>An asterisk placed under the given -reference means that the writer of that -particular portrait (who is not necessarily the -writer of that particular book) did not -actually see his subject, but that he is describing -a picture, or else that he is building -up one from substantiated evidence. Sometimes, -as in the case of Suckling, this distinction -leads to the same book supplying two -portraits, only one of which is at first hand.</p> - -<p>When a date is placed at the foot of a -description, it refers to the appearance presented -at that time, and not to the period -when the words were penned.</p> - -<p>British writers only are named, and -amongst them there is of course no living -author.</p> - -<p>Chaucer’s birth-date has been given as -<i>About</i> 1340, for the traditional year of 1328<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span> -is based on little more than the inscription on -his tomb, which was not placed there until the -middle of the sixteenth century, while according -to his own deposition as witness, his -birth could not have taken place until about -twelve years later.</p> - -<p>In only one other instance has there been -a departure from recognised precedent, and -that is in the case of Thomas de Quincey. -In defiance of almost every compiler and -present-day writer, I have entered the -name in the Q’s and spelt it as here written. -The reason for this is threefold: First, he -himself invariably spelt his name with a -small d. Second, Hood, Wordsworth, and -Lamb, and, I believe, all his other contemporaries -did the same. Third, de Quincey -himself was so determined about the matter -that he actually dropped the prefix altogether -for some little time, and was known as Mr. -Quincey. “His name I write with a small d<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span> -in the de, as he wrote it himself. He would -not have wished it indexed among the D’s, -but the Q’s,” wrote the Rev. Francis Jacox, -who was one of his Lasswade friends, and in -spite of his recent and skilful biographers, it -must be conceded that after all the little man -had the greatest right to his own name.</p> - -<p>I am glad to take this opportunity of -thanking those who have helped me, and who -will not let me speak my thanks direct. It -is a pleasant thought that while working -amongst the literary men of the past, I have -received nothing but kindness from those of -to-day. First and foremost to Mr. George -Augustus Sala, to whom I am infinitely indebted; -also to Mrs. Huntingford, Mrs. and -Mr. Frederick Chapman, Mr. Henry M. -Trollope, Dr. W. F. Fitz-Patrick, and Mr. -S. C. Hall: to all these, as well as to my -own personal friends, I offer my hearty and -sincere thanks.</p> - -<p class="right">M. E. W.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2></div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - -<tr><td> </td><td align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Joseph Addison</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Harrison Ainsworth</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Jane Austen</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Francis, Lord Bacon</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Joanna Baillie</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Benjamin, Lord Beaconsfield</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Jeremy Bentham</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Richard Bentley</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">James Boswell</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Charlotte Bront</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Henry, Lord Brougham</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Elizabeth Barrett Browning</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Bunyan</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Edmund Burke</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Robert Burns</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Samuel Butler</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">George, Lord Byron</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Campbell</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Carlyle</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Chatterton</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Geoffrey Chaucer</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Philip, Lord Chesterfield</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Cobbett</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Hartley Coleridge</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Samuel Taylor Coleridge</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Collins</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Cowper</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">George Crabbe</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Daniel De Foe</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Charles Dickens</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Isaac D’Israeli</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Dryden</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mary Anne Evans</span> (<span class="smcap">George Eliot</span>)</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Henry Fielding</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Gay</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Edward Gibbon</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Godwin</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Oliver Goldsmith</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">David Gray</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Gray</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Henry Hallam</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Hazlitt</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Felicia Hemans</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">James Hogg</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_128">128</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Hood</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Theodore Hook</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">David Hume</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Leigh Hunt</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Elizabeth Inchbald</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Francis, Lord Jeffrey</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Douglas Jerrold</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Samuel Johnson</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Ben Jonson</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Keats</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Keble</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Charles Kingsley</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Charles Lamb</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Letitia Elizabeth Landon</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Walter Savage Landor</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Charles Lever</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Matthew Gregory Lewis</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Gibson Lockhart</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Richard Lovelace</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Edward, Lord Lytton</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Babington Macaulay</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Maginn</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Francis Mahony</span> (<span class="smcap">Father Prout</span>)</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Frederick Marryat</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Harriet Martineau</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_202">202</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Frederick Denison Maurice</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Milton</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mary Russell Mitford</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Lady Mary Wortley Montagu</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Moore</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Hannah More</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Thomas More</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Caroline Norton</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas Otway</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Samuel Pepys</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Alexander Pope</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Bryan Waller Procter</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thomas de Quincey</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_238">238</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Ann Radcliffe</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Walter Raleigh</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Charles Reade</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Samuel Richardson</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Samuel Rogers</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Dante Gabriel Rossetti</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Richard Savage</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Walter Scott</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Shakespeare</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_267">267</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Percy Bysshe Shelley</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Richard Brinsley Sheridan</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_282">282</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Philip Sidney</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Horace Smith</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_286">286</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sydney Smith</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Tobias Smollett</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_289">289</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Robert Southey</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Edmund Spenser</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Arthur Penrhyn Stanley</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Richard Steele</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Laurence Sterne</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_302">302</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir John Suckling</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_304">304</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Jonathan Swift</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Makepeace Thackeray</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">James Thomson</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Anthony Trollope</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_313">313</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Edmund Waller</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_317">317</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Horace Walpole</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Izaac Walton</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">John Wilson</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Ellen Wood</span> (<span class="smcap">Mrs. Henry Wood</span>)</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">William Wordsworth</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_332">332</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sir Henry Wotton</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_335">335</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">JOSEPH ADDISON<br /> - -<small>1672-1719</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Temple Bar</i>,<br /> -1874.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Of</span> his personal appearance we have at least -two portraits by good hands. Before us are -three carefully-engraved portraits -of him, but there is a great dissimilarity -between the three except in the -wig. Sir Godfrey Kneller painted one of -these portraits, which is entirely unlike the -two others; let us, however, give Sir Godfrey -the credit of the best picture, and judge -Addison’s appearance from that. The wig -almost prevents our judging the shape of the -head, yet it seems very high behind. The -forehead is very lofty, the sort of forehead -which is called ‘commanding’ by those -people who do not know that some of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> -least decided men in the world have had -high foreheads. The eyebrows are delicately -‘pencilled,’ yet show a vast deal of vigour -and expression; they are what his old Latin -friends, who knew so well the power of expression -in the eyebrow, would have called -‘supercilious,’ and yet the nasal end of the -supercilium is only slightly raised, and it -droops pleasantly at the temporal end, so -that there is nothing Satanic or ill-natured -about it. The eyebrow of Addison, according -to Kneller, seems to say, ‘You are a greater -fool than you think yourself to be, but I -would die sooner than tell you so.’ The eye, -which is generally supposed to convey so -much expression, but which very often does -not, is very much like the eyes of other -amiable and talented people. The nose is -long, as becomes an orthodox Whig; quite -as long, we should say, as the nose of any -member of Peel’s famous long-nosed ministry, -and quite as delicately chiselled. The mouth -is very tender and beautiful, firm, yet with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> -delicate curve upwards at each end of the -upper lip, suggestive of a good joke, and of a -calm waiting to hear if any man is going to -beat it. Below the mouth there follows of -course the nearly inevitable double chin of -the eighteenth century, with a deep incision -in the centre of the jaw-bone, which shows -through the flesh like a dimple. On the -whole a singularly handsome and pleasant -face, wanting the wonderful form which one -sees in the faces of Shakespeare, Prior, Congreve, -Castlereagh, Byron, or Napoleon, but -still extremely fine of its own.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Johnson’s<br /> -<i>Lives of the<br /> -Poets</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Of his habits, or external manners, nothing -is so often mentioned as that timorous or -sullen taciturnity, which his friends -called modesty by too mild a name. -Steele mentions, with great tenderness, -‘that remarkable bashfulness, which is a -cloak that hides and muffles merit;’ and tells -us ‘that his abilities were covered only by -modesty, which doubles the beauties which -are seen, and gives credit and esteem to all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> -that are concealed.’ Chesterfield affirms that -‘Addison was the most timorous and awkward -man that he ever saw.’ And Addison, -speaking of his own deficiency in conversation, -used to say of himself that, with respect -to intellectual wealth, ‘he could draw bills for -a thousand pounds though he had not a -guinea in his pocket.’... ‘Addison’s conversation,’ -says Pope, ‘had something in it -more charming than I have found in any -other man. But this was only when familiar; -before strangers, or, perhaps, a single stranger, -he preserved his dignity by a stiff silence.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HARRISON AINSWORTH<br /> - -<small>1805-1882</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of a<br /> -Long Life</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“I saw</span> little of him in later days, but when I -saw him in 1826, not long after he married -the daughter of Ebers of New Bond Street, -and ‘condescended’ for a brief time to be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -publisher, he was a remarkably handsome -young man—tall, graceful in deportment, -and in all ways a pleasant person -to look upon and talk to. He -was, perhaps, as thorough a gentleman -as his native city of Manchester ever -sent forth.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A personal<br /> -friend.</div> - -<p>“Harrison Ainsworth was certainly a -handsome man, but it was very much of the -barber’s-block type of beauty, with -wavy scented hair, smiling lips, and -pink and white complexion. As a young -man he was gorgeous in the <i>outr</i> dress of -the dandy of ’36, and, in common with those -other famous dandies, d’Orsay, young Benjamin -Disraeli, and Tom Duncombe, wore -multitudinous waistcoats, over which dangled -a long gold chain, numberless rings, and a -black satin stock. In old age he was very -patriarchal-looking. His gray hair was -swept up and back from a peculiarly high -broad forehead; his moustache, beard, and -whiskers were short, straight, and silky, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> -the mouth was entirely hidden. His eyes -were large and oval, and rather <i>flat</i> in form,—less -expressive altogether than one would -have expected in the head of so graphic a -writer. The eyebrows were somewhat overhanging, -and the nose was straight and -flexible. Up to the day of his death he was -always a well-dressed man, but in a far more -sober fashion than in his youth.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Ainsworth’s<br /> -<i>Rookwood</i>.</div> - -<p>“What have we to add to what we have -here ventured to record, which the engraving -which accompanies this memoir will -not more happily embody? (<i>This -refers to a portrait by Maclise which appeared -in</i> The Mirror.) Should that fail to do justice -to his face—to its regularity and delicacy of -feature, its manly glow of health, and the -cordial nature which lightens it up—we -must refer the dissatisfied beholder to Mr. -Pickersgill’s masterly full-length portrait exhibited -last year, in which the author of <i>The -Miser’s Daughter</i> may be seen, not as some -pale, worn, pining scholar,—some fagging,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> -half-exhausted, periodical romancer,—but, as -an English gentleman of goodly stature and -well-set limb, with a fine head on his shoulders, -and a heart to match. If to this we add a -word, it must be to observe, that, though the -temper of our popular author may be marked -by impatience on some occasions, it has never -been upon any occasion marked by a want of -generosity, whether in conferring benefits or -atoning for errors. His friends regard him -as a man with as few failings, blended with -fine qualities, as most people, and his enemies -know nothing at all about him.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JANE AUSTEN<br /> - -<small>1775-1817</small></h2></div> - -<div class="sidenote">Tytler’s <i>Jane<br /> -Austen and<br /> -her Works</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> person Jane Austen seems to have borne -considerable resemblance to her two favourite -heroines, Elizabeth Bennet and Emma -Woodhouse. Jane, too, was tall and slender,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> -a brunette, with a rich colour,—altogether -‘the picture of health’ which Emma -Woodhouse was said to be. In -minor points, Jane Austen had a -well-formed though somewhat small -nose and mouth, round as well as rosy -cheeks, bright hazel eyes, and brown hair -falling in natural curls about her face.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh’s <i>Memoir<br /> -of Jane Austen</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“As my memoir has now reached the -period when I saw a great deal of my aunt, -and was old enough to understand -something of her value, I -will here attempt a description of her person, -mind, and habits. In person she was very -attractive; her figure was rather tall and -slender, her step light and firm, and her -whole appearance expressive of health and -animation. In complexion she was a clear -brunette, with a rich colour; she had full -round cheeks, with mouth and nose small -and well-formed, bright hazel eyes, and -brown hair forming natural curls close round -her face. If not so regularly handsome as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> -her sister, yet her countenance had a peculiar -charm of its own to the eyes of most beholders. -At the time of which I am now -writing, she never was seen, either morning -or evening, without a cap; I believe that -she and her sister were generally thought to -have taken to the garb of middle age earlier -than their years or their looks required; and -that, though remarkably neat in their dress, -as in all their ways, they were scarcely -sufficiently regardful of the fashionable, or -the becoming.”—1809.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Austen’s <i>Sense<br /> -and Sensibility</i>.</div> - -<p>“Of personal attractions she possessed a -considerable share; her stature rather exceeded -the middle height; her -carriage and deportment were -quiet, but graceful; her features were separately -good; their assemblage produced an -unrivalled expression of that cheerfulness, -sensibility, and benevolence which were her -real characteristics; her complexion was of -the finest texture—it might with truth be -said that her eloquent blood spoke through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> -her modest cheek; her voice was sweet; she -delivered herself with fluency and precision; -indeed, she was formed for elegant and -rational society, excelling in conversation as -much as in composition.... The affectation -of candour is not uncommon, but she had no -affectation.... She never uttered either a -hasty, a silly, or a severe expression. In -short, her temper was as polished as her wit; -and no one could be often in her company -without feeling a strong desire of obtaining -her friendship, and cherishing a desire of -having obtained it.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FRANCIS, LORD BACON<br /> - -<small>1560-1-1626</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Montague’s<br /> -<i>Life of Bacon</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<div class="sidenote">Evelyn<br /> -on Medals.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was of a middle stature, and well proportioned; -his features were handsome and -expressive, and his countenance, until it was -injured by politics and worldly warfare, singularly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> -placid. There is a portrait of him -when he was only eighteen now extant, on -which the artist has recorded his -despair of doing justice to his subject, -by the inscription,—‘Si tabula daretur -digna, animum mallem.’ His portraits differ -beyond what may be considered a fair allowance -for the varying skill of the artist, or the -natural changes which time wrought upon his -person; but none of them contradict -the description given by one who -knew him well, ‘That he had a spacious forehead -and piercing eye, looking upward as a -soul in sublime contemplation, a countenance -worthy of one who was to set free captive -philosophy.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s<br /> -<i>Lives of<br /> -Eminent<br /> -Persons</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<div class="sidenote">Campbell’s<br /> -<i>Lives of the<br /> -Lord<br /> -Chancellors</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“He had a delicate, lively hazel -eie; Dr. Harvey told me it was like -the eie of a viper.”</p> - - - -<p>“All accounts represent him as a delightful -companion, adapting himself to company -of every degree, calling, and humour,—not -engrossing the conversation,—trying to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> -all to talk in turn on the subject they best -understood, and not disdaining to light his own -candle at the lamp of any other.... -Little remains except to give some -account of his person. He was of -a middling stature; his limbs well-formed -though not robust; his forehead high, -spacious and open; his eye lively and penetrating; -there were deep lines of thinking in -his face, his smile was both intellectual and -benevolent; the marks of age were prematurely -impressed upon him; in advanced -life his whole appearance was venerably -pleasing, so that a stranger was insensibly -drawn to love before knowing how much -reason there was to admire him.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOANNA BAILLIE<br /> - -<small>1762-1851</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Crabb<br /> -Robinson’s<br /> -<i>Diary</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“We</span> met Miss Joanna Baillie, and accompanied -her home. She is small in figure, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> -her gait is mean and shuffling, but her -manners are those of a well-bred woman. -She has none of the unpleasant airs -too common to literary ladies. Her -conversation is sensible. She possesses apparently -considerable information, is prompt -without being forward, and has a fixed -judgment of her own, without any disposition -to force it on others. Wordsworth said of -her with warmth, ‘If I had to present any one -to a foreigner as a model of an English -gentlewoman, it would be Joanna Baillie.’”—1812.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“Of the party I can recall but one; that -one, however, is a memory,—<span class="smcap">Joanna Baillie</span>. -I remember her as singularly impressive -in look and manner, with -the ‘queenly’ air we associate with -ideas of high birth and lofty rank. Her face -was long, narrow, dark, and solemn, and her -speech deliberate and considerate, the very -antipodes of ‘chatter.’ Tall in person, -and habited according to the ‘mode’ of an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -olden time, her picture, as it is now present -to me, is that of a very venerable dame, -dressed in coif and kirtle, stepping out, as -it were, from a frame in which she had -been placed by the painter Vandyke.”—1825-26.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sara<br /> -Coleridge’s<br /> -<i>Letters</i>.</div> - -<p>“I saw Mrs. Joanna Baillie before dinner. -She wore a delicate lavender satin bonnet; -and Mrs. J. says she is fond -of dress, and knows what every -one has on. Her taste is certainly -exquisite in dress though (strange to say) not, -in my opinion, in poetry. I more than -ever admired the harmony of expression -and tint, the silver hair and silvery-gray -eye, the pale skin, and the look which -speaks of a mind that has had much -communing with high imagination, though -such intercourse is only perceptible now -by the absence of everything which that -lofty spirit would not set his seal upon.”—1834.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">BENJAMIN, LORD BEACONSFIELD<br /> - -<small>1804-1881</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Jeaffreson’s<br /> -<i>Novels and<br /> -Novelists</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> ringlets of silken black hair, his -flashing eyes, his effeminate and lisping voice, -his dress-coat of black velvet lined -with white satin, his white kid -gloves with his wrist surrounded -by a long hanging fringe of black silk, and -his ivory cane, of which the handle, inlaid -with gold, was relieved by more black silk in -the shape of a tassel.... Such was the perfumed -boy-exquisite who forced his way into -the salons of peeresses.”—1829.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Mill’s<br /> -<i>Beaconsfield</i>.</div> - -<p>“In the front seat on the Conservative side -of the House, may be observed a man who, -if his hat be off, which it generally -is, is sure to arrest one’s attention, -and we need scarcely to be told after having -once seen him that he is the leader of that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> -great party. He is not old, just turned fifty we -may suppose, but he bears his age well, whatever -it may be. His face, which was once -handsome, is now ‘sicklied o’er with the pale -cast of thought.’ The head is long, and the -forehead massive and finished. The eye is -restless, but full of fire; the hair black and -curly. Nature has evidently taken some -pains to finish the exterior.”—about 1855.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">J. H. du Vivier,<br /> -<i>Portraits compars<br /> -des hommes<br /> -d’tat</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Certes, le premier aspect de Mr. Gladstone -... rponds l’ide qu’on peut se faire -d’un chef dou d’un lan irrsistible, -mieuxque l’attitude maladive -de lord Beaconsfield, ses traits -mous, son regard fltri et comme perdu dans -l’abstraction ou dans une rverie hante par -la dsillusion et la lassitude.... Chez -le plus faible ... on devine bientt que si le -fourreau est us par la lame, c’est raison de -la dvorante activit de celle-ci.... La tte -s’incline avec mlancholie, la bouche a pris -l’habitude des contractions douleureuses; mais -que de patience invincible dans cette attitude!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -quelle fcondit, quelle soudainet d’inspirations -marques sur ces lvres que plisse le -rictus de l’ironie!”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JEREMY BENTHAM<br /> - -<small>1748-1832</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Sir John<br /> -Bowring’s<br /> -<i>Autobiographical<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> the very centre of the group of persons -who originated the <i>Westminster Review</i> stands -the grand figure of Jeremy -Bentham. Though closely resembling -Franklin, his face expresses -a profounder wisdom and a more -marked benevolence than the bust of the -American printer. Mingled with a serene -contemplative cast, there is something of -playful humour in the countenance. The -high forehead is wrinkled, but is without -sternness, and is contemplative but complacent. -The neatly-combed long white -hair hangs over the neck, but moves at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> -every breath. <i>Simplex munditiis</i> best describes -his garments. When he walks there -is a restless activity in his gait, as if his -thoughts were, ‘Let me walk fast, for there -is work to do, and the walking is but to fit -me the better for the work.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sir John Bowring’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Bentham</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The striking resemblance between the -persons of Franklin and Bentham has been -often noticed. Of the two, perhaps, -the expression of Bentham’s -countenance was the -more benign. Each remarkable for profound -sagacity, Bentham was scarcely less so for -a perpetual playfulness of manner and of -expression. Few men were so sportive, -so amusing, as Bentham,—none ever tempered -more delightfully his wisdom with -his wit.... Bentham’s dress was peculiar -out of doors. He ordinarily wore a narrow-rimmed -straw hat, from under which his -long white hair fell on his shoulders, or was -blown about by the winds. He had a plain -brown coat, cut in the Quaker style; light-brown<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -cassimere breeches, over whose knees -outside he usually exhibited a pair of white -worsted stockings; list shoes he almost -invariably used; and his hands were generally -covered with merino-lined leather gloves. -His neck was bare; he never went out -without his stick ‘dapple,’ for a companion. -He walked, or rather trotted, as if he were -impatient for exercise; but often stopped -suddenly for purposes of conversation.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Crabb<br /> -Robinson’s<br /> -<i>Diary</i>.</div> - -<p>“<i>December 31st.</i>—At half-past one went -by appointment to see Jeremy Bentham, at -his house in Westminster Square, -and walked with him for about half -an hour in his garden, when he -dismissed me to take his breakfast and have -the paper read to him. I have but little -to report concerning him. He is a small -man. He stoops very much (he is eighty-four), -and shuffles in his gait. His hearing -is not good, yet excellent considering his -age. His eye is restless, and there is a -fidgety activity about him, increased probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> -by the habit of having all round fly at -his command.”—1831.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RICHARD BENTLEY<br /> - -<small>1662-1742</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">R. C. Jebb’s<br /> -<i>Bentley</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> pose of the head is haughty, almost -defiant; the eyes, which are large, prominent, -and full of bold vivacity, have a -light in them as if Bentley were -looking straight at an impostor whom he had -detected, but who still amused him; the nose, -strong and slightly tip-tilted, is moulded as -if Nature had wished to show what a nose -can do for the combined expression of scorn -and sagacity; and the general effect of the -countenance, at a first glance, is one which -suggests power—frank, self-assured, sarcastic, -and, I fear we must add, insolent: yet, standing -a little longer before the picture, we become -aware of an essential kindness in those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> -eyes of which the gaze is so direct and intrepid; -we read in the whole face a certain -keen veracity; and the sense grows—this was -a man who could hit hard, but who would -not strike a foul blow, and whose ruling instinct, -whether always a sure guide or not, -was to pierce through falsities to truth.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JAMES BOSWELL<br /> - -<small>1740-1795</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Littell’s<br /> -<i>Living Age</i>,<br /> -1870.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> sketch by Sir Thomas Lawrence of -Boswell, prefixed to Mr. Murray’s edition -of Johnson’s <i>Life</i>, illustrates with -striking accuracy the saying of -Hazlitt, that ‘A man’s life may be -a lie to himself and others; and yet a picture -painted of him by a great artist would probably -stamp his character.’ The busy vanity, the -garrulous complacency of the man when out -of sight of Dr. Johnson, as he may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> -supposed to have been when the portrait -was etched, are brought out with all the -humour and point of a caricature, without its -exaggeration. The thin nose, that seems to -sniff the air for information, has the sharp -shrewdness of a Scotch accent. The small -eyes, too much relieved by the high-arched -eyebrows, twinkle with the exultation of -victories not won—an expression contracted -from a vigilant watching of Dr. Johnson, -who, when he spoke, spoke always for -victory; the bleak lips, making by their -protrusion an angle almost the size of the -nose, proclaim Boswell’s love of ‘drawing -people out,’ a thirst for information at once -droll and impertinent; but which finally -embodied itself in a form that has been -pronounced by Lord Macaulay the most -interesting biography in the world; the -ample chins, fold upon fold, tell of a strong -affection, gross, and almost sottish, for port -wine and tainted meats; whilst the folded -arms, the slightly-inclined posture, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -strong and arrogant setting of the head, -exhibit the self-importance, the shrewd -understanding, not to be obscurated by -vanity, the imperturbable but artless egotism, -the clever inquisitiveness which have made -him the best-despised and best-read writer -in English literature. The portraits handed -down to us of Boswell by his contemporaries -are most graphic; some of them are -malignant, some bitter, some temperate; -and those that are temperate are probably -just.... Miss Burney thus caricatures the -appearance of Boswell in Johnson’s presence, -when intent upon his note-taking: ‘The -moment that voice burst forth, the attention -which it excited on Mr. Boswell amounted -almost to pain. His eyes goggled with -eagerness; he leant his ear almost on the -shoulder of the doctor, and his mouth -dropped down to catch every syllable that -was uttered; nay, he seemed not only -to dread losing a word, but to be anxious -not to miss a breathing, as if hoping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> -from it latently or mystically some information.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHARLOTTE BRONT<br /> - -<small>1816-1855</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Mrs Gaskell’s<br /> -<i>Life of C. Bront</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> 1831, she was a quiet, thoughtful girl, -of nearly fifteen years of age, very small in -figure—‘stunted’ was the word -she applied to herself; but as -her limbs and head were in just proportion -to the slight, fragile body, no word in ever -so slight a degree suggestive of deformity -could properly be applied to her; with soft, -thick, brown hair, and peculiar eyes, of which -I find it difficult to give a description as they -appeared to me in her later life. They were -large and well-shaped, their colour a reddish -brown, but if the iris were closely examined, -it appeared to be composed of a great variety -of tints. The usual expression was of quiet, -listening intelligence; but now and then, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -some just occasion for vivid interest or -wholesome indignation, a light would shine -out, as if some spiritual lamp had been -kindled, which glowed behind those expressive -orbs. I never saw the like in any -other human creature. As for the rest of -her features, they were plain, large, and ill-set; -but, unless you began to catalogue -them, you were hardly aware of the fact, for -the eyes and power of the countenance overbalanced -every physical defect; the crooked -mouth and the large nose were forgotten, -and the whole face arrested the attention, -and presently attracted all those whom she -herself would have cared to attract. Her -hands and feet were the smallest I ever saw; -when one of the former was placed in mine, -it was like the soft touch of a bird in the -middle of my palm. The delicate long -fingers had a peculiar fineness of sensation, -which was one reason why all her handiwork, -of whatever kind—writing, sewing, knitting,—was -so clear in its minuteness. She was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -remarkably neat in her whole personal attire; -but she was dainty as to the fit of her shoes -and gloves.”—1831.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Harriet<br /> -Martineau’s<br /> -<i>Biographical<br /> -Sketches</i>.</div> - -<p>“There was something inexpressibly affecting -in the aspect of the frail little creature -who had done such wonderful -things, and who was able to bear -up, with so bright an eye and so -composed a countenance, under not only such -a weight of sorrow, but such a prospect of -solitude. In her deep mourning dress (neat -as a Quaker’s), with her beautiful hair, -smooth and brown, her fine eyes, and her -sensible face indicating a habit of self-control, -she seemed a perfect household image—irresistibly -recalling Wordsworth’s description -of that domestic treasure. And she was -this.”—1850.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Bayne’s<br /> -<i>Two great<br /> -Englishwomen</i>.</div> - -<p>“I can only say of this lady, <i>vide tantum</i>. -I saw her first just as I rose out -of an illness from which I never -thought to recover. I remember the -trembling little frame, the little hand, the great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> -honest eyes. An impetuous honesty seemed -to me to characterise the woman.... She -gave me the impression of being a very pure, -and lofty, and high-minded person. A great -and holy reverence of right and truth seemed -to be with her always. Such, in our brief -interview, she appeared to me.”—1851.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HENRY, LORD BROUGHAM<br /> - -<small>1778-1868</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Ticknor’s <i>Life<br /> -and Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Brougham</span>, whom I knew in society, and -from seeing him both at his chambers and -at my own lodgings, is now about -thirty-eight, tall, thin, and rather -awkward, with a plain and not very expressive -countenance, and simple or even -slovenly manners. He is evidently nervous, -and a slight convulsive movement about the -muscles of his lips gives him an unpleasant -expression now and then. In short, all that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -is exterior in him, and all that goes to make -up the first impression, is unfavourable. -The first thing that removes this impression -is the heartiness and good-will he shows you, -whose motive cannot be mistaken, for such -kindness comes only from the heart. This -is the first thing, but a stranger presently -begins to remark his conversation. On -common topics nobody is more commonplace. -He does not feel them, but if the -subject excites him, there is an air of -originality in his remarks which, if it convinces -you of nothing else, convinces you -that you are talking with an extraordinary -man. He does not like to join in a general -conversation, but prefers to talk apart with -only two or three persons, and, though with -great interest and zeal, in an undertone. If, -however, he does launch into it, all the little, -trim, gay pleasure-boats must keep well out -of the way of his great black collier, as -Gibbon said of Fox. He listens carefully -and fairly—and with a kindness which would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> -be provoking if it were not genuine—to all -his adversary has to say; but when his time -comes to answer, it is with that bare, bold, -bullion talent which either crushes itself or -its opponent.... Yet I suspect the impression -Brougham generally leaves is that -of a good-natured friend. At least that is -the impression I have most frequently found, -both in England and on the Continent.”—1819.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Newspaper<br /> -cutting<br /> -1876.</div> - - -<p>“Standing in the narrow Gothic railed-off -place reserved for the public—the throne at -the opposite extremity of the House—you -may see on one of the benches -to the right, almost every forenoon, -Saturday and Sunday excepted, during the -session, a very old man with a white head, -and attired in a simple frock and trousers of -shepherd’s plaid. It is a leonine head, and -the white locks are bushy and profuse. So, -too, the eyebrows, penthouses to eyes somewhat -weak now, but that can flash fire yet -upon occasion. The face is ploughed with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> -wrinkles, as well it may be, for the old man -will never see fourscore years again, and of -these, threescore, at the very least, have been -spent in study and the hardest labour, mental -and physical. The nose is a marvel—protuberant, -rugose, aggressive, inquiring and -defiant: unlovely, but intellectual. There -is a trumpet mouth, a belligerent mouth, -projecting and self-asserting; largish ears, -and on chin or cheeks no vestige of hair. -Not a beautiful man this, on any theory of -beauty, Hogarthesque, Ruskinesque, Winclemenesque, -or otherwise. Rather a shaggy, -gnarled, battered, weather-beaten, ugly, -faithful, Scotch-collie type. Not a soft, -imploring, yielding face. Rather a tearing, -mocking, pugnacious cast of countenance. -The mouth is fashioned to the saying of -harsh, hard, impertinent things: not cruel, -but downright; but never to whisper compliments, -or simper out platitudes. A nose, -too, that can snuff the battle afar off, and -with dilated nostrils breathe forth a glory<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -that is sometimes terrible; but not a nose -for a pouncet-box, or a Covent Garden -bouquet, or a <i>flacon</i> of Frangipani. Would -not care much for truffles either, I think, or -the delicate aroma of sparkling Moselle. -Would prefer onions or strongly-infused malt -and hops; something honest and unsophisticated. -Watch this old man narrowly, young -visitor to the Lords. Scan his furrowed -visage. Mark his odd angular ways and -gestures passing uncouth. Now he crouches, -very dog-like, in his crimson bench: clasps -one shepherd’s plaid leg in both his hands. -Botherem, <i>q.c.</i>, is talking nonsense, I think. -Now the legs are crossed, and the hands -thrown behind the head; now he digs his -elbows into the little Gothic writing-table -before him, and buries his hands in that -puissant white hair of his. The quiddities -of Floorem, <i>q.c.</i>, are beyond human -patience. Then with a wrench, a wriggle, -a shake, a half-turn and half-start up—still -very dog-like, but of the Newfoundland<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> -rather, now—he asks a lawyer or a witness a -question. Question very sharp and to the -point, not often complimentary by times, and -couched in that which is neither broad Scotch -nor Northumbrian burr, but a rebellious -mixture of the two. Mark him well, eye -him closely: you have not much time to lose. -Alas! the giant is very old, though with -frame yet unenfeebled, with intellect yet -gloriously unclouded. But the sands are -running, ever running. Watch him, mark -him, eye him, score him on your mind tablets: -then home, and in after years it may be your -lot to tell your children that once at least -you have seen with your own eyes the famous -Lord of Vaux; once listened to the voice -which has shaken thrones and made tyrants -tremble; that has been a herald of deliverance -to millions pining in slavery and -captivity; a voice that has given utterance, -in man’s most eloquent words, to the noblest, -wisest thoughts lent to this man of men by -heaven; a voice that has been trumpet-sounding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> -these sixty years past in defence of -Truth, and Right, and Justice; in advocacy -of the claims of learning and industry, and of -the liberties of the great English people, from -whose ranks he rose; a voice that should be -entitled to a hearing in a Walhalla of wise -heroes, after Francis of Verulam and Isaac of -Grantham; the voice of one who is worthily -a lord, but who will be yet better remembered, -and to all time,—remembered enthusiastically -and affectionately,—as the champion of all -good and wise and beautiful human things—Harry -Brougham.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Temple Bar</i>,<br /> -1868.</div> - - -<p>“The personal man, the bodily man, the -private man, did not vary. From 1830 to -1866,—the period between his -brightest glow of fame and his -mental eclipse,—he was always the same -gaunt, angular, raw-boned figure, with the -high cheek-bones, the great flexible nose, the -mobile mouth, the shock head of hair, the -uncouthly-cut coat with the velvet collar, the -high black stock, the bulging shirt front, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> -dangling bunch of seals at his fob, and the -immortal pantaloons of checked tweed. It -is said that one of his admirers in the -Bradford Cloth Hall gave him a bale of -plaid trousering ‘a’ oo’’<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> in 1825, and that -he continued until the day of his death to -have his nether garments cut from the inexhaustible -store. I have seen Lord Brougham -in evening dress and in the customary black -continuations; but I never met him by daylight -without the inevitable checks.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING<br /> - -<small>1809-1861</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">M. R. Mitford’s<br /> -<i>Recollections of a<br /> -Literary Life</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“My</span> first acquaintance with Elizabeth Barrett -commenced about fifteen years -ago. She was certainly one of -the most interesting persons that -I had ever seen. Everybody who then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> -saw her said the same; so that it is not -merely the impression of my partiality, or my -enthusiasm. Of a slight delicate figure, with -a shower of dark curls falling on either side -of a most expressive face, large tender eyes, -richly fringed with dark eyelashes, a smile -like a sunbeam, and such a look of youthfulness, -that I had some difficulty in persuading -a friend, in whose carriage we went together -to Chiswick, that the translatress of the -<i>Prometheus</i> of schylus, the authoress of -the <i>Essay on Mind</i>, was old enough to be -introduced into company, in technical -language, was <i>out</i>.”—1835.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sara Coleridge’s<br /> -<i>Letters</i>.</div> - -<p>“She is little, hard featured, with long -dark ringlets, a pale face, and plaintive voice, -something very impressive in her -dark eyes and her brow. Her -general aspect puts me in mind of Mignon,—what -Mignon might be in maturity and -maternity.”—1851.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Crab Robinson’s<br /> -<i>Diary</i>.</div> - -<p>“Dined at home, and at eight dressed to -go to Kenyon. With him I found an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> -interesting person I had never seen before, -Mrs. Browning, late Miss Barrett—not the -invalid I expected; she has a -handsome oval face, a fine eye, -and altogether a pleasing person. She had -no opportunity for display, and apparently -no desire. Her husband has a very amiable -expression. There is a singular sweetness -about him.”—1852.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN BUNYAN<br /> - -<small>1628-1688</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Charles Doe’s <i>Life<br /> -of John Bunyan</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> appeared in countenance to be of a -stern and rough temper. He had a sharp, -quick eye, accomplished, with an -excellent discerning of persons. -As for his person, he was tall of stature, -strong-boned, though not corpulent; somewhat -of a ruddy face, with sparkling eyes, -wearing his hair on the upper lip after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> -the old British fashion; his hair reddish, -but in his later days time had sprinkled -it with gray; his nose well set, but not -declining or bending, and his mouth moderate -large, his forehead something high, and his -habit always plain and modest.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Tulloch’s <i>English<br /> -Puritanism</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“It is impossible to look at his portrait, -and not recognise the lines of power by -which it is everywhere marked. -It has more of a sturdy soldier -than anything else—the aspect of a man who -would face dangers any day rather than shun -them; and this corresponds exactly to his -description by his oldest biographer and -friend, Charles Doe.... A more manly and -robust appearance cannot well be conceived, -his eyes only showing in their sparkling -depth the fountains of sensibility concealed -within the roughened exterior. Here, as -before, we are reminded of his likeness to -Luther.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Bunyan’s<br /> -<i>Works</i>, 1692.</div> - - -<p>“Give us leave to say his natural parts -and abilities were not mean, his fancy and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -invention were very pregnant and fertile; the -use he made of them was good, converting -them to spiritual objects. His wit -was sharp and quick; his memory -tenacious; it being customary with him to -commit his sermons to writing, after he had -preached them. His understanding was -large and comprehensive; his judgments -sound and deep in the fundamentals of the -Gospel, as his writings evidence. And yet, -this great saint was always, in his own eyes, -the chiefest of sinners and the least of saints; -esteeming any, where he did believe the truth -of (their) grace, better than himself. There -was, indeed, in him all the parts of an accomplished -man. His carriage was condescending, -affable, and meek to all; yet bold and -courageous for Christ’s and the Gospel’s sake. -His countenance was grave and sedate, and did -so, to the life, discover the inward frame of his -heart, that it did strike something of awe into -them that had nothing of the fear of God.... -His conversation was as becomes the Gospel.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">EDMUND BURKE<br /> - -<small>1730-1797</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Burney’s <i>Diary<br /> -and Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“No</span> expectation that I had formed of Mr. -Burke, either from his works, his speeches, -his character, or his fame, had -anticipated to me such a man as -I now met. He appeared, perhaps, at the -moment, to the highest possible advantage -in health, vivacity, and spirits. Removed -from the impetuous aggravations of party -contentions, that at times, by inflaming his -passions, seemed (momentarily, at least), to -disorder his character, he was lulled into -gentleness by the grateful sense of prosperity; -exhilarated, but not intoxicated, by sudden -success; and just rising, after toiling years of -failures, disappointments, fire and fury, to -place, affluence, and honours, which were -brightly smiling on the zenith of his powers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> -He looked, indeed, as if he had no wish but -to diffuse philanthropic pleasure and genial -gaiety all around.</p> - -<p>“His figure is noble, his air commanding, -his address graceful; his voice clear, penetrating, -sonorous, and powerful; his language -copious, eloquent, and changefully impressive; -his manners are attractive; his conversation -is past all praise.</p> - -<p>“You may call me mad, I know; but if I -wait till I see another Mr. Burke for such -another fit of ecstacy, I may be long enough -in my sober good senses.”—1782.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Peter Burke’s<br /> -<i>Life of Burke</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The personal description of Edmund -Burke has been handed down. He was -about five feet ten inches high, -well made and muscular; of that -firm and compact frame that denotes more -strength than bulk. His countenance had -been in his youth handsome. The expression -of his face was less striking than might -have been anticipated; at least it was so -until lit up by the animation of his conversation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> -or the fire of his eloquence. In dress -he usually wore a brown suit; and he was -in his later days easily recognisable in the -House of Commons from his bob-wig and -spectacles.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Macknight’s<br /> -<i>Life of Burke</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“He deserved ... worship better than -most idols. Gentle, affectionate, unassuming -towards the members of his own -family, he was also dignified, -polished, and courteous in his manner to all -the rest of mankind. Nature had stamped -the noblest impress of genius on his wrinkled -brow, and time had slowly conferred a grace -on his address which made him appear -singularly pleasing and lovable. In the -House of Commons only the fiercer peculiarities -of his character were now seen; -while at home he seemed the mildest and -kindest, as well as one of the best and -greatest of human beings. He poured forth -the rich treasures of his mind with the most -prodigal bounty. At breakfast and dinner -his gaiety, wit, and pleasantry enlivened the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> -board, and diffused cheerfulness and happiness -all round.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ROBERT BURNS<br /> - -<small>1759-1796</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Currie’s<br /> -<i>Life of Burns</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Burns</span> ... was nearly five feet ten inches in -height, and of a form that indicated agility as -well as strength. His well-raised -forehead, shaded with black curling -hair, indicated extensive capacity. -His eyes were large, dark, full of ardour -and intelligence. His face was well-formed, -and his countenance uncommonly interesting -and expressive. His mode of dressing, -which was often slovenly, and a certain -fulness and bend in his shoulders, characteristic -of his original profession, disguised in -some degree the natural symmetry and -elegance of his form. The external appearance -of Burns was most strikingly indicative -of the character of his mind. On a first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> -view, his physiognomy had a certain air of -coarseness, mingled, however, with an expression -of deep penetration, and of calm -thoughtfulness, approaching to melancholy.... -His dark and haughty countenance easily -relaxed into a look of good-will, of pity, or -of tenderness, and, as the various emotions -succeeded each other in his mind, assumed -with equal ease the expression of the -broadest humour, of the most extravagant -mirth, of the deepest melancholy, or of the -most sublime emotion. The tones of his -voice happily corresponded with the expression -of his features, and with the feelings of -his mind. When to these endowments are -added a rapid and distinct apprehension, a -most powerful understanding, and a happy -command of language—of strength as well -as brilliancy of expression—we shall be able -to account for the extraordinary attractions -of his conversation—for the sorcery which -in his social parties he seemed to exert on -all around him.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Lockhart’s<br /> -<i>Life of Scott</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>“His person was strong and robust; his -manners rustic, not clownish; a sort of -dignified plainness and simplicity, -which received part of its effect, -perhaps, from one’s knowledge of his extraordinary -talents. His features are represented -in Mr. Nasmyth’s picture, but to me it conveys -the idea that they are diminished, as if -seen in perspective. I think his countenance -was more massive than it looks in any of the -portraits. I would have taken the poet, had -I not known what he was, for a very sagacious -country farmer of the old Scotch school; <i>i.e.</i> -none of your modern agriculturists, who keep -labourers for their drudgery, but the <i>douce -gudeman</i> who held his own plough. There -was a strong expression of sense and shrewdness -in all his lineaments; the eye alone, -I think, indicated the poetical character and -temperament. It was large, and of a dark -cast, and glowed (I say literally <i>glowed</i>) when -he spoke with feeling or interest. I never -saw such another eye in a human head,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> -though I have seen the most distinguished -men in my time. His conversation expressed -perfect self-confidence, without the slightest -presumption. Among the men who were -the most learned of their time and country, -he expressed himself with perfect firmness, -but without the least intrusive forwardness; -and when he differed in opinion, he did not -hesitate to express it firmly, yet, at the same -time, with modesty. I do not remember any -part of his conversation distinctly enough to -be quoted, nor did I ever see him again, -except in the street, where he did not -recognise me, as I could not expect he -should.”—1787.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Dumfries<br /> -Journal</i>, 1796.</div> - - -<p>“His personal endowments were perfectly -correspondent to the qualifications of his -mind, his form was manly, his action -energy itself, devoid in a great -measure perhaps of those graces, of that polish, -acquired only in the refinement of societies -where in early life he could have no opportunities -of mixing; but where, such was the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> -irresistible power of attraction that encircled -him, though his appearance and manners -were always peculiar, he never failed to -delight and to excel. His figure seemed to -bear testimony to his earlier destination and -employments. It seemed rather moulded by -nature for the rough exercises of agriculture, -than the gentler cultivation of the <i>Belles -Lettres</i>. His features were stamped with the -hardy character of independence, and the -firmness of conscious, though not arrogant, -pre-eminence; the animated expressions of -countenance were almost peculiar to himself; -the rapid lightenings of his eye were always -the harbingers of some flash of genius, -whether they darted the fiery glances of -insulted and indignant superiority, or beamed -with the impassioned sentiments of fervent -and impetuous affections. His voice alone -could improve upon the magic of his eye; -sonorous, replete with the finest modulations, -it alternately captivated the ear with the -melody of poetic numbers, the perspicuity of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> -nervous reasoning, or the ardent sallies of -enthusiastic patriotism.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SAMUEL BUTLER<br /> - -<small>1612-1680</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives<br /> -of Eminent Men</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> is of a middle stature, strong sett, high-colored, -a head of sorrell haire, a -severe and sound judgement: a -good fellowe.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives<br /> -of Eminent Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“He was of a leonine-colored haire, sanguine, -cholerique, middle-sized, -strong; a boon and witty companion, -especially among the companie he -knew well.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">GEORGE, LORD BYRON<br /> - -<small>1788-1824</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Moore’s<br /> -<i>Life of Byron</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Among</span> the impressions which this meeting -left upon me, what I chiefly remember to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> -have remarked was the nobleness of his air, -his beauty, the gentleness of his voice and -manners, and—what was naturally -not the least attraction—his marked -kindness to myself. Being in mourning for -his mother, the colour, as well of his dress -as of his glossy, curling, and picturesque -hair, gave more effect to the pure, spiritual -paleness of his features, in the expression of -which, when he spoke, there was a perpetual -play of lively thought, though melancholy -was their habitual character when in repose.”—1811.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Geo. Ticknor’s<br /> -<i>Life</i>.</div> - -<p>“I called on Lord Byron to-day, with an -introduction from Mr. Gifford. Here, again, -my anticipations were mistaken. -Instead of being deformed, as I had -heard, he is remarkably well-built, with the -exception of his feet. Instead of having a -thin and rather sharp and anxious face, as he -has in his pictures, it is round, open, and -smiling; his eyes are light, and not black; -his air easy and careless, not forward and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> -striking; and I found his manners affable -and gentle, the tones of his voice low and -conciliating, his conversation gay, pleasant, -and interesting in an uncommon degree.”—1815.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Moore’s<br /> -<i>Life of Byron</i>.</div> - -<p>“It would be to little purpose to dwell -upon the mere beauty of a countenance in -which the expression of an extraordinary -mind was so conspicuous. -What serenity was seated on the forehead, -adorned with the finest chestnut hair, -light, curling, and disposed with such art, that -the art was hidden in the imitation of most -pleasing nature! What varied expression -in his eyes! They were of the azure colour -of the heavens, from which they seemed to -derive their origin. His teeth, in form, in -colour, in transparency, resembled pearls; -but his cheeks were too delicately tinged -with the hue of the pale rose. His neck, -which he was in the habit of keeping uncovered -as much as the usages of society -permitted, seemed to have been formed in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -mould, and was very white. His hands were -as beautiful as if they had been the works of -art. His figure left nothing to be desired, -particularly by those who found rather a -grace than a defect in a certain light and -gentle undulation of the person when he -entered a room, and of which you hardly felt -tempted to inquire the cause. Indeed it was -hardly perceptible,—the clothes he wore were -so long.... His face appeared tranquil -like the ocean on a fine spring morning, but, -like it, in an instant became changed into -the tempestuous and terrible, if a passion -(a passion did I say?), a thought, a word -occurred to disturb his mind. His eyes then -lost all their sweetness, and sparkled so that -it became difficult to look on them.”—1819.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS CAMPBELL<br /> - -<small>1777-1844</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“They</span> who knew Mr. Campbell only as -the author of <i>Gertrude of Wyoming</i>, and the -<i>Pleasures of Hope</i>, would not have -suspected him to be a merry companion, -overflowing with humour and anecdote, -and anything but fastidious.... -When I first saw this eminent person, he -gave me the idea of a French Virgil. Not -that he was like a Frenchman, much less the -French translator of Virgil. I found him -as handsome as the Abb Delille is said to -have been ugly. But he seemed to me to -embody a Frenchman’s ideal notion of the -Latin poet; something a little more cut and -dry than I had looked for; compact and -elegant, critical and acute, with a consciousness -of authorship upon him; a taste over-anxious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> -not to commit itself, and refining -and diminishing nature as in a drawing-room -mirror. This fancy was strengthened, in the -course of conversation, by his expatiating on -the greatness of Racine. I think he had a -volume of the French poet in his hand. His -skull was sharply cut and fine; with plenty, -according to the phrenologists, both of the -reflective and amative organs; and his poetry -will bear them out. For a lettered solitude, -and a bridal properly got up, both according -to law and luxury, commend us to the lovely -<i>Gertrude of Wyoming</i>. His face and person -were rather on a small scale; his features -regular; his eye lively and penetrating; and -when he spoke, dimples played about his -mouth, which, nevertheless, had something -restrained and close in it. Some gentle -puritan seemed to have crossed the breed, -and to have left a stamp on his face, such as -we often see in the female Scotch face rather -than in the male. But he appeared not at -all grateful for this; and when his critiques<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> -and his Virgilianism were over, very unlike a -puritan he talked! He seemed to spite his -restrictions, and, out of the natural largeness -of his sympathy with things high and low, to -break at once out of Delille’s Virgil into -Cotton’s, like a boy let loose from school. -When I had the pleasure of hearing him -afterwards, I forgot his Virgilianisms, and -thought only of the delightful companion, the -unaffected philanthropist, and the creator of -a beauty worth all the heroines in Racine.”—About -1809.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Patmore’s <i>Sketch<br /> -from Real Life</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The person of this exquisite writer and -delightful man is small, delicately formed, -and neatly put together, without -being little or insignificant. His -face has all the harmonious arrangement of -features which marks his gentle and refined -mind; it is oval, perfectly regular in its details, -and lighted up not merely by ‘eyes of youth,’ -but by a bland smile of intellectual serenity -that seems to pervade and penetrate all the -features, and impart to them all a corresponding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> -expression, such as the moonlight lends -to a summer landscape; the moonlight, not -the sunshine; for there is a mild and tender -pathos blended with that expression, which -bespeaks a soul that has been steeped in the -depths of human woe, but has turned their -waters (as only poets can) into fountains of -beauty and of bliss.”</p> - - -<div class="sidenote">Beattie’s <i>Life<br /> -and Letters of<br /> -Thomas Campbell</i>.</div> - - -<p>“He was generally careful as to dress, -and had none of Dr. Johnson’s indifference -to fine linen. His wigs were -always nicely adjusted, and -scarcely distinguishable from -natural hair. His appearance was interesting -and handsome. Though rather below the -middle size, he did not seem little; and his -large dark eye and countenance bespoke great -sensibility and acuteness. His thin quivering -lip and delicate nostril were highly expressive. -When he spoke, as Leigh Hunt -has remarked, dimples played about his -mouth, which, nevertheless, had something -restrained and close in it.... In personal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> -neatness and fastidiousness—no less than -in genius and taste—Campbell in his best days -resembled Gray. Each was distinguished by -the same careful finish in composition—the -same classical predilections and lyrical fire, -rarely but strikingly displayed. In ordinary -life they were both somewhat finical—yet -with greater freedom and idiomatic plainness -in their unreserved communications—Gray’s -being evinced in his letters, and Campbell’s -in conversation.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS CARLYLE<br /> - -<small>1795-1881</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Caroline Fox’s<br /> -<i>Journals and<br /> -Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Carlyle</span> soon appeared, and looked as if -he felt a well-dressed London crowd scarcely -the arena for him to figure in as -a popular lecturer. He is a tall, -robust-looking man; rugged simplicity -and indomitable strength are in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> -face, and such a glow of genius in it,—not -always smouldering there, but flashing from -his beautiful gray eyes, from the remoteness -of their deep setting under that massive -brow. His manner is very quiet, but he -speaks like one tremendously convinced of -what he utters.... He began in a rather -low nervous voice, with a broad Scotch -accent, but it soon grew firm, and shrank not -abashed from its great task.”—1840.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s<br /> -<i>Carlyle</i>.</div> - -<p>“He was then fifty-four years old; tall -(about five feet eleven), thin, but at the same -time upright, with no signs of the later -stoop. His body was angular, his face -beardless, such as it is represented in Woolner’s -medallion, which is by far the best -likeness of him in the days of his strength. -His head was extremely long, with the chin -thrust forward; the neck was thin; the mouth -firmly closed, the under lip slightly projecting; -the hair grizzled and thick and bushy. His -eyes, which grew lighter with age, were then -of a deep violet, with fire burning at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> -bottom of them, which flashed out at the -least excitement. The face was altogether -most striking, most impressive in every way. -And I did not admire him the less because -he treated me—I cannot say unkindly, but -shortly and sternly. I saw then what I saw -ever after—that no one need look for conventional -politeness from Carlyle—he would -hear the exact truth from him and nothing -else.”—1849.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Wylie’s<br /> -<i>Carlyle</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The maid went forward and said something -to Carlyle and left the room. He was -sitting before a fire in an arm-chair, -propped up with pillows, with his feet -on a stool, and looked much older than I -had expected. The lower part of his face -was covered with a rather shaggy beard, -almost quite white. His eyes were bright -blue, but looked filmy from age. He had on -a sort of coloured night-cap, a long gown -reaching to his ankles, and slippers on his -feet. A rest attached to the arm of his chair -supported a book before him. I could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> -quite see the name, but I think it was -Channing’s works. Leaning against the -fireplace was a long clay pipe, and there was -a slight smell of tobacco in the room.... -His hands were very thin and wasted, he -showed us how they shook and trembled -unless he rested them on something, and said -they were failing him from weakness.... -He seemed such a venerable old man, and -so worn and old looking, that I was very much -affected. Our visit was on Tuesday, 18th -May 1880, at about 2 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS CHATTERTON<br /> - -<small>1752-1770</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Wilson’s<br /> -<i>Chatterton</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“It</span> is to be feared that no authentic portrait -of Chatterton exists; and even the accounts -furnished as to his appearance, only -partially aid us in realising an idea -of the manly, handsome boy, with his flashing,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> -hawklike eye, through which even the -Bristol pewterer thought he could see his -soul. His forehead one fancies must have -been high; though hidden, perhaps, as in -the supposed Gainsborough portrait, with -long flowing hair. His mouth, like that of -his father, was large. But the brilliancy of -his eyes seems to have diverted attention -from every other feature; and they have -been repeatedly noted for the way in which -they appeared to kindle in sympathy with his -earnest utterances. Mr. Edward Gardner, -who only knew him during his last three -months in Bristol, specially recalled ‘the -philosophic gravity of his countenance, and -the keen lightening of his eye.’ Mr. Capel, -on the contrary, resided as an apprentice in -the same house where Lambert’s office was, -and saw Chatterton daily. His advances had -been repelled at times with the flashing -glances of the poet; and the terms in which -he speaks of his pride and visible contempt -for others show there was little friendship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> -between them. But he also remarks: ‘Upon -his being irritated or otherwise greatly -affected, there was a light in his eyes which -seemed very remarkable.’ He had frequently -heard this referred to by others; and Mr. -George Catcott speaks of it as one who had -often quailed before such glances, or been -spell-bound, like Coleridge’s wedding guest -by the ‘glittering eye’ of the Ancient Mariner. -He said he could never look at it long enough -to see what sort of an eye it was; but it -seemed to be a kind of hawk’s eye. You -could see his soul through it.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Gregory’s <i>Life<br /> -of Chatterton</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The person of Chatterton, like his genius, -was premature; he had a manliness and -dignity beyond his years, and -there was a something about him -uncommonly prepossessing. His more remarkable -feature was his eyes which, though -gray, were uncommonly piercing; when he -was warmed in argument or otherwise, they -sparked with fire, and one eye, it is said, was -still more remarkable than the other.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">GEOFFREY CHAUCER<br /> - -<small>ABOUT 1340-1400</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Nicholas’s<br /> -<i>Life of Chaucer</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> affection of Occleve” (<i>his contemporary -and dear friend</i>) “has made Chaucer’s person -better known than that of any -individual of his age. The portrait -of which an engraving illustrates this memoir, -is taken from Occleve’s painting already -mentioned in the Harleian MS. 4866, which -he says was painted from memory after -Chaucer’s decease, and which is apparently -the only genuine portrait in existence. The -figure, which is half-length, has a background -of green tapestry. He is represented with -gray hair and beard, which is bi-forked; he -wears a dark-coloured dress and hood, his -right hand is extended, and in his left he -holds a string of beads. From his vest a -black case is suspended, which appears to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> -contain a knife, or possibly a ‘penner’<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> or -pencase. The expression of the countenance -is intelligent, but the fire of the eye seems -quenched, and evident marks of advanced -age appear on the countenance. This is -incomparably the best portrait of Chaucer -yet discovered.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Nicholas’s<br /> -<i>Life of Chaucer</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“There is a third portrait in a copy of the -<i>Canterbury Tales</i> made about the reign of -King Henry the Fifth, being -within twenty years of the poet’s -death, in the Lansdowne MS. 851. The -figure, which is a small full-length, is placed in -the initial letter of the volume. He is dressed -in a long gray gown, with red stockings, and -black shoes fastened with black sandals round -the ankles. His head is bare, and the hair -closely cut. In his right hand he holds an -open book; and a knife or pencase, as in the -other portraits, is attached to his vest.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span><i>Tradition asserts that Chaucer merged his -own personality in that of the Poet in his</i> -Canterbury Tales.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Prologue to<br /> -<i>The Rime of<br /> -Sire Thopas</i>.</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“... Our Hoste to japen he began,</div> -<div class="verse">And than at erst he loked upon me,</div> -<div class="verse">And saide thus; ‘What man art thou?’ quod he;</div> -<div class="verse">‘Thou lokest, as thou woldest finde an hare,</div> -<div class="verse">For ever upon the ground I see thee stare.</div> -</div> - <div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">‘Approche nere, and loke up merily.</div> -<div class="verse">Now ware you, sires, and let this man have place.</div> -<div class="verse">He in the waste is shapen as wel as I:</div> -<div class="verse">This were a popet,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> in an arme to enbrace</div> -<div class="verse">For any woman, smal and faire of face.</div> -<div class="verse">He semeth elvish<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> by his contenance,</div> -<div class="verse">For unto no wight doth he daliance.’”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PHILIP, LORD CHESTERFIELD<br /> - -<small>1694-1773</small></h2></div> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Life and Letters<br /> -of Lord Chesterfield.</i></div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Philip Dormer Stanhope</span>, Earl of Chesterfield, -was a slight-made man, of the middle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> -size; rather genteel than handsome either -in face or person: but there was a certain -suavity in his countenance, -which, accompanied with a -polite address and pleasing elocution, obtained -him in a wonderful degree the admiration of -both sexes, and made his suit irresistible -with either. He was naturally possessed -of a fine sensibility; but by a habit of -mastering his passions and disguising his -feelings, he at length arrived at the appearance -of the most perfect Stoicism: nothing -surprised, alarmed, or discomposed him.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Hayward’s<br /> -<i>Lord Chesterfield</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The name of Chesterfield has become a -synonym for good breeding and politeness. -It is associated in our minds -with all that is graceful in manner -and cold in heart, attractive in appearance -and unamiable in reality. The image -it calls up is that of a man rather below the -middle height, in a court suit and blue -riband, with regular features wearing an -habitual expression of gentleman-like ease.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> -His address is insinuating, his bow perfect, -his compliments rival those of <i>Le Grand -Monarque</i> in delicacy; laughter is too demonstrative -for him, but the smile of courtesy -is ever on his lips; and by the time he has -gone through the circle, the great object of -his daily ambition is accomplished—all the -women are already half in love with him, and -every man is desirous to be his friend.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Blackwood’s<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1868.</div> - - -<p>“... Lord Hervey pauses in his story -of Queen Caroline and her Court to describe -with cutting and bitter force the -character and appearance of his -rival courtier.... ‘His person was as disagreeable -as it was possible for a human -figure to be without being deformed,’ he says. -‘He was very short, disproportioned, thick -and clumsily made, with black teeth, and a -head big enough for a Polyphemus. One -Ben Ashurst, who said few good things -though admired for many, told Lord Chesterfield -once that he was like a stunted giant, -which was a humorous idea, and really<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> -apposite.’... The defects of his personal -appearance are evidently exaggerated in -this truculent sketch; but his portrait by -Gainsborough, which is said to be the best, -affords some foundation for the picture. The -face is heavy, rugged, and unlovely, though -full of force and intelligence; and his unheroic -form and stature are points which -Chesterfield himself does not attempt to -conceal.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM COBBETT<br /> - -<small>1762-1835</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Bamford’s<br /> -<i>Passages in the<br /> -Life of a Radical</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Had</span> I met him anywhere else save in the -room and on that occasion, I should have -taken him for a gentleman -farming his own broad estate. He -seemed to have that kind of self-possession -and ease about him, together -with a certain bantering jollity, which are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -so natural to fast-handed and well-housed -lords of the soil. He was, I should suppose, -not less than six feet in height, portly, with a -fresh, clear, and round cheek, and a small -gray eye, twinkling with good-humoured -archness. He was dressed in a blue coat, -yellow swan’s-down waistcoat, drab kerseymere -small-clothes, and top-boots. His hair -was gray, and his cravat and linen fine, and -very white.”—1818.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Hazlitt’s<br /> -<i>Table Talk</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Mr. Cobbett speaks almost as well as he -writes. The only time I ever saw him he -seemed to me a very pleasant man, -easy of access, affable, clear-headed, -simple and mild in his manner, deliberate -and unruffled in his speech, though some of -his expressions were not very qualified. His -figure is tall and portly. He has a good, -sensible face, rather full, with little gray eyes, -a hard square forehead, a ruddy complexion, -with hair gray or powdered; and had on a -scarlet broadcloth waistcoat with the flaps of -the pockets hanging down, as was the custom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> -for gentleman farmers in the last century, or -as we see it in pictures of members of parliament -in the reign of George I. I certainly -did not think less favourably of him for seeing -him.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Watson’s<br /> -<i>Biographies of<br /> -Wilkes and Cobbett</i>.</div> - -<p>“In stature the late Mr. Cobbett was tall -and athletic. I should think he could not -have been less than six feet two, -while his breadth was proportionately -great. He was indeed -one of the stoutest men in the House.... -His hair was of a milk-white colour, and -his complexion ruddy. His features were -not strongly marked. What struck you -most about his face was his small, sparkling, -laughing eyes. When disposed to be -humorous yourself, you had only to look at -his eyes, and you were sure to sympathise -with his merriment. When not speaking, -the expression of his eye and his countenance -was very different. He was one of the -most striking refutations of the principles of -Lavater I ever witnessed. Never were the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -looks of any man more completely at -variance with his character. There was -something so heavy and dull about his whole -appearance, that any one who did not know -him would at once set him down for some -country clodpole, to use a favourite expression -of his own, who not only had never read a -book, or had a single idea in his head, but -who was a mere mass of mortality, without -a particle of sensibility of any kind in his -composition. He usually sat with one leg -over the other, his head slightly drooping, as -if sleeping, on his breast, and his hat down -almost to his eyes. His usual dress was a -light-gray coat of a full make, a white waistcoat, -and kerseymere breeches of a sandy -colour. When he walked about the House, -he generally had his hands inserted in his -breeches’ pocket. Considering his advanced -age, seventy-three, he looked remarkably hale -and healthy, and walked with a firm but slow -step.”—1835.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">HARTLEY COLERIDGE<br /> - -<small>1796-1849</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Derwent<br /> -Coleridge’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Hartley Coleridge</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I first</span> saw Hartley in the beginning, I -think, of 1837, when I was at Sedbergh, and -he heard us our lesson in Mr. -Green’s parlour. My impression -of him was what I conceived -Shakespeare’s idea of a gentleman to -be, something which we like to have in a picture. -He was dressed in black, his hair, -just touched with gray, fell in thick waves -down his back, and he had a frilled shirt on; -and there was a sort of autumnal ripeness -and brightness about him. His shrill voice, -and his quick, authoritative ‘Right! right!’ -and the chuckle with which he translated -‘rerum repetundarum’ as ‘peculation, a very -common vice in governors of all ages,’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> -after which he took a turn round the sofa—all -struck me amazingly.”—1837.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Derwent<br /> -Coleridge’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Hartley Coleridge</i>.</div> - -<p>“His manners and appearance were -peculiar. Though not dwarfish either in form -or expression, his stature was -remarkably low, scarcely exceeding -five feet, and he early -acquired the gait and general appearance -of advanced age. His once dark, lustrous -hair, was prematurely silvered, and became -latterly quite white. His eyes, dark, soft, -and brilliant, were remarkably responsive to -the movements of his mind, flashing with a -light from within. His complexion, originally -clear and sanguine, looked weather-beaten, -and the contour of his face was -rendered less pleasing by the breadth of his -nose. His head was very small, the ear -delicately formed, and the forehead, which -receded slightly, very wide and expansive. -His hands and feet were also small and -delicate. His countenance when in repose, -or rather in stillness, was stern and thoughtful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> -in the extreme, indicating deep and -passionate meditation, so much so as to be at -times almost startling. His low bow on -entering a room, in which there were ladies -or strangers, gave a formality to his address, -which wore at first the appearance of constraint; -but when he began to talk these -impressions were presently changed,—he -threw off the seeming weight of years, his -countenance became genial, and his manner -free and gracious.”—1843.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Littell’s<br /> -<i>Living Age</i>,<br /> -1849.</div> - -<p>“His head was large and expressive, with -dark eyes and white waving locks, and resting -upon broad shoulders, with the -smallest possible apology for a neck. -To a sturdy and ample frame were -appended legs and arms of a most disproportioned -shortness, and, ‘in his whole aspect -there was something indescribably elfish and -grotesque, such as limners do not love to -paint, nor ladies to look upon.’ He reminded -you of a spy-glass shut up, and you -wanted to take hold of him and pull him out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> -into a man of goodly proportions and average -stature. It was difficult to repress a smile -at his appearance as he approached, for the -elements were so quaintly combined in him -that he seemed like one of Cowley’s conceits -translated into flesh and blood.... His -manners were like those of men accustomed -to live much alone, simple, frank, and direct, -but not in all respects governed by the rules -of conventional politeness. It was difficult -for him to sit still. He was constantly -leaving his chair, walking about the room, -and then sitting down again, as if he were -haunted by an incurable restlessness. His -conversation was very interesting, and marked -by a vein of quiet humour not found in his -writings. He spoke with much deliberation, -and in regularly-constructed periods, which -might have been printed without any alteration. -There was a peculiarity in his voice -not easily described. He would begin -a sentence in a sort of subdued tone, -hardly above a whisper, and end it in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -something between a bark and a growl.”—1848.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE<br /> - -<small>1772-1834</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">de Quincey’s<br /> -<i>Life and<br /> -Writings</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I had</span> received directions for finding out -the house where Coleridge was visiting; and -in riding down a main street of -Bridgewater, I noticed a gateway -corresponding to the description -given me. Under this was standing and gazing -about him, a man whom I shall describe! -In height he might seem to be about five feet -eight (he was in reality about an inch and a -half taller, but his figure was of an order which -drowns the height); his person was broad -and full, and tended even to corpulence; his -complexion was fair, though not what painters -technically style fair, because it was associated -with black hair; his eyes were large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> -and soft in their expression, and it was from -the peculiar haze or dreaminess which mixed -with their light that I recognised my object. -This was Coleridge.”—1807.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Bryan Procter’s<br /> -<i>Recollections of<br /> -Men of Letters</i>.</div> - -<p>“Coleridge had a weighty head, dreaming -gray eyes, full, sensual lips, and a look and -manner which were entirely wanting -in firmness and decision. His -motions also appeared weak and -undecided, and his voice had nothing of the -sharpness or ring of a resolute man. -When he spoke his words were thick -and slow, and when he read poetry his utterance -was altogether a chant.”—About 1820.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s <i>Life<br /> -of Carlyle</i>.</div> - -<p>“I have seen many curiosities; not the -least of them I reckon Coleridge, the Kantian -metaphysician and quondam Lake -Poet. I will tell you all about our -interview when we meet. Figure a fat, -flabby, incurvated personage, at once short, -rotund, and relaxed, with a watery mouth, -a snuffy nose, a pair of strange brown, timid, -yet earnest-looking eyes, a high tapering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -brow, and a great bush of gray hair, and you -have some faint idea of Coleridge. He is a -kind, good soul, full of religion and affection -and poetry and animal magnetism. His -cardinal sin is that he wants <i>will</i>. He has -no resolution. He shrinks from pain or -labour in any of its shapes. His very attitude -bespeaks this. He never straightens -his knee-joints. He stoops with his fat, -ill-shapen shoulders, and in walking he does -not tread, but shovel and slide. My father -would call it ‘skluiffing.’ He is also always -busied to keep, by strong and frequent inhalations, -the water of his mouth from overflowing, -and his eyes have a look of anxious -impotence. He <i>would</i> do with all his heart, -but he knows he dares not. The conversation -of the man is much as I anticipated—a -forest of thoughts, some true, many false, -more <i>part</i> dubious, all of them ingenious in -some degree, often in a high degree. But -there is no method in his talk; he wanders -like a man sailing among many currents,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> -whithersoever his lazy mind directs him; and, -what is more unpleasant, he preaches, or -rather soliloquises. He cannot speak, he can -only <i>tal-k</i> (so he names it). Hence I found him -unprofitable, even tedious; but we parted very -good friends, I promising to go back and see -him some evening—a promise which I fully -intend to keep. I sent him a copy of -<i>Meister</i>, about which we had some friendly -talk. I reckon him a man of great and -useless genius: a strange, not at all a great -man.”—1824.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM COLLINS<br /> - -<small>1720-1756</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Gentleman’s<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1781.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Collins</span> I was intimately acquainted with -from the time that he came to reside at Oxford. -In London I met him often.... -He was of moderate stature, of -a light and clear complexion, with gray<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> -eyes so very weak at times as hardly to -bear a candle in the room, and often raising -within him apprehensions of blindness. He -was passionately fond of music, good-natured -and affable, warm in his friendships and -visionary in his pursuits, and, as long as I knew -him, temperate in his eating and drinking.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Johnson’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Collins</i>.</div> - -<p>“About this time I fell into his company. -His appearance was decent and manly; his -knowledge considerable, his views -extensive, his conversation elegant, -and his disposition cheerful.”—1744.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">J. Langhorne’s<br /> -<i>Memoirs of<br /> -William Collins</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Mr. Collins was, in stature, somewhat -above the middle size; of a brown complexion, -keen expressive eyes, and -a fixed sedate aspect, which, from -intense thinking, had contracted -an habitual frown. His proficiency in letters -was greater than could have been expected -from his years. He was skilled in -the learned languages, and acquainted with -the Italian, French, and Spanish.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM COWPER<br /> - -<small>1731-1800</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Cowper’s<br /> -<i>Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“As</span> for me, I am a very smart youth of my -years. I am not indeed grown gray so much -as I am grown bald. No matter. -There was more hair in the world -than ever had the honour to belong to me. -Accordingly, having found just enough to -curl a little at my ears, and to intermingle -with a little of my own that still hangs behind, -I appear, if you see me in an afternoon, -to have a very decent head-dress, not easily -distinguished from my natural growth; which -being worn with a small bag, and a black -ribbon about my neck, continues to me the -charms of my youth, even on the verge of -age. Away with the fear of writing too -often.</p> - -<p class="indent1">“Yours, my dearest cousin,</p> - -<p class="right">“W. C.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>“<i>P.S.</i>—That the view I give you of myself -may be complete, I add the two following -items,—that I am in debt to nobody, and -that I grow fat.”—1785.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">H. F. Cary’s<br /> -<i>Notice of Cowper</i>.</div> - -<p>“Cowper was of a middle height, with -limbs strongly framed, hair of -light brown, eyes of a bluish -gray, and ruddy complexion.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Rossetti’s <i>Memoir<br /> -of Cowper</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The eager, sudden-looking, large-eyed, -shaven face of Cowper is familiar to us in his -portraits—a face sharp-cut and -sufficiently well-moulded, without -being handsome, nor particularly sympathetic. -It is a high-strung, excitable face, -as of a man too susceptible and touchy to -put himself forward willingly among his -fellows, but who, feeling a ‘vocation’ upon -him, would be more than merely earnest,—self-asserting, -aggressive, and unyielding. -This is in fact very much the character of his -writings.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">GEORGE CRABBE<br /> - -<small>1754-1832</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Life of Crabbe</i>,<br /> -by his son.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> the eye of memory I can still see him as -he was at that period of his life,—his fatherly -countenance unmixed with any -of the less lovable expressions -that in too many faces obscure that character; -but pre-eminently <i>fatherly</i>, conveying the -ideas of kindness, intellect, and purity; his -manner grave, manly, and cheerful, in unison -with his high and open forehead; his very -attitudes, whether as he sat absorbed in the -arrangement of his minerals, shells, and -insects; or as he laboured in his garden until -his naturally pale complexion acquired a tinge -of fresh healthy red; or as, coming lightly -towards us with some unexpected present, his -smile of indescribable benevolence spoke exultation -in the foretaste of our raptures.”—1789.</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Life of Crabbe</i>,<br /> -by his son.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>“... Mr. Lockhart ... recently -favoured me with the following letter.... -‘His noble forehead, his bright -beaming eye, without anything of -old age about it—though he was then, I -presume, above seventy; his sweet, and, I -would say, innocent smile, and the calm -mellow tones of his voice, are all reproduced -the moment I open any page of his poetry.’”—1822.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“In the appearance of Crabbe there was -little of the poet, but even less of the stern -critic of mankind, who looked at -nature askance, and ever contemplated -beauty animate or inanimate,—</p> - -<p class="center">‘The simple loves and simple joys,’</p> - -<p>‘through a glass darkly.’ On the contrary, -he seemed to my eyes the representative of -the class of rarely troubled, and seldom thinking, -English farmers. A clear gray eye, a -ruddy complexion, as if he loved exercise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> -and wooed mountain breezes, were the leading -characteristics of his countenance. It is a -picture of age, ‘frosty but kindly,’—that of -a tall and stalwart man gradually grown old, -to whom age was rather an ornament than -a blemish. He was one of those instances -of men, plain perhaps in youth, and homely -of countenance in manhood, who become -absolutely handsome when white hairs have -become a crown of glory, and indulgence in -excesses or perilous passions has left no lines -that speak of remorse, or even of errors -unatoned.”—1825-26.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">DANIEL DE FOE<br /> - -<small>1661-1731</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Secretary<br /> -of State’s<br /> -Proclamation.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Whereas</span>, Daniel De Foe, <i>alias</i> De Fooe, -is charged with writing a scandalous and -seditious pamphlet entitled <i>The Shortest -Way with the Dissenters</i>. He is a middle-sized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -spare man, about forty years old, of -a brown complexion, and dark -brown-colored hair, but wears a -wig; a hooked nose, a sharp chin, -gray eyes, and a large mole near his mouth.”—1703.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Wilson’s<br /> -<i>De Foe</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“A likeness of the author, engraved by -M. Vandergucht, from a painting by Taverner, -is prefixed.” (<i>To a volume of treatises -published in 1703.</i>) “It is the first -portrait of De Foe, and probably the most -like him. The following description of it by -a recent biographer is strikingly characteristic: -‘No portrait can have more verisimilitude, to -say the least of it. It exhibits a set of features -rather regular than otherwise, very determined -in its outlines, more particularly the mouth, -which expresses great firmness and resolution -of character. The eyes are full, black, and -grave-looking, but the impression of the -whole countenance is rather a striking than a -pleasing one. Daniel is here set forth in a -most lordly and full-bottomed wig, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -flows down lower than his elbow, and rises -above his forehead with great amplitude of -curl. A richly-laced cravat, and fine loose-flowing -cloak completes his attire, and preserve, -we may suppose, the likeness of that -civic “gallantry” which Oldmixon ascribes -to Daniel on the occasion of his escorting -King William to the Lord Mayor’s feast. It -is altogether more like a picture of a substantial -citizen of the “surly breed” De Foe -has himself so often satirised, than that of a -poor pamphleteer languishing in jail after the -terrors of the pillory.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">John Forster’s<br /> -<i>Bibliographical<br /> -Essays</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“It is, to us, very pleasing to contemplate -the meeting of such a sovereign and such a -subject, as William and De Foe. -There was something not dissimilar -in their physical aspect, as in their -moral temperament resemblances undoubtedly -existed. The King was the elder by ten -years, but the middle size, the spare figure, -the hooked nose, the sharp chin, the keen -gray eye, the large forehead, and grave appearance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -were common to both. William’s -manner was cold, except in battle, and little -warmth was ascribed to De Foe’s, unless he -spoke of civil liberty.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHARLES DICKENS<br /> - -<small>1812-1870</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Forster’s <i>Life<br /> -of Dickens</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Very</span> different was his face in those days -from that which photography has made -familiar to the present generation. -A look of youthfulness first -attracted you, and then a candour and openness -of expression which made you sure of the -qualities within. The features were very -good. He had a capital forehead, a firm -nose with full wide nostrils, eyes wonderfully -beaming with intellect and running over with -humour and cheerfulness, and a rather -prominent mouth strongly marked with -sensibility. The head was altogether well<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> -formed and symmetrical, and the air and -carriage of it was extremely spirited. The -hair so scant and grizzled in later days was -then of a rich brown and most luxuriant -abundance, and the bearded face of his last -two decades had hardly a vestige of hair or -whisker; but there was that in the face as I -first recollect it which no time could change, -and which remained implanted on it unalterably -to the last. This was the quickness, -keenness, and practical power, the eager, -restless, energetic outlook on each several -feature, that seemed to tell so little of a -student or writer of books, and so much of -a man of action and business in the world. -Light and motion flashed from every part of -it. <i>It was as if made of steel</i>, was said of it, -four or five years after the time to which I -am referring, by a most original and delicate -observer, the late Mrs. Carlyle. ‘What a -face is his to meet in a drawing-room!’ -wrote Leigh Hunt to me, the morning after -I had made them known to each other. ‘It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> -has the life and soul in it of fifty human -beings.’ In such sayings are expressed not -alone the restless and resistless vivacity and -force of which I have spoken, but that also -which lay beneath them of steadiness and -hard endurance.”—1838.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">J. T. Fields’s<br /> -<i>Yesterdays with<br /> -Authors</i>.</div> - -<p>“How well I recall the bleak winter -evening in 1842 when I first saw the handsome, -glowing face of the young -man who was even then famous -over half the globe! He came -bounding into the Tremont House, fresh from -the steamer that had brought him to our -shores, and his cheery voice rang through -the hall, as he gave a quick glance at the -new scenes opening upon him in a strange -land on first arriving at a Transatlantic hotel. -‘Here we are!’ he shouted, as the lights -burst upon the merry party just entering the -house, and several gentlemen came forward -to meet him. Ah, how happy and buoyant -he was then! Young, handsome, almost -worshipped for his genius, belted round by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -such troops of friends as rarely ever man had, -coming to a new country to make new conquests -of fame and honor,—surely it was a -sight long to be remembered and never wholly -to be forgotten. The splendour of his endowments -and the personal interest he had won to -himself called forth all the enthusiasm of old -and young America, and I am glad to have -been among the first to welcome his arrival. -You ask me what was his appearance as he -ran, or rather flew, up the steps of the hotel, -and sprang into the hall? He seemed all on -fire with curiosity, and alive as I never saw -mortal before. From top to toe every fibre of -his body was unrestrained and alert. What -vigor, what keenness, what freshness of -spirit, possessed him! He laughed all over, -and did not care who heard him! He seemed -like the Emperor of Cheerfulness on a cruise -of pleasure, determined to conquer a realm -or two of fun every hour of his overflowing -existence. That night impressed itself on -my memory for all time, so far as I am<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> -concerned with things sublunary. It was -Dickens, the true ‘Boz,’ in flesh and blood, -who stood before us at last, and with my companions, -three or four lads of my own age, I -determined to sit up late that night.”—1842.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">The Cowden<br /> -Clarkes’ <i>Recollections<br /> -of writers</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Charles Dickens had that acute perception -of the comic side of things which causes -irrepressible brimming of the -eyes; and what eyes his were! -Large, dark blue, exquisitely -shaped, fringed with magnificently long and -thick lashes—they now swam in liquid, limpid -suffusion, when tears started into them from a -sense of humour or a sense of pathos, and -now darted quick flashes of fire when some -generous indignation at injustice, or some -high-wrought feeling of admiration at magnanimity, -or some sudden emotion of interest -and excitement touched him. Swift-glancing, -appreciative, rapidly observant, truly superb -orbits they were, worthy of the other features -in his manly, handsome face. The mouth -was singularly mobile, full-lipped, well-shaped,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> -and expressive; sensitive, nay restless, in its -susceptibility to impression that swayed him, -or sentiment that moved him. He, who saw -into apparently slightest trifles that were -fraught to his perception with deeper significance; -he, who beheld human nature with -insight almost superhuman, and who revered -good and abhorred evil with intensity, showed -instantaneously by his expressive countenance -the kind of idea that possessed him. This -made his conversation enthralling, his acting -first-rate, and his reading superlative.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ISAAC D’ISRAELI<br /> - -<small>1766-1848</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of<br /> -a long Life</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I found</span> him a most kindly and courteous -gentleman, obviously of a tender, -loving nature, and certainly more -than willing to give me what I -asked for. I do not recall him as like his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> -illustrious son; if my memory serves me -rightly, he was rather fair than dark; not -above the middle height, with features calm in -expression; his eyes (which, however, were -always covered with spectacles) sparkling, -and searching, but indicating less the fire of -genius than the patient inquiry that formed -the staple of his books.”—1823.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Beaconsfield’s<br /> -<i>Memoirs of<br /> -Isaac D’Israeli</i>.</div> - - -<p>“As the world has always been fond of -personal details respecting men who have -been celebrated, I will mention -that he was fair, with a Bourbon -nose, and brown eyes of extraordinary -beauty and lustre. He wore a small -black velvet cap, but his white hair latterly -touched his shoulders in curls almost as -flowing as in his boyhood. His extremities -were delicate and well formed, and his leg, at -his last hour, as shapely as in his youth, which -showed the vigour of his frame. Latterly he -had become corpulent. He did not excel in -conversation, though in his domestic circle he -was garrulous. Everything interested him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> -and blind and eighty-two, he was still as -susceptible as a child.... He more resembled -Goldsmith than any man that I can -compare him to: in his conversation, his apparent -confusion of ideas ending with some felicitous -phrase of genius, his <i>navet</i>, his simplicity -not untouched with a dash of sarcasm -affecting innocence—one was often reminded -of the gifted and interesting friend of Burke and -Johnson. There was, however, one trait in -which my father did not resemble Goldsmith; -he had no vanity. Indeed, one of his few infirmities -was rather a deficiency of self-esteem.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Chorley’s<br /> -<i>Personal<br /> -Reminiscences</i>.</div> - -<p>“Mr. D’Israeli was announced.... An -old gentleman, <i>strictly</i> in his appearance; a -countenance which at first glance -(owing, perhaps, to the mouth, -which hangs), I fancied slightly -chargeable with solidity of expression, but -which developed strong sense as it talked; a -rather <i>soign</i> style of dress for so old a man, -and a manner good-humoured, complimentary -(to Gebir), discursive and prosy, bespeaking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> -that engrossment and interest in his own -pursuits which might be expected to be found -in a person so patient in research and collection. -But there is a tone of <i>philosophe</i> (or I -fancied it), which I did not quite like.”—1838.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN DRYDEN<br /> - -<small>1631-1700</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Anderson’s<br /> -<i>Poets of<br /> -Great Britain</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Of</span> the person, private life, and domestic -manners of Dryden, very few particulars are -known. His picture by Kneller -would lead us to suppose that he -was graceful in his person; but -Kneller was a great mender of nature. From -the <i>State Poems</i> we learn that he was a -short, thick man. The nickname given him -by his enemies was <i>Poet Squab</i>. ‘I remember -plain John Dryden’ (says a writer -in the <i>Gentleman’s Magazine</i> for February -1745, who was then eighty-seven years of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> -age) ‘before he paid his court to the great, -in one uniform clothing of Norwich drugget. -I have eat tarts with him and Madam Reeve -(the actress) at the Mulberry Garden, when -our author advanced to a sword and <i>Chedreux</i> -wig (probably the wig that Swift has ridiculed -in <i>The Battle of the Books</i>). Posterity is -absolutely mistaken as to that great man. -Though forced to be a satirist, he was the -mildest creature breathing, and the readiest -to help the young and deserving. Though -his comedies are horribly full of <i>double -entendre</i>, yet ’twas owing to a false compliance -for a dissolute age; he was in -company the modestest man that ever conversed.’... -From those notices which he -has very liberally given us of himself, it -appears, that ‘his conversation was slow and -dull, his humour saturnine and reserved, and -that he was none of those who endeavour to -break jests in company, and make repartees.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Gilfillan’s<br /> -<i>Life of Dryden</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“As to his habits and manners little is -known, and that little is worn threadbare by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> -his many biographers. In appearance he -became in his maturer years fat and florid, -and obtained the name of ‘Poet -Squab.’ His portraits show a -shrewd but rather sluggish face, with long -gray hair floating down his cheeks, not -unlike Coleridge, but without his dreamy eye -like a nebulous star. His conversation was -less sprightly than solid. Sometimes men -suspected that he had ‘sold all his thoughts -to his booksellers.’ His manners are by his -friends pronounced ‘modest,’ and the word -modest has since been amiably confounded -by his biographers with ‘pure.’ Bashful he -seems to have been to awkwardness; but he -was by no means a model of the virtues. He -loved to sit at Will’s coffee-house and be the -arbiter of criticism. His favourite stimulus -was snuff, and his favourite amusement -angling. He had a bad address, a down -look, and little of the air of a gentleman.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Christie’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Dryden</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Some notion of Dryden’s personal -appearance may be gathered from contemporary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> -notices. He was of short stature, stout, -and ruddy in the face. Rochester christened -him ‘Poet Squab,’ and Tom Brown -always calls him ‘Little Bayes.’ -Shadwell, in his <i>Medal of John -Bayes</i>, sneers at him as a cherry-cheeked -dunce; another lampooner calls him ‘learned -and florid.’ Pope remembered him as plump -and of fresh colour, with a down look. Lady -de Longueville, who died in 1763 at the age -of a hundred, told Oldys that she remembered -Dryden dining with her husband, and that -the most remarkable part of his appearance -was an uncommon distance between his eyes. -He had a large mole on his right cheek. -The friendly writer of some lines on his -portrait by Closterman says:</p> - -<p class="center">‘A sleepy eye he shows, and no sweet feature.’</p> - -<p>He appears to have become gray comparatively -early, and he let his gray hair grow long. We -see him with his long gray locks in the portrait -by which, through engravings, his face is best -known to us, painted by Kneller in 1698.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> -The face, as we know it by that picture and -the engravings, is handsome, it indicates -intellect, and sensual characteristics are not -wanting.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">MARY ANNE EVANS<br /> - -<small>(<span class="smcap">George Eliot</span>)</small><br /> - -<small>1819-1880</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Harper’s<br /> -Magazine</i>,<br /> -1881.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> more than one striking passage in his -novels Mr. Hardy has recognised the fact -that the beauty of the future, as the -race is more developed in intellect, -cannot be the mere physical beauty -of the past; and in one of the most remarkable -he says that ‘ideal physical beauty -is incompatible with mental development, -and a full recognition of the evil of things. -Mental luminousness must be fed with the -oil of life, even though there is already a -physical need for it.’ And this was the case -with George Eliot. The face was one of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> -group of four, not all equally like each other, -but all of the same spiritual family, and with -a curious interdependance of likeness. These -four are Dante, Savonarola, Cardinal Newman, -and herself.... In the group of which -George Eliot was one there is the same -straight wall of brow; the droop of the -powerful nose; mobile lips, touched with -strong passion, kept resolutely under control; -a square jaw, which would make the face -stern, were it not counteracted by the sweet -smile of lip and eye.... The two or three -portraits that exist, though valuable, give but -a very imperfect presentiment. The mere -shape of the head would be the despair of any -painter. It was so grand and massive that -it would scarcely be possible to represent it -without giving the idea of disproportion to -the frame of which no one ever thought for a -moment when they saw her, although it was a -surprise, when she stood up, to see that after -all, she was but a little fragile woman who -bore this weight of brow and brain.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Century</i>,<br /> -1881.</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>“Everything in her aspect and presence -was in keeping with the bent of her soul. -The deeply-lined face, the too -marked and massive features, were -united with an air of delicate refinement, -which in one way was the more impressive -because it seemed to proceed so entirely from -within. Nay, the inward beauty would sometimes -quite transform the external harshness; -there would be moments when the thin hands -that entwined themselves in their eagerness, -the earnest figure that bowed forward to -speak and hear, the deep gaze moving from -one face to another with a grave appeal,—all -these seemed the transparent symbols that -showed the presence of a wise benignant soul. -But it was the voice which best revealed her, -a voice whose subdued intensity and tremulous -richness seemed to environ her uttered -words with the mystery of a work of feeling -that must remain untold.... And then -again, when in moments of more intimate -converse some current of emotion would set<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> -strongly through her soul, when she would -raise her head in unconscious absorption and -look out into the unseen, her expression was -not one to be soon forgotten. It had not, -indeed, the serene felicity of souls to whose -child-like confidence all heaven and earth are -fair. Rather it was the look (if I may use -a platonic phrase) of a strenuous Demiurge, -of a soul on which high tasks are laid, and -which finds in their accomplishment its only -imagination of joy.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">William<br /> -Morgan’s<br /> -<i>George Eliot</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“I was disappointed when I found the -illustrated papers gave no portraits of George -Eliot, and I afterwards learned that, -celebrated as she is in other ways, -she enjoys the rare, and perhaps -unique, distinction that she was never photographed. -Two portraits of her are, however, -in existence. One, by Mr. Lawrence, hangs -in Mr. Blackwood’s drawing-room in Edinburgh; -the other, by Mr. Buxton, was in her -own house at Chelsea. She is described as a -woman of large, massive, and homely features,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> -which were softened and irradiated by a -gracious and winning smile. The size, shape, -and poise of her head were very noticeable, -and some of her friends have been struck by -her resemblance to the portrait of Savonarola -by Fra Bartolommea. Her voice was rich -and melodious, and those who best knew her -speak of her as a strangely fascinating and -sympathetic woman, who left on every one -who approached her an impression of -goodness and greatness. Her conversation -had no traces of the rich humour which runs -through some of her writings, but she joined -very heartily in the jocularity of others.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HENRY FIELDING<br /> - -<small>1707-1754</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Roscoe’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Fielding</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“With</span> regard to his personal appearance, -Fielding was strongly built, robust, and in -height rather exceeding six feet; he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> -also remarkably active, till repeated attacks -of gout had broken down the vigour of -a fine constitution. Naturally of a -dignified presence, he was equally -impressive in his tone and manner, -which added to his peculiarly-marked features; -his conversational powers and rare wit must -have given him a decided influence in general -society, and not a little ascendency over the -minds of common men.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Jeaffreson’s<br /> -<i>Novels and<br /> -Novelists</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“That our nation was well and favourably -represented by him, amongst the lads at the -university, there can be no doubt; -for he was a magnificent fellow, -frank in bearing, agile as a trained -wrestler, rather exceeding six feet in height, -with a face, both by aristocratic features and -gallant expression, remarkably engaging, with -a fresh, slightly ruddy complexion, and a -winning smile of the most mirthful intelligence, -with an air commanding, but -free from the slightest taint of haughtiness, -and lastly, with a disposition as well endowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> -as his mind,—generous and truly noble as -became one sprung from the seed of kings.”—1725.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Lawrence’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Fielding</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The personal appearance of the great -novelist has been thus described by his -friend, Mr. Arthur Murphy: ‘Henry -Fielding was in stature rather rising -above six feet; his frame of body -large and remarkably robust, till the gout -had broken the vigour of his constitution.’ -His features were marked and striking, so -much so, that a portrait of him was painted -by his friend Hogarth from memory, with -the assistance of a profile which had been -cut in paper with a pair of scissors by a lady. -Though he was singularly handsome in his -youth, in his later years it appears, from his -own account, that his gouty and dropsical -figure was anything but agreeable to behold. -But his cheerfulness and good temper -rendered him to the last a delightful companion, -and endeared him to his family and -friends.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN GAY<br /> - -<small>1688-1732</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Coxe’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -John Gay</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> physiognomy does not appear to have -been remarkable for strong lines or expressive -features, it rather denoted benignity -and meekness.... In his person -Gay was inclined to corpulency; a -circumstance which he humorously alludes -to in his Epistle to Lord Burlington:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="indent">‘You knew fat bards might tire,</div> -<div class="verse">And mounted sent me forth your trusty squire.’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>His natural corpulency was increased by -extreme indolence, for which his friends -often rallied him. Swift, in a letter to the -Duchess of Queensberry, thus expresses -himself on this subject: ‘You need not be -in pain about Mr. Gay’s stock of health; I -promise you he will spend it all upon laziness, -and run deep in debt by a winter’s repose in -town; therefore I entreat your Grace will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> -order him to move his chaps less, and his -legs more, the six cold months, else he will -spend all his money in physic and coach-hire.’—8th -October 1731.... In the early -part of his life Gay was extremely fond of -dress.... Pope also touches upon this weakness -in a letter to Swift.—18th December -1713.</p> - -<p>... “‘One Mr. Gay, an unhappy youth, -who writes pastorals during the time of -divine service; whose case is the more -deplorable, as he hath miserably lavished -away all that silver he should have reserved -for his soul’s health in buttons and loops for -his coat.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Thackeray’s<br /> -<i>English<br /> -Humourists</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“In the portraits of the literary worthies -of the early part of the last century, Gay’s -face is the pleasantest perhaps of all. -It appears adorned with neither -periwig nor nightcap (the full dress -and <i>nglige</i> of learning without which the -painters of those days scarcely ever pourtrayed -wits), and he laughs at you over his shoulder<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> -with an honest boyish glee—an artless sweet -humour. He was so kind, so gentle, so -jocular, so delightfully brisk at times, so -dismally woe-begone at others, such a natural -good creature, that the Giants loved him.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">EDWARD GIBBON<br /> - -<small>1737-1794</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Colman’s<br /> -<i>Random<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> learned Gibbon was a curious counter-balance -to the learned (may I not say -the less learned) Johnson. Their -manners and tastes, both in writing -and conversation, were as different -as their habiliments. On the day I first sat -down with Johnson in his rusty brown suit -and his black worsted stockings, Gibbon was -placed opposite to me in a suit of flowered -velvet, with a bag and sword. Each had his -measured phraseology, and Johnson’s famous -parallel between Dryden and Pope might be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> -loosely parodied in reference to himself and -Gibbon. Johnson’s style was grand, and -Gibbon’s elegant: the stateliness of the -former was sometimes pedantic, and the -latter was occasionally finical. Johnson -marched to kettledrums and trumpets, Gibbon -moved to flutes and hautboys. Johnson -hewed passages through the Alps, while -Gibbon levelled walks through parks and -gardens. Mauled as I had been by Johnson, -Gibbon poured balm upon my bruises by -condescending once or twice in the course of -the evening to talk with me. The great -historian was light and playful, suiting his -matter to the capacity of a boy; but it was -done <i>more suo</i>—still his mannerism prevailed, -still he tapped his snuff-box, still he smirked -and smiled, and rounded his periods with -the same air of good-breeding, as if he were -conversing with men. His mouth, mellifluous -as Plato’s, was a round hole nearly in the -centre of his visage.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Lord<br /> -Sheffield’s<br /> -<i>Gibbon</i>.</div> - - -<p>“M. Pavilliard has described to me the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> -astonishment with which he gazed on Mr. -Gibbon standing before him; a thin little -figure, with a large head, disputing -and urging, with the greatest ability, -all the best arguments that had ever -been used in favour of popery. Mr. Gibbon -many years ago became very fat and corpulent, -but he had uncommonly small bones, -and was very slightly made.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Quarterly<br /> -Review</i>,<br /> -1809.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“As to his manners in society, without -doubt the agreeableness of Gibbon was -neither that yielding and retiring complaisance, -nor that modesty which is -forgetful of self; but his vanity never -showed itself in an offensive manner: anxious -to succeed and to please, he wished to -command attention, and obtained it without -difficulty by a conversation animated, sprightly, -and full of matter: all that was dictatorial in -his tone betrayed not so much that desire of -domineering over others, which is always -offensive, as confidence in himself. Notwithstanding -this, his conversation never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> -carried one away; its fault was a kind of -arrangement which never permitted him to -say anything unless well.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM GODWIN<br /> - -<small>1756-1836</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> person he was remarkably sedate and -solemn, resembling in dress and manner a -Dissenting minister rather than the -advocate of ‘free-thought’ in all -things—religious, moral, social, -and intellectual; he was short and stout, -his clothes loosely and carelessly put on, -and usually old and worn; his hands were -generally in his pockets; he had a remarkably -large, bald head, and a weak voice; -seeming generally half asleep when he -walked, and even when he talked. Few -who saw this man of calm exterior, quiet -manners, and inexpressive features, could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> -have believed him to have originated three -romances—<i>Falkland</i>, <i>Caleb Williams</i>, and <i>St. -Leon</i>,—not yet forgotten because of their -terrible excitements; and the work, <i>Political -Justice</i>, which for a time created a sensation -that was a fear in every state of Europe.... -Lamb called him ‘a good-natured heathen’; -Southey said of him, in 1797, ‘He has large -noble eyes, and a nose—oh! most abominable -nose.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">George Ticknor’s<br /> -<i>Life</i>.</div> - -<p>“Godwin is as far removed from everything -feverish and exciting as if his head had -never been filled with anything -but geometry. He is now about -sixty-five, stout, well-built, and unbroken by -age, with a cool, dogged manner, exactly -opposite to everything I had imagined of the -author of <i>St. Leon</i> and <i>Caleb Williams</i>.”—1819.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">H. Martineau’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p>“The mention of Coleridge reminds me, I -hardly know why, of Godwin, -who was an occasional morning -visitor of mine. I looked upon him as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> -curious monument of a bygone state of -society; and there was still a good deal that -was interesting in him. His fine head was -striking, and his countenance remarkable. It -must not be judged of by the pretended -likeness put forth in <i>Fraser’s Magazine</i> about -that time, and attributed, with the whole -set, to Maclise.... The high Tory -favourites of the Magazine were exhibited -to the best advantage; while Liberals were -represented as Godwin was. Because the -finest thing about him was his noble head, -they put on a hat; and they represented him -in profile because he had lost his teeth, and -his lips fell in. No notion of Godwin’s face -could have been formed from that caricature.”—1833.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">OLIVER GOLDSMITH<br /> - -<small>1728-1774</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Forster’s <i>Life<br /> -and Times<br /> -of Oliver<br /> -Goldsmith</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“You</span> scarcely can conceive how much eight -years of disappointment, anguish, and study,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> -have worn me down.... Imagine to yourself -a pale melancholy visage, with two great -wrinkles between the eyebrows, -with an eye disgustingly severe, and, -a big wig, and you may have a -perfect picture of my present appearance.... -I can neither laugh nor drink, have -contracted a hesitating disagreeable manner -of speaking, and a visage that looks ill-nature -itself; in short, I have thought myself into -a settled melancholy, and an utter disgust of -all that life brings with it.”—1759.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Boswell’s <i>Life<br /> -of Dr. Johnson</i>.</div> - -<p>“He was very much what the French call -<i>un tourdi</i>, and from vanity and an eager -desire of being conspicuous wherever -he was, he frequently talked -carelessly without knowledge of the subject, -or even without thought. His person was -short, his countenance coarse and vulgar, his -deportment that of a scholar awkwardly -affecting the easy gentleman.”—1763.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">R. Walsh’s<br /> -<i>British Poets</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Nothing could be more amiable than the -general features of his mind; those of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> -person were not perhaps so engaging. His -stature was under the middle size, his body -strongly built, and his limbs more -sturdy than elegant. His complexion -was pale, his forehead low, his face -almost round and pitted with the small-pox, -but marked with strong lines of thinking. -His first appearance was not captivating; -but when he grew easy and cheerful in -company, he relaxed into such a display of -good-humour as soon removed every unfavourable -impression.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">DAVID GRAY<br /> - -<small>1838-1861</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Buchanan’s<br /> -<i>Life of David<br /> -Gray</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“At</span> twenty-one years of age ... David was -a tall young man, slightly but firmly built, and -with a stoop at the shoulders. His -head was small, fringed with black -curly hair. Want of candour was -not his fault, though he seldom looked one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> -in the face; his eyes, however, were large -and dark, full of intelligence and humour, -harmonising well with the long thin nose and -nervous lips. The great black eyes and -woman’s mouth betrayed the creature of -impulse; one whose reasoning faculties were -small, but whose temperament was like red-hot -coal. He sympathised with much that -was lofty, noble, and true in poetry, and with -much that was absurd and suicidal in the -poet. He carried sympathy to the highest -pitch of enthusiasm; he shed tears over -the memories of Keats and Burns, and he -was corybantic in his execution of a Scotch -‘reel.’”—1859.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">R. M. Milnes’s<br /> -<i>Notice on David<br /> -Gray</i>.</div> - - -<p>“I was told a young man wished to see -me, and when he came into the room I at -once saw it was no other than the -young Scotch poet. It was a -light, well-built, but somewhat -stooping figure, with a countenance that at -once brought strongly to my recollection a -cast of a face of Shelley in his youth, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> -I had seen at Mr. Leigh Hunt’s. There was -the same full brow, out-looking eyes, and -sensitive melancholy mouth.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Hedderwick’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -David Gray</i>.</div> - -<p>“In person, the deceased poet was tall, -with a slight stoop. His head was not large, -but his temperament was of the -keenest and brightest edge. With -black curling hair, eyes dark, large, -and lustrous, and a complexion of almost -feminine delicacy, his appearance never -failed to make a favourable impression on -strangers.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS GRAY<br /> - -<small>1716-1771</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Gosse’s<br /> -<i>Gray</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> one of Philip Gray’s fits of extravagance -he seems to have had a full-length of his son -painted about this time, by the fashionable -portrait-painter of the day, Jonathan -Richardson the elder. This picture is -now in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> -The head is good in colour and modelling; -a broad pale brow, sharp nose and chin, large -eyes, and a pert expression, give a lively idea -of the precocious and not very healthy young -gentleman of thirteen. He is dressed in a -blue satin coat, lined with pale shot silk, and -crosses his stockinged legs so as to display -dapper slippers of russet leather.”—1729.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Warburton’s<br /> -<i>Horace Walpole<br /> -and his<br /> -contemporaries</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“Gray, judging from his portrait by -Echardt, lately at Strawberry Hill, was -eminently the poet and the -scholar in his appearance. A -delicate frame, a pale complexion, -an expansive forehead, clear eyes, a small -mouth, and regular features, bearing the -general impression of thoughtfulness and -melancholy, surrounded by his own hair, worn -long, prepossessed the spectator in his -favour, and charmed those who were already -his admirers.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Gosse’s<br /> -<i>Gray</i>.</div> - -<p>“Mr. Gray’s singular niceness in the -choice of his acquaintance makes him appear -fastidious in a great degree to all who are not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> -acquainted with his manner. He is of a fastidious -and recluse distance of carriage, rather -averse to all sociability, but of the -graver turn, nice and elegant in his -person, dress, and behaviour, even to a degree -of finicality and effeminacy.”—1770.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HENRY HALLAM<br /> - -<small>1777-1859</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Hallam</span> was a tall and remarkably handsome -man, very stately in look and manner. -His countenance was thoughtful and -intelligent, yet by no means stern. -On the contrary, he was kindly and -condescending. I had once occasion to -apply to him for information. He gave it -graciously and gracefully, and appeared as -if he had received instead of conferred a -compliment.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">George Ticknor’s<br /> -<i>Life</i>.</div> - -<p>“Mr. Hallam is, I suppose, about sixty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> -years old, gray-headed, hesitates a little in -his speech, is lame, and has a shy manner -which makes him blush frequently, -when he expresses as decided an -opinion as his temperament constantly leads -him to entertain. Except his lameness, he -has a fine dignified person, and talked -pleasantly, with that air of kindness which is -always so welcome to a stranger.... He is -a wise man, a little nervous in his manner -and a little fidgety, yet of a sound and quiet -judgment.”—1838.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Jerdan’s<br /> -<i>Men I have<br /> -known</i>.</div> - -<p>“A statue of him by Mr. Theed was -sculptured for St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a -good copy was exhibited at the last -National Exhibition, though I was -not altogether satisfied with the -likeness, nor thought the accessories well -chosen and happy; for a standing figure, -nevertheless, it has the great merit of simplicity.</p> - -<p>“Though habitually rather grave, the -pleasant smile best became his features, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -I do not think he was often guilty of audible -laughter.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM HAZLITT<br /> - -<small>1778-1830</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Patmore’s<br /> -<i>Personal<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> truth is, that for depth, force, and -variety of intellectual expression, a finer head -and face than Hazlitt’s were never -seen. I speak of them when his -countenance was not dimmed and -obscured by illness, or clouded and deformed -by those fearful indications of internal passion -which he never even attempted to conceal. -The expression of Hazlitt’s face, when anything -was said in his presence that seriously -offended him, or when any peculiarly painful -recollection passed across his mind, was truly -awful, more so than can be conceived as -within the capacity of the human countenance; -except, perhaps, by those who have -witnessed Edmund Kean’s last scene of ‘Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> -Giles Overreach’ from the front of the pit. -But when he was in good health, and in a -tolerable humour with himself and the world, -his face was more truly and entirely answerable -to the intellect that spoke through it, -than any other I ever saw, either in life or on -canvas; and its crowning portion—the brow -and forehead—was, to my thinking, quite -unequalled for mingled capacity and beauty.</p> - -<p>“For those who desire a more particular -description, I will add that Hazlitt’s features, -though not cast in any received classical -mould, were regular in their formation, -perfectly consonant with each other, and so -finely ‘chiseled’ (as the phrase is), that they -produced a much more prominent and striking -effect than their scale of size might have led -one to expect. The forehead, as I have -hinted, was magnificent; the nose precisely -that (combining strength with lightness and -elegance) which physiognomists have assigned -as evidence of a fine and highly cultivated -taste, though there was a peculiar character<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> -about the nostrils like that observable in -those of a fiery and unruly horse. The mouth, -from its ever-changing form and character, -could scarcely be described, except as to its -astonishingly varied power of expression, -which was equal to, and greatly resembled, that -of Edmund Kean. His eyes, I should say, -were not good. They were never brilliant, -and there was a furtive and at times a sinister -look about them, as they glanced suspiciously -from under their overhanging brows, that -conveyed a very unpleasant impression to -those who did not know him. And they -were seldom directed frankly and fairly -towards you, as if he were afraid that you -might read in them what was passing in his -mind concerning you. His head was nobly -formed and placed, with (until the last few -years of his life) a profusion of coal-black -hair, richly curled; and his person was of -middle height, rather slight, but well formed -and put together.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Bryan Procter’s<br /> -<i>Recollections of<br /> -Men of Letters</i>.</div> - - -<p>“My first meeting with Mr. Hazlitt took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> -place at the house of Leigh Hunt, where I -met him at supper. I expected to see a -severe, defiant-looking being. I -met a grave man, diffident, almost -awkward in manner, whose -appearance did not impress me with much -respect. He had a quick, restless eye, however, -which opened eagerly when any good or -bright observation was made; and I found at -the conclusion of the evening, that when any -question arose, the most sensible reply always -came from him.... Hazlitt was of the middle -size, with eager, expressive eyes, near which his -black hair, sprinkled sparely with gray, curled -round in a wiry, resolute manner. His gray -eyes, not remarkable in colour, expanded into -great expression when occasion demanded it. -Being very shy, however, they often evaded -your steadfast look. They never (as has -been asserted by some one) had a sinister -expression, but they sometimes flamed with -indignant glances when their owner was -moved to anger, like the eyes of other angry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> -men. At home, his style of dress (or undress) -was perhaps slovenly, because there was no -one to please; but he always presented a very -neat and clean appearance when he went -abroad. His mode of walking was loose, -weak, and unsteady, although his arms -displayed strength, which he used to put -forth when he played at racquets with Martin -Burney and others.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">The Cowden<br /> -Clarkes’<br /> -<i>Recollections<br /> -of Writers</i>.</div> - -<p>“The painting ... was standing on an -old-fashioned couch in one corner of the room -leaning against the wall, and we -remained opposite to it for some -time, while Hazlitt stood by holding -the candle high up so as to throw the light well -on to the picture, descanting enthusiastically -on the merits of the original. The beam from -the candle falling on his own finely intellectual -head, with its iron-gray hair, its square -potential forehead, its massive mouth and chin, -and eyes full of earnest fire, formed a glorious -picture in itself, and remains a luminous vision -for ever upon our memories.”—About 1829.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">FELICIA HEMANS<br /> - -<small>1794-1835</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Hughes’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Mrs. Hemans</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> young poetess was then only fifteen; -in the full glow of that radiant beauty which -was destined to fade so early. -The mantling bloom of her cheeks -was shaded by a profusion of -natural ringlets, of a rich golden brown, and -the ever-varying expression of her brilliant -eyes gave a changeful play to her countenance, -which would have made it impossible -for any painter to do justice to it. The -recollection of what she was at that time, -irresistibly suggests a quotation from Wordsworth’s -graceful poetic picture:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">‘She was a Phantom of delight,</div> -<div class="verse">When first she gleamed upon my sight;</div> -<div class="verse">A lovely Apparition, sent</div> -<div class="verse">To be a moment’s ornament.</div> -<div class="verse"> * * * *</div> -<div class="verse">A dancing Shape, an Image gay,</div> -<div class="verse">To haunt, to startle, and waylay.’”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verseright">1809.</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="sidenote">Moir’s<br /> -<i>Memoirs of<br /> -Mrs. Hemans</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>“Mrs. Hemans was about the middle -height, and rather slenderly made than -otherwise. To a countenance of -great intelligence and expression, -she united manners alike unassuming -and playful, and with a trust arising -out of the purity of her own character—which -was beyond the meanness of suspicion -in others—she remained untainted by the -breath of worldly guile.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Rossetti’s<br /> -<i>Notice of<br /> -Mrs. Hemans</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“An engraved portrait of her by the -American artist William E. West—one of -three which he painted in 1827, -shows us that Mrs. Hemans, at -the age of thirty-four, was eminently -pleasing and good-looking, with an air -of amiability and sprightly gentleness, and of -confiding candour which, while none the less -perfectly womanly, might almost be termed -childlike in its limpid depth. The features -are correct and harmonious; the eyes full; and -the contour amply and elegantly rounded. In -height she was neither tall nor short. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -sufficient wealth of naturally clustering hair, -golden in early youth, but by this time of -a rich auburn, shades the capacious but not -over-developed forehead, and the lightly -pencilled eyebrows. The bust and form -have the fulness of a mature period of life; -and it would appear that Mrs. Hemans was -somewhat short-necked and high-shouldered, -partly detracting from delicacy of proportion, -and of general aspect of impression on the -eye. We would rather judge of her by this -portrait (which her sister pronounces a good -likeness) than by another engraved in Mr. -Chorley’s Memorials. This latter was executed -in Dublin in 1831, by a young artist -named Edward Robinson. It makes Mrs. -Hemans look younger than in the earlier -portrait by West, and may on that ground -alone be surmised unfaithful, and, though -younger, it also makes her heavier and less -refined.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">JAMES HOGG<br /> - -<small>1770-1835</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Lockhart’s<br /> -<i>Peter’s Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Although</span> for some time past he has -spent a considerable portion of every year in -excellent, even in refined society, -the external appearance of the -man can have undergone but very little -change since he was ‘a herd on Yarrow.’ -His face and hands are still as brown as if -he had lived entirely <i>sub dio</i>. His very -hair has a coarse stringiness about it, which -proves beyond dispute its utter ignorance of -all the arts of the <i>friseur</i>, and hangs in -playful whips and cords about his ears, in a -style of the most perfect innocence imaginable. -His mouth which, when he smiles, -nearly cuts the totality of his face in twain, -is an object that would make the Chevalier -Ruspini die with indignation; for his teeth -have been allowed to grow where they listed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> -and as they listed, presenting more resemblance, -in arrangement (and colour too), to a -body of crouching sharp-shooters, than to any -more regular species of array. The effect -of a forehead, towering with a true poetic -grandeur above such features as these, and -of an eye that illuminates their surface with -genuine lightenings of genius ... these are -things which I cannot so easily transfer to -my paper.”—1819.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The Rev. Mr. Thomson, his biographer, -thus pictures him:—‘In height he was five -feet ten inches and a half; his broad -chest and square shoulders indicated -health and strength; while a well-rounded -leg, and small ankle and foot, -showed the active shepherd who could outstrip -the runaway sheep.’ His hair in his -younger days was auburn, slightly inclining -to yellow, which afterwards became dark -brown, mixed with gray; his eyes, which -were dark blue, were bright and intelligent. -His features were irregular, while his eye<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> -and ample forehead redeemed the countenance -from every charge of common-place -homeliness.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s<br /> -<i>Life of Carlyle</i>.</div> - -<p>“Hogg is a little red-skinned stiff sack -of a body, with quite the common air of an -Ettrick shepherd, except that he -has a highish though sloping -brow (among his yellow grizzled hair), and -two clear little beads of blue or gray eyes -that sparkle, if not with thought, yet with -animation. Behaves himself quite easily and -well; speaks Scotch, and mostly narrative -absurdity (or even obscenity) therewith.... -His vanity seems to be immense, but also -his good-nature.”—1832.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS HOOD<br /> - -<small>1798-1845</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Gentleman’s<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1872.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“As</span> he entered the room my first impression -was that of slight disappointment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> -I had not then seen any portrait of him, -and my imagination had depicted a man of -the under size, with a humorous -and mobile mouth, and with sharp, -twinkling, and investigating eyes. When, -therefore, a rather tall and attenuated figure -presented itself before me, with grave aspect -and dressed in black, and when, after scrutinising -his features, I noticed those dark, sad -eyes set in that pale and pain-worn yet -tranquil face, and saw the expression of that -suffering mouth, telling how sickness with its -stern plough had driven its silent share -through that slender frame, all the long train -of quaint and curious fancies, ludicrous imageries, -oddly-combined contrasts, humorous -distortions, strange and uncouth associations, -myriad word-twistings, ridiculous miseries, -grave trifles, and trifling gravities—all these -came before me like the rushing event of a -dream, and I asked myself, ‘Can this be the -man that has so often made me roll with -laughter at his humour, chuckle at his wit,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> -and wonder while I threaded the maze of his -inexhaustible puns?’ When he began to -converse in bland and placid tones about -Germany, where he had for some time lived, -I became more reconciled to him.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - - -<p>“In person Hood was of middle height, -slender and sickly-looking, of sallow complexion -and pale features, quiet in -expression, and very rarely excited -so as to give indication of either -the pathos or the humour that must ever -have been working in his soul. His was, -indeed, a countenance rather of melancholy -than mirth; there was something calm, even -to solemnity, in the upper portion of the face, -seldom relieved, in society, by the eloquent -play of the mouth, or the sparkle of an -observant eye. In conversation he was by -no means brilliant. When inclined to pun, -which was not often, it seemed as if his wit -was the issue of thought, and not an instinctive -produce, such as I have noticed in -other men who have thus become famous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> -who are admirable in crowds, whose animation -is like that of the sounding-board, which -makes a great noise at a small touch, when -listeners are many and applause is sure.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Rossetti’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of Hood</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The face of Hood is best known by two -busts and an oil-portrait, which have both -been engraved from. It is the -sort of face to which apparently -a bust does more than justice, yet less than -right,—the features, being mostly by no -means bad ones, look better when thus reduced -to the more simple and abstract contour -than they probably showed in reality, -for no one supposed Hood to be a fine-looking -man; on the other hand, the <i>value</i> -of the face must have been in its shifting expression—keen, -playful, or subtle—and this -can be but barely suggested by the sculptor. -The poet’s visage was pallid, his figure slight, -his voice feeble; he always dressed in black, -and is generally spoken of as presenting a -generally clerical appearance.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">THEODORE HOOK<br /> - -<small>1788-1841</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I remember</span>, one day at Sydenham, Mr. -Theodore Hook coming in unexpectedly to -dinner, and amusing us very -much with his talent at extempore -verse. He was then a youth, tall, -dark, and of a good person, with small eyes, -and features more round than weak; a face -that had character and humour, but no -refinement.”—1809.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“When I first saw him, he was above the -middle height, robust of frame, and broad -of chest; well-proportioned, with -evidence of great physical capacity; -his complexion dark, as were his -eyes. There was nothing fine or elevated -in his expression; indeed, his features when -in repose were heavy; it was otherwise when -animated; yet his manners were those of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> -a gentleman, less, perhaps, from inherent -faculty than the polish which refined society -ever gives.”—1828.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Barham’s<br /> -<i>Life of Hook</i>.</div> - - -<p>“In person Theodore Hook was above -the middle height, his frame was robust and -well-proportioned, possessing a -breadth and depth of chest which, -joined to a constitution naturally of the -strongest order, would have seemed, under -ordinary care, to hold out promise of a long -and healthy life. His countenance was fine -and commanding, his features when in repose -settling into a somewhat stern and heavy expression, -but all alive and alight with genius -the instant his lips were opened. His eyes -were dark, large, and full—to the epithet -[Greek: bopis] he, not less justly than the venerable -goddess, was entitled. His voice was rich, -deep, and melodious.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">DAVID HUME<br /> - -<small>1711-1776</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Chambers’s<br /> -<i>Eminent<br /> -Scotsmen</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Lord Charlemont</span>, who at this period met -with Mr. Hume at Turin, has given the -following account of his habits and -appearance, penned apparently with -a greater aim at effect than at truth, -yet somewhat characteristic of the philosopher: -‘Nature, I believe, never formed any man -more unlike his real character than David -Hume. The powers of physiognomy were -baffled by his countenance; neither could the -most skilful in the science pretend to discover -the smallest trace of the faculties of his mind -in the unmeaning features of his visage. -His face was broad and fat, his mouth wide, -and without any other expression than that -of imbecility. His eyes vacant and spiritless; -and the corpulence of his whole person was -far better fitted to communicate the idea of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> -a turtle-eating alderman than of a refined -philosopher. His speech in English was -rendered ridiculous by the broadest Scotch -accent, and his French was, if possible, still -more laughable, so that wisdom most certainly -never disguised herself before in so uncouth -a garb.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Lockhart’s<br /> -<i>Peter’s Letters</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The prints of David Hume are, most of -them, I believe, taken from the very portrait -I have seen; but of course the -style and effect of the features are -much more thoroughly to be understood -when one has an opportunity of observing -them expanded in their natural proportions. -The face is far from being in any respect a -classical one. The forehead is chiefly remarkable -for its prominence from the ear, -and not so much for its height. This gives -him a lowering sort of look forwards, expressive -of great inquisitiveness into matters -of fact and the consequences to be deduced -from them. His eyes are singularly prominent, -which, according to the Gallic system,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> -would indicate an extraordinary development -of the organ of language behind them. His -nose is too low between the eyes, and not -well or boldly formed in any other respect. -The lips, although not handsome, have in -their fleshy and massy outlines abundant -marks of habitual reflection and intellectual -occupation. The whole had a fine expression -of intellectual dignity, candour, and serenity. -The want of elevation, however, which I -have already noticed, injures very much the -effect even of the structure of the lower part -of the head.... It is to be regretted that -he wore powder, for this prevents us from -having the advantage of seeing what was -the natural style of his hair—or, indeed, of -ascertaining the form of any part of his head -beyond the forehead.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">David Hume’s<br /> -<i>Life</i>.</div> - - -<p>“To conclude historically with my own -character. I am, or rather was (for that is -the style which I must now use in -speaking of myself, which emboldens -me the more to speak my sentiment);<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> -I was, I say, a man of mild dispositions, of command -of temper, of an open, social, and cheerful -humour, capable of attachment, but little -susceptible of enmity, and of great moderation -in all my passions. Even my love of -literary fame—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.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LEIGH HUNT<br /> - -<small>1784-1859</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Son’s preface to<br /> -<i>Autobiography<br /> -of Leigh Hunt</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“It</span> was at this period of his life” (<i>as a young -man</i>) “that his appearance was most characteristic, -and none of the portraits of him -adequately conveyed the idea of it. One of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -the best, a half-length chalk drawing, by an -artist named Wildman, perished. The miniature -by Severn was only a sketch -on a small scale, but it suggested -the kindness and animation of his -countenance. In other cases, the artists -knew too little of their sitter to catch the -most familiar traits of his aspect. He was -rather tall, as straight as an arrow, and looked -slenderer than he really was. His hair was -black and shining, and slightly inclined to -wave; his head was high, his forehead straight -and white, his eyes black and sparkling, his -general complexion dark.... Few men -were so attractive ‘in society,’ whether in -a large company or over the fireside. His -manners were peculiarly animated; his conversation -varied, ranging over a great field -of subjects, was moved and called forth by -the response of his companion, be that companion -philosopher or student, sage or boy, -man or woman; and he was equally ready -for the most lively topics or for the gravest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> -reflections—his expression easily adapting -itself to the tone of his companion’s mind. -With much freedom of manners, he combined -a spontaneous courtesy that never failed, and -a considerateness derived from a ceaseless -kindness of heart that invariably fascinated -even strangers.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Bryan Procter’s<br /> -<i>Recollections of<br /> -Men of Letters</i>.</div> - -<p>“Hunt was a little above the middle size, -thin and lithe. His countenance was very -genial and pleasant. His hair -was black; his eyes were very -dark, but he was short-sighted, -and therefore, perhaps, it was that they had -nothing of that fierce glance which black eyes -so frequently possess. His mouth was expressive, -but protruding, as is sometimes -seen in half-caste Americans.”—1817.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Haydon’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - - -<p>“I afterwards met Hunt, and reminded -him of Wilkie’s intention, and Hunt, with a -frankness I liked much, became -quite at home, and as I was just -as easily acquainted in five minutes as himself, -we began to talk, and he to hold forth,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> -and I thought him, with his black bushy hair, -black eyes, pale face, and ‘nose of taste,’ as -fine a specimen of a London editor as could -be imagined; assuming yet moderate, sarcastic -yet genial, with a smattering of everything -and a mastery of nothing, affecting the -dictator, the poet, the politician, the critic, and -the sceptic, whichever would, at the moment, -give him the air, to inferior minds, of being -a very superior man. I listened with something -of curiosity to his republican independence, -though hating his effeminacy and -cockney peculiarities. The fearless honesty -of his opinions, the unscrupulous sacrifice of -his own interests, the unselfish perseverance -of his attacks on all abuses, whether royal or -religious, noble or democratic, ancient or -modern, so gratified my mind, that I suffered -this singular young man to gain such an -ascendancy in my heart, as justified the perpetual -caution of Wilkie against my great -tendency to become acquainted too soon with -strangers, and like Canning’s German, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> -swear eternal friendship with any spirited -talented fellow after a couple of hours of -witty talk or able repartee.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ELIZABETH INCHBALD<br /> - -<small>1753-1821</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Kavanagh’s<br /> -<i>English Women<br /> -of Letters</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Miss Simpson</span> ... was ... tall and -slender, with hair of a golden -auburn, and lovely hazel eyes, -perfect features, and an enchanting -countenance.”—1771.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Mrs. Inchbald’s<br /> -<i>Memoirs</i>.</div> - -<p class="center">“<span class="smcap">Description of Me.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Age.</i>—Between 30 and 40, which, in the -register of a lady’s birth, means a little -turned of 30.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Height.</i>—Above the middle size, and rather -tall.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Figure.</i>—Handsome, and striking -in its general air, but a little too stiff -and erect.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span><i>Shape.</i>—Rather too fond of sharp angles.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Skin.</i>—By nature fair, though a little freckled, -and with a tinge of sand, which is the -colour of her eyelashes, but made coarse -by ill-treatment upon her cheeks and arms.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Bosom.</i>—None; or so diminutive, that it’s -like a needle in a bottle of hay.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Hair.</i>—Of a sandy auburn, and rather too -straight as well as thin.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Face.</i>—Beautiful in effect, and beautiful in -every feature.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Countenance.</i>—Full of spirit and sweetness; -excessively interesting, and, without indelicacy, -voluptuous.</p> - -<p class="hangingindent"><i>Dress.</i>—Always becoming; and very seldom -worth so much as <i>eightpence</i>.”—About -1788.</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FRANCIS, LORD JEFFREY<br /> - -<small>1773-1850</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Geo.<br /> -Ticknor’s<br /> -<i>Life</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“You</span> are to imagine then, before you, a -short, stout little gentleman, about five and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> -a half feet high, with a very red face, black -hair and black eyes. You are to suppose -him to possess a very gay and animated -countenance, and you are to -see in him all the restlessness of a -will-o’-wisp, and all that fitful irregularity -in his movements which you have heretofore -appropriated to the pasteboard Merry -Andrews whose limbs are jerked about with -a wire. These you are to interpret as the -natural indications of the impetuous and -impatient character which a farther acquaintance -developes. He enters the room with -a countenance so satisfied and a step so light -and almost fantastic, that all your previous -impressions of the dignity and severity of -the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> are immediately put -to flight, and, passing at once to the opposite -extreme, you might, perhaps, imagine him -to be frivolous, vain, and supercilious. He -accosts you too, with a freedom and -familiarity which may, perhaps, put you at -your ease and render conversation unceremonious;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> -but which, as I observed in -several instances, were not very tolerable to -those who had always been accustomed to -the delicacy and decorum of refined society.”—1814.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Lockhart’s<br /> -<i>Peter’s Letters</i>.</div> - - -<p>“I had not been long in the room, however, -when I heard Mr. J—— announced, -and as I had not seen him for some -time, resolved to stay, and if -possible, enjoy a little of his conversation -in some corner.... I have seldom seen -a man more nice in his exterior than -Mr. J—— now seemed to be. His little -person looked very neat in the way he had -now adorned it. He had a very well-cut -blue coat,—evidently not after the design of -any Edinburgh artist,—light kerseymere -breeches and ribbed silk stockings, a pair -of elegant buckles, white kid gloves, and a -tricolour watch-ribbon. He held his hat -under his arm in a very <i>dgage</i> manner—and -altogether he was certainly one of the -last men in the assembly, whom a stranger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> -would have guessed to be either a great -lawyer or a great reviewer. In short, he -was more of a dandy than any great author -I ever saw—always excepting Tom Moore -and David Williams.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>New Monthly<br /> -Magazine</i>,<br /> -1831.</div> - -<p>“He is of low stature, but his figure is -elegant and well proportioned. The face is -rather elongated, the chin deficient, -the mouth well formed, with a -mingled expression of determination, sentiment, -and arch mockery; the nose is slightly -curved; the eye is the most peculiar feature -of the countenance; it is large and sparkling. -He has two tones in his voice—the one -harsh and grating, the other rich and clear.”—1831.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">DOUGLAS JERROLD<br /> - -<small>1803-1857</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Hodder’s<br /> -<i>Personal<br /> -Reminiscences</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“To</span> my great delight, ... I had not been -in the room many minutes before I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> -introduced to Douglas Jerrold, who was flitting -about with that peculiar restlessness of eye, -speech, and demeanour, which was -amongst his most marked characteristics. -I confess I was not surprised -to find him a man of small stature, -as I had heard before that his proportions -were rather those of Tydeus than of Alcides; -but I was a little astonished when I saw in -the author of <i>Black-eyed Susan</i>, <i>The Rent -Day</i>, and <i>The Wedding Gown</i>, (all of -which pieces and many others he had then -produced), an amount of boyish gaiety and a -rapidity of movement which one could hardly -expect from a writer who had risen to high -rank as a moralist and censor.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">W. B. Jerrold’s<br /> -<i>Life of Douglas<br /> -Jerrold</i>.</div> - - -<p>“He had none of the airs of success or -reputation, none of the affectations, either -personal or social, which are rife -everywhere. He was manly and -natural; free and off-handed to -the verge of eccentricity. Independence and -marked character seemed to breathe from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> -the little, rather bowed figure, crowned with -a lion-like head and falling light hair—to -glow in the keen, eager, blue eyes glancing -on either side as he walked along. Nothing -could be less commonplace, nothing less -conventional, than his appearance in a room -or in the streets.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“He was a very short man, but with -breadth enough, and a back excessively bent—bowed -almost to deformity; very -gray hair, and a face and expression -of remarkable briskness and intelligence. -His profile came out pretty -boldly, and his eyes had the prominence that -indicates, I believe, volubility of speech; -nor did he fail to talk from the instant of his -appearance; and in the tone of his voice, and -in his glance, and in the whole man, there -was something racy—a flavour of the -humourist. His step was that of an aged -man, and he put his stick down very -decidedly at every foot-fall; though, as -he afterwards told me, he was only fifty-two,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> -he need not yet have been infirm.”—1856.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SAMUEL JOHNSON<br /> - -<small>1709-1784</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Boswell’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Dr. Johnson</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Miss Porter</span> told me, that when he was -first introduced to her mother, his appearance -was very forbidding; he was then -lean and lank, so that his immense -structure of bones was hideously -striking to the eye, and the scars of the -scrofula were deeply visible. He also wore -his hair, which was straight and stiff, and -separated behind; and he often had, seemingly, -convulsive starts and odd gesticulations, -which tended to excite at once surprise and -ridicule. Mrs. Porter was so much engaged -by his conversation that she overlooked all -these external disadvantages, and said to -her daughter, ‘This is the most sensible man -that I ever saw in my life.’”—1731.</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote">Boswell’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Dr. Johnson</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>“His chambers were on the first floor of -No. 1 Inner Temple Lane.... He received -me very courteously; but it must -be confessed that his apartment and -furniture and morning dress was -sufficiently uncouth. His brown suit of -clothes looked very rusty; he had on a little -old shrivelled unpowdered wig, which was -too small for his head; his shirt neck and -knees of his breeches were loose, his black -worsted stockings ill drawn up, and he had -a pair of unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. -But all these slovenly peculiarities were -forgotten the moment he began to talk.”—1763.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Croker’s<br /> -<i>Johnsoniana</i>.</div> - -<p>“The day after I wrote my last letter to -you I was introduced to Mr. Johnson by a -friend. We passed through three -very dirty rooms to a little one that -looked like an old counting-house, where this -great man was sat at breakfast.... I was -very much struck with Mr. Johnson’s appearance, -and could hardly help thinking him a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> -madman for some time, as he sat waving -over his breakfast like a lunatic. He is a -very large man, and was dressed in a dirty -brown coat and waistcoat, with breeches that -were brown also (although they had been -crimson), and an old black wig; his shirt -collar and sleeves were unbuttoned; his -stockings were down about his feet, which -had on them, by way of slippers, an old pair -of shoes.... We had been with him some -time before he began to talk, but at length -he began, and, faith, to some purpose; -everything he says is as <i>correct</i> as a <i>second -edition</i>; ’tis almost impossible to argue with -him, he is so sententious and so knowing.”—1764.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BEN JONSON<br /> - -<small>1574-1637</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives<br /> -of Eminent<br /> -Persons</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was (or rather had been) of a clear and -faire skin, his habit was very plaine. I have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> -heard Mr. Lacy, the player, say that he was -wont to weare a coate like a coach-man’s coate -with slitts under the arme-pitts. -He would many times exceed in -drinke. Canarie was his beloved -liquer.... Ben Jonson had one eie lower -than t’other and bigger, like Clun, the -player.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Anderson’s<br /> -<i>Poets of<br /> -Great Britain</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The character of Jonson, like that of -most celebrated wits, has been drawn with -great diversity of lights and -shades, according as affection or -envy guided the pencil. His -person, as he has himself told us, was -corpulent and large. His disposition seems -to have been reserved and saturnine, and -sometimes not a little oppressed with the -gloom of a splenetic imagination.... Stern -and rigid as his virtue was, he was easy and -social in the convivial meetings of his friends; -and the laws of his <i>Symposia</i>, inscribed over -the chimney of the Apollo, a room in the -Devil Tavern, near Temple Bar, where he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> -kept his club, show that he was neither averse -to the pleasures of conversation, nor ignorant -of what would render it agreeable and improving.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Lafond, <i>Notice<br /> -sur Ben Jonson</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Il est clair pour nous que Ben Jonson -avait une nature violente dans un corps -robuste et athltique; son portrait -nous le montre avec une norme -face, une vigoureuse mchoire, des yeux -profonds et durs, un cou de taureau. Sa -peau avait t, de bonne heure, couture par -le scorbut; et lui-mme dit quelque part qu’il -eut, dans le milieu de sa vie, une montagne -pour ventre et un dandinement disgracieux -pour dmarche. Tous ses traits fortement -accentus, anguleux ou carrs, dnoncent -l’nergie, l’orgueil et l’amour des luttes de -toute nature. Il aimait la bonne chre et le -vin; sa prdilection pour le vin des Canaries -avait, disait il, pour excuse la ncessit de -sa constitution scorbutique. Il avait l’esprit -semblable au corps; malgr ses tudes -classiques, il tait loin d’tre un Athnien,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> -c’tait un Anglo-Saxon ent sur un Romain -de la dcadence. Gnreux, libral, prodigue, -il tint toujours table ouverte, mme lorsque la -misre tait devenue l’hte de son foyer.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN KEATS<br /> - -<small>1795-1821</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Bryan Procter’s<br /> -<i>Recollections of<br /> -Men of Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I was</span> first introduced to him (Keats), by -Leigh Hunt, and found him very pleasant, -and free from all affectation in -manner and opinion. Indeed it -would be difficult to discover a -man with a more bright and open countenance.... -I can only say that I never -encountered a more manly and simple young -man. In person he was short, and had eyes -large and wonderfully luminous, and a resolute -bearing, not defiant but well sustained.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Monckton<br /> -Milnes’s <i>Life of<br /> -Keats</i>.</div> - -<p>“His eyes were large and blue, his hair -auburn, he wore it divided down the centre,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> -and it fell in rich masses on each side his face, -his mouth was full, and less intellectual than -his other features. His countenance -lives in my mind as one of -singular beauty and brightness,—it -had an expression as if he had been looking -on some glorious sight. The shape of his -face had not the squareness of a man’s, but -more like some women’s faces I have seen—it -was so wide over the forehead, and so -small at the chin. He seemed in perfect -health, and with life offering all things that -were precious to him.”—1818.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">The Cowden<br /> -Clarkes’<br /> -<i>Recollections<br /> -of Writers</i>.</div> - -<p><i>In reviewing this portrait, Mrs. Cowden -Clarke, while admitting that much of it is</i> -“excellent” <i>and</i> “true,” <i>goes on to -add these words</i>: “But when our -artist pronounces that ‘his eyes -were large and <i>blue</i>,’ and that ‘his hair was -<i>auburn</i>,’ I am naturally reminded of the -‘Chameleon’ fable—‘they were <i>brown</i>, ma’am—<i>brown</i>, -I assure you!’... Reader, alter, -in your copy of the <i>Life of Keats</i>, vol. i. page<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> -103, ‘eyes’ light hazel, ‘hair’ <i>lightish brown -and wavy</i>.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p>“Keats, when he died, had just completed -his four and twentieth year. He was under -the middle height, and his lower -limbs were small in comparison -with the upper, but neat and well-turned. -His shoulders were very broad for his size; -he had a face in which energy and sensibility -were remarkably mixed up; an eager power, -checked and made patient by ill-health. -Every feature was at once strongly cut, -and delicately alive. If there was any faulty -expression, it was in the mouth, which was -not without something of a character of -pugnacity. His face was rather long than -otherwise; the upper lip projected a little -over the under; the chin was bold, the cheeks -sunken; the eyes are mellow and glowing, -large, dark, and sensitive. At the recital of -a noble action, or a beautiful thought, they -would suffuse with tears, and his mouth -trembled. In this there was ill-health as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> -well as imagination, for he did not like these -betrayals of emotion; and he had great -personal as well as moral courage. He once -chastised a butcher, who had been insolent, -by a regular stand-up fight. His hair, of a -brown colour, was fine, and hung in natural -ringlets. The head was a puzzle for the -phrenologists, being remarkably small in the -skull—a singularity which he had in common -with Byron and Shelley, whose hats I could -not get on. Keats was sensible of the disproportion -above noticed between his upper -and lower extremities, and he would look at -his hand, which was faded, and swollen in the -veins, and say it was the hand of a man of -fifty.”—1826.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN KEBLE<br /> - -<small>1792-1866</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">J. Coleridge’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of the<br /> -Rev. John Keble</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“To</span> me both the portraits are full of deep -interest” (<i>these portraits of Keble, the one in</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> -<i>the prime of manhood and the other in old -age, were drawn by Richmond</i>), “the earlier -and the later both—each brings -him back to me as he was; in -the earlier, he has some of the -merry defiance he could assume in argument; -in the latter, I see the sad tenderness of his -advanced years. Keble had not regular -features; he could not be called a handsome -man, but he was one to be noticed anywhere, -and remembered long; his forehead and -hair beautiful in all ages; his eyes, full of -play, intelligence, and emotion, followed you -while you spoke; and they lighted up, -especially with pleasure, or indignation, as it -might be, when he answered you. The most -pleasing photograph is one in which he is -standing by Mrs. Keble’s side; she is sitting -with a book in her hand. The later photographs -are to me very unpleasant. I will -attempt no more particular description, for I -feel how little definite I can convey in -writing.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Christian<br /> -Observer</i>, 1871.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>“Mr. Keble greeted us, emerging from -his little study, the door of which, as I afterwards -noticed, oftener than not, -stood open.... His features, -indeed, were familiar to us, as to most -people, from the engraving of Richmond’s -first portrait of him, taken in middle life for -Sir John Coleridge. Now the original stood -before me, and I saw at a glance that face -and figure had been faithfully portrayed. -The forehead was pale and serene, the hair -silvery; doubtless this token of advancing -years must have helped to give softness and -refinement to the features; eyebrows, -sprinkled with white, shaded eyes of singular -brilliancy and depth of expression, as ready (I -afterwards well knew) to light up with mirth -and mischief while playful talk was going on, -as they were to melt into mournful earnestness -when graver topics were broached. He -habitually wore glasses, but used often to -take them off and hold them in his hand -when conversing with animation. A dear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> -and old friend of his has told me that he -‘looked almost boyish till about fifty, and -after that rapidly aged in personal appearance.’ -At this time he was in his sixty-first -year, healthy and strong and active.... In -appearance he was quite one’s ideal of an -old-fashioned country clergyman, but of one -whose Oxford days were still fresh in his -mind; there was a touch of <i>vieille cour</i> in his -manner, which added, I think, to its charm. -His voice in speaking was rather low, and -especially so when the subject of conversation -was very near his heart. It often struck -me, when listening to him, that without the -slightest effort or aim at effect, he always hit -upon the most suitable and telling words, -(and the shortest), in which to clothe his -ideas. This unconscious beauty of language, -coupled with the originality and wisdom of -the ideas themselves, riveted them in one’s -memory; the look, too, with which they were -uttered, could not be forgotten, and rises as -vividly before my mind’s eye ‘through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> -golden mist of years’ as though it belonged to -the present, instead of the ‘long ago.’”—1852.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">L. A. Huntingford:<br /> -private<br /> -letter.</div> - - -<p>“People who went to look at Mr. Keble -as a ‘lion’ were, I think, disappointed to see -a very simple old-fashioned clerical -gentleman, with very little -manner, and so completely unconscious -of self that as he talked of common -things, they were inclined to think as little -of him as he thought of himself. He used -to come down early and stand writing at a -side-table till it was quite time for prayers -and breakfast, and then sit down anywhere -and, with a little peculiar jerk of the head -and shoulders, read a short ‘Instruction,’ -almost as if he were reading it to himself. -Certain people even called his reading bad, -for his voice was weak, and he had a slight -cough which never wholly left him; but he -brought out the meaning of Holy Scripture -in a manner which I never heard surpassed. -Mr. Keble was of middle height, very thin, -with a splendid forehead, bright eyes which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -were rather hidden by his spectacles, and a -sweet merry smile. Those who knew him -well must remember the way in which he -used to pull himself together, as if he were -a boy obeying a well-known rule to ‘hold -up his head.’ His manner was nervous, so -much so that people who were not intimately -acquainted with him were rarely quite at -their ease when in his presence. The two -pictures of Mr. Keble by Richmond are both -good likenesses; but the lithograph of the -head which was taken from the then-unfinished -picture which, in its completed form, -now hangs in Keble College, Oxford, has -caught the peculiar intelligence of the eyes -when lighted up with the eager brightness -his friends knew so well. He had the unusual -power of being able to write upon one -subject and listen to the discussion of another -at the same time; and he would often glance -up from the paper in which he was apparently -immersed, and pushing up his spectacles -join eagerly in the conversation.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHARLES KINGSLEY<br /> - -<small>1812-1875</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Caroline Fox’s<br /> -<i>Journals and<br /> -Letters</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Torquay</span>, <i>January 30th</i>.—Charles Kingsley -called, but we missed him.</p> - - -<p>“<i>February 3d.</i>—We paid him and his wife -a very happy call; he fraternising -at once, and stuttering pleasant -and discriminating things concerning -F. D. Maurice, Coleridge and others. -He looks sunburnt with dredging all the -morning, has a piercing eye under an overhanging -brow, and his voice is most -melodious and his pronunciation exquisite. -He is strangely attractive.”—1854.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Galaxy</i>,<br /> -1872.</div> - - -<p>“I was present at a meeting not long since -where Mr. Kingsley was one of the principal -speakers. The meeting was held -in London, the audience was a -peculiarly Cockney audience, and Charles -Kingsley is personally little known to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> -public of the metropolis. Therefore when he -began to speak there was quite a little thrill -of wonder and something like incredulity -through the listening benches. Could that, -people near me asked, really be Charles -Kingsley, the novelist, the poet, the scholar, -the aristocrat, the gentleman, the pulpit-orator, -the ‘soldier—priest,’ the apostle of -muscular Christianity? Yes, that was indeed -he. Rather tall, very angular, surprisingly -awkward, with thin staggering legs, a hatchet -face adorned with scraggy gray whiskers, a -faculty for falling into the most ungainly -attitudes, and making the most hideous -contortions of visage and frame; with a -rough provincial accent and an uncouth way -of speaking which would be set down for -absurd caricature on the boards of a comic -theatre. Such was the appearance which the -author of <i>Glaucus</i> and <i>Hypatia</i> presented -to his startled audience. Since Brougham’s -time nothing so ungainly, odd, and ludicrous -had been displayed upon an English platform.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> -Needless to say, Charles Kingsley has not -the eloquence of Brougham. But he has a -robust and energetic plain-speaking which -soon struck home to the heart of the meeting. -He conquered his audience. Those who -at first could hardly keep from laughing, -those who, not knowing the speaker, -wondered whether he was not mad or in -liquor, those who heartily disliked his -general principles and his public attitude, -were alike won over, long before he had -finished, by his bluff and blunt earnestness -and his transparent sincerity.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Fraser’s<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1877.</div> - - -<p>“For nine years the portrait of Kingsley, -close to that of John Parker, has looked down -from the wall of the room in -which I write. It is a large -photograph, taken, while he was on a visit to -the house, by an amateur of extraordinary -ability, the late Dr. Adamson of St. Andrews. -It is the best and most lifelike portrait of -Kingsley known to me. It has the stern -expression, which came partly of the effort,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> -never quite ceasing, to express himself -through that characteristic stammer which -quite left him in public speaking, and which -in private added to the effect of his wonderful -talk. Photography caught him easily. -Those who look at the portrait prefixed to -Volume I. of the <i>Life</i> see the man as he -lived. Mr. Woolner’s bust, shown at the -beginning of Volume II., shows him aged -and shrunken, not more than he was but more -than he ought to have been; and the removal -of all hair from the face is a marked -difference from the fact in life; yet the likeness -is perfect too. That somewhat severe -face belied one of the kindest hearts that -ever beat: yet the handsome and chivalrous -features unworthily expressed one of the -truest, bravest, and noblest of souls. Kingsley -could not have done a mean or false thing: -by his make it was as impossible as that -water should run uphill.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHARLES LAMB<br /> - -<small>1775-1834</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">de Quincey’s<br /> -<i>Life and<br /> -Writings</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Lamb</span>, at this period of his life, then passed -regularly, after taking wine, under a brief -eclipse of sleep. It descended -upon him as soft as a shadow. In -a gross person laden with superfluous -flesh, and sleeping heavily, this would -have been disagreeable; but in Lamb, thin -even to meagreness, spare and wiry as an -Arab of the desert, or as Thomas Aquinas, -wasted by scholastic vigils, the affection of -sleep seemed rather a net-work of aerial -gossamer than of earthly cobweb,—more like -a golden haze falling upon him gently from -the heavens than a cloud exhaling upwards -from the flesh. Motionless in his chair as a -bust, breathing so gently as scarcely to seem -entirely alive, he presented the image of -repose midway between life and death like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> -the repose of sculpture, and to one who knew -his history, a repose contrasting with the -calamities and internal storms of his life. I -have heard more persons than I can now -distinctly recall, observe of Lamb when -sleeping, that his countenance in that state -assumed an expression almost seraphic, from -its intellectual beauty of outline, its childlike -simplicity, and its benignity. It could not -be called a transfiguration that sleep worked -in his face; for the features wore essentially -the same expression when waking; but sleep -spiritualised that expression, exalted it, and -also harmonised it. Much of the change lay -in that last process. The eyes it was that -disturbed the unity of effect in Lamb’s waking -face. They gave a restlessness to the -character of his intellect, shifting, like northern -lights, through every mode of combination -with fantastic playfulness; and sometimes by -fiery gleams obliterating for the moment that -pure light of benignity which was the predominant -reading on his features.”—1822.</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s<br /> -<i>Life of Carlyle</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>“He was the leanest of mankind; tiny black -breeches buttoned to the knee-cap and no -further, surmounting spindle-legs -also in black, face and head fineish, -black, bony, lean, and of a Jew type rather; -in the eyes a kind of smoky brightness, or -confused sharpness; spoke with a stutter; in -walking tottered and shuffled, emblem of -imbecility, bodily and spiritual (something of -real insanity, I have understood), and yet something, -too, of human, ingenuous, pathetic, sportfully -much enduring. Poor Lamb! he was -infinitely astonished at my wife, and her quiet -encounter of his too ghastly London wit by a -cheerful native ditto. Adieu! poor Lamb!”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Talfourd’s<br /> -<i>Reminiscence of<br /> -Charles Lamb</i>.</div> - -<p>“Methinks I see him before me now, as -he appeared then, and as he continued with -scarcely any perceptible alteration -to me, during the twenty years -of intimacy which followed, and -were closed by his death. A light frame, so -fragile that it seemed as if a breath would -overthrow it, clad in clerklike black, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> -surmounted by a head of form and expression -the most noble and sweet. His black hair -curled crisply about an expanded forehead; -his eyes, softly brown, twinkled with varying -expression, though the prevalent feeling was -sad; and the nose slightly curved, and delicately -carved at the nostril, with the lower -outline of the face regularly oval, completed a -head which was finely placed on the shoulders, -and gave importance and even dignity to a -diminutive and shadowy stem. Who shall -describe his countenance, catch its quivering -sweetness, and fix it for ever in words? There -are none, alas, to answer the vain desire of -friendship. Deep thought striving with humour, -the lines of suffering wreathed into cordial mirth, -and a smile of painful sweetness, present an -image to the mind it can as little describe as -lose. His personal appearance and manner -are not unfitly characterised by what he -himself says in one of his letters to Manning, -of Braham, ‘a compound of the Jew, the -gentleman, and the angel.’”—<i>Written shortly -after Lamb’s death.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON<br /> - -<small>1802-1838</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Crabb Robinson’s<br /> -<i>Diary</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“... Miss Landon</span>, a young poetess—a -starling—the L. E. L. of -the <i>Gazette</i>, with a gay good-humoured -face, which gave me a favourable -impression.”—1826.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Blanchard’s<br /> -<i>Life of L. E. L.</i></div> - -<p>“Her hair was ‘darkly brown,’ very soft -and beautiful, and always tastefully arranged; -her figure, as before remarked, -slight, but well-formed and -graceful; her feet small, but her hands -especially so, and faultlessly white and finely -shaped; her fingers were fairy fingers; her -ears also were observably little. Her face, -though not regular in ‘every feature,’ became -beautiful by expression,—every flash of -thought, every change and colour of feeling -lightened over it as she spoke,—when she -spoke earnestly. The forehead was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> -high, but broad and full; the eyes had no -overpowering brilliancy, but their clear intellectual -light penetrated by its exquisite -softness; her mouth was not less marked by -character, and, besides the glorious faculty of -uttering the pearls and diamonds of fancy -and wit, knew how to express scorn, or -anger, or pride, as well as it knew how to -smile winningly, or to pour forth those short, -quick, ringing laughs which, not excepting -even her <i>bon-mots</i> and aphorisms, were the -most delightful things that issued from it.”—1832.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of a<br /> -Long Life</i>.</div> - -<p>“Small of person, but well formed. Her -dark silken hair braided back over a small, -but what phrenologists would call -a well-developed head; her forehead -full and open, but the hair -grew low upon it; the eyebrows perfect in -arch and form; the eyes round—soft or -flashing as might be—gray, well formed, and -beautifully set; the lashes long and black, -the under lashes turning down with delicate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> -curve, and forming a soft relief upon the -tint of her cheek, which, when she enjoyed -good health, was bright and blushing; her -complexion was delicately fair; her skin soft -and transparent; her nose small (<i>retrouss</i>), -slightly curved, but capable of scornful expression, -which she did not appear to have -the power of repressing, even though she -gave her thoughts no words, when any -despicable action was alluded to.”—About -1835.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR<br /> - -<small>1775-1864</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Crabb Robinson’s<br /> -<i>Diary</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was a man of florid complexion, with -large full eyes, and altogether a <i>leonine</i> man, -and with a fierceness of tone -well suited to his name; his -decisions being confident, and on all subjects, -whether of taste or life, unqualified, each -standing for itself, not caring whether it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> -in harmony with what had gone before or -would follow from the same oracular lips. -But why should I trouble myself to describe -him? He is painted by a master hand in -Dickens’s novel <i>Bleak House</i>, now in course -of publication, where he figures as Mr. -Boythorn. The combination of superficial -ferocity and inherent tenderness, so admirably -portrayed in <i>Bleak House</i>, still at first -strikes every stranger,—for twenty-two years -have not materially changed him,—no less -than his perfect frankness and reckless indifference -to what he says.”—1830.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of a<br /> -Long Life</i>.</div> - -<p>“... He was at that time sixty years of -age, although he did not look so old; his -form and features were essentially -masculine; he was not tall, but -stalwart; of a robust constitution, -and was proud even to arrogance of his -physical and intellectual strength. He was -a man to whom passers-by would have looked -back and asked, ‘Who is that?’ His forehead -was high, but retreated, showing remarkable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> -absence of the organs of benevolence -and veneration. It was a large head, -fullest at the back, where the animal propensities -predominate; it was a powerful, -but not a good head, the expression the -opposite of genial. In short, physiognomists -and phrenologists would have selected it,—each -to illustrate his theory.”—1836.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Harriet<br /> -Martineau’s<br /> -<i>Biographical<br /> -Sketches</i>.</div> - - -<p>“His tall, broad, muscular, active frame -was characteristic, and so was his head, with -the strange elevation of the eyebrows -which expresses self-will as -strongly in some cases as astonishment -in others. Those eyebrows, mounting -up until they comprehend a good portion of -the forehead, have been observed in many -more paradoxical persons than one. Then -there was the retreating but broad forehead, -showing the deficiency of reasoning and -speculative power, with the preponderance -of imagination and a huge passion for destruction. -The massive self-love and self-will -carried up his head to something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> -more than a dignified bearing—even to one -of arrogance. His vivid and quick eye, and -the thoughtful mouth, were fine, and his -whole air was that of a man distinguished in -his own eyes certainly, but also in those of -others. Tradition reports he was handsome -in his youth. In age he was more.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHARLES LEVER<br /> - -<small>1806-1872</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Fitz-Patrick’s<br /> -<i>Life of Lever</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“I found</span> him seated at an open window, a -bottle of claret at his right hand, and the -proof-sheets of <i>Lord Kilgobbin</i> -before him.... At the date of -our visit he looked a hale, hearty, laughter-loving -man of sixty. There was mirth in -his gray eye, joviality in the wink that -twittered on his eyelid, saucy humour in his -smile, and <i>bon-mot</i>, wit, repartee, and rejoinder -in every movement of his lips. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> -hair very thin, but of a silky brown, fell -across his forehead, and when it curtained -his eyes he would jerk back his head—this, -too, at some telling crisis in a narrative, -when the particular action was just the exact -finish required to make the story perfect. -Mr. Lever’s teeth were all his own and very -brilliant, and whether from accident or habit, -he flashed them on us in conjunction with -his wonderful eyes, a battery at once powerful -and irresistible.... Mr. Lever made -great use of his hands, which were small -and white and delicate as those of a woman. -He made play with them, threw them up in -ecstasy, or wrung them in mournfulness, just -as the action of the moment demanded. He -did not require eyes or teeth with such a -voice and such hands; they could tell and -illustrate the workings of his brain. He -was somewhat careless in his dress, but clung -to the traditional high shirt-collar, merely -compromising the unswerving stock of the -Brummell period.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">MATTHEW GREGORY LEWIS<br /> - -<small>1775-1818</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Southern<br /> -Literary<br /> -Messenger</i>,<br /> -1849.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> person, Mat Lewis (as his intimate -friends at first termed him) was quite -ordinary; his stature was rather -diminutive; his face was almost -an ellipse, looking upon it from -the side, and his features though pleasant -were not to be regarded as handsome. His -forehead, however, was high and his eyes -very lustrous.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Jeaffreson’s<br /> -<i>Novels and<br /> -Novelists</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Lewis’s personal appearance was not prepossessing. -He describes himself as</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">‘Of passions strong, of hasty nature,</div> -<div class="verse">Of graceless form and dwarfish stature.’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>He had, moreover, large gray eyes, thick -features, and an inexpressive countenance. -When he talked he had an insufferable habit -of drawing the fore-finger of his right hand -across his eyelid, and in conversation he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> -guilty of the absurd affectation of a drawling -tone such as was popular with dandies.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>New Monthly<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1848.</div> - -<p>“Matthew Gregory Lewis. Of this -gentleman I knew but little, not having -encountered him half a dozen -times after my introduction to -him at the house of Nat Middleton, the -banker. With a short thick-set figure, unintellectual -features, and a disagreeable habit -of peering, being very short-sighted, his -aspect was by no means prepossessing; but -as he had ‘that within which passeth show,’ -he recovered the ground lost at starting as -rapidly as Wilkes could have done.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART<br /> - -<small>1794-1854</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Times</i>,<br /> -9th Dec. 1854.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Endowed</span> with the very highest order of -manly beauty, both of features and expression, -he retained the brilliancy of youth and a stately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> -strength of person comparatively unimpaired -in ripened life; and then, though sorrow and -sickness suddenly brought on a -premature old age which none -could witness unmoved, yet the beauty of the -head and of the bearing so far gained in -melancholy loftiness of expression what they -lost in animation, that the last phase, whether -to the eye of painter or of anxious friend, -seemed always the finest.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR RICHARD LOVELACE<br /> - -<small>1618-1658</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Anthony Wood’s<br /> -<i>Athen<br /> -Oxonienses.</i></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Richard Lovelace</span> ... became a gent-commoner -of Glo’cester Hall in the beginning -of the year 1634, and in that of -his age 16, being then accounted -the most amiable and beautiful -person that ever eye beheld, a person also of -innate modesty, virtue, and courtly deportment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> -which made him then, but especially after, -when he retired to the great city, much -admired and adored by the female sex.... -Accounted by all those that well knew him, -to have been a person well vers’d in the -Greek and Latin poets, in music, whether -practical or theoretical, instrumental or vocal, -and in other things befitting a gentleman. -Some of the said persons have also added in -my hearing, that his common discourse was -not only significant and witty, but incomparably -graceful, which drew respect from all -men and women.”—1634 and 1658.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Gentleman’s<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1884.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The personal attractions of Richard -Lovelace have been much extolled by his -contemporaries; nor is this -matter for wonder. A picture -of the poet by an unknown painter, preserved -in the old college at Dulwich, to which it was -bequeathed by Cartwright the actor, in 1687, -represents him as a very handsome man. -The face is oval, the hair, worn Cavalier -fashion, long, is of a dark brown colour and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> -falls down in abundant masses, while the -mustachios are small and thin. The small, -well-formed mouth is perhaps a trifle -voluptuous, but is nevertheless suggestive of -firmness of character. The eyes are large -and dark, and the well-arched and delicately -pencilled eyebrows are unusually far apart; -the general expression of the face is singularly -sweet and winning. The hand is small, well -formed and aristocratic. Lovelace is attired -in armour, with a white collar, and across the -breast is thrown a red scarf. The picture is -inscribed ‘Col. Lovelace.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">EDWARD, LORD LYTTON<br /> - -<small>1803-1873</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of a<br /> -long Life</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“A young</span> man whose features, though of a -somewhat effeminate cast, were -remarkably handsome. His bearing -had that aristocratic something -bordering on hauteur, which clung to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> -him during his life. I never saw the famous -writer without being reminded of the passage, -‘Stand back; I am holier than thou.’—1826.</p> - -<p>“The last time I saw him was in his then -residence, No. 12 Grosvenor Square. It was -growing towards fifty years since first we had -met, and there were more changes in him than -those that time usually brings. His once -handsome face had assumed the desolation -without the dignity of age. His locks, once -brown, inclining to auburn, were shaggy and -grizzled; his mouth, seldom smiling even in -youth, was close shut; his whole aspect had -something in it at once painful and unpleasant.”—About -1872.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Appleton’s<br /> -Journal</i>, 1873.</div> - -<p>“Bulwer is described as having been, at -this period of his first brilliant triumph, rather -taller than the middle height, -with a graceful, slender figure, -well-proportioned limbs, and a countenance -stamped with distinctly aristocratic features -and expression. His dark-brown, curly hair, -his large and bright blue eye, his decided,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> -though delicately-formed aquiline nose, his -rather full and handsome mouth, his patrician, -almost haughty pose and manner, as seen -at that time, are dwelt on, with true feminine -enthusiasm, by a lady who frequented the -circles of which he was regarded as one of -the most shining ornaments.”—1828.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Appleton’s<br /> -Journal</i>, 1873.</div> - - -<p>“It was my fortune to see Bulwer in the -House of Commons in 1863 and 1865, and -in the House of Lords, to which -he had recently risen, in 1868. -He then had the appearance of being a man -of some fifty years, tallish, straight, stiff, and -proudly sedate. His long, sombre face was -no longer ‘fair,’ but was yellow and wrinkled, -while the almost cadaverous aspect of his -features added to the really far from proportionate -prominence of his long, aquiline -nose. He now wore a moustache with his -‘heavy red whiskers,’ which had themselves -become a dull brown, plentifully sprinkled -with gray; and upon his chin he grew an -imperial. His hair was still thick, but no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> -trace of its rich auburn hue of youth remained; -it was a heavy gray in colour. -Spectacles partially concealed the large but -now dulled and glassy blue eyes; and the -whole appearance was far from prepossessing. -On the former occasion referred to, I heard -him address the House in an eloquent and -evidently carefully-prepared speech of half an -hour. His manner was quiet and subdued, -his voice no longer ‘lover-like and sweet,’ but -rather harsh and grating, and his declamation -humdrum; occasionally a spark of the old -animation appeared, when he drew himself up -to the full height, and, for the moment seemed -a very orator in motion as in speech; but the -spark soon vanished, and he was again -Pelham grown old, the exhausted and -melancholy beau and wit of the past, -struggling through an imposed task.... -His dress was conspicuously plain, almost -stiff and ministerial; though there was something -about the attire of the neck which -seemed a suspicion of a relic of dandyism.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY<br /> - -<small>1800-1859</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Trevelyan’s <i>Life<br /> -and Letters of<br /> -Lord Macaulay</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Macaulay’s</span> outward man was never better -described than in two sentences of Praed’s Introduction -to Knight’s <i>Quarterly -Magazine</i>. ‘There came up a -short manly figure, marvellously -upright, with a bad neckcloth, and one hand -in his waistcoat pocket. Of regular beauty -he had little to boast; but in faces where -there is an expression of great power, or of -great good-humour, or both, you do not regret -its absence.’ This picture, in which every -touch is correct, tells all that there is to be told. -He had a massive head, and features of a -powerful and rugged cast, but so constantly -lit up by every joyful and ennobling emotion -that it mattered little if, when absolutely -quiescent, his face was rather homely than -handsome. While conversing at table no one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> -thought him otherwise than good-looking; -but, when he rose, he was seen to be short -and stout in figure. ‘At Holland House, the -other day,’ writes his sister Margaret in September -1831, ‘Tom met Lady Lyndhurst -for the first time. She said to him: “Mr. -Macaulay, you are so different to what -I had expected. I thought you were dark -and thin, but you are fair, and really, Mr. -Macaulay, you are fat!”’ He at all times sat -and stood straight, full, and square; and in -this respect Woolner, in the fine statue at -Cambridge, has missed what was undoubtedly -the most marked fact in his personal appearance. -He dressed badly, but not cheaply. -His clothes, though ill put on, were good, and -his wardrobe was always enormously overstocked.”—1822 -and 1831.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Crabb Robinson’s<br /> -<i>Diary</i>.</div> - -<p>“I went to James Stephen, and drove with -him to his house at Hendon. A -dinner-party. I had a most interesting -companion in young Macaulay, one -of the most promising of the rising generation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> -I have seen for a long time. He has a good -face,—not the delicate features of a man of -genius and sensibility, but the strong lines and -well-knit limbs of a man sturdy in body and -mind. Very eloquent and cheerful. Overflowing -with words, and not poor in thought. -Liberal in opinion, but no radical. He seems -a correct as well as a full man. He showed -a minute knowledge of subjects not introduced -by himself.”—1826.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of a<br /> -long Life</i>.</div> - - -<p>“I never heard Macaulay speak in the -House, where, although by no means an -orator, he always made a strong -impression. He spoke as he -wrote,—eloquently in the choicest -diction,—smooth, easy, graceful, and ever to -the purpose, striving to convince rather than -persuade, and grudging no toil of preparation -to sustain an argument or enforce a truth. -His person was in his favour; in form as -in mind he was robust, with a remarkably -intelligent expression, aided by deep blue -eyes that seemed to sparkle, and a mouth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> -remarkably flexible. His countenance was -certainly well calculated to impress on his -audience the classical language ever at his -command—so faithfully did it mirror the high -intelligence of the speaker.... I found him—as -the world has found him—a man of rare -intelligence, deep research, and untiring -energy in pursuit of facts: also a kind, -courteous, and unaffected gentleman. His -memory is to me one of the pleasantest I can -recall.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM MAGINN<br /> - -<small>1793-1842</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">William<br /> -Maginn’s <i>Miscellanies</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“All</span> were standing, all were listening to -some one who sat in the middle of a group. -A low-seated man, short in stature, -was uttering pleasantries and -scattering witticisms about him -with the careless glee of his country. His -articulation was impeded by a stutter, yet the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> -sentences he stammered forth were brilliant -repartees uttered without sharpness, and -edged rather with humour than with satire. -His countenance was rather agreeable than -striking; its expression sweet rather than -bright; the gray hair, coming straight over -his forehead, gave a singular appearance to a -face still bearing the attributes of youth. He -was thirty or thereabouts, but his thoughtful -brow, his hair, and the paleness of his complexion, -gave him many of the attributes -of age. His conversation was careless and -off-hand, and, but for the impediment of -speech, would have had the charm of a rich -comedy. His choice of words was such as -I have rarely met with in any of my contemporaries.”—1824.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Bentley’s Miscellany</i>,<br /> -1842.</div> - - -<p>“I dined to-day at the Salopian with Dr. -Maginn. He is a most remarkable fellow. -His flow of ideas is incredibly -quick, and his articulation so rapid, -that it is difficult to follow him. He is -altogether a person of vast acuteness, celerity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> -of apprehension, and indefatigable activity -both of body and mind. His is about my own -height; but I could allow him an inch round -the chest. His forehead is very finely developed, -his organ of language and ideality -large, and his reasoning faculties excellent. -His hair is quite gray, although he does not -look more than forty. I imagined he was -much older looking, and that he wore a -wig. While conversing his eye is never a -moment at rest: in fact his whole body is -in motion, and he keeps scrawling grotesque -figures upon the paper before him, and -rubbing them out again as fast as he draws -them. He and Gifford are, as you know, -joint editors of the <i>Standard</i>.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Dublin<br /> -University<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1844.</div> - - -<p>“Well does the writer of this notice -recollect the feelings with which he first -wended to the residence of his -late friend. He was then but a -mere boy, fresh from the university.... -He went, and was shown upstairs; -the doctor was not at home, but was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> -momentarily expected.... Suddenly, when -his heart almost sank within him, a light step -was heard ascending the stairs—it could not -be a man’s foot—no, it was too delicate for -that; it must, certainly, be the nursery-maid. -The step was arrested at the door, a brief -interval, and Maginn entered. The spell -vanished like lightning, and the visitor took -heart in a moment. No formal-looking personage, -in customary suit of solemn black, -stood before him, but a slight, boyish, careless -figure, with a blue eye, the mildest ever -seen—hair, not exactly white, but of a sunned -snow colour—an easy, familiar smile—and a -countenance that you would be more inclined -to laugh with than feel terror from. He -bounded across the room with a most unscholar-like -eagerness, and warmly welcomed -the visitor, asking him a thousand questions, -and putting him at ease with himself in a -moment. Then, taking his arm, both sallied -forth into the street, where, for a long time, -the visitor was in doubt whether it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> -Maginn to whom he was really talking as -familiarly as if he were his brother, or whether -the whole was a dream. And such, indeed, -was the impression generally made on the -minds of all strangers—but, as in the present -case, it was dispelled instantly the living -original appeared. Then was to be seen the -kindness and gentleness of heart which tinged -every word and gesture with sweetness; the -suavity and mildness, so strongly the reverse -of what was to be expected from the most -galling satirest of the day; the openness of -soul and countenance, that disarmed even the -bitterest of his opponents; the utter absence -of anything like prejudice and bigotry from -him the ablest and most devoted champion of -the Church and State. No pedantry in his -language, no stateliness of style, no forced -metaphors, no inappropriate anecdote, no -overweening confidence—all easy, simple, -agreeable, and unzoned.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">FRANCIS MAHONY<br /> - -<small>(<span class="smcap">Father Prout</span>)</small><br /> - -<small>1805-1866</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">The works of<br /> -Father Prout.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Stooping</span> his short and spare but thick-set -figure as he walked, wearing his ill-brushed -hat upon the extreme back of his -head, clothed in the slovenliest -way in a semi-clerical dress of the shabbiest -character, he sauntered by with his right arm -habitually clasped behind him in his left -hand,—altogether presenting to view so -distinctly the appearance of a member of one -of the mendicant orders, that upon one occasion, -in the Rue de Rivoli, an intimate friend -of his found it impossible to resist the impulse -of slipping a sou into the open palm of his -right hand, with the apologetic remark, ‘You -<i>do</i> look so like a beggar.’ Apart, however, -from his threadbare garb and shambling gait, -there were personal traits of character about -him which caught the attention almost at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> -a glance, and piqued the curiosity of even -the least observant wayfarer. The ‘roguish -Hibernian mouth,’ noted in his regard by -Mr. Gruneisen, and the gray piercing eyes, -that looked up at you so keenly over his -spectacles, won your interest in him even -upon a first introduction. From the mocking -lips soon afterwards, if you fell into conversation -with him, came the ‘loud snappish -laugh,’ with which, as Mr. Blanchard Jerrold -remarks, the Father so frequently evinced -his appreciation of a casual witticism—uproarious -fits of merriment signalising at other -moments one of his own ironical successes, -outbursts of fun followed during his later -years by the racking cough with which he -was too often then tormented.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Blanchard<br /> -Jerrold’s <i>Final<br /> -Reliques of<br /> -Father Prout</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The Rev. Francis Mahony, or Father -Prout, trudging along the Boulevards with -his arms clasped behind him, his -nose in the air, his hat worn as -French caricaturists insist all -Englishmen wear hat or cap; his quick, clear,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> -deep-seeking eye wandering sharply to the -right or left, and sarcasm—not of the sourest -kind—playing like Jack-o’-lantern in the -corners of his mouth, Father Prout was as -much a character of the French capital as the -learned Armenian of the Imperial Library -only a few years ago.... It was difficult -to meet Father Prout. He was an odd, -uncomfortable, uncertain man. His moods -changed like April skies. Light little -thoughts were busy in his brain, lively and -frisking as ‘troutlets in a pool.’ He was -impatient of interruption, and shambled -forward talking in an undertone to himself, -with now and then a bubble or two of -laughter, or one short sharp laugh almost -like a bark, like that of the marksman when -the arrow quivers in the bull’s-eye. He -would pass you with a nod that meant ‘Hold -off—not to-day!’... He was very impatient -if any injudicious friend or passing -acquaintance (who took him to be usually as -accessible as any <i>flneur</i> on the macadam),<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> -thrust himself forward and would have his -hand and agree with him that it was a fine -day, but would possibly rain shortly. A -sharp answer, and an unceremonious plunge -forward without bow or good-day, would put -an end to the interruption. Of course the -Father was called a bear by shallow-pates -who could not see that there was something -extra in the little man talking to himself and -shuffling, with his hands behind him, through -the <i>fines fleurs</i> and <i>grandes dames</i> of the -Italian Boulevard.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A personal<br /> -friend.</div> - - -<p>“In recalling the Rev. Francis Mahony, -I am forcibly reminded of a few lines at the -beginning of old Burton’s <i>Anatomy -of Melancholy</i>: ‘Democritus, -as he is described by Hippocrates, -and Lartius, was a little wearish old man, -very melancholy by nature, averse from -company in his latter dayes, and much given -to solitariness, a famous philosopher in his -age, ... wholly addicted to his studies at -the last, and to a private life; writ many excellent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> -workes.’ Substituting Father Prout’s -name for that of Democritus, the words are -equally descriptive of the quaint little Irishman. -He was a small spare man, with a -pale deeply-lined face; badly dressed; with -gray unkempt whiskers, and a certain waspish -expression on his thin face which was utterly -at variance, not only with the good Father’s -writings,—which for ‘real larky fun,’ as -James Hannay expressed it, are unsurpassed,—but -also with the really kind nature of the -man. His eyes were by far the best feature -of his face. Keen, bright, and piercing, they -were eyes that held you. Their glance was -very rapid and eager, and instantly prepossessed -you in his favour.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FREDERICK MARRYAT<br /> - -<small>1792-1848</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">F. Marryat’s<br /> -<i>Life and Letters<br /> -of Captain<br /> -Marryat</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Although</span> not handsome, Captain Marryat’s -personal appearance was very prepossessing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> -In figure he was upright, and broad-shouldered -for his height, which measured -five feet ten inches. His hands, -without being under-sized, were -remarkably perfect in form, and -modelled by a sculptor at Rome on account -of their symmetry. The character of his -mind was borne out by his features, the most -salient expression of which was the frankness -of an open heart. The firm decisive mouth -and massive thoughtful forehead were redeemed -from heaviness by the humorous -light that twinkled in his deep-set gray eyes, -which, bright as diamonds, positively flashed -out their fun, or their reciprocation of the -fun of others. As a young man, dark crisp -curls covered his head; but, later in life, -when, having exchanged the sword for the -pen and the ploughshare, he affected a soberer -and more patriarchal style of dress and -manner, he wore his gray hair long, and -almost down to his shoulders. His eyebrows -were not alike, one being higher up and more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> -arched than the other, which peculiarity -gave his face a look of inquiry, even in -repose. In the upper lip was a deep cleft, -and in his chin as deep a dimple—a pitfall -for the razor, which, from the ready growth -of his dark beard, he was often compelled to -use twice a day.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Cornhill</i>,<br /> -1876.</div> - -<p>“He was not a tall man—five feet ten—but -I think intended by nature to be six feet, -only having gone to sea when still -almost a child, at a time when the -between-decks were very low-pitched, he -had, he himself declared, had his growth -unnaturally stopped. His immensely powerful -build and massive chest, which measured -considerably over forty inches round, would -incline one to this belief. He had never -been handsome, as far as features went, but -the irregularity of his features might easily -be forgotten by those who looked at the -intellect shown in his magnificent forehead. -His forehead and his hands were his two -strong points. The latter were models of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> -symmetry. Indeed, while resident at Rome, -at an earlier period of his life, he had been -requested by a sculptor to allow his hand to -be modelled. At the time I now speak of -him he was fifty-two years of age, but looked -considerably younger. His face was clean-shaved, -and his hair so long that it reached -almost to his shoulders, curly in light loose -locks like those of a woman. It was slightly -gray. He was dressed in anything but evening -costume on the present occasion, having -on a short velveteen shooting-jacket and -coloured trousers. I could not help smiling -as I glanced at his dress—recalling to my -mind what a dandy he had been as a young -man.”—1844.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HARRIET MARTINEAU<br /> - -<small>1802-1876</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">H. Martineau’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“She</span> was graver and laughed more rarely -than any young person I ever knew. Her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> -face was plain, and (you will scarcely believe -it) she had <i>no</i> light in the countenance, -no expression to redeem the -features. The low brow and -rather large under lip increased the effect of -her natural seriousness of look, and did her -much injustice. I used to be asked occasionally, -‘What has offended Harriet that -she looks so glum?’—I, who understood -her, used to answer, ‘Nothing; she is not -offended, it is only her look,’”—1818.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">James Payn’s<br /> -<i>Literary<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - -<p>“In the porch stood Miss Martineau herself. -A lady of middle height, ‘inclined’ as -the novelists say ‘to <i>embonpoint</i>,’ -with a smile on her kindly face -and her trumpet at her ear. She -was at that time, I suppose, about fifty years -of age; her brown hair had a little grey in it, -and was arranged with peculiar flatness over -a low but broad forehead. I don’t think she -could ever have been pretty, but her features -were not uncomely, and their expression was -gentle and motherly.”—1852.</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote">H. Martineau’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>“... I saw Miss Martineau a few weeks -since. She is a large, robust, elderly woman, -and plainly dressed; but withal -she has so kind, cheerful, and -intelligent a face, that she is pleasanter to -look at than most beauties. Her hair is of a -decided gray, and she does not shrink from -calling herself old. She is the most continual -talker I ever heard; it is really like -the babbling of a brook; and very lively and -sensible too; and all the while she talks she -moves the bowl of her ear-trumpet from one -auditor to another, so that it becomes quite an -organ of intelligence and sympathy between -her and yourself.... All her talk was about -herself and her affairs; but it did not seem -like egotism, because it was so cheerful and -free from morbidness.”—About 1856.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE<br /> - -<small>1805-1872</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">F. Maurice’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -F. D. Maurice</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was distinctly below the middle height, -not above five feet seven inches, but he had -a certain dignity of carriage, -despite the entire absence of any -self-assertion of manner, which in -the pulpit, where only his head and shoulders -were observable, removed the impression of -small stature.... His hair was now of a -silvery white, very ample in quantity, fine -and soft as silk. The rush of his start for a -walk had gone. His movements had, like -his life, become quiet and measured. At no -time had there been so much beauty about -his face and figure. There was now—partly -from manner, partly from face, partly from a -character that seemed expressed in all,—beauty -which seemed to shine round him, -and was very commonly observed by those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> -amongst whom he was. It made undergraduates, -not specially impressionable, stop -and watch him.... Servants and poor -people whom he visited often spoke of him -as ‘beautiful.’”—1866.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Spectator</i>,<br /> -1872.</div> - - -<p>“Yet though Mr. Maurice’s voice seemed -to be the essential part of him as a religious -teacher, his face, if you ever -looked at it, was quite in keeping -with his voice. His eye was full of sweetness, -but fixed, and, as it were, fascinated on -some ideal point. His countenance expressed -nervous, high-strung tension, as though all -the various play of feelings in ordinary human -nature converged, in him, towards a single -focus, the declaration of the divine purpose. -Yet this tension, this peremptoriness, this -convergence of his whole nature on a single -point, never gave the effect of a dictatorial -air for a moment. There was a quiver -in his voice, a tremulousness in the strong -deep lines of his face, a tenderness in his -eye, which assured you at once that nothing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> -of the hard crystallising character of a dogmatic -belief in the Absolute had conquered -his heart, and most men recognised this, for -the hardest and most business-like voices -took a tender and almost caressing tone in -addressing him.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN MILTON<br /> - -<small>1608-1674</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">D’Israeli’s<br /> -<i>Curiosities of<br /> -Literature</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Salmasius</span> sometimes reproaches Milton as -being but a puny piece of man, an homunculus, -a dwarf deprived of the human -figure, a bloodless being composed -of nothing but skin and bone, a -contemptible pedagogue, fit only to flog his -boys; and rising into a poetic frenzy applies -to him the words of Virgil: ‘<i>Monstrum horrendum, -informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum.</i>’ -Our great poet thought this senseless declamation -merited a serious refutation;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> -perhaps he did not wish to appear despicable -in the eyes of the ladies; and he would not -be silent on the subject, he says, lest any one -should consider him as the credulous -Spaniards are made to believe by their -priests, that a heretic is a kind of rhinoceros -or a dog-headed monster. Milton says that -he does not think any one ever considered -him as unbeautiful; that his size rather -approaches mediocrity than the diminutive; -that he still felt the same courage and the same -strength which he possessed when young, -when, with his sword, he felt no difficulty to -combat with men more robust than himself; -that his face, far from being pale, emaciated, -and wrinkled, was sufficiently creditable to -him: for though he had passed his fortieth -year, he was in all other respects ten years -younger. And very pathetically he adds, -‘That even his eyes, blind as they are, are -unblemished in their appearance; in this -instance alone, and much against my inclination, -I am a deceiver!’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s<br /> -<i>Lives of<br /> -Eminent<br /> -Persons</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>“He was scarce as tall as I am.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> He -had light browne hayre. His complexion -exceeding fayre. Ovall face, his eie -a darke gray. His widowe has his picture -drawne very well and like, when -a Cambridge scollar. She has his picture -when a Cambridge scollar, which ought to -be engraven; for the pictures before his -books are not at all like him.... He was a -spare man.... Extreme pleasant in his -conversation, and at dinner, supper, etc., but -satyricall. He pronounced the letter <i>r</i> very -hard. He had a delicate tuneable voice, and -had good skill. His harmonicall and ingeniose -soul did lodge in a beautiful and well-proportioned -body:—‘In toto nusquam corpore -menda fuit.’—Ovid.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Keightley’s<br /> -<i>Life of Milton</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“In his person Milton was rather under -the middle size, well built and muscular. -‘His deportment,’ says Wood, ‘was -affable, and his gait erect and -manly, bespeaking courage and undauntedness.’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> -He was skilled in the use of the -small sword, and, though he certainly would -not have engaged in a duel, he had strength, -skill, and courage to repel the attack of any -adversary. His hair, which never fell off, was -of a light-brown hue, and he wore it parted -on his forehead as it is represented in his -portraits. His eyes were gray, and, as the -cause of his blindness was internal, they -suffered no change of appearance from it. -His face was oval, and his complexion was -so fine in his youth that at Cambridge he was, -as we are told by Aubrey, called the Lady -of his College; even in his later days his -cheeks retained a ruddy tinge. He had a -fine ear for music, and was well skilled in that -delightful science; he used to perform on the -organ and bass-viol. His voice was sweet -and musical, and we may presume that his -singing showed both taste and science.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">MARY RUSSELL MITFORD<br /> - -<small>1786-1855</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I certainly</span> was disappointed when a stout -little lady, tightened up in a shawl, rolled into -the parlour of Newman Street, and -Mrs. Holland announced her as -Miss Mitford; her short petticoats -showing wonderfully stout leather boots, her -shawl <i>bundled</i> on, and a little black coal-scuttle -bonnet—when bonnets were expanding—added -to the effect of her natural shortness -and rotundity; but her manner was that of a -cordial country gentlewoman; the pressure of -her ‘fat’ little hands (for she extended both) -was warm; her eyes, both soft and bright, -looked kindly and frankly into mine; and her -pretty rosy mouth dimpled with smiles that -were always sweet and friendly.... She was -always pleasant to look at, and had her face -not been cast in so broad—so ‘out-spread’—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>a -mould, she would have been handsome; -even with that disadvantage, if her figure had -been tall enough to carry her head with -dignity, she would have been so; but she -was most vexatiously ‘dumpy.’ Miss Landon -‘hit off’ her appearance when she whispered, -the first time she saw her (and it was at our -house), ‘Sancho Panza in petticoats!’ but -when Miss Mitford spoke, the awkward effect -vanished,—her pleasant voice, her beaming -eyes and smiles, made you forget the wide -expanse of face; and the roley-poley figure, -when seated, did not appear really short.”—1828.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">James Payn’s<br /> -<i>Literary<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - -<p>“I can never forget the little figure rolled -up in two chairs in the little Swallowfield -room, packed round with books up -to the ceiling, on to the floor—the -little figure with clothes on of -course, but of no recognised or recognisable -pattern; and somewhere out of the upper -end of the heap, gleaming under a great deep, -globular brow, two such eyes as I never,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> -perhaps, saw in any other Englishwoman—though -I believe she must have had French -blood in her veins, to breed such eyes, and -such a tongue, for the beautiful speech which -came out of that ugly (it was that) face, and -the glitter and depth too of the eyes, like live -coals—perfectly honest the while, both lips -and eyes—these seemed to me to be attributes -of the highest French, or rather Gallic, not -of the highest English, woman. In any case, -she was a triumph of mind over matter, of -spirit over flesh, which gave the lie to all -materialism, and puts Professor Bain out of -court—at least out of court with those who -use fair induction about the men and women -whom they meet and know.”—About 1851.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">James Payn’s<br /> -<i>Literary<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - -<p>“I seem to see the dear little old lady now, -looking like a venerable fairy, with bright -sparkling eyes, a clear, incisive -voice, and a laugh that carried you -away with it. I never saw a -woman with such an enjoyment of—I was -about to say a joke, but the word is too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> -coarse for her—of a pleasantry. She was -the warmest of friends, and with all her love -of fun never alluded to their weaknesses.... -I well remember our first interview. I -expected to find the authoress of <i>Our Village</i> -in a most picturesque residence, overgrown -with honeysuckle and roses, and set in an -old-fashioned garden. Her little cottage at -Swallowfield, near Reading, did not answer -this picture at all. It was a cottage, but not -a pretty one, placed where three roads met, -with only a piece of green before it. But if -the dwelling disappointed me, the owner did -not. I was ushered upstairs (for at that -time, crippled by rheumatism, she was unable -to leave her room) into a small apartment, -lined with books from floor to ceiling, and -fragrant with flowers; its tenant rose from -her arm-chair with difficulty, but with a sunny -smile and a charming manner bade me welcome. -My father had been an old friend of -hers, and she spoke of my home and belongings -as only a woman can speak of such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> -things. Then we plunged, <i>in medias res</i>, into -men and books.”—1852.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU<br /> - -<small>1690-1762</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Horace<br /> -Walpole’s<br /> -<i>Letters</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“I went</span> last night to visit her. I give -you my word of honour, and you who know -her will believe me without it, the -following is a faithful description: -I found her in a little miserable -bedchamber of a ready furnished house, with -two tallow candles and a bureau covered with -pots and pans. On her head, in full of all -accounts, she had an old black-laced hood -wrapped entirely round so as to conceal all -hair, or want of hair; no handkerchief, but -instead of it a kind of horseman’s riding-coat, -calling itself a <i>pet-en-l’air</i>, made of a dark -green brocade, with coloured and silver -flowers, and lined with furs; bodice laced;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> -a full dimity petticoat, sprigged; velvet -muffetees on her arms; gray stockings and -slippers. Her face less changed in twenty -years than I would have imagined. I told -her so, and she was not so tolerable twenty -years ago that she should have taken it for -flattery, but she did, and literally gave me a -box on the ears. She is very lively, all her -senses perfect, her language as imperfect as -ever, her avarice greater.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Horace<br /> -Walpole’s<br /> -<i>Letters</i>.</div> - -<p>“Did I tell you that Lady Mary Wortley -is here? She laughs at my Lady Walpole, -scolds my Lady Pomfret, and is -laughed at by the whole town. -Her dress, her avarice, and her -impudence must amaze any one that never -heard her name. She wears a foul mob, that -does not cover her greasy black locks, that -hang loose, never combed or curled; an old -mazarine blue wrapper, that gapes open and -discovers a canvas petticoat. Her face -swelled violently on one side with the -remains of a ——, partly covered with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> -plaister, and partly with white paint, which -for cheapness she has bought so coarse -that you would not use it to wash a chimney.—In -three words I will give you her picture -as we drew it in the ‘Sortes Virgilianae’—</p> - -<p class="center">‘Insanam vatem aspicies.’</p> - -<p>I give you my honour we did not choose it; -but Gray, Mr. Coke, Sir Francis Dashwood, -and I, and several others, drew it fairly -amongst a thousand for different people, most -of which did not hit as you may imagine.”—1740.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS MOORE<br /> - -<small>1779-1852</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Moore’s</span> forehead was bony and full of -character, with ‘bumps’ of wit, large and -radiant enough to transport a -phrenologist. Sterne had such -another. His eyes were as dark and fine as -you would wish to see under a set of vine-leaves;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> -his mouth generous and good-humoured, -with dimples; and his manner -was as bright as his talk, full of the wish -to please and be pleased. He sang, and -played with great taste on the pianoforte, as -might be supposed from his musical compositions. -His voice, which was a little -hoarse in speaking (at least I used to think -so), softened into a breath, like that of a -flute, when singing. In speaking he was -emphatic in rolling the letter <i>r</i>, perhaps out -of a despair of being able to get rid of the -national peculiarity.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“His eyes sparkle like a champagne -bubble; there is a kind of wintry red, of the -tinge of an October leaf, that seems -enamelled on his cheek; his lips -are delicately cut, slight, and changeable -as an aspen; the slightly-turned nose confirms -the fun of the expression; and altogether -it is a face that sparkles, beams, and radiates—</p> - - -<p class="center">‘The light that surrounds him is all from within.’”</p> - -<p>1835.</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of<br /> -a Long Life</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>“I recall him at this moment—his small -form and intellectual face rich in expression, -and that expression the sweetest, -the most gentle, and the kindliest. -He had still in age the same bright -and clear eye, the same gracious smile, the -same suave and winning manner I had noticed -as the attributes of what might in comparison -be styled his youth (I have stated I knew him -as long ago as 1821); a forehead not remarkably -broad or high, but singularly impressive, -firm, and full, with the organs of music and -gaiety large, and those of benevolence and -veneration greatly preponderating; the nose, -as observed in all his portraits, was somewhat -upturned. Standing or sitting, his -head was invariably upraised, owing, perhaps, -mainly to his shortness of stature. He had -so much bodily activity as to give him the -attribute of restlessness, and no doubt that -usual accompaniment of genius was eminently -a characteristic of his. His hair was, at the -time I speak of, thin and very gray, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> -wore his hat with the jaunty air that has -been often remarked as a peculiarity of the -Irish. In dress, although far from slovenly, -he was by no means precise. He had but -little voice, yet he sang with a depth of -sweetness that charmed all hearers; it was -true melody, and told upon the heart as well -as the ear. No doubt much of this charm -was derived from association, for it was only -his own melodies he sang.”—1845.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HANNAH MORE<br /> - -<small>1745-1833</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Memoir of<br /> -Mrs. Hannah<br /> -More.</i></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I was</span> much struck by the air of affectionate -kindness with which the old lady welcomed -me to Barley Wood—there was -something of courtliness about it, -at the same time the courtliness -of the <i>vieille cour</i>, which one reads of, but so -seldom sees. Her dress was of light green<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> -Venetian silk; a yellow, richly embroidered -crape shawl enveloped her shoulders; and -a pretty net cap, tied under her chin with -white satin riband, completed the costume. -Her figure is singularly <i>petite</i>; but to have -any idea of the expression of her countenance, -you must imagine the small withered face of -a woman in her seventy-seventh year; and, -imagine also (shaded, but not obscured, by -long and perfectly white eyelashes) eyes -dark, brilliant, flashing, and penetrating, -sparkling from object to object, with all the -fire and energy of youth, and smiling welcome -on all around.”—1820.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“Her form was small and slight: her -features wrinkled with age; but the burden -of eighty years had not impaired -her gracious smile, nor lessened the -fire of her eyes, the clearest, the -brightest, and the most searching I have -ever seen—they were singularly dark—positively -black they seemed as they looked -forth among carefully-trained tresses of her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> -own white hair; and absolutely sparkled -while she spoke of those of whom she was -the venerated link between the present and -the long past. Her manner on entering the -room, while conversing, and at our departure, -was positively sprightly; she tripped about -from console to console, from window to -window, to show us some gift that bore a -name immortal, some cherished reminder of -other days—almost of another world, certainly -of another age; for they were memories of -those whose deaths were registered before -the present century had birth.... She was -clad, I well remember, in a dress of rich pea-green -silk. It was an odd whim, and contrasted -somewhat oddly with her patriarchal -age and venerable countenance, yet was in -harmony with the youth of her step, and -her unceasing vivacity as she laughed and -chatted, chatted and laughed, her voice -strong and clear as that of a girl, and her -animation as full of life and vigour as it -might have been in her spring-time.”—1825.</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote">A. M. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Pilgrimages<br /> -to English<br /> -Shrines</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>“Her brow was full and well sustained, -rather than what would be called <i>fine</i>: from -the manner in which her hair was -dressed, its formation was distinctly -visible; and though her -eyes were half-closed, her countenance -was more tranquil, more sweet, more -holy—for it <i>had</i> a holy expression—than -when those deep intense eyes were looking -you through and through. Small, and -shrunk, and aged as she was, she conveyed -to us no idea of feebleness. She looked, -even then, a woman whose character, combining -sufficient thought and wisdom, as well -as dignity and spirit, could analyse and exhibit, -in language suited to the intellect of -the people of England, the evils and dangers -of revolutionary principles. Her voice had -a pleasant tone, and her manner was quite -devoid of affectation or dictation; she spoke -as one expecting a reply, and by no means -like an oracle. And those bright immortal -eyes of hers—not wearied by looking at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> -world for more than eighty years, but clear -and far-seeing then—laughing, too, when she -spoke cheerfully, not as authors are believed -to speak—</p> - -<p class="center">‘In measured pompous tones,’—</p> - -<p>but like a dear matronly dame, who had -especial care and tenderness towards young -women. It is impossible to remember how -it occurred, but in reference to some observation -I had made she turned briskly round -and exclaimed, ‘Controversy hardens the -heart, and sours the temper: never dispute -with your husband, young lady; tell him -what you think, and leave it to time to -fructify.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR THOMAS MORE<br /> - -<small>1480-1535</small></h2></div> - -<div class="sidenote">More’s<br /> -<i>Life of Sir<br /> -Thomas More</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was of a meane stature, well proportioned, -his complexion tending to the -phlegmaticke, his colour white and pale, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> -hayre neither black nor yellow, but betweene -both; his eies gray, his countenance -amiable and chearefull, his voyce -neither bigg nor shrill, but speaking -plainely and distinctly; it was not -very tunable, though he delighted much in -musike, his bodie reasonably healthfull, only -that towards his latter ende by using much -writing, he complained much of the ache of his -breaste. In his youth he drunke much water, -wine he only tasted of, when he pledged -others; he loved salte meates, especially -powdered beefe, milke, cheese, eggs and fruite, -and usually he eate of corse browne bread, -which it may be he rather used to punish -his taste, than from anie love he had thereto. -For he was singularly wise to deceave the -world with mortifications, only contenting -himselfe with the knowledge which God had -of his actions: et pater ejus, qui erat in -abscondito reddidit ei.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Campbell’s<br /> -<i>Lives of the<br /> -Lord Chancellors</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“Holbein’s portrait of More has made his -features familiar to all Englishmen. According<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> -to his great-grandson, he was of -‘a middle stature, well proportioned, of a -pale complexion; his hair of a -chestnut colour, his eyes gray, -his countenance mild and cheerful; -his voice not very musical, but clear -and distinct; his constitution, which was good -originally, was never impaired by his way of -living, otherwise than by too much study. -His diet was simple and abstemious, never -drinking any wine but when he pledged -those who drank to him, and rather mortifying -than indulging his appetite in what he -ate.’</p> - - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Life of Sir<br /> -Thomas More.</i><br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“He is rather below than above the middle -size; his countenance of an agreeable and -friendly cheerfulness, with somewhat -of an habitual inclination -to smile; and appears more adapted to -pleasantry than to gravity or dignity, though -perfectly remote from vulgarity or silliness.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">CAROLINE NORTON<br /> - -<small>1808-1877</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Kemble’s<br /> -<i>Records of<br /> -a Girlhood</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“When</span> I first knew Caroline Sheridan she -had not long been married to the Hon. -George Norton. She was splendidly -handsome, of an un-English character -of beauty, her rather large and -heavy head and features recalling the -grandest Grecian and Italian models, to the -latter of whom her rich colouring and blue-black -braids of hair gave her an additional -resemblance. Though neither as perfectly -lovely as the Duchess of Somerset, nor as -perfectly charming as Lady Dufferin, she -produced a far more striking impression than -either of them, by the combination of the -poetical genius with which she alone, of the -three, was gifted, with the brilliant power -of repartee which they (especially Lady -Dufferin) possessed in common with her,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> -united to the exceptional beauty with which -they were all three endowed. Mrs. Norton -was exceedingly epigrammatic in her talk, -and comically dramatic in her manner of -relating things.... She was no musician, -but had a deep, sweet contralto voice, -precisely the same in which she always -spoke, and which, combined with her always -lowered eyelids (‘downy eyelids’ with sweeping -silken fringes), gave such incomparably -comic effect to her sharp retorts and ludicrous -stories.... I admired her extremely.—1827.</p> - -<p>“The next time ... was at an evening party -at my sister’s house, where her appearance -struck me more than it had ever done. Her -dress had something to do with this effect, -no doubt. She had a rich gold-coloured -silk on, shaded and softened all over with -black lace draperies, and her splendid head, -neck, and arms, were adorned with magnificently -simple Etruscan ornaments, which she -had brought from Rome, whence she had just -returned, and where the fashion of that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> -famous antique jewellery had lately been -revived. She was still ‘une beaut triomphante - faire voir aux ambassadeurs.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A personal<br /> -friend.</div> - - -<p>“The most beautiful of ‘the beautiful -Sheridans,’ Caroline Norton will also live in -the memory of her friends as one -of the most fascinating of women. -Her voice was exceedingly sweet and -musical, her movements wonderfully graceful, -and, with the solitary exception of Theodore -Hook, whose rough, coarse wit spared no -one, her queenly bearing won her general -adulation and deference. Her face was a -pure oval, her head was crowned by heavy -braids of the darkest hair, while the warmth -and light which suffused her expressive -countenance gave her a somewhat un-English -appearance. Her eyes were dark; -black curly lashes swept over the warmly-tinted -cheek; the lips were of geranium -red; the teeth, dazzlingly white. Altogether -she was a vivid piece of colouring, and as -she was always very beautifully dressed, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> -did not require her literary reputation to -make her at all times sought after and admired.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of<br /> -a long Life</i>.</div> - - -<p>“It seems but yesterday—it is not so very -long ago certainly—that I saw for the last -time the Hon. Mrs. Norton. Her -radiant beauty was then faded, but -her stately form had been little -impaired by years, and she had retained -much of the grace that made her early -womanhood so surpassingly attractive. She -combined, in a singular degree, feminine -delicacy with masculine vigour; though essentially -womanly, she seemed to have the -force of character of man. Remarkably -handsome she perhaps excited admiration -rather than affection. I can easily imagine -greater love to be given to a far plainer -woman. She had, in more than full measure, -the traditional beauty of her family, and no -doubt inherited with it some of the waywardness -that is associated with the name of -Sheridan.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS OTWAY<br /> - -<small>1651-1685</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Gentleman’s<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1745.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“You’ll</span> be glad to know any trifling circumstance -concerning Otway. His person was -of the middle size, about five feet -seven inches in height, inclinable -to fatness. He had a thoughtful speaking -eye, and that was all. He gave himself up -early to drinking, and, like the unhappy wits -of that age, passed his days between rioting -and fasting, ranting jollity and abject penitence, -carousing one week with Lord Pl——th, -and then starving a month in low company -at an ale-house on Tower Hill.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sir Walter<br /> -Scott’s <i>Memoir<br /> -of Mrs. Radcliffe</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Otway, heavy, squalid, unhappy; yet -tender countenance, but not so squalid as -one we formerly saw; full-speaking, -black eyes; it seems as if -dissolute habits had overcome -all his finer feelings, and left him little of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> -mind, except a sense of sorrow.” <i>On a -picture.</i></p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SAMUEL PEPYS<br /> - -<small>1632-1703</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Cornhill<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1874.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Pepys</span> spent part of a certain winter Sunday, -when he had taken physic, composing ‘a -song in praise of a liberal genius -(such as I take my own to be) -to all studies and pleasures.’ The song was -successful, but the diary is, in a sense, the -very song that he was seeking; and his -portrait by Hales, so admirably reproduced -in Mynors Bright’s edition, is a confirmation -of the diary. Hales, it would appear, had -known his business, and though he put his -sitter to a deal of trouble, almost breaking -his neck ‘to have the portrait full of shadows,’ -and draping him in an Indian gown hired -expressly for the purpose, he was preoccupied -about no merely picturesque effects, but to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> -portray the essence of the man. Whether -we read the picture by the diary, or the diary -by the picture, we shall at least agree, that -Hales was among the numbers of those who -can ‘surprise the manners in a face.’ Here -we have a mouth pouting, moist with desires; -eyes greedy, protuberant, and yet apt for -weeping too; a nose great alike in character -and dimensions, and altogether a most fleshly, -melting countenance. The face is attractive -by its promise of reciprocity. I have used -the word <i>greedy</i>, but the reader must not -suppose that he can change it for that closely -kindred one of <i>hungry</i>, for there is here no -aspiration, no waiting for better things, but -an animal joy in all that comes. It could -never be the face of an artist; it is the face -of a <i>viveur</i>—kindly, pleased, and pleasing, -protected from excess and upheld in contentment -by the shifting versatility of his desires. -For a single desire is more rightly to be -called a lust; but there is health in a variety, -where one may balance and control another.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">ALEXANDER POPE<br /> - -<small>1688-1744</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Guardian</i>,<br /> -1713.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Dick Distich</span> ... we have elected president, -not only as he is the shortest of -us all, but because he has entertained -so just a sense of his -stature as to go generally in black, that he -may appear yet less. Nay, to that perfection -is he arrived, that he stoops as he walks. -The figure of the man is odd enough; he is -a lively little creature, with long arms and -legs: a spider is no ill emblem of him. He -has been taken at a distance for a small windmill.”—1713.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Johnson’s <i>Life<br /> -of Pope</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The person of Pope is well known not -to have been formed on the nicest model. -He has, in his account of the -Little Club, compared himself to -a spider, and, by another, is described as protuberant -behind and before. He is said to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> -have been beautiful in his infancy; but he -was of a constitution originally feeble and -weak; and, as bodies of a tender frame are -easily distorted, his deformity was, probably, -in part the effect of his application. His -stature was so low, that to bring him on a -level with common tables it was necessary to -raise his seat. But his face was not displeasing, -and his eyes were animated and vivid.... -His dress of ceremony was black, with -a tie-wig and a little sword.... He sometimes -condescended to be jocular with servants -or inferiors; but by no merriment, either of -others or of his own, was he ever seen excited -to laughter.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Tyer’s <i>Historical<br /> -rhapsody on Mr.<br /> -Pope</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Pope, as Lord Clarendon says of (the -ever memorable) Hales of Eaton, was one of -the least men in the kingdom; who adds of -Chillingworth, that he was of a -stature little superior to him, and -that it was an age in which there -were many great and wonderful men of that -size.... He inherited his deformity from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> -father, who turns out at last, from the information -of Mrs. Racket his relation, to -have been a linen-draper in the Strand.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">‘My friend, this shape which you and I will admire,</div> -<div class="verse">Came not from Ammon’s son, but from my sire,’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>as he expresses himself in his first epistle to -Arbuthnot. He was protuberant behind and -before, in the words of his last biographer. -But he carried a mind in his face, as a -reverend person once expressed himself of a -singular countenance. He had a brilliant -eye, which pervaded everything at a glance.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BRYAN WALLER PROCTER<br /> - -<small>1787-1874</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s<br /> -<i>Life of Carlyle</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“I have</span> also seen and scraped acquaintance -with Procter—Barry Cornwall. He is a -slender, rough-faced, palish, gentle, -languid-looking man, of three or -four and thirty. There is a dreamy mildness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> -in his eye; he is kind and good in his manners -and, I understand, in his conduct. He is a poet -by the ear and the fancy, but his heart and -intellect are not strong.”—1824.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Retrospect of<br /> -a long Life</i>.</div> - -<p>“A decidedly rather pretty little fellow, -Procter, bodily and spiritually: manners prepossessing, -slightly London-elegant, -not unpleasant; clear judgment in -him, though of narrow field; a sound, -honourable morality, and airy friendly ways; -of slight, neat figure, vigorous for his size; -fine genially rugged little face, fine head; -something curiously dreamy in the eyes of -him, lids drooping at the <i>outer</i> ends into a -cordially meditative and drooping expression; -would break out suddenly now and then into -opera attitude and a <i>L ci darem l mano</i> for -a moment; had something of real fun, though -in London style.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Fields’s<br /> -<i>Yesterdays<br /> -with Authors</i>.</div> - - -<p>“The poet’s figure was short and full, and -his voice had a low, veiled tone -habitually in it, which made it sometimes -difficult to hear distinctly what he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> -saying. When he spoke in conversation, he -liked to be very near his listener, and thus -stand, as it were, on confidential grounds with -him. His turn of thought was apt to be -cheerful among his friends, and he entered -readily into a vein of wit and nimble expression. -Verbal facility seemed natural to him, -and his epithets, evidently unprepared, were -always perfect. He disliked cant and hard -ways of judging character. He praised -easily. He impressed every one who came -near him as a born gentleman, chivalrous and -generous in a high degree.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">THOMAS DE QUINCEY<br /> - -<small>1786-1859</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Masson’s<br /> -<i>de Quincey</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> addition to the general impression of -his diminutiveness and fragility, one was -struck with the peculiar beauty -of his head and forehead, -rising disproportionately high over his small,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> -wrinkly visage and gentle, deep-set eyes. -His talk was in the form of really harmonious -and considerate colloquy, and not at all in -that of monologue.... That evening passed, -and though I saw him once or twice again, it -is the last sight I remember best. It must -have been, I think, in 1846, on a summer -afternoon. A friend, a stranger in Edinburgh, -was walking with me in one of the pleasant, -quiet, country lanes near Edinburgh. Meeting -us, and the sole living thing in the lane -beside ourselves, came a small figure, not -untidily dressed, but with his hat pushed far -up in front of his forehead, and hanging on -his hindhead, so that the back rim must have -been resting on his coat-collar. At a little -distance I recognised it to be De Quincey; -but, not considering myself entitled to -interrupt his meditations, I only whispered -the information to my friend, that he might -not miss what the look at such a celebrity -was worth. So we passed him, giving him -the wall. Not unnaturally, however, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> -we passed, we turned round for the pleasure -of a back view of the wee, intellectual wizard. -Whether my whisper and our glance had -alarmed him, as a ticket-of-leave man might -be rendered uneasy in his solitary walk by the -scrutiny of two passing strangers, or whether -he had some recollection of me (which was -likely enough, as he seemed to forget nothing), -I do not know, but we found that he, too, had -stopped, and was looking round at us. -Apparently scared at being caught doing so, -he immediately wheeled round again, and -hurried his face towards a side-turning in the -lane, into which he disappeared, his hat still -hanging on the back of his head. That was -my last sight of De Quincey.”—1846.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Page’s<br /> -<i>de Quincey</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Pale he was, with a head of wonderful -size, which served to make more apparent the -inferior dimensions of his body, and -a face which lived the sculptured -past in every lineament from brow to chin. -One seeing him would surely be tempted to -ask who he was that took off his hat with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> -such grave politeness, remaining uncovered -if a lady were passing almost until she was -out of sight, and would get for an answer -likely enough, ‘Oh, that is little De Quincey, -who hears strange sounds and eats opium. -Did you ever see such a little man?’ Little -he was, indeed, like Dickens and Jeffrey, the -latter of whom had so little flesh that it was -said that his intellect was indecently exposed.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">James Payn’s<br /> -<i>Literary<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - - -<p>“In the ensuing summer, after the publication -of another volume of poems, I visited -Edinburgh, and called upon De -Quincey, to whom I had a letter of -introduction from Miss Mitford. He -was at that time residing at Lasswade, a few -miles from the town, and I went thither by -coach. He lived a secluded life, and even at -that date had become to the world a name -rather than a real personage; but it was a -great name. Considerable alarm agitated my -youthful heart as I drew near the house: I -felt like Burns on the occasion when he was -first about ‘to dinner wi’ a Lord.’... My<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> -apprehensions, however, proved to be utterly -groundless, for a more gracious and genial -personage I never met. Picture to yourself -a very diminutive man, carelessly—very carelessly—dressed; -a face lined, careworn, and -so expressionless that it reminded one of -‘that chill changeless brow, where cold -Obstruction’s apathy appals the gazing -mourners heart’—a face like death in life. -The instant he began to speak, however, it -lit up as though by electric light; this came -from his marvellous eyes, brighter and more -intelligent (though by fits) than I have ever -seen in any other mortal. They seemed to -me to glow with eloquence. He spoke of my -introducer, of Cambridge, of the Lake Country, -and of English poets. Each theme was interesting -to me, but made infinitely more so -by some apt personal reminiscence. As for -the last-named subject, it was like talking of -the Olympian gods to one not only cradled -in their creed, but who had mingled with -them, himself half an immortal.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">ANN RADCLIFFE<br /> - -<small>1764-1823</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Kavanagh’s<br /> -<i>English Women<br /> -of Letters</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Ann Ward’s</span> education was plain and -somewhat formal. She was shy; she showed -no extraordinary genius, and the -times were not propitious to the -development of female intellect. -The young girl’s person was probably more -admired than her mind. She was short, but -exquisitely proportioned; she had a lovely -complexion, fine eyes and eyebrows, and a -beautiful mouth. She had a sweet voice too, -and sang with feeling and taste.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Scott’s <i>Memoir<br /> -of Ann Radcliffe</i>.</div> - - -<p>“This admirable writer, whom I remember -from about the time of her twentieth year, -was, in her youth, of a figure -exquisitely proportioned, while -she resembled her father and his brother -and sister in being low of stature. Her -complexion was beautiful, as was her whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> -countenance, especially her eye, eyebrows, -and mouth.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Memoir of Mrs.<br /> -Ann Radcliffe.</i></div> - -<p>“Mrs. Radcliffe, though a giant in intellect, -was low in stature, and of a slender -form, but exquisitely proportioned: -her countenance was beautiful and -expressive.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR WALTER RALEIGH<br /> - -<small>1552-1618</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Nineteenth<br /> -Century</i>, 1881.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> appearance what manner of man was -Raleigh when in Ireland? There was much -change, of course, from the dashing -captain of eight and twenty, when -he was putting the unarmed men to the sword -and hanging the women in Dingle Bay, to -the admiral of sixty-five who, between the -Tower and the scaffold, visited his old haunts -in the county of Cork for the last time in the -three summer months of 1617.</p> - -<p>“But all accounts agree in giving him a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> -commanding presence, a handsome and well-compacted -figure, a forehead rather too high; -the lower part of his face, though partly hidden -by the moustache and peaked beard, showing -rare resolution. His portrait, a life-sized -head, painted when he was Major of Youghal, -was recently presented to the owner of his -house, where it had been years ago, by the -senior member for the county of Waterford; -and another original picture of him when in -Ireland is in the possession of the Rev. Pierce -W. Drew of Youghal. Both these Irish -pictures show the same lofty brow and firm -lips. There is an old and much-prized -engraving by Vander Werff of Amsterdam -that seems to combine all his characteristic -features—the extraordinarily high forehead, -the moustache and peaked beard, ill-concealing -a too determined mouth. The likeness is -most striking.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives of<br /> -Eminent Persons</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“He was a tall, handsome, and bold man; -but his <i>nve</i> was, that he was damnably -proud.... In the great parlour at Downton,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> -at Mr. Ralegh’s, is a good piece (an originall) -of Sir W. in a white sattin doublet, all embroidered -with rich pearles, and a -mighty rich chaine of great pearles -about his neck. The old servants have told -me that the pearles were neer as big as the -painted ones. He had a most remarkable -aspect, an exceedingly high forehead, long-faced, -and sourlie-bidded, a kind of pigge-eie.... He -spake broad Devonshire to his -dye-ing day. His voice was small, as likewise -were my schoolfellowes, his gr. nephews.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Publications of<br /> -the Prince Society.</i><br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“In all the pictures we have of him, there -is almost nothing to suggest the typical -Englishman. Burly and robust. -About six feet in height, he is -rather thin than corpulent, and in the vivacity -of expression and the nervous cast of his -features he resembles rather the modern -New-Englander than the old-time Englishman. -He was nineteen years younger than -Elizabeth, and had, as Naunton describes him, -‘a good presence in a handsome and well-compacted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> -person.’ Fuller has already told -us that at the time of his entrance at the court -his clothes made a ‘considerable part of -his estate.’ He seems to have had an innate -love for the luxury and splendour of dress. -He lived at a period when gentlemen as -well as ladies indulged in all the glory of gay -colours. Edwards, describing some of the -more noted pictures of him, says: ‘In another -full-length, which long remained in the possession -of his descendants, he is apparelled in a -white satin pinked vest, close sleeved to the -wrists with a brown doublet finely flowered -and embroidered with pearls, and a sword, -also brown and similarly decorated. Over the -right hip is seen the jewelled pommel of his -dagger. He wears his hat, in which is a -black feather with a ruby and pearl drop. -His trunk hose and fringed garters appear to -be of white satin. His buff-coloured shoes -are tied with white ribbons.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHARLES READE<br /> - -<small>1814-1884</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Coleman’s<br /> -<i>Personal Reminiscences</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“On</span> arriving at Bolton Row I was shown into -a large room littered over with books, MSS. -agenda, newspapers of every description -from the <i>Times</i> and the -<i>New York Herald</i> down to the -<i>Police News</i>. Before me stood a stately and -imposing man of fifty or fifty-one, over six -feet high, a massive chest, herculean limbs, a -bearded and leonine face, giving traces of a -manly beauty which ripened into majesty as -he grew older. Large brown eyes which -could at times become exceedingly fierce, a -fine head, quite bald on the top but covered -at the sides with soft brown hair, a head -strangely disproportioned to the bulk of the -body; in fact I could never understand how -so large a brain could be confined in so small a -skull. On the desk before him lay a huge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> -sheet of drab paper on which he had been -writing—it was about the size of two sheets -of ordinary foolscap; in his hand one of -Gillott’s double-barrelled pens. (Before I left -the room he told me he sent Gillott his books, -and Gillott sent him his pens.)</p> - -<p>“His voice, though very pleasant, was very -penetrating. He was rather deaf, but I don’t -think quite so deaf as he pretended to be. -This deafness gave him an advantage in -conversation; it afforded him time to take -stock of the situation, and either to seek refuge -in silence or to request his interlocutor to -propound his proposal afresh. At first he -was very cold, but at last, carried away by the -ardour of my admiration for his works, he -thawed, and in half an hour he was eager, -excited, delighted and delightful.”—1856.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Contemporary<br /> -Review</i>,<br /> -1884.</div> - - -<p>“The man in truth justified Lavater, for -his physiognomy was noble, and -his body the perfection of symmetry -and grace. Nature gave -him a forehead as high as Shakespeare’s, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> -broader; the mild, pensive ox-eye so dear to -the old Greek sthetes; a marble skin, a -mouth that was sarcasm itself. His personal -attractiveness was phenomenal. In any roomful -of people, however illustrious, he became -involuntarily—for he was as little self-asserting -off his paper as he was dogmatic on it—the -centre. Living immersed in Bohemianism, -and in the society of a large-hearted, yet not -very cultured woman, he never parted company -with his Ipsden breeding, and his natural -bearing was that of one born to command.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Eclectic<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1880.</div> - - -<p>“In personal appearance Mr. Reade is -tall, erect, of a commanding presence, with -a full, expressive brown eye and -a noble brow. His manner is -singularly dignified without being arrogant, -and in society he sustains an enviable reputation -as a conversationalist.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">SAMUEL RICHARDSON<br /> - -<small>1689-1761</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Barbauld’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Richardson</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Richardson</span> was, in person, below the -middle stature, and inclined to corpulency; -of a round, rather than oval face, -with a fair, ruddy complexion. -His features, says one who speaks -from recollection, bore the stamp of good -nature, and were characteristic of his placid -and amiable disposition. He was slow in -speech, and, to strangers at least, spoke with -reserve and deliberation; but in his manners -was affable, courteous, and engaging, and -when surrounded with the social circle he loved -to draw around him, his eye sparkled with -pleasure, and often expressed that particular -spirit of archness which we see in some of -his characters, and which gave, at times, a -vivacity to his conversation not expected from -his general taciturnity and quiet manners.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Richardson’s<br /> -<i>Correspondence</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>“Short, rather plump, about five feet five -inches, fair wig, one hand generally in his -bosom, the other a cane in it, -which he leans upon under the -skirts of his coat, that it may -imperceptibly serve him as a support when -attacked by sudden tremors or dizziness; of -a light brown complexion; teeth not yet -failing him. Looking directly foreright as -passengers would imagine, but observing all -that stirs on either hand of him, without -moving his short neck; a regular even pace, -stealing away ground rather than seeming to -rid it; a gray eye, too often overclouded by -mistiness from the head, by chance lively, -very lively, if he sees any he loves; if he -approaches a lady, his eye is never fixed first -on her face, but on her feet, and rears it up -by degrees, seeming to set her down as so -and so.”—1749.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Stephen’s<br /> -<i>Richardson</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“He looks like a plump white mouse in a -wig, with an air at once vivacious and timid, -a quick excitable nature, taking refuge in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> -outside of a smug, portly tradesman. Two -coloured engravings in Mrs. Barbauld’s -volumes give us Richardson -amidst his surroundings.... -One introduces us to Richardson at home. -Half a dozen ladies and gentlemen are sitting -by the open window in his bare parlour looking -out into the garden. There is only one -spindle-legged table, and a set of uncompromising -wooden chairs, just enough to -accommodate the party.... Miss Highmore, -whose hoop can scarcely be squeezed into her -straight-backed chair, is quietly sketching the -memorable scene. We are truly grateful to -her, for there sits the little idol of the party -in his usual morning dress, a nondescript -brown dressing-gown with a cap on his head -of the same materials. His plump little frame -fills the chair, and he is apparently raising one -foot for an emphatic stamp, as he reads a -passage of <i>Sir Charles Grandison</i>. We can -see that as he concludes he will be applauded -with deferential gasps of heartfelt admiration.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">SAMUEL ROGERS<br /> - -<small>1763-1855</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">S. C Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> countenance was the theme of continual -jokes. It was ‘ugly,’ if not repulsive. The -expression was in no way, nor -under any circumstances, good; -he had a drooping eye and a thick -underlip; his forehead was broad, his head -large—out of proportion indeed to his form; -but it was without the organs of benevolence -and veneration, although preponderating in that -of ideality. His features were ‘cadaverous.’ -Lord Dudley once asked him why, now that -he could afford it, he did not set up his -hearse; and it is said that Sydney Smith -gave him mortal offence by recommending -him, ‘when he sat for his portrait, to be drawn -saying his prayers, with his face hidden by -his hands.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Jerdan’s <i>Men I<br /> -have known</i>.</div> - -<p>“His personal appearance was extraordinary,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> -or rather his countenance was -unique. His skull and facial expression bore -so striking a likeness to the -skeleton pictures which we sometimes -see of Death, that the facetious Sydney -Smith (at one of the dressed evening -parties ...) entitled him the ‘Death -dandy.’ And it was told (probably with -truth), that the same satirical wag inscribed -upon the capital portrait in his breakfast-room, -‘Painted in his lifetime.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Mackay’s<br /> -<i>Forty Years’<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - -<p>“My first look at the poet, then in his -seventy-eighth year, was an agreeable -surprise, and a protest in my mind -against the malignant injustice -which had been done him. As a -young man he might have been uncomely, if -not as ugly as his revilers had painted him, -but as an old man there was an intellectual -charm in his countenance, and a fascination -in his manner which more than atoned for -any deficiency of personal beauty.”—1840.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI<br /> - -<small>1828-1882</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">William Sharp’s<br /> -<i>Dante Gabriel<br /> -Rossetti</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“According</span> to a sketch by Mr. Eyre Crowe, -dated about this time, Rossetti must have -had anything but a robust appearance, -being very thin and even -somewhat haggard in expression. -He went about in a long swallow-tailed -coat of what was even in 1848 an antique -pattern. That his appearance in his twentieth -and some subsequent years was that of an -ascetic I have been told by several, including -himself, and in addition to such pen-and-ink -sketches as the above, and of himself sitting -to Miss Siddall (his future wife) for his -portrait, there are the perhaps more reliable -portraitures in Mr. Millais’s <i>Isabella</i> (painted -in 1849), and Mr. Deverell’s <i>Viola</i>. On the -other hand, a beautifully-executed pencil head -of himself in boyhood shows him much removed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> -from the ascetic type of later years, -not unlike and strongly suggestive of a young -Keats or Chatterton; while in maturer age -he carefully drew his portrait from his -mirrored image, the result being a highly-finished -pen-and-ink likeness. While -speaking of portraits, I may state that -Rossetti was twice photographed, once in -Newcastle (which is the one publicly known, -and upon which all other illustrations have -been based), and once standing arm-in-arm -with Mr. Ruskin, the latter being the best -likeness of the poet-artist as he was a quarter -of a century ago. There is also an etching -by Mr. Menpes, which, however, is only -founded on the well-known photograph; -and, finally, there is a portrait taken shortly -after death by Mr. Frederick Shields.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Hall Caine’s<br /> -<i>Recollections of<br /> -Rossetti</i>.</div> - -<p>“Very soon Rossetti came to me through -the doorway in front, which -proved to be the entrance to his -studio. Holding forth both hands -and crying, ‘Hulloa!’ he gave me that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> -cheery hearty greeting which I came to -recognise as his alone, perhaps, in warmth -and unfailing geniality among all the men of -our circle. It was Italian in its spontaneity, -and yet it was English in its manly reserve, -and I remember with much tenderness of -feeling that never to the last (not even when -sickness saddened him, or after an absence -of a few days or even hours), did it fail him -when meeting with those friends to whom to -the last he was really attached. Leading the -way to the studio, he introduced me to his -brother, who was there upon one of the -evening visits, which at intervals of a week -he was at that time making with unfailing -regularity. I should have described Rossetti, -at this time, as a man who looked quite ten -years older than his actual age, which was -fifty-two, of full middle height and inclining -to corpulence, with a round face that ought, -one thought, to be ruddy but was pale, large -gray eyes with a steady introspecting look, -surmounted by broad protrusive brows and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> -clearly-pencilled ridge over the nose, which -was well cut and had large breathing nostrils. -The mouth and chin were hidden beneath -a heavy moustache and abundant beard, -which grew up to the ears, and had been of -a mixed black-brown and auburn, and were -now streaked with gray. The forehead was -large, round, without protuberances, and very -gently receding to where thin black curls, -that had once been redundant, began to -tumble down to the ears. The entire configuration -of the head and face seemed to me -singularly noble, and from the eyes upwards -full of beauty. He wore a pair of spectacles, -and, in reading, a second pair over the first: -but these took little from the sense of power -conveyed by those steady eyes, and that -‘bar of Michael Angelo.’ His dress was not -conspicuous, being however rather negligent -than otherwise, and noticeable, if at all, only -for a straight sack-coat buttoned at the -throat, descending at least to the knees, and -having large pockets cut into it perpendicularly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> -at the sides. This garment was, I -afterwards found, one of the articles of -various kinds made to the author’s own -design. When he spoke, even in exchanging -the preliminary courtesies of an opening -conversation, I thought his voice the richest -I had ever known any one to possess. It -was a full deep baritone, capable of easy -modulation, and with undertones of infinite -softness and sweetness, yet, as I afterwards -found, with almost illimitable compass, and -with every gradation of tone at command, -for the recitation or reading of poetry.”—1880.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">William Sharp’s<br /> -<i>Dante Gabriel<br /> -Rossetti</i></div> - -<p>“As to the personality of Dante Gabriel -Rossetti much has been written since his -death, and it is now widely known -that he was a man who exercised -an almost irresistible charm over -most with whom he was brought in contact. -His manner could be peculiarly -winning, especially with those much younger -than himself, and his voice was alike notable -for its sonorous beauty and for a magnetic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> -quality that made the ear alert, whether the -speaker was engaged in conversation, recitation, -or reading. I have heard him read, -some of them over and over again, all the -poems in the <i>Ballads and Sonnets</i>; and -especially in such productions as <i>The Cloud -Confines</i> was his voice as stirring as a -trumpet tone; but where he excelled was in -some of the pathetic portions of the <i>Vita -Nuova</i>, or the terrible and sonorous passages -of <i>L’Inferno</i>, when the music of the Italian -language found full expression indeed. -His conversational powers I am unable -adequately to describe, for during the four -or five years of my intimacy with him he -suffered too much from ill-health to be a -consistently brilliant talker, but again and -again I have seen instances of those marvellous -gifts that made him at one time a -Sydney Smith in wit, and a Coleridge in -eloquence. In appearance he was, if anything, -rather over middle height, and, especially -latterly, somewhat stout; his forehead was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> -of splendid proportions, recalling instantaneously -to most strangers the Stratford bust of -Shakespeare; and his gray blue eyes were -clear and piercing, and characterised by that -rapid penetrative gaze so noticeable in -Emerson. He seemed always to me an -unmistakable Englishman, yet the Italian -element was frequently recognisable. As far -as his own opinion is concerned, he was -wholly English.”—1878.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RICHARD SAVAGE<br /> - -<small>1697-1743</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Dublin University,<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1858.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> companion, Who is he? He looks a -little older, and is a great deal slenderer, and -very much better dressed; that -is, his clothes are well made, but -alas! they are also well worn. -He has an air of faded fashion about him. -There is decision in every line of the lank,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> -and long, and melancholy visage; it is a -veritable Quixotic face. Meagre and proud, -and high and pale. An exceeding ‘woeful -countenance,’ which sadness and scorn alternately -cloud and corrugate. It is mixed up -with extreme diversities. The brow and -eye are intellectual and bright, while the -lower features are sensual and coarse: -humour and passion both lurk in the mouth, -yet few smiles expand those lips from which -laughter seems altogether banished, while -the voice is sweet, soft, and lute-like; the -pace is slow, and the gait has a certain pretension -to importance, which ill harmonises -with the rest of his appearance. This person -is Richard Savage, a man whose rare talents -might have brought him poetic immortality, -and a lofty pedestal in the muse’s temple, had -not his coarser vices, together with his pride -and his ingratitude, dragged him down to the -lowest moral depth, and buried the many -bright things he had in brain and bosom, -head and heart, in the same mud-heap.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Johnson’s <i>Life<br /> -of Savage</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>“He was of a middle stature, of a thin habit -of body, a long visage, coarse features, and -melancholy aspect; of a grave -and manly deportment, a solemn -dignity of mien, but which, upon a nearer -acquaintance, softened into an engaging -easiness of manners. His walk was slow, -and his voice tremulous and mournful. He -was easily excited to smiles, but very seldom -provoked to laughter.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR WALTER SCOTT<br /> - -<small>1771-1832</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Lockhart’s <i>Life<br /> -of Scott</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> personal appearance at this time was -not unengaging. A lady of high rank, who -remembers him in the Old -Assembly Rooms, says, ‘Young -Walter Scott was a comely creature.’ He -had outgrown the sallowness of early ill-health, -and had a fresh, brilliant complexion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> -His eyes were clear, open, and well set, with -a changeful radiance, to which teeth of the -most perfect regularity and whiteness lent -their assistance, while the noble expanse and -elevation of the brow gave to the whole -aspect a dignity far above the charm of mere -features. His smile was always delightful; -and I can easily fancy the peculiar intermixture -of tenderness and gravity, with playful -innocent hilarity and humour in the expression, -as being well calculated to fix a fair -lady’s eye. His figure, excepting the blemish -in one limb, must in those days have been -eminently handsome; tall, much above the -usual standard, it was cast in the very mould -of a young Hercules; the head set on with -singular grace, the throat and chest after the -truest model of the antique, the hands delicately -finished; the whole outline that of extraordinary -vigour, without as yet a touch of -clumsiness. When he had acquired a little -facility of manner, his conversation must have -been such as could have dispensed with any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> -exterior advantages, and certainly brought -swift forgiveness for the one unkindness of -nature. I have heard him, in talking of this -part of his life, say, with an arch simplicity of -look and tone which those who were familiar -with him can fill in for themselves—‘It was -a proud night with me when I first found that -a pretty young woman could think it worth -her while to sit and talk with me, hour after -hour, in a corner of the ball-room, while all -the world were capering in our view.’”—1790.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s <i>Life<br /> -of Carlyle</i>.</div> - - -<p>“I never spoke with Scott.... Have a -hundred times seen him, from of old, writing -in the Courts, or hobbling with -stout speed along the streets of -Edinburgh; a large man, pale, shaggy face, -fine, deep-browed gray eyes, an expression -of strong homely intelligence, of humour -and good-humour, and, perhaps (in later -years amongst the wrinkles), of sadness or -weariness.... He has played his part, -and left <i>none like</i> or second to him. -<i>Plaudite!</i>”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sir John Bowring’s<br /> -<i>Autobiographical<br /> -Recollections</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>“More eloquent men I have known, I think, -but I never knew any one so attractive. The -variety of his conversation is -stupendous, while it overflows -with the most agreeable anecdotes, -and almost every person who has -figured in modern times has in some way or -other been connected with him. His manner -of talking is without the smallest pretence, -and is gentle and humorous. His eye has -a constant play upon it, and around it. His -dress is that of a substantial farmer,—a short -green coat with steel buttons, striped waistcoat -and pantaloons, and he put on light -gaiters when we sallied forth.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE<br /> - -<small>1564-1616</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">E. T. Craig’s<br /> -<i>Portraits of<br /> -Shakespeare</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> portrait of Martin Droeshout” (<i>published -with the first folio edition of Shakespeare’s</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> -<i>works in 1623</i>) “has a greater -claim to attention, as it was engraved by -a well-known artist at the time -when published by Shakespeare’s -contemporaries, Heminge and -Condell, and has the additional testimony -of the poet’s friend, Ben Jonson, in its -favour, in the following lines inscribed -opposite to the engraving of the portrait:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">‘This figure, that thou here seest put,</div> -<div class="verse">It was for gentle Shakespeare cut;</div> -<div class="verse">Wherein the graver had a strife</div> -<div class="verse">With Nature, to out-doo the life.</div> -<div class="verse">O, could he but have drawne his wit</div> -<div class="verse">As well in brasse as he hath hit</div> -<div class="verse">His face, the print would then surpasse</div> -<div class="verse">All that was ever writ in brasse;</div> -<div class="verse">But since he cannot, reader, looke</div> -<div class="verse">Not on his picture, but his booke.’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>These lines would indicate that the portrait -of the face was represented with some degree -of truth. It may be observed here that until -within the last few years artists were less -exact and minute in the delineation of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> -head than the face; and the head appears -unusually high for its breadth, and impresses -you with the semblance of a form more like -Scott than Byron, of Canova than Chantrey.</p> - -<p>“The features of Droeshout’s engraving -bear a closer resemblance to the plaster cast -than to the Stratford bust. The nose has the -same flowing outline, well defined, prominent, -yet finely chiselled, and the nostrils rather -large. There is the same long upper lip, and -a general correspondence with the mouth of -the cast. The eye is large and round, and -in life would be mild and lustrous. The hair -is thin and not curled, and the head is high -but comparatively narrow. There would be -moderate secretiveness, less destructiveness, -small constructiveness, and little acquisitiveness. -There is an ample endowment of the -higher sentiments. The imaginative and -imitative faculties are represented as very -large. Ideality, wonder, wit, imitation, -benevolence, and veneration, comparison -and causality, are all very large. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> -perceptive region is scarcely sufficiently -indicated for the powers of mind possessed -by Shakespeare, in his vast and ready -command of view over the range of natural -objects so evident in his works. This may -be the fault of the engraver. It is the -opposite in this respect to the cast from the -face. There is one feature in the portrait -which harmonises with Milton’s praise and -Jonson’s worship and Spenser’s admiration,—his -large benevolence, veneration and -ideality, and his small destructiveness and -acquisitiveness, leading to the control over -his feelings and generous sympathy with -others, manifested by his quiet manner and -gentle nature. Men of strong passions like -Jonson and Byron have very different heads -to this portrait, which presents a great contrast -both to the bust and the Chandos -portrait” (<i>said to be painted by Burbage, a -player contemporary with Shakespeare</i>). “The -physical proportions of the Droeshout figure -harmonise better with a fine temperament<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> -and an intellectual head than the Stratford -bust with Shakespeare’s mental activity.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Halliwell-Phillipps’s<br /> -<i>Outlines<br /> -of the Life<br /> -of Shakespeare</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“The exact time at which the monument -was erected in the church” (<i>Stratford-on-Avon</i>) -“is unknown, but it is -alluded to by Leonard Digges as -being there in the year 1623. -The bust must, therefore, have been submitted -to the approval of the Halls, who could hardly -have been satisfied with a mere fanciful image. -There is, however, no doubt that it was an -authentic representation of the great dramatist, -but it has unfortunately been so tampered -with in modern times that much of the -absorbing interest with which it would otherwise -have been surrounded has evaporated. -It was originally painted in imitation of life, -the face and hands of the usual flesh colour, -the eyes a light hazel, and the hair and beard -auburn. The realisation of the costume was -similarly attempted by the use of scarlet for -the doublet, black for the loose gown, and -white for the collar and wristbands.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">E. T. Craig’s<br /> -<i>Portraits of<br /> -Shakespeare</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>“It only remains to examine the cast from -the face of Shakespeare. The documentary -statements published by Mr. Friswell -tend to establish a claim to -attention. It was left in the -possession of Professor Owen by Dr. Becher, -the enterprising botanist, who fell a victim to -his zeal in the unfortunate Australian expedition -under Burke. The cast, it appears, -originally belonged to a German nobleman at -the Court of James I., whose descendants -kept it as an heirloom till the last of the race -died, when his effects were sold. Mr. Friswell -observes that ‘the cast bears some resemblance -to the more refined portraits of the -poet. It is not unlike the ideal head of -Roubillac, and bears a very great resemblance -to a fine portrait of the poet in the possession -of Mr. Challis.’ It has some of the characteristics -of Jansen’s portrait. The mask has a -mournful aspect, and sensitive persons are -affected when they look at it.... There are -indications visible ... of wrinkles and ‘crow’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> -feet’ at the corners of the eyes. It is utterly -destitute of the jovial physiognomy of the -Stratford bust and portrait. It is certainly -the impress from one who was gifted with -great sensibility, great range of perceptive -power, a ready memory, great facility of -expression, varied power of enjoyment, and -great depth of feeling. The year 1616, when -Shakespeare died, is recorded on the back of -the cast. Hairs of the moustache, eyelashes, -and beard still adhere to the plaster, of a -reddish brown or auburn colour, corresponding -with several portraits and the Stratford -bust.... The cast presents to view finely -formed features, strongly marked, yet regular. -The forehead is well developed in the region -of the perceptive powers; but scarcely so -high as the Droeshout, and the coronal -region is much lower than in that of the -Felton head. The sides of the head are well -developed, and there is a large mass of brain -in the front. The moustache is divided, and -falls over the corners of the mouth, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> -beard, or imperial, is a full tuft on the chin, -which, as well as the moustache, appears to -be marked with a tool since taken. The face -is a sharp oval, that of the bust is a blunt or -round one. The chin is rather narrow and -pointed, yet firm; that of the bust well -rounded. The cheeks are thin and fallen; -in those of the bust full, fat, and coarse, as if -‘good digestion waited on appetite,’ without -thought, fancy, or feeling, troubling either. -The mask has a moderate-sized upper lip, -the bust a very large one, although Sir -Walter Scott lost his wager in asserting that -it was longer than his own. The lips of the -cast are thin and well marked; those of the -bust present a rude opening for the mouth. -The nostrils are drawn up, and this feature is -exaggerated in the bust. The nose of the -cast is large, finely marked, aquiline, and -delicately formed. That of the bust is short, -mean, straight, and small. In their physiognomy -and phrenology they are utterly -different. The cast indicates the man of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> -thought, emotion, and suffering; the bust, of -ease, enjoyment, and self-satisfaction. If the -bust is to represent the living image of the -dead poet, the answer is, death does not -immediately alter the language once written -on the ivory gate at the temple of thought. -It has been said by John Bell that the Stratford -bust was cut from a mask, but by a -clumsy sculptor, who modified his work. A -monument, erected as a memorial of Shakespeare, -should therefore avoid the evident -discrepancies that already exist, and perpetrate -no repetition of forms inconsistent with -nature, truth, and beauty.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY<br /> - -<small>1798-1851</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Anecdote Biography<br /> -of P.<br /> -B. Shelley.</i></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“... At</span> the time I am speaking of, Mrs. -Shelley was twenty-four. Such a rare pedigree -of genius was enough to interest me in her,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> -irrespective of her own merits as an authoress. -The most striking feature in her face was -her calm gray eyes; she was -rather under the English standard -of woman’s height, very fair and -light-haired, witty, social, and animated in -the society of friends, though mournful in -solitude.”—1821.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">The Cowden<br /> -Clarkes’ <i>Recollections<br /> -of Writers</i>.</div> - -<p>“Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, -with her well-shaped, golden-haired head, -almost always a little bent and -drooping; her marble-white -shoulders and arms statuesquely -visible in the perfectly plain black velvet -dress, which the customs of that time allowed -to be cut low, and which her own taste -adopted; ... her thoughtful, earnest eyes; -her short upper lip and intellectually curved -mouth, with a certain close compressed and -decisive expression while she listened, and a -relaxation into fuller redness and mobility -when speaking; her exquisitely formed, -white, dimpled, small hands, with rosy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> -palms, and plumply commencing fingers, -that tapered into tips as slender and delicate -as those in a Vandyck portrait,—all remain -palpably present to memory.”—About 1824.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Cornhill</i>,<br /> -1875.</div> - -<p>“Shelley’s second love, who was five -years his junior, is described as ‘rather -short, remarkably fair, and light-haired -with brownish gray eyes, -a great forehead, striking features, and a -noticeable air of sedateness.’ One writer has -compared her with the classic bust of Clytie.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY<br /> - -<small>1792-1822</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Stoddard’s<br /> -<i>Anecdote Biography<br /> -of Percy<br /> -Bysshe Shelley</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“As</span> I felt in truth but a slight interest in -the subject of his conversation, I -had leisure to examine, and, I -may add, admire the appearance of -my very extraordinary guest. It was a sum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> -of many contradictions. His figure was slight -and fragile, and yet his bones and joints were -large and strong. He was tall, but he -stooped so much that he seemed of a low -stature. His clothes were expensive, and -made according to the most approved mode -of the day; but they were tumbled, rumpled, -unbrushed. His gestures were abrupt and -sometimes violent, occasionally even awkward. -His complexion was delicate and -almost feminine, of the purest red and white; -yet he was tanned and freckled by exposure -to the sun, having passed the autumn, as he -said, in shooting. His features, his whole -face, and particularly his head, were, in fact, -unusually small; yet the last <i>appeared</i> of a -remarkable bulk, for his hair was long and -bushy, and in fits of absence, and in the -agonies (if I may use the word) of anxious -thought, he often rubbed it fiercely with -his hands, or passed his fingers quickly -through his locks unconsciously, so that it -was singularly wild and rough. In times<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> -when it was the mode to imitate stage-coachmen -as closely as possible in costume, and -when the hair was invariably cropped, like -that of our soldiers, this eccentricity was -very striking. His features were not symmetrical -(the mouth, perhaps, excepted), yet -was the effect of the whole extremely powerful. -They breathed an animation, a fire, an -enthusiasm, a vivid and preternatural intelligence, -that I never met with in any other -countenance.”—1810.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">The Cowden<br /> -Clarke’s <i>Recollections<br /> -of Writers</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Shelley’s figure was a little above the -middle height, slender, and of delicate construction, -which appeared the -rather from a lounging or waving -manner in his gait, as though -his frame was compounded barely of muscle -and tendon; and that the power of walking was -an achievement with him and not a natural -habit. Yet I should suppose that he was not -a valetudinarian, although that has been said -of him on account of his spare and vegetable -diet; for I have the remembrance of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> -scampering and bounding over the gorse-bushes -on Hampstead Heath late one night—now -close upon us, and now shouting from -the height like a wild school-boy. He was -both an active and an enduring walker,—feats -which do not accompany an ailing and -feeble constitution. His face was round, flat, -pale, with small features; mouth beautifully -shaped; hair bright brown and wavy; and -such a pair of eyes as are rarely in the human -or any other head,—intensely blue, with a -gentle and lambent expression, yet wonderfully -alert and engrossing; nothing appeared -to escape his knowledge.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p>“Shelley, when he died, was in his -thirtieth year. His figure was tall and -slight, and his constitution consumptive. -He was subject to -violent spasmodic pains, which would sometimes -force him to lie on the ground until -they were over; but he had always a kind -word to give to those about him when his -pangs allowed him to speak. In this organisation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> -as well as in some other respects, -he resembled the German poet Schiller. -Though well-turned, his shoulders were -bent a little, owing to premature thought -and trouble. The same causes had touched -his hair with gray; and though his habits of -temperance and exercise gave him a remarkable -degree of strength, it is not supposed -that he could have lived many years. He -used to say that he had lived three times as -long as the calendar gave out; which he -would prove, between jest and earnest, by -some remarks on Time,</p> - - -<p class="center">‘That would have puzzled that stout Stagyrite.’</p> - -<p>Like the Stagyrites, his voice was high and -weak. His eyes were large and animated, -with a dash of wildness in them; his face -small, but well shaped, particularly the mouth -and chin, the turn of which was very sensitive -and graceful. His complexion was naturally -fair and delicate, with a colour in the cheeks. -He had brown hair, which, though tinged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> -with gray, surmounted his face well, being -in considerable quantity, and tending to a -curl. His side face, upon the whole, was -deficient in strength, and his features would -not have told well in a bust; but when -fronting and looking at you attentively, his -aspect had a certain seraphical character that -would have suited a portrait of John the -Baptist, or the angel whom Milton describes -as holding a reed ‘tipt with fire.’”—1822.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN<br /> - -<small>1751-1816</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Moore’s <i>Life<br /> -of Sheridan</i>.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“It</span> has been seen, by a letter of his sister -already given, that, when young, he was -generally accounted handsome; -but in later years his eyes were -the only testimonials of beauty which remained -to him. It was, indeed, in the upper -part of his face that the spirit of the man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> -chiefly reigned; the dominion of the world -and the senses being rather strongly marked -out in the lower. In his person, he was -above the middle size, and his general make -was, as I have already said, robust and well-proportioned. -It is remarkable that his -arms, though of powerful strength, were thin, -and appeared by no means muscular. His -hands were small and delicate; and the -following couplet, written on the cast of one -of them, very livelily enumerates both its -physical and moral qualities:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">‘Good at a fight, better at a Play,</div> -<div class="verse">God-like in giving, but—the Devil to pay!’”</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="sidenote">Jerdan’s<br /> -<i>Men I have<br /> -known</i>.</div> - - -<p>“I have seen his large beautiful eyes -speak sadly, even while his brilliant tongue was -rehearsing the gayest sentiments and -the finest wit.... What a portrait -to pronounce of intellect is that by -Sir Joshua! The head so fine, the expression -so brilliant, and the lower part of the -countenance, in the prime of life, without the -sensuous encroachment of luxurious indulgence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> -upon later years. And how light-hearted -the look.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Gantter’s<br /> -<i>Standard Poets of<br /> -Great Britain</i>.</div> - -<p>“Sheridan was above the middle size, and -of a make robust and well-proportioned. In -his youth, his family said, he had -been handsome; but in his latter -years he had nothing left to show -for it but his eyes. ‘It was, indeed, in the -upper part of his face,’ says Mr. Moore, -‘that the spirit of the man chiefly reigned; -the dominion of the world and the senses -being rather strongly marked out in the lower.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR PHILIP SIDNEY<br /> - -<small>1554-1587-8</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives<br /> -of Eminent<br /> -Persons</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was not only an excellent witt, but -extremely beautiful; he much resembled -his sister but his haire -was not red, but a little inclining; -viz., a darke amber colour. If I were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> -to find a fault in it, methinkes ’tis not masculine -enough; yett he is a person of great -courage.... My great-uncle Mr. T. -Browne, remembered him, and sayd that he -was wont to take his table-booke out of his -pocket and write downe his notions as they -came into his head, when he was writing his -<i>Arcadia</i> (which was never finished by him) -as he was hunting on our pleasant plaines.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">The Worthie Sir<br /> -Phillip Sidney,<br /> -Knight, his<br /> -Epitaph.</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“A man made out of goodliest mould</div> -<div class="indent1">As shape in ware were wrought,</div> -<div class="verse">Or Picture stoode in stampe of gold</div> -<div class="indent1">To please each gazer’s thought....</div> -<div class="verse">... His silent lookes sayd wisdome great</div> -<div class="indent1">Did lodge in loftie brow:</div> -<div class="verse">His patient heart (in chollers heate)</div> -<div class="indent1">Supprest all passion’s throw.</div> -<div class="verse">... A portly presence passing fine</div> -<div class="indent1">With beautie furnisht well,</div> -<div class="verse">Where vertues buds and grace divine</div> -<div class="indent1">And daintie gifts did dwell.”</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Edinburgh<br /> -Review</i>, 1876.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“He was tall, shapely, and muscular, with -large blue-gray eyes, a long aquiline -nose, hair of a dark auburn -tint, and full sensitive lips, the slightly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> -pensive expression of which was relieved by -the decision of the jaw and chin.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HORACE SMITH<br /> - -<small>1779-1849</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Horace</span> was delicious.... A finer nature -than Horace Smith’s, except in the single -instance of Shelley, I never met -with in man; nor even in that -instance, all circumstances considered, have -I a right to say that those who knew him as -intimately as I did the other, would not have -had the same reasons to love him.... The -personal appearance of Horace Smith, like -that of most of the individuals I have met -with, was highly indicative of his character. -His figure was good and manly, inclining to -the robust; and his countenance extremely -frank and cordial; sweet without weakness. -I have been told he was irascible. If so, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> -must have been no common offence that -could have irritated him. He had not a jot -of it in his appearance.”—1809.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SYDNEY SMITH<br /> - -<small>1771-1845</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Duycknick’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Sydney Smith</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“In</span> person, Sydney Smith, as he has been -described to us by those who knew him, was -of the medium height; plethoric -in habit though of great activity, -of a dense brown complexion, a -dark expressive eye, an open countenance, -indicative of shrewdness, humour, and benevolence. -There is a look too, in the English -engraved portraits, of a thoughtful seriousness. -His ‘sense, wit, and clumsiness,’ said -a college companion, gave ‘the idea of an -Athenian carter.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Reid’s <i>Life and<br /> -Times of Sydney<br /> -Smith</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“Strangers entering St. Paul’s ... would -have witnessed a burly but active-looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> -man of sixty-three, of medium height, with -a dark complexion and iron-gray hair, ascend -the pulpit. When he stood up -to preach, the shapely and -well-carried head, the fine eyes, -with their quick and penetrating glance, the -expression of thorough benevolence which lit -up the sensitive yet boldly chiselled features -of the strong and intellectual face, would -all contribute to heighten favourably the first -general impression concerning a man whose -every movement suggested intelligence, determination, -and kindliness.”—1834.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Reid’s <i>Life and<br /> -Times of Sydney<br /> -Smith</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Very distinctly do I recall the portly -figure of Sydney Smith seated in his large -yellow chariot—then a fashionable -style of carriage—the full-sized -head, the face indicative, as it -now presents itself to my mind’s eye, of -mental power, of kindliness, and of the spirit -of humour which possessed him.... This -brilliant man was not brilliant only; there -was in his character, as I conceive, an unusually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> -substantial basis of sound common -sense.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">TOBIAS SMOLLETT<br /> - -<small>1721-1771</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Chalmers’s <i>Life<br /> -of Smollett</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> person of Smollett was stout and well-proportioned, -his countenance engaging, his -manner reserved, with a certain -air of dignity that seemed to -indicate that he was not unconscious of his -own powers.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Anderson’s <i>Poets<br /> -of Great Britain</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“In his person he was graceful and handsome, -and in his air and manner there was a -certain dignity which commanded -respect. He possessed a loftiness -and elevation of sentiment and character, -without pride or haughtiness, for to his equals -and inferiors he was ever polite, friendly and -generous.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Chambers’s<br /> -<i>Eminent<br /> -Scotsmen</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Smollett, who thus died prematurely in -the fifty-first year of his age, and the bloom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> -of his mental faculties, was tall and handsome, -with a most prepossessing carriage -and address, and the marks and -manners of a gentleman.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ROBERT SOUTHEY<br /> - -<small>1774-1843</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Froude’s <i>Carlyle</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“A man</span> towards well up in the fifties; hair -gray, not yet hoary, well setting off his fine -clear brown complexion, head -and face both smallish, as indeed the figure -was while seated; features finely cut; eyes, -brow, mouth, good in their kind—expressive -all, and even vehemently so, but betokening -rather keenness than depth either of intellect -or character; a serious, human, honest, but -sharp, almost fierce-looking thin man, with -very much of the militant in his aspect,—in -the eyes especially was visible a mixture of -sorrow and of anger, or of angry contempt,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> -as if his indignant fight with the world had not -yet ended in victory, but also never should in -defeat.”—1835.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Southey’s Life and<br /> -Correspondence.</i></div> - -<p>“The personal appearance and demeanour -of Southey at this time (he was then aged sixty-two) -was striking and peculiar. -The only thing in art which -brings him exactly before me is the monument -by Lough, the sculptor. Like many -other young men of the time who had read -Byron with great admiration, I had imbibed -rather a prejudice against the Laureate. -This was weakened by his appearance, and -wholly removed by his frank conversation. -He was calm, mild, and gentlemanly; full of -quiet, subdued humour; the reverse of ascetic -in his manner, speech, or actions. His -bearing was rather that of a scholar than -that of a man much accustomed to mingle in -general society.... In any place Southey -would have been pointed at as ‘a noticeable -man.’ He was tall, slight, and well made. -His features were striking, and Byron truly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> -described him as ‘with a hook nose and a -hawk’s eye.’ Certainly his eyes were -peculiar,—at once keen and mild. The -brow was rather high than square, and the -lines well defined. His hair was tinged with -gray, but his head was as well covered with -it—wavy and flowing—as it could have -been in youth. He by no means looked his -age; simple habits, pure thoughts, the -quietude of a happy hearth, the friendship of -the wise and good, the self-consciousness of -acting for the best purposes, a separation from -the personal irritations which men of letters -are so often subjected to in the world; and -health, which to that time had been so -generally unbroken, had kept Southey from -many of the cares of life, and their usually -harrowing effect on mind and body. It is -one of my most pleasant recollections that I -enjoyed his friendship and regard.”—1836.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - - -<p>“His height was five feet eleven inches. -‘His forehead was very broad; his complexion -rather dark; the eyebrows large and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> -arched; the eye well shaped, and dark brown; -the mouth somewhat prominent, muscular, -and very variously expressive; -the chin small in proportion to -the upper features of the face.’ -So writes his son, who adds that ‘many -thought him a handsomer man in age than in -youth,’ when his hair had become white, -continuing abundant, and flowing in thick -curls over his brow. Byron, who saw him -but twice, once at Holland House, and once -at one of Rogers’ breakfasts, said, ‘To have -that man’s head and shoulders, I would -almost have written his sapphics.’ That was -in 1813, when Southey was in his prime.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">EDMUND SPENSER<br /> - -<small>1553-1599</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Grosart’s <i>Life<br /> -of Spenser</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“But</span> of Edmund Spenser we have inestimable -portraits. In the first rank must be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> -placed the miniature now in the inherited -possession of Lord Fitzhardinge. It was -a gift to the Lady Elizabeth -Carey (Althorp Spenser), heiress -of the Hunsdons, to whom it was left by -Queen Elizabeth. It thus came with an indisputable -lineage through the marriage of -a Berkeley to Lady Elizabeth Carey. It is -an exquisitely beautiful face. The brow is -ample, the lips thin but mobile, the eyes a -grayish-blue, the hair and beard a golden red -(as of ‘red monie’ of the ballads) or goldenly -chestnut, the nose with semi-transparent -nostril and keen, the chin firm-poised, the -expression refined and delicate. Altogether -just such ‘presentment,’ of the Poet of Beauty -<i>par excellence</i> as one would have imagined. -To be placed next is the older face of the -Dowager Countess of Chesterfield. It is -identically the same face. But there is more -roundness of chin, more fulness or ripening -of the lips (especially the under), more restfulness. -There is not the ‘fragile’ look of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> -Fitzhardinge miniature. Hair and eyes agree -with the miniature. The only other with -a pedigree or sufficiently authenticated,—not -mere ‘copies,’ such as those at Pembroke -College,—is the very remarkable one that -came down as a Devonshire heirloom to the -Rev. S. Baring Gould, M.A., with a companion -of Sir Walter Raleigh.</p> - -<p>“Both have been in the family beyond -record. This shows the poet in the full -strength of manhood. It is a kind of three-quarter -profile, and as one studies it, it seems -to vindicate itself as ‘our sage and serious -Spenser.’ Again, hair and eyes agree with -the others. The Spaniard’s haughty face, -for long engraved and re-engraved, ought -never to have been engraved as Spenser. -There is not a jot or tittle of evidence in its -favour. It is an absolutely un-English, and -palpably Spanish face, and an impossible -portrait of our Poet.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Payne Collier’s<br /> -<i>Life of Spenser</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Several portraits of Spenser are in existence; -but it is difficult to settle the degree<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> -of authenticity belonging to them. The late -Mr. Rodd, of Newport Street, had a miniature -of the poet in his possession in -1845, and perhaps afterwards, -which corresponded pretty exactly with the -ordinary representations, but what became of -it is not known to us. The features were -sharp and delicately formed, the nose long, -and the mouth refined; but the lower part of -the face projected, and the high forehead -receded, while the eyes and eyebrows did not -very harmoniously range.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives of<br /> -Eminent Men</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“Mr. Beeston sayes he was a little man, -wore short haire, little band, and -little cuffs.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY<br /> - -<small>1815-1881</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Harper’s<br /> -Magazine</i>,<br /> -1881.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> was at that time (and indeed always -remained) very slight of his age, of rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> -florid complexion, and with a singularly -bright, quick, and yet often dreamy expression. -He wore his hat rather on -the back of his head, and walked -with queer little short shuffling paces, -rather on his heels, so that you could tell him -by his gait at any distance—a singular contrast -to the Doctor’s long shambling stride as they -walked along at the side of Mrs. Arnold’s -gray pony on half-holiday afternoons.”—1834.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Macmillan</i>,<br /> -1881.</div> - -<p>“Il n’improvisait jamais; il lisait avec -gravit, avec une force relle qui tonnait, -sortant d’un corps si fragile, mais -avec une sorte de monotonie. -L’action oratoire manquait de varit et -d’abandon; c’tait toujours la mme note. -Du reste, personne n’avait l’oreille moins -musicale que le doyen.... D’une complexion -dlicate, de petite taille, son corps -semblait n’tre qu’un prtexte pour tre, et -pour retenir son esprit dans le monde visible.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Temple Bar</i>,<br /> -1881.</div> - - -<p>“Dean Stanley, like so many great men, -possessed some strongly-marked personal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> -characteristics. If he was superintendent in -some qualities there were some of which he -was almost altogether destitute. -He was utterly careless of personal -appearance, and of external circumstances. -Short and spare in figure, there was a beauty -and a dignity about him that made his presence -a perpetual pleasure. Those clear-cut features, -the beautiful forehead, and the silvery head of -hair, will remain photographed on the minds -of this generation. When in the performance -of any sacred or secular function, the more -crowded his auditory, the more he was at -ease. There must be many who can remember -him as he used to stand at the -lectern in the Abbey waiting to read the -lesson in one of those crowded services in the -nave, with the people clustered even round -his feet, and yet unconsciously, as if in his -own library, with the old familiar action, -passing his hand across his face and ruffling -up his head.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR RICHARD STEELE<br /> - -<small>1671-1729</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Thackeray’s<br /> -<i>English<br /> -Humourists</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Dennis</span>, who ran a-muck at the literary -society of his day, falls foul of poor Steele, -and thus depicts him: ‘Sir John -Edgar, of the County of —— in -Ireland, is of a middle stature, broad -shoulders, thick legs, a shape like the picture -of somebody over a farmer’s chimney; a -short chin, a short nose, a short forehead, a -broad, flat face, and a dusky countenance. -Yet with such a face and such a shape, he -discovered at sixty that he took himself for -a beauty, and appeared to be more mortified -at being told that he was ugly, than he was -by any reflection made upon his honour or -understanding.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Dublin University<br /> -Magazine</i>, 1858.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The interior of a coffee-house at Hyde -Park Corner. Here in a room small and -meanly furnished, sit two men who have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> -just arrived in a handsome carriage, which -is at this moment driving from the door. -One of these is Richard Savage; -the other, who is fully -twenty years his senior, is a <i>beau</i> and a -<i>militaire</i>, being a Captain in Lord Lucas’s -regiment of Fusileer Guards. With a somewhat -diminutive stature and a long dress -sword; he has laced ruffles in abundance on -his shirt sleeves and at his bosom, but not a -shadow on his smiling face; with an air at -that time styled ‘genteel,’ in these days called -<i>distingu</i>. Around this gentleman’s agreeable -face and person there is a brilliant atmosphere -of life and animation, for the three Celtic -characteristics are his—vivacity, volatility, -and versatility,—by turns the curse and -advantage, the obstacle and ornament of his -nation,—for he is an Irishman, and his name -is Sir Richard Steele.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Swift’s<br /> -<i>Works</i>.</div> - - -<p>“He has naturally a downcast foreboding -aspect, which they of the country hereabouts -call a hanging look, and an unseemly manner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> -of staring, with his mouth wide open, and -under-lip propending, especially when any -ways disturbed.... He takes a -great deal of pains to persuade his -neighbours that he has a very short face, and -a little flat nose like a diminutive wart in the -middle of his visage.... His eyes are large -and prominent, too big of all conscience for -the conceited narrowness of his phiz.... -His back, though not very broad, is well -turned, and will bear a great deal; I have -seen him myself, more than once, carry a -vast load of timber. His legs also are tolerably -substantial, and can stride very wide -upon occasion; but the best thing about him -is a handsome pair of heels, which he takes -especial pride to show, not only to his friends, -but even to the very worst of his enemies.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">LAURENCE STERNE<br /> - -<small>1713-1768</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Sir Walter Scott’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Sterne</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“We</span> are well acquainted with Sterne’s features -and personal appearance, to which he himself -frequently alludes. He was -tall and thin, with a hectic and -consumptive appearance. His -features, though capable of expressing with -peculiar effect the sentimental emotions by -which he was often affected, had also a -shrewd, humorous, and sarcastic expression, -proper to the wit and the satirist. His conversation -was as animated as witty, but Johnson -complained that it was marked by licence, -better suiting the company of the Lord of -Crazy Castle than of the great moralist.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Timbs’s<br /> -<i>Anecdote<br /> -Biography</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“In the same year (1761) that Reynolds -exhibited the large equestrian portrait of -Lord Ligonier, now in the National Gallery, -he also exhibited the half-length of Sterne,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> -seated, and leaning on his hand. This portrait -was painted for the Earl of Ossary, and -afterwards came into the possession -of Lord Holland, on whose death -in 1840, it was purchased for -500 guineas by the Marquis of Lansdowne. -‘This,’ says Mrs. Jameson, ‘is the most -astonishing head for truth of character I -ever beheld; I do not except Titian; the -character, to be sure, is different: the subtle -evanescent expression of satire round the -lips, the shrewd significance in the eye, the -earnest contemplative attitude,—all convey -the strongest impression of the man, of his -peculiar genius, and peculiar humour.’”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Memoir<br /> -of Sterne.</i><br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Speaking of Sterne’s physiognomy, -Lavater says, ‘In this face you discover -the arch, satirical Sterne, the shrewd -and exquisite observer, more limited -in his object, but on that very account more -profound,—you discover him, I say, in the -eyes, in the space which separates them, in -the nose and the mouth of this figure.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR JOHN SUCKLING<br /> - -<small>1608-1641</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives<br /> -of Eminent<br /> -Persons</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> picture, which is like him, before his -poems, says that he was but twenty-eight -years old when he dyed. He -was of middle stature and slight -strength, brisque round eie, reddish -fac’t, and red-nosed (ill liver), his head -not very big, his hayre a kind of sand colour, -his beard turn’d up naturally, so that he had -a brisk and graceful looke. He died a -batchelour.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">W. C. Hazlitt’s<br /> -<i>Life of Sir<br /> -John Suckling</i>.</div> - -<p>“He was a man of grave deportment -and very comely person: of a -fair complexion, with good features -and flaxen haire.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">W. C. Hazlitt’s<br /> -<i>Life of Sir<br /> -John Suckling</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“In person he was of a middle size, -though but slightly made, with -a winning and graceful carriage, -and noble features.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">JONATHAN SWIFT<br /> - -<small>1667-1745</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Scott’s <i>Life<br /> -of Swift</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“Swift</span> was in person tall, strong, and well -made, of a dark complexion, but with blue -eyes, black and bushy eyebrows, -nose somewhat aquiline, and features -which remarkably expressed the stern, -haughty, and dauntless turn of his mind. He -was never known to laugh, and his smiles -are happily characterised by the well-known -lines of Shakespeare. Indeed the whole -description of Cassius might be applied to -Swift:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="indent2">‘He reads much;</div> -<div class="verse">He is a great observer and he looks</div> -<div class="verse">Quite through the deeds of men; ...</div> -<div class="verse">Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort,</div> -<div class="verse">As if he mock’d himself and scorn’d his spirit</div> -<div class="verse">That could be moved to smile at any thing.’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>... In youth he was reckoned handsome; -Pope observed that though his face had an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> -expression of dulness, his eyes were very -particular. They were as azure, he said, as -the heavens, and had an unusual expression of -acuteness. In old age the Dean’s countenance -conveyed an expression which, though -severe, was noble and impressive.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Johnson’s <i>Life<br /> -of Swift</i>.<br /> -*</div> - -<p>“The person of Swift had not many -recommendations. He had a kind of muddy -complexion which, though he -washed himself with oriental scrupulosity, -did not look clear. He had a countenance -sour and severe, which he seldom -softened by an appearance of gaiety. He -stubbornly resisted any tendency to laughter.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Thomas Roscoe’s<br /> -<i>Life of<br /> -Dean Swift</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Swift was of middle stature, inclining to -tall, robust, and manly, with strongly-marked -and regular features. He had a -high forehead, a handsome nose, -and large piercing blue eyes, which -retained their lustre to the last. He had an -extremely agreeable and expressive countenance, -which, in the words of the unfortunate -Vanessa, sometimes shone with a divine compassion,—at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> -others, the most engaging vivacity, -indignation, fearful passion, and striking -awe. His mouth was pleasing, he had a fine -regular set of teeth, a round double chin -with a small dimple; his complexion a light -olive or pale brown. His voice was sharp, -strong, high-toned; but he was a bad reader, -especially of verses, and disliked music. -His mien was erect, his head firm, and his -whole deportment commanding. There was -a sternness and severity in his aspect which -wit and gaiety did not entirely remove. -When pleased he would smile, but never -laughed aloud.... In his person he was -neat and clean even to superstition, and -appeared regularly dressed in his gown -every morning, to receive the visits of his -most familiar friends.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY<br /> - -<small>1811-1863</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Theodore<br /> -Taylor’s<br /> -<i>Thackeray</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“As</span> for the man himself who has lectured -us, he is a stout, healthful, broad-shouldered -specimen of a man, with cropped -grayish hair, and keenish gray eyes, -peering very sharply through a pair -of spectacles that have a very satiric focus. -He seems to stand strongly on his own feet, -as if he would not be easily blown about or -upset, either by praise or pugilists; a man of -good digestion, who takes the world easy, -and scents all shams and humours (straightening -them between his thumb and forefinger) -as he would a pinch of snuff.”—1852.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Stoddard’s<br /> -<i>Anecdote<br /> -Biography of<br /> -Thackeray</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Good portraits of Thackeray are so -common, and so many of your readers saw -him in the lecture-room, that I need not -describe his person. The misshaped nose, so -broad at the bridge and so stubby at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> -end, was the effect of an early accident. -His near-sightedness, unless hereditary, must -have had, I think, a similar origin, -for no man had less the appearance -of a student who had weakened -his sight by application to books. In his -gestures—especially in the act of bowing -to a lady—there was a certain awkwardness, -made more conspicuous by his tall, well-proportioned, -and really commanding figure. His -hair, at forty, was already gray, but abundant -and massy; the cheeks had a ruddy tinge, and -there was no sallowness in the complexion; -the eyes, keen and kindly even when they -bore a sarcastic expression, twinkled through -and sometimes over the spectacles. What I -should call the predominant expression of -the countenance was courage—a readiness -to face the world on its own terms, without -either bawling or whining, asking no favour, -yielding, if at all, from magnanimity. I have -seen but two faces on which this expression, -coupled with that of high and intellectual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> -power, was equally striking—those of Daniel -Webster and Thomas Carlyle. But the -former had a saturnine gloom even in its -animation, and the latter a variety and intensity -of expression which was absent from -Thackeray’s.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Watts’s<br /> -<i>Great<br /> -Novelists</i>.</div> - - -<p>“In stature he was tall and commanding, -and he walked erect. With gray eyes—not -over luminous—and a noble brow, -his appearance was confident, but -never conceited or aggressive. He -wore long hair, and, but for a small whisker, -shaved clean. His features, if anything, -were immobile; the nose, which had been -fractured in youth at the Charterhouse, was, -like Milton’s, ‘a thoughtful one,’ and the -nostrils were full and wide, as are those of -all men of genius, according to Balzac.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">JAMES THOMSON<br /> - -<small>1700-1748</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Johnson’s <i>Life<br /> -of Thomson</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Thomson</span> was of stature above the middle -size, and ‘more fat than bard beseems,’ of a -dull countenance, and a gross, unanimated, -uninviting appearance; -silent in mingled company, but cheerful -among select friends, and by his friends -very tenderly and warmly beloved.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Murdoch’s<br /> -<i>Thomson</i>.</div> - - -<p>“Our author himself hints, somewhere in -his works, that his exterior was not the most -promising—his make being rather -robust than graceful, though it is -known that in his youth he had been thought -handsome. His worst appearance was when -you saw him walking alone in a thoughtful -mood, but let a friend accost him and enter -into conversation, he would instantly brighten -into a most amiable aspect, his features no -longer the same, and his eye darting a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> -peculiar animating fire. The case was much -alike in company, where, if it was mixed or -very numerous, he made but an indifferent -figure, but with a few select friends he was -open, sprightly, and entertaining. His wit -flowed freely but pertinently, and at due -intervals leaving room for every one to contribute -his share. Such was his extreme -sensibility, so perfect the harmony of his -organs with the sentiments of his mind, that -his looks always announced and half expressed -what he was about to say, and -his voice corresponded exactly to the -manner and degree in which he was -affected.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Rossetti’s<br /> -<i>Memoir of<br /> -Thomson</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Thomson was above the middle size, of -a fat and bulky form, with a face that might -almost be called dull, and an uninviting -heavy look, although in his early -youth he had even been counted -handsome, and his eyes were expressive. -He was mostly taciturn, save in the company -of his familiar friends; with them he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> -cheerful and pleasant, and he secured their -attachment in an eminent degree.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">ANTHONY TROLLOPE<br /> - -<small>1815-1882</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">A personal<br /> -friend.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“I remember</span> a man hitting off a very good -description of Trollope’s manner, by remarking -that ‘he came in at the door like -a frantic windmill.’ The bell would -peal, the knocker begin thundering, the door -be burst open, and the next minute the -house be filled by the big resonant voice -inquiring who was at home. I should say -he had naturally a sweet voice, which through -eagerness he had spoilt by holloing. He -was a big man, and the most noticeable -thing about his dress was a black handkerchief -which he wore tied <i>twice</i> round his -neck. A trick of his was to put the end of a -silk pocket-handkerchief in his mouth and to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> -keep gnawing at it—often biting it into holes -in the excess of his energy; and a favourite -attitude was to stand with his thumbs tucked -into the armholes of his waistcoat. He was -a full-coloured man, and joking and playful -when at his ease. Unless with his intimates, -he rarely laughed, but he had a funny way -of putting things, and was usually voted good -company.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A personal<br /> -friend.</div> - - -<p>“Trollope said his height was five feet ten, -but most people would have thought him -taller. He was a stout man, large -of limb, and always held himself -upright without effort. His manner was -bluff, hearty, and genial, and he possessed to -the full the great charm of giving his undivided -attention to the matter in hand. He -was always enthusiastic and energetic in whatever -he did. He was of an eager disposition, -and doing nothing was a pain to him. In -early manhood he became bald; in his latter -life his full and bushy beard naturally grew -to be gray. He had thick eyebrows, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> -his open nostrils gave a look of determination -to his strong capable face. His -eyes were grayish-blue, but he was rarely -seen without spectacles, though of late years -he used to take them off whenever he was -reading. From a boy he had always been -short-sighted.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">A personal<br /> -friend.</div> - -<p>“Standing with his back to the fire, with -his hands clasped behind him and his feet -planted somewhat apart, the appearance -of Anthony Trollope, as I recall -him now, was that of a thorough Englishman -in a thoroughly English attitude. He was -then, perhaps, nearing sixty, and had far -more the look of a country gentleman than -of a man of letters. Tall, broad-shouldered, -and dressed in a careless though not slovenly -fashion, it seemed more fitting that he should -break into a vivid description of the latest -run with the hounds than launch into book-talk. -Either subject, however, and for the -matter of that I might add <i>any</i> subject, was -attacked by him with equal energy. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> -writing of the man, this, indeed, is the chief -impression I recall—his energy, his thoroughness. -While he talked to me, I and my -interests might have been the only things -for which he cared; and any passing topic of -conversation was, for the moment, the one -and absorbing topic in the world. Being -short-sighted, he had a habit of peering -through his glasses which contracted his -brows and gave him the appearance of a -perpetual frown, and, indeed, his expression -when in repose was decidedly severe. This, -however, vanished when he spoke. He -talked well, and had generally a great deal -to say; but his talk was disjointed, and he -but rarely laughed. In manner he was -brusque, and one of his most striking -peculiarities was his voice, which was of an -extraordinarily large compass.”—1873.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">EDMUND WALLER<br /> - -<small>1605-1687</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Aubrey’s <i>Lives<br /> -of Eminent<br /> -Persons</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“His</span> intellectuals are very good yet; but he -growes feeble. He is somewhat above a -middle stature, thin body, not at -all robust: fine thin skin, his face -somewhat of an olivaster; his -hayre frized, of a brownish colour, full eie, -popping out and working; ovall faced, his -forehead high and full of wrinkles. His head -but small, braine very hott, and apt to be -cholerique. <i>Quarto doctior, eo iracundior.</i>—<span class="smcap">Cic.</span> -He is somewhat magisteriall, and hath -received a great mastership of the English -language. He is of admirable elocution, and -gracefull, and exceeding ready.”—1680.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Life of Edmund<br /> -Waller.</i><br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“Waller’s person was handsome and -graceful. That delicacy of soul -which produces instinctive propriety, -gave him an easy manner, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> -improved and finished by a polite education, -and by a familiar intercourse with the Great. -The symmetry of his features was dignified -with a manly aspect, and his eye was animated -with sentiment and poetry. His elocution, -like his verse, was musical and flowing. -In the senate, indeed, it often assumed -a vigorous and majestick tone, which, it -must be owned, is not a leading characteristick -of his numbers.... His conversation -was chatised by politeness, enriched by learning, -and brightened by wit.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote"><i>An account of the<br /> -life of Mr.<br /> -Edmund Waller.</i><br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“’Twas the politeness of his manners, as -well as the excellence of his genius, which -endeared him to these foreign -wits. All the world knows Mr. -St. Evremond was polite almost -to a fault, for ev’ry virtue has its opposite -vice, and this has affectation; and yet writing -to my Lord St. Albans he says, ‘Mr. Waller -vous garde une conversation dlicieuse, je ne -suis pas si vain de vous <i>parleur</i> de mienne.’... -We shall close what we intend to say of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> -his manners and personal endowments with -the Earl of Clarendon’s short character of -him: ‘There was of the House of Commons -one Mr. Waller, and a gentleman of very good -fortune and estate, and of admirable parts and -faculty of wit, and of an intimate conversation -with those who had that reputation.’ This, -and what has been taken out of his lordship’s -history which has respect to Mr. Waller’s -qualities, confirm the judgment we endeavour -to form of him that he was one of the most -polite, the most gallant, and the most witty -men of his time, and he supported that character -above half a century.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HORACE WALPOLE<br /> - -<small>1717-1797</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Walpoliana.</i></div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> person of Horace Walpole was short -and slender, but compact and neatly -formed. When viewed from behind he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> -somewhat of a boyish appearance, owing to -the form of his person, and the simplicity of -his dress. His features may be seen in many -portraits; but none can express the placid -goodness of his eyes, which would often -sparkle with sudden rays of wit, or dart forth -flashes of the most keen and intuitive intelligence. -His laugh was forced and uncouth, -and even his smile not the most pleasing. -His walk was enfeebled by the gout; which, -if the editor’s memory do not deceive, he -mentioned he had been tormented with since -the age of twenty-five.... This painful -complaint not only affected his feet, but -attacked his hands to such a degree that his -fingers were always swelled and deformed.... -His engaging manners and gentle endearing -affability to his friends exceed all -praise.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Cunningham’s<br /> -<i>Letters of<br /> -Walpole</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“The person of Horace Walpole<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> was -short and slender, but compact, and neatly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> -formed. When viewed from behind he had, -from the simplicity of his dress, somewhat of -a boyish appearance: fifty years -ago, he says, ‘Mr. Winnington -told me I ran along like a pewet.’ -His forehead was high and pale. His eyes -remarkably bright and penetrating. His -laugh was forced and uncouth, and his smile -not the most pleasing. His walk, for more -than half his life, was enfeebled by the gout, -which not only affected his feet, but attacked -his hands. Latterly his fingers were swelled -and deformed, having, as he would say, more -chalk-stones than joints in them, and adding -with a smile, that he must set up an inn, for -he could chalk a score with more ease and -rapidity than any man in England.... His -entrance into a room was in that style of -affected delicacy which fashion had made -almost natural—<i>chapeau bras</i> between his -hands as if he wished to compress it, or under -his arm, knees bent, and feet on tiptoe, as if -afraid of a wet floor. His summer dress of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> -ceremony was usually a lavender suit, the -waistcoat embroidered with a little silver, or -of white silk worked in the tambour, partridge -silk stockings, gold buckles, ruffles, and lace -frills. In winter he wore powder. He disliked -hats, and in his grounds at Strawberry -would even in winter walk without one. The -same antipathy, Cole tells us, extended to a -greatcoat.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Hawkins’s<br /> -<i>Memoirs</i>.</div> - - -<p>“His figure was not merely tall, but more -properly long and slender to excess; his complexion, -and particularly his hands, of -a most unhealthy paleness. His eyes -were remarkably bright and penetrating, very -dark and lively: his voice was not strong, but -his tones were exceedingly pleasant, and if I -may say so, highly gentlemanly. I do not -remember his common gait; he always entered -a room in that style of affected delicacy which -fashion had then made almost natural—<i>chapeau -bras</i> between his hands, as if he -wished to compress it, or under his arm, -knees bent, and feet on tiptoe, as if afraid of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> -a wet floor. His dress in visiting was most -usually, in summer, when I most saw him, a -lavender suit, the waistcoat embroidered with -a little silver, or of white silk worked in the -tambour, partridge silk stockings, and gold -buckles, ruffles and frill generally lace. I -remember, when a child, thinking him very -much under-dressed, if at any time, except -in mourning, he wore hemmed cambric. In -summer, no powder, but his wig combed -straight, and showing his very smooth, pale -forehead, and queued behind; in winter, -powder.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">IZAAC WALTON<br /> - -<small>1593-1683</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Zouch’s <i>Memoir<br /> -of Izaac Walton</i>.<br /> -*</div> - - - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> features of the countenance often enable -us to form a judgment, not very fallible, of -the disposition of the mind. In -few portraits can this discovery -be more successfully pursued than in that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> -Izaac Walton. Lavater, the acute master -of physiognomy, would, I think, instantly -acknowledge in it the decisive traits of the -original,—mild complacency, forbearance, -mature consideration, calm activity, peace, -sound understanding, power of thought, discerning -attention, and secretly active friendship. -Happy in his unblemished integrity, -happy in the approbation and esteem of -others, he inwraps himself in his own virtue. -The exaltation of a good conscience eminently -shines forth in this venerable person—</p> - -<p class="center">‘Candida semper<br /> -Gaudia, et in vultu curarum ignara voluptas.’”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">JOHN WILSON<br /> - -<small>1785-1854</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">de Quincey’s<br /> -<i>Life and<br /> -writings</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“William Wordsworth</span> it was who ... -did me the favour of making me known to -John Wilson.... A man in a sailor’s dress,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> -manifestly in robust health, <i>fervidus juventa</i>, -and wearing upon his countenance a powerful -expression of ardour and -animated intelligence, mixed with -much good nature. ‘Mr. Wilson -of Elleray’—delivered as the formula of introduction, -in the deep tones of Mr. Wordsworth—at -once banished the momentary -surprise I felt on finding a stranger where I -had expected nobody, and substituted a surprise -of another kind; and there was no -wonder in his being at Allan Bank, Elleray -standing within nine miles; but (as usually -happens in such cases) I felt a shock of -surprise on seeing a person so little corresponding -to the one I had at first half-consciously -prefigured. Figure to yourself a -tall man about six feet high, within half an -inch or so, built with tolerable appearance of -strength; but at the date of my description -(that is, in the very spring-tide and bloom of -youth) wearing, for the predominant character -of his person, lightness and agility or (in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> -Westmoreland phrase) <i>lishness</i>, he seemed -framed with an express view to gymnastic -exercises of every sort. Ask in one of your -public libraries for that little quarto edition -of the ‘<i>Rhetorical Works of Cicero</i>’ ... -and you will there see ... a reduced -whole-length of Cicero from the antique, -which in the mouth and chin, and indeed -generally, if I do not greatly forget, will give -you a lively representation of the contour -and expression of Professor Wilson’s face. -Of all this array of personal features, however, -I then saw nothing at all, my attention -being altogether occupied with Mr. Wilson’s -conversation and demeanour, which were in -the highest degree agreeable; the points -which chiefly struck me, being the humility -and gravity with which he spoke of himself, -his large expansion of heart, and a certain -air of noble frankness which overspread -everything he said; he seemed to have an -intense enjoyment of life; indeed, being -young, rich, healthy, and full of intellectual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> -activity, it could not be very wonderful that -he should feel happy and pleased with himself -and others; but it was something unusual -to find that so rare an assemblage of endowments -had communicated no tinge of arrogance -to his manner, or at all disturbed the -general temperance of his mind.”—1808.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Harriet Martineau’s<br /> -<i>Biographical<br /> -Sketches</i>.</div> - - -<p>“If the marvel of his eloquence is not -lessened, it is at least accounted for to those -who have seen him,—or even his -portrait. Such a presence is -rarely seen; and more than one -person has said that he reminded them of the -first man, Adam, so full was that large frame -of vitality, force, and sentience. His tread -seemed almost to shake the streets, his eye -almost saw through stone walls, and as for -his voice, there was no heart which could -stand before it. He swept away all hearts, -whithersoever he would. No less striking -was it to see him in a mood of repose, as -when he steered the old packet-boat that -used to pass between Bowness and Ambleside,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> -before the steamers were put upon the -Lake. Sitting motionless with his hand -upon the rudder, in the presence of journey-men -and market-women, with his eyes -apparently looking beyond everything into -nothing, and his mouth closed under his -beard, as if he meant never to speak again, -he was quite as impressive and immortal an -image as he could have been to the students -of his class or the comrades of his jovial -hours.”</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Forster’s <i>Life<br /> -of Dickens</i>.</div> - -<p>“Walking up and down the hall of the -courts of law (which was full of advocates, -writers to the signet, clerks, and -idlers), was a tall, burly, handsome -man of eight and fifty, with a gait like -O’Connell’s, the bluest eye you can imagine, -and long hair—longer than mine—falling -down in a wild way under the broad brim of -his hat. He had on a surtout coat, a blue -checked shirt; the collar standing up, and -kept in its place with a wisp of black neckerchief; -no waistcoat; and a large pocket-handkerchief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> -thrust into his breast, which -was all broad and open. At his heels followed -a wiry, sharp-eyed, shaggy devil of a terrier, -dogging his steps as he went slashing up and -down, now with one man beside him, now -with another, and now quite alone, but always -at a fast, rolling pace, with his head in the -air, and his eyes as wide open as he could -get them. I guessed it was Wilson; and it -was. A bright, clear-complexioned, mountain-looking -fellow, he looks as though he had -just come down from the Highlands and had -never in his life taken pen in hand. But he -has had an attack of paralysis in his right -arm within this month. He winced when I -shook hands with him, and once or twice -when we were walking up and down slipped -as if he had stumbled on a piece of orange-peel. -He is a great fellow to look at, and to -talk to; and, if you could divest your mind -of the actual Scott, is just the figure you -would put in his place.”—1841.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">ELLEN WOOD<br /> - -<small>(<span class="smcap">Mrs. Henry Wood</span>)</small><br /> - -<small>1814-1887</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>The Argosy</i>,<br /> -1887.</div> - - -<p><span class="smcap">“The</span> face was a pure oval of the most -refined description; that perfection of form -that is so rarely seen. A small, -straight, very delicate and refined -nose; teeth of dazzling whiteness, entire -to the day of her death; a perfect mouth, -revealing at once the sensitiveness and tender -sympathy of her nature, and the steadfastness -of her disposition. Her eyes were unusually -large, dark, and flashing, with a penetrating -gaze that seemed to read your inmost thoughts. -One felt that everything before her had to be -outspoken; for if you uttered only half your -thoughts, she would certainly divine the rest.... -The head was well set upon the -shoulders; a head perfect in form, small except -where the intellectual faculties were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> -developed. Her complexion was dazzling, -the most lovely bloom at all times contrasting -with the brilliant whiteness of her skin. In -hours of animation I have watched the delicate -flush come and go a hundred times in as -many minutes across her wonderful countenance; -and, to record the simile once used -by a friend in speaking to me of this peculiar -beauty, ‘chasing each other like the rosy -clouds of sunrise sweeping across a summer -sky.’ She had a very keen sense of wit and -humour. This strange beauty remained with -her to the end. Even in hours of illness and -suffering it never forsook her. Her face -never lost its look of youth. It was absolutely -without line or wrinkle or any mark -or sign of age. She kept to the last the -complexion and freshness of a young girl; -that strange radiancy which seemed the -reflection of some unseen glory. This was -so great that to the last we were unable to -realise that death could come to her.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> -<h2 class="nobreak">WILLIAM WORDSWORTH<br /> - -<small>1770-1850</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote">Leigh Hunt’s<br /> -<i>Autobiography</i>.</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“Mr. Wordsworth</span> ... had a dignified -manner, with a deep and roughish but not -unpleasing voice, and an exalted -mode of speaking. He had a -habit of keeping his left hand in the bosom -of his waistcoat; and in this attitude, except -when he turned round to take one of the -subjects of his criticism from the shelves -(for his contemporaries were there also), he -sat dealing forth his eloquent but hardly -catholic judgments.... Walter Scott said -that the eyes of Burns were the finest he -ever saw. I cannot say the same of Mr. -Wordsworth; that is, not in the sense of the -beautiful, or even of the profound. But certainly -I never beheld eyes which looked so inspired -and supernatural. They were like fires -half burning, half smouldering with a sort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> -of acrid fixture of regard, and seated at the -further end of two caverns. One might imagine -Ezekiel or Isaiah to have had such eyes. -The finest eyes, in every sense of the word, -which I have ever seen in a man’s head -(and I have seen many fine ones), are those -of Thomas Carlyle.”—1815.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">S. C. Hall’s<br /> -<i>Memories of<br /> -Great Men</i>.</div> - -<p>“His features were large, and not suddenly -expressive; they conveyed little idea of the -‘poetic fire’ usually associated with -brilliant imagination. His eyes -were mild and up-looking, his -mouth coarse rather than refined, his forehead -high rather than broad; but every -action seemed considerate, and every look -self-possessed, while his voice, low in tone, -had that persuasive eloquence which invariably -‘moves men.’”—1832.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Carlyle’s<br /> -<i>Reminiscences</i>.</div> - - -<p>“... He (Wordsworth) talked well in -his way; with veracity, easy brevity, and -force, as a wise tradesman would -of his tools and workshop,—and -as no unwise one could. His voice was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> -good, frank, and sonorous, though practically -clear, distinct, and forcible, rather than -melodious; the tone of him business-like, -sedately confident; no discourtesy, yet no -anxiety about being courteous. A fine -wholesome rusticity, fresh as his mountain -breezes, sat well on the stalwart veteran, and -on all he said and did. You would have -said he was a usually taciturn man; glad to -unlock himself to audience sympathetic and -intelligent when such offered itself. His face -bore marks of much, not always peaceful, -meditation; the look of it not bland or -benevolent so much as close, impregnable, -and hard: a man <i>multa tacere loquive -paratus</i>, in a world where he had experienced -no lack of contradictions as he strode -along! The eyes were not very brilliant, -but they had a quiet clearness; there was -enough of brow, and well-shaped; rather too -much of cheek (‘horse face’ I have heard -satirists say); face of squarish shape, and -decidedly longish, as I think the head itself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> -was (its ‘length’ going horizontal); he was -large-boned, lean, but still firm-knit, tall, and -strong-looking when he stood, a right good -old steel-gray figure, with rustic simplicity and -dignity about him, and a vivacious strength -looking through him which might have suited -one of those old steel-gray markgrafs -whom Henry the Fowler set up to ward the -‘marches’ and do battle with the heathen -in a stalwart and judicious manner.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SIR HENRY WOTTON<br /> - -<small>1568-1639</small></h2></div> - - -<div class="sidenote"><i>Reliqui<br /> -Wottonin</i></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">“He</span> returned out of <i>Italy</i> in <i>England</i> about -the thirtieth year of his age, being then -noted by many, both for his -person and comportment; for -indeed he was of a choice shape, tall of -stature, and of a most persuasive behaviour; -which was so mixed with sweet Discourse -and Civilities, as gained him much love from -all Persons with whom he entered into an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> -acquaintance. And whereas he was noted -in his Youth to have a sharp Wit, and apt to -jest; that, by Time, Travel, and Conversation, -was so polished, and made so useful, that his -company seemed to be one of the delights of -mankind.”—1598.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">M. E. W.<br /> -*</div> - - -<p>“An eminently lovable face, albeit there -is something in the gravely-set mouth which -recalls the old Elizabethan expression -‘<i>My Dearest Dread</i>.’ The love -of those about him for this tender-worded -amourous poet, this gentle student, this -courtly gentleman, must have struggled hard -for the mastery with that reverence which -they must have felt for the learned author, -the friend of kings, the diplomatist. Something -of all this, I fancy, shows in the face -and figure of the man as Jansen has portrayed -him in the picture now hanging in the -Bodleian Library at Oxford. The high -square brow from which the hair has been -brushed up and back in short silky waves, the -strongly-marked eyebrows, the long straight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> -nose,—they all speak of good brains and an -iron will; while there is a suspicion of daintiness -in the close-cropped whiskers, trimly-pointed -beard, and flowing moustache. The -eyes are his finest feature, large and oval, -with the eyelid drooping somewhat at the -outer edge, which gives him a look of sadness. -So far from bending forward under -the orthodox student’s-stoop, Sir Henry is -tall, straight, and broad-shouldered, for he -comes of a fighting race, and there is more -of the soldier than of the scholar in his -appearance. The hands are strong, nervous, -and well shaped; the dress that of a sober-minded -gentleman. That word indeed sums -up his personal appearance as fully as it does -his character: the portrait of Sir Henry -Wotton is emphatically that of a gentleman.”</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<blockquote> -<p class="center"><i>Printed by</i> R. & R. <span class="smcap">Clark</span>, <i>Edinburgh</i>.</p> - -<p class="right"><i>S. & H.</i></p></blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RICHARD BENTLEY & SON’S</h2></div> - -<p class="ph3">LIST OF WORKS</p> - -<p class="center"><small>FOR</small></p> - -<p class="center"><i>OCTOBER & NOVEMBER</i></p> - -<p class="center"><strong>1887.</strong></p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="center">I</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND REMINISCENCES -OF W. P. FRITH, R.A.</b> In two vols., demy 8vo., with -two Portraits.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">II</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>WHAT I REMEMBER.</b> By <span class="smcap">Thomas Adolphus -Trollope</span>. In two vols., demy 8vo., with Portrait.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">III</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>MEMOIRS OF THE PRINCESSE HLNE -DE LIGNE.</b> From the French of <span class="smcap">Lucien Perey</span>, by -<span class="smcap">Laura Ensor</span>. In two vols., large crown 8vo., with -Portrait.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">IV</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>VERESTCHAGIN: PAINTER: SOLDIER: -TRAVELLER.</b> Autobiographical Sketches by Mons. and -Madame <span class="smcap">Verestchagin</span>, from the original by <span class="smcap">F. H. Peters</span>, -M.A. In two volumes, large crown 8vo., with upwards of -eighty Illustrations from sketches by the Author.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">V</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND REMINISCENCES -OF SIR DOUGLAS FORSYTH, K.C.S.I., C.B.</b> Edited -by his Daughter, <span class="smcap">Ethel Forsyth</span>. In demy 8vo., with -Portrait on Steel, and Map.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">VI</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>THE COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS -THE FIRST, KING OF FRANCE.</b> By <span class="smcap">Julia Pardoe</span>. -A New Edition in three volumes, demy 8vo., with Illustrations -on Steel, and voluminous Index.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">VII</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>THE LAST OF THE VALOIS: and the -Accession of Henry of Navarre, 1559-1610.</b> By <span class="smcap">Catherine -Charlotte Lady Jackson</span>. In two vols., large Crown 8vo., -with Portraits on Steel. 24s.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">VIII</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>A HOLIDAY ON THE ROAD.</b> An Artist’s -Wanderings in Kent, Sussex, and Surrey. By <span class="smcap">James John -Hissey</span>. In demy 8vo., with numerous Illustrations from -Sketches by the Author, and engraved upon wood by <span class="smcap">George -Pearson</span>.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">IX</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>WILD LIFE AND ADVENTURE IN THE -AUSTRALIAN BUSH.</b> By <span class="smcap">Arthur Nicols</span>, F.G.S., -F.R.G.S., Author of “Zoological Notes,” “Natural History of -the Carnivora,” etc. In two vols., large crown 8vo., with -eight Illustrations from Sketches by <span class="smcap">Mr. John Nettleship</span>.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">X</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>MY CONSULATE IN SAMOA.</b> With Personal -Experiences of King Malietoa Laupepa, His Country, and His -Men. By <span class="smcap">William B. Churchward</span>. In demy 8vo. 15s.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">XI</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>LETTERS FROM CRETE.</b> Written during the -Spring of 1886. By <span class="smcap">Charles Edwardes</span>. In demy 8vo. 15s.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">XII</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>THE ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF TANGIERS, -1663-1684.</b> Being the first volume of “The History of the -Second Queen’s Royal Regiment (now the Queen’s Royal West -Surrey Regiment).” By Lieut.-Colonel <span class="smcap">John Davis</span>, F.S.A., -Author of “Historical Records of the Second Royal Surrey -Militia.” In royal 8vo., with Maps, Plans, and numerous -Illustrations. Vol. I. 24s.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center"><i>The Work is expected to be completed in four volumes, royal 8vo.</i></p> - -<p class="center">XIII</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>LORD CARTERET</b>: a Political Biography. By -<span class="smcap">Archibald Ballantyne</span>. In demy 8vo. 16s.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">XIV</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>WORD PORTRAITS of FAMOUS WRITERS.</b> -Edited by <span class="smcap">Mabel E. Wotton</span>. In large Crown 8vo.</p></blockquote> - -<p class="center">XV</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hangingindent"><b>A GENTLEMAN OF THE OLDEN TIME.</b> -<span class="smcap">Franois de Scpeaux, Sire de Vieilleville</span>, 1509-1571. -From the French of Madame C. Coignet, by <span class="smcap">C. B. Pitman</span>. -In two vols., crown 8vo. 21s.</p></blockquote> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">London: Richard Bentley & Son, New Burlington St.</span></p> - -<p class="center">Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FOOTNOTES:</h2></div> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> All wool.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a></p> -<p> -“Prively a <i>penner</i> gan he borwe,<br /> -And in a lettre wrote he all his sorwe!”</p> -<p class="indent"><i>Marchant’s Tale</i>, l. 9753.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> A puppet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Shy, reserved.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>Q. Quot feet I am high? Resp. of middle stature.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Drawn from Pinkerton, Miss Hawkins, Coles MSS. and his -letters.</p></div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p> </p> - -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph3">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:</p> - -<p>The cover image for this eBook has been created by the transcriber using the original cover as the background and is thus entered into the public domain.</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Archaic spelling that may have been in use at the time of publication has been preserved.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been preserved.</p> - -<p>One unpaired double quotation mark could not be corrected.</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORD PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS WRITERS***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 56166-h.htm or 56166-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/6/1/6/56166">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/6/1/6/56166</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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