A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature
by
John W. Cousin
Part 6 out of 13
sympathies were unpopular, and it failed in attaining success. His last
work was a _Life of Titian_, in which he collaborated with Northcote. H.
is one of the most subtle and acute of English critics, though, when
contemporaries came under review, he sometimes allowed himself to be
unduly swayed by personal or political feeling, from which he had himself
often suffered at the hands of others. His chief principle of criticism
as avowed by himself was that "a genuine criticism should reflect the
colour, the light and shade, the soul and body of a work." In his private
life he was not happy. His first marriage, entered into in 1807, ended in
a divorce in 1822, and was followed by an amour with his landlady's
_dau._, which he celebrated in _Liber Amoris_, a work which exposed him
to severe censure. A second marriage with a Mrs. Bridgewater ended by the
lady leaving him shortly after. The fact is that H. was possessed of a
peculiar temper, which led to his quarrelling with most of his friends.
He was, however, a man of honest and sincere convictions. There is a
_coll._ ed. of his works, the "Winterslow," by A.R. Waller and A. Glover,
12 vols., with introduction by W.E. Henley, etc.
HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND (1793-1875).--Traveller, essayist, and biographer,
served in the Engineers, went to South America as manager of a mining
company, which failed, and then turned to literature, and made
considerable reputation by a book of travels, _Rapid Journeys across the
Pampas and among the Andes_ (1827), which was followed by _Bubbles from
the Brunnens of Nassau_ (1834). He was Governor of Upper Canada 1835-37,
but was not a great success. Thereafter he contributed to the _Quarterly
Review_, and _repub._ his articles as _Stokers and Pokers--Highways and
Byways_, and wrote a _Life of Bruce_, the Abyssinian traveller. He was
made a Baronet in 1836.
HEARN, LAFCADIO (1850-1906).--Journalist and writer on Japan, _s._ of an
Irish Army surgeon and of a Greek lady, _b._ in Leucadia, Ionian
Islands, lost his parents early, and was sent home to be taken charge of
by an aunt in Wales, a Roman Catholic. On her death, when he was still a
boy, he was left penniless, delicate, and half blind, and after
experiencing great hardships, in spite of which he _ed._ himself, he took
to journalism. Going to New Orleans he attained a considerable reputation
as a writer with a distinctly individual style. He came under the
influence of Herbert Spencer, and devoted himself largely to the study of
social questions. After spending three years in the French West Indies,
he was in 1890 sent by a publisher to Japan to write a book on that
country, and there he remained, becoming a naturalised subject, taking
the name of Yakomo Koizumi, and marrying a Japanese lady. He lectured on
English literature in the Imperial Univ. at Tokio. Though getting nearer
than, perhaps, any other Western to an understanding of the Japanese, he
felt himself to the end to be still an alien. Among his writings, which
are distinguished by acute observation, imagination, and descriptive
power of a high order, are _Stray Leaves from Strange Literature_ (1884),
_Some Chinese Ghosts_ (1887), _Gleanings in Buddha Fields_ (1897),
_Ghostly Japan_, _Kokoro_, _Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life_, etc.
He was also an admirable letter-writer.
HEARNE, THOMAS (1678-1735).--Antiquary, _b._ at White Waltham.,
Berkshire, and _ed._ at Oxf., where in 1712 he became second keeper of
the Bodleian Library. A strong Jacobite, he was deprived of his post in
1716, and afterwards he refused, on political grounds, the chief
librarianship. He _pub._ a large number of antiquarian works, including
_Reliquiae Bodleianae_ (1703), and ed. of Leland's _Itinerary_ and
_Collectanea_, Camden's _Annals_, and Fordun's _Scotochronicon_. Some of
his own collections were _pub._ posthumously.
HEBER, REGINALD (1783-1826).--Poet, _s._ of the Rector of Malpas, a man
of family and wealth, and half-brother of Richard H., the famous
book-collector, was _ed._ at Oxf., where he gained the Newdigate prize
for his poem, _Palestine_, and was elected in 1805 Fellow of All Souls.
After travelling in Germany and Russia, he took orders in 1807, and
became Rector of the family living of Hodnet. In 1822, after two
refusals, he accepted the Bishopric of Calcutta, an office in which he
showed great zeal and capacity. He _d._ of apoplexy in his bath at
Trichinopoly in 1826. In addition to _Palestine_ he wrote _Europe_, a
poem having reference specially to the Peninsular War, and left various
fragments, including an Oriental romance based on the story of Bluebeard.
H.'s reputation now rests mainly on his hymns, of which several, _e.g._,
_From Greenland's Icy Mountains_, _Brightest and Best of the Sons of the
Morning_, and _Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty_, are sung wherever
the English language is known. He also wrote a _Life of Jeremy Taylor_
(1822). H. was a scholar and wit as well as a devoted Christian and
Churchman.
HELPS, SIR ARTHUR (1813-1875).--Essayist and historian, was _b._ at
Streatham, Surrey, and _ed._ at Eton and Camb. After leaving the Univ. he
was private sec. to various public men, and in 1841, his circumstances
rendering him independent of employment, he retired to Bishop's Waltham,
and devoted himself for 20 years to study and writing. Appointed, in
1860, Clerk to the Privy Council, he became known to, and a favourite of,
Queen Victoria, who entrusted him with the task of editing the _Speeches
and Addresses of the Prince Consort_ (1862), and her own book, _Leaves
from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands_ (1868). Of his own
publications the first was _Thoughts in the Cloister and the Crowd_
(1835), a series of aphorisms, and there followed, among others, _Essays
written in the Intervals of Business_ (1841), _Friends in Council_, 4
series (1847-59), _Realmah_ (1869), and _Conversations on War and General
Culture_ (1871). In history H. wrote _The Conquerors of the New World_
(1848-52), and _The Spanish Conquests in America_, 4 vols. (1855-61). He
also wrote a _Life of Thos. Brassey_, and, as the demand for his
historical works fell off, he _repub._ parts of them as individual
biographies of Las Casas, Columbus, Pizarro, and Cortez. He also tried
the drama, but without success. His essays are his most successful work,
containing as they do the thoughts and opinions of a shrewd, experienced,
and highly cultivated man, written in what Ruskin called "beautiful quiet
English." They have not, however, any exceptional depth or originality.
HEMANS, FELICIA DOROTHEA (BROWNE) (1793-1835).--Poetess, _dau._ of a
Liverpool merchant, who, owing to reverses, retired to North Wales. While
yet little more than a child she _pub._ her first poems, the reception of
which was not encouraging. In the same year, 1808, a further publication
appeared which drew a letter from Shelley. Her first important work, _The
Domestic Affections_, appeared in 1812, in which year she was _m._ to
Captain Hemans, an Irish officer. The union, however, was not a happy
one, and her husband practically deserted her and her five sons in 1818.
Her literary activity was continued during the whole of her short life,
and her works include, _The Vespers of Palermo_, a drama, which was not
successful, _The Forest Sanctuary_ (1826), her best poem, _Records of
Woman_, _Lays of Leisure Hours_, _Songs of the Affections_, _Hymns for
Childhood_, and _Thoughts during Sickness_ (1834), her last effort. In
1829 she visited Scotland, where she was the guest of Scott, who held her
in affectionate regard. She also enjoyed the friendship of Wordsworth.
Always somewhat delicate, her health latterly entirely gave way, and she
_d._ of a decline in 1835. Her shorter pieces enjoyed much popularity,
and still, owing to their grace and tenderness, retain a certain place,
but her long poems are lacking in energy and depth, and are forgotten.
HENLEY, WILLIAM ERNEST (1849-1903).--Poet and critic, _b._ at Gloucester,
made the acquaintance of Robert Louis Stevenson (_q.v._), and
collaborated with him in several dramas, including _Deacon Brodie_, and
_Robert Macaire_. He engaged in journalism, and became ed. of _The
Magazine of Art_, _The National Observer_, and _The New Review_, compiled
_Lyra Heroica_, an anthology of English poetry for boys, and, with Mr.
Farmer, ed. a _Dictionary of Slang_. His poems, which include _Hospital
Rhymes_, _London Voluntaries_, _The Song of the Sword_, _For England's
Sake_, and _Hawthorn and Lavender_, are very unequal in quality, and
range from strains of the purest music to an uncouth and unmusical
realism of no poetic worth. He wrote with T.F. Henderson a _Life of
Burns_, in which the poet is set forth as a "lewd peasant of genius."
Complete works, 7 vols., 1908.
HENRY VIII. (1491-1547).--Besides writing songs including _The Kings
Ballad_, was a learned controversialist, and contended against Luther in
_Assertio Septem Sacramentorum_ (Defence of the Seven Sacraments), a
treatise which gained for him the title of Defender of the Faith.
HENRY of HUNTINGDON (1084-1155).--Historian, was Archdeacon of Huntingdon
from 1109. His _Historia Anglorum_ (History of the English) comes down to
1154. He also wrote a treatise, _De Contemptu Mundi_ (on Contempt of the
World).
HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714).--Commentator, _s._ of Philip H., a learned
Nonconformist divine, was _b._ in Flintshire. He was originally destined
for the law, and studied at Gray's Inn, but turned his mind to theology,
and, in 1687, became minister of a Nonconformist church at Chester. Here
he remained until 1712, when he went to take the oversight of a
congregation at Hackney, where he _d._ two years later. He wrote many
religious works, but is chiefly remembered by his _Exposition of the Old
and New Testaments_, which he did not live to complete beyond the Acts.
The comment on the Epistles was, however, furnished after his death by 13
Nonconformist divines. Though long superseded from a critical point of
view, the work still maintains its place as a book of practical religion,
being distinguished by great freshness and ingenuity of thought, and
pointed and vigorous expression.
HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790).--Historian, _b._ at St. Ninians,
Stirlingshire, entered the Church of Scotland, becoming one of the
ministers of Edin. He wrote the _History of Great Britain on a New Plan_
(1771-93), in 6 vols., covering the period from the Roman invasion until
the reign of Henry VIII. The novelty consisted in dividing the subjects
into different heads, civil history, military, social, and so on, and
following out each of them separately. The work was mainly a compilation,
having no critical qualities, and is now of little value. Notwithstanding
the persistent and ferocious attacks of Dr. Gilbert Stewart (_q.v._), it
had a great success, and brought the author over L3000, and a government
pension of L100.
HENRY, THE MINSTREL, (_see_ BLIND HARRY).
HENRYSON, ROBERT (1430?-1506?).--Scottish poet. Few details of his life
are known, even the dates of his birth and death being uncertain. He
appears to have been a schoolmaster, perhaps in the Benedictine Convent,
at Dunfermline, and was a member of the Univ. of Glasgow in 1462. He also
practised as a Notary Public, and may have been in orders. His principal
poems are _The Moral Fables of Esope the Phrygian_, _The Testament of
Cresseide_, a sequel to the _Troilus and Cressida_ of Chaucer, to whom it
was, until 1721, attributed, _Robene and Makyne_, the first pastoral, not
only in Scottish vernacular, but in the English tongue, _The Uplandis
Mous and The Burges Mous_ (Country and Town Mouse), and the _Garmond of
Gude Ladeis_. H., who was versed in the learning and general culture of
his day, had a true poetic gift. His verse is strong and swift, full of
descriptive power, and sparkling with wit. He is the first Scottish
lyrist and the introducer of the pastoral to English literature.
HENTY, GEORGE ALFRED (1832-1902).--Boys' novelist, wrote over 80 books
for boys, which had great popularity. Among them are _By England's Aid_,
_Dash for Khartoum_, _Facing Death_, _In Freedom's Cause_, _Out on the
Pampas_, etc., all full of adventure and interest, and conveying
information as well as amusement.
HERAUD, JOHN ABRAHAM (1799-1887).--Poet, _b._ in London, of Huguenot
descent, he contributed to various periodicals, and _pub._ two poems,
which attracted some attention, _The Descent into Hell_ (1830), and _The
Judgment of the Flood_ (1834). He also produced a few plays,
miscellaneous poems, books of travel, etc.
HERBERT, of CHERBURY, EDWARD, 1ST LORD (1583-1648).--Philosopher and
historian, was the eldest _s._ of Richard H., of Montgomery Castle, and
was _b._ there or at Eyton, Shropshire. He was at Oxf., and while there,
at the age of 16, he _m._ a kinswoman four years his senior, the _dau._
of Sir William H. Thereafter he returned to the Univ. and devoted himself
to study, and to the practice of manly sports and accomplishments. At his
coronation in 1603 James I. made him a Knight of the Bath, and in 1608 he
went to the Continent, where for some years he was engaged in military
and diplomatic affairs, not without his share of troubles. In 1624 he was
_cr._ an Irish, and a few years later, an English, peer, as Baron H., of
Cherbury. On the outbreak of the Civil War he sided, though somewhat
half-heartedly, with the Royalists, but in 1644 he surrendered to the
Parliament, received a pension, held various offices, and _d._ in 1648.
It was in 1624 that he wrote his treatise, _De Veritate_, "An empirical
theory of knowledge," in which truth is distinguished from (1)
revelation, (2) the probable, (3) the possible, (4) the false. It is the
first purely metaphysical work written by an Englishman, and gave rise to
much controversy. It was reprinted in 1645, when the author added two
treatises, _De Causis Errorum_ (concerning the Causes of Errors), and _De
Religione Laici_ (concerning the Religion of a Layman). His other chief
philosophical work was _De Religione Gentilium_ (1663), of which an
English translation appeared in 1705, under the title of _The Ancient
Religion of the Gentiles and Cause of their Errors considered_. It has
been called "the charter of the Deists," and was intended to prove that
"all religions recognise five main articles--(1) a Supreme God, (2) who
ought to be worshipped, (3) that virtue and purity are the essence of
that worship, (4) that sin should be repented of, and (5) rewards and
punishments in a future state." Among his historical works are _Expeditio
Buckinghamii Ducis_ (1656), a vindication of the Rochelle expedition, a
_Life of Henry VIII._ (1649), extremely partial to the King, his
_Autobiography_, which gives a brilliant picture of his contemporaries,
and of the manners and events of his time, and a somewhat vainglorious
account of himself and his doings. He was also the author of some poems
of a metaphysical cast. On the whole his is one of the most shining and
spirited figures of the time.
Autobiography ed. by S. Lee (1886). Poems ed. by J. Churton Collins, etc.
HERBERT, GEORGE (1593-1633).--Poet, brother of above, was _ed._ at
Westminster School and Trinity Coll., Camb., where he took his degree in
1616, and was public orator 1619-27. He became the friend of Sir H.
Wotton, Donne, and Bacon, the last of whom is said to have held him in
such high esteem as to submit his writings to him before publication. He
acquired the favour of James I., who conferred upon him a sinecure worth
L120 a year, and having powerful friends, he attached himself for some
time to the Court in the hope of preferment. The death of two of his
patrons, however, led him to change his views, and coming under the
influence of Nicholas Ferrar, the quietist of Little Gidding, and of
Laud, he took orders in 1626 and, after serving for a few years as
prebendary of Layton Ecclesia, or Leighton Broomswold, he became in 1630
Rector of Bemerton, Wilts, where he passed the remainder of his life,
discharging the duties of a parish priest with conscientious assiduity.
His health, however, failed, and he _d._ in his 40th year. His chief
works are _The Temple, or Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations_ (1634),
_The Country Parson_ (1652), and _Jacula Prudentium_, a collection of
pithy proverbial sayings, the two last in prose. Not _pub._ until the
year after his death, _The Temple_ had immediate acceptance, 20,000
copies, according to I. Walton, who was H.'s biographer, having been sold
in a few years. Among its admirers were Charles I., Cowper, and
Coleridge. H. wrote some of the most exquisite sacred poetry in the
language, although his style, influenced by Donne, is at times
characterised by artificiality and conceits. He was an excellent
classical scholar, and an accomplished musician.
Works with _Life_ by Izaak Walton, ed. by Coleridge, 1846, etc.
HERBERT, SIR THOMAS (1606-1682).--Traveller and historian, belonged to an
old Yorkshire family, studied at Oxf. and Camb., and went in connection
with an embassy to Persia, of which, and of other Oriental countries, he
_pub._ a description. On the outbreak of the Civil War he was a
Parliamentarian, but was afterwards taken into the household of the King,
to whom he became much attached, was latterly his only attendant, and was
with him on the scaffold. At the Restoration he was made a Baronet, and
in 1678 _pub._ _Threnodia Carolina_, an account of the last two years of
the King's life.
HERD, DAVID (1732-1810).--Scottish anthologist, _s._ of a farmer in
Kincardineshire, was clerk to an accountant in Edin., and devoted his
leisure to collecting old Scottish poems and songs, which he first _pub._
in 1769 as _Ancient Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc._ Other and
enlarged ed. appeared in 1776 and 1791. Sir W. Scott made use of his MS.
collections in his _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_.
HERRICK, ROBERT (1591-1674).--Poet, _b._ in London, was apprenticed as a
goldsmith to his uncle, Sir William H., with whom he remained for 10
years. Thereafter he went to Camb., took orders, and was in 1629
presented by Charles I. to the living of Dean Prior, a remote parish in
Devonshire, from which he was ejected in 1647, returning in 1662. In the
interval he appears to have lived in Westminster, probably supported,
more or less, by the gifts of wealthy Royalists. His _Noble Numbers or
Pious Pieces_ was _pub._ in 1647, his _Hesperides or Works both Human and
Divine_ in 1648, and the two together in one vol. in the latter year.
Over 60, however, of the lighter poems included in _Hesperides_ had
previously appeared anonymously in a collection entitled _Wit's
Recreations_. H.'s early life in London had been a free one, and his
secular poems, in which he appears much more at ease than in his sacred,
show him to have been a thorough Epicurean, though he claims that his
life was not to be judged by his muse. As a lyric poet H. stands in the
front rank for sweetness, grace, and true poetic fire, and some of his
love songs, _e.g._ _Anthea_, and _Gather ye Rose-buds_, are unsurpassed in
their kind; while in such exquisite little poems as _Blossoms,
Daffodils_, and others he finds a classic expression for his love of
nature and country life. In his epigrams, however, he falls much below
himself. He has been described as "the most frankly pagan of English
poets."
Poems ed. by Nutt (1810), Grosart (1876), Pollard (preface by Swinburne,
1891).
HERSCHEL, SIR JOHN FREDERICK WILLIAM (1792-1871).--_S._ of Sir William
H., the eminent astronomer and discoverer of the planet Uranus, was _b._
at Slough, and _ed._ at Camb., where he was Senior Wrangler and first
Smith's prizeman. He became one of the greatest of English astronomers.
Among his writings are treatises on Sound and Light, and his _Astronomy_
(1831) was for long the leading manual on the subject. He also _pub._
_Popular Lectures_ and _Collected Addresses_, and made translations from
Schiller, and from the _Iliad_.
HERVEY, JAMES (1714-1758).--Religious writer, Rector of Weston Favell,
Northants, was the author of _Meditations among the Tombs_ (1745-47),
_Theron and Aspasio_, and other works, which had a great vogue in their
day. They are characterised by over-wrought sentiment, and overloaded
with florid ornament. H. was a devout and unselfish man, who by his
labours broke down a delicate constitution.
HERVEY, JOHN, LORD (1696-1743).--Writer of memoirs, was a younger _s._ of
the 1st Earl of Bristol. Entering Parliament he proved an able debater,
and held various offices, including that of Lord Privy Seal. He was a
favourite with Queen Caroline, and a dexterous and supple courtier. He
wrote _Memoirs of the Reign of George II._, which gives a very
unfavourable view of the manners and morals of the Court. It is written
in a lively, though often spiteful style, and contains many clever and
discriminating character sketches. He was satirised by Pope under the
name of "Sporus" and "Lord Fanny."
HEYLIN, PETER (1600-1662).--Ecclesiastical writer, _b._ at Burford,
Oxon., was one of the clerical followers of Charles I., who suffered for
his fidelity, being deprived under the Commonwealth of his living of
Alresford, and other preferments. After the Restoration he was made
sub-Dean of Westminster, but the failure of his health prevented further
advancement. He was a voluminous writer, and a keen and acrimonious
controversialist against the Puritans. Among his works are a _History of
the Reformation_, and a Life of Laud (_Cyprianus Anglicanus_) (1668).
HEYWOOD, JOHN (1497?-1580?).--Dramatist and epigrammatist, is believed to
have been _b._ at North Mimms, Herts. He was a friend of Sir Thomas More,
and through him gained the favour of Henry VIII., and was at the Court of
Edward VI. and Mary, for whom, as a young Princess, he had a great
regard. Being a supporter of the old religion, he enjoyed her favour, but
on the accession of Elizabeth, he left the country, and went to Mechlin,
where he _d._ He was famous as a writer of interludes, a species of
composition intermediate between the old "moralities" and the regular
drama, and displayed considerable constructive skill, and a racy, if
somewhat broad and even coarse, humour. Among his interludes are _The
Play of the Wether_ (1532), _The Play of Love_ (1533), and _The Pardoner
and the Frere_. An allegorical poem is _The Spider and the Flie_ (1556),
in which the Spider stands for the Protestants, and the Flie for the
Roman Catholics. H. was likewise the author of some 600 epigrams, whence
his title of "the old English epigrammatist."
HEYWOOD, THOMAS (_d._ 1650).--Dramatist. Few facts about him have come
down, and these are almost entirely derived from his own writings. He
appears to have been _b._ in Lincolnshire, and was a Fellow of
Peterhouse, Camb., and an ardent Protestant. His literary activity
extends from about 1600 to 1641, and his production was unceasing; he
claims to have written or "had a main finger in" 220 plays, of which only
a small proportion (24) are known to be in existence, a fact partly
accounted for by many of them having been written upon the backs of
tavern bills, and by the circumstance that though a number of them were
popular, few were _pub._ Among them may be mentioned _The Four Prentices
of London_ (1600) (ridiculed in Fletcher's _Knight of the Burning
Pestle_), _Edward IV._ (2 parts) in 1600 and 1605, _The Royal King and
the Loyal Subject_ (1637), _A Woman Killed with Kindness_ (1603), _Rape
of Lucrece_ (1608), _Fair Maid of the Exchange_ (1607), _Love's Mistress_
(1636), and _Wise Woman of Hogsdon_ (1638). H. also wrote an _Apology for
Actors_ (1612), a poem, _Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels_ (1635), and
made various translations. He was thoroughly English in his subjects and
treatment, and had invention, liveliness, and truth to nature, but lacked
the higher poetic sense, and of course wrote far too much to write
uniformly well.
HIGDEN, RANULF or RALPH (_d._ 1364).--Chronicler, is believed to have
been _b._ in the West of England, took the monastic vow (Benedictine), at
Chester in 1299, and seems to have travelled over the North of England.
His fame rests on his _Polychronicon_, a universal history reaching down
to contemporary events. The work is divided into 7 books and, though of
no great value as an authority, has an interest as showing the state of
historical and geographical knowledge at the time. Written in Latin, it
was translated into English by John of Trevisa (_q.v._) (1387), and
printed by Caxton (1482), and by others. Another translation of the 15th
century was issued in the Rolls Series. For two centuries it was an
approved work. H. wrote various other treatises on theology and history.
HILL, AARON (1685-1750).--Dramatist and miscellaneous writer, _s._ of a
country gentleman of Wiltshire, was _ed._ at Westminster School, and
thereafter made a tour in the East. He was the author of 17 dramatic
pieces, some of them, such as his versions of Voltaire's _Zaire_ and
_Merope_, being adaptations. He also wrote a quantity of poetry, which,
notwithstanding some good passages, is as a general rule dull and
pompous. Having written some satiric lines on Pope he received in return
a niche in _The Dunciad_, which led to a controversy, in which H. showed
some spirit. Afterwards a reconciliation took place. He was a friend and
correspondent of Richardson, whose _Pamela_ he highly praised. In
addition to his literary pursuits H. was a great projector, but his
schemes were usually unsuccessful. He was a good and honourable man, but
over-impressed with his own importance.
HINTON, JAMES (1822-1875).--Writer on sociology and psychology, _s._ of a
Baptist minister, became a successful aurist, but his attention being
arrested by social questions, he gave more and more of his time to the
consideration and exposition of these. Open-minded and altruistic, his
books are full of thought and suggestion. Among his writings may be
mentioned _Man and his Dwelling-place_ (1859), _The Mystery of Pain_
(1866), _The Law of Human Life_ (1874), _Chapters on the Art of Thinking_
(1879), and _Philosophy and Religion_ (1881).
HOADLEY, BENJAMIN (1676-1761).--Theologian and controversialist, _ed._ at
Camb., entered the Church, and became Bishop successively of Bangor,
Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester. He was a great supporter of the
Revolution, and controvertor of the doctrines of divine right and passive
obedience. His works were generally either the causes of controversy or
elicited by it. One of his sermons, _On the Nature of the Kingdom or
Church of Christ_ was the originating cause of what was known as the
Bangorian controversy, which raged for a long time with great bitterness.
HOBBES, THOMAS (1588-1679).--Philosopher, was _b._ at Malmesbury, the
_s._ of a clergyman, and _ed._ at Oxf. Thereafter he travelled as tutor
through France, Italy, and Germany, with William Lord Cavendish,
afterwards 2nd Earl of Devonshire, with whom he remained as sec. after
the completion of the tour. While engaged in this capacity he became
acquainted with Bacon (whose amanuensis he is said to have been), Herbert
of Cherbury, and Ben Jonson. In 1629 he _pub._ a translation of
_Thucydides_. After the death of his patron, which took place in 1626, he
went in 1628 to Paris, where he remained for 18 months, and in 1631 he
assumed the position of tutor to his _s._, afterwards the 3rd Earl, with
whom he went in 1634 to France, Italy, and Savoy. When in Italy he was
the friend of Galileo, Gassendi, and other eminent men. Returning to
England he remained in the Earl's service, and devoted himself to his
studies on philosophy and politics. The commotions of the times, however,
disturbed him; and his Royalist principles, expounded in his treatise,
_De Corpore Politico_, led to his again, in 1641, leaving England and
going to Paris, where he remained until 1652. While there, he entered
into controversy on mathematical subjects with Descartes, _pub._ some of
his principal works, including _Leviathan_, and received, in 1647, the
appointment of mathematical tutor to the Prince of Wales, afterwards
Charles II., who was then in that city. The views expressed in his works,
however, brought him into such unpopularity that the Prince found it
expedient to break the connection, and H. returned to England. In 1653 he
resumed his relations with the Devonshire family, living, however, in
London in habits of intimacy with Selden, Cowley, and Dr. Harvey. On the
Restoration the King conferred upon him a pension of L100, but like most
of the Royal benefactions of the day, it was but irregularly paid. His
later years were spent in the family of his patron, chiefly at
Chatsworth, where he continued his literary activity until his death,
which occurred in 1679, in his 91st year. H. was one of the most
prominent Englishmen of his day, and has continued to influence
philosophical thought more or less ever since, generally, however, by
evoking opposition. His fundamental proposition is that all human action
is ultimately based upon selfishness (more or less enlightened), allowing
no place to the moral or social sentiments. Similarly in his political
writings man is viewed as a purely selfish being who must be held in
restraint by the strong hand of authority. His chief philosophical works
are _De Corpore Politico_, already mentioned, _pub._ in 1640;
_Philosophical Rudiments concerning Government and Society_, originally
in Latin, translated into English in 1650; _Leviathan, or the Matter,
Form, and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiastical and Civil_ (1651);
_Treatise on Human Nature_ (1650); and _Letters upon Liberty and
Necessity_ (1654). Generally speaking, all his works led him into
controversy, one of his principal opponents being Clarendon. The _Letters
upon Liberty and Necessity_, which is one of the ablest of them, and
indeed one of the ablest ever written on the subject, brought him into
collision with Bramhall, Bishop of Londonderry, whom he completely
overthrew. He was not, however, so successful in his mathematical
controversies, one of the chief of which was on the Quadrature of the
Circle. Here his antagonist was the famous mathematician Wallis, who was
able easily to demonstrate his errors. In 1672, when 84, H. wrote his
autobiography in Latin verse, and in the same year translated 4 books of
the _Odyssey_, which were so well received that he completed the
remaining books, and also translated the whole of the _Iliad_. Though
accurate as literal renderings of the sense, these works fail largely to
convey the beauties of the original, notwithstanding which three ed. were
issued within 10 years, and they long retained their popularity. His last
work was _Behemoth_, a history of the Civil War, completed just before
his death, which occurred at Hardwick Hall, one of the seats of the
Devonshire family. Although a clear and bold thinker, and a keen
controversialist, he was characterised by a certain constitutional
timidity believed to have been caused by the alarm of his mother near
the time of his birth at the threatened descent of the Spanish Armada.
Though dogmatic and impatient of contradiction, faults which grew upon
him with age, H. had the courage of his opinions, which he did not trim
to suit the times.
SUMMARY.--_B._ 1588, _ed._ Oxf., became acquainted with Bacon, went to
Paris 1628, in Italy 1634, _pub._ _De Corpore Politico_ (1640), again in
Paris 1641-52, and while there was in controversy with Descartes, and
_pub._ _Leviathan_ (1651), appointed mathematical tutor to Charles II.
1647, returned to England 1652, pensioned at Restoration, later years
spent at Chatsworth, _pub._ _Human Nature_ 1650, _Liberty and Necessity_
1654, controversy with Bramhall and Wallis, writes autobiography 1672,
translates _Homer_, _pub._ _Behemoth_ 1679, _d._ 1679.
_Works_ ed. by Sir W. Molesworth (16 vols. 1839-46), monograph by Croom
Robertson. _Life_ by L. Stephen (English Men of Letters Series).
HOBY, SIR THOMAS (1530-1566).--Translator, _b._ at Leominster, and _ed._
at Camb., translated Bucer's _Gratulation to the Church of England_, and
_The Courtyer of Count Baldessar Castilio_, the latter of which had great
popularity. H. _d._ in Paris while Ambassador to France.
HOCCLEVE, or OCCLEVE, THOMAS (1368?-1450?).--Poet, probably _b._ in
London, where he appears to have spent most of his life, living in
Chester's Inn in the Strand. Originally intended for the Church, he
received an appointment in the Privy Seal Office, which he retained until
1424, when quarters were assigned him in the Priory of Southwick, Hants.
In 1399 a pension of L10, subsequently increased to L13, 6s. 8d., had
been conferred upon him, which, however, was paid only intermittently,
thus furnishing him with a perpetual grievance. His early life appears to
have been irregular, and to the end he was a weak, vain, discontented
man. His chief work is _De Regimine Principum_ or _Governail of Princes_,
written 1411-12. The best part of this is an autobiographical prelude
_Mal Regle de T. Hoccleve_, in which he holds up his youthful follies as
a warning. It is also interesting as containing, in the MS. in the
British Museum, a drawing of Chaucer, from which all subsequent portraits
have been taken.
HOFFMAN, CHARLES FENNO (1806-1884).--Poet, etc., _b._ in New York, _s._
of a lawyer, was bred to the same profession, but early deserted it for
literature. He wrote a successful novel, _Greyslaer_, and much verse,
some of which displayed more lyrical power than any which had preceded it
in America.
HOGG, JAMES (THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD) (1770-1835).--Poet, and writer of
tales, belonged to a race of shepherds, and began life by herding cows
until he was old enough to be trusted with a flock of sheep. His
imagination was fed by his mother, who was possessed of an inexhaustible
stock of ballads and folk-lore. He had little schooling, and had great
difficulty in writing out his earlier poems, but was earnest in giving
himself such culture as he could. Entering the service of Mr. Laidlaw,
the friend of Scott, he was by him introduced to the poet, and assisted
him in collecting material for his _Border Minstrelsy_. In 1796 he had
begun to write his songs, and when on a visit to Edin. in 1801 he _coll._
his poems under the title of _Scottish Pastorals, etc._, and in 1807
there followed _The Mountain Bard_. A treatise on the diseases of sheep
brought him L300, on the strength of which he embarked upon a
sheep-farming enterprise in Dumfriesshire which, like a previous smaller
venture in Harris, proved a failure, and he returned to Ettrick bankrupt.
Thenceforward he relied almost entirely on literature for support. With
this view he, in 1810, settled in Edin., _pub._ _The Forest Minstrel_,
and started the _Spy_, a critical journal, which ran for a year. In 1813
_The Queen's Wake_ showed his full powers, and finally settled his right
to an assured place among the poets of his country. He joined the staff
of _Blackwood_, and became the friend of Wilson, Wordsworth, and Byron.
Other poems followed, _The Pilgrims of the Sun_ (1815), _Madoc of the
Moor_, _The Poetic Mirror_, and _Queen Hynde_ (1826); and in prose
_Winter Evening Tales_ (1820), _The Three Perils of Man_ (1822), and _The
Three Perils of Woman_. In his later years his home was a cottage at
Altrive on 70 acres of moorland presented to him by the Duchess of
Buccleuch, where he _d._ greatly lamented. As might be expected from his
almost total want of regular education, H. was often greatly wanting in
taste, but he had real imagination and poetic faculty. Some of his lyrics
like _The Skylark_ are perfect in their spontaneity and sweetness, and
his _Kilmeny_ is one of the most exquisite fairy tales in the language.
Hogg was vain and greedy of praise, but honest and, beyond his means,
generous. He is a leading character, partly idealised, partly
caricatured, in Wilson's _Noctes Ambrosianae_.
HOGG, THOMAS JEFFERSON (1792-1862).--Biographer, _s._ of John H., a
country gentleman of Durham, _ed._ at Durham Grammar School, and Univ.
Coll., Oxf., where he made the acquaintance of Shelley, whose lifelong
friend and biographer he became. Associated with S. in the famous
pamphlet on _The Necessity of Atheism_, he shared in the expulsion from
the Univ. which it entailed, and thereafter devoted himself to the law,
being called to the Bar in 1817. In 1832 he contributed to Bulwer's _New
Monthly Magazine_ his _Reminiscences of Shelley_, which was much admired.
Thereafter he was commissioned to write a biography of the poet, of which
he completed 2 vols., but in so singular a fashion that the material with
which he had been entrusted was withdrawn. The work, which is probably
unique in the annals of biography, while giving a vivid and credible
picture of S. externally, shows no true appreciation of him as a poet,
and reflects with at least equal prominence the humorously eccentric
personality of the author, which renders it entertaining in no common
degree. Other works of H. were _Memoirs of Prince Alexy Haimatoff_, and a
book of travels, _Two Hundred and Nine Days_ (1827). He _m._ the widow of
Williams, Shelley's friend, who was drowned along with him.
HOLCROFT, THOMAS (1745-1809).--Dramatist, _s._ of a small shoemaker in
London, passed his youth as a pedlar, and as a Newmarket stable boy. A
charitable person having given him some education he became a
schoolmaster, but in 1770 went on the provincial stage. He then took to
writing plays, and was the first to introduce the melodrama into England.
Among his plays, _The Road to Ruin_ (1792) is the best, and is still
acted; others were _Duplicity_ (1781), and _A Tale of Mystery_. Among his
novels are _Alwyn_ (1780), and _Hugh Trevor_, and he wrote the well-known
song, _Gaffer Gray_. H. was a man of stern and irascible temper,
industrious and energetic, and a sympathiser with the French Revolution.
HOLINSHED, or HOLLINGSHEAD, RAPHAEL or RALPH _d._ (1580?).--Belonged to a
Cheshire family, and is said by Anthony Wood to have been at one of the
Univ., and to have been a priest. He came to London, and was in the
employment of Reginald Wolf, a German printer, making translations and
doing hack-work. His _Chronicles of Englande, Scotlande, and Irelande_,
from which Shakespeare drew much of his history, was based to a
considerable extent on the collections of Leland, and he had the
assistance of W. Harrison, R. Stanyhurst, and others. The introductory
description of England and the English was the work of Harrison,
Stanyhurst did the part relating to Ireland, and H. himself the history
of England and Scotland, the latter being mainly translated from the
works of Boece and Major. _Pub._ in 1577 it had an eager welcome, and a
wide and lasting popularity. A later ed. in 1586 was ed. by J. Hooker and
Stow. It is a work of real value--a magazine of useful and interesting
information, with the authorities cited. Its tone is strongly Protestant,
its style clear.
HOLLAND, JOSIAH GILBERT (1819-1881).--Novelist and poet, _b._ in
Massachusetts, helped to found and ed. _Scribner's Monthly_ (afterwards
the _Century Magazine_), in which appeared his novels, _Arthur
Bonnicastle_, _The Story of Sevenoaks_, _Nicholas Minturn_. In poetry he
wrote _Bitter Sweet_ (1858), _Kathrina_, etc.
HOLLAND, PHILEMON (1552-1637).--Translator, _b._ at Chelmsford, and _ed._
at Camb., was master of the free school at Coventry, where he also
practised medicine. His chief translations, made in good Elizabethan
English, are of Pliny's _Natural History_, Plutarch's _Morals_,
Suetonius, Xenophon's _Cyropaedia_, and Camden's _Britannia_. There are
passages in the second of these which have hardly been excelled by any
later prose translator of the classics. His later years were passed in
poverty.
HOLMES, OLIVER WENDELL (1809-1894).--Essayist, novelist, and poet, was
_b._ of good Dutch and English stock at Camb., Massachusetts, the seat of
Harvard, where he graduated in 1829. He studied law, then medicine, first
at home, latterly in Paris, whence he returned in 1835, and practised in
his native town. In 1838 he was appointed Prof. of Anatomy and Physiology
at Dartmouth Coll., from which he was in 1847 transferred to a similar
chair at Harvard. Up to 1857 he had done little in literature: his first
book of poems, containing "The Last Leaf," had been _pub._ But in that
year the _Atlantic Monthly_ was started with Lowell for ed., and H. was
engaged as a principal contributor. In it appeared the trilogy by which
he is best known, _The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table_ (1857), _The
Professor_, _The Poet_ (1872), all graceful, allusive, and pleasantly
egotistical. He also wrote _Elsie Venner_ (1861), which has been called
"the snake story of literature," and _The Guardian Angel_. By many
readers he is valued most for the poems which lie imbedded in his books,
such as "The Chambered Nautilus," "The Last Leaf," "Homesick in Heaven,"
"The Voiceless," and "The Boys."
HOME, JOHN (1722-1808).--Dramatist, _s._ of the Town-Clerk of Leith,
where he was _b._, _ed._ there and at Edin., and entered the Church.
Before doing so, however, he had fought on the Royalist side in the '45,
and had, after the Battle of Falkirk, been a prisoner in Doune Castle,
whence he escaped. His ministerial life, which was passed at
Athelstaneford, East Lothian, was brought to an end by the action of the
Church Courts on his producing the play of _Douglas_. This drama, which
had been rejected by Garrick, but brought out in Edin. in 1756, created
an immense sensation, and made its appearance in London the following
year. H. then became private sec. to the Earl of Bute, who gave him the
sinecure of Conservator of Scots Privileges at Campvere in Holland.
Thereafter he was tutor to the Prince of Wales (George III.), who on his
accession conferred upon him a pension of L300. Other plays were _The
Siege of Aquileia_, _The Fatal Discovery_ (1769), _Alonzo_, and _Alfred_
(1778), which was a total failure. He also wrote a _History of the
Rebellion_. In 1778 he settled in Edin., where he was one of the
brilliant circle of literary men of which Robertson was the centre. He
supported the claims of Macpherson to be the translator of Ossian.
HONE, WILLIAM (1780-1842).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Bath, in his
youth became a convinced and active democrat. His zeal in the propagation
of his views, political and philanthropic, was so absorbing as to lead to
a uniform want of success in his business undertakings. He _pub._ many
satirical writings, which had immense popularity, among which were _The
Political House that Jack Built_ (1819), _The Man in the Moon_ (1820),
_The Political Showman_ (1821), and _The Apocryphal New Testament_. For
one of his earliest satires, _The Political Litany_, _pub._ in 1817, he
was prosecuted, but acquitted. Later he brought out _Ancient Mysteries_
(1823), _Every Day Book_ (1826-27), _Table Book_ (1827-28), and _Year
Book_ (1828). These works, in which he had the assistance of other
writers, are full of curious learning on miscellaneous subjects, such as
ceremonies, dress, sports, customs, etc. His last literary enterprise was
an ed. of _Strutt's Sports and Pastimes_ (1830). Always a
self-sacrificing and honest man, he was originally an unbeliever, but in
his latter years he became a sincere Christian.
HOOD, THOMAS (1799-1845).--Poet and comic writer, _s._ of a bookseller in
London, where he was _b._, was put into a mercantile office, but the
confinement proving adverse to his health, he was sent to Dundee, where
the family had connections, and where he obtained some literary
employment. His health being restored, he returned to London, and entered
the employment of an uncle as an engraver. Here he acquired an
acquaintance with drawing, which he afterwards turned to account in
illustrating his comic writings. After working for a short time on his
own account he became, at the age of 22, sub-editor of the _London
Magazine_, and made the acquaintance of many literary men, including De
Quincey, Lamb, and Hazlitt. His first separate publication, _Odes and
Addresses to Great People_, appeared in 1825, and had an immediate
success. Thus encouraged he produced in the next year _Whims and
Oddities_, and in 1829, he commenced _The Comic Annual_, which he
continued for 9 years, and wrote in _The Gem_ his striking poem, _Eugene
Aram_. Meanwhile he had _m._ in 1824, a step which, though productive of
the main happiness and comfort of his future life, could not be
considered altogether prudent, as his health had begun to give way, and
he had no means of support but his pen. Soon afterwards the failure of
his publisher involved him in difficulties which, combined with his
delicate health, made the remainder of his life a continual struggle. The
years between 1834 and 1839 were the period of most acute difficulty, and
for a part of this time he was obliged to live abroad. In 1840 friends
came to his assistance, and he was able to return to England. His health
was, however, quite broken down, but his industry never flagged. During
the five years which remained to him he acted as ed. first of the _New
Monthly Magazine_, and then of _Hood's Monthly Magazine_. In his last
year a Government pension of L100 was granted to his wife. Among his
other writings may be mentioned _Tylney Hall_, a novel which had little
success, and _Up the Rhine_, in which he satirised the English tourist.
Considering the circumstances of pressure under which he wrote, it is
little wonder that much of his work was ephemeral and beneath his powers,
but in his particular line of humour he is unique, while his serious
poems are instinct with imagination and true pathos. A few of them, such
as _The Song of the Shirt_, and _The Bridge of Sighs_ are perfect in
their kind.
_Life_ by his _s._ and _dau._ Ed. of _Works_ by same (7 vols. 1862).
Selections, with Biography, by Ainger, 1897.
HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD (1788-1841).--Dramatist and novelist, _s._ of James
H., music-hall composer, was _b._ in London, and _ed._ at Harrow. As a
boy he wrote words for his father's comic dramas. In 1805 he produced a
comic opera, _The Soldier's Return_, which was followed by _Catch Him who
Can_. Both of them were highly successful, and were followed by many
others. His marvellous powers as a conversationalist and _improvisatore_
made him a favourite in the highest circles. In 1812 he received the
appointment of Accountant-General of Mauritius, which he held for 5
years, when serious irregularities were discovered, and he was sent home
in disgrace, prosecuted by Government for a claim of L12,000, and
imprisoned. It subsequently appeared that the actual peculation had been
the work of a subordinate, and that H. himself was only chargeable with
gross neglect of duty, but though he was released the claims against him
were not departed from. He then became ed. of _John Bull_, a journal of
high Tory and aristocratic proclivities, which he conducted with great
ability; he also ed. the _New Monthly Magazine_, and wrote many novels,
among which were _Sayings and Doings_ (3 series), _Gilbert Gurney_, and
_Jack Brag_. Though making a large income, he was always in difficulties,
and, after a long struggle with broken health and spirits, he _d._ at
Fulham in 1841.
HOOK, WALTER FARQUHAR (1798-1875).--Biographer, _s._ of James H., Dean of
Worcester, _b._ at Worcester, and _ed._ at Winchester and Oxf. Entering
the Church, he held various benefices, and became Vicar of Leeds (where,
largely owing to his exertions, 20 new churches and many schools were
built), and afterwards Dean of Chichester. Besides his labours as a
churchman he was a voluminous author, his works including _Church
Dictionary_ (1842), _Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Biography_ (1845-52),
and _Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury_ (1860-75), on which he was
still engaged at his death, and which he had brought down to Juxon, vol.
xi. His sermon _Hear the Church_ (1838), in which he affirmed the
Apostolical succession of the Anglican episcopate, attracted much
attention.
HOOKER, RICHARD (1554?-1600).--Theologian, _b._ near Exeter, of a family
the original name of which was Vowell. His ability and gentleness as a
schoolboy recommended him to the notice of Bishop Jewel, who sent him to
Corpus Christi Coll., Oxf., where he graduated and became a Fellow in
1577. His proficiency in Hebrew led to his appointment in 1579 as Deputy
Prof. Two years later, 1581, he took orders, and soon thereafter
advantage was taken of his simplicity to entrap him into an unsuitable
marriage with a woman named Joan Churchman, whose mother had nursed him
in an illness. As might have been expected, the connection turned out
unhappily, his wife being a scold, and, according to Anthony Wood, "a
silly, clownish woman." His fate may, however, have been mitigated by the
fact that his own temper was so sweet that he is said never to have been
seen angry. Some doubt, moreover, has been cast on some of the reported
details of his domestic life. In 1584 he received the living of
Drayton-Beauchamp, in Bucks, and in the following year was appointed
Master of the Temple. Here he had for a colleague as evening lecturer
Walter Travers, a man of mark among the Puritans. Though both men were of
the finest moral character, their views on ecclesiastical questions were
widely different, and as neither was disposed to conceal his opinions, it
came to be said that in the Temple "the pulpit spake pure Canterbury in
the morning and Geneva in the afternoon." Things developed into an
animated controversy, in which H. was considered to have triumphed, and
the Archbishop (Whitgift) suspended Travers. The position, however, had
become intolerable for H. who respected his opponent in spite of their
differences, and he petitioned Whitgift that he might retire to the
country and find time and quiet to complete his great work, the
_Ecclesiastical Polity_, on which he was engaged. He was accordingly, in
1591, presented to the living of Boscombe near Amesbury, and made
sub-Dean and a minor Prebendary of Salisbury. Here he finished _The Four
Books of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Polity_, _pub._ in 1594. The
following year he was presented by Queen Elizabeth to the living of
Bishopsbourne, Kent. Here the fifth book was _pub._ (1597), and here he
_d._ in 1600. The sixth and eighth books were not _pub._ until 1648, and
the seventh only appeared in 1662. The _Ecclesiastical Polity_ is one of
the greatest achievements alike in English theology and English
literature, a masterpiece of reasoning and eloquence, in a style stately
and sonorous, though often laborious and involved. Hallam considered that
no English writer had better displayed the capacities of the language.
The argument is directed against the Romanists on the one hand and the
Puritans on the other, and the fundamental idea is "the unity and all
embracing character of law as the manifestation of the divine order of
the universe." The distinguishing note of H.'s character was what Fuller
calls his "dove-like simplicity." Izaak Walton, his biographer, describes
him as "an obscure, harmless man, in poor clothes, of a mean stature and
stooping ... his body worn out, not with age, but study, and holy
mortification, his face full of heat-pimples ... and tho' not purblind,
yet short, or weak, sighted." In his calling as a parish priest he was
faithful and diligent. In preaching "his voice was low ... gesture none
at all, standing stone-still in the pulpit." The sixth book of the
_Ecclesiastical Polity_ has been considered of doubtful authority, and to
have no claim to its place, and the seventh and eighth are believed to
have been put together from rough notes. Some of his MSS. were destroyed
after his death by his wife's relatives. The epithet "judicious" attached
to his name first appears in the inscription on his monument at
Bishopsbourne.
_Works_, ed. by Keble (1836); new ed. revised by Church, etc. (1888). It
includes the _Life_ by I. Walton.
HOOLE, JOHN (1727-1803).--Translator, _s._ of a watch-maker and inventor,
was _b._ in London, and was in the India House, of which he rose to be
principal auditor (1744-83). He translated Tasso's _Jerusalem Delivered_
(1763), and Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_ (1773-83), as well as other works
from the Italian. He was also the author of three dramas, which failed.
He is described by Scott as "a noble transmuter of gold into lead."
HOPE, THOMAS (1770-1831).--Novelist and writer on art, was a wealthy
merchant of Amsterdam, of Scotch descent, his family having emigrated to
Holland in the 17th century. In early life he spent much time in travel,
studying architecture, and collecting objects of art. Returning, he
settled in London, and occupied himself in arranging his vast
collections. In 1807 he _pub._ a work on _Household Furniture and
Decoration_, which had a great effect in improving the public taste in
such matters. This was followed by two magnificent works, _On the Costume
of the Ancients_ (1809), and _Designs of Modern Costumes_ (1812). Up to
this time his reputation had been somewhat that of a transcendent
upholsterer, but in 1819 he astonished the literary world by his novel,
_Anastasius; or, Memoirs of a Modern Greek_, a work full of imagination,
descriptive power, and knowledge of the world. This book, which was
_pub._ anonymously, was attributed to Byron, and only credited to the
author on his avowing it in _Blackwood's Magazine_. H. also wrote a
treatise on the _Origin and Prospects of Man_, and _Essays on
Architecture_. He was a munificent and discerning patron of rising
artists.
HORNE, RICHARD HENRY or HENGIST (1803-1884).--Eccentric poet, was _b._ in
London, and _ed._ at Sandhurst for the East India Company Service, but
failed to get a nomination. After a youth of adventure, partly in the
Mexican Navy, he returned to England, and began in 1828 a highly
combative literary career with a poem, _Hecatompylos_, in the _Athenaeum_.
His next appearance, _The False Medium_ (1833), an exposition of the
obstacles thrown in the way of "men of genius" by literary middlemen,
raised a nest of hornets; and _Orion_, an "epic poem," _pub._ 1843 at the
price of one farthing, followed. His plays, which include _Cosmo de
Medici_ (1837), _The Death of Marlowe_ (1837), and _Judas Iscariot_, did
not add greatly to his reputation. In _The New Spirit of the Age_ (1844),
he had the assistance of Mrs. Browning. Though a writer of talent, he was
not a poet.
HORNE, THOMAS HARTWELL (1780-1862).--Theologian, _ed._ at Christ's
Hospital, was for a time in the law, but became a great biblical scholar,
and in 1818 _pub._ _Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of
the Holy Scriptures_ (1818), in consideration of which he was admitted to
orders without the usual preliminaries, and in 1833 obtained a benefice
in London and a prebend in St. Paul's, and was senior assistant in the
printed books department of the British Museum (1824-60). He wrote an
_Introduction to the Study of Bibliography_ (1814), and various other
works, but he is chiefly remembered in connection with that first
mentioned, which was frequently reprinted, and was very widely used as a
text-book both at home and in America.
HOUGHTON, RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES, 1ST LORD (1809-1885).--Poet, _s._ of
Robert (known as "single-speech") M., _b._ in London, and _ed._ privately
and at Camb. He sat in the House of Commons for Pontefract from 1837-63,
when he was raised to the Peerage. His interests were, however, mainly
literary and philanthropic, and it was said of him that he "knew
everybody worth knowing at home and abroad;" and his sympathies being of
the widest, he was able to bring together the most opposite extremes of
life and opinion. He championed the cause of oppressed nationalities, and
of the slave. He _pub._ many vols. of poetry, among which were _Poetry
for the People_ (1840), and _Palm Leaves_ (1848). He also wrote a Life of
Keats, and various books of travels. Though he had not the depth of mind
or intensity of feeling to make a great poet, his verse is the work of a
man of high culture, graceful and refined, and a few of his shorter
poems--such as _The Beating of my own Heart_, and _Strangers Yet_, strike
a true note which gained for them wide acceptance.
HOWARD, EDWARD (_d._ 1841).--Novelist, a sea-comrade of Captain Marryat,
and as sub ed. assisted him in conducting the _Metropolitan Magazine_. He
wrote several sea novels, of which _Rattlin the Reefer_, sometimes
attributed to Marryat, is the best known. Others were _Outward Bound_ and
_Jack Ashore_.
HOWARD, SIR ROBERT (1626-1698).--Dramatist, _s._ of the Earl of
Berkshire, and brother-in-law of Dryden. On the outbreak of the Civil War
he was of the King's party, and was imprisoned during the Commonwealth.
After the Restoration, however, he was in favour with the Court, and held
many important posts. He wrote some plays, of which the best was _The
Committee_, and collaborated with Dryden in _The Indian Queen_. He was at
odds with him, however, on the question of rhyme, the use of which he
wrote against in very indifferent blank verse.
HOWE, JOHN (1630-1705).--Puritan divine, _b._ at Loughborough, of which
his _f._ was curate, studied at Camb., and became, in 1652, minister of
Great Torrington, Devonshire, where he was famous for the unusual length
of his sermons and prayers. In 1657 Oliver Cromwell made him his resident
chaplain at Whitehall, a position which he retained under Richard C., so
long as the latter held the office of Protector. On the Restoration H.
returned to Great Torrington, from which, however, he was ejected in
1662. Thereafter he wandered from place to place, preaching in secret
until 1671, when he went to Ireland as chaplain to Lord Massareene, and
in 1675 he became minister of a dissenting congregation in London. In
1685 he travelled with Lord Wharton on the Continent, but returned in
1687 to London, where he _d._ in 1705. H. was the author of many
excellent works of practical divinity, among which are _The Living
Temple_, _Inquiry into the Doctrine of the Trinity_, and _The Divine
Presence_. The substance of his writings is better than their style,
which is involved and extremely diffuse, and evinces much vigour of mind.
H. is described as of a fine presence and dignified manners.
HOWELL, JAMES (1594?-1666).--Miscellaneous writer, _s._ of a clergyman at
Abernant, Caermarthenshire, was at Oxf. and spent the greater part of his
earlier life travelling in various Continental countries, including the
Low Countries, France, Spain, and Italy, on various matters of business,
during which he became versed in many languages, and amassed stores of
information and observations on men and manners. He was a keen Royalist,
and was on this account imprisoned in the Fleet, 1643-51. He wrote a
large number of books, including _Dodona's Grove_, a political allegory,
_Instructions for Foreign Travel_ (1642), _England's Tears for the
Present Wars_, _A Trance, or News from Hell_, and above all, _Epistolae
Ho-Elianae, Familiar Letters_, chiefly written in the Fleet to imaginary
correspondents, but no doubt based upon notes of his own travels. It is
one of the most interesting and entertaining books in the language.
HOWIE, JOHN (1735-1793).--Biographer, a Renfrewshire farmer, who claimed
descent from an Albigensian refugee, wrote Lives of the martyrs of
Scotland from Patrick Hamilton, the first, to James Renwick, the last,
under the title of _Scots Worthies_. The work of an unlettered man, it
has considerable merit as regards both matter and style, and was long a
classic among the Scottish peasantry as well as higher orders of the
people.
HOWITT, WILLIAM (1792-1879), HOWITT, MARY (BOTHAM)
(1799-1888).--Miscellaneous writers. William H. was _b._ at Heanor,
Derbyshire, and was apprenticed to a builder; Mary was _b._ at Coleford,
Gloucestershire; they _m._ in 1821, and settled at Hanley, where they
carried on business as chemists. Two years later they removed to
Nottingham, where they remained for 12 years, and where much of their
literary work was accomplished. Thereafter they lived successively at
Esher, London, Heidelberg, and Rome, at the last of which they both _d._
Their literary work, which was very voluminous, was done partly in
conjunction, partly independently, and covered a considerable variety of
subjects--poetry, fiction, history, translations, and social and
economical subjects. Useful and pleasing in its day, little of it is
likely to survive. William's works include _A History of Priestcraft_
(1833), _Rural Life in England_ (1837), _Visits to Remarkable Places_,
_Homes and Haunts of the Poets_, _Land, Labour, and Gold_ (1855), _Rural
Life in Germany_, _History of the Supernatural_, and _History of
Discovery in Australia_. Mary translated the Swedish novels of Frederica
Bremer, H.C. Andersen's _Improvisatore_, and wrote novels, including
_Wood Leighton_ and _The Cost of Caergwyn_, many successful tales and
poems for children, and a _History of the United States_. Their joint
productions include _The Forest Minstrel_, _Book of the Seasons_, and
_Ruined Abbeys and Castles of Great Britain_. Both brought up as Quakers,
they left that communion in 1847, and became believers in spiritualism;
and in 1882 Mary joined the Church of Rome.
HUCHOWN, or SIR HUGH of EGLINTON (_fl._ 14th cent.).--Unless identified
with Sir Hugh, Huchown is shrouded in mystery. He was a writer of
alliterative verse, referred to by Andrew of Wyntoun. If he be identified
with Sir Hugh, he was an Ayrshire nobleman related to Robert II., _b.c._
1300-20, Chamberlain of Cunningham, Justiciar of Lothian, and
Commissioner for the Borders. He also held office under David II. In that
case also he is believed by some scholars to have translated the poems
bearing the titles _The Destruction of Troy_ and _The Wars of Alexander_.
HUGHES, JOHN (1677-1720).--Essayist and dramatist, was a clerk in the
Ordnance Office, then sec. for the Commission of the Peace. He
contributed to the _Spectator_, _Tatler_, and _Guardian_, ed. Spenser,
and wrote several dramas, of which the best is _The Siege of Damascus_.
It was his last, he having _d._ on the first night of its performance.
Addison thought so well of his dramatic talent that he requested him to
write the conclusion of _Cato_. He, however, finished it himself. H. was
a highly respectable person, and is affectionately commemorated by Sir
Richard Steele.
HUGHES, THOMAS (1823?-1896).--Novelist and biographer, _s._ of a
Berkshire squire, was _ed._ at Rugby and Oxf., and called to the Bar in
1848. Much the most successful of his books was _Tom Brown's School-days_
(1856), which had an immense popularity, and perhaps remains the best
picture of English public-school life in the language. Its sequel, _Tom
Brown at Oxford_ (1861), was a comparative failure, but his _Scouring of
the White Horse_ deals in a charming way with his own countryside. He
also wrote Lives of Alfred the Great, Bishop Fraser, and D. Macmillan,
the publisher. H. devoted much attention to philanthropic work in
conjunction with Kingsley and Maurice. In 1882 he was appointed a County
Court Judge.
HUME, ALEXANDER (1560-1609).--Poet, _s._ of Patrick, 5th Lord Polwarth,
_ed._ at St. Andrews, and on the Continent, was originally destined for
the law, but devoted himself to the service of the Church, and was
minister of Logie in Stirlingshire. He _pub._ in 1599 _Hymns and Sacred
Songs_, including the beautiful "Day Estival," descriptive of a summer
day.
HUME, DAVID, (1711-1776).--Philosopher and historian, second _s._ of
Joseph H., of Ninewells, Berwickshire, was _b._ and _ed._ in Edin., and
was intended for the law. For this, however, he had no aptitude, and
commercial pursuits into which he was initiated in a counting-house in
Bristol proving equally uncongenial, he was permitted to follow out his
literary bent, and in 1734 went to France, where he passed three years at
Rheims and La Fleche in study, living on a small allowance made him by
his _f._ In 1739 he _pub._ anonymously his _Treatise on Human Nature_,
which attracted little attention. Having returned to Scotland, he wrote
at Ninewells his _Essays, Moral and Philosophical_ (1741-42). He now
became desirous of finding some employment which would put him in a
position of independence, and having been unsuccessful in his candidature
for the Chair of Moral Philosophy in Edin., he became in 1745 governor to
the Marquis of Annandale, a nobleman whose state was little removed from
insanity. Two years later he accepted the more congenial appointment of
Judge-Advocate-General to General St. Clair on his expedition to Port
L'Orient, and in 1748 accompanied him on a diplomatic mission to France,
whence he passed on to Vienna and Turin. About the same time he produced
his _Philosophical Essays_ (1748), including the famous _Essay in
Miracles_ which gave rise to so much controversy. These were followed in
1751 by his _Enquiry into the Principles of Morals_, which he considered
his best work; and in 1752 by his _Political Discourses_, which alone of
his works had an immediate success. In the same year he applied
unsuccessfully for the Chair of Logic in Glasgow, but was appointed
Keeper of the Advocates' Library in Edin. The access to books and
original authorities which this position gave him appears to have
suggested to his mind the idea of writing a history, and the first vol.
of his _History of England_, containing the reigns of James I. and
Charles I., was _pub._ in 1754. Its reception was not favourable, and the
disappointment of the author was so great that, had it not been for the
state of war between the two countries, he would have left his native
land, changed his name, and settled permanently in France. The second
vol., which appeared in 1757, dealing with the Commonwealth, and the
reigns of Charles II. and James II., had a better reception, and had the
effect of "buoying up its unfortunate brother." Thereafter the tide
completely turned, and the remaining four vols., 1759 and 1762, in which
he turned back and finished the history from the invasion of Julius Caesar
to the accession of Henry VII., attained a vast popularity, which
extended to the whole work. During the progress of the history H. _pub._
in 1757 _Four Dissertations: the Natural History of Religion; of the
Passions; of Tragedy; of the Standard of Taste_. Two others on _Suicide_
and on _The Immortality of the Soul_ were cancelled, but _pub._
posthumously. In 1763 H. accompanied Lord Hertford to Paris, and for a
few months acted as _Charge d'Affaires_. While there he was introduced to
the brilliant literary society for which the French capital was then
famous. Among other acquaintances which he made was that of Rousseau,
whom he persuaded to accompany him on his return home, and for whom he
procured a pension. The suspicious and fickle character of R., however,
soon brought the friendship to an end. Soon after his return H. received
a pension, and from 1767-68 he was under-sec. to General Conway, then
Sec. of State. In 1769 he retired, and returned to Edin. with an income
of L1000 a year which, time and place considered, was an ample
competence, and there he spent the remainder of his days, the recognised
head of the intellectual and literary society of the city.
The mind of H. was one of the most original and operative of his age. His
philosophy was largely a questioning of the views of previous
metaphysicians, and he occupied towards mind, considered as a
self-subsisting entity, a position analogous to that assumed by Berkeley
towards matter similarly considered. He profoundly influenced European
thought, and by indirectly calling into being the philosophy of Kant on
the one hand, and that of the Scottish School on the other, created a new
era of thought. As a historian he showed the same originality. He
introduced a new and higher method of writing history than had previously
been practised. Until his time chronicles and contemporary memoirs had,
generally speaking, been all that had been produced; and though his great
work cannot, from its frequent inaccuracies and the fact that it is not
based upon original documents, claim the character of an authority, its
clear, graceful, and spirited narrative style, and its reflection of the
individuality of the writer, constitute it a classic, and it must always
retain a place among the masterpieces of historical literature. In
character H. was kindly, candid, and good-humoured, and he was beloved as
a man even by many who held his views in what was little short of
abhorrence.
SUMMARY.--_B._ 1711, _ed._ at Edin., tries law and commerce, but decides
for literature, goes to France 1734-37, _pub._ _Human Nature_ 1739,
_Essays Moral and Philosophical_ 1741-2, governor to M. of Annandale
1745, accompanies expedition to L'Orient, engaged diplomatically 1748,
_pub._ _Philosophical Essays_, including _Miracles_ 1748, _Enquiry into
Principles of Morals_ 1751, _Political Discourses_ 1752, Keeper of
Advocates' Library 1752, _pub._ _History of England_ 1754-62, _Four
Dissertations_ 1757, _Charge d'Affaires_ at Paris 1763, became acquainted
with Rousseau, under-sec. of State 1767-8, retires and settles in Edin.
1769.
_Life_ by Hill Burton (2 vols., 1846), shorter ones by Huxley, Knight,
and Calderwood. _Works_ ed. by Green and Grose (4 vols., 1874). _History_
often reprinted with Smollett's continuations.
HUNNIS, WILLIAM (_d._ 1597).--Poet, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal
to Edward VI., imprisoned during the reign of Mary, but after the
accession of Elizabeth was released, and in 1566 made "master of the
children" of the Chapel Royal. He wrote metrical versions of the Psalms,
and some vols. of verse, _A Hiveful of Honey_, and _A Handful of
Honeysuckles_.
HUNT, JAMES HENRY LEIGH (1784-1859).--Essayist and poet, was _b._ at
Southgate, and _ed._ at Christ's Hospital. A selection of his earliest
poems was _pub._ by his _f._ in 1801 under the title of _Juvenilia_. In
1805 he joined his brother John in conducting a paper, the _News_, which
the latter had started. Thereafter the brothers embarked upon the
_Examiner_, a paper of pronounced Radical views. The appearance in this
journal of an article on the Prince Regent in which he was described in
words which have been condensed into "a fat Adonis of fifty," led to H.
being fined L500 and imprisoned for two years. With his customary genial
philosophy, however, the prisoner made the best of things, turned his
cell into a study, with bookcases and a piano, and his yard into a
garden. He had the sympathy of many, and received his friends, including
Byron, Moore, and Lamb. On his release he _pub._ his poem, _The Story of
Rimini_. Two other vols. of poetry followed, _The Feast of the Poets_ and
_Foliage_, in 1814 and 1818 respectively. In the latter year he started
the _Indicator_, a paper something in the style of the _Spectator_ or
_Tatler_, and after this had run its course the _Companion_, conceived on
similar lines, took its place in 1828. In 1822 H. went to Italy with
Byron, and there established the _Liberal_, a paper which did not prove a
success. Disillusioned with Byron, H. returned home, and _pub._ in 1828
_Lord Byron and his Contemporaries_, a work which gave great offence to
Byron's friends, who accused the author of ingratitude. In 1834 H.
started the _London Journal_, which he ed. for two years. Among his later
works are _Captain Sword and Captain Pen_ (1835), _The Palfrey_, a poem,
_A Legend of Florence_ (drama), _Imagination and Fancy_ (1844), _Wit and
Humour_ (1846), _A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla_ (1848), _The Old Court
Suburb_ (1855), _The Town_, _Sir Ralph Esher_, a novel, and his
Autobiography (1850). Although his poems have considerable descriptive
power and brightness, he had not the depth and intensity to make a poet,
and his reputation rests rather upon his essays, which are full of a
genial philosophy, and display a love of books, and everything pleasant
and beautiful. He did much to popularise the love of poetry and
literature in general among his fellow-countrymen.
HURD, RICHARD (1720-1808).--Divine, and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at
Congreve, Staffordshire, was _ed._ at Camb., and entering the Church,
became Bishop successively of Lichfield and Worcester. He produced an ed.
of the _Ars Poetica_ of Horace, _Dissertations on Poetry_, _Dialogues on
Sincerity_, _Letters on Chivalry and Romance_, and _An Introduction to
the Prophecies_. He was in 1783 offered, but declined, the Primacy.
HUTCHESON, FRANCIS (1694-1746).--Philosopher, _b._ in Ireland, and _ed._
for the Presbyterian ministry at Glasgow Univ. After keeping an academy
at Dublin for some years he _pub._ his _Enquiry into Beauty and Virtue_,
which won for him a great reputation. In 1729 he became Prof. of Moral
Philosophy at Glasgow, where he exercised a great influence over his
students, and also upon the Scottish system of philosophy. In his
philosophical views he was to some extent a disciple of Shaftesbury. He
introduced the term, "moral sense," which he defined as a power of
perceiving moral attributes in action. His _System of Moral Philosophy_
appeared posthumously in two vols.
HUTCHINSON, MRS. LUCY (_b._ 1620).--Biographer, _dau._ of Sir Allan
Apsley, Lieutenant of the Tower of London, _m._ in 1638 John, afterwards
Colonel, Hutchinson, one of those who signed the death-warrant of Charles
I., but who afterwards protested against the assumption of supreme power
by Cromwell. She has a place in literature for her Life of her husband,
one of the most interesting biographies in the language, not only on
account of its immediate subject, but of the light which it throws upon
the characteristics and conditions of the life of Puritans of good
family. Originally intended for her family only, it was printed by a
descendant in 1806, and did much to clear away the false impressions as
to the narrowness and austerity of the educated Puritans which had
prevailed. Colonel H. and his wife were noble representatives of their
class.
HUTTON, RICHARD HOLT (1826-1897).--Essayist and miscellaneous writer, was
brought up as a Unitarian, and for some time was a preacher of that body,
but coming under the influence of F.D. Maurice and others of his school,
joined the Church of England. He was a frequent contributor to various
magazines and reviews, and assisted Walter Bagehot in ed. the _National
Review_. In 1861 he became joint-proprietor and ed. of the _Spectator_.
Among his other writings may be mentioned _Essays, Theological and
Literary_ (1871), _Modern Guides of English Thought_ (1887), and
_Contemporary Thought and Thinkers_ (1894), which were more or less
reprints or expansions of his work in periodicals, and a memoir of
Bagehot prefixed to an ed. of his works.
HUXLEY, THOMAS HENRY (1825-1895).--Scientific writer, _s._ of an
assistant master in a public school, was _b._ at Ealing. From childhood
he was an insatiable reader. In his 13th year he became a medical
apprentice, and in 1842 entered Charing Cross Hospital. Thereafter he was
for a few months surgeon on board the _Victory_ at Haslar, and was then
appointed surgeon on H.M.S. _Rattlesnake_, which was sent to make surveys
at Torres Strait. While in this position he made numerous observations,
which he communicated to the Linnaean Society. In 1851 he became a Fellow
of the Royal Society, and in 1854 Prof. of Natural History at the School
of Mines. Henceforth his life was a very full one, divided between
scientific investigation and public work. He was recognised as the
foremost English biologist, and was elected Pres. of the Royal Society
1883. He served on the London School Board and on various Royal
Commissions. His writings are in the main distinguished by a clearness,
force, and charm which entitle them to a place in literature; and besides
the addition which they made to the stock of human knowledge, they did
much to diffuse a love and study of science. H. was a keen
controversialist, contending for the strictly scientific view of all
subjects as distinguished from the metaphysical or theological, and
accordingly encountered much opposition, and a good deal of abuse.
Nevertheless, he was not a materialist, and was in sympathy with the
moral and tender aspects of Christianity. He was a strong supporter of
the theory of evolution. Among the more eminent of his opponents were
Bishop Wilberforce and Mr. Gladstone. His _pub._ works, including
scientific communications, are very numerous. Among the more important
are those on the _Medusae_, _Zoological Evidences of Man's Place in
Nature_ (1863), _Elementary Lessons on Physiology_ (1866), _Evolution and
Ethics_ (1893), _Collected Essays_ (9 vols. 1893-4). He was also an
admirable letter-writer, as appears from the _Life and Letters_, ed. by
his son, and to him we owe the word, and almost the idea, "Agnostic."
INCHBALD, MRS. ELIZABETH (SIMPSON) (1753-1821).--Novelist and dramatist,
_dau._ of a Suffolk farmer. In a romantic fit she left her home at the
age of 16, and went to London, where she became acquainted with Inchbald
the actor, who _m._ her in 1772. Seven years later her husband _d._, and
for the next ten years she was on the stage, chiefly in Scotland and
Ireland. She produced many plays, including _Mogul Tale_ (1784), _I'll
Tell you What_ (1785), _Appearance is against Them_ (1785), _Such Things
Are_, _The Married Man_, _The Wedding Day_, and two novels, _A Simple
Story_ (1791), and _Nature and Art_ (1796), which have been frequently
reprinted. She also made a collection of plays, _The Modern Theatre_, in
10 vols. Her life was remarkable for its simplicity and frugality, and a
large part of her earnings was applied in the maintenance of a delicate
sister. Though of a somewhat sentimental and romantic nature, she
preserved an unblemished reputation.
INGELOW, JEAN (1820-1897).--Poetess and novelist, _dau._ of a banker at
Boston, Lincolnshire, _pub._ three vols. of poems, of which perhaps the
best known individual piece is "The High Tide on the Coast of
Lincolnshire," and several successful novels, including _Off the
Skelligs_ (1872), _Fated to be Free_ (1875), and _Sarah de Berenger_
(1879). She also wrote excellent stories for children, _Mopsa the Fairy_,
_Stories told to Children_, etc. Her poems show a considerable lyric
gift.
INNES, COSMO (1798-1874).--Historian and antiquary, was called to the
Scottish Bar in 1822, and was appointed Prof. of Constitutional Law and
History in the Univ. of Edin. in 1846. He was the author of _Scotland in
the Middle Ages_ (1860), and _Sketches of Early Scottish History_ (1861).
He also ed. many historical MSS. for the Bannatyne and other antiquarian
clubs. Much learning is displayed in his works.
INNES, THOMAS (1662-1744).--Historian, was descended from an old Roman
Catholic family in Aberdeenshire. He studied in Paris at the Scots Coll.,
of which he became Principal. He was the author of two learned works,
_Critical Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of the Northern Parts of
Britain_ (1729), and _Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, 80 to
818_ (_pub._ by the Spalding Club, 1853).
IRELAND, WILLIAM HENRY (1777-1835).--Forger of Shakespeare manuscripts,
_s._ of an antiquarian bookseller in London. He claimed to have
discovered the MSS. in the house of a gentleman of fortune. The forgeries
included various deeds, a Protestant confession of faith by Shakespeare,
letters to Ann Hathaway, Southampton, and others, a new version of _King
Lear_, and a complete drama, _Vortigern and Rowena_. He completely
deceived his _f._ and various men of letters and experts, but was
detected by Malone, and the representation of _Vortigern_ on the stage
completed the exposure. I. then tried novel-writing, in which he failed.
He _pub._ a confession in regard to the forgeries, in which he asserted
that his _f._ had no part in the imposture, but had been completely
deceived by it.
IRVING, EDWARD (1792-1834).--Theologian and orator, _b._ at Annan,
Dumfriesshire, and _ed._ at Edin. Univ., for some years thereafter was
engaged in teaching at Kirkcaldy. Ordained to the ministry of the Church
of Scotland he became, in 1819, assistant to Dr. Chalmers in Glasgow,
after which he went to the Scotch Church in Hatton Gardens, London, where
he had an almost unprecedented popularity, his admirers including De
Quincey, Coleridge, Canning, Scott, and others. The effect of his spoken
oratory is not preserved in his writings, and was no doubt in a
considerable degree due to his striking appearance and fine voice. He is
described as "a tall, athletic man, with dark, sallow complexion and
commanding features; long, glossy black hair, and an obvious squint."
Soon after removing to a new church in Regent Square he began to develop
his views relative to the near approach of the Second Advent; and his
_Homilies on the Sacraments_ involved him in a charge of heretical views
on the person of Christ, which resulted in his ejection from his church,
and ultimately in his deposition from the ministry. Thereafter his views
as to the revival, as in the early Church, of the gifts of healing and of
tongues, to which, however, he made no personal claim, underwent rapid
development, and resulted in the founding of a new communion, the
Catholic Apostolic Church, the adherents of which are commonly known as
"Irvingites." Whether right or mistaken in his views there can be no
doubt of the personal sincerity and nobility of the man. His _pub._
writings include _For the Oracles of God_, _For Judgment to Come_, and
_The Last Days_, and contain many passages of majestic eloquence.
IRVING, WASHINGTON (1783-1859).--Essayist and historian, _b._ in New
York, _s._ of William I. who had emigrated from Scotland. He was in his
youth delicate, and his education was somewhat desultory, but his _f._
had a fine library, of which he had the run, and he was an omnivorous
reader. In 1799 he entered a law office, but a threatening of consumption
led to his going, in 1804, on a European tour in search of health. On his
return in 1806 he was admitted to the Bar. He did not, however, prosecute
law, but joined his brothers in business as a sleeping partner, while he
devoted himself to literature. In 1807 he conducted _Salmagundi_, an
amusing miscellany, and in 1809 appeared _A History of New York by
Diedrich Knickerbocker_, a burlesque upon the old Dutch settlers, which
has become a classic in America. He made in 1815 a second visit to
Europe, from which he did not return for 17 years. In England he was
welcomed by Thomas Campbell, the poet, who introduced him to Scott, whom
he visited at Abbotsford in 1817. The following year the firm with which
he was connected failed, and he had to look to literature for a
livelihood. He produced _The Sketch-Book_ (1819), which was, through the
influence of Scott, accepted by Murray, and had a great success on both
sides of the Atlantic. In 1822 he went to Paris, where he began
_Bracebridge Hall_, followed in 1824 by _Tales of a Traveller_. In 1826
Everett, the American minister at Madrid, invited him to come and assist
him by making translations relative to Columbus, which opened up to him a
new field hitherto little cultivated. The result was a series of
fascinating historical and romantic works, beginning with _History of the
Life and Voyages of Columbus_ (1828), and including _The Conquest of
Granada_ (1829), _Voyages of the Companions of Columbus_ (1831), _The
Alhambra_ (1832), _Legends of the Conquest of Spain_ (1835), and _Mahomet
and his Successors_ (1849). Meanwhile he had returned to England in 1829,
and to America in 1832. In 1842 he was appointed Minister to Spain, and
in 1846 he finally returned to America. In the same year he _pub._ a
_Life of Goldsmith_, and his great work, the _Life of Washington_, came
out 1855-59, _Wolfert's Roost_, a collection of tales and essays,
appeared in 1855. I. was never _m._: in his youth he had been engaged to
a girl who _d._, and whose memory he faithfully cherished. His last years
were spent at Sunnyside, an old Dutch house near his "sleepy hollow," and
there he _d._ suddenly on Nov. 28, 1859. Though not, perhaps, a writer of
commanding power or originality, I., especially in his earlier works,
imparted by his style and treatment a singular charm to every subject he
touched, and holds a high place among American men of letters, among whom
he is the first who has produced what has, on its own merits, living
interest in literature. He was a man of high character and amiable
disposition.
JAMES I., KING of SCOTLAND (1394-1437).--Poet, the third _s._ of Robert
III., was _b._ at Dunfermline. In 1406 he was sent for safety and
education to France, but on the voyage was taken prisoner by an English
ship, and conveyed to England, where until 1824 he remained confined in
various places, but chiefly in the Tower of London. He was then ransomed
and, after his marriage to Lady Jane or Joan Beaufort, _dau._ of the Duke
of Somerset, and the heroine of _The King's Quhair_ (or Book), crowned at
Scone. While in England he had been carefully _ed._, and on his return to
his native country endeavoured to reduce its turbulent nobility to due
subjection, and to introduce various reforms. His efforts, however, which
do not appear to have been always marked by prudence, ended disastrously
in his assassination in the monastery of the Black Friars, Perth, in
February, 1437. J. was a man of great natural capacity both intellectual
and practical--an ardent student and a poet of no mean order. In addition
to _The King's Quhair_, one of the finest love poems in existence, and _A
Ballad of Good Counsel_, which are very generally attributed to him, he
has been more doubtfully credited with _Peeblis to the Play_ and
_Christis Kirke on the Greene_.
JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFORD (1801-1860).--Novelist and historical
writer, _s._ of a physician in London, was for many years British Consul
at various places in the United States and on the Continent. At an early
age he began to write romances, and continued his production with such
industry that his works reach to 100 vols. This excessive rapidity was
fatal to his permanent reputation; but his books had considerable
immediate popularity. Among them are _Richelieu_ (1829), _Philip
Augustus_ (1831), _The Man at Arms_ (1840), _The Huguenot_ (1838), _The
Robber_, _Henry of Guise_ (1839), _Agincourt_ (1844), _The King's
Highway_ (1840). In addition to his novels he wrote _Memoirs of Great
Commanders_, a _Life of the Black Prince_, and other historical and
biographical works. He held the honorary office of Historiographer Royal.
JAMESON, MRS. ANNA BROWNELL (MURPHY) (1794-1860).--Writer on art, _dau._
of Denis B.M., a distinguished miniature painter, _m._ Robert Jameson, a
barrister (afterwards Attorney-General of Ontario). The union, however,
did not turn out happily: a separation took place, and Mrs. J. turned her
attention to literature, and specially to subjects connected with art.
Among many other works she produced _Loves of the Poets_ (1829),
_Celebrated Female Sovereigns_ (1831), _Beauties of the Court of Charles
II._ (1833), _Rubens_ (translated from the German), _Hand Book to the
Galleries of Art_, _Early Italian Painters_, _Sacred and Legendary Art_
(1848), etc. Her works show knowledge and discrimination and, though now
in many respects superseded, still retain interest and value.
JEBB, SIR RICHARD CLAVERHOUSE (1841-1905).--_B._ at Dundee, and _ed._ at
St. Columba's Coll., Dublin, Charterhouse, and Camb., at the last of
which he lectured on the classics, and was in 1869 elected Public Orator.
After being Prof. of Greek at Glasgow, he held from 1889 the
corresponding chair at Camb., and for a time represented the Univ. in
Parliament. He was one of the founders of the British School of
Archaeology at Athens. Among his works are _The Attic Orators_, _An
Introduction to Homer_, _Lectures on Greek Poetry_, _Life of Richard
Bentley_ (English Men of Letters Series), and he ed. the works of
Sophocles, and the Poems and Fragments of Bacchylides, discovered in
1896. J. was one of the most brilliant of modern scholars.
JEFFERIES, RICHARD (1848-1887).--Naturalist and novelist, _s._ of a
farmer, was _b._ at Swindon, Wilts. He began his literary career on the
staff of a local newspaper, and first attracted attention by a letter in
the _Times_ on the Wiltshire labourer. Thereafter he wrote for the _Pall
Mall Gazette_, in which appeared his _Gamekeeper at Home_, and _Wild Life
in a Southern County_ (1879), both afterwards _repub._ Both these works
are full of minute observation and vivid description of country life.
They were followed by _The Amateur Poacher_ (1880), _Wood Magic_ (1881),
_Round about a Great Estate_ (1881), _The Open Air_ (1885), and others on
similar subjects. Among his novels are _Bevis_, in which he draws on his
own childish memories, and _After London, or Wild England_ (1885), a
romance of the future, when London has ceased to exist. _The Story of My
Heart_ (1883) is an idealised picture of his inner life. J. _d._ after a
painful illness, which lasted for six years. In his own line, that of
depicting with an intense sense for nature all the elements of country
and wild life, vegetable and animal, surviving in the face of modern
civilisation, he has had few equals. Life by E. Thomas.
JEFFREY, FRANCIS (1773-1850).--Critic and political writer, _s._ of a
legal official, _b._ in Edinburgh, _ed._ at the High School there, and at
Glasgow and Oxf., where, however, he remained for a few months only.
Returning to Edinburgh he studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1794.
Brought up as a Tory, he early imbibed Whig principles, and this, in the
then political state of Scotland, together with his strong literary
tendencies, long hindered his professional advancement. Gradually,
however, his ability, acuteness, and eloquence carried him to the front
of his profession. He was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates in
1829 and, on the accession to power of the Whigs in 1830, became Lord
Advocate, and had a large share in passing the Reform Bill, in so far as
it related to Scotland. In 1832 he was elected M.P. for Edinburgh, and
was raised to the Bench as Lord Jeffrey in 1834. His literary fame rests
on his work in connection with the _Edinburgh Review_, which he edited
from its commencement in 1802 until 1829, and to which he was a constant
contributor. The founding of this periodical by a group of young men of
brilliant talents and liberal sympathies, among whom were Brougham,
Sydney Smith, and F. Horner, constituted the opening of a new epoch in
the literary and political progress of the country. J.'s contributions
ranged over literary criticism, biography, politics, and ethics and,
especially in respect of the first, exercised a profound influence; he
was, in fact, regarded as the greatest literary critic of his age, and
although his judgments have been far from universally supported either by
the event or by later critics, it remains true that he probably did more
than any of his contemporaries to diffuse a love of literature, and to
raise the standard of public taste in such matters. A selection of his
papers, made by himself, was _pub._ in 4 vols. in 1844 and 1853. J. was a
man of brilliant conversational powers, of vast information and sparkling
wit, and was universally admired and beloved for the uprightness and
amiability of his character.
JERROLD, DOUGLAS WILLIAM (1803-1857).--Dramatist and miscellaneous
writer, _s._ of an actor, himself appeared as a child upon the stage.
From his 10th to his 12th year he was at sea. He then became apprentice
to a printer, devoting all his spare time to self-education. He early
began to contribute to periodicals, and in his 18th year he was engaged
by the Coburg Theatre as a writer of short dramatic pieces. In 1829 he
made a great success by his drama of _Black-eyed Susan_, which he
followed up by _The Rent Day_, _Bubbles of the Day_, _Time works
Wonders_, etc. In 1840 he became ed. of a publication, _Heads of the
People_, to which Thackeray was a contributor, and in which some of the
best of his own work appeared. He was one of the leading contributors to
_Punch_, in which _Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures_ came out, and from
1852 he ed. _Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper_. Among his novels are _St. Giles
and St. James_, and _The Story of a Feather_. J. had a great reputation
as a wit, was a genial and kindly man, and a favourite with his fellow
_litterateurs_, who raised a fund of L2000 for his family on his death.
JESSE, JOHN HENEAGE (1815-1874).--Historical writer, _ed._ at Eton, was a
clerk in the Admiralty. He wrote _Memoirs_ of the Court of England, of
G. Selwyn and his contemporaries (1843), of the Pretender (1845), etc.,
and _Celebrated Etonians_ (1875).
JEVONS, WILLIAM STANLEY (1835-1882).--Logician and economist, _b._ in
Liverpool, _s._ of an iron merchant, his mother was the _dau._ of W.
Roscoe (_q.v._). He was _ed._ at the Mechanics Institute High School,
Liverpool, and at University Coll., London. After studying chemistry for
some time he received in 1853 the appointment of assayer to the mint at
Sydney, where he remained until 1859, when he resigned his appointment,
and came home to study mathematics and economics. While in Australia he
had been a contributor to the _Empire_ newspaper, and soon after his
return home he _pub._ _Remarks on the Australian Goldfields_, wrote in
various scientific periodicals, and from time to time _pub._ important
papers on economical subjects. The position which he had attained as a
scientific thinker and writer was recognised by his being appointed in
1863 tutor, and in 1866, Prof. of Logic, Political Economy, and Mental
and Moral Philosophy in Owen's Coll., Manchester. In 1864 he _pub._ _Pure
Logic_ and _The Coal Question_; other works were _Elementary Lessons in
Logic_ (1870), _Principles of Science_ (1874), and _Investigations in
Currency and Finance_ (1884), posthumously. His valuable and promising
life was brought to a premature close by his being drowned while bathing.
His great object in his writings was to place logic and economics in the
position of exact sciences, and in all his work he showed great industry
and care combined with unusual analytical power.
JEWSBURY, GERALDINE ENDSOR (1812-1880).--Novelist, wrote several novels,
of which _Zoe_, _The Half-Sisters_, and _Constance Herbert_ may be
mentioned. She also wrote stories for children, and was a contributor to
various magazines.
JOHN of SALISBURY (1120?-1180?).--_B._ at Salisbury, studied at Paris. He
became sec. to Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury, and retained the office
under Becket. In 1176 he was made Bishop of Chartres. He wrote in Latin,
in 8 books, _Polycraticus, seu De Nugis Curialium et Vestigiis
Philosophorum_ (on the Trifles of the Courtiers, and the Footsteps of the
Philosophers). In it he treats of pastimes, flatterers, tyrannicide, the
duties of kings and knights, virtue and vice, glory, and the right of the
Church to remove kings if in its opinion they failed in their duty. He
also wrote a Life of Anselm. He was one of the greatest scholars of the
Middle Ages.
JOHNSON, LIONEL (1867-1902).--Poet and critic. _Ireland and other Poems_
(2 vols.) (1897), _The Art of Thomas Hardy_, and miscellaneous critical
works.
JOHNSON, SAMUEL (1649-1703).--Political writer, sometimes called "the
Whig" to distinguish him from his great namesake. Of humble extraction,
he was _ed._ at St. Paul's School and Camb., and took orders. He attacked
James II. in _Julian the Apostate_ (1682), and was imprisoned. He
continued, however, his attacks on the Government by pamphlets, and did
much to influence the public mind in favour of the Revolution. Dryden
gave him a place in _Absalom and Achitophel_ as "Benjochanan." After the
Revolution he received a pension, but considered himself insufficiently
rewarded by a Deanery, which he declined.
JOHNSON, SAMUEL (1709-1784).--Moralist, essayist, and lexicographer, _s._
of a bookseller at Lichfield, received his early education at his native
town, and went in 1728 to Oxf., but had, owing to poverty, to leave
without taking a degree. For a short time he was usher in a school at
Market Bosworth, but found the position so irksome that he threw it up,
and gained a meagre livelihood by working for a publisher in Birmingham.
In 1735, being then 26, he _m._ Mrs. Porter, a widow of over 40, who
brought him L800, and to whom he was sincerely attached. He started an
academy at Ediol, near Lichfield, which, however, had no success, only
three boys, one of whom was David Garrick (_q.v._), attending it.
Accordingly, this venture was given up, and J. in 1737 went to London
accompanied by Garrick. Here he had a hard struggle with poverty,
humiliation, and every kind of evil, always, however, quitting himself
like the true man he was. He contributed to the _Gentleman's Magazine_,
furnishing the parliamentary debates in very free and generally much
improved form, under the title of "Debates of the Senate of Lilliput." In
1738 appeared _London_, a satire imitated from Juvenal which, _pub._
anonymously, attracted immediate attention, and the notice of Pope. His
next work was the life of his unfortunate friend Savage (_q.v._) (1744);
and in 1747 he began his great _English Dictionary_. Another satire, _The
Vanity of Human Wishes_, appeared in 1749, and in the same year _Irene_,
a tragedy. His next venture was the starting of the _Rambler_, a paper
somewhat on the lines of the _Spectator_; but, sententious and grave, it
had none of the lightness and grace of its model, and likewise lacked its
popularity. It was almost solely the work of J. himself, and was carried
on twice a week for two years. In 1752 his wife, "his dear Tetty" _d._,
and was sincerely mourned; and in 1755 his _Dictionary_ appeared. The
patronage of Lord Chesterfield (_q.v._), which he had vainly sought, was
then offered, but proudly rejected in a letter which has become a
classic. The work made him famous, and Oxf. conferred upon him the degree
of M.A. He had become the friend of Reynolds and Goldsmith; Burke and
others were soon added. The _Idler_, a somewhat less ponderous successor
of the _Rambler_, appeared in 1758-60, and _Rasselas_, his most popular
work, was written in 1759 to meet the funeral expenses of his mother, who
then _d._ at the age of 90. At last the tide of his fortunes turned. A
pension of L300 was conferred upon him in 1762, and the rest of his days
were spent in honour, and such comfort as the melancholy to which he was
subject permitted. In 1763 he made the acquaintance, so important for
posterity, of James Boswell; and it was probably in the same year that he
founded his famous "literary club." In 1764 he was introduced to Mr.
Thrale, a wealthy brewer, and for many years spent much of his time, an
honoured guest, in his family. The kindness and attentions of Mrs. T.,
described by Carlyle as "a bright papilionaceous creature, whom the
elephant loved to play with, and wave to and fro upon his trunk," were a
refreshment and solace to him. In 1765 his ed. of Shakespeare came out,
and his last great work was the _Lives of the Poets_, in 10 vols.
(1779-81). He had in 1775 _pub._ his _Journey to the Western Isles of
Scotland_, an account of a tour made in the company of Boswell. His last
years were darkened by the loss of friends such as Goldsmith and Thrale,
and by an estrangement from Mrs. T., on her marriage with Piozzi, an
Italian musician. Notwithstanding a lifelong and morbid fear of death,
his last illness was borne with fortitude and calmness, soothed by the
pious attentions of Reynolds and Burke, and he _d._ peacefully on
December 13, 1784. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, and a monument in
St. Paul's was erected by the "club." Statues of him were also erected in
Lichfield and Uttoxeter. He had received from Oxf. and Dublin the degree
of LL.D.
Though of rough and domineering manners, J. had the tenderest of hearts,
and his house was for years the home of several persons, such as Mrs.
Williams and Levett, the surgeon, who had no claim upon him but their
helplessness and friendlessness. As Goldsmith aptly said, he "had nothing
of the bear but his skin." His outstanding qualities were honesty and
courage, and these characterise all his works. Though disfigured by
prejudice and, as regards matters of fact, in many parts superseded, they
remain, as has been said, "some excellent, all worthy and genuine works;"
and he will ever stand one of the greatest and most honourable figures in
the history of English literature. Boswell's marvellous _Life_ has made
J.'s bodily appearance, dress, and manners more familiar to posterity
than those of any other man--the large, unwieldy form, the face seamed
with scrofula, the purblind eyes, the spasmodic movements, the sonorous
voice, even the brown suit, metal buttons, black worsted stockings, and
bushy wig, the conversation so full of matter, strength, sense, wit, and
prejudice, superior in force and sparkle to the sounding, but often
wearisome periods of his written style. Of his works the two most
important are the _Dictionary_, which, long superseded from a
philological point of view, made an epoch in the history of the language,
and the _Lives of the Poets_, many of them deformed by prejudice and
singularly inadequate criticism, others, almost perfect in their kind,
and the whole written in a style less pompous and more natural and lively
than his earlier works.
SUMMARY.--_B._ 1709, _ed._ Oxf., usher and hack writer, starts academy at
Ediol, goes to London 1737, reports parliamentary debates, _pub._
_London_ 1738, _Life of Savage_ 1744, began _Dictionary_ 1747, _pub._
_Vanity of Human Wishes_ and _Irene_ 1749, conducts _Rambler_ 1750-52,
_pub._ _Dictionary_ 1755, _Idler_ appears 1758-60, _pub._ _Rasselas_
1759, receives pension 1762, became acquainted with Boswell 1763, _pub._
ed. of _Shakespeare_ 1765, and _Lives of Poets_ 1779-81, _d._ 1784.
Recollections, etc., by Mrs. Piozzi, Reynolds, and others, also
_Johnsoniana_ (Mrs. Napier, 1884), Boswell's _Life_, various ed.,
including that of Napier, 1884, and Birkbeck Hill, 1889.
JOHNSTON, ARTHUR (_c._ 1587-1641).--Poet in Latin, _b._ near Aberdeen,
studied medicine at Padua, where he graduated. After living for about 20
years in France, he returned to England, became physician to Charles I.,
and was afterwards Rector of King's Coll., Aberdeen. He attained a
European reputation as a writer of Latin poetry. Among his works are
_Musae Aulicae_ (1637), and a complete translation of the Psalms, and he
ed. _Deliciae Poetarum Scotorum_, a collection of Latin poetry by Scottish
authors.
JOHNSTONE, CHARLES (1719?-1800).--Novelist. Prevented by deafness from
practising at the Irish Bar, he went to India, where he was proprietor of
a newspaper. He wrote one successful book, _Chrysal, or the Adventures of
a Guinea_, a somewhat sombre satire, and some others now utterly
forgotten.
JONES, EBENEZER (1820-1860).--Poet, wrote a good deal of poetry of very
unequal merit, but at his best shows a true poetic vein. He was
befriended by Browning and Rossetti. His chief work was _Studies of
Sensation and Event_ (1843). His most widely appreciated poems were "To
the Snow," "To Death," and "When the World is Burning." He made an
unhappy marriage, which ended in a separation.
JONES, ERNEST CHARLES (1819-1869).--Poet, novelist, and Chartist, _s._ of
Major J., equerry to the Duke of Cumberland, afterwards King of Hanover,
was _b._ at Berlin. He adopted the views of the Chartists in an extreme
form, and was imprisoned for two years for seditious speeches, and on his
release conducted a Chartist newspaper. Afterwards, when the agitation
had died down, he returned to his practice as a barrister, which he had
deserted, and also wrote largely. He produced a number of novels,
including _The Maid of Warsaw_, _Woman's Wrongs_, and _The Painter of
Florence_, also some poems, _The Battle Day_ (1855), _The Revolt of
Hindostan_ (1857), and _Corayda_ (1859). Some of his lyrics, such as _The
Song of the Poor_, _The Song of the Day Labourers_, and _The Factory
Slave_, were well known.
JONES, SIR WILLIAM (1746-1794).--Orientalist and jurist, was _b._ in
London, and _ed._ at Harrow and Oxf. He lost his _f._, an eminent
mathematician, at 3 years of age. He early showed extraordinary aptitude
for acquiring languages, specially those of the East, and learned 28.
Devoting himself to the study of law he became one of the most profound
jurists of his time. He was appointed one of the Judges in the Supreme
Court of Bengal, knighted in 1783, and started for India, whence he never
returned. While there, in addition to his judicial duties, he pursued his
studies in Oriental languages, from which he made various translations.
Among his original works are _The Enchanted Fruit_, and _A Treatise on
the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India_. He founded the Bengal Asiatic
Society. He left various works unfinished which, with his other writings,
were _coll._ and ed. by Lord Teignmouth. He _d._ universally beloved and
honoured at the early age of 48. His chief legal work was _The Institutes
of Hindu Law or the Ordinances of Manu_.
JONSON, BEN or BENJAMIN (1573-1637).--Poet and dramatist, was probably
_b._ in Westminster. His _f._, who _d._ before Ben was four, seems to
have come from Carlisle, and the family to have originally belonged to
Annandale. He was sent to Westminster School, for which he seems to have
been indebted to the kindness of W. Camden (_q.v._), who was one of the
masters. His mother, meanwhile, had _m._ a bricklayer, and he was for a
time put to that trade, but disliking it, he ran away and joined the
army, fighting against the Spaniards in the Low Countries. Returning to
England about 1592 he took to the stage, both as an actor and as a
playwright. In the former capacity he was unsuccessful. In 1598, having
killed a fellow-actor in a duel, he was tried for murder, but escaped by
benefit of clergy. About the same time he joined the Roman Catholic
Church, in which he remained for 12 years. It was in 1598 also that his
first successful play, _Every Man in his Humour_, was produced, with
Shakespeare as one of the players. _Every Man out of his Humour_ (1599),
_Cynthia's Revels_ (1600), and _The Poetaster_ (1601), satirising the
citizens, the courtiers, and the poets respectively, followed. The last
called forth several replies, the most notable of which was the
_Satiromastix_ (Whip for the Satirist) of Dekker (_q.v._), a severe,
though not altogether unfriendly, retort, which J. took in good part,
announcing his intention of leaving off satire and trying tragedy. His
first work in this kind was _Sejanus_ (1603), which was not very
favourably received. It was followed by _Eastward Ho_, in which he
collaborated with Marston and Chapman. Certain reflections on Scotland
gave offence to James I., and the authors were imprisoned, but soon
released. From the beginning of the new reign J. devoted himself largely
to the writing of Court masques, in which he excelled all his
contemporaries, and about the same time entered upon the production of
the three great plays in which his full strength is shown. The first of
these, _Volpone, or the Fox_, appeared in 1605; _Epicaene, or the Silent
Woman_ in 1609, and _The Alchemist_ in 1610. His second and last tragedy,
_Catiline_, was produced in 1611. Two years later he was in France as
companion to the son of Sir W. Raleigh, and on his return he held up
hypocritical Puritanism to scorn in _Bartholomew Fair_, which was
followed in 1616 by a comedy, _The Devil is an Ass_. In the same year he
_coll._ his writings--plays, poems, and epigrams--in a folio entitled his
_Works_. In 1618 he journeyed on foot to Scotland, where he was received
with much honour, and paid his famous visit to Drummond (_q.v._) at
Hawthornden. His last successful play, _The Staple of Newes_, was
produced in 1625, and in the same year he had his first stroke of palsy,
from which he never entirely recovered. His next play, _The New Inn_, was
driven from the stage, for which in its rapid degeneracy he had become
too learned and too moral. A quarrel with Inigo Jones, the architect, who
furnished the machinery for the Court masques, lost him Court favour, and
he was obliged, with failing powers, to turn again to the stage, for
which his last plays, _The Magnetic Lady_ and _The Tale of a Tub_, were
written in 1632 and 1633. Town and Court favour, however, turned again,
and he received a pension of L100; that of the best poets and lovers of
literature he had always kept. The older poets were his friends, the
younger were proud to call themselves, and be called by him, his sons. In
1637, after some years of gradually failing health, he _d._, and was
buried in Westminster Abbey. An admirer caused a mason to cut on the slab
over his grave the well-known inscription, "O Rare Ben Jonson." He left a
fragment, _The Sad Shepherd_. His works include a number of epigrams and
translations, collections of poems (_Underwoods_ and _The Forest_); in
prose a book of short essays and notes on various subjects,
_Discoveries_.
J. was the founder of a new style of English comedy, original, powerful,
and interesting, but lacking in spontaneity and nature. His characters
tend to become mere impersonations of some one quality or "humour," as he
called it. Thus he is the herald, though a magnificent one, of decadence.
He painted in general with a powerful, but heavy hand; in his masques,
however, he often shows a singular gracefulness, especially in the lyrics
which he introduces. His character, as given by Drummond, is not a
particularly attractive one, "a great lover and praiser of himself, a
contemner and scorner of others, given rather to lose a friend than a
jest, jealous of every word and action of those about him, especially
after drink ... a dissembler of ill parts which reign in him, a bragger
of some good that he wanteth ... passionately kind and angry ...
oppressed with fantasy which hath ever mastered his reason." There must,
however, have been far other qualities in a man who could command, as J.
undoubtedly did, the goodwill and admiration of so many of the finest
minds of his time. In person he was tall, swarthy, marked with small-pox,
and in later years burly.
SUMMARY.--_B._ 1573, _ed._ Westminster School, serves in Low Countries,
returns to England 1592, and takes to stage, kills actor in brawl 1598, a
Romanist _c._ 1598-_c._ 1610, _Every Man in his Humour_ 1598, _Every Man
out of his Humour_ 1599, and other plays till 1633, _coll._ works _pub._
1616, visits Drummond 1618, loses and recovers Court favour, _d._ 1637.
Among the ed. of J.'s works may be mentioned those of Gifford (9 vols.,
1816), re-issued (1875), selected plays Mermaid Series (3 vols., 1893-5),
Morley (1884), and Symonds (1886). Lives and studies by Symonds (English
Worthies), and Swinburne (1890).
JORTIN, JOHN (1698-1770).--Ecclesiastical historian, _ed._ at Camb., and
entering the Church held various benefices, becoming in 1764 Archdeacon
of London. He _pub._ _Remarks on Ecclesiastical History_ (1751-54), a
Life of Erasmus, and various miscellaneous pamphlets and tracts; 7 vols.
of sermons appeared after his death. All his works show learning, and are
written in a lively style.
JOWETT, BENJAMIN (1817-1893).--Scholar, was _b._ at Camberwell, and _ed._
at St. Paul's School and Balliol Coll., where he had a distinguished
career, becoming Fellow 1838, Tutor 1840, and Master 1870. He held the
Regius Professorship of Greek 1855-93, though for the first 10 years he
was, owing to the opposition of his theological opponents in the Univ.,
deprived of a large part of the usual emoluments. He was a keen and
formidable controversialist, and was usually found on what was, for the
time, the unpopular side. His contribution (an essay on _The
Interpretation of Scripture_) to the famous _Essays and Reviews_, which
appeared in 1860, brought him into strong collision with powerful
sections of theological opinion, to which he had already given offence by
his commentaries on the _Epistles to the Thessalonians, Galatians, and
Romans_. His views were, indeed, generally considered to be extremely
latitudinarian. Latterly he exercised an extraordinary influence in the
Univ., and was held in reverence by his pupils, many of whom have risen
to eminence. His chief works are translations, with learned
introductions, of _The Dialogues_ of Plato, of Thucydides, and of the
_Politics_ of Aristotle. He also, in conjunction with Prof. Campbell,
brought out an ed. of _The Republic_ of Plato. He held the degree of
LL.D. from the Univ. of Edin. (1884), and Camb. (1890), and Doctor of
Theology of Leyden (1875).
JUDD, SYLVESTER (1813-1853).--Novelist, _b._ at Westhampton, Mass.,
studied for the ministry at Yale, and became a Unitarian pastor. He
_pub._ _Philo_, a religious poem, followed by _Margaret, a Tale of the
Real and the Ideal_ (1845), _Richard Edney, A Rus-Urban Tale_ (1850). He
also produced some theological works. His work is very unequal, but
often, as in _Margaret_, contains fine and true descriptive passages both
of nature and character.
KAMES, HENRY HOME, LORD (1696-1782).--Miscellaneous writer, _s._ of Geo.
H., of Kames, Berwickshire, was admitted an advocate in 1723, and raised
to the Bench in 1752. In 1748 he _pub._ a collection of Decisions of the
Court of Session. It is, however, on his philosophical and historical
writings that his literary fame rests. His writings include _Essays on
the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion_ (1751), _The Elements of
Criticism_ (1762), in which he sought for principles based on the
elements of human nature; _Sketches of the History of Man_ (1774), and
_Loose Hints on Education_, in which many modern views are anticipated.
In all these works, while the style is stiff and crabbed, there is much
original thought. Lord K. was also an eminent authority upon agriculture,
on which he in 1777 _pub._ a work entitled _The Gentleman Farmer_.
KAVANAGH, JULIA (1824-1877).--Novelist, _dau._ of Morgan K., poet, and
philologist, wrote many novels, of which the scene is usually in France,
among which are _Madeleine_ (1848), _Adele_, and _Daisy Burns_; also
biographical works, _Woman in France in the 18th Century_ (1850), etc.
KAYE, SIR JOHN WILLIAM (1814-1876).--Historian and biographer, _s._ of a
London solicitor, was _ed._ at Eton and Addiscombe. After serving for
some time in the Bengal Artillery, he succeeded J.S. Mill as sec. to the
political and secret department in the East India Office. His first
literary work was a novel _pub._ in 1845, and he then began his valuable
series of histories and biographies illustrative of the British
occupation of India, including _The War in Afghanistan_ (1851), and _The
Sepoy War in India_, which he did not live to finish, and which was
completed by G.B. Malleson as _The History of the Indian Mutiny_ (6
vols., 1890); also histories of the East India Company and of
Christianity in India, and Lives of Sir John Malcolm and other Indian
soldiers and statesmen. All his writings are characterised by painstaking
research, love of truth, and a style suited to the importance of his
subjects. He was made K.C.S.I. in 1871.
KEARY, ANNIE (1825-1879).--Novelist, wrote some good novels, including
_Castle Daly_, _A Doubting Heart_, and _Oldbury_, also books for children
and educational works.
KEATS, JOHN (1795-1821).--Poet, _s._ of the chief servant at an inn in
London, who _m._ his master's _dau._, and _d._ a man of some substance.
He was sent to a school at Enfield, and having meanwhile become an
orphan, was in 1810 apprenticed to a surgeon at Edmonton. In 1815 he went
to London to walk the hospitals. He was not, however, at all enthusiastic
in his profession, and having become acquainted with Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt,
Shelley, and others, he gave himself more and more to literature. His
first work--some sonnets--appeared in Hunt's _Examiner_, and his first
book, _Poems_, came out in 1817. This book, while containing much that
gave little promise of what was to come, was not without touches of
beauty and music, but it fell quite flat, finding few readers beyond his
immediate circle. _Endymion_, begun during a visit to the Isle of Wight,
appeared in 1818, and was savagely attacked in _Blackwood_ and the
_Quarterly Review_. These attacks, though naturally giving pain to the
poet, were not, as was alleged at the time, the cause of his health
breaking down, as he was possessed of considerable confidence in his own
powers, and his claim to immortality as a poet. Symptoms of hereditary
consumption, however, began to show themselves and, in the hope of
restored health, he made a tour in the Lakes and Scotland, from which he
returned to London none the better. The death soon after of his brother
Thomas, whom he had helped to nurse, told upon his spirits, as did also
his unrequited passion for Miss Fanny Brawne. In 1820 he _pub._ _Lamia
and Other Poems_, containing _Isabella_, _Eve of St. Agnes_, _Hyperion_,
and the odes to the _Nightingale_ and _The Grecian Urn_, all of which had
been produced within a period of about 18 months. This book was warmly
praised in the _Edinburgh Review_. His health had by this time completely
given way, and he was likewise harassed by narrow means and hopeless
love. He had, however, the consolation of possessing many warm friends,
by some of whom, the Hunts and the Brawnes, he was tenderly nursed. At
last in 1821 he set out, accompanied by his friend Severn, on that
journey to Italy from which he never returned. After much suffering he
_d._ at Rome, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery there. The
character of K. was much misunderstood until the publication by R.M.
Milnes, afterwards Lord Houghton (_q.v._), of his _Life and Letters_,
which gives an attractive picture of him. This, together with the
accounts of other friends, represent him as "eager, enthusiastic, and
sensitive, but humorous, reasonable, and free from vanity, affectionate,
a good brother and friend, sweet-tempered, and helpful." In his political
views he was liberal, in his religious, indefinite. Though in his
life-time subjected to much harsh and unappreciative criticism, his place
among English poets is now assured. His chief characteristics are
intense, sensuous imagination, and love of beauty, rich and picturesque
descriptive power, and exquisitely melodious versification.
_Life, Letters, etc._, by R.M. Milnes (1848), _Poems and Letters_
(Forman, 5 vols., 1900). Keats (Men of Letters Series, Colvin, 1887),
etc. _Poems_ (1817), _Endymion_ (1818), _Lamia and Other Poems_ (1820).
KEBLE, JOHN (1792-1866).--Poet and divine, _s._ of the Rev. John K.,
Vicar of Coln St. Aldwyn's, Gloucestershire, _b._ at Fairford in the same
county, _ed._ by his _f._ and at Oxf., where he was elected a Fellow of
Oriel Coll., and was for some years tutor and examiner in the Univ. His
ideal life, however, was that of a country clergyman, and having taken
orders in 1815, he became curate to his _f._ Meantime he had been writing
_The Christian Year_, which appeared in 1827, and met with an almost
unparalleled acceptance. Though at first anonymous, its authorship soon
became known, with the result that K. was in 1831 appointed to the Chair
of Poetry at Oxf., which he held until 1841. In 1833 his famous sermon on
"national apostasy" gave the first impulse to the Oxf. movement, of
which, after the secession of Newman to the Church of Rome, he, along
with Pusey, was regarded as the leader, and in connection with which he
contributed several of the more important "tracts" in which were enforced
"deep submission to authority, implicit reverence for Catholic tradition,
firm belief in the divine prerogatives of the priesthood, the real nature
of the sacraments, and the danger of independent speculation." His _f._
having _d._, K. became in 1836 Vicar of Hursley, near Winchester, where
he remained until his death. In 1846 he _pub._ another book of poems,
_Lyra Innocentium_. Other works were a Life of Wilson, Bishop of Sodor
and Man, and an ed. of the Works of Hooker. After his death appeared
_Letters of Spiritual Counsel_, and 12 vols. of _Parish Sermons_. The
literary position of K. must mainly rest upon _The Christian Year_,
_Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays_, and _Holidays throughout the Year_,
the object of which was, as described by the author, to bring the
thoughts and feelings of the reader into unison with those exemplified in
the Prayer Book. The poems, while by no means of equal literary merit,
are generally characterised by delicate and true poetic feeling, and
refined and often extremely felicitous language; and it is a proof of the
fidelity to nature with which its themes are treated that the book has
become a religious classic with readers far removed from the author's
ecclesiastical standpoint and general school of thought. K. was one of
the most saintly and unselfish men who ever adorned the Church of
England, and, though personally shy and retiring, exercised a vast
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