Chapter X: Part 10

GARNETT, RICHARD (1835-1906).--Biographer and writer on literature, _s._ of Richard G., an assistant keeper of Printed Books in the British Museum. _B._ at Lichfield, and _ed._ at a school in, Bloomsbury, he entered the British Museum in 1851 as an assistant librarian. There he remained for nearly 50 years, and rose to be Keeper of Printed Books. He acquired a marvellous knowledge of books, and of everything connected with pure literature. He made numerous translations from the Greek, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, and wrote books of graceful verse, _The Twilight of the Gods and other Tales_ (1888), various biographical works on Carlyle, Milton, Blake, and others, _The Age of Dryden_, a _History of Italian Literature_, and contributed many articles to encyclopædias, and to the _Dictionary of National Biography_.

GARRICK, DAVID (1717-1779).--Actor and dramatist, _b._ at Hereford, but got most of his education at Lichfield, to which his _f._ belonged. He was also one of the three pupils who attended Johnson's School at Edial. With his great preceptor, whom he accompanied to London, he always remained on friendly terms. He took to the stage, and became the greatest of English actors. He also wrote various plays, and adaptations, and did not scruple to undertake "improved" versions of some of Shakespeare's greatest plays including _Cymbeline_, _The Taming of the Shrew_, and _The Winter s Tale_, performing the same service for Jonson and Wycherley, in the last case with much more excuse. Of his original plays _The Lying Valet_ and _Miss in her Teens_ are perhaps the best.

GARRISON, WILLIAM LLOYD (1805-1879).--Orator, was _b._ at Newburyport, Mass. Though chiefly known for his eloquent advocacy of negro emancipation, he is also remembered for his _Sonnets and other Poems_ (1847).

GARTH, SIR SAMUEL (1661-1719).--Physician and poet, _b._ at Bolam in the county of Durham, and _ed._ at Camb., he settled as a physician in London, where he soon acquired a large practice. He was a zealous Whig, the friend of Addison and, though of different political views, of Pope, and he ended his career as physician to George I., by whom he was knighted in 1714. He is remembered as the author of _The Dispensary_, a satire, which had great popularity in its day, and of _Claremont_, a descriptive poem. He also ed. a translation of Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, to which Addison, Pope, and others contributed. Perhaps, however, the circumstance most honourable to him is his intervention to procure an honourable burial for Dryden, over whose remains he pronounced a eulogy.

GASCOIGNE, GEORGE (1525 or 1535-1577).--Poet and dramatist, _s._ of Sir John G., and descended from Sir William G., the famous Chief Justice to Henry IV., he was _ed._ at Camb., and entered Gray's Inn 1555. While there he produced two plays, both translations, _The Supposes_ (1566) from Ariosto, and _Jocasta_ (1566) from Euripides. Disinherited on account of his prodigality, he _m._ in order to rehabilitate his finances, a widow, the mother of Nicholas Breton (_q.v._). He had, nevertheless, to go to Holland to escape from the importunities of his creditors. While there he saw service under the Prince of Orange, and was taken prisoner by the Spaniards. Released after a few months, he returned to England, and found that some of his poems had been surreptitiously _pub._ He thereupon issued an authoritative ed. under the title of _An Hundred Sundrie Floures bound up in one Poesie_ (1572). Other works are _Notes of Instruction_, for making English verse, _The Glasse of Government_ (1575), and _The Steele Glasse_ (1576), a satire. He also contributed to the entertainments in honour of Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth and appears to have had a share of Court favour. G. was a man of originality, and did much to popularise the use of blank verse in England.

GASKELL, ELIZABETH CLEGHORN (STEVENSON) (1810-1865).--Novelist, _dau._ of William Stevenson, a Unitarian minister, and for some time Keeper of the Treasury Records. She _m._ William G., a Unitarian minister, at Manchester, and in 1848 _pub._ anonymously her first book, _Mary Barton_, in which the life and feelings of the manufacturing working classes are depicted with much power and sympathy. Other novels followed, _Lizzie Leigh_ (1855), _Mr. Harrison's Confessions_ (1865), _Ruth_ (1853), _Cranford_ (1851-3), _North and South_ (1855), _Sylvia's Lovers_ (1863), etc. Her last work was _Wives and Daughters_ (1865), which appeared in the _Cornhill Magazine_, and was left unfinished. Mrs. G. had some of the characteristics of Miss Austen, and if her style and delineation of character are less minutely perfect, they are, on the other hand, imbued with a deeper vein of feeling. She was the friend of Charlotte Bronté (_q.v._), to whom her sympathy brought much comfort, and whose _Life_ she wrote. Of _Cranford_ Lord Houghton wrote, "It is the finest piece of humoristic description that has been added to British literature since Charles Lamb."

GATTY, MRS. ALFRED (MARGARET SCOTT) (1809-1873).--_Dau._ of Rev. A.J. Scott, D.D., a navy chaplain, who served under, and was the trusted friend of, Nelson. She _m._ the Rev. Alfred Gatty, D.D., Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, and became a highly useful and popular writer of tales for young people. Among her books may be mentioned _Parables from Nature_, _Worlds not Realised_, _Proverbs Illustrated_, and _Aunt Judy's Tales_. She also conducted _Aunt Judy's Magazine_, and wrote a book on British sea-weeds. Juliana Ewing (_q.v._) was her daughter.

GAUDEN, JOHN (1605-1662).--Theologian, _b._ at Mayfield in Essex, and _ed._ at Camb. His claim to remembrance rests on his being the reputed author of _Eikon Basiliké_ (the Royal Image), a book purporting to be written by Charles I. during his imprisonment, and containing religious meditations and defences of his political acts. _Pub._ immediately after the King's execution, it produced an extraordinary effect, so much so that Charles II. is reported to have said that, had it been _pub._ a week earlier, it would have saved his father's life. There seems now to be little doubt that Gauden was the author. At all events he claimed to be recompensed for his services, and was made Bishop successively of Exeter and Worcester, apparently on the strength of these claims. The work passed through 50 ed. within a year, and was answered by Milton in his _Iconoclastes_ (the Image-breaker).

GAY, JOHN (1685-1732).--Poet and dramatist, _b._ near Barnstaple of a good but decayed family. His parents dying while he was a child he was apprenticed to a silk-mercer in London, but not liking the trade, was released by his master. In 1708 he _pub._ a poem, _Wine_, and in 1713 _Rural Sports_, which he dedicated to Pope, whose friendship he obtained. A little before this he had received an appointment as sec. in the household of the Duchess of Monmouth. His next attempts were in the drama, in which he was not at first successful; but about 1714 he made his first decided hit in _The Shepherd's Week_, a set of six pastorals designed to satirise Ambrose Philips, which, however, secured public approval on their own merits. These were followed by _Trivia_ (1716), in which he was aided by Swift, an account in mock heroic verse of the dangers of the London streets, and by _The Fan_. G. had always been ambitious of public employment, and his aspirations were gratified by his receiving the appointment of sec. to an embassy to Hanover, which, however, he appears to have resigned in a few months. He then returned to the drama in _What d'ye call It_, and _Three Hours after Marriage_, neither of which, however, took the public fancy. In 1720 he _pub._ a collection of his poems, which brought him £1000, but soon after lost all his means in the collapse of the South Sea Company. After producing another drama, _The Captive_, he _pub._ his _Fables_ (1727), which added to his reputation, and soon after, in 1728, achieved the great success of his life in _The Beggar's Opera_, a Newgate pastoral, suggested by Swift, in which the graces and fantasticalities of the Italian Opera were satirised. A sequel, _Polly_, was suppressed by the Lord Chamberlain as reflecting upon the Court, but was _pub._ and had an enormous sale. The last few years of his life were passed in the household of the Duke of Queensberry, who had always been his friend and patron. He _d._ after three days' illness, aged 47. G. was an amiable, easy-going man, who appears to have had the power of attracting the strong attachments of his friends, among whom were Pope and Swift. He seems to have been one of the very few for whom the latter had a sincere affection. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. Of all he has written he is best remembered by one or two songs, of which the finest is _Black-eyed Susan_.

GEDDES, ALEXANDER (1737-1802).--Theologian and scholar, of Roman Catholic parentage, was _b._ at Ruthven, Banffshire, and _ed._ for the priesthood at the local seminary of Scalan, and at Paris, and became a priest in his native county. His translation of the _Satires_ of Horace made him known as a scholar, but his liberality of view led to his suspension. He then went to London, where he became known to Lord Petre, who enabled him to proceed with a new translation of the Bible for English Roman Catholics, which he carried on as far as Ruth, with some of the Psalms, and which was _pub._ in 3 vols. (1792-6). This was followed by _Critical Remarks on the Hebrew Scriptures_, in which he largely anticipated the German school of criticism. The result of this publication was his suspension from all ecclesiastical functions. G. was also a poet, and wrote _Linton: a Tweedside Pastoral_, _Carmen Seculare pro Gallica Gente_ (1790), in praise of the French Revolution. He _d._ without recanting, but received absolution at the hands of a French priest, though public mass for his soul was forbidden by the ecclesiastical powers.

GEOFFREY of MONMOUTH (1100?-1154).--Chronicler, was probably a Benedictine monk, and became Bishop of St. Asaph. He wrote a Latin _History of British Kings_. _Merlin's Prophecies_, long attributed to him, is now held to be not genuine. The history is rather a historical romance than a sober history, and gave scandal to some of the more prosaic chroniclers who followed him. It was subsequently translated into Anglo-Norman by Gaimar and Wace, and into English by Layamon.

GERARD, ALEXANDER (1728-1795).--Philosophical writer, _s._ of Rev. Gilbert G., was _ed._ at Aberdeen, where he became Prof., first of Natural Philosophy, and afterwards of Divinity, and one of the ministers of the city. As a prof. he introduced various reforms. In 1756 he gained the prize for an _Essay on Taste_ which, together with an _Essay on Genius_, he subsequently _pub._ These treatises, though now superseded, gained for him considerable reputation.

GIBBON, EDWARD (1737-1794).--Historian, was _b._ at Putney of an ancient Kentish family. His _f._ was Edward G., and his mother Judith Porten. He was the only one of a family of seven who survived infancy, and was himself a delicate child with a precocious love of study. After receiving his early education at home he was sent to Westminster School, and when 15 was entered at Magdalen Coll., Oxf., where, according to his own account, he spent 14 months idly and unprofitably. Oxf. was then at its lowest ebb, and earnest study or effort of any kind had little encouragement. G., however, appears to have maintained his wide reading in some degree, and his study of Bossuet and other controversialists led to his becoming in 1753 a Romanist. To counteract this his _f._ placed him under the charge of David Mallet (_q.v._), the poet, deist, and ed. of Bolingbroke's works, whose influence, not unnaturally, failed of the desired effect, and G. was next sent to Lausanne, and placed under the care of a Protestant pastor, M. Pavilliard. Various circumstances appear to have made G. not unwilling to be re-converted to Protestantism; at all events he soon returned to the reformed doctrines. At Lausanne he remained for over four years, and devoted himself assiduously to study, especially of French literature and the Latin classics. At this time also he became engaged to Mademoiselle Suzanne Curchod; but on the match being peremptorily opposed by his _f._ it was broken off. With the lady, who eventually became the wife of Necker, and the mother of Madame de Staël, he remained on terms of friendship. In 1758 G. returned to England, and in 1761 _pub._ _Essai sur l'Etude de la Littérature_, translated into English in 1764. About this time he made a tour on the Continent, visiting Paris, where he stayed for three months, and thence proceeding to Switzerland and Italy. There it was that, musing amid the ruins of the Capitol at Rome on October 15, 1764, he formed the plan of writing the history of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He returned to England in 1765, and in 1770 his _f._ _d._, leaving him the embarrassed estate of Buriton, which had been his usual home when in England. With a view to recovering his affairs, he left his estate and lived in London where, in 1772, he seriously set himself to realise the great plan which, since its conception, had never been out of his thoughts. The first chapter was written three times, and the second twice before he could satisfy himself that he had found the style suited to his subject. The progress of the work was delayed by the fact that G. had meanwhile (1774) entered the House of Commons, where, as member for Liskeard, he was a steady, though silent, supporter of Lord North in his American policy. He subsequently sat for Lymington, and held office as a Commissioner of Trade and Plantations 1779-82. The first vol. of the _Decline and Fall_ appeared in 1776, and was received with acclamation, and it was not until some time had elapsed that the author's treatment of the rise of Christianity excited the attention and alarm of the religious and ecclesiastical world. When, however, the far-reaching nature of his views was at length realised, a fierce and prolonged controversy arose, into which G. himself did not enter except in one case where his fidelity as an historian was impugned. The second and third vols. appeared in 1781, and thereafter (1783) G. returned to Lausanne, where he lived tranquilly with an early friend, M. Deyverdun, devoting his mornings to the completion of his history, and his evenings to society. At length, on the night of June 27, 1787, in the summer-house of his garden, the last words were penned, and the great work of his life completed. Of the circumstances, and of his feelings at the moment, he has himself given an impressive account. The last three vols. were issued in 1788, G. having gone to London to see them through the press. This being done he returned to Lausanne where, within a year, his beloved friend Deyverdun _d._ His last years were clouded by ill-health, and by anxieties with regard to the French Revolution. In 1793, though travelling was a serious matter for him, he came to England to comfort his friend Lord Sheffield on the death of his wife, took ill, and _d._ suddenly in London on January 16, 1794.

The place of G. among historians is in the first rank, and if the vast scale of his work and the enormous mass of detail involved in it are considered along with the learning and research employed in accumulating the material, and the breadth of view, lucidity of arrangement, and sense of proportion which have fused them into a distinct and splendid picture, his claims to the first place cannot be lightly dismissed. His style, though not pure, being tinged with Gallicisms, is one of the most noble in our literature, rich, harmonious, and stately; and though sources of information not accessible to him have added to our knowledge, and have shown some of his conclusions to be mistaken, his historical accuracy has been comparatively little shaken, and his work is sure of permanence. As a man G. seems to have been somewhat calm and cool in his feelings, though capable of steady and affectionate friendships, such as those with Deyverdun and the Sheffields, which were warmly reciprocated, and he appears to have been liked in society, where his brilliant conversational powers made him shine. He was vain, and affected the manners of the fine gentleman, which his unattractive countenance and awkward figure, and latterly his extreme corpulence, rendered somewhat ridiculous. He left an interesting _Autobiography_.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1737, _ed._ Westminster and Oxf., became Romanist and sent to Lausanne 1753, where he returned to Protestantism, _pub._ _Essay on Study of Literature_ 1761, visited Rome 1764 and resolved to write his _Decline and Fall of Roman Empire_, began to write it 1772, _pub._ 1776-87, _d._ 1794.

_Decline and Fall_ (Sir W. Smith, 8 vols., 1854-55), another (J.B. Bury, 7 vols., 1896-1900). _Autobiography_ (Lord Sheffield, 1796), often reprinted.

GIFFORD, RICHARD (1725-1807).--Poet, was _ed._ at Oxford and took orders. He was the author of a poem, _Contemplation_. He also wrote theological and controversial works.

GIFFORD, WILLIAM (1756-1826).--Critic and poet, was _b._ of humble parentage at Ashburton, Devonshire, and after being for a short time at sea, was apprenticed to a cobbler. Having, however, shown signs of superior ability, and a desire for learning, he was befriended and _ed._, ultimately at Oxf., where he _grad._ Becoming known to Lord Grosvenor, he was patronised by him, and in course of time produced his first poem, _The Baviad_ (1794), a satire directed against the Delia Cruscans, a clique of very small and sentimental poets, which at once quenched their little tapers. This was followed by another satire, _The Mæviad_, against some minor dramatists. His last effort in this line was his _Epistle to Peter Pindar_ (Dr. Walcot), inspired by personal enmity, which evoked a reply, _A Cut at a Cobbler_. These writings had established the reputation of G. as a keen, and even ferocious critic, and he was appointed in 1797 ed. of the _Anti-Jacobin_, which Canning and his friends had just started, and of the _Quarterly Review_ (1809-24). He also brought out ed. of Massinger, Ben Jonson, and Ford. As a critic he had acuteness; but he was one-sided, prejudiced, and savagely bitter, and much more influenced in his judgments by the political opinions than by the literary merits of his victims. In his whole career, however, he displayed independence and spirit in overcoming the disadvantages of his early life, as well as gratitude to those who had served him. He held various appointments which placed him above financial anxiety.

GILDAS (516?-570?).--British historian, was a monk who is believed to have gone to Brittany about 550, and founded a monastery. He wrote a history, _De Excidio Britanniæ_ (concerning the overthrow of Britain). It consists of two parts, the first from the Roman invasion until the end of the 4th century, and the second a continuation to the writer's own time. It is obscure and wordy, and not of much value.

GILDER, RICHARD WATSON (1844-1909).--Poet, _b._ at Borderstown, New Jersey, was successively a lawyer, a soldier, and a journalist, in which last capacity he ed. _Scribner's_ (afterwards the _Century_) _Magazine_. He holds a high place among American poets as the author of _The New Day_ (1875), _The Celestial Passion_, _The Great Remembrance_, _Five Books of Song_ (1894), _In Palestine_ (1898), _In the Heights_ (1905), _A Book of Music_ (collection) (1906), etc.

GILDON, CHARLES (1665-1724).--Critic and dramatist, belonged to a Roman Catholic family, and was an unsuccessful playwright, a literary hack, and a critic of little acumen or discrimination. He attacked Pope as "Sawny Dapper," and was in return embalmed in _The Dunciad_. He also wrote a Life of Defoe.

GILFILLAN, GEORGE (1813-1878).--Poet and critic, _s._ of a dissenting minister at Comrie, Perthshire, studied at Glasgow Univ., and was ordained minister of a church in Dundee. He was a voluminous author. Among his writings are _Gallery of Literary Portraits_, and a Series of British Poets with introductions and notes in 48 vols. He also wrote Lives of Burns, Scott, and others, and _Night_ (1867), a poem in nine books. His style was somewhat turgid, and his criticism rather sympathetic than profound.

GILFILLAN, ROBERT (1798-1850).--Poet, _b._ at Dunfermline, was latterly Collector of Police Rates in Leith. He wrote a number of Scottish songs, and was favourably mentioned in _Noctes Ambrosianæ_ (see Wilson, J.). He was the author of the beautiful song, _Oh, why left I my Hame?_

GILLESPIE, GEORGE (1613-1648).--Scottish Theologian, was _b._ at Kirkcaldy, and studied at St. Andrews. He became one of the ministers of Edin., and was a member of the Westminster Assembly, in which he took a prominent part. A man of notable intellectual power, he exercised an influence remarkable in view of the fact that he _d._ in his 36th year. He was one of the most formidable controversialists of a highly controversial age. His best known work is _Aaron's Rod Blossoming_, a defence of the ecclesiastical claims of the high Presbyterian party.

GILLIES, JOHN (1747-1836).--Historian, _b._ at Brechin and _ed._ there and at Glasgow, wrote a _History of Greece_ (1786) from a strongly anti-democratic standpoint, a _History of the World from Alexander to Augustus_ (1807), and a _View of the Reign of Frederick II. of Prussia_. He also made various translations from the Greek. He succeeded Principal Robertson as Historiographer Royal for Scotland.

GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS (literary name of GERALD DE BARRI) (1146?-1220?).--Geographer and historian, was _b._ of a Norman family settled in Wales, which intermarried with the Royal family of that country. He was an eminent scholar and Churchman, whose object of ambition was the Bishopric of St. David's, to which he was twice elected by the chapter, but from which he was kept out by the opposition of the King. When travelling in Ireland with Prince John (1185) he wrote _Topographia Hibernica_, a valuable descriptive account of the country, and in 1188 he wrote _Itinerarium Cambriæ_, a similar work on Wales. He left several other works, including an autobiography, _De Rebus a se Gestis_ (concerning his own doings).

GISSING, GEORGE (1857-1903).--Novelist, _b._ at Wakefield. In his novels he depicted the environment and struggles of the lower and lower middle classes with a somewhat pessimistic and depressing realism, although his last work, _The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft_, seemed to usher in the dawn of a somewhat brighter outlook. His other novels include _Demos_ (1886), _Thyrza_ (1887), _The Nether World_ (1889), _New Grub Street_ (1891), _Born in Exile_ (1892), _In the Year of Jubilee_ (1894), and _The Town Traveller_ (1898). He _d._ at St. Jean de Luz in the Pyrenees.

GLADSTONE, WILLIAM EWART (1809-1898).--Statesman, scholar, and man of letters, fourth _s._ of Sir John G., a merchant in Liverpool, was of Scottish ancestry. He was _ed._ at Eton and Christ Church, Oxf. From his youth he was deeply interested in religious and ecclesiastical questions, and at one time thought of entering the Church. In 1832 he entered Parliament as a Tory, and from the first gave evidence of the splendid talents for debate and statesmanship, especially in the department of finance, which raised him to the position of power and influence which he afterwards attained. After holding the offices of Pres. of the Board of Trade, Colonial Sec., and Chancellor of the Exchequer, he attained the position of Prime Minister, which he held four times 1868-74, 1880-85, 1885-86, and 1892-93. His political career was one of intense energy and activity in every department of government, especially after he became Prime Minister, and while it gained him the enthusiastic applause and devotion of a large portion of the nation, it exposed him to a correspondingly intense opposition on the part of another. The questions which involved him in the greatest conflicts of his life and evoked his chief efforts of intellect were the disestablishment of the Irish Church, the foreign policy of his great rival Disraeli, and Home Rule for Ireland, on the last of which the old Liberal party was finally broken up. In the midst of political labours which might have been sufficient to absorb even his tireless energy, he found time to follow out and write upon various subjects which possessed a life-long interest for him. His first book was _The State in its Relations with the Church_ (1839), which formed the subject of one of Macaulay's essays. _Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age_ (1858), _Juventus Mundi_ (1869), and _Homeric Synchronism_ (1876), _The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture_ (1890), _The Vatican Decrees and Vaticanism_ (1874-75), and _Gleanings of Past Years_ (1897), 8 vols., were his other principal contributions to literature. G.'s scholarship, though sound and even brilliant, was of an old-fashioned kind, and his conclusions on Homeric questions have not received much support from contemporary scholars. In his controversies with Huxley and others his want of scientific knowledge and of sympathy with modern scientific tendencies placed him at a disadvantage. His character was a singularly complex one, and his intellect possessed a plasticity which made it possible to say of him that he never _was_ anything, but was always _becoming_ something. His life was a singularly noble and stainless one, and he must probably ever remain one of the great figures in the history of his country.

_Life_ by J. Morley (3 vols.), others by J. M'Carthy, Sir Wemyss Reid, and many others.

GLANVILL, JOSEPH (1636-1680).--Controversialist and moral writer, _b._ at Plymouth, and _ed._ at Oxf., took orders, and held various benefices, including the Rectory of Bath Abbey and a prebend at Worcester. He came under the influence of the Camb. Platonists, especially of Henry More (_q.v._). His contendings were chiefly with the English Nonconformists, against whom (with the exception of Baxter whom he held in great esteem) he exhibited great bitterness. His chief work is the _Vanity of Dogmatizing_ (1661) which contains the story of "The Scholar Gipsy," in later days turned to such fine account by Matthew Arnold. G. wrote a fine literary style, at its best recalling that of Sir Thomas Browne.

GLAPTHORNE, HENRY (_fl._ 1640).--Dramatist, had a high reputation among his contemporaries, though now almost forgotten. He wrote two comedies, three tragedies, and a book of poems, which were all reprinted in two vols. in 1874. His best work, is _Argalus and Parthenia_ (1639), based upon Sidney's _Arcadia_. Others were _The Hollander_, _Wit is a Constable_, and _The Ladies' Privilege_ (all 1640).

GLASCOCK, WILLIAM NUGENT (1787-1847).--Novelist. He saw a good deal of service in the navy with credit, and from this drew the inspiration of his vigorous and breezy sea-stories, which include _Sailors and Saints_ (1829), _Tales of a Tar_ (1836), and _Land Sharks and Sea Gulls_ (1838).

GLEIG, GEORGE ROBERT (1796-1888).--_S._ of George G., Bishop of Brechin, entered the army, and served in the Peninsula and America. In 1820 he took orders, and after serving various cures _bec._, in 1834, Chaplain of Chelsea Hospital, and in 1844 Chaplain-General of the Forces, which office he held until 1875. He was a frequent contributor to reviews and magazines, especially _Blackwood's_, in which his best known novel, _The Subaltern_, appeared, and he was also the author of Lives of Warren Hastings, Clive, and Wellington, _Military Commanders_, _Chelsea Pensioners_, and other works.

GLEN, WILLIAM (1789-1826).--Poet, _b._ in Glasgow, was for some years in the West Indies. He _d._ in poverty. He wrote several poems, but the only one which has survived is his Jacobite ballad, _Wae's me for Prince Charlie_.

GLOVER, RICHARD (1712-1785).--Poet and dramatist, was a London merchant, and M.P. for Weymouth. A scholarly man with a taste for literature, he wrote two poems in blank verse, _Leonidas_ (1737), and _The Athenaid_ (1787). Though not without a degree of dignity, they want energy and interest, and are now forgotten. He also produced a few dramas, which had little success. He is best remembered by his beautiful ballad, _Hosier's Ghost_, beginning "As near Portobello lying." G. had the reputation of a useful and public-spirited citizen.

GODWIN, MRS. MARY (WOLLSTONECRAFT) (1759-1797).--Miscellaneous writer, was of Irish extraction. Her _f._ was a spend-thrift of bad habits, and at 19 Mary left home to make her way in the world. Her next ten years were spent as companion to a lady, in teaching a school at Newington Green, and as governess in the family of Lord Kingsborough. In 1784 she assisted her sister to escape from a husband who ill-treated her. In 1788 she took to translating, and became literary adviser to Johnson the publisher, through whom she became known to many of the literary people of the day, as well as to certain Radicals, including Godwin, Paine, Priestly, and Fuseli, the painter. She then, 1792, went to Paris, where she met Captain Imlay, with whom she formed a connection, the fruit of which was her daughter Fanny. Captain Imlay having deserted her, she tried to commit suicide at Putney Bridge, but was rescued. Thereafter she resumed her literary labours, and lived with W. Godwin, who married her in 1797. Their _dau._, Mary, whose birth she did not survive, became the second wife of Shelley. Her chief original writings are a _Reply_ to Burke's _Reflections on the French Revolution_ (1791), _Vindication of the Rights of Women_ (1792), and _Original Stories for Children_, illustrated by W. Blake. Her _Vindication_ received much adverse criticism on account of its extreme positions and over-plainness of speech.

GODWIN, WILLIAM (1756-1836).--Philosopher and novelist, _b._ at Wisbeach, and _ed._ at a school in Norwich, to which city his _f._, a Presbyterian minister, had removed, and subsequently at a Presbyterian coll. at Hoxton, with a view to the ministry. From 1778 to 1783 he acted as minister of various congregations near London; but his theological views having undergone important changes, he resigned his pastorate, and devoted himself to a literary career. His first work, a series of historical sketches in the form of sermons, failed. He then found employment as one of the principal writers in the _New Annual Register_, and became otherwise prominent as an advocate of political and social reform. Many of his views were peculiar and extreme, and even tended, if fully carried out in practice, to subvert morality; but they were propounded and supported by their author with a whole-hearted belief in their efficacy for the regeneration of society: and the singular circumstances of his connection with and ultimate marriage to Mary Wollstonecraft showed at least that he had the courage of his opinions. His _Enquiry concerning Political Justice_ (1793) made him famous. A year later he _pub._ his masterpiece, _Caleb Williams_, a novel exhibiting a sombre strength rarely equalled. The next few years were occupied in political controversy, for which G. was, by his sincerity and his masculine style, well fitted; and it was in the midst of these--in 1797--that his first marriage, already alluded to, and the death of his wife, of whom he _pub._ a singular but interesting Life, occurred. In 1799 his second great novel, _St. Leon_, based upon the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life, appeared. His other novels, _Fleetwood_ (1804), _Mandeville_ (1817), and _Cloudesley_ (1830), are much inferior. In addition to these works G. brought out an elaborate _Life of Chaucer_ in 2 vols. (1803), _An Essay on Sepulchres_ (1808), containing much fine thought finely expressed, _A History of the Commonwealth_, an Essay against the theories of Malthus (_q.v._), and his last work, _Lives of the Necromancers_. For some time he engaged in the publishing business, in which, however, he ultimately proved unsuccessful. In his later years he had the office of Yeoman Usher of the Exchequer conferred upon him. G. entered in 1801 into a second marriage with a widow, Mrs. Clairmont, by whom he had a _dau._ This lady had already a _s._ and _dau._, the latter of whom had an irregular connection with Byron. His _dau._ by his first marriage--Mary Wollstonecraft G.,--became in 1816 the wife of Shelley. G. was a man of simple manners and imperturbable temper.

GOLDING, ARTHUR (1535?-1605?).--Translator, _s._ of a gentleman of Essex, was perhaps at Camb., and was diligent in the translation of theological works by Calvin, Beza, and others, but is chiefly remembered for his versions of Cæsar's _Commentaries_ (1565), and specially of Ovid's _Metamorphoses_ (1565-67), the latter in ballad metre. He also translated Justin's _History_, and part of Seneca.

GOLDSMITH, OLIVER (1728-1774).--Poet, dramatist, and essayist, _s._ of an Irish clergyman, was _b._ at Pallasmore in Co. Longford. His early education was received at various schools at Elphin, Athlone, and Edgeworthstown. At the age of 8 he had a severe attack of smallpox which disfigured him for life. In 1744 he went to Trinity Coll., Dublin, whence, having come into collision with one of the coll. tutors, he ran away in 1746. He was, however, induced to return, and _grad._ in 1749. The Church was chosen for him as a profession--against his will be it said in justice to him. He presented himself before the Bishop of Elphin for examination--perhaps as a type of deeper and more inward incongruencies--in scarlet breeches, and was rejected. He next figured as a tutor; but had no sooner accumulated £30 than he quitted his employment and forthwith dissipated his little savings. A long-suffering uncle named Contarine, who had already more than once interposed on his behalf, now provided means to send him to London to study law. He, however, got no farther than Dublin, where he was fleeced to his last guinea, and returned to the house of his mother, now a widow with a large family. After an interval spent in idleness, a medical career was perceived to be the likeliest opening, and in 1752 he steered for Edin., where he remained on the usual happy-go-lucky terms until 1754, when he proceeded to Leyden. After a year there he started on a walking tour, which led him through France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. How he lived it is hard to say, for he left Leyden penniless. It is said that he disputed at Univ., and played the flute, and thus kept himself in existence. All this time, however, he was gaining the experiences and knowledge of foreign countries which he was afterwards to turn to such excellent account. At one of the Univ. visited at this time, he is believed to have secured the medical degree, of which he subsequently made use. Louvain and Padua have both been named as the source of it. He reached London almost literally penniless in 1756, and appears to have been occupied successively as an apothecary's journeyman, a doctor of the poor, and an usher in a school at Peckham. In 1757 he was writing for the _Monthly Review_. The next year he applied unsuccessfully for a medical appointment in India; and the year following, 1759, saw his first important literary venture, _An Enquiry into the State of Polite Learning in Europe_. It was _pub._ anonymously, but attracted some attention, and brought him other work. At the same time he became known to Bishop Percy, the collector of the _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, and he had written _The Bee_, a collection of essays, and was employed upon various periodicals. In 1761 began his friendship with Johnson, which led to that of the other great men of that circle. His _Chinese Letters_, afterwards republished as _The Citizen of the World_, appeared in _The Public Ledger_ in 1762. _The Traveller_, the first of his longer poems, came out in 1764, and was followed in 1766 by _The Vicar of Wakefield_. In 1768 he essayed the drama, with _The Good-natured Man_, which had considerable success. The next few years saw him busily occupied with work for the publishers, including _The History of Rome_ (1769), Lives of Parnell the poet, and Lord Bolingbroke (1770), and in the same year _The Deserted Village_ appeared; _The History of England_ was _pub._ in 1771. In 1773 he produced with great success his other drama, _She Stoops to Conquer_. His last works were _The Retaliation_, _The History of Greece_, and _Animated Nature_, all _pub._ in 1774. In that year, worn out with overwork and anxiety, he caught a fever, of which he _d._ April 4. With all his serious and very obvious faults--his reckless improvidence, his vanity, and, in his earlier years at any rate, his dissipated habits--G. is one of the most lovable characters in English literature, and one whose writings show most of himself--his humanity, his bright and spontaneous humour, and "the kindest heart in the world." His friends included some of the best and greatest men in England, among them Johnson, Burke, and Reynolds. They all, doubtless, laughed at and made a butt of him, but they all admired and loved him. At the news of his death Burke burst into tears, Reynolds laid down his brush and painted no more that day, and Johnson wrote an imperishable epitaph on him. The poor, the old, and the outcast crowded the stair leading to his lodgings, and wept for the benefactor who had never refused to share what he had (often little enough) with them. Much of his work--written at high pressure for the means of existence, or to satisfy the urgency of duns--his histories, his _Animated Nature_, and such like, have, apart from a certain charm of style which no work of his could be without, little permanent value; but _The Traveller_ and _The Deserted Village_, _She Stoops to Conquer_, and, above all, _The Vicar of Wakefield_, will keep his memory dear to all future readers of English.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1728, _ed._ Trinity Coll., Dublin, went to Edin. 1752, and to Leyden 1754, travelled on foot over large part of Continent, reached London 1756, and wrote for magazines, etc., and after publishing various other works produced _The Citizen of the World_ in 1762, _pub._ _Vicar of Wakefield_ 1766, _Deserted Village_ 1770, and _She Stoops to Conquer_ 1773, _d._ 1774.

There are many ed. of G.'s works by Prior, 1837, Cunningham, 1854, Prof. Masson (Globe), 1869, Gibb (Bohn's Standard Library), 1885. Biographies by Prior, 1837, Foster, 1848-71, Washington Irving, and others. _See_ also Boswell's _Johnson_, and Thackeray's _English Humorists_.

GOODALL, WALTER (1706?-1766).--Historical writer, _b._ in Banffshire, and _ed._ King's Coll., Aberdeen, became assistant librarian to the Advocates' Library in Edin. In 1754 he _pub._ an _Examination of the Letters said to have been written by Mary Queen of Scots_, in which he combats the genuineness of the "Casket Letters." He also ed., among other works, Fordun's _Scotichronicon_ (1759).

GOODWIN, THOMAS (1600-1680).--Divine, was _b._ in Norfolk, and _ed._ at Camb., where he was Vicar of Trinity Church. Becoming an Independent, he ministered to a church in London, and thereafter at Arnheim in Holland. Returning to England he was made Chaplain to Cromwell's Council of State, and Pres. of Magdalen Coll., Oxf. At the Restoration he was deprived, but continued to preach in London. He was the author of various commentaries and controversial pamphlets, was a member of the Westminster Assembly, and assisted in drawing up the amended Confession, 1658. He attended Oliver Cromwell on his deathbed.

GOOGE, BARNABE (1540-1594).--Poet and translator, _b._ at Lincoln, studied at both Camb. and Oxf. He was a kinsman of Cecil, who gave him employment in Ireland. He translated from the Latin of Manzolli _The Zodiac of Life_, a satire against the Papacy, and _The Popish Kingdome_ by T. Kirchmayer, a similar work; also _The Foure Bookes of Husbandrie_ of Conrad Heresbach. In 1563 he _pub._ a vol. of original poems, _Eglogs, Epytaphes_, and _Sonnettes_.

GORDON, ADAM LINDSAY (1833-1870).--Poet, was _b._ in the Azores, the _s._ of an officer in the army. He went to Australia, where he had a varied career in connection with horses and riding, for which he had a passion. He betook himself to the Bush, got into financial trouble, and _d._ by his own hand. In the main he derives his inspiration (as in the _Rhyme of Joyous Garde_, and _Britomarte_) from mediæval and English sources, not from his Australian surroundings. Among his books are _Sea-spray and Smoke-drift_ (1867), _Bush Ballads_ (containing _The Sick Stock-rider_) (1870), _Ashtaroth_ (1867). In many of his poems, _e.g._ _An Exile's Farewell_, and _Whispering in the Wattle Boughs_, there is a strong vein of sadness and pathos.

GORE, MRS. CATHERINE GRACE FRANCES (MOODY) (1799-1861).--Novelist, _dau._ of a wine merchant at Retford, where she was _b._ She _m._ a Captain Gore, with whom she resided mainly on the Continent, supporting her family by her voluminous writings. Between 1824 and 1862 she produced about 70 works, the most successful of which were novels of fashionable English life. Among these may be mentioned _Manners of the Day_ (1830), _Cecil, or the Adventures of a Coxcomb_ (1841), and _The Banker's Wife_ (1843). She also wrote for the stage, and composed music for songs.

GOSSON, STEPHEN (1554-1624).--Poet, actor, and satirist, _b._ in Kent, and _ed._ at Oxf., he went to London, and wrote plays, which are now lost, and pastorals; but, moved by a sermon preached at Paul's Cross in 1577 during a plague, he deserted the theatre, and became one of its severest critics in his prose satire, _The School of Abrose_ (1579), directed against "poets, pipers, players, jesters, and such-like Caterpillars of a Commonwealth." Dedicated to Sir P. Sidney, it was not well received by him, and is believed to have evoked his _Apologie for Poetrie_ (1595). G. entered the Church, and _d._ Rector of St. Botolph's, London.

GOUGH, RICHARD (1735-1809).--Antiquary, was _b._ in London, and studied at Camb. For many years he made journeys over England in pursuit of his antiquarian studies. He _pub._ about 20 works, among which are _British Topography_ (1768), _Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain_ (1786-99), an ed. of Camden's _Britannia_, a translation of _The Arabian Nights_ (1798), and various other treatises on archæology, topography, and numismatics.

GOWER, JOHN (1325?-1408).--Poet. Although few details of his life have come down to us, he appears to have been a man of wealth and importance, connected with Kent, well known at Court, and in possession of more than one estate. He was the friend of Chaucer, who gives him the title of "the moral Gower," which has clung to him ever since. His first principal work was _Speculum Meditantis_ (the Mirror of one meditating) written in French on the subject of married life. It was long believed to have been lost. It was followed by _Vox Clamantis_ (the Voice of one crying) written in Latin, giving an account of the peasants' revolt of 1381, and attacking the misgovernment and social evils which had led to it. His third, and only English poem, was _Confessio Amantis_ (Lover's Confession), a work of 30,000 lines, consisting of tales and meditations on love, written at the request of Richard II. It is the earliest large collection of tales in the English tongue. In his old age G. became blind. He had, when about 70, retired to the Priory of St. Mary Overies, the chapel of which is now the Church of St. Saviour, Southwark, where he spent his last years, and to which he was a liberal benefactor. G. represented the serious and cultivated man of his time, in which he was reckoned the equal of Chaucer, but as a poet he is heavy and prolix.

GRAFTON, RICHARD (_d._ 1572).--Printer and chronicler, printed various ed. of the Bible and Prayer-book; also the Proclamation of the Accession of Lady Jane Grey, for which he was cast into prison, where he compiled an _Abridgement of the Chronicles of England_ (1563). To this he added in 1568 _A Chronicle at Large_. Neither holds a high place as authorities.

GRAHAME, JAMES (1765-1811).--Poet, _s._ of a lawyer, was _b._ and _ed._ in Glasgow. After spending some time in a law office in Edin., he was called to the Scottish Bar. His health being delicate, and his circumstances easy, he early retired from practice, and taking orders in the Church of England in 1809, was appointed curate successively of Shipton, Gloucestershire, and Sedgefield, Durham. He wrote several pleasing poems, of which the best is _The Sabbath_ (1804). He _d._ on a visit to Glasgow in his 47th year. His poems are full of quiet observation of country sights expressed in graceful verse.

GRAHAME, SIMON or SIMION (1570-1614).--_B._ in Edin., led a dissolute life as a traveller, soldier, and courtier on the Continent. He appears to have been a good scholar, and wrote the _Passionate Sparke of a Relenting Minde_, and _Anatomy of Humours_, the latter of which is believed to have suggested to Burton his _Anatomy of Melancholie_. He became an austere Franciscan.

GRAINGER, JAMES (1721-1766).--Poet, of a Cumberland family, studied medicine at Edin., was an army surgeon, and on the peace settled in practice in London, where he became the friend of Dr. Johnson, Shenstone, and other men of letters. His first poem, _Solitude_, appeared in 1755. He subsequently went to the West Indies (St. Kit's), where he made a rich marriage, and _pub._ his chief poem, _The Sugar-Cane_ (1764).

GRANGER, JAMES (1723-1776).--Biographer, was at Oxf. and, entering the Church, became Vicar of Shiplake, Oxon. He _pub._ a _Biographical History of England from Egbert the Great to the Revolution_ (1769). He insisted on the importance of collecting engravings of portraits and himself gathered 14,000, and gave a great impulse to the practice of making such collections.

GRANT, MRS. ANNE (M'VICAR) (1755-1838).--Was _b._ in Glasgow, and in 1779 _m._ the Rev. James Grant, minister of Laggan, Inverness-shire. She _pub._ in 1802 a vol. of poems. She also wrote _Letters from the Mountains_, and _Essays on the Superstitions of the Highlands_. After 1810 she lived in Edin., where she was the friend of Sir W. Scott and other eminent men, through whose influence a pension of £100 was bestowed upon her.

GRANT, JAMES (1822-1887).--Novelist, was the _s._ of an officer in the army, in which he himself served for a short time. He wrote upwards of 50 novels in a brisk, breezy style, of which the best known are perhaps _The Romance of War_ (1845), _Adventures of an Aide-de-Camp_, _Frank Hilton_, _Bothwell_, _Harry Ogilvie_, and _The Yellow Frigate_. He also wrote biographies of _Kirkcaldy of Grange_, _Montrose_, and others which, however, are not always trustworthy from an historical point of view.

GRANT, JAMES AUGUSTUS (1827-1892).--Traveller, was an officer in the army, and was sent by the Royal Geographical Society along with Captain JOHN HANNING SPEKE (1827-1864), to search for the equatorial lakes of Africa. Grant wrote _A Walk across Africa_, _The Botany of the Speke and Grant Expedition_, and _Khartoum as I saw it in_ 1863. Speke wrote _Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile_ (1863), and _What led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile_ (1864).

GRATTAN, THOMAS COLLEY (1792-1864).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ in Dublin, and _ed._ for the law, but did not practise. He wrote a few novels, including _The Heiress of Bruges_ (4 vols., 1830); but his best work was _Highways and Byways_, a description of his Continental wanderings, of which he _pub._ three series. He also wrote a history of the Netherlands and books on America. He was for some time British Consul at Boston, U.S.

GRAY, DAVID (1838-1861).--Poet, _s._ of a hand-loom weaver at Kirkintilloch, Dumbartonshire. He gave early promise at school, was destined for the service of the Church, and was for 4 years at Glasgow Univ. while he maintained himself by teaching. His first poems appeared in the _Glasgow Citizen_. In 1860, however, he went with his friend Robert Buchanan to London, where he soon fell into consumption. He was befriended by Mr. Monckton Milnes, afterwards Lord Houghton, but after a sojourn in the South of England, returned home to die. His chief poem, _The Luggie_ (the river of his birthplace) contains much beautiful description; but his genius reached its highest expression in a series of 30 sonnets written in full view of an early death and blighted hopes, and bearing the title, _In the Shadow_. They breathe a spirit of the deepest melancholy unrelieved by hope.

GRAY, THOMAS (1716-1771).--Poet, was _b._ in London, the _s._ of a scrivener, who, though described as "a respectable citizen," was of so cruel and violent a temper that his wife had to separate from him. To his mother and her sister, who carried on a business, G. was indebted for his liberal education at Eton (where he became a friend of Horace Walpole), and Camb. After completing his Univ. course he accompanied Walpole to France and Italy, where he spent over two years, when a difference arising G. returned to England, and went back to Camb. to take his degree in law without, however, any intention of practising. He remained at Camb. for the rest of his life, passing his time in the study of the classics, natural science, and antiquities, and in visits to his friends, of whom Walpole was again one. It was in 1747 that his first poem, the _Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College_, appeared, and it was followed between 1750 and 1757 by his _Pindaric Odes_, including _The Progress of Poesy_, and _The Bard_, which were, however, somewhat coldly received. Nevertheless he had, on the death of Colley Cibber, the offer of the laureateship, which he declined; but in 1768 he accepted the Professorship of Modern History in his Univ., worth £400 a year. Having been drawn to the study of Icelandic and Celtic poetry he produced _The Fatal Sisters_, and _The Descent of Odin_, in which are apparent the first streaks of the dawn of the Romantic Revival. G.'s poems occupy little space, but what he wrote he brought to the highest perfection of which he was capable, and although there is a tendency on the part of some modern critics to depreciate him, it is probable that his place will always remain high among all but the first order of poets. Probably no poem has had a wider acceptance among all classes of readers than his _Elegy in a Country Churchyard_. In addition to his fame as a poet, he enjoys that of one of the greatest of English letter-writers, and of a really great scholar. He _d._ at Camb. after a short illness following upon a gradually declining state of health.

_Life_ by Gosse (Men of Letters Series, 1882).

GREELEY, HORACE (1811-1872).--Journalist and miscellaneous writer, was the _s._ of a small farmer in New Hampshire. His early life was passed first as a printer, and thereafter in editorial work. He started in 1841, and conducted until his death, the _New York Tribune_. He was long a leader in American politics, and in 1872 was an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency. His writings, which are chiefly political and economical, include _Essays on Political Economy_ (1870), and _Recollections of a Busy Life_ (1868).

GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837-1883).--Historian, was the _s._ of a tradesman in Oxf., where he was _ed._, first at Magdalen Coll. School, and then at Jesus Coll. He entered the Church, and served various cures in London, under a constant strain caused by delicate health. Always an enthusiastic student of history, his scanty leisure was devoted to research. In 1869 he finally gave up clerical work, and received the appointment of librarian at Lambeth. He had been laying plans for various historical works, including a History of the English Church as exhibited in a series of Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury, and, what he proposed as his _magnum opus_, A History of England under the Angevin Kings. The discovery, however, that his lungs were affected, necessitated the abridgment of all his schemes, and he concentrated his energies on the preparation of his _Short History of the English People_, which appeared in 1874, and at once gave him an assured place in the first rank of historical writers. In 1877 he _m._ Miss Alice Stopford, by whose talents and devotion he was greatly assisted in carrying out and completing such work as his broken health enabled him to undertake during his few remaining years. Abandoning his proposed history of the Angevins, he confined himself to expanding his _Short History_ into _A History of the English People_ in 4 vols. (1878-80), and writing _The Making of England_, of which one vol. only, coming down to 828, had appeared when he _d._ at Mentone in March 1883. After his death appeared _The Conquest of England_. The _Short History_ may be said to have begun a new epoch in the writing of history, making the social, industrial, and moral progress of the people its main theme. To infinite care in the gathering and sifting of his material G. added a style of wonderful charm, and an historical imagination which has hardly been equalled.

GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737).--Poet, is known as the author of _The Spleen_, a lively and original poem in octosyllabic verse on the subject of low spirits and the best means of prevention and cure. It has life-like descriptions, sprightliness, and lightness of touch, and was admired by Pope and Gray. The poem owes its name to the use of the term in the author's day to denote depression. G., who held an appointment in the Customs, appears to have been a quiet, inoffensive person, an entertaining companion, and a Quaker.

GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882).--Philosopher, was _b._ at Birken Rectory, Yorkshire, and _ed._ at Rugby and Balliol Coll., Oxf., where he became Whyte Prof. of Moral Philosophy and, by his character, ability, and enthusiasm on social questions, exercised a powerful influence. His chief works are an _Introduction to Hume's Treatise on Human Nature_ (Clarendon Press ed.), in which he criticised H.'s philosophy severely from the idealist standpoint, and _Prolegomena to Ethics_, _pub._ posthumously.