Chapter VII (2)

[56] There is a very interesting, but by no means flattered, account of Lady Blessington and of her dinners and receptions in Greville’s _Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria_, chapter iv., p. 167, vol. i.

[57] Edward L. Bulwer (Lord Lytton), b. 1803; d. 1873; _Pelham_, 1828; _Rienzi_, 1835; _Caxton Novels_, 1849-53; _Richelieu_, 1839; his _Biography_ (never fully completed) has been written by his son, the second Lord Lytton. It is doubtful, however, if its developments, and inevitable counter-developments, have brought any access of honor to the elder Bulwer.

[58] Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), b. 1804; d. 1881. _Vivian Grey_, 1826-27; _Contarini Fleming_, 1832; _Coningsby_, 1844; _Lothair_, 1870. Was Premier, 1867, 1874-80. Created Earl of Beaconsfield, 1876.

[59] _Vaurien_, 1797; _Flim-Flams_, 1805; _Despotism_, or _Fall of the Jesuits_, 1811.

[60] A. E. Chalon, an artist much in vogue in the days of “Tokens,”--who also painted Lady Blessington,--but of no lasting reputation.

[61] In illustration of his comparatively humble position early, Greville in his later _Journal_, Chapter XXIV., speaks of Disraeli’s once proposing to Moxon, the publisher, to take him (Disraeli) into partnership; Greville says Moxon told him this.

[62] George Noel Gordon (Lord Byron), b. (London) 1788; d. (Greece) 1824. _Hours of Idleness_, 1807; _English Bards, etc._, 1809; _Childe Harold_ (2 cantos), 1812; _Don Juan_, 1819-24; Moore’s _Life_, 1830; Trelawney, _Recollections, etc._, 1858. The first volume (Macmillan, 1897) has appeared of a new edition of Byron’s works, with voluminous notes (in over-fine print) by William Ernest Henley. The editorial stand-point may be judged by this averment from the preface,--“the sole English poet bred since Milton to live a master-influence in the world at large.”

Another full edition of works, with editing by Earl of Lovelace (grandson of Byron), is announced as shortly to appear from the press of Murray in London, and of Scribners in New York.

[63] Byron’s _Narrative_, published in the first volume of _Hawkesworth’s Collection_. Hon. John Byron, Admiral, etc., was at one time Governor of Newfoundland; b. 1723; d. 1786.

[64] The short line is not enough. We must give the burden of that apostrophe to the land of Hellas, though only in a note:

“Sweet are thy groves, and verdant are thy fields;
Thine olive ripe as when Minerva smiled,
And still his honeyed wealth Hymettus yields.
There the blithe bee his fragrant fortress builds,
The free-born wanderer of the mountain air;
Apollo still thy long, long summer gilds,
Still in his beams Mendeli’s marbles glare,
Art, Glory, Freedom fail, but Nature still is fair.”

[65] I cite that part of the “Dream” which, though written much time after, was declared by the poet, and by both friends and foes, to represent faithfully his attitude--both moral and physical--on the occasion of his marriage.

[66] This poem appeared about the middle of April, 1816. The final break in his relations with Lady Byron had occurred, probably, in early February of the same year. On December 10, 1815, his daughter Ada was born; and on April 25th, next ensuing, he sailed away from England forever. Byron insisted that the poem (“Fare thee well”), though written in sincerity, was published against his inclinations, through the over-zeal of a friend.--_Moore’s Life_, p. 526, vol. i.

[67] Percy Bysshe Shelley, b. 1792; d. (by drowning in Gulf of Spezia) 1822. _Queen Mab_, pub. 1821 (but privately printed 1813); _Alastor_, 1816; _Laon and Cythna_ (afterward _Revolt of Islam_), 1818; _Adonais_, 1821. _Life_, by Mrs. Shelley, 1845; Hogg’s _Life_, 1858; Rossetti’s, 1870. Besides which there is biographic material, more or less full, by Forman, Trelawny, McCarthy, Leigh Hunt, Garnett, and Jeaffreson (_Real Shelley_). _Life_, in _English Men of Letters_, by the late John Addington Symonds; and in 1886, Professor Dowden’s work.

[68] Rossetti, in _Ency. Britannica_, says, “in Christ Church, Newark”--as to which item (repeated by Dowden) there has been some American wonderment!

[69] July, 1804, to July, 1810; _Athenæum_, No. 3,006, June, 1885.

[70] William Godwin, b. 1756; d. 1836. _Political Justice_, 1793; _Caleb Williams_, 1794. William Austen (author of _Peter Rugg_), in his _Letters from London_, 1802-3, describes a visit to Godwin at his cottage--Somerston; notices a portrait of “Mary” (Mrs. Shelley) hanging over the mantel.

[71] Miss Martineau (p. 304, vol. ii., _Autobiography_) says that Godwin told her he wrote the first half of _Caleb Williams_ in three months, and then stopped for six--finishing it in three more. “This pause,” she says, “in the middle of a work so intense, seems to me a remarkable incident.”

[72] Separation took place about the middle of June, 1814; she destroyed herself, November 10, 1816. At one time there had been ugly rumors that she was untrue to him; and there is some reason to believe that Shelley once entertained this belief, but there is no adequate testimony to that end; Godwin’s _dixit_ should not count for very much. Dowden leaves the matter in doubt.

[73] I am reminded that Macready’s impersonation of Werner was a noted and successful one. _Sardanapalus_ and the _Two Foscari_ enlisted also the fervor of this actor’s dramatic indorsement. But these all--needed a Macready.

[74] Very full account of the Chancery proceedings in respect to children of Shelley may be found in Professor Dowden’s biography. By this it would appear that by decision of Lord Eldon (July 25, 1818) Shelley was allowed to see his children twelve times a year--if in the presence of their regularly appointed guardians (Dr. and Mrs. Hume).

[75] John Keats, b. 1795; d. 1821. First “collected” _Poems_, 1817; _Endymion_, 1818; second volume of collected _Poems_, 1820; _Life and Letters_--Lord Houghton (Milnes), 1848.

[76] “Ode to a Nightingale,” vi.

[77] In letter 573, to Murray (Halleck Col., date of Genoa, November, 1822), Byron says: “I see somebody represents the Hunts and Mrs. Shelley as living in my house; it is a falsehood.… I do not see them twice a month.”

[78] Professor Hoppin, in his honest and entertaining _Old England_, speaks of it (p. 258) as “a dull, dirty village,” and--of the church--as “most forlorn.”

[79] _Gray Days and Gold_; chapter viii. Macmillan, 1896.

[80] This relates, of course, to the condition of the Abbey in the days of Byron’s childhood. Colonel Wildman, a distinguished officer in the Peninsular War, who succeeded to the ownership (by purchase) about 1817, expended very large sums upon such judicious improvements as took away its old look of desolation.

[81] _Croker Papers_, chapter xviii. Closing of Session of 1833. Croker would have spoken more gently of him in those latter days, when the king turned his back on Reformers.

[82] The _Penny Magazine_ appeared first in 1832; the _Cyclopædia_ in the following year.

[83] The reduction of tax from 4_d._ to 1_d._ took place in 1836.

[84] Thomas Babington Macaulay, b. 1800; d. 1859. _History of England_, 1848-55-61. _Lays of Ancient Rome_, 1842. His _Essays_ (published in America), 1840. Complete _Works_, London, 8 vols., 1866. _Life_, by Trevelyan, 1876.

[85] Greville (_Journal of Queen Victoria’s Time_, vol. i., p. 369) speaks of a dinner at Lady Holland’s--Macaulay being present--when her ladyship, growing tired of the eloquence of Speakers of the House of Commons and Fathers of the Church, said: “Well, Mr. Macaulay, can you tell us anything of dolls--when first named or used?” Macaulay was ready on the instant--dilated upon Roman dolls and others--citing Persius, “_Veneri donato a virgine puppæ_.”

[86] See p. 116, _Ante_.

[87] _Memoirs and Correspondence_, 1885.

[88] Lang’s _Lockhart_, p. 42, vol. ii.

[89] Frederick Marryat, b. 1792; d. 1848; R. N., 1806; Commander, 1815; resigned, 1830. _Frank Mildmay_, 1829; _Midshipman Easy_, 1836; _Peter Simple_, 1837; _Jacob Faithful_, 1838; _Life_, by his daughter, Florence, 1872.

[90] _Diary in America_, by Captain F. Marryat, 1839.

[91] William Harrison Ainsworth, b 1805; d. 1882. _Rookwood_, 1834--chiefly notable for its wonderful description of Dick Turpin’s ride--upon Black Bess--from London to York. _Tower of London_, 1840.

[92] G. P. R. James, b. 1801; d. 1860. _Richelieu_ (first novel), 1829; _Darnley_, 1830; _One in a Thousand_, 1835; _Attila_, 1837. His books count far above a hundred in number: Lowndes (Bohn) gives over seventy titles of novels alone. What he might have done, with a modern type-writer at command, it is painful to imagine.

INDEX.

Abbotsford, 66;
the author’s visit to, 67 _et seq._; 81.

“Abou-ben-Adhem,” 152.

“Adam Bede,” 287.

“Adonais,” 232.

Ainsworth, W. H., 283.

“Alastor,” 221.

Alison, Rev. Archibald, 84.

“Anacreon,” Moore’s, 154.

“Ancient Mariner, Rime of the,” 56.

Arnold, Dr., his experience with the young princes, 118.

Aylmer, Rose, 129.

“Battle of Blenheim, The,” 9.

“Battle of Hohenlinden,” Campbell’s, 53.

“Battle of Ivry, The,” 264.

Beaconsfield, Lord. _See_ Disraeli.

_Blackwood’s Magazine_, 42; 46; 52.

Blessington, Lady, 174 _et seq._;
her many fascinations, 176;
her downfall, 186; 242; 259; 264.

“Border Minstrelsy,” Scott’s, 60.

Boswell, Gifford’s satire on, 115.

Bowles, Caroline, 23.

Bowles, William Lisle, 248.

Brougham, Henry, 87;
his connection with the _Edinburgh Review_, 88;
becomes Lord Chancellor, 89;
his manner in Parliament, 90;
his fervid oratory, 108, note;
his many quarrels, 109;
his death, 110; 113;
his famous defence of Queen Caroline, 124; 177;
his criticism of Byron, 193; 255; 265.

Brown, Dr. Thomas, his connection with the _Edinburgh Review_, 107, note.

Browning, Robert, 288.

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward L., 178; 254.

Byron, Lord, 56;
his satire on Scott, 78;
Leigh Hunt’s quarrel with, 144;
his opinion of Moore, 161;
compared with Moore, 162;
his break with George IV., 168;
leaves England, 188;
his family history, 190;
his boyhood, 191;
his controversy with Brougham, 193;
his unfortunate marriage, 201 _et seq._;
in London, 206;
separates from his wife, 209;
leaves England, 212;
his foreign tour, 214;
meets Shelley, 216;
Shelley’s influence on, 222;
in Italy, 223;
his scepticism, 224;
at Shelley’s funeral, 235;
his character, 239, 240;
sails for Greece, 242;
his death, 246; 249.

“Caleb Williams,” 219.

Campbell, Thomas, his primness, 52;
his first poem, 54;
his clear field in 1799, 56;
his work in prose and poetry, 58;
compared with Scott, 61; 82.

Canning, George, 166.

Carlyle, Thomas, his mildness towards Southey, 19;
his criticism of Scott’s work, 75; 288.

Caroline, Queen, marries the Prince, 121;
separates from her husband, 122;
her trial, 124.

Chalon, A. E., 183.

Charlotte, Princess, 122.

Chaworth, Mary, Byron’s poem to, 193; 250.

“Childe Harold,” 195; 238.

Cochrane, Lord, 282.

Cockburn, Lord, his account of Jeffrey, 93.

Coleridge, Hartley, his home, 4;
Southey’s letter to, 8.

Coleridge, S. T., his separation from his wife, 8;
his intercourse with Southey, 11;
with Southey at Greta Hall, 15;
chafes at Southey’s odes, 18;
compared with Southey, 20; 56.

“Confessions of an Opium Eater, The,” 34.

Croker, John Wilson, 116;
his criticism of Macaulay, 277.

“Croker Papers, The,” 18, note; 279.

“Daniel Deronda,” 287.

De Quincey, Thomas, his home, 4;
Robinson’s description of, 28;
his early years, 29;
settles near Grasmere, 31;
his affection for Catharine Wordsworth, 32;
his marriage, 34;
his laudanum drinking, 35;
his “Reminiscences,” 37;
last years and death of, 38, 40;
his assertion as to the appreciation of Wordsworth in 1802, 56, note.

Derwent Water, 2; 5; 6.

“Devereux,” 178.

Dickens, Charles, his caricature of Leigh Hunt, 147.

“Disowned, The,” 178.

Disraeli, Benjamin, his foppishness, 179;
his antecedents, 180 _et seq._;
his literary work, 182 _et seq._;
his ability as Lord Beaconsfield, 186; 201.

“Doctor, The,” Southey’s, 20.

“Don Juan,” 224, 239.

D’Orsay, Comte, 178, 180, 186.

Dwight, Timothy, 12.

_Edinburgh Review_, founded by Smith and Jeffrey, 86.

“Endymion,” 230.

Erskine, William, 80.

_Examiner, The_, 142.

“First Gentleman of Europe, The,” 165.

Fitzherbert, Mrs., 120 _et seq._

Fox, Charles, 96.

_Francesca da Rimini_, Leigh Hunt’s, 148.

“Frankenstein,” 250.

Franklin, Benjamin, 143.

Gamba, Count, 242.

“Gebir,” Landor’s, 129.

George III., loses his reason, 17, note;
Scott’s allusions to, 77; 118.

George IV., appointed Regent, 17;
his friendliness toward Sir Walter Scott, 78;
his later laxity, 119;
his unfortunate situation, 120;
ascends the throne, 123;
last days of, 165.

“Gertrude of Wyoming,” 54; 57.

Gifford, William, 114 _et seq._; 163.

Godwin, Mary, elopes with Shelley, 220.

Godwin, William, 219.

Gordon, General, 186.

Gore House, 177.

Grasmere, 4.

Greta Hall, 15.

Greville, Charles, 166.

Hallam, Arthur, Tennyson’s lament for, 173.

Hallam, Henry, his serenity, 171;
contrasted with Hazlitt, 172, 173; 177.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, his account of Leigh Hunt, 146.

Hazlitt, William, his cynicism, 168;
his friendship with the Lambs, 169;
his strenuous personality, 170.

Helvellyn, Mt., 4, 5.

Holland, Lady, 96; 213; 264.

Holland, Lord, 96.

Horner, Francis, 86.

“Hours of Idleness,” 193.

Hucknall-Torkard, 247.

Humphreys, David, 12.

Hunt, Isaac, 143.

Hunt, John, 142.

Hunt, Leigh, imprisonment of, 142;
his American blood, 143;
his first writings, 144;
his pretty phrases, 145;
his easy methods of living, 147;
his poetry, 148 _et seq._;
his opinion of Moore, 161; 163;
compared with Hazlitt, 170;
compared with Shelley, 228;
his friendship for Shelley, 234;
at Shelley’s funeral, 235; 269.

“Idler in Italy, The,” Lady Blessington’s, 175.

“Imaginary Conversations,” Landor’s, 16, note; 132.

Ingersoll, Robert, 224.

“In Memoriam,” 173; 232.

“Irish Avatar, The,” Byron’s, 168.

“Isle of Palms, The,” John Wilson’s, 42, 45.

James, G. P. R., 283.

“Japhet in Search of a Father,” 281.

Jeffrey, Francis, his association with Sydney Smith, 85, 86;
his criticism of Southey and Wordsworth, 92;
marries Miss Wilkes, 94;
becomes Lord Jeffrey, 95; 113.

Jersey, Lady, 213.

“_Julia de Roubigné_,” Mackenzie’s, 84.

Keats, John, his school days, 229;
publishes “Endymion,” 230;
goes to Italy, 231;
his death, 232, 233.

Keble, John, 254.

“Kehama, The Curse of,” Southey’s, 13.

“Kenilworth,” 73.

Keswick, 3; 8.

Knight, Charles, 253.

_Knight’s Quarterly Magazine_, 263.

“Lady of the Lake, The,” 65.

Lake Country, The, 1 _et seq._

“Lalla Rookh,” 153;
great success of, 157.

Lamb, Charles, 12;
his opinion of Southey, 16, note;
his friendship with Hazlitt, 169.

Lamb, Mary, 169.

Landor, Walter Savage, 16; 18; 20; 56;
his lack of popularity, 125 _et seq._;
his fondness for the country, 127, 128;
his “Gebir,” 129;
goes abroad, 131;
in Italy, 132 _et seq._;
his genius for skimming, 135;
his domestic troubles, 136, 137;
his old age and death, 139;
strange contrasts in, 165;
compared with Byron, 188; 228.

Lang, Andrew, 71; 280.

Lansdowne, Lord, 255; 265.

“Laon and Cythna,” 225.

“Last Days of Pompeii, The,” 179.

“Lay of the Last Minstrel, The,” 60;
Byron’s satire on, 78.

“Lays of Ancient Rome,” 263.

Lockhart, J. G., his work on the _Quarterly Review_, 47;
quotation from Lang’s “Life” of, 71;
Scott’s dying words to, 81; 280.

“Lycidas,” 232.

Lytton, Lord, 180. _See also_ Bulwer-Lytton.

Macaulay, Thomas Babington, his ancestry, 260;
at the university, 262;
his first writings, 263;
supports the Reform Bill, 265;
finishes his “Lays of Ancient Rome,” 267;
in Parliament, 270;
his great History, 272;
elevated to the peerage, 275;
his death, 276.

Macaulay, Zachary, 261.

Mackenzie, Henry, 84.

Mackintosh, Sir James, his political career, 104;
failure of his literary plans, 105 _et seq._

“Man of Feeling, The,” Mackenzie’s, 84.

“Manfred,” 215.

Markham, Dr., 118.

“Marmion,” 61.

Marryat, Frederick, goes to sea, 281;
his books, 282.

Mavrocordatos, 243.

Melbourne, Lord, 256; 265.

“Midshipman Easy,” 281.

Milbanke, Miss, 203, 204; 250.

Milbanke, Sir Ralph, 206.

Moore, Thomas, 56; 101;
his acquaintance with Leigh Hunt, 153;
his success in society, 154;
his impressions of America, 155;
his domestic relations, 158;
his great reputation, 160;
his melodious songs, 164; 177.

More, Mrs. Hannah, 29, 261.

“Murder as a Fine Art,” appears in _Blackwood’s_, 37.

Murray, John, 78;
starts _The Quarterly_, 114; 160; 205.

_New Monthly Magazine, The_, 58.

Newman, Cardinal, 254.

Newspapers, marvellous increase in circulation of, from 1836 to
1838, 254.

Newstead Abbey, 189.

“_Noctes Ambrosianæ_,” 31; 42.

“North, Christopher,” 40 _et seq._, 269.

O’Connell, Daniel, 184.

“Old Mortality,” 73.

Paine, Thomas, 143.

Peel, Sir Robert, 166; 255; 259; 265; 271.

“Pelham,” 178.

_Penny Cyclopædia, The_, 253.

_Penny Magazine, The_, 253.

“Peter Bell,” Lamb’s and Robinson’s opinions of, 27.

“Peter Simple,” 282.

“Pleasures of Hope, The,” 54.

“Political Justice,” 219.

Pusey, Dr., 254.

_Quarterly, The_, founding of, 114.

_Quarterly Review, The_, 16.

“Queen Mab,” 221.

Reform Bill, The, 100; 253.

“Revolt of Islam, The,” 225.

“Rienzi,” 179.

Robinson, Henry Crabb, his friendship with Southey, 23, 24;
his “Diary and Reminiscences,” 26; 264.

“Roderick the Goth,” Southey’s, 14.

Rogers, Samuel, 177.

Ruskin, John, 287.

Rydal, 3.

Scott, Anne, death of, 70.

Scott, Charles, death of, 70.

Scott, Sir Walter, 47;
his boyhood, 59;
his first poems appear, 60;
compared with Campbell, 61;
his marriage, 65;
genealogy of, 72, note;
the charm of his stories, 73 _et seq._;
his love of pageantry, 77;
his management of the Edinboro’ reception to the King, 79;
his visit to the Mediterranean, 80;
his death, 81; 82;
his opinion of Gifford, 116;
his admiration for Moore, 161; 168.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe, his early life, 216;
his marriage and unhappiness, 218;
elopes with Mary Godwin, 220;
meets Byron, 221;
his influence on Byron, 222;
his scepticism, 224, 228;
his death and pagan burial, 235;
his character, 236.

Smith, Goldwin, 65; 183.

Smith, Sydney, settles in Edinboro’, 84;
assists in founding _The Edinburgh Review_, 86;
goes to London, 96;
his ministerial career, 97 _et seq._;
his famous “Dame Partington” simile, 100;
his wit, 102;
his praise of Moore, 161; 177; 264.

Southey, Robert, 5 _et seq._;
his early life, 11 _et seq._;
settles at Keswick, 14;
appointed Poet Laureate, 18;
compared with Coleridge, 20;
refuses a baronetcy, 22;
death of, 24; 56;
meets Landor at Como, 131; 168; 177;
Shelley’s acquaintance with, 218;
Byron’s satire on, 224; 228.

Staël, Madame de, 106; 215.

Stamp Tax, The, effect of its reduction on the newspapers, 254.

Stanley, Lord, 91.

Stewart, Dugald, 48; 84.

Story, W. W., Landor’s connection with, 139.

Strawberry Hill, 261.

Swan Inn, The, 4.

“Talisman, The,” 73.

Tennyson, Lord, his grief at the death of Arthur Hallam, 172;
his dramas, 223; 288.

Thackeray, W. M., 287.

“Thalaba,” 13;
profits on, 15.

Thrale, Madame, 115.

“Tintern Abbey,” Wordsworth’s, 62.

Trelawney, E. J., 235; 242.

Trumbull, John, 144.

Victoria, Queen, beginning of her reign, 167;
her accession, 255;
her marriage, 257; 287.

“Vision of Judgment, A,” 224.

“Vivian Grey,” 182.

Wellington, Duke of, 166; 255.

West, Benjamin, 144; 245.

Wilkes, John, 94, note.

William IV., 81;
his nerve and pluck, 167;
his lack of ceremony, 252;
some events of his time, 253, 254.

“William and Helen,” Scott’s, 60.

Wilson, James, 41, note.

Wilson, John, 31; 36;
his character, 40, 41;
his writings in _Blackwood’s_, 42, 46;
his diaries, 44;
becomes a professor, 48;
his success, 50; 82.

Windermere, 2 _et seq._

“Wishing Gate, The,” 4.

Wollstonecraft, Mary, 220.

Wordsworth, Catharine, 32.

Wordsworth, Dorothy, 43, note.

Wordsworth, William, his opposition to railways, 3;
his grave, 4;
his attitude toward Southey’s odes, 18;
his account of Southey’s last years, 23; 30; 31; 32; 56;
his unlikeness to Scott, 61 _et seq._; 168; 228.