Chapter XXXIV: Act I: Sc. 1

THE LATE MR. CURRAN

Now republished for the first time.

353. _The late shots at Edinburgh._ Hazlitt may refer to the
conviction and execution (Jan. 28, 1829) of the notorious
William Burke. His partner Hare had given evidence against him
and had been released.

THE COURT JOURNAL—A DIALOGUE

Now republished for the first time. The _Court Journal_ was a weekly paper founded by Henry Colburn, May 2, 1829.

PAGE

355. ‘_Our withers_,’ _etc._ _Hamlet_, Act III. Sc. 2.

‘_Married a highwayman_,’ _etc._ _The Beggar’s Opera_, I. 1.

‘_The story of Miss ——_,’ _etc._ Cf. vol. XI. (_Fugitive
Writings_), p. 383 note.

356. _Mr. C——._ Henry Colburn presumably.

THE LATE DR. PRIESTLEY

Now republished for the first time.

357. ‘_His body thought._’ Cf. Donne, _An Anatomy of the World_, The
Second Anniversary, 245–6.

358. _Controversy with Dr. Price._ Published in 1778.

‘_Dazzling_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Comus_, 791.

359. ‘_Anthropagi_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Othello_, Act I. Sc. 3.

‘_Nay, an you mouth_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act V. Sc. 1.

‘_None but a Cobbett_,’ _etc._ See Cobbett’s _Observations on
Priestley’s Emigration_ (_Selections_, _etc._ I. 15, _et
seq._).

SECTS AND PARTIES

Now republished for the first time.

361. _A board of Utility at Charing Cross._ Hazlitt may have had in
his mind Francis Place, the radical tailor of Charing Cross,
whose house was well known as a Radical meeting-place, but the
essay attacks the Utilitarian party at large.

362. _Mrs. Chatterley._ The wife of the actor William Simmonds
Chatterley. It is difficult to understand what Hazlitt’s
innuendo is. The journal he refers to is presumably the
_Morning Chronicle_.

363. ‘_What they are least assured._’ Cf. _Measure for Measure_, Act
II. Sc. 2,

CONVERSATIONS AS GOOD AS REAL (1)

These two papers, now republished for the first time, were omitted for some reason by Hazlitt when he brought out _Mr. Northcote’s Conversations_. See vol. VI. note to p. 420. T. is Hazlitt, J., Northcote. This first Conversation would have followed after Conversation the Twentieth. See for Hogarth, vol. VIII. (_English Comic Writers_) 133 _et seq._, and Lamb’s essay ‘On the Genius and Character of Hogarth’ (_Works_, ed. E. V. Lucas, I. 70).

PAGE

364. _That old Mother W._ It is not clear to what figure Northcote
refers. The procuress in _The Harlot’s Progress_ (Plate I.) was
the notorious Mother Needham who died in 1731.

_Fielding has tried_, _etc._ _Tom Jones_, Book IV. chap. ii.

_That remark of his._ Cf. _ante_, p. 268, and vol. VIII. p. 442.

‘_With her pie-dish_,’ _etc._ Hazlitt’s phrase. See vol. VIII. p.
137.

367. _The ‘Possessed Boy.’_ A fresco in the chapel of San Nilo,
Grotta Ferrata. The drawing from this fresco was presumably
by John Bryant Lane (1788–1868), who spent ten years in Rome
(1817–1827).

_The late Edinburgh murders._ See _ante_, p. 353 and note.

_The group at Ambrose’s._ See Wilson’s _Noctes Ambrosianæ_.

368. _One of his tales._ Crabbe’s tale ‘The Confidant,’ upon which
Lamb founded _The Wife’s Trial; or, the Intruding Widow_,
published in _Blackwood_, 1828.

_Tam O’Shanter._ Statues of Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny, by
Thoms, were exhibited in London in 1829.

_Ducrow._ Andrew Ducrow (1793–1842), the equestrian performer.

CONVERSATIONS AS GOOD AS REAL (2)

369. G. Godwin, probably.

370. _A classical education._ Cf. vol. I. (_The Round Table_), p. 5
and note.

TRIFLES LIGHT AS AIR

Republished by Mr. W. C. Hazlitt in his edition of _The Round Table_ (Bohn, 1871). Nos. I.–X. appeared in _The Atlas_ on Sept. 27, 1829; Nos. XI.–XVII. on Oct. 4, 1829. The following additional ‘Trifle’ (XVIII.) appeared in Bohn’s Library, though not in the Magazine: ‘The French Revolutionists in the “Reign of Terror,” with Robespierre at their head, made one grand mistake. They really thought that by getting rid of the patrons and abettors of the ancient _régime_ they should put an end to the breed of tyrants and slaves; whereas in order to do this it would be necessary to put an end to the whole human race.’

PAGE

372. _It was merely a fashion_, _etc._ See Byron’s letter to Murray on
Bowles and Pope (_Letters, etc._, ed. Prothero, V. 553 and
note).

‘_Procrastination_,’ _etc._ Young, _Night Thoughts_, I. 393.

375. ‘_Ears polite._’ Pope, _Moral Essays_, IV. 150.

‘_Inconstant moon._’ _Romeo and Juliet_, II. 2.

COMMON SENSE

Now republished for the first time.

PAGE

377. ‘_Its price_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Job_ xxviii. 18.

‘_Fairly worth the seven._’ Pope, _Moral Essays_, IV. 44.

‘_Comes home_,’ _etc._ Bacon, _Essays_, Dedication.

378. ‘_Fear_,’ _etc._ Cowper, _The Task_, II. 325.

_Commodore Trunnion_, _etc._ See _Peregrine Pickle_, Chap. viii.

379. ‘_They have_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Julius Cæsar_, Act II. Sc. 1.

380. ‘_Crack_,’ _etc._ ‘The father cracks of horses, pleughs, and
kye.’ Burns, _Cotter’s Saturday Night_, St. VIII.

_Phlegmatic C——._ Hazlitt probably refers to Cobbett. Cf. a
passage in _Table-Talk_ (vol. VI. p. 102).

THE SPIRIT OF CONTROVERSY

Now republished for the first time.

381. ‘_Envy_,’ _etc._ Cf. ‘From envy, hatred, and malice, and all
uncharitableness.’ _The Litany._

383. ‘_Root of the matter._’ _Job_ xix. 28.

‘_Their hearts_,’ _etc._ Cf. _S. Luke_ xxiv. 32.

‘_A coil and pudder._’ See _ante_, notes to pp. 309 and 335.

_Mr. Taylor’s discourses._ Robert Taylor (1784–1844), the
notorious deistical clergyman, who, early in 1828, had been
sentenced to a year’s imprisonment for a blasphemous discourse.

_The Duke of Newcastle._ The fourth Duke (1785–1851), a violent
opponent of Catholic Emancipation passed by Wellington’s
ministry in 1829.

‘_Strange_,’ _etc._ Byrom, _On the Feuds between Handel and
Bononcini_.

384. ‘_Like a thick scarf_,’ _etc._ See _ante_, note to p. 82.

‘_Whose edge_,’ _etc._ _Cymbeline_, Act III. Sc. 4.

‘_Of whatsoe’er descent_,’ _etc._ Dryden, _Absalom and
Achitophel_, I. 100–3.

ENVY

Republished in _Sketches and Essays_.

387. ‘_Jealous leer malign._’ _Paradise Lost_, IV. 503.

388. _‘Phœnix_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._ v. 272.

‘_Though wondering senates_,’ _etc._ Pope, _Moral Essays_, I.
184–7.

390. ‘_Like to a gate_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Troilus and Cressida_, Act III.
Sc. 3.

391. ‘_The learned pate_,’ _etc._ _Timon of Athens_, Act IV. Sc. 3.

ON PREJUDICE

This and the two following essays were published together in _Sketches and Essays_.

392. ‘_God’s image_,’ _etc._ Fuller, _The Holy State_, II. 20, ‘The
Good Sea-Captain.’

_Mr. Murray no longer libels men of colour._ In _Sketches and
Essays_ these words were changed to ‘men of colour are no
longer to be libelled.’

393. ‘_That one_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Othello_, Act V. Sc. 2.

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED

PAGE

395. ‘_Most ignorant_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Measure for Measure_, Act II. Sc.
2.

‘_Cherish_,’ _etc._ _Reflections on the Revolution in France_
(_Select Works_, ed. Payne, II. 102).

‘_Rings the earth_,’ _etc._ Cf. Cowper, _The Task_, III. 129–30.

396. ‘_Murder to dissect._’ Wordsworth, _The Tables Turned_, l. 28.

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED

This essay, which does not seem to have been published in _The Atlas_, is printed from _Sketches and Essays_.

PAGE

396. ‘_Reason_,’ _etc._ Cf. _1 Peter_ iii. 15.

398. ‘_There is nothing_,’ _etc._ Cf. vol. VIII. (_English Comic
Writers_) p. 124 and note.

400. ‘_Thus shall we_,’ _etc._ Cf. _1 John_ iv. I.

‘_Comes home_,’ _etc._ Bacon, _Essays_, Dedication.

‘_Still, small voice._’ _1 Kings_ xix. 12.

ON PARTY SPIRIT

Published in _Winterslow_.

402. ‘_The salt of the earth._’ _S. Matthew_ v. 13.

‘_Cuts_,’ _etc._ Cf. Cowper, _The Task_, III. 208–9.

‘_The sentiment_,’ _etc._ Cf. _ante_, p. 218 and note.

PROJECT FOR A NEW THEORY, ETC.

This essay was published in _Literary Remains_, and again, more fully, in _Winterslow_, where it is dated 1828. It may possibly have been printed in _The Atlas_ for 1829, a complete file of which the Editors have not been able to find. The essay is here printed from _Winterslow_. See Mr. W. C. Hazlitt’s _Memoirs_ (1867), I. 24 _et seq._

PAGE

405. _Mr. Currie._ This should apparently be Corrie. See _Memoirs_, I.
25.

_The Test and Corporation Acts._ Repealed in 1828.

409. ‘_I am monarch_,’ _etc._ Cowper, _Verses supposed to be written
by Alexander Selkirk_.

‘_Founded as the rock._’ _Macbeth_, Act III. Sc. 4.

410. _Mr. Burke talks_, _etc._ Hazlitt seems to refer to Burke’s
Essay, _On the Sublime and Beautiful_, Part IV. §25.

411. ‘_There’s no divinity_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act IV. Sc. 5.

412. _Essay on Wages. An Essay on the Circumstances which determine
the Rate of Wages, etc._ (1826).

‘_Throw your bread_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Ecclesiastes_ xi. 1.

413. ‘_While this machine_,’ etc. _Hamlet_, Act II. Sc. 2.

419. ‘_Like the wild goose_,’ _etc._ _As You Like It_, Act II. Sc. 7.

ON THE CONDUCT OF LIFE, ETC.

Published in _Literary Remains_, from which it is here reprinted. See Mr. W. C. Hazlitt’s _Memoirs_ (1867), I. 16, where the date of the essay is fixed as 1822, when Hazlitt’s son was ten years old.

PAGE

425. ‘_The salt of the earth._’ _S. Matthew_ v. 13.

‘_According to your own dignity_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act II.
Sc. 2.

428. ‘_How shall we part_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Paradise Lost_, XI. 282–5.

‘_The study of the Classics_,’ _etc._ See vol. I. (_The Round
Table_) p. 4 and notes.

431. ‘_Practique_,’ _etc._ _Henry V._, Act I. Sc. 1.

435. ‘_We hunt the wind_,’ _etc._ See _Don Quixote_, Part I. Book II.
chap. xiii.

‘_Quit, quit_,’ _etc._ Cf. Suckling’s Song, ‘Why so pale and wan,
fond lover?’

436. ‘_When on the yellow_,’ _etc._ Coleridge, _Love_, St. 16.

437. ‘_Nods and winks_,’ _etc._ Cf. _L’Allegro_, 28.

439. ‘_Paled_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act I. Sc. 5.

BELIEF, WHETHER VOLUNTARY?

Published in _Literary Remains_ (from which it is here printed) and in _Winterslow_.

‘_Thy wish_,’ _etc._ _2 Henry IV._, Act IV. Sc. 5.

Note. Cf. _ante_, p. 317.

441. ‘_Blown about_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Ephesians_ iv. 14.

‘_Infinite agitation of wit._’ Bacon, _The Advancement of
Learning_, Book I. iv. 5.

_Sir Isaac Newton, etc._ Newton published _Observations on the
Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John_ (1733),
and Napier of Merchiston _A Plaine Discovery of the whole
Revelation of St. John_ (1594).

442. ‘_Masterless passion_,’ _etc._ Cf. _The Merchant of Venice_, Act
IV. Sc. 1.

‘_Fear_,’ _etc._ _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, Act V. Sc. 1.

443. _January and May._ See Chaucer’s _Canterbury Tales_, ‘The
Merchant’s Tale.’

444. _A good remark in ‘Vivian Grey.’_ See Book IV. chap. V.

DEFINITION OF WIT

Published in _Literary Remains_ from which it is here reprinted. Cf. the essay ‘On Wit and Humour’ in vol. VIII. (_English Comic Writers_) pp. 5–30.

PAGE

445. ‘_Wherein_,’ _etc._ See vol. VIII. pp. 18–19.

‘_The squandering glances_,’ _etc._ _As You Like it_, Act II. Sc.
7.

446. ‘_Revive_,’ _etc._ Quoted elsewhere from Scott.

448. ‘_Foregone conclusion._’ _Othello_, Act III. Sc. 3.

‘_Skin_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act III. Sc. 4.

449. ‘_In cut and dye_,’ _etc._ _Hudibras_, I. I. 243–4.

‘_The house_,’ _etc._ Misquoted from Swift’s _Vanbrugh’s House_.

450. ‘_Turned from black to red._’ _Hudibras_, II. II. 32.

‘_Like jewels_,’ _etc._ Collins, Ode, _The Manners_, 55.

451. ‘_Pray lend me_,’ _etc._ Farquhar, _The Beaux Stratagem_, Act V.
Sc. 4.

453. ‘_A forked radish_,’ _2 Henry IV._, Act III. Sc. 2.

PERSONAL POLITICS

Published in _Literary Remains_, where the author’s son says that it was ‘written during my father’s last illness, immediately after the French Revolution of 1830.’ The essay, which must have been written after the ‘Three Days’ (see _post_, p. 461, note) is here reprinted from _Literary Remains_.

PAGE

456. ‘_Ay, every inch a King!_’ _King Lear_, Act IV. Sc. 6.

‘_Cooped_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Macbeth_, Act III. Sc. 4.

‘_Himself again._’ _Richard III._ (Cibber’s version), Act V. Sc.
3.

458. ‘_Solely_,’ _etc._ _Macbeth_, Act I. Sc. 5.

‘_Shall be in him_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Othello_, Act III. Sc. 3.

459. ‘_Smile_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act I. Sc. 5.

‘_Ever strong_,’ _etc._ _King John_, Act III. Sc. 1.

460. _The late King._ George IV. died on June 26, 1830.

461. _Let him go where he chooses._ Charles X. arrived in England on
Aug. 17, 1830.

Note. _The Revolution of the Three Days._ This began on July 27,
1830.

EMANCIPATION OF THE JEWS

This paper was printed in Leigh Hunt’s _The Tatler_ for March, 1831 (vol. II.), and also, separately, in pamphlet form. Mr. Bertram Dobell kindly showed to the Editors a copy of this pamphlet in his possession which bore the following (anonymous) marginal note: ‘Written by Hazlitt, and a little altered by Mr. Basil Montagu—Mr. Isaac Goldsmid caused this little tract to be written, and defrayed all the expenses of authorship, printing, etc. It was the last production, I think, of Hazlitt’s pen.’ From a proof in the Editors’ possession it is clear that the essay was sent by Hazlitt’s son to _The Daily News_ and set up in type in 1849, but it seems never to have been published by that journal. The essay is here reprinted from the pamphlet. _The Tatler_ and _The Daily News_ proof show only trifling typographical variations. It will be remembered that Macaulay’s maiden speech (April 5, 1830) was in favour of a bill for the removal of Jewish disabilities. The emancipation of the Jews was not effected till 1858.

PAGE

461. ‘_We have reformed_,’ _etc._ Cf. Hamlet, Act III. Sc. 2.

463. ‘_My kingdom_,’ _etc._ _S. John_ xviii. 36.

464. ‘_And pure religion_,’ _etc._ Wordsworth, Sonnet, _Written in
London, September 1802_.

ON THE PUNISHMENT OF DEATH

_Fraser’s Magazine_ for January 1831 contains an article on Capital Punishment in which the author introduces an extract from an essay by Hazlitt on the same subject. The extract is thus introduced: ‘It forms part of an essay which was written a few years ago by the late W. Hazlitt, at the request of a society then existing in London for obtaining a repeal of that formidable law, and seems to contain pretty much the sum of what might be brought forward against that punishment by a philosophical reasoner. It has never yet been published.’ Hazlitt’s essay has not been discovered, and this rather obscure fragment is reprinted from _Fraser’s Magazine_.

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466. _Beccaria._ Cesare, Marchese de Beccaria (1735?–1794), whose
famous work, _On Crimes and Punishments_, appeared in 1764.

‘_It is not the intensity_,’ _etc._ Cf. Beccaria, chap. xxviii.

‘_Crimes are more effectually prevented_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._ chap,
xxvii.

470. _In Mr. Bentham’s phrase._ See (e.g) _Theory of Legislation_,