394 DISTINGUISHED WRITERS AND POETS OF THE TIME.

powers. England acknowledged the independence of the United States, and gave up to France and Spain various lands and posses sions in different parts of the globe. The United States, after the ratification of the treaty, sent John Adams, who, next to Washington, had acted the most prominent part in the revolution, as envoy to the British court.

12. The king looked forward with considerable anxiety to his first interview with this distinguished rebel, and declared to some of his attendants that he viewed it as one of the most critical moments of his life. He received the envoy, however, most graciously, and said to him, "I was the last man in the kingdom, sir, to consent to the independence of America; but now it is granted, I shall be the last man in the kingdom to sanction a violation of it."

CHAPTER CCIV.

The Writers of the Reign of George II., and the early part of that of George III.-The most distinguished Poets.-Dr. Johnson.-A new form of Novel and Romance introduced.—Magazines and Reviews make their first appearance.

1. As we are now approaching a new era in English literature, we must say something of the epoch which is drawing to a close. During no period had England produced so many men of letters as during the fifty years comprised in the reign of George II., and part of that of his successor; yet it exhibited very little of originality or vigor. The great reputation of Pope and his contemporaries overawed the poets of the next half century, who wrote in servile imitation of those whose works had already the sanction of public applause.

2. Something, doubtless, is to be attributed to the state of society, which, during the same period, was dainty, formal, and pedantic; a very natural transition from the ease and licentiousness which prevailed in the reign of Charles II. The collected editions of the British poets contain the works of upwards of seventy persons who wrote during the period of which we are now speaking. But very few of these are worthy of notice.

3. The first, in point of time, is Edward Young, who died in 1765. His best work is the Night Thoughts, a serious poem, containing many passages of sublime expression, and of striking imagery, as well as much bombast and affectation. The most popular poet of this period was James Thomson, who died in 1748. He was by birth a Scotchman, but removed to London at an early age, where he published a series of poems, called The Seasons, describing, in blank verse, the various appearances of the year, in a very rich and eloquent, and often sublime style of language.

CCIV. 1. What of literature during the reign of George II. and the succeeding years? 3. Whint of Young? What of Thomson? 6. What of Gray and Collins? What of

DISTINGUISHED WRITERS AND POETS OF THE TIME. 395

4. Thomson's father was a clergyman, with a small salary and a large family, so that he could furnish his son with but a stinted outfit. The poet took with him, however, letters of recommendation to several persons of consequence, which he tied up carefully in his handkerchief; but as he passed along the streets of London, with the gaping curiosity of a country lad, his attention was upon everything rather than his pocket, and his magazine of credentials was stolen from him.

5. For the supply of his necessities, his whole fund was his poem of Winter, and he was sadly in want of a pair of shoes. After a long time he succeeded in finding a purchaser for his treasure, but at a very low price; and the purchaser for some time thought he had made a foolish bargain; but the merits of the poem becoming known by accident, the sale became rapid, and Thomson's reputation was established.

6. Gray, who died in 1771, and Collins, who died in 1756, are distinguished for writing lyrical poems, which originally meant poems intended to be sung accompanied by the harp. The most celebrated piece of the former is the Elegy in a Country Church-Yard, and of the latter, the Ode to the Passions. Mark Akenside, who died in 1770, at the age of twenty-three years, published a poem called the Pleasures of the Imagination, a work full of fine imagery, expressed in rich, copious, and musical language.

7. Oliver Goldsmith, who died in 1774, was born in Ireland, but spent the greater part of his mature life in London. Of all the poets of this period, his works are, perhaps, the most read at the present day. His chief poems are the Deserted Village, and the Traveller. He was also a very popular prose writer, and has strong claims upon the regard of all young persons; for he was the author of various histories of Rome, Greece, England, &c.-and of the natural history, which have afforded them so much pleasure and instruction.

8. Samuel Johnson, who died in 1784, wrote verses. But he was more admired for his prose writings. His style, though elegant and pure, is more majestic than suits the taste of the present age. He published a periodical paper, called the Rambler, in which he sometimes condescends to treat of common things, but in the same solemn language which he uses in moralizing on the awful destinies of The Lives of the Poets, which were written to be prefixed to a collection of the poets of Great Britain, is perhaps the best of his productions. His dictionary, though now considered too limited, is still referred to as of the highest authority.

man.

9 Fictitious tales in prose, by the title of romances and novels, had long been known in France and Italy, and had been imitated in England. But they were quite different from the works known at the present day by the same names. The first example of the modern English romance, was the Castle of Otranto, published in 1764, by Horace Walpole, a son of the celebrated minister, Sir Robert.

Akenside? 7. What of Goldsmith? 8. What of Johnson? 9. What was the first example of modern romance writing? When published, and by whom composed!

396 DISTINGUISHED WRITERS AND POETS OF THE TIME.

This was full of horrors, and was so popular as to call forth a host of imitators.

10. In 1739, Samuel Richardson, a printer in London, being remarkable for his expertness in letter-writing, was requested by two booksellers to write a volume of letters, referring to the common concerns of life, for the improvement of persons of ordinary education. He thought the work might be more lively and interesting, if the letters were made to narrate a story. Thus was produced the novel of Pamela, a work so vastly superior in style and in its moral tendency to all which had preceded it, that it obtained a great reputation, and was even recommended by the clergy from the pulpit.

11. Encouraged by this success, Richardson commenced with a more elaborate novel, called Clarissa Harlowe, four volumes of which were published in 1748, leaving the story unfinished. This work excited the greatest interest, both in England and on the continent, and the comfort of the reading world seemed to depend upon the result of the story. A report got abroad that it was to end tragically; when remonstrances poured in upon the author from all quarters, entreating him to reward the virtue of the heroine. It is said that the work was intended to fill twenty-eight volumes, but was finally reduced to eight.

12. We cannot, of course, mention all who were eminent in every branch of literature; we can only speak of those who originated any particular form of composition, or who were most eminent in it. Many gained celebrity as philosophical writers. They were, however, chiefly natives of Scotland, in which country great attention was paid, at this period, to English literature; and societies were formed to encourage not only the writing, but the speaking of pure English.

13. The success of these efforts is made apparent by the historical works of Hume and Robertson, which not only excited a taste for historical reading in England, but also a desire in literary men to rival them. To the former we are indebted for much of the interesting matter of our present story; Hume's History of England was the first example of the highest kind of historical writing in English literature. Though defective in style, and not so complete as to facts as some which have succeeded it, its great merits will probably enable it to retain the first place for a long time to come.

14. Hume's history only comes down to the revolution in 1688; and so much of Smollett's History of England as embraces the period between that event and the death of George II., is usually published with it; being better than any other, though vastly inferior to Hume. Edward Gibbon, who died in 1794, was the author of a History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; a work which takes rank with those of Hume and Robertson.

15. We must mention one more class of works which made its appearance for the first time during this period. In 1731, Edward Cave, a printer, commenced a publication called the Gentleman's

10. When, and by whom, was the first novel of the modern kind composed? 13, 14. Who were the most distinguished historians of this period? 15. When did the first maga

ATTEMPT TO MURDER THE KING.-1787.

397

Magazine, being, as the name magazine was intended to express, a depository of the principal discussions and intelligence contained in the newspapers during the preceding month. This work, which met with great success, soon became open to original articles of a literary character.

16. The success of the Gentleman's Magazine, led to the establishment of many others, but none, for a long period, possessed so much merit as this, which has been continued without interruption to the present day. The first periodical work devoted to the criticism of books, was commenced in 1749, and was called the Monthly Review. This review took the whig side in politics, and to counteract its influence, the tories, in 1756, established the Critical Review, under the direction of Smollett, of whom we have already spoken as an historian; and who likewise gained much distinction as a miscellaneous writer, and more as a writer of novels.

CHAPTER CCV.

Attempts to murder the King.--The King loses his Reason, but it is re stored to him.-The younger Pitt.-Duties of the King's Ministers.

MARGARET NICHOLSON'S ATTACK UPON THE KING.

1. THOUGH George III. never evinced any disposition to engage personally in war, it was not because he was deficient in courage,

zines make their appearance! Whence the name magazine? 16. What of Reviews?

398

INSANITY OF GEORGE III.-1788.

for he exhibited this quality on many occasions much more trying than amid the excitements of the field of battle. In 1787, an attempt was made on his life by a poor insane woman, named Margaret Nicholson, who, while she was with one hand presenting a petition, attempted with the other to stab him with a knife.

2. She was instantly seized by the attendants; and the king, forgetful of the danger his own life had been in, only exclaimed, “Don't hurt the poor woman; she must be mad." This, on inquiry, proved to be the case, and she was sent to a hospital. On another occasion he was shot at, and the ball passed through his carriage. His attendants were thrown into the utmost agitation, but the king continued tranquil, and said to them, "One is supposing this, and another is proposing that, forgetting that there is One above all, on whom alone we depend, and who disposes of all things."

3. Notwithstanding these, and many other attempts upon his life, he never would take any precautions against danger, always saying that none he might take would secure him from the attempts of a determined assassin, and that he would not give up his custom of mixing freely, and without attendants, with all ranks of people. In 1788, the king suffered a real calamity in the loss of his reason. It became necessary, therefore, to appoint some person to act in his name during the continuance of the illness.

4. The Prince of Wales, who was now twenty-six years old, was manifestly the most proper person who could be invested with this important office. He had no fixed principles of any kind himself, but his friends and associates were the political opponents of the party now in power. When, therefore, his friends moved in parliament for his appointment on the ground of constitutional right, the ministry opposed it on that ground, but allowed that it was proper and expedient, and offered to bestow it, but with many restrictions and limitations of power.

5. Before the question could be settled between the two parties, the king recovered his reason, and of course the necessity for a regent -as the person who governs the kingdom during any temporary incapacity of the king is called-was at an end. The 24th of October, 1788, was the last day on which, previous to his illness, the king had appeared in public; and on the 23d of April following, being then recovered, he went to St. Paul's Cathedral to return public thanks to God for his restoration to health and reason.

6. He was attended by the royal family, and by an immense concourse of the nobility and of the people; so that when the procession entered the church, it was crowded to excess. The scene is described as peculiarly impressive and interesting, and particularly so when the 6000 children from the charity schools, who were in the church, joined in the choruses of the psalms and anthems.

7. The king's physicians did not deem it safe for him to engage at once in public business. He therefore indulged himself, more than he had before done, in the quiet enjoyment of domestic life. He loved

CCV.-1. What instances of the king's courage? 3. What calamity did the king meet with in 1788? 4, 5. What is said of the appointment of a regent? 7. What of