Thomas Birch 1705-1766 Thomas Birch was born in the parish of St. John, Clerkenwell, on the twenty-third of November, 1705. His father was a quaker, coffee-mill maker, but the son's fondness for learning early became so great, that, rather than follow the calling of his father, he left his home, became assistant in Hernel Hampstead school, and there received his education. He had hitherto adhered to the tenets of the quakers, but he now abandoned them, and was soon after ordained, by the bishop of Salisbury. He rose very rapidly in the church, and being honoured with the degree of a doctor of divinity, by the Marischal College of Aberdeen, he became a very considerable personage. He died by a fall from his horse, between London and Hampstead, on the ninth of January, 1766. Dr. Birch wrote the "Historical Memoirs and Lives" of Queen Elizabeth, Raleigh, Boyle, Tillotson, and Henry, Prince of Wales, besides a "History of the Royal Society," of which he was one of the secretaries. He was a diligent explorer of records and public papers: he threw light on history, but was destitute of taste, and the skill of historical arrangement.-MILLS, ABRAHAM, 1851, The Literature and the Literary Men of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. II, p. 529. PERSONAL The mental endowments of Dr. Birch were singular; he had a great eagerness after knowledge, and a memory very retentive of facts; but his learning, properly so called, bore no proportion to his reading; for he was in truth neither a mathematician, a natural philosopher, a classical scholar, nor a divine; but, in a small degree, all, and though lively in conversation, he was but a dull writer. Johnson was used to speak of him in this manner: "Tom is a lively rogue; he remembers a great deal, and can tell many pleasant stories; but a pen is to Tom a torpedo, the touch of it benumbs his hand and his brain: Tom can talk; but he is no writer." . In the midst of all his labours and pursuits, Dr. Birch preserved an even temper of mind, and a great cherfulness of spirits. Ever desirous to learn, and willing to communicate, he was uniformly affable, courteous, and disposed to conversation. His life was spent without reproach, but terminated by an unhappy accident, a fall from his horse on the Hampstead road, on the 9th day of January, 1766.-HAWKINS, SIR JOHN, 1787, Life of Samuel Johnson, p. 209. GENERAL Dr. Birch being mentioned, he said, he had more anecdotes than any man. I said, Percy had a great many; that he flowed with them like one of the brooks here. Johnson.-"If Percy is like one of the brooks here, Birch was like the river Thames. Birch excelled Percy in that, as much as Percy excels Goldsmith." —BOSWELL, JAMES, 1773, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, ed. Hill, Sept. 24, p. 290. Was a worthy, good-natured soul, full of industry and activity, and running about like a young setting-dog in quest of anything, new or old, and with no parts, taste, or judgment.-WALPOLE, HORACE, 1780, To Rev. William Cole, Feb. 5; Letters, ed. Cunningham, vol. VII, p. 326. Dr. Birch was a writer with no genius for composition, but one to whom British history stands more indebted than to any superior author; his incredible love of labour, in transcribing with his own hand a large library of manuscripts from originals dispersed in public and in private repositories, has enriched the British Museum by thousands of the most authentic documents of genuine secret history. -DISRAELI, ISAAC, 1791-1824, True Sources of Secret History, Curiosities of Literature. An industrious and faithful Dryasdust. -MINTO, WILLIAM, 1872-80, Manual of English Prose Literature, p. 434. He collected a great amount of materials, literary and historical, and deserves honourable mention in any retrospect of British literature.-CHAMBERS, ROBERT, 1876, Cyclopædia of English Literature, ed. Carruthers. Walpole's censure, though exaggerated, rests on a bias of truth, but the fact remains that, in spite of their wearisome minuteness of detail and their dulness of style, the works of Dr. Birch are indispensable to the literary or historical student.-COURTNEY, W. P., 1886, Dictionary of National Biography, vol. v, p. 69. John Leland John Leland, D. D., 1691-1766, a Presbyterian minister, settled in Dublin, is distinguished as a writer of apologetics. Some of his works in defence of Christianity are considered as among the best that have ever been written. The following are the chief: "A Defence of Christianity," in answer to Tindal; "The Divine Authority of the Old and New Testament Asserted," in answer to Morgan; "Remarks on Christianity not Founded on Argument," in answer to Dodwell; "Remarks on Bolingbroke's Letters on the Study and Use of History;" "A View of the Deistical Writers," "The Advantage and Necessity of the Christian Revelation," etc. Leland's "View of the Deistical Writers" is especially celebrated.—HART, JOHN S., 1872, A Manual of English Literature, p. 258. GENERAL Every one who wishes to make himself master of the Deistical controversy will carefully study Leland's "Divine Authority of the Old and New Testament" and his "View of the Deistical Writers;" yet Leland's greatest and most useful work is his "Necessity and Advantages of the Christian Revelation." He who desires to know the full value of the Bible should above all things study this book. It contains the latest and maturest thoughts of the very able author.-WILLIAMS, EDWARD, 1800, The Christian Preacher. Leland's "Advantages and Necessity of the Christian Revelation" is a work full of information as to the state of religion among the Heathen. His other works in defence of religion are useful. . An able champion of the Christian faith.-BICKERSTETH, EDWARD, 1844, The Christian Student. His "View of the Deistical Writers" (1754), a brief work written in a spirit of praiseworthy moderation, is still a textbook for students of divinity. His great work, "On the Advantage and Necessity of a Christian Revelation" (1764), is long since forgotten. -MINTO, WILLIAM, 1872-80, Manual of English Prose Literature p. 427. Is ["View of the Deistical Writers"] a solid and valuable treatise, and is still regarded as one of the best confutations of infidelity. CHAMBERS, ROBERT, 1876, Cyclopædia of English Literature, ed. Carruthers. The question raised by such books as Leland's is how such writing can ever have been popular.-STEPHEN, LESLIE, 1876, History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century, vol. I, p. 158. William Thompson 1712?-1766? Graduated at Queen's College, Oxford (of which he became Fellow), 1738; succeeded to the livings of South Westen and Hampton Poyle, Oxfordshire; became Dean of Raphoe, Ireland, and died there about 1766. In 1734 and 1736 he wrote "Stella, sive Amores, Tres Libri, and Six Pastorals, " none of which he included in his collective edition of his "Poems." He afterwards published: 1. "Sickness; a Poem," London, 1745. 2. "Gondibert and Birtha; a Tragedy," 1751. 3. "Gratitude; a Poem," Oxford, 1756. See No. 4. 4. "Poems on several Occasions; to which is added Gondibert and Birtha, a Tragedy," 1758, 2 vols. Of more than ordinary merit. His "Hymn to May," and his "Nativity," (in which he is thought to approach Spenser), and his poem on "Sickness," were once highly valued. He superintended an edition of Bishop Joseph Hall's "Virgidemarium," Oxford, 1753, and left MS. "Notes and Observations on William Browne's Works," which appeared in the edition of 1772, London, 3 vols., edited, when published, by T. Davies, the publisher.ALLIBONE, S. AUSTIN, 1870, A Critical Dictionary of English Literature, vol. III, p. 2395. PERSONAL Concerning William Thompson, we may add to the short notices collected by Mr. Chalmers, that he was educated at Appleby school, under Yates, a man who obtained the appellation of the Northern Busby. Yates would always insist upon his spelling his name without the p, saying, you could thomp, thomp, upon one's ear with your Thompson. The poet, however, Among those who have written in the style of Spenser, I do not hesitate to name Thompson as being one of the most successful. His three poems, the "Epithalamium," the "Nativity," and the "Hymn to May," especially the last two, have many of the qualities which distinguish the captivating poet whose manner he adopted. In his "Hymn to May" he displays such an exuberance of rich imagery, such a felicity of fanciful description, and he pours forth his feelings in so joyous a spirit, and in strains so flowing, that the charms and praises of the delightful season which inspires him, were never sung with more elegance, or more animation. Of the minor poems it is necessary to say little more than that, with a few exceptions, they do not discredit the talent of the writer. The panegyric on Pope is rather overcharged; and it is curious that the poet should have chosen to celebrate Pope in blank verse, and Glover in rhyme. -DAVENPORT, R. A., 1822, The Poems of William Thompson, Chiswick, ed., Life, p. 14. William Thompson is a poet almost completely forgotten to-day, but he was one of the best of the Spenserians. Little is known of his life; the dates of his birth and death are uncertain; but he was born in the early part of the century, and died before 1767. He was a careful and enthusiastic student of the old English poets. From early youth he admired Spenser and imitated him in three poems. Although Thompson was really filled with the Romantic spirit, it is worthy of note that he was also extravagantly fond of Pope-another instance of the unconsciousness of English Romanticism. Besides Thompson's Spenserian imitations, he wrote a number of graceful songs, and his "Ode Brumalis" shows him to have been an intense lover of Shakespere. He might also have been classed among the blank-verse school, for he wrote a long poem in that measure, with the not particularly attractive title of "Sickness." He wrote in the stanza of the "Fairy Queen" not for his idle amusement, or to exercise his poetic ingenuity, but because his mind was richly stored with the treasures of old English poetry.-PHELPS, WILLIAM LYON, 1893, The Beginnings of the English Romantic Movement, pp. 57, 61. Thompson was a close imitator of Spenser, and marred his work by the needless use of archaic words and phrases. His "Hymn to May," his "Nativity," and his poem on "Sickness" were once highly esteemed. CARLYE, E. IRVING, 1898, Dictionary of National Biography, vol. LVI, p. 227. Laurence Sterne 1713-1768 Born, at Clonmel, 24 Nov. 1713. At school at Halifax, 1723-31. Matriculated Jesus College, Cambridge, 1732; Sizarship, July 1733; Scholar, July 1734; B. A., Jan. 1736; M. A., 1740. Ordained Deacon, March 1736; Priest, Aug. 1738. Vicar of Sutton-on-the-Forest, Yorks., 1738. Prebendary of York Cathedral, Jan. 1741. Married Elizabeth Lumley, 30 March 1741. Vicar of Stillington, 1741. Curate of Coxwold, Yorks., 1760. Lived mainly in France, 1762-67. Died, in London, 18 March 1768. Buried in Burial Ground of St. George's, Hanover Square. Works: "The Case of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath considered," 1747; "The Abuses of Conscience," 1750; "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy" (9 vols.), 1759-67; "The Sermons of Mr. Yorick" (7 vols.), 1760-69; "A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, by Mr. Yorick" (2 vols.), 1768. Posthumous: "The History of a Good Warm Watch-coat," 1769; "Letters to his Most Intimate Friends," ed. by his daughter (3 vols.), 1775; "Letters from Yorick to Eliza," 1775; "Letters to his Friends on various occasions," 1775; "Original Letters, never before published," 1788; "Seven Letters written by Sterne and his Friends, hitherto unpublished" (priv. ptd.), 1844. Collected Works: ed. by G. Saintsbury (6 vols.), 1894. Life: by P. H. Fitzgerald, 1864.-SHARP, R. FARQUHARSON, 1897, A Dictionary of English Authors, p. 269. PERSONAL "Tristram Shandy" is still a greater object of admiration, the man as well as the book. One is invited to dinner, where he dines, a fortnight beforehand. His portrait is done by Reynolds, and now engraving. "Tristram Shandy," Dodsley gives £700 for a second edition, and two new volumes not yet written; and tomorrow will come out two volumes of "Sermons" by him. Your friend, Mr. Hall has printed two Lyric Epistles, one to my Cousin Shandy on his coming to town, the other to the grown gentlewomen, the Misses of York: they seem to me to be absolute madness.-GRAY, THOMAS, 1760, Letter to Thomas Wharton, April 22; Works, ed. Gosse, vol. III, p. 36. It having been observed that there was little hospitality in London;―Johnson: "Nay, Sir, any man who has a name, or who has the power of pleasing, will be generally invited in London. The man, Sterne, I have been told, has had engagements for three months." Goldsmith: "And a very dull fellow." Johnson: "Why, no, Sir."-JOHNSON, SAMUEL, 1760, Life by Boswell, ed. Hill, vol. II, p. 254. The fellow himself is an irrecoverable scoundrel.-WARBURTON, WILLIAM, 1761, To Dr. Hurd, Dec. 27; Letters from a Late Eminent Prelate. Lord Ossory told us that the famous Dr. Sterne dyed that morning; he seem'd to lament him very much. Lord Eglinton said (but not in a ludicrous manner), that he had taken his "Sentimental Journey.' --COKE, LADY MARY, 1768, Letters and Journals, vol. II, p. 216. Shall pride a heap of sculptured marble raise, Some worthless, unmourned, titled fool to praise, And shall we not by one poor gravestone learn Where genius, wit, and humor sleep with Sterne? -GARRICK, DAVID, 1779? Epitaph on Laurence Sterne. The celebrated writer Sterne, after being long the idol of this town, died in a mean lodging without a single friend who felt interest in his fate except Becket, his bookseller, who was the only person that attended his interment. He was buried in a graveyard near Tyburn, belonging to the parish of Marylebone, and the corpse being marked by some of the resurrection men (as they are called), was taken up soon afterwards and carried to an anatomy professor of Cambridge. A gentleman who was present at the dissection told me, he recognized Sterne's face the moment he saw the body.—Malone, EDMOND, 1783, Maloniana, ed. Prior, p. 373. In the month of January, 1768, we set off for London. We stopped for some time at Almack's house, in Pall-mall. My master afterwards took Sir James Gray's house in Clifford-street, who was going ambassador to Spain. He now began housekeeping, hired a French cook, house-maid, kitchen-maid, and kept a great deal of the best company. About this time, Mr. Sterne, the celebrated author, was taken ill at the silk-bag shop in Old Bond-street. He was sometimes called Tristram Shandy, and sometimes Yorick, a very great favourite of the gentleman's. One day my master had company to dinner, who were speaking about him: the Duke of Roxburgh, the Earl of March, the Earl of Ossory, the Duke of Grafton, Mr. Garrick, Mr. Hume, and Mr. James. "John," said my master, "go and inquire how Mr. Sterne is to-day." I went, returned, and said, "I went to Mr. Sterne's lodging the mistress opened the doorI enquired how he did. She told me to go up to the nurse; I went into the room, and he was just a-dying. I waited ten minutes; but in five, he said, "Now it is come!" He put up his hand, as if to stop a blow, and died in a minute. The gentlemen were all very sorry, and lamented him very much.-MACDONALD, JAMES, 1790, The Life of a Footman. We are well acquainted with Sterne's features and personal appearance, to which he himself frequently alludes. He was tall and thin, with a hectic and consumptive appearance. His features, though capable of expressing with peculiar effect the sentimental emotions by which he was often affected, had also a shrewd, humorous, and sarcastic character, proper to the wit and the satirist, and not unlike that which predominates in the portraits of Voltaire. His conversation was animated, and witty; but Johnson complained that it was marked by licence, better suiting the company of the Lord of Crazy Castle, than of the great moralist. It has been said, and probably with truth, that his temper was variable and unequal, the natural consequence of an irritable bodily frame, and continued bad health. But we will not readily believe that the parent of Uncle Toby could be a harsh, or habitually bad-humoured man. Sterne's letters to his friends, and especially to his daughter, breathe all the fondness of affection; and his resources, such as they were, seem to have been always at the command of those whom he loved. SCOTT, SIR WALTER, 1821, Laurence Sterne. So infamous was his private character, that when he entered the pulpit to preach in York Minister, of which he was a prebend, many of the congregation rose from their seats and left the cathedral. His conduct and temper so much provoked his wife, a loving and patient woman, that she was compelled to live away from him. With health so broken that his continued existence appeared almost miraculous, he entered into an intrigue with a married woman, and, at the age of 54, openly speculating on the prospect of marrying her, when his own wife as well as the lady's husband should die! The only redeeming feeling in his life, was his devoted love for his daughter, for whom, however, he made not the slightest provision. He died, in lodgings in London, and his attendants robbed him. of his gold shirt-buttons as he lay helpless in bed. His letters, which fully expressed his profligacy, were published, seven years after his death, by his daughter-so reduced to poverty by his extravagance that she was compelled to barter his reputation for bread. It is almost inexplicable how such a man as Sterne could have lived so loosely and produced such a pureminded original as My Uncle Toby, and such a faithful serving man as Corporal Trim, maternal grandfather to Sam Weller, in all probability.-MACKENZIE, R. SHELTON, 1854, ed., Noctes Ambrosiana, vol. IV, p. 214, note. His patient courtship shows that he was truly in love with his wife. Their marriage, in the face of inauspicious circumstances, proves that they were both in earnest; and his frank acknowledgment, a year after, that he was tired of his conjugal partner, argues no uncommon experience, but a rare and unjustifiable candor.-TUCKERMAN, HENRY T., 1857, Essays, Biographical and Critical, p. 318. And Irishman by birth, and a Yorkshire clergyman by profession, but with a somewhat unclerical, if not a cracked reputation. -MASSON, DAVID, 1859, British Novelists and Their Styles, p. 106. The body of the unfortunate Mr. Sterne was but a poor prize for purposes of dissection. He speaks of his spider legs himself, and the portrait and description of him give one the idea of a lean and emaciated presence.-COLLINS, CHARLES, ALLSTON, 1860, Poet's Corner, Macmillan's Magazine, vol. 2, p. 133. What a close to Yorick's strange career, which began in wanderings, and brought him back thus finally to his old University! There is even a grim lurid Shandeism over the scene, charnel-house humour in that recognition of the strange lean Yorick features more lean in death-upon the dissecting table. But the evidence on which the story is founded seems too convincing not to be accepted. There had been many indistinct shapes of the statement some improbable-but all pointing indistinctly in that direction. - FITZGERALD, PERCY, 1864, The Life of Laurence Sterne, vol. II, p. 406. Hair-brained, light-hearted, and sanguine,-pleased with himself, his whims, follies, and foibles, he treated misfortune as a passing guest, and even extracted amusement from it while it stayed. He tells us that it was by mirth that he fenced against his physical infirmities, persuaded that every time a man laughed he added something to his fragment of life; and so at Paris he laughed till he cried, and believed that his lungs had been. improved by the process as much as by the change of air.-MATHEWS, WILLIAM, 1881, Literary Style, p. 74. As to the nature of Sterne's loveaffairs I have come, though not without hesitation, to the conclusion that they were most, if not all of them, what is called, somewhat absurdly, Platonic. In saying this, however, I am by no means. prepared to assert that they would all of them have passed muster before a prosaic and unsentimental British jury as mere indiscretions, and nothing worse. . But, as I am not of those who hold that the conventionally "innocent" is the equivalent of the morally harmless in this matter, |