Nunc aliquis dicat mihi—quid tu?Sum cinis—ossa—nihil.CHAPTER XXV.
Nunc aliquis dicat mihi—quid tu?Sum cinis—ossa—nihil.
Nunc aliquis dicat mihi—quid tu?Sum cinis—ossa—nihil.
Nunc aliquis dicat mihi—quid tu?Sum cinis—ossa—nihil.
Nunc aliquis dicat mihi—quid tu?
Sum cinis—ossa—nihil.
His earlier years have been pourtrayed by himself in a preceding part of the work, but ah! how changed was he in his latter days! His characteristic of mind was an extraordinary quickness; his characteristic of temper was cheerfulness. The first of these qualities he retained as long as we knew him. He could compose any thing in prose or in verse, as the physicians say, “pro re nata,” with a facility which seemed hardly credible, and with an accuracy which excited surprize. He has been known to write a sermon in the evenings which he preached on the following morning. In four mornings he wrote a book, which he intended as an amusement for his children. Some friends recommended him to print it, and though many years have elapsed since it was written, it still continues so great a favourite with younger readers, that an edition is every year published.
In one morning, indeed in a few hours, he turned into verse that beautiful chapter of Ecclesiasticus, in which Wisdom praiseth herself, and expatiates on her accomplishments. Whoever is desirous of examining with what effect this task was performed, has only to refer to the translation of Bishop Lowth’s Lectures on Isaiah, by Dr. Gregory, at whose request he so employed himself. Other examples might be specified, but these seem enough.
With respect to his characteristic cheerfulness, sooth to say, he had some hard trials; he had such an unsuspecting frankness of temper, that there could not be an easier task than to impose upon him. In more than one instance, he was defrauded of large sums of money, eventually to have been received, by a hasty confidence in plausible manners and fallacious representations. Knavery was greatly aided in every artifice and stratagem against his interest, by two things. The first was his necessities. He had a large family, and nothing to educate and maintain them, but what his activity and abilities provided. Consequently, he had never any thing in store, but as he used to say of himself, was obliged to scramble on in life as well as he could. Under such circumstance, a smaller immediate benefit was caught at, than one which, though splendid, was only visible at a distance.
The other auxiliary of knavery, was our friend’s impatience of temper. He could not endure delay, or any thing in the shape of procrastination. Whatever was to be done, was to be done quickly. He considered any thing like a process, as insupportable tediousness. There are many subtle spirits on the watch for individuals of such infirmities; and of such spirits, he was more than once the victim.
One other trial was bitterness itself, but as he himself has detailed it with no ordinary pathos, the circumstances need not here be revived. This also originated in a too easy disposition to believe every man honest who appeared so, and from his never exercising his mind to discover, beneath the veil of vivacity and good humour, the most nefarious intentions, and most abominable dishonesty.
This last event certainly preyed upon his mind, broke his spirits, impaired his health, and materially deteriorated his circumstances. Yet through this dark and oppressive gloom, rays of cheerfulness would often penetrate, enlivening himself and his connections with hopes of better days to come.
As life continued to wear itself away, he appears to have had his full share of those dark days, which, however, afflicting from their pressure, tend to render the prospect of the grave less formidable. As was before remarked, he abruptly withdrew himself from the ken of those, to whom his society had beenfamiliar, and not undesireable.
Where or when, or under what circumstances, he ultimately paid the last awful tribute of nature, are not known with sufficient accuracy to admit of being introduced in our narrative. He does not, however, appear to have been altogether without consolation. Where a tree shoots out into many branches, some will be goodlier, more vigorous, and more productive than others. Some will bear fruit which is sweet and nutritious; some will bear none at all. In this respect he shared the common lot of humanity, but where he had cause he was, nevertheless, uncomplaining, except in the soft whispers of family confidence. He used, however, a bolder and a louder tone to one lofty personage, who volunteered to be the instrument of obtaining for him compensation for one of the greatest injuries and afflictions, which can either be encountered or sustained. Great, certain, and immediate loss, as to property, was not the sorest of the evils; this was exasperated by the sneers of the envious, the insinuations of the invidious, the taunts of the malignant,
The whips and scorns of time,The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,The insolence of office, and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes.
The whips and scorns of time,The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,The insolence of office, and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes.
The whips and scorns of time,The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,The insolence of office, and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes.
The whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes.
Conscious integrity, however, ere long, armed him with a dignified confidence, but he never spoke without indignation of the great man above alluded to, who after raising his hopes to the highest pitch, smiled, and smiled, and smiled, and deserted him.
Of his talents and attainments, it is necessary to say but little. The productions of his pen again and again appeared before the public, on various occasions, and in a great multitude of shapes. Most of his works were received with respect, and many are still popular. Some unfinished things remained among his papers, and there are a few scattered memoranda in our Recollections, from which it appears that he had others in contemplation.
To specify some of these can do no harm, and may perhaps be the means of inducing others to exercise their leisure on the different subjects.
He had commenced and prosecuted to some extent, an elaborate Essay on the Revival of Learning, which he purposed to enliven by a variety of literary anecdotes, illustrative of an æra so greatly, and so honourably distinguished. He had also prepared biographical sketches of the most eminent and learned of those Greeks, who, when Constantinople was taken and plundered by the Turks, under Mahomet II. in 1453, took refuge in Italy, and found a secure and hospitable asylum in the protection of the illustrious house of Medici, at Florence.
The principal names of these accomplished exiles, with very learned and interesting details concerning them, may be found in Hodius de illustribus Græcis, a work not so well known as it deserves.
The Sexagenarian had also collected many curious particulars concerning the celebrated Florentine library, the foundation of which was laid by the learned Greeks above alluded to, who were sent back to their country, by the magnificent Lorenzo, to rescue from barbarian hands, the literary treasures, which they had been compelled to forsake. One anecdote occurs among the memoranda, relating to this library, which seems to merit insertion, and is detailed in the following words in the Recollections, but without reference to the authority from whence it was taken.
On the expulsion of the house of Medici from Florence, that city was occupied by the troops of Charles the VIIIth. and the library, with the possessions of the illustrious owners, fell into the hands of the French. The King of England at that time, Henry VIII., employed emissaries to purchase of the French officers and soldiers, as many books and manuscripts as they could possibly obtain. Whether before or after their arrival in this country, has not been ascertained, but Catherine of Medicis had the artifice and address to procure their restoration, on the pretence of their being the propertyof her family; this portion, therefore, whatever it might have been, now forms part of the royal library at Paris.
The residue of this splendid library remained at Florence, till the popularity of Cardinal John de Medicis, afterwards Pope Leo X. seemed to open to him a reasonable prospect of succeeding to the papal throne. At this juncture, Soderini was Dictator of Florence, who, anxious to remove from the Cardinal every remaining temptation to revisit Florence, collected what was yet left of the library, and dispatched the whole to him at Rome, as a present, conceiving himself thus to have performed an act of great political sagacity. Thus, therefore, the contents of this magnificent repository of literary treasure was divided, and such a proportion of them will be found in the Vatican, as the French, in their different predatory excursions, suffered to remain.
Another of the Sexagenarian’s meditated works, was one or more Dissertations upon Emblems, a species of literature which at one period greatly occupied the attention of the curious, upon which the exalted talents of the first poets and artists were formerly exercised, and of which there are many specimens of extraordinary rarity and beauty. He had evidently revolved the subject much in his mind, to which he was induced by the consideration, thatnothing of the kind had ever appeared in the English language. Such a work certainly might be made a vehicle of great and various entertainment, by a judicious introduction of literary anecdotes, and by well-chosen specimens from the different performances.
It also appears that a work of some extent on the present state of literature, and literary men, in this country, had been nearly compleated. It was written in the administration of Mr. Pitt, and was inscribed to the Right Hon. W. Windham. The idea originated, in what was perhaps a misconception, that literature was on the decline among us, from the want of patrons. As he advanced in life, he was probably convinced that he was in error, for the work was never published, and as it should seem, never finished.
Our friend had also prepared for publication, some notes on two plays of Shakspeare. He, somewhere in “the Recollections,” confesses, that he was prompted to this, by a wish to exercise the irritable curiosity of George Stevens. He first began with intimating in some Morning Paper, the intention of examining the edition of Shakspeare by Malone, then recently published, with the hint that the critical attention of the author would also be extended to all the other annotators. Several columns were accordingly filled with notes onthe Tempest. The bait took, Mr. S. ever restless and impatient where Shakspeare was concerned, used every effort in his power to discover the author, and even condescended to reply to some of his observations, through the same channel of communication with the public. But he did not succeed; the work, however, became, in its progress, so very amusing, that annotations on two plays were ready for publication. Something more serious, in all probability, diverted his attention from this lighter employment, which he seems to have laid aside altogether.
Preparations were also made for a publication of a facetious kind. He proposed to give an account of the witty publications of earlier days, and had taken as a motto,
Jest and youthful jollity,Quips and cranks and wanton wiles,Nods and becks and wreathed smiles,Sport that wrinkled care derides,And laughter holding both his sides.
Jest and youthful jollity,Quips and cranks and wanton wiles,Nods and becks and wreathed smiles,Sport that wrinkled care derides,And laughter holding both his sides.
Jest and youthful jollity,Quips and cranks and wanton wiles,Nods and becks and wreathed smiles,Sport that wrinkled care derides,And laughter holding both his sides.
Jest and youthful jollity,
Quips and cranks and wanton wiles,
Nods and becks and wreathed smiles,
Sport that wrinkled care derides,
And laughter holding both his sides.
The following books formed part of the stores from which he intended to have extracted his materials.
“Dainty Conceits, with a number of rare and witty Inventions, never before printed. Madeand invented for honest Recreation, to passe away idle Houres. By Thomas Johnson. 1630.”“Wit’s Private Wealth stored with Choice of Commodities to contente the Minde. 1639.”“Essays and Characters. By J. Stephens. 1615.”“Sir T. Overbury’s Characters. 1627.”“Coffee House Jests. 1677.”“Wit Restored. 1658.”“A Banquet of Jests. 1640.”“Micro-cosmographie, or Characters. By Earle. 1628.”“Pasquil’s Jests, with Mother Bunch’s Meriments. 1629.”“Wits, or Sport upon Sport. 1672.”“Richard Ward of Wit, Wisdom, Folly, &c. 1674.”“F. Mere’s Wits Commonwealth. 1636.”“Wits Recreation, ingenious Conceits, Medicines for Melancholy. 1667.”“Ford’s Panegyrick, Apothegms, &c. 1660.”“The Book of merry Riddles. 1629.”“Rowland’s Doctor Merryman. No date.”“Taylor’s Wit and Mirth. 1629.”“Humourous Tracts, in a large quarto Volume. From 1629 to 1691.”“Flecknoe’s Characters of all Sorts. 1658.”
“Dainty Conceits, with a number of rare and witty Inventions, never before printed. Madeand invented for honest Recreation, to passe away idle Houres. By Thomas Johnson. 1630.”
“Wit’s Private Wealth stored with Choice of Commodities to contente the Minde. 1639.”
“Essays and Characters. By J. Stephens. 1615.”
“Sir T. Overbury’s Characters. 1627.”
“Coffee House Jests. 1677.”
“Wit Restored. 1658.”
“A Banquet of Jests. 1640.”
“Micro-cosmographie, or Characters. By Earle. 1628.”
“Pasquil’s Jests, with Mother Bunch’s Meriments. 1629.”
“Wits, or Sport upon Sport. 1672.”
“Richard Ward of Wit, Wisdom, Folly, &c. 1674.”
“F. Mere’s Wits Commonwealth. 1636.”
“Wits Recreation, ingenious Conceits, Medicines for Melancholy. 1667.”
“Ford’s Panegyrick, Apothegms, &c. 1660.”
“The Book of merry Riddles. 1629.”
“Rowland’s Doctor Merryman. No date.”
“Taylor’s Wit and Mirth. 1629.”
“Humourous Tracts, in a large quarto Volume. From 1629 to 1691.”
“Flecknoe’s Characters of all Sorts. 1658.”
The motive for inserting the titles of the above books, was the probability that others might be induced to prosecute what the Sexagenarian contemplated.