shopkeeper and small farmer at Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, and _ed._
at Aberdeen; he was, in 1760, appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy
there. In the following year he _pub._ a vol. of poems, which attracted
attention. The two works, however, which brought him most fame were: (1)
his _Essay on Truth_ (1770), intended as an answer to Hume, which had
great immediate success, and led to an introduction to the King, a
pension of £200, and the degree of LL.D. from Oxford; and (2) his poem of
_The Minstrel_, of which the first book was _pub._ in 1771 and the
second in 1774, and which constitutes his true title to remembrance. It
contains much beautiful descriptive writing. The _Essay on Truth_ and his
other philosophical works are now forgotten. B. underwent much domestic
sorrow in the death of his wife and two promising sons, which broke down
his own health and spirits.
BEAUMONT, FRANCIS (1584-1616), AND FLETCHER, JOHN (1579-1625).--Poets and
dramatists. As they are indissolubly associated in the history of English
literature, it is convenient to treat of them in one place. B. was the
_s._ of Francis B., a Judge of the Common Pleas, and was _b._ at the
family seat, Grace Dieu, Leicestershire. He was _ed._ at Oxford, but his
_f._ dying in 1598, he left without taking his degree. He went to London
and entered the Inner Temple in 1600, and soon became acquainted with Ben
Jonson, Drayton, and other poets and dramatists. His first work was a
translation from Ovid, followed by commendatory verses prefixed to
certain plays of Jonson. Soon afterwards his friendship with F. began.
They lived in the same house and had practically a community of goods
until B.'s marriage in 1613 to Ursula, _dau._ and co-heiress of Henry
Isley of Sundridge in Kent, by whom he had two _dau._ He _d._ in 1616,
and is buried in Westminster Abbey. F. was the youngest _s._ of Richard
F., Bishop of London, who accompanied Mary Queen of Scots to the
scaffold. He went to Cambridge, but it is not known whether he took a
degree, though he had some reputation as a scholar. His earliest play is
_The Woman Hater_ (1607). He is said to have died of the plague, and is
buried in St. Saviour's Church, Southwark. The plays attributed to B. and
F. number 52 and a masque, and much labour has been bestowed by critics
in endeavouring to allocate their individual shares. It is now generally
agreed that others collaborated with them to some extent--Massinger,
Rowley, Shirley, and even Shakespeare. Of those believed to be the joint
work of B. and F. _Philaster_ and _The Maid's Tragedy_ are considered the
masterpieces, and are as dramas unmatched except by Shakespeare. _The Two
Noble Kinsmen_ is thought to contain the work of Shakespeare. As regards
their respective powers, B. is held to have had the graver, solider, and
more stately genius, while F. excelled in brightness, wit, and gaiety.
The former was the stronger in judgment, the latter in fancy. The plays
contain many very beautiful lyrics, but are often stained by gross
indelicacy. The play of _Henry VIII._ included in Shakespeare's works, is
now held to be largely the work of F. and Massinger. Subjoined is a list
of the plays with the authorship according to the latest authorities.
(1) BEAUMONT.--_The Masque_. (2) FLETCHER.--_Woman Hater_ (1607),
_Faithful Shepherdess_ (1609), _Bonduca_ (_Boàdicea_) (1618-19), _Wit
without Money_ (1614?), _Valentinian_ (1618-19), _Loyal Subjects_ (1618),
_Mad Lover_ (1618-19), _Humorous Lieutenant_ (1618?), _Women Pleased_
(1620?), _Island Princess_ (1621), _Pilgrim_ (1621), _Wild Goose Chase_
(1621), _Woman's Prize_ (? _pub._ 1647), _A Wife for a Month_ (1624),
_Chances_ (late, _p._ 1647), perhaps _Monsieur Thomas_ (_p._ 1639), and
_Sea Voyage_ (1622). (3) BEAUMONT and FLETCHER.--_Four Plays in One_
(1608), _King and No King_ (1611), _Cupid's Revenge_ (1611?), _Knight of
Burning Pestle_ (1611), _Maid's Tragedy_ (1611), _Philaster_ (1611),
_Coxcomb_ (1612-13), _Wits at Several Weapons_ (1614), _Scornful Lady_
(1616), doubtfully, _Thierry and Theodoret_ (1616), and _Little French
Lawyer_ (1620) perhaps by F. and Massinger, and _Laws of Candy_ (?)
perhaps by B. and Massinger. (4) FLETCHER and OTHERS.--_Honest Man's
Fortune_ (1613), F., Mass., and Field; _The Captain_ (1613), and _Nice
Valour_ (_p._ 1647), F. and Middleton (?); _Bloody Brothers_ (1616-17),
F., Mid., and Rowley or Fielding and B. Jonson (?); _Queen of Corinth_
(1618-19), F. and Row. or Mass. and Mid.; _Barneveld_ (1619), by F. and
Massinger; _Knight of Malta_ (1619), _False One_ (1620), _A Very Woman_
(1621?), _Double Marriage_ (1620), _Elder Brother_ (_p._ 1637), _Lover's
Progress_ (_p._ 1647), _Custom of the Country_ (1628), _Prophetess_
(1622), _Spanish Curate_ (1622), by F. and Shakespeare; _Henry VIII._
(1617), and _Two Noble Kinsmen_ (_p._ 1634), by F. and Rowley, or
Massinger; _Maid of the Mill_ (1625-6), _Beggar's Bush_ (?) (1622), by F.
and Shirley; _Noble Gentleman_ (?) _Night Walker_ (1633?), _Lovers
Pilgrimage_ (1623?), _Fair Maid of the Inn_ (1625-26), also with
Middleton?
The latest ed. is that of Mr. Bullen (11 vols., 1904), and A.R. Waller (7
vols., _pub._ C.U.P., 1909); Dyce (11 vols., 1843-46); _Francis
Beaumont_, G.C. Macaulay (1883); _Lyric Poems_ of B. and F., E. Rhys
(1897); _Bibliography_, A.C. Potter in _Harvard Bibliograph.
Contributions_, 1891.
BEAUMONT, SIR JOHN (1582-1627?).--Poet, elder brother of Francis B., the
dramatist (_q.v._). His poems, of which the best known is _Bosworth
Field_, _pub._ by his _s._, 1629. Another, _The Crown of Thorns_, is
lost.
BECKFORD, WILLIAM (_c._ 1760-1844).--Miscellaneous writer, only _s._ of
William B., Lord Mayor of London, the associate and supporter of John
Wilkes, inherited at the age of 9 an enormous fortune. In these
circumstances he grew up wayward and extravagant, showing, however, a
strong bent towards literature. His education was entrusted to a private
tutor, with whom he travelled extensively on the Continent. At the age of
22 he produced his oriental romance, _Vathek_ (_c._ 1781), written
originally in French and, as he was accustomed to boast, at a single
sitting of three days and two nights. There is reason, however, to
believe that this was a flight of imagination. It is an impressive work,
full of fantastic and magnificent conceptions, rising occasionally to
sublimity. His other principal writings are _Memoirs of Extraordinary
Painters_ (1780), a satirical work, and _Letters from Italy with Sketches
of Spain and Portugal_ (1835), full of brilliant descriptions of scenes
and manners. B.'s fame, however, rests nearly as much upon his eccentric
extravagances as a builder and collector as upon his literary efforts. In
carrying out these he managed to dissipate his fortune of £100,000 a
year, only £80,000 of his capital remaining at his death. He sat in
parliament for various constituencies, and one of his two _dau._ became
Duchess of Hamilton.
BEDDOES, THOMAS LOVELL (1803-1849).--Dramatic poet and physiologist, _s._
of Dr. Thos. B., an eminent physician, and nephew of Maria Edgeworth.
_Ed._ at the Charterhouse and Oxford, he _pub._ in 1821 _The
Improvisatore_, which he afterwards endeavoured to suppress. His next
venture was _The Bride's Tragedy_ (1822), which had considerable success,
and won for him the friendship of "Barry Cornwall." Thereafter he went to
Göttingen and studied medicine. He then wandered about practising his
profession, and expounding democratic theories which got him into
trouble. He _d._ at Bale in mysterious circumstances. For some time
before his death he had been engaged upon a drama, _Death's Jest Book_,
which was published in 1850 with a memoir by his friend, T.F. Kelsall. B.
had not the true dramatic instinct, but his poetry is full of thought and
richness of diction. Some of his short pieces, _e.g._: "If there were
dreams to sell," and "If thou wilt ease thine heart," are masterpieces of
intense feeling exquisitely expressed.
BEDE or BÆDA (673-735).--Historian and scholar. B., who is sometimes
referred to as "the father of English history," was in his youth placed
under the care of Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, and of Ceolfrith,
afterwards Abbot of Jarrow. Ordained deacon in 692 and priest in 703, he
spent most of his days at Jarrow, where his fame as a scholar and teacher
of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew brought him many disciples. Here likewise he
_d._ and was buried, but his bones were, towards the beginning of the
11th century, removed to Durham. The well-deserved title of "Venerable"
usually prefixed to his name first appears in 836. He was the most
learned Englishman of his age. His industry was marvellous, and its
results remain embodied in about 40 books, of which about 25 are
commentaries on books of Scripture. The others are lives of saints and
martyrs, and his two great works, _The Ecclesiastical History of England_
and the scientific treatise, _De Natura Rerum_. The former of these gives
the fullest and best information we have as to the history of England
down to the year 731, and the latter is an encyclopædia of the sciences
as then known. In the anxious care with which he sought out and selected
reliable information, and referred to authorities he shows the best
qualities of the modern historian, and his style is remarkable for "a
pleasing artlessness."
_History of Early Engl. Lit._, Stopford Brooke (2 vols., 1892), etc.
BEECHER, HENRY WARD (1813-1887).--Orator and divine, _s._ of Lyman B. and
_bro._ of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was one of the most popular of American
preachers and platform orators, a prominent advocate of temperance and of
the abolition of slavery. His writings, which had a wide popularity,
include _Summer in the Soul_ and _Life Thoughts_.
BEHN, APHRA (JOHNSTON) (1640-1689).--Novelist and dramatist, _dau._ of a
barber named Johnston, but went with a relative whom she called father to
Surinam, of which he had been appointed Governor. He, however, _d._ on
the passage thither, and her childhood and youth were passed there. She
became acquainted with the celebrated slave Oronoko, afterwards the hero
of one of her novels. Returning to England in 1658 she _m._ Behn, a Dutch
merchant, but was a widow at the age of 26. She then became attached to
the Court, and was employed as a political spy at Antwerp. Leaving that
city she cultivated the friendship of various playwrights, and produced
many plays and novels, also poems and pamphlets. The former are extremely
gross, and are now happily little known. She was the first English
professional authoress. Among her plays are _The Forced Marriage_,
_Abdelazer_, _The Rover_, _The Debauchee_, etc., and her novels include
_Oronoko_ and _The Nun_. The former of these was the first book to bring
home to the country a sense of the horrors of slavery, for which let her
have credit.
BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD (1805-1874).--Poet and historian, was a member of
the Scottish Bar, and became Sheriff of Lanarkshire. He wrote a _Life of
Mary Queen of Scots_ (1830), strongly in her defence, and two vols. of
poetry, _Summer and Winter Hours_ (1831), and _My Old Portfolio_, the
latter also containing pieces in prose.
BELLENDEN, or BALLANTYNE, JOHN (_fl._ 1533-1587?).--Poet, _b._ towards
the close of the 15th century, and _ed._ at St. Andrews and Paris. At the
request of James V. he translated the _Historia Gentis Scotorum_ of
Boece. This translation, _Chroniklis of Scotland_ is a very free one,
with a good deal of matter not in the original, so that it may be almost
considered as a new work. It was _pub._ in 1536, and is the earliest
existing specimen of Scottish literary prose. He also translated the
first five books of Livy. He enjoyed the Royal favour, and was Archdeacon
of Moray. He latterly, however, became involved in controversy which led
to his going to Rome, where he _d._, according to one account, about
1550. Another authority, however, states that he was living in 1587.
BENTHAM, JEREMY (1748-1832).--Writer on jurisprudence and politics, _b._
in London, _s._ of a prosperous attorney, _ed._ at Westminster and
Oxford, was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, but disliking the law, he
made little or no effort to practise, but devoted himself to physical
science and the theory of jurisprudence. In 1776 he _pub._ anonymously
his _Fragment on Government_, an able criticism of Blackstone's
_Commentaries_, which brought him under the notice of Lord Shelburne, and
in 1780 his _Introduction to Principles of Morals and Legislation_. Other
works were _Panopticon_, in which he suggested improvements on prison
discipline, _Discourse on Civil and Penal Legislation_ (1802),
_Punishments and Rewards_ (1811), _Parliamentary Reform Catechism_
(1817), and _A Treatise on Judicial Evidence_. By the death of his _f._
he inherited a competency on which he was able to live in frugal
elegance, not unmixed with eccentricity. B. is the first and perhaps the
greatest of the "philosophical radicals," and his fundamental principle
is utilitarianism or "the greatest happiness of the greatest number," a
phrase of which he is generally, though erroneously, regarded as the
author. The effect of his writings on legislation and the administration
of the law has been almost incalculable. He left his body to be
dissected; and his skeleton, clothed in his usual attire, is preserved in
University College, London.
_Life_ by Bowring in collected works (J.H. Barton, 11 vols., 1844).
_Study of Life and Work_, Atkinson, 1903.
BENTLEY, RICHARD (1662-1742).--Theologian, scholar, and critic, _b._ in
Yorkshire of humble parentage, went at the age of 14 to Camb.,
afterwards had charge of a school at Spalding, and then becoming tutor to
the _s._ of Dr. Stillingfleet, Dean of St. Paul's, afterwards Bishop of
Worcester (_q.v.i_), accompanied his pupil to Oxf. After taking his
degree at both universities, and entering the Church, he laid the
foundation of his reputation as perhaps the greatest scholar England has
produced by his letter in Mill's ed. of the _Chronicle of John Malelas_,
and his _Dissertation on the Letters of Phalaris_ (1699), which spread
his fame through Europe. After receiving various preferments, including
the Boyle lectureship and the Keepership of the Royal Library, he was, in
1700, appointed Master of Trinity, and afterwards was, largely owing to
his own pugnacity and rapacity, which were almost equal to his learning,
involved in a succession of litigations and controversies. These lasted
for 20 years, and led to the temporary loss of his academic preferments
and honours. In 1717, however, he was appointed Regius Prof. of Divinity.
During the contentions referred to he continued his literary activity
without abatement, and _pub._ various ed. of the classics, including
Horace and Terence. He was much less successful in certain emendations of
Milton which he attempted. Having incurred the resentment of Pope he was
rewarded by being assigned a niche in _The Dunciad!_ His style is strong
and nervous, and sparkles with wit and sarcasm. His classical
controversies called forth Swift's _Battle of the Books_.
_Life_ by Monk (1833). _Life_ by Sir R. Jebb in _English Men of Letters_
(1882).
BERESFORD, JAMES (1764-1840).--Miscellaneous writer and clergyman. He
made translations and wrote religious books, but was chiefly known as the
author of a satirical work, _The Miseries of Human Life_ (1806-7.)
BERKELEY, GEORGE (1685-1753).--Philosopher, eldest _s._ of William B., a
cadet of the noble family of Berkeley, _b._ at Kilcrin near Kilkenny, and
_ed._ at the school of his native place and at Trinity Coll., Dublin,
where he graduated and took a Fellowship in 1707. His earliest
publication was a mathematical one; but the first which brought him into
notice was his _Essay towards a New Theory of Vision_, _pub._ in 1709.
Though giving rise to much controversy at the time, its conclusions are
now accepted as an established part of the theory of optics. There next
appeared in 1710 the _Treatise concerning the Principles of Human
Knowledge_, which was followed in 1713 by _Dialogues between Hylas_ and
_Philonous_, in which he propounded his system of philosophy, the leading
principle of which is that the world as represented to our senses depends
for its existence on being perceived. Of this theory the _Principles_
gives the exposition and the _Dialogues_ the defence. One of his main
objects was to combat the prevailing materialism of the time. A theory so
novel was, as might be expected, received with widespread ridicule,
though his genius was realised by some of the more elect spirits, such as
Dr. S. Clarke. Shortly afterwards B. visited England, and was received
into the circle of Addison, Pope, and Steele. He then went to the
Continent in various capacities, and on his return was made Lecturer in
Divinity and Greek in his university, D.D. in 1721, and Dean of Derry in
1724. In 1725 he formed the project of founding a college in Bermuda for
training ministers for the colonies, and missionaries to the Indians, in
pursuit of which he gave up his deanery with its income of £1100, and
went to America on a salary of £100. Disappointed of promised aid from
Government he returned, and was appointed Bishop of Cloyne. Soon
afterwards he _pub._ _Alciphron, or The Minute Philosopher_, directed
against Shaftesbury, and in 1734-37 _The Querist_. His last publications
were _Siris_, a treatise on the medicinal virtues of tar-water, and
_Further Thoughts on Tar-water_. He _d._ at Oxford in 1753. His
affectionate disposition and genial manners made him much beloved. As a
thinker his is the greatest name in English philosophy between Locke and
Hume. His style is clear and dignified.
The best ed. of B. is Prof. A.C. Fraser's, with Life (4 vols., 1871, and
new, 1902); there is also a small work by the same (1881).
BERNERS, BERNES, or BARNES, JULIANA (_b._ 1388?).--Writer on heraldry and
sports. Nothing of her real history is known, but statements more or less
mythical have gathered round her name. The work attributed to her is _The
Boke of St. Albans_ (1486). It consists of four treatises on _Hawking_,
_Hunting_, _The Lynage of Coote Armiris_, and _The Blasynge of Armis_.
She was said to be the _dau._ of Sir James B., and to have been Prioress
of Sopwell Nunnery, Herts.
BERNERS, JOHN BOURCHIER, 2ND LORD (1467-1553).--Translator, _b._ at
Sherfield, Herts and _ed._ at Oxf., held various offices of state,
including that of Chancellor of the Exchequer to Henry VIII., and
Lieutenant of Calais, where he _d._ He translated, at the King's desire,
_Froissart's Chronicles_ (1523-25), in such a manner as to make distinct
advance in English historical writing, and the _Golden Book of Marcus
Aurelius_ (1534); also _The History of Arthur of Lytell Brytaine_
(Brittany), and the romance of _Huon of Bordeaux_.
BESANT, SIR WALTER (1836-1901).--Novelist and historian of London, _b._
at Portsmouth and _ed._ at King's Coll., London, and Camb., was for a few
years a professor at Mauritius, but a breakdown in health compelled him
to resign, and he returned to England and took the duties of Secretary to
the Palestine Exploration Fund, which he held 1868-85. He _pub._ in 1868
_Studies in French Poetry_. Three years later he began his collaboration
with James Rice (_q.v._). Among their joint productions are _Ready-money
Mortiboy_ (1872), and the _Golden Butterfly_ (1876), both, especially the
latter, very successful. This connection was brought to an end by the
death of Rice in 1882. Thereafter B. continued to write voluminously at
his own hand, his leading novels being _All in a Garden Fair_, _Dorothy
Forster_ (his own favourite), _Children of Gibeon_, and _All Sorts and
Conditions of Men_. The two latter belonged to a series in which he
endeavoured to arouse the public conscience to a sense of the sadness of
life among the poorest classes in cities. In this crusade B. had
considerable success, the establishment of The People's Palace in the
East of London being one result. In addition to his work in fiction B.
wrote largely on the history and topography of London. His plans in this
field were left unfinished: among his books on this subject is _London in
the 18th Century_.
Other works among novels are _My Little Girl_, _With Harp and Crown_,
_This Son of Vulcan_, _The Monks of Thelema_, _By Celia's Arbour_, and
_The Chaplain of the Fleet_, all with Rice; and _The Ivory Gate_, _Beyond
the Dreams of Avarice_, _The Master Craftsman_, _The Fourth Generation_,
etc., alone. _London under the Stuarts_, _London under the Tudors_ are
historical.
BICKERSTAFFE, ISAAC (_c._ 1735-1812?).--Dramatic writer, in early life a
page to Lord Chesterfield when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, produced
between 1756 and 1771 many dramatic pieces, which had considerable
popularity, the best known of which are _Love in a Village_ (1762), and
_The Maid of the Mill_. Owing to misconduct he was dismissed from being
an officer in the Marines, and had ultimately, in 1772, to fly the
country. The remainder of his life seems to have been passed in penury
and misery. The date of his death is unknown. He was alive in 1812.
BIRD, ROBERT MONTGOMERY (1803-1854).--Novelist, an American physician,
wrote three tragedies, _The Gladiator_, _Oraloosa_, and _The Broker of
Bogota_, and several novels, including _Calavar_, _The Infidel_, _The
Hawks of Hawk Hollow_, _Peter Pilgrim_, and _Nick of the Woods_, in the
first two of which he gives graphic and accurate details and descriptions
of Mexican history.
BISHOP, SAMUEL (1731-1795).--Poet, _b._ in London, and _ed._ at Merchant
Taylor's School and Oxf., took orders and became Headmaster of Merchant
Taylor's School. His poems on miscellaneous subjects fill two quarto
vols., the best of them are those to his wife and _dau._ He also _pub._
essays.
BLACK, WILLIAM (1841-1898).--Novelist. After studying as a landscape
painter, he took to journalism in Glasgow. In 1864 he went to London, and
soon after _pub._ his first novel, _James Merle_, which made no
impression. In the Austro-Prussian War he acted as a war correspondent.
Thereafter he began afresh to write fiction, and was more successful; the
publication of _A Daughter of Heth_ (1871) at once established his
popularity. He reached his highwater-mark in _A Princess of Thule_
(1873). Many other books were added before his death in 1898, among which
may be mentioned _In Silk Attire_ (1869), _The Strange Adventures of a
Phæton_ (1872), _Macleod of Dare_ (1878), _White Wings_ (1880), _Shandon
Bells_ (1882), _Yolande_ (1883), _Judith Shakespeare_ (1884), _White
Heather_ (1886), _Stand Fast Craig-Royston!_ (1890), _Green Pastures and
Piccadilly_, _Three Feathers_, _Wild Eelin_ (1898).
BLACKIE, JOHN STUART (1809-1895).--Scholar and man of letters, _b._ in
Glasgow, and _ed._ at the Universities of Aberdeen and Edin., after which
he travelled and studied in Germany and Italy. Returning to Scotland he
was, in 1834, admitted to the Scottish Bar, but did not practise. His
first work was his translation of _Faust_ (1834), which won the
approbation of Carlyle. From 1841-52 B. was Prof. of Humanity (Latin) in
Aberdeen, and from 1852-82, when he retired, of Greek in Edinburgh. His
literary activity was incessant, his works consisting of translations of
_Æschylus_ and of the _Iliad_, various books of poetry, including _Lays
and Legends of Ancient Greece_, and treatises on religious,
philosophical, and political subjects, among which may be mentioned
_Self-Culture_ (1873), _Horæ Hellenicæ_, and a life of Burns. He was an
enthusiastic champion of Scottish nationality. Possessed of great
conversational powers and general versatility, his picturesque
eccentricity made him one of the most notable members of Scottish
society. It was owing to his efforts that a Chair of Celtic Language and
Literature was established in Edinburgh University.
BLACKLOCK, THOMAS (1721-1791).--Poet, _b._ near Annan of humble
parentage, lost his sight by smallpox when 6 months old. He began to
write poetry at the age of 12, and studied for the Church. He was
appointed Minister of Kirkcudbright, but was objected to by the
parishioners on account of his blindness, and gave up the presentation on
receiving an annuity. He then retired to Edinburgh, where he took pupils.
He _pub._ some miscellaneous poems, which are now forgotten, and is
chiefly remembered for having written a letter to Burns, which had the
effect of dissuading him from going to the West Indies. He was made D.D.
in 1767.
BLACKMORE, SIR RICHARD (_c._ 1650, _d._ 1729).--Poet, one of the Court
Physicians to William III. and Anne, wrote several very long and
well-intentioned, but dull and tedious, poems, which, though praised by
Addison and Johnson, are now utterly forgotten. They include _Prince
Arthur_, _Creation_, _Redemption_, _Alfred_. As may be imagined, they
were the subject of derision by the profaner wits of the day. B. was a
successful physician and an excellent man.
BLACKMORE, RICHARD DODDRIDGE (1825-1900).--Novelist and poet, _b._ at
Longworth, Berks, _ed._ at Tiverton School and Oxf., practised for a
short time as a lawyer but, owing to his health, gave this up, and took
to market-gardening and literature at Teddington. His first _pub._ was
_Poems by Melanter_ (1853), followed by _Epullia_ (1855), _The Bugle of
the Black Sea_ (1855), etc.; but he soon found that fiction, not poetry,
was his true vocation. Beginning with _Clara Vaughan_ in 1864, he
produced fifteen novels, all of more than average, and two or three of
outstanding merit. Of these much the best in the opinion of the public,
though not of the author, is _Lorna Doone_ (1869), the two which rank
next to it being _The Maid of Sker_ (1872) (the author's favourite) and
_Springhaven_ (1887). Others are _Cradock Nowell_ (1866), _Alice
Lorraine_ (1875), _Cripps the Carrier_ (1876), _Mary Anerley_ (1880), and
_Christowell_ (1882). One of the most striking features of B.'s writings
is his marvellous eye for, and sympathy with, Nature. He may be said to
have done for Devonshire what Scott did for the Highlands. He has been
described as "proud, shy, reticent, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and
self-centred."
BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM (1723-1780).--Legal Writer, posthumous _s._ of a
silk mercer in London, was _ed._ at Charterhouse School and Oxf., and
entered the Middle Temple in 1741. His great work is his _Commentaries on
the Laws of England_, in 4 vols. (1765-1769), which still remains the
best general history of the subject. It had an extraordinary success, and
is said to have brought the author £14,000. B. was not a man of original
mind, nor was he a profound lawyer; but he wrote an excellent style,
clear and dignified, which brings his great work within the category of
general literature. He had also a turn for neat and polished verse, of
which he gave proof in _The Lawyer's Farewell to his Muse_.
BLAIR, HUGH (1718-1800).--Divine, and man of letters, _b._ and _ed._ at
Edin. After being minister at Collessie in Fife, he was translated to
Edinburgh, where he filled various pulpits, latterly that of the High
Church. In 1759 he commenced a series of lectures on composition, and
soon after the Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres was founded, to which
he was appointed. His _Lectures_ were _pub._ on his resignation of the
chair in 1783. His chief fame, however, rests upon his _Sermons_, in 4
vols., which had an extraordinary popularity, and obtained for him a
pension of £200. Time has not sustained the opinion of his
contemporaries: they have been described as feeble in thought though
elegant in style, and even as "a bucket of warm water." B. was amiable,
kind to young authors, and remarkable for a harmless, but rather
ridiculous vanity and simplicity.
BLAIR, ROBERT (1699-1746).--Poet, _b._ at Edin., where his _f._ was a
clergyman, became minister of Athelstaneford, Haddingtonshire. His sole
work was _The Grave_, a poem in blank verse extending to 767 lines of
very various merit, in some passages rising to great sublimity, and in
others sinking to commonplace. It was illustrated by William Blake
(_q.v._) B.'s _s._, Robert, was a very distinguished Scottish judge and
Lord President of the Court of Session; and his successor in his
ministerial charge was Home, the author of _Douglas_.
BLAKE, WILLIAM (1757-1827).--Poet and painter, _b._ in London, was from
earliest youth a seer of visions and a dreamer of dreams, seeing "Ezekiel
sitting under a green bough," and "a tree full of angels at Peckham," and
such he remained to the end of his days. His teeming imagination sought
expression both in verse and in drawing, and in his 14th year he was
apprenticed to James Basire, an eminent engraver, and thereafter studied
at the Royal Academy. Among his chief artistic works were illustrations
for Young's _Night Thoughts_, Blair's _Grave_, "Spiritual Portraits," and
his finest work, "Inventions to the Book of Job," all distinguished by
originality and imagination. In literature his _Songs of Innocence_
appeared in 1789, _Songs of Experience_ in 1794. These books were
literally made by Blake and his heaven-provided wife; poems and designs
alike being engraved on copper by B. and bound by Mrs. B. In like fashion
were produced his mystical books, _The Book of Thel_ (1789), _The
Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ (1790), _The Gates of Paradise_, _Visions of
the Daughters of Albion_, _Europe_, _The Book of Urizen_ (1794), _The
Book of Los_ and _The Book of Ahania_ (1795). His last books were
_Jerusalem_ and _Milton_. His earlier and shorter pieces, _e.g._ "The
Chimney-Sweeper," "Holy Thursday," "The Lamb," "The Sun-flower," "The
Tiger," etc., have an exquisite simplicity arising from directness and
intensity of feeling--sometimes tender, sometimes sublime--always
individual. Latterly he lost himself in clouds of mysticism. A truly
pious and loving soul, neglected and misunderstood by the world, but
appreciated by an elect few, he led a cheerful and contented life of
poverty illumined by visions and celestial inspirations.
BLAMIRE, SUSANNA (1747-1794).--Poetess, was of good Cumberland family,
and received the sobriquet of "The Muse of Cumberland." Her poems, which
were not collected until 1842, depict Cumbrian life and manners with
truth and vivacity. She also wrote some fine songs in the Scottish
dialect, including "Ye shall walk in Silk Attire," and "What ails this
Heart o' Mine."
BLESSINGTON, MARGARET (POWER), COUNTESS of (1789-1849).--Married as her
second husband the 1st Earl of B., with whom she travelled much on the
Continent, where she met Lord Byron, her _Conversations_ with whom she
_pub._ in 1834. This is the only one of her books which has any value.
The others were slight works on Travel, such as _The Idler in Italy_,
annuals, and novels. She became bankrupt and went to Paris, where she
lived under the protection of the Count d'Orsay.
BLIND HARRY or HENRY THE MINSTREL (_fl._ 1470-1492).--Is spoken of by
John Major in his _History of Scotland_ as a wandering minstrel, skilled
in the composition of rhymes in the Scottish tongue, who "fabricated" a
book about William Wallace, and gained his living by reciting it to his
own accompaniment on the harp at the houses of the nobles. Harry claims
that it was founded on a Latin _Life of Wallace_ written by Wallace's
chaplain, John Blair, but the chief sources seem to have been
traditionary. Harry is often considered inferior to Barbour as a poet,
and has little of his moral elevation, but he surpasses him in graphic
power, vividness of description, and variety of incident. He occasionally
shows the influence of Chaucer, and is said to have known Latin and
French.
BLIND, MATHILDE (1841-1896).--Poetess, _b._ at Mannheim, but settled in
London about 1849, and _pub._ several books of poetry, _The Prophecy of
St. Oran_ (1881), _The Heather on Fire_ (1886), _Songs and Sonnets_
(1893), _Birds of Passage_ (1895), etc. She also translated Strauss's
_Old Faith and New_, and other works, and wrote Lives of George Eliot and
Madame Roland. Her own name was Cohen, but she adopted that of her
stepfather, Karl Blind.
BLOOMFIELD, ROBERT (1766-1823).--Poet, _b._ at Honington in Suffolk, lost
his _f._ when he was a year old, and received the rudiments of education
from his mother, who kept the village school. While still a boy he went
to London, and worked as a shoemaker under an elder brother, enduring
extreme poverty. His first and chief poem, _The Farmer's Boy_, was
composed in a room where half a dozen other men were at work, and the
finished lines he carried in his head until there was time to write them
down. The manuscript, after passing through various hands, fell into
those of Capel Lofft, a Suffolk squire of literary tastes, by whose
exertions it was _pub._ with illustrations by Bewick in 1800. It had a
signal success, 26,000 copies having been sold in three years. The Duke
of Grafton obtained for him an appointment in the Seal Office, and when,
through ill-health, he was obliged to resign this, allowed him a pension
of 1s. a day. Other works were _Rural Tales_ (1804), _Wild Flowers_
(1806), _The Banks of the Wye_ (1811), and _May Day with the Muses_
(1817). An attempt to carry on business as a bookseller failed, his
health gave way, his reason was threatened, and he _d._ in great poverty
at Shefford in 1823. B.'s poetry is smooth, correct, and characterised by
taste and good feeling, but lacks fire and energy. Of amiable and simple
character, he was lacking in self-reliance.
BODENHAM, JOHN (_fl._ 1600).--Anthologist, is stated to have been the ed.
of some of the Elizabethan anthologies, viz., _Politeuphuia_ (_Wits'
Commonwealth_) (1597), _Wits' Theater_ (1598), _Belvidere, or the Garden
of the Muses_ (1600), and _England's Helicon_ (1600). Mr. Bullen says
that B. did not himself ed. any of the Elizabethan miscellanies
attributed to him by bibliographers: but that he projected their
publication, and he befriended the editors.
BOECE, or BOETHIUS, HECTOR (1465?-1536).--Historian, probably _b._ at
Dundee, and _ed._ there and at Paris, where he was a regent or professor,
1492 to 1498. While there he made the acquaintance of Erasmus. Returning
to Scotland he co-operated with Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen, in
founding the univ. there of which he was the first Principal. His
literary fame rests on two works, his _Lives of the Bishops of Mortlach
and Aberdeen_, in which his friend Elphinstone figures prominently, and
his _History of Scotland_ to the accession of James III. These works
were, of course, composed in Latin, but the _History_ was translated into
Scottish prose by John Bellenden, 1530 to 1533, and into English for
Hollinshed's _Chronicle_. The only predecessor of the work was the
compendium of Major, and as it was written in a flowing and pleasing
style it became very popular, and led to ecclesiastical preferment and
Royal favour. B. shared in the credulity of his age, but the charge of
inventing his authorities formerly brought against him has been shown to
be, to some extent at any rate, unfounded.
BOKER, GEORGE HENRY (1823-90).--Poet, was in the American Diplomatic
Service. Among his dramas, generally tragedies, are _Anne Boleyn_, _The
Betrothed_, and _Francesca da Rimini_, and among his books of poetry,
_Street Lyrics_, _Königsmark_, and _The Book of the Dead_. His dramas
combine poetic merit with adaptability for acting.
BOLINGBROKE, HENRY ST. JOHN, 1ST VISCOUNT (1678-1751).--Statesman and
philosopher, _s._ of Sir Henry St. J., _b._ at Battersea, and _ed._ at
Eton and perhaps Oxf., was during his youth noted chiefly for
dissipation, but entering Parliament in 1701 as a supporter of Harley,
soon made himself a name by his eloquence and talent. He held office as
War and Foreign Sec. successively, became a peer in 1712, intrigued
successfully against Harley, and formed an administration during the last
days of Queen Anne, with the intention of bringing back the Stuarts,
which was frustrated by the Queen's death. On the arrival of George I.
and the accession to power of the Whigs, B. was impeached, and his name
erased from the Roll of Peers. He went to France, and became Sec. of
State to the Pretender James, who, however, dismissed him in 1716, after
which he devoted himself to philosophy and literature. In 1723 he was
pardoned and returned to England, and an act was passed in 1725 restoring
his forfeited estates, but still excluding him from the House of Lords.
He thereupon retired to his house, Dawley, near Uxbridge, where he
enjoyed the society of Swift and Pope, on the latter of whom he exerted a
strong influence. After some ineffectual efforts to regain a position in
political life, he returned to France in 1735, where he remained for 7
years, and wrote most of his chief works.
B. was a man of brilliant and versatile talents, but selfish, insincere,
and intriguing, defects of character which led to his political ruin. His
writings, once so much admired, reflect his character in their glittering
artificiality, and his pretensions to the reputation of a philosopher
have long been exploded; the chief of them are _Reflections upon Exile_,
_Letters on the Study of History_ (in which he attacked Christianity),
_Letters on the Spirit of Patriotism_, and _Idea of a Patriot King_. He
left his MSS. to David Mallet (_q.v._), who _pub._ a complete ed. of his
works in 5 vols. (1753-54).
BONAR, HORATIUS (1808-1889).--Divine and poet, _s._ of James B.,
Solicitor of Exise for Scotland, _b._ and _ed._ in Edin., entered the
Ministry of the Church of Scotland, and was settled at Kelso. He joined
the Free Church at the Disruption in 1843, and in 1867 was translated to
Edin. In 1853 he was made D.D. of Aberdeen. He was a voluminous and
highly popular author, and in addition to many books and tracts wrote a
number of hymns, many of which, _e.g._, "I heard the voice of Jesus say,"
are known all over the English-speaking world. A selection of these was
_pub._ as _Hymns of Faith and Hope_ (3 series). His last vol. of poetry
was _My Old Letters_.
BOORDE, or BORDE, ANDREW (1490?-1549).--Traveller, _b._ near Cuckfield,
Sussex, was brought up as a Carthusian, and held ecclesiastical
appointments, then practised medicine at various places, including
Glasgow, and was employed in various capacities by T. Cromwell. He
travelled widely, going as far as Jerusalem, and wrote descriptions of
the countries he had visited. His _Dyetary_ is the first English book of
domestic medicine. The _Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge_ describes
his journeys on the Continent. Other works are _The Boke of Berdes_
(Beards), _Handbook of Europe_, and _Itinerary of England_.
BORROW, GEORGE (1803-1881).--Philologist and miscellaneous author, and
traveller, _b._ at East Dereham, Norfolk, _s._ of a recruiting officer,
had a somewhat wandering childhood. He received most of his education in
Edin., and showed a peculiar talent for acquiring languages. After being
for a short time in the office of a solicitor in Norwich, he travelled
widely on the Continent and in the East, acquainting himself with the
people and languages of the various countries he visited. He specially
attached himself to the Gipsies, with whose language he became so
familiar as to _pub._ a dictionary of it. His learning was shown by his
publishing at St. Petersburg _Targum_, a work containing translations
from 30 languages. B. became a travelling agent of the Bible Society, and
his book, _The Bible in Spain_ (1843), giving an account of his
remarkable adventures in that country, made his literary reputation. It
was followed by _Lavengro_ (1851), and its sequel, _Romany Rye_ (1857),
and _Wild Wales_ (1862), which, though works of originality and extreme
interest, and now perhaps his most popular books, were received with less
public favour. The two first give a highly coloured picture of his own
story. He translated the New Testament into Manchu. In his latter years
he settled at Oulton Broad, Norfolk, where he _d._ B. was a man of
striking appearance and great vigour and originality of character and
mind. His writings hold a unique place in English literature.
BOSTON, THOMAS (1677-1732).--Scottish divine, was successively
schoolmaster at Glencairn, and minister of Simprin in Berwickshire, and
Ettrick in Selkirkshire. In addition to his best-known work, _The
Fourfold State_, one of the religious classics of Scotland, he wrote an
original little book, _The Crook in the Lot_, and a learned treatise on
the Hebrew points. He also took a leading part in the Courts of the
Church in what was known as the "Marrow Controversy," regarding the
merits of an English work, _The Marrow of Modern Divinity_, which he
defended against the attacks of the "Moderate" party in the Church. B.,
if unduly introspective, was a man of singular piety and amiability. His
autobiography is an interesting record of Scottish life, full of
sincerity and tenderness, and not devoid of humorous touches, intentional
and otherwise.
BOSWELL, SIR ALEXANDER (1775-1822).--Antiquary and song writer, _s._ of
James B., of Auchinleck, Johnson's biographer, was interested in old
Scottish authors, some of whose works he reprinted at his private press.
He wrote some popular Scotch songs, of which _Jenny's Bawbee_ and _Jenny
dang the Weaver_ are the best known. B. _d._ in a duel with Mr. Stuart of
Dunearn.
BOSWELL, JAMES (1740-1795).--Biographer, _s._ of Alexander B. of
Auchinleck, Ayrshire, one of the judges of the Supreme Courts of
Scotland, was _ed._ at the High School and Univ. of Edin., and practised
as an advocate. He travelled much on the Continent and visited Corsica,
where he became acquainted with the patriot General Paoli. Fortunately
for posterity he was in 1763 introduced to Dr. Johnson, and formed an
acquaintance with him which soon ripened into friendship, and had as its
ultimate fruit the immortal _Life_. He was also the author of several
works of more or less interest, including an _Account of Corsica_ (1768),
and _Journal of Tour to the Hebrides_ (in the company of Johnson) (1786).
Vain and foolish in an exceptional degree, and by no means free from more
serious faults, B. has yet produced the greatest biography in the
language. _The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D._ appeared in 1791, and at
once commanded an admiration which has suffered no diminution since. But
by this time a cloud had fallen upon the author. He had lost his
excellent wife, his health had given way, the intemperance to which he
had always been subject had mastered him, and he _d._ four years after
the appearance of his great work. B. was called to the English as well as
to the Scottish Bar, but his various foibles prevented his reaching any
great success, and he had also vainly endeavoured to enter on a political
career. The question has often been raised how a man with the
characteristics of B. could have produced so unique a work, and has been
discussed at length by Macaulay and by Carlyle, the former paradoxically
arguing that his supreme folly and meanness themselves formed his
greatest qualifications; the latter, with far deeper insight, that
beneath these there lay the possession of an eye to discern excellence
and a heart to appreciate it, intense powers of accurate observation and
a considerable dramatic faculty. His letters to William Temple were
discovered at Boulogne, and _pub._ 1857.
BOUCICAULT, DION (1820-90).--Actor and dramatist, _b._ in Dublin and
_ed._ in London, joined Macready while still young, and made his first
appearance upon the stage with Benj. Webster at Bristol. Soon afterwards
he began to write plays, occasionally in conjunction, of which the first,
_London Assurance_ (1841) had an immediate success. He was an excellent
actor, especially in pathetic parts. His plays are for the most part
adaptations, but are often very ingenious in construction, and have had
great popularity. Among the best known are _The Colleen Bawn_,
_Arrah-na-Pogue_, _Faust and Marguerite_, and _The Shaughraun_. B. _d._
in America.
BOWDLER, THOMAS (1754-1825).--Editor of _The Family Shakespeare_, _b._
near Bath, _s._ of a gentleman of independent fortune, studied medicine
at St. Andrews and at Edin., where he took his degree in 1776, but did
not practise, devoting himself instead to the cause of prison reform. In
1818 he _pub._ his _Family Shakespeare_ in 10 vols., "in which nothing is
added to the original text, but those words and expressions are omitted
which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family." The work had
considerable success, 4 editions having been _pub._ before 1824, and
others in 1831, 1853, and 1861. It was, however, subjected to some
criticism and ridicule, and gave rise to the expression "bowdlerise,"
always used in an opprobrious sense. On the other hand, Mr. Swinburne has
said, "More nauseous and foolish cant was never chattered than that which
would deride the memory or depreciate the merits of B. No man ever did
better service to Shakespeare than the man who made it possible to put
him into the hands of intelligent and imaginative children." B.
subsequently essayed a similar enterprise in regard to Gibbon, which,
however, was not so successful.
BOWER, ARCHIBALD (1686-1766).--Historian, _b._ at Dundee, and _ed._ at
the Scots Coll., Douay, became a Jesuit, but afterwards joined the Church
of England, and again became a Jesuit. He wrote a _History of Rome_
(1735-44), a _History of the Popes_ (1748-66). These works are
ill-proportioned and inaccurate. His whole life appears to have been a
very discreditable one.
BOWER, or BOWMAKER, WALTER (_d._ 1449).--Was Abbot of Inchcolm, and
continued and enlarged Fordun's _Scotichronicon_.
BOWLES, WILLIAM LISLE (1762-1850).--Poet and antiquary, _b._ at King's
Sutton, Northamptonshire, of which his _f._ was vicar, and _ed._ at
Winchester and Oxf., was for the most of his life Vicar of Bremhill,
Wilts, and became Prebendary and Canon Residentiary of Salisbury. His
first work, _pub._ in 1789, was a little vol. containing 14 sonnets,
which was received with extraordinary favour, not only by the general
public, but by such men as Coleridge and Wordsworth. It may be regarded
as the harbinger of the reaction against the school of Pope, in which
these poets were soon to bear so great a part. B. _pub._ several other
poems of much greater length, of which the best are _The Spirit of
Discovery_ (1805), and _The Missionary of the Andes_ (1815), and he also
enjoyed considerable reputation as an antiquary, his principal work in
that department being _Hermes Britannicus_ (1828). In 1807 he _pub._ a
_Life of Pope_, in the preface to which he expressed some views on poetry
which resulted in a rather fierce controversy with Byron, Campbell, and
others. He also wrote a _Life of Bishop Ken_. B. was an amiable,
absent-minded, and rather eccentric man. His poems are characterised by
refinement of feeling, tenderness, and pensive thought, but are deficient
in power and passion.
Other works are _Coombe Ellen and St. Michael's Mount_ (1798), _The
Battle of the Nile_ (1799), _The Sorrows of Switzerland_ (1801), _St.
John in Patmos_ (1833), etc.
BOWRING, SIR JOHN (1792-1872).--Linguist, writer, and traveller, was _b._
at Exeter. His talent for acquiring languages enabled him at last to say
that he knew 200, and could speak 100. He was appointed editor of the
_Westminster Review_ in 1824; travelled in various countries with the
view of reporting on their commercial position; was an M.P. 1835-37 and
1841-49, and held various appointments in China. His chief literary work
was the translation of the folk-songs of most European nations, and he
also wrote original poems and hymns, and works on political and economic
subjects. B. was knighted in 1854. He was the literary executor of Jeremy
Bentham (_q.v._).
BOYD, ANDREW KENNEDY HUTCHISON (1825-1899).--Miscellaneous writer, _s._
of Rev. Dr. B. of Glasgow, was originally intended for the English Bar,
but entered the Church of Scotland, and was minister latterly at St.
Andrews, wrote in _Fraser's Magazine_ a series of light, chirping
articles subsequently collected as the _Recreations of a Country Parson_,
also several books of reminiscences, etc., written in a pleasant chatty
style, and some sermons. He was D.D. and LL.D.
BOYD, ZACHARY (1585-1653).--Divine, belonged to the family of B. of
Pinkhill, Ayrshire, was _ed._ at Glasgow and at Saumur. He translated
many parts of Scripture into uncouth verse. Among his works are _The
Garden of Zion_ and _Zion's Flowers_.
BOYLE, THE HON. ROBERT (1627-1691).--Natural Philosopher and chemist, 7th
_s._ of the 1st Earl of Cork, was _b._ at Lismore, Co. Waterford, and
_ed._ at Eton and by private tutors, after which he pursued his studies
on the Continent. On his return to England he devoted himself to the
study of science, especially natural philosophy and chemistry. He was one
of the founders of the Royal Society, and, by his experiments and
observations added to existing knowledge, especially in regard to
pneumatics. He at the same time devoted much study to theology; so much
indeed that he was strongly urged by Lord Clarendon to enter the Church.
Thinking, however, that he could serve the cause of religion better as a
layman, he declined this advice. As a director of the East India Co. he
did much for the propagation of Christianity in the East, and for the
dissemination of the Bible. He also founded the "Boyle Lectures" in
defence of Christianity. He declined the offer of a peerage. B. was a man
of great intellectual acuteness, and remarkable for his conversational
powers. Among his writings are _Origin of Forms and Qualities_,
_Experiments touching Colour_, _Hydrostatical Paradoxes_, and
_Observations on Cold_; in theology, _Seraphic Love_. His complete works
were _pub._ in 5 vols. in 1744.
BRADLEY, EDWARD (1827-1889).--Novelist, was a clergyman. He wrote under
the name of "Cuthbert Bede" a few novels and tales, _Fairy Fables_
(1858), _Glencraggan_ (1861), _Fotheringhay_ (1885), etc.; but his most
popular book was _Verdant Green, an Oxford Freshman_, which had great
vogue.
BRADWARDINE, THOMAS (1290?-1349).--Theologian, was at Oxf., where he
became Prof. of Divinity and Chancellor, and afterwards Chaplain to
Edward III., whom he attended in his French wars. He was twice elected
Archbishop of Canterbury by the monks, and on the second occasion
accepted, but _d._ of the plague within 40 days. He wrote on geometry,
but his great work was _De Causa Dei_ (on the Cause of God against
Pelagius), in which he treated theology mathematically, and which earned
for him from the Pope the title of the Profound Doctor.
BRAITHWAITE, or BRATHWAITE, RICHARD (1588-1673).--Poet, _b._ near Kendal,
and _ed._ at Oxf., is believed to have served with the Royalist army in
the Civil War. He was the author of many works of very unequal merit, of
which the best known is _Drunken Barnaby's Four Journeys_, which records
his pilgrimages through England in rhymed Latin (said by Southey to be
the best of modern times), and doggerel English verse. _The English
Gentleman_ (1631) and _English Gentlewoman_ are in a much more decorous
strain. Other works are _The Golden Fleece_ (1611) (poems), _The Poet's
Willow_, _A Strappado for the Devil_ (a satire), and _Art Asleepe,
Husband?_
BRAMSTON, JAMES (_c._ 1694-1744).--Satirist, _ed._ at Westminster School
and Oxf., took orders and was latterly Vicar of Hastings. His poems are
_The Art of Politics_ (1729), in imitation of Horace, and _The Man of
Taste_ (1733), in imitation of Pope. He also parodied Phillips's
_Splendid Shilling_ in _The Crooked Sixpence_. His verses have some
liveliness.
BRAY, ANNA ELIZA (1790-1883).--Novelist, _dau._ of Mr. J. Kempe, was
married first to C.A. Stothard, _s._ of the famous R.A., and himself an
artist, and secondly to the Rev. E.A. Bray. She wrote about a dozen
novels, chiefly historical, and _The Borders of the Tamar and Tavy_
(1836), an account of the traditions and superstitions of the
neighbourhood of Tavistock in the form of letters to Southey, of whom she
was a great friend. This is probably the most valuable of her writings.
Among her works are _Branded_, _Good St. Louis and his Times_,
_Trelawney_, and _White Hoods_.
BRETON, NICHOLAS (1545-1626).--Poet and novelist. Little is known of his
life. He was the _s._ of William B., a London merchant, was perhaps at
Oxf., and was a rather prolific author of considerable versatility and
gift. Among his poetical works are _A Floorish upon Fancie, Pasquil's
Mad-cappe_ (1626), _The Soul's Heavenly Exercise_, and _The Passionate
Shepherd_. In prose he wrote _Wit's Trenchmour_, _The Wil of Wit_ (1599),
_A Mad World, my Masters_, _Adventures of Two Excellent Princes_,
_Grimello's Fortunes_ (1604), _Strange News out of Divers Countries_
(1622), etc. His mother married E. Gascoigne, the poet (_q.v._). His
lyrics are pure and fresh, and his romances, though full of conceits, are
pleasant reading, remarkably free from grossness.
BREWSTER, SIR DAVID (1781-1868).--Man of science and writer, _b._ at
Jedburgh, originally intended to enter the Church, of which, after a
distinguished course at the Univ. of Edin., he became a licentiate.
Circumstances, however, led him to devote himself to science, of which he
was one of the most brilliant ornaments of his day, especially in the
department of optics, in which he made many discoveries. He maintained
his habits of investigation and composition to the very end of his long
life, during which he received almost every kind of honorary distinction
open to a man of science. He also made many important contributions to
literature, including a _Life of Newton_ (1831), _The Martyrs of Science_
(1841), _More Worlds than One_ (1854), and _Letters on Natural Magic_
addressed to Sir W. Scott, and he also edited, in addition to various
scientific journals, _The Edinburgh Encyclopædia_ (1807-29). He likewise
held the offices successively of Principal of the United Coll. of St.
Salvator and St. Leonard, St. Andrews (1838), and of the Univ. of Edin.
(1859). He was knighted in 1831. Of high-strung and nervous temperament,
he was somewhat irritable in matters of controversy; but he was
repeatedly subjected to serious provocation. He was a man of highly
honourable and fervently religious character.
BROKE, or BROOKE, ARTHUR (_d._ 1563).--Translator, was the author of _The
Tragicall Historie of Romeus and Juliett_, from which Shakespeare
probably took the story of his _Romeo and Juliet_. Though indirectly
translated, through a French version, from the Italian of Bandello, it is
so much altered and amplified as almost to rank as an original work. The
only fact known regarding him is his death by shipwreck when crossing to
France.
BROME, RICHARD (_d._ 1652?).--Dramatist, the servant and friend of Ben
Jonson, produced upwards of 20 plays, some in conjunction with Dekker and
others. Among them are _A Fault in Friendship_, _Late Lancashire Witches_
(with Heywood and Dekker), _A Jovial Crew_ (1652), _The Northern Lass_
(1632), _The Antipodes_ (1646), _City Wit_ (1653), _Court Beggar_ (1653),
etc. He had no original genius, but knew stage-craft well.
BRONTÉ, CHARLOTTE (1816-1855).--Novelist, _dau._ of the Rev. Patrick B.,
a clergyman of Irish descent and of eccentric habits who embittered the
lives of his children by his peculiar theories of education. Brought up
in a small parsonage close to the graveyard of a bleak, windswept village
on the Yorkshire moors, and left motherless in early childhood, she was
"the motherly friend and guardian of her younger sisters," of whom two,
Emily and Anne, shared, but in a less degree, her talents. After various
efforts as schoolmistresses and governesses, the sisters took to
literature and _pub._ a vol. of poems under the names of Currer, Ellis,
and Acton Bell, which, however, fell flat. Charlotte then wrote her first
novel, _The Professor_, which did not appear until after her death, and
began _Jane Eyre_, which, appearing in 1847, took the public by storm. It
was followed by _Shirley_ in 1849, and _Villette_ in 1852. In 1854 she
was married to her father's curate, the Rev. A. Nicholls, but after a
short though happy married life she _d._ in 1855. EMILY B.
(1818-1848).--a woman of remarkable force of character, reserved and
taciturn, _pub._ in 1848 _Wuthering Heights_, a powerful, but somewhat
unpleasing, novel, and some striking poems; and ANNE (1820-1849), was the
authoress of _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_ and _Agnes Grey_ (1848). She
had not the intellectual force of her sisters. The novels of Charlotte
especially created a strong impression from the first, and the _pub._ of
_Jane Eyre_ gave rise to much curiosity and speculation as to its
authorship. Their strength and originality have retained for them a high
place in English fiction which is likely to prove permanent. There is a
biography of Charlotte by Mrs. Gaskell (_q.v._).
Complete ed. of the works of Charlotte B. have been issued by Mrs.
Humphrey Ward (7 vols. 1899-1900), and by Sir W.R. Nicoll, LL.D. (1903).
_Note on Charlotte Bronté_, A.C. Swinburne, 1877. A short _Life_ in Great
Writers Series by A. Birrell.
BROOKE, FULKE GREVILLE, LORD (1554-1628).--Poet and statesman, _b._ at
Beauchamp Court, Warwickshire, and _ed._ at Shrewsbury and Camb., was a
Privy Councillor, and held various important offices of state, including
that of Chancellor of the Exchequer (1614-21). In the latter year he was
created a peer. He was murdered by a servant. His works, which were
chiefly _pub._ after his death, consist of tragedies and sonnets, and
poems on political and moral subjects, including _Cælica_ (109 sonnets).
He also wrote a Life of Sir P. Sidney, whose friend he was. His style is
grave and sententious. He is buried in the church at Warwick, and the
inscription on his tomb, written by himself, is a compendious biography.
It runs: "Fulke Greville, servant to Queen Elizabeth, counsellor to King
James, friend to Sir Philip Sidney."
BROOKE, HENRY (1703-1783).--Novelist and dramatist, _b._ in Ireland, _s._
of a clergyman, studied law, but embraced literature as a career. He
wrote poems, dramas, and novels; but the only work which has kept its
place is _The Fool of Quality_ (5 vols. 1766-70), which was a favourite
book with John Wesley. His now forgotten poem, _Universal Beauty_ (1735)
was admired by Pope. His _dau._, CHARLOTTE, the only survivor of 22
children, tended him to his last days of decay, and was herself a writer,
her principal work being _Reliques of Irish Poetry_ (1789). She _d._
1793.
BROOKS, CHARLES WILLIAM SHIRLEY (1816-1874).--Journalist and novelist,
_b._ in London, began life in a solicitor's office. He early, however,
took to literature, and contributed to various periodicals. In 1851 he
joined the staff of _Punch_, to which he contributed "Essence of
Parliament," and on the death of Mark Lemon (_q.v._) he succeeded him as
editor. He _pub._ a few novels, including _Aspen Court_ and _The Gordian
Knot_.
BROOKS, MARIA (GOWAN) (1795?-1845).--American poetess, was early _m._ to
a merchant, who lost his money, and left her a young widow, after which
she wrote highly romantic and impassioned poetry. Her chief work,
_Zophiël or The Bride of Swen_, was finished under the auspices of
Southey, who called her "Maria del Occidente," and regarded her as "the
most impassioned and imaginative of all poetesses," but time has not
sustained this verdict.
BROOME, WILLIAM (1689-1745).--Poet and translator, _b._ at Haslington,
Cheshire, and _ed._ at Eton and Camb., entered the Church, and held
various incumbencies. He translated the _Iliad_ in prose along with
others, and was employed by Pope, whom he excelled as a Greek scholar, in
translating the _Odyssey_, of which he Englished the 8th, 11th, 12th,
16th, 18th, and 23rd books, catching the style of his master so exactly
as almost to defy identification, and thus annoying him so as to earn a
niche in _The Dunciad_. He _pub._ verses of his own of very moderate
poetical merit.
BROUGHAM AND VAUX, HENRY, 1ST LORD (1778-1868).--_S._ of Henry B. of
Brougham Hall, Westmoreland, _b._ in Edin., and _ed._ at the High School
and Univ. there, where he distinguished himself chiefly in mathematics.
He chose a legal career, and was called to the Scottish Bar in 1800, and
to the English Bar in 1808. His chief forensic display was his defence of
Queen Caroline in 1822. In 1810 he entered Parliament, where his
versatility and eloquence soon raised him to a foremost place. The
questions on which he chiefly exerted himself were the slave trade,
commercial, legal, and parliamentary reform, and education, and in all of
these he rendered signal service. When, in 1830, the Whigs, with whom he
had always acted, attained power, B. was made Lord Chancellor; but his
arrogance, selfishness, and indiscretion rendered him a dangerous and
unreliable colleague, and he was never again admitted to office. He
turned fiercely against his former political associates, but continued
his efforts on behalf of reform in various directions. He was one of the
founders of London Univ. and of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge. In literature he has a place as one of the original projectors
of and most voluminous contributors to _The Edinburgh Review_, and as the
author of a prodigious number of treatises on science, philosophy, and
history, including _Dialogues on Instinct_, Lives of Statesmen,
Philosophers, and Men of Science of the Time of George III., Natural
Theology, etc., his last work being an autobiography written in his 84th
year, and _pub._ 1871. His writings were far too numerous and far too
diverse in subject to be of permanent value. His fame now rests chiefly
on his services to political and specially to legal reform, and to the
diffusion of useful literature, which are his lasting monuments.
BROUGHTON, JOHN CAM HOBHOUSE, 1ST LORD (1786-1869).--Eldest _s._ of Sir
Benjamin H., _b._ at Redland near Bristol, _ed._ at Westminster School
and at Camb., where he became intimate with Byron, and accompanied him in
his journeys in the Peninsula, Greece, and Turkey, and acted as his "best
man." In 1816 he was with him after his separation from his wife, and
contributed notes to the fourth canto of _Childe Harold_, which was
dedicated to him. On his return he threw himself into politics with great
energy as an advanced Radical, and wrote various pamphlets, for one of
which he was in 1819 imprisoned in Newgate. In the following year he
entered Parliament, sitting for Westminster. After the attainment of
power by the Whigs he held various offices, including those of Sec. at
War, Chief Sec. for Ireland, and Pres. of the Board of Control. He _pub._
_Journey through Albania_ (1813), _Historical Illustrations of the Fourth
Canto of Childe Harold_ (1818), and _Recollections of a Long Life_
(1865), for private circulation, and he left in MS. _Diaries,
Correspondence, and Memoranda, etc., not to be opened till 1900_,
extracts from which were _pub._ by his _dau._, Lady Dorchester, also
under the title of _Recollections from a Long Life_ (1909).
BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-1810).--Novelist, _b._ in Philadelphia,
belonged to a Quaker family, became a lawyer, but exchanged law for
literature, and has the distinction of being the first American to adopt
a purely literary career. He wrote several novels, including _Wieland_
(1798), _Ormond_ (1799), _Arthur Mervyn_ (1800-1), and his last, _Jane
Talbot_ (1801). With a good deal of crudeness and sentimentality he has
occasional power, but dwells too much on the horrible and repulsive, the
result, perhaps, of the morbidity produced by the ill-health from which
he all his life suffered.
BROWN, GEORGE DOUGLAS (1869-1902).--Novelist, wrote _The House with the
Green Shutters_, which gives a strongly outlined picture of the harder
and less genial aspects of Scottish life and character. It may be
regarded as a useful supplement and corrective to the more roseate
presentations of the kail-yard school of J.M. Barrie and "Ian Maclaren."
It made a considerable impression. The author _d._ almost immediately
after its publication. There is an ed. with a memoir by Mr. Andrew Lang.
BROWN, DR. JOHN (1810-1882).--Physician and essayist, _s._ of John B.,
D.D., a distinguished dissenting minister in Edin. _B._ at Biggar, he was
_ed._ at the High School and Univ. of Edin., where practically the whole
of his uneventful life was spent as a physician, and where he was revered
and beloved in no common degree, and he was the cherished friend of many
of his most distinguished contemporaries, including Thackeray. He wrote
comparatively little; but all he did write is good, some of it perfect,
of its kind. His essays, among which are _Rab and his Friends_, _Pet
Marjorie_, _Our Dogs_, _Minchmoor_, and _The Enterkine_, were collected
along with papers on art, and medical history and biography, in _Horæ
Subsecivæ_ (Leisure Hours), 3 vols. In the mingling of tenderness and
delicate humour he has much in common with Lamb; in his insight into
dog-nature he is unique. His later years were clouded with occasional
fits of depression.
BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820).--Metaphysician, _s._ of the Rev. Samuel B.,
minister of Kirkinabreck, practised for some time as a physician in
Edin., but his tastes and talents lying in the direction of literature
and philosophy, he devoted himself to the cultivation of these, and
succeeded Dugald Stewart as Professor of Moral Philosophy in the Univ. of
Edin., in which position he had remarkable popularity as a lecturer. His
main contribution to literature is his _Lectures_, _pub._ after his
death. B. was a man of attractive character and considerable talents, but
as a philosopher he is now largely superseded. He also wrote poetry,
which, though graceful, lacked force, and is now forgotten.
BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897).--Poet, _b._ at Douglas, Isle of Man,
_s._ of a clergyman, and _ed._ there and at Oxf., entered the Church and
held various scholastic appointments, including a mastership at Clifton.
His later years were spent in his native island. He had a true lyrical
gift, and much of his poetry was written in Manx dialect. His poems
include _Fo'c'sle Yarns_ (1881), _The Doctor_ (1887), _The Manx Witch_
(1889), and _Old John_ (1893). He was also an admirable letter-writer,
and 2 vols. of his letters have been _pub._
BROWN, TOM (1663-1704).--Satirist, was _ed._ at Oxf., and there composed
the famous epigram on Dr. Fell. He was for a few years schoolmaster at
Kingston-on-Thames, but owing to his irregularities lost the appointment,
and went to London, where he wrote satires, epigrams, and miscellaneous
pieces, generally coarse and scurrilous.
BROWNE, CHARLES FARRAR (1834-1867).--Humorist (Artemus Ward), _b._ in
Maine, U.S., worked as a compositor and reporter, and became a highly
popular humorous writer, his books being _Artemus Ward his Book_, _A.W.
His Panorama_, _A.W. among the Mormons_, and _A.W. in England_.
BROWNE, ISAAC HAWKINS (1705-1760).--Is remembered as the author of some
clever imitations of contemporary poets on the theme of _A Pipe of
Tobacco_, somewhat analogous to the _Rejected Addresses_ of a later day.
He also wrote a Latin poem on the immortality of the soul. B., who was a
country gentleman and barrister, had great conversational powers. He was
a friend of Dr. Johnson.
BROWNE, SIR THOMAS (1605-1682).--Physician and miscellaneous and
metaphysical writer, _s._ of a London merchant, was _ed._ at Winchester
and Oxf., after which he studied medicine at various Continental univs.,
including Leyden, where he _grad._ He ultimately settled and practised at
Norwich. His first and perhaps best known work, _Religio Medici_ (the
Religion of a Physician) was _pub._ in 1642. Other books are _Pseudodoxia
Epidemica: Enquiries into Vulgar Errors_ (1646), _Hydriotaphia, or
Urn-burial_ (1658); and _The Garden of Cyrus_ in the same year. After his
death were _pub._ his _Letter to a Friend_ and _Christian Morals_. B. is
one of the most original writers in the English language. Though by no
means free from credulity, and dealing largely with trivial subjects of
inquiry, the freshness and ingenuity of his mind invest everything he
touches with interest; while on more important subjects his style, if
frequently rugged and pedantic, often rises to the highest pitch of grave
and stately eloquence. In the Civil War he sided with the King's party,
and was knighted in 1671 on the occasion of a Royal visit to Norwich. In
character he was simple, cheerful, and retiring. He has had a profound if
indirect influence on succeeding literature, mainly by impressing
master-minds such as Lamb, Coleridge, and Carlyle.
There is an ed. of B.'s works by S. Wilkin (4 vols., 1835-6), _Religio
Medici_ by Dr. Greenhill, 1881. _Life_ by Gosse in Men of Letters Series,
1903.
BROWNE, WILLIAM (1590?-1645?).--Poet, _b._ at Tavistock, _ed._ at Oxf.,
after which he entered the Inner Temple. His poems, which are mainly
descriptive, are rich and flowing, and true to the phenomena of nature,
but deficient in interest. Influenced by Spenser, he in turn had an
influence upon such poets as Milton and Keats. His chief works were
_Britannia's Pastorals_ (1613), and _The Shepheard's Pipe_ (1614).
BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT (1806-1861).--Poetess, was the _dau._ of
Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett, who assumed the last name on succeeding
to the estates of his grandfather in Jamaica. She was _b._ at Coxhoe
Hall, Durham, but spent her youth at Hope End, near Great Malvern. While
still a child she showed her gift, and her _f._ _pub._ 50 copies of a
juvenile epic, on the Battle of Marathon. She was _ed._ at home, but owed
her profound knowledge of Greek and much mental stimulus to her early
friendship with the blind scholar, Hugh Stuart Boyd, who was a neighbour.
At the age of 15 she met with an injury to her spine which confined her
to a recumbent position for several years, and from the effects of which
she never fully recovered. In 1826 she _pub._ anonymously _An Essay on
Mind and Other Poems_. Shortly afterwards the abolition of slavery, of
which he had been a disinterested supporter, considerably reduced Mr.
B.'s means: he accordingly disposed of his estate and removed with his
family first to Sidmouth and afterwards to London. At the former Miss B.
wrote _Prometheus Bound_ (1835). After her removal to London she fell
into delicate health, her lungs being threatened. This did not, however,
interfere with her literary labours, and she contributed to various
periodicals _The Romaunt of Margaret_, _The Romaunt of the Page_, _The
Poet's Vow_, and other pieces. In 1838 appeared _The Seraphim and Other
Poems_ (including "Cowper's Grave.") Shortly thereafter the death, by
drowning, of her favourite brother gave a serious shock to her already
fragile health, and for a time she hovered between life and death.
Eventually, however, she regained strength, and meanwhile her fame was
growing. The _pub._ about 1841 of _The Cry of the Children_ gave it a
great impulse, and about the same time she contributed some critical
papers in prose to R.H. Horne's _New Spirit of the Age_. In 1844 she
_pub._ two vols. of _Poems_, which comprised "The Drama of Exile,"
"Vision of Poets," and "Lady Geraldine's Courtship." In 1845 she met for
the first time her future husband, Robert Browning (_q.v._). Their
courtship and marriage, owing to her delicate health and the
extraordinary objections entertained by Mr. B. to the marriage of any of
his children, were carried out under somewhat peculiar and romantic
circumstances. After a private marriage and a secret departure from her
home, she accompanied her husband to Italy, which became her home almost
continuously until her death, and with the political aspirations of which
she and her husband both thoroughly identified themselves. The union
proved one of unalloyed happiness to both, though it was never forgiven
by Mr. Barrett. In her new circumstances her strength greatly increased.
Her husband and she settled in Florence, and there she wrote _Casa Guidi
Windows_ (1851)--by many considered her strongest work--under the
inspiration of the Tuscan struggle for liberty. _Aurora Leigh_, her
largest, and perhaps the most popular of her longer poems, appeared in
1856. In 1850 _The Sonnets from the Portuguese_--the history of her own
love-story, thinly disguised by its title--had appeared. In 1860 she
issued a _coll._ ed. of her poems under the title, _Poems before
Congress_. Soon thereafter her health underwent a change for the worse;
she gradually lost strength, and _d._ on June 29, 1861. She is generally
considered the greatest of English poetesses. Her works are full of
tender and delicate, but also of strong and deep, thought. Her own
sufferings, combined with her moral and intellectual strength, made her
the champion of the suffering and oppressed wherever she found them. Her
gift was essentially lyrical, though much of her work was not so in form.
Her weak points are the lack of compression, an occasional somewhat
obtrusive mannerism, and frequent failure both in metre and rhyme. Though
not nearly the equal of her husband in force of intellect and the higher
qualities of the poet, her works had, as might be expected on a
comparison of their respective subjects and styles, a much earlier and
wider acceptance with the general public. Mrs. B. was a woman of singular
nobility and charm, and though not beautiful, was remarkably attractive.
Miss Mitford (_q.v._) thus describes her as a young woman: "A slight,
delicate figure, with a shower of dark curls falling on each side of a
most expressive face; large, tender eyes, richly fringed by dark
eyelashes, and a smile like a sunbeam."
_Life_ by J.H. Ingram (1889); _Letters of R. Browning and E.B. Browning_
(1889). _Coll._ ed. of her works, _see_ above.
BROWNING, ROBERT (1812-1889).--Poet, only _s._ of Robert B., a man of
fine intellect and equally fine character, who held a position in the
Bank of England, was _b._ in Camberwell. His mother, to whom he was
ardently attached, was the _dau._ of a German shipowner who had settled
in Dundee, and was alike intellectually and morally worthy of his
affection. The only other member of the family was a younger sister, also
highly gifted, who was the sympathetic companion of his later years. In
his childhood he was distinguished by his love of poetry and natural
history. At 12 he had written a book of poetry which he destroyed when he
could not find a publisher. After being at one or two private schools,
and showing an insuperable dislike to school life, he was _ed._ by a
tutor, and thereafter studied Greek at Univ. Coll., London. Through his
mother he inherited some musical talent, and composed settings, for
various songs. His first _pub._ was _Pauline_, which appeared anonymously
in 1833, but attracted little attention. In 1834 he paid his first visit
to Italy, in which so much of his future life was to be passed. The
publication of _Paracelsus_ in 1835, though the poem had no general
popularity, gained the notice of Carlyle, Wordsworth, and other men of
letters, and gave him a reputation as a poet of distinguished promise.
Two years later his drama of _Stratford_ was performed by his friend
Macready and Helen Faucit, and in 1840 the most difficult and obscure of
his works, _Sordello_, appeared; but, except with a select few, did
little to increase his reputation. It was followed by _Bells and
Pomegranates_ (containing _Pippa Passes_) (1841), _A Blot in the
'Scutcheon_ (drama) (1843), _Luria_ and _A Soul's Tragedy_ (1846). In
this year he married Miss Elizabeth Barrett (_q.v._), the poetess, a
union of ideal happiness. Thereafter his home until his wife's death in
1861 was in Italy, chiefly at Florence. In 1850 he wrote _Christmas Eve
and Easter Day_, and in 1855 appeared _Men and Women_. After the death of
Mrs. Browning he returned to England, paying, however, frequent visits to
Italy. Settling in London he published successively _Dramatis Personæ_
(1864), _The Ring and the Book_ (1868-69), his greatest work,
_Balaustion's Adventure_, and _Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau_ (1871),
_Fifine at the Fair_ (1872), _Red Cotton Night-cap Country_ (1873), _The
Inn Album_ (1875), _Pacchiarotto_ (1876), translation of _Agamemnon_
(1879), _La Saisiaz_, etc. (1878), _Dramatic Idylls_ (1879 and 1880),
_Asolando_ (1889) appeared on the day of his death. To the great majority
of readers, probably, B. is best known by some of his short poems, such
as, to name a few, "Rabbi Ben Ezra," "How they brought the good News to
Aix," "Evelyn Hope," "The Pied Piper of Hammelin," "A Grammarian's
Funeral," "A Death in the Desert." It was long before England recognised
that in B. she had received one of the greatest of her poets, and the
causes of this lie on the surface. His subjects were often recondite and
lay beyond the ken and sympathy of the great bulk of readers; and owing,
partly to the subtle links connecting the ideas and partly to his often
extremely condensed and rugged expression, the treatment of them was not
seldom difficult and obscure. Consequently for long he appealed to a
somewhat narrow circle. As time went on, however, and work after work was
added, the circle widened, and the marvellous depth and variety of
thought and intensity of feeling told with increasing force. Societies
began to be formed for the study of the poet's work. Critics became more
and more appreciative, and he at last reaped the harvest of admiration
and honour which was his due. Many distinctions came to him. He was made
LL.D. of Edin., a life Governor of London Univ., and had the offer of the
Lord Rectorship of Glasgow. He _d._ in the house of his son at Venice,
and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The keynote of his teaching is a
wise and noble optimism. His poems were collected in 2 vols. in 1896.
Some vols. of his correspondence with Mrs. B. were also _pub._
Uniform ed. of Works (17 vols. 1888-90); Furnivall's _Browning
Bibliography_ (1883), _Lives_ by Mrs. Sutherland Orr (1891); Gosse
(1890); Dowden (1904), G.K. Chesterton (English Men of Letters), etc.;
_Poetry of Robert Browning_ by Stopford Brooke, 1902, etc.
SUMMARY.--_B._ 1812, _pub._ _Paracelsus_ 1835, _Sordello_ 1840, _Bells
and Pomegranates_ 1841, _m._ to E.B.B. 1846, lives chiefly in Italy till
her _d._, 1861, when he returned to England and continued to write until
his _d._, _pub._ _Dramatis Personæ_, _Ring and Book_ 1868-9, _Asolando_
1889, _d._ 1889.
BRUCE, JAMES (1730-1794).--Traveller, was _b._ at the family seat of
Kinnaird, Perthshire, and _ed._ at Harrow. After various travels in
Europe he set out in 1768 on his expedition to Abyssinia, and in 1770
reached the source of the Blue Nile. He returned to England in 1774, and
in 1790 _pub._ his _Travels_ in 5 quarto vols. His notorious vanity, the
singular adventures he related, and the generally embellished character
which he imparted to his narrative excited some degree of scepticism, and
he was subjected to a good deal of satire, to which, though much annoyed,
he did not reply. It is, however, generally allowed that he had shown
great daring, perseverance, and zeal in his explorations, and that he
made a real addition to the geographical knowledge of his day.
BRUCE, MICHAEL (1746-1767).--Poet, _s._ of a poor weaver at Kinnesswood,
Kinross-shire, as a child herded cattle, but received a good education,
including 4 sessions at the Univ. of Edin., and for a short time kept a
school. His longest poem, _Loch Leven_, shows the influence of Thomson.
His best is his _Elegy_. His promising career was cut short by
consumption in 1767. The authorship of the beautiful _Ode to the Cuckoo_
beginning "Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove" is contested, some
authorities claiming it for B. and others for the Rev. John Logan
(_q.v._), who ed. B.'s works, adding some of his own, and who claimed the
_Ode_ as his.
BRUNTON, MARY (BALFOUR) (1778-1818).--Novelist, _dau._ of Col. Balfour of
Elwick, and _m._ to the Rev. Dr. Brunton, Prof. of Oriental Languages in
the Univ. of Edin., was the authoress of two novels, _Self-Control_
(1811) and _Discipline_ (1814), which were popular in their day.
BRYANT, JACOB (1715-1804).--Scholar, _ed._ at Eton and Camb., wrote
learnedly, but paradoxically, on mythological and Homeric subjects. His
chief works were _A New System or Analysis of Ancient Mythology_
(1774-76), _Observations on the Plain of Troy_ (1795), and _Dissertation
concerning the Wars of Troy_ (1796). In the last two he endeavoured to
show that the existence of Troy and the Greek expedition were fabulous.
Though so sceptical on these points he was an implicit believer in the
authenticity of the Rowley authorship of Chatterton's fabrications. He
also wrote on theological subjects.
BRYANT, WILLIAM CULLEN (1794-1878).--Poet, was _b._ at Cummington,
Massachusetts, the _s._ of a doctor. His ancestors on both sides came
over in the _Mayflower_. His first poem was _Thanatopsis_ (1817), which
was greeted as the best poem produced in America up to that time. After
being a lawyer for some time he was induced to exchange law for
journalism, and acted as ed. of various periodicals. Among his best known
poems are _Lines to a Water-fowl_, _The Rivulet_, _The West Wind_, _The
Forest Hymn_, _The Fringed Gentian_, etc. His muse is tender and graceful,
pervaded by a contemplative melancholy, and a love of solitude and the
silence of the woods. Though he was brought up to admire Pope, and in his
early youth imitated him, he was one of the first American poets to throw
off his influence. He had a high sense of duty, was a prominent and
patriotic citizen, and enjoyed the esteem and even the reverence of his
fellow-countrymen. B. also produced a blank-verse translation of the
_Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_.
BRYDGES, SIR SAMUEL EGERTON (1762-1837).--Bibliographer and genealogist,
_ed._ at Camb., was called to the Bar in 1787. He wrote some novels and
poems, now forgotten, but rendered valuable service by his
bibliographical publications, _Censura Literaria, Titles and Opinions of
Old English Books_ (10 vols. 1805-9), his editions of E. Phillips's
_Theatrum Poetarum Anglicanorum_ (1800) Collin's _Peerage of England_
(1812), and of many rare Elizabethan authors. He was made a baronet in
1814. He _d._ at Geneva.
BUCHANAN, GEORGE (1506-1582).--Historian and scholar _b._ at Killearn,
Stirlingshire, of poor parents, was sent in 1519, with the help of an
uncle, to the Univ. of Paris, where he first came in contact with the two
great influences of the age, the Renaissance and the Reformation. His
uncle having died, he had to leave Paris, and after seeing some military
service, returned to Scotland, and in 1524 went to St. Andrews, where he
studied under John Major (_q.v._). Two years later he found means to
return to Paris, where he graduated at the Scots Coll. in 1528, and
taught grammar in the Coll. of St. Barbe. Returning to Scotland in 1536
with a great reputation for learning he was made by James V. tutor to one
of his illegitimate sons, and incited by him to satirise the vices of the
clergy, which he did in two Latin poems, _Somnium_ and _Franciscanus_.
This stirred the wrath of the ecclesiastical powers to such a heat that,
the King withholding his protection, he was obliged in 1539 to save
himself by flight first to England and then to France, where he remained
until 1547 teaching Latin at Bordeaux and Paris. In the latter year he
was invited to become a prof. at Coimbra, where he was imprisoned by the
Inquisition as a heretic from 1549-51, and wrote the greater part of his
magnificent translation of the Psalms into Latin verse, which has never
been excelled by any modern. He returned to England in 1552, but soon
re-crossed to France and taught in the Coll. of Boncourt. In 1561 he came
back to his native country, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Hitherto, though a supporter of the new learning and a merciless exposer
of the vices of the clergy, he had remained in the ancient faith, but he
now openly joined the ranks of the Reformers. He held the Principalship
of St. Leonard's Coll., St. Andrews, was a supporter of the party of the
Regent Moray, produced in 1571 his famous _Detectio Mariæ Reginæ_, a
scathing exposure of the Queen's relations to Darnley and the
circumstances leading up to his death, was tutor, 1570-78, to James VI.,
whom he brought up with great strictness, and to whom he imparted the
learning of which the King was afterwards so vain. His chief remaining
works were _De Jure Regni apud Scotos_ (1579), against absolutism, and
his _History of Scotland_, which was _pub._ immediately before his death.
Though he had borne so great a part in the affairs of his country, and
was the first scholar of his age, he _d._ so poor that he left no funds
to meet the expenses of his interment. His literary masterpiece is his
_History_, which is remarkable for the power and richness of its style.
Its matter, however, gave so much offence that a proclamation was issued
calling in all copies of it, as well as of the _De Jure Regni_, that they
might be purged of the "offensive and extraordinary matters" which they
contained. B. holds his great and unique place in literature not so much
for his own writings as for his strong and lasting influence on
subsequent writers.
BUCHANAN, ROBERT (1841-1901).--Poet and novelist, _b._ at Caverswall,
Staffordshire, the _s._ of a Scottish schoolmaster and socialist, and
_ed._ at Glasgow, was the friend of David Gray (_q.v._), and with him
went to London in search of fame, but had a long period of
discouragement. His first work, a collection of poems, _Undertones_
(1863), had, however, some success, and was followed by _Idylls of
Inverburn_ (1865), _London Poems_ (1866), and others, which gave him a
growing reputation, and raised high hopes of his future. Thereafter he
took up prose fiction and the drama, not always with success, and got
into trouble owing to some drastic criticism of his contemporaries,
culminating in his famous article on the _Fleshly School of Poetry_,
which appeared in the _Contemporary Review_ (Oct. 1871), and evoked
replies from Rossetti (_The Stealthy School of Criticism_), and Swinburne
(_Under the Microscope_). Among his novels are _A Child of Nature_
(1879), _God and the Man_ (1881), and among his dramas _A Nine Days'
Queen_, _A Madcap Prince_, and _Alone in London_. His latest poems, _The
Outcast_ and _The Wandering Jew_, were directed against certain aspects
of Christianity. B. was unfortunate in his latter years; a speculation
turned out ruinously; he had to sell his copyrights, and he sustained a
paralytic seizure, from the effects of which he _d._ in a few months. He
ultimately admitted that his criticism of Rossetti was unjustifiable.
BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, 2ND DUKE of (1628-1687).--Dramatist, _s._ of
the 1st Duke, who was in 1628 assassinated by Felton. His life was full
of adventure and change of fortune. The Restoration gave him back his
already twice lost estates, which he again squandered by a life of wild
extravagance and profligacy at Court. He was a member of the "Cabal" and
intrigued against Clarendon. He wrote pamphlets, lampoons, and plays, but
his chief contribution to literature was _The Rehearsal_, a comedy, in
which he satirised the heroic drama of Dryden and others. It is believed
that S. Butler had a hand in it. Dryden had his revenge in his picture of
B. as _Zimri_ in _Absalom and Achitophel_.
BUCKINGHAM AND NORMANBY, JOHN SHEFFIELD, 1ST DUKE of (1648-1721).--_S._
of the 2nd Earl of Mulgrave, served in his youth as a soldier under
Prince Rupert and Turenne, and is also said to have made love to the
Princess, afterwards Queen, Anne. He was a Privy Councillor under James
II., William and Mary, and Anne, with the last of whom he remained a
favourite. His magnificent mansion was purchased and pulled down to make
way for Buckingham Palace. He wrote _An Account of the Revolution_, _An
Essay on Satire_, and _An Essay on Poetry_. He also remodelled
Shakespeare's _Julius Cæsar_.
BUCKINGHAM, JAMES SILK (1786-1855).--Journalist and traveller, wrote many
books of travel, both on the Old and New World. He established, and for a
year or two ed., _The Athenæum_, and produced many pamphlets on political
and social subjects.
BUCKLAND, FRANCIS TREVELYAN (1826-80).--Naturalist, _b._ and _ed._ at
Oxf., where his _f._ was Dean of Christchurch. He studied medicine and
was assistant-surgeon in the Life Guards. An enthusiastic lover of
natural history, he wrote largely upon it, among his works being
_Curiosities of Natural History_ (4 vols. 1857-72), _Log Book of a
Fisherman and Zoologist_ (1876), _Natural History of British Fishes_
(1881). He also founded and ed. _Land and Water_. He was for a time
Inspector of Salmon Fisheries, and served on various commissions. Though
observant, he was not always strictly scientific in his methods and modes
of expression, and he was a strong opponent of Darwin.
BUCKLE, HENRY THOMAS (1821-1862).--Historical writer, _s._ of a wealthy
shipowner in London, was _b._ at Lee in Kent. Though never at a univ. and
little at school, he received a high degree of education privately, and
inheriting an ample fortune and a large library, he devoted himself to
travel and study, with the view of preparing for a great work which he
had projected, _The History of Civilisation in England_. As an
introduction to this he entered upon the consideration of the state of
civilisation in various other countries, but this he had scarcely
completed when his death took place at Damascus in 1862. The first vol.
was _pub._ in 1857, and the second in 1861. In these the results of a
vast amount of reading are shown; but they are not free from one-sided
views and generalisations resting on insufficient data. He has, however,
the credit of having contributed a new idea of history and the method of
writing it. The completed work was to have extended to 14 vols. B. was
one of the greatest chess-players in Europe.
BUDGELL, EUSTACE (1686-1737).--Miscellaneous writer, _ed._ at Oxf., was a
cousin of Addison, who took him to Ireland and got him appointed to a
lucrative office, which, however, he was foolish enough to throw away by
lampooning the Viceroy. He assisted A. in the _Spectator_, of which he
wrote 37 numbers signed X. In these he imitates A.'s style with some
success. B., who was vain and vindictive, fell on evil days, lost a
fortune in the South Sea Bubble, was accused of forging a will, and
committed suicide by throwing himself out of a boat at London Bridge.
BULL, GEORGE (1634-1710).--Theologian, _b._ at Wells, _ed._ at Tiverton
and Oxf., took orders, was ordained by an ejected bishop in 1658, and
received the living of Suddington near Bristol. He was a strong Royalist,
and was privy to a scheme for bringing back the Royal family. After the
Restoration he obtained further preferment, and became in 1704 Bishop of
St. David's at an age when his strength had become unequal to any very
active discharge of the duties of his see. He has a high place among
Anglican theologians, and as a defender of the doctrine of the Trinity
was held in high esteem even by Continental Romanist controversialists.
Among his works are _Harmonia Apostolica_ (1669-70) in which he
endeavoured to reconcile alleged discrepancies between the teaching of
St. Paul and St. James on the relation between faith and works, in which
he assigned to the latter the higher authority, _Defensio Fidei Nicænæ_
(1685) and _Corruptions of the Church of Rome_.