[1] "He is too much given to horse-play in his raillery, and comes to
battle like a dictator from the plough. I will not say, 'the zeal of
God's house has eaten him up'; but I am sure it has devoured some
part of his good manners and civility." (Dryden, _Works_, ed. Scott,
xi. 239).
COLLIER, JOHN PAYNE (1789-1883), English Shakespearian critic, was born
in London, on the 11th of January 1789. His father, John Dyer Collier
(1762-1825), was a successful journalist, and his connexion with the
press obtained for his son a position on the _Morning Chronicle_ as
leader writer, dramatic critic and reporter, which continued till 1847;
he was also for some time a reporter for _The Times_. He was summoned
before the House of Commons in 1819 for giving an incorrect report of a
speech by Joseph Hume. He entered the Middle Temple in 1811, but was not
called to the bar until 1829. The delay was partly due to his
indiscretion in publishing the _Criticisms on the Bar_ (1819) by "Amicus
Curiae." His leisure was given to the study of Shakespeare and the early
English drama. After some minor publications he produced in 1825-1827 a
new edition of Dodsley's _Old Plays_, and in 1833 a supplementary volume
entitled _Five Old Plays_. In 1831 appeared his _History of English
Dramatic Poetry and Annals of the Stage to the Restoration_, a badly
arranged, but valuable work. It obtained for him the post of librarian
to the duke of Devonshire, and, subsequently, access to the chief
collections of early English literature throughout the kingdom,
especially to the treasures of Bridgwater House. These opportunities
were unhappily misused to effect a series of literary fabrications,
which may be charitably, and perhaps not unjustly, attributed to
literary monomania, but of which it is difficult to speak with patience,
so completely did they for a long time bewilder the chronology of
Shakespeare's writings, and such suspicion have they thrown upon MS.
evidence in general. After _New Facts_, _New Particulars_ and _Further
Particulars_ respecting Shakespeare had appeared and passed muster,
Collier produced (1852) the famous _Perkins Folio_, a copy of the second
folio (1632), so called from a name written on the title-page. On this
book were numerous MS. emendations of Shakespeare said by Collier to be
from the hand of "an old corrector." He published these corrections as
_Notes and Emendations to the Text of Shakespeare_ (1852), and boldly
incorporated them in his edition (1853) of Shakespeare. Their
authenticity was disputed by S. W. Singer in _The Text of Shakespeare
Vindicated_ (1853) and by E. A. Brae in _Literary Cookery_ (1855) on
internal evidence; and when in 1859 the folio was submitted by its
owner, the duke of Devonshire, to experts at the British Museum, the
emendations were incontestably proved to be forgeries of modern date.
Collier was exposed by Mr Nicholas Hamilton in his _Inquiry_ (1860). The
point whether he was deceiver or deceived was left undecided, but the
falsifications of which he was unquestionably guilty among the MSS. at
Dulwich College have left little doubt respecting it. He had produced
the _Memoirs of Edward Alleyn_ for the Shakespeare Society in 1841. He
followed up this volume with the _Alleyn Papers_ (1843) and the _Diary
of P. Henslowe_ (1845). He forged the name of Shakespeare in a genuine
letter at Dulwich, and the spurious entries in Alleyn's _Diary_ were
proved to be by Collier's hand when the sale of his library in 1884 gave
access to a transcript he had made of the _Diary_ with interlineations
corresponding with the Dulwich forgeries. No statement of his can be
accepted without verification, and no manuscript he has handled without
careful examination, but he did much useful work. He compiled a valuable
_Bibliographical and Critical Account of the Rarest Books in the English
Language_ (1865); he reprinted a great number of early English tracts of
extreme rarity, and rendered good service to the numerous antiquarian
societies with which he was connected, especially in the editions he
produced for the Camden Society and the Percy Society. His _Old Man's
Diary_ (1871-1872) is an interesting record, though even here the taint
of fabrication is not absent. Unfortunately what he did amiss is more
striking to the imagination than what he did aright, and he will be
chiefly remembered by it. He died at Maidenhead, where he had long
resided, on the 17th of September 1883.
For an account of the discussion raised by Collier's emendations see
C.M. Ingleby, _Complete View of the Shakespeare Controversy_ (1861).
COLLIN, HEINRICH JOSEPH VON (1771-1811), Austrian dramatist, was born in
Vienna, on the 26th of December 1771. He received a legal education and
entered the Austrian ministry of finance where he found speedy
promotion. In 1805 and in 1809, when Austria was under the heel of
Napoleon, Collin was entrusted with important political missions. In
1803 he was, together with other members of his family, ennobled, and in
1809 made _Hofrat_. He died on the 28th of July 1811. His tragedy
_Regulus_ (1801), written in strict classical form, was received with
enthusiasm in Vienna, where literary taste, less advanced than that of
North Germany, was still under the ban of French classicism. But in his
later dramas, _Coriolan_ (1804), _Polyxena_ (1804), _Balboa_ (1806),
_Bianca della Porta_ (1808), he made some attempt to reconcile the
pseudo-classic type of tragedy with that of Shakespeare and the German
romanticists. As a lyric poet (_Gedichte_, collected 1812), Collin has
left a collection of stirring _Wehrmannslieder_ for the fighters in the
cause of Austrian freedom, as well as some excellent ballads (_Kaiser
Max auf der Martinswand_, _Herzog Leupold vor Solothurn_). His younger
brother Matthaus von Collin (1779-1824), was, as editor of the _Wiener
Jahrbucher fur Literatur_, an even more potent force in the literary
life of Vienna. He was, moreover, in sympathy with the Romantic
movement, and intimate with its leaders. His dramas on themes from
Austrian national history (_Belas Krieg mit dem Vater_, 1808, _Der Tod
Friedrichs des Streitbaren_, 1813) may be regarded as the immediate
precursors of Grillparzer's historical tragedies.
His _Gesammelte Werke_ appeared in 6 vols. (1812-1814); he is the
subject of an excellent monograph by F. Laban (1879). See also A.
Hauffen, _Das Drama der klassischen Periode_, ii. 2 (1891), where a
reprint of _Regulus_ will be found. M. von Collin's _Dramatische
Dichtungen_ were published in 4 vols. (1815-1817); his _Nachgelassene
Schriften_, edited by J. von Hammer, in 2 vols. (1827). A study of his
life and work by J. Wihan will be found in _Euphorion_,
Erganzungsheft, v. (1901).
COLLIN D'HARLEVILLE, JEAN FRANCOIS (1755-1806), French dramatist, was
born at Mevoisins, near Maintenon (Eure-et-Loire), on the 30th of May
1755. His first dramatic success was _L'Inconstant_, a comedy accepted
by the Comedie Francaise in 1780, but not produced there until six years
later, though it was played elsewhere in 1784. This was followed by
_L'Optimiste, ou l'homme toujours content_ (1788), and _Chateaux en
Espagne_ (1789). His best play, _Le Vieux Celibataire_, appeared in
1793. Among his other plays are--the one-act comedy _Monsieur de Crac
dans son petit castel_ (1791), _Les Artistes_ (1796), _Les Moeurs du
jour_ (1800) and _Malice pour malice_ (1803). Collin was one of the
original members of the Institute of France, and died in Paris on the
24th of February 1806.
The 1822 edition of his _Theatre et poesies fugitives_ contains a
notice by his friend the dramatist Andrieux. His _Theatre_ was also
edited by L. Moland in 1876; and by Edouard Thierry in 1882.
COLLING, ROBERT (1749-1820), and CHARLES (1751-1836), English stock
breeders, famous for their improvement of the Shorthorn breed of cattle,
were the sons of Charles Colling, a farmer of Ketton near Darlington.
Their lives are closely connected with the history of the Shorthorn
breed. Of the two brothers, Charles is probably the better known, and it
was his visit to the farm of Robert Bakewell at Dishley that first led
the brothers to realize the possibilities of scientific cattle breeding.
Charles succeeded to his father's farm at Ketton. Robert, after being
first apprenticed to a grocer in Shields, took a farm at Barmpton. An
animal which he bought at Charles's advice for L8 and afterwards sold to
his brother, became known as the celebrated "Hubback," a bull which
formed the basis of both the Ketton and Barmpton herds. The two brothers
pursued the same system of "in and in" breeding which they had learned
from Bakewell, and both the Ketton and the Barmpton herds were sold by
auction in the autumn of 1810. The former with 47 lots brought L7116,
and the latter with 61 lots L7852. Robert Colling died unmarried at
Barmpton on the 7th of March 1820, leaving his property to his brother.
Charles Colling, who is remembered as the owner of the famous bulls
"Hubback," "Favourite" and "Comet," was more of a specialist and a
business man than his brother. He died on the 16th of January 1836.
See the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 1899, for a
biographical sketch of the brothers Colling, by C. J. Bates.
COLLINGWOOD, CUTHBERT COLLINGWOOD, BARON (1750-1810), British naval
commander, was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on the 26th of September
1750. He was early sent to school; and when only eleven years of age he
was put on board the "Shannon," then under the command of Captain
(afterwards Admiral) Brathwaite, a relative of his own, to whose care
and attention he was in a great measure indebted for that nautical
knowledge which shone forth so conspicuously in his subsequent career.
After serving under Captain Brathwaite for some years, and also under
Admiral Roddam, he went in 1774 to Boston with Admiral Graves, and
served in the naval brigade at the battle of Bunker Hill (17th of June
1775), where he gained his lieutenancy. In 1779 he was made commander of
the "Badger," and shortly afterwards post-captain of the "Hinchinbroke,"
a small frigate. In the spring of 1780 that vessel, under the command of
Nelson, was employed upon an expedition to the Spanish Main, where it
was proposed to pass into the Pacific by navigating boats along the
river San Juan and the lakes Nicaragua and Leon. The attempt failed, and
most of those engaged in it became victims to the deadly influence of
the climate. Nelson was promoted to a larger vessel, and Collingwood
succeeded him in the command. It is a fact worthy of record that the
latter succeeded the former very frequently from the time when they
first became acquainted, until the star of Nelson set at
Trafalgar--giving place to that of Collingwood, less brilliant
certainly, but not less steady in its lustre.
After commanding in another small frigate, Collingwood was promoted to
the "Sampson" (64); and in 1783 he was appointed to the "Mediator,"
destined for the West Indies, where, with Nelson, who had a command on
that station, he remained till the end of 1786. With Nelson he warmly
co-operated in carrying into execution the provisions of the navigation
laws, which had been infringed by the United States, whose ships,
notwithstanding the separation of the countries, continued to trade to
the West Indies, although that privilege was by law exclusively confined
to British vessels. In 1786 Collingwood returned to England, where, with
the exception of a voyage to the West Indies, he remained until 1793, in
which year he was appointed captain of the "Prince," the flag-ship of
Rear-Admiral Bowyer. About two years previous to this event he had
married Miss Sarah Roddam--a fortunate alliance, which continued to be
a solace to him amidst the privations to which the life of a seaman must
ever be subject.
As captain of the "Barfleur," Collingwood was present at the naval
engagement which was fought on the 1st of June 1794; and on that
occasion he displayed equal judgment and courage. On board the
"Excellent" he shared in the victory of the 14th of February 1797, when
Sir John Jervis (Lord St Vincent) humbled the Spanish fleet off Cape St
Vincent. His conduct in this engagement was the theme of universal
admiration throughout the fleet, and greatly advanced his fame as a
naval officer. After blockading Cadiz for some time, he returned for a
few weeks to Portsmouth to repair. In the beginning of 1799 Collingwood
was raised to the rank of vice-admiral, and hoisting his flag in the
"Triumph," he joined the Channel Fleet, with which he proceeded to the
Mediterranean, where the principal naval forces of France and Spain were
assembled. Collingwood continued actively employed in watching the
enemy, until the peace of Amiens restored him once more to the bosom of
his family.
The domestic repose, however, which he so highly relished, was cut short
by the recommencement of hostilities with France, and in the spring of
1803 he quitted the home to which he was never again to return. The duty
upon which he was employed was that of watching the French fleet off
Brest, and in the discharge of it he displayed the most unwearied
vigilance. Nearly two years were spent in this employment; but Napoleon
had at length matured his plans and equipped his armament, and the grand
struggle which was to decide the fate of Europe and the dominion of the
sea was close at hand. The enemy's fleet having sailed from Toulon,
Admiral Collingwood was appointed to the command of a squadron, with
orders to pursue them. The combined fleets of France and Spain, after
spreading terror throughout the West Indies, returned to Cadiz. On their
way thither they bore down upon Admiral Collingwood, who had only three
vessels with him; but he succeeded in eluding the pursuit, although
chased by sixteen ships of the line. Ere one-half of the enemy had
entered the harbour he drew up before it and resumed the blockade, at
the same time employing an ingenious artifice to conceal the inferiority
of his force. But the combined fleet was at last compelled to quit
Cadiz; and the battle of Trafalgar immediately followed. The brilliant
conduct of Admiral Collingwood upon this occasion has been much and
justly applauded. The French admiral drew up his fleet in the form of a
crescent, and in a double line, every alternate ship being about a
cable's length to windward of her second, both ahead and astern. The
British fleet bore down upon this formidable and skilfully arranged
armament in two separate lines, the one led by Nelson in the "Victory,"
and the other by Collingwood in the "Royal Sovereign." The latter vessel
was the swifter sailer, and having shot considerably ahead of the rest
of the fleet, was the first engaged. "See," said Nelson, pointing to the
"Royal Sovereign" as she penetrated the centre of the enemy's line, "see
how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!"
Probably it was at the same instant that Collingwood, as if in response
to the observation of his great commander, remarked to his captain,
"What would Nelson give to be here?" The consummate valour and skill
evinced by Collingwood had a powerful moral influence upon both fleets.
It was with the Spanish admiral's ship that the "Royal Sovereign"
closed; and with such rapidity and precision did she pour in her
broadsides upon the "Santa Anna," that the latter was on the eve of
striking in the midst of thirty-three sail of the line, and almost
before another British ship had fired a gun. Several other vessels,
however, seeing the imminent peril of the Spanish flag-ship, came to her
assistance, and hemmed in the "Royal Sovereign" on all sides; but the
latter, after suffering severely, was relieved by the arrival of the
rest of the British squadron; and not long afterwards the "Santa Anna"
struck her colours. The result of the battle of Trafalgar, and the
expense at which it was purchased, are well known. On the death of
Nelson, Collingwood assumed the supreme command; and by his skill and
judgment greatly contributed to the preservation of the British ships,
as well as of those which were captured from the enemy. He was raised to
the peerage as Baron Collingwood of Coldburne and Heathpool, and
received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, with a pension of
L2000 per annum.
From this period until the death of Lord Collingwood no great naval
action was fought; but he was much occupied in important political
transactions, in which he displayed remarkable tact and judgment. Being
appointed to the command of the Mediterranean fleet, he continued to
cruise about, keeping a watchful eye upon the movements of the enemy.
His health, however, which had begun to decline previously to the action
of Trafalgar in 1805, seemed entirely to give way, and he repeatedly
requested government to be relieved of his command, that he might return
home; but he was urgently requested to remain, on the ground that his
country could not dispense with his services. This conduct has been
regarded as harsh; but the good sense and political sagacity which he
displayed afford some palliation of the conduct of the government; and
the high estimation in which he was held is proved by the circumstance
that among the many able admirals, equal in rank and duration of
service, none stood so prominently forward as to command the confidence
of ministers and of the country to the same extent as he did. After many
fruitless attempts to induce the enemy to put to sea, as well as to fall
in with them when they had done so (which circumstance materially
contributed to hasten his death), he expired on board the "Ville de
Paris," then lying off Port Mahon, on the 7th of March 1810.
Lord Collingwood's merits as a naval officer were in every respect of
the first order. In original genius and romantic daring he was inferior
to Nelson, who indeed had no equal in an age fertile in great
commanders. In seamanship, in general talent, and in reasoning upon the
probability of events from a number of conflicting and ambiguous
statements, Collingwood was equal to the hero of the Nile; indeed, many
who were familiar with both give him the palm of superiority. His
political penetration was remarkable; and so high was the opinion
generally entertained of his judgment, that he was consulted in all
quarters, and on all occasions, upon questions of general policy, of
regulation, and even of trade. He was distinguished for benevolence and
generosity; his acts of charity were frequent and bountiful, and the
petition of real distress was never rejected by him. He was an enemy to
impressment and to flogging; and so kind was he to his crew, that he
obtained amongst them the honourable name of father. Between Nelson and
Collingwood a close intimacy subsisted, from their first acquaintance in
early life till the fall of the former at Trafalgar; and they lie side
by side in the cathedral of St Paul's.
The selections from the public and private correspondence of Lord
Collingwood, published in 2 vols., 8vo, in 1828, contain some of the
best specimens of letter-writing in the language. See also _A Fine Old
English Gentleman exemplified in the Life and Character of Lord
Collingwood, a Biographical Study_, by William Davies (London, 1875).
COLLINGWOOD, a city of Bourke county, Victoria, Australia, suburban to
Melbourne on the N.E., on the Yarra Yarra river. Pop. (1901) 32,766. It
was the first town in Victoria incorporated after Melbourne and Geelong.
It is esteemed one of the healthiest of the metropolitan suburbs.
COLLINGWOOD, a town of Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada, 90 m. N.N.W. of
Toronto, on Georgian Bay, and on the Grand Trunk railway. Pop. (1901)
5755. It is the eastern terminus of two lines of steamers for the ports
of Lakes Huron and Superior. It contains a large stone dry-dock and
shipyard, pork factory, and saw and planing mills, and has a large
lumber, grain and produce export trade, besides a shipbuilding plant and
steel works.
COLLINS, ANTHONY (1676-1729), English deist, was born at Heston, near
Hounslow in Middlesex, on the 21st of June 1676. He was educated at Eton
and King's College, Cambridge, and was for some time a student at the
Middle Temple. The most interesting episode of his life was his intimacy
with Locke, who in his letters speaks of him with affection and
admiration. In 1715 he settled in Essex, where he held the offices of
justice of the peace and deputy-lieutenant, which he had before held in
Middlesex. He died at his house in Harley Street, London, on the 13th
of December 1729.
His writings are important as gathering together the results of previous
English Freethinkers. The imperturbable courtesy of his style is in
striking contrast to the violence of his opponents; and it must be
remembered that, in spite of his unorthodoxy, he was not an atheist or
even an agnostic. In his own words, "Ignorance is the foundation of
atheism, and freethinking the cure of it" (_Discourse of Freethinking_,
105).
His first work of note was his _Essay concerning the Use of Reason in
Propositions the Evidence whereof depends on Human Testimony_ (1707), in
which he rejected the distinction between _above_ reason and _contrary
to_ reason, and demanded that revelation should conform to man's natural
ideas of God. Like all his works, it was published anonymously, although
the identity of the author was never long concealed. Six years later
appeared his chief work, _A Discourse of Freethinking, occasioned by the
Rise and Growth of a Sect called Freethinkers_ (1713). Notwithstanding
the ambiguity of its title, and the fact that it attacks the priests of
all churches without moderation, it contends for the most part, at least
explicitly, for no more than must be admitted by every Protestant.
Freethinking is a right which cannot and must not be limited, for it is
the only means of attaining to a knowledge of truth, it essentially
contributes to the well-being of society, and it is not only permitted
but enjoined by the Bible. In fact the first introduction of
Christianity and the success of all missionary enterprise involve
freethinking (in its etymological sense) on the part of those converted.
In England this essay, which was regarded and treated as a plea for
deism, made a great sensation, calling forth several replies, among
others from William Whiston, Bishop Hare, Bishop Hoadly, and Richard
Bentley, who, under the signature of _Phileleutherus Lipsiensis_,
roughly handles certain arguments carelessly expressed by Collins, but
triumphs chiefly by an attack on trivial points of scholarship, his own
pamphlet being by no means faultless in this very respect. Swift also,
being satirically referred to in the book, made it the subject of a
caricature.
In 1724 Collins published his _Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of
the Christian Religion_, with _An Apology for Free Debate and Liberty of
Writing_ prefixed. Ostensibly it is written in opposition to Whiston's
attempt to show that the books of the Old Testament did originally
contain prophecies of events in the New Testament story, but that these
had been eliminated or corrupted by the Jews, and to prove that the
fulfilment of prophecy by the events of Christ's life is all "secondary,
secret, allegorical, and mystical," since the original and literal
reference is always to some other fact. Since, further, according to him
the fulfilment of prophecy is the only valid proof of Christianity, he
thus secretly aims a blow at Christianity as a revelation. The
canonicity of the New Testament he ventures openly to deny, on the
ground that the canon could be fixed only by men who were inspired. No
less than thirty-five answers were directed against this book, the most
noteworthy of which were those of Bishop Edward Chandler, Arthur Sykes
and Samuel Clarke. To these, but with special reference to the work of
Chandler, which maintained that a number of prophecies were literally
fulfilled in Christ, Collins replied by his _Scheme of Literal Prophecy
Considered_ (1727). An appendix contends against Whiston that the book
of _Daniel_ was forged in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (see DEISM).
In philosophy, Collins takes a foremost place as a defender of
Necessitarianism. His brief _Inquiry Concerning Human Liberty_ (1715)
has not been excelled, at all events in its main outlines, as a
statement of the determinist standpoint. One of his arguments, however,
calls for special criticism,--his assertion that it is self-evident that
nothing that has a beginning can be without a cause is an unwarranted
assumption of the very point at issue. He was attacked in an elaborate
treatise by Samuel Clarke, in whose system the freedom of the will is
made essential to religion and morality. During Clarke's lifetime,
fearing perhaps to be branded as an enemy of religion and morality,
Collins made no reply, but in 1729 he published an answer, entitled
_Liberty and Necessity_.
Besides these works he wrote _A Letter to Mr Dodwell_, arguing that it is
conceivable that the soul may be material, and, secondly, that if the soul
be immaterial it does not follow, as Clarke had contended, that it is
immortal; _Vindication of the Divine Attributes_ (1710); _Priestcraft in
Perfection_ (1709), in which he asserts that the clause "the Church ...
Faith" in the twentieth of the Thirty-nine Articles was inserted by fraud.
See Kippis, _Biographia Britannica_; G. Lechler, _Geschichte des
englischen Deismus_ (1841); J. Hunt, _Religious Thought in England_,
ii. (1871); Leslie Stephen, _English Thought in the 18th Century_, i.
(1881); A. W. Benn, _Hist. of English Rationalism in the 19th Century_
(London, 1906), vol. i. ch. iii.; J. M. Robertson, _Short History of
Freethought_ (London, 1906); and Deism.
COLLINS, JOHN CHURTON (1848-1908), English literary critic, was born on
the 26th of March 1848 at Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire. From
King Edward's school, Birmingham, he went to Balliol College, Oxford,
where he graduated in 1872, and at once devoted himself to a literary
career, as journalist, essayist and lecturer. His first book was a study
of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1874), and later he edited various classical
English writers, and published volumes on _Bolingbroke and Voltaire in
England_ (1886), a _Study of English Literature_ (1891), a study of
_Dean Swift_ (1893), _Essays and Studies_ (1895), _Ephemera Critica_
(1901), _Essays in Poetry and Criticism_ (1905), and _Rousseau and
Voltaire_ (1908), his original essays being sharply controversial in
tone, but full of knowledge. In 1904 he became professor of English
literature at Birmingham University. For many years he was a prominent
University Extension lecturer, and a constant contributor to the
principal reviews. On the 15th of September 1908 he was found dead in a
ditch near Lowestoft, at which place he had been staying with a doctor
for the benefit of his health. The circumstances necessitated the
holding of an inquest, the verdict being that of "accidental death."
COLLINS, MORTIMER (1827-1876), English writer, was born at Plymouth,
where his father, Francis Collins, was a solicitor, on the 29th of June
1827. He was educated at a private school, and after some years spent as
mathematical master at Queen Elizabeth's College, Guernsey, he went to
London, where he devoted himself to journalism in the Conservative
interest. In 1855 he published his _Idyls and Rhymes_; and in 1865
appeared his first story, _Who is the Heir?_ A second volume of lyrics,
_The Inn of Strange Meetings_, was issued in 1871; and in 1872 he
produced his longest and best sustained poem, _The British Birds, a
communication from the Ghost of Aristophanes_. He also wrote several
capital novels, the best of which is perhaps _Sweet Anne Page_ (1868).
Some of his lyrics, in their light grace, their sparkling wit, their
airy philosophy, are equal to anything of their kind in modern English.
On his second marriage in 1868 he settled at Knowl Hill, Berkshire.
Collins was an athlete, an excellent pedestrian, and an enthusiastic
lover of country life; and from this time he rarely left his home for a
day. Conservative in his political and literary tastes, an ardent
upholder of Church and State, he was yet a hater of convention; and his
many and very varied gifts endeared him to a large circle of friends. He
died on the 28th of July 1876.
COLLINS, WILLIAM (1721-1759), English poet, was born on the 25th of
December 1721. He divides with Gray the glory of being the greatest
English lyrist of the 18th century. After some childish studies in
Chichester, of which his father, a rich hatter, was the mayor, he was
sent, in January 1733, to Winchester College, where Whitehead and Joseph
Warton were his school-fellows. When he had been nine months at the
school, Pope paid Winchester a visit and proposed a subject for a prize
poem; it is legitimate to suppose that the lofty forehead, the brisk
dark eyes and gracious oval of the childish face, as we know it in the
only portrait existing of Collins, did not escape the great man's
notice, then not a little occupied with the composition of the _Essay on
Man_.
In 1734 the young poet published his first verses, in a sixpenny
pamphlet on _The Royal Nuptials_, of which, however, no copy has come
down to us; another poem, probably satiric, called _The Battle of the
Schoolbooks_, was written about this time, and has also been lost. Fired
by his poetic fellows to further feats in verse, Collins produced, in
his seventeenth year, those _Persian Eclogues_ which were the only
writings of his that were valued by the world during his own lifetime.
They were not printed for some years, and meanwhile Collins sent, in
January and October 1739, some verses to the _Gentleman's Magazine_,
which attracted the notice and admiration of Johnson, then still young
and uninfluential. In March 1740 he was admitted a commoner of Queen's
College, Oxford, but did not go up to Oxford until July 1741, when he
obtained a demyship at Magdalen College. At Oxford he continued his
affectionate intimacy with the Wartons, and gained the friendship of
Gilbert White. Early in 1742 the _Persian Eclogues_ appeared in London.
They were four in number, and formed a modest pamphlet of not more than
300 lines in all. In a later edition, of 1759, the title was changed to
_Oriental Eclogues_. Those pieces may be compared with Victor Hugo's
_Les Orientales_, to which, of course, they are greatly inferior.
Considered with regard to the time at which they were produced, they are
more than meritorious, even brilliant, and one at least--the second--can
be read with enjoyment at the present day. The rest, perhaps, will be
found somewhat artificial and effete.
In November 1743 Collins was made bachelor of arts, and a few days after
taking his degree published his second work, _Verses humbly addressed to
Sir Thomas Hanmer_. This poem, written in heroic couplets, shows a great
advance in individuality, and resembles, in its habit of personifying
qualities of the mind, the riper lyrics of its author. For the rest, it
is an enthusiastic review of poetry, culminating in a laudation of
Shakespeare. It is supposed that he left Oxford abruptly in the summer
of 1744 to attend his mother's death-bed, and did not return. He is said
to have now visited an uncle in Flanders. His indolence, which had been
no less marked at the university than his genius, combined with a fatal
irresolution to make it extremely difficult to choose for him a path in
life. The army and the church were successively suggested and rejected;
and he finally arrived in London, bent on enjoying a small property as
an independent man about town. He made the acquaintance of Johnson and
others, and was urged by those friends to undertake various important
writings--a _History of the Revival of Learning_, several tragedies, and
a version of Aristotle's _Poetics_, among others--all of which he began
but lacked force of will to continue. He soon squandered his means,
plunged, with most disastrous effects, into profligate excesses, and
sowed the seed of his untimely misfortune.
It was at this time, however, that he composed his matchless
_Odes_--twelve in number--which appeared on the 12th of December 1746,
dated 1747. The original project was to have combined them with the odes
of Joseph Warton, but the latter proved at that time to be the more
marketable article. Collins's little volume fell dead from the press,
but it won him the admiration and friendship of the poet Thomson, with
whom, until the death of the latter in 1748, he lived on terms of
affectionate intimacy. In 1749 Collins was raised beyond the fear of
poverty by the death of his uncle, Colonel Martyn, who left him about
L2000, and he left London to settle in his native city. He had hardly
begun to taste the sweets of a life devoted to literature and quiet,
before the weakness of his will began to develop in the direction of
insanity, and he hurried abroad to attempt to dispel the gathering gloom
by travel. In the interval he had published two short pieces of
consummate grace and beauty--the _Elegy on Thomson_, in 1749, and the
_Dirge in Cymbeline_, later in the same year. In the beginning of 1750
he composed the _Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands_,
which was dedicated to the author of _Douglas_, and not printed till
long after the death of Collins, and an _Ode on the Music of the Grecian
Theatre_, which no longer exists, and in which English literature
probably has sustained a severe loss. With this poem his literary career
closes, although he lingered in great misery for nearly nine years. From
Gilbert White, who jotted down some pages of invaluable recollections of
Collins in 1781, and from other friends, we learn that his madness was
occasionally violent, and that he was confined for a time in an asylum
at Oxford. But for the most part he resided at Chichester, suffering
from extreme debility of body when the mind was clear, and incapable of
any regular occupation. Music affected him in a singular manner, and it
is recorded that he was wont to slip out into the cathedral cloisters
during the services, and moan and howl in horrible accordance with the
choir. In this miserable condition he passed out of sight of all his
friends, and in 1756 it was supposed, even by Johnson, that he was dead;
in point of fact, however, his sufferings did not cease until the 12th
of June 1759. No journal or magazine recorded the death of the forgotten
poet, though Goldsmith, only two months before, had begun the laudation
which was soon to become universal.
No English poet so great as Collins has left behind him so small a bulk
of writings. Not more than 1500 lines of his have been handed down to
us, but among these not one is slovenly, and few are poor. His odes are
the most sculpturesque and faultless in the language. They lack fire,
but in charm and precision of diction, exquisite propriety of form, and
lofty poetic suggestion they stand unrivalled. The ode named _The
Passions_ is the most popular; that _To Evening_ is the classical
example of perfect unrhymed verse. In this, and the _Ode to Simplicity_,
one seems to be handling an antique vase of matchless delicacy and
elegance. In his descriptions of nature it is unquestionable that he
owed something to the influence of Thomson. Distinction may be said to
be the crowning grace of the style of Collins; its leading peculiarity
is the incessant personification of some quality of the character. In
the _Ode on Popular Superstitions_ he produced a still nobler work; this
poem, the most considerable in size which has been preserved, contains
passages which are beyond question unrivalled for rich melancholy
fulness in the literature between Milton and Keats.
The life of Collins was written by Dr Johnson; he found an
enthusiastic editor in Dr Langhorne in 1765, and in 1858 a kindly
biographer in Mr Moy Thomas. (E. G.)
COLLINS, WILLIAM (1787-1847), English painter, son of an Irish picture
dealer and man of letters, the author of a _Life of George Morland_, was
born in London. He studied under Etty in 1807, and in 1809 exhibited his
first pictures of repute--"Boys at Breakfast," and "Boys with a Bird's
Nest." In 1815 he was made associate of the Royal Academy, and was
elected R. A. in 1820. For the next sixteen years he was a constant
exhibitor; his fishermen, shrimp-catchers, boats and nets, stretches of
coast and sand, and, above all, his rustic children were universally
popular. Then, however, he went abroad on the advice of Wilkie, and for
two years (1837-1838) studied the life, manners and scenery of Italy. In
1839 he exhibited the first fruits of this journey; and in 1840, in
which year he was appointed librarian to the Academy, he made his first
appearance as a painter of history. In 1842 he returned to his early
manner and choice of subject, and during the last years of life enjoyed
greater popularity than ever. Collins was a good colourist and an
excellent draughtsman. His earlier pictures are deficient in breadth and
force, but his later work, though also carefully executed, is rich in
effects of tone and in broadly painted masses. His biography by his son,
W. Wilkie Collins, the novelist, appeared in 1848.
COLLINS, WILLIAM WILKIE (1824-1889), English novelist, elder son of
William Collins, R.A., the landscape painter, was born in London on the
8th of January 1824. He was educated at a private school in Highbury,
and when only a small boy of twelve was taken by his parents to Italy,
where the family lived for three years. On their return to England
Wilkie Collins was articled to a firm in the tea trade, but four years
later he abandoned that business for the law, and was entered at
Lincoln's Inn in 1846, being called to the bar three years later. He
found little pleasure in his new career, however; though what he learned
in it was exceedingly valuable to him later. On his father's death in
1847 young Collins made his first essay in literature, publishing the
_Life of William Collins_, in two volumes, in the following year. In
1850 he put forth his first work of fiction, _Antonina, or the Fall of
Rome_, which was clearly inspired by his life in Italy. _Basil_ appeared
in 1852, and _Hide and Seek_ in 1854. About this time he made the
acquaintance of Charles Dickens, and began to contribute to _Household
Words_, where _After Dark_ (1856) and _The Dead Secret_ (1857) ran
serially. His great success was achieved in 1860 with the publication of
_The Woman in White_, which was first printed in _All the Year Round_.
From that time he enjoyed as much popularity as any novelist of his day,
_No Name_ (1862), _Armadale_ (1866), and _The Moonstone_, a capital
detective story (1868), being among his most successful books. After
_The New Magdalen_ (1873) his ingenuity became gradually exhausted, and
his later stories were little more than faint echoes of earlier
successes. He died in Wimpole Street, London, on the 23rd of September
1889. Collins's gift was of the melodramatic order, and while many of
his stories made excellent plays, several of them were actually
reconstructed from pieces designed originally for stage production. But
if his colours were occasionally crude and his methods violent, he was
at least a master of situation and effect. His trick of telling a story
through the mouths of different characters is sometimes irritatingly
disconnected; but it had the merit of giving an air of actual evidence
and reality to the elucidation of a mystery. He possessed in the highest
degree the gift of absorbing interest; the turns and complexities of his
plots are surprisingly ingenious, and many of his characters are not
only real, but uncommon. Count Fosco in _The Woman in White_ is perhaps
his masterpiece; the character has been imitated again and again, but no
imitation has ever attained to the subtlety and humour of the original.
COLLODION (from the Gr. [Greek: kolla], glue), a colourless, viscid
fluid, made by dissolving gun-cotton and the other varieties of
pyroxylin in a mixture of alcohol and ether. It was discovered in 1846
by Louis Nicolas Menard in Paris, and independently in 1848 by Dr J.
Parkers Maynard in Boston. The quality of collodion differs according to
the proportions of alcohol and ether and the nature of the pyroxylin it
contains. Collodion in which there is a great excess of ether gives by
its evaporation a very tough film; the film left by collodion containing
a large quantity of alcohol is soft and easily torn; but in hot climates
the presence of an excess of alcohol is an advantage, as it prevents the
rapid evaporation of the ether. Under the microscope, the film produced
by collodion of good quality appears translucent and colourless. To
preserve collodion it should be kept cool and out of the action of the
light; iodized collodion that has been discoloured by the development of
free iodine may be purified by the immersion in it of a strip of silver
foil. For the iodizing of collodion, ammonium bromide and iodide, and
the iodides of calcium and cadmium are the agents employed (see
PHOTOGRAPHY). Collodion is used in surgery since, when painted on the
skin, it rapidly dries and covers the skin with a thin film which
contracts as it dries and therefore affords both pressure and
protection. Flexible collodion, containing Canada balsam and castor oil,
does not crack, but, on the other hand, does not contract. It is
therefore of less value. Collodion is applied to small aseptic wounds,
to small-pox pustules, and occasionally to the end of the urethra in
boys in order to prevent nocturnal incontinence. Collodion and crystals
of carbolic acid, taken in equal parts, are useful in relieving
toothache due to the presence of a carious cavity. _Vesicating_ or
_Blistering Collodion_ contains cantharidin as one of its constituents.
The styptic colloid of Richardson is a strong solution of tannin in
gun-cotton collodion. Similarly collodion may be impregnated with
salicylic acid, carbolic acid, iodine and other substances. Small
balloons are manufactured from collodion by coating the interior of
glass globes with the liquid; the film when dry is removed from the
glass by applying suction to the mouth of the vessel. M. E. Gripon found
(_Compt. rend._, 1875) that collodion membranes, like glass, reflect
light and polarize it both by refraction and reflection; they also
transmit a very much larger proportion of radiant heat, for the study of
which they are preferable to mica.
COLLOT D'HERBOIS, JEAN MARIE (1750-1796), French revolutionist, was a
Parisian by birth and an actor by profession. After figuring for some
years at the principal provincial theatres of France and Holland, he
became director of the playhouse at Geneva. He had from the first a
share in the revolutionary tumult; but it was not until 1791 that he
became a figure of importance. Then, however, by the publication of
_L'Almanach du Pere Gerard_,[1] a little book setting forth, in homely
style, the advantages of a constitutional monarchy, he suddenly acquired
great popularity. His renown was soon increased by his active
interference on behalf of the Swiss of the Chateau-Vieux Regiment,
condemned to the galleys for mutiny at Nancy. His efforts resulted in
their liberation; he went himself to Brest in search of them; and a
civic feast was decreed on his behalf and theirs, which gave occasion
for one of the few poems published during his life by Andre Chenier. But
his opinions became more and more radical. He was a member of the
Commune of Paris on the 10th of August 1792, and was elected deputy for
Paris to the Convention, where he was the first to demand the abolition
of royalty (on the 21st of September 1792), and he voted the death of
Louis XVI. "_sans sursis_." In the struggle between the Mountain and the
Girondists he displayed great energy; and after the _coup d'etat_ of the
31st of May 1793 he made himself conspicuous by his pitiless pursuit of
the defeated party. In June he was made president of the Convention; and
in September he was admitted to the Committee of Public Safety, on which
he was very active. After having entrusted him with several missions,
the Convention sent him, on the 30th of October 1793, to Lyons to punish
the revolt of that city. There he introduced the Terror in its most
terrible form.
In May 1794 an attempt was made to assassinate Collot; but it only
increased his popularity, and this won him the hatred of Robespierre,
against whom he took sides on the 9th Thermidor, when he presided over
the Convention during a part of the session. During the Thermidorian
reaction he was one of the first to be accused of complicity with the
fallen leader, but was acquitted. Denounced a second time, he defended
himself by pleading that he had acted for the cause of the Revolution,
but was condemned with Barere and Billaud-Varenne to transportation to
Cayenne (March 1795), where he died early in 1796.
Collot d'Herbois wrote and adapted from the English and Spanish many
plays, one of which, _Le Paysan magistrat_, kept the stage for several
years. _L'Almanach du Pere Gerard_ was reprinted under the title of
_Etrennes aux amis de la Constitution francaise, ou entretiens du Pere
Gerard avec ses concitoyens_ (Paris, 1792).
See F. A. Aulard, _Les Orateurs de la Legislative et de la Convention_
(Paris, 1885-1886), t. ii. pp. 501-512. The principal documents
relative to the trial of Collot d'Herbois, Barere and Billaud-Varenne
are indicated in Aulard, _Recueil des actes du comite de salut
public_, t. i. pp. 5 and 6.