Thomas Campbell, author of the "Pleasures of Hope," was descended from a
race of landed proprietors in Argyleshire, who claimed ancestry in
Macallummore, the great head of clan Campbell, and consequent
propinquity to the noble House of Argyle. Alexander Campbell, the poet's
father, had carried on a prosperous trade as a Virginian merchant, but
had suffered unhappy embarrassments, at the outbreak of the American
war. Of his eleven children, Thomas was the youngest. He was born on the
27th July 1777, in his father's house, High Street, Glasgow, and was
baptised by the celebrated Dr Thomas Reid, after whom he received his
Christian name. The favourite child of his parents, peculiar care was
bestowed upon his upbringing; he was taught to read by his eldest
sister, who was nineteen years his senior, and had an example of energy
set before him by his mother, a woman of remarkable decision. He
afforded early indication of genius; as a child, he was fond of ballad
poetry, and in his tenth year he wrote verses. At the age of eight he
became a pupil in the grammar school, having already made some
proficiency in classical learning. During the first session of
attendance at the University, he gained two prizes and a bursary on
Archbishop Leighton's foundation. As a classical scholar, he acquired
rapid distinction; he took especial delight in the dramatic literature
of Greece, and his metrical translations from the Greek plays were
pronounced excellent specimens of poetical composition. He invoked the
muse on many themes, and occasionally printed verses, which were
purchased by his comrades. From the commencement of his curriculum he
chiefly supported himself by teaching; at the close of his fourth
session, he accepted a tutorship in the island of Mull. There he
prosecuted verse-making, and continued his translations from the Greek
dramatists. He conducted a poetical correspondence with Hamilton Paul;
and the following lines addressed to this early friend, and entitled "An
Elegy written in Mull," may be quoted in evidence of his poetical talent
in his seventeenth year. These lines do not occur in any edition of his
works:
"The tempest blackens on the dusky moor,
And billows lash the long-resounding shore;
In pensive mood I roam the desert ground,
And vainly sigh for scenes no longer found.
Oh, whither fled the pleasurable hours
That chased each care, and fired the muse's powers;
The classic haunts of youth, for ever gay
Where mirth and friendship cheer'd the close of day,
The well-known valleys where I wont to roam,
The native sports, the nameless joys of home?
Far different scenes allure my wondering eye:
The white wave foaming to the distant sky;
The cloudy heavens, unblest by summer's smile;
The sounding storm that sweeps the rugged isle,
The chill, bleak summit of eternal snow,
The wide, wild glen, the pathless plains below,
The dark blue rocks, in barren grandeur piled,
The cuckoo sighing to the pensive wild!
Far different these from all that charm'd before,
The grassy banks of Clutha's winding shore:
The sloping vales, with waving forests lined;
Her smooth blue lakes, unruffled by the wind.
Hail, happy Clutha! glad shall I survey
Thy gilded turrets from the distant way!
Thy sight shall cheer the weary traveller's toil,
And joy shall hail me to my native soil."
He remained at Mull five months; and subsequently became tutor in the
family of Sir William Napier, at Downie, near Loch Fyne. On completing a
fifth session at the University, he experienced anxiety regarding the
choice of a profession, chiefly with the desire of being able speedily
to aid in the support of his necessitous parents. He first thought of a
mercantile life, and then weighed the respective advantages of the
clerical, medical, and legal professions. For a period, he attempted
law, but soon tired of the drudgery which it threatened to impose. In
Edinburgh, during a brief period of legal study, he formed the
acquaintance of Dr Robert Anderson, through whose favour he became known
to the rising wits of the capital. Among his earlier friends he reckoned
the names of Francis Jeffrey, Henry Brougham, Thomas Brown, James
Graham, and David Irving.
In 1798, Campbell induced his parents to remove to Edinburgh, where he
calculated on literary employment. He had already composed the draught
of the "Pleasures of Hope," but he did not hazard its publication till
he had exhausted every effort in its improvement. His care was well
repaid; his poem produced one universal outburst of admiration, and one
edition after another rapidly sold. He had not completed his
twenty-second year when he gained a place among the most distinguished
poets of his country. For the copyright Mundell and Company allowed him
only two hundred copies in quires, which yielded him about fifty pounds;
but they presented him with twenty-five pounds on the appearance of each
successive edition. He was afterwards permitted to publish an edition on
his own account,--a privilege which brought him the sum of six hundred
pounds. Resolving to follow literature as a profession, he was desirous
of becoming personally acquainted with the distinguished men of letters
in Germany; in June 1800 he embarked at Leith for Hamburg. He visited
Ratisbon, Munich, and Leipsic; had an interview with the poet Klopstock,
then in his seventy-seventh year, and witnessed a battle between the
French and Germans, near Ratisbon. At Hamburg he formed the acquaintance
of Anthony M'Cann, who had been driven into exile by the Irish
Government in 1798, on the accusation of being a leader in the
rebellion. Of this individual he formed a favourable opinion, and his
condition suggested the exquisite poem, "The Exile of Erin." After some
months' residence at Altona, he sailed for England; the vessel narrowly
escaping capture by a privateer, landed him at Yarmouth, whence he
proceeded to London. He had been in correspondence with Perry of the
_Morning Chronicle_, who introduced him to Lord Holland, Sir James
Macintosh, and Samuel Rogers. Receiving tidings of his father's death,
he returned to Edinburgh. Not a little to his concern, he found that
warrants had been issued for his apprehension on the charge of high
treason; he was accused of attending Jacobin clubs at Hamburg, and of
conspiring with General Moreau and the Irish exiles to land troops in
Ireland! The seizure of his travelling trunk led to the ample
vindication of his loyalty; it was found to contain the first draught of
the "Mariners of England." Besides a magnificent quarto edition of the
"Pleasures of Hope," he now prepared a work in three volumes, entitled
"Annals of Great Britain;" for which the sum of three hundred pounds was
paid him by Mundell and Company. Through Professor Dugald Stewart, he
obtained the friendship of Lord Minto, who invited him to London, and
afterwards entertained him at Minto.
In 1803, Campbell resolved to settle in London; in his progress to the
metropolis he visited his friends Roscoe and Currie, at Liverpool. On
the 10th September, 1803, he espoused his fair cousin, Matilda Sinclair,
and established his residence in Upper Eaton Street, Pimlico. In the
following year, he sought refuge from the noise of the busy world in
London, by renting a house at Sydenham. His reputation readily secured
him a sufficiency of literary employment; he translated for the _Star_,
with a salary of two hundred pounds per annum, and became a contributor
to the _Philosophical Magazine_. He declined the offer of the Regent's
chair in the University of Wilna, in Russian-Poland; but shortly after
had conferred on him, by the premier, Charles Fox, a civil-list pension
of two hundred pounds. In 1809, he published his poem, "Gertrude of
Wyoming," along with the "Battle of the Baltic," the "Mariners of
England," "Hohenlinden," "Glenara," and others of his best lyrics. This
volume was well received, and added largely to his laurels. In 1811, he
delivered five lectures on poetry, in the Royal Institution.
Campbell was now a visitor in the first literary circles, and was
welcomed at the tables of persons of opulence. From the commencement of
his residence in London, he had known John Kemble, and his accomplished
sister, Mrs Siddons. He became intimate with Lord Byron and Thomas
Moore; and had the honour of frequent invitations to the residence of
the Princess of Wales, at Blackheath. In 1814, he visited Paris, where
he was introduced to the Duke of Wellington; dined with Humboldt and
Schlegel, and met his former friend and correspondent, Madame de Stael.
A proposal of Sir Walter Scott, in 1816, to secure him a chair in the
University of Edinburgh, was not attended with success. The "Specimens
of the British Poets," a work he had undertaken for Mr Murray, appeared
in 1819. In 1820, he accepted the editorship of the _New Monthly
Magazine_, with a salary of six hundred pounds per annum. A second
visit to Germany, which he accomplished immediately after the
commencement of his editorial duties, suggested to him the idea of the
London University; and this scheme, warmly supported by his literary
friends, and advocated by Lord Brougham, led in 1825 to the
establishment of the institution. In the year subsequent to this happy
consummation of his exertions on behalf of learning in the south, he
received intelligence of his having been elected Lord Rector of the
University of Glasgow. This honour was the most valued of his life; it
was afterwards enhanced by his re-election to office for the third
time,--a rare occurrence in the history of the College.
The future career of the poet was not remarkable for any decided
achievements in literature or poetry. In 1831, he allowed his name to be
used as the conductor of the _Metropolitan_, a short-lived periodical.
He published in 1834 a "Life of Mrs Siddons," in two volumes, but this
performance did not prove equal to public expectation. One of his last
efforts was the preparation of an edition of the "Pleasures of Hope,"
which was illustrated with engravings from drawings by Turner.
Subsequent to the death of Mrs Campbell, which took place in May 1828,
he became unsettled in his domestic habits, evincing a mania for change
of residence. In 1834, he proceeded to Algiers, in Africa; and returning
by Paris, was presented to King Louis Philippe. On his health failing,
some years afterwards, he tried the baths of Wiesbaden, and latterly
established his residence at Boulogne. After a prostrating illness of
several months, he expired at Boulogne, on the 15th of June 1844, in his
67th year.
Of the poetry of Thomas Campbell, "The Pleasures of Hope" is one of the
most finished epics in the language; it is alike faultless in respect
of conception and versification. His lyrics are equally sustained in
power of thought and loftiness of diction; they have been more
frequently quoted than the poems of any other modern author, and are
translated into various European languages. Few men evinced more
jealousy in regard to their reputation; he was keenly sensitive to
criticism, and fastidious in judging of his own composition. As a prose
writer, though he wrote with elegance, he is less likely to be
remembered. Latterly a native unsteadiness of purpose degenerated into
inaction; during the period of his unabated vigour, it prevented his
carrying out many literary schemes. A bad money manager, he had under no
circumstances become rich; at one period he was in the receipt of
fifteen hundred pounds per annum, yet he felt poverty. He had a strong
feeling of independence, and he never received a favour without
considering whether he might be able to repay it. He was abundantly
charitable, and could not resist the solicitations of indigence. Of
slavery and oppression in every form he entertained an abhorrence; his
zeal in the cause of liberty led him while a youth to be present in
Edinburgh at the trial of Gerard and others, for maintaining liberal
opinions, and to support in his maturer years the cause of the Polish
refugees. Naturally cheerful, he was subject to moods of despondency,
and his temper was ardent in circumstances of provocation. In personal
appearance he was rather under the middle height, and he dressed with
precision and neatness. His countenance was pleasing, but was only
expressive of power when lit up by congenial conversation. He was fond
of society and talked with fluency. His remains rest close by the ashes
of Sheridan, in Westminster Abbey, and over them a handsome monument has
lately been erected to his memory.