418 Character of the late Sir H. C. Englefield, Bart. been hitherto observed in the selection of persons to discharge this very important trust, and the rules which regulate their duties and the time of their continuance in office, have been found very insufficient to the useful purposes for which they were originally designed. But a recent Act of Parliament has empowered parishes to appoint, in the character of an assistant, an officer of increased usefulness, and very efficient powers, a Perpetual Overseer, paid for his services by the measure of his abilities and their reasonable application to the public good; and the good he really does, must afford far greater advantages than can be expected from the unwilling and reluctant labours of persons compelled to make large sacrifices of personal comfort, convenience, and interest, in the discharge of a painful thankless trust. After the most mature deliberation, my reason tells me, and experience confirms the truth of her admonition, that wherever a Select Vestry and a Permanent Overseer mutually do their respective duties, without fear or influence, and wholly under the guidance of the authority committed to them by Parliament, a great part of the difficulties now complained of will be ameliorated, the farmer be relieved from many heavy burthens, and the honest deserving poor be amply provided with employment and bread. It is absurd to suppose that this will of itself alone, materially, or at all, raise the price of corn, or tend to diminish the burthens of general taxation, but it may be a question for further consideration, what should be the maximum of the one, and the minimum of the other. These, how ever are speculations in which men indulge and please themselves more than in reason they ought, because they induce opinions grounded on very erroneous principles, and terminating in very mischievous conclusions. If you consider these desultory remarks to be deserving your notice, it is probable I may resume and continue them on some future occasion. Yours, &c. A. SIR H. C. ENGLEFIELD, BART. accomplished Sir Henry Englefield, [May, mitted to lay before our readers the following eulogium from the elegant pen of William Sotheby, Esq. An Address to the Society of Dilettanti, on their first Meeting (March 31, 1822) after the Decease of their Secretary, Sir Henry Englefield. Mr. PRESIDENT, and to the Society, for this interrup My apologies are due to you, Sir, tion: but I should feel it a dereliction of what weighs on my mind as a duty, if, when authorised by relationship, to notify the decease of our late Secretary, I failed briefly to mention some of his distinguishing qualities; qualities which cannot but painfully enhance the sense of the loss we have sustained. It is far from my intention to enumerate the various talents, each in itself far from common, far more uncommon from their union with each other, and all, the more remarkable from that accuracy of judgment with which they were combined, in the clear and comprehensive intellect of SIR HENRY ENGLEFIELD. bour, is, to disencumber myself from the The difficulty under which I now lamultitude, and to select, where each justly claims due notice, those talents and atpriately mentioned on the present occa tainments, which may be most approsion. For, with that branch of knowledge, either useful or ornamental, with what art, what science, was not our acacquainted, but familiarly conversant? complished Secretary not merely slightly Of all, an enlightened judge; in many, no inconsiderable proficient. Shall I consider him in relation to this Society? It is scarcely necessary: 1829.] Mr. Sotheby's Character of Sir H. C. Englefield. of wealth. But let me look beyond the limits of our Society, and notice some of the attainments of our accomplished Associate; not casually acquired to indulge curiosity, or gratify an insatiable spirit, far less for ostentatious display, but the result of studies cautiously undertaken, and closely pursued in subserviency to public benefit. Let us question the Astronomer, enlightened by his observation; the Chemist, enriched by his experiments; the Geologist, whose labours have been facilitated by the perfection of his instruments; the Painter, whose faint and fading colours have received lustre and permanency from his investigation: let us inquire of many an Artist, now flourishing in the sunshine of prosperity, but who, in his first struggle seemed "born to bloom unseen," whose Patronage encouraged, whose Judgment directed, whose Liberality sustained him? From all these will be heard one answer, one consentient voice of eulogy mingled with sorrow. Let us, I will not say search, but open at random the printed Transactions of Societies, the Repositories of the Enquiries, the Disquisitions, and the Discoveries of the Man of Letters, the Philosopher, and the Antiquary, and in all these will be found abundant proofs of the spirit of research, and of the cultivation and meritorious employment of the natural gifts of SIR HENRY ENGLEFIELD. Of one subject I had almost forgotten the mention-those delicate, nay, hazardous experiments, in which he voluntarily engaged, in conjunction with the first Comparative Anatomist of our country, Sir Everard Home, assisted by the able Mathematical Optician, Jessé Ramsden, more strictly to ascertain some of the powers and properties of vision; the powers of that sense of which he himself lived to feel the loss, and which was only restored to him to witness those whom he most loved tending his couch of death. But how can I, in utter disregard to my own feelings, fail to touch on the kindness of his heart, and on the warmth 419 of his affections, which, through life, endeared him, and now hallows him in the recollection of his surviving friends! On this subject it is too painful to dwell. Let me not, however, omit some mention of those fascinating powers, by which he contributed, more abundantly perhaps than any other individual, to the diffusion of social enjoyment. And here, indeed, one commendation might well suffice; the commendation of the highly-gifted Charles Fox; who was wont to say, that he never departed from his company uninstructed. Who, indeed, that ever enjoyed his society, could fail of feeling a glow from the sunshine of his temper? Who, of that extensive circle of talent and of cultivated intellect, of which he was the attractive centre, but must have admired the variety, the extent, and accuracy of his remarks, the spirit and vivacity of his converse, his easy and unassuming, yet persuasive and impressive eloquence; that flow of fancy, which, enlivened by beautiful allusions, and that correctness of judgment which, illustrated by striking analogies from all of Art and Nature, almost every subject of intellect; and lastly, that singular gift of memory, which, I will not say gathered up and collected, but admitted and received, as into a well-arranged treasury, the riches of the minds of others, not there to rust unused, but to be recoined, brilliant with new imagery, bearing the stamp and impression of his own creative genius. To the zeal of friendship, doubly endeared by death, will, I trust, be ascribed and pardoned, this attempt, however inadequate, to record departed excellence. Praise of the dead may, perhaps, be expressed not less forcibly than feelingly by the silent tear of love, esteem, and veneration; but praise of the dead is a debt due to the living. And there may be amongst the Members of this distinguished Society, some younger bosoms, in which even the 420 Writings of Sir H. C. Englefield.—Jackson's Shakspeare. feeble words I have uttered may haply Additions to the List of the Works of lish Metre." Communications to the Royal Society. "On the Appearance of the Soil on opening a Well," 1781.-"Observations on the variation of Light in the Star Algol," 1784. He communicated to the Society of Arts, "Discovery of a Lake from Madder," for which the Society voted him their gold medal. Communications to the Royal Institu Barometer.". "" tion. "Observation on the Planet Ceres." "On the effect of Sound upon the Experiments on the separation of Light and Heat by Refraction."" Account of two Halos, with Parhelia."—"Account of an Occultation of ẞ Nebulæ Sagittarii by the Planet Mars, April 17, 1796.” Communications to the Linnean Society. "Observations on some remarkable strata of Flint in a chalk Pit in the Isle of Wight. Vol. VI."-" Additional Observations on the foregoing paper." {May, Communications to Dr. Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine. Description of a new Transit Instrument. vol. XLIII."-" On the Rules of Algebraic Multiplication. vol. XLV.". "Some Particulars respecting the Thunder-storm at London and its vicinity, 31st August, 1810. vol. XXXVI." Mr. URBAN, FOR April 12. OR several years past I have amused myself in making a collection of pamphlets and treatises relative to Shakspeare, and the perusal of the last which has made its appearance has so far interested me, as to request you (being one of your oldreader a concise historical view of the est Correspondents) to offer to the general subject, and of the merit of Mr. Jackson's attempt candidly considered. There is a quaintness in the titlepage, "Shakspeare's Genius justified," which may lead to a different view from that which the author has taken. His leading object appears to be to clear the fame of our inimitable Bard from censure on account of ignorance, obscurity, or haste, and to refer it to one sole, but scarcely avoidable cause, the imperfection of the copy from which the first edition was printed, and the consequent errors which the printers were more particularly liable to make, from the rude state of the art of printing, compared with that of the present day. Previously to any other discussion, let me submit concisely to your readers commentaries, and annotations upon a general view of the editions, the the works of the immortal Bard. There is not perhaps any occasion to all who have studied Shakspeare, to recapitulate what is so well known that he appears to have had little value for his own dramatic works, for he had preserved no copy of them in MS.; but that seven years after his death (1623) the first folio edition of his plays was given to the publick by Condell and Hemings, his executors, printed professedly from the stage copy, or from the few single plays in quarto. In the lapse of 60 years, to 1685, three more editions only were demanded. These, being all in folio, became, what the Spectator notices, as "parlour window books," in the houses of gentry in the country; which circum stance 1822.] View of the Editions and Commentators of Shakspeare. stance accounts for their having been so frequently mutilated in the leaves at the beginning and end. Shakspeare first acquired a more diffused popularity by Rowe's octavo edition in 1709. Pope followed in 1723-1728; Theobald in 1733; Hanmer in 1744-6; Warburton 1747; Johnson 1765; Steevens 1766; Capell 1768; Reed 1785; Malone in 1790; and last, and certainly not least (for the text and commentary extends to 21 octavo volumes,) by Boswell, in 1821! This catalogue and enumeration are necessary to introduce us to the critical Essayists in due progress. Each of these Commentators appears to assume, that either what has been done before him in clearing up obscurities in Shakspeare's text has been ill done, or that the true meaning has been totally overlooked, or misunderstood. Thus each Adventurer launched into the ocean of conjecture, pursuing the track he had marked out for himself, and heedless of the experience or discoveries of others, who had previously undertaken the same voyage. Their observations have consequently become so voluminous, that indolent, or perhaps fastidious readers, deprecated such tedious elucidations, and required the pure spring of Shakspeare if they were enabled to approach it when cleared only from manifest contaminations. These Commentators, sagacious and acute as most of them were, have by no means enjoyed the meed, which they had doubtless, and with fair pretension, expected from readers, grateful for the light thus diffused over obscurities, excluding every ray of elucidation from their own immediate view of Shakspeare. Some were dissatisfied and unconvinced, having no remedy proposed by any suggestion of their own; others demanded only an uncorrupted text. These murmurs, which occasionally burst forth in shortlived pamphlets, appear to have been condensed by the acrimonious, but very sensible Author of the " Pursuits of Literature." "Must I (he exclaims with indignation) 421 he has, with a felicitous humour, transferred the epithets, which, in a single word, describes the properties peculiar to each, from the leaders of the pack, to the learned Commentators. I will now mention them briefly, referring the classical reader to the original, in the third book of the Metamorphoses. ; Melampus, Farmer; Pamphagus, Warburton; Ichnobates, Tyrwhitt; Hylactor, Malone; Theron, Ritson Agrados, T. Warton; Labros, Percy; Asbolus, Hawkins Nebrophonos, Porson; Dorcus, Whiter; with the last, not least, whipper-in, George Steevens. What name would have been selected for Jackson, I know not, there is no male name indeed left for him, but he assuredly merits that of the female hound Agle "naribus utilis," for none have been keener upon one scent. It is curious to observe how these dogs, having destroyed their master, turn upon each other. I will now endeavour to make these critical gentlemen pass, in review, before us, in chronological series, not detaining any of them so long as to tire your readers. It will appear that each of these Critics proposed to himself some abstract principle; either that Shakspeare should be examined by the rules of the Greek theatre; that the text is so corrupt, that it requires an entire substitution, in various instances; or that an acquaintance with provincial phrases will reform all errors which have been previously altered to positive confusion, or left totally unexplained by the ignorance of others. A more steady light perhaps was communicated by an examination and comparison of the learning of the age in which Shakspeare flourished, and of the works of contemporary authors with his own. As the early editors made no distinction between prose and verse, the punctuation was likewise loose and indiscriminate. Little should we expect, in the laborious Editor of 17 folio volumes of the "Foedera," to recognise the first (1694) and most severe critic upon Shakspeare as a Tragedian, and that poor Othello would be bound to the bed of Procrustes by a sentence from the tribunal of Aristotle and lus. So greatly has the Bard increased in the general esteem since Rymer's crude and illiberal attempt to disparage him, that a critique so paradoxical and strange was, at that period, schy offered 422 View of the Editions and Commentators of Shakspeare. offered to the publick in an apparent confidence of universal acceptation. But by Theobald, both Rymer and Gildon are treated as hyper-critics, who were desirous rather to vaunt their own sagacity in discovering the supposed errors, than in discriminating the beauties of the author. Dennis was not actually associated with them, but followed the same erroneous principles of criticising the plays of Shakspeare, and with still greater intemperance. These censures had nearly sunk into oblivion, when they were revived by Voltaire, upon the same principle, but most ably refuted by Mrs. Montagu. We have Dr. Johnson's authority in declaring, that "when Shakspeare's plan is understood, most of the criticisms of Rymer and Voltaire fade away." In 1709 Rowe, himself a Poet and Tragedian, published his edition, in seven volumes 8vo. as above mentioned. "The Booksellers (says Warburton) engaged him because they thought that a Poet could only be published by a Poet; but so utterly unacquainted was he with the whole business of a Critic, that he did not even examine and collate the first editions of the work he had undertaken to publish." He was succeeded by Pope (a much more celebrated Poet) who, according to the same testimony, by the mere force of an uncommon genius, without any study or profession of this art, discharged the great parts of it so well, as to make his edition the best foundation for all further improvements." Warburton having thus eulogized his friend, found himself at liberty to undertake an edition of his own. Theobald's edition (1733) immediately succeeded Pope's (1723-1728), and with this boast, "that whatever care might have been taken by Mr. Pope and his assistants, he would produce 500 emendations of Shakspeare, that would escape them all." The Bard of Twickenham was enraged, and, like Jove of old, sent forth his thunderbolts, and buried poor Theobald, as the Giants, under mountains of obloquy. Justice is now done to the Commentator, and it is acknowledged, that the patient labour and the plodding diligence so disparaged by the Satirist, were the more useful qualities for investigating the text of Shakspeare, and for correcting, if not restoring it, to purity. Theobald was [May, not treated with candour by his contemporaries. Let him speak for himself: "Wherever the author's sense is clear and discoverable (though perhaps low and trivial) I have not by any innovation tampered with his text, out of an ostentation of endeavouring to make him speak better than the old copies have done; and whenever I have taken a greater latitude and liberty in amending, I have constantly endeavoured to support my corrections and conjectures by parallel passages and authorities from himself — the surest means of expounding any author whatever." He adds further, as a position not to be controverted, "that the science of Criticism, as far as it affects an editor, seems to be reduced to these three classes - the emendation of corrupt passages, the explanation of obscure and difficult ones, and an inquiry into the beauties and defects of composition." Has the fastidious Warburton added a single idea, or improved this sentence in point of perspicuity? when he says, "the whole a Critic can do for an Author, who deserves his service, is to correct the faulty text, to remark the peculiarities of language, to illustrate the obscure allusions, and to explain the beauties and defects of sentiment or composition." The "Oxford Quarto Edition," as it was generally called, by Sir Thomas Hanmer, appeared (1744) under such favourable auspices, that its very high claims of superior accuracy were generally allowed by the publick. Warburton was so little satisfied with this performance, that, in three years after, he gave to the world his own edition, with an elaborate preface, in which he treats his competitors (Theobald and Hanmer) with his peculiar asperity. "How (he exclaims) the Oxford Editor came to think himself qualified for this office, from which his whole course of life had been so remote, is still more difficult to con ceive!" But Warburton, in the opinion of the Author of the Pursuits of Literature, was "sublime even in his exorbitances, and dignified in sagacity and erudition." It has however been observed with greater truth, that he has looked more to the praise of ingenious than of just conjecture. The character of his emendations was not so much that of right and wrong, as that of being in the extreme; they are always Warburtonian. Nor was Han mer's |
