The Maclise portrait-gallery of illustrious literary characters; with memoirs biographical, critical, bibliographical, and anecdotal illustrative of ... of the former half of the present century

by William Bates

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 edition. ...Browne, with his Pipe of Tobacco, and all the rhyming Jeux d'Esprit, in all the Tracts, are extinguished in the comparison,--not excepting the Probationary Odes. William Roscoe, of Liverpool, met him in London, at Cadell's, and records that he was "highly entertained by his conviviality, wit and excellent singing." The external features of the par nobile fratrum are well preserved in the capital fac-simile of the chalk drawing by Harlowe, in the possession of Murray, which serves as frontispiece to the later editions of the Rejected Addresses, to which the admirable woodcuts after George Cruikshank give'a yet additional value,--but still do not pull it up to the commercial value of the slenderer and shabbier, but "Very Rare," editio princeps of 1812, which now " rules" at a couple of guineas! A glance at the daily life of this genial and witty man will not be devoid of interest. Writing to a friend, he " Let me enlighten you as to the general disposal of my time. I breakfast at nine, with a mind undisturbed by matters of business; I then write to you or to some editor, and then read till three o'clock. I then walk to the Union Club, read the Journals, hear Lord John Russell deified or diablerized (that word is not a bad coinage), do the same with Sir Robert Peel or the Duke of Wellington, and then join a knot of conversationists by the fire till six o'clock, consisting of lawyers, merchants, members of Parliament, and gentlemen at large. We then and there discuss the Three per Cent. Consols (some of us preferring Dutch Two-and-a-half per Cent.), and speculate upon the probable rise, shape, and cost of the New Exchange. If Lady Harrington happen to drive past our window in her landau, we compare her...

332 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2015

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