William Jerdan: Autobiography

HISTORY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE CONCLUDED.

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.—Pope.

As an example of the way in which Royal Societies may be made, I proceed to add a few further particulars to the preceding chapter. Among the earliest members who entered zealously into the promotion of the design, as workers, were Mr. Taylor Combe, A. J. Valpy, Dr. Yeates, William Tooke, A. Impey, Mr. Jacobs, and Dr. Richards; and it was also strengthened by the junction and occasional services of Sir M. Tierney, Sir Thomas D. Acland, Sir Henry Halford, T. Bosworth, Sharon Turner, C. A. Smith, and others, so that by the end of 1821 it was in a fair way and satisfactory condition. I do not say too much, when I state that I was the President’s deputy manager, and really had my hands full of correcting proofs, and had more to do than Mr. Yeates, the provisional secretary. The premiums resolved to be announced for the year 1822 were a renewal of—

I. The King’s premium of one hundred guineas* for the best Dissertation on the Age of Homer;—his
* No essay presented for any of these premiums was at all commen-

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Writings and Genius; and on the state of Religion, Society, Learning, and the Arts, during that period, collected from the Writings of Homer.

II. Also the Society’s premium of fifty guineas for the best Essay on the History of the Greek Language; comprehending the present Language of Greece, especially in the Ionian Islands; and the differences between Ancient and Modern Greek.

III. And the Society’s premium of fifty guineas for the best poem on the Fall of Constantinople in the fifteenth century.

This list being finally made ready for publication, after half a dozen times undergoing the revision of the bishop, Mr. Baber, and myself, was advertised in the newspapers; Mr. Baber left town, and the rest that might require to be done was remitted to a quorum of three; being about one, if not two, more than could be got together! at the season of the year. I was therefore left alone, like the one soldier from India, who represented Hamilton’s regiment at the review.

In February, 1822, the Council began to muster again, and the proceedings of the year, though several matters of importance were discussed, did not advance to any material transaction. A limited number of Mrs. Hemans’s prize poem was printed at the expense of the society, in a neat quarto of twenty-two pages, and distributed among the members; a fine memorial of the desolate Dartmoor, which is nevertheless one of the most antiquarian localities in our island, and yet wants the research of archæology to explore
surate to even limited expectation, and no award was made. There were, indeed, very few; and on the subjects which required great learning and labour, I think the offer was a mistake, and that nothing of sufficient character could be expected.

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its wonderful remains, and the powers of history to explain them. There is, perhaps, more of Ancient Britain on Dartmoor, than on all the rest of England together. Thus sung the bard-like Hemans:—

Who shall tell

If on thy soil the sons of heroes fell,

In those far ages which have left no trace

No sunbeam on the pathway of their nice?

Though, haply, in the unrecorded days

Of kings and chiefs, who pass’d without their praise,

Thou might’st have rear’d the valiant and the free,

In history’s page there is no tale of thee.

Yet hast thou thy memorials. On the wild

Still rise the cairns of yore, all rudely piled,

But hallow’d by that instinct, which reveres

Things fraught with characters of elder years—

And such are these. Long centuries have flown,

Bow’d many a crest, and shattered many a throne.

* * * * * *

But still these nameless chronicles of death,

Midst the deep silence of the unpeopled heath,

Stand in primeval artlessness, and wear

The same sepulchral mien, and almost share

The eternity of nature.

A year after this society-printing and distribution, I received the following notes from the author relating to the poem on the Fall of Constantinople, which I also had the pleasure to arrange for her:—

“Bronwhylfa, St. Asaph, May 8th, 1823.

“Dear Sir,

“As I am ignorant of the proper medium of communication with the Royal Society of Literature, and am aware that you are one of its members, may I request you would do me the favour of making known to that society, in whatever manner you consider most expedient, that it is my intention to publish, without delay, a poem of mine,
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. 155
now in their hands, and originally written for the prize offered by them in 1821. The present season of the year being considered the most favourable for publication, I have been advised, on that account, no longer to wait the adjudgment of the prize. As I think it right that the society should be made acquainted with this without delay, it will be a satisfaction to me if you will have the kindness to inform me that it has been done. My poem, which is the one with a motto from Horace—‘Barbarus, heu! insistet victor, &c.,’ and another from Montesquieu, ‘Sous les derniers Empereurs, l’Empire, reduit aux faubourgs de Constantinople,’ &c, will be in the hands of Mr. Murray by the time you receive this.

“Should you be induced to visit this country in the course of the ensuing summer, I trust you will not pass St. Asaph without giving me an opportunity of assuring you that I am,

“Dear sir, very truly,
“Your obliged, &c,

“F. HEMANS.”

“Bronwhylfa, St. Asaph, May 19.

“Dear Sir,

“I feel particularly obliged by the kindness and consideration with which you have fulfilled the wishes I took the liberty of communicating to you, on the subject of my poem. It appears to me, however, that it would be taking an advantage hardly fair, of the permission to publish granted by the R. S. L., to leave the piece amongst those of the candidates for the offered prize, after laying it before the public. I had indeed imagined that the very request which the society have done me the favour to
156 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
grant, amounted to a withdrawal of my claim as a candidate. May I therefore still farther trouble you to procure for me the copy in the hands of the society (which, I conclude can be obtained on presenting the mottoes), and to do me the kindness of forwarding it to the address of Lieutenant-Colonel Browne, at L. Hesse’s, Esq., No. 6, Somerset House.

“I have requested Mr. Murray to transmit you a copy of the little volume immediately on its publication. You will, I hope, receive, and favour me by accepting it, in the course of a few days. I have called it the ‘Last Constantine,’ having seen a poem advertised some time ago, by the title of the ‘Fall of Constantinople.’

“When you next see my old friend with a new name, Mr. Dare, be so kind as to offer him my congratulations on his recent acquisition of property. With much esteem, believe me, Dear Sir,

“Your obliged servant,

“F. HEMANS.

“W. Jerdan, Esq.”

At last the Provisional Council finished its long and arduous task, and laid the results before his Majesty, as the Originator and Founder of “The Society for the Promotion of General Literature,” into which comprehensive formula all the various propositions, titles, alterations and amendments, were thus finally resolved. All the preceding motions, irregularly and desultorily brought forward (as I have described) and discussed at Council after Council on their insulated merits, without time and opportunity for weighing them with reference to the whole, were happily discarded, and the following official notification, under the sign manual, and addressed to the Bishop
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. 157
of St. Davids, testified to his Majesty’s unwearied love of literature, and patriotic desire to effect a royal and national association in its favour.

“G. R.

“Carlton Palace, 2nd June, 1823.

“My Lord,

“I am honoured with the commands of the King, to acquaint your Lordship, that his Majesty most entirely approves of the Constitution and Regulations of the Royal Society of Literature, as submitted by your Lordship.

“I have, &c.,

(Signed) W. KNIGHTON.”

This welcome intelligence having been laid before the Council, a general meeting of the Fellows was ordered to be summoned for the 17th, and this, the first public meeting, took place accordingly. The learned and excellent bishop, who, during all the period passed in maturing the plan agreeably to his Majesty’s direction, had acted as Provisional President, took the chair, and read an admirable address, in which he took a succinct but clear and complete view of the origin, present state, and future prospects of the society, upon which I need not dwell, having as well as I could, given an historical and anecdotical account of the royal intention, and the process by which it was brought to its existing establishment.

Under the patronage, and endowed by the munificence of the King, the institution was defined to be for the advancement of Literature, by 1, the publication of inedited remains of ancient literature, and of such works as may be of great intrinsic value, but not of that popular character which usually claims the attention of publishers; by 2, the promotion of discoveries in literature; by 3, endeavours to
158 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
fix the standard, as far as is practicable, and to preserve the purity of our language, by the critical improvement of our lexicography; by 4, the reading, at public meetings, of interesting papers on history, philosophy, poetry, philology, and the arts; and the publication of such of those papers as shall be approved of, in the Society’s Transactions; by 5, the assigning of honorary rewards to works of great literary merit, and to important discoveries in literature; and by 6, establishing a correspondence with learned men in foreign countries, for the purposes of literary inquiry and information.

Such was the original scope of the society, with a grant of eleven hundred guineas annually from the Crown, and its own fund of donations and subscriptions, to defray the charges. Before going farther, I shall briefly notice the results of this programme, as the society has been able to realise it, with, unquestionably, very liberal support from many members, but without that adhesion of numbers which alone could have done justice to the entire system.

1. As yet in embryo. The late Dr. Richards, however, bequeathed a legacy of 5000l. to the society for the execution of this object. Owing to private circumstances, the legacy, reduced to one-third, about 16501., was only recovered last year, and it is thought must accumulate with interest before any work worthy of the society can be undertaken. [In my humble opinion, it ought to be acted upon directly to the extent of its supply.] The publication of two sterling volumes, entitled “Biographia Britannica Literaria,” ably edited by Mr. Thomas Wright, does not come exactly within the terms of this bequest, and is the only separate work that has been issued by the society; though a second
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. 159
volume of the “Hieroglyphics,” begun for the Egyptian Society by Dr. Young, has also been produced.

2. Almost an entire blank.

3. An expensive design, and beyond the means of the society. Yet, as Todd, the editor of “Johnson’s Dictionary,” presented to it all his valuable and lexicographical collection,* it may still be hoped, that, possessed of such materials and a large body of useful accessories, this grand branch of the pristine plan may, at some future period, be brought into operation.

4. Regularly carried on, and the source of many very learned and admirable papers. On Egyptian, and, latterly, Assyrian antiquities, the communications have been remarkably interesting; and a list of the contributors would at once prove that they could not be otherwise. Hallam, W. Hamilton, Col. Leake, Sir G. Wilkinson, Mr. Birch, of the British Museum, Mr. Bonomi, Dr. P. Colquhoun, Mr. John Hogg, the late Isaac Cullimore, Dr. Hincks, the late Granville Penn, Sharon Turner, Sir W. Ouseley, Archdeacon Nares, Mr. Millingen, Sir W. Gell, Henry Holland, W. Osburn, Sir C. Fellowes, Mr. Layard, Colonel Rawlinson, Colonel Mure, W. S. W. Vaux, J. P. Collier, J. Landseer, G. Burges, and a host of other distinguished authors and literary antiquaries (not to swell the catalogue with foreign scholars), have thrown much light upon many curious and long-vexed inquiries.

5. During the life of the founder, George IV., ten royal associates were endowed with a permanent honorarium of one hundred guineas each, and every year two splendid gold medals were voted by the Council to men most eminent in the pursuits of literature. On the death of his
* Prince Hoare also was a great benefactor to the library, which now contains many standard and some rare works.

160 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Majesty, this munificent source of distinction ceased. King William IV. intimated that he was too poor, and had too many nearer claims upon the Privy Purse to admit of this deduction, and the royal endowment came to an unexpected and painful close. Several of the royal associates, the recipients of the pension (if I may so call the tribute to their deserts, accompanied by a pecuniary revenue), had been taught to rely upon it as a certainty; and I was aware that to some inconveniency, amounting to distress, was the consequence of this sudden stoppage of income. I have mentioned my slight acquaintance with Lord Melbourne, and the cuff he bestowed upon me; and I record it, as an honour to his memory, that he renewed our intercourse to ascertain through me how parties were affected by this change; and when I represented the particular hardships to him, provided the same amount from other sources of national disbursement.

6. Has not perhaps been carried out to the extent which a very wealthy and flourishing institution, especially when fresh and young, might desire; but, in this respect, it is gratifying to have to state that, with the accession of new and active members, there is a manifest improvement going on, and a much wider intercommunication with foreign literati likely to be concerted.

The management of the society’s affairs was, at this meeting, vested in the Bishop of St. Davids, as President; as Vice-presidents, the Bishop of Chester, the Lord Chief Justice, the Right Hon. J. C. Villiers, the Hon. G. Agar Ellis, Sir Gore Ouseley, Sir James Macintosh, Archdeacon Nares, and Colonel Leake; Council, Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord Grenville, Lord Morpeth, Sir T. Acland, F. Chantrey, Taylor Combe, Rev. G. Croly, James Cumming, W. Empson, Rev. Dr. Gray, Prince Hoare, W. Jerdan, Archdeacon Prosser, Rev. Dr. Richards, and Rev. C. Sumner (now
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Bishop of Winchester); treasurer, A. E. Impey; librarian, Rev. H. H. Baber; secretary, Rev. R. Cattermole.

In the ensuing season, early in November, the council re-assembled; the business of the society advanced, and its strength and prosperity increased.

I have a little way back put the word “Fellows” into italics, in order that I may mention one of our formative dilemmas. We wanted a name by which to designate our members, as other societies had their capital letters, F.R.S., F.S.A., M.R.A., &c., &c.; and it was almost, if not altogether, ludicrous, but gave us much trouble at the time, that the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Antiquaries formally protested against our additions exhibiting the distinguishing letters which they employed to designate a Fellow, and the Royal Academy objected to our having an M., which pertained to them to designate Members. We had a deal of correspondence on the subject, and how we were to be permitted to range our P’s and Q’s, or rather our F’s, M’s, R’s, and S’s, became a matter of grave consideration. I forget how the difficulty was overcome; but I think it was by adding an L. to the literal measure, and swelling ourselves into the four letters, M. R. S. L.

The “Literary Gazette,” I need hardly say, had been from the first a hearty supporter of the plan, and became its demi-official organ; and in this course it published a report of a meeting of primary importance, in its No. 374, March 20, 1824. In this, however, a mistake occurred, in describing the appointment of the Royal Associates as proceeding from a carte blanche given to the Council by the Sovereign; upon which I received the annexed letter from the President, which shows his great anxiety to have nothing misunderstood regarding the society:—

“The more I consider the account of the carte blanche expressly signified to the Council by the King, and his expressed will, that no party or political feelings should be permitted to have the slightest influence in the proceedings of the society, the more I am concerned at the incorrectness (to say the least of it) of such a representation. The only carte blanche which the King gave was to me, and it certainly expressed no such direction. If the King should see this account, he must think I have abused his confidence. In the two letters under the sign manual, which are the only public expressions of his will, there are not the slightest intimations respecting party or politics. I am really anxious on my own account, as well as the Society’s, that this misconstruction of the King’s authority should be set right, which I hope the letter of ‘Chartophylax’ will do

“I am, dear Sir, yours very truly,

“T. ST. DAVIDS.”

This correction was inserted in the “Literary Gazette,” No. 375, and the Royal Associates elected under the proper authority appeared as follows:—S. T. Coleridge, Rev. E. Davies (Celtic Researches, Mythology, &c.); Dr. John Jamieson, Edinburgh; T. R. Malthus; T. J. Matthias; J. Millingen; Sir W. Ouseley; W. Roscoe; Todd, editor of “Johnson’s Dictionary;” and Sharon Turner;—a list I believe unanimously approved of by the public and literary world.

The honorary members elected at the same period gave equal satisfaction, as evincing the absence of all little or
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. 163
party feelings in the selection. Alison, the historian, Bishop Gleig, Von Hammer, Archhishop Magee, Angelo Mai, Sir John Malcolm, W. Mitford, J. Rennell, H. Salt, W. A. Von Schlegel, Sir G. Staunton, Dr. Thomas Young, and Dr. C. Wilkins, are names that could hardly be surpassed in the sphere of contemporary literature; and I may add, as an amusing fact, that at a later date the good orthodox Bishop of St. Davids moved, and I seconded, the nomination of a certain scholarly M. Wiseman, little foreseeing that he would become a Cardinal, and the greatest Roman Catholic authority in England. It is almost enough to stir my venerated old friend in his tomb. As for myself, I read the name, still on the honorary list, with becoming equanimity.

Meetings at which a number of the celebrated persons I have named in these pages were usually present, possessed great interest; and there were also, at various times, connected with the society, as honorary associates, as well as honorary members, Dr. Rees, Professor Lee, Mr. Duppa, Mr. Fosbrooke, Lisle Bowles, B. Barton, Dr. Lingard, Dr. G. Miller, James Rennell, Dugald Stewart, G. Crabbe, Archdeacon Coxe, A. Roscoe, Washington Irving, T. Mitchell, James Montgomery, P. F. Tytler, the Chevalier Bunsen, Dr. Lepsius, G. P. R. James, Dawson Turner, and many more who have enriched our literature in every class. That the society was steered clear of party or sectarian prejudices need not be asserted after the contemplation of such a list of men of every description of political and religious opinion; but, if farther proof were wanted, it would be supplied by the names of the fourteen individuals who were honoured with the gold medals during the seven years, from 1824 to 1830, in which the bounty of George IV. was expended upon these distinctions, viz., W. Mitford and Angelo Mai, James Rennell and C. Wilkins, Professor Schweighreuser
164 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
and Dugald Stewart, Sir W. Scott and R. Southey, George Crabbe and Archdeacon Coxe, W. Roscoe and Baron Silvestre de Lacy, Washington Irving and Henry Hallam.

From the period of the second anniversary, when the President delivered another eloquent address, any small portion of research may trace the future history of the Society; and therefore I may consistently finish my sketch of its origin and earliest proceedings here. That I claim some credit and feel considerable pride in the share I took in its formation, of which I can truly say quorum pars magna fui, and deem a prominent event in my literary life, I have no wish to conceal; for it is not amiss to affirm the insufficiently appreciated fact, that when a man engaged in literary pursuits devotes his precious time to the public cause, he is contributing much more, both in substance and assistance, than the noble or wealthy who subscribe even munificently for its benefit. For thirty-two years I have not slackened in any zeal for the promotion of the design, whose birth I witnessed and whose prosperity I aided, out of the council-room and the committees on papers for publication, by personal exertions to augment its numbers and procure the co-operation of powerful allies. That I was very successful in both ways the list of living members still bears testimony (though, alas, the list of the departed would be more demonstrative); and when I add that two of the future presidents were introduced through me, namely, Lord Dover, and the Earl of Ripon, I need scarcely refer to the Duke of Rutland, Earl of Munster, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Lord Farnborough, Lord Chief Baron Pollock, and others, whom it was my good fortune to enrol among the friends of the institution. I append the note of Lord Ripon (then Lord Goderich) on his election, as he afterwards did so much to advance the welfare of the society, and as the allusion at
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its close may demand some observations, as connected with another hardly less important but far less known affair, in which the press was intimately concerned.

“Pembroke House, March 9.

“Dear Sir,

“Will you do me the favour to let me know to whom I am to address myself upon the subject of my election to be a member of the Royal Society of Literature. I have received a communication respecting it, but I have mislaid the letter, and know not to whom or where the answer ought to be sent.

“I think your idea about ‘Truth’ a very good one, and will talk to Mr. Ellis about it.

“I remain, dear sir,
“Very faithfully yours,

“GODERICH.”

In all the Bishop of St. Davids’ (afterwards Salisbury) proceedings and addresses I was gratified by being usefully and confidentially employed; and the more so because in all my experience of mankind I never knew a character superior to his. In London and at Abergwilly I had opportunities for studying him closely, and for scholarship, humanity, and Christianity, I never met his equal. He was indeed the good Samaritan, the man without guile, the Protestant prelate of purest apostolic principles. His charity was only limited by his means to bestow, and hardly by that, and his very strong orthodoxy was often dissolved in a tide of liberality in which the great ingredient was nearly lost. A more simple-minded, sincere, virtuous, and pious being never adorned creation. I trust I may be forgiven the addition of a few brief notes, to show the terms on which I
166 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
had the happiness to live for many years with this exemplary man. I preface them with one from Prince Hoare:—

“Thursday, Norfolk-street.

“Dear Sir,

“The Bishop of St. Davids is very desirous of reading to the Council on Thursday, your first announcement of the R. S. L. in the ‘Literary Gazette.’ Can you conveniently favour him with it on Thursday?

“Yours, with regard,

“P. HOARE.”

“Dear Sir,

“I have here sent you the title, &c., of the tract which has been advertised in the ‘Literary Gazette.’ In the last page of the enclosed you will find a reference to the Address to the Royal Society of Literature, which I shall not advertise publicly till it has been printed.

“Yours very truly,

“T. SARUM.”

“Dear Sir,

“You will of course prefix to the enclosed some reason for printing the entire Anniversary Discourse, instead of the epitome, and state that it has been done with my consent. It was my intention to publish the Discourse as a tract; but, for the present, I shall be content with the wider circulation which the ‘Literary Gazette’ will give to its contents, than could have been done in the form of a tract. Yours very truly,

“T. SARUM.”

“Dear Sir,

“I was truly concerned to hear of your severe accident, and I hope that you will be soon a convalescent. I sent a copy of our Address to Colonel Fitzclarence,
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and received yesterday evening an answer from him, which I shall lay hefore a meeting of the Council on Monday. With best wishes for your perfect recovery,

“I am, dear sir, yours very truly,

“T. SARUM.”

“Dear Sir,

“I leave London next week, and should be glad to have my Anniversary Discourse on Monday, that I may commit it to the press, so as to get a proof or two before I leave London.

Yours very truly,

“T. SARUM.”

The last I shall quote is amusing, as referring to Mr. Davies:—

“Dear Sir,

“Your compositor has succeeded much better than I expected. There is one droll erratum—Cellar Researches, instead of Celtic Researches—the author having been one of the most abstemious men in the world.

“Yours very truly,

“T. SARUM.”

I have only to add, that the commodious house now occupied by the Royal Society of Literature, in St. Martin’s Place, was indebted for its building to liberal voluntary subscriptions from leading members; and that the Society is now flourishing under the presidency of the Earl of Carlisle, with the able assistance of Lord Colborne, Lord Clarendon, the Lord Chief Baron, Sir John Boileau, Mr. Hallam, Col. Leake, Dr. Spry, Mr. Wm. Tooke, Mr. B. Botfield, Sir John Doratt, Mr. B. Austen, Mr. Teed, &c., amongst its Vice-presidents and Council. Esto perpetua!

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William Empson (1791-1852) Educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge, he succeeded Sir James Mackintosh as professor of law at the East India College, Haileybury. He wrote for the Edinburgh Review, of which he became editor in 1847.

Sir Charles Fellows (1799-1860) Archaeologist in Asia Minor; he published An Account of Discoveries in Lycia (1841) and was knighted in 1845.

Lord George Augustus Frederick Fitzclarence, first earl of Munster (1794-1842) The eldest illegitimate son of William, duke of Clarence and Dorothy Jordan; he served in India prior to his death by suicide, unreconciled to his illegitimate status.

Henry Petty- Fitzmaurice, third marquess of Lansdowne (1780-1863) The son of Lord Shelburne (1737-1805); he was a Whig peer, chancellor of the exchequer (1806), and President of the Council (1830).

Thomas Dudley Fosbroke (1770-1842) English poet and antiquary educated at St. Paul's School and Pembroke College, Oxford; he was a regular contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine and published British Monachism, or, Manners and Customs of the Monks and Nuns of England (1802).

Sir William Gell (1777-1836) English traveler and archaeologist; author of the Topography of Troy (1804), Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca (1807), the Itinerary of Greece, with a Commentary on Pausanias (1810), Itinerary of the Morea (1817), Narrative of a Journey in the Morea (1823), and Itinerary of Greece (1827).

King George IV of Great Britain (1762-1830) Prince Regent (1811-20) and King of Great Britain (1820-1830).

George Gleig, bishop of Brechin (1753-1840) Educated at King's College, Aberdeen, he contributed to the Monthly Review, Gentleman's Magazine, British Critic, and Anti-Jacobin Review; he was Episcopal bishop of Brechin (1810-40).

Robert Gray, bishop of Bristol (1762-1834) Educated at Eton and St Mary Hall, Oxford, he was patronized by Shute Barrington; as bishop of Bristol (1827) he was an opponent of parliamentary reform.

William Wyndham Grenville, baron Grenville (1759-1834) Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he was a moderate Whig MP, foreign secretary (1791-1801), and leader and first lord of the treasury in the “All the Talents” ministry (1806-1807). He was chancellor of Oxford University (1810).

Sir Henry Halford, first baronet (1766-1844) The second son of James Vaughan MD of Leicester; a court physician, he was created baronet in 1814 and was president of the College of Physicians (1820-1844).

Henry Hallam (1777-1859) English historian and contributor to the Edinburgh Review, author of Introduction to the Literature of Europe, 4 vols (1837-39) and other works. He was the father of Tennyson's Arthur Hallam.

William Richard Hamilton (1777-1859) British diplomat who superintended the removal of the Elgin Marbles and trustee of the British Museum; author of Memoir on the Subject of the Earl of Elgin's Pursuits in Greece (1811).

Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall (1774-1856) Austrian diplomat and oriental scholar; he was an honorary member of the Royal Society of Literature.

Felicia Dorothea Hemans [née Browne] (1793-1835) English poet; author of Tales, and Historic Scenes (1819), Records of Woman (1828), and other volumes. She was much in demand as a contributor to the literary annuals.

Edward Hincks (1792-1866) Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he was librarian, Egyptologist, and rector of Killyleagh, co. Down.

Prince Hoare (1755-1834) English painter and playwright; he was the author of a popular farce, No Song, No Supper (1790) and was appointed honorary foreign secretary to the Royal Academy.

John Hogg (1800-1869) The younger brother of Thomas Jefferson Hogg; educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, he was a classical scholar, antiquary, and naturalist.

Sir Henry Holland, first baronet (1788-1873) English physician and frequenter of Holland House, the author of Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, Thessaly, Macedonia etc. during 1812 and 1813 (1814) and Recollections of Past Life (1872). His second wife, Saba, was the daughter of Sydney Smith.

Homer (850 BC fl.) Poet of the Iliad and Odyssey.

Horace (65 BC-8 BC) Roman lyric poet; author of Odes, Epistles, Satires, and the Ars Poetica.

George Howard, sixth earl of Carlisle (1773-1848) Son of the fifth earl (d. 1825); he was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, wrote for the Anti-Jacobin, and was MP for Morpeth (1795-1806) and Cumberland (1806-28).

George William Frederick Howard, seventh earl of Carlisle (1802-1864) Son of the sixth earl (d. 1848); educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he was MP, poet, statesman, and cabinet-member under Melbourne and Russell, and viceroy of Ireland (1855-58 and 1859-64).

Archibald Elijah Impey (1766-1831) The illegitimate son of Sir Elijah Impey; he was educated at Westminster, Trinity College, Cambridge, and the Inner Temple, from which he was called to the bar.

Washington Irving [Geoffrey Crayon] (1783-1859) American writer living in England in 1815, where he made his reputation with The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent (1820).

King James VI and I (1566-1625) King of Scotland (1567-1625) and England (1603-1625).

George Payne Rainsford James (1801-1860) English novelist and historiographer royal to William IV; he published Richelieu (1829) and Philip Augustus (1831).

John Jamieson (1759-1838) Scottish clergyman and antiquary educated at Glasgow University; he published Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, 2 vols (1808).

William Jerdan (1782-1869) Scottish journalist who for decades edited the Literary Gazette; he was author of Autobiography (1853) and Men I have Known (1866).

Sir William Knighton, first baronet (1776-1836) Royal physician and secretary to George IV; in 1822 he succeeded Sir Benjamin Bloomfield as keeper of the privy purse.

William Lamb, second viscount Melbourne (1779-1848) English statesman, the son of Lady Melbourne (possibly by the third earl of Egremont) and husband of Lady Caroline Lamb; he was a Whig MP, prime minister (1834-41), and counsellor to Queen Victoria.

John Landseer (1769-1852) English painter, engraver, and archaeologist; he lectured at the Royal Institution in 1806. He was the father of Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-73).

George Henry Law, bishop of Bath and Wells (1761-1845) The son of Edmund Law (1703-1787), bishop of Carlisle; he was educated at Charterhouse and Queen's College, Cambridge and was bishop of Chester (1812-24) and bishop of Bath and Wells (1824-45).

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894) The excavator of Nineveh, afterwards a Liberal MP.

William Martin Leake (1777-1860) The British envoy to Ali Pasha in Albania; author of, among other titles, Researches in Greece (1814), Travels in the Morea, 3 vols (1830) and Travels in Northern Greece, 4 vols (1835).

Samuel Lee (1783-1852) Shropshire autodidact who having taught himself Greek and Hebrew attended Queen's College Cambridge and became professor of Arabic (1819-31) and regius professor of Hebrew (1831-48).

Karl Richard Lepsius (1810-1884) Prussian archaeologist who made an expedition to Egypt with Champollion in 1828-1829, and another in 1842-46.

John Lingard (1771-1851) Roman Catholic historian, educated at Duoai; he published History of England (1819-30).

Charles Long, baron Farnborough (1760-1838) Tory politician, connoisseur, and advisor to George IV on matters of taste; he was paymaster general 1807-26, and raised to the peerage in 1826.

Sir James Mackintosh (1765-1832) Scottish philosopher and man of letters who defended the French Revolution in Vindiciae Gallicae (1791); he was Recorder of Bombay (1803-1812) and MP for Knaresborough (1819-32).

William Magee, archbishop of Dublin (1766-1831) Orthodox theologian educated at Trinity College, Dublin; he was archbishop of Dublin (1822-31).

Cardinal Angelo Mai (1782-1854) Italian Jesuit and classical scholar who became Cardinal in 1838; he was an honorary member of the Royal Society of Literature.

Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) Indian administrator and diplomat; author of Political History of India (1811); his life of Clive was posthumously published in 1836.

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) English political economist educated at Jesus College, Cambridge; he was author of An Essay on the Principles of Population (1798; 1803).

John Henry Manners, fifth duke of Rutland (1778-1857) Tory peer, the son of the fourth duke whom he succeeded in 1787; in 1799 Rutland married Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Earl of Carlisle.

Thomas James Mathias (1755-1835) English satirist, the anonymous author of Pursuits of Literature (1794-98) and editor of The Works of Thomas Gray, 2 vols (1814). From 1817 he lived in Italy, where he translated classic English poets into Italian.

George Miller (1764-1848) Irish clergyman and headmaster of the Royal School, Armagh from 1817; he published Lectures on the Philosophy of Modern History (1816-28).

James Millingen (1774-1845) Educated at Westminster, he worked at the French mint and became an authority on coins and antiquities based in Paris and Italy; he was the father of Julius Millingen, physician at Missolonghi.

Thomas Mitchell (1783-1845) Son of a riding master; after study at Christ's Hospital and Pembroke College, Cambridge; Mitchell worked as a tutor for Thomas Hope, wrote for the Examiner and Quarterly Review, and translated Aristophanes.

William Mitford (1744-1827) English historian, author of The History of Greece, 5 vols (1784-1818) and other works.

James Montgomery (1771-1854) English poet and editor of the Sheffield Iris (1795-1825); author of The Wanderer of Switzerland (1806) and The World before the Flood (1813).

William Mure (1799-1860) Classical scholar, educated at Westminster School, at the University of Edinburgh; he published in the Edinburgh Review and Quarterly Review.

John Murray II (1778-1843) The second John Murray began the Quarterly Review in 1809 and published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.

Robert Nares (1753-1829) Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, he was editor of the British Critic from 1793 and keeper of manuscripts in the British Museum.

William Osburn (1793-1875) Egyptologist and secretary of the Leeds Philosophical Society.

Sir Gore Ouseley, first baronet (1770-1844) He was ambassador to Persia (1812), privy councilor (1820), and president of the Oriental Translation Committee (1842).

Sir William Ouseley (1767-1842) The brother of, and secretary to, Sir Gore Ouseley; he published Travels in Various Countries of the East, more particularly Persia, 3 vols (1819-23).

Granville Penn (1761-1844) Of Stoke Park, grandson of William Penn; he was a close friend of Henry James Pye and the author of theological works.

Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock, first baronet (1783-1870) The son of a saddler, he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was MP for Huntingdon (1831-44); he succeeded Lord Abinger as lord chief baron of the exchequer in 1844.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet and satirist; author of The Rape of the Lock (1714) and The Dunciad (1728).

Richard Prosser (1747-1839) Educated at Balliol College, Oxford he was patronized by Shute Barrington, who appointed him archdeacon of Durham in 1808.

Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, first baronet (1810-1895) An agent of the East India Company, he became a scholar of Assyrian inscriptions and conservative MP for Reigate and Frome (1858-68).

Abraham Rees (1743-1825) Presbyterian minister, tutor at New College, Hackney, and editor of The New Cyclopaedia, or, Universal Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences (1802-1820).

James Rennell (1742-1830) English cartographer who published his Bengal Atlas in 1779.

George Richards (1767-1837) English poet and clergyman who gained much attention with his Oxford prize-poem The Aboriginal Britons (1791).

Nicholas Ridley-Colborne, first baron Colborne (1779-1854) The son of Sir Matthew White Ridley, he was for Bletchingley (1805-06), Malmesbury (1806-07), Appleby (1807-12), Thetford (1818-26), Horsham (1827-32), and Wells (1834-1837).

Frederick John Robinson, first earl of Ripon (1782-1859) Educated at Harrow and St. John's College, Cambridge, he was a Tory MP for Carlow (1806-07) and Ripon (1807-27), Chancellor of the Exchequer (1823-27), and prime minister (1827-28) in succession to Canning.

William Roscoe (1753-1831) Historian, poet, and man of letters; author of Life of Lorenzo di Medici (1795) and Life and Pontificate of Leo X (1805). He was Whig MP for Liverpool (1806-1807) and edited the Works of Pope, 10 vols (1824).

Henry Salt (1780-1827) Traveller, FRS, and Egyptologist; he published A Voyage to Abyssinia (1814) and other works.

August Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767-1845) German scholar, critic, and translator of Shakespeare.

Johann Schweighäuser (1742-1830) Classicist and professor of philosophy and Greek at the University of Strasbourg.

Sir Walter Scott, baronet (1771-1832) Scottish poet, novelist, antiquary, biographer, editor, and sheriff.

Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher; author of Persian Letters (1721) and The Spirit of the Laws (1748).

Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (1758-1838) French linguist and orientalist; he published Exposé de la religion des Druzes, 2 vols (1838).

Charles Augustin Smith (d. 1869) Of Groom's Hill, Greenwich, solicitor and member of the Royal Literary Society.

Robert Southey (1774-1843) Poet laureate and man of letters whose contemporary reputation depended upon his prose works, among them the Life of Nelson, 2 vols (1813), History of the Peninsular War, 3 vols (1823-32) and The Doctor, 7 vols (1834-47).

John Hume Spry (1777 c.-1854) Educated at Winchester and Oriel College, Oxford, he was a Bampton lecturer (1816) and minister of Christ Church, Birmingham, rector of St. Marylebourn, and prebendary of Canterbury (1828).

Sir George Thomas Staunton, second baronet (1781-1859) Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was chief of the East India Company's factory at Canton and MP for St. Michael (1818-26), Heytesbury (1830-32), South Hampshire (1832-34), and Portsmouth (1838-52).

Dugald Stewart (1753-1828) Professor of moral philosophy at Edinburgh University (1785-1809); he was author of Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind (1792-93).

Charles Richard Sumner, bishop of Winchester (1790-1874) The younger brother of John Bird Sumner, archbishop of Canterbury; he was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge; he was bishop of Llandaff and dean of St. Paul's (1826) and bishop of Winchester (1827).

John Godfrey Teed (1794-1871) Of Gray's Inn; he was judge of the Lincoln County Court, a Queen's Counsellor, and a member of the Royal Society of Literature.

Sir Matthew John Tierney, first baronet (1776-1845) Irish-born physician whose practice in Brighton led to his appointment as a royal physician.

Henry John Todd (1763-1845) English clergyman and antiquary; he edited the Works of Milton, 6 vols (1801), and the Works of Spenser, 8 vols (1805).

William Tooke (1777-1863) Son of the Russian historian of the same name; a London solicitor, he was a founder of University College, London, active in the Royal Society for Literature, and MP for Truro (1832-37). He contributed to the New Monthly Magazine and Gentleman's Magazine. Charles Knight described him as “kind-hearted man of moderate abilities—somewhat fussy.”

Dawson Turner (1775-1858) Of Yarmouth, banker, botanist, and antiquary; he published The Botanist's Guide through England and Wales, 2 vols (1805) and other works.

Sharon Turner (1768-1847) Attorney, historian, and writer for the Quarterly Review; he wrote History of the Anglo-Saxons, 4 vols (1799-1805).

Patrick Fraser Tytler (1791-1849) Sottish barrister, son of Alexander Fraser Tytler; he published The Life of the Admirable Crichton (1819), History of Scotland (1828-43), and other works.

Abraham John Valpy (1787-1854) Son of the Reading schoolmaster Richard Valpy, he was a London printer who specialized in classical texts. With the poet George Dyer he published 141 volumes of Delphin classics (1819-30).

William Sandys Wright Vaux (1818-1885) The son of William Vaux, prebendary of Winchester, he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and was keeper of coins and medals at the British Museum.

George William Frederick Villiers, fourth earl of Clarendon (1800-1870) The son of George Villiers (1759–1827); educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, he was lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1847-52) and foreign minister (1853-58, 1865-66, and 1868-70).

John Charles Villiers, third earl of Clarendon (1757-1838) Younger son of the first earl of the second creation; he was envoy to the Portuguese court (1808-1810) and was MP for Old Sarum (1784-90), Dartmouth (1790-1802), Tain burghs (1802-05), and Queenborough (1807-12, 1820-24); he succeeded his brother in 1824.

Sir Charles Wilkins (1749-1836) Sanskrit scholar, translator, and friend of Sir William Jones.

Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797-1875) Egyptologist, author of Topography of Thebes and General View of Egypt (1835) and other works.

William IV, king of Great Britain (1765-1837) Son of George III, who succeeded his brother as King of England (1830-37).

Cardinal Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (1802-1865) Roman Catholic clergyman educated at the English College in Rome; he was archbishop of Westminster and cardinal (1850).

Thomas Wright (1810-1877) English antiquary and editor for the Camden and Percy societies; among the earlier of his many publications was Queen Elizabeth and her Times (1838).

Thomas Yeates (1768-1839) Scholar of oriental languages educated at All Souls College, Oxford; he was patronized by Bishop Thomas Burgess, who appointed him secretary of the Royal Society of Literature (1821), and assistant in the British Museum's printed book department (1823).

Thomas Young (1773-1829) English physician, naturalist, and Egyptologist; he was foreign secretary to the Royal Society (1802-09). He was a frequent contributor to the Quarterly Review.

Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, etc. (1817-1862). Edited by William Jerdan to 1850, the Literary Gazette was the most successful of the weekly literary newspapers.

The Fall of Constantinople: a Poem. 3 vols (London: S. Prowett, 1823). In the preface to his Visions of Taste (1823) the author announces that his signature “David Douglas” is a pseudonym.

Felicia Dorothea Hemans [née Browne] (1793-1835) Dartmoor; a Poem: which obtained the Prize of Fifty Guineas proposed by the Royal Society of Literature. (London: J. Brettell, 1821).

Felicia Dorothea Hemans [née Browne] (1793-1835) “The Last Constantine” in The Siege of Valencia: a Dramatic Poem; The Last Constantine: with other Poems. (London: John Murray, 1823). In Spenserian stanzas.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) A Dictionary of the English language: in which the Words are deduced from their Originals, and illustrated in their different Significations by Examples from the best Writers. 2 (London: J. and P. Knapton; T. and T. Longman, 1755). A new edition edited by Henry John Todd was published in 1818.

Thomas Wright (1810-1877) Biographia Britannica Literaria; or, Biography of Literary Characters of Great Britain and Ireland, arranged in Chronological Order. 2 vols (London: J. W. Parker, 1842-1846). Only two volumes appeared.

INFORMATION FROM TEI HEADER

Source Description:

Author: Jerdan, William, 1782-1869

Title: The Autobiography of William Jerdan. 4 vols (London: Arthur Hall, Vertue & Co., 1852-53).

Electronic Edition:

Series: Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org

Encoding Description: Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed. Obvious and unambiguous compositors’ errors have been silently corrected.

Markup and editing by: David Hill Radcliffe

Completed June 2010

Publication Statement:

Publisher: Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Tech

Availability: Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License