Memoir of the Rev. George Crabbe. himself had a predilection, as well as his father for mathematics; and he made considerable proficiency in the pursuit. After leaving this latter school, George was placed as a surgeon's apprentice at WickhamBrook; but as this situation was not a very desirable one, he left it, and concluded his apprentice. ship with a Mr. Page, surgeon at Woodbridge, a market-town about seventeen miles from Aldborough. Here he met with society congenial to his own disposition, and was by this means introduced to Miss Sarah Elmy, who afterwards became his wife. Notwithstanding that he here applied him. self with energy to the studies necessary to a knowledge of his intended profession, he was often beguiled into the more flowery fields of poesy, and contributed numerous pieces to the Lady's Magazine, a periodical of some repute at that period. Ir the humorous observation of Addison were founded in fact, that a reader seldom peruses a book with pleasure "till he knows whether the writer of it be a black or fair man-of a mild or choleric disposition,—with other particulars of the like nature," we should be in a state of some apprehension, since the Rev. George Crabbe, the celebrated author of the poems a new edition of which we here present to the public, has, from the modesty and retiredness of his life, furnished but few biographical particulars to be developed to an admiring world. Unlike so many others of his genus, he never intermeddled in the turmoils of politics, or mingled in the intrigues of fashion. He was, in his manners and feelings, a child of nature; though a savant in her dispositions and her laws. Contented with keeping the “noiseless tenor of his way," with the approbation of his conscience and the approval of his God,-he was willing to allow some to be the idol of the factious, About the end of the year 1775, Mr. Crabbe's and others to fawn at the footstool of power;-term of apprenticeship expired, and he returned satisfied himself with being admired as a poetrevered as a divine,—and respected as a man. Our poet was born at Aldborough, on the coast of Suffolk, England, on the Christmas eve of 1754. His father held the station of salt-master, or collector of the salt duties, and was a man of strong intellect, vigorous habits of business, and a remarkable faculty of calculation. Early in his boyhood, as soon, indeed, as he had learned to read, young Crabbe manifested a strong inclination towards books of all kinds; and he perused with eagerness every thing that came within his reach, especially if it were a work of fiction and romance, or treated of witches, fairies, and ghosts. But he particularly delighted in verse, and began at a very early period to imitate the humble specimens of poetry which were then accessible to him. His father observed this bookish disposition, and although he had no higher views for the boy than that of following his own example, and being employed in some inferior department of the revenue service, he resolved to send George to a school at Bungay, on the borders of Norfolk.Here he remained for a short time, and was then removed to a school at Stowmarket, kept by a skilful mathematician named Haddon. The boy to his native village, with the hope of finding means of finishing his professional education in London. But his father's circumstances did not permit the necessary expenditure, and the youthful aspirant was compelled to labour in the drudgery of the public warehouse wherein his parent's du ties were performed. This was in the highest degree unpleasant to young Crabbe; and the irksomeness of his situation was increased by an unhappy change in the habits of his father, who had become a politician, a tavern-haunter, and a domestic tyrant. Mr. Crabbe, at this period, devoted such leisure time as was at his disposal, to the study of botany, and the advancement of his professional knowledge; and if he still dallied with the muses, it was with the persuasion that this was not his main pursuit in the progress of life. At length, however, his father was able to afford some slight assistance, and the son journeyed to London with the view of walking the hospitals and profiting by the medical lectures. He remained in the metropolis about eight or ten months; but his means were inadequate to an effectual participation in the advantages which such a residence ordinarily affords to the student of medicine; and he was compelled once more to return to Aldborough. Crabbe now engaged himself as an assistant in the shop of a surgeon named Maskill. This man had an imperious temper, and Crabbe's situation was a most undesirable one. But he was content to submit for a while to ill-usage, for he felt the necessity of acquiring additional knowledge in his business. After a short time, Maskill removed from Aldborough, and Crabbe was encouraged to set up for himself in his native town. He was hardly qualified for his task, however, and his practice and emoluments were scanty enough. All this time, he improved his opportunities of acquaintance with Miss Elmy, and the young couple were understood to be affianced. But poverty barred the nuptials, and a dispassionate view of the future seemed scarcely to promise a removal of the impediment. Brooding over the profitless life he was leading in this secluded village, our poet at length formed the bold resolution of abandoning the medical profession, and pushing his fortune in the literary world of London. He was so poor, that he had not the means of defraying the expenses of the journey thither; and all his friends were as poor as himself. In this dilemma, he addressed a letter to Mr. Dudley North, asking the loan of a small sum. That gentleman kindly advanced him five pounds; and with this fund, Crabbe settled his affairs at Aldborough, and, embarking in a sloop at Slaughton, he sailed for the great city. He was at this time about 24 years of age. Upon his arrival in the metropolis, he took economical lodgings, and applied himself diligently to transcribing and correcting the poetical pieces he had brought with him from the country. But he applied to the publishers in vain: none of them would hazard print and paper on behalf of the unknown author. Crabbe now was soon reduced to a situation of great embarrassment and distress. He made written applications to several eminent individuals, but none would aid him, until, in an auspicious moment, he determined to address the illustrious Edmund Burke. That gentleman immediately appointed an interview, and judged so favourably of the young poet's character and attainments, that he immediately became his friend, took him to dwell in his own family, introduced him to the highest literary society of London, and assisted him in the publication of his “The Library" was issued in 1781; and its favourable reception was such as at once to establish the poetical reputation of the author. poems. Even the fastidious Dr. Johnson condescended to admire and commend, and indeed had lent the aid of his efficient revisal to the manuscript of the poem. Crabbe had long felt an inclination towards the clerical profession, and the powerful influence of his present friends soon enabled him to enter the Church as one of its ministers. He was admitted to deacon's orders by the Bishop of Norwich, and soon after left London to assume the duties of a curate at his native village of Aldborough. Mr. Crabbe retained this post only for a few months. The untiring friendship of Mr. Burke obtained for him the more advantageous situation of domestic chaplain to the Duke of Rutland ; and Mr. Crabbe took up his residence, of course, at Belvoir Castle. In 1783, our author again ventured before the public, in his " Village," which met with the most decided success, and materially enhanced Mr. Crabbe's poetical reputation. His altered prospects never in the least degree influenced his habits or demeanour;-these continued to be characterized by the same simplicity and equanimity which marked the penniless student, and the rejected candidate for publication. It was now deemed expedient that Mr. Crabbe should have a university degree; and his name was accordingly entered on the boards of Trinity College, Cambridge. Soon after this, the Chancellor Thurlow bestowed upon him the small liv. ings of Frome St. Quintin, and Evershot, in Dorsetshire; and Mr. Crabbe obtained, at the same time, from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the degree of LL. B. When the Duke of Rutland went to Ireland as lord-lieutenant, Mr. Crabbe did not accompany him;-for the time had arrived when he could, without incurring the imputation of imprudence, offer his hand to the long-beloved Miss Elmy. The marriage took place in December 1783, and the wedded couple took possession of apartments in Belvoir Castle, which had been kindly tendered by the Duke, on his departure from England. But from various causes, it was found that a residence here was not desirable; and, before a year and a half had elapsed, Mr. Crabbe removed to the neighbouring parsonage of Stathern. He here spent four of the happiest years of his life, and in this period became the father of four children, two of whom only (George and John) grew to matu. rity. In 1785, Mr. Crabbe again appeared as a poet, and published "The Newspaper," which received MEMOIR OF THE REV. GEO. CRABBE. vii the same emphatic approval which had attended | supposed to have derived considerable advantage In October, 1787, the Duke of Rutland died, somewhat suddenly, in Dublin, and his widow, returning to Belvoir, was not forgetful of her husband's protegé. She procured from the Chancellor the exchange of the two inconsiderable livings held by Mr. Crabbe, for the more important ones of Muston in Leicestershire, and Allington in Lincolnshire. In February, 1789, he removed, with his family, to the parsonage of Muston. In addition to their intrinsic merit, they will be deemed, by kindred minds, to possess an additional value, when it is considered that they tended to cheer the death-bed of the highly-gifted Charles Fox. This collection has passed through several editions. Three years afterwards (1810) he produced the Poem of the "Borough;" the scene of which is his native place: and in 1812 he published his Tales. In 1813, Mr. Crabbe sustained the severe affliction of losing his wife; and soon after, having obtained the living of Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, he removed to that town. From this period, our author mixed much more in society, and especially in the gay and literary world of London, than during the lifetime of his wife. In the metropolis, he met on intimate terms with most of the eminent writers of the day, and seemed to form a connecting link between the era of Johnson, Burke, and Reynolds, and that of Scott, Byron, Moore, and Campbell. His new residence was pleasant in many respects; and it was with much reluctance, after abiding here for three years, that he yielded to another change. The death of a relative of Mrs. Crabbe rendered necessary the services of her husband as executor; and he removed to Parham, in Suffolk-again placing himself near the scenes of his boyhood and early courtship. Here he undertook the curacies of Swefling and Great Glemham, and the course of his life varied but little from what it had been in Muston. He had resided four years at Parham, when he lost by Tales of death his third son, a child of about six years. In 1819, Mr. Murray published the His children had been seven, and they were now reduced to two. This deprivation was severely the Hall"-and gave for the manuscript of that felt by the mother, and conjoined with other cir-work, and the copy-right of Mr. Crabbe's previous cumstances to cause a removal again. Mr. Crabbe poems, the liberal sum of 3000l. This work was not less favourably received than its predecessors. now rented Great Glemham Hall, a pleasant house belonging to Mr. North, and lived in it four or five years with great comfort and satisfaction, But another removal then becoming necessary on account of the sale of the estate, Mr. Crabbe hired a house in the neighbouring village of Rendham, wherein he remained until the year 1805, when he left Suffolk, and resumed his clerical station at Muston. In this tranquil course of life, attending to the care of his flock, and to the instruction of his beloved family, Mr. Crabbe long concealed himself from the gaze of the world until the year 1807; when, after an absence of about twenty-two years, he at length produced a collection of "Lau"Poems." ("The Parish Register," &c.) dari a laudato viro" has ever been deemed a stamp of merit; and, such has been the invariable proof of Mr. Crabbe's excellence as a Poet, that he has ever been distinguished by the discerning few, as he will always be admired by the reading public. The "Poems" were honoured with a perusal in manuscript by the present Lord Holland, and his late illustrious uncle; and may naturally be Whilst in London upon one of his visits, in 1821, our poet had the good fortune of meeting Sir Walter Scott, and accepted a pressing invitation to visit him in Scotland. Mr. Crabbe accord. ingly journeyed to the north for that purpose in the following year, and found Sir Walter in Edinburgh, attending upon George IV., who was then making his famous visit to Scotland. But, notwithstanding the pressure of multifarious business, the great novelist contrived to make Crabbe's sojourn in his house pleasant and gratifying in no ordinary degree. In the year 1821, Mr. Crabbe had a severe attack of tic douloureux, and thenceforward he was subject to that complaint, which aided the natural decay attendant upon old age. But he continued in the performance of his clerical duties, and maintained his friendly and social relations, until within a few days of the termination of his exist. This event took place at Trowbridge, on ence. the 7th of February, 1832. It is not our intention to enter into an elaborate criticism of Mr. Crabbe's qualities as a poet.We shall content ourselves with observing merely -that the characteristics of his style are, originality of thought, force, precision, truth, depth, and pathos of description; clothed frequently in the happy diction and polished versification which we so much admire in Goldsmith. It must not, however, be supposed, from this remark, that Mr. Crabbe is a copyist of any former author. He is a bard sui generis; he has formed himself upon no model, and is consequently unlike other writers. He is a poet who examines man as he is, there is, therefore, no illusion in his poetry. He is, in fact, the Portrait-Painter of humble life-in all its variety and detail. His portraits are exact likenesses; and are equally to be praised for the correctness of the outline, and the propriety of the colouring. His descriptions are, not like those of Thomson, of imaginary, but of real nature. The delineations of his rustics are, consequently, different from those which we meet with in the Georgics of Virgil, or the Idylls of Gesner: but they are such as may be seen every day in the country. He sees with a keen, correct, and perhaps too microscopic an eye, and all his scenes of common life are portrayed with minute. ness, but with a fidelity true to nature. He is naturally and deservedly a popular poet; since all his delineations come home closely to the “business and bosoms of men." He is certainly one of the most original and pathetic poets that England has, in modern times, produced; and is a bright star in that splendid constellation of British genius that has illumined and adorned the present age. |