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which may be supplemented by "The Marlborough Despatches" (edited by Sir George Murray), and Sir Archibald Alison's "Military Life of the Hero of Blenheim." I may note that his victories were celebrated by poets and rhymesters, among others by Addison in "The Campaign," by Prior in the "Letter to M. Boileau Despreaux," by Oldmixon, a dry and dusty historian, and by John Phillips (1676-1708), the author of the capital burlesque poem of "The Splendid Shilling," in his "Blenheim." For the literature of the period see M. Taine, Thackeray's "English Humourists," and Forster's "Life of Swift." 66 Swift's Battle

of the Books" appeared in 1704, and also his "Tale of a Tub," in which his genius is seen in its impetuous luxuriance, and he never afterwards surpassed or even equalled the flow and rush of its wit, the copiousness of its images, the vivacity of its diction. Daniel Defoe founded English journalism in this reign, publishing in February 1704, while lying a prisoner in Newgate, his "Review," which, at first a twice-a-week issue, eventually made its appearance on alternate days. Its great merit is that it suggested to Sir Richard Steele his "Tatler," of which the first number bears date the 12th of April 1709, and the last the 2d of January 1711. On the 1st of the following March its place was supplied by the "Spectator," over the pages of which the bland genius of Addison shed an undying light. In 1713 the "Spectator was followed by Sir Richard Steele's "Guardian." Mr. Thackeray's highly wrought novel of "Esmond" contains vivid pictures of English society in the reign of Queen Anne.

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The nearer we approach to our own times the more difficult shall we find it to distinguish among the authorities that press upon us those most deserving of patient consideration. We may single out, however, for the reigns of the first and second Georges, as an able, and, on the whole, impartial guide, Mr. W. H. Lecky's "History of England in the Seventeenth Century," which is always, philosophical in tone and in its judgments discriminative. Earl Stanhope's "History of England from the Peace of Utrecht" is not less sober and judicious. We have also at our disposal Archdeacon Coxe's "Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole," Nicholas Tindal's continuation of Rapin's "History of England," and Bishop Atterbury's and Bolingbroke's "Correspondence." To the Craftsman Bolingbroke was a frequent contributor. Mr. Wright's "Caricature History of the Georges" furnishes the student with a carefully made collection of those straws which show the direction of the current. Lord Hervey's "History of the Reign of George the Second" is remarkable for its liveliness of narration, and the satirical vein of Sir C. Hanbury Williams is clever and amusing. For the on dits of society, its scandals, and its political intrigues, we turn to the "Letters of Horace Walpole," which, if destitute, as Macaulay says, of every charm derived from elevation or tenderness of sentiment, possess, at all events, the irresistible charm

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of wit. He loved letter-writing, and had evidently studied it as an art, and his study had been eminently successful. Our attention must also be given to the not less charming though less witty letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Macaulay's essays on the "War of the Succession in Spain," "Horace Walpole," "Frederick the Great," and "William Pitt, Earl of Chatham," cannot be overlooked; they are models of finished composition. England's share in the Seven Years' War is amply explained by Mr. Carlyle in his magnum opus, the "History of Frederick the Great." Some agreeable character-portraits occur in Mrs. Oliphant's "Historical Sketches of the Reign of George the Second." For Chatham, see the Rev. F. Thackeray's "Memoirs" and the Correspondence," as well as the "Greville Correspondence," Alison's" Anecdotes," Lord Waldegrave's "Memoirs," and Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice's brightly written Life of his illustrious ancestor, William, Earl of Shelburne. From 1758 the "Annual Register" comes to the student's assistance. The reign of George II. saw the foundation of both our Colonial and Indian empires, and therefore we must turn to Wright's "Life of General Wolfe and Eliot Warburton's " Conquest of Canada" for the one, and Macaulay's "Essay on Clive" and Sir John Malcolm's "Life of Robert, Lord Clive" for the other. The growth of our Indian Empire is exhibited in Robert Orme's "History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation," James Mill's "History of British India," J. C. Marshman's "History of India" and Mr. Talboys Wheeler's "Short History of India." The literature of the period must be studied apart from its political and military history. It shows us the rise of English fiction in the works of Fielding, Smollett, and Richardson. In poetry it boasts of the names of Pope, Thomson, Akenside, Churchill, Goldsmith, and Cowper, Shenstone, Young, Collins, Gay, and Gray. At the accession of George III. in 1760, Johnson was fifty-one years old, and had produced his "Dictionary of the English Language." David Hume had matured his metaphysical system, and was on the point of completing his "History of England," terminating at the Revolution, where Smollett took it up. Lawrence Sterne had created Uncle Toby, and Corporal Trim, and the Widow Wadman, but his "Sentimental Journey," in which he blends a flavour of Rousseau with his own fantastic humour and superficial morality, was not published until 1768. Dr. William Robertson had flourished his Latinisms in his "History of Scotland." His "Reign of Charles V." appeared in 1769, but Gibbon did not give to the world the first volume of his great work, the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," until 1776, the year of the death of Hume, and the sixteenth of the reign of George the Third.

For a full and exhaustive study of the "Georgian Era," extending, as it did, over sixty years (1760-1820), and embracing such great events as the revolt of the American Colonies and the long

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war against Napoleon, the student will need much ampler leisure and more abundant opportunities than generally fall to the lot of the votary of self-culture. Down to the opening years of the French Revolution, he may use Mr. Massey's "History of the Reign of George the Third," and the historical works of Adolphus and Belsham, allowance being made for the prejudices of partisanship, may be usefully consulted. The brilliant generalisations and multifarious reading of Mr. Buckle in his "History of Civilisation" (published in 1857-67) will entertain the reader, and are frequently suggestive. Effective character-portraits are drawn by Lord Brougham in his "Statesmen of the Time of George the Third," and his "Lives of Men of Letters and Science." See also William Hazlitt's "Spirit of the Age, or Contemporary Portraits." For general European history we must refer to Sir Archibald Alison (1792-1867), though the author of "Coningsby" not unjustly satirises him as Mr. Wordy, who writes to prove that "Providence is always on the side of the Tories." Our maritime warfare has found a conscientious and intelligent chronicler in Mr. William James, whose "Naval History of Great Britain" begins in 1792 and goes down to 1820, with a continuation by Captain Chamier. See also Campbell's "Lives of the Admirals," Southey's "Life of Nelson," Barrow's "Life of Earl Howe," and Jervis's "Life of Earl St. Vincent." For the French Revolution, Thomas Carlyle's great History, which exhibits a series of word-pictures unequalled for lucid power, and is, in fact, an epic in prose of the highest class, will always remain the unrivalled authority. It may be followed up by Scott's and Hazlitt's "Lives of Napoleon;" Professor Smyth's "Lectures on Modern History" will also be found useful. The period must also be studied in the careers of its great men. For Edmund Burke (1730-97), besides his "Works" and "Correspondence," the "Reflections on the Revolution of France" (one of those books which make and mark an epoch), "Letters to a Noble Lord" (the Duke of Bedford), and "On the Proposals for Peace with the Regicide Directory of France," we have the biographies by Prior, Dr. Croly, Thomas Macknight (1858), and John Morley (1867). For Charles James Fox (1749-1806), we have Earl Russell's "Life" and "Memorials and Correspondence." It will be necessary also to consult the "Rockingham Correspondence," the "Granville Papers," and the "Correspondence of George the Third with Lord North." For William Pitt (1759-1806), the reader must refer to the Lives by John Gifford (1809) and Earl Stanhope (1861); "The Life of William Wilberforce" by his sons; the Duke of Buckingham's "Courts and Cabinets of George the Third" (a badly edited book); the “Diaries of Lord Colchester" (Abbot, formerly Speaker of the House of Commons); and the Diaries and Letters of the first Earl of Malmesbury and the Marquis of Londonderry. To the political history of the reign no better guide can be desired than Sir George Cornewall Lewis in his

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Essays on the Administrations of Great Britain," and to Hallam succeeds Sir Thomas Erskine May with his "Constitutional History of England." The dryness of his historical labours the student may relieve by the perusal of "The Rolliad," the "New Whig Guide," and the "Anti-Jacobin," in which Canning's airy satire invests the dullest and vilest themes with interest. For George Canning (1770-1827), see the "Life and Speeches by Thierry, the "Political Life" by Stapleton, and Mr. Robert Bell's brief biography. He is sketched with a firm hand by Lord Dalling in his "Historical Characters." The military history of the period must be sought in Alison's ponderous volumes, and in Sir William Napier's brilliant "History of the Peninsular War." A whole literature has sprung up around Wellington and the battle of Waterloo; we can but indicate as satisfactory authorities Gleig's "Life of the Great Duke;" the "Wellington Despatches," which present a wonderful picture of the activity and clearness of his intellect; Mr. George Hooper's monograph on "Waterloo ;" Siborne's well-known "Waterloo Campaign;" and Colonel Chesney's "Waterloo Lectures." For later events the student may consult Miss Martineau's "History of England," and Mr. Justin M'Carthy's "History of Our Time," with the Rev. W. N. Molesworth's "History of the Reform Bill," and Mr. Evelyn Ashley's "Life of Lord Palmerston."

CHAPTER IV.

ENGLISH BIOGRAPHY: A COURSE OF READING.

EXT in importance to the study of history must be placed that of biography. If the study of the life of a nation has for us both interest and value, that of a single fellowcreature-a man of like feelings and passions as ourselves-must necessarily engage our sympathies much more closely. It may serve us as a warning or an example, may show us what to avoid or what to imitate. It has, so to speak, a twofold motive; for while we are following the fortunes of the hero of the narrative, we unconsciously project ourselves into his place, and apply to ourselves the experiences he underwent. We read ourselves, as it were, into his life. De nobis, mutato nomine, fabula narratur. It is not only the life of Washington or Alfred the Great or Cromwell, but the life of A. or B., of me or you, if put into Washington's or Alfred's or Cromwell's place. Again, there are so many things in every man's life that concern every other man. In one of Sir Arthur Helps's pleasant essays he remarks that he had always been exceedingly curious to know how men of great intellectual labour perform their work. To some extent biography reveals the how. It reveals also what effect upon a certain mind is produced by a certain sequence of events; how this or that man met misfortune and was humbled by it or rose above it, and why; in what manner the opportunity which one man misses is seized by another and made use of; the qualities which seem generally to ensure success in a small sphere and those best fitted for a large sphere; and the kind of self-education which every vigorous mind undergoes all these are considerations of the highest interest, which biography puts before us in the plainest possible form, and they have for us a direct application. In history the individual is lost, or at least occupies a subordinate position; but it is just the sorrows and sufferings, the trials and temptations, the successes and joys, of the individual that we want to know about. The share which Hampden had in the earlier work of the Puritan Revolution is a matter of history, and the student cannot overlook it; but, after all, he has a profounder interest in the personal qualifications