ing out reprints of the Essays without corrections, Macaulay was forced to revise and republish them. By some omissions and many alterations, he improved the style; but one should still regard the Essays as rapid, occasional compositions, less finished than the more careful writing to be found on almost every page of his History of England. The changes which he made in the text of Lord Clive number about one hundred and thirty; those in the text of the Essay on Warren Hastings embrace the omission of the two opening paragraphs and the alteration of over two hundred other passages. The Essays still contain evident faults; but to dwell long on these faults would magnify them unduly, obscure Macaulay's literary greatness, destroy his power, and more than all, would rob the student of pleasure and profit. Briefly then, it is just to say that Macaulay gave to English literature the Essay as we now know it, for his conception and execution were far more complete than had been displayed by any previous writer. His plan was to choose a notable person, a molding event, a striking period in history; next to draw clear outlines of his intended presentation of his subject; and, finally, to fill in the outline with every detail of fascinating narrative, vivid description, enlightening and informing exposition, and with convincing argument. So vivacious, rapid, and energetic is his thought and speech, so readily understood because apt in words and clear in rhetoric, that the reader cannot but attend and enjoy. Readers should observe the great essayist's nice choice of words, his frequent use of antithesis, of balanced constructions, his fondness for a well-rounded period and a telling climax. His personal temperament was that of a public speaker, an orator, and his Essays as well as his History are strongly marked with what is commonly called "the oratorical style." Some of these elements of oratory may be found carried to excess; some principles of good rhetoric as known to the student violated. These may be considered in the classroom and ad vantage gained from such study without making destructive criticism and faultfinding the chief aim. Macaulay expressed a preference for the Clive as compared with the Hastings essay. Was he right? Why? He was aware of a certain weakness, we should say the most serious one. In writing to Napier he said that he was often obliged to write the essays hurriedly and far from books of needed reference. He was obliged to trust much to memory; and, though his memory was so capacious that he seemed to be able to carry everything in it which he ever heard or read, the result is, as it must be, occasional inaccuracies in matters of fact. Then, too, he not infrequently committed the error of trusting to a single authority. If his author chanced to be wrong, Macaulay fell into the same error. This led to the chief fault in the Indian Essays, especially in the Hastings, in the preparation of which he trusted almost solely to the inaccurate History of British India by James Mill. An occasional mention of this class of errors is made in the "notes," but it is not thought profitable to indicate all such errors. After all criticism has been uttered the two essays, Lord Clive and Warren Hastings, taken together are an entertaining, illuminating setting forth of a difficult but highly interesting and even romantic subject. Both should be read by all who are qualified to enter into the spirit of a great writer. These essays contain some of the most brilliant and eloquent passages of Macaulay, passages which a too technical criticism should not be permitted to obscure. BIBLIOGRAPHY MACAULAY: Biographical: Sir George Otto Trevelyan, Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay. Mark Pattison, in the Encyclopædia Britannica. L John Lord's Beacon Lights of History, "Lord Macaulay." Critical: John Morley, Critical Miscellanies, vol. ii. Leslie Stephen's Hours in a Library, vol. iii. William Minto, in A Manual of English Prose Literature, "Macaulay." Walter Bagehot, in Literary Studies, vol. ii. ON CLIVE AND INDIA: Col. G. B. Malleson, Lord Clive, in Rulers of India Series. ON HASTINGS AND INDIA: John Strachey, in Hastings and the Rohilla War. L. J. Trotter, Warren Hastings, in Rulers of India Series. ON INDIA: Vincent Smith's Oxford Student's History of India. Sir Wm. W. Hunter, in The Indian Empire: its Peoples, History, and Products. Sir Wm. W. Hunter, in A History of British India. Sir Alfred Lyall, in The Rise of the British Dominions in India. Read also: Kipling's Stories of India. Flora A. Steele's On the Face of the Waters. ESSAYS PUBLISHED IN THE Edinburgh Review: 1825, Aug., Milton. 1826, Jan., The London University. 1827, Mar., Social and Industrial Capacities of Negroes. June, The Present Administration. 1828, Jan., John Dryden. May, History. Sept., Hallam's Constitutional History. 1829, Mar., Mill's Essay on Government. June, The Westminster Reviewer's Defense of Mill. Oct., The Utilitarian Theory of Government. 1830, Jan., Southey's Colloquies on Society. 1830, April, Mr. Robert Montgomery's Poems. July, Sadler's Law of Population. Dec., Southey's Edition of The Pilgrim's Progress. 1831, Jan., Sadler's Refutation Refuted. June, Moore's Life of Lord Byron. Sept., Croker's Edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson. Dec., Lord Nugent's Memorials of Hampden. 1832, April, Burleigh and His Times. July, Mirabeau. 1833, Jan., Oct., Lord Mahon's War of the Succession in Spain. 1841, Jan., July, Oct., 1842, April, Leigh Hunt's Comic Dramatists of the Restoration. Warren Hastings. Frederick The Great. 1843, Jan., Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay. July, The Life and Writings of Addison. 1844, April, Barère's Memoirs. Oct., Earl of Chatham. BIOGRAPHIES PUBLISHED IN THE Encyclopædia Britannica: 1 1853, Dec., Francis Atterbury. 1854, May, John Bunyan. 1 It is interesting to note that, although written over fifty years ago for the Eighth Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, all but the first of these biographies have been retained, with only slight changes, in the Eleventh Edition, published in 1910. |