The Sun. — London, England, 1819-03-08 00:00:00

LITERARY REVIEW. THE ANNUAL BIOGTIAPHY and OBITUARY fur 1819• Volume the Third. The design of the present undertaking appears to be an improvement upon that of a work pub lished some years ago, and continued periodically, with con , ,iderable success, under, the tide of " ()oldie Characters." As a compendium of con temporary biography, that work had many claims to popularity, which, however, were at length counterbalanced by the weighty objections to which it became liable on the score of indis criminate encomium, and almost nnqualified ado latio'n. Its aiparent ruling principle was, tie viris nil nisi gratzj;n. Mien of all parties were ti eared if) the same complimentary strain, and in some instances in so circumstantial though ingenious a way, as to create a suspicion that the hero of the tale Was the secret prompter of his own eulogy. The dresd of incurs ii ,nett an imputa, tion would naturally induce many public men to shun such a vehicle to fame,' and to discounter trance the work altogether ; and thus the term of its existence may have been shortened by an increasing dearth of materials. It laboured under" another great disadvantage. The memoir of a lioing; eharac.er must, by its nature,-be imperfect, as it requires to be abruptly terminated at a certain period; awl even front this fragment must he; xvithneld many essential facts and circumstances: which cannot, in continon delicacy or propriety, . . _ hepromuli:ated until he individud is no more. From such objections the "-Annual Biography" is oh , iously free ; and indeed it seems to he esta blished on the only unexceptionable •plan that can be devised for a miscellany of this kind. By presenting at the close of each year an account of the lives and characters of celebrated persons Nvbo base stied within that period, it accomplishes all the desirable. objects of its predecessor, as it commemorates diem ere they have ceased to fix the general tee:lrd, and thus yields a seasonable gratification to curiosity. It affords a medium for preserving many particulars which, on the demise of any disiingtdAiod individual, imme diately transpire, and are circulated in conversa tion, but.which too frequently sink•into oblivion, and are irrecoverably lost to posterity. If such a recr!ri existed in past ages, with what delight shonld we tiow peruse the Lives of ALFRED, di CHAUCER, and of SHAKSPRARE I. The filelity of posy burnous memoirs can be exposed to little danger from the influence of interested or unworthy mo tives ; for the ear of Death cannot be soothed by the voice of adulation. In the present instance, thestriet line of,impartiality appears to have been coryttilly observed ; or, it any deviation be dis- Cert,ihle, it inclines.to the favourable side, and may he traced to those feelings of our common nature whiLli dispose us, in speaking of the dead, rather to extenuate than set down aught in malice. Of the spirit in which these Memoirs are writ ten, and of the pleasing - interchange of narrative end anecdote that occurs in them, the following specinien may be adduced from the life of Dr. 13VRNEY. It ptesents the agreeable picture of an acc-onp: 7 ,!..ed scholar, enjoying the otium cuzn dignitate " As Dr. Burney had now obtained independ ence, though not oppulence, he resigned his school, in tavont of his only son, the Rev. C. P. Burney*, who had acted for some - few years as his assistant. About this period, he retired to his R-ctory at St. Paul's, Deptford, to which he had been inducted about nine months before, whence he occasionally visited his friends in the capital ; and if was there, after a gradual decay, that he resigved 411 worldly cares on the 28th of Decem ber, 1517. His death teas sudden, being occa sioned by apoplexy, with which be was first seized e!: the mornui of Chrismas Day, and under-which be :anguished but three days. " Dr. Burney, during the last twenty-five or thi; ty yearr of his life, maintained a high charac ter as a scholar. He, indeed, ranked absolutely in the firSt line of eminence, • and although, in a ge neral.:troint of view, his recise station cannot be ex i attly ascertained, yet, in respect to an moil- Mate - acquaintance with the Greek drama, he might perhapS have justly claimed the first. His critical acumen %vas commensurate with his exten sive learning, while the native energies of his mind assisted not a little, both at table and in the closet, to attain for him a pre-eminence, which would only have existed in a smaller degree had he been less.addicted to books. " To addition to these claims, that munificent disposition, in consequence of which he expended a large portion of his hard-earned gains on the acquisition of a library, seemed to shed a lustre around his head, while it communicated a certain portion of it to his family, relations, and friends. Since the ,days of the Medic's, no private person had before his time been seen to employ agents both at home and abroad, to purchase whateveT was rare, valuable, and !earned. Few men, with such limifed means, have achieved so much in this way; no obstacles prevented ; no sum, however large, obstructed ; no difficulties, however formidable, deterred him in -his parsuit. By devoting nearly the whole of his fortune to this particular pro pensity, he was enabled to achieve great thin;zs ; and some of the richest of our Nobility were startled at a competition, in which a private Gen tleman, with but very scanty resources, fairly outbid the proprietors of large hereditary estates. " To the honour of Dr. Burney, neither envy nor jt!alousy seem to have formed any portion of his characrer. It is pleasant, in the republic of letters, to behold a frieudbhin subsisting among the. most conspicuous of its chiefs, " On the hi2th of a son, the subject of this Memoir did not look around him, either to the more dignified among the Clergy or the Laity, in order to single out a future patron, for the hope of his family. On this occasion he reared an altar to literature and friendship, and inscribed it with the name of Parr, which is still borne by his suc cessor. This is a little - anecdote highly honour able to all parties. With Porson too, he lived for many years in unreserved intimacy : and as he Was accustomed to estimate a man by his learn ing, this singularly gifted genius, of course, maintained a distinguished place in bis es teem.* " 1)r. Burney was of a sociable dispolition, and all who knew him must confess, that he was both hospitable and - generous, and that, on all oc e.sions, his wit and pleasantry were conspicuous. As he possessed an inexhaustible fund of anec dote, his company was of course greatly courted. Such indeed, and so various ere his'powers, and his means of conveying pleasure at the festive 'board, that of late years lie has been generally in• cited to take the chair, at all those beneficent meetings, the avowed objects of which were to raise sufficient funds for the maintenance of the wives and children of those who had entitled themselves to the gratitude of the public, either by their literary or scholastic labours. " Among his peculiarities at home, were two ' of a very innocent kind ; the first was the posses sion of the best wine, of the best vintage; the ne x t a dread of a fresh current of air. Shut the door ! was the first salutation tittered by him to any one who entered his apartment, and but few of his associat es ever neglected this rule. This custom, it seems, did not abandon hitn even on the most critical r and trying occasions ; for it is said, that having been robbed while return ing home one evening in his own carriage, along the Greenwich road, by a couple of footperds,_who were more eager in obtaining hi s money than contributing to his accommoda tion, he called them hack in a peremptory tone, end while they were wondering at what lie want ed with them, he exclaimed in his usual manner, and with his own peculiar emphasis : " Shut the door !" A voice, accustomed to command, pro ducial the desired effect, and he was instatitly !A beyud. " A great number of able men, educated under his inspection, and partaking in sonic measure of his celebrity, have lately met under the auspices of his distinguished pupil, Doctor Kaye, Regius Professor of Divinity, in the University of-Cam bridge; and subscribed for a - monument -to his memory in Westminster Abbey. This is the noblest tribute that can be paid by the surviving scholsr to his deceased master. A 13ust of Dr. Burney, by NolleketiS, was exhibited in the Model Room of the Royal Academy, in 1802." To instance the variety of, subjects in this vo lume, we may adduce an extract from the Me moir of Mr. REPTON, which contains an atnus ing record of his achievements as a Decorator of Rural Nature " Mr. Repton was nearly forty years of age before he attained any considerable notice ; but after that period he soon began to distinguish himself both as an artist and a literary character. About the year 1791, his assistance was invoked by the present Lord Darnley, at Cobham Hall. There, in the double capacity of architect and landscape gardener, he certainly contrived to ren der a palace, of tile age of Elizabeth, at once comfortable and magnificent ; for while the noble gallery, and the capacious hall, still retained an air of ancient grandeur, the interior arrangements were convenient and commodious in no small de gree. 'The approaches too wer e altered, new and the grand entrance was changed ; While ex tensive plantations attracted the eye, and embel lished lished the landscape. °' 13v this time his fame had reached ' bowels of Woburn,' which had recently escaped from the improvements of a gentleman, eminent indeed as an architect, but who hart• never been distinguished as a fancy-gardener. 'Like his mas ter Brown, Repton was an admirer of water, anti he accordingly suggested an artificial river, fed from those very springs formerly so useful to the ancient monks. Here, too, he altered the ap proach ; called in all the beauties of the country, and proposed the construction of a winter-garden. The beautiful corridor formed under his imme diate inspection, and after his own plan, was fully completed, and he ever after spoke of this as one of his darling achievements. " In 1805, when the King invited Lord Sid mouth to reside in his neighbourhood, the subject of this memoir advised many alterations at White Lodge, in Richmond Gardens. Some of his - plans were adopted, but the treillages, and garlatsds of flowers suggested by him, and of which he was a great admirer, were never completed. " At Ashbridge too, his band is still visible ; and the gardens there were always considered ' as his youngest favourite—the of his age and declining years.' He had by this time, as already hinted, cool ed somewhat in his admiration of his first precep tor; and it is not a little to his credit, that in stead of increasing, he diminished Marry of the useless expellees lavished- by him and his pupils. The offensive smell arising from . cabbages. and recent compost, immediately after rain, had in daced them to remove the kitchen-garden to such a distance--sometimes one, and sometimes two miles—from the body of the mansion, that it proved almost wholly inaccessible, either in sum mer or winter. 'lbis Waring defect was happily remedied by Mr. llepton on every occasion where he was allowed to superintend and direct. Yet he constantly retained the Ha! Hit ! by which are united, in appearance, (us o surfaces, necessary to belsept separate ; or, in other words, the dressed landscape adjoining the house, and necessary for the comforts, end even the security of its inhabitants, from the grazing ground of deer, sheep, and 'oxen.' He was also very par tieularas to aspect ; a subject not only connected with cheerfulness, but with health, and indeed with all the comforts required in a permanent re sidence. Mr. Repton was accustomed to exhibit a compass on such occasions, in which all the points were desiguated by their 'characteristic qualities of good, bad, and indifferent. Ac cordingly that of S. E., which was his own fa- Mr. Beloe, in his Preface to the Sti.vol. of " Ariecdotes of Liteiature and Scarce Books," after stating his obliga tion; to Earl Spencer and the Bishop ,of Ely, mentions those to the siihjet of the present article, in the followitis terms :-- «.1 reticc, , also my cordial thanlis to Dr. Charles Burney. It very nartecessary to expatiate On. the value of his friend ship'. Bat I have much pride irLiniorming the world , hat I enjoy that friendship; and that in the account of the Greek b oo ks printed het,ire the year 1500,1:Irn particularly iudehted to the use o: his manuscript observations on this subject." , This Gentleman, who was educated at Merton College, Oxford, has also laid claim to the literary character, a dis tinguishing characteristic of his family, having published a. Sermon preached at Lambeth, before the Primate, on the consecration of the present Bishop of Oxford. He also wrote a Prize Essay, while at College, "On the Lore of our Ctittatry." yourite aspect, always occupied tire place of d iS^ tinction. " As an author, his labours were of an ante rior date, for be first distinguished himself many years since as a statistical writer, having present ed the public with an account of the Hundred in which he had resided during several years. He was accustomed, about thii period, to frequent all he exhibitions of pictures in the metropolis, and thus acquired a certain degree of taste, the result of which, in the shape of occasional criticisms, was freely communicated by burn to the public." North Erpitighato r in the county of Norfolk. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, SATURDAY, MARCH 6. WHEELER V. MALINES. A bill in this case was filed some time ago, by the plaintiff, against the defendant, for using a pa tent which the former had obtained for a new method of preparing malt for beer. The Lord Chancellor had refused to grant an injunction, but sent the case to the Court of King's Bench, on a writ of scire facias, to try whether the patent was good or not. The Jury, under the direction of the Lord Chief Justice, found it was not a good one, and the case came hack to this Court. The VICE-CHANCELLOR, feeling there was no use in the case remaining in Court, as there was a want of prosecution, ordered it to be dismissed, with costs. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Iklnßat 6. 11EMMIE V. HALE. This was an action fora breach of contract. The plaintiff was a confectioner, formerly rCsit'iog in South Autlley-street ; the defendant was proprie. tor of the London Tavern., It appeared, from th e evidetice, that in August last an agreement took place between the parties, by which it was ar ranged, that in consideration of the plaintiff up his busine s s in South Andley-Street, and g,ing to th e London Tavern, to superintend the • confectionary department of that establishment, he should be admitted a partner to the - extent Of te , o-Ifiths of the profits - The plaintiff accord ingly removed from South Audley-street, where he had for some time carried on his business, and was in the habit of serving the Lord Mayor's din ners, Mr. Birch, in Cornliill, and balls, suppers, and masquerades, with confectionary, and took up his residence in Bishopsgate-street, as a conve nient situation for his attendance at the London Tavern. Here he did attend several times for two months, in his department ; at the end of which time he urged Mr. Hale to complete hi; r cc men, by executing articles of partneriiip. Mr. Hale, however, put off doing so from time to time, and at length refused altogether. Upon tld refusal the plaintiff brought the present to recover a compensation for the loss he had sus tained by giving lip his situation in South Audley street, and also for the loss of profit whiCh he had anticipated in the partnership with the de fendant. Mr. MAE RVATT, for the defendant, called no evidence ; but in his cross-examination of the plaintiff's witnesses, he endeavoured to prove, that he had sustained no inconvenience or loss by removing from South Audley-street, since he was in a more convenient situation for attending the Lord Mayor and Mr. Birch, when in Bishops gate-street, t h an in South Audley-street. He, further contended, that the defendant had disco vered the plaintiff was involved in pecuniary diffi culties, and having discovered that circumstance, be was not bound to take an embarrassed man as his partner. The Jury, after a charge frofti the Chief Jus tice, found a verdict for the pldintiff—Damages, 6001. The CuIEF JUSTICE disposed of several unde fended causes, and concluded his sittings. His Lordship mentioned the 12th of April as the pro bable day of adjournment. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, MARCH 6. BOOTH AND INGLEDESV V. ELSE. This was an action of replevin, to recover back a waggon and two horses, which had been dis trained by the Defendant. It was proved that the Plaintiffs, on the 24th of January, 1818, bad removed the waggon from the door of their pre tnises in Bull-wharf-lane, Thames -street, on pur pose to make room for other carts, which could not pass. The carman drove into the Defendant's yard, a short distance from the spot, and the wag gon and horses were instantly distrained by order of the Defendant. The whole proceeding ap peared to be litigious on the Fart of the Defend ant, and the Jury would not allow the Judge to sum up the evidence, but found a verdict for the Plaintiff—Damages, Four Guineas. PREROGATIVE COURT, MAneu C. FRANCIS V. FRANCIS. This was a question on admission of an allega tion given in, in this cause, on behalf of Lady Francis, the widow of the late Sir Philip Francis, who died on the 23d of December last. The will propounded was - dated 28th April, 18t"8; and among other legacies bequeathed one of 10001. to Lady Francis, together with the testator's house in St. James's-square, which he desired might be her perpetual residence during her widowhood ; but in the event of her again marrying, was to devolve to his son, Mr. Philip Francis. The sum of 50001. was also bequeathed for payment of the portion of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Johnson. Three other papers were propounded, as being of a testamentary character, on the part of Lady Francis : the first was a label or ticket affixed to a bag of money, containing 170 guineas,which was endorsed, and written in testator's handwrit ing, and directed the same to be given to Lady Fran cis : the second was a memorandum, transferring a share in the Grand Junction Canal Company ; but the principal one was a codicil, marked A., written on the back of a letter of invitation to Sir Philip and Lady Francis; it was unsigned and unattest ed, and was couched nearly in these terms : " My.dearest Emma, I have reserved for this se parate paper a few instructions for your guidance after my death, that could not so properly:be . in serted 'in my will ; I can have no interest in it, but that which I feel noW for the happiness of those who shall survive and succeed me." It then went on to devise some arrangements, by blebs the mansion in St. James's-square, whic h l e very capacious, m i g ht be rendered fit for t habitation both of Lady Francis and her son, with their separate establishments ; and concll u l l ed with these words : '' You, I am sure, he moderate, anal he, I am equally well CO"; vinced, will act liberally and kindly towards y ou ;i s all events, the house, and every thing in it , to yours for life." Now the main qoestion, to the construction of the words '' every thin~ it," which would possibly include aim wine , Jf° T . ; niture, plate, &c., being for the decision of t`',. Court of Chancery, it was necessary, in the firs ' place, to ascertain whether this Court wonld pro nounce that the codicil propounded was of a testa : mentary nature, and should be operative• g i opinion to this e ff e ct h a d b ee n taken of rr Hart. The Learned Counsel for Alr.,orht"r t Francis, the son of the t e s t a t or , contended, tlta the will of the deceased was regulatly a ttestctl , .: t he ° concluded with expressing a wi s h that it should executed in its plain and obvious meaning therefore was for the Court to consider , whe i tlie a the deceased intended the c o di c il propountle t :, e operate and be joined with the will, t ius ' l :'; probate, or whether it should have a disposl tl o. effect after his death as a substantive paper ? it did not appear that the d ecease d ever intet we it it so to operate, or to be joined with the .0 operative, it would of n e cess i t y revo ke the 15 " in which the house was left to Lady Francis, e : pressly oply during her wid o wh oo d. The 1 4 : 1 ' - ; furniture, and printed books, were left by 311i11 : ‘ ,4 the son, on condition of their not being from the house ; therefore, if the be pronounced tor, that di s p os i t i on wou ld " e nto tered, as being in the hous e they would be e t - n ,4 the properly of the widow. Lady F ra ncis di ( ' -, appear, Lerself, to have imagin e d t hi s to be a te . v tatnentary paper, inasmuch as it wa s not (laced and read when the was opened. The Counselfor Lady Francis shortly cob- - ( t ,,t for the operation of the codicil, observing , although Sir Philip Francis had had thd chararte r of great precision timing his life-time, the c !' l 9 ; racter of his testamentary pap e rs 41i1 not eh u ' fir c . ' 'Junto it ; more especially during the latter P o of his life, in which it had b een hi s cust°P 3 leave such papers without any signature. Sir JOHN NICHOLL remarked, that as tile! tt mission of this allegation would materially ' the decision of the cause, be should take 6 04 consider of it. HOME CIRCUIT.—HERTFORD, hiAncu 4. COURT—ARSON • James Head , and Martha . his wife . were i ndict ed on the' Black Act, for f e iobit lu sly, wic , s c !!"; ,liol}, fend unlawfully settingfre to the of John Overeli, .'` \V 1 , 0:17, in this County , mer, on tl:c right of the 2:it!-1 of Ang,:zt bass, 1 "" intent to inju. !hc prosecotor. t Evidence was offered to implicate the l prisoner, but as it appeared th a t she was Pr egit v 'i.... with her husband at Lse time to which th e e -dence referred, 1 0 Mr. CURWoOD and Mr. P OLLOC K objecteo) 0 as she was under the controul of her husband; 5' was tiTt hr n ee n sto r rt c yh r ee i d n: tp i h n re a isn l op ly oei l nr ia t. ble, 171 b The Learned Judge acquies c ed in lbe ‘,.h was found Guilty, and the Learned Judge immediately ifterwaids, pron° l " 4- ' ed the awful sentence of Death, holding oa t LI9 hope of respite. SATURDAY, MARCH 6.--GAMB. John Tesh Field, a farmer, on the bord hi rsl this county and Bedfordshire, James See•P l Brown, and another, were indicted under th e Game Act, for a misdemeanor, for having a"' ed a certain close, the property of J. L a tour, , Pl o i with intent to destroy, game, and being ft. o l therein, armed with bludgeons and a pi sl° '• The Jury found them Guilty of a severe a ssault - j The Learned Judge immediately scot er) ; Field to three years" imprisonment, a fine of and to find sureties fur his good behaviour for f(3us. years, at the expiration of his imprisonmen t- yrr , The prisoner, Field, is an obnoxious chato c and is supposed to have a gang of poachers gular training. n j On Tuesday morning last, between for five o'clock, a fire broke out in the bed-rooP i c copied by the Rev. Mr. HAZELL, No. 4, ° I- 1 , hope-place, Bath, in conseque nce o f the ( I ° H tio falling upon a rush-lanthorn pl a ced t o o ne" rl is , bedstead : the flames spread so rapidly that HAZELL escaped with difficulty; and her husbo l i who is aged and paralytic, was so dreadfully bu r y " { ; that he lingered a short time in the greatest °EA nies, and expired. The fire was extingtliw— after destroying the furniture in the roost. BIRTHS. On the sth inst. in John-street, Bedford-row, Mrs.Tl o4l° Styan, of a son. On the '2sth ult. at Spofforth, the Laiy of the Honour — William Herbert, of a son. MARRIED. ' On Saturday last, at St. Andrew's Church, Holborn+ 4 ; 10+ Cartwright, Esq. of bunter - street , Brunswick-squ 3r ".Of Maria, youngest daughter of the late Daniel Robinson+ Gray's-Inn-place, Esq. solicitor. DIED. hoar ° On Saturday, the 27th ult. after a short illness, 1 7 - , ' Lloyds, Esq. of Cheltenham, aged 54 years. i4n 4 On the -ith inst. MIS. Fletcher, at the house of be • at Highbury-terrace. PROVINCIAL BIR'T'H, MARRIAGES, AND DEATI°' BIRTH. Lately, at Westerbain, Kent, the Lady of the • Moreton, ora sun. mmutrub. the On Monday last, at. St. Mary Major's Church, Exet e l, Rey. J. L. Knight, of Market Lexington, WOts, to eldest daughter of Mr. John Watson, of the former plaSt' at e On Saturday se'uuight, at Trinity Church, Mr. Jolla tiers to Miss Sophia Beare, both of Exeter. • DIED. S o p bls ? On Saturday se'unight, at Bowdon, Devonshire, the wife of Colonel Adams, of the 25th Light Dra:toons.o o f Latelyoit his !Rinse in Plymouth, T. Cleather, Lscl. ° the Aldermen of that Borough. • % alit, On Wednesday last, aged 64 years, Mr. Richard Rost ,tho of St. Aldgate's, Oxford. The deceased was born la house in which he died, and had never lived out of LONDON: Printed by J. B. CARSTAIRS, of No. 29 t A• Ormond -street, Queen-spiare; and published by .:40ps SCRIPPS,. of No. 7, South Molton-strect, at Tri,s, t i er ip Office, No. 112, Strand ; where Adveitisemetts, 4 J^ Letters, &e. (post-paid) must be addressed. r. c 9', 7 'J t 4 P„ 4./ . 0 40 4,S for P. , ri, Thi.r 4 t Arm 4tul 'SYra : 4letio 4rth Fo Pry 4.0 2 )11n, 14.1,41 a P Q to °Sic( si 'ore Vea s , and v ks. to 4 Pi 11044 11„: t th* I ti ‘ a,ri ti 44, /‘or il %l As k ,i • Ili , G• ,0 N o. ti the : 14 Mi tr , INct. • 11 l e Pr ' t th 4 .Irw hini I. rreN, t : tit lii it Nvai