The Express.
London, England, 1868-03-28 00:00:00

LORD DERBY UPON HIS

The following letter has been addressed by
Lord Derby to the Earl of Dartmouth i• re.
faience to • resolution passed by the National
Union of Conservative and Constitutional Ass•st}

lions expressive of regret at his retirement from
public Life :
"N. Janies's-Kpuut, Mara 71,1868.

" My Lord,—l have to acknowledge with the
liveliest gratitude the address which your lordship
has done me the honour of transmitting to me on
behalf of the National Union, and the numerous
constitutional associations whose names are an-
nexed, kindly expressing their regret at my retire-
ment from offioe, and their hope that I should still
be enabled to take a part in the political business of
the country.
"It was not without a pang, and only under &con-
viction of the absolute necessity of the step, that I
found myself compelled to ask permission to with-
draw from the service of a Sovereign to whose gra-
cious favour I am so deeply indebted ; and to sever
my official connexion with a party which for so
many years has honoured me with its confidence,
and for man members of which I entertain a per
as well as political regard. It was, however,
very satisfactory to me to be empowered to transfer
the office, which Iliad had the honour of holding, to
one, whose co-operation and friendship I had
enjoyed for more than twenty years, and who, I
am persuaded, will prove himself not unmindful
of those great constitutional principles which it
has been the study of my life to uphold, and to
which, so far as my health will permit, I shall not
cease to give my earnest though unofficial support.
—I have the honour to be, my lord, your obliged
and faithful servant, (Signed) "
" The Earl of Dartmouth."

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DAVit &AVM. ' •
ThyAih of Dessid Varriek frost Orkinol Faesilp
ao=and trinnerons Published mar ifitymbliskesl
. By Poser Frnoonsto, ]ILA-, F.S.A.
2 vela. Tinsley Brothers, 1868.
Mb. Fitrgereld possesses in no alight aiseaare
ow -impaisite of a biographer. He is beartily in
lows with his hero, and does his best to make the
reader in love with him also. %fortunately the
seal of the writer is rarely tempered with Judg-
ment. He praises Garrick so much that we are
compelled to ask whether be is worthy of such
praise-; the portrait is so brilliant it colour that
we geastion its accuracy as a likeness.
We bye reed them think volumes with care,
and are thankful for the slight additional light
which they throw upon the actor's career, and
upon the theatrical history of the age. The origi-
nal material which the writer has gathered from
' Gonne* is not indeed of mush value,
ig ay be questioned whether it will change
or modify the popular estimate of Garrick
• from former biographies. Yet it is plea-
Tmhad
Met to learn anything new of a man-who has won
'awl daserredly won a air y marked place in OW
-hibleity of kb puremk- Kr: Frlopstakre hook ik
cerelessly written ; kis style is often uogeammatical,
hie facts are sometimes erroneous, and we can by
no means agree with him in the belief expressed
in the introduction, that his hero possessed " a
y noble, generous, and well-trained mind," ltri, in the words of Percival Btockdale, "as
goat inGarrick as in Lear." The truth is that
Both prelims is injurious to the actor's memory. He
wee too vain and too eager about his ',-
potation to deserve the title of a great man. He
lived upon the flattery of friends, was ever obee-
pious to rank. Mr. Fitzgerald makes the remark
twice over that Garrick dearly loved a lord, and was
' redy at all times to sacrifice his dignity in order
tligt he:night escape the attacks of his enemies.
Garrick was always in a fidget to learn what people
ware saying about him; he would have been de-
lighted to hide himself in a closet and listen to his
wan praises ; he threw out baits for flatterers, and
wgs only unhappy when he was neglected. Take
ode instance among a score of Gerrick's foolish de-
sirs for notoriety. When in Paris he wrote home
to Colman to publish a Paris baiter, in order to
puff friend of his in the London papers. Mr.
tzgerald shall tell the story : '
It was characteristic of hie servoesness sheet popelar
drake to hoodoo that he Mould hint to Gelman to add •
lino aloud himself. IS might be something in this key, be
said, "Our little hero looks better then be did. It
Witt be pave, ledlofetus, ea Joking, but mention of him
then was to be. Colmar took up the idea with ma en-
tertaeate ardour. He represented the town and theatre
ea lonise far its Rendus. He " overdid" it. Such delicate
came me, Mimed, hard to mambo. It was tee fell of
podia was soured. He was sari it would he mil
dawn ; —sk naturally so—to his Inspiration. He said—
was was perfeseily tnee— tbst he had never in his life
"hrid kbeeelf Woo wiggly." There was • eowls awk ward-
ress. tee, is the whole business. Garrick had written to ,
servo of his friends that he was thin enough to go through
the tumbler's hoop at Seam% Wells. The newspaper
eserespondest at Pasie, speaking of "our little stage here,"
said the same thing. " The devil wes in you to mention
that," he wrote over, with good-humoured impatience at
the likelihood of dalmatian. Thies frisks were en tura-
rablie weakness, and attended his mei* social attitude.
In another
-place the biographer writes :—" To-
wards the end of March, 1766, he was really
meditating his return and dill nervously putting
questions as to the pulse of the town : were they
talking of biol.—calling out for him, or ' cool about
their humble servant. But the doctors were firm
cad atuit his ever .r.......:-- - - •
1.111/1111•

his ever appearing again. I have
...se it at all. I must entreat you to be
very sincere with me.' Here again were more
tucks' and a sham unconcern." Garrick's life is
indeed full of this miserable weakness. It will be
found in his letters, and it will be found in his
poems. Witness the "Sick Monkey"— in which he
makes animals and reptiles talk about himself.
The truth is that Garrick had many foibles, and
had not the skill to hide them. He wore his heart
upon his sleeve, and it was a weak heart though a
good one. His weaknesses are obvious but so
also are his virtues, and no one has we think done
greater justice to them than Dr. Johnson, who is
classed by Mr. Fitzgerald among Osrrick's enemies.
Johnson said sharp things about his townsman and
nopil (about whom did he not I) but he gave him
ble praise also ; when people accused him of
meanness declared that he was most generous •
when people laughed at his vanity pleaded for bin
the best possible excuse by saying it was won-
derful how little he assumed, considering that
he had applause " dashed in his face, sounded in his
ears, and went home every night with the plaudits
of • thousand in his cranium; When Garrick died
Johnson shed tears, and speaking at another time
of him and Beauclerk, said softly they were " two
such friends as cannot be supplied."
One of the pleasantest and freshest portions of
this "Life of Garrick' lathe amount of his early days
and of his early letters. The "child is father of
the man" and the brightness and vivacity which
distinguished him in after years was conspicuous in
his youth. It is bard, says the biographer, to give
any idea of the remarkable series of letters the -boy
webs to his father ; and it is a pity that instead of
notetridereapting to do so by brief extracts, Mr. Fits-
ha not transcribed several of the most
interesting. It cannot be from want of see that
these characteristic productions are omitted, since a
!goodly portion
, of these volumes is occupied with
padding,' which in a second edition might be cut
out with advantage.
Bat short though they be, the extracts are very
charming. The boy rdates bow his mother has
grown " nsolone.holy" in her husband's absence,
how hard she finds it to pay the butcher's bill, or
to keep the children's clothee—aosontranents he
call them—in good or(ler ; how she is compelled to
drink wins, " which goes against her inclination
and pocket," while " yonrpresenee would do her
more good than all the physicians in tope how
his sisters, "with the greatest duty and &whence
request a small matter to purchase their head arm-
meets ;" and bow be hes lately had a pair of silver
bremberboackles given him, and would like the
captain to send him some handsome materials for
a vest and breeches. " They toll sob," be says,
" velvet is very cheap at Gibraltar. Amen, and so
be it!"

All this is very plemant and gives one a kindly
feeling for the youth who is deiced before long to
win high fame, and what in after years be valued
almost as much—a— .pendid fortune. The moms
ef Garriek is nn No actor ever gnaw so
soddenly into reputation, or retained his
.
an
as the observed of all observers during so bug a
sow.
No man was ever so persecuted, mys .
Herald, but Bur* no actor was ever so praised
arse favoured of forbuia His frieude—and. this
as well for his hart odor kisintellest - was
wig tie best and platen in the land. They
/wad the man as mesh as they applended the
Mier, and were rend to be on terms
tratisfamisy with who, as Sir Joshua
sold, desired to know.
Liekfir mement at 'a oiiition when at
pecipeadty.#is was the find
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