The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-28 00:00:00

LITERATURE,

The Public Life of _Lori Illacaulay. By the Rev.
Frederick ArLold, 13,A. •Tinsley Brothers, Catherine-
street, Strand.
Without pretending to be a complete biography of Lord
Masaulv, the _work before us conveys a good idea of that
aspect of his character which, exposed to public view, is
nes el thelcss fading from men's meniories, or of which the
latter and comparatively recent portion is alone remem-
bered with distinctness. It is in fact a record of his acts
and opinions ; it relates the impression he produced on his
cotemporaries; and it touches on the many important
events in whieh he took a prominent part. The writer also
displays considerable impartiality; he' does not suppress
adverse judgments; and the reader is thus to some extent
enabled to form an estimate for himself.

Born at Rothley Temple, October 25, 1800, and of Scotch
descent, Macaulay showed early indications of no ordinary
capacity. At the age of 13, greatly impressed with Napo-
leon's Russian campaign, he wrote a poem called " Mos-
cow." As a schoolboy he is described as being "rather
largely built than otherwise, but not fond of the ordinary
physical sports of boys ; with a disproportionately largo
head, slouching or stooping shoulders, and a whitish
or pallid complexion ; incessantly reading or writing, and
often reading or repeating poetry in his walks with his
companions ;" and a candid friend of a poetical turn de-
scribed him a few years later as
Little graced
With aught of manly beauty--short, obese,
Rough-featured, coarse complexion, with lank hair
And small grey eyes . . his voice abrut,
Unmusical. p
A writer in an American paper pictures him when speaking
on the Reform Bill as " a little man of small voice, affected
utterance, and hissing like a serpent." Nevertheless, "these
spasmodic symptoms gradually wore off as the fire of argument
kindled up his soul, and the more proper shapes of human
speech by equal degrees formed upon his tongue and flowed
from his lips." At 18 he went to Cambridge, where he took
high rank and obtained the Chancellor's gold medal for the
best English poem, the subject being Pompeii. In 1821 he
gained a Craven scholarship of £5O a year, produced another
prize poem on " Evening," and contributed articles to
Knight's Quarterly Magazine, on " The Athenian Orators,"
and " Italian Poets." His first appearance in London was
at Freemasons' Hall, in 1824, when he made an anti-
slavery speech which attracted some attention, and in the
same year he was elected Follow of Trinity. In 1826 he
was called to the bar, and went the Northern circuit,
though apparently without obtaining any business. But
his career may be considered to have really commenced in
1825, when he joined the Edinburgh. Ream, and contri•
buted the first of those essays which have given him a
foremost place among English writers. In 1830 he took
his seat in the House as member for Calne, his maiden
speech being on the question of the admission of the Jews.
Shortly after this commenced the famous Reform Bill
agitation. " Unparalleled scenes were then witnessed in
the two Houses. Noble lords were shaking their fists in
each others' faces, and Sir Robert Peel had to be dragged
down to his seat by his friends." And it was now that
Macaulay gained his great reputation as an orator, even his
bitterest opponents admitting his power. As a specimen of
cotemporary criticism we give from the Noct•s Ambro-
stance :