The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-26 00:00:00

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ROYAL LITERARY FUND DINNER.

The annual dinner of the Royal Literary Fund
was held last night, in the Freemasons' Tavern.
Earl Granville presided, and among those present
were the Right Hon. J. Napier, Mr. Adeane, M.P.,
Mr. S. Western, M,P., Mr. Pritchard, M.P., Mr.
Marsh, M.P„ Sir J. Prior, Sir H. Ellis, Mr. Beres-
ford Hope, Judge Manockjee Cursetjee, Captain
Sherard Osborn, Mr. Bell, &c.
After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts,
The noble CHAIRMAN, in proposing the toast of
the evening, said that, in assuming sued a position
as that which he then occupied, he generally ex-
amined the list of those who had preceded him, and
when he came across the name of any foolish per-
son he was encouraged to hope that he, too, might
pass the ordeal. But on this occasion, when he re-
flected on the manner in which the chair had pre-
viously been filled, he found cause rather for dis-
couragement than for confidence. He saw on
the roll of chairmen illustrious persons, like the
late Prince Consort and the Due d'Aumale—great
statesmen, like Lord Palmerston, Mr. Gladstone,
and Mr. Disraeli—distinguished warriors, like Lord
Hardinge—eminent men connected with literature,
like Sir E. Bulwer Lytton and Lord Stanhope—
reverend prelates, like the Bishops of St. David's
and Oxford—and he observed that most of these
men were either connected directly with literature
itself or were known for their scholarly and, intel-
lectual attainments. In accounting for his own
presence in the chair, which had heretofore been
so worthily occupied, he could only throw the
blame on the committee, and say it was their fault
that no better president had been chosen. It was
the privilege of the chairman to peruse the archives
of the secretary, and although he at first supposed
that this was merely an incomplete and illusory
audit, he had been deeply interested in following
the proceedings of the institution. The record in-
spired him with mingled feelings. It was very
painful to find that authors whose writings pre-
sented the most genial and cheerful pictures of a
pure and virtuous life were themselves reduced to
such indigence as to require the assistance which
was afforded in the most delicate manner by this
institution. At the same time it was a matter of
satisfaction to reflect that in the hour of misfortune
they received relief. It was gratifying to know
that a man of genius like Chateaubriand had ac-
knowledged with gratitude in that room the
benefits which he had derived from that fund.
(Hear, hear.) He was acquainted with one
case, which was probably the sample of many
others, where succour had been given to a widowed
lady in order to educate her son, who was a youth
of parts, with such considerable' secrecy that the
son, who had since fulfilled the expectations which
were entertained of him and had risen to eminence,
was altogether ignorant of the circumstance.
(Hear, hear.) It was also satisfactory to observe
the catholic and comprehensive manner in which
the fund was applied, without regard to religious
creed, political persuasion, or nationality, and with
the sole reservation that the subject of relief should
be a person whose works had been of a moral and
beneficial character, and had not pandered to the
passions and vices of human nature. (Hear, hear.)
The institution had supplied aid on the largest and
most comprehensive scale to the Icelander, African,
German, Frenchman, Italian, Prussian, Spaniard,
Portuguese, American, and Australian, in addition
to those of our own countrymen who were in dis-
tress and needed help. While dispensing its funds
with a liberality which was no less generous than
just, the committee of the society were, however,
careful to guard against any extravagant expendi-
ture. The international succour which the fund
had bestowed, in his opinion, lent additional force
to the old maxim that letters formed a republic.
(Hear, hear.) A pure, high-minded literature was
one of the most precious treasures which a nation
could possess, and exercised a most valuable influ-
ence on its destinies, It could soothe and support
a people under the yoke of despotism, and prepare
them to accept the counsels of wisdom and modera-
tion amid the confusion of anarchy. (Hear, hear.)
The existence of such a society as this must tend
to promote the pursuits of literature, but it had a
mare immediate object—to nourish the members of
the literary profession when in destitute circum-
stances. He had sometimes heard it objected to
associations like the present, that they were con-
trary to the principles of political economy. He
had had the honour and privilege of intimate ac-
quaintance with very eminent political economists,
but had never heard any objection to the efforts
of this society, even from those who were the
most stringent in the application of the rules of that
science to the affairs of daily life. It was ridiculous
to suppose that the very few hundreds of pounds
which the society had at its disposal could afford the
slightest encouragement to any one to devote him-
self to literature regardless of the chances of obtain-
ing a livelihood by his pen, and to rely on the some-
what precarious assistance which he might receive
from the Fund. He was very much struck by a
passage in the memoirs of Thomas Moore, the poet,
in which he said that the resources of a man of
genius, like the perfumes of the East, were exceed-
ing liable to exhaustion, and drew a painful picture
of the misery and degradation of such men when
reduced to indigence by the loss of their powers.
The association had removed a serious stigma from
the country in providing for the assistance of men
in that melancholy position. (Hear.) The Fund
had now attained an age when he thought some
portion of its earlier records might be given to the
world. He could not imagine that any, one who
had the honour to be descended from such a man as
a Johnson or a Goldsmith could be so foolish as to
be ashamed that his ancestor had once been at a loss
for a lodging or a meal. It bad been said that among
the ancient Greeks the first race of poets were gods,
the second heroes, the third bards, and the fourth
beggars. A change in exactly the opposite direc-
tion had taken place in the situation of modern men
of letters. Instead of depending on the uncertain
bounty of a patron. who might or might not be ca-
pable of appreciating their productions, they now
appealed to a patron who had more judgment, and
who was a more reliable paymaster—the reading
public at large. (Hear, hear.) That had been a
most beneficial change for the authors as a body,
but its advantage was not extended to the writers
of books which required great labour and research,
and related to subjects of a dry and unpopular cha-
racter. Nor did it prevent altogether these periods
of sickness and discouragement which might from
time to time occur. There were some occasions
when the intervention of the society might
mitigate distress and enable the sufferer to re- 1
new his labours for the instruction and delight of
mankind, and there were other occasions when, if
it failed to do that, it could at least soothe the
death-bed of the unfortunate man by the assurance
that his children would not be neglected. (Hear.)
On these grounds he appealed to them with confi-
dence for zealous and substantial support to the
institution. He desired to couple with the toast
the name of their illustrious president, the Marquis
of Lansdowne. (Cheers.) Words failed him to
express the personal affection and gratitude with
which he regarded him. They all knew that it was
not the mere accident of wealth or rank that the
noble lord occupied a prominent position in the
country—and it was appropriate to remember that,
although an active politician and a lover of foreign
travel, he had never allowed any one of those occu-
pations to distract him from his deep attachment to
"
literature and to the society of men of letters. The
noble earl concluded by proposing " Prosperity to
the Royal Literary Fund," coupled with the name
of the
Marquis of Lansdowne."
The toast was received with hearty applause.
Mr. ra
which ha.d—CewIN, n
X 1,350 had been distributed,ei
inv aedn,n omu
mentioned
that subscriptions
lastcrxi toi o
to
year
o
mentionedsumsthe
£lOO, in relieving cases of distress. Among the
objects of this benevolent • assistance were eight
writers of history and bi
lography, five of periodical
literature, six of topography and travels, seven of
poetry, &c.
Among the other toasts 'were " The Chairman,"