The Sun.
London, England, 1835-08-27 00:00:00

MR. MAT,HIAS.

( From the Athenmuni.)
It appears, as if among our other regular• weekly duties,
Lac task of preparing an obituary notice of some person dis-
ting►t,;shed in literature or the arts was to be numbered—
so ntnne-eus have been the deaths since the commencement
of the year. We have now to record the loss of another• of
the elegant scholars of the last generation, of one whose re-
putation was rather select than extensive. As a lover and
successful cultivator of letters generally, but, in particular,
of the literature and language of Italy, Mr. Mathias
will not be soon forgotten : his Pursuits of Literature,
the first part of which poem appeared in 1794, drew great
attention from the keenness and erudition of its notes ; and
his Italian Canzoni and translations from the English have
been always held up to admiration for their grace and cor-
rectness. Besides these, he was the author of many other
satirical and critical works, which will h^ found in the
choice libraries collected 30 years since. Mr. Mathias re-
ceived his education at Eton, and Trinity College, Cam-
bridge, where he carried away several honours. He was,
at one period of his life, Treasurer of the Household of
Queen Charlotte ; and, for the last many years, resided
entirely at Naples, where he died. The following per-
sonal recollections, kihdly sent us by a lady well able to
appreciate his talents, will be acceptable to such of our
readers as interest themselves in the private life of the man
of letters.

" I became acquainted with Mr. Mathias at Naples, in
l 823. He had then been a re,ident in that city for some
years, and was much esteemed and valued by the few
among the Neapolitans who had any pretensions to litera-
ture. He had translated into Italian several of our Eng-
lish poems, which appeared to great advantage in their new
garb, but his selections were not always fortunate, as wit-
ness 'Armstrong's Art of Health. The Italians were as
much surprised as delighted at his proficiency in their har-
monious language, and I have heard several of the litterati
amongst them bestow the warmest culogiums on the purity
and precision with which he wrote it. Though his writings
displayed a perfect knowledge and mastery of Italian,
his conversation in that language was not remarkable
either for its fluency or correctness ; but conversation in
any language was not his forte, for his colloquial powers
were so very limited, that one could not help feeling sur-
prised that a man possessed of so much erudition, should
bring so little interesting matter into the general mart of
society. Any allusion to the Pursuits of Literature was
extremely offensive to him. It was believed that the per-
sonal severity of several of the observations in that book
had drawn on the supposed author some very disagreeable
demands for satisfaction, which he evaded, by equivocating
about the authorship, a denial which he felt himself
bound to persist in to the last. In stature Mathias
was below the middle size, being scarcely taller than
Mr. Godwin. In face he bore a striking resemblance
to Sir Francis Burdett. He was particularly neat in his
attire, and scrupulously clean in his person. He was uni-
versally respected at Naples, and though possessed of lit-
tle, if any, fortune, besides the pension granted to hint
by the late King, he maintained an independent and res-
pectable station, and was a welcome guest in all the houses
occapied by English residents. Among other nervous pecu-
liarities he had a constant dread of being driven over by
the vehicles continually passing through the popukus streets
of Naples, and it was often a source of amusement to his
acquaintances to see him anxiously watching what he consi-
dered a safe opportunity of passing the crets-way, advancing
with precipitation, and, when in the middle, retreating in
terror, though no danger threatened, so that it often took
him whole hours to walk half a mile if obliged to cross the
street. Bless my soul, bless my soul, how dreadfully dan-
gerous,' would he exclaim ; I was without a moment of
being► killed ;' though the carriage at whose approach ho
trembled was 20 yards off. He ' was a gastronome in
the full extent of the word, took a lively interest in the
first appearance of green peas, was a connoisseur in wild
hoar, and could disengage a bceafico from its envelope
of vine leaves in much less than the ordinary time be-
stowed on such an operation, murmuring to himself all
the time, Bless my soul, how very delicious, how very
delicious The fine climate, the cheapness of the luxuries
he liked, the cheerful society, and the respect his ac-
quirements had won for him, must have rendered the
residence of Mr. Mathias at Naples the most agreeable
,art of his life. He spoke of it as such, arid seemed to
'ilk as if exposed to cold v.-1,11 a return to England
ras named as among the possibilities of fate. Peace be
to his shade ! he has dropped into the grave full of years,
leaving many friends, and not one enemy—for those he had
excited by idu4 Pursuits (f Literature he outlived."

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