The Sun.
London, England, 1826-10-14 00:00:00

DEATH OF CHARLES MILLS, ESQ.

This celebrated historian, Whose late " History of
Chivalry," has excited such an interest in the literary
world, died last Monday, at Southampton, whither he had
retired some months since, in order to recover from the
effects of an illness, partly caused and nourished by habits
of intense thought, and enthusiastic devotion to literature'.
The death of such a man, must not pass without a comment.
He was the youngest son of Samuel Gillam Mills' a sur-
geon of eminence, at Greenwich, and was intended by his
father for the law, which he quitted, in consequence of
his ardent love for literature. His first work, " The
History of Mahometanism," was published about the year
1817, and strongly attracted the attention of Sir John
Malcolm, who extolled it as the most promising history of
the day. It was brought out by Black, Parbury, and
Allan; but a second edition being almost bninediatsly
culled for, it was revised, and published by Longman,
in whose hands it has (with the other important works of
the same author) since remained. Tim next work by Mr.
-Mills was " The well knoWn History, of the Crusades,"
which was distinguished beyond most productions of the
day—by its deep and enlarged observation, its fearless in-
quisitive spirit, and its condensed vivacity of style, founded
principally upon that of Gibbon. Of a work so well known
it will be superfluous to say* more in the way of criticism,
than that immediately on its publication it brought its
author forward as the first and 'most eloquent his-
torian of his time. A few months after its appearnce,
accident led Mr. Mills to the study of Italian Litera-
ture; the result of which was a work of fiction, in two
vols., entitled ," The Travels of Theodore' Duca; oh the
revival of Arts and Letters in !tali:" The model 'upon
which this book was foirried, was the, " Travels of Auer-
charsis ; but as the Subject was comparatively uninte-
resting to the majority of modern readers, it was pro.
portionately unsuccessful. For a year subsequent to
its publication, Mr. Mills lay quietly on his oars, till
invited by his respectable publishers to undertake a
History of Rome, from the earliest ages down to the
reign of Augustus, about which period Gibbon's His-
tory commences. They added, in the most flattering
terms, that he was considered among literary men us the
only person competent to the task, From some cause,
however, the work (we believe in consequence of a rival
publication having been advertised) was dropped, and Mr.
Mills then directed his attention to his last and most po-
pular work, the " History of Chivalry," which created
such a general interest from the very first moment of ,its
announcement, that in a few weeks the whole first edition
(an unusually large one) was disposed of; and he was
called, but a few months before his death, to devote his
attention to a second. This work attracted the notice of
Sir W. Scott ; (previously excited by' the " Crusades,"
from which work he partly borrowed the plot of
his novel, called the " Talisman"), and a correspondence
passed between them, which we have seen, and which
coming through the medium of Mr. Constable, from the
" .Author of Waverley to Mr. C. Mills"--as contratlis-
tinguished from Sir W. Scott-7-is curious. Mr. Mills, a
few months before his death; was elected one of the
Knights of Malta (an honour unsought for on his part),
now revived on the Continent, which was conferred on
him in consequence of his allusions to that celebrated fra-
ternity (the defenders of the Christian religion for so many
Europe) in his " History of the
centuriescrusaiie throughout
Crusades;
In private life Mr. C. Mills was open, generous, and
candid to a fault : his conversation, in his more cheerful
points, was particularly engaging, mid the vast and almost
unlimited stores of his information were at the service of
every friend. The writer of this brief notice has spent tire
most delightful hours of his m life in company with this
whom once to have known,was for ever
to have remembered. As a literary man, he was, to adopt
the language of the Quarterly Review, in its notice of his
distinguished friend,
" Theodore liticas,"—of " first-rate importance," Mr.
Jeffrey also pointed him out as one of the most promising
writers
of his day; and, indeed, lie was rapidly rising to
the fondest object of his daily and nightly prayers—intel-
lectual supremacy ;
when his constitution, always delicate,
broke down under the severe exertions of his mind, and
brought him to the grave at the early age of 38. In p„..,
s„, Mr. Mills was of middling stature, with a countenance
intensely expressive of thought and intellect. The bust of
him, taken about two years since, by Sievier (though ra-
ther too gigantic in proportion), does justice to the
depth
and variety of his expression. Mr. Mills was in habits of
personal intimacy with the most celebrated literary charac-
ters of Iris day, most of whom will regret hi b In— ut nape
more so than the humble writer of •
this notice, who knew
him well and loll—who ow •
es everything to his kind,
affectionate lineations, and now feels, that with the ' " death
of his guide, philosopher' and friend," have died also the
moss sanguill# hopes mid happiness of his life,