The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-05-07

worthiness Macaulay had great respect but he
was repealed by the eternal epigrammatic glitter
OF his style, which he compared to Seneca's. IL
lie odd that his favorite among modern histo-
rians should have been Fra Paolo.
Fcw young ladies' in their teens love novels
more ardently than did Lord Macaulay, and the
first Of novelists In his favor was Miss Austen.
Thackeray he admired, and he liked Dickens.
His opinion Of Tulwer's abilities was strongly
and many will think justly qualified. 81 still
think OF Bulwcr," he says, "as I have always
thought. lie has considerable talent and elo-
quence. hut he is fond Of writing about what he
only half understands or understands not at ALL
His taste Is bad, and bad from a cause which
lies deep, and is not to be removed from want
OF soundness, manliness, and simplicity OF
mind" Macaulay regarded Southey as man Of
very moderate parts, and here posterity seems
to have endorsed bis judgment, which II has to-
tally reversed IN the case of Colerdge and
Wordsworth. The poet Campbell, he said. had
written In all his life 800 good lines, rather less
than more, and his letters MS convcrsativu,
wero nieisc .s..s1. Iaup bell, however, had pro-
vided Macaulay with an anecdote which the lat
ter told well and often to Illustrate the feeling
with which authors have sometimes regarded
publishers. Alta literary dinner when the war
with France was at its height, Campbell esked
leave to propose toast. and gave the health OF
Napoleon Bonaparte. At that period the very
mention OF NapOleons name, except In con-
junction with some uncomplimentary epithet,
was regarded as an outrage. storm OF groans
broke forth and Campbell with difficulty could
get few sentences heard. Gentlemen" he
said "you must not mistake me. admit that
the French Emperor IL tyrant. ! admit that
he is a monster. But, gentlemen. we must be
t,uf
that he once shot n bookseller"
In his Intercourse with his young relatives
Lord Macaulay reserved his sevetest reproofs
for the sins of false rhymes, Interpretations, and
solecisms In grammar, orthography, and ac-
centuation, for saying The tea Is being made"
and not The tea is a-maknG :" for writing
"Bosphorus," instead OF Bosporus," ard Z" Sy-
rem" insteld OF "siren - and above all for pro-
nouncng the penutimate Of "metamorphosis"
short. Macaulay, however, was sometimes very
caustic upon Grotes Innovations In Hellenic
nomenclature, aud used to say with consldera-
BILE truth that lady who dips into GrOte's his
tory and learns that Alcibiades won the heart Of
his fellow citizens by the novelty Of his theories
and the splendor Of his liturges. may get a very
false notion OF that statesman's relations with
the Athenian public. The new orthoeraphy
and pronunciation, however, have carried the
day. at least In America. Harvard men for the
most part give the long sound to all yowels
which replace dphthongs or long vowes In
GreeK-at all events in historical proper names.
Yet II Is difficult TO see why we should say Iphi-
genia, and not Alexandria also DR. Parr on one
occasion took a gentleman SHARPLY TO task for
pronouncing the name of the Greek Egy Dtian
city after that fashion. The offender cited Bent
ley's authority. "Sir," said Parr, DR.. Bentley
and may cali 1t Alexandria; but think YOU
had better call 1t Alexandria"
Some OF the statistics given In this volume as
TO the sale aud profit Of MacaulAys works are
highly interesting. Since the Essays were pub
lished.in collected form, more than a hundred
and twenty thousand copies Of the complete
work have been sold In the United Kingdom
alone by single publisher, while upward OF a
hundred and thirty thousand copies Of sepal ate
essays have been printed In the series known as
tho travellers Library" or the Lays" con-
siderably more than a hundred thousand copies
have been published. what the authors profits
from bis history must have aggregated may be
inferred from the fact that single check OF
the Messrs. Longman. which represented only Il
part Of the proceeds accruing to him from one
installment Of the WORK. was Tor 10000 When
Macaulay began the book he said he should no,
be satisfied unless he produced somcthiUg
which should at least for few days, supersede
ladies. 1t Is certainly truo that since 1857 the
| annual sale of his history has frequently sur.
passed that OF the fashionable novel OF the cur
rent YEAR on a steamer In Scotland during the
last year Of Macaulay's life. the popular author
WIS recognized and greatly feird by his travel
ling companions young lady who witnessed
the stir called some one to her and asked " no
they were making such a fuss about. She was
told that 1t was the great Lord Necaulay who
wrote the history. "Oh" said she, 81 thought
II was romance"
GreOt as were Macaulay's gains, he had use for
them all for more generous friend TO the
whole guild OF struggling men Of letters never
lived. He gave hundreds Of pounds 70 men
whose faces he had never seen, aud thous- ma
10 others who had no claim upon his sympl thies
! beyond the f-ct that they were needy and de-
serving. II is pleasant TO know that the last
time he ever signed his name was in letter
| enclosing twenty-five pounds 10 a poor curate.
| Mac .ulay died. as IA well known, suddenly and
| unexpectedly Yet very easily. lie was found In
! his library, seated In his easy chair with his
! book on the table before bin. The volume was
the first nun Der OF the CornhW MnGdzinc open
al the first ; age Of Thackeray's story OF Lowell,
/ the Whoever. lie was buried, as his father had
! been before him, in Westminster Abbey. aud
] with curious prop1ety the Stone That hears MS
II ne Wa, placed a. the feet VI Addison statue.
| Justice TO "A Very Eminent Citizen.