New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-01
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
SAMUEL ROGERS.



In preparing these volumes, which take up the
life OF Rogers from the point at which Mr.
Clayden's Early Life of Samuel Rogers termi-
mated the task of the editor has been unusually
dfnacult, owing to the fact that the cream of the
Rogers "reminiscences had already been utilized
to the fullest extent IL was inevitable that
many of the distinguished men who met around
Rogers's table should in memoirs and other
works avail themselves Of the interesting ana
striking anecdotes and mots which were told ana
made there. Rogers himself, in his kecoliec-
fionsS published what he considered the brightest
and best Of all that had passed under his eyes
during the greater rart of his literary ana AM
nb,trvonio career. Moore in his diary almost
Boswelized Rogers TreveTan IN his lie oil
Macaulay added much 10 the general information
The lives Of Sheridan, Scott, Wordsworth. Byron
Dickens. and many Others contained frequent
sllusions 20 the famous house in ST. Jsmess Park;
so thai when Mr. Clayden's turn came, though he
WINS privileged to search the family papers and
use them at his pleasure. the ground had peen
covered so closely to leave no room Tor per-
fectiy fresh and original memoir. In these dlnl-
cult circumstances he has done the best ne couiu'
and has laid under contribution every preceding
biography and memoir which contains men'loh oil
Rogers bis poetry, his bitter sayings, his oreaK-
fasts and his dinners.
n consequence,
IN those volumes which has been printed before
OF the original element which consists manly
IN letters from many celebrated people TO Rogers
II must be said that surprisingly small proper
-, ION Of them are of special interest. while the
,,naioritv are in few respects characteristic, ana
roo frequently commonplace and duh Moore
DIARY" has been drawn upon rather too laVlshly'
81 may be thought. Moore WAS no doubt sharp
observer and an amusing raconteur, but his recoi-
Iections have been common property lor uioSc
many years, and the assumption that lheN ne
mot generally known seems unw"rrahteu MI
Clayden's preface whets the appetite OF the rehoer
iby the following sketch of Rogerss social pos'loh
d" For fifty years Rogers was promment-Ior
long time the most promlnent-lifure Ill Lohuoi
,ife lie was the one man. and his house was
The one house, that every stranger from the
Continent. or from the United States. or from
The English shores, desired 10 see. lie was sur
rounded. too, by such group of poets and wits
and artists and literary men, and men OF great
conversational MOWERS as the world had never seen
hcfore and has not witnessed since As the
Oracle of Holland House, to use MacaulaN
words he became the intimate associate ol I''s'
Of the great statesmen OF his time Ills 'inie'
moreover. was two whole generations III III
oluded the Gordon Riots and the repeaI OIL 'ne
Corn Laws, the French Revolution ana the grt"'
rxbibition Ii linked together Fox and Sheridan
and Windham and Lord Grenvllc with Sir Kober'
Peel and Earl Russell and Mr. Gladstone Among
Ibis poetcal contemporaries were Cowper ana zen
.nvson. with the Byron episode and the "iole
Lake School coming between them; ana among
his friends were the authors oil Heluco anu irr
Man of Feeling and the writers OF VANITY F"r
and Master Humphreys Clock.
That opens up a long vista. ana seems 10 lhvl'e
80 ON unexampled feast of Renaissance. BUT
when the test is applied the work of the editor
annears disappontingly shadowy There are no
nortrats and scarcely any outline sketches III INC
,,olpmes before us They abound with familiar
n.mes and with epstlcs sgnei by great peo-
ME But the entree is not after all gwen
In that famous table where, aS HN"hSS
Smith put il. above was light. and below was
darkness aud crashing of teeth the oIsuh-
gpished guests come and go, ana we near ue'I
names and catch 0cctng glimpses OF them nu'
they are. at best, pale shadows, IKE thoSc ,n"'
,,a,ber on the further side OF StyN to lament te'r
own insuhstantialty and the warm preclhc's Vi 'e
cheerful day surrendered for the phaatasmai CON
sa,o,iops of the Flvsian Fields. Mr.. Clayden oh
serves that the story OF nifty years p"sseu III SUI
society rs Rogers lived in may be told IN TWO
,avs II may be worked up into brilliant mar
,otive or il may be left for the actors IN u 10
describe in their own diaries and letters. have
hoeon tho latter course We wish Mr.. Ciayden
had chosen the other plan. on the principle OF the
,,.rn,exed guest. who when asked whether ne
,,,onld take tea or coffee, replied ii what
hoa last WAS ten ] will take coffee; II IL was
coffee l will take tea OF course ~ l. poss'oie
that the brilliant narrative would nave cec"
bevond him, but at least he could have urea IT,
As il is he has fallen far short oil satis'y1's me
cxnectations raised by his preface Tor the u"''or
Is that the people he quotes so freely ci'ne' n"''
told all they had TO tell before, or else they h"Nc
not that 10 tell which the world wants 10 KNOW
uov,vard's brilliant article on Rogers IN uie
/. Edinburgh" really gave "A much o'''r anu
even fuller idea Of him and his career th'h c"l DC
obtained from the three volumes Mr.. Oayoeh mas
devoted 10 the subject; and that is uhior'"n"'o
for the biOgrapher. u
tions which deserve quotaton' however anu
,,hicb. if not,new, are at least unfamiliar Inc
following is about Person, the srea' "r'o''i'
whose infr1nity is well known
porson once dined at Hoppner's. but there was vas
mn vine as Mrs Hopper wa~ out ana han llhel tro
W. w. ~ The wine cupboard. After dinner PorSon ~
s u,tya1e use IN the bedroom. and induced Hoppner
to search for IT, bottle was found ac wa p and
Tn,shed H. when his wife came home H9 fapt
haunted her with the concealed IRAN, snu i nrunk
r,df
r. - exclaimed Mrs. HOppner, Coca "Oo' IL ""'
spirits of wine for the lamp
After that it is perhaps no wonder horne iooi>'
used 10 say that Person would drink INK ra'her
than nothing When he dined with rogers such
xas his desire 70 drink that he would slip back
after dinner) 10 the dining-room, pour together
tho drops of wine left by the guests IN their
c,asses and drink the mixture Rogers, how
ever always maintained that all this was only
the weak and distressing side of truly great
and noble character
Mr.. Clsyden appears to have solved the mystery
of Sberidans sources of income. 1t Will DC re-
numbered that Moore unable TO do So ana
Professor Mimic in the Encyclopaedia Britannlca
observes article Sheridan that his biographarS