448 THE ENGLISH STAGE. tragic actors, before the appearance of Garrick, seemed to have had but an imperfect notion of their business. Garrick introduced a natural in the place of an artificial style of acting. This new style led to a better taste in writing. Instead of the rant and fustian of Dryden and Lee, which the old players delighted to mouth, Garrick and his disciples displayed their bewitching power of moving the passions chiefly in the pathetic and awful scenes of Shakespeare and Otway, to which they drew more general admiration. And Aaron Hill, a great promoter of natural playing, having adapted to the English stage several of the elegant and interesting tragedies of Voltaire, gave variety to theatrical exhibitions. Some of the productions of Mason and of Glover are pregnant with nature and passion. Garrick also excelled in comedy. We had few new comedies of any merit till Hoadly produced the "Suspicious Husband," and Foote those inimitable sketches of real life which were so long the delight of the town, and justly gained him the name of the English Aristophanes. At length Colman, in the "Jealous Wife" and the "Clandestine Marriage," united the humour of Plautus to the elegance of Terence, and our comedy seemed to be perfected. But a new species was afterwards imported from France, of which Kelly's "False Delicacy," and Cumberland's "West Indian," may be regarded as specimens. Scenery and costume underwent great improvements; dancing was carried to perfection, and theatrical music made rapid advances. Gay's "Beggar's Opera" was the first successful original musical piece produced upon the English stage. Handel soon afterwards introduced a new species of musical drama, to which he gave the name of an Oratorio, and in which he exerted all his powers of combining harmony, to the delight and astonishment of the musical world. § 571. Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren were native architects of great merit. The latter is rendered immortal by the plan of St. Paul's and of St. Stephen's, Walbrook; exclusive of his other great designs-that of Greenwich Hospital, or the additions to the palace of Hampton Court. Wren was succeeded by the classical Lord Burlington, a liberal patron of the arts, and no contemptible professor; and by the ponderous but inventive Kent, whose plan of Holkham, the seat of the earl of Leicester, in Norfolk, and his temple of Venus in Stowe Gardens, if he had designed nothing else, would entitle him to a CELEBRATED MEN. 449 distinguished rank among modern architects. But Kent was greatly surpassed in architecture by Sir William. Chambers, Wyat, Adams, and others, who adorned the capital and every part of the kingdom with edifices in the purest taste of antiquity, combining elegance with conveniency, and lightness with solidity. Nor should Milne, the architect of Blackfriars Bridge, be forgotten. Hogarth, the first eminent English painter, if we except Scott, who excelled in sea-pieces, may be said to have formed a new school. Above the Flemish comic painters, who servilely copy low life, or debase it into farce, and below the best Italian masters, who generally draw exalted characters, and elevate human nature, he delineates, like Fielding and Smollett, the ludicrous features of ordinary life, with as much truth and force as either, and with a more direct view to a moral purpose. Those who are in doubt about this matter need only consult his "Harlot's Progress," his "Rake's Progress," his "Marriage à la Mode," and his "Stages of Cruelty." Halley illustrated the theory of the tides, and increased the catalogue of the stars; while Maclaurin made great progress in algebra, and Gregory reduced astronomy to a regular system. The vegetable system of Tull led to the greatest improvements in agriculture; and the bold discoveries of Franklin, in electricity, may be said to have given birth to a new science. Among the successors of Locke, Hume is entitled to the first place; not that his metaphysical inquiries are more acute than those of Berkeley, Baxter, Hartley, or perhaps of Reid; but because his discoveries, like those of his great master, have a more intimate relation to human affairs-are of universal application in science, and are closely connected with the leading principles of the arts. If Mr. Hume was happy in illustrating his metaphysical system, he was yet more successful in exemplifying it. His moral, political, and literary essays, are perfect models of philosophical investigation. It is, however, to be regretted that his writings are tainted with scepticism. Amongst other celebrated men who flourished in England during this period, may be mentioned Arbuthnot, a miscellaneous writer, who died in 1735; Bentley, a classical critic, who lived from 1662 to 1742; Isaac Watts, a writer of sacred poetry, 1674-1748; and Doddridge, the theologian, who died in 1751. Edward Young, the poet, flourished 1684-1765; David Mallet, the poet, 1700-1765. Bishop 450 BISHOP ATTERBURY. Atterburya died in exile in 1731, and in the same year Daniel Defoe breathed his last at the age of seventy. The term Methodists was first applied to a religious party in England in 1728. It was a designation given at Oxford to Charles Wesley and his followers. a Of this remarkable, eccentric, and unfortunate person, a living historian says:"Few men have attained a more complete mastery of the English language; and all his compositions are marked with peculiar force, elegance, and dignity of style. A fine person and a graceful delivery added lustre to his eloquence, both in the pulpit and in the House of Lords. His haughty and aspiring mind constantly impelled him into violent measures, which were well supported by his abilities, but which seemed in some degree alien from his sphere. It is well observed by Mirabeau, in speaking of the duke of Brunswick, that one great sign of a well-regulated character, is not merely to be equal to its daily task, but to be satisfied with it, and not to step beyond it in search of fresh employment. Atterbury, on the contrary, could never remain tranquil. He might be compared to the chivalrous Peterborough exclaiming to the Minister,-'You must find me work in the Old World or the New!' His devotion to the Protestant faith was warm and pure; his labours for the Established Church no less praiseworthy; but his defence was of somewhat too fierce and turbulent a character; he thought less of personal worth than of party principles in others; and he was one of those of whom it has been wittily said, that out of their zeal for religion they have never time to say their prayers! Yet in private life no trace of his vehemence and bitterness appeared; his softer hour' is affectionately remembered by Pope, and his own devoted love to his daughter, Mrs. Morice, sheds a milder light around his character. On the whole, he would have made an admirable Bishop had he been a less good partisan." This is an exquisite picture of the man. THE STAMP ACT. 451 PART III. FROM THE PEACE OF PARIS, IN 1763, TO THE CHAPTER I. LETTER 1.-View of the Situation of Great Britain, from the Termination of the War to the Dissensions with the American Colonies. A.D. 1763-1774. Vol. iii., pages 1-7. § 572. THE peace of 1763 left the nations of Europe under the pressure of enormous taxation. The reduction of the armies at the same time dispersed a number of men, whose military habits unfitted them for peaceful industry. Some of these sought a home in Russia, but the majority took refuge in America. The country gentlemen and the landed proprietors resided more in the capital; and this alteration in their mode of life caused such a change amongst the lower classes, that numbers, more particularly from Ireland and the highlands of Scotland, were induced to emigrate. The British people were dissatisfied with the terms of peace. Though the French had been expelled from the continent of America, and the disorderly court of Louis XV. could not be an object of serious apprehension, the English government established a permanent military force in that colony, under a commander-in-chief. The introduction of the Stamp Act caused the greatest discontent (1765). The colonists refused to submit; and Massachusetts took the lead in the resistance. The British Parliament rescinded the obnoxious measure (March 8, 1766), and the Americans celebrated this as a great triumph. The colonists declared that the mother country had no right whatever to impose taxes upon them. This 452 QUARREL WITH AMERICA. was, however, clearly wrong, for England had embarked in an arduous contest in their defence, and was entitled to ask them to share the burthens which it entailed. § 573. The progress of the North American colonies, had been most rapid. In most of the European states, population doubled once in a hundred years; in North America this was accomplished in twenty-five. Of course this result was chiefly owing to the stream of emigration that set steadily from the old world. The constitution of the American colonies bore the original impress of liberty. The British monarch appointed the governors, and the resident proprietors elected a council. Such was the general plan adopted, with various modifications, in the different states. Soon after the withdrawal of the Stamp Act, the English government imposed a duty of twenty-five per cent. upon tea (1767). The Americans again resisted; and in Boston three cargoes of tea were thrown into the harbour (1773). The government prepared to vindicate its authority, and the Americans convened a general Congress, which resolved that the Parliament of Great Britain had the right of enacting general laws, and the king that of refusing to confirm the provincial statutes; but that in all matters relating to property, none but the owners, or their representatives, had any power to legislate (1774). The governors took refuge in England, and the British Parliament persevered. Lord North was now at the head of affairs. The earl of Bute had resigned in 1763 (April 8), and had been succeeded by George Grenville, who became involved in a quarrel with John Wilkes. This celebrated demagogue published in No. 45 of the "North Briton," an attack upon the king's speech of the current year. A general warrant was issued against author, printer, and publisher; and John Wilkes was sentenced to expulsion from the House of Commons and outlawed (Jan. 20, 1764). The ministry was in a very precarious condition, and after several attempts to strengthen it, the marquis of Rockingham took office (July 10, 1765). This cabinet did not last long, and Pitt, as earl of Chatham, again succeeded to power (July 12, 1766). The great commoner did not long retain the helm; changes ensued, which terminated in the elevation of Lord North (Jan. 28, 1770); and, under his administration, the dispute with America degenerated into open warfare. |