JOHN HOOLE, 1727-1803, a native of London, and for nearly forty years clerk in the East India House, is chiefly known as a translator from the Italian. He rendered Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, the dramas of Metastasio, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, and produced one or two weak original dramas. "Mr. Hoole, the translator of Tasso and Ariosto, and in that capacity a noble transmuter of gold into lead."- Sir W. Scott.

WILLIAM BOSCAWEN, 1752-1811, a lawyer and a writer on law, is known to literature by a Translation of Horace into English Verse; The Progress of Satire; and a volume of Original Poems.

CHARLES DIBDIN, 1745-1814, a song-writer, dramatist, and actor, wrote nearly twelve hundred sea-songs, which were very popular with British tars.

"These Songs have been the solace of sailors in long voyages, in storms, in battles; they have been quoted in mutinies, to the restoration of order and discipline." One of these songs, Poor Tom Bowling, is particularly commended. He wrote 47 dramatic pieces; also, A Complete History of the English Stage, 5 vols., 8vo.-CHARLES DIRDIN, JR., d. 1833, a son of the preceding, wrote also a number of songs and dramas.-THOMAS DIBDIN, 1771-1841, also a son of Charles, was, like his father and his brother, a songwriter and dramatist. He composed more than 1000 songs, and 39 dramatic pieces; also, The Metrical History of England, 2 vols.; and Reminiscences, 2 vols.

JOHN PHILIP KEMBLE, 1757-1823, brother of Charles and uncle of Mrs. Fanny Kemble, was the most celebrated actor of his times. He wrote several plays, which, however, were never printed, altered many of Shakespeare's plays to adapt them to the stage, and published an Essay on Macbeth and Richard III. In 1780 he published a volume of Fugitive Pieces, which he soon endeavored to suppress.-MRS. MARIE THErese Kemble, 1774-1838, wife of Charles and mother of Fauny and Charles Mitchell Kemble, was the author of several comedies and interludes.

II. THE DRAMATISTS.

Sheridan.

Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan, 1751–1816, was a brilliant Parliamentary orator. His chief distinction, however, was as a dramatist. In this respect, he is inferior to Shakespeare only. As mere acting plays, those of Sheridan are considered the best in the language.

Early Career. Sheridan was the son of Thomas Sheridan the lexicographer and actor. He was born in Dublin, and educated at Harrow. There young Sheridan was so backward as to be pronounced by some of his masters "an impenetrable dunce." Dr. Parr, however, then at Harrow, formed a different opinion. In 1772, Sheridan married the beautiful Miss Linley, then celebrated not only for her beauty, but for her singing. He began the study of law about this time, but was never

admitted to the bar. To support himself and his wife, he took to writing plays.

Authorship. In 1775 appeared The Rivals, the first of a series of comedies that have made their author famous wherever the English language is spoken. The Duenna was produced before the close of 1775; and in 1777 appeared The School for Scandal, his masterpiece. In 1779 Sheridan produced The Critic. The Stranger, and Pizarro, which followed, are adaptations from the German of Kotzebue.

In Parliament. — Sheridan's fame as an author was now at its height. But he was destined to win other laurels, equally great. Having attracted the attention of the Whig party, he gained a seat in Parliament, and was an active supporter of Fox. In 1788, during the impeachment of Warren Hastings, Sheridan delivered his two socalled Begum speeches, the first of which was pronounced by acclamation the most wonderful single speech ever made in Parliament. When the orator, until then comparatively unknown, had finished, the House was a scene of utter commotion and applause, cheering, and clapping of hands. So great was the confusion that no one else could be heard, and the House adjourned. It is greatly to be regretted that we have only a meagre and incorrect report of this wonderful performance. His other numerous speeches, able as they are, do not justify any such extraordinary fame.

As a dramatist, Sheridan is among the very best that have written for the English stage. The great fault of them all is that they are too uniformly clever. Even the subordinate characters jest and banter, and there are no dull ones to relieve the leading characters. For all that, no plays have been more steadily successful, and have made the reputation of more young actors, than The Rivals, The School for Scandal, and The Critic. The names of Sir Anthony Absolute, Bob Acres, Lydia Languish, Mrs. Malaprop, Joseph Surface, Mrs. Candor, and Lady Sneerwell, have become household words. Sheridan's pieces are all good acting plays; sparkling with wit, they never allow impatience to attack the audience. The Rivals is written decidedly under the inspiration of Smollett, and The School for Scandal under that of Fielding. Byron's opinion was that Sheridan had produced the best in every department upon which he had ventured the best comedy (School for Scandal), the best farce (The Critic), the best address (the monologue on Garrick), and the best oration (the Begum speech).

Sheridan was improvident and careless in his way of living, and died in great pecuniary embarrassment.

THOMAS SHERIDAN, JR., 1721-1788, father of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, a native of Ireland, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, was noted as an actor, a teacher of elocution, and a lexicographer.

Thomas Sheridan frequently played in company with Garrick. at Drury Lane, and was manager of that theatre for three years. His published works on elocution and reading are numerous. The best known work, however, is his General Dictionary of the English Language. Its chief value consists in the careful attention which it gives to pronunciation. He was, in fact, like Walker, an orthoepist, rather than a lexicographer.

THOMAS SHERIDAN, SR., 1684–1738, the grandfather of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, a native of Ireland, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, published only two works, a

metrical translation of the Philoctetes of Sophocles, and a prose version of the Satires of Perseus. He appears to have been a great wit, punster, and merriment-maker of his day, and an intimate friend of Swift. On the anniversary of the King's birthday, Sheridan, being chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, chose for his text, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,”—a practical joke which cost him his chaplaincy. "Illstarred, good-natured, and improvident, a punster, a quibbler, a fiddler, and a wit. Not a day passed without a rebus, an anagram, or a madrigal. His pen and his fiddle-stick were in continual motion, and yet to little or no purpose.” — Lord Cork.

MRS. FRANCES SHERIDAN, 1724-1766, the mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, daughter of Dr. Philip Chamberlain, was the author of several novels and plays. She appears to have been a very attractive woman, as both Parr and Dr. Johnson are emphatic in her praises. Her Memoirs have been written by her grand-daughter, Alicia Lefanu. Her works are Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph, a novel in three volumes: The Discovery, a comedy in which Garrick acted with success; The Dupe, a Comedy; and The History of Nourjahad, a Novel, afterwards dramatized by Sophie Lee. The Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph were very popular in their day, and received great commendation from Johnson and others. The plot of Richard Brinsley Sheridan s School for Scandal is taken from it, and it was also translated into French.

Garrick.

DAVID GARRICK, 1716-1779, the greatest of English actors, was also a man of letters, and was the intimate friend and associate of nearly all the great writers of England who were contemporary with him.

In his youth Garrick went to school to Samuel Johnson, in Lichfield, and in 1736 master and pupil went to London together to seek their fortunes. Johnson became the autocrat among authors, Garrick the prince without a peer among actors. As author, Garrick wrote several dramatic pieces, The Lying Valet, The Miss in her Teens, and the Clandestine Marriage; and he altered a large number of others, besides writing numerous Epigrams, Odes, Songs, Prologues, Epilogues, etc. His Poetical Works have been published in 2 vols., 12mo; and his Private Correspondence, in 2 vols., 4to.

Foote.

SAMUEL FOOTE, 1722-1777, is sometimes called the "English Aristophanes." He wrote a large number of comedies for his own acting, in a playhouse belonging to himself, The Little Theatre in the Haymarket.

Foote's Dramatic Works have been published in 4 vols., 8vo. There is nothing spe cially notable in them, except their good-natured fun. In this respect, Foote was as irresistible in private as he was on the stage. "The first time I was in company with Foote was at Fitzherbert's. Having no good opinion of the fellow, I was resolved not to be pleased; and it is very difficult to please a man against his will. I went on eating my dinner pretty sullenly, affecting not to mind him: but the dog was so very comical that I was obliged to lay down my knife and fork, throw myself back in my chair, and fairly laugh it out. He was irresistible," Dr. Johnson,

Colman.

GEORGE COLMAN, 1733-1794, was an eminent dramatist and theatrical manager, of the last century.

Colman was born at Florence, where his father at that time was British Minister. He was entered at Westminster School, where he gave cigns of talent. From Westminster he went to Oxford, and thence to Lincoln's Inn to study law. But the bent of his mind was in another direction, and the law gave way to letters and the stage. He entered fully upon a theatrical career about the age of twenty-seven, and he continued it to the end. He wrote a large number of plays for the stage; he had a share in the proprietorship of Covent Garden; and he undertook the management of the Haymarket. In 1789, at the age of fifty-six, he lost his reason, and he died about five years afterwards.

Colman's dramatic works fill 4 vols., 8vo. The names of some of the most successful plays are Polly Honeycomb, The Jealous Wife, etc. Ile translated the Comedies of Terence into English blank verse. He also translated Horace's Art of Poetry. Both these works show taste and scholarship. He contributed humorous papers to several periodicals. His miscellaneous writings fill 3 vols.

RICHARD GLOVER, 1712–1785, was a London merchant, who, without the advantages of a University education, attained such proficiency in learning as to be styled by Warton "one of the best Greek scholars of his time." He was also famous in his day as a poet, and attained eminence as a politician, being several times elected to Parliament. It is not improbable that his Parliamentary influence had something to do with the extravagant applause given to him for his scholarship and his poetry, Fielding, Lyttleton, and others, who swelled the chorus, being of the same political party with him.

Works.-Glover's principal publications are the following: Leonidas, a Poem, 4to, celebrating the defence of Thermopyla; The Atheniad, a Poem, a continuation of the Leonidas; London, or the Progress of Commerce, a Poem, 4to; Hosier's Ghost, a Ballad, written to excite the English against the Spaniards, and very sensational in character; Boadicea, a Tragedy, performed for nine nights; Medea, a Tragedy, “written on the Greek model, and therefore unfit for the modern stage; " Jason, a Tragedy, "requiring scenery of the most expensive kind, and never exhibited."

"His Leonidas acquired extraordinary popularity in its day, and appears, like the pseudo-Ossian, to have obtained a higher, or, at least, a more lasting reputation on the continent than in its own country. The Atheniad was intended as a sequel to Leonidas, and embraces the remainder of the Persian war, from the death of Leonidas to the battle of Platea. It was the work of the author's old age, and its defects are, in part, attributable to the circumstance of its not having received his finishing hand. In th... latter performance, accordingly, the abilities of the author show themselves more matured, and his peculiar properties more fully developed.” — Retrospective Review.

JOHN HOME, 1724-1808, acquired general celebrity by his play of Douglas.

Home was a native of Ancrum, Scotland. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland. In 1757, he was obliged to withdraw from the ministry to avoid degradation, in consequence of having published, and had performed, his play of Douglas. His patron, Lord Bute, procured for him a pension and a sinecure office under the Government. Home served as a volunteer against the Pretender in 1745. He was the author of several plays, none of which, except The Douglas, met with any success. This last, a tragedy, was greeted with enthusiasm on the occasion of its first rendering, and has maintained its position ever since. Several of its scenes are unsurpassed for effectiveness upon the stage. Besides his dramatic pieces, Home published, in 1802, A History of the Rebellion of 1745, which has its merits of style, but can scarcely be called a trustworthy historical work, and has been severely criticized even by some of Home's warmest admirers.

ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, 1735-1787, an Irish dramatic writer, produced a large number of plays. More than twenty are named. Three comic pieces, Love in a Village, The Maid of the Mill, and Lionel and Clarissa, were particularly successful.

REV. SAMUEL BISHOP, 1731-1795; a clergyman, schoolmaster, and poet, published sev eral poetical works, but is chiefly known as the author of the farce of High Life below Stairs, often attributed to Garrick.

III. MISCELLANEOUS PROSE WRITERS.

Hannah More.

Hannah More, 1745-1833, was a "bright particular star in the firmament of letters all through three of the periods marked in the present treatise, those, namely, of Johnson, Cowper, and Walter Scott. But she culminated during the last ten years of the eighteenth century, and to that period accordingly she has been assigned.

Though never married, she acquired by courtesy, in her later years, the title of Mrs. Hannah More, according to a beautiful usage not then extinct in England. She wrote much both in verse and prose, but distinguished herself chiefly in the latter.

Of all writers of her day, of either sex, none exerted by their writings a purer influence; and she is entitled to lasting remembrance for the services which she rendered in improving and elevating the standard of private morals. She was pre-eminently the moralist of her generation.

Hannah More's earliest productions were dramatic. Among them are The Search after Happiness, The Inflexible Captive, Percy, and