Critical, Historical and Miscellaneous Essays, Volume 6

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Page 199 - A kind of strange oblivion has overspread me, so that I know not what has become of the last year ; and perceive that incidents and intelligence pass over me, without leaving any impression.
Page 162 - A poet may easily be pardoned for reasoning ill; but he cannot be pardoned for describing ill, for observing the world in which he lives so carelessly that his portraits bear no resemblance to the originals, for exhibiting as copies from real life monstrous combinations of things which never were and never could be found together.
Page 51 - Dashwood's financial statement had been confused and absurd beyond belief, and had been received by the House with roars of laughter. He had sense enough to be conscious of his unfitness for the high situation which he held, and exclaimed in a comical fit of despair, "What shall I do? The boys will point at me in the street, and cry, 'There goes the worst Chancellor of the Exchequer that ever was.
Page 155 - Dublin, was enticed into a gaming house, and lost every shilling. He then thought of medicine. A small purse was made up ; and in his twentyfourth year he was sent to Edinburgh. At Edinburgh he passed eighteen months in nominal attendance on lectures, and picked up some superficial information about chemistry and natural history.
Page 152 - Baldearg O'Donnell and galloping Hogan, and about the exploits of Peterborough and Stanhope, the surprise of Monjuich, and the glorious disaster of Brihuega. This man must have been of the Protestant religion ; but he was of the aboriginal race, and not only spoke the Irish language, but could pour forth unpremeditated Irish verses.
Page 214 - The biographer therefore sate down to his task with a mind full of matter. He had at first intended to give only a paragraph to every minor poet, and only four or five pages to the greatest name. But the flood of anecdote and criticism overflowed the narrow channel. The work, which was originally meant to consist only of a few sheets, swelled into ten volumes, small volumes, it is true, and not closely printed. The first four appeared in 1779, the remaining six in 1781. 10 The Lives of the Poets...
Page 110 - Abbey. Though men of all parties had concurred in decreeing posthumous honours to Chatham, his corpse was attended to the grave almost exclusively by opponents of the government. The banner of the lordship of Chatham was borne by Colonel Barre", attended by the Duke of Richmond and Lord Rockingham. Burke, Savile, and Dunning upheld the pall. Lord Carnden was conspicuous in the procession. The chief mourner was young William Pitt.
Page 180 - He was a vicious man, but very kind to me. If you call a dog HERVEY, I shall love him.
Page 184 - I saved appearances tolerably well; but I took care that the Whig dogs should not have the best of it.
Page 82 - Two great orators and statesmen, belonging to two different generations, repeatedly put forth all their powers in defence of the bill. The House of Commons heard Pitt for the last time, and Burke for the first time, and was in doubt to which of them the palm of eloquence should be assigned. It was indeed a splendid sunset and a splendid dawn.

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