castle in the comedy of She Stoops to Conquer. That season produced at the same time Henderson and Edwin. In the ensuing winter Miss Farren went to Liverpool, where she appeared in Rosetta, a character which she afterwards repeated in London with great success. But the part which at once established her fame as an actress was Lady Townly, which we owe to the celebrated Parsons, who, with infinite difficulty, prevailed upon her to try it for his benefit. The whole house was enraptured with her performance, and Miss Farren was engaged on that night for both the great theatres, and played alternately at Drury-Lane and CoventGarden the first characters in tragedy as well as comedy. On the secession of Mrs. Abington from Drury-Lane, Miss Farren succeeded to her principal parts, and at that theatre she remained until her marriage with the earl of Derby. She was the Oldfield of her day. It was well said of her by an eminent critic, that in her performances she never deviated from the walk for which art as well as nature designed her; that were we to collect every idea which has been suggested to us by books, or has been the result of our own observations on life, assisted by all that the imagination could conceive of a woman of fashion, we should find every idea realised and every conception embodied in the person and acting of Miss Farren. Her figure was considerably above the middle stature, and of that slight texture which allowed and required the use of full and flowing drapery-an advantage of which she well knew how to avail herself: her face, though not regularly beautiful, was animated and prepossessing; her eye, blue, and penetrating, was a powerful feature when she chose to employ it on the public, and either flashed with spirit, or melted with softness, as its mistress decided on the expression she wished to convey. Her voice, though it never possessed much sweetness, was refined and feminine; and her smiles fascinated the heart as much as her form delighted the eye. In short, a more complete exhibition of graces and accomplishments never perhaps presented itself for admiration before the view of an audience. She continued to occupy the highest rank in genteel comedy to the end of her the atrical career. Her last performances were, Violante, Maria in the Citizen, Estifania, Susan in the Follies of a Day,

Bizarre in the Inconstant, and Lady Teazle. On the night of her retirement, the anxiety of the public to see the last of this delightful actress was so great, that the theatre was crowded soon after the doors were opened. Toward the conclusion of the play Miss Farren appeared much affected, and received much support from Mr. Wroughton and Mr. King. The fall of the curtain was attended with repeated bursts of applause, not unmingled with feelings of regret for the loss of such an actress, then in the zenith of her charms, and whilst her dramatic repu tation was higher than ever. In private life Miss Farren was perfectly irreproachable; her dutiful attachment to her mother, from whom she was seldom absent, except when engaged in her profession, was the best eulogy on the qualities of her heart. She superintended and acted in the private theatricals at RichmondHouse, where Charles Fox, general Fitzpatrick, lord John Townshend, and the earl of Derby, sustained characters in the drama; and it was on this occasion that she first attracted the notice of the earl, who, on the death of his first countess, cemented an union, as honorable to the merits of this fascinating lady as to his lordship's penetration.

Archdeacon Nares.-This gentleman was the son of a teacher of music and the nephew of judge Nares, and was born at York in 1753. He was educated at Westminster-school and at Oxford; and, being distinguished by his classical attainments, he was, in 1779, taken into the family of the late Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, as tutor to the baronet's sons. Having interest as well as merit, he soon obtained some ecclesiastical preferments. At Lincoln's-Inn, for fifteen years, he displayed, as preacher to the society, his theological and ethical knowlege, and his powers of argumentation; yet he never rose to a bishopric, though he was more worthy of that dignity than some who have been advanced to it. His publications were numerous; but some of them are now nearly forgotten. In concert with Mr. Beloe, he carried on the British Critic for many years, though with less ability than might have been expected from an intelligent reviewer, because his Tory prejudices obstructed the coolness of his reasoning and the equity of his literary decisions. Each of the half-yearly volumes had a preface written by him, exhibiting a summary of the literature of the time. He was

Mr. Scott, the Orientalist.-Jonathan Scott was born and bred at Shrewsbury, and was so attached to his native town, that he resumed his residence in it after a very_long interval of absence. At the age of twelve years he went to India, where, by his rising abilities and meritorious conduct, he obtained the patronage of Warren Hastings, to whom he was appointed Persian secretary. In 1794, he gratified the public by his correct translation of Ferishta's History of the Decan, by his continuation of that work, from other native writers and from his own researches, to the time of publication, and by the addition of the history of Bengal. His Garden of Oriental Knowlege also excited great attention; his Tales, Anecdotes, and Letters, from the Arabic and Persian, were likewise eagerly read; and his revised edition of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, being reinforced by a selection of new tales, then first translated, established his reputation among the admirers of Oriental literature. The introduction to this work, we may add, is particularly valuable. This gentleman lived, respected and esteemed, to the age of 75 years. He was of a kind and generous disposition, modest in his demeanor, unostentatious in his manners, and retired in his habits. He had four brothers, of whom one was the well-known major Scott, the zealous but not very able defender of the administration of Hastings.

Mr. Thomas Harrison, the Architect. -Having an early taste for the fine arts, Mr. Harrison went to Rome about the year 1769, and passed several years in that city, where he recommended himself to pope Ganganelli, who bestowed upon him a gold medal for his architectural drawings. After his return to England, he commenced the practice of his profession at Lancaster, where he altered and improved the castle, and erected a bridge, which is said to be the first level bridge ever constructed in this country. At Chester he still more distinguished himself. The Armory and the Exchange buildings, which form the east and west wings of the County-Hall, and the fine gateway before it, were built after designs furnished by Mr. Harrison; and the new bridge across the Dee, now in progress, which is to be formed of one

arch, of one hundred feet span, is also from his design. A column at Sbrewsbury in honor of lord Hill, a triumphal arch at Holyhead, built to commemorate the king's landing there, and the Jubilee Tower upon Moel Famma, owe their beauties in a great measure to him; to which may be added the Athenæum and St. Nicholas' Tower in Liverpool, and the Theatre and Exchange in Manchester.-He was likewise cousulted in the formation of the Waterloo Bridge, for which purpose he was called up to London, and was the first person who proposed a grand quay on the banks of the Thames, to be built from Westminster Bridge to that of Blackfriars. Several years since, he was honored with a visit from count Woronzof, formerly ambassador from the court of Russia to England, who was passing through Chester, and expressed much admiration of the new buildings; he was requested by the count's son to design a palace to be built in the Ukraine upon the banks of the Dnieper, and a gateway for the triumphal entrance of the late czar. The design is in the Grecian style, and the palace has a range of apartments on the principal floor, which form a vista of five hundred feet in length.

Dr. Stephen Luke. This physician was a native of Cornwall, and of an old and respectable family. He studied medicine both at home and on the continent; and, directing the energies of a strong mind to one point, he early acquired skill in his profession, which he practised for some years at Falmouth; but, the fatigues of extensive country practice being too severe for his health, he removed to Exeter. Abilities like his, however, could not long be hidden in a remote part of the kingdom. They be came known to so many who had been benefited by them, that he received numerous and pressing invitations to settle in the metropolis, as the only scene on which eminent talents could find a fair field and be duly appreciated. Nor were the expectations of himself and his friends disappointed by this step. He obtained almost immediately an extensive course of practice, and was at length distinguished by being appointed one of his majesty's physicians in ordinary. He was remarkable for his prompt and acute perception of the seat and cause of disease, and, with a consequent self-reliance on his own skill, his practice was bold, decisive, and generally successful.

Nor was he more recommended to his patients by extraordinary ability in his profession, than by his gentlemanly manners, and the tenderness with which he treated them. He married Miss Vivian, a lady of Cornwall, who remains with offspring to lament his death.

Lord Colchester.-The study of the law and the practice of politics frequently lead, in this country, to the honors of the peerage. Mr. Charles Abbot, the son of a beneficed clergyman, was born in 1757, and was educated at Westminster School, where he manifested the same diligence which distinguished him in after-life, under Dr. Markham and Dr. Smith; and went off to Christ Church, Oxford, as the head student of the year 1775. He gained the prize poem for Latin verses in 1777; and the subject being the czar Peter I. he was honored with a gold medal by the empress of Russia. He traveled to Geneva for improvement in foreign law in 1781, and took a law degree in the next year. Soon afterwards he was called to the bar, and practised with increasing success until other objects attracted his notice. In 1790 his name appears in the journals of the house of commons as having been a candidate for Helston; and, on a vacancy in the representation of that borough, caused by the remarkable appointment of Sir Gilbert Elliot as viceroy of Corsica, he came into parliament in June 1795. In the beginning of the next session he distinguished himself by an uncompromising speech on the bill against seditious meetings, in which he fearlessly attacked the leading democrats of the day.

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When Mr. Pitt consented to the appointment of a committee of finance, Mr. Abbot became the chairman, and those reports which he particularly prepared were very precise and correct.

An unostentatious act of great importance was among the best fruits of this committee, a bill being introduced for charging public accountants with the payment of interest, in consequence of which reguHation, the "unaccounted millions" which used to be retained indefinitely by successive paymasters and others, in and out of office, becoming chargeable with interest, have not since been retained.

Is He highly distinguished himself in the sequel by promoting the classification and illustration of the national records; and printed copies of these valuable documents were gratuitously distributed among

the public bodies of the realm. At the commencement of Mr. Addington's administration, he was appointed chief secretary for Ireland under lord Hardwicke, and keeper of the privy seal; and commenced such reforms of the several public offices there as might be expected from the chairman of the finance committee. His parliamentary activity had now marked him out as a proper successor to Sir John Mitford in the chair of the house of commons. He was elected speaker in 1802, and took possession of the office as that in which he had resolved to equal, and if possible to surpass, his predecessors, and to maintain with exemplary regularity the useful restrictions imposed by ancient forms on an assembly, composed indeed of somewhat discordant materials, but which under his guidance assumed a dignified consistency worthy of a body which astonished the civilised world by the facility with which it drew out our national resources during a war chequered with adversity, but terminating in exaltation and triumph.

When he had filled the chair for fifteen years, he resigned his station for a peerage and a pension, but did not retire from public life. He directed his attention to various national concerns, superintended the improvement of the Highlands, and strongly and repeatedly opposed the claims of the catholics. His private character, at the same time, entitled him to great respect. The erysipelas, by which he had been frequently harassed, at length proved fatal to him. He left two sons by a daughter of Sir Philip Gibbes: one (the new peer) is a captain in the navy, and the other is a barrister of promising abilities.

THE POET AND THE COMPOSER.

THE honor of lord Byron's acquaintance was courted by men of high talent; but, whether Mr. Nathan may justly claim that designation, we may reasonably doubt. At any rate, he considers himself as capable of throwing light on the poet's character, and has therefore strung together some reminiscences for the amusement of the public. Some of them are frivolous, while others are at least worthy of perusal.

That lord Byron could happily compliment a lady, appears from the following passage."At a party where his

lordship was present, a reference to those elegant lines, commencing with "If that high world,' had given rise to a specu lative argument on the probable nature of happiness in a future state, and occasioned a desire in one of the ladies to ascertain his opinion on the subject: as she requested therefore to know what might constitute, in his idea, the happiness of the next world, he quickly replied, The pleasure, madam, of seeing you

there.'

To Mr. Nathan's Hebrew melodies lord Byron furnished the verses; and on that subject the reminiscent says. "At the time his lordship was writing for me the poetry to these melodies, he felt anxious to facilitate my views in preserving as much as possible the original airs, for which purpose he would frequently consult me regarding the style and metre of his stanzas. I accordingly desired to be favored with so many lines pathetic, some playful, others martial, &c. One evening, when he was obligingly submitting to my wishes in that respect, I unfortunately (while absorbed for a moment in worldly affairs) requested so many dull lines-meaning plaintive. His lordship, observing that I was wrapped up in deep meditation, and understanding my real meaning, instantly caught at the expression, which so much tickled his fancy, that he was convulsed with laughter, and exclaimed, Well, Nathan! you have at length set me an easy task.' This afforded him amusement for the rest of the evening, and observing my confusion whenever his eye met mine, he would occasionally make some witty allusion to the dull lines, until I enjoyed the joke equally with himself.

The

result, however, proved very fortunate for me; for before we parted he presented me these beautifully pathetic lines, say ing, 'Here, Nathan, I think you will find them dull enough.'

Of lord Byron's philosophical abstinence, and of his liberality, we have these anecdotes." He abstained from eating animal food, partaking but sparingly of every other dish which came to table. He was particularly fond of eating the crusty part of a loaf, which he always cut himself; this peculiarity excited the risible muscles of a certain honorable gentleman, at whose house he frequently spent his evenings: the gentleman facetiously remarked, that his servants complained that his lordship left them nothing but crumbs to eat. Lord Byron

On

felt the force of this irony, but instantly retorted-Nathan, your progenitors would have been more grateful for such indulgences in luxury, when traversing the wilderness with a baker's oven on their backs, with no other fuel than the heat of the sun to prepare their pastry:a scanty portion of crust, Nathan.' another occasion the same gentleman made a remark, that his brandy was fast disappearing; to which his lordship replied-It shall be like the widow's oil, that did not diminish by using;' and the next day sent a few gallons to replenish stock. This certainly enriched his cellar, but who, with the common feelings of hospitality, would have levied such a tax? Lord Byron was a man of the greatest discernment, and could penetrate the secret recesses of a mercenary character; could meet him in his own way, without appearing to do so in the eyes of the individual."

Some amusing theatrical anecdotes are related by Mr. Nathan.-" When Kean was first introduced to lord Byron, his previous intercourse with refined society had been only limited, and meeting the first poet of the age he appeared rather abashed in his presence, till the pleasing urbanity of his lordship's manner gave courage to the tragedian, and rendered him in a short time quite at his ease, and the moments passed in the most social manner. Kean, after relating many anecdotes, with which lord Byron was highly delighted, performed a simple but truly ludicrous exhibition, at which his lordship was convulsed with laughter, and threw himself back upon the sofa quite in ecstasy. Kean with a burnt cork painted the face and body of an opera-dancer upon the back part of his hand, and making his two middle fingers represent the extremities, the upper part the thighs, the lower part the legs, and having painted the nails black to represent shoes, he wrapped his handkerchief round his wrist as a turban: the dancer, thus completed, commenced an opera with great agility and effect; the ludicrous attitudes and nimbleness of the fingers gave such zest to the increased laughter, that his lordship encored the performance with the same enthusiastic rapture as if Kean had been actually engaged in Richard the Third.

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"To keep excited feelings in suspense is to any one most unpleasant, but that unpleasantness is increased in proportion