chamber to the consort of James I.; that he died at an advanced age; was a most exquisite poet and an unrivalled historian. This information, which the editor has dignified with the title of "Memoirs," is nearly all that is known of the author. He appears, from his Apology for Rhyme, addressed to William, Earl of Pembroke, to have been educated under the patronage of that family. Speaking of his application to the study of poetry, he says :

"Having been first encouraged and framed thereunto by your most worthy and honourable mother, and received the first notion for the formal ordering of those compositions at Wilton, which I must ever acknowledge to have been my best school, and thereof always am to hold a feeling and grateful memory. Afterward, drawn farther on by the well-liking and approbation of my worthy lord, the fosterer of me and my muse, I adventured to bestow all my whole powers therein, perceiving it agreed so well, both with the complection of the times, and my own constitution, as I found not wherein I might better employ me."

He was entered a commoner of Magdalene Hall, Oxford, which he quitted at the end of three years, without taking a degree. His poetical works consist of fifty-seven sonnets: The Complaint of Rosamond, The Letter of Octavia to Mark Antony; Hymen's Triumph, and The Queen's Arcadia, two pastoral tragi-comedies; Cleopatra and Philotas, two tragedies; The History of the Civil War; Musophilus, or a General Defence of Learning; and some epistles and miscellaneous poems. The sonnets were his first compositions, and were well received, but the reputation he gained by them he lost by his historical poem : : falling from public favor to neglect, in his lifetime. With a longing after fame, Daniel saw that reputation gradually sinking into indifference and decay, and himself passing from the power of delighting, and the receipt of homage, to the censure of the critic, and the forgetfulness of the public. Finding his dearest hopes thus dying away, well might he exclaim, in the bitterness of his sorrow :

"But years have done this wrong,

To make me write too much and live too long."

His favorite and most elaborate work is, The History of the Civil Wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster; the unfinished state of which he frequently laments. He spent many years in the composition of this poem, on which his hopes of fame chiefly depended; but which only affords another proof of the incapacity of authors to judge of their own productions. The subject itself was ill chosen, and this

ART. IV-1. Biographia Britannica Literaria; or, the Biography of Literary Characters of Great Britain and Ireland, arranged in Chronological Order. Anglo-Saxon Period. By THOMAS WRIGHT, M.A. Published under the Superintendence of the Royal Society of Literature. 8vo. London: 1842.

2. Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature. Second Series. Vol. I. 8vo. London: 1843.

So wide is the realm, and so densely peopled with a noisy multitude is the Republic of Letters, that we dare say there are many of our readers who know very little about the Society whose publications invite this notice. Yet it has been. a number of years in existence, and was right royally founded and munificently endowed by George the Fourth. Among the literary institutions of the present century it holds a prominent place; and among its members and supporters are many individuals of the highest rank in society, and the highest fame in literature and science. Thus, standing apart from the numerous private associations formed for the cultivation and promotion of particular classes of learning, a brief account of its origin and progress may not be unacceptable. Having all the necessary information at our command, we shall therefore commence with a historical sketch of this royal foundation, which though singular, as having emanated spontaneously from the Sovereign, yet presents in its formation all the features of analogous associations, whether springing from private individuals or learned bodies pursuing similar objects. The original steps taken, the difficulties encountered, the gradual progress, and finally, the maturity of plans resulting in operations and effects which endure for many generations, and have an influence on them all, present details of curious interest, well deserving of literary record.

The Royal Society of Literature' originated in an accidental conversation between the late learned and worthy Bishop of St David's (Dr Burgess, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury,) and an eminent person of the royal household, in October 1820, respecting the various institutions which adorn the British name and nation. It was agreed that there seemed to be one wanting for the encouragement and promotion of General Literature; and that if a society, somewhat resembling the French Academy of Belles Lettres, could be established, it might be productive of great advantage to the cause of knowledge. This suggestion was

communicated to Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, and by him mentioned to the King; and his Majesty having expressed his approbation, a general outline of the institution was, by command, submitted to the royal perusal. From seed thus fortuitously scattered, sometimes arise trees that furnish fruit and shelter to mankind.

In November, the Bishop of St David's was summoned to Carlton House, for the purpose of devising the best mode of giving effect to the undertaking; and was entrusted with a full commission to arrange the plan of the society. He accordingly invited a few of his personal friends to assist him; and for some time they held frequent (almost weekly) conferences on the subject. Their first meeting took place on the 30th of that month; and the parties present were, besides the Bishop, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (Mr Vansittart, now Lord Bexley,) the Right Hon. J. C. Villiers, (the last Lord Clarendon,) and Prince Hoare, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Academy, a gentleman distinguished for his love of learning. Letters were read expressing his Majesty's eagerness to promote the object' in hand, and appointing an audience for its further consideration. A statement was printed by Mr John Mortlock, an early friend and member of this initiative committee, and five hundred copies distributed. The title was Royal Society of Literature for the Encouragement of Indigent Merit,* and the Promotion of General Literature;' but the views and means it recommended were soon greatly modified and altered, to adapt them to the ultimate constitution approved of and munificently endowed by the King. A single part of the plan was, however, immediately acted upon, to give signs of public life in the society—namely, the offer of prizes for the following subjects:

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I. For the King's Premium, One Hundred Guineas—“ On the Age, Writings, and Genius of Homer; and on the state of Religion, Society, Learning, and the Arts during that Period: collected from the writings of Homer.'

II. For the Society's Premium, Fifty Guineas- Dartmoor ; a Poem.'

III. For the Society's Premium, Twenty-five Guineas'On the History of the Greek Language, and the Present Language of Greece, especially in the Ionian Isles; and on the difference between the Ancient and Modern Greek.'

* At the first subsequent meeting of the committee, these objectionable words were ordered to be cancelled; and the title then stood simply, For the Encouragement of General Literature.'

Anticipating somewhat the future result, we may here state, that five candidates appeared within the specified time for the second premium. Two others (as is not unusual with poets) were too late. Their productions were referred to a sub-committee of seven, and at a meeting in the British Museum, the prize was adjudged to the motto, Come, bright Improvement;' and the poem, of which two hundred copies were afterwards printed at the expense of the society, was found to be written by Mrs Felicia Hemans. The other premiums were renewed, the third being increased to fifty guineas, and another, of the like sum, was proposed for the best poem on The Fall of Constantinople in the XV.th century. By March 1822, six Essays were received for the Homeric premium, and ten Poems on the Fall of Constantinople; but only one on the Greek language!

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Meanwhile, the Society continued to gather strength, enrolling among its first members the King, who again by letter spoke of his anxiety for the success of the infant undertaking,' the royal Dukes of York and Cambridge, (each subscribing 100 guineas,) the Bishops of Durham, Carlisle, Chester, and Gloucester, Sir M. Tierney, Archdeacon Nares, Dr Gray, (afterwards Bishop of Bristol,) Sir Alexander Johnston, and others ;-several of whom immediately began to take a more or less active part in the proceedings of the committee. Among these, the earliest to be found on the list of attendances were the Rev. Archdeacon Prosser, the Rev. H. H. Baber, the Rev. Lewis Way, Mr William Jerdan, the Bishop of Bangor, and Mr R. Westley Hall Dare. Towards the close of the London spring season of 1821, it was deemed expedient to appoint a provisional council, authorized to act till the Society should consist of two hundred members; and, on the 17th of May, the following were appointed, with three to constitute a quorum. The Bishop of St David's, president, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Vansittart, the Bishops of Bangor, Lincoln, Chester, Salisbury, Gloucester, Mr J. C. Villiers, Sir A. Johnston, Sir M. Tierney, Archdeacon Prosser, Dr Gray, Archdeacon Nares, Messrs H. H. Baber, George Croly, Taylor Combe, Westley Hall Dare, W. Jerdan, and Prince Hoare. The sittings continued till the 26th of July, there being generally from three to seven or eight members present. To afford an idea of the trouble of working out such a design, we may intimate the number of what may be reckoned little else than preliminary conferences and meetings. The earliest conferences previous to the 30th November 1820, were followed by fifteen committee meetings between that date and the 17th of May ensuing, when the provisional council was appointed; and during the remainder of

May, June, and July, the council assembled eleven times, and then adjourned till November.

From November to April 1822, the council continued to attend regularly to the business of the society, and enjoyed the accession of Dr Richards, who has since bequeathed a legacy of L.5000 to promote the objects of the society, which will fall in on a future contingency; of W. Hamilton, Esq., who has long filled, and now fills, the office of foreign secretary; of the Bishop of Carlisle; of A. E. Impey, Esq., who became treasurer, and discharged the duties till very near his death; of the Rev. C. K. Sumner, then librarian to his Majesty at Carlton House, and now Bishop of Winchester; and of Dr Pearson. But its proceedings were greatly paralysed by a sinister report, brought before it by one or two of its members of high rank, and using the name of Lord Sidmouth, intimating that his Majesty had withdrawn his countenance, and that he had been mainly influenced to do so by written representations from Sir Walter Scott. Some of the council were for receding, some for giving up, some for modifying, and only two or three for going on. The state of affairs thus became perplexing, and the resolution of the kindhearted President was somewhat shaken. At length it was determined to ascertain what were the real feelings of the royal founder, and private measures were adopted to obtain this intelligencesuch as are resorted to where true and direct information is desired from the heads of palaces and courts. The issue was most satisfactory. A letter addressed to the President, was received from Mr Hoare at Brighton, where the King was then residing, in answer to one from a fellow-councillor, Mr Jerdan, in London, to the effect that his Majesty's favour was in no manner with'drawn from the R. S. L.;' that the question had been asked of 'the King himself, and that H. M. had expressly declared that no change had taken place in his sentiments of regard for the 'society, nor had the least unfavourable impression been made ' in his mind respecting it.' But the session was, by this time, too far advanced for much action; and Colonel Leake and Dr Pearson being added to the council, an offer of the presidency was made to Lord Grenville, who, though warmly approving of the society, declined the honour, in consequence of his retirement from all public business to Dropmore, and other reasons of a personal nature. On the 11th of July, the adjournment till winter took place; and thus it may be said the second year was spent, if not fruitlessly, yet with very little apparent fruit.

Of the third year, several months were, owing to accidental causes, wasted as before: the election of the Marquis of Lansdowne to the council, and a request that he would accept the