like him—he is the very spirit of Parnassus. Have you seen his Lochiel? He will surpass everything ancient or modern-your Pindars, your Drydens, and your Greys. I expect nothing short of a Scotch Milton, a Shakspeare, or something more than either." There are some interesting particulars in the following extract regarding "Lochiel's Warning": "It was justly remarked, by a late physician of much experience, that vigorous bodily health and great aptitude for poetry are rarely united in the same frame. The rule has many exceptions; but the disposition to study is generally in an inverse ratio to a state of physical strength, the tone of which may be lowered without prejudice to the highest operations of the mind. Health and elastic spirits have a natural tendency to carry their possessor into active pursuits, away from study; whilst delicate health and a languid circulation have the opposite and necessary tendency of inducing habits of thought and meditation. Some of the finest compositions in our language appear to have been written while their authors were suffering from habitual ill health. It may be observed through the whole of Campbell's letters, that whenever his mind is actively engaged on any new theme, languor, lassitude, and all those ills that a parturient fancy is heir to, are subjects of frequent complaint. And so it turned out on the present occasion; for, while in one of his letters he says that, in London, his health was so depressed, that he had not even power to transcribe two or three pieces which Lord Minto requested for his own keeping'-he had composed both Lochiel' and Hohenlinden, which afford abundant proof, that however depressed in physical health, his intellectual powers were in full and perfect vigour. As soon as these poems were finished, his health revived; and, returning to Edinburgh, he again took up his residence with his mother and sisters in Alison Square. The list of subscribers to the quarto edition of his poems could now boast of the most distinguished names in the kingdom; but to give the volume a new title to their patronage, it was agreed that it should contain several recent pieces, to which he was to give the finishing touches during the summer. "In answer to a letter, repeating the invitation to Roxburghshire, Campbell thus writes: "TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD MINTO. 466 Edinburgh, June 29th, 1802. "My Lord,-It gave me much pleasure to learn by your lordship's letter of the 28th, that the fever is now banished from your amiable family. I congratulate your lordship upon your happy retirement among your paternal woods and mountains, and wish that I had the muse of Minto beside me, to indite that congratulation in numbers worthy of the scene. I returned to Edinburgh-not, to be sure, with all the satisfaction that one would feel in retiring to a paternal house and estate; but not without sincere delight in visiting the scene of so many friends and favourites. I have seen the worthy family of Lothian House; and, immediately on receipt of your lordship's letter, communicated to them the agreeable news of your young one's being recovered. Nothing could be so agreeable to me as to embrace your lordship's invitation to set out to Minto immediately; but my fear respecting my health having rather increased than diminished, and my spirits being in consequence subject to aların and depression, I should wish to continue a little longer under that advice in which I confide so implicitly; and to come a strong and doughty wight, before I set off for Minto, to enter the lists with Bruce and Wallace. "I have shown Lochiel to several friends here, and have found your lordship's idea of the vulgarity of" hanging" more than once suggested. I own, however, that I am not so lost to paternal affection as to have my eyes opened to the defects of my youngest fugitive. As to hanging, I have still a strong hankering after that punishment, from having learnt accidentally that Lochiel's brother actually suffered that death. Whether it might be proper to describe the process of hanging or not, I certainly think that some advantage might be taken of the above fact, in heightening the horror of the wizard's address. As soon as I have put the piece into its regenerated state, I will send it to your lordship, probably in two or three days. With sincerest and respectful compliments to all the family of Minto, I have the honour to be,-Your lordship's very grateful humble servant, "THOMAS CAmpbell.' Having been criticised and approved in the circle of his private friends, the new poems of Lochiel,' and 'Hohen linden,' were pronounced to be worthy of his reputation. Calling one morning to consult Mrs. Dugald Stewart on a point of some family interest, he took out his manuscript of Lochiel, and read it to her. She listened in-mute attention. But as soon as he had closed the last couplet, she rose gravely from her chair, walked across the room, and laying her hand gently upon his head, said This will bear another wreath of laurel yet!' and, without another word, returned to her seat. But she was evidently much moved; and 'this,' said Campbell, made a stronger impression upon my mind than if she had spoken in a strain of the loftiest panegyric. It was one of the principal incidents in my life that gave me confidence in my own powers.' "Lochiel's Warning,' and 'Hohenlinden,' were intended for the new quarto edition only; but, at the request of his friends, they were printed anonymously, and dedicated to the Rev. Mr. Alison." On the 10th September, 1803, Mr. Campbell was married to his cousin, Miss Matilda Sinclair, a lady whom the Turkish ambassador at Paris, who should have been competent to form an opinion on the subject, pronounced to be the most beautiful woman in Europe. MARRIED LIFE. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell led a happy life in London and its neighbourhood. The lady was too wise to be extravagant; and Campbell wrought hard, and was successful in obtaining lucrative employment, with which his name was not connected. His correspondence at that period was cheerful, yet cares harassed him even then. His house in London, and his house in Edinburgh, drew hard upon the means of a literary man, living exclusively by his own labour, constrained to dine out frequently, and to enact the lion. The passion for military exercises was then, in 1803, in full bloom; and although Campbell, like "Maunsie Wauch," was the father of a small family, yet, he was compelled to become a volunteer; in some corps a costly proceeding. The following extracts show the points of the thorns among the roses, and how he bore them : "In the volunteer corps to which the Poet belonged, some verses were handed about, which show that he lost no occasion for maintaining, in all its native vigour, the glorious spirit of independence. They were suggested,' he said, by the gallant promise made by our beloved Monarch, that in case of invasion, he would be found in the hour of danger, at the head of his troops!' The stanzas are among the rejected pieces, and, perhaps, long forgotten; but as they embrace an interesting point of history, I have ventured to reprint them from the original: "ON JAMES IV. OF SCOTLAND, WHO FELL AT THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN. "'Twas HE that ruled our country's heart She heard his fate, she wept her grief, But this she learnt, that ere he fell- Mixing their kindred gore! "T. C.' "The poet was very regular in his attendance at drill; and, after a great field-day, thus writes to Mr. Richardson :'December-Out on St. Andrew's day at the muster of the North Britons. But oh! what a fagging work this volun. teering is! Eight hours under a musket! Nor was this all, for he adds,' Bensley, the printer, with all his 'devils,' is upon me for an account of £100, besides boxes, porterage, and Heaven knows what. It gives me the nightmare to think of it... I had a debt of £30 from one bookseller alone, when the braw' uniform of the North Britons, first estimated at £10, has swelled to £25, with dress and undress, haversack, accoutrements, &c.; and as I made them a speech I could not be off! I wish earnestly you could save me from Bensley, for he sends me home in low spirits every time I meet him! . . The sum you stated is a very plentiful production from the Edinburgh payments. Would that I had such treatment in London!.. I am sea-sick of it.. "I will settle in Edinburgh whenever my quarter of the lodgings is ont; in a cottage or any box such as I spoke of before marriage. I still adhere to one acre, if I can't have more. How happy, happy I should be, to see you and my dear little Matilda smiling like the two cherubims in the temple one on each side of me. I am sure you will like her, and that is more than admiring. The only bar to our being perpetually together must be, that I am determined to have my dear one in the country-out of the reach of "family" interference. But a place to your mind may surely be got, and we should always have a spare bed for you and yours. Fortasse hæc olim meminesse juvabit. God bless you, the Hills, and the Grahames! "T. C.' "These extracts afford some notion of the cares, hopes, and perplexities alternately passing through his mind; but anxiety regarding pecuniary matters was soon removed by the active co-operation of his friend. Bensley and all his devils' were speedily exorcised by a cash remittance from Edinburgh; and now, relieved from his late apprehensions, the poet falls into a pleasant dream of the future, which he thus interprets :-'I received your welcome letter yesterday. I wish to Heaven I could answer it. It is long, interesting. and, like yourself, the good old boy! But no--I am asleep! Nod I go; dead asleep. * Here I dream a dream of futurity:-"Bring the mocha. My dear, will the pipes offend you?" "Oh no; not at all. I like the smell of Oronoko." Well, puff, puff. "But, pray, my dear, do spare my beautiful grate." [pause.] * "Well, I do declare, Mr. Richardson, times are very bad; one can't have a family of daughters without amazing expense; and sons are so extravagant!"' "To be sure, Mr. Campbell, but your wife is a notable woman, and your daughters are so accomplished." "Why, yes, poor things; but they want portions-that is, until my next epic poem is out." [Long pause: enter divers persons in male attire into the dreamer's brain, whom the poet calls his friend's sons.] "John, you are too young to marry!" "Sir, my father married younger!"Ah, eh bien! foolish children! Let Matilda have him."" * "The poet then awakes from his dream of future intermarriages, and remembering that his friend's letter contained an important announcement, thus concludes:-' I wish you joy, my friend! Give my kiss by proxy to the fair intended. She will like the representative better than the constituent. I delight to tell secrets. Clason has published a large political tract, called "An Appeal to the People of Great Britain, on Buonaparte's Ambition"-Motto, "Tros Tyriusve," &c. I want to surprise him ; and it shall be done in three "T. C.'" with a review of it weeks. Frank A singular purpose crossed Mr. Campbell's mind at this time—nothing else than taking service under the Russian Government as a Professor at Wilna. He and, as the weapons he had formerly discharged in the service of Poland might now be returned with interest, he became less anxious to push the question. "In the meantime, however, the secret transpired; and the petty vexations to which he was consequently exposed, give a painful interest to his letters. Mr. ,' he says, hearing, I suppose, of my outlandish appointment, refused my mother twenty pounds at my demand. Will you, my dear fellow, give her ten; for it requires five to make up her half-year's annuity, and she will require tive more to send to Glasgow. That name calls up the bitterest feelings of reflection, occasioned by an event which I mention to you in confidence. I have this day received a letter, annonymously written in a female hand, signed by a member of the Glasgow Female Society," upbraiding me in the grossest terms, for abandoning a near relation to poverty and distress. "This relative," it says, "has none to support her." Now, if this letter be written at the instance, or founded on the complaints of that relative, it is the very person with whom I have, year after year, divided my last guinea! As to my mother, it is hard to blame her for not supporting others, when she cannot support herself. And me, who, in labouring for scanty bread, can barely afford an income to my mother, it seems still more ungenerous to load with claims and reproaches so entirely overwhelming. It is not, as God is my witness, possible for me to answer for a double annuity, and the little I give to my mother will not bear division. All this I must explain to the edification of the Glasgow society, before I can wrest my name from the reproach of being unnatural; but one feels reluctant to publish one's poverty, even in vindication of character. "Nihil habet infelix paupertas durius in se, Quam quod ridiculos homines facit.'' Even thus early Mr. Campbell had some embarrassments, it appears; but they arose from a benevolent disposition, and the discharge of duties that he could not wish to avoid. The negotiations for the Wilna Professorship went on; but Shortly after the date of this letter, his ardour in the canvass was rather damped by 'fears of an involuntary trip to Siberia.' He foresaw that if installed in the University of Wilna, he could never, without direliction of principle, inculcate any opinions but those to which he had already given emphatic utterance in his poems. Before he had weighed the question maturely, he thought otherways; he imagined that if once fairly seated in the chair, he might have promoted the regeneration of Poland,' and thus realized the wish nearest his heart. But a little reflection taught him that such a cause might have involved him in certain ruin. All further negotiations were therefore discontinued; he preferred the honour of advocating at home the cause of an oppressed people, who could only thank him in their prayers, to the emoluments of this, or any other post in the gift of Russia. In this resolution he was confirmed by the approbation of his friends, through whose influence he had the offer of another academical chair, which would have amply indemnified him for the loss of Wilna; but with improving prospects in London, and a growing relish for domestic retirement, the offer was gratefully declined." At this period of his life, the poet's happiness, says seriously entertained the proposal; and yet his conduct his biographer, was most complete, and his "goodwas inexplicable after the publication of "The Plea-heartedness" unbounded; but he confesses to a considersures of Hope," and the promulgation of his extreme able share of anxieties in the following note respecting opinions on the Polish question. He could not retract a disagreement with his Edinburgh publisher:these opinions; and if he could have forgotten them, their memory would have been preserved by others. The negotiation was, however, seriously entertained and progressed in the following fashion :— "It was desirable, however, that the wishes of Campbell should not be published until his election was secured. Any report of his being likely to quit the country would cancel his literary engagements, bring down his small creditors upon him, and expose him to various difficulties, from which it would be impossible to extricate himself at a day's notice. But what weighed more with him, perhaps, than any other consideration, was the dread of being unsuccessful; and, as his rivals could cite passages from The Pleasures of Hope,' which would be no recommendation to him as a Professor in Wilna, he was far from being sanguine as to the result. It was hardly to be expected that the Russian censor would be more indulgent to the poet than he had been to his poems; "July 14, 1804. "A poet is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards. I have only one consolation, and that is the idea of having yourself in Edinburgh to act as my friend in a business that requires both secrecy and trouble. The bare mention of the word secrecy may perhaps alarm the delicacy of a mind so little prone to concealment; but it is really necessary, and not dishonourable. The fact is this: I have got into a literary scrape: I am dealing with a bookseller in Edinburgh in a business where he can hurt me much. But at this distance, and corresponding with me, he answers no letters. About the time when I was agog after my wife, I engaged to write a History of England." It was to be in three volumes-a sequel to Simollett." I have nearly finished it. The bargain was that I was to do it plainly and decentlybut as the price they could afford was but small, it was to be anonymous. Now, in the course of performing this task, some ideas of which at first did not appear to me, have given me no little uneasiness. . . The last time he wrote, it was a blunt demand, without either offer or terms, for a volume of new poems, which I had not to give him. About half a year ago, expecting (as hitherto) a largess on the eighth edition of my book, which his partner, Mr. Mundell, promised on every edition, in consideration of what I gave him in addition to the second part of The Pleasures of Hope,' I sent my mother a draft on Mr. Doig. But, although this premium on each edition is due to me, and although I was even working for him at the time, he refused the demand!" The negotiations with his Edinburgh publisher do not appear to have been altogether successful; and he was advised, at the same time, on account of the delicate state of his health, to remove to a quarter of the town deemed more salubrious than Pimlico. Precarious health prevented him from accepting situations requiring close attention, which were placed within his power : "London was now the only field that promised any permanent and profitable exercise of his talents. One of his distinguished friends, indeed, had generously offered him one of the highest literary appointments of the day; but its laborious duties and delicate responsibilities were such as to render the undertaking so formidable, in his precarious state of health, that the tempting offer was reluctantly declined. But he was deeply sensible of the compliment; and, although he could not profit by the offer, it had the happy effect of giving him more confidence in bis own abilities, and a better opinion of human nature, than his recent trials had led him to form. Another circumstance-which had much weight in his decision to remain near London--was a situation which he had just obtained in connection with 'The Star newspaper, and which produced an income of four guineas a week. His contributions to periodical literature were still a source of emolument; but ill health supervening, literary composition was usually followed by great mental depression-the inward struggle to resist outward pressure. But his hopes were still sanguine; his friends were kind, and better prospects seemed to be opening. his private life and feelings, at this moment the following letter, though rather sanguine, presents an animated picture: ،،، Will you also call and see how ny mother is easy now about her. Don't mention anything of bad health -but only words of comfort! She has now, in all, £70 a year. Pray tell me, as expenses stand in Edinburgh, if you think it is enough. I am anxious to know how expensiveness has arisen with you; for here, everything is dreadfully dear. Although my wife is a notable economist, yet the week's bills are enormous beyond what they would have been a few years ago. Now, indeed, I begin to live somewhat more bravely than at first. I advise you, however, to marry to know the value of life's comforts. I never take my poor Matilda a jaunt to Kensington, or indulge in the slightest luxury, without wondering that happiness-which before I could never get for love or money-was now to be got by industry and the virtue that purifies love, and makes money wealth indeed. Of I am "My mother will now be comfortable, and, in a few years I shall be able to add another fifty, to be an annuity to the two more dependant of my sisters; that, however, must be deferred for a little time, until I can scrape up as much as will bring me a share in some literary work, and secure me a good income. Give my love to Grahamedear, worthy companion of ours. Ile is the man who must be the intimate associate of our trio for life. Adieu. I am giddy to an excess with this vestal fire-like vigilance. -Believe me, yours truly. "'T. C.'" Anxiety for the comfort of his mother and sisters is a most agreeable feature in Campbell's character, and appears in all his correspondence. The removal to Sydenham cost money; but it was a pleasant residence, and enabled him to indulge his desire for a cottage and suburban life. His retrospect furnishes many curious particulars regarding his private habits, which are not to be found in his letters. The annoyances of authors are well described in the following lines: "From Edinburgh,' he says, 'I came back to London a perfect adventurer, having nothing to depend upon for subsistence but my pen. I was by no means without literary employment; but the rock on which I split was over-calculating the gains I could make from them. I have observed that authors, and all other artists, are apt to make similar mistakes. The author-and I can speak from experience -sits down to an engagement, for which he is to have so much per sheet. He gets through what seems a tenth of a day; but innumerable and incalculable interruptions occur. Besides, what has been written to-day, may require to be re-written to morrow; and thus he finds that a grocer, who sells a pound of figs, and puts a shilling, including threepence of profit, into the till of his counter, has a more surely gainful vocation than the author.' "In my married state,' he adds, 'I lived a year in town, and then took and furnished a house at Sydenham, to which I brought my young wife and a lovely boy.' His cottage at Sydenham was not quite up to the picture that he had drawn of an Edinburgh cottage; but it was the next best residence, and pleased him exceedingly : Externally, the new situation had much to soothe and interest a poetical mind. From the south, a narrow lane, lined with hedgerows, and passing through a little dell watered by a rivulet, leads to the house, from the windows of which the eye wanders over an extensive prospect of undilating hills, park-like enclosures, hamlets, and picturesque villas shaded with fine ornamental timber; with here and there some village spire shooting up through the forest,' reflecting the light on its vane, or breaking the stillness with the chime of its evening bells.' Ramifying in all directions, shady walks, where he was safe from all intrusion but that of the Muses, enabled him to combine healthful exercise with profitable meditation." Want of money was his grand torment at this period. If he had been richer, abler to work hard, or had fallen into more profitable engagements, he believed that he would also have been happier; but his incapacity to work hard conferred on him that leisure on which his happiness greatly depended : "I have succeeded in getting my house well furnished. We have a most elegant little drawing-room, and furniture enough for a parlour and study, when we get into a larger house. I have bought also some important maps and books, and hope soon to attain to a good library. All this comes of being happy at home. I should have been poor to this day if I had not got a wife. I must not omit, in my catalogue of comforts, that I have secured a good store of port wine; and yet I assure you, by the orders of my "I do not mean to say that we suffered the absolute prigrave list, and from better motives, I have laid aside vations of poverty. On the contrary, it was rather the fear, every propensity to take one glass more than does me good than the substance of it, which afflicted us. But I shall -to which I was sometimes addicted in Edinburgh. But never forget my sensations, when I one day received a letter who could resist such good fellows? I only men- from my eldest brother in America, stating that the casual tion all this, to show you how regularly and comfortably I remittances, which he had made to my mother, must now bave now brought myself to live. All this would be nothing cease, on account of his unfortunate circumstances; and with regard to the flattering of my own feeling-no; but I that I must undertake alone the pious duty of supporting have scribbled and blinded myself, reading and copying our widowed parent. . . Here now, I had two estabnight and day, to show my dear, patient partner that, al-lishments to provide for-one at Edinburgh and another at though our first outset in matrimony was poor, the continuance was not to be so. This insetting year I am preparing for innovations, which she resists as Jacobinical! I have banished the rummer toddy, out of which she used to drink her solitary glass, with as pleased a face as if it had been Tokay, or a better beverage. I shall have a large and well-aired house in the country, a stock of fowls, and a good garden; and, though Matilda's extreme caution is a .. Sydenham; and it may be remembered that in those times guarantee against profusion, yet Iind comfort a fine support certainly a most important matter with persons enjoying to industry. a fixed income, The character of his engagements with the "Star" newspaper, are explained in the following extract : : "I accepted an engagement to write for the "Star" newspaper, and the "Philosophical Magazine," conducted by Mr. Tulloch, the editor of the "Star," for which I received at the rate of two hundred pounds a year. But that sum, out of which I had to pay for a horse, on which I rode to town every day, was quite inadequate to my wants; so I betook myself to literary engagements that would allow me to labour all day in the country. Dispirited beneath all hope of raising my reputation by what I could write, I contracted for only anonymous labour-and of course at an humble price. that he sometimes imagined himself rich when he was poor, and on one occasion thought himself penniless, when, in fact, he had a good sum of bank notes in his pocket. This, however, happened at a time when the aspect of his fortunes had much improved; but a rooted disinclination to balance his expenditure and income drew him into many difficulties, which a very little calculation and forethought might have prevented.' One half of the difficulties by which " men of genius" are involved are traceable to the same source. They do not make their incomes stretch over their expenditure, and leave a margin. The consequent and bitter feelings of dependence destroy their energy; and no small portion of the misery that they sustain is caused by deficient arithmetic. But the charge should not be recklessly made against literary men alone, although that is commonly done. The rolls of commercial em. Men whose business is in arithmetic will be found to barrassments will show, we suspect, similar neglect. be equally prone to miscalculations in that respect. A literary man has, generally, a small income, compaWriting for the press was not Campbell's walk; at ratively, from which he is expected to maintain a valeast he does not seem to have shone in that depart-gue, indefinite, but costly position in society. Country ment, although his fondness for magazine literature brought him often into trouble. "It is always a misfortune for a literary man to have recourse to anonymous writing-let his motives be never so innocent. And if there be any excuse more admissible than another, it is when his poverty and modesty conspire against him. But it lowers a man's genius to compose that for which his name is not to be answerable. I wrote on all subjects even including agriculture-and smile, but hear me, for, odd as it may seem, I tell you the truth in saying, that by writing on agriculture, I acquired so much knowledge on the subject as to have been more than once complimented on that knowledge by practical farmers."" Many of his friends expected that some situation would have been offered to him by the Government at that period; but a government has always more applicants than offices to be filled, and Mr. Campbell was not likely to make a good dun. He met his "noble friends" on something like a footing of equality; and while he was often compelled to solicit and receive favours from Mr. Richardson, Mr. Telfourd, and Mr. Rogers, he was too independent, probably, to remind his friends in the Government that he had claims on their consideration. "During the autumn he continued to work at intervals upon the Annals; he wrote papers for the Philosophical Magazine; translated foreign correspondence for The Star; attended at the office in town; and, by a daily journey of ten or twelve miles, going and returning, his strength began to improve, and he looked around for some popular theme on which to make another trial of his powers. Nothing, however, turned up to his satisfaction; neither his own inventive genius, nor the suggestions of his friends, could hit the mark; and for many months he continued in the same inglorious employment of anonymous writing and compilation. At length, his case having excited particular attention in one or two influential quarters, he was encouraged to hope that he should not be overlooked by a liberal Ministry, when supported by the good word of Lord Holland and Lord Minto. In what form their patronage was to be expressed was still uncertain; but a situation under Government, unshackled by conditional service,' was that to which he aspired, and to which he was entitled by his talents and character. With these fair and reasonable expectations, which his friends were all anxious to see realized, time flew by; and if it did not find him prosperous, it found him sup: porting his adversity with a fortitude that commanded respect." His gentlemen, with large estates, often exhibit corresponding ignorance of arithmetic, and yet that is not charged against them as a class. At Sydenham several of Campbell's best lyrics were finally polished offsome of them that had been known and appreciated for one or two previous years. "Of the poetical pieces cautiously elaborated in the course of this year, three only were permitted to see the light. Lord Ullin's Daughter,' The Soldier's These were, Dream,' and The Turkish Lady; all of which had been sketched among the scenes to which they refer the first in the Island of Mull, and the two latter in Bavaria-but were not revised and finished until he had retired to Sydenham. The next on the anvil was 'The Battle of the Baltic,' which was composed at short intervals during the winter, and finished in April, but reduced, before publication, to nearly one half of the original stanzas, as preserved in his letter to Sir Walter Scott. This piece, like the two former, had passed the ordeal of private criticism with great eclat, and as soon as it came before the public, was set to music and sung with applause by the great vocalists of the day." A considerable portion of Campbell's time at Sydenham was passed in devising and executing great schemes-some of them well known to the worldand in the accomplishment of works on which he was from time to time engaged. He met many disappointments, and was often crushed down by the fear of want, not so much for himself as for those who were dependent upon him. A desponding letter to Sir Walter Scott is closed with the following gratifying announcement:-"His Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer a pension of £200 a-year upon me. God save the King!" This pension placed him for ever after above the fear of wanting means to assist his friends, and to educontinued to be a sure source of income; poems and regular remittances were forwarded by Mr. Rich-cate his son. It was a great relief to his mind, and ardson, who managed the sale of his quarto editionthe only edition then productive. Mr. Campbell, like many other poets and literary men, was a bad calculator. He could not keep money. Real sovereigns even went from him as if in a dream; and he would not take the trouble necessary to reckon how they came or where they went. Dr. Beattie says: contributed, we have no doubt, to the improvement of considerable extent, he might have been a happy and a useful man. His correspondence shows rapid ebbs and flows of temperament. He was far from being an agreeable man-but easily discomposed, and, like many other authors, nervously afraid of his publishers. A terrible calamity occurred in the insanity of his son, on whom he fondly doted, and whose mind was pronounced to be at last permanently impaired. This event formed the severest trial of his life to that date; and yet in his correspondence it was mentioned with more resignation than other features in his character might have led us to anticipate. As years wore on, he became connected with various public movements in London. He had travelled on the continent, and studied educational proceedings in Germany. The opinions formed in these journies, induced him to take a warm interest in the establishment of the London University. Indeed, he might, with some propriety, be considered its founder. In 1826 he was elected to fill the office of Lord Rector of Glasgow University, after a severe opposition on the part of the Professors. He went down to Glasgow, delivered an inaugural address, and was received with great warmth, both there and in Edinburgh. The election is in the hands of the students, and they repeated it three years in succession-an honour rarely conferred in Glasgow. In the month of September, 1828, Mrs. Campbell died. Their boy was lost. The youngest sister of the poet and his mother died some time previously. These calamities fell heavily on a nervous and sensitive mind. Indeed, from Mrs. Campbell's death may be dated, the poet's declension into indulgences, which, though light, as compared with those which many men pursue habitually without censure or reproach, were yet calculated to throw a shade over the lustre of a noble name. THE POLISH CAUSE. place. But in spite of all his "regret," the old fox went Prince C., should not join any political dinners at a Lonimmediately to Prince Czartoryski, and told him that he, don club!" Prince Czartoryski sent for me, but being confined to bed with a cold, I could not go out. His friend then came to me to ask if the dinner was meant to be "public and political?" I assured him not, but only an expression of private regard for his Highness. "In that case," said his friend, "the Prince assures you that he will I was well enough to preside at the dinner. The Prince thanked us in French for drinking his health, and the party went off with great harmony and good feeling. come." I dined with the Prince next day at a private party, and before leaving town had several interviews with hira He was in mourning for his mother, the venerable old princess, who died last month in her eightyninth year, and I believe of a broken heart more than old age. The Prince asked me "Have you not got a letter from my mother?" I said "No;" but shrinking from the touch of so tender a chord in his feelings, I dropt the subject. His question was explained to me this morning, when I received a letter from the now departed Princess, which must have been written a few days before her death. It is written, signed, and directed with her own hand. "T. C.' the aged and august Princess is still alive, in her eighty"Writing a few days later, he says:-'It turns out that ninth year. May God preserve her!' "The news that waited Campbell's return from Chertsey threw him into great distress. To be compelled to witness misery, which he had no adequate power to relieve, was a constant burden upon his mind; and to contemplate its probable increase was still worse. By letters, and personal applications to his friends, he collected funds just sufficient to relieve the more urgent cases; but as the number of exiles increased, the duty and difficulty were, how to increase the number of contributors. With this object, an appeal with which it was responded to by the public, was the subto British philanthropy was drawn up, and the liberality ject of grateful admiration. "A lady, to whom the poet had written, having requested suffering among the exiled patriots, he sat down to his desk, his answer to a question respecting the actual amount of intending to give her one instance which had just come before him. Mr. Back was in the room with him. After writing a short time, his friend observed that he became more and more agitated-sobbed and wept like a child-and then, starting up, began to pace the room with a hurried step, and an expression of mental agony. Alarmed at the violence of his emotion, Mr. Back imagined that he was labouring under acute bodily pain. No,' he said, 'it is more than bodily pain; it is the thought that so many gallant patriots are starving? * What is to be done? and * turning earnestly to his friend, waited for an answer. Although stunned for a time by these bereavements, yet Mr. Campbell, for several years, continued to throw his heart and soul into those objects, with which he considered himself intimately connected. The Poles had always found him a warm, zealous friend. He was a firm believer in the truth and justice of their cause. He fervently anticipated the said Campbell -'Association of the friends of Poland! day when Poland, won back by her sons from their that is the very thing. Let us set about it directly.' "They went out together, called upon Lord Panmure in conquerors, would rear her head amongst free nations. Cockspur Street, explained their object, and received from He wrote splendid verses for Poland; he spoke elo-him twenty pounds as a first contribution to the funds of the quently in behalf of the exiles; but he also wrought most vigorously in carrying forward every detail with which their cause was associated. The following statements evince his activity: "St. Leonard's, January 17, 1832. "I went to town more than a fortnight ago, partly to pay my respects to the worthy Prince Czartoryski, and partly to look after our American legacy. The Prince I found, if possible, a more interesting man than I had imagined. He has lost £70,000 a-year, with the near prospect of being King of Poland. * * * association. "Anxious to profit by so auspicious a commencement, meetings were held, a committee was formed, and in a short time the society was in full operation. "To Mr. Gray, his liberal adviser in all philanthropie schemes, he writes "MARCH 7th.-Let me consult you about a project that is very near my heart-an association-a literary one, for collecting, publishing, and diffusing all such information, respecting Poland as may tend to interest the public mind, and keep alive in it a strong interest with respect to that brave but ill-used nation. The Germans are in a highly excited state; their patriots are forming-or rather have formed But-Associations of the same nature; though as I learn from them, they have to work up against the wind and tide of despotic governments. he is as calm and undepressed as if he were in his palace. Now and then, when I have sat beside him at dinner, 1 could overhear a stifled and deep sigh; but his gentlemanlike self-command, suavity, and dignity, are most striking. He is now sixty-one, but looks much younger, and is a great deal handsomer than his portrait. Forty most respectable individuals have pledged themselves in London to support me in forming this Philo-Polish Association. We subscribe but a pound apiece; and shall publish, respecting Poland, such tracts as, by dragging into "As president of the Literary Union, I invited his High-full light all the black and horrid facts of Russian cruelty ness to dine with thirty of our members, and, at the same time, asked Prince Talleyrand to meet him. Talleyrand sent me a note in his own hand, extremely regretting an express engagement to dine elsewhere, and mentioning the towards her, may arouse public sympathy.' |
