A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 20

GLAPTHORNE, HENRY (_fl._ 1640).--Dramatist, had a high reputation among his contemporaries, though now almost forgotten. He wrote two comedies, three tragedies, and a book of poems, which were all reprinted in two vols. in 1874. His best work, is _Argalus and Parthenia_ (1639), based upon Sidney's _Arcadia_. Others were _The Hollander_, _Wit is a Constable_, and _The Ladies' Privilege_ (all 1640).

GLASc.o.c.k, WILLIAM NUGENT (1787-1847).--Novelist. He saw a good deal of service in the navy with credit, and from this drew the inspiration of his vigorous and breezy sea-stories, which include _Sailors and Saints_ (1829), _Tales of a Tar_ (1836), and _Land Sharks and Sea Gulls_ (1838).

GLEIG, GEORGE ROBERT (1796-1888).--_S._ of George G., Bishop of Brechin, entered the army, and served in the Peninsula and America. In 1820 he took orders, and after serving various cures _bec._, in 1834, Chaplain of Chelsea Hospital, and in 1844 Chaplain-General of the Forces, which office he held until 1875. He was a frequent contributor to reviews and magazines, especially _Blackwood's_, in which his best known novel, _The Subaltern_, appeared, and he was also the author of Lives of Warren Hastings, Clive, and Wellington, _Military Commanders_, _Chelsea Pensioners_, and other works.

GLEN, WILLIAM (1789-1826).--Poet, _b._ in Glasgow, was for some years in the West Indies. He _d._ in poverty. He wrote several poems, but the only one which has survived is his Jacobite ballad, _Wae's me for Prince Charlie_.

GLOVER, RICHARD (1712-1785).--Poet and dramatist, was a London merchant, and M.P. for Weymouth. A scholarly man with a taste for literature, he wrote two poems in blank verse, _Leonidas_ (1737), and _The Athenaid_ (1787). Though not without a degree of dignity, they want energy and interest, and are now forgotten. He also produced a few dramas, which had little success. He is best remembered by his beautiful ballad, _Hosier's Ghost_, beginning "As near Portobello lying." G. had the reputation of a useful and public-spirited citizen.

G.o.dWIN, MRS. MARY (WOLLSTONECRAFT) (1759-1797).--Miscellaneous writer, was of Irish extraction. Her _f._ was a spend-thrift of bad habits, and at 19 Mary left home to make her way in the world. Her next ten years were spent as companion to a lady, in teaching a school at Newington Green, and as governess in the family of Lord Kingsborough. In 1784 she a.s.sisted her sister to escape from a husband who ill-treated her. In 1788 she took to translating, and became literary adviser to Johnson the publisher, through whom she became known to many of the literary people of the day, as well as to certain Radicals, including G.o.dwin, Paine, Priestly, and Fuseli, the painter. She then, 1792, went to Paris, where she met Captain Imlay, with whom she formed a connection, the fruit of which was her daughter f.a.n.n.y. Captain Imlay having deserted her, she tried to commit suicide at Putney Bridge, but was rescued. Thereafter she resumed her literary labours, and lived with W. G.o.dwin, who married her in 1797. Their _dau._, Mary, whose birth she did not survive, became the second wife of Sh.e.l.ley. Her chief original writings are a _Reply_ to Burke's _Reflections on the French Revolution_ (1791), _Vindication of the Rights of Women_ (1792), and _Original Stories for Children_, ill.u.s.trated by W. Blake. Her _Vindication_ received much adverse criticism on account of its extreme positions and over-plainness of speech.

G.o.dWIN, WILLIAM (1756-1836).--Philosopher and novelist, _b._ at Wisbeach, and _ed._ at a school in Norwich, to which city his _f._, a Presbyterian minister, had removed, and subsequently at a Presbyterian coll. at Hoxton, with a view to the ministry. From 1778 to 1783 he acted as minister of various congregations near London; but his theological views having undergone important changes, he resigned his pastorate, and devoted himself to a literary career. His first work, a series of historical sketches in the form of sermons, failed. He then found employment as one of the princ.i.p.al writers in the _New Annual Register_, and became otherwise prominent as an advocate of political and social reform. Many of his views were peculiar and extreme, and even tended, if fully carried out in practice, to subvert morality; but they were propounded and supported by their author with a whole-hearted belief in their efficacy for the regeneration of society: and the singular circ.u.mstances of his connection with and ultimate marriage to Mary Wollstonecraft showed at least that he had the courage of his opinions.

His _Enquiry concerning Political Justice_ (1793) made him famous. A year later he _pub._ his masterpiece, _Caleb Williams_, a novel exhibiting a sombre strength rarely equalled. The next few years were occupied in political controversy, for which G. was, by his sincerity and his masculine style, well fitted; and it was in the midst of these--in 1797--that his first marriage, already alluded to, and the death of his wife, of whom he _pub._ a singular but interesting Life, occurred. In 1799 his second great novel, _St. Leon_, based upon the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life, appeared. His other novels, _Fleetwood_ (1804), _Mandeville_ (1817), and _Cloudesley_ (1830), are much inferior.

In addition to these works G. brought out an elaborate _Life of Chaucer_ in 2 vols. (1803), _An Essay on Sepulchres_ (1808), containing much fine thought finely expressed, _A History of the Commonwealth_, an Essay against the theories of Malthus (_q.v._), and his last work, _Lives of the Necromancers_. For some time he engaged in the publis.h.i.+ng business, in which, however, he ultimately proved unsuccessful. In his later years he had the office of Yeoman Usher of the Exchequer conferred upon him. G.

entered in 1801 into a second marriage with a widow, Mrs. Clairmont, by whom he had a _dau._ This lady had already a _s._ and _dau._, the latter of whom had an irregular connection with Byron. His _dau._ by his first marriage--Mary Wollstonecraft G.,--became in 1816 the wife of Sh.e.l.ley. G.

was a man of simple manners and imperturbable temper.

GOLDING, ARTHUR (1535?-1605?).--Translator, _s._ of a gentleman of Ess.e.x, was perhaps at Camb., and was diligent in the translation of theological works by Calvin, Beza, and others, but is chiefly remembered for his versions of Caesar's _Commentaries_ (1565), and specially of Ovid's _Metamorphoses_ (1565-67), the latter in ballad metre. He also translated Justin's _History_, and part of Seneca.

GOLDSMITH, OLIVER (1728-1774).--Poet, dramatist, and essayist, _s._ of an Irish clergyman, was _b._ at Pallasmore in Co. Longford. His early education was received at various schools at Elphin, Athlone, and Edgeworthstown. At the age of 8 he had a severe attack of smallpox which disfigured him for life. In 1744 he went to Trinity Coll., Dublin, whence, having come into collision with one of the coll. tutors, he ran away in 1746. He was, however, induced to return, and _grad._ in 1749.

The Church was chosen for him as a profession--against his will be it said in justice to him. He presented himself before the Bishop of Elphin for examination--perhaps as a type of deeper and more inward incongruencies--in scarlet breeches, and was rejected. He next figured as a tutor; but had no sooner acc.u.mulated 30 than he quitted his employment and forthwith dissipated his little savings. A long-suffering uncle named Contarine, who had already more than once interposed on his behalf, now provided means to send him to London to study law. He, however, got no farther than Dublin, where he was fleeced to his last guinea, and returned to the house of his mother, now a widow with a large family.

After an interval spent in idleness, a medical career was perceived to be the likeliest opening, and in 1752 he steered for Edin., where he remained on the usual happy-go-lucky terms until 1754, when he proceeded to Leyden. After a year there he started on a walking tour, which led him through France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. How he lived it is hard to say, for he left Leyden penniless. It is said that he disputed at Univ., and played the flute, and thus kept himself in existence. All this time, however, he was gaining the experiences and knowledge of foreign countries which he was afterwards to turn to such excellent account. At one of the Univ. visited at this time, he is believed to have secured the medical degree, of which he subsequently made use. Louvain and Padua have both been named as the source of it. He reached London almost literally penniless in 1756, and appears to have been occupied successively as an apothecary's journeyman, a doctor of the poor, and an usher in a school at Peckham. In 1757 he was writing for the _Monthly Review_. The next year he applied unsuccessfully for a medical appointment in India; and the year following, 1759, saw his first important literary venture, _An Enquiry into the State of Polite Learning in Europe_. It was _pub._ anonymously, but attracted some attention, and brought him other work. At the same time he became known to Bishop Percy, the collector of the _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, and he had written _The Bee_, a collection of essays, and was employed upon various periodicals. In 1761 began his friends.h.i.+p with Johnson, which led to that of the other great men of that circle. His _Chinese Letters_, afterwards republished as _The Citizen of the World_, appeared in _The Public Ledger_ in 1762. _The Traveller_, the first of his longer poems, came out in 1764, and was followed in 1766 by _The Vicar of Wakefield_. In 1768 he essayed the drama, with _The Good-natured Man_, which had considerable success. The next few years saw him busily occupied with work for the publishers, including _The History of Rome_ (1769), Lives of Parnell the poet, and Lord Bolingbroke (1770), and in the same year _The Deserted Village_ appeared; _The History of England_ was _pub._ in 1771. In 1773 he produced with great success his other drama, _She Stoops to Conquer_. His last works were _The Retaliation_, _The History of Greece_, and _Animated Nature_, all _pub._ in 1774. In that year, worn out with overwork and anxiety, he caught a fever, of which he _d._ April 4. With all his serious and very obvious faults--his reckless improvidence, his vanity, and, in his earlier years at any rate, his dissipated habits--G. is one of the most lovable characters in English literature, and one whose writings show most of himself--his humanity, his bright and spontaneous humour, and "the kindest heart in the world." His friends included some of the best and greatest men in England, among them Johnson, Burke, and Reynolds. They all, doubtless, laughed at and made a b.u.t.t of him, but they all admired and loved him. At the news of his death Burke burst into tears, Reynolds laid down his brush and painted no more that day, and Johnson wrote an imperishable epitaph on him. The poor, the old, and the outcast crowded the stair leading to his lodgings, and wept for the benefactor who had never refused to share what he had (often little enough) with them. Much of his work--written at high pressure for the means of existence, or to satisfy the urgency of duns--his histories, his _Animated Nature_, and such like, have, apart from a certain charm of style which no work of his could be without, little permanent value; but _The Traveller_ and _The Deserted Village_, _She Stoops to Conquer_, and, above all, _The Vicar of Wakefield_, will keep his memory dear to all future readers of English.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1728, _ed._ Trinity Coll., Dublin, went to Edin. 1752, and to Leyden 1754, travelled on foot over large part of Continent, reached London 1756, and wrote for magazines, etc., and after publis.h.i.+ng various other works produced _The Citizen of the World_ in 1762, _pub._ _Vicar of Wakefield_ 1766, _Deserted Village_ 1770, and _She Stoops to Conquer_ 1773, _d._ 1774.

There are many ed. of G.'s works by Prior, 1837, Cunningham, 1854, Prof.

Ma.s.son (Globe), 1869, Gibb (Bohn's Standard Library), 1885. Biographies by Prior, 1837, Foster, 1848-71, Was.h.i.+ngton Irving, and others. _See_ also Boswell's _Johnson_, and Thackeray's _English Humorists_.

GOODALL, WALTER (1706?-1766).--Historical writer, _b._ in Banffs.h.i.+re, and _ed._ King's Coll., Aberdeen, became a.s.sistant librarian to the Advocates' Library in Edin. In 1754 he _pub._ an _Examination of the Letters said to have been written by Mary Queen of Scots_, in which he combats the genuineness of the "Casket Letters." He also ed., among other works, Fordun's _Scotichronicon_ (1759).

GOODWIN, THOMAS (1600-1680).--Divine, was _b._ in Norfolk, and _ed._ at Camb., where he was Vicar of Trinity Church. Becoming an Independent, he ministered to a church in London, and thereafter at Arnheim in Holland.

Returning to England he was made Chaplain to Cromwell's Council of State, and Pres. of Magdalen Coll., Oxf. At the Restoration he was deprived, but continued to preach in London. He was the author of various commentaries and controversial pamphlets, was a member of the Westminster a.s.sembly, and a.s.sisted in drawing up the amended Confession, 1658. He attended Oliver Cromwell on his deathbed.

GOOGE, BARNABE (1540-1594).--Poet and translator, _b._ at Lincoln, studied at both Camb. and Oxf. He was a kinsman of Cecil, who gave him employment in Ireland. He translated from the Latin of Manzolli _The Zodiac of Life_, a satire against the Papacy, and _The Popish Kingdome_ by T. Kirchmayer, a similar work; also _The Foure Bookes of Husbandrie_ of Conrad Heresbach. In 1563 he _pub._ a vol. of original poems, _Eglogs, Epytaphes_, and _Sonnettes_.

GORDON, ADAM LINDSAY (1833-1870).--Poet, was _b._ in the Azores, the _s._ of an officer in the army. He went to Australia, where he had a varied career in connection with horses and riding, for which he had a pa.s.sion.

He betook himself to the Bush, got into financial trouble, and _d._ by his own hand. In the main he derives his inspiration (as in the _Rhyme of Joyous Garde_, and _Britomarte_) from mediaeval and English sources, not from his Australian surroundings. Among his books are _Sea-spray and Smoke-drift_ (1867), _Bush Ballads_ (containing _The Sick Stock-rider_) (1870), _Ashtaroth_ (1867). In many of his poems, _e.g._ _An Exile's Farewell_, and _Whispering in the Wattle Boughs_, there is a strong vein of sadness and pathos.

GORE, MRS. CATHERINE GRACE FRANCES (MOODY) (1799-1861).--Novelist, _dau._ of a wine merchant at Retford, where she was _b._ She _m._ a Captain Gore, with whom she resided mainly on the Continent, supporting her family by her voluminous writings. Between 1824 and 1862 she produced about 70 works, the most successful of which were novels of fas.h.i.+onable English life. Among these may be mentioned _Manners of the Day_ (1830), _Cecil, or the Adventures of a c.o.xcomb_ (1841), and _The Banker's Wife_ (1843). She also wrote for the stage, and composed music for songs.

GOSSON, STEPHEN (1554-1624).--Poet, actor, and satirist, _b._ in Kent, and _ed._ at Oxf., he went to London, and wrote plays, which are now lost, and pastorals; but, moved by a sermon preached at Paul's Cross in 1577 during a plague, he deserted the theatre, and became one of its severest critics in his prose satire, _The School of Abrose_ (1579), directed against "poets, pipers, players, jesters, and such-like Caterpillars of a Commonwealth." Dedicated to Sir P. Sidney, it was not well received by him, and is believed to have evoked his _Apologie for Poetrie_ (1595). G. entered the Church, and _d._ Rector of St. Botolph's, London.

GOUGH, RICHARD (1735-1809).--Antiquary, was _b._ in London, and studied at Camb. For many years he made journeys over England in pursuit of his antiquarian studies. He _pub._ about 20 works, among which are _British Topography_ (1768), _Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain_ (1786-99), an ed. of Camden's _Britannia_, a translation of _The Arabian Nights_ (1798), and various other treatises on archaeology, topography, and numismatics.

GOWER, JOHN (1325?-1408).--Poet. Although few details of his life have come down to us, he appears to have been a man of wealth and importance, connected with Kent, well known at Court, and in possession of more than one estate. He was the friend of Chaucer, who gives him the t.i.tle of "the moral Gower," which has clung to him ever since. His first princ.i.p.al work was _Speculum Meditantis_ (the Mirror of one meditating) written in French on the subject of married life. It was long believed to have been lost. It was followed by _Vox Clamantis_ (the Voice of one crying) written in Latin, giving an account of the peasants' revolt of 1381, and attacking the misgovernment and social evils which had led to it. His third, and only English poem, was _Confessio Amantis_ (Lover's Confession), a work of 30,000 lines, consisting of tales and meditations on love, written at the request of Richard II. It is the earliest large collection of tales in the English tongue. In his old age G. became blind. He had, when about 70, retired to the Priory of St. Mary Overies, the chapel of which is now the Church of St. Saviour, Southwark, where he spent his last years, and to which he was a liberal benefactor. G.

represented the serious and cultivated man of his time, in which he was reckoned the equal of Chaucer, but as a poet he is heavy and prolix.

GRAFTON, RICHARD (_d._ 1572).--Printer and chronicler, printed various ed. of the Bible and Prayer-book; also the Proclamation of the Accession of Lady Jane Grey, for which he was cast into prison, where he compiled an _Abridgement of the Chronicles of England_ (1563). To this he added in 1568 _A Chronicle at Large_. Neither holds a high place as authorities.

GRAHAME, JAMES (1765-1811).--Poet, _s._ of a lawyer, was _b._ and _ed._ in Glasgow. After spending some time in a law office in Edin., he was called to the Scottish Bar. His health being delicate, and his circ.u.mstances easy, he early retired from practice, and taking orders in the Church of England in 1809, was appointed curate successively of s.h.i.+pton, Gloucesters.h.i.+re, and Sedgefield, Durham. He wrote several pleasing poems, of which the best is _The Sabbath_ (1804). He _d._ on a visit to Glasgow in his 47th year. His poems are full of quiet observation of country sights expressed in graceful verse.

GRAHAME, SIMON or SIMION (1570-1614).--_B._ in Edin., led a dissolute life as a traveller, soldier, and courtier on the Continent. He appears to have been a good scholar, and wrote the _Pa.s.sionate Sparke of a Relenting Minde_, and _Anatomy of Humours_, the latter of which is believed to have suggested to Burton his _Anatomy of Melancholie_. He became an austere Franciscan.

GRAINGER, JAMES (1721-1766).--Poet, of a c.u.mberland family, studied medicine at Edin., was an army surgeon, and on the peace settled in practice in London, where he became the friend of Dr. Johnson, Shenstone, and other men of letters. His first poem, _Solitude_, appeared in 1755.

He subsequently went to the West Indies (St. Kit's), where he made a rich marriage, and _pub._ his chief poem, _The Sugar-Cane_ (1764).

GRANGER, JAMES (1723-1776).--Biographer, was at Oxf. and, entering the Church, became Vicar of s.h.i.+plake, Oxon. He _pub._ a _Biographical History of England from Egbert the Great to the Revolution_ (1769). He insisted on the importance of collecting engravings of portraits and himself gathered 14,000, and gave a great impulse to the practice of making such collections.

GRANT, MRS. ANNE (M'VICAR) (1755-1838).--Was _b._ in Glasgow, and in 1779 _m._ the Rev. James Grant, minister of Laggan, Inverness-s.h.i.+re. She _pub._ in 1802 a vol. of poems. She also wrote _Letters from the Mountains_, and _Essays on the Superst.i.tions of the Highlands_. After 1810 she lived in Edin., where she was the friend of Sir W. Scott and other eminent men, through whose influence a pension of 100 was bestowed upon her.

GRANT, JAMES (1822-1887).--Novelist, was the _s._ of an officer in the army, in which he himself served for a short time. He wrote upwards of 50 novels in a brisk, breezy style, of which the best known are perhaps _The Romance of War_ (1845), _Adventures of an Aide-de-Camp_, _Frank Hilton_, _Bothwell_, _Harry Ogilvie_, and _The Yellow Frigate_. He also wrote biographies of _Kirkcaldy of Grange_, _Montrose_, and others which, however, are not always trustworthy from an historical point of view.

GRANT, JAMES AUGUSTUS (1827-1892).--Traveller, was an officer in the army, and was sent by the Royal Geographical Society along with Captain JOHN HANNING SPEKE (1827-1864), to search for the equatorial lakes of Africa. Grant wrote _A Walk across Africa_, _The Botany of the Speke and Grant Expedition_, and _Khartoum as I saw it in_ 1863. Speke wrote _Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile_ (1863), and _What led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile_ (1864).

GRATTAN, THOMAS COLLEY (1792-1864).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ in Dublin, and _ed._ for the law, but did not practise. He wrote a few novels, including _The Heiress of Bruges_ (4 vols., 1830); but his best work was _Highways and Byways_, a description of his Continental wanderings, of which he _pub._ three series. He also wrote a history of the Netherlands and books on America. He was for some time British Consul at Boston, U.S.

GRAY, DAVID (1838-1861).--Poet, _s._ of a hand-loom weaver at Kirkintilloch, Dumbartons.h.i.+re. He gave early promise at school, was destined for the service of the Church, and was for 4 years at Glasgow Univ. while he maintained himself by teaching. His first poems appeared in the _Glasgow Citizen_. In 1860, however, he went with his friend Robert Buchanan to London, where he soon fell into consumption. He was befriended by Mr. Monckton Milnes, afterwards Lord Houghton, but after a sojourn in the South of England, returned home to die. His chief poem, _The Luggie_ (the river of his birthplace) contains much beautiful description; but his genius reached its highest expression in a series of 30 sonnets written in full view of an early death and blighted hopes, and bearing the t.i.tle, _In the Shadow_. They breathe a spirit of the deepest melancholy unrelieved by hope.

GRAY, THOMAS (1716-1771).--Poet, was _b._ in London, the _s._ of a scrivener, who, though described as "a respectable citizen," was of so cruel and violent a temper that his wife had to separate from him. To his mother and her sister, who carried on a business, G. was indebted for his liberal education at Eton (where he became a friend of Horace Walpole), and Camb. After completing his Univ. course he accompanied Walpole to France and Italy, where he spent over two years, when a difference arising G. returned to England, and went back to Camb. to take his degree in law without, however, any intention of practising. He remained at Camb. for the rest of his life, pa.s.sing his time in the study of the cla.s.sics, natural science, and antiquities, and in visits to his friends, of whom Walpole was again one. It was in 1747 that his first poem, the _Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College_, appeared, and it was followed between 1750 and 1757 by his _Pindaric Odes_, including _The Progress of Poesy_, and _The Bard_, which were, however, somewhat coldly received. Nevertheless he had, on the death of Colley Cibber, the offer of the laureates.h.i.+p, which he declined; but in 1768 he accepted the Professors.h.i.+p of Modern History in his Univ., worth 400 a year. Having been drawn to the study of Icelandic and Celtic poetry he produced _The Fatal Sisters_, and _The Descent of Odin_, in which are apparent the first streaks of the dawn of the Romantic Revival. G.'s poems occupy little s.p.a.ce, but what he wrote he brought to the highest perfection of which he was capable, and although there is a tendency on the part of some modern critics to depreciate him, it is probable that his place will always remain high among all but the first order of poets. Probably no poem has had a wider acceptance among all cla.s.ses of readers than his _Elegy in a Country Churchyard_. In addition to his fame as a poet, he enjoys that of one of the greatest of English letter-writers, and of a really great scholar. He _d._ at Camb. after a short illness following upon a gradually declining state of health.