A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 48

He also wrote _War Ballads_, _Rifle Ballads_, and _Protestant Ballads_, various novels, and an autobiography. T. was likewise an inventor, but his ideas in this kind had not much success.

TURBERVILLE, or TURBERVILE, GEORGE (1540?-1610).--Poet, belonging to an ancient Dorsets.h.i.+re family, was _b._ at Whitchurch, and _ed._ at Winchester and Oxf. He became sec. to Thomas Randolph, Amba.s.sador to Russia, and made translations from the Latin and Italian, and in 1570 _pub._ _Epitaphes, Epigrams, Songs, and Sonets_. He also wrote books on _Falconrie_ and _Hunting_, and was one of the first to use blank verse.

TURNER, SHARON (1768-1847).--Historian, _b._ in London, was a solicitor, and becoming interested in the study of Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon literature, _pub._ the results of his researches in his _History of the Anglo-Saxons_ (1799-1805). Thereafter he continued the narrative in _History of England_ (1814-29), carrying it on to the end of the reign of Elizabeth. These histories, especially the former, though somewhat marred by an attempt to emulate the grandiose style of Gibbon, were works of real research, and opened up, and to a considerable extent developed, a new field of inquiry. T. also wrote a _Sacred History of the World_, and a poem on Richard III.

TUSSER, THOMAS (1524?-1580).--Versifier on agriculture, was an Ess.e.x man.

Having a good voice he was trained in music, and was a chorister in St.

Paul's, and afterwards in Norwich Cathedral, and held the post of musician to Lord Paget. He tried farming at different places, but unsuccessfully, which did not, however, prevent his undertaking to instruct others. This he does with much shrewdness and point in his _Hundreth Goode Pointes of Husbandrie_ (1557), expressed in rude but lively verse; thereafter he added _Hundreth Goode Pointes of Husserie_ (Housewifery). The two joined, and with many additions, were repeatedly reprinted as _Five Hundredth Pointes of Goode Husbandrie united to as many of Goode Huswifery_. Many proverbs may be traced back to the writings of T., who, in spite of all his shrewdness and talent, _d._ in prison as a debtor.

TYNDALE, WILLIAM (1484?-1536).--Translator of the Bible, belonged to a northern family which, migrating to Gloucesters.h.i.+re during the Wars of the Roses, adopted the alternative name of Huchyns or Hychins, which T.

himself bore when at Oxf. in 1510. After graduating there, he went to Camb., where the influence of Erasmus, who had been Prof. of Theology, still operated. He took orders, and in 1522 was a tutor in the household of Sir John Walsh of Old Sodbury, and was preaching and disputing in the country round, for which he was called to account by the Chancellor of the diocese. At the same time he translated a treatise by Erasmus, the _Enchiridion Militis Christiani_ (Manual of the Christian Soldier), and in controversy with a local disputant prophesied that he would cause that "a boye that driveth the plough" should know the Scriptures better than his opponent. Having formed the purpose of translating the New Testament T. went in 1523 to London, and used means towards his admission to the household of Tunstal, Bishop of London, but without success; he then lived in the house of a wealthy draper, Humphrey Monmouth, where he probably began his translation. Finding, however, that his work was likely to be interfered with, he proceeded in 1524 to Hamburg, whence he went to visit Luther at Wittenberg. He began printing his translation at Cologne the following year, but had to fly to Worms, where the work was completed. The translation itself is entirely T.'s work, and is that of a thorough scholar, and shows likewise an ear for the harmony of words. The notes and introduction are partly his own, partly literal translations, and partly the gist of the work of Luther. From Germany the translation was introduced into England, and largely circulated until forcible means of prevention were brought to bear in 1528. In this year T. removed to Marburg, where he _pub._ _The Parable of the Wicked Mammon_, a treatise on Justification by Faith, and _The Obedience of a Christian Man_, setting forth that Scripture is the ultimate authority in matters of faith, and the King in matters of civil government. Thereafter, having been at Hamburg and Antwerp, T. returned to Marburg, and in 1530 _pub._ his translation of the _Pentateuch_ and _The Practice of Prelates_, in which he attacked Wolsey and the proposed divorce proceedings of Henry VIII., the latter of whom endeavoured to have him apprehended. Thereafter he was involved in a controversy with Sir Thomas More. In 1533 he returned to Antwerp, Henry's hostility having somewhat cooled, and was occupied in revising his translations, when he was in 1535 betrayed into the hands of the Imperial officers and carried off to the Castle of Vilvorde, where the next year he was strangled and burned. T. was one of the most able and devoted of the reforming leaders, and his, the foundation of all future translations of the Bible, is his enduring monument. He was a small, thin man of abstemious habits and untiring industry.

TYNDALL, JOHN (1820-1893).--Scientific writer, _b._ at Leighlin Bridge, County Carlow, was in early life employed in the ordnance survey and as a railway engineer. He was next teacher of mathematics and surveying at Queenwood Coll., Hamps.h.i.+re, after which he went to Marburg to study science, and while there became joint author of a memoir _On the Magneto-optic Properties of Crystals_ (1850). After being at Berlin he returned in 1851 to Queenwood, and in 1853 was appointed Prof. of Natural Philosophy in the Royal Inst.i.tution, which in 1867 he succeeded Faraday as Superintendent. With Huxley (_q.v._) he made investigations into the Alpine glaciers. Thereafter he did much original work on heat, sound, and light. In addition to his discoveries T. was one of the greatest popularisers of science. His style, remarkable for lucidity and elegance, enabled him to expound such subjects with the minimum of technical terminology. Among his works are _The Glaciers of the Alps_ (1860), _Mountaineering_ (1861), _Fragments of Science_, two vols. (1871), including his address to the British a.s.sociation at Belfast, which raised a storm of controversy and protest in various quarters, _Hours of Exercise on the Alps_, etc. T. _d._ from an overdose of chloral accidentally administered by his wife.

TYTLER, ALEXANDER FRASER (1747-1813).--Historian, _s._ of William T.

(_q.v._), studied at Edin., was called to the Bar in 1770 and raised to the Bench as Lord Woodhouselee in 1802. He was Prof. of History in Edin., and wrote _Elements of General History_ (1801), _An Essay on the Principles of Translation_ (1791), besides various legal treatises.

TYTLER, PATRICK FRASER (1791-1849).--Historian, _s._ of the above, studied at Edin., and was called to the Bar in 1813. Among his many writings are an _Essay on the History of the Moors in Spain_, _The Life of the Admirable Crichton_ (1819), _History of Scotland_ (1828-43), and _England under the Reigns of Edward VI. and Mary_ (1839). His _History of Scotland_, which was the result of 20 years of study and research, is still authoritative.

TYTLER, WILLIAM (1711-1792).--Historical writer, was a lawyer in Edin., and wrote _An Inquiry into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots_, in which he combated the views of Robertson. He discovered the _King's Quhair_ of James I., and _pub._ in 1783 _The Poetical Remains of James I., King of Scotland_, with a Life.

UDALL, NICOLAS (1505-1556).--Dramatist and scholar, _b._ in Hamps.h.i.+re, and _ed._ at Oxf. In 1534 he became headmaster of Eton, from which he was dismissed for misconduct, 1541. In 1537 he became Vicar of Braintree, in 1551 of Calborne, Isle of Wight, and in 1554 headmaster of Westminster School. He translated part of the _Apophthegms_ of Erasmus, and a.s.sisted in making the English version of his _Paraphrase of the New Testament_.

Other translations were Peter Martyr's _Discourse on the Eucharist_ and Thomas Gemini's _Anatomia_, but he is best remembered by _Ralph Roister Doister_ (1553?), the first English comedy, a rude but lively piece.

UNDERDOWN, THOMAS (_fl._ 1566-1587).--Translator. He translated the _aethiopian History_ of Heliodorus 1566; also from Ovid.

UNDERWOOD, FRANCIS HENRY (1825-1894).--Critic and biographer, _b._ in Ma.s.sachusetts, was American Consul at Glasgow and Leith. He wrote _Hand-books of English Literature_, _Builders of American Literature_, etc., some novels, _Lord of Himself_, _Man Proposes_, and _Dr. Gray's Quest_, and biographies of Lowell, Longfellow, and Whittier.

URQUHART, SIR THOMAS (1611-1660).--Eccentric writer and translator, was _ed._ at King's Coll., Aberdeen, after leaving which he travelled in France, Spain, and Italy. He was bitterly opposed to the Covenanters, and fought against them at Turriff in 1639. His later life was pa.s.sed between Scotland, England (where he was for some time a prisoner in the Tower), and the Continent, where he lived, 1642-45. A man of considerable ability and learning, his vanity and eccentricity verged upon insanity, and he is said to have _d._ from the effects of an uncontrollable fit of joyful laughter on hearing news of the Restoration. Among his extravagances was a genealogy of his family traced through his _f._ to Adam, and through his mother to Eve, he himself being the 153rd in descent. He _pub._ _Trissotetras_, a work on trigonometry (1645), an invective against the Presbyterians (1652), a scheme for a universal language, _Logopandecteision_ (1653), and a partial translation of Rabelais (1653), a further portion being _pub._ in 1693. In the last he was a.s.sisted by Peter Anthony Motteux, a Frenchman who had established himself in England, who continued the work.

USK, THOMAS (_d._ 1388).--Poet, _b._ in London, was sec. to John of Northampton, the Wyclifite Lord Mayor of London, whom he betrayed to save himself, in which, however, he failed, being executed in 1388. During his imprisonment, which lasted from 1384 until his death, he composed _The Testament of Love_, a didactic poem long attributed to Chaucer.

USSHER, JAMES (1581-1656).--Divine and scholar, _b._ in Dublin, the _s._ of a lawyer there, and _ed._ at Trinity Coll., took orders, and became Chancellor of St. Patrick's, Dublin, 1605, and Prof. of Divinity, 1607-21. On the Irish clergy, in 1715, deciding to a.s.sert themselves as an independent church, U. had the main hand in drawing up the const.i.tution, certain features of which led to the suspicion of his being in favour of Puritanism. To defend himself he went in 1619 to England, and had a conference with the King (James I.), in which he so completely succeeded that he was in 1621 made Bishop of Meath, and four years later Archbishop of Armagh. He constantly used his influence in favour of reform, and endeavoured to introduce such modifications of Episcopacy as would conciliate and comprehend the Presbyterians. During the troubles which led to the Civil War U. maintained the unlawfulness of taking up arms against the King. The Rebellion in Ireland in 1641 drove him away, and he settled first at Oxf., but ultimately at the house of Lady Peterborough at Reigate, where he _d._ in 1656. His works dealt chiefly with ecclesiastical antiquities and chronology, his _magnum opus_ being _Annales_, a chronology of the world from the creation to the dispersion of the Jews in the reign of Vespasian, a work which gained him great reputation on the Continent as well as at home. The date of the creation was fixed as 4004 B.C., which was long universally received. It has, of course, been altogether superseded, alike by the discovery of ancient records, and by geology.

VANBRUGH, SIR JOHN (1664-1726).--Dramatist and architect, _b._ in London of Flemish descent, was in France from 1683 to 1685, studying architecture, for which he had early shown a taste. The next year he got a commission in the army, and in 1690 he was a prisoner first at Vincennes and then in the Bastille. In 1696 he began his dramatic career with _The Relapse_, which had great success. _aesop_ followed in 1697, and _The Provoked Wife_ in the same year. The latter was severely handled by Jeremy Collier (_q.v._) in his _Short View_, etc., which produced a vindication by the author. In addition to these he wrote or collaborated in various other plays. His leading features as a dramatist are the naturalness of his dialogue and his lively humour. Like all his contemporaries he is frequently extremely gross. He obtained great fame as an architect, as well as a dramatist. Among his most famous designs are Castle Howard, Blenheim Palace, and Dalkeith Palace. He was knighted by George I., was controller of the Royal works, and succeeded Wren as architect to Greenwich Hospital. In addition to the plays above mentioned V. wrote _The Confederacy_ and _The Country House_. He was a handsome and jovial person, and highly popular in society.

VAUGHAN, HENRY (1622-1695).--Poet, _b._ in the parish of Llansaintffraed, Brecknock, and as a native of the land of the ancient Silures, called himself "Silurist." He was at Jesus Coll., Oxf., studied law in London, but finally settled as a physician at Brecon and Newton-by-Usk. In his youth he was a decided Royalist and, along with his twin brother Thomas, was imprisoned. His first book was _Poems, with the Tenth Satire of Juvenal Englished_. It appeared in 1646. _Olor Isca.n.u.s_ (the Swan of Usk), a collection of poems and translations, was surrept.i.tiously _pub._ in 1651. About this time he had a serious illness which led to deep spiritual impressions, and thereafter his writings were almost entirely religious. _Silex Scintillans_ (Sparks from the Flint), his best known work, consists of short poems full of deep religious feeling, fine fancy, and exquisite felicities of expression, mixed with a good deal that is quaint and artificial. It contains "The Retreat," a poem of about 30 lines which manifestly suggested to Wordsworth his _Ode on the Intimations of Immortality_, and "Beyond the Veil," one of the finest meditative poems in the language. _Flores Solitudinis_ (Flowers of Solitude) and _The Mount of Olives_ are devout meditations in prose. The two brothers were joint authors of _Thalia Rediviva: the Pastimes and Diversions of a Country Muse_ (1678), a collection of translations and original poems.

VAUGHAN, ROBERT (1795-1868).--A minister of the Congregationalist communion, Prof. of History in London Univ., 1830-43, and Pres. of the Independent Coll., Manchester, 1843-57. He founded, and for a time ed.

the _British Quarterly_. He wrote, among various other works, _A History of England under the Stuarts_, _Revolutions of History_, and a Life of Wycliffe.

VEITCH, JOHN (1829-1894).--Philosophic and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Peebles, _ed._ at Univ. and New Coll., Edin., was a.s.sistant to Sir Wm.

Hamilton (_q.v._), 1856-60, Prof. of Logic at St. Andrews, 1860-64, and Glasgow, 1864-94. He was a voluminous and accomplished writer, his works including Lives of _Dugald Stewart_ (1857) and _Sir W. Hamilton_ (1869), _Tweed and other Poems_ (1875), _History and Poetry of the Scottish Border_ (1877), _Feeling for Nature in Scottish Poetry_ (1887), _Merlin and other Poems_ (1889), _Border Essays_ (1896), and _Dualism and Monism_ (1895).

VERY, JONES (1813-1880).--Essayist and poet, _b._ at Salem, Ma.s.s., where he became a clergyman and something of a mystic. He _pub._ one small volume, _Essays and Poems_, the latter chiefly in the form of the Shakespearian sonnet. Though never widely popular, he appealed by his refined, still thoughtfulness to a certain small circle of minds.

WACE (_fl._ 1170).--Chronicler, _b._ in Jersey, and _ed._ at Caen, was influenced by the Chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth (_q.v._), and based upon it a French metrical romance, _Brut_. Later, at the command of Henry II., he rewrote with additions a chronicle of the life of William the Conqueror and ent.i.tled it _Roman de Rou_.

WADE, THOMAS (1805-1875).--Poet, _b._ at Woodbridge, _pub._ poems, dramas, sonnets, and a translation of Dante's _Inferno_. Among his writings are _Ta.s.so and the Sisters_ (1825), _Mundi et Cordis Carmina_ (1835); _Duke Andrea_ (1828), and _The Jew of Arragon_ (1830), both tragedies, and the _Phrenologists_ (1830), a farce.

WAKEFIELD, GILBERT (1756-1801).--Scholar and controversialist, _b._ at Nottingham, _ed._ at Camb., took orders, but becoming a Unitarian renounced them and acted as cla.s.sical tutor in various Unitarian academies. He was a strong defender of the French Revolution, and was imprisoned for two years for writing a seditious pamphlet. He _pub._ ed.

of various cla.s.sical writers, and among his theological writings are _Early Christian Writers on the Person of Christ_ (1784), _An Examination of Paine's Age of Reason_ (1794), and _Silva Critica_ (1789-95), ill.u.s.trations of the Scriptures.

WALLACE, LEWIS (1827-1905).--Novelist, _b._ at Brookville, Indiana, served with distinction in the Mexican and Civil Wars, and rose to the rank of General. He was also a politician of some note, and was Governor of Utah and Minister to Turkey. His novel, _Ben Hur_ (1880), dealing with the times of Christ, had great popularity, and was followed by _The Fair G.o.d_, _The Prince of India_, and other novels, and by a work on the _Boyhood of Christ_.

WALLER, EDMUND (1606-1687).--Poet, _b._ at Coles.h.i.+ll, Herts, and _ed._ at Eton and Camb., belonged to an old and wealthy family, and in early childhood inherited the estate of Beaconsfield, Bucks, worth 3500 a year. He was related to John Hampden, and was distantly connected with Oliver Cromwell, his own family, however, being staunch Royalists. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn, and at the age of 16 became a member of Parliament, in which he sat for various const.i.tuencies for the greater part of his life, and in which his wit and vivacity, as well as his powers of adapting his principles to the times, enabled him to take a prominent part. In 1631 he added to his fortune by marrying Anne Banks, a London heiress, who _d._ in 1634, and he then paid a.s.siduous but unsuccessful court to Lady Dorothea Sidney, to whom, under the name of Sacharissa, he addressed much of his best poetry. Though probably really a Royalist in his sympathies, W. supported the popular cause in Parliament, and in 1641 conducted the case against Sir Francis Crawley for his opinion in favour of the legality of s.h.i.+p-money. His speech, which was printed, had an enormous circulation and brought him great fame. Two years later, however, he was detected in a plot for seizing London for the King, was expelled from the House, fined 10,000, and banished. On this occasion he showed cowardice and treachery, humiliating himself in the most abject manner, and betraying all his a.s.sociates. He went to the Continent, living chiefly in France and Switzerland, and showing hospitality to Royalist exiles. Returning by permission in 1652 he addressed some laudatory verses, among the best he wrote, to Cromwell, on whose death nevertheless he wrote a new poem ent.i.tled, _On the Death of the late Usurper, O.C._ On the Restoration the accommodating poet was ready with a congratulatory address to Charles II., who, pointing out its inferiority as a poem to that addressed to Cromwell, elicited the famous reply, "Poets, Sire, succeed better in fiction than in truth." The poem, however, whatever its demerits, succeeded in its prime object, and the poet became a favourite at Court, and sat in Parliament until his death.

In addition to his lighter pieces, on which his fame chiefly rests, W.

wrote an epic, _The Summer Islands_ (Bermudas), and a sacred poem, _Divine Love_. His short poems, such as "On a Girdle," often show fancy and grace of expression, but are frequently frigid and artificial, and exhibit absolute indifference to the charms of Nature. As a man, though agreeable and witty, he was time-serving, selfish, and cowardly.

Clarendon has left a very unflattering "character" of him. He _m._ a second time and had five sons and eight daughters.

WALLER, JOHN FRANCIS (1810-1894).--Poet, _b._ at Limerick, and _ed._ at Trinity Coll., Dublin, became a contributor to and ultimately ed. of the _Dublin University Magazine_, usually writing under the pseudonym of "Jonathan Freke Slingsby." His works include _Ravenscroft Hall_ (1852), _The Dead Bridal_ (1856), and _Peter Brown_ (1872).

WALPOLE, HORATIO or HORACE (1717-1797).--Miscellaneous writer, third _s._ of Sir Robert W., the great minister of George II., was _b._ in London, and _ed._ at Eton and Camb., after which he travelled on the Continent with Gray, the poet (_q.v._). His _f._ bestowed several lucrative appointments upon him, and he sat in Parliament for various places, but never took any prominent part in public business. By the death of his nephew, the 3rd Earl, he became in 1791 4th Earl of Orford. In 1747 he purchased the villa of Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, the conversion of which into a small Gothic Castle and the collection of the works of art and curios with which it was decorated was the main interest of his subsequent life. His position in society gave him access to the best information on all contemporary subjects of interest, and he was as successful in collecting gossip as curios. He also erected a private press, from which various important works, including Gray's _Bard_, as well as his own writings, were issued. Among the latter are _Letter from Xo Ho to his Friend Lien Chi at Pekin_ (1757), _The Castle of Otranto_, the forerunner of the romances of terror of Mrs. Radcliffe and "Monk"

Lewis, _The Mysterious Mother_ (1768), a tragedy of considerable power, _Catalogue of Royal and n.o.ble Authors_, _Anecdotes of Painting_, _Catalogue of Engravers_ (1763), _Essay on Modern Gardening_, _Memoirs of the Last Ten Years of George II._, _Memoirs of the Reign of George III._, and above all his _Letters_, 2700 in number, vivacious, interesting, and often brilliant. W. never _m._

WALPOLE, SIR SPENCER (1839-1907).--Historian, _s._ of the Right Hon.

Spencer W., Home Sec. in the three Derby Cabinets, belonged to the same family as Sir Robert W. _Ed._ at Eton he became a clerk in the War Office, and was thereafter successively Inspector of Fisheries 1867, Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man 1882, and Sec. to the Post Office, where he made a reputation as an efficient administrator, and was made K.C.B. in 1898. He _pub._ _History of England from_ 1815 in 6 vols., bringing the story down to 1858, and followed it up with _The History of Twenty-five Years_. He also wrote Lives of Spencer Percival, Prime Minister 1809-12, who was a.s.sa.s.sinated in the lobby of the House of Commons in the latter year, and who was his maternal grandfather, and of Earl Russell. His latest book was _Studies in Biography_. He wrote with much knowledge, and in a clear and sober style.

WALTON, IZAAK (1593-1683).--Biographer, and author of _The Compleat Angler_, _s._ of a yeoman, was _b._ at Stafford. Of his earlier years little is known. He carried on business as a hosier in London, in which he made a modest competence, which enabled him to retire at 50, the rest of his long life of 90 years being spent in the simple country pleasures, especially angling, which he so charmingly describes. He was twice _m._, first to Rachel Floud, a descendant of Archbishop Cranmer, and second to Ann Ken, half-sister of the author of the Evening Hymn. His first book was a _Life of Dr. Donne_ (1640), followed by Lives of Sir Henry Wotton (1651), Richard Hooker (1662), George Herbert (1670), and Bishop Sanderson (1678). All of these, cla.s.sics in their kind, short, but simple and striking, were _coll._ into one vol. His masterpiece, however, was _The Compleat Angler_, the first ed. of which was _pub._ in 1653.

Subsequent ed. were greatly enlarged; a second part was added by Charles Cotton (_q.v._). With its dialogues between Piscator (angler), Venator (hunter), and Auceps (falconer), full of wisdom, kindly humour, and charity, its charming pictures of country scenes and pleasures, and its s.n.a.t.c.hes of verse, it is one of the most delightful and care-dispelling books in the language. His long, happy, and innocent life ended in the house of his son-in-law, Dr. Hawkins, Prebendary of Winchester, where in the Cathedral he lies buried.