A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and ..., Volumen 3
Escrito por Samuel Austin Allibone
leet Melodies of Scotland, interspersed with those of Ireland and Wales, Ac, 1S22-25, 6 vols. r. 8vo. Prefixed to vol. i. is a Dissertation concerning the National Melodies of Scotland. See Tannauii.l, Robert. The value of these collections is well known to connoisseurs. A notice of Thomson will be found in Chambers's and Thomson's Biog. Diet, of Em, Scots., ed. 1855, v. 555. His correspondence with Burns, published by Dr. Currie, is well worthy of perusal.
Thomson, II. T. Esther; a Sacred Poem, Lon., p. 8vo.
Thomson, Henry* Papers in Med. Obs. and Inq., 1762.
Thomson, Henry, D.D., of Penrith, England. Discourses on Passages selected from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Lon., 1822, 8vo. Subject, the fulfilment of prophecy. Commended by Edin. Chris. Instruc, June, 182.1, 404; Home's Bibl. Bib., 344.
Thomson, Henry. 1. Address to Communicants, Lon., 1839. 12mo. 2. Sacramental Addresses, 1839, fp. 8vo. 3. Female Characters, 1846, 12ino.
Thomson, Henry Byerley, of the Inner Temple, Second Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. 1. The Laws of War affecting Commerce and Shipping, 2d cd., Lon.. 1S54, 8vo. See 20 Law Rev., 163. 2. The Military Forces and Institutions of Great Britain, 1855, 8vo. 3. The Choice of a Profession, 1857, p. 8vo.
'* An excellent manual for the middle clause*."—Lon. A then., 1857, 577.
4. Institutes of the Laws of Ceylon, 1866, 2 vols. 8vo.
Thomson, Henry F. Intrigues of a Nabob, Lon., 1780, 8vo.
Thomson, Ignatius* Genealogy of John Thornton who landed at Plymouth in the Month of May, 1622, Taunton, 1841, 4to, pp. 84.
"Three rnrrr tiooks of tin* class Cau hardly be mentioned."— Whitman's Hand-Book of A mer. Gental., 1862,44.
Thomson, J., Captain U.K. of Artillery. 1. Treatise on Gunpowder, Fire-Arms, and Artillery; from the Italian, Lon., 17U2, 8vo. 2. Philosophical Dissertations on the Egyptians and Chinese; from the French of M. de Pauw, 1795, 2 vols. 8vo.
"A work of extraordinary merit."—Lon. Quar. Rev.
See Webb, Daniel.
Thomson, Rev. J. Poems, Moral, Descriptive, Ac, 1807, 12mo.
Thomson, J., minister at Leith. See Fairbaikn, Rkv. Patrick, No. 3, and also No. 6; Keith, Repel, D.D.; Prattes, Rev. B. R.; Uobbins, R. D. C; RyLand, Jonathan En Warm.
Thomson, J. Cockbnrn, one of the most learned of the Sanskrit pupils of the late Horace I lay m an Wilson The Bhagavad-Gitfi: or, A Discourse between Krifhna and Arjuna on Divine Matters; a Sanskrit Philosophical Poemr Translated, [into English prose,] with Copious Notes, an Introduction on Sanskrit Philosophy, and other Matter, Hertford, 1855, 2 vols, in 1, imp. 16mo, pp. cxix., 155.
"Ijp travail do M. Cockburn Thomson est le pins devclnppe dont hi Ithagavad Guit& ait et£ jusqu'A present l'objet."—Jour, det Saran*.
"Preredee d'une lnngue et savante introduction."—Rap. An. Anal. Soc. o/I\tri*, 18.')4, by M.J. Mohl.
'•The t<'xt in very correct."—Wtstm. Rev.
"Ably tiniiKlittiil and explained."—Lon. Leader.
See. also, Lon. Athen., 1855, 840; N. Amir. Rev., Ixxxvi. 435, (by Rev. W. R. Alger;) Jonks, Sir WilLiam: Mcllbr, Max.
Thomson, J. 11. Practical Dyer's Assistant, Lon., December, 184", 12mo; 2d ed., May, 1850, 12mo.
Thomson, J. K. A Missionary Church and Missionary Churches; a Letter, Lon., 1865, 8vo.
Thomson, J. T. 1. Some Glimpses into Life in the Far East, 2d ed., Lon., 1865, 8vo. 2. Sequel to Some Glimpses, <fcc, 1865, 8vo.
Thomson, James, the author of "The Reasons," a son of the Rev. Thomas Thomson, was b. at Ednam, Roxburghshire, Scotland, September 11, 1700, and educated at the Grammar-School at Jedburgh and at the University of Dublin, where in 1719 he was entered as a student of divinity ; abandoned his design on the pulpit, and in 1725 came to London in pursuit of fortune and fame; in 1726 sold to John Millan. for three guineas, bis poem of Winter, (consisting when first published of only 413 lines,) of which three editions (the first fol., the 2d and 3d 8vo) were issued in this same year; in 1727 published Summer, 8vo, and a Poem on the Death of Sir Isaac Newton, fol.; in 1728 appeared Spring,
8vo, (for which Andrew Millar gave him 50 gninefes })t)\' *Al^ in 1729, the poem of Britannia, (anonymously,) an*3 Poem on tho Death of Congreve, (recovered by the Rev. H. F. Carey, and reprinted by Peter Cunningham for the Percy Society in 1843, p. 8vo, pp. 32;) and Feb. 28, 1729-30, was first aoted—published 1730, 8vo and 4to— the Tragedy of Sophonisba; in 1730, 4to, was issued by subscription a collective edition of The Seasons, (including Autumn, then first published,) of which 387 subscribers took 454 copies; in the same year, by the influence of Dr. Rundlo, accompanied Charles Talbot, eldest sou of the Chancellor, in a tour on the Continent, where his observations of tho working of despotic rule inspired his poem of Liberty, published in five separate ito parts, 1735-36, but shortened after his decease, for his collective Works, by Sir George Lytteltou; rewarded for his attendance upon Mr. Talbot by the post of Secretary of Briefs,—the loss of which (in 1737) was partially supplied by a pension from the Prince of Wales of £101), and perhaps more than compensated by the subsequent appointment of Surveyor-General of tho Leeward Islands, from which, after paying his deputy, he received about £300 per annum; in 1737 he published A Poem to the Memory of Lord Talbot, 4to ; in 173S edited his own Works, in 2 vols. 8vo, wrote a prefaco to Milton's Areopagitica, and produced and published bis tragedy of Agamemnon, 8vo ; in 1739 published—the representation was prohibited—his tragedy of Edward and Elenora, 8vo; in 1740, in conjunction with David Mallet, wrote the masque of Alfrod, (1740, 8vo,) in which appears the national anthem Rule Britannia, ascribed by Bolton Corney, " on no slight evidence," to Mullet; in 1745 published his tragedy (taken from Gil Bias) of Tailored and Sigismunda, 8vo; in 1748 gave to the world his Castle of Indolence, an Allegorical Poem, written in imitation of Spenser, 4to; and on the 27th of August, in the same year, was "gathered to his fathers,"—a union hastened by imprudent exposure on the water between London and his cottage in Kcw-foot Lane, Richmond, where now stands the villa of the Earl of Shaftesbury. His tragedy of Coriolanus, left in MS., was, by the zeal of Sir Georgo Lyttclton, brought upon the stage "for the benefit of his family," and recommended by a Prologue, [by Lyttclton,] which Quin, who had long lived with Thomson in fond intimacy, spoke in such a manner as showed him "to bo," on that occasion, " no actor." It was published in 1748, (some 1749.) 8vo.
"Mr. Thomson was at the Leusowes in the summer of 174ft, and in the autumn of 1746, mid promised when ho mine again into the country to make a longer visit; hut at the time ho wan expected came an account of his death. It seems he waited too long for tho return of his friend, Dr. [John] Armstrong, [p. ft8, supra.] and did not choose to employ any other physician. lie had nothing of tho gentleman in his person or addretm; but he made amends for tho deficiency by his refined sense, spirited expressions, and a manner of speaking not unlike his friend Quin. He did not talk a great deal, hut after a pause of reflection produced something or other that accounted for his d'day.
"The Seasons would make a fine poem in Latin. Its turgid phrases would lose their stiffness, and its vulgar idioms acquire a proper majesty; its propriety and description shine the same." —W. S., (t>. William Shknstone:) MS. note in hit copy of The Seasons; see Lon. Gent. Mag., 1823, i. 226.
Collins'* beautiful Ode on the Death of Thomson, " In yonder grave [or grove?] a Druid lies," is doubtless familiar to many of our readers. For arguments (by Bolton Corney, Ac.) on "grave" and "grove," see Lon. Gent. Mag., 1843, i. 493, 602.
Emtions Of Thomson's Works.
Of these we notice the following:
I. Lon., 1730-36, 2 vols. 4to. II. 1732. 2 vols, ito; 1. p., r. 4to. III. 1733, 4 vols. 12mo. IV. 1738, 2 vols. 8vo. V. 1750, 4 vols. 12mo. VI. 1752, 4 vols. 12mo. VII. 1757,4 vols. 12mo. VIII. With tho Author's last Corrections and Improvements, to which is Prefixed An Account of his Life and Writings by Patrick Murdoch, D.D., 1762, 2 vols. 4to; 1. p., r. 4to. See Dibdin's Lib. Comp., ed. 1825, 740, n. The Dedications and Prefaces of the author are omitted. Tho Account by Murdoch is prefixed to some of the later editions of Thomson's Writings. IX. 1762, 4 vols. 12mo. X. 1773, 4 vols. 12mo. XL Glasgow, 1784, 2 vols, fob, (Foulis.) XII. With plates by Stothard, Burnev, Ac, Lon., 1788, 8 vols. 8vo; l.p., r. 8vo. XIII. 1802, 3 vols. 8vo. XIV. By Thomas Park, 1805, 2 vols. 18mo. XV. Aldine edition: Poems, with an Original Memoir and many new Poems, now first Published, 1830, 2 vols. fp. 8vo, (Pickering.) New ed., 1847, 2 vols. fp. 8vo, (Pickering;)
"How under all these friendly alterations and additions tha original poem Bwelled in size, may lie seen in Mr. Bolton Corney a handsome and correct edition."—Rkv.john Mjtfobk: Lon. Gent. Mag., 1845, ii. 450. See. also. 18.4), i. 493, 602.
"Most of the designs are in accordance with the spirit of the author,—some of them beautiful."—Lon. Athen.
See, also, Blockw. Mag., Iii. 674-686; Corney, Bolton.
XXXII. With Notes, illustrative of the Natural History, Biography, Classical Allusions, and General Philosophy contained in the Poems, by Anthony Todd Thomson, M.D., F.L.S., Ac, 1847, fp. Svo, pp. 450, 7a. 6..., (Longman.)
"Ilia edition of The Seasons is the book for those who wish to read James Thomson to advantage."—L"n. Rpec.
XXXIII. With Life by J. Murdoch, D.D., and Notes by James Nichols, Dec. 1848, Svo, 5a., (Tcgg.) XXXIV. Illustrated, N. York, Svo, $2.75, mor. $4, (Harper.)
XXXV. Illustrated, 8vo, $2.50, (A. S. Barnes A Co.)
XXXVI. Illustrated, Philadelphia, Svo, $4.50, (Butler.)
XXXVII. Lon., 1851, 32mo, 6(7., (Piper.) XXXVIII.
1857, 12mo, 2s., (Groombridge.) XXXIX. Illustrated by Foster, Pickersgill, Wolf, Thomas, and Humphreys, Nov.
1858, Svo, pp. 230,14a., (Nisbct.) XL. Edited by Robert Bell, Nov. 1861, fp. 8vo, 1a. 6rf., (Griffin.) We also notice: XLI. Spring, with a Life of tho Poet; for Schools, by Walter McLeod, 1863. 12mo, and—XLII. Winter, by the same, 1864, 12mo. XLIII. Thomson's Seasons, Part 1; Spring, with Notes on the Analysis and Parsing, and a Lite of Thomson by C. P. Mason, B.A., Fellow of University Collego, London, 1863, 12mo, and—XLIV. Winter, by the same, 1864, 12mo. XLV. Seasons, with Notes by J. R. Boyd, Phila., 1864, Svo. XLVI. Seasons, Edited by W. J. Jcaffreson, 1869, 2 vols. 18mo, (Brit. India Classics.)
The Rev. Mr. Mitford, in a notice of Thomson's works, excited the curiosity, not to say the cupidity, of collectors, by the following statement:
"As ' fortune not only favours fools,' but is also not seldom seen at the elbow of tho diligent and industrious, she crowned our earliest efforts by putting into our bands, at the price of one shilling and sixpence, what we would not exchange for the great ruby in the royal crown,—the edition of The Seasons of 1738, 8vo, Miller, interleaved, tilled with Thomson1! alterations in his own hand in every page, and with numerous alterations and emendations bv Pope in bis small and beautiful writing.*'— Lon. Gent. Mag.. Tlt-c. 1841. 564, (a. r.)
Sec, also, (by same,) Nov. 1845,449, and Gray's Works, by Mitford, ii. viii., (ed. 1836.)
Mr. Peter Cunningham, an acute critic, remarks,
*' These corrections were in very ninny eases adopted by Thomson; but I cannot help thinking that the writing bears a greater resemblance to Lord Lyttoltoii's handwriting than to Pope's. The edition is that of 1736."— Cunningham's ed. (if Johnson'* Live* of the Fotti, 1855, iii. 233, n.
Sec to the same effect a writer (whether Mr. C. or not
we are not informed) in Lon. Athcn., 1S47, 485. At the
sale of Mr. Mitford's library, in the spring of 1860, this
volume was knocked down at £46.
Editions Op The Seasons And Castle Of Indolence
Both In The Same Volume.
I. Edin., 1789, 12mo. II. 1814, 12mo. III. Aldine edition, Lon., 1830, fp. 8vo, some 1. p.: new ed., 1845, fp. 8vo, 5a., (Pickering.) New ed., Revised, with Memoir by Sir N. H. Nicolas, annotated bv Peter Cunningham, Esq., F.S.A., Jan. 1862, fp. 8vo,"(Bell A Daldy.) IV. 12mo, 5a., (Tegg.) V. 32mo, 2a., (Orr.) VI. With Introd. by Allan Cunningham, and 48 Illust. by S. Williams, 1841, cr. 8vo, 12a., (Boguc.) New ed.. 1859, cr. 8vo. See Lon. Gent. Mag.. 1843, i. 492. VII. 1845, 24mo, la. 6rf., (Clarke.) VIII. 1848, 12mo, .:«., (Chapman A Hall.) IX. With Life by P. Murdoch. D.D., and Notes by James Nichols, Dec. 184S. Svo, 5a., (Tegg.) X. With Illustrations, and Life by Gilfillan. Edin., 1857, (some 1859,) 8vo, 18a.. (J. Blackwood.) XI. Edited by R. Bell, Lon. and Glasg., Dec. 1862, Ac. 2 vols. 12mo, 5a., (Griffin.) We also notice: XII. Illustrations of Thomson's Castle of Indolence, by W. Rcimcr, Lon., 1845, 14 plates, (Art Union :) and Text to the Outlines, 1845, fol., (Simpkin.) XIII. Castle of Indolence, 1851, 1 Sinn. XIV. II Castello dell' Ozio, Poema in due Canti, reccnto in Verso Italiano dettaottava rinia da Tommaso Jacopo Mathias, Napoli, 1826, 4to. Privately printed.
Specimens of Thomson's poetry will be found in many collections of English poetry.
Critical Opinions On Thomson's Writings.
"As a writer, he is entitled to one praise of the highest kind: his mode of thinking, and of expressing his thoughts, is original. His blank verse is no more the blank verse of Milton, or of any other poet, than the rhymes of Prior are tho rhymes of Cowley*
His numbers, his pauses, his diction, nro of Ms own growth, without transcription, without imitation. Ho thinks in a peculiar train, and he thinks always as a man of genius; he looks onnd "ii Nature and on life with the eye which Nature bestows only on a poet,—the eye that distinguitdies, in every tiling presented to its view, whatever there it* on which imagination can delight to l>e detained, and a mind that at once comprehend* the vast and attends to the minute. The reader of "i'he Seasons* Wonders that lie never ttaw before what Thomson shows him, and that he never yet has felt what Thomson impresses.
"His is one of the works in which blauk verse seems properly used. Thomson's wide expansion of general views, and his enumeration of circumstantial varieties, would have been obscured and embarrassed by the frequent intersections of the sense wliich are the necensary effects of rhyme. His descriptions of extended scenes aud general effects bring before us the whole magnificence of Nature, whether pleading or dreadful. The gaiety of Spring, the splendour of Summer, the tranquillity of Autumn, and the horror of Winter, take in their turns possession of the mind. Tbe poet leads us through the appearances of things as they are successively varied by the vicissitudes of the year, and imparts to us so uiuch of his own enthusiasm that our thoughts expand with his imagery and kindle with his sentiments. Nor is the naturalist without his part in the entertainment; for he is assisted to recollect and to combine, to arrange his discoveries, and to amplify the sphere of his contemplation. The grand defect of 'The Seasons' is want of method; but for this I know not that there was any remedy. Of mauy appearances subsisting all at once, no rule can be given why one should1 be mentioned tiefore another; yet the memory wants the help of order, and the curiosity is not excited by suspense or expectation.
"His diction is in the highest degree florid and luxuriant, such as may be said to be to his images and thoughts ' both their luntre and their simile;' such as iuvests them with splendour, through which perlmps they are not always easily discerned. It is too exuberant, aud sometimes maybe charged with filling the ear more than the miud. ... It may be doubted whether he was, either by the bent of nature or habits of study, much qualified for tragedy. It doe** not appear that he bail much sense of the pathetic ; and his diffusive and descriptive style produced declamation nither than dialogue. . . . 'Liberty,'when it first appeared, I tried to read, and soon desisted. I have never tried again, and therefore will not hazard either praise or censure. . . . Upou this great poem two years were spent, and the authoreon,gr.itu)ated himself upon It as his noblest work; but an authoT and his reader are not always of a miud. Liberty called in vain apon her votaries to read her praises and reward her encomiast: her praises were condemned to harbour spiders, and to gather dust: none of Thomson's performances were eo little regarded.
"The judgment of the public was not erroneous: the recurrence of the same images must tire fn time; an enumeration of examples to prove a position which noliody denied, as it was from the tteginning superfluous, must quickly grow disgusting." —Dr. JomrffOS: Lives of the Ports, Cunningham's ed., 1855, iii. 239, 24». 241.
On this criticism see Sir S. E. Brydges, in his ed. of Phillips'!" Theat. Poet. Anglic, lM)U* xli.
"Thomson had a true poetical genius, the power of viewing every thing in a poetical light. His fault is such a cloud of words sometimes that the sense can hardly peep through. Shiels, who ronipib'd 'Cibher's Lives of the Poets,' wn.< one day sitting with DM. I took down Thomson and read aloud a large portion of him,and then asked—Is not this fine? Shiejs having expressed the highest admiration, * Well, sir.' said I,' I have omitted every other line.""—I>R. Joitxso.x: Boswtll's Johnson, by Croker, chup. Iv. See, also, chaps, xvii., xxi.. 1., lvii., lviii, Ixvii., Ixxi., n.
"Are then The Seasons and The Tnak great poems? Yes. Why* We shall tell you in two serrate articles. Hut we presume you do not need to be told that that poem must be great which was the first to paint the rolling mystery of the year and to show that all its Seasons were but tbe varied God? Tbe idea was original and sublime; and the fulfilment thereof so complete that, some six thousand years having elapsed between the creation of the world aud of that poem, some sixty thousand, we prophesy, will elapse between the appearance of that poem and the publication of another, equally great, on a subject, external to the mind,equally magnificent."—Professor John Wil•ok: BlackW. Mag., xxx. 483 : An Hour's Talk about Poetry.
See, also, references to Blackw. Mag. and AVilson's Work*, (infra.)
"Habits of early admiration teach us all to look back upon t)u« poet as the favourite companion of our solitary walks, and as the author who has first or chiefly reflected back to our minds a heightened and refined sensation of the delight which rural scenery affords u«. Tb" judgment of cooler years may somewhat abate our estimation of him, though it will still leave as the essential features of his poetical character to abide the test of reflection. ... It is almost stale to remark the beauties of a poem so-universally felt,—the truth and genial interest with which he carries us through the life of the year; the harmony of Mirression which he gives to the casual phenomena of nature; his pleasing transitions from native to foreign scenery; and the soul of exalted and unfeigned benevolence which accompanies his prospects of the creation. . . . Between the period of his composing ' The Seasons' and 'The Castle of Indolence' he wrote several works, which seem hardly to accord with the improvement and maturity of his taste exhibited in the latter production. To 'The Castle of Indolence' he brought not only the full nature bat the perfect art of a poet. The materials of that exquisite poem are derived from Tasso; but he was moro immediately indebted for them to 'The KairyQueen;' and In meeting with the paternal Spirit of Spenser he seems as if he were admitted more intimately to the home of inspiration. There he redeemed the jejaae ambition of his style, and retained all its wealth and
luxury without tbe accompaniment of ostentation. Every stanza of that charmiug allegory, at least of the whole of the first part of it, gives out a group of images from which the mind is reluctant to part, and a flow of harmony which tbe ear wishes to hear repeated."—Thomas Campbell: Essay on I\>ctry, P. Cunningham's ed., 1848, 265, 266.
Mr. Cunningham adds some criticisms from Cowper, Bcattie, Coleridge, and Wilson, vix.:
"Thomson was admirable in description ; but It always seemed to me that there was somewhat of affectation in his style, and that his numbers are sometimes not well harmonized. I could wish, too, with Dr. Johnson, that he had confined himself to this country ; for when he describes what he never saw, one j» forced to read him with some allowances for possible misrepresentation. He was, however, a true poet, and his lasting fame has proved it."—Cowper: Letter to Mrs. King, June 19, 1T88.
''Thomson was an honour to his country and to mankind, and a man to whose writings I am under very particular obligations; for, if I have any true relish for the bean ties of nature, I may say with truth that it was from Virgil and from Thomsou that I caught it."—Bkattik.
"The love of nature seems to have led Thomson to a cheerful religion, and a gloomy religion to have led Cowper to a love of nature. The one would carry his fellow-men along with him into nature, the other flies to nature from his fellow-men. In chastity of diction, however, and the harmony of blank verse, Cowper leaves Thomson immeasurably below him; yet I still believe the latter to have been the born poet."—Coleridgk.
"Thomson's genius does not so often delight us by exquisite minute touches in the description of nature as that of Cowper. It loves to paint on a great scale, and to dash objects off sweepiugly by bold strokes. Cowper sets nature before your eyes,— Thomson, before your imagination."—Professor Wilson. Hnzlitt's estimate of Thomson was very high:
"Thomson is the la?st of our descriptive poets; for he gives most of the poetry of natural description. Others have been quite equal to him, or have surpassed him, as Cowper, for instance, in the picturesque part of his art, in marking the peculiar features and curious details of objects;— no one has yet come up to him in giving the sum total of their effects, their varying influences on the mind. ... It has been supposed by some that the Castle of Indolence is Thomson's best jmem; but that is not the case. He bus in it, inde€>d, poured out tbe whole soul of indolence, diffuse, relaxed, supine, dissolved into a voluptuous dream; and surrounded himself with a set of objects and companions in entire unison with the listlessness of his own temper. . . . But stifl there are no passages in this exquisite little production of sportive ense and fancy eqnal to the best of those of The Seasons. . . . Thomson's blank verse is not harsh, nor utterly uutuueable, but it is heavy and monotonous; it seems always labouring uphill. . . . The moral descriptions and reflections in The Seasons are in an admirable spirit, and written with great force and fervour. . , . His poem on Liberty is not equally good. . . . His plays . . . are never acted, and seldom read. The author could not, or would not, put himself out of bis way to enter into the situations and passions of others, particularly of a tragic kind."—Lectures on the Eng. Piets, Lect. V.: on Thomson and Cowper.
See, also, Milton, Jons, p. 1303, supra, (quotation from Hnzlitt.)
Wc give some extracts from the Letters of tho lively Horace Walpole:
** The town flocks to a new play of Thomson's, called 'Tancred and Sigistminda.' It is very dnll; I have read it. I cannot liear modern poetry; these refiners of the purity of the stage and of the incorrectness of Knglish vcree are most woefully insipid. I had rather have written the most absurd lines in Lee than 'Leonidas' [by Richard Glover] or 'The Seasons;* as T had rather be put into the round-boose for a wrong-headed quarrel than sup quietly at eight o'clock with my grandmother."—To Sir H. Mann, March 29, 1745.
"You are very particular, I can tell you, in liking Gray's Ode*; but you must remember that the age likes Akenside, and did like Thomson! Can the same people n'ke both?"—To George Montagu, Att/.tist 25, 1757.
** Lord But'han is screwing ont a little ephemeral fame from instituting a jubilee for Thomson. I fear I shall not make my court to Mr. Berry by owning I would not give him this last week's fine weather for all the four Seasons in blank vers*. There is more nature in six lines of L'Allegro and Penserosg than in all the fabonred imitations of Milton. What is there in Thomson of original?"— To the Miss Kerry*, Sept. 16. 1791.
''Thomson has lately published a poem called The Castle of Indolence, in which there are some good stanzas."—Gray.
"Who could have expected this sentence from the pen of Gray?"—I)roAL» Stewart: Philos. Essays, 8vo, 513.
Sec Lon. Gent. Mug,, 1850, ii. 259; Stewart's Prelim. Dissert, to Encyc. Brit., 7th ed., 147, n.
"There is no imitation of Spenser to approach it [The Castle of Indolence] in genius and in manner."—Peter Cunningham, in his ed. of Campbell's Essays, kc, 2fiti, n.
"The Seasons of Thomson would have been better in rhyme, although still inferior to his Castle of Indolence."-—Lord BraoN: Moore's Byron, ii., after Letter CCCXCV.
See, also, Howitt's Homes and Haunts; Lives of Thomson, in Encyc. Brit., 7th ed., xxi., and (by Robert Carruthcrs) 8th ed., xxi., (186(1;) Mnrtinus Scriblorus; Warton's ed. of Pope's Works; Warton's Essay on Pope; Spence's Anec, by Singer; Wool's Mem. of J. Wurton; Cens. Lit., vols, ii., iii., iv.; Brydgcs's Prelim. Remarks to L'AUigro and II Penseroso; Nichols's Lit. Anec, vii. (Index) 419, 690; Nichols's Illust. of Lit., vi. 494, viii. 630; Records of My Life, by John Taylor; Disraeli's Misccll. of Lit.; Montgomery's Lects. on Gen. Lit., Poet., Ac, Lects. III., IV.; R. Chambers's Picture of Scotland; Blair's Rhetoric, Lects. XVI., XL.; Goodhugh's K. G. Lib. Man., 256; Memoirs of Lord Lyttelton, by Phillimoro; Tuckerman's Thoughts on the Poets, (see, also, South. Lit. Mess., vii. 605;) W. H. Prescott's Misccll., ed. 1855, 470, n.; G. P. Marsh's Lects. on the Eng. Lang., Nos. 6, n., 24; Lon. Quar. Rev., xvii. 257; Edin. Rev., xviii. 282, (by Lord Jeffrey,) xxv. 496, (by Sir J. Mackintosh,) xlii. 62; Blackw. Mag., ii. 681, xx. 688, xxii. 548, xxvii. 633, 833, xxviii. 872, 873, xxix. 27, 294, xxx. 483, 858, xxxi. 981, xliii. 576, xlv. 136, 581, 645, xlvi. 15, xlviii. 96, (sec, also, Wilson's Works, by Fcrrier; Wordsworth's Essay Supp. to the Preface, Ac:) Lon. Gent. Mag., 1841, i. 145, (by Bolton Corncy,) 1853, i. 368, (by P. Cunningham,) ii. 364, (by A. B. G.;) Analec. Mag., v. 321; Buchan, David Stewart EnsKine, (500 pub.;) More, J., (8vo;) Pope, Alexander; Seymour, Robert, No. 3; Whately, Thomas; Young, Edward, D.D.
Nor must the collector of Thomsoniana fail to procure: James Thomson and David Mallet: Communicated by Peter Cunningham, (Printed in the Miscellanies of the Philobiblon Society, vol. iv., 1857-58;) containing eight new letters of Thomson. Sec Lon. Athen., 1859, ii. 77.
Thomson, James. 1. The Commentaries of the Emperor M. Antoninus; from the Greek, Lon., 1747, 8vo. 2. Meditations of the Emperor M. Antoninus; with Notes and Life, Glasg., 1749, 2 vols. 12mo; 4th ed., 1764, 2 vols. 12mo.
"Correct In the main, but deficient in point of elegance."— Lon. Mon. Itfv.
This translation and that of R. Graves, (p. 722, supra,) Bath, 1792, 8vo,—the best of the old English versions, and always valuable for its Notes,—will be supplanted by the new translation of George Long, (p. 1123, supra:) The Thoughts of the Emperor M. Aurelius Antoninus, Lon., 1862, 12mo; 2d ed., Revised and Corrected, 1869, p. 8vo, (Bohn's Class. Lib.)
"The English reader will find in Mr. Long's version the best means of becoming acquainted with the purest and noblest work of antiquity.''—Rev. F. W. Farrar: Seekers after God.
An account of the life and philosophy of the omperor is prefixed to Long's translation. See Lon. Athen., 1862, ii. 401.
Thomson, James. Rudiments of Music; with a Collection of Tunes, Hymns, Ac, Edin., 1778, 12mo.
Thomson, Rev. James. 1. The Denial; a Novel, Lon., 1790, 3 vols. 12mo. 2. Major Piper; or, The Adventures of a Musical Drone, 1793, 5 vols. 12mo.
Thomson, James, D.D., b. at Crieff, Perthshire, May, 1768, and educated at the College of Edinburgh, became colleague with Dr. (afterwards Bishop) Gleig in the editorship of the third edition Encyc. Brit., 1795, and contributed to it the articles Ruddiman, (Thomas,) Scripture, Septuagint, Spectre, Suicide, Superstition, Thrashing, Water, (all in 1796;) contributed (on the Philosophy of Mind and Literature) to James Mill's (p. 1278, supra) Literary Journal, 180.3-5; minister of Eccles, 1805 to 1847, when he removed to London, where he d., Nov. 28, 1855.
1. Rise, Progress, and Consequences of tho New Opinions and Principles lately introduced into France, Edin., 1799, 8vo. Had a rapid sale. 2. Expository Lectures on the Gospel of St. Luke, Lon., 3 vols. 8vo: i., 1849; ii., iii., 1851. 3. Do. Acts of the Apostles, 1854, 8vo. He also edited an edition of The Spectator, with lives of the authors, (still prefixed to some editions,) and contributed a Sketch of Agriculture in Berwickshire to Thorn. Ann. Pbilos., 1813. He was the elder, and a very kind, brother of Thomas Thomson, M.D., the eminent chemist, (infra.) Sec Lon. Gent. Mag., 1856, i. 309, (Obituary.)
Thomson, James, of Quarrelwood. Theological Discourses, Paisley, 1808, 2 vols. 8vo.
Thomson, James. On the Analysis of the Sulphate of Barytcs; Nic. Jour., 1809.
Thomson, James, LL.IX, late Professor of Mathematics in the University of Glasgow. 1. Treatise on Arithmetic, Belfast, 1819; 38th ed., 12mo; Key, 12mo. 2. Modern Geography, 26th ed., 12mo; atlas, 4to. 3. Elements of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, 4th ed., 1845, 8vo; 5th ed., 8vo. 4. Elements of Euclid, 12mo, Pt. 1, 3d ed., and Pt. 2, Sep., or in 1 vol., 1845. 5. Elementary Treatise on Algebra, 1844, 12mo, (Key, 1846,
12mo;) 4th ed., 1847,12mo. 6. Differential and Integral Calculus, 2d ed., 1848, 12mo; 3d ed., 12mo.
Thomson, James, D.D. 1. Letters on the Moral and Religious State of South America, Lon., 1827,12mo.
"Replete with interesting information."—Ctmgrrg. Mag.
2. Union Liturgy, 1837, 12mo. 3. Missionary Prayer, 1850, 12mo. 4. Incense for the Christian Altar, 3d ed., 1850, 18mo. 5. Incense for the Private Altar, 1850, 18 mo. 6. British Liberty Abroad, 1851, 8vo.
Thomson, James. Retreats: a Scries of Designs for Cottages, Villas, Ac, Lon., 4to; new ed., 1854, 4to, £1 4..; col'd, £2 2».
Thomson, James. Value and Importance of the British Fisheries, Aberd., 1849, 12mo.
Thomson, James Bates, LL.D., a nntive of Springfield, Vermont; graduated at Yale College, 1834. 1. School Algebra, N. Haven, 1843, 12mo, and Key. 2. Key to Legendre's Geometry, 1844, 12mo. 3. Practical Arithmetic, N. York, 1845, 12mo, and Key. 4. Mental Arithmetic, 1846, 16mo. 5. Higher Arithmetic, 1847, 12mo, and Key. 6. Table Book, 1848, 16mo. 7. Rudiments of Arithmetic, 1852, 12tno. 8. Arithmetical Analysis, 1854, 12mo. 9. Practical Surveying, 8vo; in preparation.
"Ivison A Pbinney circulate 100,000 copies of Thomson's Arithmetical works yearly, . . i and pay Mr. Thomson the sum of $10,000 yearly."—JrHtfrno-'i Bibl. Guide to Amer. Lit., ed. 1858, lxxxvi., Ixxxix.
Thomson, John. 1. Tables of Prices. Edin., 1761, 12mo. 2. Tables of Interest, Ac, 1768, '94, 1812. 8vo; last ed., 1859, 18mo. 3. Universal Calculator, 1784, 8vo; new ed., 12mo. 4. Arithmetic made Easy, 1807, 12mo. 5. Key to ditto, 1809, 12mo.
Thomson, John. Remarks on a Sermon entitled "Masonry tho Way to Hell," Lon., 1768, 8vo.
Thomson, John, M.D., Professor of Military Surgery, and subsequently, until 1841, of Medicine and General Pathology, in the University of Edinburgh.
1. Elements of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy, Ac, by A. F. De Fourcroy, with Notes, 5th ed., Edin., 3 vols. 8vo: i., ii., 1799; iii., 1800. 2. Observations on Lithotomy, Ac, 1808, 8vo; Appendix, 1810, 8vo. 3. Lectures on Inflammation, 1813, 8vo; Phila., 1831, 8vo. 4. Edinburgh New Dispensatory, Edin., 1813, 8vo. a. The Pharmacopoeias, in English, 1815, 8vo. 6. Report British Military Hospitals, 1816, 8vo. 7. Account of the Varioloid Epidemic in Scotland, 1819, 8vo; Lon., 1820, 8vo. 8. Sketches of the Varieties of Small-Pox, 12mo. 9. The Works of William Cullen, M.D., Edin., 1827, 2 vols. 8vo. See, also, Cullen, William, M.D., No. 9, (infra.) 9. Account of the Life, Writings, and Lectures of William Cullen, M.D., Ac, 8vo: vol. i., 1832. Reviewed in Edin. Rev., Iv. 461, (by Sir William Hamilton : repub. in his Discussions on Philosophy, Ac;) Lon. Month. Rev., exxx. 444; Lon. Athen., 1832, 271; Lon. Lit. Gax., 1832, 343. Dr. Thomson died before completing vol. ii.: it was continued by William Thomson, M.D., and after his death by David Craigic, M.D., and published, (it contains a Biographical Notice of Dr. John Thomson,) together with a new edition of vol. i., in 1859.
"The two volumes contain an immense mass of sifted scientific detail, accompanied by important illustrations of the historical progress of medicine during the last century. It claims a place, in nil well-selected professional libraries."—Lon. AUten^ 1850, ii. 408.
Thomson, John, D.D., minister of Markinch. Scotland. General View of tho Agriculture of the County of Fife, Edin., 1800, 8vo.
"The work has always enjoyed a very deserved reputation," —Donaldson'* Agr. Biixj., 84.
Thomson, John, M.D. Facts in Favour of the Cow-Pox, 1809, 8vo.
Thomson, John, Private Secretary to the Marquis of Hastings. Etymons of English Words. Edin., 1826, 4to. Rare. See Lon. Quar. Rev., lxxxi. 502.
Thomson, John, an eminent landscape-painter, known ns " the Scottish Claude Lorrain," b. at Dailly, Ayrshire, 1778, was minister of Dailly, 1800-1805, and of Duddingston from 1S05 until his death, Oct. 27, 1840. lie contributed several valuable articles on subjects of physical science to the Edinburgh Review. See Chambers's and Thomson's Biog. Diet, of Em. Scots., ed. 1855, v. 559; Blackw. Mag., xv. 388, 567, xxi. 354, xxvii. 664, xl. 76; Lon. Gent. Mag., 1840, ii. 667, (Obituary.)
Thomson, John, and Dun, Finlay. The Vocal Melodies of Scotland, new ed., Edin., 4 vols. See Lon. Gas.. 1839, 61.
Thomson, John. New Universal Gaiettcer and Geographical Dictionary, Lon., 1843, Svo; 1845, 8vo; 1857, Bto. He edited The Universal Atlas, Ac.
Thomson, John. Domestic Circle; or, Home Life, Edin., 1S66, 12mo.
Thomson, John Corkhiirn. ReeWnARTOH, Grace.
Thomson, John Lewis. Historical Sketches of the Late War bet ween the United States and Great Britain, Phila., 1816, 12mo; 5th od., 1818, 12mo; 1828, 12mo; continued, 1848, 4to; last ed., History of the Wars of the United States, Ac., 1854, 2 vols, in 1, r. 8vo.
Thomson, Katherine, daughter of Mr. Thomas Byerley, of Ktruria, Staffordshire, and the wife of Anthony Todd Thomson, M.D., (*«/>ra,) d. at Dover, December 17, 1862.
1. Life of Wolsey, Lon. Written for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
2. Constance, 3 vols. p. 8vo. Anon. 3. Rosabel: or, Sixty Years Ago, 3 vols. p. 8vo; last ed., 1859, 12mo. 4. Memoirs of the Court of Henry the Eighth, 1826, 2 vols. Svo.
"A work of much good sense, impartiality, and research."— Edin. Krv^ xlv. 321, n.
'* Performed with ability."—Lon. Month. Rer., June, 1S26.
5. Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Raleigh, 1S30, 8vo; N. York, 18mo; Phila., 1841, 12mo. See Edin. Rev., Ixxi. 4: Fraser's Mag., v. 469. 6. Lady Anabctta, Lon., I8:*7, 3 vols. p. Svo. 7. Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne, 1S.*IS, (some my,) 2 vols. 8vo. See Lon. Athen., 1839, 482. 8. Anne Boleyn, 1S42, 3 vols. p. 8vo; last ed., 1857, 12mo. 9. Widows and Widowers, 1842, 3 vols. p. Svo; last ed., 1856, 12tno. 10. Ragland Castle, 1813, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 11. White Mask, 1844, 3 vols. p. 8vo; last ed., 1857, 12mo. 12. Chevalier, Deo. 1844, 3 vols. p. 8ro; last ed., 1861, fp. 8vo. 13. Lady of Milan, 1845, 3 vols. p. 8vo; N. York, 8vo. 14. Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 aud 1745, Lon., 1S45-46, 3 vols. p. 8vo. See Lon. Gent. Mag., 1846, i. 392; Lon. Lit. Gaz., 1845-46. 15. Memoirs of Viscountess Sundon, Mistress of the Robes to Queen Caroline, Contort of George II.; including Letters, Ac. now first Published, 1847, (some 1848,) 2 vols. 8vo; 1850, 2 vols'. 8vo.
"The original materials aro very scanty,—almost worthies*,— and the artifices by which they have been bloated out into two volume* are monstrous."—Lon. Qiuir. Rev., Ixxxtl. 94.
"We conscientiously recommend the volume."—Britannia.
Sec, also, Lon. Lit. Gar. and Lon. Atlas, both 1847; Liv. Age, xiv. 310, (from Britannia.)
16. Traeey; or, The Apparition, 1847, 3 vols. p. 8vo; last ed., 185S, 12mo. See Lon. Athen., 1847, 571 : Lon. Lit. Gax., 1847, 361. 17. Recollections of Literary Characters and Celebrated Places, 1854, 2 vols. p. 8vo. Consist partly of a series of articles originally pub. in Bentley's Miscellany and Fraser's Magazine, under the signature of A Middle-Aged Man. See Lon. Athen., 15*34, 1357. 18. Carew Ralegh, 1S57, 12roo. 19. Court Secrets, 1857, 3 vols. p. 8vo. Condemned by Lon. Athen., commended bv Lon. Exam., Lon. Crit., John Bull, Ac, all 1857. 20. Faults on Both Sides. 1S5S, 3 vols. p. 8vo. 21. Life and Times of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, i860, 3 vols. p. 8vo.
"Theae volumes will increase the well-earned reputation of their clever and popular author.''—Ism. Exam.
22. Celebrated Friendships. 1861, 2 vols. p. 8vo. Condemned by Lon. Athen., l.^til, ii. 6S4; commended by Lon. Spec, Lon. Observ., Ac. In Mrs. Thomson's last appearances in literature she used the now deplume of Grace Wharton, ('/. r.)
Thomson, M., Lord Haversham. See HAVERSHAM.
Thomson, M. System of General Night Signals, Malta, 1850, Am. 4to.
Thomson, Captain Mowbray, Bengal Army, one of the only two survivors from the Cawnporc garrison. The Story of Cawnpore, Lon.. 1859, p. 8vo.
** Indispensable to future writers on this part of Indian history."— L*m. Athen., 18>"t9t i. 774.
Thomson, Murray. Analytical Tables for Students of Practical Chemistry, Lon., 1861, 8vo.
Thomson, Rev, Patrick, of Chatham. England. The Soul: its Nature and Destinies, Lon.. 1850, sm. 8vo. "An excellent volume.'1—Methwl. New Connexion.
Thomson, Rev. Peter, Sec Thomson, Aoaw, No. 1.
Thomson, It. S. Calisthenic and Hygienic Exercises. Lon., 1854, 12mo.
Thomson, Rev. R, Wodrow, a divine of the Choreh of Scotland. 1. Ben Rhydding, the Asclepia of England: its Beauties, Ac, 1*862, ISmo; 4th ed., 1867. 2. Amateur's Rosarium, Edin., 1862, 12mo.
"His mnnuRl In not well written, and his Information is scanty."—Lon. Athen., 1862, ii. 150.
Thomson, Reginald, late of King William's College, Isle of Man, and Pleader in the Zillah Court of Tinnevelly. A Manual of Hindu Law, on the Basis of Sir Thomas Strange; and illustrated by Decisions from the High Court Reports, Madras, 1857, 8vo.
Thomson, Richard, Cambridge. 1. Elenchus Refutationis 'fortune Torti, contra Mart. Becanum, Lon., 1611, 8vo. 2. De Amissione Gratim et Justification!?, Lugd. Bat., 1618. 4to.
Thomson, Richard, for more than thirty years Librarian of the London Institution, d. Jan. 2, 1865, in his 71st year. I. A Faithful Account of the Processions and Ceremonies observed in the Coronation of the Kings and Queens of England, Ac. Lon., 1820, 8vo. 2. The Book of Life; a Bibliographical Melody, {presented to the Roxburghe Club.) 1820, r. 8vo: 50 copies, and 2 on vellum. 3. Chronicles of London Bridge; by an Antiquary, 1827, cr. 8vo, £1 8*.; 1. p., demy 8vo, India proofs, £2 8*. Also India proofs separate, 8vo; also 1. p., 31 a. 6rf.
"A sterling record, both for literary recreation and reference.'1 —Lon. Lit. Gaz.
4. Illustrations of British History, 1S2S, 2 vols. ISmo, (Constable's Miscell.) 5. Talcs of an Antiquary, chielly illustrative, Ac. of London, 1828, 3 vols. 12mo. 6. Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John; to which is added the Great Charter in Latin and English, and other Charters, with Notes. 1S29, 8vo, £1 IN. 6a*.; 1. p., printed entirely on India paper, r. 8vo, £2 12*. 6d. Pp. tfu, with 4 plates, 4to.
"A book a* beautifully aud appropriately adorned as it is elaborately ami learnedly compiled,"—Rouekt SorniEr.
See, also, Lon. Quar. Rev. and Lon. Lit. Gaz. 7. Legends of Loudon, 1832. 8. Catalogue of the Library of the London Institution, Systematically Classed; with an Historical and Biographical Account of the Establishment, 1835-52, 4 vols. r. 8vo. Not printed for sale.
"In the original formation of this library (between the yearn 1S<«5 and 1K12J the Mini of 11G.533 wan cxix'-nded; and from that date to the present liberal accession* have been regularly made. Richard I'orson wim the finU librariuii, but his curly death (25 Pept. 1HMH) made bit* term of office a very brief one. Nor, indeed, despite hia brilliant Mcholarchip and bin other eminent endowments, was the office congenial to him. His successor, Mr. Mtiltby, has tidd u* in the forsoniana (appended to the TableTalk of Stimiwl fingers) that Im attendance was so irregular at* to draw from the directors on one occasion the pointed reproof, 'We only know you are our librarian by seeing your name attached to the receipts for your salary,' and from devoted friend* the admission that the censure was merited. Hut he had an excellent assistant in Mr. William Upcott, who filled the office of sub-librarian for twenty-eight years. Mr. Maltby, too, continued to fill the office of principal librarian from the death of Portion to the midsummer of 1HIU. He M-as succeeded by Mr. Richard Thomson and Mr. K. W. llrayley as joint-librarians. To the.se gentlemen is mainly due that Catalogue of the Liln-ary of the London fnxtifutitm, Sjfst*matit\tlly Claused, which is one of the best productions extant in its kind. The present number of volumes exceeds fti.OOO. The right of admission belongs of course exclusively to the proprietors and their nominees; but for a long time the library has been easily accessible for literary purposes."—KnWARD Knw \Rl>s: Memoirs of Librariet, 1859, ii. 96.
"There is an excellent printed catalogue of this library, chiefly compiled by Mr. Thomson, in 4 vols. Kvo, printed Itetween the years 1835 and 1852. . . . This catalogue comprehend*, first, a synoptical table of the classes; secondly, a plan of the arrangement, in classes, of the books themselves; thirdly, a general classed catalogue of all the books; fourthly, an index of authors1 names and works: and. fifthly, mi index of anonymous works, and of many different subjects of which some account is to he found in the library."—Ibid.: Ancyc. Brit., 8th ed., xiii. 394.
Thomson, Robert, writer in Edinburgh. I. Duty and Office of a Messenger-at-Arms, Kdin., 1790, 8vo. 2. Divine Authority of the Bible, <te.; being a Refutation of Paiue's Age of Reason. 3. Diatessaron; or, The Gospel History from the Text of the Four Evangelists, in a Connected Series, with Notes, Ediu. and Lon., 181)7, (some 1808,) 8vo; Edin., 1811, Svo.
"Not a work of much value."—Orme's Ribt. Rib., -129.
4. Treatise on the Law of Hills of Exchange, Promissory Noted, Bank Notes, &e. in Scotland, 1825, 8vo; 2d ed., 1836, 8voj 3d ed., by John Dove- Wilson, 1SG5, r. Svo.
"Combines the Scotch and English law upon the subject, and is spoken of in very high terms by persons entirely competent to judge of its value."—-i Kent, Cam., 128.
Thomson, Robert. La Fontaine's Fables; now first translated from the French, Paris, ISOfl, 2 vols. 8vo.
Thomson, Robert. Gardiner's Assistant, Lon., 1858, r. 8vo Pts.; complete, 1859, r. Svo, pp. 780, 31«. 6(/,