A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 10

CHAPMAN, GEORGE (1559-1634).--Dramatist and translator, was _b._ near Hitchin, and probably _ed._ at Oxf. and Camb. He wrote many plays, including _The Blind Beggar of Alexandria_ (1596), _All Fools_ (1599), _A Humerous Daye's Myrthe_ (1599), _Eastward Hoe_ (with Jonson), _The Gentleman Usher_, _Monsieur d'Olive_, etc. As a dramatist he has humour, and vigour, and occasional poetic fire, but is very unequal. His great work by which he lives in literature is his translation of Homer. The _Iliad_ was _pub._ in 1611, the _Odyssey_ in 1616, and the _Hymns_, etc., in 1624. The work is full of energy and spirit, and well maintains its place among the many later translations by men of such high poetic powers as Pope and Cowper, and others: and it had the merit of suggesting Keats's immortal Sonnet, in which its name and memory are embalmed for many who know it in no other way. C. also translated from Petrarch, and completed Marlowe's unfinished _Hero and Leander_.

CHAPONE, HESTER (MULSO) (1727-1801).--Miscellaneous writer, _dau._ of a gentleman of Northamptonshire, was _m._ to a solicitor, who _d._ a few months afterwards. She was one of the learned ladies who gathered round Mrs. Montague (_q.v._), and was the author of _Letters on the Improvement of the Mind_ and _Miscellanies_.

CHARLETON, WALTER (1619-1707).--Miscellaneous writer, _ed._ at Oxf., was t.i.tular physician to Charles I. He was a copious writer on theology, natural history, and antiquities, and _pub._ _Ch.o.r.ea Gigantum_ (1663) to prove that Stonehenge was built by the Danes. He was also one of the "character" writers, and in this kind of literature wrote _A Brief Discourse concerning the Different Wits of Men_ (1675).

CHATTERTON, THOMAS (1752-1770).--Poet, _b._ at Bristol, posthumous _s._ of a schoolmaster, who had been a man of some reading and antiquarian tastes, after whose death his mother maintained herself and her boy and girl by teaching and needlework. A black-letter Bible and an illuminated music-book belonging to her were the first things to give his mind the impulse which led to such mingled glory and disaster. Living under the shadow of the great church of St. Mary Redcliffe, his mind was impressed from infancy with the beauty of antiquity, he obtained access to the charters deposited there, and he read every sc.r.a.p of ancient literature that came in his way. At 14 he was apprenticed to a solicitor named Lambert, with whom he lived in sordid circ.u.mstances, eating in the kitchen and sleeping with the foot-boy, but continuing his favourite studies in every spare moment. In 1768 a new bridge was opened, and C.

contributed to a local newspaper what purported to be a contemporary account of the old one which it superseded. This attracted a good deal of attention. Previously to this he had been writing verses and imitating ancient poems under the name of Thomas Rowley, whom he feigned to be a monk of the 15th century. Hearing of H. Walpole's collections for his _Anecdotes of Painting in England_, he sent him an "ancient ma.n.u.script"

containing biographies of certain painters, not hitherto known, who had flourished in England centuries before. W. fell into the trap, and wrote asking for all the MS. he could furnish, and C. in response forwarded accounts of more painters, adding some particulars as to himself on which W., becoming suspicious, submitted the whole to T. Gray and Mason (_q.v._), who p.r.o.nounced the MS. to be forgeries. Some correspondence, angry on C.'s part, ensued, and the whole budget of papers was returned.

C. thereafter, having been dismissed by Lambert, went to London, and for a short time his prospects seemed to be bright. He worked with feverish energy, threw off poems, satires, and political papers, and meditated a history of England; but funds and spirits failed, he was starving, and the failure to obtain an appointment as ship's surgeon, for which he had applied, drove him to desperation, and on the morning of August 25, 1770, he was found dead from a dose of a.r.s.enic, surrounded by his writings torn into small pieces. From childhood C. had shown a morbid familiarity with the idea of suicide, and had written a last will and testament, "executed in the presence of Omniscience," and full of wild and profane wit. The magnitude of his tragedy is only realised when it is considered not only that the poetry he left was of a high order of originality and imaginative power, but that it was produced at an age at which our greatest poets, had they died, would have remained unknown. Precocious not only in genius but in dissipation, proud and morose as he was, an unsympathetic age confined itself mainly to awarding blame to his literary and moral delinquencies. Posterity has weighed him in a juster balance, and laments the early quenching of so brilliant a light. His _coll._ works appeared in 1803, and another ed. by Prof. Street in 1875.

Among these are _Elinoure and Juga_, _Balade of Charitie_, _Bristowe Tragedie_, _aella_, and _Tragedy of G.o.dwin_.

The best account of his life is the Essay by Prof. Ma.s.son.

CHAUCER, GEOFFREY (1340?-1400).--Poet, was _b._ in London, the _s._ of John C., a vintner of Thames Street, who had also a small estate at Ipswich, and was occasionally employed on service for the King (Edward III.), which doubtless was the means of his son's introduction to the Court. The acquaintance which C. displays with all branches of the learning of his time shows that he must have received an ample education; but there is no evidence that he was at either of the Univ. In 1357 he appears as a page to the Lady Elizabeth, wife of Lionel Duke of Clarence, and in 1359 he first saw military service in France, when he was made a prisoner. He was, however, ransomed in 1360. About 1366 he was married to Philippa, _dau._ of Sir Payne Roet, one of the ladies of the d.u.c.h.ess of Lancaster, whose sister Katharine, widow of Sir Hugh Swynford, became the third wife of John of Gaunt. Previous to this he had apparently been deeply in love with another lady, whose rank probably placed her beyond his reach; his disappointment finding expression in his _Compleynt to Pite_. In 1367 he was one of the valets of the King's Chamber, a post always held by gentlemen, and received a pension of 20 marks, and he was soon afterwards one of the King's esquires. In 1369 Blanche, the wife of John of Gaunt, died, which gave occasion for a poem by C. in honour of her memory, _The Dethe of Blaunche the d.u.c.h.esse_. In the same year he again bore arms in France, and during the next ten years he was frequently employed on diplomatic missions. In 1370 he was sent to Genoa to arrange a commercial treaty, on which occasion he may have met Petrarch, and was rewarded by a grant in 1374 of a pitcher of wine daily.

In the same year he got from the corporation of London a lease for life of a house at Aldgate, on condition of keeping it in repair; and soon after he was appointed Comptroller of the Customs and Subsidy of Wool, Skins, and Leather in the port of London; he also received from the Duke of Lancaster a pension of 10. In 1375 he obtained the guardianship of a rich ward, which he held for three years, and the next year he was employed on a secret service. In 1377 he was sent on a mission to Flanders to treat of peace with the French King. After the accession of Richard II. in that year, he was sent to France to treat for the marriage of the King with the French Princess Mary, and thereafter to Lombardy, on which occasion he appointed John Gower (_q.v._) to act for him in his absence in any legal proceedings which might arise. In 1382 he became Comptroller of the Petty Customs of the port of London, and in 1385 was allowed to appoint a deputy, which, enabled him to devote more time to writing. He had in 1373 begun his _Canterbury Tales_, on which he was occupied at intervals for the rest of his life. In 1386 C. was elected Knight of the Shire for Kent, a county with which he appears to have had some connection, and where he may have had property. His fortunes now suffered some eclipse. His patron, John of Gaunt, was abroad, and the government was presided over by his brother Gloucester, who was at feud with him. Owing probably to this cause, C. was in December, 1386, dismissed from his employments, leaving him with no income beyond his pensions, on which he was obliged to raise money. His wife also died at the same time. In 1389, however, Richard took the government into his own hands, and prosperity returned to C., whose friends were now in power, and he was appointed Clerk of the King's works. This office, however, he held for two years only, and again fell into poverty, from which he was rescued in 1394 by a pension from the King of 20. On the accession of Henry IV. (1399) an additional pension of 40 marks was given him. In the same year he took a lease of a house at Westminster, where he probably _d._, October 25, 1400. He is buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, where a monument to him was erected by Nicholas Brigham, a minor poet of the 16th century. According to some authorities he left two sons, Thomas, who became a man of wealth and importance, and Lewis, who died young, the little ten-year-old boy to whom he addressed the treatise on the _Astrolabe_. Others see no evidence that Thomas was any relation of the poet. An Elizabeth C., placed in the Abbey of Barking by John of Gaunt, was probably his _dau._ In person C. was inclined to corpulence, "no poppet to embrace," of fair complexion with "a beard the colour of ripe wheat," an "elvish" expression, and an eye downcast and meditative.

Of the works ascribed to C. several are, for various reasons, of greater or less strength, considered doubtful. These include _The Romaunt of the Rose_, _Chaucer's Dream_, and _The Flower and the Leaf_. After his return from Italy about 1380 he entered upon his period of greatest productiveness: _Troilus and Criseyde_ (1382?), _The Parlement of Foules_ (1382?), _The House of Fame_ (1384?), and _The Legende of Goode Women_ (1385), belong to this time. The first of them still remains one of the finest poems of its kind in the language. But the glory of C. is, of course, the _Canterbury Tales_, a work which places him in the front rank of the narrative poets of the world. It contains about 18,000 lines of verse, besides some pa.s.sages in prose, and was left incomplete. In it his power of story-telling, his humour, sometimes broad, sometimes sly, his vivid picture-drawing, his tenderness, and lightness of touch, reach their highest development. He is our first artist in poetry, and with him begins modern English literature. His character--genial, sympathetic, and pleasure-loving, yet honest, diligent, and studious--is reflected in his writings.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1340, fought in France 1359, by his marriage in 1366 became connected with John of Gaunt, employed on diplomatic missions 1369-79, Controller of Customs, etc., _c._ 1374, began _Canterbury Tales_ 1373, elected to Parliament 1386, loses his appointments 1386, Clerk of King's Works 1389-91, pensioned by Richard II. and Henry IV., _d._ _c._ 1400.

The best ed. of C. is _The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer_ (6 vols.

1894), ed. by Prof. Skeat. Others are Thos. Wright's for the Percy Society (1842), and Richard Morris's in Bell's Aldine Cla.s.sics (1866).

CHERRY, ANDREW (1762-1812).--Dramatist, _s._ of a bookseller at Limerick, was a successful actor, and managed theatres in the provinces. He also wrote some plays, of which _The Soldier's Daughter_ is the best. His chief claim to remembrance rests on his three songs, _The Bay of Biscay_, _The Green Little Shamrock_, and _Tom Moody_.

CHESTERFIELD, PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, 4TH EARL OF (1694-1773).--Statesman and letter-writer, was the eldest _s._ of the 3rd Earl. After being at Trinity Coll., Camb., he sat in the House of Commons until his accession to the peerage in 1726. He filled many high offices, including those of Amba.s.sador to Holland, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Sec. of State. He was distinguished for his wit, conversational powers, and grace of manner. His place in literature is fixed by his well-known _Letters_ addressed to his natural son, Philip Dormer Stanhope. Though brilliant, and full of shrewdness and knowledge of the world, they reflect the low tone of morals prevalent in the age when they were written. He was the recipient of Johnson's famous letter as to his "patronage."

CHETTLE, HENRY (1565-1607?).--Dramatist. Very little is known of him. He ed. R. Greene's _Groat's-worth of Wit_ (1592), is believed to have written 13 and collaborated in 35 plays. He also wrote two satires, _Kind Harts Dreame_ (1593), and _Pierre Plainnes Prentship_ (1595). He was imprisoned for debt 1599.

Among his own plays, which have considerable merit, is _Hoffmann_, which has been reprinted, and he had a hand in _Patient Grissill_ (1603) (which may have influenced Shakespeare in the _Merry Wives of Windsor_), _The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green_, and _Jane Sh.o.r.e_.

CHILD, FRANCIS J. (1825-1896).--English scholar, _b._ at Boston, Ma.s.s., was a prof. at Harvard, one of the foremost students of early English, and especially of ancient ballads in America. He ed. the American ed. of English Poets in 130 vols., and English and Scottish Ballads. He was also a profound student of Chaucer, and _pub._ _Observations on the Language of Chaucer_, and _Observations on the Language of Gower's Confessio Amantis_.

CHILD, MRS. LYDIA MARIA (FRANCIS) (1802-1880).--Was the author of many once popular tales, _Hobomok_, _The Rebels_, _Philothes_, etc.

CHILLINGWORTH, WILLIAM (1602-1644).--Theologian and controversialist, _b._ and _ed._ at Oxf., was G.o.dson of Archbishop Laud. Falling into theological doubts he subsequently became a convert to Roman Catholicism, and studied at the Jesuit Coll. at Douay, 1630. In the following year he returned to Oxf., and after further consideration of the points at issue, he rejoined the Church of England, 1634. This exposed him to violent attacks on the part of the Romanists, in reply to which he _pub._ in 1637 his famous polemic, _The Religion of the Protestants a Safe Way to Salvation_, characterised by clear style and logical reasoning. For a time he refused ecclesiastical preferment, but ultimately his scruples were overcome, and he became Prebendary and Chancellor of Salisbury. C.

is regarded as one of the ablest controversialists of the Anglican Church.

CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815-1890).--Divine, historian, and biographer, was _b._ at Lisbon, and _ed._ at Oxf., where he became a friend of J.H.

Newman (_q.v._). He took orders, and became Rector of Whatley, Somerset, and in 1871 Dean of St. Paul's. He was a leading member of the High Church party, but was held in reverence by many who did not sympathise with his ecclesiastical views. Among his writings are _The Beginning of the Middle Ages_ (1877), and a memoir on _The Oxford Movement_ (1891), _pub._ posthumously. He also wrote Lives of Anselm, Dante, Spenser, and Bacon.

CHURCHILL, CHARLES (1731-1764).--Satirist, _s._ of a clergyman, was _ed._ at Westminster School, and while still a schoolboy made a clandestine marriage. He entered the Church, and on the death of his _f._ in 1758 succeeded him in the curacy and lectureship of St. John's, Westminster.

In 1761 he _pub._ the _Rosciad_, in which he severely satirised the players and managers of the day. It at once brought him both fame and money; but he fell into dissipated habits, separated from his wife, and outraged the proprieties of his profession to such an extent that he was compelled to resign his preferments. He also incurred the enmity of those whom he had attacked, which led to the publication of two other satirical pieces, _The Apology_ and _Night_. He also attacked Dr. Johnson and his circle in _The Ghost_, and the Scotch in _The Prophecy of Famine_. He attached himself to John Wilkes, on a visit to whom, at Boulogne, he _d._ of fever.

CHURCHYARD, THOMAS (1520?-1604).--Poet and miscellaneous writer, began life as a page to the Earl of Surrey, and subsequently pa.s.sed through many vicissitudes as a soldier in Scotland, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries. He was latterly a hanger-on at Court, and had a pension of eighteenpence a day from Queen Elizabeth, which was not, however, regularly paid. He wrote innumerable pamphlets and broadsides, and some poems, of which the best are _Sh.o.r.e's Wife_ (1563), _The Worthiness of Wales_ (1587) _repub._ by the Spenser Society (1871), and _Churchyard's Chips_ (1575), an autobiographical piece.

CIBBER, COLLEY (1671-1757).--Actor and dramatist, _b._ in London, _s._ of a Danish sculptor, and _ed._ at Grantham School. Soon after his return to London he took to the stage. Beginning with tragedy, in which he failed, he turned to comedy, and became popular in eccentric _roles_. In 1696 he brought out his first play, _Love's Last Shift_, and produced in all about 30 plays, some of which were very successful. In 1730 he was made Poet Laureate, and wrote some forgotten odes of no merit, also an entertaining autobiography. Pope made him the hero of the _Dunciad_.

Among other plays are _The Nonjuror_ (1717), _Woman's Wit_, _She Would and She Would Not_, _The Provoked Husband_ (1728) (with Vanbrugh).

CLARE, JOHN (1793-1864).--Poet, _s._ of a cripple pauper, was _b._ at Helpstone near Peterborough. His youth is the record of a n.o.ble struggle against adverse circ.u.mstances. With great difficulty he managed to save one pound, with which he was able to have a prospectus of his first book of poems printed, which led to an acquaintance with Mr. Drury, a bookseller in Stamford, by whose help the poems were _pub._, and brought him 20. The book, _Poems descriptive of Rural Life_ (1820), immediately attracted attention. Various n.o.blemen befriended him and stocked a farm for him. But unfortunately C. had no turn for practical affairs, and got into difficulties. He, however, continued to produce poetry, and in addition to _The Village Minstrel_, which had appeared in 1821, _pub._ _The Shepherd's Calendar_ (1827), and _Rural Muse_ (1835). Things, however, went on from bad to worse; his mind gave way, and he _d._ in an asylum. C. excels in description of rural scenes and the feelings and ideas of humble country life.

CLARENDON, EDWARD HYDE, EARL of (1608-1674).--Lawyer, statesman, and historian, _s._ of a country gentleman of good estate in Wiltshire, was _b._ at Dinton in that county, and _ed._ at Oxf. Destined originally for the Church, circ.u.mstances led to his being sent to London to study law, which he did under his uncle, Sir Nicholas H., Chief Justice of the King's Bench. In early life he was the friend of all the leading men of the day. Entering Parliament in 1640 he at first supported popular measures, but, on the outbreak of the Civil War, attached himself to the King, and was the author of many of his state papers. From 1648 until the Restoration C. was engaged in various emba.s.sies and as a counsellor of Charles II., who made him in 1658 his Lord Chancellor, an office in which he was confirmed at the Restoration, when he also became Chancellor of the Univ. of Oxf., and was likewise raised to the peerage. His power and influence came to an end, however, in 1667, when he was dismissed from all his offices, was impeached, and had to fly to France. The causes of his fall were partly the miscarriage of the war with Holland, and the sale of Dunkirk, and partly the jealousy of rivals and the intrigues of place hunters, whose claims he had withstood. In his enforced retirement he engaged himself in completing his great historic work, _The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England_, which he had begun in 1641, and which was not _pub._ until 1702-4. C.'s style is easy, flowing, diffuse, and remarkably modern, with an occasional want of clearness owing to his long and involved sentences. His great strength is in character-painting, in which he is almost unrivalled. The _History_ was followed by a supplementary _History of the Civil War in Ireland_ (1721). C. also wrote an autobiography, _The Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon_ (1759), a reply to the _Leviathan_ of Hobbes, and _An Essay on the Active and Contemplative Life_, in which the superiority of the former is maintained. C. _d._ at Rouen. He was a man of high personal character, and great intellect and sagacity, but lacking in the firmness and energy necessary for the troublous times in which he lived. His _dau._ Anne married the Duke of York, afterwards James II., a connection which involved him in much trouble and humiliation.

Agar Ellis's _Historical Enquiry respecting the Character of Clarendon_ (1827), _Life_ by T.H. Lister (1838), _History_ (Macray, 6 vols., 1888).

CLARKE, CHARLES COWDEN (1787-1877).--Writer on Shakespeare, was a publisher in London. He lectured on Shakespeare and on European literature. Latterly he lived in France and Italy. His wife, MARY C.-C.

(1809-1898), _dau._ of V. Novello, musician, compiled a complete _Concordance to Shakespeare_ (1844-45), and wrote _The Shakespeare Key_ (1879) and, with her husband, _Recollections of Writers_ (1878).

CLARKE, MARCUS (1846-1881).--Novelist, _b._ in London, the _s._ of a barrister. After a somewhat wild youth he went to Australia where, after more than one failure to achieve success in business, he took to journalism on the staff of the _Melbourne Argus_, with brilliant results.

He wrote two novels, _Long Odds_ and _For the Term of his Natural Life_ (1874), the latter, which is generally considered his masterpiece, dealing in a powerful and realistic manner with transportation and convict labour. He also wrote many short tales and dramatic pieces. After a turbulent and improvident life he _d._ at 35. In addition to the works above mentioned, he wrote _Lower Bohemia in Melbourne_, _The Humbug Papers_, _The Future Australian Race_. As a writer he was keen, brilliant, and bitter.

CLARKE, SAMUEL (1675-1729).--Divine and metaphysician, _b._ at Norwich, was _ed._ at Camb., where he became the friend and disciple of Newton, whose System of the Universe he afterwards defended against Leibnitz. In 1704-5 he delivered the Boyle lectures, taking for his subject, _The Being and Attributes of G.o.d_, and a.s.suming an intermediate position between orthodoxy and Deism. In 1712 he _pub._ views on the doctrine of the Trinity which involved him in trouble, from which he escaped by a somewhat unsatisfactory explanation. He was, however, one of the most powerful opponents of the freethinkers of the time. In addition to his theological writings C. _pub._ an ed. of the _Iliad_, a Latin translation of the _Optics_ of Newton, on whose death he was offered the Mastership of the Mint, an office worth 1500 a year, which, however, he declined.

The talents, learning, and amiable disposition of C. gave him a high place in the esteem of his contemporaries. In the Church he held various preferments, the last being that of Rector of St. James's, Westminster.

He was also Chaplain to Queen Anne. His style is cold, dry, and precise.

CLEVELAND, JOHN (1613-1658).--Poet, _s._ of an usher in a charity school, was _b._ at Loughborough, and _ed._ at Camb., where he became coll. tutor and lecturer on rhetoric at St. John's, and was much sought after. A staunch Royalist, he opposed the election of Oliver Cromwell as member for Camb. in the Long Parliament, and was in consequence ejected from his coll. in 1645. Joining the King, by whom he was welcomed, he was appointed to the office of Judge Advocate at Newark. In 1646, however, he was deprived of this, and wandered about the country dependent on the bounty of the Royalists. In 1655 he was imprisoned at Yarmouth, but released by Cromwell, to whom he appealed, and went to London, where he lived in much consideration till his death. His best work is satirical, giving a faint adumbration of _Hudibras_; his other poems, with occasional pa.s.sages of great beauty, being affected and artificial. The _Poems_ were _pub._ in 1656.

CLINTON, HENRY FYNES (1781-1852).--Chronologist, _b._ at Gamston, Notts, _ed._ at Southwell, Westminster, and Oxf., where he devoted himself chiefly to the study of Greek. Brought into Parliament by the Duke of Newcastle in 1806, he took no active part in political life, and retired in 1826. He bought in 1810 the estate of Welwyn, and there he entered upon wide and profound studies bearing upon cla.s.sical chronology, and wrote various important treatises on the subject, viz., _Fasti h.e.l.lenici, Civil and Literary Chronology of Greece_, part i. (1824), part ii.

(1827), part iii. (1830), part iv. (1841), _Fasti Romani, Civil and Literary Chronology of Rome and Constantinople_, vol. i. (1850), vol. ii.

(1851), _An Epitome of the Civil and Literary Chronology of Greece_ (1851), the same for Rome (1853). He also wrote a tragedy, _Solyman_, which was a failure.

CLOUGH, ARTHUR HUGH (1819-1861).--Poet, _s._ of a cotton merchant in Liverpool, he spent his childhood in America, but was sent back to England for his education, which he received at Rugby and Oxf. While at the Univ., where he was tutor and Fellow of Oriel, he fell under the influence of Newman, but afterwards became a sceptic and resigned his Fellowship in 1848. In the same year he _pub._ his poem, _The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich_, written in hexameters. After travelling on the Continent for a year, he was in 1849 appointed Warden of Univ. Hall, London. In 1849 appeared _Amours de Voyage_, a rhymed novelette, and the more serious work, _Dipsychus_. In 1854 he was appointed an examiner in the Education Office, and married. His last appointment was as Sec. of a Commission on Military Schools, in connection with which he visited various countries, but was seized with illness, and _d._ at Florence. C.

was a man of singularly sincere character, with a pa.s.sion for truth. His poems, though full of fine and subtle thought, are, with the exception of some short lyrics, deficient in form, and the hexameters which he employed in _The Bothie_ are often rough, though perhaps used as effectively as by any English verse-writer. M. Arnold's _Thyrsis_ was written in memory of C.

COBBE, FRANCES POWER (1822-1904).--Theological and social writer, was _b._ near Dublin. Coming under the influence of Theodore Parker, she became a Unitarian. Her first work, _pub._ anonymously, was on _The Intuitive Theory of Morals_ (1855). She travelled in the East, and _pub._ _Cities of the Past_ (1864). Later she became interested in social questions and philanthropic work, and wrote many books on these and kindred subjects, including _Criminals_, _Idiots_, _Women_ and _Minors_ (1869), _Darwinism in Morals_ (1872), and _Scientific Spirit of the Age_ (1888). She was a strong opponent of vivisection.