A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 37

P. is one of the greatest modern masters of style, and one of the subtlest and most penetrating of critics. Though not a philosopher in the technical sense, he deeply pondered the subjects with which philosophy sets itself to deal; but art was the dominating influence in his intellectual life, and it was said of him that "he was a philosopher who had gone to Italy by mistake instead of to Germany." He may also be called the prophet of the modern aesthetic school. His att.i.tude to Christianity, though deeply sceptical, was not unsympathetic. As a boy he came under the influence of Keble, and at one time thought of taking orders, but his gradual change of view led him to relinquish the idea.

Among his works may be mentioned an article on Coleridge, and others on Winckelmann, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, etc., which were _coll._ and _pub._ as _Studies in the History of the Renaissance_ (1873); _Appreciations_ (1889) contained his great essays on _aesthetic Poetry_ and _Style_, various Shakespearian studies and papers on Lamb and Sir T. Browne; _Imaginary Portraits_, and _Greek Studies_ (1894); _Plato and Platonism_ (1893). His masterpiece, however, is _Marius the Epicurean_ (1885), a philosophical romance of the time of Marcus Aurelius. The style of P. is characterised by a subdued richness, and complicated, but perfect structure of sentences. In character he was gentle, refined, and retiring, with a remarkable suavity of manner and dislike of controversy.

PATMORE, COVENTRY KERSEY DIGHTON (1823-1896).--Poet, _s._ of Peter George P., also an author, _b._ at Woodford, Ess.e.x, was in the printed book department of the British Museum. He _pub._ _Tamerton Church Tower_ (1853), and between 1854 and 1862 the four poems which, combined, form his masterpiece, _The Angel in the House_, a poetic celebration of married love. In 1864 he entered the Church of Rome. Thereafter he _pub._ _The Unknown Eros_ (1877), _Amelia_ (1878), and _Rod, Root, and Flower_ (1895), meditations chiefly on religious subjects. His works are full of graceful and suggestive thought, but occasionally suffer from length and discursiveness. He was successful in business matters, and in character was energetic, masterful, and combative. He numbered Tennyson and Ruskin among his friends, was a.s.sociated with the pre-Raphaelites, and was a contributor to their organ, the _Germ_.

PATTISON, MARK (1813-1884).--Scholar and biographer, _b._ at Hornby, Yorkshire, _s._ of a clergyman, _ed._ privately and at Oxf., where in 1839 he became Fellow of Lincoln Coll., and acquired a high reputation as a tutor and examiner. At first strongly influenced by Newman and the Tractarian movement, he ultimately abandoned that school. In 1851, failing to be elected head of his coll., he threw up his tutorship, and devoted himself to severe study, occasionally writing on educational subjects in various reviews. In 1861, however, he attained the object of his ambition, being elected Rector of Lincoln Coll. In 1883 he dictated a remarkable autobiography, coming down to 1860. In 1875 he had _pub._ a _Life of Isaac Casaubon_, and he left materials for a Life of Scaliger, which he had intended to be his _magnum opus_. He also wrote _Milton_ for the English Men of Letters Series, and produced an ed. of his sonnets.

PAULDING, JAMES KIRKE (1779-1860).--Novelist, etc., _b._ in the state of New York, was chiefly self-educated. He became a friend of W. Irving, and was part author with him of _Salmagundi_--a continuation of which by himself proved a failure. Among his other writings are _John Bull and Brother Jonathan_ (1812), a satire, _The Dutchman's Fireside_ (1831), a romance which attained popularity, a _Life of Washington_ (1835), and some poems.

PAYN, JAMES (1830-1898).--Novelist, _s._ of an official in the Thames Commission, _ed._ at Eton, Woolwich, and Camb. He was a regular contributor to _Household Words_ and to _Chambers's Journal_, of which he was ed. 1859-74, and in which several of his works first appeared; he also ed. the _Cornhill Magazine_ 1883-96. Among his novels--upwards of 60 in number--may be mentioned _Lost Sir Ma.s.singberd_, _The Best of Husbands_, _Walter's Word_, _By Proxy_ (1878), _A Woman's Vengeance_, _Carlyon's Year_, _Thicker than Water_, _A Trying Patient_, etc. He also wrote a book of poems and a volume of literary reminiscences.

PEAc.o.c.k, THOMAS LOVE (1785-1866).--Novelist, _b._ at Weymouth, the only child of a London merchant, was in boyhood at various schools, but from the age of 13 self-educated. Nevertheless, he became a really learned scholar. He was for long in the India Office, where he rose to be Chief Examiner, coming between James Mill and John Stuart Mill. He was the author of several somewhat whimsical, but quite unique novels, full of paradox, prejudice, and curious learning, with witty dialogue and occasional poems interspersed. Among them are _Headlong Hall_ (1816), _Nightmare Abbey_ (1818), _Maid Marian_ (1822), _Misfortunes of Elphin_ (1829), _Crotchet Castle_ (1831), and _Gryll Grange_ (1860). He was the intimate friend of Sh.e.l.ley, memoirs of whom he contributed to _Fraser's Magazine_.

PEARSON, CHARLES HENRY (1830-1894).--_B._ at Islington, _ed._ at Rugby and King's Coll., London, at the latter he became Prof. of Modern History. Owing to a threatened failure of sight he went to Australia, where he remained for 20 years, and was for a time Minister of Education of Victoria. Returning to England in 1892 he wrote his _National Life and Character: a Forecast_, in which he gave utterance to very pessimistic views as to the future of the race. He also wrote a _History of England during the Early and Middle Ages_ (1867).

PEARSON, JOHN (1613-1686).--Theologian, _s._ of an archdeacon of Suffolk, _b._ at Great Snoring, Norfolk, _ed._ at Eton and Camb., took orders, and after holding various preferments, including the archdeaconry of Surrey, the mastership of Jesus Coll., and of Trinity Coll., Camb., was made, in 1673, Bishop of Chester. His _Exposition of the Creed_ (1659) has always been regarded as one of the most finished productions of English theology, remarkable alike for logical argument and arrangement, and lucid style. He was also the author of other learned works, including a defence of the authenticity of the epistles of Ignatius. In his youth P.

was a Royalist, and acted in 1645 as a chaplain in the Royal army. He was one of the commissioners in the Savoy Conference.

PEc.o.c.k, REGINALD (1395?-1460?).--Theologian, _b._ in Wales, entered the Church, and rose to be successively Bishop of St. Asaph 1444, and of Chichester 1450. He was a strenuous controversialist, chiefly against the Lollards; but his free style of argument, and especially his denial of the infallibility of the Church, led him into trouble, and on being offered the choice of abjuration or death at the stake, he chose the former, but nevertheless was deprived of his bishopric, had his books burned, and spent his latter days in the Abbey of Thorney, Cambridgeshire. His chief work is _The Repressor of overmuch blaming of the Clergy_ (1455), which, from its clear, pointed style, remains a monument of 15th century English. _The Book of Faith_ (1456) is another of his writings.

PEELE, GEORGE (1558?-1597?).--Dramatist and poet, _s._ of a salter in London, _ed._ at Christ's Hospital and Oxf., where he had a reputation as a poet. Coming back to London about 1581 he led a dissipated life. He appears to have been a player as well as a playwright, and to have come into possession of some land through his wife. His works are numerous and consist of plays, pageants, and miscellaneous verse. His best plays are _The Arraignment of Paris_ (1584), and _The Battle of Alcazar_ (1594), and among his poems _Polyhymnia_ (1590), and _The Honour of the Garter_ (1593). Other works are _Old Wives' Tale_ (1595), and _David and Fair Bethsabe_ (1599). P. wrote in melodious and flowing blank verse, with abundance of fancy and brilliant imagery, but his dramas are weak in construction, and he is often bombastic and extravagant.

PENN, WILLIAM (1644-1718).--Quaker apologist, _s._ of Sir William P., a celebrated Admiral, was _b._ in London, and _ed._ at Oxf., where he became a Quaker, and was in consequence expelled from the Univ. His change of views and his practice of the extremest social peculiarities imposed by his principles led to a quarrel with his _f._, who is said to have turned him out of doors. Thereafter he began to write, and one of his books, _The Sandy Foundation Shaken_ (_c._ 1668), in which he attacked the doctrines of the Trinity, the atonement, and justification by faith, led to his being, in 1668, imprisoned in the Tower, where he wrote his most popular work, _No Cross, No Crown_ (1668), and a defence of his own conduct, _Innocency with her Open Face_ (1668), which resulted in his liberation. Shortly after this, in 1670, on the death of his _f._, who had been reconciled to him, P. succeeded to a fortune, including a claim against the Government amounting to 15,000, which was ultimately in 1681 settled by a grant of the territory now forming the state of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, however, he had again suffered imprisonment for preaching, and employed his enforced leisure in writing four treatises, of which one, _The Great Cause of Liberty of Conscience_ (_c._ 1671), is an able defence of religious toleration. In 1682, having obtained the grant above referred to, he set sail for America, with the view of founding a community based upon the principles of toleration. Having established a Const.i.tution and set matters in working order there, P.

returned to England in 1684 and busied himself in efforts for the relief of those Quakers who had remained at home. The peculiar position of affairs when James II. was endeavouring to use the Dissenters as a means of gaining concessions to the Roman Catholics favoured his views, and he was to some extent successful in his efforts. His connection with the Court at that time has, however, led to his conduct being severely animadverted upon by Macaulay and others. In 1690 and for some time thereafter he was charged with conspiring against the Revolution Government, but after full investigation was completely acquitted. His later years were embittered by troubles in Pennsylvania, and by the dishonesty and ingrat.i.tude of an agent by whose defalcations he was nearly ruined, as a consequence of which he was imprisoned for debt. He _d._ soon after his release in 1718.

PENNANT, THOMAS (1726-1798).--Naturalist and traveller, _b._ in Flintshire, and _ed._ at Oxf., was one of the most distinguished naturalists of the 18th century, and _pub._, among other works on natural history, _British Zoology_ (1768), and _History of Quadrupeds_ (1781). In literature he is, however, best remembered by his _Tours in Scotland_ (1771-75), which did much to make known the beauties of the country to England. He also travelled in Ireland and Wales, and on the Continent, and _pub._ accounts of his journeys. Dr. Johnson said of him, "he observes more things than any one else does."

PEPYS, SAMUEL (1633-1703).--Diarist, _s._ of John P., a London tailor, but of good family and connected with Sir E. Montague, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, was _ed._ at St. Paul's School and at Camb. After leaving the Univ. he entered the household of Montagu, who became his life long patron. He held various Government posts, including that of Surveyor-General of the Victualling Office, in which he displayed great administrative ability and reforming zeal, and in 1672 he became Sec. of the Admiralty. After being imprisoned in the Tower on a charge in connection with the Popish plot, and deprived of his office, he was in 1686 again appointed Sec. of the Admiralty, from which, however, he was dismissed at the Revolution. Thereafter he lived in retirement chiefly at Clapham. P. was a man of many interests, combining the characters of the man of business, man of pleasure, and _virtuoso_, being skilled in music and a collector of books, ma.n.u.scripts, and pictures, and he was Pres. of the Royal Society for two years. He wrote _Memoirs of the Royal Navy_ (1690), but his great legacy to literature is his unique and inimitable _Diary_, begun January 1, 1660, and coming down to May 31, 1669, when the failure of his sight prevented its further continuance. As an account by an eye-witness of the manners of the Court and of society it is invaluable, but it is still more interesting as, perhaps, the most singular example extant of unreserved self-revelation--all the foibles, peccadilloes, and more serious offences against decorum of the author being set forth with the most relentless _navete_ and minuteness, it was written in a cypher or shorthand, which was translated into long-hand by John Smith in 1825, and ed. by Lord Braybrooke, with considerable excisions. Later and fuller ed. have followed. P. left his books, MSS., and collections to Magdalene Coll., Camb., where they are preserved in a separate library.

PERCIVAL, JAMES GATES (1795-1854).--Poet, _b._ at Berlin, Conn., was a precocious child, and a morbid and impractical, though versatile man, with a fatal facility in writing verse on all manner of subjects and in nearly every known metre. His sentimentalism appealed to a wide circle, but his was one of the tapers which were extinguished by Lowell. He had also a reputation as a geologist. His poetic works include _Prometheus_ and _The Dream of a Day_ (1843).

PERCY, THOMAS (1729-1811).--Antiquary and poet, _s._ of a grocer at Bridgnorth, where he was _b._, _ed._ at Oxf., entered the Church, and became in 1778 Dean of Carlisle, and in 1782 Bishop of Dromore. He _pub._ various antiquarian works, chiefly with reference to the North of England; but is best remembered for his great service to literature in collecting and ed. many ancient ballads, _pub._ in 1765 as _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, which did much to bring back interest in the ancient native literature, and to usher in the revival of romanticism.

PHILIPS, AMBROSE (1675?-1749).--Poet, _b._ in Shropshire and _ed._ at Camb., wrote pastorals and dramas, was one of the Addison circle, and started a paper, the _Freethinker_, in imitation of the _Spectator_. He also made translations from Pindar and Anacreon, and a series of short complimentary verses, which gained for him the nickname of "Namby Pamby."

His _Pastorals_, though poor enough, excited the jealousy of Pope, who pursued the unfortunate author with life-long enmity. P. held various Government appointments in Ireland.

PHILIPS, JOHN (1676-1709).--Poet, _s._ of an archdeacon of Salop, and _ed._ at Oxf. His _Splendid Shilling_, a burlesque in Miltonic blank verse, still lives, and _Cyder_, his chief work, an imitation of Virgil's _Georgics_, has some fine descriptive pa.s.sages. P. was also employed by Harley to write verses on Blenheim as a counterblast to Addison's _Campaign_. He _d._ at 33 of consumption.

PHILLIPS, SAMUEL (1814-1854).--Novelist, of Jewish descent, studied for the Church at Gottingen and Camb., but his _f._ dying, he was obliged to give up his intention and take to business, in which, however, he was unsuccessful, and fell into great straits. He then tried writing, and produced some novels, of which the best known was _Caleb Stukely_, which appeared in _Blackwood_ in 1842. He was latterly a leader-writer for the _Times_.

PICKEN, ANDREW (1788-1833).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ in Paisley, was in business in the West Indies, and in Glasgow and Liverpool, but not being successful, went to London to try his fortunes in literature. His earlier writings, _Tales and Sketches of the West of Scotland_ and _The Sectarian_ (1829), gave offence in dissenting circles: his next, _The Dominie's Legacy_ (1830), had considerable success, and a book on _Travels and Researches of Eminent Missionaries_ (1830) did something to rehabilitate him with those whom he had offended. His last work, _The Black Watch_ (1833), had just appeared when he _d._ of an apoplectic seizure. His best work is somewhat like that of Galt (_q.v._).

PIERPONT, JOHN (1785-1860).--Poet, _b._ at Litchfield, Conn., was first a lawyer, then a merchant, and lastly a Unitarian minister. His chief poem is _The Airs of Palestine_.

PIKE, ALBERT (1809-1891).--Poet, _b._ at Boston, Ma.s.s., was in his early days a teacher, and afterwards a successful lawyer. His now little-remembered poems were chiefly written under the inspiration of Coleridge and Keats. His chief work, _Hymns to the G.o.ds_, which appeared in _Blackwood's Magazine_, closely imitates the latter. He also wrote prose sketches.

PINDAR, PETER, (_see_ WOLCOT, J.).

PINKERTON, JOHN (1758-1826).--Historian and Antiquary, _b._ in Edin., was apprenticed to a lawyer, but took to literature, and produced a number of works distinguished by painstaking research, but disfigured by a controversial and prejudiced spirit. His first publication was _Select Scottish Ballads_ (1783), some of which, however, were composed by himself. A valuable _Essay on Medals_ (1784) introduced him to Gibbon and Horace Walpole. Among his other works are _Ancient Scottish Poems_ (1786), _Dissertation on the Goths_ (1787), _Medallic History of England_ (1790), _History of Scotland_ (1797), and his best work, _Treatise on Rocks_ (1811). One of his most inveterate prejudices was against Celts of all tribes and times. He _d._ in obscurity in Paris.

PINKNEY, EDWARD COATE (1802-1828).--_B._ in London, where his _f._ was U.S. amba.s.sador. He wrote a number of light, graceful short poems, but fell a victim to ill-health and a morbid melancholy at 25. His longest poem is _Rudolph_ (1825).

PIOZZI, HESTER LYNCH (SALUSBURY) (1741-1821).--Miscellaneous writer, _m._ Henry Thrale, a wealthy brewer, and, after his death, Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian musician. Her chief distinction is her friendship with Dr.

Johnson, who was for a time almost domesticated with the Thrales. Her second marriage in the year of Johnson's death, 1784, broke up the friendship. She wrote _Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson_, a work which had a favourable reception, and gives a lifelike picture of its subject, and left an _Autobiography_. Her poem, _The Three Warnings_, is supposed to have been touched up by Johnson. Many details of her friendship with J.

are given in the _Diary_ of Madame D'Arblay (_q.v._).

PLANCHe, JAMES ROBINSON (1796-1880).--Dramatist and miscellaneous writer, _b._ in London of Huguenot descent, was in the Herald Office, and rose to be Somerset Herald, in which capacity he was repeatedly sent on missions to invest foreign princes with the Order of the Garter. He produced upwards of 90 adaptations, and about 70 original pieces for the stage. He also wrote a _History of British Costumes_, _The Pursuivant of Arms_ (1852), and _The Conqueror and his Companions_ (1874), besides autobiographical _Recollections_ (1872).

POE, EDGAR ALLAN (1809-1849).--Poet and writer of tales, was _b._ at Boston, where his parents, who were both actors, were temporarily living.

He was left an orphan in early childhood in dest.i.tute circ.u.mstances, but was adopted by a Mr. Allan of Richmond, Virginia. By him and his wife he was treated with great indulgence, and in 1815 accompanied them to England, where they remained for five years, and where he received a good education, which was continued on their return to America, at the Univ.

of Virginia. He distinguished himself as a student, but got deeply into debt with gaming, which led to his being removed. In 1829 he _pub._ a small vol. of poems containing _Al Araaf_ and _Tamerlane_. About the same time he proposed to enter the army, and was placed at the Military Academy at West Point. Here, however, he grossly neglected his duties, and fell into the habits of intemperance which proved the ruin of his life, and was in 1831 dismissed. He then returned to the house of his benefactor, but his conduct was so objectionable as to lead to a rupture.

In the same year P. _pub._ an enlarged ed. of his poems, and in 1833 was successful in a compet.i.tion for a prize tale and a prize poem, the tale being the _MS. found in a Bottle_, and the poem _The Coliseum_. In the following year Mr. Allan _d._ without making any provision for P., and the latter, being now thrown on his own resources, took to literature as a profession, and became a contributor to various periodicals. In 1836 he entered into a marriage with his cousin Virginia Clemm, a very young girl, who continued devotedly attached to him notwithstanding his many aberrations, until her death in 1847. _The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym_ appeared in 1838, and in 1839 P. became ed. of the _Gentleman's Magazine_, in which appeared as _Tales of the Arabesque and Grotesque_ many of his best stories. In 1845 his famous poem, _The Raven_, came out, and in 1848 _Eureka, a Prose Poem_, a pseudo-scientific lucubration. The death of his wife gave a severe shock to his const.i.tution, and a violent drinking bout on a visit to Baltimore led to his death from brain fever in the hospital there. The literary output of P., though not great in volume, limited in range, and very unequal in merit, bears the stamp of an original genius. In his poetry he sometimes aims at a musical effect to which the sense is sacrificed, but at times he has a charm and a magic melody all his own. His better tales are remarkable for their originality and ingenuity of construction, and in the best of them he rises to a high level of imagination, as in _The House of Usher_, while _The Gold Beetle_ or _Golden Bug_ is one of the first examples of the cryptogram story; and in _The Purloined Letters_, _The Mystery of Marie Roget_, and _The Murders in the Rue Morgue_ he is the pioneer of the modern detective story.

_Life_, Woodberry (American Men of Letters). _Works_ ed. by Woodberry and Stedman (10 vols.), etc.

POLLOK, ROBERT (1789-1827).--Poet, _b._ in Refrewshire, studied for the ministry of one of the Scottish Dissenting communions. After leaving the Univ. of Glasgow he _pub._ anonymously _Tales of the Covenanters_, and in 1827, the year of his untimely death from consumption, appeared his poem, _The Course of Time_, which contains some fine pa.s.sages, and occasionally faintly recalls Milton and Young. The poem went through many ed. in Britain and America. He _d._ at Shirley, near Southampton, whither he had gone in search of health.

POMFRET, JOHN (1667-1702).--Poet, _s._ of a clergyman, entered the Church. He wrote several rather dull poems, of which the only one remembered, though now never read, is _The Choice_, which celebrates a country life free from care, and was highly popular in its day.

POPE, ALEXANDER (1688-1744).--Poet, was _b._ in London, of Roman Catholic parentage. His _f._ was a linen-merchant, who _m._ as his second wife Edith Turner, a lady of respectable Yorkshire family, and of some fortune, made a competence, and retired to a small property at Binfield, near Windsor. P. received a somewhat desultory education at various Roman Catholic schools, but after the age of 12, when he had a severe illness brought on by over-application, he was practically self-educated. Though never a profound or accurate scholar, he had a good knowledge of Latin, and a working acquaintance with Greek. By 1704 he had written a good deal of verse, which attracted the attention of Wycherley (_q.v._), who introduced him to town life and to other men of letters. In 1709 his _Pastorals_ were _pub._ in Tonson's _Miscellany_, and two years later _The Essay on Criticism_ appeared, and was praised by Addison. The _Rape of the Lock_, which came out in 1714, placed his reputation on a sure foundation, and thereafter his life was an uninterrupted and brilliant success. His industry was untiring, and his literary output almost continuous until his death. In 1713 _Windsor Forest_ (which won him the friendship of Swift) and _The Temple of Fame_ appeared, and in 1715 the translation of the _Iliad_ was begun, and the work _pub._ at intervals between that year and 1720. It had enormous popularity, and brought the poet 5000. It was followed by the _Odyssey_ (1725-26), in which he had the a.s.sistance of Broome and Fenton (_q.v._), who, especially the former, caught his style so exactly as almost to defy identification. It also was highly popular, and increased his gains to about 8000, which placed him in a position of independence. While engaged upon these he removed to Chiswick, where he lived 1716-18, and where he issued in 1717 a _coll._ ed. of his works, including the _Elegy on an Unfortunate Lady_ and the _Epistle of Eloisa to Abelard_. In 1718, his _f._ having _d._, he again removed with his mother to his famous villa at Twickenham, the adornment of the grounds of which became one of his chief interests, and where, now the acknowledged chief of his art, he received the visits of his friends, who included the most distinguished men of letters, wits, statesmen, and beauties of the day. His next task was his ed. of Shakespeare (1725), a work for which he was not well qualified, though the preface is a fine piece of prose. The _Miscellanies_, the joint work of Pope and Swift, were _pub._ in 1727-28, and drew down upon the authors a storm of angry comment, which in turn led to the production of _The Dunciad_, first _pub._ in 1728, and again with new matter in 1729, an additional book--the fourth--being added in 1742. In it he satirised with a wit, always keen and biting, often savage and unfair, the small wits and poetasters, and some of a quite different quality, who had, or whom he supposed to have, injured him. Between 1731 and 1735 he produced his _Epistles_, the last of which, addressed to Arbuthnot, is also known as the _Prologue to the Satires_, and contains his ungrateful character of Addison under the name of "Atticus;" and also, 1733, the _Essay on Man_, written under the influence of Bolingbroke. His last, and in some respects best, works were his _Imitations of Horace_, _pub._ between 1733 and 1739, and the fourth book of _The Dunciad_ (1742), already mentioned.

A naturally delicate const.i.tution, a deformed body, extreme sensitiveness, over-excitement, and overwork did not promise a long life, and P. _d._ on May 30, 1744, aged 56.