A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 38

His position as a poet has been the subject of much contention among critics, and on the whole is lower than that a.s.signed him by his contemporaries and immediate successors. Of the higher poetic qualities, imagination, sympathy, insight, and pathos, he had no great share; but for the work which in his original writings, as distinguished from translations, he set himself to do, his equipment was supreme, and the medium which he used--the heroic couplet--he brought to the highest technical perfection of which it is capable. He wrote for his own age, and in temper and intellectual and spiritual outlook, such as it was, he exactly reflected and interpreted it. In the forging of condensed, pointed, and sparkling maxims of life and criticism he has no equal, and in painting a portrait Dryden alone is his rival; while in the _Rape of the Lock_ he has produced the best mock-heroic poem in existence. Almost no author except Shakespeare is so often quoted. His extreme vanity and sensitiveness to criticism made him often vindictive, unjust, and venomous. They led him also into frequent quarrels, and lost him many friends, including Lady M. Wortley Montagu, and along with a strong tendency to finesse and stratagem, of which the circ.u.mstances attending the publication of his literary correspondence is the chief instance, make his character on the whole an unamiable one. On the other hand, he was often generous; he retained the friendship of such men as Swift and Arbuthnot, and he was a most dutiful and affectionate son.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1688, _ed._ at various Romanist schools, introduced to Wycherley 1704, _pub._ _Pastorals_ 1709, _Essay on Criticism_ 1711, _Rape of the Lock_ 1714, _Windsor Forest_ and _Temple of Fame_ 1713, translation of _Iliad_ 1715-20, _Odyssey_ 1725-26, _coll._ _Works_ 1717, buys villa at Twickenham 1718, _pub._ ed. of _Shakespeare_ 1725, _Miscellanies_ 1727-28, _Dunciad_ 1728 (fourth book 1742), _Epistles_ 1731-35, _Essay on Man_ 1733, _Imitations of Horace_ 1733-39, _d._ 1744.

The best ed. of the _Works_ is that of Elwin and Courthope, with _Life_ by Courthope (10 vols., 1871-89).

PORDAGE, SAMUEL (1633-1691?).--Poet, _s._ of a clergyman in Berks, _ed._ at Merchant Taylor's School, studied law at Lincoln's Inn, and made various translations, wrote some poems, two tragedies, _Herod and Mariamne_ (1673), and _The Siege of Babylon_ (1678), and a romance, _Eliana_. He is best known by his _Azaria and Hushai_ (1682), in reply to Dryden's _Absalom and Achitophel_, distinguished from the other replies by its moderation and freedom from scurrility.

PORSON, RICHARD (1759-1808).--Scholar, _s._ of the parish clerk of E.

Ruston, Norfolk, was distinguished from childhood by a marvellous tenacity of memory which attracted the attention of the curate of the parish, who _ed._ him, after which he was sent by a gentleman to Eton.

Subsequently a fund was collected for the purpose of maintaining him at Camb., where he had a brilliant career, and became a Fellow of Trinity Coll. This position he lost by refusing to take orders. In 1792 he was appointed Prof. of Greek in the Univ., but resided for the most part in London, where he was much courted by literary men, but unfortunately fell into extremely intemperate habits. P. was one of the very greatest of Greek scholars and critics; but he has left little permanent work of his own. He ed. four plays of Euripides, viz., _Hecuba_, _Orestes_, _Phoenissae_, and _Medea_. His most widely read work was his _Letters_ to Archdeacon Travis on the disputed pa.s.sage, 1 John v. 7, which is considered a masterpiece of acute reasoning. He is buried in the chapel of Trinity Coll.

PORTER, ANNA MARIA (1780-1832), PORTER, JANE (1776-1850).--Novelists, were the _dau._ of an Irish army surgeon, and sisters of Sir Robert Ker P., the painter and traveller. After the death of the _f._ the family settled in Edin., where they enjoyed the friendship of Scott. ANNA at the age of 12 _pub._ _Artless Tales_, the precursor of a series of tales and novels numbering about 50, the best being _Don Sebastian_ (1809). JANE, though the elder by four years, did not _pub._ until 1803, when her first novel, _Thaddeus of Warsaw_, appeared. _The Scottish Chiefs_ followed in 1810. Both of these works, especially the latter, had remarkable popularity, the _Chiefs_ being translated into German and Russian. She had greater talent than her sister, but like her, while possessed of considerable animation and imagination, failed in grasping character, and imparting local verisimilitude. Both were amiable and excellent women. A romance, _Sir Edward Seaward's Diary_ (1831), purporting to be a record of actual circ.u.mstances, and ed. by Jane, is generally believed to have been written by a brother, Dr. William Ogilvie P.

POWELL, FREDERICK YORK (1850-1904).--Historian, _ed._ at Rugby and Oxf., called to the Bar at the Middle Temple 1874, became an ardent student of history, and succeeded Froude as Prof. of Modern History at Oxf. in 1894.

Absorbed in study, he wrote less than his wide and deep learning qualified him for. Among his works are _A History of England to_ 1509, and he also wrote on Early England up to the Conquest, and on Alfred and William the Conqueror.

PRAED, WINTHROP MACKWORTH (1802-1839).--Poet, _s._ of a sergeant-at-law, was _b._ in London, _ed._ at Eton and Camb., and called to the Bar 1829.

He sat in Parliament for various places, and was Sec. to the Board of Control 1834-35. He appeared to have a brilliant career before him, when his health gave way, and he _d._ of consumption in 1839. His poems, chiefly bright and witty skits and satirical pieces, were _pub._ first in America 1844, and appeared in England with a memoir by Derwent Coleridge in 1864. His essays appeared in 1887.

PRESCOTT, WILLIAM HICKLING (1796-1859).--Historian, _b._ at Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts, the _s._ of an eminent lawyer, was _ed._ at Harvard, where he graduated in 1814. While there he met with an accident to one of his eyes which seriously affected his sight for the remainder of his life. He made an extended tour in Europe, and on his return to America he _m._, and abandoning the idea of a legal career, resolved to devote himself to literature. After ten years of study, he _pub._ in 1837 his _History of Ferdinand and Isabella_, which at once gained for him a high place among historians. It was followed in 1843 by the _History of the Conquest of Mexico_, and in 1847 by the _Conquest of Peru_. His last work was the _History of Philip II._, of which the third vol. appeared in 1858, and which was left unfinished. In that year he had an apoplectic shock, and another in 1859 was the cause of his death, which took place on January 28 in the last-named year. In all his works he displayed great research, impartiality, and an admirable narrative power. The great disadvantage at which, owing to his very imperfect vision, he worked, makes the first of these qualities specially remarkable, for his authorities in a foreign tongue were read to him, while he had to write on a frame for the blind.

P. was a man of amiable and benevolent character, and enjoyed the friendship of many of the most distinguished men in Europe as well as in America.

PRICE, RICHARD (1723-1791).--Writer on morals, politics, and economics, _s._ of a dissenting minister, was _b._ at Tynton in Wales, _ed._ at a dissenting coll. in London, and was then for some years chaplain to a Mr.

Streatfield, who left him some property. Thereafter he officiated as minister to various congregations near London. In 1758 his _Review of the Princ.i.p.al Questions and Difficulties in Morals_, a work of considerable metaphysical power, appeared; and it was followed in 1766 by a treatise on _The Importance of Christianity_. In 1769 his work on _Reversionary Payments_ was _pub._, and his Northampton Mortality Table was about the same time constructed. These, though long superseded, were in their day most valuable contributions to economical science. His most popular work, _Observations on Civil Liberty and the Justice and Policy of the War with America_, appeared in 1776, had an enormous sale, and led to his being invited to go to America and a.s.sist in establishing the financial system of the new Government. This he declined chiefly on the score of age.

Simplicity, uprightness, and toleration of opinions opposed to his own appear to have been marked traits in his character.

PRIDEAUX, HUMPHREY (1648-1724).--Divine and scholar, belonged to an ancient Cornish family, was _b._ at Padstow, and _ed._ at Westminster School and at Oxf. He first attracted notice by his description of the Arundel Marbles (1676), which gained for him powerful patrons, and he rose to be Dean of Norwich. Among his other works are a _Life of Mahomet_ (1697), and _The Old and New Testament connected in the History of the Jews and Neighbouring Nations_ (1715-17), long an important work, of which many ed. were brought out.

PRIESTLY, JOSEPH (1733-1804).--Chemist, theologian, and political writer, _s._ of a draper at Fieldhead, Yorkshire, where he was _b._ Brought up as a Calvinist, he gradually became a modified Unitarian, and after attending a dissenting academy at Daventry, he became minister to various congregations. About 1756 he _pub._ _The Scripture Doctrine of Remission_, denying the doctrine of atonement, and in 1761 succeeded Dr.

Aiken as teacher of languages and _belles-lettres_ in the dissenting academy at Warrington. About the same time he became acquainted with Franklin and Dr. Price (_q.v._), and began to devote himself to science, the fruits of which were his _History and Present State of Electricity_ (1767), and _Vision, Light, and Colours_. He also became a distinguished chemist, and made important discoveries, including that of oxygen. In 1773 he travelled on the Continent as companion to Lord Shelburne, where he was introduced to many men of scientific and literary eminence, by some of whom he was rallied upon his belief in Christianity. In reply to this he wrote _Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever_ (1774), and in answer to the accusations of Atheism brought against him at home, he _pub._ (1777) _Disquisition relating to Matter and Spirit_. In 1780 he settled in Birmingham, in 1782 _pub._ his _Corruptions of Christianity_, and in 1786 his _History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ_. He was one of those who wrote replies to Burke's _Reflections on the French Revolution_, one consequence of which was his election as a French citizen, and another the destruction of his chapel, house, papers, and instruments by a mob. Some years later he went to America, where he _d._ P. has been called the father of modern chemistry. He received many scientific and academic honours, being a member of the Royal Society, of the Academies of France, and of St. Petersburg, and an LL.D. of Edin. He was a man of powerful and original mind, of high character, and of undaunted courage in maintaining his opinions, which were usually unpopular.

PRINGLE, THOMAS (1789-1834).--Poet, _b._ in Roxburghshire, studied at Edin., and became known to Scott, by whose influence he obtained a grant of land in South Africa, to which he, with his _f._ and brothers, emigrated. He took to literary work in Cape Town, and conducted two papers, which were suppressed for their free criticisms of the Colonial Government. Thereupon he returned and settled in London, where he _pub._ _African Sketches_. He also produced a book of poems, _Ephemerides_.

PRIOR, MATTHEW (1664-1721).--Poet, _b._ near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, _s._ of a joiner who, having _d._, he was _ed._ by an uncle, and sent to Westminster School. Befriended by the Earl of Dorset he proceeded to Camb., and while there wrote, jointly with Charles Montague, _The Town and Country Mouse_, a burlesque of Dryden's _Hind and Panther_. After holding various diplomatic posts, in which he showed ability and discretion, he entered Parliament in 1700, and, deserting the Whigs, joined the Tories, by whom he was employed in various capacities, including that of Amba.s.sador at Paris. On the death of Queen Anne he was recalled, and in 1715 imprisoned, but after two years released. In 1719 a folio ed. of his works was brought out, by which he realised 4000, and Lord Harley having presented him with an equal sum, he looked forward to the peace and comfort which were his chief ambition. He did not, however, long enjoy his prosperity, dying two years later. Among his poems may be mentioned _Solomon_, which he considered his best work, _Alma, or the Progress of the Mind_, _The Female Phaeton_, _To a Child of Quality_, and some prose tales. His chief characteristic is a certain elegance and easy grace, in which he is perhaps unrivalled. His character appears to have been by no means unimpeachable, but he was amiable and free from any trace of vindictiveness.

PROCTER, ADELAIDE ANN (1825-1864).--Poetess, eldest _dau._ of Bryan W.P.

(_q.v._). Many of her poems were first _pub._ in _Household Words_ and _All the Year Round_, and afterwards _coll._ under the t.i.tle of _Legends and Lyrics_ (1858), of which many ed. appeared. In 1851 Miss P. became a Roman Catholic. She took much interest in social questions affecting women. She wrote the well-known songs, _Cleansing Fires_ and _The Lost Chord_, and among her many hymns are, _I do not ask, O Lord, that Life may be_, and _My G.o.d, I thank Thee who hast made_.

PROCTER, BRYAN WALLER ("BARRY CORNWALL") (1787-1874).--Poet, _b._ at Leeds, and _ed._ at Harrow, went to London and practised successfully as a solicitor. Thereafter he became a barrister, and was, 1832-61, a Commissioner of Lunacy. By 1823 he had produced four vols. of poetry and a tragedy, _Mirandola_ (1821). His works include _Dramatic Scenes_ (1819), _A Sicilian Story_, _Marcian Colonna_ (1820), _The Flood of Thessaly_ (1823), and _English Songs_ (1832), which last will perhaps survive his other writings. P. was the friend of most of his literary contemporaries, and was universally beloved.

PROUT, FATHER, (_see_ MAHONY, F.S.).

PRYNNE, WILLIAM (1600-1669).--Controversial writer, _b._ near Bath, _ed._ at Oxf., studied law at Lincoln's Inn, of which he became a bencher, but soon became immersed in the writing of controversial pamphlets. After the _Unloveliness of Lovelocks_ and _Health's Sicknesse_ (1627-30) appeared his best known controversial work, _Histrio-Mastix_, or a _Scourge for Stage Players_ (1633), a bitter attack on most of the popular amus.e.m.e.nts of the day. It was punished with inhuman severity. P. was brought before the Star Chamber, fined 5000, pilloried, and had both his ears cut off.

Undeterred by this he issued from his prison a fierce attack upon Laud and the hierarchy, for which he was again fined, pilloried, and branded on both cheeks with the letters S.L. (seditious libeller). Removed to Carnarvon Castle he remained there until liberated in 1641 by the Long Parliament. He soon after became a member of the House, and joined with extreme, but not inexcusable, rancour in the prosecution of Laud. After this he turned his attention to the Independents, whom he hated scarcely less than the Prelatists, and was among those expelled from the House of Commons by Cromwell, whom he had opposed in regard to the execution of the King with such asperity that he again suffered imprisonment, from which he was released in 1652. He supported the Restoration, and was by Charles II. appointed Keeper of the Records in the Tower. Here he did good service by compiling the _Calendar of Parliamentary Writs_ and _Records_. He _pub._ in all about 200 books and pamphlets.

PSALMANAZAR, GEORGE (1679?-1763).--Literary impostor. His real name is unknown. He is believed to have been a native of France or Switzerland, but represented himself as a native of the island of Formosa, and palmed off a Formosan language of his own construction, to which he afterwards added a description of the island. For a time he was in the military service of the Duke of Mecklenburg, and formed a connection with William Innes, chaplain of a Scottish regiment, who collaborated with him in his frauds, and introduced various refinements into his methods. Innes, however, was appointed chaplain to the forces in Portugal, and P. was unable to maintain his impositions, and was exposed. After a serious illness in 1728 he turned over a new leaf and became a respectable and efficient literary hack; his works in his latter days included a _General History of Printing_, contributions to the _Universal History_, and an _Autobiography_ containing an account of his impostures.

PURCHAS, SAMUEL (1575?-1626).--Compiler of travels, _b._ at Thaxton, and _ed._ at Camb., took orders, and held various benefices, including the rectory of St. Martin's, Ludgate Hill. The papers of R. Hakluyt (_q.v._) came into his hands, and he made several compilations relating to man, his nature, doings, and surroundings. His three works are (1) _Purchas his Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World and the Religions observed in all Ages and Places, etc._; (2) _Purchas his Pilgrim, Microcosmus, or the History of Man, etc._; and (3) _Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas his Pilgrimes, containing a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Land Travels, etc._ Although credulous, diffuse, and confused, these works have preserved many interesting and curious matters which would otherwise have been lost.

PUSEY, EDWARD BOUVERIE (1800-1882).--Scholar and theologian, _b._ at Pusey, Berks, _ed._ at Eton and Oxf., belonged to the family of Lord Folkstone, whose name was Bouverie, his _f._ a.s.suming that of P. on inheriting certain estates. After studying in Germany, he became in 1828 Regius Prof. of Hebrew at Oxf. His first important work was an _Essay on the Causes of Rationalism in German Theology_, and the arrest of similar tendencies in England became one of the leading objects of his life. He was one of the chief leaders of the Tractarian movement, and contributed tracts on _Baptism_ and on _Fasting_. In consequence of a sermon on the Eucharist, he was in 1843 suspended from the office of Univ. Preacher which he then held. Later writings related to _Confession_ and _The Doctrine of the Real Presence_, and in 1865 he issued an _Eirenicon_ in support of union with the Church of Rome. He was prominent in all movements and controversies affecting the Univ., and was foremost among the prosecutors of Jowett (_q.v._). Among his other literary labours are commentaries on Daniel and the minor Prophets, a treatise on Everlasting Punishment, and a Catalogue of the Arabic MS. in the Bodleian Library.

PUTTENHAM, GEORGE (1530?-1590).--Was one of the _s._ of Robert P., a country gentleman. There has been attributed to him the authorship of _The Arte of Poesie_, a treatise of some length divided into three parts, (1) of poets and poesy, (2) of proportion, (3) of ornament. It is now thought rather more likely that it was written by his brother RICHARD (1520?-1601). George was the author of an _Apologie_ for Queen Elizabeth's treatment of Mary Queen of Scots.

PYE, HENRY JAMES (1745-1813).--A country gentleman of Berkshire, who _pub._ _Poems on Various Subjects_ and _Alfred, an Epic_, translated the _Poetics_ of Aristotle, and was Poet Laureate from 1790. In the last capacity he wrote official poems of ludicrous dulness, and was generally a jest and a byword in literary circles.

QUARLES, FRANCIS (1592-1644).--Poet, _b._ at the manor-house of Stewards near Romford, was at Camb., and studied law at Lincoln's Inn. Thereafter he went to the Continent, and at Heidelberg acted as cup-bearer to Elizabeth of Bohemia, _dau._ of James I. He next appears as sec. to Archbishop Ussher in Ireland, and was in 1639 Chronologer to the City of London. On the outbreak of the Civil War he sided with the Royalists, and was plundered by the Parliamentarians of his books and rare ma.n.u.scripts, which is said to have so grieved him as to bring about his death. His first book of poems was _A Feast for Worms_ (1620); others were _Hada.s.sa_ (Esther) (1621), _Sion's Elegies_ (1625), and _Divine Emblems_ (1635), by far his most popular book. His style was that fashionable in his day, affected, artificial, and full of "conceits," but he had both real poetical fire and genuine wit, mixed with much that was false in taste, and though quaint and crabbed, is seldom feeble or dull. He was twice _m._, and had by his first wife 18 children.

RADCLIFFE, MRS. ANN (WARD) (1764-1823).--Novelist, only _dau._ of parents in a respectable position, in 1787 _m._ Mr. William Radcliffe, ed. and proprietor of a weekly newspaper, the _English Chronicle_. In 1789 she _pub._ her first novel, _The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne_, of which the scene is laid in Scotland. It, however, gave little promise of the future power of the author. In the following year appeared _The Sicilian Romance_, which attracted attention by its vivid descriptions and startling incidents. Next came _The Romance of the Forest_ (1791), followed by _The Mysteries of Udolpho_ (1794), and _The Italian_ (1797), a story of the Inquisition, the last of her works _pub._ during her life-time. _Gaston de Blondeville_, ed. by Sergeant Talfourd, was brought out posthumously. Mrs. R. has been called the Salvator Rosa of British novelists. She excels in the description of scenes of mystery and terror whether of natural scenery or incident: in the former displaying a high degree of imaginative power, and in the latter great ingenuity and fertility of invention. She had, however, little power of delineating character. Though her works belong to a type now out of fashion, they will always possess an historical interest as marking a stage in the development of English fiction.

"RAINE, ALLEN" (MRS. BEYNON PUDDICOMBE).--Novelist. _A Welsh Singer_ (1897), _Tom Sails_ (1898), _A Welsh Witch_ (1901), _Queen of the Rushes_ (1906), etc.

RALEIGH, SIR WALTER (1552?-1618).--Explorer, statesman, admiral, historian, and poet, _s._ of Walter R., of Fardel, Devonshire, was _b._ at Hayes Barton in that county. In 1568 he was sent to Oxf., where he greatly distinguished himself. In the next year he began his career of adventure by going to France as a volunteer in aid of the Huguenots, serving thereafter in the Low Countries. The year 1579 saw him engaged in his first voyage of adventure in conjunction with his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Their object was to discover and settle lands in North America; but the expedition failed, chiefly owing to opposition by the Spaniards. The next year he was fighting against the rebels in Ireland; and shortly thereafter attracted the notice of Queen Elizabeth, in whose favour he rapidly rose. In 1584 he fitted out a new colonising expedition to North America, and succeeded in discovering and occupying Virginia, named after the Queen. On his return he was knighted. In the dark and anxious days of the Armada, 1587-88, R. was employed in organising resistance, and rendered distinguished service in action. His favour with the Queen, and his haughty bearing, had, however, been raising up enemies and rivals, and his intrigue and private marriage with Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the maids of honour, in 1593, lost him for a time the favour of the Queen. Driven from the Court he returned to the schemes of adventure which had so great a charm for him, and fired by the Spanish accounts of the fabulous wealth of Guiana, he and some of his friends fitted out an expedition which, however, though attended with various brilliant episodes, proved unsuccessful. Restored to the favour of the Queen, he was appointed an Admiral in the expeditions to Cadiz, 1596, and in the following year was engaged in an attack on the Azores, in both of which he added greatly to his reputation. The death of Elizabeth in 1603 was the turning point in R.'s fortunes. Thenceforward disaster clouded his days. The new sovereign and his old enemies combined to compa.s.s his ruin. Accused of conspiring against the former he was, against all evidence, sentenced to death, and though this was not at the time carried out, he was imprisoned in the Tower and his estates confiscated. During this confinement he composed his _History of the World_, which he brought down to 130 B.C. It is one of the finest specimens of Elizabethan prose, reflective in matter and dignified and grave in style. Released in 1615 he set out on his last voyage, again to Guiana, which, like the former, proved a failure, and in which he lost his eldest _s._ He returned a broken and dying man, but met with no pity from his ungenerous King who, urged, it is believed, by the King of Spain, had him beheaded on Tower Hill, October 29, 1618. R. is one of the most striking and brilliant figures in an age crowded with great men. Of a n.o.ble presence, he was possessed of a commanding intellect and a versatility which enabled him to shine in every enterprise to which he set himself. In addition to his great fragment the _History of the World_, he wrote _A Report of the Truth of the Fight about the Azores_, and _The Discoverie of the Empire of Guiana_, besides various poems chiefly of a philosophic cast, of which perhaps the best known are _The Pilgrimage_, and that beginning "Go, Soul, the Body's Guest."

The most recent _Lives_ are by Stebbing (1892), and Hume (1898). _Works_ (1829), with _Lives_ by Oldys and Birch.

RAMeE, LOUISE DE LA ("OUIDA") (1840?-1908).--Novelist, _b._ at Bury St.

Edmunds, _dau._ of an English _f._ and a French mother. For many years she lived in London, but about 1874 she went to Italy, where she _d._ She wrote over 40 novels, which had considerable popularity. Among the best known of them are _Under Two Flags_, _Puck_, _Two Little Wooden Shoes_, _In a Winter City_, _In Maremma_. She also wrote a book of stories for children, _Bimbi_. Occasionally she shows considerable power, but on the whole her writings have an unhealthy tone, want reality, and are not likely to have any permanent place in literature.

RAMSAY, ALLAN (1686-1758).--Poet, _s._ of a mine-manager at Leadhills, Dumfriesshire, who claimed kin with the Ramsays of Dalhousie. In his infancy he lost his _f._, and his mother _m._ a small "laird," who gave him the ordinary parish school education. In 1701 he came to Edinburgh as apprentice to a wig-maker, took to writing poetry, became a member of the "Easy Club," of which Pitcairn and Ruddiman, the grammarian, were members, and of which he was made "laureate." The club _pub._ his poems as they were thrown off, and their appearance soon began to be awaited with interest. In 1716 he _pub._ an additional canto to _Christ's Kirk on the Green_, a humorous poem sometimes attributed to James I., and in 1719 he became a bookseller, his shop being a meeting-place of the _literati_ of the city. A _coll._ ed. of his poems appeared in 1720, among the subscribers to which were Pope, Steele, Arbuthnot, and Gay. It was followed by _Fables and Tales_, and other poems. In 1724 he began the _Tea Table Miscellany_, a collection of new Scots songs set to old melodies, and the _Evergreen_, a collection of old Scots poems with which R. as ed. took great liberties. This was a kind of work for which he was not qualified, and in which he was far from successful. _The Gentle Shepherd_, by far his best known and most meritorious work, appeared in 1725, and had an immediate popularity which, to a certain extent, it retains. It is a pastoral drama, and abounds in character, unaffected sentiment, and vivid description. After this success R., satisfied with his reputation, produced nothing, more of importance. He was the first to introduce the circulating library into Scotland, and among his other enterprises was an unsuccessful attempt to establish a theatre in Edin.

On the whole his life was a happy and successful one, and he had the advantage of a cheerful, sanguine, and contented spirit. His foible was an innocent and good-natured vanity.