A Short Biographical Dictionary of English LiteratureCousin, John W. (John William)
General
A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature
Cousin, John W. (John William)
American literature -- Bio-bibliography; English literature -- Bio-bibliography
BARCLAY, ROBERT (1648-1690).--Apologist of the Quakers, _s._ of Col.
David B. of Ury, _ed._ at the Scots Coll. in Paris, of which his uncle
was Rector, made such progress in study as to gain the admiration of his
teachers, specially of his uncle, who offered to make him his heir if he
would remain in France, and join the Roman Catholic Church. This he
refused to do, and, returning to Scotland, he in 1667 adopted the
principles of the Quakers as his _f._ had already done. Soon afterwards
he began to write in defence of his sect, by _pub._ in 1670 _Truth
cleared of Calumnies_, and _a Catechism and Confession of Faith_ (1673).
His great work, however, is his _Apology for the Quakers_, _pub._ in
Latin in 1676, and translated into English in 1678. It is a weighty and
learned work, written in a dignified style, and was eagerly read. It,
however, failed to arrest the persecution to which the Quakers were
exposed, and B. himself, on returning from the Continent, where he had
gone with Foxe and Penn, was imprisoned, but soon regained his liberty,
and was in the enjoyment of Court favour. He was one of the twelve
Quakers who acquired East New Jersey, of which he was appointed nominal
Governor. His latter years were spent at his estate of Ury, where he _d._
The essential view which B. maintained was, that Christians are
illuminated by an inner light superseding even the Scriptures as the
guide of life. His works have often been reprinted.
BARHAM, RICHARD HARRIS (1788-1845).--Novelist and humorous poet, _s._ of
a country gentleman, was _b._ at Canterbury, _ed._ at St. Paul's School
and Oxford, entered the church, held various incumbencies, and was
Divinity Lecturer, and minor canon of St. Paul's. It is not, however, as
a churchman that he is remembered, but as the author of the _Ingoldsby
Legends_, a series of comic and serio-comic pieces in verse, sparkling
with wit, and full of striking and often grotesque turns of expression,
which appeared first in _Bentley's Miscellany_. He also wrote, in
_Blackwood's Magazine_, a novel, _My Cousin Nicholas_.
BARLOW, JOEL (1754-1812).--Poet, _b._ at Reading, Connecticut, served for
a time as an army chaplain, and thereafter betook himself to law, and
finally to commerce and diplomacy, in the former of which he made a
fortune. He was much less successful as a poet than as a man of affairs.
His writings include _Vision of Columbus_ (1787), afterwards expanded
into the _Columbiad_ (1807), _The Conspiracy of Kings_ (1792), and _The
Hasty Pudding_ (1796), a mock-heroic poem, his best work. These are
generally pompous and dull. In 1811 he was _app._ ambassador to France,
and met his death in Poland while journeying to meet Napoleon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account