Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin: Comprising the Celebrated Political and Satirical Poems, of the Rt. Hons. G. Canning, John Hookham Frere, W. Pitt, the Marquis Wellesley, G. Ellis, W. Gifford, the Earl of Carlisle, and Others.
History
Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin: Comprising the Celebrated Political and Satirical Poems, of the Rt. Hons. G. Canning, John Hookham Frere, W. Pitt, the Marquis Wellesley, G. Ellis, W. Gifford, the Earl of Carlisle, and Others.
English poetry; France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799 -- Poetry; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1789-1820
[The following is part of a review, under the above title, of the
present editor’s previous edition of _The Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin_,
and appeared in _The Edinburgh Review_ of July, 1858. It is reprinted in
the _Biographical and Critical Essays_ of A. HAYWARD, Esq., Q.C., 2
vols., 8vo., 1873. It is introduced here as throwing some additional
light on the _Writers of the various pieces_.]
“... We can hardly say of CANNING’S satire what was said of SHERIDAN’S,
that—
“‘His wit in the combat, as gentle as bright,
Never carried a heart-stain away on its blade’.
But its severity was redeemed by its buoyancy and geniality, whilst the
subjects against which it was principally aimed gave it a healthy tone
and a sound foundation. Its happiest effusions will be found in _The
Anti-Jacobin_, set on foot to refute or ridicule the democratic rulers
of revolutionary France and their admirers or apologists in England,
who, it must be owned, were occasionally hurried into a culpable degree
of extravagance and laxity by their enthusiasm....”
“We learn from MR. EDMONDS that almost all his authorities practically
resolve themselves into one, the late MR. W. UPCOTT, and that he never
saw either of the alleged copies on which his informant relied. As
regards the principal one, CANNING’S own, after the fullest inquiries
amongst his surviving relatives and friends, we cannot discover a trace
of its existence at any period. LORD BURGHERSH (the late EARL OF
WESTMORELAND) was under fourteen years of age during the publication of
_The Anti-Jacobin_; and we very much doubt whether either the publisher
or the amanuensis (be he who he may) was admitted to the complete
confidence of the contributors, or whether either the prose or poetry
was composed as stated. In a letter to the late MADAME DE GIRARDIN, _à
propos_ of her play, _L’École des Journalistes_, JULES JANIN happily
exposes the assumption that good leading articles ever were, or ever
could be, produced over punch and broiled bones, amidst intoxication and
revelry. Equally untenable is the belief that poetical pieces, like the
best of _The Anti-Jacobin_, were written in the common rooms of the
confraternity, open to constant intrusion, and left upon the table to be
corrected or completed by the first comer. The unity of design
discernible in each, the glowing harmony of the thoughts and images, and
the exquisite finish of the versification, tell of silent and solitary
hours spent in brooding over, maturing, and polishing a cherished
conception; and young authors, still unknown to fame, are least of all
likely to sink their individuality in this fashion. We suspect that
their main object in going to WRIGHT’S was to correct their proofs and
see one another’s articles in the more finished state. Their meetings,
if for these purposes, would be most regular on Sundays, because the
paper appeared every Monday morning. The extent to which they aided one
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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