A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature | Page 3

Leicester, and in 1888 _Songs of the Army
of the Night_, which created a sensation in Sydney. His remaining
important work is Tiberius (1894), a striking drama in which a new
view of the character of the Emperor is presented. He d. by his own
hand at Alexandria in a fit of depression caused by hopeless illness.
ADDISON, JOSEPH (1672-1719).--Poet, essayist and statesman, was
the s. of Lancelot Addison, Dean of Lichfield. B. near Amesbury,
Wilts., A. went to the Charterhouse where he made the acquaintance of

Steele (q.v.), and then at the age of fifteen to Oxford where he had a
distinguished career, being specially noted for his Latin verse. Intended
at first for the Church, various circumstances combined to lead him
towards literature and politics. His first attempts in English verse took
the form of complimentary addresses, and were so successful as to
obtain for him the friendship and interest of Dryden, and of Lord
Somers, by whose means he received, in 1699, a pension of £300 to
enable him to travel on the continent with a view to diplomatic
employment. He visited Italy, whence he addressed his Epistle to his
friend Halifax. Hearing of the death of William III., an event which lost
him his pension, he returned to England in the end of 1703. For a short
time his circumstances were somewhat straitened, but the battle of
Blenheim in 1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing
himself. The government wished the event commemorated by a poem;
A. was commissioned to write this, and produced The Campaign,
which gave such satisfaction that he was forthwith appointed a
Commissioner of Appeals. His next literary venture was an account of
his travels in Italy, which was followed by the opera of Rosamund. In
1705, the Whigs having obtained the ascendency, A. was made
Under-Secretary of State and accompanied Halifax on a mission to
Hanover, and in 1708 was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland and
Keeper of the Records of that country. It was at this period that A.
found his true vocation and laid the foundations of his real fame. In
1709 Steele began to bring out the Tatler, to which A. became almost
immediately a contributor: thereafter he (with Steele) started the
Spectator, the first number of which appeared on March 1, 1711. This
paper, which at first appeared daily, was kept up (with a break of about
a year and a half when the Guardian took its place) until Dec. 20, 1714.
In 1713 the drama of Cato appeared, and was received with
acclamation by both Whigs and Tories, and was followed by the
comedy of the Drummer. His last undertaking was The Freeholder, a
party paper (1715-16). The later events in the life of A., viz., his
marriage in 1716 to the Dowager Countess of Warwick, to whose son
he had been tutor and his promotion to be Secretary of State did not
contribute to his happiness. His wife appears to have been arrogant and
imperious; his step-son the Earl was a rake and unfriendly to him;
while in his public capacity his invincible shyness made him of little

use in Parliament. He resigned his office in 1718, and, after a period of
ill-health, d. at Holland House, June 17, 1719, in his 48th year. Besides
the works above mentioned, he wrote a Dialogue on Medals, and left
unfinished a work on the Evidences of Christianity. The character of A.,
if somewhat cool and unimpassioned, was pure, magnanimous, and
kind. The charm of his manners and conversation made him one of the
most popular and admired men of his day; and while he laid his friends
under obligations for substantial favours, he showed the greatest
forbearance towards his few enemies. His style in his essays is
remarkable for its ease, clearness, and grace, and for an inimitable and
sunny humour which never soils and never hurts. The motive power of
these writings has been called "an enthusiasm for conduct." Their effect
was to raise the whole standard of manners and expression both in life
and in literature. The only flaw in his character was a tendency to
convivial excess, which must be judged in view of the laxer manners of
his time. When allowance has been made for this, he remains one of the
most admirable characters and writers in English literature.
SUMMARY.--B. Amesbury, ed. Charterhouse and Oxford; received
travelling pension, 1699; Campaign (1704) leads to political office;
goes to Ireland, 1708; assists Steele in Tatler, 1709; Spectator started,
1711; marries Lady Warwick, 1716; Secretary of State, 1716-18; d.
1719.
Lives in Biographica Britannica, Dict. of Nat. Biog., _Johnson's Lives
of Poets, and by Lucy Aikin, Macaulay's Essay, Drake's Essays
Illustrative of Tatler, Guardian, and Spectator_; Pope's and Swift's
Correspondence, etc.
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