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published in Boston, and probably in other cities of the United States. We presume that the aggregate sale in England and America within the first four weeks from the date of publication considerably exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand copies. On the continent of Europe, editions of the History were published in Dutch (issued by H. C. S. Ery, at the Hague, fourth Part published September, 1856,) and in Hungarian, translated by M. Auton Szengery. As regards the division of time in the four volumes of the History, volume one closes with an account of the occurrences of the autumn of 1685; in the concluding chapter of volume two, we find William and Mary seated on the English throne; volume three comprises the history of events in 1689, '90, and '91; and volume four terminates with the Peace of Ryswick in 1697. It is stated that for volumes one and two, Messrs. Longman agreed to allow the author six hundred pounds per annum for the privilege of publication for ten years, the copyright remaining the property of Mr. Macaulay, and that the copyright of volumes three and four was purchased by the same house for sixteen thousand pounds. We do not vouch for the correctness of these figures, but presume that they represent the truth.

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Whether Mr. Macaulay will be able to carry his history down to so recent a point as he originally designed —“ the memory of men yet living - is now a matter of some doubt in the public mind; but it is to be remembered that by far the greater part of the historian's task is now accomplished: the history of England from the Peace of Ryswick to the close of the American War presents but few points which require extended examination and minute investigation. We trust that Mr. Macaulay will live to carry his narration down to 1789, the starting-point of Sir Archibald Alison's History We shall then have an uninterrupted narrative, in the histo ries of Hume, Macaulay, and Alison, extending over a period of one thousand nine hundred and seven years, viz: B. C. 55-A. D. 1852.

We must not conclude without some brief citations of opinions on the merits of volumes three and four of Mr. Macau

lay's History. A lively interest was felt before the appearance of these volumes to see in what manner the historian would treat the great events which brought about the Revolution of 1688, and the measures of almost equal importance which immediately followed the settlement which secured the English throne to William and Mary and their Protestant successors. Whatever may be thought of the political animus of the author, there can be but one question as regards his admirable facility in condensation, his power of graphic portraiture, and the lofty eloquence of his rhetoric. We have heard Mr. Bancroft, the American historian, himself long skilled in state-paper research, express his astonishment at the marvellous manner in which Mr. Macaulay has condensed volumes of matter in the comparatively few passages of which his last two volumes are composed. But to our quotations:

"We conclude, as we commenced, in unfeigned admiration of the power, wisdom, and success of this great national work; of the comprehensive philosophy of its plan, and the rare felicity of its execution. The height at which it aims is ambitious; but Mr. Macaulay has reached it, and will hand down his name to future times indissolubly linked with that free constitution, the history of which he has done so much to illustrate. Let those who wish to study the genius of British liberty learn by the light of these volumes, imbibe their spirit, and be roused by their noble fervour to thoughts and deeds worthy of freemen. As long as she is animated by such patriotism and imbued with such principles, we may augur the best for the future of our country, and for the dynasty established by William, under which she has risen to such freedom and such greatness." - Edin. Rev., Jan. 1857.

“Mr. Macaulay's peculiar qualifications for the great task he has undertaken are well known. Probably no man of our days enjoys so wonderful a memory, or possesses such extensive and varied knowledge. In science we do not suppose he is much of a proficient, but over the field of literature his reign is universal. History, especially that of England, has always been his favorite study, and he has devoted to the volumes already published many years of indefatigable toil. Every page bears testimony to a degreo of conscientious and minute research which no historian has ever

surpassed, and which only Grote, Gibbon, and Hallam, in this

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country, have ever approached.” — North British Rev., May, 1856. "With the rest of the world we come with our homage to Mr. Macaulay. Steady, strong, and uniform, the stream of his thought continues to flow; and, without effort, or with no outward sign of it, he keeps his place as the first living writer of English prose. There is no occasion for us to quote from Mr. Macaulay, to criticise or to praise him. Our readers long ago have made their own quotations, selected their favorite passages, have read again and again every page of his history; and the universal approbation of the world has at once dispensed with the necessity of panegyric, and made censure impossible, except to those who are ambitious of a foolish singularity. On whatever side we look at this book, whether the style of it or the matter of it, it is alike astonishing. The style is faultlessly luminous; every word is in its right place; every sentence is exquisitely balanced; the current never flags. Homer, according to the Roman poet, may be sometimes languid; Mr. Macaulay is always bright, sparkling, attractive.” - Westminster Rev., April, 1856.

Some of Mr. Macaulay's reviewers are far less enthusiastic than the three just quoted:

"Everybody reads everybody admires - but nobody believes in - Mr. Macaulay. This, which is perhaps the most brilliant of all histories, seems about the least reliable of any. We have not encountered a single courageous individual, among the multitude of its admirers, bold enough to avouch for it; yet no one reads less eagerly because it is difficult to find any one who has genuine faith in what he reads."-Blackw. Mag., Aug. 1856; and see the number for Sept. 1856.

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"The Principle upon which Mr. Macaulay wrote his History. "MR. URBAN:— - In reading Macaulay's Essays the other day, I came across a passage in which the author lays down the principles on which, in his opinion, history ought to be written. It may, perhaps, have some interest for your readers, as being, in some sort, a defence to the charges which many reviewers have not scrupled to bring against the historian of James and William, of giving a false coloring to events. Speaking of Machiavelli's History, be

says:

"The history does not appear to be the fruit of much industry or research. It is unquestionably inaccurate. But it is elegant, lively, and picturesque, beyond any other in the Italian language. The reader, we believe, carries away from it a more vivid and a more faithful impression of the national character and manners than from more correct accounts. The truth is, that the book belongs rather to ancient than to modern literature. It is in the style, not of Davila and Clarendon, but of Herodotus and Tacitus. The classical histories may almost be called romances founded in fact. The relation is, no doubt, in all its principal points, strictly true. But the numerous little incidents which heighten the interest, the words, the gestures, the looks, are evidently furnished by the imagination of the author. The fashion of later times is dif ferent. A more exact narrative is given by the writer. It may be doubted whether more exact notions may be conveyed to the reader. The best portraits are perhaps those in which there is a slight mixture of caricature; and we are not certain that the best histories are not those in which a little of the exaggeration of fictitious narrative is judiciously employed. Something is lost in accuracy, but much is gained in effect. The fainter lines are neglected, but the great characteristic features are imprinted on the mind forever.' — Essay on Machiavelli, March, 1827; Essays, vol. p. 110.

i.

"I remain, sir, yours obediently,

Lond. Gent. Mag., June, 1857, 708.

"F. J. V."

Certainly no one can question our fairness as regards a faithful exhibition of both sides of opinions on this popular writer.

See also Oxford and Cambridge Mag., March, 1856, 173; Lond. Athenæum, 1855, 1489-1524; Index to Lond, Notes and Queries, vols. i.-xii., First Series; and Index to vol. xiii. Other notices of Mr. Macaulay and his literary productions will be found in Gilfillan's Galleries of Literary Portraits, Nos. 1, 2, and 3; Henry Reed's Lects. on Eng Lit., 107; Fraser's Mag., xl. 171; Lond. Gent. Mag., March, 1838, 322; South. Lit. Mess., xiv. 476; New Englander, vii. 288, (by L. Bacon ;) N. York Eclec. Mag., i. 1, vii. 394, xiii. 35, (by G. Gilfillan,) xvii. 134; Bost. Liv. Age, xxi.

206, xlii. 382. We should not omit to mention that Mr. Macaulay has lately contributed to the eighth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, now (1857) passing through the press, Lives of Dr. Samuel Johnson, of Oliver Goldsmith, of Bishop Atterbury, and of John Bunyan. These have been reprinted in America. Messrs. Appleton, of New York, also published, in 1857, Biographical and Historical Sketches by T. B. Macaulay, consisting of the four biographical articles just noticed, and eighty-three selections from the History of England.

With a memory so retentive, stores of information so multifarious, and a vocabulary more copious than is generally given to the sons of men, it may well be supposed that the essayist, orator, poet, and historian possesses substantial claims to distinction as a brilliant, instructive, and interesting conversationist. Such, indeed, is the fact. Tom Moore again and again expresses his astonishment at Macaulay's wonderful powers, e. g.:

"Dined at Lansdowne House. . . . Sat between Macaulay and Rogers. Of Macaulay's range of knowledge anything may be believed, so wonderful is his memory.” — Diary, Aug. 2d, 1840: Memoirs, &c., vii. 280.

"Went to Bowood to dinner. .. Macaulay wonderful: never, perhaps, was there combined so much talent with so marvellous a memory. To attempt to record his conversation, one must be as wonderfully gifted with memory as himself." — Diary, Oct. 21st, 1846 Memoirs, &c., vii. 283.

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Macaulay, another of the guests, and I stayed for some time He is a most wonderful man." — Diary, Dec. 15th and 16th: Memoirs, &c., vii. 304.

“Breakfasted this morning with Milnes, to meet the American Minister, Hallam, Macaulay, &c. &c. Macaulay opened for us quite a new character of his marvellous memory, which astonished us as much as it amused me; and that was his acquaintance with the old Irish slang ballads, such as 'The Night before Larry was Stretched,' &c. &c., many of which he repeated as glibly as I could in my boyhood. He certainly obeys most wonderfully Eloisa's injunction, 'Do all things but forget.'” — Diary, March 18th, 1842: Memoirs, &c., vii. 314, 315.

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