Chapter Lockhart to Longfellow of L by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Lockhart to Longfellow

Lockhart, John Gibson (1794-1854).—Novelist and biographer, son of a minister of the Church of Scotland of good family, was born at Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire, and educated at Glasgow and Oxford He studied law at Edinburgh, and was called to the Scottish Bar in 1816, but had little taste for the profession. Having, however, already tried literature (he had translated Schlegel’s Lectures on the History of Literature), he devoted himself more and more to a literary life. He joined John Wilson, and became one of the leading contributors to Blackwood’s Magazine. After bringing out Peter’s Letters to his Kinsfolk (1819), sketches mainly of Edinburgh society, he produced four novels, Valerius (1821), Adam Blair (1822), Reginald Dalton (1824), and Matthew Wald (1824). His Life of Burns appeared in 1828. He was editor of the Quarterly Review 1824-53. In 1820 he had married Sophia, daughter of Sir Walter Scott, which led to a close friendship with the latter, and to his writing his famous Life of Scott, undoubtedly one of the greatest biographies in the language. His later years were overshadowed with deep depression caused by the death of his wife and children. A singularly reserved and cold manner led to his being regarded with dislike by many, but his intimate friends were warmly attached to him.

Lodge, Thomas (1558?-1625).—Poet and dramatist, son of Sir Thomas Lodge, Lord Mayor of London, was educated at Merchant Taylor’s School and Oxford He was a student of Lincoln’s Inn, but abandoned law for literature, ultimately studied medicine, and took M.D. at Oxford 1603; having become a Roman Catholic, he had a large practice, chiefly among his co-religionists. In 1580 he published A Defence of Plays in reply to Gosson’s School of Abuse; and he wrote poems, dramas, and romances. His principal dramatic works are The Wounds of Civil War, and (in conjunction with Greene, q.v.) A Looking-glass for London and England. Among his romances may be mentioned Euphues’ Shadow, Forbonius and Prisceria (1584), and Rosalynde, Euphues’ Golden Legacie (1590). His poems include Glaucus and Scilla (1589), Phillis honoured with Pastoral Sonnets, Elegies, and Amorous Delights (1593). Rosalynde, his best known work, and the source from which Shakespeare is said to have drawn As you like It, was written to beguile the tedium of a voyage to the Canaries. Robin the Divell and William Longbeard are historical romances. Lodge was also a voluminous translator. He was one of the founders of the regular English drama, but his own plays are heavy and tedious. His romances, popular in their day, are sentimental and over-refined in language, but are enlivened by lyrical pieces in which he is far more successful than in his dramatic work.

Logan, John (1748-1788).—Poet, son of a small farmer at Soutra, Midlothian, was destined for the ministry of a small Dissenting sect to which his father belonged, but attached himself to the Church of Scotland, and became minister of South Leith in 1773. He read lectures on the philosophy of history in Edinburgh, and was the author of a vol. of poems. He also edited those of his friend, Michael Bruce (q.v.), in such a way, however, as to lead to a controversy, still unsettled, as to the authorship of certain of the pieces inserted. Logan, in fact, suppressed some of Bruce’s poems and introduced of his own. Unfortunately for the reputation of both poets the disputed authorship extends to the gem of the collection, the exquisite Ode to the Cuckoo, beginning “Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove,” which Burke considered the most beautiful lyric in the language. Logan fell into dissipated habits, resigned his ministerial charge, and went to London, where he took an active part in the controversy regarding the impeachment of Warren Hastings.

Long, George (1800-1879).—Classical scholar, ed. at Cambridge He was Professor of Ancient Languages in the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1824-28, of Greek at University College, London, 1828-31, and of Latin there, 1842-46. He did much for the diffusion of education, was one of the founders and secretrayof the Royal Geographical Society, and editor of the Penny Cyclopædia. He translated Marcus Aurelius (1862), and The Discourses of Epictetus (1877), and wrote Two Discourses on Roman Law (1847), a subject on which he was the greatest English authority.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-1882).—Poet, was born at Portland, Maine, the son of Stephen Longfellow, a lawyer. From childhood he cared little for games, but was always devoted to reading. In 1822 he was sent to Bowdoin College, of which his father was a Trustee, and after graduating was appointed to a new Chair of Modern Languages, which the College had decided to establish, and with the view of more completely qualifying him for his duties, he was sent to Europe for a three years’ course of study.