xi. of THE MIRROR, but the additional interest which it
bears in juxtaposition with this Memoir, induces us to repeat
it here.
I forget how I became acquainted with Mr. Hill, proprietor of the
_Monthly Mirror;_ but at his house at Sydenham I used to meet his
editor, Mr. Dubois, Mr. Campbell, who was his neighbour, and the two
Smiths, authors of _The Rejected Addresses._ Once or twice I saw
also Mr. Theodore Hook, and Mr. Matthews, the comedian. Our host (and
I thought him no older the other day than he was then) was a jovial
bachelor, plump and rosy as an abbot: and no abbot could have presided
over a more festive Sunday. The wine flowed merrily and long; the
discourse kept pace with it; and next morning, in returning to town,
we felt ourselves very thirsty. A pump by the road side, with a plash
round it, was a bewitching sight.
"They who know Mr. Campbell only as the author of _Gertrude of
Wyoming_ and the _Pleasures of Hope,_ would not suspect him to
be a merry companion, overflowing with humour and anecdote, and any
thing but fastidious. These Scotch poets have always something in
reserve: it is the only point in which the major part of them resemble
their countrymen. The mistaken character which the lady formed of
Thomson from his _Seasons_ is well known.
Pages:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28