17 
The lecturer considered John Ruskin to be the greatest master 
of English in the Nineteenth Century, a prophet whose writings 
were one of the chief glories of English prose, and sustained the 
claim of the English language to rank among the most musical 
and sonorous of ancient or modern times. — Illustrations of this 
were selected from the chapter on ‘“ Mountain Gloom” in 
«‘ Modern Painters,” and ‘“‘ The Harbours of England.” 
Addison was as great a master of English prose as Ruskin, but 
in how different a manner! His sentences flow like the musical 
murmur of a brook, a beautiful example of which is to be found 
in Essay No. 483, “ On attributing misfortune to judgment.” 
Of Lord Macaulay it has been said, that owing to his amazing 
knowledge, he was a kind of ‘“ Encyclopedia Britannica.” He 
writes with the air of the platform, and his eloquent style may 
be illustrated by the passage in Von Ranke’s ‘“ History of the 
Popes,” on the vitality of the Roman Catholic Church, coneclud- 
ing with the words, ‘‘ And she may still exist in undiminished 
vigour when some traveller from New Zealand shall, in the midst 
of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London 
Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's.” This figure of the 
New Zealander, by the way, is also found in Volney’s ‘“ Ruins of 
Empire,” in Mrs. Barbauld’s writings, and in Shelley’s works. 
The lecturer briefly reviewed the peculiar styles of Lamb, 
Dr. Johnson, Carlyle, R. L. Stevenson, and Hazlett ; the latter 
of whom, he remarked; was insufficiently known as a critic of 
first rank, and was less metaphysical and far better to read than 
Coleridge. The lecturer cited several illustrations of style, 
among them Dr. Johnson’s famous letter to Lord Chesterfield. 
Of modern writers of English prose there are several entitled 
to take high rank, one of whom—John Morley, a Lancashire 
man—by sacrificing literature to politics, was not in agreement 
with Macaulay. The lecturer knew of no writer who had a 
better tonic effect on a reader than John Morley; no more just 
judge sat on the throne of criticism, and his judgments carry 
conviction by their sanity, sincerity, and truth. 
FAS 
