350 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



shame it produced three of Rohes- 

 pierre's ministers, namely Monge, 

 Meusnier, and Fourcroy. 



As for the crowd of composers of 

 ballads and romances,college tutors, 

 private teachers, club-philosophers, 

 rhetoricians, and inspired jurists; 

 who have devoted their genius to 

 the improvement of society, it is 

 carrying the indulgence of language 

 too far to call them men of letters. 



Account of George Sleevens, Esq. 

 the Editor of Shakespeare. 



GEORGE Steevens, esq. F. R. 

 and A. SS. was only son of 

 G. Steevens, esq. of Stepney, many 

 years an East-India captain, and 

 afterwards a director of the East- 

 India company, who died in 1768. 

 He was born at Stepney and ad- 

 mitted of King's college, Cam- 

 bridge, about 1751 or 1752. But 

 he is best known as editor of Shake- 

 speare's plaj's, 20 of which he pub- 

 lished, 176(), in 4 vols. 8vo. A 

 year before the appearanee of this 

 edition. Dr. Johnson had published 

 an edition, with notes, in 8 vol. 

 8vo. A coalition between these 

 two editors having been negociated, 

 another edition, known by the name 

 of Johnson and Steeven's edition, 

 made its appearance, in 10 vol. 8vo. 

 1773. It was reprinted by these 

 gentlemen, in the same number of 

 vol umes, five years after ; and again, 

 1 785, under the care of Isaac Reed, 

 esq. of Staple-Inn, who, at the re- 

 quest of his friends, Mr. Steevens 

 and Dr. Farmer, undertook the 

 office of editor. A fourth edition 

 of this work, with great additions 

 and improvements, was published 

 by Mr. Steevens, in 15 vol 8vo. 

 1793, which is the most complete 



edition extant of Shakespeare's 

 plays, The diligent editor has 

 taken all possible pains to render 

 his work full, clear, and convenient ; 

 and, whoever considers the prole- 

 gomena and notes, joined to the 

 elegance of the typographical execu- 

 tion will be of opinion that our im- 

 mortal bard is edited in a manner 

 worthy his fame. But this talent at 

 explaining and illustrating the diffi- 

 culties and beauties of Shakespeare, 

 was disgraced by the worst of soils, 

 a severity of satire, which too 

 strongly marked a malevolence of 

 heart, from which his best friends 

 cannot vindicate the editor. 



Mr. Steevens was a most valu- 

 able member of the literary world, 

 and a bright star in the constellation 

 of editors of that century in which 

 the names of Pope, Theobald, 

 Rowe, Warburton, Garrick, John- 

 son, Capel, and Malone are con- 

 spicuous. Adorned with a versa- 

 tility of talents, he was eminent 

 both by his pen and his pencil, 

 with the one there was nothing he 

 could not compose, and with the 

 other, nothing he could not imitate 

 so closely, as to leave a doubt which 

 was the original and which the copy. 

 But his chief excellence lay in his 

 critical knowledge of an author's 

 text, and the best pattern of his 

 great abilities in his edition of 

 Shakespeare, in which he has left 

 every competitor far behind him; 

 and even Johnson, with his giant 

 strides, could not walk by his side. 



Mr. Steevens was a man of the 

 greatest perseverance in every thing 

 he undertook ; often constant, but 

 not always consistent, as he would 

 sometimes break off his longest ha- 

 bits without any ostensible reason. 

 He discontinued his daily visits to 

 White's, the bookseller, after many 



