163 



ALKMAK, HENRY VAN. 



ALLAN, DAVID. 



l.vt 



industry displays constant animation, and an evident desire to deal 

 fairly with all parties and persons concerned in the events described. 

 No other English history of the period can be turned to with equal 

 confidence for information, and the tendency to enforce a pre-conceived 

 theory is counterbalanced by free quotations or fair statements of the 

 views of opposing parties, and full references to original authorities. 

 In 1852 Sir Archibald published the first volume of a continuation of 

 his history, to the accession of Louis Napoleon, and four more volumes 

 have since appeared. But the continuation has little chance of obtain- 

 ing the popularity of the earlier work, of which it possesses all the 

 faults with scarce any of the merits. In describing the conflict of 

 opinions, Sir Archibald loses the animation which sustains him in 

 narrating the more exciting events of the revolutionary war ; and the 

 history becomes a series of heavy disquisitions, which tax the patience 

 of the most persevering reader, yet add little to the knowledge of the 

 least instructed. The other more important of Sir Archibald's works 

 are a ' Life of Marlborough," in two volumes, which has reached a 

 third edition ; ' Essays : Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous,' origi- 

 nally published in 'Blackwood's Magazine,' in three volumes; and 

 the * Principles of Population,' in two volumes. 



Mr. Alison was created a Baronet soon after the formation of the 

 Derby administration in 1852. In 1828 he was appointed Sheriff of 

 Lanarkshire. In 1851 he was elected Rector of Glasgow University ; 

 and he has received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the 

 University of Oxford. 



ALKMAR, HENRY VAN, or, as he himself wrote his name, ffinrek 

 van Alkmar, is the person to whom Germany owes the first edition and 

 translation of the celebrated poem, 'Reynard the Fox.' He lived 

 during the latter half of the 15th century, but of his circumstances 

 we know no more than what he himself states in the preface to his 

 ' Reineke Voss ' that he was a schoolmaster and teacher of virtue in 

 the service of the Duke of Lorraine, and that he translated the poem 

 from the Walsch (probably the Wallon) and French into German at 

 the request of his master. He further divided the whole poem into 

 four parts and into chapters, each of which is preceded by a sort of 

 commentary explaining the poet's meaning and the moral of the tale. 

 This first German edition of ' Reynard the Fox ' is in Low German, 

 and embellished with woodcuts. It was printed at Lu'beck in 1498 in 

 small quarto. The only copy which is known to exist of this edition 

 is in the library of Wolfenbiittel. A reprint of it was edited by F. A. 

 Von Hakemann, Wolfenbiittel, 1711. The second edition, which was 

 perhaps made in the life of Alkmar himself, is that published at 

 Rostock, 1517, 4to., of which also there exists only one copy in the 

 library of Dresden. The woodcuts of this edition are somewhat better 

 than those in the Liibeck edition. 



As to the faithfulness of the translation we are unable to judge, as 

 the original which Alkmar used is unknown ; but it is certain that 

 Alkmar produced one of the most spirited and beautiful poems that 

 exiat in the German language. 



The version printed in 1498 at Liibeck bears the title of 'Reineke 

 Voss.' It is written in the Frisian dialect, which is only a modification 

 of that spoken in Lower Saxony, and it consists of four books, each 

 of which is subdivided into chapters. The verses consist of iambics 

 mixed with numerous spondees and anapaests. The poem consists of 

 the picture of a court of animals, of which Nobel, the Lion, is king, 

 aud at which many animals complain of the injuries suffered from the 

 intrigues aud rapacity of Reineke the Fox. He is summoned to 

 Court, and after exercising his ingenuity in punishing the messengers 

 he appears, is sentenced to be hung, but gets released by promising to 

 discover a concealed treasure to the king. On the deception being 

 discovered he is again summoned, appears, defends himself by an 

 ingenious series of falsehoods, and ultimately undertakes a single 

 combat against his principal opponent, the Wolf, whom he conquers 

 by a vile trick, and is restored to the king's favour, with which the 

 poem ends. The moral conveyed is of a low character, that cunning 

 and fraud constitute the true wisdom ; but an interest is raised for 

 Reineke as he acts a sort of retributive part, the sufferings of bis 

 victims being as much the consequence of their own evil dispositions 

 as of his tricks, except in the cases of Lampe the hare and Bellin the 

 ram, towards whom his excuse is that they were " stupid." His 

 apology for his own conduct usually rests upon the bad example set 

 by others, particularly by priests. The great number of editions which 

 appeared iu Germany after the first publication of it, and still more 

 the numerous bad paraphrases in prose, which were sold by thousands 

 at every fair, show the immense popularity which the story had in 

 Germany. 



The best edition was edited by Hoffmann von Fallersleben (Breslau, 

 1834), with an introduction, glossary, and commentary. The text is 

 a correct reprint of the first edition. Gothe has made a most beautiful 

 translation of ' Reineke Fuchs ' into modern High German, in hexa- 

 meters (Berlin, 1794) ; D. W. Soltau has made another in doggrel verse 

 (Berlin, 1803), a much improved edition of which appeared at Braun- 

 schweig, 1823. It has also been translated into Latin by Hartmann 

 Schopper, under the title, ' Opus Poeticum de Admirabili Fallacia et 

 Astutia Vulpeculffi Heinekes,' Ac., Frankfort, 1574 ; this translation 

 has often beeu reprinted. In 1706 there appeared in London a 

 metrical F.nglish translation from the Latin of Schopper. 



The German version of ' Reineke ' was, notwithstanding the state- 



ment of its author, formerly thought to be an original composition ; 

 but the subject was known for many centuries and iu several countries 



under the title ' Die Historic va Reiuaert de Vos.' The author of tLis 

 Dutch version, which is in many respects superior to the German, and 

 has probably served as the source from which the German poet drew 

 his materials, calls himself William Matok, and also refers to a French 

 work which had served him as his model. But oven this Dutch version 

 cannot have been the first; for Caxtou (1481), in his English trans- 

 lation, states that he kept closely to a Dutch original. It may be 

 inferred from the various subsequent corrected aud enlarged editions 

 of this poem, as well as from the allusions of our early dramatists, that 

 it gained considerable popularity iu England also. The Flemish like- 

 wise possess an excellent metrical version, which was published in 1836 

 at Ghent by Willems, with a very valuable introduction. The early 

 French literature, however, is the richest in poems founded on the 

 story of Reynard. Mekm, in his 'Roman du Renard ' (Paris, 1820), 

 has shown that most of these poeins belong to the 13th century, and 

 more modern researches have proved that the story was known as 

 early as the 9th century. The subject is one which so readily presents 

 itself to the imagination, that it would be impossible with any proba- 

 bility to assign its invention to any particular time or nation. When- 

 ever a work of fiction of commanding interest appears, uupoetical 

 minds are always ready to seek some real history disguised under it ; 

 and this has been the case with this poem ever since its publication, 

 until Jacob Grimm, in his ' Reinhart Fuchs ' (Berlin, 1834), showed 

 that there is no ground whatever for such a supposition. 



(Hbgel, Geachichte der Komischen Literatur ; Jordens, Lexikon 

 Deuticher Dichter und Prosaiaten; Carlyle, Miscellanies, vol. iii. p 

 197, Ac.) 



ALLAN, DAVID, called the Scottish Hogarth, was born at Alloa 

 in Clackmannanshire in 1744, where his father was shore-master. The 

 choice of his profession was partly owing to an accident : he burnt his 

 foot, and while he was being nursed at home, having nothing else to 

 do, he amused himself with drawing with a piece of chalk upon the 

 floor; an amusement he got so much attached to, that when he 

 recovered he had a very great objection to going to school. But he 

 soon obtained a happy release from this obligation, for hia old school- 

 master turned him away from the school for making a caricature of 

 him punishing a refractory boy. Mr. Stuart, collector of the customs 

 at Alloa, was so much struck with the caricature that he recommended 

 Allan's father to send him to the academy of Robert and Andrew 

 Foulis at Glasgow to learn to become a painter. He was accordingly 

 apprenticed in 1755 to Robert Foulis. Allan remained at this academy 

 nine years, and when he returned home he had the good fortune to be 

 introduced by Lord Cathcart as a native prodigy to Erskine of Mar, 

 on whose estate he was born, aud by whom he was generously sent as 

 a pensioner to prosecute his studies at Rome. Here he obtained first 

 a silver medal for a drawing in the academy of St. Luke, and after- 

 wards the gold medal for a painting. The subject was the legend of 

 the Corinthian maid who drew the profile of her lover around his 

 shadow cast by a lamp upon the wall. The picture was well painted, 

 and a good engraving of it by Cunego spread Allan's reputation 

 throughout Italy ; and his praises reached even his own countrymen : 

 it was however the first and last good picture he ever painted. His 

 subsequent works were distinguished for humour and feeling, but in 

 execution, whether as paintings or engravings, they are very inferior. 



He painted two other pictures at Rome, the ' Prodigal Son' for Lord 

 Cathcart, and ' Hercules and Omphale ' for Erskine of Mar; aud he 

 made also four humorous designs illustrating the Roman Carnival, 

 which through Paul Sandby's prints of them became popular, aud 

 gained Allan a considerable reputation for broad humour. But he no 

 more deserved the title of the ' Scottish Hogarth,' which for tlieee and 

 a few other similar designs he obtained in Scotland, than his historical 

 pictures would warrant his being called the Scottish Raphael. " He 

 is union,, 1 painters," says Allan Cunningham, " what Allan Ramsay is 

 among poets a fellow of iufiuite humour, and excelling in all manner 

 of rustic drollery, but deficient in fine sensibility of conception, aud 

 little acquainted with lofty emotion or high imagination." 



In 1777 Allan visited London, which however he left for Edinburgh, 

 after practising there for a short time as a portrait-painter. After tho 

 death of Ruuciman in 1786, Allan succeeded him as master of the 

 Trustees' Academy, which office he held for ten years until his death 

 in 1796. Ha left a son and daughter; the former went in 1806 as a 

 cadet to India. 



Allan's most popular designs are his twelve illustrations of Ramsay's 

 ' Gentle Shepherd,' which he engraved himself in aquatinta, aud pub- 

 lished with an edition of the poem* with some prefatory remarks as a 

 sort of apology for tho humbleness of the style of his designs. He 

 made also some designs for tho lyric poems of Burns, who compli- 

 mented the painter, in his letters to his i'riend Thomson on more than 

 one occasion. Burns however found fault with Allan's ' stock and 

 horn,' a rude musical instrument which he put into the hands of some 

 of his characters. Burns offered to send him a real one, such as the 

 shepherds used in the braes of Athol. " If Mr. Allan chooses," says 

 Burns, " I will send him a sight of mine, as I look on myself to be a 



