CHATEAUBRIAND, VISCOUNT DE, 



OHATTKRTOV, THOMAS. 



IH 



BMOt of CUirsof. work oa UM Bgor* of UM earth ; 4, another of 

 DMioi B**oUh's * OB UM tide*. The tranaUtion itself i* a 



If* COM* oa UM tid< 



claw copy of UM origiaal in farm and matter, but does not profs** to 

 be psrfeetly literal, wbrre UM Latin U concise or obscure. It wa* 

 BMd by IMambre in hi* citations (' Hi*t d'Ai-tron.,' xvi.L siocle), 

 nprwoiy that bo might bare UM sanetioa of CUiraut in hi* versions 

 -too. In 180* UM oorrMpoadeno* of Madame du Chastellet 

 with UM Count d'ArgmUl wa* published at Pari*, to which was 

 apprwUd a mV, and a treats** 'Sur le Bonheur.' 



(It*,. C>T.; Jf/Bwrei pour trrnr a la Vie de Voltaire, teritt par 

 hri-mtm* : U I'it dt \'olt>n, par Condoroet) 



VTKAUBRIAND. FRANCOIS RfcNR, VISCOUNT DF., the 

 oatottebrated French writer of the Napoleon era, wa* born at St. Malo 

 oa September 4th. 17S, being UM youngest of ten children. Ha wai 

 at Irs* intended for UM ohorch, but after a careful education for that 

 calling, be entered th. army a* sub-lieotenont in 1 788. After various 

 dMBtBTH be appear, to have visited Pari* shortly before the Revo- 

 lotioB, and to have witoe*ead the capture of th* Bastille in 1789. His 

 erratic disposition took him to America in 1791, to look for the North- 

 West f*iag. He cpent several month* in the States, had an inter- 

 view with Washington, visited the falls of Niagara, and roamed through 

 tbaee virgin foiaets and wild scene* of primitive life which he has 

 described *o vividly in ' Ufa* ' and ' Atsla.' 



OB hi* rturn home h* joined the army of CondcS for a short time 

 in 1798, and the next year be began a life of great misery a* an emi- 

 grant in London, amidst a group of exiled noble*, equally wretched. 

 Tbc pieiuie of bi* suffering, and privation* at this time, a* he relate* 

 Uwm in bis ' Memoirs,' i* almost incredible. Nevertheless he continued 

 IB England nearly sight yean, maintaining himself by translating for 

 the booksellers, and giving lesson* in French and Latin. In 1797 he 

 published IB London hi* Essay on Revolutions,' a work full of scepti- 

 cism ; bat UM death of hi* mother in 1798 gave a new direction to his 

 thoaghte, and restored hi* faith. 



IB UM spring of 1800 he went to Paris, and his excellent friend, 

 M. Foatanea, whose influence wo* already strong, had been appointed 

 one of UM editor* of Ui* ' Mercure,' in the column* of which ' Atala ' 

 appeared for UM first time. Thi* romance was followed by the ' Gi'-nie 

 du Chri'tianisme ' in 1 802, which made a deep impression on the 

 public mind. Tho First Consul wa* so pleased with this work that he 

 took the author into favour, and strove to bend him to his service by 

 two nicTes.it* employment*. Unfortunately the execution of the 

 Duke d'Eaghien, on the 21st of March 1804, furnished the inflexible 

 lireton with too ju.t an excuse, and he resigned his appointment the 

 some day. Fontane*, Madame Bacciochi, and even Josephine herself 

 could scarcely prevent the consequences of this rash act from falling 

 apon UM viscount. 



The reign of Napoleon, which lasted ton yean (1804-14) waa not 

 favourable to literature, and during this period Chateaubriand pro- 

 duced nothing of note, aave the ' Martyre* ' in 1807, and the ' Itinc'raire 

 a Jerusalem' in 1811 : the latter wa* the account of his own visit to 

 the Holy Land in the autumn of 1806. The fall of the empire in 

 1-14 released his pen, and he produced hi. famous pamphlet, 'De 

 Bonaparte et de* Bourbons,' the influence of which in disposing the 

 public mind to welcome the returned family was so powerful, that " it 

 wa* equal,* said Louis XVIII., "to an army of 100,000 men." The 

 visconnt was now received with great favour at the Tuileries, but he 

 refused office as a colleague with Fouch<5 ; and other circumstances 

 delayed hi* entrance into public life until 1822, when he waa sent a* 



' Bodor to the British court, and most honourably greeted by all 

 i of people. The next year he was appointed Minister of Foreign 

 Aflkin, which office be held during the war in Spain conducted by 

 tte Duke of Angoulem*. In 1824 the minister Villele dismissed him 

 ntbtr abruptly. Then, and for the next three yean, Chateaubriand 

 ted UM opposition against the government with merciless rancour both 

 in pamphlet* and new.papen, never d**isting till it crumbled beneath 

 hi* Wow*. In 1828 M. d* Martignac gave Mm the embassy to Rome ; 

 bat BO sooner hod UM Polignac ministry been formed (August 8) than 

 bo *eat in hi* resignation. 



IB 18SO, after the fall of th* monarchy, which he had assisted to 

 destroy, this inexplicable man, whom the people claimed a* Uieir 

 teader, and followed with aocl 



I extinguish*! hi. noble mind. Thi* rnmu wa* *o oontagiou* 



that bhv most faithful friends shrsnk from it. Thi. sad state ofniind 



rery vMMe fa the but of his work*, which appeared about tho time 



"^ *r*J"T M<moir ~ ""Outre Tombe '-the reading of which i. 



BOS* painful. He died July 4, 1848. His character has been well 



I up by a recent t rrnch writer : " It wa* almost invariably the 



SlTll ^ 1 ta ? bri n < 1 o lead . party whoa* ruling principle wa. 



I*; so tbat at the very tine he wo. crushing hi. adversaries, he 



bad BO influence over hi* Meads." 



Tomtt ; JHoyraphic InirtndU; Diet, d* Con- 



I HAM. KARL OF. [Pm.l 



CHATTKRTO.V TII..11AJ., wo, born at BrUtol on the 20th of 

 November l,il Hi, faUMr (who died three months before the 



birth of his son) was sexton at Rodcliff church, and alto master 

 of a charity school in Pyle-etreet. At the age of five yean he wo* 

 placed under the core of Mr. Love, who succeeded hi* father in the 

 school ; but hi* progress was so slow, that after hi* master had 

 exhausted his patience in attempting to teach him, he sent him back 

 to bis mother a* a " dull boy, and incapable of further instruction." 

 His mother now took him under her care, and at the age of six years 

 be first learned his letters from the illuminated capitals of au old 

 French musical manuscript, with which, to use her expression, he 

 " fell in love ; " and it is probable that hi* paasion for antiquarian 

 pursuits received it* first impulse from this circumstance. His 

 progress was now a* rapid as it hod before been alow ; books of all 

 kind*, but more especially those which treated of ancient customs, 

 were hi* chief companions. On the 3rd of August 1760, \\ln-n nut 

 quite eight year* of age, he was admitted into Colston's school, Bristol, 

 an establishment somewhat similar in plan with Christ's Hospital, in 

 London. He remained there seven yean, daring whicli time he wrote 

 some minor pieces of poetry, chiefly satirical, and the celebrated D 

 Bergham pedigree. On- the 1st of July 1767, he left the charity 

 school, and was bound apprentice to Mr. John Lambert, attorney of 

 BrUtol, for seven years. In the beginning of October 1768, the new 

 bridge at Bristol wo* completed, and at that time there appeared in 

 Felix Farley'* ' Bristol Journal ' an article purporting to be the 

 transcript of an ancient manuscript, entitled, 'A Description of the 

 Fryan lirst passing over the Old Bridge, taken from an Antient 

 Manuscript' This paper, to singularly curious, and exhibiting such 

 strong powen of invention, was traced to Chattcrton, who was at first 

 rather harshly interrogated as to tho manner by which it came into 

 his possession. After sever*! contradictory statements, he asserted 

 that hejiod received the paper in question from his father, who had 

 found it, with many others, in some chests in ItedclifT church, where 

 they had been deposited in the muniment room in "Canynge's eofre." 

 Soon after this occurrence he became acquainted with Mr. Catcott, a 

 gentleman fond of antiquarian researches, and with Mr. Itarrett, 

 surgeon, who was engaged in writing a history of Bristol. To the 

 former gentleman he took, very soon after his introduction to him, 

 some of the pretended Itowleian poems, among which were ' The 

 Bristow Tragedy,' ' Rowley's Epitaph upon Mr. Canynge's Ancestor,' 

 with some other small pieces. This Rowley, according to Chntterton, 

 was a priest of the 15th century, who had been patronised by Cany nee. 

 He shortly afterwards presented to Mr. Catcott the 'Yellow Hull.' 

 To Mr. Barrett he furnished an account of every church and chapel 

 in Bristol, which he stated to have been found by him among the old 

 parchments. The pretended originals bore all the marks of antiquity , 

 which he had made them assume by rubbing them with ochre, 

 stamping on them, and blacking them in the chimney, or by the 

 flame of a candle. Mr. Barrett published these statements in his work, 

 fully believing them to be genuine. After his introduction to these 

 gentlemen Chatterton's ambition increased doily, and he often spoke 

 in raptures of the undoubted success of the plans that he had formed 

 for his future life. Hia pursuits were various heraldry, English 

 antiquities, metaphysics, mathematics, astronomy, music, and phyaic, 

 by turns occupied his attention ; but the two first were his favourite 

 pursuits. About this time he also wrote various pieces, chiefly 

 satirical ; and several essays, both in prose and verse, which he 

 forwarded to tho periodicals of the day. Most of his piece* appeared 

 in the ' Town and Country Magazine.' Growing disgusted with a 

 profession ill suited to his tastes, and with a master whom he dis- 

 liked, he made an application in March 1769, to Horace Wai pole, the 

 ground of which was an oiler to supply him with some accounts of a 

 succession of painters who had flourished at Bristol, which Chattcrton 

 affirmed to have been lately discovered, with some old poems, in that 

 city. Walpole accepted the offer with warmth, but afterwards seemed 

 to have cooled upon it, probably from suspecting tho forgery of the 

 accounts, or ascribing but little value to them ; and on being impor- 

 tuned by Chatterton for his assistance to release him from his 

 profession, neglected to answer his letters. At last, when he had 

 received a spirited letter from Chatterton, demanding hi* manuscripts 

 (a letter which he termed " singularly impertinent "), Walpole returned 

 the manuscripts with Chatterton'* letters in a blank cover. 



Being determined to relinquish his profession, Chatterton made 

 every effort to accomplish this object. The idea of suicide became 

 familiar to his mind, and ho often intimated to Mr. Lambert's servants 

 that he would put au end to his existence. On hearing thin the family 

 of his master became alarmed; but Mr. Lambert himself could not be 

 persuaded that his threats meant anything, until he found one day on 

 his desk a paper entitled, 'The lost Will and Testament of Thomas 

 Chatterton,' snd couched in terms which appeared to indicate an 

 intention to destroy himself. Mr. Lambert now considered it im- 

 prudent to keep him any longer, and accordingly he dismissed him after 

 he hod been in his service about two yean and nine months. 



Chatterton went up to London, having received liberal <>ff,-n from 

 the booksellers. " My fint attempt," said he, " shall be in the literary 

 way : the promise* I have received are sufficient to dispel doubt ; but 

 should I, contrary to my expectation, find myself deceived, I will in 

 that COM turn MethodUt preacher. Credulity is as potent a deity as 

 ever; and a new soot may easily be devised. But if that too should 

 .ail me, my last and final resource U a pistol" His first letters from 



