437 



CROKER, RT. HON. JOHN WILSON. 



CROLY, REV. GEORGE, LL.D. 



133 



became extremely popular. By his marriage with Hester, daughter 

 of the Rev. R. Rathborne, he bar! au only SOD, John Wilson, who was 

 born in Galway, December 20, 1780. 



After receiving his early education at a school in Cork, where he 

 displayed great precocity and an inquisitive disposition, he was entered 

 at Trinity College, Dublin, at the age of sixteen, under the late Dr. 

 Lloyd. He soon began to show extraordinary readiness and ability 

 by the part which he took in the 'Historical Debating Society,' since 

 suppressed, but which then was in active operation, drawing out and 

 developing the chararacters of young men, and preparing them for 

 their appearance afterwards on the stage of public life. So highly did 

 the society esteem the share taken in its proceedings by Mr. Croker, 

 that it voted him its first gold medal. Intended by his parents for 

 the study of the law, Mr. Croker had no sooner taken his B.A. degree 

 in 1800, thau he was entered as a student at Lincoln's Inn; but he 

 continued to reside in Dublin, and to mix with the society of that 

 capital : he was culled to the Irish bar in 1 802. He had leisure hours 

 on his hands, and these he devoted to literature. His first production 

 as an author, if we except a short paper of mere ephemeral interest, 

 was a series of ' Familiar Epistles to J. F. Jones, Esq., on the present 

 state of the Irish Stage,' which was published in 1803, and was fol- 

 lowed in 1805 by his 'Intercepted Letter from China ;' both anony- 

 mous. Both were clever and cau.-tic satires, excited much curiosity 

 and attention, and ran speedily through several editions. 



In 1^07 he published a work of a graver kind on 'The State of 

 Ireland Past and Present," in evident imitation of the treatise of 

 Tacitus 'De Moribus Germanorum;' in this pamphlet he strongly 

 advocated Catholic emancipation. At the close of the preceding year 

 Mr. Croker was employed as counsel for Sir J. Kowley at the election 

 for Downpatrick. Sir Josiaa withdrew just before the election, and 

 Mr. Croker was nominated in his place, but was defeated by a small 

 majority. In the following May however he was returned for the 

 borough, and confirmed in his seat on petition. 



He had not been long in parliament when an opportunity offered 

 for the display of his oratorical powers. Early in 1809 the Duke of 

 York was brought practically upon his trial before the country for 

 corrupt administration at the Horse Guards, and the best aud most 

 successful speech made in defence of his royal highness against 

 Colonel Wardle's motion of censure, was delivered by Mr. Croker on 

 the Hth of March. This speech contained a minute dissection of the 

 evidence brought forward against the duke, and was couched in 

 vigorous and pointed language. It may be presumed that the 

 grateful sense which his royal highness thenceforth entertained for 

 this support hastened the advance of Mr. Croker to office. In 

 the course of the same session the late Duke of Wellington, then 

 Sir Arthur Wellesley, and chief secretary for Ireland, being obliged 

 to repair to Dublin, entrusted to Mr. Croker the parliamentary busi- 

 ness connected with that country; and he fulfilled that trust with 

 so mucli ability and discretion, that shortly afterwards Mr. Perceval, 

 when he formed his ministry in 1809, offered to Mr. Croker the post 

 of Secretary to the Admiralty. For upwards of twenty years Mr. 

 Croker continued to discharge the duties of this post with mil-emitted 

 application, under threj successive First Lords of that department, 

 and under the late King William when Lord High Admiral During 

 this time he sat in parliament for various boroughs, among others for 

 A1<1 borough, Yarmouth, and Bodmin; and in 1827 he had the satis- 

 faction of being returned for the University of Dublin, on the 

 elevation of Lord Plunket to the chancellorship and peerage, with 

 whom he had twice unsuccessfully contested the seat : but his views 

 being in favour of Catholic emancipation, Mr. Croker was subse- 

 quently defeated. He took a very active part in the parliamentary 

 committee appointed to consider the question of erecting New 

 London Bridge ; and his zeal for science and literature was shown in 

 another way soon afterwards, by founding the Atbxneum Club. He 

 was amongst the earliest advocates for a state encouragement of the 

 fine arts. HU speech on the proposed purchase of the Elgin marbles 

 was much in advance of the general tone of parliament on such 

 iubjectg. When the Reform Bill was proposed Mr. Croker opposed it 

 at every stage by powerful speeches and a ready pen, as he considered 

 it a revolutionary measure. 



The passing of the Reform Bill compelled Mr. Croker to withdraw 

 from parliamentary life. Even during the most active portion of his 

 parliamentary career, Li* pen was seldom unemployed. His printed 

 speeches and pamphlets on current political questions amount to a 

 very considerable number, and his contributions to the 'Quarterly 

 Review,' extending over more thau a quarter of a century, would alone 

 fill several volumes. His most extensive work is an edition of 

 ' Boswell's Life of Johnson,' in 4 vols., 8vo, published in 1831, which 

 was handled with considerable severity by Mr. T. B. Macaulay in the 

 'Edinburgh Review.' HU poems of ' Ulm and Trafalgar,' and 'Tala- 

 vera,' are the best known and most admired of his productions in 

 verse. U'a ' Stories from the History of England ' is a highly popular 

 book for children. The following ia a list of the most important 

 works not mentioned above, which have been either published or 

 edited by Mr. Croker: 'A Reply to the Letters of Malachi Mala- 

 growther;' 'Military Events of the French Revolution of 1830;' 

 ' Letters on the Naval War with America, 1 and ' Songs of Trafalgar.' 

 He U also the author of several lyrical poems of merit, including 



some touching lines on the death of Mr. Canning, to whom ho was 

 very firmly attached. Mr. Croker also edited ' the Suffolk Papers,' 

 'Lady Hervey's Letters,' 'Lord Hervey'a Memoirs of the Reign of 

 George II.,' and ' Walpole's Letters to Lord Hertford.' An anno- 

 tated edition of Pope's works by Mr. Croker has been announced, and 

 it has been stated that his contributions to the ' Quarterly Review ' 

 are about to bs reprinted in a collective form. 



CROKER, THOMAS CROFTON, was born January 15, 1798, in 

 the city of Cork, Ireland. He was the only son of Major Thomas 

 Croker, of the 38th regiment of foot. At the age of fifteen he became 

 an apprentice in a mercantile establishment in Cork. Between the 

 years 1812 and 1818 he made excursions occasionally on foot in the 

 south of Ireland; and it was during these rambles that he commenced 

 making his collections of the legends aud songs of the peasantry of 

 Ireland. In the year 1818, Moore, in an advertisement to tlio 7th 

 number of the ' Irish Melodies,' expressed his obligations to him for 

 about forty Irish airs which he had sent, for many curious fragments 

 of Irish poetry, and for several interesting local traditions. Crofton 

 Croker had also acquired .considerable skill in making pen-and-ink 

 sketches, and some of them were exhibited at Cork in 1818. 



Major Croker died in 1818, and his widow soon afterwards made 

 application to Mr. John Wilson Croker, then secretary to the Admi- 

 ralty, who was a friend of the family, but no relation ; and through 

 his interest, in February 1819, Thomas Crofton Croker became a clerk 

 in the Admiralty, with a salary of 21. a week. While in this situation 

 he contributed to the introduction of lithography into the Admiralty 

 as a substitute for transcribing several copies of the same document, 

 and for confidential circulars ; and he had for many years the superin- 

 tendence of the private lithographic-press of the Admiralty. He 

 subsequently became a clerk of the first class, with a salary of 800Z.; 

 and he retired in 1850 with a pension of 580?. 



Mr. Crofton Croker's first literary work was his ' Researches in tho 

 South of Ireland,' published ia 1824, in 4to, and consisting for the 

 most part of the notes made during his early excursions in 1812-18, 

 and during a subsequent tour in 1821. His next work was the ' Fairy 

 Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland,' London, 1825, 3 vols. 

 sm. 8vo. In the first edition of this work he was assisted by Dr. 

 Maginn, Mr. Pigott, and Mr. Keightley ; but the materials supplied 

 by his assistants, or at least most of them, were afterwards omitted. 

 A second edition was illustrated with etchings after sketches by 

 Maclisc, then, as Croker states, " a young Irish artist of considerable 

 promise.' 1 The 'Fairy Legends' appeared in 1834 in one volume, 

 forming a part of the ' Family Library.' This work, when first pub- 

 lished in 1825, produced a long complimentary letter from Sir Walter 

 Scott; and on the 20th of October 1826, he was introduced to Sir 

 Walter at the residence of Mr. Lockhart in Pall Mall. His personal 

 appearance is thus described in Scott's Diary : " Little as a dwarf, 

 keen-eyed as a hawk, and of easy prepossessing manners, something 

 like Tom Moore." 



In 1829 Mr. Crofton Croker published ' Legends of tho Lakes, or 

 Sayings and Doings at Killaruey ; collected chiefly from the Manu- 

 scripts of R. Adolphus Lynch, Esq., H.P., King's German Legion,' 

 London, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. This work was followed in 1832 by two 

 small novels 'The Adventures of Barney Mahoney,' and 'My Village 

 versus Our Village,' of which the first was very favourably recebed, 

 but the second less so. In 1839 he edited, with very copious notes, 

 ' The Popular Songs of Ireland," 12ino. He was a contributor to 

 some of the annuals which were in fashion about 1830-40, especially 

 to ' The ' Amulet,' and ' Friendship's Offering ; ' aud he edited for two 

 or three years ' The Christinas-Box.' He wrote many small articles, 

 some for magazines, and some which were printed privately. He was 

 a constant contributor to the early volumes of ' Fraser'a Magazine,' 

 frequently to ' The Literary Gazette,' and occasionally to ' The New 

 Monthly Magazine.' He had always a taste for antiquities, and ho 

 was early elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was 

 chosen a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1827. He took part 

 in the foundation of the Camden Society in 1839, and of the Percy 

 Society in 1840. He was a member of the council of both these 

 societies, and he edited some of the works published by them. When 

 tho British Archaeological Society was founded, in 1843, he became 

 one of the committee. He was also a member of the United Service 

 Institution, of the Irish Archaeological Society, of the Numismatic 

 Society, of the Hakluyt Society, aud he was perpetual president of the 

 club of antiquarians called the Society of Noviomagians. He had 

 collected au extremely interesting museum of Irish antiquities, which 

 was sold by auction after his death. He died at his residence, Old 

 Brompton, London, August 8, 1854. 



(Gentleman's Magazine, <<;.) 



*CROLY, RE V. GEOEUE, LL.D., rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, 

 and St. Benets, was born in Dublin in 1780, and educated at Trinity 

 College. His first publication was a poem, 'Paris in 1815.' The 

 ' Lines on the Death of the Princess Charlotte ' appeared in 1818, and 

 tho ' Angel of tho World ' in 1820. Several satires, a volume of songs 

 and miscellaneous poems, and his tragedy of ' Catiline,' were produced 

 soon after. In 1824 he wrote his comedy of ' Pride shall have a Fall;' 

 his romance of ' Salathiel ' was published iu 1827 ; and he has also 

 written two other popular works of fiction, ' Marstou ' and ' Tales of 

 the Great St. Bernard," aa well as a ' Life of Burke,' and descriptive 



