177 



HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD. 



HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD. 



478 



eon of James Hook, a musical composer of some celebrity in his day> 

 by his first wife (Miss Madden), a beautiful, accomplished, and excel- 

 lent woman. There was only one other child by that marriage, 

 Dr. James Hook, dean of Worcester, who was born in 1773, and died 

 on the 5th of February 1828. Dr. Hook married a daughter of Sir 

 James Farquhar, physician, in 1797; and wrote two musical pieces, 

 ' Jack of Newbury ' (1795) and ' Diamond cut Diamond ' (1797), which 

 were never printed; and two clever novels, 'Pen Owen' and 'Percy 

 JIallory,' which have been republished. Theodore Hook's mother 

 died in 1802, while he was yet a school-boy at Harrow. His father 

 did not send him again to school after the funeral ; and not long 

 afterwards he married again. 



Theodore Hook was a handsome boy, and remarkably clever ; he 

 had a fine ear, was an expert performer on the pianoforte, had a sweet 

 and powerful voice, and sang a pathetic song well and a comic song 

 delightfully. His father was employed at Vauxhall and the theatres, 

 and Theodore wrote songs for him, and sometimes composed the airs. 

 The stripling Boon received a free admission before the curtain and 

 behind it, and had his iibare of his father's profits. His brother, who 

 liuil taken liia degrees at St. Mary's Hall, Oxford, and was then 

 mlvaucing in the Church, seeing the danger to which the young man's 

 character was exposed in this career of dissipation, persuaded his 

 father to semi him to the university, and the future dean went with 

 him to be entered at Oxford. liut in order to go through a prescribed 

 course of reading, he was not to commence his residence at the uni- 

 versity till after the expiration of a couple of terms, and he returned 

 with Iiis brother to London. He immediately set about writing an 

 operatic farce, ' The Soldier's Return ' (1805), which was very successful, 

 and he gave up all thoughta of the university. He afterwards wrote 

 aoveral other successful operatic pieces and farces : ' Catch him who 

 can,' 1806; 'The Invisible Girl,' 1806; 'Tekeli,' 1806; 'The Fortress,' 

 1807; 'Music Mad,' 1808; ' Siege of St. Queutin,' 1803; 'Killing no 

 Murder,' 1809; 'Safe and Sound,' 1809; ' Ass-ass-inatiou,' 1810; 'The 

 Will, or the Widow,' 1810; 'Trial by Jury,' 1811 ; ' Darkness Visible,' 

 1811. In 1800 (he was then only twenty) he made his first essay as a 

 novelist by the publication of ' The Man of Sorrow,' under the 

 assumed name of Alfred Allandale, Esq. It was a very flimsy work, 

 and had no success. His life at this time was a series of riotous 

 buffooneries. In 1809 ho played off one of the moat audacious aud 

 reckless hoaxes on record, which is known as the ' Berners-street 

 Hoax." Not only Berners-street, but all the streets connected with 

 it, were rendered almost impassable by vehicles of all descriptions 

 laden with goods of all kinds, from the heaviest to the lightest ; and 

 persons of all ranks aud professions, including the coinmander-in- 

 chief, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the lord mayor, received 

 invitations, and most of them attended. 



Hook was even at this period distinguished for his conversational 

 powers, but his talent as an ' improviaatore' is described as marvellous, 

 tie was the companion of the first Charles Matthews ; and Mrs. Matthews, 

 in her ' Memoirs' of her husband, relates numerous instances, not only 

 of Hook's displays of improvisation, but of the feats of mimicry which 

 they played off separately and conjointly. Hook was invited to perform 

 before the Prince Uegeut, who was to much delighted, that after some 

 similar exhibitions at Lady Hertford's and elsewhere, the Regent 

 declared that "something must be done for Hook ;" and late in 1812 

 something was done for him : he was appointed Accomptant-General 

 and Treasurer to the Colony of the Mauritius, with a salary and 

 allowances amounting to nearly 20002. a-year. He reached his destina- 

 tion on the 9th of October 1813, being then only twenty-five years of 

 age. The climate, the society, the amusements, everything delighted 

 him, and he indulged in the most lavish expenditure. Towards the 

 close of 1817, General Farqnhar, the governor, sailed for England, aud 

 Major-General Hall was sworn in as deputy -governor during his absence. 

 An examination of the accounts and state of the treasury took place, 

 and the report of the examiners declared that everything was correct. 

 Soon afterwards however a man of the name of Allan, who was in the 

 treasury department, made a declaration that he knew and had long 

 known that there was a deficiency of 37,000 dollars. Further examina- 

 tions took place, more deficiencies were discovered, and the result was 

 tbat Hook was arrested on the 9th of March 1818; all his property 

 was seized, and he was sent back to England in custody. The ship 

 reached Portsmouth in January 1819, and the documents were sub- 

 mitted to the law-officers of the crown. The attorney-general's report 

 was, that though Hook might bo liable to a civil prosecution for debt, 

 there was no apparent ground for a criminal prosecution, and he was 

 set at liberty with only two gold mohurs in his pocket. He Cook a 

 small cottage in Somers Town, and formed connections with news- 

 papers and magazines, by which he was enabled to supply himsell 

 with the present means of subsistence. He lived in obscurity, and was 

 known only to a few of his old associates, such as Matthews, Terry, 

 Tom HUL 



In 1820 Sir Walter Scott was in London, and, dining one day with 

 his old friend Terry, met there Matthews, and, for the first time, Hook. 

 The inquiry into Hook's defalcation was still before the audit-board, ami 

 the proceedings were represented to Scott as a cruel persecution ; he 

 was much pleased with Hook's conversational powers ; they were both 

 (Haunch Tories ; and Scott having soon afterwards been applied to by 

 a nobleman of influence to recommend an editor for a provincial news- 



>aper, he named Hook. Hook however was not destined for provincial 

 celebrity. The ' John Bull ' newspaper was established, with Hook for 

 ts editor. The career of the 'John Bull' is well known; its attacks 

 upon Queen Caroline and her supporters, its virulence, its personalities, 

 and the talent which raised its circulation to so great a height. Hook, 

 u its prosperous state, received full 2000/. a year from it ; aud though 

 ts circulation gradually diminished, he derived a considerable profit 

 rom it up to the time of bis death. Meantime the Whigs took care 

 ;hat the inquiry before the audit-board should not be dropped ; and 

 ;he result was, that at first the balance found against him was 20,OOOJ., 

 which on further investigation was reduced to 15,000^., and at last the 

 extent was issued for 12,000?. Hook admitted at an early date that 

 ;he deficiency was 9000?., but afterwards asserted that a strict scrutiny 

 would have struck off SOOOi. from that sum. There is no proof of 

 actual peculation on the part of Hook ; but there is proof that he 

 limself and his officers kept the treasury books with the most culpable 

 and scandalous carelessness, and that the keys of the treasure-chest 

 were frequently left with underlings while he was absent ou pleasure 

 excursions. lu August 1823 he was arrested under a writ of Exche- 

 quer, his property was sold, aud realised about forty pounds, aud ho 

 was taken to a spunging-house in Shire-lane, Fleet-street, where he 

 remained till April 1824, whence he was transferred to the Rules of 

 the King's Bench, aud he remained there till May 1825, when he was 

 released from custody, but with an intimation that the crown aban- 

 doned nothing of its claim for the debt. He then took a cottage at 

 Putney. 



Hook published his first series of ' Sayings and Doings ' in February 

 1824, while confined in the spunging-house, aud his diary records the 

 profit to have been 2000?., and he realised sums almost as large by tho 

 novels and other works which he published in rapid succession after- 

 wards. The following is a list of tho whole of them : ' Sayings and 

 Doiuga,' First Series, 3 vols., 1824; Second Series, 3 vols., 1S25 

 Third Series, 3 vols., 1S28 ; 'Maxwell,' 3 vols., 1830; 'Life of Sir 

 David Baird,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1832; 'Parson's Daughter,' 3 vols., 1833; 

 'Love and Pride,' 3 vols., 1833; 'Gilbert Gurney.' 3 vols., 1835; 

 'Jack Brag,' 3 vols., 1837; 'Births, Deaths, and Marriages,' 3 vols., 

 1839 ; ' Gurney Married,' 3 vols., 1839 ; ' Precepts and Practice,' 3 vols., 

 1840; 'Fathers and Sons,' 3 vols., 1840; ' Peregrine Bunco,' 3 vols., 

 1841 ; some months after his death. In 1836 he became editor of the 

 ' New Monthly Magazine,' and ' Gilbert Gurney,' ' Gurney Married,' 

 ' Precepts and Practice," and ' Fathers and Sons,' were originally pub- 

 lished in periodical portions in that work. He also wrote ' Kelly's 

 Reminiscences,' from Kelly's notes, in 183C, without remuneration, 

 and merely out of kindness to his old friend. 



While residing at Putney he gradually mixed more and more freely 

 in society; and in 1327 took a house in Cleveland Row, St. James's, 

 which has since been the residence of a wealthy nobleman ; he became 

 a member of divers first-rate clubs, received invitations from persons 

 of the highest distinction, in town and country, and ran himself 

 rapidly and deeply into debt, notwithstanding the largo sums which 

 he obtained by his literary labours. By his ambitious and criminal 

 extravagance, which he supplied at a ruiuous expense of labour of 

 mind and body, his constitution, excellent as it was originally, was 

 completely broken up. In July 1841, when dining at Brompton, he 

 was observed to be unwell, and as he stood with the coffee in his 

 hand, turned suddenly to the mirror, aud said, " Ay, I see 1 look as 

 I am ; done up in puree, in mind, and in body too at last." 



From that time he was confined to his house. About the middle 

 of August he requested the Rev. Mr. Gleig, chaplain of Chelsea 

 Hospital, who was an old acquaintance, but had never been at his 

 house, to pay him a visit. He did so, and being known to the servant 

 as a clergyman, was admitted without announcement. Hook was 

 somewhat confused at being caught in dishabille, but after a moment's 

 pause observed, " Well, you see mo as I am at last all the bucklings 

 and paddings, and washings, and brushings, dropt for ever a poor 

 old grey-beaded man, with my belly about my knees." He had 

 latterly been much made-up. He died August 24, 1841, in the fifty- 

 third year of his age. His novel of ' Gilbert Gurney ' contains a sort 

 of autobiography of himself. 



While living at Somers Town he had become acquainted with a 

 young woman, and by her he had six children : she was respectable, 

 and ho always behaved well to her, but he had not the moral courage 

 to marry her, though, according to his diary, he hail sometimes 

 thoughts of doing so. A few hundred pounds were subscribed for 

 her and the children after Hook's death. He was a good-natured man, 

 and willing to do acts of kindness, but he had no moral principle 

 sufficiently strong to restrain the impulses of the moment. 



Hook's conversational power was greater than bis power as a writer. 

 He was an admirable narrator, abounded in smart sayings, which, if 

 not of the highest quality of wit and humour, were so said as to 

 appear the best things ever uttered, and he could intermix serious 

 remarks full of good sense and derived from a wide observation of 

 life. His novela are not of a high order; tliey contain indeed 

 excellent descriptions of the various forms of life with which he had 

 been conversant, rapid but striking sketches of character, and laugh- 

 able extravagances, conveyed in a clear, fluent, and often picturesque 

 style. Ha was well calculated for a popular writer, but is not likely 

 to continue popular long. His novels will shortly share the fate of 



