BANNISTER BARKER. 



273 



sentiment, the spectators felt as if they knew it 

 was the natural impulse of the mind ; and they 

 felt in all cases of emergency, not only for the char- 

 acter, but for honest Jack Bannister." 



Charles Lamb, speaking of him and Suett, says, 

 "Jack Bannister and he had the fortune to be more 

 of personal favourites with the town than any 

 other actors before or after. The difference, I 

 take it, was this : Jack was more beloved for his 

 sweet, good-natured, moral pretensions: Dicky was 

 more liked for his sweet, good-natured, no preten- 

 sions at all. Your whole conscience stirred with 

 Bannister's performance of Walter, in the Child- 

 ren in the Wood* but Dicky seemed like a 

 thing, as Shakespeare says of Love, ' too young to 

 know what conscience is." " 



When Mr Kemble resigned the management in 

 1802-3, Mr Bannister succeeded to it ; but he re- 

 tained it for only one season. 



On the 1st of June, 1815, having been long sub- 

 ject to periodical visitations of the gout, he deter- 

 mined to retire from the stage, on which occasion, 

 after performing Echo (in " The World,") and 

 the favourite part of Walter, in the Children in 

 the Wood, he delivered the following address : 

 " Ladies and Gentlemen, Seven and thirty years 

 have elapsed since I appeared before you, my kind 

 benefactors ; and I feel this instant of separation 

 is much more awful to me than the youthful mo- 

 ments when I first threw myself upon your in- 

 dulgence. During my strenuous exertions to ob- 

 tain your favour, how much have those exertions 

 been stimulated and rewarded by the public I And 

 one vanity of my heart, which it will ever be im- 

 possible for me to suppress, must be the constant 

 recollection of the days in which you fostered me 

 in my boyhood, encouraged me progressively on the 

 stage, and, after a long and continued series of ser- 

 vice, thus cheer me at the conclusion of my profes- 

 sional labours. Considerations of health warn me 

 to retire; your patronage has given me the means 

 of retiring with comfort. What thanks can I suf- 

 ficiently return for that comfort which you have 

 enabled me to obtain ? This moment of quitting 

 you nearly overcomes me at a time when respect 

 and gratitude call upon me to express my feelings 

 with more eloquence than I could ever boast, those 

 very feelings deprive me of half the humble powers 

 I may possess upon ordinary occasions. Farewell, 

 my kind, my dear benefactors." 



Michael Kelly, in his Reminiscences, says that 

 " no performer ever quitted the stage more de- 

 servedly respected or regretted." 



A few years previous to Mr Bannister's retire- 

 ment from the stage he gave an entertainment at 

 Freemason's Hall, and afterwards throughout the 

 provinces, with immense success, called "Bannister's 

 Budget," the happy precursor of the many " At 

 Homes," since so popular, from the lamented 

 Mathews. He was also for some years the mas- 

 ter of the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund, which he 

 resigned in favour of Mr Kean. 



In private life, he lived in the enjoyment of an 

 extensive circle of friends of the highest character 

 and respectability, by whom he was cherished and 

 beloved ; and until a very few months of his de- 

 cease, excepting only the occasional visitations of 

 the gout, enjoyed a green old age, and in the so- 

 ciety of his friends " fought his battles o'er again" 

 with a vigour and effect which never tired them or 

 himself. He died on the 8th Nov. 1836, leaving 

 a wife and family in good circumstances. 



VII. 



BANTAM; a town of Java, capital of a dis. 

 trict of the same name, is situated in long. 106 3 

 E., lat. 6 4' S., near the mouth of a river which 

 falls into the Bay of Bantam. It was once a 

 flourishing place, but is now almost deserted, in 

 consequence of its unhealthy situation, and the 

 transference of the trade to Batavia. Before the 

 Dutch conquest, the province of Bantam was an 

 important state, its sovereign extending his sway 

 over Borneo and Sumatra. The Bay of Bantaii 

 is gradually becoming inaccessible to vessels of any 

 considerable burthen, from the daily accumulation 

 of earth washed into it from the mountains, as well 

 as from the growth of coral shoals. 



BANTRY BAY; a bay on the north-west 

 coast of Ireland, in the county of Cork, long. 9 

 24' to 9 45' E., lat. 51 30' to 51 40' N. It is in 

 length about twenty-five miles and in breadth, in- 

 cluding the islands which face it, from six to eight. 

 Its depth of water is between ten and fourteen 

 fathoms. It is surrounded by high mountains, and 

 indented by creeks and inlets. The islands are 

 Bear, Whiddy, Chapel, Horse, Hoy, and Rabbit, 

 the four last being very small. Bear, lying near 

 the western shore, forms the capacious and sheltered 

 harbour of Bearhaven. Its length is about six 

 miles, and its surface rocky. Whiddy lies near 

 the northern extremity, and contains the forts 

 erected for the protection of the Bay. It is about 

 three miles in length, and from one to a quarter in 

 breadth. Its surface is fertile, and it maintains 

 about 450 inhabitants. The town of Bantry is 

 situated at the head of the Bay, distant from Cork 

 47 miles W. S. W.; from Dublin 173 S. W. The 

 harbour is commodious, but, with the exception of 

 the fishery and the export of corn and other pro- 

 visions, little trade is carried on. Population, 

 in 1841, 4082. 



BARCLAY, JOHN, M. D., an eminent anato- 

 mist, was a native of Perthshire, where he was 

 born in 1760. He first studied at St Andrews for 

 the church, and was licensed as a preacher ; but 

 having repaired to Edinburgh in 1789, he gave his 

 attention to the study of medicine, became assis- 

 tant to Mr John Bell, and took the degree of doc- 

 tor of physic in 1796. In the following year, ne 

 became lecturer on anatomy at Edinburgh, and until 

 a short period before his death continued his courses 

 of lectures every year with the most assiduous de- 

 yotion to the instruction of his numerous pupils. 

 In 1803, he attempted to reform the language of 

 anatomy, by the publication of a Nomenclature, 

 which, though not adopted by the profession, was 

 generally acknowledged to display much talent and 

 learning. In 1808, he published a Treatise on the 

 Muscular Motions of the Human Body, and in 1812, 

 his description of the arteries of the Human Body, 

 both publications displaying much acute observa- 

 tion and research. His last publication was an In- 

 quiry into the Opinions, ancient or modern, con- 

 cerning Life and Organization. He died at Edin- 

 burgh in 1826. After his death, his introductory 

 Lectures, containing a valuable abridgment of the 

 History of Anatomy, were published. 



BARKER, E. H. ; an eminent classical scho- 

 lar, was the son of a vicar of Beverley, in York- 

 shire. He was educated at Trinity College, Cam- 

 bridge, and early became acquainted with Dr Parr, 

 with whom he was induced to reside for several 

 years. He afterwards married, and settled at 

 Thetford in Norfolk, where, for nearly twenty- 

 five years, he devoted himself to classical litera- 



