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CHALMERS. 



had aniveil at Portsmouth tu join his sbip, \vlu>ii 

 lu- Maidenly alien d his mind, and proceeded to the 

 metropolis. He soon became connected with the 

 periodical press. His literary career commenced 



aor of the Public Ledger and London Packet. 

 This was during the American war, when party 

 spirit ran very high. At this period Mr Chalmers 

 itr.juiml considerable fame as a political writer. 

 JK ..iso contributed to the other popular journals 

 of the day. In tin- St James's Chronicle he wrote 

 numerous essays, many of them under the signa- 

 ture of Scuex. To the Morning Chronicle, the 

 property of his friend, Mr Perry, he was for some 

 a valuable assistant. His contributions con- 



i of smart paragraphs, epigrams, and satirical 

 poems. He was also at one time editor of the 

 Morning Herald. Mr Chalmers was early con- 



<l in business with Mr George Robinson, the 

 celebrated publisher, in Paternoster Row. He as- 



: him in judging of MSS. offered for publica- 

 tion, as well as occasionally fitting the same for the 

 public eye. He was also a contributor to the 

 Critical Review, then published by Mr Robinson, 

 and to the Analytical Review, published by Mr 

 Johnson. At this period he lived almost wholly 

 with Mr Robinson; and, on his death, Mr Chal- 

 mers recorded his friendship for him by a memoir 

 in the Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1801. 



In 1703, he published a continuation of the His* 

 tory of England, in letters, 2 vols.; 2d edition, 

 1798; 3d edition, 1803; 4th edition, 1821. In 

 1797 he compiled a Glossary to Shakspeare ; in 1798 

 a sketch of the isle of Wight ; and published an 

 edition of the Rev. James Barclay's complete and 

 universal English Dictionary. In 1803 he edited 

 " The British Essayists, with prefaces historical 

 and biographical, and a General Index," 45 vols. 

 This series begins with the Tatler, and ends with 

 the Observer. The papers were collated with the 

 original editions; and the prefaces give accounts of 

 the works, and of the lives of such of the writers 

 as are less generally known. Another edition of 

 this work was called for in 1808 ; and it has since 

 been reprinted. In 1803 he prepared an edition of 

 Shakspeare, in 9 vols. 8vo., with an abridgement 

 of the more copious notes of Steevens, and a life 

 of Shakspeare. This edition was accompanied by 

 plates from designs by H. Fuseli, Esq., R.A. Mr 

 Chalmers took particular pains with the text, which 

 is believed to be the most correct, of any edition 

 yet published: reprinted in 1812. In 1805 he 

 wrote a Life of Burns, and a Life of Dr Beattie, 

 prefixed to their respective works. In the same 

 year he was elected a Fellow of the Society of 

 Antiquaries. In 1806 he editb Fielding's works, 

 10 vols. 8vo. ; Dr Johnson's works, 12 vols. 8vo. ; 

 W'arton's Essays ; the Tatler, Spectator, and 

 Guardian, 14 vols. 8vo. ; and assisted the Rev. W. 

 Lisle Bowles in the publication of Pope's Works, 

 10 vols. 8vo. 1807. In 1807 he edited Gibbon's 

 History, with a Life of the author, 12 vols. 8vo. 

 In 1808, and following years, he prefixed prefaces 

 to the greater part of the volumes of a collection, 

 selected by himself, known as " Walker's Classics," 

 from the name of their publisher. They consisted 

 of 45 vols., and met with great encouragement. 

 In 1809 he edited Bolingbroke's Works, 8 vols. 8vo.; 

 and in this and subsequent years he contributed 

 many of the lives to the magnificent volumes of 

 the " British Gallery of contemporary Portraits," 

 published by Cadell and Davies. These notices, 

 though short, are authentic and valuable. In 1810 



he revised an enlarged edition of " The Works of 

 the English poets from Chaucer to Cowper, in- 

 cluding the series edited, with prefaces, biographi- 

 cal and critical, by Dr Johnson, and the most ap- 

 proved translations. The additional Lives by Mr 

 Chalmers." In 21 vols. royal 8vo. In the same 

 year he published " A History of the Colleges, 

 Halls, and Public Buildings attached to the Univer- 

 sity of Oxford, including the Lives of the Found- 

 ers;" a work which he undertook at the request of 

 his old friend Mr Cooke, the bookseller at Oxford, 

 and from which he derived much pleasure. In 1811 

 he revised through the press bishop Hurd's edition 

 of Addison's Works, 6 vols. 8vo., and an edition 

 of Pope's Works in 8 vols. 18mo. In the same 

 year he republished, with corrections and alter- 

 ations, a periodical paper entitled " The Projector," 

 3 vols. 8vo. These essays were originally printed 

 in the Gentleman's Magazine. They began in 

 January, 1802, and were continued monthly to 

 November, 1809. He had previously written a 

 periodical paper, called " The Trifler," in the 

 Aberdeen Magazine; but those essays were never 

 printed separately. In 1812 he prefixed a life of 

 Alexander Cruden to the sixth edition of his "Con- 

 cordance." 



But the work on which Mr Chalmers's fame as 

 an author chiefly rests is " The General Biographi- 

 cal Dictionary." The first four volumes of this 

 work were published monthly, commencing in May, 

 1812, and then a volume every alternate month, to 

 the 32d and last volume in March, 1817, a period 

 of four years and ten months of incessant labour 

 and of many personal privations. Fortunately his 

 health and spirits were wonderfully supported, and 

 he was cheered during the progress of the work by 

 the approbation of those whom it is desirable to 

 please. Of the extent of Mr Chalmers's labours 

 some idea may be collected from the following 

 statement. The preceding edition of this Dic- 

 tionary, 1798, was in 15 vols. ; the present in 32 

 vols. It was augmented by 3934 additional lives ; 

 and of the remaining number 2176 were re-written, 

 and the whole revised and corrected. The total 

 number of articles exceed 9000. The general 

 fidelity of Mr Chalmers's labours stands conspi- 

 cuous and unimpeached; in each article the sources 

 whence it is derived are pointed out; the works of 

 authors are enumerated; and in proportioning the 

 length of an article to the quality and interest of 

 the subject, due consistency is observed. 



In November, 1816, he republished " The Lives 

 of Dr Edward Pocock, the celebrated orientalist, 

 by Dr T wells, of Dr Zachary Pearce, bishop of Ro- 

 chester, and of Dr Thomas Newton, bishop of 

 Bristol, by themselves ; and of the Rev. Philip 

 Skelton, by Mr Burdy," in 2 vols. 8vo. In 1819 

 he published " County Biography," 4 numbers ; 

 and a life of Dr Paley, prefixed to his works. In 

 1820, he published " A Dictionary of the English 

 language, abridged from the Rev. H. J. Todd's en- 

 larged edition of Dr Johnson's Dictionary," 1 vol. 

 8vo. In 1822, he edited the ninth edition of Bos- 

 well's " Life of Johnson ;" in 1823 a new edition 

 of Shakspeare, and another edition of Dr Johnson's 

 works. 



Mr Chalmers was a valuable contributor to the 

 Gentleman's Magazine, to which he was very par- 

 tial, finding it of the greatest use in the compila- 

 tion of his biographical works. With the late Mr ' 

 John Nichols he was in the strictest bonds of 

 friendship, rendered doubly pleasing by the simi- 



