lished; and that Lord Warwick, to whom the verses on Addison were dedicated, died likewise before their publication. "Addison's works (says Atterbury, in a letter) came to my hands yesterday, October 15, 1721. I cannot but think it a very odd set of incidents, that the book should be dedicated by a dead man to a dead man (Mr. Craggs); and even that the new patron (Lord Warwick), to whom Tickell chose to inscribe his verses, should be dead also before they were published. Had I been in the editor's place I should have been a little apprehensive for myself, under a thought that every one who had any hand in that work was to die before the publication of it." UNPUBLISHED PLAY ATTRIBUTED TO ADDISON. IN Steele's Correspondence, published by John Nichols in 1809, is the first act of a Tragedy said to be 'probably written' by Addison. The principal character is Oramont,' a pleasure-seeking youth, who, to save the family estates from a crown extent, is made to consent to his sister's prostitution. The following extracts will, we think, be sufficient to acquit Addison of the composition; for although there are occasionally some vigorous lines, he could not, even in his earliest youth, have written the concluding ones. ORAMONT. Power, 'tis the darling attribute of Heaven! Is it not great, my Martian, is it not, MARTIAN. But she is wondrous proud; guard well your heart; her? ORAMONT. Love her!-yes, to enjoy her, nothing further; That shakes and trembles; mine's a raging fever, And prove Love's various pleasures, shun its pains. ALTIMOR. Tell me, what think you of a woman's honour? ORAMONT. Humph-nothing; or but a trifle, a gaudy flower, With many fancied charms, no real ones; The pleasure and the beauty of a day, That fades with every little breath of wind. ALTIMOR. Then would'st thou, Oramont, for this mere trifle, Quit all thy hopes of honour and of power? ORAMONT. No, on my soul I would not. What's the condition? ALTIMOR. You have a sister. ORAMONT. Yes. ALTIMOR. A fair one. ORAMONT. So she's thought. ALTIMOR. I love her. ORAMONT. No matter-I'd enjoy her-think on that. ORAMONT. The sprightly lark thus, as he mounts the sky, ADDISON'S HOUSE AT BILTON. MR. Ireland, in his 'Views on the River Avon,' gives the following account of this classic spot. Quitting Rugby we pass a handsome modern bridge of three circular arches, constructed of stone, thrown across the Avon at about half a mile distant from the town. The river from hence winds gently through a fertile and expanded valley, till we reach the village of Newbold; which, from its eminent situation, commands a beautiful and extensive prospect on every side. The canal is conducted through a subterraneous passage beneath part of the church-yard of Newbold, and from this point highly increases the beauty of the surrounding scene, which includes an extended view of the meandering course of our gentle Avon, through a verdant space of fertile valleys. The spire of the church in the distance of the landscape belongs to the village at Bilton, which may well be considered as classical ground, having been the residence of Mr. Addison; a name that will ever be held in esteem by the admirer of sound criticism, chaste humour, and a correct and attic style of composition. Veneration for the character of this eminent man leads me to view the situation of his retreat, which stands about a mile distant from the banks of the Avon. "The exterior of this house, though it cannot be truly denominated picturesque, may yet have a claim to attention, as it remains precisely in the state it was at the decease of its former possessor, nor has the interior suffered much change in its form or decoration. The furniture and pictures hold their places with an apparent sacred attention to his memory: among the latter are three of himself, at different periods of his life, in each of which is strongly marked with the pencil the ease of the gentleman, and open and ingenuous character of the friend to humanity. Two good portraits are likewise hanging near his own of his friend Mr. Secretary Craggs. "Some others of Vandyck, Van Somers, Lilly, &c., that were purchased by Mr. Addison, are to be found in other apartments, sufficient to evince that his taste was not confined to writing alone. In the grounds a long walk of beautiful Spanish chesnuts and oaks running in a straight line still hold their primitive appearance; here he was accustomed to pass the hours in that musing, and in those reflections, from which the public have gathered so rich a fruit: it retains the name of Addison's Walk. This form of a straight line is that to which, in his earliest youth, he seems to have been attached; as part of the walks in Magdalen College, which are fashioned upon this model, still pass there under his name. "The Spanish oaks in these grounds are said to have been the first that were planted in this country; the acorns were given to him by his friend Craggs, who brought them from Spain. "In a kind of hermitage in this walk I found the following verses: 1 Mr. Wm. Howitt, who visited Addison's house at Bilton in 1815, and describes it in his 'Homes and Haunts,' concludes thus: "Such are the paintings at Bilton. They include a most interesting group of the friends and contemporaries of Addison, besides others. It is a rare circumstance that they have been permitted to remain there, when his library and his medals have been dispersed. Altogether Bilton is one of the most satisfactory specimens of the homes and haunts of our departed literary men.” Sequestered from the world, oh! let me dwell, By mortal eye unseen, I will explore The various works of nature's bounteous store; From birth to growth, from growth to sure decay: "I do not know that these lines were Mr. Addison's, but there is something in their versification that renders them not unworthy a recital. This estate was purchased by Mr. Addison in the year 1711 of the younger son of Sir William Broughton, for the sum of £10,000; in the purchase he was assisted by his brother, Mr. Gulstone Addison, Governor of Fort St. George at Madras, in which station he succeeded Governor Pitt, distinguished by the appellation of Diamond Pitt. "At the decease of Mr. Addison, in 1719, this estate came to his widow, the Countess of Warwick, from whom it devolved on their daughter, the present Miss Addison, whom I had the honour of seeing, at this visit, with no small degree of respect and veneration. This lady was born about a twelvemonth before the death of her father, who, as some vague reports in the country say, left a large trunk of manuscripts, with a strict injunction that they should not be opened till her decease; if this be true, the polite and learned may, at a future day, expect what may yet further magnify the revered name of Addison." 1 Ireland's Warwickshire Avon. ADDISON'S DAUGHTER. IN the Gentleman's Magazine for March, 1797, we find the following: "At Bilton, near Rugby, in Warwickshire, It is not known what became of these MSS. If the love-letters between Addison and the Countess of Warwick could be found, they would, no doubt, be highly interesting. The publisher of the present volume has made inquiries for them in every probable direction, without the least success. died Miss Addison, only surviving daughter of the celebrated Joseph Addison, Esq., born just before his death, in 1718, by Sarah, Countess Dowager of Warwick, daughter of Thomas Dashwood, Esq., Alderman of London. Miss Addison was buried at Bilton, on the 10th of March. Many years since, she made her last will in favour of the third son of Lord Bradford, who now comes in for her estate. There are left at her house at Bilton several portraits of Mr. Addison and his friends, and his library, which, it is presumed, contains many valuable books and MSS. She inhe rited her father's memory, but none of the discriminating powers of his understanding; with the retentive faculties of Jedediah Buxton,' she was a perfect imbecile. She could go on in any part of her father's works, or repeat the whole, but was incapable of speaking or writing an intelligible sentence." In a succeeding number of the same Magazine, a correspondent has corrected some errors in the above account, and as the writer appears to speak from personal acquaintance with this lady, we subjoin his remarks. Looking into your obituary, I saw an account of Miss Addison, the daughter of the author of the Spectator. The circumstances that relate to her family are certainly very erroneous. The Countess her mother's Christian name was Charlotte, and the father of the Countess was Sir Thomas Middleton, of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire; and her mother's surname was Bridgman. The Countess was an only daughter. Miss Addison was born in London, and was twelve years old when the Countess died; was educated at a school in Queen's Square, and afterwards had a house of her own in Burlington Street. Perhaps the report which you have given in your useful miscellany about the strength of her memory and the weakness of her understanding, is almost as wide from the truth as the account of her family. I have not conversed very frequently with her; but enough to be convinced that her memory, though good, was not so extraordinary as is represented. I have heard her repeat some of the poetical parts of the Spectator, which she did with consider able accuracy of memory, and great propriety of emphasis. A wonderful self-taught calculator, born at Elmeton in Derbyshire, 1704. See Kirby's Wonderful Museum IV. p. 119. 2 For May, 1797. |