sidered as a poet generally, as a dramatic poet in particular, and in comparison with both ancient and modern competitors; and a review of the first edition (London, 1603) of Hamlet, which was reprinted at Leipsic in 1825, and is perhaps better known in Germany than amongst us. The article turns principally on the dress of the Ghost, who, in the old play, enters the queen's closet in his night-gown; but no one who remembers Goethe's remarks on Hamlet, in Wilhelm Meister, can help feeling interested in every thing upon that subject from his pen.

[Abridged from "The Monthly Review," for July, 1833.]

ART. III. — Biographical Recollections of the Rev. Robert Hall, A. M. By J. W. MORRIS. 1 Vol. 8vo. London. Wright

man. 1833.

THE claim of the author of this biography to take up the subject, consists in an intimate acquaintance with the Rev. Mr. Hall for nearly half a century; and, were it not that we must apprehend a little too much prejudice for the object of his descriptions, we should say, that the paramount qualification for a biographer was found in the writer of the work before us. With very good reason was it, that Mr. Morris came to be selected by some of the chief friends of the Rev. Robert Hall to write the life of that eminent preacher; and they hoped to encourage him in the task by affording him materials which they believed would increase the value of the work. He tells us, that the volume would much sooner have been produced, were it not that he had been obliged to undertake to withhold it for two years, in order to give an opportunity for reprinting and getting into circulation the complete works of Mr. Hall. Having made these preliminary observations, we shall at once proceed to the subject of the biography.

On the 2d of May, in the year 1764, the Rev. Robert Hall was born in Arnsby, a small village, eight miles south of Leicester, in the house of his father, who had then but recently left the neighbourhood of Newcastle, to assume, at the village just mentioned, the duties of pastor of the Baptist chapel. From this village, Robert Hall was promoted to the seminary of Dr. Ryland, in Northampton, that gentleman being not only possessed of learning and talents, but of strong political sympathies with all struggles for liberty, particularly those of the American colonies, a fact which we deem it necessary to mention, inasmuch as his young charge fully imbibed the same love of liberty, and cherished it with unabated ardor during the remainder of his life. During the period of his pupilage at Northampton, our hero became an object of curiosity, and occasionally, too, of ridicule, in consequence of'

that strange eccentricity of manner, which is usually the accompaniment of what is called absence of mind. If sent on a message, the obstinate boy arrived at the destined place, but with a complete oblivion of the subject; and when it was his turn to deliver orders to the tradesmen, the grocer and the butcher were almost every day obliged to make an exchange of papers, as Robert was always sure to deliver to the one the order which he should have left with the other. He must have had, with all this abstraction, a cheerful turn of mind; for it appears, that he did not think it beneath him to indulge in a hoax. One day, a farmer's servant brought to Robert's father a sucking pig, as a present, in a bag. Whilst the servant went in to deliver his message, the bag was left outside, when the young wag took out the pig, and placed a dog in its place. The result need scarcely be told, and every body laughed at the amazement of the poor rustic, when he saw the terrible proof of animal transmutation before him.

In October, 1770, Mr. Hall was introduced to Bristol Academy, and was induced to deliver, at Broadmede, a public discourse, when he scarcely had attained his fourteenth year. Afterwards, whenever, during his collegiate course, he visited Clipstone, he was compelled to give his services as a preacher but the congregation had sad work of it to keep the eccentric preacher to time. Sometimes, when the hour appointed for the sermon had arrived, the pulpit was seen to be empty, and, in not a few cases, the cause of the absence was either that he had unwittingly burned off his skirts by going too close to the fire, or mislaid his hat. In the same way, at the Academy, the eccentric young man was in the habit of taking the paper, with pens and ink, of his fellow-students, a habit of incursion which might have been tolerated, if not put down; but the misfortune was, that the delinquent went farther, for he sometimes transferred from their keeping the contents of a wardrobe. The principal of the Academy soon corrected all this, for he invited the pupil into his private study every morning, where every thing was provided that was necessary for his accommodation. In addition to these curious traits in his character, the young preacher showed, on many occasions, a daring and adventurous spirit; he was fond of climbing the loftiest trees, and would plant his foot upon the edge of some deep and dangerous eminence, to show that he could not be intimidated. The nature of the dangers which he courted, may be inferred from an example, the account of which rests on his own authority:

"It having been customary to admit into the Academy at Bristol a limited number of Welsh students, whose different habits and odd construction of the English language often afforded diversion to the other inmates, it is said that our hero contrived to frighten one of them by descending the chimney of the room where he was sitting, and presenting himself to the retired and contemplative Welshman, covered with soot and dirt. The circumstance having been mentioned to Mr. Hall nearly fifty years afterward, in the expectation that so improbable a statement would have met a direct denial, he immediately replied, By no means: the tale is true

enough, except that it was no part of my design to disturb the inoffensive Welshman, who was sufficiently alarmed, certainly, at my unexpected appearance through such an aperture. But having observed with what ease and celerity a sweep would present himself at the chimney top, I was desirous of ascertaining by what means such an extraordinary feat was accomplished. Unfortunately, I began at the wrong end of the business. I ascended the roof of the building by a ladder, and then climbed outside the highest chimney, in order to descend through it to the bottom. The attempt nearly cost me my life. On entering the top of the chimney I slipped down several yards, was almost suffocated with dust and soot, and some severe contusions of the head and elbows were the consequence of this imprudent adventure.' If the excruciating pain he endured throughout the greater part of life had not its origin in some unperceived injury of an early date, there can be little doubt but it was much increased by the serious accidents to which he was continually liable, and which might account for the different forms of affliction with which he was visited.".

pp. 40, 41.

A fund existed amongst the Baptists of Bristol for the purpose of sending students to the University of Aberdeen. Young Hall was fortunate enough to be selected as an object well worthy the application of a suitable portion of the funds, and at the age of seventeen entered King's College, Old Aberdeen, where he afterwards kept up a close intercourse with another student, whose name is now enrolled in the illustrious catalogue of public benefactors: we mean, the late Sir James Mackintosh. Mr. Hall, after leaving Aberdeen, accepted the office of assistant-minister at Broadmede. At this period the religious world was much divided in its conclusions, as to the merits of the works of Priestley. The young clergyman of Broadmede confessed his conversion to materialism, to which it is now admitted, that he added a belief in Arminianism, although some say, that he never completely received the doctrine which goes by that name. His congregation took alarm, and they testified their apprehensions in such a way as to impose on Mr. Hall the necessity of considering the propriety of retiring from the place. He soon decided on his course; and as a seasonable vacancy for a minister occurred at Cambridge at this time, Mr. Hall immediately resigned his cure at Broadmede, and very properly stated his reasons for abandoning the station. He declared, in the statement which he drew up, that he was no Calvinist, that he did not maintain the federal headship of Adam, or the penal imputation of sin to his posterity, but was of opinion that guilt was wholly personal, and that he could not apprehend condemnation in the next world, save only in consequence of our own bad actions. Mr. Hall, however, added that he was a firm believer in the proper deity of Christ, and in the efficiency of his atonement, and that atonement is the only ground of a sinner's acceptance with God, to the exclusion of good works. "It has been held out to some," he adds, "that I am NOT a Baptist. I am, both in respect to the subject and to the mode of this institution, a Baptist. To apply this ordinance to infants, appears to me a perversion of the intention of the sacred institution. The primitive, the regular, and proper mode

of administration, I take to be immersion. Still it appears to me that sprinkling, though an innovation, does not deprive baptism of its essential validity, so as to put the person that has been sprinkled in adult age upon a footing with the unbaptized. The whole of my sentiments amounts to this: I would not myself baptize in any other manner than by immersion, because I look upon immersion as the ancient mode; that it best represents the meaning of the original term employed, and the substantial import of this institution; and because I should think it right to guard against a spirit I of innovation, which, in positive rites, is always dangerous and progressive; but I should not think myself authorized to rebaptize any one who has been sprinkled in adult age. I shall only remark, in addition to what I have already said upon this point, that if it be a sufficient objection to my union with a Baptist congregation, then, as all Christendom is composed of Baptists or Pedobaptists, it amounts to my exclusion, as a minister, from every Christian society throughout the whole earth; an interdict equally absurd and inhuman, founded upon a conduct merely negative, in chimerical situations seldom or never likely to occur.'

The misfortunes of Mr. Hall at the period we speak of, were not limited to his misunderstanding with his congregation; for, just at the same crisis, he felt all the tortures of a disappointment in love. His addresses had been some time previously encouraged by a Miss Steel, who, at the very moment when he counted most confidently on her sincerity, gave a practical proof of her indifference to him, by accepting the hand of a richer and higher candidate. The conduct of the young lady afterwards considerably heightened the mortification of the deluded lover, for she scornfully laughed at his sorrows. Mr. Hall, even his most partial friends must allow, betrayed great weakness of character in connexion with this love affair.

But it was not long before he was roused from this thraldom by the influence of that intense agitation of the country, to which the breaking out of the French revolution gave rise. Mr. Hall soon found himself impelled to take a part in the political scene, for the fears of government induced it to adopt a variety of precautions which were calculated to interfere with every man's liberty; besides which, the blind partisans of the Tory party began a system of moral persecution against all Dissenters, whom they considered as only a set of revolutionists in disguise.

About the year 1802, the friends of Mr. Hall perceived a disposition, of a very marked character, about him, which denoted great mental depression. This state of mind was particularly indicated in his letters to his intimate acquaintance, but especially in those addressed to Mr. Morris, the biographer, who tells us, that some of these letters" elicited some of the diagnostics of an approaching attack on the branular system." The peace of Amiens again roused the slumbering intellect of Mr. Hall; and, on the day appointed for thanksgiving, he poured forth from the pulpit one of the most elo

quent of his productions, exhibiting, in glowing colors, the chief calamities produced by war. The duration of this healthy interval was but short, and Mr. Hall was forced, by severe indisposition, to retire altogether from his duties. He had scarcely renewed his duties, after a partial recovery, when his disease again returned, and the symptoms were decidedly manifested of insanity. He was secluded in Bristol, but soon recovered again. Mr. Morris gives the following account of his predilection for tobacco, a commodity which Mr. Hall believed to be favorable to the relief of his disorder:

"Previous to this illness, Mr. Hall contracted the habit of smoking, of which he was remarkably fond, and thought it tended a little to relieve the pain he so constantly endured. A curious colloquy arose out of this circumstance soon after his admission, which shows his ingenuity in endeavouring to obtain the privilege of a pipe, and the severity of his sarcasms when provoked by disappointment. Being invited to dine with the medical gentleman in company with other convalescents, he on the first day said, 'Do you know, Sir, which is the finest plant in all the universe?' The doctor answered no, he did not know he had not devoted much time or attention to botany. Do you know which it is, Mr. Hall?' Yes, yes,' he quickly replied: that is easily discovered — it is tobacco, certainly.' The hint did not take effect, and he remained silent and dejected all that day. On the next opportunity he renewed the inquiry. Doctor, do you know the finest scent that ever accosted the nostrils of man?' 'I cannot tell you immediately but is it snuff, Mr. Hall?' 'Snuff, snuff! No, no, Sir; it is the fume of tobacco.' Having received no favorable answer, he continued silent the remainder of the day. These attempts to obtain a pipe proving unsuccessful, he the next time put the question in still plainer terms. 'Doctor, do you ever smoke?' 'No, certainly not,' was the reply. Then, Sir, you are an object of profound compassion and commiseration. Why, doctor, you are destitute of the finest of our six senses.' The doctor politely thanked him, but assured him, that he needed not his compassion. Mr. Hall, attempting to justify his remark, replied, 'Why, Sir, would you not pity a man, who had not the sense of seeing, hearing, or smelling? And as you have not the sense of smoking, you are an object of the profoundest pity and compassion.' On the fourth day he openly requested the favor of a pipe, and could take no rest till he had obtained it. But he received for answer, 'You have been long enough in this establishment to know, Sir, that the rules do not allow of smoking.' 'I have and what is the reason for that, doctor? Because,' replied the doctor, it was thought to have a tendency to increase the malady which prevails in this house." No, no,' was responded; that indeed is not the reason. The true reason is, because the president of this establishment is a great blockhead!'

6

6

"Mr. Hall's propensity for smoking increased so much upon him after this period, that he might be found occupied with a pipe most hours of the day. In his own apprehension the sedative effects of tobacco were beneficial to his health, tending to alleviate that excessive pain under which he labored, or in some measure to divert his attention from it. A friend having presented him with a portable and capacious box for the purpose, he seldom went from home without providing himself with an ample store of kynaster; and even when travelling outside a coach, which he commonly preferred, a pipe was frequently his companion. Unable to continue long in bed, from the increasing pain it produced, he was in the habit of rising very early, and lying on the hard floor, and amusing himself with a pipe and a book. One dark winter's morning his candle went out; and as he could