Gents Mag 1850 part 1 p.619
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Gentleman's Magazine 1850 part 1 p.619
There were two Sir Thomas Robinsons living at the same time. One was a man of talent, particularly in architecture, and he added a wing to Castle Howard. When the one called Long Sir Thomas was in his last illness, someone mentioned it to Lord Chesterfield, and said, "He is dying by inches." "Then," said Lord Chesterfield, "it will be some time before he dies." In the Walpoliana, Horace Walpole mentions his being at dinner in Paris with a party of French people, when Sir Thomas came in, in leather breeches, green jacket, and jockey cap; and a French abbé, after staring for some time at this unwonted appearance, asked his neighbour, "Peut-etre ce Monsieur est le fameux Robinson Crusoe." We have now only room to add one short passage, partly for itself and partly that we may add a comment. "Coleridge and Wordsworth," says Mr. Southey, "visited Klopstock in the year 1797. He wore a great wig. 'Klopstock in a wig,' they said, 'was something like Mr. Milton.'"Now, though Klopstock's fame as a poet has declined in Germany and is almost zero in England, yet his lyrical poems are not without merit, and will please those who, like ourselves, confess we never could get through the Messiah. We advise those who wish to form a correct opinion about him to consult the admirable work of his compatriot, the Isagoge of J. M. Gesner, in which he will find the merits and defects of Klopstock critically and impartially discussed. We point out the places: vol.i. pp.221, 242, 308, 327; and give the following epigram, which exactly states the truth as it was:- Wer wird nicht einen Klopstock loben? Doch lesen wird ein jeder? Nein. Wir wollen weniger gelobt, und mehr gelesen seyn. Which we may thus endeavour to represent in the mirror of our own language:- Who does not Klopstock praise? Not one. Who is it studies Klopstock? None. We think 'twould better be, before We praise so much, to read him more. |
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