Page:Cousins's Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.djvu/219

Rh was a strong supporter of the theory of evolution. Among the more eminent of his opponents were Bishop Wilberforce and Mr. Gladstone. His pub. works, including scientific communications, are very numerous. Among the more important are those on the Medusæ, Zoological Evidences of Man's Place in Nature (1863), Elementary Lessons on Physiology (1866), Evolution and Ethics (1893), Collected Essays (9 vols. 1893-4). He was also an admirable letter-writer, as appears from the Life and Letters, ed. by his son, and to him we owe the word, and almost the idea, "Agnostic."

 Author:Elizabeth Inchbald  (1753-1821).—Novelist and dramatist, dau. of a Suffolk farmer. In a romantic fit she left her home at the age of 16, and went to London, where she became acquainted with Inchbald the actor, who m. her in 1772. Seven years later her husband d., and for the next ten years she was on the stage, chiefly in Scotland and Ireland. She produced many plays, including Mogul Tale (1784), I'll Tell you What (1785), Appearance is against Them (1785), Such Things Are, The Married Man, The Wedding Day, and two novels, A Simple Story (1791), and Nature and Art (1796), which have been frequently reprinted. She also made a collection of plays, The Modern Theatre, in 10 vols. Her life was remarkable for its simplicity and frugality, and a large part of her earnings was applied in the maintenance of a delicate sister. Though of a somewhat sentimental and romantic nature, she preserved an unblemished reputation.

 Author:Jean Ingelow (1820-1897).—Poetess and novelist, dau. of a banker at Boston, Lincolnshire, pub. three vols. of poems, of which perhaps the best known individual piece is "The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire," and several successful novels, including Off the Skelligs (1872), Fated to be Free (1875), and Sarah de Berenger (1879). She also wrote excellent stories for children, Mopsa the Fairy, Stories told to Children, etc. Her poems show a considerable lyric gift.

 Author:Cosmo Innes (1798-1874).—Historian and antiquary, was called to the Scottish Bar in 1822, and was appointed Prof. of Constitutional Law and History in the Univ. of Edin. in 1846. He was the author of Scotland in the Middle Ages (1860), and Sketches of Early Scottish History (1861). He also ed. many historical MSS. for the Bannatyne and other antiquarian clubs. Much learning is displayed in his works.

 Author:Thomas Innes (1662-1744).—Historian, was descended from an old Roman Catholic family in Aberdeenshire. He studied in Paris at the Scots Coll., of which he became Principal. He was the author of two learned works, Critical Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of the Northern Parts of Britain (1729), and Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, 80 to 818 (pub. by the Spalding Club, 1853).

 Author:William Henry Ireland (1775-1835).—Forger of Shakespeare manuscripts, s. of an antiquarian bookseller in London. He claimed to have discovered the MSS. in the house of a gentleman of fortune. The forgeries included various deeds, a Protestant confession of faith by Shakespeare, letters to Ann Hathaway,