Page:Cousins's Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.djvu/33

Rh remains to be determined. It was pub. anonymously, and had great success, but has fallen into unmerited, but perhaps temporary, neglect. Among its greatest admirers was Tennyson. The subsequent poems of B., The Angel World (1850), The Mystic (1855), The Age (1858), and The Universal Hymn (1867), were failures, and the author adopted the unfortunate expedient of endeavouring to buoy them up by incorporating large extracts in the later editions of Festus, with the effect only of sinking the latter, which ultimately extended to over 40,000 lines. B. was a man of strikingly handsome appearance, and gentle and amiable character.   (1762-1851).—Dramatist and poetess, dau. of the minister of Bothwell, afterwards Professor of Divinity at Glasgow. Her mother was a sister of the great anatomists, William and John Hunter, and her brother was the celebrated physician, Matthew B., of London. She received a thorough education at Glasgow, and at an early age went to London, where the remainder of her long, happy, and honoured, though uneventful, life was passed. In 1798, when she was 36, the first vol. of her Plays on the Passions appeared, and was received with much favour, other two vols. followed in 1802 and 1812, and she also produced Miscellaneous Plays in 1804, and 3 vols. of Dramatic Poetry in 1836. In all her works there are many passages of true and impressive poetry, but the idea underlying her Plays on the Passions, that, namely, of exhibiting the principal character as acting under the exclusive influence of one passion, is artificial and untrue to nature.   (1665-1746).—Poetess, dau. of Sir Patrick Home or Hume, afterwards Earl of Marchmont, was married to George Baillie of Jerviswoode. In her childhood she showed remarkable courage and address in the services she rendered to her father and his friend, Robert Baillie of Jerviswoode, the eminent Scottish patriot, when under persecution. She left many pieces both prose and verse in MS., some of which were pub. The best known is the beautiful song, Were na my heart licht I wad die.   (1599-1662).—Historical writer, s. of B. of Jerviston, ed. at Glasgow, he entered the Church of Scotland and became minister of Kilwinning in Ayrshire. His abilities soon made him a leading man. He was a member of the historic Assembly of 1638, when Presbyterianism was re-established in Scotland, and also of the Westminster Assembly, 1643. In 1651 he was made Professor of Divinity in Glasgow, and 10 years later Principal. His Letters and Journals, edited for the Bannatyne Club by D. Laing (q.v.), are of the greatest value for the interesting light they throw on a period of great importance in Scottish history. He was one of the wisest and most temperate churchmen of his time.   (1818-1903).—Philosopher, b. at Aberdeen, and graduated at Marischal Coll. there, became in 1860 Professor of Logic in his university, and wrote a number of works on philosophy and psychology, including The Senses and the Intellect