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Article BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF JOHN WOLCOTT, M.D. ← Page 4 of 4 Article BON MOT. Page 1 of 1
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Biographical Memoir Of John Wolcott, M.D.
respeft for authority , could not read his poems with unmoved muscles . To give a " catalogue of his numerous writings would be needless . There can be no occasion to specify at length what is universally known , and as universally admired . Though our author has shone most conspicuously as * a satirist , and here indeed his splendour has been of an extraordinary brilliancy , yet the reader of his sonnets will sometimes be disposed to regret his having devoted
so much of his time and genius to temporary and personal subjects . - The admirers of poetical elegance may laugh at our bard ' s pleasant tales and whimsical descriptions ; but they will feel a more exquisite sensation on reading the tender and sentimental effusions of his pen . The Doctor , we understand , lately superintended a new edition of Pilkington ' s Dictionary of Painters , to which he made some additions .
Before we conclude , it may not be amiss to remark ., that in his conversation our Satirist does not exhibit either that facetiousuess or acerbity which are so eminently displayed in his works . Neither ouo-ht we to finish this article without observing , that Messrs . Robinsons , Goulding , and Walker , agreed , in 1795 , t 0 P Y Dr . W . an annuity of 240 I . per annum for the copy-right of his works . Unfortunately , owing to some obscurity in drawing up the
agreement , it has been contended by one party , that it implies only those ofthe Poet already published , while the others wish to include all that may hereafter be given to the world by the facetious Peter . We are sorry to add , that an action at common law has been succeeded by a chancery suit ; and without entering into the merits of a question , on which some future Chancellor may decide in the course of the nineteenth centurywe must cordially recommend an
, amicable adjustment and immediate compromise to all parties . Wh . it a pity , that the harpies ofthe law should be permitted to swallow up the patrimony ofthe Muses ! Our poet , we believe , once more practises as a physician . Lately recovered from an asthma , he has acquired an intimate acquaintance with the theory of that disease , and is himself a living instance , that worst
with skilful management it is not fatal , even in its last and stages . He has also minutely investigated the structure of that delicate organ , the human ear . This is a species of knowledge neither to be obtained 011 the summit qf Parnassus , nor drawn from the fountain Hippocrene ; but there is a certain universality in genius , which , indeed , constitutes one ot . ts chief characteristics . ' £
Bon Mot.
BON MOT .
A COUNTRY Apothecary , not a little distinguished for his impudence , with a hope of disconcerting a young Clergyman , whom he knew to be a man of singular modesty ,, asked him ,, in the hearing of a large company , ' why the Patriarchs of old lived to . such an extreme age ? ' To which the Clergyman replied , ' I suppose the ancient Patriarchs look no physic I
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Biographical Memoir Of John Wolcott, M.D.
respeft for authority , could not read his poems with unmoved muscles . To give a " catalogue of his numerous writings would be needless . There can be no occasion to specify at length what is universally known , and as universally admired . Though our author has shone most conspicuously as * a satirist , and here indeed his splendour has been of an extraordinary brilliancy , yet the reader of his sonnets will sometimes be disposed to regret his having devoted
so much of his time and genius to temporary and personal subjects . - The admirers of poetical elegance may laugh at our bard ' s pleasant tales and whimsical descriptions ; but they will feel a more exquisite sensation on reading the tender and sentimental effusions of his pen . The Doctor , we understand , lately superintended a new edition of Pilkington ' s Dictionary of Painters , to which he made some additions .
Before we conclude , it may not be amiss to remark ., that in his conversation our Satirist does not exhibit either that facetiousuess or acerbity which are so eminently displayed in his works . Neither ouo-ht we to finish this article without observing , that Messrs . Robinsons , Goulding , and Walker , agreed , in 1795 , t 0 P Y Dr . W . an annuity of 240 I . per annum for the copy-right of his works . Unfortunately , owing to some obscurity in drawing up the
agreement , it has been contended by one party , that it implies only those ofthe Poet already published , while the others wish to include all that may hereafter be given to the world by the facetious Peter . We are sorry to add , that an action at common law has been succeeded by a chancery suit ; and without entering into the merits of a question , on which some future Chancellor may decide in the course of the nineteenth centurywe must cordially recommend an
, amicable adjustment and immediate compromise to all parties . Wh . it a pity , that the harpies ofthe law should be permitted to swallow up the patrimony ofthe Muses ! Our poet , we believe , once more practises as a physician . Lately recovered from an asthma , he has acquired an intimate acquaintance with the theory of that disease , and is himself a living instance , that worst
with skilful management it is not fatal , even in its last and stages . He has also minutely investigated the structure of that delicate organ , the human ear . This is a species of knowledge neither to be obtained 011 the summit qf Parnassus , nor drawn from the fountain Hippocrene ; but there is a certain universality in genius , which , indeed , constitutes one ot . ts chief characteristics . ' £
Bon Mot.
BON MOT .
A COUNTRY Apothecary , not a little distinguished for his impudence , with a hope of disconcerting a young Clergyman , whom he knew to be a man of singular modesty ,, asked him ,, in the hearing of a large company , ' why the Patriarchs of old lived to . such an extreme age ? ' To which the Clergyman replied , ' I suppose the ancient Patriarchs look no physic I