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Pub by Vernor Hood & Sharpe, Poultry, Jan 31,1806.

MONTHLY MIRROR,

FOR

JANUARY, 1806.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF

LUMLY ST. GEORGE SKEFFINGTON, ESQ.

(With a Portrait)

THE ancient family of Skeffington, from which the gentleman whose memoir we now give is descended, derives its name from the village of Skeffington, in the hundred of East Goscote, in Leicestershire, which has continued for centuries in the possession of ⚫ this family, and has produced many men of note and abilities, whose names have repeatedly adorned the historic page: few families in the kingdom can boast a more ancient and honourable descent, or have more eminently distinguished themselves on all occasions.

On the part of their Irish extraction, from the Farrell family of Connaught, they are descended from the princes of Annaly, whose arms they have quartered from time immemorial.

The Skeffington family rose into notice through John de Skeffington, (temp. Ric. I. 1188.) whose son, Sir Geoffrey de Skeffington, had the honour of knighthood conferred on him about the year 1221-5 Hen. III. Simon de Skeffington lived at Skeffington, in the reign of King Edward I. and in 1272, that monarch granted to his son, Geoffrey de Skeffington, and his heirs, liberty of free warren, in all their demesne land at Skeffington. We find that Sir William Skeffington, in the 24th year of King Henry VII. was sheriff of the counties of Leicester and Warwick; (which office he also executed in the 7th and 13th of Henry VIII;) and that in 1529 he was appointed the king's commissioner to Ireland, where he arrived with instructions (among others) to find out a means to restrain the exactions of the soldiers; to call a parliament; and to provide that the possessions of the clergy might be subject to bear their part of

the public charge. This commission he discharged with so much care and fidelity, that he made his way to those preferments, which he soon after enjoyed; for in 1530 he was appointed Master of the Ordnance in England, and from that office was made Lord Deputy of Ireland. The King fixed his choice on Sir William, as the fittest person to curb the insolences of O'Neile, O'Connor, and O'More; and the citizens considered him as their deliverer from the frequent incursions of those Irish chiefs upon the English pale. The actions of Sir William Skeffington, in Ireland, are fully detailed in history. Sir John Skeffington, the younger brother of the above Sir William, is the ancestor of Henry Skeffington, the present Earl of Massarene. But the present Sir William Skeffington, the father of the gentleman whose memoirs we are about to sketch, is the head of the family, being descended from the elder branch. Sir William was colonel of the Leicestershire Yeomanry Cavalry, the first regiment of Yeomanry that was completed, and made their returns to government. Those who wish for further genealogical information, may, on consulting Collins's Peerage, and Betham's Baronetage, find ample particulars, and discover that the Skeffingtons are both descended from and allied to some of the first families, both in England and Ireland. Nor is it, in times like the present, unworthy of remark, that the Skeffington family have, from their origin, been ever distinguished for loyalty to their sovereign. It is somewhat singular, that the Skeffington pedigree, (the elder branch) presents no one instance of a divorce, or a separation!

Lumly St. George Skeffington, the only surviving son of Sir William Charles Skeffington, baronet, by Catherine Josepha Hubbert, who is nearly allied to the Butlers Dukes of Ormond, was born in London, about the middle of March 1778. He received the rudiments of education under the celebrated Henry Newcome, at Hackney, a school where some of the most distinguished characters have been formed. At an early age he discovered a taste for composition and poetry; and, though commonly negligent of his own exercises, he would very cheerfully write verses for his school fellows. It has happened, not unfrequently, that he has been reprimanded for not having performed his own task, when, at the same instant, another boy has received the highest applause for lines which were given to him by our author. In declamation, which was particularly studied at the above school, he eminently excelled; his voice possessing both compass and sweetness, enabled him to give

the most powerful effect to whatever he undertook. The theatrical representations, for which the school had, for above a century, been noted, afforded our young candidate for fame a more than ample opportunity of proving his abilities in elocution. Almost on his first coming to the school, the late elegant poet, George Keate, Esq. wrote for him an epilogue, in which the fashionable manners of the day were well depictured, and were pourtrayed, even at that early age, by the performer with the most admirable elegance. From this era Skeffington rose rapidly in the opinion not only of his master, but also of his young associates. Not long afterwards, his graceful representation of Hamlet, and his no less remarkable energy in Phocias, in Hughes's "Siege of Damascus," established his reputation. He was one of those boys who had the good fortune to make friends of all, and to be the favourite of many. His talents were of a shewy description; and, to an impartial observer, he might be said to possess more brilliancy than depth. Yet, on serious points, where exertion of understanding was required, he always evinced more than was expected, and generally as much as was required. If his compositions did not always manifest that profundity of argument, and depth of thought, which marked the writings of some of his contemporaries, yet, in his most careless moments, there constantly shone forth a grace of manner, and an air of elegance, which they could never reach. After leaving school, he passed at least two or three years in the closest application, and most unremitting assiduity. Being now arrived at that period, when young men, in his line of life, are introduced into the world, by a presentation at court, he, for a time, forgot the Muses; and, by a very successful courtship of the Graces, burst forth a most distinguished figure in the highest circle of fashionable society. It was in vain that rivals strove to detract from him, to whom, in a very little time, they were obliged reluctantly to yield. His triumph is in a great measure to be attributed to that good humour and vivacity which continue to render him, in every sphere, so general a favourite. After passing a few years in a round of fashionable gaiety, the charms of his early friends, the Muses, again attracted his attention; and he returned to them with the delight of a lover. In May 1802 he produced, at Covent Garden theatre, a comedy in five acts, entitled "The Word of Honour." Previously to its appearance, the greatest curiosity was excited among all ranks of people; for they found it difficult to imagine how a man, who was immersed in crowds, and harrassed by engagements, could find time to write. Indeed,

many considered his success as most precarious; but his schoolfellows, and those who were more particularly acquainted with him, were of a very different opinion. At length the moment of trial arrived, and, on that occasion, one of the most splendid assemblages which had ever adorned a theatre was collected. The comedy, as is well known, was received with torrents of applause, and, in the most unequivocal manner, fully justified the judgment of those persons, who, from a recollection of his boyish days, had strenuously predicted its success. From this hour, he continued occasionally to write; and, in the following season, brought forward, at Drury Lane theatre, another comedy in five acts, called “The High road to Marriage," a piece, characterized by the most refined elegance, and the most engaging variety.

[To be continued.]

THOMSON'S SEASONS.

MR. EDITOR,

THE following passage in the beautiful episode of Palemon and Lavinia, from Thomson's Seasons, is so well known, so universally admired, and so generally quoted, that I am not a little surprised that, what appears to me, (to say the least of it) a most glaring inaccuracy has hitherto escaped the notice of criticism.

“He saw her charming; but he saw not half
"The charms her downcast modesty conceaľd.
Autumn, v. 230.

That the poet's meaning is here very evident, is true, and it is the only way in which I can account for his expressions having been so uniformly overlooked: he would say that Lavinia charmed Palemon, notwithstanding her modesty concealed half her beauties. But the above lines do not express this: they impute to Palemon a most extraordinary qualification, that of seeing what is concealed; though this wonderful talent is, doubtless, somewhat tempered, when we are modestly told that he did not see quite half of an invisible object, of which any one else would despair of obtaining a glimpse. It may be necessary, after this, to assure your readers, that Mr. Thomson was born in Scotland, and not in Ireland. I am, Sir, &c. &c.

Jan. 1, 1806.

B. F.

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