friendship with the Rev. William Howley, whose virtues and talents have since justly raised him to the highest dignity of the church. In 1788, Mr. Sotheby made a pedestrian tour through Wales, with his only brother the late Admiral Sotheby, which gave rise to some odes and much admired sonnets, with a poetical description of that romantic country, published in 1789, under the title of "A Tour through North and South Wales." * He remained in Hampshire till the year 1790, when he lost his mother, to whom he was most affectionately attached, and the following hitherto unpublished lines were written at that time: ON THE DEATH OF MY MOTHER. CLIFTON, 1790. Clifton, in happier hour thy groves among And youth in hope's gay sunshine sweetly smiled. To youth, the dream of happiness I leave; And breathe a prayer upon a parent's tomb. Spirit! I thank thee for each tender care That train'd my infancy; the babe the while But yesterday, the pious office mine Yet while I mourn that mute the voice revered * A second edition was published in 1794, with engravings from drawings made on the spot by T. Smith. I seek the consolation Heaven design'd, And may the God, who hears the mourner's cry, That I like thee may live, like thee may die. Farewell, blest spirit! To the world I go, To trace the toilsome path thy footsteps trod; As chastenings of a Father and a God! In consequence of this event, and from the desire of forming a more extensive literary society than could be met with in the country, Mr. Sotheby removed to London in 1791, and from this time made the metropolis his principal place of residence. The wish that led to this change was amply gratified; for he was soon elected a Fellow of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies, and became a member of the Dilettanti, and several other literary and scientific meetings. At his own house he was also in the constant habit of receiving persons of talent of all parties, both in politics and in literature, where the warmth of his manner, and cheerful tone of his mind, threw a peculiar charm over the society. Among the many distinguished associates of the first years of his London life a few may be selected his near relation and friend Sir Henry Englefield *, his old schoolfellows the late Marquis of Abercorn, and the late Earl of Hardwicke; Sir George Beaumont, Mr. William Spencer, Mrs. Joanna Baillie, Mr. Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons, the latter of whom, especially, he regarded with the enthusiasm natural to his character, and many others, whose intimacy he enjoyed, and in whose cultivated powers of mind he found perpetual gratification. To converse with eminent men was one of the pleasures which he most sought; and although he did not pretend to accurate scientific knowledge, nor had profoundly studied the more abstruse branches of literature, yet his keen and intelligent mind delighted in the varied pursuits of others; *The friendship existing between Sir Henry Englefield and Mr. Sotheby will best be illustrated by referring the reader to an "Address to the Dilettanti Society on the Death of their Secretary," 1822. : and he ever rejoiced at the success of those who trod the same path which he himself had chosen, whilst his generous nature made him the first to perceive and acknowledge kindred merit. No one praised more liberally or more sincerely his praise, indeed, was expressed with a warmth of admiration which, if it now and then seemed to exceed the merit of its object, only gave fresh cause to venerate the excellence of his heart, and his willingness to believe in all that did honour to his friends and contemporaries. Although his tastes were particularly suited to the objects of interest to be found only in a great metropolis, he delighted in the contrast afforded by the secluded manner in which he passed great part of every year at Fair-mead Lodge in Epping Forest, of which he was one of the Master Keepers, and where he had spent his early childhood. Here the cares and education of his then numerous family engrossed much of his time: for, however ardently devoted to the studies connected with poetical composition, they were never permitted to interfere with the more serious duties that he owed to his family and his friends. 66 About this time the poetical literature of Germany began to be known in England, to which the beautiful translation of Burger's Lenore," by his friend Mr. William Spencer, did not a little contribute. Mr. Sotheby mastered in a few months the difficulties of that language, and gave a proof of his attainments by publishing, in 1798, a translation from the Oberon of Wieland, — a publication which established his fame. Known already by some elegant poetical compositions, he now displayed, in an eminent degree, the appropriate talents of a translator: at once faithful and spirited, the version of Oberon became immediately popular; and though some of his later labours in rendering the language of foreign poets have been more difficult, and in that sense more successful, none perhaps have equally conciliated the suffrage of the critic, and the general reader. He sent the following lines to Wieland with a copy of his translation: SONNET TO WIELAND. Bard! while with eagle flight thy vent'rous muse, O'er poesy's wide range sublimely flies, Whether with seraph plume she reach the skies O'er Shakspeare's tomb, she woo th' enchanting sprite, Accept this tribute! nor, disdainful, slight An offering gather'd from thy cultured bowers, Encouraged by the public voice, unanimously raised in favour of this translation, Mr. Sotheby became a more frequent competitor for poetical fame; and, although his reputation will principally rest on the merits of his translations, it would be unjust not to call the attention of the lovers of poetry to his less celebrated original works, which evince throughout a high tone of religious and moral feeling, united to a cultivated taste, and a lively perception of all that is beautiful in nature and in art. The glorious victory of Nelson, in which Mr. Sotheby felt more than common interest, from his son Charles having just entered the navy, and being on board the Alexander during the action, gave rise to the short but spirited poem on the Battle of the Nile, published in 1799. In 1800 his wellknown translation of the Georgics of Virgil appeared. In 1801, his love of the fine arts prompted him to address his friend Sir George Beaumont, in "A Poetical Epistle on the Encouragement of the British School of Painting." In 1802 he first published the tragedy of "Orestes," on the model of the ancient Greek drama, accompanied by a mask entitled "Huon de Bordeaux," founded on the poem of Oberon, and interspersed with many elegant fairy songs adapted to the music of Viotti. The critical state of public affairs, and the threatened invasion, interrupted in great measure his literary pursuits. He devoted much of his time to the formation of a volunteer corps in the neighbourhood of Fair-mead Lodge; and it was not till 1805 that he found leisure to correct and publish a second edition of "Oberon," with engravings from the designs of Fuseli. During the spring of the same year he was introduced to Sir Walter Scott, who immediately said that it was not the first time he had had the pleasure of seeing him; for he well remembered, when he was a boy in the High School at Edinburgh, being punished for having left his class, in order to follow a troop of the Tenth Dragoons who were advancing up the street, headed by Mr. Sotheby, to quell a mutinous Highland regiment, then in the temporary possession of the castle. Sir Walter related this with his usual animation, adding, -"Had the Highlanders fired down the street, we poets might both have been swept away." Sir Walter was now completing his "Lay of the Last Minstrel," of which he recited many parts to Mr. Sotheby, who had also the pleasure of then making him personally known to his distinguished countrywoman Mrs. Joanna Baillie, whose works had already secured to her a place in his admiration and regard. This introduction was productive of a most sincere and uninterrupted friendship. Mr. Sotheby occupied himself during great part of the two following years in writing an original sacred poem, in blank verse, under the title of " Saul," which appeared in 1807. His next work was of an entirely different description, being principally suggested by the admiration he felt, and the pleasure he derived, from the perusal of the poetical writings of Scott, which induced him to compose "Constance de Castille, a metrical Poem in Ten Cantos," published in 1810: many of the descriptive passages, and the spirit of the whole, will show that he was not an unsuccessful imitator of the romantic style of " Marmion," and "The Lady of the Lake," then in the first freshness of their justly-deserved popularity. 66 In 1814 he republished the "Orestes," together with four other tragedies, one of which, called "Julian, or the |