Life and Works of Henry Fielding
"THE exquisite performances of the statuary and the
painter are mouldered into dust but Praxiteles and Zeuxis
will always live to fame, for the pencil of literature paints
to distant ages, and its colours fade not amidst the revolutions of
time." Such is the language of an anonymous
critic, who probably caught his inspiration front that
delightful chapter of Willmott's[1] entitled "The Long Life
of Books," in which the distinguished writer points out
the enduring nature of the masterpieces of literature. The
sentiment is elegant and correct. Some pictures, drawn by
the pen will outlive the choicest specimens upon canvas.
The richness of an image, or a thought in Homer or
Shakespeare, mellows with the lapse of time, whilst the tints fade
from a painting by Raffaelle or Claude. Choice sentences need no
restoration - they are safe even from the predatory pen of the critic.
Thus a gem of thought, once set in words, retains its lustre
inidiminished, and descends as a sacred heir-loom from generation to
generation. Such a treasure is the glowing and picturesque language
in -which Edward Gibbon enshrined tile fame and the memory of
England's first and greatest delineator of life and manners-Henry
Fielding' "Our immortal Fielding was of the younger branch of tile
Earls of'Denbigh, who drew their origin from the Counts of
Hapsburg, the lineal descendants of Eltrico, in the seventh century
Duke of Alsace. Far different have been the fortunes of the English
and German divisions of the family of Hapsburg : the former, the
knights and sheriffs of Leicestershire, have slowly risen
to the dignity of a peerage; the latter, the emperors of Germany, and
the kings of Spain, have threatened the liberties of the Old, and
invaded the treasures of the New World. The successors of Charles
V. may disdain their brethren in England; but the romance of 'Tom
Jones' that exquisite picture of humour and manners-will outlive the
palace of the Escurial and the imperial Eagle of Austria." Even
Gibbon could turn aside from graver and more learned labours to pay
a tribute to the genius of one whose works bad probably charmed
many a weary hour in his own chequered existence. The historian of
the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" was not insensible to
the amenities of literature; and his own frequent afflictions taught
him to value the better productions of those who wrote for the
amusement, as well as for the instruction of mankind.
The founder of the English family settled in this country in the
thirteenth century, when he assumed the name of Fielding. His
descendants distinguished themselves in the wars of the Roses,
whilst in the great struggle between the Cavaliers and the
Roundheads, in the reign of Charles I., a father and son of this house
held commands upon opposite sides. In 1620, Sir William Fielding
was created a Baron and Viscount; and in 1622 he was made Earl
of Denbigh. He died fighting bravely for his sovereign in 1643. His
second son, George, true to the royal cause, was created Earl of
Desmond, and this nobleman's youngest son, John Fielding, Canon of
Salisbury, was the novelist's grandfather. This distinguished
churchman, at one time chaplain to William III., left a numerous
family, of which the youngest boy, Edmund, a soldier, who served
under the great Marlborough, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant
General, was the father of Henry Fielding, the subject of this short
memoir.
The general had two wives: the first, the daughter of Judge Gould,
bore him six children, two boys and four girls. Of these, Henry
Fielding, the eldest son, was born at Sharpham Park, near
Glastonbury, in Somersetshire; on the 22nd of April, 1707. His
education commenced at home, under the direction of the Rev. Mr.
Oliver, the family chaplain. This individual is said to have furnished
the original of Parson Trulliber, in "Joseph Andrews." If the
portrait be correct, he must have been a person of rather
extraordinary dimensions; for the novelist describes Parson Trulliber
as one of the largest specimens of his species, a man that "could have
acted the part of Sir John Falstaff without stuffing." From this and
other references to his early instructor, we can readily imagine that he
afforded a constant fund of amusement to the boy, and, no doubt, in
after-life, furnished him with the outline of many of his most
humorous sketches.
As soon as he had made sufficient progress in his studies, Henry
Fielding was sent to Eton, where he numbered amongst his school
companions, Pitt and Fox (afterwards the great ornaments of the
English Senate), Lord Lyttleton and Sir Charles Hanbury Williams,
who became his constant friends. His application to his studies is said
to have been creditable to himself and honourable to the
establishment; and as he was destined by his father for the Bar, on
quitting Eton he proceeded to the University of Leyden. Here he studied civil law
diligently for two years; but pecuniary supplies suddenly ceased, and
he was compelled to return to his own country.
Thus at the age of twenty was Henry Fielding cast, almost without
pecuniary resources, into the vortex of London life. His person was
tall, handsome, and commanding; his manners and bearing were
calculated to make a favourable impression upon those with whom he
came in contact, if not to conciliate esteem; and he possessed a keen
relish for the pleasures of society. Live he must, by some means or
other; and as his father, the general, had married again, and was
unable to remit the allowance of two hundred per annum, which he
had promised his son for his maintenance the young man turned his
attention towards the drama.
Murphy divides this author's genius into what he terms three epochs;
in which he traces an exact correspondence. These are represented
by "Joseph Andrews," "Tom Jones," and "Amelia." He says, "In the
progress of Henry Fielding's talents, there seem to have been three
remarkable periods; one, when his genius broke forth at once with an
effulgence, superior to all the rays of light it had before emitted, like
the sun in his morning glory, without the ardour
and the blaze which afterwards attend him; the second, when it was
displayed with collected force, and a fulness of perfection, like the
sun in meridian majesty, with all his highest warmth and splendour;
and the third, when the same genius, grown more cool and
temperate, still continued to cheer and enliven, but showed, at the
same time, that it was tending to its decline; like the same sun,
abating from his ardour, but still gilding the western hemisphere."[2]
With due deference to the views of this author, we cannot regard
this division as a happy one, more particularly as it does not include
that important period in Fielding's career, when he laboured most
strenuously to obtain a position in literature as a dramatic writer, for
which he showed an aptitude of no common order.
Taking his manhood and the progress of his genius together, we, like
Murphy, would divide his career into three separate portions, but in a
manner not adopted by any of his biographers. During the first of
these, which lasted from his appearance as a dramatic author in
1728, to his admission as a student of the Middle Temple in 1737, his
object seems to have been to obtain a livelihood by devoting himself
almost entirely to dramatic composition. In the second, from 1737 till
the publication of "Joseph Andrews," in 1742, he sought to achieve
the same result by the legal profession, although even during this
interval he did not entirely abandon his literary pursuits; and in the
third, from 1742 till his death, in 1754, he appears to have discovered
the true bent of his genius,-to have become distinguished as a writer
of fiction, while he also obtained a certain position in his profession.
When Henry Fielding commenced his career as a dramatic author,
the prospects of the English stage were by no means encouraging. It
was, indeed, one of the most gloomy periods in its annals; for
although the theatres occasionally prospered, a false taste prevailed,
to which a new and young author ran imminent risk of sacrificing the
real vigour or originality of whatever genius he might possess.
Unless such an aspirant had previously formed his style after the standard of
the best models of a better age, was firmly resolved to
resist every temptation to pander to the degenerate taste of the public,
and possessed genius and influence sufficient to command the
reception of his productions, he was certain to fall into the snare. The
plays of William Shakespeare had been mutilated, for no audience
could then be induced to listen to these wonderful productions in their
original form; and while the comedies of Wycherley, Congreve,
Vanburgh, and Farquhar, kept possession of the stage, and were
looked upon as masterpieces, we can scarcely feel surprised that
Colley Cibber and other diminutives should have ruled paramount in
the domain of Thalia.
Fielding's first comedy, "Love in Several Masques," was brought out in
February, 1728, before its author had attained his majority. It is
evidently framed, as the author himself admits in his preface, upon the
model of Congreve. Fielding never succeeded in shaking off those
fetters, which cramped his powers and rendered all his attempts to
obtain success as a dramatic author futile. Had he sought to reform
the stage, instead of pandering to the false taste of the age, he might
have written comedies that would have become stock pieces, for he
possessed considerable ability for dramatic composition, and a
knowledge of character that must, had it been properly cultivated, have
proved a rich and profitable vein. The comedy was favourably
received: nor can this be ascribed solely to the admirable acting, and
great popularity of Mrs. Oldfield, who played the part of the heroine,
for it contains many admirable scenes, and is, with all its defects,
infinitely preferable to many of the popular pieces of that day. It was
afterwards published and dedicated to the author's relation, Lady Mary
Wortley Montague, who seems to have entertained a high opinion of
his abilities, and, at a later period, even ranked him with Congreve.
The drama was not, however, the sphere in which Henry Fielding was
destined to win renown; and although he produced a great number of
pieces for the stage, of various kinds and very different degrees of
merit, these are mostly forgotten; while those charming pictures of life
and manners, "Tom Jones," and "Amelia," have kept here his fame as a
writer of fiction alive to this hour. Soon after the appearance of
his first comedy, the metropolis was thrown into an extraordinary
state of excitement, by the production of "The Beggar's Opera,"
written by Gay, said to have been the most popular performance
ever known upon the English stage. It was brought out at the theatre
in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and its success, for a time, cast everything
else, more particularly in the theatrical world, into the shade. Ladies
had the favourite airs of the piece printed upon their fans; a
performance by children was got up, for the especial gratification of
the juvenile portion of the community, and even the actors obtained
increased salaries. Miss Fenton, the original Polly Peachum, in that
character completely carried the town captive, won the heart of a
peer, and became Duchess of Bolton.
Lord Stanhope (Hist. of England, from the Peace of Utrecht to that
of Versailles, vol. ii. chap. xviii. p. 230) says, with reference to this
remarkable production: "Gay soon afterwards joined the opposition,
and declared his quarrel by the production of the "Beggar's Opera;"
teeming with satirical strokes against the court and government. The
name of 'Bob Booty,' for example, always raised a laugh, being
understood as levelled at Sir Robert Walpole. The first idea of the
play seems to have sprung from a suggestion of Swift,[3] but the
praise of its execution belongs entirely to Gay. Its brilliant success (it
was acted for sixty-three nights without intermission) may be
ascribed, in some degree, like that of 'Cato,' under Queen Anne, to
party zeal; yet the pleasure with which it is still seen upon the stage
is a proof of its real merit."
Fielding did not, however, lay aside his pen. In 1730, his second
comedy, "The Temple Beau," was brought out at Goodman's Fields.
It had but a short run, in consequence of the sudden closing of the
theatre. Between his first appearance as a dramatic author and the
year 1737, when he became a law student, Fielding wrote no less
than twenty-three pieces for the stage, most of them comedies and
farces. Only one of these, a burlesque, entitled "The Tragedy of
Tragedies; or, the Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great," proved
decidedly successful. It was first played in 1730, and was intended to
ridicule the bombastic and inflated
style of the popular tragedies of the day. Indeed, many of the best hits
consisted of lines taken, almost verbatim, from the productions of
those authors whom Fielding wished to ridicule. So great was the
success of this burlesque, that, although written in one act, it was
afterwards enlarged to three; and it still retains a certain measure of
its popularity. The other pieces, which met with the best reception,
were two translations, the one of Molière's "Le
Médecin malgré lui," produced under the title of the
"Mock Doctor; or, the Dumb Lady Cured," and the other of
"L'Avare," by the same author, which appeared in its English garb
under the name of " The Miser."
An interruption, however, occurred in Fielding's career as a dramatist,
in which he married and endeavoured to adapt himself to the manners
and pursuits of a country life. Very little is known concerning the
courtship. The lady's name was Cradock, she was one of the reigning
belles of Salisbury, and, in addition to her personal charms, possessed
a small fortune. The union was celebrated in 1735, and the married
couple took up their abode on a small estate, at East Stour, in
Dorsetshire. Here Fielding assumed a new character,-that of a
country squire. He kept horses and hounds, gave grand entertainments;
but not having means to support this extravagant outlay, when the
day of reckoning arrived, the dream faded.
In 1736 Fielding reappeared in London, with an additional stimulus to
exertion, having a wife and child dependent upon him, and various
schemes in his head for obtaining a livelihood. A theatrical speculation
allured him once more from the law, in which profession he was
seriously disposed to endeavour to make his way. At that time Sir
Robert Walpole's corrupt system was at its height; the powerful
politician was attacked on all sides, and Fielding conceived the idea of
aiming a blow at the minister, by means of a satirical drama. For this
purpose be obtained possession of the Haymarket Theatre, collected a
company of actors, which he himself designated the "Great Mogul's
Company of Comedians," and produced "Pasquin, a dramatic Satire on
the Times." The satire took famously, and in 1737 Fielding
repeated the experiment, and brought out another, called "The
Historical Register for 1736." This was also successful, indeed too
successful, for the popularity of the piece attracted the attention of
ministers, who took the alarm, and passed the Licensing Act; thus
placing theatrical establishments more directly under their control.
The alteration in the law proved a death-blow to Fielding's scheme
of establishing a place of public amusement upon entirely novel
principles. Once more he directed his attention to the legal
profession, and at Michaelmas, 1737, entered as a student of the
Middle Temple, and with this event, the first of the three periods into
which we have divided his career terminates.
There can be little doubt that Henry Fielding applied himself
diligently to his law studies. In June, 1740, he was called to the Bar,
took chambers in Pump Court, and at once commenced practice on
the Western circuit. Although during this interval he completely
renounced dramatic composition, be did not on that account give up
his literary labours. In the "Champion," a periodical on the model of
the "Spectator," he had a share, and contributed largely to its
columns; whilst he also became involved in a paper war with Colley
Cibber, and published one or two political and satirical pamphlets.
Briefs did not come in so rapidly as the young barrister anticipated;
and perhaps, had he been a successful lawyer, he would not have
achieved a reputation as a writer of fiction. Fielding still devoted his
leisure to literature, and in the mouth of February, 1742, his first
novel," The Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and his Friend Mr.
Abraham Adams," made its appearance. With this new experiment
the second portion of his career terminated, and we must glance at
the origin and history of this remarkable production before
proceeding further.
The first part of Richardson's "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded,"
appeared in 1740; and although tinged with a very questionable
morality, and by no means possessed of great merits, the work
created a most extraordinary sensation. Fielding saw the mistakes
committed by the writer, and at once resolved to turn them to
account. Such was the origin of his first novel. Whilst labouring at
this new vein of invention, he kept his great model
Cervantes in his mind, and the consequence was, that he produced the
best work of fiction that had up to that period been written in the
English language. Its success was extra ordinary, and even rivalled
that of "Pamela," the work which bad called it into existence. This
novel is a vivid picture of English life and manners, written in a
graceful style, and enriched with excellent portraits and descriptions.
The characters are admirably drawn and sustained, and one in
particular, the Rev. Abraham Adams, is said to have been sketched
from his own friend, the Rev. William Young, who had assisted him in
a translation of the comedy of "Plutus," from the Greek of
Aristophanes. At any rate, it is one of the finest creations in English
literature: it soon became a universal favourite, and no doubt furnished
Oliver Goldsmith with a hint for his Dr. Primrose, in the "Vicar of
Wakefield."
This brings us to the third and closing portion of Fielding's career. The
success of "Joseph Andrews" induced him once more to devote his
attention almost exclusively to literature. Two more pieces from his
pen were produced upon the stage in 1742, the first being a farce,
"Miss Lucy in Town," which was brought out at Drury Lane. Kitty
Clive created a sensation in the character of the heroine; but after the
eighth night of representation, further performance was prohibited by
order of the Lord Chamberlain. The new law was now in force, and
Fielding severely punished for the licence in which be bad, at an earlier
period, indulged. His last dramatic effort was "The Wedding Day," a
comedy written many years before, and now performed in a very
rough state, at the request of Garrick, at that time rising into fame.
This eminent actor had formed an intimacy with Fielding, and he
expressed a generous wish to appear in a new play of his production.
Although supported by Garrick, Peg Woffington, Macklin, and other
accomplished artists, it proved a failure, and Fielding did nothing more
for the drama.
The winter of 1742-43 was a gloomy one for Fielding. His wife fell
seriously ill,-his child also sickened,-and the subject of our memoir had
an attack of the gout. Still he struggled on, and published three volumes
of "Miscellanies," consisting of various pieces in prose and verse. The first
volume is composed of a number of articles, and some poems, of no particular
merit. "A Journey from this World to the Next," in the second,
contains excellent passages, and is a very admirably contrived satire,
though in a fragmentary state. The third volume is entirely taken up
with the " History of the Life of the late Mr. Jonathan Wild the
Great," the least successful of Fielding's works of fiction. Perhaps
the satirical nature of this production destroyed its charm; for
although it contains much forcible writing, abounds in humour as well
as satire, and great ability is displayed in the construction of the
story, it is by no means a general favourite.
In 1743 Fielding lost an affectionate wife, who had lightened the
heavy burden of a chequered existence; and from this blow he
never entirely recovered. Her memory seemed ever present to him;
and the beautiful portrait he has given the world, in "Amelia,"
shows how firmly she sat enthroned in his heart. As soon as he
was sufficiently recovered to resume his occupations, he resolved
upon following his profession more zealously. In 1744 be wrote an
introduction for "David Simple," a novel, first published anonymously.
It was composed by his sister Sarah; and for the second edition, the
novelist penned his preface. During the troubles of 1745-46,
he published a journal, called "The True Patriot," which expired with
the cause that produced it, in the following year.
About this time Fielding contracted a second marriage, with Mary
Macdaniel; the faithful servant and constant friend of the first Mrs.
Fielding. Even in this act, Fielding showed the depth of his affection
for the woman he had lost; the veneration of the servant for her late
mistress, and her attention to her child, won the widower's heart,
and induced him to make her his wife. In 1747 Fielding started
another political paper, called "The Jacobite Journal," which was
discontinued towards the end of 1748, at which period, through
the influence of his old school-fellow at Eton, George Lyttleton, one
of the Lords of the Treasury, he was made a Justice of the Peace
for Middlesex and Westminster. When the novelist received this
appointment, these magistrates were in the habit of taking bribes, and were
hence called "trading magistrates." This course Fielding honourably refused to
adopt, and be relates in his "Journal to Lisbon," that although he had
much to do, the amount of his fees was so small (about £300 per
annum), that he could not maintain himself, in a manner becoming his
station, without having recourse to other sources of emolument.
Our author had long been employed upon another fiction,
and on the 28th of February, 1749, his great work, "The
History of Tom Jones, a Foundling," first appeared. Its
success was most decided; and has never waned. Amid
changes in public taste, and the rise and fall of various
popular styles, "Tom Jones" has firmly held its ground. It
has been translated into almost every language in Europe;
and to this day retains its proud position as the masterpiece
of English novels. It cannot be necessary to sketch the plot of
a work to which this short notice is prefixed: the reader
will sit down at the literary banquet himself, and thus
obtain some idea of its merits. We have already quoted
Edward Gibbon's glowing eulogium; and few writers that
have since won a distinguished place in English literature,
have omitted to pay their tribute of praise and admiration
to the superior excellence of this delightful fiction. Sir
Walter Scott, the great novelist of this century, says, "Even
Richardson's novels are but a step from the old romance,
approaching, indeed, more nearly to the ordinary course of
events, but still dealing in improbable incidents, and in characters
swelled out beyond the ordinary merits of humanity.
The 'History of a Foundling' is truth, and human nature
itself; and there lies the inestimable advantage which it
possesses over all previous fictions of this particular kind."
In 1749 Fielding was unanimously elected chairman at the sessions,
which entailed upon him the duty of attending at the bench, as well as
at Bow Street. Though zealous in the discharge of his public duties, he
was frequently kept a, prisoner by his old enemy the gout. In addition
to "Tom Jones," he, in 1749, published a charge to the Grand Jury, and
an account of the case of one, Penlez, a Jew, which then attracted
considerable attention.
"Amelia" was published towards the end of 1751, but did
not prove so successful as its predecessor, "Tom Jones," although
the publisher, by a clever expedient, managed to get rid of the first
impressions very rapidly. For the latter, Fielding received no less than
£700, and for "Amelia," the same publisher paid £1,000. It is said
to have been the only work published in England, for which a second
edition was called in the evening of the day on which the first was
issued. Even Dr. Johnson, who had before been insensible to
Fielding's merits as a writer of fiction, at once recognized the
excellence of this beautiful picture of female devotion. Murphy sums
up its merits thus:--"The author's invention in this performance does
not appear to have lost its fertility; his judgment, too, seems as strong
as ever; but the warmth of imagination is abated; and, in his
landscapes or his scenes of life, Mr. Fielding is no longer the
colourist he was before. The personages of the piece delight too
much in narrative, and their characters have not those touches of
singularity, those specific differences, which are so beautifully
marked in our author's former works: of course the humour, which
consists in happy delineations of the caprices and predominant
foibles of the human mind, loses here its high flavour and relish. And
yet 'Amelia' holds the same proportion to 'Tom Jones,' that the
Odyssey of Homer bears, in the estimation of Longinus, to the Iliad.
A fine vein of morality runs through the whole; many of the
situations are affecting and tender; the sentiments are delicate: and,
upon the whole, it is the Odyssey, the moral and pathetic work of
Henry Fielding." It is a book in all respects worthy to take its place
by the side of "Tom Jones;" and, as a faithful picture of English life
and manners, with the charming portrait of a true and affectionate
wife, can never be surpassed.
This was indeed a fitting memorial for Fielding to hang as
the crowning chaplet on the column of his literary fame. It
was his last production in fiction. "The Covent Garden
Journal" was published in 1752, and provoked the ire of
Tobias Smollett, then just rising into notice. This was followed by
one or two pamphlets relating to Law Reports, and
"A Proposal for Making an Effectual Provision for the
Poor," which appeared in 1753.
Zealous in the public service, Henry Fielding was at length compelled
to succumb. Unwilling to leave his post
whilst his energies remained, and anxious to disperse a gang of
villains and cut-throats who then infested the metropolis, he struggled
on for some time, but in vain. The symptoms of dropsy, jaundice, and
asthma revealed themselves in his shattered frame; and in the severe
winter of 1753-54 he was compelled to retire from the active
performance of his duties and repair to Bath. The trip did not restore
him; and early in 1754 he underwent the operation of tapping, which
afforded him some relief. In May he removed to a small cottage at
Ealing, hoping to derive benefit from the change of air, A warmer
climate was, however, recommended, and on the 26th of June, he
embarked with his wife and eldest daughter, on board a small trading
vessel bound for Lisbon. Of that voyage he has left an account,
published in 1755, under the title of "The Journal of a Voyage to
Lisbon." The vessel was detained some time in the Channel by
contrary winds, and the travellers were compelled to disembark at
Ryde, where they remained nearly, a fortnight, having been victimized
by a grasping landlady, whilst the declining strength of the dying man
was sorely taxed by these delays. They had scarcely set sail from
Ryde, when the gale increased, and they again sought refuge, but this
time at Torbay. Here Fielding made a purchase of three hogsheads of
cider, two of which were sent as a present to some friends in England,
and the other was taken to Lisbon ; and he tasted, for the first time in
his life, a John Dorée, with which delicacy he was quite
enraptured; all of which matters are duly recorded in his "Journal."
Having been tossed about in the Bay of Biscay, the travellers reached
Lisbon in safety towards the middle of August. In this delightful
country his life ebbed gently away, and on the 8th of October, 1754,
he expired without a groan, not having lived to complete his forty
eighth year. His remains were interred in the burial-ground of the
English Factory; and a monument was erected over his grave by the English
residents
at Lisbon. This having fallen into decay, was in 1830 restored; and the
following inscription -placed upon it--"HENRICUS FIELDING LUGET BRITANNIA GREMI0 NON DATUM
FOVERE." His widow and four children were provided for by the joint
exertions of his half-brother, afterwards Sir John Fielding, and of that
ornament to humanity, Ralph Allen, whom Pope immortalized in the oft-repeated
lines
"Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame,
Do good by stealth and blush to find it fame."
Twenty-four years afterwards, namely in 1778, Garrick obtained
possession of the long-lost comedy, "The Fathers ; or, the Good-natured Man,"
written by Fielding during his career as a dramatic
author, but never before performed. It was produced for the benefit
of his family, and attracted a large audience. It was, however, only
repeated nine times.
Such was the life, and such were the principal works of Henry
Fielding. His thoughtlessness and want of prudence, in the earlier
portion of his career, involved him in many difficulties, and clouded
his prospects for a great part of his existence. Yet it must not be
forgotten, that he applied himself diligently to his studies, both at
Eton and the University of Leyden; and only relinquished them when
the supplies from home ceased. This unfortunate circumstance
entirely altered all his plans of life, and proved an obstacle in the
way of his success. He possessed a noble heart and a nice sense of
honour, which was not blunted even amid the scenes of temptation
and vice in which the earlier portions of his career were passed.
Few men emerged from such an ordeal in a more creditable
manner.
As a painter of character and manners, Fielding remains to this day
unrivalled. His fictions are genuine pictures of English life; there is
not a shade nor a tint upon his canvas not truly natural. Byron styled
him "the prose Homer of human nature;" Arthur Murphy calls him
"the English Cervantes;" whilst another author declares that he drew
with the descriptive fidelity of his friend and contemporary, Hogarth.
Theman is seen in his works; and those who have read "Joseph
Andrews," "Tom Jones," and "Amelia," will obtain a better idea of
Henry Fielding, than any biographer could give them. This charming
writer made his books the mirrors of his own soul; like it, they
partake of the natural defects that pertain to things human
but they are, for all that, healthy, noble, and elevating.
G. H. T. January 30, 1857.
Notes
[[1]]
See "Pleasures, Objects, and Advantages of Literature," chap. ii.
[[2]]
"Essay on the Life and Genius of Fielding," prefixed to Works, p. 65.
[[3]]
Spence's Anecdotes, p. 159.