ART. I.-A Life of Anthony Ashley, First | judge, and all of them together ought not to Earl of Shaftesbury, 1621-1683. By preclude renewed inquiry or appeal, if it can W. D. Christie, Formerly Her Majesty's be shown that they were swayed by prejuMinister to the Argentine Confederation dice or imperfectly acquainted with the facts. and to Brazil. 2 vols. London and New In the full and complete Life before us, Mr. York, 1871. Christie has undertaken to show this: to prove that historians, poets, and lawyers, are equally at fault: that Shaftesbury was not a bad man, if an erring one: that his admitted faults and vices were less those of the individual than of the age: that he lived in times when, to persist in an uncompromising course, was as impracticable as to walk straight amongst pitfalls or to keep clear of sunken rocks without tacking: that, whenever he joined or left a party or a cause, he did so because it had assumed fresh colours, or because a more effective mode of promoting the essential object of good government had broken upon him. THERE are few characters in English history better worth studying than that of Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury. He lived in most momentous times, and he played most important parts in them. He was a Royalist and a Parliamentarian by turns during the Great Rebellion; a kind of half-Cromwellian, with monarchical leanings, under the Commonwealth; a courtier, a patriot, a member of the Cabal, and a fierce exclusionist, under the Restoration. He changed sides with an audacity, a rapidity, and an adroitness, that make it difficult, almost impossible, to decide whether he was corrupt or incorrupt, whether he acted upon principle or no-principle, whether he adopted expediency, broad enlightened expediency, for the rule of his public conduct, or, in each successive crisis, simply waited for the tide, which, taken at the flood, leads on to for tune. If his changes had uniformly, or even generally, coincided with his interests or supposed views of personal advancement, there would be little room for doubt; but they did not. Making no allowance for him on this score, historians, poets, and lawyers, have joined in a chorus of reprobation. The brilliant rhetoric of Macaulay, the splendid satire of Dryden, the inexhaustible wit of Butier, the forensic acuteness of Lord Campbell, have been combined against his fame; yet no one of these formidable assailants can be deemed unexceptionable as a witness or a The undertaking was one of no ordinary boldness, and Mr. Christie is no ordinary biographer. Acute, cultivated, zealous, industrious, scrupulously accurate, justly confident in his resources and his views, he possesses (what we recently commended in Sir Henry Bulwer) the marked advantage of a peculiar training for his task. He has held high appointments in the diplomatic service, and he was an active member of the House of Commons for some years. In suggesting that biographers of statesmen will always be the better for some practical acquaintance with public affairs or statesmanship, we are not afraid of incurring the satirical reproof implied in the well-known line 'Who drives fat oxen should himself be fat.' Shaftesbury himself foresaw that he would be hardly judged by posterity. Whoever considers the number and the power of the Clarendon has recorded that many of the great men who took part in the Civil War were little men. An accurate notion of Shaftesbury's bodily proportions is conveyed by Dryden's nervous couplet : 'A fiery soul, which working out its way, adversaries I have met with, and how stu- | baronet, lord of the manor and place where diously they have, under the authority of I was born; my father, Sir John Cooper, both Church and State, dispersed the most knight and baronet, son of Sir John Cooper, villanous slanders of me, will think it neces- of Rockborn in the county of Hamshyre. I sary that I in this follow the French fashion, was christened by the name of Anthony and write my own Memoirs, that it may ap- Ashley, for, notwithstanding my grandfather pear to the world on what ground or motives had articled with my father and his guardians they came to be my enemies, and with what that he should change his name to Ashley, truth and justice they have prosecuted their yet, to make all sure in the eldest, he requarrel; and if in this whole narration they solved to add his name, so that it should not find me false or partial in any particular, I be parted with.' give up the whole to whatever censure they will make.' Such is the commencement of a meditated autobiography, which breaks off abruptly at the most interesting point; just when my life is not without great mixtures of the public concern, and must be much intermingled with the history of the times.' This fragment, however, is valuable as an illustration of the period and the writer. In describing or (to use his own expression) 'setting down his youthful time-including the particulars of his birth, family, and education-he incidentally throws light on national manners; whilst his sketches of contemporaries are remarkable for fineness of perception, firmness of touch, rich racy expression, and vitality. One of them, that of Mr. Hastings, son, brother, and uncle to the Earls of Huntingdon,' (often reprinted) has won a place in popular literature by these qualities. There is another autobiographical fragment, which skims over parts of his early life in a more cursory fashion; there is also extant a Diary for four years and a half of his middle life; but little more than bare well-known facts are to be collected from these documents; which occupy less time than thirty pages of Mr. Christie's Appendix, and afford little aid when we come to the vexed questions or debateable ground. It is just possible that, on approaching this same ground, Shaftesbury paused and thought better of it, or that the maxim, attributed to an eighteenth-century diarist, occurred to him: Whenever you have made a good impression, go away.' The Fragments leave a decidedly favourable impression, which their completion or continuation might have dis He took after his mother and maternal grandfather in these respects. Sir Anthony Ashley was of great age, but of strong sense and health; he had been for wisdom, courage, experience, skill in weapon, agility, and strength of body scarce paralleled in his age, of a large mind in all his actions, his person of the lowest. His daughter was of the same stature, a modest and virtuous woman, of a weaker mould, and not so stirring a mind as her father. Sir John Cooper was very lovely and graceful both in face and person, of a moderate stature, neither too high nor too low, of an easy and an affable nature, fair and just in all affairs.' Sir Anthony Ashley, when nearly fourscore, had taken to wife a young lady under twenty, near of kin to the Duke of Buckingham, from whom he expected great preferment, and, from her, children; but he failed of his expectation in the first, and his age, with the virtue of the young lady, could not help him to the lat ter.' He accordingly settled all his fortune on his son-in-law and daughter for their lives, with remainder in fee to Shaftesbury, for he grew every day more and more fond of me, being a prating boy and very observant of him.' Sir Anthony died in 1627, and Lady Cooper (the mother) in 1628, whereupon Sir John Cooper (the father) took for 'My birth (he states) was at Wimborn St. his second wife the widow of Sir Charles Gyles in the County of Dorsett, on the 22nd Moryson, and daughter and coheir of the day of July, 1621, early in the morning; my Lord Viscount Camden, a lady beautiful parents on both sides of a noble stock, being and of great fortune, a discreet woman of a of the first rank of gentry in those countries large soul, who, if she had not given some where they lived.' It appears from this and jealousy to both her husbands, and confirmother passages that the term 'noble' was thened it afterwards by marrying the person used in England, as it is still used on the Continent, to designate merely ancient lineage or good birth. My mother's name (he continues) was Anne, the sole daughter and heir of Sir Anthony Ashley, knight and turbed. (Sir Richard Alford), mought (sic) have been numbered amongst the excellent. This marriage caused the removal of the family to Cashiobury, the jointure house of the lady, where Sir John died, in March, 1630, Shaftesbury being thus left an orphan in his ninth year. Up to this time, and for about a year afterwards, he had been under the instruction of one Mr. Guerden, who subsequently became a physician of note. Mr. Guerden's successor in this charge was Mr. Fletcher, a very excellent teacher of grammar; and this is all we know of Shaftesbury's education till he went to Exeter College, Oxford, in 1637. It is the remark of Gibbon that every man who rises above the common level has received two educations: the first from his teachers; the second, more personal and important, from himself. Shaftesbury may be cited in confirmation of this theory, and he is also a striking instance of the precocity which occurs, or at all events is made prominent, so much more frequently in preceding generations than in our own. This is pre-eminently the age of septuagenarian, almost octogenarian, statesmen and generals; but we can no longer boast of youthful orators, ministers, heroes, and conquerors, like Fox, Pitt, Condé, and Napoleon; nor of men of mark marrying, settling, and taking up a distinguished position, public or private, in their teens. Shaftesbury was under eighteen when he married, under nineteen when he took his seat in the House of Commons, and hardly thirteen when he intervened personally in the management of his property, sadly mismanaged by his guardians, and succeeded in wresting a large slice from the grasp of an uncle who had hoped to plunder him through the connivance of the Court of Wards. This uncle, Sir Francis Ashley, was a formidable antagonist, being the King's serjeant-at-law, and one of more elocution, learning, and abilitie, than gratitude or piety to his elder brother's family.' The main point in question was whether a deed of settlement took the estate out of wardship: sitting with his hat over his eyes, and having heard Sir Francis make a long and elegant speech for the overthrowing of my deed, said openly, "Sir Francis, you have spoke like a me, and my uncle rising up to reply (I being good uncle." Mr. Attorney Noy argued for then present in court), before he could speak two words, he was taken with a sudden convulsion fit, his mouth drawn to his ear, was carried out of the court, and never spoke more.' Without going quite the length of the Reverend Mr. Thwackum in the doctrine of judgments, we call on all wicked uncles to take warning from this catastrophe. Shaftesbury's career at the University was no less typical of the coming man than that of Napoleon making snowball ramparts and directing mimic sieges at Brienne. We see the restless, scheming, turbulent politician as clearly as the nascent strategist in the bud. influence, and the uses he made of it, are The mode in which he set about obtaining equally characteristic. 'I kept both horses and servants in Oxford, and was allowed what expense or recreation ĺ desired, which liberty I never much abused; but it gave me the opportunity of obliging by entertainments the better sort and supporting divers of the activest of the lower rank with giving them leave to eat when in distress upon my expense, it being no small honour amongst those sort of men, that my name in the buttery book willingly owned twice the expense of any in the University. This expense, my quality, proficiency in learning, and natural affability easily not only obtained the good will of the wiser and older sort, but made me the leader even of all the rough young men of that college (Exeter), famous for the courage and shire gentlemen, which in great numbers yearly strength of tall, raw-boned Cornish and Devoncome to that college, and did then maintain in the schools coursing against Christ Church, the largest and most numerous college in the University.' Mr. Noy was then the King's Attorney, This coursing, he goes on to explain, was who, being a very intimate friend of my grand in olden times intended for a fair trial of father's, had drawn that settlement; my friends learning and skill in logic, metaphysics, and advised that I was in great danger if he would school divinity, but for some generations the not undertake my cause, and yet, it being verbal disputations had uniformly ended in against the King, it was neither proper nor pro- affronts, confusion, and very often blows, bable he would meddle in it for me; but weigh-when they went most gravely to work,' ing the temper of the man, the kindness he making a great noise with their feet, hissing had for my grandfather, and his honour so concerned if a deed of that consequence should and shoving with their shoulders, the fail of his drawing, they advised that I must be stronger driving out the weaker, the proctors my own solicitor, and carry the deed myself and occasionally the Vice-Chancellor being alone to him, which, being but thirteen years swept away with the throng. old, I undertook and performed with that pertness that he told me he would defend my cause though he lost his place. I was at the Court, and he made good his word to the full without taking one penny fees. My Lord Cottington was then Master of the Wards, who, 'I was often one of the disputants, and gave the sign and order for their beginning, but, being not strong of body, was always guarded from violence by two or three of the sturdiest youths, as their chief, and one who always re lieved them when in prison and procured their release, and very often was forced to pay the neighbouring farmers, when they of our party that wanted money were taken in the fact, for more geese, turkeys, and poultry than either they had stole or he had lost, it being very fair dealing if he made the scholar, when taken, pay no more than he had lost since his last reimbursement.' Shaftesbury records with manifest exultation that there were two other things in which he had a principal hand when he was at college: 'the one, I caused that ill custom of tucking freshmen to be left off; the other, when the senior fellows designed to alter the beer of the college, which was stronger than other colleges, I hindered their design.' Proceeding warily and knowingly, he effectually stopped the deterioration of the beer. His plan was this. The poorer undergraduates who were intended by their friends to get their livelihood by their studies were directed to rest quiet whilst all the others 'that were elder brothers, or unconcerned in their anger,' should go in a body and strike their names out of the buttery book; 'which was accordingly done and had the effect that the senior fellows, seeing their pupils going that yielded them most profit, presently struck sail and articled with us to alter the size of our beer, which remains so to this day.' The other, he tells us, was a harder work, tucking being a custom of great antiquity for the senior to call up the freshmen and make them hold out their chin, and they (the seniors) with the nail of the right thumb, left long for that purpose, grate off all the skin from the lip to the chin and then cause them to drink a beer-glass of water and salt.' threw open the gates of the camp, 'some of the stoutest and strongest of our freshmen, giant-like boys, opened the door, let in as many as they pleased, and shut the door by main strength upon the rest. Those who had been let in were beginning to rue their rashness, when Shaftesbury interposed and proposed to employ them as negotiators, some of them being considerable enough to make terms for us, which they did; for Dr. Prideaux, always favourable to youth offending out of courage, uniting with the fears of those we had within, gave us articles of pardon for what had passed and an utter abolition in that college of that foolish custom.' The story of his marriage in his eighteenth year with a daughter of the Lord Keeper Coventry is told in the same quaint and pointed language. The young people took up their residence with the Lord Keeper at his town house, paying occasional visits to Dorsetshire, where Shaftesbury's main object was to keep up his county influence and mortify his principal rival, Mr. Rogers, ‘a near neighbour, of a noble family and estate, a proper handsome man, and indeed a very worthy noble gentleman, and one that thought so well of himself as gave him a value with others.' The principal scene of never action was a bowling-green at Hanley, 'where the gentlemen went constantly once a week, though neither the green nor accommodation were inviting, yet it was well placed for to continue the correspondence of the gentry of those parts.' Here he omitted no opportunity to show up Mr. Rogers, whose coach and six, garb, and discourse, all spoke him one that thought himelf above them, which, when observed to them, they easily agreed to. My family, alliance, fortune, being not prejudiced either by nature or education, gave me the juster grounds to take exceptions; besides, my affable, easy temper, now with care improved, rendered the stiffness of his demeanour more visible.' Although the only finished portrait in the Autobiography is the familiar one of Mr. Hastings, each of the leading gentry has a graphic sentence or two devoted to him, showing how carefully Shaftesbury studied character with the obvious view of preparing stepping-stones for his ambition. He had made up his mind not to undergo 'tucking,' and by a lucky chance the freshmen of his year were a strong body, physically and numerically strong, comprising more and lustier young gentlemen than had come to the college in several years before, who, on his prompting, cheerfully engaged to stand stoutly in defence of their chins,' They all appeared at the appointed evening in the hall,, and my Lord of Pembrook's son calling me first, as we knew by custom it would begin with me, I according to agreement gave the signal, striking him a box on the ear, and immediately the freshmen fell on, and we easily cleared the buttery and the hall, but bachelors and young masters coming in to assist the seniors, we were compelled to retreat to a ground chamber in the quadrangle.' In this extremity they appear to have turned their classical studies to good account. Like the two champions in theEneid' who No reasonable reader complains of any number of egotistical confessions or revelations in a diary or autobiography. We like Pepys the better for his weaknesses, and we are amused by the self-complacency with which Lord Herbert of Cherbury expatiates on his own physical advantages, as when he says: 'It is well known to those that wait in my chamber that the shirts, waistcoats, and other garments I wear next my body are |