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hurt at this circumstance, and declared, that as the world could not relish them, he would give them a compilation of nonsense; hence appeared the Tristram Shandy. Of these Sermons the Editors of a late work, published in Caen, thus remark :---" Amongst many digressions and reflections, expressed however in too familiar a style, you find a solid moral, very pressing arguments, specimens of extraordinary genius, and a full knowledge of the human heart."*

Indeed Mr. Sterne was no less a favorite abroad than in

England; and his Tristram Shandy, Sentimental Journey, and Letters to Eliza, have been long translated and admired in France, &c.

Tristram Shandy, at first, made but little noise, it was printed at York; but having attracted the notice of some men of genius, the second edition yielded a very handsome profit. Mr. Sterne had read with attention the authors of wit and humor of the 16th century, books little known at the time he wrote, and in the hands of but few persons; from hence, assisted by his own brilliant imagination, he has drawn those flashes of humour which so delight and charm. To relish his Tristram Shandy, the reader himself must possess, in some degree, that eccentricity which is the prominent feature in this performance, for he who reads it in the expectation of a narrative of the life of Tristram Shandy, will rise disappointed, the hero of the history being no more than the axis, round which is whirled an infinity of digressions, episodes, and remarks. The work attracted shortly general attention; men of genius approved of it--the million joined without understanding it; and not to seem to understand it, was deemed a deficiency of taste and wit; such was

* Nouveau Dict. Historique, 10 vols. 8vo. 7th edition. 1789. Caen and Lyons.

able from its being in the vicinity of York and his other livings. During his literary career he published several sermons of considerable merit, but they did not obtain that degree of fame to which they were entitled. The clergy, at least a few of the dignitaries of the church, were (politically perhaps) offended with his eccentric writings, and therefore withheld that meed of praise to which those sermons appear entitled. The modern clergy, however, by their free use, seem to differ from the opinion of those high dignitaries. Mr. S. could, indeed, be wanton as the summer's breeze, yet he could also be collected, serious, devout. He could awaken the soul to the impulses of piety, and attune it to the raptures of adoration. The pen of opposition was however torpid, probably for fear of the suspended lash in the hands of our author.

His manner of living abroad, and the expensive company he kept, with a disposition to luxurious living, while every day spread its allurements, consumed fast those sums which his literary labours had procured.

Mrs. S. with her daughter, either finding the air of France agree better with them, or perhaps not altogether approving Mr. Sterne's conduct, resided there on a settled salary which he allowed them. On his return to England he resided chiefly in London, admired by all who were acquainted with him.* The air of the Continent, and the change of situation, had greatly contributed to amend his health, but could not eradicate the latent evil. An inve

*It is to be regretted that the patronage received of the world, by a genius, wit, bon vivant, or gay character, are no proofs of moral estimation, of being a good husband, parent, or friend---inasmuch as a person may receive all those honors and be deficient in those amiable qualifications, which can only confer lasting esteem from the good, virtuous, and regular members of society.

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terate cough, accompanied with spitting of blood, indicated the most melancholy issue, and he died at his lodgings in Bond-street, in the year 1768, and was buried in a private manner in the burying ground of St. George's, Hanoversquare. Shortly after Mrs. Sterne and her daughter returned to England, and were about to publish his posthumous works, in the hope of deriving that decent emolument, to support themselves, which (as we have before remarked) the expensive mode of life to which the inclination and genius of Mr. Sterne was exposed, denied them in his life time: but the public estimation of his character now displayed itself, and was sanctioned by the merits of his wife and Miss Sterne---a subscription for their benefit was proposed, and a handsome sum immediately procured for them, which contributed essentially to their comfort.

We shall close these brief memoirs with an observation of Lavater's on Mr. Sterne's countenance:--

"The most unpractised reader will not deny to this countenance all the keen, the searching, penetration of wit; the most original fancy, full of fire, and the powers of invention. Who is so dull as not to view, in this countenance, somewhat of the spirit of poor Yorick?”

A

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

THROUGH

FRANCE AND ITALY.

THEY order, said I, this matter better in

France-*.

-You have been in France? said my gentleman, turning quick upon me with the most civil triumph in the world.-Strange! quoth I, debating the matter with myself, That one-and-twenty miles sailing, for 'tis absolutely no further from Dover to Calais, should give a man these rights

*The genius of Sterne was peculiarly adapted to this abrupt style of writing, which, under his management, became highly original, and excites the most pleasing curiosity in the mind of the reader.-No writer ever abounded more than Sterne, in this singularity, and that he stands unrivalled in this species of composition is so universally allowed, as to render any panegyric on that head fruitless. Of Eliza, mentioned in this chapter, we shall speak in a subsequent page.

B