Fortune now spread her canvas before him, but he did not long enjoy her prosperous gale. Re commended formerly to the notice of the Lord Chancellor Talbot, by Dr. Rundle, Bishop of Der ry, Thomson was now engaged by that eminent lawyer and statesman to travel on the continent with his son, Mr. Charles Talbot. The ardent love of liberty which Thomson seems to have cher ished as an instinct of his nature, and which glows in various parts of his writings, connected with his =or patriac, led him to contrast the advantages of his own country with the degraded condition of other nations. His much loved companion was cut off by an early death, not long after their return to England. lie now employed much of his time in composing his long and elaborate poem entitled Liberty, in the exordium of which, he bewails in strains of unaffected tenderness, the loss of that friend, whose encouraging praise and congenial feelings, he expected would have cheered and ani mated his exertions. This poem, which occupied his leisure for several years, was published in 1736.
In the mean time, and soon after his return to England, he had been appointed by the Lord Chancellor Talbot, his secretary of briefs, an office which, while it afforded him a respectable income, left him sufficient leisure to prosecute his favorite studies. This office he did not long enjoy, as it was lost to him in consequence of the death of the Chancellor in 1737. He was now again thrown for support on his poetical exchequer; and in 1738 his tragedy of .dgamemnon was performed at Drury lane with considerable success. He was introduced by Lyttleton to Frederick, Prince of Wales, who soon after settled upon him a pension of 100/. a year. In 1759 another of his tragedies, Edward and Eleonora, was offered to the stage, but, in con sequence, as it is believed, of his connexion with the Prince of Wales, then the avowed head of an active opposition, and of certain political allusions in the piece, was refused a license by the Lord Chamberlain. In 1740, Thomson, with some as sistance from Mallet, wrote, for the amusement of the Prince's Court, The Masque of dllfred, which was performed at Cliefden on the birth-day of the Princess Augusta. For several succeeding years we have little information of his employments. In 1745, his tragedy of Tancred and S'igismunda was produced, and acted with great applause. Its re putation continues deservedly high, and it still maintains its place among the favorite representa tions of the stage.
The last of his works, which he lived to publish, was the Castle of Indolence. This is the most finished of all his productions, and along with his Seasons, the foundation of his lasting fame. After much of the "linwe labor, et mora," it appeared in 1746, and is still regarded, particularly the first canto, as among the most exquisite productions of the British Muse. About this time, his steady and illustrious friend Lyttleton, now advanced to the peerage and in office, employed his influence in securing for Thomson the appointment of surveyor general of the Leeward Islands, which, besides sup porting a resident deputy, yielded him a revenue of 300/. a year, at that time worth twice or thrice its present value. But the elegant leisure thus afforded him he did not live long enough to enjoy. For in autumn, 1748, returning one evening by water to his house at Richmond, after having overheated himself by walking, he was seized with a cold fol lowed by fever, and died on the 27th of August, or (7th of September, N. S.) having nearly completed his 48th year. His remains were interred in Rich mond church, without any memorial; but a brass tablet, with a suitable inscription, was not very many years ago put up in the wall of that church by the late Earl of Buchan. An edition of his
works was published by Millar, who with a warmth of friendship honourable alike to the poet and the publisher, devoted the whole profits to the erection of a handsome monument for him in Westminster Abbey.
To increase the fund left by him to his surviv ing sisters, Lord Lyttleton, one of his executors, got introduced on the stage the tragedy of Coriola 71218, which had beer. left finished by the author, and for which his Lordship wrote a prologue, that was spoken with deep emotion and powerful effect by Quin, who had long been the zealous friend of the poet. From this and other sources, after paying his debts, a considerable sum was remitted to these relatives, to whom, during the course of his life, he had given substantial proof of a steady attach ment.
His works have appeared in numerous forms. The most elegant edition of the Seasons, which we have seen, is that of London, 1814, which is illus trated with beautiful engravings by Bartolozzi and Tomkins, from original pictures by Hamilton. An ingenious French translation of the Seasons in verse by Poulin, was published at Paris in 1803.
In 1790 and 1791, festive meetings in honor of the poet, were held on his birth-day at Ednam, his native village; and a regular club was then formed, consisting chiefly of gentlemen of the counties of Roxburgh and Berwick, who met at that place for many years on the 22d of September, with the view of erecting by subscription a suitable monu ment on some conspicuous place in his native par ish. The sum of about 3001. was raised for that pur pose; and an obelisk of about 50 feet in height was at length, in 1819, erected by Mr. William Elliot of Kelso, on Ferney IIill, about a mile from the village of Ednam. This, though a plain building, and, as yet, without any inscription, is a pleasing object from various points of view, and serves to associate in the minds of the neighbouring inhabi tants, and inquiring strangers, the idea of Thom son with the place of his nativity.
The limited space allotted to this article, has obliged us to be very brief in our statement of facts, and now prevents us from offering any thing more than the slightest allusion to his character as a man and a poet. He appears to have been a dutiful son, a kind and affectionate brother, and a warm and steady friend: benevolent in his affec tions, gentle in his manners, and moderate in his desires. his ardent love of nature, gives a high interest to his writings, and glows through his master-piece, The Seasons, with an intensity that must excite kindred emotions in every reader of taste and sensibility. But what constitutes the principal charm of this simple, yet magnificent work, is the exquisite skill with which be has con nected in the flowing numbers of his classic muse, the most pleasing and elevated conceptions of the Author of Nature, with the contemplation of his works, through the shifting scenery of the year. The closing hymn nobly concentrates in the finest strains of poetry the soundest deductions of the understanding, and the most sacred and ennobling impressions of the heart, in reference to this exalt ed theme. Without this, the finest description of nature falls heavily on the spirit. But the union is equally natural and graceful; and leads us to ex claim in the language of Akenside, Mind—mind alone—bear witness, Earth and Heaven, The living fountain in itself contains, Of beauteous and sublime!