DIBDIN, CHARLES, in whose person the British bard may be said to have been revived, was born in 1745 at Southampton, near which place his grandfather, a considerable merchant, founded a village that bears his name. When Charles Dibdin was born, his mother had reached her fiftieth year, and he was her eighteenth child. He had a brother, Thomas, twenty-nine years older than himself, on whose death he wrote the beautiful ballad 'Poor Tom Bowling.' This gentleman was captain of an East-Indiaman, and father of Thomas Frognall Dibdin, D.D.
The subject of the present notice was educated at Winchester, and originally designed for the clerical profession. But his love for musio predominated, and after receiving some instruction from the cele brated Kent, organist of Winchester Cathedral, he was sent to Loudon, and commenced his career, as poet and musician, at the early age of sixteen, when he produced an opera at Covent Garden Theatre, written and oomposed by himself, celled The Shepherd's Artifice.' A few years after he appeared ns an actor, and was, in 1768, the original Mango in his own 'Padlock: In 1778 ho became musical manager of Covent Garden theatre, at a salary of ten pounds a week. About 1782 he built the Circus theatre (afterwards opened under the name of the Surrey), which continued under his management some three or four years. In 1768 he published his Musical Tour,' in one vol. 4to; and in 1789 presented to the public, at Hutchins'? suction rooms, Kiug Street, Covent Garden, the first of those cute, tainmeuts whereby hese omlnently distinguished hiteself,—and of which ho was solo author, composer, and performer,—under the title of The Whim of the Moment.' In this, among sixteen other songs, was the ballad 'Poor Jack, an ausion of genius that immediately established his repu tation, both as a lyric poet and melodist The year 1791 saw Dibdin in his Sans Souci, an exhibition•room in the Strand, fitted up by him; and in 1790 ho erected a small theatre in Leicester Fields, giving it the sbove-named title. This he sold in 1805, and retired
from public life ; but not having been provident while the means of making some provision for the future were in his power, his retreat was not accompanied by independence. This having been properly represented, government granted him a pension of 200b per annum, nu act evincing both a sense of justice and a right feeling. Of this he WAY for a time deprived by Lord Grenville, but a wore miniatry restored it. Towards the close of the year 1813 he was attacked by parnlyais, and died in the July following. Mr. Dibdin published one or two novels, and some man works, but his fame is built on his song., of which—se prolific was his muse, and so great his facility in composition--ho piocluced the amazing number of nine hundred I Out of this large number we may readily acknowledge a considerable portion to be comparatively worthless. His sea Rouge however have become permanent favourites, and it is said that, &tug the war, their influence was most strongly felt in supplying the navy with voluuteere. And It is not too much to any that no English song natter ever pro duced so many ballads so thoroughly adapted to the popular taste, and which, as has been truly said, ale so generally "on the side of virtue ;" humanity, constancy, love of country, and courage being almost always the ant jects of his sung and the themes of his praise.