too arduous for him, and the poem was placed by himself at the bottom of his compositions. It shows, however, that he was not unaffected by the spirit of his age, for the versification is much freer than in 'The Pleasures of Memory.' It was severely castigated by William Ward, third viscount Dudley, in the 'Quarterly,' and Rogers retorted by the classical epigram:
Ward has no heart, they say; but I deny it.
He has a heart—he gets his speeches by it.
'Jacqueline' appeared in 1814 in the same volume as Byron's 'Lara,' a questionable companion, the wits declared, for a damsel careful of her character. The poem is of little importance except as proving that Rogers could, when he chose, write in the style of Scott and Byron. Successful, too, was 'Human Life' (1819), which Rogers justly preferred to any of his writings. A visit to Italy in 1815 had suggested to him the idea of a poem descriptive of that country, which Byron had not then handled in the fourth canto of 'Childe Harold.' The poems have nothing in common but their theme; yet it may have been awe of his mighty rival that made Rogers, always cautious and fastidious, so nervous respecting the publication of his 'Italy.' It appeared anonymously in 1822; the secret was kept even from the publisher, and the author took care to be out of the country. No such mystery, however, attended the publication of the second part in 1828. The book did not take. Rogers destroyed the unsold copies, revised it carefully, engaged Turner and Stothard to illustrate it, and republished it in a handsome edition in 1830. The success of this edition, as well as of a similar issue of his other poems in 1834, was unequivocal, and he soon recovered the 7,000l. he had expended upon them. The tardy success of the volume occasioned, among many other epigrams, Lady Blessington's mot, that 'it would have been dished were it not for the plates.' All his works, except 'Jacqueline,' were published at his own expense.
An interesting incident in Rogers's life was his visit to Italy in 1822, when he spent some time with Byron and Shelley at Pisa. Shelley he respected; Byron fell in his esteem, and would have declined still more if he had then known that Byron had already in 1818 penned a bitter lampoon upon him. Byron boasted that he induced Rogers in 1822 to sit upon a cushion under which the paper containing the malignant lines had been thrust. They partly related to Rogers's cadaverous appearance, the ordinary theme of jest among his detractors, but greatly exaggerated. 'He looked,' says the 'Quarterly' reviewer, 'like what he was, a benevolent man and a thorough gentleman.'
In 1844 the placid course of Rogers's existence was perturbed by a startling blow, a robbery at his bank. Forty thousand pounds in notes and a thousand pounds in gold were abstracted on a Sunday from a safe which had been opened with one of its own keys. The promptitude of the measures taken prevented the cashing of the stolen notes, the bank of England repaid their value under a guarantee of indemnity, and after two years the notes themselves were recovered by a payment of 2,500l. Rogers manifested admirable fortitude throughout this trying business. 'I should be ashamed of myself,' he said, 'if I were unable to bear a shock like this at my age.' He was also consoled by universal testimonies of sympathy: 'It is the only part of your fortune,' wrote Edward Everett, 'which has gone for any other objects than those of benevolence, hospitality, and taste.' In 1850 he had another proof of the general respect in the offer of the laureateship on the death of Wordsworth, which was declined. Shortly afterwards he met with a severe accident by breaking his leg. From that time his health and faculties waned, but, cheered by the devotion of a niece and the constant attentions of friends, he wore on until 18 Dec. 1855, when he tranquilly expired. He was buried in Hornsey churchyard, with his brother Henry and his sister Sarah, the latter of whom, his special friend and confidant, he survived only a year. His art collections and library, when sold at Christie's after his death, produced 50,000l. (see 'Sale Catalogue' and 'Catalogue of Purchasers' by M. H. Bloxam, in the British Museum).
Rogers was not a man of exceptional mental powers or moral force, but such of his characteristics as exceeded the average standard were precisely those which contribute most to the embellishment of human life. They were taste, benevolence, and wit. His perception and enjoyment of natural and moral beauty were very keen. In other respects he was the exemplary citizen, neither heroic nor enthusiastic, nor exempt from frailties, but filling his place in the community as became his fortune and position.
Rogers's title to a place among the representatives of the most brilliant age—the drama apart—of English poetry cannot now be challenged, but his rank is lower than that of any of his contemporaries, and his position is due in great measure to two fortunate accidents: the establishment of his reputation before the advent, or at least
