see in them.’ On these occasions when speaking even of Garrick, he would with the natural feeling of his country, honour Barry with a parenthesis of praise so as to extract a smile from Kemble. The chief theme seemed to be the wonderful beauty of his voice, and its effect in the thrilling ecstacies of love.”
He had no airs of assumption or presumed superiority—never put on the learned garb to silence or alarm the less knowing. “He talked of literature without a tinge of pedantry, with a seeming imitation of the laughing manner of Sir Joshua Reynolds.” Again, Boaden says, “I met at Kemble’s hospitable board with such men as either, for instruction or amusement, will not be easily excelled, with Mr. Malone and Dr. Charles Burney."
Malone forms a striking example of a life devoted almost to one literary pursuit. The object indeed was not personal but national, having employed more pens and given birth to more readers and admirers in our island than any other literary topic whatever. For this he forsook law, wealth, and probably station for unprofitable literature; and proved beyond most other men fitted for the occupation. He set out with the determination that whatever his employment, its duties should be faithfully fulfilled—that his business in life was to work. A memorandum which I found among his papers, signed with his name, contains this maxim:—“All the importunities and perplexities of business are softness and luxury compared to the incessant demands of vacancy and the unsatisfactory expedients of idleness.”
If our ancient poetry and drama be really objects
