Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/780

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MAETIN.

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a solicitor iii London^ on the com- pletion of liiis legal education he relinquished law for literature. His best Ijiown five-act dramas are, "The Patrician's Daughter/' a tragedy, published in 1841 ; *' The Heart and the World," a play, in 1847 ; " Strathmore," a tragedy, in 1849 ; and Ann Blake," a play, in 1862. He hAS written " Philip of Prance," a tragedy; "A Life's Ban- som," a play ; " Borough Politics," a comic drama in two acts ; " A Hard Struggle," a dnuna in one act ; and assisted in the composition of " Trevanion, or the ^alse Position," a play in three acts. Of late years his more conspicuou.9 works are, " Pure Gold," a play in four acts ; " The Wife's Portrait," a drama in two acts; and "Donna Diana," a comedy in three acts, partly from German sources; "The Favourite of Fortune," a comedy, played at the Haymarket Thea^ in 1866; "A Hero of Romance," from the French, with some original scenes, at the same theatre, in 1867 ; and a blank verse play, produced at the Lyceum in 1868, entitled " Life for Life." Mr. Mwrston, who was one of the editors of the "Hatuynal M<igar xine, has contributed to the Athe- n€Bum some stirring lyrics, of which the best known is his " Death Bide at Balaclava." He published "Gterald, a Dramatic Poem, and other Poems," in 1842 ; " A Lady in her own Bieht," a novel, in 1860; and a collection of his con- tributions in fiction to periodical literature, under the ititle of " Family Credit, and other Tales," in 1861.

MARTIN, BoN Louis Henbi, a French historian, and member of the Academy, was born Feb. 20, 1810, at Saint Quentin (Aisne), where his father was Judge of the Civil Tribunal. He followed as a day-scholar the course of study in the college of his native place, and it was resolved that he should be a notary; but in 1830 he adopted literature as a profession. His first

compositions were novels. After "Wolfthurm" (1830), written in conjunction with his friend and fellow-townsman, F^lix Davin, under the pseudonyms of " F^lix " and " Imer," he published a series of historical romances, illustrative of the epoch of the Fronde, viz. — " La VieiUe Fronde," 1832 ; " Minuit et Midi," 1882; reprinted in the " Biblioth^ue des Chemins de Fer " under the title of "TancrMe de Bohan," 1855 ; and " Le Libelliste, 1651-1652," 2 vols., 1833. His friendship with M. Paul Lacroix led him to deal with history in a more direct manner. They planned a " History of France, by the Prin- cipal Historians," the publication of which was commenced by M. Mame, of Tours, in 1833. It was intended that this work should con- sist of a collection of extracts from the principal histories and chron- icles, connected with one another by explanatory passages, which were entrusted to different writers, who, one after the other, M. Paul Lacroix being the first, abandoned the undertaking. After having continued it single-handed, M. Henri Martin attempted to substi- tute for it a personal work. With the assistance, more or less direct, of M. Lacroix, and of his valuable library, M. Henri Martin brought out the first edition of his " History of France" (Paris, 15 vols., 8vo, 1833-36). The first volume origin- ally appeared in 18mo form, and the author's name did not figure on the title page till the tenth volume came out. The two friends pub- lished conjointly soon afterwards a " History of the Town of Soissons," 2 vols., 1837, the greater portion of which was written by M. Martin. An enlarged and improved edition of the " History of France," which, indeed, was entirely recast, ap- peared in 19 octavo volumes, pub- lished at unequal intervals between 1837 and 1854. This is the third edition, as a second issue of the first had been printed without the