Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/440

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434 BULWER-LYTTON next year a satirical poem entitled "The Si- amese Twins." " Eugene Aram " appeared in 1832; "England and the English" in 1833 ; " The Student " in 1835. Previous to this he had been for some time editor of the "New Monthly Magazine." In 1834 appeared "The Pilgrims of the Rhine " and " The Last Days of Pompeii ;" in 1835, " Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes." In 1837 he published "Athens, its Rise and Fall," a work of historical criti- cism; and in 1838 "Ernest Maltravers" and the continuation of the same, " Alice, or the Mysteries." "Leila, or the Siege of Granada," appeared in 1840 ; " Night and Morning," 1841; "Zanoni," 1842; and "TheLastof the Barons," 1843. In 1836 he first entered the lists as a dramatic writer. " The Duchess de La Valliere" was a failure, but " The Lady of Lyons" and "Richelieu" were very success- ful, and still hold the stage. " Money," a comedy, was also well received. " The Poems and Ballads of Schiller," translated into Eng- lish metre, appeared in 1844. " Lucretia, or the Children of the Night " (1846), another romance, was condemned by the critics as be- ing too full of horrors. Bulwer published a pamphlet in its defence, entitled " A Word to the Public." "The New Timon," a poetical romance of London (1846), passed through three editions in a year, and was regarded as one of the most remarkable poems of the day. "King Arthur," an epic (2 vols., 1848; new ed., 1870), was considered by the author his best work. " Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings," was published in the same year. In 1850 appeared " The Oaxtons," a novel of English domestic life, first published in " Black- wood's Magazine." Meanwhile, in 1844, he . had succeeded to the Knebworth estates and assumed the surname of Lytton, and became the heir of the two houses of Lytton and Rob- inson or Norreys, which latter claim descent from the Tudors and the ancient royal lines of Britain. In 1851 he wrote " A Letter to John Bull, Esq., on Affairs connected with his Landed Property and the Persons who live thereon," expressing protectionist views; it rapidly passed through eight editions. In 1845 he wrote " The Confessions of a Water Patient, in a Letter to W. H. Ainsworth, Esq.," in which he recommended the water cure to overworked literary men. He took great in- terest in the founding of the guild of literature and art, at whose service he placed a small portion of his estate, and for which he also wrote the comedy " Not so Bad as we Seem, or Many Sides to a Question " (1852). In 1856 he was elected lord rector of the university of Glasgow in opposition to Lord Stanley, and de- livered an inaugural address advocating the study of the classics, and rejoicing over the in- creased weight of British literature in the in- tellectual balance of the world, as compared with the state of things in the 18th century. He was reelected rector in 1858. Among his more recent works, which were first published in periodicals, are " My Novel, or Varieties in English Life " (1851) ; "What will He Do with It?" (1860); "A Strange Story" (1861); "Caxtoniana" (essays, 1865); "The Odes and Epodes of Horace" (metrical translation, 1869) ; "The Lost Tales of Miletus" (1870); "The Coming Race" (1872); and "The Parisians" (1873). A posthumous novel, "Kenehn Chil- lingly," was published in 1873. His poeti- cal and dramatic works have been collected in 5 volumes (1852-'4). Many of his wri- tings have been translated into almost all the languages of Europe. Mr. Bulwer entered the house of commons as member for the small borough of St. Ives in 1831, and joined the ranks of the reformers. In 1832, when St. Ives had been deprived of its representation by the reform bill, he was elected by the city of Lincoln, which he continued to represent till 1841. His efforts to relieve newspapers from the stamp duties and his speeches on the copy- right question were the only prominent achieve- ments of his parliamentary career at this period. In 1835 he published a political pamphlet, en- titled " The Crisis," which ran through seven editions, and was very serviceable to the whigs. He was created a baronet in 1838. He was defeated by the conservative candidates for the borough of Lincoln in June, 1841, and again in July, 1847. Having reentered parliament as member for the county of Herts in the general election of 1852, as a conservative and sup- porter of the earl of Derby, he made several effective speeches, and rose to the position of a leader of the party. In 1855 he supported the repeal of the penny stamp duty on news- papers, in opposition to most of his political associates. At the general election of 1857 he was again returned as member for Herts. In June, 1858, he became a member of the Derby cabinet as successor of Lord Stanley in the office of secretary of state for the colonies, which he resigned in June, 1859. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Lytton, July 14, 1866. II. Rosina, Lady Bulwer-Lytton, wife of the preceding, born in Ireland in 1807. She is a daughter of Mr. Francis Wheeler of Limerick, and was married in 1827. The mar- riage was unhappy, and a separation took place in 1836. In 1858 she appeared at the hustings in Hertford, and followed her hus- band's speech of thanks for his election with a violent harangue against him. She was in consequence confined in a private lunatic asy- lum, but soon released. She early contributed to the periodical press, and wrote several novels, the first of which was " Chevely, or the Man of Honor " (1839). A number of her publications reflect upon her husband and his relatives. III. Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Lytton, son of the preceding, born Nov. 8, 1831. He was educated at Harrow and under private tutors in England, studied for a time at Rome, and entered the diplo- matic service in 1849 as attache 1 and private secretary to his uncle Sir Henry Bulwer, then