George Webbe Dasent

“ Though neither was at any time of his life what could be called a party man the instincts of Delane were decidedly Liberal; and Dasent himself wrote that during his whole tenure of office the columns of the Times "are composed out of the very ore of liberty and progress, and will for ever remain fehe best monument to his memory." The late Mr. Mowbray Morris, another brother-in-law of Delane's, became the business manager of the paper, and it is no exaggeration to say that under Delane's able guidance the literary reputation of the Times reached its zenith. ”

“ Through the instrumentality of Lowe, who quickly perceived his value for educational purposes, he was frequently employed henceforth as a Government examiner of candidates for admission to the Army and the permanent Civil Service. In the autumn of 1854 Delane, whose interest in military affairs was always a keen one, was so impressed by Russell's letters from the front describing the pitiable condition of our troops, that he went to the Crimea to see for himself how the war was progressing, leaving Dasent in supreme command at Printing House Square. ”

“ He soon became a favourite with Jacobson, as did Delane; and another lasting friendship begun at Magdalen Hall was with Manuel Johnson who, after taking his degree, was appointed to succeed Rigaud as Radcliffe Observer.
Johnson was very popular in the university, and the Observatory became the resort of the leaders of the High Church party in Oxford. Here Dasent, who was a frequent visitor, came for a time under the spell of Newman; but a more enduring religious influence seems to have been exerted over him by Maurice, whose kindly nature never failed to appeal to the young. ”

“ In the hall of the gallant Gunnar at Lithend, or with the peaceful and lawskilled Njal at Bergthorsknoll, we meet men who think and act as men of noble minds and gentle hearts have ever acted, and will never cease to act, so long as human nature remains the same. ”

“ The next day, the ice having shifted a little, Dasent landed safely on Swedish soil, and again taking a sledge, and carrying his provisions with him, he at last reached Stockholm, by dint of travelling night and day in the bitterest of weather, on the twenty-fifth day after going on board ship in the Thames. ”

“ The publication of these two Sagas completed the labours of more than half a century devoted to the popularisation of the literature of Scandinavia and its bearings upon the history of England. His contemplated Life of Pelane, whose vast and unique correspondence passed into his keeping, and fortunately escaped the flames at Tower Hill, is withheld from publication for the present, though it will surely see the light when the times are ripe for it to be given to the world. ”

“ In 1861, and again in the following year, Dasent visited Iceland in person, in company with the late Mr. John Campbell of Islay (himself an earnest student of the folklore and popular tales of the Western Highlands) and other friends.
He was received with great cordiality at Reykjavik and entertained at a public banquet by the authorities, who acclaimed him as the foremost Icelandic scholar in Europe. ”

“ For this great undertaking Dasent wrote the introduction and also the life of Richard Cleasby—his only experiment in contemporary biography which has come down to us in book form.
The first edition of Burnt Njal, a work of which we gladly repeat the deliberate judgment of a distinguished American writer that "it is unsurpassed by any existing monument in the narrative department of any literature ancient or modern," [6] appeared in 1861. ”

“ A member also of the Cosmopolitan Club in Charles Street, Berkeley Square, the favourite resort of such wits as Lord Houghton, and the better-known figures in the political and social world of London, Dasent became as prominent socially as he was already amongst men of letters. ”

“ Dasent's intimacy with Bunsen also proved of great service to Delane in connection with the foreign policy of the paper. [3]
In the happy phraseology of Sir James Graham, the Times through its masterly editing at this period "saved the English language." Dasent's literary activity and capacity for hard work in early middle life was prodigious. Notwithstanding late hours six nights in every week spent in the service of the great newspaper, to which he contributed in addition to leading articles a large proportion of the reviews of current literature and the biographical notices of eminent men ”

“ One of his most valued friends throughout his lifetime, and they had been up at Oxford together, was William Bromley Davenport. [13] an English sportsman of the best type, and as clever a letter writer as the Victorian Age has produced, though not strikingly successful as a public speaker.
Scarce a year passed without Dasent's visiting him at his Cheshire home, and the last country visit he ever paid was to his widow at Capesthorne. ”

“ John Roche Dasent, C.B., educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, assistant secretary to the Board of Education, married in 1878 to Ellen, younger daughter and co-heiress of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Codrington, K.C.B., by whom he has two sons, Manuel and Walter, both in the Royal Navy. ”

“ M'Diarmid, like Crichton, did all things well, being a first-rate sportsman, a good draughtsman, was a follower of science, and an author to boot.
'He possessed qualities of coolness, deliberation and courage, that would have fitted him to be the leader of a party bound on an expedition far more adventurous than our own. ”

“ He was forced to retire, notwithstanding his unwearied exertions in the public interest, on a very inadequate pension: in such fashion does an ungrateful Treasury reward its best servants. His last contribution to the Times was a letter which appeared on December 6th, 1893, when he wrote from his retirement at Tower Hill to claim the authorship of a classical epigram made on the occasion of the marriage of Mr. ”

“ Some of his contributions to the paper and the principal reviews were published by him in 1873, in two volumes, entitled Jest and Earnest. ↑ In his recently-published diary Reeve states that between 1840 and 1855 he wrote nearly two thousand five hundred articles for the paper, and received for them upwards of £13,000. ↑ See The Saturday Review, vol. xi. p. 429. ↑ John Campbell of Islay. ↑ George Webbe Dasent. ↑ Then Lord Newry, and now Earl of Kilmorey. ↑ Charles Cavendish Clifford. ↑ John Roche Dakyns. ↑ His innate love of a joke occasionally illumined the cold print of the Times columns. ”