John Collier

“ John Collier, hangs in the dining-room of the Royal College of Physicians, to which, in the last year of his life, it was presented by the fellows in memory of the great service which he had rendered to the college by the publication of the 'Roll.' He became a Roman catholic in 1842, and from 1857 to 1865 was the medical adviser of Cardinal Wiseman. ”

“ I am seldom under fire without getting a lick; if I am so unfortunate this time as to be hit hard, recollect the charge that devolves upon you, and in God’s name don’t think of striking, let the consequences be what they will. I have now every confidence in the crew, and they handle their guns to my satisfaction, but I should like to take the enemy by boarding [20] !’
“Shortly after this conversation, the other ship tacked, and Sir George Collier ordered the Acasta’ s signal to be made to tack after her [21] . ”

“ Leaving the Newcastle and Acasta to windward of Barbadoes, Sir George Collier took up a cruising ground off the north end of Cayenne, with the intention of remaining there ten days; but only four had elapsed when he fell in with an American schooner, the master of which gave him an authentic account of the peace between Great Britain and the United States. It afterwards appeared by the Constitution’s log, that she made the north end of Cayenne, only two days after the Leander had left that spot to rejoin the other ships ”

“ Subsequent to the affair of Guetaria, Sir George Collier served on shore with a detachment of seamen and marines landed to co-operate with a guerilla regiment in an attack upon the castle of St. Ano, and received a wound when pursuing the French garrison from thence towards Santander [9] . In the following year he was appointed Commodore of the squadron employed in that quarter, where he contributed iii no small degree to the success of Lord Wellington’s army, then approaching the French frontier. ”

“ Topical allusions range from the Collier Controversy, which began in 1698 and continued actively for more than a decade, to John Tutchin, controversial editor of The Observator (which began in 1702) , to a mention of the great storm of November 26, 1703, which Collier and his followers believed to be a punishment for England's wickedness, to the proclamation early in 1704 by Queen Anne prohibiting the wearing of masks at the [xiv] playhouses. More important, however, is the fact that the tone of the prologue and epilogue is entirely different from that found in the play. ”

“ COLETTE, pseud.
SEE Goudeket, Gabrielle.
COLIN, DENISE, executrix of the Estate
of Jean-Germain Tricot. SEE Tricot,
Jean Germain, Estate of.
COLLEGE HUMOR, SEPT. 1939. Big Buck. SEE Caldwell, Erskine.
COLLETTE, ELIZABETH. American writers. SEE Cross, Tom
Peete.
COLLIER, JOHN. Ah, the university. (In The New
Yorker magazine, Jan. 28, 1939)
© 26Jan39; B405053. John Collier
(A) ; 5Dec66; R399777.
Back for Christmas; short story.
(In The New Yorker, Oct. 7, 1939)
© 5Oct39; B432121. John Collier (A) ;
5Dec66; R399776.
Season of mists. (In Esquire magazine,
Jan. 1940) © 7Dec39 ”

“ A contemporary of Peter Collier was John Van Der Werker, who settled on the river near Oneonta Village and built a grist-mill. Van Der Werker had been in the valley with Henry Scramling before the war, and with Scramling returned as soon as the conflict ceased. With Scramling came his two brothers, David and George, and their brothers-in-law, David and John Young. During the war, the father of the Scramlings had been killed by the Indians, and David and George had been in Canada as captives. ”

“ Collier was immediately afterwards promoted into the Arrogant 74. In Feb. 1803, he accompanied an expedition sent against the pirates on the Guzzurat coast, the result of which has also been stated in our memoir of Captain Dobbie.
About Nov. following, Mr. Collier exchanged into the St. Fiorenzo frigate, of which he was third lieutenant at the capture of la Psyche French 36, commanded by Mons. Bergeret, Feb. 14, 1805. The “able support” he afforded his captain on that occasion is duly acknowledged in the official account of the action, as will be seen by reference to p. ”

“ In June 1812, the Surveillante formed part of the squadron under Sir Home Popham at the reduction of Lequitio, on which occasion Sir George Collier commanded a battery on Shore: the particulars of that service are thus detailed by the former officer:
“The enemy had possession of a hill-fort commanding the town, calculated to resist any body of infantry, and also 200 men posted in a fortified convent within the town, the walls of which vvere impervious to any thing less than an 18-pounder. ”

“ Collier, in his Annals of the Stage, vol. i., p. 374, says, that on the death of Edmund Tylney, in October, 1610, he succeeded him as Master of the Revels, and wrote his Treatise on the Office of the Revels prior to 1615. He also says,—
"In the spring of 1622, Sir George Buc appears to have been so ill and infirm, as to be unable to discharge the duties of his situation, and on the 2nd of May in that year, a patent was made out, appointing Sir John Astley Master of the Revels."—Biogr. Britann., p. 419. ”

“ Collier's eldest son, John, was settled for many years as a coachmaker at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and there published ' An Essay on Charters, in which are particularly considered those of Newcastle, with remarks on its constitution, customs, and franchises' (1777, 8vo, pp. vi, 108) , and 'An Alphabet for Grown-up Grammarians,' 1778, 8vo. His second son, Thomas, printed at Penrith in 1792 a pamphlet entitled 'Poetical Politics,' but the whole impression was seized and burnt with the exception of a single copy. Charles, his third son, was a portrait painter. ”

“ In Warwickshire and Leicestershire it is not uncommon for the men to follow their occupation ten years longer; but all classes of witnesses in the other districts uniformly state that it is rare to see an old collier.
In Derbyshire, William Wardle "does not think colliers live as long as those above ground; very few live to be sixty." [56]
In Yorkshire, "colliers have harder work than any other class of workmen, and the length of time they work, as well as the intense exertion they undergo, added to the frequent unhealthiness of the atmosphere, decidedly tend to shorten their lives." ”

“ Collier, Jeremy (1650-1726) .—Church historian and controversialist, b. at Stow, Cambridgeshire, ed. at Ipswich and Camb., entered the Church, and became Rector of Ampton, Suffolk, lecturer of Gray's Inn, London, and ultimately a nonjuring bishop. He was a man of war from his youth, and was engaged in controversies almost until his death. His first important one was with Gilbert Burnet, and led to his being imprisoned in Newgate. He was, however, a man of real learning. ”

“ The men stopped; a crowd was present in an instant, as if by magic; and in scarcely less time the tall and unperturbed hat of a policeman was to be observed, calm and stationary above the swaying multitude. ”

“ His comedies are all remarkable for wit and sparkling dialogue, but their profanity and licentiousness have driven them from the stage. These latter qualities brought them under the lash of Jeremy Collier (q.v.) in his Short View of the English Stage. Congreve rushed into controversy with his critic who, however, proved too strong for him. C. was a favourite at Court, and had various lucrative offices conferred upon him. In his latter years he was blind; otherwise his life was prosperous, and he achieved his chief ambition of being admired as a fine gentleman and gallant. ”

“ It is rare that a collier is able to follow his calling beyond the age of from forty to fifty, and then, unless he be fortunate enough to obtain some easier occupation, he sinks into a state of helpless dependence. ”

“ James Bowen, surgeon, Narbeth, in that county, informs me—"The average life of a collier is about forty; they rarely attain forty-five years of age; and in the entire population of Begelly and East Williamson, being 1163, forming, strictly speaking, a mining population, there are not six colliers of sixty years of age." ”

“ At thirty a miner begins to look wan and emaciated, and so does a collier at forty; while the farming labourer continues robust and hearty." [52] John Jones, relieving officer for the Holywell district, states—"Though the children and young persons employed in these works are healthy, still it is observable that they soon get to look old, and they often become asthmatic before they are forty." [53]
In the Forest of Dean, Mr. Thomas Marsh, surgeon, states that "colliers usually become old men at fifty to fifty-five years of age." ”

“ This post Collier held till his death, and the task of giving literary shape to the judgments of the privy council was frequently committed to him. In 1885 he was created a peer, taking his title from Monkswell, a small property in Devonshire. He married in 1844 a daughter of Mr. William Rose of Woolston Heath, near Rugby, and her sudden death in April 1886 shook him severely. In failing health he went to the Riviera, and died at Grasse, near Cannes, on 27 Oct. ”

“ Captain Collier’s next appointment was, Sept. 1818, to the Mersey 26, in which ship he served the usual period of three years, on the Halifax station, and afterwards formed part of his Majesty’s escort from Calais. The Mersey was paid off at Portsmouth, Nov. 30, 1821.
Agents.– Messrs. Maude & Co. ”

“ The house, however, continued noiseless—not a mouse stirred, but there sat Syddall till morning broke, and a weary, fearful watch he had of it. When it was light enough he looked out of window, and surveyed the dreary prospect, now one mass of snow, white and unbroken in all directions. Presently, he saw all the men (looking, it must be confessed, strangely unlike murderers) leave the premises, and overheard them say that they were going to look for lost cattle on the moors, and might not be back till nightfall. ”

“ I've often thought if there was only men it would be easier to make up your mind; but still, I suppose we'd oughtn't to feel that way. They don't mean any harm."
John drew the protecting drapery from his head, and lashed his bald crown with it softly, as if in punishment for his seeming disloyalty.
"You could withdraw from the contract now without any great loss to Mr. Brownell," suggested Palmerston.
John looked at him blankly. "Why, of course he wouldn't lose anything; I'd be the loser. But I haven't any notion of doing that. I'm only wondering whether I ought to tell Emeline about the girl. ”

“ Palmerston broke out quickly; "Mrs. Dysart's a good woman, and she's a very smart woman, too; she has good ideas."
"Yes, yes; Emeline's smart," John made haste to acquiesce; "she's smart as far as she knows, but when she don't quite understand, then she's prejudiced. I guess women are generally prejudiced about machinery; they can't be expected to see into it: but still, if you think I'd ought to tell her what this Brownell girl says, why, I'm a-going to do it."
John got up with the air of a man harassed but determined, and went out of the tent. ”

“ It is also found in Massinger:
"Though desire of fame be the last weakness
Wise men put off.— (A Very Woman, Act 5, Sc. 4.)
And Owen Feltham follows Tacitus very closely: "Desire of glory is the last garment that even wise men lay aside."— (Resolves, p. 15.) We may wind up the whole with Milton, who, like others, has deemed the thought common property, when he tells us in Lycidas, that fame is
"That last infirmity of noble mind:"
upon which, in fact, Marvel's line, above quoted (and which is to be found in his "Satire on Flecno, an English priest, at Rome") is only a parody. ”

“ The whole world lay outside. It opened its mighty arms to him. It spoke of width, of depth, of breadth. It showed him its secrets—hamlets and valleys tucked away in its mighty heart—where a hunted man could hide for ever. It shouted to him to break free—to be free!
Three minutes passed. Collier realized that he was still standing in his place, his heels clamped to the red carpet. He stared at his feet, encased in their tight boots, as though they were objects for curiosity or wonder. Shapeless, unwieldy lumps of leather! Would they never move? ”

“ We shall not be suspected of regarding either the politics or the theology of Collier with partiality; but we believe him to have been as honest and courageous a man as ever lived. We will go further, and say that, though passionate and often wrongheaded, he was a singularly fair controversialist, candid, generous, too high-spirited to take mean advantages even in the most exciting disputes, and pure from all taint of personal malevolence. ”

“ Collier was prepared to meet any number of antagonists, and defended himself in numerous tracts. The Short View was followed by a Defence (1699) , a Second Defence (1700) , and Mr Collier’s Dissuasive from the Playhouse, in a Letter to a Person of Quality (1703) , and a Further Vindication (1708) . The fight lasted in all some ten years; but Collier had right on his side, and triumphed; his position was, moreover, strengthened by the fact that he was known as a Troy and high churchman, and that his attack could not, therefore, be assigned to Puritan rancour against the stage. ”

“ In spite of all criticism, Collier's own faith in his folio remained unshaken. In a new edition of his annotated Shakespeare, 6 vols. 1858, he adopted most of its manuscript readings, and avowed his conviction that the great majority ' were made not from better manuscripts, still less from unknown printed copies but from the recitations of actors.' While this work was in the press he lost his wife, who : died, aged 70, on 10 Dec. 1857. His patron, the Duke of Devonshire, died soon after, 17 Jan. ”

“ But Collier did so as far as his light enabled him. He appealed to the popular conviction that the proper object of sense is the sole reality, although he despaired of getting men to give up their belief in its externality, and asserted that nothing but prejudice prevented them from doing so; and there is little doubt that, if it had ever occurred to him, as it did to Berkeley, to explain the genesis of the notion of externality, he would have been more hopeful of commending his theory to the popular mind. ”