Chapter Edwards to Elyot of E by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Edwards to Elyot

Edwards, Richard (1523?-1566).—Poet, was at Oxford, and went to Court, where he was made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, and master of the singing boys. He had a high reputation for his comedies and interludes. His Palamon and Arcite was acted before Elizabeth at Oxford in 1566, when the stage fell and three persons were killed and five hurt, the play nevertheless proceeding. Damon and Pythias (1577), a comedy, is his only extant play.

Egan, Pierce (1772-1849).—Humorist, born in London, he satirised the Prince Regent in The Lives of Florizel and Perdita (1814), but is best remembered by Life in London: or the Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn and his elegant friend, Corinthian Tom, a collection of sketches which had great success at the time, and which gives a picture of the sports and amusements of London in the days of the Regency. It was illustrated by George Cruikshank.

Eggleston, Edward (1837-1902).—Novelist, born at Vevay, Indiana, was a Methodist minister. He wrote a number of tales, some of which, specially the “Hoosier” series, attracted much attention, among which are The Hoosier Schoolmaster, The Hoosier Schoolboy, The End of the World, The Faith Doctor, Queer Stories for Boys and Girls, etc.

“Eliot, George,” see Evans.

Elizabeth, Queen (1533-1603).—w as one of the scholar-women of her time, being versed in Latin, Greek, French, and Italian. Her translation of Boethius shows her exceptional art and skill. In the classics Roger Ascham was her tutor. She wrote various short poems, some of which were called by her contemporaries “sonnets,” though not in the true sonnet form. Her original letters and despatches show an idiomatic force of expression beyond that of any other English monarch.

Elliot, Miss Jean (1727-1805).—Poetess, daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, has a small niche in literature as the authoress of the beautiful ballad, The Flowers of the Forest, beginning, “I’ve heard the lilting at our yowe-milking.” Another ballad with the same title beginning, “I’ve seen the smiling of fortune beguiling” was written by Alicia Rutherford, afterwards Mrs. Cockburn.

Elliot, Ebenezer (1781-1849).—Poet, born at Masborough, Yorkshire, in his youth worked in an iron- foundry, and in 1821 took up the same business on his own account with success. He is best known by his poems on behalf of the poor and oppressed, and especially for his denunciations of the Corn Laws, which gained for him the title of the Corn Law Rhymer. Though now little read, he had considerable poetic gift. His principal poems are Corn Law Rhymes (1831), The Ranter, and The Village Patriarch (1829).

Ellis, George (1753-1815).—Miscellaneous writer, son of a West Indian planter, gained some fame by Poetical Tales by Sir Gregory Gander (1778). He also had a hand in the Rolliad, a series of Whig satires which appeared about 1785. Changing sides he afterwards contributed to the Anti-Jacobin. He accompanied Sir J. Harris on his mission to the Netherlands, and there collected materials for his History of the Dutch Revolution (1789). He edited Specimens of the Early English Poets (1790), and Specimens of the Early English Romances, both works of scholarship. He was a friend of Scott, who dedicated the fifth canto of Marmion to him.

Ellwood, Thomas (1639-1713).—A young Quaker who was introduced to Milton in 1662, and devoted much of his time to reading to him. It is to a question asked by him that we owe the writing of Paradise Regained. He was a simple, good man, ready to suffer for his religious opinions, and has left an autobiography of singular interest alike for the details of Milton’s later life, which it gives, and for the light it casts on the times of the writer. He also wrote Davideis (1712), a sacred poem, and some controversial works.

Elphinstone, Mountstuart (1779-1859).—Fourth son of the 11th Lord Elphinstone, was educated at Edinburgh, and entered the Bengal Civil Service in 1795. He had a very distinguished career as an Indian statesman, and did much to establish the present system of government and to extend education. He was Governor of Bombay (1819-1827), and prepared a code of laws for that Presidency. In 1829 he