Page:Cousins's Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.djvu/62

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Dictionary of English Literature

little; but all he did write is good, some of it perfect, of its kind. His essays, among which are Rab and his Friends, Pet Marjorie, Our Dogs, Minchmoor, and The Enterkine, were collected along with papers on art, and medical history and biography, in Horæ Subsecivæ (Leisure Hours), 3 vols. In the mingling of tenderness and delicate humour he has much in common with Lamb; in his insight into dog-nature he is unique. His later years were clouded with occasional fits of depression.


Brown, Thomas (1778-1820).—Metaphysician, s. of the Rev. Samuel B., minister of Kirkinabreck, practised for some time as a physician in Edin., but his tastes and talents lying in the direction of literature and philosophy, he devoted himself to the cultivation of these, and succeeded Dugald Stewart as Professor of Moral Philosophy in the Univ. of Edin., in which position he had remarkable popularity as a lecturer. His main contribution to literature is his Lectures, pub. after his death. B. was a man of attractive character and considerable talents, but as a philosopher he is now largely superseded. He also wrote poetry, which, though graceful, lacked force, and is now forgotten.


Brown, Thomas Edward (1830-1897).—Poet, b. at Douglas, Isle of Man, s. of a clergyman, and ed. there and at Oxf., entered the Church and held various scholastic appointments, including a mastership at Clifton. His later years were spent in his native island. He had a true lyrical gift, and much of his poetry was written in Manx dialect. His poems include Fo'c'sle Yarns (1881), The Doctor (1887), The Manx Witch (1889), and Old John (1893). He was also an admirable letter-writer, and 2 vols. of his letters have been pub.


Brown, Tom (1663-1704).—Satirist, was ed. at Oxf., and there composed the famous epigram on Dr. Fell. He was for a few years schoolmaster at Kingston-on-Thames, but owing to his irregularities lost the appointment, and went to London, where he wrote satires, epigrams, and miscellaneous pieces, generally coarse and scurrilous.


Browne, Charles Farrar (1834-1867).—Humorist (Artemus Ward), b. in Maine, U.S., worked as a compositor and reporter, and became a highly popular humorous writer, his books being Artemus Ward his Book, A.W. His Panorama, A.W. among the Mormons, and A.W. in England.


Browne, Isaac Hawkins (1705-1760).—Is remembered as the author of some clever imitations of contemporary poets on the theme of A Pipe of Tobacco, somewhat analogous to the Rejected Addresses of a later day. He also wrote a Latin poem on the immortality of the soul. B., who was a country gentleman and barrister, had great conversational powers. He was a friend of Dr. Johnson.


Browne, Sir Thomas (1605-1682).—Physician and miscellaneous and metaphysical writer, s. of a London merchant, was ed. at Winchester and Oxf., after which he studied medicine