Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/212

ROBERTSON. 190 ROBERTSON. Ge7i. James Rohcrtson (Nashville, 1859) ; and Roosevelt, ^'inning of the ^ycst (New York, 188!i-!)(i). ROBERTSON, JASfES C'BAIGIE (1813-82). An English clergyman and historian. He was born at Aberdeen, graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1834, and was ordained in 183(j. He began literary work during his early clerical appointments and his first book, Hotr l^hall We Vdiifdnn to Ihc Lit iiriiiif (1843). sliowed the lib- eral tendencies of liis mind. In 1S4G he became vicar of Bekesbourne, and canon of Canterburj- in 1850, retaining this office to the time of his death; from 18G4 to 1874 he W'as professor of ecclesiastical history at King's College, London. His works, more notable for accurate learning than for literary style, comprise a History of the Christifiii Church from the Apostolic Age to the lief orinnl ion (1874-75) ; Bccket, a Biography (1859); I'laiii Lectures on the Growth of the Papal Poieer (1876) : editions of Heylyn's His- tory of the Reformation (1849); Bargrave's Alexander YII. and the College of Cardinals (1806) for the Canadian Society; and Materials for the History of Archbishop Thomas Becket (6 vols., 1875-82) for the Master of the Rolls. Volume vi. of the last, being rnicompleted at his dfeath, was finished by Dr. J. Brigstocke Shep- pard. ROBERTSON, .James Logie (pen-name, Hugh Halibueton) (1846—). A Scottish verse- writer, born at Milnathort, Kinross-shire. He took the degree of M.A. from the University of Edinburgh in 1872, with honors in English litera- ture. He became first English master in the Ladies' College at Edinburgh (1891). Travels in Scandinavia furnish him descriptive themes for some of his verse, but his best poems are short pastorals in the Scottish dialect. His pub- lished volumes are mainly Poems (1878) ; Orel- lana and Other Poems (1881): Our Holiday Among the Hills (conjointl.y with his wife, 1882); Horace in Homespun (1880; new ed. 1900); Ochil Idylls (1891); Aduptatiovs from Dunbar (1895); The White Angel, and Other Stories (1886) ; For Puir Auld Scotland (1887) ; In Scottish Fields (1890) ; and Fttrth in Field (1894). His editorial work concerns the poems of Allan Rams,ay (1887), Thom.son (1891), Scott (1894), and Burns (1896), and the Select Chaucer (1902). ROBERTSON, Joseph (1810-66). A Scottish antiquary and historian. He was born at Aber- deen; was educated at Marisehal College, Aber- deen, and Avas a])prenticed to the law, which he gave tip for literature. He bore the chief hand in the formation of the Spalding Club for print- ing the historical and literary remains of the northern counties of Scotland (1839) ; edited, in turn, the Aberdeen Constitutional, the Glasgom Constitutional, and the Edinburgh Courant :-a<i was appointed historical curator in the Edin- burgh Register House (18.53). Robertson's work comiirises Dcliciw Literaria: (1839), a volume of table-tnlk; Illustrations of the Topography and Antiquities of Aberdeen and Banff (4" vols.. 1842- 69) : Diary of Gen. Patrick Gordon, 1635-99 (1862); Inventories of Jeu^els, Dresses. Furni- ture, Books, and Pavntings Belonging to Queen Mary (Bannatyne Chib,' 1863) ; and Concilia Ecelesiee- Scoticanw, 1225-1559 (Bannatyne Club, 1866), a work displaying immense research in the ecclesiastical history of Scotland. To the Quarterly Review (June, 1849) Robertson con- tril)uted a valuable essay on Scottish Abbeys and Cathedrals. Consult the Memoir preli.xed to this last work (Aberdeen, 1891). ROBERTSON, Thomas William (1829-71). An English dramatist. He was born at Newark- on-Trent, of a family connected with the theatre for several generations. Mrs. Kendal (q.v. ) was his youngest sister. During his ehildliood and youth he was an actor in the provincial com- pany of which his father was manager. He went to London in 1848 and became a writer for the magazines; for a time, too, he continued upon the stage, and in 1856 he married an act- ress. Miss Burton. His first play, A Night's Adventure, was produced by Farren at the Olym- pic Theatre in 1851. His first important suc- cess, however, was David Garrick. which was brought out in 1804, and with Sothern's acting had afterwards a long run. His Society was produced by the Bancrofts at the Prince of Wales' Theatre in 1865. His reputation chiefly rests u])on the series of comedies which succeeded it. including Ours (1800), Caste (1867), Play (1868), .S'c/ioo; (1869), and il/. P. (1870). These are exhibitions of modern social life, with an element of satire directed at its artificialities. The epithet 'teacup and saucer school' of drama, which was applied by a critic to Robertson's work, is suggestive of its limitations. He was also the author of a novel called David Garrick, and of other fiction. His death occurred in Lon- don on February 3, 1871. Consult: The Princi- pal Dramatic Works of Thoma,s William Robert- son, with Memoir by his Son (London, 1889) ; Pemberton. Life and Writings of T. W. Robert- son (ib., 1893) ; Cook, Xiqlits at the Play (ib., 1883) ; Clement Scott, The Drama of Yesterday and To-Day ( ib., 1899). ROBERTSON, Willi.m (1721-93). A well- known Scottisli historian, born in the parish of Borthwick, Midlothian. Robertson was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1741 he was licensed to preach. In 1746 he was elected to the General Assembly, but he gave most of his time to historical studies. In 1750 he published his celebrated History of Scotland, which was an immediate success, and brought the author con- siderable praise as well as various positions of dignity. The work itself is noted for sobriety and fairness as well as for literary excellence. In 1762 Robertson' was made principal of the L^niversity of Edinburgh, and in 1703 he was elected moderator of the General Assembly, in which position he dis])Layed great abilities as an administrator. Besides his History of Scotland he published in 1769 the History of the Reign of Charles Y., which is considered at present to be his best work. In 1777 appeared a His'tory of America, and in 1784 a work on the knowledge the ancients had of India. Personally Robertson was a genial man possessing great conversational powers and having a large circle of friends. His writings are elegant and sonorotis, but lack nat- uralness and vigor. All of his histories, however meritorious they were at the time of their publi- cation, have now been superseded. Robertson's works have been published repeatedly, the best edition being in eight volumes (Oxford, 1825). Consult: Stewart. An. Account of the Life and Writings of William Robertson (Edinburgh, 1801-02) ; Gleig, An Account of the Life and