MACKENZIE.--From Sterne and Goldsmith we pass to Mackenzie, who, if not a
conscious imitator of the former, is, at least, unconsciously formed upon
the model of Sterne, without his genius, but also without his coarseness:
in the management of his narrative, he is a medium between Sterne and
Walter Scott; indeed, from his long life, he saw the period of both these
authors, and his writings partake of the characteristics of both.
Henry Mackenzie was born at Edinburgh, in August, 1745, and lived until
1831, to the ripe age of eighty-six. He was educated at the University of
Edinburgh, and afterwards studied law. He wrote some strong political
pamphlets in favor of the Pitt government, for which he was rewarded with
the office of comptroller of the taxes, which he held to the day of his
death.
THE MAN OF FEELING.--In 1771 the world was equally astonished and
delighted by the appearance of his first novel, _The Man of Feeling_. In
this there are manifest tokens of his debt to Sterne's _Sentimental
Journey_, in the journey of Harley, in the story of the beggar and his
dog, and in somewhat of the same forced sensibility in the account of
Harley's death.
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