Paul's Cathedral was
afterwards chosen as the place. There, a colossal figure represents the
distinguished author, and a Latin epitaph, written by Dr. Parr, records
his virtues and his achievements in literature.
PERSON AND CHARACTER.--A few words must suffice to give a summary of his
character, and will exhibit some singular contrarieties. He had varied but
not very profound learning; was earnest, self-satisfied, overbearing in
argument, or, as Sir Walter Scott styles it, _despotic_. As distinguished
for his powers of conversation as for his writings, he always talked _ex
cathedra_, and was exceedingly impatient of opposition. Brutal in his word
attacks, he concealed by tone and manner a generous heart. Grandiloquent
in ordinary matters, he "made little fishes talk like whales."
Always swayed by religious influences, he was intolerant of the sects
around him; habitually pious, he was not without superstition; he was not
an unbeliever in ghostly apparitions, and had a great fear of death; he
also had the touching mania--touching every post as he walked along the
street, thereby to avoid some unknown evil.
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