WILLIAM, a distinguished writer, was born at Liverpool on the 8th of March 1753. He was the only son of William Roscoe, who then kept a public-house called the Bowling-Green, to which he united the profession of a market-gardener. The elder Roscoe is described as a man below the middle stature, but of remarkable bodily strength and activity. His wife, Roscoe's mother, is said to have been a woman of a superior mind and of warm affections, and to have exercised over the character of her son an influence, of which the effects were never obliterated to the latest period of his life. The first elements of learning he acquired under the tuition of a schoolmistress; and at the age of six he was removed to a superior school. Roscoe quitted school at the age of twelve, the master having reported that his scholar had learned all that he professed to teach. He acquired a very early relish for reading, and particularly for poetical reading. "I was at this period of my life," he has recorded, "of a wild, rambling, and unsocial disposition; passing many of my hours in strolling along the shore of the River Mersey, or in fishing, or in taking long walks alone. . . . I now began to assist my father in his agricultural concerns, particularly in his business of cultivating potatoes for sale, of which he every year grew several acres, and which he sold, when produced early in the season, at very advanced prices. His mode of cultivation was entirely by the spade; and when raised early, they were considered in that part of Lancashire as a favourite esculent. When they had attained their proper growth, we were accustomed to carry them to the market on our heads, in large baskets, for sale, where I was generally entrusted with the disposal of them, and soon became a very useful assistant to my father. In this and other laborious occupations, particularity in the care of a garden, in which I took great pleasure, I passed several years of my life, devoting my hours of relaxation to reading my books. This mode of life gave health and vigour to my body, and amusement and instruction to my mind; and to this day I well remember the delicious sleep which succeeded my labours, from which I was again called at an early hour. If I were now asked whom I consider to be the happiest of the human race, I should answer, those who cultivate the earth by their own hands."

Having reached his fifteenth year, he found it expedient to make choice of a profession. His love of reading induced him to prefer the avocation of a bookseller, but he was disappointed in his expectation of finding it altogether pleasant, and after a trial of a month, he returned to his rustic labours. In the course of the ensuing year (1769) he was articled to a young attorney, who died before the completion of his clerkship. The remainder of it was passed in the office of Peter Ellames, who was eminent in his profession, and who was much satisfied with his pupil's talents and industry. During this period he still continued to reside with his father, but he had previously the misfortune to lose his mother. Although very punctual in his attention to business, he always found some precious intervals of leisure for the cultivation of his literary talents; and his early love of poetry had its usual effect in purifying and refining the taste. His chief favourite was Shenstone, with whose elegant simplicity he appears to have been greatly captivated. He cultivated an intimate friendship with other ingenious youths who cherished the same love of literature. In conjunction with two of these, William Clarke and Richard Lowndes, he applied himself to the study of the ancient languages; and with these individuals, to the close of their lives, he continued in habits of the strictest intimacy. They had another associate, who was capable of directing as well as participating in their studies. This was Francis Holden, a young man of uncommon talents, who was an assistant in his uncle's school, where it was his business to teach, not only mathematics, but likewise the Greek, Latin, Italian, and French languages. They were accustomed to meet early in the morning, and to pursue their classical studies till the hours of business called them to less genial avocations. It was the example of Holden that prompted Roscoe to begin the study of the Italian language, in which he at length attained to so great proficiency. He thus continued to improve his taste and to enlarge his fund of knowledge. From a fervent admiration of poetry there is generally an easy transition to the composition of poems. He wrote many verses in his early youth, and at the age of twenty he printed an Ode on the Foundation of a Society for the Encouragement of the Arts of Painting and Design, in the town of Liverpool. About the same period he wrote a descriptive poem, entitled Mount Pleasant, which was not, however, published till the year 1777. His ode was then reprinted. These poems were favourably received; and they obtained the approbation of two very competent judges, Mr Mason and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Having completed his clerkship, he was in 1774 admitted an attorney of the Court of King's Bench. During the same year he entered into partnership with a Mr Bannister, but their connection was of very short duration. He afterwards formed a more permanent engagement with Mr Samuel Aspinall, who had long been known as a respectable practitioner. He was assiduous in his attention to the business of his profession; but he did not find himself com- Roscoe strained to abandon his literary studies, and he thus continued the gradual improvement of his excellent talents. At an early period of his life he became intimately acquainted with the family of a respectable tradesman named Griffies. Jane, the second of three daughters, "soon attracted his admiration, and won his affection, by her gentle yet lively manners, by the sweetness of her disposition, and by the many admirable qualities of her truly feminine mind. Although the state of his circumstances at this time gave little promise of an immediate union with the object of his attachment, it was not the wish, and perhaps it was scarcely in the power, of one possessing the frank and ardent character of Roscoe to conceal from her the feelings she had inspired. From that moment to the close of his long and eventful life, he never found reason to regret for one instant the judgment of his youth." A considerable interval elapsed before they could prudently fulfil their engagement; but his professional emoluments gradually became more ample, and they were married on the 22nd of February 1781. Their union was attended with more than common felicity.

The African slave-trade was now in its fullest vigour; and as it formed a very material part of the commerce of Liverpool, the great body of the inhabitants were interested, either directly or indirectly, in the continuance of this detestable traffic. For any individual to raise a warning voice against it in such a community required no small portion of moral courage. The generous feelings and manly character of Roscoe urged him to take a very prominent share in those proceedings which finally led to its suppression; a measure which reflected so much honour on that administration which included Fox, Grey, Holland, and Erskine. He composed, in blank verse, a poem entitled *The Wrongs of Africa*; of which the first part was published in 1787, and the second in 1788. It was translated into German by a clergyman named Kühn. In 1787 he likewise published *A General View of the African Slave Trade, demonstrating its Injustice and Impolicy*, with Hints towards a Bill for its Abolition. This seasonable tract was followed in 1788 by *A Scriptural Refutation of a Pamphlet lately published by the Rev. Raymond Harris*, entitled "Scriptural Researches on the Legitimacy of the Slave Trade," in four Letters from the Author to a Friend. Harris was a clergyman of the Established Church, but had been educated for the Popish priesthood. Such talents as he possessed were employed in an attempt to prove that slavery, as a system, has obtained the Divine approval; that God has sanctioned the principle of one portion of mankind treating another like beasts of burden. For his satisfactory refutation of this reverend apologist of such enormities Roscoe received the thanks of the London Abolition Committee. They likewise printed a new edition of his pamphlet, which was extensively circulated, and highly approved. In 1792 he published *An Inquiry into the Causes of the Insurrection of the Negroes in the Island of St Domingo*. Of this insurrection the advocates of slavery had endeavoured to avail themselves, as a most powerful argument against the abolition; and he therefore performed another important service by exposing the fallacies of their reasonings and inferences.

In other public transactions of that eventful period he likewise felt a deep interest. On all subjects his sentiments were humane and liberal. With some of the most enlightened men of the kingdom, he contemplated the French Revolution as a glorious event; and his feelings of exultation were expressed in more than one poetical effusion. In the year 1796 Roscoe published *Strictures on Mr Burke's Two Letters, addressed to a Member of the present Parliament*. At an earlier period (1791), Roscoe had printed a merry ballad concerning *The Life, Death, and Wonderful Achievements of Edmund Burke*; and had adorned it with a frontispiece etched by himself, and representing Burke equipped like a knight-errant, and assaulting Fox in the House of Commons. About this period his mind was vigorously devoted to an undertaking of a more important nature. The plan of preparing a biographical account of Lorenzo de' Medici had occurred to him at a very early stage of his literary career. He long continued to collect books and to amass materials; and at the close of the year 1789 he communicated his design to his intimate friend Mr Clarke, who was then residing in Italy for the benefit of a milder climate. This gentleman had been engaged in commercial pursuits, but is said to have been skilled in ancient as well as modern literature. With great alacrity he undertook the task of exploring the archives and libraries of Florence, in quest of materials for the projected work; and the author acknowledged himself deeply indebted to the assistance which he had thus received. The sale of the Crevenna and Pinelli libraries enabled him to procure many rare books, for which he might otherwise have made a hopeless search. *The Life of Lorenzo de' Medici, called the Magnificent*, was at length published in the year 1796, in two volumes quarto. It was elegantly printed by John Macreevy, who, at the author's suggestion, had recently established a press in Liverpool. The success of this publication exceeded the most sanguine expectations which the author could have ventured to cherish. From the periodical critics he obtained ample praise. He received letters of warm commendation from men of rank and men of letters, with several of whom he had no previous acquaintance or correspondence. One of these was the eccentric Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry, who was then residing in Rome. He first applied to Mr Cadell, the bookseller, in order to ascertain the author's profession, resources in life, and what present of books, pictures, or statues might be most acceptable to him. Dr Parr's fervent zeal in the cause of literature likewise prompted him to seek the correspondence of the elegant biographer, which ultimately led to an intimate friendship. The first edition of this work was printed at the expense of the author; but soon after its appearance Cadell and Davies offered him no less a sum than L1200 for the copyright. Of this liberal offer he did not hesitate to accept; and little doubt can be entertained that the booksellers found it a very advantageous transaction. The fourth edition, in three volumes octavo, was printed in 1800. In other countries the success of this book was equally brilliant. Three editions were speedily circulated in America. The work, translated into German by Sprengel, was published at Berlin in 1797. In 1799 a French translation, by François Thurot, was published at Paris. During the same year an Italian version, by the Cavaliere Gaetano Mechirini, made its appearance at Pisa, in four volumes octavo. It was undertaken at the suggestion of the elegant Fabroni, who had himself published a Latin Life of Lorenzo, which he intended to translate into his native language; but he was so much delighted with Roscoe's work that he abandoned his design, and recommended the other task to Mechirini. In the course of the ensuing year he addressed a very gratifying letter to the author. Similar letters were addressed to him by Bandini, the learned keeper of the Laurentian Library in Florence, and by the Abate Andres, a Spanish Jesuit, resident in Italy, and deeply skilled in Italian literature.

For the avocation of an attorney Mr Roscoe never had any hearty relish, and he finally relinquished it in the year 1796. With his last partner, Mr Lace, he made an arrangement which secured him some interest in the business; and during the following year he entered himself at Gray's Inn, with the view of being called to the bar. He kept Hilary term, but made no further progress in this new career, although, according to the opinion of his son, he possessed qualities which must in all probability have ren- Roscoe's success was certain. In conjunction with Mr Thomas Wakefield, he had in 1793 obtained a lease of an extensive tract of peat-moss in the vicinity of Manchester; and from the draining and improvement of this land he anticipated an ample return. In 1799 he purchased one-half of the Allerton estate, a valuable property situated about 6 miles from Liverpool. The family of his intimate friend Mr Clarke, which had long been connected with an extensive banking-house at Liverpool, was at the close of the year 1799 placed in circumstances of considerable difficulty, when by great and unremitting exertions Roscoe brought the affairs of the house into a better train of management; and towards the close of the year 1800 he could again command some portion of leisure for his favourite pursuits.

He had previously published *The Nurse*, a poem translated from the Italian of Luigi Tassilo. This elegant version was favourably received, and it reached a third edition in 1804. But he had for some time contemplated a more magnificent undertaking, a Life of Leo X.; and on receiving, through the kindness of Lord Holland, some important and unpublished materials from Florence, he reverted to it with new ardour. *The History of the Life and Pontificate of Leo X.* was published in four volumes quarto in the year 1805. It had been in the press upwards of two years. For one-half of the copyright Cadell and Davies paid the sum of L2000. This work, notwithstanding its great and varied merit, experienced a less favourable reception than its precursor. *The Life of Leo*, with the omission of the documents contained in the appendix, was speedily reprinted at Philadelphia; but the sale was not there so rapid as that of his former work. A German translation, by Professor Glaser, was published at Leipzig in three volumes octavo, which successively appeared in 1806, 1807, and 1808. A preface, notes, and disquisitions were contributed by Henke. In 1808 a French translation, by P. F. Henry, was published at Paris, and a corrected edition appeared in 1813. An Italian version was subsequently undertaken by Count Luigi Bossi, who began by translating from the French. This work extended to twelve volumes octavo, published at Milan in 1816 and 1817. He added a variety of notes and documents illustrative of the text, together with numerous engravings of portraits and medals. The sovereign pontiff Leo XII. inserted this translation in the catalogue of prohibited books; but in spite of his denunciation 2800 copies of it have been dispersed in Italy, where the name of the elegant author continues to be held in no common estimation.

Soon after the appearance of his great work he was suddenly induced to place himself in a new sphere of action. On the eve of the general election in 1806 he received a requisition from a number of the most respectable burgesses of Liverpool, requesting him to come forward as a candidate for the representation of his native town. This requisition he received on the 30th of October; he issued his address to the electors on the following day; and the election commenced on the first of November. His two opponents were General Gascony and General Tarleton; of whom the former had represented the borough for ten, and the latter for sixteen years. They were both Tories, but with this difference, that Tarleton was a deserter from the Whigs. They were both supported by the corporation; but after a very strenuous contest of seven days, the election terminated in favour of Roscoe, who had nearly two hundred votes over Tarleton, and thirteen over Gascony. Of the House of Commons he was not a silent member. He took a respectable share in various debates; and he had the high satisfaction of raising his voice in favour of the abolition of the slave-trade.

On the dissolution of Parliament in 1807 Roscoe returned to Liverpool in the month of May, and resolved to decline again entering Parliament. In 1808 he published *Considerations on the Causes, Objects, and Consequences of the Present War, and on the Expediency or the Danger of Peace with France*. This was an able as well as a seasonable publication; but we cannot add that it produced any extensive or speedy effects. It was soon followed by *Remarks on the Proposals made to Great Britain for Opening Negotiations for Peace, in the year 1807*. The several tracts which he had published on such topics were in 1810 collected into a volume, bearing the title of *Occasional Tracts Relative to the War*. This collection, which includes several tracts that have not been enumerated, remains a monument of his wisdom in the midst of the general frenzy which then prevailed. In 1812 he published *A Review of the Speeches of the Right Hon. George Canning on the late Election for Liverpool, so far as they relate to the Questions of Peace and Reform*. Roscoe was an able and enlightened advocate of parliamentary reform, as of all other attempts to improve the general welfare. The commercial pressure, caused partly by the cessation of the war, and also by the enormous increase of the national debt, told unfavourably on the banking-house with which Roscoe was connected. After struggling for a few days in the vain hope of supporting their credit, the directors were, on the 26th of January 1816, reduced to the necessity of suspending their payments. A committee appointed by the creditors reported that, after the liquidation of the debts, there would remain a surplus of L61,144. The bank was never shut; and the house was allowed six years for discharging all the debts, with interest. Roscoe undertook the management of its affairs, and exerted himself with surprising energy. One of the greatest trials which he sustained was the necessity of parting with his library, pictures, and other works of art, the valuable and cherished accumulation of nearly half a century. The auction of his library, which was sold by Winstanley of Liverpool, extended to fourteen days, commencing with the 19th of August 1816. It included rare and precious works in several departments, but was particularly rich in Italian literature. The sale of the books was immediately followed by that of the prints, which occupied eleven days, and, being divided into 1352 lots, produced the sum of L19,15,1s. The drawings, consisting of 610 lots, and the paintings, of 165, were sold for L2825,19s.

In the midst of these vicissitudes and trials, which he endured with exemplary fortitude, he still retained his love of literature. In the establishment of the Royal Institution of Liverpool he lent his effective aid. A plan for such an institution had in 1813 been written by Dr Trail, now (1859) professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the university of Edinburgh. The scheme was at length brought towards maturity; and, after an interval of four years, Roscoe, as chairman of a committee, prepared an explanatory report. He was induced, though not without considerable difficulty, to compose and to deliver the inaugural address at the opening of the institution. The attendance was very numerous, and he received the most gratifying applause. On the ensuing day he was requested by the committee to publish his discourse, and it accordingly appeared under the subsequent title: *On the Origin and Vicissitudes of Literature, Science, and Art, and their Influence on the present State of Society, a Discourse delivered on the Opening of the Liverpool Royal Institution, 25th November 1817*. In 1819 he published his *Observations on Penal Jurisprudence and the Reformation of Offenders*. In 1822 appeared his *Additional Observations* on the same subject; and a third part followed in 1825. He afterwards published two tracts on the penitentiary discipline of the United States. In all his literary undertakings he aimed at improving the morals and increasing the happiness of mankind. Roscoe having now withdrawn from business, he seems to have placed his chief reliance on the remuneration of his literary labours. Some of his friends privately raised the sum of £2500, and vested it in trustees for the benefit of himself and his family. "The office of communicating to him this kind and liberal act on the part of his friends was confided to Dr Traill, who, by his judicious representations and affectionate remonstrances, succeeded in removing from the mind of Mr Roscoe the objections which he felt to incur obligations of so serious a nature." About this period he found a pleasing employment in arranging and improving the library of Mr Coke, afterwards Earl of Leicester, and in preparing a catalogue of the numerous manuscripts. His visits to Holkham were rendered peculiarly pleasant; and this gentleman, as we are informed, "conferred upon him obligations of no ordinary nature." His literary ardour was still unabated; and in 1822 he published an octavo volume, under the title of Illustrations, Historical and Critical, of the Life of Lorenzo de' Medici, called the Magnificent, with an Appendix of original and other Documents. An Italian version, exclusive of the appendix, was published at Florence by Pecchioli in the course of the following year. In 1822 he likewise published a Memoir of Richard Roberts Jones of Aberdaron, in the county of Carnarvon, in North Wales, exhibiting a remarkable instance of a partial power and cultivation of intellect. This extraordinary character, who was originally a fisher-lad, "continues to display a love of learning and an extent of erudition seldom exhibited within the walls of schools or universities, united with a want of common-sense amounting almost to idiocy, and a squalor and wretchedness of appearance of which a common mendicant would be ashamed." At Allerton, Jones had a conversation with Dr Parr on languages, oriental and occidental; and on being afterwards asked his opinion of the learned stranger, he replied, "He is less ignorant than most men."

During this year he quitted his residence in Liverpool, and took a house in Lodge Lane, Toxteth Park, about a mile from the town. Two years afterwards he had the severe misfortune to lose the excellent and cherished partner of all his joys and sorrows. She died on the 24th of September 1824. In the early part of the year he had been elected an honorary associate of the Royal Society of Literature; and after an interval of a few months he was appointed an associate of the first class. In 1827 the great gold medal of the society was awarded to him for his merits as a historian. From other learned associations he obtained various honours; nor must we omit to state that, during the same year, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academia della Crusca.

In the spring of 1821 he had been engaged by the London booksellers to undertake a new edition of the works of Pope. It appeared in 1824, in ten volumes octavo. He contributed a copious and elegant Life of the author, and to a selection of the notes of former editors added a few of his own. Of the character of Pope, both as a man and as a poet, he formed a more favourable estimate than either Dr Warton or Mr Bowles. Those who deny, or reluctantly concede, to Pope the name of a poet, seem to judge according to a very arbitrary standard. A few months after the appearance of this edition Bowles published A Final Appeal to the Literary Public relative to Pope, in Reply to certain Observations of Mr Roscoe in his Edition of that Poet's Works; to which are added, some Remarks on Lord Byron's Conversations, so far as they relate to the same subject and the Author; in Letters to a Literary Friend. To this publication Roscoe speedily replied in A Letter to the Rev. W. Lisle Bowles, Prebendary of Sarum, &c. His edition, as well as his Letter, obtained a favourable notice in the Quarterly Review for October 1825; and Bowles was induced to publish Lessons in Criticism to William Roscoe, F.R.S., &c. These lessons in criticism were not very satisfactory to the public, and Roscoe wisely desisted from any further controversy.

In 1827 he published an edition of the Life of Lorenzo in two, and of the History of Leo in four, volumes octavo. He had now reached an advanced period of life, and had begun to feel the pressure of age. Towards the close of this year he was suddenly attacked with paralysis, which affected one side of his face, and deprived him of the use of one hand; but medical aid was promptly procured, and he recovered the use of his hand, as well as of his speech. Botany had been among the number of his favourite pursuits. He had been a contributor to the Transactions of the Linnean Society, and was regarded as no mean proficient in this science. After his recovery from the paralytic attack, he published the fifteenth and concluding number of a splendid volume on Monandrian Plants. Towards the end of June 1831 he experienced a severe attack of influenza; and, after he seemed to be recovering, he was on the 27th of that month seized with a violent fit of shivering, accompanied with almost total prostration of strength. The near approach of death he contemplated with calm resignation to the will of God. On the 30th he closed his mortal career, after having completed the seventy-eighth year of his age. The proximate cause of his death was an effusion into the chest. His remains were interred in the burying-ground of the Unitarian chapel in Renshaw Street.

Dr Traill, the friend and physician of this eminent man, speaks of him in the following terms:—"In person, Mr Roscoe was tall and rather slender. In early life he possessed much bodily activity. His hair was light auburn, almost inclining to red; his full grey eye was clear and mild; his face expressive and cheerful. As he advanced in life the benevolent expression of his countenance remained, but the vivacity of the features was tempered into a noble dignity, which it was impossible to see without respect and admiration; while the mouth bespoke taste and feeling, and the clustering hoary hair round his temples gave a venerable air to his manly features. . . . Of the qualities of his heart, as a private individual, it is impossible to speak too highly. In the relations of husband, father, and friend, his conduct was most exemplary; and it would be difficult to point out a man who possessed the fascination of manner which attracts and rivets attention in a higher degree than William Roscoe." (Edin. New Phil. Journ., vol. xiii.)

Three of Roscoe's sons have secured a respectable place in literature. Henry, author of the Life of William Roscoe, London, 2 vols. 8vo, 1833, was a barrister, and author of several legal works, besides having written the Lives of Eminent Lawyers for Lardner's Cyclopaedia. He died at the early age of 37, on the 25th March 1836. Robert, who was likewise a member of the legal profession, wrote some pleasing poems. He died in December 1850, aged 60. Thomas, who still (May 1859) survives, has likewise written very extensively. Besides poems, tales, tours, and translations, he has published an excellent English version of Sismondi's Historical View of the History of the South of Europe, and of Lanzi's History of Painting.