Literary Life of the Rev. William Harness
William Harness to A. G. K. L'Estrange, 13 June 1867
“Kensington Gore,
“June 13, 1867.
“The man alluded to in that note of Miss
* Owing to Miss
Mitford’s partiality for Cathcart, Charles Kemble
gave him a trial at Covent Garden; but after he had been acting for three nights,
he refused to continue unless he received an engagement for the whole season.
Miss Mitford requested Mr. |
![]()
![]()
![]()
Mitford’s, as the prototype of a scoundrel
in one of Bulwer’s novels, was named Wainewright. He wrote charming articles on art under the
signature of ‘Janus.’ He was a friend of Barry
Cornwall (Procter) Macready, Talfourd, and all that
clique of artists and authors. Charles Lamb was
very fond of him, and used to call him the ‘light-hearted.’ He was born to
some inheritance, which he soon spent, and subsequently replenished his finances by
murder. The first person he is supposed to have poisoned was his uncle, the proprietor of the Monthly Review, whom I knew, but
whose name I can’t recall, nor shall I—till I don’t want it. They say
that, first and last, he assisted at least eleven friends and admirers out of their
miseries in this world; and, entirely free from any apparent depression of spirits,
concluded his eventful and cheerful life as a very successful portrait-painter at Botany
Bay. Ask me about him on Monday, and I may be able to tell you more of his story. A real
account of the man and his character, such as Charles Lamb, or
Procter, or Macready might have written,
would present one of the most extraordinary psycho-
Harness to use his influence with Kemble on his behalf. “I cannot give an
engagement,” was the manager’s reply; “Cathcart does well enough as Jaffier to my Pierre; but how would that
little fellow look in a breeches part!” |
![]()
![]()
![]()
logical phenomena that ever was witnessed among
mankind.
James Leander Cathcart (1800 c.-1866)
Actor at the Prince's Theater, Manchester, and friend of Mary Russell Mitford.
George Edward Griffiths (1772-1828)
In 1803 he succeeded his father Ralph Griffiths as editor of the
Monthly Review, continuing until 1825.
William Harness (1790-1869)
A Harrow friend and early correspondent of Byron. He later answered the poet in
The Wrath of Cain (1822) and published an edition of Shakespeare
(1825) and other literary projects. Harness was a longtime friend of Mary Russell
Mitford.
Charles Kemble (1775-1854)
English comic actor, the younger brother of John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons.
Charles Lamb [Elia] (1775-1834)
English essayist and boyhood friend of Coleridge at Christ's Hospital; author of
Essays of Elia published in the
London
Magazine (collected 1823, 1833) and other works.
Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange (1832-1915)
Miscellaneous writer and biographer of Mary Russell Mitford. He took his degrees from
Exeter College, Oxford and was curate to William Harness at All Saints', Knightsbridge. He
died unmarried, having restored the family castle at Conna.
Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855)
English poet, playwright, and essayist; author of
Our Village: Sketches
of Rural Character and Scenery (1824, etc.).
Bryan Waller Procter [Barry Cornwall] (1787-1874)
English poet; a contemporary of Byron at Harrow, and friend of Leigh Hunt and Charles
Lamb. He was the author of several volumes of poem and
Mirandola, a
tragedy (1821).
Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd (1795-1854)
English judge, dramatist, and friend of Charles Lamb who contributed articles to the
London Magazine and
New Monthly
Magazine.
Thomas Griffiths Wainewright [Janus Weathercock] (1794-1847)
The grandson of Ralph Griffiths of the
Monthly Review; he was a
dandy, a painter who exhibited at the Royal Academy, essayist for the
London Magazine, and criminal transported to Australia for forgery. He is thought
to have murdered several persons.
The Monthly Review. (1749-1844). The original editor was Ralph Griffiths; he was succeeded by his son George Edward who
edited the journal from 1803 to 1825, who was succeeded by Michael Joseph Quin
(1825–32).
