Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay,
Born October 25, 1800, Died December 28, 1859.
LTHOUGH Lord Macaulay’s literary fame rests principally upon his prose writings, yet his “Lays of Ancient Rome,” “Ivry,” and “The Armada,” are widely popular, and have been frequently parodied.
“The Armada,” (which is but a short fragment) was first published in 1832, it possesses exceptional interest at present, as the tercentenary Commemoration of the defeat of the Spanish Armada is to be held in Plymouth this year. Although the natives of Devonshire have most cause to be proud of the brave deeds of their ancestors, it must not be forgotten that every Englishman is now enjoying that religious and political liberty for which they then fought, the celebration ought therefore to be a thoroughly National one.
Those who love English Ballad Poetry will often have regretted that Lord Macaulay should have left unfinished his story of the Armada.
His fragment consists of seventy-four lines, bringing the narrative no further than the night alarm of the approach of the Spanish fleet. Dr. W. C. Bennett has written a conclusion of a little over two hundred lines, which can be found in his “Contributions to a Ballad History of England,” (London, Chatto and Windus), whilst another continuation (in the same metre as the original,) by the Reverend H. C. Leonard, which originally appeared in The Boy’s Own Paper, has since been published, in pamphlet form, by J. W. Arrowsmith of Bristol.