he had not a particle; and if he lacked
taste and refinement, it may at least be urged in his behalf that the
age was not one of refinement, and that sixty years ago we had scarcely
emancipated ourselves from the barbarism and vulgarity some remnants of
which had descended to us from the time of George the Second. The bent
of his taste and the scope of his abilities may be guessed from the fact
that his "account of the trial of John Thurtell, the murderer," passed
into at least _thirteen_ editions. A man of this stamp could scarcely be
expected to recognise the true value of the work with which he had the
honour to be associated; he never looked beyond his patrons of the day,
and as a natural consequence posterity has troubled itself little about
him. You will search the biographical dictionaries in vain for any
account of him;[61] and this oblivion he scarcely deserves, for not only
was he one of the most popular men of sixty years ago, but he would
scarcely have attained that position without a fair share of merit. He
was not deficient in energy, and his talent is shown by the fact that he
understood and (in a measure) led the taste of his day, taking advantage
of his knowledge to raise himself to a position unattainable had such
taste been of a more elevated and refined character. His descriptive
powers (such as they were) were sufficient to procure him the post of
recorder of the "Doings of the Ring" on the staff of the _Weekly
Dispatch_, which post he occupied at the time he officiated as literary
showman to "Tom and Jerry." He had however tried many trades,--had been
in turn a compositor, bookseller, sporting writer, newspaper reporter,
and even secretary to an Irish theatrical manager. The success of "Life
in London," which he arrogated to himself, raised up a crop of enemies
as well as friends, and he soon afterwards received his _conge_ from the
proprietors of the _Dispatch_. Pierce Egan, however, was not a man to be
daunted by any such discouragement; he was found equal to the occasion,
meeting his employers' _coup d'etat_ by starting a sporting paper of his
own, to which he gave the name of his successful book,--_Pierce Egan's
Life in London, and Sporting Guide_. This counter movement proved the
germ of a great enterprise. Probably his venture was no very great
success; it ran only for three years from its commencement on the 1st of
February, 1824. On the 28th of October, 1827, _Egan's Life in London_
was sold