theatre, known since the removal of the press to its present
quarters as the Clarendon Building.

Clarendon had risen to high office largely through his literary and
oratorical gifts. His eloquence was greatly admired by Evelyn and
Pepys, though Burnet criticises it as too copious. He was a great lover
of books and collected a large library, was well read in the Roman and
in the contemporary histories both foreign and English, and could
appreciate Carew, Ben Jonson and Cowley. As a writer and historian
Clarendon occupies a high place in English literature. His great work,
the _History of the Rebellion_, is composed in the grand style. A
characteristic feature is the wonderful series of well-known portraits,
drawn with great skill and liveliness and especially praised by Evelyn
and by Macaulay. The long digressions, the lengthy sentences, and the
numerous parentheses do not accord with modern taste and usage, but it
may be observed that these often follow more closely the natural
involutions of the thought, and express the argument more clearly, than
the short disconnected sentences, now generally employed, while in
rhythm and dignity Clarendon's style is immeasurably superior. The
composition, however, of the work as a whole is totally wanting in
proportion, and the book is overloaded with state papers, misplaced and
tedious in the narrative. In considering the accuracy of the history it
is important to remember the dates and circumstances of the composition
of its various portions. The published _History_ is mainly a compilation
of two separate original manuscripts, the first being the history
proper, written between 1646 and 1648, with the advantage of a fresh
memory and the help of various documents and authorities, and ending in
March 1644, and the second being the _Life_, extending from 1609 to
1660, but composed long afterwards in exile and without the aid of
papers between 1668 and 1670. The value of any statement, therefore, in
the published _History_ depends chiefly on whether it is taken from the
_History_ proper or the _Life_. In 1671 these two manuscripts were
united by Clarendon with certain alterations and modifications making
Books i.-vii. of the published _History_, while Books viii.-xv. were
written subsequently, and, being composed for the most part without
materials, are generally inaccurate, with the notable exception of Book
ix., made up from two narratives written at Jersey in 1646, and
containing