The existence of "Saul" was first made known to the world by an article
in the "North British Review," in the year 1858, when the author had
already attained his forty-second year. The fact that the work was
published in Montreal called some attention to it on this side of the
Atlantic, and a few critical notices appeared in our literary
periodicals. It is still, however, comparatively unknown; and those into
whose hands it may have fallen are, doubtless, ignorant of the author's
name and history. An outline of the latter, so far as we have been able
to ascertain its features, will help the reader to a more intelligent
judgment, when we come to discuss the author's claim to a place in
literature.
Charles Heavysege was born in Liverpool, England, in the year 1816. We
know nothing in regard to his parents, except that they were poor, yet
able to send their son to an ordinary school. His passion for reading,
especially such the poetry as fell into his hands, showed itself while
he was yet a child. Milton seems to have been the first author who made
a profound impression upon his mind; but it is also reported that the
schoolmaster once indignantly snatched Gray's "Elegy" from his hand,
because he so frequently selected that poem for his reading-lesson.
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