I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood;
Make . . . each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine.
Hamlet, Act I, scene 5

Robert Huish, writer of various treatises on bee culture, of sensational biographies and stories, and translator of several "creepy" tales from the German, was a son of Mark Huish, of Nottingham, and was born in that city in 1777. He attended the University of Frankfort-am-Main while still in his teens and there acquired his knowledge of German. Later he went to Russia for a time, but returned to London, where he lived for most of his life and where he died (Camberwell) in April, 1850.

One of Huish's early publications was his translation of "Die Teufelsbeschworung" by "Veit Weber" (Georg Philipp Wachter), which appeared in 1795 under the title "The Sorcerer." "The Mysteries of Ferney Castle" appeared in 1809, "Memoirs of Charlotte Augusta" in 1818, "The Brothers; or, The Castle of Niolo" in 1821, "The Public and Private Life of George III" in 1821, "Memoirs of George the Fourth" in 1830, "Fatherless Rosa; or, The Dangers of Female Life" in 1834, "The Travels of Richard and John Lander . . . into . . . Africa" in 1836, "The Nun of Gnadenzell" in 1846, and "The Progress of Crime; or, The Authentic Memoirs of Maria Manning" in 1849.

Adams, Victor & Co. reprinted Huish's "Memoirs of George the Fourth" from the original edition of Thomas Kelly, London, 1830, which had been immediately suppressed. It appeared on March 9, 1875, in a duodecimo, cloth-bound edition, containing two portraits and 499 double-column pages. It was reprinted a number of times.

REFERENCES: Dict. of Nat. Biog., Suppl. Ill, London, 1901, 10; Gentlemen's Magazine, I, 1850, 681; Athenaeum, 1842, 583; Anon., A Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1816, 167; Notes and Queries, London, V, Ser. 7, 267, April 7, 1888; CLXXVI, February 11, 1929, 102-103 (biography and a list of his publications by Montague Summers).

Special publication. Memoirs of George the Fourth, 1875.