A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature Part 43

Brydges (1816). _Arcadia_ (_facsimile_), by Somner. Lives by J.A.

Symonds, Fox Bourne, and others.

SIGOURNEY, MRS. LYDIA (HUNTLEY) (1791-1865).--American verse writer, was an extraordinarily copious writer of smooth, sentimental verse, which had great popularity in its day. Her most ambitious effort was a blank verse poem, _Traits of the Aborigines of America_ (1822). Other books were _Connecticut Forty Years Since_, _Pocahontas_, etc.

SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE (1806-1870).--Novelist, etc., _b._ at Charleston, South Carolina, began his literary life with journalism. He then for some time tried poetry, but without any distinct success except occasionally in _Southern Pa.s.sages and Pictures_ (1839). But in fiction, which he began in 1833 with _Martin Faber_, he was more successful, though rather an imitator of Cooper. _The Yema.s.see_ (1835) is generally considered his best novel. He was less happy in his attempts at historical romance, such as _Count Julian_ and _The Damsel of Darien_. During the war, in which he was naturally a strong partisan of the South, he was ruined, and his library was burned; and from these disasters he never recovered. He had a high repute as a journalist, orator, and lecturer. He was the first Southerner to achieve any name in literature.

SKELTON, JOHN (1460?-1529).--Poet, _b._ in Norfolk, and _ed._ at Oxf. and Camb., of both of which he was _cr._ Poet Laureate, and perhaps held the same office under the King. He was appointed tutor to Henry VIII., and notwithstanding his sharp tongue, enjoyed some favour at Court. In 1498 he entered the Church, and became Rector of Diss in his native county.

Hitherto he seems to have produced some translations only, but about this time he appears to have struck upon the vein which he was to work with such vigour and popularity. He turned his attention to abuses in Church and State, which he lashed with caustic satire, conveyed in short doggerel rhyming lines peculiar to himself, in which jokes, slang, invectives, and Latin quotations rush out pell-mell. His best works in this line are _Why come ye not to Court?_ and _Colin Clout_, both directed against the clergy, and the former against Wolsey in particular.

Piqued at his inconstancy (for S. had previously courted him) the Cardinal would have imprisoned him, had he not taken sanctuary in Westminster, where he remained until his death. Other works of his are _The Tunning_ (brewing) _of Elynor Rummynge_, a coa.r.s.ely humorous picture of low life, and the tender and fanciful _Death of Philip Sparrow_, the lament of a young lady over her pet bird killed by a cat.

SKELTON, SIR JOHN (1831-1897).--Miscellaneous writer. _B._ in Edinburgh, _ed._ at the Univ. there, and called to the Scottish Bar 1854, he was Sec. and ultimately Chairman of the Local Government Board for Scotland.

He wrote _Maitland of Lethington and the Scotland of Mary Stuart_ (1887), _The Crookit Meg_ (1880), and _The Table Talk of Shirley_. He contributed to _Fraser's_ and _Blackwood's Magazines_. He received the degree of LL.D. from Edin. 1878, and was made K.C.B. 1897.

SKENE, WILLIAM FORBES (1807-1892).--Historian, 2nd _s._ of James S. of Rubislaw, friend of Sir Walter Scott, was a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and Clerk of the Bills in the Court of Session. He wrote and ed. historical works of considerable authority, _The Highlanders of Scotland_ (1837), and his most important work, _Celtic Scotland_ (1876-80), and ed. of _The Four Ancient Books of Wales_ (1868), and other Celtic writings.

SKINNER, JOHN (1721-1807).--Historian and song-writer, _s._ of a schoolmaster at Birse, Aberdeenshire, was _ed._ at Marischal Coll.

Brought up as a Presbyterian, he became an Episcopalian and ministered to a congregation at Longside, near Peterhead, for 65 years. He wrote _The Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_ from the Episcopalian point of view, and several songs of which _The Reel of Tullochgorum_ and _The Ewie wi'

the Crookit Horn_ are the best known, and he also rendered some of the Psalms into Latin. He kept up a rhyming correspondence with Burns.

SKIPSEY, JOSEPH (1832-1903).--Poet, _b._ near North Shields, and from childhood worked in the mines. He _pub._ a few pieces of poetry in 1859, and soon after left working underground and became caretaker of Shakespeare's house at Stratford-on-Avon. During the last 30 years of his life he _pub._ several vols. of poetry, including _The Collier Lad_ and _Carols from the Coal Fields_; and he ed. some vols. for the "Canterbury Poets." _Memoir_ by R.S. Watson (1908).

SMART, CHRISTOPHER (1722-1771).--Poet, _s._ of the steward to Lord Vane, was _b._ at Shipbourne, Kent, and by the bounty of the d.u.c.h.ess of Cleveland sent to Camb. Here his ill-balanced mind showed itself in wild folly. Leaving the Univ. he came to London and maintained himself by conducting and writing for periodicals. His _Poems on Several Occasions_, which contained "The Hop Garden," was issued in 1752, and _The Hilliad_ in 1753 against "Sir" John Hill, a notoriety of the day who had attacked him. His mind ultimately gave way, and it was in confinement that he produced by far his most remarkable work, the _Song to David_, a most original and powerful poem. Unfortunate to the last, he _d._ in the King's Bench prison, to which he had been committed for debt. He also translated Horace.

SMEDLEY, FRANK (1818-1864).--Novelist, was the author of several novels which had considerable popularity, including _Frank Fairleigh_ (1850), _Lewis Arundel_ (1852), and _Harry Coverdale's Courtship_ (1855). S. was a life-long cripple.

SMILES, SAMUEL (1812-1904).--Biographer and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Haddington, _ed._ at the Grammar School there, studied medicine at Edin., and settled in practice in his native town. Subsequently he betook himself to journalism, and ed. a paper in Leeds. Afterwards he was sec.

to various railways. His leisure was devoted to reading and writing, and his first publication was _The Life of George Stephenson_ (1857).

_Self-Help_, his most popular work, followed in 1859; it had an immense circulation, and was translated into 17 languages. It was followed up by _Character_ (1871), _Thrift_ (1875), and _Duty_ (1880). _The Lives of the Engineers_ and _Industrial Biography_ appeared in 1863, _The Huguenots, their Settlements, Churches, and Industries in England and Ireland_ (1867), and _The Huguenots in France_ a little later. He also wrote biographies of Telford and James Watt, and of the Scottish naturalists, Edwards the shoemaker and d.i.c.k the baker. He received the degree of LL.D.

from Edin. in 1878.

SMITH, ADAM (1723-1790).--Philosopher and economist, _b._ at Kirkcaldy, Fife, the _s._ of the Controller of Customs there. His _f._ _d._ shortly before his birth. The first and only adventure in his tranquil life was his being kidnapped by gipsies. After being at the Grammar School of Kirkcaldy, he went to the Univ. of Glasgow, whence he proceeded to Oxf.

On the conclusion of his Univ. course he returned to Kirkcaldy, going subsequently to Edinburgh, where he was soon recognised as a man of unusual intellect. In 1751 he was appointed to the Chair of Logic at Glasgow, which he next year exchanged for that of Moral Philosophy, and in 1759 he _pub._ his _Theory of the Moral Sentiments_. He received in 1762 the degree of LL.D. from his Univ., and two years later resigned his chair and became travelling tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch, accompanying him to the Continent. He remained for nearly a year in Paris, and made the acquaintance of the brilliant circle of _savans_ in that city. Returning to Kirkcaldy in 1766 he lived there with his mother for nearly ten years in retirement and close study, the results of which were given to the world in 1776 in the publication of his epoch-making work, _Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations_ (1776). This book may be said to have founded the science of political economy, and to have created a new department of literature; and very few works have, to the same extent, influenced the practical history of the world. In 1778 S. was made a Commissioner of Customs, and settled in Edinburgh; and in 1787 he was elected Lord Rector of the Univ. of Glasgow. In addition to the works above mentioned, he wrote various essays on philosophical subjects, and an account of the last days of David Hume. The style of his works was plain and lucid, and he had a remarkable faculty of apt ill.u.s.tration.

SMITH, ALBERT (1816-1860).--Humorous writer, studied medicine, and for a short time a.s.sisted his _f._ in practice. He was one of the original contributors to _Punch_, and among his books are _The Adventures of Mr.

Ledbury_ and _The Scattergood Family_. He also lectured and gave entertainments, including _The Ascent of Mont Blanc_, which were highly popular.

SMITH, ALEXANDER (1830-1867).--Poet and essayist, _s._ of a Paisley pattern-designer, at first followed the same occupation in Glasgow, but having become known as a poet of promise was, in 1854, appointed Sec. of Edin. Univ. After contributing to the _Glasgow Citizen_ he _pub._ _A Life Drama_ (1853), which received much admiration. Thereafter appeared _War Sonnets_ (in conjunction, with S. Dobell, _q.v._), _City Poems_ (1857), and _Edwin of Deira_ (1861). In prose he wrote _Dreamthorpe_ (essays), _A Summer in Skye_, and two novels, _Alfred Hagart's Household_ and _Miss Dona M'Quarrie_. His poems were in a rich and glowing style, but by some good judges were held to show fancy rather than imagination. He belonged to what was called the "spasmodic" school of poetry.

SMITH, MRS. CHARLOTTE (TURNER) (1749-1806).--Was _m._ at 15 to a West Indian merchant, who by a series of misfortunes and imprudences was reduced from affluence to poverty. She had in her youth shown considerable promise as a poetess, and in her misfortunes she was able to maintain herself and her family by her pen. In addition to a poem, _Beachy Head_, and sonnets, she wrote several novels of more than usual merit, including _Emmeline_ (1788), and, her best work, _The Old English Manor House_.

SMITH, HORACE (1779-1849), SMITH, JAMES (1775-1839).--Humorists, _s._ of a London lawyer who was solicitor to the Board of Ordnance. James succeeded his _f._; Horace became a successful stockbroker. Both brothers were distinguished for brilliant wit and humour. Their first great hit was _Rejected Addresses_ (1812), extremely clever parodies on leading contemporary poets. To this _jeu d'esprit_ James contributed among others imitations of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Crabbe, while Horace's share included Scott and Moore. James _pub._ little more, but anonymously gave Charles Matthews a.s.sistance in his entertainments. Horace _pub._ several novels which, with perhaps the exception of _Brambletye House_, are now forgotten. He also wrote _The Address to a Mummy_, a remarkable poem in which wit and true sentiment are admirably combined. Both brothers were highly esteemed not only for their social qualities, but for their benevolence and goodness of heart.

SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Woodford, Ess.e.x, the _s._ of a gentleman of independent means, and _ed._ at Winchester and Oxf., took orders 1794, becoming curate of Amesbury. He came to Edinburgh as tutor to a gentleman's _s._, was introduced to the circle of brilliant young Whigs there, and a.s.sisted in founding the _Edinburgh Review_. He then went to London, where he was for a time preacher at the Foundling Hospital, and lectured on moral philosophy at the Royal Inst.i.tution. His brilliant wit and general ability made him a favourite in society, while by his power of clear and cogent argument he exercised a strong influence on the course of politics. His _Plymley Letters_ did much to advance the cause of Catholic emanc.i.p.ation. He received various preferments, and became a canon of St. Paul's. In politics he was a Whig, in his Church views an Erastian; and in the defence of his principles he was honest and courageous. Though not remarkable for religious devotion he was a hard-working and, according to his lights, useful country parson. By the death of a younger brother he in his later years came into a considerable fortune.

SMITH, WALTER CHALMERS (1824-1908).--_B._ in Aberdeen and _ed._ there and at Edin., was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland at Orwell, Glasgow, and Edinburgh successively, a distinguished preacher and a man of kindly nature and catholic sympathies. He attained considerable reputation as a poet. Among his works are _The Bishop's Walk_ (1861), _Olrig Grange_ (1872), _Hilda among the Broken G.o.ds_ (1878), _Raban_ (1880), _Kildrostan_ (1884), and _A Heretic_ (1890). Some of these were written under the names of "Orwell" and Hermann Kunst. He received the degrees of D.D. and LL.D.

SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893).--Lexicographer, _ed._ at Univ. Coll., London, was a contributor to the _Penny Magazine_ and compiled or ed.

many useful works of reference, including _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_ (1842), and dictionaries of the Bible, of Christian Antiquities, and Christian Biography, etc., also various school series and educational handbooks, including _The Cla.s.sical Dictionary_. He held various academical degrees, including Ph.D. of Leipsic, and was knighted in 1892.

SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-1894).--Theologian and Semitic scholar, _s._ of the Free Church minister of Keig, Aberdeenshire, studied for the ministry of that Church. In 1870 he was appointed Prof. of Hebrew, etc., in its coll. at Aberdeen, a position which he had to resign on account of his advanced critical views. He became joint ed. of _The Encyclopaedia Britannica_, and in 1883 Prof. of Arabic at Camb. S. was a man of brilliant and versatile talents, a mathematician as well as a scholar, somewhat uncompromising and aggressive in the exposition and defence of his views. His works include _The Old Testament in the Jewish Church_ (1881), and _The Religion of the Semites_ (1889).

SMOLLETT, TOBIAS GEORGE (1721-1771).--Novelist, 2nd _s._ of Archibald S., of Dalquhurn, Dumbartonshire, and _ed._ at Glasgow, proceeded to London in 1739 with the view of having a tragedy, _The Regicide_, put on the stage, in which, however, he failed. In this disappointment he took service as surgeon's mate on one of the vessels of the Carthagena expedition, 1741, an experience which he turned to account in his novels.

On his return he settled in London, and endeavoured to acquire practice as a physician, but was not very successful, and having discovered where his talent lay, he thenceforth devoted himself to literature. _Roderick Random_ appeared in 1748, _The History of an Atom_ (1749), _Peregrine Pickle_ in 1751, _Ferdinand, Count Fathom_ in 1753, _Sir Lancelot Greaves_ in 1766, and _Humphrey Clinker_, generally considered his best novel, in 1770. Besides these works, however, he translated Voltaire, wrote a _History of England_ in continuation of Hume's, an _Ode to Independence_, travels and satires, and contributed to various periodicals. He was repeatedly involved in acrimonious controversy, and on one occasion fined and imprisoned for a libel, which, with various private misfortunes, embittered his life, and he _d._ disappointed and worn out near Leghorn. Had he lived four years longer he would have succeeded to his grandfather's estate of Bonhill. The novels of S.

display great narrative power, and he has a remarkable comic vein of a broad type, which enables him to present ludicrous scenes and circ.u.mstances with great effect. There is, however, a strong infusion of coa.r.s.eness in his treatment of his subjects.

SOMERVILLE, MRS. MARY (FAIRFAX) (1780-1872).--Mathematician and writer on science, _dau._ of Admiral Sir William G. Fairfax, _b._ at Jedburgh, was twice _m._, first to Mr. Greig, an officer in the Russian Navy, and second to her cousin Dr. William S. Although she had early manifested a taste for study, and specially for science, she had, until after the death of her first husband, little opportunity of following out her favourite subjects. With Dr. S., who was in full sympathy with her scientific tastes, she went to reside in London, and there her talents made her known in scientific circles. In 1823 she was requested by Lord Brougham to popularise the _Mechanique Celeste_ of La Place. This she did with great success, publishing her work as _The Celestial Mechanism of the Heavens_ (1830). She also _pub._ _The Connection of the Physical Sciences_ (1834), and other works. She received a pension from Government, and _d._ aged 92 at Naples, where she had resided for the last ten or twelve years of her life.

SOMERVILLE, WILLIAM (1675-1742).--Poet, a Warwickshire squire of literary tastes, wrote among others a poem, _The Chase_, in 4 books, which has some pa.s.sages of considerable descriptive power.

SOTHEBY, WILLIAM (1757-1833).--Poet and translator, belonged to a good family, and was _ed._ at Harrow. In early life he was in the army. He _pub._ a few dramas and books of poems, which had no great popularity, and are now forgotten; his reputation rests upon his admirable translations of the _Oberon_ of Wieland, the _Georgics_ of Virgil, and the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. The last two were begun when he was upwards of 70, but he lived to complete them. His _Georgics_ is considered one of the best translations from the cla.s.sics in the language.

SOUTH, ROBERT (1634-1716).--Divine, _s._ of a London merchant, was _b._ at Hackney, and _ed._ at Westminster School and Oxf., where in 1660 he was appointed Univ. Orator. He became domestic chaplain to the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and in 1663 the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him. After accompanying an emba.s.sy to Poland he became Rector of Islip, and a chaplain to Charles II. Thereafter he steadily declined higher preferment, including the bishopric of Rochester. He was opposed to the Romanising measures of James II., but owing to his views as to the duty of pa.s.sive obedience he declined to a.s.sociate himself in any way with the Revolution, to which nevertheless he submitted. He was an expert controversialist, but it is chiefly by his sermons, which are among the cla.s.sics of English divinity, that he is remembered. He has the reputation of being the wittiest of English preachers, and this characteristic is sometimes present to a degree not quite suitable to the subjects treated.

SOUTHERNE, THOMAS (1660-1746).--Dramatist, _b._ in Dublin, and _ed._ at Trinity Coll. there, came to London and studied law at the Middle Temple.

Afterwards he entered the army and saw service. He wrote ten plays, of which two were long acted and are still remembered, _The Fatal Marriage_ (1694) and _Oroonoko_ (1696), in the latter of which he appeals pa.s.sionately against the slave-trade. Unlike most preceding dramatists he was a practical man, succeeded in his theatrical management, and retired on a fortune. Other plays are _The Loyal Brother_ (1682), _The Disappointment_ (1684), _The Wives' Excuse_ (1692), _The Spartan Dame_ (1719), etc.

SOUTHEY, MRS. CAROLINE ANNE (BOWLES) (1786-1854).--Poetess, _dau._ of a captain in the navy, submitted a poem, _Ellen Fitzarthur_ to Southey (_q.v._), which led to a friendship, and to a proposed joint poem on Robin Hood, not, however, carried out, and eventually to her becoming the poet's second wife. She wrote various other works, including _Chapters on Churchyards_ and _Tales of the Factories_.

SOUTHEY, ROBERT (1774-1843).--Poet, biographer, etc., _s._ of an unsuccessful linen-draper in Bristol, where he was _b._, was sent to Westminster School, and in 1792 went to Oxf. His friendship with Coleridge began in 1794, and with him he joined in the scheme of a "pantisocracy" (_see_ Coleridge). In 1795 he _m._ his first wife, Edith Fricker, and thus became the brother-in-law of Coleridge. Shortly afterwards he visited Spain, and in 1800 Portugal, and laid the foundations of his thorough knowledge of the history and literature of the Peninsula. Between these two periods of foreign travel he had attempted the study of law, which proved entirely uncongenial; and in 1803 he settled at Greta Hall, Keswick, to which neighbourhood the Coleridges had also come. Here he set himself to a course of indefatigable literary toil which only ended with his life. _Thalaba_ had appeared in 1801, and there followed _Madoc_ (1805), _The Curse of Kehama_ (1810), _Roderic, the Last of the Goths_ (1814), and _A Vision of Judgment_ (1821); and in prose a _History of Brazil_, Lives of Nelson (1813), Wesley (1820), and Bunyan (1830), _The Book of the Church_ (1824), _History of the Peninsular War_ (1823-32), _Naval History_, and _The Doctor_ (1834-37). In addition to this vast amount of work he had been from 1808 a constant contributor to the _Quarterly Review_. In 1839 when he was failing both in body and mind he _m._, as his second wife, Miss Caroline Ann Bowles, who had for 20 years been his intimate friend, and by whom his few remaining years were soothed. Though the name of S.

still bulks somewhat largely in the history of our literature, his works, with a few exceptions, are now little read, and those of them (his longer poems, _Thalaba_ and _Kehama_) on which he himself based his hopes of lasting fame, least of all. To this result their length, remoteness from living interests, and the impression that their often splendid diction is rather eloquence than true poetry, have contributed. Some of his shorter poems, _e.g._, "The Holly Tree," and "The Battle of Blenheim" still live, but his fame now rests on his vigorous prose and especially on his cla.s.sic _Life of Nelson_. Like Wordsworth and Coleridge, S. began life as a democratic visionary, and was strongly influenced by the French Revolution, but gradually cooled down into a p.r.o.nounced Tory. He was himself greater and better than any of his works, his life being a n.o.ble record of devotion to duty and unselfish benevolence. He held the office of Poet Laureate from 1813, and had a pension from Government. He declined a baronetcy.

_Life and Correspondence_ (6 vols., 1849-50) by his younger son, Rev. C.